Washington, and especially the Pentagon, had big plans for a permanent military presence in Iraq until the Iraqis said “no.” Then they packed up their tanks and left. Now a similar scenario may be unfolding in Afghanistan. With the American and Afghan government at loggerheads, next year could see
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Terahertz: Political Atheists
The Huffington Post has a piece comparing open atheists in government in the USA with the UK. They note that only two American legislators have only ever really professed non-belief: Pete Stark and Barney Frank (the latter admitting it after leaving politics). Meanwhile, the current deputy Prime Minister of the
Continue readingTerahertz: Good and Bad People
There’s a Steven Weinberg quote that my atheist friends like to trot out (and I’m likely equally guilty of sharing). With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. The
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Bombs and explosives are chemical weapons too
An eastern blogger who I mentioned in this estimable piece from 2011, is a loquacious commentator for one of Canada’s preeminent welfare bums. On his website Saturday, he joined the cheerleaders calling for cruise missiles and strategic bombers to visit Syria. One of the stated reasons, “Nearly 1,500 innocent civilians were
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Chemical Weapons in Syria? Merely a Pretext [Iran, Shhh.]
” It’s the Economy, Stupid.” [Or oil, or gas, or energy…] If you think you know why Syria is happening [and happening NOW], you’re probably missing a number of the elements at play. Don’t expect western governments or the corporate media to enumerate these. Sure, chemical weapons are horrible, but
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Syria – The First Big Proxy War of Cold War II
Russia’s in. China’s in. The United States is in. Iran is in, so is Israel. Everyone else within pipeline distance might soon be in also. It’s still about Syria, sort of, in a way but that’s what proxy wars are always like. Russia is arming Assad and providing him with
Continue readingThings Are Good: A Protest Song About the NSA Reading Your Emails
The band YACHT has gone back to the glory days of Dylan and the like by writing a protest song. The song is about the NSA illegal spying the USA, which should bother pretty much anyone who cares about privacy. Until now, there was no good news to mention about
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Obama & Syria: A Rehearsal for Iran?
After Prime Minister David Cameron’s failure to bring along with him a majority of the MPs in the British Parliament, America has been reduced to vocal support from Germany (but no fighting Germans) and vocal and forceful support from France, in his attempts to put together a coalition to punish
Continue readingLeft Over: Obama: Let’s Play Politics Anywhere Except at Home…
Obama puts Egypt on notice after clashes kill 525 U.S. president urges Egypt to end state of emergency day after clashes with police-Morsi supporters The Associated Press Posted: Aug 15, 2013 3:28 AM ET Last Updated: Aug 15, 2013 11:17 AM ET If Obama and the rest of the West
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: MexAmeriCanada, Version 2013
Welcome to the United States of MexAmeriCanada. Represent! I was just thinking a few days ago how I haven’t used the MexAmeriCanada tag for a while. Did I cause this to happen, in some cosmic kind of way? In the old days it was Canadian Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Zimmerman and Alexander: Racism and Sexism in America
Can you handle the contradictions? I’ve been seen things in twitter for the last few days that puts some grotesque perspective on the American culture. I’m actually quite speechless: Two Florida towns, 125 miles apart. Two people firing weapons at unarmed aggressors, purportedly in self-defense. George Zimmerman, the 29-year-old neighborhood-watch
Continue readingCuriosityCat: In Texas, do male fetuses masturbate?
Apparently, some think so: And a Texas congressman claimed, incorrectly, that male fetuses of 15 weeks have been observed to masturbate, thus making abortion wrong. Tabatha Southey sums up the absurd spectacel of Texas legislators – in 2013! – trying desperately to shut down a filibuster by a lone senator:
Continue readingThings Are Good: USA Raises ‘Carbon Price’
Climate change is happening and it’s costing a lot of money to deal with. More floods, tornados, hurricanes, and other natural events are happening with greater frequency thanks to planetary temperature increase. The reason the planet’s temperature is increasing is thanks to the way previous generations have dealt with waste.
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Spot the Problem?
Of course, it could just be me… Filed under: International Affairs, Social Science Tagged: Helpful Infographics, Public Sector, USA
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Brother Ali – Mourning in America: ‘a critique of our culture of war and death’
This recent Brother Ali video track is worth checking out. Mourning in America is a powerful piece of work. Brother Ali had this to say about the track and the album: This is the title track to my new album, Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color. The first half
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: And the Walls Come Tumbling Down
Another look at the century old and ongoing, lethal aftermath of the way Britain and France carved up the Middle East following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire post WWI. It’s a topic addressed here in several posts, the most recent just yesterday. We’re now witnessing the walls, built by
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Bostonians once supported NorAid and civil rights in N. Ireland: Americans should oppose disastrous US foreign policy
The Irish-Americans of Boston were once a source of support and inspiration for nationalists in the north of Ireland during the dark days of The Troubles. During the hunger strikes by republican prisoners, the people of Boston protested the vile policies of Margaret Thatcher and raised funds. Cash was collected
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: The Undemocratic Elected Senate & The Democratic Appointed One
90% of Americans support universal background checks for guns yet on Wednesday the American Senate struck down that legislation. That’s not very democratic, is it? Those in Canada who fervently cling to the idea that voting will make our Senate democratic almost completely ignore the problems that come with it,
Continue readingThings Are Good: 2012 Was a Record Breaking Year for US Wind Industry
2012 was a very successful year for the young wind-power energy industry in the United States. Throughout last year over 6,700 were installed around the country with the industry benefiting overall from new investments into the sector. Let’s hope this is a sign of the future of what;s to come
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