Iran missile tests enter day 2

Yesterday Iran spooked the world when it test launched 9 missiles, one with a long enough range to hit its Middle East enemy Israel. Despite the harsh warnings to got in return, Iran has done more tests today involving more long range missiles.

The feud between Iran and Israel is nothing new, but tensions have definitely been increasing over the past couple of weeks, with Israel conducting war games in Greece last month that many believe is a precursor to an eventual attack on its Middle East neighbor. These games did not go un-noticed by Iran, which has vowed to destroy Israel and set American interests in the region on fire.

While you could list numerous reasons for the feud, the main one in the forefront these days is Iran’s nuclear intentions. Iran is insistent that its nuclear ambitions are for peaceful means (electricity), but Israel and America have been skeptical of such claims, and have insisted that the country is in pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Israel and America have both come out very vocally and stated that Iran must stop their nuclear program, or actions may be taken. The irony of course being that both Israel and America do posses the nuclear bombs.

Of course having a nuclear bomb is one thing, being able to deliver it is another. Short of walking into Israel with a nuclear suitcase bomb, Iran would first have to build accurate missiles to use to deploy the weapons.

And that is where we are today. Iran has been appearing to be developing its nuclear program for several years now, and now we are seeing missile tests.

The strange thing is that now America is actually down playing the country’s nuclear program, saying that Iran has not made any significant progress in developing nuclear weapons. I know its tough to believe that this is actually coming out of the Bush white house, but it is. What should we take from that? I’m not really sure… I will have to think about that one for a while.

For now it’s anyone’s guess who this will play itself out. Perhaps Iran is merely launching these missiles to get it a little more leveraging power in diplomatic discussion, or perhaps, and hopefully not, they have figured out how to produce the nuclear bomb, and are now working on a way to be able to deliver it should they ever decide that was the right move. Lets hope that is not what is going on.

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George Carlin’s passing is the loss of a great comedian

This weekend I was very saddened to hear that comedic icon George Carlin had passed away. Carlin, was 71 and died of heart failure on Sunday.

As a kid, Carlin was definitely one of my favorite comedians. Maybe it was because my parents didn’t really want us watching his famed HBO specials. Lets face it… he wasn’t exactly known for his political correctness. But, as a kid, there was nothing better than watching an adult on TV saying all the words that were considered no-no’s” for us as children. Yes, I guess it is safe to say that as a kid it was the vulgarity that mostly attracted me to George Carlin’s comedy act.

But as I grew, I started to realize that there was more, much more, to his acts than just the bad words that used to create so much humor for me as a child. He was never afraid to say what was on his mind, and his insight were some of the smartest, well laid out ideas that I have ever seen from a person, much less a stand up comedian.

One of his most favorite routines was that of the “7 words you can’t say on TV”. Following his death, search engines have reported a huge spike in the number of searches for George Carlin’s 7 words you can never say on TV… so if you are one of those looking for this skit… enjoy it here:

So, I for one, will definitely miss Carlin, but the man definitely left a legacy behind him, and his comedy will be around forever for everyone to enjoy

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More warning signs over Iran

In a new report today, the International Atomic Energy Agency made its most straight forward statement yet over Iran and its nuclear ambitions.

According to the new 9 page report, the Agency stated that Iran has shown a willful lack of cooperation with efforts to inspect the country’s nuclear ambitions. The argument has been going on for some time now, as Iran insists that it is merely looking to improve it’s country energy while the West (especially America) insists that the country is looking to develop weapons of mass destruction with their nuclear endeavors.

The Agency’s report seemed to really be effected by documents that showed that the country’s military had definitely been playing a role in the country’s nuclear program, and that there was evidence that the Iranians have moved into working with explosives, uranium processing and a missile warhead design — activities that it said could be used towards eventually developing nuclear weapons.

Iran, of course, denied the reports and claimed that the documents were forged, which is no surprise coming from the country that has been refusing to let inspectors visit all of their nuclear research sites.

Whether or not you believe that Iran is actually pursuing nuclear weapons is up to you to decide, but the real question is what should the world do to move to prevent the country from getting the weapons that they may or may not be looking to develop? There are really only two options here. The first being to negotiate with the country to try to work out some way to convince Iran that nuclear weapons are not in their best interest. The second method is the one that George Bush has decided to take, which is to refuse to talk to the country at all, and hope that sanctions will prevent it from getting the weapons. Gee, if memory serves me correct, I think that was the same method Bush decided was the right way to go with North Korea too… and we all know how that worked out.

Unlike Bush’s policy (and the same one that McCain has promised to follow if he becomes the next President), there are a handful of large and powerful countries that have decided to have talks with Iran to try to prevent what I believe to be the inevitable entrance of the country into the nuclear power countries.

Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany are all looking to hold talks with Iran. Foreign ministers from all of those countries are going to be visiting Iran to try to work out a deal to convince the country to stop moving forward with its nuclear plans.

Which policy is the more effective one? Once again, that decision is yours to make… me personally, I think it’s always better to negotiate before a problem develops instead of waiting for the problem to be in your face, but who really knows. As for Bush, nothing will change his perspective, so at least while he is in office do not expect to read any news about America and Iran sitting down to discuss the problems between the two countries. The only way that will happen any time soon is if America wakes up and elects Barack Obama this November.

What are your thoughts? Should America try to work with Iran before a problem develops, or wait until after and then claim there was nothing we could have done? Maybe I am just missing something very obvious here, but from my point of view I, once again, just can’t seem to figure out what is going through Bush’s mind.

image from Meantoons

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China and Russia join forces to condem Washington

The new Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, is currently on his first official foreign trip since taking over the Presidency of Russia, and he is currently in China. In a joint statement, both Medvedev, and Chinese President Hu Jintao, stated that the missile shield defense program that George Bush wants in Europe jeopardizes to undermine and any trust left between the two countries and Washington.

Washington claims that the shield is imperative to national security but China and Russia are afraid that the system could be used against them (and they are probably right). The Bush Administration continues to use the same excuses that it has used for the past 7 years whenever they are questioned about anything, stating that the system is necessary to protect itself from attacks from countries like Iran. Call me ignorant, but maybe they should look at options on how to convince Iran to not acquire nukes instead of ways to defend against them once they have them. But then again, it would weaken American’s position in the world if we were to actually try to communicate with countries that dislike us and work out our problems verbally.

OK, enough about that, I don’t want to get into a rant over Bush politics, let’s get back to the basics here, and what exactly all the fuss is over. The system that Washington wants to put into place would involve a radar base in the Czech Republic and an interceptor missile site in Poland. China and Russia have both been vocal in the past in their disapproval of this plan, but this marks the first time that the two countries have fused their feelings into one statement. Russian and American ties have already become very strained since Bush took office, and this is pushing the two countries even further apart.

Russia and China have both stated that the American plan to deploy this defense system would undermine any efforts that are currently underway at controlling global arms and weakens trust between the countries and America. Arguably these are the three most powerful countries in the world, so to have them teaming up against America brings back memories of the cold war, and no one wants things to return to those days.

In addition to the statement of the missile shield, the two countries also inked a deal in which Russia will begin to build a new nuclear power plant inside of China.

What are your thoughts on this issue? Do you think Russia and China are overreacting to Bush’s plans? Or is Bush stepping over the boundaries of trust here?

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San Fransico Olympic Torch Protests a Washout

The eyes of the world were focussed on San Fransisco’s leg of the Olympic torch relay yesterday to see if we would get more protests like we saw last week in Europe, but the relay turned more into a game of hide and seek than anything else.

I was watching the relay on CNN, and I have to say it was the most bizarre torch relay leg I have ever seen. At first I was glued to my television and expecting to see some action, but shortly after they lit the torch, the Chinese runner disappeared into a security warehouse and basically vanished for the next 40 minutes or so.

As the protestors waited, the minutes just kept ticking, and ticking, and ticking. After a half an hour or so I was about to give up, but finally we see some action, as a row of vans and security leave the warehouse. Finally we see that they have driven the torch a mile or so from the warehouse and are preparing to run an altered course.

What came next was just laughable to me. To see the Olympic Torch being carried while surrounded by a literal swarm of policeman just seemed to completely negate the whole idea of the relay. I tried to count how many policeman I saw circling the torch, but they just kept coming and coming. A great picture of international unity for sure. And once again I had the vision in my head of a world that is about to explode, and America trying to do the policing of tensions. Ironic if you think about it considering the current state of the world.

Then I started to wonder how this would treat China? What are they thinking? But, considering that the Chinese people are not allowed to see the news (other than what the government feeds them) I suppose they are pretty oblivious to the tension around the world over their country.

The only thing I think that could really have an impact on the way China acts is if world leaders boycott the opening ceremonies. A few already have stated that they will, and a couple others (George Bush included) have stated that they are not sure, or will have to check their calendars. Check their calendars? Come on now… you can come up with a better stall tactic than that.

Regardless… the whole event turned out to be rather boring, and unless you were actually there on the ground I doubt you had much excitement from the event. Check out Laughing Squid’s post. He was there and had some really nice ground level coverage.

Will the torch relay continue? We should find out shortly whether or not officials decide to stop the relay this year or not. Would be ironic… the torch relay started in 1936 by Nazi Germany, and now is in jeopardy of ending by Communist China. We will find out later this week.

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Save money by altering your driving

One of the things that has been hitting Americans really hard lately has been the massive run up in oil prices, which has translated to record high gasoline prices. With gas prices currently averaging over $3.30 a gallon, it is for sure that everyone is feeling the pinch when they hit the pump, and wishing there was something they could do to lower their gas bill, well… maybe there is!

I ran across an interesting article from cnnmoney.com that laid out some pretty good evidence that by simply driving slower you can do you part to lower the cost of gasoline you are putting into your car(s).

According to the report, for every 10 mph you drive over 60 mph is like adding an additional 54 cents per gallon to your bill. So… let’s do a little math here; the current average of gasoline is running a bit over $3.30 a gallon, so if you average driving your car at 70 mph then you are actually going to wind up paying something closer to $3.85 a gallon for your gas, and that is assuming your car is some-what fuel efficient.

Regardless of what sort of car you drive… whether it be a Honda Accord, or a nice big Humvee, every additional 10 mph you drive will reduce you cars gasoline mileage by 4  miles per gallon.

So, if you are feeling the hit of high gasoline prices, then maybe the best thing you can do is just slow down… just simply slow down. Sounds easy enough, but the question remains.. what is more important? Getting someone quicker, or saving a little gasoline and reducing your energy costs. That is the question.

Can you remember when the national speed limit was 55 mph? One of the main reasons why the country had a maximum speed limit of 55 was in reaction to high oil prices in the 70’s that led to shortages and an eventual international embargo.

Don’t expect to see the country revert back to a national 55 mph speed limit, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t impose a lower speed limit on yourself!

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Jerry Seinfeld flips his car to avoid serious accident

Legendary comedian Jerry Seinfeld got more than he bargained for last night while test driving his new 1967 fiat. During his drive he realized that his breaks weren’t working, so he decided to take action to avoid getting into a major accident in a busy intersection.

According to the police, Seinfeld was approaching a very busy Montauk Highway when he realized that his breaks were not working, so instead of plowing into the highway and possibly hitting other motorists, the comedian slammed on his emergency and jerked the wheel hard to the right, resulting in his car flipping at least once before resting on its side.

Flipping a car is never considered a “minor accident” in my book, but the police stated that had Jerry driven onto Montauk Highway that the results could have been “catastrophic”.

But don’t worry. Our beloved creator of Seinfeld was not injured in the accident, and actually was driven back home following the accident by another car. Police will not charge him with leaving the scene of a crime since there was no property damage other than his own car.

Definitely some slick driving from the funny man!

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