The United States of Barbarism - "Thus, the “commander-in-chief” label automatically swallows up the rest of the Constitution. Yet, as Yale Law School Dean Harold Koh observed, “If the president has commander-in-chief power to commit torture, he has the power to commit genocide, to sanction slavery, to promote apartheid, to license summary execution.” This is the doctrine that the Senate-White House deal largely codifies. It will be up to the president to declare which interrogation methods U.S. agents can use — almost regardless of the Geneva Conventions. It will be up to the president to decree who will face “rough” interrogation. ... The torture scandal shows what happens when politicians and political appointees are permitted to redefine barbarism out of existence. If the government can effectively claim a right to torture, then all other limits on government power are practically irrelevant. What would it take to make the public acquiesce to the torture of Americans? Would simply applying an “odious” label (such as “cult member” at Waco, or “Muslim” with John Walker Lindh) to the victims be sufficient?" -- It is simply amazing that this is happening and the American people allow it.
White House admits Iraq fuels extremism - "The White House acknowledged that Iraq was among several factors that "fuel the spread of jihadism," but said that winning the war would dishearten potential terrorists." -- Unfortunately, it is a war that can not be won.
Iraq is 'cause celebre' for extremists - "In the bleak report, declassified and released Tuesday on Bush's orders, the nation's most veteran analysts conclude that despite serious damage to the leadership of al-Qaida, the threat from Islamic extremists has spread both in numbers and in geographic reach. Bush and his top advisers have said the formerly classified assessment of global terrorism supported their arguments that the world is safer because of the war. But more than three pages of stark judgments warning about the spread of terrorism contrasted with the administration's glass-half-full declarations."
US troop presence keeps neighbors from invading Iraq: Talabani - ""That's one of the main reasons why we think that we need an American presence, even symbolical, in the country to prevent our neighbors attacking us," he said at a forum at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a Washington think thank."
Olmert says Israel will not accept a nuclear Iran - ""Israel can't accept the possibility of Iranians having nuclear weapons and we will act together with the international forces, starting with the Americans, in order to prevent it," Olmert told The Jerusalem Post daily in an interview. Olmert said he thought U.S. President George W. Bush was "absolutely determined" to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Israel, he added, won't accept a situation in which Iran possesses such arms."
Iran close to nuclear suspension - "Iran is close to an agreement that would include a suspension of uranium enrichment but wants the deal to include a provision that the temporary halt be kept secret, according to Bush administration officials."
Taliban says bin Laden alive: Al Arabiya TV - "Dubai-based Al Arabiya television on Tuesday quoted a Taliban official as saying al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was alive and in good health." -- Of course the Emmanuel Goldstein of our time is still alive.
Bin Laden Rumors Again Come to Nothing - "He was blown up in the caves of Tora Bora. He was on dialysis and dying of kidney disease. He was in the hands of Pakistani intelligence and about to be turned over to the United States. Rumors of Osama bin Laden's death or capture go back years, and they have always proved greatly exaggerated."
American morality scam - "These two examples, and countless others like them, confirm an unfortunate and often dangerous reality: The human mind possesses the capability to rationalize anything, even when the foundations for these rationalizations are built upon specious arguments. ... This is why Bill Clinton’s lying about a sexual affair with a White House intern resulted in impeachment proceedings, while George W. Bush’s lying about the motivations for the war against Iraq has not. This is why concerns over possible price gouging by oil companies, ruthless war profiteering, corrupt elections, or the millions of Americans without health insurance are incessantly diverted by distractions like “gay marriage,” or “wars” against sexually oriented materials."
Detainee Measure to Have Fewer Restrictions - "Republican lawmakers and the White House agreed over the weekend to alter new legislation on military commissions to allow the United States to detain and try a wider range of foreign nationals than an earlier version of the bill permitted, according to government sources."
Vermont Congress candidate calls on Pentagon to arrest Bush, Cheney - "Former Army Lieutenant and candidate for Congress in Vermont, Dennis Morrisseau, today called for the arrest of President Bush and Vice President Cheney by the American military "if necessary" to prevent an unauthorized attack upon the nation of Iran."
Americans Skeptical About Gas Price Drop - "Almost half of all Americans believe the November elections have more influence than market forces. For them, the plunge at the pump is about politics, not economics."
GOP's uptick just in time for Election Day - "There has been a palpable shift in the mood in Washington in recent weeks. No longer are insiders in both parties sharing predictions of a Democratic rout of Republicans."
NYC Mulls Ban on Trans Fats in Eateries - "Three years after the city banned smoking in restaurants, health officials are talking about prohibiting something they say is almost as bad: artificial trans fatty acids. The city health department unveiled a proposal Tuesday that would bar cooks at any of the city's 24,600 food service establishments from using ingredients that contain the artery-clogging substance, commonly listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated oil."
Health insurance is twice inflation rate - "Altman said the rising gap between premium growth and wages is particularly startling when one takes a longer look back. Since 2000, health insurance premiums have gone up 78 percent; wages 20 percent."
Global Temperature Highest in Millennia - "The planet's temperature has climbed to levels not seen in thousands of years, warming that has begun to affect plants and animals, researchers report in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
Moving Beyond String Theory - "Strings are far from the only game in town. There are other, potentially equally promising approaches to unifying physics' two seemingly incompatible visions of the cosmos: general relativity and quantum mechanics."
Computers taught to sort opinion from fact - "The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is funding a research project designed to teach computers to scan text and then sort opinion from fact."
Researchers Make Embryonic Stem Cells From Dead Human Embryo - "Scientists say they have made an embryonic stem cell line from a human embryo who died naturally. If so, they claim to have found another possibility for obtaining embryonic stem cells without purposefully destroying human life -- which prompts pro-life advocates to object to the research."
Tall Women More Likely to Have Twins - "A researcher who specializes in multiple-birth pregnancies has confirmed that taller women are more likely to have twins."
Teacher: Reprisals began after field trip - "A veteran Frisco art teacher says school administrators have retaliated against her because a student reportedly saw a nude sculpture during a field trip to the Dallas Museum of Art. ... Ms. McGee told the board that the principal of Fisher Elementary School criticized her performance and threatened her job after a parent complained about the April field trip." -- I hate the fact that this country is so fucking afraid of nudity.
How To Land A Rich Man - "Apparently the entire feminist movement was some sort of hoax. Or so the recent rash of dating gurus and their controversial guidebooks on landing a rich guy would have you believe. Never mind equality, these women want money--and lots of it."
Women 'climax' more during lesbian sex - "While women often complain of their spouses’ inability to help them experience orgasm on a frequent basis, a recent survey reveals that females are more likely to ‘climax’ during lesbian sex than straight sex."
Vaccine aims to wipeout ear, sinus infections - "U.S. researchers said Tuesday that they are starting trials of a new vaccine aimed at wiping out childhood ear and sinus infections and many cases of bronchitis in adults."
Surgeons to Operate in Zero-Gravity - "Without gravity, things could float around." -- He's brilliant.
Quote of the Day
"History, as we know it, is a lie."
~ John Loengard, Dark Skies
No comments:
Post a Comment