February 15, 2007

Once the most beloved country in the world, the US is now the most hated - "Be patient, said the sage. America is like a pendulum, swinging from good to bad, from bad to good, and before long it will swing again. He was right, and with luck, perhaps the pendulum is almost ready to swing back once more. Whatever we may think in our moments of despair, America is still a marvellous and lovable country whose patriotism can still be touching: try restraining a tear when you listen to Irving Berlin's setting of the words on the Statue of Liberty - the ultimate American text, with music by the emblematic American immigrant. The Great Republic is great still, full still of decent clever people trying to be good. Even now, it is as free as can be expected, and its democracy is fundamentally honest and robust. It laughs at itself, criticises itself and dislikes itself just as much as we do. All it needs is someone with a key to unlock that Idea again, and I hope it will be that next president, whoever it is, even now gearing up for the election. Please God, may it be a poetic president."

Iraq invasion plan 'delusional' - "The US invasion plan for Iraq envisaged that only 5,000 US troops would remain in Iraq by December 2006, declassified Central Command documents show. The material also shows that the US military projected a stable, pro-US and democratic Iraq by that time. The August 2002 material was obtained by the National Security Archive (NSA). Its officials said the plans were based on delusional assumptions. The US currently has some 132,000 troops in the violence-torn state."

Auditors: Billions wasted in Iraq war - "The U.S. government is at risk of squandering significantly more money in an Iraq war and reconstruction effort that has already wasted or otherwise overcharged taxpayers billions of dollars, federal investigators said Thursday."

Giants meet to counter US power - "India, China and Russia account for 40 per cent of the world’s population, a fifth of its economy and more than half of its nuclear warheads. Now they appear to be forming a partnership to challenge the US-dominated world order that has prevailed since the end of the Cold War."

The new Bush strategy: Secure Baghdad and attack Iran - "All is not going well in Iraq or Middle East. Time and patience are running out on President George W. Bush, and he is running out of patience with Iran and Iranian proxies in Iraq. Defeat is “not an option”, but going for broke is. Mr Bush knows that Iraq is beyond salvage and its civil war is beyond reversal by US. If so, why ask for more money, more troops and more sacrifice. The answer is, Iran."

Bush on Iraq civil war: Hard to give assessment 'living in this beautiful White House' - ""President Bush said Wednesday he's convinced that the Iranian government is supplying deadly weapons to fighters in Iraq, even if he can't prove the orders came from the highest levels in Tehran," the Associated Press is reporting."

Assassinations, Terrorist Strikes and Ethnic Cleansing: Bush's Shadow War in Iraq - "The constant sectarian violence in Iraq is not purely of domestic origin -- much of it is directed by covert U.S. and British military: Here is Bush's other war in Iraq."

U.S. general: No evidence of Iran giving arms to Iraqis - "A top U.S. general said today there was no evidence the Iranian government was supplying Iraqi insurgents with highly lethal roadside bombs, apparently contradicting claims by other U.S. military and administration officials."

Envoy: Iran Poses No Threat to Israel - "Ali Larijani, speaking at a forum that gathered the world's top security officials, said Iran doesn't have aggressive intentions toward any nation."

Skepticism Over Iraq Haunts U.S. Iran Policy - "Skeptical members of Congress have questioned administration charges of Tehran's support for Iraqi insurgents and President Bush's insistence that his plans for dealing with Iran remain purely diplomatic. The administration, conscious of its low credibility, believes it has gone out of its way to convince doubters that Iran is not Iraq all over again."

The mother of all genocides - "There are startling similarities that the situation in Iraq bears with those of the conflict in Bosnia and the Rwandan genocide. As if genocide of its own people were not enough, Iraq holds the seeds to the greatest regional conflict since World War II. While the possibility of a civil war is often mentioned, one grim specter is seldom mentioned, one with bleak reminders from the previous century, that of genocide."

Problem With A Dictator? - "You could be young, either a student or unemployed, or you could be middle-aged and employed, but you all share the same problem - your country is run by a dictator. ... From now on it shouldn't be a problem. Everything you need to know is in a book called How To Organise Non-Violent Struggle - 50 Crucial Points."

The Road Map to Despotism - "Editor’s note: Despite spending an estimated $80 million, the government was unable to prove that Dr. Sami Al-Arian was a terrorist, yet he remains in prison and his sentence will likely be extended. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges warns that the abusive imprisonment of this nonviolent Palestinian dissenter does not bode well for the rest of us."

Jail for German Holocaust denier - "Ernst Zuendel was convicted of 14 counts of inciting racial hatred and for denying that the Nazis killed six million Jews during World War II."

Soldiers Back From War Fight Different Battle - "Soldiers who were paralyzed, suffered brain damage and lost limbs owe the government enlistment bonus money. They must pay the money back because they didn’t fulfill their tour of duty." -- What the fuck?

Military Accepting More Ex-Cons - "More recruits with criminal records, including felony convictions, are being allowed to join the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, as the armed services cope with a dwindling pool of volunteers during wartime."

The Creeping Fascism of Global Warming Hysteria - "The hoax of the doctrine of man-made global warming that is being foisted upon the world by decree, and the junk science that is manipulated to support it, represents a creeping fascism whose agenda to stifle open debate betrays the fact that climate change hysteria is a farce intended to crush freedoms and further centralize global power."

Radio Station Cries 'Enough' -- "Won't Quote From Certain News Stories Relying on Unnamed Officials - "The news director of the public radio station in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has directed his staff to "ignore national stories quoting unnamed sources." He also called on other news outlets to join this policy."

The Father, son and holy toast - "Throughout much of human history, stories of the miraculous have been a dime a dozen; very little was understood, and ignorant humans were perpetually running across inexplicable events that could only be the work of unseen forces. As science erases ignorance, “miraculous events” become increasingly rare, but those who want to see miracles will always find them."

Blasphemy Site 'Playing Texas Hold 'Em With Eternity' - "The "ultimate sin," in his view, is denying the Holy Spirit, based on the biblical injunction, "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin" (Mark 3:29). The site asks people to videotape themselves saying "I deny the Holy Spirit" and to post the videos on YouTube. ... "But to me, it's akin to dousing yourself with gasoline and running around screaming 'there is no God' while waving a sparkler.""They're playing Texas Hold 'Em with eternity and are holding a lousy hand," Barber added. "You can only pity the attention-starved boneheads behind this wickedness.""

Death Certificates on Abortions Proposed - "Legislation introduced in Tennessee would require death certificates for aborted fetuses, which likely would create public records identifying women who have abortions."

Flying the cleanly skies? - "Without a viable jet-fuel alternative, air travel in 30 years may be only for the wealthy."

Threat Detection System Will Monitor Your Every Move - "Tiny cameras the size of a fingernail linked to specialist computers are to be used to monitor the behaviour of airline passengers as part of the war on terrorism. Cameras fitted to seat-backs will record every twitch, blink, facial expression or suspicious movement before sending the data to onboard software which will check it against individual passenger profiles."

Toll Road Checkpoints to Deal With Dissenters - "Tony Blair's toll road surveillance and taxation grid is to be enforced by a new cadre of jackbooted inspectors who will be given powers to stop and search vehicles where owners are suspected to have removed their tracking tags. Arguing with the officials will be punishable by a 6 month prison sentence, according to a leaked government memo."

NFL rejects Border Patrol ad - "The National Football League refused to run a recruitment ad for the U.S. Border Patrol in last week's Super Bowl program, saying it was "controversial" because it mentioned duties such as fighting terrorism and stopping drugs and illegal aliens at the border."

Tapping Brains for Future Crimes - "The finding raises issues about the application of such tools for screening suspected terrorists -- as well as for predicting future dangerousness more generally. Are we closer than ever to the crime-prediction technology of Minority Report?"

Diss a 'gay'? Go to jail! - "Two Christians in Australia have been indicted for criticizing Islam, and another for criticizing Zionism. A filmmaker has been threatened with arrest for using the word "homosexual" rather than "gay." Now a German priest faces jail time for publicly criticizing abortionists, and in Holland, "fornicators" and "adulterers" are protected classes and cannot be criticized. All courtesy of the concept of federal "hate crimes" legislation, which unless defeated soon could be mandatory in the United States, warns a rising chorus of critics."

Teacher Convicted in Porn Case - "She was convicted last month of exposing seventh-grade students to pornography on her classroom computer. She contended the images were inadvertently thrust onto the screen by pornographers' unseen spyware and adware programs. Prosecutors dispute that. But her argument has made her a cause celebre among some technology experts, who say what happened to her could happen to anyone."

RFID 'Powder' - World's Smallest RFID Tag - "The world's smallest and thinnest RFID tags were introduced yesterday by Hitachi. Tiny miracles of miniaturization, these RFID chips (Radio Frequency IDentification chips) measure just 0.05 x 0.05 millimeters." -- Check out the pictures.

U.S. one of worst places for kids - "The United States and Britain ranked at the bottom of a UN survey of child welfare in 21 wealthy countries that assessed everything from infant mortality to whether children ate dinner with their parents."

Housing sales fall in 40 states in 4Q - "The National Association of Realtors report showed that the biggest declines were in former boom areas."

Toyota fears U.S. backlash over gains - "Toyota executives have publicly downplayed the importance of predictions that the Japan-based company will pass General Motors Corp. this year as the world's largest automaker. But the Toyota report says the company could face criticism because its U.S. sales are increasing while Detroit's automakers are losing sales and shuttering plants."

Mental health bill moves forward in Congress - "A bill that would require health insurers to cover more of the costs of treating mental health conditions moved forward in Congress on Wednesday with wide backing from employers and insurers."

Pharm Animals Crank Out Drugs - "With its tranquil ponds and rolling fields, the GTC Biotherapeutics farm in Charlton, Massachusetts, looks like a typical pastoral retreat. But its 1,400 goats don't produce any butter or cheese. Instead, the animals are sophisticated drug incubators, with millions of dollars of potential profit accumulating in their udders each day."

Researchers identify genes linked to diabetes - "Scientists announced yesterday the discovery of important genetic clues to diabetes, opening a new chapter in the study of the fast-growing disease."

Steer Clear of Windows Vista Basic - "Windows Vista Home Basic could be the most pointless edition of Windows that Microsoft has ever released."

Start-up demos quantum computer - "About a year from now, banks, pharmaceutical companies and other large institutions will be able to rent time on a computer that calculates by studying the behavior of a niobium atom, according to D-Wave Systems."

Scientists dubious of quantum computer claims - "Quantum computing is such an elusive goal that even the company claiming to have the "world's first commercial quantum computer" acknowledged it isn't entirely sure the machine is performing true quantum calculations."

Kansas repeals science guidelines questioning evolution - "Kansas has repealed public school science guidelines questioning the theory of evolution that brought the state international ridicule, but educators aren't sure how long it will be before the decision is overturned."

Scientist: Frog Could Be 25M Years Old - "A Mexican researcher announced the rare find of a tiny tree frog completely preserved in amber on Wednesday that he estimates lived about 25 million years ago."

Fintastic! Dolphin fitted with artificial tail - "Fuji's tail fin was attacked by a mystery disease and four years ago two thirds of her tail fin had to be amputated. But thanks to an artificial fin developed by vets and a tyre manufacturer, Fuji is back in the water."

The Sun: A Great Ball Of Iron? - "Manuel believes a supernova rocked our area of the Milky Way galaxy some five billion years ago, giving birth to all the heavenly bodies that populate the solar system. Analyses of meteorites reveal that all primordial helium is accompanied by "strange xenon," he says, adding that both helium and strange xenon came from the outer layer of the supernova that created the solar system. Helium and strange xenon are also seen together in Jupiter."

Sex toys are like prostitution? - "According to the Eleventh Circuit, Lawrence, which struck down a Texas anti-sodomy law, limited its holding to "private" activity between sexual partners. The Alabama law, on the other hand, prohibits the sale of sex toys--a "public, commercial activity." Reasoning that the sale of sex toys was more similar to "prostitution" than to private, consensual sex, the Eleventh Circuit upheld the Alabama law."

Where the Stars Hide Their Money - "U2, the Rolling Stones, movie stars, sports figures and a host of corporations have turned to an unlikely accountant, the Netherlands, to help them avoid paying taxes on multimillion dollar profits in their home countries."

Hollywood making Milli Vanilli movie - "Disgraced pop duo Milli Vanilli will soon get a movie made about their less-than-spectacular career, following in the cinematic steps of such icons as Ray Charles and Johnny Cash." -- Definitely the Fall of Humanity.

Quote of the Day

"Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear."

~ Harry S. Truman