The Evolution of Humanitarian Intervention and the Responsibility to Protect
( The latest iteration of 'justifying' murder abroad. )
Quarrel between France and Turkey blocking NATO agreement
From Hurriyet: Turkey’s opposition to transferring the command and control of an international intervention into Libya to NATO has put it in an awkward position with its allies and hampered ongoing NATO efforts to reach an agreement.France, which helped lead the initial strikes on Libya, retaliated against Turkey’s move by vetoing a NATO role in humanitarian assistance and weapons blockade, something Ankara had sought.
( Not as bad as it sounds. 'Humanitarian aid' U.S. style is a racket which wrecks a country's economy )
Resolution 1973, Intervention, and International Law
...the legal basis of the military action that allied forces are taking. The wording is significantly different to the standard clause that has been appearing in UN Resolutions since the 1999 mission to Sierra Leone, which, under the heading of Protection of United Nations’ Staff, Facilities and Civilians...
White House defends Obama's authority to launch strikes in Libya
( Dog bites man )
Blog Briefing Room Headlines
- Ethics watchdog sues Justice Department for DeLay documents
- Biden warns Dems of threat of GOP retaking Senate majority
- House GOP whip chides Obama on Libya involvement
- Webb: I'm not going away
- Kucinich moves to cut funding in Libya
- Nevada governor: Romney, Pawlenty, Barbour would make 'great presidents'
- GOP Sen. Brown opposes Planned Parenthood cuts
- Dems launch attack on Ryan budget
- Ohio Sen. Brown: Card check is 'not going to happen'
- Rand Paul won't run against 'dad' in 2012
- Top Dem rejects calls for Obama impeachment over Libya
- US fighter jet crashes in Libya
- Obama has no 'clear and convincing' foreign policy, Romney says
- Endorsements trickle in as GOP candidates enter White House race
War Powers Irresolution
Hullaballoo
Civilized Dictatorship
This is how the civilized people handle these messy situations: in the past week or two, the nature of the protest shifted — and so did any hope that demands for change would cross sectarian lines and unite Bahrainis in a cohesive democracy movement. The mainly Shiite demonstrators moved beyond Pearl Square, taking over areas leading to the financial and diplomatic districts of the capital. They closed off streets with makeshift roadblocks and shouted slogans calling for the death of the royal family.
To many around the world, the events of the past week — the arrival of 2,000 troops from Saudi Arabia and other neighbors, the declaration of martial law, the forceful clearing out of Pearl Square, the military takeover of the main hospital and then the spiteful tearing down of the Pearl monument itself — seem like the brutal work of a desperate autocracy*.
But for Sunnis, who make up about a third of the country’s citizenry but hold the main levers of power, it was the only choice of a country facing a rising tide of chaos that imperiled its livelihood and future.
( *In other words...exactly )
American Leftist
in Bahrain, Secretary of State Clinton announces US support for the Saudi troops that have entered the country:
....Ethan Bronner of The New York Times writes an article empathizing with the plight of the Sunni elite:
...While the US and Saudi Arabia act to polarize the political struggle along sectarian lines so as to make the Iranians the fall guy, the situation on the ground is one of increasing class conflict, with the the predominately Shia poor focusing their anger on the obscene wealth and power of the al-Khalida* family.
( *LOL Take out the 'L' and it sounds like...U No Hu )
Yemen's president warns of civil war
Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's president, has offered to step down from his post by the end of the year as protests against his rule continue in defiance of a deadly crackdown by security forces.Saleh pledged a "constitutional" transfer of power, and added that he would not hand over power to the military. Addressing military leaders, he warned against "coups" said the country faced a civil war if he was forced from office. Several senior officers have backed protesters in recent days.
The offer comes with Saleh under renewed scrutiny following the declaration on Friday of a nationwide state of emergency after a violent crackdown on anti-government protests killed at least 41 people, and left scores more wounded, in the capital Sanaa.
But a coalition of Yemeni opposition groups rejected Saleh's offer. "The opposition rejects the offer as the coming hours will be decisive," said Mohammed al-Sabry, a spokesman for the main umbrella opposition group.
A similar proposal by Saleh was the subject of discussions between him and opposition groups earlier this month. Saleh has already promised not to run for another term when his current term expires in 2013.
But he has a history of breaking similar promises: In 2005, he vowed not to run for another term in office, only to run and win another term in 2006.
( The separatists in the south conveniently became 'al Qaeda' concurrent with a U.S. bombing campaign and an inept 'underwear bomber' staged by the CIA
Underwear Bomber - FBI Interviews Eyewitness Kurt Haskell
Haskell Blows Whistle on Underwear Bomber, Government Op
Christmas Day One Year Later-The Underwear Bomber-Case Closed
by Kurt Haskell from Thailand
Reposted to SodaHead
Enhanced Airport Screening Controvery
The Underwear Bomber Is A Hoax! )
Amnesty et al. v. Blair: Victory in FISA Amendment Act Challenge
In a huge victory for privacy and the rule of law, a federal appeals court today reinstated a landmark lawsuit challenging an unconstitutional government spying law. The American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in July 2008 to stop the government from conducting surveillance under the FISA Amendments Act (FAA), a statute that gives the executive branch virtually unchecked power to collect Americans' international e-mails and telephone calls.
( Now show me the part where that is enforced. )
Good Jobs First
Accountable USA, Subsidy Tracker,Good Jobs New York,Corporate Research Project,JobsScam (tax dodges)
Quinoa’s Global Success Creates Quandary at Home
When NASA scientists were searching decades ago for an ideal food for long-term human space missions, they came across an Andean plant called quinoa. With an exceptional balance of amino acids, quinoa, they declared, is virtually unrivaled in the plant or animal kingdom for its life-sustaining nutrients.
Now demand for quinoa (pronounced KEE-no-ah) is soaring in rich countries, as American and European consumers discover the “lost crop” of the Incas. The surge has helped raise farmers’ incomes here in one of the hemisphere’s poorest countries. But there has been a notable trade-off: Fewer Bolivians can now afford it, hastening their embrace of cheaper, processed foods and raising fears of malnutrition in a country that has long struggled with it.
( Just a second. I'm sure Monsanto will take an interest in messing it up beyond redemption, the job on corn and other crops being accomplished. )
How we engineered the food crisis
LO2P Skyscraper Purifies Air, Grows Food And Generates Energy (PICTURES)
From Inhabitat:While it may look like a giant carnival ferris wheel, the LO2P: Delhi Recycling Center concept by Atelier CMJN isn't playing any games when it comes to cleaning up the city of New Dehli. The towering greenhouse is constructed out of parts of recycled cars from local junk piles and has wind turbines inside that act as a set of bio-lungs for the polluted city. While it's still just a concept, the fantastic design recently grabbed first place in this year's eVolo Skyscraper competition.
Satellite snaps extent of Japan's post-quake blackout
11 Nuclear Meltdowns and Disasters
On March 11, 2011, an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale struck Japan, bringing a destructive tsunami along with it. One of the sites most affected by the devastation was the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which experienced a partial meltdown two days after the quake.
The incident is being called the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 disaster at Chernobyl
Awesome Chart Puts Nuclear Radiation in Perspective
Debunking Breakthrough Institute’s attacks on Obama, Gore, and top climate scientists
I just wanted to collect in one place some responses to set the record straight and to defend the reputation of the many, many scientists and environmentalists and leading political figures that they routinely attack:
- The full global warming solution: How the world can stabilize at 350 to 450 ppm
- Why science-based (dire) warnings are an essential part of good climate messaging
- Debunking Breakthrough Institute’s attacks on Obama, Gore, and top climate scientists
- Introduction to climate economics: Why even strong climate action has such a low total cost
- An Introduction to Climate Progress
- Is the global economy a Ponzi scheme?*
- An introduction to the core climate solutions
- Simple rebuttals to denier talking points — with links to the full climate science
- Royal Society special issue details ‘hellish vision’ of 7°F (4°C) world — which we may face in the 2060s!
- A stunning year in climate science reveals that human civilization is on the precipice
- New study puts the ‘hell’ in Hell and High Water
- A detailed look at climate sensitivity
- An illustrated guide to the latest climate science
- * You need to ask ? Check out 'real' U.S. 'debt'
Prices and Sales of Existing Homes Fell Sharply in February
Sandia Labs study: “It is the uncertainty associated with climate change that validates the need to act protectively and proactively.”
( ROFLMAO )We're Too Dumb to Function
...out electorate may simply be too uneducated and disengaged to make our system work properly.
( Disempowered works too )
Which countries are against the New World Order? Japan? China?
Will tax hikes really be part of `bipartisan’ fiscal discussions?
A bunch of folks have already taken solid whacks at the absurd news that a bipartisan group of 64 Senators — divided exactly evenly between Dems and Republicans! — has written a letter to President Obama demanding that he lead bipartisan discussions on how to rein in the deficit.On learning how to read Adam Roberts
Roberts' works seem to me to be best described as experimental novels. They would be avant-garde if there was now any literary garde to be in the avant of.
Menippean satire
Typical mental attitudes attacked and ridiculed by Menippean satires are "pedants, bigots, cranks, parvenus, virtuosi, enthusiasts, rapacious and incompetent professional men of all kinds," which are treated as diseases of the intellect.
The Academic Blog Portal
Brad DeLong has described the academic blogosphere as a kind of Invisible College - this site is supposed to help make the College a little more visible to itself and its readers. It is a work in progress and will remain that way. It draws on updated information from (a) the Crooked Timber academic blogroll, (b) Cliopatria's list of history weblogs and (c) Daniel Solove's Law Professor Blogger Census.
Energy Generation
( The format reminds me of a car mag I used to follow ... except it looks like they left that layout)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment