and helping the Sunni insurgents out with their military needs: AP/Yahoo
Private Saudi citizens are giving millions of dollars to Sunni insurgents in Iraq and much of the money is used to buy weapons, including shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles, according to key Iraqi officials and others familiar with the flow of cash.
Saudi government officials deny that any money from their country is being sent to Iraqis fighting the government and the U.S.-led coalition.
But the U.S. Iraq Study Group report said Saudis are a source of funding for Sunni Arab insurgents. Several truck drivers interviewed by The Associated Press described carrying boxes of cash from Saudi Arabia into Iraq, money they said was headed for insurgents.
shows people are facing reality, even if Bush isn’t: AP/Yahoo
Americans are overwhelmingly resigned to something less than clear-cut victory in Iraq and growing numbers doubt the country will achieve a stable, democratic government no matter how the U.S. gets out, according to an AP poll.
At the same time, dissatisfaction with President Bush’s handling of Iraq has climbed to an alltime high of 71 percent. The latest AP-Ipsos poll, taken as a bipartisan commission was releasing its recommendations for a new course in Iraq, found that just 27 percent of Americans approved of Bush’s handling of Iraq, down from his previous low of 31 percent in November.
Doesn’t anything over 50% mean a mandate for those holding that viewpoint? I’m sure I heard that somewhere before…
Note that the poll was taken BEFORE the ISG report was officially released and discussed ad nauseum by a suddenly aware MSM.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Outgoing U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan will ask on Friday how the international community can allow the “horror” in Sudan’s Darfur region to continue and say there is more than enough blame to shared all around.
In a speech to be given in New York, Annan says blame can be shared by those valuing abstract notions of sovereignty over human lives; those whose response of solidarity puts them on the sides of governments and not people; and those who fear commercial interests could be jeopardized.
KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir dismissed criticism by the U.N. secretary-general on Friday, saying the U.N. was making unreasonable demands and turning a blind eye to the activities of Darfur rebels.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Thursday the Sudanese government might have to answer “individually and collectively” for failing to protect the people of the troubled western region from killings, rape and destruction.
Annan has been trying without success to persuade Bashir to accept a “hybrid” U.N.-African Union peace force in Darfur, where tens of thousands of people have been killed and 2.5 million people driven from their homes since early 2003.
I’m afraid that there is no way the UN Security Council will pass any forceful resolution on the Sudan situation. The Chinese will veto. They’ve put high stakes in ventures in Africa, including Sudan, and will not let a little butchery derail that.
This link is a few months old, but still very relevant.
There are concerns about Beijing’s willingness to do business with countries whose governments have been the subject of sustained international criticism like Sudan and Zimbabwe.
China insists it is merely trading with these nations and adhering to its policy of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs.
But it is not that simple – Beijing has used its veto at the United Nations to block pressure on Sudan’s leaders to halt the ongoing violence in Darfur.
Ecologist David Tilman at the University of Minnesota has found that a mix of prairie grasses, used as a feedstock for generating biofuels, not only out-performs corn as a feedstock (once fertilizer and other inputs required to grow corn are counted), it stores part of the CO2 it removes from the air in its roots and eventually in the soil, [How do you think the Midwest got such deep soils in the first place?] thus making the process a net remover of CO2 from the air. However, the infrastructure is closer to being in place to use corn as a feedstock [Can you spell A-D-M?], so in the short term we’re likely to see corn ethanol fuel first. However, in the long run, grasses are the way to go.
Global warming 55 million years ago suggests high climate sensitivity to carbon dioxide, according to research led by Mark Pagani, associate professor of geology and geophysics at Yale and published in the December 8 issue of Science. For some years, scientists have known that a massive release of carbon into the atmosphere caused the ancient global warming event known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) that began about 55 million years ago. The geologic record shows that the resulting greenhouse effect heated the planet as a whole by about 9 F (5 C), in less than 10,000 years. That temperature increase lasted about 170,000 years, altered the world’s rainfall patterns, made the oceans acidic, affected plant and animal life in the seas and on land, and spawned the rise of our modern primate ancestors. “The last time carbon was emitted to the atmosphere on the scale of what we are doing today, there were winners and losers …There was ecological devastation, but new species rose from the ashes. Our work provides even more incentive to develop the clean energy sources that can provide for economic growth and development without risking the natural world that is our endowment” remarked Ken Caldeira, a co-author from the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology.
Of course, something might get you before global warming does… Ebola is pushing gorillas towards extinction in western Africa – in some places 95% of the gorillas have died. Researchers believe one-quarter of the world’s gorillas in the last decade have died of Ebola, and are considering a vaccination scheme for the creatures: one year of vaccination could save as many gorillas as decades of anti-poaching enforcement.
After decades of intensive effort by both experimental and theoretical physicists worldwide, a tiny particle with no charge, a very low mass and a lifetime much shorter than a nanosecond, dubbed the “axion,” has now been detected by the University at Buffalo physicist who first suggested its existence as early as 1974. The axion has been seen as critical to the Standard Model of Physics and is believed to be a component of much of the unseen “dark matter” in the universe. The particle was unseen for decades because it decayed away before it reached the electronic detectors put in place to detect it. It finally was detected the old-school way, on photographic film, which could serve as both target and detector.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2006
Jeane Kirkpatrick in 1990. (AP)
Quote
“They always blame America first.”
Jeane Kirkpatrick in 1984
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Go To Comments
(CBS/AP) Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, an unabashed apostle of Reagan era conservatism and the first woman U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has died.
The death of the 80-year-old Kirkpatrick, who began her public life as a Hubert Humphrey Democrat, was announced Friday at the senior staff meeting of the U.S. mission to the United Nations.
Spokesman Richard Grenell said that Ambassador John Bolton asked for a moment of silence. An announcement of her death also was posted on the Web site of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-oriented think tank here where she was a senior fellow.
Kirkpatrick’s assistant, Andrea Harrington, said that she died in her sleep at home in Bethesda, Md. late Thursday. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Kirkpatrick’s health had been in decline recently, Harrington said, adding that she was “basically confined to her house,” going to work about once a week “and then less and less.”
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said that Kirkpatrick, who had a reputation as a blunt and acerbic advocate, “stood up for the interests of America while at the U.N., lent a powerful moral voice to the Reagan foreign policy and has been a source of wise counsel to our nation since leaving the government two decades ago. She will be greatly missed.”
Karlyn H. Bowman, a colleague of Kirkpatrick at AEI, called her “always insightful. Always interesting. Very thoughtful about modern American politics and foreign policy. A wonderful colleague.”
Bowman also said that Kirkpatrick, who had been elevated to the U.N. post by President Reagan in 1981, had “served with great distinction” at the U.N. “She was a great patriot, a champion of freedom and we will certainly miss her at AEI and the country.”
Kirkpatrick was known as a blunt and sometimes acerbic advocate for her causes. She remained involved in public issues even though she’d left government service two decades ago. She joined seven other former U.N. ambassadors in 2005 in writing a letter to Congress telling lawmakers that their plan to withhold dues to force reform at the world body was misguided and would “create resentment, build animosity and actually strengthen opponents of reform.”
She made headlines on August 20, 1984, when she blasted critics of the Reagan Administration in what came to be known as the “Blame America First” speech at the Republican National Convention in Dallas.
“When our Marines, sent to Lebanon on a multinationl peacekeeping mission with the consent of the U.S. Congress, were murdered in their sleep, the “blame America first crowd” did not blame the terrorists who murdered the Marines, they blamed the United States.
“But then, they always blame America first.
“When the Soviet Union walked out of the arms control negotiations, and refused even to discuss the issues, the San Francisco Democrats didn’t blame Soviet intransigence. They blamed the United States.
“But then, they always blame America first.
“When Marxist dictators shoot their way to power in Central America, the San Francisco Democrats don’t blame the guerrillas and their Soviet allies, they blame U.S. policies of 100 years ago.
“But then, they always blame America first.”
Which is worse though…the alleged “Blame America First” crowd, or those who blame America not at all?
I confidently trust that the American people will prove themselves … too wise not to detect the false pride or the dangerous ambitions or the selfish schemes which so often hide themselves under that deceptive cry of mock patriotism: ‘Our country, right or wrong!’ They will not fail to recognize that our dignity, our free institutions and the peace and welfare of this and coming generations of Americans will be secure only as we cling to the watchword of true patriotism: ‘Our country—when right to be kept right; when wrong to be put right.’
— Carl Schurz, from a speech delivered at the Anti-Imperialistic Conference, Chicago, October 17, 1899
and helping the Sunni insurgents out with their military needs: AP/Yahoo
Does Bandar Bush know?
shows people are facing reality, even if Bush isn’t: AP/Yahoo
Doesn’t anything over 50% mean a mandate for those holding that viewpoint? I’m sure I heard that somewhere before…
Note that the poll was taken BEFORE the ISG report was officially released and discussed ad nauseum by a suddenly aware MSM.
Still a deadlock…
Annan asks how world can allow “horror” in Sudan
Sudan dismisses Annan criticism
What will it take to end the stalemate there?
Heh, what do I get for the correct answer? 😉
I’m afraid that there is no way the UN Security Council will pass any forceful resolution on the Sudan situation. The Chinese will veto. They’ve put high stakes in ventures in Africa, including Sudan, and will not let a little butchery derail that.
This link is a few months old, but still very relevant.
Science Headlines 8 December 2006
Ecologist David Tilman at the University of Minnesota has found that a mix of prairie grasses, used as a feedstock for generating biofuels, not only out-performs corn as a feedstock (once fertilizer and other inputs required to grow corn are counted), it stores part of the CO2 it removes from the air in its roots and eventually in the soil, [How do you think the Midwest got such deep soils in the first place?] thus making the process a net remover of CO2 from the air. However, the infrastructure is closer to being in place to use corn as a feedstock [Can you spell A-D-M?], so in the short term we’re likely to see corn ethanol fuel first. However, in the long run, grasses are the way to go.
Global warming 55 million years ago suggests high climate sensitivity to carbon dioxide, according to research led by Mark Pagani, associate professor of geology and geophysics at Yale and published in the December 8 issue of Science. For some years, scientists have known that a massive release of carbon into the atmosphere caused the ancient global warming event known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) that began about 55 million years ago. The geologic record shows that the resulting greenhouse effect heated the planet as a whole by about 9 F (5 C), in less than 10,000 years. That temperature increase lasted about 170,000 years, altered the world’s rainfall patterns, made the oceans acidic, affected plant and animal life in the seas and on land, and spawned the rise of our modern primate ancestors. “The last time carbon was emitted to the atmosphere on the scale of what we are doing today, there were winners and losers …There was ecological devastation, but new species rose from the ashes. Our work provides even more incentive to develop the clean energy sources that can provide for economic growth and development without risking the natural world that is our endowment” remarked Ken Caldeira, a co-author from the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology.
Of course, something might get you before global warming does… Ebola is pushing gorillas towards extinction in western Africa – in some places 95% of the gorillas have died. Researchers believe one-quarter of the world’s gorillas in the last decade have died of Ebola, and are considering a vaccination scheme for the creatures: one year of vaccination could save as many gorillas as decades of anti-poaching enforcement.
After decades of intensive effort by both experimental and theoretical physicists worldwide, a tiny particle with no charge, a very low mass and a lifetime much shorter than a nanosecond, dubbed the “axion,” has now been detected by the University at Buffalo physicist who first suggested its existence as early as 1974. The axion has been seen as critical to the Standard Model of Physics and is believed to be a component of much of the unseen “dark matter” in the universe. The particle was unseen for decades because it decayed away before it reached the electronic detectors put in place to detect it. It finally was detected the old-school way, on photographic film, which could serve as both target and detector.
A new study finds the strongest evidence yet for the hypothesis that widespread environmental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) during fetal life causes breast cancer in adult women. As a result of the new research, EPA limits for the compound are probably set too high. BPA was originally developed as a synthetic estrogen, but is used today as the raw material for the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics, used in lighting lenses, sunglass/eyeglass lenses, compact disks, DVDs, automotive headlamp lenses, and Nalgene bottles. It is also used for animal enclosures and cages used in research, some dental fillings, baby bottles, etc. Epoxy resins containing bisphenol A are popular coatings for the inside of cans used for canning food.
is chilling. Especially this: “Epoxy resins containing bisphenol A are popular coatings for the inside of cans used for canning food.”
Yikes.
Former UN Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick dies at age 80.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2006
Jeane Kirkpatrick in 1990. (AP)
Quote
“They always blame America first.”
Jeane Kirkpatrick in 1984
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Go To Comments
(CBS/AP) Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, an unabashed apostle of Reagan era conservatism and the first woman U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has died.
The death of the 80-year-old Kirkpatrick, who began her public life as a Hubert Humphrey Democrat, was announced Friday at the senior staff meeting of the U.S. mission to the United Nations.
Spokesman Richard Grenell said that Ambassador John Bolton asked for a moment of silence. An announcement of her death also was posted on the Web site of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-oriented think tank here where she was a senior fellow.
Kirkpatrick’s assistant, Andrea Harrington, said that she died in her sleep at home in Bethesda, Md. late Thursday. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Kirkpatrick’s health had been in decline recently, Harrington said, adding that she was “basically confined to her house,” going to work about once a week “and then less and less.”
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said that Kirkpatrick, who had a reputation as a blunt and acerbic advocate, “stood up for the interests of America while at the U.N., lent a powerful moral voice to the Reagan foreign policy and has been a source of wise counsel to our nation since leaving the government two decades ago. She will be greatly missed.”
Karlyn H. Bowman, a colleague of Kirkpatrick at AEI, called her “always insightful. Always interesting. Very thoughtful about modern American politics and foreign policy. A wonderful colleague.”
Bowman also said that Kirkpatrick, who had been elevated to the U.N. post by President Reagan in 1981, had “served with great distinction” at the U.N. “She was a great patriot, a champion of freedom and we will certainly miss her at AEI and the country.”
Kirkpatrick was known as a blunt and sometimes acerbic advocate for her causes. She remained involved in public issues even though she’d left government service two decades ago. She joined seven other former U.N. ambassadors in 2005 in writing a letter to Congress telling lawmakers that their plan to withhold dues to force reform at the world body was misguided and would “create resentment, build animosity and actually strengthen opponents of reform.”
She made headlines on August 20, 1984, when she blasted critics of the Reagan Administration in what came to be known as the “Blame America First” speech at the Republican National Convention in Dallas.
“When our Marines, sent to Lebanon on a multinationl peacekeeping mission with the consent of the U.S. Congress, were murdered in their sleep, the “blame America first crowd” did not blame the terrorists who murdered the Marines, they blamed the United States.
“But then, they always blame America first.
“When the Soviet Union walked out of the arms control negotiations, and refused even to discuss the issues, the San Francisco Democrats didn’t blame Soviet intransigence. They blamed the United States.
“But then, they always blame America first.
“When Marxist dictators shoot their way to power in Central America, the San Francisco Democrats don’t blame the guerrillas and their Soviet allies, they blame U.S. policies of 100 years ago.
“But then, they always blame America first.”
Which is worse though…the alleged “Blame America First” crowd, or those who blame America not at all?
I only meant to quote the last few paragraphs, but I ended up with the whole damn story…sorry about that…
Here’s the true differentiation, methinks:
— Carl Schurz, from a speech delivered at the Anti-Imperialistic Conference, Chicago, October 17, 1899
She was one of the original members of PNAC if I remember right.