Pentagon chief condemns European “pacifism”

By Bill Van Auken, wsws.org,  Feb 26, 2010

Amid growing fears in Washington that European powers may withdraw their troops from Afghanistan, just as the US escalates the war there, Defense Secretary Robert Gates delivered a speech blasting Europe for insufficient militarization and warning of a deepening crisis in the NATO alliance.

Gates gave the speech February 23 at Washington’s National Defense University, a training center for mid-level and senior US officers. His audience was a forum on the reworking of the “strategic concept”—essentially the mission statement—of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The revision of the statement is being conducted by a panel led by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and a draft is to be presented to a NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal in November.

Gates’ remarks came just three days after the Dutch government was brought down over opposition to continuing the deployment of some 2,000 Dutch troops in Afghanistan. The Labor Party, one of the government’s coalition partners, refused to support the extension of the deployment for another year, setting the stage for their withdrawal by the end of 2010.

There is strong popular opposition to the Afghanistan war in the Netherlands, as there is throughout Europe. The concern within US ruling circles is that a Dutch withdrawal could set a precedent for a number of other NATO members pulling out their troops as well.

With the total number of US troops killed in “Operation Enduring Freedom”, centered in Afghanistan, having topped the 1,000 mark, and US generals predicting far bloodier months ahead, Washington is anxious to dampen opposition to the war at home by employing more European soldiers as cannon fodder.

Gates insisted that to achieve this aim, European powers would have to confront underlying “cultural and political” trends.

“One of the triumphs of the last century was the pacification of Europe after ages of ruinous warfare” he said. “But, as I’ve said before, I believe we have reached an inflection point, where much of the continent has gone too far in the other direction.”

Gates continued: “The demilitarization of Europe—where large swaths of the general public and political class are averse to military force and the risks that go with it—has gone from a blessing in the 20th century to an impediment to achieving real security and lasting peace in the 21st.

“Not only can real or perceived weakness be a temptation to miscalculation and aggression, but, on a more basic level, the resulting funding and capability shortfalls make it difficult to operate and fight together to confront shared threats.”

The conception that “lasting peace” in the present century can be achieved only by confronting popular aversion to war and building up the armed forces of the continent’s nation states will no doubt be seen as perverse in Europe itself. European militarization in the first half of the last century preceded two world wars and the deaths of tens of millions.

Underlying Gates’ remarks are deepening tensions between Europe and America that threaten to undermine the 60-year-old trans-Atlantic alliance.

In the “post-Cold War, post-9/11 world,” Gates argued, NATO is compelled to shift “from a static, defensive force to an expeditionary force—from a defensive alliance to a security alliance.”

In reality, this supposed transition from defense to “expeditionary” interventions has been driven by an explosive growth of US militarism and the waging of two aggressive wars—in Iraq and Afghanistan—over the course of the last decade.

Washington is attempting to pressure NATO’s European members to bear more of the costs of America’s wars, both in terms of money and the lives of their troops.

Gates complained that the Europeans are not pulling their weight. He pointed out that while the Obama administration has proposed a record military budget of over $700 billion for 2011—5 percent of US GDP—only four of NATO’s 26 European members had budgeted more than 2 percent of their GDP for military spending.

As a result, said Gates, NATO “faces very serious, long-term, systemic problems.” He pointed in particular to the failure of European NATO states to carry through on proposals to build more cargo planes and helicopters, warning that “their absence is directly impacting operations in Afghanistan.”

In what appeared to be a sharp rebuke of unnamed NATO members, the US defense secretary invoked the conditions facing troops in Afghanistan “living in austere conditions, and…facing enemy fire on a daily basis.”

“That is a stark reminder that NATO is not now, nor should it ever be, a talk-shop or a Renaissance weekend on steroids,” he continued. “It is a military alliance with real-world obligations that have life-or-death consequences.”

Divisions within NATO have emerged over a host of issues. In relation to Afghanistan, the Obama administration had requested other NATO countries to join in its “surge” by deploying an additional 10,000 troops. Only 7,000 have been promised, and even this lower figure reportedly includes soldiers already deployed in the country. Moreover, some of NATO’s European members have placed restrictions on the mission of their contingents that limit their role in combat.

The European powers have backed the US war in Afghanistan in part out of concern that to withhold support could tear apart the NATO alliance under conditions in which they have no structure to replace it. Moreover, European ruling circles hope to reap some of the spoils of the predatory war, in terms of access to the energy-rich Caspian Basin and the pipeline routes for extracting its oil and gas reserves.

With the election of Barack Obama, European governments had hoped that the unilateralist character of US policy would be changed and that they would be dealt with as Washington’s partners. Despite cosmetic and tactical shifts, however, the US continues to pursue its interests unilaterally, demanding that Europe accept its decisions and line up accordingly.

In ordering the escalation of the Afghanistan war and the deployment of an additional 30,000 US troops, for example, the Obama administration acted without any consultation with the European states, despite the fact that the war and occupation are ostensibly being carried out under NATO’s banner.

Sharp divisions have also emerged over NATO expansion, with Germany and France reluctant to bring Washington’s client states in Eastern Europe into the alliance and wary of provoking Moscow by pushing NATO to Russia’s borders.

Der Speigel, meanwhile, reports that Germany is demanding that “the US remove its nuclear weapons from German soil.” It has allied itself with Norway and the Benelux countries in seeking a discussion of the issue at a NATO conference set for April in Tallinn, Estonia.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton preceded Gates’ remarks with her own speech on Monday, ratcheting up intra-NATO tensions and speaking directly to Germany’s position on nuclear arms, insisting that they should stay put.

“This dangerous world still requires deterrence and we know there’s a debate going on in Europe and even among some of our leading member nations about, well, what does that mean,” she said. “We would hope that there is no precipitous move made that would undermine the deterrence capability.”

[Via http://sudhan.wordpress.com]

"The Cultural Cleansing in Iraq"

“Do not read this book, if you are an American or British citizen conscious of the obligations of democracy, who wants to believe that Judeo-Christian morality played some part in your government’s decision to invade and occupy Iraq to impose ‘democracy and freedom’. For if you do, you may be crushed by its revelations of deliberate state-ending destruction and a policy of cultural cleansing; by your shared responsibility for this human and national calamity; and, despite the near irreparability of what has been accomplished, by the massive reparations needed now and for the next fifty years to begin to counter the consequences of genocide. The case for cultural genocide is powerfully made in this extraordinary and frightening book.” [link added] – Denis Halliday

[Via http://filasteen.wordpress.com]

Chinese rights advocates ask US for funds to break China 'firewall'

AFP, Feb. 23, 2010-

WASHINGTON — A coalition of human rights campaigners on Tuesday urged the US government to fund efforts led by the Falungong spiritual movement to circumvent Internet censorship in China and other nations.

Congress approved 30 million dollars in the 2010 budget to combat cyber censorship in China, Iran and elsewhere. But lawmakers have voiced concern that the funding since 2008 has been used ineffectively.

In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, rights advocates — most from China — urged that money go to the Global Internet Freedom (GIF) Consortium, originally set up to evade China’s Internet “firewall.”

“By taking the right steps, the United States can make a historic contribution to its own security and to the advancement of democracy by rapidly tearing down the information firewalls of the world’s closed societies,” it said.

The letter was signed by exiled leaders of the 1989 democracy uprising in Tiananmen Square including Chai Ling, Wu’er Kaixi and Xiong Yan, along with figures behind the landmark Charter 08 petition for greater freedoms in China.

Other signatories included Rebiya Kadeer, the leader of exiles from China’s Uighur minority, along with activists campaigning for greater openness in Cuba, Myanmar, North Korea and Syria.

GIF software was designed by the Falungong, which was banned by China in 1999 and branded an “evil cult” following a silent mass gathering in Beijing by its members.

But the technology was also put to use last year by Iranians who circumvented censorship to organize protests against clerical hardliners via Twitter and other websites.

The letter said that GIF servers, which nearly crashed after the Iranian elections, could be upgraded to allow 50 million unique users a day, up from 1.5 million now.

Five senators — Democrats Robert Casey, Edward Kaufman and Arlen Specter, along with Republicans Sam Brownback and Jon Kyl — wrote a letter to Clinton last month voicing concern that the grant money was going to waste.

They faulted the State Department for restricting grants to groups working inside a country, countering that “the most successful censorship circumvention tools are operated remotely.”

Clinton, who testifies before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday, last month urged China to conduct a thorough probe into cyberattacks on Google and pressed technology firms to resist censorship.

- AFP

[Via http://chinaview.wordpress.com]

National Identity 2

It doesn’t matter who wins – it only matter how the US does.  Just listen to the commentators.

Of course, if the US won, it’d be a different situation.  It’s funny to me though that the strong sense of National Identity and mind.  I’m watching the Olympics – Norway just won and the US got silver – and basically the commentator says – Norway has been here before – but then spends more time talking about how no American has ever stood on the podium and got a medal.  You are your country.  It is a part of your identity; a valuable part of your essential self.  Or is it?

[Via http://identityspecialist.wordpress.com]

Fascinating brand stories | Marlboro [2 of 2]

By Dian Hasan | February 20, 2010

Marlboro is one of America’s most quintessential brands, and the early days of global advertising saw Marlboro project the image of the Marlboro Man, a fictitious cowboy of the Wild West. Attempting to capture the traits of ruggedness, macho, freedom, casual, in touch with nature and male-bonding, through the famous tagline “Come to where the flavor is. Come to Marlboro Country”

Changing times, changing needs!
The original image of Marlboro Country replete with intrepid cowboys have now been replaced with a very different breed: speed, excitement, sexy ladies in tight-fitting red outfits. Gender equality or exploitation? The jury’s out.

What is clear is that Marlboro continues as the world’s leading cigarette brand. And it’s still growing, amid increased notion of smoking as “uncool”!

[Via http://dianhasan.wordpress.com]

My earliest ambigrams

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been in the habit of writing my name, William, in its abbreviated form, Wm, and my first ambigrams were stylized versions of that abbreviation, exaggerating its natural symmetry. This one, with the two letters sharing a leg, was the one I used the most.

I soon realized that this same glyph encoded both my own name and that of my native country, making it both a rotational ambigram and an oscillation. (Of course I wasn’t using those terms at the time. Ambigrams and I would be formally introduced much, much later, through the books of Douglas Hofstadter.)

Some time later I decided to try to expand my Wm into a full William. Filling in the four spaces with illi, I found that an A appeared naturally in the negative space around the second i.

(I think this one also qualifies as a very simple example of what Nagfa would call a romanized kufic. I think I’ll call it kufesque – a technical term which I, Humpty Dumpty, hereby hijack and redefine as “script in any language which completely fills an area (often square) with bands of positive and negative space, all of the same fixed width.”)

My first “real” ambigram — the first one that I consciously thought of as an ambigram, and the first one that could be read left-to-right in an ordinary, linear fashion, was also of my name:

It doesn’t look like much now, and I’m sure plenty of other people have come up with the same basic design and pulled it off in a more aesthetically appealing manner — but it’s what got me started on what has so far turned out to be a rather persistent hobby.

[Via http://wmjasambigrams.wordpress.com]

A Cut Out And Keep Collection Of Anti-American Diatribes

Oh yes – we have some prime cuts for you today. Boris Johnson has decided to have a USA Day to coincide with the NFL visit in October (this year it clashes with Halloween – American culture I can do without etc.) and is spending money on the group of people most likely to visit London from overseas. I’m not sure I agree with the logic, or spending any of my cash on it, but as he’s cut funding to other events that could, if they tried hard enough, find funding themselves, and if they didn’t, then why should we foot the bill, we can’t be too snippy. Of course, these events celebrate diversity and other cultures, so to oppose the funding is probably racist and homophobic in some eyes… but of course you can’t slag “these kind of people off” but the Americans? Fair game…. as witnessed by these quotes in that paragon of liberal intelligence – The Guardian…

“There is no need for subsidizing American culture. It is already celebrated every day through Mc Donalds, Coca Cola, Pepsi, Hollywood rubbish and all those overweight people one can see in the streets. Not even Americans themselves know what is their real culture because they have been fed with the rubbish culture which is only goal to make more money and make the populace more stupid.”

“Why are we funding all this nonsense when the US Embassy won’t pay the congestion charge? If I want to experience American culture I’ll by the New York Review of Books and read it in McDonalds.”

(Note – the congestion charge is a tax, for which all states’ embassies and staff are not liable under the Geneva Convention. The last time we tried that taxation wheeze on the Americans, they gave us an “ass-kicking”. And a good deal more countries don’t pay the charge either, but let’s single out the USA, eh?)

“Broadly speaking, the Americans don’t travel well. If they are reassured they can obtain fatty, salty, sweet fast food – and watch their own low cultural events – they are far more likely to visit London. And then spend money here.”

“Which aspects of American culture will we be subsidising? Obesity and tooth decay (thanks to the Mayor taking Coca Cola’s dollar and pasting enormous posters of a Coke bottle and the Coca Cola Santa, bearing the slogan “open happiness, enjoy the music” behind the buskers’ pitches on the Underground) and Disney Enterprises, Inc (the Regent/Oxford Street Christmas lights were lit weeks earlier than usual and were adverts for Disney’s A Christmas Carol) maybe?”

“Is this a way of softening up the capital in preparation for an application to become the 51st state of the Union? We have quite enough US culture as it is, so why give us more?” (Barack Obama, that hero, believes there are more than 51 states…. don’t believe me – look here).

“We fight their wars for them, so why not appease the master further?” (The Second World War and the defeat of fascism never really happened in some history books, did it?)

“American Culture, such a brilliant oxymoron”

“I thought every day in London was already USA day. Or at least CIA day. I’d like to see Boris sing the Fug’s CIA Man (“Who can kill a general in his bed? Overthrow dictators if they’re red?”) at his proposed festival.”

“So we’re holding a party for the country that has plunged us into the worst recession in decades and decades…”

“Every day is USA day in McBKFC. Why bother setting another one aside?”

“Seriously? Britain already celebrates American culture, except for the bbc, all we are able to watch is CSI.” (Pay for the sport channels then, or if not, the adult ones…)

“The most honest way for Boris to celebrate American culture would be for a Hellfire missile fired from a Reaper rpv to slam into a restaurant Boris had visited the previous night, following which we could have a “NATO” briefing telling us that Boris was in fact killed in the attack and the other people killed were certainly fellow extremists (especially the very small corpses).

Welcome to the American Way, London!”

“We should only have a party when the American finally take their planes and soldiers and piss off back to America. WW2 ended 65 years ago when will you take the hint and remove your occupying forces from Europe!”

Yep…there’s more in there for those who want to read up. When those of us not doing impressions of Dave Spart or some comic book hippy pipe up that it is a little bit hypocritical to bash Americans while big-upping “diversity” and fighting mindless stereotypes, they almost perceptibly put their hands over their mouths, look at their fellow Yank Bashers, while communicating by ESP along the lines of “when they go away, we can start again.”

Of course, a country with a written constitution, protected fairly well from the meddling hands of politicians has nothing to teach the UK. All they are good for are Big Macs and CSI…..

I’ll finish off with something from the “I would like to have written that” file…referring to this article.

“Yet another idiotic anti American bash by a silly little person who while deriding American culture as typified by Big Macs, beamers and Britney.
Has no problem watching Sex in the City,Lost on her I-Pod while drinking a can of Coke.

Yes lets all lament the loss of multi-cultural festivals such as rise by mentioning that its funding could easily be borne by the monies owed by the US embassy, while omitting the fact that Third world Embassies owe even more. (Out of £23 million owed in congestion charges by foreign embassies the US owes £2.7M) or that foreign registered vehicles aren’t chased either (£8M as of 2006)

And lets be serious while it may be trendy to attack the Yanks, the fact remains they come to the Uk with money, which is what this country needs. The people who flock to third world festivals on the other hand come to the UK for money.

But hey when it comes to a liberal and other peoples money they are soon parted.”

[Via http://sevenandseven.wordpress.com]

School Laptops' Surreptitious Surveillance

Boingboing.net is carrying a story on how a Pennsylvania school used school laptops to monitor students at school and at home.

According to the filings in Blake J Robbins v Lower Merion School District (PA) et al, the laptops issued to high-school students in the well-heeled Philly suburb have webcams that can be covertly activated by the schools’ administrators, who have used this facility to spy on students and even their families. The issue came to light when the Robbins’s child was disciplined for “improper behavior in his home” and the Vice Principal used a photo taken by the webcam as evidence.

What an imbecile.  Ruling after ruling in US courts have shown that schools cannot and should not try to control what students do outside of school, and here’s a vice-principal overstepping boundaries.

Disciplined for “improper behavior in his home?”  How about letting parents deal with that?

Also, what if the kid had been naked in front of the laptop?  You know, takes a shower and afterwards is in the privacy of the student’s room?

I can totally see how some creep in the future (maybe even now)  using the same technology would use it for peeping-tom activities.  Then all hell will break loose.

[Via http://datasecurityguy.wordpress.com]

USA Hockey Starts with Win

Team USA beat Switzerland 3-1 in their first game at the Winter Olympics from Vancouver.  Bobby Ryan, David Backes, and Ryan Malone scored the goals for USA.  The U.S. skates with Norway on Thursday.

Also in the Olympics; Canada blanked Norway 8-0, Jarome Iginla had a hat trick, Dany Heatley added 2 goals.  Russia had no problem with Latvia winning 8-2.  Alex Ovechkin scored a pair of goals.

[Via http://985thesportshub.radio.com]

Design Bio : Suno NY

Founder:  Max Osterweis
Founded: 2008
Collections: F/W 2010,  S/S 2010, Resort 2010, F/W 2009, S/S 2009

One of the most colorful and optimistic design labels of recent times, Suno New York was founded amidst turmoil in the Kenyan political structure, due to Mr Osterweis’ love for the country, textiles and people.  After years of collecting fabrics from Kenya, Suno New York became the outlet for a new kind of design house.  One that not only creates stunning garments, but also utilizes the abilities of hand craft in New York and Kenya.
Design, pattern making and samples are created in Manhattan’s Garment District, an area that has faced many bankruptcies and layoffs due to the globalization of the industry.  By keeping the development aspect local to New York, Suno is one of few labels using the resources this country can provide.  Once the collection has been realized, the samples are taken to Kenya, where final garments are produced in small workshops.
For Spring Summer 2009, 1000 individually numbered one of a kind pieces were produced.  Each season since has had similar stats.  Though the inspiration may change from one season to the next, the playfulness, the heart and the impeccable quality hold strong.  Suno NY is a design house that we will be seeing for seasons to come.  And with any luck, this is only the beginning of labels with a purpose, caring about the prosperity of the individual craftsman and local businesses and not simply their bottom line.

[Via http://iloveyounonetheless.wordpress.com]

The economy is a cheif the threat to the CCTV industry

Ifran Pandor sounds a word of caution on the state of the UK economy and its impact on the security market

Lloyds and RBS are about to sell 1000+ of their branches in Britain. HSBC has just announced hundreds of job cuts in Britain . The Government is claiming that banks are lending today but confidence and credibility is at a low point in British businesses. The opposition is asking if it is worth doing it for taxpayers money. There are arguments and opinions on whether the recession is going to be over soon or if Britain is heading for an even bigger crisis. Even for the USA, it is very clear that a revival from the recession doesn’t mean that the glory days are going to be back very soon. Unless jobs are created and many fundamental signs of economic recovery are seen, we should not feel that we have recovered as President Obama says.

Alan  Hyder in ’’ Time running out for failing installation firms’’, Security Installer, November 2009 mentioned that about 225 security systems companies are about to fail before the recovery starts in the UK. Scepticism and Cynicism are endemic today when it comes to government policies and plans for recovery, and clear divisions in the academic and intellectual world over these issues are visible not only in the USA and the UK but also across the globe.

Although not all industries have suffered in the downturn, it is no longer advisable to assume that for major corporate projects in B2B market, [e.g. Security Systems Market ] money will be readily available. Many companies have done really well in different sectors and even a number of ‘’reputed’’ banks have reported enormous profits recently. Companies such as retailers Marks & Spencer and Next are also doing well, but it is not wise to think that the economy is back on track.

Ifran Pandor is a member of the Linkedin CCTV Group, please view his Linkedin profile here.

[Via http://cctvsecuritynews.wordpress.com]

Fascinating Brand Journey | Chevy Nova

By Dian Hasan | February 14, 2009

When brands enter the global stage, and leave the cozy comforts of their domestic market, one key element becomes crucial in conquering foreign turfs, and “going international”: the role of CULTURE! And language is a big part of it. And a simple thing like a name can take on an entire new meaning in the realm of foreign languages.

Case in point: Chevrolet’s Chevy Nova was a major success in the US, but it was a total flop when exported to the Latin American markets. Nova literally translates to “No Go” in Spanish, and that’s probably the last name you’d want to call your car.

… when Chevrolet launched “Chevy Nova”, they were not aware that the word meant “doesn’t work” in Spanish. You can only guess how the Nova did in the Latin American markets.

[Via http://dianhasan.wordpress.com]

Gay, bisexual teens at risk for eating disorders

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Gay, lesbian and bisexual teenagers may be at higher risk of binge-eating and purging than their heterosexual peers, starting as early as age 12, a new study finds.

Health

Past research has found connections between sexual orientation and the risk of eating disorders in adults — showing, for instance, that gay men have higher rates of symptoms than their heterosexual counterparts.

Less has been known about how sexual orientation affects teenagers’ risks of various eating disorders.

For the new study, researchers at Harvard University and Children’s Hospital Boston used data from a U.S. survey of nearly 14,000 12- to 23-year-olds to look at the relationship between sexual orientation and binge-eating and purging.

They found heightened rates of binge-eating among both males and females who identified themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or “mostly heterosexual.”

Purging, by vomiting or abusing laxatives, was also more common among these teens, the researchers report in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

“We found clear and concerning signs of higher rates of eating disorder symptoms in sexual-minority youth compared to their heterosexual peers even at ages as young as 12, 13 or 14 years old,” lead researcher S. Bryn Austin, an assistant professor of pediatrics, told Reuters Health in an email.

Among females, lesbian, bisexual and mostly heterosexual respondents were all about twice as likely as their heterosexual counterparts to report binge-eating at least once per month in the past year.

Bisexual and mostly heterosexual girls and women were also more likely to say they had purged in the past year in order to control their weight.

Among males, the highest risks were seen among homosexuals — who were seven times more likely to report bingeing and nearly 12 times more likely to report purging than heterosexual males.

Bisexual and mostly heterosexual boys and men also had elevated risks of both problems — with rates anywhere from three to seven times higher than those of their heterosexual counterparts.

The survey data do not offer a potential reason for the findings, but past studies give some insight, according to the researchers.

“We know that gay, lesbian, and other sexual-minority kids are often under a lot of pressure,” Austin said, noting that these teens are often “treated like outsiders” in their own families and schools, and may be excluded, harassed or victimized by bullies.

“This kind of isolation and victimization can take its toll on a young person,” Austin explained, “and one of ways it can play out is in vulnerability to eating-disorder symptoms and a host of other stress-related health problems.”

She added that because negative attitudes and discrimination against sexual minorities are still pervasive in society, families need to be a source of support.

It is “incredibly important,” Austin said, “for parents and other family members to reach out and make sure these youth know they are loved and supported, that they can count on their families to stay by their side.”

SOURCE: Journal of Adolescent Health, September 2009.

[Via http://ro2010.wordpress.com]

Tickar klockan?

Jag sitter nu tillslut på mitt rum. städat som aldrig förr btw. syrran gör sig som i ordning.

Jag tror jag har packat tillslut. Efter MKT om och men. Ha med allt, ha med lite, ha med inget, ha med dig mycket som du sen kan slänga. eh.. slutsatsen blev efter många visa ord att jag tar med mig det nödvändigaste (jasså?) och typ 1 1/2 ombyte som jag är inte är extremt rädd om men ändå tycker är snyggt. bara jag som är snurrig efter den utläggningen?

Ikväll har jag jobbat på min bar, LochNess. Både ett dumt och ett asbra val. Mest asbra. Fick ett annat totalt kaos att tänka på. Att ha fem bollar i luften på jobbet är svårt när jag endast kan jonglera med fyra.. ?         Eeefter jobbet hann jag med en sväng till Indigo där syrran med 2 Oslobor hängde. Beslutet fattades fort att “detta är ju faktiskt sista kvällen i stan och hej jag kommer inte ens kunna dricka överallt i staterna och så vidare..”, så vi beställde en taxi till 01.10 mot Danderyds sjukhus, där bussen mot the Å-side of life sedan “väntade”.

Var var vi, jo! hemma. nu har jag alltså dragit ur allt ur min ursprungliga väska, packat i den största ryggsäcken (70 liter) + min lilla vanliga ryggsäck som nu är full med allt vad min packlista kallar praktiskt: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, filmkamera, digitalkamera, extra mobil, 3000:- i än så länge svenska cash, kortspel, hörlurar, solglasögon, lampa, öppnare (fickkniven ligger i stora väskan) diverse laddare och eladaptrar, två svenneturistplånböcker mm.

I can’t fucking wait samtidigt som jag inte har en susning om att från 10.30 IDAG kommer jag resa bakåt i tiden och vara in The United States of America.

Catch you on the flipside!

[Via http://axelyxx.wordpress.com]

Old enough to go to war but too young to have a beer

So news this week is that the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd wants to raise the legal drinking age to 21. I’m not a fan of Rudd (I voted for Howard in the last election, shoot me) and this only deepens my dislike for the man.

I feel that if a person is able to fight in a war, then they should at least be able to have a beer. What Rudd is saying is that 18-year-olds are responsible enough to make decisions on taking someone else’s life on the battlefield, but too irresponsible to have a glass of wine. Something doesn’t seem quite right here.

In America, the drinking age is 21 and yet there is still a problem with youth binge drinking within the country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 92 per cent of US adults who drink excessively report binge drinking in the past 30 days. Obviously raising the drinking age to 21 didn’t make these people more responsible drinkers.

I’ll be the first to admit that binge drinking is a problem in Australia. It’s also a problem in the UK. Between 2004 and 2005 in Australia, statistics revealed that one in eight adults drank at risky levels. However, I don’t think that the best way to combat this problem would be to raise the drinking age. Nor do I think raising the tax on ‘alcopops’ would help either. The culture of drinking needs to change before people change their habits.

I lived in France for a year between 2002 and 2003 and during this time I attended many a party. Although there was always alcohol present, never did I see anyone out of control and throwing up in the corner. By contrast, every party I attended throughout high school in Australia there was at least someone being sick. (Including me at times.)I put these differences down to the differences within the two cultures.

In France it is unacceptable, not to mention embarrassing, to get out of control on alcohol. In Australia, people laugh it off and in some ways even encourage rowdiness. If we want to change our binge drinking culture we need to first change our attitudes.

Whatever happens, hopefully the younger generation won’t be as unlucky as my dad – he grew up in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) and when he was young the drinking age was 21. But when he turned 21, they lowered it to 18. Ouch.

[Via http://carmentheaussie.wordpress.com]

Argentina in the '70s:

*Here are a couple paragraphs about what was going on in Argentina in the ’70s:*

Anyone suspected of favoring these groups (revolutionaries against the gov) or their ideas was subject to arbitrary arrest. All cultural life was now subjected to strict censorship. The government took control of all labor unions. People were kidnapped on the streets and never seen again. The prisons overflowed with political prisoners and torture was common. There were no trials or pretense of legal process. An estimated 11,000 Argentines disappeared between 1976 and 1982, called *los desaparecidos* or “the disappeared.” More than 30,000 people died during this period, many in Argentine concentration camps modeled after the Nazi camps. At the height of the horror, only the mothers and grandmothers of the disappeared had the courage to stand up to the government. Every Thursday, they began assembling in the Plaza de Mayo in front of the Presidential Palace, demanding information on their missing children. Conditions in the prisons were unfathomable. Prisoners were not allowed to lie down on their cots during the day, and the strain of this sometimes caused paralysis or atrophy of the legs. They were allowed no contact with family or friends, and most prisoners were afraid to write to loved ones, for fear they too would be targeted. Almost all letters were seized by the censors. The prisons would play sad songs by Julio Iglesias to deepen prisoners’ depression (no kidding). Prison guards would stage fake escapes and executions with mannequins to scare the prisoners. When a prisoner was moved out of his cell, he had to keep his eyes straight ahead; one glance over his shoulder meant loss of all privileges and possible torture. Newspapers and radios were banned insider the prison. Only books written before the French Revolution were in prison libraries.

Prisoners were experimented on with tranquilizer darts, were tortured with cattle prods, had the soles of their feet beaten with batons, had metal buckets placed on their heads and then the buckets hammered, had electrical wires applied to breasts, vaginas, anuses, penises, tongues, and other body parts. In some cases, prisoners’ bellies were slit open and they were dropped in a river as “fish food.” Some were thrown out of airplanes fully conscious. The length of sentences was completely arbitrary and had nothing to do with the “crime” committed, and at the end of the prison term, the prisoner or his family had to pay the state back for the cost of his imprisonment or he would not be released.

*And here is what was declassified in 2003 about America’s opinions of what the Argentine Gov was doing:* In 2003, the *Miami Herald* published proof that America and the Ford administration had approved of this brutal military regime. According to a recently declassified U.S. government document, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger told the Argentine foreign minister in 1976, at the height of the Dirty War, that America supported the Argentine government. The transcript of the meeting between Kissinger and Argentine Navy Admiral César Augusto Guzzetti in New York is the first documentary evidence that the Ford administration approved of the junta’s harsh tactics. “Look, our basic attitude is that we would like you to succeed,” Kissinger reassured Guzzetti in the seven-page transcript, marked *SECRET*. “I have an old-fashioned view that friends ought to be supported. What is not understood in the United States is that you have a civil war. We read about human rights problems but not the context. The quicker you succeed, the better.” The Argentine military regime was delighted.

[Via http://debrainwashing.wordpress.com]

Endeavour lifts off on two-week mission

NEWS
Endeavour lifts off on two-week mission
February 8, 2010 5:27 a.m. EST

a href=”http://www.cnn.com/” target=”_blank”>

(CNN) — The space shuttle Endeavour lifted off from Kennedy Space Center early Monday on a two-week mission to the International Space Station.

The shuttle quickly pierced light cloud cover along the Florida coast in a brilliant launch.

The six-member Endeavour crew is delivering a key module to the International Space Station.

Cmdr. George Zamka is leading the STS-130 mission. Joining him aboard are pilot Terry Virts, and mission specialists Nicholas Patrick, Robert Behnken, Stephen Robinson and Kathryn Hire, NASA said.

The crew is delivering a third connecting module, an Italian-built Tranquility node and a seven-windowed cupola to be used as a control room for robotics. The mission also will include three spacewalks.

It’s a busy week for NASA, with the agency also preparing to launch a Solar Dynamics Observatory into orbit aboard an Atlas V rocket on Tuesday.

Only five more shuttle launches are scheduled before the program ends in 2011.

Endeavour was originally scheduled to lift off early Sunday, but low cloud ceilings forced a nearly 24-hour delay.

[Via http://dominicstoughton.wordpress.com]

Connecticut Power Plant Explosion

Two people were killed in the explosion that happened at the natural-gas power plant in Middletown (Kleen Energy Systems plant), of which one is a former Police Commissioner named, Raymond Dobratz.  There could be more casualties but officials have not confirmed the number of casualties yet.

The power plant is located on 137 acres in the industrial part of Middletown, bounded on one side by the Connecticut River and another by residentially zoned land.

Excerpt photo

[Via http://fyi09.wordpress.com]

Too Late To Apologize: A Declaration

As a one time Political Science major i obviously have an interest in Politics. And as an American I am proud of my country and what it had to do to become its own sovereign nation. But now a days people get too caught up in Party’s and personal views so much that forward progress for our people gets put on the wayside. That said heres a little video to show how the meetings of the American forefathers actually occurred.

When people who love politics, pop culture and filmmaking are asked to humanize the sentiment of the founders in writing the declaration, we sometimes get carried away. And every now and then, they let us run with it.

The following video is an anachronistic daydream asking the question, “If pop producer Timbaland had sought to build consensus around declaring independence, what might he have produced?”

[Via http://tallguyian.wordpress.com]

US Fed. Passes Cybersecurity Bill, Manhattan Project of Our Generation

The House of Congress passed a bill that will build up the US’s cyber defenses. (If you’re a conspiracy nut, you’re probably thinking all those news stories of China’s hack on the US government and companies was probably targeted raising awareness over the issue.  Tsk, tsk.)

The bill requires the president’s administration to assess the current government body when it comes to cybersecurity, and “establishes a scholarship program for undergraduate and graduate students who agree to work as cybersecurity specialists for the government after graduation.”

It sounds like good news for students who are already majoring in something related to computers:

Mr. Arcuri said that the federal government will need to hire between 500 and 1,000 more “cyber warriors” each year to keep up with potential enemies. Troops online “are every bit as important to our security as a soldier in our field,” he said.

It’s about the only specialized field I know of that will guarantee a job for decades to come.  This cyberwarfare stuff?  Not going away any time soon.

[Via http://datasecurityguy.wordpress.com]

Grand Canyon University Review

If you are driven to pursue a higher standard of success and require flexibility in your schedule to get there, Grand Canyon University is the right choice for you. With an online and campus-based enrollment of more than 15,000, GCU emphasizes individual attention for both traditional undergraduate students, as well as the working professional. With our cutting-edge curriculum, you will gain the real-world experience you need to succeed in today’s global marketplace. Online and campus-based bachelor’s and master’s degree programs are offered through the College of Education, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Ken Blanchard College of Business, and the College of Liberal Arts. Grand Canyon University is a private Christian university.

Courses Offered

To view what is available to you please click here.

Fees

For fee information please click here.

For more information on what financial aid may be available to you please click here.

Contact Details

Web address: www.gcu.edu

Postal address:
Grand Canyon University
3300 W. Camelback Road
Phoenix, Arizona 85017
USA   

Phone: 1-877-860-3951

Location

Grand Canyon University
3300 W. Camelback Road
Phoenix, Arizona 85017
USA  

[Via http://rateyourcollege.wordpress.com]

Rodarte - smithsonian cooper-hewitt museum show

Quicktake: Rodarte – mulleavy sisters on show their pieces

On View February 11, 2010 through March 14, 2010

Design USA – Contemporary Innovation

On view October 16, 2009–April 4, 2010

[Via http://itssweets.wordpress.com]

Grammy Awards 2010 - Taylor Swift

This performance is totally different to how Taylor usually performs it is acoustic and I love “You Belong With Me” sung like that its really good. Taylor won 4 awards last night and I think she totally deserves them. I love her music and cannot wait to hear more from her. I still don’t think she is very big in the UK, I got right into her music when out in the USA and was rather disappointed that my friends did not really like or know much of her when I came home. So many of her songs totally describe things I have been going through in the past few months.

[Via http://carolineames.wordpress.com]

Ukrainian Orange Revolution: How It Was Back Then

The Orange Revolution was the time when the Ukrainian people had high hopes for a better life. It was the time when everybody was excited to be a Ukrainian.  It was the time when a lot of Ukrainians were living on the streets in tents, and they did so because they wanted to have the biggest change in their lives. After all, the change never happened.

The Orange Revolution took place in Ukraine in 2004; it got its name because of the political party “Nasha Ukraina” (“Our Ukraine”) color. The orange was the color this political party used in their election’s campaign that year. In 2004 European “Time Magazine” published an article about the Orange Revolution.

[Via http://olesya80.wordpress.com]