Wednesday, August 27, 2003

America's double standard infuriates rest of the world. But the shooting down of civilian aircraft is a violation of international aviation rules no matter who is on board. The differences in the cases do not make the glaring inconsistency in the U.S. position any less evident -- or any less familiar. It's another instance -- though not as dramatic as Iraq or global warming -- in which our government resorts to international organizations and laws when it agrees with the position and ignores them when it doesn't. It is this double standard that infuriates so many people in the world: insisting others play by the rules, while we bend them at will because we can. (link) I suppose we think people don't notice this. [Al-Muhajabah's Islamic Blogs] There's another glaring example of this double standard right in the article, although the author missed it: On Thursday, the U.S. government indicted for murder two Cuban fighter pilots and the former head of the country's air force for shooting down two unarmed Brothers to the Rescue civilian aircraft in international waters near Cuban air space, resulting in four deaths. The US doesn't acknowledge the "authority" of the International Criminal Court, a position I totally approve of. However, the US has been "indicting" foreign citizens who have never so much as set foot in the US of violating US laws for years--this is probably where the Tranzis got the idea in the first place. The Feds need to stop acting like US laws somehow apply outside the US. 9:32:52 PM    comment () 10-Year Newton Anniversary. The Newton officially turns 10. [tow.com] 8:23:50 PM    comment () Talk about efficiency.... To the troops who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, you might get only one more combat medal for the rest of your time in service! But it's not the good news you might expect. [Back In Iraq 2.0] By not awarding a specific medal for Iraq, the Bush White House gets to fold that war into the GWOT and point to it as a central campaign instead of the diversion it is. If they get away with this, any conflict in the future will be part of the GWOT and, thus, justified. I came to the same conclusion after getting to the mention of a "global war on terrorism" medal. 8:18:57 PM    comment () When is a reporter not a reporter?. Journalist Paul Moran, killed in northern Iraq on March 23, 2003, had more to his story than was initially reported. [Back In Iraq 2.0] This story raises some interesting question on just who Moran was working for, and what really happened to the Feds' supposedly cancelled program to spread propaganda to foreign journalists. 9:25:02 AM    comment () Thomas Gale Moore at Stanford - Global Warming: A Boon to Humans and Other Animals - Why global warming would be good for you. Climate extremes would trigger meteorological chaos -- raging hurricanes such as we have never seen, capable of killing millions of people; uncommonly long, record-breaking heat waves; and profound drought that could drive Africa and the entire Indian subcontinent over the edge into mass starvation. ... Even if we could stop all greenhouse gas emissions today, we would still be committed to a temperature increase worldwide of two to four degrees Fahrenheit by the middle of the twenty-first century. It would be warmer then than it has been for the past two million years. Unchecked it would match nuclear war in its potential for devastation.[1] -- Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell Senator Mitchell's forecast and his history are both wrong. Warmer periods bring benign rather than more violent weather. Milder temperatures will induce more evaporation from oceans and thus more rainfall -- where it will fall we cannot be sure but the earth as a whole should receive greater precipitation. Meteorologists now believe that any rise in sea levels over the next century will be at most a foot or more, not twenty.[2] In addition, Mitchell flunks history: around 6,000 years ago the earth sustained temperatures that were probably more than four degrees Fahrenheit hotter than those of the twentieth century, yet mankind flourished. The Sahara desert bloomed with plants, and water loving animals such as hippopotamuses wallowed in rivers and lakes. Dense forests carpeted Europe from the Alps to Scandinavia. The Midwest of the United States was somewhat drier than it is today, similar to contemporary western Kansas or eastern Colorado; but Canada enjoyed a warmer climate and more rainfall. Raising the specter of disaster as well, Vice President Al Gore has called the threat of global warming "the most serious problem our civilization faces."[3] In fact, he has styled those who dispute it as "self-interested" and compared them to spokesmen for the tobacco industry who have questioned the relation of smoking to cancer. But Gore is misinformed; many disinterested scientists, including climatologists with no financial interest other than preventing wasteful expenditures of society's limited resources, question the evidence and the models that underlie the warming hypothesis. [End the War on Freedom] 9:16:05 AM    comment () U.S., Afghan Forces Retake Mountain Pass [AP World News] American and Afghan forces killed about a dozen insurgents Wednesday and recaptured a mountain pass in southeastern Afghanistan -- the scene of heavy fighting and U.S. bombardments this week, a local official said. Funny how there wasn't a story about Afghan guerillas capturing the mountain pass in the first place. It doesn't do much for the credibility of the media when they're reporting the success of counterattacks and omitting any mention of the (apparently successful) attack. 8:47:14 AM    comment () From a mailing list I subscribe to: Social Contract [ Text by Joseph Knight, modified by Mike Blessing ] SECTION 1: I will surrender a percentage of my property to the Government. The actual percentage will be determined by the Government and may be based on my income, the value of my property, the value of my purchases, or any other criteria the Government chooses, and is subject to change at any time. To aid the Government in determining the percentage, I will use a government identification number. SECTION 2: I will limit my behavior as determined by the Government, consume only substances permitted by the Government, limit sexual activities to those permitted by the Government, and forsake religious beliefs that conflict with the Government's determination of propriety. I will use my property only in a manner determined by the Government. SECTION 3: Upon demand, I will surrender my liberty for a period of time to be determined by the Government. During that time, I will serve the Government in any way it chooses, including military service in which I may be called on to kill or to sacrifice my own life. SECTION 4: The Government will permit me to seek employment, subject to the limits it determines. These limits may restrict my choice of career or the wages that I accept. SECTION 5: In consideration for the above, the Government will offer various services to me. The nature of such services will be determined by the Government and such services are subject to change at any time. The Government may attempt to protect my life and property, but is not liable if it fails to do so. The Government may prohibit me from protecting my own life or property. SECTION 6: The Government will determine whether I may vote for certain officials and will determine which candidates are offered when a vote is permitted. The influence of my vote will vary inversely with the number of voters and I understand that it will typically be minuscule. I agree not to hold any official liable for acting against my best interests or for breaking promises, even if such promises motivated my vote. SECTION 7: I agree that the Government may change these terms at any time and hold me fully liable if I fail to abide by these or any other terms. The Government may enter, search, or seize my home and other property without my consent or knowledge to ensure compliance, and the Government may confiscate or destroy my property, imprison me, or kill me with impunity at any time. Signature is optional. Existence as a life force is presumed consent. SIGNED __________________________________________________________ DATE ______/______/_______ WITNESS _________________________________________________________ DATE ______/______/_______ 8:25:58 AM    comment ()

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