News -- February 19, 2006

There is no war on terrorism - "There is no war on terror. If there was, the whole nation would be told to take up arms. Everybody would be armed, even on aircraft. Inexpensive AK47's would be stored in every closet, much like arms are stored in homes all over Switzerland because the Swiss government has nothing to fear from its populace. There is only a war against our freedom in the name of a created threat that doesn't exist. We have been duped into surrendering our liberty in the false name of security by a government that sends us out into the "War On Terror" unarmed because we cannot be trusted with guns. The most basic of all rights is the right of self defense against criminal attacks. A great equalizer between the weak and the strong, guns in the hands of women could reduce assaults upon them by stronger male attackers by 80%. How can it be said that women have equal rights if they cannot carry, yet Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush all hide behind guns for their protection because they're much more important than our wives, sisters and daughters? Again, the only 'war' is on our freedoms. ... The weekend before the 9/11 WTC demolition, all power was shut down to install "computer cables." No one was allowed inside and all security cameras and alarms had no power for 30 hours. Computer cables don't connect with building electricity, so the need to turn off and close both towers to do so is indicative of another motive, like planting charges without alarms and video surveillance. Marvin Bush, brother to President George and Jeb, was a principal in Securacom, which was in charge of security for the World Trade Center. Didn't hear that on the TV news, did you? ... The WTC was the biggest crime, mass murder, 'hijackings' and air crashes in US history. Yet all the forensic evidence was immediately removed, buried or shipped to smelters so that not one investigator from any agency could inspect it. Who has that kind of power?"

Huntington was right - "“It is my hypothesis that the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural. Nation states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs, but the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and groups of different civilizations. The clash of civilizations will dominate global politics. The fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future.”- Samuel P. Huntington, “The Clash of Civilizations,” in Foreign Affairs, summer of 1993. Mr. Huntington, it appears you had it right."

Yet Another Agency in Charge of Domestic Intelligence? - "It took me a half dozen e-mails and telephone calls over three days to just to confirm that yes, the Directorate of National Intelligence, or DNI, the new-ish uber-spooks body — has opened an office to deal with state and local law enforcement. And it took me a few more inquiries before the DNI gave up the name of its head, Michael Tiffany, though nothing more."

37 million poor hidden in the land of plenty - "A shocking 37 million Americans live in poverty. That is 12.7 per cent of the population - the highest percentage in the developed world. They are found from the hills of Kentucky to Detroit's streets, from the Deep South of Louisiana to the heartland of Oklahoma. Each year since 2001 their number has grown. Under President George W Bush an extra 5.4 million have slipped below the poverty line. Yet they are not a story of the unemployed or the destitute. Most have jobs. Many have two. Amos Lumpkins has work and his children go to school. But the economy, stripped of worker benefits like healthcare, is having trouble providing good wages. ... While 45.8 million Americans lack any health insurance, the top 20 per cent of earners take over half the national income. At the same time the bottom 20 per cent took home just 3.4 per cent. Whitaker put the figures into simple English. 'The poor have got poorer and the rich have got richer,' he said. ... Dealing with poverty is not a viable political issue in America. It jars with a cultural sense that the poor bring things upon themselves and that every American is born with the same chances in life. It also runs counter to the strong anti-government current in modern American politics. ... In America, to be poor is a stigma. In a country which celebrates individuality and the goal of giving everyone an equal opportunity to make it big, those in poverty are often blamed for their own situation. Experience on the ground does little to bear that out. When people are working two jobs at a time and still failing to earn enough to feed their families, it seems impossible to call them lazy or selfish. There seems to be a failure in the system, not the poor themselves." -- Worth the read.

Not terribly pro-life, is it Mr President? - "IN AUGUST 2001, George Bush told Americans he worried about "a culture that devalues life", and that he believed, as president of the United States, he had "an important obligation to foster and encourage respect for life in America and throughout the world". ... Last month, the military forces that this same president commands aimed a missile at a house in Damadola, a Pakistani village near the Afghan border. Eighteen people were killed, including five children. The target of the attack, al-Qaeda's No 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was not among the dead, although lesser figures in the terrorist organisation reportedly were. Bush did not apologise for the attack, nor did he reprimand those who ordered it. Apparently, he believes that the chance of killing an important terrorist leader is sufficient justification for firing a missile that will almost certainly kill innocent human beings."

Let’s indeed talk about Iraq Losing its innocents: - "" One of the biggest insults to human "intelligence" is his claim that "30,000 Iraqis, "more or less," as Bush put it, have been killed and thousands more wounded." The UNICEF study have suggested that nearly 500.000 child under the age 5 have died from 9991-1996 from bad and deteriorating health, sanitary and food conditions due to the sanctions imposed on Iraq. That is an average of 100.000 children under the age of 5 a year!!! With worse conditions now than any time in the past, one could safely assume that at least 100.000, if not more, children under 5 are dying every year because of the "liberation"!!! That alone would mean nearly 300.000 child in 3 years!! I know that will shock the conscience of Americans but these are facts that Mr. Bush doesn't want Americans to know. Mr. Bush is leaving the American people wondering aimlessly in the bush."I know that it is very hard to swallow such assertion in America. Would America accept half of that: 150,000 ? would America accept quarter of that: 75,000? Even this figure is much much higher than the 30,000 "more or less" which Mr. Bush claimed at the press conference. ... Americans could continue sleeping with a clear conscience, believing that their elected government could not kill innocent people like Alaa’s brothers. Someday they have to wake up to reality but then it will be too late! The US has a very well "lubricated" media covering Iraq. My neighbors and friends at CNN Baghdad showed me how bad news never gets covered."

WWIII or Bust: Implications of a US Attack on Iran - " Witnessing the Bush administration’s drive for an attack on Iran is like being a passenger in a car with a raving drunk at the wheel. Reports of impending doom surfaced a year ago, but now it’s official: under orders from Vice President Cheney’s office, the Pentagon has developed "last resort" aerial-assault plans using long-distance B2 bombers and submarine-launched ballistic missiles with both conventional and nuclear weapons. How ironic that the Pentagon proposes using nuclear weapons on the pretext of protecting the world from nuclear weapons. Ironic also that Iran has complied with its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, allowing inspectors to "go anywhere and see anything," yet those pushing for an attack, the USA and Israel, have not. ... So there’s no urgency - just a bad case of déjà vu all over again. The Bush administration is recycling its hype over Hussein’s supposed WMD threat into rhetoric about Iran, but look where the charade got us last time: tens of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians, a country teetering on civil war and increased global terrorism. Yet the stakes in Iran are arguably much higher."

Suicide Bombers Warn U.S., U.K. of Attacks - ""With more than 1,000 trained martyrdom-seekers, we are ready to attack the American and British sensitive points if they attack Iran's nuclear facilities," Samadi said."

Google to feds: Back off - "Google lashed out at the U.S. Justice Department on Friday, saying that a high-profile request for a list of a week's worth of search terms must not be granted because it would disclose trade secrets and violate the privacy rights of its users."

Paternity fraud rampant in U.S. - "30% of those named as fathers bilked of child support unjustly"

A childless culture - "This is what a childless Canada would look like. But it is not the science-fiction vision of a far-off future. In less than a decade, seniors will outnumber children in Canada; in just 15 years, deaths may outnumber births. The country's population is in decline, and unless massive immigration or an overhaul of reproductive attitudes and policies compels a radical turnaround, Canada will soon reflect a lopsided and never-seen-before demographic reality where the young are drastically outnumbered by the old. By the year 2015, for the first time in the history of Canadian population statistics, there will be more people over the age of 65 than under the age of 15."




Quote of the Day
"Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest."
~ Paul Simon

News -- February 18, 2006

United States of America War Dead -- R.I.P

What Bush Is Up To - "I'm going to tell you what the real Bush administration policy is. I have no take-it-to-court proof. No one does, because the administration doesn't tell the truth and is very secretive. But from conversations I've had with people from the Middle East and from extensive reading, I infer that the Bush administration's policy encompasses three goals: One of the goals is to replace the present Syrian government with one the administration hopes will be more pliable in its policy toward Israel. Another is to construct four permanent bases in Iraq, and that means the administration has no intention of ever withdrawing all U.S. forces. The third goal is to attack Iran's nuclear facilities from the air. The propaganda campaign to justify this attack is already under way."

Tipping Toward High Crimes - "That terrorist bomb plot against Los Angeles’ Library Tower turns out to be as bogus as a Hollywood movie plot that never made it past the storyboard. “Bush spoke about four al Qaeda plotters who had planned to use shoe bombs to blow open the cockpit door. But a foreign official with detailed knowledge of the intelligence scoffed at Bush’s account, saying that the information obtained from Khalid Sheik Mohammed and an Indonesian operative known as Hambali was not an operational plan so much as an aspiration to destroy the tallest building on the West Coast. When I asked a former high-level U.S. intelligence official about Bush's comment, he agreed that Bush had overstated the intelligence.” When were we going to see that corrective splattered on the front pages, the way Bush’s original story was earlier this month? Not in this universe—not with media willing to be stenographers to presidential deceptions first, truth seekers and investigators last."

Traitorous bitches and bastards - "But, as happens all too often in Washington, those promises vanished into thin air as the Patriot Act this week cleared hurdle after hurdle and heads for permanent renewal when the goons who call themselves our elected representatives return from the President's Day recess. ... Which means virtually no one - Democratic or Republican, conservative or liberal, left or right - can claim the high road when it comes to destroying freedom in the United States. Only Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., seems to realize the dangers of the act, continuing to fight it and saying the law, even as amended, allows "government fishing expeditions" and an outright assault on the Constitution. ... Yes, freedom died this week and just about every one of the bitches and bastards who "serve" in Congress should take a long, hard look at the blood on their hands. They stand guilty of high crimes and treason against the United States of America. They are traitors and should be treated as such."

'The Americans are breaking international law... it is a society heading towards Animal Farm' - "The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has launched a passionate attack on President George Bush, saying his administration's refusal to close the notorious Guantanamo Bay camp reflected "a society that is heading towards George Orwell's Animal Farm". Dr Sentamu, the Church of England's second in command, urged the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) to take legal action against the US - through the US courts or the International Court of Justice at The Hague - should it fail to respond to a report, by five UN inspectors, advising that Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay should be shut immediately because prisoners there are being tortured."

Rumsfeld Says Extremists Winning Media War - "The Pentagon will not close its Guantanamo Bay prison for terrorist suspects, despite U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's call to shut it down, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Friday. "He's just flat wrong," Rumsfeld said in response to a question about the controversial prison during an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations. "We shouldn't close Guantanamo. We have several hundred terrorists — bad people, people that if let back out on the field would try to kill Americans. That's just a fact." He said closing it would amount to pretending there is no problem with a terrorist threat to U.S. interests. ... Rumsfeld also said al-Qaida and other Islamic extremist groups have poisoned the Muslim public's view of the United States through deft use of the Internet and other modern communications methods that the American government has failed to master." -- Oh, yeah, al-Qaida took the torture pictures, al-Qaida has locked people up for years without charging them with crimes, the internet is bad and the American government needs to control the content. Can you believe the world we live in?

Losing our values in the war on terror - ""I never imagined I would live to see the day... One cannot find strong enough words to condemn what Britain and the United States have accepted... habeas corpus is part of our freedom...""

Selling War against Iran - "While U.S. forces and their allies are continuing the destruction of Iraq and sadistic torture of Iraqi civilians, the phantom of Iran “threat” is being amplified across the world. Speculations about possible U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran have reached a stage of war propaganda by Western media and Western pundits. The aims are: to demonise Iran and keep the public in state of war, and create a smokescreen to divert the public from greater war crimes in Iraq and Palestine."

Google may have to fight second subpoena - " If the U.S. Justice Department is successful in obtaining a week's worth of search terms from Google, which it demanded as part of an attempt to defend a 1998 Internet pornography law, a second round of subpoenas is shaping up to be far more intrusive."

China’s virtual cops pinpoint web dissent - "“Now internet users know the police are watching them,” Ms Chen says in an interview at the Bureau’s gleaming new 28-storey building in central Shenzhen. ... Indeed, Ms Chen suggests US officials might want to consider adopting their own Jingjings or Chachas to police Google services following the US company’s refusal to share information about its searches with the government. In any case, she says, overseas critics should not judge China by their standards. “In my family, if my child does not lay her chopsticks down properly, then I will smack her, but maybe in your family you are too relaxed about such things,” Ms Chen says. “Each family has its own rules and countries are the same.”"

Retirement age 'will rise to 85' - "The age of retirement should be raised to 85 by 2050 because of trends in life expectancy, a US biologist has said. ... He also told a science meeting in St Louis that 50-year or 75-year mortgages may not be unusual in the future."




Quote of the Day
"War is not about victory or defeat. It is about the total failure of human spirit."
~ Robert Fisk

News (Page 2) -- February 17, 2006

What Happened To My Country? - "Now I live in an America I don’t dare leave for fear of being spat upon, shot, bombed or kidnaped. I am looked upon as a citizen of a rogue nation that has no concept or respect for any law except bullying and strength. I need a passport even to visit Canada, which was to be our sister nation with open borders forever. I must expect to be required to show my “papers” at any time, to any official. I must accept that the government can break into my house and rifle my belongings and papers any time it wishes on the thinnest of excuses and it is not even required to let me know it has violated my home and my privacy. I must accept the fact that the government can listen in to my private conversations, my phone, my e-mail, can probably read my snail mail if they wish and can put a gag order on anyone who has information on me so I may not even be made aware that I am being spied upon. George Orwell’s absolute dictatorship has crept in to my home and my life and thrown out my beloved Constitution and Bill of Rights. The difference between the United States, Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy is steadily and inexorably diminishing and the people are letting it happen while they remain paralyzed with fear. Fear incited by the gang that runs the White House and their cronies in the propaganda ministry that used to be our last bulwark against tyranny; our once free press. So now my pride in America is for our past; my sadness for our present; my fear for our future. I am no longer proud to be an American, but I have no place to go."

Bush may be crossing the Rubicon from republic to dictatorship - " Through the justifications it has put forth for warrentless wiretapping, the Bush administration is almost literally crossing the Rubicon, beginning the process of transforming the United States from a republic into to a presidential dictatorship. The warrantless wiretapping is dangerous, illegal and unconstitutional by itself. These are criminal acts by the President, and in and of themselves warrant impeachment and removal from office (whether or not impeachment is politically practical under a Republican Congress.) But the Administration’s feeble rationales justifying this program are even more dangerous. Bush and his surrogates claim that the President has the constitutional right, as part of his inherent powers as Commander-In-Chief during a time of war (an endless war in this case) to do anything he chooses to do if he believes it protects national security. In short, Bush claims the power of a dictator. Where could this power grab lead?"

China Rushes to Complete $100B Deal With Iran - "The completion of the agreement would advance China's global quest for new stocks of energy. It could also undermine U.S. and European initiatives to halt Tehran's nuclear plans, possibly generating friction in Beijing's relations with outside powers."

Cleric Announces $1M Bounty on Cartoonist - "A Pakistani cleric announced a $1 million bounty for killing a cartoonist who drew the Prophet Muhammad as thousands joined street protests after Friday prayers." -- Once again, religion is used to propagate violence.

PERMANENT BASES POINT TOWARD PERMANENT WAR: IS THE NEOCON NIGHTMARE WINDING DOWN, OR JUST GETTING STARTED? - " In Mr. Bush's "State 0f The Union" address, he claimed that "US forces will be drawn down as Iraqi forces stand up." [1] However, this claim is flatly contradicted by the Pentagon's ongoing multibillion-dollar expenditures for the construction of 106 permanent bases - including six hi-tech "super-bases" - inside Iraq. Is there a reason why the USA's mainstream media won't report on those 106 bases, and why Congress won't debate the Pentagon's base-construction projects? The simplest answer is that the government-media complex has declared this subject taboo because it would reveal the USA's intention to militarily occupy Iraq for decades."

Close Guantanamo - "It is immensely sad and disarming that the US should end up imitating the worst aspects of the very systems it says it wants to “democratise.”"

From Hunter to Hunted - "According to a Feb. 9 report posted by the National Journal, the vice president's former chief of staff, I. Lewis ''Scooter" Libby, told a federal grand jury he was ''authorized" by Cheney and by ''superiors" to disclose classified information about Iraq's nuclear weapons capability. A president can declassify information and a vice president has some legal leeway to do so as well. No one is suggesting any crime was committed. The implication is that information was declassified for political gain, so Libby could defend the Bush administration's use of prewar intelligence."

Connecting the Dots of Cheney's Crimes - "Goodness gracious! Could it be that comedians are doing a better job of connecting the dots regarding Dick Cheney's high crimes and misdemeanors than are the unintentionally ridiculous members of the White House press corps? ... "Good news, ladies and gentlemen," announced David Letterman after news of the vice presidential shooting spree finally came out, "we have finally located weapons of mass destruction: It's Dick Cheney." Letterman scored another direct hit when he observed: "It turns out now that Dick Cheney did not have a license to hunt, and coincidentally, turns out we didn't have a license to go into Iraq." Jay Leno was equally on target when he explained that: "You can't blame [Cheney]. Bush says you can spy on people without warrants, you can torture people, you can hold people without a trial, so Dick Cheney thinks, 'Oh what the hell, I can shoot a few guys.'" Ultimately, however, it was "Daily Show" correspondent Rob Corddry who hit the bullseye, when he reported that: "The Vice President is standing by his decision to shoot Harry Whittington. Now, according to the best intelligence available, there were quail hidden in the brush. Everyone believed at the time there were quail in the brush. And while the quail turned out to be a 78- year-old man, even knowing that today, Mr. Cheney insists he still would have shot Mr. Whittington in the face. He believes the world is a better place for his spreading buckshot throughout the entire region of Mr. Wittington's face.""

Hit Refresh? - "Why Bush may be thinking about replacing Cheney. ... Why would they be thinking about this? It's not the shooting incident itself, it's that Dick Cheney has been the administration's hate magnet for five years now. Halliburton, energy meetings, Libby, Plamegate. This was not all bad for the White House: Mr. Cheney took the heat that would otherwise have been turned solely on George Bush. So he had utility, and he's experienced and talented and organized, and Mr. Bush admires and respects him. But, at a certain point a hate magnet can draw so much hate you don't want to hold it in your hand anymore, you want to drop it, and pick up something else. Is this fair? Nah. But fair has nothing to do with it."

Henry's terror flight - "US rocker and writer Henry Rollins was reported to the National Security hotline during his recent Australian tour because of a book he was reading on flight to Brisbane. A furious Rollins was informed he was "nominated as a possible threat" for reading Jihad: The Rise Of Militant Islam In Central Asia."

The trees for the forest - "IN A NEAT BIT OF CIRCULAR reasoning, the Bush administration is proposing to sell parts of America's national forests in order to save them. The U.S. Forest Service's budget is too thin to manage its lands and maintain its programs, and the president's answer to the problem, rather than increasing the Forest Service's budget, is to cut it further and pay for programs with proceeds from the sale of forest land."

Music intensifies ecstasy effects - "Listening to loud music exacerbates the effects on the brain of taking ecstasy, researchers have found."

On the menu today: horse penis and testicles with a chilli dip - "Situated in an elegantly restored house beside Beijing's West Lake, it is China's first speciality penis restaurant. Here, businessmen and government officials can sample the organs of yaks, donkeys, oxen and even seals. In fact, they have to, since they form part of every dish - except for those containing testicles."

Frat Accused In Alleged Goat Sex Hazing Incident - " The officers discovered a live goat stuffed into a storage room of the Alpha Gamma Rho house with no food or water, standing in its own urine and feces, according to WBKO-TV in Bowling Green. ... Officials aren't sure why the goat was in the storage room and don't know how long the goat had been held captive. Some of the students told police the goat was going to be used in a hazing ritual. Brian Peyton, the president of Western's Alpha Gamma Rho chapter, said the goat was brought in as a prank, to make some pledges think they would have to have sex with it, WBKO reported."

Vietnam man handles three decades without sleep - "As songbirds awaken the early risers at dawn on the farm, one resident is already up; in fact, he never slept – not once in the past 33 years. ... His inability to sleep has not only made him famous, but also represents a “miraculous” phenomenon worthy of scientific study."

News -- February 17, 2006

U.S. Rejects U.N. Report on Gitmo - ""These are dangerous terrorists that we're talking about that are there," spokesman Scott McClellan said. McClellan dismissed the report as a "rehash" of allegations previously made by lawyers for some detainees and said the military treats all prisoners humanely. "We know that al-Qaida terrorists are trained in trying to disseminate false allegations," McClellan said. The report, summarizing an investigation by five U.N. experts who did not visit Guantanamo, said photographic evidence and testimony of former prisoners showed that detainees were shackled, chained, hooded and beaten if they resisted. Some interrogation techniques — particularly the use of dogs, exposure to extreme temperatures, sleep deprivation for several consecutive days and prolonged isolation — caused extreme suffering, the report said. "Such treatment amounts to torture," it said, urging the United States "to refrain from any practice amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment." It also said Guantanamo's military commissions are under the ultimate authority of the White House and that detainees should have trials."

See No Evil, Become That Evil: Supporting the War As An Act of Unpatriotic Cowardice - "Nowadays, Americans have to actively journey far out of their way to blind themselves to how the country was utterly duped into fighting a completely unnecessary war in Iraq. ... It’s getting to the point where you have to very badly want to believe whatever the president says in order to do so. It’s getting to the point where you have to actively hide from the evidence in order to keep your faith-based war politics safe from the cognitive dissonance induced by overwhelming empirical evidence to the contrary. Unfortunately, that is precisely what many conservatives are now choosing to do."

The Long War - "Long wars are usually strategic disasters for winners as well as losers, because they leave all parties exhausted. If they work to anyone’s advantage, it tends to be the weaker party’s, because its alternative is rapid defeat. The Rumsfeld Pentagon certainly does not see the United States as the weaker party in its “Global War on Terrorism.” So why has it adopted a long war strategy, or more accurately lack of strategy, unless one sees national exhaustion as a plus? The answer is a common strategic blunder, but again one that is seldom seen up front; it normally arises as a war continues longer and proves more difficult than expected. The blunder is maximalist objectives. In a speech announcing the QDR, Secretary Rumsfeld said, speaking of our Fourth Generation opponents, Compelled by a militant ideology that celebrates murder and suicide, with no territory to defend, with little to lose, they will either succeed in changing our way of life or we will succeed in changing theirs. It would be difficult for war objectives to be stated in more maximalist terms. Either they will succeed in turning us into Taliban-style Muslims or we will turn them into happy consumers in globalism’s Brave New World. Since most Americans would rather be dead than Talibs and most pious Moslems would rather perish than lose their souls to Brave New World, Mr. Rumsfeld has proclaimed a war of mutual annihilation. That will indeed be another Thirty Years’ War, with little chance of a renewed Westphalian order as the outcome."

Orwell wrote Bush's script - "Bush and Co.'s battle against terrorism has turned into a power grab and a war on Americans. Fear and contorted language are the weapons of choice. ... Orwell might have got the year wrong, but his nightmarish vision of a super-nation at perpetual war, dominated by a government only concerned about control and party preservation, could gain purchase in 2006. ... The use of powerful and well-placed words and images worked for INGSOC. Its slogan — war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength — fits like a truncheon in the cradle of shattered bone with Bush's recent State of the Union address: War is peace "There is no peace in retreat." Freedom is slavery "The terrorist surveillance program has helped prevent terrorist attacks. It remains essential to the security of America." Ignorance is strength "... We have benefited from responsible criticism and counsel offered by members of Congress of both parties ... Yet, there is a difference between responsible criticism that aims for success, and defeatism that refuses to acknowledge anything but failure." Political doublespeak is nothing new, but has become a real threat to democracy in the hands of this administration. Bush has taken communication strategy to new heights, said David Domke, associate professor of communications at the University of Washington. ... The Republicans have made no secret about what they will run on this year. A recent Pew poll showed that Americans believe the Democrats could lead the nation better on every issue except national security. Bush aide Karl Rove has given speeches about national security and the president skips across the nation talking about the importance of spying on Americans to keep us safe. This strategy works only if the electorate is fearful that a hostile world is ready to overrun America. Bush's fear-mongering resembles a version of INGSOC's Two Minutes (of) Hate, in which party members watch a video of legions of the enemy army marching behind a bleating political enemy. American democracy has buckled under the weight of Americans voting scared, a weak press diluted because of consolidation by mega-public companies, and no real political alternative." -- This is an editorial in the Seattle Times.

Senate Panel Decides Against Eavesdropping Inquiry, for Now - "The Senate Intelligence Committee decided today not to investigate President Bush's domestic surveillance program, at least for the time being."

Russia Warns U.S. Against Striking Iran - "He said that while Iran's military potential cannot compare to the United States', "it is hard to predict how the Muslim world will respond to the use of force against Iran." "This may stir the whole world, and it is crucial to prevent anything like that," Baluyevsky was quoted as saying." -- Unless that is the goal.

'In our blood' - "Implicit in this analysis is the belief that mankind is innately violent; we humans have to learn how to be peaceful. In answer to the long-standing debate, it appears that it is nature — meaning that which is coded in our DNA — and not nurture — how we are raised — that makes humans incline towards bloodshed and war. Sapolsky's thesis is not without dissenters, and many of us take comfort from the knowledge that peaceful societies exist in the world, groups that appear to have no taste for war. But if his argument is true, that humans enter into conflict because they are biologically compelled to do so, then there must be an evolutionary purpose to conflict."

War threats follow Countries dumping US dollar - "Countries dump dollar in dealings for oil. dumping the dollar - Syria, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela. THE OIL-CURRENCY-WAR THEORY"

Patriot Acting: Congress, "Compromise," and the USA Patriot Act - "Last year President Bush explained, "See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." The president has employed this communication strategy with the USA Patriot Act, persistently imploring Congress to renew the law. ... One of the most controversial parts of the Patriot Act -Section 215- allows the FBI to obtain "any tangible things (including books, records, papers, documents, and other items)" as long as these items are "relevant" to a terrorism investigation. The law does not require the FBI to demonstrate that the records are those of a person linked to suspected terrorists."

Police chief wants surveillance cameras in Houston apartments - "Houston's police chief is suggesting putting surveillance cameras in apartment complexes, downtown streets and even private homes."

Climate change: On the edge - "A satellite study of the Greenland ice cap shows that it is melting far faster than scientists had feared - twice as much ice is going into the sea as it was five years ago. The implications for rising sea levels - and climate change - could be dramatic. Yet, a few weeks ago, when I - a Nasa climate scientist - tried to talk to the media about these issues following a lecture I had given calling for prompt reductions in the emission of greenhouse gases, the Nasa public affairs team - staffed by political appointees from the Bush administration - tried to stop me doing so. I was not happy with that, and I ignored the restrictions. The first line of Nasa's mission is to understand and protect the planet."

America's Moral Decline and the Rise of False Christianity - "“This is the year God wants to make you a millionaire.” The visiting evangelist stomped back and forth on the stage of the rented school building. His “hallelujahs” and “praise God” crescendos were followed by jumping up and down. Sweat ran down his face as he proclaimed that the church members would not need to be afraid if the economy collapses and their neighbors houses are foreclosed upon because they are blessed and will have all of their needs met. The service ended with the explanation that the first step to becoming a millionaire is to pledge $200 of “seed faith money” to the church. ... Is it the entrepreneurial spirit or the Holy Spirit which is enticing the converts to this new religion? Some used to say that the love of money is the root of all evil and the rich man (like the camel) will forever be outside the kingdom. I guess that is just “too first century” for the modern believer. The millennium church makeover is all about Christian capitalism, he who the free market has set free shall be free indeed! Remember, this is the year God wants me to be a millionaire."

Driver's license or national ID card? - "Motor vehicle agencies must link their databases together, and perhaps implant chips in driver's licenses, as necessary steps to ease the way for a national ID card, the head of a group of motor vehicle officials said Thursday."

Corporate America's Education Myth - "The New York Times has a piece today on the latest myth being peddled by our government and the corporate interests who run it. It goes something like this: job outsourcing and declining wages is happening in America because Americans are getting more stupid, and thus the only way for America to stop the bleeding is to produce more students educated in science and math. This is a brilliantly crafted storyline because it both reinforces Americans' concerns about its public school system and, more importantly, distracts from the corporate-written trade policies that are really at the heart of America's economic problems. Oh yeah, one other thing - the storyline is also a shameless lie."

Literacy Limps Into the Kill Zone - "Today, I want to talk about one of the byproducts of all this mediocrity. Today I want to talk about the all-out assault on the English language and the role technology plays in that unprovoked and dastardly attack. I especially want to talk about the ways dumbing down the language is not only seen as acceptable, but is tacitly encouraged as the status quo."

How babies do maths at 7 months - "Babies have a rudimentary grasp of maths long before they can walk or talk, according to new research."

Terrafugia's flying car - "It's just a scale model now, but the Transition "personal air vehicle" could be scooting through the air in just a few years. That's the goal of start-up Terrafugia, which is aiming to produce a fully operational prototype by 2008 and at least a few production models by the end of the decade."

Get out of the way... he hasn't forgotten - "The reputation that elephants have for never forgetting has been given a chilling new twist by experts who believe that a generation of pachiderms may be taking revenge on humans for the breakdown of elephant society. The New Scientist reports today that elephants appear to be attacking human settlements as vengeance for years of abuse by people."




Quote of the Day
"A new poster had suddenly appeared all over London. It had no caption, and represented simply the monstrous figure of a Eurasian soldier, three or four metres high, striding forward with expressionless Mongolian face and enormous boots, a submachine gun pointed from his hip. From whatever angle you looked at the poster, the muzzle of the gun, magnified by the foreshortening, seemed to be pointed straight at you. The thing had been plastered on every blank space on every wall, even outnumbering the portraits of Big Brother. The proles, normally apathetic about the war, were being lashed into one of their periodical frenzies of patriotism."
~ George Orwell, 1984

News -- February 16, 2006

Make sure you see that his throat is cut.

New graphic Abu Ghraib images - "While some of the photographs are similar to the images made public two years ago, the latest photographs apparently reveal further abuse including new incidents of killing, torture and sexual humiliation." -- Even more pictures.

UPDATED New images of Abu Ghraib abuse aired-- Still more.

CNN Blames the Photos, Not the Torture - " What? Here I thought the "scandal" was that the U.S. military was systematically abusing prisoners. These new photos, with their documentation of violently inflicted, open wounds, obliterate any notion that what occurred at Abu Ghraib was anything short of torture by all accepted definitions of the term. They reveal some horrifying scenes of naked, humiliated, bloodied prisoners, some with apparent gunshot wounds. In a video broadcast on Australia's SBS, naked, hooded prisoners were seen being forced to masturbate in front of the camera. But, according to CNN's Starr, the real transgression was that some soldiers documented the torture in violation of "U.S. military law and practice." In a report later in the morning, Starr returned to her outrageous characterization of the "scandal," beginning her report:" -- Oh, this is disgusting.

Iraqi government denounces Abu Ghraib abuse - "American officials have said the pictures and video should not have been released, with Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman telling The Associated Press their airing "could only further inflame and possibly incite unnecessary violence in the world."" -- Shouldn't have used torture to begin with.

US to devote $75 mn to promoting democracy in Iran - "Accusing Iran of "political subversion," terrorism and support for Islamic radicals, Rice said: "The Iranian regime is a strategic challenge to the United States, to the world, and a destabilising influence in the Middle East." The United States will actively confront the aggressive policies of the Iranian regime," she told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "At the same time, we will work to support the aspirations of the Iranian people for freedom and democracy in their country.""

An Arrogance of Power - "There is a temptation that seeps into the souls of even the most righteous politicians and leads them to bend the rules, and eventually the truth, to suit the political needs of the moment. That arrogance of power is on display with the Bush administration."

Rep. Ron Paul CLEANS House - "In a stunning speech last night before the House, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) finally gave the US government the formal and thorough thrashing it deserves for wreaking decades of economic destruction at home and abroad through a corrupt and debased fiat DOLLAR backed by a massive military industrial complex. He detailed everything that's wrong with US economic and foreign policy in a single speech. Here are some highlights:"

The End of Dollar Hegemony -- Ron Paul's full speech from last night.

Saddam warned terrorists would hit US: tapes - "Saddam Hussein told aides he warned America before 1990 that terrorists would launch a huge strike on US soil, even raising the spectre of a nuclear attack, according to secret tapes obtained by ABC News. The toppled Iraqi leader is heard on the recordings he made in his presidential office during the 1990s, ruling out any such strike by Iraq."

Syria switches from dollars to euros - "Syria has switched the primary hard currency it uses for foreign goods and services from the U.S. dollar to the euro in a bid to make it less vulnerable to pressure from Washington."

Cheney Says He Has Power to Declassify Info - "Vice President Dick Cheney disclosed Wednesday that he has the power to declassify sensitive government information, authority that could set up a criminal defense for his former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby."

Cheney and shooting victim were hunting illegally, officials say - "Vice President Dick Cheney was hunting illegally - without the required $7 stamp on his license for quail - when he accidentally shot one of his hunting partners, Texas Parks and Wildlife officials said Monday." -- But, but, but he's Dick Cheney. Laws don't apply to him.

Officials in U.S. deny plot on Hamas - "U.S. officials said yesterday that they want the future Hamas-led Cabinet to "succeed" and denied any intention of "thwarting the will" of the Palestinian people by undermining their legitimately elected government." -- We'll see.

In Defense of the Culture Clash - "Because of the internet, clashes between the sensibilities of different societies will only increase. Offended parties will press publishers to keep offensive communications off the network. However, if people only publish what's acceptable to most everyone in the world, then the internet will be a far less effective tool for social and political change than it might otherwise be."

Couple's implant chips take love to a new level - "Jennifer Tomblin and Amal Graafstra have made the most modern declaration of their affection for each other, with implanted electronic chips that allow them unfettered access to each other's lives. It's called Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID. Both have had a small electronic chip embedded under their skin that grants access to each other's front doors and home computers. ... Like a tattoo, Tomblin said, it's a unique way of connecting with her significant other." -- Really? Do I need to comment here?

Calabasas no smoking law begins next month - "The new Calabasas secondhand smoke ordinance, which would prohibit smoking in all public areas of the city including parks, sidewalks and outdoor businesses, will take effect by the middle of March, city officials said."

Britain has new weapon against loitering youths -- Sonic Teenager Deterrent - "Shopkeepers in central England have been trying out a new device that emits an uncomfortable high-pitched noise designed to disperse young loiterers outside their stores without bothering adults. ... "The noise can normally only be heard by those between 12 and 22 and it makes the listener feel uncomfortable," she added."

Test Helps You Predict Chances of Dying - "It sounds like a perfect parlor game for baby boomers suddenly confronting their own mortality: What are your chances of dying within four years? Researchers have come up with 12 risk factors to try to answer that for people who are 50 and older. ... This test is roughly 81 percent accurate and can give older people a reasonable idea of their survival chances, Lee and his colleagues say."

Student finds toilet water cleaner than ice at fast food restaurants - "New Tampa, Florida - 12-year-old Jasmine Roberts is a seventh-grade student at Benito Middle School in New Tampa. When it came time for her to choose a science project, she wondered about the ice in fast food restaurants. ... "I found that 70-percent of the time, the ice from the fast food restaurant's contain more bacteria than the fast food restaurant's toilet water.""

Study: Sick Spouse Bad for Your Health - "A husband or wife with a debilitating illness can hasten your own death, a study suggests. The researchers blame the stress and the loss of companionship, practical help, income and other support that can occur when a spouse gets sick."




Quote of the Day
"So remember, a country becomes what it chooses."
~ Robert Freeman

And we have not chosen wisely.

News -- February 15, 2006

New Abu Ghraib Photos Released - "Australia's SBS Dateline and Sydney Morning Herald will show and publish some of the Abu Ghraib photos which have been until now supressed by the Bush Administration. UPDATE: Several of the pictures have now been released. They are shown below the fold AND ARE DISTURBING - PROCEED WITH CAUTION." -- Oh, these will make you proud to be an American. There are 13 pictures.

SBS broadcasts graphic Abu Ghraib images - "The Bush administration is reportedly attempting to prevent release of the images in the US, arguing that their publication could provoke antagonism towards the US."

Poll: Americans fear Iran will develop, use nukes - "Nearly 7 of 10 of those surveyed over the weekend say they are concerned that the United States will move prematurely to use force, but they also seem to recognize the quandary that policymakers face. There is almost as much concern that the Bush administration won't do enough to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear arsenal."

U.S. Money Aids World’s Worst Dictators - "Parade magazine recently ranked the twenty worst dictators currently in power. Many names are familiar—Fidel Castro, Muammar Qaddafi, Kim Jong-Il, Robert Mugabe and others. They are all guilty of human rights violations and in some cases have committed outright genocide. But there’s another trait common to all twenty leaders—every single one has received foreign aid from wealthy Western countries."

Congressional Probe of NSA Spying Is in Doubt - "Congress appeared ready to launch an investigation into the Bush administration's warrantless domestic surveillance program last week, but an all-out White House lobbying campaign has dramatically slowed the effort and may kill it, key Republican and Democratic sources said yesterday." -- If you did nothing wrong, Dick, then why not allow the probe?

Secret Saddam WMD Tapes Subject of ABC Nightline Special - "Secret audiotapes of Saddam Hussein discussing ways to attack America with weapons of mass destruction will be the subject of an ABC "Nightline" program Wednesday night, a former federal prosecutor told Cybercast News Service. The tapes are being called the "smoking gun" of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq. The New York Sun reported that the tapes have been authenticated and currently are being reviewed by the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence."

Bin Laden tapes are as phony as Sept. 11's connection to Islam - " The trouble is, it's all based on a Big Lie. Take the recent "bin Laden" tape, please! That voice was no more bin Laden than it was Rodney Dangerfield channeling my late Aunt Corinne from Peoria. I recently helped translate a previously unknown bin Laden tape, a real one from the early '90s, back when he was still alive. I know the guy's flowery religious rhetoric. The recent tape wasn't him."

325,000 Names on Terrorism List - "The National Counterterrorism Center maintains a central repository of 325,000 names of international terrorism suspects or people who allegedly aid them, a number that has more than quadrupled since the fall of 2003, according to counterterrorism officials."

Detention Camp Jitters - ""Almost certainly this is preparation for a roundup after the next 9/11 for Mid-Easterners, Muslims and possibly dissenters," Daniel Ellsberg remarked."

the STRAW that BROKE the camel's back - "This CANNOT be just over cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad.Sure, the cartoons are offensive. But, a Danish paper printed them. Why would they torch McDonalds and KFC and storm banks?"

The Missing Beer Or Two - ""This was a hunting accident," said Gilbert San Miguel, chief deputy of the Kennedy County Sheriff's Office. "There was no alcohol or misconduct." How do we know there was no alcohol? Cheney refused to talk to local authorities until the next day. No point in giving him a breathalyzer then. Every lawyer I've talked to assumes Cheney was too drunk to talk to the cops after the shooting. The next question for the White House should be: Was Cheney drunk? ... This was the missing paragraph: Armstrong also told NBC News that she does not believe alcohol was involved in the accident. She says she believes no one that day was drinking, although she says there may have been beer available during a picnic lunch that preceded the incident. "There may be a beer or two in there," she said, "but remember not everyone in the party was shooting.""

Media Ignores Cheney 'Smoking Gun' - "Amidst the swirl of outrage, obfuscation and wisecracking, one fundamental flaw in the White House's Cheney shooting story remains. How can a 28-gauge shotgun fired from supposedly 30 yards away cause pellets to become lodged in someone's heart?"

Secret Service stalls and delays for Cheney - "The only way that birdshot could have possibly penetrated into Whittington's heart, given the minimal force impact capacity of the shot is if he was shot from incredibly close range. This then means that the whole event requires a greater level of scrutiny. If they lied about the distance of the shot, its probably one of many lies."

Marriage Plays Starring Role in Politics… Again - "You can see why Victoria Cobb became executive director of the Family Foundation of Virginia at the tender age of 26. She's a woman with a passion: When the Virginia legislature is in, she's in her office in Richmond by 7 a.m., and often stays until nine at night. Her mission: to defend family values. Right now, that means passing an amendment to ban gay marriage. "This is about so much more than two individuals who might love each other but don't happen to be a man and a woman," she says. "This is about redefining an institution that has been a bedrock of society for all of history."" -- I wonder if that is a true statement.

Editorial: Jew Gotta' Friend At Google - "Well, last night an un-named member of The Google Team offered an explanation for the most recent removal of OfficialWire from Google News. Hate Speech. The Google Team member wrote: "We do not allow articles and sources expressly promoting hate speech viewpoints in Google News". Hate speech? I had to read it a couple times before it sunk in... I mean, I'm a Jew, for Christ's sake! I am fairly confident that I have never written what might be considered "Hate Speech". Hate Speech? The Google message continued... To be honest, I couldn't recall any of these articles, but after a minute or two of re-reading them, I was shocked—not by their content—but by the revelation that Google would consider them "Hate Speech". One article merely discusses the ongoing legal problems experienced by Ernst Zundel. I don't think there is anyone on the planet who would deny that his problems were instigated by a small group of Jews. In other words, the article is factual. The problem with Google executives like Larry Page and Sergey Brin labelling OfficialWire as a "source expressly promoting hate speech viewpoints" is that it's alittle like the pot calling the kettle black. All of these links and many millions of others that might represent far worse examples of objectionable points of view (to some people) are found within Google Search and yet they do not filter their search engine's content, except in China. Shame on Google."

Britain gives up smoking - "SMOKING will be banned in all pubs, clubs and workplaces from next year after historic votes in the Commons last night."

Woman May Have Exposed 100 Sex Partners To HIV - "A woman in Missouri who was charged with knowingly exposing her boyfriend to HIV may have had as many as 100 sex partners, according to the girl's mother."




Quote of the Day
"I only hope that future Americans judge us with the harshness we deserve."
~ Luis Fernandez

News -- February 14, 2006

Hunter Shot by Cheney Has Heart Attack - "The 78-year-old lawyer who was shot by Vice President Dick Cheney in a hunting accident has some birdshot in or touching his heart and he had "a silent heart attack" Tuesday morning, hospital officials said." -- You know, any "regular" American who "accidently" shot their friend while hunting would be facing prosecution, and if was a minority he'd already be in jail. What is the difference between an "accident" caused by the VP and any other "accident" that occurs where people get prosecuted, convicted, and sent to jail?

Cheney and the Media - "So Cheney went a huntin', and Cheney shot a buddy. ... Did anyone notice that there is genocide occuring in the Sudan?"

Goodbye Iraq, hello Afghanistan - "Baghdad - which accounts for 25% of the country's population - has virtually no water or electricity. The Americans for their part may have become more "invisible", retreating from main urban centers, but their air war is even more devastating. The White House/Pentagon policy is now a "back to the future" of turning Iraq into Afghanistan, where warlords, religious or secular, and tribal sheikhs defend their mini-states armed to their teeth, and criminal gangs run parallel to death squads. There isn't a remote possibility of forging a government of national unity under these circumstances. Which suits Washington fine. The only way for the United States to prolong its Iraqi adventure is to perpetuate chaos; Iraq as the new Afghanistan. Few dispute that the US invaded Iraq for its oil resources, mostly untapped, and that it's located in the heart of the world's energy system. Thus, if the US controls Iraq, it extends its strategic power."

Iran has the U.S.’s number - "I have been asked “why people are so reluctant to consider” the validity of “Holocaust” revisionism. I shall try to answer that, showing the relationship to Iranian President Ahmadinejad. The principal obstacle to the propagation of revisionism is, simply, fear. ... For me, the most painful instance of that intellectual terror is the incarceration of my chemist friend Germar Rudolf, presently being held in solitary confinement in a maximum security prison near Stuttgart. His heinous crime? As a chemistry graduate student he did a forensic analysis of the walls of the alleged gas chambers, didn’t find the cyanide residues that ought to have been there and concluded they weren’t gas chambers. The lack of such forensic evidence is well known in the field. For example, in the Wall Street Journal of July 7, 2004, Timothy Ryback wrote that “there is little forensic evidence proving homicidal intent” in the ruins of Auschwitz."

U.S. and Israelis Are Said to Talk of Hamas Ouster - "The United States and Israel are discussing ways to destabilize the Palestinian government so that newly elected Hamas officials will fail and elections will be called again, according to Israeli officials and Western diplomats." -- Can you believe this? It's only "democracy" if you vote for the people we want you to vote for. I can not accurately express my anger right now.

That's what FRIENDS are for - "Just in case anyone still believes that they hate us for our freedoms. The United States and Israel are considering a campaign to starve the Palestinian Authority of cash so Palestinians would grow disillusioned with their incoming militant Hamas rulers and return ousted Fatah moderates to power, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. ... Isn't that what friends are for - destabilizing democracies all over the world?"

"They Hate Us Because We Are Free And They Are Not" - "Once again proving they are utterly clueless, the Bush administration, whose idea of democracy is voting in their people, has devised a plan to destabilize the Palestinian government. ... Do you think maybe it's shenanigans like this that cause the US to be so hated in the Middle East?" -- Um, yeah. I do think that.

Whistleblower says NSA violations bigger - "A former NSA employee said Tuesday there is another ongoing top-secret surveillance program that might have violated millions of Americans' Constitutional rights."

Billions Wasted In Iraq? - "The United States has spent more than a quarter of a trillion dollars during its three years in Iraq, and more than $50 billion of it has gone to private contractors hired to guard bases, drive trucks, feed and shelter the troops and rebuild the country. It is dangerous work, but much of the $50 billion, which is more than the annual budget of the Department of Homeland Security, has been handed out to companies in Iraq with little or no oversight. Billions of dollars are unaccounted for, and there are widespread allegations of waste, fraud and war profiteering."

The Pentagon’s War on the Internet - " The Pentagon has developed a comprehensive strategy for taking over the internet and controlling the free flow of information. The plan appears in a recently declassified document, “The Information Operations Roadmap”, which was provided under the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) and revealed in an article by the BBC. The Pentagon sees the internet in terms of a military adversary that poses a vital threat to its stated mission of global domination. This explains the confrontational language in the document which speaks of “fighting the net”; implying that the internet is the equivalent of “an enemy weapons system."" -- It appears the U.S. government is an enemy of humanity.

Bush Tags Bloggers As Terrorists - "And, given that the major national security fear of our government is terrorists, then it looks like bloggers have made our government’s hit list of potential terrorists. But, what is the nature of this “terrorist crime” that was the subject of these wargames? ... There are other indications that the Bush administration deems bloggers well within the reach of any definition of terrorist, if for no other reason than the crime of dissent and criticism. There are also indicators that relevant parties would be somewhat prepared to assist in the nabbing of terrorist bloggers:" -- "And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm fr--" -- Oh, shut up Lee Greenwood.

The Dream State - "The difificulty is that the ordinary person isn't able--or willing--to acknowledge when his habitual consciousness (the dream state) leads him astray; when his view of the world causes him to mistake a dictatorial police state for a democracy, a mindless tyrant for a "fearless leader," and a pre-emptive, unjustified war for a struggle against terrorism and the spreading of democracy." -- The saying at the bottom of the picture of Bush, next to this quote, is great.

Hidden history of US germ testing - "Fifty years ago, American scientists were in a frantic race to counter what they saw as the Soviet threat from germ warfare. Biological pathogens they developed were tested on volunteers from a pacifist church and were also released in public places."

Blair wins key vote on ID cards - "In a politically charged vote in the House of Commons on Monday, the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair faced down opposition to a plan to introduce mandatory identity cards."

Detectives got sex services as part of prostitution probe - "The Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office is under fire this morning for the way they investigate certain prostitution cases. Undercover detectives have reportedly been having sex when they bust massage parlors for prostitution. Sheriff Howard Smith says the detectives are just doing what needs to be done in order to build a case and get a conviction. He says they are not doing anything illegal or new."

A Taser shotgun for long-range electrifying - "Taser International will move into production on a projectile that can disable someone up to 98 feet away with a quick blast of electricity."




Quote of the Day
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who think they are free."
~ Johann W. von Goethe

News -- February 13, 2006

The VEEP Who Couldn't Shoot Straight: Questions About Cheney's Hunting "Accident" - " The entire Cheney hunting accident story stinks. ... None of the stories have commented on the fact that they were "road hunting", or hunting from a car. That is just about the lowest kind of low-rent, dishonorable kind of hunting there is (the phrase "road hunting" is often used synonymously with "poaching"). ... Someone should be asking if Cheney was drinking, if he was properly licensed with his Upland Game Bird Stamp, when (and if) the hunting accident was actually reported to the authorities and if anyone has investigated why the quail in Texas seem to have gone deaf."

Report: Iran Begins Uranium Enrichment - ""Uranium gas has been fed into three machines," one senior diplomat familiar with Iran's nuclear file said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter."

'10,000 would die' in A-plant attack on Iran - "The report concludes: "A military response to the current crisis is a particularly dangerous option and should not be considered further. Alternative approaches must be sought, however difficult these may be." In a similar briefing before the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Oxford group predicted that Saddam Hussein's regime could easily be overwhelmed but that the country would become a hotbed of insurgency."

Report: U.S. Is Abusing Captives - "A draft United Nations report on the detainees at Guantanamo Bay concludes that the U.S. treatment of them violates their rights to physical and mental health and, in some cases, constitutes torture. It also urges the United States to close the military prison in Cuba and bring the captives to trial on U.S. territory, charging that Washington's justification for the continued detention is a distortion of international law."

UN inquiry demands immediate closure of Guantanamo - "A United Nations inquiry has called for the immediate closure of America's Guantanamo Bay detention centre and the prosecution of officers and politicians "up to the highest level" who are accused of torturing detainees. The UN Human Rights Commission report, due to be published this week, concludes that Washington should put the 520 detainees on trial or release them."

Rumsfeld and Cheney Revive Their 70's Terror Playbook - " Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney are at it again. Last week, Rumsfeld told the press we should be preparing for "the Long War," saying of the war this administration has stirred up with its attack on Iraq that, "Just as the Cold War lasted a long time, this war is something that is not going to go away." The last time Rumsfeld talked like this was in the 1970s, in response to the danger of peace presented by Richard Nixon."

Is the President above the law? - "Roberts later said he believed the President's authority was "above laws passed by Congress." In other words, George W. Bush is a dictator with absolute authority and no one, not the law and certainly not Congress, has the power to question or override that authority. Stop for a second and think about this."

The top two Republicans in Congress caught in an outright lie - "A Republican staffer has named Frist and Hastert as the two lawmakers that added the vaccine makers liability protection to the defense bill- after the committee had met several times that day, and Dems even asked Alaska Senator Ted Stevens if the language was in the bill, and he told them no. ... Frist and Stevens deny this charge saying the language was in the bill when the conferees voted on it- but if that’s so, why did Stevens tell Obey no? It appears there are several witnesses to the Leaders meeting... this is the top two Republicans in Congress caught in an outright lie, blatantly adding in crap that wouldn’t pass on it’s own."

What Has Happened to America's Jesus? - "They say Jesus is "pro life," but he doesn't seem to have a problem with the death penalty. And he thinks stem cell research — something that would save lives — is no different from murdering babies. They say he's the embodiment of kindness, love, decency and compassion. But he hates gays, lesbians and Muslims. And he's not too crazy about Buddhists, Hindus and the rest. Jews? He can put up with them if he has to."

Another Russian MP Says Muslim Riots Were US Provocation - "Gennady Zyuganov told a news conference that the publication of the offensive cartoons was a "well thought-out major provocation using newspapers and magazines to aggravate the situation, the relationship between the European countries and the Muslim world.”"

200 Insiders Against the World - "Neo-conservatives promoting the US Military control of the world are now in dominant policy positions within these higher circles of the US. Adbusters magazine summed up neo-conservatism as: "The belief that Democracy, however flawed, was best defended by an ignorant public pumped on nationalism and religion. Only a militantly nationalist state could deter human aggression Such nationalism requires an external threat and if one cannot be found it must be manufactured.""

Nurse Investigated for 'Sedition' After Writing Letter to Editor - "Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) has asked Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson for a thorough inquiry of his agency's investigation into whether a V.A. nurse's letter to the editor criticizing the Bush administration amounted to "sedition." Merely opposing government policies and expressing a desire to change course "does not provide reason to believe that a person is involved in illegal subversive activity," he said. Bingaman said such investigations raise "a very real possibility of chilling legitimate political speech.""

Israeli-Thai company uses adult stem cells in effort to heal failing hearts - "Desperate for an alternative, Carty found the Israeli-Thai company Theravitae, which has begun performing an experimental procedure that multiplies stem cells taken from a patient's own blood and injects them into the ailing heart in hopes of strengthening it. ... The procedure involves no risk of rejection since the cells are the patient's own. It also does not use embryonic stem cells, an idea that has raised moral objections since they require the destruction of human embryos. Many scientists believe stem cells could herald a new era of regenerative medicine, leading to cures for conditions from diabetes to Parkinson's disease."

Ritalin heart attacks warning urged after 51 deaths in US - "Ritalin, extensively prescribed to calm hyperactive children in the UK, should carry the highest-level warning that it may increase the risk of death from heart attacks, US experts recommended yesterday."

United Arab Emirates company to oversee six U.S. ports - "A company in the United Arab Emirates is poised to take over significant operations at six American ports as part of a corporate sale, leaving a country with ties to the Sept. 11 hijackers with influence over a maritime industry considered vulnerable to terrorism." -- Hmmmm.

US group implants electronic tags in workers - "An Ohio company has embedded silicon chips in two of its employees - the first known case in which US workers have been “tagged” electronically as a way of identifying them."

You've got (certified) mail! - "Saying they want to cut down on the glut of spam and phishing attacks aimed at their millions of users, America Online and Yahoo are turning to a controversial service offered by a company called Goodmail Systems, which has been likened to an electronic postage stamp provider. The service gives preferential treatment to companies that pay a fraction of a cent per e-mail to ensure that their messages bypass spam filters and get through to the intended recipients. The companies agree to send e-mail only to recipients who are willing to accept the e-mail."

The Secret Cause of Flame Wars - "According to recent research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, I've only a 50-50 chance of ascertaining the tone of any e-mail message. The study also shows that people think they've correctly interpreted the tone of e-mails they receive 90 percent of the time. ... "People in our study were convinced they've accurately understood the tone of an e-mail message when in fact their odds are no better than chance," says Epley."

Mind Rewind: Brains Run in Reverse - " When faced with a new learning task, our brains replay events in reverse, much like a video on rewind, a new study suggests."

No more bam-ba-lam - "There's no more "Black Betty" at University of New Hampshire hockey games. Bam-ba-lam. The 1977 clap-along song by one-hit-wonder Ram Jam has been banned because it's "theoretically racist," UNH Athletic Director Marty Scarano told the school's student newspaper, The New Hampshire. Purportedly a 20th-century African-American work song, the Ram Jam cover version was boycotted 30 years ago by the NAACP, which claimed its lyrics were offensive to black women."




Quote of the Day
"A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider God-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side."
~ Aristotle

The Barbarians Within

Have we as a species really changed much throughout history? I mean, really? Are we the same barbarians as our ancestors? What’s different now? There are more people on the planet, it is easier to travel throughout the world, our weapons are more massive, and oh yeah, we have 500 “channels of shit on the TV to choose from.”

That’s about it. The species has not become more “civilized,” our luxuries only make it appear as such. We are still the same warring species we have always been. Power, greed, and the mindset of doing anything in order to achieve power and wealth are still with us. Are they ingrained in our species? Is it part of our nature to do whatever it takes to obtain power and wealth? Are we designed with the drive to crush the weaker of those among us in order to climb to the top?

I would like to think this is not the case. However, the actions around the globe appear to be counterexamples to this thought. Think back to the tribes, empires, civilizations, and dungeons of history and tell me today is any different. It is not. We are still barbarians. Atrocities are still committed in the name of power, greed, and in the name of a god.

We have been brainwashed to believe we are more civilized today than at any time in history. Again, appearances do not make one civilized. One’s actions do. And the actions we are witnessing today are definitely barbaric. Why?

From Webster.com the word barbaric is defined as: “possessing or characteristic of a cultural level more complex than primitive savagery but less sophisticated than advanced civilization; marked by a lack of restraint; wild; having a bizarre, primitive, or unsophisticated quality.”

Again, sophistication is merely an appearance. And “advanced civilization” is definitely a subjective phrase. Thus, I claim humanity has not evolved from its barbaric roots.

If Darwin was correct then why hasn’t humanity evolved away from such barbarianism? Maybe Darwin was not correct, thus leaving the fact that humanity can not change from its barbaric ways. There is a sobering thought. I need another drink.

And I am not just talking about the actions of world governments. The actions of corporations and the actions within corporations, cities, businesses, schools, and relationships are all subject to barbarianism.

Climbing the corporate ladder, maximizing profits, petty politics, overcrowded schools, and sexual conquests are all symptoms of our barbaric mentality. Some of the actions of this mentality are difficult to hear: backstabbing, lying, manipulating, forcing, hiding evidence, bribing, conspiring, threatening, strongly coercing, etc. We all know these things happen, but yet we call ourselves civilized. We refuse to believe that we, as a species, have not evolved to a higher level.

I hate to break the news to you, but we haven’t. There are those among us who thrive on obtaining power and wealth; thrive on warfare; that get a thrill out of watching people suffer (physically, mentally, and emotionally); and those that refuse to see their actions as barbaric.

Still, we are told we are the most civilized peoples to have ever graced this planet.

Is it that we have become “more civilized” as a species or is it that we have become “more conditioned” to the fear of punishment, that on an every day basis we appear to be civilized?

The thing about appearances is that at various times one can always see through them. The veil will always drop, even if for a second, and the real humanity will show its true face.

--Randy Anderson

News -- February 12, 2006

Britain's Breaking Abu Ghraib Scandal - " In a shocking video obtained by the British newspaper, News of the World, shot in 2004 by an approving British Corporal who shouts encouragement during the minute long footage, British troops inside a military compound in Iraq are seen savagely beating Iraqi children who had been throwing stones at the base. ... BEATING them senseless with vicious blows from batons, boots and fists, IGNORING their pitiful pleas for mercy, until the incident climaxes with what appears to be an NCO delivering a sickening full-force kick in the genitals of a cringeing lad pinned to the ground. All the while the callous cameraman delivers a stomach-churning commentary urging his mates on, cackling with laughter and screaming: "Oh yes! Oh yes! You're gonna get it. Yes, naughty little boys! You little f***ers, you little f***ers. DIE! Ha, ha!" -- Click here to see the video. Warning: graphic and disturbing.

British troops videoed 'beating Iraqis' - "The MoD has repeatedly given assurances that Iraqis who are captured are treated with respect and decency by British troops." -- Watch the above video and then decide if the captured Iraqi children are being treated with respect and deceny.

US prepares military blitz against Iran's nuclear sites - "Strategists at the Pentagon are drawing up plans for devastating bombing raids backed by submarine-launched ballistic missile attacks against Iran's nuclear sites as a "last resort" to block Teheran's efforts to develop an atomic bomb."

Iran is prepared to retaliate, experts warn - "Iran is prepared to launch attacks using long-range missiles, secret commando units, and terrorist allies planted around the globe in retaliation for any strike on the country's nuclear facilities, according to new US intelligence assessments and military specialists." -- Um, duh.

A terrorist on every corner? - " PRESIDENT BUSH and Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales insist that the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping of American citizens is a necessary "terrorist surveillance program." And polls show that most Americans support permitting the government to tap the phone calls and e-mails of those considered "suspicious." But what exactly does that mean? A close look suggests that the feds' definition of a "suspected terrorist" may not meet the laugh test."

The Real Cost of Homeland Security - "Statistically speaking, the terrorist threat to America has always been low. So why are we spending such vast amounts on ineffectual 'Homeland Security'? ... As political scientist John Mueller notes, in most years allergic reactions to peanuts, deer in the road, and lightening have all killed about the same number of Americans as terrorism. In 2001, their banner year, terrorists killed one twelfth as many Americans as the flu and one fifteenth the number killed by car accidents."

CIA chief sacked for opposing torture - "The CIA’s top counter-terrorism official was fired last week because he opposed detaining Al-Qaeda suspects in secret prisons abroad, sending them to other countries for interrogation and using forms of torture such as “water boarding”, intelligence sources have claimed." -- When will the madness stop? Who will stop it?

Revealed: the terror prison US is helping build in Morocco - "The construction of the new compound, run by the Direction de la Securité du Territoire (DST), the Moroccan secret police, adds to a substantial body of evidence that Morocco is one of America’s principal partners in the secret “rendition” programme in which the CIA flies prisoners to third countries for interrogation."

Three journalists face prison for revealing existence of secret CIA prisons in Europe - "Reporters Without Borders has appealed to the Swiss justice and defence ministers to drop complaints against three journalists who revealed the existence of secret CIA prisons in Europe."

Do Bush supporters hate their country? - " Sometimes the people who still fervently support George W. Bush seem just plain stupid, and other times it seems they must be dishonest and even malevolent, harboring a hatred for their country that allows them to support misguided ideas and private agendas over the public good."

New Poll Shows Growing Number of Americans Are Fucking Idiots - "In a new AP/Ipsos poll, 48 percent of Americans now support Bush's illegal wiretapping and surveillance, up from forty two percent last month. This is due in part to a propaganda campaign played throughout the corporate media preying on people's ignorance of the law and their fears of a terrorist attack. What wasn't divulged was that Bush was spying on antiwar protestors and religious groups such as the Quakers."

Google Copies Your Hard Drive - Government Smiles in Anticipation - "Google today announced a new "feature" of its Google Desktop software that greatly increases the risk to consumer privacy. If a consumer chooses to use it, the new "Search Across Computers" feature will store copies of the user's Word documents, PDFs, spreadsheets and other text-based documents on Google's own servers, to enable searching from any one of the user's computers. EFF urges consumers not to use this feature, because it will make their personal data more vulnerable to subpoenas from the government and possibly private litigants, while providing a convenient one-stop-shop for hackers who've obtained a user's Google password."

Is our mission about preserving our way of life, or helping U.S. extend its supremacy? - "Take the question: Why are there so many suicide bombers in the Muslim world? Of course, there's a rote answer to this that we hear all the time: Muslims have a culture of death; their blind rage against our freedom leads them to sacrifice their lives to spite us. Another explanation — one you rarely hear — is that they're blowing themselves up to fight military incursions into their lands. (In this sense, they're not that different from people throughout history who sacrificed their lives to defend territory against foreign armies.) One person who's been saying this — and getting little attention — is Robert Pape, a political scientist at the University of Chicago. Based on the comprehensive databank he's developed as director of the Chicago Project on Suicide Terrorism, Pape concludes there's been a strategic goal common to nearly every act of suicide terrorism in the past 25 years: "To compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from territory that the terrorists consider to be their homeland.""

Disappointing Democrats Deliver Again - "Proving once again that party loyalty affects the reasoning part of the brain, the Democrats are introducing legislation, HR 4694 that will cut private funding for candidates running for House seats. It will also mandate public funds for candidates of the "two major parties" (there are two major parties?)Let me see, corruption, cronyism, incompetence and crimes being committed by the Republicans in Washington DC and this is the best they can do?Obviously, the Democrats are feeling threatened and know they can no longer hold on to their base as they are no longer an opposition, party, merely a mirror of the Republicants."

Buy a hybrid, save a guzzler - "The more time you spend looking at the economics of the hybrids, the less comfortable you get. ... The hybrid, then, is just about the perfect example of what's wrong with our energy policy. It's a Band-Aid that does a lot less to help the Earth than we like to tell ourselves. When Vice President Dick Cheney dismissed conservation as "a sign of personal virtue" a few years back, a lot of environmentalists were disgusted. But that, sadly, is what a lot of well-meaning hybrid owners are driving: an expensive symbol that they're worried about our planet, rather than a true solution. ... The Department of Transportation makes the fuel-economy rules--the ones that actually matter--and it's not planning any changes. It will proceed with the fiction that the Prius gets 55 miles to the gallon. This is our energy policy."

$521,000: The average pay of Goldman Sachs employees ­ and that includes secretaries - "They call it Goldmine Sachs. And well they might. Because the Wall Street giant has become the first major investment bank to see its average salary top half a million dollars."

How MUCH is your TIME worth? - "In light of the recent revelation that "the average pay of Goldman Sachs employees [including] secretaries" is $521,000, I think it's appropriate to ask why the fuck do bankers make so much, while others make so little? ... You have to be wondering WHY? What on earth do bankers do with their TIME that merits this kind of compensation when others are lucky to get minimum wage? The bankers who manufactured this grotesque system KNOW that the only way they can make themselves filthy rich is off the backs of others."

NBC Puts On 2-Week Commercial for US Power - "Watching an American production of a world sporting event these days may be embarrassing. It is simplistic. It is supremacist. It is promotional to the core. But it is also instructive. NBC covers the Olympics the way American neocons do foreign policy: The world is 95 percent America, 3 percent water, and 2 percent everything else."




Quote of the Day
"I believe, that as a species, human beings define their reality through misery and suffering."
~ Agent Smith, The Matrix