The 9/11 Conspiracy: A Skeptic's View

Very interesting article about the ubiquitous 9/11 Conspiracy Theories. The author agrees that there are some anomalies in the Official Version, in particular in relation to WTC #7. However, the Pentagon was certainly hit and the two main WTC buildings were hit - there are hundreds and hundreds of eyewitnesses.

How then are we to explain the Bush Administration inaction before 9/11, and its willingness to take full advantage of this “new Pearl Harbor?” I don’t know, but that doesn’t keep me from speculating. So here’s my hunch – and it’s only a hunch which I am willing to revise or abandon if and when more evidence appears. The Busheviks were forewarned (“Bin Laden determined to strike in the US”), but they expected attacks on the scale of the USS Cole and the African embassies: perhaps a few dozen casualties -- "acceptable." They did not take countermeasures because they saw a strategic advantage in such a “mini-Pearl Harbor.” For such a purpose, the attack on The Pentagon would suffice. They did not expect the destruction of the World Trade Center. However, after 9/11 the die was cast, and so they eagerly launched their “war on terror," along with the policy outrages that were to follow: the USA PATRIOT ACT, Abu Ghraib, Gitmo. The Iraq War, we now know from Richard Clarke and the Downing Street memos, was on the drawing boards long before 9/11, awaiting just such an event to set it in motion.

Interesting and definitely worth a read.

Blaming the Victims of Rape

Dangerous Logic About Rape

A recent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal promotes the idea that men are essentially violent and women just have to learn to deal with it. Media critic Jennifer L. Pozner calls it a dangerous response to the problem of sex assault.

A good article. It reminds me of those who talk about how feminism has created a culture of victimhood for women. I would respond it isn't feminists who make rape survivors out to be victims; it is the rapists that victimize them by raping them.

Haven't we learned Blaming the Victims is not only cruel but doesn't get us anywhere?

More Women's Issues

Happy Easter!! What?!

Found Here by my coworker, Karina.

Trade a Paperclip for a House?

Kyle MacDonald is trying to trade one red paperclip for a house. He started with a simple red paperclip and over the past few months has been trading up for bigger or better things (Red Paperclip -> Fish Pen -> Spastic Doorknob -> Coleman Stove... you get the idea). Right now he has a recording contract up for trade. Entertaining site and commentary.


one red paperclip,
originally uploaded by kylemac.