'Coalition of the willing' comes to end in Iraq

How much is the human cost of this murderous fraud?

clipped from www.theglobeandmail.com The war in Iraq was truly an American-only effort Saturday after Britain and Australia, the last of its international partners, pulled out. Little attention was paid in Iraq to what effectively ended the so-called coalition of the willing, with the U.S. — as the leader of Multi-National Force, Iraq — letting the withdrawals pass without any public demonstration. The quiet end of the coalition was a departure from its creation, which saw then-U.S. President George W. Bush court countries for support before and after the March 2003 invasion. “We're grateful to those partners who contributed in the past and we look forward to working with them in the future,” military spokesman Army Lieutenant-Colonel Mark Ballesteros told The Associated Press in an e-mail.

Obama: better be good

clipped from www.cynical-c.com Yesterday was a historic day. On January 20th, 2009, Barack H. Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America - the first African-American ever to hold the office of U.S. Commander-in-Chief. The event was witnessed by well over one million attendees in chilly Washington D.C., and by many millions more through coverage on television and the Internet. Collected here are photographs of the event, the participants, and some of the witnesses around the world. (48 photos total)

Israel knows what is going on

this is the portrait of a palestian doctor who works both is Gaza and in Tel Aviv when he knew three of his sons were killed in a tank atack of is home town

clipped from blog.lefigaro.fr Télé israélienne : le cri de désespoir d'un médecin palestinien. (Izz el-Deen Aboul Aish, le médecin palestinien, après son transfer dans un hôpital de Tel Aviv. Crédit photo : AP)

Hmmm you don't hear this on the news! This is just wrong and those are our dollars... Again I ask, did anyone get a phone call or receive a notice of how our dollars are to be spent?? If I were from that country and lived here and heard all the 'one sidedness' I'd be furious -- crazy mad!!! You know not for nothing the Jews get to much special treatment -- its funny how americans don't ever think that THEY run our country --- PERIOD! You never hear it reported that a town in the Hudson Valley they have their little exclusive community with schools paid for by the taxpayers of this country - schools exclusive for them.. Thats against every law n the books yet its there!!

clipped from www.infowars.com Phosphorous Bomb Rain Over Northern Gaza GAZA - Blankets of white clouds covered the skies over Gaza, including the refuge camps in Khan Younis, Beit Lahia and Gaza City.On Saturday Israeli F16 warplanes launched attacks using phosphorus bombs on the Block 2 section inside the densely populated Jabalya Refuge Camp.Many residents of Jabalya escaped the area covering their faces, searching for a safe shelter in the home of relatives and friends in the neighboring Beit Lahia from the Israelis "Cast Lead Operation". Gaza has always been the Israelis “testing ground” - from nerve agents used in Khan Younis in 2003, to Sonic Boom “phantom air raids”,and the use of DIME in the Israelis massacre called " Operation Summer Rain" over Gaza year 2006.

On the Origin of Species

A must read.
"the Struggle for Existence amongst all organic beings throughout the world, which inevitably follows from their high geometrical powers of increase, will be treated of. This is the doctrine of Malthus, applied to the whole animal and vegetable kingdoms. As many more individuals of each species are born than can possibly survive; and as, consequently, there is a frequently recurring struggle for existence, it follows that any being, if it vary however slightly in any manner profitable to itself, under the complex and sometimes varying conditions of life, will have a better chance of surviving, and thus be naturally selected. From the strong principle of inheritance, any selected variety will tend to propagate its new and modified form.
This fundamental subject of Natural Selection"
"namely, that each species has been independently created - is erroneous. I am fully convinced that species are not immutable"
The first of our six abridged extracts; can't wait for the res

clipped from www.guardian.co.uk On the Origin of Species: Introduction In the introduction the great naturalist lays out his "mystery of mysteries" - where do new species come from? When on board HMS Beagle, as naturalist, I was much struck with certain facts in the distribution of the inhabitants of South America, and in the geological relations of the present to the past inhabitants of that continent. After five years' work I allowed myself to speculate on the subject I hope that I may be excused for entering on these personal details, as I give them to show that I have not been hasty in coming to a decision. clipped from www.guardian.co.uk clipped from www.guardian.co.uk clipped from www.guardian.co.uk In considering the Origin of Species, it is quite conceivable that a naturalist, reflecting on the mutual affinities of organic beings, on their embryological relations, their geographical distribution, geological succession, and other such facts, might come to the conclusion that each species had not been independently created, but had descended, like varieties, from other species clipped from www.guardian.co.uk clipped from www.guardian.co.uk clipped from www.guardian.co.uk Variation under Domestication clipped from www.guardian.co.uk clipped from www.guardian.co.uk clipped from www.guardian.co.uk clipped from www.guardian.co.uk clipped from www.guardian.co.uk

Take the money and run

Neo-liberalism is good in inventing and twisting words so no one is sure what they want them to mean. Rethorics at its best.

In the portuguese-speaking universe what does the so called ortographic accord teach us?

One thing is sure: the wealthy don't pay for the black hole they gave us as present.

Why not to say: Take the mess you created with you and leave the governance to decent representatives- GO!

clipped from www.writerswrite.com Bailout is Merriam-Webster's Word for 2008

Ads Sold On High School Tests Underwrite Teacher's Classroom Needs

Cash for Wall Street but not the classroom. This freakin' world is upside down.

clipped from www.usatoday.com Tom Farber gives a lot of tests. He's a calculus teacher, after all. So when administrators at Rancho Bernardo, his suburban San Diego high school, announced the district was cutting spending on supplies by nearly a third, Farber had a problem. At 3 cents a page, his tests would cost more than $500 a year. His copying budget: $316. But he wanted to give students enough practice for the big tests they'll face in the spring, such as the Advanced Placement exam. "Tough times call for tough actions," he says. So he started selling ads on his test papers: $10 for a quiz, $20 for a chapter test, $30 for a semester final. San Diego magazine and The San Diego Union-Tribune featured his plan just before Thanksgiving, and Farber came home from a few days out of town to 75 e-mail requests for ads. So far, he has collected $350. His semester final is sold out. Principal Paul Robinson says reaction has been "mixed," but he notes, "It's not like, 'This test is brought to you by McDonald's or Nike.' "

Just a peak in a mathematical cycle????

see:
http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2008/11/bailout-costs-more-than-marshall-plan-louisiana-purchase-moonshot-sl-bailout-korean-war-new-deal-ira.html

clipped from www.3quarksdaily.com Bailout costs more than Marshall Plan, Louisiana Purchase, moonshot, S&L bailout, Korean War, New Deal, Iraq war, Vietnam war, and NASA's lifetime budget -- combined!

What is marriage???

explained in so many sentences

clipped from www.manbottle.com Marriage has driven more than one man to sex. Marriage is a mutual relationship if both parties know when to be mute. Marriage is a three ring circus: engagement ring, wedding ring, and suffering. Marriage is an institution, but who wants to live in an institution? Marriage is better when both the husband and wife decide that what they have is better than what they are missing. Marriage is like a hot bath. Once you get used to it, it's not so hot. Marriage is mind over matter; if the husband doesn't mind, it doesn't matter. Marriage is not a word; it is a sentence. Marriage is the only sport in which the trapped animal has to buy the license. Marriage is the only war in which you sleep with the enemy. Marriage is the process of finding out what kind of person your spouse would have really preferred. Marriage is when a man and woman become as one, the trouble starts when they try to decide which one. Marriage means commitment. Of course, so does insanity.

O que se está a passar?

clipped from mail.google.com John McCain et George W. Bush, à la Maison Blanche, le 5.03. | AFP

The profit from obesity

Nevertheless, there are enormous profits to be had from obesity.

The foods that maximise profit just happen to be those high in sugar or fat. They are cheap to produce, easy to brand and market, and easy to stock in supermarket aisles. And there are numerous ways to encourage people who are pre-obese to buy these foods.

Sedentary behaviour is also profitable, and encouraged by industry. A moped is more glamorous than a bicycle. A new computer game will re-invigorate peoples' interest, but not their bodies.

clipped from www.cosmosmagazine.com To stem the spread of obesity, we must study the complex web of commercial interests and marketing strategies driving it. Pelotas is a South Brazilian city This city – where I contribute to epidemiological research on obesity – is also undergoing a marked nutritional transition. In Brazil, between 1973 and 1996, obesity increased from 2.4 to 6.9 per cent in men and from 7.0 to 12.5 per cent in women. In simple terms, obesity arises when people consume more energy than they expend, either by eating too much or exercising too little. It's undoubtedly true that economic and cultural transitions affect dietary intake and activity levels. clipped from www.cosmosmagazine.com What is really driving the obesity epidemic is not increased dietary intake, or decreased activity levels, but the web of economic strategies and commercial interests that cause individual people to change or maintain certain behaviours. Heads of industry would probably argue that they are not trying to create an obesity epidemic.