News -- December 22, 2005

Saddam steals show with claim of U.S. torture - ""I have been hit by the Americans and tortured," he said, speaking purposefully. "I have been beaten on every place of my body, and the signs are all over my body.""
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-12-21T191149Z_01_SIB146522_RTRUKOC_0_UK-IRAQ-SADDAM.xml

Bush's Gift to America - Endless War - "Bush practices a Manichean variety of Christianity. He divides everything into two categories: good and evil. He used this simplistic thinking throughout his speech. According to the President there are only two positions on terrorists: One is to continue to fight them in Iraq. The other is to “leave them alone.” The choice is between “victory” and “defeat.” This logic is both dangerous and insulting to the intelligence of the American people. ... Bush’s speech contained nothing new. If the President has a plan, he’s holding it close to his chest. In 2006, the U.S. will march deeper into the Iraqi quagmire. No doubt, George will periodically reassure the public that he sees the light at the end of the tunnel. Meanwhile, the Administration will ignore the work needed to protect our country from terrorist attacks. The Bush policies have imperiled the Nation. We are living on borrowed time, but George won’t admit it."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20051220/cm_huffpost/012617;_ylt=A0SOwlIPOqhDuicAewr9wxIF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA

Dick Cheney has put it on the table as bluntly and thuggishly as a mobster setting down a crowbar. - "The Bush dictatorship -- and it has clearly and publicly crossed the threshold now -- is not going to tiptoe away. Dictatorships don't. They hang on until they are displaced from positions of power. If the Democrats don't start yelling fire soon, we'll just be left with the burning hulk of what once was a great democracy. We are on the verge of irreversibly becoming just another dictatorship "ism.""
http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/05/12/ana05056.html

Iraq Election Spells Total Defeat for US - "Iraq is disintegrating. The first results from the parliamentary election last week show that the country is dividing up between Shia, Sunni and Kurdish regions. The secular and nationalist candidate backed by the US and Britain was humiliatingly defeated."
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/december2005/221205totaldefeat.htm

Bill Would Allow Arrests For No Reason In Public Place - "The Ohio Patriot Act has made it to the Taft's desk, and with the stroke of a pen, it would most likely become the toughest terrorism bill in the country. The lengthy piece of legislation would let police arrest people in public places who will not give their names, address and birth dates, even if they are not doing anything wrong." -- If you're not pissed off, then you're not paying attention.
http://www.newsnet5.com/news/5580743/detail.html

Britain will be first country to monitor every car journey - "Britain is to become the first country in the world where the movements of all vehicles on the roads are recorded. A new national surveillance system will hold the records for at least two years. Using a network of cameras that can automatically read every passing number plate, the plan is to build a huge database of vehicle movements so that the police and security services can analyse any journey a driver has made over several years."
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/transport/article334686.ece

Canada Legalizes "Sex Clubs" - "14-year-olds will be exploited" - "The age of sexual consent in Canada is 14. Canadian teenagers can now legally participate in group sex offered by clubs (so long as alcohol is not sold on the premises). "The implications are horrendous," said Landolt. "It's an exploitation of human sexuality. 14-year-olds will be exploited.""
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/dec/05122104.html

Judge rules against 'intelligent design' in class - "Pennsylvania science teachers will not be forced to advocate "intelligent design" after a judge ruled that that the theory is really religion in disguise."
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8493