The US is to open direct peace talks with the Taliban, senior White House officials have announced.
So we had to invade to “punish these people for harboring terrorists”, and now 10 years, billions if not trillions of dollars, and who knows how many ruined lives later, we’ve accomplished nothing. But pulling out troops years ago would have been the wrong move, it would have sent the wrong message, it would have made all the losses and costs in vain. We’re taught as children not to use violence to solve our problems, because violence doesn’t solve problems, unless you succeed in killing everyone. But I guess that’s the point of war. Way to go, humanity.
Days after Philadelphia officials pushed the city one step closer to a so-called “doomsday” education plan that would see two dozen schools close, construction began on a $400-million prison said to be the second-most expensive state project ever.
Priorities. You can’t make this shit up.
Turkey’s PM has vowed that development of Taksim Square will go ahead, despite ongoing protests. Tayyip Erdogan made the remark in Tunisia, and is due to return to Turkey today.
I’m sure that’ll go over fine.
The United Nations has published its first plan for managing the extraction of so-called “nodules” - small mineral-rich rocks - from the seabed.
A technical study was carried out by the UN’s International Seabed Authority - the body overseeing deep sea mining.
It says companies could apply for licences from as soon as 2016.
The idea of exploiting the gold, copper, manganese, cobalt and other metals of the ocean floor has been considered for decades but only recently became feasible with high commodity prices and new technology.
Conservation experts have long warned that mining the seabed will be highly destructive and could have disastrous long-term consequences for marine life.
The ISA study itself recognizes that mining will cause “inevitable environmental damage”.
But the report comes amid what a spokesman describes as “an unprecedented surge” of interest from state-owned and private mining companies.
“It appears that nothing has been learned during our short and devastating history on our ocean planet. Having destroyed or irrevocably changed so much of the Earth’s land environment, our rapaciousness is now having measurable effects on the oceans through overfishing, acidification, refuse, oil spills, reef destruction etc. Mining will be one more nail in the coffin.”
The city of Keene, New Hampshire, is suing a group of do-gooders for allegedly topping off parking meters of strangers. The group, which calls itself “Robin Hood and his Merry Men,” likes to leave notes on the windshields of cars that are in danger of getting a ticket due to an expired meter, according to […]
The alleged ‘harassing’ doesn’t sound all that harassing. Starve the beast! Some choice commentary from the article:
”“The city would have to hire & train new officers”…How F&^%ckin’ hard is to train someone to write a parking ticket??? Statement’s a total crock.”
”When taxes pay to pave the streets, why do citizens have to pay to park on them?”
”Of course. Parking meters aren’t there to collect the piddly little quarters, they exist to give an excuse to write tickets with high priced fines, fees, and surcharges. This is otherwise known as “Taxation by Citation”.”
Afghan President Says U.S. Can Have 9 Bases After Withdrawal
Afghan President Hamid Karzai says Afghanistan will allow the United States to keep nine military bases in the country after the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops at the end of next year. For months, U.S. and Afghan leaders have been holding secret talks about the future of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Karzai made the remarks in a speech at Kabul University Thursday.
President Hamid Karzai: “They want nine bases all over Afghanistan, including Kabul, Bagram, Mazar, Jalalabad, Gardez, Kandahar, Helmand, Shindand and Herat, and we agreed to give them these bases. Our conditions are that the U.S. should guarantee to bring security in our country and support Afghanistan’s forces, as well as build up our economic infrastructure.”
In a statement, the U.S. embassy in Kabul said the United States is not seeking permanent military bases in Afghanistan, but instead hopes to use Afghan facilities.
Source.
Two large explosions on a fuel barge in Mobile, Alabama could be felt from miles away in Spanish Fort and Daphne, Alabama, over 10 miles away across the river, according to local reports.
Fertilizer plant explosion, about a billion oil spills, natural gas barges exploding… maybe we should start using more energy sources that aren’t volatile or toxic? No, just gonna keep fucking up the planet and blowing ourselves up? K, sounds good humanity. Good talk.
Washington has refused to recognize North Korea as a nuclear-armed state, effectively closing the door on negotiations with Pyongyang.
Right. The US is the sole arbiter on who can and cannot have nuclear weapons, despite being the only country to have ever used nuclear weapons on massive population centers.
In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday the country’s interpretation of the Constitution will “have to change” to allow for greater security to stave off future attacks.
“Look, we live in a very dangerous world. We know there are people who want to take away our freedoms.” - The only people who can take away our freedoms are the people we let tell us what we can and cannot do. Why people are so enamored with the idea of being ruled is beyond me. Feudalism was supposed to have ended, but I guess since we can now ‘elect’ our kings, everything is ok?
