Thoughts on the World
Opinion and analysis of current events: Politics, global warming, alternative energy and more. A realistic, moderate (but slightly left leaning) look at the world. |
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Articles from Thoughts on the World |
101 Greatest Stephen Colbert Quotes
2007-10-29 17:04:00
1. The truthiness will set you free!2. And don't think you're off the hook, voters, you're the ones who made this bed. Now you're the ones who are going to have to move over so a gay couple can sleep in it. Tomorrow you're all going to wake up in a brave new world, a world where the Constitution gets trampled by an army of terrorist clones, created in a stem-cell research lab run by homosexual doctors who sterilize their instruments over burning American flags. Where tax-and-spend Democrats take all your hard-earned money and use it to buy electric cars for National Public Radio, and teach evolution to illegal immigrants. Oh, and everybody's high! You know what, I've had it! You people don't deserve a Republican majority! I quit!3. In success, you wouldn't be able to say I'm conservative or liberal. I'm part of the blame-America-last crowd.4. I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous g ...
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Don't Be Hatin' FEC
2007-10-27 15:22:00
Cross posted with Stephen Colbert For President 2008.Recently several news sites have published doubts concerning the legality of Stephen Colbert’s campaign. Today we’ll take an in-depth analysis of this issue.The ‘problem’Supposedly, according to the so-called ‘legal experts’, federal law prohibits corporations from backing political campaigns. Therefore, they ‘conclude’, Doritos is not allowed to sponsor the Colbert campaign.The other ‘problem’ is that Comedy Central isn’t ‘supposed to’ give a whole show to Colbert himself."The real problem comes in the fact that he actually has his own show, talking about his campaign, paid for by a network," Lawrence M. Noble, a former general counsel for the Federal Election Commission said. "These are the kind of things on slow days you'd debate until the late afternoon at the FEC, but there are serious questions that come up. In theory, he could end up having some campaign finance problems."Oh c’mon, are you serious? ...
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Moderate Islam Statistics
2007-10-26 17:17:00
First of all, I apologize for the ongoing light posting. Besides a busy schedule (which lightens up for the next few weeks) I have lime disease :(, so I'm constantly tired and not always able react quite like I might normally. But that should be gone soon as well.My debate with Roger continues at Political GrindRoger says:The above statistics were drawn from two different sources: "The Sacred Age Of Terror", Benjamin and Simon and "Menace in Europe", Claire Berlinski.I'd suggest that you read both.By the way -- where are the links to your facts and statistics and sources? Oh, I forgot. You don't have any.So I decided I go statistic hunting. Stat over at Statistics Monster is pretty good at this type of thing (he takes requests for statistics) but I decided I'd do this myself.1. Iranian opinionsA Terror Free Tomorrow poll (with a margin of error of 3.1%) published in the Wall Street Journal found:• 61% of Iranians were willing to tell the pollsters -- over the phone no less -- tha ...
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The False Threat of Islamic Extremism
2007-10-24 15:28:00
Over at Political Grind, Roger challenged me this:Simmons -- instead of always looking for new ways to be offended by my choice of language, instead of being so concerned about staking out and defending your personal political position, why don't you just address the issue? In what way have I mischaracterized this Muslim threat to our Western culture and our impotent reaction to it?I responded:There are moderate Muslims. Not all Muslims are extremists. And the Muslims that are extremists ARE NOT STRATEGIC THREATS TO THE U.S.I think some people are taking this whole thing a little far. Islamic terrorists have launched one successful attack on our soil, and relative, it really was not as horrible as an attack as we would believe. Yes, it was horrible, but compared to any other wars the U.S. has ever fought, it's nothing.9/11 was significant because it changed the U.S.'s foreign and domestic policy SIGNIFICANTLY.Right now, no terrorist group, I repeat NO TERRORIST GROUP, has the abilit ...
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War With China? I Think Not - Chinese Weapons Statistics
2007-10-23 19:45:00
Stat blogs at The Statistics Monster. If you would like to blog here, send us an email at worldthoughts(at)gmail(dot)com.Number of Chinese aircraft carriers: 0Number of American aircraft carriers: 11 plus one under constructionNumber of American nukes: 9938Number of Chinese nukes: 130
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Chuck Norris Endorses Mike Huckabee
2007-10-22 19:41:00
Chuck Norris Endorses Mike HuckabeeIt's over.But seriously, unless you're a Ron Paul loony supporter, Mike Huckabee is the best Republican candidate. (EXTRA: See Obama take a swipe at Republicans)Rudy Giuliani supports nation building. Fred Thompson has even more conservative views than Huckabee. McCain is the bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran guy. Romney's the conservative suck up. Duncan Hunter wants to nuke Mecca. Tom Tancredo is an immigration extremist. At least Huckabee is an environmentalist.
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Israel's Syrian Target Was Nuclear: The One Theory That Answers All the Questions
2007-10-18 19:18:00
After the September 6 Israeli strike on Syria, I concluded that my ‘bet [on the reason for the Israeli strike] is on destroying Syrian arms headed towards Hezbollah’. Although the majority of those polled agreed with me at the time that North Korea was not giving Syria nuclear technology, I might be forced to retract that view as I write this post.After the strike, we were left with many questions that needed to be answered:• What did Israel strike?• Why isn’t Syria commenting on the attack?• Why aren’t the U.S. and Israel commenting on the strike?• Why aren’t other Middle Eastern states complaining?After much analysis, I have come to a new conclusion: there is only one theory that answers all the questions in a suitable way. Syria was developing a nuclear reactor based on North Korean technology, most likely for weapons purposes.To answer the questions:What did Israel strike at?Syria’s nuclear reactor, obviously.Why isn’t Syria commenting on the attack?Syria coul ...
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Australia to Become Even Drier Thanks to Global Warming
2007-10-17 18:31:00
Australia (TGW) - Global warming is going to take a heavy toll on Australia, already one of the driest parts of the world, according to a new report released by scientists at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO).Australia is likely to be hit harder because it is already dry there.The key findings of the report include that by 2030, temperatures will rise by about 1 degree Celsius over Australia – a little less in coastal areas, and a little more inland - later in the century. If emissions are low, warming of between 1 ºC and 2.5 ºC is likely by around 2070, with a best estimate of 1.8 ºC. Under a high emission scenario, the best estimate warming is 3.4 ºC, with a range of 2.2 ºC to 5 ºC.The report also indicates there will be changes in temperature extremes, with fewer frosts and substantially more days over 35 ºC.Temperatures have already increased .9 degrees Celsius since 1950.At low emissions of greenhouse gases, warming of between 1 degr ...
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Do the Democrats Really Have a Majority in the Senate?
2007-10-16 17:41:00
Why can’t this Democratic majority get anything done? They promised to end corruption, the Iraq War, and so much more. I’m so disappointed. We finally give them a majority, and what do they do with it? Nothing.But is it their fault? They have a majority you say. 51-49; it’s not like you need 60 votes to pass a bill, and 66 to be veto proof.But wait! Super-Truthman says no to Republican lies and propaganda! Let’s think this whole majority thing through.First of all, be serious, Lieberman isn’t a Democrat. So what, he caucuses with them; that doesn’t mean he votes like them. He voted ‘yes’ on the FISA amendment, ‘no’ on the Senate statement to condemn Gonzales, and of course, sponsored the unforgettable Kyl/Lieberman amendment, which originally threatened to “combat, contain and [stop]” Iran via “military instruments.”Hmmm… That makes it 50-50 you say! Wait, there’s more:Remember Tim Johnson, the senator from South Dakota who was hospitalized in December a ...
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Blog Action Day Linkathon!
2007-10-15 14:49:00
Blog Action Day is today! Well, this blog already writes about the environment a lot (every post, actually), so today I thought I'd just link to many of the great other environmental posts.DeSmogBlog: Questionable funding uncovered in the Al Gore UK High Court CaseThe Daily Green: Grease 2010: Green Cars are Tomorrow’s Hot RodsCelsias: Toyota in the Hot Seat BIOstock Blog:Ending Obstructive Environmental LawsuitsEnvironmental Graffiti: SimCity Adds A Global Warming ThreatTreehugger:Key Green Algal Genome Provides Insights into Carbon Capture, Better Biofuels ProductionThe Environmental Blog: Environmental Impact of Disposable DiapersAlternative Energy Investing: Investing In Renewable Energy 101About My Planet: Borrowing into TomorrowGreen Business: Airline Goes Carbon NeutralFuel Ghoul: A Whale of a Cover Up: Pacific Oil SpillsBioFuels Digest: Mozambique green lights 30 Mgy sugar ethanol project, but is it wise?Local Warming: SEC: consider investment risk from AEP settlementThe Ec ...
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[POLL] Should Al Gore Run for President?
2007-10-14 14:27:00
Should Al Gore run for president?Chris C says: He isn't going to run because then we would have to disclose his finances. People would be very pissed off if they saw all the money he was raking in from global warming.
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An Endorsement of Genocide
2007-10-10 17:33:00
EDIT: I've revised my position. No matter how true it is, this is the worst possible time to pass this bill. We can recognize genocide without an official statement.While President Bush endorses genocide by fighting against a bill recognizing the Armenian genocide almost a century ago, I'd like to endorse this bill. It is completely outrageous that you don't recognize the genocide. It's as bad as denying the Holocaust (the horror!).The evidence is overwhelming.
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Turkey Threatens to Invade Iraq, Destabilize the Whole Region - A Brief History of the PKK
2007-10-09 18:24:00
As the United States works towards peace in the Middle East, one country is threatening stabilization. Who? One of America’s greatest allies: Turkey.The ruling Turkish party, the AK Party, said it would request the Turkish Parliament’s authorization for a ‘major incursion’, according to Reuters.The government there has come under increasing pressure, as the PKK rebel group has stepped up its attacks in the country.A brief history lessonThe PKK, or the Kurdistan Workers Party, is a Kurdish nationalist group listed as a terrorist organization by a number of states and organizations, including the U.S., NATO, and the E.U. The PKK’s goal is an independent, socialist Kurdish state encompassing northern Iraq, south east Turkey, west Iran, and parts of north east Syria. It has no qualms against using violence to obtain its objectives.Turkey has a large minority of Kurds, who feel that they have been treated as second-rate citizens since the creation of modern Turkey in 1923. The PKK ...
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On Torture 2.0
2007-10-08 17:22:00
I wrote this over a year ago, when I got around 1 hit a day (and that was probably from my IP). It was the third post ever. Since then, my writing has improved drastically (you like the big words?) thanks to blogging.Some of it's points don't apply today, but much of it does:Although torture is meant to keep the United States of America safe, it does not always have that effect. Sometimes, in dire emergencies, torture may be necessary. Usually, this is not the case. President Bush does not agree with this. He thinks that torture is necessary to prevent another terrorist attack. While the President believes that, others, who have been in the military, including Republican Senators John McCain, John Warner, and Lindsey Graham, have the opposite view on interrogation techniques. Both sides have proposed a bill. The senate bill, which was approved by the Senate Armed Service Committee (led by McCain, Warner, and Graham), is not much better than the President's bill. It would allow the P ...
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