News (Page 2) -- April 4, 2006

When War Crimes Are Impossible - "Is President Bush guilty of war crimes? To even ask the question is to go far beyond the boundaries of mainstream U.S. media. ... In medialand, when the subject is war crimes, the president of the United States points the finger at others. Any suggestion that Bush should face such a charge is assumed to be oxymoronic. But a few journalists, outside the corporate media structures, are seriously probing Bush's culpability for war crimes. One of them is Robert Parry. ... Although the evidence is ample that President Bush led the way to aggressive warfare against Iraq, the mainstream U.S. news media keep proceeding on the assumption that -- when the subject is war crimes -- he's well cast as an accuser but should never be viewed as an appropriate defendant."

How Massacres Become the Norm - "US soldiers killing innocent civilians in Iraq is not news. Just as it was not news that US soldiers slaughtered countless innocent civilians in Vietnam. However, when some rare reportage of this non news from Iraq does seep through the cracks of the corporate media, albeit briefly, the American public seems shocked. Private and public statements of denial and dismissal immediately start to fill the air. We hear, "American soldiers would never do such a thing," or "Who would make such a ridiculous claim?" It amazes me that so many people in the US today somehow seriously believe that American soldiers would never kill civilians. Despite the fact that they are in a no-win guerrilla war in Iraq which, like any other guerrilla war, always generates more civilian casualties than combatant casualties on either side."

Iraq much worse off than before we "liberated" it - "In 1980, Ronald Reagan's chances to unseat Jimmy Carter improved dramatically when he asked one simple question of Americans during a debate: "Are you better off now then you were four years ago?" With inflation running rampant, Americans held hostage in Iran and mortgage rates at 18 percent, the answer from the masses came back a resounding: "No!." Today, if you asked the average Iraqi the same question you would get the same answer."

Silence in class - "University professors denounced for anti-Americanism; schoolteachers suspended for their politics; students encouraged to report on their tutors. Are US campuses in the grip of a witch-hunt of progressives, or is academic life just too liberal?" -- This is nothing but browbeating subjects into submission so that questions are never asked. This is more proof that humans, as a species, are nothing but violent, closed-minded, and controlling. Most of us don't respect opinions different from our own and would rather "imprison" those who think differently rather than rethink our own beliefs for fear that we may be wrong. People would rather be wrong than not agree with the masses. Critical thought is thrown away for acceptance, for patriotism, for fear. If a vicious attack is underway against someone, then more than likely there is some truth to the validity of the attacked person's claim. They must have gotten a little too close to the truth. It is true: If you are not pissed off, then you are not paying attention.

Anti-Israel bias at colleges scrutinized - "The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, responding to allegations that an anti-Israel bias is rampant on college campuses, approved recommendations Monday aimed at ensuring that Jewish college students are protected from anti-Semitic harassment."

Senior China official urges cut in US debt holding - "China should trim its holdings of U.S. debt, a senior Chinese official said, rattling markets on Tuesday in the run-up to a visit by President Hu Jintao to Washington this month. As China is a leading financier of the U.S. current account deficit and holds the world's largest foreign exchange reserves, the comments from Cheng Siwei, a vice chief of the national parliament, sent the dollar and U.S. government bonds lower." -- If you didn't know, the Chinese own the U.S.

2008 : A premature preview - "I've been doing a little thinking about the upcoming 2008 election. Specifically, who among the Democrats will run, and which ones I would vote for in the primary. So for this post, I will go through some of the potential candidates and give my short opinion."

PLAYS, FILMS, CARTOONS - "During all the cartoon row, which I personally think was deliberatly whipped up by leaders in all of the places to help foster an Us against them attitude, one of the things that kept being repeated was that christians don't go nuts like that when someone slags off their religion. So I thought I should compile a little list..."

Please Allow Me to Rant - "What nearly caused the catapult-ulation of my Coolmints Icebreakers onto my Samsung LCD monitor was a mere number. Two trillion dollars, to be exact. That's two thousand billion dollars, not exactly chump change, so to speak. What will really blow your mind is if you put that amount in perspective with what Congress was told it was going to cost to fight the war in Iraq, a mere 60 billion dollars."

Jesus Could Have Walked on Ice, Scientist Says - "Rare conditions could have conspired to create hard-to-see ice on the Sea of Galilee that a person could have walked on back when Jesus is said to have walked on water, a scientist said today."

Vanishing Acts - "The world's treasures are under siege as never before. So get out and see as many as possible—before they disappear."

Here be dragons - "With luck, you may soon be able to buy a mythological pet. ... Making a mythical creature real is not easy. But GeneDupe's team of biologists and computer scientists reckon they are equal to the task. Their secret is a new field, which they call “virtual cell biology”. ... Using this rapid evolutionary process, GeneDupe's scientists have arrived at genomes for a range of mythological creatures—in a computer, at least. The next stage, on which they are just embarking, is to do it for real." -- I really don't know what to say. Dragons? They are trying to create real live dragons?

Self-Parking Cars Coming To U.S. - "Vehicles that are able to parallel park themselves while drivers sit and relax behind the wheel are coming to the United States, according to a Local 6 News report."

Rooms in Exchange for Sex - "In Atlanta, an online ad offers a room in exchange for "sex and light office duty." In Los Angeles, a one-bedroom pool house is free "to a girl that is skilled and willing." And in New York City, a $700-a-month room is available at a discount to a fit female willing to provide sex. ... "The mere posting itself is absolutely not illegal," said Anthony Lowenstein, a defense lawyer in San Francisco, "unless the guy who posts it or the person who answers it does something that makes it a little closer to happening.""