Wednesday November 28, 2012, 7:26 am
THANKS, WELL SAID.....

Wednesday November 28, 2012, 7:40 am

Interesting TomCat. I admit to feeling very uncomfortable about Drone attacks, but then any time civilians are killed in war, it's a tragedy. I have no belief that the US or any country now possessing the power of Drones is about to stop using them.

Unlike many that were labeled as explorers Magellan really was a true explorer and cartographer.

Wednesday November 28, 2012, 1:52 pm
We are investing in our military to an absurd extent when we and the rest of the planet should be investing in new energy and means of retarding the growth of global warming - our billion $ drones are killing all sorts of civilians - while corporations are our home-grown terrorists - where is the sanity?

Wednesday November 28, 2012, 5:24 pm
Thanks Tom, I agree with Lee.

Wednesday November 28, 2012, 5:42 pm
GOP head's of committees=AAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Wednesday November 28, 2012, 6:26 pm
Proving to us once again that the GOP is still the part of angry old white men. Here they are once again showing their true colors (or lack thereof). And, as many have said before, why do women vote for these narrow-minded, bigoted, and misogynistic old farts?

Wednesday November 28, 2012, 7:06 pm
Puzzle — 4:39 Just like its name sake, the tortoise, slow and easy does it! The race is to finish, not necessarily in first place. Try as I might, I could not better this time. Maybe later.

MoveOn — Killer robots see only black and white, no shades of grey. They would be programmed to do 'A' if this happens and 'B' if that happens. But if the activity is really outside of their programming, what will it do — maybe the wrong thing. The robot has no moral compass, not even a human, flawed as humans are, to guide it. Are we so eager to sanitise war that we are willing to give 'personhood' to a military robot? (Scarey, that sounds Republican/Teabagger!) War should not be sanitised. Maybe by seeing enough of the ravages of war, we will finally say enough. What good could we accomplish with all the money spent on R&D of this monster — how many children immunised; how many people fed that otherwise might die from starvation? This has to stop NOW!

NY Times — There seems to be a whole lot of foot dragging on getting the troops home. 66,000 troops on the ground is a lot more than a residual force. In my estimation, the first troops should be home before Christmas, and that is but 4 short weeks away. Get it done.

MSNBC — All male, all white! Apparently the Republican/Teabaggers haven't learned a damn thing! But then, Republican/Teabaggers and intelligence is an oxymoron. Look at Indiana go after marriage equality by trying to put it into the state constitution even though there is already a law declaring marriage equality illegal. And other states have renewed their anti abortion stand. Anybody think they have learned anything?

Cartoon — I can't even imagine what sailing those straits would have been like in 1520, or now for that matter. It is supposed to be quite treacherous, with unpredictable strong winds. However, more treacherous is the Cape Horn which means going around Tierra del Fuego which is considerably south of the Straits of Magellan. High winds, BIG waves, strong currents and icebergs are the order of the day. When I looked at the map, I was surprised to see so many islands along the southern coast of Chile — even an Isla Vancouver. Many look to be uninhabited by people, but none the less, with climate change, what happens to many of these islands as the oceans rise? What animal species need protection from human folly?

Thursday November 29, 2012, 12:28 am
Thanks for these articles TC - the drone article is really worrying. Green star to Lee. As for the GOP electing universally all white all male (and doubtless all rich) to their committees - they seemingly just can't help it, can they?

Thursday November 29, 2012, 1:15 am
Thanks TomCat. (4:23)

Thursday November 29, 2012, 6:37 am
I have read so many accounts of tall ships navigating those waters. Cold, unpredictable currents and winds and no nav aids! Add to that a barefoot crew with light clothing doing all this 24/7 in very cold temperatures. We are all wimps by those standards.

Thursday November 29, 2012, 7:12 am
Thanks everyone. On the remotely human-piloted drones, if the same missions were detailed to fighters or bombers, the civilian casualties would be much higher.

Friday November 30, 2012, 10:46 am
Agree Tom, one of the biggest advantages of the drones
is their ability to "hover" over an area virtually undetected
and take the time to assess and aim before attacking.

Still wish we would spend more time and money healing
rather than hurting.

Saturday December 1, 2012, 7:22 am
Thanks James. That's exactly the way I see it.