News -- September 16, 2005

$200 billion post-Katrina rebuilding effort planned - "The president will call on Washington to resist spending money unwisely, but some in his own party are already starting to recoil at a price tag expected to exceed $200 billion -- about the cost of the Iraq war and reconstruction efforts. As emergency expenditures soar -- with new commitments as high as $2 billion a day -- some budget analysts and conservative groups are warning that the Katrina spending has combined with earlier fiscal decisions in ways that will wreak havoc on the government's finances for years to come. Bush and Republican congressional leaders, by contrast, are calculating that the U.S. economy can safely absorb a sharp spike in spending and budget deficits, and that the only way to regain public confidence after the stumbling early response to the disaster is to spend whatever it takes to rebuild the region and help Katrina's victims get back on their feet."
http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5615598.html

No Bankruptcy Relief for Katrina Victims - "Survivors of Hurricane Katrina who were hoping to avoid the weight of the new bankruptcy law may be out of luck. Representative F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has indicated he will not hold a hearing on waiving the law for purposes of disaster relief." -- Don't you just love those compassionate conservative Republicans?
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/katrina_bankruptcy03.html

E-mail suggests government seeking to blame groups - "Federal officials appear to be seeking proof to blame the flood of New Orleans on environmental groups, documents show."
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050916/NEWS0110/509160369/1260

The Verdict on John Roberts - Howard Dean - "But John Roberts is the wrong man for the job. Despite the fact that the White House has withheld key documents either out of incompetence or a fear that those documents might prove embarrassing, we have learned enough from the files on Roberts at the Reagan Library to make it clear that he should be rejected. This conclusion has only been solidified by Roberts' testimony during this week's hearings. He has been a polished performer, but in failing to present clear answers to straightforward questions, Roberts missed a crucial opportunity to answer legitimate concerns about his record and show compassion for those who have been excluded from the American Dream. The consistent mark of Roberts' career is a lack of commitment to making the Constitution's promise of equal protection a reality for all Americans, particularly the most vulnerable in our society."
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091505Q.shtml

Baghdad: The bloodiest day - "Al-Qa'ida in new offensive. More than a dozen Baghdad attacks. 150 are killed and 540 injured. Iraq plunges towards civil war."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article312735.ece

Plague-Infected Mice Missing From N.J. Lab - "The mice have been missing for approximately two weeks." -- Now why are they messing around with the plague, a disease that has been wiped out?
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=1128953&page=1

U.S. leads the world in sale of military goods - "The Congressional Research Service recently found that global arms sales rose to $37 billion in 2004 -- the highest level since 2000. U.S. companies such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing rang up $12.4 billion in weapons contracts -- more than one-third of the total and more than twice what Russia -- the second largest exporter -- sold." -- Fear and state sponsored murder are big business.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/opinion/12610798.htm

Study: Half of All Teens Have Had Oral Sex - ""This is a point of major social transition," James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, a reproductive health organization, said yesterday. "The data are now coming out and roiling the idea that boys are the hunters and young girls are the prey. It absolutely defies the stereotype." The data also underscore the fact that, unlike their parents' generation, many young people -- particularly those from middle- and upper-income white families -- simply do not consider oral sex a big deal. "Oral sex is far less intimate than intercourse. It's a different kind of relationship," said Claire Brindis, professor of pediatrics at the University of California-San Francisco. "At 50 percent, we're talking about a major social norm. It's part of kids' lives.""
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/15/AR2005091500915_pf.html

Few people trust politicians, global survey shows - "One of the most striking findings was international disillusionment with politicians. They achieved extremely low confidence ratings, with only 13 percent trusting them. Two out of three people polled around the globe felt unrepresented by their governments. The exceptions were South Africans, Israelis and Scandinavians. Most of these believed their governments were in tune with the people. There was a global desire to put more power in the hands of intellectuals such as writers and academics, the survey showed."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/15/AR2005091501035_pf.html

Aide: Schwarzenegger to Seek Re-Election - "Arnold Schwarzenegger will run for re-election next year, a top aide said Friday, an early announcement the governor hopes will jolt his sagging political momentum with the vitality that swept him into office two years ago."
http://www.breitbart.com/news/na/D8CLGR6G3.html

U.S. Acts to Finish Divisive Border Fence - "In a rebuff to California officials and environmentalists, the Bush administration cleared the way Wednesday for completion of a 14-mile-long border fence that will run through coastal wetlands to the Pacific Ocean near San Diego. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff waived environmental laws for the first time since Congress gave him that authority in May. Finishing the last 3.5 miles of fence is expected to cost about $32 million."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-na-fence15sep15,0,2455851.story?coll=la-story-footer&track=morenews

U.S. law professor proposes assassinating more suspected terrorists - "In June, about 100 people gathered at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington think tank, to hear a lecture by John Yoo on "fighting the new terrorism." Mr. Yoo recommended an unusual idea: assassinating more suspected terrorists." -- Suspected?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10253.htm

iTunes upgrade has users griping - "People have reported a range of problems with the updated program, while others said the software works fine. Among those reporting problems, many say that trying to install the program causes their computers to crash. Others report that once they install the program, it won't transfer music purchased at the iTunes Music Store to their iPod, deletes playlists, interferes with other programs or generally wreaks havoc on their computers. "What's worse, rolling back (to a previous version) can be difficult or impossible, and Apple's lack of official recognition or public response regarding these problems is driving many users up the wall."
http://news.com.com/iTunes+upgrade+has+users+griping/2100-1046_3-5863637.html?tag=nefd.ac

IE flaw puts Windows XP SP2 at risk - "A flaw has been discovered in Internet Explorer that could enable a remote attack on systems running Windows XP with Service Pack 2, eEye Digital Security has warned. The flaw, which also affects systems running Windows XP, is found in the default installations of Microsoft's IE, according to an advisory released by the security company on Thursday."
http://news.com.com/IE+flaw+puts+Windows+XP+SP2+at+risk/2100-1002_3-5868867.html?tag=nefd.top

Decision Deferred on Porn Domain - "And they say such a domain name would legitimize adult sites, which two of every five internet users visited in April, according to tracking by comScore Media Metrix. Many porn sites also objected, fearing that such a domain would pave the way for governments or even private industry to filter speech that is protected here under the First Amendment."
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,68878,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_5

Chinese go mental for nude web chat - ""At first, we thought it was merely a game for a few mentally abnormal people. But as our research continued, we found the problem was much larger than expected."" -- I'm mentally abnormal?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/30/undressed_web_chat/

Blogging the blues away - "Pundits who dub bloggers as wannabe journalists or budding political commentators may be off the mark, according to a new survey. For nearly half of 600 bloggers surveyed, blogging is a form of therapy, America Online said Friday, referring to research conducted by Digital Marketing Services. Around a third of the respondents said they write frequently about subjects such as self-esteem and self-help, while around 16 percent said they blog because of an interest in journalism. Another 12 percent said they do it remain on top of news and gossip. About 8 percent said they are interested in exposing political information."
http://news.com.com/Blogging+the+blues+away/2100-1038_3-5868949.html?tag=nefd.top




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