News -- August 19, 2006

Bush's Weapon of Mass Deception - "It is a week since news broke in London about an alleged plot to blow up nine commercial jetliners and there are emerging indicators that Bush and Blair exaggerated the truth about the actual readiness of the so-called plot. And yes, I mean so-called plot. Why would Bush and Blair hype a terrorist threat? A very simple answer. The White House was on notice that Seymour Hersh's story that the Bush Administration encouraged Israel to invade Lebanon as part of a broader scheme to set the stage for war with Iran. Tony Blair, Bush's enabler, went along with the ruse. ... First, no evidence has emerged that the plotters had in hand a functioning prototype of the device they wanted to take on board a plane. That's an important point. ... I'm also struck by the fact that more then twenty people were allegedly involved in this plot. The Al Qaeda of Ramsi Yousef's day had a viable plan for blowing up 12 planes using only 5 people. Now we learn that the radical Islamic copycats need 20 folks for at least 6 planes. Is this evidence of Al Qaeda's degraded capability? Second, no evidence has emerged that the group had purchased tickets or even had passports that would allow them to board a plane to the United States. How exactly were they supposed to bomb planes that they could not even board. ... If I'm right about this latest incident, Keith Olberman has a new item to add to his list of ten."

Mass murder in the skies: was the plot feasible? - "Or at least that's what we're hearing, and loudly, through the mainstream media and its legions of so-called "terrorism experts." But what do these experts know about chemistry? Less than they know about lobbying for Homeland Security pork, which is what most of them do for a living. But they've seen the same movies that you and I have seen, and so the myth of binary liquid explosives dies hard."

Olmert 'suspends' withdrawal plan - "Housing minister Meir Shetreet said the plan had not been abandoned entirely."

Saddam could be tried posthumously: US official - "Ousted Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein could be tried posthumously for genocide if an Iraqi court decides to execute him for a separate accusation of mass murder."

Troops Express Worries About Iraq - "President Bush is not frustrated over the slow progress in Iraq, the White House insists. But a lot of other Americans are — apparently including U.S. troops."

Abolish the TSA, Save Lives - "The Transportation Security Administration exists not to prevent terrorists from bringing down planes but to prevent passengers from realizing the government is powerless over such catastrophes."

Teacher's radical 9/11 views raise red flags - "According to Kevin Barrett, the US government planned and carried out the 9/11 attacks, the World Trade Center imploded due to explosives set up ahead of time in the buildings, Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone's plane crash was no accident, and Osama bin Laden has probably been dead since 2001. Mr. Barrett is not a radical anarchist or a teenager peddling conspiracy theories; he's a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin, Madison – a fact that has outraged some state politicians."

Israel shouldn't be off-limits for criticism - "As Americans, we take pride in our Constitution and our right to freely debate the policies of our government on both the domestic and international level. This right is what separates us from many other undemocratic countries in the world. However, a disturbing trend has emerged over the years and an ideology has manifested, which somehow mandates that, when it comes to Israel, it is not only unacceptable to criticize, but it is reprehensible. The disturbing fact is that people who are justifiably critical of Israel immediately become targets of harassment."

Vegas has new crime element: Israeli mob - "In recent months authorities have discovered that Israeli organized crime syndicates have set their sights on Las Vegas. One ranking crime figure was overheard a year ago by lawmen on court-approved wiretaps describing Las Vegas as "wide open" territory. ... And they're just as violent as the Mafia. ... But unlike the Mafia, the Israeli crime groups are far more sophisticated and have far-reaching international tentacles."

Lawyer: Clarett has ties to alleged Israeli mobster - "Maurice Clarett was bankrolled by an alleged member of an Israeli crime organization after leaving Ohio State, ESPN has learned, and Clarett's attorney said Thursday that his client may have been in possession of firearms last week to protect himself against mob activity."

MONO-Theism - It's Not Exactly a Kissing Disease - "Monotheism is divisive, warlike and ego inflating by nature. It pretends that someone is all right, and the rest are all wrong. It is us vs. them, me vs. you, we vs. they, the true people vs the false, God's people vs. the pagans, the chosen people vs. the unchosen, converted vs. unconverted, of God vs. of the Devil and on and on. It is the idea that one group of people can find the true God to the exclusion of others that is the basis for so much carnage and killing on the planet. It is why your news reads as it does, why your government acts as it does, why your Church thinks as it does and why others react as they do. For all the chosen, there are the unchosen. For all the called, there are the uncalled. For all those that just know they are right, there are those they know are just wrong. For all that understand the one true truths, there are those that understand nothing, are deceived, pagan, of the devil, rebellious, stiff necked, hard of heart and generally uncooperative when a monotheist pushes their truth in your face or endeavors to shove it so far down your throat, you choke. Everyone believes with all their heart that they are in the right religion and certainly undertand the one true God and attend the right synagogue, mosque or church. No one would say, "I am in the false church and believe bullshit, but I like it." One can in fact be in a false group, in terms of the information given being accurate to life and reality, and one can certainly believe bullshit, but while everyone else might suspect this, they are oblivious to it. If you mention that they might do a bit more homework on the topic, or lighten up a bit...well, you are of the Devil and here we go again! What's the solution? There are a few concepts which are true, but will never be admitted to being true by those that hold onto the exclusivity of monotheism. ... So here we go. Truths, and no these are not things that are "true for you", that are true no matter what one believes."

What the Devil? - "He's not the enemy of God, his name really isn't Lucifer and he isn't even evil. And as far as leading Adam and Eve astray, that was a bad rap stemming from a case of mistaken identity. ... "If Satan isn't really in opposition to God and he isn't really evil, then that means the fight between good and evil isn't an authentic part of Christianity," Kelly said. "What I'm saying will be scandalous to some people.""

Waiting for Reinforcements - "The fighting won't end: Gearing up for another wave of homeless vets."

And the award goes to... - "We tallied the votes (drum roll), and it looks like the winner of Feministing’s Second Annual Disturbing Product Poll is the misogynist monstrosity above!"

Marriage Likely To Help Depression, Study Says - "If you want help beating depression and want to find more happiness, get married."

High suicide rate for older white males - "Suicide experts are unable to pinpoint an exact cause for the higher rate but some believe white males lack the resilience and coping mechanisms that women and other ethnic groups have."

FDA approves viruses as food additive - "A mix of bacteria-killing viruses can be safely sprayed on cold cuts, hot dogs and sausages to combat common microbes that kill hundreds of people a year, federal health officials said Friday in granting the first-ever approval of viruses as a food additive."

Are you SURE you want to remove that? - "An Indian businessman born with two penises wants one of them removed surgically as he wants to marry and lead a normal sexual life, a newspaper report said Saturday."

Earth's moon could become a planet - ""If the Earth and moon do survive, then the barycenter will eventually move outside the Earth as the moon recedes," Laughlin told SPACE.com. "At that point the Moon would be promoted to planetary status." [What would we call it?]"

Universe has fuel for another 70bn years - "IT WILL be 70 billion years before the lights start to go out all over the universe, scientists at a Scottish university revealed yesterday."




Quote of the Day
"When will I see what you see?"
~ Blue Rodeo