April 11, 2007

U.S. 'hypocrisy' on Iran makes war more likely - "The U.S. says Iran is developing an atomic bomb. But 30 years ago. the U.S. was working on a plan to build a nuclear industry in Iran, including giving it control over large quantities of plutonium and enriched uranium -- the means to develop a nuclear bomb. That was, of course, back when the Shah was in control in Iran. He was another human rights violator who came to power when the U.S. backed a coup to overthrow the democratic Mossadegh government."

Iran may be helping Iraqis build bombs - "Iranian intelligence operatives have been training Iraqi fighters inside Iran on how to use and assemble deadly roadside bombs known as EFPs, the U.S. military spokesman said Wednesday." -- Mmm hmm.

3 Generals Spurn the Position of War 'Czar' - "The White House wants to appoint a high-powered czar to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with authority to issue directions to the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies, but it has had trouble finding anyone able and willing to take the job, according to people close to the situation."

A US-Made Mess in Somalia - "The U.S. media has focused to date almost exclusively on the rising Islamist movement in Somalia and U.S. "covert" assistance to the Ethiopian invasion that supported Somalia's transitional government against the stronger Islamists. The media should be focusing on one of the major causes of the Somali mess: U.S. government meddling."

The Return of Evil Campaign Journalism - "You'll hear quite a lot in the next 20 months about who has bony hands, who has lines on his or her face, who looks good in a parka, who can play the saxophone underwater, who is "measured" and who is "fiery" -- but you won't hear anything about who voted for the bankruptcy bill and who didn't (Obama was a nay, incidentally; Hillary abstained)."

PBS shelves film on moderate Muslims - "A 52-minute documentary film exploring the struggles of moderate American Muslims at the hands of their radical brethren has also become a showcase for the struggles between right and left in the news media. ... "The censorship of this documentary tells us a great deal about the level to which our government is facilitating the ideology of Islamism which runs directly counter to our foundations of Americanism.""

Religious bias colors doctors' views: survey - "Few topics are more likely to cause argument among doctors than the influence of religion on healing, but a survey suggests most physicians bring their ideas about religion into their practice, U.S. researchers reported on Monday."

Physicians believe God can help patients get healthy - "Dr. Wayne Detmer, an internist at Lawndale Christian Health Center, said all doctors have seen cures of patients "that don't make sense based on our current understanding of physiology or medicine."" -- And because we don't understand it then it has to be the work of a "god"?

Home prices to fall for first time in 2007 - "The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday it expects its measure of home prices to fall this year for the first time since the group began tracking sales nearly 40 years ago."

The New Suburban Poverty - "The result is a historic milestone that has gone strangely ignored: For the first time ever, more poor Americans live in the suburbs than in all our cities combined.

You don't need a college diploma to make a living - "Government studies show that the overwhelming majority of jobs, both today and in the future, will require some post-secondary education, but not a four-year degree. Jobs requiring high school and some college currently account for 110 million out of 145 million total jobs in the United States, said Richard Holden, regional commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By 2014, the "some college" jobs will account for 121 million out of 165 million expected jobs."

Diabetics cured by stem-cell treatment - "Diabetics using stem-cell therapy have been able to stop taking insulin injections for the first time, after their bodies started to produce the hormone naturally again."

Scientists build robotic housekeeper - "U.S. scientists have created a humanoid robot housekeeper called Domo that shows promise as a household assistant for elderly or wheelchair-bound people."

New Experiment Probes Weird Zone Between Quantum and Classical - "The experiment will be the first time scientists have ever scaled an object in the observable world down into the slippery world of quantum mechanics."

Forgotten magic manual contains original da Vinci code - "AFTER lying almost untouched in the vaults of an Italian university for 500 years, a book on the magic arts written by Leonardo da Vinci's best friend and teacher has been translated into English for the first time. ... Tricks in the magic text include how to write a sentence on the petals of a rose, wash your hands in molten lead, and make an egg walk across a table ("commoners will consider it a miracle"). The book contains some of the first known European examples of numerical puzzles, which are similar to those printed in today's newspapers, such as Sudoku. There is also a diagram of a moving piece puzzle which was the medieval version of the Rubik's cube."

Signs of water seen on planet outside solar system - "Evidence of water has been detected for the first time in a planet outside our solar system, an astronomer said on Tuesday. The find is tantalizing for scientists eager to know whether life exists beyond Earth."

NFL cracks down on off-field thuggery - "National Football League teams could be penalized for the off-the-field misbehavior of their players under a tougher personal conduct policy announced by the league yesterday."

Virgin Territory - "On the 25th anniversary of ''Porky's,'' EW's Chris Nashawaty recalls his own age of innocence — and the explosion of teen sex comedies that helped him survive it. Forget school. All you really needed was a private tutor. ... It might be hard for teenagers today to wrap their heads around, but there was a time — not so long ago, really — when you had to jump through a lot of logistical hoops just to see a pair of naked breasts."




Quote of the Day
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."
~ Benjamin Disraeli

April 10, 2007

Experts bash Bush: Pullout won't bring 'enemy' to U.S. - "It's become President Bush's mantra, his main explanation for why he won't withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq anytime soon. In speech after speech, in statement after statement, Bush insists that ''this is a war in which, if we were to leave before the job is done, the enemy would follow us here.” ... But is it true? Military and diplomatic analysts say it isn't. They accuse Bush of exaggerating the threat that enemy forces in Iraq pose to the U.S. mainland. ... U.S. military, intelligence and diplomatic experts in Bush's own government say the violence in Iraq is primarily a struggle for power between Shiite and Sunni Muslim Iraqis seeking to dominate their society, not a crusade by radical Sunni jihadists bent on carrying the battle to the United States. ... ''Attacks by terrorist groups account for only a fraction of insurgent violence,” said a February DIA report. While acknowledging that terrorists could commit a catastrophic act on U.S. soil at any time - whether U.S. forces are in Iraq or not - the likelihood that enemy combatants from Iraq might follow departing U.S. forces back to the United States is remote at best, according to experts."

All Roads Lead to Dick Cheney - "Did all of these aspects of Mr. Cheney's background converge in the Iraq debacle? Well, a top official at the State Department stated there was a secret "cabal" involving Cheney, and that Cheney and a handful of others had hijacked the country's foreign policy. Did they converge on 9/11? This last question is not merely academic: vice President Cheney was apparently in charge of ALL 5 of the war games which occurred on 9/11 and coordinated the government's "response" to the attacks."

U.S. military develops Robocop armour for soldiers - "Included in the Pentagon's Future Warrior Concept are a powerful exoskeleton, a self-camouflaging outer layer that adapts to changing environments and a helmet which translates a soldier's voice into any foreign language." -- Check out the picture.

Airman Burned in Raygun Test - "An airman suffered second-degree burns during an evaluation of a non-lethal heat-ray gun this week in south Georgia, officials said."

10 States Introduce Impeachment - "The question, of course, is what in the heck is wrong with the other 40 states? ... But let's give credit where it's due. These 10 states have acted: CA, HI, IL, MN, MO, WA, VT, NM, WI, TX."

Schoolchildren to be fingerprinted in Big Brother-style shake-up - " Pupils will have to hand over their biometric details simply to borrow library books or gain access to school dinners. ... Critics say it is part of a 'softening-up' exercise to condition children to accept a creeping surveillance society."

Court: MySpace postings are free speech - "A judge violated a juvenile's free-speech rights when he placed her on probation for posting an expletive-laden entry on MySpace criticizing a school principal, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled."

Praying for the Apocalypse - "The radical Christian right has no religious legitimacy. It is a mass political movement. It is interchangeable, in many ways, with other traditional political movements ranging from fascism to communism to the ethnic nationalist parties in the former Yugoslavia. It shares with these movements an inability to cope with ambiguity, doubt and uncertainty. It also embraces a world of miracles and signs and makes war on rational, reality-based thought. It condemns self-criticism and debate as apostasy. It places a premium on action. It dismisses those who do not bow down before its god—and the leaders who claim to speak for God—as heretics and traitors. This movement shares with corporatists, who are busy cannibalizing our society for profit, the belief that there are a chosen few who know the truth and therefore have the right to impose it. The citizen, the individual, no longer has any legitimacy in this new world. All legitimacy is assumed by groups, whether they are corporate groups herding us over the cliff of globalization or religious groups that give popular vent to corporate-generated despair through faith in the Christian utopia. In this paradigm—corporate and religious—we become disempowered, afraid, passive and easily manipulated. Apocalyptic visions like this one have, throughout history, cowed populations and inspired genocidal killers. They have enticed societies into collective suicide. These visions nourished the butchers who led the Inquisition, the Crusades and the conquistadors who swept through the Americas converting and then exterminating the native population. These visions sustained the SS guards at Auschwitz, the Stalinists who consigned tens of thousands of Ukrainian families to starvation and death, the torturers in the clandestine prisons in Argentina during the Dirty War and the Serbian thugs with heavy machine guns and wraparound sunglasses who stood over the bodies of those they had slain in the smoking ruins of Bosnian villages. Those who promise to purify the world through violence, to relieve the anxiety of moral pollution and despair, appeal to our noblest sentiments, our highest virtues, our capacity for self-sacrifice and our utopian visions of a cleansed world. It is this coupling of fantastic hope and profound despair, along with visions of peace and light and absolute terror, of selflessness and murder, which frees the consciences of those who call for and carry out the eradication of those they have banished from moral consideration. When leaders of this movement, such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, sanction, as they do, pre-emptive nuclear strikes against our enemies, and therefore the enemies of God, they fuel the passions of terrorists in love with the same apocalyptic nightmares. They march us to our own doom cheered by the delusion that once the dogs of war, even nuclear war, are unleashed, hundreds of millions will die, but because Christians have been blessed and chosen by God they alone will arise in triumph from the ash heap."

HAVE CHRISTIANS BECOME DUPES - "I will tell you what is going on: countless millions of Christians have elevated certain politicians and their mouthpieces in the Religious Right into a church-sphere or even into a God-sphere. In other words, because a politician or conservative celebrity claims to be a Christian, they are presumed to be untouchable. Such people must not be criticized or challenged, no matter how unconstitutional or stupid their actions might be, because doing so makes one guilty of some kind of spiritual law against speaking ill of Christian brothers."

Stop shopping ... or the planet will go pop - "'Many big ideas have struggled over the centuries to dominate the planet,' begins the argument by Jonathon Porritt, government adviser and all-round environmental guru. 'Fascism. Communism. Democracy. Religion. But only one has achieved total supremacy. Its compulsive attractions rob its followers of reason and good sense. It has created unsustainable inequalities and threatened to tear apart the very fabric of our society. More powerful than any cause or even religion, it has reached into every corner of the globe. It is consumerism.'"

More Uninsured Means More Healthcare Corporate Profits - "The U.S. is said to offer gold-standard healthcare, but it's the most expensive health system in the world and only people with a pot of gold can get that care."

Diets damage health, shows biggest ever study - "The world's largest study of weight loss has shown that diets do not work for the vast majority of slimmers and may even put lives at risk."

Do coffee and cigarettes protect against Parkinson's? - "People with Parkinson's disease are less likely to be smokers and coffee drinkers than their healthy siblings, according to a study of family members. The finding adds to a growing body of evidence that some substance in tobacco might protect the brain against this devastating neurological disorder and sheds new light on coffee's effects on the disease."

Scientists show we can die of a broken heart - "Scientists have charted for the first time how intense stress caused by bereavement can make someone "die of a broken heart". A British team has found that the regions of the brain responsible for learning, memory and emotion can destabilise the cardiac muscle of someone who already has heart disease."

Glass baby bottles making comeback - "Glass baby bottles, replaced decades ago by unbreakable plastic, are making such a comeback that parents can't get their hands on them. Online and brick-and-mortar retailers report a run on glass baby bottles in recent weeks that they say was spurred by reports that the most common type of plastic in baby bottles may leach a toxic chemical."

Species Total Tops 1 Million - "A worldwide scientific effort to catalog every living species has topped the 1 million milestone. Six years into the program the total has reached 1,009,000, researchers report. They hope to complete the listing by 2011, reaching an expected total of about 1.75 million species."

Prisons of Passion - "According to government statistics, most sexual contact between corrections staff and inmates occurs between female employees and male prisoners."

Googling your date - "For better or worse, "googling" your date has become standard practice."




Quote of the Day
"It's better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it."
~ Anonymous

April 9, 2007

Thousands join anti-U.S. march marking Baghdad's fall - "Thousands of anti-U.S. protesters marched in the Shiite holy city of Najaf on Monday to mark the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. Powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for the demonstration, which Najaf police said included tens of thousands of protesters."

Senate Democrats say they won't halt funding for troops - "Two leading Senate Democrats said their party will not cut off funding for U.S. troops in Iraq, distancing themselves from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, who now says he supports doing so."

Iran releases rebuttal footage of sailors playing chess - "The Brits really should've quit while they were ahead . . . Too late now."

Robert Fisk: The true story of free speech in America - "Because it's really all about shutting the reality of the Middle East off from us. It's to prevent the British and American people from questioning the immoral and cruel and internationally illegal occupation of Muslim lands. And in the Land of the Free, this systematic censorship of Middle East reality continues even in the country's schools."

Another Enemy of the People? - ""I presented my credentials from the Marine Corps to a very polite clerk for American Airlines. One of the two people to whom I talked asked a question and offered a frightening comment: "Have you been in any peace marches? We ban a lot of people from flying because of that." I explained that I had not so marched but had, in September, 2006, given a lecture at Princeton, televised and put on the Web, highly critical of George Bush for his many violations of the Constitution. "That'll do it," the man said. ""After carefully examining my credentials, the clerk asked if he could take them to TSA officials. I agreed. He returned about ten minutes later and said I could have a boarding pass, but added: "I must warn you, they=re going to ransack your luggage." On my return flight, I had no problem with obtaining a boarding pass, but my luggage was "lost." Airlines do lose a lot of luggage and this "loss" could have been a mere coincidence. In light of previous events, however, I'm a tad skeptical.""

Why So Gloomy? - "Judging from the media in recent months, the debate over global warming is now over. ... What most commentators—and many scientists—seem to miss is that the only thing we can say with certainly about climate is that it changes. ... The current alarm rests on the false assumption not only that we live in a perfect world, temperaturewise, but also that our warming forecasts for the year 2040 are somehow more reliable than the weatherman's forecast for next week."

Globalists Love Global Warming - "The Trilateral Commission, one of the three pillars of the New World Order in alliance with Bilderberg and the CFR, met last week in near secrecy to formulate policy on how best they could exploit global warming fearmongering to ratchet up taxes and control over how westerners live their lives."

Polar caps wane as Mars tries global warming - "Global warming and melting polar ice caps are not just problems here on Earth. Mars is facing similar global changes, researchers say, with temperatures across the red planet rising by around 0.65 degrees over the last few decades."

Alien Invasion: The Fungus That Came to Canada - "Similar cases have been found elsewhere in British Columbia and in Washington state and Oregon. Scientists say the fungus may be thriving because of a string of unusually warm summers here. They say it is a sign of things to come."

Revolution, flashmobs, and brain chips. A grim vision of the future - "Information chips implanted in the brain. Electromagnetic pulse weapons. The middle classes becoming revolutionary, taking on the role of Marx's proletariat. The population of countries in the Middle East increasing by 132%, while Europe's drops as fertility falls. "Flashmobs" - groups rapidly mobilised by criminal gangs or terrorists groups. This is the world in 30 years' time envisaged by a Ministry of Defence team responsible for painting a picture of the "future strategic context" likely to face Britain's armed forces."

Edwards: Let IRS do millions of returns - "Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards wants the Internal Revenue Service to calculate and complete the income tax returns of up to 50 million Americans annually." -- Seems like a dangerous idea.

EU: Shopping list could make you 'a terror suspect' - "The European Union's privacy watchdog has given warning that new access for Europol to personal data could lead to individuals being labelled as terror suspects based on hearsay or records of their shopping habits."

The 13-Year-Old Prostitute - "“Let me tell you,” he said. “I’m a pimp, and you’re a ho.” “What do you mean I’m a ho?” she asked. She knew the word only as an insult, as in, you’re nasty. “No,” he said. “You’re a moneymaking ho.” “Is that good?” she asked. “Yeah,” he told her. “That’s good.” She was 13 years old. If Lucilia were a 13-year-old Chinese girl smuggled to New York and made to work in a Queens brothel, she would not be seen, in the eyes of the authorities, as a prostitute at all. She would be a sex slave, a victim of human trafficking, and if she had the good fortune to be discovered by the police, she would be given federal protection and shielded by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. But she’s not."

You Grew Up Playing Shoot'em-Up Games. Why Can't Your Kids? - "Gamers like me have spent years railing against ill-informed parents and politicians who've blamed games for making kids violent, unimaginative, fat or worse. But now we're in a weird position: We're the first generation that is young enough to have grown up playing games, but old enough to have kids."

Bedbugs bounce back: Outbreaks in all 50 states - "Nearly eradicated in the United States 50 years ago, resistant strains of "super" bedbugs are infesting mattresses at an alarming rate. In what's being touted as the biggest mystery in entomology, all 50 states are reporting outbreaks of the blood-sucking nocturnal critters."

Space agency wants 'Mars' volunteers - "The volunteers will be isolated in metal tanks for 18 months. The tanks will be fitted out for different functions such as a medical unit, research lab, kitchen and living quarters."

Microsoft changes tune on selling DRM-free songs - "Following digital music pioneer Apple’s lead yet again, Microsoft said this week it will soon sell digital music online without digital rights management (DRM) protection."




Quote of the Day
"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."
~ Rhett Butler, Gone With the Wind

April 6, 2007 (Page 2)

Spin, spin, spin - UK tries to undo Iran's PR win - "The UK has apparently appointed one of the freed marines as an official spokesperson for the others and fed him a scary tale to tell. ... Of course, if they were blindfolded and kept under harsh conditions, like this guy alleges, the Iranians would have been less likely to let them go for fear that they'd squeal. I call bullshit on the Brits. It will be interesting to see whether the British government will allow the rest of the freed sailors to speak freely to the press."

An Administration's Epic Collapse - "The three big Bush stories of 2007--the decision to "surge" in Iraq, the scandalous treatment of wounded veterans at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys for tawdry political reasons--precisely illuminate the three qualities that make this Administration one of the worst in American history: arrogance (the surge), incompetence (Walter Reed) and cynicism (the U.S. Attorneys)."

Liberals push to impeach Bush - ""Democrats are not about impeachment," Mrs. Pelosi said on NBC's "Meet the Press" in May. "Democrats are about bringing the country together." ... "The Republicans showed their true colors when they impeached President Clinton," said Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa Democrat. He called the Whitewater investigation of the Clintons' Arkansas real estate dealings a "witch hunt" that wasted thousands of hours and "so much of the public's money." "We Democrats have to show the people of this country that we're better than that," he said. ... "Impeachment might make it look like we don't care about the other stuff," he said. "I don't think it serves the American people well, even though if there ever was a president that deserved to be removed, this is probably the guy."" -- Huh?

Cheney insists on Iraq links to al Qa'ida - "US VICE President Dick Cheney repeated his assertions of al Qa'ida links to Saddam Hussein's Iraq as the US Defence Department released a report citing more evidence that the pre-war government did not cooperate with the terrorist group." -- The most dangerous people are the ones that believe their own lies.

US Aiding Al Qaeda Affiliated Group In Iran? - "ABC cited Pakistani government sources as saying the secret campaign against Iran was on the agenda when U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney met Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in February. One interesting aspect of this is that, according to the Asia Times, the Jundullah group was formerly allegedly headed by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the so called al-Qaeda operational commander of the 9/11 attacks."

What Frustrates the Saudi King? His Name is Bush - "The biggest frustration of the Saudis, however, is named George W. Bush. Despite old ties between the Bush family and the Saudis, King Abdullah feels that he hasn't been listened to on any vital question of recent times - especially the invasion of Iraq. And worse: not even his warnings were taken into account. The King spoke freely and in full during a blunt speech full of acid criticism of the Americans - amongst them, that the occupation of Iraq is illegal. Most curiously, in part the Israeli diplomats fully agree with the Saudis."

'Would Rosie O'Donnell Deny The Holocaust?' - "Those who deny the events of September 11, 2001 are no better than the people who deny that 6 million Jews perished in the Holocaust. The American Broadcasting Corporation demeans itself by giving a daily platform to Rosie O’Donnell. Surely ABC would not give a daily platform to a Holocaust denier. Whether we like it or not, this country is at war. America would not have tolerated the likes of Rosie O’Donnell during World War II. America ought not tolerate her now." -- Don't ask questions, people! Accept every thing you're told. Go back to shopping.

War on Rosie: John Gibson says ABC should take O'Donnell off the air - "So let me get this straight - it's OK for John Gibson to have a daily platform from which to spout his racist, xenophobic, anti-Democratic rants, but Rosie O'Donnell should be fired for suggesting that her viewers do some research and draw their own conclusions, rather than swallow the corporate and government reports whole. ... It is stunning that major TV "journalists" are spending multiple segments a day trying to get a talk show host fired for talking. Censorship is ugly stuff, but that's what they're endorsing in this war on Rosie."

Somalia slips ever backwards - "Hundreds of civilians have died in fighting in Mogadishu - further proof that last year's US-backed Ethiopian invasion did more harm than good."

THE SYSTEMATIC EMASCULATION OF MEN - "Let us begin by saying that 1) women are beaten and murdered by men in every cultural and in every country in the world. This we know. We also know that women kill women, men, and children in every cultural and country in the world, and that men perpetrate these same crimes upon other males in every culture and country in the world. People are not passive creatures. We also know that women in other cultures and countries are not treated in the same fashion as they are treated in the United States, but that has far more to do with the fact that American males did, in fact, value their female counterparts, coupled with their cultural norms, Christian traditions, and constitutional laws, in a far more sincere and reasonable manner. In the great scope of world history, American men have fared beautifully in the treatment and respect of women due to the aforementioned reasons. In a global context, American women have had better treatment, rights, and cultural equality than most of the world’s women. Somehow, this fact is persistently ignored by America’s radical feminist fringe."

Scientists predict Southwest mega-drought - ""If these models are correct, the levels of aridity of the recent multiyear drought, or the Dust Bowl and 1950s droughts, will, within the coming years to decades, become the new climatology of the American Southwest," the researchers wrote."

Bleakest climate report approved - "As the world gets hotter by degrees, millions of poor people will suffer from hunger, thirst, floods and disease unless drastic action is taken, scientists and diplomats warned Friday in their bleakest report ever on global warming."

Climate Report Warns of Faster and Wider Damage - "Top climate experts issued their bleakest forecasts yet about global warming on Friday, ranging from hunger in Africa to a thaw of Himalayan glaciers in a study that may add pressure on governments to act."

Global warming threatens natural wonders - "An environmental group said Thursday some of the world's greatest natural treasures are threatened with destruction because of global warming — from the Great Barrier Reef to the Amazon rain forests and the unique ecosystem of the Mexican desert." -- Guess what? During the course of the planet's existence, I'm betting more "natural wonders" have come and gone than humans can possibly imagine.

Scientists, governments clash as report reveals dangers of climate change - "The climax of five days of negotiations was reached when the delegates removed parts of key charts highlighting devastating effects of climate change that kick in with every rise of 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, and in a tussle over the level of confidence attached to key statements. The charts have been called a "highway to extinction" because they show that with every degree of warming, the condition of much of the world worsens — with starvation, floods and the disappearance of species. ... The United States, China and Saudi Arabia raised the most objections to the phrasing, most often seeking to tone down the certainty of some of the more dire projections."

Treatment may fuel cancer's spread - "Treating cancer with surgery, chemotherapy or radiation may sometimes cause tumors to spread, researchers say."

Strangers took everything ... and the kitchen sink after Craigslist hoax - "The online ad invited strangers to take anything they wanted from the Tacoma rental house -- for free. Now the homeowner is missing windows, light fixtures and the kitchen sink in what police say was a hoax."

April 6, 2007

The America Haters Strike Again - "I occasionally get emails from people who tell me that I hate America. ... Does this mean that anyone who rises in opposition to any American war is a traitor and hates freedom? Or, is it just this war, or the last war, or the next one, or the one after that? Is everyone who doesn't like this massive government a communist? Is it impossible for a person to love America and dissent at the same time? ... For them, the military is America. War is America. The president is America. The NSA is America. Every politician that they love and worship is America. And, if you don't like it, you obviously hate America. You must be some kind of terrorist, or communist, or whatever term they decide to label you with; and you'd rather be living in some foreign dictatorship. ... I'll say it again. I love America. And - I'm not leaving."

British crew: Iran blindfolded detainees - "The British sailors and marines held captive for nearly two weeks in Iran were blindfolded, bound and faced constant psychological pressure, a Royal Navy lieutenant said Friday." -- Still looking to make this incident give them public support for attacking Iran?

Release of Iranian diplomats not on U.S. agenda - "Gates, however, added that Washington had no plans to free the abducted diplomats. "I think there's no inclination right now to let them go," Gates told reporters in Washington."

And Iraq's big oil contracts go to ... - "Despite claims by some critics that the Bush administration invaded Iraq to take control of its oil, the first contracts with major oil firms from Iraq's new government are likely to go not to U.S. companies, but rather to companies from China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia."

Hussein's Prewar Ties To Al-Qaeda Discounted - "Captured Iraqi documents and intelligence interrogations of Saddam Hussein and two former aides "all confirmed" that Hussein's regime was not directly cooperating with al-Qaeda before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, according to a declassified Defense Department report released yesterday."

Chertoff: Next 9/11 could be launched by Europeans - "Mr. Chertoff insisted that America required additional information, including e-mail addresses and credit card details, to vet European passengers and rejected "the idea that we're going to bargain with the European Union over who's going to come into the United States" under the visa waiver scheme. "We have an absolute right to get this, in the same way that if someone wants to be a guest in my house, I have a right to ask them who they are and get identification.""

The Media Calls him Al Qaeda, but his Jewish Father calls him Adam Pearlman - "The article then quotes an alleged “expert,” on Al Qaeda and terrorism, a woman named Laura Mansfield, who says, “the time reference could indicate an attack is near. Muslims believe that non-believers should be given a chance to convert before they are attacked.” Booga booga! What the CNN article never mentions is that Adam Gadhn, or “Azzam the American,” as the media likes to refer to him, is in reality a Jew from California named Adam Pearlman. I’m not kidding reader, I’m as serious as a heart attack, Azzam the American is a Jew. CNN isn’t the only negligent news agency, not a single one of the television networks have mentioned Gadahn’s/Pearlman’s pedigree, not one. The only news source I am aware of that has mentioned the fact that “Azzam the American” is Jewish, was the LA Times and the Washington Post, and then only in the most cryptic manner."

9/11 Physicist Contacted To Appear On The View - "Physicist Professor Steven Jones has confirmed that Rosie O'Donnell's staff have contacted him regarding a potential future appearance on The View to discuss the improbable collapse of the twin towers and WTC 7."

Liberals push to impeach Bush - "Congressional Democrats say their constituents are clamoring for something even the most liberal lawmakers promise they won't pursue: President Bush's impeachment." -- Cheney has to be included.

Abolition of Electoral College under way - "A movement is sweeping the nation that could eliminate the Electoral College in national elections, and with it much of this country's republican form of government, instead giving unstoppable control over the White House to any coalition the major population centers would choose to create. Maryland's state legislature already has given approval to a proposal that would, in conjunction with other states' efforts, eliminate the college, and similar plans have already been approved by single legislative houses in Hawaii, Colorado and Arizona. In seven more states – Washington, Montana, California, New Mexico, Louisiana, West Virginia and Connecticut – the plans have been endorsed by legislative committees. ... "There would be virtually no incentive to try to mobilize constituencies, organize specific interests, or devote any resources to such things as voter registration and education. … "What we would have is a political system that combines the worst of network television with the worst of the modern campaign," he concluded."

Bill O'Reilly reports on JFK Assassinations Committee - "Bill O'Reilly, when he was on Inside Edition, reports on Oswald's association with the CIA. Gee Bill, here you are spouting a conspiracy theory! That's unamerican. Why do you hate this country, you two-faced hypocrite?I'm not saying that you should be fired. I'm saying that Fox News has a BIG problem."

Ford CEO paid $39.1 million for four months - "Exec’s compensation comes after automaker lost $12.7 billion in 2006."

Jefferson’s View: Democracy, Not Theocracy – And Religious Freedom For All - "Today is Thomas Jefferson’s birthday. ... He favored a democracy that maximized religious liberty, not a theocracy that trampled it."

Commentary: What would Jesus really do? - "When did it come to the point that being a Christian meant only caring about two issues,­ abortion and homosexuality?"

Wal-Mart and Target Spy on Their Employees - "With Target and Wal-Mart acting as though they are entitled to spy on, stalk and imprison their own employees, we are on the road to a full-scale workplace dictatorship."

When regular TV broadcasts go dark - "According to AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons), lower-income and older Americans are disproportionately represented in this group. The elderly, in particular, rely heavily on television as an important connection to the outside world, yet AARP fears that they're the ones most likely to get lost in the transition."

Battle to Win Top Colleges' Nod Escalating - "The latest data show that if anything, the frantic competition to get into the most selective colleges is only going to get worse."

Web 2.0--the folly of amateurs? - "Them be fighting words, to be sure, and Keen is being purposely provocative. But he's worth reading. Keen's not writing from the uninformed point of view of a technophobe. In his previous life, he was the founder of Audiocafe.com. That said, he's not at all happy about where things are headed, bemoaning the advent of "an endless digital forest of mediocrity" as the number of new blogs doubles each six months. Here's a typical snippet:"

The robots are running riot! Quick, bring out the red tape - "When the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov envisioned a future shared by human beings and robots, he predicted that the mechanical servants of tomorrow would be safely controlled by only three simple laws. But when Japan’s notoriously zealous bureaucracy looks into the future, it sees robots enmeshed in miles of red tape. Three laws, the robotics experts say, are nowhere near sufficient to ensure human safety in a world where cleaning, carrying and even cooking could one day be performed by machines. So the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has drafted a hugely complex set of proposals for keeping robots in check."

Battle aliens, save the world and learn chemistry - "Two university professors have combined their knowledge of science and video games to create a game that helps students learn chemistry."

Chihuahua or Great Dane? One Gene Sets Dog Size - "Scientists have just discovered which gene fragment controls the size of dogs, which have the greatest size range of any mammal — no other species produces adults with 100-fold differences, like that between a two-pound chihuahua and a 200-pound Newfoundland."




Quote of the Day
"History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives."
~ Abba Eban

April 5, 2007

Iran Shows the Way to Civilised Behaviour - "No orange jump suits, no barbed wire, no hoods, no electric shocks, no dogs let loose on them, no sodomy, no rape, no wild and threatening statements and no steroid fed soldiers leading them on a leash! Contrast that with Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and Baghram in Afghanistan and you can see which culture is civilised."

US to attack Iran by end of April: report - "The US is planning to attack Iran's nuclear reactors and other nuclear facilities by the end of this month, the Kuwait-based Arab Times newspaper reported Wednesday."

Just what will 'success' in Iraq actually mean? - "If an Islamic theocracy is what thousands of U.S. dead, tens of thousands wounded and the expenditure of hundreds of billions of American taxpayers' dollars accomplishes in the end -- is President Bush going to tell us it is success?"

Pratfall in Damascus - "The really striking development here is the attempt by a Democratic congressional leader to substitute her own foreign policy for that of a sitting Republican president. Two weeks ago Ms. Pelosi rammed legislation through the House of Representatives that would strip Mr. Bush of his authority as commander in chief to manage troop movements in Iraq. Now she is attempting to introduce a new Middle East policy that directly conflicts with that of the president. We have found much to criticize in Mr. Bush's military strategy and regional diplomacy. But Ms. Pelosi's attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive, it is foolish."

In between trying to start a war, Drudge finds time to mislead about his web site's popularity - "Obviously Drudge still gets a massive amount of traffic, but this is clearly an attempt to mislead his readers into believing his site (and the propaganda which goes with it) is becoming more popular, when in reality, like all the other Neo-Con propaganda organs, Limbaugh, etc., it is losing all its readership and is falling dramatically in popularity."

What is Michelle Malkin's Problem? - "Malkin is now on a kick to get comedienne Rosie O'Donnell fired from ABC's show "The View." Rosie is a regular subject of derision by right-wingers who hate the fact that she's unabashedly liberal and an open lesbian. Just last night, CNN host Glenn Beck suggested that Rosie isn't really a woman (presumably because she's a lesbian). And today Malkin is calling on her readers to boycott advertisers who put their products on "The View" because Rosie said something Malkin doesn't agree with.Why is Malkin trying to destroy a woman's career? Because Rosie is a bigot? No. Because Rosie is a biased journalist? No, she's a comedian hosting a talk show alongside an avowed conservative (who spoke at the Republican Convention, no less) who balances her out. No, Rosie's crime is having said that she think it's fishy the way one of the side buildings at the World Trade Center collapsed. That's it. And in Malkin's view, in the right-wing view, that's reason enough for Rosie to lose her entire career."

The fog of rape - "No serious person doubts that sexual harassment and even rape occur in a war zone. ... But more overt sexual aggression may be the product of something few will acknowledge, at least on the record: Resentment. Off the record, in dozens of interviews over a period of years, male soldiers and officers have confided that many men resent women because they've been forced to pretend that women are equals, and men know they're not."

US Judge Affirms IMBRA: Americans Must Have Criminal Checks Before Contacting Foreigners on Internet - "On March 26, 2007, a new federal law restricting Americans from contacting foreigners through internet dating sites was upheld by a federal court after a Constitutional challenge by an internet dating company. In European Connections v. Alberto Gonzales, 1:06-CV-0426-CC, Judge Clarence Cooper of the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia dismissed a lawsuit by European Connections which claimed that the law violated the right to freedom of speech contained in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The plaintiff had failed to challenge the law based on the First Amendment right to assemble."

Census: Immigrants stabilize big-city populations - "Without immigrants pouring into the nation's big metro areas, places such as New York, Los Angeles and Boston would be losing population. Many smaller areas, including Battle Creek, Michigan, Ames, Iowa, and Corvallis, Oregon, would lose people as well, according to population estimates released Thursday by the Census Bureau."

Are humans hard-wired for faith? - "Dr. Andrew Newberg, neuroscientist and author of "Why We Believe What We Believe," wants to change all that. He's working on ways to track how the human brain processes religion and spirituality. It's all part of new field called neurotheology."

Atheism, like any other belief, deserves Americans' respect - ""As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion." This quotation, taken from a U.S. treaty with Tripoli in 1797, was drafted under George Washington and signed by John Adams. Unlike what the majority of the American public and the politicians in Washington believe, the United States was indeed founded on a tradition of secularism."

Overwhelming majority of Americans believe in God - "More than 90 percent of U.S. adults say they believe in God and 82 percent identify themselves as Christians, a Newsweek poll finds. ... While one in 10 said they have "no religion," only 6 percent reject belief in God and 3 percent are self-described atheists." -- Nothing like being in the 3 percent category. Don't just about all major revelations in thought begin with such a low percentage of people accepting the new way of thinking?

We Still Have a Long Way to Go - "But perhaps more importantly, Newsweek also asked poll respondents about modern biology. Nearly half (48 percent) of the public rejects the scientific theory of evolution; one-third (34 percent) of college graduates say they accept the Biblical account of creation as fact. Seventy-three percent of Evangelical Protestants say they believe that God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years; 39 percent of non-Evangelical Protestants and 41 percent of Catholics agree with that view. This is not at all encouraging. These poll results come just a few months after an international study was conducted to measure which countries were the most accepting on evolutionary biology. Of the 34 countries involved, the United States ranked 33rd. Only Turkey ranked lower." -- How embarrassing.

Texas Lawmaker Wants Bible to Be Used as Textbook in State's Public Schools - "A Texas legislator wants to require the state's nearly 1,700 public school districts to teach the Bible as a textbook, "not a worship document.""

Proposed Bill on Bible Classes Could Endanger Religious Freedom, Put Schools in Legal Jeopardy - "Proposed legislation mandating that every Texas public high school offer courses on the Bible could threaten the religious freedom of students and put school districts in legal jeopardy, academics and advocates of religious liberty said today."

'Porn & Pancakes' fights X-rated addictions - ""A lot of people think Christians sure don't struggle with this," Gross said. "The stats don't lie: Christians are consuming pornography. And to me, it's not a surprise.""

Study: Red planet heating up - "Earth's dusty neighbor Mars is grappling with its own form of climate change as fluctuating solar radiation is kicking up dust and winds that may be melting the planet's southern polar ice cap, scientists said Wednesday."

Software's Benefits On Tests In Doubt - "Educational software, a $2 billion-a-year industry that has become the darling of school systems across the country, has no significant impact on student performance, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Education."

Study: No benefit going high-tech for math and science - "Going high-tech doesn't lead to higher math and reading scores, according to a federal study."

Vista Expert: Why I Don't Like Vista - "For more than a year, I poked and prodded my way through hundreds of Windows Vista menus and dialog boxes. But after I finished writing “Windows Vista For Dummies” and “Upgrading and Fixing PCs For Dummies,” I turned off my Vista PC. On the rare occasion I fire it up to double-check a few settings, Vista constantly reminds me why I’ve never installed it on my main PC. Let me count just a few of the ways:"

Kaspersky claims to find first iPod virus - "Not that you don't have enough to worry about already."

Neglectful dog owners could face prosection - "Owners of fat dogs or cats could face prosecution under the Animal Welfare Act which comes into force tomorrow."




Quote of the Day
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction."
~ Blaise Pascal

Jarvis Cocker - Running The World

April 4, 2007

Iran president to free UK sailors - "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has met with some of the 15 British military personnel held in Iranian custody for almost two weeks, shortly after pardoning the group and vowing to set them free. Iranian state television showed footage of Ahmadinejad shaking hands, smiling and chatting with the detainees. One of the 15 was heard to comment in English: "We are grateful for your forgiveness."" -- What? They weren't waterboarded?

Orwell at Guantanamo - "Here's what the Bush administration has done to the values, traditions and honor of the United States of America: An accused terrorist claims he confessed to heinous crimes so that agents of the U.S. government would stop torturing him, and no one is shocked or even surprised. There's reason to believe, in fact, that what the suspect says about torture is probably true. There's also reason to doubt that the suspect -- Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, held in U.S. custody without charges for more than four years -- is the Zelig-like innocent bystander he claims to be. But we can't be sure, because George W. Bush disgraced himself and his country by ordering extrajudicial kidnappings of suspects in the war on terror, indefinite secret detention and interrogation by "alternative" methods that the civilized world calls torture."

No more GWOT, House committee decrees - "The House Armed Services Committee is banishing the global war on terror from the 2008 defense budget. This is not because the war has been won, lost or even called off, but because the committee’s Democratic leadership doesn’t like the phrase. ... Also banned is the phrase the “long war,” which military officials began using last year as a way of acknowledging that military operations against terrorist states and organizations would not be wrapped up in a few years."

UK pilots asked to consider “kamikaze” scenario - "Royal Air Force pilots were asked by a senior RAF official to consider flying so-called “kamikaze” flights as part of the war on terror, the British defence ministry confirmed on Tuesday." -- Um, WTF?

Executive power hot topic at New Hampshire forums - "Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani yesterday defended President Bush's extensive use of national security tools such as the USA Patriot Act as no worse than other countries, but Sen. Barack Obama said he would use executive orders to roll back some of those powers."

Enemies Of Free Speech Launch 'Stop Rosie' Website, Petition - "You'll notice how these frothing Bush cheerleaders don't devote a website to challenging O'Donnell on the facts she has laid out because they can't win a debate on a level playing field, they have to resort to mob tactics and efforts to scare people into shutting down O'Donnell's free speech, just like Bill O'Reilly cuts off his guest's mic when he's losing an argument."

O'Reilly's America: Who Is The Real "Hater"? - "O'Donnell, Sheen, Anderson, Taylor, and myriad others are doing no such thing, they are in fact doing the exact opposite in taking on a provably corrupt and criminal Bush administration by encouraging the American people to question their government in an effort to protect American values and further prevent the spread of anti American hatred elsewhere."

Rosie O'Donnell Takes Fire in the Debate Over 9/11 - "Obscured by the predictable brouhaha were the rest of O'Donnell's comments. ... She said: "In America we are fed propaganda, and if you want to know what's happening in the world go outside of the U.S. media because it's owned by four corporations. One of them is this one (ABC). Go outside of the country to find out what's going on in our own country," she urged an audience of millions of security-moms tuned into America's favorite coffee klatch, "because it's frightening."
"I think Democracy is threatened in a way it hasn't been in 200 years and if America doesn't stand up, we're in big trouble," she said."

How the Right Uses People of Color to Foster Racism - "White supremacy, sensing the need to repackage itself for consumption in polite company, partially fills the demand for racist bile by outsourcing to mercenary writers of color. Michelle Malkin and Dinesh D'Souza -- of Filipino and Indian descent, respectively -- are top guns of the genre, ever eager to slander non-whites, especially Blacks, as threats to Euro-American white "civilization.""

Pope says rich nations "plundered" Third World - "Rich countries bent on power and profit have mercilessly "plundered and sacked" Africa and other poor regions and exported to them the "cynicism of a world without God," Pope Benedict writes in his first book. The Pope also condemns drug trafficking and sexual tourism, saying they are signs of a world brimming with "people who are empty" yet living among abundant material goods."

250 animals sacrificed in Kendrapada temple - "Despite protests by animal lovers and social activists, Dhani Sauti, a priest at the temple, was unmoved. "It's an old tradition. From time immemorial, devotees have been sacrificing animals in the temple on Chatya Purnima and Saptami during Dussehra. No one has the right to meddle with people's faith," he said." -- That last sentence is a rather dangerous comment to make.

Civilians could be facing mandatory anthrax shots - "Not only has the highly controversial anthrax vaccine returned as mandatory for members of the U.S. military, but now a medical expert who testified before Congress on the dangers of those shots is warning that under some circumstances civilians could be facing government-ordered anthrax vaccinations."

America's Forgotten War: A Series Overview - "Nearly four decades ago, President Richard Nixon launched the war on drugs. In 1969 he declared, "Winning the battle against drug abuse is one of the most important, the most urgent national priorities confronting the United States today." That battle has been waged through seven White House administrations; in recent years, experts estimate the costs have run close to $40 billion annually. It's been fought overseas, with programs to eradicate coca and heroin production in Latin America and Asia, and efforts to interdict drugs as they are smuggled into the country over land, sea and air. It's been fought on American streets, with a law-enforcement crackdown that has resulted in nearly a half-million imprisonments over the last few decades. And it's been fought in countless U.S. communities with programs to educate, prevent and treat abuse. But after all these battles and all these billions, what's been accomplished?"

Bush Approves U.S. Army for Africa - "UNITED States President George Bush has approved the formation of a U.S. army to permanently operate in Africa, a move viewed by many as part of a wide plan to increase American hegemony on Africa."

Big Brother barks? Govt unveils shouting CCTV cameras - "Talking" closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras which allow operators to shout at people behaving badly are to be installed across England, the government announced Wednesday."

'Talking' CCTV scolds offenders - ""Talking" CCTV cameras that tell off people dropping litter or committing anti-social behaviour are to be extended to 20 areas across England."

The Last Confessions of E. Howard Hunt - "After reading what his father had written, St. John was stunned too. His father had not only implicated LBJ, he'd also, with a few swift marks of a pen, put the lie to almost everything he'd sworn to, under oath, about his knowledge of the assassination."

Carson District judge calls offense 'natural impulse' - ""These kinds of offenses are problems with impulse control," said Carson City District Judge Bill Maddox prior to sentencing. "When I say that, it's my understanding that most men are sexually attracted to young women. When I say young women I don't just mean women that ... you should be attracted to. I mean women from the time they're 1 all the way up until they're 100.""

Human brain parasite precisely alters fear - "But a new study shows the parasite, which also infects more half the world's human population, seems to target a rat's fear of cat urine with almost surgical precision, leaving other kinds of fear alone. This discovery could shed light "on how fear is generated in the first place" and how people can potentially better manage phobias, researcher Ajai Vyas, a Stanford University neuroscientist, told LiveScience." -- Now think about the soldiers of the future.

Red meat 'raises risk of breast cancer' - "As little as 2oz (57g) of beef, lamb or pork a day showed an effect."

Stay away from Vista for now - "If you are considering getting the Vista computer operating system, DON'T."

Schools refuse gifts of 'boring' classics - "Dozens of schools have rejected gifts of free classic books because today's pupils find them too 'difficult' to read, it has emerged. Around 50 schools have refused to stock literary works by the likes of Jane Austen, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens after admitting that youngsters also find them boring."
















Quote of the Day
"And can you hear the sound of hysteria?"
~ Green Day

April 3, 2007

Things That Go Bump in the Night: The President and His Perverts - "Bush himself has openly championed "tough interrogation methods" used in secret prisons, based on principles that he approved when Alberto Gonazales, John Yoo and other factotums in the poison kitchen cooked up the "legal briefs" and presidential directives that declared Bush above the law and greenlighted any form of torture that did not cause near-fatal physical damage to the victim. (Although the Bush memos did explicitly provide a giant loophole for any interrogator who got carried away and actually killed a chained, helpless prisoner, saying that if the torturer did not intend to kill the victim, why then, that's OK.) We know that Bush signed off on the Yoo vision of approved savagery just short of the point of death or permanent crippling, as well as the tyrannical notion that the president alone can determine what is legally torture and what is not. Thus, when Bush speaks of "tough interrogation methods" – which he and his minions adamantly refuse to reveal – yet insists that these methods "are entirely legal," we know the true parameters of these operations. Nor is the cancerous moral relativism of the Bush Imperium confined to torture. The embrace of torture – implicit on the part of an un-outraged public, explicit in the declarations of Bush and his followers – is part of the general acceptance of lawlessness and authoritarianism as bedrock components of the new, post-constitutional American state. The twinning of these latter scourges may seem paradoxical at first, but of course they are intimately connected. Where an authoritarian ruler claims – and exercises – arbitrary power over the lives and liberties of citizens, then law is a dead letter: it means only what the ruler says it means, and it cannot be used against the ruler and his minions, no matter what their depredations."

Bush: No Iraq funding bill by mid-April will affect troops - "President Bush warned Congress Tuesday that if it fails to send him an acceptable Iraq war funding bill by mid-April, it will threaten U.S. military equipment and training."

Exclusive: Iran Nuclear Bomb Could Be Possible by 2009 - "Iran has more than tripled its ability to produce enriched uranium in the last three months, adding some 1,000 centrifuges which are used to separate radioactive particles from the raw material. The development means Iran could have enough material for a nuclear bomb by 2009, sources familiar with the dramatic upgrade tell ABC News."

ABC News pushing Bogus Iran nuke story - "How Did Such a patently bogus article get through the editors at ABC news?"

OUR "STRONG ECONOMY:" A POWDER KEG WAITING TO BLOW - ""You know, if you let me write $200 billion worth of hot checks every year, I could give you an illusion of prosperity, too." Senator Lloyd Bensten, presidential debates 1988 The audience laughed and thought Bensten's statement was funny. There's nothing funny about what Bensten said. Fast forward nineteen years and now Congress wants to write $2 TRILLION "dollars" in hot checks. There's no money in the treasury. As I write this column, the people's purse is $8,842,131,926,483.53 in the hole. That's close to nine TRILLION "dollars." Two days ago it was $8,836,852,277,711.67 - a 48-hour increase of over $5 BILLION dollars that doesn't even exist!"

Trillions in Debt, Can the Middle Class Hang On? - "How do we stop the credit industry's predatory business model and get Americans out of debt when incomes aren't rising as fast as the costs of healthcare and housing?"

Will Vermont Secede from the Union? - "The winds of secession are blowing in the Green Mountain State: Vermont was once an independent republic, and it can be one again. We think the time to make that happen is now. Over the past 50 years, the U.S. government has grown too big, too corrupt and too aggressive toward the world, toward its own citizens and toward local democratic institutions. It has abandoned the democratic vision of its founders and eroded Americans' fundamental freedoms. Vermont did not join the Union to become part of an empire. Some of us therefore seek permission to leave."

O'Donnell Pledges Allegiance To 9/11 Truth - "After quoting George Orwell in response to Bill O'Reilly's intimidation tactics, Rosie O'Donnell has now pledged allegiance to 9/11 truth, writing on her blog that the reaction of those who have savaged her for simply asking questions proves freedom of speech and the country itself is under severe threat."

Email to Bill O'Reilly - "Mr. O’Reilly, I believe you suffer from a serious personality disorder, as it is obvious you are driven to dominate, are quick to anger, and are indifferent to the fate of others. In short, you suffer from social aggression, also known as bullying. I also tend to believe you are a sadistic sociopath and secretly revel in the fate of your victims."

It is contradictory to condemn slavery and yet celebrate the empire - "Why, demanded Jeremy Paxman recently, should he feel "guilty" about the slave trade, given that he wasn't alive then and that his "ancestors were peasants"? He is not alone in asking this question. Many Britons wonder, not unreasonably, why and how they should "apologise" for a crime they did not physically perpetrate."

Aids Victims Risk Lives - "Thousands of Aids and HIV patients are risking their lives by refusing medication in favour of holy water, Sky News can reveal. The controversial treatment is offered by a church in Ethiopia which claims to have cured hundreds of believers."

Children in India cheaper than buffaloes: report - "Traffickers are selling children in India for amounts that are often lower than the cost of animals and most of them end up working as laborers or commercial sex workers, activists said on Tuesday."

'In 10 years we will be able to grow a heart' - "Thousands of people with heart disease could have new, healthy organs grown in laboratories within 10 years."

Skeleton holds key to origin of man - "A skeleton of a possible hybrid between modern and more ancient humans has been found in China, which challenges the theory that modern man originated in Africa."

Mexico City to be one, giant Wi-Fi hotspot by 2008: mayor - "All of Mexico City will be one free, wireless Internet hotspot by 2008, Mayor Marcelo Ebrard announced Monday."

Advertising on internet soars as world follows British lead - "The internet will overtake radio by next year and become the world’s fourth-largest advertising medium, a year earlier than forecast."

Daylight saving shift fails to curb energy use - "The move to turn the clocks forward by an hour on March 11 rather than the usual early April date was mandated by the U.S. government as an energy-saving effort. But other than forcing millions of drowsy American workers and school children into the dark, wintry weather three weeks early, the move appears to have had little impact on power usage."

Possible New Mars Caves Targets in Search for Life - "A Mars-orbiting satellite recently spotted seven dark spots near the planet's equator that scientists think could be entrances to underground caves."




Quote of the Day
"It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe that there would be a revolution before morning."
~ Henry Ford, commenting on the federal reserve.

April 2, 2007

Iranian radio reports 'positive changes' - "Iranian state radio reported that all 15 British sailors and marines held captive by Iran have confessed to illegally entering Iranian waters but said their statements would not air because of "positive changes" from Britain."

new video of sailors infuriates Zionists - "Perhaps because their condition and demeanor belies everything that zionists want us and the world to believe about Iran. Look at their faces - they're practically laughing! They're completely relaxed and unafraid. It's like they're staying at a hotel - a far cry from the abominable and inhumane treatment detainees get at Guantanamo."

The American dimension - "Even though the prisoners are British rather than Americans, neocons have been desperate to head for television studios. The only reason they have not done so yet is a request by the British government to the Bush administration to stay out of it. Word has also reached members of Congress. The British fear is that even a mild rebuke from President George Bush, or a neoconservative such as John Bolton, will be counterproductive, escalating the crisis and making it harder to get the 15 back."

Court denies appeal from Gitmo detainees - "The Supreme Court rejected an appeal Monday from Guantanamo detainees who want to challenge their five-year-long confinement in court, a victory for the Bush administration's legal strategy in its fight against terrorism."

Detainee says he confessed to stop torture - "A detainee accused of being Al Qaeda's Persian Gulf operations chief said in court that his U.S. captors tortured him for years and forced him to falsely confess to the bombing of the U.S. destroyer Cole and to many other terrorist plots, according to a Pentagon transcript released Friday."

Obama says Congress will fund Iraq war after expected Bush veto - "If President Bush vetoes an Iraq war spending bill as promised, Congress quickly will provide the money without the withdrawal timeline the White House objects to because no lawmaker “wants to play chicken with our troops,” Sen. Barack Obama said Sunday." -- Going through the motions to make it look as if they are doing something productive. All a farce.

U.S. Congress says Bush is misleading public - "The U.S. Congressional Research Service has released a report saying President George W. Bush is misleading the public on Iraq war costs by saying funds are insufficient. "

Bill O'Reilly Suggests Throwing Mark Cuban in Jail - "Bill O'Reilly suggests that had someone like Cuban attempted to distribute a film like Loose Change during World War Two, FDR would have "thrown his butt in jail". O'Reilly then whines about how people like Cuban, Sheen and O'Donnell should not be given any airtime or attention, whilst this is his third or fourth segment on the same issue."

Terrorists – coming to a school near you - "Authorities fear the school massacre that shook Russia a few years ago may be a dress rehearsal for what al-Qaida plans to do in America – only on a grander scale, launching multiple school attacks simultaneously across the country."

George Orwell, Big Brother is watching your house - "It may have taken a little longer than he predicted, but Orwell's vision of a society where cameras and computers spy on every person's movements is now here."

Pastor: Idea Christ died for sins 'insane' - "Church of England traditionalists, wearied by the battles over homosexuality in the church and the clergy, are about to take it on their spiritual chins once again when a leading "gay" cleric will tell listeners to BBC Radio 4 that Christianity's traditional teaching on Christ's crucifixion for the sins of mankind is "repulsive," "insane" and makes "God sound like a psychopath.""

Atheist says he's victim of religious hate crime - ""If the incident had been reversed and it had been an atheist that had physically assaulted a theist for postering for a theist event . . . that would easily be considered a hate crime -- and it frequently is. This is the exact reverse scenario," Mr. Trottier said."

'Biblical' politics are valid politics - "However, if he believes NO person should ever try and "push" their views or beliefs onto others, where does that leave the game of politics, work, marriage and so many other areas of life we argue about? We are always trying to convince others "we know best," no matter if you arrive at those beliefs by upbringing, your experience in life or by religious faith."

Airline quality: 'They just don't get it' - "More airline passengers bumped, more bags lost and fewer on-time flights. For the third year in a row, those problems grew worse for the industry, according to an annual study that rates airline quality. "

DHS demand for DNS master key alarms nations - "The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS)...wants to have the key to sign the DNS root zone solidly in the hands of the US government. This ultimate master key would then allow authorities to track DNS Security Extensions (DNSSec) all the way back to the servers that represent the name system's root zone on the Internet. The "key-signing key" signs the zone key, which is held by VeriSign."

BBC denies 'dumbing down' claims - "The BBC has denied reports it plans to "dumb down" its shows after discovering lower-income families aren't tuning in."

Study: Web news readers have greater attention span - "People who use the Internet to read the news have a greater attention span than print readers, according to a U.S. study that refutes the idea that Web surfers jump around and don't read much."

Split court rules against Bush on greenhouse gases - "The Supreme Court ordered the federal government on Monday to take a fresh look at regulating carbon dioxide emissions from cars, a rebuke to Bush administration policy on global warming."

Ethanol-blend auto emissions no greener than gasoline: study - "An unpublished federal report appears to undermine the belief that commercially available ethanol-blended fuel produces cleaner emissions than regular gasoline."

Light Therapy Spares the Scalpel and the Chemo - "Imagine you could treat cancer by taking a pill, then directing a laser light toward the location of the tumor. The growth would dissolve with no chemotherapy, and no harm to healthy tissue. It might sound futuristic, but a select number of cancer patients already benefit from the method, called photodynamic therapy. An upgrade for the procedure could save thousands more cancer patients from the horrors of chemotherapy."

Fantastic Voyage: Departure 2009 - "An international team of scientists is developing what they say will be the world's first microrobot -- as wide as two human hairs -- that can swim through the arteries and digestive system. The scientists are designing the 250-micron device to transmit images and deliver microscopic payloads to parts of the body outside the reach of existing catheter technology."

British team grows human heart valve from stem cells - "A British research team led by the world's leading heart surgeon has grown part of a human heart from stem cells for the first time. If animal trials scheduled for later this year prove successful, replacement tissue could be used in transplants for the hundreds of thousands of people suffering from heart disease within three years."

Blood conversion breakthrough could be life-saver for thousands - "A life-saving method of converting blood from one group to another has been pioneered by scientists. The breakthrough could potentially mean the end of blood-donor shortages and boost supplies of sought-after group O negative blood."

Pregnant need not apply - "A record 4,901 pregnancy discrimination complaints were filed nationwide with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and state and local fair employment practices agencies in fiscal year 2006. That is a 23 percent increase since 1997, making it one of the fastest-growing workplace bias complaints, according to federal officials."

Will you regret staying home with your baby? - "Across the country, young women are jettisoning careers to stay home with their children. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, an estimated 5.6 million mothers stayed home to care for their families in 2005, about 1.2 million more than a decade ago. The trend of opting out “has been broader than previously believed, with women at all income levels taking job breaks,” The Wall Street Journal reported recently."

Women face fertility curb after IVF health scare - "Tens of thousands of women are to have their fertility treatment rationed because of fears that a surge in the number of multiple births is putting babies' lives at risk."

Pregnant moms' weight affects toddlers - "The standard advice for how much weight a woman should gain during pregnancy may need to change, according to a rigorous and provocative study suggesting that even accepted weight gains may raise the risk of having an overweight toddler."

Women Of All Sizes Feel Badly About Their Bodies After Seeing Models - ""Surprisingly, we found that weight was not a factor. Viewing these pictures was just bad for everyone," said Laurie Mintz, associate professor of education, school and counseling psychology in the MU College of Education. "It had been thought that women who are heavier feel worse than a thinner woman after viewing pictures of the thin ideal in the mass media. The study results do not support that theory." The study measured how 81 women felt about themselves, from their body weight to their hair, and then exposed some of them to neutral images, while others viewed models in magazine ads for one to three minutes. The women were evaluated after seeing the images, and in all cases, the women who viewed the models reported a drop in their level of satisfaction with their own bodies."

Flowers and fruit crops facing disaster as disease kills off bees - "Devastating diseases are killing off vast numbers of bees across the country, threatening major ecological and economic problems. Honeybee colonies have been wiped out this winter at twice the usual rate or worse in some areas."

Tesco condemned for selling pole dancing toy - "Tesco has been forced to remove a pole-dancing kit from the toys and games section of its website after it was accused of "destroying children's innocence". The Tesco Direct site advertises the kit with the words, "Unleash the sex kitten inside...simply extend the Peekaboo pole inside the tube, slip on the sexy tunes and away you go! "Soon you'll be flaunting it to the world and earning a fortune in Peekaboo Dance Dollars"."

Jury awards $1.4M to teacher who was punished for refusing to change failing grades - "A Louisiana school system must pay more than $1.4 million (€1.05 million) to an English teacher who was suspended and demoted after refusing to change the Ds and Fs she gave to 70 percent of her students, a federal jury has found."

EMI, Apple partner on DRM-free premium music - "Higher-quality music files, which will play on any computer and any digital-audio player, will not replace the copy-protected EMI music currently sold through iTunes. Rather, they will complement the standard 99-cent iTunes downloads and will be sold at a premium: $1.29 per song."

Will Humanity go the Way of the Dinosaur? - "But the really worrying news from NASA is that over a thousand of these things are large enough (almost a mile wide in diameter) and their orbits close enough to us as to pose a real potential hazard of crashing into the Earth with enough force to end most life on this planet." -- At some point, yes, humanity will become extinct.

U.S. will have to hitch rides to final frontier - "Sometime in 2010, the world's leading space-exploring nation will say goodbye to manned space flight for more than four years. And that has U.S. policymakers worried. The flight gap will occur because NASA is winding down its space shuttle program near the end of 2010 to move into the next phase of space exploration -- the moon and Mars. The next-generation spacecraft, the Orion capsule, won't be ready for manned flight until March 2015. During those years, the United States must rely on the good will of other nations if it wants to send astronauts and cargo to the international space station."




Quote of the Day
"People are idiots."
~ Anonymous