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POPSInvested In War n 2004, the first full year after the current Iraq war began, Republican and Democratic lawmakers-both hawks and doves invested between $74.9 million and 161.3 million in companies under contract with the DoD. No wonder the Democratic congress kept approving the enormous spending bills on the war, since a significant portion of it happens to end up in their deep pockets. Interestingly, the report also mentioned that members of the senate foreign relations and armed services committees which oversee the Iraq war had between $32 million and $44 million invested in companies with DoD contracts. The burning questions for many people are the following: Are there any ethics left in politics? Could the universe ever exist without wars? The answer is no, because wars have been a major part of our social make up, in addition they force geostrategic changes, make profits for the elite, and reduce population.
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POPSEco-Facts The population grows as much every three days as it did every century, on average, for most of the last one-thousand centuries before the Industrial Revolution. Worldwatch Institute,1999
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POPSCourt rules for Fox News: It's perfectly OK to lie and distort the news More: The court did not dispute the heart of Akre's claim, that Fox pressured her to broadcast a false story to protect the broadcaster from having to defend the truth in court, as well as suffer the ire of irate advertisers. Fox argued from the first, and failed on three separate occasions, in front of three different judges, to have the case tossed out on the grounds there is no hard, fast, and written rule against deliberate distortion of the news.… In its six-page written decision, the Court of Appeals held that the Federal Communications Commission position against news distortion is only a "policy," not a promulgated law, rule, or regulation. Fox aired a report after the ruling saying it was "totally vindicated" by the verdict.
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POPSHow rich bastards like me rip off taxpayers for millions of dollars No one should build so close to an ocean." But I built anyway. Why? As my eager-for-the-business architect said, "Why not? If the ocean destroys your house, the government will pay for a new one." What? Why would the government do that? Why would it encourage people to build in such risky places? That would be insane. But the architect was right. If the ocean took my house, Uncle Sam would pay to replace it under the National Flood Insurance Program. Since private insurers weren’t dumb enough to sell cheap insurance to people who built on the edges of oceans or rivers, Congress decided the government should step in and do it. So if the ocean ate what I built, I could rebuild and rebuild again and again -- there was no limit to the number of claims on the same property in the same location -- up to a maximum of $250,000 per house per flood. And you taxpayers would pay for it.
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POPSOklahoma trooper chokes paramedic White state trooper imagines himself dissed by black ambulance driver, hunts the ambulance down, and before it's over, has has assaulted a paramedic, frightened the patient, delayed the ambulance, and harassed people he's sworn to protect. This man has no business in a uniform, and Oklahoma State Patrol needs to know the whole world is watching. First found on Boing Boing. Shades of Emmett Till?
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POPSKids need reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic – and RECESS! “We should understand that kids need that break because the brain needs that break.” And many children are not getting that break. In the Pediatrics study, 30 percent were found to have little or no daily recess. Another report, from a children’s advocacy group, found that 40 percent of schools surveyed had cut back at least one daily recess period. Also, teachers often punish children by taking away recess privileges. That strikes Dr. Barros as illogical. “Recess should be part of the curriculum,” she said. “You don’t punish a kid by having them miss math class, so kids shouldn’t be punished by not getting recess.”
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POPSIndict Bush NOW! Give this slime and his crew the full force of true justice they deserve. Help return America's Honor!
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POPSAre We Civilized Enough to Prosecute Our Leaders with War Crimes? Are we going to condone torture? The one thing that has held us apart from other nations, and one of the last vestiges of a civilized society, is that we do not torture our prisoners. Why have we begun to do so? If we Americans believe that torture is wrong then we should hold those who authorize it to be held accountable, especially if the offending person is our president. What does it say about us if we are to allow Bush and his cronies to get away with such a despicable war crime? Once we begin the practice of torture against prisoners of war, it won’t belong before it will be used in civil prisons.
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POPSFinal Bush Approval Rating: 22% The piece also tells us: Half of all Americans, when they look back on Mr. Bush's eight years in office, believe he has been a poor president. Thirty-three percent think he has been an average president. Twelve percent say he has been a good president, and only 5 percent say he has been a very good president... As for the incoming president, the CBS News poll also asked about expectations of President-elect Barack Obama. Sixty-eight percent think Mr. Obama will be a good or very good president - 25 points higher than expectations for Mr. Bush. It's official. The final word is "sucked." The people have spoken.