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 |
Why Would Darfur Rebels Attack AU Peacekeepers?
2007-10-01 18:30:00
BBC: Darfur rebels 'behind AU attack' What’s this? The rebels are behind the attack on African Union troops that are supposed to be protecting them? What’s up with that?Professor Seth Weinberger has some truly excellent analysis over at his blog, Security Dilemnas.But it's altogether likely that the rebels do, in fact, want the peacekeepers out. The rebels are those Darfur who have decided to take up arms against the Sudanese government in hopes of achieving greater political autonomy and protection, if not independence, for Darfur. The presence of peacekeepers, while perhaps sufficing to minimize or prevent the attacks against civilians that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions more, will not serve to advance the larger political goal. If anything, the peacekeepers will serve to entrench the status quo by freezing the battlelines and political demands in place. They certainly will make it more difficult for the rebels to attain their larger political goals.To ...
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Bush Advisor: Global Warming Could Make Planet 'Unlivable'
2007-09-26 19:14:00
Washington (TGW) - John Marburger, one of U.S. President George Bush's scientific advisers, said climate change is real and is likely caused by humanity.He said he is 90% certain that greenhouse gas emissions are causing global warming."I think there is widespread agreement on certain basics, and one of the most important is that we are producing far more CO2 from fossil fuels than we ought to be. And it's going to lead to trouble unless we can begin to reduce the amount of fossil fuels we are burning and using in our economies,” he told the BBC in an interview."The CO2 accumulates in the atmosphere and there's no end point, it just gets hotter and hotter, and so at some point it becomes unlivable," he said."You only have two choices; you either have advanced technologies and get them into the marketplace, or you shut down your economies and put people out of work," he said.The Bush administration has been resistant to joining the fight against climate change.Via :: BBC (click he ...
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Hillary's Nomination: Increasingly Likely
2007-09-24 18:59:00
Reuters: Bush thinks Clinton will win Democratic nominationPolitical Grind: This is Hillary’s TimePolitical Realm: Wesley Clark Endorses ClintonHillary Clinton is increasingly edging towards the Democratic nomination. She’s ahead of Barack Obama by over 20 points, most polls indicate.So what? Polls aren’t very accurate, after all, right? Right. And that’s why Clinton’s nomination is even more likely.The voter factorPolls aren’t very accurate for many reasons, but one is more important than others: the likelihood a voter will vote. In fact, only 54% of eligible voters actually vote. A candidate may have a 20 percentage point lead, but when the election actually comes, the win could narrow to only 7 or 8% of the vote. Why? People choose not to vote. Out of the top 3 Democratic candidates, whose supporters are most likely to cast ballots come Election Day? Here are three brief summaries:Hillary Clinton‘The machine’. Clinton’s ‘political machine’ comes with years of e ...
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New Posting Schedule
2007-09-22 12:38:00
I think, at least temporarily, posting here is going to move to every other day.Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.Of course, Stat just posts whenever, and I might post other times as well.The reason is that until the end of October I'm very busy every day. But I hope having a scheduled post every other day that I will be able to write better quality posts, even if they're posted less often.--Simmons
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Timeline: Anti-Syrian Lawmakers Assasinated
2007-09-20 20:32:00
Sept. 19, 2007: Ghanem, 64, an anti-Syria lawmaker from the Christian Phalange Party, is killed in a blast in Beirut. Six others also die.June 13, 2007: Walid Eido, 65, an anti-Syria member of Parliament, is killed along with his son, two bodyguards, and six others in an explosion in Beirut.Nov. 21, 2006: Pierre Gemayel, 34, the industry minister and a prominent anti-Syria Christian politician, is shot to death by gunmen in a Beirut suburb.Dec. 12, 2005: Gibran Tueni, an anti-Syria newspaper editor and lawmaker, is killed when a car bomb destroys his vehicle.June 21, 2005: Anti-Syria politician George Hawi, a former Communist Party leader, is killed by a bomb placed under his car.June 2, 2005: Anti-Syria journalist and activist Samir Kassir is killed by a bomb planted under his car.Feb. 14, 2005: Former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, an anti-Syria lawmaker, is assassinated in a bombing that also kills 20 other people. Among the dead is Bassel Fleihan, who served as economy minister in Ha ...
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Busy
2007-09-18 18:48:00
Sorry, it's been busy.Back tomorrow.
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New $50,000 Global Warming Contest from Quantum Shift TV
2007-09-15 17:13:00
Watch more videos like this at www.quantumshift.tvCALGARY—An innovative new Web broadcaster is using the power of the Internet to inspire children and youth in schools across North America to make a difference.Quantum Shift TV is challenging students from grades one to twelve across the United States and Canada to participate in the “Be the Change! Share the Story!” School Video Contest. Students are invited to work on a social or environmental project of their choice, and document their progress in two short videos to be uploaded on the Web. In addition to making a difference in their community, students have an opportunity to win up to $50,000 in prizes for their school.Through this contest, Quantum Shift TV is building an online community focused on socially conscious, solution-oriented videos. An entertaining puzzle game woven into the contest stimulates cross-pollination of ideas by encouraging youth to watch each other’s videos. Teams receive points for social network act ...
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Hezbollah - Not North Korea
2007-09-13 18:52:00
Israel strike on Syria? Yup.North Korea supplying Syria with nuclear technology? Nope.Fox news, along with right-wing extremists (notably John Bolton) are publishing stories and op-eds claiming they have (unidentified) ‘sources’ who tell them North Korea may be supplying Syria with nuclear technology. We find that very unlikely.First, North Korea is just beginning to disclose its nuclear facilities to the U.S. and the U.N, for very large sums of money, oil, and other basic necessities. If North Korea is selling nuclear technology to Syria, Syria would be paying very well. North Korea would not need anything from the U.S. After the North Korean nuclear deal earlier this year, most analysts suspected (for good reason) that North Korea badly needed the aid they were receiving in the deal. North Korea wouldn’t be needing that if they were exporting nuclear know-how.Second, New deals with the DPRK are being announced every other week it feels like. Kim Jong-Il is giving the impression ...
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1 Year Anniversary!
2007-09-13 13:07:00
Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary of the first post here at Thoughts on the World. You can see the first post here. The truth is yesterday was kinda really busy, so I didn't have a chance write this yesterday.I came in with no knowledge of blogs, blogging, or politics on the Internet. All I knew was that I wanted to express my opinions on the internet. It's been a strange journey.Let's not get too emotional.Most trafficked post: 5 Reasons Solar Power WorksLeast trafficked post: Post of the Month: June
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Bottled Water Refund Payout per State
2007-09-11 19:18:00
Stat blogs at The Statistics Monster. If you would like to blog here, send us an email at worldthoughts(at)gmail(dot)com.There are 12 states with bottle deposit refunds. You know, those things where you bring in your bottles and they give you money? Here they are:California: 5 or 10 centsConnecticut: 5 centsDelaware: 5 centsHawaii: 5 centsIowa: 5 cents, also applies to wine bottlesMaine: 5 cents, also applies to fruit juice and bottled water, 15 cents for some wine bottlesMassachusetts: 5 centsMichigan: 10 centsNew York: 5 centsOregon: 5 centsVermont: 5 centsThe northeast seems to have the highest amount of states with a refund policy.Source: Wikipedia
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A New Strategic Objective in Iraq
2007-09-10 19:58:00
As the British withdraw from Basra, we here in America are struggling to find a way to meet our goals in Iraq.There have been many proposed solutions, but there are no good options; each plan to fix or to get out of Iraq contains serious flaws.Our strategic objective in Iraq since the start of the war has been to create pro-American coalition government in Baghdad. The original Rumsfeld plan was to go in, create some degree of stability while training the Iraqis to pacify Iraq. We would then withdraw leaving the rest of the nation building to the Iraqis.It didn’t work.The optionsWe now have 3 options available. The first is to maintain the current strategy. This is the Bush Administration’s point of view. The second is a rapid withdrawal of forces, a position held by a fairly small group mostly on the left. The third is to start a phased withdrawal, beginning sometime in the next few months and concluding when circumstances allow. This is the consensus among most moderate Democrats ...
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Welcome Stat!
2007-09-08 16:58:00
Everybody welcome Stat Statistical, the statistics monster, from Statistics Monster!He will now be co-blogging here with me, as well as at Thoughts on Global Warming.Stat blogs about statistics. For more, see the Statistics Monster about page. Please give him a warm welcome!
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