China repeats it in accord with Russia on Iran - "China said on Thursday, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin left Beijing, that Beijing and Moscow are in accord on Iran's nuclear standoff with the West." -- Is Bush about to start WWIII?
Israel May Be Next al-Qaida Battleground - "Signs are mounting that al-Qaida terrorists are setting their sights on Israel and the Palestinian territories as their next jihad battleground."
What’s Become of Americans? - "Readers tell me that Americans don’t live here any more. They ask what responsible American citizenry would put up with the trashing of the Bill of Rights and the separation of powers, with wars based on deception, and with pathological liars in control of their government? One reader recently wrote that he believes that "no element of the U.S. government has been left untainted" by the lies and manipulations that have driven away accountability. So-called leaders, he wrote, "talk a great story of American pride and patriotism," but in their hands patriotism is merely a device for "cynical manipulation and fraud." ... The neocons have yet to tell us the real reason for their assault on Iraq, which has so far produced 20,000 dead, maimed, and wounded U.S. soldiers, between 30,000 and 180,000 (and rising) dead Iraqis, and demoralized U.S. Marines to the point that they commit atrocities on women and children. Would real Americans accept these blows for the sake of an undeclared agenda? Perhaps it is true that Americans don’t live here any longer."
Democratizing the Middle East: One Torture Victim at a Time - "Psychological torture, sleep deprivation, brutality, severe sexual humiliation, and murder summon visions of a dank dungeon in a remote region of pre-invasion Iraq, Iran, or North Korea, replete with evil inquisitors and hooded executioners. However, those manifestations of horror did not spring forth from the Axis of Evil. They are actually drawn from official post-9/11 US policy. Despite its fabled commitment to human rights, the United States government has been committing and enabling acts of torture for half a century. Not even Superman had the power to snatch "Truth, Justice and the American Way" from the crushing jaws of imperialistic ambition and avarice."
Censorship of the Worst Kind by Vanessa Redgrave - "This is censorship of the worst kind. More awful even than that.It is black-listing a dead girl and her diaries.A very brave and exceptional girl who all citizens, whatever their faith or nationality, should be proud and grateful for her existence. They couldn't silence her voice while she lived, so she was killed. Her voice began to speak again as Alan Rickman read her diaries, and Megan Dodds became Rachel Corrie.Now the New York Theatre Workshop have silenced that dear voice. ... If this cancellation is not transformed into a new production, somewhere in New York, immediately, we would be complicit, all of us, in a catastrophe that must not be allowed to take place. This play is not about taking sides. It is about protecting human beings. In this case, Palestinian human beings who have no protection, for their families, their homes or their streets. Rachel Corrie gave her life to protect a family. She didn't have or use a gun or bomb. She had her huge humanity, and she gave that to save lives."
The “Noble Cause” that killed Casey Sheehan - " A lot of rubbish has been written about "religious faith" lately. The fact is, there’s a force more powerful than faith; the power of denial. America has completely surrendered to denial; abandoning any claim to reason or clear-sighted analysis. The vast majority of people are perfectly content to ignore the tell-tale signs of looming disaster choosing instead to keep their heads firmly tucked in the sand. Is it really that hard to see what’s happening? ... Most people know intuitively that things are bad, they just can’t see passed the government smokescreen. No one with half a brain believes this can go on forever. The Bush administration has racked up another $3 trillion in debt in just 6 years most of it going to Bush’s well-heeled friends via the "tax cuts". Now, the Congress has voted to make the tax cuts "permanent" even though they are certain to increase the deficits by $400 to 500 billion per year. Deficit spending has become a permanent function of government….but why? ... Would countries rather buy oil in their own currency or with the euro which has increased by 32% in value since Bush took office?Of course, why would anyone choose to use a currency backed by $9 trillion of debt? ... So, what’s the Bush plan? Well, what you see is what you get. The major corporations have already loaded the boats, shifted the jobs, and drained every farthing from the public till. The Bush team has set up NorthCom (Northern Command) inside the country to deal with any needless unruliness on the part of the masses once they discover the country is dead broke; and the Federal Reserve has cobbled together a dollar-system that allows them to print worthless script in exchange for the wealth and resources of foreign nations. This allows Bush’s parasitic-class of bankers, oil magnates, and defense contractors to live large on the sweat and labor of the poorest workers on earth. Sounds like a plan."
Climate change to create African 'water refugees' - "Climate change is expected to shrink many African rivers dramatically, triggering massive refugee movements and even war, according to scientists at the Africa Earth Observatory Network."
Forum Says Governments Must Improve Water - "Governments, not private companies, should take the lead in improving public access to safe drinking water, representatives of 148 countries said Wednesday at the end of a forum on improving global water supplies."
Pulled over in Kansas? Get ready to show your license, registration — and fingerprints - "Over the next year the Kansas Bureau of Investigation will test 60 of the devices with law enforcement agencies around the state. State officials said similar tests are being planned for New York, Milwaukee and Hawaii."
Rights defenders targeted worldwide, report says - "More than 1,100 human rights defenders in 90 countries like Colombia, China and Russia were targeted for their activism last year and many were murdered, tortured or jailed, a report released on Wednesday showed."
Will Your Job Survive? - "In case you've been worrying about how the war in Iraq will end, or the coming of avian flu, or the extinction of the universe as we drift into the cosmic void, well, relax. Here's something you should really fret about: the future of the U.S. economy in the age of globalization. ... In the new global order, Blinder writes, not just manufacturing jobs but a large number of service jobs will be performed in cheaper climes. Indeed, only hands-on or face-to-face services look safe. "Janitors and crane operators are probably immune to foreign competition," Blinder writes, "accountants and computer programmers are not." ... Also dying, if not yet also kaput, is the comforting notion that a good education is the best defense against the ravages of globalization -- or, as Bill Clinton famously put it: What you earn is the result of what you learn. A study last year by economists J. Bradford Jensen of the Institute for International Economics and Lori Kletzer of the University of California at Santa Cruz demonstrates that it's the more highly skilled service-sector workers who are likely to have tradable jobs. And according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the proportion of jobs in the United States that require a college degree will rise by a measly one percentage point -- from 26.9 percent in 2002 to 27.9 percent in 2012 -- during this decade. Since education as such won't save us, Blinder recommends a kind of particularized vocational ed. We will have to specialize more, he writes, "in the delivery of services where personal presence is either imperative or highly beneficial. Thus, the U.S. workforce of the future will likely have more divorce lawyers and fewer attorneys who write routine contracts." Now, there's a prospect to galvanize a nation." -- How depressing.
Bush uncle benefits from war spending - "As President Bush embarks on a new effort to shore up public support for the war in Iraq, an uncle of the chief executive is collecting $2.7 million in cash and stock from the recent sale of a company that profited from the war. A report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows that William H.T. Bush collected a little less than $1.9 million in cash plus stock valued at more than $800,000 as a result of the sale of Engineered Support Systems Inc. to DRS Technologies of New Jersey."
ADHD panel rejects tough drug warnings - "An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended yesterday that Ritalin and other drugs to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder not carry so-called "black box" warnings about cardiovascular and psychiatric risks."
Christians ready to refute 'Da Vinci Code' movie - " In a world accepting of docudramas and reality TV shows that aren't real, how does one counter a blockbuster movie whose theme challenges the orthodox religious history of the Western world? That's the task facing Christians already distressed by Dan Brown's wildly popular novel, "The Da Vinci Code," and his claim that the thriller is based on historical facts. ... Rather than organize protests or boycotts - steps taken in the past against controversial films - Evangelicals and Catholics instead are mobilizing "truth squads." They're producing books, websites, TV documentaries, DVDs, and study guides. Some hope to use the film as a "teachable moment" that could turn the occasion to their advantage."
LASA: The Latest Battleground in the War to Protect Academic Freedom - "Academic freedom is not specifically protected by the constitution but it is inferred from the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States which protects freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly; for what do scholars do but speak, write, and come together to discuss ideas? What danger is there in that? If we don’t have freedom of speech, are we a free society, or are we really no better than the dictatorships that our government claims to oppose? Sadly, few societies have respected academic freedom."
Cops go to hotel bars to arrest drunk guests - "The controversial police tactic of arresting drunks at bars and restaurants has gone to a new level, to include intoxicated people at hotels, even those who are registered guests with no plans on driving."
Ozone hits sperm count as well as lungs: study - "The team, from the University's Keck School of Medicine, found that ozone formed in smoggy air was the only pollutant that appeared to be linked to decreased sperm production. Carbon monoxide seemed to have no effect."
Public service ads aim to raise awareness about global warming - "In a series of TV and radio spots that one publicist termed "edgy" - and that a global warming skeptic called "the ultimate triumph of propaganda over science" - the group is hoping to spawn a massive shift in social awareness that will send millions rushing to turn down their thermostats, inflate their car tires and recycle their plastic."
Study: Online News Popular on Broadband - "Americans with high-speed Internet connections at home are far more likely than dial-up users to go online for news, a new study finds. The Pew Internet and American Life Project says 43 percent of broadband users turn to the Internet to get news, compared with 26 percent for dial-up users. Broadband users are also more likely to read a national newspaper, but less likely to turn to local television."
Dixie Chicks Address Death Threats - "Three years ago, the Dixie Chicks were getting death threats for the stands they took on the Iraq war. Now, in the first single from their new album, they address those threats head on. The song is called “Not Ready to Make Nice.” “And how in the world can the words that I said/Send somebody so over the edge/That they’d write me a letter/Sayin’ that I better shut up and sing/Or my life will be over.” I cannot recall in the history of pop, country, rock or R&B — maybe somewhere in rap — this issue coming up. In the same song, lead singer Natalie Maines warbles: “It’s a sad, sad story when a mother will teach her/Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger.”" -- Even though I don't particularly enjoy their music, they have earned my respect.
Quote of the Day
"Somebody told me, when I was just a little kid, don't follow leaders, think for yourself."
~ Blue Rodeo (Better Off As We Are)
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