The Clash of Civilizations Doesn't Exist... Yet - "The neocons who are pushing a Clash of Civilizations are mirror-images of the terrorists that inspire their hyperbolic fear -- they are just as irrational and just as great a threat to our security."
No. 2 al-Qaida leader in Iraq arrested - "Iraqi and coalition forces have arrested the second most senior figure in al-Qaida in Iraq, Iraq's national security adviser announced on Sunday, saying the group now suffered from a "serious leadership crisis.""
Israel plans for war with Iran and Syria - "The Israeli defence establishment believes that Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear programme means war is likely to become unavoidable."
-- Don't you just love it when they use phrases like "war is likely to become unavoidable"?Rosa Brooks: Criticize Israel? You're an Anti-Semite! - "How can we have a real discussion about Mideast peace if speaking honestly about Israel is out of bounds?"
British arrest 16 more in terror probes - "Fourteen of the men were held in London in an overnight operation that a police source said focused on suspected training and recruitment of British Muslims for terrorist operations."
American Appears in New al-Qaida Tape - "An American thought to be an al-Qaida activist appeared in a videotape with the terror group's deputy leader Saturday and called on his countrymen to convert to Islam and for U.S. soldiers to switch sides in the Iraq and Afghan wars."
Polls show opposition to Iraq war at all-time high - "Almost two-thirds of Americans in each of three major polls say that they oppose the war, the highest totals since pollsters starting asking Americans the question three years ago. ... The poll also showed that 60 percent of Americans believe that the war in Iraq has increased the chances of a terrorist attack in the US. ... On the question of which political party can do a better job of protecting the US, both parties lost support since an April poll. But in another sign of trouble for the Bush administration, the AP/Ipsos poll also shows that more Americans believe the Democrats will do a better job than Republicans, 47-40 percent."
Democrats Should Offer Voters a Choice on Iraq - "Iraq is the big issue in the mid-term election, even if Democrats don't want it to be -- that's why they need to call for immediate withdrawal from Iraq."
On terrorism, Bush maligns history and our intelligence - "Rarely does a leader of a great country like the United States malign history, his people's intelligence and the dignity of over a billion Muslims in one speech, but Bush did that Thursday night and will probably keep doing it for a while."
Pentagon Gives Gloomy Iraq Report - "Sectarian violence is spreading in Iraq and the security problems have become more complex than at any time since the U.S. invasion in 2003, a Pentagon report said Friday. In a notably gloomy report to Congress, the Pentagon reported that illegal militias have become more entrenched, especially in Baghdad neighborhoods where they are seen as providers of both security and basic social services."
Iraqi Casualties Increase by 1,000 a Month - "The quarterly report, based on new government figures, shows that the number of attacks in Iraq over the last four months increased 15% and the number of Iraqi casualties grew by 51%. In the last three months, the report says, the number of deaths and injuries increased by 1,000 people a month over the previous quarter — to more than 3,000 each month."
Bush: Iraq has not fallen into civil war - ""Our commanders and diplomats on the ground believe that Iraq has not descended into a civil war," Bush said Saturday in his weekly radio address. "They report that only a small number of Iraqis are engaged in sectarian violence, while the overwhelming majority want peace and a normal life in a unified country.""
-- He only sees what he wants to see.The new language used to describe war in Iraq - "It's that F-word in particular that seems to be the administration's word weapon of choice. Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld spoke even more passionately about fascism. ... The new rhetoric about the war in Iraq comes as new polls show more Americans do not see that war as part of an overall war on terror."
Bush backs off 'Islamic fascists' - "President Bush has toned down his war rhetoric after Muslim-rights groups complained his description of the enemy as "Islamic fascists" unfairly equates Islam with terrorism."
It’s the American Way or the Highway: - "Unfortunately, the species blessed with frontal lobes and opposable thumbs is threatening extinction of life on Earth in still another way. While less immediate, the consequences of humankind tenaciously clinging to the prevailing socioeconomic order will be as disastrous as nuclear war, the escalation of the murder of civilian populations or Climate Change. Quite simply, humanity’s present course down a blind alley will inevitably lead us to a dead end, literally."
Killing in the Name of Democracy - "President George W. Bush perpetually invokes the goal of spreading democracy to sanctify his foreign policy. Unfortunately, he is only the latest in a string of presidents who cloaked aggression in idealistic rhetoric. Killing in the name of democracy has a long and sordid history."
-- It's not about spreading democracy.A Democratic Dictatorship - " Amidst all the discussion and debate about whether President Bush has violated the law by ordering the National Security Agency (NSA) to record telephone conversations, we must not overlook an important fact: the United States is now traveling in uncharted waters, ones in which the ruler of the nation is exercising omnipotent power over the American people. A more appropriate word would be one that offends some Americans when it is applied to their system of government: dictatorship. But as uncomfortable as that term might make Americans, the fact is that ever since 9/11 Americans have been living under dictatorial rule."
Republicans Behaving Like Children - "Right now, words fail me. Idiotic, childish and moronic spring to mind, but they don't quite convey the sense of stupidity I feel when Republicans find fault with a visit from the
former president of Iran, Mohammad Khatami. For one thing, the guy isn't even president of the country anymore. Another thing, he's coming to the US to attned a UN conference to promote dialogue and speak on religion's role in promoting peace. Peace, you can't have that around without the Republicans going all ape shit."
What we have learned since 9/11 - "The world more easily loves a superpower when it's wounded and weakened than when it rises and growls. But we have not merely returned to the messy family arguments of September 10. We are broken, divided at home, dreaded abroad, in need of a hard conversation about America's vital interests and abiding values -- but too bitter and suspicious to have it. All wars, even the noblest, bring a reckoning of means and ends. The war on terrorism has long since lost its crisp moral lines. Who foresaw that the battle would require a national seminar about when it's OK for Americans to torture prisoners and whether near-drowning counts? Or a debate over which clauses of the Constitution might be expendable? We may agree that terrorism is wicked, but we're still unsure about how to answer it."
Coming Close to a Breakthrough on 9/11? - "It appears the government is really starting to run scared about 9/11 now. All kinds of counter claims are starting to appear in the MSM trying to rebuke the 9/11 'Conspiracy Theories'. ... The US government made it very hard to counter their findings by eliminating the evidence before any forensics could be applied. Their rhetoric is not actually aimed at 9/11 truthseekers because they know that a truthseeker will investigate and research anything they put out there. It's aimed at the dimwits who still consider the MSM as the only source of current events. It's aimed at the great unwashed who still believe that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. It's aimed at the dummies who may have started to question the official lie but who are still too lazy or ignorant to investigate or research on their own. It buys the government time until they can effectively shut down any and all other sources of truth."
New Questions About Inquiry in C.I.A. Leak - "An enduring mystery of the C.I.A. leak case has been solved in recent days, but with a new twist: Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the prosecutor, knew the identity of the leaker from his very first day in the special counsel’s chair, but kept the inquiry open for nearly two more years before indicting I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, on obstruction charges."
Friends of Hillary hint she may pull out of presidential race - "Despite her status as the runaway frontrunner for the 2008 Democratic nomination for president, some of her closest advisers say she might opt out of the White House race and seek to lead her party in the Senate."
Spike Lee's sonorous, heartrending reflection on an American tragedy - "Spike Lee has some introductory archive footage and photos of New Orleans, but mainly his film juxtaposes heartrending shots of the wreckage with interviews, talking to politicians and New Orleans residents, most of them even more angry about the debacle, one year on, than they were at the time. ... But later the inadequately maintained levees, or flood walls, broke and a city below sea level was catastrophically submerged. A president anxiously focused on the "war on terror" was all too slow to respond, apparently unable to decide if conspicuous federal intervention would make him look strong or weak. Days passed, and TV pictures of starving, dying Americans made the US look like a third world country - or perhaps, arguably, disclosed the third world country that America secretly keeps in its closet."
'Ownership society' leaves most behind - "For all the popular fascination with Wall Street greed and glory, investment wealth is still a distant dream on Main Street: In 2004, more than half of all U.S. households held no stock at all. That includes stocks held indirectly in mutual funds and in 401(k) retirement accounts. And almost two out of three households that did own stock held portfolios valued at less than $5,000."
IRS audits may not catch wealthy cheats - "Fewer audits actually require high-income taxpayers — those reporting $100,000 or more in income — to sit through intensive, face-to-face examinations."
-- It pays to be wealthy.Other Economies are Possible! - "Indeed, in the search for alternatives to capitalism, existing democratic economic projects are frequently painted as noble but marginal practices, doomed to be crushed or co-opted by the forces of the market. But is this inevitable? Is it possible that courageous and dedicated grassroots economic activists worldwide, forging paths that meet the basic needs of their communities while cultivating democracy and justice, are planting the seeds of another economy in our midst? Could a process of horizontal networking, linking diverse democratic alternatives and social change organizations together in webs of mutual recognition and support, generate a social movement and economic vision capable of challenging the global capitalist order?"
National School Testing Urged - "The growing talk of national testing and standards comes in the fifth year of the No Child Left Behind era. That federal law sought to hold public schools accountable for academic performance but left it up to states to design their own assessments. So the definition of proficiency -- what it means for a student to perform at grade level -- varies from coast to coast."
U.S. to test guns on lakes - "Now that it has armed its boats with machine guns, the U.S. Coast Guard wants to test-fire them on the Great Lakes. While the Coast Guard prefers to call the 34 test-fire areas "safety zones," a spokesperson concedes they're designed to provide "operational readiness" for national security, defence and maritime law enforcement. He also conceded there's no plan to alert Canadian boaters or harbourmasters to the tests."
-- Huh?Abortion rules for minors to include notarized parental consent - "The Texas Medical Board has adopted rules for minors getting abortions requiring written parental consent forms that must also be notarized, officials said."
Fortune-seeking women swell with desire for drug barons - "THE sorry television saga of a pretty young woman who undergoes breast enlargement to win the heart of a drug dealer is gripping Colombia, where the series reflects an unparalleled boom in plastic surgery. The story of Katherine, a desperate teenager struggling to escape poverty, is told in a nightly drama called Sin Tetas No Hay Paraiso, or Without Breasts There Is No Paradise."
Science tempers fears on climate change - "THE world's top climate scientists have cut their worst-case forecast for global warming over the next 100 years."
Race is on to save the Dead Sea - "Action is urgently needed. Over the past 50 years the Dead Sea’s depth has fallen by 20 metres."
Caesarean birth triples maternal death risk - "The risk is still quite small, but many developed countries have seen a dramatic rise in the number of Caesareans performed each year as more women elect to avoid a vaginal delivery."
AMA Admits no studies were done on Fluoride Side Effects - "The following letter from Dr. Flanagan, Assistant Director of the American Medical Association certainly makes clear that the AMA refuses to say that fluoridation is harmless and that no studies were ever done on fluoride side effects. The following is the actual letter:"
Obesity pandemic engulfing world: experts - "The world now has more fat people than hungry ones, according to World Health Organisation figures, with more than a billion overweight people compared to 800 million who are undernourished."
Researchers find clue to antibiotic resistance - "The researchers say their findings could eventually lead to new ways of overcoming drug:resistant bacteria, but warn that it is not a solution by itself."
Drinking juiced fruit and veg 'cuts Alzheimer's risk by 76%' - "They found the risk of Alzheimer's was 76 per cent lower for those who drank juices more than three times a week compared to those who drank them less than once a week."
Australian scientists begin human tests on 'bionic eye' - "Australian researchers developing a "bionic eye" say early tests have succeeded in stimulating limited visual sensation in people suffering a rare form of genetic blindness."
Big Bang's Afterglow Fails an Intergalactic Shadow Test - "The apparent absence of shadows where shadows were expected to be is raising new questions about the faint glow of microwave radiation once hailed as proof that the universe was created by a "Big Bang.""
MySpace to enable members to sell music - "MySpace.com will soon enable members of the popular online social networking hub to sell downloads of their original music directly through MySpace Web pages, company executives said."
Rescuers to carry oxygen masks for pets - "Pets here will be breathing a little easier now that local rescuers will be carrying oxygen masks designed for animals."
Quote of the Day"The right thing changes from state to state."
~ Soul Asylum, (Without a Trace)
