News -- June 18, 2006

How an Al-Qaeda Cell Planned a Poison-gas Attack on the N.Y. Subway - "Al-Qaeda terrorists came within 45 days of attacking the New York subway system with a lethal gas similar to that used in Nazi death camps. They were stopped not by any intelligence breakthrough, but by an order from Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman Zawahiri. And the U.S. learned of the plot from a CIA mole inside al-Qaeda."

Lost in translation - "Experts confirm that Iran's president did not call for Israel to be 'wiped off the map'. Reports that he did serve to strengthen western hawks."

America's bogeyman is an Islamist hero to many in Somalia - "The man was Aden Hashi Ayro - to the Americans al-Qa'ida's chief killer in east Africa, but to many Somalis a nationalist fighting for his country and for Islam against the US and their corrupt client warlords."

Police launch eye-in-the-sky technology above Los Angeles - "Police launched the future of law enforcement into the smoggy Los Angeles sky in the form of a drone aircraft, bringing technology most commonly associated with combat zones to urban policing."

GOVERNMENT ORDERS SPY BLIMP - "The government has hired defense subcontractor Lockheed Martin to design and develop an enormous blimp that will be used to spy on Americans, according to the Athens News. Government agencies such as the NSA are anticipating that as early as 2009 the blimp will be operational and begin supporting new ways of monitoring everything that happens in the country."

Life Without Religion - "The notion of reconciling science and religion has lost its charm. Too many people have used religion for too long as a manipulative tool to obtain and maintain inordinate power and authority over others. And religion is based upon nothing but non-verifiable supernatural beliefs. It's founded on nothing that is real. Certainly, many people have done good in the name of religion, but balance that with all the Crusades, the jihads, the Spanish Inquisition, and the many "heretics" throughout history who were hanged and burnt at the stake."

Custodians of chaos - "How about Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes? Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. And so on. Not exactly planks in a Republican platform. Not exactly George W Bush, Dick Cheney, or Donald Rumsfeld stuff. For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course that's Moses, not Jesus. I haven't heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere. "Blessed are the merciful" in a courtroom? "Blessed are the peacemakers" in the Pentagon? Give me a break!"

Whose Silence? - "Religious people can wrestle with the pope's remarks. What does it mean that God was silent? That He approved? That He liked what He saw? That He didn't give a damn? You tell me. And what does it mean that He could "tolerate all this"? That the Nazis were okay by Him? That even the murder of Catholic clergy was no cause for intercession? I am at a loss to explain this. I cannot believe in such a God. This is a God who was away from his desk or something and did not notice the plumes of human ash reaching to the heavens themselves. Is that what the pope wants us to believe? No, I think it is something even worse: If God was silent, who could blame the church for being silent, too? Is that what Benedict is saying? If so, he is continuing the tradition of saying nothing."

Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon - "Breaking the spell of religion is a game that many people can play. The best player of this game that I ever knew was Professor G.H. Hardy, a world-famous mathematician who happened to be a passionate atheist. There are two kinds of atheists, ordinary atheists who do not believe in God and passionate atheists who consider God to be their personal enemy. ... Paul Erdös was another world-famous mathematician who was a passionate atheist. Erdös always referred to God as SF, short for Supreme Fascist. ... And now comes Daniel Dennett to take his turn at breaking the spell. Dennett is a philosopher. In this book he is confronting the philosophical questions arising from religion in the modern world. Why does religion exist? Why does it have such a powerful grip on people in many different cultures? Are the practical effects of religion preponderantly good or preponderantly evil? Is religion useful as a basis for public morality? What can we do to counter the spread of religious movements that we consider dangerous? Can the tools and methods of science help us to understand religion as a natural phenomenon?"

Which Way To The Apocalypse? When all the fanatical Christians disappear, will traffic finally improve? - "I might have been napping. Did the Apocalypse finally hit? Did the deep wish of roughly a half-billion zealous believers come to pass and were they suddenly whisked off into the humming glorious divine ether in one big orgiastic load of divine redemption, leaving us heathens and pagans and Wiccans and Jews and Muslims and Buddhists and journalists to fight it out over the last scraps of artisan Gruyère and fine Pinot Noir and gorgeous new Porsche Caymans? I simply cannot be sure. ... But be reminded: As reported here previously, the "Left Behind" series of Apocalypse-porn books has sold upward of 65 million copies worldwide. Many, many in high positions of power in the U.S. government (Hi, Senator Santorum!) see the accelerated deterioration of the Earth as a very good thing indeed, as there is no deed more worthy, no abuse more justified than that which helps hasten the Second Coming. SUVs? War? Oil gluttony? Ozone depletion? Condi Rice? All good, baby. All quickening the imminent Apocalypse."

Brouhaha in the Bible belt - "Being in a room with 11,000 Americans who all believe in the inerrancy of the Bible is a curiously scary experience. That's the Southern Baptists, the fundamentalist denomination whose 16 million members in the US make it the second largest Christian group (after the Catholics) in America. Large, overweight, overwhelmingly white and middle class, their eyes and teeth gleam at you as you pass by. "Hi!" they ejaculate in a friendly fashion, and "God bless!" as they recede from view. ... More directly, the Southern Baptists voted for George Bush almost to a man and woman in 2004. The president favoured them with a special message from the Oval Office on Tuesday and sent Condi Rice to schmooze them yesterday. He knows how vital their votes are in November's mid-term elections, which the Republicans may lose. Some, though, even here, have noticed that the president has recently started talking about family values and actively supporting the constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriages. "How come he only does that when he wants our votes?" one messenger (that's what they're called here, not delegate) asked Richard Land, the Baptists' chief lobbyist in Washington. "We are living under the best president we will see in our lifetime," the Oxford-educated Land replied- he has a doctorate in 17th-century English puritanism - which may make him the only living Oxonian to think so."

One nation, under God -- or not - "For most of the 20th century, the main debate over religion was whether it was merely dying or already dead. From Descartes to Darwin, the purveyors of Enlightenment rationalism and the scientific method had inflicted critical wounds. The only question in the minds of many thinkers was how much longer the bleeding could last before the veins went slack. At the outset of the 21st century, we appear to have an answer: When it comes to belief in the supernatural, there is no such thing as a mortal injury. Whether we're talking about Mormonism or Scientology or Wahhabi Islam, the obituaries have been premature. This is a source of great grief to committed secularists who would have liked nothing so much as to dance on organized religion's grave. It is a triumph for many others, some of whom do not approve of dancing at all. Either way, religious faith is coursing through the world with amazing and sometimes unsettling vitality, and perhaps nowhere is its pulse stronger than in the United States. It is time to pose a new question and stop scheduling the autopsy and start thinking about how to foster some degree of harmony in a society where religious voices are strident, occasionally inflexible and gaining strength all the time."

Religion Running Roughshod Over Cancer Science - "Despite the benefits of the vaccine, conservative organizations began to rally against it last year. One of the most vocal opponents was the Family Research Council. The council, according to its mission statement, “promotes the Judeo-Christian worldview as the basis for a just, free, and stable society.” Last October the council’s president, Tony Perkins, spoke against the vaccine. “Our concern,” he said, “is that this vaccine will be marketed to a segment of the population that should be getting a message about abstinence. It sends the wrong message.” He went on to say that he would not vaccinate his 13-year-old daughter."

Drugs firm blocks cheap blindness cure - "A major drug company is blocking access to a medicine that is cheaply and effectively saving thousands of people from going blind because it wants to launch a more expensive product on the market." -- It's always about money.

ACLU Probes Six Flags Hairstyle Ban - "The American Civil Liberties Union is investigating complaints from more than a dozen black employees at a Six Flags theme park who were told their hairstyles were inappropriate. ... "They told me I had to cut them even shorter or go home," DeLeon told The Washington Post. "They said they wanted an all-American thing. That's what they said to all the black people. I had already cut it a lot, so I just left.""

Bill aims to make national water standards voluntary - "The Small Systems Safe Drinking Water Act makes it voluntary for plumbing companies to comply with national standards. The introduction of the act announces that it's intention is to, "to prevent the enforcement of certain national primary drinking water regulations unless sufficient funding is available or variance technology has been identified." If your water is tainted with lead, there isn't much you can do about it. The manufacturer probably won't be liable and probably can't be sued."

Art teacher in hot water over topless photos - "Until they found the topless photos, Austin High School officials considered Tamara Hoover an excellent art teacher with a knack for helping students find their creativity. Now, she's fighting for her job. ... "I'm an artist and I'm going to participate in the arts," Hoover said. "If that's not something they want me to do then I want to be told that. I don't feel as if I was doing anything that was beyond expectations."" -- This country's hang-up over nudity disgusts me.




Quote of the Day
"Religion is the fashionable substitute for belief."
~ Oscar Wilde