Politics, Everyday, All day... morning, noon and night....

[DVD Burner]

Darwin vs. GOD, Round 2007: Kansas Declares Darwin the Winner


05:13 PM, February 15th 2007
by Dan Nicolae Alexa



http://www.playfuls.com/news_004717_Dar ... inner.html

This almost sounds like a bad joke: the same board that voted against Darwin and in favor of God in 2005 is now trying to remove God and religion from Kansas’ schools.

The same ol’ science vs. religion dispute erupts again in the same state that had previously ruled teachers should become “downgraded-preachersâ€

[DVD Burner]

Published: February 19, 2007

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/19/opini ... ref=slogin

A disturbing recent phenomenon in Washington is that laws that strike to the heart of American democracy have been passed in the dead of night. So it was with a provision quietly tucked into the enormous defense budget bill at the Bush administration’s behest that makes it easier for a president to override local control of law enforcement and declare martial law.

The provision, signed into law in October, weakens two obscure but important bulwarks of liberty. One is the doctrine that bars military forces, including a federalized National Guard, from engaging in law enforcement. Called posse comitatus, it was enshrined in law after the Civil War to preserve the line between civil government and the military. The other is the Insurrection Act of 1807, which provides the major exemptions to posse comitatus. It essentially limits a president’s use of the military in law enforcement to putting down lawlessness, insurrection and rebellion, where a state is violating federal law or depriving people of constitutional rights.

The newly enacted provisions upset this careful balance. They shift the focus from making sure that federal laws are enforced to restoring public order. Beyond cases of actual insurrection, the president may now use military troops as a domestic police force in response to a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, terrorist attack or to any “other condition.â€

[DVD Burner]

I'm so looking foward to martial law.
Anarchy is right around the corner and soon I will be able to break out all of my toys.



Oh and happy page 100 Joel.

[BAS]

I'm so looking foward to martial law.
Anarchy is right around the corner and soon I will be able to break out all of my toys.



Oh and happy page 100 Joel.

If that happens, could I borrow a few...? Under normal circumstances, I don't really have interest in those sort of toys, but if times become decidedly abnormal...


B.

[EvilDustBooger]

.

[BAS]

.

HEY! Where did you get a picture of me with a rifle? I don't recall anyone else being in the room!


B.

[joel the ornery]

in celebration of 100 pages of freedom...

[quote="John Leo of City Journal"]
Free Inquiry? Not on Campus
And the college speech police threaten the liberty of us all.

Winter 2007

Remember when the Right had a near-monopoly on censorship? If so, you must be in your sixties, or older. Now the champions of censorship are mostly on the left. And they are thickest on the ground in our colleges and universities. Since the late 1980s, what should be the most open, debate-driven, and tolerant sector of society has been in thrall to the diversity and political correctness that now form the aggressive secular religion of America’s elites.

The censors have only grown in power, elevating antidiscrimination rules above “absolutistâ€

[DVD Burner]

I guess there is really no such thing as human rights anywhere in the world according to this article huh?


Thanks for posting Joel.

[DVD Burner]

U.S. soldier given 100 years for rape, killing of 14-year-old Iraqi girl


Canadian Press
Published: Friday, February 23, 2007

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world ... 98&k=15830


FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) - A U.S. soldier was sentenced to 100 years in prison Thursday for the gang rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and the killing of her family last year.

Sgt. Paul Cortez, 24, also was given a dishonourable discharge. He will be eligible for parole in 10 years under the terms of his plea agreement.

Cortez, of Barstow, Calif., pleaded guilty this week to four counts of felony murder, rape and conspiracy to rape in a case considered among the worst atrocities by U.S. military personnel in Iraq. In his plea agreement, he said he conspired with three other soldiers from the Fort Campbell-based 101st Airborne Division to rape 14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi.

Earlier Thursday, tears rolled down Cortez's face as he apologized for the rape and murders. He said he could not explain why he took part.

The military judge hearing the case, Col. Stephen Henley, issued a sentence of life in prison without parole, the maximum for the charges. Under military law, the defendant is given the lesser sentence, unless he violates terms of the plea agreement, which requires Cortez to testify against others charged in the case.

On Wednesday, Cortez described raping the girl in her family's home in Mahmoudiya last March, along with Spc. James Barker, 24. Barker pleaded guilty in November to rape and murder and was sentenced to 90 years in military prison.

Cortez said this week former private Steven Green raped the girl in front of him; shot her father, mother and sister and then shot her in the head. He also testified the soldiers attempted to burn the girl's body; burned their own clothes; and threw the murder weapon, an AK-47 assault rifle, into a canal in an attempt to dispose of the evidence.

Cortez was found not guilty of more serious charges of premeditated murder and conspiracy to premeditated murder.

Privates 1st Class Jesse Spielman, 22, and Bryan Howard, 19, await courts martial. Green, who is accused of being the ringleader but was discharged from the military before being charged, will be prosecuted in a federal court in Kentucky.

© The Canadian Press 2007

[BAS]

People do some really sick things....

[DVD Burner]

The Democratic Party of Nevada just announced plans to let Fox News host a presidential primary debate.1 But Fox isn't a legitimate news channel. It's a right-wing mouthpiece like Rush Limbaugh and the Drudge Report—repeating false Republican talking points to smear Democrats.

Fox has already tried to skew the '08 race by accusing Senator Barack Obama of attending a terrorist school. CNN immediately exposed the charge as false,2 and Obama hit back by refusing to appear on Fox—sending them scrambling.3 Democrats can force Fox to be fair and balanced by fighting back hard.

Can you sign this petition asking the Democratic Party of Nevada to drop Fox as its partner for the presidential primary debate?

The full text of the petition is: "Fox is a mouthpiece for the Republican Party, not a legitimate news channel. The Democratic Party of Nevada should drop Fox as its partner for the presidential primary debate."
Clicking here will add your name to the petition:
http://civic.moveon.org/c4/foxdebate/?r ... P9kG&taf=0

It's very important to also invite our friends to sign this petition. If ever there was a battle where we could beat Fox, this is it—since Democrats will make the ultimate decision, not Fox executives. But to be convinced, Democratic leaders need to see a growing public backlash.

We'll deliver the petition signatures to the Democratic Party of Nevada and let petition signers know what next steps they can take to make a difference.

When you click the petition link, you'll see a great new YouTube video from filmmaker Robert Greenwald called "Fox Attacks: Obama." It exposes Fox's numerous attacks on Senator Obama—saying he attended a terrorist school, belittling his race, and implying that his name sounds like that of a terrorist.

Fox has also spread false smears about Hillary Clinton this year.4 Plus, when Democrats trusted Fox to host a presidential debate in 2003, Fox undermined Democrats with on-screen headlines like "Democratic Candidates Offer Grim View of America."5

We can fight back. The Washington Post reported that "the Obama camp has 'frozen out' Fox News reporters and producers in the wake of the network's major screw-up in running with the erroneous Obama-the-jihadist story." "'I'm still in the freezer,' one Fox journalist said." Fox News CEO Roger Ailes has personally called Obama twice to smooth relations.3

As the 2008 cycle begins, we need to show Fox there will be serious repercussions for being part of right-wing smear jobs—and we need to show voters they cannot trust Fox for news.

Can you sign this petition asking the Democratic Party of Nevada not to partner with Fox for a presidential primary debate?

The full text of the petition is: "Fox is a mouthpiece for the Republican Party, not a legitimate news channel. The Democratic Party of Nevada should drop Fox as its partner for the presidential primary debate."

Clicking here will add your name to the petition:
http://civic.moveon.org/c4/foxdebate/?r ... P9kG&taf=0
Thank you for all you do.

–Noah, Adam G., Marika, Wes, and the MoveOn.org Civic Action Team
Thursday, February 22nd, 2007

Sources:

1. "FNC Hosts Democratic Debate," Mediabistro.com, February 16, 2007
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/n ... _53367.asp

2. "CNN Debunks False Obama 'Madrassa' Smear," ThinkProgress.org, January 22, 2007
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/01/22/cnn-obama-debunk/

3. "Obama's Grudge Factor," Washingtonpost.com, January 30, 2007
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2 ... obama.html

4. "O'Reilly and Miller recycled false attack on Clinton's attendance at 9-11 memorials," Media Matters, February 15, 2007
http://mediamatters.org/items/200702160001

"Right-wing media figures claim Clinton behind Obama/Muslim smears," Media Matters, January 19, 2007
http://mediamatters.org/items/200701200003

5. "Nevada Dems getting outfoxed?" Lasvegasgleaner.com, February 20, 2007
http://www.lasvegasgleaner.com/las_vegas_gleaner/

[DVD Burner]

"Theater Iran Near Term" (TIRANNT)

by Michel Chossudovsky

Global Research, February 21, 2007



DUBAI, UAE, 21 February 2007. (revised 23 Feb 2007). Code named by US military planners as TIRANNT, "Theater Iran Near Term" has identified several thousand targets inside Iran as part of a "Shock and Awe" Blitzkrieg, which is now in its final planning stages.

According to the Kuwait-based Arab Times, an attack on Iran under TIRANNT could occur any time between late February and the end of April. This assessment, however, does not take into account the disarray of US ground forces in Iraq as well as the untimely withdrawal of several thousand British troops from the Iraq war theater, many of whom were stationed in Southern Iraq on the immediate border with Iran.

Revealed last April by William Arkin, a former US intelligence analyst, writing in the Washington Post, TIRANNT was first established in May 2003, following the invasion of Iraq.

"In early 2003, even as U.S. forces were on the brink of war with Iraq, the Army had already begun conducting an analysis for a full-scale war with Iran. The analysis, called TIRANNT, for "theater Iran near term," was coupled with a mock scenario for a Marine Corps invasion and a simulation of the Iranian missile force. U.S. and British planners conducted a Caspian Sea war game around the same time. And Bush directed the U.S. Strategic Command to draw up a global strike war plan for an attack against Iranian weapons of mass destruction. All of this will ultimately feed into a new war plan for "major combat operations" against Iran that military sources confirm now exists in draft form. [This contingency plan entitled CONPLAN 8022 would be activated in the eventuality of a Second 9/11, on the presumption that Iran would be behind it]

... Under TIRANNT, Army and U.S. Central Command planners have been examining both near-term and out-year scenarios for war with Iran, including all aspects of a major combat operation, from mobilization and deployment of forces through postwar stability operations after regime change." (William Arkin, Washington Post, 16 April 2006)

The 2003 decision to target Iran under TIRANNT should come as no surprise. It is part of the broader military roadmap. Already during the Clinton administration, US Central Command (USCENTCOM) had formulated in 1995 "in war theater plans" to invade first Iraq and then Iran.

"The broad national security interests and objectives expressed in the President's National Security Strategy (NSS) and the Chairman's National Military Strategy (NMS) form the foundation of the United States Central Command's theater strategy. The NSS directs implementation of a strategy of dual containment of the rogue states of Iraq and Iran as long as those states pose a threat to U.S. interests, to other states in the region, and to their own citizens. Dual containment is designed to maintain the balance of power in the region without depending on either Iraq or Iran. USCENTCOM's theater strategy is interest-based and threat-focused. The purpose of U.S. engagement, as espoused in the NSS, is to protect the United States' vital interest in the region - uninterrupted, secure U.S./Allied access to Gulf oil."

(USCENTCOM, http://www.milnet.com/milnet/pentagon/c ... m#USPolicy , emphasis added)

First Iraq, then Iran

Consistent with CENTCOM's 1995 "sequencing" of theater operations, the plans to target Iran were activated under TIRANNT in the immediate wake of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Confirmed by Arkin, the active component of the Iran military agenda was launched in May 2003 "when modelers and intelligence specialists pulled together the data needed for theater-level (meaning large-scale) scenario analysis for Iran." (Arkin, op cit). In October 2003, different theater scenarios for an Iran war were contemplated:

"The US army, navy, air force and marines have all prepared battle plans and spent four years building bases and training for "Operation Iranian Freedom". Admiral Fallon, the new head of US Central Command, has inherited computerized plans under the name TIRANNT (Theatre Iran Near Term)." (New Statesman, 19 Feb 2007)

Concurrently, the various parallel components of TIRANNT were put in place including the Marines "Concept of Operations":

"The Marines, meanwhile, have not only been involved in CENTCOM's war planning, but have been focused on their own specialty, "forcible entry." In April 2003, the Corps published its "Concept of Operations" for a maneuver against a mock country that explores the possibility of moving forces from ship to shore against a determined enemy without establishing a beachhead first. Though the Marine Corps enemy is described only as a deeply religious revolutionary country named Karona, it is -- with its Revolutionary Guards, WMD and oil wealth -- unmistakably meant to be Iran.

Various scenarios involving Iran's missile force have also been examined in another study, initiated in 2004 and known as BMD-I (ballistic missile defense -- Iran). In this study, the Center for Army Analysis modeled the performance of U.S. and Iranian weapons systems to determine the number of Iranian missiles expected to leak through a coalition defense.

The day-to-day planning for dealing with Iran's missile force falls to the U.S. Strategic Command in Omaha. In June 2004, Rumsfeld alerted the command to be prepared to implement CONPLAN 8022, a global strike plan that includes Iran. CONPLAN 8022 calls for bombers and missiles to be able to act within 12 hours of a presidential order. The new task force, sources have told me, mostly worries that if it were called upon to deliver "prompt" global strikes against certain targets in Iran under some emergency circumstances, the president might have to be told that the only option is a nuclear one. William Arkin, Washington Post, 16 April 2006)

"Shock and Awe"

US military planning includes specific roles to be performed by NATO and Israel in the event of an attack on Iran. The German navy is deployed formally under a UN mandate in the Eastern Mediterranean. NATO bases in Europe would also be involved.

Documented by Global Research, extensive war games were conducted since last Summer by Iran and its allies of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, including Russia and China. In turn, the US has conducted war games off the Iranian coastline.

The Pentagon's Second 9/11

What is now being contemplated by Washington is an overwhelming use of military force in retaliation to Iran's alleged non-compliance. This of course is the pretext, the justification for waging war. The Pentagon has also contemplated retaliating against Iran in the case of a second 9/11 attack:

"A third plan sets out how the military can both disrupt and respond to another major terrorist strike on the United States. It includes lengthy annexes that offer a menu of options for the military to retaliate quickly against specific terrorist groups, individuals or state sponsors depending on who is believed to be behind an attack. Another attack could create both a justification and an opportunity that is lacking today to retaliate against some known targets, according to current and former defense officials familiar with the plan.

This plan details "what terrorists or bad guys we would hit if the gloves came off. The gloves are not off," said one official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject. (emphasis added, WP 23 April 2006)

The presumption of this military document, is that a Second 911 attack "which is lacking today" would usefully create both a "justification and an opportunity" to wage war on "some known targets [Iran and Syria]".

Civilian Targets

Press reports in the Middle East confirm that the planned air strikes are by no means limited to Iran's nuclear facilities. Central Command Headquarters in Florida (CENTCOM) has already selected a comprehensive list of military and civilian targets. Industrial sites, civilian infrastructure including roads, water systems, bridges, electric power plants telecommunications towers, government buildings are part of the assumptions underlying the Blitzkrieg. "A single raid could result in 10,000 targets being hit with warplanes flying from the US and Diego Garcia" (Gulf News, 21 Feb 2007, emphasis added)

Meanwhile, the US has been mustering support for its agenda following the holding of a regional Security Conference in the UAE.

Nuclear War

Military planners are said to favor the use of conventional weapons. The use of tactical nuclear weapons, which are now part of the Middle East war theater arsenal, are not explicitly contemplated, at least in the first round of the US sponsored Blitzkrieg. However, the fact that nuclear weapons are acknowledged as a possible choice in the conventional war theater is indicative that their use is an integral part of military planning.

In November 2004, US Strategic Command conducted a major exercise of a "global strike plan" entitled "Global Lightening". The latter involved a simulated attack using both conventional and nuclear weapons against a "fictitious enemy" [Iran]. Following the "Global Lightening" exercise, US Strategic Command declared an advanced state of readiness.

In this context, CONPLAN is the operational plan pursuant to the Global Strike Plan. It is described as "an actual plan that the Navy and the Air Force translate into strike package for their submarines and bombers,'

CONPLAN 8022 is 'the overall umbrella plan for sort of the pre-planned strategic scenarios involving nuclear weapons.'

'It's specifically focused on these new types of threats -- Iran, North Korea -- proliferators and potentially terrorists too,' he said. 'There's nothing that says that they can't use CONPLAN 8022 in limited scenarios against Russian and Chinese targets.' (According to Hans Kristensen, of the Nuclear Information Project, quoted in Japanese economic News Wire, op cit)

The use of tactical nuclear weapons is contemplated under CONPLAN 8022 alongside conventional weapons, as part of the Bush administration's preemptive war doctrine. In May 2004, National Security Presidential Directive NSPD 35 entitled Nuclear Weapons Deployment Authorization was issued. While its contents remains classified, the presumption is that NSPD 35 pertains to the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in the Middle East war theater in compliance with CONPLAN 8022.

(For further details on the US nuclear option, see Michel Chossudovsky, Nuclear War against Iran, January 2006, The Dangers of a Middle East Nuclear War, February 2006, Is the Bush Administration Planning a Nuclear Holocaust , February 2006)

Israel in a State of Readiness

War preparations in Israel have been ongoing since late 2004. The Israeli Air Force would attack Iran's nuclear facility at Bushehr using US as well Israeli produced bunker buster bombs. The attacks are slated to be carried out in three separate waves "with the radar and communications jamming protection being provided by U.S. Air Force AWACS and other U.S. aircraft in the area". (See W Madsen, http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/MAD410A.html

The bunker buster bombs can also be used to deliver tactical nuclear bombs. The B61-11 is the "nuclear version" of the "conventional" BLU 113. It can be delivered in much same way as the conventional bunker buster bomb. (See Michel Chossudovsky, http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO112C.html , see also http://www.thebulletin.org/article_nn.p ... jf03norris ) .

According to a recent report in the London's Sunday Times (7 January 2007): "Two Israeli air force squadrons are training to blow up an Iranian facility using low-yield nuclear “bunker-bustersâ€

[DVD Burner]

I dont know about you guys but I'm totally ready for Martial law and Anarchy.

Yeah baby!

[Archantael]

I'm always very skeptical when I read stuff like that. But there's one thing I know as an absolute fact and that is the deployment of all 3 carriers mentioned to the gulf is happening now. It's a sobering thought...this could be closer to reality than any of us realizes.

[DVD Burner]

I'm always very skeptical when I read stuff like that.

what exactly is skeptical about Bush, Cheney and their followers being delusinal, psycotic idiots?

Explain this to me if you can.

What dont you get?

Do you feel safe, so safe in Kansas that there is no need to worry about what Bush does to Iran? That nothing will happen to you or those in middle America?
If you feel that safe, I feel sorry for you.

[Toolmaker]

As a kid I was skeptical when I first came across the book "Report From Iron Mountain on the Possibility and Desirability of Peace" in the early 80s. I have watched many of these things come to pass. Legislation that allows for more continues to be passed. We are seeing the final stages of Novus Ordo Seclorum being implemented. Iran will be invaded at some time in the near future as part of the globalists plan for world government. Things that folks have been calling hoaxes and conspiracy theory are now become facts of life in the 21st century.

Here are a few websites with some interesting things to read

http://crashrecovery.org/ironmountain/
http://crashrecovery.org/list.html
http://www.swiss.ai.mit.edu/6.805/artic ... nfowar.txt
http://www.policestateplanning.com/

I am not responsible for anything you read in any of those sites.. they are for entertainment purposes only!

[DVD Burner]

Ok,
I'll tell ya what, we got about three weeks or so to find out what the truth will be.

Bush will start shit with Iran. Once that happens I can guarantee there will be no BM this year.

[Archantael]

I'm always very skeptical when I read stuff like that.

what exactly is skeptical about Bush, Cheney and their followers being delusinal, psycotic idiots?

Explain this to me if you can.

What dont you get?

Do you feel safe, so safe in Kansas that there is no need to worry about what Bush does to Iran? That nothing will happen to you or those in middle America?
If you feel that safe, I feel sorry for you.

Dude, I'm no idiot when it comes to military issues, especially when it comes to anything that involves nuclear weapons or naval power. The scenario that was outlined seems plausible. However....I'm thinking that the potential for escalation that draws in China or Russia is not being given it's proper consideration. I don't feel like breaking it down beyond that right now...except to move on by saying that even though I live in the heartland I'm not naive enough to feel "safe" anywhere.

(unfortunately I think you're right...something is gonna happen, the only real questions left are when will it start, and what's the trigger gonna be?)

[DVD Burner]

OK FOLKS!

Show Ed The Law
Show Ed the Law and get $1,000,000 in commercial property

http://www.showedthelaw.com/

Ed Brown is offering a $1,000,000 compensation (commercial property) to the first person to show him the law requiring him to pay federal income tax

Casey Lee Cobb Show | Ed The Law | February 24th 2007

As you all may or may not be aware ShowEdTheLaw.com was born just a week ago, with the sole purpose to bring attention to the fact that Ed and Elaine Brown are being persecuted for not paying an income tax. Ed and Elaine Browns numerous attempts over many years to get the specific law that obligates them to pay the tax have failed over and over again in the courts.

The simple fact of the matter is that our present legal system has failed this couple, and many other people who are all asking the one simple question, where is the Law?

When Ed raised the stakes to find the law by offering up as reward commercial property he owns with an estimated value of 1.2 million dollars. The online community picked up on it very rapidly, a member at Digg.com initialized the first digg and the story was launched into a hyper-frenzied state of internet popularity! Overnight website traffic went from 469 unique visitors on Wednesday to 21,853 unique visitors on Thursday.

Unfortunately there has been a blackout on this story, the main stream media has yet again failed in their public duty to keep the American populace informed on issues of anything containing more substance than the topic of the untimely death of Anna Nicole Smith or Brittany Spears adventures in shaving her head. It truly is a very, very sad state of affairs.

However this is the time when your friendly neighborhood blogger comes into play on his or her online web soapbox, united we will stand and divided we will fall. I don’t know about everyone who is reading this story. How far have you gone into investigating the corporation that you voluntarily give 28% of your life’s energy too? Are you willing to take the red pill, and see just how far down the rabbit hole goes? After doing so, I would encourage you all to scream bloody murder and demand that the federal government show Ed and Elaine Brown the law!

I also regret to inform you, unfortunately no one has yet been able to claim the $1,000,000 commercial property reward by demonstrating that Ed and Elaine Brown have an obligation to contribute to the IRS. However I would love to encourage you to be diligent in your search for the law. So far Ed has received hundreds of emails that purport to show the law, yet all attempts have failed to even come close to obligating them into contributing to the IRS.

If you can show Ed the law, kindly send him an email to [email protected]!

If you would like to go to New Hampshire and show Ed and Elaine your support, yet are unable to afford to make the trip, then do the next best thing. Join the Online Revolution. It will be televised!

My sincere thanks goes out to “lolipopfailureâ€

[DVD Burner]

THE REDIRECTION

Is the Administration’s new policy benefitting our enemies in the war on terrorism?
by SEYMOUR M. HERSH
Issue of 2007-03-05
Posted 2007-02-25

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/a ... fact_hersh


A STRATEGIC SHIFT

In the past few months, as the situation in Iraq has deteriorated, the Bush Administration, in both its public diplomacy and its covert operations, has significantly shifted its Middle East strategy. The “redirection,â€

[DVD Burner]

Any inaccuracies?

[DVD Burner]

Dude, I'm no idiot when it comes to military issues, especially when it comes to anything that involves nuclear weapons or naval power. The scenario that was outlined seems plausible. However....I'm thinking that the potential for escalation that draws in China or Russia is not being given it's proper consideration. I don't feel like breaking it down beyond that right now...except to move on by saying that even though I live in the heartland I'm not naive enough to feel "safe" anywhere.

(unfortunately I think you're right...something is gonna happen, the only real questions left are when will it start, and what's the trigger gonna be?)

[joel the ornery]

they are for entertainment purposes only!

thank you.

[Archantael]

The tension over Iran just went up. Substantially.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6394387.stm

Iran rocket claim raises tension
Iranian media say the country has successfully launched its first rocket capable of reaching space.

But officials later said it was for research and would not go into orbit.

Experts say if Iran has fired a rocket into space it would cause alarm abroad as it would mean scientists had crossed important technological barriers.

Iran has made little secret of its desire to become a space power and already has a satellite in orbit launched by the Russians.

The latest launch - if confirmed - comes at a time of mounting tension between Tehran and the West over Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany are due to meet on Monday to discuss the possibility of more sanctions over the nuclear issue.

On Sunday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered another defiant speech insisting there is no going back on Iran's nuclear programme.

Iran's potential nuclear military programme, combined with an advanced missile capability, would destabilise the region

Sir Richard Dalton, former UK ambassador to Iran
In a speech in Tehran, he likened his country's nuclear programme to a train with no brakes and no reverse gear.

One of his deputy foreign ministers, Manouchehr Mohammadi, said they had prepared themselves for any situation arising from the issue, even for war.

Meanwhile, foreign ministers from seven Muslim states meeting in Pakistan have called for a diplomatic solution to the "dangerous" stand-off.

"It is vital that all issues must be resolved through diplomacy and there must be no resort to use of force," said a statement issued after talks involving ministers from Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Missile technology

Iranian TV broke the news of the reported test saying: "The first space rocket has been successfully launched into space."

Ahmadinejad has claimed Iran's right to nuclear technology

It quoted the head of Iran's aerospace research centre, Mohsen Bahrami, as saying that "the rocket was carrying material intended for research created by the ministries of science and defence".

However, Ali Akbar Golrou, executive director of the same facility, was later quoted by Fars news agency as saying the craft launched by was a sub-orbital rocket for scientific research.

"What was announced by the head of the research centre was the news of launching this sounding rocket," Mr Golrou said.

It would not remain in orbit but could rise to about 150km (94 miles) before a parachute-assisted descent to Earth.

No pictures of the reported launch have been shown on Iranian state TV, and no Western countries have confirmed tracking any such test-firing.

Some Western diplomats suspect Iran may have backtracked on the announcement when it realised what negative publicity this would bring at a sensitive time, says the BBC's Frances Harrison in Tehran.

The reports come a day after Iran's Defence Minister spoke of plans to build a satellite launcher and join the space club. Also, an Iranian official quoted in Aviation Week earlier this month said Iran would soon test a new satellite launcher.

Britain's former ambassador to Iran, Sir Richard Dalton, told the BBC that, if confirmed, such a launch could destabilise the Middle East.

"It is a matter of concern," he said. "Iran's potential nuclear military programme, combined with an advanced missile capability, would destabilise the region, and of course if there were a bomb that could be placed on the end of this missile, it would in breach of Iran's obligations under the non-proliferation treaty."

Military experts believe that if Iran has sent a rocket into space it means scientists have mastered the technology needed to cross the atmospheric barrier.

In practice, they say, that means there is no technological block to Iran building longer range missiles now, something that will be of great international concern.

In 2005, Iran's Russian-made satellite was put into orbit by a Russian rocket.

But shortly afterwards Iranian military officials said they were preparing a satellite launch vehicle of their own, and last month they announced they were ready to test it soon.

[joel the ornery]

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal democrat, and among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words redistribution of wealth.

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what
he thought should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.

Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, "How is your friend Audrey doing ?"

She replied, "Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties, and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over."

Her wise father asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA."

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, "That's a crazy idea, how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!"

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, " Welcome to the Republican party."

[Toolmaker]

they are for entertainment purposes only!

thank you.

You are so very welcome! I am glad that someone enjoyed the links.

[DVD Burner]

New England Town Prints Up Its Own Currency

'Berkshares' Are Intended to Encourage Local Commerce
By STEPHANIE SY

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Business/stor ... 049&page=1

SOUTHERN BERKSHIRE, Mass., Feb. 25, 2007 — Susan Witt is an unassuming middle-aged woman who drives a Volvo around her quaint Rockwell-esque town and has somehow managed to foment a small revolution.

After years of planning, Witt started printing her own money and spending it around town.

She is not a counterfeiter. She is the founder of Berkshares, a local currency that was introduced last fall in Southern Berkshire, Mass. (where Normal Rockwell lived out his later years).

"The Berkshares are pretty simple to operate," she said. "You walk into a local bank, put down $90 federal and get 100 Berkshares, and then those Berkshares are spent at full value at regional stores."


$835,000-worth of notes were printed on fine-grain paper and distributed to banks that agreed to participate. The notes are now accepted at 225 businesses in the area, and the program continues to grow.

Berkshares were created to stimulate the local economy by giving people incentive to shop in their own neighborhood, rather than drive the distance to large chain stores.


"We want to encourage everybody to do their business locally rather than going to a mall or shopping online," said Sharon Palma, executive director of the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. "Using Berkshares, you have to do business locally, and the other really nice piece of that is it's face-to-face business."


Several communities across the U.S., Canada and Europe have developed similar programs, but only Berkshares are fully-backed by the U.S. dollar. Several banks in Southern Berkshire have agreed to exchange Berkshares for dollars.


Ursula Cliff was spotted using Berkshares at Guido's grocery store, a 27-year-old family business in the town of Great Barrington.

"I don't think that whether or not a merchant accepts Berkshares really affects my decision if it's something I really want to buy," she said. "On the other hand, almost everywhere I go the stores use Berkshares, and I do certainly have a warmer feeling for them when they do that."

It is that warm, fuzzy feeling that makes a regional currency scheme operable.

Witt, who spent years dreaming up a local currency project, said it "takes a local population that understands and is committed to supporting the buildup of their own regional economies."

That is certainly the case in this picture-perfect town with its Main Street lined with mom-and-pop shops. It's the type of community where people seek out locally-produced food, and where buying into a program such as Berkshares is, in itself, a sort of social currency.

Some business owners have reported an increase in foot traffic and customer loyalty. Because the Berkshares users get a 10 percent discount at the point of exchange, merchants say customers have incentive to use them.

Steve Carlotta, the owner of Snap Shop, a photo store said, "We find that there are some people doing business with us at this point who are very, very loyal customers because we accept Berkshares … without any restrictions."

But the system is far from perfect. The discount may be difficult for businesses that have thin profit margins, such as Guido's, to absorb in the long term.

Witt said the Berkshares board will re-evaluate the program down the line and make necessary adjustments.

The individuals behind Berkshares have even higher hopes for the project. The next step is developing Berkshares into an electronic debit-card system, to replace or supplement the cash notes.

In the long-term, the non-profit Berkshares, Inc., would like the capability to offer loans in Berkshares to start-up businesses, thereby promoting small-scale manufacturing that has been lost to the global economy.

"We think that by strengthening the piece of the fabric of this country, this world, that you're strengthening the whole," said Asa Hardcastle, the young software engineer who heads Berkshares, Inc. "We definitely hope that this grows and this becomes something that flourishes across the country and the world."

Similar programs are in place in a handful of other American towns — the most successful program being in Ithaca, N.Y., where 900 businesses accept "Ithaca Hours."

The Berkshares program caught the eye of Sam Anderson, a community activist and black history professor in Brooklyn, N.Y. He thinks an alternative currency could be a tool for reviving black and Hispanic businesses, which he said have been "locked out of capitalistic development."

Anderson suggested that a "Blackshares" experiment could start in a community such as Harlem or East Los Angeles, and eventually have a wider inter-state reach.

"In the slavery period, you had this economic relationship developing," Anderson said. "It was more bartering between enslaved Africans, between plantations. … That tradition was carried on in the Reconstruction period, and during that period you had the most powerful economic development in the black community coordinated in the South."

Anderson said the introduction of Jim Crow laws set black businesses back so far, they've never adequately recovered to compete with mainstream white businesses.

"By the time [of the Civil Rights movement], the economic development between white development and black development was so disparate … that by the 1960s, when black business folk were trying to do something, there was already a monopolistic structure in place," he said.

Anderson explained that while a racially-based currency might appear to discriminate or isolate, "if you want to support black economic development, no matter what race you're from, you'd get Blackshares."

Like Berkshares, the idea behind the still-theoretical Blackshares is to challenge the current tide of globalization. It is, at its heart, a way for the disenfranchised communities who have missed out on the fruits of global capitalism to have their piece of the pie.

Regional currencies can also be seen as part of a larger environmental movement. In many cases, local production and consumption makes more sense in terms of energy efficiency and with warnings about global warming and dependence on foreign oil ubiquitous these days, the argument for "local living" is especially relevant.

"By making sure we have a vibrant local economy with local production, then we are creating a more sustainable future for our region," said Witt. "If other regions do the same, then we are creating networks of more sustainable regional economies that certainly want to trade with each other outside, but have within them the resources to support their own economies in the future."

It's a big vision for such a modest person, but Witt is not too far off. The chambers of commerce of three neighboring towns recently contacted Witt to see how they can bring Berkshares to their communities.

[joel the ornery]

they are for entertainment purposes only!

thank you.

You are so very welcome! I am glad that someone enjoyed the links.

um, actually i didn't go to the links, i was thanking you for labeling them for what they are.

[Toolmaker]

thank you.

You are so very welcome! I am glad that someone enjoyed the links.

um, actually i didn't go to the links, i was thanking you for labeling them for what they are.

That wasn't a label.. it was a disclaimer! I just didn't want responsibility for anyone declaring jihad on themselves after reading the info contained within.

[joel the ornery]

That wasn't a label.. it was a disclaimer! I just didn't want responsibility for anyone declaring jihad on themselves after reading the info contained within.

well, thank you.