tagged w/ U.K.
-
-
The e-petition demands that David Cameron debates the US-UK extradition treaty with President Obama, with a view to amending it; this in the light of the recent extradition of British citizen Christopher Tappin (See below)
SIGN the PETITION:
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/30569The e-petition demands that David Cameron debates the US-UK extradition treaty with... more
-
-
Dagum
-
added this
-
3 months ago
- |
-
Walter Block on Iran and Ron Paul.
The closure of an international body of water is an act of war. If Iran implemented such a policy in the Strait of Hormuz, it would thus constitute an act of war. This is because in order to do so, this country would have to physically violate the rights of peaceful shippers. One might object that at present, Iran has only threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz. However, in my understanding of libertarian theory based upon the non aggression principle (NAP) not only are people (or governments!) not permitted to actually invade, or violate the rights of peaceful individuals, they are not entitled to threaten this either.
However, before we unduly criticize the Iranians for this threat, let us put the matter in context. The U.S. government has also threatened a blockade of Iran. With many statements emanating from Washington D.C. to the effect that the U.S. government "is not taking anything off the table," they are menacing actions a lot more serious, and invasive, than a mere blockade.
Why is the U.S. acting in so bellicose a manner? This is because it seems to be a settled part of present American policy that Iran should not persist in its (supposed) goal of arming itself with nuclear weapons.
Now, somewhat paradoxically, I agree with the Obama administration on this matter. Iran should not have nuclear weapons. But, neither should anyone else! Why not? This is because they are necessarily offensive. This type of ordnance cannot be used in a way that distinguishes between the guilty and the innocent. States Rothbard in this regard: "… while the bow and arrow and even the rifle can be pinpointed, if the will be there, against actual criminals, modern nuclear weapons cannot. Here is a crucial difference in kind. Of course, the bow and arrow could be used for aggressive purposes, but it could also be pinpointed to use only against aggressors. Nuclear weapons, even ‘conventional’ aerial bombs, cannot be. These weapons are ipso facto engines of indiscriminate mass destruction." (For a further elaboration of this thesis and a discussion of its implications, see here.)
However, this demand of Iran on the part of the U.S. comes with particular ill grace given the fact that the latter country has thousands of such nuclear devices. If the Obama Administration had suddenly become infused with libertarianism in general, and with Rothbard’s analysis of nuclear weapons in particular, it would certainly be justified in continuing to press the Iranians not to develop such firearms. But it would begin this quest by getting rid of its own stocks first.
But are not the Iranians unstable? Are they not likely, under the leadership of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to use these items against innocent people? Did not this person threaten to wipe Israel off the map with them, that is, use such weapons against that country? No. This was a mis-translation of what he actually said (see here, here, here, here, here and especially here {hyperlinks omitted see article at the link}). Nor is it possible to ignore the fact that there is only one country on the face of the earth that has actually employed atomic weapons against innocent men, women and children. And that country, strangely enough, is not Iran. Rather, it is the good old U.S. of A., land of the free and home of the brave. (See here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and especially here {hyperlinks omitted see article at link})
So, while I certainly endorse Rothbard’s analysis according to which any and all atomic weaponry is illicit according the NAP, it does not at all logically follow that a country with thousands of such armaments, that has the distinction of being the only one to have ever murdered people with such a heinous weapon, is justified in using force to prevent another nation from obtaining one for itself. (I here stipulate, arguendo, that this is indeed the case; Iran of course insists it is interested in nuclear power for entirely peaceful purposes.)....
Continued at:
http://lewrockwell.com/block/block193.htmlWalter Block on Iran and Ron Paul.
The closure of an international body of water is... more
-
-
Dagum
-
added this
-
5 months ago
- |
-
Interview with lead vocalist Biff Byford of Saxon. Discussions focus on the writing and recording of Saxon's 19th studio album entitled, "Call To Arms" (release date in North America September 27th), tour dates, Biff's son Sebastian (who makes a guest appearance on the video "Hammer Of The Gods"), Biff's favorites off the new disk and much more!
Includes two songs off "Call To Arms" ~ the lead-off single "Hammer Of The Gods" and the ochestral version of the title track, "Call To Arms".
AIR TIME: 29 Minutes.
TUNE IN HERE: http://the-big-rock-show.podomatic.com/entry/2011-09-20T04_00_47-07_00Interview with lead vocalist Biff Byford of Saxon. Discussions focus on the writing... more
-
-
What we are not hearing much about is the excessive police force which resulted in the death of a British youth, and which elicited a small familial protest that ignited the festering discontent of social and financial disenfranchisement of British youth. As here in the U.S., British government has condoned and facilitated the corporate and banking fleecing of the people and the national treasury. Such smoldering discontent is like small tender building up on a forest floor which ignites into an out of control forest fire with one lightning strike, or a carelessly tossed match; such as excess police brutality or prohibiting police action filming. It's bound to happen here as well under the current circumstances and course of government action. One comment from a victim of the riots characterizes the issue completely: ["No one's stolen anything," Graham Reeves said. "They just burnt it down."] The purpose isn't looting, as alleged, it's to vent anger and frustration at the "establishment" which has exploited and victimized the average person in the U.K. Our criminally militant corporate & banking right believe that they will be unharmed if such an outbreak occurs within the United States, but I suspect they will be terminally mistaken. The dissatisfied in this country have a very good idea of who has stolen their lunch and beds.
"UK riots claim 1st death; Cops weigh new tactics"
"Police to flood London streets amid riots"
"(CBS/AP) LONDON - British Prime Minister David Cameron recalled Parliament from its summer recess Tuesday and nearly tripled the number of police on the streets after three days of rioting in London blossomed into a full-blown political crisis.
Cameron described the scenes of burning buildings and smashed windows in London and several other British cities as "sickening," but refrained from more extreme measures such as calling in the military to help beleaguered police restore order.
Instead, he said 16,000 officers would be on the streets of the capital Tuesday night, almost tripling the number that were out Monday night.
Some 525 arrests have been made in London alone and dozens were arrested in other cities. Police announced Tuesday that plastic bullets would be "one of the tactics" available to officers to quell the riots.
London riots spread to 3 other U.K. cities
London riots said fueled by BlackBerry (Really?)
The riots also claimed their first death — a 26-year-old found shot dead in a car."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/09/501364/main20089926.shtml?tag=nl.e875What we are not hearing much about is the excessive police force which resulted in the... more
-
-
The prime minister will criticise "state multiculturalism" in his first speech on radicalisation and the causes of terrorism since being elected.
Addressing a security conference in Germany, David Cameron will argue the UK needs a stronger national identity to prevent people turning to extremism.
Different cultures are encouraged to live apart, and objectionable views met with "passive tolerance", he will say.
He will also signal a tougher stance on groups promoting Islamist extremism.
Mr Cameron is to suggest there will be greater scrutiny of some Muslim groups that get public money but do little to tackle extremism.
Ministers should refuse to share platforms or engage with such groups, which should be denied access to public funds and barred from spreading their message in universities and prisons, he will argue.
"Frankly, we need a lot less of the passive tolerance of recent years and much more active, muscular liberalism," the prime minister will say.
"Let's properly judge these organisations: Do they believe in universal human rights - including for women and people of other faiths? Do they believe in equality of all before the law? Do they believe in democracy and the right of people to elect their own government? Do they encourage integration or separatism?...
Continued at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12371994The prime minister will criticise "state multiculturalism" in his first... more
-
-
Dagum
-
added this
-
1 year ago
- |
-
Scientists capture antimatter atoms in particle breakthrough
By Thair Shaikh, CNN
November 18, 2010 12:21 p.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Antihydrogen atoms were trapped in a magnetic field
* Matter and antimatter annihilate each other on contact
* "It's taken us five years to get here," says Professor Jeffrey Hangst
* CERN's next ambition is to create a beam of antimatter
(CNN) -- Scientists have captured antimatter atoms for the first time, a breakthrough that could eventually help us to understand the nature and origins of the universe.
Researchers at CERN, the Geneva-based particle physics laboratory, have managed to confine single antihydrogen atoms in a magnetic trap.
This will allow them to conduct a more detailed study of antihydrogen, which will in turn allow scientists to compare matter and antimatter.
Understanding antimatter is one of the biggest challenges facing science -- most theoretical physicists and cosmologists believe that at the Big Bang, when the universe was created, matter and antimatter were produced in equal amounts.
However, as our world is made up of matter, antimatter seems to have disappeared.
Understanding antimatter could shed light on why almost everything in the known universe consists of matter.
Antimatter has been very difficult to handle because matter and antimatter don't get on, destroying each other instantly on contact in a violent flash of energy.
It's taken us five years to get here, this is a big milestone
--Professor Jeffrey Hangst
In a precursor to today's experiment, in 2002 scientists at CERN produced antihydrogen atoms in large quantities, but they had an incredibly short lifespan -- just several milliseconds -- because the antihydrogen came into contact with the walls of their containers and the two annihilated each other.
In this latest experiment the lifespan of the antihydrogen atoms was extended by using magnetic fields to trap them and thus prevent them from coming into contact with matter.
The researchers created 38 antihydrogen atoms and held on to them for about a tenth of a second, which is long enough to study them says Professor Jeffrey Hangst, one of the team of CERN scientists who worked on the program.
Hangst and his colleagues produced a magnet field which was strongest near the walls of the trap, falling to a minimum at the center, causing the atoms to collect there in a vacuum.
"We could have held them for much longer... I am just full of joy and relief, it's taken us five years to get here, this is a big milestone," Hangst told CNN.
To trap just 38 atoms, they had to run the experiment 335 times, says Nature which published the report findings.
Hangst added: "This was ten thousand times more difficult than creating untrapped antihydrogen atoms.
"This will help us understand the structure of space and time. For reasons that no one yet understands, nature ruled out antimatter... this inspires us to work that much harder to see if antimatter holds some secret."
Malcolm Longair, professor of natural philosophy at Cambridge University, told CNN that CERN's results were a considerable achievement.
"At the Big Bang we believe the temperatures were very very high and we understand in theory why antimatter disappeared but there is no physical theory to back it up."
Antimatter was first predicted in 1931 by the British physicist Paul Dirac, who theorized that antimatter is ordinary matter in reverse.
CERN's next ambition is to create a beam of antimatter which they hope will allow them to unpeel more of the mysteries surrounding it.Scientists capture antimatter atoms in particle breakthrough
By Thair Shaikh, CNN... more
-
-
Pretty-Damn-Cool, by the U.K.'s pop/punk/ska/reggae master Mister Jack, is a high energy video. A muted guitar gets the band rolling on this song, and the drums soon follow this 80's style feel. The band all jumps in with a bass and guitar playing the same melody in tandem, utilizing a broken ascending diminished scale. Building up the energy for the vocals that follow the breakdown, Mister Jack comes in talking about a girl on his street that's pretty sweet. The humor kicks in as he continues to describe her. He sings the hook with sing along overdubs, "I don't know what it is about you". After the hook, the band responds with the same unison pattern and Mister Jack continues to narrate more of the song. It's fun, it's funny, and it's pretty damn cool.Pretty-Damn-Cool, by the U.K.'s pop/punk/ska/reggae master Mister Jack, is a high... more
-
-
Sir Nigel Wood-Smythe of the House of Lords outlines his plan to tax mastur...er...self..uh....well, he has an idea that could put the U.K. back on sure financial footing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxkCVDlI9dkSir Nigel Wood-Smythe of the House of Lords outlines his plan to tax... more
-
-
From the Great nation that brought you the SEX PISTOLS ; Your future dream is a bOOby scheme ! (-heh-)
cause I iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiI,...............wannaaaaa beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee,....babe-er eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey !
( but is it part of th Boobish invasion,.....OR,.....
are WE the "babery pirates" ?!! )
------------get pissed,................boob-JOY !
Top 10 Hottest Women From Britain | 360 Blog
http://www.360blog.org/2009/05/top-10-hottest-women-from-britain/From the Great nation that brought you the SEX PISTOLS ; Your future dream is a bOOby... more
-
-
-
-
suzane
-
added this
-
2 years ago
- |
-
All U.K. Wildcat fans have something to be proud of. Only once in a "BLUE" moon do we have an opportunity to watch a player beat a record like Travis Fords assist record so easily as John Wall did. Tonight not only was the moon amazing with the moon bow forming a circle around it on the first night of a "BLUE" moon but the CATS looked pretty amazing as well. GO CATS!!!!!!!!!!All U.K. Wildcat fans have something to be proud of. Only once in a "BLUE"... more
-
-
One investment strategy by Citigroup defines equity earnings in the global market as targeting the plutonic class which resides in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy or power provided by wealth.
They consider Europe (ex-Italy) and Japan as egalitarian, meaning that all people should be treated as equals and have the same political, economic, social, and civil rights or as a social philosophy advocating the removal of economic inequalities among people.
Did we ever really disjoin ourselves from British rule? Or did the ruling class we left over 200 years ago follow us just to have freer reign in the land of the free and home of the brave?One investment strategy by Citigroup defines equity earnings in the global market as... more
-
-
Alcoholic Architecture is far from your average London bar. Tickets for a "breathable cocktail" of gin and tonic mist are timed by the hour and can be purchased at the door. 40 minutes inside the building created to give the illusion of being INSIDE a drink will leave one a little giddy. No doubt the gigantic straws, limes, and background sound of a drink being poured over ice will make one feel slightly disoriented. The unique attraction is only open 'till April 25th, so get a whiff while you can if you're in the London area.
This is an alcoholic's dream realized by wacky innovators Bompas & Parr, whose culinary abnormalties have captured the attention of more than just the locals. These eccentric "jellymongers" are creating some very strange culinary commotion with their fine English jellies. Sit down to a mouth-watering feast comprised of nothing but jelly. Enhance your viewing experience with the smell of dusty books at the Scratch n Sniff Cinema.
To further confuse the senses, Bompas & Parr have brought to light something that will make you question your own tongue: "flavour tripping". Participants of the U.K.'s first public flavour tripping party ate freeze dried West African berries called Synsepalum Dulcificum that made "lemons taste like toffee and vinegar like sherry". New York's culinary and art scenes have been inspired by this, organizing similar events.
What will they think of next?!
>>Check the Bompas & Parr site for more culinary oddities:
http://www.jellymongers.co.uk/alcoholicarchitecture.html Alcoholic Architecture is far from your average London bar. Tickets for a... more
-
-
We know that our ocean life is dying... or at least we should admit it.
For example, in 2002, The Phoenix Islands "in the central Pacific Ocean east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands", had a coral reef bed that was considered the most pristine in the world. By 2004, the entire bed had died, revealing that the earth began to "warm-up" in 2002.
Can this mechanical fish possibly find cause and help fix our pollution problems? I'm not so sure what the robot's job is, given that polluted waters are apparent, but perhaps it can detect mathematical amounts of pollution and make it easier for us to clean it up.
"The sensors will detect hazards such as chemical spills and fertilizer runoff and will allow officials to map in real time the sources and impacts of pollution"
Can we, in real time, clean up our mess?
We know that our ocean life is dying... or at least we should admit it.
For... more
-
-
Thomas told the Times that creeping surveillance in the public and private sectors had gone to far, to fast and risked undermining democracy.
He critised proposals going through parliment to allow mass data sharing between government departments and the private sector. Campaigners have claimed that section 152 of the Coroners and Justice bill would enable the transfer of health and tax records to private companies such as insurance firms and medical researchers.Thomas told the Times that creeping surveillance in the public and private sectors had... more
-