TresSugar

Front Page: Thousands of Troops Quietly Sent to Afghanistan

TresSugar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:00:25 -0700

Peace activists are not happy to know that President Obama has quietly sent 34,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. That's 13,000 more than he said would go in March. - Washington Post
Governor Schwarzenegger has signed tough antipaparazzi legislation into law in California. - AP
Bernie Madoff got in a prison brawl with another senior-citizen inmate. They were fighting about the stock market. - New York Post
The Senate Finance Committee is set to vote on a crucial healthcare reform bill today. - AP
Joe Lieberman might help the White House repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell with bipartisan support. Lieberman has opposed the policy since it was introduced in 1993. - The Advocate

Say What? Nancy Pelosi Knows Her Place

TresSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:00:00 -0700

"They really don't understand how inappropriate that is. I'm in my place. I'm the Speaker of the House, the first woman Speaker of the House. And I'm in my place because the House of Representatives voted me there. But that language is something I haven't even heard in decades."

- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stood up for herself yesterday, after the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) said General Stanley McChrystal should "put her in her place" for her views about the war in Afghanistan.

The NRCC subsequently responded to Pelosi's dismissal of its loaded language saying: "She's playing out of her league and she knows it." (Um, wow.) Hopefully the NRCC can go back to disagreeing with the substance of Nancy Pelosi's opinions, instead of criticizing her for having them in the first place.

The Case For Letting Women Into Military Combat Roles

TresSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:00:00 -0700

Since 1994, American women have been able to serve in direct combat in air and sea missions, but when it comes to ground operations, they are forbidden to fully participate.

Kelly Martin, an Air Force veteran, penned an op-ed out today on the topic. She maintains that women have the physical strength and mental aptitude to serve on the ground and Kelly also believes that female soldiers offer a strategic advantage. She wrote:

Women military personnel also offer a capability that their male counterparts lack: the ability to interact with Iraqi and Afghan women and girls. The potential for human-intelligence gathering as well as relationship building in more closed cultures cannot be underestimated.

Other countries, like New Zealand, Canada, France, Norway, Israel, and Switzerland, let women serve in combat roles. Do you think it's time that the US lets its women fight along the men, too?

Would You Travel to Afghanistan?

TresSugar — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:00:00 -0700

Afghanistan traditionally has a reputation as an unfriendly (to say the least) place for women and it also happens to be a war zone - but that's not stopping the country from attempting to be a tourist destination.

As tourist information centers pop up in Afghanistan's central Bamilyan valley, tour guides and restaurant owners are being trained in the art of customer service.

The country hopes to attract adventurous spirits to the history-rich country. Afghanistan used to be a regular stop for backpackers back in the 1960s. Attractions include: tea houses, cliff caverns, remnants of Buddha statutes, a national park, hiking trails, and preserved ancient cities.

Would you take a chance to see the beauty and experience a completely different culture?

Briefing Book! Does Public Have Right to See Soldier Coffins?

LibertySugar — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:30:36 -0800

War: An Iraqi Freedom vet makes the case for lifting embargo on flag-draped coffins coming back from war. - Huffington Post
Taxes: Kansas is the latest state to suspend tax refunds. - Donklephant
Obama's Elf: Check out a fun 19-second animated pun featuring the president's reluctant elf. - Boing Boing
Cheney: Dick Cheney (unsuccessfully) lobbied President Bush to pardon Scooter Libby in the waning days of the presidency. - Wonkette
Cell Phones: Cell phone companies pushing for smart phones in the classroom. - Good

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Water Is the New Oil: Could There Be Wars For Water?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:05:00 -0800

Theoretically enough water exists for everyone on the planet, yet all too often it is in the wrong place at the wrong time and in the wrong amounts. And there is no shortage of humanitarian crises when this happens.

Half the world's population lives in countries where water is scarce. Lack of it and ineffective sanitation are largely blamed for the death of 11 million children under age five; the hunger of one billion people; the inadequate food and nutrition of two billion; and 60 million girls kept out of school each year.

Water scarcity causes tension and is increasingly seen as a threat to peace, making it the new, new oil. It's blamed for causing disease, hunger, and mass migration. Many believe conflict is inevitable, and the secretary of the United Nations has even predicted "water wars."

While it makes sense that people would fight for their most precious resource, so far there has been only one war, between Sudan and Egypt, over it. Marq de Villiers, author of The Water Wars, believes this is because countries are more likely to help each when it comes to water, a necessity of life. "You cannot do without water," he said, "when shortages pinch, states do cooperate and compromise."

Will goodwill run out when the water does? Is war for water inevitable?

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Guard the Nukes! Rate of Nuclear Thefts Disturbingly High

LibertySugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:00:45 -0700

Almost 250 thefts of nuclear or radioactive material were reported last year. The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency explained this week: “The possibility of terrorists obtaining nuclear or other radioactive material remains a grave threat. Equally troubling is the fact that much of this material is not subsequently recovered.”

Experts say health consequences of a dirty bomb are minimal compared to the panic that it would cause. But, there's no need to panic quite yet -all the material stolen last year combined would not be enough to build a device.

Last week, a new commission created by Australia and Japan to bring together officials from nuclear powers and other interested parties, met to discuss the spread of nuclear weapons since the Cold War. In 2009, the commission will meet again in Washington, DC to push for the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, a treaty that still awaits US ratification.

Hopefully, other crises like the financial or climate crises don't cause world leaders to take their eyes off this dangerous issue.

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International Flotilla, Maybe Mercenaries, to Take on Pirates!

LibertySugar — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 09:00:23 -0700

Warships from 10 countries are joining together to take on some of the world's most dangerous, and successful, pirates. (Can you say "arrrrrrrr" in 10 languages?) Not even the presence of US military vessels is enough to prevent these hijackers from seizing commerce ships, grabbing booting, and demanding ransoms.

Since 250 international ships use the pirate-infested waters to move goods each day, the world's trading powers worry that it could be too expensive to conduct business. The pirates also pose a threat of increased terrorism, as they use their proceeds, as much as $30 million this year, to fund more crime and extremist groups.

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But officials in Somalia, which has a weak central government, have little faith in the flotilla. To see who they might hire to fight the pirates, read more.

An adviser to the Somalian president said: "I don't think they will succeed in their attempt to scare away pirates, Bringing warships will not solve the problem unless they cooperate with local administrations affected by the scourge." Well guess who the Somalia government is thinking of bringing in? Mercenaries. And the paid-fighters from none other than Blackwater, the company at the center of scandals in Iraq, have volunteered to do the job.

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Has the Peace Sign Sold Out Its Meaning?

CitizenSugar — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 06:00:57 -0700

I remember drawing them on my notebook during the first Gulf War and not really knowing what they meant - and now the peace sign is turning the big 5-0. The famous symbol made its first official public appearance in 1958 to advocate nuclear disarmament, and has since been used to graphically support a range of efforts from economic justice to environmentalism. Nearly every altruistic group has used this iconic logo as a way to communicate the idea of universal brotherhood.

The designer of the symbol, Gerald Holtom, created the logo while in a big funk. He explains the symbol: “I was in despair. Deep despair. I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards . . .” (I never saw that until I read this, but now it makes sense!) Holtom died in 1985, and some say if he had lived this long, he might really understand the true meaning of the word “despair."

How has a simple symbol morphed from a cry for help to a price tag? To see how, read more.

In a time of conflict and relative prosperity, like many things the peace sign has become a commodity. For those with some bucks to blow advertising their quest for peace, Tiffany is hawking a platinum and diamond peace symbol pendant to celebrate the symbol's creation. The pendant holds 4.8 carats of round-cut diamonds and costs $4,000. It makes one wonder what kind of good that money could do someone whose life was really torn by war. Tiffany isn't the only company using what could be the world’s most recognizable cry for understanding to make a profit. The peace sign has adorned everything from Fendi bags to Volkswagen cards and Ed Hardy t-shirts.

Of course, there are those who cry "poppycock!" After all, it’s just a symbol (and one free from copyright protection), and is free to be interpreted by anyone, from a clothing designer, jeweler, or a car manufacturer. Plus, won’t more exposure of the “brand” give it even more power? Simon Doonan, creative director at Barney’s British, thinks so:

Sure, it’s probably not what the hippies had in mind, for it to become a marketing campaign for a department store. But it’s a symbol of the mainstream of counter-culture ideas, of things that were part of the alternative lifestyle - like environmentalism, and organic food. Isn’t that ultimately what the hippies would have wanted?

Perhaps, though the worry remains that the only power the symbol is going to gain is purchasing power. Is the peace sign on the verge of being played out? Does a peace sign done in $4,000 worth of diamonds still mean the same thing?

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Vintage War Propaganda Posters - Are We Repeating History?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:00:25 -0700

World Wars I and II left us with not only a global landscape changed forever politically and historically, but two of the biggest events in the 20th century left us with a wealth of propaganda artifacts that almost tell the story better than any history book. Some of the themes championed in these beautifully designed posters of food conservation, using resources carefully, sticking with the service no matter what, and encouraging women to do their part sound like wildly familiar themes today. I mean, carpooling! As applicable as some of the sentiments may be, of course the rampant use of racist images to dehumanize the enemy renders some of the images shocking to a modern eye. Though decidedly different than the wars that left us these posters, we are still in wartime. We might not see propaganda campaigns like these posters, but you might not have to look too hard to see the same kinds of appeals to fear, appeals to prejudice, and bandwagon methods of getting the word out today. Take a look at propaganda gone by and see what looks familiar.

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