More misc news

A lot of stuff has been going on in the news lately. While I can't cover it all, here are some things that have struck nerves with me:

Conflicts in the Middle East
For starters, the nonsensical conflict between Palestine and Israel has started to reach out to its neighbors. According to this article, Lebanon has become newest casuality in this war. As it appears, the Israeli government is now using Lebanon as a "buffer zone" for missle attacks. So, let me get this straight. In the event that there is a rocket strike, Israel plans to use Lebanon (which actually is inhabited) as a demilitarized zone? As if casualites in Israel and Palestine aren't enough, Lebanese folks are now in the mix too.

Speaking of Middle Eastern conflicts, it appears that the kidnapping and killing of three US soliders in Iraq was in retaliation from other troops in their unit who raped and killed an Iraqi woman along with her family. Though five soliders have been charged, this scandel represents a host of problems. One, this reaffirms the fact that this war is horrible for our public relations. If soliders who are assigned to "protect" Iraqis are harming civilians, this doesn't make our cause for war justifiable. This kind of stuff is what happens when you put young, trigger-happy, controlling soliders around exotic (even in a "hidden" way) women of "the enemy". I mean I can attest to how beautiful Middle easterner can be. Now, I'm not saying that all (or even most) soliders do this type of stuff. In fact, I have to give it up for the brave men and women who face unimaginable danger every day. But, if we don't pull out soon, we'll see a dramatic increase of casualities; not just in "dead or injured" categories.


Global warming concerns increase
Has anyone seen An Inconvenient Truth? I’m wondering why it hasn’t been released in Michigan theatres yet (at least, not that I know of). As if The Devil Wears Prada is a great source for raising consciousness on important issues. Then again, seeing as though Michigan was the vehicle Mecca for a long time, I guess I'm not suprised.

At any rate, I can't wait to see it once it's finally released here. I'll be interested to hear how the movie supports the compelling arguments behind global warming. It’ll be equally as interesting to see how the government responds to the scientific discussion of the film, particular the Bush Administration. Maybe this is why your president is so hell bent on destroying the EPA and its network of technical research libraries.

As much as I like President Gore, there are a couple of things about his arguments that bothered me. One, he argues that an increase in the world’s population has resulted in an increased burden on the environment. I don’t entirely buy that argument; given that over 80% of the world’s resources are being used by…you guessed it…the West. Secondly, I’m not entirely convinced about the Peakoil theory that he cites. Simply put, I really don’t believe that we are near the point of running out of oil which can be extracted. This is not to say that we shouldn’t use alternative sources. But it’s not because we are running low.

Did Gore use these two misinformed observations as a campaign to get a certain outcome (i.e. Presidency?). Only time can tell that one, I guess...

But, at least others are starting to raise their consciousness about this serious threat. Tom Brokaw had a pretty interesting documentary about Global warning on Discovery last night. I had to stay up until 1 in the morning to watch it (we were at some pointless church function until…like…10:30. Thank God for my neighbor’s TiVo), but it was a great documentary.


Enron founder dead
I was a little late on this one. But, as one of my esteemed blogger buddies informed me, Kenneth Lay; founder of Enron died of heart attack last week. Lay, who stood to face life in prison, died before his scheduled sentence on October 23. Also dying with him were any chances that the thousands of former employees who were raped by Enron, would receive fair and adequate treatment for their troubles.

Now, I’ve got a few theories about his death; none of which are related to a ‘natural’ heart attack. A few people have hinted that maybe he committed suicide. Although no evidence had been found (or looked for) to suggest it, I wouldn’t rule it out. I mean, the guy faced life in prison being roomed with a cellmate named “Butch” who developed quite a fondness for white collar men.

But, has it ever occurred to anybody that it may have been more than suicide? I’d like to remind you all that Lay was part of your Vice Presidents infamously secret “Energy Commission” during Cheney’s first year in office. Freedom of Information Act requests went all the way up to the Supreme Court; asking for transcripts of those meetings. But the court eventually struck it down. Now, I think that Lay was threatening to release that information if Bush didn’t give him a pardon once he was imprisoned. That was it for him…

Sure my theory may be waaaay out there, but I wouldn’t rule it out. I mean, Cheney had four hear attacks; two of which were severe, and yet that windbag is still alive. Lay, who was much healthier than Cheney, had absolutely NO previous heart problems, and who has tons of money and the best health care at his disposal, dies of a heart attack with no one around? Add the equation that if Ken Lay had gotten convicted, the monies he had stolen probably would have been confiscated. Now that he has conveniently died, if they can’t try him for his crimes, his family gets to keep all of the money.

If I haven’t convinced you enough, please allow me to share another interesting turn of events. Apparently, an unidentified British banker who was connected with Enron scandal who was just found dead. Coincidence?


Price of Oil Rising Again
Ever since North Korea started launching missiles, oil prices have been steadyily rising (just as I predicted). This represents the fact that oil companies are using international tensions as an opportunity to raise oil prices. Though N. Korea itself is not blamed for the rise in oil prices, the unease caused by international conflict does. It always has. Hello? Remember the Iran “hostage crisis” that preluded the infamous embargo of the 70’s?

It doesn’t appear that the government is going to start regulating the price of oil any time soon. So, as an alternative, why won’t they open their own refineries? That’ll force these greedy oil companies to reasonable reduce their prices. Maybe I’m a socialist for thinking so, but there’s something fundamentally wrong with you and me getting raped at the gas pump while oil companies are getting richer (sorry, HC, but this nonsense is getting out of hand).For anyone who agrees with me, I urge you to contact your Congressmen and let them know how you feel. Click on this link and input your zip code to email your representatives in Congress:

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

Corruption in Mexican election?
Some political commentators are now saying that the Mexican election was rigged. Although exit polls indicated that Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (the "leftist" candidate was beating Felipe Calderon (a conservative in the National Action Party and a Bush supporter), by almost a 2% margin, Calderon snuck away with the victory. But the Mexican people are pissed and haven't stopped protesting since the election. They are demanding a recount. Most impressive is that, according to this article, Lopez Obrador stood in the "Zocalo"— the square in front of Mexico’s White House, yelling, "Count the votes!"

Perhaps our Democratic leaders should be jotting down a few notes here. Maybe if Gore and Kerry had the same nerve as Lopez Obrador, they would have did the same.

Well, that's all for now. I need to get back to work.

Until next time...

- ACL