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POPSHawaii Church Looks at Obama and McCain The National Council of Churches urges churches to look at politicians, government policies and civic leaders through a wider lens and to ask how they measure up to biblical teaching about peace, justice, protection of the weak and the poor, and stewardship of Creation. A Kailua church will use the National Council of Churches' "Christian Principles in an Election Year" for an eight-week course of study that will bring Scripture to bear on speeches and platforms of presidential contenders Barack Obama and John McCain."
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POPSThe Balfour Declaration and the Mandate Under the League of Nations ........ The Jewish Connection To The Land ...... We consider Palestine as part of Arab Syria, as it has never been separated from it at any time. We are connected with it by national, religious, linguistic, natural, economic, and geographical bonds." The purpose of post-World War I's League of Nations was to prepare those liberated from the Turks for independence. Once the indigenous populations demonstrated their ability to assume control, the mandates given to the war's victorious superpowers were supposed to be self-terminating. For the international community, justice for the Arabs meant guaranteeing their economic, civil, and religious rights. Awarding the Arabs any form of self-government within Palestine was precluded by British commitments to the Jews under the Balfour Declaration, which had been incorporated in the mandate of the League of Nations.
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POPSA possible US troop withdrawlment from Iraq?! I'm wondering why this didn't make a bigger splash in the news. Or was I just out of touch that day? This seems like a pretty big deal, if you ask me. I'm not really for or against time lines or withdrawalment because I'm not privy to all the info & far from being a war expert but still, this seems like it would be a pretty big deal to most Americans.
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POPSRussians Defy Cease-Fire: Troops In Georgia Digging In
Elsewhere in Georgia, it appeared very clear that Russian troops were staying put, building ramparts around tanks and posting sentries on a hill near Igoeti, a central Georgia town only 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tbilisi. Russian troops still effectively control the main artery running through the western half of Georgia because they surround the strategic central city of Gori and additionally the city and air base of Senaki in the west. Both cities are on the main east-west highway that slices through two Georgian mountain ranges. Russia also confirmed Sunday that it had taken over a major power plant in western Georgia. Rice noted that the text of the cease-fire, negotiated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the current leader of the European Union, outlined a very limited mandate for the soldiers that Russia calls peacekeepers who were in Georgia when hostilities escalated. She said these soldiers can go on limited patrols within the two separatist areas but in Georgia
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POPSPresident for Internationalization of Peacemaking Process in Georgia Speaking about scheduled meeting of the leaders in Tbilisi Presiden stressed that its aim is forming basis for talks with regard to all the conditions and positions of the sides. “It is clear that for Georgia a question of territorial integrity is very topical”, - he added. Another question important for Georgia, as President Yushchenko noted, is participation of peacemakers with good reputation in the process of regulation of the conflict. “It is clear that the peacekeepers who started shooting people do not deserve confidence. Today we must internationalize the peacemaking format and to make it open for other countries … I am sure that such countries as Ukraine could send their peacemakers within the framework of international mandate to demonstrate clear-cut guarantees of the obligations that may appear in the nearest future”, - he said.
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POPSObama Fails First 3 AM Call His newest position is closer to McCain's, but he wants the UN to be the solution to the problem. Unfortunately, Russia has veto power of the Security council meaning the UN is powerless in this situation. He should have realized this before he opened his mouth...
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POPSMore on Obamanomics Obama's economic plan also calls for mandating a "living wage." He plans to saddle retailers with a $10 minimum wage indexed to inflation, along with a mandate to provide seven days of paid sick leave to workers. Obama assumes business owners will just eat the added costs.
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POPSBush & McCain Move Toward Obama's Position on Iraq Troop Withdraw Within a week's time, Bush comes out in favor of a quasi-diplomatic recognition of the Iranian government and now a "time horizon" for withdrawing troops from Iraq. In both cases, John McCain signs onto the ideas and in both cases they play in the same ballpark of Barack Obama's positions. Clearly, Obama and his views are winning the argument.
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POPSBout damn time! Ignored by the US in its time of need. Iraq was a more "dangerous target." I hope the UN troops fair better than the US in Iraq.
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POPSPalestine: The State History Forgot Is it a joke of history that before there was the states of Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Syria, etc there was Palestine? Now they all exist and Palestine doesn't yet. You will read that there never was a Palestine from a certain quarter and how can you miss what you never had. How you know they are lying! They'll say that as they are all Arabs that there's enough room for them all. It's like saying that the Scots Welsh and Irish are all Celts and one state would do them all! Yes, there was a time when such thinking was regarded as valid. If we had the Age of Imperialism back then the Brits might validly have a claim on the USA and most of the rest of the world. In the present imperialism, if the existent holder of the gunboat diplomacy role, the USA, decided to sort out Palestine's present difficulties it could in a breath. Hopefully in a more honourable fashion that the last gunboat holder did.
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POPSShame Russia and China continue to support the world's worst regimes all in the name of money.
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POPSUS, Iraq Security Deal Dies Also at issue is Iraq's insistence on a timetable for US withdrawal. I knew it -- if Iraq asked Bush to leave, he'd refuse. Troops will stay in Iraq until Bush is safely out of office, then some other poor schmuck can take the blame for "losing Iraq." Sovereign nation, my ass.
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POPSWind-Subsidy Land: T. Boone-Doggle's Plan Will Pickens' plan reduce our dependence on foreign oil? Doubtful. Even if the fleet of natural gas-powered vehicles is enlarged, the bulk of existing and new vehicles will continue to depend for the foreseeable future on gasoline. Americans currently own about 260 million vehicles, a total that grows by more than 3 million new vehicles every year. Turnover is low as about 60 percent are owned for more than seven years. But all is not well in Wind Subsidy-land. Since Congress didn't renew the wind subsidy as part of the 2007 energy bill, it will expire at the end of this year unless reauthorized. Subsidies are perhaps more important to the wind industry that wind itself. Without them, wind can't compete against fossil fuel-generated power. As pointed out by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (July 9), "In 1999, 2001 and 2003, when Congress temporarily killed the credits, the number of new turbines dropped dramatically."
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POPSSo Much For Those Permanent Bases "The direction we are taking is to have a memorandum of understanding either for the departure of the forces or to have a timetable for their withdrawal," a statement from Maliki's office quoted him as telling Arab ambassadors to the United Arab Emirates. "The negotiations are still continuing with the American side, but in any case the basis for the agreement will be respect for the sovereignty of Iraq," he added. As I have mentioned before, most Iraqis view the SOFA with the US as an encroachment on their sovereignty. It was the first time that the Shiite prime minister had specifically demanded a timetable for a US withdrawal, something that President George W. Bush has repeatedly refused to set. Bush and Maliki agreed in principle last November to sign a Status of Forces Agreement in Iraq by the end of July to set the basis for a US troop presence beyond December this year when the UN mandate runs out.
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POPSIraq Suggest US Timetable Two questions: 1. Would Bush leave even if Iraq kicked him out? 2. On the off-chance that he would, what the hell would John McCain run on?
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POPSMore Delays With Iraq SOFA A majority of the Iraqi parliament wrote to the US congress last week rejecting a long-term security deal with Washington if it is not linked to a requirement that US forces leave. "The majority of Iraqi representatives strongly reject any military-security, economic, commercial, agricultural, investment or political agreement with the United States that is not linked to clear mechanisms that obligate the occupying American military forces to fully withdraw from Iraq," the letter to the leaders of Congress said. A majority of the Iraqi population does not want a long term military presence in Iraq, and Iraqi politicians are mindful of this as election time nears. At the same tine, the US is also approaching elections, and the war in Iraq is extremely unpopular among the majority of the American people.
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POPSFlooding Spurs Ethanol Backlash But others remain strongly in support of biofuels. "Abandoning our commitment to ethanol and biofuels, as some would suggest we do, would do nothing to provide meaningful relief from high grain prices today or in the future," said Bob Dineen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association. "It would absolutely force the price of gas through the roof and require the import of more record-high foreign oil."
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POPSEthanol: The Fuel To Nowhere Farm belt support for reducing or eliminating the corn ethanol mandate was higher once respondents were informed that two studies, one from Princeton University and another from the University of Minnesota, found that ethanol contributes more greenhouse gas to the atmosphere than does conventional gasoline. It does so, in part, because it encourages the clearing of so-called carbon sinks, such as rain forests, which absorb carbon dioxide, to produce crops for ethanol production. "We shouldn't sacrifice food for fuel, nor should we sacrifice carbon sinks for fuel," said Ridenour. "Ethanol is costing us as taxpayers, it is costing us as consumers, and it is costing us important environmental resources while providing little-to-no benefit for most of us in return. Ethanol is the fuel to nowhere. Like the infamous 'bridge to nowhere' earmark, ethanol mandates mean we all pay enormous costs so a few can benefit."
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POPSA Clear Majority Of Americans Want To Drill Here Al Gore, philanthropist, Climate activist, and winner of the Nobel Peace prize, is the single greatest advocate in the war against humanity. Millions of innocent lives, people whose only crime is being poor. We need to protect not only others wellbeing, but our own freedoms, our own rights. We need to defend ourselves from Eco-Terrorist ideas, perpetuated by cheap theatrics and scaremongering. We need to defend ourselves against Eco Evangelist Al Gore. Energy Independence: President Bush asks Congress to lift the 1981 drilling ban on offshore oil. The no-drill Democrats will call it flip-flopping. We call it change you can believe in. The Democratic response to Republican determination to end our dependence on foreign oil has been to call for more taxes on oil companies and to pressure, even sue, OPEC. A group of 10 Democratic senators on Tuesday called for Bush to file a complaint against OPEC. http://www.smartgreenusa.com/
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POPS Tremendous Range Of Unintended Consequences On the losing side of the equation have been cattle, hog and chicken producers, as well as consumers. The government’s latest projection, released Friday, is that food prices this year will rise as much as 5.5 percent. Some products, including cereals and eggs, are expected to rise about 10 percent. The idea of easing ethanol mandates, while it would also lower the price of corn, is contentious. Keith Collins, the former Agriculture Department chief economist, will release a study on Monday saying that as much as half of the sharp increase in corn prices over the last few years is due to the demands of ethanol production. “We’ve seen a tremendous range of unintended consequences” from the requirement that increasing amounts of ethanol be blended into gasoline. The White House will be forced to confront the ethanol issue next month. States are allowed to asked for waivers of the mandate for corn ethanol on the ground that it is harming the economy or the environment.
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POPSArizona Joins the Revolt, Outlaws REAL ID Next! Liberty is a threatening thing to Homeland Security. If it was really about making drivers licenses secure then the Feds would not care. But it's really about federal power and their matrix of surveillance that they want to construct that is at stake.
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POPSIraq Might Force US to Leave; US Imperial Plans Revealed It's about sovereignty vs. imperialism. And this article reveals the neocon administration's real designs for Iraq--a forward base in the Middle East for "regime change": American negotiators presented a draft that would have given the U.S. access to 58 military bases, control of Iraqi airspace and immunity from prosecution for both U.S. soldiers and private contractors. In other words, a free military hand, both inside and outside Iraq, and making use of their bases. So "Reconstruction" is really about making Iraq like the Philippines with a permanent military presence for global strategic interests for spreading "democracy" through military coercion against "rogue states" (i.e. states that defend their sovereignty) against US and UN interventionism toward a global PAX AMERICANA.
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POPSSecret Bush-Iraq security agreement faltering "Iraqi lawmakers say the Bush administration is demanding concessions that are unacceptable, among them: dozens of semi-permanent bases from which U.S. forces can launch missions with no prior consent from Iraq's government; complete immunity for U.S. troops and security contractors; control of Iraq's air space; and no guarantees the United States will defend Iraq against a foreign attack."
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POPSMoyers Saves the Day Former FBI whistleblower, Coleen Rowley, was overhead after the speech. “Moyers is one of the great orators of our time. He writes what he reads and he nailed it.”
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