Rumour? Intuition? The Eiffel Tower under a planned terror attack at the end of this month?
Hopefully not so. More to come.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Friday, October 26, 2007
FEMA employees play reporters at news conference
FEMA employees play reporters at news conference
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - One way to get decent coverage in this rough-and-tumble U.S. capital is to arrange to have your own employees interrogate you at your news conference.
That would seem to be the strategy of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, much maligned for its sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina over two years ago...
NB: PEOPLE ARE STILL HOMELESS/DESTITUTE IN NEW ORLEANS!!!
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - One way to get decent coverage in this rough-and-tumble U.S. capital is to arrange to have your own employees interrogate you at your news conference.
That would seem to be the strategy of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, much maligned for its sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina over two years ago...
NB: PEOPLE ARE STILL HOMELESS/DESTITUTE IN NEW ORLEANS!!!
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Evangelicals, Scientists Join on Warming
WASHINGTON -- Saying they share a moral purpose, a group of evangelicals and scientists said Wednesday they will work together to convince the nation's leaders that global warming is real.
"God will judge us for destroying the Creation. Therefore, we as evangelicals have a responsibility to be even more vigilant than others," Cizik told a news conference.
"Science can be an ally in helping us understand what faith is telling us," he said. "We will not allow the Creation to be degraded, destroyed by human folly."
"God will judge us for destroying the Creation. Therefore, we as evangelicals have a responsibility to be even more vigilant than others," Cizik told a news conference.
"Science can be an ally in helping us understand what faith is telling us," he said. "We will not allow the Creation to be degraded, destroyed by human folly."
IRAQ: UN death figures paint a grim picture
UNAMI's latest figures
34,452 Iraqi civilians killed in 2006 36,685 wounded in 2006 6,376 killed in Novermber and December 4,731 killed in November and December in Baghdad
The report, which covered the period of 1 November to 31 December 2006, stated that 6,376 civilians were killed violently in November and December - 4,731 of them in Baghdad - and that most died as a result of gunshot wounds. This breaks down to be just over 100 deaths a day in 2006.
34,452 Iraqi civilians killed in 2006 36,685 wounded in 2006 6,376 killed in Novermber and December 4,731 killed in November and December in Baghdad
The report, which covered the period of 1 November to 31 December 2006, stated that 6,376 civilians were killed violently in November and December - 4,731 of them in Baghdad - and that most died as a result of gunshot wounds. This breaks down to be just over 100 deaths a day in 2006.
Senators oppose Iraq troop boost
The group - two Democrats and a Republican - said the plan was not in America's interests, urging an early transfer of security to Iraqi leaders.
The move came as Democrats - who control Congress - began their own initiatives to block the deployment.
But the White House said Mr Bush would continue to proceed with his plan.
Under the new strategy announced last week, Mr Bush wants to send more than 20,000 additional troops to Iraq, the majority of them to violence-hit Baghdad, in a bid improve security and end sectarian clashes.
The move came as Democrats - who control Congress - began their own initiatives to block the deployment.
But the White House said Mr Bush would continue to proceed with his plan.
Under the new strategy announced last week, Mr Bush wants to send more than 20,000 additional troops to Iraq, the majority of them to violence-hit Baghdad, in a bid improve security and end sectarian clashes.
Navy cancels patrols to save money
HALIFAX – The Canadian navy has postponed a fisheries patrol and is cancelling such things as overtime and travel as it scrambles to save money sapped by the army's costly mission in Afghanistan.
"Doomsday Clock" Moves Two Minutes Closer To Midnight
5 Minutes to Midnight
BAS announced the Clock change today at an unprecedented joint news conference held at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, DC, and the Royal Society in London. In a statement supporting the decision to move the hand of the Doomsday Clock, the BAS Board focused on two major sources of catastrophe: the perils of 27,000 nuclear weapons, 2000 of them ready to launch within minutes; and the destruction of human habitats from climate change. In articles by 14 leading scientists and security experts writing in the January-February issue of theBulletin of the Atomic Scientists (http://www.thebulletin.org), the potential for catastrophic damage from human-made technologies is explored further.
Expect a discrediting smear campaign from Fox News soon.
BAS announced the Clock change today at an unprecedented joint news conference held at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, DC, and the Royal Society in London. In a statement supporting the decision to move the hand of the Doomsday Clock, the BAS Board focused on two major sources of catastrophe: the perils of 27,000 nuclear weapons, 2000 of them ready to launch within minutes; and the destruction of human habitats from climate change. In articles by 14 leading scientists and security experts writing in the January-February issue of theBulletin of the Atomic Scientists (http://www.thebulletin.org), the potential for catastrophic damage from human-made technologies is explored further.
Expect a discrediting smear campaign from Fox News soon.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Top US General in Mid East says we're Headed for WW3
Army General John Abizaid compared the rise of militant ideologies, such as the force driving Al Qaida, to the rise of fascism in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s.
"If we don't have guts enough to confront this ideology today, we'll go through World War Three tomorrow," Abizaid said in a speech titled The Long War, at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Listen to The Osama Show by Paulo Ribeiro here!
http://www.shockpod.com/users/P/theosamashowcomplete.mp3
The Osama Show is the Funniest Podcast Ever
Gotta Subscribe to it!
http://www.shockpod.com/users/P/feed.xml
http://www.shockpod.com/users/P/feed.xml
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Israeli killings pass unnoticed
There has been a dramatic rise in the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli military since Hamas took control of the Palestinian Authority seven months ago, despite the low number of Israelis killed by Palestinians during that time.
Palestinians, already subject to occupation by the Israeli military, have been killed at a rate of 26 Palestinians for every Israeli killed since Hamas took power on March 29, 2006.
Since July that ratio has risen to 76 Palestinians for every Israeli.
Though the mainstream media still reports on a "conflict" between "two sides", over the past seven months it has simply been a slaughter.
The Arab League has criticised the United States for blocking a UN Security Council resolution that sought to condemn Israeli actions in the Gaza Stri
The US used its veto to halt the draft resolution, sponsored by the Gulf state of Qatar, that criticised the Israeli tank shelling of a home in Beit Hanoun on Wednesday in which seven children and four women were killed as they slept.
Amr Musa, the Arab League secretary general, said he was "surprised and disappointed" by the US move and said: "This veto will only increase anger."
Friday, November 10, 2006
Why the Neocon Movement Is Dead
In one of the largest, "throw the bums out" elections, ever, Republicans have lost control of the House & Senate. Harper's Conservatives need to reinvent themselves or they too, will get a thumpin. If they don't change the playbook their message will fall on deaf ears.
For the last 30 years the staple of conservative attacks has been "they will tax & spend". In the last 15 years or so they added "they are morally corrupt". A heap of scandals and shocking revelations later, it becomes clear that no political party can claim to be morally superior and the Liberals have a better track record over the last 20 years of running the economy.
People won't believe the same lines anymore. Not unless there's substance to it.
If neocons want to survive they have to make a few changes that can best be summed up as: become libertarians. At least it's a consistent fluid belief system. Not what they have now: an unholy alliance of economic conservatives, libertarians, & the religious right. First thing: drop the religious right. Religion and politics don't mix. People increasingly regard their religious belief system as deeply personal and not public. Too many issues religion interjects into politics are wedge issues. I don't buy that you are more moral than me because you go to Church. And with all the sex scandals that have taken the high and mighty down from their towers, the public's not willing to trust someone who makes a point of showing how holy they are.
If Stephen Harper doesn't accept gay marriage he will not win. The public doesn't want to go over the issue because frankly, there are more important issues out there, so accept that gays can marry and move on. And don't try to make it into some kind of "civil union" - gays want the same rights and the majority of the public agrees.
But the achilles heel for conservatives has to be the environment. Conservatives are in danger of being seen as backwards buffoons for denying the overwhelming science surrounding climate change. Harper: the science is in. We must reduce human carbon emissions, develop an energy strategy, decrease our consumption of fossil fuels now. The weather is fucked up and anyone can tell you that. More people have asthma & weird breathing disorders than ever. Commercial fisheries will collapse in 50 years or less and your government people know it. You need to have a real policy. Like what you did with the GST. You lowered the tax. Now all you gotta do is lower the pollution.
What you need to do is make a Madonna esque transformation. Drop the ideologue. Don the pragmatist. All the great leaders in history knew about that. The only bad thing they can call you for that is a waffler but these days that gets a lot more cred, than staying the course, which sounds a lot like how Einstein defined insanity.
Maybe the Conservatives can develop a policy that harnesses the power of the profit motive, like the suggestion in the US to take impoverished areas and designate them "enterprise zones", tax havens to seek investment for development & employment. (If only someone ever enacted this idea we might know if it can succeed but alas, just another platitude). Environmentalists will support a clear plan to hit specific goals (short term & long term, like in... Kyoto, for example).
Support Kyoto and get the US to do the same. The economy won't collapse. In fact, it will be saved from an impending global depression if we don't get off fossil fuels that are running out, killing our air & water, & fuelling wars & regimes all over the place.
If the conservatives can find a way to address these key issues, they might have a future. There's a guy in Canadian politics who has at times demonstrated the right balance of pragmatism and principle, and whether you like him or not, he's someone the conservatives can learn the most from. His name: Jack Layton.
Too bad he can't get elected.
More on this later.
For the last 30 years the staple of conservative attacks has been "they will tax & spend". In the last 15 years or so they added "they are morally corrupt". A heap of scandals and shocking revelations later, it becomes clear that no political party can claim to be morally superior and the Liberals have a better track record over the last 20 years of running the economy.
People won't believe the same lines anymore. Not unless there's substance to it.
If neocons want to survive they have to make a few changes that can best be summed up as: become libertarians. At least it's a consistent fluid belief system. Not what they have now: an unholy alliance of economic conservatives, libertarians, & the religious right. First thing: drop the religious right. Religion and politics don't mix. People increasingly regard their religious belief system as deeply personal and not public. Too many issues religion interjects into politics are wedge issues. I don't buy that you are more moral than me because you go to Church. And with all the sex scandals that have taken the high and mighty down from their towers, the public's not willing to trust someone who makes a point of showing how holy they are.
If Stephen Harper doesn't accept gay marriage he will not win. The public doesn't want to go over the issue because frankly, there are more important issues out there, so accept that gays can marry and move on. And don't try to make it into some kind of "civil union" - gays want the same rights and the majority of the public agrees.
But the achilles heel for conservatives has to be the environment. Conservatives are in danger of being seen as backwards buffoons for denying the overwhelming science surrounding climate change. Harper: the science is in. We must reduce human carbon emissions, develop an energy strategy, decrease our consumption of fossil fuels now. The weather is fucked up and anyone can tell you that. More people have asthma & weird breathing disorders than ever. Commercial fisheries will collapse in 50 years or less and your government people know it. You need to have a real policy. Like what you did with the GST. You lowered the tax. Now all you gotta do is lower the pollution.
What you need to do is make a Madonna esque transformation. Drop the ideologue. Don the pragmatist. All the great leaders in history knew about that. The only bad thing they can call you for that is a waffler but these days that gets a lot more cred, than staying the course, which sounds a lot like how Einstein defined insanity.
Maybe the Conservatives can develop a policy that harnesses the power of the profit motive, like the suggestion in the US to take impoverished areas and designate them "enterprise zones", tax havens to seek investment for development & employment. (If only someone ever enacted this idea we might know if it can succeed but alas, just another platitude). Environmentalists will support a clear plan to hit specific goals (short term & long term, like in... Kyoto, for example).
Support Kyoto and get the US to do the same. The economy won't collapse. In fact, it will be saved from an impending global depression if we don't get off fossil fuels that are running out, killing our air & water, & fuelling wars & regimes all over the place.
If the conservatives can find a way to address these key issues, they might have a future. There's a guy in Canadian politics who has at times demonstrated the right balance of pragmatism and principle, and whether you like him or not, he's someone the conservatives can learn the most from. His name: Jack Layton.
Too bad he can't get elected.
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