If the U.S. presidential election were held in Canada, John Kerry would win a landslide, with at least three-quarters of the vote, perhaps taking even Alberta. But they don't hold it here. (My reader will immediately grasp why no Republican administration could ever wish to annex Canada. Conquer and enslave us perhaps, but no plan that involved an extension of the franchise could fail to subvert the invaders.)
The world at large, and even the arguably-allied West, might well vote differently from the Americans, given their druthers. But they aren't Americans, and no matter how similar or dissimilar their societies, they do not carry the responsibilities which our southern neighbours bear. The U.S. simply IS the world's uncontested superpower -- the adult in the planetary kindergarten -- and with that comes an outlook no one else can fully share.
Why should Jews want the re-election of George W. Bush? Let's start with the removal of Saddam Hussein, his resolve in fighting Islamic terrorists, his unequivocal support for Israel's government and people, his willingness to confront the appeasers of terror in the United Nations, and his steadfast commitment to the principle of prevention.Read more on why George W. Bush deserves the Jewish vote!
The case for George W. Bush is the case for a clear and consistent US foreign policy. In three and a half years, President Bush has done more for Israel than any other president in the last 50. And, unlike his opponent, he has never wavered, vacillated, or equivocated in his support.
Russ Knocke, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman, told Reuters on Tuesday, that the work visa was taken back because of a section in federal law applying to aliens who have used a "position of prominence within any country to endorse or espouse terrorist activity."Islamic groups, naturally, are whining about the visa revocation. Islam Online reports:
He said the revocation was based on "public safety or national security interests".
[The] Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the DHS decision to revoke a visa previously granted to Tariq Ramadan sends the wrong message to the Islamic world about America's willingness to listen to what Muslims have to say.No. It sends the right message: Coming to America is a privilege, not a right. Nobody has an entitlement to get a visa to come here and peddle Islamofascist dogma. It's about time we pulled out the welcome mat.
"The best way to improve deteriorating relations with the Muslim world is by listening to mainstream Islamic political and religious voices, not by censoring respected scholars whose views are apparently feared by those who seek a monopoly on intellectual debate," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad."Mainstream?" John Little at Blogs of War has done some digging into Ramadan's teachings here and discovers the name of one of Ramadan's courses: "A Faith to Die For."
How have we come this far? Have Americans lost their love of liberty?Read the excellent column here.
I remember well April, 1968 - I was serving in Vietnam -- a place of violence -- when the news reports brought home to me and my crewmates the violence back home - and the tragic news that one of the bullets flying that terrible spring took the life of that unabashedly maladjusted citizen.There's just one problem, he wasn't in Viet Nam until November of 1968! What a liar!
Dave Matthews Band Blamed For Human Waste
Aug 24, 2004 6:01 pm US/Central
Rock star Dave Matthews and his tour bus driver are facing a filthy lawsuit.
The Illinois Attorney General's office says they're responsible for dumping up to 100-gallons of raw human waste from a tour bus onto the Kinzie Street Bridge earlier this month.
The nasty mess rained down on passengers aboard a sightseeing boat two weeks ago.
The suit charges both the band and the bus driver with violating state water pollution laws, as well as common law public nuisance laws.
A spokesman for the band says all of its tour buses were parked at the time of the incident.
KWS Seeks Millions From Procter & Gamble
The East African
The action could put a halt to illegal extraction of Kenya's biological resources, particularly those with huge industrial potential
THE KENYA Wildlife Service (KWS) is seeking a share of the hundreds of millions of dollars generated from the sales of a popular detergent and a bleaching agent manufactured in the US whose active ingredients were acquired in Kenya illegally.
With assistance from scientists at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (Icipe), KWS has launched a claim for a share of the proceeds accruing to the US multinational giant Procter & Gamble and to Genencor International BV of the Netherlands with respect to the sales of Tide Alternative Bleach Detergent and "stonewashing" material.
According to information made available to The EastAfrican, Genencor was the company that discovered "extremophiles" (tiny organisms that are able to survive and thrive in extreme environmental conditions) in Kenya, cloned and later sold them to Procter & Gamble, which used them as critical ingredients in the manufacture of the detergent.
thank you so much for your sweet letter. you're so kind to always be
thinking of me.
my experience in afghanistan has been amazing for the most part. in the states, people are always worried about the security but it seems here that poverty is a much bigger issue. case to point, i am currently sporting the "kabul cough," a cough that inflict foreigners when shortly after they arrive. when i asked what it was from, my boss explained that the poor/non-existant sewage system and animals roaming the streets cause a disproportionate amount of feces exposed, some of which gets caught in the air. so what i have is feces attacking my throat. now i don't know if this is true or not, but the fact that it's plausible suggests the state of this country.
as for specifics, i was interning for bearingpoint for a few weeks when i got a job offer from the UNDP. now i'm working on DDR (disarmament, demobilization, reintegration of ex-combatants). it's really interesting work and the learning curve is quite sharp at hte moment, which means that i come home every night exhausted. but the contract is 6-months which means that i will have to start looking for a job (again) starting in a few months. but that seems like a lifetime away.
as for iran, i haven't kept abreast with the news to know what's going on. if i remember correctly, most of the grievance is over the nuclear stuff. there might be a thing or two about iraq, and i vaguely remember the US being upset with iran because of something to do with al-qaeda. in studying the history of US foreign policy with Iran, it seems that a lot has more to do with perception than with reality. in this case, i think the neocons are out to get iran, for whatever reason. this is not to say that iran is blame free. but the types of grievances that the US has with iran does not warrant even mention of an attack. if you want to talk about oppression, iran's neighbor to the north, turkmenistan, should raise red flags. north korea's nuclear program puts iran's to shame. but a lot of this is political and has more to do with specific lobbies within the united states.
oh dear, it seems as though i'm babbling. i don't know how good any of this information will be for your blog. one of these days, i'll sit down and write a descriptive email about my stay in kabul. thanks for always thinking of me.
