http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/01/04/bush_could_bypass_new_torture_ban/
Abramoff and al-Arian: Lobbyist's "Charity" a Front for Terrorism - "Abramoff's dense network of illicit finances and phony charities might end some political careers in the United States. But the investigation into his activities by the FBI also shed light on the ways in which rightwing American Jews have often been involved in funding what are essentially terrorist activities by armed land thieves in Palestinian territory. ... Although some of my readers are under the impression that in the civilized world it is all right to take your neighbor's land by winning it in warfare, actually the United Nations Charter (to which Israel is a signatory) and the whole body of post-1945 international law frowns on that sort of thing. Likewise both the Hague Regulations of 1907 and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 forbid occupying powers to settle their citizens in militarily occupied territories, or, indeed, to make any major alteration in the structure of the conquered societies. Basically, the idea was that as of the late 1940s your nation is stuck with the land it has and you can't take anyone else's by force. And if you try, the United Nations Security Council has an obligation to stop you. The Geneva Conventions were framed to prevent further atrocities of a sort committed by the Nazis. It is not only the Nazis who were capable of atrocities; everyone is, which is why we need a rule of law, including international law. ... But here's a prediction. None of the Jewish extremists, some of them violent, who are invading the West Bank and making the lives of the local Palestinians miserable will ever be branded "terrorists" by the US Government, and Abramoff's foray into providing sniper lessons will be quietly buried. Terror isn't terror and aggression is not aggression when it has lobbyists in Congress who can provide luxury vacations and illegal campaign funding."
http://www.juancole.com/2006/01/abramoff-and-al-arian-lobbyists.html
The $4bn industry that is America's guilty secret - "Lobbying is Washington's grubby secret. Some say lobbying is part of the democratic process. Others claim it is legalised bribery, even corruption. But love it or loathe it, it is the way Washington works. Usually you hear little about the quiet meetings, the lavish lunches and junkets that lubricate American politics. But every once in a while something comes along to open the system to what it hates most: daylight. The case of Jack Abramoff, influence-peddler extraordinaire, is one of those somethings. ... If Mr Abramoff spills the beans, they may soon be contemplating a similar fate. This is potentially the biggest Congressional scandal of the modern era. It is largely (though not exclusively) Republican, and may mark the beginning of the end of the party's 11-year dominance of Capitol Hill."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article336396.ece
Poll: Half believe Congress is dirty - "About half of U.S. adults believe most members of Congress are corrupt, a poll released Tuesday suggests." -- And just who are these people that make up the other half?
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/03/poll.congressimage/index.html
America's nuclear ticking bomb - "They envision the use of nuclear weapons against adversary underground installations, against adversaries using or intending to use weapons of mass destruction against U.S. forces and for rapid and favorable war termination on U.S. terms. Implementation of these policies, whose drafters occupy the upper echelons of the Bush administration today, could be precipitated in the near future by events unfolding in the Persian Gulf. ... However, the nuclear threshold is a line of no return. Once the United States uses a nuclear weapon against a nonnuclear adversary, the 182 countries that are signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty will rightly feel at risk, and many of them will rush to develop their own nuclear deterrent while they can. A new world with many more nuclear countries, and a high risk of any regional conflict exploding into all-out nuclear war, will be the consequence."
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060103/news_mz1e3hirsch.html
Government Web sites follow visitors' movements - "Dozens of federal agencies are tracking visits to U.S. government Web sites in violation of long-standing rules designed to protect online privacy, a CNET News.com investigation shows."
http://news.com.com/Government+Web+sites+follow+visitors+movements/2100-1028_3-6018702.html?tag=nefd.lede
State-sponsored medical terrorism - "Months after a Texas teenager was diagnosed with cancer, state authorities have finally decided to let her return home to her family after a long legal battle in which Texas officials – not the girl's parents – attempted to determine the course of treatment for her disease."
http://www.newstarget.com/016387.html
Prescriptions of mind-altering drugs for teens rise - "Teenage boys are particularly targeted: one out of every 10 who visits the doctor leaves with a prescription to treat a mental condition. The study also found that overall, up to a quarter of the office visits which yielded a prescription "did not have an associated mental health diagnosis," according to Ms. Thomas. Ready prescriptions are on the rise "despite the fact that few psychotropic drugs, typically prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression and other mood disorders, are approved for use in children under 18," the study stated."
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20060104-122700-9017r.htm
Intelligent Design Gains Momentum, Raises Eyebrows on Campuses - "At nearly 30 public and private universities across the country, students have started clubs aimed at promoting intelligent design."
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/182/story_18244_1.html
Welcome to Mars express: only a three hour trip - "AN EXTRAORDINARY "hyperspace" engine that could make interstellar space travel a reality by flying into other dimensions is being investigated by the United States government. The hypothetical device, which has been outlined in principle but is based on a controversial theory about the fabric of the universe, could potentially allow a spacecraft to travel to Mars in three hours and journey to a star 11 light years away in just 80 days, according to a report in today's New Scientist magazine. ... The US air force has expressed an interest in the idea and scientists working for the American Department of Energy - which has a device known as the Z Machine that could generate the kind of magnetic fields required to drive the engine - say they may carry out a test if the theory withstands further scrutiny. Professor Jochem Hauser, one of the scientists who put forward the idea, told The Scotsman that if everything went well a working engine could be tested in about five years."
http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=16902006
13 things that do not make sense - "5 Dark matter: TAKE our best understanding of gravity, apply it to the way galaxies spin, and you'll quickly see the problem: the galaxies should be falling apart. Galactic matter orbits around a central point because its mutual gravitational attraction creates centripetal forces. But there is not enough mass in the galaxies to produce the observed spin. ... 7 Tetraneutrons: FOUR years ago, a particle accelerator in France detected six particles that should not exist. They are called tetraneutrons: four neutrons that are bound together in a way that defies the laws of physics." -- The other 11 are just as interesting.
http://www.newscientistspace.com/article.ns?id=mg18524911.600
Global warming 55 million years ago shifted ocean currents - " The big event, the Palaeocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), saw the planet's surface temperature rise by between five and eight degrees C (nine and 16.2 F) in a very short time, unleashing climate shifts that endured tens of thousands of years."
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/04/060104185028.juffd4y7.html
Don't Even Think About Lying - "How brain scans are reinventing the science of lie detection." -- Did anyone else read "The Truth Machine" by James Halperin?
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.01/lying.html
EyeBud can turn video iPod into big-screen TV for one - "But eMagin's executives are betting that the notion of a virtual big screen will win people over. With the proximity of the screen to the eye, and the magnifying effect of the company's optical technology, the company says that using the headset is akin to watching a 105-inch display from 12 feet away."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/254134_ipodscreen02.html?source=mypi
Quote of the Day
"Who do you trust when everyone's a crook?"
~ Queensryche
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