Pot Doesn't Cause Lung Cancer?

Well this is counterintuitive. How is it possible that smoking marijuana does not lead to a higher chance of lung cancer. It really does not make much sense, but apparently a study funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Drug Abuse at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA concludes that there was

"no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect."

Dr. Tashkin also adds that

"earlier work established that marijuana does contain cancer-causing chemicals as potentially harmful as those in tobacco, he said. However, marijuana also contains the chemical THC, which he said may kill aging cells and keep them from becoming cancerous."

Pretty incredible stuff.

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Bye Bye!

As a resident of California during the "fake" energy crisis from several years ago I must say there is a certain amount of pleasure I get from hearing about this morning's verdict. Kenny and Jeff, the dynamic duo, the thieves in your pocket, the modern day robber barons, have been convicted of crimes ranging from fraud, conspiracy and insider trading. One of our past national nightmares may finally be coming to an end. Thank you prosecutors. Thank you jury.

This Day In History:5/25/06

On this day, 128 years ago, a great American artist, born to a machinest and choir singer, was born. Starting at the age of 12 he traveled around the country practicing his craft. He started in Vaudeville, performed on Broadway and became a famous movie star. He was a teacher to Sammy Davis, Jr. and Shirley Temple. Once the highest paid African-American, this man

"became (known as) a modern John Henry, who instead of driving steel, laid down iron taps."

Mr. Bojangles. The Mayor of Harlem. Mr. Bill Robinson was a monster of creative energy. He is one of America's great dancers.

Other Events On This Day:

1844 - Stuart Perry of New York City patented the gasoline engine on this day.

1927 - The Ford Motor Company announced that its popular automobile model, the Model T, known as the Tin Lizzie, would not be rolling off assembly lines anymore.

1935 - Babe Ruth, then of the Boston Braves, hit home runs 713 and 714 on this day at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh -- home of the Pirates.

1965 - From the Look But Don’t Blink file: A very short, heavyweight title fight happened in Lewiston, ME. Cassius Clay knocked out challenger Sonny Liston in one minute and 56 seconds of the first round. Liston never saw the punch coming. Neither did an unbelieving crowd at ringside, nor those in theatres all over the world watching the fight on closed-circuit TV. The phantom punch was never explained, but Liston was knocked cold from whatever Clay threw at him.

1983 - Return of the Jedi, topped all previous opening day box office records with a gross of $6,219,629. It opened on 1,002 movie screens around the U.S

Birthdays:

Ralph Waldo Emerson
Miles Davis
Frank Oz

Hat Tip to 440 International

Surprise, Surprise!

Why am I not shocked that good ol' Dennis Hastert is currently under investigation by the FBI related to the Jack Abramoff bribery scandal. Was he not one of many congressman who complained about the FBI raid on the Congressional offices of soon to be imprisoned Congressman William Jefferson. Imagine that, a Republican defending a Democrat. Or should I say, A corrupt Republican defending a corrupt Democrat. How much do you want to bet that the other outspoken congressman are facing some heat as well. I say bury them all.

hat tip to AmericaBlog

The Day Off

I had the day off today for reason I won't go into at this moment. Needless to say, I decided to take this opportunity to do some house cleaning and some relaxing. I rarely have a chance to just kick off my shoes, not think about work for the day and enjoy myself with some healthy entertainment. So, after a morning of completing my laundry and some basic cleaning I decided to catch a film I have been anxiously awaiting for.

I saw a 12:40pm showing of The Da Vinci Code.

When I first heard that they would be making a film about this entertaining book I thought to myself, "how could they make this into a 3 hour movie. There is so much going on. They run all over the continent while at the same time explaining so much about these secret societies." Well, they seemed to have found a way.

The film does not go into the type of detail presented in the book, but they do pay close attention to the story behind the book. It was fast paced and fun to watch. Two thumbs up from me. I would highly recommend watching the film, especially if you have read the book.

The Greatest Song Ever!!!

Please indulge me as I go on a tangent and introduce the greatest American song. "Take Me Out To The Ball Game." It is heard thousands of times every summer as crowds stand up in approval and sing in unison. Even the shy among us will sing with the loudest voice! We all do it. We all love it. We all look forward to it. It's like an opera breaks out during a sporting event. Nowhere in sports does the entire crowd, and I mean everybody, stand up and sing a song together. Unity at its best. Shared pride rings out true and unwavering. It's marvelous and incredible! Stupendous and remarkable! Unbelievable and awesome! It's why baseball is the greatest game in the world!

Below is a YouTube video I put together last night. The seventh inning stretch recorded on a sullen Sunday afternoon in a game between the Dodgers and Angels. It's making me tear just thinking about it.

The Bet

As many of you know there is a new Iraqi Government that will hopefully bring about some stability to this war-torn country. It is the sincere hope of everyone, left wing- right wing, liberal- conservative, that this will forge a positive new chapter in this regions history. We must keep in mind, though, that there are risk and issues that continue to potentially hamper an Iraqi renewal. We must continue to keep our eye on the ball. Can the insurgency be stopped? Do the Sunni politicians have the power to stop the insurgents? Can the unity government end corruption? This mornings intelligence email from Stratfor gives a good run-down of the risks ahead and their strategy for ending the violence. Reprinted here in entirety.

(Everyday I receive free email reports from an organization called Stratfor (short for Strategic Forecasting). They are a risk assessment firm focused on assisting corporations and investors in assessing foreign policy risk for their business. Go ahead and sign up for their free email alerts. They give background about some very important news not usually covered in the mainstream media.)

Geopolitical Diary: Core Issues in Iraq

The new Iraqi government has been formed, apart from the ministers of defense and interior. The U.S. hope is that these officials will be named within the next week, but we suspect there is a fundamental issue at stake here. Saleh Mutlaq, the leader of the Hewar National Iraqi Front -- a small Sunni faction in the Iraqi parliament -- walked out of the discussions. His faction has only 11 out of 275 seats, so he isn't critical to the parliamentary process. However, Mutlaq refused to agree in writing that he would accept the program of the new government. As a result, he was denied a place in the government, and he walked.

This episode drives home the crucial point now. Mutlaq is close to the Iraqi nationalists in Anbar province, who are central to the insurgency there. His coalition's presence in parliament is minimal, but its support among the insurgents appears to be substantial. Thus, one question is whether the parliamentary faction among the Sunnis can forge a government, including the Defense and Interior Ministries. Another question, in many ways more important, is whether the Sunni insurgents will, to some extent, abandon the insurgency in favor of a political process. Mutlaq's move is not decisive, but it raises the fundamental question.

We are now down to core issues in Iraq. There is a government, and the Sunnis are participating. The basic assumption all along has been that the only way to bring the insurgency under control is to bring the Sunnis into the government. But now there are two questions. First, is it true that the Sunni political leaders can control the insurgents? Second, if this is true, will the Sunnis do so?

The Sunnis possibly are so divided that those speaking for them in parliament cannot speak for the insurgents, or for those who are providing them with cover. It must always be remembered that an insurgency on the scale that has been seen in Iraq can exist only if it has support from the populace, who provide sanctuary and cover, supplies and recruits. It is an assumption behind the U.S. strategy that if Sunni leadership is drawn into the political process, they will also be able to withdraw that support -- reducing if not eliminating the insurgency. Given that the jihadists also need this kind of support, they also would be affected. On the other hand, if the Sunni community is so deeply divided that the political leadership no longer can influence the community, then the entire project of creating a government serves little purpose.

It is also a question of whether the Sunnis want to reduce the insurgency. The Sunnis are caught in a vise between Kurds and Shia. Apart from the insurgency, the Sunnis, in their view, would have been crushed, with Americans taking the lead. The insurgency gave them a bargaining chip with the Americans and, to some extent, with the Shia. If they reduce the insurgency, their bargaining position potentially could be seen as decreasing. The violence gave them weight -- do they think they can maintain their weight without the violence?

The fundamental issue is this: Will the formation of the government induce the Sunnis to rein in the insurgency? If they can't or they won't, then the entire project fails. The only solution will be partition or civil war. The United States is making a bet that this agreement on a government can bring the situation under control. It is a plausible argument, and we have been making it for some time. We are, however, well past the point of argument. It now will either happen or not.

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad says six months are needed to see what will happen. It will take six months or more to begin seeing an end to the insurgency, but the fact is that we will know if the Sunnis have changed their behavior in any meaningful way within weeks. Certainly, the hard core will now launch an offensive designed to destabilize the new government and the Sunni leadership that made the political deal. But if that leadership has the influence and the inclination, then we should quickly be seeing indications to that effect. Intelligence will flow to the Americans about the location of insurgents, and we will be hearing of U.S. sweeps in Anbar and other provinces. We will also hear of internal conflicts within the Sunni community. There will be a painful crunch among the Sunnis, sooner rather than later.

If this doesn't happen, the post of defense and interior minister still remain open. How those posts will be filled will depend, in some measure, on whether the Sunni leadership is engaged in suppressing the insurgency. The pattern will be an upsurge of violence from insurgents, followed by internal struggles within the Sunni community, followed by a decline (but not a disappearance) in insurgent attacks. We would say that the next six weeks, rather than months, will show us where things are.

PS. If someone at Stratfor would prefer that I not post this information please let me know. I will immediately pull it.

When Birds Attack!

A few weeks ago Bert, Ernie and frinds visited the Long Beach Aquarium for a morning of fun and wonder. Instead we saw a group of birds gang up on a another. It was crazy!



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