Iran has moved ballistic missiles into launch positions, with Israel’s Dimona nuclear plant among the possible targets, defence sources said last week. - Aaron Brazell
This is the one area I'm not sure Obama has the ability to handle if it were to go down. - Aaron Brazell
Well, it's inevitable. It'll eventually happen. I was hoping it would at least be put off a few years, give everyone some time to cool out and figure out another solution (i.e. Iran to vote out Amadinnatime or whatever). Looks like no one's listening to me though. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Granted. But how is it being managed today? Not so well, it would seem. - Chris Baskind
Chris, lest you forget... Iran is one of those countries we're not actually at war with today. :-p - Aaron Brazell
...or maybe we can just tell Iran to pay us not to go to war with them. Oil and caviar ok... - Mark Forman
My guess - the conspiracy theorist in me and what not - something happens (prob not nuke though) before the election. - Aaron Brazell
I think it would be groovy if it stayed that way, Aaron. ;-) - Chris Baskind
Mark (Rizzn), not that we're not listening to you. Quite the contrary. You're scaring the shit out of me with your neoconnity :) - Aaron Brazell
Yeah, something is likely to happen. Before November. - Chris Baskind
And another thing...why are you not sure Obama can handle this. Did pretty damn good with his Iraq decisions, thank you very much.... - Erin Kotecki Vest
Voting in the Senate is a hell of a lot easier than managing an international, nuclear crisis. Granted, the current administration hasn't been a good manager of the problems... but, we're talking about the possibility of a nuclear confrontation with explosions. - Aaron Brazell
...and the other candidates can handle this better because...... - Erin Kotecki Vest
Well, no one seems to deny McCain is more likely to pull the trigger on wartime issues... ;-) Not saying he WOULD be better, but according to recent polls, McCain is beating Obama on "war on terror" and "foreign policy" issues - whatever that means. - Aaron Brazell
@Aaron: I didn't mean you guys not listening to me. I know you guys put up with my rants all the time. I mean all the other guys at the secret NeoCon conventions never take my advice. Damn shame, too. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Pulling the trigger is the easy part, I'm afraid. - Chris Baskind
This is why I'm so desparate this election. I want new ideas AND good ideas in the Whitehouse. Given that I'm a conservative/libertarian, I don't see Obama's ideas as good. Given that I'm under the age of 110, I don't see McCain's ideas as new. Srsly, though, they're both beltway boys, career politicians, and part of the system that keeps producing Bush's, and Clinton's. I don't trust that system. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
The saber-rattling with Iran frustrates me beyond belief. It's as if everyone has left their common sense at the door. Can't figure out what the hell is bad about diplomacy. As the close relative of a career diplomat who spent his career in Afghanistan/Iran/South Asia and who retired before Bush destabilized the middle east, all I can say is STAND DOWN. - Karoli via twhirl
If there is a nuclear attack in the Middle East it will contaminate the whole area including parts of Europe. - Igor The Troll
Karoli-As opposed to all the other sensible wars we've gotten into? Sorry to make you a straw (wo)man,but wars only make sense to the powers behind the scenes that profit from them. - Mark Forman
Karoli: For us folks in the cheap seats, it's difficult for us to tell when folks from the middle East mean what they say. For instance, when Osama bin Laden says he'll kill Americans, he tries to follow it up and sometimes succeeds. When Iran and Iraq say they want to kill Israelis and Americans, they do it sometimes, and sometimes not. Based on that, for otherwise smart folks like me who don't know all the Arab and Persian nuance, it's hard to decide if each threat calls for diplomacy or action. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Nuance, Rizzn? When people tell me they're interested in killing me and manage to kill some of my friends and/or acquaintances, the times they've been too incompetent to actually pull it off doesn't ease my worries. It compounds them. Nothing's harder to defend against than a randomly-incompetent nutbar. Iran's not JUST saber-rattling, folks. They have intent, even if their means get temporarily diverted. - Alexander Williams
Alexander- the real power in Iran isn't Ahmadinejad, but the Ayatollahs. They've been in power since the late 70s, and haven't started a war with the US/ its allies yet- Ahmadinejad's playing to his supporters, but I don't think what Iran does against Israel or any of its other neighbours is really going to be up to him. - Mike
But they have authorized, pushed for, and actively participated in vilifying and demonizing America in specific and the West in general, plus not very shyly funded and planned actions that have cost American lives. Add to that it's hard to believe Ahmadinejad is off the reservation with regard to the mullahs and it's fairly obvious it's an intended action. - Alexander Williams via NoiseRiver
I do agree with that Alexander, but Iranian politicians have vilified and demonised the US and its allies since the revolution, and they're not the only country to have done this. Does that make automatically make them a threat? I think the US and UK are suffering much more in the eyes of the world due to our actions in the country just to the West of Iran than because of Iranian rhetoric. I also agree that Iran is involved in the Iraqi insurgency, but not to the extent that some would have you believe. Also, Iran didn't force the Coalition to become embroiled in Iraq. The thing is that Iran will be destroyed if it does launch an attack- it won't be a case of 'regime change' as it was with Iraq and Afghanistan. Why would Ahmadinejad's handlers risk that? - Mike
I would say it pretty much makes them a threat, taken together with the various other Iranian-backed terrorist attacks on US and allies. They also are trying really hard for big dog status in the MidEast, and have been for a while. I look at it this way: If we treat them like a serious threat and respond appropriately, then they can either back down in rhetoric or action and few people go 'splody. If we don't respond as if they're a serious threat and they are and carry out their intent, lots and lots of people go 'splody. I don't like people much, but asthetically the first seems preferable. The eyes of the world are worth about like they sound, $24 each organ on the open market. - Alexander Williams via NoiseRiver
It's also intersting to note that this entire article is based on an editorial in an Iranian newspaper, which talks about striking Israel as a "response" (presumably to "retaliate for any onslaught" by Israel). There's almost no analysis as to whether either side is going to actually do this. We're seeing the same kind of article from Murdoch's press as we saw in the run up to the invasion of Iraq. - Mike
And the mullahs would risk it because culturally, the MidEast is set up around face / respect, bluffing, and internecine tribal warfare. Plus the whole being stuck in the 14th century in a lot of ways. Between the past couple decades of softness US responses have sported (the Bush legacy being a recent aberration they think they can coast through 'til it's Obama-Nation time) and the way the media's been spinning US attitudes, they seem to figure it's a good gamble, one way or another. - Alexander Williams via NoiseRiver
I see Amerika war mongering on Iran, more a propaganda than realism! But the war will happen, probably sooner than latter. - Igor The Troll
So Iran will attack the US, Europe and/or Israel (possibly with nukes) because of internecine tribal warfare and in order to save face? Even though it's stuck in the 14th century? Where's the evidence for this? And what makes you think that, almost 30 years into their revolution, now is the time the mullahs will gamble on Iran being destroyed (which it inevitably will if they took this risk)? - Mike
Iran certain would like to / intends to do damage to the US and Europe, fully intends to do massive amounts of direct damage of Israel, has stated both intentions repeatedly, and wishes to do so / believes they can succeed because, culturally they're retrogressive and the Western leadership has been notoriously soft and Chamberlain-esque. As for why NOW, if Sy Hersh is any measure, it's because they have less to lose every day and need a big win. - Alexander Williams
What do you mean by culturally regressive, and can you point to any evidence for this? And why would that make Iran commit national suicide by attacking virtually every major military power in the world? - Mike
Mike: I think it's worth considering a couple things. (1) Why would Iran spend decades funding terrorism aimed at the U.S.? On a practical level, I mean? Pissing us off is gonna eventually lead to Iran being destroyed... and yet they do it. You're looking for logic from a theocracy. The same thing that makes GWB a pain in the ass makes the Iranian powers-that-be incredibly dangerous. - Roger Benningfield
(2) I think you're underestimating the power of fear and the fear of power. Look at how 9/11 brought all that latent paranoia out of Americans, and then consider being Israeli or Iranian for the last 30 years. People can't react rationally when death is in the air almost every day. - Roger Benningfield
Roger- I think your second point is very true. But I also think we're at risk of going over the top with these threats, as we did with Iraq in the final few months before we invaded. From 2002 onwards newspapers like The (London) Times started these stories about Saddam being out of control, and wanting/ having the capability to launch missiles at Europe (if not further afield), all of which turned out to be propaganda. Re your first point, I agree that Iran has funded terrorism, but then so have many other countries (the US (often with its allies' backing) being a major player in that field). I just think that if we assume that Iran is some kind of kamikaze nation which is willing to destroy itself in order to try (and fail) to take out the US or Israel then we lose all control of the situation, and we'll find ourselves in a scenario which makes the current worries in relation to Iraq and the price of oil seem positively cheerful. - Mike
Wow... all I did was bookmark a story on del.icio.us... Now look what happened? ;-) - Aaron Brazell
Sorry Aaron. I was just glad to come on FriendFeed and not see another discussion about *yawn* Silicon Valley. Especially that god damned puppet story :) - Mike
I wonder why it is difficult for people to understand that it is a game played by one set of conservatives to help another. Islamic fundamentalists want Christian fundamentalists to be in power here so that they can stay alive and vice versa. I would vote for someone who will promise me that he will never pull the trigger. Someone like Gandhi. Of course, people with residual tribal ideas will attack me on this. But, do I care? Hell, no!! - Krish
I don't know who did his policy brief, but I love every point of it... I hadn't been seriously considering voting for Obama till I read that policy brief - David Silvernail
Robert, you REALLY, REALLY need the FriendFeed comment plugin on your blog. Remove your comments entirely and replace it with that and you'll be set. You won't have to post a link every time pointing people back to FF too. :-) - Jesse Stay
Obama. Evidence: http://youtube.com/watch?v=m4y... . It's an hour, but make time to watch this. The difference between McCain and Obama couldn't be more stark. - John Craft
Uh... this is so obvious it's silly! :*) - Susan Beebe
Don't really care what their "tech" policy is. I'm more concerned on who will control spending and not add more social programs for everyone else to pay for. - Spencer Scott
McCain, the man who admits he's computer illiterate, has a tech policy? - Mike Cohen
McCain, I've been told knows about the Internet and if ellected he might even look at it. - paul mooney
Do you think Obama came up with his tech policy all on his own, Mike? We talked about this on L33t Tech last weekend. Neither one of these guys can be bothered to write their own speeches. Do you think they have a cogent tech policy on their own without advisors? No! Both their tech policies came from advisory panels. It has nothing to do with whether McCain knows how to use the Internet. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Mark - Most things in Washington involve advisory panels of some sort. Wonder who's on these ones? - Tom Landini
Tom: That's the real question we should be asking, particularly if we're going to make decisions based on things aside from the candidate's hair style. Otherwise we should just flip a coin on election day. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
I don't even feel like this is a real question... seriously, I'm thinking that Robert asked it just to drive home the point of how disparate the two candidates' depth of thought on tech issues really are. Which isn't a bad thing, I suppose the more people understand Obama's (or at least his campaign's) level of tech literacy, the better. - Harish Venkatesan
Tech understanding and tech POLICY are radically different. Obama might "get" how to use Myspace - but frankly how does that help when he is not really inclined to help tech companies and the free market in general? I don;t need my president to know what Twitter is - I need him to understand that private industry drives innovation and not see successful companies as a bottomless piggy bank to raid for social programs. - Soulhuntre
RON PAUL!!!! Oh, c'mon... I'm surprised I'm the first person to say it, even if it's absolutely not true. :) - l0ckergn0me
Obama by mile and by many many pages of detailed and very smart tech policies. In particular a cabinet level CIO with a priority for increasing government transparency and citizen review and input is particularly good. Also smart patent reform and much more. - Shannon Clark
obama by a long mile. McCain's camp simply does not make this a priority since his base probably is as Luddite-level as he is. Just look at the web design philosophies of each camp. Obama uses an XHTML/CSS layout with social media features and his loves Twitter and web 2.0. McCain's crew seems to like the low-bidding web contracts so you get a mishmash of meh tech. - Glenn Batuyong
How could anyone even suggest McCain has a better tech policy? "He's aware of the internet." That's the policy. That and "Science BAD!" He's all Frankenstein on science and tech... - Tad Donaghe
Is there really much of a question about this? How can it not be Obama? - Cathryn Hrudicka
I officially can't weigh in on this. I suggest people look at who the candidates have surrounded themselves with as tech advisers, and make your choice from there. - Andrew Feinberg
McCain is aware of internet. He thinks it is something where he can bomb countries with a click of a mouse. War monger!! - Krish
Yes, there really is a question about this. Even just lookign at the online technology each is using, Obama is starting to look bad. Did no one in their campaign see the problem of (Liek Kerry) letting extreme blogs be hosted on their sites? Is that really a good idea? As for tec policies again,t he tech industry is a capital one - and Obama is definitely not capital friendly. - Soulhuntre via twhirl
Obama... I don't know whether his policy is better or even exists, but at least he knows technology exists! - nick carrasco
oi. Even after everyone weighed in with the "look at the advisory panel" stuff, we have six comments here supporting Obama based on nothing but the fact they like his suit better than McCain's. We have ignorant analysis of McCain supporters, ridiculous analogies to "war-mongering," and someone who admits they don't even know, but they think Obama is better. Yet somehow, McCain supporters are stereotyped as the uninformed ones? - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Creative capitalism, good; crony capitalism and vulture capitalism, bad. The former promotes excellence and innovation; the latter promotes mediocrity and stagnation. - Sean McBride
Thanks, just added this feed to Goog Reader. - Andrew Meyer
Creative capitalism is a baloney. Whenever you force altruism through people, it is bound to fail. As an alternative, I propose sensible capitalism, which is the realization that by ensuring "prosperity" to people all over the world (universal health care and certain other welfare measures comes into this category) and by ensuring the "sustainability" in this world (environment, etc comes into this), we are achieving two things that are important for capitalism. (contd) - Krish
We are increasing the reach of the markets by several fold with the cost distributed throughout the society (greed, hallmark of capitalism followed by the market fundamentalists, is ensured even in the taxes) and we are reducing the enemies by several fold (imagine what will happen if people left out by capitalism take up arms struggle). In sensible capitalism, we can achieve everything which Gates says in his theory without altruism. Hope I have explained this idea properly. - Krish
In short, under sensible capitalism, you achieve all the things which Gates wants to achieve with his creative capitalism but by keeping greed as the central dogma (which market fundamentalists will always prefer). - Krish
"Those who spent the last five years mauling Bush for "shredding the Constitution" and approving of lawbreaking -- only to then praise Obama for supporting a bill that endorses and protects all of that -- are displaying exactly the type of blind reverence that is more dangerous than any one political leader could ever be." - Jay Tannenbaum via Bookmarklet
I am far from conservative, but Olbermann's tirades are not journalism. - Todd Stanfield
As long as people like Bill O' Reilley and Rush Limbaugh kind exist on the right, the left is bound to have such people too. Otherwise, left will get swiftboated. - Krish
Olbermann is a talentless goon when compared to Limbaugh. And lets not rewrite the definition of "swiftboating" like everyone else. When it came to John Kerry, swiftboating meant standing up, not drinking the koolaid, not agreeing to end any debate or discussion like we are told to do regarding "global warming," and saying the bill of goods we are being sold is not exactly what we think. We should be praising swiftboating, not dismissing it. - Charles LePage
After reading the article, I'd point out all the horrible people on the right, Limbaughs, Fox News, etc., do not show "blind devotion" to any Republican President or Presidential candidate. Olbermann is proving himself to not be a journalist, or even a commentator. He's a salesman. - Charles LePage
@Adam Turetzky - Thanks for the video. I had to go to the Real News site to get it to work. Depressing video. I just think Olbermann could get his points across without using the inflammatory language and personal demonization that O'Reilly and Limbaugh use. Bill Clinton defended George W. Bush when Chavez called him "the devil." - http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRA... - Todd Stanfield
Seriously Dude (Chris Anderson), systems level approach may get some information fast but it will not get complete information. He shouldn't be throwing out scientific models so fast. - Krish
This is a perfect example of how industry would do research. If we have to follow this approach, we can just assume that god created everything and then go from there. It is not scientific approach. Industry is better off with just commoditizing the scientific results and stop poking their nose into how to do science. They just won't get basic science. Period. - Krish
What Chris Anderson types and others from business community should realize that you can't do science like economics. Systemic approach is one of the many approaches in doing science and not the ONLY approach. - Krish
Excellent. I hope I get to see my first filibuster! :-) - Robert Scoble
Nice of them given that almost all the rest of the Democrates totally caved in. - Soulhuntre via twhirl
Awesome news! And I'm psyched for you Robert. That's exciting. - Joanmarie
It's an unbelieveable time to be walking the halls of Congress. I am pinching myself to make sure I'm still alive and not dreaming. By the way, watch the videos I did today. @timryan voted against it. @johnculberson voted for it. They both gave great reasoning why they voted the way they did. - Robert Scoble
Hopefully we can get you back into the Gallery tomorrow if they actually Filibuster - Andrew Feinberg
This world is surviving because there are still people with spine. - Krish
I agree with the author here. Clouds may not exhibit linear behavior. It is a collection of servers (farm) and the comparison can be made to a many body system as studied in particle and condensed matter physics. We will see some emergent properties with the equivalent of phase transitions resulting in some interesting use scenarios. Imagine superconductivity as a result of strongly correlated many electron system. What will be the emerging phenomena in this strongly connected many server systems? Just speculating for some physics fun!! - Krish via Bookmarklet
thanks all, it's the Chihuly exhibit currently on display at the de Young museum in SF. It's a great show and very cool that they allow non-flash photography. I'm planning on going back a few more times to shoot more there as well. Info on the exhibit here: http://www.chihulyatthedeyoung... My entire Chihuly set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/t... - Thomas Hawk
I was considering going to shoot the exhibit, but it appears that doing so would just make me feel bad about my skill. Instead, I'll enjoy this set and go enjoy the exhibit with no camera. - David Thomas
Great stuff, man. After I was there, I couldn't wait to see what you came back with! - Jeremy Brooks
Thomas, how do you decide what you post to Zooomr vs. Flickr? Is it all the same shots? - Matt
Love the brilliant colors in these photos! - Alan Le
Matt, in the case of the Chihuly show it's the exact same shots to both sites. I have more shots on Zooomr than Flickr but it's kind of haphazard what shots go to what site and when. I love them both. The Chihuly show is an exception but mostly I go through a finished pool of unpublished photos and randomly post 10-15. Sometimes the same shots to both Flickr and Zooomr but frequently different shots to keep it more interesting. - Thomas Hawk
I still have another 120 or so finished Chihuly shots which will be filtered in randomly over time. The 59 I chose to publish last night though were the shots that I liked the most. - Thomas Hawk
Chihuly's art is amazing. One of the first HD shows I ever saw (around 2000 as I recall) was a PBS documentary on a project he conducted in Vienna. Stunning both visually and artistically. - Jody Carbone
I saw a Chihuly exhibition in Miami a few years ago - the glass sculptures amongst the park vegetation and cacti were simply amazing. - Sally Church
Beautiful! I missed Chihuly's exhibit when it was here in Chicago at the Garfield Park Conservatory several years ago, but was able to catch it in Columbus, OH, at the conservatory there (forgot the name). Took so many pictures. :) And I'm happy that I'll be able to visit his glass museum in Tacoma this August. - Cheryl Jones
Unable to see your photos as Zooomr has been down off and on (motley off) since Sunday PM. What's the problem??? - Jeff P. Henderson
This guy tries to promote the idea of private cloud computing (@#$%) for enterprises to overcome the legal dangers due to the terms offered by companies like Amazon and Google. - Krish via Bookmarklet
What we need is Nuremberg part II. W et al need to be imprisoned for war crimes. - Victor Ganata via Alert Thingy
Impeachment is one thing, but I think we'd be legitimizing an undeclared war by prosecuting for "war crimes." (By "undeclared" I mean that it was never *legally* declared.) - Kenneth LeFebvre
It doesn't matter if a war is declared or undeclared - war crimes are war crimes. (Although I don't think that Bush should be prosecuted for war crimes. He started an unnecessary war and managed it poorly, but that's basically it.) - sebmos
Wouldn't happen. Obama is about "turning the page:" he can easily accomplish what he wants to do by simply saying "that was then, this is now." - Mark Trapp
If there is no war, then there is no "war crime." There may be crimes, but calling them "war crimes" means you are acknowledging a war that was never legally declared. And, IMO, Congress is more to blame for the "war" than Bush. They abdicated their Constitutional authority to declare war and gave the executive branch a blank check. - Kenneth LeFebvre
I'm sorry, but this is a war, and every organization will recognize that. Nobody cares that Congress didn't declare the war. The Vietnam war was a war, too, even though it wasn't declared. :: You can blame Congress for war, sure. But war itself isn't unlawful (weird, I know), and they didn't abdicate anything. Not Congress is the Commander in Chief, it's the president. It's not like this was different before the war on Iraq. - sebmos
If Bush is fair game for impeachment, so is just about every Senator and Represntative, because they all--nearly every one of them--bought the intelligence that numerous heads of state believed. The failure for going to war does not lie at Bush's feet. The failure of management is a different story; however, he's done nothing impeachable there. Yes, he's mismanaged it, but not any worse than LBJ did Viet Nam. Well, actually, the proof is in the pudding; LBJ did far worse at managing Viet Nam than Bush has Iraq. - Gregory Pittman via twhirl
I think we missed the boat on this one don't you think? I mean, he did what he did and you RE-ELECTED for crying out loud! So I don't think you can now sit here and talk about impeachment for war crimes! - Mark O'Neill
War crimes trials for all the key ringleaders of the Iraq War are in order, as well as the repeal of all neocon-engineered police state legislation enacted during the last eight years. We need to restore American democracy and fundamental constitutional principles. We also need a radical reorientation of American foreign policy around the American interest. - Sean McBride
Sean, and what candidate in the current race proposes to do that? BHO is nothing short of socialist (on the domestic policy front), and is far more interested in making friends out of enemies and making enemies out of friends on the international front. Not exactly centered "around the American interest" I'd say. McCain isn't much better, except on national security issues. At least we would be safe with JSM as President. - Gregory Pittman via twhirl
Sebmos: Congress is the ONLY authority legally allowed to declare war. The President is not allowed to do so, not withstanding his position as CINC once the war has been declared. Yes, they did abdicate their authority by delegating the authority to go to war to Bush. - Kenneth LeFebvre
Gregory: I can't imagine a policy more destructive to the American interest than getting bogged down in a holy war with the world's one billion plus Muslims -- our economic competitors in Europe, China and India would rejoice. But this is precisely the policy which John McCain's neoconservative advisers are pushing. - Sean McBride
Sean, I'm not disagreeing that war--in hindsight--was a bad idea. And, yes, it has been mismanaged. But, now that we're there, anything other than outright victory will leave us vulnerable for decades, even centuries, to come. I also find a lot of hypocrisy in tthe argument against the Iraq war. Countries were skewered for remaining silent on Darfur. But we intervene in a very similar circumstance (mass genocide by the country's leaders) in Iraq and we still get skewered. All of this has far more to do that an (R) gets appended to Bush's name than anything else. Had Clinton started this, there would be an eery silence. - Gregory Pittman via twhirl
Gregory: smart actors on the world stage know when to cut their losses -- they don't drive on further into the drink, like Hitler in Russia. We've dumped several trillions of dollars down the drain in Iraq with the result of greatly worsening our strategic situation in the Middle East. McCain's neoconservative advisers are prodding and goading him to escalate a ruinous policy, one which may well lead to the economic destruction of the United States. Are you prepared to live with $10 a gallon gas or worse? Can you imagine the effects of that development on the quality of life of most Americans? - Sean McBride
Sean: I doubt if your european economic competitors would rejoice about a holy war - we would probably get dragged into it. The world is unstable enough as it is without furthering this economic/idealogical war...I think most of europe is hoping for an obama win - I think that will be in all our interest - David W
US Presidents who have fought wars without a declaration of war? EVERY president since Truman, with the possible exception of Carter. Speakers of the House who have allowed this? All of 'em. - Ontario Emperor via fftogo
Ontario: true... but isn't "change" what everyone's asking for? - Kenneth LeFebvre
Sean, the price of gas has nothing--nothing whatsoever--to do with the war in Iraq. To argue that point is naive at best. The price of gasoline is due to failed energy restrictions on the homefront. Who has espoused such policies? Obama and those who think like him. They're wrong on the issue. They've always been wrong. I would much rather pay $10/gallon (won't happen though) than worry that at any moment I may be faced with a car bomb as I walk into a store. We will be fighting this war for the foreseeable future; I would much rather fight it over there than here. - Gregory Pittman via twhirl
I find American politics hysterical at times. Both sides using fear to intimidate the other and both sides overreacting and blowing things out of proportion. Makes it far more exciting than Canadian politics, that's for sure. - Shey
For the impact of the Iraq War on oil prices, simply do a Google search on [iraq war oil prices] and browse the top few dozen results among 14,000,000. Every time an Israeli government official or American neoconservative threatens to attack Iran, oil prices skyrocket again -- full details available with a Google search or two. Latest news today: a large number of oil contracts are being issued by the new Iraqi government to non-American companies -- some of them our most powerful economic competitors. Our current Mideast policies can most charitably be described as self-destructive -- we are making enemies of key oil-producing states. - Sean McBride
QUOTE Oil prices rose more than $3 yesterday amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran.... “The petroleum markets rebounded ... on worries that Israeli military exercises held in the first week of June might have been preparation for a strike against Iranian nuclear facilities,” said Tim Evans, energy analyst for Citi Futures Perspective in New York. Energy experts are concerned any conflict in Iran could lead to a shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway separating Iran from the Arabian Peninsula, through which roughly 40% of the world’s traded oil is shipped. - Sean McBride
Sean, I've no one in the States threaten to attack Iran. In fact, the Bush Administration has said it has no plans to do so. So your argument that such threats cause the cost of oil to skyrocket is nothing more than a straw man. Try again. Other countries (namely China) are surging in their demand for oil. Supply doesn't match demand. This is where the Democrats' energy policies fail. We're sitting on top of our own energy future. It's like telling a bucnh of hungry kids, "There's food in the pantry but we can't eat it so you have to stay hungry." Inexcusable. - Gregory Pittman via twhirl
Did we REALLY start a comment thread based on the pontifications of a JOURNALIST? So if Susan Estridge gets on Fox News tomorrow and says "If Obama wins he is going to nuke Idaho" you will all join me in denouncing Obama's "new position" on wiping Idaho off of the map even though he never articulated it himself? from the articles comment section: "Code to nation: Elect John McCain or I’ll start another freaking war!" and yet NO WHERE in the article Was Bush or any of his staff ever quoted affirming this. - Marco
The best way to deal with Bush is by letting him fade into history. Anything like impeachment will make him a martyr among the fundamentalist fools. - Krish
@Gregory: well, well, said. I like the statement of Rep. Markey (D) who said that it's a sad day in American history when we have to go begging Saudi Arabia to increase their production. As if, somehow, his party is not culpable in turning the US into an energy beggar. - Craig Eddy
"I would much rather fight it over there than here." Why do people keep repeating this nonsense? What is it about "fighting them over there" that makes them unable to fight us "over here?" - David Worrell
Gregory: there has been relentless and conspicuous pressure coming from neoconservatives closely associated with the Bush 43 administration to expand the Iraq War to Iran. See most recently remarks by Daniel Pipes and William Kristol on the subject, as well as by Norman Podhoretz and many other neocons. Whenever they imply that they they have inside information about a coming attack, and speak in the mainstream media, they are pushing the price of oil upwards. This has all been well-documented -- Google it. Financial speculators are betting on them being right. If the war actually happens (even if only Israel attacks), the price of oil will go through the roof. - Sean McBride
As @Marco pointed out, I can't believe that this thread was started by the posting about the SPECULATION of a single journalist about what President Bush MIGHT do! Give me a break! - Thomas Ho via fftogo
Pushing the price of oil ever upward: More War Drums by Neo-Cons for War with Iran http://tinyurl.com/6ptfhg "Think Progress alerted me to statements today made on Sunday TV shows by those neo-cons Bill Kristol and John Bolton to the likelihood that George Bush will attack Iran before the end of this year.
Both of them mention the greater probability of a Bush attack if it is clear that Barack Obama will win the presidency.
Bush and his group are dangerous madmen. They would just as soon start a perpetual war in the Middle East with Iran than ever use negotiation and diplomacy to resolve disputes." - Sean McBride
What would you impeach Bush on? Oh I know your pure anger at him. Yeah well that's not enough so give up! - Colide81
