June 18, 2014

Glenn Beck: 'Liberals, You Were Right' About Iraq War

Snip>

"From the beginning, most people on the left were against going into Iraq. I wasn’t.... Liberals, you were right. We shouldn’t have."

Beck made this surprising declaration on his radio show on Tuesday while discussing the widening rift between Republicans and Democrats. He urged both parties to come together to oppose another war in Iraq.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/17/glenn-beck-iraq-war_n_5505424.html

June 18, 2014

National Geographic - Half-Million Iraqis Died in the War, Study Says

Published October 15, 2013

Snip> The survey responses point to around 405,000 deaths attributable to the war and occupation in Iraq from 2003 to 2011. At least another 56,000 deaths should be added to that total from households forced to flee Iraq, the study authors estimate. More than 60 percent of the excess deaths of men, women, and children reported from 2003 to 2011 were the direct result of shootings, bombings, airstrikes, or other violence, according to the study. The rest came indirectly, from stress-related heart attacks or ruined sanitation and hospitals.


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131015-iraq-war-deaths-survey-2013/?rptregcta=reg_free_np&rptregcampaign=20131016_rw_membership_r1p_us_se_w#

June 17, 2014

Jon Stewart - Who Cares About Iraq Opinions of People Who Got the 'F*cking Thing' Wrong?!

#t=181

June 17, 2014

The fact that N. Iraq fell so easily shows that part of Iraq was never won

What Republican's are suggesting is that having American's there to make sure the Sunni's would fight the ISIS Sunni's coming in from the North, would make everything just dandy. Never mind Iraq told us to get the troops out. But to be clear NO! It would be like a fucking bandage on an open, severely infected wound. They might have stood and reluctantly fought or maybe not? They might have turned on our troops especially since Iraqi Sunni's probably told ISIS the door was open. Still, the underlying problem (Sunni's and Shiites hating one another and Sunni's wanting more control) was there simmering, ready to boil over at any time, with or without American troops in the area.

Someone on DU suggested this was 90% Bush's fault and maybe 10% Obama's fault. Sorry, but it was zero percent Obama's fault. If a country won't stand together on it's own, the war was NEVER won in the first place. It was just in remission and the fact is we simply can't be there forever. This is not like Japan and Germany where the people are all one religion and like one another. It's a cluster fuck and cluster fucks should be avoided at all costs as we found out in Vietnam and again in Iraq. The Shiites are going to have to win this back and reach out to the Sunni's. Once they do that, then maybe the Sunni's will be willing to fight for Iraq, but until then N. Iraq and perhaps most of Iraq remains a powder cake. Putting American soldiers there to smother a simmering rebellion just drags out the conflict to a later date. It does NOTHING to end a civil war and bring peoples together.

June 17, 2014

TYT - John McCain On Iraq: We Won And Obama Ruined It

June 16, 2014

What Book had the biggest influence on you?

For me, it was probably 'The Book Your Church Doesn't Want You To Read' first published in 1993. http://www.amazon.com/Book-Your-Church-Doesnt-Want/dp/0939040158/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402950258&sr=1-1&keywords=the+book+your+church+doesn%27t+want+you+to+read

I learned all about the European Enlightenment, free thought and how many other religions that preceded Christianity, taught the same stuff and had the same stories first. I had been taking an interest in Christianity before finding this book and it quickly turned me away from Christianity and into a free thinker. I didn't just take everything it said for granted either. It motivated me to do a lot more research into ancient religions and philosophies.

Not that I don't think the Bible has anything to offer. Big fan of many of the things Jesus taught and if those things moved Hillary then I don't have a problem with that as long as she understands as Jefferson did that they are "Diamond's in a dunghill".

Your turn!

June 16, 2014

LMAO! George Takei's Sean Hannity Photo!

https://www.facebook.com/georgehtakei/photos/a.737221629640626.1073741825.205344452828349/861801060516015/?type=1

June 16, 2014

A Grande And A Degree: Starbucks To Send Employees To College For Free

Employees at every Starbucks in the country will be able to enroll in Arizona State University’s online program for free starting next season.

According to Arizona Central, the Starbucks College Achievement Plan will allow the coffee giant’s 135,000 employees to graduate with no debt or any requirement to stay with the company afterwards.

Employees who work at least 20 hours a week and enroll as juniors or seniors will have their entire tuition paid back.

Those who enroll in ASU’s online program as freshmen or sophomores will receive government and university scholarships valued at about $6,500, making courses for the most part free.


More: http://elitedaily.com/news/world/a-grande-and-a-degree-starbucks-to-send-employees-to-college-for-free/632869/

June 15, 2014

NPR - 4 Key Things To Know About The Islamist Surge In Iraq

The extremist Islamist group ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, shocked the world this week by conquering the northern city of Mosul, one of Iraq's largest cities and home to some 2 million people.

ISIS is also a key player in the Syrian civil war, fighting both the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and more moderate rebel forces.

The group is made of Syrian, Iraqi and foreign fighters who slide back and forth between the two countries for attacks on opponents or to take safe haven in the territory they control. Mosul is by far their biggest conquest yet.

Here are several key things to know about the ISIS offensive:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/06/12/321376130/four-key-things-to-know-about-the-islamist-surge-in-iraq

June 14, 2014

ISIS’s Secret Allies - The Daily Beast

In summary, ex-Saddamites, tribal councils, and other militants are helping ISIS but once all the fighting is over they will probably start to fight one another. So why don't we just let them destroy themselves and stay out of it? Or if we do get involved, use spy's to create tensions between the different groups involved?



Snip> Hassan, who has been observing ISIS said, “It is expected that ISIS would try to impose itself, considering that it brands itself as a state and that it alone has the legitimacy to rule.”

“The group’s propensity for imposing its will regardless of the consequences will likely lead to confrontation and clashes with other groups,” he said. “The offensive was planned together but that does not mean the old rivalries will not come up again. It is very likely that rivalry will lead to clashes.”

War can be a centrifugal force, pulling together disparate groups who share a common enemy. It’s after the heat of battle when it comes time to divvy up the spoils and work out power sharing arrangements, that yesterday’s allies turn on each other.

“That’s where jihadi groups have always failed in the past,” said Fishman. “ISIS has built a military coalition,” he said “at this point they haven’t fully demonstrated it can be a governing coalition. If this crumbles in the near term it won’t be because Baghdad gets it act together but from the coalition coming apart.”


http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/13/isis-s-secret-allies.html