Big Lie

Costly Iraq war left U.S. no stronger in Middle East

"The US-led invasion of Iraq overthrew a dictator, but 10 years on the war is seen to have destabilized the Middle East, exposed the limits of military power and left America no stronger than before. With US forces having withdrawn after the deaths of almost 4,500 American troops and an estimated $1 trillion outlay, there is little soul-searching in Washington today about a war that has faded from public consciousness. And 10 years after the 'shock and awe' that launched Operation Iraqi Freedom, removing Saddam Hussein from power, most analysts and diplomats agree the Iraq war did nothing to improve the US position in the Middle East." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCostly Iraq war left U.S. no stronger in Middle East

MI6 and CIA were told before invasion that Iraq had no active WMD, claims new documentary

"British and US intelligence agencies were informed by top sources months before the invasion that Iraq had no active WMD programme, and the information was not passed to subsequent inquiries. Naji Sabri, Saddam's foreign minister, told the CIA's station chief in Paris at the time, Bill Murray, through an intermediary that Iraq had 'virtually nothing' in terms of WMD. Three months before the war an MI6 officer met Iraq's head of intelligence, Tahir Habbush al-Tikriti, who also said that Saddam had no active WMD. The meeting in the Jordanian capital took place days before the British government published its now widely discredited Iraqi weapons dossier in September 2002." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMI6 and CIA were told before invasion that Iraq had no active WMD, claims new documentary

MI6 and CIA were told before invasion that Iraq had no active WMD, claims new documentary

"British and US intelligence agencies were informed by top sources months before the invasion that Iraq had no active WMD programme, and the information was not passed to subsequent inquiries. Naji Sabri, Saddam's foreign minister, told the CIA's station chief in Paris at the time, Bill Murray, through an intermediary that Iraq had 'virtually nothing' in terms of WMD. Three months before the war an MI6 officer met Iraq's head of intelligence, Tahir Habbush al-Tikriti, who also said that Saddam had no active WMD. The meeting in the Jordanian capital took place days before the British government published its now widely discredited Iraqi weapons dossier in September 2002." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMI6 and CIA were told before invasion that Iraq had no active WMD, claims new documentary

Stossel: No Regulation? No Problem

"Private companies found they could 'crowd-source' enforcement against fraud and low-quality products, in much the same way that Wikipedia discovered an encyclopedia could be created without a central organizer. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales tells me that method 'works far better than the top-down system that it replaced.' We almost always assume that top-down government regulation is necessary, even though history says otherwise." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStossel: No Regulation? No Problem

Stop Fooling Ourselves: Americans Can’t Afford the Future

"Simply continuing along the status quo is a vote for digging ourselves deeper as the constraints of the future arrive. Behavior change is necessary in order to improve our chances. At the core of the needed change is redefining prosperity. In modern society, it has largely come to be defined by material possessions, usually assuming that the more (and the more expensive), the better. In the future, we'd do much better to define it by: our health (both physical and emotional), our purpose, our ability to meet our needs sustainably, our relationships, our level of happiness. In sum, all things that were once valued much higher in our culture." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStop Fooling Ourselves: Americans Can’t Afford the Future

Gold Rises, Dollar Rises, Stocks Fall: The Cyprus Disaster Begins

"Over the weekend, Eurozone bureaucrats at a closed meeting came up with a plan. The committee demanded that the government of Cyprus impose a tax of 3% on all bank accounts under $130,000, and close to 10% on all accounts over $130,000. If the government refuses, the Eurozone will not provide a $13 billion bailout for the banks of Cyprus. The story is all over the European press, for good reason. The Eurocrats had always said that bank accounts would be sacrosanct. This announcement says, 'We lied.' But they also assured depositors that this will never happen again. 'Trust us.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold Rises, Dollar Rises, Stocks Fall: The Cyprus Disaster Begins

Believe a Politician and You Will Lose Your Money

"The president of Cyprus assured voters that he would never, ever tax their bank accounts. Now he says the government must do this. Any voter who heard this assurance should have gone to his bank immediately and withdrawn half of his money. Then he should have sent another 40% to a German bank. The other 10% he might have left in his bank to meet existing expenses. Anyone who left all of his money in the bank was a fool. He trusted the head of the country." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBelieve a Politician and You Will Lose Your Money

Conspiracy Theories vs. the Religion of Democracy

"The proponents of any conspiracy view of historical events are pariahs in academia. That is because these theories get close to the truth, namely, that mass democracy has not prevented special-interest messianic groups from seeking political power and wealth as ways to re-shape mankind. These groups exercise power behind many thrones. They are not pro-democracy. They are not pro-free market. They are men in search of ways to achieve what they want: a new humanity. They will use money and politics to attain this goal. The best way to overcome a conspiracy is to take away its leverage: political power in defense of the existing distribution of wealth." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingConspiracy Theories vs. the Religion of Democracy

Lawmakers ‘unjustifiably focus’ on illicit drugs rather than alcohol: report

"Alcohol is at least as harmful as illicit drugs, according to Jan van Amsterdam of the Laboratory for Health Protection Research in the Netherlands and psychiatrist Wim van den Brink at the University of Amsterdam. In their report, van Amsterdam and van den Brink call for a 'more balanced drug policy' that focuses on harm reduction and doesn’t neglect alcohol abuse. Significant discrepancies exist between the scientifically-established harms associated with recreational drugs and their legal status. Two of the most harmful drugs, tobacco and alcohol, are legal, but less harmful drugs like marijuana and LSD are prohibited." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLawmakers ‘unjustifiably focus’ on illicit drugs rather than alcohol: report

Study: Depenalizing Drug Possession Associated With Lower Youth Drug Consumption

"An investigator from Purdue University in Indiana assessed the association between drug laws and drug consumption patterns in a representative survey of 15,191 adolescents aged 15-24 years from various European nations. The study reports, '[R]emoving criminal penalties [for controlled substances] does not necessitate a higher number of users compared to countries with penalties, and the former actually have comparatively lower usage. In fact, higher possession offenses are associated with greater drug use.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStudy: Depenalizing Drug Possession Associated With Lower Youth Drug Consumption