Well, what do you know! Reagan, like Thatcher thought selling off public housing was a good idea (shrinking that 'huge' state, going back to the days of those slums). Seems it failed and even Jack Kemp couldn't get it to work.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kemp
Jack Kemp seems to have been a bit of guy - listen to this early show on Democracy Now!
Saturday, 30 October 2010
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Lord Turnbull v George Osborne 'Brink'?
Watch the video here
UMUNNA: Do you think it’s accurate to describe the UK as being on the brink of bankruptcy?
TURNBULL: No I don’t. But I think it was essential, for a slightly different reason, to have a deficit reduction programme.
UMUNNA: Do you think it’s accurate to describe the UK as being on the brink of bankruptcy?
TURNBULL: No I don’t. But I think it was essential, for a slightly different reason, to have a deficit reduction programme.
Ideology for the Rich
While the public suffer the cuts, and Nick Clegg feels 'challenged' over the cuts, I wonder if he'll blush at this story from the Guardian over those Swiss Bank Accounts?
And they weren't too impressed by Prof Philo's idea of taxing the rich to pay the debt?
Yip ideology, representation of the businesses by the businesses.
And they weren't too impressed by Prof Philo's idea of taxing the rich to pay the debt?
Yip ideology, representation of the businesses by the businesses.
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Not my kind of music but.....
This isn't my kind of music at all, but I can't help liking it.
And I still think Julian Assange and everyone involved in wikileaks should be awarded the next Nobel Peace Prize.
And I still think Julian Assange and everyone involved in wikileaks should be awarded the next Nobel Peace Prize.
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
Mr Murdoch
We had Blair making friends with the global media magnate. Will the ConDems go further? Before you decide to let the BBC shrink down into the depths of a black hole to nowhere, maybe you might want to take a look at this broadcast from Democracy Now! show from 2007
Countdown and wikileaks warlogs
The whole thing is simply horrible. Always has been. Always will be.
A lot of people need to be in jail.
MSNBC isn't a channel I particularly like, but this is a good interview with the investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill who does know what he's talking about.
A lot of people need to be in jail.
MSNBC isn't a channel I particularly like, but this is a good interview with the investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill who does know what he's talking about.
Some Brass Neck!
Wikileaks have done it again. Thankfully.
Some people, who knows how many, have the guts to provide the documents, and another group have the guts to make it all available.
The mess in Iraq is no surprise. Anyone aware of the histories of the UK and the US, the real histories, won't be surprised at all at the stories, the destroyed lives revealed by the data. Robert Fisk at the Independent, among many have outlined some of the horrors, the utter failure of our warmongering leaders to follow international laws, to abide by the Geneva Conventions. Just one example:
How can a lawyer even think such a thing? Is that a fact of law? Is it because a helicopter is metal rather than human? So that would imply that people could not surrender, waving their white flags, as a tank approached, does it?
Perhaps there is some complexity of law that distinguishes between a lump of metal on the ground and a lump of metal in the air. Perhaps the lawyer didn't think that perhaps the men were surrendering to the occupants of the lump of metal, rather than the lump of inert metal. Was it truly beyond their legal wits, beyond their understanding?
Military lawyers have a record of not grasping the legal importance of life, of not understanding life is of primary importance.
It may well have been money. Well, bullets are cheaper than having to land an aircraft, organise transport, food, shelter etc for those men hoping to safely surrender. How much is an Iraqi life worth? Is it worth the same as ours? You would think so, though the US and the UK have a track record of making such calculations. Lawyers have had a problem with that too.
I'm no lawyer so I can't argue one way or the other. But I am a human. And I know the difference between right and wrong - in this world. Medieval right from wrong thinking has no place in the minds of modern thinking. It isn't difficult. If I smash your window I could be guilty of criminal damage. But what if I smash that window in order to rescue you from your burning home? If I smash your window and then surrender to a police officer sitting in his car, is that OK? Or impossible? Do I really have to wait until he is out of his car? Can't I really hold my hands up in the air as the police helicopter hovers above and have that count as surrendering to the police for smashing a window?
It sounds silly and we'd all assume that every lawyer would be laughed at if he tried to argue that in court.
But it isn't silly. These people, these lawyers cause untold misery and despair.
Take a look at this passage:
Money matters when it comes to choosing life or death, for military powers, at least. How much did it matter in Iraq? Billions were being splashed around and still are, so perhaps money wasn't so important as to be considered in this instance. $2 500 for an innocent mother killed with her husband in a car, a car taking their children home, $2 500 for a car. Simply Shocking.
How much for an American life? How much for a British life?
It's all part of saving people from tyranny. Is it? So easy to shoot those surrendering now, yet so difficult to take out a media broadcast, a broadcast of hate and death.
Different centuries, different countries, different populations and different resources. Sadly, legal ability, understanding seem to have improved at all.
Huge military powers have no respect for human life. They just hide that idea as best they can, threatening journalists and whistleblowers who reveal the nasty, little secret. We aren't supposed to know. Hiding the details of these brutal deaths tells us the authorities know it is wrong. Well, if they'd been saving lives we would hear all about it. Over and over and over again, the politicians would be proudly, smiling, handing out medals and cheering.
You don't hide things you are proud of.
Some people, who knows how many, have the guts to provide the documents, and another group have the guts to make it all available.
The mess in Iraq is no surprise. Anyone aware of the histories of the UK and the US, the real histories, won't be surprised at all at the stories, the destroyed lives revealed by the data. Robert Fisk at the Independent, among many have outlined some of the horrors, the utter failure of our warmongering leaders to follow international laws, to abide by the Geneva Conventions. Just one example:
The shooting of men trying to surrender - In February 2007, an Apache helicopter killed two Iraqis, suspected of firing mortars, as they tried to surrender. A military lawyer is quoted as saying: "They cannot surrender to aircraft and are still valid targets."Frightening. Terrifying.
How can a lawyer even think such a thing? Is that a fact of law? Is it because a helicopter is metal rather than human? So that would imply that people could not surrender, waving their white flags, as a tank approached, does it?
Perhaps there is some complexity of law that distinguishes between a lump of metal on the ground and a lump of metal in the air. Perhaps the lawyer didn't think that perhaps the men were surrendering to the occupants of the lump of metal, rather than the lump of inert metal. Was it truly beyond their legal wits, beyond their understanding?
Military lawyers have a record of not grasping the legal importance of life, of not understanding life is of primary importance.
It may well have been money. Well, bullets are cheaper than having to land an aircraft, organise transport, food, shelter etc for those men hoping to safely surrender. How much is an Iraqi life worth? Is it worth the same as ours? You would think so, though the US and the UK have a track record of making such calculations. Lawyers have had a problem with that too.
I'm no lawyer so I can't argue one way or the other. But I am a human. And I know the difference between right and wrong - in this world. Medieval right from wrong thinking has no place in the minds of modern thinking. It isn't difficult. If I smash your window I could be guilty of criminal damage. But what if I smash that window in order to rescue you from your burning home? If I smash your window and then surrender to a police officer sitting in his car, is that OK? Or impossible? Do I really have to wait until he is out of his car? Can't I really hold my hands up in the air as the police helicopter hovers above and have that count as surrendering to the police for smashing a window?
It sounds silly and we'd all assume that every lawyer would be laughed at if he tried to argue that in court.
But it isn't silly. These people, these lawyers cause untold misery and despair.
Take a look at this passage:
The United States and the United Kingdom committed other acts of sabotage on deployment to Rwanda. For instance, I had long been arguing with New York that RTLM had to be shut down, as it was a direct instrument in promoting genocide. The UN did not have the means to stop the broadcasts, either through jamming, a direct air strike on the transmitter, or covert operations, but it made a formal request of the United States, which had the means to try all three. The issue was studied by the Pentagon, which in due course recommended against conducting the operation because of the cost - $8,500 an hour for a jamming aircraft over the country - and the legal dilemma. Bandwidth within a nation is owned by the nation, and jamming a national radio station would violate international convention on national sovereignty. The Pentagon judged that the lives of the estimated 8,000-10,000 Rwandans being killed each day in the genocide was not worth the cost of the fuel or the violation of Rwandan airwaves, The death toll, which was estimated at 200,000 by the end of April, reached 500,000 by the end of May and 800,000 by the last day of June. (Dallaire, Lt Gen Roméo., Shake Hands With The Devil. The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda., 2004, page 375.)So you can't block hate broadcasts because of international law, but you can ignore international law, invade a country that hasn't attacked you (or threatened to) and shoot anyone who wants to surrender if they surrender to military in a metal flying box! It would be funny if this was a lecture theatre, the uuniversity law faculty. But it isn't. This is serious, a matter of life and death. There is nothing more serious than life.
Money matters when it comes to choosing life or death, for military powers, at least. How much did it matter in Iraq? Billions were being splashed around and still are, so perhaps money wasn't so important as to be considered in this instance. $2 500 for an innocent mother killed with her husband in a car, a car taking their children home, $2 500 for a car. Simply Shocking.
How much for an American life? How much for a British life?
It's all part of saving people from tyranny. Is it? So easy to shoot those surrendering now, yet so difficult to take out a media broadcast, a broadcast of hate and death.
Different centuries, different countries, different populations and different resources. Sadly, legal ability, understanding seem to have improved at all.
Huge military powers have no respect for human life. They just hide that idea as best they can, threatening journalists and whistleblowers who reveal the nasty, little secret. We aren't supposed to know. Hiding the details of these brutal deaths tells us the authorities know it is wrong. Well, if they'd been saving lives we would hear all about it. Over and over and over again, the politicians would be proudly, smiling, handing out medals and cheering.
You don't hide things you are proud of.
Sunday, 24 October 2010
Bill Moyers on Democracy Now!
Anyone who cares about the world and how we manage ourselves would do well to think about what Bill Moyers says here on Democracy Now about war, politics and advertising.
Prediction
I predict the cuts to both the military and the police will lead to a new growth industry in the UK.
Private security and spying companies. All bothering peace lovers, council house tenants who don't like Boy George etc.
Hardly original, but then when was the last time a mainstream British politician showed much sign of originality? We only ever copy the Americans. It's our love of international, clever people and the belief by political classes that Brits (except themselves of course) are thick!
I'm not being original here, just keeping an eye on world media.
Private security and spying companies. All bothering peace lovers, council house tenants who don't like Boy George etc.
Hardly original, but then when was the last time a mainstream British politician showed much sign of originality? We only ever copy the Americans. It's our love of international, clever people and the belief by political classes that Brits (except themselves of course) are thick!
I'm not being original here, just keeping an eye on world media.
Even worse, the 'privatise everything' mantra that is so popular in Washington has expanded into the military and intelligence-gathering - producing a booming new industry, as documented by investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill, among others.http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2010/10/20101012111034580809.html
Nick!
We can all assume it's been a busy weekend over in the US as the latest wikileaks revelations are on view. The leaks document grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions.
Wiki details the Conventions in easily readable non-legalese form:
Nick Clegg, reported on France 24 says:
Mr Clegg, the rule of law applies to everyone It is for the whole world to tell them exactly how to do that. In a court, an International Court.
All nations must insist on it. Indeed, the US had a partner in this atrocity, the UK, and we too must comply. If that means UK officials and UK military are put on trial, then so be it.
The law applies to everyone, to every nation, irrespective of riches in money or firepower.
Wiki details the Conventions in easily readable non-legalese form:
Grave breaches
Not all violations of the treaty are treated equally. The most serious crimes are termed grave breaches, and provide a legal definition of a war crime. Grave breaches of the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions include the following acts if committed against a person protected by the convention:
- willful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments
- willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health
- compelling one to serve in the forces of a hostile power
- willfully depriving one of the right to a fair trial
Also considered grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention are the following:
- taking of hostages
- extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly
- unlawful deportation, transfer, or confinement.[11]
Nations who are party to these treaties must enact and enforce legislation penalizing any of these crimes.[12] Nations are also obligated to search for persons alleged to commit these crimes, or ordered them to be committed, and to bring them to trial regardless of their nationality and regardless of the place where the crimes took place.
The principle of universal jurisdiction also applies to the enforcement of grave breaches. Toward this end, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia were established by the United Nations to prosecute alleged violations.
Nick Clegg, reported on France 24 says:
"I'm assuming the US administration will want to provide its own answer. It's not for us to tell them how to do that.
http://www.france24.com/en/20101024-us-under-pressure-over-wikileaks-allegations
Mr Clegg, the rule of law applies to everyone It is for the whole world to tell them exactly how to do that. In a court, an International Court.
All nations must insist on it. Indeed, the US had a partner in this atrocity, the UK, and we too must comply. If that means UK officials and UK military are put on trial, then so be it.
The law applies to everyone, to every nation, irrespective of riches in money or firepower.
Saturday, 23 October 2010
Tree Huggers Needed!
All those who say we don't have the Tea Party running Britain could maybe have a bit of a problem...
Tree Huggers Beware! It takes heroes to save the planet and our trees, keepers of the natural processes for capturing carbon. It isn't safe to sit in trees, so those who do are brave people.
http://www.democracynow.org/2000/5/24/10th_anniversary_of_the_bombing_of
Legislation governing the treatment of "ancient forests" is to be changed giving firms the right to cut down trees. http://bit.ly/chkdN8
Tree Huggers Beware! It takes heroes to save the planet and our trees, keepers of the natural processes for capturing carbon. It isn't safe to sit in trees, so those who do are brave people.
http://www.democracynow.org/2000/5/24/10th_anniversary_of_the_bombing_of
Legislation governing the treatment of "ancient forests" is to be changed giving firms the right to cut down trees. http://bit.ly/chkdN8
Wikileaks and the warlogs
People will now question why the Americans have been so cruel in Iraq. I worry that people will assume it is because Americans simply do not respect the rights of Arabs.
Take a look at US behaviour in Latin America over the decades.
Take a look at the number of unemployed people in the US. Why?
Take a look at the number of people living on the streets in America. How are they treated? How did they get there?
Take a look at the number of US citizens being imprisoned in America. America apparently has the largest prison population in the world. Why?
Take a look at healthcare provision in the US. How many poor people (ie not working for the global corporations as executives, either in their head offices or in the government) have good healthcare?
Take a look at US military behaviour in Haiti in response to the election of people like Aristide, or the human tragedy of earthquakes.
What involvement did the US have in Did the US officials work to save the global environment in Copenhagen?
Did the US officials work hard to ensure water is a human right or just access to water (meaning you have to have money)?
What did the US do to help prevent the unfolding of the horrific genocide in Rwanda?
This isn't about Arabs or muslims.
This is about greed. This is about unchecked power.
This is about having no respect for human rights, across the board.
This is about big business and profits. This is about big a democratic deficit, where governments act on behalf of and in the interests of business, not on behalf of and in the interests of citizens.
The US does not stand alone.
When will we have leaks of UK British documents relating to Iraq?
And when will we, each citizen on earth, have access to the documents, the evidence that will tell us all just how nasty our governments really are.
Take a look at US behaviour in Latin America over the decades.
Take a look at the number of unemployed people in the US. Why?
Take a look at the number of people living on the streets in America. How are they treated? How did they get there?
Take a look at the number of US citizens being imprisoned in America. America apparently has the largest prison population in the world. Why?
Take a look at healthcare provision in the US. How many poor people (ie not working for the global corporations as executives, either in their head offices or in the government) have good healthcare?
Take a look at US military behaviour in Haiti in response to the election of people like Aristide, or the human tragedy of earthquakes.
What involvement did the US have in Did the US officials work to save the global environment in Copenhagen?
Did the US officials work hard to ensure water is a human right or just access to water (meaning you have to have money)?
What did the US do to help prevent the unfolding of the horrific genocide in Rwanda?
This isn't about Arabs or muslims.
This is about greed. This is about unchecked power.
This is about having no respect for human rights, across the board.
This is about big business and profits. This is about big a democratic deficit, where governments act on behalf of and in the interests of business, not on behalf of and in the interests of citizens.
The US does not stand alone.
When will we have leaks of UK British documents relating to Iraq?
And when will we, each citizen on earth, have access to the documents, the evidence that will tell us all just how nasty our governments really are.
Spinning BBC Bias
The Transport Minister, Philip Hammond, was reportedly “shocked” at the level of hostility towards the government’s programme of cuts. The article (more short note) by Rod Liddle in the Spectator is saying the BBC is being accused of bias because Question Time was held in the town of Middlesbrough http://www.spectator.co.uk/rodliddle/6405683/biased-bbc.thtml, thought the article doesn't name the accuser.
Bizarre. But then we do have nuts running the country. All their policies are US neo-liberal policies. Its as if they have the Franchise Manual and we aren't supposed to notice!
Watch out, bias will soon be any BBC Question Time not aired from Potomac, the expensive Washington DC suburb.
Friday, 8 October 2010
Asking for poverty?
I just say this on twitter:
bbcquestiontime Q: Private sector pensions have been reduced dramatically, so isn’t it fair that public sector pensions should come now into line? #bbcqt
Why do the rich bankers want more while the ordinary British worker thinks ordinary workers should have less?
Must be the failing education system, but never mind. Let me help
It should have been:
Q: Private sector pensions have been reduced dramatically, so isn’t it fair that private sector pensions should be brought into line with the public sector pensions? #bbcqt
Or do workers think that less money will buy you more?
I hear that tune to the Twilight Zone off somewhere in the distance........
bbcquestiontime Q: Private sector pensions have been reduced dramatically, so isn’t it fair that public sector pensions should come now into line? #bbcqt
Why do the rich bankers want more while the ordinary British worker thinks ordinary workers should have less?
Must be the failing education system, but never mind. Let me help
It should have been:
Q: Private sector pensions have been reduced dramatically, so isn’t it fair that private sector pensions should be brought into line with the public sector pensions? #bbcqt
Or do workers think that less money will buy you more?
I hear that tune to the Twilight Zone off somewhere in the distance........
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Foreign Policy and the Press
I watched this yesterday.
I've not had too much time to watch the speech and digest it. But since when did the press have the role of promoting a nation's foreign policy? Isn't that what elected officials are supposed to do while the press are supposed to provide information?
Scary stuff, really.
Some thoughts....
I've not had too much time to watch the speech and digest it. But since when did the press have the role of promoting a nation's foreign policy? Isn't that what elected officials are supposed to do while the press are supposed to provide information?
Scary stuff, really.
Some thoughts....
Monday, 4 October 2010
Did John Logie Baird Reckon On This
Fuck it!
Murdoch has a celebrity X-factor lined up for next year.
Sorry but I'm not even going to bother following the link from Krugman's page to the original article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/opinion/04krugman.html?_r=1&src=twt&twt=NytimesKrugman
Murdoch has a celebrity X-factor lined up for next year.
I mean that literally. As Politico recently pointed out, every major contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination who isn’t currently holding office and isn’t named Mitt Romney is now a paid contributor to Fox News.
Sorry but I'm not even going to bother following the link from Krugman's page to the original article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/opinion/04krugman.html?_r=1&src=twt&twt=NytimesKrugman
Sunday, 3 October 2010
Electoral Fraud?
I've just seen this on Baroness Warsi.
How many convictions have there been in the UK in relation to electoral fraud, say in the last 10 years.
If there is going to be an issue about electoral fraud then we have to ask if there is indeed an issue. If there really was a problem, I'm sure Baroness Warsi would be able to provide data on convictions. I can't see where she provides that evidence. Hmmm.
I'll assume it's a game. Just like the game the Republicans played and won when they prevented people they believed to be likely to vote for the Democrats in Presidential Elections and that we should be as scared of such claims about 'electoral fraud' just as much as we should be scared about meeting criminal aliens around the Natural History Museum.
Greg Palast and Robert F Kennedy Jnr explain it all in the video below.
There seems to be a big thing about postal ballots being a means of fraud here in the UK. I feel as if I'm watching a new franchise being built, using the same methods I've seen somewhere else. When will we have those dodgy machines brought in, installed and hailed as being better than old-fashioned pen, paper and making your mark?
How many convictions have there been in the UK in relation to electoral fraud, say in the last 10 years.
If there is going to be an issue about electoral fraud then we have to ask if there is indeed an issue. If there really was a problem, I'm sure Baroness Warsi would be able to provide data on convictions. I can't see where she provides that evidence. Hmmm.
I'll assume it's a game. Just like the game the Republicans played and won when they prevented people they believed to be likely to vote for the Democrats in Presidential Elections and that we should be as scared of such claims about 'electoral fraud' just as much as we should be scared about meeting criminal aliens around the Natural History Museum.
Greg Palast and Robert F Kennedy Jnr explain it all in the video below.
There seems to be a big thing about postal ballots being a means of fraud here in the UK. I feel as if I'm watching a new franchise being built, using the same methods I've seen somewhere else. When will we have those dodgy machines brought in, installed and hailed as being better than old-fashioned pen, paper and making your mark?
Diego Garcia and David Milliband
I've finally got round to making a start on Freedom Next Time by John Pilger.
I like this bit on page 40:
Right, so no one lives there. Do the pilots and the other workers commute from a ship?
It's nice to see that David Milliband wasn't elected as leader of New Labour, or whatever they call themselves now.
He's not much of a leader if he thinks he has the power to stop the Chagossians going home is he? He's not mentioned in the early pages of the chapter 'Stealing A Nation' but he is on wiki, where it states:
Let's hope the EU courts sort it out and let them go home. It's their home after all.
I like this bit on page 40:
BBC newsreaders still refer to US aircraft flying out to bomb afghanistan and Iraq from the uninhabited island of Diego Garcia.
Right, so no one lives there. Do the pilots and the other workers commute from a ship?
It's nice to see that David Milliband wasn't elected as leader of New Labour, or whatever they call themselves now.
He's not much of a leader if he thinks he has the power to stop the Chagossians going home is he? He's not mentioned in the early pages of the chapter 'Stealing A Nation' but he is on wiki, where it states:
On October 22, 2008, the Law Lords reached a decision on the appeal made by the Secretary of State For Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the UK, David Milliband. They found in favour of the Government in a 3-2 verdict, ending the legal process in the UK and dashing the islanders hopes of return. The judgment was published on the UK parliament website. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChagossianI think he put our relationship with the US ahead of the people who want to go home. Not much sign of him understanding right from wrong, or choosing the kind of mates his mother would have let him play with, is there?
Let's hope the EU courts sort it out and let them go home. It's their home after all.
Travel Warning - Let's Think About It
The US and UK authorities have issued travel warnings to those travelling to Europe. It seems they have intelligence saying their will be an attack similar to the one that happened in Mumbai.
It's a bit inconvenient for Osama to be doing that now. I mean, we are seeing protest after protest - the people of Europe are trying to sort out the politicians. Are the hundreds of thousands of people supposed to stay away from train stations?
Does he want us to stay away from major cities and leave our fruitcake politicians to carry on doing what they are doing or not?
Then again, since we haven't seen any credible evidence, and there have been no believable arrests, maybe the politicians are making up tall tales to scare the population (in the hope that if no one protests, they can claim the population don't mind paying for bankers greed).
It's not as if they never tell tall tales, is it?
It's a bit inconvenient for Osama to be doing that now. I mean, we are seeing protest after protest - the people of Europe are trying to sort out the politicians. Are the hundreds of thousands of people supposed to stay away from train stations?
Does he want us to stay away from major cities and leave our fruitcake politicians to carry on doing what they are doing or not?
Then again, since we haven't seen any credible evidence, and there have been no believable arrests, maybe the politicians are making up tall tales to scare the population (in the hope that if no one protests, they can claim the population don't mind paying for bankers greed).
It's not as if they never tell tall tales, is it?
Fallujah - Genocide II
I've just come across video. Watch it, it's important, just as importand as everything Dr Helen Caldicott has been saying for years.
And, let's not forget Noam Chomsky, who has something important to say about this too.
And, let's not forget Noam Chomsky, who has something important to say about this too.
Fallujah - Genocide?
I've just been reading a paper, Cancer, Infant Mortality and Birth Sex-Ratio in Fallujah, Iraq 2005–2009
by Chris Busby, Malak Hamdan and Entesar Ariabi.
We and the US bombarded Iraq with tonnes of depleted uranium.
Using depleted uranium is not only radioactive, it is a toxic metal. We know radioactive materials are really nasty. They are a threat to your DNA. And that means they are a threat to your life and to the health of any children you may have. We control radioactive materials very carefully. Think about it. Imagine someone took just a little bit of radioactive material and left it lying in the city centre. How do you think the authorities would behave? And if you were the nasty individual who left it there, deliberately, how many years to you think you would serve in jail?
If it was a lump of radioactive metal, once it was identified the authorities could easily take it away and place it in safe storage. Imagine, instead it was radioactive powder? The wind would blow it all over the place. Rain would wash deeper into the soil and the groundwater.
That's what happens to DU shells - they pulverise, they burn and they turn into powder. How simple would that be to clean up? And if you were the sorry soul who was cleaning it up, what protective equipment would you demand?
It's been a long time since I opened up my school physics books and studied nuclear science. But here's the first two things that come to mind other than nuclear power:
It's nasty stuff. How do we know? Well, we could dig out all our old books and re-learn them, or we could take a whizz over to wiki. Wiki lists the studies some saying it isn't so bad and others saying it is. What seems to be the issue here is: we can see how nasty it is with rodents and in in vitro studies looking at cell cultures. But since we haven't got really good data on what happens when we spray it over populations, we can't say it is dangerous?
From a human perspective (take the science hat off) then I'll say this. Nonsense! It's a known toxin, never mind it's radioactive properties. At the very least we've dusted a country with a chemical weapon, a chemical suspected of causing genetic defects. That means people will suffer the effects for generations. That means people civillians will have their chances of having healthy children reduced, of living a healthy life reduced. And as long as that chemical, the chemical we put there stays there, that will continue.
Anyone who wants to quibble, can pack up their families and move to Iraq! Any takers among our decision makers? Nope, didn't think so.
We are responsible for cleaning that mess up. If that is possible, which I doubt we can. What parts of the country were not subjected to this weapon? And where has all that dust gone? Everywhere, presumably. Dust doesn't settle and become 'glued down', does it?
We, and the US have taken us to new depths of disgraceful, sickening, cruel behaviour. And now the dreadful effects are being measured.
I'd ban those weapons. We could have done so at the UN Security Council but we didn't. That says is that we don't have the necessary qualifications I'd expect for any country to be sitting on that council: not the morals, not the the intellect.
by Chris Busby, Malak Hamdan and Entesar Ariabi.
We and the US bombarded Iraq with tonnes of depleted uranium.
Using depleted uranium is not only radioactive, it is a toxic metal. We know radioactive materials are really nasty. They are a threat to your DNA. And that means they are a threat to your life and to the health of any children you may have. We control radioactive materials very carefully. Think about it. Imagine someone took just a little bit of radioactive material and left it lying in the city centre. How do you think the authorities would behave? And if you were the nasty individual who left it there, deliberately, how many years to you think you would serve in jail?
If it was a lump of radioactive metal, once it was identified the authorities could easily take it away and place it in safe storage. Imagine, instead it was radioactive powder? The wind would blow it all over the place. Rain would wash deeper into the soil and the groundwater.
That's what happens to DU shells - they pulverise, they burn and they turn into powder. How simple would that be to clean up? And if you were the sorry soul who was cleaning it up, what protective equipment would you demand?
It's been a long time since I opened up my school physics books and studied nuclear science. But here's the first two things that come to mind other than nuclear power:
- Becquerel left uranium on top of an unexposed photographic plate, later noticed the fogging and hence discovered radioactivity. That's why he, along with Marie Curie and Pierre Curie, won the Nobel Prize in Physics
- Little Boy, the bomb was a uranium bomb, the one that was dropped on Hiroshima
It's nasty stuff. How do we know? Well, we could dig out all our old books and re-learn them, or we could take a whizz over to wiki. Wiki lists the studies some saying it isn't so bad and others saying it is. What seems to be the issue here is: we can see how nasty it is with rodents and in in vitro studies looking at cell cultures. But since we haven't got really good data on what happens when we spray it over populations, we can't say it is dangerous?
From a human perspective (take the science hat off) then I'll say this. Nonsense! It's a known toxin, never mind it's radioactive properties. At the very least we've dusted a country with a chemical weapon, a chemical suspected of causing genetic defects. That means people will suffer the effects for generations. That means people civillians will have their chances of having healthy children reduced, of living a healthy life reduced. And as long as that chemical, the chemical we put there stays there, that will continue.
Anyone who wants to quibble, can pack up their families and move to Iraq! Any takers among our decision makers? Nope, didn't think so.
We are responsible for cleaning that mess up. If that is possible, which I doubt we can. What parts of the country were not subjected to this weapon? And where has all that dust gone? Everywhere, presumably. Dust doesn't settle and become 'glued down', does it?
We, and the US have taken us to new depths of disgraceful, sickening, cruel behaviour. And now the dreadful effects are being measured.
I'd ban those weapons. We could have done so at the UN Security Council but we didn't. That says is that we don't have the necessary qualifications I'd expect for any country to be sitting on that council: not the morals, not the the intellect.
Saturday, 2 October 2010
Anyone interested in education?
If you are concerned about Michael Gove and his school plan in England, then you should be reading the guest post on Naomi Klein's blog.
Appalling!
Appalling!
When do we turn away?
If they aren't attacking the poor, it seems they are now attacking the sick.
The author, William Rivers Pitt writes:
If these people, Huckabee and his mates, are elected, how will we and the rest of the world react? At what point will we turn away from these people? At what point do we break international relations with them? And at what point will the religious leaders of the planet stand up and say 'No more'?
Religion? The man doesn't have a gramme of humanity, he's a danger to humanity in my opinion.
http://www.truth-out.org/sick-bastards63456
When Republicans attack health care reform, Democrats like to counter by accusing Republicans of wanting to repeal a law that requires insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions. According to Republican Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, that's exactly right. People with pre-existing conditions, he explains, are like houses that have already burned down.
"It sounds so good, and it's such a warm message to say we're not gonna deny anyone from a preexisting condition," Huckabee explained at the Value Voters Summit today. "Look, I think that sounds terrific, but I want to ask you something from a common sense perspective. Suppose we applied that principle [to] our property insurance. And you can call your insurance agent and say, "I'd like to buy some insurance for my house." He'd say, "Tell me about your house." "Well sir, it burned down yesterday, but I'd like to insure it today." And he'll say, "I'm sorry, but we can't insure it after it's already burned." Well, no pre-existing conditions."
The author, William Rivers Pitt writes:
The five diseases I listed account for well over a third of the American population, and if Mike Huckabee or someone who agrees with him somehow becomes president someday, those millions of people should just dig their own graves and lie down in them.
If these people, Huckabee and his mates, are elected, how will we and the rest of the world react? At what point will we turn away from these people? At what point do we break international relations with them? And at what point will the religious leaders of the planet stand up and say 'No more'?
Religion? The man doesn't have a gramme of humanity, he's a danger to humanity in my opinion.
http://www.truth-out.org/sick-bastards63456
Monsters
Yes, anyone who can behave in such a frightening, callous manner really is a monster.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/01/us-apology-guatemala-syphilis-tests
Any refusal to provide compensation is the behaviour of a child refusing to clean up their own mess. But in instances such as this, it isn't a child who needs to learn, it is of adults who do know better. That is frightening to think that elected officials and policy makers are so churlish.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/01/us-apology-guatemala-syphilis-tests
Any refusal to provide compensation is the behaviour of a child refusing to clean up their own mess. But in instances such as this, it isn't a child who needs to learn, it is of adults who do know better. That is frightening to think that elected officials and policy makers are so churlish.
What's all this?
So the Chinese workers have decided they aren't putting up with poverty! Good for them.
And the Americans too. They seem to be getting organised and demanding jobs.
And the French are busy this weekend rejecting the austerity measures too.
http://www.france24.com/en/20101002-anti-reform-activists-target-weekends-new-push-against-govt-sarkozy-pension-protests-france
Then there is Iceland:
And the economists at the IMF are warning that 45 million jobs will have to be created each year for the next decade just to tread water!
So when people demand to know why you don't have a job, tell them it is the world leaders who can not find a solution. If they can't (and their high salaries are meant to represent their immense ability and intellect) they what makes any one think that you can? The blame for your unemployment does not rest on your shoulders, so put that blame where it belongs, on the shoulders of the politicians and policey makers.
And the Americans too. They seem to be getting organised and demanding jobs.
And the French are busy this weekend rejecting the austerity measures too.
http://www.france24.com/en/20101002-anti-reform-activists-target-weekends-new-push-against-govt-sarkozy-pension-protests-france
Then there is Iceland:
And the economists at the IMF are warning that 45 million jobs will have to be created each year for the next decade just to tread water!
So when people demand to know why you don't have a job, tell them it is the world leaders who can not find a solution. If they can't (and their high salaries are meant to represent their immense ability and intellect) they what makes any one think that you can? The blame for your unemployment does not rest on your shoulders, so put that blame where it belongs, on the shoulders of the politicians and policey makers.
Friday, 1 October 2010
Ecuador II
So now we have some analysis and a little history of events in Ecuador.
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/10/failed-washington-sponsored-ecuadorean.html
I hope this stops and the President of Ecuador remains safely in his job.
Perhaps the Latinos should send some NGOs to the US to help out with their democratic process - all they need to do is register in Delaware for $10!
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/10/failed-washington-sponsored-ecuadorean.html
I hope this stops and the President of Ecuador remains safely in his job.
Perhaps the Latinos should send some NGOs to the US to help out with their democratic process - all they need to do is register in Delaware for $10!
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