How to Combat Terrorism

For the best and most enduring protection from every form of evil terrorism, the US should take these five steps.

I have reported many times about how the Republican Parties in Ohio, Missouri and Kentucky were about the most corrupt political establishments in America. One that I have been missing is the Alaska Republican Party. I think it is time I turn northward to discuss what is going on in Alaska.

At the epicenter of Alaska corruption seems to be the Alaska oil services company Veco Corp. Veco, until its recent buyout, was an oil pipeline service and construction company. Perhaps Veco would like to be best known for the fact that it carried out a great deal of the clean up efforts after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. But this is not the only thing they were known for. They were known for illegal influence on Republican politicians.

The topic below was originally posted on my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal as well as The Wild Wild Left, the Independent Bloggers Alliance, The Peace Tree and Worldwide Sawdust.

Most Americans are eager to turn the page on the Bush years. Yet even as we elect a new president we're still coming to terms with an era that has both tarnished America's reputation and diminished its influence.

Fred Kaplan chronicles the folly of the Bush years in his new book, Daydream Believers: How a Few Grand Ideas Wrecked American Power (John Wiley & Sons).

Kaplan writes that,

"Nearly all of America's blunders in war and peace these past few years stem from a single grand misconception: that the world changed after 9/11, when in fact it didn't.

Certainly, things about the world changed, not least Americans' sudden awareness that they were vulnerable. But the way the world works - the nature of power, warfare, and politics among nations - remained essentially the same."

The American Congress needs to review PEFPAR before reauthorizing it

The President of the United States, George W Bush, is currently visiting Africa. This visit is taking him to five African countries- Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Liberia. Top in his agenda is the fight against HIV/AIDS. The president is using this opportunity to review the progress that has been made so far in the fight against the AIDS pandemic on the continent. The American government is funding the AIDS program with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEFPAR)

PEFPAR supports the treatment of millions of HIV infected persons in the region. It provides anti retroviral treatment to pregnant mothers to prevent mother to child transmission. The fund also goes into preventing new infections, and to caring for HIV/AIDS patients. According to President Bush "The pandemic of HIV/AIDS can be defeated...By working together we can give hope and comfort to millions"

The topic below was originally posted February 14th, on my blog the Intrepid Liberal Journal and crossposted today at The Wild Wild Left, Independent Bloggers Alliance, The Peace Tree and Worldwide Sawdust.

American politics typically reflects our cultural ethos of the moment. Just consider these questions:

1. Has our culture promoted community or celebrated greed?

2. Is our foreign policy based upon cooperation with the community of nations or the imperatives of empire?

3. Can individuals live in dignity regardless of their profession, economic class, ethnicity, gender, religion and sexual orientation or is gentrified wealth valued above character?

Presented by Leo Igwe at the 11th International Conference of the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa Ouagadougou , Burkina Faso
February 03-07 2008

I want to thank the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA) for inviting me to speak at this 11th international conference taking place here in Ouagadougou , in Burkina Faso . The theme of this conference HIV/AIDS, Gender and Human Rights: Time for Action is very appropriate. It addresses the cogent issues at the heart of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa .
First of all let me convey the solidarity greetings from all African Humanists and from the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) to SWAA and to all of you, fellow participants who came from all over the world to attend this event.

(NOTE: The essay below was the first installment of my first article written for publication. Although originally drafted as one long piece in March 2005, this article remains relevant three years later. Both Parts One and Two previously appeared in the Ethical Spectacle (February and March 2006, at www.spectacle.org/0206/sout ar.html and www.spectacle.org/0306/sout ar2.html). The article provides a condensed summary of my beliefs about terrorism and how it should be addressed. Check back later for Part Two.)

January 30, 2008

By RB Scott
Boston, Massachusetts

Note:  RB Scott, a former staff writer and editor at Time, Life, People and Sports Illustrated, reports frequently on national politics.

As  the barrow pit alongside the campaign expressway collects more roadkill  (Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, Joe Biden, Dennis Kucinich, Fred Thompson, Duncan Hunter, Tom Tancredo, Sam Brownback, Jim Gilmore, and Tommy Thompson; and last night Rudy Giuliani and John Edwards while Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul ran into heavy oncoming traffic), the grinding primary election process seems as determined to set a few new precedents as it is to extrude a very predictable result: another election and inauguration of the least objectionable.  

by CODY LYON

The President spent a large chunk of time pleading with the American people that the surge of American troops is working, that things are getting better and that history will show we'd done the right thing by invading the country and ridding it of Saddam Hussein...

But, some might say, the President was speaking to a nation that has turned a deaf ear to men who cry wolf. Unfortunately, they might also see a nation that's turned a deaf ear to news from Iraq.

That's due in great part to the media frenzy surrounding campaign primaries, certainly more fun news than stories from Baghdad, instead we hear about who crossed the line in a political attack, what groups will support who, who's got the most money, and who struck a low blow on the trail today? All of that and so much more make for great tabloid headlines that are filled with all kinds of juicy human drama.

It's amazing how a presidential candidate coming from 20-30 points behind in all the polls, being up against two of the most popular figures in our nation's history, can end up getting within the margin of error or even beat those two historical figures, in a primary or caucus; but he's done it.  Barack Obama not only won in South Carolina, he won by a wide margin, something like 27 points.  He won in large part because of getting 81% of the black votes (male and female), but he also got a health three way share of the white men/women, all age voters.  In other words, he slaughtered Bill and Hillary Clinton in their (own) territory.

The topic below was originally posted in my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal, as well as the Wild Wild Left, the Independent Bloggers Alliance, the Peace Tree and Worldwide Sawdust.

Anybody out there ever watch the Family Guy cartoon on the American Goebell's Network otherwise known as FOX? The only reason to watch FOX is for cartoons such as The Simpsons or The Family Guy. How ironic FOX airs cartoons with satirical commentary about America's conservative culture.

Anyway, some years ago, an episode of the Family Guy showed imbecile father/husband Peter Griffin watching Star Trek on television. In typical Peter fashion he observed, "Holy crap!  Lt. Uhura is black!" Adding to the humor was how Peter watched Star Trek regularly and only realized Uhura was black that very moment.

Watching news coverage of this year's presidential campaign I feel like everyone from corporate media executives, field reporters and the Clintons have declared: "Holy crap! Barack Obama is black!"

By Jason Miller

Click on the link below to see the hard-hitting photos that accompany this essay:

http://www.bestcyrano.org/T HOMASPAINE/?p=566

Canine. It's what's for dinner.

We pride ourselves on our devotion to the principle of equality here in the United States, so it's time to put our values where our mouths are, so to speak. Pigs, chickens, cows, and the like already endure abject suffering so we can consume their flesh, so it is only fair that we include "man's best friend." How could they better prove their deep loyalty to us than by sacrificing their lives to feed us?

The topic below was originally published in my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal as well as The Wild Wild Left, Independent Bloggers Alliance, the Peace Tree and Worldwide Sawdust.

My immediate response to Saturday's results in South Carolina and Nevada are jaded despair. None of the candidates in either party, including my preferred candidate John Edwards, inspires my confidence about the future. Even worse, my preferred candidate with the most progressive message didn't even garner five percent of the vote in a heavily unionized state.

Overall, too many figures in the corporatist media, as well as bloggers, are consumed by the "horserace." The focus has been on Hillary Clinton's tears, Barack Obama's platitudes, John Edward's hair or John McCain's so-called "authenticity." There was also the silly hair splitting about who said what in the Clinton and Obama camps over race or inspid attention on Obama's statements about his disorganized desk. What the hell is wrong with all you people out there? Why are people so incapable of focusing on the salient challenges of our time and demanding answers from the declared candidates about why their ideas are best? Sad to say, today's candidates don't measure up to previous presidents.

Boston, MA.
January 18, 2008

Although Irish Setters have been sleeping around the family manse for years, it is apparent that Mitt Romney has failed to absorb and grasp the subtle messages and extensions of the adage "let sleeping dogs lie."  

That may be changing.

Want change?  Don't we all.  Each of the Democratic Presidential candidates has plans for change, with varying ideas on how they'd go about it.  For the most part, the top three candidates use similar rhetoric, with Barack Obama presenting the most inspirational picture, Hillary Clinton suggesting notions based on her extensive experience, and John Edwards detailing the most explicit plans for recovering from the Bush legacy.  

We want change, that's a given.  But if Democrats, Independents & progressives want to win the 2008 presidency and, more importantly, achieve a landslide takeover of Congress, Democrats need a candidate that can beat anyone the GOP comes up.  In addition to being able to win, our candidate needs to be one who won't stir up the vindictive passions of conservatives.  Why?  Because conservatives are in the minority, yet they continually out-vote progressives when they're angry, fearful or spiteful.  Even with the ongoing Iraq quagmire and recent lying, cheating and stealing firmly tied to the Bush Administration and its policies (CIA outing, war profiteering and record oil profits), the Democrats' showing at the polls is dismal.  The left simply doesn't use its majority political clout to ensure the country is run the way we want it to be run.

Next year there is more at stake than just the presidency.  We have a potentially historic opportunity to take back the Senate.  The conservative movement is faltering.  We need to be careful not to reinvigorate it with a bad choice in the Democratic primary.  Remember Barry Goldwater?  The people who voted for his losing presidential bid did so as if it were some kind of badge of honor.  At least two of our current candidates in the Democratic pool could inspire that type of spiteful, negative voting again next fall, which would result in a lost opportunity to elect new Democrats in Congress as well.  If progressives want to enact real change in Congress and take our government back, we need to face up to reality before our wishful thinking sets us up for failure next fall.

Hillary Clinton is the GOP's best Get Out The Vote strategy in 2008.  Obama's a close second.

We can get mad about what elected Republicans have done to our country in the past six years and vote in the Democratic Primary for any candidate who says they'll do things differently.  Or, we could proactively determine how the election is likely to go next year if our candidate is easily portrayed to "Middle America" as the worse thing that could happen to our country.