News – Wasted Youth

Americas

Human rights groups attack the US decision to try a Canadian national and alleged Taliban fighter who was detained at the age of 15. He’s been in Gitmo for five years since and is now going to be tried on charges of murder, attempted murder, providing support to terrorism, conspiracy and spying. He subsequently faces life imprisonment. Just a small step down from the death penalty in wrongness in this situation, I’d say.

Treating this person as an adult rather than the child he was initially was where things started going wrong with this situation. When confronted with an impressionable youth such as this, who was captured rather than killed, attempts should have been made early on to break him of whatever influence the Taliban had on him in an effort to save him from a ruined life. Instead, his life is all but over before it truly began.

I readily acknowledge the kid might not have been savable, but it doesn’t seem to me that anyone tried. And now, well, I’d say it’s far too late for any such hope to hold out. If the Taliban didn’t make if official, five years in Gitmo would have.

The military is accused of exploiting the death of Pat Tillman. His bother, Kevin, says they’re trying to “hijack his virtue and his legacy”. Jessica Lynch has been speaking up recently as well. A resurgence of the past coming as the military is looking into the deaths of quite a few soldiers after complaints by families that they have not always been given accurate information.

Looking at the state of the National Guard. I still think it was a poor idea to, for all intents and purposes, roll the National Guard into the active military. Mostly because these people aren’t career soldiers, thus shouldn’t be expected to be fielded in a war that is anything short of an all out invasion of our shores.

When it comes to the VT tragedy, some take things too far in their search for meaning where there is none. As disheartening as it is, some things are simply random and pointless.

Middle East

The UN points out the poor human rights conditions in Iraq over the last two months since the new security plan went live. Mass arrests are always an issue, since by their very nature they make providing due process difficult if not impossible.

A curious new thing in Israel. Modesty buses where men and women are to sit in separate sections of the bus. It’s a curious thing to see develop in today’s world.

After letting the situation languish too long with continued low level skirmishes, the long held ‘ceasefire’ ends as Hamas starts firing rockets into Israel again. One wonders what will finally get the three sides(Palestinians/Israel/US) to actually end this farce. Every positive step is left to wither and die rather than being seized upon by the parties to bring this bull to an end.

The resignation of the new Palestinian government’s Interior Minster doesn’t help.

Africa

Somalia’s interim government is suspected of keeping humanitarian aid from reaching fleeing Somalis. There’s already enough problems with regard to the militants, we don’t need the government complicating already difficult matters.

Pregnant mothers in Africa are a third less likely to miscarry or have a stillbirth if they sleep under mosquito netting.

Nigeria’s opposition parties are planning organized means to protest the corrupt presidential election in their country.

Asia/Pacific

Looks like China is set to pass the US in the greenhouse gas production field.

Toyota has passed up GM as the world’s largest carmaker.

General

Looks like astronomers might have found an Earth-like planet outside of our solar system

With some growing awareness in how to combat malicious emails, attackers are turning to web delivery of malicious code. This makes it more important to make sure your website is secure.

The Blogs look at the Iarq War spending bill, farm subsidies and Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s same-sex marriage bill.

Today’s Papers has note that homeowners will continue to see an increase in their tax responsibility mainly because most states put limits on how fast property taxes can increase, Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announcing he might issue an executive order to make sure gun sellers have access to information about the mental health of a buyer, trouble brewing inside Iraq’s Baath Party as it finds itself mired in an internal power struggle and more in the one page news.

Amusements

Some totally wrong predictions from the past

Man is jailed after ramming his house with a truck because his wife won’t bring him a cigarette

Let’s blow this marshmallow stand

Drawing stick figures in school is still OK, unless one of the stick figures is holding a gun, in which case you call in the FBI and any nearby National Guard units

If you’re going to steal a car from a dealer lot and try to trade it in for something larger, you probably shouldn’t to go back to the same dealership with their plates still on the car

ABC News digs deep into another important issue: Is your husband gay?

Man offers to cook and mail you a hotdog for a dollar

A worker at a boat-building firm caught trying to steal a luxury yacht, one piece at a time over a period of 7 years

Apparently, Florida’s state senate has nothing better to do than think about naughty, naughty schoolgirls who wear their pants so low that you can see their thongs, and how they must be punished

Old and busted: Hot female teachers busted for sleeping with their students. New and uncool: Hot female teachers busted for attempting to seduce their students via IM. With pic goodness

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this scary dog

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop Wimshurst’s electrostatic induction machine

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this guy holding his long, thick, hard, black missile

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April 25, 2007

I never quite got that, I always thought National guard meant that they should be here to guard the nation not schlepped off to another country.