Freedom to be dumb in Louisiana

Whoo-hoo! Louisiana has voted to stunt progress and scientific literacy in the state! Governor Bobby Jindal, a biology major that apparently wasted his time in school, signed into law yesterday, the Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA). The LSEA seeks to promote critical thinking in education, especially in the areas of evolution, the origins of life, global warming and human cloning. Yet again, logic and intelligence has given way to religious fanaticism. The dumb just keeps getting dumber.

Saying no to human rights

The United States has decided to withdraw its mission to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) -- the UN body charged with dealing with human rights violations around the world. The UNHRC was created in 2006 to replace the UN Commission on Human Rights. At that time, the U.S. decided to not participate as a member, but instead send its mission as an observer. Even that, is now being pulled and it's a move that is shocking to many. One obvious way to view this position by the U.S. is that it has no regard for human rights. That would be a mistake however. The U.S. position on human rights needs to be seen beyond the tarnished perspective of the current American administration. King George has done much to destroy world's confidence in America's commitment to human rights. But, America has always practiced a less than idealized position on human rights. Human rights for America has always been tied to its political aims. America has never been a perfect state from a human rights perspective. Its criticism of the UNHRC however, does have validity. The UN's business of human rights has been checkered. The UNHRC allow as members, those who do not respect the human rights of their own citizens -- and allow such mockery of the system, as having Pakistan sponsor a resolution that would prevent the defamation of religions; and prevent resolutions with force being passed against states such as North Korea and Myanmar. While the UNHRC has had some positive impacts, it is also hampered by some members who are bent on manipulating the idealism of an international human rights enforcement body.

There will be a lot of criticism for the U.S. pulling out of the body. This time however, I may be more inclined to understand America's position.

Dumb People for Hilary

David Swanson has an excellent post at OpEdNews.com, on the Clinton surge post the DNC reluctant decision to cave to Clinton's pressure and count the votes from Florida and Michigan. Yes, Clinton still thinks there is hope. And so do a lot of dumb people, who are backing her.

Call for Revolution

Sometimes what we need is a good ole fashion revolution. That is the case being by Robert Higgs for America.

The beginning of political wisdom is the realization that despite everything you’ve always been taught, the government is not really on your side; indeed, it is out to get you.

Read more in his commentary, post at the Independent Institute.

Obama has lost women 'with sexist campaign'

This has got to be one of the most absurd things I've read recently. Some women are, not surprisingly, pissed that Hillary Clinton is on the road the lose the US presidential nomination. They are so pissed however, that they are willing to turn to John McCain, instead of Obama, in the coming election, and charging Obama of running a sexist campaign. Chief among female Obama-haters, is Geraldine Ferraro -- a woman perhaps more insane than Clinton. Ferraro forwards the following evidence of Obama's sexist campaign:

• His response to Mrs Clinton's reminiscences about learning to shoot as a girl at her grandfather's summer cabin in Pennsylvania. Miss Ferraro said: "He walked up and down the stage with his microphone like a stand-up comic and ridiculed her as an Annie Oakley," she said, quoting his reference to the legendary female sharpshooter. "Would he have ridiculed a man by comparing him to John Wayne? Of course not."
• His apparently dismissive description of Mrs Clinton as "likeable enough" during a televised debate before the New Hampshire primaries.
• His role in an earlier debate in Philadelphia when several of the male candidates running at the time were said to have ganged up on her, prompting Mrs Clinton to complain about the "boy's club" of US politics.
• His "failure", Miss Ferraro claims, to speak out against other sexist acts such as lewd T-shirts, the men who shouted "Iron my shirt!" at Mrs Clinton and jibes about her "cackle". Mr Obama also apologised to a female reporter he called "sweetie" in an aside that received widespread coverage.

The absurdity of the accusation just floors me. Of course Obama must be sexist -- he's a black man; a muslim man; and he's friends with terrorists.

Can't see the forest for the trees

I was just reading a BusinessWeek article, The Wal-Mart Sisterhood, in the second floor library at home, and when a quote from one of the sisters jumped off the page, grabbed me by the throat and tried to kill me.

As she finished shopping at a Wal-Mart on the outskirts of Charlotte, N.C., with two of her four daughters in tow, Jennifer Brouillet, a 36-year-old teacher's aide who voted twice for Bush, says she won't consider either Democrat. She's put off by their plans for universal health care. "I'm afraid we're going to turn into Canada. I don't want to end up in a line, waiting six months to get a procedure," Brouillet says. Besides, she asks: "How are they going to pay for it?"

Backstory: the article is about the lower-middle class women of America, their influence in the coming US election -- and their courting by both the Democrats and Republicans. To fit into this demographic, these women have to duck under the following bar:

Some 41% of frequent Wal-Mart shoppers have incomes below $35,000, vs. 25% of the population at large. They're less educated than their neighbors: 31% of U.S. voters have a high school education or less, vs. 39% for Wal-Mart Women. Wal-Mart Women also tend to be more suburban or rural and are likely to live in the South. Many are culturally conservative and religious — key reasons a majority backed Bush.

For some, especially a couple quoted in the article and are actually commenting on the BusniessWeek website, they had to hit their head multiple times on the bar before realizing they needed to duck.

On the original quote that pissed me off: here's a woman knocking universal health care, when it was designed for the likes of her -- lower income people, who simply cannot afford the basics. In the world, the US remains the only wealthy country without universal health care. That's right, the other wealthy nations are fucking stupid to have implemented universal health care, Mrs. Brouillet. The US is the only rich country that has figured out what the rest don't know -- that taking care of the poor and down trodden is a waste of time. When your plummeting standard of living boots you out of the middle class, perhaps you will reconsider the merits of universal health care. In wealthy nations, health care should be a universal right, not an option available to those that can afford it.

The stupidity of the quote really got to me -- and the stupid outnumbers the smart. Let me be clear: I'm not implying that smart = educated. I've met a lot of educated people who couldn't generate a spark between their ears -- even if when struck by lightning. Stupid people are not necessarily uneducated -- they're stupid because they don't know when they don't know. They don't know they're ignorant, and they make no effort to form an informed opinion. These are people who specialize in viewing the world through the light of their flickering bulb that should have been replaced a long time ago. These stupid people are the ones who voted for George Bush, not once, but twice, because he spoke to them. These are the same people that profess their adoration of John McCain -- because he's such an everyday guy -- and can't stand Obama, because he's so uppity -- so smart -- and damn well shows it every time he opens his mouth. Yes, stupid people will vote for the dumb guy just because they don't want to vote for someone they recognize as being smarter than they are.

Gaaa! Stupid people shouldn't be allowed to vote.

Update: May 17, 2008

Just read Mythbusting Canadian Health Care -- Part I on the Campaign for America's Future site. It should be a must read for stupid Americans ... and the smart ones who are looking for a way of shutting up those who are afraid of universal health care. The myths exposed:

1. Canada's health care system is "socialized medicine." -- False.
2. Doctors are hurt financially by single-payer health care. -- True and False.
3. Wait times in Canada are horrendous. -- True and False.
4. You have to wait forever to get a family doctor. -- False for the vast majority of Canadians, but True for a few.
5. You don't get to choose your own doctor. -- Scurrilously False.
6. Canada's care plan only covers the basics. You're still on your own for any extras, including prescription drugs. And you still have to pay for it. -- True.
7. Canadian drugs are not the same. -- More preposterious bogosity.
8. Publicly-funded programs will inevitably lead to rationed health care, particularly for the elderly. -- False. And bogglingly so.People won't be responsible for their own health if they're not being forced to pay for the consequences. -- False.
9. This all sounds great -- but the taxes to cover it are just unaffordable. And besides, isn't the system in bad financial shape? -- False and True.

Troopergate Strikes Again

When Hillary Clinton screws up, she really screws up. In a new ad campaign to discredit Obama, the Clinton video shows a fly through of a newspaper clipping. The clipping is titled, "Obama attacks Clinton's gas tax plan." Berni McCoy downloaded a high resolution copy of the video from Clinton's site, because he was curious as to what the article said. Of course, the newspaper clipping wasn't real. Some genius making the ad, actually put those words over an older newspaper article about "troopergate." What's troopergate? A reference to allegations from the past, of Governor Bill Clinton using state troopers to arrange sexual liaisons with women.

American politics is nothing, if not entertaining.

Things younger than John McCain

This is a funny site!

An oil-addicted ex-superpower

Michael T. Klare writes in Asia Times Online, of the demise of the US as the world's only remaining superpower, due to the ridiculously high price of oil. Klare paints a picture of America's economic and military might that is heavily dependent on cheap and abundant oil, and suggests that America's oil addiction is spelling its doom. It's an interesting read, but I don't buy it. What Klare fails to point out is that America's adventure in the Middle East has the stench of colonialism -- and rather than the demise of a superpower, it may actually spell the resurgence of the good ole days.

Spying on America's Secrets

So what would happen if, a Canadian agent convinced a U.S. Army mechanical engineer to secretly bring classified U.S. national defence documents home, so they could be photographed and sent back to Canada? What if those documents included atomic weapons and fighter jet information? What if the Americans finally found out via an FBI investigation? What would the U.S. government do? Well, for one thing, they'd be pissed. They'd call a news conference and show the world how pissed they were at Canada. They'd feel betrayal that one of their closest allies ... friends ... had come into their house and steal secrets from them. In fact, had they asked, the information would probably have been shared with them. Diplomats would be pulled, and the U.S. would be mad with us for quite some time.

This of course did happen ... the stealing part that is. But it wasn't Canada. It was Israel that did the stealing. And it happened for years. An investigation has culminated in charges being brought against a traitorous mechanical engineer. The U.S. government however, hasn't reacted. That's because this situation involves Israel, and as usual, Israel will be forgiven for their transgressions. Israel can do no wrong because Israel has the entire Arab world arrayed against them, and that very fact is why America will always have a soft spot for Israel, despite their stupidity. America's penchant for forgiving Israel for all wrongs however is also the reason why America will never have credibility in the Arab world -- why it will never bring peace to the Middle East; and why there will be no democracy in Iraq if America has anything to do with it.

Give Peace a Chance

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) symbol -- now universally known as the Peace symbol -- turns 50 this year. The symbol was designed for the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War (DAC), by designer Gerald Holtom in 1958, to be used in a 50-mile Easter march from Trafalgar Square, London, to atomic weapons factory at Aldermaston. The symbol combines the semaphoric signals for the letters "N" and "D" -- representing "Nuclear Disarmament." From its adoption by CND, the symbol spread to the US, then around the world -- with CND never trademarking the symbol -- leaving it free for the world to use.

50 years ago, the symbol was created to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Today the symbol is universally recognized, though its power to provoke has diminished with the loss of the baby boomers idealism. Nuclear weapons has proliferated, and the world is now threatened by rogue states with nuclear enrichment programs; a new found interest in the US to maintain its nuclear prowess; and terrorists looking to make dirty bombs. 50 years, and still, the peace symbol is still so relevant.

U.S. Lives Worth More Than Others'

From Pew Research's Social Values Survey:

Nearly a quarter of American adults (23%) say they mostly (14%) or completely (9%) agree that American lives are worth more than the lives of people in other countries according to the most recent Pew Social Values Survey; those most likely to take this view include white men (30%), persons ages 18-29 (29%) and self-identified conservative Republicans (28%).

You can find the details in the Pew Research's report, Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007 - Political Landscape More Favorable To Democrats. On a totally superficial level however, it seems like younger Americans are leaning more towards the values of Canadians.

Clinton Cult

The Huffington Post is carrying a post by RJ Eskow that examines the Clinton cult. Check it out if you're a Clinton cult member, and reflect. People are going to end up hating you more than they hate the Republicans, and John McCain will get elected ... unless of course ...

Morality of Liberals and Conservatives

I just read about a study David Sloan Wilson and Ingrid Storm conducted, that compared the moral thinking of liberals and conservatives.

Dr Wilson and Dr Storm found several unexpected differences between the groups. Liberal teenagers always felt more stress than conservatives, but were particularly stressed if they could not decide for themselves whom they spent time with. Such choice, or the lack of it, did not change conservative stress levels. Liberals were also loners, spending a quarter of their time on their own. Conservatives were alone for a sixth of the time. That may have been related to the fact that liberals were equally bored by their own company and that of others. Conservatives were far less bored when with other people. They also preferred the company of relatives to non-relatives. Liberals were indifferent. Perhaps most intriguingly, the more religious a liberal teenager claimed to be, the more he was willing to confront his parents with dissenting beliefs. The opposite was true for conservatives. [Source.]

From the conclusion of the study report:

Liberal Protestantism was shown to correlate positively with social class, education and various measures of individualism. Conservative Protestantism was associated with lower levels of education and socioeconomic class, and correlated with higher levels of dependence on family. The results of this study strongly indicate that liberal Protestantism is an adaptive cultural strategy in groups of highly educated individuals in secure environments. Conservative Protestantism seems to be adaptive at the group level in situations and environments with comparatively lower existential security and lower levels of education.

The full results of the study can be found here [PDF]. And right now, I'm feeling pretty smart about myself.

Irony Lost

In a speech delivered today, addressing U.S.-Cuba relations, G.W. Bush spoke out defiantly on upholding America's economic embargo on the island, while scolding other democracies around the world, of not following the U.S. lead. Bush spoke of human rights abuses; of political prisoners being tortured; of jail time without trial -- without guilt -- for offences against the regime. Bush stood with Cuban dissidents, telling their stories of "brutal repression right off the shores of the United States."

At no time, did Bush allow the irony of Guantanamo to get in his way.

Wikileaks

Cowardice asks the question, "Is it safe?" Expediency asks the question, "Is it politic?" Vanity asks the question, "Is it popular?" But, conscience asks the question, "Is it right?" And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right.
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

And with that quote, Wikileaks loads. The site is hosted by PRQ of Sweden, a company owned by two founders of the Pirate Bay, and as it turns out, PRQ is just as hostile to legal assault, as Pirate Bay is. Wikileaks, in case you haven't heard, is a very public whistleblowing site. It publishes the secrets no one else will touch, and the have no regard for the consequences of their actions. It's anarchy, internet style.

Here's how the site describes itself:

Wikileaks is developing an uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis. Our primary interest is in exposing oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to people of all regions who wish to reveal unethical behavior in their governments and corporations. We aim for maximum political impact. Our interface is identical to Wikipedia and usable by all types of people. We have received over 1.2 million documents so far from dissident communities and anonymous sources.

[More.]

Head on over and take a gander at the truth. Then participate, and set the world free.

Yes, he is that dumb

Think Progress has posted a video of George W. Bush defending his decision not to send US troops into Darfur to stop the genocide. Totally lacking a grasp on irony, Bush stated his reasoning:

A clear lesson I learned in the museum was that outside forces that tend to divide people up inside their country are unbelievably counterproductive.

That was the second chance irony waved in front of Bush. It's as if nothing sticks. Showering the man with the obvious still leaves him oblivious. If you took a huge sign of the obvious and danced it in front of him, he would still miss it. That's what happened when he missed his first chance to grasp the irony of the situation -- as he was speaking from the Rwandan Genocide Museum.

Taking Bets on Kosovo

Kosovo has just joined the ranks of sovereign nations -- much to the dismay of Serbia and Russia. It's the culmination of events that started with the end of the last Balkan war, and the handing over of Kosovo to the UN for administration. Since then, Kosovo has successfully risen from the ashes. At the declaration of independence, violence erupted in some ethnic Serbian regions of Kosovo. Now, we'll just have to wait for the inevitable war -- which Russia would probably do nothing to stop. Let's face it -- there is enough of a minority in the region ready to stir up nationalist trouble. They've been doing it for centuries. Why stop now. Let the violence begin.

WTF Canada?

WTF Canada? Will the Canadian government continue to let the US have its way with us? Apparently so, if you take the answers from the current Federal government. An FBI internal report, states that FBI agents crossed the border into Canada in pursuit of investigations, and routinely do not inform Canadian authorities or get clearance to do so. The federal government is apparently not interested in protesting the US incursion onto Canadian soil -- or stopping it. Are we a sovereign nation or not?

See context in FBI Inspector General report.

Iran vs. America: An Alternative History

Hey America -- want to know why they hate you? LewRockwell.com is running a post by J.L. Bryan that provides a timeline from 1953, to present day, with a mirror image of the two states. What if Iran was American and vice versa? Read the post for more, but here's the synopsis:

1953: Iran instigates a coup in America that leads to the toppling of Dwight D. Eisenhower and the installation of Joseph McCarthy as king. All of this, after America got upset over the fact that 90% of American oil revenues were being taken by Iran.

1953-1979: The puppet King McCarthy rule is absolute, backed by Iranian money and arms. Anyone who opposes him, vanishes.

1978-1979: Under McCarthy's rules, Americans can only gather in support of McCarthy or to pray. This leads to a Christian revolution movement led by the likes of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Jim Bakker. With the support of students, these Christian clerics, dump McCarthy and boots Iranian influence from America.

1980-1988: The Iranians arm the Mexican dictator, José Husseino, and sends him to war against America. The Americans fight back, and Husseino uses chemical weapons against the Americans. Millions die, and millions more suffer from the use of weapons of mass destruction. Husseino even uses chemical weapons on Mexicans to crush a revolt.

1991: Husseino, now armed and scary, starts taking an interest in his neighbours, and makes a move on Guatemala. Iran responds by invading both Mexico and Guatemala. They leave Husseino in power, but dot Guatemala with military bases.

1991-2001: The American people still haven't recovered from the America-Mexico war. Iran convinces the world to impose economic sanctions on both Mexico and America. Half a million American children die of malnutrition as a result, and radiation poisoning as a result from the 1991 Iranian invasion results in a cancer epidemic. Iran meanwhile, secretly funds dissatisfied groups in America.

9/11/2001: The Cubans blow-up the Iranian Freedom Tower. The Iranians blame the Christofascists of the West.

2001-2007: Read If Iran Were America (And We Were Iran): A Timeline for more.

Free Speech's Dead End

Censorship of the internet is a growing problem worldwide, and is growing in favour in developed nations, where those charged with fighting terrorism, repeatedly bleat for the suppression of the internet -- for the filtering and monitoring of sites their citizens visit. For now, internet censorship may be far from our minds, but when does it move from the fighting terrorism to the prohibiting of free speech? Censorship around the world is orchestrated by a few -- those in power, usually authoritarian regimes -- who decide that citizens would be harmed if they were exposed to information about religion, sexuality, culture and worse, politics. The concern for these regimes is only for the preservation of their status quo. A servile populace can only remain obedient if they are ignorant and live in fear.

The promise of the internet as a vehicle of social change is a frightening prospect for repressive regimes -- and those within our country, who fear change. The world shrinks with communication. It did so with the advent of radio and television, and it continues to do so with the internet. Today with the click of a button, virtually anywhere in the world can be visited. The power of linking ordinary citizens without the mediation or scrutiny of their government, is powerful. We move from a world with borders to one where activists can find supporters in the most unlikely of places. In a world teetering on the brink, risks can be removed by citizens who don't have a self-interest in power, but in collaboration for the greater good. The more we learn of each other, the more we come to the realization that we're not so different. The more we realize that those who preach hatred; who deal in the currency of fear; are void of any moral footing, and the louder the voices of reason will be.

How petrified are the repressive regimes? In the liberated Afghanistan, Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, a 23-year-old journalism student, was arrested, tried and sentenced to death by his country's religious judges for downloading a report from a Farsi website -- a report which challenged the oppression of women by islamic fundamentalists as a distorted interpretation of the koran. Kambaksh distributed the report to fellow students and professors in an effort to provoke a debate. Instead, a complaint was filed, he was arrested, tried in secrecy, without a defence, and condemned to death. Without the internet, Kambaksh would not be in this predicament, or have the moral outrage to want to make change. Without the internet, Kambaksh may not have a chance of an acquittal.

You can do something about this by adding your voice in remonstrance. Canada has huge commitments for infrastructure rebuilding in Afghanistan. We have influence. Contact Maxime Bernier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and tell him to stop this.

• Foreign Affairs office number: 613-995-1874
• Bernier at the House of Commons: 613-992-8053 (Fax: 613-995-0687)
• Bernier's email address: BerniM@parl.gc.ca

You can also contact the Afghanistan embassy in Canada at:

240 Argyle Ave.
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1B9
Phone: (613) 563-4223 / 65 Fax: (613) 563-4962
email: contact@afghanemb-canada.net.

A message can also be sent to the Afghan government via this online petition. Where the internet isn't censored and monitored yet, we can still use it to make a difference. Make a difference so that in the future, you won't find yourself in Kambaksh's shoes.

The Internet is a Weapons System

The Pentagon sees the internet as an enemy "weapons system" that needs to planned for and dealt with. So it said in its Information Operation Roadmap, published in 2003. The internet represents everything that a colonial America should be worried about. Decentralized, anonymous, with the ability to network disparate and like-minded groups, quickly and cheaply. The internet disseminates information and propaganda outside the control of a central authority. With its views, the Pentagon shares the perspective of the Chinese government, which likewise sees the internet as a threat to its ability to control the masses. Unlike the Chinese however, Americans control their government, and can still do something about this. Read more at Global Research.

Hope for the Dream

On Martin Luther King Day, Barack Obama addresses parishioners at Martin Luther King's church. He's honest, and takes on what's wrong not only in America, but across the world -- the lack of empathy for our fellow men and women. It's one hell of a powerful speech. He takes on homophobia, anti-semitism, xenophobia and lack of hard work to do the right thing.

Obama is too good for America. The man preaches tolerance, truth and respect, in a profession that doesn't value those things. You've got to wonder how long he's going to last. How long will the machine of politics tolerate his flirting with restoring America to its people?

For most of this country's history, we in the African-American community have been at the receiving end of man's inhumanity to man. And all of us understand intimately the insidious role that race still sometimes plays - on the job, in the schools, in our health care system, and in our criminal justice system.

And yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that none of our hands are entirely clean. If we're honest with ourselves, we'll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King's vision of a beloved community.

We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them. The scourge of anti-Semitism has, at times, revealed itself in our community. For too long, some of us have seen immigrants as competitors for jobs instead of companions in the fight for opportunity.

Every day, our politics fuels and exploits this kind of division across all races and regions; across gender and party. It is played out on television. It is sensationalized by the media. And last week, it even crept into the campaign for President, with charges and counter-charges that served to obscure the issues instead of illuminating the critical choices we face as a nation.

So let us say that on this day of all days, each of us carries with us the task of changing our hearts and minds. The division, the stereotypes, the scape-goating, the ease with which we blame our plight on others - all of this distracts us from the common challenges we face - war and poverty; injustice and inequality. We can no longer afford to build ourselves up by tearing someone else down. We can no longer afford to traffic in lies or fear or hate. It is the poison that we must purge from our politics; the wall that we must tear down before the hour grows too late.

Because if Dr. King could love his jailor; if he could call on the faithful who once sat where you do to forgive those who set dogs and fire hoses upon them, then surely we can look past what divides us in our time, and bind up our wounds, and erase the empathy deficit that exists in our hearts.

See his speech on AlterNet. [The above transcript comes from AlterNet.]

Bush: The Environmental Genius

We’ve been had. The world has been hoodwinked by an environmental genius. I’m still shocked by the realization. It suddenly dawned on me this morning that it’s all been a farce. Wow. Such deception. Such acting ability. The lies, the blatantly moronic actions and seemingly idiotic policies. All pure genius.

It all makes sense now. In the 90s, Dubya knew that Global Warming would cause irreversible damage to the world. Never mind Manhattan and polar bears, Bush knew from his PhD in Geography that countless millions in the lowlands of Bangladesh were in danger, and that if Gore got elected he would try the useless tactic of convincing industry to change, at which he had been failing since the 60s. Heck, Al even invented the internet to convince people and it still didn’t work. Something had to be done. Enter George.

All along he had a seven step plan to save the world:

1. Get Jeb elected in Florida and stack the Supreme Court. Make sure the people of Florida have no chance to express who they really want as president, and steal the 2000 election.
2. At all costs, slow down the flow of oil. George knew that the only way to stop global warming was to stop the burning of fossil fuels. What better way than to shut down the oilfields in the world’s second largest reserve? He needed a way to destroy the Iraqi infrastructure, but congress would never give him the cash. Unless. With the help of his Dad’s CIA peons, he convinced his country that they were under threat, and that his one-time friend Saddam was really a tyrant with WMDs. George was determined to save us, even if it meant sacrificing thousands of young Americans, breaking international law and risking jail time by ignoring the Geneva Conventions.
3. Set the US economy up for collapse by spending exorbitant amounts of money destroying Iraq to drive the government into serious debt, all the while getting Greenspan to encourage banks to lend money to people who couldn’t afford it, creating over confidence in the growth of the economy and a housing boom, enabling millions of contactors to buy massive new F350 trucks, and driving consumer debt to all time highs.
4. Build up international trade, especially with China, so that the world’s economies are all tied together and he can affect them all. Use the American consumers’ confidence to get them addicted to cheap plastic goods from China. Encourage the Chinese to use lead paint in their toys and pesticide in their pet foods.
5. With Iraq oil production stopped, and American consumers buying lead-laden Chinese Barbie dolls by the container ship load, oil prices would rise, and he could now encourage farmers to grow corn for ethanol, guaranteeing steep rises in food prices, and pretty much everything else.
6. When the Chinese toy buying is at its peak, expose the lead and pesticide use, causing consumer panic and the rejection of Chinese goods.
7. Sit back and watch the collapse.

With oil and food prices so high, and the mortgage market imploding, the stock market will collapse sending the entire world into a recession.

With recession comes unemployment. High gas and food prices mean that people will only be able to afford food and not much else. Consumers will even be scared to buy cheap Chinese products.

The result: the consumption of fossil fuels for everything from F350s to air travel to Chinese Barbie doll factories plummets, cutting greenhouse gasses enough to stop Global Warming and save the people of Bangladesh from losing their homeland.

Freakin’ brilliant.

© Darren Harnett 2008.

Loving Torture

A training manual on torture awareness given to Canadian diplomats has included the US and Israel on a list of countries where prisoners risked being tortured. Under pressure from the US and Israel, Canada has now removed them from the list. WTF? There is enough evidence that the US and Israel sponsor the torture of prisoners ... this is yet another example of Harper waxing GW's behind with his lips. We're a sovereign nation. Don't we ever think for ourselves?

Science, Evolution, and Creationism

The US National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine has just published Science, Evolution, and Creationism -- a book "designed to give the public a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the current scientific understanding of evolution and its importance in the science classroom." In the book, the Academy makes it quite clear that evolution is central to modern biology, yet continues to be challenged in the classroom by proponents of creationism and intelligent design. The Academy states in the book that science and religion can coexist, and present different ways of understanding the world.

This book is an update from previous versions published in 1984 and 1999. The Academy is trying to appeal to religious moderates in the face of rising religious fundamentalism in the US and educate the masses of uneducated in the US (aka: the general public).

In science, explanations must be based on evidence drawn from examining the natural world. Scientifically based observations or experiments that conflict with an explanation eventually must lead to modification or even abandonment of that explanation. Religious faith, in contrast, does not depend only on empirical evidence, is not necessarily modified in the face of conflicting evidence, and typically involves supernatural forces or entities. Because they are not a part of nature, supernatural entities cannot be investigated by science. In this sense, science and religion are separate and address aspects of human understanding in different ways. Attempts to pit science and religion against each other create controversy where none needs to exist.

Whether this education of America will actually work is up for debate. I'm not going to be an optimist on this one. Those that believe have no reason to want the education. They already have their belief that religion is correct, and science is the work of the devil. And on that score, they're already preparing for the battle.

Dreaming of Obama

America is so looking for something different -- for change -- and they voted recently in Iowa for change. Barack Hussein Obama answered the call of a demoralized, distressed and cynical America. America has taken a look at the candidates before them, and saw just more of the same -- embarrassment -- except for Obama. In Obama there lies hope -- America sees hope -- even through his missteps, chalked up to naivety and inexperience. The guy actually appears to be genuine. If there are flaws, America will not see them -- that is the state of the American public. So abused by their democracy, Americans are pinning dreams on Obama. It's an infatuation; a state of hero worship.

So what can go wrong with this love affair? Obama could totally screw it up by making a huge political mistake. Clinton could still whip his ass in the primaries and take the pole in the Democrats race to the White House, although she would have to thread carefully, as an all out attack on Obama could backlash on her. This is politics, and a surprise that no one predicted could still happen. I've read in the press evocations of Bobby Kennedy when hopes for Obama are discussed. I suppose that's the other thing that could go wrong -- Obama could be shot. And that would totally suck for America and the rest of the world.

Updated: January 6, 2008.

The Star's columnist David Olive has an excellent commentary on the Iowa results, and why Americans are chosing Obama over Clinton.

When the history of this campaign is written, it will be noted that Obama's message hewed more closely to Bill Clinton's winning 1992 formulation of unity and hope than Hillary Clinton's did.

Despite her gender, Hillary Clinton blends into the pack of her fifty- and sixty-something white rivals on both sides – all experienced pols who, in varying degree, are held responsible for a country that Americans consistently tell pollsters is headed in the wrong direction.

Obama came back with a variation on Bill Clinton's 1992 assertion that "Americans are sick and tired of being sick and tired." Obama then evoked one of the least-cited but most important lines uttered by Martin Luther King Jr. on the Washington Mall in 1963: "We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now."

Obama is the son of a Kenyan economist and a Kansas mother with slave-owning ancestors. He chose to be a black American rather than a multiracial one. But Obama is conspicuously impatient with adversarial politics, racial and otherwise. He frames poverty, chronic unemployment, and out-of-wedlock pregnancy not as issues of racial victimhood, but as a betrayal of founding American ideals of fairness that has been no less punishing to Appalachian whites than inner-city blacks. Obama also bluntly chastises his audiences for substituting video games for parenting.

GlobalAware

I've been aware of GlobalAware for sometime now and was reminded today that I wanted to give them a spot on the blog. GlobalAware is a Canadian collective pursuing the noble goal of environmental justice and social change. They provide media services to charities, non-profits and ethical businesses, as well as champion campaigns for change. Check them out. They do some great work, and you may have some skills they could use. Together, we can all make a difference.

Victory for Extremism

In the wake of Benazir Bhutto's assassination, a grinning Al-Qaeda has stepped forward to take responsibility. Regardless of whether Al-Qaeda had any hand in the murder or not, the chaos that has resulted can only serve to bolster the reigning poster child of terrorism -- and likewise, give those cloaked in the anti-terrorism flag, firmer ground to stand on. Could Bhutto's death have been prevented? She attracted enemies from all sides, and all had much to gain from her demise. Pervez Musharraf can now do away with the planned elections in two weeks, and crack down with martial law as Pakistan is torched by mobs. Al-Qaeda can claim another victory, further destabilize the region and recruit more supporters. Extremism has won yet again.

Bhutto's Assassination

It's happened again -- in one deadly act of violence, the radicals have won yet another battle. Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was murdered in the run up to the country's farce of an election. The motivation of the murderer can only be inferred at this point -- but I think I can safely say that it wasn't an act of an individual. There were many that wanted Bhutto dead. She was a woman twice elected to lead a muslim state -- and twice deposed on trumped up corruption charges. She was the only real challenger to President Musharraf in the upcoming election, in which Musharraf is attempting to retain control of the country.

I'm sure Bhutto had her faults -- she was after all a politician -- but she represented a refreshing choice in a country that desperately needs a choice. She would not have been the choice of the United States, as her credentials in dealing with terrorism is lacking -- but her committment to democracy is without question. And therein lies the lost to Pakistan. What will come next will surely be more of the same, and a continued slide towards totalitarianism. In the wake of this loss, the world will certainly make the obligatory noise demanding change -- but with no reprecussions attached to those demands, there will be no change.

We should not let this murder be quietly swept under the rug. Our collective democracy, freedom and justice demands more.

Government Oversight

Ever wanted to know just how much of our tax dollars are being squandered by our elected officials? You know, the dweebs we put in government to serve our interests? Check out the Government-Wide Reporting page of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. It's quite an eye-opener -- and may just make a fiscal voyeur out of you. Here's one from my random sifting, that opened my eye a little:

• Ruth Dantzer of Canada School of Public Service -- the government organization responsible for educating the public servants -- spent $17,928.86 on a flight to South Africa to attend and give a keynote speech to the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management Board of Directors Meeting, in April. WTF? A quick scan of Dantzer's expenses will show that she travels a lot in her cushy government appointed gig that she's held since 1995.

Canada Losing its Water to the US

Stephen Leahy has a post on the machinations of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), a business-government forum that is an off-shoot of the NAFTA agreement, that is slowly plundering Canada's natural heritage for the sake of economic integration. As Global Warming, mismanagement and drought continue to dry the US, Canada's water stores in the north will be become very important the American machine. Not that I am not concerned for our American cousins, but they have yet to prove they're nothing more than a spoiled, ravenous beast, when it comes to the management of the environment. Canada isn't much better, but with a population ten times smaller than the US, at least we have an opportunity to correct the squander of the past.

The SPP today operates without public oversight. Negotiations are conducted in the dark, where short-term thinking and self-interest stink the air. The American public would be up in arms at some of the compromises being made on their behalf as well -- but we Canadians have much to worry about. We're dealing with the 50,000lb gorilla from south of the 49th. We don't negotiate on equal footing with the Americans. Our government and the greedy bastards who profess to speak for us are selling us out for their tactical gains.

Write your elected representatives folks!

Khaleej Times 9/11 Cigarettes

The Khaleej Times is one of the top English dailies in the Middle East, with circulation across the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. It also reaches into India and Pakistan. The paper, based in Dubai, recently ran an anti-smoking ad on the anniversary of 9/11. (Click the thumbnail image on the right to see it.)

The ad shows two smoking cigarettes standing upright, side-by-side, and carries the following text:

5.4 million die of smoking related causes every year. That's 2000 times a 9/11.

Jon Stewart: When Dick Cheney smiles, an angel gets water-boarded

"Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld were both on television last night, answering questions," said Jon Stewart on Wednesday's Daily Show, comparing the rarity of the event to "a giant squid having sex with Bigfoot as the ghost of Jim Morrison claps giddily."

The Raw Story has Jon Stewart at his best, as he takes apart a couple of the puppeteers of the Bush Administration. Click the image to read more and watch the video.