Lighter Stuff

My posts for the last few days have been very negative. I talked about Iraq and the fact that our government is using propaganda on its own people to sell their policies. I could have also talked about Pres. Bush trying to sell us on privatizing Social Security or taking the security out of social security, Condie Rice being confirmed as Secretary of State, or Alberto Gonzales getting further in his journey as Attorney General. These are all pretty negative stories and I don't feel like being negative tonight. Having said that, I will address one political story that I actually think is pretty good news and one story that is just funny. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas J. Feith has announced his resignation from the Department of Defense. Neocon Feith was instrumental to the run up to the Iraq war, helped setup the Office of Special Plans within the Pentagon, and has been implicated in the leak of classified documents to Israel. While Israel is an "ally", any information that they get should be through proper channels. His position has long been seen to support Israel's extreme right wing which wants nothing to do with a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians. He has said that he is leaving to spend time with his family but it appears that the people in charge have finally gotten a little sense and are pushing him out.

And now... for the story of the day... A massive cow manure pile has been burning for three months. The pile, at a Nebraska feed lot (where cattle are sent to be fattened up before slaughter) measures 100 feet long, 50 feet wide, and about 30 feet high and weighs about 2000 tons. Putting the fire out by spraying water on it is not an option because of concerns about runoff into local water sources. Spreading out the pile has also not worked because it simply spreads the fire. It is thought that the heat from the decomposing manure caused the pile to spontaneously combust. And now there is a giant pile of burning manure that is impossible to extinguish.

Music: Providence - Godspeed, You Black Emperor!
Book: Life of Pi by Yann Martell
Iraq: January - 92 Americans, 1 Kazakhstani, 8 Ukranians, 1 Italian
Total - 1425 Americans, 1586 Coalition troops, too many to count Iraqis