Politics - 8 August 2007

2007-08-08 10:01:09 · 5 answers · asked by mr g 2

2007-08-08 09:59:18 · 8 answers · asked by Naruto 1

2007-08-08 09:58:35 · 8 answers · asked by Half-pint 5

Links...
http://www.physics911.net/faketerror
http://www.physics911.net/kevinbarrett
http://www.physics911.net/ivashov

2007-08-08 09:50:02 · 7 answers · asked by Honey Girl 3

Aren't they are hoping for failure in Iraq to try and win the '08 election.

2007-08-08 09:48:47 · 14 answers · asked by Dude #2369™ 4

Please refrain from replying with answers such as these:
"because they are"
"look at Hilary"
"if you don't know then you are blind"
Thanks!

2007-08-08 09:44:40 · 20 answers · asked by Liberal City 6

Unlike most apparently intractable problems, which have a tendency to go away when examined closely and analytically, the climate change predicament just seems to get bigger and scarier the more we learn about it.

Now we discover that not only are the oceans and the atmosphere conspiring against us, bringing baking temperatures, more powerful storms, floods and ever-climbing sea levels, but the crust beneath our feet seems likely to join in too.

Looking back to other periods in our planet's history when the climate was swinging about wildly, most notably during the last ice age, it appears that far more than the weather was affected. The solid earth also became restless, with an increase in volcanic activity, earthquakes, giant submarine landslides and tsunamis. At the rate climate change is accelerating, there is every prospect that we will see a similar response from the planet, heralding not just a warmer future but also a fiery one.

Several times in the past couple of million years the ice left its polar fastnesses
and headed towards the equator, covering much of the world's continents in ice sheets over a kilometre thick, and sucking water from the oceans in order to do so. As a consequence, at times when the ice was most dominant, global sea levels were as much as 130m lower than they are today; sufficient to expose land bridges between the UK and the continent and Alaska and Russia.

Each time the ice retreated, sea levels shot up again, sometimes at rates as high as several metres a century. In the mid 1990s, as part of a study funded by the European Union, we discovered that in the Mediterranean region there was a close correlation between how quickly sea levels went up and down during the last ice age and the level of explosive activity at volcanoes in Italy and Greece.

The link was most obvious following the retreat of the glaciers around 18,000 years ago, after which sea levels jumped back up to where they are today, triggering a 300% increase in explosive volcanic activity in the Mediterranean in doing so. Further evidence for a flurry of volcanic action at this time comes from cores extracted from deep within the Greenland ice sheet, which yield increased numbers of volcanic dust and sulphate layers from eruptions across the northern hemisphere, if not the entire planet.

Read the full content……

But how can rising sea levels cause volcanoes to erupt? The answer lies in the enormous mass of the water pouring into the ocean basins from the retreating ice sheets. The addition of over a hundred metres depth of water to the continental margins and marine island chains, where over 60% of the world's active volcanoes reside, seems to be sufficient to load and bend the underlying crust.

This in turn squeezes out any magma that happens to be hanging around waiting for an excuse to erupt. It may well be that a much smaller rise can trigger an eruption if a volcano is critically poised and ready to blow.

Eruptions of Pavlof volcano in Alaska, for example, tend to occur during the winter months when, for meteorological reasons, the regional sea level is barely 30cm (12in) higher than during the summer. If other volcanic systems are similarly sensitive then we could be faced with an escalating burst of volcanic activity as anthropogenic climate change drives sea levels ever upwards.

Notwithstanding the recent prediction by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that sea levels in 2100 will be a measly 18-59cm (7-23in) higher, Jim Hansen – eminent climate scientist and director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies – warns that we could see a one to two metre rise this century and several more in the next. Other climate scientists too, forecast substantially greater rises than the IPCC, whose prediction excludes any consideration of future changes in polar ice sheet behaviour. A worst-case scenario could see a return to conditions that prevailed around 14,000 years ago, when sea levels rose 13.5 metres (44ft) - the height of a three-storey house - in the space of about 300 years.

Such a dramatic rise in coming centuries would clearly spell catastrophe for our civilisation, with low-lying regions across the planet vanishing rapidly beneath the waves. Just a one metre (3.28ft) rise would threaten one third of the world's agricultural land, two metres (6.56ft) would make the Thames flood barrier redundant and four metres (13.12ft) would drown the city of Miami, leaving it 37 miles (60km) off the US coast.

As sea levels climb higher so a response from the world's volcanoes becomes ever more likely, and perhaps not just from volcanoes. Loading of the continental margins could activate faults, triggering increased numbers of earthquakes, which in turn could spawn giant submarine landslides. Such a scenario is believed to account for the gigantic Storegga Slide, which sloughed off the Norwegian coast around 8,000 years ago, sending a tsunami more than 20 metres (66ft) high in places across the Shetland Isles and onto the east coast of Scotland. Should Greenland be released from its icy carapace, the underlying crust will start to bob back up, causing earthquakes well capable of shaking off the huge piles of glacial sediment that have accumulated around its margins and sending tsunamis across the North Atlantic.

The Earth is responding as a single, integrated system to climate change driven by human activities. Global warming is not just a matter of warmer weather, more floods or stronger hurricanes, but is also a wake-up call to Terra Firma. It may be no coincidence that one outcome of increased volcanic activity is likely to be a period of falling temperatures, as a veil of volcanic dust and gas reduces the amount of solar radiation reaching the surface. Maybe the Earth is trying to tell us something. It really would be worth listening before it is too late.

2007-08-08 09:36:02 · 12 answers · asked by GREAT_AMERICAN 1

It just seems strange that Clinton didn't take any kind of action when this thing had been in the planning for years.

2007-08-08 09:32:58 · 14 answers · asked by 2BFree 4

As awful as Al Gore tells us oil companies are, wouldn't you think that he would have a hard time rationalizing his own family's fortune, gained through dealings with Occidental Petrolium? Why does he believe he can live off of fat oil profits, while telling the rest of us how the oil industry is damaging the environment?

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_43_16/ai_72274771

I found that article a FASCINATING read.

2007-08-08 09:27:50 · 10 answers · asked by goldspider79 3

How many years is it going to take before ALL races will be able to stop being so touchy about jokes towards them?

2007-08-08 09:25:46 · 9 answers · asked by Lauren. 4

Or wherever they're from.

2007-08-08 09:24:58 · 11 answers · asked by Paperdoll 1

It was funny, " all she want's is the power". I think the House Leader would make a much better woman candidate for President.
Peace,

2007-08-08 09:23:29 · 8 answers · asked by George 3

If so, please give examples of your experiences and tell us why you believe discrimination applies in each example.

2007-08-08 09:22:11 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous

2007-08-08 09:21:59 · 28 answers · asked by Dude #2369™ 4

2007-08-08 09:19:40 · 8 answers · asked by jimmy j 2

If they were really concerned they would not be multi-millionaires they would live modestly and use the rest to further social causes instead of confiscating the dollars of the middle class.

2007-08-08 09:18:20 · 15 answers · asked by ? 6

Winter Soldier Syndrome
It only be cured when the costs of slandering the troops outweigh the benefits.

By Michelle Malkin


The tale of Army Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp, the discredited “Baghdad Diarist” for the discredited New Republic magazine, is an old tale: Self-aggrandizing soldier recounts war atrocities. Media outlets disseminate soldier’s tales uncritically. Military folks smell a rat and poke holes in tales too good (or rather, bad) to be true. Soldier’s ideological sponsors blame the messengers for exposing anti-war fraud.

Beauchamp belongs in the same ward as John F. Kerry, the original infectious agent of the toxic American disease known as Winter Soldier Syndrome. The ward is filling up.

U.S. military investigators concluded this week that Beauchamp concocted allegations of troop misconduct in a series of essays for The New Republic. “The investigation is complete and the allegations from PVT Beauchamp are false,” Major Steven Lamb, a spokesman for Multi National Division-Baghdad, told USA Today. The New Republic is standing by Beauchamp’s work. But Michael Goldfarb, online editor and blogger at The Weekly Standard who first challenged Beauchamp’s writing, reported Monday that Beauchamp had “signed a sworn statement admitting that all three articles he published in The New Republic were exaggerations and falsehoods — fabrications containing only ‘a smidgen of truth,’ in the words of our source.”

To illustrate the soul-deadening impact of war, Beauchamp had described sitting in a mess hall in Iraq mocking a female civilian contractor whose face had “melted” after an IED explosion. “I love chicks that have been intimate — with IEDs,” Pvt. Beauchamp claimed he said out loud in her earshot. “It really turns me on — melted skin, missing limbs, plastic noses.” Beauchamp recounted vividly: “My friend was practically falling out of his chair laughing. The disfigured woman slammed her cup down and ran out of the chow hall.”

It wasn’t true. After active-duty troops, veterans, embedded journalists, and bloggers raised pointed questions about the veracity of the anecdote, Beauchamp confessed to The New Republic’s meticulous fact-checkers that the mocking had taken place in Kuwait — before he had set foot in Iraq to experience the soul-deadening impact of war.

Military officials in Kuwait tried to verify the incident and called it an “urban legend or myth.” Beauchamp’s essays are filled with similarly spun tales. How much of a bull-slinger was Beauchamp, an aspiring creative writer who crowed on his personal blog that he would “return to America an author” after serving (which he told friends and family would “add a legitimacy to EVERYTHING I do afterwards”)? The very first line of his essay “Shock Troops,” which opened with the melted-face mockery, was this: “I saw her nearly every time I went to dinner in the chow hall at my base in Iraq.”

“Nearly every time.” At “my base in Iraq.” Complete and utter bull.

Defenders of The New Republic, a left-leaning magazine infamously duped by another young and ambitious fabulist, Stephen Glass, say the Beauchamp saga has been 1) blown out of proportion; 2) perpetuated by sloppy, rumor-mongering bloggers; 3) used as a distraction from the troubles in Iraq; and 4) exploited by “chickenhawks” who deny that war atrocities happen.

But the truth is, you won’t find a single Bush Kool-Aid drinker among the military bloggers, embedded independent journalists, and active-duty troops who prominently questioned the Beauchamp sham. They know it ain’t all going swimmingly overseas. But unlike Pvt. Beauchamp, they’re committed to telling the whole truth about the war, not just approximations and embellishments that will score easy magazine gigs and future book deals with elite New York City publishers. The doubters of Scott Thomas know atrocities when they see them. But, unlike the TNR editors, they know steaming bull dung when they smell it.

Ever since John Kerry sat in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and accused American soldiers of wantonly razing villages “in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan,” the Left has embraced a small cadre of self-loathing soldiers and soldier wannabes willing to sell their deadened souls for the anti-war cause. Think Jimmy Massey, the unhinged Marine who falsely accused his unit of engaging in mass genocide against Iraqis. Think Jesse MacBeth and Micah Wright, anti-war Army Rangers who weren’t Army Rangers.

Winter Soldier Syndrome will only be cured when the costs of slandering the troops outweigh the benefits. Exposing Scott Thomas Beauchamp and his brethren matters because the truth matters. The honor of the military matters. The credibility of the media matters. Think it doesn’t make a difference? Imagine where Sen. John Kerry would be now if the Internet had been around in 1971.

2007-08-08 09:17:59 · 5 answers · asked by GREAT_AMERICAN 1

2007-08-08 09:15:40 · 5 answers · asked by Jeremy P 2

A study conducted in Sweden comparing the test score of a control group who had never used the pill verses a similar group that had used the pill found that in each group of 100 compared that of the 75 groups through out Europe tested in each case the children born to parents who had used birth control pills had children who where 30% below the normal test scores of those who had not used the pill . The pill was introduced to Europe long after it was begun in the United states . Europe has developed the morning after pill and is promoting it to replace the American version of birth control because they are aware of the harm . Each generation exposed becomes --well--- dumber .

2007-08-08 09:11:56 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous

Our standing in the world is dragged down by the greedy trash that is pillaging the nation and the world. Its never been about spreading freedom, thats a stupid childish excuse. It has always been about getting the billions!

2007-08-08 09:00:15 · 13 answers · asked by generationZ 4

Her temper is legend. A razor sharp tongue freely spewing the "F" word. I've seen it in action. Will she continue to embarass herself with this lowlife form of expressing herself?

2007-08-08 08:57:05 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous

2007-08-08 08:54:14 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous

There is no doubt that absent union leaders and their strong arm tactics the salaries and benefits of workers would not be so unrealistically high. The dying US auto industry is a prime example of the cost of this gluttony. They simply cannot keep up competitively because of horrendous costs brought on you unions.

2007-08-08 08:53:13 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous

It seems to me that Democrats would do much better if they tried to appeal to the moderates. So many moderates voted for Bush in 2004 because both Democratic candidates were painted as too liberal by the media. Joe Lieberman and Zell Miller have been kicked out of the party because they took a moderate stand on certain issues. The 3 front runners are all from the far left of the party. When I hear Hillary/Obama, I cringe. I feel Hillary could name a moderate and succeed much better than if she chose Obama. I think Democrats should wake up and realize that political moderates make up a large portion of the electorate and we feel we are being neglected. The only man that I see that Iike right now is Rudy Giuliani and he is a Republican and a moderate.

2007-08-08 08:52:35 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous

A liberal who is willing to admit that many of the problems within our educational system stems from the Teachers Unions. I’m shocked.

1. Education. At present most inner-city public schools have drop-out rates of over 50%. And for those that don't drop out they are not prepared to succeed in college. But the problem does not end there. In highly educated rich Boulder Colorado for example, only 50% of the 10th graders are proficient in math.
We no longer have an economy with plenty of jobs for those with just a high school education and additional jobs for those that did not complete high school. Not just the good jobs, but most jobs period are there for those with a college degree.
We cannot address the problems we face today and will face tomorrow without fixing our school system. And we cannot compete with India and China if we don't improve our education system.
And we, as liberals, must face the fact that we will have to fight the teacher unions to fix the system. The teacher unions are not the only problem. But they are a large barrier to fixing this and they in many places have a stranglehold on those from the left that need to fix the system.
My question is:

Do you believe that any of the Democratic forerunners are willing to meet this problem head-on, or will they shy away because the Teachers Unions are the largest, strongest, and carry more clout than any of the other unions?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/8/6/04545/36663

2007-08-08 08:48:18 · 23 answers · asked by Anonymous

I read an article in the Sunday Times recently that said that America's infrastructure is crumbling and that it will cost just under $1 trillion to carry out basic essential repairs. Just look at what's happening - bridges collapsing, high pressure steam mains exploding in New York, Levvys bursting in New Orleans. Each of these incidents has caused loss of life.
Whilst America is projecting it's power abroad the cities back home appear to be falling to bits. I'm an Englishman and I have enjoyed a number of holidays in the USA but I am concerned that America has it's priorities in the wrong order.

2007-08-08 08:47:30 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous

And say why ?

2007-08-08 08:43:57 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous

and anything bad that happened during Bush 2's presidency was Bill Clinton's fault?

That's the impression I get from some people.

2007-08-08 08:41:26 · 17 answers · asked by ez f 1

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070808/ap_on_el_pr/clinton_infrastructure

This woman is shameless. If the Minnesota bridge had not collapsed, you wouldnt be reading ANYTHING about this from Hillary.

2007-08-08 08:39:55 · 21 answers · asked by vinny_says_relax 7

Launched as an opinion show Bill O'rielly's show has amassed quite a following of viewers and I often wonder how many people take this guy seriously .

2007-08-08 08:38:08 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous