News -- May 13, 2006

The Bush Administration is Trying to Link Hugo Chavez to Iran's Nuclear Program - "The only problem is that the basis for such a charge would be a complete concoction, more worthy to be put to work in Iraq, where anything goes, than in Latin America. Such a scenario would intimate that ties exist between alleged Venezuelan uranium supplies and the Iranian nuclear program. In other words, Caracas would be presented as a terrorist nation, illicitly involved in trafficking bootleg uranium to the pariah Iranian regime in exchange for nuclear devices and maybe other considerations."

NSA Whistleblower To Expose More Unlawful Activity: ‘People…Are Going To Be Shocked’ - "CongressDaily reports that former NSA staffer Russell Tice will testify to the Senate Armed Services Committee next week that not only do employees at the agency believe the activities they are being asked to perform are unlawful, but that what has been disclosed so far is only the tip of the iceberg. Tice will tell Congress that former NSA head Gen. Michael Hayden, Bush’s nominee to be the next CIA director, oversaw more illegal activity that has yet to be disclosed:"

Spy Agency Watching Americans From Space - "A little-known spy agency that analyzes imagery taken from the skies has been spending significantly more time watching U.S. soil."

An Easy Call: Lying - "At least now we know that the Bush administration's name for spying on Americans without first seeking court approval -- the "terrorist surveillance program" -- isn't an exercise in Orwellian doublespeak after all. It's just a bald-faced lie."

Rove Informs White House He Will Be Indicted - "Within the last week, Karl Rove told President Bush and Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten, as well as a few other high level administration officials, that he will be indicted in the CIA leak case and will immediately resign his White House job when the special counsel publicly announces the charges against him, according to sources."

First baby in Britain designed cancer-free - "A WOMAN is pregnant with Britain’s first designer baby selected to prevent an inherited cancer, The Times can reveal. Her decision to use controversial genetic-screening technology will ensure that she does not pass on to her child the hereditary form of eye cancer from which she suffers."

FOX News Doesn't Like The Fourth Amendment - "It was pretty clear last night (5/11/06) that when CEO Roger Ailes claims that what distinguishes FOX News is “we like America,” he doesn’t mean the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. First, FOX News buried a discussion about the uproar over the NSA’s secret collection of phone call records of tens of millions of Americans into the second half-hour of Hannity & Colmes (after a double segment about the Duke rape case). Then it provided conservative Republican Newt Gingrich as the only guest, with no civil liberties expert as balance. So when Gingrich, who also happens to be a FOX News employee, dismissed search warrants as legal technicalities – well, one began to get the message. And that’s not counting the false, misleading information given by Sean Hannity."

Alabama candidate for AG disputes Holocaust, is coming to NJ - "A Democratic candidate for Alabama attorney general denies the Holocaust occurred and said Friday he will speak this weekend in New Jersey to a "pro-white" organization that is widely viewed as being racist."

Bush Blames Polls on 'Battle Fatigue' - "President Bush yesterday blamed his dismal job-approval ratings not on anything he's done wrong, but on a nationwide case of "battle fatigue" over the war in Iraq, the standoff with Iran and high gas prices. Bush said he "understands" why Americans are feeling pessimistic about the future -- but he urged them to be patient and said the growing public disapproval over his policies isn't changing his mind about anything."

Experts see new Diebold flaw - ""On a scale of one to 10, if the problems we found before were a six, this is a 10. It's a totally different ballgame," he said. The new problem is being described as an intentional hole left in the system to allow elections workers to update voting software easily. Instead of using pass codes or other security protocols, anyone with access to a voting machine could install new software that could easily disable a precinct full of machines, Rubin said."

Stop ATT From Taking Your Web - "Until now, a basic principle of the Internet has been that the pipe companies can't discriminate among content providers. Everyone who puts stuff up on the Internet is treated exactly the same. The net is neutral. But now the pipe companies want to charge the content providers, depending on how fast and reliably the pipes deliver the content. Presumably, the biggest content providers would pay the most money, leaving the little content people in the slowest and least-reliable parts of the pipe. (It will take you five minutes to download my blog.) The pipe companies claim unless they start charge for speed and reliability, they won't have enough money to invest in the next generation of networks. This is an absurd argument. The pipes are already making lots of money off consumers who pay them for being connected to the Internet."

Education law leaves children behind - "Not a single state will have a highly qualified teacher in every core class this school year as promised by President Bush's education law. Nine states along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico face penalties. The Department of Education on Friday ordered every state to explain how it will have 100 percent of its core teachers qualified -- belatedly -- in the 2006-07 school year. In the meantime, some states face the loss of federal aid because they didn't make enough effort to comply on time, officials said. They are Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina and Washington, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico."

Damien's second coming is a bad omen for Church - "Thirty years after Gregory Peck and Lee Remick filmed the The Omen, Michael Gambon and Mia Farrow are starring in a remake by Twentieth Century Fox that links the biblical text’s prophecies on the beginning of Armageddon to modern-day disasters — notably September 11, the War on Terror and the tsunami."

God reigns at sporting events - "That scene before a recent Birmingham Steeldogs football game is one of a growing number of "Faith Nights" at sporting events around the country that mix religion and sports, praise and promotion."

Indonesia raises volcano alert - "Indonesian authorities have ordered the evacuation of thousands of residents near Mount Merapi, warning a deadly volcanic eruption could be imminent."

Doctors puzzled over bizarre infection surfacing in South Texas - "If diseases like AIDS and bird flu scare you, wait until you hear what's next. Doctors are trying to find out what is causing a bizarre and mysterious infection that's surfaced in South Texas. Morgellons disease is not yet known to kill, but if you were to get it, you might wish you were dead, as the symptoms are horrible." -- Strange.

Rising deadly infections puzzle experts - "Drug-resistant bugs increasingly killing otherwise healthy patients."

Union wants audit over tumours - "Seven RMIT University staff members working in the building in central Melbourne have been diagnosed with brain tumours over the past seven years. National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) Victorian secretary Matthew McGowan said five of the tumours had been diagnosed in the past month alone. Of the seven tumours, two are malignant. Concerns have been raised over a possible link between two mobile phone towers on the building's roof and staff members becoming ill."

Pollution 'could kill off human race' - "POLLUTION is far more damaging to humans than originally thought and is causing genetic mutations which could eventually wipe us from the face of the planet, according to a leading scientist."

Mega-Extinction? Blame the Weather - "Climate change, not human hunters, drove mammoths and horses to extinction in Alaska and the Yukon Territory almost 12,000 years ago, according to a study in this week's issue of Nature."

Light's Most Exotic Trick Yet: So Fast it Goes ... Backwards? - " In the past few years, scientists have found ways to make light go both faster and slower than its usual speed limit, but now researchers at the University of Rochester have published a paper today in Science on how they've gone one step further: pushing light into reverse. As if to defy common sense, the backward-moving pulse of light travels faster than light. Confused? You're not alone."




Quote of the Day
"If we can learn to read the code that programs life, we can surely learn to write that code; if we can program life, we can create life. Because anything we can make we can sell, and nearly always do, we'll need to get a patent on that sucker before someone else tries to sell it first. Welcome to the gene-patenting debate."
~ Jeff Howe