Hey Mr. President...

One year ago today President Obama promised to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. This promise has yet to be fulfilled. And now:

A Justice Department-led task force recently released its recommendation to continue holding nearly 50 Guantanamo detainees indefinitely! These actions are in direct violation of civil liberties, human rights, and a Supreme Court ruling in 2008 that confirmed Guantanamo detainees' rights to habeas corpus.

(via Amnesty International)

This is utterly unacceptable behavior. Even those detainees that might be guilty of committing terrorist acts against the United States should be tried properly. When we disregard the rule of law we essentially give others the justification to do the same. Take some time to write the president and your congress person in order to help restore the rule of law.

He Thinks like a Philosopher, but Governs like a King!

Yesterday I got a new friend...

His name is Rousseau and he is totally one of the coolest fish ever!

He will follow my finger up and down the tank and then try to attack it. He is a feisty bugger!

I wish he could have known his older brother, Copernicus...

 

Rest in peace little guy...

Those Dirty Rotten...Imperialists?

This is a tidbit I wrote on the 7th of December, that day that will live in infamy. It's a little past due I realize but still interesting to think about.

World War II was the result of uncontrolled imperialism. Britain (and The United States) had been systematically expanding their own empires for decades. Intervention usually leads to settlements and exploitation. China is the perfect example with the Opium War and subsequent "Open Door" policy. Other nations felt that this was an appropriate way to show their superiority. Imperialism was a way of life for nations in the 1800s and into the 1900s. Expansionist ideology in both Germany and Japan came to a head in the 1930s with Germany's invasion of the Sudetenland and Japan's invasion of Manchuria. So in essence, we created the very monsters we were fighting. Japan was simply trying to prove to the world they were a powerful force and the only way they could do that was by invasion.

This is a pretty interesting article about Japanese reasons for attacking Pearl Harbor. It is full of other interesting historical tidbits as well.

Something Rotten in Denmark....

Climate change is an issue that we must start taking seriously. This issue of developing vs. developed nations is what is causing the most contention and it is time that we finally sat down and solved this problem. If I had to pick one thing that a preliminary agreement should focus on it is this issue. In 1997 the United States Senate didn’t want to ratify Kyoto because of the discrepancy between developing nations, like China and India, and the United States. We must find ways to help these nations continue their economic growth and increase our own economic growth. An investment in clean energy will help everyone and the most economically and environmentally beneficial would be solar power.

This is an journal article explaining the benefits of solar energy for sustainable development: