Insert a Trite Metaphor for a Corral #51

Posted on February 12, 2007 in Roundup

I waited until I commented on Putin’s speech castigating the United States for its campaign for a “unipolar world”. This article by Paul Craig Roberts about the nuclear option (or even just the spent uranium option) in the Middle East sent shivers up my spine. We’re not interested in solutions: we’re interested in [[blitzkrieg]]. In other words, Hitler did not lose the Second World War: his philosophy is alive and well in the USA.

Roberts notes: The reception given to Putin’s words made it clear to Russia, China, and every country not bribed, threatened or purchased into participation in America’s drive for world hegemony that the US has no interest whatsoever in peace. Intelligent people realize that American claims to be a moral and democratic force are mere pretense behind which hides a policy of military aggression.

I hope that bloggers will walk off the track of the big media and give this article from Counterpunch the attention it deserves — especially since the Bush Administration has started the disinformation campaign to justify the intended bombing of Iran..

Happy Darwin Day.

• The Good Old Dollar Something or Other: Opponents of US foreign policy may have an unthought of option: stop using the dollar as a basis for trade. (See the Craig article mentioned above.) Here in the United States, consumers say that they prefer the bill to a proposed coin.
• Little Mercy for Mercenaries: The War in Iraq has the largest ratio of civilian support to military units (125,000 to 135,000) in any conflict in history. What is the result of privatized militaries? You get screwed just like the cubicle farm workers.
• Update: You don’t want to be infected by the [[Chikungunya]] virus.
• Let the Worms Do the Work: Most people are green in the home and something else entirely when they go to work. An article in The Guardian describes how people are bringing environmentalism to the office.
• Chocolate Box Art: Pierre-Auguste Renoir wasn’t always a painter of pretty middle class scenes. One early painting entitled Woman’s Torso in the Sunlight received this comment: “Try to explain to M [[Pierre-Auguste_Renoir|Renoir]] that a woman’s torso is not a mass of decomposing flesh.”
• Sounding the Territory: Hikers are ecstatic about the new topographic maps of Mars releaed by the European Space Agency. Unfortunately, human visitations are not expected in most people’s lifetime.
• The Tax Man Refundeth: Check the fine print on your 2006 return — there’s a one time telephone tax rebate.
• Nice to Know that I am Part of a Trend: Women win the bread in an increasing number of households. Census Bureau data from 2005 show that 25.3 percent of women in two-income marriages bring home a paycheck larger than their spouses, up from 17.8 percent in 1987.
• Despite all Evidence to the Contrary: Opponents of mental health parity insist that it will raise costs.
• Timothy Sounders: Check out Jane’s comment about the death of this young man while in police custody.

If you find any articles worthy of mention in these roundups, send the URL to gazissax at best dot com. And feel free to comment!