George Bush provided the world with another example of his shocking stupidity yesterday, when the U.S. signed a deal to build a defensive missile base in Poland. The timing is nothing short of spectacular. How better to help solve the crisis in Georgia, than to sign a deal to put missiles on the border of Russia? I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

The Polish Prime Minister went as far as to say the situation in Georgia is why we are placing missiles in Poland.

Please donÂ’t pay attention to the country that has invaded TWO countries, only be upset by the country that has invaded ONE country. And never mind that weÂ’ve been trying to place missiles in Poland for a couple of years. ItÂ’s the current Russian incursion into Georgia that is the reason. Please ignore all recorded history over the last couple of years.

“Last week” being in January 2007. But, yeah, we’ll go with the fantasy that the U.S. wanted to get those missiles in there because of Russia invading Georgia. The Bush administration claims we need the missile base in Poland because of “rogue states,” like “Iran and North Korea.”

As we all know, when North Korea picks a fight with the U.S., they will attempt to launch rockets the long way around the globe. No fucking way does North Korea shoot missiles across the Pacific. They will go the long way, across Asia, Europe and the Atlantic. And no way does North Korea shoot missiles at South Korea, or Japan. Fuck no. They will probably shoot missiles across Russia and China to take out Belgium at some point. Everyone knows that.

Iran, of course, is going to bomb everyone and everything. TheyÂ’re obviously going to launch missiles they donÂ’t have at Europe. Oh, you didnÂ’t know weÂ’re provoking Russia to protect ourselves from missiles that donÂ’t exist? Yeah. Kind of an awesome foreign policy plan, huh? The Pentagon claims the missile base will

Totally. I mean, neither North Korea nor Iran have intercontinental ballistic missiles, so we should build a very provocative missile base on the border of Russian to stop those not real missiles. While weÂ’re at it, we should also create a dragon defense system. I mean, if weÂ’re going to protect ourselves from non-existent threats, lets go all the way. Build the fucking Dragon Shield, already.

Oh, and did I mention that we donÂ’t actually have a defensive missile system? Right. WeÂ’ve been trying to build one since 1946, but itÂ’s been a total waste of money. Actually, itÂ’s been the biggest giveaway to the defense industry in our countryÂ’s history. Since Reagan kicked the program off big time, itÂ’s only cost around 120 billion dollars. And the Pentagon is asking for 62 billion more. For nothing. ItÂ’s a complete joke. So, obviously we should really, really upset the Russians in order to protect ourselves and our allies from missiles that donÂ’t exist by using a defense missile system that does not exist.

That works just fine for the defense industry. At this point, Poland should just change its name to Bait. The Russian response has been obvious and predictable to anyone who is not a moron.

Wow, I canÂ’t believe it. And thank God thatÂ’s not the end of it.

Shocking – if you are a tool.

Hey, look! A tool! Let me know when you accomplish just one thing that is good for the world, Condi. Thanks. And good luck with that “credibility” argument. Iraq (cough, cough). Seriously, though, you’re a war criminal, so you shouldn’t be tossing around the word “credibility.” It’s embarrassing.

Looks like the only winner in this mess is the defense industry. Who would have thought? And for anyone who wants to see how this turns out, read this book. I read it in the 8th grade. Obviously, no one in the Bush Administration has. Or even scarier, they have.

FearTheReaper is a writer, actor, stand up comic. You may read more of his drivel on his blog, Stop All Monsters.

George Bush is such a colossal fuck up it is astounding. Every choice the administration makes in Iraq turns out to be the wrong choice. Their latest blunder is backing the wrong Shiite in Iraq. Today, after a couple of days of violence in Iraq, a new strongman has risen and his name is Muqtada al-Sadr. Our guy is the other guy -- the weak one.

Al-Sadr played Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki like a couple of children. Seven months ago, al-Sadr agreed to a cease-fire in Iraq – which has led many right wing morons to believe the surge has been a success. They are, of course, fucking idiots desperate to prove that their imbecilic support of the invasion was the right call. Deaths have dropped in Iraq because al-Sadr has not been killing people and we have been paying Sunni insurgents not to kill people. Last week, the cease-fire with al-Sadr took a break – just long enough to show who is the big boy in Iraq. And his name ain’t Maliki.

WeÂ’re supposed to believe that Al-Sadr is the bad guy and Maliki is the good guy. The truth is they both are nasty motherfuckers. Both sides are guilty of sectarian cleansing. Both have strong connections to Iran. Maliki has been using the US military and the Iraqi Army to arrest and kill members of al-SadrÂ’s militia, The Mahdi Army. But this week, al-Sadr fought back, which is exactly what Maliki was hoping for. Maliki expected the US to fight this battle for him. His master plan was to get our guys to wipe out al-Sadr, leaving him as the last Shiite standing.

The fighting first started in Basra. Maliki claimed he was cracking down on “criminals,” but it was obviously a massive power grab. And a pretty pathetic one, at that. First rule of power grab: Make sure you aren’t a retard. Maliki clearly didn’t realize his pals the Iranians and his other pals, the Americans, don’t want a civil war between Iraqi Shiites. So, Maliki and the Islamic Supreme Council started the fighting in Basra and al-Sadr pushed back – and he pushed back hard.

The fighting moved to Baghdad, where US forces were also involved. There Maliki learned the second lesson of power grab: Make sure all the guys on your side are actually on your side. Many members of the Iraqi Army walked away from checkpoints, because they support al-Sadr. Members of the Army were actually walking into al-SadrÂ’s offices and giving up their weapons.

Meanwhile, Iran wanted the fighting to end because Iran supports both Maliki and al-Sadr and would rather they donÂ’t kill each other. They want the Shiites to save it up to attack the Sunnis when the US pulls out. Bush certainly does not want Iraq to fall further into chaos at this point, because it would devastate McCainÂ’s chances in November and screw up his plan to leave a land mine for the incoming Democratic president. At the same time, the Kurds refused to get involved in MalikiÂ’s moronic fight.

Hello, blunder, my name is Maliki. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister was demanding the Mahdi Army disarm. He actually set a three-day deadline for the al-Sadr kids to turn in their weapons. There was some chuckling, a few shrugs and then the three days passed with no one turning in their guns. Day four: Maliki actually extended the deadline – and offered cash for weapons. Third rule of power grab: Don’t look like a massive pussy.

The US provided air support for MalikiÂ’s weak ass forces and al-Sadr held strong. Turns out it is very hard to dislodge highly motivated indigenous fighters who know every nook and cranny in the area. Who knew? I mean, besides everybody. Rule number four of power grab: Read at least one book on the history of urban warfare.

After a couple days and a few hundred dead guys, Iran said enough is enough. Officials in MalikiÂ’s own government told him to stop his little war and went to Iran for help.

Iran then brokered a peace deal. Maliki actually went to Iran to meet with al-Sadr – which brings up the fifth rule of power grab: Don’t beg your opponent to stop.

Bestest of allest, al-Sadr had a list of demands for Maliki before he would agree to an end to hostilities. The fucking rebel set the rule to end the conflict that the government started! Holy shit! Maliki is a plane crashing into a train wreck, falling on top of a car crash, hitting a boat. What an epic disaster. Rule number six of power grab: DonÂ’t let your enemy kick your balls in.

Here is what Maliki agreed to:

1. Ending armed manifestations in Basra governorate and all the other governates.
2. Ending of attacks and illegal arbitrary detentions.
3. Demand that the government apply the law on general amnesty, and release all prisoners who have not had charges confirmed against them, in particular prisoners belonging to the Al-Sadrist current.
4. We announce that we will repudiate those who carry weapons and target the government and service agencies and institutions, or the offices of political parties.
5. Cooperation with government agencies to bring about security and to charge criminals, according to due process of law.
6. We reassert that the Al-Sadrist movement does not possess heavy weapons.
7. Efforts [meaningful efforts are to be made] for the return to their residential areas of those who were forced out as a result of security incidents.
8. We demand respect for human rights by the government in all of its security activities.
9. Working [meaningful efforts are to be made] towards the realization of development and service projects in all governates.

Oh, and here’s a napkin to wipe yourself off the floor with. My favorite number in that list is 7. She’s a beaut. Maliki is demanding that Sunnis and Shiites be placed back in their homes, from which they were removed by sectarian cleansing. You now, the sectarian cleansing that the Mahdi army was responsible for – but so were the militias working under Maliki. Al-Sadr is trying to make the case that other Shiites were responsible for the cleansing, just as he has been trying to claim Maliki has been killing Sunnis and blaming the Mahdi army. Now he’s demanding those people be put back in their houses. It’s called politics and this was a master move. Rule number seven of power grab: Don’t take on a guy who is a million times smarter than you.

To top it all off, al-Sadr has now completely positioned himself as the only powerful man in Iraq who is against the US occupation. Maliki is BushÂ’s boy, and called in the US military to fight against his fellow Iraqis. The Sunnis have been collaborating with and accepting money from the US for over a year. The vast majority of Iraqis want the US to leave. Now they have a strong man who loudly opposes the occupation and has shown he will not back down. And guess what is coming later this year? An election.

The October provincial elections are one of the main reasons Maliki went after al-Sadr now. HeÂ’s been attempting to displace al-Sadr supporters, while inserting members of his own Dawa Party and the Islamic Supreme Council, in areas of Basra that al-Sadr controls. Maliki completely failed. He has all but assured a massive victory for al-Sadr this October.

The other big loser in the mess is the US. What a massive fuck up. We just injected ourselves into an inter-Shiite conflict and chose the wrong side. Going after assorted rogue groups in the Mahdi Army is one thing, but going after the entire al-Sadr organization on behalf of Maliki was moronic. Did I mention the vast majority of voting Iraqis want the US out of the country?

Any gains the US made with al-Sadr and his followers are gone.

The end result of this mess is that al-Sadr is far stronger and Maliki much weaker. The Iraqi Army appears considerably weaker, which isnÂ’t a great sign for the future. Iran also is strengthened because they brokered the peace deal. The US is, once again, the clumsy fool.

The Mahdi Army went back into the shadows, waiting for the day when the US pulls out and they take over the country – if they are not just voted in this October.

Dear British people, from now on please think of Americans as aliens from outer space. It would be better if you did because we have decided to kidnap you whenever the fuck we want, much like an alien abduction. But it wonÂ’t be as bad as being abducted by aliens because there will not be an anal probe. (Although we cannot guarantee that.) Actually, scratch that. It will be worse than an alien abduction because they take you in the night, shove something up your nose, maybe take some sperm and usually close with an anal assault, but America will take you and throw you down a dark hole never to be seen again. That's just how we do things now.

Well, that should make the British eager to help us out in the “War on Terror.”

Right, never mind that the British are considered friends of ours. Thanks for helping out in Iraq and everything, but go fuck yourself. And sorry about that extradition treaty you signed with us but weÂ’re going to pass.

Apparently we attempted to kidnap the nephew of a chap named Stanley Tollman, who is a former director of Chelsea Football Club. Both Tollman and his nephew are wanted for bank fraud and tax evasion. Now, I think anyone associated with Chelsea is a total douche bag but that does not mean they should be kidnapped. Or their nephew. We have been attempting to get Tollman through extradition hearings, you know, like a fucking civilized country. But I guess we also donÂ’t have a problem snatching someone off the street, like the mafia.

The US legal representative explained our ridiculous position.

Sweet. Hey, when was slavery wrapped up? Oh, right, the 1860s. IÂ’m going to go ahead and say that some laws from back in those days arenÂ’t the best. What do you say we let this one die, boys?

ItÂ’s not often I tell an entire country to go fuck itself, but it is the only appropriate response given the circumstances. In the early 1900s, Ottoman Turks killed around 1.5 million Armenians. For decades, Armenian Americans have lobbied Congress to pass a measure that would label the killings genocide. On Wednesday, House Foreign Affairs Committee passed the resolution and Turkey lost its shit.

They told their ambassador to the US to return to Turkey and told the US ambassador in Turkey that they were not pleased, warning of “serious repercussions.” What kind of repercussions? Last year, Turkey suspended all military ties with France after parliament’s lower house passed a similar bill.

An aide to the Turkish Prime Minister said today the country could "cut logistical support to the U.S." The US has an air base in southern Turkey that many troops travel through on their way in and out of Iraq. The US also relies on Turkey to get supplies to troops, with 70% of US air cargo going through Iraq. The White House claims it will cost lives if Turkey cuts off logistical support. Of course, the White House isnÂ’t exactly whom one should listen to in regards to saving lives.

The Bush administration is now desperately trying to stop Democrats from putting the measure to a full vote in the House. The White House is concerned because Turkey has recently been threatening to invade northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels. Kurdistan is the only place in Iraq where things are going well. Or they were.

The cute thing is they have labeled the Kurdish rebels, "terrorists." Good luck arguing with that, George. Just last week Turkish planes and helicopters attacked Kurdish rebels near the border. The Democrats timing is obviously odd, considering the tensions on the Iraq-Turkey border, but they have a great explanation for inflaming an already delicate situation.

Oh. Well, thatÂ’s not really a good answer. I guess we should just be happy you are taking a stand somewhere, because youÂ’re not doing here in the US. Might was well do something that will lead to the death of thousands upon thousands of Kurds.

But to be fair, Turkey is going to attack the Kurds in northern Iraq at some point regardless, so we may as well get it going now. Better to have the shit storm all at once instead of spreading it out over years.

If Turkey does take the actions they have threatened and use the vote as a reason to attack Iraq, then we should pass another resolution declaring them the "biggest fucking babies of all time." Seriously, did someone call you a bad name? Go cry in your fucking olive oil.

The Arctic is full of oil. It is estimated that 25% of the world’s undiscovered oil is in the Arctic. It is our oil. It cannot be another country’s oil because it is in the Earth. Any oil that is in the Earth is America’s oil – it has been given to us by God to put in our cars. It is written in the Bible somewhere, page 238, I think. The Arctic’s oil is finally becoming available and it is largely because of the United States.

We use quite a bit of the EarthÂ’s resources and we produce a large amount of pollution. That is just how we roll. Because of the Greenhouse Effect, Arctic ice is melting, which is finally giving us access to oil. Since we are creating so much of the pollutants that cause the Greenhouse Effect and melts the ice, we should be allowed to take the oil. It just makes sense.

Evil Russia has other ideas. A couple of weeks ago, Russia claimed the Arctic by planting its national flag on the ocean floor below the North Pole. Russians loved it, comparing it to when we planted our flag on the moon. (Much fucking harder) Russia is clearly confused if they think planting a flag has any meaning in the year 2007.

But Russia wasnÂ’t happy with just planting a flag. The red menace also took rock samples in an attempt to prove that underwater Arctic mountains are a continuation of Russia. Clearly this nonsense must stop. Russia has actually reduced its CO2 levels since the 1990s, which means they havenÂ’t done shit to make the ice melt. We are still the #1 producer of CO2. Russia is taking advantage of our hard work and trying to steal our oil.

The 1982 UN Law of Sea Convention gave nations a 200-nautical-mile “economic zone” from their coastlines. 150 countries have ratified the treaty, but the US has not. Suddenly, 25 years later, President Bush is urging the Senate to ratify the treaty. Hopefully they do soon, so we can get our sweet, black gold. Canada, Norway and Denmark also border the Arctic Circle, but they can be dismissed because they are either weird or really small.

But that hasnÂ’t stopped Canada from getting uppity. Our northern neighbors are planning on building two new military facilities in the Arctic as well as spending $7 billion on new Arctic patrol vessels. They are also talking some serious smack.

No question? This fight is between the US and Russia, stay the fuck out of it. Go club some seals or play some hockey, you freaks.

Why go to Israel, when Israel is coming to us? According to ABC news, teams of suicide bombers are on their way to the US to kill poor, little, innocent Americans. They are also being sent to some place called “Europe.”

Yay! Graduation! It always feels great to accomplish something. A Pakistani reporter attended the graduation and took pictures of around 300 future suicide bombers, some who were “as young as 12.” After they got their diplomas, they were sent out on their missions. The ones going to England spoke English.

I’m going to assume the unintelligible word was “pants.” US intelligence tried to write if off as propaganda but former White House counterterrorism official (who warned the Bush administration about al-Qaeda in 2000) believes the threat is credible.

But, but, I thought the president said, “we were fighting them there so they wouldn’t kill us here.” No, sorry, saying that actually just encourages them to kill us here to prove him wrong. He's a fucking idiot who talks out of his asshole.

Better get those shoes at Foot Locker while you can!

How fucking awesome would it be if we were at war with China right now? Our satellites would have been taken down, our aircraft carriers sunk and the West Coast would be a charred landscape. If only the insane neo-cons could have gotten their way, that is the world we would be living in now.

Communist China has repeatedly declared they will attack Taiwan if the breakaway island declares independence. And the US would be forced to defend Taiwan. In 1971, Richard Nixon brokered a deal, in which the US agrees that there is only “one China” and its capitol is Beijing. Every President since has supported that policy. The neo-cons attempted to undermine that policy and had they gotten their way, we would have gotten two Chinas and a shitload of dead people.

The neo-cons retarded attempt to start a war with China centered around the little island called Taiwan. According to Lawrence Wilkerson, an Army colonel who was Colin PowellÂ’s chief of staff, our neo-cons were encouraging TaiwanÂ’s leaders to declare independence in 2001. A US diplomat who was stationed in Taiwan at the time has confirmed the allegation.

The neo-cons involved were same bunch of idiots whose policy got us into the disaster known as the Iraq war: Vice President Dick Cheney, Deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, the undersecretary for policy Douglas Feith, future envoy to the UN and angry walrus John Bolton, Crazy Donny Rumsfeld and his intelligence chief Steven Cambone.

After the neo-cons would send their asshole, Powell would have to send an envoy to explain that the Defense Department guys were full of shit and to ignore them.

How much of a douche bag do you have to be for Bush to reel you in? At one point, Powell had to ask for a diplomat’s resignation due to what she was telling the Taiwanese. Therese Shaheen, the chief of the office of the American Institute in Taiwan and wife of Rumsfeld’s spokesman was telling Taiwan politicians not to believe what the President was saying about supporting the “one China” policy.

At what point does undermining US policy become treason? If it can be proved that Cheney was involved he should be impeached - or at least punched in his vagina.

The neo-cons, of course, deny that anything took place. Unfortunately for them, we have learned not to believe a word that comes out of their cunty little mouths. IÂ’ll trust the diplomat who was stationed in Taiwan and the guy from the State Department. Now we can all be thankful that we only went to war with Iraq.

While time passes and the end of June looms closer, the heated debate regarding Kosovo Independence still seems uncertain.

Ever since the March 24, 1999 Nato Bombing Campaign to push out Serbs, the Serbian province of Kosovo has been under UN control. With the United States leading the campaign, former president Bill Clinton seems like a leader in Kosovo, where 90% of the population is ethnic Albanian.

The ethnic Kosovo Albanians are rising a statue of former President Bill Clinton on Clinton BLVD in Prishtina.

The United States has said it would present a new resolution to the UN Security Council by June. However, Serbia considers Kosovo its heartland and will not let go. Russia, as Serbia's ally, threatened to use its veto if that resolution were to be presented.

To better understand why it's so hard for Serbia to let go of Kosovo, I'll quote what a Serbian interpreter told me while I was on an escort mission here in Kosovo.

This is basically what happened in Kosovo. Yes, the Serbian military was wrong for killing "some 10,000 ethnic Albanians in an 18-month counter-insurgency war against Albanian separatist guerrillas." But that is not the people's fault so why should they lose their own land?

I am not here to criticize, but mainly to stress the point that although the status of Kosovo is near, there will never truly be a resolution.

With cultural and religious differences -- Albanians being Muslim and Serbians being Orthodox Christian -- problems might always be there, even after independence.

Either way, whether or not Kosovo gets it's independence, one side will not be happy.

The UN knows this, and is mainly the reason why it's taking them so long to decide on a resolution.

For years now Bush has been repeating his mantra: The US doesn't negotiate directly with its enemies. Last October, the Republican National Committee aired ads that showed the results of “making nice” with our enemies.



Besides being fantastically retarded, the commercial makes a point: Talking to your enemies will lead you to being killed on a basketball court. But unfortunately for the Bush administration, not everyone agreed. The bi-partisan Iraq Study Group called for talks with Iran and Syria.

Bush, of course, dismissed the recommendation and refused to talk with Syria and Iran. But that was 2006 and the times are changing! The US has suddenly reversed course and decided to come to the table with Syria and Iran. But thereÂ’s just one hitch. We have to pretend like we never said that we wouldnÂ’t talk with Iran or Syria. Even though thereÂ’s print media and stuff called video, it never happened.

Four-year-olds are running our government.

The US has shut down any possibility of Israel and Syria holding peace talks. According to Israeli officials, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was “forceful” that Israel desists from any exploratory contact with Damascus. Some in Israeli just wanted to find out if Syria is serious in it’s declared intention to hold peace talks.

But the US thinks holding any sort of talks with Syria would be considered a “prize” in Damascus, thereby solidifying the belief that the Bush administration conducts foreign policy like a four year old.

Damascus has recently tried to send messages to Israel through English nationals and former American diplomats. They have been attempting to cultivate ties with Israeli officials, but Israelis are split on whether or not to engage Syria in talks.

Some, like Mossad chief Meir Dagan, believe it is a Syrian propaganda campaign and insist Damascus is not serious. Which is a really good point, because could you imagine what would happen if they engaged Syria in talks and they were not serious? They would be exactly where they are now. Oh, the horror.

Israeli Military Intelligence, however, believes Syria is serious. But they do not believe it would be easy and that there is a good chance talks would fail. IM only wants to keep the door open and test Syria for its sincerity. Unfortunately that just can’t happen because Bush and company thinks they would “win” something, or feel like they got a “prize” or a “gift.”

If Israel were to start talks to find out how serious Syria is about peace talks, the worst that could happen is would Israel find out Damascus was being untruthful. In that case, Israel would find itself in the exact position it is now; surrounded by enemies who are arming Hezbollah and Hamas.

How about someone start acting like a fucking adult?

A new investigative piece from the Telegraph suggests that the endless harping on Iran from the Bush administration is about more than saber rattling, but is in fact an explanation for a covert war against Iran that has already begun.

If this is true, it smacks of the cold war zero-sum-game mentality that allowed for the creation of organizations like al-Qaeda in the first place (Western backing of Afghani militia groups as proxies against the Soviets provided them the expertise and equipment to later terrorize Western interests.) One would hope that the US had learned that lesson the hard way, but apparently not.

Secretly financing and helping violent groups within Iran could also subvert ongoing diplomatic efforts to reach a peaceful consensus on the question of Iran's military status. With a meeting coming up that will likely pit the US against Iran in a standoff over its desire to process nuclear fuel for what many, including the US, believe is for weaponizing purposes, evidence that the US is covertly attempting to sabotage Iran would certainly seem to cede the moral high ground, or whatever is left of it after Iraq.

Bush seems to have a mutiny on his hands. According to the Sunday Times, several military commanders will resign if Bush orders a strike on Iran. Four or five generals and admirals would consider an attack on Iran “reckless” and are prepared to walk away from the job to which have they dedicated their lives.

American generals are known for staying on the job and fighting until they get fired. Several leaving at once is unheard of and would be a slap in the face to Bush. The generals are concerned an attack on Iran would backfire on American troops in Iraq and lead to more terrorist attacks, an increase in oil prices and possibly a regional war.

But Dick Cheney has been quite vocal lately about “keeping all options on the table” and two aircraft carriers are sitting the Persian Gulf. The administration has begun a propaganda war, with unsubstantiated claims that Iran is supplying bombs to Iraqi insurgents. And New Yorker magazine has reported that the Pentagon has already begun planning air strikes on Iran.

Meanwhile, the Bush propaganda machine on Iran nuclear ambitions has hit a snag with the UN. According to the LA Times, most of the US intelligence that has been shared with the International Atomic Energy Agency has turned out to be inaccurate and none has led to “significant discoveries inside Iran.”

In one example, US intelligence provided the IAEA with documents from a laptop computer that was supposedly stolen from Iran. The documents contained designs to upgrade missiles to carry nuclear warheads, plans for underground nuclear testing and research into "green salt," which is used during uranium enrichment. However, the IAEA didnÂ’t buy what the US was selling. Why? Because all the documents were in English, not Farsi. How stupid do you have to be to try to pin something on another country but not use their language?

Iran certainly is up to something but the administration cannot help but lie and exaggerate the facts. The IAEA released a report this week declaring that Iran had expanded uranium enrichment and defied a Security Council deadline to suspend nuclear activities. But reality is just not good enough for Bush and company.

And all the pressure the US is putting on Iran is only serving to increase the popularity of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The once unpopular president is now riding high by standing up to the US and claiming that Iran has the same right to nuclear power as other nations. Ahmadinejad's stance has also increased his popularity in other Islamic nations, increasing the chance of Iran spreading its militant brand of Islam.

All in all, a situation that could not be handled any worse by Bush.

Not that we couldnÂ’t have told them this 10 years ago, but today the United Nations has declared the United Kingdom the worst place to grow up, out of 21 countries in the developed world. The United States follows closely behind.

A Unicef poll of children aged 11, 13 and 15 assessed the well-being of young people in six categories: material wealth, health and safety, standard of education, relationships with family and peers, the behaviours of the young people, and their own perceptions of their personal happiness and development.

ChildrenÂ’s testimonials rated the Netherlands as the most positive place to grow up, followed by Sweden and Denmark. Children in the UK, the US and Hungary had the least pleasant experiences growing up.

In a country where kids can be handed an ASBO (Anti-Social Behaviour Order) for such offences as wearing a hooded top, it's unsurprising that Unicef finds the UKÂ’s children and adolescents suffering from low self-esteem, unhappiness and pessimism about the future. Kids reported having poor relationships with family and peers, with more than a third (approx 36%) saying they had been bullied within the last two months. A similar number of 15-year-olds have no aspirations beyond the lowest-skilled work, and 16% of children are currently living below the poverty line. Adolescents in the UK are likely to put themselves at risk from drugs, excessive alcohol intake and unsafe sex, with 40% of British teenagers having sex below the age of consent.

Children’s Commissioner for England, Al Aynsley-Green, has criticised the government’s ‘blame-the-kids’ response to problems in society, saying:

The news coming out of Washington was exciting this weekend: Iran is supplying the evil Iraqi militias with bombs! How dare they! They must be stopped! We must Bomb them, maim them, fucking destroy them! Only America decides whom arms and kills people in Iraq! Time to get our war on - again.

Or is it? The article that began this new storyline was written by the New York Times, a once grand newspaper that now cannot be trusted when it comes to matters of foreign policy and the Bush administration. During the build up to the war in Iraq, the New York Times ran several badly misleading or totally inaccurate articles about Iraqi WMDs. Judith Miller and Michael R. Gordon wrote the articles. Judith Miller was eventually fired from the paper. Guess who wrote this weekendÂ’s article about Iran? Mr. Gordon, please stand up.

Good old Gordon, the world’s shittiest journalist. His claims that Iran is supplying the “deadliest weapon aimed at American troops” in Iraq comes from very solid sources: "Administration officials," "intelligence experts" and "American intelligence." I’m sure they’re the same “intelligence officials” who gave Gordon all that good intel about Iraq’s WMDs. The story is covered quite differently in the New York Times than it is in the Washington Post.

The Times:

The Washington Post:

Really impressive reporting from the New York Times, but what else is new?

The article by Gordon/Miller that really got the ball rolling on Iraq was published on Sept. 8, 2002. It was about Iraq’s “aluminum tubes” and was very influential in the administrations attempt to convince the American public that Iraq was pursuing a nuclear program. The article cited “administration officials” who insisted that the tubes were intended for a nuclear weapons program. Unfortunately, the story was total horseshit.

The New York Times eventually admitted some stories were wrong or overblown and specifically named the Gordon/Miller “aluminum tubes” story. But by that time the damage had been done. Iraq had been invaded and the US was now an occupying force. Oops.

HereÂ’s a choice sample of GordonÂ’s writing pulled from the article:

Ooo, not a mushroom cloud! LetÂ’s kill everybody who might do something! This weekendÂ’s news has the same manipulated intelligence feel as the build up to the Iraq war.

Gordon greased the shoot on Saturday and liked a well-scripted play, US defense and intelligence officials followed up on Sunday. They showed reporters “solid” evidence that Iran was providing bombs to militias and accused Iran’s supreme leader of backing the smuggling of the explosives.

Of course, the “US officials” would not allow themselves to be identified by name and did not allow cameras or recording devices inside the room, so reporters could not take pictures of the “Iranian explosives.” What’s more credible than an anonymous, unsubstantiated claim from the military?

This blatant bullshit comes on the heels of the National Intelligence Estimate, released just over a week ago that states Iraq is completely falling apart and there is little the US can do about it. The NIE also downplays the role of Iran and Syria.

The US claims also come on the heels of a report by the Defense Department's inspector general

Interesting timing to start screaming, "Iran, Iran, Iran!" But unfortunately for Bush and co., soon to be fired General Peter Pace called bullshit on any link to the Iranian government today.

Note to military: Tell everyone about the lies, donÂ’t leave the guy visiting Australia hanging.

The Bush administration has come up with a genius idea to stop global warming: Block sunlight. The government is asking the worldÂ’s scientists to come up with some fun ideas that will stop sunlight. It is a brilliant plan because curbing emissions is expensive but stopping sunlight from reaching Earth would be really cheap.

The administration believes scientists should look into giant mirrors or reflective dust that could be pumped into the atmosphere. The government believes these techniques would be “important insurance” against global warming.

Other possible sunlight blocking techniques include a giant velvet curtain, space elephants, an “earth hat,” bicycle reflectors, making school children hold up spoons, wrapping all crows in tinfoil, gravity-free cans, lots of sky writing, bubbles, glitter (not the movie), and hanging a disco ball from the moon.

The US would also really appreciate it if this new idea could be recommended by an upcoming UN report on climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is preparing the UN report. The Bush administration is demanding that the report include criticisms of the Kyoto Protocol and avoid targets on reducing emissions.

The US belief is backed by government officials and a senior climate negotiator from the State Department who believe that reflecting less than 1% of sunlight could compensate for global warming. But the IPCC disagrees, stating such ideas were "speculative, uncosted and with potential unknown side effects"

The Bush administration has already read the IPCC report and they are upset because it is quite pessamistic.

Yeah, what about all the positive stuff? LikeÂ…more water and Canada becoming the new breadbasket.

The US also wants more responsibilities placed on the developing world. So, step the fuck up, Mozambique! Quit polluting the world with your lemur methane and cooking fires.

Bush's latest effort to drum up support for the war in Iraq contained serious overtones of hostility against Iran, axis-of-evil member and favorite whipping boy of the administration. Later attacks on an Iranian consulate in Iraq suggested that the administration may be preparing more overt military actions against Iran, especially given the political backdrop of last summer, where a US warning to stop development of their nuclear program was ignored by a defiant Iranian government. The complaints against Iran by the Bush administration include their support of foreign terrorism, attempts to destabilize Iraq and further pursuit of nuclear weapons in defiance of treaty obligations. The real question is, if the US could have prevented this situation from ever occurring, would they have? Apparently not.

Which raises the rather important question: "What exactly does Bush want Iran to do?" All of this took place in 2003, when Mohammed Khatami, the moderate Reform party president was still in office in Iran, it wasn't until 2005 when the more radical and inflammatory Ahmadinejad was elected. So what was the problem? Especially considering that Colin Powell's office seemed to support the idea, and a US-friendly Iran would have been a major stabilizing force in the region, in addition to helping out considerably with Iraq.

Without full details of what was proposed in the diplomatic offer it's difficult to say exactly why the offer was rejected, but at least on the surface it would appear that the stubborn diplomacy of Dick Cheney and George W. Bush ruined a chance to defuse what is rapidly becoming a worrisome situation between Iran and Middle East.

Anyone who had the misfortune of suffering through Bush's most recent address last night couldn't help but notice when he threw a shout out or two to Iran and Syria, when he discussed their involvement in Iraq.

Not quite throwing down the gauntlet, but close enough for government work. That's what makes this most recent revelation so alarming, that US military forces in northern Iraq raided an Iranian consulate and are currently detaining five Iranian foreign diplomats.

It's not 100% clear whether the US troops understood that the building they attacked was an official Iranian consulate, though the Kurdish authorities in the region seemed to know about it beforehand. Plausible deniability can be a handy thing for a government at times.

The Washington Note also details an exchange between Condoleezza Rice and senator Joseph Biden concerning US military operations in Iran and Syria that are a bit worrisome.

At the very least, this puts the Democratic leadership on the record officially opposed to any overt or covert military actions against Iran or Syria without explicit congressional approval.

This wouldn't be the first time a president had decided to exceed his mandate in pursuing military operations against a foreign foe and invade the neighbors. Richard Nixon, a president very similar to Bush in all but intelligence, authorized clandestine actions against Cambodia when the Gulf of Tonkin resolution only granted him explicit authority to attack Vietnam. One would hope that congress could head off any undeclared wars (assuming they can find out about them) against Syria or Iran before they further plunge the region into even worse chaos.