Nuclear Hypocrisy and Iran - "But the primary rationale for such an attack – to prevent Iran from going nuclear – is deeply problematic. Not only is the United States beefing up its military in general, it is even planning a modernization of its nuclear arsenal. The nuclear hypocrisy of the Bush administration makes any resolution of the conflict with Iran all the more difficult."
Who Gave America the Right? - "Who granted America the right to be international judge, prosecutor, and executioner in the name of self-preservation? Who granted America the right to make the sound of bombs louder than the voice of the law?"
Iraq's Other War: Violence against Women Under US Occupation - "Last week, Houzan Mahmoud* opened her e-mail and found a message from Ansar al-Islam, a notoriously brutal Sunni jihadist group. The message read simply, "we will kill you by the middle of March." Houzan is an outspoken Iraqi feminist. The 34-year-old journalist and women's rights activist believes that hope for Iraq's future depends on building a society based on secular democracy and human rights. For this, she has been condemned to death."
How Does an Era End? - "The insurgents - you can call them al-Qaida or freedom fighters, but you and I would be them if someone tried to do to America what America did to Iraq - believe that the American public can't stomach endless casualties. When the casualties are needless, on all sides, they're right. ... Bush and Cheney are just bullies. When they're opposed they turn tail and run. Remember the "political capital" Bush claimed to have when he tried to privatize social security? Even his little lapdog, the AARP, rolled over and bit him. He quickly retreated. Rumsfeld was forced to retire. The word is that Cheney will be resigning in about three weeks. And now the U.S. will hold talks with Syria and Iran - not our dearest friends - about the Iraqi quagmire. Once I thought they'd never leave. Now I think they're counting the minutes. I can smell the flop sweat all the way up here in Vermont."
Vermont Votes to Impeach Bush/Cheney - "So it has gone this week at town meetings across Vermont, most of which were held Tuesday. Late Tuesday night, there were confirmed reports that 36 towns had backed impeachment resolutions, and the number was expected to rise."
John Edwards To Skip Nevada Debate - "Edwards' campaign said the involvement of Fox News, which is often accused by liberals of having a conservative bias, was part of the decision to pass on the Aug. 14 debate in Reno."
Homeland Security revives supersnoop - "Homeland Security officials are testing a supersnoop computer system that sifts through personal information on U.S. citizens to detect possible terrorist attacks, prompting concerns from lawmakers who have called for investigations."
Canada will stay top U.S. oil supplier for 20 years - "Canada - which in 2005 replaced Saudi Arabia as the single-largest supplier of energy to the U.S. - will continue that position over at least the next two decades, thanks to the multi-billion dollar oilsands developments in Alberta."
Scandal rocks Texas juvenile system - "For at least two years, investigators say, boys at a juvenile prison in the West Texas desert were summoned from their dorms late at night and taken to darkened conference rooms, offices and ball fields for sex with two of the institution's top administrators."
New Net radio rules draw fire on Capitol Hill - "A key Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday slammed new federal rules that would require many Internet radio services to pay higher fees to record companies."
Flat-earth society's warriors - "The late columnist and to-the-bone Texan Molly Ivins couldn't have thought this one up if her absurdity-meter were spring-loaded, revved up and set to overdrive. Sorry she missed it. Rep. Warren Chisum, a self-described creationist who is also a Republican state representative from the Texas Panhandle, Appropriations Committee chairman of the House and the second most powerful member of that august body, must have figured that he had that lefty evolution-touting crowd dead to rights. In a memo Chisum circulated to all 149 Texas state representatives, Darwin's theory of evolution was described as nothing more than a Jewish plot. "Indisputable evidence - long hidden but now available to everyone - demonstrates conclusively that so-called secular evolution science is the Big Bang 15-billion-year alternate 'creation scenario' of the Pharisee Religion," the memo said. Now, here's the clincher. The memo suggests that because of the evolution theory's connection to ancient "Rabbinic writings" it "cannot legally be taught in taxpayer supported schools, according to the Constitution."" -- Jesus.
Americans see media aiding moral decline - "Most Americans think culture is becoming more immoral, and they view the media -- both entertainment and news -- as prime culprits, according to a new survey. ... The survey of 2,000 American adults shows that the nation's culture war is grounded in disagreements over religious issues, such as God's role in life and whether religious belief is essential for a good and moral life, CMI Director Robert H. Knight said."
Men pick military as sentence - ""Probation does not adequately address the severity of what you've done," Lunsford told the defendants.
Instead, the judge offered them three choices: u Serve 48 hours in jail, two years' probation and spend 100 hours doing community service at a farm caring for animals. u Serve no jail time, two years' probation, and 200 hours of community service on a farm. u Enlist in the military. ... The men made their decision. They plan to enlist in the U.S. Navy, said their attorney, Jim Bryant."
Psychosis and Mania - "The makers of drugs used to treat attention disorders have known about the serious health risks associated with the medications for years but instead of warning the public, the industry has consistently focused its efforts on expanding the market and colluding with FDA officials to keep warnings off the labels of ADHD drugs."
Americans: Don't bother to study engineering any more! - "Your government has set exciting new performance goals for itself. The Department of Labor has published it's strategic 5 Year Plan, here. Under Performance Goal 2H, "Address worker shortages through the Foreign Labor Certification Program", we find: "H-1B workers may be hired even when a qualified U.S. worker wants the job, and a U.S. worker can be displaced from the job in favor of the foreign worker." Isn't that special?"
The applicants who all had burnt pyjamas - "University admissions officers may have been amused and impressed with the bright young spark who began his medical school application with an entertaining yet thoughtful anecdote about setting fire to his pyjamas when he was a boy. But that was before they read 233 other applications telling exactly the same story. They may experienced a similar sense of déjà vu when they read all 370 applications from would-be doctors who opened their personal statements with “a fascination for how the human body works . . .” and the 175 who referred to their “elderly or infirm grandfather”. A creative imagination may not be the first thing universities were looking for from our future GPs, dentists or brain surgeons, but they might reasonably expect applicants to tell the truth."
WATER PRICES RISING WORLDWIDE - "Over the past five years, municipal water rates have increased by an average of 27 percent in the United States, 32 percent in the United Kingdom, 45 percent in Australia, 50 percent in South Africa, and 58 percent in Canada. In Tunisia, the price of irrigation water increased fourfold over a decade."
Airborne soot more harmful than thought, CMU researchers say - "Published last week in the journal Science, their findings show that the microscopic particles, altered by chemical processes in the atmosphere, produce more clouds and are potentially more toxic, and their contributions to unhealthy pollution are larger and spread over a wider area."
Race to the Bottom - "A maverick Australian prospector is planning to scoop untold riches - gold, silver, copper - from the bottom of the ocean. Is it a cleaner way to mine or the beginning of an environmental disaster?"
American women too tired for sex - "It’s official now. The Washington-based National Sleep Foundation says that American women are so stressed out and sleep-deprived that a majority of them have no time for sex or even to make friends."
Refrigerator will toss you can of beer - "When John Cornwell graduated from Duke University last year, he landed a job as software engineer in Atlanta but soon found himself longing for his college lifestyle. So the engineering graduate built himself a reminder of life on campus: a refrigerator that can toss a can of beer to his couch with the click of a remote control."
Quote of the Day
"They created a desolation, and called it peace."
~ Tacitus
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