Israeli tanks, troops raid Lebanese town - "Israeli tanks and hundreds of troops moved in and out of Lebanon on Saturday, taking over a village, entering a U.N. observation post and engaging Hezbollah militants by land, sea and air as part of the country's limited ground campaign."
Bush's Burned Bridges - "Things fell apart so quickly. At the beginning of this millennium, the Cold War was over, the prosperous United States was the sole remaining superpower and global opinion was largely sympathetic to U.S. aims. In the wake of brutal ethnic wars in Central Europe and Africa, the international community had forged a new determination to prevent conflict and atrocities. The volatile Middle East was quiet, and the world seemed headed toward stability rather than chaos. Only six years later, things couldn't be more different. The Bush administration's tunnel-vision approach to foreign policy has pushed the U.S. and the world into a devastating tailspin of conflict without end."
Rice sees bombs as birth pangs - "Condoleezza Rice has described the plight of Lebanon as a part of the "birth pangs of a new Middle East" and said that Israel should ignore calls for a ceasefire."
The Shame of Being an American - "Gentle reader, do you know that Israel is engaged in ethnic cleansing in southern Lebanon? Israel has ordered all the villagers to clear out. Israel then destroys their homes and murders the fleeing villagers. That way there is no one to come back and nothing to which to return, making it easier for Israel to grab the territory, just as Israel has been stealing Palestine from the Palestinians. Do you know that one-third of the Lebanese civilians murdered by Israel's attacks on civilian residential districts are children? ... Of course, you don't know these things, because the US print and TV media do not report them. ... The truth is that Israel created the crisis by invading a country with a pro-American government. The truth is that the American people do not support Israel's war crimes, as the CNN quick poll results make clear and as was made clear by callers into C-Span. ... Now we arrive at the main point. When the US Senate and House of Representatives pass resolutions in support of Israeli war crimes and condemn those who resist Israeli aggression, the Senate and House confirm Osama bin Laden's propaganda that America stands with Israel against the Arab and Muslim world."
Soldiers say ordered to kill young men - "Four U.S. soldiers accused of murdering suspected insurgents during a raid in Iraq said they were under orders to "kill all military age males," according to sworn statements obtained by The Associated Press."
Overruling Democracy - "George W. Bush claims he wants to bring democracy to the Middle East. But the evidence indicates that Bush only likes democracy when the elections go his way. The Palestinians, subjected to a ruthless occupation by Israel for nearly four decades, held a democratic election in January. Much to Bush's dismay, they elected Hamas to lead their parliament. Likewise, voters in Lebanon democratically elected representatives of Hezbollah to parliament. Yet Bush and his minions are doing everything they can to undo those election results."
Afghanistan close to anarchy, warns general - "The most senior British military commander in Afghanistan today described the situation in the country as "close to anarchy" with feuding foreign agencies and unethical private security companies compounding problems caused by local corruption."
A New War Frenzy - "Inside the United States, many of the same politicians and pundits who stampeded the nation into Iraq are back again urging the application of even more violence. While George W. Bush and his neoconservative advisers may be leading the herd, influential Democrats – like Hillary Clinton and Alan Dershowitz – are running with this pack, too."
Last 9-11 detainee released from lockup - "An Algerian man believed to be the last domestic detainee still in custody from a national dragnet after Sept. 11 — and who was cleared of links to terrorism in November 2001 — was set free this week, his lawyer said Friday."
Teacher under fire for his Cheney-9/11 theory - "More than 60 state lawmakers are urging the University of Wisconsin-Madison to fire an instructor who has argued that the U.S. government orchestrated the September 11 terrorist attacks. A letter sent Thursday and signed by 52 Assembly representatives and nine state senators condemns a decision to let Kevin Barrett teach an introductory class on Islam this fall."
How different are Christian and Islamic fundamentalists? - "Well, like it or not, fundamentalists of all stripes believe -- to varying degrees -- in a literal interpretation of their respective holy texts. That's fine when it comes to Thou Shalt Not Steal, but is quite dangerous when it allows people to do harm to "nonbelievers" and think it's a righteous act. There are certainly examples of that kind of fundamentalism -- violent fundies -- in each of the "big three" religions. This opening also makes it perfectly clear that there's no possibility for common ground here. We're facing an unshakable Biblical worldview, and that's that."
Stewart Punches Hole In Bush's "Pro-Life" Universe, Offers Absurd Advice For Absurd Times - "Is there a link between the Iraq War and embryonic stem cell research? Jon Stewart and the folks at The Daily Show think so. And on last night's episode, Stewart made a pretty convincing argument:"
Russia Signs USD 1 Bln Contract on Supplies of Fighter Jets, Helicopters With Venezuela - "Russia has signed a contract on supplies of military planes and helicopters to Venezuela worth over $1 billion, the defense minister is quoted by RIA Novosti news agency as saying."
Gated communities are enemies of democracy - "Gated communities, by removing interactions among otherwise equal citizens, help to destroy the basis for democracy. They are a chokehold on the free association among citizens that de Tocqueville found so prevalent in 1830 America, and which up until very recent years has been the hallmark of our unique experiment in democracy. Gated communities are the antithesis of civilization, for they thrive on separateness and inequality. And, like a cancer, they metastasize."
Schwarzenegger gives $150M stem cell loan - "Schwarzenegger, a Republican who has been trying to put distance between himself and the unpopular president as he seeks re-election this year, said the state cannot afford to wait to fund the critical science associated with stem cells."
Gays accused of discrimination in resort town - "Provincetown, New England's summer gay capital, is facing a rise in harassment and discrimination. But this time it's straight people who say they are being ridiculed as "breeders" and "baby makers."
July 22, 2006
July 21, 2006
News (Page 2) --July 21, 2006
Pakistani Shii'ite Muslims burn the U.S., Israeli and British flagsREUTERS/Zahid Hussein
Lebanese victims given numbers before buried in mass grave.
AP Photo/Nasser Nasser
Israeli woman
AP Photo/ Emilio Morenatti
Israel massing troops on Lebanese border - "Israel massed tanks and troops on the border Friday and warned civilians to flee Hezbollah-controlled southern Lebanon as it prepared for a likely ground invasion to set up a deep buffer zone."
Bush far from neutral player in Mideast - "In the Arab world, he is viewed as a cheerleader for the Israeli side, not a cheerleader for peace. A newcomer to the problems of the Middle East, Bush told reporters Tuesday that the root cause of Middle East strife was Hezbollah. Anyone with knowledge of the region knows most of the problems stem from the nearly 60-year-old Palestinian issue."
Ron Paul: This Will Come Backto Haunt Us - "I rise in opposition to this resolution, which I sincerely believe will do more harm than good. I do agree with the resolution's condemnation of violence. But I am convinced that when we get involved in foreign conflicts and send strong messages, such as this resolution will, it ends up expanding the war rather than diminishing the conflict, and that ultimately comes back to haunt us. ... Let me just repeat those words that he used. He said he came to the conclusion, "The irrationality of Middle Eastern politics forced us to rethink our policy there." I believe these words are probably even more valid now than when they were written."
Evangelical leader pushing 'End Times' war with Iran - " My friend Sarah Posner has been all over televangelist John Hagee in The American Prospect. In June, she wrote a lengthy exposé of Hagee, who preaches that an apocalyptic war with Iran "is foretold in the Bible as a necessary precondition for the Second Coming." Hagee founded an outfit called Christians United for Israel (CUFI), and has been lobbying hard for a big Middle East conflagration in rightwing evangelical circles."
Bush far from neutral player in Mideast - "In the Arab world, he is viewed as a cheerleader for the Israeli side, not a cheerleader for peace. A newcomer to the problems of the Middle East, Bush told reporters Tuesday that the root cause of Middle East strife was Hezbollah. Anyone with knowledge of the region knows most of the problems stem from the nearly 60-year-old Palestinian issue."
Ron Paul: This Will Come Backto Haunt Us - "I rise in opposition to this resolution, which I sincerely believe will do more harm than good. I do agree with the resolution's condemnation of violence. But I am convinced that when we get involved in foreign conflicts and send strong messages, such as this resolution will, it ends up expanding the war rather than diminishing the conflict, and that ultimately comes back to haunt us. ... Let me just repeat those words that he used. He said he came to the conclusion, "The irrationality of Middle Eastern politics forced us to rethink our policy there." I believe these words are probably even more valid now than when they were written."
Evangelical leader pushing 'End Times' war with Iran - " My friend Sarah Posner has been all over televangelist John Hagee in The American Prospect. In June, she wrote a lengthy exposé of Hagee, who preaches that an apocalyptic war with Iran "is foretold in the Bible as a necessary precondition for the Second Coming." Hagee founded an outfit called Christians United for Israel (CUFI), and has been lobbying hard for a big Middle East conflagration in rightwing evangelical circles."
Israel to let food, medicine into Lebanon - "Aid supplies will be allowed into Lebanon amid the fighting, an Israeli envoy said Friday, a day after the
United Nations warned of a growing humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged country."
United Nations warned of a growing humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged country."
100 Iraqis being killed each day, says UN - "The number of Iraqi civilians being murdered or killed in the current fighting has been revealed for the first time by the United Nations. It is far higher than previous estimates."
Saddam pins war on Bush, pro-Israel lobby - "Saddam Hussein said in a letter released Friday that President Bush and pro-Israel groups lied to Americans to justify the Iraq war, and he added that Iran "and its agents" helped facilitate the aggression. Saddam also urged Americans to "save your country and leave Iraq" in a letter written in prison to the American people and released by his lawyers in Jordan."
Websites Saying Another OBL Message Coming Soon - "In his message, bin Laden will reportedly address events in Gaza and Lebanon. This message has been expected and is consistent with new efforts in 2006 by al Qaeda's senior leadership to be responsive in their messages to current developments." -- How convenient.
The Bush Adminstration - A Primer - "A short recap of some ‘highlights’ from the past few years. Some are funny, some disheartening, and a few are downright disturbing." -- The ABC's of the past few years.
Senate wades back into abortion debate - "The Senate reopened the abortion debate Friday in advance of the midterm elections, this time over a bill that would make it a federal crime to take a teenager across state lines to end a pregnancy without a parent's knowledge. Supporters of the bill say such incidents often occur when a girl, or the man involved, wants to evade homestate parental consent laws. Opponents say the bill would make criminals of well-meaning confidants, such as relatives and clergy members, who might help a pregnant teen whose parents are abusive."
Blowing the Whistle on Diebold - "On July 13, the Pensacola, Fla.-based law firm of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed a “qui tam” lawsuit in U.S. District Court, alleging that Diebold and other electronic voting machine (EVM) companies fraudulently represented to state election boards and the federal government that their products were “unhackable.”"
U.S. Builds 'Military Empire Beyond the Ozone Layer' - "According to the U.S. Aerospace Force Development Plan, the most realistic question currently on Chilton’s desk is how to ensure the completion of a "space patrol" by 2014. This patrol will mainly be engaged in the task of combating opponents. According to a disclosure by Britain's "Sunday Telegraph," this plan (code-named "Veto") demonstrates the refusal of the U.S. to allow any state to develop space for military purposes without its consent. According to the plan, the United States will develop a "space patrol fleet" of military spacecraft. Space in this instance, will be used mainly to attack the patrol fleets of other nations and destroy all near-Earth satellites belonging to hostile and competitive countries, thereby enabling the United States to build a powerful military empire beyond the ozone layer."
Bush administration sells off public forests to energy companies - "Working with the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Bush administration is moving ahead with plans to sell public national forest land to big oil and gas companies, as well as private timber firms. The White House plans to sell over 300,000 acres of publicly owned land, generating $800 million."
Researchers link wildfires, climate change - "A team at California's Scripps Institution, in a headline-making report this month, found that warmer temperatures, causing earlier snow runoff and consequently drier summer conditions, were the key factor in an explosion of big wildfires in the U.S. West over three decades, including fires now rampaging east of Los Angeles."
On the great Ukrainian bride hunt - "It was three weeks before Christmas, and I was sitting in a Ukrainian business hotel with perhaps thirty men, mostly American and mostly on the later side of middle age, listening as a muscular, impossibly loud ex‒radio D.J. who answers to “Dan the Man” promised that our lives were about to change forever. We were all strangers, but I knew at least one thing about these men: each was there because he was frustrated, angry, and tired of being alone. Each had decided that his best chance at happiness was to pay nearly $4,000 to a company called A Foreign Affair, which would ferry him through Ukraine on a two-week bride hunt, “like an alpha-male wolf,” as one testimonial for the tour giddily assured us, “having the sheep brought in.”" -- It's a long, but interesting read.
Innocent man free after 23 years - "A man who spent 23 years in a US prison for rape was freed after DNA evidence proved he did not commit the crime."
Studies show young women becoming more violent with partners - "Contrary to stereotypes, women can be just as likely to mentally and physically abuse their partners, according to two studies recently released by the University of Florida and the University of South Carolina."
Yahoo offers copy-free music - "Internet company Yahoo has released its first music download from a major record label without copy protection."
News -- July 21, 2006
Lebanese mass grave in the town of TyreREUTERS/Nikola Solic
Issam Kobeisi/ReutersIsrael Hints at Full-Scale Lebanon Attack - "Pitched battles raged between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters on the border Thursday, and Israel warned hundreds of thousands of people to flee southern Lebanon "immediately," preparing for a likely ground offensive to set up a buffer zone."
'Why is there not a murmur of protest from Washington?' - "The Israelis have destroyed the buildings, the roads and that lifestyle. They have put the country back 30 years. I cannot believe this all happened because of the capture of two soldiers. This must have been months in planning."
Israel set war plan more than a year ago - "Israel's military response by air, land and sea to what it considered a provocation last week by Hezbollah militants is unfolding according to a plan finalized more than a year ago."
Britain and US defy demand for immediate ceasefire - "Two countries, the US and Britain, defiantly refused to back the international clamour for an immediate ceasfire between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas. Their ambivalence about civilian deaths in Lebanon has given Israel a powerful signal that it can continue its attacks with impunity."
Grim proof ordinary folk are dying in the killing zone - "PARKED outside the small general hospital in Tyre is a badly refrigerated lorry container in which are stacked the bodies of 91 Lebanese civilians, 55 of them children. The bodies have been placed inside black plastic rubbish bags and labelled in anticipation of the time, days or weeks from now, when their surviving relatives - if any - can come to collect them."
Analysis: could Israel face war crimes charges? - "A UN warning that Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon may constitute war crimes has legal legs - but with the issue as much about politics as law prosecutions are unlikely anytime soon, analysts say."
Evangelical Christians plead for Israel - "The thousands of Christians in Washington - who came and are staying at their own expense - will be urging the US government "not to restrain Israel in any way in the pursuit of Hamas and Hezbollah", he said. ... In common with many American evangelicals, he believes that God gave the land to the Jewish people and that Christians have a Biblical duty to support it and the Jews. His latest book, Jerusalem Countdown: A Warning to the World, interprets the Bible to predict that Russian and Arab armies will invade Israel and be destroyed by God. This will set up a confrontation over Israel between China and the West, led by the anti-Christ, who will be the head of the European Union, Pastor Hagee writes. That final battle between East and West - at Armageddon, an actual place in Israel - will precipitate the second coming of Christ, he concludes. ... "When they see what's going on in the Middle East, a whole range of enemies arrayed against God's people, they see God's word being played out on their television sets," he said.
"They see Israel triumphing over its enemies as proof that God's promises remain.""
Few Editorials Find Fault with the Bombing of Beirut - "Even if readers here don’t fully appreciate it, the U.S. and Israel are indivisible in the eyes of many if not most in that region. Every bomb that kills civilians in Lebanon might just as well have emerged from our war planes or artillery, in their eyes."
Stem cell wars rage in state capitols - "Governors and lawmakers in five states -- California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey -- have forged policies to support the controversial science with state funds, but the process has been fraught. Like the bitter debates on Capitol Hill this month, statehouse battles have been pitched, with some lawmakers trying to go even further than the federal government in restricting the science."
Judge rules against Bush in spying lawsuit - "A federal judge Thursday refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Bush administration’s domestic spying program, rejecting government claims that allowing the case to go forward could expose state secrets and jeopardize the war on terror."
Top-Secret World Loses Blogger - "Christine Axsmith, a software contractor for the CIA, considered her blog a success within the select circle of people who could actually access it. ... On July 13, after she posted her views on torture and the Geneva Conventions, her blog was taken down and her security badge was revoked. On Monday, Axsmith was terminated by her employer, BAE Systems, which was helping the CIA test software."
Prosecutors fight 'gay panic' defenses - "Prosecutors said Thursday they want to limit the use of "gay panic" defenses -- where defendants claim their crimes were justified because of fear or anger over their victims' sexual orientation."
The Plague - "Bizarre fibers. Black sweat. Bugs under the skin. Welcome to the controversial world of Morgellons disease."
Earth faces 'catastrophic loss of species' - "The planet is losing species faster than at any time since 65 million years ago, when the earth was hit by an enormous asteroid that wiped out thousands of animals and plants, including the dinosaurs. Scientists estimate that the current rate at which species are becoming extinct is between 100 and 1,000 times greater than the normal "background" extinction rate - and say this is all due to human activity."
Undersea gas could speed global warming - study - "If the world continues to get warmer, vast amounts of methane gas trapped in ice under the sea could belch up and worsen climate change, according to a study."
Scientists seek the secret of our success from Neanderthal DNA - "Scientists are to decipher the genetic code of our closest relative, the barrel-chested, long-faced Neanderthal, in the hope that it will reveal how modern humans developed the formidable cognitive power to dominate the world."
Bed sharing 'drains men's brains' - "When men spend the night with a bed mate their sleep is disturbed, whether they make love or not, and this impairs their mental ability the next day. The lack of sleep also increases a man's stress hormone levels. According to the New Scientist study, women who share a bed fare better because they sleep more deeply."
Life imitates porn? - Ah yes. Whenever I want great service, I make sure to open my legs and offer a "fringe benefit." This story has all the makings of a New York Times Invent-A-Trend:"
Meet the Remote-Control Self - "Ishiguro, a senior researcher at ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories outside Kyoto, has created a machine in his own image -- a robot that looks and moves exactly like him. It sits on a chair and gazes around the room in a very humanlike fashion, just like its creator. In fact, the robot is an exact duplicate."
Europe plans giant eye on the sky - "A giant telescope with a mirror up to 60 metres wide is being planned by the European Southern Observatory. The telescope would be able to detect Earth-like planets around other stars and spot the universe's first galaxies."
Quote of the Day
"Watch out for the leaders. First the leaders and the led, then the tyrants and the slaves, then the massacres. That's how it's always gone."
~ Crake, Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
July 20, 2006
News -- July 20, 2006
Lebanon 'has been torn to shreds' - "The Lebanese prime minister has called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah militants, saying his country "has been torn to shreds"."
Israeli Troops Push Into South Lebanon - "Israeli troops punched into south Lebanon on Wednesday as warplanes flattened buildings including one thought to hold Hezbollah's top leaders, intensifying an offensive despite mounting international pressure and a Lebanese appeal to spare the country further death and devastation."
Congress to voice support for Israel - "Little of the political divisiveness in Congress over Iraq war policy is evident as lawmakers rush to embrace the Bush administration's staunch support of Israel in the latest flare-up of violence in the Middle East."
Maronite archbishop calls refugee problem in Lebanon huge, dire - "He noted that almost 95 percent of the casualties in Lebanon have been civilians, and the Lebanese feel like they have been "hijacked and used by everyone and his uncle." He said the current situation was "simply dirty politics" using "unthinkable means.""
Kristol Suggests People of Iran Would Embrace U.S. Attack, Triggering Regime Change - "This morning on Fox, Bill Kristol continued to escalate his calls for war against Iran, stating, “We can try diplomacy. I’m not very hopeful about that. We have to be ready to use force.” Kristol claimed the people of Iran would embrace “the right use of targeted military force.” He added that military force could “trigger changes in Iran,” causing them to embrace regime change."
Poll: Little role for U.S. in Mideast clash - "Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the United States should stay out of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, according to a CNN poll conducted and released Wednesday by Opinion Research Corp."
The YouTube War - "American soldiers are telling their story of the Iraq war in homemade videos. And the picture isn't any brighter."
Most scientists refute White House appraisal of stem cell research - "When White House political adviser Karl Rove signaled last week that President Bush planned to veto the stem cell bill being considered by the Senate, the reasons he gave went beyond the president's moral qualms with research on human embryos. ... If opponents of embryonic research object on moral grounds, "I'm willing to live with that," Clarke said, though he disagrees. But, he said, "I'm not willing to live with statements that are misleading.""
Congress' Top 10 Stem Cell Flubs - "Sometimes legislators make stuff up when they're not sure about the facts -- especially when it comes to complicated science like stem cell research. Here are the worst offenses heard in Congress this week."
Please keep your religion away from my stem cells - "Instead, potentially transforming medical breakthroughs are being held hostage to the narrow, sometimes hypocritical, religious views of a distinct minority, which unfortunately includes President Bush. ... In retrospect, Specter noted, these rejections of science were "absurd." The present clash over embryonic stem cells is no less so. And hubristic religious belief, as it has been over the centuries, is involved. "They believe that their faith should dictate what the rest of us do," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., observed near the close of the debate."
Can a Christian be a good American? - "Recently, an email chain letter has been spamming its way into countless thousands of inboxes around the world. No, this one isn't about erectile disfunction or low-rate mortgages - it's titled "Can a Muslim be a good American?" It attempts to make the case that Muslims can never become "good Americans" because of their religious beliefs (including, ironically, the fact that they are "intolerant"). I've seen this message several times in the last week and I'm already very, very sick of it. So, in the interest of fairness, here is my tongue-in-cheek response."
A pantomime president - "President Bush was against diplomacy before he was for it. But with the collapse of US foreign policy from the Middle East to North Korea he has claimed to have become a born-again realist. "And it's, kind of ... painful ... for some to watch, because it takes a while to get people on the same page," he said at his July 7 press conference, adding, in an astonished tone, "Not everybody thinks the exact same way we think. Different words mean different things to different people."" -- And it took him until 60 to figure this out?
2006 sets heat record, more to come - "The first six months of 2006 were the warmest, on average, since the United States started keeping records in 1895, and global warming is a contributing factor, a U.S. climate expert said on Wednesday."
Are you wondering why it's so hot today? - "Is it just a freak summer? Or proof of global warming? As temperatures hit record highs, what's fuelling the heatwave?"
One in nine women prefer chores to sex - "Eleven per cent said they regularly have sex when they do not really want to and one in 12 admitted frequently faking orgasms. One in nine women view sex as “like any other household chore”, “an irritating annoyance” or “only enjoyable for men”."
19 minutes - how long working parents give their children - "The startling research shows the devastating impact that working full-time has on children who hardly see their parents. With less than 20 minutes spent with their parents every day, this is only enough time to eat a quick breakfast together or have a couple of bed-time stories."
BBC will explore new approaches to religion on primetime TV - "But BBC makes it plain that the series was not designed to provoke a Christian backlash, and that critical angles will be matched by the views of adherents and perspectives of different communities on one another’s beliefs and commitments."
Tut's gem hints at space impact - "In 1996 in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Italian mineralogist Vincenzo de Michele spotted an unusual yellow-green gem in the middle of one of Tutankhamun's necklaces. The jewel was tested and found to be glass, but intriguingly it is older than the earliest Egyptian civilisation. ... But the glass is itself a scientific enigma. How did it get to be there and who or what made it?"
3-D Imaging Goes Ballistic - "New ballistics-imaging technology, developed by a Rockville, Maryland, engineering firm with funding from the Justice Department, lets forensic scientists capture a fired bullet's distinctive markings in 3-D for the first time."
Force of nature parts the Red Sea - "Geologists believe they are witnessing the creation of an ocean."
Daughter Who Surprised Mom With Birthday Visit Sues Parents - "An Illinois woman is suing her Wisconsin parents for maintaining an icy driveway that she blamed for a fall that broke her ankle two winters ago. ... She's seeking more than $75,000 in damages for medical bills and lost wages."
Quote of the Day
"I thought I'd live for ever, but now I'm not so sure."
~ Lisa Loeb
Israeli Troops Push Into South Lebanon - "Israeli troops punched into south Lebanon on Wednesday as warplanes flattened buildings including one thought to hold Hezbollah's top leaders, intensifying an offensive despite mounting international pressure and a Lebanese appeal to spare the country further death and devastation."
Congress to voice support for Israel - "Little of the political divisiveness in Congress over Iraq war policy is evident as lawmakers rush to embrace the Bush administration's staunch support of Israel in the latest flare-up of violence in the Middle East."
Maronite archbishop calls refugee problem in Lebanon huge, dire - "He noted that almost 95 percent of the casualties in Lebanon have been civilians, and the Lebanese feel like they have been "hijacked and used by everyone and his uncle." He said the current situation was "simply dirty politics" using "unthinkable means.""
Kristol Suggests People of Iran Would Embrace U.S. Attack, Triggering Regime Change - "This morning on Fox, Bill Kristol continued to escalate his calls for war against Iran, stating, “We can try diplomacy. I’m not very hopeful about that. We have to be ready to use force.” Kristol claimed the people of Iran would embrace “the right use of targeted military force.” He added that military force could “trigger changes in Iran,” causing them to embrace regime change."
Poll: Little role for U.S. in Mideast clash - "Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the United States should stay out of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, according to a CNN poll conducted and released Wednesday by Opinion Research Corp."
The YouTube War - "American soldiers are telling their story of the Iraq war in homemade videos. And the picture isn't any brighter."
Most scientists refute White House appraisal of stem cell research - "When White House political adviser Karl Rove signaled last week that President Bush planned to veto the stem cell bill being considered by the Senate, the reasons he gave went beyond the president's moral qualms with research on human embryos. ... If opponents of embryonic research object on moral grounds, "I'm willing to live with that," Clarke said, though he disagrees. But, he said, "I'm not willing to live with statements that are misleading.""
Congress' Top 10 Stem Cell Flubs - "Sometimes legislators make stuff up when they're not sure about the facts -- especially when it comes to complicated science like stem cell research. Here are the worst offenses heard in Congress this week."
Please keep your religion away from my stem cells - "Instead, potentially transforming medical breakthroughs are being held hostage to the narrow, sometimes hypocritical, religious views of a distinct minority, which unfortunately includes President Bush. ... In retrospect, Specter noted, these rejections of science were "absurd." The present clash over embryonic stem cells is no less so. And hubristic religious belief, as it has been over the centuries, is involved. "They believe that their faith should dictate what the rest of us do," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., observed near the close of the debate."
Can a Christian be a good American? - "Recently, an email chain letter has been spamming its way into countless thousands of inboxes around the world. No, this one isn't about erectile disfunction or low-rate mortgages - it's titled "Can a Muslim be a good American?" It attempts to make the case that Muslims can never become "good Americans" because of their religious beliefs (including, ironically, the fact that they are "intolerant"). I've seen this message several times in the last week and I'm already very, very sick of it. So, in the interest of fairness, here is my tongue-in-cheek response."
A pantomime president - "President Bush was against diplomacy before he was for it. But with the collapse of US foreign policy from the Middle East to North Korea he has claimed to have become a born-again realist. "And it's, kind of ... painful ... for some to watch, because it takes a while to get people on the same page," he said at his July 7 press conference, adding, in an astonished tone, "Not everybody thinks the exact same way we think. Different words mean different things to different people."" -- And it took him until 60 to figure this out?
2006 sets heat record, more to come - "The first six months of 2006 were the warmest, on average, since the United States started keeping records in 1895, and global warming is a contributing factor, a U.S. climate expert said on Wednesday."
Are you wondering why it's so hot today? - "Is it just a freak summer? Or proof of global warming? As temperatures hit record highs, what's fuelling the heatwave?"
One in nine women prefer chores to sex - "Eleven per cent said they regularly have sex when they do not really want to and one in 12 admitted frequently faking orgasms. One in nine women view sex as “like any other household chore”, “an irritating annoyance” or “only enjoyable for men”."
19 minutes - how long working parents give their children - "The startling research shows the devastating impact that working full-time has on children who hardly see their parents. With less than 20 minutes spent with their parents every day, this is only enough time to eat a quick breakfast together or have a couple of bed-time stories."
BBC will explore new approaches to religion on primetime TV - "But BBC makes it plain that the series was not designed to provoke a Christian backlash, and that critical angles will be matched by the views of adherents and perspectives of different communities on one another’s beliefs and commitments."
Tut's gem hints at space impact - "In 1996 in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Italian mineralogist Vincenzo de Michele spotted an unusual yellow-green gem in the middle of one of Tutankhamun's necklaces. The jewel was tested and found to be glass, but intriguingly it is older than the earliest Egyptian civilisation. ... But the glass is itself a scientific enigma. How did it get to be there and who or what made it?"
3-D Imaging Goes Ballistic - "New ballistics-imaging technology, developed by a Rockville, Maryland, engineering firm with funding from the Justice Department, lets forensic scientists capture a fired bullet's distinctive markings in 3-D for the first time."
Force of nature parts the Red Sea - "Geologists believe they are witnessing the creation of an ocean."
Daughter Who Surprised Mom With Birthday Visit Sues Parents - "An Illinois woman is suing her Wisconsin parents for maintaining an icy driveway that she blamed for a fall that broke her ankle two winters ago. ... She's seeking more than $75,000 in damages for medical bills and lost wages."
Quote of the Day
"I thought I'd live for ever, but now I'm not so sure."
~ Lisa Loeb
July 19, 2006
News (Page 2) -- July 19, 2006
US orders nine warships to waters off Lebanon - "The United States ordered nine warships to waters off the Lebanese coast amid fears of possible terrorist attacks on ships evacuating US nationals, officials said."
Israel's on wrong course - "But no genuine friend of Israel can be happy with what is being done in that country's name by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his misguided followers."
In Iraq, Civil War All but Declared - "U.S. and Iraqi government leaders have argued that the 150,000-strong foreign troop presence has kept the country from descending into full-scale civil war. But many Iraqi officials fear the threshold has been crossed. "What is happening in Iraq is a disaster and a tragedy," Adnan Dulaimi, a Sunni Arab leader, said in an interview."It's bloodshed and killing of the innocents, killing the elderly and women and children. It's mass killings. It's nothing less than an undeclared civil war."" -- And it's America's fault. No, I won't sugar coat it.
Iraqis: U.S. shares blame for death toll - "Iraqi officials said Wednesday that U.S. and coalition forces as well as an increase in sectarian violence were behind the surge in civilian casualties cited in a U.N. report. ... However, deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubaie blamed U.S. and other coalition forces for much of the violence, saying their troops were responsible for about half the deaths due to "raids, shootings and clashes with insurgents.""
Bush vetoes stem cell bill as promised - "President Bush cast the first veto of his 5 1/2-year presidency Wednesday, saying legislation easing limits on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research "crosses a moral boundary" and is wrong." -- And he hasn't crossed any moral boundaries? Please.
Bush - Stoned? Drunk? Medicated? Retarded? Presidential Tester for the Pharmaceutical Industry? You Decide........ - "Watch his gibberish at the G8, especially the bizarre stuff about how long the plane flights to various countries are. If you take out the comments of the other leaders (because they actually sound intelligent and not like drunken bar talk) and just read what Bush says, he sounds just like someone who is more than half looped."
Directed Energy Weapons Killing People Through Guise Of Insanity - "It's no secret the Arctic Beacon and the Investigative Journal Radio Show are two of the only media outlets taking seriously the use of directed energy weapons on the people of the world."
New records on UCSC protests show deeper spying conspiracy - "New details emerged Tuesday about the government intelligence-gathering at UC Santa Cruz that prompted anti-war protesters there to be designated as a "credible threat" in a secret Defense Department database."
America's most wanted: The man with eighty wives - "It is astonishing how much a cult leader can get done while he is on the run from the FBI."
Getting Pissed up in Here - "Why the goddamn do you all still think that your penis entitles you to keep your name for the rest of your life? Why do you think it gives you the great, almighty power to brand whatever woman you want with it? Does it have magical powers? If you beat us over the head with it in the middle of the night, will your name show up tattooed on our foreheads? What about my vagina makes you think I'm just dying to give up my name, my name for shit's sake, and take yours in its stead?"
Greek woman to give birth to own grandchild - "A 52-year-old Greek woman is to give birth to her own grandchild after being granted legal permission to act as a surrogate mother for her daughter."
Vegetables to get Olympic identity codes - "As if China didn't have its hands full keeping tabs on its 1.3 billion people, the country will now begin tracking its vegetables. In an attempt to ensure food safety during the 2008 Olympics, Beijing is to give every cabbage, carrot and pea pod its own identity number and file, the Beijing News reported on Wednesday."
Israel's on wrong course - "But no genuine friend of Israel can be happy with what is being done in that country's name by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his misguided followers."
In Iraq, Civil War All but Declared - "U.S. and Iraqi government leaders have argued that the 150,000-strong foreign troop presence has kept the country from descending into full-scale civil war. But many Iraqi officials fear the threshold has been crossed. "What is happening in Iraq is a disaster and a tragedy," Adnan Dulaimi, a Sunni Arab leader, said in an interview."It's bloodshed and killing of the innocents, killing the elderly and women and children. It's mass killings. It's nothing less than an undeclared civil war."" -- And it's America's fault. No, I won't sugar coat it.
Iraqis: U.S. shares blame for death toll - "Iraqi officials said Wednesday that U.S. and coalition forces as well as an increase in sectarian violence were behind the surge in civilian casualties cited in a U.N. report. ... However, deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubaie blamed U.S. and other coalition forces for much of the violence, saying their troops were responsible for about half the deaths due to "raids, shootings and clashes with insurgents.""
Bush vetoes stem cell bill as promised - "President Bush cast the first veto of his 5 1/2-year presidency Wednesday, saying legislation easing limits on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research "crosses a moral boundary" and is wrong." -- And he hasn't crossed any moral boundaries? Please.
Bush - Stoned? Drunk? Medicated? Retarded? Presidential Tester for the Pharmaceutical Industry? You Decide........ - "Watch his gibberish at the G8, especially the bizarre stuff about how long the plane flights to various countries are. If you take out the comments of the other leaders (because they actually sound intelligent and not like drunken bar talk) and just read what Bush says, he sounds just like someone who is more than half looped."
Directed Energy Weapons Killing People Through Guise Of Insanity - "It's no secret the Arctic Beacon and the Investigative Journal Radio Show are two of the only media outlets taking seriously the use of directed energy weapons on the people of the world."
New records on UCSC protests show deeper spying conspiracy - "New details emerged Tuesday about the government intelligence-gathering at UC Santa Cruz that prompted anti-war protesters there to be designated as a "credible threat" in a secret Defense Department database."
America's most wanted: The man with eighty wives - "It is astonishing how much a cult leader can get done while he is on the run from the FBI."
Getting Pissed up in Here - "Why the goddamn do you all still think that your penis entitles you to keep your name for the rest of your life? Why do you think it gives you the great, almighty power to brand whatever woman you want with it? Does it have magical powers? If you beat us over the head with it in the middle of the night, will your name show up tattooed on our foreheads? What about my vagina makes you think I'm just dying to give up my name, my name for shit's sake, and take yours in its stead?"
Greek woman to give birth to own grandchild - "A 52-year-old Greek woman is to give birth to her own grandchild after being granted legal permission to act as a surrogate mother for her daughter."
Vegetables to get Olympic identity codes - "As if China didn't have its hands full keeping tabs on its 1.3 billion people, the country will now begin tracking its vegetables. In an attempt to ensure food safety during the 2008 Olympics, Beijing is to give every cabbage, carrot and pea pod its own identity number and file, the Beijing News reported on Wednesday."
News -- July 19, 2006
Mutually Assured Destruction in the Middle East - "Israel's air, land and sea blockade of Lebanon, which includes jet fighter strikes against the airport in Beirut, presages a new era in the Middle East, one in which the center has collapsed and Muslim and Jewish extremists, capable only of the language of violence, determine the parameters of existence."
United States to Israel: you have one more week to blast Hizbullah - "The US is giving Israel a window of a week to inflict maximum damage on Hizbullah before weighing in behind international calls for a ceasefire in Lebanon, according to British, European and Israeli sources. The Bush administration, backed by Britain, has blocked efforts for an immediate halt to the fighting initiated at the UN security council, the G8 summit in St Petersburg and the European foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels."
Energized Neocons Say Israel's Fight Is Washington's - "The two columns are just the latest examples of a slew of commentaries that have appeared in U.S. print and broadcast media since Israel began bombing targets in Lebanon in retaliation for Hezbollah's fatal cross-border attack last Wednesday. They appear to be part of a deliberate campaign by neoconservatives and some of their right-wing supporters to depict the current conflict as part of global struggle pitting Israel, as the forward base of Western civilization, against Islamist extremism organized and directed by Iran and its junior partner, Syria."
If Israel has the right to use force in self defence, so do its neighbours - "But what is at stake here is not proportionality or the issue of self-defence, but symmetry and equivalence. Israel is staking a claim to the exclusive use of force as an instrument of policy and punishment, and is seeking to deny any opposing state or non-state actor a similar right. It is also largely succeeding in portraying its own "right to self-defence" as beyond question, while denying anyone else the same. And the international community is effectively endorsing Israel's stance on both counts. From an Arab point of view this cannot be right. There is no reason in the world why Israel should be able to enter Arab sovereign soil to occupy, destroy, kidnap and eliminate its perceived foes - repeatedly, with impunity and without restraint - while the Arab side cannot do the same. And if the Arab states are unable or unwilling to do so then the job should fall to those who can."
Elimination of Hezbollah the ultimate goal - "Israel's military operation in Lebanon is designed to cripple Hezbollah by destroying its headquarters, weapons stockpiles and supply network, and eventually eliminating the militant group, Israeli officials and analysts said yesterday."
ISRAELIS TARGET CHRISTIAN PART OF BEIRUT - "Israeli warplanes targeted for the first time a Christian area of eastern Beirut on Wednesday morning."
Iraq Civilian Toll Spikes to Almost 6,000 - "Hundreds of teachers, judges, religious leaders and doctors have been targeted for death, and thousands of people have fled, the report said. Evidence suggests militants also have begun to target homosexuals, it said."
Dobbs: Not so smart when it comes to the Middle East - "We Americans like to think we're a pretty smart people, even when evidence to the contrary is overwhelming. And nowhere is that evidence more overwhelming than in the Middle East. History in the Middle East is everything, and we Americans seem to learn nothing from it."
The Ugly Truth: Our President is an Imbecile - "What I found to be the most damning is the least quoted part of Bush's comments. ... Russia's big and so is China??????? This guys sounds like a third grader. Do you know anyone who would have a conversation like this with their neighbor, let alone a business associate, let alone a world leader? Who's proud to know that Russia is big and so is China?"
Conservative Anger Grows Over Bush's Foreign Policy - "Conservative intellectuals and commentators who once lauded Bush for what they saw as a willingness to aggressively confront threats and advance U.S. interests said in interviews that they perceive timidity and confusion about long-standing problems including Iran and North Korea, as well as urgent new ones such as the latest crisis between Israel and Hezbollah."
You won't read it here first: India curtails access to blogs - "For reasons yet to be articulated by the authorities, the government has directed local Internet service providers to block access to a handful of Web sites that are hosts to blogs, including Google's popular Blogspot, according to government officials and some of the providers."
Gagged bloggers fume at ban - "Having been deprived of their personal space in cyberspace by a government ban on blogs related to Mumbai terror attacks, netizens have slammed the internet censorship through messages expressing outrage in other web forums."
The Growing Threat of Right-Wing Christians - "Michelle Goldberg says progressives need to wake up and pay attention to the enormous -- and growing -- influence of the radical Christian right."
Israel's Apartheid, The Rapture Is A Farce, and Al Franken Is A Big Fat Zionist Shill - "But what you don't hear from a lot of people on the left is a sense of outrage at Israel's apartheid policy. ... Does Jesus come with an expiration date? ... Or is it Mr. Franken who's not funny."
Homeland Security Department Is Accused of Credit Card Misuse - "Flat-bottomed rescue boats at double the retail price, $68,500 worth of unused dog booties, hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of computers that somehow disappeared and a $227 beer brewing kit."
Lawsuit accuses video Web site YouTube of copyright infringement - "An independent news reporter sued the popular video-sharing service YouTube Inc. for copyright infringement, claiming the Web site encouraged users to copy his protected materials."
'Women only' signs make Japan's men fume - "AT THE time, most people agreed it seemed a good idea: carriages on Japanese commuter trains set aside specifically for females would dramatically reduce the number of women being molested by the chikan who get their kicks by having a sly fondle among the tightly packed bodies. And it worked. ... It has become so common to see "no males" signs outside stores, restaurants, hotels, spas and even entertainment outlets that the victims of this policy are beginning to grumble that they are becoming second-class citizens."
Japan Plans 30-Year Supercomputer Forecasts - "Japan is planning ultra long-range 30-year weather forecasts that will predict typhoons, storms, blizzards, droughts and other inclement weather, an official said Tuesday. The project, to start next year, will harness the powers of one of the world's fastest supercomputers and is an offshoot of ongoing research by the country's science ministry to map global warming trends for the next 300 years."
Sex close to due date may cause spontaneous labor, study finds - "Women who have sexual intercourse during late pregnancy are more likely than abstinent women to have a spontaneous delivery at 38 to 40 weeks' and less likely to require labor induction, according to results of a study conducted in Malaysia."
Republicans unveil $100 million school voucher plan - "Congressional Republicans on Tuesday proposed a $100 million plan to let poor children leave struggling schools and attend private schools at public expense."
Alzheimer's patients may get skin patch - "Alzheimer's patients may soon get the first skin patch to treat the creeping brain degeneration, a novel way to deliver an older drug so that it's easier to take and might even work a little better."
Quote of the Day
"Everyone's looking, but no one is listening."
~ Iron Maiden
July 18, 2006
News (Page 2) -- July 18, 2006
Right-wing media divided: Is U.S. now in World War III, IV, or V? - "Hey, everybody. Hurry up; we've got World War III to fight. Yes, it is the end of days, isn't it?"
Uncensored News Reports From Across The Middle East - "This video contains images depicting the reality and horror of war and should only be viewed by a mature audience." -- You will not be seeing these reports on the nightly news.
Politicians and Media Selling America's Soul for an Israeli Shekel - "It is inexplicable on a human level, not on the ideological, political, or financial level, that our "mainstream" media are blaming the occupied victims in Gaza and Lebanon for Israel's "forced" retaliations. Most of you are either unwilling or careless to learn about the history of the Israeli Palestinian conflict and how a Jewish state for Europe's victims was forced violently and with terrorism expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their home with the deliberate erasing of over 400 Palestinian villages (Read Ben Gurion and Dayan's own writings; or Benny Morris's: Palestinian Refugee Problem). Massacres, rapes, terrorism (first MidEast bomb was by Begin's group, first hijacking of a plane was by Israel) were inflicted on the British, Palestinians, and U.N. envoys. Your myths about Israel as a "democracy" defies the logic that this solely a “Jewish state" where Christians and Muslims are unwanted. Mosques and churches have been burned and destroyed. This is part of Jewish dogma as evidenced in the Babylonian Talmud."
Thousands flee as Israel threatens all-out war - "An Israeli security source told Reuters that Israel believed that it had a week to inflict as much damage as it could on Hezbollah before the US, Israel’s strongest supporter, became unable to resist international pressure for a ceasefire. Israeli forces “will have to accelerate the bombardment”, he said."
Iran's Hizbollah says ready to attack US, Israel - "Iran's Hizbollah, which claims links to the Lebanese group of the same name, said on Tuesday it stood ready to attack Israeli and U.S. interests worldwide."
Israel capable of air strike on Iran - "Israel is in the best position militarily in its history to mount air strikes against Iran, after a decade of buying U.S.-produced long-range aircraft, penetrating bombs and aerial refueling tankers."
Rush Limbaugh: That's why I think this is a gift to the world, folks. -- Check out the audio.
US warships head for Lebanon, thousands flee bombing - "The United States ordered five military ships to head for Lebanon on Tuesday in its first major evacuation of Americans as thousands of foreigners packed their bags to flee Israeli air strikes pounding the country."
US hawks smell blood - "Seeing a major opportunity to regain influence lost as a result of setbacks in Iraq, prominent neo-conservatives are calling for unconditional US support for Israel's military offensives in Gaza and Lebanon and "regime change" in Syria and Iran, as well as possible US attacks on Tehran's nuclear facilities in retaliation for its support of Hezbollah."
Violence in Iraq spinning out of control - "The new unity government of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds was supposed to bring Iraqis together. Instead, sectarian bloodletting is spiraling out of control. In the last two days alone, more than 120 people were killed in two spectacular examples of Sunni-Shiite violence — 53 in the suicide van bombing Tuesday in Kufa and 50 in the massacre Monday in the market in Mahmoudiya."
Turkey signals it's prepared to enter Iraq - "Turkish officials signaled Tuesday they are prepared to send the army into northern Iraq if U.S. and Iraqi forces do not take steps to combat Turkish Kurdish guerrillas there — a move that could put Turkey on a collision course with the United States."
Cheerleading the Apocalypse - "Who knows but the world may end tonight?"
Where are the Christians? - "But what Israel is doing is imposing deliberate suffering on civilians, collective punishment on innocent people, to force them to do something they are powerless to do: disarm the gunmen among them. Such a policy violates international law and comports neither with our values nor our interests. It is un-American and un-Christian. But where are the Christians? Why is Pope Benedict virtually alone among Christian leaders to have spoken out against what is being done to Lebanese Christians and Muslims?"
House Rejects Gay Marriage Ban Amendment - " The House on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, ending for another year a congressional debate that supporters of the ban hope will still reverberate in this fall's election."
IRS Warns Churches Against Campaigning - "The Internal Revenue Service has been warning churches and nonprofit organizations that improper campaigning in the upcoming political season could endanger their tax-exempt status."
Clone 'would feel individuality' - "Scientists drew their conclusions after interviewing identical twins about their experiences of sharing exactly the same genes with somebody else."
Another Complication from Diabetes: Alzheimer's Disease - "New studies show a link between the two diseases of older Americans. That's good news and bad news."
E-Mail Losing Its Clout - "E-mail is so last millennium. Young people see it as a good way to reach an elder _ a parent, teacher or a boss _ or to receive an attached file. But increasingly, the former darling of high-tech communication is losing favor to instant and text messaging, and to the chatter generated on blogs and social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace."
Uncensored News Reports From Across The Middle East - "This video contains images depicting the reality and horror of war and should only be viewed by a mature audience." -- You will not be seeing these reports on the nightly news.
Politicians and Media Selling America's Soul for an Israeli Shekel - "It is inexplicable on a human level, not on the ideological, political, or financial level, that our "mainstream" media are blaming the occupied victims in Gaza and Lebanon for Israel's "forced" retaliations. Most of you are either unwilling or careless to learn about the history of the Israeli Palestinian conflict and how a Jewish state for Europe's victims was forced violently and with terrorism expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their home with the deliberate erasing of over 400 Palestinian villages (Read Ben Gurion and Dayan's own writings; or Benny Morris's: Palestinian Refugee Problem). Massacres, rapes, terrorism (first MidEast bomb was by Begin's group, first hijacking of a plane was by Israel) were inflicted on the British, Palestinians, and U.N. envoys. Your myths about Israel as a "democracy" defies the logic that this solely a “Jewish state" where Christians and Muslims are unwanted. Mosques and churches have been burned and destroyed. This is part of Jewish dogma as evidenced in the Babylonian Talmud."
Thousands flee as Israel threatens all-out war - "An Israeli security source told Reuters that Israel believed that it had a week to inflict as much damage as it could on Hezbollah before the US, Israel’s strongest supporter, became unable to resist international pressure for a ceasefire. Israeli forces “will have to accelerate the bombardment”, he said."
Iran's Hizbollah says ready to attack US, Israel - "Iran's Hizbollah, which claims links to the Lebanese group of the same name, said on Tuesday it stood ready to attack Israeli and U.S. interests worldwide."
Israel capable of air strike on Iran - "Israel is in the best position militarily in its history to mount air strikes against Iran, after a decade of buying U.S.-produced long-range aircraft, penetrating bombs and aerial refueling tankers."
Rush Limbaugh: That's why I think this is a gift to the world, folks. -- Check out the audio.
US warships head for Lebanon, thousands flee bombing - "The United States ordered five military ships to head for Lebanon on Tuesday in its first major evacuation of Americans as thousands of foreigners packed their bags to flee Israeli air strikes pounding the country."
US hawks smell blood - "Seeing a major opportunity to regain influence lost as a result of setbacks in Iraq, prominent neo-conservatives are calling for unconditional US support for Israel's military offensives in Gaza and Lebanon and "regime change" in Syria and Iran, as well as possible US attacks on Tehran's nuclear facilities in retaliation for its support of Hezbollah."
Violence in Iraq spinning out of control - "The new unity government of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds was supposed to bring Iraqis together. Instead, sectarian bloodletting is spiraling out of control. In the last two days alone, more than 120 people were killed in two spectacular examples of Sunni-Shiite violence — 53 in the suicide van bombing Tuesday in Kufa and 50 in the massacre Monday in the market in Mahmoudiya."
Turkey signals it's prepared to enter Iraq - "Turkish officials signaled Tuesday they are prepared to send the army into northern Iraq if U.S. and Iraqi forces do not take steps to combat Turkish Kurdish guerrillas there — a move that could put Turkey on a collision course with the United States."
Cheerleading the Apocalypse - "Who knows but the world may end tonight?"
Where are the Christians? - "But what Israel is doing is imposing deliberate suffering on civilians, collective punishment on innocent people, to force them to do something they are powerless to do: disarm the gunmen among them. Such a policy violates international law and comports neither with our values nor our interests. It is un-American and un-Christian. But where are the Christians? Why is Pope Benedict virtually alone among Christian leaders to have spoken out against what is being done to Lebanese Christians and Muslims?"
House Rejects Gay Marriage Ban Amendment - " The House on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, ending for another year a congressional debate that supporters of the ban hope will still reverberate in this fall's election."
IRS Warns Churches Against Campaigning - "The Internal Revenue Service has been warning churches and nonprofit organizations that improper campaigning in the upcoming political season could endanger their tax-exempt status."
Clone 'would feel individuality' - "Scientists drew their conclusions after interviewing identical twins about their experiences of sharing exactly the same genes with somebody else."
Another Complication from Diabetes: Alzheimer's Disease - "New studies show a link between the two diseases of older Americans. That's good news and bad news."
E-Mail Losing Its Clout - "E-mail is so last millennium. Young people see it as a good way to reach an elder _ a parent, teacher or a boss _ or to receive an attached file. But increasingly, the former darling of high-tech communication is losing favor to instant and text messaging, and to the chatter generated on blogs and social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace."
News -- July 18, 2006
AP Photo/Sebastian ScheinerWhat I am watching in Lebanon each day is an outrage - "Yet when I drove to the actual headquarters of Hizbollah, a tall building in Haret Hreik, it was totally undamaged. Only last night did the Israelis manage to hit it. So can the Lebanese be forgiven - can anyone here be forgiven - for believing that the Israelis have a greater interest in destroying Lebanon than they do in their two soldiers? ... European politicians have talked about Israel's "disproportionate" response to Wednesday's capture of its soldiers. They are wrong. What I am now watching in Lebanon is an outrage. How can there be any excuse for the 73 dead Lebanese blown these past three days? The same applies, of course, to the four Israeli civilians killed by Hizbollah rockets. But - please note the exchange rate of Israeli civilian lives to Lebanese civilian lives now stands at 1 to more than 15. This does not include the two children who were atomised in their home in Dweir on Thursday and whose bodies cannot be found. Their six brothers and sisters were buried yesterday, along with their mother and father. Another "terrorist" target. So was a neighbouring family with five children who were also buried yesterday. Another "terrorist" target."
'It is madness. Why is no one doing anything to stop this?' - "It has warned Lebanese civilians to leave the area, and tens of thousands have been streaming north in battered cars, eight, nine or ten to a vehicle, to escape the fighting. But the Israelis have also destroyed the main roads and all the bridges over the Litani river, forcing many of the refugees to abandon their cars and wade across."
Israelis say offensive could last weeks - "Israel struck a Lebanese army base outside Beirut and flattened a house near the border, killing at least 16 people in a new wave of bombings, while Hezbollah fired more rockets at northern Israel, killing one Israeli and wounding several others. Meanwhile, Israeli military officials said the offensive could last several more weeks."
Lebanon civilian deaths morally not same as terror victims -- Bolton - "US Ambassador John Bolton said there was no moral equivalence between the civilian casualties from the Israeli raids in Lebanon and those killed in
Israel from "malicious terrorist acts". ... "I think it would be a mistake to ascribe moral equivalence to civilians who die as the direct result of malicious terrorist acts," he added, while defending as "self-defense" Israel's military action, which has had "the tragic and unfortunate consequence of civilian deaths"."
Hezbollah a bump on 'escalation road'? - "Israel's clash with Hezbollah in Lebanon may just be the undercard bout. With the rhetoric rising and positions hardening, many in the region fear that the current fighting could easily spiral out of control, pitting Israel and the United States in the main bout against the two countries they accuse of arming and inciting Hezbollah fighters: Syria and, especially, Iran."
Russia May Send Navy Ships to Lebanon - "Lavrov warned that the fighting between Israel and Lebanese guerrillas could ignite a wider conflict, and said the international community had to use all means possible to end the violence immediately." -- Humans are nothing but infants with deadly toys.
True Tales of Modern-Day Slaves - "Slavery thrives. From Albanian sex workers to Indian cigarette-rollers to black Africans bought and sold in Mauritania and Sudan: According to latter-day abolitionists such as the Boston-based American Anti-Slavery Group, more people -- AASG estimates some 27 million -- are owned now than ever before."
Why Bill O'Reilly is Irrelevant - "Here's a startling number. The average age of Bill O'Reilly's audience is 71. You didn't see that wrong -- 71 years old! ... Given these facts, it's not hard to see why O'Reilly is losing viewers. They're not dying to watch him, they're dying while watching him."
Real Christians Fight Intolerance - "A reverend declares that gay bashing is an attack on the gospel -- and that real Christians don't participate in any form of discrimination."
Gay marriage amendment faces uphill battle - "A proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage was headed toward a House vote Tuesday with supporters resigned to another losing effort but determined to highlight it in this fall's elections."
Foreign ownership of U.S. airlines? - "The Department of Transportation, acting under President Bush's orders, is preparing to issue an administrative ruling that would open U.S. airlines up to foreign ownership, despite specific prohibitions and warnings from Congress, as well as predictions by pilots that another Dubai ports controversy is in the offing."
Gonzales: Bush blocked eavesdropping probe - "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday that President Bush personally blocked Justice Department lawyers from pursuing an internal probe of the warrantless eavesdropping program that monitors Americans' international calls and e-mails when terrorism is suspected."
Dutch court lets paedophile party contest country's general election - "The Netherlands cemented its reputation as Europe's most socially liberal country yesterday when a new political party formed by paedophiles was told it could contest this year's general election. A Dutch court rejected an attempt by anti-paedophile campaigners to ban the Brotherly Love, Freedom and Diversity party (PNVD), which wants to cut the age of consent from 16 to 12 and to legalise child pornography."
Punishment For Pregnant Women - "A proposed law would prevent pregnant women from smoking. Could a law requiring women to breastfeed be far behind?"
Iris Scans: Keeping an Eye on Sex Offenders - "Authorities have gained a new high-tech tool to keep track of sex offenders: the Sex Offender Registry and Identification System (SORIS), a biometric database that stores images of sex offenders' irises."
Stem cell therapies still years away - "Here's a reality check amid Congress' showdown with President Bush over stem cell research: The potential treatments for diabetes, spinal cord injury and other devastating disorders are years away from being tested in people."
More tossers on TV - "Channel 4 is to bring mass public masturbation to the small screen. ... In what must surely be one of the summer's more bizarre events, hundreds of people are expected to gather in a hall in central London on August 5 to pleasure themselves in aid of charity."
Quote of the Day
"When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth."
~ Peter, Dawn of the Dead
July 17, 2006
News (Page 2) -- July 17, 2006
AP Photos/Sebastian Scheiner
Olmert: We'll fight on until attacks end, soldiers returned - ""Citizens of Israel, there are moments in the life of a nation, when it is compelled to look directly into the face of reality and say: no more," he said. "And I say to everyone: no more. Israel will not be held hostage - not by terror gangs or by a terrorist authority or by any sovereign state," "There is nothing we want more than peace on all of our borders," Olmert told the Knesset. But he said, "Israel will not agree to live with rockets fired on its citizens, he added. "Only a nation that can protect its freedom deserves it," he stated."
Is It Time For A Third World War? - "Sound crazy? In our Orwellian political climate, a new generation of Dr Strangelove's are in command. Only they have mastered the art of the TV interview and can, with selective facts and ideology packaged as information, make insanity sound oh so sane."
Williams Confronts Kristol: ‘You Just Want War, War, War, And You Want Us In More War’ - "This morning on Fox News Sunday, William Kristol argued that the Bush administration’s “coddling” of Iran had “invited” the latest outbreak of violence, and that the United States should join in the current fighting. Juan Williams pushed back: You just want war, war, war, and you want us in more war. You wanted us in Iraq. Now you want us in Iran. Now you want us to get into the Middle East. … You’re saying, why doesn’t the United States take this hard, unforgiving line? Well, the hard and unforgiving line has been, we don’t talk to anybody. We don’t talk to Hamas. We don’t talk to Hezbollah. We’re not going to talk to Iran. Where has it gotten us, Bill? Kristol threw up his hands and didn’t answer."
Neocons Rise From Mideast Ashes - "The key question: Is the Israeli offensive designed as a calculated effort to catapult the hard-right, neoconservative ideologues back to power in Washington?"
The Civil War in Iraq Has Begun - "My God, what have we done? What have we unleashed? The answer, unfortunately, is all out civil war. There is no way we, or anybody else, is going to get this genie back in the bottle. Through our arrogance, carelessness and even malice, we started a sectarian battle between the different ethnicities of Iraq. And that battle has now blossomed into an absolute war."
Who owns Christianity? - "You'd think that someone would stand up and ask a simple question: Who are we to condemn gays if Christ didn't? In fact, who are we to condemn any sinner, since Christ didn't? Christianity is about forgiveness, and for the past two decades, as fundamentalism swept through every Protestant denomination, moderates and liberals have been driven out, and were roundly condemned as they left. Along with them went tolerance and forgiveness, not to mention love. Did Christ teach love or is that just a liberal bias? In the current climate, it's hard to remember, but one thing is certain: Once a tight cabal of fundamentalists takes over any denomination, Christ's teachings go out the window. The reversal of Christianity from a religion of love to a religion of hate is the greatest religious tragedy of our time.
Widen the view on the US - "According to Dr. Lu Dehong, American issue expert, since it's founding more than 200 years ago, the United States started or took part in more than 240 wars and foreign military operations. Hence it can be said that it is the wars that have made what the US is today. Ceaselessly looking for enemies, ceaselessly playing up crises, and ceaselessly sending out troops for military actions have become the core and essence of American military culture and strategic thinking."
George W. Turns 60, and is Obssessed with His Legacy - "How can a president claim greatness when he meets hate and rejection all over the world, and when among his own countrymen, he enjoys less and less acceptance, and when even the party faithful turn their backs on him?"
Florida's Fear of History: New Law Undermines Critical Thinking - "One way to measure the fears of people in power is by the intensity of their quest for certainty and control over knowledge. By that standard, the members of the Florida Legislature marked themselves as the folks most terrified of history in the United States when last month they took bold action to become the first state to outlaw historical interpretation in public schools. In other words, Florida has officially replaced the study of history with the imposition of dogma and effectively outlawed critical thinking." -- Interesting.
But make no mistake: this will not be a beauty-only pageant. -- Because I can't make this shit up.
Online age verification may prove complex - "With heightened concerns over sexual predators lurking at so-called social-networking sites, state attorneys general have called for such communities, particularly MySpace, to improve age and identity checks. If only it were so easy, experts say."
News -- July 17, 2006
The Road to War - "We could all be in deep, deep trouble."
Gingrich says it's World War III - "Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich says America is in World War III and President Bush should say so. In an interview in Bellevue this morning Gingrich said Bush should call a joint session of Congress the first week of September and talk about global military conflicts in much starker terms than have been heard from the president. "We need to have the militancy that says 'We're not going to lose a city,' " Gingrich said. He talks about the need to recognize World War III as important for military strategy and political strategy. Gingrich said he is "very worried" about Republican's facing fall elections and says the party must have the "nerve" to nationalize the elections and make the 2006 campaigns about a liberal Democratic agenda rather than about President Bush's record."
Looking at the Bright Side of World War III - "As events in the Middle East spiral out of control, many are worried that we may be on the brink of World War III. I must admit that I, too, was concerned about the violence and bloodshed over there until I started reading what folks on the Rapture Ready Forum are saying. They don't seem very concerned at all with what is happening there. In fact, they are downright giddy at the prospect of all-out war. For them, every rocket that flies into Israel and every bridge that is blown up in Lebanon just brings us one step closer to the end of the world, which is a good thing. They made me realize that it was un-Christian of me to be thinking only of the innocent Israelis, Lebanese and Palestinians caught in the middle of the fighting instead of the Rapture that awaits those of us who are saved. Where others see only tragedy, we saved Christians see the fulfillment of prophesy. Instead of seeing the silver lining in every storm cloud, to us the storm clouds are the silver linings."
America's Most Popular Cult - "For some of America's evangelical extremists, however, a bloody, drawn-out war in the Middle East is a cause for celebration (via C&L) : ... "Days like today it's all I want. Other days because of others I want one more. But what a privilege to be apart of the rapture. I can hardly wait!!" As my wife said, "they sound like they're ready to put on Nike's and drink some Kool-Aid.""
Wildly disproportionate attack on Lebanon seems like pretext to confront Iran - "Is it really Iran that is pushing for war? Think about it. Why would Iran want to provoke a war with Israel and the U.S. — both heavily armed nuclear powers — when it has no nuclear weapons itself? The U.S. and Israel, on the other hand, are very keen to attack Iran. In a recent series of articles in New Yorker magazine, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has detailed Washington's plans to attack Iran. Israel has called Iran a "major threat" that "must be stopped" from developing nuclear weapons. But the U.S. and Israel don't want to look like aggressors. They insist their intentions are purely defensive. Recall that Washington also claimed its invasion of Iraq was purely defensive — to protect itself from Iraq's arsenal of deadly weapons, which, it turned out, didn't exist."
On the brink of chaos - "Without a clear ceasefire none of that can happen. But despite active support from France and Russia, the US was intent on blocking any such call. Tony Blair laid blame on Syria and Iran for supporting extremists. George Bush, pressed over whether he supported a ceasefire, instead reiterated: "My message to Israel is that as a sovereign nation, you have every right to defend yourself against terrorist activities." Condoleezza Rice was forced to perform somersaults of logic to support her president's position by arguing a ceasefire that halted the violence would make matters worse."
Government Monitored Anti-War Group E-Mails - "Newly surfaced government surveillance reports reveal that the U.S. Department of Defense monitored anti-war and anti-military e-mails sent by UC Berkeley students in April."
Military leaders foresee Iraq exit in 2016 - "U.S. war commanders think some level of American forces will be needed in Iraq until 2016 and those forces will receive continued support from the vast majority of Iraqis."
The Return of the Draft - "Uncle Sam wants you. He needs you. He'll bribe you to sign up. He'll strong-arm you to re-enlist. And if that's not enough, he's got a plan to draft you. ... Desperate for troops, the Army has lowered its standards to let in twenty-five percent more high school dropouts, and the Marines are now offering as much as $30,000 to anyone who re-enlists. To understand the scope of the crisis, consider this: The United States is pouring nearly as much money into incentives for new recruits -- almost $300 million -- as it is into international tsunami relief."
Rice Defends Israel, Calls Criticisms of Bush Policy 'Grotesque' - "Rice rejected the notion that U.S. operations in Iraq have shaken Middle East stability, arguing, "Those hostilities were not very well contained, as we found out on Sept. 11, and so the notion that somehow policies that finally confront extremism are actually causing extremism, I find grotesque.""
Couric's ready to 'start doing the job' - "Viewers told her they want more perspective and "a better understanding of the ramifications of the news," she says. "I got the distinct sense they want us to go a little bit deeper" with historical background and "how is this relevant to their lives. (And) we heard from many people the news is just too depressing. Obviously, we can't sugar-coat what's going on, but there are cases where we can be more solution-oriented." Some thought the media portrayed a "polarizing of the country that they don't see," thought TV news "abdicated its role, really talking about facts and information rather than points of view," and want "more thinking, less spewing.""
Mexican candidate urges 'civil resistance' from supporters - "Leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told a vast crowd of supporters Sunday to wage a campaign of "civil resistance" to push for a manual recount of the election that he claims his conservative opponent won by fraud."
Bush Administration Plans Medicare Changes - "The Bush administration says it plans sweeping changes in Medicare payments to hospitals that could cut payments by 20 percent to 30 percent for many complex treatments and new technologies."
Congress takes up stem cell bills in face of veto threat - "Congress embarks this week on the weightiest of debates on morality and the march of science, deciding whether to use public money for embryonic stem cell research and, in turn, setting up President Bush's first veto."
JACKSON VOICES GOD - "Movie superstar SAMUEL L JACKSON will voice God in a new audio version of the Bible."
Quote of the Day
"Insanity is contagious."
~ Captain Yossarian, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Gingrich says it's World War III - "Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich says America is in World War III and President Bush should say so. In an interview in Bellevue this morning Gingrich said Bush should call a joint session of Congress the first week of September and talk about global military conflicts in much starker terms than have been heard from the president. "We need to have the militancy that says 'We're not going to lose a city,' " Gingrich said. He talks about the need to recognize World War III as important for military strategy and political strategy. Gingrich said he is "very worried" about Republican's facing fall elections and says the party must have the "nerve" to nationalize the elections and make the 2006 campaigns about a liberal Democratic agenda rather than about President Bush's record."
Looking at the Bright Side of World War III - "As events in the Middle East spiral out of control, many are worried that we may be on the brink of World War III. I must admit that I, too, was concerned about the violence and bloodshed over there until I started reading what folks on the Rapture Ready Forum are saying. They don't seem very concerned at all with what is happening there. In fact, they are downright giddy at the prospect of all-out war. For them, every rocket that flies into Israel and every bridge that is blown up in Lebanon just brings us one step closer to the end of the world, which is a good thing. They made me realize that it was un-Christian of me to be thinking only of the innocent Israelis, Lebanese and Palestinians caught in the middle of the fighting instead of the Rapture that awaits those of us who are saved. Where others see only tragedy, we saved Christians see the fulfillment of prophesy. Instead of seeing the silver lining in every storm cloud, to us the storm clouds are the silver linings."
America's Most Popular Cult - "For some of America's evangelical extremists, however, a bloody, drawn-out war in the Middle East is a cause for celebration (via C&L) : ... "Days like today it's all I want. Other days because of others I want one more. But what a privilege to be apart of the rapture. I can hardly wait!!" As my wife said, "they sound like they're ready to put on Nike's and drink some Kool-Aid.""
Wildly disproportionate attack on Lebanon seems like pretext to confront Iran - "Is it really Iran that is pushing for war? Think about it. Why would Iran want to provoke a war with Israel and the U.S. — both heavily armed nuclear powers — when it has no nuclear weapons itself? The U.S. and Israel, on the other hand, are very keen to attack Iran. In a recent series of articles in New Yorker magazine, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has detailed Washington's plans to attack Iran. Israel has called Iran a "major threat" that "must be stopped" from developing nuclear weapons. But the U.S. and Israel don't want to look like aggressors. They insist their intentions are purely defensive. Recall that Washington also claimed its invasion of Iraq was purely defensive — to protect itself from Iraq's arsenal of deadly weapons, which, it turned out, didn't exist."
On the brink of chaos - "Without a clear ceasefire none of that can happen. But despite active support from France and Russia, the US was intent on blocking any such call. Tony Blair laid blame on Syria and Iran for supporting extremists. George Bush, pressed over whether he supported a ceasefire, instead reiterated: "My message to Israel is that as a sovereign nation, you have every right to defend yourself against terrorist activities." Condoleezza Rice was forced to perform somersaults of logic to support her president's position by arguing a ceasefire that halted the violence would make matters worse."
Government Monitored Anti-War Group E-Mails - "Newly surfaced government surveillance reports reveal that the U.S. Department of Defense monitored anti-war and anti-military e-mails sent by UC Berkeley students in April."
Military leaders foresee Iraq exit in 2016 - "U.S. war commanders think some level of American forces will be needed in Iraq until 2016 and those forces will receive continued support from the vast majority of Iraqis."
The Return of the Draft - "Uncle Sam wants you. He needs you. He'll bribe you to sign up. He'll strong-arm you to re-enlist. And if that's not enough, he's got a plan to draft you. ... Desperate for troops, the Army has lowered its standards to let in twenty-five percent more high school dropouts, and the Marines are now offering as much as $30,000 to anyone who re-enlists. To understand the scope of the crisis, consider this: The United States is pouring nearly as much money into incentives for new recruits -- almost $300 million -- as it is into international tsunami relief."
Rice Defends Israel, Calls Criticisms of Bush Policy 'Grotesque' - "Rice rejected the notion that U.S. operations in Iraq have shaken Middle East stability, arguing, "Those hostilities were not very well contained, as we found out on Sept. 11, and so the notion that somehow policies that finally confront extremism are actually causing extremism, I find grotesque.""
Couric's ready to 'start doing the job' - "Viewers told her they want more perspective and "a better understanding of the ramifications of the news," she says. "I got the distinct sense they want us to go a little bit deeper" with historical background and "how is this relevant to their lives. (And) we heard from many people the news is just too depressing. Obviously, we can't sugar-coat what's going on, but there are cases where we can be more solution-oriented." Some thought the media portrayed a "polarizing of the country that they don't see," thought TV news "abdicated its role, really talking about facts and information rather than points of view," and want "more thinking, less spewing.""
Mexican candidate urges 'civil resistance' from supporters - "Leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told a vast crowd of supporters Sunday to wage a campaign of "civil resistance" to push for a manual recount of the election that he claims his conservative opponent won by fraud."
Bush Administration Plans Medicare Changes - "The Bush administration says it plans sweeping changes in Medicare payments to hospitals that could cut payments by 20 percent to 30 percent for many complex treatments and new technologies."
Congress takes up stem cell bills in face of veto threat - "Congress embarks this week on the weightiest of debates on morality and the march of science, deciding whether to use public money for embryonic stem cell research and, in turn, setting up President Bush's first veto."
JACKSON VOICES GOD - "Movie superstar SAMUEL L JACKSON will voice God in a new audio version of the Bible."
Quote of the Day
"Insanity is contagious."
~ Captain Yossarian, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
July 15, 2006
News -- July 15, 2006
A Beautiful Friendship? - "Thanks to the work of the lobby and its allies, Israel gets more direct foreign aid -- about $3 billion a year -- than any other nation. There's a file cabinet somewhere in the State Department full of memoranda of understanding on military, diplomatic and economic affairs. Israel gets treated like a NATO member when it comes to military matters and like Canada or Mexico when it comes to free trade. There's an annual calendar full of meetings of joint strategic task forces and other collaborative sessions. And there's a presidential pledge, re-avowed by Bush in the East Room, that the United States will come to Israel's aid in the event of attack. ... In its early days, Israel was almost exclusively the foster child of liberal Democrats, the affiliation of most American Jews. That began to change in the late 1970s after Menachem Begin became the country's first right-of-center prime minister. He forged a practical alliance with the Rev. Jerry Falwell and other Christian conservatives who saw Jewish rule over the Holy Land as the divinely ordained prelude to the Second Coming of Christ. ... Since 9/11, Americans have increasingly come to accept the idea that Israel and the United States share not just values but enemies. A Gallup Poll in February reported 68 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of Israel with 23 percent unfavorable, and that Americans support Israelis over Palestinians by 59 percent to 15 percent. ... Some people are not happy about the close ties between the Israel lobby and the most conservative president since Ronald Reagan. They complain that AIPAC and its sister groups have moved too far to the right and grown overly cozy with former House majority leader Tom DeLay and a Republican leadership now mired in scandal epitomized by convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, once a big donor to Jewish causes. These groups, it is said, have lost touch with a majority of American Jews, who still skew liberal, vote Democratic and view Christian conservatives with abiding suspicion. But the real deal-breaker for many -- including a pair of respected political scientists at two leading universities -- was the war in Iraq. ... Iran may be worrisome, says Walt, but no more so than previous threats. "My belief is we would not be contemplating preventive war if we did not have a powerful domestic interest group pushing this issue. We have lived with a number of really odious regimes having nuclear weapons, because we understood that we could deter them effectively with the weapons at our disposal." ... Echoing Feldman and Oren, Ross insists that the essay is wrong to claim Israel had pushed for war in Iraq. If anything, the Israelis feared such a war would divert attention and resources from the Middle East's real danger -- Iran. Some Israelis even warned that toppling Hussein would lead to chaos in Iraq that would make the neighboring Iranians stronger. Which is, more or less, what has happened." -- Interesting read.
"This is Going to Be A Big War" - "The Israeli justification for bombing the airport in Beirut and pushing into southern Lebanon is that two of their soldiers were captured. In classic newspeak, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said of the incident, "It is an act of war by the state of Lebanon," conveniently omitting the bombings in the occupied territories, including civilians on a beach, by Israeli forces over the last weeks."
Syria says fully backs Hizbollah against Israel - "Syria will support Hizbollah and Lebanon against Israel's attacks on the country, the ruling Baath Party said on Friday, defying the Jewish state and its chief ally Washington."
Israel smashes Hezbollah strongholds - "Israeli warplanes hit central Beirut for the first time and smashed the Hezbollah leadership's main strongholds, as strikes killed at least 18 Lebanese fleeing the onslaught. Hezbollah rockets continued to pour into Israel, where officials warned citizens that Tel Aviv could be hit.
Israel Says Warship Hit by Hezbollah Drone - "An Israeli warship was hit off the Lebanese coast by an unmanned Hezbollah aircraft rigged with explosives, military officials said. The attack indicated that Hezbollah has added a new weapon to the arsenal of rockets and mortars it has used against Israeli troops."
Israel, Gaza and Lebanon: What it means to you - "The reason for caring about the lives of your fellow man should absolutely not be because of an inconvenience to you or your bank account.Which isn't to say that these factors should be ignored. It is understandable that one is concerned for one's own interests, but that's not the issue. The issue is the apathy towards one's fellow man in the face of violence and oppression; it shouldn't have to affect you before you care."
Mutually Assured Destruction in the Middle East - "In this demented world, friend and foe need each other. Hamas and Hezbollah yearn, on some level, for Israeli airstrikes against civilians just as the hard right in Israel yearns in some dark way for suicide bombers. The indiscriminate violence of one justifies the indiscriminate violence of the other. The violence stokes the fear that is the driving force behind all messianic, violent movements—American, Jewish and Muslim. And since these groups have nothing to offer other than violence, they need fear to keep those around them compliant. The atrocities committed by one—real or imagined – make possible the atrocities of the other."
It's war by any other name - "Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert described what is happening in Lebanon as saying. "This is an act of war." Olmert is correct. This is war. It has been war, non-stop, since 1948. What is happening in Lebanon today is yet another chapter of bloody Middle East events that will last for generations to come, because it is impossible, after so many years of conflict, for the Israelis and Arabs to forgive and forget. ... It all started on July 12 when Israel troops were ambushed on Lebanon's side of the border with Israel. Hezbollah, which commands the Lebanese south, immediately seized on their crossing. They arrested two Israeli soldiers, killed eight Israelis and wounded over 20 in attacks inside Israeli territory." -- Israel's troops were ambushed on Lebanon's side of the border? Hmmm. Interesting.
Attention Deficit Americans Are Being Misled to War - "A terrible thing is happening, and not enough Americans are aware to be able to do anything about it. Zionists in Israel and in the Bush administration are leading America into war with Iran, Syria, Hizbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine. The consequences for America, Israel and the Middle East will be disastrous, but as long as Washington is in thrall to Zionist paranoia, nothing can be done about it. Bush made this clear on July 14 when he rejected the plea from Lebanon’s prime minister to pressure Israel to stop its attack on Lebanon."
New York Sun: War on Iran Has Begun - "The war with Iran has begun. Just last Friday, Iranian President Ahmadinejad warned that Israel's return to Gaza could lead to an "explosion" in the Islamic world that would target Israel and its supporters in the West. "They should not let things reach a point where an explosion occurs in the Islamic world," he said. "If an explosion occurs, then it won't be limited to geographical boundaries. It will also burn all those who created [Israel] over the past 60 years," he said, implicitly referring to America and other Western nations who support Israel."
Chavez: U.S. support for Israel will end in a 'Holocaust' - "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Friday that U.S. backing of Israel is responsible for flaming tensions in the Middle East and putting the world on course toward another "Holocaust." "The fundamental blame falls again on the U.S. empire. It's the empire that armed and supported the abuses of the Israeli elite, which has invaded, abused and defied the United Nations for a long time," Chavez said in a speech during a military act in Caracas."
UK defends strike on Afghan town - "British forces in Afghanistan have defended their decision to call in US planes to drop 500lb bombs on Taleban fighters in a town in Helmand province. Witnesses say there were many civilian deaths and injuries but UK forces said there was no evidence of any."
US plans $A280m jet fuel sale to Israel - "The Pentagon notified Congress of plans to sell Israel jet fuel valued at up to $US210 million ($A280 million) "to keep peace and security in the region"."
Bush 'will be given more power to eavesdrop' in bill - "The dispute over the Bush administration's secret eavesdropping of US citizens has reignited after it emerged the White House had brokered a deal with Congress that critics say gives it even greater flexibility to monitor phone calls electronically."
Proposed Surveillance Bill Would Sweep NSA Spying Programs Under the Rug - ""This so-called compromise bill is not a concession from the White House -- it's a rubber stamp for any future spying program dreamed up by the executive," said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "In essence, this bill threatens to make court oversight of electronic surveillance voluntary rather than mandatory.""
Democrats pull ad showing flag-draped caskets - "A Democratic ad showing flag-draped caskets was pulled Friday from a fundraising Web site, a day after U.S. Rep. John Spratt sent a letter urging his party to do so."
Senate votes to bar emergency gun confiscation - "The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to prohibit the confiscation of legally owned guns during an emergency like last year's Hurricane Katrina, marking another victory for the gun lobby."
Foreign companies buy U.S. roads, bridges - "Roads and bridges built by U.S. taxpayers are starting to be sold off, and so far foreign-owned companies are doing the buying."
Quote of the Day
"The leader of genius must have the ability to make different opponents appear as if they belonged to one category."
~ Adolf Hitler
"This is Going to Be A Big War" - "The Israeli justification for bombing the airport in Beirut and pushing into southern Lebanon is that two of their soldiers were captured. In classic newspeak, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said of the incident, "It is an act of war by the state of Lebanon," conveniently omitting the bombings in the occupied territories, including civilians on a beach, by Israeli forces over the last weeks."
Syria says fully backs Hizbollah against Israel - "Syria will support Hizbollah and Lebanon against Israel's attacks on the country, the ruling Baath Party said on Friday, defying the Jewish state and its chief ally Washington."
Israel smashes Hezbollah strongholds - "Israeli warplanes hit central Beirut for the first time and smashed the Hezbollah leadership's main strongholds, as strikes killed at least 18 Lebanese fleeing the onslaught. Hezbollah rockets continued to pour into Israel, where officials warned citizens that Tel Aviv could be hit.
Israel Says Warship Hit by Hezbollah Drone - "An Israeli warship was hit off the Lebanese coast by an unmanned Hezbollah aircraft rigged with explosives, military officials said. The attack indicated that Hezbollah has added a new weapon to the arsenal of rockets and mortars it has used against Israeli troops."
Israel, Gaza and Lebanon: What it means to you - "The reason for caring about the lives of your fellow man should absolutely not be because of an inconvenience to you or your bank account.Which isn't to say that these factors should be ignored. It is understandable that one is concerned for one's own interests, but that's not the issue. The issue is the apathy towards one's fellow man in the face of violence and oppression; it shouldn't have to affect you before you care."
Mutually Assured Destruction in the Middle East - "In this demented world, friend and foe need each other. Hamas and Hezbollah yearn, on some level, for Israeli airstrikes against civilians just as the hard right in Israel yearns in some dark way for suicide bombers. The indiscriminate violence of one justifies the indiscriminate violence of the other. The violence stokes the fear that is the driving force behind all messianic, violent movements—American, Jewish and Muslim. And since these groups have nothing to offer other than violence, they need fear to keep those around them compliant. The atrocities committed by one—real or imagined – make possible the atrocities of the other."
It's war by any other name - "Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert described what is happening in Lebanon as saying. "This is an act of war." Olmert is correct. This is war. It has been war, non-stop, since 1948. What is happening in Lebanon today is yet another chapter of bloody Middle East events that will last for generations to come, because it is impossible, after so many years of conflict, for the Israelis and Arabs to forgive and forget. ... It all started on July 12 when Israel troops were ambushed on Lebanon's side of the border with Israel. Hezbollah, which commands the Lebanese south, immediately seized on their crossing. They arrested two Israeli soldiers, killed eight Israelis and wounded over 20 in attacks inside Israeli territory." -- Israel's troops were ambushed on Lebanon's side of the border? Hmmm. Interesting.
Attention Deficit Americans Are Being Misled to War - "A terrible thing is happening, and not enough Americans are aware to be able to do anything about it. Zionists in Israel and in the Bush administration are leading America into war with Iran, Syria, Hizbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine. The consequences for America, Israel and the Middle East will be disastrous, but as long as Washington is in thrall to Zionist paranoia, nothing can be done about it. Bush made this clear on July 14 when he rejected the plea from Lebanon’s prime minister to pressure Israel to stop its attack on Lebanon."
New York Sun: War on Iran Has Begun - "The war with Iran has begun. Just last Friday, Iranian President Ahmadinejad warned that Israel's return to Gaza could lead to an "explosion" in the Islamic world that would target Israel and its supporters in the West. "They should not let things reach a point where an explosion occurs in the Islamic world," he said. "If an explosion occurs, then it won't be limited to geographical boundaries. It will also burn all those who created [Israel] over the past 60 years," he said, implicitly referring to America and other Western nations who support Israel."
Chavez: U.S. support for Israel will end in a 'Holocaust' - "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Friday that U.S. backing of Israel is responsible for flaming tensions in the Middle East and putting the world on course toward another "Holocaust." "The fundamental blame falls again on the U.S. empire. It's the empire that armed and supported the abuses of the Israeli elite, which has invaded, abused and defied the United Nations for a long time," Chavez said in a speech during a military act in Caracas."
UK defends strike on Afghan town - "British forces in Afghanistan have defended their decision to call in US planes to drop 500lb bombs on Taleban fighters in a town in Helmand province. Witnesses say there were many civilian deaths and injuries but UK forces said there was no evidence of any."
US plans $A280m jet fuel sale to Israel - "The Pentagon notified Congress of plans to sell Israel jet fuel valued at up to $US210 million ($A280 million) "to keep peace and security in the region"."
Bush 'will be given more power to eavesdrop' in bill - "The dispute over the Bush administration's secret eavesdropping of US citizens has reignited after it emerged the White House had brokered a deal with Congress that critics say gives it even greater flexibility to monitor phone calls electronically."
Proposed Surveillance Bill Would Sweep NSA Spying Programs Under the Rug - ""This so-called compromise bill is not a concession from the White House -- it's a rubber stamp for any future spying program dreamed up by the executive," said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "In essence, this bill threatens to make court oversight of electronic surveillance voluntary rather than mandatory.""
Democrats pull ad showing flag-draped caskets - "A Democratic ad showing flag-draped caskets was pulled Friday from a fundraising Web site, a day after U.S. Rep. John Spratt sent a letter urging his party to do so."
Senate votes to bar emergency gun confiscation - "The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to prohibit the confiscation of legally owned guns during an emergency like last year's Hurricane Katrina, marking another victory for the gun lobby."
Foreign companies buy U.S. roads, bridges - "Roads and bridges built by U.S. taxpayers are starting to be sold off, and so far foreign-owned companies are doing the buying."
Quote of the Day
"The leader of genius must have the ability to make different opponents appear as if they belonged to one category."
~ Adolf Hitler
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
