Many follow U.S. example on detainees - "Several governments around the world have tried to rebut criticism of how they handle detainees by claiming they are only following the U.S. example in the war on terror, the U.N. anti-torture chief said Monday. Manfred Nowak, the U.N. special investigator on torture, said that when he criticizes governments for their questionable treatment of detainees, they respond by telling him that if the United States does something, it must be all right. He would not name any countries except for Jordan. "The United States has been the pioneer, if you wish, of human rights and is a country that has a high reputation in the world," Nowak told a news conference. "Today, many other governments are kind of saying, 'But why are you criticizing us, we are not doing something different than what the United States is doing?'" Nowak said that because of its prominence, the United States has a greater responsibility to uphold international standards for its prisoners so other nations do not use it as an excuse to justify their own behavior." -- And if you did not expect this to happen then what the hell were you thinking?
Bush on Iraq: “If We Can’t Win, I’ll Pull Us Out.” - "In today’s Iraq, the president conceded, it is the enemy, and not the United States, that is defining what victory means. The frustration in the room stemmed not so much from internal divisions and paralysis in the Iraqi government, or lagging indicators like oil and energy production. Rather, it came from the fact that American forces simply do not seem to be winning the war — on anyone’s terms — and that most Americans are disinclined to leave the troops in Iraq without some clear movement toward victory."
'US withdrawal from Iraq would be disastrous for Israel' - "As talk of an American withdrawal from Iraq heats up, some local experts say the removal of a strong US military presence there could be disastrous for Israel. "If Iraq spirals into civil war, it will be seen as a real setback for the US and their policy of military intervention," said Cameron Brown, deputy director of global research in international affairs at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. "This would probably create a renewed Vietnam syndrome, meaning the US would become trigger-shy. And what if the US becomes trigger-shy? No one else except the US has the military might to set back Iran's nuclear program. Maybe Israel, but it's not certain. If the US gets trigger-shy, then we're in trouble."" -- So every world issue has to be resolved by pulling a trigger?
U.S. troops on active duty call for Iraq withdrawal - "More than 200 active duty U.S. armed service members, fed up with the war in Iraq, have joined an unusual protest calling for withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country, organizers said on Wednesday."
Sick war pictures that put Germany to shame - "The uniformed men are seen holding up the skull and posing with it on a military vehicle. Another is seen exposing himself next to the skull. Bild's headline declares: 'German soldiers desecrate a dead person.' Other pictures show soldiers simulating oral sex with the skull, and one shows the troops having secured the skull to their vehicle like a bonnet mascot." -- War brings out the absolute worst of humanity.
German troops in skull photos row - "On one of the pictures, a soldier is seen holding the skull next to his exposed penis, on another - soldiers pose with the skull on their jeep."
The Empire's Foot Soldiers Ape Its Master - "It was Jesus Christ who told his disciples, "You will know them by their fruits," and the fruits of the Neo- Cons in Iraq and Afghanistan have been the deliberate creation of chaotic, fear-ridden deadly hellholes. It comes as no surprise therefore that since the empire's imperial foot soldiers were deployed in the name of "democracy," their behavior has aped the dark intentions of their superiors."
US will have to fight 'dirty' in new wars - "THE US could defeat any enemy with overwhelming power but any new conflict would involve more brute force and civilian casualties than in Iraq, the top US general said today." -- Brute force is no substitute for collaboration and compromise.
Constitution, Schmonstitution - "Suddenly, the most sacred text in America is under attack from all sides. The Constitution was never meant to be a "suicide pact," says eminent judge and author Richard Posner. It's "undemocratic," says University of Texas law professor Sanford Levinson. In this time of terror we need a new one — an "emergency Constitution" — says Yale Law School guru Bruce Ackerman. And Richard Labunski, in his fine and timely book about James Madison, pretty much destroys the myth that the Founding Fathers were motivated solely by noble impulses when they crafted the new government's guiding light."
Poll: Most feel civil liberties not harmed by war on terror - "While 39 percent of the 1,013 poll respondents said the Bush administration has gone too far, 34 percent said they believe the administration has been about right on the restrictions, according to the Opinion Research Corp. survey. Another 25 percent said the administration has not gone far enough. Asked whether Bush has more power than any other U.S. president, 65 percent of poll respondents said no. Thirty-three percent said yes. Of those who said yes, a quarter said that was bad for the country." -- Who the hell are these people?
Bush to Sign Mexico Border Fence Bill - "When President Bush signs a bill authorizing 700 miles of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border Thursday, he'll give GOP candidates a pre-election platform for asserting they're tough on illegal immigration. Yet the centerpiece of his immigration policy, a guest worker program, remains stalled in Congress. And a handful of House Republican are at the brakes, blocking negotiations with the Senate for a bill that includes the president's proposal."
Report criticises US press freedoms - "The World Press Freedom Index 2006, published by the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), showed that the US had dropped 12 places to 53rd place, below countries such as Ghana, Mali and Bolivia. The organisation said "the steady erosion of press freedom in the United States, France and Japan is extremely alarming". RSF said George Bush, the US president, had used national security as a pretext to regard journalists who questioned the "war on terror" as suspicious."
Halliburton Cited For Iraq Overhead - "Administrative overhead accounted for more than half the costs that a Halliburton Co. subsidiary passed on to the government under a key contract to restore Iraq's oil industry, a figure that critics said was unusually high."
Exxon Mobil Posts $10.49B Profit in 3Q - "Exxon Mobil Corp. on Thursday said its profit rose to $10.49 billion in the third quarter, making it the second-largest quarterly profit ever recorded by a publicly traded U.S. company." -- Just so you know who's getting richer in this world.
Weight Gain Means Lower Gas Mileage - "Want to spend less at the pump? Lose some weight. That's the implication of a new study that says Americans are burning nearly 1 billion more gallons of gasoline each year than they did in 1960 because of their expanding waistlines. Simply put, more weight in the car means lower gas mileage."
Atheist Evangelist - "In less than an hour, Harris condemns the God of the Old Testament for a host of sins, including support for slavery. He drop-kicks the New Testament, likening the story of Jesus to a fairy tale. He savages the Koran, calling it "a manifesto for religious divisiveness.""
O'Brien Underfire for Asking for 9/11 Muslim Apology - "Muslims in Scotland have criticised Cardinal Keith O'Brien, after Scotland’s leading Catholic suggested that Muslims should apologise for the 9/11 and 7/7 terrorist attacks."
The T-shirt they say is a threat - "Me: Are you saying that an Arab wearing a shirt in Arabic is a terrorist? Officer: I’m just saying you’d better not wear that shirt here anymore. ... This is one of many examples of anti-Arab racism that has become so prevalent in the U.S. since September 11, 2001. Now, it has come to the point when Arabic writing itself is under attack."
Muslim leader blames women for sex attacks - "THE nation's most senior Muslim cleric has blamed immodestly dressed women who don't wear Islamic headdress for being preyed on by men and likened them to abandoned "meat" that attracts voracious animals."
Young women fleeing war and poverty fall prey to sex traffickers - " For the 26-year-old eldest daughter of eight children whose parents faced a daily despair of car bombs and poverty in their Baghdad slum, the offer sounded too good to be true. It was. Within a week of arriving in Damascus, Mona - whose name has been changed to protect her identity - had been plied with alcohol by Um Ahmad, required to dance for "friends of the factory owner" and had lost her virginity. Unable to return to her family due to the perceived shame she had brought upon them, Mona began her new life in Syria as a prostitute working for Um Ahmad, dancing in bars outside Damascus and having sex with clients. ... Mona had become another victim of the growing sex trade among an Iraqi refugee community in Syria that local NGOs now estimate at 800,000 people, and to whose plight aid agencies say the international community continues to turn a blind eye."
Jersey court orders OK of gay unions - "The New Jersey Supreme Court yesterday said that although there was no right to same-sex "marriage" in the state constitution, homosexual couples were treated unequally by the state and that lawmakers must find a way to correct this."
The Bottled Water Lie - "The corporations that sell bottled water are depleting natural resources, jacking up prices, and lying when they tell you their water is purer and tastes better than the stuff that comes out of the tap."
AT&T unveils video home-monitoring service - "AT&T, said on Thursday it would start to offer a monitoring service that would let U.S. customers use cell phones or computers to receive alerts or view a real-time video feed from their home."
Women risk passing infertility to children if they delay motherhood - "A new study suggests older mothers may bequeath a devastating legacy by passing on biological flaws that will make it more difficult for their own daughters to get pregnant."
Men who use mobile phones face increased risk of infertility - "Those who made calls on a mobile phone for more than four hours a day had the worst sperm counts and the poorest quality sperm, according to results released yest at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine annual meeting in New Orleans."
Is Sex Necessary? - "The best that modern science can say for sexual abstinence is that it's harmless when practiced in moderation. Having regular and enthusiastic sex, by contrast, confers a host of measurable physiological advantages, be you male or female."
Ice-T's album cover too raunchy for U.S. music shops - "The 48-year-old rapper poses nude with his stripper wife Coco draped over him, barely covering his usually concealed weapon. Unless his record label places stickers over the album - which is titled Gangsta Rap and is his first in seven years - the legendary rapper faces a boycott by stores."
Quote of the Day
"Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is."
~ Kevin Tillman
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