Bring back Saddam Hussein - "Restoring the dictator to power may give Iraqis the jolt of authority they need. Have a better solution?"
LDS Judge Jay Bybee and Donald Rumsfield Justifies Child Sex Abuse & Torture in Iraq! - "The biggest story of the Iraq war is not about missing weapons of mass destruction, or about deep-cover CIA officers getting their covers blown by vengeful White House agents, or even about 896 dead American soldiers. These have been covered to one degree or another, and then summarily dismissed by the American mainstream news media. The biggest story of the Iraq war has not enjoyed any coverage in America, though it has been exploding across the international news media for several weeks now. The biggest story of the Iraq war is about the torture of Iraqi children."
Carter blames Israel for Mideast conflict - "Carter said there was "no doubt now that a minority of Israelis are perpetuating apartheid on the people in Palestine, the Palestinian people." Carter called Israel's occupation the "prime cause" of continuing violence in the Middle East."
U.S. Bans Sale of IPods to North Korea - "The Bush administration wants North Korea's attention, so like a scolding parent it's trying to make it tougher for that country's eccentric leader to buy iPods, plasma televisions and Segway electric scooters. The U.S. government's first-ever effort to use trade sanctions to personally aggravate a foreign president expressly targets items believed to be favored by Kim Jong Il or presented by him as gifts to the roughly 600 loyalist families who run the communist government."
I have never been more ashamed of the US government - "Traveling around the world these past months has given me an education about American history that majoring in the subject at UCLA never did. I have witnessed first hand what US imperialism and militarism can do to countries and societies. I sat with indigenous Hawaiian tribal leaders who shared their tragic stories of how US colonialism and militarism ruined their fishing waters and turned their lands into super-fund sites. I stood in solidarity with Irish peace activists who want the US military off their soil and want US transport and rendition planes to stop using Shannon Airport to land for refueling. These are just a few stories. Everywhere I go, the local populations have stories of greed, crime, corruption, pollution, etc., that all go hand in glove wherever the US military is present. Not to mention the "hot" war zones, where hundreds of civilians are murdered, maimed or displaced on a daily basis. This rampant, arrogant, and care-less US militarism has nowhere been more evident than here in South Korea, especially in the village of Daechuri, near Pyong-taek City. The loathing for George Bush, America, Americans, irresponsible capitalism, corporatism, imperialism and militarism is a planetary phenomenon, but apart from what the US is doing to the wretched countries of Iraq and Afghanistan, I have never been more ashamed of the US government than when I visited the village of Daechuri with 17 other American peace and social-justice activists and a campesino from Colombia. ... Golf! A village was obliterated for golf. If this is the "American way," then we obviously need a new way, as speedily as possible."
Judge: Bush can’t designate groups as terrorists - "A federal judge struck down President Bush's authority to designate groups as terrorists, saying his post-Sept. 11 executive order was unconstitutional and vague, according to a ruling released Tuesday."
Big Brother: Watching, Listening And Shouting - "The microphones, which are already in use in the Netherlands, can pick up "aggressive tones" on the basis of 12 factors, including decibel level, pitch and the speed at which words are spoken. They are so advanced that background noise is filtered out, enabling the camera to focus on specific conversations in public places. ... These devices may be successful in recording the murmurs leading up to a scuffle between a couple of hobos but they're certainly not going to prevent any major security threats. What are they going to do, monitor conversations and despatch emergency squads of argument police if it looks like it might turn nasty? Step by step our free and open society is being transformed into one of hi-tech authoritarian panopticon state control."
Software Will Let Users Dodge Government Internet Censorship - " Developers from the University of Toronto plan to release software this week that will allow residents in restrictive countries to gain uncensored Internet access through friends' and family members' home computers."
Your details could be logged at the till - "EVERYDAY transactions such as buying a store gift card or playing pokies could lead to your details being recorded on a government database under a crackdown on money laundering and terrorism."
Are George W. Bush lovers certifiable? - "Lohse says his study is no joke. The thesis draws on a survey of 69 psychiatric outpatients in three Connecticut locations during the 2004 presidential election. Lohse’s study, backed by SCSU Psychology professor Jaak Rakfeldt and statistician Misty Ginacola, found a correlation between the severity of a person’s psychosis and their preferences for president: The more psychotic the voter, the more likely they were to vote for Bush. But before you go thinking all your conservative friends are psychotic, listen to Lohse’s explanation. “Our study shows that psychotic patients prefer an authoritative leader,” Lohse says. “If your world is very mixed up, there’s something very comforting about someone telling you, ‘This is how it’s going to be.’”"
Turks: Atheism Is the 'Root of Terrorism' - "A lavishly illustrated "Atlas of Creation" is mysteriously turning up at schools and libraries in Turkey, proclaiming that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is the real root of terrorism. Arriving unsolicited by post, the large-format tome offers 768 glossy pages of photographs and easy-to-read text to prove that God created the world with all its species. ... Creationism is so widely accepted here that Turkey placed last in a recent survey of public acceptance of evolution in 34 countries - just behind the United States."
Atheists Agonistes - "John Locke, who was almost everyone’s favorite political philosopher at the time of the founding of our nation, was a very tolerant man. In his 1689 “Letter Concerning Toleration,” he advocated a policy of live and let live for believers in many faiths, even heretics. But he drew the line at atheists. He wrote: “Lastly, those are not at all to be tolerated who deny the being of God. Promises, covenants and oaths, which are the bonds of human societies, can have no hold upon an atheist. The taking away of God, though but even in thought, dissolves all.” Instead of waging intellectual battles over the existence of god(s), those of us who live in secular society might profit by being slower to judge others and by trying very hard to understand how it is possible for John Locke and our many atheist friends to continue to gaze at each other in such a state of mutual misunderstanding."
Gaia scientist Lovelock predicts planetary wipeout - ""We are not all doomed. An awful lot of people will die, but I don't see the species dying out," he told a news conference. "A hot earth couldn't support much over 500 million.""
Anger at YouTube videos that show how to break into houses - "Hundreds of videos are available on the site showing users how to pick locks, which experts fear will result in a spate of burglaries."
Study: 1 in 5 parents say kids online too much - "One in five American parents believe their kids are spending too much time on the Internet, though most say the online activities have not affected grades either way, a new survey indicates. In a study to be released Wednesday by the University of Southern California, 21 percent of adult Internet users with children believe the kids are online too long, compared with 11 percent in 2000. Still, that is less than the 49 percent who complain their kids watch too much TV."
Judge: Make Bills Recognizable to Blind - "The government discriminates against blind people by printing money that all looks and feels the same, a federal judge said Tuesday in a ruling that could change the face of American currency."
FDA Approves Fluoride in Bottled Water; Fluoridated Water Reduce the Risk of Tooth Decay - "FDA announced last week it will allow fluoridation of bottled water to assist in the prevention of dental caries (cavities), prompting praise from the American Dental Association and concerns from anti-fluoride groups."
RIAA Legal Ruling Could Shut Down The Internet - "A landmark legal case on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America and other global trade organizations seeks to criminalize all Internet file sharing of any kind as copyright infringement, effectively shutting down the world wide web - and their argument is supported by the U.S. government."
Chess players to face anti-doping measures - "Chess's world governing body will introduce dope testing at the Asian Games this week, although the sport's top official in Doha said he had no idea how drugs could enhance chess performance."
New Advice: Don't Sit Up Straight - "The longstanding advice to "sit up straight" has been turned on its head by a new study that suggests leaning back is a much better posture."
Study Finds that a Single Impact Killed the Dinosaurs - "A new study provides compelling evidence that "one and only one impact" caused the mass extinction, according to a University of Missouri-Columbia researcher."
This fish was king when it came to the crunch - "Even Jaws would have turned tail if he'd met this prehistoric snapper, which today is revealed to have the biggest and meanest bite of any known living or fossil fish. "Dunkleosteus terrelli, which grew up to 33 feet long and weighed four tons, lived 400 million years ago in the Devonian era when armoured selachian sharks", ancient crustaceans and molluscs swam about." -- Check out the pic. It's pretty cool.
Hollywood Eats Sci-Fi's Brains - "Hollywood has all but stopped producing challenging sci-fi films like The Fountain. Instead, Tinseltown funnels more and more resources into mega-budget, formula-driven and generally mediocre superhero and fantasy films."
Quote of the Day
"Privacy is the right to be alone - the most comprehensive of rights, and the right most valued by civilized man."
~ Louis D. Brandeis
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