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I don't think facism ended with Franco. The Baath party in Iraq was of indirect Nazi descent.

It was a Vichy-sponsored, Nazi-inspired national socialist party which was founded in Vichy-controlled Damascus and spread to oust the British colonial government in Baghdad. The party then dropped its anti-communist element and allied with the Soviets to prolong their rule. Like national socialism in Germany, the Baathists worked largely on the ideals of a racial struggle between their own pure race and those they considered defilers of that race. Its shift in Iraq to pro-Sunni and anti-Shiite came later, and probably out of convenience.

The Baath party of Iraq was founded as a single-party pro-Vichy, pro-Nazi ruling group for racial Arabs. The Bath Party of Syria used to be the same party, but important rifts had formed between the two parties long before Saddam Hussein's regime ended. Baghdad was the traditional capital of the ideal pan-Arab world many true believers in that movement envisioned, which is probably why the more radical portions of the party ended up there.

In short, Saddam Hussein's government was not only eerily similar to Hitler's, but it was a family resemblance.

Eretzy Isroel
Weekly Standard
Paul Johnson, a historian at Hillsdale College
Dissent Magazine
Free Republic
Syrian Embassy
a well-bibiliographied attack on the Bush family as supporters of the Baath party
International Socialist Review article in support of Iraq vs. US invasion

These references run from very conservative to very liberal, and from very Arab to very Western. Although several of them probably show strong biases, they weave an interesting story when read together.

"An even more interesting questions is why our schools aren't adequately funded..."

I don't believe funding is the problem. Something in the recessess of my memory told me that many private schools are less expensive than the average public school. So I did a quick Google, and have come to the conclusion that public schools spend about $7000/student, whereas private schools spend more like $4000/head. This San Francisco Bay area study is a decent starting place, with a link to National Center for Education stats:

http://independent.aristotle.net/newsroom/news_det ail.asp?newsID=10

I think it has more with where those dollars go than how many dollars there are. Hmm, perhaps choice in the education market would work as well as choice in the software market, if it weren't for those 500-pound gorilla monopolies that spread FUD about choice . . . .

Could the biblical story of Noah's ark explain this, as a worldwide flood leaving only a single family of eight alive will achieve this effect of everyone having similar genes.

You'd want to pick your eight very carefully, and only five of them would count anyway (unless Shem, Ham and Japheth were adopted sons). There are ancient rumours that Shem looked Caucasian, Ham was black (weird discussion here) and Japheth was basically Asian, I don't know how much credence to give them.

I'd be interested in seeing an experiment with humans like the one that produced an "Aurochs" in Europe some time ago, and a genetic analysis of the results, to see just how well the genetics all fitted together again if it's so. Pity about the two-decade generation time.

Interestingly, a traceroute to www.tibet.com (what Google comes up with for the query "official website of the Tibetan Government in exile") ends up at plato.aristotle.net. www.aristotle.net is an ISP in Arkansas. That ain't in Sealand, is it?

So far many of the sites are online gambling ventures. But a growing number of political groups banned in their own countries have turned to HavenCo, such as the website of the Tibetan Government in exile.

Can't help notice the website of the Government of Tibet in Exile is hosted by Arkansas-based ISP aristotle.net.

Why do I get the feeling HavenCo clients are actually entirely gambling sites?

• The Meaning of Life
• Ethics of Socrates, Xenophon, and Plato
• Philosophical Challenges to the Individual

Now THAT'S what I call "deep linking".

Apparently, he's still looking to share his free falling sky-diving life with just the right woman.

Off topic or otherwise, this is a must-see site.

Apparently, he's still looking to share his free falling sky-diving life with just the right woman.

Off topic or otherwise, this is a must-see site.