Rodcat's Litterbox

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

I just read the speech Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave to the United Nations General Assembly last week. I've noticed a specific lack of US news agencies breaking it down into terms they'd use for someone of another religion giving the same speech, but I guess that's the double standard I'm coming to expect. Here's my breakdown of the speech.

First thing he did was pray. I can't imagine President Bush praying before a speech and lasting the week without impeachment hearings as a result (on the grounds of interspersing church and state). I can't imagine that happening and the US news agencies just not even mentioning it. But, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prayed that "peace be upon Prophet Mohammad and His Infallible Household and chosen disciples. O God, hasten the reappearance of the Imam of the times and grant to us victory and prosperity. Include us among his followers and martyrs." If I'm not mistaken, that's what terrorists call themselves, "martyrs." I'm not saying he was counting himself with them (even though I think he does) but he inarguably wants to be included...he said so, right there in the last line which is a direct quote. So, whatever...moving on...

Second he said without using the name of the United States, that we bully the world for the sake of profit and ego. Well, the latter can be argued, but it costs us a LOT of money to take care of these whack-jobs before they kill everyone in their region. He said "Today, humanity passionately craves for commitment to the Truth, devotion to God, enforcement of justice and respect for the dignity of human beings, elimination of domination and aggression, defense of the oppressed." Now, this is funny because Iran sent Saeed Mortazavi to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Human Rights Watch sent Iran (Ahmadinejad) a letter in which they said "“Iran’s decision to send Mortazavi to Geneva demonstrates utter contempt for human rights and for the new council,” said Joe Stork deputy director of Middle East and North Africa division for Human Rights Watch. “Iran has just confirmed why U.N. members refused to elect it to the Human Rights Council.” (for a list of letters sent by Human Rights Watch to Iran, click here)

"What afflicts humanity today is certainly not compatible with human dignity; the Almighty has not created human beings so that they could transgress on others and oppress them." Ahmadinejad said in his speech. This is ironic when you read about "mal-veiling" laws. Women who don't adhere to Islamic dress codes in Iran can receive anything from large fines to lashings to the death penalty. That means, cover your hair and wear long loose fitting clothes that cover the shape of your body...and no ankle showing. On August 28th, the ISNA (the state run news organization in Iran) reported that "In one month, 63,963 mal-veiled women were either warned or reprimanded, and 1,149 vehicles whose occupants were either mal-veiled or creating noise pollution were confiscated."

Here is another gem; "By causing war and conflict, some are fast expanding their domination, accumulating greater wealth and usurping all resources, while others endure the resulting poverty, suffering and misery." Back over at Human Rights Watch we have this excerpt from another letter to Iran "In order for Iran’s statements condemning Israel’s attacks on Lebanese civilians and civilian infrastructure to have credibility, Iran must also vigorously condemn attacks by Hezbollah that target civilians or cause indiscriminate harm to civilians." (full text here)

"Meanwhile, some members of the Security Council practically chose a path that provided ample opportunity for the aggressor to achieve its objectives militarily. We witnessed the Security Council of the United Nations practically incapacitated by certain powers to even call for a ceasefire. The Security Council sat idly by for so many days witnessing the cruel scenes of atrocities against the Lebanese while tragedies such as Qana were persistently repeated." The "aggressor" he's speaking of is Isreal against Lebanon. What seems to be left out here is that Hezzbolah started the attacks by bombing Isreal CIVILIANS! Isreal responded by attacking Hezzbolah who had placed their launching devices in apartment buildings, thereby using civilians as human sheilds. Isreal didn't target civilians, Hezzbolah did...and Iran supports Hezzbolah.

At this point I'm not even going to go into everything else he said. If you want to READ IT feel free...it's really just more babbling about matters in which is he far more guilty than anyone else. Tyrannical religious rule is the problem. Oh, and the UN. I say we surround the UN building, tell them they have three hours to get the hell out, then raze that building overnight. Send them to Paris, they seem to like the way Jacques Chirac's ass tastes. We should demand that the US pull out of the UN and condemn them for the criminally negligent and ineffective piles of shit that they are.

McCain's "moral high ground"?

Senator John McCain and his merry band of Republican Retards are starting to make me want a cattle prod to shove up my own ass.

Here's what's happening, McCain wants the US to follow article three of the geneva conventions in dealing with unlawful enemy combatants. Here is the text of article three:

Article 3

In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:

1. Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.

To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

(a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

(b) Taking of hostages;

(c) Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;

(d) The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.

2. The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.

An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict.

The Parties to the conflict should further endeavour to bring into force, by means of special agreements, all or part of the other provisions of the present Convention.

The application of the preceding provisions shall not affect the legal status of the Parties to the conflict.

Fine, but this doesn't include interrogations by historically acceptable means. Alternating hot and cold temperatures, loud music, etc. These are the things that the lefties are peeing themselves about. The reports (wholly unfounded) of menstural blood and ass-fucking with broom handles are bullshit. The people who believe those things are the same people who still believe that Scooter Libby and Karl Rove leaked Valerie Plame's name. They will always believe the worst of their own country.

McCain's reasoning is that by doing this we won't run the risk of having our captured soilders treated badly. I'm not sure if he's been paying attention but in my book, having your head chopped off with a machette is being treated pretty fucking badly! Now I'm not saying we chop the detainee's heads of in retaliation, but to be all pissy about treating them better than domestic prisoners (which they are) is just bullshit. THEY BLOW UP OUR KIDS YOU FUCKING RETARDS. They can handle a little sleep deprivation for the sake of getting what may be vital information. And if it's not, well then they lost some sleep, big fucking deal.

I weep that he stands a real chance of capturing the Republican nomination in '08.
 

Immorality in the name of morality

I've been thinking about the various conflicts going on in the world. Not just the wars like in Iraq, Afghanistan and (until the ceasefire) Israel but also the media and political war in Gitmo. This is what has struck me as most odd:

Israel vs. Hezbollah

ACTION: Hezbollah began raining rockets filled with ball bearings into heavily populated areas of Israel. Those ball bearing can go through just about anything at those speeds including children, mothers and grandmothers. The rockets were aimed at civilians, there is no argument about that. Hezbollah was attacking Israeli CIVILIANS.

REACTION: Israel returned fire with precision attacks on Hezbollah strongholds. Those strongholds (or bases) were located in civilian apartment buildings and businesses. Hezbollah had purposely set themselves up with human shields...which is a war crime. Israel DID NOT target civilians, they targeted the bases where attacks were being launched on their own citizens. If Hezbollah wouldn't have set it up for Israel to be forced to fire into civilian areas, they wouldn't have. But the alternative was to sit and watch their own people being killed.

INTERNATIONAL REACTION: Israel was demonized, Hezbollah was treated as the scamp of a little brother who always causes mischief at the family reunions. Hezbollah tactically targeted Israeli civilians but Israel are the ones made out internationally to be the aggressors and demons.

USA vs. AL Queda/radical islamists

ACTIONS: 1979, Tehran, Iran: Iranian radical students seized the U.S. embassy, taking 66 hostages. 14 were later released. The remaining 52 were freed after 444 days on the day of President Reagan's inauguration. 1982–1991, Lebanon: Thirty US and other Western hostages kidnapped in Lebanon by Hezbollah. Some were killed, some died in captivity, and some were eventually released. Terry Anderson was held for 2,454 days (that's six years and almost another three quarters of a year). 1983, Lebanon: U.S. embassy destroyed in suicide car-bomb attack; 63 dead, including 17 Americans. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility. 1983, Lebanon: Shiite suicide bombers exploded truck near U.S. military barracks at Beirut airport, killing 241 marines. Minutes later a second bomb killed 58 French paratroopers in their barracks in West Beirut. 1983, Kuwait: Shiite truck bombers attacked the U.S. embassy and other targets, killing 5 and injuring 80. 1984, Lebanon: truck bomb exploded outside the U.S. embassy annex, killing 24, including 2 U.S. military. Dec. 3, Lebanon: Kuwait Airways Flight 221, from Kuwait to Pakistan, hijacked and diverted to Tehran. 2 Americans killed. 1985, Spain: Bombing at restaurant frequented by U.S. soldiers, killed 18 Spaniards and injured 82.1985, Lebanon: TWA Flight 847 en route from Athens to Rome hijacked to Beirut by Hezbollah terrorists and held for 17 days. A U.S. Navy diver executed. 1985, Mediterranean Sea: gunmen attack Italian cruise ship, Achille Lauro. One U.S. tourist killed. Hijacking linked to Libya. 1985, Italy, and  Austria: airports in Rome and Vienna were bombed, killing 20 people, 5 of whom were Americans. Bombing linked to Libya. 1986, Greece: A bomb exploded aboard TWA flight 840 en route from Rome to Athens, killing 4 Americans and injuring 9. 1986, Germany: Libyans bombed a disco frequented by U.S. servicemen, killing 2 and injuring hundreds. 1988, Scotland: N.Y.-bound Pan-Am Boeing 747 exploded in flight from a terrorist bomb and crashed into Scottish village, killing all 259 aboard and 11 on the ground. Passengers included 35 Syracuse University students and many U.S. military personnel. Libya formally admitted responsibility 15 years later (Aug. 2003) and offered $2.7 billion compensation to victims' families. 1993, New York City: bomb exploded in basement garage of World Trade Center, killing 6 and injuring at least 1,040 others. In 1995, militant Islamist Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and 9 others were convicted of conspiracy charges, and in 1998, Ramzi Yousef, believed to have been the mastermind, was convicted of the bombing. Al-Qaeda involvement is suspected. 1995, Saudi Arabia: car bomb exploded at U.S. military headquarters, killing 5 U.S. military servicemen. 1996, Saudi Arabia: truck bomb exploded outside Khobar Towers military complex, killing 19 American servicemen and injuring hundreds of others. 13 Saudis and a Lebanese, all alleged members of Islamic militant group Hezbollah, were indicted on charges relating to the attack in June 2001. 1998, Kenya, and  Tanzania: truck bombs exploded almost simultaneously near 2 U.S. embassies, killing 224 (213 in Kenya and 11 in Tanzania) and injuring about 4,500. 4 men connected with al-Qaeda 2 of whom had received training at AL-Qaeda camps inside Afghanistan, were convicted of the killings in May 2001 and later sentenced to life in prison. A federal grand jury had indicted 22 men in connection with the attacks, including Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, who remained at large. 2000, Yemen: U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole heavily damaged when a small boat loaded with explosives blew up alongside it. 17 sailors killed. Linked to Osama bin Laden, or members of AL-Qaeda terrorist network. 2001, New York City, Arlington, Va., and Shanksville, Pa.: hijackers crashed 2 commercial jets into twin towers of World Trade Center; 2 more hijacked jets were crashed into the Pentagon and a field in rural Pa. Total dead and missing numbered 2,992¹:  2,749 in New York City, 184 at the Pentagon, 40 in Pa., and 19 hijackers.  Islamic AL-Qaeda terrorist group blamed. (See September 11, 2001: Timeline of Terrorism.) 2002, Pakistan: bomb exploded outside American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 12. Linked to AL-Qaeda. 2003, Saudi Arabia: suicide bombers killed 34, including 8 Americans, at housing compounds for Westerners. Al-Qaeda suspected. 2004, Saudi Arabia: terrorists attack the offices of a Saudi oil company in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, take foreign oil workers hostage in a nearby residential compound, leaving 22 people dead including one American. 2004, Saudi Arabia: terrorists kidnap and execute Paul Johnson Jr., an American, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 2 other Americans and BBC cameraman killed by gun attacks. 2004, Saudi Arabia: terrorists storm the U.S. consulate, killing 5 consulate employees. 4 terrorists were killed by Saudi security. 2005, Jordan: Suicide bombers hit 3 American hotels, Radisson, Grand Hyatt, and Days Inn, in Amman, Jordan, killing 57. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility.

REACTION: The current war on terror. Afghanistan freed of illegal Taliban control, Iraq freed from a radical islamist regime.

INTERNATIONAL REACTION: America the bullies. If the list of foreign terrorist attacks on the US and US interests doesn't make you realize that the US reaction to 9-11 was far too long in coming, and that if we stop now we can only expect MORE then seriously, you should just put a bullet in your head because you are obviously living in a world of make-believe so take yourself out and save the rest of us the trouble of having to explain this shit to you.

MY CONCLUSION: People need to wake the fuck up. This isn't playtime on the playground. This is the real world where real people live in real fear of being really blown into little tiny bits. Not you of course, in your workaday world of 9-5 convenience where your biggest REAL worry is the neighbor not picking up his dog's shit or the Alderman (for those in Chicago) not agreeing to make your neighborhood a landmark district. While you fight your inane battles, people on our military bases worldwide are in danger of being BLOWN THE FUCK UP! We KNOW who is responsible. And no it's not a specific military force like in WW2, but we know who they are and where they congregate but it's those people who are so far out of touch with reality that they honestly believe that those people were killed either by the neglect of our own government, or as I heard people at work discussing yesterday, our own government paying off the terrorists families after 9-11 for a job well done.

So you think our own leaders are killing our own people and paying to have it done?? Then seriously, put a fucking bullet through your head because that kind of a world isn't worth living in.

Oh yeah, forgot, you don't like guns. Asshole.

Gitmo Woes

This story comes from the New York Post of all places:

September 15, 2006 -- GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA

ON the military plane back from America's most fa mous terrorist holding pen, the in-flight film was "V for Vendetta," a screed that tries to justify terrorism. It was a fitting end to a surreal, military-sponsored trip.

The Pentagon seemed to be hoping to disarm its critics by showing them how well it cares for captured terrorists. The trip was more alarming than disarming. I spent several hours with Rear Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., who heads the joint task force that houses and interrogates the detainees. (The military isn't allowed to call them "prisoners.")

Harris, a distinguished Navy veteran who was born in Japan and educated at Annapolis and Harvard, is a serious man trying to do a politically impossible job. I spoke with him at length, and with a dozen other officers and guards, and visited three different detention blocks.

The high-minded critics who complain about torture are wrong. We are far too soft on these guys - and, as a result, aren't getting the valuable intelligence we need to save American lives.

The politically correct regulations are unbelievable. Detainees are entitled to a full eight hours sleep and can't be woken up for interrogations. They enjoy three meals and five prayers per day, without interruption. They are entitled to a minimum of two hours of outdoor recreation per day.

Interrogations are limited to four hours, usually running two - and (of course) are interrupted for prayers. One interrogator actually bakes cookies for detainees, while another serves them Subway or McDonald's sandwiches. Both are available on base. (Filet o' Fish is an al Qaeda favorite.)

Interrogations are not video or audio taped, perhaps to preserve detainee privacy.

Call it excessive compassion by a nation devoted to therapy, but it's dangerous. Adm. Harris admitted to me that a multi-cell al Qaeda network has developed in the camp. Military intelligence can't yet identify their leaders, but notes that they have cells for monitoring the movements and identities of guards and doctors, cells dedicated to training, others for making weapons and so on.

And they can make weapons from almost anything. Guards have been attacked with springs taken from inside faucets, broken fluorescent light bulbs and fan blades. Some are more elaborate. "These folks are MacGyvers," Harris said.

Other cells pass messages from leaders in one camp to followers in others. How? Detainees use the envelopes sent to them by their attorneys to pass messages. (Some 1,000 lawyers represent 440 prisoners, all on a pro bono basis, with more than 18,500 letters in and out of Gitmo in the past year.) Guards are not allowed to look inside these envelopes because of "attorney-client privilege" - even if they know the document inside is an Arabic-language note written by a prisoner to another prisoner and not a letter to or from a lawyer.

That's right: Accidentally or not, American lawyers are helping al Qaeda prisoners continue to plot.

There is little doubt what this note-passing and weapons-making is used for. The military recorded 3,232 incidents of detainee misconduct from July 2005 to August 2006 - an average of more than eight incidents per day. Some are nonviolent, but the tally includes coordinated attacks involving everything from throwing bodily fluids on guards (432 times) to 90 stabbings with homemade knives.

One detainee slashed a doctor who was trying to save his life; the doctors wear body armor to treat their patients.

The kinder we are to terrorists, the harsher we are to their potential victims.

Striking the balance between these two goods (humane treatment, foreknowledge of deadly attacks) is difficult, but the Bush administration seems to lean too far in the direction of the detainees. No expense spared for al Qaeda health care: Some 5,000 dental operations (including teeth cleanings) and 5,000 vaccinations on a total of 550 detainees have been performed since 2002 - all at taxpayer expense. Eyeglasses? 174 pairs handed out. Twenty two detainees have taxpayer-paid prosthetic limbs. And so on.

What if a detainee confesses a weakness (like fear of the dark) to a doctor that might be useful to interrogators, I asked the doctor in charge, would he share that information with them? "My job is not to make interrogations more efficient," he said firmly. He cited doctor-patient privacy. (He also asked that his name not be printed, citing the potential for al Qaeda retaliation.)

Food is strictly halal and averages 4,200 calories per day. (The guards eat the same chow as the detainees, unless they venture to one of the on-base fast-food joints.) Most prisoners have gained weight.

Much has been written about the elaborate and unprecedented appeal process. Detainees have their cases reviewed once a year and get rights roughly equivalent to criminals held in domestic prisons. I asked a military legal adviser: In what previous war were captured enemy combatants eligible for review before the war ended? None, he said.

America has never faced an enemy who has so ruthlessly broken all of the rules of war - yet never has an enemy been treated so well.

Of Gitmo's several camps, military records show that the one with the most lenient rules is the one with the most incidents and vice versa. There is a lesson in this: We should worry less about detainee safety and more about our own.

Some 20 current detainees have direct personal knowledge of the 9/11 attacks and nearly everyone of the current 440 say they would honored to attack America again. Let's take them at their word.

Richard Miniter (richardminiter.com) is a bestselling author and adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute.

Chicago City Council MUST GO!!!

NOTE: I just read through this and realized it's a rambling post. It's about the Chicago City Council and the Aldermen but it does get a bit cross topic.

I'm not saying we need to disband the Chicago City Council (CCC), what we need is to haul all those Alderman out of the council cambers but the hair, put them on a boat, float them to the middle of Lake Michigan and then fire a guided missle at the boat either killing or drowning (same result) them all.

Why? They are making a mockery out of this city. Not that they don't have plenty of help from our Mayor, but at least he pulls his head out sometimes to look around. Let's look at just a few issues:

1) The so called "Big Box" ordinance requiring big-box retailers to pay employees at least $13 an hour in wages and benefits by 2010 was passed through the CCC by a vote of 35 to 14. As of yesterday the Mayor vetoed it (his first veto in 17 years) and today the CCC are debating then voting to override the veto. The question nobody has seemed to ask is, if those stores are forced to pay $13 an hour and STILL decide to build in the city as opposed to the suburbs (which they won't) does anyone honestly think that the store is just going to suck up that extra cost? No my friends, they will pass the cost on to their customers by raising their prices. And they'll raise them enough to be sure they're covered. So what happens? The 200 or so employees get paid nicely, that's good. But the thousands of people who could have had affordable good to buy are still left with noplace to shop affordably. So, in an effort to help 200 people (on a store by store basis) they actually HURT THOUSANDS of lower income famlies.

But these fucking idiots continue fighting for this ordinance. Which shouldn't surprise anyone when you take into account;

2) the foie gras ban. Now, let's be clear...I hate the stuff. The taste might as well be of pure fecal matter. I hate all types of liver though so it shouldn't be a surprise. My only counter point is actually "it's a goose." It's not the lovely white swan floating elegantly in the pond of a southern plantation, it's a fucking goose. They smell, they honk and they are tasty. These geese aren't even the ones you see flying around the midwest (canadian geese), these are raised for their meat and their organs. It's a food source. Arguably not a nesecarry one but that the brilliant thing about America, we can eat whatever the fuck we want...ok, not whatever we want. We can't eat other humans, we can't eat dogs, cats, monkeys or horses either to which I say FUCK YOU! Give me a basset hound steak, I'll give it a go. My point is, these are hideous creatures who are better off in my belly. They aren't the freedom loving geese you see flying through the air and they never will be. When all the fois gras is done being sold in America those geese farms will go out of business and it won't make one bit of difference in your life or the life of that goose who won't be born to provide me with Christmas dinner.

How about the CCC fight some REAL battles? How about the Chicago Aldermen (ATTE: Manny Flores...I'm gunning to get you out of office my man for lack of personal conviction and just plain old pandering to your party for future political dreams. You are not a good leader, you sir are a fucking pussy sucking at the teet of the Chicago Democratic Party. BOOOOOOOOOOOOO) grow some nuts and just say "we can't legislate what people want to eat, or if they want to smoke, or require unfair wages to be paid be big stores just because they're richer than me." Stop your fucking whining. I'm as poor as they come and even I know that it's the big corps that pay my bills.

You don't have it? Work for it. YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED!

Immigration Deformed

Here's a thought, how about let's just don't give illegals anything without proof of citizenship? They must have valid state ID and a SS number to get a job. An employer is found to have hired people without it? HUGE FINES.

Landlords must write down the liscense or card number from a governmentally issued ID.All of the cards have them and everyone is required to have a card, so no problem. Landlord doesn't have the info in their records? HUGE FINES.

That's not putting the responsibility on business owners or landlords anymore than it already is. They already have to see this stuff, just make them write it down. That way, if a fake is found then the illegal can be tracked by his fake ID number.

Just an idea off the top of my head. I'm sure there are some flaws, I was just thinkin'...

Immigration

Found this story in the Oregonian. It's nicely put:

As I read about the protesting on Sunday ("Protesters in Portland call for immigration reform" Sept. 4), I thought about the issue of immigrant "rights."

As I see it, "legal" immigrants have many rights already. They have the right to work and pay taxes. They have the right to learn and speak English. They have the right to affordable (not free) health care. They have the right to affordable (not free) housing. They have the right to have their children educated (in English). They have the right to honor our laws. They have the right to respect our customs.

If all this bothers them, they have the right to leave.

Illegal immigrants have the right to be arrested and sent back where they came from.

ED RENTZ, Northeast Portland

Department of Justice and the Second

The debate dividing rational people on the second amendment is really pretty simple. Some say it protects the states rights and some say it protects the individual rights. There are reasonable ways of seeing both sides. I have choosen my side wether a result of upbringing or adult choice but it took me a while to figure out if I was correct in my choice. I am a person who is willing to change my mind if I find out I'm wrong. And I have a difficult time searching for the truth that will support my preconceived notions as opposed to just finding the truth. People who don't do this I think are fucking retards. You can quote me on that. Anyway, here is a memorandum written by the Department of Justice on the Second Amendment:

WETHER THE SECOND AMENDMENT SECURES AN INDIVIDUAL RIGHT

Also, check out this. It's testimony given to the Senate Subcomittee on the Constitution by Eugene Volokh.

Green Shit

This is an article from the Miami Herald written by Patrick Moore, founder and former president of Greenpeace who left them when they because "political terrorists" (his words, not mine...but I agree). Anyway, it's a great article:

I am often asked why I broke ranks with Greenpeace after fifteen years as a founder and full-time environmental activist. While I had my personal reasons—spending more time with a growing family rather than living out of a suitcase most of the year—it was on issues of policy that I found it necessary to move on.

Beginning in the mid-1980s, Greenpeace, and much of the environmental movement, made a sharp turn to the political left and began adopting extreme agendas that abandoned science and logic in favor of emotion and sensationalism. I became aware of the emerging concept of sustainable development—the idea that environmental, social, and economic priorities could be balanced. I became a convert to the idea that win-win solutions could be found by bringing all interests together around the same table. I made the move from confrontation to consensus.

Since then, I have worked under the banner of Greenspirit to develop an environmental policy platform based on science, logic, and the recognition that more than six billion people need to survive and prosper, every day of the year. The environmental movement has lost its way, favoring political correctness over factual accuracy, stooping to scare tactics to garner support. Many campaigns now waged in the name of the environment would result in increased harm to both the environment and human welfare if they were to succeed.

So we’re faced with environmental policies that ignore science and result in increased risk to human health and ecology. To borrow from the vernacular, how sick is that?

Genetic Enhancement:

Activists persist in their zero-tolerance campaign against genetically enhanced varieties of food crops when there is zero evidence of harm to human health or the environment, and the benefits are measurable and significant. Genetically enhanced (GE) food crops result in reduced chemical pesticides, higher yield, and reduced soil erosion. Golden Rice, for example, could prevent blindness in 500,000 children per year in Asia and Africa if activists would stop blocking its introduction. Other varieties of food crops will contain iron, Vitamin E, enhanced protein and better oils. No other technology can match the potential of GE to address the nutritional deficiencies of billions of people. The anti-GE campaign seeks to deny these environmental and nutritional advances by using “Frankenfood” scare tactics and misinformation campaigns.

Salmon Farming:

The campaign against salmon farming, based on erroneous and exaggerated claims of environmental damage and chemical contamination, is scaring us into avoiding one of the most nutritious, heart-friendly foods available today. Activists persist in this campaign, yet the World Health Organization, the American Heart Association and the US Food and Drug Administration say eating salmon reduces the risk of heart disease and fatal heart attack. Salmon farming has the added benefit of taking pressure off wild salmon stocks. Activists respond by telling us to eat only wild fish. Is this how we save them, by eating more?

Vinyl:

Greenpeace wants to ban the use of chlorine in all industrial processes, yet the addition of chlorine to drinking water has been the single greatest public health advance in history, and 75% of our medicines are based on chlorine chemistry. My old Greenpeace colleagues also call for a ban on polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl), claiming it is the “poison plastic”. There is not a shred of evidence that vinyl damages human health or the environment. In addition to its cost-effectiveness in construction, and ability to deliver safe drinking water, vinyl’s ease of maintenance and its ability to incorporate anti-microbial properties is critical to fighting germs in hospitals. Banning vinyl would further raise the cost of an already struggling health care system, ultimately denying health care to those who can least afford it.

Hydro Electricity:

International activists boast they have blocked more than 200 hydroelectric dams in the developing world and are campaigning to tear down existing dams. Hydro is the largest source of renewable electricity, providing about 12% of global supply. Do activists prefer coal plants? Would they rather ignore the needs of billions of people?

Wind Power:

Wind power is commercially feasible, yet activists argue the turbines kill birds and ruin landscapes. A million times more birds are killed by cats, windows and cars than by all the windmills in the world. As for aesthetics, wind turbines are works of art compared to some of our urban environments.

Nuclear Power:

A significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions seems unlikely given our continued heavy reliance on fossil fuel consumption. Even UK environmentalist James Lovelock, who posited the Gaia theory that the Earth operates as a giant, self-regulating super-organism, now sees nuclear energy as key to our planet’s future health. Lovelock says the first world behaves like an addicted smoker, distracted by short-term benefits and ignorant of long-term risk. “Civilization is in imminent danger,” he warns, “and has to use nuclear—the one safe, available energy source—or suffer the pain soon to be inflicted by our outraged planet.”

Yet environmental activists, notably Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, continue to lobby against clean nuclear energy, and in favour of the band-aid Kyoto Treaty. We can agree renewable energies, such as wind, geothermal and hydro are part of the solution. But nuclear energy is the only non-greenhouse gas-emitting power source that can effectively replace fossil fuels and satisfy global demand.

Forestry:

Anti-forestry activists are telling us to stop cutting trees and to reduce our use of wood. Forest loss, or deforestation, is nearly all caused by clearing forests for farms and cities. Forestry operations, on the other hand, are geared towards reforestation and the maintenance of forest cover. Forests are stable and growing where people use the most wood, and are diminishing where they use less. When we use wood, we send a signal to the marketplace to plant more trees and produce more wood. North Americans use more wood per capita than any other continent, yet there is about the same forest area in North America today as there was 100 years ago.

Trees, and the materials they produce, are by far the most abundant, renewable and biodegradable resource in the world. If we want to retain healthy forests, we should be growing more trees and using more wood, not less. This seems lost on activists who use chilling rhetoric and apocalyptic images to drive us in the wrong direction.

The Prognosis:

Environmentalism has turned into anti-globalization and anti-industry. Activists have abandoned science in favour of sensationalism. Their zero-tolerance, fear-mongering campaigns would ultimately prevent a cure for Vitamin A deficiency blindness, increase pesticide use, increase heart disease, deplete wild salmon stocks, raise the cost and reduce the safety of health care, raise construction costs, deprive developing nations of clean electricity, stop renewable wind energy, block a solution to global warming, and contribute to deforestation. How sick is that?

Co-founder of Greenpeace, Dr. Patrick Moore is Chairman and Chief Scientist of Greenspirit Strategies Ltd. in Vancouver, Canada. www.greenspiritstrategies.com.

Global Warming Bullshit

Found this blog. Do yourself a favor and take a gander:

http://iamawolf.com/alone/global_warming_bullshit-1359.php