0
POPSWhat counts as 'success' in Iraq? Cont.... This was widely predicted before the war was started, and it is now apparent. All of Iraq's leaders, including the president, a Kurd, are friendly with Iran and regard it as an important ally. In Bush circles, this new prominence for Iran is never linked to the war, as if occurring by itself.
1
POPS Newly Released Federal Documents Reveals Julia Child Among Spies
They studied military plans, created propaganda, infiltrated enemy ranks and stirred resistance among foreign troops. Among the more than 35,000 OSS personnel files are applications, commendations and handwritten notes identifying young recruits who, like Child, Goldberg and Berg, earned greater acclaim in other fields — Arthur Schlesinger Jr., a historian and special assistant to President Kennedy; Sterling Hayden, a film and television actor whose work included a role in "The Godfather"; and Thomas Braden, an author whose "Eight Is Enough" book inspired the 1970s television series. Other notables identified in the files include John Hemingway, son of author Ernest Hemingway; Quentin and Kermit Roosevelt, sons of President Theodore Roosevelt, and Miles Copeland, father of Stewart Copeland, drummer for the band The Police. The release of the OSS personnel files uncloaks one of the last secrets from the short-lived wartime intelligence agency.
3
POPS'Flexi-bee' could pre-empt varroa mite.
Of course there is the honey, but there is also the critical role bees play in pollination, particularly crop fertilization. The loss of honey bee populations has the potential to have a devastating effect in many crops that at the moment we take for granted. There are two suggestions. One is to prevent the mite laying by altering a chemical released by the bees. The other disrupts the life cycle of the mite. It doesn't have to be either/or, both approaches need to be tried, in addition to further suggestions. The main thing we have to worry about taking into account our record of 'fixing' problems in nature (we don't seem to be that good at it) Is that our efforts don't further endanger the bee populations At the moment however, if we do nothing we will lose the bees. There is the possibility, that bees will develop their own resistance to the mite naturally. Selective breeding may be an option. I would be more inclined to listen to a beekeeper than a geneticist,.
3
POPSPresident Saakashvili, "We are Giving Final Adios to the Soviet Union” 
It has indicated that it feels Mr Saakashvili, whom it accuses of war crimes, should resign, and that it is disinclined to negotiate directly with him. ” Saakashvili, however, has declined to play the loser. Speaking before flag-waving crowds the Georgian President announced that his country, in consultation with Parliament, had decided to leave the Commonwealth of Independent States and had urged the Ukraine to do the same. CNN quoted him as saying, “we are giving final adios to the Soviet Union.” A senior Russian military commander said the halt in the Russian advance into Georgia did not mean all operations would end.”If we have received the order to ceasefire, this does not mean that we have stopped all actions, including reconnaissance,” General Anatoly Nogovitsyn said. … Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday ordered a halt to the military offensive against Georgia saying it had been punished but could be hit again. …
3
POPSGeorgia Says Russians Bombing, Looting Gori
"The border has been along this river for 1,000 years," separatist official Ruslan Kishmaria told AP on Wednesday. He said Georgia would have to accept the new border and taunted the departed Georgian forces by saying they had received "American training in running away." An APTN television crew in Gori saw some Russian armored vehicles Wednesday morning near a military base there. Puffs of smoke in the air indicated some military action. An AP photographer saw several Russian troops and two armored vehicles on the northern outskirts of the city. His driver went further up the road and ran into Russian military volunteers, who warned that Russian forces would soon shell Gori. Georgia insisted its troops were driven from Abkhazia by Russian forces. At first, Russia said separatists — not Russian forces — had done the job. But the claim rang hollow — an AP reporter saw 135 Russian military vehicles heading toward the gorge Tuesday and Russia is the military patron for the separa
4
POPSU.S. Military Hoped for Virtually Unlimited Freedom of Action in Iraq This was reported in June... According to Cockburn's reporting, "President Bush wants to push through by the end of so he can declare a military victory and claim his 2003 invasion has been vindicated." (Note 13) A prime beneficiary of the acceptance of a military agreement that the Iraqi people do not believe respects their rights or serves their interests would probably be the vast, privatized U.S. military/intelligence complex, positioned to profit from repressing the resistance sure to follow. If the Bush administration's goal is achieved through secret deals and pressure tactics it would only confirm the widespread view that its commitment to democracy is primarily self-serving. In Iraq as elsewhere there are many who would welcome a genuine American commitment to liberty and human rights but believe that U.S. actions contradict its rhetoric. So much to decipher here!
6
POPSMoving to the Right? I understand this is arguably the most polarizing topic on peoples minds yet without productive conversation it will not be resolved.
6
POPSSOLZHENITSYN'S WARNING TO THE WEST "We are approaching a major turning point in world history, in the history of civilization. It's the sort of turning point where the hierarchy of values which we have venerated, and we use to determine what is important to us and what caused our hearts to beat is starting to rock and may collapse. These two crises, the political crisis of today's world and the oncoming spiritual crisis, are occuring at the same time. Your leaders will need profound intuition, spiritual foresight, high qualities of mind and soul. May God grant that in those times you will have at the helm personalities as great as those who created your country."
1
POPSBush Warns Pakistan, Threatens Action After spending hundreds of millions of taxpayers money for aid to Pakistan for over 7 years, now this. After helping Musharref (via CIA) seize power through a coupe. After knowing the ISI help the Taliban (while still giving millions to Pakistan), now this. (Hint: there is no real threat from the Taliban, but they have to stick to the official story for invading Afghanistan and 9/11. The Taliban resists the US invasion of Afghanistan of course, and the Islamic Pakis and ISI of course resent that too but have been bribe with money thus far). Now the self appointed ruler of the world, who claims Afghanistan is US property, threatens retaliation into Pakistan, a sovereign country, should any groups support Taliban resistance in Afghanistan. Oh, and Obama support this plan too, because he is a member of the CFR and their global agenda too.
1
POPSAlexander Solzhenitsyn is Dead He was the greatest witness against the horrors of Stalinism and the system of gulags and slave labor camps in the USSR. Not long after moving to the US, he critiqued the materialism of the west. In the end, he seemed to be something of Tolstoyan theocrat. His book "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" had a big impact on me in my youth. His interview with William F. Buckley on the old Firing Line series, if you can find it, is not to be missed.
10
POPSAfghanistan is “becoming a sort of surreal hunting estate" War Gone Bad There is no mystery as to why things have gone increasingly badly for the United States and its allies. As the United States steps up its air war, civilian casualties have climbed steadily over the past two years. Nearly 700 were killed in the first three months of 2008, a major increase over last year. In a recent incident, 47 members of a wedding party were killed in Helmand Province. In a society where clan, tribe, and blood feuds are a part of daily life, that single act sowed a generation of enmity. Anatol Lieven, a professor of war at King’s College London, says that a major impetus behind the growing resistance is anger over the death of family members and neighbors. Lieven says it is as if Afghanistan is “becoming a sort of surreal hunting estate, in which the U.S. and NATO breed the very terrorists they then track down.”
4
POPSFreedom Award Winner: Friends of Orphans Friends of Orphans, founded by Ricky Richards, received the Harriet Tubman Community and Reintegration Award. The Freedom Awards are underwritten by the John Templeton Foundation.