Politics

Back in January we had what I felt was a pretty congenial and interesting discussion about the surge (which can be found here). People seemed willing to agree that the surge seemed to be producing a lower level of violence, and some degree of political progress was happening. More has occurred since then, including further coalition steps between Shiite and Sunni, and a continuance of Al Sadr's cease fire. But I for one am becoming increasingly concerned that the dip in violence has bottomed out (and, as we saw the last few days, may be increasing again), and that we may not see the desired conclusion of political progress before it ends and we have to pull back f…

I refer to our new system of fencing along the Southwest border, and the continuous successes to circumvent it by any means thinkable. My first reaction is that, well, it's not fortified enough, not a good enough fence. One of the rough drafts I saw of the fence is that it was supposed to be a double layered fence, 12 ft. apart, with lots of razor wire around it. You know, the kind with electricity running through it and sensors placed every 100 ft. for when someone tries to break in. Of course, when you have a 3,000 pound battering ram around you, it really changes the dynamics of everything. Judging by this article I have read, this fence doesn't quite compare.…

I read about this and I`m like WTF!??? as a Christian Myself, I still cannot believe the utter Hypocrisy going on here, not to mention Who gives them the RIGHT to add "new things" to the Bible!? (a sin in itself) http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hOr8FN-nX3tSMtDAAk-6sgPGCu7g http://africa.reuters.com/odd/news/usnL1096023.html http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23348817-5005962,00.html if Wealth is a Sin, how do they reconcile that with the fact that the Vatican and all it`s Treasures and artwork worth Billions! and are the Richest religious organisation on the planet (we`re talking Obscenely Rich!), and then spouts off This crap, when the…

Going in to this election, I held the belief that Hillary would have a vast advantage of personal experience to draw from in order to get things done right within the realm of things that can actually get accomplished. Experience counts for a lot. Of course, it wasn't long enough before I found out about Obama's rhetorical abilities and thought to myself, "Well, this means either way, things should turn out fairly well either way, from a Democratic standpoint. Granted, he's a good talker, but he is knowledgeable with the basic aspects of the general job description, so he is not another Reagan. Call him another Slick Willy if you want, but that's just the way it is w…

It's been nine years since war ended here (in Kosovo) and three years of tiring negotiations with the serbians which turned out to be a complete failure. The Security Council did not manage to solve the issue of Kosovo since Russia contradicted vigorously to support the independence of Kosovo, and now it seems like everything is coming to a happy end! On the 17th of this month we expect from our parliament to declare Kosovo's independence and soon after a big big number of countries are expected to accept our independence. IT"S COMING TRUE! I can't believe it! If you guys only had the possibility to see the emotions that are living among us! It's an absolutely wonder…

The whole episode is available for online viewing at this URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/haditha/ I put off watching this for a couple of weeks because I assumed it would be pretty ugly and uncomplimentary of the Marines. Boy was I wrong. They completely destroyed Iraqi eyewitness testimony and in the end seemed to support the overall exoneration of the Marines, focusing instead on the complexities of ground combat. And John Murtha does not make out well in this at all. I tell you what, anybody who believes in liberal bias in the media should watch this. And of course anybody who thinks Haditha was a massacre should watch it as well. They …

Michael Ramirez is my new favorite political cartoonist: As I understand it, Obama wants to go after "Al Qaeda"... in Afghanistan. You know, the people who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks. He thinks the war in Iraq has diverted attention from this group. McCain and the conservative blogosphere retort: "But Al Qaeda is already in Iraq lolz! U are teh stupeed" If the BBC documentary "The Power of Nightmares" is to be believed, Al Qaeda (bin Laden's loosely organized militant Islamicist organization) assumed the name after US media began reporting that as their name. In other words, they chose the name to fuel media coverage and speculation. That's e…

We got spirit, yes we do! We got spirit, how about you? We got more! We got more! We got more! This was so silly. Once they closed the regular polls at 7:00, if you got spirit and enough of it you could come back and vote again! The ones with the most drive and spirit wins! This does not even include superdelegates.

I'm getting up a head of steam to put some support behind a national health care program. The US healthcare system has been hijacked by insurance carriers whose business is seemingly inimicable to good health care; they make more money if they neglect our health and deny our claims. The insurance companies and health manglement companies have become so wealthy and powerful they can affect legislation and the media in their favor. Lobbying for US healthcare dollars allows them to mire us even deeper into a system that is neither effective nor efficient. They've spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to shoot down any reform, even resorting to smear campaigns…

http://www.spacepolitics.com/2008/02/24/ron-pauls-other-race/ While Ron Paul is continuing his presidential campaign—a decision many may consider quixotic given John McCain’s virtual lock on the Republican nomination at this point—he does have a separate election looming: the Republican nomination for the 14th Congressional District in Texas, a seat Paul has held for over a decade. Paul is facing a strong challenger in the form of Chris Peden, and with no Democrat on the ballot, the March 4 primary could effectively be the general election for that seat. If a campaign sign count is any indicator, Ron Paul is in for a fight to maintain his seat in Congress. I have…

Clinton and Obama have been beating each other up over this for a couple of weeks now, and I can't make head or tails of it. It seems like both sides are stretching the truth a bit thin, and the Anendberg FactCheck seems to agree. FactChecking Obama: FactChecking Clinton: But regarding the first point, while Obama may be exaggerating some of the specifics of Clinton's message, isn't it fair for him to point out that the Clinton administration was responsible for NAFTA? If he feels NAFTA is wrong, and she's claiming those eight years as part of her experience set, then that makes it a valid point of criticism, does it not? On the othe…

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j057jBReERcsF-FcZRSWe0h1gaXQD8V3ICFO5 Despite economists warnings to the contrary, Bush says the US just in a slowdown, not headed towards recession. What do you think? Is the US headed towards recession?

Why is it that everybody is so freaking happy about Kosovo but nobody gives two shits about Iraq. Does nobody realize that in camp bondsteel alone there are more than 13,000 troops mobilized. One of the largest freaking military camps in the world. ---------- Moderator Note: This thread was broken off from the Kosovo independence thread, and this post should be viewed in that light.

... according to a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/the_war_in_iraq/iraq_troop_withdrawal This despite deja vu-inducing assurances that our strategy is finally working and that in pulling out we'd sacrificed everything we've worked for over there. I believe the economic toll at home may be the thing that will finally end the war... well, and a new President.

I see more and more journalists who just seem to make stuff up nowadays, particularly so with numbers. A specific instance: A recent AP wire release on the Hillary Clinton campaign includes the innocuous statement About 100,000 people in the Houston area work for NASA's Johnson Space Center or related industries. A google search for this exact phrase: http://www.google.com/search?q=%22About+100,000+people+in+the+Houston+area+work+for+NASA%27s+Johnson+Space+Center+or+related+industries%22&filter=0 Big deal! So someone changed the 16,000 to 100,000. My issue: that number is preposterous. That it slipped through unchecked and was printed as-is in many newspaper…

Time Magazine this week announced it's choice: Russian President Vladimir Putin. That article and the runners-up are listed on this page: http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/personoftheyear/0,28757,1690753,00.html If you were chosing, who would you pick?

On NBC's Meet the Press this morning, Ralph Nader announced that he is running for President on the Independent ticket. It happened about 5 seconds ago, so I don't have a source link for you. Does this hurt the Dems like it did Al Gore when Bush got elected?

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN16626583 At least temporarily... Bush and Congress are at an impasse: Congress refuses to grant ex post facto immunity to the telcos who participated in unconstitutional surveillance of American communcations. Bush, for his part, has refused to sign any bill which does not grant immunity to the telcos for misdeeds past. Bush insists: "House leaders chose politics over protecting the country -- and our country is at greater risk as a result." Yet he is the major impedance to the bill: Congress is refusing to grant immunity to the telcos, and won't pass a bill out of a fear of a veto. Maybe Bush should ca…

OK, I had ranted elsewhere about the phrasing "only a theory" and then blogged about it. The topic comes up a lot in certain clashes, but the specifics are not relevant here. ecoli raises a point: "Maybe we should just change the terminology we tell the public… will they shut up then?" and the comments section isn't the best place for a discussion. So here goes: No, I don't think they will, and I'm not convinced it's a good idea. In this case there might have been an opportunity to just say "Don't worry, evolution will be presented as a theory" and pre-empt some of the controversy, all the while the scientific-literate folks could stifle a smirk because we kno…

The American military is blocking windpower schemes on a "presumption of hazard" basis. The big 'mills interfere with radar. Apparently any windfarm within a 60 mile radius of a radar installation is a defence hazard This appears to be a slow-burner of a story that has recently had a light shone on it (for me) in an article in this mornings U.K. news. I offer no links. Just search "radar windpower", and choose your own prejudice. So, want to save the polar bears and penguins? Don't join the armed forces, their priorities differ from yours....

The US is planning to shoot down it's failing spy satellite. Is that really as stupid as it sounds? Because it looks to me like the U.S. military is set to turn a single, compact object that probably wouldn't do any harm into a cloud of debris that could potentially do a lot of harm, particularly to other satellites and to US stances on the demilitarization of space and criticisms of China's satellite killer. Physics isn't my forte, though, so maybe I'm misinterpreting.

If it were possible to train monkeys or other primates to do boring labor like factory work, would you find this acceptable? What if they had to be genetically engineered, or specially bred to be smarter so they could do the work? Why aren't trained monkeys being used for labor today? There's some parallels to other animal issues, like food animals, and other animals already used for stuff like plowing, guiding blind people, companionship, etc.

Pakistan has been by far the most politically interesting country to observe during the War on Terror, and this week's events were certainly no exception. It's very promising to see Pakistani moderates returned to power, as voters denied both the continuation of Musharraf's policies and the rise of Muslim extremism. I thought Senator Biden had the most interesting comments today, saying (paraphrased) that our safety (as it relates to Pakistan's impact on the WoT) is based not on the continuance of a hated government, but on the willingness and determination of the moderate Pakistani citizen. He went on to say that America should be willing to continue to aid Pakis…

they`re going TOO FAR now! there has been proposed, a License to Smoke now! you`ll have to pay 10 GBP and fill in a Deliberately over-complicated form once a year just to buy Cigs! not only that but: "The paper also proposes incentives for large companies to provide a daily "exercise hour" for employees and a ban on salt in processed food." taken from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/feb/15/smoking.health http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/uk_politics/7247470.stm http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article809014.ece what next, a Beer drinking Licence, a gay sex permit, a Salt license? this is just Sooo wrong on so many different levels, I don`t kno…

Fidel Castro announced his retirement from the presidency of Cuba. The embargo worked!