News -- April 13, 2006

Military Plays Up Role of Zarqawi - "The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents and officers familiar with the program. The effort has raised his profile in a way that some military intelligence officials believe may have overstated his importance and helped the Bush administration tie the war to the organization responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks."

British computer hacker 'could be sent to Guantanamo', court told - "A British man who allegedly crippled US defence systems in the "biggest military computer hack of all time" could be sent to Guantanamo Bay if he is extradited, his lawyer argued."

The U.S. Military is in DU Denial - "Most people don’t believe the U.S. has been poisoning its own troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, or they’ve heard about uranium “tipped” bombs—like fingernail polish painted on the outside of a shell casing. On the contrary, these are solid uranium core projectiles."

UK soldier jailed for refusing to go to Iraq - "A British air force doctor who refused to go to Iraq was jailed for eight months on Thursday after being found guilty by a court martial of disobeying orders. Australian-born Malcolm Kendall-Smith refused to go to Iraq in 2005, arguing the war was a crime. The judge ruled that the British presence in Iraq was legal and told the five-officer panel acting as a jury to ignore the officer's arguments."

Student fights write-up for showing U.S. flag - "A small American flag, tucked into the back right-hand pocket of her pants. And for that, the Fallbrook High School sophomore was stopped by a security officer, taken to an assistant principal's office and written up in an incident report that was placed in her student file."

Sensing change, migrants rush to the border - "This time, the draw is a bill before the U.S. Senate that could legalize some of the 11 million people now illegally in the United States while tightening border security. Migrants are hurrying to cross over in time to qualify for a possible guest-worker program — and before the journey becomes even harder."

Physicist says heat substance felled WTC - "A Brigham Young University physicist said he now believes an incendiary substance called thermite, bolstered by sulfur, was used to generate exceptionally hot fires at the World Trade Center on 9/11, causing the structural steel to fail and the buildings to collapse."

Fossil connects human evolution dots - "The latest fossil unearthed from a human ancestral hot spot in Africa allows scientists to link together the most complete chain of human evolution so far. The 4.2 million-year-old fossil discovered in northeastern Ethiopia helps scientists fill in the gaps of how human ancestors made the giant leap from one species to another."

China beefs up U.S. economy - "The United States and China, the world's twin engines of economic growth, have a relationship that has worked well to keep the economy expanding -- but some analysts fear it could end badly."

Poll: Sinking Perceptions Of Islam - "Although Americans believe they are better informed about Islam than they were five years ago, a new CBS News poll finds fewer than one in five say their impression of the religion is favorable." -- Shocker there with all the well thought out propaganda that religion gets.

US rule demands proof of citizenship for healthcare - "Almost all of the state's poorest residents will have to show proof of US citizenship to continue getting medical care by July 1, under a little-noticed federal law that could endanger coverage for many, as Massachusetts is trying to expand access to healthcare. Born out of ongoing efforts in Washington to clamp down on illegal immigration, the new federal requirement compels anyone seeking Medicaid coverage to provide a birth certificate, a passport, or another form of identification in order to sign up for benefits or renew them. No such proof is required now. The requirement was tucked into the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which President Bush signed into law earlier this year."

Anger, apology over "Condoleezza" quiz - "The question read, "Condoleezza holds a watermelon just over the edge of the roof of the 300-foot Federal Building, and tosses it up with a velocity of 20 feet per second." The question went on to ask when the watermelon will hit the ground, based on a formula provided."

Parents call on teachers to help with discipline in the home - "Schools are receiving telephone calls from parents who cannot get their children to go to bed at night and one mother even asked teachers to stop other pupils using her son's trampoline in the garden. The Government's decision to give school staff the legal right to discipline children outside the school gates has been a mixed blessing, teachers say."

Harvard study tells parties to court 'religious centrists' - "College students are becoming more religious, and it's affecting their political views, according to a new Harvard University survey of this potentially influential voting bloc. "Religious centrists" rule, according to the university."

Cops have suspect in case of fake site set up in teacher's name - "Investigators believe they know who created a fake page on MySpace.com that was meant to damage the reputation of a Coon Rapids Middle School teacher, authorities said Wednesday. The bogus page included child pornography and disparaging references to the teacher's Jewish heritage, so the creator could face child pornography and bias crime charges, said Capt. Rob Bredsten of the Anoka County Sheriff's Office."

Prosecutor: While cameras rolled, N.C. trio castrated willing men - "In Waynesville, a small county seat in the mountains of western North Carolina, people whispered about the three older men who lived together south of town. They were lovers, and there were rumors that the trio had turned a room in their house into a dungeon where they filmed sadomasochistic sex scenes — and then posted them on the Internet. Someone asked the local sheriff to investigate the men, but his officers determined their activities, although unorthodox, were perfectly legal. Last month, however, the men were arrested on charges that shocked the community."

A House subcommittee voted to kill the Internet. Did you notice? - "A House subcommittee handed phone companies a victory Wednesday by voting 27-4 to advance a bill that would make it easier for them to deliver television service over the Internet and clearing the way for all Internet carriers to charge more for speedier delivery. The lopsided vote was a defeat for Internet and technology firms like Google and Microsoft, which had hoped to amend the bill to enforce a principle called network neutrality and preserve the status quo under which all Internet traffic is treated equally."

The tax man cometh after iTunes - "Internet shoppers accustomed to tax-free purchases from Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store soon may be in for an unpleasant surprise."

Beatles to join online music revolution - "The Beatles are preparing to sell their songs online after years of refusing to take part in the Internet music boom, according to testimony given by the head of their record company."

Gossip Banned In Some N.C. Liquor Stores - "A couple of chatty employees have earned a ban on gossiping for all 64 people who work at county-operated liquor stores."

Read it? Watched it? Swap it on Zunafish - "Then a friend of a friend told her about Zunafish, a new Web site that matches people with discs and tapes to trade--and video games and paperback books, too."


No bumper sticker today. Blogger was acting up this morning.


Quote of the Day
"People have tended to give up a lot of their responsibility of raising their children to the government."
~ Eric Schlecht