Intel pros say Bush is lying about foiling 2002 terror attack - "Within hours of the President’s speech Thursday claiming his administration had prevented a major attack, sources who said they were current and retired intelligence pros from the CIA, NSA, FBI and military contacted Capitol Hill Blue with angry comments disputing the President’s remarks. “He’s full of shit,” said one sharply-worded email."
L.A. Mayor Blindsided by Terror Info - "President Bush's disclosure of new details about a foiled 2002 terrorist plan to destroy the city's tallest building has strained relations between the White House and the mayor, who accused the Bush administration of taking too long to tell him of the new information."
A Letter to Neocons - "Dear Neocons, It is show time over Iran. You are in a bind of your own making and, boy, am I glad to see that! Allow me to explain." -- Good read.
Iran daily to sponsor Holocaust cartoons - "A major Iranian newspaper is holding an international competition for cartoons about the Holocaust to retaliate for the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper last year. ... "The serious question for Muslims is whether the West extends freedom of expression to the crimes committed by the United States and Israel, or an event such as Holocaust," the daily said. "Or is its freedom only for insulting religious sanctities?""
The president, the stripper and the attorney general - "Through his convoluted testimony, the attorney general represented "the client" as a useful factotum again. But in his tour of history, he neglected the disclosure by the Associated Press on February 3 of about 200 pages of documents from the White House of President Gerald Ford. These papers highlighted the objections made by Ford's secretary of defence, Donald Rumsfeld, and his chief of staff, Dick Cheney, to getting court warrants for domestic surveillance. It was partly to thwart such unaccountable executive power that Congress enacted Fisa in 1978. Once again Cheney, the power behind the throne, has found a way to relieve the frustrations of the past. But he is fulfilling more than the curdled dreams of the Nixon and Ford era. The Bush presidency is straining to realise a pre-Washington ideal - unconstitutional monarchy."
Russia confirms missile defence contract with Iran - "Amid the escalating crisis around Iran's nuclear programme, Russia said Thursday that it will still arm Tehran with missiles that can secure nuclear facilities from attacks."
Bush faces Republican revolt over spying - "Congressional Republicans are threatening to force a legal showdown with President George W. Bush over his claim that he has the constitutional power to order domestic surveillance of Americans in the name of national security."
The Family Room: They're a load of hooey - "Family values. I hate that term. ... How can any intelligent person expect to coin a phrase like "family values" and expect it to fit all families? I think it's just a propaganda term churned out by the radical right/religious fundamentalists to further their cause against us Commie liberals who believe a woman should have a right to say what happens to her body, that all people should have the right to marry, and that legalized murder in the form of the death penalty is still murder. There is an inherent meaning to the phrase that implies there is just one model of family, that in which the male is supreme and the female inferior. ... How did we ever come to this? The religious right would have us believe that Christianity has always been profamily, but that is far from true. Early Christian (until around the 16th century) history shows us that at best, the religion took an ambivalent stance on the subject of marriage; the ideal Christian was single, celibate, and childless. And when it comes to family types, there has never been one "ideal" family structure. The Bible is full of various types of families (not all of them exactly morally outstanding, I might add). And not one of them was a model for the modern "family values" family unit: Abraham banished one of his kids to the desert and willingly agreed to kill another. Noah got drunk and damned one of his sons. Adam and Eve had a son who murdered his brother, while Solomon and David had more wives and concubines than a Texas brothel has clients. Even Jesus was no model of family values—broke his curfew at the age of twelve and was kind of mouthy toward his mother. Then there's Luke 14:25-26, in which Jesus says, "If anyone comes to me and can not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brother and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Pretty strong words, whether you interpret them literally or not. Fact is, Jesus was vocal about a variety of his viewpoints that could be construed as antifamily. ... My point is, there is no such things as "family values." They don't exist, and to have organized religions or political leaders try to force all families into the confines of this social construct (and blame them for all of society's ills when they don't fit) is not only ridiculous, but counterproductive. And insult is added to injury when we're instructed to believe that these "family values" are "supposed" to be the cornerstone of a healthy society. I don't know about you, but for me, any concept that demands the subordination of one sex to another (in this case, women to men) in the name of God or anything else simply doesn't feel right. It does not speak to me. Any concept that tells me I'm antifamily because—among other things—I will not judge the value of love based on a person's sexuality is just hateful. And hate is not a family value, at least, not in my family." -- Another good read.
TWO U.S. EMPLOYEES INJECTED WITH RFID MICROCHIPS AT COMPANY REQUEST - "Cincinnati video surveillance company CityWatcher.com now requires employees to use VeriChip human implantable microchips to enter a secure data center, Network Administrator Khary Williams told Liz McIntyre by phone yesterday. ... "lt worries us that a government contractor that specializes in surveillance projects would be the first to publicly incorporate this technology in the workplace," said McIntyre."
Think How Lucky We Were - "One problem of legal logic is to "define war." We have not been attacked by another nation -- in fact, we were clearly the aggressors against Iraq. We were attacked by a private group of ideological zealots led by a Saudi millionaire. This war -- against no nation, flag or territory -- can presumably last indefinitely, like our wars against drugs and crime."
9 Photos of Bush and Abramoff Meeting -- Check 'em out.
Reid Aided Abramoff Clients, Records Show - "Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid wrote at least four letters helpful to Indian tribes represented by Jack Abramoff, and the senator's staff regularly had contact with the disgraced lobbyist's team about legislation affecting other clients."
Ex-FEMA chief: I may tell all about Katrina - "Former disaster agency chief Michael Brown is indicating he is ready to reveal his correspondence with President Bush and other officials during Hurricane Katrina unless the White House forbids it and offers legal support."
Ex-FEMA Chief Brown Blames Homeland Security - "Top Department of Homeland Security officials were told about New Orleans' levee failures the day Hurricane Katrina roared ashore, former disaster chief Michael Brown said Friday, contradicting agency officials who said earlier they were unaware of the severity of the problems until the next day."
Does rare 30-year bond auction signal 9-11-like ATTACK? - "I don't know about you, but I smell a rat. Given the parallel to the last long bond sale, one month before 9-11, and everything that's scheduled to happen next month with Iran, I can't help but think there's more to this than meets the eye."
Patriot Act e-mail spying approved - "Though the language may be clumsy, Hogan said, the Patriot Act's amendments authorize that type of easily obtainable surveillance of e-mail. All that's required, he said, is that prosecutors claim the surveillance could conceivably be "relevant" to an investigation."
So They Want To Read Your E-Mail? Give Them Something Good To Read! - "So the U.S. government wants to scan our e-mail, blogs & websites for “our own protection?” I say let’s give them something good to read! Let’s overload their systems. I think every e-mail that is sent, every website and every blog should include a sentence or two that will trigger an alert. We should never say (or do) anything threatening but we should say things that can be misinterpreted by a computer. Add a trick line to every e-mail. Make it your signature. Here are some examples: My garden is so overcrowded that I think we will have to kill a bush or two this weekend to make room for our veggies. ... At the end of your trick sentence you can include the phrase: “How are you doing Big Brother? Nice to see you.”"
Poll: Surveillance Wins Some More Backers - "President Bush's campaign to convince Americans that the government's eavesdropping program is essential to the war on terrorism has made an impact: Last month people disapproved, 56 percent to 42 percent. Now it's basically 50-50." -- Who are these sheeple?
Military Hides Cause of Women Soldiers' Deaths - "In a startling revelation, the former commander of Abu Ghraib prison testified that Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, former senior US military commander in Iraq, gave orders to cover up the cause of death for some female American soldiers serving in Iraq. Last week, Col. Janis Karpinski told a panel of judges at the Commission of Inquiry for Crimes against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration in New York that several women had died of dehydration because they refused to drink liquids late in the day. They were afraid of being assaulted or even raped by male soldiers if they had to use the women's latrine after dark." -- Disgusting.
South Dakota House Approves Abortion Ban - "Supporters are pushing the measure in hopes of drawing a legal challenge that will cause the US Supreme Court to reverse its 1973 decision legalizing abortion."
Educators face blowback for protesting Iraq war in schools - "Just over three years ago, as the nation readied for war with Iraq, elementary school teacher Deb Mayer stood in front of her class and uttered the word that would get her blacklisted from her profession. It was a word that got her deemed “unpatriotic” by an angry parent. A word that led to her termination from the Bloomington, Indiana school district. A word that got her labeled as a potential sex offender and ruined her chances of finding work elsewhere. That word was “peace.”"
Senators Mull an Internet With Restrictions - " The experts largely fell into two camps. Representatives of major telephone and cable companies and conservative academics urged government to get out of the way, encourage the growth of high-speed Internet networks and enable Internet system operators to "recoup their investments" without statutory or regulatory constraints. On the opposing side were the Internet "evangelists" and innovators who urged Congress to enact into law longstanding principles that preserve an open Internet where no company can restrict any individual's access to content or place barriers on any lawful application or activity.
Paper: White House Knew About Levees Early - "Twenty-eight government agencies, from local Louisiana parishes to the White House, reported that New Orleans levees were breached Aug. 29, the day Hurricane Katrina roared ashore, documents released Thursday show."
NRA bill would OK guns in cars at work in Florida - "The National Rifle Association is pushing a bill that would penalize Florida employers with prison time and lawsuits if they prohibit people from keeping guns in their cars at workplace parking lots. But the proposal is facing stiff opposition from a group just as powerful in the state capital as the NRA: Florida's biggest business lobby."
'Generation Debt' is going deep into the red - "Many economic forecasters doubt that those under age 35 will be the first generation not to equal or surpass their parents’ standard of living. That is a disturbing reality for a group that should be in its prime, looking toward marriage and their first home. Instead, they struggle to pay hefty student loans and credit card debt."
Kurtz on the Planned Abolition of Marriage in Canada - "The first obvious reality is that the past Liberal governments, with the courts, have already caused critical damage to marriage – the advent of so-called same-sex marriage is a major step towards abolishing marriage. A next step will be legalization of polygamy, as the Liberals have already considered. ... Kurtz explains that the introduction of polygamy, arguably because that would appeal to Muslims in our multicultural society, would lead to “the creation of a modern, secular, ‘non-patriarchal’ relationship system that would allow for marriage-like unions in any combination of number or gender.”"
Mineta Says Space Tourism Licenses Could Be Issued In 2008 - "Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta says travelers could soon boldly go where no passengers have gone before -- into space."
Strip scene on NBC protested - "A leading pro-family group is urging supporters to contact the FCC to protest NBC's broadcast of a scene from a strip bar on the program "Las Vegas." -- Click here to see the 30 second scene.
Ban rock concerts and football games? - "An Iowa sheriff's decision to hand out tickets instead of arrests for small amounts of marijuana invited a lawmaker's slap that it would be simpler to ban rock concerts and football games."
Study Probes the Mystery of Hit Songs - "And in the end, the next hit song may be — like love — unpredictable. But a new study has come up with an intriguing clue: People will select a song if they think others like it. In other words, at least one key to musical success is the buzz, or bandwagon effect." -- The propaganda effect. How pathetic.
Open-source iTunes rival launches - "A San Francisco start-up released an early test version of its open-source Songbird music software Wednesday, with which its ultimately hopes to undermine the dominance of Apple Computer's iTunes."
FCC sees cable savings in a la carte - "It has been a trend in American living rooms for decades: Every year, the cable television bill goes up as consumers receive ever more channels they do not want or cannot find the time to watch. But in a frontal assault on business as usual, the Federal Communications Commission, in a report issued Thursday, said consumers would save as much as 13 percent on their cable bills if they could buy only the channels they wanted instead of being forced to pay for hundreds of them. The average household, the FCC said, watches only 17 channels."
Quote of the Day
"I am a citizen of the world first, and of this country at a later and more convenient hour."
~ Henry David Thoreau
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