Clipmarks | righthand's clips

Courage of the flip-flop: Has McCain got it?

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:08:23 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: Like when it was demonstrated to him that his religious companions were bigots that advocated murder. Was it cowardice or courage or the pope and the Catholics that made him have such a radical change of mind and dump his fundamentalist 'friends'?

Apparently they have dumped him back. Hagee has put out a statement saying that he withdraws his endorsement from McCain because he has “become a distraction in what should be a national debate about important issues.”

It takes one type of courage to drop bombs from the sky. Another altogether to order men into battle. A far greater courage to bring home the troops. Which courage does McCain have? Bush landed on a carrier. He wore the uniform. Did he demonstrate any courage?

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Courage of the flip-flop

It's easy to be a conviction politician. Real bravery consists of changing tack according to the evidence

Clip Source: www.nobeliefs.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The trouble with most people is not that they lack the courage to stick to their guns, but they don't have the greater bravery to change course. Consistency is a good thing, but not when it is understood as simply refusing to change your mind

Indeed, one of the best reasons for changing your mind is precisely to become more consistent. If you backed biofuels for environmental reasons, then it would be consistent with your beliefs to drop that support if you became convinced that biofuels weren't that green after all

Clip Source: silencedmajority.blogs.com

Clip Source: thinkprogress.org

In February, McCain said he was “very honored by Pastor John Hagee’s endorsement.” After controversy broke out over offensive comments made by Hagee, McCain originally evoked Hagee’s support for Israel as his reason for continuing to embrace his support. McCain’s full statement is here.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Consistency is much more important at a time than over time.

Tags: flip.flop, mccain, bush, bravery, evidence

Torture and Imprisonment of Children

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:42:27 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: www.dci-pal.org

Israeli military continues to torture Palestinian children

On the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture

Clip Source: www.appletreeblog.com

Clip Source: www.dci-pal.org

In one case, Israeli interrogators beat 15-year-old Ibrahim S. over the course of several hours. Ibrahim was then threatened with sexual assault for the purpose of extracting his confession. The accusation, which Ibrahim kept denying, was that he had thrown stones at the Israeli army when it invaded his village the day before. A Military Court accepted Ibrahim’s confession and he was imprisoned in Israel for five months.

Clip Source: www.appletreeblog.com

Clip Source: www.dci-pal.org

A 10-year-old boy was subjected to physical abuse amounting to torture for 2.5 hours by Israeli soldiers who stormed his family’s shop on 11 June, seeking information on the location of a handgun. The boy was repeatedly beaten, slapped and punched in the head and stomach, forced to hold a stress position for half and hour, and threatened. He was deeply shocked and lost two molar teeth as a result of the assault.

Clip Source: www.appletreeblog.com

Clip Source: sabbah.biz

Clip Source: www.dci-pal.org

case, 14-year-old Mohammad E.

Tags: israel, torture, children, prisoners

10 Most Awesomely Bad Moments of the Bush Presidency

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:57:23 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

The 10 Most Awesomely Bad Moments of the Bush Presidency

Printed on July 3, 2008

warrantless wiretapping;

Valerie Plame; Scooter Libby's sentence commuted;

Bush believes Rafael Palmeiro is innocent;

soldiers face neglect at Walter Reed;

signing statements;

the Kyoto treaty ripped up;

; loyalty oaths;

the fake turkey;

a staged teleconference with troops

staged FEMA press conference,

extraordinary rendition,

support for junk science;

endorsement of neo-creationist "intelligent design";

inaction against global warming;

record oil prices;

record budget deficits;

record trade deficits;

two recessions;

no-bid contracts;

bin Laden still at large;

the Federal Marriage Amendment;

stem cell research vetoed;

waterboarding ban vetoed

"Last throes";

"Old Europe";

"It's hard work";

"Bring it on";

"Yo, Blair!";

"I'm the decider"

"I'm the commander guy"

"I'm a war president";

"This is the guy who tried to kill my dad"

"Let the Eagle Soar"

John Bolton

Kenny Boy

"So?"

Blair talks Bush out of bombing al-Jazeera

John Roberts

Sam Alit

Tags: bush, president

Study: Open-Minded Blog Readers Much More Likely To Be Left-Wing

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:11:56 GMT

clipped by: jklugman
clipper's remarks: I ordinarily stay away from "liberals are x; conservatives are y" stories but what the hell, we've seen a lot of that lately on Clipmarks and this study looks well-designed.

Clip Source: papers.ssrn.com

Self-Segregation or Deliberation? Blog Readership, Participation and Polarization in American Politics

HENRY FARRELL
George Washington University - Department of Political Science
ERIC LAWRENCE
George Washington University-Department of Political Science
JOHN SIDES
George Washington University - Department of Political Science

June, 25 2008

Clip Source: crookedtimber.org

blog readers seem to exhibit strong homophily. That is to say, they overwhelmingly choose blogs that are written by people who are roughly in accordance with their political views. Left wingers read left wing blogs, right wingers read right wing blogs, and very few people read both left wing and right wing blogs. Those few people who read both left wing and right wing blogs are considerably more likely to be left wing themselves; interpret this as you like.

Clip Source: crookedtimber.org

Tags: politics, liberals, conservatives

The week in wildlife (16 pics) to July 04

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 20:18:18 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Singapore: A pangolin, called Hook, resting on a tree stump in the Singapore zoo. Its survival comes under increasing threat from illegal poaching

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

historic Virginia City

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

More than 100 homeless dogs and cats from earthquake-hit areas are housed

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Altai, Russia: Dappled deer leap in an enclosure at a deer farm in the Altai region's Soloneshensky district. The farm raises some 600 deer and 600 Siberian stags, whose antlers are harvested and used for the production of medicine

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Romania: A pelican colony

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Guwahati , India: A golden langur – one of the world's most endangered species, found only in a few pockets in western Assam and adjoining Bhutan – and a Hanuman monkey in playful mood at the zoological park

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

false killer whales stranded on a beach near the popular Thai resort

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

UK: A Cornish Chough

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

London, UK: A swarm of bees invades a tree between centre court and court 2 on day seven of the Wimbledon tennis championships

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

India: Dogs sit on a bench in a flooded residential apartment complex

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

India

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Kenya

Tags: photos

American Blackout video 2006

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 04:47:12 GMT

clipped by: clipmaureen
clipper's remarks: variety of political videos

Clip Source: video.stumbleupon.com

[Video]

Tags: politics, blacks

Concorde: Judge puts Continental on trial for manslaughter

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:08:56 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: In 2004, French investigators blamed the disaster on a strip of metal that fell on to the runway from a Continental Airlines DC-10. This was found to have burst the Concorde's tyres, which ruptured the plane's fuel tanks as they broke up.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Concorde crash judge puts Continental Airlines on trial for manslaughter

Clip Source: www.solarnavigator.net

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Continental Airlines and five individuals are to stand trial for manslaughter over the Concorde crash eight years ago that killed 113 people.

Clip Source: www.silentthundermodels.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The Air France jet came down soon after take-off from Charles de Gaulle airport, Paris.

In 2004, French investigators blamed the disaster on a strip of metal that fell on to the runway from a Continental Airlines DC-10. This was found to have burst the Concorde's tyres, which ruptured the plane's fuel tanks as they broke up.

Clip Source: www.solarnavigator.net

Air France Flight 4590 in flames, prior to the tragedy

The final Concorde landing

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The five men charged include Continental mechanic John Taylor and Stanley Ford, the chief of maintenance. Both are being held responsible for the fitting of the non-standard metal strip to the DC-10.

The jet aircraft bound for New York's JFK airport caught fire as it took off from Paris in July 2000 carrying 109 people.

The crash killed all those aboard

and four people on the ground

Tags: aircraft, eu, uk, usa, court

Zionist Neocons Pushed Iraqi Invasion

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:44:45 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: Joe Klein Suggests Jewish Neocons Pushed Iraq War to `Make World Safe for Israel`

Clip Source: www.israelenews.com

Joe Klein Suggests Jewish Neocons Pushed Iraq War to `Make World Safe for Israel`

Clip Source: img465.imageshack.us

Clip Source: www.israelenews.com

Now Joe Klein has raised the issue of dual loyalty around the neoconservatives' motivation for "plump"ing for the Iraq war:

Clip Source: www.stopthewarnow.net

Clip Source: myletterstobush.com

Clip Source: www.israelenews.com

Beautiful. A war to make the world safe for Israel. (Though I'd note that Klein needs to paste on the figleaf of the oil men having dual loyalty too. Dubious.) And note why Klein is saying this now: the overheated rhetoric re Iran. The realist view of the Israel/Palestine issue is coming inside.

Clip Source: www.bollyn.com

Three of the five Israeli agents appeared on Israeli television in November 2001 and admitted that their purpose had been to document the 9-11 attacks.

The Israeli military intentionally attacked the USS Liberty in June 1967, killing 34 and wounding 171.

Ariel Sharon, Israel's prime minister in 2001, has a long history of committing large-scale terrorist crimes.

Yerucham Bzozowitch (a.k.a. Eitan Livni), chief terror planner for the Irgun. Livni,

went to Britain in the 1940s to kill British leaders.

Tags: israel, 9/11, neocons, iraq, invasion

How Terrorism Paranoia Killed 1,600 Americans in 2002

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:12:11 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: discovermagazine.com

Widespread fear after 9/11 pushed people from (safe) planes to (dangerous) cars.

In the aftermath of 9/11, many Americans were so afraid of flying that they chose to drive instead. That decision, based on the perceived threat of another airliner hijacking, led to 1,600 casualties in the following year. The families of the people who died in those crashes thought they had lost them to “the routine traffic accidents we accept as the regrettable cost of living in the modern world.” Daniel Gardner begs to differ: What killed them was fear.

How do we decide what to dread, and why do we do it so badly? Threats such as asteroid impacts, online pedophiles, and terrorist attacks trigger gut reactions so powerful that they override rational thought, Gardner explains, and pretty soon we are willing to carry gas masks to protect ourselves from a chemical weapons attack—but not to exercise and eat our fruits and veggies.

Tags: fear, terrorism, united states

UK patients to get free healthcare throughout EU

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:19:28 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

NHS patients to get free healthcare throughout EU

Clip Source: www.europarl.europa.eu

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

NHS patients will be given the right to free treatment anywhere in the European Union under a new blueprint for cross-border healthcare.

The move, which covers all 27 countries in the EU, is designed to give patients greater freedom and ease congestion in health services with long waiting lists for operations.

Clip Source: www.autonomic-communication.org

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The draft directive, approved by EU governments today, guarantees that treatment costs are covered by the national health scheme of the patient's home country.

It gives British patients the right to seek any treatment offered by the NHS, such as cancer care or heart surgery, in any other EU country that could provide it more quickly.

Clip Source: www.cartoonstock.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The plans would also make it easier for patients to receive medication prescribed abroad after they return home.

Patients will have to pay upfront for their treatment but as long as the cost was lower than in the NHS, they could will be able to reclaim the amount in full.

Clip Source: stuffwhitepeoplelike.files.wordpress.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Wednesday July 2, 2008

Tags: uk, eu, health

Turkish party fights for survival after foiled coup attempt

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:57:42 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Turkish party fights for survival after foiled coup attempt

Clip Source: commons.wikimedia.org

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Turkey's governing party mounted a desperate legal fight for its survival today as documents allegedly showed it had been the target of a foiled coup attempt planned to begin next week.

Facing prosecution demands that it be closed and its leaders banished from politics, the Justice and Development party (AKP) denied accusations that it was seeking to impose sharia law.

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

1960: Military coup in Turkey.

1963: Failed military coup attempt in Turkey.

1971: Military coup in Turkey (Coup by Memorandum).

1980: Military coup in Turkey.

1997: Military coup in Turkey, called 'post-modern coup' (February 28), overthrows the coalition government.

2007: Military coup in Turkey, called 'e-coup' (April 27),

Clip Source: www.network54.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The deputy prime minister, Cemil Cicek, a former lawyer, told the constitutional court that the charges were a politically motivated drive by the country's secular establishment to unseat a twice-elected popular government.

July 3, 2008

Tags: turkey, eu, coup

24 hours in pictures - July 3

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:32:08 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Coeur d'Alene, US: Thelma O'Dell, left, and Lois Jacobson blow bubbles during a wheelchair parade at an assisted living park

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Paris, France: Jean-Paul Gaultier's autumn/winter fashion show

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Jordan: Barn owls

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

China: Paramilitary police carry out an anti-terror drill

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

ampre cycling team, two days before the start of the Tour de France

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Mumbai, India: Trucks at a terminal during a strike against increased fuel taxes

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Mongolia

ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary party that was ransacked and burned two days ago by protesters

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Jammu, India: A victim is taken to hospital after a grenade exploded at a protest rally

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Islamabad, Pakistan: Students of the religious school Jamia Hafsa, next to the Red Mosque, pray on the mosque ruins after a demonstration

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Washington, US: 10,512 trainers tied by their laces and laid heel-to-toe in the courtyard at the National Geographic Society headquarters. Guinness World Records certified them as the longest chain of shoes, measuring 8,700 feet or nearly 1.65 miles

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

UK:

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

UK:

Tags: photos

For WHAT? One Man! And the Next WAR?

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:46:24 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: And all for the lack of one assassins bullet. Where is Mossad when it's needed? "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" If he was such a bad man could no one be found to "judicially assassinate" this 'turbulent' ruler? Keeping the rules has NOT been the hallmark of this administration, so why not 'eliminate' Saddam?

The truth is that he was never the target. Assassination would not have produced occupation. It would have save 4,000+ US lives but we have learnt that these didn't matter either. The out of sight, out of mind, no presidential presence at funerals worked for AWOL Bush. However the broken in mind and body will not go away so easily. Until they are swamped by the next lot.

Clip Source: 66.102.9.104

El soldado David Rozelle. The soldier David Rozelle.

David Rozelle. David Rozelle.

Tags: photos, iraq, war, usa, bush

McCain and Habeus Corpus

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:01:33 GMT

clipped by: sparrow

Clip Source: us.mc571.mail.yahoo.com

what McCain just said about yesterday's Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutional right of habeas corpus.

Here's McCain, in his own words,

"The United States Supreme Court yesterday rendered a decision which I think is one of the worst decisions in the history of this country." *

What???

Yesterday's powerful decision by the Court (a decision Americans should be proud of) affirmed a fundamental constitutional right -- in this case, the right of a detainee to challenge the government's grounds for confining him. What does McCain think is so bad about that?

Does he think protecting the right to be heard in court is...

...worse than locking thousands of Americans in internment camps because they had Japanese ancestry? (Korematsu v. United States -- 1944)

...worse than forcing African Americans to sit at the back of the bus? (Plessy v. Ferguson -- 1896)

...worse than slavery? (Dred Scott v. Sanford -- 1857)

Really, Senator McCain?

Tags: habeus corpus, mccain, politics, supreme court, constitution