...and they know the *reason* they are living in a medieval theocracy is American interference blowing away their secular democracy and installing a brutal right-wing dictatorship that made theocracy look like a good choice in comparison.
I doubt that many Iranians share your ignorance on the matter. If you know much at all about the history there, you know that the so-called secular democracy that was replaced consisted solely of the former Prime Minister who had dissolved parliament, was ruling by decree indefinitely, faked an election, and resisted the sole remaining check on his power - the right of the constitutional monarch to dismiss the Prime Minister. What you refer to as "democracy" was a simple dictatorship at that point. The real coup in Iran was the Prime Minister overthrowing the government. The counter-coup was restoring, not "instilling," the Shaw to power.
The Iranian people have clearly learned from the mistake of instilling the Ayatollahs into power, but the problem is remedying that. They ended up there in no small part due to the common interest that Muslim peoples have in instituting Islamic Sharia law, which they believe will resolve the common cultural problems in those regions, such as corruption. Unfortunately, it never really works out that way in the long term.
The Iranian people are just smart enough to know that welcoming Western megacorporate colonial oppression isn't the best solution to their "we have a sucky government" problem
That is nonsense beyond your bad history above. Corporations perform economic functions, not governing functions. They build trucks, mine ore, refine gasoline, can food, transport goods, run airlines, all that sort of thing. They don't elect governing legislative bodies, make laws, prosecute criminals, or make government policy. Economic activity versus government activity - they are different activities carried out by different groups in society. Although to truly prosper, a nation needs to get both activities right.
they've seen what partnering with America does to all the other countries we fuck over in the name of "economic liberalization".
It would be a shame if they turned out as well as Germany, Japan, Italy, South Korea, or various other countries, wouldn't it? Iraq would be in much better shape if Iran wasn't shipping arms to Iraqi Shia militias and using their Revolutionary Guards Quds Force (Special Forces) to stir the pot. That is part of the "sucky government" problem you refer to, and it bleeds over into other countries.
You're an ignorant condescending prick
I think you might be surprised to find out how big that club really is.
Do you have to pay extra to not have Stuxnet installed out-of-the-box?
Not if you accept advertising.
Wonder documents for democratic enhancement! Act now!
This little blue pamphlet changed my life! It can change yours too!
Do you suffer from low vote count?
Too tired to run from the secret police and government mobs? Not healing quite as fast? You may be suffering from low Freedom count.
Is an economic collapse coming from sanctions on nuclear activities? Read this to know how to prepare!"
Revealed: One weird trick that the Mullahs don't want you to know that you can use for more freedom and prosperity.
I quit my job at the Natanz nuclear centrifuge plant and am now working from home selling love tonic on the internet and have tripled by salary! You can too! I'll tell you how.
Moderately naughty full length Western night shirt style ankle revealing T-shirts with snappy slogans!: Bad government didn't end with the Shaw! I prefer my cranks on truck, not in governing council! Restore Persian glory! Out with the Ayatollahs! Why is it in Iran that Human Rights always seem to be wrong? Chop spending on missiles and Photoshop artists, not heads! Iran is a granola dictatorship: our leaders are nuts and flakes
Iran and Israel are not neighbors, but they were allies before the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. Iran declared Israel to be its enemy purely based on Islamic theology and ideology, not because of anything Israel did to Iran. Iranian leaders have made many barely veiled and some open threats to destroy Israel. Iran has funded, trained, and provided weapons to terrorist groups to attack Israel.
Given that Israel has a strong track record of attacking its neighbors without provocation...
You seem to have an inadequate understanding of "without provocation."
“it is the duty of all of us now to move from defensive positions to offensive positions and enter the battle to liberate the usurped landEveryone must face the test and enter the battle to the end.” - President Attassi of Syria - Feb 22nd 1967
'...I gave my instructions to all UAR forces to be ready for action against Israel the moment it might carry out any aggressive action against any Arab country. Due to these instructions our troops are already concentrated in Sinai on our eastern border. For the sake of the complete security of all UN troopsI request that you issue your orders to withdraw all troops immediately. [5]- written request from Nasser to Commander UNEF (Gaza) - May 16th 1967
"The existence of Israel has continued too long. We welcome the Israeli aggression. We welcome the battle we have long awaited. The peak hour has come. The battle has come in which we shall destroy Israel."- Cairo Radio - May 16th 1967
“The Zionist barrack in Palestine is about to collapse and be destroyed. Every one of the hundred million Arabs has been living for the past nineteen years on one hope – to live to see the day Israel is liquidatedThere is no life, no peace nor hope for the gangs of Zionism to remain in the occupied land.”
“As of today, there no longer exists an international emergency force to protect Israel.The sole method we shall apply against Israel is a total war which will result in the extermination of Zionist existence”. - Cairo Radio’s Voice of the Arabs broadcast - May 18th 1967
Israel [will] not initiate hostilities “...until or unless (Egyptian forces) close the Straits of Tiran to free navigation by Israel”- Prime Minister Levi Eshkol message to France’s President de Gaulle. - May 19th 1967
“Israel would stop at nothing to cancel the blockade. It is essential that President Nasser should not have any illusions.” - Eshkol tells leading maritime powers - May 19th 1967
“Our forces are now entirely ready not only to repulse any aggression, but to initiate the act ourselves, and to explode the Zionist presence in the Arab homeland of Palestine. The Syrian army, with its finger on the trigger, is united. I believe that the time has come to begin a battle of anihilation.”- Syria’s Defence Minister Hafez Assad (later to be Syria’s President). - May 20th 1967
“The Israeli flag shall not go through the Gulf of Aqaba. Our sovereignty over the entrance to the Gulf cannot be disputed”- Egypt’s President Nasser - May 22th 1967
"We want a full scale, popular war of liberation to destroy the Zionist enemy" - Syrian president Dr. Nureddin al-Attasi speech to troops [6] - May 22th 1967
"[The Arab blockade of Israel shipping in the Gulf of Aqaba is] illegal and potentially disastrous to the cause of peace....The purported closing of the Gulf of Aqaba has brought a new and grave dimension to the crisis. The United States considers the gulf to be an international waterway."President LB Johnson - May 23rd 1967
“We will not accept anycoexistence with Israel.Today the
Imagine an autonomous robot getting lost during a war, only to get uncovered 10 years after the war ends and going on a rampage (say, killing every armed police officer it finds)...
Interesting link there. The DNA studied in the story at the link sat at a temperature of 13.1 C. That is quite a bit above freezing, and temperature is a key aspect of speeding up aging. The oldest DNA sequenced is quite a bit older than 10,000 years (from your link)..
“We might be able to break the record for the oldest authentic DNA sequence, which currently stands at about half a million years,” says Ho.. --- DNA has a 521-year half-life
Considering the fact that you ignored my post where I established, long before your post, that evolution is a basic part of the state curriculum standards, and that Creationism isn't part of the standards and isn't widely taught, you don't seem to be keeping up with the discussion. Instead you are making wild claims based on tenuous grounds. You seem to have little respect for the methods of science.
Moron
Interesting, I take it that is your surname in your signature? Is that Spanish, or perhaps French, or Italian? You are one of the few self-identified Morons I've encountered. Shall I assume your Christian name, that is your given name, begins with "A."?
As I suspected, this is overblown. Texas doesn't require teaching Creationism, or related doctrines. If some teacher does discuss it, it is by no means clear that it runs foul of the law.
Clay Robison, a spokesman for the Texas State Teachers Association, the state’s teachers’ union, says, “It is not part of the recognized official state curriculum.”
But, Robison, who criticized Perry for "trying to reach right-wing voters," added, “I can’t say that some teacher someplace” that isn’t widely known about, isn’t teaching it.
More definitively, Suzanne Marchman, a spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency, the state’s version of the Department of Education, tells NBC, the state’s science standards for high-school biology “require students to analyze, evaluate, and critique, scientific explanations.”
And since teachers craft their own lesson plans, “It’s likely that other theories, likely creationism, are being discussed in class" -- whether it's because teachers plan lessons around it, or because students bring it up. . ..
In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that requiring the teaching of creationism, or forbidding the teaching of evolution, violates the separation of church and state. The court struck down a Louisiana law that banned teaching evolution unless accompanied by instruction in creationism. . . .
The central question, the court said, was the law's purpose. Louisiana's intent, the majority concluded, was to endorse a particular religious doctrine. But, the court added, "teaching a variety of scientific theories about the origins of humankind might be validly done with the clear secular intent of enhancing the effectiveness of science instruction."
Also note that there are various factors that play into determining if a particular case becomes Precedent.
You know, until that happened, you'd just be a tin-foil hat wearer, without a shred of credibility to you. Actually, you still are. But thanks to the colossal mistake of a couple of people in the IRS and Obama's total and complete inability to deal with a scandal, that singular act has managed to make the tinfoil hat crowd look more credible than the government.
Well, you know what, okay. Out of the thousands of times Obama and the "rabid liberals" have gotten it right, after six years of constant, sustained, unending attempts by the Republicans to find something, anything, to sink Obama even if it means repeatedly punching themselves in the face (Comeon guys, with all the major issues out there, your party platform for the previous four years has been trying to ensure Obama didn't get re-elected. Petty much?)... I suppose yes, with that much scrutiny eventually something had to pan out.
So take this one, singular victory. Have it, it's yours. You can feel righteous for a bit now -- you have a right to be upset
...Douglas Shulman, Commissioner from 2008 to 2012, during the Obama administration, visited the White House 118 times just in 2010 and 2011. His successor, Steven Miller, also visited “numerous” times.
The IRS targeting of conservative groups is far broader than first reported, with nearly 500 organizations singled out for additional scrutiny, according to two lawmakers briefed by the agency
If they teach evolution, they teach evolution. They meet the requirement for a science class. I don't think your personal definitions have force under Texas law.
What statute in Texas law makes their actions illegal?
"Perry continues, "but in Texas we teach both creationism and evolution...""
Evolution is part of the state standards as my link shows.. It apparently is testable. They teach it. The governor says they teach it. I don't think you have much to stand on here.
Oh no, you have that completely wrong. There clearly are far worse regimes in the Middle, including those that kill and mistreat Palestinians. Many of the allegations against Israel, on the other hand, are simply fabricated or greatly exaggerated, so there is often little if anything that needs to be excused. It makes no sense to appologize for an imaginary massacre.
For some reason there are people that prefer to condemn Israel over a fabricated claim of mass murder than the genuine mass murder by other regimes. I guess there is some comfort to know that the "devil" you confront isn't really a devil, so the hazard to you is small. I expect this is why Jenin and Goldstone are such popular clubs to beat Israel being as they are so greatly blown out of proportion and essentially constitute lies. On the other hand, Jordan's Black September is passed over in silence. That points to the fact that it generally isn't the actual welfare of the Arabs of Palestine that people really care about, but simply beating on Israel.
Although that may be true in general, apparently the Palestinians and various assorted "anti-Zionists" and anti-Semites have their own sycophants as well. What a curious world. Why you would choose such a role is quite strange.
You speak of facts, but appear to ignore them. Perhaps you might start with the following links above:
Palestinian Myth Machine Fighting the Lies Harder Than Fighting the War Goldstone: You Cannon Undo a Slander Why the al-Dura Blood Libel Still Matters
Please let us know when you intend to be serious rather than faux indignant over imaginary crimes.
(7) Science concepts. The student knows evolutionary theory is a scientific explanation for the unity and diversity of life. The student is expected to:
(A) analyze and evaluate how evidence of common ancestry among groups is provided by the fossil record, biogeography, and homologies, including anatomical, molecular, and developmental;
(B) analyze and evaluate scientific explanations concerning any data of sudden appearance, stasis, and sequential nature of groups in the fossil record;
(C) analyze and evaluate how natural selection produces change in populations, not individuals;
(D) analyze and evaluate how the elements of natural selection, including inherited variation, the potential of a population to produce more offspring than can survive, and a finite supply of environmental resources, result in differential reproductive success;
(E) analyze and evaluate the relationship of natural selection to adaptation and to the development of diversity in and among species;
(F) analyze and evaluate the effects of other evolutionary mechanisms, including genetic drift, gene flow, mutation, and recombination; and
(G) analyze and evaluate scientific explanations concerning the complexity of the cell.
At present they lack the means, such as working nuclear weapons, not the desire. I have to say that I find it astonishing that this might somehow be news to you. It is a fairly widely held goal in the region.
It may have worked for you for a long time but the world is slowly awakening to just how evil the behaviour of Israel is.
Given your views, you should probably hope that the world isn't awakening to evil behavior, otherwise the there some unexpected drubbings that are going to be handed out.
Yes, much of the world joins to condemn Israel, often based on lies, but either passes in silence over true horrors of the genuine mass murdering regimes in the Middle East, or actually defends the real butchers.
You are the troll. And a very low-value poster. The Guardian link refers to a nano-diamond creation device supplied by Russia for industry, and which "western" intelligence tried to spin as related to weapons research. Here is the thorough debunking from Moon of Alabama. [moonofalabama.org] The "reporting" on nano diamonds was spanked SO BADLY by this blog, that all traces disappeared from press and punditry before November ended.
My posts do tend to have a very low value for perpetuating the lies and distractions used to defend the terrorist sponsoring and would be genocidal Iranian regime. I don't see that as a negative. The MoonbatofAlabama blog didn't really serve much purpose other than to provide another distractions to fool the unwary.
In the debate about the November 11 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards report, some have falsely implied that Vyacheslav Danilenko did not know anything about nuclear weapons, or that he worked solely on nanodiamonds from the beginning of his research career, even though he worked at Chelyabinsk-70 for almost thirty years.1 The open source record demonstrates that these statements are incorrect and that Danilenko was involved in developing and using inwardly converging high pressure explosions and diagnostic systems to measure their effectiveness vital to the development of Soviet nuclear weapons. As such, the open source record supports that when he assisted Iran in the 1990s, he was an ex-Soviet nuclear weapons expert. Given his background, Danilenko should have had reason to believe that his knowledge and expertise related to high explosive compression in nuclear weapons could be misused by the Iranians, even if he limited himself to advising on strictly non-nuclear weapon applications.
In his statement to the IAEA Danilenko denied helping Iran build nuclear weapons but he admitted that he could not exclude that the information he provided was used for other purposes. Despite his denials, the IAEA suspects he helped Iran more than he has admitted so far. . .
As is common in this matter, you have things badly confused. Israel did nothing to Iran to deserve they way the new Iranian government turned on them. If you think otherwise, please provide a list. One hint to reduce the chances of you going down the wrong path again: the Palestinians are not Iranian, and the Iranians are not Arabs.
As to "untermenschen," that would be the view of post-revolution Iranian government, and many Arabs living in Palestine.
On Monday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry held an international conference. Nothing unusual in that: Foreign ministries hold conferences, mostly dull ones, all the time. But this one was different. For one, "Review of the Holocaust: Global Vision" dealt with history, not current politics. Instead of the usual suspects — deputy ministers and the like — the invitees seem to have included David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader; Georges Theil, a Frenchman who has called the Holocaust "an enormous lie"; and Fredrick Toeben, a German-born Australian whose specialty is the denial of Nazi gas chambers.
The guest list was selective: No one with any academic eminence, or indeed any scholarly credentials, was invited. One Palestinian scholar, Khaled Mahameed, was asked to come but then barred because he holds an Israeli passport — and also perhaps because he, unlike other guests, believes that the Holocaust really did happen.
In response, Europe, America, and Israel expressed official outrage. The German government, to its credit, organized a counter-conference....
According to reports in the Arab press, a thriving smuggling economy in Gaza has produced no fewer than 600 millionaires. Hundreds of tunnels to Egypt have become bustling export and import conduits -- with the ruling Hamas elite siphoning off milli
You also realize that Israel continues to be one of the most negatively viewed countries in the world according to a BBC World Service poll [bbc.co.uk], so you can cry all you want but when so many people dislike a country over so many years, something's wrong with that country and not the people.
The problem in those people's eyes is easy to identify: Israel is full of Jews. That is a huge problem for some people. It is sort of like the problem that many Germans had with Jews in the 1920s-1940s.
And don't overlook the fact that the reading tastes are similar:
Maybe launching destructive malware at Iranian infrastructure wasn't such a good idea.
If you are referring to "stuxnet," it wasn't launched against the Iranian infrastructure, but against Iran's nuclear program, which includes clandestine work on nuclear weapons.
Israel’s existence is an “insult to all humanity,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday, in one of his sharpest attacks yet against the Jewish state, which is currently debating whether to attack Iran over its nuclear program.
AFP - Israel is a "cancerous tumour" that will soon be finished off, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday told demonstrators holding an annual protest against the existence of the Jewish state.
"The Zionist regime and the Zionists are a cancerous tumour. Even if one cell of them is left in one inch of (Palestinian) land, in the future this story (of Israel's existence) will repeat," he said in a speech in Tehran marking Iran's Quds Day that was broadcast on state television.
"The nations of the region will soon finish off the usurper Zionists in the Palestinian land.... A new Middle East will definitely be formed. With the grace of God and help of the nations, in the new Middle East there will be no trace of the Americans and Zionists," he said.
The main factor behind the upsurge in threats is the Iranian state-sponsored celebration of its annihilation policy towards Israel, which occurs on the fourth and last Friday of Ramadan every year.
The event is called "Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day," and involves mass rallies, speeches by Iranian leaders, chants of "Death to Israel," and placards bearing the same intent. Last week, Khamenei described Israel as a "cancerous tumor" and "the biggest problem confronting Muslim countries today," according to Iranian media reports.
"Many of the Islamic world's problems come from the existence of the sham Zionist regime," Khamenei added, in comments that are reminiscent of traditional anti-Semitic comments that could be heard everywhere before the Holocaust. . .
Also last week, Brig.- Gen. Gholamreza Jalali, who heads Iran's Passive Civil Defense Organization and is a former commander of the Revolutionary Guards, said there was "no other option but to destroy Israel."
Nuclear weapons have a form of "blow back" all their own due to the intense blast effects. Iran may discover this, as well as other disagreeable forms, if it continues down its present course.
The present circumstances are all the sadder given that Israel and Iran were once allies, until the Islamic revolution in 1979. After that, Iran declared Israel an enemy to be destroyed. The current bad relationship filled with Iran's barely veiled threats of genocide is entirely Iran's choice. Israel did nothing to deserve it.
Why is information like this on computers that are connected to the internet?
So that it can be leaked, justifying the costly production of a whole new generation of warmachines.
Because it isn't like China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, or various other countries would want to upgrade their military independently of the US, for their own purposes. None of their weapons designers ever had an original idea, or were the first ones to make a concept actually work in a weapon. And having US weapons data means their could either use the data to incorporate the technology into their own weapons, or use it to defeat American weapons, but they'll never do either because apparently they are lazy, or stupid, or something. None of their weapons are dangerous to US weapons systems, at all.
What do the "brownshirts," as you styled the sheriffs in Florida, have to do with FB, or any of it? What do the KGB and Gestapo have to do with it, and your comparison with DHS? Your language was way over the top, and the point was misguided.
It looks like this started with complaints to the government.
The FBI said the interview was prompted by complaints from people who read his posts, including some that spoke of a pending revolution. One said "a day of reckoning" was coming, and another said: "Sharpen my axe; I'm here to sever heads." . . . The Federal Bureau of Investigation launched "Operation Vigilant Eagle" in 2009 to target white supremacists and "militia/sovereign-citizen extremist groups," with a focus on veterans, according to memos obtained and reported at the time by The Wall Street Journal. A memo detailing the national operation was issued by the Department of Homeland Security later. -- Facebook Posts: Suit Filed Over Vet's Detention
I think you are right to have concerns, but privacy isn't an unconditional right, and in certain respects it can be graduated. The idea that publicly accessible web sites are private is questionable. Groups that advocate the violent overthrow of the government are advocating something illegal, and have been monitored before.
And as to the IRS and FB? The IRS made law abiding, peaceful political groups submit printouts of their websites to them, along with many intrusive, completely inappropriate questions all under the threat of law. It cost them large amounts of time and money, including attorney fees. It is clear that there was a pattern of abuse with the obvious intent of political suppression, and it worked. That is it was real political suppression, not rhetorical. The groups they did it weren't making terroristic threats.
You worry about profiling, unless it is the IRS against certain political groups. You worry about extra searches, unless it is the IRS against certain political groups. You worry about intrusion into social media postings, unless it is the IRS against certain political groups. You worry about privacy, unless it is the IRS asking about people's prayers, lists of donors, and future plans. . And yes, the IRS went after religious groups as well: conservative Christian groups, and Jews. Do you have any outrage to spare?
I doubt the IRS had anything to do with warrantless wiretaps. The real recent scandal involving wiretaps at present is the administration targeting journalists in an unprecedented way. Some have called it an attempt to criminalize journalism.
But when it comes to war, and terrorism, the courts have long held that the President has that power to wiretap people in direct contact with the enemy in armed conflict. But either way, there is a process in place and the security services do get warrants. Just an FYI - Presidents have been doing that at least as far back as FDR. That isn't a threat to civil liberties as long as the limits are respected.
Your point about profiling is largely nonsense. The TSA bends over backwards to avoid the appearance of that, which is why there are so many complaints about 90 year old grandmothers, babies, and the handicapped, of all races, being searched. If anything, instead of profiling the most likely suspects in relation to the current conflicts, there are complaints about the reverse. People who act suspicious from the larger communities engaging in terrorism aren't getting the attention they should. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Just look away and then the problem will go away.
It wasn't the IRS commissioner appointed by Bush that recently took the Fifth in testifying before Congress.
Slashdot Mirror
...and they know the *reason* they are living in a medieval theocracy is American interference blowing away their secular democracy and installing a brutal right-wing dictatorship that made theocracy look like a good choice in comparison.
I doubt that many Iranians share your ignorance on the matter. If you know much at all about the history there, you know that the so-called secular democracy that was replaced consisted solely of the former Prime Minister who had dissolved parliament, was ruling by decree indefinitely, faked an election, and resisted the sole remaining check on his power - the right of the constitutional monarch to dismiss the Prime Minister. What you refer to as "democracy" was a simple dictatorship at that point. The real coup in Iran was the Prime Minister overthrowing the government. The counter-coup was restoring, not "instilling," the Shaw to power.
The Iranian people have clearly learned from the mistake of instilling the Ayatollahs into power, but the problem is remedying that. They ended up there in no small part due to the common interest that Muslim peoples have in instituting Islamic Sharia law, which they believe will resolve the common cultural problems in those regions, such as corruption. Unfortunately, it never really works out that way in the long term.
The Iranian people are just smart enough to know that welcoming Western megacorporate colonial oppression isn't the best solution to their "we have a sucky government" problem
That is nonsense beyond your bad history above. Corporations perform economic functions, not governing functions. They build trucks, mine ore, refine gasoline, can food, transport goods, run airlines, all that sort of thing. They don't elect governing legislative bodies, make laws, prosecute criminals, or make government policy. Economic activity versus government activity - they are different activities carried out by different groups in society. Although to truly prosper, a nation needs to get both activities right.
they've seen what partnering with America does to all the other countries we fuck over in the name of "economic liberalization".
It would be a shame if they turned out as well as Germany, Japan, Italy, South Korea, or various other countries, wouldn't it? Iraq would be in much better shape if Iran wasn't shipping arms to Iraqi Shia militias and using their Revolutionary Guards Quds Force (Special Forces) to stir the pot. That is part of the "sucky government" problem you refer to, and it bleeds over into other countries.
You're an ignorant condescending prick
I think you might be surprised to find out how big that club really is.
Do you have to pay extra to not have Stuxnet installed out-of-the-box?
Not if you accept advertising.
Wonder documents for democratic enhancement! Act now!
This little blue pamphlet changed my life! It can change yours too!
Do you suffer from low vote count?
Too tired to run from the secret police and government mobs? Not healing quite as fast? You may be suffering from low Freedom count.
Is an economic collapse coming from sanctions on nuclear activities? Read this to know how to prepare!"
Revealed: One weird trick that the Mullahs don't want you to know that you can use for more freedom and prosperity.
I quit my job at the Natanz nuclear centrifuge plant and am now working from home selling love tonic on the internet and have tripled by salary! You can too! I'll tell you how.
Moderately naughty full length Western night shirt style ankle revealing T-shirts with snappy slogans!:
Bad government didn't end with the Shaw!
I prefer my cranks on truck, not in governing council!
Restore Persian glory! Out with the Ayatollahs!
Why is it in Iran that Human Rights always seem to be wrong?
Chop spending on missiles and Photoshop artists, not heads!
Iran is a granola dictatorship: our leaders are nuts and flakes
Iran and Israel are not neighbors, but they were allies before the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. Iran declared Israel to be its enemy purely based on Islamic theology and ideology, not because of anything Israel did to Iran. Iranian leaders have made many barely veiled and some open threats to destroy Israel. Iran has funded, trained, and provided weapons to terrorist groups to attack Israel.
Given that Israel has a strong track record of attacking its neighbors without provocation ...
You seem to have an inadequate understanding of "without provocation."
Six Day War Comprehensive Timeline
Imagine an autonomous robot getting lost during a war, only to get uncovered 10 years after the war ends and going on a rampage (say, killing every armed police officer it finds)...
A whole series.
Interesting link there. The DNA studied in the story at the link sat at a temperature of 13.1 C. That is quite a bit above freezing, and temperature is a key aspect of speeding up aging. The oldest DNA sequenced is quite a bit older than 10,000 years (from your link)..
“We might be able to break the record for the oldest authentic DNA sequence, which currently stands at about half a million years,” says Ho.. --- DNA has a 521-year half-life
Considering the fact that you ignored my post where I established, long before your post, that evolution is a basic part of the state curriculum standards, and that Creationism isn't part of the standards and isn't widely taught, you don't seem to be keeping up with the discussion. Instead you are making wild claims based on tenuous grounds. You seem to have little respect for the methods of science.
Moron
Interesting, I take it that is your surname in your signature? Is that Spanish, or perhaps French, or Italian? You are one of the few self-identified Morons I've encountered. Shall I assume your Christian name, that is your given name, begins with "A."?
As I suspected, this is overblown. Texas doesn't require teaching Creationism, or related doctrines. If some teacher does discuss it, it is by no means clear that it runs foul of the law.
Fact check: Does Texas teach creationism in public schools? Is it constitutional?
Clay Robison, a spokesman for the Texas State Teachers Association, the state’s teachers’ union, says, “It is not part of the recognized official state curriculum.”
But, Robison, who criticized Perry for "trying to reach right-wing voters," added, “I can’t say that some teacher someplace” that isn’t widely known about, isn’t teaching it.
More definitively, Suzanne Marchman, a spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency, the state’s version of the Department of Education, tells NBC, the state’s science standards for high-school biology “require students to analyze, evaluate, and critique, scientific explanations.”
And since teachers craft their own lesson plans, “It’s likely that other theories, likely creationism, are being discussed in class" -- whether it's because teachers plan lessons around it, or because students bring it up. . . .
In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that requiring the teaching of creationism, or forbidding the teaching of evolution, violates the separation of church and state. The court struck down a Louisiana law that banned teaching evolution unless accompanied by instruction in creationism. . . .
The central question, the court said, was the law's purpose. Louisiana's intent, the majority concluded, was to endorse a particular religious doctrine. But, the court added, "teaching a variety of scientific theories about the origins of humankind might be validly done with the clear secular intent of enhancing the effectiveness of science instruction."
Also note that there are various factors that play into determining if a particular case becomes Precedent.
You know, until that happened, you'd just be a tin-foil hat wearer, without a shred of credibility to you. Actually, you still are. But thanks to the colossal mistake of a couple of people in the IRS and Obama's total and complete inability to deal with a scandal, that singular act has managed to make the tinfoil hat crowd look more credible than the government.
Well, you know what, okay. Out of the thousands of times Obama and the "rabid liberals" have gotten it right, after six years of constant, sustained, unending attempts by the Republicans to find something, anything, to sink Obama even if it means repeatedly punching themselves in the face (Comeon guys, with all the major issues out there, your party platform for the previous four years has been trying to ensure Obama didn't get re-elected. Petty much?)... I suppose yes, with that much scrutiny eventually something had to pan out.
So take this one, singular victory. Have it, it's yours. You can feel righteous for a bit now -- you have a right to be upset
Well, that's mighty white of you. You are indeed a generous spirit.
True Scandal - A tea-party group ... gets attention from the IRS—and the FBI, OSHA, and the ATF.
The IRS Fiasco Is Only The Tip Of The Iceberg
A Frequent Visitor to the White House
...Douglas Shulman, Commissioner from 2008 to 2012, during the Obama administration, visited the White House 118 times just in 2010 and 2011. His successor, Steven Miller, also visited “numerous” times.
Lawmakers say IRS targeted dozens more conservative groups than initially believed
The IRS targeting of conservative groups is far broader than first reported, with nearly 500 organizations singled out for additional scrutiny, according to two lawmakers briefed by the agency
IRS Admits Targeting “Tea Party” Groups
The New Nixon This time, the press cheered as the IRS investigated the president's opponents.
Tea party groups call IRS process 'nightmare'
IRS approved liberal groups while Tea Party in limbo
Curious IRS Timing - Did the tax agency also target groups that support Israel?
Obamacare + IRS = gangster government
7 Questions That The IRS Inappropriately Asked Of Tea Party Groups
The IRS’s Tea-Party Targeting - An apology, but no explanation
Did The IRS Try To Swing Election To Obama?
Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert
If they teach evolution, they teach evolution. They meet the requirement for a science class. I don't think your personal definitions have force under Texas law.
What statute in Texas law makes their actions illegal?
Here is what it says at the link you provided:
"Perry continues, "but in Texas we teach both creationism and evolution...""
Evolution is part of the state standards as my link shows.. It apparently is testable. They teach it. The governor says they teach it. I don't think you have much to stand on here.
It is not acceptable to teach things in school that are demonstrably false.
But it apparently is acceptable to post things that are demonstrably false.
Oh no, you have that completely wrong. There clearly are far worse regimes in the Middle, including those that kill and mistreat Palestinians. Many of the allegations against Israel, on the other hand, are simply fabricated or greatly exaggerated, so there is often little if anything that needs to be excused. It makes no sense to appologize for an imaginary massacre.
For some reason there are people that prefer to condemn Israel over a fabricated claim of mass murder than the genuine mass murder by other regimes. I guess there is some comfort to know that the "devil" you confront isn't really a devil, so the hazard to you is small. I expect this is why Jenin and Goldstone are such popular clubs to beat Israel being as they are so greatly blown out of proportion and essentially constitute lies. On the other hand, Jordan's Black September is passed over in silence. That points to the fact that it generally isn't the actual welfare of the Arabs of Palestine that people really care about, but simply beating on Israel.
Although that may be true in general, apparently the Palestinians and various assorted "anti-Zionists" and anti-Semites have their own sycophants as well. What a curious world. Why you would choose such a role is quite strange.
You speak of facts, but appear to ignore them. Perhaps you might start with the following links above:
Palestinian Myth Machine
Fighting the Lies Harder Than Fighting the War
Goldstone: You Cannon Undo a Slander
Why the al-Dura Blood Libel Still Matters
Please let us know when you intend to be serious rather than faux indignant over imaginary crimes.
No, it's terrible because they teach creationism as fact and ignore well accepted science. This is but one example.
One example of pure BS? Is there any chance the lying nitwits will give it a rest any time soon?
Chapter 112. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science - Subchapter C. High School
The exact phrase I used was: "would be genocidal Iranian regime"
Evidence?
UN chief denounces Iran to its face over calls to destroy Israel
Iran Steps Up Threats to Rub Out Israel
At present they lack the means, such as working nuclear weapons, not the desire. I have to say that I find it astonishing that this might somehow be news to you. It is a fairly widely held goal in the region.
The Jews Were Brought to Palestine for the Great Massacre
Hamas video: Killing Jews is 'worship that draws us close to Allah'
Judgment Day - When the Muslims Kill the Jews
After all, the book by you-know-who is disgustingly popular in certain circles among kindred spirits.
Cut-rate 'Mein Kampf' sells well in Turkey, spurring concerns
Mein Kampf in pride of place on bookshop shelves
Their Kampf - Hitler’s book in Arab hands
Unrelated, but since I have your attention - I expect these topics percolate at the back of your mind:
Jenin: Palestinian Myth Machine
Goldstone: Fighting the Lies Harder Than Fighting the War
It may have worked for you for a long time but the world is slowly awakening to just how evil the behaviour of Israel is.
Given your views, you should probably hope that the world isn't awakening to evil behavior, otherwise the there some unexpected drubbings that are going to be handed out.
Palestinians Celebrate after Brutal Murder of Fogel Family
The Jews Were Brought to Palestine for the Great Massacre
Palestinian Myth Machine
Fighting the Lies Harder Than Fighting the War
Goldstone: You Cannon Undo a Slander
The European Left and Its Trouble With Jews
Why the al-Dura Blood Libel Still Matters
Yes, much of the world joins to condemn Israel, often based on lies, but either passes in silence over true horrors of the genuine mass murdering regimes in the Middle East, or actually defends the real butchers.
Hama 1982 – The Syrian massacre you never heard about
Commentary: Remembering Iraq's mass graves
What happened to Iraq's 'human shields'?
If Israel was only as evil as Iraq or Syria, the Paelstinians would have disappeared into mass graves long ago. That clearly hasn't happened.
You are the troll. And a very low-value poster. The Guardian link refers to a nano-diamond creation device supplied by Russia for industry, and which "western" intelligence tried to spin as related to weapons research. Here is the thorough debunking from Moon of Alabama. [moonofalabama.org] The "reporting" on nano diamonds was spanked SO BADLY by this blog, that all traces disappeared from press and punditry before November ended.
My posts do tend to have a very low value for perpetuating the lies and distractions used to defend the terrorist sponsoring and would be genocidal Iranian regime. I don't see that as a negative. The MoonbatofAlabama blog didn't really serve much purpose other than to provide another distractions to fool the unwary.
Vyacheslav Danilenko – Background, Research, and Proliferation Concerns
In the debate about the November 11 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards report, some have falsely implied that Vyacheslav Danilenko did not know anything about nuclear weapons, or that he worked solely on nanodiamonds from the beginning of his research career, even though he worked at Chelyabinsk-70 for almost thirty years.1 The open source record demonstrates that these statements are incorrect and that Danilenko was involved in developing and using inwardly converging high pressure explosions and diagnostic systems to measure their effectiveness vital to the development of Soviet nuclear weapons. As such, the open source record supports that when he assisted Iran in the 1990s, he was an ex-Soviet nuclear weapons expert. Given his background, Danilenko should have had reason to believe that his knowledge and expertise related to high explosive compression in nuclear weapons could be misused by the Iranians, even if he limited himself to advising on strictly non-nuclear weapon applications.
In his statement to the IAEA Danilenko denied helping Iran build nuclear weapons but he admitted that he could not exclude that the information he provided was used for other purposes. Despite his denials, the IAEA suspects he helped Iran more than he has admitted so far. . .
Russian scientist Vyacheslav Danilenko’s aid to Iran offers peek at nuclear program
As is common in this matter, you have things badly confused. Israel did nothing to Iran to deserve they way the new Iranian government turned on them. If you think otherwise, please provide a list. One hint to reduce the chances of you going down the wrong path again: the Palestinians are not Iranian, and the Iranians are not Arabs.
As to "untermenschen," that would be the view of post-revolution Iranian government, and many Arabs living in Palestine.
Reading Mein Kampf in Tehran
On Monday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry held an international conference. Nothing unusual in that: Foreign ministries hold conferences, mostly dull ones, all the time. But this one was different. For one, "Review of the Holocaust: Global Vision" dealt with history, not current politics. Instead of the usual suspects — deputy ministers and the like — the invitees seem to have included David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader; Georges Theil, a Frenchman who has called the Holocaust "an enormous lie"; and Fredrick Toeben, a German-born Australian whose specialty is the denial of Nazi gas chambers.
The guest list was selective: No one with any academic eminence, or indeed any scholarly credentials, was invited. One Palestinian scholar, Khaled Mahameed, was asked to come but then barred because he holds an Israeli passport — and also perhaps because he, unlike other guests, believes that the Holocaust really did happen.
In response, Europe, America, and Israel expressed official outrage. The German government, to its credit, organized a counter-conference. ...
Hamas video: Killing Jews is 'worship that draws us close to Allah'
The Jews Were Brought to Palestine for the Great Massacre
As to the rest, you should catch up on some reading and get back to me.
UN agency stops aid imports to Gaza, cites Hamas 'thefts'
Looters strip Gaza greenhouses
Gazans seethe over taxes and blackouts
Sewage flood causes Gaza deaths
Hamas Bulldozes UN-Designated Historical Site to Make Room for Terrorist Training Camp
In Gaza, Hamas rule has not turned out as many expected
Rights watchdog accuses Hamas of torture, abuse of Palestinians
Hamas accused of routine torture of detainees in Gaza Strip
Palestinian Authority: Still Stealing "Hundreds of Millions," Hamas Taking Over
NY Times ignores Gaza's millionaires, hypes poverty, blames Israel (natch)
According to reports in the Arab press, a thriving smuggling economy in Gaza has produced no fewer than 600 millionaires. Hundreds of tunnels to Egypt have become bustling export and import conduits -- with the ruling Hamas elite siphoning off milli
I'm afraid you have it backwards. It is Iran that is reaping what it has sown. It is now trying for an upper. It might get that, much to its regret.
You also realize that Israel continues to be one of the most negatively viewed countries in the world according to a BBC World Service poll [bbc.co.uk], so you can cry all you want but when so many people dislike a country over so many years, something's wrong with that country and not the people.
The problem in those people's eyes is easy to identify: Israel is full of Jews. That is a huge problem for some people. It is sort of like the problem that many Germans had with Jews in the 1920s-1940s.
And don't overlook the fact that the reading tastes are similar:
Cut-rate 'Mein Kampf' sells well in Turkey, spurring concerns
Mein Kampf in pride of place on bookshop shelves
Their Kampf - Hitler’s book in Arab hands.
No one believes they have a bomb,
Iran nuclear report: IAEA claims Tehran working on advanced warhead
Your "anti-Zionist" / anti-Israeli trolling does grow tedious at times.
Maybe launching destructive malware at Iranian infrastructure wasn't such a good idea.
If you are referring to "stuxnet," it wasn't launched against the Iranian infrastructure, but against Iran's nuclear program, which includes clandestine work on nuclear weapons.
Iran nuclear report: IAEA claims Tehran working on advanced warhead
I you think that Iran's behavior with just software is disagreeable, I don't think you want to see them with nuclear weapons.
UN chief denounces Iran to its face over calls to destroy Israel
'Cancerous tumour' Israel will soon be destroyed, says Ahmadinejad
Israel’s existence is an “insult to all humanity,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday, in one of his sharpest attacks yet against the Jewish state, which is currently debating whether to attack Iran over its nuclear program.
AFP - Israel is a "cancerous tumour" that will soon be finished off, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday told demonstrators holding an annual protest against the existence of the Jewish state.
"The Zionist regime and the Zionists are a cancerous tumour. Even if one cell of them is left in one inch of (Palestinian) land, in the future this story (of Israel's existence) will repeat," he said in a speech in Tehran marking Iran's Quds Day that was broadcast on state television.
"The nations of the region will soon finish off the usurper Zionists in the Palestinian land.... A new Middle East will definitely be formed. With the grace of God and help of the nations, in the new Middle East there will be no trace of the Americans and Zionists," he said.
Iran Steps Up Threats to Rub Out Israel
The main factor behind the upsurge in threats is the Iranian state-sponsored celebration of its annihilation policy towards Israel, which occurs on the fourth and last Friday of Ramadan every year.
The event is called "Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day," and involves mass rallies, speeches by Iranian leaders, chants of "Death to Israel," and placards bearing the same intent. Last week, Khamenei described Israel as a "cancerous tumor" and "the biggest problem confronting Muslim countries today," according to Iranian media reports.
"Many of the Islamic world's problems come from the existence of the sham Zionist regime," Khamenei added, in comments that are reminiscent of traditional anti-Semitic comments that could be heard everywhere before the Holocaust. . .
Also last week, Brig.- Gen. Gholamreza Jalali, who heads Iran's Passive Civil Defense Organization and is a former commander of the Revolutionary Guards, said there was "no other option but to destroy Israel."
Nuclear weapons have a form of "blow back" all their own due to the intense blast effects. Iran may discover this, as well as other disagreeable forms, if it continues down its present course.
The present circumstances are all the sadder given that Israel and Iran were once allies, until the Islamic revolution in 1979. After that, Iran declared Israel an enemy to be destroyed. The current bad relationship filled with Iran's barely veiled threats of genocide is entirely Iran's choice. Israel did nothing to deserve it.
Yes, that was a bit of an oversight. On the other hand it is rather revealing to see how different people are reacting to it.
Also anti-buffered, eg. when the Siberian permafrost melts.
There might be a little reprieve.
To the Horror of Global Warming Alarmists, Global Cooling Is Here
Why is information like this on computers that are connected to the internet?
So that it can be leaked, justifying the costly production of a whole new generation of warmachines.
Because it isn't like China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, or various other countries would want to upgrade their military independently of the US, for their own purposes. None of their weapons designers ever had an original idea, or were the first ones to make a concept actually work in a weapon. And having US weapons data means their could either use the data to incorporate the technology into their own weapons, or use it to defeat American weapons, but they'll never do either because apparently they are lazy, or stupid, or something. None of their weapons are dangerous to US weapons systems, at all.
What do the "brownshirts," as you styled the sheriffs in Florida, have to do with FB, or any of it? What do the KGB and Gestapo have to do with it, and your comparison with DHS? Your language was way over the top, and the point was misguided.
It looks like this started with complaints to the government.
The FBI said the interview was prompted by complaints from people who read his posts, including some that spoke of a pending revolution. One said "a day of reckoning" was coming, and another said: "Sharpen my axe; I'm here to sever heads." . . . The Federal Bureau of Investigation launched "Operation Vigilant Eagle" in 2009 to target white supremacists and "militia/sovereign-citizen extremist groups," with a focus on veterans, according to memos obtained and reported at the time by The Wall Street Journal. A memo detailing the national operation was issued by the Department of Homeland Security later. -- Facebook Posts: Suit Filed Over Vet's Detention
I think you are right to have concerns, but privacy isn't an unconditional right, and in certain respects it can be graduated. The idea that publicly accessible web sites are private is questionable. Groups that advocate the violent overthrow of the government are advocating something illegal, and have been monitored before.
And as to the IRS and FB? The IRS made law abiding, peaceful political groups submit printouts of their websites to them, along with many intrusive, completely inappropriate questions all under the threat of law. It cost them large amounts of time and money, including attorney fees. It is clear that there was a pattern of abuse with the obvious intent of political suppression, and it worked. That is it was real political suppression, not rhetorical. The groups they did it weren't making terroristic threats.
You worry about profiling, unless it is the IRS against certain political groups. You worry about extra searches, unless it is the IRS against certain political groups. You worry about intrusion into social media postings, unless it is the IRS against certain political groups. You worry about privacy, unless it is the IRS asking about people's prayers, lists of donors, and future plans. . And yes, the IRS went after religious groups as well: conservative Christian groups, and Jews. Do you have any outrage to spare?
I doubt the IRS had anything to do with warrantless wiretaps. The real recent scandal involving wiretaps at present is the administration targeting journalists in an unprecedented way. Some have called it an attempt to criminalize journalism.
But when it comes to war, and terrorism, the courts have long held that the President has that power to wiretap people in direct contact with the enemy in armed conflict. But either way, there is a process in place and the security services do get warrants. Just an FYI - Presidents have been doing that at least as far back as FDR. That isn't a threat to civil liberties as long as the limits are respected.
Your point about profiling is largely nonsense. The TSA bends over backwards to avoid the appearance of that, which is why there are so many complaints about 90 year old grandmothers, babies, and the handicapped, of all races, being searched. If anything, instead of profiling the most likely suspects in relation to the current conflicts, there are complaints about the reverse. People who act suspicious from the larger communities engaging in terrorism aren't getting the attention they should. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Just look away and then the problem will go away.
It wasn't the IRS commissioner appointed by Bush that recently took the Fifth in testifying before Congress.
Ther