The raw data in the Afghan war

Dear President Obama,
Using your power as Commander in Chief could you please remove all US troops from all countries we were not invited to occupy?
Sincerely,
Angry citizen of the United States of America

Green circles represent improvised explosive device (IED) incidents with no casualties, yellow - injuries only, red - death.  Note the complete lack of suppression in violence after Obama took office in January 2009 and the marked uptick since.

ARRRRRRRG!!!!

Aesthetics according to Dr. Bloom

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What is WikiLeaks? - Julian Assange explains

The news today of over 90,000 US military records regarding the war in Afghanistan being declassified, gives us all a moment to comprehend the power of transparency. When jingo politicians put on plastic smiles and nod while saying "don't worry adoring public, these wars are moving along swimmingly" the wheels of the military industrial complex just keep on turning, churning, and burning up our troops. Sending our cash straight to the KBRs, Halliburtons, Raytheons, Lockheed Martins, and Northrop Grummans of the world. When the people glimpse reality, the cogs of the war machine don't seem so shiny to a public with a thirty second attention span. After the dust settles and the white house gets over its initial "hurt feelings" maybe we can thank Julian Assange and company for slapping us all across the face and saying "wake up! This is how the "good" war is actually going." Maybe it will be an alarm sounding our final withdrawal from the "graveyard of empires."

Sagan Speaks Softly on Homo Sapiens' Silliness

The Blame Game

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All Creatures Great and Smart

Apparition in Appalachia

Tom Paine's Ghost made an appearance this week in Charlotte, North Carolina. In an interview with T. DeLene Beeland of the Charlotte Observer I discuss intentions behind the blog and my recent trip to New York City.   Read the entire interview here.

While contemplating a title for this post I had a geographical epiphany.  Even though I grew up in New York State, the empire state, home of the most cosmopolitan center in the world, I actually grew up in Appalachia! I should have realized running around all the maple forests and shale gorges of Chautauqua County that this particular region of New York's "southern tier" was part of the fabled land of Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett.  Though I never did have squirrel soup growing up I will forevermore think differently whilst sipping on a southern tier.

Green Washing = Brain Washing

Submission Closed

 for the 
POST with the MOST 

on TOM PAINE'S GHOST

blog post competition 

The winner will be announced Sunday July 4th.  Feel free to submit your entry to next year's competition. E-mail your entries here.



Here are the entries for the 2010 contest.

Cultural Transmission in Chimpanzees by Eric Michael Johnson
Father and daughter reviews: Ted Haggard launch party for Saint James Church: by 3Dsound

Ted Haggard launch party for Saint James Church: What 3D and his family heard and saw: by 3Dsound  
Interview with Joanne Manaster by Bora Zivkovic
Four Green Technologies That Could Change The World by Beth Buczynski
Green Years' Resolution by Steffany Boldrini
The Powerful Healing Power of Affirmations by Rena Reese
You'll either get this or you won't by Ivor Tymchak
Monday Musing: the greatest of all time by Abbas Raza
A Natural History of my instrument: by Alicia Jo Rabins
A Natural History of My Mishearing: by Ed Skoog
Natural Histories Project: by Sean Hill 
Reflections on the Gulf Oil Spill - Conversations With My Grandpa: by Christie Wilcox 



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