British crew: Iran blindfolded detainees - "The British sailors and marines held captive for nearly two weeks in Iran were blindfolded, bound and faced constant psychological pressure, a Royal Navy lieutenant said Friday." -- Still looking to make this incident give them public support for attacking Iran?
Release of Iranian diplomats not on U.S. agenda - "Gates, however, added that Washington had no plans to free the abducted diplomats. "I think there's no inclination right now to let them go," Gates told reporters in Washington."
And Iraq's big oil contracts go to ... - "Despite claims by some critics that the Bush administration invaded Iraq to take control of its oil, the first contracts with major oil firms from Iraq's new government are likely to go not to U.S. companies, but rather to companies from China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia."
Hussein's Prewar Ties To Al-Qaeda Discounted - "Captured Iraqi documents and intelligence interrogations of Saddam Hussein and two former aides "all confirmed" that Hussein's regime was not directly cooperating with al-Qaeda before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, according to a declassified Defense Department report released yesterday."
Chertoff: Next 9/11 could be launched by Europeans - "Mr. Chertoff insisted that America required additional information, including e-mail addresses and credit card details, to vet European passengers and rejected "the idea that we're going to bargain with the European Union over who's going to come into the United States" under the visa waiver scheme. "We have an absolute right to get this, in the same way that if someone wants to be a guest in my house, I have a right to ask them who they are and get identification.""
The Media Calls him Al Qaeda, but his Jewish Father calls him Adam Pearlman - "The article then quotes an alleged “expert,” on Al Qaeda and terrorism, a woman named Laura Mansfield, who says, “the time reference could indicate an attack is near. Muslims believe that non-believers should be given a chance to convert before they are attacked.” Booga booga! What the CNN article never mentions is that Adam Gadhn, or “Azzam the American,” as the media likes to refer to him, is in reality a Jew from California named Adam Pearlman. I’m not kidding reader, I’m as serious as a heart attack, Azzam the American is a Jew. CNN isn’t the only negligent news agency, not a single one of the television networks have mentioned Gadahn’s/Pearlman’s pedigree, not one. The only news source I am aware of that has mentioned the fact that “Azzam the American” is Jewish, was the LA Times and the Washington Post, and then only in the most cryptic manner."
9/11 Physicist Contacted To Appear On The View - "Physicist Professor Steven Jones has confirmed that Rosie O'Donnell's staff have contacted him regarding a potential future appearance on The View to discuss the improbable collapse of the twin towers and WTC 7."
Liberals push to impeach Bush - "Congressional Democrats say their constituents are clamoring for something even the most liberal lawmakers promise they won't pursue: President Bush's impeachment." -- Cheney has to be included.
Abolition of Electoral College under way - "A movement is sweeping the nation that could eliminate the Electoral College in national elections, and with it much of this country's republican form of government, instead giving unstoppable control over the White House to any coalition the major population centers would choose to create. Maryland's state legislature already has given approval to a proposal that would, in conjunction with other states' efforts, eliminate the college, and similar plans have already been approved by single legislative houses in Hawaii, Colorado and Arizona. In seven more states – Washington, Montana, California, New Mexico, Louisiana, West Virginia and Connecticut – the plans have been endorsed by legislative committees. ... "There would be virtually no incentive to try to mobilize constituencies, organize specific interests, or devote any resources to such things as voter registration and education. … "What we would have is a political system that combines the worst of network television with the worst of the modern campaign," he concluded."
Bill O'Reilly reports on JFK Assassinations Committee - "Bill O'Reilly, when he was on Inside Edition, reports on Oswald's association with the CIA. Gee Bill, here you are spouting a conspiracy theory! That's unamerican. Why do you hate this country, you two-faced hypocrite?I'm not saying that you should be fired. I'm saying that Fox News has a BIG problem."
Ford CEO paid $39.1 million for four months - "Exec’s compensation comes after automaker lost $12.7 billion in 2006."
Jefferson’s View: Democracy, Not Theocracy – And Religious Freedom For All - "Today is Thomas Jefferson’s birthday. ... He favored a democracy that maximized religious liberty, not a theocracy that trampled it."
Commentary: What would Jesus really do? - "When did it come to the point that being a Christian meant only caring about two issues, abortion and homosexuality?"
Wal-Mart and Target Spy on Their Employees - "With Target and Wal-Mart acting as though they are entitled to spy on, stalk and imprison their own employees, we are on the road to a full-scale workplace dictatorship."
When regular TV broadcasts go dark - "According to AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons), lower-income and older Americans are disproportionately represented in this group. The elderly, in particular, rely heavily on television as an important connection to the outside world, yet AARP fears that they're the ones most likely to get lost in the transition."
Battle to Win Top Colleges' Nod Escalating - "The latest data show that if anything, the frantic competition to get into the most selective colleges is only going to get worse."
Web 2.0--the folly of amateurs? - "Them be fighting words, to be sure, and Keen is being purposely provocative. But he's worth reading. Keen's not writing from the uninformed point of view of a technophobe. In his previous life, he was the founder of Audiocafe.com. That said, he's not at all happy about where things are headed, bemoaning the advent of "an endless digital forest of mediocrity" as the number of new blogs doubles each six months. Here's a typical snippet:"
The robots are running riot! Quick, bring out the red tape - "When the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov envisioned a future shared by human beings and robots, he predicted that the mechanical servants of tomorrow would be safely controlled by only three simple laws. But when Japan’s notoriously zealous bureaucracy looks into the future, it sees robots enmeshed in miles of red tape. Three laws, the robotics experts say, are nowhere near sufficient to ensure human safety in a world where cleaning, carrying and even cooking could one day be performed by machines. So the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has drafted a hugely complex set of proposals for keeping robots in check."
Battle aliens, save the world and learn chemistry - "Two university professors have combined their knowledge of science and video games to create a game that helps students learn chemistry."
Chihuahua or Great Dane? One Gene Sets Dog Size - "Scientists have just discovered which gene fragment controls the size of dogs, which have the greatest size range of any mammal — no other species produces adults with 100-fold differences, like that between a two-pound chihuahua and a 200-pound Newfoundland."
Quote of the Day
"History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives."
~ Abba Eban
2 comments:
Quick comment about "Abolition of Electoral College under way"...
I forget from who I originally heard this (and that irritates me to no end), but I remember hearing that an example of "majority rule" in action could be found by putting two wolves together with a lamb and having them all vote on what's for dinner. I've always liked that because it's simple, clever, and oh so accurate.
I like that as well, and yes, it is oh so true. Why can't people understand that?
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