News -- December 11, 2005

The US has used torture for decades. All that's new is the openness about it - "According to declassified training manuals, SOA students - military and police officers from across the hemisphere - were instructed in many of the same "coercive interrogation" techniques that have since gone to Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib: early morning capture to maximise shock, immediate hooding and blindfolding, forced nudity, sensory deprivation, sensory overload, sleep and food "manipulation", humiliation, extreme temperatures, isolation, stress positions - and worse. In 1996 President Clinton's Intelligence Oversight Board admitted that US-produced training materials condoned "execution of guerrillas, extortion, physical abuse, coercion and false imprisonment". ... Yet when covering the Bush announcement, not a single mainstream news outlet mentioned the location's sordid history. How could they? That would require something totally absent from the debate: an admission that the embrace of torture by US officials has been integral to US foreign policy since the Vietnam war. It's a history exhaustively documented in an avalanche of books, declassified documents, CIA training manuals, court records and truth commissions. ... But let's be clear about what is unprecedented: not the torture, but the openness. Past administrations kept their "black ops" secret; the crimes were sanctioned but they were committed in the shadows, officially denied and condemned. The Bush administration has broken this deal: post-9/11, it demanded the right to torture without shame, legitimised by new definitions and new laws. ... The terrible irony of the anti-historicism of the torture debate is that in the name of eradicating future abuses, past crimes are being erased from the record. Since the US has never had truth commissions, the memory of its complicity in far-away crimes has always been fragile. Now these memories are fading further, and the disappeared are disappearing again."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1664174,00.html

The latest of U.S. scandals in Iraq - "But the man refused to give them answers for their questions, simply because he doesn’t know. Thus, the Marines threatened to strip his wife naked in front of him if he didn't speak, but the man still refused to talk, saying he had no answer for their questions. So they carried out their threat, ripping off his wife’s clothing and gazing at her naked body in front of the husband, who was bound at the time, the paper correspondent said, adding that the brother of the householder said that the Marines left the house after his brother collapsed seeing his wife standing naked in front of the men."
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=10227

Israel readies forces for strike on nuclear Iran - "ISRAEL’S armed forces have been ordered by Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, to be ready by the end of March for possible strikes on secret uranium enrichment sites in Iran, military sources have revealed."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1920074,00.html

Netanyahu: Pre-emptive Strike on Iran - "If he succeeds in becoming Israel's next prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu indicated Monday he will not hesitate to order a military strike against Iran's nuclear program in order to safeguard his nation from annihilation."
http://www.michnews.com/artman/publish/article_10634.shtml

Dictionary of Republicanisms - " Over the past few decades, the radical right has engaged in a well-funded, self-conscious program of Orwellian doublespeak, transforming the American political discourse to suit its ends. ... bankruptcy n. A punishable crime when committed by poor people but not corporations. ... creationism n. Pseudoscience that claims George W. Bush's resemblance to a chimpanzee is totally coincidental. ... God n. Senior presidential adviser. ... Patriot Act n. 1. The pre-emptive strike on American freedoms to prevent the terrorists from destroying them first. 2. The elimination of one of the reasons why they hate us. ... pro-life adj. Valuing human life up until birth." -- Make sure to read the entire list.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051212/kvh/2

1984, and Bush's Unusual Dictionary - "In the United States, politicians and military officials have widely adopted Orwell’s principles and many of their speeches are authentic paradigms of "newspeak." If there has ever been a moment in history that has forced the gatherers of "newspeak" to work overtime, this is it."
http://www.watchingamerica.com/lanacionar000001.shtml

U.S. told Saudi Arabia bin Laden could strike with civilian plane - "The U.S. government warned Saudi Arabia more than three years before the Sept. 11 attacks that Osama bin Laden might use civilian airplanes in terror attacks, according to a memo released Friday by the National Security Archive, NBC News reported."
http://www.guerrillanews.com/headlines/6525/Memo_Notes_U_S_Feared_Jet_Attack_Prior_to_9_11

Worker Privacy: You Have None - "If you have internet access at work, there's a very good chance your employer has a system in place to monitor your online activities. So, if you're concerned about privacy, take heed. Under current U.S. law, there's little you can do to protect the confidentiality of your internet use on the job. Here's a rundown of the rights you don't have at work."
http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,69732,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_12

Group warns bill contains national ID - "An umbrella organization of dozens of groups that monitor legislation affecting civil liberties says a new immigration-reform measure contains a provision that could lead to de facto establishment of a national identification scheme."
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47840

Company To Workers: Light Up And You're Fired - "Quit smoking, or you're fired. That's what Scotts Miracle-Gro is telling its employees. If they don't quit smoking by October, they'll lose their jobs. The lawn and garden company is trying to keep health insurance costs down by promoting healthy lifestyles for its employees."
http://www.nbc11.com/health/5508409/detail.html

Can a $103 fine stop students from swearing? - "Under a new plan, 2,800 students at two high schools in the district could be subject to $103 fines for uttering profanity on school premises. Officials there call it a last-ditch effort to create a learning space free from the linguistic irreverence so commonplace in society today. "We have had kids that just curse out their teachers in the hallways," says Zandralyn Gordon, the acting principal at Hartford Public High School. "That cannot continue." Her exasperation is shared by administrators across the country. Some want similar "no-swear zones." But the move raises questions: What, exactly, is a swear word? And is it fair to punish students who simply mimic the phrases they hear from their favorite sitcom stars, their parents, and sometimes, even their teachers?"
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1207/p01s03-ussc.html

Vegetables Without Vitamins - "Imagine the surprise of going online and discovering that the vitamin and mineral content of vegetables has drastically dropped."
http://www.soilandhealth.org/06clipfile/0601.LEMag/LE%20Magazine,%20March%202001%20-%20Report%20Vegetables%20Without%20Vitamins.htm

Slim = sad. Fat = happy - "A new study has revealed that, rather than being content and confident, slim people struggle to deal with life's woes. Anxiety and mental suffering often dominate their lives - to such a degree that they are much more likely to commit suicide than large people."
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article332389.ece

Teacher arrested for snorting cocaine in class - "It didn't take long for students in the 2nd period 7th grade science class at Lake Shore Middle School to realize something was wrong with their substitute teacher."
http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=11bbd7f9-0abe-421a-00ef-45b371701d75&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf




Quote of the Day
"America is not free. Americans don’t know freedom. Americans know fear –and so America goes to war. We will continue to imprison or destroy anyone who disagrees – as long as we fear facing the question of being wrong. Who made America right?"
~ Monica Benderman

News -- December 10, 2005

Bush on the Constitution: 'It's just a goddamned piece of paper' - "GOP leaders told Bush that his hardcore push to renew the more onerous provisions of the act could further alienate conservatives still mad at the President from his botched attempt to nominate White House Counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. “I don’t give a goddamn,” Bush retorted. “I’m the President and the Commander-in-Chief. Do it my way.” “Mr. President,” one aide in the meeting said. “There is a valid case that the provisions in this law undermine the Constitution.” “Stop throwing the Constitution in my face,” Bush screamed back. “It’s just a goddamned piece of paper!” I’ve talked to three people present for the meeting that day and they all confirm that the President of the United States called the Constitution “a goddamned piece of paper.” And, to the Bush Administration, the Constitution of the United States is little more than toilet paper stained from all the shit that this group of power-mad despots have dumped on the freedoms that “goddamned piece of paper” used to guarantee."
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7779.shtml

Patriot Act Use Against US Citizens Extended - "House and Senate negotiators reached an agreement Thursday to extend the USA Patriot Act, before it expires at the end of the month."
http://infowars.net/articles/december2005/091205Patriot_act.htm

EYEBALLING IRAQ KILL AND MAIM - " This presents about 4,000 photographs showing the Iraq War killing and maiming, most from the Associated Press's archive and others from sources listed. The photographs were obtained from a library which provides its members free online access to the AP archives along with many other electronic collections. The library logs online accesses to its collections and is subject to secret, non-disclosible demands for access logs from US authorities." -- These are the pictures that should be on the nightly news. No, they are not just combat pics. They also include protest pictures.
http://iraq-kill-maim.org/

Un-American & inefficient - "As shocking evidence surfaces that the Central Intelligence Agency may be using torture to gather anti-terrorism information, the Bush administration has responded with a wave of ducking, dodging and double-talk. Every evasion makes it more clear that Team Bush is hell-bent on preserving torture as an option if they think we, the public, will let them get away with it."
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/col/story/373099p-317210c.html

The Truth Comes Out... - "The Bush administration based a crucial prewar assertion about ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda on detailed statements made by a prisoner while in Egyptian custody who later said he had fabricated them to escape harsh treatment, according to current and former government officials."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2005/12/08/the-truth-comes-out_n_11938.html

2K Why?
http://www.freewayblogger.com/2k_why.htm

U.S. backs down in Padilla debacle - "The U.S. government, in an unusual retreat, urged a federal appeals court on Friday to set aside its ruling that allowed the United States to hold an American citizen as an enemy combatant without being charged."
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7781.shtml

Live Tracking of Mobile Phones Prompts Court Fights on Privacy - "Most Americans carry cellphones, but many may not know that government agencies can track their movements through the signals emanating from the handset. In recent years, law enforcement officials have turned to cellular technology as a tool for easily and secretly monitoring the movements of suspects as they occur. But this kind of surveillance - which investigators have been able to conduct with easily obtained court orders - has now come under tougher legal scrutiny."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/10/technology/10phone.html?ei=5065&en=a2a07f37e5bcbe9e&ex=1134795600&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print

Many refuse to pay 'war tax' on phone bill - "Sacks is one of thousands of Americans believed to be refusing to pay the federal taxes attached to their monthly phone bills -- money that helps fund military operations overseas.
Many are taking the step as a protest against the war in Iraq. And in many cases, the phone companies are helping them do it."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/251575_wartax10.html

Now We Should Go To Jail For Sharing Our Favourite Song LYRICS - "After cracking down on MP3 file sharing, the music industry is to go to war against websites offering unlicensed song tabs and lyrics. The Music Publishers' Association (MPA), which represents US sheet music companies, says all such sites are illegal and will begin the crackdown in 2006. MPA president Lauren Keiser said that not only should sites carrying song tabs and lyrics be shut down but also suggested authorities should "throw in some jail time, I think we'll be a little more effective"." -- Aren't there more important criminals in the world?
http://infowars.net/articles/december2005/091205lyrics.htm

Breakthrough Chip Delivers Better Digital Pictures For Less Power - "The next advance in cameras is becoming a reality at the University of Rochester. A pair of newly patented technologies may soon enable power-hungry imaging chips to use just a fraction of the energy used today and capture better images to boot—all while enabling cameras to shrink to the size of a shirt button and run for years on a single battery."
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/chip-tech-05zp.html

Paper-thin, foldable battery to attach to clothes - "Japan's NEC has developed a thin, foldable battery to be used in cards or clothes, leading to new possibilities such as people walking through ticket gates with fare passes in their pockets."
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/12/09/051209151443.325ffy2y.html

Earth's Magnetic Pole Drifting Quickly - "Earth's north magnetic pole is drifting away from North America and toward Siberia at such a clip that Alaska might lose its spectacular Northern Lights in the next 50 years, scientists said Thursday."
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/12/09/D8ED22880.html




Quote of the Day
"In a society traveling at the speed of light, yet going nowhere, where are we?"
~ Craige McMillan

News -- December 9, 2005

Questions For Those Still Approving of Bush - "And, with so many people in my own Nebraska-based family among those still blindly supporting the president, I've come up with more questions. But this time, my inquiries are serious and meant to truly gauge whether Bush backers understand reality and knowledgably support him or whether the president has just been phenomenally successful at superimposing his face over the American flag. Here we go:"
http://bobgeiger.blogspot.com/2005/12/questions-for-those-still-approving-of.html

Eyewitness: "I Never Heard the Word 'Bomb'" - ""I don't think they needed to use deadly force with the guy," says John McAlhany, a 44-year-old construction worker from Sebastian, Fla. "He was getting off the plane." McAlhany also maintains that Alpizar never mentioned having a bomb."
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1138965,00.html

Air Marshals lied about slain Latino passenger saying "I have a bomb" - "It now appears that Air Marshals lied about a mentally ill Latino passenger saying "I have a bomb" just before they shot him at the Miami International Airport yesterday. The fact is Air Marshals over-reacted when dealing with a Middle Eastern looking passenger who was experiencing a "fear of flying" panic attack."
http://www.aztlan.net/air_marshals_shoot_latino_passenger.htm

Waking Up in Bizzaro America - " Someday in the near future, millions of American are going to wake up in the morning only to discover that somebody slipped a whole different country under their beds while they were asleep. ... Welcome to Bizzaro America, where citizens are deprived of life, liberty, and property without due process of law. The government can lock them up and seize their assets based on suspicion alone without ever charging them with a crime. Homes are broken into without the owner’s knowledge and searched for evidence of misdeeds that never see the inside of a courtroom. Wars are started, countries are occupied, prisoners of war are tortured, and the proud citizens of Bizzaro America say nothing. Democratically elected leaders and unhindered voting rights don’t exist here. Bizzaro Americans hold “elauctions” instead of elections. As a formality, they still go through the motions of casting ballots, but the corporations that sponsor the elauctions predetermine the outcome. Americans accustomed to having separation of church and state learn to embrace creationism being taught in their science classes. The President decrees that televangilists are the only Bizzarolanders qualified to appoint the country’s Supreme Court Justices."
http://www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/Commentary/1052.html

Rice with Indefensible Brief; Cheney in Last Throes - "European reaction to visiting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's statements on torture can be summed up in lead commentary Wednesday in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, among the most widely respected German newspapers. Under the title "Justice à la Rice," the editor "translated" her message into these words: "The end justifies the means and terrorism can be fought with borderline methods on the outer edges of legality." He added: "Rice came to Germany to begin a new era. She has resoundingly failed to do so. Injustice remains injustice, and a wrong policy remains a wrong policy. On this basis you cannot re-launch the trans-Atlantic relationship." There was no mushroom cloud, but Rice is radioactive nonetheless. ... Vice President Dick Cheney, whose unbridled chutzpah has led him to take public and well as private credit for being the intellectual author of US policy on torture, has become such a glaring liability that his tenure may be short-lived. There is a growing possibility that the vice president will resign at the turn of the year "for reasons of health," and that his partner-in-crime - in what Colin Powell's former chief of staff at the State Department, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, has labeled the "Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal" - will choose to retire to his home in Taos early next year."
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120905Z.shtml

Rummy exit rumored; Lieberman eyed for job - "White House officials are telling associates they expect Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to quit early next year, once a new government is formed in Iraq, sources said yesterday."
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/372921p-316984c.html

Rumsfeld says 'I have no plans to retire' - "U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the craftsman of U.S. Iraq war strategy and a magnet for criticism, said on Thursday he had no plans to retire from the post more than 2-1/2 years into the conflict."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyid=2005-12-08T183309Z_01_RID866679_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-USA-RUMSFELD.xml&rpc=22

That End-Of-Empire Feeling - "Is the United States in the last throes of empire? That sounds like an ideologically loaded, fatalistic and defeatist question. But it’s what I’ve been wondering about at the start of this holiday season. Might future historians look back at the Bush II days and ask if this was the point when the country started slipping? Might the war in Iraq be regarded as a desperate act of a superpower that had already peaked? Will economists of the latter 21st century examine our economic decisions and say, “What were they thinking?” Or has the Grinch gotten to me?"
http://www.guerrillanews.com/headlines/6468/That_End_Of_Empire_Feeling

Military Will Request $100B For Iraq Next Year, Murtha Reveals - "MURTHA: Twenty years it’s going to take to settle this thing. The American people is not going to put up with it; can’t afford it. We have spent $277 billion. That’s what’s been appropriated for this operation. We have $50 billion sitting on the table right now in our supplemental, or bridge fund we call it, in the Appropriations Committee. They’re going to ask for another $100 billion next year."
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/12/07/murtha-100b/

The War in Iraq Costs - "Below is a running total of the U.S. taxpayer cost of the Iraq War."
http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182

"Christ" or Christmas? WWJD? - " I fail to understand why these same Bible totin’, Bible quotin’ people won’t stop for a minute to consider their demands for Christmas to be put back into the season when the bigger picture seems so lost on them. They keep making these religious demands for Christianity to be taught as science in the guise of Intelligent Design, for religious documents to be displayed in public buildings and for other blatantly Christian symbols to be part of everything from city seals to courthouses. Do they for one minute think that by doing this, that society will suddenly experience mass conversion to Christianity, thereby becoming upstanding and moral in the way they imagine? Have any of them ever opened their Bibles to see what hypocrites and Pharisees they have become? I may be a Unitarian Universalist now, but I was raised Roman Catholic, know the Bible and I see first hand that the message of the Christ has been lost on far too many who claim to be so-called “Christians”."
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1207-35.htm

What flight? - ""The New White Flight" was the title of an eye-opening article in the November 20th issue of the Wall Street Journal. It was about a high school in Cupertino, California, where a growing Asian American student population is causing rising academic standards -- and causing many white parents to withdraw their children from the school and some to move out of the community. The school has some of the highest test scores in the state. But, although everybody is in favor of high academic standards in the abstract, not everyone is in favor of having to struggle to meet those standards."
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/thomassowell/2005/11/24/%20176688.html

Prof. Critical of Creationism Resigns Post - "A University of Kansas professor who drew criticism for e-mails he wrote deriding Christian fundamentalists over creationism resigned Wednesday as chairman of the Department of Religious Studies."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051208/ap_on_re_us/creationism_professor

BCS draws fire in Congress - "Wednesday's congressional hearing on the state of the Bowl Championship Series turned into a question-and-answer session about why Division I-A football does not have a postseason tournament to decide its champion." -- Who gives a shit? Doesn't congress have more important issues to worry about?
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/1205/08bcs.html

Foreclosures up 35 percent this year - "Home mortgage foreclosure filings are on the rise in gritty cities and leafy suburbs, according to a new report showing a 35 percent increase statewide through October."
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/12/07/foreclosures_up_35_percent_this_year/

Former condom advocate embraces abstinence & fidelity - "A senior research scientist with the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies once advocated the use of condoms and clean needles for the prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS. Now, after evaluating the ABC Model of AIDS prevention championed in Uganda, Edward Green says promoting the values of fidelity and abstinence is far more effective than just promoting correct condom use."
http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/bpnews.asp?ID=22228

Cancer drug may help short boys be taller - "The drug tamoxifen, usually used to treat or prevent breast cancer, may help short boys attain a normal adult height, researchers report."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyid=2005-12-08T192225Z_01_HAR869719_RTRUKOC_0_US-CANCER-TALLER.xml&rpc=22

Big brain means small testes, finds bat study - "The brainier male bats are, the smaller their testicles, according to a new study. Researchers suggest the correlation exists because both organs require a lot of energy to grow and maintain, leading individual species to find the optimum balance."
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8429

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

U.S. Life Expectancy Hits All-Time High - "U.S. life expectancy has hit another all-time high - 77.6 years - and deaths from heart disease, cancer and stroke continue to drop, the government reported Thursday."
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20051208/D8EC84700.html

Cameras accuse 2,600 of speeding - "Nestor Traffic Systems photographed more than 2,600 alleged speeders this fall -- snapping as many as seven cars a minute -- in and around Akron school zones. The take in fines in that 19-day period: nearly half a million dollars."
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/13347408.htm

User tries to extract meth from own urine - "A 22-year-old tried to extract methamphetamine from his own urine after smoking the drug in a South San Francisco hotel room, prosecutors said. Instead, Daniel Zeiszler spilled some solvent on himself, took a smoke break and ignited his right hand, arm - and the hotel room." -- A candidate for the Darwin award.
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/12/04/build/nation/98-meth-urine.inc

Santa tops fictional rich list - "SANTA Claus has topped the the Forbes Fictional 15 - a list of the world's richest fictional characters." -- Why do we need this information?
http://finance.news.com.au/story/0,10166,17501578-31037,00.html




Quote of the Day
"I believe God wants me to be President."
~ George W. Bush

News -- December 7, 2005

THE CASE FOR A NATIONAL RECALL ELECTION - "George W. Bush, a tiger who so recently assigned himself the right to assassinate American citizens at will, has been defanged. He's as pathetic and powerless as Saddam Hussein He is done. "Lame duck" doesn't cut it. Unless Bush resigns, the world's sole superpower faces the dismal prospect of three long years under a dead duck president. Who will extract us from two losing wars? How will we pay off the $8 trillion national debt he ran up? America needs a strong president yesterday."
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=127&e=10&u=/ucru/20051202/cm_ucru/thecaseforanationalrecallelection

We choose not to call it torture - "Robert F. Kennedy gives a short comprehensive analysis of our governmental double speak going on about the term Torture.. Senator McCains bill which prohibits "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners" is being heavily campaigned against by Cheney, Rice and Gonzales.. Maybe we should ask them to say which of these terms they object to... Do they want to be allowed to be Cruel? Or Inhuman Or Degrading. Or maybe it's the term "prisoners" they object to. Is that term too broad for them? Excerpt that says it all:"In sum, the White House's policy which we can expect Condi to elaborate "comprehensively" is "we don't torture because we choose not to call it torture and we will fight all efforts to define torture according to its ordinary meaning." "The White House's Tortured Definition of Torture By Robert Kennedy Jr." -- We see things, not as they are but as we define them. We change the definitions to fit our agenda. Another example of hypocrisy at the highest levels.
http://www.choicechanges.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=204&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

If it's not torture, then it's OK to use it on Cheney - "Perhaps the Justice Department could use this to speed up some investigations that are taking forever. How about that two-year investigation into who leaked Valerie Plame's CIA status? Stick Karl Rove on the water board and we can see who really leaked what in just a couple of minutes. That would be fair, wouldn't it? After all, his boss says it's not torture, right?"
http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20051204/OPINION/112040069

Keep quiet about secret flights to secret jails, Rice tells Europe - "Despite the uproar in Europe over America’s “extraordinary rendition” of suspects to countries such as Afghanistan, and claims that secret CIA prisons are located in Romania and Poland, Dr Rice said that she expected American allies to co-operate and keep quiet about sensitive anti-terrorism operations." -- And we continue to allow this administration to stay in office.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,171-1905660,00.html

War Crimes, USA - "In normal times, suggesting that the leaders of our country might have committed war crimes would violate a firm taboo in American political discussion. Yet in the post-Abu-Ghraib era—and especially as President Bush has quarreled with Congress over the McCain amendment prohibiting abuse of all detainees in U.S. custody—observers can no longer profess shock at the idea that criminal breaches of humanitarian law have occurred."
http://www.motherjones.com/interview/2005/12/war_crimes_usa.html

America can't take it anymore - "The Bush administration has embraced torture as a key part of the "war on terror." Finally, members of Congress, the military and the CIA are speaking out against the abuse."
http://fairuse.1accesshost.com/news2/salon75.html

Lieberman Calls For Formation Of 'War Cabinet' - "Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, increasingly isolated in his own Democratic party because of his strong support for the Iraq war, today called on the White House and congressional leaders to form a special "war cabinet" to provide advice and direction for the war effort."
http://www.courant.com/news/nationworld/hc-lieb-warcab,0,7884135.story?coll=hc-big-headlines-breaking

Poll: Most voters want U.S. out of Iraq - "A Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday shows that 60 percent of voters favor withdrawing from Iraq and 54 percent believe going to war was wrong." -- This took way too long. And by the way, who makes up the other 46%? Are they living under a rock?
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/connecticut/ny-bc-ct--poll-iraq1206dec06,0,7659856.story?coll=ny-region-apconnecticut

Drudge, Jerusalem Post sensationalize story about nuclear Iran - "An article in the Jerusalem Post trumpeted by the conservative Drudge Report grossly sensationalizes the comments of Mohamed El-Baradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency."
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Drudge_Jerusalem_Post_sensationalize_story_about_1205.html

DC Sex Scandal About To Break? - "Come again? A "hospitality suite with several bedrooms"? Talk about raising more questions, including: -- Why does a lobbyist need a "hospitality suite with several bedrooms"? -- Who uses those bedrooms and for what? These lobbying scandals involving Cunningham and Wilkes and Abramoff are looking more and more like a bad movie script every day. Except with one difference from the movies: this stuff actually happened."
http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2005/12/dc_sex_scandal.html

Who’s killing Iraqi intellectuals? - "Iraqis opposed to the U.S. occupation believe there is a systematic campaign of targeted assassinations aimed at Iraqi intellectuals and that a well-organized enemy intent on keeping Iraq weak and susceptible to foreign occupation is carrying out the killings."
http://www.workers.org/2005/world/iraq-1208/

Professor beaten; attackers cite KU creationism class - "One recent e-mail from Mirecki to members of a student organization referred to religious conservatives as "fundies," and said a course describing intelligent design as mythology would be a "nice slap in their big fat face." Mirecki has apologized for those comments. ... He said the men beat him on the head, shoulders and back with their fists, and possibly a metal object." -- God must be so proud of those individuals.
http://www.kansas.com/mld/eagle/living/education/13337930.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Mysterious carnivore spotted on Indonesia's Borneo - "Researchers from the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) may have spotted a new mammalian species in the dense central forests of Borneo island, the organisation said. The carnivorous animal, slightly larger than a domestic cat with dark red fur and a long bushy tail, was caught by a camera trap at night twice in 2003, the WWF said in a press release."
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/12/05/051206001323.v7bezwpo.html

Face It: Privacy Is Endangered - "A great example of the state of the art comes from a new company called Riya, which recently launched a beta facial-recognition service for the masses. ... Riya also relies on meta tags, but uses facial-recognition software to create them automatically. Subscribers upload photos, and then tell the Riya software who the person is. By repeatedly running the recognition algorithm against multiple photos of the same person, Riya software eventually learns to identify other images of the same face. Once trained, the software will automatically generate meta tags, and users can search their own photos and the photos of other subscribers."
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,69771,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2

Smoke thickens on silver screen - "Smoking is back in vogue in the movies -- especially films rated for young audiences -- and that's bad news for efforts to keep teens from lighting up."
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/health/13330795.htm?source=rss&channel=mercurynews_local




Quote of the Day
"If the Nuremberg laws were applied, then every post-war American President would have been hanged."
~ Noam Chomsky

News -- December 5, 2005

Anatomy of a CIA 'rendition' gone wrong - "Unlike the military's prison for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- where 180 prisoners have been freed after a review of their cases -- there is no tribunal or judge to check the evidence against those picked up by the CIA. The same bureaucracy that decides to capture and transfer a suspect for interrogation-- a process called "rendition" -- is also responsible for policing itself for errors. ... One official said about three dozen names fall in that category; others believe it is fewer. The list includes several people whose identities were offered by al Qaeda figures during CIA interrogations, officials said. One turned out to be an innocent college professor who had given the al Qaeda member a bad grade, one official said."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10316560/from/ET/&&CM=EmailThis&CE=1

Torture Makes Justice Impossible - "The disconnect between the allegations aired in news conferences and the charges lodged in court are disturbing. If Padilla was in fact plotting with Al Qaeda to detonate a dirty bomb, shouldn't he be tried for that crime, and punished accordingly? Why proceed instead on a paper-thin set of charges that might lead to his acquittal and release? The answer is, in a word, torture. Administration sources explained to New York Times reporters Douglas Jehl and Eric Lichtblau that the reason they did not charge Padilla with more serious crimes is that the evidence allegedly supporting those charges was extracted from high-level Al Qaeda detainees — Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Abu Zubeida — through questionable means. They are being held in undisclosed locations and reportedly have been interrogated with such tactics as "waterboarding," in which the suspect is made to think he will drown if he doesn't talk. Evidence obtained through waterboarding would never be admissible in a court of law. The Supreme Court has long made clear that evidence obtained through any physical coercion is per se inadmissible. And this is no technicality. Such measures are said to produce inherently unreliable evidence and "shock the conscience." ... But more than four years after President Bush created military tribunals, not a single case has gone to trial. Only a handful of the hundreds of detainees have even been charged. One probable reason for the military's reluctance is the real risk that any trial will turn into a trial of the United States' own interrogation practices. Although the military tribunal rules do not exclude the use of testimony extracted by torture, no trial will ever be viewed as legitimate if it allows such testimony, and defense lawyers are certain to make this a central issue in any proceeding."
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1203-27.htm

And May all Your Christmases be White..... - "I stepped out of my hotel, and turned north on Sixteenth Street. Although barely six o’clock, it was already dark in our nation’s capitol. From the moment I first arrived in Washington DC three days ago, I couldn't help but dwell on the extremes in this city, which mirrored so clearly our entire country, the entire world. Five hundred dollar a night hotels with homeless people sleeping in nearby doorways, huddled together in a futile effort to minimize the cold. Cafes serving ten dollar hamburgers and forty dollar steaks while others went without. Huge opulent buildings with row after row of marble columns, bronze and granite statues guarding the entries like erotic nymphs beckoning only those who can afford their charms into their inner sanctum."
http://www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/CommentaryToo/1049.html

Iran only months away from a bomb - "IAEA chairman Muhammad ElBaradei on Monday confirmed Israel's assessment that Iran is only a few months away from creating an atomic bomb."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1132475683499&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Democrats propose Bible course for public schools - "Two Democratic leaders of Alabama's House of Representatives introduced legislation that would authorize local boards of education to offer a course in Bible literacy as an elective in grades 10-12. The bill, expected to pass both legislative chambers without opposition, would make Alabama the first state to offer a Bible curriculum in a public education setting."
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47715

Congress to look into 'deeply flawed' BCS system - "Calling the Bowl Championship Series "deeply flawed," the chairman of a congressional committee has called a hearing on the controversial system used to determine college football's national champion." -- Don't our congress men and women have more important issues to deal with than the BCS?
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2245440

Where Have All the Bush/Cheney Bumper Stickers Gone? - "At this point, it must be a little embarrassing to have a sticker on your car broadcasting the fact that you voted for those two clowns."
http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/2005.11.01_arch.html#1133309899329

Strange Suicide of a Flight 11 Passenger's Wife Raises More Doubt as to What Really Happened on the Four 9/11 Flights - "Not only was this 9/11 suicide shocking and difficult to understand, but the alleged victim's husband, Pendyala Vamsikrishna of India, was never even listed on the original Flight 11 manifest, only appearing later as a passenger on a couple of conflicting unofficial lists. Due to the numerous inconsistencies and irregularities on all four 9/11 flight manifests, critics of the official government story contend many of the passengers probably never existed at all or were concocted as the result of carefully constructed aliases, essentially faking their deaths. Further, critics contend if the passenger lists were suspect then so were the planes, calling the 9/11 jetliners ‘phantom flights,’ paving the way for military drones to be used to attack the WTC and Pentagon."
http://www.arcticbeacon.com/articles/article/1518131/38499.htm

Deadly bacteria spreading through US hospitals - "A lethal bacteria which surfaces in people being treated with antibiotics is spreading in North America and has grown resistant to drugs, according to two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine."
http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/7000%2F20051203%2F1200000001.htm&sc=ustop&ewp=ewp_news_1205antibiotics

Tamiflu 'useless'against avian flu - "Doctor who has treated 41 victims of virussays 'we place no importance on this drug'"
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47725

Viral cure could 'immunise' the internet - "A cure for computer viruses that spreads in a viral fashion could immunise the internet, even against pests that travel at lightning speed, a mathematical study reveals. ... They propose developing a network of "honeypot" computers, distributed across the internet and dedicated to the task of combating viruses. To a virus, these machines would seem like ordinary vulnerable computers. But the honeypots would attract a virus, analyse it automatically, and then distribute a countermeasure."
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8403

Weather Modification a Long-Established, Though Secretive, Reality - "New legislation not designed to foster pleasant or productive weather, but planned as tool of weaponized weather control, already well tested and in use since 1976. Amateur and hostile weather-makers alike likely to lose their technology to the military."
http://pesn.com/2005/09/06/9600160_Weather_Modification/




Quote of the Day
"What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?"
~ Henry David Thoreau

News -- December 2, 2005

Embedded TIME Reporter: Bush Lied In Speech Yesterday About Iraqi Security Forces - "Yesterday, President Bush claimed that Iraqi security forces “primarily led” the assault on the city of Tal Afar. Bush highlighted it as an “especially clear” sign of the progress Iraq security forces were making in Iraq. ... TIME Magazine reporter Michael Ware, who is embedded with the U.S. troops in Iraq who participated in the Tal Afar battle, appeared on Anderson Cooper yesterday. He said Bush’s description was completely untrue:"
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/12/01/embedded-time-reporter/

Bush takes Cheney out of the loop on national security - "The sources said Mr. Bush has privately blamed Mr. Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for the U.S.-led war in Iraq. They said the president has told his senior aides that the vice president and defense secretary provided misleading assessments on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, as well as the capabilities of the regime of Saddam Hussein." -- Then fire their asses.
http://www.insightmag.com/Media/MediaManager/Cheney2.htm

Hard Evidence of U.S. Torturing Prisoners to Death Ignored by Corporate Media - "Military autopsy reports provide indisputable proof that detainees are being tortured to death while in US military custody. Yet the US corporate media are covering it with the seriousness of a garage sale for the local Baptist Church."
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1202-28.htm

Two U.S. Allies Leaving Iraq, More May Go - "Two of America's allies in Iraq are withdrawing forces this month and a half-dozen others are debating possible pullouts or reductions, increasing pressure on Washington as calls mount to bring home U.S. troops."
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20051201/D8E7MI1G5.html

Forget Duke Cunningham. Take a look at THE PEOPLE WHO BRIBED HIM - "Folks, I beg you to read through what promises to be a longish post. And when you're done reading, please point others toward it. I've done some research into previously-unexplored areas of a massive corruption scandal."
http://cannonfire.blogspot.com/

The U.S. blocked “Afghan Massacre: Convoy of Death”? - "A documentary that has been broadcast on national television in several countries all over the world revealed the truth about the heinous crimes committed by the American troops in Afghanistan. The film “Afghan Massacre: The Convoy of Death” presented a massacre held by the American troops where they put “Taliban prisoners in containers and shot them dead”. The Irish filmmaker, Jamie Doran, was able to show this documentary film about the massacres carried out against Taliban prisoners in many countries like Britain, Germany, Italy and Australia. The film was also screened in the European parliament. Not surprising, all American channels refused to broadcast the film, which provides eyewitness testimony that U.S. troops were complicit in the massacre of thousands of Taliban prisoners during the Afghan War."
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/december2005/011205usblocked.htm

The U.S. Military and the Age of 'Perception Management' - ""By law, the Bush administration is expressly prohibited from disseminating government propaganda at home. But in an age of global communications, there is nothing to stop it from planting a phony pro-war story overseas - knowing with certainty that it will reach American citizens almost instantly.""
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1202-31.htm

GOP Wants to Create Secretive Gov't Agency - "By creating a federal agency shielded from public scrutiny, some lawmakers think they can speed the development and testing of new drugs and vaccines needed to respond to a bioterrorist attack or super-flu pandemic." -- The GOP seems to relish in secrecy.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051202/ap_on_go_ot/vaccine_agency_2

Top U.S. military officer contradicts his civilian boss - "The nation's top military man, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, said American troops in Iraq have a duty to intercede and stop abuse of prisoners by Iraqi security personnel. When Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld contradicted Pace, the general stood firm. Rumsfeld told the general he believed Pace meant to say the U.S. soldiers had to report the abuse, not stop it. Pace stuck to his original statement. The unusual exchange occurred during a discussion at a news conference about the relationship between U.S. forces in Iraq and an Iraqi government considered sovereign by the United States."
http://www.abc15.com/news/morenews/index.asp?did=23049

HEIL HITLER! IT HAS BEGUN - "Anyone who doesn't recognize that a police state is being erected right in front of their eyes is either in a state of denial or welcomes a repeat of Nazi Germany under Adolph Hitler. Two months ago a woman named Deborah Davis was reading a book while riding to work on a public bus. When her bus stopped outside the gates of the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood, Colorado (only three miles from my former home in Lakewood), a guard climbed aboard the bus and demanded that all the passengers produce identification. Mrs. Davis didn't bite: ... This guard who obviously has no understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, called the federal dragoons who proceeded to drag Mrs. Davis off this public bus, handcuffed her like some criminal, shoved her into the back seat of their Barney Rubble guard car and transported her to a police station within the Federal Center. ... Open your eyes America. First, Mrs. Davis was on a public bus, she was not on federal property. This guard had no right to demand any American produce papers of any kind whether they are riding a bus or walking." -- Um, worth the read.
http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd141.htm

Bush Like Cheating Spouse Asking for Another Chance - "President Bush's Iraq-strategy speech on Wednesday, while on the surface appearing to be a military pep-talk, was actually intended to address a domestic unrest manifested most profoundly in his plummeting approval ratings. The underlying theme of the speech – which was mainly a rehash of the same old, stay-the-course mentality -- was that Americans should forget much of what his government has done since 2001 and extend a renewed public trust going forward. This is very much the political equivalent of the philandering husband asking his wife to trust his fidelity after getting caught with his pants down for the tenth time."
http://bobgeiger.blogspot.com/2005/12/bush-like-cheating-spouse-asking-for_02.html

Limbaugh on kidnapping of peace activists in Iraq: "I'm telling you, folks, there's a part of me that likes this" - "LIMBAUGH: [A]s warped as these people are, you know they're going to blame Bush for this. ... They wouldn't have been kidnapped because they wouldn't have been there in the first place if Bush hadn't gone and caused the war and created all these terrorists. I mean, these people are liberals, they're warped. Well, I mean, that's why there's -- I'm telling you, folks, there's a part of me that likes this. Probably, even with this, though, you know, they're not going to see the light of day. They're not going to -- At that point, Limbaugh paused before saying, apparently to someone in his studio, "I know, let them take me out of context. I don't care anymore.""
http://mediamatters.org/items/200511300010

Executive Wants to Charge for Web Speed - "A senior telecommunications executive said yesterday that Internet service providers should be allowed to strike deals to give certain Web sites or services priority in reaching computer users, a controversial system that would significantly change how the Internet operates. William L. Smith, chief technology officer for Atlanta-based BellSouth Corp., told reporters and analysts that an Internet service provider such as his firm should be able, for example, to charge Yahoo Inc. for the opportunity to have its search site load faster than that of Google Inc." -- However, the "mom-and-pop" sites will be left in the dust. Make no mistake about it, it is always about the money.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/30/AR2005113002109_pf.html




Quote of the Day
"I'm the master of low expectations."
~ George W. Bush, aboard Air Force One, June 4, 2003

News -- December 1, 2005

Confusing Goals With Plans, Bush to America: DROP DEAD - "When asked for a “plan”, Bush has responded with what we call in the English language, as goals. Saying you have a plan is quite different then actually having one. Bush was high on rhetoric today, trying to buy time for his failed war by stating his plan was to have “complete victory” and to not leave until “Iraq is a democracy.” Memo to the president: those are GOALS, not plans. If you have a goal of complete victory, America needs to know what the PLAN is to achieve that goal. If you have a goal of establishing Iraq as a democracy, then America needs to know your PLAN to achieve that. No, the fact seems apparent that President Bush does not actually have any plan other than to continue the rhetoric. Bush’s plan is to confuse the word insurgent with terrorist. The fact is that only 7% of the people fighting in Iraq are terrorists, the rest are Iraqis. They are fighting the very civil war Bush claims will occur if we dare leave. We simply are using our troops, our children; to die in that civil war because we have chosen which side we want to win. Knowing that would never go over with the American people, Bush interchanges the word insurgent with terrorist in every speech and has his minions do the same."
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_anthony__051130_confusing_goals_with.htm

RUMSFELD BANS THE WORD 'INSURGENTS' - "The US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld has banned the use of the word 'insurgents' when referring to the militants operating in Iraq. "Over the weekend I thought to myself. 'You know, that gives them a greater legitimacy than they seem to merit," he told journalists during a Pentagon briefing on Tuesday. "It was an epiphany," he said, throwing his hands in the air." -- Why does this man still have his job?
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.234884296&par=

Who Made America Right? - "WHO exactly tells us we are right? Who is it that has decided that our side is right? ... America is not free. Americans don’t know freedom. Americans know fear –and so America goes to war. We will continue to imprison or destroy anyone who disagrees – as long as we fear facing the question of being wrong. Who made America right? What will it take to make America free?"
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1130-32.htm

The World Is Tilted - "The popular idea that America is one step smarter and more sophisticated than its rivals is a dangerous myth, and a threat to the global economy."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10206250/site/newsweek/

Fed Center flap draws a busload of support - "Davis, 50, of Arvada, refused in September to show her identification when federal police boarded RTD's No. 100 bus when it entered the Federal Center. Davis wasn't getting off there but riding through on her way to work elsewhere, as were some other passengers. Federal police removed her from the bus and handcuffed and ticketed her for refusing to show her ID. She is scheduled to appear in federal court Dec. 9." -- Welcome to the New and Improved Amerika.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4279299,00.html

Sharon: Israel will not accept nuclear Iran - "Prime minister says Israel is making all necessary preparations to handle with such a situation; warns that nuclear Iran also threat to Arab world and other western countries."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3177833,00.html

Republican Morality - Show Me the Money - "Simply stated, the reason why rich folks continue to get tax cuts is that they are able to make huge political contributions to powerful Republicans. They can afford to retain influential GOP lobbyists. America's wealthy can grease the palms of Washington insiders in order to take a bigger share of the "pie." The gap between the rich and poor grew again last year, as it has for every year of the Bush Administration. Republicans made this happen."
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1130-27.htm

The growing problem of defense industry profiteering - "If you thought it impossible to top the image of Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-CA) driving around a Rolls Royce and living on a yacht thanks to defense industry cash, just stop and take a look Lloyd Grove's story today in the New York Daily News. Yes, you are reading it right – a defense contractor has gotten so rich off taxpayer cash he actually held a $10 million bat mitzvah for his daughter, featuring 50 Cent, Tom Petty and Aerosmith, among others. That's right - a $10 million. On a bat mitzvah. What do the Cunningham and $10 million bat mitzvah stories have to do with each other? In their own ways, they each touch on a subject that we rarely ever discuss in America: defense industry profiteering."
http://www.workingforchange.com/blog/index.cfm?mode=entry&entry=DE9A4BBB-9940-06E5-3F47BDF5FCFA25AE

Bush Science Policies Hurt U.S. - "Fallout from the corruption of secular science by the Bush administration and its religious allies continues to pile up. The latest is a particularly harmful blow: Two of the world's best geneticists will leave the National Cancer Institute and move not to Stanford University, which had heavily recruited them, but to Singapore's Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology. The reason is simple: They will face far fewer restrictions on their research, which involves stem cells."
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1130-25.htm

'Holocaust Denial' Laws are Disgraceful - "Some people may be offended by those who play down Jewish death and suffering during World War II. But free and open societies protect even offensive speech. That’s why western countries defend the right of their citizens, for example, to praise Communism or promote atheism. “Holocaust denial” laws violate ancient and universal standards of justice. They criminalize even factual or truthful statements that “play down” or “whitewash” the Holocaust. They are selective and one-sided. In countries where they are on the books, the Holocaust is the only chapter of history that cannot be freely discussed. They inhibit historical inquiry and restrict free speech. They are a disgrace, and should be repealed."
http://www.ihr.org/news/112705HoloDenial.html

Donated organs rejected because man is gay - "Albert Soto, a Tucson actor and community activist who died Saturday, intended to donate his eyes and tissue after death, but both were rejected because he was gay. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has established guidelines allowing centers to reject donations from men who have had sex with men within the past five years, said Sara Pace Jones, a spokeswoman with the Donor Network of Arizona."
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/news/local/112905a1_albertsoto

Hooked on the Web: Help Is on the Way - "They even have a diagnosis: Internet addiction disorder. These specialists estimate that 6 percent to 10 percent of the approximately 189 million Internet users in this country have a dependency that can be as destructive as alcoholism and drug addiction, and they are rushing to treat it. Yet some in the field remain skeptical that heavy use of the Internet qualifies as a legitimate addiction, and one academic expert called it a fad illness."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/01/fashion/thursdaystyles/01addict.html?ei=5090&en=1a8916920717f083&ex=1291093200&adxnnl=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1133413383-J53j7QfyILjNUmI3obCSLw

Rowdy teenagers beware: the Mosquito is coming - "A Welsh inventor claims to have found the perfect solution to rowdy youngsters -- noise. Howard Stapleton says his device, the "Mosquito", emits an uncomfortable high-pitched ultrasonic sound that can be heard by children and teenagers but almost no one over 30. It has successfully driven away noisy teens from a grocery store in the Welsh town of Barry and a shop in Stapleton's home town Merthyr Tydfil, making smoking, lounging and foul-mouthed youths a thing of the past."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyid=2005-11-30T185611Z_01_MCC068118_RTRUKOC_0_US-LIFE-BRITAIN-TEENAGERS.xml&rpc=22




Quote of the Day
"The American people don't read."
~Allen Dulles

News -- November 30, 2005

Pentagon, intel pros tell Bush war cannot be won - "“The American people have turned against the war, and they're not turning back,” said political analyst Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia. “The public is no longer with the President on this issue.” But opposition to the President’s policies also grows in the private corridors of the Pentagon and in the intelligence community where professionals in the art of waging war say the battle for Iraq is lost."
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7723.shtml

O'Reilly on Fire on Today on Iraq: "It's World War III" - ""See, this is a war, this is WWIII. Everyone watching today: this is WWIII! If these people get an atomic device, which Iran is making right now, they're going to set it off in America if they can. Wise up, let's knock this off, everybody should come together and do what we have to do to stabilize that country."" -- Shut up, Bill.
http://newsbusters.org/node/3015

What 'staying the course' really means - "Nearly three years into the war in Iraq, the Bush administration tells us that it wasn't about weapons of mass destruction or Iraqi ties to al-Qaeda, but about America's holy mission to spread democracy to the benighted regions of the Middle East. However, postwar Iraq is anything but a democracy. In fact, if Iraq manages to avoid all-out civil war, it is likely to end up with a government that is fiercely undemocratic - a Shi'ite theocratic dictatorship that rules by terror, torture, and armed might."
http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GL01Ak01.html

How our governments use terrorism to control us - "The sponsorship of terrorism by western governments, targeting their own populations, has been a taboo subject. Although major scandals have received cursory coverage in the media, the subject has been allowed to immediately disappear without discussion or investigation. Therefore the appearance this year of two major studies of this subject is a welcome breakthrough, and provides essential reading for anyone struggling to understand the events of September 11, 2001 and the post September 11 world. The studies are complementary. NATO's Secret Armies, Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Western Europe by Daniele Ganser concerns terrorism sponsored by American and British intelligence in Western Europe and Turkey between the end of World War II and 1985. The War on Truth, 9/11, Disinformation, and the Anatomy of Terrorism by Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed chronicles the cultivation and sponsorship of militant Islamic terrorism by the intelligence services of the United States, Britain and Russia from 1979 to the present. Both studies are models of scholarship -- meticulously documented and carefully reasoned -- but the world they reveal will boggle the mind of the most wild-eyed conspiracy theorist."
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/november2005/291105controlus.htm

Cheney 'may be guilty of war crime' - "Vice-president Dick Cheney's burden on the Bush administration grew heavier yesterday after a former senior US state department official said he could be guilty of a war crime over the abuse of prisoners."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1653936,00.html

None Dare Call It Censorship - "All serious and intelligent journalists today know that the U.S. government has massive media management brigades to carefully control what Americans see in the media and, thus, what they are very likely to believe about things of which they have no direct experience, such as high-level politics, finance and foreign affairs. They also know that the government is extremely effective in secretly censoring the news by using devices such as "embedded reporting" in nations like Afghanistan and Iraq which the U.S. government invades, occupies, and governs."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/douglas2.html

Fascism then. Fascism now? - "When people think of fascism, they imagine Rows of goose-stepping storm troopers and puffy-chested dictators. What they don't see is the economic and political process that leads to the nightmare."
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1132960211791&call_pageid=1109682110623&col=1109682108702

Alito Pushed Abortion Fight Under Reagan - "As a young government lawyer opposed to abortion rights, Samuel Alito argued for a legal strategy of chipping away at the landmark Supreme Court ruling rather than mounting an all-out assault likely to inflict a defeat on the Reagan administration, according to documents released Wednesday."
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20051130/D8E72UAO0.html

US Military Stages Media Offensive in Iraq - "As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the US military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the US mission in Iraq."
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/113005I.shtml

Are Jews born smart? - "Ashkenazi Jews are genetically intellectually superior to everyone else. This is the conclusion of a recent "scientific" study entitled "Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence"."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1132475650155&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

U.S. Customs now reads your blog entries? -- You are not free to travel.
http://news.com.com/2061-10796_3-5976066.html

IE Flaw 'extremely critical' - "AN UNPATCHED vulnerability on Internet Explorer is so bad that security expert Secunia has had to add a new category of danger to its rating system."
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27992

French woman has first partial face transplant - "French surgeons have performed what they said on Wednesday was the world's first partial face transplant -- giving a new nose, chin and lips to a woman savaged by a dog. Specialists from two French hospitals carried out the operation on a 38-year-old woman on Sunday in the northern city of Amiens by grafting on tissues, muscles, arteries and veins from a brain-dead woman."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2005-11-30T203038Z_01_MCC059437_RTRUKOC_0_US-FRANCE-TRANSPLANT.xml&rpc=22

Kids' 'choking game' can be fatal - "The goal is a fleeting "high" that follows a lack of oxygen to the brain and has teens across the nation throttling themselves with belts and ropes, choking each other with bare hands or pulling plastic bags over their heads until they nearly pass out."
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051129/LIVING/511290343&SearchID=73228069476749

15 wives, 100 children - "A tribal Christian cult leader in this northeast state could well claim a slot in the Guinness Book of World Records - 15 wives and more than 100 children staying together."
http://www.navhindtimes.com/stories.php?part=news&Story_ID=11197

Kiss steals the life of a girl with an allergy - "Christina Desforges, a Canadian teenager allergic to peanuts actually lost her life after she stole a kiss with her boyfriend who had just consumed a peanut-based snack. The allergy that affects just over a percent of the population caused the 15-year old to go into anaphylactic shock despite an immediately administered adrenalin shot. The girl eventually died four days after the lethal kiss of respiratory failure."
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/4553.html




Quote of the Day
"The receptivity of the great masses is very limited, their intelligence small, but their power of forgetting is enormous. In consequence of these facts, all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these in slogans until the last member of the public understands . . . [Propaganda] must be aimed at the emotions and only to a very limited degree at the so-called intellect . . . The art of propaganda lies in understanding the emotional ideas of the great masses and finding, through a psychologically correct form, the way to the attention and thence to the heart of the broad masses . . . [Propaganda] does not have multiple shadings; it has a positive and a negative; love or hate, right or wrong, truth or lie, never half this way and half that way . . . But the most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly and with unflagging attention. It must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over. . . . The purpose of propaganda is not to provide interesting distraction for blasé young gentlemen, but to convince . . . the masses. But the masses are slow moving, and they always require a certain time before they are ready even to notice a thing, and only after the simplest ideas are repeated thousands of times will the masses finally remember them."
~ Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf

News -- November 29, 2005

The Torture Scandal - "What was happening, for example? Well hypothermia was a widespread technique. I haven't heard a lot of people talking about that, and I never saw anything in writing prohibiting it or making it illegal. But almost everyone was using it when they had a chance, when the weather permitted. Or some people, the Navy SEALs, for instance, were using just ice water to lower the body temperature of the prisoner. They would take his rectal temperature to make sure he didn't die; they would keep him hovering on hypothermia. That was a pretty common technique. A lot of other, you know, not as common techniques, and certainly not sanctioned, was just beating people or burning them. Not within the prisons, usually. But when the units would go out into people's homes and do these raids, they would just stay in the house and torture them. Because after the scandal, they couldn't trust that, you know, the interrogators were going to do "as good a job," in their words, as they wanted to. ... Why would they do that? Part of it is, they were trying to get information, but part of it is also just pure sadism. You just kept wanting to push and push and push, and see how far you could go. And it seems like that's just part of human nature. I mean, I'm sure you've read studies conducted in American prisons where you put a group of people in charge of another group of people, and give them control over them, and pretty soon it turns into cruelty and torture, you know? So it's pretty common. And I saw it, every detention facility I went to. If there wasn't really strong, strong leadership that said, "We're not going to tolerate abuse," … in every facility there would have been abuse. And even among people like the MPs who aren't trying to get intel -- they just do it because it's something people do there, if they're not controlled either inwardly or from above. … ... How much harsher? Well, it depends on what you're going to say the rules are. Because as I said, Geneva Conventions for prisoners of war don't allow us to really do anything to these prisoners other than talk to them. So all this other stuff we did with freezing them, starving them, sleep manipulation, isolation -- we're not allowed to do those things. … ... Has it worked? Not that I saw. And that certainly wasn't an approach I would run. And you know, it might have worked on somebody who was guilty, but I so rarely saw guilty people; they were just picking up bummers. …" -- Everyone should read this interview.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/torture/interviews/lagouranis.html

Cheney accused on prisoner abuse - "Col Lawrence Wilkerson accused Mr Cheney of ignoring a decision by President Bush on the treatment of prisoners in the war on terror. Asked by the BBC's Today if Mr Cheney could be accused of war crimes, he said: "It's an interesting question." "Certainly it is a domestic crime to advocate terror," he added. "And I would suspect, for whatever it's worth, it's an international crime as well." This is an extraordinary attack by a man who until earlier in the year was Mr Cheney's colleague in the senior reaches of the Bush team, the BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says. Col Wilkerson has in the past accused the vice-president of responsibility for the conditions which led to the abuse of prisoners. But this time he has gone much further, appearing to suggest Mr Cheney should face war crimes charges, our correspondent adds.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4480638.stm


Miami Police Take New Tack Against Terror - "Miami police announced Monday they will stage random shows of force at hotels, banks and other public places to keep terrorists guessing and remind people to be vigilant. Deputy Police Chief Frank Fernandez said officers might, for example, surround a bank building, check the IDs of everyone going in and out and hand out leaflets about terror threats." -- This doesn't sound like America. In addition, is this tactice being used just to keep the public terrified? Because, as we all know, a scared populace is much easier to control than one that is not.
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/11/28/D8E5RPBO5.html

Fat heinies causing problems for doctors - "That traditional shot in the heinie may be doing less and less good as people become plumper, according to a new study presented Monday. "Our study has demonstrated that a majority of people, especially women, are not getting the proper dosage from injections to the buttocks. There is no question that obesity is the underlying cause," said Dr. Victoria Chan, a researcher at the Adelaide and Meath Hospital in Dublin, Ireland. Her study found that as few as one in 10 women and six in 10 men may be getting proper doses from injections because the needle can't reach the target zone."
http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=OBESESHOTS-11-28-05

Storm Clouds Gathering - "Last week's guilty plea by Abramoff's onetime partner, a former top aide to the beleaguered Rep. Tom DeLay, darkened the skies further. Michael Scanlon's admission he had conspired to bribe public officials and defrauded four Indian gaming casinos of millions in fees effectively makes him the government's star witness in a probe that threatens to ensnare officials throughout the nation's capital."
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/051205/5abramoff.htm

6 EASY STEPS to Burying America's Students In Debt - "STEP 4: make education SO EXPENSIVE that in order to LEARN students must BURY themselves in DEBT (Repeat STEP 2)"
http://wakeupfromyourslumber.blogspot.com/2005/11/6-easy-steps-to-burying-americas.html

TV viewers tune out govt control -- study - "Americans overwhelmingly want Big Brother to butt out of their TV watching, according to a new study of U.S. viewing habits set for release Tuesday."
http://channels.netscape.com/news/story.jsp?id=2005112900560002706684&dt=20051129005600&w=RTR&coview

Blu-ray/HD DVD Could Become Irrelevant as HVD Nears - "When it comes to the format war, all the talk has been about Blu-ray and HD DVD, but another more advanced technology could actually replace both before they even really have a chance to make their respective marks. Holographic disks can store a ton of data and can read and write data faster as well..."
http://biz.gamedaily.com/features.asp?article_id=11193&filter




Quote of the Day
"An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide."
~ Arnold Toynbee

News -- November 28, 2005

Dishonest, Reprehensible, Corrupt ... - "There is more going on here than politics. Much more: each day brings slam-dunk evidence that the doomsday threats marshaled by the administration to sell the war weren't, in Cheney-speak, just dishonest and reprehensible but also corrupt and shameless. The more the president and vice president tell us that their mistakes were merely innocent byproducts of the same bad intelligence seen by everyone else in the world, the more we learn that this was not so. The web of half-truths and falsehoods used to sell the war did not happen by accident; it was woven by design and then foisted on the public by a P.R. operation built expressly for that purpose in the White House. The real point of the Bush-Cheney verbal fisticuffs this month, like the earlier campaign to take down Joseph Wilson, is less to smite Democrats than to cover up wrongdoing in the executive branch between 9/11 and shock and awe."
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/112705Y.shtml

The leak that revealed Bush's deep obsession with al-Jazeera - "The US president planned to bomb the Qatar-based channel - that was the remarkable claim made in a top-secret memo. Why is the world's most powerful man so worried about a TV station?"
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1651765,00.html

He Dared to Challenge Power and the Official Consensus - "“I have learned from first hand experience that war is the destroyer of all that is good in the world. It turns our young into soulless killers and we tell them they are “heroes” when they master the art of killing.”--Conscientious Objector and Prisoner of Conscience, Sgt Kevin Benderman. It has been said of Sgt. Kevin Benderman by those in command and control at Ft. Stewart, GA., after Kevin publicly announced his refusal to deploy to Iraq a second time, that his action was “endangering” those from FT. Stewart who would be deploying to Iraq. ... Kevin is now in a military prison for the next 15 months. ... Captain Schenk, S-2 at FT. Stewart, GA. (S-2 is Army military intelligence), was busted for stealing. He was stealing the armored plates for the body armor vests the troops from FT Stewart would be wearing in Iraq. Capt Schenk was then selling those plates on E-Bay for between $3,000 and $4,000 a piece. Capt. Schenk was sent to jail for 45 days behind his theft of and sale of the protective gear the troops from FT. Stewart would need in Iraq.Now I ask you, between the two men, who in fact was it that endangered the troops:" -- Can you believe this shit?
http://civillibertarian.blogspot.com/2005/11/he-dared-to-challenge-power-and.html

Abuse worse than under Saddam, says Iraqi leader - "Human rights abuses in Iraq are now as bad as they were under Saddam Hussein and are even in danger of eclipsing his record, according to the country's first Prime Minister after the fall of Saddam's regime."
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1651789,00.html

US to reach out to Iran in bid to quell Iraq unrest - "President George W. Bush has asked US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad to reach out to Iran for assistance in subduing the unrest in Iraq — the first high-level US contact with Tehran in decades, Newsweek magazine reported yesterday." -- Huh?
http://www.timesofoman.com/newsdetails.asp?newsid=22484

China says bird flu virus in humans mutating - "Chinese labs have found that the genetic order of the H5N1 virus seen in humans infected in China is different from that found in humans in Vietnam, Xinhua news agency reported Monday."
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/11/28/051128144954.1qt0p6wv.html

U.S. Still Silencing Scientists - "More than 200 biologists and other researchers in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirm that they have been directed to alter their official scientific findings, says a survey released last week. The scientists say business interests apply political pressure to reverse scientific conclusions that might interfere with profits, including timber, grazing, development and energy companies."
http://www.atsnn.com/story/120618.html

Hannity igniting revolt against left-wing profs - ""Get your little tape recorders if legal, and I want you to start recording these left-wingers. Bring it to this program and we'll start airing it every single time on this program. I'm sick of this indoctrination. I'm sick of this left-wing propaganda." ... "Fear is a great motivator, and the fear that these left-wingers are going to get fired or be held accountable for their mean-spirited comments against people or their indoctrination is going to be the single-biggest motivation we ever see to get them to stop doing what they're doing to college kids around the country." Beach agreed, telling Hannity, "It is intimidating, and [professors] will tell you things to make you not want to stand out and expose them. The American people need to know what they're paying for, what they're paying for their children to receive at these schools. It's not an education, it's indoctrination, and they're intimidated from speaking out the truth that they know."" -- Does anyone else the hypocrisy?
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47601

Math + science = innovation, but US lags in the equation - "Captains of commerce have groused in recent years about everything from estate taxes to the expensing of stock options. But the issue that has risen to the top of the corporate complaint agenda this fall is the wilting of American education in math and science. The problem was spelled out last month in a National Academy of Sciences study that reported, among other things, that 12th-graders in the United States performed below the international average for 21 countries on a general test of science and mathematics knowledge."
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/11/27/math__science__innovation_but_us_lags_in_the_equation/

Hollywood, Iraq and 9/11: Reinforcing the Party Line - "Moviegoers in the upcoming months will be bombarded by films about the Iraq war and 9/11. These movies will uniformly reinforce the official party line that 9/11 was carried out by 19 Arabs with box cutters and that the invasion of Iraq was a heroic act of liberation in the defense of America. ... "They want a certain kind of movie made," Stone said. "They don't want to deal with the down-side of war. They assist movies that don't tell the truth about combat, and they don't assist movies that seek to tell the truth about combat. Most films (about the military) are recruiting posters. They are such lies." The state cringes when movies that actually make people think hit the big screen, and there is a growing movement within Hollywood to push the genre firmly in that direction, but they salivate when an audience can be hoodwinked into buying their crap through the medium of entertainment."
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/november2005/281105partyline.htm

Web Sites Offer Private Cell Phone Information - "A Problem Solvers investigation has discovered that several Web sites will sell the last 100 phone numbers you have dialed to anyone who knows your phone number. The report found that sites like Locate Cell will sell the private phone numbers for about $100."
http://www.local6.com/money/5416040/detail.html




Quote of the Day
"I'm tired of the insane running things, and I won't stop trying for change."
~ Queensrÿche