News (Page 2) -- August 11, 2006

U.S., France agree on Mideast resolution - "France and the United States reached a deal Friday on a final draft resolution that would authorize the deployment of 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers in south Lebanon to support a Lebanese force as it takes control of the region and Israel withdraws."

Pakistan: Suspected London Plane Terrorists Have Al Qaeda Connection - "Police arrested 40 people in cities throughout Italy in raids on Muslim gathering places in a security crackdown after Britain thwarted an alleged terror plot, the Interior Ministry said Friday, as Pakistani intelligence agents claimed there was an Al Qaeda connection with ties to Afghanistan to the group of suspected terrorists arrested Thursday."

The Thirty Nine Percent Fascists - "The recent hype about the "foiled terror plot" seems oddly timed. Right after Joe Lieberman's loss in the primary was seen as a referendum on 'the war on terror' on cue comes the tightening of security, even though they have been investigating this for the last 18 months. You can always tell when election is near by the "Islamofascist paranoia level" being run by the Republicans. ... Even Michael Chertoff suggested that alQaeda was behind this, because along with 9/11, al Qaeda is the magic shit-your-pants word for the thirty-nine percenters."

Pentagon stopped Bush, Cheney nuking Iran - "In an article published in The New Yorker magazine, Hersh reported senior commanders inside the Pentagon "increasingly challenged the president's plans" on grounds the nuclear attack likely would not succeed in destroying Iran's nuclear program and "could lead to serious economic, political, and military consequences" for the United States." -- The fact this conversation had to happen should scare the shit out of all Americans.

What a fucking crock - "Sir, I'm going to have to take this bottle of water away from you since it might be a liquid explosive, and I'm going to have to mix it with all of these other bottles of possibly liquid explosive, and I'm going to have to dump them all in this trash can... together. Nevermind that the plot specifically mentions mixing chemicals and/or nitroglycerin... which explodes if handled too roughly."

Systems exist to find liquid explosives - "While the process isn't perfect, scanning machines do exist to detect liquid explosives like the ones purportedly at the heart of the terrorist plot broken up this week. But don't expect the machines to be rushed into airports soon. Cost and logistical issues present challenges for these devices."

No evidence of U.S.-based threat found - ""We do not have evidence ... that there was any plan to initiate any activity in the United States or that the plotting was done in the United States," Chertoff said, a day after British authorities announced the arrests of two dozen suspects."

Three Middle Eastern Men Found With 1000 Cell Phones - "The three men were described as being of Pakistani descent but live in Texas. Police say the three, ages 19, 22, and 23 appear to be naturalized citizens. One man was driving while the other two were in the back opening the phone packages with box cutters throwing the phones in one box, batteries in another and the packaging and phone charger in another container. The suspects had 1000 other cell phones in the van. There was also a bag of receipts showing that someone was in Wisconsin the day before."

So you think Bush is just a bumbling idiot? - "Just look at a few of his accomplishments. ... These aren't signs of incompetence. As should be painfully clear, the Bush administration has been overwhelmingly competent in advancing its conservative vision. It has been all too effective in achieving its goals by determinedly pursuing a conservative philosophy. It's not Bush the man who has been so harmful, it's the conservative agenda."

Bush Backers May Abandon Republicans - "Republicans determined to win in November are up against a troublesome trend — growing opposition to President Bush." -- Took long enough.

Detestable Behavior - "Of course, Frist and his other fellow misanthropic greedy-guts never mentioned that since the last raise in the minimum wage ten years ago, the Senate has seen fit to give itself several raises totalling $35,000. How have we come to a time in America when we are led by such men?"

U.S. Lags World in Grasp of Genetics and Acceptance of Evolution - "A comparison of peoples' views in 34 countries finds that the United States ranks near the bottom when it comes to public acceptance of evolution. Only Turkey ranked lower. Among the factors contributing to America's low score are poor understanding of biology, especially genetics, the politicization of science and the literal interpretation of the Bible by a small but vocal group of American Christians, the researchers say." -- Interesting.

Vatican Lawyers Claim Nazi Regime Violated No Laws in Genocide of 500,000 Serbs and Jews - "Vatican lawyers, including Pope Benedict's personal attorney, recently argued that genocide committed in Croatia during the Second World War by a Nazi regime with complicity by the Papacy was permissible under international law."

ACLU Challenges Denial of Housing Permit to Unmarried Couple in Black Jack, Missouri - "The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri and the ACLU Women’s Rights Project filed a lawsuit today on behalf of a family that was denied a permit to live in the city of Black Jack because of a law that prohibits more than three people from living together unless they are related by “blood, marriage or adoption.” “The City of Black Jack’s behavior is both pompous and unconstitutional,” said Brenda Jones, Executive Director of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri. “Black Jack’s attempt to criminalize people’s choice to live together as a family has earned international ridicule for Missouri.” Fondray Loving and Olivia Shelltrack live in a 2,300-square-foot home in Black Jack, a suburb of St. Louis, with their three children. Because Loving is not the biological father of Shelltrack’s oldest child, the city has denied the family an occupancy permit for the home that they purchased. The family now faces fines of up to $500 every week for living in their home without an approved occupancy permit." -- What the fuck? America, the land of the free. Bullshit.

Pacific 'dead zone' said to exceed fears - "Scientists say the oxygen-starved "dead zone" along the Pacific Coast that is causing massive crab and fish die-offs is worse than initially thought. Scientists say weather, not pollution, appears to be the culprit, and no relief is in sight. However, some say there is no immediate sign yet of long-term damage to the crab fishery."

Scientists make discovery in Alzheimer's - "The finding helps explain why Alzheimer's is a disease of aging. More importantly, it suggests a new weapon: drugs that give nature's cleanup crews a boost."