News -- November 18, 2005

Who Told the Senate that Sadam had WMDs Capable of Attacking the East Coast? - "“Someone”took the Senators into a closed door session and told them Saddam had UAVs capable of hitting the East Coast… shortly after they voted on the Resolution. Senator Bill Nelson (FL): "I, along with nearly every Senator in this Chamber, in that secure room of this Capitol complex, was not only told there were weapons of mass destruction–specifically chemical and biological–but I was looked at straight in the face and told that Saddam Hussein had the means of delivering those biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction by unmanned drones, called UAVs, unmanned aerial vehicles. Further, I was looked at straight in the face and told that UAVs could be launched from ships off the Atlantic coast to attack eastern seaboard cities of the United States. Is it any wonder that I concluded there was an imminent peril to the United States?" As far as I know, it has never been revealed who that “Someone” was that told the Senators about this threat… was it Cheney?" -- Interesting.
http://benfrank.net/blog/2005/11/12/recall_the_uav_claim/

'Cheney is vice president for torture' - "A former CIA director has exclusively told ITV News that torture is condoned and even approved by the Bush government."
http://www.itv.com/news/index_1447362.html

Evidence Mounts That Bush Wants New Wars - "In this his time of troubles, Bush seems to be moving deliberately and rapidly toward new wars of aggression in an unforgivable gamble to overcome his troubles. His speech on Veterans' Day, November 11, 2005 at the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania leads to this conclusion more clearly than any of his previous speeches and activities. The new wars would be the start of a world war initiated by Bush and radical Christianity against what he calls radical Islam, but in truth the wars would be waged against all Islam."
http://www.counterpunch.org/christison11162005.html

Bush 'an assassin, crazy man' - "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, extending his war of words with Washington, on Thursday called US President George W Bush "an assassin" and accused the United States of meddling in his country's affairs. Chavez said: "The people of the US are governed by an assassin ... a crazy man! "I think the people of the US are more aware of this situation every day.""
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1836589,00.html

Desperation on the Precipice of Disaster - "Thirty-four percent is the current approval rating for the President of the United States. To be more accurate, his disapproval rating is at 66%. There is no point in measuring negatives and pretending there is anything positive about it. To those of us who have been on this side for years we are still left wondering who these 34% are. The lies are all becoming unraveled and all that is left for the most corrupt administration in modern history is trot out tired old lines and scare tactics while using the troops they have put into harms way to support their lies in the most disgusting of fashions. This past week has seen the President insisting that it is “irresponsible” to question the use of intelligence that has led to the deaths of over 100,000 people, at least 2,000 of them American children. As if that was not enough the Vice President emerged from his darkened lair long enough to say that critics of the war were dishonest and reprehensible. This is all they have left. To try and accuse those in search of the truth with the same foibles they represent. Irresponsible, dishonest and reprehensible. That just about summarizes this administration left with nothing to sell the American people except the same worn-out lies that they have been pimping for years now. The difference now though is 66% of America has awoken from the fear slumber and realizes that this kind of talk is nothing more than desperation on the precipice of disaster."
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_anthony__051118_desperation_on_the_p.htm

Lie detectors may be next step in airline security - "A new walk-through airport lie detector made in Israel may prove to be the toughest challenge yet for potential hijackers or drug smugglers. Tested in Russia, the two-stage GK-1 voice analyzer requires that passengers don headphones at a console and answer "yes" or "no" into a microphone to questions about whether they are planning something illicit. The software will almost always pick up uncontrollable tremors in the voice that give away liars or those with something to hide, say its designers at Israeli firm Nemesysco."
http://news.com.com/Lie+detectors+may+be+next+step+in+airline+security/2100-1008_3-5958656.html?part=rss&tag=5958656&subj=news

Cheney Sidesteps Travel Disclosure Rules - "Vice President Dick Cheney and his staff have been declaring themselves exempt from the travel disclosure laws followed by the rest of the White House, a Center for Public Integrity investigation released today found. The vice president's office appears to have stuck taxpayers with millions of dollars in travel costs and has avoided disclosing its expenses and destinations."
http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/1116-10.htm

Ten trouble spots you aren't already worried about - "The federal response to Katrina sent a clear message: You're on your own. Hurricanes are just the beginning, though. There are plenty of other disasters - natural and technological - you can look forward to dealing with. And that doesn't even include terrorist attacks. Ready?"
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/start.html?pg=20

Americans less enchanted as sole superpower - "Americans’ appetite for world leadership has waned significantly since before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, with more than two-fifths saying the United States should mind its own business, according to a major new survey released Thursday." -- At the very least, the US should stop screwing around with other countries.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10086642/from/ET/&&CM=EmailThis&CE=1

Papers: DuPont Hid Chemical Risk Studies - "DuPont Co. hid studies showing the risks of a Teflon-related chemical used to line candy wrappers, pizza boxes, microwave popcorn bags and hundreds of other food containers, according to internal company documents and a former employee. The chemical Zonyl can rub off the liner and get into food. Once in a person's body, it can break down into perfluorooctanoic acid and its salts, known as PFOA, a related chemical used in the making of Teflon-coated cookware."
http://www.wral.com/apnationalnews/5343382/detail.html

Scientists find fear gene - "Scientists may have found a gene for fear -- a gene that controls production of a protein in the region of the brain linked with fearful responses." -- So, how long before we see a human, genetically modified to fear nothing?
http://reuters.myway.com/article/20051117/2005-11-17T203209Z_01_FLE773585_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-SCIENCE-FEAR-DC.html

Outsourcing outrage Indian call-center workers suffer abuse - "While irate calls are a mainstay of customer service work in any country, many Indian call-center workers say they regularly face particular abuse from Americans, whose tantrums are sometimes racist and often inspired by anger over outsourcing. ... Such telephone tirades are fueled by outrage over outsourcing, which is expected to move 3.4 million U.S. service-sector jobs overseas by 2015, according to the consultancy Forrester. Most of the work comes to India, where young, low-cost employees now handle a range of American tasks -- they draw cartoons, interpret heart scans, adjudicate insurance claims, reserve flights and chase debtors."
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/17/BUGB3FPGT01.DTL

Automated Answering Cheat Sheets to Find a Human - "Here are the secret numbers and tips to bypass IVR phone menus to get to a human."
http://www.paulenglish.com/ivr/

LA Times New Porn Column another Symptom of Normalization of Pornography in Society - " The Los Angeles Times has added a regular pornography feature to its Entertainment section, prompting a family advocacy group to charge that the paper is adding to the growing problem of the normalization of pornography in society."
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/nov/05111506.html




Quote of the Day
"The human race has improved everything except the human race."
~ Adlai Stevenson