April 19, 2007

April 19, 2007

Experts: Force increases may not be enough - "“If the United States is going to have a significant component of its ground forces in Iraq over the next five, 10, 15 or 30 years, then the responsible course is for the president and those supporting this open-ended and escalated presence in Iraq to call for reinstating the draft.” -- You read that correctly. And this is from the Marine Corps Times.

Murtha: President's Iraq war plan requires draft - "Rep. John Murtha, a veteran of the U.S. Marines who served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, said that President George W. Bush cannot continue to carry out his current war plans in Iraq without starting a draft." -- To reinstate the draft, an "event" will be necessary to rally the country.

McCain visits Murrells Inlet - "McCain began his answer by changing the words to a popular Beach Boys song. “Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran,” he sang to the tune of Barbara Ann. “Iran is dedicated to the destruction of Israel. That alone should concern us but now they are trying for nuclear capabilities. I totally support the President when he says we will not allow Iran to destroy Israel.”"

Iraq may hold twice as much oil - "Iraq could hold almost twice as much oil in its reserves as had been thought, according to the most comprehensive independent study of its resources since the US-led invasion in 2003."

Russia Plans World's Longest Tunnel, a Link to Alaska - "Russia plans to build the world's longest tunnel, a transport and pipeline link under the Bering Strait to Alaska, as part of a $65 billion project to supply the U.S. with oil, natural gas and electricity from Siberia."

Cho's Image Leaves Indelible Mark - "All the cheap rage, all the macho posturing of a demented boy is condensed in that image. A young man holds out his arms, at eye level, each hand covered in a dark glove, each holding a gun. He wears a vest that looks vaguely military, and his eyes are set in a steely rage. A black cap, turned backwards, covers a shaved head, as if he meant to doubly annihilate his personality. The young people fortunate enough to survive and tell the tale of Monday's horrific murder rampage at Virginia Tech described that face -- expressionless, determined -- and those eyes -- devoid of feeling, or mercy."

Are You On The Antidepressant database? - "Some news accounts have suggested that Cho had a history of antidepressant use, but senior federal officials tell ABC News that they can find no record of such medication in the government's files. This does not completely rule out prescription drug use, including samples from a physician, drugs obtained through illegal Internet sources, or a gap in the federal database, but the sources say theirs is a reasonably complete search." -- Interesting.

Why does the Bush administration have a list of everyone who has ever used anti-depressants? - "We don't even have a list of gun owners, and we have a list of everyone who has been prescribed anti-depressants? And in fact, the article suggests that this isn't just a database of patients who use anti-depressants, it's a federal database of every prescription drug you've ever bought."

Administration pursued aggressive legal effort to restrict voter turnout - "For six years, the Bush administration, aided by Justice Department political appointees, has pursued an aggressive legal effort to restrict voter turnout in key battleground states in ways that favor Republican political candidates."

Climate change skeptics say it's hard to get heard - "Skeptics of the seriousness of global warming complained on Wednesday of not being heard by the public or policy makers while warning governments to take a second look at the scientific consensus on climate change."

Scientist: Warming not caused by humans - ""We see something change in our climate and we blame ourselves," Spencer told the Republican Women of Madison during a lunch meeting Wednesday. Spencer contends there is not yet enough known about the Earth's atmosphere to understand exactly what occurs naturally to stabilize the earth's climate. "I don't think we understand what happens. We can watch it happen on the (climate) models, we know it happens, but we don't know for sure how it happens," Spencer said."

Chinese make first artificial snowfall - "China claimed yesterday to have caused a snowfall for the first time as part of its increasingly ambitious attempts to control the weather."

No joke! 'Daily Show' substantive as network news - "A new study by Indiana University concludes that the popular comedy program, "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart, is just as substantive as "serious" primetime network news broadcasts." -- Duh.

Top EU official criticizes extension of U.S. barriers along border with Mexico - "“A wall that separates one country from another is not something that I like or that the European Union members like,” Solana said at a news conference in Mexico City. “We don't think walls are reasonable instruments to stop people from crossing into a country.” The EU believes immigrants should be treated “like people, not like criminals,” he said."

Tagging plan for vulnerable OAPs - "Charities today gave a guarded welcome to a proposal by the science minister, Malcolm Wicks, that vulnerable older people could be tracked via satellite-monitored tags."

Parents who spank being made criminals - "Democrats on a legislative committee in California have advanced a plan that would make criminals of any parent who uses "a stick, a rod, [or] a switch" to discipline their misbehaving child, and parents rights' organizations are up in arms."

Angry soccer mom ditches daughter, gets ticket - "The 42-year-old Lincoln mom was miffed about her daughter's poor play on Saturday."

Flatland: The Movie -- That's right! Flatland: The Movie! Check out the trailer.

Has Tarantino been flushed away? - "How, pundits asked, can a moronic sword’n’sandals romp such as 300 make $400 million at the box office, while a smart cine-literate action parody such as Grindhouse completely dies? The New York Times suggested that this wasn’t the end for the Weinsteins, just a bump in the road. But Business Week announced that it should be a lesson for Hollywood, and that dumb audience-friendly movies such as 300 and Ghost Rider were the way of the future." -- Now that's just depressing.

Does Radio Contest For Breast Implants Go Too Far? - "Is a local radio stunt going too far? The prize is a breast augmentation for women who can show how hard they can party for 30 hours, all while live on the Internet."

Is the pen still mighty in the computer age? - "Your grandchildren may use a stylus on a tablet PC instead of a Bic on tablet paper, but they will continue to write. That's because even in an era when elementary school students are adept at mousing and teenagers are fiends at text-messaging, some experts say that writing with a pen is still the backbone for teaching people how to read and learn facts. The difference will be in how the characters are made."

Crook wins damages for injury during theft - "A Canadian man who admitted shoplifting C$106 in razor blades has been awarded C$12,000 ($10,645) for injuries he suffered when he was tackled by store security guards." -- This is our world.

Survey Reveals Most Satisfying Jobs - "“The most satisfying jobs are mostly professions, especially those involving caring for, teaching and protecting others and creative pursuits.""

Why Are Americans Afraid of Being Naked? - "In the Netherlands people can be naked in their gardens, the beach and recently the gym. But in America, even chocolate sculptures can't be without clothes. What gives?"

Rolling Stone's Top 25 Songs With a Secret - "These are tracks the meanings of which have inspired lots of debate. Let the debate continue!"




Quote of the Day
"My son joined the Army to protect America, not Israel."
~ Cindy Sheehan

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