On the Humanity and Inhumanity of American Soldiers in Combat

If you've seen the video of the massacre in Baghdad, where US forces are shown murdering innocent civilians, you know how gut-wrenching that situation was. The following article is no less gut-wrenching, but it sheds more light on the events of that day, and offers more detail on the humanity - and the inhumanity - of American soldiers in combat.

Iraq war veteran Ethan McCord, who is seen running with an Iraqi child in his arms in the video posted by WikiLeaks of a July 2007 massacre of civilians in Baghdad..., together with another former member of the company, Josh Stieber, have addressed an open “Letter of Reconciliation” to the Iraqi people taking responsibility for their role in this incident and other acts of violence.

I highly recommend reading the full interview.

Moohammed

Moehammed

"Man, you go through life, you try to be nice to people, you struggle to resist the urge to punch 'em in the face, and for what?" - Moe "Hammed" Syzlak

Animal Farm Friday - Flock? Herd? Pack? Pride?

A sample of the video footage I took with my GoPro Hero HD camera while swimming with some friends and some friendly sea lions off Anacapa in the Channel Islands last weekend.

So which is it, a flock of sea lions? A herd of sea lions? A pack of sea lions? A pride of sea lions?

FFRF FTW!

Freedom From Religion Foundation for the win!

Reagan’s Prayer Ritual Finally Ruled Unconstitutional

On Thursday, April 15, 2010, SR U.S. District Court Judge Barbara B. Crabb ruled that the National Day of Prayer Proclamation, instituted by Ronald Reagan in 1988, is unconstitutional. Freedom From Religion Foundation v George W. Bush was filed in Wisconsin in 2008 and has been progressing through the courts since that time. The subsequent ruling in the case was filed as Freedom From Religion Foundation v Barrack Obama & Robert Gibbs to reflect the change in administration after the 2008 elections. Judge Crabb explained her decision by stating that “…[the National Day of Prayer's] goes beyond mere ‘acknowledgement’ of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context.” She continued, “In fact, it is because the nature of prayer is so personal and can have such a powerful effect on a community that the government may not use its authority to try to influence an individual’s decision whether and when to pray.”

It totally boggles my mind that it took so long for this ruling to come. There are few things so black and white in the Constitution as the separation of church and state.

Holding Representatives Accountable

This is in the UK, but it would be awesome to have here, especially a handy tool like this!

That just about says it perfectly...

Animal Farm Friday - Size Matters!

Well, duh!

Animal Farm Friday Extra Shot - Good Doggy!

(tip to Ryan for sending that on)

Animal Farm Friday - Nature by the Numbers

As found via Noni Films via Facebook:

Truly dazzling!

Al Franken pwns KBR

From Daily Kos:

In one of Senator Franken's first pieces of legislation, he introduced an amendment that would have cut off federal contracts to any business that sought to enforce binding arbitration clauses against employees pressing Title VII civil rights claims.  Put simply, he wanted Jamie Leigh Jones and others in her position to get their day in court.  KBR's appeal asked the Supreme Court to rule that the Franken Amendment didn't apply to this case, but they got cold feet when the Amendment was enforced in two other actions by the Pentagon.

Jamie Leigh Jones is going to court thanks to Senator Franken.

WikiLeaks on Al Jazeera

“ WikiLeaks has probably produced more scoops in its short life than the Washington Post has in the past 30 years ”
—  The National, November 19, 2009

(Jump to 15:00, or click this link)

Presently, WikiLeaks is under aggressive US/Icelandic surveillance.

Animal Farm Friday - Clash of the Lesser Evolved Primates

An homage to the idiots in Washington, but with no offense intended to the more highly evolved gorillas.

A Second Bill of Rights?

I had no idea. I need to go back to school.

The Second Bill of Rights was a proposal made by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt during his State of the Union Address on January 11, 1944 to suggest that the nation had come to recognize, and should now implement, a second bill of rights. Roosevelt did not argue for any change to the United States Constitution; he argued that the second bill of rights was to be implemented politically, not by federal judges. Roosevelt's stated justification was that the "political rights" guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights had "proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness." Roosevelt's remedy was to create an "economic bill of rights" which would guarantee:

• A job with a living wage
• Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies
• A home
• Medical care
• Education
• Recreation

Roosevelt stated that having these rights would guarantee American security, and that America's place in the world depended upon how far these and similar rights had been carried into practice. Later in the 1970s, Czech jurist Karel Vasak would categorize these as the ‘second generation’ rights in his theory of three generations of human rights.

Animal Farm Friday - Robot vs Cat

Cat 1, Robot 0.

Maybe kitty didn't get the memo.

Animal Farm Friday - You Ant Gonna Believe This!

I remember the first time I saw this. It's just as stunning now as it was then!

Personalized Energy

The future of energy is personal! This is truly amazing... but will it happen?

Dan Nocera: Personalized Energy from PopTech on Vimeo.

Okay, it is better now

If a blank canvas is too daunting, just head over to the thrift store, buy a crappy painting, then make it better.

Rise Above Plastics

Oh, now I get it.