Iraq War Swells Al Qaeda's Ranks, Report Says

Swell. A report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies cites mixed results of the war:

"The immediate effect of the war may have been to isolate further al Qaeda from any potential state supporters while also swelling its ranks and galvanizing its will."

However, as I’ve noted here before, the West needs to do more to address the root causes.

Because of its extreme religious world view, al Qaeda "cannot be tamed or controlled through political compromise or conflict resolution," the report said.

But Western countries need to do more to reach out to Muslim countries and their own Islamic minorities to "eliminate the root causes of terrorism," especially after the Iraq war "almost certainly further alienated Islam from the West."

Efforts should be redoubled to resolve local conflicts, such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, so regional radical groups such as Hamas do not fall into al Qaeda's embrace, it said.

Found this story via Oliver Willis' blog.

10:54:49 PM      trackback [] 

Marriage Protection Week

In addition to the previously mentioned fabulous MIT OpenCourseWare info, Jim also clued me in to Mark Morford’s latest column on SFGate.com (which belongs to the San Francisco Chronicle). President Bush has officially proclaimed Oct. 12-18 as "Marriage Protection Week." Morford delivers his usual over-the-top satiric rant and says this week should be called "Shut the Hell Up and Get Your Damn Conservative Agenda Out of My Love Life Week." But what I suspect really got Jim’s attention was Morford’s link to the Wondrous Vulva Puppets site (no, it's not a chick rock band). I do try to keep this site pretty clean, but this is a must-see. (Afterthought: kinda puts Judy Chicago to shame doesn't it?)

9:40:00 PM      trackback [] 

8:57:23 PM      trackback [] 

Nice timing, Nomah
Well, Nomie sure busted out of his slump at a most opportune time. Cubbies and Red Sox in the World Series!!!

8:25:50 PM      trackback [] 

Cuuuuuuuuute!
Friends of mine have a new puppy. Says Tom: “He is Tristan (Irish for sad, wistful). Look at his eyes. He is 14 weeks old, a Cairn Terrier. He is very affectionate, but being a terrier, he is stubborn, too. He loves my socks, likes run from room to room with his monkey toy, and loves going for walks.”

4:24:10 PM      trackback [] 

Is U.S. farm policy behind rising obesity?

There is a fascinating article in last Sunday’s NY Times Magazine about how over-productive farming may be a key factor in the obesity epidemic. Overabundant corn led to the early 19th century’s epidemic of alcohol-related problems (corn whiskey was cheap). And now overabundant corn means cheap corn means cheap, super-sized fast food means oversized Americans.

The article attributes the overabundance to U.S. agricultural policy, which used to discourage overproduction but now encourages it:

But as we're beginning to recognize, our cheap-food farm policy comes at a high price: first there's the $19 billion a year the government pays to keep the whole system afloat; then there's the economic misery that the dumping of cheap American grain inflicts on farmers in the developing world; and finally there's the obesity epidemic at home -- which most researchers date to the mid-70's, just when we switched to a farm policy consecrated to the overproduction of grain. Since that time, farmers in the United States have managed to produce 500 additional calories per person every day; each of us is, heroically, managing to pack away about 200 of those extra calories per day…

 

Cheap corn, the dubious legacy of Earl Butz, is truly the building block of the ''fast-food nation.'' Cheap corn, transformed into high-fructose corn syrup, is what allowed Coca-Cola to move from the svelte 8-ounce bottle of soda ubiquitous in the 70's to the chubby 20-ounce bottle of today. Cheap corn, transformed into cheap beef, is what allowed McDonald's to supersize its burgers and still sell many of them for no more than a dollar. Cheap corn gave us a whole raft of new highly processed foods, including the world-beating chicken nugget, which, if you study its ingredients, you discover is really a most ingenious transubstantiation of corn, from the cornfed chicken it contains to the bulking and binding agents that hold it together.

It's a fascinating read, and it highlights a political issue that no one in Washington is likely to touch because of Big Food's powerful influence.

11:28:36 AM      trackback [] 

Burkett-Ball
Okay, I take back my blanket statement about the Bald Sox not being pretty. I saw John Burkett interviewed last night on Fox 25 in Boston. Damn, he looked good! Maybe he got some tanning salon action on it, or maybe he just has the perfect shaped skull for a buzz cut. Maybe the goatee set it off. Golly. Well, somebody kiss that pate for good luck today. And while you're at it, somebody give a buzz cut to Nomar, too - maybe that will get his mind off his hitting or lack thereof.

8:31:10 AM      trackback []