Clipmarks | tabsey's Comments

Stories They Can't Tell You

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:13:49 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

The war on terror, which has now lasted longer than World War II, is producing a growing family of combat veterans. It’s a disconnected family, large and far-flung, but close in ways that battle-tested soldiers always are.

Everyone had a transition story. Shifting from “hunter-killer mode” to husband-student mode is so sudden, it’s insane. One day you’re in Baghdad, the next you’re in Atlanta, passing rows of cheering civilians at Hartsfield airport. Then you get on with your life. The price is steep, in sleepless nights, troubled consciences and buried anger.

People have no idea, the veterans said.

Yes it is. Do you want to hear about it? No, said Mr. Knudson, you probably don’t.

“We did a good job,” he said. “The irony of service is, we did a good job, and came back different. This is what it does to humans.

One veteran told me he was haunted by the realization that any trauma he suffered was multiplied a hundredfold for the Iraqis he shot at.

Mishaps mark John McCain's record as naval aviator

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 09:44:22 GMT

clipped by: boniface
clipper's remarks: McCain says he knows how to "win a war." Where did he learn this? He was the very bottom of his class (so he didn't learn it there), he crash three jets during peace-time (so he didn't learn it there), the explosion on the carrier was actually his panicking and dropping his bombs into a fire on the deck (so he didn't learn it there), he was downed and became a POW (so he didn't learn it there), the war he was in was Vietnam, the only war the U.S. ever lost (so he didn't learn it there). So where exactly did McCain acquire this great ability to "win a war?" I don't see it!

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

Three crashes early in his career led Navy officials to question or fault his judgment.

John McCain was training in his AD-6 Skyraider on an overcast Texas morning in 1960 when he slammed into Corpus Christi Bay and sheared the skin off his plane's wings.

McCain recounted the accident decades later in his autobiography. "The engine quit while I was practicing landings," he wrote. But an investigation board at the Naval Aviation Safety Center found no evidence of engine failure.

The crash was one of three early in McCain's aviation career in which his flying skills and judgment were faulted or questioned by Navy officials.

In his most serious lapse, McCain was "clowning" around in a Skyraider over southern Spain about December 1961 and flew into electrical wires

After McCain was sent to Vietnam, his plane was destroyed in an explosion on the deck of an aircraft carrier in 1967.

The Surge has Worked

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:37:18 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: edstrong.blog-city.com

Clip Source: www.informationclearinghouse.info

It seems to be the only thing that supporters of the war have to point to, and so they point, and they point, and they point. Allow me to point out that while there has been a reduction in violence in Iraq -- now down to a level that virtually any other society in the world would find horrible and intolerable, including Iraqi society before the US invasion and occupation -- we must keep in mind that thanks to this lovely little war more than half the population of Iraq is either dead, crippled, traumatized, confined in overflowing American and Iraqi prisons, internally displaced, or in foreign exile.

The people of that unhappy land have lost everything -- their homes, their schools, their neighborhoods, their mosques, their jobs, their careers, their professionals, their health care, their legal system, their women's rights, their religious tolerance, their security, their past, their present, their future, their lives. But they do have their surge.

Tags: iraq

Avarice

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:09:17 GMT

clipped by: abailart

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Avarice.

Money, thou bane of blisse, & sourse of wo,
     Whence com’st thou, that thou art so fresh and fine?
     I know thy parentage is base and low:
Man found thee poore and dirtie in a mine.

Surely thou didst so little contribute
     To this great kingdome, which thou now hast got,
     That he was fain, when thou wert destitute,
To digge thee out of thy dark cave and grot:

Then forcing thee by fire he made thee bright:
     Nay, thou hast got the face of man; for we
     Have with our stamp and seel transferr’d our right:
Thou art the man, and man but drosse to thee.

     Man calleth thee his wealth, who made thee rich;
     And while he diggs out thee, falls in the ditch.

George Herbert

Tags: avarice, george herbert

Cannabis less harmful than drinking, smoking: report

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:13:04 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: The British government is pressing for cannabis to be re-classified in law as a Class B drug compared with its current, less serious, Class C classification.

Clip Source: www.camizone.com

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Cannabis is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco, according to a report by a British research charity Thursday, which called for a "serious rethink" of drug policy.

The Beckley Foundation, a charity which numbers senior British and other academics among its advisors, said banning cannabis has no impact on supply and turns users into criminals.

"Although cannabis can have a negative impact on health, including mental health, in terms of relative harms it is considerably less harmful than alcohol or tobacco," says the report by the Foundation's Global Cannabis Commission.

The Beckley Foundation, a charitable trust, claimed only two deaths worldwide have been attributed to cannabis, while alcohol and tobacco use together kill an estimated 150,000 people in Britain alone.

Many of the harms associated with cannabis use are the result of prohibition itself, particularly the social harms arising from arrest and imprisonment," it said.

Tags: canabis, drug abuse

Palin Blasts Obama's Ties to Weather Channel

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:59:37 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Uh-oh.

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Palin Blasts Obama's Ties to Weather Channel

Alaska governor Sarah Palin went on the attack today, claiming that Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama had longstanding ties to The Weather Channel.

"There's a fine line between hating America's weather and hating America herself."

"They said that Sen. Obama was hanging out with weathermen," she said. "Do we really want to elect someone who has been palling around with meteorologists?"

Tags: palin, obama, humor, satire

If you beleive this man will be in charge if elected....

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:06:38 GMT

clipped by: chestnut501
clipper's remarks: Sorry but, You're just plain STUPID

Clip Source: ca.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: obama

More Mud Slung At McCain (Ties to Nazi Collaborators)

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:40:32 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: McCain has said previously he resigned from the council in 1984 and asked in 1986 to have his name removed from the group's letterhead.

"I didn't know whether (the group's activity) was legal or illegal, but I didn't think I wanted to be associated with them," McCain said in a newspaper interview in 1986.

Singlaub does not recall any McCain resignation in 1984 or May 1986. Nor does Joyce Downey, who oversaw the group's day-to-day activities. "That's a surprise to me," Singlaub said. "This is the first time I've ever heard that. There may have been someone in his office communicating with our office."

"I don't ever remember hearing about his resigning, but I really wasn't worried about that part of our activities, a housekeeping thing," said Singlaub. "If he didn't want to be on the board that's OK. It wasn't as if he had been active participant and we were going to miss his help. He had no active interest. He certainly supported us."

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

McCain linked to group in Iran-Contra case

Organization had ties to former Nazi collaborators, right-wing death squads

GOP presidential nominee John McCain has past connections to a private group that supplied aid to guerrillas seeking to overthrow the leftist government of Nicaragua in the Iran-Contra affair

The U.S. Council for World Freedom was part of an international organization linked to former Nazi collaborators and ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America. The group was dedicated to stamping out communism around the globe.

The council's founder, retired Army Maj. Gen. John Singlaub, said McCain became associated with the organization in the early 1980s as McCain was launching his political career in Arizona. Singlaub said McCain was a supporter but not an active member in the group

Elected to the House in 1982 and at a time when he was on the board of Singlaub's council, McCain was among Republicans on Capitol Hill expressing support for the Contras

Tags: politics

Boy - How could I have said this?!

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:09:09 GMT

clipped by: davboz
clipper's remarks: The sway artists DO control the elections. Without the "good" opinions, a guy who actually knows economic issues as a winner in that arena, was demolished by the press.
Oh, so subtly
-------
REPORTER: "Today we look at whether a Mormon can get elected in the United States."---------
---------------
My ASS! Shake yourselves. We've been drifting to some hybridized freak nation of Socialism/capitalism/Communism/shadow-dictatorship since long before Bush and both parties are patsies, tools. Both are complicit, half-braindead useful idiots.
I am off to Belize. There is no going back.
America has had its day.

Clip Source: content3.clipmarks.com

Magic Number

1,191

Romney

McCain

Huckabee

Thompson

Paul

Giuliani

Hunter

Total Delegates*

Clip Source: clipmarks.com

davboz says:

What wins is number of delegates.
Put to the side all the B.S. from the idiots trying to sway things.
There are STILL - as of Jan.19th - people saying Romney doesn't have the support to keep going.
Mostly those are the ones who believe the "sway" artists really control the campaigns and that the thing is won by mindless voters who will change their votes according to who won the previous primary. RIDICULOUS.

7 Annoyingly Awesome Australian Homes

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:28:54 GMT

clipped by: lovemorgul

Clip Source: www.nubricks.com

They may be on the far side of the world, but Australians have become renowned for their design prowess. The land down under may be most widely known for kangaroos, barbeques, beaches and year-round sunshine, but take a look round the place and you’ll soon discover the country is home to many stunningly beautiful properties. With literally thousands of miles of coastline dotted with beaches and fringed with forest and bushland, it’s not surprising then that the Australians have some of the most spectacular homes you’re ever likely to see.

Tags: interesting, design, off-beat, greenliving, ecosystems

Nursery Rhymes we didn’t have as kids

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:11:24 GMT

clipped by: swampfoxz

Clip Source: phunkyou.com

Nursery Rhymes we didn’t have as kids

Mary had a little pig,
She kept it fat and plastered;
And when the price of pork went up,
She shot the little bastard.

Mary had a little lamb.
Her father shot it dead.
Now it goes to school with her,
Between two chunks of bread.

Mary had a little lamb
It ran into a pylon.
10,000 volts went up its arse
And turned its wool to nylon.

Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white and wispy.
Then it caught Foot and Mouth Disease
And now it’s black and crispy.

Mary had a little skirt
With splits right up the sides
And everywhere that Mary went
The boys could see her thighs.
Mary had another skirt
’twas split right up the front
..But she didn’t wear that one often.

Jack and Jill went up the hill
To have a little fun.
Stupid Jill forgot the pill
And now they have a son.

Jack and Jill went into town
To fetch some chips and sweeties.
He can’t keep his heart rate down
And she’s got diabetes.

Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
And planned to do some kissing.

Tags: nursery rhymes

The brain parasite that influences human culture

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:04:07 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: Spread by cats

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

We like to think that we are masters of our own fates. The thought that others might be instead controlling our actions makes us uneasy. We rail against nanny states, we react badly to media hype and we are appalled at the idea of brainwashing. But words and images are not the only things that can affect our brains and thoughts. Other animals - parasites - can do this too. According to research by Kevin Lafferty from the University of California, Santa Barbara, a common brain parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, could be influencing human culture across the globe.

spread by cats

in another animal, it travels to the brain and changes the host's behaviour to maximise its chances of ending up in a cat

For rodents, this means being eaten

infected individuals are less fearful of cats

Humans

tend to show long-term personality changes that are small but statistically significant

higher level of neuroticism

To establish the true direction of causality

need to find out how the parasite manipulates the mind

McCain: Make Believe Maverick

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:01:03 GMT

clipped by: monstersmom
clipper's remarks: A closer look at the life and career of John McCain reveals a disturbing record of recklessness and dishonesty

Clip Source: www.rollingstone.com

This is the story of the real John McCain, the one who has been hiding in plain sight. It is the story of a man who has consistently put his own advancement above all else, a man willing to say and do anything to achieve his ultimate ambition: to become commander in chief, ascending to the one position that would finally enable him to outrank his four-star father and grandfather.

In its broad strokes, McCain's life story is oddly similar to that of the current occupant of the White House.

Both were born into positions of privilege against which they rebelled into mediocrity.

At each step, with the aid of their fathers' powerful friends, both failed upward. And both shed their skins as Episcopalian members of the Washington elite to build political careers as self-styled, ranch-inhabiting Westerner

In one vital respect, however, the comparison is deeply unfair to the current president: George W. Bush was a much better pilot.

Tags: mccain, rolling stone, maverick, bush

The real Americans

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:58:31 GMT

clipped by: lifecyce1898
clipper's remarks: It seems her #1 job is to continue the illusion that the ultimate elitist party, the party of CEO and wall street fat cats is really the party of average America disparagingly cast as Joe and Jane six pack, too ignorant and uneducated to notice the phoniness. Ignore the 100000000 bank account, 10 homes and 13 cars, McCain represents the working American. What a crock of sh**!!

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

As Sarah Palin "aw-shucks-ed" her way through Thursday's debate, she repeatedly played the one card that has become her stock in trade: She is a real American. Her rural roots, her lack of sophistication and worldliness, her bare bones education, her plain-spokenness, her moose hunting -- all of these seemed to brand her as a typical American, one of us us. She has even taken to calling herself Jane Sixpack.

This characterization, ludicrous as it may be in a country as diverse as ours, is more than a matter of political aesthetics. One of the most important components of our recent presidential elections is the redefinition -- actually the narrowing of the definition -- of what constitutes an American.

One of the first national icons was Daniel Boone -- uneducated, adventurous, a man of action rather than intellect who, in his buckskins, couldn't have been more different from the typical Englishman

Gov. Mc Cain must win...

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:43:27 GMT

clipped by: akagugo
clipper's remarks: Gov. Mc Cain must win...

And his carbon footprint will drain Alaska's oil reserves before he breathes his last!

Clip Source: gawker.com

The Charticle McCain Doesn't Want You to See

How does "maverick" everyman John McCain stack up to "elitist" Barack Obama?

Tags: mc cain, obama, 2008 elections, usa, vehicle, fuel, possession, materialism