Strikes on Iran too risky, says US general - ""And any action by any country will have second-order effects, and that is a strong case to continue the diplomatic process and make it work.""
Why shouldn't Iran have nuclear weapons? - " Iran's antipathy toward the West did not spontaneously generate out of the crazed rhetoric of radical mullahs. It has been spurred by what Iranians see as hypocrisy on the part of members of the world's nuclear community, and the bumbled meddling of the US and UK in Iranian affairs for more than a half century. Iran is dangerous, but the British and the Americans have helped to make it that way. And the situation is even more precarious than it appears. ... But George Bush is still without a respectable presidential legacy. He might be willing to risk everything to mark his place in history as the man who stopped Iran from getting nukes. The greater fear, though, is that he becomes the first person to pull the nuclear trigger since Hiroshima and Nagasaki - and then his place in the history books will be assured."
New Army documents reveal US knew of and approved torture before Abu Ghraib scandal - "New Army documents released by the American Civil Liberties Union today reveal that Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez ordered interrogators to "go to the outer limits" to get information from detainees. The documents also show that senior government officials were aware of abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan before the Abu Ghraib scandal broke."
Oil hovers near $75 on lingering Iran tensions - "Oil hovered near $75 a barrel on Wednesday, within striking distance of record highs, as mounting tension over Iran's nuclear plans and expectations for a small draw in U.S. fuel stocks compounded global supply worries."
Gasoline prices a "crisis" - ""It is a crisis in the sense of the individual," Bodman told reporters after a meeting with Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi. "American families are hurting.""
Bush Economist: Gas Tax Cut Not the Answer - " "Over a longer period of time, it would be a significant problem ... because what it would do is it would encourage us to use more oil, not less and that is the way we got to the situation right now," he explained. "That probably is one of the policies that we would like to avoid," he said."
Bush's Nuclear Madness - "George W. Bush has a vision for a strong, independent nuclear America. He wants nuclear weapons for everyday use -- deterrence is for Democrats -- and he wants to build dozens of new nuclear energy plants across the United States."
The Decider Nominates Chief Polluter for the EPA - "President Bush, the nation’s self-appointed “Decider,” has nominated William Wehrum to serve as Assistant Administrator for the office of air quality at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He’s been serving as legal counsel and interim head of this office since 2001. During his tenure at the EPA, Mr. Wehrum has consistently worked to weaken the nation’s air pollution laws and regulations. And his actions have resulted in a revolt within the EPA and serious criticism by the federal courts."
United 93, anti-war sentiment, and illegal CEOs - "Only a nation sufficiently insulated from the impact of its policies can indulge in such a concern. Forty people died on the doomed United Flight 93. With all due respect, that's a typical Wednesday in Iraq. Thus, I wonder: Is it too soon for a movie about Fallujah? What about the U.S.-enforced sanctions that killed a half-million Iraqi children under the age of five? Creative Iraqis might consider making films on such topics but well...they've got other pressing matters to deal with at the moment. No hand wringing in Baghdad over the issue of too much, too soon."
Time Warner Profit Climbs Almost 60 Pct. - "The New York-based company, whose holdings include Warner Bros., the Time Inc. magazine publisher, CNN and HBO, earned $1.46 billion, or 32 cents a share, in the first three months of the year, up from $915 million, or 19 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. Revenues rose 1 percent to $10.46 billion from $10.36 billion a year ago."
Clear Channel 1Q Profit More Than Doubles - "Net income rose to $96.8 million, or 19 cents per share, compared with $47.9 million, or 9 cents per share, during the year-ago period. Revenue grew 4 percent to $1.5 billion from $1.45 billion last year."
U.S. takes new view on DDT in Africa - "U.S. government officials are enthusiastically endorsing and funding the use of DDT in sub-Saharan Africa after years of resisting calls from scientists who said the insecticide would be the best weapon for fighting malaria, despite lingering objections by some environmentalists."
X-Men may be closer than you think - "Small damages to sequences in the human genome are causing evolutionary changes in our DNA, according to a group of Japanese geneticists. ... Succinctly, the human race is genetically mutating, and we now may know how and why--at least in part."
Scientists gain insight into invisibility through a complex superlens - "The Klingons used it to make their Bird of Prey spacecraft invisible. The Romulans used cloaking too and variants of this stealth technology hid the nasty alien in the Predator films and have been mentioned in Star Wars, Doctor Who and more besides. Scriptwriters will be pleased to discover that this science fiction idea is deemed today to be closer to science fact than we realised, according to a paper published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences."
The Internet is Dead, Long Live the Internet - "In the space of a few months debate has gone from "pressure on internet service providers" to make available user records to calls for all out mandatory ISP snooping on all US citizens. In a display of bi-partisanship, both Democrats and Republicans are calling for such measures."
MySpace faces call to crackdown on predators - "Massachusetts on Tuesday called on popular teen social networking Web site MySpace.com to strengthen protection of children against sexual predators, including raising the minimum age for users to 18 from 14."
Study: Geography Greek to young Americans - "After more than three years of combat and nearly 2,400 U.S. military deaths in Iraq, nearly two-thirds of Americans aged 18 to 24 still cannot find Iraq on a map, a study released Tuesday showed. The study found that less than six months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, 33 percent could not point out Louisiana on a U.S. map. The National Geographic-Roper Public Affairs 2006 Geographic Literacy Study paints a dismal picture of the geographic knowledge of the most recent graduates of the U.S. education system." -- I worry for the future.
Women think about sex more than men! - "The survey, of 4,000 Brits by internet giant lastminute.com, found that while men think about sex 150 minutes in every 24 hours, women on the other hand, spend 180 minutes per day thinking about getting hot and heavy."
Alcohol industry profits from underage drinking - "Underage drinking is worth nearly $23 billion a year to the alcohol industry, or 17.5 percent of all money spent on spirits in the US annually, researchers from New York's Columbia University report."
Study Shows Americans Sicker Than English - "White, middle-aged Americans — even those who are rich — are far less healthy than their peers in England, according to stunning new research that erases misconceptions and has experts scratching their heads. Americans had higher rates of diabetes, heart disease, strokes, lung disease and cancer — findings that held true no matter what income or education level."
Quote of the Day
"Well, that whole experience sucked."
~ Kyle Broflovski, South Park
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