July 24, 2006

News -- July 24, 2006


LOOK IF YOU DARE - "Whatever you call it now remember the pictures for in the future those now so miserably bleeding and suffering will understandably try to do horrible things tomorrow to those who are responsible for doing these things today."

Four children and the cost of war - "The last time I sat down to write something, it was about the cost of war. As I looked ahead to the coming days, the last words I wrote were: Who will die? Today, I found out."

If this be anti-Semitism... - "if that's truly what anger at Israel's behavior amounts to, then so be it--cause I'm well and truly PISSED OFF. It has nothing to do with hating Jews or favoring Arabs, and everything to do with simple humanity."

Israel warns it will hit 10 buildings for every rocket fired - "The Israeli air force is under orders to blast 10 buildings in south Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, for every rocket the Shiite militant group fires at the Israeli port of Haifa, army radio said Monday."

Rice warns against 'false' Middle East ceasefire - "Condoleezza Rice tonight warned that an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East would be a false promise unless the underlying causes of the violence were addressed. The US Secretary of State spoke after Britain and the United States found themselves isolated and under fire at the United Nations Security Council for blocking a concerted international call for an end to the hostilities."

Hezbollah Envoy: War on Israel to Widen - "Hezbollah's representative in Iran struck a defiant tone Monday, warning that his Islamic militant group plans to widen its attacks on Israel until "no place" is safe for Israelis."

Fox News analyst compares Israelis to Nazis - "Fox News military analyst Maj. Bob Bevelacqua, a former Green Beret, appearing tonight on "The O'Reilly Factor," compared Israeli actions in Lebanon and Gaza with Nazi actions in Russia during World War II."

Dershowitz and Grades of Human Beings - "Alan "Torture is OK" Dershowitz is annoyed that the Israelis have been accused of killing innocent civilians. He is now arguing that there are degrees of "civilianity." He wonders how many innocent civilians killed by Israel in Lebanon would still be innocent if we could make finer distinctions. ... But I don't know why Dershowitz stops there. Let me reformulate his argument for him. Shouldn't we recognize degrees of humanness? After all, isn't that the real problem?"

Bush's Plan for "Serial War" revealed by General Wesley Clark - "According to General Wesley Clark--the Pentagon, by late 2001, was Planning to Attack Lebanon. ... "As I went back through the Pentagon in November 2001, one of the senior military staff officers had time for a chat. Yes, we were still on track for going against Iraq, he said. But there was more. This was being discussed as part of a five-year campaign plan, he said, and there were a total of seven countries, beginning with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia and Sudan."

Pakistan Expanding Nuclear Program - "Pakistan has begun building what independent analysts say is a powerful new reactor for producing plutonium, a move that, if verified, would signal a major expansion of the country's nuclear weapons capabilities and a potential new escalation in the region's arms race."

American Bar Association denounces Bush's signing statements - "President Bush has vetoed only one piece of legislation during more than five years in office, but he has issued more than 800 challenges to bills that he has signed into law with formal "signing statements," more than all of his predecessors combined. Now, however, a task force of the American Bar Association has concluded that the president's unprecedented stream of signing statements poses a dangerous challenge to the constitutional checks and balances central to power in the United States. One of the signing statements reserves the right to torture detainees held in the war on terror."

Hands Off Connecticut - "Here we go again … There is a grass-roots movement picking up steam in the nutmeg state, but the old guard is rushing in to maintain the status quo. Bill Clinton is rushing to Connecticut to save Joseph Lieberman for the party insiders who don't want to lose their power in the party. ... That brings us back to Connecticut. A grass-roots campaign has taken shape to remove the ultimate DLC Democrat. Party activists are supporting Ned Lamont, who vows to oppose the policies of George Bush and not support them as Joseph Lieberman and the DLC have been doing."

Yahoo, Google, Microsoft censor the Internet - "Google filters search results. Yahoo discloses personal information about journalists. Microsoft censors blogs. These things are believable as part of a not-too-distant-future dystopia in the US, but unfortunately, it's exactly what's happening right now in China. Amnesty USA published a report last week that slammed the tech giants and others for behavior that inhibits the very core of what the Internet is about -- spreading information freely."

Hawking criticises EU states trying to ban stem cell research - "Professor Hawking, who suffers from motor neurone disease, has criticised President George Bush and European governments who want to stop the funding of research with embryonic stem cells, which promises to revolutionise the treatment of many incurable conditions."

Warming Pacific Hurts Food Chain - "But the steep decline of one bird species for the second straight year has rekindled scientists' fears that global warming could be undermining the coastal food supply, threatening not just the Farallones but entire marine ecosystems."

Australia scientists work on anti-Alzheimer's pill - "Australian mental health researchers have developed a once-a-day pill they believe might stop or slow the onset of Alzheimer's disease, with human trials expected within two months."

Foxed Christians - "A few minutes in front of the tube listening to the republican propaganda channel that is Fox News leaves me scratching my head. How did the christian right become such a powerful political force? Then I remember. It was because of a blowjob. Americans want so desperately to believe in the benign patriarchal figure that will protect and save them, that a moral indiscretion on the part of their president is enough to galvanize an entire political movement."

It's a sin to fly, says church - "THE Bishop of London has declared it sinful for people to contribute to climate change by flying on holiday, driving a “gas-guzzling” car or failing to use energy-saving measures in the home."

Family Upset About Sign In Neighbor's Yard - "But now a cardboard sign is hanging in their neighbor's tree -- spray painted with the words: "Caution-- Retards in Area." His mother says it is fortunate Colton can't read the words."

The High Cost of Being Poor - "From food prices to auto insurance, when did poverty get so expensive?"

Details Emerge on Bezos' Spaceport Plans - "A spacecraft taking off from a private West Texas spaceport being bankrolled and developed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos would take off vertically, but unlike NASA's space shuttle would also land vertically, according to an environmental study that offers a glimpse into the secretive plans."

Microsoft IPod 'Killer' Is Doomed - "The record labels would love to see somebody step up to compete with iTunes and the iPod. But their insistence on DRM makes it unlikely."

Car=boredom: have you found the answer yet? - "The equation finds that the time it takes for a child to ask the notorious question equals: one, plus the number of activities to do, divided by the number of children in the car squared. The result is then added to the time it took the family to get into the car and set off on their journey, to produce the final answer."















Quote of the Day
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe."
~ Roy Batty, Blade Runner

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