News -- March 14, 2006

Rest Easy, Bill Clinton: Milosevic Can't Talk Anymore - "What the corporate media overwhelmingly ignores in Milosevic's death is what they ignored in his life as well – his intimate knowledge of U.S. war crimes in Yugoslavia. While Milosevic was undoubtedly a war criminal who deserved to be tried for his crimes, he was also the only man in the unique position of being able to expose and detail the full extent of the U.S. role in the bloody disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. In fact, that is precisely what he was fighting to do at his war crimes trial when he died."

Bush ready to initiate 'regime change' for the mullahs - "The phrase "regime change" is seen as too loaded to use in public but in effect that is what the administration is hoping to do, according to officials in Washington."

Bush and Terrorism - "This morbid fear of terrorism does not comport with reality. In an article by Zbigniew Brzezinski, entitled “The Dilemma of the Last Sovereign,” Brzezinski puts the matter of global terrorism in proper perspective, citing highly credible sources, including our own Department of State (which once had credibility before Colin Powell and Condi Rice stunk up the place): "According to official World Health Organization and Department of State statistics, global deaths per year due to physical violence amounted to 1,600,000 (2002), trafficaccidents, 1,200,000 (2004), and terrorism 625 (2003).” And yet, here in America, our whole world turns on this subject of terrorism."

Decadent Elite Laugh At Torture During Gridiron Club Dinner - "The mainstream press is having a hearty chuckle about the capers and the chicanery witnessed at the annual Gridiron Club dinner, a get-together of media and government elites. The highlight was an "amusing" rendition of a torture song by a dragged-up Tim Russert. I for one don't find it funny that a bunch of war criminals and their sycophantic collaborators are cackling and patting each other on the back about the 'hilarious shortcomings' of the administration. ... "Tim Russert, making his first appearance as a new member, decked out in a blue dress and a shiny blond wig as one of the cable news bunnies. But there were also some true clunkers. Singing about torture, subbing "rendition" for "tradition" and borrowing the "Fiddler on the Roof" song was not funny at all. The chumminess of the politicos and the press corps can be cloying.""

Bush says Iran bombs used in Iraq - "President Bush yesterday blamed Iran for helping kill American troops in Iraq, saying they are supplying some of the ever-more-lethal explosives that insurgents are using against coalition forces."

Pentagon examining chances of Israeli strike against Iran - "The Pentagon is looking into the possibility of Israel launching a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. In the past months there were several working-level discussions trying to map out the possible scenarios for such an attack, according to administration sources who were briefed on these meetings."

From AIPAC to Check Point - "However, mingling in the crowded hallways of the Washington convention center that hosted the event gave one the impression that the threat of a mushroom cloud in Middle Eastern skies in the coming years bothered the thousands of participants far less than the clear and present danger to AIPAC: the pending trial of two senior officials, Steven J. Rosen, who was responsible for foreign affairs and was a strong figure in the lobby, and Keith Weissman, a former Middle East analyst."

Arming Iraq and the Path to War - "This is an accurate chronology of United States' involvement in the arming of Iraq during the Iraq-Iran war. It is a powerful indictment of the current Bush administration attempt to sell war as a component of his war on terrorism. It reveals our ambitions in Iraq to be just another chapter in the attempt to regain a foothold in the Mideast following the fall of the Shah of Iran."

Students Across America Protest on Third Anniversary of the War - " From March 13th to March 18th, students across the nation will join together in coordinated demonstrations in protest of the Iraq war. As an action called for by the Campus Anti-war Network (CAN), dozens of high schools and colleges in all regions of the country will spend the next week in local demonstrations, discussions, marches, and rallies."

Pentagon eyeing weapons in space - "The Pentagon is asking Congress for hundreds of millions of dollars to test weapons in space, marking the biggest step toward creating a space battlefield since President Reagan's long-defunct ''star wars" project during the Cold War, according to federal budget documents." -- War is nothing but big business.

Snow warns Congress: US government's cash running out - "Treasury Secretary John Snow urged Congress to set aside partisan bickering and raise the US national debt ceiling this week, or face a disastrous cash crunch for the federal government." -- The answer seems to always be "raise the debt ceiling".

Arab central banks move assets out of dollar - "Middle Eastern anger over the decision by the US to block a Dubai company from buying five of its ports hit the dollar yesterday as a number of central banks said they were considering switching reserves into euros."

EU Warns of Sanctions on U.S. Goods - "The European Union advised the World Trade Organization on Tuesday that it would reintroduce trade sanctions against the United States in two months unless Washington complies with a WTO ruling condemning tax breaks for U.S. companies operating overseas."

Implant ID chips called big advance, Big Brother - "All three say putting radio-frequency identification chips under the skin can improve people's lives. An implant is like having a set of keys, or an ID card, that can't be lost, they say. Graafstra jokes that he could end up naked in the alley outside his house and still get inside using the electronic key embedded in his hand."

Robertson Finds Radical Muslims 'Satanic' - "Television evangelist Pat Robertson said Monday on his live news-and- talk program "The 700 Club" that Islam is not a religion of peace, and that radical Muslims are "satanic.""

If Anyone's Satanic It's Pat Robertson - "Pat Robertson is back on the news treadmill after telling his viewers that Islam wants to take over the world and is not a religion of peace, and that radical Muslims are "satanic." Robertson's past comments underscore the fact that nobody other than Robertson himself has done more to desert so-called Christian principles."

Burst oil pipeline causes 'catastrophe' in Alaska - "A burst pipeline in Alaska's North Slope has caused the Arctic region's worst oil spill, spreading more than 250,000 gallons of crude oil over an area used by caribou herds and prompting environmentalists again to question the Bush administration's drive for more oil exploration there.

Head for the bunker - "What, no duct tape? Why exactly will bird flu disrupt food supplies?"

Germany's sex industry gears up for World Cup - "Prostitution is legal in Germany and sex workers can get health insurance, join the services union Verdi and pay into a pension plan. Surveys put the number of those working as full- or part-time prostitutes at around 400,000. But thousands of women are also forced to work in the sex industry, and authorities are keen to crack down on this practice during the tournament."

Isaac Hayes quits 'South Park' after spoof on Scientologists - ""There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins," the 63-year-old soul singer said in a statement. ... In an interview with the Associated Press, "South Park" co-creator Matt Stone responded sharply, saying, "This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology. ... He has no problem – and he's cashed plenty of checks – with our show making fun of Christians.""

Pushing the Internet Into Space - "Hooke, manager of data-standards programs at NASA, says it is technically possible to build a system allowing for interactive communication between humans and machines about as far away as the moon. Meanwhile, across greater distances in space, researchers are finding ways to maintain dialogs despite frequent disruptions."

Now you can google Mars - "Space buffs can now visit Mars and feel what it must be like to explore the towering mountains, layered canyon walls and meandering channels of the Red Planet without having to worry about its freezing temperatures and tenuous atmosphere."

Icy 'super-Earth' discovered - "A cold, heavy "super-Earth" has been found orbiting a distant star, according to an international team of astronomers. And the method used to make the discovery holds promise for detecting other faraway planets that closely resemble the Earth, the astronomers said Monday."

No bumper sticker today, as Blogger is acting up.

Quote of the Day
"I hate you guys. I hate you guys so very, very much."
~ Eric Cartman, South Park