Israel warns of "long war" over soldier - "Israel warned the governing Palestinian faction Hamas that the "sky will fall on them" if they harm a captured soldier after a deadline passed on Tuesday for the Jewish state to accept a prisoner exchange. ... Washington has been urging Olmert to show restraint and take steps to minimize civilian casualties." -- It's always "minimize" civilian casualties. As if there is a minimum number that is acceptable.
Anything but Negotiation - "Israel's second reason for striking at Gaza is political. It is seeking to destroy the Hamas government by all possible means - including physical liquidation - because it knows that Hamas's terms for a settlement would be stiffer than it could possibly accept."
N. Korea Warns of Nuclear War if Attacked - "North Korea is ready to answer a pre-emptive U.S. military attack with an "annihilating strike and a nuclear war," the state-run media said Monday."
White House: U.S. Would Guard Vs. Missile - " Still, the United States has no intention of invading or attacking North Korea, Reside said. Rather, she said, the United States and other countries that have negotiated with North Korea are seeking a fundamentally different relationship. She said it must be based on the complete and verifiable elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons and nuclear program."
Raped Iraqi woman feared US troops: report - "A woman apparently at the center of a rape-murder probe by the U.S. military in Iraq was only 15 and voiced fears about soldiers' advances before she and her family were killed in March, the Washington Post said on Monday."
Ex-Soldier Charged in Killing of Iraqi Family - "Several soldiers allegedly planned the attack over drinks after noticing the woman near the traffic checkpoint they manned in Mahmudiyah, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The soldiers allegedly worked out an elaborate plan to carry out the crime and then cover it up, wearing dark clothes to the home, using an AK-47 assault rifle from the house to kill the family, and allowing authorities to believe that the attack was carried out by insurgents, investigators said." -- Ah, the beauty of war. Now, think of the events that we have yet to hear about.
The Reality Beneath the Flag-Waving - "Americans who get their propaganda from Fox "News" or are told what to think by right-wing talk radio hosts are outraged at news reports that U.S. troops planned and carried out the rape and murder of a young Iraqi woman. They are not outraged that the troops committed the deed; they are outraged that the media reported it. These "conservatives," who proudly wear their patriotism on their sleeves, dismiss the reports of the incident as a Big Lie floated by "the anti-American liberal media" in order to demoralize Americans and reduce public support for the war. Playing to this audience, Col. Jeffrey Snow, a U.S. brigade commander in Baghdad, told AFP News that news coverage could cause the U.S. to lose the war. In other words, what we are doing in Iraq cannot stand the light of day, so reporters must not report or the word will get out. Many Bush supporters believe that truth is not on our side and must be suppressed. Yet, they support a war that is too shameful to report."
Are all lives equal? Not according to the way the US compensates victims - "Question: How much is an Iraqi life worth? Answer: A lot less than an American or British life, according to the amount of compensation paid to the relatives of victims."
Bush Directed Cheney To Counter War Critic - "President Bush told the special prosecutor in the CIA leak case that he directed Vice President Dick Cheney to personally lead an effort to counter allegations made by former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV that his administration had misrepresented intelligence information to make the case to go to war with Iraq, according to people familiar with the president's statement. Bush also told federal prosecutors during his June 24, 2004, interview in the Oval Office that he had directed Cheney, as part of that broader effort, to disclose highly classified intelligence information that would not only defend his administration but also discredit Wilson, the sources said."
Will the Berkeley Impeachment Resolution Catch On? - "Many people may scoff at the decision earlier this week by the Berkeley City Council to put a resolution on the Nov. 7 ballot calling for President Bush and Vice President Cheney to be impeached. After all, 74,000 voters of what is often referred to as The People's Republic of Berkeley can't legally oust the President and Vice President. But Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates thinks his city is simply ahead of its time, as it has often proved to be in the past."
Britons see US as vulgar empire builder - "Most Britons see America as a cruel, vulgar, arrogant society, riven by class and racism, crime-ridden, obsessed with money and led by an incompetent hypocrite."
Scientology: The Unperson - " Religions have always penalized those who betray the cause. Catholics excommunicate, barring the wayward from church rites. The Amish, Jehovah's Witnesses and some orthodox Jewish sects shun their nonconformists. ... For a Scientologist thinking of forsaking the church, the decision is grueling: stay in or risk being ostracized from loved ones and friends." -- Bullshit. This is nothing but fear (dare I say "terrorism"?) tactics aimed at controlling people.
Christian film's PG rating troubles Congress - "House Majority Whip Roy Blunt and other lawmakers are demanding explanations after hearing complaints that the movie "Facing the Giants" was rated PG instead of G due to religious content. ... The Motion Picture Association of America claims the controversy arose from a miscommunication with the filmmakers. It says religion was not the reason for the rating." -- In Congress it is all about the perception they are doing something important. However, they are actually never doing anything important. This is a trivial issue that should not concern Congress.
SMALKOWSKI FOUND NOT GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS - "The Smalkowski case attracted national attention after Nicole Smalkowski was kicked off of the girls' basketball team after refusing to stand in a circle with her teammates on the gymnasium floor of the Hardesty public High School and recite the "Lord's Prayer." After school officials learned that she and her family were Atheists, lies were created about her as grounds to take her off of the team."
A Cycle of History? - "The results of the study caused John Fahey, president of the National Geographic Society to reason: "I'm not sure how important it is that young adults can find Afghanistan on a map. But ... that is symptomatic of the bigger issue, and that's (U.S. young adults) not having a sense that things around the world really matter that much." Indeed the study confirmed John Fahey’s darkest suspicion for a nearly 1 out of 5 respondents said it was "not important" to know where countries in the news are located." -- That's because to most Americans there is no world beyond America. Pathetic.
Surcharge to be tacked on traffic tickets for towns and cities - " Starting this month, a new Connecticut law adds $10 to every ticket issued for speeding, failure to yield, making an illegal turn and dozens of other moving violations. ... "This has nothing to do with deterring speeding or increasing safety. It's fundraising for police departments, pure and simple," said Sheldon Wishnick of Newington, the Connecticut coordinator for the National Motorists Association. Some people worry that the promise of $10 per ticket could motivate some communities to set high ticketing quotas when they need to fill budget gaps. Others raise a broader principle: whether adding a moneymaking element undercuts the claim that ticketing is essentially altruistic, intended to save lives by deterring future bad behavior."
Don't Believe the Hype - "Al Gore is wrong. There's no "consensus" on global warming."
Scientists develop genetically modified tomatoes to fight HIV and HBV viruses - "The aim is to create affordable vaccines for HIV and the HBV that could be easily grown and processed in the countries where they are most needed."
Experts Debate Labeling Children Obese - "Is it OK for doctors and parents to tell children and teens they're fat? That seems to be at the heart of a debate over whether to replace the fuzzy language favored by the U.S. government with the painful truth - telling kids if they're obese or overweight."
Docs: Comatose Man's Brain Rewired Itself - "Doctors have their first proof that a man who was barely conscious for nearly 20 years regained speech and movement because his brain spontaneously rewired itself by growing tiny new nerve connections to replace the ones sheared apart in a car crash."
Fla.-made microchip to be used in volunteers with memory loss - "Four hospitals in Puerto Rico will begin implanting a Florida made microchip the size of a rice grain in patients who suffer from illnesses that cause memory loss, like Alzheimer's disease, a newspaper reported Sunday."
Surgeons have the technology to make bionic man a reality - "It sounds like the stuff of science fiction. But scientists really have found a way to give amputees bionic limbs. Experts at University College London are working on a technique to fuse skin to metal."
The self-driving Golf that would give Herbie a run for its money - "It has proved one of the most endearing of cinematic legends - a loveable car with a mind of its own that can drive itself. ... But now German car giant Volkswagen has turned fiction into reality by unveiling a fully automatic car which really can drive itself - and at speeds of up to 150mph. It can weave with tyres screeching around tricky bends and chicanes, and through tightly coned off tracks - without any help or intervention from a human."
Microscopic flag a test in nanotechnology - "Imagine singing "Oh, say, can you see" to a flag you can't see. That's what graduate students at the University of Texas at Dallas had in mind when they created the likeness of an American flag so small it would take more than 10 to span the width of a human hair."
Oh Say, You Can't Sing - "A Harris poll found that two thirds of Americans don't know all the words to the anthem."
The Viagra Ring - "Keep your viagra securely on hand!"
Quote of the Day
"What to the Slave is the 4th of July?"
~ Frederick Douglass
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