What a mess!!!!

The above political cartoon appeared in the Pravda News today in Moscow!!!! I love the internet!!!!

"In my opinion, everyone should have an 'informed opinion.' Of course, that's just my opinion." Jerad Devires

Think Russia! but there's other cool stuff below as well!

At 840,000 square miles, Greenland is the largest island in the world.

Australia is the only country that is also a continent.

Canada is an Indian word meaning ‘Big Village’.

Damascus, Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years before Rome was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.

Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

French was the official language of England for over 600 years.

Grand Rapids, Michigan was the first city in the US to put fluoride in their water.

Hawaii is the only US state that grows coffee.

If Monaco’s ruling house of Grimaldi should ever be without an heir (male or female), the country will cease to be a sovereign state.

In 1771 the kingdom of Poland was larger in are than any other European country except Russia and had a bigger population than any other European country except France.

In the Great Seal of the US the eagle grasps 13 arrows and an olive branch.

It is forbidden for aircraft to fly over the Taj Mahal.

Japan is the world’s leading importer of iron ore.

La Paz, Bolivia, at 11,900 feet above sea-level, is the highest large city in the world.

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway at New Orleans, Louisiana, is the world’s largest bridge. It is almost 24 miles (about 38 kilometers) long.

Maine is the only state in the United States whose name has one syllable.

Mexico City is sinking at a rate of 6 to 8 inches a year because it’s built on top of an underground reservoir. Wells are drawing out more and more water for the city’s growing population of more than 15 million people.

More water flows over Niagara Falls every year than over any other falls on earth.

Most landfilled trash retains its original weight, volume, and form for 40 years.

New Jersey, with 96, is the US state with the greatest number of hazardous waste sites.

Quito in Ecuador, South America, is said to have the most pleasant climate in the world. It is called the ‘Land of Eternal Spring.’ The temperature rarely drops below 46 degrees Fahrenheit during the night, or exceed 72 degrees Fahrenheit during the day.

St. Augustine, Florida is the oldest city in the US.

Talking on a cellular phone while driving is against the law in Israel.

The 1st US zoo was built in Philadelphia, PA, in 1876.

The Arctic ocean is the smallest and shallowest. The Arctic Ocean is the world’s smallest ocean. It is mostly covered by solid ice, ice floes, and icebergs

The Atlantic Ocean is saltier than the Pacific Ocean.

The border between Canada and the U.S. is the world’s longest frontier. It stretches 3,987 miles (6,416 km).

The city of St. Petersburg, Russia, was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great, hence the name, St. Petersburg. But it wasn’t always that simple. In 1914, at the beginning of World War I, Russian leaders felt that Petersburg was too German-sounding. So they changed the name of the city to Petrograd — to make it more Russian-sounding. Then, in 1924, the country’s Soviet Communist leaders wanted to honor the founder of the Soviet Union, Vladimir I. Lenin. The city of Petrograd became Leningrad and was known as Leningrad until 1991 when the new Russian legislators — no longer Soviet Communists — wanted the city to reflect their change of government.

The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World’s Fair.

The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome, Italy in 133 B.C. London, England reached the mark in 1810 and New York, USA made it in 1875. Today, there are over 300 cities in the world that boast a population in excess of 1 million.

The flag of the Philippines is the only national flag that is flown differently during times of peace or war. A portion of the flag is blue, while the other is red. The blue portion is flown on top in time of peace and the red portion is flown in war time.

The Fresh Kills Landfill site on Staten Island, New York, opened in 1948, is the world’s largest. It covers 3,000 acres and receives up to 14,000 tons of garbage a day. It is scheduled to reach capacity and close by the year 2002.

The Great Lakes are Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Superior, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

The Great Lakes are the most important inland waterway in North America. All the lakes, except Lake Michigan, which lies entirely in the United States, are shared by the United States and Canada and form part of the border between these countries.

The Great Lakes contain 6 quadrillion gallons of fresh water, one-fifth of the world’s fresh surface water. The Great Lakes are the largest group of freshwater lakes in the world.

The Great Lakes have a combined area of 94,230 square miles - larger than the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Vermont combined.\

The Jordanian city Amman was once called Philadelphia. That's weird! cpf

The largest body of fresh water in the world is Lake Superior.

The largest US city in area is Juneau, Alaska, which covers 3,108 square miles. Los Angeles covers only 458.2 square miles.

The only continent without reptiles or snakes is Antarctica.

The original name of Los Angeles was El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles del rio Porciuncula, translating into:The Village of our Lady the Queen of the Angels of the Porciuncula River.

The Pantheon is the largest building from ancient Rome that survives intact.

The San Diego Zoo in California has the largest collection of animals in the world.

The seven hills of Rome are the Palatine (on which the original city was built), the Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, and Aventine.

The tallest monument built in the US, the Gateway Arch, in St. Louis, Missouri, is 630 feet tall.

The Vatican’s Swiss Guard still wears a uniform designed by Michelangelo in the early 16th century.

The water in the Great Salt Lake of Utah is more than four times as salty as any ocean.

The wettest spot in the world is located on the island of Kauai. Mt. Waialeale consistently records rainfall at the rate of nearly 500 inches per year.

The world’s smallest independent state is the Vatican City, with a population of about 1,000 - and a zero birthrate...go figure! cpf

The world’s longest railway is in Peru. The Central Railway climbs to 15,694 feet in the Galera tunnel, 108 miles from Lima. Tourists take it to get to the ruins of Machu Picchu.

The world’s longest suspension bridge opened to traffic on April 5, 1998. The 3,911-meter (12,831-feet) Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is 580 meters (1,900 feet) longer than the Humber Bridge in England, the previous record holder.

The world’s tallest mountains, the Himalayas, are also the fastest growing. Their growth - about half an inch a year - is caused by the pressure exerted by two of Earth’s continental plates (the Eurasian plate and the Indo-Australian plate) pushing against one another

QOD: "no one can educate you...you are in charge of your own education..."
cpf

TGNS: Another earthquake in Sumatra

Big Opportunity for you to demonstrate your knowledge and personal opinion of the Middle East on Friday [with an emphasis on the findings of the Iraqi Study Group]

QOD: "Though the object of being a Great Power is to be able to fight a Great War, the only way of remaining a Great Power is not to fight one." British historian A.J. Taylor

Top McLaughlin "talking points":
China's stock market plunge...how does it effect Wall Street?
Was the 400 point drop in the Dow just a little "hiccup?"
Cell phones...enough is enough
The miscue by John McCain..."lives are being 'wasted' in Iraq...Like I always like to say: "words matter!!!"
More tomorrow...get fired-up

What ya need to know:
What is the Iraq Study Group [ISG]
Know the distribution of Religious groups--be able to label on a map
Know where the Anbar Province is on the map.
Whatz going on in the Anbar Province?
Know the overview map of the region
What groups constitute “the enemy”
What groups can we work with?
What groups are inherently countercultural and therefore must be marginalized
Be able to comment at a reasonable academic level on the following:
Sunni insurgency
Shiite militias
Al Qaeda, how many in Iraq, where are they most active…whatz their role in the violence and chaos?
The criminal element…whatz their role in the violence and chaos?
Sectarian violence
External jihad versus internal jihad
According to the ISG, why we cannot just “jump ship” call it a bad mistake and get on with the mega-sales at WalMart J
Iran’s interests and role in the current violence
Saudi Arabia’s and Egypt’s role…
What do the Kurds want? Really what do they what?
Who is al-Sadr and the Mahdi Army
How many troops do we have on the ground in Iraq
What is deBathification?
Badr Brigade…affiliated with whom?
Whatz “Sadr City”
What is the significance of Kirkuk
more to come...

Iraq Study Group--
What could happen if we “get out of Dodge?” [Worst case scenario]
Iraq security forces will split along sectarian lines, criminal element will increase, al Qaeda will thrive…citizens will be forced to choose between warring factions

Ethnic cleansing will escalate…resulting into a “devolution to three quasi-semi-autonomous illegitimate regions…Note: this is a recipe for a major regional military conflict

A couple of new “Saddam’s” will take over…and impose dictatorial power

Turkey could send troops into Northern Iraq to Prevent Kurdistan from declaring independence

Iran could send troops to restore stability and bolster the Shiites in southern Iraq and perhaps gain control of the oil fields near Basra

Cause & effect--a greater Sunni-Shia conflict leads to direct military involvement by Saudi Arabia and Egypt and the Gulf States

International oil market collapses

International economic depression of mythological proportions

US will greatly damage its credibility and influence on the world stage

International terrorism will grow…Al Qaeda will be seen as great victors…A catalyst for an all out attack on Israel

Israel will attack…we will support Israel

At home the population will be sharply divided…

So what to do…
Recommendations by the Iraq Study Group:
We can still pull it off…but time is running out

Not Vietnam…stakes are higher

Arab-Israeli conflict has to be dealt with…it is a root cause of the acrimony in the region, as well as the so called “clash of civilizations.”

Two-state solution regarding Palestine and Israel has to happen, like yesterday…US needs to act in bold fashion on this issue…US needs to assure the Isarelis that we will never ever abandon them, yet we must push hard for them to get back the Golan Heights

Lebanon and Syria needs to workout a peaceful solution

US needs to make an all out effort to develop a regional mechanism that can support the fledgling democracy that is Iraq…including a major committed effort to include Iran and Syria into the diplomatic process.

Dealing with Syria and especially Iran is tricky [given that their crazy, my bad, cpf... ], but it can be done…look at Libya as a model

We need to assert to everyone involved that we are committed to a unified and territorially intact Iraq.

We need to help them set a national banking system based on our model [for example, the Federal Reserve, etc… good stuff cpf ]

All 38 other regional countries stand lose if Iraq falls apart…whereas all stand to gain from a stable, albeit “neighborly” [my words, cpf ] Iraq…the only groups that gain from a chaotic Iraq are Al Qaeda and the crooks…

Iraqi government with our support needs to “structure” an immediate system of national reconciliation…De-Baathification law passed ASAP

An international support group should be created and should include all states bordering Iraq, plus Egypt, the Gulf States, the five permanent members of the UN security council, and Germany, Japan, and South Korea, plus the UN General Secretary should appoint a special envoy that would represent the UN within the group.

US should require the Iraqi political leadership to higher levels of accountability and transparency. If these requirements are not met, economic and to some degree military support should reduced. US will open diplomatic relations with Moqtada a-Sadr and other militia and insurgent leaders, but not with Al Qaeda and/or criminal elements

FBI should set up a training facility in Iraq and train Iraqis in the art of catching bad guyz…gangstas, etc…

US Justice Dept. should help Iraqis set up a fair, transparent and workable legal justice system…based on the rule of law

Iraqis should seeks out Chuck Norris…just kiddin’

US should again emphasize that we are not interested in their oil per se an that we have no interest in maintaining military bases in Iraq. We should also emphasize that we are in Saudi Arabia at their government’s request.

US should help them set a national system for sharing the oil revenues. Oil monies should be shared equally among all Iraqis. Iraqi should encourage foreign investment in their oil fields…get on-line and join the world oil market

If all else fails…call C. Farrow, but only in the months of December, January, or March, otherwise he is bike racing…livin’ the dream…gettin’ er done…”