I wonder how many of those in favor of doing so realize what would happen if we/Israel did? Here is an interesting rumination (from two years ago!) about the implications.

Nearly half of likely voters think the United States should be willing to use military force to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, according to this week’s The Hill Poll. Forty-nine percent said military force should be used, while 31 percent said it should not and 20 percent were not sure.

Sixty-two percent of likely voters said they were somewhat or very concerned about Iran making a terrorist strike on the United States, while 37 percent said they were not very concerned or not at all concerned about it.

Nearly half — 49 percent — of likely voters also said they opposed cutting military spending to balance the federal budget, while 40 percent said it should be reduced.
[...]
The findings were based on a nationwide survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted Feb. 2 by Pulse Opinion Research, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

As for not cutting military spending, apparently those against it are expecting another WWII-type war to break out. Or don’t want to lose their military contract money.

Possibly NSFW, depending on where you work.

Economic sanctions by the European Union and the United States can only be allowed a limited time period to prevent Iran from attempting to acquire a nuclear arsenal before a military strike must be contemplated, Israeli leaders have declared. The tough public stance from Tel Aviv comes amid conflicting reports on the readiness of the Israeli military establishment to carry out an attack on Iran.

One account claims that Israel’s security agencies have concluded that the turmoil predicted from a strike, and the likely response from Tehran, has been widely exaggerated. However, a senior British official told The Independent that the hierarchy of the intelligence service, Mossad, and the armed forces continued to have deep trepidation about conflict in the region.

Speaking at the Davos economic summit yesterday, the Israeli Defence Minister, Ehud Barak, yesterday warned that a situation could be rapidly reached when even “surgical” military action could not block the Tehran regime from getting the bomb. “We will know early enough whether the Iranians are ready to give up their nuclear weapons,” following measures such as the recently announced EU oil embargo, he said.

Mr Barak continued, “We are determined to prevent Iran from turning nuclear. It seems to us to be urgent, because the Iranians are deliberately drifting into what we call an immunity zone where practically no surgical operation could block them”.

And then there’s us with our “mothership” on its way. Here’s one guy’s analysis of that.

WASHINGTON – Marine Corps officials said they are investigating a YouTube video that allegedly shows four servicemembers urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters.The video, posted Tuesday on YouTube , shows four men in U.S. military uniforms standing above the corpses, joking and making references to relieving themselves on the dead men. Capt. Kendra Hardesty, a spokeswoman for the Corps, said officials have not verified any details of the incident but added, “The actions portrayed are not consistent with our core values and are not indicative of the character of the Marines in our Corps. This matter will be fully investigated and those responsible will be held accountable for their actions.”

It was unclear who shot the video, when it was filmed,or who posted it online.

You have to have mixed feelings about this. This sort of thing goes on with both sides. But the real issue overall is judgement. Are the soldiers so dumb to film and post this? I’m reminded of the LA gang-bangers who do dumb things then post the evidence of their stupidity on YouTube. But OK, this will not end well for the soldiers. And I’m also confused by the news media acting baffled about who these guys were when on the main video it says, “scout sniper team 4 with 3rd battalion 2nd marines out of camp lejeune peeing on dead talibans.” I’d think they’d be easy to isolate. Can you imagine the meetings going on right now?

People take part in the 2012 No Pants Subway Ride…Started by Improv Everywhere, the goal is for riders to get on public transport dressed in normal winter clothes, but without trousers, and keep a straight face.

Looks like fun – though a tad chilly.

Kim Jong-il, the reclusive North Korean leader who has been battling ill health following a reported stroke in 2008, has died, the North’s official news media reported on Monday.

“Our great leader Comrade Kim Jong-il passed away at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 17,” Korean Central TV reported.

“MVRDV regrets deeply any connotations The Cloud projects evokes regarding 9/11. It was not our intention to create an image resembling the attacks nor did we see the resemblance during the design process. The design inspiration of The Cloud is visualised in the first image on our website, a cloud covering the centre of the Sky scraper.”

Earlier this year, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) demonstrated its vision for the “checkpoint of the future” — a series of neon-lit tunnels, each equipped with an array of eye-scanners, x-ray machines, and metal and liquid detectors. Heralding an end to “one size fits all screening,” the association says that passengers will be assigned a “travel profile” and ushered into one of three corridors accordingly.
[...]
Feeling guilty? Got something to hide? A team of UK-based researchers claim to have developed a thermal lie-detection camera that can automatically spot a burning conscience.
[...]
But it’s not just contraband smugglers who should fear the arrival of this sniffing super-breed. Lee’s next clone will be a high-performance “quarantine dog” — gifted with an enhanced capacity for detecting the presence of disease in humans.

Don’t you feel safer already?

This is a single-pipe alpine coaster in Mieders, Austria. You reach the summit via a cablecar and then sit on a small car with a brake lever and off you go. Having ridden it once using a little braking, I decided to try it a second time without using the brakes. This is SCARY! Enjoy the ride!

The European Union on Monday prohibited the use of X-ray body scanners in European airports, parting ways with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, which has deployed hundreds of the scanners as a way to screen millions of airline passengers for explosives hidden under clothing.

The European Commission, which enforces common policies of the EU’s 27 member countries, adopted the rule “in order not to risk jeopardizing citizens’ health and safety.”
[...]
European countries will be allowed to use an alternative body scanner, on that relies on radio frequency waves, which have not been linked to cancer.

And then there was this little tidbit:

Within three years, the TSA plans to deploy 1,800 backscatter and millimeter-wave scanners, covering nearly every domestic airport security lane.

I feel so safe now with all my tax money going for this.

Yeah, I know the banner says America, but since Monsanto is involved, it’s only a matter of time…

The broccoli protected by the patent EP1069819 was derived by conventional breeding methods. The rights to the patents are being held by US company Monsanto. The company Syngenta which had appealed against the patent, has now surprisingly proposed the cancellation of the planned hearing. The EPO is following this request from industry. This means that the patent for the broccoli, which is derived by traditional breeding methods, will now be upheld with only minor modifications.

You know where this is heading if it works: exporting prisoners for all crimes to other, cheaper labor and everything else countries, especially China. Everything seems to eventually get exported to China.

Assemblyman Brian Jones, who represents much of inland San Diego County and a wide stretch of the border, says Sacramento should explore the “wild idea” of building state prisons in the countries of illegal immigrants to relieve overcrowding in the state.

“Let’s build their prisons in their home countries and send them to those prisons,” he said Friday morning in a meeting with Patch editors in his hometown of Santee.

“They’ll operate at a lot lower expense than being here in California. And let their home country take care of them.”