Progressive Conservatism Radio: New Year's Eve Special

This is the best show we’ve done yet. All of the songs and sounds worked the way they were supposed to. Changing the volume made a huge difference. Aside from having little to no technical difficulties, I can always tell when it’s a good show when the topics flow from one to the other and it feels like we’re both having a great time. We also finally had a caller (my uncle) who was able to contribute to the show instead of derail it, which was a nice change of pace.

I was very serious about next year when I said that the effort I was putting into my blog and reviewing books would be better placed in making the radio show as good as could be. I will continue to write but the main thrust of efforts will be in the show, at least for the near future.

Have a safe New Years Eve and be sure to tune in next Sunday for the first of show of 2007 which is sure to be chock full of interesting news and chicken noises.

Monologue: Update on Somalia/Economic News

Somali PM's hometown victory only first step

Housing, energy key to economic outlook

Euro increasingly gaining global currency

Iran 'facing disaster' over collapsing fuel exports

Kids and Drugs

Teens turn to cough syrup to get high, feds say

Bucgaw Report

FDA seeks public comment on cloned food safety

PC College

The Dirty Dozen: America’s Most Bizarre and Politically Correct College Courses

Good Riddance: Video of Saddam Hussein Being Executed

Housework cuts breast cancer risk

As the man once said, this is one of those blog posts that blogs itself. Now some may think I'm about to go into a rant against wives here, my wife even. No, not today. To me this story speaks to a greater issue, feminism. You see, we have all of these pseudo-intellectual women who have gone way past the idea that women should have the right to work and earn a fair wage and have been demanding that society forget all of the inherent differences between men and women completely. At one point they were so successful at this tact that it took Time Magazine to write an article affirming that, yes Josephine, there are in fact distinct differences between men and women...whoda thunk it?

So going back to our good friends, the intellectual collegiate feminists (man haters), here we have a group of people saying that if a woman does any housework, any at all, she is supporting a patriarchal society in which women are second class citizens to men. Now we live in a world where outside of cooking (maybe) nobody wants to clean up around the house...and I mean nobody. Men don't want to vaccuum or do the laundry because mommy used to do it and they haven't figured out yet (unless they've served in the military) that the washing machine won't kill them. Women don't want to do it because they're depressed. Many don't really want to work but have been taught that a meaningful life is one where she does work despite the inner desire to (perish the thought) be a housewife.

It also doesn't help that we've been taught that housework and childcare aren't real jobs when in fact they are probably the most important job of all.

Logic and common sense won't undo the damage that Marxist inspired feminism has wrought against the last few generations of women but maybe science will. I hope this story gets lots of coverage and women begin to spend less time at the gym and more time helping clean the house.

BTW, if I may be so bold...since I've gotten married, I've done quite a bit of housework myself. I do the laundry, sweep the floors, vaccuum, take out the trash and recyclables and occassionally clean the garage. Every other weekend I also mow the lawn and if I get to it, pull weeds. I don't know about cancer but I will say that when I'm engaged in housework, I don't need to hit the treadmill as there is plenty of exercise inherent in the work I'm doing. As a matter of fact, any weight I've lost since the wedding has been because of that and eating less and not because of anything else (though I'm sure playing rugby helps). My point is that though this article focuses on women and cancer, doing housework can also help men stay reasonably fit as well.

Women who exercise by doing the housework can reduce their risk of breast cancer, a study suggests.
The research on more than 200,000 women from nine European countries found doing household chores was far more cancer protective than playing sport.

Dusting, mopping and vacuuming was also better than having a physical job.

The women in the Cancer Research UK-funded study spent an average of 16 to 17 hours a week cooking, cleaning and doing the washing.

Experts have long known that physical exercise can reduce the risk of breast cancer, probably through hormonal and metabolic changes.

But it has been less clear how much and what types of exercise are necessary for this risk reduction.

And much of past work has examined the link between exercise and breast cancer in post-menopausal women only.

The latest study looked at both pre- and post-menopausal women and a range of activities, including work, leisure and housework.

All forms of physical activity combined reduced the breast cancer risk in post-menopausal women, but had no obvious effect in pre-menopausal women.

Chores protected

Out of all of the activities, only housework significantly reduced the risk of both pre- and post-menopausal women getting the disease.

Housework cut breast cancer risk by 30% among the pre-menopausal women and 20% among the post-menopausal women.

The women were studied over an average of 6.4 years, during which time there were 3,423 cases of breast cancer.

The international authors said their results suggested that moderate forms of physical activity, such as housework, may be more important than less frequent but more intense recreational physical activity in reducing breast cancer risk.

Dr Lesley Walker of Cancer Research UK said: "We already know that women who keep a healthy weight are less likely to develop breast cancer.

"This study suggests that being physically active may also help reduce the risk and that something as simple and cheap as doing the housework can help."

He recommend that men and women take regular exercise and maintain a healthy body weight to help prevent cancer.

The research is published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention.

A Very Progressive Conservatism Chistmas (Late Edition)

The holidays are quite good at messing up a man's schedule. We did the show the afternoon of Christmas Eve and as soon as it was over I had other things to do to get ready for a Christmas roadtrip with my family and I couldn't post the show notes right away. But here it is now, better late than never.

The show went well. John and I have a good flow and we can catch each other going to long with segments so we don't go overboard with any one subject. The beauty of cell phone text messages is that we can send each other production notes while the show is going full blast.

The first half of the show always seems to go by too quickly with the monologue, theme musics (which finally worked more or less properly) and the first 1 or 2 serious bits. I usually start to panic at about 1:00 PM because we still have lots of show to do and we're running out of time to do it. That's what happened with the Liquid Coal bit and somewhat with Ahmadinejad and the Miss USA twitter. We go really long in the beginning and then I have to give the bums rush to later segments. Though I figure it this way, I can introduce the information to people and if they want to learn more, they can look it up just as I did.

Lastly, some of the feedback I got was that it sounds like I'm insulting my audience when I say nobody cares about Iran. Here's the thing, I realize that many average people who pay attention to the news do in fact know about Iran...but that pales in comaparison to the MSM who happens to take the lions share of attention in the news business. When I say nobody, I mean them and the average American who isn't paying attention to the news at all. People listening to my show probably to do know and should not take offense because I didn't mean you per se. By the by, if you think I'm bad, you should listen to Michael Savage on the radio who screams at his audience on a daily basis.

The other issue is the song I played at the end. My wife questioned what news reports about MLK and Vietnam had to do with Iraq and some others asked me if I knew that Silent Night by Simon and Garfunkle was a protest song. The answer to the latter is yes. As for the relevance, I explained before I played the song that I felt it represented how the media is marring the job the soldiers are doing in Iraq and for me the song was symbolic of that. I wanted to pay tribute to the troops while expressing my distaste for their treatment by the media. Maybe it didn't come off that way but that was my intention.

Here the links from the show:

Time's person of the year
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569514,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570707,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/personoftheyear/2006/people/

BUCGAW REPORT
A faulty gene responsible for causing inherited blindness in chickens could hold the key to understanding not only blindness but also heart disease, diabetes...
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=59198
http://www.moneyweb.co.za/blogs/community_blog/527416.htm

Liquid Coal
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061217/bs_nm/coal_fuel_dc_1
http://energy.seekingalpha.com/article/22719
http://www.liquidcoal.com

Deuchbag of the Week
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/ELLISON_QURAN?SITE=MABOC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-12-20-18-36-29

Iran vs. Miss Universe
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3342489,00.html
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/20/061220094102.ixs3bo81.html
http://www.accesshollywood.com/news/ah3204.shtml
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/20/earlyshow/leisure/celebspot/main2284784.shtml

Kucinichwatch
http://www.nytimes.com/cq/2006/12/15/cq_2044.html

(sorry, don't have time this week to link properly)

Recycle Guys and holiday waste

Ahmadineajd: Iran now nuclear power (oh great)

I don't know what's more disappointing, the fact that it has come to this or the fact that I've been trying to stay on top of this story for the last 2 years and when it finally happens that they have nuclear fuel, I get scooped by friggin Drudge.

Look, I don't have time to get into a whole big thing on this now as I'm sure that the MSM will cover this in totum, or as in totum as they are capable (see when North Korea exploded a nuclear device).

My thought on this are the following:

1) The government more than likely knew before the story got out that this was about to happen, which prompted them to build of forces in the Persian Gulf.

2) They have every intention of going through the bombing campaign of Iranian nuclear sites in the new year. The UN draft sanctions are too little too late.

3) When Iran is attacked, Venezuela will commence with diverting the oil they sell to us to China, which will result in our economy going into a depression.

4) The only other option is that we'll do nothing, Hezbollah (that's a terrorist organization Mr. Reyes) will explode a nuclear device in Tel Aviv and Iran will declare plausable deniability.

Folks, it's not looking good out there. Remember, a day or so ago Ahamadinejad made an ominous declaration that the US, UK and Israel would disappear. The next thing we know they have nuclear fuel. Now I'm not in the intelligence community or anything but I think it's pretty obvious what this means.

Iran is now a "nuclear power," its President, Mahmoud Ahamdinejad, delcared Wednesday, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.

During a speech delivered in the Western Iranian province of Javanroud, Ahmadinejad said: " The Islamic Republic of Iran is now a nuclear power, thanks to the hard work of the Iranian people and authorities."

The announcement of Iran as a "nuclear power" is bound to significantly escalate tensions between the West and Iran, and marks a dramatic stage in the Islamic Republic's nuclear campaign.

In recent days, the US military has begun to build up forces around the Gulf, in what is being seen as as a warning to Iran.

Ahmadinejad was also reported to have announced that "Iranian young scientists reached the zenith of science and technology and gained access to the nuclear fuel cycle without the help of big powers."

The Iranian president began the speech by saying that "the powerful Iranian nation resists bullying powers and will defend its rights, including the right to pursue peaceful nuclear technology," the IRNA said.

In a clear rejection of all diplomatic attempts to prevent Iran from going nuclear, Ahmadinejad added in his speech that "the Iranian nation will continue in its nuclear path powerfully and will celebrate a nuclear victory soon."

The IRNA said Ahmadinejad was in Javanroud for a three-day tour along with members of his cabinet.

Even in the Future Nothing Works

This was a frustrating past few days. The Sunday show had to be postponed because the Blog Talk Radio network went down; my wife kept me up all night with Christmas stuff and so by the time we got to Monday night I was half tired, not to mention that seconds before we went live, the music we uploaded disappeared temporarily. I know in showbiz you are supposed to go with the flow, which I tried to do bit wow, am I annoyed.

On top of which, the show has about a 10 minute delay at the beginning where I was testing the sounds and didn’t think I was on the air, but apparently I was. As near as I can tell, the network started recording me before my scheduled time, which not only includes the sound test but also me going to the bathroom – color me embarassed. If you listen to the show, bare with it, for a while, eventually things go right.

Despite all of the technical difficulties the music did play and the show did go on. Overall it was a good show. Last week’s numbers hit an all time high and according to the Host Liason of Blog Talk Radio, I’m one of the more listened to shows, so things are looking pretty good and hopefully, even on a different night, the numbers will continue to be high.

Here are the segments:

monologue

Toys for Tots and a Moral Dillemma

Somalia Vs Ethiopia

Somalia: 200 Government-Deserted Soldiers Unite With Islamists

America Hates Kids

4-Year-Old Accused of Sexual Harassment

Sex innuendo under the tree, over the punch bowl Younger girls, more focused on fashion, drawn to Barbie, Bratz dolls

chicken

USDA reports decline in broiler eggs

Reyes

Reporter's Questions About Islam Put Intelligence Chair on the Spot

Incidentally, through the entire sound test, the music worked just fine and had I known I was being recorded, I would have started the show with that knowledge.

An Avid Book Readers Lament and Christmas Suggestions

As you might know if you are familiar with my writing, I am an ardent reader with an appetite for knowledge that rivals the average sumo wrestler at an all-you-can-eat sushi buffet. After 9/11 I got rid of my video game system and started buying books about terrorism and the Middle East, not to mention many of the political pundit-type books available at the time.

As time went on, I shifted my reading habits from strictly political and related to the War on Terror to all manner of topics including but not limited to business books, environmental/health, energy, sociological, technological and a whole host of everything non-fiction in between.

Though I graduated from Fordham University in 2004 with a MA in social work, I’ve since (up until I got married and time for intellectual pursuits became a fleeting temptress) I’ve even spent a period of months, usually over the summer, concentrating on specific subjects I decided to teach myself such as the complete history of Christianity and the history of post-Communist Revolution Russia.

Along the way I’ve come across some fabulous writers whom I’ve become a big fan of such as Jared Diamond, Rodney Stark, Edwin Black and Charles Pellegrino. Usually after I read a book by any of the above authors I run around to everyone I know and tell them about said book. I typically gush with swooning girlie delight about how great these books are and how much I’ve learned from them.

That’s how I got started reviewing books for a quasi-living. I would read a book a week and it was nothing to bang out a review for each book and publish it where I could. For a while there I was even getting paid for it. However, after this summer my new life as a married man caught up with me and the pace at which I read books slowed down to maybe a book every other week if not more. The reviews for said books suffered as well, especially since I started doing the radio show.

Occasionally I’ll still get sent a book by publishing house or author and then I’m compelled to read and review that book, putting off whatever reading I was doing just for the sheer joy of it. All of this led me to decide that instead of shirking said reviews or trying to write a ton of them before the end of the year, I would simply just give a number of short reviews for the last few books I’ve read.

A View from the Cheap Seats: Advice and Opinions on Life's Little Issues...from a Kid by Ryan Latimer

I was considerably remiss by not reviewing this book when it was originally sent to me a few months ago. In and of itself, its existence is a remarkable feat. It is advice book written by fellow 411 columnist and self-proclaimed “kid” Ryan Latimer. I’ll give this young man credit, he’s done one thing in his short life that I’ve yet to do by 30 and that is write his own book. That alone should inspire people to read it. It is not every day a youngling from Battle Creek Michigan bucks the system and does something so completely unorthodox as write an advice books.

It’s an interesting dynamic because in this day and age, the 18 – 35 age bracket is the most sought after market yet nobody gives a damn what any of said people actually think or say (unless you follow the blogs). As someone right in the middle of that market, Ryan is keenly in touch and able to speak sophisticatedly to said demographic. Latimer covers politics, health and eating, mental health, deleterious media influences, and a host of other issues relevant to my generation and those younger than us. Latimer speaks in a familiar voice that is both wise as it is familiar.

If you are looking for that special something in the bookstore for your loved one but Dr. Phil is not exactly your bag, I would highly recommend, “A View From Cheap Seats” by Ryan Latimer.

The Battle for Azeroth: Adventure, Alliance, and Addiction in the World of Warcraft Edited by Bill Fawcett

This is yet another neglected title given to me to review by 411Mania. I actually really liked this title a lot. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book I reviewed from this series, “The Psychology of the Simpsons” and though I don’t play World of Warcraft, I do know people who do and I was more than a mite curious as to what all the fuss was about.

My first introduction to the world of on-line role-playing games was when I asked a friend of mine innocently enough, “I’ve played Civilization and I really liked it, do you think I would enjoy EverQuest as well?” He answered, “Dear God no! Don’t do it. You’re already too addicted to video games…there’s a reason they call it EverCrack!”

That’s the essence of “The Battle for Azeroth.” It is an all encompassing guide, complete with the history of multi-player on-line role playing games, to explain why people play this thing, how they get addicted, what are the in’s and out’s of the WOW subculture and just what kind of dork plays this game in the first place.

Just like the other books in the BenBella series, it’s an anthology of different essays, written in a myriad of styles that tackle varying subjects. That’s the first section. The second section is strictly a player’s guide. I was much more interested in the first section but if you are an avid player, I would imagine that the second section would be indispensable.

I’ve already gone and forwarded a copy of this book to one of my friends who is both a psychology major as well as a gamer and of WOW. I would heartily suggest buying this for your favorite role-playing geek, if you can get them off the computer for any great length of time.

Shopportunity!: How to Be a Retail Revolutionary by Kate Newlin

I spoke about this book briefly on my radio show. I found this gem in the business and marketing section of my local chain bookstore. I was a bit leery when I picked it up at first but my wife standing right behind me and had demanded that I buy a book from some place other than the Current Events or Politics section. “Shopportunity!” is a unique idea in that it focuses solely on the value of the shopping experience itself.

Newlin put into words something I had been feeling for quite some time but never really knew just what it was I was feeling. As I stated on my talk show, when I was on the hunt for certain kinds of comic books or record albums, there was an inherent joy or thrill of the hunt as I took road trips to select stores in order to purchase my desired plunder. This was opposed to the complete lack of joy or thrills from finding the same items at any BestBuy or Tower Record’s or whatever chain store happened to be within a 20-mile radius of my house. Newlin examines just how normal both of these feelings are and the shopping experience has devolved into simply a race to the bottom in both prices and service.

Now gentlemen, maybe you have that special someone who loves to shop and more to the point, that special someone also likes to read. Other than a diamond bought with blood money and the life of a faceless African, the perfect gift for your honey bunny is simply “Shopportunity!” by Kate Newlin.

Internal Combustion: How Corporations And Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives by Edwin Black



This is probably in my top ten for the year. It’s a featured book in my Progressive Conservatism University On-Line Store and it is one that I bought and read almost immediately instead of shoving in my to-be-read drawer like I normally do. Edwin Black attracted me to his work with his stellar non-fiction piece about eugenics in America, “War Against the Weak.” However, this is his most ambitious and timely work to date.

There are at least a million books about oil and why we should not be so dependant on it. What makes this one stand out is it strictly about how American corporations and their cronies in government scuttled the electric car 100 years ago and purposely stuck us with oil dependency (thank you Rockefeller). It’s the most comprehensive and informative book on the subject of oil addiction and the automobile industry to date. Black spells out very plainly that we could have had the electric car at the turn of the 20th century, even before the advent of the internal combustion engine. He shows the reader how we lost it through a series of unfortunate and sometime ludicrous events. Much like the documentary about how we lost the modern electric car in the 90’s, consumer stupidity was as much to blame as corporate shortsightedness. Government was the lackey here.

Black ends the book with a chapter on hydrogen cars that adds to the list of people advising against dependence on this red herring technology. Black, a journalist by trade, is in the tank for electric and explains in vivid detail why he is an advocate for reclaiming this highly usable technology.

For your conspiracy theorist, anti-Republican, or just automotive history buff, this Christmas, give him or her the gift of knowledge, buy them one of the best books on the market today, “Internal Combustion,” by Edwin Black.

…and finally

High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics, and Human Health by Elizabeth Grossman

After I read “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” I ran around announcing that there was corn in everything a la Abe “Grandpa” Simpson from the Simpsons. Unfortunately for those around me, after reading “High Tech Trash” I’ve added a number of toxins found in the electronics my wife and I use on a daily basis to go on shouting about. Oh you have no idea what cancer causing elements are lurking around you. It really is true what they say, life itself does cause cancer.

“High Tech Trash” not only covers how electronics are disposed of, which causes pollutants that can cause a variety of diseases, not the least of which are autoimmune disorders that have made my wife’s life darn near unlivable, but it also covers how these high tech goodies (cell phones, computers, TV’s) are created in the first place. No matter which end you are investigating, both are high contributors to pollution and disease.

Grossman spends much of the book outlining what is and can be done to recycle your used high tech goods without causing minor 3 Mile Islands everywhere man has a presence. It’s not at all a panty-wearing, tree hugging, liberal corporate hate-on book. In fact, Grossman names businesses as the solution, should they see the profit in it, to eliminating the billions of metric tons of trash we’re piling up exponentially year after year.

For those that are techies as well as nature lovers, or even those just concerned with their health, I would advise you to put “High Tech Trash” under their Christmas tree.

Well that just about wraps up this survey of books I’ve read since October. Hopefully next year I’ll get back into the swing of book reviewing.

Some titles I have on deck or I am reading now are, “Where God Was Born,” by Bruce Feiler, “The Victory of Reason” by Rodney Stark, “The Long Tail,” by Chris Anderson, “The First Human,” by Ann Gibbons, “Sweet Deception,” by Dr. Joseph Mercola, “Social Intelligence,” by Daniel Goleman, “State of Denial,” by Bob Woodward, “The Looming Tower,” by Lawrence Wright, “The Emperors of Chocolate,” by Joel Glenn Brenner, “Chindia,” Edited by Pete Engardio, and finally “Fish on Friday,” by Brian Fagan.

Technical Difficulties

Todays broadcast of Progressive conservatism will be postponed until Monday December 18th at 7:30 PM due to circumstances beyond our control. Apparently they were upgrading their network and the whole thing went down like a drunken cheerleader on the local high school quarterback after a winning football game. These things happen I guess.

Tune in tomorrow night to hear about the brewing war between Somalia and Ethiopia, why America hates kids, why the Congressional Intelligence Committee is not living up to its name and of course the Bucgaw Report!

All of this plus we will reveal whom were are officially endorsing for President in 2008 (until the primaries are over).

And now for something completely different:

Saudis may back Iraq Sunnis if U.S. exits

Somebody wake up Congressman Reyes, this may be important!

It would appear that there is something of a cold war brewing between the Saudi's and Iran. From my vantage it appears that the Saudi's are no longer willing to sit idly by while Iran becomes Soviet Union-light and takes control of the region. All is not as peaceful and monolithic in Muslim-land as we once thought.

This is yet another in a series of stories where the Saudi's have looked passed Iraq and have seen a challenger to their leadership of the region, and they don't like it. If Iran gets nukes, they want nukes. If Iran is going to muck about in Iraq, then the Saudi's do as well. And now, while the Iranian's are saying that they'd be willing to stop stoking civil war if we left, the Saudi's are saying that they will stoke civil war even hotter if we leave.

Quite the pickle eh Congressman Reyes?

This may work to the west's advantage. The enemy of my enemy is my friend and all of that. What we've wanted for a dog's age is for the Saudi's to stop funding terrorism around the world and work toward promoting tolerance of the Judeo-Christian West. If we can successfully employ the Saudi's in our war of words against Iran, we may also succeed in employing them further in an effort to halt the promulgation of Islamic terrorism. We're a ways off from that now but with time and strategic diplomacy, we may be able to split the difference in Muslims to our advantage.

Did you get all of that Congressman Reyes? We want to work with the Saudi's agaist Iran...Iran...the country between Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan...in the Middle East...where the oil is! Oh forget it, somebody call Charlie Rangel, at least he's paying attention.

Saudi Arabia has warned Washington it might provide financial aid to Iraqi Sunnis in any fighting against Shiites if the U.S. pulls its troops out of Iraq, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia, a majority Sunni country, has promised U.S. officials that it would not intervene to assist Iraq's Sunni insurgency, according to the report, which cited anonymous American and Arab diplomatic sources.

But that promise might not hold if U.S. troops leave Iraq, the newspaper said. The Bush administration has repeatedly said there are no plans for the immediate pullout of U.S. troops.

The Times reported that Saudi King Abdullah sent the warning to Vice President Dick Cheney two weeks ago during the vice president's visit to Riyadh. The message also emphasized the kingdom's displeasure with proposed talks between the U.S. government and Iran.

In Saudi Arabia, an official flatly denied the report. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to the media.

The AP reported last week that private citizens in Saudi Arabia are funneling money to Sunni insurgents in Iraq, often through either charitable donations or carried by trucks carrying pilgrims and their luggage between the two countries.

Iran _ a majority Shiite country _ is believed to be providing military and financial support to Shiite elements. The recently released Iraq Study Group report suggested the Bush administration engage Iran and neighboring Syria in talks aimed at applying pressure on Iraqi Shiites to keep what some analysts are calling a civil war from spiraling into a regional conflict.

Saudi Arabia has expressed concern that once U.S. troops leave Iraq that the controlling Shiite majority could massacre the Sunni minority, believed to comprise a large faction of the deadly insurgency that has claimed thousands of Iraqi civilian and U.S. military lives.

Saudi Arabia's fears seemed to have been exacerbated by growing discussions in Washington aimed at accelerating the timeframe for bringing troops home.

Fight Inside Mexico Against Border Crossing

I tried for almost two hours to get video for this story but the news site that it came from isn't giving it out for free, it's not on You Tube and I'm not techie enough to steal it. However, though it is kind of an old story I thought It sounded interesting and worth noting again. Apparently some Mexicans have set up an illegal border crossing for the purposes of convincing people to actually stay in Mexico and not try to illegally cross into the US. They also make a bit of money off of this venture as it costs about $15 American to participate. I originally came across this story on You Tube under the auspices of it being reported as this is some sort of theme park where they are training people to bust through the border. According to the nice people at Eco Alberto Nature Park (funded in part by the Mexican government) that is not the case. You be the judge.

Also, you should click the above title link to see the video for yourself. In the meantime, here's the story:

It has been called a training ground for illegal immigrants. It has also been called a theme park where you pay to find out what it is like to cross illegally into the US. So I took my camera to Ixmiquilpan, north of Mexico City, to find out what it really is.

On a rainy night in the mountains of Mexico, I'm with about 20 "tourists" from Mexico as we sign up for what's billed as everything from a night walk to an extreme sport to an adventure. But I'm still not sure just what it is.

These are all people able to pay $15 each just to get some idea of what it's like to cross illegally into the US. Some of them are very well off and don't know anyone who would even think of doing it for real.

We start by packing into pickups, not knowing what's next.

One man tells me this isn't even 5% of what immigrants really suffer, as we are dropped off to start what they call the night walk.

He says here you can have a flashlight, the guides direct you and there is no danger. But it will feel like it.

For the next several hours and miles along a muddy river bottom, we try to hide from and escape the townspeople who are playing border patrol agents.

But the adventure wears off and some are caught and sent back.

The long, grinding trek in dark, unfamiliar terrority is taking its toll. The game is not fun anymore.

Now working in Texas, I have been with the Border Patrol and gone on some of the real raids along the real border.

I don't know how realistic this 'game' is - especially from the point of view of those who try to cross - but people here are definitely convinced that this is what it would be like.

And many of the people who run this park know exactly what it's like as they have crossed illegally. But they insist this is not to train others to do it, but to discourage them. And to get those in a position of power in Mexico to make changes so people won't want or need to leave.

"We try to portray it" one woman tells me in spanish "...so they'll stay here to work to help our culture and our traditions survive."

They also reject the label 'theme park', saying they are just using their resources, their park, to create jobs in Mexico.

Finally, blindfolded, we're trucked to a surprise ending. Torches dot the hillsides representing both the beauty and promise here in Mexico the organizers want Mexicans to notice every day.

And all the glowing torchlights represent all their fellow Mexicans who are gone, missing across the border.

"The need for a father, mother or family unity," she tells me, "is worth more than the money they can make in the US."

"At first, we thought it was a game" she tells me about this adventure. "But not anymore."

Gaddafi: Oil behind Darfur crisis

I didn't even know the Sudan had oil. I've been hoping for a unified Africa for some time but this is the first time I've heard Gaddafi of all people making the sme overtures. As much as I take precious little Arab leaders say seriously, when it comes to oil and Western interests, Gaddafi is probably right. I've said as much time and time again that I believe the West is wating for the Africans to completely kill themselves so they can continue to rape that continent unimpeded and with pre-independence impunity. I feel rather icky agreeing with this terrorist but the man has a point. The West has not done nearly enough in earnest to help Africa build an infrastructure and a society worthy of the modern world. Don't get me wrong, we've given that place untold billions and the natives have done a great job of squandering and stealing a sizable portion of if, not to mention hanging on to old rivalries and hatreds that make gang violence in America among blacks look like a sissy slap fight. At any rate, though I'm sure the UN really does mean well in trying to send peacekeepers into Darfur and Khatoum, the reality may be that the only reason anyone is even bothering to try and stop the genocide is in fact the oil and not the belief that wholesale genocide of Africans is wrong...Or maybe Gaddafi and I are just really cynical.

Muammar Gaddafi has accused the West of trying to grab Sudan's oil wealth with its plan to send UN troops to Darfur.

The Libyan president, a mediator in several African wars, was echoing Sudanese criticisms of the proposed deployment as a Western attempt at colonisation.

Gaddafi also urged the Khartoum government to reject the proposal.

"Western countries and America are not busying themselves out of sympathy for the Sudanese people or for Africa but for oil and for the return of colonialism to the African continent," he said.

Gaddafi's opinions are listened to in Africa because of his advocacy of African unity and development.

Gaddafi was speaking at a ceremony in Tripoli on Sunday attended by Sudanese government officials and a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army rebels to celebrate their signing on Saturday of an agreement aimed at bringing peace to Darfur.

"To be occupied by the Sudanese army is better than to be occupied by UN forces, and the biggest disaster is if the Atlantic army came and positioned itself in Sudan ," he said, referring to Western troops.

The UN and the African Union (AU) have been pressing Sudan to accept a UN-led peacekeeping force in Darfur to halt three years of violence that has killed tens of thousands of people.

Crisis genesis

Rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing Sudan 's government of marginalising the remote west. Khartoum mobilised militias to quell the revolt. Those militias stand accused of atrocities against civilians being investigated by the International Criminal Court.

Gaddafi is a longstanding opponent of the International Criminal Court in the Hague , which he has dismissed as a dispenser of victors' and colonisers' justice.

He accused the West of wishing to defeat his plan to form a single African federal government in a so-called United States of Africa.

"The West exploits tribalism, sectarianism and (skin) colour to feed war, which leads to backwardness and Western intervention in a number of countries," he said.

"All the conflicts in Africa are caused by colonialism, which does not want the rise of the United States of Africa and works for division and interference and for military coups."

4 Year Old Accused of Sexual Harassment

This teachers aide needs to never be around children again.

Report: Russian official sharply criticizes assertive new U.S. space policy

Well I think I found a more reliable source than the Pajamas Media to affirm that the Bush administration is indeed looking to weaponize space. The article itself talks about just restricting hostile forces from utilizing space themselves and declares that the US itself is not looking to put weapons in space. Generally speaking when the Bush Administration says one thing, they mean the opposite. Maybe Bush's Death Star may not be such a far off quack of an idea after all.

Assuming I am correct and this is the next step in global warfare, it will be interesting to see just how the Russians will deal with it. While the US builds weapons in space (while saying it isn't) in order to intimidate its enemies, said enemies can do more immediate damage at home without the untold cost of billions in space weapons technology.

One example (before I leave you to read the below article) is that the Iranians as well as other oil producers have begun to move away from the dollar to the euro. Thus we are being economically attacked now and building a Death Star or even the conventional missile shield is not going to protect from an increasingly hostile world market nor will it divorce us from the oil that empowers our enemies in the first place.

A senior Russian space official sharply criticized an assertive new U.S. space policy signed by President George W. Bush, saying Wednesday that it would increase tension and could lead to military confrontation in space, the Interfax news agency reported.

In the first revision of U.S. space policy in nearly a decade, Bush signed an order earlier this year asserting the United States' right to deny adversaries access to space for hostile purposes and saying the United States will oppose treaties or other restrictions that seek to prohibit or limit U.S. access to or use of space.

"This document can be seen today as the first step toward a serious deepening of the military confrontation in space," Interfax quoted Vitaly Davydov, deputy head of the Russian space agency Roskosmos, as saying.

"Now the Americans are saying that they want not only to go to space but they want to dictate to others who else is allowed to go there," Davydov said, according to the report.

The order says the United States will "preserve its rights, capabilities, and freedom of action in space; dissuade or deter others from either impeding those rights or developing capabilities intended to do so" and "deny, if necessary, adversaries the use of space capabilities hostile to U.S. national interests."

Davydov criticized what he said were U.S. plans to deploy weapons in space and said that Russia could respond if the United States does so.

The White House has said the policy does not call for the development or deployment of weapons in space.

As the U.S. space policy was being reviewed last year, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov threatened retaliatory steps if any country put weapons in space.

Moscow's concerns about space-based weapons go back to the Soviet-era space race and U.S. President Ronald Reagan's 1980s plans for a "Star Wars" missile defense system.

Bush's order, signed more than two months ago, was not publicly announced.

Progressive Conservatism Radio: Zombie Chickens, Global Warming & Bush's Death Star

Another show is in the can, as they say. I went over this week instead of under like I did the last two weeks, but not by much. According to the BlogtalkRadio.com host liason, I had 10 listeners, one of which was my wife. So that makes 2 people I knew, including Jorga from Blog Talk Radio and 8 people I didn't know (presumambly). However, my last show had 900 archived listeners, which was about 100 more than last week. It seems like the show is doing well. I'm certainly having fun with it.

I thought the show itself was more fun than the last few. I'm trying to loosen up more and tackle different subjects with a bit more personality instead of trying to be some weird combination of Brit Hume and Rush Limbaugh. I figure personality is what will drive the show, not necessarily my coverage of the news. Anyway, here's the list of articles and topics we covered this week and the show (as per usual) can be found in the side bar.

Monologue: Dinner Done!/The Iraq Study Group

Dinner done!

Iraq Study Group report examined

Chicken Report

Zombie Chickens

Thermal Depolymerization

Renewable Energy Solutions

Global Warming: Boxer VS Inhofe

Sen. Boxer promises new agenda on climate change

Coal production and the new Congress

JAMES M. INHOFE (R-OK) Top Industries

JAMES M. INHOFE (R-OK) Top Contributors

Conspiracy or Quack!: George W Bush's Death Star

STAR WARS REDUX: Democrats to Gut Missile Defense / Bush to Announce "Orbital Battle Station"

General Inhofe and His War Against Global Warming

It's interviews like the one above that worry me about my penchant for watching Fox News. They are not always bad but when they are, wow, can they be rediculous. (It's more interesting than CNN though)

Inhofe has been a general in the Republican led war on science. His particular battle was with global warming and for the last 6 years or so, he has been winning the battle to do nothing about in the Senate. His strategy was to pretend it didn't exist and claim it to be a hoax as seen in the above clib. Forbes is reporting via the AP that with Barbara Boxer in charge, there's going to be a "sea change." Here is an excerpt:

In the interview, Boxer also promised to end Bush administration rollbacks on environmental rules if they are not supported by science.

"Any kind of weakening of environmental laws or secrecy or changes in the dead of night - it's over," Boxer said. "We're going to for once, finally, make this committee an environment committee, not an anti-environment committee. ... This is a sea change that is coming to this committee."

Her chairmanship will be an abrupt turnaround from Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., whose last hearing Wednesday as chairman will be devoted to his view that the news media have fanned alarmism about global warming. Inhofe, who calls global warming a hoax, blocked attempts in his committee to regulate carbon dioxide.

Boxer's first hearing next month also will be devoted to global warming, but from an opposite point of view from Inhofe's.

"This is a potential crisis of a magnitude we've never seen," she said Tuesday, explaining that her goal is to impose mandatory caps on carbon dioxide, a step vehemently opposed by Bush's top environmental advisers.

Whenever you see a politician seemingly be against common sense, you have to, as the say on The Wire, follow the money. As per usual, one of the reasons Inhofe is against global warming is because of the amount of campaign contributions he receives from the oil industry:

JAMES M. INHOFE (R-OK) Top Contributors 2001 - 2006

1 Murray Energy $22,800
2 Koch Industries $22,750
3 National Rural Electric Cooperative Assn $19,044
4 Cummins Inc $16,000
5 Associated Builders & Contractors $15,000
6 OGE Energy $14,500
7 AMR Corp $13,750
8 National Assn of Convenience Stores $13,000
9 United Defense $12,500
10 Cardiology of Tulsa $12,250
10 Reed Elsevier Inc $12,250
12 Arvest Bank Group $12,000
12 Boeing Co $12,000
12 CC Distributors $12,000
12 Union Pacific Corp $12,000
16 American Concrete Pavement Assn $11,417
17 National Rifle Assn $11,400
18 FedEx Corp $11,000
18 General Dynamics $11,000
18 National Beer Wholesalers Assn $11,000

The The top industries supporting James M. Inhofe since 1989 are:

1 Oil & Gas $850,623
2 Health Professionals $352,399
3 Retired $328,157
4 Insurance $290,116
5 Electric Utilities $282,063
6 Air Transport $264,604
7 Leadership PACs $207,353
8 Lawyers/Law Firms $206,648
9 Misc Finance $201,073
10 General Contractors $190,122
11 Automotive $186,850
12 Defense Aerospace $170,600
13 Commercial Banks $164,577
14 Lobbyists $160,405
15 Real Estate $134,416
16 Building Materials & Equipment $123,617
17 Business Services $117,295
18 Pro-Israel $112,650
19 Republican/Conservative $101,947
20 Accountants $100,200

I think it is plain to see that while Inhofe had any part in the global warming debate, things were not going to get better. He may have been instrumental in making things worse. While I'm not fan of Boxer on issues such as national security, here she has my full support and I wish her the best of luck in Inhofe's old position.

Zombie Chickens and Electric Cows

No this is not the name of my new band nor is it the name of a new B-grade horror flick. No this is serious business. This is a story about alternative energy. This is also a story about food production and animal cruelty. Let me explain – no time for that, let me sum up.

I was in session recently with one of my clients and depending on what we will be covering on a given day, I will sometimes let the client listen to the music of their choice as long as it is on the radio. This particular client turned on some rap/r&b station and I caught the last remaining seconds of what appeared to be a promo spot for what I assumed was there morning show. In those seconds I heard the words, “zombie chickens,” mentioned in what sounded like an article they were reading. As soon as the client left my office I Googled that particular search and low and behold, it was in fact the latest poultry related news.

The AP is reporting that, “In this [PETALUMA, Calif.] rich agricultural region of Northern California, ranchers have been turning chickens too old to lay eggs into compost at a rate of a half-million hens a year.

But some chickens not properly euthanized have been seen crawling out of the compost piles, earning them the name "zombie chickens" - and hatching a debate over what else might be done with them and other "spent hens."”

You read that right folks, zombie chickens. Upon reading about this I could not stop laughing and then proceeded to tell everyone at the office, clients included about this story, chicken and zombie noises included. Eventually I composed myself and did some further investigating on the matter. My first thought was that it seemed strange that they would make compost out of old chickens to begin with rather than selling them as food or even animal feed. Apparently there is a good reason for that.

According to World Poutry.net (yes, there is a news site dedicated solely to poultry), “The egg-laying birds have only a pound of usable meat, compared to the 5-pound chickens typically raised for eating. Slaughtering the chickens, even to transport them unprocessed and frozen whole, would likely cost more than composting them, said Petaluma egg farmer Arnie Reibli.”

All right, so it is cheaper and more productive (presumably) to compost the chickens rather than sell them. My second question then was how exactly were theses chickens being killed and yet still able to rise from their graves to the horror of poultry farmers and the amusement of 30-year-old bloggers/radio talk show hosts? Further reading of the original AP story revealed that, “To kill the chickens, farmers suffocate them in sealed boxes filled with carbon dioxide, a practice that has drawn the ire of animal rights groups. Afterward, the hens are layered in mounds of sawdust.” From what I’ve gathered, sometimes the chickens manage to live through this process and, as stated above, crawl out of the compost pile.

Economics plays a role in how these old chickens are disposed of but people have suggested other end-of-life uses for these birds. The AP states that, “A food bank proposed making sausage to feed the poor. A reptile enthusiast suggested using them as food for large exotic pets like pythons and alligators. And an industry group said in the future they could be used as fuel for power plants.”

Now those first two sounded reasonable but the ranchers believe that both of those proposals are too expensive and time consuming thus cutting into their meager profits. World Poultry.net states that, “Californian farmers, however, say that composting is the only affordable option at present…Slaughtering the chickens, even to transport them unprocessed and frozen whole, would likely cost more than composting them, said Petaluma egg farmer Arnie Reibli.”

I figured once it was established that composting chickens and dealing with their stubborn attachment to life was cheaper than any other method of disposal that we were done with this particular story. But then I read the preceding paragraph again which indicated that old chickens could be used as fuel for electric plants.

Chicken fueled electric power plants?

I went back and reread the World Poultry.net article and I was able to learn that, “According to Rich Matteis, head of the Pacific Egg and Poultry Association, spent hens could one day be used as fuel to generate electricity, using a new European technology that can be used to turn dead cows into fuel.”

Dead cows? Electric fuel? Off to Google I went again and you’d be amazed what articles you can unearth with the right combination search items.

USA Today reports that, “Two generators at the Audets' Blue Spruce Farm feed electricity to the local utility. They run on methane gas derived from cow manure. The farm is part of Cow Power, a program of the local electric company, Central Vermont Public Service. Cow Power gives customers the option to pay higher rates to subsidize farm-generated, poop-powered electricity. The 4-cent premium the farmers are paid helps cover the cost of installing an anaerobic digester that extracts methane from cowpies.

Now, after two years as Cow Power pioneers, the Audets are about to get company. Next month, Mark and Amanda St. Pierre, who run Pleasant Valley Farm a mile from the Canadian border, will become the second dairy farmers in Vermont to sell poop power. Four more Vermont farms are to go online in the next year. In California, six dairy farms have signed up to pump manure-derived methane into the pipelines of Pacific Gas and Electric.

Even proponents say methane digesters will never produce more than a tiny fraction of the energy consumed in the USA, even if all of the nation's 7,000 large dairy and hog farms installed them. But methane digesters can have a big effect on the economics of a dairy farm, the quality of life of its neighbors and on the pollutants a farm produces.”

As the article states, poop-power is still terribly short of replacing coal-fired plants and the technology to apply it to chickens is years off, as reported on World Poultry.net. However, most environmentally minded people who deal with the energy industry say that divorcing ourselves from petrol and coal will take a combination of alternative energies (hydro, wind, solar, methane/feces, etc), not just outright replacing one with the other. Still, I long for the day when we’re at least partially running our electric plants on animal feces or carcasses (because what else would they be good for, really?) rather than finite and environmentally unfriendly hydrocarbons.

Asia drives world economy into 2007

I said this was going to happen last year. Before I got married and thus had to limit by news reading time and blogging time, I was closely following global financial news and the pattern I saw was more trade agreements in Third World countries with other Third World countries and not the United States. Now everybody has been predicting that China and India would eventually be the leading economic forces in the world due to their both being huge markets with cheap labor. Both of these countries are along with the reemerging Russia are pulling all of Asia, including Japan, with them.

The surprise here is Europe. When talk of the global economy comes up Europe is usually described as DOA. However, the more I read about alternative energy production, invention and legislation, the more I see Europe, especially Germany being cited as leaders in that field. You can bet that that Europe will stay close to the Third World and continue to placate Fascistic regimes in order to expand the ware of alt energy goods in places that will be engulfed in an ecological crisis of Biblical proportions (Russia and China I'm looking in your direction).

The United States is no longer the worlds factory nor are we isolated away from an exploding Europe as we were at the dawn of the 20th Century. Things are different today and if our history of being threatened by competition (i.e. Robber Barons and monopolies) continues to guide our policies, domestic and foriegn alike, I can only imagine what kind of damage we'll ultimately end up inflicting on the world if not ourselves.

The other option, the one where we're increasingly disarmed and as ineffective in the world as the United Nations, is that we continue to economically atrophy and adjust to being much like a lesser European country. Sweden is a good model. We'll just get by and stay out of world affairs. Of course that would require us to stop buying foriegn oil from Saudi Arabia thus having a military prescence in the Middle East, but that is a whole other story altogether. In the meantime, as the article below states, get ready for another recession.

As 2007 arrives, the US economy sneezes. But thanks to ultra-rapid growth in the world’s most populous countries and a helping hand from western Europe, the world proves immune from a cold.

That’s the plot scripted by most economists for next year. In the "new world", China and India are on a roll. The crises that swept across Asia in the 1990s are fading memories.

In the "old world", Japan is back, surfing the Chinese wave after a downturn that lasted most of the 1990s. Europe is back too, led by a leaner, meaner Germany.

"In many ways 2007 is likely to be a year of transition as the United States passes the baton to the rest of the world," the economists of US investment bank Merrill Lynch say.

They are decidedly upbeat about prospects for more, strong global growth next year despite the downturn unfolding in the US housing markets after a 10-year boom.

"We still expect the global economy to weather the US storm," Merrill’s team wrote in a report on the global outlook.

Not quite everyone agrees. Nouriel Roubini, economics consultant and professor at New York University, says a US recession is already hitting, the world will indeed catch a cold, and euphoria in stock markets is proof of poor judgment, not a guide to reality.

The markets are deluded by fairly tales, Roubini, who has been predicting recession for some time, said in a blog.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) side more with the optimists, however.

The IMF predicts 4,9% global growth next year after 5,1% this year and a modest deceleration in following years to an annual average of 4,8%, compared with 5% in the 2004-2007 period.

Driving the impressive global figures are emerging market economies, which have collectively been growing twice as fast as the industrialised ones or more in recent years.

Those forecasts were made in September but the IMF has stuck to them. And the OECD produced the same basic storyline in a report last week.

As investment banks dream up ideas for making money next year, they seem to see no end to a boom that has relegated the dot-com crash of 2000 to the history books along with the economic fallout from the attacks of September 11 2001.

Dutch bank Fortis says things have not been better since the Swinging Sixties. Growth in the 1950s and 60s averaged close to 5% a year. "Predicting that it will last for the next couple of years would almost seem too good to be true. Yet, that’s exactly what we see happening," their economics team said in a report.

Communist-ruled China was shut to outsiders back then but is now the world’s fourth largest economy and expected to keep growing at not far off the annual 10% it has achieved since Deng Xiaoping threw the doors open in 1978.

India is not far behind. Neither is Russia, and in many other emerging economies growth is surging because of cheap labour and new markets opened by declining transport and communications costs globally.

Keith Skeoch, CE of Standard Life Investments, says nobody would have believed after the stock market crash of 2000 that investors would pile back into shares so fast and with good reward. More is to come, he says.

World share markets produced a return of 17,5% in the 11 months to the end of November alone, he says, way more than the profit on bonds or cash investments.

OECD chief economist Jean-Philippe Cotis says next year should be a year of "rebalancing" in a world that relied for too long on US consumers to do the buying that kept the rest in business.

The economic order in place since World War Two gives way to more widely distributed roles of economic production. Next year, the shift may become more perceptible as the US machine slows, with Asia and Europe picking up the slack, he says.

Fortis’s economists highlight that emerging market economies accounted for short of 50% of annual world growth five or 10 years ago but the figure is now 70% - in large part because of a surge in China’s presence followed the country’s entry into the World Trade Organisation some five years ago.

For Europe, contributing to total world growth is more of a novelty. Germany’s resurgence from a decade as the "sick man" of Europe’s wealthy "old" western side is the designated driver.

Economists put Germany’s comeback down to years of effort to cut the cost of labour, years of erosion which sapped confidence and snuffed out domestic consumption but which may pay dividends now in a world of more globalised competition.

"Germany has regained a predominant position in the European economy, one it was really lacking for the about last 10 years," says Klaus Baader, Europe economist at US bank Merrill Lynch.

"German competitiveness has been restored dramatically...and the labour market appears at long last to have turned a corner in a serious way," he says.

Growth in the eurozone is predicted to slow next year after a rebound this year to growth of about 2,5%, from 1,3% in the preceding year and several years of relatively lacklustre performances. But economists believe the bottom line is one of a lasting recovery, a broad upturn in investment and now in consumption.

Iran: Parliament shortens Ahmadinejad's term

One can only assume that the Iranian parliament has learned from the Chinese as well as others that fiery rhetoric and the spectre of war do nothing for Iran's economic or strategic goals. The dollar is falling and out unfortunate mishandling of Iraq (from invasion to media coverage) has marred our ability to project power in the world, not to mention the rise of former rivals such as Russia (an ally of Iran). Let's face facts here, the Iranian regime, mullahs included, don't really need a nutcase like Ahmadinejad anymore as the Muslim world doesn't need anymore reminders of how EVIL the Great Satan is.

I also think that given the relative secular nature of the Iranian people in conjuction with an average American-like malaise and ability to be bought off, they miscalculated putting such a firebrand in the position of the presidency as he does not inspire loyalty among the regular Iranian folks. I would like to see (though I'll miss the comedy) Ahmadinejad be voted out of office and replaced with someone who more or less continues to the same policies but does so with a bit decorum and less insanity.

I would hope that the mullahs would allow for more moderate and West-friendly figures to run for the presedential election but I'm not going to waste my time. I think a more conservative and likely possibility is somebody who continues to fashion power out of relationships with Russia, India, China and Iraq, while quietly and publicly ignoring Israel. That won't stop them from funding terrorism but it will provide a visible and diplomatic shield against possible (but highly unlikely) Western retaliation or aggression.

Vast majority of Iranian lawmakers vote to move up presidential elections by 18 months, final say on matter up to Ahmadinejad's arch-rival

Will Ahmadinejad's term be cut short? The Iranian parliament voted on Sunday to unite the presidential elections with the upcoming parliamentary ones, this according to the official Iranian news agency.

The proposal, which passed with a surprising 80 percent majority, may cut the term of sitting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by 18 months.

The bill must still be ratified by the Iranian constitutional committee, which is headed by former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad's arch-rival, a fact which many see as indicative that the bill will indeed be authorized.

Rafsanjani himself is considered one of the most powerful politicians in Iran and is currently running for a position in the Assembly of Experts, an 86-strong body of ayatollahs who monitor the Iranian Supreme Leader (a position currently held by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei). The Assembly has the power to dismiss the Supreme Leader. Already existing tensions have heightened between Ahmadinejad and Rafsanjani as the latter is pitted directly against Ahmadinejad's spiritual mentor Masbah Yazdi who is also vying for a spot on the Assembly of Experts.

One of the reasons cited in the proposal for bringing the two elections together is cutting the costs brought on by a double election. Opponents to the bill claimed that cutting the president's term is unconstitutional and that parliament's term should be extended to meet the original date for the presidential election.

Exclusive Interview with Amanda B. Carpenter on PC Radio

The new show is up (see side bar) and it features an exclusive interview with the author of "The Vast Ring-Wing Conspiracy's Dossier on Hillary Clinton," Amanda B. Carpenter. It was a pretty fun interview. I thought Amanda did well in making the best points of her book. Also, I know some people had some questions about what makes Hillary worse than other Democrats and I hope Amanda was able to answer those questions herself. I was a bit nervous but I had some prepared questions and a general direction of where I wanted to go so that made it easier. I was happy with how it went and I think she was too so hopefully this will spur other authors to come on the show in the future. If anything, I think we hit topics seldom discussed with respect to Hillary in the MSM. The interview is about midway through the show and it ecompasses a brief discussion of Hillary VS Obama.

There is some fairly good news about the show; I looked at my archived shows and the last two had 666 and 758 listeners respectively. That's not bad considering this is only show 4. My live listeners leave something to be desired but at least people are listening at some point and that's better than just my dad and my wife.

Here are the links to the other stories we talked about today.

US and Russia agree on WTO entry rules

Nancy's first 100 hours

Obama vs. Hillary

Will Obama force Clinton's early entry?

Sen. Obama, rapper Ludacris meet for a chat

The lighter side of News
President Ahmadinenjad in '08

Despite U.S. dismissal, Iran letter had purpose

Britney Hates Pants

Brit's bits: Pop star caught without panties

Electric Car News

I will probably write a full column in this in the future but in meantime, here's two stories that I find to be quite telling and valuable. I feel kind of silly saying this but it appears tha electric cars with the most modern batteries are a viable option to replace petrol-cars and hydrogen is a red herring. Biodiesel and ethanol are red herrings too. I would hope that that these two stories in conjunction with the increase in availability of hybrid electric cars.

GM is recharging into electric cars

General Motors will resurrect it with a plug-in version of the Saturn Vue sport-utility vehicle. GM Chairman Rick Wagoner said the automaker has begun work on creating a battery-powered plug-in but wouldn't say when it would be ready for sale.

"I can't give you a date but can tell you this is a top priority program for GM given the huge potential it offers for fuel economy improvement," Wagoner said at the opening of the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Wagoner estimated a Vue plug-in could obtain better than 45 percent higher mileage than a gas-driven Vue, which would give it nearly a 70 m.p.g. city mileage rating. Ironically, after Wagoner's remarks about saving energy, a protester walked to the podium demanding Wagoner sign a pledge to be the industry leader in fuel conservation. The protester was quickly removed from the microphone by Wagoner.

Environmentalists have become plug-in advocates, saying most motorists commute less than 50 miles to and from work each day and could do that on batteries alone without consuming any gas and creating any emissions. And they could plug in overnight to recharge the batteries.

"The technology hurdles are real but surmountable. Production timing will depend on battery technology development," Wagoner said of the need for higher output, longer lasting batteries.

Though analysts lauded GM for spearheading plug-in hybrid vehicles, they said it also was a wise public relations move.

"GM didn't appreciate the impact Toyota and Honda hybrids would make on consumers, and so news of a plug-in is a good PR gesture and a step to take to catch up with Toyota and Honda and let people know they are in the [environment] game," said Jim Hossack, vice president of AutoPacific.

Catherine Madden, analyst with Global Insight, agreed with the PR ploy.

"This puts GM in the limelight for the moment as it tries to change the perception that Toyota and Honda lead the way in hybrids and it doesn't care about the environment. This is a start, but the plug-in has to work and GM can't just talk about it."

Wagoner said the Vue plug-in would use lithium ion batteries to learn how much better range they can provide than the nickel metal hydride batteries used in today's hybrids. Estimates are that driving range could be doubled.

"GM is committed to the development of electrically driven vehicles that will help improve energy diversity and minimize the auto's impact on the environment. We'll follow with additional announcements during the auto show season, including Detroit, in about six weeks."

In Detroit, the speculation is that GM will detail plans to use an on-board source of energy, perhaps an electric motor or small generator fueled by an alternative fuel of its own, to recharge the batteries when needed while driving a plug-in.

Wagoner said only, "Stay tuned."

He downplayed being first in an industrywide race to market a plug-in.

"It's good to be first, but what's more important, what moves the needle is being first to offer 200,000 to 1 million of them, rather than being the first one out with plug-ins."

Toyota is looking into plug-ins, and GM's announcement may have been directed at stealing some of the Japanese automaker's thunder should it plan to unveil a plug-in at the Detroit Auto Show. Wagoner said GM will continue to develop gas/electric hybrids, vehicles that run on biofuels such as E85 ethanol blend, as well as hydrogen fuel cells, in addition to traditional gas- and diesel-powered engines.

Considering consumer shock from bouts with $3-a-gallon gas in recent months, Wagoner said, "We believe that the best way to power the automobile in the years to come is to do so with many different sources of energy."

GM is developing gas/electric hybrids in cooperation with DaimlerChrysler and BMW. Wagoner wouldn't rule out a plug-in venture with others but said there are no current plans.

As a concession that the Hummer brand has served as the target of environmentalists hell-bent to put an end to gas guzzlers, Wagoner said every Hummer model will be converted to run on E85 over the next three years.

GM shocked the industry in 1996 when it brought out the EV-1 battery-powered electric car, at first powered by lead acid batteries, and by 1999 with more potent nickel metal hydride batteries.

The electric car promised an end to reliance on foreign oil as well as the means to remove cars as one of the causes of air pollution and global warming.

GM leased the vehicles in California and Arizona at $300 to $400 a month, but ceased production in 2000, citing a variety of problems, one being a limited driving range of 100 miles before needing to plug into a socket for a 6-to-8-hour recharge before moving again. Another problem was that with limited demand, GM was losing money on the deal.

GM said it invested more than $1 billion in the electric car but had few takers--only 800 leases in four years.

Environmental groups insisted GM gave up too soon and that thousands wanted the car, but GM only built 1,000 in four years and didn't make enough available for consumers. Earlier this year, GM was the subject of a documentary film, "Who Killed the Electric Car?"

GM spokesman Dave Barthmuss said the automaker contacted 5,000 consumers who inquired about the car, but after being told about the limited range, long recharge time and lease cost, only 50 agreed to become part of the 800 who leased the car.

Nissan to launch electric cars in three years - report

Auto manufacturer Nissan Motor plans to sell electric cars in three years in a bid to catch up with its rivals in the market for environmentally-friendly vehicles, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper reported, without citing sources.

The lightweight, subcompact electric model will be powered by lithium-ion batteries developed in-house,

Electric cars are unable to travel long distances between charges, but Nissan is set to develop new technology allowing distances of about 200 km on a single charge, the business daily said.

Currently, Mitsubishi Motor and Fuji Heavy Industries lead the development of electric cars.

The car marker also plans to release gas-electric hybrid cars designed in-house by 2010, the report said.

Nissan had been reluctant to develop its own hybrid system due to huge development costs but it has decided to do so to chase rivals Toyota and Honda in the eco-friendly vehicles market. the Nikkei said.

Nissan also plans to speed up the expansion of its diesel car range and the development of bioethanol cars in cooperation with top shareholder Renault, it added.

Commercial Pimping and the Making of a Prosti-tot

American society seems a bit backwards these days. Not too long ago there was slew of articles led by Time Magazine stating that 30 was the new 40. In other words, adults were putting off adulthood in lieu of hanging on to their childhood via indulgences in toys, kids sports and other activities commonly associated with childhood. This was affirmed and even labeled in the book “Rejuvenile: Kickball, Cartoons, Cupcakes, and the Reinvention of the American Grown-up” by Christopher Noxon. As men and women get older, they tend to stay with their parents, put off serious responsibility like home ownership and generally enjoy the fruits of being a child with all the facets of being a legal adult.

This is not so bad. We’re not talking about dysfunctional people trying to climb back into the womb or any of that sort of nonsense. These are people like me who still have access to childish things like cartoons and heavy metal CD’s and don’t see a reason to put them away so long as they are not too big of a distraction from real life. Adults that are functional and mature but like to indulge their childhood interests are not a heavy burden on society. As a matter of fact, marketers love this crowd as they can sell them oodles and oodles of mindless crap. American capitalism at it’s finest.

However, this trend among adults runs counter to a trend among pre-teens and is infinitely more dangerous. Where marketers are trying to capture that elusive 18 – 35 year-old bracket of buyers, they have extended their reach into an even younger crowd. Junior high and even late elementary school age children not only have a great deal of expendable income (from their parents) they have the ear of their parents as well, thus double the profit. Of course the problem with this is that instead of marketing child products for children, they are marketing adult themed products to those very same children without giving a thought to how this all affects said children’s development.

The AP reported, in a story aptly titled, “10 Is the New 15 As Kids Grow Up Faster,” that, “…child development experts say that physical and behavioral changes that would have been typical of teenagers decades ago are now common among "tweens" - kids ages 8 to 12.

Some of them are going on "dates" and talking on their own cell phones. They listen to sexually charged pop music, play mature-rated video games and spend time gossiping on MySpace. And more girls are wearing makeup and clothing that some consider beyond their years.”

The article adds that, “Several published studies have found, for instance, that some tweens' bodies are developing faster, with more girls starting menstruation in elementary school - a result doctors often attribute to improved nutrition and, in some cases, obesity. While boys are still being studied, the findings about girls have caused some endocrinologists to lower the limits of early breast development to first or second grade.
Along with that, even young children are having to deal with peer pressure and other societal influences.

Beyond the drugs, sex and rock'n'roll their boomer and Gen X parents navigated, technology and consumerism have accelerated the pace of life, giving kids easy access to influences that may or may not be parent-approved. Sex, violence and foul language that used to be relegated to late-night viewing and R-rated movies are expected fixtures in everyday TV.

And many tweens model what they see, including common plot lines "where the kids are really running the house, not the dysfunctional parents," says Plante, who in addition to being Zach's dad is a psychology professor at Santa Clara University in California's Silicon Valley.

He sees the results of all these factors in his private practice frequently.
Kids look and dress older. They struggle to process the images of sex, violence and adult humor, even when their parents try to shield them. And sometimes, he says, parents end up encouraging the behavior by failing to set limits - in essence, handing over power to their kids.”

The crux of the article is that, “Advertisers have found that, increasingly, children and teens are influencing the buying decisions in their households - from cars to computers and family vacations. According to 360 Youth, an umbrella organization for various youth marketing groups, tweens represent $51 billion worth of annual spending power on their own from gifts and allowance, and also have a great deal of say about the additional $170 billion spent directly on them each year.

Toymakers also have picked up on tweens' interest in older themes and developed toy lines to meet the demand - from dolls known as Bratz to video games with more violence.”

Here we see the worst parts of commercialism merging with a relic from the sixties. Kinseyan attitudes about how it is a good thing to hyper-sexualize our children have been around forever and served the interests of selfish and sick people. Today, we see marketers assuming the role Alfred Kinsey left vacant in the name of creating another billion dollar sales base. Some would say that this is just the way capitalism works and if the parents object then the parents should expose their children to deleterious material.

First, while I’m sure there are good parents out there that are mindful of what media their children are exposed to, that kid still has to go to school with several others whose parents are complete idiots. That’s not counting those whose parents are themselves drug addicts and alcoholics. It’s also not counting those whose parents are completely dysfunctional or parents whom are among the missing and leave their children as wards of the state i.e. foster care. Anyway you slice it, the far left in this country has done a wonderful job of outsourcing the role of parent to the government, who in turn is woefully incapable of doing the job well (save for the Armed Forces).

Now some would say that I have no right to judge parents because I don’t have a kid myself. I would tell those people to bugger off because as a social worker, which I am, I have to deal with end result of bad parenting and exposure to adult themes on a daily basis. While many parents sod off to entertain their selfish hearts delights, I’m there to pick up the pieces and try to help these kids become semi-functional. My job is made all the more harder by marketing forces infinitely stronger than I pummeling my kids with stuff they should never have seen in the first place.

CAMPAIGN FOR A COMMERCIAL-FREE CHILDHOOD has some alarming stats on the effect of marketing adult material to youngsters:

There is a link between watching sexual content and adolescent’s sexual activity and beliefs about sex.

More than half of teens report getting some or most of their information about sex from television.

Teens who watch more sexual content on television are more likely to initiate intercourse and progress to more advanced noncoital sexual activities during the subsequent year.

Another study found that girls who watched more than 14 hours of rap music videos per week were more likely to have multiple sex partners and to be diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease.

Boys exposed to violent sex on television, including rape, are less likely to be sympathetic to female victims of sexual violence.

I’ve posted many sick and twisted stories this year about crimes committed 7-year-olds and such but it may take something bizarre like Michael Richards uttering the N-word for people to actually do something about it.

New Review: The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy's Dossier on Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton is as polarizing a political figure as any in Washington, if not the most in recent history. Many adored her husband President Bill Clinton such to the point that they were willing to forgive his sexual transgressions (rape, sexual harassment, etc.) and publicly lamented the limits of a two-term maximum presidency. While Hillary has been able to benefit somewhat from her husband’s rock star status in the political spectrum, she herself continues to affect people’s opinion of her one of two ways, blind devotion or feral hatred.

Ever since Mr. Clinton’s ascent to the governorship of Arkansas, the plan has always been the same; Hillary plays the supporting role long enough for Bill to move from the governor’s mansion in Little Rock to the White House on Capitol Hill and when he’s done then he plays the supporting role while she assumes the position of Commander-in-Chief. Two terms for Bill, two for Hillary has always been the plan and at least a hundred pundits and followers of the Clinton clan have affirmed this. As a now incumbent and moderately popular senator from the bluest of blue states, New York, she can and has commenced with her plan to become the first ever-female US president. Her candidacy is a foregone conclusion though her success is obviously (as of this writing) yet to be determined.

At this point there are so many books on just Hillary alone that one would be hard pressed to find an angle on this woman that hasn’t been explored. Journalists and insiders have written scores of books that are just straight biographies, books about her attacks on the internet, sleazy tell-alls that claim she was raped by her husband, her own autobiography, etc. To say that anyone wanting information on Hillary Clinton need only to spit inside of a bookstore and hit any number of books with plenty of said information would be an understatement. Yet Capitol Hill correspondent for Human Events, Amanda B. Carpenter has done the impossible and written an excellent book that examines the specific political reasons why Hillary shouldn’t become president without repeating ad nauseum the same information presented in previous tomes.

“The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy’s Dossier on Hillary Clinton,” is a brilliant secondary resource for all of Hillary’s recent political maneuverings, fundraising and legislating since become Senator of NY. In it explicitly and methodically presents the reader with the particulars of her career in the Senate thus far and more importantly, it details exactly why anybody in the right mind should not vote for this woman.

This is not meant to be a narrative story per se. As its rather tongue-in-cheek name implies, the point of it is to collect in one spot, documentation that shows the corruption Hillary Clinton has been responsible for in the past 6 plus years. It is chock full of citations from court documents, legal briefs, FEC filings, campaign documents and so on, with the emphasis on how she’s partnered up with Hollywood socialists in order to build up her presidential campaign war chest while simultaneously flouting the campaign finance reforms she claims to be for.

Carpenter also examines the relationship between the Clinton’s and China. Both Bill and Hillary are still doing business with the Chinese in the face of both campaign finance law and national security interests. Historians will note that it was Bill’s special relationship with the Chinese while he was president that made them the threat they are today. That threat has led recently to North Korea being able to test nuclear devices with impunity.

Carpenter does great job of keeping the book current with the latest Clintonian scams, especially those having to do with 9/11 and block grants that never were used appropriately and instead went into the pockets of Hillary’s corporate sponsors. This brings up the issue of Hillary well-fashioned image versus the actual reality. Hillary has been trying to paint herself as something of a populist because she believes that populism is what brings people to the polls. What Carpenter does rather well in this book is to systematically deconstruct that image and explain the truth about Hillary, which is that she, like her counterparts in the Republican Party is bought and paid for by corporate interests. Carpenter makes the case that if you are looking for a candidate that is relatively clean of lobby money then you should steer clear of Hillary Clinton as this woman is swimming in it alongside the Bush family as well as others.

This book is meant for those people whom are either on the fence and need solid evidence that this woman is not the right person to be Commander-in-Chief or already won’t vote for her but need the same evidence to cogently explain to others why she’s not a good choice for leader of the free world. Carpenter provides a solid case with a ton of evidence and very little editorializing. That is definitely one of the strong points of the book. Carpenter gives sparingly little of her own opinion and lets the facts, backed up with dozens of pages of photocopied documents, speak volumes for themselves. Unlike many other books closely related to this one, she stays clear of the sort of partisan hackery that fells other writers and just sticks with the facts. It is a welcome pleasure to say the least.

Given that Hillary is so hyper-vigilant about her image (because of more people knew the real Hillary Clinton she wouldn’t stand a chance at being elected President of the United States), this is definitely one of those books that Hillary Clinton will hate with a white-hot purple passion. To me, that is all the more reason why everyone with inkling to vote against this charlatan socialist should read, “The Vast Ring-Wing Conspiracy’s Dossier on Hillary Clinton,” by Amanda B. Carpenter. Once you’ve read it, at the very least you’ll have learned just how crooked financing a campaign can be these days.

Near Perfect Radio Broadcast: Third Show

New show is up and ready for play on the side bar

This was my third official show and for once I didn't have any technical issues. My phone stayed charge, there were no computer problems and I could take calls with no major delays. We ran a little longer than I expected with the shopping segment but the conversation seemed very natural so instead of trying to pound square pegs into round holes and all of that I just went with the flow. I'm a little disappointed about the call ins though. My wife suggested that maybe people whom were listening didn't feel like there was room in the conversation for them. I've said this before but in case people haven't heard me say it, I can take 5 calls at once so you don't have to wait for John to hang up to call in. As a matter of fact, when I do get a caller, John usually goes quiet so I talk to the caller myself. Anyone can call in and interrupt at any time and I'll shift the focus to the caller rather than continue from where the conversation was.

Conversation is key here though as this is still a new show. I'm trying to make it less formal and more personable but that really won't happen until I get more calls. However, if there are no calls then yes, it's a conversation between John and I for nearly an hour...but that is talk radio. Whether it's Rush Limbaugh or Air America, the tones when they are not reading from copy are very conversational. Hopefully it what my wife suggested is true then as time goes on people will feel less intimidated and feel free to join the conversation.

As for the topics, I choose what I think is interesting and timely. Lord knows I've been subjected to some pretty uninteresting radio in the last few years. Sometimes I'm glued and sometimes they lose me. That's the nature of the beast.

Overall I think it was a good show. I need to work on pacing toward the end as I start off pretty strong and end up rushing at the end. However, I think each week it gets better and easier and most importantly, I'm having fun with the show so far.