News -- July 18, 2006

AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner

What I am watching in Lebanon each day is an outrage - "Yet when I drove to the actual headquarters of Hizbollah, a tall building in Haret Hreik, it was totally undamaged. Only last night did the Israelis manage to hit it. So can the Lebanese be forgiven - can anyone here be forgiven - for believing that the Israelis have a greater interest in destroying Lebanon than they do in their two soldiers? ... European politicians have talked about Israel's "disproportionate" response to Wednesday's capture of its soldiers. They are wrong. What I am now watching in Lebanon is an outrage. How can there be any excuse for the 73 dead Lebanese blown these past three days? The same applies, of course, to the four Israeli civilians killed by Hizbollah rockets. But - please note the exchange rate of Israeli civilian lives to Lebanese civilian lives now stands at 1 to more than 15. This does not include the two children who were atomised in their home in Dweir on Thursday and whose bodies cannot be found. Their six brothers and sisters were buried yesterday, along with their mother and father. Another "terrorist" target. So was a neighbouring family with five children who were also buried yesterday. Another "terrorist" target."

'It is madness. Why is no one doing anything to stop this?' - "It has warned Lebanese civilians to leave the area, and tens of thousands have been streaming north in battered cars, eight, nine or ten to a vehicle, to escape the fighting. But the Israelis have also destroyed the main roads and all the bridges over the Litani river, forcing many of the refugees to abandon their cars and wade across."

Israelis say offensive could last weeks - "Israel struck a Lebanese army base outside Beirut and flattened a house near the border, killing at least 16 people in a new wave of bombings, while Hezbollah fired more rockets at northern Israel, killing one Israeli and wounding several others. Meanwhile, Israeli military officials said the offensive could last several more weeks."

Lebanon civilian deaths morally not same as terror victims -- Bolton - "US Ambassador John Bolton said there was no moral equivalence between the civilian casualties from the Israeli raids in Lebanon and those killed in
Israel from "malicious terrorist acts". ... "I think it would be a mistake to ascribe moral equivalence to civilians who die as the direct result of malicious terrorist acts," he added, while defending as "self-defense" Israel's military action, which has had "the tragic and unfortunate consequence of civilian deaths"."

Hezbollah a bump on 'escalation road'? - "Israel's clash with Hezbollah in Lebanon may just be the undercard bout. With the rhetoric rising and positions hardening, many in the region fear that the current fighting could easily spiral out of control, pitting Israel and the United States in the main bout against the two countries they accuse of arming and inciting Hezbollah fighters: Syria and, especially, Iran."

Russia May Send Navy Ships to Lebanon - "Lavrov warned that the fighting between Israel and Lebanese guerrillas could ignite a wider conflict, and said the international community had to use all means possible to end the violence immediately." -- Humans are nothing but infants with deadly toys.

True Tales of Modern-Day Slaves - "Slavery thrives. From Albanian sex workers to Indian cigarette-rollers to black Africans bought and sold in Mauritania and Sudan: According to latter-day abolitionists such as the Boston-based American Anti-Slavery Group, more people -- AASG estimates some 27 million -- are owned now than ever before."

Why Bill O'Reilly is Irrelevant - "Here's a startling number. The average age of Bill O'Reilly's audience is 71. You didn't see that wrong -- 71 years old! ... Given these facts, it's not hard to see why O'Reilly is losing viewers. They're not dying to watch him, they're dying while watching him."

Real Christians Fight Intolerance - "A reverend declares that gay bashing is an attack on the gospel -- and that real Christians don't participate in any form of discrimination."

Gay marriage amendment faces uphill battle - "A proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage was headed toward a House vote Tuesday with supporters resigned to another losing effort but determined to highlight it in this fall's elections."

Foreign ownership of U.S. airlines? - "The Department of Transportation, acting under President Bush's orders, is preparing to issue an administrative ruling that would open U.S. airlines up to foreign ownership, despite specific prohibitions and warnings from Congress, as well as predictions by pilots that another Dubai ports controversy is in the offing."

Gonzales: Bush blocked eavesdropping probe - "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday that President Bush personally blocked Justice Department lawyers from pursuing an internal probe of the warrantless eavesdropping program that monitors Americans' international calls and e-mails when terrorism is suspected."

Dutch court lets paedophile party contest country's general election - "The Netherlands cemented its reputation as Europe's most socially liberal country yesterday when a new political party formed by paedophiles was told it could contest this year's general election. A Dutch court rejected an attempt by anti-paedophile campaigners to ban the Brotherly Love, Freedom and Diversity party (PNVD), which wants to cut the age of consent from 16 to 12 and to legalise child pornography."

Punishment For Pregnant Women - "A proposed law would prevent pregnant women from smoking. Could a law requiring women to breastfeed be far behind?"

Iris Scans: Keeping an Eye on Sex Offenders - "Authorities have gained a new high-tech tool to keep track of sex offenders: the Sex Offender Registry and Identification System (SORIS), a biometric database that stores images of sex offenders' irises."

Stem cell therapies still years away - "Here's a reality check amid Congress' showdown with President Bush over stem cell research: The potential treatments for diabetes, spinal cord injury and other devastating disorders are years away from being tested in people."

More tossers on TV - "Channel 4 is to bring mass public masturbation to the small screen. ... In what must surely be one of the summer's more bizarre events, hundreds of people are expected to gather in a hall in central London on August 5 to pleasure themselves in aid of charity."

Quote of the Day
"When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth."
~ Peter, Dawn of the Dead