They lied their way into Iraq. Now they are trying to lie their way out - "Those in the west who fear that withdrawal will lead to civil war are too late - it is already here. Those who fear that pulling out will make matters worse have to ask themselves: how much worse can it get? Since yesterday American troops have been in Iraq longer than they were in the second world war. When the people you have "liberated" by force are no longer keen on the "freedom" you have in store for them, it is time to go."
The Democrats and the Slaughterhouse - "The way you end a slaughter is by no longer feeding it. Every general, either American or British, with the guts to speak honestly over the past couple of years has said the same thing: the foreign occupation of Iraq by American and British troops is feeding the violence. Iraq is not on the "edge of civil war". It is in the midst of it. There is no Iraqi government."
Boogeymongering - "It seems clearer every day that the original purpose of the Iraqi invasion was not the elimination of nonexistent weapons of mass destruction or the installation of democracy – which has been a failure – but simply an excuse to squat militarily on the second-largest oil reserves in the world. There is no military solution to the war in Iraq, so how long we keep American troops there boils down to how many more American lives you want to sacrifice for nothing useful or beneficial."
Beware the lure of 'phased withdrawal' - "Nixon tried it in Vietnam, once most agreed the war was lost, and it cost 20,000 U.S. lives."
The Perils of Escalation in Iraq: A Grim History Lesson - "The gruesome lesson from the Korean War and Vietnam show that nothing will be accomplished by sending more troops to Iraq, other than adding to the 2,876 soldiers killed and leaving more dead civilians."
Rumsfeld okayed abuses says former U.S. general - "Karpinski, who ran the prison until early 2004, said she saw a memorandum signed by Rumsfeld detailing the use of harsh interrogation methods."
Democrats Blame Iraqis for U.S. Induced Misery - "All of this should be nothing new. Democrats have repeatedly expressed their approval of decimating Iraq and reducing it to a depleted uranium wasteland where, one day, the living will envy the dead."
Dems Rebut Carter on Israeli 'Apartheid' - "Instead, Democrats are shoring up their pro-Israel bona fides. They are strikingly anxious because of a courageous new book by President Jimmy Carter that hit American bookstores in mid-November, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. It is an extraordinarily bold--and apt--title."
President Bush's Bad Reputation - "Around The World, People See The President As An Extension Of America's Arrogance. ... From Britain to China, Bush is the "go-it-alone cowboy" to much of the world, leading the United States in the direction he wants, regardless of what anyone else thinks."
W library in record book - "He may be a certified lame duck now, but President Bush and his truest believers are about to launch their final campaign - an eye-popping, half-billion-dollar drive for the Bush presidential library. Eager to begin refurbishing his tattered legacy, the President hopes to raise $500 million to build his library and a think tank at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Bush lived in Dallas until he was elected governor of Texas in 1995."
AP Analysis: Firms Crimping Oil Supplies - "Why would Shell Oil Co. simply close its Bakersfield refinery? Why scrap a profit maker? The rumor seemed to make no sense. Yet it was true. The company says it could make more money on other projects. It denies it intended to squeeze the market, as its critics would claim, to drive up gasoline profits at its other refineries in the region. Whatever the truth in Bakersfield, an Associated Press analysis suggests that big oil companies have been crimping supplies in subtler ways across the country for years. And tighter supplies tend to drive up prices."
California Legislature Votes to Kill the Health Insurance Industry.... - "There is a war on in the United States over health care. On one side is the "status quo" represented by the medical monopoly, the pharmaceutical industry, the health insurance carriers, and an entrenched bureauracracy wholly beholden to, and run by, the people they are supposed to regulate. The US system, according to the World Health Organization, is rated 72nd in quality, but number one in cost, worldwide. The "Death by Medicine" study shows that the system itself is the number one killer of Americans. The number two and three killers of Americans are heart disease and cancer, diseases which those of us outside of the "status quo" know are curable, and preventable - but those cures and preventive treatments are being suppressed by agents of the "status quo." On the other side is a beleaguered America simply trying to find ways to survive." -- 72nd? Ouch.
Word on the street ... they’re listening - "The microphones can detect conversations 100 yards away and record aggressive exchanges before they become violent."
GPS Surveillance Creeps into Daily Life - "For $5.99 per month, you can turn a cell phone into a surveillance device and track when your target leaves home, where he or she travels and at what speed. You can even detect how much battery power is left on the phone. Marketed as "virtual eyes" on your kids or employees, the service also allows you to construct a virtual "fence" so that you can receive electronic alerts if the phone’s carrier crosses into forbidden areas."
How Gene Patents Are Putting Your Health at Risk - "A fifth of your genes belong to someone else. That’s because the U.S. Patent Office has given various labs, companies and universities the rights to 20% of the genes found in everyone’s DNA— with some disturbing results. Many U.S. labs won’t perform certain genetic tests because of patent restrictions or fees. One company that holds a license for a gene connected with Alzheimer’s has refused to let other labs work on its gene. The company that “owns” a genetic mutation for breast cancer charges up to $3,000 for a breast-cancer gene test." -- This is bad.
From Pastor to Bastard - "I don't need to find God in a glass, mahogany, teak, gold, silver or platinum Cathedral, Church or Worship Center. I once attended a place where the building was dedicated as the "House for God." It cost millions and most of the people who paid for it, never set foot in it...a TV ministry. But then the place was sold and God was evicted. Good thing the Book says he wasn't living there anyhow. Any real God lives within the human anyhow, a place most humans would never think to look. No literalist church wants you to discover you don't need the church after all to be a content and grounded human being. They certainly don't want you to think you were born right the FIRST time."
Peace on earth? Not in our subdivision! - "A homeowners' association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti-Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan." -- How much more fucked up can this country get?
Pace of Global Warming Causes Alarm - ""I feel as though we are staring crisis in the face," Futuyma said. "It's not just down the road somewhere. It is just hurtling toward us. Anyone who is 10 years old right now is going to be facing a very different and frightening world by the time that they are 50 or 60.""
Lure of Great Wealth Affects Career Choices - "The opportunity to become abundantly rich is a recent phenomenon not only in medicine, but in a growing number of other professions and occupations. In each case, the great majority still earn fairly uniform six-figure incomes, usually less than $400,000 a year, government data show. But starting in the 1990s, a significant number began to earn much more, creating a two-tier income stratum within such occupations."
Study: Humpback whales have 'human' brain cells - "Humpback whales have a type of brain cell seen only in humans, the great apes, and other cetaceans such as dolphins, U.S. researchers reported on Monday. This might mean such whales are more intelligent than they have been given credit for, and suggests the basis for complex brains either evolved more than once, or has gone unused by most species of animals, the researchers said." -- In reality, humans are not all that special.
UK scientists invent male 'pill' that can be taken hours before sex - "The tablet would prevent a man from being able to impregnate a woman, but within a few hours his fertility would return to normal."
The Big O: Fireworks? Or is your sex life less than explosive? - "The truth is, only one in four women regularly has an orgasm during intercourse, and a third rarely or never do. This news may be reassuring -- or depressing. But what's healthy when it comes to orgasms, anyway? To find out, Health went in search of a sexual reality check and uncovered everything (well, almost everything) you'll ever want to know about the Big O."
10 Is the New 15 As Kids Grow Up Faster - "In some ways, it's simply part of a kid's natural journey toward independence. But child development experts say that physical and behavioral changes that would have been typical of teenagers decades ago are now common among ``tweens'' - kids ages 8 to 12."
Xerox seeks self-erasing paper - "The printed information on the document "disappears" within 16 hours. The documents can be reused more quickly by simply placing them in the copier paper tray. The researchers said that individual pieces of paper had been printed on up to 50 times, and the only current limit in the process appears to be paper life."
Quote of the Day
"It's a town full of losers and I'm pulling out of here to win."
~ Bruce Springsteen
No comments:
Post a Comment