Things That Can't Exist

Isn't this amazing?

The Roman satirist Juvenal wrote in 82 AD of "rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno" ('a rare bird in the lands, and very like a black swan').

He meant something whose rarity would compare with that of a black swan, or in other words, as a black swan did not exist, neither did the supposed characteristics of the ‘rare bird’ with which it was being compared.

The phrase passed into several European languages as a popular proverb, including English, in which the first four words (a rare bird in the land) are often used ironically. For some 1500 years the black swan existed in the European imagination as a metaphor for that which could not exist.

...

The Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh made the first European record of sighting a Black Swan in 1697 when he sailed into, and named, the Swan River on the western coast of New Holland. The sighting was significant in Europe where "all swans are white" had long been used as a standard example of a well-known truth.

Black Swan emblems and popular culture - Wikipedia

Hindsight

For someone like me, who has grown up in a country where you don't see the same skin tone twice in one day, it's a legitimate question to ask; why all the fuss about Obama being the first African-American president?

Well, this little pic puts everything in perspective.

Please visit the website that made this. They're here at WallStats.com.

Google suggest

Sometimes I wonder whether I & the internets know each other at all?

More here at FUnlimited

Lessons of Iraq

“I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls,” Mr Putin declared.

“Hang him?” Mr Sarkozy asked. “Why not?” Mr Putin replied. “The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein.”

“Yes but do you want to end up like [President] Bush?” Mr Putin [...] said: “Ah — you have scored a point there.”

More on TimesOnline

Technorati Tags: american wars, war, usa, asia, russia, france, sarkozy, putin, europe, historical record, saakashvili, russo-georgian war

"With tears in his eyes, [He] had to tend to..."

Mechanics of the Collapse.
Mechanics of the Collapse.
Mechanics of the Collapse.
Mechanics of the Collapse.
Mechanics of the Collapse.
Mechanics of the Collapse.

Dr. Kissinger's thoughts about the fall of Saigon

... & Now Germany!

Germany has entered a recession after government figures showed that the country's economy contracted by 0.5% in the third quarter.

This is the second consecutive quarter that the economy has shrunk after a 0.4% contraction in the second quarter.

[More On BBC]

Speaking of Proportionality

Disproportionate

[w pics]

<Brutality>
Photostory: Israeli bulldozer runs over American peace activist
</Brutality>

Lost Piece Of The Puzzle?

Just a map!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Massoumeh Ebtekar's Blog In English

Well! After a year from starting her blog in Farsi, Massoumeh Ebtekar has started her blog in Englsih.

The blog title reads "Persian Paradox". A reasonable name; since once spokeswoman of Iranian students who took over US embassy, now has been announced 2006 champion of the earth by UN & came first among the reformists in the last city council election (when Ahmadinejad's allies were first defeated in an election).

New poll reveals how unrepresentative neocon Jewish groups are

A new survey of American Jewish opinion, released by the American Jewish Committee, demonstrates several important propositions:

1. Right-wing neocons (the Bill Kristol/Commentary/ AIPAC/Marty Peretz faction) who relentlessly claim to speak for Israel and for Jews generally hold views that are shared only by a small minority of American Jews;
2. Viewpoints that are routinely demonized as reflective of animus towards Israel or even anti-Semitism are ones that are held by large majorities of American Jews; and
3. Most American Jews oppose U.S. military action in the Middle East -- including both in Iraq and against Iran.

Glenn Greenwald - Political Blogs and Opinions - Salon

Turkey, Kurds, 3 Years Ago!

This is not new...but now that everybody's getting all tense, it's worth reading again.

At the moment, the former American senior intelligence official said, the Israelis’ tie to Kurdistan “would be of greater value than their growing alliance with Turkey. ‘We love Turkey but got to keep the pressure on Iran.’ ” The former Israeli intelligence officer said, “The Kurds were the last surviving group close to the United States with any say in Iraq. The only question was how to square it with Turkey.”

[...]

A third Turkish official told me that the Israelis were “talking to us in order to appease our concern. They say, ‘We aren’t doing anything in Kurdistan to undermine your interests. Don’t worry.’ ” The official added, “If it goes out publicly what they’ve been doing, it will put your government and our government in a difficult position. We can tolerate ‘Kurdistan’ if Iraq is intact, but nobody knows the future—not even the Americans.”

June 28, 2004 - Annals of National Security: Plan B - The New Yorker

Update:
To Check the latest changes in Turkey-Kurds Stand-off, Click Here
(In Real-Time)

Kucinich on the 30,000 pound bomb

“Defense analysts have suggested that there is one reason and one reason only why this request was expedited by the Administration and that is retrofit these B-2 bombers so that they’ll be able to drop 30,000-pound bombs on Iranian nuclear research facilities,” Kucinich said.



“We cannot approve the Department of Defense Appropriations Conference Report without thinking about the consequences of the Administrations’ approach. If 30,000 pound bombs – bunker busters – are dropped on nuclear research labs, the release of radiation would create a humanitarian and ecological disaster.



“This is a war crime in motion. Dropping the bunker busters would have human health effects that could be catastrophic.

Kucinich
Warns of a A War Crime in Motion

Saudi's mistake in Lebanon

The Saudis vested their influence in Lebanon in the former prime minister, Rafik Hariri. When he was assassinated, they lost their channel for influence and watched as Iran - which invested in building an institution, Hezbollah - saw its influence grow. Saudi officials now say that Iran was smarter, because even if someone were to kill the charismatic leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, Iran's influence in Lebanon would carry on through the institution.



Similarly, the United States has vested its interests in Mubarak, while directing most of its aid dollars to the Egyptian military. Mubarak has not always been the perfect ally, but American officials say that he is invaluable for his historical perspective and the importance he places on the relationship with the United States and peace with Israel. An American official here said that there is concern that Mubarak's ultimate replacement be someone who maintains the same historical appreciation for peace and relations with Washington.

Mubarak's successor? Egypt has no easy answer - International Herald Tribune

Are we there yet?

A majority of likely voters - 52 percent - would support a U.S. military strike to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, and 53 percent believe it is likely that the U.S. will be involved in a military strike against Iran before the next presidential election, a new Zogby America telephone poll shows.

Zogby: Majority Favor Strikes on Iran - Newsmax.com

Through Political Inquirer