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All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Check out the following link. Nancy Pelosi has helped upgrade the menu to haute cuisine for Congress members.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/7888.html
Martin Luther King Jr.
Check out the following link. Nancy Pelosi has helped upgrade the menu to haute cuisine for Congress members.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/7888.html
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13 comments:
I read pp 144-145 "Torture Has Escalated in Iraq" about the huge amount of torture that has been going on in Iraq even after the fall of Saddam and U.S. occupation. This is very alarming and saddening in a way because in this instance there are too many civilians that are suffering needlessly. On the other hand I can state that I feel that torture is a necessary weapon in an arsenal of any country when in a war such as the one we are fighting, but it has to be used with the right amount of force and also be used as a last resort in extreme conditions. What I mean by this is, consider the possibility that a group of terrorists has taken a nuclear weapon and smuggled into the U.S. Now we are aware of this group and their intentions here, but we have no idea who they are or how to get inside of the group. During the investigation a federal agency receives information about a suspect that is deeply believable and possible due to this suspects background and history. So now we have a suspect that can almost certainly give us vital information on the nuclear weapon and the terrorists. We already know that the weapon will be released in less then 48 hours. This suspect either knows the location or the key players in the group. You know that if you don't use extreme measures of persussaiveness to obtain the needed information, thousands and thousands of people will die and possibly our government will be affected. You also know that if you do use those means of "torture" you can save a lot of lives and protect our way of life itself. Which do you choose?
Michelle Oboma said this past week, for the first time in her adult life she is proud to be an American. She has had to deal with a lot of bad publicity over it. When I first heard the whole speech I thought she meant exactly what she said. After hearing other things that have been said in the last few days, and thinking about it I do feel differently about the whole thing now. I am not a supporter of Oboma, however, I do not think she meant anything bad; I think she has always been proud to live in America. But she should have never said that. It sounds very bad for a potential first lady to say something like that. I believe she was actually talking about the political world and in the support her husband is getting from much of America.
Ralph Nader has decided to join the presidental campagin again. This is his 4th consecutive attempt, and I think at this point in the race he is being counterproductive. It is believed that he will take voters that would have voted democratic which could damage the democratic party's bid for the White House. I am not sure what motivates Mr. Nader hopeful someone can shed some light on this situation.
Has Globalization been good to India?
Before considering all sides to the bigger picture, my first thoughts would have been no. Globalization was synonymous with outsourcing and losing a job that did not exist for me. Two years ago, I was starry-eyed wearing the rose-colored glasses that ECPI handed me--life was peachy and getting a job in web design was going to be like taking candy from a baby. Back to the future, sans glasses, I eventually accepted that getting the paper was going to be half the battle. Essentially I learned competition drives the market-even if it means a business can get the labor elsewhere saving a few dollars along the way. But in India, what we consider low wage has opened the doors for higher standards of living and the chance to put their talents for use elsewhere. Numbers are hard to fight
page 202
Have the world’s oil supplies peaked?
The “peak oil” theory splits the oil experts into 2 categories. One that thinks the earth is at its climax of its oil supplies and the other that think its not. If they think we’re out, then we’re going to face rapid depletion and higher gas prices and more energy shocks. Some say that we haven’t reach the top of the oil supplies yet though and won’t for another 20 to 30 years. Nobody can really tell how much reserves we have because the 2 highest oil countries, Iran and Saudi Arabia, don’t allow outsiders to check their figures. I rather be on the safe side of things and say that we’re are close to running out of oil. We should focus on finding different ways to drive vehicles and actually stop digging into the earth. I know that everybody is thinking about the present, but what about when we die off and it’s our kids that our left on this earth and for the next generations to come.
I read page 237. and the question was Will reducing greenhouse gases harm the global economy. This is a very good topic to talk about. I agree with Myron Ebell when he said that it is harmful and we will spend more money trying to fix the problem then managing it. The greenhouse has alot to do with the climate change the seasons should be what they are not getting people sick and killing people. The greenhouse gas will effect more the the economy it will effect the society.
i read pg's 438-439. it talks about how many of our cross sea's trading organizations contribute to over 43% of the worlds economy. From basic lines that are drawn from neighboring countries and forigen lands that have a certain common or differences that are not settled. the the atlantic trade contributes to the cash flow of the lands. Is it possible that if one nation was to cut off from the rest of the nations to stabilize a certain cash flow? Also wars and conflicts occur between nations all the time and for the fact of being neutural through it all, what happens when that nation decides to cut its funding and items that it produces?
MSNBC
This is an article about reducing Combat tours in Iraq for the soldiers.
A top Army official sees that the readiness of our troops is being stretched very thin because of long deployments. Of course the democratic party sees this as a reason to completely withdraw. The main one on this agenda is Senator Russ Feingold from WI. The democrats seem to want to end the meddling in foreign affairs especially if it's not popular. This is the same Russ Feingold that wants to give the president money and troops to setup a government in Somalia. Isn't this exactly what Bush and the Republicans are trying to do in Iraq? I do not believe that we should have went into Iraq. We had no direct threat and no direct hostilities from Husseins regime. That being said once we did invade, we made a commitment that we would install a new government and we had a promise that we would let the Iraqi people choose that government. Government building takes time, and anyone that thinks it should over in only 6 years needs to think again. Look how long the I-64 construction is taking and it's not nearly as daunting a task as setting up a legitimate government and military/police force. then you need to setup a respectable system of law enforcement and then... the list goes on and on.
It makes me angry when I hear that the President did this or the President did that when the situation is more likely that our government did this or that.
Guess I'll vote for ROOT. At least we match up a little...
Inuit Confront Hard Reality: Melting Arctic ice is changing ancient ways
The Inuit people are faced with the destruction of their lively hood. The Arctic is melting. Animals and plants that they depend on for survival are becoming less predictable in location and health. Hunters are being killed because the permafrost on which they walk can no longer support their weight. Seals that live near the sea ice coastline are not doing well. Polar Bears are drowning at sea. The Inuit people cannot store meat in the traditional manner because the ice is not cold enough.
The culprit--global warming.
There was once a time when discussions on whether the buildup of CO2 in the atmosphere would cause a global ice age or green house effect. It's now 2008 and it is very much evident that we are experiencing the results of our manner of living... Almost, but not quite yet.
Other people are experiencing the results of our living. People far away from us. People who do not have the voice or resources to show us what is happening. While we continue to drive our big huge SUV's and grumble about the price of gas. Animals are dying, or changing their migration patterns, or becoming endangered and one day perhaps extinct. While we argue whether or not global warming is real, refuse to make any changes to our lives because it would be too uncomfortable or cost too much or be detrimental to the economy.
If we continue on our present course, there will come a day when it will no longer be the animals that suffer for our arrogance. If we continue on our present course, there will be a day when it is no longer our neighbors in some far off corner of the globe who does not have a voice to make their concerns heard who will cry the warning of what is to come. If we continue on our present course, then one day it will be us, or our children--lamenting about how hot it is, wishing that we could trade in our big huge SUV's for a boat, worrying about where we are going to find our food. When will it be time to start taking actions to make sure that that day never occurs.
Page 394 in the Global issues book raises the question, "Does China threaten U.S. energy supplies?" It is believed that China will purchase most of the world's depleting oil supplies leaving the U.S. struggling to find sources of petroleum. One reason is because China is in the process of bargaining with suppliers throughout the world's oil industry. Here recently China spent billions of dollars on oil resources in Ecuador and Kazakhstan. According to the Analysis of Global Security, China's Middle Eastern oil dependency will be somewhere around 70 percent by the year 2015, up from 58 percent.
Despite China's growth in the oil industry, some believe that the U.S. won't be adversely affected at all. They believe that China is overrated when it comes to its economic boost in petroleum and in know way can influence the global energy supply of the U.S. I myself do not believe that U.S. energy supplies are threatened by the rise in China's oil industry.
Will forgiving the debts of Africa’s poorest countries help end poverty?
GLOBAL ISSUES, pages176 – 177
No, I don’t believe so. There will be poverty to some degree in every country.
Relieving Africa’s poorest countries of their debt maybe a step in the right direction, as the writer points out, the G-8 agreed to cancel the debts that some of the world’s poorest countries owe to multilateral lenders. By canceling the debt, it did not produce any net income for the African countries to spend on social programs. If any thing, as pointed out by Steven Radelet, a senior fellow with the Center on Global Development, canceling the debt allowed African countries to get off the merry-go-round of borrowing new money to pay old loans and restore credibility to the system to allow finance ministers to pay attention to important development issues.
As I read and reread this section several times, the real question the writer is asking – Is it fair to the other countries to forgive the debts of Africa’s poorest countries?
Forbes World's Richest People 2008
Forbes has published a list of biggest wealth creator list on thrusday. American investor Warren Buffet has overtaken Microsoft head Bill gates to become the biggest wealth creator. Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim is after him in the list.
4 Indian's have made their position in the top 10 wealth creators including Anil Ambani in the lead. Anil Ambani is biggest wealth creator according to forbes.Steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, Mukesh Ambani and K P singh is other three Indians who made place in the top 10.
The world's Billionaires list has now 1,125 people now which was only 179 last year. And they combines total wealth of $4.4 trillion.Buffet topped the list with networth of $62 billion. Carlos Slim and Bill Gates follow him with $60 billion and $58 billion respectively. Lakshmi Mittal, Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani are in the list after them with networth or 45, 43, 42 respectively in billion.
source:MSN.COM
Pages 289 – 292 of our issues book is titled “Boat People” and discusses the US policy on immigration, and how it was changed during the 1990’s exodus of Cubans and Haitian’s trying to reach the US by whatever they could float on.
Before I put much more into this, it should be said that I did then, do now, and will continue to support the policies of our nation, regardless of whether or not I personally agree with them.
I experienced much of this first hand through my service in the Coast Guard. Often I would be awakened at night to man my position onboard my Coast Guard Cutter, as we set out to interdict these hopeful refugees.
For anyone that has any amount of empathy for their fellow Human, there is no better (or worse) wake up call than sing a 40 foot long open sailboat crowded with 60 or more people, all of them putting their lives at risk to flee from oppression. I have never been moved more by any other experience (except the birth of my children, but that is altogether a different thing). To see the looks of relief and joy on their faces as we removed them from their mostly un-seaworthy vessels, to our ship brings warmth to one’s heart, knowing that you helped bring that to them is a feeling like no other.
This feeling was always short lived, though. Often times, when we had as many as we could safely transport, they got the free trip, just not to the destination they hoped for. There were times when we would be tasked to return them directly to Port-au-Prince, in Haiti, or directly to the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Once our passengers saw that they were going back to Haiti, the mood would of course change dramatically, you could almost see the life drain from their eyes.
The Coast Guard is known for saving lives, and that was our primary goal, to keep these people from drowning as the overloaded boats were hardly able to float, let alone make it the distance to Florida. It was the taxi service back to Haiti that we performed that sits the worst in my stomach. Realize that the time I was involved was prior to our invasion of Haiti, and that most of the refugees where in fact fleeing for their lives from the regime that governed Haiti at the time. For us to have to return them, meant almost certain death, or so I heard.
It is unfortunate that this smelting pot of the world has finally gotten to the point of turning away those that could bring value to our nation, however small a value, what more valuable thing is there than human life?
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