March 13, 2007

Democrats back down on approving move against Iran - "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and other leaders agreed to remove the requirement concerning Iran after conservative Democrats as well as other lawmakers worried about its possible impact on Israel, officials said Monday."

Iran says Israel, U.S. threaten Mideast - "Mottaki told the world's top disarmament forum that Israel was the only country in the region that refuses to accede to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last year acknowledged that his country had nuclear weapons — which Olmert denies doing."

Confessions of a Torturer - "And there, as an army interrogator, he tortured detainees for information he admits they rarely had. Since leaving Iraq he’s taken this story public, doing battle on national television against the war’s architects for giving him the orders he regrets he obeyed."

Propaganda and the Politics of Perception - "War propaganda glorifies military indoctrination as the highest form of patriotism while simultaneously demonizing the enemies of the state."

Poll: 58 percent want Iraq withdrawal by 2008 or sooner - "Nearly six in 10 Americans want to see U.S. troops leave Iraq either immediately or within a year, and more would rather have Congress running U.S. policy in the conflict than President Bush, according to a CNN poll out Tuesday."

A Horse of a Different Color - "It had to happen sooner or later, and Barack Obama's startling rise to near the top of the Democratic presidential pack made it sooner – I'm talking about his speech to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). It starts out with a riff about his ride in an IDF helicopter and how this made him "truly see how close everything is and why peace through security is the only way for Israel." But of course the Palestinians are just as close to the Israelis as the Israelis are to them – and the Israelis have far more arms (provided by the U.S.) and are surely not averse to using them. So what is "the only way" for the Palestinians? Yet there can be no "peace through security" for the Palestinians, since there is no security from Israeli air strikes and repeated invasions of Palestinian territory."

Calderon tells Bush Mexico needs more - "President Bush, working to rebuild strained U.S.-Mexico relations, promised Tuesday he would do his best to get a deeply divided U.S. Congress to change American immigration policies that are hated south of the border."

Dan Rather: Journalism has 'lost its guts' - ""I do not exclude myself from this criticism...By and large, so many journalists--there are notable exceptions--have adopted the go-along-to-get-along (attitude)," he said."

Americans get an 'F' in religion - "Sometimes dumb sounds cute: Sixty percent of Americans can't name five of the Ten Commandments, and 50% of high school seniors think Sodom and Gomorrah were married." -- I thought Sodom and Gomorrah had something to do with anal sex and an STD. ;-)

Gen. Pace Calls Homosexuality Immoral - "The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday he considers homosexuality to be immoral and the military should not condone it by allowing gay personnel to serve openly, the Chicago Tribune reported." -- But we sure love to kill them ay-rabs! That's moral! -- Shut up General Pace.

Minister protests same-sex union ban with a halt to all weddings - ""We are called to join the fast that our homosexual brothers and sisters in Christ have had to observe all their lives," said the Rev. Robert Hirschfeld, rector of Grace Episcopal Church."

Guess What Foxman? American's Don't Give a Damn! - "I for one am not at all surprised to read that eighty-percent of Americans still hold Mel Gibson in high regard, and that a mere six percent say they’ll never see a Gibson film again, I’ve been saying it all along, the vast majority of Americans don’t give a damn that Gibson made some anti-Semitic remarks, they don’t care about Jews anymore than anyone else."

Global Warming Replaces 9/11 As Justification To Do Anything - "Invoking September 11 has officially been succeeded by a new mantra and an excuse for the state to unleash a fresh tyranny no matter how offensive and damaging to individual liberty it may be."

Warming Report to Warn of Coming Drought - "The harmful effects of global warming on daily life are already showing up, and within a couple of decades hundreds of millions of people won't have enough water, top scientists will say next month at a meeting in Belgium."

Biological Basis For Teenage Mood Swings Found - "A new US study has revealed that teenage mood swings may be explained by biological changes in the adolescent brain."

HPV Vaccine Out of Reach for College Students - "College campuses are breeding grounds for HPV, the virus that can cause genital warts and cervical cancer. A new vaccine offers protection, but many students can't afford it."

Secret of attraction? It's all due to the wiggle - "It is not simply how you look but how you flaunt it that is the secret of attraction, says a study published today."

Quote of the Day
"I just can't stand it."
~ Charlie Brown

March 12, 2007

President Authorized Abu Ghraib Torture, FBI Email Says - "The email, which was obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union, represents the first hard evidence directly connecting the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal and the White House. The author of the email, whose name is blanked out but whose title is described as "On Scene Commander -- Baghdad," contains ten explicit mentions of an "Executive Order" that the author said mandated US military personnel to engage in extraordinary interrogation tactics."

Cheney: Congress undermining U.S. troops - ""Anyone can say they support the troops and we should take them at their word, but the proof will come when it's time to provide the money," Cheney said."

Cheney: A withdrawal from Iraq could damage Israel - "The vice president stated that such a withdrawal would "give extremists the taste of victory" and that they would act to overthrow any moderate forces in the region."

Iraq: the hidden cost of the war - "America won't simply be paying with its dead. The Pentagon is trying to silence economists who predict that several decades of care for the wounded will amount to an unbelievable $2.5 trillion."

Be More Than You Can Be - "Heat-resistant. Cold-proof. Tireless. Tomorrow’s soldiers are just like today’s — only better. Inside the Pentagon’s human enhancement project."

FBI abuses may lead to Patriot Act limits - "Angry lawmakers on Friday threatened to amend the USA Patriot Act and limit the FBI's powers in the wake of a disclosure that agents had improperly obtained confidential records of people in the United States."

Don't want national ID? Surrender your passport - "British citizens who refuse to provide personal details for the planned "voluntary" national identification card have been told they will be denied passports and be unable to leave the UK."

Senator calls for answer on creation of universe - "Sen. Raymond Finney proposes to use the legislative process to get an answer to the question of whether the universe was created by a "Supreme Being.""

Pope says much of TV, Internet content destructive - ""Undoubtedly, much of great benefit to civilization is contributed by the various components of the mass media," the Pope said in a speech to the Vatican's communications department. "On the other hand, it is also readily apparent that much of what is transmitted in various forms to the homes of millions of families around the world is destructive," he said."

The Theocratic Agenda Is Heading for a Statehouse Near You - "Well-coordinated "faith-based" initiatives and anti-evolution lobbying in state capitols from New Jersey to Colorado signal a stealth national strategy by Religious Right organizations."

AIDS Vaccine Nearing Reality at Emory - "The world could have a new vaccine designed to kill the AIDS virus in as little as three to four years according to an Atlanta-based group working on the vaccine."

Global Warming is Not a Crisis - "From the Babylon of Gilgamesh to the post-Eden of Noah, every age has viewed climate change cataclysmically, as retribution for human greed and sinfulness."

Brown wants 'new world order' to fight global warming - "Gordon Brown, likely to be the next prime minister, will deliver a speech calling for a "new world order" to combat global warming on Monday."

Scientists threatened for 'climate denial' - "They say the debate on global warming has been "hijacked" by a powerful alliance of politicians, scientists and environmentalists who have stifled all questioning about the true environmental impact of carbon dioxide emissions."

On Screens Soon, Abused Earth Gets Its Revenge - "“The Happening” will not be the only big-budget studio film to test a new kind of villainy, in which the real victim is the environment, and, whatever the plot variations, the enemy is all of us."

Electricity from the sea - "In a world addicted to fossil fuel, turning waves into watts might seem far-fetched. But as the U.S. and other countries look for alternatives to oil, natural gas and coal and try to curb global warming, ocean power gradually is joining the ranks of wind and solar power as a source of renewable energy. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. caught the wave last month when it became the first California utility to file for permits to study the promise of sea power, a non-polluting but expensive and mostly untested way to take energy from the ocean."

Challenging the Workplace Dictatorship - "George Orwell's "1984" is already here and it's called the American workplace, but finally there's a law in the works that might make jobs livable."

The Health Care Monster Returns - "Even Republicans acknowledge its ravages, but what’s the best way to slay the beast?"

Children's medicine contains banned additives - "Some of the additives can cause reactions such as asthma, rashes, eye irritation or have a mild laxative effect."

You Can't Travel Back in Time, Scientists Say - "While the idea makes for great fiction, some scientists now say traveling to the past is impossible."




Quote of the Day
"You said never to grow old, but you forgot to tell me how."
~ Cowboy Junkies

March 9, 2007

Guantánamo Is Not a Prison - "These were, in fact, descriptions provided by outraged FBI agents assigned to Guantánamo in 2004 in memos or emails to their bosses back on the mainland. They confirmed prisoner claims that "military personnel beat and kicked them while they had hoods on their heads and tight shackles on their legs, left them in freezing temperatures and stifling heat, subjected them to repeated, prolonged rectal exams and paraded them naked around the prison as military police snapped pictures," and so on. Ah, but those were the good old days when Guantánamo was the real "24"..."

Party baffled by its own war plan? - "For all the fanfare surrounding the announcement of the House Democrats' Iraq war plan, few members seem to understand the specifics in the bill or when it would actually bring troops home."

US sends spies into Pakistan to kill bin Laden - "US officials said that the mission is intended to intensify the pressure on the terrorist leader, who turns 50 tomorrow, and perhaps force him into making a mistake. He is widely believed to be hiding in the region bordering Afghanistan."

Libby set to win pardon and escape jail term - "A White House official said last night that there was a "strong expectation" that President George W Bush would pardon Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the disgraced aide."

Hagel: 'Before this is over, you might see calls for his impeachment.' - "The conversation beaches itself for a moment on that word -- impeachment -- spoken by a conservative Republican from a safe Senate seat in a reddish state. It's barely even whispered among the serious set in Washington, and it rings like a gong in the middle of the sentence, even though it flowed quite naturally out of the conversation he was having about how everybody had abandoned their responsibility to the country, and now there was a war going bad because of it."

Total Information Awareness is Back - "Congress attempted to kill the ill-conceived DARPA program in 2003. But instead, the program, designed to somehow find terrorists from documenting everyone's credit card bills, car rental receipts and travel records, went underground and has now returned, bigger and stronger and worse than ever."

FBI Criticized for Patriot Act Use - "A blistering Justice Department report accuses the FBI of underreporting its use of the Patriot Act to force businesses to turn over customer information in terrorism cases, according to officials familiar with its findings."

Frequent Errors In FBI's Secret Records Requests - "The inspector general's audit found 22 possible breaches of internal FBI and Justice Department regulations -- some of which were potential violations of law -- in a sampling of 293 "national security letters." The letters were used by the FBI to obtain the personal records of U.S. residents or visitors between 2003 and 2005. The FBI identified 26 potential violations in other cases."

Gates, Buffett Top Billionaires Ranking - "The tally of billionaires around the globe reached a high of 946, their combined wealth growing 35 percent to $3.5 trillion, according to Forbes magazine's 2007 rankings of the world's richest people."

Is Discovery Burying 'Lost Tomb'? - "Departing from normal procedures, the cable network didn't tout its big ratings win. The network also scheduled a last-minute special that harshly criticized its own documentary, and has yanked a planned repeat of "Tomb." ... Although Mr. Leavy said the network stands by the documentary "100 percent," the company took several unusual steps in the wake of the controversy that could be seen as distancing itself from the content."

Crank Calling for Jesus - "A "family values" media watchdog group called the Dove Foundation hopes to clean up Hollywood by making vaguely sinister computerized phone calls to millions of people all around the country. In recent months Dove has muscled its way to the very top of the whocalled.us annoyance call list with nearly 900 complaints from coast to coast. It turns out the non-profit is conducting a nationwide "survey" targeted determinedly at mothers and grandmothers, which it aims to present to those godless heathens running the entertainment industry."

TOWNS PUT DREAMS IN PRISONS - "According to this piece, non-metropolitan America was relying like never before on prison construction for jobs and economic development. Formerly, Times reporter Peter Kilborn noted, rural communities had depended for employment and economic development on agriculture, manufacturing, and/or mining. Now, however, they were counting on mass incarceration to deliver the goods. Reporting that “245 prisons sprouted in 212 of the nation’s 2,290 rural counties” during the 1990s, Kilborn quoted the cheerful city manager of Sayre, Oklahoma, which had just opened a prized new maximum-security lockdown. "There's no more recession-proof form of economic development," this local official told Kilborn, than incarceration because "nothing's going to stop crime.""

Violent Crime in Cities Shows Sharp Surge - "Local police departments blame several factors: the spread of methamphetamine use in some Midwestern and Western cities, gangs, high poverty and a record number of people being released from prison. But the biggest theme, they say, is easy access to guns and a willingness, even an eagerness, to settle disputes with them, particularly among young people."

Sweden May Spy On E-Mails - "Sweden's government presented a contentious plan Thursday to allow a defense intelligence agency to monitor — without a court order — E-mail traffic and phone calls crossing the nation's borders."

Powerful Documentary Trounces Man-Made Warming Hoax - "An astounding documentary that was broadcast in the UK last night completely trounced the man-made explanation for global warming, not with emotionally-laden propaganda or by attacking the messenger as its adherants resort to, but by presenting carefully considered and rational science."

A History of America's Disappearing Middle Class - "Economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman explains in simple terms how the American economy went from having the world's most dynamic middle class to being on the verge of a rich-poor state in only 30 years."

Bill with abortion restrictions going to Gov. Barbour - "A bill designed to eventually outlaw and criminalize abortion in Mississippi got final approval from the Legislature on Thursday and Gov. Haley Barbour is expected to sign it into law. The measure would ban nearly all abortions in the state if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide. If Roe v. Wade is overturned and the state bill becomes law, anyone performing an illegal abortion in Mississippi would face one to 10 years in prison."

Big mother is watching with new laws in mind - "Some California lawmakers want to change your ways. They've planted a crop of proposals this year — "nanny" bills, as they're called — that would:"

Sony Brings Real Life Matrix A Step Closer - "Sony is preparing to unveil a simulated reality world in which Playstation gamers can create a new life for themselves, complete with their own apartment, friends, movies, shopping and entertainment, bringing the reality of an actual matrix a step closer."

Nike Is Leading the Race ... to the Bottom - "Despite promises to clean up its act, Nike is making a U-turn on its commitments to improve the sweatshop conditions for its workers overseas."

Study finds age divide on gay marriage - "Two political scientists who analyzed two decades worth of Field Polls on the subject found that age was the strongest factor influencing whether someone opposed gay unions, with people born in the 1970s and '80s more than twice as likely to support them as those born before 1940."

Baby does best with dad off work, study finds - "Children are more likely to suffer development problems if their fathers do not take paternity leave or spend enough time with them when they are very young, according to an analysis of thousands of babies born around the turn of the millennium."

Vaccine officials knew about MMR risks - "Government officials were made aware of some problems with a version of the MMR vaccine in other countries but still introduced it in Britain in the late 1980s, newly released documents show."

The ethical dilemmas of robotics - "Scientists are already beginning to think seriously about the new ethical problems posed by current developments in robotics."

China's dog extermination plan condemned - "A U.S. animal rights group Thursday condemned a plan to kill all pet dogs in an anti-rabies campaign in a district of the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing."

Fish are up to their gills in mercury - "So much mercury has accumulated in fish that there should be a worldwide public warning about eating seafood contaminated by the dangerous heavy metal, says a report summarizing the latest scientific evidence on global mercury pollution."

Dealerships Fake/Alter Customer Satisfaction Surveys To Get Marketing Money From Toyota - "The customer's husband suspected that the salesman refused to sell his wife a car because he was afraid of receiving a poor customer service survey from them. It turns out that he may be on to something, if what our tipster says is true. He claims that his roommate used to be a CSR for a Toyota dealership and it was the roommate's job to make sure the customer either did not fill out the survey or filled our paper surveys so the answers could be changed or poor reviews thrown out. The tipster writes:"

The Internet Makes Us Naked - "I wonder if one reason people are so wary of the intersection of sex and the internet is that it exposes us so completely. It's the flip side of what many of us point to as one of the internet's great strengths -- we discover we are not alone in our desires, finding community and connection even as we learn more about ourselves. For individuals, this sexual self-discovery has been largely positive. But for Americans as a whole, this self-knowledge has not been comfortable to accept. We're learning that our behavior does not match what our culture tells us is "right" or "moral." And we're having a hard time accepting that our behavior has changed only to the extent that technology makes it easier to break the rules, and makes rule-breaking more accessible to larger numbers of people."




Quote of the Day
"The Universe doesn’t give a damn about you, pal! Nor does Mother Nature who spends most of her time kicking butt with floods, forest fires, blizzards, tornadoes, and other fun 'weather events'."
~ Alan Caruba

March 8, 2007

House Democrats to unveil Iraq war plan - "In a direct challenge to President Bush, House Democrats are advancing legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the fall of next year."

Nuclear Hypocrisy and Iran - "But the primary rationale for such an attack – to prevent Iran from going nuclear – is deeply problematic. Not only is the United States beefing up its military in general, it is even planning a modernization of its nuclear arsenal. The nuclear hypocrisy of the Bush administration makes any resolution of the conflict with Iran all the more difficult."

Who Gave America the Right? - "Who granted America the right to be international judge, prosecutor, and executioner in the name of self-preservation? Who granted America the right to make the sound of bombs louder than the voice of the law?"

Iraq's Other War: Violence against Women Under US Occupation - "Last week, Houzan Mahmoud* opened her e-mail and found a message from Ansar al-Islam, a notoriously brutal Sunni jihadist group. The message read simply, "we will kill you by the middle of March." Houzan is an outspoken Iraqi feminist. The 34-year-old journalist and women's rights activist believes that hope for Iraq's future depends on building a society based on secular democracy and human rights. For this, she has been condemned to death."

How Does an Era End? - "The insurgents - you can call them al-Qaida or freedom fighters, but you and I would be them if someone tried to do to America what America did to Iraq - believe that the American public can't stomach endless casualties. When the casualties are needless, on all sides, they're right. ... Bush and Cheney are just bullies. When they're opposed they turn tail and run. Remember the "political capital" Bush claimed to have when he tried to privatize social security? Even his little lapdog, the AARP, rolled over and bit him. He quickly retreated. Rumsfeld was forced to retire. The word is that Cheney will be resigning in about three weeks. And now the U.S. will hold talks with Syria and Iran - not our dearest friends - about the Iraqi quagmire. Once I thought they'd never leave. Now I think they're counting the minutes. I can smell the flop sweat all the way up here in Vermont."

Vermont Votes to Impeach Bush/Cheney - "So it has gone this week at town meetings across Vermont, most of which were held Tuesday. Late Tuesday night, there were confirmed reports that 36 towns had backed impeachment resolutions, and the number was expected to rise."

John Edwards To Skip Nevada Debate - "Edwards' campaign said the involvement of Fox News, which is often accused by liberals of having a conservative bias, was part of the decision to pass on the Aug. 14 debate in Reno."

Homeland Security revives supersnoop - "Homeland Security officials are testing a supersnoop computer system that sifts through personal information on U.S. citizens to detect possible terrorist attacks, prompting concerns from lawmakers who have called for investigations."

Canada will stay top U.S. oil supplier for 20 years - "Canada - which in 2005 replaced Saudi Arabia as the single-largest supplier of energy to the U.S. - will continue that position over at least the next two decades, thanks to the multi-billion dollar oilsands developments in Alberta."

Scandal rocks Texas juvenile system - "For at least two years, investigators say, boys at a juvenile prison in the West Texas desert were summoned from their dorms late at night and taken to darkened conference rooms, offices and ball fields for sex with two of the institution's top administrators."

New Net radio rules draw fire on Capitol Hill - "A key Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday slammed new federal rules that would require many Internet radio services to pay higher fees to record companies."

Flat-earth society's warriors - "The late columnist and to-the-bone Texan Molly Ivins couldn't have thought this one up if her absurdity-meter were spring-loaded, revved up and set to overdrive. Sorry she missed it. Rep. Warren Chisum, a self-described creationist who is also a Republican state representative from the Texas Panhandle, Appropriations Committee chairman of the House and the second most powerful member of that august body, must have figured that he had that lefty evolution-touting crowd dead to rights. In a memo Chisum circulated to all 149 Texas state representatives, Darwin's theory of evolution was described as nothing more than a Jewish plot. "Indisputable evidence - long hidden but now available to everyone - demonstrates conclusively that so-called secular evolution science is the Big Bang 15-billion-year alternate 'creation scenario' of the Pharisee Religion," the memo said. Now, here's the clincher. The memo suggests that because of the evolution theory's connection to ancient "Rabbinic writings" it "cannot legally be taught in taxpayer supported schools, according to the Constitution."" -- Jesus.

Americans see media aiding moral decline - "Most Americans think culture is becoming more immoral, and they view the media -- both entertainment and news -- as prime culprits, according to a new survey. ... The survey of 2,000 American adults shows that the nation's culture war is grounded in disagreements over religious issues, such as God's role in life and whether religious belief is essential for a good and moral life, CMI Director Robert H. Knight said."

Men pick military as sentence - ""Probation does not adequately address the severity of what you've done," Lunsford told the defendants.
Instead, the judge offered them three choices: u Serve 48 hours in jail, two years' probation and spend 100 hours doing community service at a farm caring for animals. u Serve no jail time, two years' probation, and 200 hours of community service on a farm. u Enlist in the military. ... The men made their decision. They plan to enlist in the U.S. Navy, said their attorney, Jim Bryant."

Psychosis and Mania - "The makers of drugs used to treat attention disorders have known about the serious health risks associated with the medications for years but instead of warning the public, the industry has consistently focused its efforts on expanding the market and colluding with FDA officials to keep warnings off the labels of ADHD drugs."

Americans: Don't bother to study engineering any more! - "Your government has set exciting new performance goals for itself. The Department of Labor has published it's strategic 5 Year Plan, here. Under Performance Goal 2H, "Address worker shortages through the Foreign Labor Certification Program", we find: "H-1B workers may be hired even when a qualified U.S. worker wants the job, and a U.S. worker can be displaced from the job in favor of the foreign worker." Isn't that special?"

The applicants who all had burnt pyjamas - "University admissions officers may have been amused and impressed with the bright young spark who began his medical school application with an entertaining yet thoughtful anecdote about setting fire to his pyjamas when he was a boy. But that was before they read 233 other applications telling exactly the same story. They may experienced a similar sense of déjà vu when they read all 370 applications from would-be doctors who opened their personal statements with “a fascination for how the human body works . . .” and the 175 who referred to their “elderly or infirm grandfather”. A creative imagination may not be the first thing universities were looking for from our future GPs, dentists or brain surgeons, but they might reasonably expect applicants to tell the truth."

WATER PRICES RISING WORLDWIDE - "Over the past five years, municipal water rates have increased by an average of 27 percent in the United States, 32 percent in the United Kingdom, 45 percent in Australia, 50 percent in South Africa, and 58 percent in Canada. In Tunisia, the price of irrigation water increased fourfold over a decade."

Airborne soot more harmful than thought, CMU researchers say - "Published last week in the journal Science, their findings show that the microscopic particles, altered by chemical processes in the atmosphere, produce more clouds and are potentially more toxic, and their contributions to unhealthy pollution are larger and spread over a wider area."

Race to the Bottom - "A maverick Australian prospector is planning to scoop untold riches - gold, silver, copper - from the bottom of the ocean. Is it a cleaner way to mine or the beginning of an environmental disaster?"

American women too tired for sex - "It’s official now. The Washington-based National Sleep Foundation says that American women are so stressed out and sleep-deprived that a majority of them have no time for sex or even to make friends."

Refrigerator will toss you can of beer - "When John Cornwell graduated from Duke University last year, he landed a job as software engineer in Atlanta but soon found himself longing for his college lifestyle. So the engineering graduate built himself a reminder of life on campus: a refrigerator that can toss a can of beer to his couch with the click of a remote control."




Quote of the Day
"They created a desolation, and called it peace."
~ Tacitus

March 7, 2007

How Much More Harm Can Bush Do? - "How did the "war on terror" become a war on the Iraqi people? We have heard every answer: intelligence mistakes, incompetence, and evil machinations. Whichever answer we take, the killing and destruction continue. Why? It has recently come to light that the U.S. government has imposed an oil deal on the puppet Iraqi government that turns Iraqi oil over to U.S. and British firms for exploitation. Bush-Cheney have not brought Iraqis democracy, but they have stolen their oil revenues. The profits of the military-industrial complex are soaring, and higher military budgets are being appropriated. The value of Cheney's Halliburton stock options has not merely doubled or tripled but multiplied by a factor of 32."

Iraq refugee: 'I feel disaster' as crisis grows - "Abtan and his family are like hundreds of thousands of other Iraqis who have fled their country amid the deadly violence that has wracked the nation and is creating what the international community calls a growing humanitarian crisis. The United Nations estimates 700,000 Iraqis have fled to Jordan -- more than one-tenth the entire kingdom's population. As many as 1 million more Iraqis are estimated to have sought refuge in Syria, about 120,000 are in Egypt and 40,000 in Lebanon, according to the United Nations."

Impeaching Bush, State by State - "Forget bird flu, impeachment is spreading across the nation, state by state."

Jurors wonder why others weren't also on trial - "A question occupied the jurors in the trial of Lewis "Scooter" Libby as they sat through 14 days of testimony and deliberated for 10 more days: Why is Libby the only person on trial?"

Pentagon closes Guantánamo Bay hearings to media - "Reporters will be barred from hearings that begin Friday in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for the 14 suspected terrorists who were transferred last year from secret CIA prisons, officials said Tuesday."

A Barack-star no more - "Last week Barack Obama performed an inadvertent public service by taking two of my favorite hobbyhorses for a ride round the electoral ring. One was the corrupting power of money in presidential primaries, and the second was demonstrating that the Israel lobby was every bit as powerful as it has traditionally claimed on its website, even as it denounces anyone else who says so."

Aipac Will Press for Hard Line on Iran Regime - "The Democratic-controlled Congress is moving to outflank both the Bush administration and the United Nations with the toughest set of sanctions against Iran that have ever been proposed."

Bush says Chavez's economic model leads to poverty - ""I strongly believe that government-run industry is inefficient and will lead to more poverty," Bush replied to a question on Chavez's economic model, which includes nationalizations and muscular state intervention."

France bans citizen journalists from reporting violence - "The French Constitutional Council has approved a law that criminalizes the filming or broadcasting of acts of violence by people other than professional journalists. The law could lead to the imprisonment of eyewitnesses who film acts of police violence, or operators of Web sites publishing the images, one French civil liberties group warned on Tuesday."

Students, principal hold press conferences in vagina controversy - "The three female high school students suspended for using the word vagina during an open mic night session at their school and the principal who meted out the punishment for what he said was insubordination, not censorship, held dueling press conferences late this afternoon." -- Vagina, vagina, vagina! Idiot.

Dawn of the GM babies? - "Scientists will be able to carry out genetic experiments on human embryos for the first time under controversial Government plans."

One in four older women abused by partner - "A survey of women over the age of 65 in Washington and Idaho found about one-quarter have been the victim of physical, sexual or psychological violence."

Harsh Words Die Hard on the Web - "Though it is difficult to prove a direct link, the woman thinks she is a victim of a new form of reputation-maligning: online postings with offensive content and personal attacks that can be stored forever and are easily accessible through a Google search."

U.S. Lags Behind Other Nations in College Graduates - "U.S. colleges must increase the rate at which they graduate students by more than a third each year or fall 16 million behind the number needed to compete economically with other countries in 2025, the Lumina Foundation for Education said."

Makers of Sodas Try a New Pitch: They’re Healthy - "That may strike some as an oxymoron. But for Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, it’s a marketing opportunity."

Diamond star thrills astronomers - "Twinkling in the sky is a diamond star of 10 billion trillion trillion carats, astronomers have discovered. The cosmic diamond is a chunk of crystallised carbon, 4,000 km across, some 50 light-years from the Earth in the constellation Centaurus."

Circumcision may lift HIV risk for women - "Circumcision may reduce men's chances of contracting HIV by up to 60 percent — but early results suggest the procedure may put women at increased risk of infection, according to preliminary data presented Tuesday."

Sexless and Proud - "Asexuals Say They're Misunderstood in a Sex-Obsessed World."

A View to a Kill - "Brace yourself: Every hunt you've ever seen on a nature show has been a scam."

Lottery: Winning tickets sold in Georgia, New Jersey - "At least two people can claim a share of a record $370 million lottery jackpot, and there could be more winners."




Quote of the Day
"I guess I think of lotteries as a tax on the mathematically challenged."
~ Roger Jones

March 6, 2007

Libby Found Guilty in CIA Leak Trial - "Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was convicted Tuesday of obstruction, perjury and lying to the FBI in an investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's identity."

Juror Explains Libby Verdict: They Felt He Was 'Fall Guy' - "Denis Collins said, "We asked ourselves, what is HE doing here? Where is Rove and all these other guys....He was the fall guy." He said they believed that Vice President Cheney did "ask him to talk to reporters." He said, "some jurors said at one point, 'We wish we weren't judging Libby...this sucks.""

How Barack Obama learned to love Israel - "If disappointing, given his historically close relations to Palestinian-Americans, Obama's about-face is not surprising. He is merely doing what he thinks is necessary to get elected and he will continue doing it as long as it keeps him in power. Palestinian-Americans are in the same position as civil libertarians who watched with dismay as Obama voted to reauthorize the USA Patriot Act, or immigrant rights advocates who were horrified as he voted in favor of a Republican bill to authorize the construction of a 700-mile fence on the border with Mexico."

Edwards: Jesus Would Be 'Appalled' - "Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards says Jesus would be appalled at how the United States has ignored the plight of the suffering, and that he believes children should have private time to pray at school. Edwards, in an interview with the Web site Beliefnet.com, said Jesus would be most upset with the selfishness of Americans and the country's willingness to go to war "when it's not necessary.""

Bush Record Of Illegalities Suggests Possible Role In 9/11 WTC, Pentagon Strikes - "After all, his record reveals him to be a serial liar, warmonger, tyrant, torturer, and usurper of his peoples’ civil liberties. Just off the top, here are some illegal GWB actions that betray what he is really about."

Americans Don't Trust Bush on Threat Intelligence - "Many adults in the United States express no confidence in their federal government on the topic of intelligence, according to a poll by TNS released by the Washington Post and ABC News. 63 per cent of respondents say they cannot trust the Bush administration to honestly and accurately report on possible threats from other countries."

Heaven help us: George reportedly is thinking again - "For decades the U.S. has had a nasty habit of cutting quick deals for questionable profit, and later asking with feigned innocence why its beloved friend bit it in the end. We don't seem to learn. So here we are, about to cut a likely bin Laden-redux deal, assuming one hasn't been cut already. History doesn't impassively repeat itself just because of our simple ignorance."

NATO Looms Large in Military Planning - "NATO's rising power and the increased role the military will play in shaping the foreign policy of countries around the world will figure prominently in Russia's new military doctrine, the Security Council said Monday."

Israel, Iran top 'negative list' - "A majority of people believe that Israel and Iran have a mainly negative influence in the world, a poll for the BBC World Service suggests. It shows that the two countries are closely followed by the United States and North Korea. ... Canada, Japan and the EU are viewed most positively in the survey."

59 things that would have stayed secret - "What they didn't want you to know: A list of intriguing facts disinterred by the Freedom of Information Act."

The Housing Bubble Starts to Burst - "Okay, enough of the gloating; while the collapse of the housing bubble was both predictable and inevitable, it is not pretty. Tens of millions of people will be hurt as they see much of the equity in their homes - money that most had counted on to support their retirement - disappear. Millions more will be forced out of their homes as they find that they are unable to meet the payments on adjustable rate mortgages that reset at higher rates. People who had worked hard and saved in order to become homeowners will see their dream disappear."

Green Acres Is the Place for Many - "In what's been called the "Green Acres" effect, Americans are fleeing the cities for the country in record numbers. Eighteen of the 25 largest metropolises saw more people leave than move in, according to a Census Bureau report released in 2006."

Has Generation Y overdosed on self-esteem? - "For some, the study validates their suspicions of educational and parenting techniques that put undue emphasis on the positive: tot-level self-esteem boosterism, luxury-as-necessity entitlement, and what one calls "instant fame-ification.""

School district: Sixth graders had sex in class - "Middle school students having sex in a busy classroom while a teacher is present? Warren Township Associate Superintendent Jeff Swensson confirmed it's true. It's been kept under wraps since November."

Stress increases cortisol, reduces brain size in children - "Children should not be stressed as a new study shows that stress a child experienced may cause shrinkage of a key part of the brain, affecting his or her memory and emotion"

Where's My Personalized Medicine? - "Despite its ability to predict dangerous and even deadly drug reactions, a high price tag and lack of familiarity with the technology have prevented doctors from embracing the world's first DNA chip test to deliver personalized medicine."

NASA can't pay for killer asteroid hunt - "NASA officials say the space agency is capable of finding nearly all the asteroids that might pose a devastating hit to Earth, but there isn't enough money to pay for the task so it won't get done."

Who Wants to Save the Aye-Aye? - "One of my zoology professors used to refer to it as "The Bambi Syndrome"—us hairless bipeds tend to gravitate towards cuddly megafauna like the panda; we're ready to empty our pockets to pull them from the precipice of certain doom. But can you get people rallying for an obscure species of clam? Does anyone really get pumped about saving the tuna? What about the almost grotesque-looking aye-aye, which, according to Slate got hit so bad with the ugly stick that conservationists are going to pieces trying to figure out how to persuade people that its unique genetic heritage is worth giving a damn?" -- Check out the pic.




Quote of the Day
"The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons."
~ Feodor Dostoevski, Russian novelist, 1821-1881

March 5, 2007

Afghan Media: U.S. Troops Deleted Images - "Afghan journalists covering the aftermath of a suicide bomb attack and shooting in eastern Afghanistan Sunday said U.S. troops deleted their photos and video and warned them not to publish or air any images of U.S. troops or a car where three Afghans were shot to death. Afghan witnesses and gunshot victims said U.S. forces fired on civilians in cars and on foot along at least a six-mile stretch of road in Nangarhar province following a suicide attack against the military convoy. The U.S. military said militants also fired on American forces during the attack."

Broken by This War - "And I know from experience that “support the troops” is a slogan, and not a practice. ... It is the soldiers, their families, and the people of Iraq that pay the human costs. The tab so far: more than 3,000 dead U.S. troops, tens of thousands of wounded, over half a million Iraqi casualties, roughly 250,000 American servicemen and women struggling with PTSD, and almost 60,000 military marriages that have been broken by this war. Including mine."

From Serving in Iraq To Living on the Streets - "As in the Vietnam War era, when thousands of vets ended up homeless, there are already signs that the recent conflicts are taking a traumatic psychological toll on some service members. Many veterans' advocates said that despite unprecedented attempts by the military and Veterans Affairs to care for veterans, increasing numbers of the new generation of warriors are ending up homeless."

Obama: US should never dictate what's best for Israel - "In speech delivered before AIPAC lobbyists in Chicago, US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama reveals strongly pro-Israel platform: US must preserve ‘total commitment to unique defense relationship with Israel’, work to stop Iran’s nuclear program even if military action is necessary."

A Horse of a Different Color - "Does Mr. Obama really not know that there are – or were – similar communities in the occupied territories? Does he really not know that countless Palestinian villages – with "houses and streets like you might find in a suburb in America" – have been demolished by Israeli tractors? Can Obama imagine a young Palestinian child riding his bike down the street – can he imagine his joyful play? Can he imagine a car in the driveway, the shrubs trimmed – the families living their lives in the moment before the Israelis wiped it all out in their ruthless campaign of conquest and ethnic cleansing? Of course he can't – if he wants to be president of the United States, that is. Israeli lives are more important, more valuable than Palestinian lives: that is what the occupant of the Oval Office must believe, or, if he doesn't quite believe it, then he must keep quiet about it and act as if he does. Otherwise, he'll never make it to the White House. Obama knows this, and therefore "forgot" to put the events in Kiryat Shmona into their proper context:"

Dump the Democrats and Unite! - "We should have known it was coming. Even though the Democratic Party rode the antiwar wave in to Congress last November they’ve done little since to end the bloody war in Iraq."

10 False Flags that Changed the World: #1 - "While citizens pay the Pentagon more money to fight these wars, let’s not forget what Donald Rumsfeld said about the Pentagon on the morning of September 10, 2001: “According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions.” That bombshell was pretty much forgotten by the next morning." -- I haven't forgotten.

Profit upon profit - "WHEN definitive histories of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are written, one of the most intriguing chapters is bound to be the extent to which the conflicts have been prosecuted with heavy support from private military contractors who cashed in handsomely - and excessively."

Correction: this could become a crash after all - "With his low opinion poll ratings, George Bush needs a crash on Wall Street like a hole in the head. The days are ticking away towards the end of his presidency and the Pentagon is warning that unless the "surge" in Iraq works the United States could be heading for another Vietnam."

Top Secret: We're Wiretapping You - "By all accounts, that's what happened to Washington D.C. attorney Wendell Belew in August 2004. And it happened at a time when no one outside a small group of high-ranking officials and workaday spooks knew the National Security Agency was listening in on Americans' phone calls without warrants. Belew didn't know what to make of the episode. But now, thanks to that government gaffe, he and a colleague have the distinction of being the only Americans who can prove they were specifically eavesdropped upon by the NSA's surveillance program. The pair are seeking $1 million each in a closely watched lawsuit against the government, which experts say represents the greatest chance, among over 50 different lawsuits, of convincing a key judge to declare the program illegal."

Everyone Loves Keith Olbermann—Except Me - "Regardless of how astute his political criticism is, I am no longer willing to tolerate Keith Olbermann's misogyny. Olbermann has a nasty habit of making sexist, derogatory statements about female celebrities. The things he’s said are shameful and should never have been uttered, let alone on television. While he is certainly not alone in his reprehensible treatment of women, Olbermann is widely admired by progressives; unlike other trashy gossip commentators, he must be held to progressive standards."

Texans fear US sovereignty will disappear down superhighway - "Backers of the idea, labelled the "Nafta Superhighway", after the North American trade pact, say it would revolutionise patterns of commerce across the continent and enhance the economic prospects of millions. But its critics say it could spell the end of US sovereignty. In arguments akin to those deployed by critics of the European Union, opponents say that opening borders will hit businesses, create a terrorist threat and allow illegal immigrants and drugs to flood in."

Oregon community reins in its police for minor infractions - "But the Sunriver Service District, which governs police and fire departments, voted in February to tell officers to make Sunriver's roads, which are private but open to the public, exempt from minor vehicle infractions. So residents and the public alike can run a stop sign at will in the 5-square-mile area that makes up Sunriver. Police there can only stop drivers for what the state calls traffic crimes, such as drunken or reckless driving."

The Gospel of Prothero - "This month, HarperSanFrancisco will publish Prothero's new book "Religious Literacy," a work whose message is far more sober than its author's affect. In spite of the fact that more than 90 percent of Americans say they believe in God, only a tiny portion of them knows a thing about religion."

How God rewards a female suicide bomber. - "If male martyrs can expect to find 72 virgin maidens in paradise when they die, what rewards can female suicide bombers expect? Their husbands. The Quran itself describes little about the specifics of the afterlife, but it does note that believers will find huris, or maidens "of modest gaze, whom neither man nor jinni will have touched before them." (Every believer can end up in heaven; martyrs just get there faster.)"

Supermodels for Christ - "Supermodels for Christ. Supermodels. For Christ. Where to begin?"

Ruling keeps sedated victims in dark - "If a doctor sedates a patient then touches her inappropriately without her knowing, does the patient have a right to learn about it later? A Multnomah County judge has apparently decided that she does not."

Mindreading scientists predict behavior - "While still in its initial stages, the techniques may eventually have wide-ranging implications for everything from criminal interrogations to airline security checks. And that alarms some ethicists who fear the technology could one day be abused by authorities, marketers, or employers."

FCC Destroys "Blogger" Webcasters - "New Royalty Rates Could Kill Internet Radio."

Greenhouse effect is a myth, say scientists - "A United Nations report earlier this year said humans are very likely to be to blame for global warming and there is "virtually no doubt" it is linked to man's use of fossil fuels. But other climate experts say there is little scientific evidence to support the theory. In fact global warming could be caused by increased solar activity such as a massive eruption."

New Evidence of Water on Mars - "Previous NASA probes have found evidence of water on Mars, but the new findings bolster the theory that water may have existed long enough to sustain simple forms of life."

Museum IDs new species of dinosaur - "A new dinosaur species was a plant-eater with yard-long horns over its eyebrows, suggesting an evolutionary middle step between older dinosaurs with even larger horns and the small-horned creatures that followed, experts said."




Quote of the Day
"Only the young die good."
~ Oliver Herford

March 4, 2007

Obama to AIPAC: Won't rule out nuking Iran - "Sen. Barack Obama said Friday the use of military force should not be taken off the table when dealing with Iran, which he called "a threat to all of us." Speaking before a pro-Israel crowd at a downtown hotel, Obama also repeated his call for a phased pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq and strongly backed a strong U.S. relationship with Israel."

A Nation of Stupid Children, Who Refuse to Give Up the Lies - "But it is almost impossible to deal with the fact that so many Americans, almost all our political leaders, and our media virtually without exception are so relentlessly stupid, and so resolutely determined to remain so. As this latest episode in national idiocy proves yet again, and for the millionth time, this laughably pathetic state of affairs certainly would appear to be the unalterable truth of where we are. And so we debate whether these lives were "wasted." With the blind ferocity of religious maniacs, we enforce our new Puritan code, which demands that certain prohibited thoughts may never be uttered. Violation of this code means banishment from public life and from further "serious" consideration. Every matter of importance is reduced to the intellectual level of a remarkably backward house pet."

UK Children of 11 to be fingerprinted - "The leaked Home Office plans show that the mass fingerprinting will start in 2010, with a batch of 295,000 youngsters who apply for passports. The Home Office expects 545,000 children aged 11 and over to have their prints taken in 2011, with the figure settling at an annual 495,000 from 2014. Their fingerprints will be held on a database also used by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate to store the fingerprints of hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers."

Not so free in Germany - "I am joining an international boycott of German goods because of that country's drift away from fundamental freedoms. We in North America do not hear much about Germany, as our media focuses on exotic hotspots, but I have noticed a discernible trend suggesting people should pay attention to the loss of freedoms in so-called advanced Western democracies, like Germany. The most ominous example is the Busekros family. An online petition is calling for a boycott of German products due to their treatment. The horrendous crime of this family, and others across Germany, is they chose to homeschool their children, a right taken for granted here. Homeschooling is illegal there, and authorities seem out for blood."

2007 German horror tale - "Earlier this month, a German teen-ager was forcibly taken from her parents and imprisoned in a psychiatric ward. Her crime? She is being home-schooled. "

Guns Don't Kill People, Gun Control Kills People - "For months now, Ugandan army troops have been garrisoned in the northeast part of the country under orders to disarm the local populace—pastoral, cattle-herding tribes known as the Karamojong. The army is attempting, and failing, to quash an uprising which was caused by a prior attempt to disarm the same tribes. But in its effort to "disarm," the Ugandan army, supported by tanks and helicopter gunships, is burning down villages, sexually torturing men, raping women, and plundering what few possessions the tribespeople own. Tens of thousands of victims have been turned into refugees."

Two oil giants plunge into the wind business - "Two of the world's leading oil producers have almost overnight joined some of the biggest players in wind power in the United States, accelerating a trend of large corporations investing in the rapidly growing alternative-energy field."

Vaccine maker gave to fundraiser - "The maker of an anti-cancer vaccine that Gov. Rick Perry mandated for Texas schoolgirls contributed $50,000 to a GOP fundraiser chaired by the governor, but a spokesman for the organization said Tuesday that the donation had nothing to do with Perry's controversial order."

Virginia to require cancer vaccine for girls - "Virginia would become the second state to mandate the vaccine for the human papillomavirus, or HPV, and the first to do it through legislative action. Texas Gov. Rick Perry sidestepped the Legislature and ordered the shots for girls there, but lawmakers are considering overriding that order."

Programmed For Obesity: Early Exposure To Common Chemicals Can Permanently Alter Metabolic System - "Obesity is generally discussed in terms of caloric intake (how much a person eats) and energy output (how much a person exercises). However, according to a University of Missouri-Columbia scientist, environmental chemicals found in everyday plastics and pesticides also may influence obesity. Frederick vom Saal, professor of biological sciences in MU's College of Arts and Science, has found that when fetuses are exposed to these chemicals, the way their genes function may be altered to make them more prone to obesity and disease."

FDA Rules Override Warnings About Drug - "The government is on track to approve a new antibiotic to treat a pneumonia-like disease in cattle, despite warnings from health groups and a majority of the agency's own expert advisers that the decision will be dangerous for people."

Best Buy Confirms It Uses Secret Website - "Under pressure from state investigators, Best Buy is now confirming my reporting that its stores have a secret intranet site that has been used to block some consumers from getting cheaper prices advertised on BestBuy.com."

Venting anger being challenged as better than just staying calm - ""While it is a common assumption that an angry person needs to blow off steam or risk going through the roof, research in psychology shows just the opposite," said psychologist Jeffrey M. Lohr, who concluded that "venting anger is at best ineffective and in some cases is even harmful.""

New rules could ban booing at Washington high school games - "The organization that oversees high school sports in Washington is considering more specific rules for fans that could ban booing and offensive chants."

Scientists probe 'hole in Earth' - "Scientists are to sail to the mid-Atlantic to examine a massive "open wound" on the Earth's surface. Dr Chris MacLeod, from Cardiff University, said the Earth's crust appeared to be missing across an area of several thousand square kilometres."

Huge 'Ocean' Discovered Inside Earth - "Scientists scanning the deep interior of Earth have found evidence of a vast water reservoir beneath eastern Asia that is at least the volume of the Arctic Ocean. The discovery marks the first time such a large body of water has found in the planet’s deep mantle."

Towers point to ancient Sun cult - "It comprises of a group of 2,300-year-old structures, known as the Thirteen Towers, which are found in the Chankillo archaeological site, Peru. The towers span the annual rising and setting arcs of the Sun, providing a solar calendar to mark special dates."

13 things that do not make sense -- Interesting read.

Postal Service fixes long waits by removing clocks - ""We want people to focus on postal service and not the clock," said Stephen Seewoester, Dallas spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service."

Travolta says Scientology could have saved Anna Nicole - " The Pulp Fiction star has decided to use her death as a chance to promote Narconon – the controversial Church of Scientology drug rehab programme – saying it could have saved the Playmate's life."

Quote of the Day

"Nobody can be so amusingly arrogant as a young man who has just discovered an old idea and thinks it is his own."

~ Sydney J. Harris

March 2, 2007

The War on Terror Is the Leading Cause of Terrorism - "It's official: A new report shows that the U.S. has made the world more dangerous -- not just for Americans, but for everyone."

Why Can't We Talk about Peace in Public? - "America's growing economic dependence on the hi-tech defense industry is creating a culture that views peace and nonviolence as seditious concepts. ... It's not that I don't believe these stories, and not that I don't want to hear them. I'm just wary of sullying the debate over this war with a referendum on the behavior of young soldiers who have been placed in an impossible position, sent to fight in a strange and hostile place with no clear mission and no detectable strategy for securing peace or victory. In my mind, all the people in the Bush administration and in Congress and in the media who got these kids sent there in the first place have to be the first ones held responsible for whatever those kids do after being thrown into the fire. I just don't yet have the stomach to start pointing the finger at a bunch of teenagers and twenty-somethings who never should have been sent there in the first place."

Kucinich introduces bill to immediately end Iraq occupation ... - "HR 1234 is a plan for the United States to use existing money to bring the troops and necessary equipment home and transition to an international security and peacekeeping force."

Iraqi Oil Law Gives Cover for Corporate Profit - "For example, it specifies that up to two-thirds of Iraq's known reserves would be developed by multinationals, under contracts lasting for 15 to 20 years. This policy would represent a u-turn for Iraq's oil industry, which has been in the public sector for more than three decades, and would break from normal practice in the Middle East."

Democrats send out first round of subpoenas - "A House Judiciary subcommittee approved today the first in what is expected to be an avalanche of subpoenas to Bush administration officials. They will likely explore corruption and mismanagement allegations on everything from pre-war Iraq intelligence to the mishandling of the response to Hurricane Katrina."

The Pentagon’s Power to Arrest, Torture, and Execute Americans - "The president and the Pentagon now wield the omnipotent power to arrest, torture, and execute any American they label an “enemy combatant.” It is impossible to overstate the significance of this power. It has totally upended the relationship of the military and civilian in the United States. The assumption of this particular power easily constitutes one of the most monumental revolutions of liberty and power in history. It is a revolution that every American must confront now, not later. If people wait until later to confront the expanded use of this power, it will be too late, because by that time it will be too dangerous to do so."

US, Israel begin talks on new 10-year aid plan - "US and Israeli officials opened talks Thursday on a new multi-year plan for US aid to the Jewish state, which could seek additional funds to meet evolving threats from Iran, Syria and Islamic militants."

Africa – Where the Next US Oil Wars Will Be - "The Pentagon does not admit that a ring of permanent US military bases is operating or under construction throughout Africa. But nobody doubts the American military buildup on the African continent is well underway. From oil rich northern Angola up to Nigeria, from the Gulf of Guinea to Morocco and Algeria, from the Horn of Africa down to Kenya and Uganda, and over the pipeline routes from Chad to Cameroon in the west, and from Sudan to the Red Sea in the east, US admirals and generals have been landing and taking off, meeting with local officials. They've conducted feasibility studies, concluded secret agreements, and spent billions from their secret budgets."

Reading Hillary Rodham's hidden thesis - "The senior thesis of Hillary D. Rodham, Wellesley College class of 1969, has been speculated about, spun, analyzed, debated, criticized and defended. But rarely has it been read, because for the eight years of Bill Clinton’s presidency it was locked away."

D.C. Madame to Sell 10,000 Phone Records of High-End Washington Clients - "But, he said, chances are good that some interesting names will pop up. “Statistically, if you have 10,000 people, and given the structure of this particular service, these weren’t people beckoning from car windows,” he said. “The escorts only responded to four and five star hotels or private residences. And so the landlines will show up on the private residences real quickly.”"

National ID Card Rules Unveiled - "Critics, such as American Civil Liberties Union attorney Tim Sparapani, charge that the bill increases government access to data on Americans and amplifies the risk of identity theft, without providing significant security benefits."

How Real ID will affect you - "Only ID cards approved by Homeland Security can be accepted "for any official purpose" by the feds. ... Homeland Security is permitted to add additional requirements--such as a fingerprint or retinal scan--on top of those. We won't know for a while what these additional requirements will be. Why did these ID requirements get attached to an "emergency" military spending bill?Because it's difficult for politicians to vote against money that will go to the troops in Iraq and tsunami relief." -- Ah, the land of the free.

Queer 101: A Guide for Heteros - "So why hasn't anybody called a spade a spade? Many in Middle America have come to believe homosexual values must be abhorrent, based on the right's insistence that all homosexuals are radical perverts. Blindness to difference has allowed the right wing to invent a sinister stereotype of "homosexuals" that has only tenuous links to reality. Radical right groups generate bogus statistics by conflating gay men and lesbians (the claim that homosexuals are more likely to have STDs should more accurately say that lesbians have the lowest rates of STDs of any group) and gay men and men who molest boys (imagine if they consistently referred to men who molest girls as "straight men"). The right gets away with their smears because they have persuaded Americans that sex and desire have no role in polite society."

Pope is warned of a green Antichrist - "An arch-conservative cardinal chosen by the Pope to deliver this year’s Lenten meditations to the Vatican hierarchy has caused consternation by giving warning of an Antichrist who is “a pacifist, ecologist and ecumenist”." -- That's because this is the "hot" topic of the moment.

Religious Right Gets Research on Gay Families Wrong - "Social scientists who have done research on gay and lesbian families say religious fundamentalists are deliberately distorting their work to make the case that heterosexual married couples provide the best environment for rearing children."

New 'Bible' says Christ born of gorilla, not virgin - "It is a "Bible for skeptics, seekers, and people of different faiths.""

Poll: The Politics Of Health Care - "Most Americans believe government can play a role in fixing the health care system. Two-thirds say the federal government should guarantee that all Americans have health insurance — and a similar number says providing health insurance for all is a more serious problem than keeping health care costs down."

Cold remedies put children at risk, group says - "Parents of young children are spending billions of dollars on over-the-counter cough and cold remedies that don't work, and which could make the kids sicker, according to a group of leading pediatricians."

USDA Backs Production of Rice With Human Genes - "The Agriculture Department has given a preliminary green light for the first commercial production of a food crop engineered to contain human genes, reigniting fears that biomedically potent substances in high-tech plants could escape and turn up in other foods."

Justice Department takes aim at image-sharing sites - "The Bush administration has accelerated its Internet surveillance push by proposing that Web sites must keep records of who uploads photographs or videos in case police determine the content is illegal and choose to investigate, CNET News.com has learned."

Mars Melt Hints at Solar, Not Human, Cause for Warming, Scientist Says - "Simultaneous warming on Earth and Mars suggests that our planet's recent climate changes have a natural—and not a human- induced—cause, according to one scientist's controversial theory."

South Africa plans to cull elephants - "Small farmers and villagers here see them as cunning, destructive and dangerous beasts whose very name conjures up death. In the West, elephants are perhaps the most beloved of the big game species and tourists fly thousands of miles just to see one. So South Africa's proposal, unveiled Wednesday, to thin elephant herds by methods that include shooting them was bound to spark controversy."

Rap Music: Is the Backlash Here? - "Music sales overall are down, but rap sales in particular have dropped 21 percent from 2005 to 2006. For the first time in 12 years, the top ten best-selling albums of the year did not include a rap album. A poll of black Americans by The Associated Press and AOL-Black Voices last year revealed 50 percent of respondents said hip-hop was a negative force in American society."

Quote of the Day

"And we refuse to see, that people overseas suffer, just like we."

~ Faithless

March 1, 2007

Military chiefs give US six months to win Iraq war - "An elite team of officers advising US commander General David Petraeus in Baghdad has concluded the US has six months to win the war in Iraq - or face a Vietnam-style collapse in political and public support that could force the military into a hasty retreat."

Woman Colonel Urges Troops to Refuse Orders if US Attacks Iran - "Adding to the chorus of women leaders demanding that President Bush retreat from the possibility of war against Iran, retired Army Reserves Colonel and former high-ranking diplomat Mary Wright asked military personnel to refuse potentially imminent orders to attack Iran."

McCain says U.S. lives 'wasted' in Iraq - ""Senator McCain should apologize immediately for his callous comments," said Karen Finney, a DNC spokeswoman. "How is it that John McCain now believes American lives are being wasted, yet he so stubbornly supports the president's plan to escalate the war in Iraq and put more American lives in harms way?""

Taliban: Suicide army is ready - "In a rare interview with Britain's Channel Four, Mullah Dadullah -- the man in charge of day-to-day military operations for the hardline Islamic militia -- also claimed he had a regular line of communication with Osama bin Laden."

Dread At Unavoidable Start Of Nano Arms Race - "With so much money spent on the military and weapons, it was only a matter of time until nano-weapons raised interest. As one reads on the Nanowerk webpage, “All major powers are making efforts to research and develop nanotechnology-based materials and systems for military use.” Most European and Asian countries have nanotech projects integrated within other military projects. Sweden and the USA have dedicated nanotechnology defence research projects. According to Nanowerk, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) spends well over 30% of all federal investment dollars in nanotechnology. In 2006, estimated DoD nanotechnology expenditures will be $436m. About $1m will be spent on risk-related research."

Hospital Officials Knew of Neglect - "A procession of Pentagon and Walter Reed officials expressed surprise last week about the living conditions and bureaucratic nightmares faced by wounded soldiers staying at the D.C. medical facility. But as far back as 2003, the commander of Walter Reed, Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, who is now the Army's top medical officer, was told that soldiers who were wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan were languishing and lost on the grounds, according to interviews."

The Coming Fascist Surge - "What are the basic characteristics of fascist propaganda that sets it apart from ordinary extreme conservatism. It has five basic characteristics. First, it is openly antidemocratic. It attacks institutions and traditions of parliamentary democracy. It belittles those who are the elected representatives of the people. Second, it supports a leadership principle, preferring loyalty to a specific individual rather than to constitutional government (however much lip service it may give to the latter). Third, it glorifies the military and war, thinking violence is the way to accomplish its goals. It fosters a cult of death (it is heroic to die for the fatherland). It thinks attacking other peoples and nations is just fine. Forth, it fosters racist attitudes and uses racist ideas to argue for its positions. Fifth, it has no regard for truth and uses lies and misrepresentation to bolster its positions."

We’ll Lock Up Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free - "This shameful practice of locking up children is bad enough. What’s worse is that it is being done for profit, by the Corrections Corporation of America. CCA is the largest publicly traded private prison operator in the U.S. CCA has close to 70 facilities scattered across the country, recent earnings of $1.33 billion and a gain in its stock-share price of 85 percent in the past year. Industry analysts gush at the profit potential promised by private prisons. Their commodity: human beings." -- Disgusting.

IRS goes after eBay, wants info on seller earnings - "In the same spirit, the government has recently been leaning on eBay to make sure that sellers are not dodging their own tax responsibilities, but eBay wants no part of the government's plan."

Man Tries to Cash $50K Check From God - "Kevin Russell found out it's not easy trying to cash a check from God. The 21-year-old man was arrested Monday after he tried to cash a check for $50,000 at the Chase Bank in Hobart that was signed "King Savior, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Servant," Hobart police Detective Jeff White said."

E-spying OK in divorce case - "Husband uses keystroke logger to spy on wife's suspected relationship with another woman, who sues to prevent the records from being used in the divorce case."

US 200-year porn sentence stands - "The US Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by a high school teacher from Arizona sentenced to 200 years in jail for possessing child pornography."

Don't downgrade to Vista - "Microsoft is using the catchphrase "The 'Wow' starts now" to market Vista, their new operating system. There is, however, nothing awe-inspiring about this software. In fact, it's more likely to elicit emotions that range from anger to revulsion. There is no need to "upgrade" to Vista, no matter how much Microsoft or other salesmen would like you to think the contrary. Installing Vista on any machine that you own, or purchasing one with it pre-installed, is costly, detrimental to your freedoms and, most importantly, completely unnecessary. If you're thinking about getting Vista, I have three (loud) words for you: DON'T DO IT!"

UFO science key to halting climate change: former Canadian defense minister - "A former Canadian defense minister is demanding governments worldwide disclose and use secret alien technologies obtained in alleged UFO crashes to stem climate change, a local paper said Wednesday."

Lawmakers Tout DMCA Killer - "A bill introduced Tuesday by Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Virginia) and Rep. John Doolittle (R-California) would loosen some of the tight restrictions on consumer behavior imposed by the draconian Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 -- something the lawmakers say is long overdue."

Rising STD rate sparks online dating sites - "It's not surprising once you see the numbers. One in four women is infected with genital herpes, and nearly one in five men according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And a study in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association finds that one in four women has human papillomavirus, which can cause genital warts and cervical cancer."

Ice cream induces arrival of the stork - "Harvard University announced yesterday that drinking whole milk and eating high-fat ice cream appears to benefit women who want to get pregnant. "

Obesity drug launched for fat dogs - "Veterinary scientists are today launching a medicine which aims to combat obesity in dogs."




Quote of the Day
"Question authority."
~ Unkown