Do Not Attack Iran

In an article for the International Herald Tribune, Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter, gives four compelling reasons against a preventative air strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

1. In the absence of an imminent threat (with the Iranians at least several years away from having a nuclear arsenal), the attack would be a unilateral act of war.

If undertaken without formal Congressional declaration, it would be unconstitutional and merit the impeachment of the President. Similarly, if undertaken without the sanction of the UN Security Council either alone by the United States or in complicity with Israel, it would stamp the perpetrator(s) as an international outlaw(s).

2. Likely Iranian reactions would significantly compound ongoing U.S. difficulties in Iraq and in Afghanistan, perhaps precipitate new violence by Hezbollah in Lebanon, and in all probability cause the United States to become bogged down in regional violence for a decade or more to come. Iran is a country of some 70 million people and a conflict with it would make the misadventure in Iraq look trivial.

3. Oil prices would climb steeply, especially if the Iranians cut their production and seek to disrupt the flow of oil from the nearby Saudi oil fields. The world economy would be severely impacted, with America blamed for it. Note that oil prices have already shot above $70 per barrel, in part because of fears of a U.S./Iran clash.

4. America would become an even more likely target of terrorism, with much of the world concluding that America's support for Israel is itself a major cause of the rise in terrorism. America would become more isolated and thus more vulnerable while prospects for an eventual regional accommodation between Israel and its neighbors would be ever more remote.

It follows that an attack on Iran would be an act of political folly, setting in motion a progressive upheaval in world affairs. With America increasingly the object of widespread hostility, the era of American preponderance could come to a premature end.

Entire article here.

Good News From Chernobyl

According to a BBC article, the area surrounding the worst nuclear accident in history is teeming with wildlife. Tests continue to be done on the animal population, and many of the results are surprising.

"Animals don't seem to sense radiation and will occupy an area regardless of the radiation condition," says radioecologist Sergey Gaschak.

"A lot of birds are nesting inside the sarcophagus," he adds, referring to the steel and concrete shield erected over the reactor that exploded in 1986.

"Starlings, pigeons, swallows, redstart - I saw nests, and I found eggs."

There may be plutonium in the zone, but there is no herbicide or pesticide, no industry, no traffic, and marshlands are no longer being drained.

There is nothing to disturb the wild boar - said to have multiplied eightfold between 1986 and 1988 - except its similarly resurgent predator, the wolf.

While mutations in DNA have been found, some scientists argue that the benefits to wildlife of removing humans from the area have far exceeded the harm from exposure to radiation. One scientist has even said, "I have wondered if the small volumes of nuclear waste from power production should be stored in tropical forests and other habitats in need of a reliable guardian against their destruction by greedy developers".

Vote For Your Favorite

Miss Ellie


Lucille Bald


Pee Wee


Remember Sam, three time winner of the Ugliest Dog Contest, in California? He died last year, so another contender will take the crown at the Sonoma-Marin Fair. Three of the hopefuls are pictured above. You can see more pics, read their stories and vote for your favorite here.

You gotta love people who love their ugly dogs!

Why?

Many interesting questions are posed on this short video about 9/11 and the collapse of the WTC.

The Idiot Wind

Now everything's a little upside down,
As a matter of fact the wheels have stopped.
What's good is bad, what's bad is good; you'll find out when you reach the top, you're on the bottom.
I noticed at the ceremony, your corrupt ways had finally made you blind.

The idiot wind blowing like a circle around my skull
From the Grand Coulee Dam to the Capitol
The idiot wind blowing every time you move your teeth
You're an idiot, babe.
It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe.

---Bob Dylan

Begonia Blogging

Click for larger image

Begonia 'Annan Blossom'. Another beautiful shot from the Yahoo Begonia Group. This is a Ross Bolwell hybrid from 1996, a very compact growing cane with dense foliage, rich green, spotted white, with undulate margins and a white drip tip.

Where the Hell Were You?

In an open letter, Watertiger blasts democratic Senators Schumer, Feinstein, Kennedy, and Biden for not showing up at the Judiciary Committee censure hearing.

A fabulous rant!