Girwen’s Weblog

John McCain: “When you say wind solar and tide, most every expert that I know says that, if you maximize that in every possible way, the contribution that that would make given the present state of technology is very small, is very small.
Girwen: “So you want to push for a drilling frenzy that might damage the environment won’t deliver any results other than giving you a grandstand from which to con the voters with your I’m fixing the economy”

McCain: “It’s not a large contribution. It’s wonderful, it’s great to have it, I encourage it everywhere. I hope everyone will, for Christmas, buy their family a solar panel. But, that would be exciting. But they, but, I’d be glad to send you the figures that there’s the amount of — even if we gave it the absolute maximum, uh, wind, solar and tide, uh, etc. The clean tech — the truly clean technologies don’t work.”
Girwen: “There ya go again, listening to the village idiot’s faux scientists and astroturf organizations”

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Opponents of genetic manipulation, antibiotics in feed, hormones to boost
milk production or cattle growth, and synthetic pesticides are often accused
of being anti-science. But more often it seems money and corporate power
dictate the technologies that dominate our food system, not impartial
science.”

The dominant myth about democracy in the United States is that all sides may
air points of view, and that through debate truth and justice will win out
over power. But under the present regime, it seems the might of capital
makes right.

Take the example of Creekstone Farms, a small meat processor that markets
high-quality beef here and abroad.

In a move to restore beef sales to Japan that were lost after a U.S. animal
with mad cow disease was identified last December, Creekstone requested the
right to test all its cattle before slaughter.

But after an outcry from others in the industry the Agriculture Department
announced it would continue to ban the comprehensive testing proposed
by Creekstone.

The major packers argue that testing every animal would be unreasonably
expensive and could give too many false-positive results, hurting the market
for U.S. beef. The Agriculture Department asserts that the international
scientific consensus is that “100 percent testing is not justified.”

The decision is hypocrisy for an agency that claims to promote sales of U.S.
farm products. Creekstone is not demanding 100 percent testing of all U.S.
beef. It only wants the right to test its own beef so it can sell to an
established market in Japan using a standard higher than the minimum.

All it takes is some muscle flexing by the major packers, and independent
producers are pushed out of a lucrative market.

USDA is rejecting of the kind of cattle testing done in Japan and Europe
because somebody (who?) desn’t want to raise production costs.

Japan tests all cattle, and Europe tests all animals older than 30 months.

It is time to recognize that the worship of profits over public safety and
the common good should not dominate policy. Our nation insists on strict
separation of church and state.

We should likewise demand a clear separation between the Robber Barons
and the government.

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The mass development of genetically modified crops risks causing the world’s worst environmental disaster, The Prince of Wales has warned.

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After Thirty-Five Years and $500 Billion, Drugs Are as Cheap and Plentiful as Ever: An Anatomy of a Failure

The war on drugs is just plain stupidity. All it does is increase the potential for profit for those selling on the black market. A solution would be to legalize “whatever” and if there is a valid reason to stop the use of “whatever” provide a treatment program at a much lower cost than the enforcement. At the same time you would eliminate the foolish loss of life, both “collateral damage” and the cops don’t get killed chasing the bad guys.
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Dr. Larry Hunter (former U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Chief Economist): “The Republican Party is a dead rotting carcass with a few decrepit old leaders stumbling around like zombies in a horror version of ‘Weekend With Bernie,’ handcuffed to a corpse.”

Before this race is over we will no longer have to question John McCain’s manhood, values or character because it will be clear to all that the “Fiction” of McCain’s legacy is a greater illusion than his testicular fortitude. The selling of the “Maverick John McCain” is a fiction perpetuated by his handlers and friends in the media. “WAR HEROES” do not run around telling anyone and everyone that they can find how how damn heroic that they are. Do they? Ever listen to Bruce Springsteen’s Song Glory Days? Heroes do not live to tell tall tales. Myths do. Heroes die. Liars never tell you how they graduated 4th from the bottom of their class at the Naval Academy, how their legacy admission is the only reason they were not expelled or that they were never promoted to Admiral because McCain was of low intellect, had little if any intellectual curiousity about flight plan preparation, spent more of his time behind a bar stool than actually studying, crashed numerous military aircraft and was hardly viewed by anyone at the Naval Academy as a serious Naval Aviator. In fact, he was more enamored with the title “Naval Aviator” then he was in actually becoming a marginally proficient pilot and he was known to have spent most of his time at the Naval Academy in a drunken stupor. Is this the kind of “Maverick” we want to be the leader of the free world? McCain was a terrible pilot who crashed and destroyed many planes and probably should not have been given his assignment in Vietnam where he was shotdown, briefly tortured and then sung like a canary for the Viet Cong. Think about that. John McCain was a terrible pilot but was into the title, lifestyle and glory behind being a Naval Aviator but was not willing to prepare. Ask yourself whether this putz would be the same as President. Ask Ross Perot and what he will tell you is that McCain is a soulless opportunistic fraud who gravitates towards the limelight and rests his laurels on—being shot down and tortured. How many times will Americans fall for the Faux Patriots who wrap themselves inthe American Flag while they question the Patriotism of any American who questions the morality of his government engaging in unneccessary and ill advised War Games destroying the lifes of people in foreign lands? You may hate their leaders policy but one must be hesitant to sentence their citizens to death in order to win votes at home.
McCain spent most of his time in a drunken stupor skirt chasing rich women, looking for someone to replace his Daddy. McCain is as fictional as McHale’s Navy, the 1960’s TV show. Ask the wife he left behind whether her loyalty was properly reciprocated. His first wife waited patiently for his return from Vietnam. However, shortly before McCain’s return she lost her model like appearance in a severe accident. John McCain returned to his continued skirt chasing and courting of the most affluent women he could find and coerced his wife in exchange for getting one of his then cronies to pay her medical bills. That crony is Ross Perot (see below what he thinks of McCain now). John McCain is more America’s self entitled Preppy Brat who went from Daddy to his Mommy, Cindy McCain. McCain the “Maverick” is hardly his own man.

Consider Cindy McCain, his trophy wife who supports him with her family fortune, yet he cheats on her and he has on record referred to as a CUNT. What does that say about McCain’s character?? I mean if a woman and her family pay your bills and support and enable your existence financially, a more appropriate title for her might be GODDESS right? Ross Perot, one of McCain’s early benefactors, who pays McCain’s first wife’s medical bills considers McCain a soul less opportunitistic fraud who seeks the limelight and glory. So you say you are a Republican, I still say, look behind the “man” and what you will be reminded of is the Great Oz inthe Wizard of Oz. When they pulled back the curtain, there he was a little man. That my friends is the essence of John McCain. Parties matter not, I am an American first and a member of any party secondarily. You contrast that with the rise of Senator Barack Obama and what you see is a man who has lived a disciplined life, rising up from a relatively moderate background, did some serious soul searching in his youth and rose to become Editor in Chief of the Harvard Law Review, served as a Community Organizer, State Legislator, a Law Professor at the University of Chicago Law School and U.S. Senator and a devoted family man. Now that my friends is character. So it is your choice, McCain the mouse or Obama the man.

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For years, Mr. Bush and his supporters have been telling the world that it is necessary to hold prisoners without charges, to abuse them in ways most civilized nations consider torture, and to deny them basic human rights because of the serious threat they pose to America. These are “dangerous terrorists captured on the battlefield,” Senator John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, said in a statement on Wednesday.
In the twisted world of Bush’s prison camps, it is unclear if Hamdan will get out after serving his sentence. Bush’s decisions have defied common sense, dismissal of the fact that bin Laden remains at large.the right way to dismantle bin Laden’s terrorism network is to express unconcern about chasing him down while relentlessly pursuing his driver

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From NPR’s Fresh Air — Why is it that government has expanded under an administration that claims to be against big government? Social critic Thomas Frank poses this question in his new book, The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule.

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an index for debunking of various popular media occurrences of climate-related nonsense. Articles are sorted by where they appear (outlet and country), or alphabetically by author. Under each article you will find links to rebuttals of specific arguments and overall critiques of the pieces. This is by no means comprehensive, but should provide a st

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Reflections on America’s position in the world.

Why hate America
Category: Life

I wanted to talk about this because it’s question that many people asked me in the last weeks. More precisely why do i think people hate America. Have my theory, of course. And it’s only mine in the sense that i am responsible for my own words, not anyone else. I also must say that i don’t like this kind of generalizations i am going to make. I don’t take individuals by these notions, only the nation’s average.

I believe that America is suffering from many problems, a schizophrenic culture, a power culture, a messianic culture and a lack of culture.

Let’s start from the last. American’s have a very small history, only a couple of centuries. They are young and they also have a very small recollection of their own past. They forgot where they came from, why they are there and what they did to those that where there before them, the true inhabitants of the country. They also forget what they have done to themselves in the years of their history. I am talking about civil war, mass murder, no respect for social minorities, racism. Then we can add testing radiation in unsuspected people, much like Nazis in concentration camps. The lack of respect for human life. The only country that actually used atom bombs, because they wanted a more spectacular show against Japan, and they did it twice. I could go on more, but i guess i get the point.

They are also so self centered that they even don’t know the history and culture of others. They wheren’t the first democracy, they haven’t still eradicated death penalty. They have the biggest murder rate in the world, with death rates only compared to those countries in civil war, and don’t recognise that as wrong. They think their democracy is better, but they even elected a President with less votes that the opponent. They wheren’t the first to abandon slavery. They even had to fight a war because of that not so long ago. They had segregation until the 60’s. And that from a plural and open society. That’s a joke right.

They can also claim that they are a work in progress. Well, what progress? The one shown in the freedom to teach wrong and stupid theories about dinosaurs and men living together? That’s progress? I call it regression to Inquisition times. And what culture? Hollywood? Give me a break. Almost all great American writers had to get out of there to be great.

Then this country, or better, these group of countries lead by a President, The President, as they call him, is convinced that their way is the best way. American way must be preached to the world, it’s the new revelation. That’s also a progress, really. Again we never saw anything like that since the Inquisition.

Then the power culture. If we can’t be smart about it let’s just be stronger and bigger. The result, they stopped being smart and now they just think they are stronger and bigger and can do all they want. The bully factor. It’s like in WWII, because Germans U-boats sunk X ships a day they just had to make X+Y to win the war. They just didn’t even stopped to think about the people, Americans, they where going to get killed. And we should be grateful for their sacrifice. I will never be grateful for the stupidity of others. The land of the brave and free just slaughtered their own because they didn’t wanted to think better. They just wanted to be stronger and meaner.

Now the schizophrenic part of it. They are from many creeds and backgrounds, they all are free to say what they want about anything they want, but is that same society that made us live with Echelon, and satellites that spy on us 24/7. I don’t want that freedom. They justify that on the account of 9/11 and those unfortunate incidents. That those things never happen again. I really mean that, but i must add anywhere. Even in Iraque. The land of freedom has a government that made Guantanamo and issued instructions on torture. We are back to Inquisition times.

So, i ask where is the progress promised? Why should we trust a country that as 400 years of catching up, of learning the respect, the true respect of others. Why must we consider ourselves lucky to have as friends, sometimes forced friends, that are so uncivilised that didn’t even learned with the history of others?

So, why shouldn’t we hate the stupidity and lack of culture of America? Why must we love segregation, torture, war and murder? Why must we like to be lead by a country that shows no respect what so ever for the Earth we live in? They didn’t signed Kyoto!!!!

Can i love America? Of course not.

Paulo Pereira , Portugal
http://paulo-ppereira.blogspot.com/

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I am fine with what I understand to be the teachings of Christ. Then I get to the bible. That is where you get to hear what the “priests” want you to do. They’ve got it down to a science. They start by brainwashing kids along with teaching them how to speak. The first thing I learned was that if I did such and such (masturbated, lied, THE BIGGIE “lost your faith” or whatever) or I didn’t (go to church on Sunday) I was going to go to hell. Nobody wants to go to hell. Until you begin to question the premise that it’s GOD’s law, and finally reject it, you are stuck. It took me 30 years to go from the initial questioning to being totally comfortable with rejecting the absurd suggestion that the bible was the word of god and not the word of the priests who wanted to keep everybody in line.

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