News -- January 13, 2006

Judge Alito, in His Own Words - "Some commentators are complaining that Judge Samuel Alito Jr.'s confirmation hearings have not been exciting, but they must not have been paying attention. We learned that Judge Alito had once declared that Judge Robert Bork - whose Supreme Court nomination was defeated because of his legal extremism - "was one of the most outstanding nominees" of the 20th century. We heard Judge Alito refuse to call Roe v. Wade "settled law," as Chief Justice John Roberts did at his confirmation hearings. And we learned that Judge Alito subscribes to troubling views about presidential power. Those are just a few of the quiet bombshells that have dropped. In his deadpan bureaucrat's voice, Judge Alito has said some truly disturbing things about his view of the law. In three days of testimony, he has given the American people reasons to be worried - and senators reasons to oppose his nomination. Among those reasons are the following:"
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0112-21.htm

Alito appears headed for confirmation - "Alito said if confirmed he would seek to emulate retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's dedication and dignity, but declined to say if he would demonstrate the same centrist views."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2006-01-12T194327Z_01_KWA606962_RTRUKOC_0_US-COURT-ALITO.xml&rpc=22

The Wiretappers That Couldn't Shoot Straight - "If fictional terrorists concocted by Hollywood can figure out that the National Security Agency is listening to their every call, guess what? Real-life terrorists know this, too. So when a hyperventilating President Bush rants that the exposure of his warrant-free wiretapping in a newspaper is shameful and puts "our citizens at risk" by revealing our espionage playbook, you have to wonder what he is really trying to hide. Our enemies, as America has learned the hard way, are not morons. Even if Al Qaeda hasn't seen "Sleeper Cell" because it refuses to spring for pay cable, it has surely assumed from the get-go that the White House would ignore legal restraints on eavesdropping, just as it has on detainee jurisprudence and torture."
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010806C.shtml

The Bush Who Cried Wolf - "Under normal circumstances—that is, under any previous U.S. administration—the battle over Iran’s pugnacious effort in pursuit of nuclear technology would be amenable to a diplomatic solution. But, by insisting on a national security strategy of pre-emptive war, by illegally and unilaterally invading Iraq on false pretenses, and by hinting that the White House would tolerate an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear plants, President Bush and Vice President Cheney have made a successful diplomatic resolution of the Iran crisis nearly impossible."
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20060112/the_bush_who_cried_wolf.php

Bush could seize absolute control of U.S. government - "President George W. Bush has signed executive orders giving him sole authority to impose martial law, suspend habeas corpus and ignore the Posse Comitatus Act that prohibits deployment of U.S. troops on American streets. This would give him absolute dictatorial power over the government with no checks and balances."
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/printer_7986.shtml

Pelosi Wants Probe of 'Corrupt Congress' - "House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said Republicans had created "one of the most closed, corrupt congresses in history" and urged the House ethics committee to investigate GOP lawmakers linked to lobbyist Jack Abramoff. "It's hard for the American people to understand how corrupt it is here," the California Democrat said at a news conference."
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/12/D8F3A9VG3.html

Jailed for 30 years for criticising 'free' Iraq - "Kamal Sayid Qadir wrote an article criticising the US backed government in Iraqi Kurdistan and now he has been jailed for 30 yearsIf a writer was jailed for 30 years for exposing government corruption in Iran or Syria, there would be outrage in the US and Britain and demands for military strikes. But when that happens in Iraq there is silence.George Bush and Tony Blair constantly boast that they have brought freedom and democracy to Iraq.Yet Kamal Sayid Qadir, a leading Kurdish academic, has been jailed for 30 years after he publicly criticised Massoud Barzani, head of the US backed Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP)."
http://www.uruknet.com/?p=19521&hd=0&size=1&l=x

"It is this kind of disrespect...." - "When the journey eventually ended I found myself in a small room, two metres square, with wooden walls, a refrigerator and an oval table in the middle. Soon two men came in, civilians, wearing vests. "Do you know why you are here, Mr Fadhil?" they asked me.I replied: "To be interrogated?"With a broad smile, one of them said: "No. There was a mistake in the address and we apologise for the damage."So that's it. They blew three doors apart with explosives, smashed the house windows, trashed all our furniture, damaged the car, risked our lives by shooting inside rooms aimlessly, hooded me and took me from my family who didn't know if they would ever see me again - and then, with a smile, they dismissed it as a small mistake. So was this intimidation or just a typical piece of bungled repression? I don't know and cannot tell, though I have yet to have my tapes returned. I do know, however, the effect it has had on my daughter. Sarah hates all soldiers and calls them Americans even if they are Iraqis. There is no way she will change her mind about them after that nightmare.There are many Iraqis - Iraqis who welcomed the fall of Saddam - who feel exactly the same today."" -- Disgusting.
http://www.uruknet.com/?p=19527&hd=0&size=1&l=x

The elements of tyranny - "There has been a lot of talk lately about the Bush regime's new theory of presidential power. The unitary executive, a conception advocated by torture aficionado John Yoo and Supreme Court nominee Alito, is not just a peculiar interpretation of the constitution, its adoption marks a transition in our form of government. Toward what exactly is not yet fully evident in all of its detail, but the X just over the horizon is simply not democracy in any meaningful sense of the word."
http://secularfront.blogspot.com/2006/01/elements-of-tyranny.html

Pentagon grilled over database on war critics - "Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Thursday asked for answers on an obscure Pentagon agency that included reports on student anti-war protests and other peaceful civilian demonstrations in a database meant to detect terrorist activities."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10834915/

You're Being Watched: Efforts to Collect Data on Americans Go Far Beyond the NSA's Domestic Spying Program - "Congress will soon hold hearings on the National Security Agency's domestic spying program, secretly authorized by President Bush in 2002. But that program is just the tip of the iceberg. Since 9/11, the expansion of efforts to gather and analyze information on U.S. citizens is nothing short of staggering. The government collects vast troves of data, including consumer credit histories and medical and travel records. Databases track Americans' networks of friends, family and associates, not just to identify who is a terrorist but to try to predict who might become one."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0112-31.htm

New Body Screeners in use in London: We are living in a dystopian nightmare - "The implementation of such technology represents a giant leap into a total surveillance Big Brother society. People are faced with walking into booths raising their hands above their heads like they're a criminal and being electronically scanned by a machine that produces a naked image of their body. Yet as you have seen from the video above the general consensus is total acceptance. The only negative comment in the report comes from a commuter who is worried that the process may add a few minutes onto his journey. "It's one of those things we have to endure these days" comments one man. "Anything to make us feel safer" whimpers an elderly lady whilst giving the most naive bootlicking smile you can imagine. And this is precisely the point, the general public will accept any level of intrusiveness so long as it gives the IMPRESSION that they are safer, in reality it doesn't make anyone safer it just eliminates your liberty." -- Leaders love sheeple.
http://infowars.net/articles/january2006/120106scanners.htm

New Ohio Law Allows Cops to Request ID - "But dissent is building over authority given to police officers, who can now ask, "What's your name?" as a tool to fight terrorism. Failure to identify oneself could land an individual in jail. Critics call the measure the Ohio Patriot Act. The law also requires those applying for state driver's licenses to sign a form that they haven't supported terrorist organizations."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,181382,00.html

AMERICAblog just bought General Wesley Clark's cell phone records for $89.95 - "I reported the other day that your cell phone records are on sale online for anyone to buy, without your permission. Well, this morning AMERICAblog bought former presidential candidate, and former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO (SACEUR), General Wesley Clark's cell phone records for one hundred calls made over three days in November 2005, no questions asked."
http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/01/americablog-just-bought-general-wesley.html

'Zero experience' - "President Bush continues to do a heckuva job installing unqualified cronies in key government posts. Even though the Michael Brown debacle at the Federal Emergency Management Agency is still good for a few laughs on the Leno and Letterman shows, Bush may inject new life into late night TV monologues with his recent appointment of Ellen Sauerbrey to head the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. ... The New York Times was a bit more blunt: "Ms. Sauerbrey has zero experience in emergency management and refugee resettlement." Zero experience. That's an astounding benchmark, impossible to beat. There is no less-than-zero level of experience. What kinds of disasters and refugee situations does the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration address? Rwanda. Darfur, Sudan. Kosovo. Iraq. Gaza Strip. Southeast Asia tsunami. Pakistan earthquake. It's the last place anyone wants to see a director with zero experience."
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/01/11/ed.edit.recess.0111.p1.php?section=opinion

We have met the enemy -- and it is US! - ""Bush lied, people died!" "Cheney gets richer off the war!" "Rumsfeld sacrifices your sons and daughters to the God of Greed!" "Bush bypasses court to spy on you!" "Bush says Constitution is " just a piece of paper!" These are actual headlines, not from the mainstream media but from 'blogs' across the internet. Unfortunately, most Americans still get their 'news' from mainstream media sources and its only the headlines and sound bites that attract their attention -- you know, the important news: "Brad to adopt Angelina's children.""
http://www.sierratimes.com/06/01/13/65_71_189_66_18689.htm

Pentagon to Families: Go Ahead, Laugh - "When the stress of the war in Iraq becomes too severe, the Pentagon has a suggestion for military families: Learn how to laugh. With help from the Pentagon's chief laughter instructor, families of National Guard members are learning to walk like a penguin, laugh like a lion and blurt "ha, ha, hee, hee and ho, ho." No joke."
http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060113074909990039&cid=1976

Top Senate Democrat Supports Outsourcing - "U.S. Senator Max Baucus, the top Democrat on the powerful Senate Finance Committee, said Friday he supports outsourcing white-collar jobs to low-wage countries such as India - a position at odds with his party's traditional stance on the issue."
http://money.aol.com/news/articles?id=n20060113044409990024&cid=771

A Challenge to Evolution of Universe - "In the quest to decipher the evolution of the cosmos, no topic generates greater interest among scientists than "dark energy," the mysterious force that appears to be causing the universe to expand at an ever-accelerating rate. Yesterday, Louisiana State University astronomer Bradley E. Schaefer tossed a grenade into this debate, presenting new research to suggest that the force dark energy exerts may have varied over time. That casts new doubt on the validity of Albert Einstein's "cosmological constant" only a few years after astronomers rescued the concept from scientific oblivion."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/11/AR2006011102065.html

Half of Americans use prescription drugs: survey - "About half of all U.S. women and 40 percent of U.S. men are currently using or have recently used a prescription drug, according to government statistics published on Thursday."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyid=2006-01-12T171303Z_01_EIC261824_RTRUKOC_0_US-DRUGS.xml&rpc=22

Man Jailed After Handshake Sickens 3 - "A man has been jailed on assault charges after a prosecutor, police officer and courtroom bailiff became seriously ill after shaking hands with him. During a Dec. 21 court appearance on a traffic charge, John Ridgeway pulled out a vial of an unknown liquid, rubbed his hands with the contents and insisted on shaking hands with the three people, authorities said. All of them got sick within an hour, suffering from nausea, headaches, numbness and tingling that lasted about a day. Two sought treatment at a hospital."
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/12/D8F3CPK01.html

Stem cell experts seek rabbit-human embryo - "British scientists are seeking permission to create hybrid embryos in the lab by fusing human cells with rabbit eggs. If granted consent, the team will use the embryos to produce stem cells that carry genetic defects, in the hope that studying them will help understand the complex mechanisms behind incurable human diseases."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,3605,1685534,00.html

Taiwan breeds green-glowing pigs - "Scientists in Taiwan say they have bred three pigs that glow in the dark. They claim that while other researchers have bred partly fluorescent pigs, theirs are the only pigs in the world which are green through and through."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4605202.stm

'Doomsday vault' to house world's seeds - "Norway is to build a "doomsday vault" in a mountain close to the North Pole that will house a vast seed bank to ensure food supplies in the event of catastrophic climate change, nuclear war or rising sea levels, New Scientist says."
http://www.physorg.com/news9794.htmlJan%2012

Researcher: Early Man Was Hunted by Birds - "Berger concluded man's ancestors had to survive not just being hunted from the ground, but from the air. Such discoveries are "key to understanding why we humans today view the world they way we do," he said."
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/12/D8F39VDOF.html

Apple's iTunes raises privacy concerns - "A new version of Apple Computer's popular iTunes software, released Tuesday, is drawing barbs from privacy advocates for sending information about computer users' playlists back to Apple."
http://news.com.com/Apples+iTunes+raises+privacy+concerns/2100-1029_3-6026542.html?tag=nefd.lede




Quote of the Day
"Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious."
~ George Orwell, 1984

News -- January 12, 2006

Alito's Nod to Executive Power Looms As Dangerous - "Alito is consistently on record as favoring steps by the White House to in his words "increase the power of the executive to shape the law." Twenty years ago, as a member of the Reagan administration, Alito was in the forefront of efforts to legitimize executive power grabs designed to allow presidents to take dramatic actions, sometimes in secret, without the advice and consent of Congress."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0110-30.htm

Alito and His Coaches - "In the first hours of Samuel Alito's Senate confirmation hearings on Monday, Judiciary Committee member Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator from South Carolina, may very well have irreparably compromised himself. At the hearing, Graham told Alito, nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, that he had already decided in Alito's favor. "I don't know what kind of vote you're going to get, but you'll make it through. It's possible you could talk me out of voting for you, but I doubt it. So I won't even try to challenge you along those lines."" -- Our government at work.
http://villagevoice.com/news/0602,roston,71634,6.html

Not Buying the Sob Story - "Let's not kid ourselves. The Alito appointment is ENORMOUSLY important to Bush's "legacy" in what will historically be one failure after another. And it's no secret that Lindsey Graham coached Alito before the hearings began. So it's no small leap of reality to come to the conclusion that Martha-Ann's blubbering came right on Rovian cue during Graham's impassioned plea for dialing down the big bad attacks by the Democrats."
http://www.hoffmania.com/blog/2006/01/not_buying_the_.html

War on terror: “Colossal failure” - "It is clearer now more than ever that the so-called "WAR ON TERROR" has not, in fact, made the world safer. "
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=10476

First “real evidence” on CIA secret jails - "The CIA held 23 people in a secret prison in Romania and maintained similar detention facilities in Bulgaria, Ukraine, Macedonia and Kosovo, according to allegations contained in an Egyptian government fax obtained by Swiss Security services. The fax offers the first "real evidence" that the U.S. interrogated suspects at secret prisons in Eastern Europe, European politicians said."
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=10491

Command Responsibility? - "A jury verdict in Memphis late last year caused little stir among the general public, but it may have caught the attention of Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and other high officials of the Bush administration. The jury found Colonel Nicolas Carranza, former Vice Minister of Defense of El Salvador and now a U.S. citizen living in Memphis, responsible for overseeing the torture and killing in that country 25 years ago. Could similar charges be brought against high U.S. officials for the actions of their subordinates in Abu Ghraib, Falluja, and Guantanamo?"
http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/3026

Bush Says Iraq Criticism Aides Adversaries - " President Bush warned Democratic critics of his Iraq policy on Tuesday to watch what they say or risk giving "comfort to our adversaries" and suffering at the ballot box in November. Democrats said Bush should take his own advice."
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-wh/2006/jan/11/011109295.html

Bush has actually declared it treasonous to reveal his illegal behavior! - "Note the astounding paradox: The Bush administration is caught red-handed in blatant illegality and responds by trying to arrest the patriot who exposed the administration’s illegal behavior. Bush has actually declared it treasonous to reveal his illegal behavior! His propagandists, who masquerade as news organizations, have taken up the line: To reveal wrong-doing by the Bush administration is to give aid and comfort to the enemy."
http://www.guerrillanews.com/headlines/6891/A_Gestapo_Administration

Connecting the Dots: Abramoff and Rove - " Did you know that Jack Abramoff and Karl Rove shared an executive assistant?"
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/nataffdaily/story/9130607?rnd=1136894240690&has-player=true&version=6.0.8.1024

Beam weapons almost ready for battle - "There is a new breed of weaponry fast approaching — and at the speed of light, no less. They are labeled "directed-energy weapons," and they may well signal a revolution in military hardware — perhaps more so than the atomic bomb."
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10805240/

FAQ: The new 'annoy' law explained -- I'm still annoyed.
http://news.com.com/FAQ+The+new+annoy+law+explained/2100-1028_3-6025396.html?tag=nefd.lede

NSA: Free Speech is a Weapon of Mass Destruction - "As further evidence the Bushcons are not interested in snooping “al-Qaeda,” and in fact there is no “al-Qaeda” threat in America, consider revelations that the NSA snooped the Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore, a Quaker peace group. “The National Security Agency has been spying on a Baltimore anti-war group, according to documents released during litigation, going so far as to document the inflating of protesters’ balloons, and intended to deploy units trained to detect weapons of mass destruction.”"
http://kurtnimmo.com/?p=185

Neocon Police State Spreads Disinfo and Paranoia - "If an 81-year old guy, a retired academic writing to a Catholic colleague, can be snooped, no doubt activists and peaceniks can and are being snooped as well. Since when does an 81-year-old retired University of Kansas history professor, corresponding with a devout Catholic retired Filipino history professor, pose a threat to the national security of the United States? Of course, the answer is never. However, the fact the Ministry of Homeland Security opened Grant Goodman’s mail has nothing to do with national security or “al-Qaeda” and it has everything to do with sending a message—we live in a police state here in America, a one-time constitutional republic where the authorities can and will snoop not only your mail but your telephone, email, web destinations, credit card statement, bank transaction records, library checkout information, etc., ad nauseam. In fact, the reason this story appeared on the MSNBC website is to let you know the corporate dominated government is watching."
http://www.guerrillanews.com/headlines/6971/Neocon_Police_State_Spreads_Disinfo_and_Paranoia

ABC's SCOOP: "MILLIONS" OF AMERICANS' PHONE CALLS TAPPED BY N.S.A. - " ABC's "Nightline" last night aired a terrifying scoop: a former senior insider at the National Security Agency said that the agency has illegally spied on "millions" of Americans who make telephone calls overseas."
http://direland.typepad.com/direland/2006/01/abcs_scoop_mill.html

4-year-old shows up on government 'no-fly' list - ""Is this a joke?" she recalled telling Continental Airlines agents Dec. 21 at Bush Intercontinental Airport. "You can tell he's not a terrorist." Sijollie Allen, a Jamaican immigrant, said she doesn't understand why her American-born son should have to deal with this each time he travels just because he shares his name with a much older individual who is on the list."
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2006-01-10-toddler-nofly_x.htm

NYCLU sues city over right to shoot video, pictures in public - "The NYCLU has received other complaints about people being harassed for taking pictures in public places, Executive Director Donna Lieberman said. "The NYCLU is deeply concerned about what this says about the state of our democracy," she said. "The streets of Manhattan are public spaces, and the public has a right not only to be on the street but to take pictures on the street. Nobody should risk arrest to take out his camera or video camera.""
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--publicpictures0110jan10,0,4891293,print.story

Oil hits three-month high on Iran concerns - "Oil struck a three-month high on Wednesday on concerns Iran's nuclear ambitions could draw international sanctions that disrupt crude flows from the world's fourth biggest exporter." -- You know, I think all of this is just bullshit.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2006-01-11T224650Z_01_YUE181994_RTRUKOC_0_US-MARKETS-OIL.xml&rpc=23

The fantasy lives of christians - "If you repeat a fantasy often enough, it will come true. This seems to be a lynchpin of contemporary christian thought. Something to do with the rosary perhaps."
http://secularfront.blogspot.com/2006/01/fantasy-lives-of-christians.html

Detroit Bishop Suffered Childhood Sex Abuse - "Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit, arguing for more time for sex abuse victims to sue the Roman Catholic Church, says he was abused by a priest 60 years ago." -- Yes, you read that correctly. It says 60 years ago.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,181278,00.html

New Clue to Universe's Darkest Mystery - "An astronomer says he may have found an important clue to one of the most profound mysteries in the universe: Why the stars in the sky are moving away from us at an ever increasing pace. Some scientists have suggested that the vacuum of space is filled with a weird force, called "dark energy." But new results, presented Wednesday at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, D.C., call that idea into question."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5149972&ft=1&f=1001

EPA change would reduce mileage shown on vehicle stickers - "The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed the first major overhaul in 20 years in the way it calculates fuel economy ratings for cars and trucks, a shift the agency said would reduce mileage estimates by 5% to 30%, depending on the type of driving and kind of vehicle."
http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/jan06/384192.asp

Houston to Link Teachers' Pay, Test Scores - "Houston is about to become the biggest school district in the nation to tie teachers' pay to their students' test scores. School Superintendent Abe Saavedra wants to offer teachers as much as $3,000 more per school year if their students improve on state and national tests. The program could eventually grow to as much as $10,000 in merit pay. The school board is set to vote on the plan Thursday. Five of the nine board members have said they support it."
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-houston-teacher-pay,0,2493198.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

Americans Find Being Fat Not Unattractive - "A survey finds America's attitudes toward overweight people are shifting from rejection toward acceptance. Over a 20-year period, the percentage of Americans who said they find overweight people less attractive steadily dropped from 55 percent to 24 percent, the market research firm NPD Group found."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060111/ap_on_he_me/fit_fat_attitudes_1

Don't swat that fly. It's a spacecraft! - "Tomorrow's space vehicles may look more like insects and ping-pong balls than traditional rocket ships."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0112/p20s01-stss.html

iPod-compatible jeans almost ready to wear - "Denim giant Levi Strauss said on Tuesday it had designed jeans compatible with the iPod music player, featuring a joystick in the watch pocket to operate the device."
http://news.com.com/iPod-compatible+jeans+almost+ready+to+wear/2100-1041_3-6025549.html?tag=nefd.top

Couple Puts Itself, Family Up For Lease On eBay - "The engaged Warwick couple, along with six other relatives, have put themselves up for lease on e-Bay -- $1.5 million for five years of service."It's two families for lease," Kidney said. "We all have different skills –- cooking, cleaning, auto service and landscaping.""
http://www.turnto10.com/news/6008219/detail.html




Quote of the Day
"This place is always such a mess, sometimes I think I'd like to watch it burn."
~ The Wallflowers

News -- January 10, 2006

SPY POWERS - "Can the president eavesdrop on private citizens without a judge's ok? The high court said 'no' in 1972 Wiretaps: Ruling requires warrants for spying at home."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/01/08/MNGHGGK8OC1.DTL

Feingold won't rule out Bush impeachment - ""I think there is an orderly and dignified way to find out what happened," said Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. "And, if there was a legal violation there needs to be accountability ... you can't put the cart before the horse, but I would not rule out any form of accountability." That would include impeachment, Feingold told reporters."
http://www.vermontguardian.com/local/012006/FeingoldVisit.shtml

An Abuse of Power - "If we are going to chose the path of impeachment it must be under the banner that the presidency, not just this president, has gained too much power. The movement to remove George Bush from office has to find a means of holding his successor accountable."
http://www.guerrillanews.com/headlines/6898/An_Abuse_of_Power

Bush Advisor Says President Has Legal Power to Torture Children - "Cassel: If the President deems that he’s got to torture somebody, including by crushing the testicles of the person’s child, there is no law that can stop him? Yoo: No treaty. Cassel: Also no law by Congress." -- I am disgusted that this discussion is even taking place.
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2006/090106torturechildren.htm

Panel Says Abramoff Laundered Tribal Funds - "Lobbyist Jack Abramoff used money from a Mississippi tribal client to set up bogus Christian anti-gambling groups and to fund pet projects including gear for a "sniper school" in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to documents released yesterday by Senate investigators."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/22/AR2005062200921.html

America under Scalito - "Frankly, this is bullshit. The real issue is that Alito is a right wing ideologue who will use his position on the court to help usher in fundamental constitutional changes that will eliminate individual freedoms and permanently enthrone a radical view of almost unlimited executive prerogative. He will help usher in actual fascism."
http://secularfront.blogspot.com/2006/01/america-under-scalito.html

Narcissism, the public, and the President - "President Bush spoke last week to wounded soldiers at Brooke Army Medical Center and uttered these immortal words indicating a lack of true appreciation for the suffering of the gravely wounded, often permanently disabled soldiers he was speaking to: "As you can possibly see, I have an injury myself -- not here at the hospital, but in combat with a Cedar. I eventually won. The Cedar gave me a little scratch. As a matter of fact, the Colonel asked if I needed first aid when she first saw me. I was able to avoid any major surgical operations here, but thanks for your compassion, Colonel."" -- He makes you proud, doesn't he? Idiot.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_stephen__060110_narcissism_2c_the_publ.htm

Why have both the US and the UK have given Iran the materials it needs to go nuclear? - "We are being constantly bombarded with propaganda over Iran and its intention to build a nuclear arsenal. We are told (contrary to intelligence reports) that they are just months away from doing so. And we have been told that they must be stopped. What we are not being told is that both the US and the UK have supplied Iran with the materials and the know how in order that they may build the bomb."
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/january2006/090106Iran.htm

Media's War Images Delude Instead of Inform - ""A lot of people don't really see how the war can mess people up until they know someone with firsthand experience," he said. "I think people coming back wounded -- or even just mentally injured after seeing what no human being should have to see -- is going to open a lot of eyes." ... As an American soldier in an "iconic" photo, Blake Miller was newsworthy for a little while. But in sharp contrast to the media enthusiasm that greeted him back in November 2004, there was no major media coverage in the days after "The Early Show" revealed on Jan. 3 that he's suffering from posttraumatic stress. For the warfare state, he has outlived his usefulness."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0109-20.htm

Create an e-annoyance, go to jail - "Annoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime. It's no joke. Last Thursday, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity. ... But why should merely annoying someone be illegal? There are perfectly legitimate reasons to set up a Web site or write something incendiary without telling everyone exactly who you are. Think about it:" -- These people are fucking idiots. Oh, sorry, that probably annoys someone.
http://news.com.com/Create%20an%20e-annoyance,%20go%20to%20jail/2010-1028_3-6022491.html

Marines Recruiting 8-year olds - "Dear Principals: My name is Chris Hardin and I am the Commanding Officer for the Sumner County Young Marines." -- Check out the Young Marine Obligation and the Young Marine Creed.
http://www.rinf.com/columnists/news/marines-recruiting-8-year-olds

New nanotech armor called 5 times stronger than steel - " Executives said the impact was the equivalent to dropping four diesel locomotives onto an area the size of a human fingernail. They said the nano-based armor, which stemmed from a new carbon form called Inorganic Fullerenes, withstood the impact."
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/06/front2453745.144444444.html

Throw Out Those Cough Drops, Group Says - "For children younger than 14, the ACCP also strongly urges that over-the-counter cough and cold medications not be used. The risk of dangerous side effects can outweigh any benefits."
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=1486831

PSA Test Might Not Save Lives - "Screening men for prostate cancer with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test may not reduce their risk of death from the disease, new research suggests. "
http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2006/01/09/hscout530097.html

Toxic waste creates hermaphrodite Arctic polar bears - "There is also evidence that compounds similar to the PBDEs have contributed to a surprisingly high rate of hermaphroditism in polar bears. About one in 50 female bears on Svalbard has both male and female sex organs, a phenomenon scientists link directly to the effects of pollution."
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article337581.ece

Music downloading creates listener apathy - "Internet downloading and MP3 players are creating a generation of people who do not seriously appreciate songs or musical performances, British researchers said."
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/10/060110164416.p4z0rnx6.html

Gory games that can warp your brain - "VIOLENT computer games trigger a mechanism in the brain that makes people more likely to behave aggressively, research suggests."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1976339,00.html




Of course, if you annoy the politician by anonymously writing your thoughts on the web, then you will go to jail.

Quote of the Day
"A slave is he who cannot speak his thoughts."
~ Euripides

News -- January 9, 2006

Fear and Loathing of Freedom in White House - "So yeah, another president and you might almost buy it. But this is the same president who has, over the past five years, repeatedly demonstrated utter disregard for the rights, freedoms and basic intelligence of the people he serves. Moreover, he's the one who last year promised an audience in Buffalo that "nothing has changed" with regard to government surveillance of citizens. "When we're talking about chasing down terrorists," he said, "we're talking about getting a court order before we do so." We know now what he knew then: This was a lie. ... Still, it's not hard to understand the urge to look the other way. Because with all due respect to the threat terrorists pose, Franklin Roosevelt was right. Fear itself is still the first enemy. When people are scared, they don't think, they don't reason and they want nothing so desperately as to just stop being scared. So often, they'll go along with anything that holds out that promise. Even if it means allowing the rights our forebears won from Britain's King George III to be denuded by America's King George I. Still, we should be ashamed. Freedom deserves a better epitaph than fear."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0108-29.htm

Controversial lobbyist had close contact with Bush team - "In President Bush's first 10 months, GOP fundraiser Jack Abramoff and his lobbying team logged nearly 200 contacts with the new administration as they pressed for friendly hires at federal agencies and sought to keep the Northern Mariana Islands exempt from the minimum wage and other laws, records show."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-05-06-abramoff-bush_x.htm

GOP Scrambling To Avoid Label "Party Of Corruption" - "It may be convenient for Hill staffers to think of Abramoff as insidious, subtly corrupting idealistic but naive public servants. Actually, Abramoff was about as subtle as a madam in a whorehouse. He milked (and bilked) clients exuberantly. "Guess what I just scored?" he e-mailed his old friend, former Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed, celebrating the Gulfstream jet that he had arranged to fly their party (including Congressman Robert Ney) to Scotland for a weeklong golf junket. "Fire-up the jet baby, we're going to El Paso!!" he wrote his partner—and former DeLay press aide—Michael Scanlon, announcing the acquisition of a Texas Indian tribe, the Tiguas, as a lobbying client. "I want all their MONEY!!!" replied Scanlon. "Yawzah!" chimed in Abramoff."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/01/08/gop-scrambling-to-avoid-l_n_13446.html

Will lightning strike the Republicans? - "Most analysts expect the Republicans to lose ground at the mid-term elections in November, but there are several reasons for doubting that the party's pain will translate into power for the Democrats on Capitol Hill, let alone a chance to impeach the president."
http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=5360980&no_na_tran=1

Saddam trial is bad for us, says top Iraqi - "AN Iraqi who is one of the favourites to become the country’s next prime minister has said that Saddam Hussein should have been summarily executed and warned that his continuing trial is having a negative effect on the country." -- Nice "Democracy", huh?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1974913,00.html

Military Sensor Hears Through Walls - "A new handheld radar scope from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) can provide troops with an ability that was formerly the province of science fictional superheroes alone—the ability to sense through up to 12 inches of concrete whether someone is in the next room."
http://www.livescience.com/scienceoffiction/060109_military_hears.html

Al-Qaeda's plot to infect troops with AIDS - "AL-QAEDA is recruiting suicide bombers who are infected with the AIDS virus, according to documents revealed to the Sunday Mirror. Terror chiefs are also targeting fanatics who suffer other lethal blood diseases such as hepatitis and dengue fever in order to increase their "kill rate" from an explosion. The chilling new threat is revealed in papers distributed to British military camps in Iraq and across Europe."
http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16559740&method=full&siteid=62484&headline=hiv-bombers--name_page.html

US draws up space tourism rules - "Space tourists must be screened to ensure they are not terrorists, according to proposed regulations from the US Federal Aviation Administration."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4589072.stm

Creationists say fossil discoveries back their theories - "The DeRosas are part of a small but growing band of creationists using dinosaurs - the icons of an ancient Earth - to argue that the world is only 6,000 years old."
http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/living/13567483.htm

Dawkins: Religion equals 'child abuse' - ""The God of the Old Testament has got to be the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous, and proud of it, petty, vindictive, unjust, unforgiving, racist," he says. Dawkins then criticizes Abraham, compares Moses to Hitler and Saddam Hussein, and calls the New Testament "St Paul's nasty, sado-masochistic doctrine of atonement for original sin.""
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48252

Movie Patrons Question Pulling Of Gay-Themed Film - " The theater manager refused to tell KOMO why the movie was suddenly pulled after days of advertising and ticket presales. Customers pointed out Poulsbo's conservative stance." -- Washington State joins Utah.
http://www.komotv.com/news/story.asp?id=41154

Stone Age Footwork: Ancient human prints turn up down under - "Researchers working near the shore of a dried-up lake basin in southeastern Australia have taken a giant leap backward in time. They've uncovered the largest known collection of Stone Age human footprints. The 124-or-more human-foot impressions, as well as a few prints left by kangaroos and other animals, originated between 23,000 and 19,000 years ago in a then-muddy layer of silt and clay, say archaeologist Steve Webb of Australia's Bond University in Robina and his colleagues. Their report appears in the January Journal of Human Evolution."
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20060107/fob1.asp

Air Force Ready For Space War - "The US Air Force has just put out a request for proposal for a "Gaming and Training Environment for Counter Space Operations." In other words, they're ready for Ender's Game. Or maybe Space Wars."
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=519

GM: New study shows unborn babies could be harmed - " Women who eat GM foods while pregnant risk endangering their unborn babies, startling new research suggests."
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article337253.ece

Ice cores show warming 'natural' - " HUNDREDS of thousands of years worth of climate records in ice cores show there is nothing unusual in a global warming trend over the past 25 years."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17752119^601,00.html

Researchers Ask - Can Humans Hibernate? - "In a new take on hibernation, biologists now believe that mammals are not the only ones who use the winter months to store up energy. Birds, and even humans, may have the capacity to switch to standby mode."
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,393746,00.html

Play Together, Stay Together - "Every once in a while, a sex-tech innovation comes along that is so up my alley, it's hard to write a column about it because I'm too excited. ... I've been playing with Bliss, a computer game for lovers that puts a tech twist on an old concept. ... That's where it gets interesting."
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,69959-0.html?tw=wn_tophead_2




Quote of the Day
"Don't wanna be an American idiot."
~ Green Day

News -- January 8, 2006

Alito's Credibility Problem - "Every Supreme Court nominee bears a heavy burden to demonstrate that he or she is committed to the constitutional principles that have been vital in advancing fairness, decency and equal opportunity in our society. As Judge Samuel Alito approaches his confirmation hearings next week, the more we learn about him, the more questions we have about the credibility of his assurances to us. Consider these five areas:" -- Scary.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/06/AR2006010601490.html

British lawyers linked to $1m payment for favours at US Congress - " A British law firm is at the centre of the investigation into America's biggest influence-buying scandal in decades."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/08/wus08.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/01/08/ixnewstop.html

Bush trying to round up all photos of President with Abramoff - "Aides to President George W. Bush are trying to identify all the photos that may exist of the President and lobbyist Jack Abramoff together, TIME’s White House Correspondents Mike Allen and Matt Cooper report in Monday editions."
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Bush_trying_to_round_up_all_0108.html

Economists say cost of war could top $2 trillion - "The cost of the Iraq war could top $2 trillion after factoring in long-term healthcare for wounded US veterans, rebuilding a worn-down military, and accounting for other unforeseen bills and economic losses, according to a new analysis to be presented today in Boston. The estimate by Columbia University economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and Harvard lecturer Linda Bilmes far exceeds projections made by the Bush administration."
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/01/08/economists_say_cost_of_war_could_top_2_trillion/

GROUPS ACCUSE ARMY OF MISLEADING PUBLIC - "SEVERAL environmental and native Hawaiian groups are accusing the Army of misleading the public after the groups discovered that a heavy metal known as depleted uranium was recovered at Schofield Barracks' range complex."
http://starbulletin.com/2006/01/06/news/story06.html

911 Coverup Facts - "Summary of 911 Coverup Facts Compiled by Paul Thompson"
http://www.wanttoknow.info/911coverup10pg

Reps Murtha & Moran Don't Know About Missing TRILLIONS - "During their town hall meeting on C-span [at 1:06:20], a young woman asked about the Pentagon missing TRILLIONS, which was announced by Rumsfeld at a press conference on Sept 10, 2001. Both Moran and Murtha don’t even know about it… they say she must be talking about Billions- they brush off the intelligent young lady as if she doesn’t have a clue- when it fact it is they- the elected Representatives that are uninformed. IMO, to not know about this huge story of the missing Trillions, illustrates that these two CongressCritters are incompetent."
http://benfrank.net/blog/2006/01/07/incompetent_or_traitors/

Feeble Minded Fools and Dim-Witted Debunkers - "A great deal of this mentality stems from laziness. It's much easier to swallow the government's version of events, buy a six pack and fall asleep in front of American Idol. Taking time to actually question something, use your own discernment and come to a conclusion takes time and energy, which is better spent in their estimation watching 24 or Threat Matrix. ... Judging from recent history alone, we should automatically disbelieve anything government tells us and let them do the work to prove otherwise."
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2006/070106dyingbreed.htm

Author of "Bush's Brain" Put On No-Fly list - "I have been on the No Fly Watch List for a year. I will never be told the official reason. No one ever is. You cannot sue to get the information. Nothing I have done has moved me any closer to getting off the list. There were 35,000 Americans in that database last year. According to a European government that screens hundreds of thousands of American travelers every year, the list they have been given to work from has since grown to 80,000."
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/1/5/85158/32663

HackerWatch -- Hmmmm.
http://www.hackerwatch.org/map/?source=DST&region=world&period=1

If You Own a Cell Phone, Then You Might Want to be Aware of This Site
http://www.locatecell.com/gpage.html

Utah Theater Cancels 'Brokeback Mountain' - " "It's just a shame that such a beautiful and award-winning film with so much buzz about it is not being made available to a broad Utah audience because of personal bias," he said."
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/08/D8F0BQI03.html




Quote of the Day
"Ye shall know the Truth, And the Truth shall make you angry!"
~ Aldous Huxley

News -- January 7, 2006

An Imperial President? Bush Claims Right To Ignore New Law Banning Torture - "Five years after President Bush joked, "If this were a dictatorship, it’d be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I’m the dictator,” we look at the growing controversy over presidential power and how it relates to many of today’s biggest stories: the Senate ban on torture, the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, domestic surveillance and the jailing of U.S. citizens as enemy combatants. Earlier this week three influential Republicans Senators condemned Bush for claiming he has the authority to ignore a new law banning the torture of prisoners during interrogations."
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/01/06/1451239

Homeland Security opening private mail - "Last month Goodman, an 81-year-old retired University of Kansas history professor, received a letter from his friend in the Philippines that had been opened and resealed with a strip of dark green tape bearing the words “by Border Protection” and carrying the official Homeland Security seal."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10740935/

The lie detector you'll never know is there - "THE US Department of Defense has revealed plans to develop a lie detector that can be used without the subject knowing they are being assessed. The Remote Personnel Assessment (RPA) device will also be used to pinpoint fighters hiding in a combat zone, or even to spot signs of stress that might mark someone out as a terrorist or suicide bomber." -- Or a million other legitimate reasons for stress.
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18925335.800

Congress' hands caught in the cookie jar - "Dozens of U.S. senators are quietly tracking visits to their Web sites even though they have publicly pledged not to do so."
http://news.com.com/Congress+hands+caught+in+the+cookie+jar/2100-1028_3-6020711.html?tag=nefd.top

The unpleasant truth about "American heroes" - "American soldiers are hired killers. No more, no less. The epitome of soldierdom is unquestioning obedience. Can’t have soldiers questioning orders to “light up” some brown skinned family, can we?I suppose some of those returning body bags showed great courage. Most were just obeying orders.Yeah, yeah, I know. There are many fine young people who honestly believe they are doing their patriotic duty. Poor deluded dupes. I hope they live long enough to grow out of it."
http://www.unknownnews.org/060106a-alch.html

Famine threatens 11 million in Horn of Africa - "An estimated 11 million people in the Horn of Africa “are on the brink of starvation” because of severe drought and war, with some deaths already being reported in Kenya, the United Nations said Friday. People in Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia need food aid, water, new livestock and seeds, the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization said in a statement." -- But the U.S. is spending more than $1bn a week for war.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10742023/

Ministers Say They BlessedSeats Ahead of Alito Hearing - "Insisting that God "certainly needs to be involved" in the Supreme Court confirmation process, three Christian ministers today blessed the doors of the hearing room where Senate Judiciary Committee members will begin considering the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito on Monday."
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB113649645107138940-Ku05eyOWs5xFbqD33aaAarliwqo_20060112.html?mod=blogs

How to lie like a christian - "Begin by demonstrating that you are completely out of touch with reality. ... Then deny the transparently obvious motivation behind your actions, pretending to some sort of disinterested neutrality."
http://secularfront.blogspot.com/2006/01/how-to-lie-like-christian.html

Folks, our country is in peril - "The American Republic (democracy was a word our Founders despised by the way) is in sharp decline if you haven't noticed. Maybe you all could just stop chewing sand for a moment, breathe some polluted air, and take a look around!"
http://www.unknownnews.org/060106a-cr.html

Letterman to O'Reilly: "60% of what you say is crap" - "I'm pretty sure everyone has seen this, already, but if you haven't, it's a must- watch- it's been all over the place, but C&L has the best link... ... Ya see- Bill spent the first half-damned-hour of his show, whining about this interview- the first ten minutes were bad enough- with a tightly-edited, out of sequence hatchet rehash of the interview. Then, once Billy ran out of air, he brought on two guests, who then spent the next twenty minutes gushing over him, reassuring Billy time and time again that Dave was just a "bad ol' meanie.""
http://www.ericblumrich.com/

A library of best sellers at your fingertips - "The printed page is facing its biggest threat with the launch of the first electronic book that people can read for hours without straining their eyes. Sony's Reader is the size of a slim paperback but can store hundreds of books at a time. When the cover is lifted, books are displayed on a sheet of electronic "paper", one page at a time."
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/07/wsony07.xml

In L.A., the hybrid is, like, so last year - "That's why some Hollywood hipsters are trading in their hybrids for old Mercedes and fueling up with biodiesel, which doesn't cause greenhouse gases and is a renewable energy source."
http://news.com.com/In+L.A.,+the+hybrid+is,+like,+so+last+year/2100-11389_3-6021723.html?tag=nefd.lede




Quote of the Day
"One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency."
~ Arnold Glasow

News -- January 6, 2006

The gap between Bush's optimism and reality - "Compared Bush's address with reality, the conclusion seems to be not that optimistic in America's prosperity and security and freedom and peace abroad."
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200601/04/eng20060104_232861.html

Former Cabinet members aid Bush - ""Not everybody around this table [agrees] with my decision to go into Iraq," Mr. Bush said in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. "But these are good solid Americans who understand that we've got to succeed now that we're there.""
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060106-125033-1492r.htm

The death of freedom - "A silence has reigned. Across the world, the extinction and suffering of countless human beings can be attributed to rampant American power, "But you wouldn't know it," said Pinter. "It never happened. Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening it wasn't happening. It didn't matter. It was of no interest.""
http://www.newstatesman.com/nscoverstory.htm

Justice Dept asks court to abandon US system of justice - "The Bush administration notified federal trial judges in Washington that it would soon ask them to dismiss all lawsuits brought by prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, challenging their detentions, Justice Department officials said Tuesday. The action means that the administration is moving swiftly to take advantage of an amendment to the military bill that President Bush signed into law last Friday. The amendment strips federal courts from hearing habeas corpus petitions from Guantanamo detainees."
http://www.unknownnews.org/0601060104habeascorpus.html

Public Inexcusably Tolerant of Bush’s Law-Breaking - "This arrogant administration is so assured of its own righteous providence that any kind of process associated with its self-appointed directives is regarded as a nuisance and optional at its own discretion. The NSA’s rogue wiretapping is a symptom of an administration drunk on its own power, and to imagine this program hasn’t already been abused is the height of naiveté. ... In defending the indefensible, they trot out the childish retort, "If you’re not doing anything wrong, then you have nothing to worry about." There are numerous fallacies of logic here. One can keep the character of the debate in kindergarten-speak by turning the phrase on its ear and saying to the administration, "If you’re not doing anything wrong with your wiretaps, then you have nothing to worry about in seeking a warrant." Add to that the subjective definition of the word "wrong," and the trite truism reveals its uselessness. Is it wrong for individuals to explore the possibility of their state’s secession? Is it wrong to take extreme measures to protect animal rights? Is it inherently wrong to protest the Bush War? ... The Boston Globe approximates the volume of e-mails that are passing through the net of possible perusal at more than 2 million per hour. That’s not national security. That’s paranoia. When you think of paranoid presidencies, you think of Nixon, and the comparisons of the Bush administration to the Nixon administration are stunning. Firstly, a lot of the same old players, notably Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, are setting the tone for the way the Bush White House does business."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0106-27.htm

Oil jumps to $64 on Middle East concerns - "Oil jumped to $64 a barrel on Friday as geopolitical factors in the Middle East and other key oil-producing regions sparked concerns over global supplies."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2006-01-06T152628Z_01_HO655554_RTRUKOC_0_US-MARKETS-OIL.xml&rpc=23

Microsoft Shuts Down Chinese Blog - "Microsoft Corp. has shut down the Internet journal of a Chinese blogger that discussed politically sensitive issues including a recent strike at a Beijing newspaper."
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/06/D8EV7CR00.html

Doom from the sky - "The asteroid in question was identified in 2004 and studied in 2005 for its trajectory. At first they were scared enough to believe that it could hit the earth in 2029. Then they did some more fine-tuning of their computer data and decided that it would come close to the earth in 2029, but wouldn't be on a possible collision course until 2036."
http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060104/NEWS/601040303/1039

Did Jesus exist? Italian court set to decide - "Forget the US debate over intelligent design versus evolution. An Italian court is tackling Jesus — and whether the Roman Catholic Church may be breaking the law by teaching that he existed 2,000 years ago."
http://dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1005860

Ancient Village Discovery Raises Questions - "Discovery of an ancient village just outside Jerusalem has brought into question one of the strongest images of biblical times the wholesale flight of Jews running for their lives after the Roman destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D."
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=1473853

Gov. Warner Orders DNA Test for Executed Man - "If Coleman is innocent, it will be the first documented case of the execution of an innocent person in the United States. The first, but probably not the only one."
http://talkleft.com/new_archives/013613.html

Your phone records are for sale - "Dozens of online services are selling lists of cell phone calls, raising security concerns among law enforcement and privacy experts. Criminals can use such records to expose a government informant who regularly calls a law enforcement official. Suspicious spouses can see if their husband or wife is calling a certain someone a bit too often. And employers can check whether a worker is regularly calling a psychologist -- or a competing company."
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-privacy05.html

Study: Cell phones tied to family tension - "The study, which followed more than 1,300 adults over 2 years, found that those who consistently used a mobile phone or pager throughout the study period were more likely to report negative "spillover" between work and home life -- and, in turn, less satisfaction with their family life."
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/ptech/01/06/cell.phones.family.tension.reut/index.html

Sado-Masochism Might be ‘Sexual Orientation’ says BC Human Rights Tribunal - "The BC Human Rights Tribunal is being asked to discover a new “sexual orientation.” The Vancouver Sun reported December 30, that a self-described “pagan” is accusing the Vancouver police of discrimination for refusing him a license to drive a limousine because of his involvement in the “bondage and discipline, domination and submission, sadism and masochism” (BDSM) underworld."
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jan/06010510.html




Quote of the Day
"All great empires misread history and eventually dig their own graves...Perhaps the U.S. leaders ought to re-read the golden advice of the Founding Fathers concerning the nation's conduct of foreign relations one more time."
~ Rhee Tong-chin, Ph.D

News -- January 5, 2006

Bush could bypass new torture ban - "When President Bush last week signed the bill outlawing the torture of detainees, he quietly reserved the right to bypass the law under his powers as commander in chief. ... Some legal specialists said yesterday that the president's signing statement, which was posted on the White House website but had gone unnoticed over the New Year's weekend, raises serious questions about whether he intends to follow the law."
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/01/04/bush_could_bypass_new_torture_ban/

Abramoff and al-Arian: Lobbyist's "Charity" a Front for Terrorism - "Abramoff's dense network of illicit finances and phony charities might end some political careers in the United States. But the investigation into his activities by the FBI also shed light on the ways in which rightwing American Jews have often been involved in funding what are essentially terrorist activities by armed land thieves in Palestinian territory. ... Although some of my readers are under the impression that in the civilized world it is all right to take your neighbor's land by winning it in warfare, actually the United Nations Charter (to which Israel is a signatory) and the whole body of post-1945 international law frowns on that sort of thing. Likewise both the Hague Regulations of 1907 and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 forbid occupying powers to settle their citizens in militarily occupied territories, or, indeed, to make any major alteration in the structure of the conquered societies. Basically, the idea was that as of the late 1940s your nation is stuck with the land it has and you can't take anyone else's by force. And if you try, the United Nations Security Council has an obligation to stop you. The Geneva Conventions were framed to prevent further atrocities of a sort committed by the Nazis. It is not only the Nazis who were capable of atrocities; everyone is, which is why we need a rule of law, including international law. ... But here's a prediction. None of the Jewish extremists, some of them violent, who are invading the West Bank and making the lives of the local Palestinians miserable will ever be branded "terrorists" by the US Government, and Abramoff's foray into providing sniper lessons will be quietly buried. Terror isn't terror and aggression is not aggression when it has lobbyists in Congress who can provide luxury vacations and illegal campaign funding."
http://www.juancole.com/2006/01/abramoff-and-al-arian-lobbyists.html

The $4bn industry that is America's guilty secret - "Lobbying is Washington's grubby secret. Some say lobbying is part of the democratic process. Others claim it is legalised bribery, even corruption. But love it or loathe it, it is the way Washington works. Usually you hear little about the quiet meetings, the lavish lunches and junkets that lubricate American politics. But every once in a while something comes along to open the system to what it hates most: daylight. The case of Jack Abramoff, influence-peddler extraordinaire, is one of those somethings. ... If Mr Abramoff spills the beans, they may soon be contemplating a similar fate. This is potentially the biggest Congressional scandal of the modern era. It is largely (though not exclusively) Republican, and may mark the beginning of the end of the party's 11-year dominance of Capitol Hill."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article336396.ece

Poll: Half believe Congress is dirty - "About half of U.S. adults believe most members of Congress are corrupt, a poll released Tuesday suggests." -- And just who are these people that make up the other half?
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/03/poll.congressimage/index.html

America's nuclear ticking bomb - "They envision the use of nuclear weapons against adversary underground installations, against adversaries using or intending to use weapons of mass destruction against U.S. forces and for rapid and favorable war termination on U.S. terms. Implementation of these policies, whose drafters occupy the upper echelons of the Bush administration today, could be precipitated in the near future by events unfolding in the Persian Gulf. ... However, the nuclear threshold is a line of no return. Once the United States uses a nuclear weapon against a nonnuclear adversary, the 182 countries that are signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty will rightly feel at risk, and many of them will rush to develop their own nuclear deterrent while they can. A new world with many more nuclear countries, and a high risk of any regional conflict exploding into all-out nuclear war, will be the consequence."
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060103/news_mz1e3hirsch.html

Government Web sites follow visitors' movements - "Dozens of federal agencies are tracking visits to U.S. government Web sites in violation of long-standing rules designed to protect online privacy, a CNET News.com investigation shows."
http://news.com.com/Government+Web+sites+follow+visitors+movements/2100-1028_3-6018702.html?tag=nefd.lede

State-sponsored medical terrorism - "Months after a Texas teenager was diagnosed with cancer, state authorities have finally decided to let her return home to her family after a long legal battle in which Texas officials – not the girl's parents – attempted to determine the course of treatment for her disease."
http://www.newstarget.com/016387.html

Prescriptions of mind-altering drugs for teens rise - "Teenage boys are particularly targeted: one out of every 10 who visits the doctor leaves with a prescription to treat a mental condition. The study also found that overall, up to a quarter of the office visits which yielded a prescription "did not have an associated mental health diagnosis," according to Ms. Thomas. Ready prescriptions are on the rise "despite the fact that few psychotropic drugs, typically prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression and other mood disorders, are approved for use in children under 18," the study stated."
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20060104-122700-9017r.htm

Intelligent Design Gains Momentum, Raises Eyebrows on Campuses - "At nearly 30 public and private universities across the country, students have started clubs aimed at promoting intelligent design."
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/182/story_18244_1.html

Welcome to Mars express: only a three hour trip - "AN EXTRAORDINARY "hyperspace" engine that could make interstellar space travel a reality by flying into other dimensions is being investigated by the United States government. The hypothetical device, which has been outlined in principle but is based on a controversial theory about the fabric of the universe, could potentially allow a spacecraft to travel to Mars in three hours and journey to a star 11 light years away in just 80 days, according to a report in today's New Scientist magazine. ... The US air force has expressed an interest in the idea and scientists working for the American Department of Energy - which has a device known as the Z Machine that could generate the kind of magnetic fields required to drive the engine - say they may carry out a test if the theory withstands further scrutiny. Professor Jochem Hauser, one of the scientists who put forward the idea, told The Scotsman that if everything went well a working engine could be tested in about five years."
http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=16902006

13 things that do not make sense - "5 Dark matter: TAKE our best understanding of gravity, apply it to the way galaxies spin, and you'll quickly see the problem: the galaxies should be falling apart. Galactic matter orbits around a central point because its mutual gravitational attraction creates centripetal forces. But there is not enough mass in the galaxies to produce the observed spin. ... 7 Tetraneutrons: FOUR years ago, a particle accelerator in France detected six particles that should not exist. They are called tetraneutrons: four neutrons that are bound together in a way that defies the laws of physics." -- The other 11 are just as interesting.
http://www.newscientistspace.com/article.ns?id=mg18524911.600

Global warming 55 million years ago shifted ocean currents - " The big event, the Palaeocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), saw the planet's surface temperature rise by between five and eight degrees C (nine and 16.2 F) in a very short time, unleashing climate shifts that endured tens of thousands of years."
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/04/060104185028.juffd4y7.html

Don't Even Think About Lying - "How brain scans are reinventing the science of lie detection." -- Did anyone else read "The Truth Machine" by James Halperin?
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.01/lying.html

EyeBud can turn video iPod into big-screen TV for one - "But eMagin's executives are betting that the notion of a virtual big screen will win people over. With the proximity of the screen to the eye, and the magnifying effect of the company's optical technology, the company says that using the headset is akin to watching a 105-inch display from 12 feet away."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/254134_ipodscreen02.html?source=mypi




Quote of the Day
"Who do you trust when everyone's a crook?"
~ Queensryche

News -- January 3, 2006

Abramoff Pleads Guilty, Will Cooperate - "Once-powerful lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud, agreeing to cooperate in an influence-peddling investigation that threatens powerful members of Congress." -- For those of you who still believe conspiracies do not happen.
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/03/D8ETCJ7G0.html

Abramoff: The House That Jack Built - "A comprehensive look at the potential scope of the biggest scandal in Congress in over a century."
http://www.thinkprogress.org/abramoff

Myths, Lies and Straight Talk - "Can going out in the cold give you a cold? Are we losing our national forests? Can money buy happiness? You may be among the many who would answer yes to these questions. You'd be wrong. There are a lot of popularly held beliefs out there that simply aren't true. Yet the media tend to report on many of them as though they were hard facts." -- A list of 10, including we have less free time, Republicans shrink the government, the world is getting too crowded, and life is getting worse.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=123606

This Won't Be the American Century - "Americans furiously resist any suggestion they are imperialists. They did not shake off British rule, they say, to build an empire of their own. Americans see their country as an international good cop that keeps the world safe for the advance of liberal democracy and global capitalism. But that role has many ingredients of empire: armed forces around the world, a currency accepted on every continent, and the ability to bend many other countries to its will. ... There you have it: a country living beyond its means, heavily reliant on an overstretched military, which flinches from imposing tax sacrifices to get its accounts in order. History has not been kind to great nations that get themselves into this position."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0103-31.htm

Spooky AOL Ad Says Big Brother Is Watching the Internet - "Scenes of nuclear holocaust , Hitler, the Ku Klux Klan and Osama bin Laden flash up as we are told that the Internet is a "dangerous weapon." Why is a transnational corporation that profits from encouraging people to use the Internet running an ad campaign that discourages Internet use? The ad revels in the specter of big brother watching us all and warns us that everything we do on the Internet is under surveillance."
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2006/030106aol.htm

GOV'T. WINS COURT AUTHORIZATION TO SPY ON CELL PHONE USE - "Summary: Despite three court rulings that cell phone tracking by government agencies without a court order is illegal, a fourth court ruling has now authorized blanket spying. The government can now use cell phone data to track physical location, without a search warrant or probable cause."
http://www.newswithviews.com/BreakingNews/breaking39.htm

Prove Christ exists, judge orders priest - "AN ITALIAN judge has ordered a priest to appear in court this month to prove that Jesus Christ existed."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1967413,00.html

Windows PCs face 'huge' virus threat - ""The potential [security threat] is huge," said Mikko Hyppönen, chief research officer at F-Secure, an antivirus company. "It's probably bigger than for any other vulnerability we've seen. Any version of Windows is vulnerable right now.""
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?Feed=FT&Date=20060102&ID=5385947

Pill may kill women's libido - " Libido levels have been found to drop when women take the Pill and even after they stop taking it, a US study has found."
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,17716876%5E662,00.html

FINED FOR ASKING COP DIRECTIONS - "A LONE woman driver who got lost on a motorway was fined £30 for stopping on the hard shoulder to ask a traffic cop directions."
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16538283&method=full&siteid=66633&headline=fined-for-asking-cop-directions--name_page.html




Quote of the Day
"We’re left in the terrible position of trying to decide which elite group will be less likely to prey on us."
~ Anonymous

News -- January 2, 2006

Time to impeach a President - "I’ve always felt impeachment is the nuclear option of politics; a drastic action we call in after all else fails. That’s why I’ve been reluctant to call for the impeachment of President George W. Bush. No longer. The reckless, arrogant actions of the man leave me with no choice but to consider that final solution. Time to impeach the son of a bitch."
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7935.shtml

What Did They Say When Clinton Was Being Impeached? -- Comments from Delay, Hyde, Hagel, Frist, Sensenbrenner, and Smith.
http://bulldogpolitics.blogspot.com/2005/12/what-did-they-say-when-clinton-was.html

War Without End - "This was the year the "war on terror" - an obnoxious expression which we all parroted after 11 September 2001 - appeared to be almost as endless as George Bush once claimed it would be. And unsuccessful. For, after all the bombing of Afghanistan, the overthrow of the Taliban, the invasion of Iraq and its appallingly tragic aftermath, can anyone claim today that they feel safer than they did a year ago?"
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0102-20.htm

German media: U.S. prepares Iran strike - "The Bush administration is preparing its NATO allies for a possible military strike against suspected nuclear sites in Iran in the New Year, according to German media reports, reinforcing similar earlier suggestions in the Turkish media."
http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20051230-112208-8968r

Dyncorp and Halliburton Sex Slave Scandal Won't Go Away - "Almost a year after Representative Cynthia McKinney was told by Donald Rumsfeld that it was not the policy of the Bush administration to reward companies that engage in human trafficking with government contracts, the scandal continues to sweep up innocent children who are sold into a life of slavery at the behest of Halliburton, Dyncorp and other transnational corporations with close ties to the establishment elite."
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2006/010106sexslavescandal.htm

Truth or dare, America - "How furious would your average American be, to discover that everything we the people had been told, everything we'd thought we'd known all our lives, was a mountain of lies, half-lies, three-quarter-lies, "national security" lies, lies we knew were lies, lies we suspected, lies we'd swallowed, lies we'd told ourselves, and lies we'd told each other?"
http://www.unknownnews.org/051230a-hh.html

A hit on students, elderly - "This was legislation conservatives in Congress had demanded so they could assure voters next year that they had done something to curb federal spending. At the same time, lawmakers are hoping the public doesn't realize that this cut is only a faint scratch in a budget larded with tax cuts, war spending, and carefree pork-barrel projects that will balloon - not reduce - the size of the deficit."
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060102/OPINION02/601010303/-1/OPINION

Prescott satellite to spy on your home - "John Prescott has told tax inspectors to use satellites to snoop on householders' attempts to improve their homes. Images of new conservatories and garages taken from space will be used to hike up council taxes and other property levies, official guidance obtained by The Independent on Sunday reveals."
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article335970.ece

Why this brain flies on rat cunning - "It sounds like science fiction: a brain nurtured in a Petri dish learns to pilot a fighter plane as scientists develop a new breed of "living" computer. But in groundbreaking experiments in a Florida laboratory that is exactly what is happening. The "brain", grown from 25,000 neural cells extracted from a single rat embryo, has been taught to fly an F-22 jet simulator by scientists at the University of Florida."
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/12/06/1102182227308.html?rats




Quote of the Day
"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government--lest it come to dominate our lives and interests."
~ Patrick Henry