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Russian Opposition Presidential Candidate Shot
2007-11-22 02:56:00
Russia gets worse by the day. Coming out today: Russian opposition candidate shot.Farid Babayev, who will lead the regional list for the liberal anti-Kremlin Yabloko party was in a serious condition in hospital, RIA novosti news agency reported after an unidentified gunman fired on him in the regional capital Makhachkala.This comes as Putin continues his maneuverings that will essentially allow him to stay in power indefinitely. He has dissolved parliament recently, and appointed a close ally prime minister. He has promised to take part in parliamentary elections, with victory assured. He will be elected prime minister. From there, Putin will either sap powers from the presidency making the prime minister?s office the most important one (which has no term limits, by the way), or will manipulate the lame-duck president from the shadows.
More About: Presidential , Russia , Shot , Resident

Kosovo Independence Worries E.U. Leaders and Sets European Precedent
2007-11-21 02:25:00
Yesterday I wrote that ?Kosovo declaring independence would be bad, because it would anger Russia , who the U.S. needs to help sanction Iran at the Security Council.?One thing I didn?t mention at all throughout the article is another reason some are concerned about Kosovo declaring independence. Countries of the E.U. are worried that, should Kosovo break away, it will set a precedent for break away regions in their own countries. Specifically:? Catalonia (Spain)? Basque (Spain)? Ossetia (Georgia)? Abkhazia (Georgia)? Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan)? Transnistria (Moldova)Not mentioned on this list, but making many more headlines than these regions, is Kurdistan. Though the countries which Kurdistan has ?citizens? in are not part of the European Union, the Kurds will be affected just as strongly by a declaration of independence.
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Russian Manipulation in Kosovo and Iran
2007-11-20 02:40:00
Kosovo partial official results confirm Thaci win This is very interesting. Hashim Thaci, besides being the newly elected prime minister of Kosovo, is the president of the political party PDK, Democratic Party of Kosovo. But what is even more interesting is that he headed an ethnic-Albanian guerilla group, the Kosovo Liberation Army, which fought for independence from Yugoslavia and Serbia in 1990?s. In other words, he is very much an Albanian nationalist. Kosovo has said it will declare formal independence in December if a deal cannot be reached.So Kosovo might gain independence. What?s the big deal? The region of Kosovo exists in Serbia, which Russia supports extensively. Russia is very much pro-Serbian, and has made its position very clear to both the E.U. and U.S. The U.S. Russia has given special attention to because the U.S. has a large amount of influence over Albanians. Once again, so the Russian s care. What?s the big deal? Well, it?s kind of a big deal that the Russians co...
More About: Iran , Kosovo , Manipulation

Quote of the Day
2007-11-19 21:30:00
?There seems to be a pattern here. It takes a Clinton to clean up after a Bush.?-Hillary Clinton
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[POLL] Who Won the Nevada Democratic Debate?
2007-11-18 23:02:00
The consensus seems to be Edwards flopped, Obama didn't attack enough, and by default, Hillary won.Who won the Nevada Democratic Debate ?Joseph BidenHillary ClintonChris DoddJohn EdwardsDennis KucinichBarack ObamaBill Richardson  pollcode.com free polls
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Quote of the Day
2007-11-17 20:17:00
I speak, therefore I am annoyed.-Me
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Nevada Debate: Expect Hillary to be Attacked
2007-11-15 23:24:00
Expect Hillary to be attacked. Over and over again. Obama and Edwards will be gunning to kill at tonight?s debate.Hillary has a solid 20+ lead, and those numbers are not going anywhere. After not so successfully attacking Clinton at the last debate, they will be trying even harder to expose her flaws.Especially since illegal immigration is a huge issue in Nevada , Clinton will be attacked on her position on driver?s licenses for illegal immigrants. This will be the primary source of ammo for Clinton?s opponents.Most likely, Clinton will also be assaulted for planting questions at a campaign stop.I think it will be interesting to see if Hillary will respond with the whole boys-are-attacking-me thing.
More About: Debate , Expect , Attacked

We Really Need to Fix This...
2007-11-14 01:30:00
Seeing that Veteran's Day was this weekend, I'll leave this post at this:Later Army test finds more mental health issuesU.S. soldiers are significantly more likely to report mental health problems six months after returning home from combat than on initial assessments, Army researchers said on Tuesday.Soldiers reported greater concern about interpersonal conflicts, post-traumatic stress, depression and alcohol problems in the second mental health screening, the researchers said.They also found that one in five active-duty soldiers and almost half of reserve soldiers were receiving or in need of mental health services after combat.

Top 5 Reasons Ron Paul's an Idiot
2007-11-12 23:28:00
5. He wants to get rid of the U.N.But supports peaceful solutions to conflicts?4. He wants to allow prayer in public schoolsPlease no?3. He thinks we?d be safer without the CIAAnd he?s a conspiracy theorist.2. He wants to get rid of the EPAAfter the Bush Administration?s 8 years of butchering the environment, I think many of us environmentalists would have a heart attack if this happened.1. He wants to leave abortion up to the states, ban funding for stem cell research, stop campaign finance reform, end the minimum wage, and he doesn?t support gay marriageYeah, that?s more than one. I wanted to only have 5, and so I had to condense this into only one. That shows how bad he is. Check out his votes at On The Issues, it?s all true.Here?s the worst of his record from On The Issues (h/t Hanlon): # Voted NO on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Jan 2007)# Voted NO on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)# Voted YES on banning partial-birth abortions. ...
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Does ANYONE Agree With Me?
2007-11-11 22:54:00
On Friday, I wrote that the current situation in Pakistan is a Bhutto-Musharraf power play. More famous pundits have not been discussing this theory as much, but there is a growing number of blogs that are stating the fact that Bhutto isn't the democratic savior she is made out to be.The Boston Globe, as well, essentially agrees with the theory I described, as does fellow blogger Frank Hagan.
More About: Middle East

[POLL] Would You Vote For Ron Paul?
2007-11-11 22:21:00
Do You Support Ron Paul ?YesNoRon Who?Maybe  pollcode.com free polls
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And the Candidate Least Like Me Is...
2007-11-11 22:17:00
...Ron Paul. Surprise surprise Stat :D.In the USATODAY quiz I took, none of my answers matched Paul's.Chris Dodd was most like me, mainly because he agrees with me that the best way to solve global warming is through a carbon tax.
More About: Global Warming , Candidate

Surprise Surprise - Ron Paul Gets More Visitors to his Website than Clinton
2007-11-10 17:48:00
Stat blogs at The Statistics MonsterOver the last month:
More About: Website , Ron Paul , Clinton , Paul

Pakistan State of Emergency -- A Bhutto-Musharraf Power Play
2007-11-10 02:40:00
While Pervez Musharraf attempts to calm Pakistan after his declaration of emergency rule (effectively a declaration of martial law), Benazir Bhutto waits eagerly and the U.S. waits nervously.That just about sums up Pakistan?s most recent conflict. But we need more detail.MusharrafIf you aren?t living under a rock, you know that this is at its most basic level an attempt to hold on to power by President Musharraf.Musharraf has been in a continuous power struggle with the Pakistani judiciary ever since the 1999 coup which brought him into power. The issue at the forefront of the confrontation has been the fact that Musharraf holds both the office of President and of Chief of the Army, constitutionally illegal. This struggle escalated this year, with the Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry being suspended, reinstated, and suspended again during the current crisis.The motive of the suspension was widely (if not universally) seen as a move to hold on to power by Musharraf. Elections were com...
More About: Terrorism , Middle East , Power , Play

The Right's Bloodlust
2007-11-08 23:58:00
We?re not going to war with Iran . Get over it.Hawks on the right are screaming for war, and it?s scaring a lot of people. The good news is the Bush administration isn?t listening.No warAfter years of ignoring advice from anybody but itself, the Bush Administration is accepting the fact that it cannot do whatever it wants with no respect for the wishes of other nations and cultures. The Administration and its allies are realizing diplomacy is the first step before war. See: North Korea.The same tactics we successfully applied to North Korea we are applying to Iran, for the same reasons. We are isolating them internationally through sanctions at the U.N. and public statements hinting at military action. The right?s lust for blood has only made the threat of war seem more real.Once the Iranians are completely isolated, as the North Koreans were, we will offer them a deal diplomatically, as we did with the North Koreans. But that is not the point of this article. The point is how easily...
More About: Middle East , Bloodlust

In Case of Global Warming
2007-11-08 00:34:00
The outrageousness of climate 'skeptics':
More About: Global Warming , Global , Case , Armin

Borat Makes an Endorsement for President
2007-11-06 23:35:00
"I personal would like the basketball player, Barak Obamas to be Premier"-Borat , endorsing Obama for President
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Colbert Campaign - Over
2007-11-06 00:58:00
Colbert released a presidential statement today (he won't have a show tonight):"Although I lost by the slimmest margin in presidential election history - only 10 votes - I have chosen not to put the country through another agonizing Supreme Court battle. It is time for this nation to heal.I want to say to my supporters, this is not over. While I may accept the decision of the Council, the fight goes on! The dream endures! ... And I am going off the air until I can talk about this without weeping."
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[POLL] Would You Vote Colbert?
2007-11-04 22:15:00
Would you vote Colbert ?Hell yeah!Hell noDepends on Opponent  pollcode.com free polls
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An Open Letter to Waring Howe, South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman
2007-11-01 23:37:00
This is the guy who said he'd allow a Colbert campaign over 'my dead body'. Please copy this and email it to him at waringsh@bellsouth.net or call him at 843-722-8269! (change your name obviously)Dear Mr. Howe,I'd like you to reconsider your rejection of the Colbert Campaign. You are missing a huge opportunity that is unlikely to come again unless we vote in another president as unpopular as the current president.By denying Colbert even the chance to run, you are effectively throwing away the youth vote. By allowing Colbert to be on ballot, the percentage of young voters would increase beyond what it has been for years. This has been proven through the '1 Million Strong for Stephen T. Colbert' Facebook group, which, at the time of this writing, has over 1.3 million members. Yes, 1.3 million members.Second, you are denying South Carolina the chance to be a powerful primary state. A Colbert campaign in the state would bring unprecedented media coverage. Not only the media, but...
More About: Party , Democratic , Open , Letter , Democratic Party

Intense Debate Goes Live!
2007-10-31 01:49:00
Intense Debate has gone out of the beta-ish phase and moved into beta. Comments systems for all!Sign up at IntenseDebate.com
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Russian Chess
2007-10-31 00:59:00
IHT: The United States is prepared to offer concessions to Russia to soften its position on Iran and KosovoThis is much bigger than most news organizations seem to realize. Russia has gotten exactly what it wants. Is this bad? Actually, it could lead to an end of the Iranian nuclear program.What Russia wantsIf one is to make any analysis, geopolitical or not, you have to look at what both sides want. In our case, the two sides are Russia and, of course, the U.S.Russia is primarily looking to expand its sphere of influence back to the borders of the Soviet Union. The Russian s realize they have a short window of opportunity to regain influence while the U.S. is bogged down in the Middle East.But there are two serious roadblocks to expansion: the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE) and Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).The Russians want these treaties amended.The only problem: this is not in America?s interest.Consequently, Russia has had to use leverage to at...
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How High Would Stacking the Cost of the Iraq War Be?
2007-10-30 00:47:00
Stat blogs at The Statistics Monster. If you would like to blog here, send us an email at worldthoughts(at)gmail(dot)com.Cost of Iraq War (as of this writing): $464,160,000Height of 1000 1 dollar bills: 4.3 inchesHeight of 1,000,000 1 dollar bills: 358.3333 feetHeight of 1,000,000,000 1 dollar bills: 678.661 milesHeight of 464,160,000: 315,007.576 milesThat?s enough to (remember, this is the bills laying on their side, so it looks something like this: ||||||||, except for the moon):? Go from the East Coast of the U.S. to the West Coast 105 times? Wrap around the Earth 12 times at the equator? Go to the moon and halfway back
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101 Greatest Stephen Colbert Quotes
2007-10-29 23:04:00
1. The truthiness will set you free!2. And don't think you're off the hook, voters, you're the ones who made this bed. Now you're the ones who are going to have to move over so a gay couple can sleep in it. Tomorrow you're all going to wake up in a brave new world, a world where the Constitution gets trampled by an army of terrorist clones, created in a stem-cell research lab run by homosexual doctors who sterilize their instruments over burning American flags. Where tax-and-spend Democrats take all your hard-earned money and use it to buy electric cars for National Public Radio, and teach evolution to illegal immigrants. Oh, and everybody's high! You know what, I've had it! You people don't deserve a Republican majority! I quit!3. In success, you wouldn't be able to say I'm conservative or liberal. I'm part of the blame-America-last crowd.4. I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulou...
More About: Quotes , Colbert , Stephen Colbert , Stephen , Greatest

Don't Be Hatin' FEC
2007-10-27 22:22:00
Cross posted with Stephen Colbert For President 2008.Recently several news sites have published doubts concerning the legality of Stephen Colbert?s campaign. Today we?ll take an in-depth analysis of this issue.The ?problem?Supposedly, according to the so-called ?legal experts?, federal law prohibits corporations from backing political campaigns. Therefore, they ?conclude?, Doritos is not allowed to sponsor the Colbert campaign.The other ?problem? is that Comedy Central isn?t ?supposed to? give a whole show to Colbert himself."The real problem comes in the fact that he actually has his own show, talking about his campaign, paid for by a network," Lawrence M. Noble, a former general counsel for the Federal Election Commission said. "These are the kind of things on slow days you'd debate until the late afternoon at the FEC, but there are serious questions that come up. In theory, he could end up having some campaign finance problems."Oh c?mon, are you serious?I?ll give some historical...

Moderate Islam Statistics
2007-10-27 00:17:00
First of all, I apologize for the ongoing light posting. Besides a busy schedule (which lightens up for the next few weeks) I have lime disease :(, so I'm constantly tired and not always able react quite like I might normally. But that should be gone soon as well.My debate with Roger continues at Political GrindRoger says:The above statistics were drawn from two different sources: "The Sacred Age Of Terror", Benjamin and Simon and "Menace in Europe", Claire Berlinski.I'd suggest that you read both.By the way -- where are the links to your facts and statistics and sources? Oh, I forgot. You don't have any.So I decided I go statistic hunting. Stat over at Statistics Monster is pretty good at this type of thing (he takes requests for statistics) but I decided I'd do this myself.1. Iranian opinionsA Terror Free Tomorrow poll (with a margin of error of 3.1%) published in the Wall Street Journal found:? 61% of Iranians were willing to tell the pollsters -- over the phone no less -- th...
More About: Terrorism , Islam , Moderate

The False Threat of Islamic Extremism
2007-10-24 22:28:00
Over at Political Grind, Roger challenged me this:Simmons -- instead of always looking for new ways to be offended by my choice of language, instead of being so concerned about staking out and defending your personal political position, why don't you just address the issue? In what way have I mischaracterized this Muslim threat to our Western culture and our impotent reaction to it?I responded:There are moderate Muslims. Not all Muslims are extremists. And the Muslims that are extremists ARE NOT STRATEGIC THREATS TO THE U.S.I think some people are taking this whole thing a little far. Islamic terrorists have launched one successful attack on our soil, and relative, it really was not as horrible as an attack as we would believe. Yes, it was horrible, but compared to any other wars the U.S. has ever fought, it's nothing.9/11 was significant because it changed the U.S.'s foreign and domestic policy SIGNIFICANTLY.Right now, no terrorist group, I repeat NO TERRORIST GROUP, has the abi...
More About: Terrorism , Extremism , Islamic Extremism , Trem

War With China? I Think Not - Chinese Weapons Statistics
2007-10-24 02:45:00
Stat blogs at The Statistics Monster. If you would like to blog here, send us an email at worldthoughts(at)gmail(dot)com.Number of Chinese aircraft carriers: 0Number of American aircraft carriers: 11 plus one under constructionNumber of American nukes: 9938Number of Chinese nukes: 130
More About: China , Weapons

Chuck Norris Endorses Mike Huckabee
2007-10-23 02:41:00
Chuck Norris Endorses Mike Huckabee It's over.But seriously, unless you're a Ron Paul loony supporter, Mike Huckabee is the best Republican candidate. (EXTRA: See Obama take a swipe at Republicans)Rudy Giuliani supports nation building. Fred Thompson has even more conservative views than Huckabee. McCain is the bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran guy. Romney's the conservative suck up. Duncan Hunter wants to nuke Mecca. Tom Tancredo is an immigration extremist. At least Huckabee is an environmentalist.
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Israel's Syrian Target Was Nuclear: The One Theory That Answers All the Que
2007-10-19 02:18:00
After the September 6 Israeli strike on Syria, I concluded that my ‘bet [on the reason for the Israeli strike] is on destroying Syrian arms headed towards Hezbollah’. Although the majority of those polled agreed with me at the time that North Korea was not giving Syria nuclear technology, I might be forced to retract that view as I write this post.After the strike, we were left with many questions that needed to be answered:• What did Israel strike?• Why isn’t Syria commenting on the attack?• Why aren’t the U.S. and Israel commenting on the strike?• Why aren’t other Middle Eastern states complaining?After much analysis, I have come to a new conclusion: there is only one theory that answers all the questions in a suitable way. Syria was developing a nuclear reactor based on North Korean technology, most likely for weapons purposes.To answer the questions:What did Israel strike at?Syria’s nuclear reactor, obviously.Why isn’t Syria commenting on the attack?Syria c...
More About: Nuclear , Answers , Theory , Target , The O