Clipmarks | invictus's 'united states' clips

Dinosaurs roamed Washington DC

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:36:45 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Not now, just 100 million years ago... Or they're still there, er, in a kinda 'disguise'?

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

Feb. 26, 2008 -- Until recently, evidence for dinosaurs in the northeastern United States was sparse, but over 900 theropod, sauropod, ankylosaur and ornithopod fossilized footprints have now been found just a short drive from the nation's capital, according to new studies.

The finds, which also include tracks for pterosaurs, a dino-era mammal and other vertebrates, suggest that Maryland was a hotbed for dinosaurs during the Cretaceous from around 98 to 121 million years ago.

Tags: dinosaurs, palaeontology, washington, maryland, prehistory, united states

Dead Money Walking - Cartoon

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 02:50:51 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: By Alen Lauzan Falcon

Clip Source: www.truthdig.com

Tags: economy, united states, us dollar, cartoons

Finding faith outside church

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 21:34:57 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.usatoday.com

A new survey of U.S. adults who don't go to church, even on holidays, finds 72% say "God, a higher or supreme being, actually exists." But just as many (72%) also say the church is "full of hypocrites."

Indeed, 44% agree with the statement "Christians get on my nerves."

Tags: religion, united states, church, christianity, faith

Average American Owes Average Chinese $4000

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 21:01:47 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: agonist.org

This is really an astonishing number. From James Fallows' new essay, "The $1.4 Trillion Question:"

Through the quarter-century in which China has been opening to world trade, Chinese leaders have deliberately held down living standards for their own people and propped them up in the United States. This is the real meaning of the vast trade surplus—$1.4 trillion and counting, going up by about $1 billion per day—that the Chinese government has mostly parked in U.S. Treasury notes. In effect, every person in the (rich) United States has over the past 10 years or so borrowed about $4,000 from someone in the (poor) People’s Republic of China.

Based on 2006 per capita GDP numbers that means we've sucked almost 23% per year from the average Chinese earner's income.

Can you imagine what you'd do if someone was borrowing 22% of your income a year and forcing you to endure a lower standard of living in the process? You'd be rather unhappy, no?

Tags: economy, china, united states

Iraq's Kurdish leader snubs Rice

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 23:16:31 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Turkish troops have been massed on the Iraqi border

The head of Iraq's Kurdish regional government has refused to meet the US secretary of state because of the US position on Turkish cross-border raids.

Massoud Barzani had been scheduled to meet Condoleezza Rice in Baghdad, but withdrew "as a sign of protest" after several villages were bombed on Sunday.

The air strikes on alleged positions of PKK separatist rebels were followed by an incursion by 300 troops on Tuesday.

They moved 3km (1.9 miles) over Iraq's border, but later reportedly withdrew.

The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, has said almost 2,000 people in northern Iraq have fled their homes in recent days as a result of the Turkish operations.

Speaking to reporters in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, the prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Nechirvan Barzani, said its president had refused to meet Ms Rice because of Washington's tolerance of the recent Turkish raids.

Tags: iraq, turkey, kurds, pkk, united states, war, condoleezza rice, middle east

Stop Arming Israel and Saudi Arabia

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 21:34:46 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: mrzine.monthlyreview.org

Bush's renewed arming of Saudi Arabia and Israel forces the issue. But we can turn his scheme against him and the Democrats, equally guilty of such outrages. The old saying is "a mountain only stands out because of the flatness of the surrounding ground." They have gotten away with their crimes because no movement focused on confronting our educated with the complete range of their international religious demagoguery. They built European Christian Democratic parties against Stalinism, patronized the creation of an Orthodox Jewish state, organized an Islamic front on the Soviet Union's borders, culminating with the arming of such terrorists against the pro-Soviet regime in Afghanistan.

If we resolutely challenge Bush now, we can generate enough discussion of the potentially disastrous consequences of the deal that, even if we can't stop Congress from funding it, we can continue, confident that we will convince enough people in reasonable time.

Tags: united states, bush administration, israel, saudi arabia, hypocrisy

America, America!

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:23:10 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: See the video clip at the source

Clip Source: mrzine.monthlyreview.org

Directed by KP Sasi and based on Kamaan Singh Dhami's anti-war song "American War Paar Da! (Check Out the American War!)," the 4-minute music video is a satirical but severe indictment of America's role in escalating world conflict. Originally written following the post-9/11 bombing of Afghanistan by the USA, and developed to address the occupation of Iraq, the song comments on various aspects of the American empire -- its stockpile of nuclear bombs, its cozy relation with fanatical and dictatorial regimes, and in fact, the very notion of American peace and liberty.

The song is set to the tune of the popular Sinhalese song "Surangini" and has English lyrics and a catchy chorus in Tamil. Dancing sometimes on Bush's shoulder, sometimes on the roof of Washington's White House, and sometimes in a colourful parade of children protesting against war, dancer Malavika Tara Mohanan embodies the indomitable spirit of resistance and satire.

Tags: music, united states, politics, satire, war

Rice promises Turkey more action against PKK

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 17:10:47 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

ANKARA (Reuters) - The United States promised on Friday to redouble efforts against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq in an attempt to stave off Turkish military intervention that could destabilize the region.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called the militants a "common enemy." But she did not spell out what Washington might do to stop them using Iraq as a base for attacks on Turkey, where they seek an independent Kurdish state.

"We all need to redouble our efforts and the United States is committed to redoubling our efforts," Rice told a news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan.

Tags: turkey, pkk, united states, northern iraq, condoleezza rice, middle east

Large dinosaur footprints found in Australia

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:34:09 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Large, carnivorous dinosaurs roamed southern Australia 115 million years ago, when the continent was joined to the Antarctica, and were padded with body fat to survive temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius.

Standing about 12-feet tall, these hardy creatures inhabited the area close to the South Pole for at least 10 million years during the Cretaceous period, an expert said.

Palaeontologists from Australia and the United States came by their findings after uncovering three separate fossil footprints measuring about 14 inches long, each with at least two or three partial toes.

The footprints were found close to the shoreline in Victoria, Australia, in February 2006 and February 2007.

"(They are) the biggest carnivores we have from polar southeastern Australia ... in other words (large) dinosaurs could live in these unusual environments," said Thomas Rich, curator of vertebrate palaeontology at the Museum of Victoria.

Tags: dinosaurs, palaeontology, australia, science

Conflict on a Second Kurdish Front

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 03:30:06 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks:

Like the P.K.K., the Iranian Kurds control much of the craggy, boulder-strewn frontier and routinely ambush patrols on the other side. But while the Americans call the P.K.K. terrorists, guerrilla commanders say P.J.A.K. has had “direct or indirect discussions” with American officials. They would not divulge any details of the discussions or the level of the officials involved, but they noted that the group’s leader, Rahman Haj-Ahmadi, visited Washington last summer.

Biryar Gabar, one of 11 members of the group’s leadership, said there had been “normal dialogue” with American officials, declining specifics. One of his bodyguards said officials of the group met with Americans in Kirkuk last year.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Deadly raids into Turkey by Kurdish militants holed up in northern Iraq are the focus of urgent diplomacy, with Turkey threatening invasion of Iraq and the United States begging for restraint while expressing solidarity with Turkish anger.

Yet out of the public eye, a chillingly similar battle has been under way on the Iraqi border with Iran. Kurdish guerrillas ambush and kill Iranian forces and retreat to their hide-outs in Iraq. The Americans offer Iran little sympathy. Tehran even says Washington aids the Iranian guerrillas, a charge the United States denies. True or not, that conflict, like the Turkish one, has explosive potential.

The guerrillas from the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan, or P.J.A.K., have been waging a deadly insurgency in Iran and they are an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the P.K.K., the Kurdish guerrillas who fight Turkey.

Tags: iran, turkey, pkk, pjak, kurds, iraq, war

More Quotes of the Founding Fathers

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 18:56:40 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo

Clip Source: www.aynrand.org

John Adams (the second President of the United States)

"The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion."

"Twenty times in the course of my late reading, have I been upon the point of breaking out, 'this would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it.'"

Thomas Jefferson

"...an amendment was proposed by inserting the words, 'Jesus Christ...the holy author of our religion,' which was rejected 'By a great majority in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammedan, the Hindoo and the Infidel of every denomination.'"

"The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as his father, in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter."

James Madison

"Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together."

Tags: politics, religion

Turkey says it's ready for Iraq campaign

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:55:29 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Gunpowder smells in the air...

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

ANKARA, Turkey - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Turkey would not be deterred by the possible diplomatic consequences if it decides to stage a cross-border offensive into Iraq against Kurdish rebels.

"If such an option is chosen, whatever its price, it will be paid," Erdogan told reporters in response to a question about the international repercussions of such a decision, which would strain ties with the United States and Iraq. "There could be pros and cons of such a decision, but what is important is our country's interests."

Erdogan also had harsh words for the United States, which opposes a Turkish incursion into northern Iraq — one of the country's few relatively stable areas.

"Did they seek permission from anyone when they came from a distance of 10,000 kilometers and hit Iraq?" he said. "We do not need anyone else's advice."

Tags: turkey, pkk, northern iraq, united states

Independent Community Media

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:18:49 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.radioforpeople.org

Be The Media - REALLY!

Radio for People is a national coalition of grassroots independent media groups and concerned individuals. We will help you be the media.

Why Community Radio

Democratic, community-based radio is alive and well in the United States. It lives in big cities, rural communities, Indian reservations, college campuses, and small towns. It speaks English, Spanish, Navajo, Apache, Lakota, Russian, Creole and Hmong. It broadcasts music, news, theater, literature, and talk shows.

JOIN RADIO FOR PEOPLE!

Radio for People is a national coalition for promoting and supporting grassroots independent media. We are independent groups, lawyers, radio engineers, radio stations, free media advocates, professional associations, social justice activists, and many other concerned folks. We have joined together in anticipation of the upcoming FCC noncommercial license application window, to encourage the creation of more independent community radio stations.

Tags: radio, media, free speech, radio for people, community radio, independent media

Sunni bloc quits Iraq government

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 13:51:09 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Sunni bloc quits Iraq govt, truck bomb kills 50

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The main Sunni Arab political bloc quit the Iraqi government on Wednesday in a blow to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, while a suicide bomber driving a fuel truck killed 50 people in one of several car bombs in Baghdad.

The Sunni Accordance Front announced its pull-out from Maliki's Shi'ite-led coalition over his failure to meet a list of about a dozen demands, including a greater say in security matters.

The front's 44 members will remain in the 275-seat parliament. Its withdrawal will have little practical effect on the 15-month-old government, which is virtually paralyzed by infighting but needs only a simple majority to keep functioning.

But the shaky coalition is under pressure from the United States and its allies to end sectarian strife between Shi'ites and Sunnis through national reconciliation.

Tags: iraq, nuri al-maliki, sunnis, shiites, sectarianism, civil war, middle east

U.S. Set to Offer Huge Arms Deal to Saudi Arabia

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 12:53:56 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

U.S. Set to Offer Huge Arms Deal to Saudi Arabia

WASHINGTON, July 27 — The Bush administration is preparing to ask Congress to approve an arms sale package for Saudi Arabia and its neighbors that is expected to eventually total $20 billion at a time when some United States officials contend that the Saudis are playing a counterproductive role in Iraq.

The proposed package of advanced weaponry for Saudi Arabia, which includes advanced satellite-guided bombs, upgrades to its fighters and new naval vessels, has made Israel and some of its supporters in Congress nervous. Senior officials who described the package on Friday said they believed that the administration had resolved those concerns, in part by promising Israel $30.4 billion in military aid over the next decade, a significant increase over what Israel has received in the past 10 years.

Tags: united states, saudi arabia, arms deal, middle east, weapons