The Wall Street Journal has a great article and video up about an Internet troll (someone who makes a point of putting up negative and inflammatory comments on websites) who makes it his mission to attack Hilary Clinton’s run for the presidency. Though politics is a magnet for this kind of online shenaniganery, trolls have been around since the days of Usenet, and they won’t disappear as long as there are blowhards with access to the Internet. But it is interesting to put a face and a life next to the alphanumeric ranting.
Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria points out in his latest column that while America cowers from perceived threats, the rest of the world still sees it as an aggressive bully. In order for the US to regain its standing in the world, they’re going to have to get past their sense of fear and deal with a rapidly changing world. Zakaria suggests one bright idea might be spending less time on the Middle East and more on China and India.
According to the Times, the recent declaration by American intelligence agencies that Iran doesn’t actually have any nukes and froze plans to get them a while back isn’t going over too well in Washington. And in an ironic twist of fate, war with the United States is probably about the only thing that’ll keep Ahmadinejad, Iran’s increasingly unpopular president, in power.
Yeah, it’s a total shocker to me that the Iranians aren’t actually ready to trot out a nuclear weapon, though it is amazing to hear it from American intelligence agencies. Looks like the y might have finally grown a set and not just told Bush what he wants to hear, like they did in the “slam dunk” days building up to the Iraq war. Still, the sterling record of spot-on analysis from the American intelligence community leading up to both 9/11 and the war means Iran probably DOES have nukes.
Amnesty International made a film featuring a performance artist going through six hours of the allegedly non-tortuous treatment that prisoners of American forces endure when being interrogated. The artist isn’t acting; every single whimper out of the guy is the real thing. Kind of puts the whole “war on terror” thing in perspective.
I’m a firm believer that the fanciful tales of drones and controlled demolitions spun by 9/11 “Truthers” (worst….name….ever!) are utter nonsense. It’s nice to see Noam Chomsy, a voice of reason from the Left, express his disdain for such theories and point out how utterly illogical they are. Check out parts one and two of his thoughts below.
A new book by GQ reporter Robert Draper called “Dead Certain” details just how out of touch President Bush is with reality. In a great review of the book in the New York Times, it’s revealed that Bush was convinced there were WMDs in Iraq three years after the invasion, and displays a colossal ignorance of both Iraq’s past and the nature of Islam. And that despite the continued bloodshed in Iraq, he remains sure that history will acquit him. Good luck on that one, George.
Remember the news about a week ago about State Department employees being forced to serve time in Iraq? Turns out they’re not very happy with the idea, likening the task to a “death sentence.”
Fort McMurray is a boom town built on a vast sea of oil, and the number one reason Alberta is the prime driver of the Canadian economy. It’s also a violent, anything goes place, full of rig pigs, pickup trucks and people out to make many fast bucks. The Guardian sent their environmental reporter to the Mac to see just how much stress the rapid growth and rampant industry is putting on people and the environment.