Stupid Wisdom

War: the cause is it oil, money, or religion?

It is often quoted that money is the root of all evil. However isn’t equally true that religious differences are the root of all wars? Whether or not the direct cause of conflict, it can be observed that opposing sides almost always have different religious beliefs. The almost wanna be a civil war in Iraq and the Israel vs. Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon are current examples. Religion could only be the solution if all sides unify their religious beliefs. Tolerance can ease tensions but only unity will lead to lasting peace. But which religion should it be? All will say mine… One world under Good we trust. If all could worship GOOD rather than a particular GOD we would all be better off. It is my opinion that god is simply the personification of all that is good.

Taking Zarqawi into custody would have been more useful

I know it might have been too dangerous and maybe impossible, but having Zarqawi alive or at least his laptop and/or contact list would have been very valuable. I doubt they will recover anything of any intelligence value from the rubble. No doubt he deserved to die, but now he is a martyr in the eyes of his followers. Had we recovered him and his contact list we could have made it appear as if he snitched out his partners in crime. The only type of propaganda the Bush administration seems to focus on is aimed at the US public. They want to control the news/media but instead they should be feeding the media and letting them do their job (reporting news). Zarqawi’s execution was carried out with two 500 pound bombs which is a bit of overkill in my opinion. Again that just raises his status in the eyes of his followers, as well as destroying any potential intelligence gains. I suppose though since the Bush administration doesn’t interrogate & prosecute terrorists it would have just been too much trouble for them to take him into custody. I suspect many of the terrorists we have in custody now will eventually be released when Bush is finished torturing them. Eventually human rights will outweigh any crimes they may have committed and bring more criticism from the world. OK they got Zarqawi now what?

After Zarqawi, no clear path in weary Iraq
Questions of leader’s legacy, followers’ unity are wide open

FBI head wants ISPs to keep records for 2 years

Depending on how the government goes about obtaining these records I see no real privacy issues. Provided they stick to using the courts to legally obtain the records privacy shouldn’t be a problem. The problem I see is putting quite a load on the ISPs. What if they don’t keep them long enough? Or they get lost? It sounds to me like we need an internet access tax to pay for all that storage. Since most internet usage is not metered I see no practical reason for the ISPs to need such a long retention. They do need them internally to monitor user activities for security and other reasons. But 2 years could present a huge database that may or may not be needed. All that data would need to stored and backed up. It would also need to be secured to prevent tampering and insure accuracy. This would probably present the need for new personnel for the larger ISPs possibly even entire departments for the largest ISPs. In term of time, people, & equipment the costs could be significant. Somebody would have to pay for it and I’m sure that would be the consumer.

US talking with Iran (Maybe) IF they stop nuke program now

After refusing previously the US (Bush & Rice) have said they would have talks with Iran if they stop nuke activities now. Quite a shift in policy and could be good if not viewed as weak. The real question is how Iran will react; I don’t think we can trust them. Lets hope the Whitehouse is as straight with Iran as they have been with the American public about Iraq. Diplomacy might be the best approach with Iran but that doesn’t promise a great agreement. Let’s all hope this flip-flop in policy doesn’t flop.

Man saves puppy from alligator’s jaws

The pup survives and is doing well. Now that is one loyal dog owner, he didn’t hesitate to take on the gator with his bare hands eventually freeing the six month old golden retriever. I think the tree hugging animal lover types out there should give this guy a medal or something.

Read the whole story here: Man frees puppy from alligator’s grip - U.S. Life - MSNBC.com

This just confirms how many people see pets as family members and will do what ever it takes to protect them. With all the bad press in Florida lately over alligator attacks finally a happy ending gator incident in Coral Springs Florida.