Orwell at Guantanamo - "Here's what the Bush administration has done to the values, traditions and honor of the United States of America: An accused terrorist claims he confessed to heinous crimes so that agents of the U.S. government would stop torturing him, and no one is shocked or even surprised. There's reason to believe, in fact, that what the suspect says about torture is probably true. There's also reason to doubt that the suspect -- Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, held in U.S. custody without charges for more than four years -- is the Zelig-like innocent bystander he claims to be. But we can't be sure, because George W. Bush disgraced himself and his country by ordering extrajudicial kidnappings of suspects in the war on terror, indefinite secret detention and interrogation by "alternative" methods that the civilized world calls torture."
No more GWOT, House committee decrees - "The House Armed Services Committee is banishing the global war on terror from the 2008 defense budget. This is not because the war has been won, lost or even called off, but because the committee’s Democratic leadership doesn’t like the phrase. ... Also banned is the phrase the “long war,” which military officials began using last year as a way of acknowledging that military operations against terrorist states and organizations would not be wrapped up in a few years."
UK pilots asked to consider “kamikaze” scenario - "Royal Air Force pilots were asked by a senior RAF official to consider flying so-called “kamikaze” flights as part of the war on terror, the British defence ministry confirmed on Tuesday." -- Um, WTF?
Executive power hot topic at New Hampshire forums - "Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani yesterday defended President Bush's extensive use of national security tools such as the USA Patriot Act as no worse than other countries, but Sen. Barack Obama said he would use executive orders to roll back some of those powers."
Enemies Of Free Speech Launch 'Stop Rosie' Website, Petition - "You'll notice how these frothing Bush cheerleaders don't devote a website to challenging O'Donnell on the facts she has laid out because they can't win a debate on a level playing field, they have to resort to mob tactics and efforts to scare people into shutting down O'Donnell's free speech, just like Bill O'Reilly cuts off his guest's mic when he's losing an argument."
O'Reilly's America: Who Is The Real "Hater"? - "O'Donnell, Sheen, Anderson, Taylor, and myriad others are doing no such thing, they are in fact doing the exact opposite in taking on a provably corrupt and criminal Bush administration by encouraging the American people to question their government in an effort to protect American values and further prevent the spread of anti American hatred elsewhere."
Rosie O'Donnell Takes Fire in the Debate Over 9/11 - "Obscured by the predictable brouhaha were the rest of O'Donnell's comments. ... She said: "In America we are fed propaganda, and if you want to know what's happening in the world go outside of the U.S. media because it's owned by four corporations. One of them is this one (ABC). Go outside of the country to find out what's going on in our own country," she urged an audience of millions of security-moms tuned into America's favorite coffee klatch, "because it's frightening."
"I think Democracy is threatened in a way it hasn't been in 200 years and if America doesn't stand up, we're in big trouble," she said."
How the Right Uses People of Color to Foster Racism - "White supremacy, sensing the need to repackage itself for consumption in polite company, partially fills the demand for racist bile by outsourcing to mercenary writers of color. Michelle Malkin and Dinesh D'Souza -- of Filipino and Indian descent, respectively -- are top guns of the genre, ever eager to slander non-whites, especially Blacks, as threats to Euro-American white "civilization.""
Pope says rich nations "plundered" Third World - "Rich countries bent on power and profit have mercilessly "plundered and sacked" Africa and other poor regions and exported to them the "cynicism of a world without God," Pope Benedict writes in his first book. The Pope also condemns drug trafficking and sexual tourism, saying they are signs of a world brimming with "people who are empty" yet living among abundant material goods."
250 animals sacrificed in Kendrapada temple - "Despite protests by animal lovers and social activists, Dhani Sauti, a priest at the temple, was unmoved. "It's an old tradition. From time immemorial, devotees have been sacrificing animals in the temple on Chatya Purnima and Saptami during Dussehra. No one has the right to meddle with people's faith," he said." -- That last sentence is a rather dangerous comment to make.
Civilians could be facing mandatory anthrax shots - "Not only has the highly controversial anthrax vaccine returned as mandatory for members of the U.S. military, but now a medical expert who testified before Congress on the dangers of those shots is warning that under some circumstances civilians could be facing government-ordered anthrax vaccinations."
America's Forgotten War: A Series Overview - "Nearly four decades ago, President Richard Nixon launched the war on drugs. In 1969 he declared, "Winning the battle against drug abuse is one of the most important, the most urgent national priorities confronting the United States today." That battle has been waged through seven White House administrations; in recent years, experts estimate the costs have run close to $40 billion annually. It's been fought overseas, with programs to eradicate coca and heroin production in Latin America and Asia, and efforts to interdict drugs as they are smuggled into the country over land, sea and air. It's been fought on American streets, with a law-enforcement crackdown that has resulted in nearly a half-million imprisonments over the last few decades. And it's been fought in countless U.S. communities with programs to educate, prevent and treat abuse. But after all these battles and all these billions, what's been accomplished?"
Bush Approves U.S. Army for Africa - "UNITED States President George Bush has approved the formation of a U.S. army to permanently operate in Africa, a move viewed by many as part of a wide plan to increase American hegemony on Africa."
Big Brother barks? Govt unveils shouting CCTV cameras - "Talking" closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras which allow operators to shout at people behaving badly are to be installed across England, the government announced Wednesday."
'Talking' CCTV scolds offenders - ""Talking" CCTV cameras that tell off people dropping litter or committing anti-social behaviour are to be extended to 20 areas across England."
The Last Confessions of E. Howard Hunt - "After reading what his father had written, St. John was stunned too. His father had not only implicated LBJ, he'd also, with a few swift marks of a pen, put the lie to almost everything he'd sworn to, under oath, about his knowledge of the assassination."
Carson District judge calls offense 'natural impulse' - ""These kinds of offenses are problems with impulse control," said Carson City District Judge Bill Maddox prior to sentencing. "When I say that, it's my understanding that most men are sexually attracted to young women. When I say young women I don't just mean women that ... you should be attracted to. I mean women from the time they're 1 all the way up until they're 100.""
Human brain parasite precisely alters fear - "But a new study shows the parasite, which also infects more half the world's human population, seems to target a rat's fear of cat urine with almost surgical precision, leaving other kinds of fear alone. This discovery could shed light "on how fear is generated in the first place" and how people can potentially better manage phobias, researcher Ajai Vyas, a Stanford University neuroscientist, told LiveScience." -- Now think about the soldiers of the future.
Red meat 'raises risk of breast cancer' - "As little as 2oz (57g) of beef, lamb or pork a day showed an effect."
Stay away from Vista for now - "If you are considering getting the Vista computer operating system, DON'T."
Schools refuse gifts of 'boring' classics - "Dozens of schools have rejected gifts of free classic books because today's pupils find them too 'difficult' to read, it has emerged. Around 50 schools have refused to stock literary works by the likes of Jane Austen, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens after admitting that youngsters also find them boring."
Quote of the Day
"And can you hear the sound of hysteria?"
~ Green Day
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