February 13, 2007

How the World Can Stop Bush - "Should the attack be made with nuclear weapons--as some of Bush's criminally insane neoconservative advisers advocate--the populations of many countries would suffer for generations from radioactive particles in air, water, and food chains. Deaths would number in the many millions. Such an attack justified in the name of "American security" and "American hegemony" would constitute the rawest form of evil the world has ever seen, far surpassing in evil the atrocities of the Nazi and Communist regimes."

Bush softens rhetoric on Iran relations - ""The Iranian people are good, honest, decent people and they've got a government that is belligerent, loud, noisy, threatening — a government which is in defiance of the rest of the world and says, 'We want a nuclear weapon,'" Bush said. "So our objective is to keep the pressure so rational folks will show up and say it's not worth the isolation."" --Hmmm...most of that first sentence could describe the US.

Commentary: U.S. financial aid to Israel supports apartheid, threatens world peace - "The financial aid received from the U.S. allows Israel to purchase tanks, Apache helicopter gun ships, F-16 planes, machine guns and bullets all used to commit atrocities against a population that has no military, no rights, and no basic protections. Furthermore; U.S. funding allows continued building of illegal settlements on Palestinian land in violation of UN resolution 242. Any word against the occupation by a Palestinian will bring swift retribution in the form of torture, imprisonment, and sometimes death. Family members of so called "activists" may have their homes bulldozed to the ground; their crops destroyed or may be imprisoned and sentenced by military courts that rarely meet the standards of international law. Palestinian children are tried and sentenced at the age of 12 and a child can receive 6-months in prison for throwing a stone. At the age of 14 Palestinian children are tried as adults, another violation of international law."

Bush plan would cut VA funding - "The Bush administration plans to cut funding for veterans' health care two years from now - even as badly wounded troops returning from Iraq could overwhelm the system."

No human law can 'overturn that of Creator': pope - ""No law made by man can overturn that of the Creator without dramatically affecting society in its very foundation," said the pope, according to the I-Media news agency, which reports on Vatican affairs in French."

Feb. 13, 1633: Church vs. Galileo - "Galileo Galilei, who has run afoul of the church for his theories concerning heliocentrism and for insulting his old friend Pope Urban VIII, arrives in Rome to face an ecclesiastical court on charges of committing heresy."

Wisconsin Gov. Proposes Taxing Big Oil - "Doyle said the assessment will equate to $1.50 per barrel of oil sold in the state, and the companies would be prohibited from passing the tax on to customers at the pump. Violations carry a criminal penalty of up to six months in prison."

Made in U.S.A.: Record trade gap - "The U.S. trade deficit jumped 6.5 percent to a record $763.6 billion last year as high oil prices and Americans' appetite for foreign-made goods outpaced strong exports."

BofA aims new credit card at illegal immigrants: report - "Bank of America Corp. has begun offering credit cards to customers without Social Security numbers, typically illegal immigrants, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday."

Official: Jack the Ripper identified - "The man he named was Aaron Kosminski, a Polish-Jewish hairdresser living in Whitechapel, East London, who was eventually committed to a lunatic asylum, where he died."

Navy May Deploy Anti-Terrorism Dolphins - "Dozens of dolphins and sea lions trained to detect and apprehend waterborne attackers could be sent to patrol a military base in Washington state, the Navy said Monday."

Archaeologists find signs of early chimps' tool use - "In the rain forest of the Ivory Coast 4,300 years ago, chimpanzees gathered in groups and cracked nuts the best they could--the Stone Age way."

Study: Glacier melting can be variable - "A U.S. study suggests two of Greenland's largest glaciers are melting at variable rates and not at an increasing trend."

Quantum Leap: Computer to 'Make Computer History' - ""Quantum Computing." ... But it's been a holy grail in the arcane world of supercomputers — and a Canadian firm claims it will be unveiling one on Tuesday. Nevermind that most engineers thought quantum computers were decades away."

Doctors explore use of mismatched hearts - "Connor, now 11 months old and thriving, is one of several dozen babies around the world to have received mismatched hearts, part of a slowly growing movement to increase these tiniest patients' survival by taking advantage of a lag in their immune systems."

Stem cell technique helps women grow their own implants - "They say the treatment will be routinely available from plastic surgeons within five years."

Bill seeks wake-up call for sleepy drivers - "Driving while drowsy will be a crime, punishable by fines and license suspensions, if a state senator has his way."

OC Cop Gets Off in Court after Masturbating on Stripper During Questionable Traffic Stop - "Last week an Orange County jury saved a former cop from a 10 year prison sentence when they said that although David Alex Park's semen was found on the sweater of a woman he pulled over soon after leaving her job at a gentleman's club, that the sex was consensual, because, as the defense attorney told the jury, "she got what she wanted, she’s an overtly sexual person.""

For teen daters, a cellphone can be an abusive leash - "In the survey, conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited, 20 to 30 percent of teens who had been in relationships said their partner had constantly checked in on them, had harassed or insulted them, or had made unwanted requests for sexual activity, all via cellphones or text messages. One out of 4 reported hourly contact with a dating partner between midnight and 5 a.m. – in some cases, 30 times per hour. And 1 out of 10 had received physical threats electronically. A much smaller percentage of parents reported that their teens had had such experiences."

Financial Infidelity - "In its "Can't Buy Me Love" survey, the company found that money trumps sex and housecleaning as the No. 1 issue that couples fight about. Couples are still lying about their spending, according to this latest survey. Eighty-two percent of respondents said they hide shopping bags and purchases from their partner. A majority of couples think their spouse or partner is using money as a means of control in the relationship, including when and how they choose to shop." -- How pathetic.

Male sweat can boost arousal in women - "A chemical in male sweat can boost mood, brain activity and sexual arousal in heterosexual women, according to a new study released just in time for Valentine's Day. The study offers the first direct evidence that humans secrete a scent that can affect the physiology of the opposite sex, said researchers at the University of California, Berkeley."

National 'sex quiz' reveals British ignorance - "One in three people thinks vigorous exercise, visiting the bathroom or washing after sex will stop her getting pregnant, and half of people do not know when a woman is most fertile."




Quote of the Day
"The one thing necessary, in life as in art, is to tell the truth."
~ Leo Tolstoy

February 12, 2007

Iran arms Iraqi insurgents - "Iran is supplying deadly shoulder-fired missiles and armor-piercing bombs to Iraqi insurgents, along with TNT, triggering devices, rockets and other weapons that are killing and injuring hundreds of U.S. and allied troops, a U.S. military intelligence report made public yesterday says."

'Wash Post' Joins 'NYT' in Trumpeting 'Anonymous' Claims on Iranian Weapons in Iraq - "The Associated Press, The New York Times, Reuters and others also reported on a briefing in Baghdad on Sunday, agreeing beforehand to the condition that none of the three U.S. officials taking part could be named or even described closely."

Group: TV Torture Influencing Real Life - "The scene from Fox's "24" is haunting, but hardly unusual. The advocacy group Human Rights First says there's been a startling increase in the number of torture scenes depicted on prime-time television in the post-2001 world. Even more chilling, there are indications that real-life American interrogators in Iraq are taking cues from what they see on television, said Jill Savitt, the group's director of public programs."

Stolen kids turned into terrifying killers - "Warlords are forcing children in conflicts around the world to become killing machines -- nothing more than what one child advocate calls "cannon fodder." Some children are kidnapped from their schools or their beds, some are recruited after seeing their parents slaughtered, some may even choose to join the militias as their best hope for survival in war-torn countries from Colombia, and across Africa and the Middle East, to south Asia. Once recruited, many are brainwashed, trained, given drugs and then sent into battle with orders to kill."

Thirty-Six Sure-Fire Signs That Your Empire Is Crumbling - "So. You've built yourself an empire, eh? Well, bully for you! What's next, you ask? Well, now you've got to do what everybody does when they have an empire, of course. You've got to worry about it falling apart, mate! But how to tell for sure? Let me see if I can be helpful. Here are some rules of thumb to keep in mind, thirty-six sure-fire indicators that your empire is falling apart:"

Not Our Kind of People - "According to a congressman's wife who attended a Republican women's luncheon yesterday, Karl Rove explained the rationale behind the president's amnesty/open-borders proposal this way: "I don't want my 17-year-old son to have to pick tomatoes or make beds in Las Vegas.""

HATE CRIMES LEGISLATION BACK - "This is “thought control” legislation and a piece of police-state-style social engineering disguised in the mask of “fighting hate.” And it constitutes not just a toe in the door, but a veritable jackboot, for, in other countries where the ADL and its allied groups have forced the enactment of hate crimes laws, legislation outlawing even criticism of minorities has traditionally followed."

The atheist's case is a rational one - "No matter if there is or is not a God would make no difference whatsoever as to how I live my life. ... I can't prove that there is no God; the burden of proof is on those who claim there is a God. If they had any evidence, they would not need faith as a basis for their belief."

Atheism is on the rise - "A recent Mori poll found that 62% in the UK believe science and evidence provide the best understanding of the universe, rather than religion, and also that human nature, not religious teachings, give us an understanding of right and wrong."

Ammunition for Atheists - "For years, millions of fine, upstanding American atheists and agnostics have watched and stewed as the religious right expanded its influence throughout public life, and as America closed its mind and opened its heart to angels, aliens, ghosts, psychics, Jesus, astrology, Kabbalah, Genesis, Revelation. ... As Sam Harris wrote in The End of Faith, "Unreason is now ascendant in the United States -- in our schools, in our courts, and in each branch of the federal government. Only 28 percent of Americans believe in evolution; 68 percent believe in Satan. Ignorance in this degree, concentrated in both the head and belly of a lumbering superpower, is now a problem for the entire world." Meanwhile, religion continues to be granted far too much respect and too little critical examination in our culture and mainstream media."

Research: God did speak world into existence - "A science student in Kentucky says when the Bible records God spoke, and things were created, that's just what happened, and he can support that with scientific experiments. "If God spoke everything into existence as the Genesis record proposes, then we should be able to scientifically prove that the construction of everything in the universe begins with a) the Holy Spirit (magnetic field); b) Light (an electric field); and c) that Light can be created by a sonic influence or sound," Samuel J. Hunt writes on his website."

Believing Scripture but Playing by Science’s Rules - "But Dr. Ross is hardly a conventional paleontologist. He is a “young earth creationist” — he believes that the Bible is a literally true account of the creation of the universe, and that the earth is at most 10,000 years old. For him, Dr. Ross said, the methods and theories of paleontology are one “paradigm” for studying the past, and Scripture is another. In the paleontological paradigm, he said, the dates in his dissertation are entirely appropriate. The fact that as a young earth creationist he has a different view just means, he said, “that I am separating the different paradigms.”"

An experiment that hints we are wrong on climate change - "What does the Intergovernmental Panel do with such emphatic evidence for an alternation of warm and cold periods, linked to solar activity and going on long before human industry was a possible factor? Less than nothing. ... The reappraisal starts with Antarctica, where those contradictory temperature trends are directly predicted by Svensmark’s scenario, because the snow there is whiter than the cloud-tops. Meanwhile humility in face of Nature’s marvels seems more appropriate than arrogant assertions that we can forecast and even control a climate ruled by the sun and the stars."

Cosmic rays blamed for global warming - "Scientists say that cosmic rays from outer space play a far greater role in changing the Earth's climate than global warming experts previously thought."

Congress tackles global warming - "More than a dozen competing measures have been introduced in Congress on the issue of global warming -- some minor, such as creating incentives for biofuel research, and others more drastic, such as taxing automakers for selling gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles. "

The big clue everyone missed - "A third significant anomaly has not been discussed, let alone acknowledged: the reporting by the major US TV news networks in the first few hours immediately after the attacks. Specifically: 1. MSNBC presented an elaborately detailed story about the lifestyle and anti-US philosophy of Osama bin Laden - while both towers were still burning and long before Bin Laden had been accused by anyone. 2. Fox News featured a "man in the street" eye witness who explained in strangely formal language the science behind why the towers collapsed when most engineers and firemen were utterly baffled and in shock by what had just taken place. 3. CBS featured a Bush administration insider (and not identified as such) as a guest who actively worked to dissuade Dan Rather (and viewers) from speculating that there must have been explosive charges placed in the buildings for them to have collapsed the way they did.How was it that these stories - based on no fact, no research and no inquirry - appeared in full blown form so quickly on US news networks and then became part of the core myths of what happened on 9/11? Were these stories prepared in advance?"

2 Italians Stoned to Death on Cape Verde - "Three Italian women were brutally attacked while vacationing on a resort island off the coast of West Africa, dragged into the woods, pelted with stones and left for dead at the bottom of a hole, the sole survivor said Saturday. ... Preliminary autopsy results found the victims, aged 28 and 33, died as a result of head injuries from blunt and sharp objects, the Portuguese news agency Lusa reported."

'Miracle' -- teen's heart, stopped for 4 days, beats again - "More than four days later, his heart at a standstill, kept alive by a bypass machine, it began beating again. The 17-year-old's parents called it divine intervention. His physicians were no less amazed."

Tonight at 11, news by neighbors - "So the next step in Channel 50's evolution will be a nationally watched experiment in local television coverage. Over the next few months, the station's management plans to ask people in the community -- its independent filmmakers, its college students and professors, its civic leaders and others -- to provide programming for the station."

To sleep... perchance to learn - "Researchers may have found the reason why children who go to bed too late often fare badly at school: lack of sleep appears to disrupt functioning of the hippocampus, an area of the brain that formulates new memories."

Study: Napping might help heart - "New research on napping provides the perfect excuse for office slackers, finding that a little midday snooze seems to reduce risks for fatal heart problems, especially among men." -- Well, it's almost nap time!

U.K. Pharmacy Pilots Over-Counter Viagra - "British pharmacy chain Boots will begin a trial program on Valentine's Day to offer men the anti-impotence drug Viagra without a prescription, the company said Sunday."

Camelot puts its money on £250m world lotto - "A "world lottery draw" with a possible £250 million jackpot could be available within five years."

Talking Urinal Cakes Offer Drinking And Driving Advice - "New Mexico has taken its fight against drunken driving to men's restrooms around the state."

Students use IM-lingo in essays - ""Some of the same kids that I teach now were probably guilty of techno spellings in high school," Beason said. "But most students realize that they need to put their adolescent spellings behind them by the time they get to college.""

Quote of the Day

"The deepest sin against the human mind is to believe things without evidence."

~ Thomas Huxley

February 9, 2007

Iraqi insurgents offer peace in return for US concessions - "For the first time, one of Iraq's principal insurgent groups has set out the terms of a ceasefire that would allow American and British forces to leave the country they invaded almost four years ago."

Gates: U.S. can prove Iran's Iraq role - "Serial numbers and markings on explosives used in Iraq provide "pretty good" evidence that Iran is providing either weapons or technology for militants there, Defense Secretary Robert Gates asserted Friday." -- "Pretty good"? But the proof for Iraq's WMD was indisputable?

US think tank urges retreat from Iraq - "An independent think tank warned that the situation in Iraq was beyond repair and urged that US forces should be pulled out whatever the result of the current "surge" of troops into Baghdad."

US refuses to sign UN ban on renditions and secret detention - "Fifty-seven countries signed a UN treaty on Tuesday that bans governments from carrying out forced disappearances and holding individuals in secret detention. Washington, as well as a number of European governments, including Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy, refused to sign." -- Ah, the "free world."

Pentagon: Pre-war intelligence not illegal - ""Some of the Pentagon's prewar intelligence work, including a contention that the CIA underplayed the likelihood of al-Qaida connections to Saddam Hussein, was inappropriate but not illegal, a Defense Department investigation has concluded," writes Robert Burns for the AP."

Military Denial Of Torture At Gitmo Is The Sickest Joke - "Army clears itself of any wrong doing despite hundreds of reports of systematic torture and soldiers bragging about torturing detainees."

EXPORTING DEATH AND VIOLENCE TO THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH - "During the Gulf War, the U.S. public saw a video clip that was repeated many times. In it, a U.S. helicopter pilot was about ready to shoot an Iraqi with a missile. It was nighttime, but the pilot had night vision equipment and, as he was about to push the button to annihilate the Iraqi soldier, who could not see his adversary, the pilot exclaimed, "Say hello to Allah!" Then, the video shows an explosion. The "Say hello to Allah" statement became standard fare in America’s psyche. No one complained about broadcasting the event, yet it is improbable that any TV outlet would have broadcast a foreign soldier stating "Say hello to Jesus!" if the roles were reversed. That would have been considered in bad taste." -- The "My God is better than your God bullshit."

The Rise of Christian Fascism and Its Threat to American Democracy - "We must attend to growing social and economic inequities in order to stop the most dangerous mass movement in American history -- or face a future of fascism under the guise of Christian values."

Judge declares mistrial in war objector case - "The judge overseeing the court-martial of an Army lieutenant who refused to deploy to Iraq declared a mistrial Wednesday, saying the soldier did not fully understand a document he signed admitting to elements of the charges."

Wolfowitz Warns of 'Surprise like Pearl Harbor' Months Before 9/11 Attacks - "Video posted recently on Live Leak shows now World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz delivering a June 2001 West Point commencement speech wherein he focused on surprise attacks-- making heavy reference to Pearl Harbor." -- Check out the video.

War resolution seen hurting morale - "Senate Republicans yesterday contradicted top Pentagon officials who say Congress would not injure troop morale by passing a nonbinding resolution critical of President Bush's Iraq war plan."

It's Bush vs. America - and Bush wins - "What's going on in Washington now is unbelievable - Bush is getting away with it. He's escalating the war in Iraq. He's sending 21,500 more soldiers over there. Nobody's stopping him, nobody's going to, either - not the Democrats, not the new Republican realists and not American public opinion, where Bush is heading down to Nixon's Watergate level."

Hamas, Fatah make peace - "Rival Palestinian factions signed a power-sharing accord aimed at ending months of bloodshed yesterday, agreeing that the Islamist militant group Hamas would head a new coalition government that would "respect" past peace agreements with Israel."

Sexism In Washington - "Now, let's suppose that the woman decides to get an abortion. Under the proposed legislation, she now faces a risk of losing her legal marriage status. She is forced by the government to make a decision... to keep her marriage or keep her right to have an abortion. In essence, she is coerced to choose in favor of having the child."

The white parents, an Indian baby and the new £3bn fertility tourism - "Freya, brown-skinned and dark-eyed, is not a medical miracle after a long and fruitless quest through IVF and adoption, but the product of a booming industry in India that is offering embryos for adoption."

Dad wasn't dad after all, but still owes child support - "A Florida Supreme Court case raises fundamental questions about the nature of fatherhood and legal responsibilities."

TEXAS HPV VACCINATION: PARENTS CAN OPT OUT - "News outlets, including our local ones, have given some exposure to this insidious edict reminiscent of Joseph Mengele, known as 'The Angel of Death' during Hitler's reign of terror, but predictably, the media has failed to mention one very important fact: parents may opt out of this forced vaccinating of their daughters either for religious or philosophical reasons:"

Police blotter: Teens prosecuted for racy photos - "Combine unsupervised teenagers, digital cameras, and e-mail, and, given sufficient time, you'll end up with risque photographs on a computer somewhere. There's a problem with that: Technically, those images constitute child pornography. That's what 16-year old Amber and 17-year old Jeremy, her boyfriend, both residents of the Tallahassee, Fla., area, learned firsthand." -- 16 and 17 year olds are naturally ready to be having sex. It's society that says they shouldn't.

ACLU CALLS RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE POSITION THAT IT IS NOT SUBJECT TO THE CONSTITUTION “SHOCKING” - "The Rhode Island ACLU today called “shocking” the position advanced by Rhode Island College (RIC) in court papers that RIC does not have to abide by the First Amendment – or any other constitutional restriction, for that matter – because it is not a government agency for civil rights purposes." -- Oh, the webs we weave.

Bush Wants Funding Jump for Anti-Drug Ads Rated as Useless - "President Bush has proposed a significant jump in funding for an anti-drug advertising campaign that government-funded research shows is at best useless and at worst has increased drug use among some teens."

"Slum tourism" stirs controversy in Kenya - "But not everyone in Kenya is waxing so lyrical about the trail of one-day visitors treading the rubbish-strewn paths, sampling the sewage smell, and photographing the tin-roof shacks that house 800,000 of the nation's poorest in a Nairobi valley."

Canadian with HIV found guilty of assault for not warning lovers - " A former linebacker in the Canadian Football League who is HIV-positive was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault for having unprotected sex with two unwitting women. ... Neither of the women has tested positive for HIV, said reports."

Police manhunt for cult leader who 'eats girls' - "The Black Jesus, 31-year-old Steven Tari, started his cult last year after he was expelled from a Bible college for stealing from fellow students. He has enticed girls as young as 12 from their homes to be sex slaves, and is thought to have more than 6,000 followers who believe in human sacrifice."

Some States Welcome National ID - "The Real ID Act was inserted into a must-pass military spending bill in 2005. It requires states to redesign their driver's licenses and state ID cards to meet a common federal standard, and to start sharing information with all other states -- effectively turning 50 different state-issued cards into a national ID."

The brain scan that can read people's intentions - "The research breaks controversial new ground in scientists' ability to probe people's minds and eavesdrop on their thoughts, and raises serious ethical issues over how brain-reading technology may be used in the future."

Autism rate about 1 in 150, higher than previous estimates - "Autism is a complex disorder usually not diagnosed in children until after age 3. It is characterized by a range of behaviors, including difficulty in expressing needs and inability to socialize. The cause is not known."

Engineer: GPS Shoes Make People Findable - "It's the latest implementation of satellite-based navigation into everyday life - technology that can be found in everything from cell phones that help keep kids away from sexual predators to fitness watches that track heart rate and distance. Shoes aren't as easy to lose, unlike phones, watches and bracelets."

No change in political climate - "Let's just say that global warming deniers are now on a par with Holocaust deniers, though one denies the past and the other denies the present and future."

Get outta my phone! - "Spammers are getting crafty - they're sending text messages to your cell phone. But Fortune's Julie Schlosser is fighting back."

Mysterious Lights Spotted Over Phoenix, Again - "Nearly a decade after the highly publicized ‘Phoenix Light Phenomenon’, more strange lights have appeared in the night sky over downtown Phoenix."

Music Industry Group Fires Back at Apple - "A recording industry group fired back Wednesday at Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs, suggesting his company should open up its anti-piracy technology to its rivals instead of urging major record labels to strip copying restrictions from music sold online."

Empty Seats Coming to a Theater Near You? - "There’s nothing quite like watching a film on a giant screen – but as home theaters become more and more common (and affordable), should theater owners be worried? Nearly half (45%) said that, while they still go to the movies, their movie attendance has decreased from five years ago – 27% said it is much less, and 9% said they never go to the movies anymore, a recent Zogby Interactive poll shows. ... High ticket prices (30%) and a dislike for the movie selections (30%) are the top reasons given for falling movie attendance – 13% said they don’t like the crowds in the theater."

Dress For Success: Top Ten Office Attire Taboos - "We all try to look our best when we’re at work but if the latest fashion trends have you revealing a bit too much skin, it could be hazardous to your career."

Gadget toilet made for modern kings and queens - "Ohio-based Roto-Rooter says its "Pimped Out John" is designed to "fulfill all your wildest bathroom dreams." Special features include an iPod music player and speakers, an Xbox video game console, a refrigerator filled with drinks and snacks and a cycling exercise machine." -- I can't make this shit up.

Quote of the Day

"The essence of propaganda consists in winning people over to an idea so sincerely, so vitally, that in the end they succumb to it utterly and can never escape from it."

~ Joseph Goebbels

February 7, 2007

Clinton, Edwards and Obama: Strike Iran - "Times like these require bravery. They require a fight. A fight against immoral and illegal policies. A fight against tyranny. A fight for freedom. Freedom from hatred. Freedom from occupation. Americans and the people of the Middle East deserve better than Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama. They deserve to live their lives without the threat of warfare and bloodshed. They deserve to live without fear."

America Marches Toward a Military State - "President Bush’s 2008 budget includes a $625 billion request for the military, up from $295 billion the year Bush was elected — a 112 percent increase. It’s about $100 billion more than all other military budgets in the world, combined. Plenty of attention is being paid the exhausted military fighting president Bush’s various wars. There’s no denying it. It’s overstretched and undermanned. It makes you think the Pentagon needs more money, not less. But little attention is paid the flip-side of that story — the squandering of money down the drain of defense contractors’ swindles, ... "

The Bush Torture Memos - "Americans must pay closer attention to the words of their rulers. These memos trumpet the Bush administration’s determination to be restrained by no law or by any accepted standard of decency. Americans cannot say that they were not warned about their government’s descent."

Making an Example of Ehren Watada - "The people running the Iraq war are eager to make an example of Ehren Watada. They've convened a kangaroo court-martial. But the man on trial is setting a profound example of conscience -- helping to undermine the war that the Pentagon's top officials are so eager to protect."

US should weigh war on terrorism tax - Lieberman - ""When you put together the (Pentagon) budget and the Homeland Security budgets, we need to ask people to help us in a way that they know when they pay more it will go for their security," he said during a Senate panel hearing on the defense budget request."

Bush administration dismisses seven federal prosecutors - "The dismissals are unusual and that has prompted several Democratic senators to accuse the White House of taking undue aim at U.S. prosecutors, either to make way for up-and-coming Republicans or even to punish those who aggressively prosecuted friends of the administration."

PRESIDENTIAL FRONTRUNNERS WOULD SURRENDER AMERICA'S BORDERS - "Not one of the presidential frontrunners from either party would protect our borders against illegal immigration. Just the opposite. They would continue George Bush's policy of wide open borders, including his determination to grant amnesty to illegals. In other words, when it comes to protecting our borders, there is not a nickel's worth of difference between the two major parties' leading presidential contenders."

Bush budget trims health care funds - "The recommendations, if adopted, would trim Medicare spending by $66 billion over five years." -- That's just about 7 months worth of spending time in Iraq.

Bush wants to make tax cuts for the rich permanent - "President George W. Bush’s budget proposal calls for making permanent the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts scheduled to expire at the end of 2010. This would further widen the chasm between the wealthy elite and the rest of the population." -- Isn't that the point?

Political Power and the Rule of Law - "The problem is that politicians are not supposed to have power over us – we're supposed to be free. We seem to have forgotten that freedom means the absence of government coercion. So when politicians and the media celebrate political power, they really are celebrating the power of certain individuals to use coercive state force. Remember that one's relationship with the state is never voluntary. Every government edict, policy, regulation, court decision, and law ultimately is backed up by force, in the form of police, guns, and jails. That is why political power must be fiercely constrained by the American people."

Army made video warning about dangers of depleted uranium but never showed it to troops - "A special investigation on the effects of depleted uranium reveals the Army made a tape warning of the effects of depleted uranium which was never shown to troops despite the fact the Pentagon knew the agent to be potentially deadly, CNN reports Tuesday."

Kentucky Teacher Placed In Psych Ward For Declaring 9/11 Was An 'Inside Job' - "His story is just another in a long line cases where law abiding citizens have been systematically deprived of their due process rights and trampled on by a fascist mindset controlling America."

Who Watches The Watchers In Surveillance Society? - "The encroachment on privacy in what civil libertarians call a "surveillance society" may be a price willingly paid by citizens who fear terrorism and crime. But ever-alert software capable of maintaining a continuous "watch" on security cameras multiplies the risks of harassing innocent people, privacy experts say."

Senator to propose surveillance of illegal images - "A forthcoming bill in the U.S. Senate lays the groundwork for a national database of illegal images that Internet service providers would use to automatically flag and report suspicious content to police. The proposal, which Sen. John McCain is planning to introduce on Wednesday, also would require ISPs and perhaps some Web sites to alert the government of any illegal images of real or "cartoon" minors. Failure to do would be punished by criminal penalties including fines of up to $300,000."

Huge global child porn ring found - "Austrian authorities said Wednesday they have uncovered a major international child pornography ring involving more than 2,360 suspects from 77 countries, including hundreds in the United States, who paid to view videos depicting young children being sexually abused."

Wash. initiative would require married couples to have kids - "An initiative filed by proponents of same-sex marriage would require heterosexual couples to have kids within three years or else have their marriage annulled. ...
Under the initiative, marriage would be limited to men and women who are able to have children. Couples would be required to prove they can have children in order to get a marriage license, and if they did not have children within three years, their marriage would be subject to annulment. All other marriages would be defined as "unrecognized" and people in those marriages would be ineligible to receive any marriage benefits."

Living the American Dream ... in a One-Bedroom Apartment - "The middle class is clinging to its precious status by contending with far smaller living spaces than those of previous generations."

Ancient boy's skeleton sparks evolution debate - ""I did not evolve from Turkana Boy or anything like it," says Bishop Boniface Adoyo, head of Kenya's 35 evangelical denominations, which he claims have 10 million followers. "These sorts of silly views are killing our faith.""

Hiroshima, the pictures they didn't want us to see - "The pictures remained classified 'top secret' for many years. Some of the images have been published later by different means, but it's not usual to see them all together. This is the horror they didn't want us to see, and that we must NEVER forget:"

Declassified, But Still Unavailable - "At the stroke of midnight on December 31, hundreds of millions of pages of secret government documents—including 270 million pages of FBI files—were instantly declassified, promising to shed light on everything from the Cuban Missile Crisis to government surveillance of antiwar and civil rights activists in the ’60s and ’70s. It was to be a “Cinderella moment,” said the New York Times, for researchers of the government’s secret history. But upon contacting the National Archives, researchers learned that declassification is not the same thing as release—none of the documents were publicly available for review."

How Generous Is the Bill Gates Foundation? - "If the Gates Foundation is so generous, why does it invest millions in companies that pollute the land in the very places the foundation was designed to help?"

Ban Proposed On Walking While Talking, Listening To iPod - "A state senator from Brooklyn said on Tuesday he plans to introduce legislation that would ban people from using an MP3 player, cell phone, Blackberry or any other electronic device while crossing the street in either New York City or Buffalo."

Fake Holograms a 3-D Crime Wave - "If you have a credit card or just bought a copy of Windows Vista, you're familiar with security holograms -- those sparkly bits of film that vouch for the validity of everything from driver's licenses to software and sports league items. It turns out, they're aren't as secure as they are sparkly."

Education Reform: Pass or Fail? - "As No Child Left Behind comes due for reauthorization, questions remain about whether it really helps children learn."

Petsmart -- Big Suffering for Small Animals - "For years, PetSmart has assured PETA that sick and injured animals in its stores are provided with veterinary care when they need it. We didn't take their word for it. During an undercover investigation at the PetSmart store in Manchester, Connecticut, a store that has a Banfield Hospital right inside it and that PetSmart boasts of as having an "outstanding pet care team" and an "exceptional pet care record," PETA documented more than 100 small animals—including hamsters, domestic rats, lizards, chinchillas, and birds—deprived of effective veterinary care and slowly dying, out of customers' sight."

Being lonely when you're older doubles the risk of Alzheimer's - "This is not the first study to suggest that social isolation is linked to diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease, but this latest study shows loneliness doubles the risk."

Weight-loss surgeries more common for teens, younger - "As the popularity of stomach surgery has skyrocketed among obese adults, a growing number of doctors are asking, "Why not children, too?""

Study: Video games are good for eyes - "These games push the human visual system to the limits and the brain adapts to it. That learning carries over into other activities and possibly everyday life."

Was Prince's Super performance too revealing? - "Prince's acclaimed performance included a guitar solo during the "Purple Rain" segment of his medley in which his shadow was projected onto a large, flowing beige sheet. As the 48-year-old rock star let rip, the silhouette cast by his figure and his guitar (shaped like the singer's symbol) had phallic connotations for some."

Quote of the Day

"I'm just a simple man, trying to make my way in the universe."

~ Jango Fett, Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones

February 5, 2007

Bush Plan Seeks Billions More for Iraq - "President Bush is sending Congress a $2.9 trillion budget that would provide billions of dollars for the war in Iraq, make his first-term tax cuts permanent and achieve a budget surplus three years after he leaves office."

Soldiers in Iraq view troop surge as a lost cause - ""To be honest, it's going to be like this for a long time to come, no matter what we do," said Hardy, 25, of Atlanta. "I think some people in America don't want to know about all this violence, about all the killings. The people back home are shielded from it; they get it sugar-coated.""

Press Wonders: Is White House Cooking Books on Iran Now? - "After being criticized for years for not persistently pressing claims of Iraqi WMDs before the war, reporters are proving more skeptical now about administration claims over the alleged Iran threat."

U.S. can't prove Iran link to Iraq strife - "Bush administration officials acknowledged Friday that they had yet to compile evidence strong enough to back up publicly their claims that Iran is fomenting violence against U.S. troops in Iraq."

Loss for Holocaust hoax site - "A FAR-RIGHT Christian group has been ordered to remove from its website a hate-filled newsletter that refers to the "Holocaust hoax" and claims Jews have "monopolistic control" over the world's media and film."

The Evangelical War on Science - "The "secular progressive" War on Christmas has nothing on the evangelical War on Science." -- Check out the video.

Losing My Religion - "However, I do feel an obligation to take an aggressive and even an evangelistic approach to debunking religious claims on some level, especially God's very existence. Most non-believers simply do not believe nor do they give it any thought. The believers out there who go to church and pray in order to find happiness, guidance and support are fine. But the fundamentalists who are intolerant to others who do not share their worldview, move me to action. There is a huge difference between a belief and a fact, and these people often confuse their beliefs with facts."

Will Canadian secularism spread south of the border? - "Canada's turn from being distinctly Christian to decidedly secular may hold lessons for its more religious neighbor, the United States."

Religious captivity in the secular state - "You’re an atheist. Would you want to give all your private details - bank accounts, date of birth, job applications, positions held, educational status, assets (if any), marital status, number of children, number of dependents and any other personal data to the Salvation Army? You’re a committed Buddhist. Would you choose to reveal your personal information to the Catholic Church? You’re a Methodist. Would you want the Anglicans to know all your private business? No? Then make sure you hang on to your job and don’t become unemployed. Put up with whatever conditions your employer imposes or, like every other Australian dependent upon CentreLink because out of work, you’ll be hooked up to a church agency and obliged to disclose everything."

French schools swamped by books challenging evolution - "Tens of thousands of French schools and universities have received copies of a Turkish book refuting Darwin's theory of evolution and describing it as "the true source of terrorism.""

An atheist has values that sound familiar - "The most common criticism about atheists is that without belief in God, we have no ethics or morals. A recent letter to the editor said, "No system of ethics ... can stand alone. To make [ethics] understandable to a child, it must be clothed in religious terms, such as having an omniscient, omnipotent father in Heaven." I completely disagree. ... That is why I want people to know I'm an atheist. I encourage other atheists and agnostics to make their views known. This won't change our reputations overnight. But every time someone says, "Well, I have a friend who's an atheist ..." it's a step in the direction of tolerance, and that's a value I hold dear."

State Constitutions that Discriminate Against Atheists - "Texas State Constitution ... "No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being."" -- There are 8 other states listed.

Pope says traditional family in 'crisis' - "A debate is raging in predominantly Catholic, socially conservative, Italy as the government prepares to put forward a bill later this month to grant legal status to unmarried couples regardless of sexual orientation. The plan has been repeatedly attacked by the right-wing opposition as well as the Vatican, which has been accused of meddling in the nation's political affairs." -- It's called "traditional family" because that's what it is...a tradition.

Pope says compassion no excuse for euthanasia - "Pope Benedict on Sunday renewed his appeal to Catholics to reject abortion and euthanasia, saying life was God-given and could not be cut short under "the guise of human compassion"." -- But what about those who believe there is no God?

Would you pledge your virginity to your father? - "It’s like a wedding but with a twist: Young women exchange rings, take vows and enjoy a first dance…with their dads. “Purity balls” are the next big thing in the save-it-till-marriage movement. Smart or scary?"

White House Rejects Mandatory CO2 Caps - "Despite a strongly worded global warming report from the world's top climate scientists, the Bush administration expressed continued opposition Friday to mandatory reductions in heat-trapping "greenhouse" gases."

The Whole Solar System is Undergoing Global Warming. - "This is a fact that not many people know about, and quite a few people, would like that there was no evidence to back this fact, because some people would like the world to believe that human activity is the cause for global warming on Earth. I am not advocating that releasing harmful gases, and chemicals in the oceans and atmosphere are good, but after a few years of research, I have come to understand that global warming is happening in the Solar System, not just on Earth. Some people just want to listen to what some environmentalists are claiming, that global warming is happening because of human activity, and we are the cause for the extreme changes in climate we have been seeing lately getting worse and worse. I will let now the facts speak for themselves as to what is really happening."

Cervical cancer vaccine meeting roadblocks - "Pediatricians, in particular, are rebelling, fed up after years of declining insurance reimbursement for vaccines, an explosion of new vaccines and fast-escalating vaccine prices."

Texas governor orders anti-cancer vaccine for schoolgirls - "Bypassing the Legislature, Republican Gov. Rick Perry signed an order Friday making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer."

Thousands of new sea species found - "A French-led marine expedition team has discovered what is believed to be thousands of new species of molluscs and crustaceans around a Philippine island."

Over 100 fossilised eggs of dinosaur found in MP - "In a remarkable feat, three amateur explorers have stumbled upon more than 100 fossilised eggs of dinosaurs in Madhya Pradesh."

No Big Bang? Endless Universe Made Possible by New Model - "A new cosmological model demonstrates the universe can endlessly expand and contract, providing a rival to Big Bang theories and solving a thorny modern physics problem, according to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill physicists."

Indie Music Takes on the Majors - "Tommy Boy Records' Tom Silverman has said that independent record labels are responsible for 30 percent of music sales and 80 percent of all releases worldwide. If indie music were a major label, it would be the biggest in the world -- and in a way, that's what's about to happen."

Cost of making the penny pinches Mint - "The cost of minting a penny is now more expensive than the coin is worth, once again raising the possibility that it is headed toward extinction."

Nearly half of teens exposed to porn online - "About 4 in every 10 American youths age 10 to 17 report they've seen pornography while on the Internet, according to a study published Monday. Two-thirds of them say it was uninvited."

Sexpresso coffee shops take Seattle by storm - "Welcome to "sexpresso" - the latest coffee fad to hit America, in which the country's seemingly boundless fascination for Italian-style Java is combined with its equally boundless fascination for half-naked women."

Quote of the Day

"The world holds two classes of men - intelligent men without religion, and religious men without intelligence."

~ Abu'l-Ala-Al-Ma'arri (973-1057)

February 2, 2007

Bush to request hefty Iraq war funds - "President George W. Bush will request slightly more than $100 billion to cover war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the rest of this year and an even larger amount for fiscal 2008 that begins on October 1, congressional sources said on Thursday. The administration, which will submit the war cost proposals along with its annual budget on Monday, will provide details of its war spending plans to try to placate critics who have accused it of using a shadow budget to fund the war."

Intel study: Iraq challenge 'daunting' - "Iraqi leaders will be hard pressed to achieve sustained political reconciliation in the next 12 to 18 months, a collaborative report by 16 U.S. spy agencies says, raising uncertainty about the prospect for withdrawing American troops that are shoring up the government."

U.S. Says Iran Meddles in Iraq but Is Delaying Release of Data - "The decision was described by officials who were struggling to explain why American officials in Baghdad have twice canceled plans to present the evidence, delays that have raised questions about the quality of the intelligence. Some administration officials said there was a continuing debate about how well the information proved the Bush administration’s case."

U.S. Cautions Europeans to Avoid Oil, Gas Deals With Iran - "In the past two weeks, the administration has met with European oil company executives about the Middle East, and during one session a senior State Department official cautioned that the situation with Iran was "hot and is going to get hotter," one executive said."

U.S. not planning for war with Iran, Gates says - ""The President has made clear, the Secretary of State has made clear, I've made clear ... we are not planning for a war with Iran," he told reporters."

Hillary Clinton calls Iran a threat to U.S., Israel - "Calling Iran a danger to the U.S. and one of Israel's greatest threats, U.S. senator and presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said "no option can be taken off the table" when dealing with that nation."

Diplomats: Iran working on uranium plant - "Hundreds of workers in Iran have set up piping, control panels and electric cables for Tehran's underground uranium enrichment plant, diplomats said Friday — the final step before installing equipment that countries fear could be used to make nuclear arms."

Iran: Here We Go Again, Mainstream Media and All - "In case you hadn't noticed, we're being manipulated toward another war. The run-up to an attack on Iran is in full swing, and the justification for it is shifting as fast as the justification for invading Iraq did. And it appears that the media is being as compliant in echoing the Bush administration's message on Iran as it was in supporting their Iraq propaganda."

The Iran factor - "For now, the rules of engagement appear to limit U.S. forces to confronting Iranians caught helping the insurgency in Iraq. But before this seeming proxy war between Iran and the United States spirals out of control, Congress needs to start pressing the Bush administration for evidence to support its allegations of various Iranian threats. This administration's credibility on such matters has been seriously undermined by its array of deceptions and miscalculations -- delivered with such certitude by the president and some of his most senior confidants -- in agitating for the invasion of Iraq."

Arms race fears as Putin attacks missiles plan - "Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, prompted fears of a renewed arms race yesterday after he described American plans to move missiles into eastern Europe as an act of aggression against Moscow."

No 10 kept Blair's questioning by police secret for a week - "Tony Blair’s premiership was on the verge of complete paralysis on Thursday night after it emerged that he was interviewed a second time in secret by police investigating the cash for honours scandal."

The real story of what happened in Najaf - "Accounts of the fierce fighting that erupted near Najaf earlier this week aroused many questions and raised fears about Iraqi security forces' performance."

Pictures of dead Saddam used to 'stimulate' Hicks - "THE photos and articles depicting Saddam Hussein's execution shown to inmates at Guantanamo Bay, including David Hicks, were provided for their "intellectual stimulation", the US military said. ... Mr Hicks's lawyers said the pictures and message amounted to coercion and intimidation."

Substance vs. Presentation. - "What's more important to you, substance or presentation? Are you sure? ... If you are one of the VERY few that still believes any one of the above falsehoods, immediately seek help, you are dangerously delusional."

Clinton, Edwards Will Square Off At Aipac Tonight - "Two of the leading Democratic candidates for president will compete head-to-head tonight for money and support from the same pro-Israel group."

Shell reports record profits - "The figure, which is 21% higher than a year earlier, included a better-than-expected performance in the final three months of the year, when the company's earnings figure rose 11% to 6.01 billion US dollars (£3.06bn)."

Top Ten Reasons Why the US Should Not Marry Mexico - "Below, my list of cultural reasons why the United States should avoid further entanglement with Mexico. Please remember that these are societal averages only; there are many admirable Mexican citizens—particularly those living in Mexico. Also, ten should be understood as an arbitrary number. It does not imply that there are only ten reasons to shun a Mexican merger."

Texas deputy to pay price for defending self - "A Texas deputy sheriff who fired shots at a fleeing vehicle after the driver tried to run him down faces 10 years in prison for injuring one of the passengers, a Mexican national being smuggled illegally into the United States."

National Health Insurance Now, Not Later - "Health care costs continue to skyrocket, and 47 million people remain uninsured. Sooner, if not later, the system will crash. Must we wait for that to happen?"

Global warming man-made, will continue - "The scientists said global warming was "very likely" caused by human activity, a phrase that translates to a more than 90 percent certainty that it is caused by man's burning of fossil fuels. That was the strongest conclusion to date, making it nearly impossible to say natural forces are to blame. It also said no matter how much civilization slows or reduces its greenhouse gas emissions, global warming and sea level rise will continue on for centuries."

Scientists offered cash to dispute climate study - "Scientists and economists have been offered $10,000 each by a lobby group funded by one of the world's largest oil companies to undermine a major climate change report due to be published today."

Global warming sees polar bears stranded on melting ice - "The plight of the bears was highlighted as the prospect of a gloomy future emerged from leaks of the most comprehensive report into global warming yet undertaken, which is to be published on Friday."

Report: Chirac says U.S. could be taxed if it does not sign climate accord - "The United States could face possible European carbon taxes on its exports if it does not sign global climate accords, French President Jacques Chirac was quoted as saying in an interview published Thursday."

And the Nobel Peace Prize goes to ... Al Gore? - "Former Vice President Al Gore was nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his wide-reaching efforts to draw the world’s attention to the dangers of global warming, a Norwegian lawmaker said Thursday."

Drug company 'hid' suicide link - "Secret emails reveal that the UK's biggest drug company distorted trial results of an anti-depressant, covering up a link with suicide in teenagers."

1867 nanomachine now reality - "Nearly 150 years ago it was no more than a concept by a visionary scientist, but researchers have now created a minuscule motor that could lead to the creation of microscopic nanomachines."

911 images could mean info overload - "Now the city wants to broaden the 911 system to accept digital photos and video clips of accidents and crimes. But the expansion of the massive 911 system, which already handles roughly 11 million calls a year, raises questions about what to do with all that data. Now the city wants to broaden the 911 system to accept digital photos and video clips of accidents and crimes. But the expansion of the massive 911 system, which already handles roughly 11 million calls a year, raises questions about what to do with all that data."

Image Search Goes Tagless - "Online image search has traditionally relied on text tags and a keen eye. But new technologies can help find pictures of your boyfriend, Leonardo DiCaprio or even a perfectly worn-in pair of jeans -- regardless of the photograph's lighting or angle."

The Richer You Are, the Better Your Sex Life, Survey Finds - "And rich women, it seems, enjoy sex the most. "In seeking a higher-quality sexual experience the number of well-heeled women that lead more adventurous and exotic sex lives, have had an affair, or joined the mile-high club far outdistances that of men — and the affluent gender gap in views on sex doesn't end there," Hannah Shaw Grove and Russ Alan Prince, two well-known researchers on the habits of the rich and famous, found."




Quote of the Day
"Today, the tyrant rules not by club or fist, but, disguised as a market researcher, he shepherds his flocks in the ways of utility and comfort."
~ Marshall McLuhan

February 1, 2007

US 'victory' against cult leader was 'massacre' - "There are growing suspicions in Iraq that the official story of the battle outside Najaf between a messianic Iraqi cult and the Iraqi security forces supported by the US, in which 263 people were killed and 210 wounded, is a fabrication. The heavy casualties may be evidence of an unpremeditated massacre."

US Army Investigating New Torture Allegations - "The man also recounts the gang rape of a female teenage detainee, in which one guard "pimped" the girl to others for $50 each. As he recalls, "I think at the end of the day he'd made like 500 bucks before she hung herself.""

Gay + Iraqi = Dead - "For the very first time, an official United Nations human rights report released last week has confirmed the “violent campaigns” against Iraqi gays and the “assassinations of homosexuals in Iraq.”"

Chirac Strays From Assailing a Nuclear Iran - "President Jacques Chirac said this week that if Iran had one or two nuclear weapons, it would not pose a big danger, and that if Iran were to launch a nuclear weapon against a country like Israel, it would lead to the immediate destruction of Tehran."

Europeans fear US attack on Iran as nuclear row intensifies - "As transatlantic friction over how to deal with the Iranian impasse intensifies, there are fears in European capitals that the nuclear crisis could come to a head this year because of US frustration with Russian stalling tactics at the UN security council. "The clock is ticking," said one European official. "Military action has come back on to the table more seriously than before. The language in the US has changed.""

Iran daily says 9/11 a 'White House conspiracy' - "A hardline Iranian newspaper on Monday described the September 11 attacks as a "black conspiracy inside the White House", publishing what it said was evidence the strikes could have been staged by US officials."

Cheney's Handwritten Notes Implicate Bush in Plame Affair - "But Cheney's notes, which were introduced into evidence Tuesday during Libby's perjury and obstruction-of-justice trial, call into question the truthfulness of President Bush's vehement denials about his prior knowledge of the attacks against Wilson. The revelation that Bush may have known all along that there was an effort by members of his office to discredit the former ambassador begs the question: Was the president also aware that senior members of his administration compromised Valerie Plame's undercover role with the CIA?"

Pfizer, Halliburton Grab Democrats as Hearings Loom - "Pharmaceutical companies and Iraq war contractors, both heavy Republican contributors, are among the companies scrambling to hire lobbyists with Democratic ties as they prepare for congressional investigative hearings next week."

Exxon Mobil Reports $39.5B Annual Profit - "Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. on Thursday posted the largest annual profit by a U.S. company - $39.5 billion - even as earnings for the last quarter of 2006 declined 4 percent. The 2006 profit topped the previous record of $36.13 billion which Exxon set in 2005."

Mexican Economy Seen As Heart of Immigration Problem - "Amid a growing national debate over how to deal with illegal aliens, one expert suggested Monday that the way to solve the immigration problem in the United States is to boost the Mexican economy."

'Wave of hatred' warning as attacks on Jews hits record high - "Attacks on Britain's Jews have risen to the highest level since records began. A study published today shows the number of reported anti-Semitic incidents has almost tripled in 10 years, with more than half the attacks last year taking place in London."

Bush assails 'income inequality' - "President Bush yesterday said there is a growing "income inequality" gap between rich and poor Americans, and told companies they should rethink the giant compensation packages they offer top executives."

Bush shoots for ‘Jaws,’ delivers ‘Jaws 2’ - "President claimed to stop four terror plots, but where is the evidence?"

The Texas Observer: In Loving Memory of Molly Ivins, 1944-2007 - "Molly’s enduring message is, “Raise more hell.”"

We Can All Be Molly - "Ivins was characterized as a liberal, but a careful reading of her work shows she had no affiliation with any political philosophy. Her wry critiques were reserved for greedy fools who landed on all points of the political landscape."

WTO raps US over online gambling law - "The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has ruled against the US in an online gambling dispute with the Caribbean island of Antigua and Barbuda. The US is breaking international trade rules, it is expected to say."

After 200 years, fight to end slavery goes on - "An ancient practice still strong in the country's north and east allows mystic priests to demand virgin brides as servants as atonement from families deemed to have offended ancestral gods. Wrenched from their parents, the girls are kept captive in the priest's shrine and, even as children, are forced to work in his fields and clean his compound. When they reach puberty, they become his trokosi, or wife. Most are raped or sexually abused, many are beaten, campaigners have discovered." -- It's a beautiful world...?

From Local Police to Occupying Army, or LESO: The Greater of Many Evils - "There are Peacekeepers deployed in US cities, but they're not under UN command. They're armored personnel carriers supplied to “local” police agencies for little or no cost through the Pentagon's Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO), established in 1995 as part of the Defense Logistics Agency. ... What this means, in practical and tangible terms, is that your local police has the same access to military hardware as any branch of the armed services. In everything but brand name, they're domestic appendages of the Pentagon."

Use a mobile... and lose your vehicle - "Controversial powers for police to confiscate vehicles if their driver is using a mobile or not wearing a seatbelt are to be used across London."

Survey: U.S. workplace not family-oriented - "The United States lags far behind virtually all wealthy countries with regard to family-oriented workplace policies such as maternity leave, paid sick days and support for breast-feeding, a new study by Harvard and McGill University researchers says."

2006 personal savings drop to 74-yr. low - "People once again spent everything they made and then some last year, pushing the personal savings rate to the lowest level since the Great Depression more than seven decades ago."

Climate change warning for Sydney - "It warns that if residents do not cut water consumption by more than 50% over the next 20 years, the city will become unsustainable. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation report also warns that temperatures could rise 5C above the predicted global average. This would leave the city facing an almost permanent state of drought."

Del. global warming skeptic stands pat - "Delaware's state climatologist has found himself in the middle of a political squall after taking skeptical stands on global warming and climate change -- in one case directly contradicting the state's own policy."

Texas could punish 'truant' parents - "Parents beware: Miss a meeting with your child's teacher and it could cost you a $500 fine and a criminal record. A Republican state lawmaker from Baytown has filed a bill that would charge parents of public school students with a misdemeanor and fine them for playing hooky from a scheduled parent-teacher conference."

Russian shock at 'gagged' babies - "Russian prosecutors are investigating allegations that hospital staff in Yekaterinburg gagged babies because they did not want to hear them crying."

Windows Vista Hacked Within Hours Of Launch - "Microsoft’s long-awaited Windows Vista was finally released yesterday – and already a hacker has claimed to have broken the operating software’s encryption."




Quote of the Day
"Good thing we’ve still got politics—finest form of free entertainment ever invented."
~ Molly Ivins

January 31, 2007

'I don't know the details' - "The admiral picked by President Bush to oversee his new strategy for Iraq testified yesterday that he does not know much about the plan that the administration says will determine whether the U.S. wins the war."

Bush 'spoiling for a fight' with Iran - "US officials in Baghdad and Washington are expected to unveil a secret intelligence "dossier" this week detailing evidence of Iran's alleged complicity in attacks on American troops in Iraq. The move, uncomfortably echoing Downing Street's dossier debacle in the run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion, is one more sign that the Bush administration is building a case for war." -- 'Cause we luv killing!

The neocons have learned nothing from five years of catastrophe - "Their zealous advocacy of the invasion of Iraq may have been a disaster, but now they want to do it all over again - in Iran." -- Of course, catastrophe is relative.

U.S. officials: Probe eyes Iran ties in Karbala attack - "The Pentagon is investigating whether a recent attack on a military compound in Karbala was carried out by Iranians or Iranian-trained operatives, two officials from separate U.S. government agencies said."

Here We Go Again - Pentagon leaks 'proof positive' against Iran - "Either Bush and his zionist handlers are convinced that we're braindead, or they're certain Americans don't have the cojones to stop them."

Senators warn against war with Iran - "Republican and Democratic senators warned Tuesday against a drift toward war with an emboldened Iran and suggested the Bush administration was missing a chance to engage its longtime adversary in potentially helpful talks over next-door Iraq."

Rift looms as Europe resists US call - "European governments are resisting Bush Administration demands to curtail exports to Iran and to block transactions and freeze the assets of some Iranian companies, officials on both sides say."

US money is 'squandered' in Iraq - "Millions of dollars in US rebuilding funds have been wasted in Iraq, US auditors say in a report which warns corruption in the country is rife."

Chavez a threat to democracy, US intelligence chief says - "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez exports a form of "radical populism" throughout Latin America that poses a threat to democracy, the top US intelligence official said Tuesday. John Negroponte, during hearings on his nomination to become deputy secretary of state, warned that frustration in Latin America about the lack of prosperity under democratic governments could further fuel the populism advocated by Chavez."

Lawmakers say terror bill goes too far - "A proposed law would give authorities critical new tools to thwart the scary prospects of a terrorist attack in California, supporters said Wednesday, while critics insisted it is a giant step backward to McCarthy-style communist witch-hunt tactics."

FBI turns to broad new wiretap method - ""What they're doing is even worse than Carnivore," said Kevin Bankston, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation who attended the Stanford event. "What they're doing is intercepting everyone and then choosing their targets.""

Rockefeller Admitted Elite Goal Of Microchipped Population - "Hollywood director and documentary film maker Aaron Russo has gone in-depth on the astounding admissions of Nick Rockefeller, who personally told him that the elite's ultimate goal was to create a microchipped population and that the war on terror was a hoax, Rockefeller having predicted an "event" that would trigger the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan eleven months before 9/11. Rockefeller also told Russo that his family's foundation had created and bankrolled the women's liberation movement in order to destroy the family and that population reduction was a fundamental aim of the global elite."

Sowing the Seeds of Surveillance - "Technology has an almost irresistible lure. When we build systems for surveillance, experience teaches that we will inevitably use them for purposes other than those for which they were originally designed." -- But humans generally fail to learn from history.

Bush is left isolated as America turns green - "George Bush may have two years to run on his presidency, and remains personally opposed to mandatory caps on carbon gases, but the change in the Senate illustrates how the rest of America has moved on. Congress, big business, state governments such as California, and mayors have embarked on a course that could bring America into step with the international community on climate change."

Scientists charge White House pressure on warming - "U.S. scientists were pressured to tailor their writings on global warming to fit the Bush administration's skepticism, in some cases at the behest of a former oil-industry lobbyist, a congressional committee heard on Tuesday."

ExxonMobil's War on Science - "With an elaborate network of phony think tanks and slick public relations firms, ExxonMobil has become today's Big Tobacco, defrauding the public and waging a war on science."

U.S. climate researcher: We've got 10 years left - "While a leading U.S. climate researcher claims there's a decade at most left to address "global warming" before environmental disaster takes place, the federal government issued a report showing the year 1936 had a hotter summer than 2006."

London suburb to charge drivers parking fees based on emissions - "Residents of a suburban London district will soon pay annual parking fees based on how much carbon dioxide their cars emit, penalizing owners of gas guzzlers."

California may ban conventional lightbulbs by 2012 - "A California lawmaker wants to make his state the first to ban incandescent lightbulbs as part of California's groundbreaking initiatives to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases blamed for global warming."

New Fatherhood Initiative Leaves Some Dads in the Cold - "The Bush Administration's new initiative to improve fatherhood in America raises questions about how best to strengthen families: by encouraging parenting skills or by promoting marriage?"

Older people take bad news in their stride: study - "Older people are able to take bad news more in their stride than their children or grandchildren which can make them more risky gamblers as losses don't scare them, according to a U.S. study."

Is MS new "Vista" both garbage and dangerous? - "Bad enough that innocent you now has a paperweight where your PC was a minute ago. But, there's more. ... Even without deliberate abuse by malware, the homeland security implications of an external agent being empowered to turn off your IT infrastructure in response to a content leak discovered in some chipset that you coincidentallyhappen to be using is a serious concern for potential Vista users. Non-US governments are already nervous enough about using a US-supplied operating system without having this remote DoS [denial-of-service] capability built into the operating system. And like the medical-image-degradation issue, you won't find out about this until it's too late, turning Vista PCs into ticking time bombs if the revocation functionality is ever employed."

"Smokable" pain drugs promise faster action - "The Palo Alto, California-based company is developing drugs that can be "smoked," and, like nicotine in cigarettes, pass through the lungs and into the bloodstream almost instantly. Investors like the idea."

The Saga Of the Lost Space Tapes - "Only in recent years was the agency reminded of what it once had -- clean and crisp first-man-on-the-moon video images that could be especially valuable now that NASA is planning a return trip. About 36 years after the tapes went into storage, NASA was suddenly eager to have them. There was just one problem: The tapes were nowhere to be found."

Hubble trouble - "Considering this is historically a devilish week for NASA-related endeavors, I suppose today's Hubble news could be worse, but it's not great. It seems that everyone's favorite flying eye had something of an electrical short earlier this month and switched itself into safe mode. NASA scientists have gotten a look, and they've concluded that two of the three channels on the ultra-popular, historically tetchy Advanced Camera for Surveys have taken a substantial hit."

Poll: Parents Prefer A Trekkie To A Date Met Online - "Parents would rather see a daughter date a stranger met at a biker bar or a Star Trek convention than someone met over the Internet."




Quote of the Day
"Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally, the common people don't want war: neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But after all it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship ... Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger."
~ Leading Nazi leader, Hermann Goering, at the Nuremberg Trials before he was sentenced to death