A video produced by MacIver Institute highlights the problems of cap and trade tax legislation's goal of decreasing CO2 emissions by 80 percent.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
President Obama Joins Henry Kissinger: Nobel Prize
President Barack H. Obama today joined an elite club with a suprisingly paradoxical paradigm. Yes, that's right, Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize admist the U.S. occupation of Iraq, which has continued for 6+ years unceased, the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan, which has continued for 8 years in utter chaos, and in an international atmosphere that is formally and aggressively provoking a confrontation with embattled Iran.
And the peace prize goes to...
the man leading a country consumed with two wars,
and perhaps in pursuit of another,
and without much public legitimacy,
with no end in sight.
It seems somewhat of a paradox, but then look at some of the former Nobel Peace Prize winners like Henry Kissinger, whose escalation of interventionist U.S. policy in southeast Asia garnered well-deserved hate for his actions across America. Nevertheless, the leaders who falter, know it, but will not change it or speak out against out are lauded as saviors to all of our grave misfortunes.
Over 1 million people have died in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. These include nearly 5,000 U.S. combat deaths, not including the equal proportion of casualties sustained by private military contractors. The total number of Afghans dead in the war in Afghanistan is untracked and unknown, although best estimates put it in the tens of thousands range. That occupation has continued unabated since October 2001. And not only did the recent U.S. occupation pose challenges, but Afghanistan has withstood the increasing pressure of the U.S. and Russian interests since the late 1970s. Meanwhile, international sanctions against Iran seem inevitable, and constant rumours portend an Israeli or American strike.
When asked the reason for these military interventions, these open-ended occupations and military industrial schemes based on the idea of "white man's burden", the exalted leaders categorically reply with little candor or courage to speak and act on the truth. Instead, tepidness and "bi-partisanship" in feeling out political waters simply mars the ability to make informed decisions and conscious choices about the right thing to do.
Instead of focusing on what's best for the American People, we all too often focus on who's up or down in the popularity contest of figures and cliques. If peace and freedom were easy to obtain, it'd be no problem to elect a new figurehead and the next day we'd be free and separated from the shock and horror that's surrounded us for the past decade. But that is not the case and rather freedom is something to be fought for, admired, and contested for on all grounds.
Maybe the Nobel Peace Prize will make President Obama a little more conscientious about his decisions on the battlefield, particularly when his Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told press that coming out of Afghanistan is not an option. But maybe, the good thing out of this contradictory occurrence is that the American people are really the ones being lauded and encouraged, perhaps so much so that this stark contradiction may move them to action to oppose the proclaimed hero's war policies which every day are becoming more obviously in defect and undesirable.
It is unclear where this odd gift of admiration will lead, but one thing's for sure, this strange fruit is nothing new.
And the peace prize goes to...
the man leading a country consumed with two wars,
and perhaps in pursuit of another,
and without much public legitimacy,
with no end in sight.
It seems somewhat of a paradox, but then look at some of the former Nobel Peace Prize winners like Henry Kissinger, whose escalation of interventionist U.S. policy in southeast Asia garnered well-deserved hate for his actions across America. Nevertheless, the leaders who falter, know it, but will not change it or speak out against out are lauded as saviors to all of our grave misfortunes.
Over 1 million people have died in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. These include nearly 5,000 U.S. combat deaths, not including the equal proportion of casualties sustained by private military contractors. The total number of Afghans dead in the war in Afghanistan is untracked and unknown, although best estimates put it in the tens of thousands range. That occupation has continued unabated since October 2001. And not only did the recent U.S. occupation pose challenges, but Afghanistan has withstood the increasing pressure of the U.S. and Russian interests since the late 1970s. Meanwhile, international sanctions against Iran seem inevitable, and constant rumours portend an Israeli or American strike.
When asked the reason for these military interventions, these open-ended occupations and military industrial schemes based on the idea of "white man's burden", the exalted leaders categorically reply with little candor or courage to speak and act on the truth. Instead, tepidness and "bi-partisanship" in feeling out political waters simply mars the ability to make informed decisions and conscious choices about the right thing to do.
Instead of focusing on what's best for the American People, we all too often focus on who's up or down in the popularity contest of figures and cliques. If peace and freedom were easy to obtain, it'd be no problem to elect a new figurehead and the next day we'd be free and separated from the shock and horror that's surrounded us for the past decade. But that is not the case and rather freedom is something to be fought for, admired, and contested for on all grounds.
Maybe the Nobel Peace Prize will make President Obama a little more conscientious about his decisions on the battlefield, particularly when his Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told press that coming out of Afghanistan is not an option. But maybe, the good thing out of this contradictory occurrence is that the American people are really the ones being lauded and encouraged, perhaps so much so that this stark contradiction may move them to action to oppose the proclaimed hero's war policies which every day are becoming more obviously in defect and undesirable.
It is unclear where this odd gift of admiration will lead, but one thing's for sure, this strange fruit is nothing new.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Contempt for America, American Patriots
Yesterday in Rochester, New York, dozens of people gathered for an anti-war march protesting the escalation of war in Afghanistan. While these American patriots attempted to be heard and took brave steps to assert their First Amendment and human rights of free speech, little could be done to stop the contempt-filled police who showed little regard for the rule of law.
After brutally beating and slamming several young protestors' faces into a concrete sidewalk, the police have the audacity to tell one young American he is being arrested "for swearing."
The protests will continue nationwide on Saturday, October 17 as groups across several major cities will be holding anti-war demonstrations.
After brutally beating and slamming several young protestors' faces into a concrete sidewalk, the police have the audacity to tell one young American he is being arrested "for swearing."
The protests will continue nationwide on Saturday, October 17 as groups across several major cities will be holding anti-war demonstrations.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Technology without Reason: DHS Plans to Scan Bodily Functions
In the strangest yet predictable twist in the eight year long Department of Homeland Security saga, CNN reports that the DHS is planning to enact the use of bodily function scanners in selective airports in two short years. This high-tech surveillance initiative which RawStory.com reports has been dubbed FAST (Future Attribute Scanning Technology) seeks to measure such functions as personal heartbeat, eye movement and even muscle twitch data that would be compiled into a fused database used for screening purposes. This sort of lie detector would then place travelers through the appropriate screening process levels according to the perceived threat they could pose. Hence, if an extrapolation of the data reaches conclusions that a person may be in some way nervous or uncomfortable, any accusation of that could be considered probable cause for futher investigation and detention.
While government officials are lauding FAST as a way to combat terrorism and get closer to isolating unruly flyers as potential threats, the program has little scientific value. It is a mere tool to gather information that never will qualify as conclusive reason for needed interrogation or detention. It is simply absurd that through detections of bodily functions one can determine another's sole intent in acting in a certain fashion. This scheme is no other than a data-mining operation launched for the sheer purpose of getting more information on citizens, information which may be used after the fact to stipulate and accuse of them of wrongdoing and misconduct.
These sort of guilty-until-proven-innocent paradigms are dangerous to liberty and a direct violation of innate human rights. The creation of a science of "microexpressions" is a precursor and a promoter of pre-crime conviction and an evil that defies logic itself. The Orwellian Department of Homeland Security's continued march toward fascism is a crime of grand proportions and a farce of security.
While government officials are lauding FAST as a way to combat terrorism and get closer to isolating unruly flyers as potential threats, the program has little scientific value. It is a mere tool to gather information that never will qualify as conclusive reason for needed interrogation or detention. It is simply absurd that through detections of bodily functions one can determine another's sole intent in acting in a certain fashion. This scheme is no other than a data-mining operation launched for the sheer purpose of getting more information on citizens, information which may be used after the fact to stipulate and accuse of them of wrongdoing and misconduct.
These sort of guilty-until-proven-innocent paradigms are dangerous to liberty and a direct violation of innate human rights. The creation of a science of "microexpressions" is a precursor and a promoter of pre-crime conviction and an evil that defies logic itself. The Orwellian Department of Homeland Security's continued march toward fascism is a crime of grand proportions and a farce of security.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Protestors, Sheehan Arrested Outside White House
Yesterday, dozens of protestors were arrested outside of the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. during a street action orchestrated to hand-deliver a letter to President Obama endorsing ending the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Among those arrested was famed "Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan whose son Casey died in Iraq in 2004.
Protestors chanted peace slogans and shouted past the gates toward the White House lawn in order to try to get the White House's attention. Sheehan, who gained notoriety in 2005 in her peace efforts at "Camp Casey" outside of former President Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch, chained herself to the White House gates standing defiantly and recited from the Internatonal People's Declaration of Peace. She wore a black shirt that read, "Greed Kills."
Many of the protestors dressed as U.S. military Afghan terror captives in uniform orange jumpsuits and dark black hoods covering their heads. Reminiscent of pictures from Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and other hotspots of American detainee torture and abuse, several protestors opted to keep wearing their dark wool hoods as Capitol Police cuffed and led them away.
Before protestors were led away, Capitol Police appeared on horseback with a ground police unit as well which quickly surrounded the impromptu protestors peacefully gathering on Pennsylvania Avenue. Thronged by black shirted squadrons, arrest was an evidently imminent priority for District of Columbia Police although no violations or incitements were being made.
While the mainstream media has declared the anti-war movement dead and mocked it for its dereliction of duty, this high-profile protest is a dim light in a dark abyss. As neither of these accusations hold true, it is only all the more evident that the high-handed intimidation tactics used by local and federal officials to stymie and stifle free speech is the real mockery and danger the media should highlight. The erosion of civil rights has reached a point in America where any political speech is now considered suspect and reasonable cause for arrest and harrasment. Until public outlook on this basic and genuine human freedom changes in favor of those who wish to voice when given no voice, a dark road of suppression and denial awaits us.
Protestors chanted peace slogans and shouted past the gates toward the White House lawn in order to try to get the White House's attention. Sheehan, who gained notoriety in 2005 in her peace efforts at "Camp Casey" outside of former President Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch, chained herself to the White House gates standing defiantly and recited from the Internatonal People's Declaration of Peace. She wore a black shirt that read, "Greed Kills."
Many of the protestors dressed as U.S. military Afghan terror captives in uniform orange jumpsuits and dark black hoods covering their heads. Reminiscent of pictures from Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and other hotspots of American detainee torture and abuse, several protestors opted to keep wearing their dark wool hoods as Capitol Police cuffed and led them away.
Before protestors were led away, Capitol Police appeared on horseback with a ground police unit as well which quickly surrounded the impromptu protestors peacefully gathering on Pennsylvania Avenue. Thronged by black shirted squadrons, arrest was an evidently imminent priority for District of Columbia Police although no violations or incitements were being made.
While the mainstream media has declared the anti-war movement dead and mocked it for its dereliction of duty, this high-profile protest is a dim light in a dark abyss. As neither of these accusations hold true, it is only all the more evident that the high-handed intimidation tactics used by local and federal officials to stymie and stifle free speech is the real mockery and danger the media should highlight. The erosion of civil rights has reached a point in America where any political speech is now considered suspect and reasonable cause for arrest and harrasment. Until public outlook on this basic and genuine human freedom changes in favor of those who wish to voice when given no voice, a dark road of suppression and denial awaits us.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
End Game: Iran
American leaders took harsh tones today with Iran labelling thier routine mid-range missile test launches as "provocative" and of puposeful ill-timing to intimidate America and her "allies" in the region. However, this scenario laid out by such notables as White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to a US Senator who commented in childish naiivity that "Iran stole a play from North Korea's playbook," could not be farther from the truth.
Iran is currently a beseiged nation. Both of the neighboring countries to the east and to the west, Afghanistan and Iraq are occupied countries with what many of thier inhabitants and a majority in the Middle East believe is merely a puppet American government.
Meanwhile, a practical embargo against Iran is fast gaining support and is overshadowing any of Iran's genuine attempts to constructively reach out to western nations. If an international embargo of grand porportions as advertised is adopted, the economic sanctions will clearly hurt the Iranian people's standard of living and only work to solidify a tyrant's authoritarian grip.
To make matters worse, buzz of a secret Israeli and/or American strike and in particular the suggestion of a nuclear strike against Iran last year by such high American officials as Hillary Clinton foreshadow a dark future.
With war and chaos surrounding Iran, it is no surprise that just maybe they want to prepare to defend themselves against imperial aggression already engulfing their part of the world.
Claims that Iran is working to develop weapons of mass destruction is unfounded and research hardly holds conclusive evidence. Much like the Iraq War pitch in 2002 and 2003, the possiblity of finding nuclear weapons in Iran is extremely skim but like with Iraq, the military industrial-media complex will not die. In its ongoing campaign, all American virtues are discarded and trampled upon and the grave casualties of its misadventure are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These innate rights are forever put on hold.
It is up to America, not Iran to decide the fate of the fabled Persian land. For with every spurn and spear of scorn forcefully thrown across the imperial American vessel's bow, peace becomes a less attainable goal and the very American cultural quilt of individual freedom and justice is desecrated and torn asunder, resigned to the dust bin of history.
Iran is no bitter enemy forever to be loathed for the 1979-1980 hostage crisis. Bot nations' smeared blemishes on each others' collective history. The CIA assassinated and replaced the democratically-elected reform minded President Mossadeq in 1953, putting the dictatorial and notoriously corrupt Shah back in power. He would rule with an iron fist until 1979 when Iranians were so enraged by his hypocrisy that some welcomed the Islamic Revolution.
There are no ulterior motvies to negotiate, nor are there any patterns nor protocols nor time tables on which to set principles and make major decisions in foreign affairs. It is rather a simple type of knowledge; to listen and converse with an open mind and an open heart. Solving international problems does not entail counting score. World leaders should instead focus on the goal of carving a more peaceful and hospitable future for the world's next children.
Simply put, Iran places no threat to the United States nor Israel nor any of its allies. Being so, America would be better off and more secure by championing trade between the two nations rather than expansive economic sanctions and waving the bloodied black flag of war.
Iran is currently a beseiged nation. Both of the neighboring countries to the east and to the west, Afghanistan and Iraq are occupied countries with what many of thier inhabitants and a majority in the Middle East believe is merely a puppet American government.
Meanwhile, a practical embargo against Iran is fast gaining support and is overshadowing any of Iran's genuine attempts to constructively reach out to western nations. If an international embargo of grand porportions as advertised is adopted, the economic sanctions will clearly hurt the Iranian people's standard of living and only work to solidify a tyrant's authoritarian grip.
To make matters worse, buzz of a secret Israeli and/or American strike and in particular the suggestion of a nuclear strike against Iran last year by such high American officials as Hillary Clinton foreshadow a dark future.
With war and chaos surrounding Iran, it is no surprise that just maybe they want to prepare to defend themselves against imperial aggression already engulfing their part of the world.
Claims that Iran is working to develop weapons of mass destruction is unfounded and research hardly holds conclusive evidence. Much like the Iraq War pitch in 2002 and 2003, the possiblity of finding nuclear weapons in Iran is extremely skim but like with Iraq, the military industrial-media complex will not die. In its ongoing campaign, all American virtues are discarded and trampled upon and the grave casualties of its misadventure are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These innate rights are forever put on hold.
It is up to America, not Iran to decide the fate of the fabled Persian land. For with every spurn and spear of scorn forcefully thrown across the imperial American vessel's bow, peace becomes a less attainable goal and the very American cultural quilt of individual freedom and justice is desecrated and torn asunder, resigned to the dust bin of history.
Iran is no bitter enemy forever to be loathed for the 1979-1980 hostage crisis. Bot nations' smeared blemishes on each others' collective history. The CIA assassinated and replaced the democratically-elected reform minded President Mossadeq in 1953, putting the dictatorial and notoriously corrupt Shah back in power. He would rule with an iron fist until 1979 when Iranians were so enraged by his hypocrisy that some welcomed the Islamic Revolution.
There are no ulterior motvies to negotiate, nor are there any patterns nor protocols nor time tables on which to set principles and make major decisions in foreign affairs. It is rather a simple type of knowledge; to listen and converse with an open mind and an open heart. Solving international problems does not entail counting score. World leaders should instead focus on the goal of carving a more peaceful and hospitable future for the world's next children.
Simply put, Iran places no threat to the United States nor Israel nor any of its allies. Being so, America would be better off and more secure by championing trade between the two nations rather than expansive economic sanctions and waving the bloodied black flag of war.
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