US wrong on the denial of a Palestinian State

This has got to be the perfect example of the US backing the wrong horse....again!

The Palestinians have endured enough, and we need to recognize they are not going away anytime in the near future. Palestine has a right to exist, and we need to help them find a way to make that happen.

The US has a long record of backing the wrong people when the decisions are crucial. Our foreign policy supports one side against another in a bid for what is right for us, not what is right for them. There are many examples. The Shah of Iran was a blaring mistake that cost us dearly. Our failure to maintain and help the people of Afghanistan to build a viable government has resulted in a terrorist state that has cost the lives of thousand of American soldiers. Our continued failure to recognize the nation of Cuba as a legitimate state perpetuates poverty and isolation in that nation. And of course, our failure to help Ho Chi Min in his bid for a separate and independent Vietnam cost hundreds of thousand of American lives, not to mention the lives of so many other soldiers of other nations, including Vietnam. This is a reprehensible pattern of disregard for the growth of humanity.

Terrorists are not satanic worshipers who are hell bent on the destruction of the human race for their own means. They are fueled by a legitimate hatred of our policies that lead to the desolation and decimation of their cultures and beliefs. Terrorists are not the result of some deep rooted DNA flaw, but of our own flagrant disregard for their rights to independent existence. Who creates these terrorists? We do.

The Occupy movement has taken root around the world. Why? Because the "99%" are tired of the way the "1%" are handling things. And the "99%" are not going away, any more than the Palestinians. We need to elect leaders who are true leaders, men and women who will work to find a common solution to these problems, not merely go with what the "1%" want to do. We need to purge the White House, the Senate, the Congress and any other legislative body of the incumbents who seek to lead without our approval. We need to take charge of our own destiny, and let the people of the United States and the world choose their destiny instead of having it chosen for them. We need to act, and we need to act with our votes.

The World is Changing

There's only one question. Are you a part of the problem or a part of the solution? You really don't want to be on the wrong side this time. And you DO have to choose. Think about it.

Depleted Uranium and Gulf War Syndrome

Okay, this is not a local topic...or is it?

How many veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are now in Central Illinois? Quite a few, according to the articles in the Peoria Journal Star and other local sources.

Now, it seems interesting to me that, while there are many sites dedicated to the topic of Depleted Uranium and its possible effects on returning veterans, let alone the rather gruesome sites relating to birth defects in Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan, there is no actual US Government agency that will acknowledge the possibility of DU as the source of "Gulf War Syndrome". When querying the Veterans Administration on their website, you are directed to a crisis hotline and told that there has been more than $213 million dollars spent in researching the cause of this debilitating and sometimes fatal disease.

You can take a lot of time researching the topic. I've spent about 24 actual hours in front of the computer at various sites trying to make sense of the information, and I can tell you there are a lot of opinions out there. But one thing is blatantly clear: it appears the US Government will be taking the same stance with "Gulf War Syndrome" as they did with Agent Orange. It is much easier to simply let the veterans affected die of the disease than to spend the time and money it does not have to correct the problem. That in itself is abhorrent, but the real problem of denying the possible effects of DU on our troops is much more so.

You see, many of the veterans who served in these areas are on their 2nd or 3rd tour. So not only have they been exposed to DU in the form of airborne particles that have infiltrated their bodies, but they will be further exposed to DU a 2nd and 3rd time in the course of their service, without proper warning or information. Of course, the government insists that there is insufficient evidence that DU exposure could cause these effects, or be responsible for the massive genetic damage being experienced as birth defects in the Middle East. But according to a 2008 study, there are grounds for considering DU as deadly as any weapon ever used.

"Now two researchers have a new theory that they say explains how depleted uranium could cause genetic damage. Chris Busby of the Institute of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science (IPNSS) in Braunschweig, Germany, and the University of Ulster, UK, and Ewald Schnug, director of the IPNSS, claim that uranium atoms in the body could act as "radiation antennas". They argue that uranium atoms could be capturing photons of background gamma radiation and then re-emitting their energy as fast-moving electrons that act on the surrounding tissue in the same way as beta radiation. This "phantom radiation" could be over 1000 times more damaging than the alpha particles released by depleted uranium's slow nuclear decay, according to their preliminary calculations.

Their theory invokes a well-known process called the photoelectric effect. This is the main mechanism by which gamma photons with energies of about 100 kiloelectronvolts (keV) or less are blocked by matter: the photon transfers its energy to an electron in the atom's electron cloud, which is ejected into the surroundings.

An atom's ability to stop photons by this mechanism depends on the fourth power of its atomic number - the number of protons in its nucleus - so heavy elements are far better at intercepting gamma radiation and X-rays than light elements. This means that uranium could be especially effective at capturing photons and kicking out damaging photoelectrons: with an atomic number of 92, uranium blocks low-energy gamma photons over 450 times as effectively as the lighter element calcium, for instance.

Busby and Schnug say that previous risk models have ignored this well-established physical effect. They claim that depleted uranium could be kicking out photoelectrons in the body's most vulnerable spots. Various studies have shown that dissolved uranium - ingested in food or water, for example - is liable to attach to DNA strands within cells, because uranium binds strongly to DNA phosphate. "Photoelectrons from uranium are therefore likely to be emitted precisely where they will cause most damage to genetic material," says Busby." Here is the source for this information.

So, to my understanding, there is a distinct possibility that the ingested or inhaled DU particles can act to amplify and intensify the natural radiation we all absorb every day. If this is so, the effects of this intensified radiation would be catastrophic to the human body, causing intense pain, disruption of normal body functions, corruption of organs, and cancer.

It is clear from my research to date that A The Government is going to do little or nothing until the Congress is forced to act to correct the problem, and B That is not going to happen without massive and repeated outcry from Citizens like yourself.

Solyndra the perfect example of why Government should not be involved in private enterprise.

This one goes under the category of gross stupidity. So the current administration in Washington okays half a billion dollars of taxpayer funds to set up as company they KNEW was doomed from the get go. I'm certain a few head will role in the Department of Energy after all the political dust has cleared, but the problem is the philosophy that got us here. The United States Government, or any government (Like Peoria, hint hint hint) has no business getting involved in the funding of any private industry. Period. Not solar panel companies, not hotels, not restaurants, not even museums that are partially sponsored by private corporations to tout their product. Not even if that product is an important part of our economy. Not even if that business is a major supporter of local charities. The consider that to be good corporate citizenship. They see that as public relations. The only business government should be involved in is regulation and administration. That is their purpose. Not to become empire builders, but to encourage others to invest in the City or Country by providing a level playing field for all to profit. If the Obama Administration knew the Chinese would enter the market and flood it with cheap knock off solar panels, they had two obvious choices to make. #1) Tell the Solyundra folks to build cheaper panels or not to try. #2) Level the playing field by raising tariffs on imported goods to make the importers costs near to ours. This is a massive failing of the US policy concerning trade in general. Many of our import laws allowed cheap goods to flood our nation after the second world war in order to help the conquered nations to rebuild their economy. When you allow cheap imports to flood your market, you force the American companies to cut costs in order to compete. Now that may sound like a great thing, but you have to realize where management cuts first....jobs. They don't want to cheapen the quality of their product, so they decide they can be competitive by reducing their work force, thereby maintaining profits to their investors while continuing to produce their product at a slower scale. Next, of course, comes the reduction of quality. This occurs when they realize that by cutting the work force, they have reduced their ability to produce a quality product on the same scale as before they reduced the work force. It is a slippery slope that leads to the current economic situation. Heads will role, fingers will point, and the end result is that the American taxpayer will suffer again. Sort of like this debacle with the Marriott Hotel people. Unless this project is immediately halted and handed back to the investors, the end result will be the same. Taxpayers will get screwed.