excess of evil

From: www.zum.de

“In 1953, the CIA overthrew Iran’s democratically elected government and installed the Shah, a brutal dictator who proceeded to establish one of the worst human rights records of the era. Following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, which deposed the Shah, Washington turned its favor to another brutal dictator in the region: Saddam Hussein, who received U.S. aid throughout the Iran-Iraq War. Ever since the revolution, the U.S. has imposed various sanctions on Iran. And most recently, we launched major military operations in two of Iran’s neighboring states, further destabilizing the region and threatening Iran’s own safety.
     But in the eyes of U.S. commentary, Iran remains the supreme evil. It’s instructive, for instance, that without any irony or self-awareness we charge Iran with interfering in the Iraq War – a war we instigated from the other side of the world, against massive international protest, on Iran’s doorstep. Actually, Iran’s involvement in the Iraq conflict has necessarily increased with the growing threat of ISIS, a group that only exists because of the immense power vacuum and destabilization caused by the U.S. invasion.”
— Kyle Schmidlin, Salon
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"[...] but fear itself"

From: Msnowe's Blog

"[…] raised and coddled as future terrorists. And then one day, twenty... thirty years down the road, they can be sent in to help destroy our way of life." — Louie Gohmert (R-TX), 2010

“The TSA successfully prevented an alleged terrorist from boarding a JetBlue flight out of Florida on Tuesday [May 8, 2012]. Initial reports describe the suspect as having curly brown hair, around 33 inches in height and really into drinking milk from a bottle.
     The 18-month old daughter of two New Jersey-born Americans of Middle Eastern descent was reportedly the reason for sending Transportation Security Administration agents onto an about-to-depart plane in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida this week. The parents of the girl, who wish to remain anonymous, say the entire incident is absurd.
     Riyanna’s mother tells Fort Lauderdale’s WPBF 25 News that she was approached by an airline employee late Tuesday while onboard a JetBlue plane readying for departure. According to her, she was informed that TSA agents were waiting to speak with the family back inside the terminal.
     'And I said, "For what?”' Riyanna’s mother tells the network. 'And he said, "Well, it’s not you or your husband. Your daughter was flagged as no fly.”'"
— Before It’s News
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“Israeli forces stormed a Jerusalem home this week and ordered the arrest of their terror suspect: Hamza Zeidani, a child who is only two-years-old.
     The Occupation forces entered the family home with a warrant for Hamza’s arrest and when they saw that he was a toddler, decided they would sieze his uncle, Mohammad Zeidani instead. […]
     An October 2013 Unicef report, found that during interrogation by Israeli Security Forces, Palestinian children had been 'threatened with death, physical violence, solitary confinement and sexual assault, against themselves or a family member' in efforts to gain confessions for alleged offenses, most commonly for throwing stones.
     This is the reality of life for Palestinian families across the West Bank and Gaza, as footage and witness testimony reveals in the documentary Stone Cold Justice. When Israeli forces are not conducting the mass kidnap, arrest, and torture of Palestinian children – they are simply killing them on the spot.”
— Kerry-Anne, Addicting Info
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“Owners of a spiritual shop are being subjected to tirades of abuse because they share their name with the extreme jihadi group ISIS .
     Derek Morgan and Lisa Warburton, who opened the Isis Centre, in central Stockport, Greater Manchester, three years ago, have been abused and accused of supporting the group, which has been dubbed the new al-Qaeda. […]
     In 2011 the pair thought calling the business Isis, after the Egyptian goddess of magic and healing, would be harmless but this year the name has taken on a more sinister connotation.”
— Chris Gee, Mirror
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exponential decay

Still from gif: "Mutant Baby" by Zolloc

“[…] Dr. Beth Bell, director of the CDC's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, testified before the committee, making a case for increased funding. Her department, which has led the US intervention in West Africa, was hit with a $13 million budget cut as a result of the cuts in 2013. Though appropriations increased in 2014 and are projected to rise further in 2015, the agency hasn't yet made up for the deficit—according to Bell, $100 million has already gone toward stopping the Ebola epidemic, and much more is needed. The United Nations estimates it will take over $600 million just to get the crisis under control.
     Bell also argued that the epidemic could have been stopped if more had been done sooner to build global health security. International aid budgets were hit hard by the sequester, reducing global health programs by $411 million and USAID by $289 million. 'If even modest investments had been made to build a public health infrastructure in West Africa previously, the current Ebola epidemic could have been detected earlier, and it could have been identified and contained,' she said during her testimony. 'This Ebola epidemic shows that any vulnerability could have widespread impact if not stopped at the source.'"
— Susie Madrak, Crooks and Liars
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“WASHINGTON -- The U.S. military operations targeting Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria have already cost taxpayers between $780 and $930 million, according to an analysis by an independent think tank.
     The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments issued a new report Monday assessing how much the military campaign has already cost (through Sept. 24) and how much more will likely be spent in the coming months.
     CSBA estimates that if the current pace of operations continues, the United States could spend between $200 and $320 million a month, in a conservative estimate assuming a ‘moderate level of air operations and 2,000 deployed ground forces.’”
— Amanda Terkel, Huffington Post
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