To the rest of the world, at least, it's clear enough that the Pentagon knows how to redden city streets in the developing world, just not win wars there; but in Washington - by the evidence of the "Joint Urban Operations, 2007" conference - it matters little. Advised, outfitted, and educated by these mild-mannered men who sipped sodas and noshed on burnt egg rolls between presentations, the Pentagon has evidently decided to prepare for 100 years more of the same: war against various outposts of a restless, oppressed population of slum-dwellers one billion strong and growing at an estimated rate of 25 million a year.

All of these Urban Op experts are preparing for an endless struggle that history suggests they can't win, but that is guaranteed to lead to large-scale destruction, destabilization, and death. Unsurprisingly, the civilians of the cities that they plan to occupy, whether living in Karachi, Jakarta, or Baghdad, have no say in the matter. No one thought to invite any of them to the conference.

More from Nick Turse . . read more

Why the ACT Government has only in the last year or so decided it was cute to try and use SMS language on anti-DWT (Driving While Texting) awareness signs like the "DRIVE N TXT U B NEXT" is beyond me ... they missed the boat by about 10 years and is embarrassing.

I wonder how many people still use SMS language and shortcuts given that technology nowadays means its no longer necessary. From what I've observed people in general want their messages to be well-formed, correctly spelt and appropriately punctuated and formatted - and that applies to phone SMSs and other short messages such as those posted on Twitter.

What are your thoughts on SMS language? Is it dead? Is it cute? Does it have its place still? Was it a temporary travesty of the English language? . . read more

In October 2007 the company Easy Being Green went bankrupt after exploiting a loophole in government legislation that allowed them to hand out energy efficient light bulbs and in turn claim carbon credits on their usage. In 2006 alone, EBG had generated and sold over 3 million NSW Greenhouse Abatement Certificates (proof of carbon credits) at an average price of $14.50 each. When it was revealed most of the light bulbs they were handing out were not being installed the company’s business plan imploded and all staff were made redundant. With companies exploiting environmental concerns to make profit the public is losing faith in the government, and even in itself to bring about change.

Today we look at the 60’s and remember it as a time that nurtured the values and ideals of free thinking, radicalism and activism in reaction to unpopular government agendas. I only hope that in 2050 we don’t look back in regret. . . read more

Thomas Deacon Academy opens next month and one of its new students, Jared Downer, points to the space reserved for the sculpture park, the eco-pond, the university style lecture hall, in-house theatre and dance studio. "This is mind-blowing... truly the school of the future".

It's suddenly clear that the currency of most education administration is as outmoded as the industrial revolution. Who's going to change the language of educational politics? . . read more

Nonetheless, a new cold war seems unlikely. To evaluate the prospect, we should begin with clarity about the old cold war. Fevered rhetoric aside, in practice the cold war was a tacit compact in which each of the contestants was largely free to resort to violence and subversion to control its own domains: for Russia, its Eastern neighbors; for the global superpower, most of the world. Human society need not endure – and might not survive – a resurrection of anything like that.

A sensible alternative... has recently been given by former Israeli Foreign Minister and historian Shlomo ben-Ami, writing in the Beirut Daily Star: “Russia must seek genuine strategic partnership with the US, and the latter must understand that, when excluded and despised, Russia can be a major global spoiler. Ignored and humiliated by the U.S. since the Cold War ended, Russia needs integration into a new global order that respects its interests as a resurgent power, not an anti-Western strategy of confrontation.” [More] . . read more

The new report, by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, warns that Iraq "will require years of steady engagement" before there is significant progress in providing Iraqis with power and clean water, jobs, health resources and government that works. One U.S. official in Iraq, quoted anonymously in the report, said he foresaw a "train wreck" ahead as costly U.S. projects in Iraq grind to a halt for lack of manpower or maintenance.

The report documented "a growing public frustration" of Iraqis with their government. As a result, there has been "little progress" toward political reconciliation, which it said was being undermined by jockeying for power among rival Shiite groups and a "sense of alienation" on the part of the minority Sunnis. The report's grim conclusions parallel previous U.S. assessments, including a major national intelligence estimate in August that said there had been little economic improvement. More . . read more

At the same time, we also have to recognize that China is rapidly increasing its military spending... We should not, at one level, be surprised that a more affluent China seeks to spend more on its military, but China also needs to be aware that its modernization drive also has an impact on the region. It is, in part, a question of transparency. It is also, in part, a question of uncertainties concerning long-term strategic purpose. We must remain vigilant to changing strategic terrain, but strategic vigilance must not be allowed, of itself, to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. There is nothing predetermined about a U.S.-China conflict in the future.

We decide the future by our actions today, and we need to give ourselves the best chance to choose the best future for us all. We need to have strong regional and global institutions, a China that is positively engaged in those institutions as a responsible stakeholder, contributing to a harmonious global and regional order and continued good management of the China-U.S. relations by both sides. [More] . . read more

I've never experienced an internal debate about my sexual orientation, but, given today's adversarial environment surrounding the subject, I can empathize with the young girl even if I can't understand her predicament.

I don't know how many of us shared our thoughts with our parents when we were teen-agers. I don't know how many of us believed that sharing those thoughts would be innocuous just to find ourselves in a knockdown, drag out "argument". If this happened to you as it happened to me, can you imagine sharing your feelings with your parents knowing that it would result in an intolerable situation for you?

The letter writer obviously had an open and honest relationship with her parents; a relationship which nothing she said to her parents could derail. Those who have had such a relationship with unconditionally understanding parents are fortunate. I have no data which shows if more parents are accepting or rejecting of the kind of feelings the girl has. This young lady knows her parents, though, and, if we give it some thought, we would suspect that she would probably have already told them about her feelings if she knew they would accept them as legitimate. She does hint at how they would accept her feelings by saying that they attend a "church that believes homosexuality is a terrible sin."

Of course, since the writer considers herself "a seasoned woman who happened (sic) to believe that a person's sexual orientation is a matter of choice", she may never have had to face what the girl sees as her moment of truth. The woman from Hebron doesn't believe that the girl is facing any such moment. According to the letter writer, "it has not been proven that one's sexual orientation is something a person is born with."

Scientists who study such things are basically in agreement with her. A huge difference between the letter writer and the scientists, however, is that the writer makes her claim as if the absence of definite proof is proof of definite absence. On the other hand, the scientists are using imaging technology to study the brain and they are beginning to discover that there are differences between the brains of straight people and those of gay people. Although the scientists admit that it hasn't been unquestionably proven that there is a "gay gene", they're getting closer to proving it.

Alternatively, the letter writer doesn't give the scientific studies much credit. Perhaps, she, too, is a scientist studying the human brain and she hasn't discovered the differences. Or perhaps, through her studies, she's discovered that the (other) scientists are wrong. I'm not taking bets on that one.

The letter writer hopes that "Dear Abby has not advised this 16 year-old young lady to do something she could one day regret."

This is a curious concern. The girl may discover that she's made the horrible mistake of thinking that she's gay when, in fact, she merely chose to think that she's gay. What regret will she have? Will she regret the fact that she blew the chance of getting pregnant? I think not.

The letter writer states that "humans both male and female at some point in life has (sic) been at least curious about what it would be like to be with someone of the same sex, but if you want to do the right thing you don't act on those feelings, you just put mind over matter."

Maybe we have a situation where the newspaper limits the number of words a letter writer may use in a letter to the editor. If that's the case, it's unfortunate because the woman never got a chance to present data which proves that not acting upon "those feelings" is "the right thing".

She further states that "I would not appreciate it if this has (sic) been my daughter Dear Abby gave this totally unprofessional advice to". Ironically enough, this statement should tell us that, if the woman's daughter was facing the same dilemma, Dear Abby may, indeed, be giving advice to her. She seems to be a parent who may become quite animated if told that one of her children is gay.

Lest we forget, we shouldn't leave out the media's influence. After all, "because of the media's acceptance of same sex relationships this young lady could also be being influenced into thinking this kind of behavior is normal." I'm thinking that the media began to accept same sex relationships as "normal" after a large portion of the American public had already legitimized same sex relationships with its acceptance of them.

The woman seems certain that giving the young girl advice which is "in direct defiance of her parents' beliefs... is unhealthy for the child". Many of us who did open up to our parents, thinking that they would understand, may have found that to be unhealthy.

I have confidence that science will ultimately find that homosexuality is hard wired in the human brain. However, whether it's hardwired or a lifestyle choice, those who oppose same sex relationships should see their opposition as their choice and nothing more. It is arrogance and unwarranted self-importance that drives people like the woman from Hebron, Mississippi to try to force their opinions on others even if the issue will never affect them.

Michael Bonanno is an associate editor for OpEdNews and a published poet, essayist and musician who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.  . . read more

In Australia (& Britain) we think we’re smarter than that but both our progressive governments ask what have we got this coal for if we don’t use it. Coal made Britain great and it’s making Australia very rich and inside both countries there is a powerful web of union, political, financial & industrial groups that have grown rich and are committed to keeping the coal power economy going. Power as a metaphor for power. In both countries this web is at the centre of the “Union Industrial Complex” (UIC) that runs the countries. Anglo-Australian companies like BHP are in there with their $15 billion profit. UIC leaders like Michael Costa want to prove Climate Change is false by making a new 40 year commitment to coal.

But there are also nice, reasonable people, like Penny Wong (Minster for Climate Change), who say we must find a carbon capture solution because the world is going to burn more coal (5th Aug 08). Read that again. False logic. A safe cheap method of massive carbon capture may be scientifically impossible (especially in the short term) but, like the MIC, the Union Industrial Complex doesn’t care about results - it just wants huge profits and it’s in control.  . . read more

And it is with disdain that those that have been taught English in the Commonwealth, with it's strange idiosyncrasies  and quirks which we love so much, have come to acknowledge. English is being replaced by the trimmed down, ultra efficient American English and the most recent example of this can be seen in the firefox (tht's the web browser) spell checker, which checks words according to American English. It wants to take away my U's and change my S's to Z's, when i write a perfectly correct sentence i see squiggly red lines under everything i do. Apparently there is a way to change this, but who can be bothered with that? It's going to bring the demise of English English I tell ya, and i don't like it.  . . read more