THE ARCHITECTS OF WAR: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? - "President Bush has not fired any of the architects of the Iraq war. In fact, a review of the key planners of the conflict reveals that they have been rewarded – not blamed – for their incompetence." -- A terrific list of the players involved.
Bush and neocons beating war drums for attack on Iran - "It’s surely mind-boggling that so many consider Iran the greatest threat when it is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and there is absolutely no proof that it is developing nuclear weapons. Conversely, Israel isn’t, though it has at least 200 nuclear warheads pointing at Middle Eastern states, nuclear-armed submarines patrolling the Gulf, and has actually threatened to bomb Iranian nuclear sites, just as it did Iraq’s Osirak reactor in June 1981."
John McCain on The Daily Show - "Has John McCain's Straight Talk Express been re-routed through Bullshittown? You know who we could ask — Senator John McCain! Senator, what's going on? I heard this crazy story that Senator John McCain is giving the commencement address at Jerry Falwell's university."
David Ray Griffin: Theologian scoffed at 9/11 conspiracy theories, then looked closer - "Griffin began to delve into 9/11 conspiracy theories after looking at a time line of the events of Sept. 11, 2001 (by Paul Thompson, who later turned it into a book) on the Internet. He found himself swayed by the catalog of inconsistencies and strange coincidences."
'Iraq was awash in cash. We played football with bricks of $100 bills' - "At the beginning of the Iraq war, the UN entrusted $23bn of Iraqi money to the US-led coalition to redevelop the country. With the infrastructure of the country still in ruins, where has all that money gone? Callum Macrae and Ali Fadhil on one of the greatest financial scandals of all time."
How the GOP Became God's Own Party - "Now that the GOP has been transformed by the rise of the South, the trauma of terrorism and George W. Bush's conviction that God wanted him to be president, a deeper conclusion can be drawn: The Republican Party has become the first religious party in U.S. history. ... The United States has organized much of its military posture since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks around the protection of oil fields, pipelines and sea lanes. But U.S. preoccupation with the Middle East has another dimension. In addition to its concerns with oil and terrorism, the White House is courting end-times theologians and electorates for whom the Holy Lands are a battleground of Christian destiny. Both pursuits -- oil and biblical expectations -- require a dissimulation in Washington that undercuts the U.S. tradition of commitment to the role of an informed electorate."
Bush's Unprecedented Arrogance - "Never in history has a president asserted claims to such unchecked power."
Several House Republicans call for debate on Iraq war, breaking with GOP leadership - "Three of the Republicans announced at a press conference today that they would sign H. Res 543, a "discharge petition" being pushed by anti-war groups that would force a debate on the House floor over the objections of House GOP leadership. In order to force the debate, the petition needs 218 members' signatures."
Remember When? - "REMEMBER WHEN your tax dollars paid for things like improved education and social programs, instead of making Halliburton shareholders millionaires? ... REMEMBER WHEN you could rely on your elected representatives to put your interests ahead of the corporations that filled their campaign coffers, or the lobbyists who gave them great basketball tickets? REMEMBER WHEN you didn’t even KNOW what religion the people you voted for were, because it didn’t really matter? Remember when you didn’t know what party your neighbour belonged to, because that didn’t really matter either? ... REMEMBER WHEN your parents worked all their lives to ensure you a better life, instead of worrying about how bad the life they’d be leaving their children might be? ... REMEMBER WHEN questioning your government’s policies was seen as ‘participating in the process’, and not ‘giving aid and comfort to the enemy’?"
Police Uncover New Duke Lacrosse E-Mail - "Hours after an exotic dancer was allegedly raped by members of the Duke University lacrosse team, a player apparently sent an e-mail saying he wanted to invite more strippers to his dorm room, kill them and skin them. It was not clear whether the message was serious or a joke."
Dr. Death & The Religion Of Genocide - "The furore surrounding the comments of Professor Eric R. Pianka, who told a crowd at Arlington UT that 90% of the world population need to be culled to solve overpopulation, have been characterized on the one hand by an expected outrage but on the other by a sycophantic mainstream media who have collaborated to spin the story and obfuscate the real issues."
Professor Predicts Human Time Travel This Century - " With a brilliant idea and equations based on Einstein’s relativity theories, Ronald Mallett from the University of Connecticut has devised an experiment to observe a time traveling neutron in a circulating light beam. While his team still needs funding for the project, Mallett calculates that the possibility of time travel using this method could be verified within a decade."
The Universe trapped in its own web - "Galaxy formation theories predicted such an effect, but its empirical verification has remained elusive until now."
April 5, 2006
News -- April 5, 2006
The CIA Passed Nuclear Weapons Technology To Iran - "Ignored in this media coverage and diplomacy is the fact that any Iranian program successfully building nuclear weapons will owe much to the US intelligence community that handed Iran detailed technical blueprints for a nuclear weapon trigger. Just as the pre-war coverage of Iraq’s chemical and biological weapons programs conveniently failed to mention that most of Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction came from the US and NATO, so too are the inconvenient facts about the history of Iran’s nuclear program being hushed up."
Rice Dismisses Talk of U.S. Bases in Iraq - "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday brushed aside suggestions that the United States wants an indefinite troop presence and permanent military bases in Iraq." -- I don't believe you, Condi.
Study: Bush tax cuts making rich richer - "The newspaper's tax cut analysis showed that more than 70 percent of the tax savings on investment income went to the top 2 percent, about 2.6 million taxpayers. And the savings from the investment tax cuts are expected to be larger in subsequent years because of gains in the stock market. Congress is now debating whether to make the Bush tax cuts permanent."
Playing The Clash made man a terror suspect - "A mobile phone salesman was hauled off a plane and questioned for three hours as a terror suspect - because he listened to songs by The Clash and Led Zeppelin. Harraj Mann, 24, played the punk anthem London Calling and classic rock track Immigrant Song in a taxi before a flight to London. The lyrics to both tracks made the driver fear his passenger was a terrorist. ... He said he was told he was being questioned under the Terrorism Act and his choice of music had aroused suspicions."
Rebuilding needs, here and there - "For the most part, America's managerial class does not use public transportation and is unaware of the extent of crumbling infrastructure, from public schools to unsafe neighborhoods. Nor, as Congress grapples with immigration reform, has anyone raised the social, economic and legal costs arising from this witch's brew of failing infrastructure, illegal aliens, health care and rampant crime."
Feingold says he supports gay marriage - "Sen. Russ Feingold said Tuesday he supports giving gays and lesbians the right to marry, becoming the fourth U.S. senator to take that position, according to a gay-rights advocacy group."
Same-Sex Marriage Lands Before Court - "A lawyer for a gay couple suing for the right to wed argued before a federal appeals panel that it is unconstitutional to outlaw same-sex marriage. ... Richard Gilbert, the couple's attorney, said procreation is not the important element of marriage, and Judge Sidney Thomas appeared to agree. "I don't understand, really, the procreation argument," Thomas said." -- The procreation argument cracks me up. So, using their logic, infertile heterosexual couples should not be allowed to marry because they can not procreate.
Same sex marriage veto 'not anti-gay' - "The federal government's opposition to the ACT's proposed laws on same sex marriages is not an anti-homosexual gesture, Prime Minister John Howard says." -- Huh? Orwell rolls again.
Mass. Lawmakers OK Mandatory Health Bill - "Lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a bill Tuesday that would make Massachusetts the first state to require that all its citizens have some form of health insurance. ... If all goes as planned, poor people will be offered free or heavily subsidized coverage; those who can afford insurance but refuse to get it will face increasing tax penalties until they obtain coverage; and those already insured will see a modest drop in their premiums."
Doctor flies into South Dakota to perform abortions - "Not a single doctor in South Dakota will perform an abortion, which is why Dr. Miriam McCreary has come out of retirement. Once or twice a month, the 70-year-old grandmother takes a 45-minute flight from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to perform abortions at the last clinic in the state willing to offer the procedure."
Sex tourism thriving in Bible Belt - "In a sleazy hotel room, "Brittany," then aged 16 and drugged into oblivion, waited for the men to arrive. Her pimps sent as many as 17 clients an evening through the door. ... It took place in Atlanta, the buckle of the U.S. Bible Belt, where the world's busiest passenger airport provides a cheaper, more convenient and safer underage sex destination for men seeking girls as young as 10. "Men fly in, are met by pimps, have sex with a 14-year-old for lunch, and get home in time for dinner with the family," said Sanford Jones, the chief juvenile judge of Fulton County, Georgia. ... "People are stunned that Atlanta's the No. 1 sex center in the country," said Steinberg. The FBI has identified 14 U.S. cities as centers for the sexual exploitation of children. In addition to Atlanta, they are Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis, Tampa, and Washington, D.C. ... The risks are worth it. While there are few reliable statistics, child sexual exploitation is believed to be the world's third-biggest money maker for organized crime, said Stephanie Davis, policy adviser to Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. One reason for the demand is the false assumption that youths are disease-free. ... "This is a place where you can buy, sell or rent kids. It must be stopped.""
Religion, politics fuel U.S. decline - "As he's done in so many of his earlier books, Phillips draws a lot of detailed analogies in these pages, using demographics, economic statistics and broader cultural trends to map macropatterns throughout history. In analyzing the fates of Rome, Hapsburg Spain, the Dutch Republic, Britain, and the United States, he comes up with five symptoms of "a power already at its peak and starting to decline": 1) "widespread public concern over cultural and economic decay," along with social polarization and a widening gap between rich and poor; 2) "growing religious fervor" manifested in a close state-church relationship and escalating missionary zeal; 3) "a rising commitment to faith as opposed to reason and a corollary downplaying of science"; 4) "considerable popular anticipation of a millennial time frame"; and 5) "hubris-driven national strategic and military overreach" in pursuit of "abstract international missions that the nation can no longer afford, economically or politically." Added to these symptoms, he writes, is a sixth one, almost too obvious to state: high debt, which can become "crippling in its own right." Phillips methodically proceeds to show how each of these symptoms applied to great powers like the Dutch Republic and the British empire in the past, and how they apply to the United States today."
"Wake Up America" Ad Campaign Runs on National Air America - "The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national watchdog group whose members are atheists and agnostics working to keep church and state separate, is taking its "Wake up America" message to national airwaves."
40% lose virginity by 14th b'day, survey sez - "A new survey shows four out of 10 city kids say they have had intercourse before age 14, and have engaged in oral and even anal sex by 17."
The evolution of clots - "Scientists, unlike creationists, do not know everything, but as they learn more, every such claim has been rubbished. Evolution is not mocked but glorified by life's intricacy. ID is a bad idea, but has generated lots of good research, all of which shows how inane it is. ... What use is part of a clot? Much better, in fact, than no clot at all. Plenty of animals manage with just a few parts of the machinery and DNA shows that - like the eye - the rickety apparatus that stops us from bleeding was assembled from random bits that just happened to be hanging around. "
Evolution debate shifts to textbooks - "In a 3-to-2 vote, a House education subcommittee authorized the addition of language to a Senate bill that directs the state Board of Education to approve only textbooks that “emphasize critical thinking and analysis in each academic content.” ... Most science educators reject attempts to inject the phrase “critical thinking” into lessons about evolution because they insist it invites religious discussions — specifically about creation — that are difficult to prove."
Challenging false prophets - "People have a right to believe whatever they like, including irrational beliefs. In fact, we all have irrational beliefs, in a certain sense. We have to. If I walk out the door, I have an irrational belief that the floor is there. Can I prove it? You know if I’m paying attention to it I see that it’s there, but I can’t prove it. In fact, if you’re a scientist, you don’t prove anything. The sciences don’t have proofs, what they have is surmises. There’s a lot of nonsense these days about evolution being just a theory. Everything’s just a theory, including classical physics! If you want proofs you go to arithmetic; in arithmetic you can prove things. But you stipulate the axioms. But in the sciences you’re trying to discover things, and the notion of proof doesn’t exist."
Religion on Top - "But mention religion in the title and you can hear the posters coming - sounds like a swarm of bees. So no interest on HuffPost in the coming real catastrophe, but endless fascination with imaginary friends and people's right to have them, and the absolute prohibition on anyone suggesting that they are imaginary."
Episcopalians consider freeze on gay bishops - "U.S. Episcopal leaders will try to safeguard their membership in the worldwide Anglican Communion by holding back, at least until 2008, on electing new homosexual bishops and on allowing same-sex unions, according to two Episcopal bishops."
Google map used to bolster missile claim - "A researcher of the TWA Flight 800 downing says his use of the map program Google Earth to verify the claims of witnesses bolsters his belief that the 747 jetliner was shot down by a missile, contrary to the official explanation."
Concern Grows Over College Gender Gap - "After years of trying to lure young women to college, some universities are now trying to attract more men. The number of girls going to college has been rising for 30 years. For many people, that's cause for celebration. But there's also concern over what's happening to boys. ... Joe Manthey, Kid Culture In Schools: "By the year 2020, it's estimated that its going to be two-thirds female." Right now, 57-percent of college students are women. Forty-three percent are men."
Local Bar Favors TABC's "SIPS" Program; Disagrees With National Criticism - "The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission's public intoxication sting program hit the national spotlight in recent days, which has resulted in negative responses from people nationwide. ... "Their officers going around to bars in the city, it helps everybody out. It's a win-win for everybody, it keeps customers safe, it keeps us safe, and it keeps them from breaking the law," said Fontes."
Tensions Prompt School To Alter Dress Code - "Students at Shaw Heights Middle School are no longer allowed to wear anything that is patriotic, including camouflage pants, because they have become a political symbol for a version of patriotism, CBS4 reports."
More Children and Men Getting Fat - "According to the government's most accurate recent check of the nation's girth, U.S. men and children are increasingly tipping the scales. But the obesity rate among women — who at 33 percent are heavier as a group — held steady."
Polyester fabric neutralizes stun gun jolt - "A consulting firm with a background in lightning warning systems has come up with a fabric that takes the powerful sting out of being hit with a stun gun or a cattle prod."
New Dinosaur Resembles Large Turkey - "Fossils discovered in southern Utah are from a new species of birdlike dinosaur that resembled a 7-foot-tall brightly colored turkey and could run up to 25 mph, scientists said Tuesday."
Quote of the Day
"People want the world to make sense."
~ Lt. Stanton, Fallen
Rice Dismisses Talk of U.S. Bases in Iraq - "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday brushed aside suggestions that the United States wants an indefinite troop presence and permanent military bases in Iraq." -- I don't believe you, Condi.
Study: Bush tax cuts making rich richer - "The newspaper's tax cut analysis showed that more than 70 percent of the tax savings on investment income went to the top 2 percent, about 2.6 million taxpayers. And the savings from the investment tax cuts are expected to be larger in subsequent years because of gains in the stock market. Congress is now debating whether to make the Bush tax cuts permanent."
Playing The Clash made man a terror suspect - "A mobile phone salesman was hauled off a plane and questioned for three hours as a terror suspect - because he listened to songs by The Clash and Led Zeppelin. Harraj Mann, 24, played the punk anthem London Calling and classic rock track Immigrant Song in a taxi before a flight to London. The lyrics to both tracks made the driver fear his passenger was a terrorist. ... He said he was told he was being questioned under the Terrorism Act and his choice of music had aroused suspicions."
Rebuilding needs, here and there - "For the most part, America's managerial class does not use public transportation and is unaware of the extent of crumbling infrastructure, from public schools to unsafe neighborhoods. Nor, as Congress grapples with immigration reform, has anyone raised the social, economic and legal costs arising from this witch's brew of failing infrastructure, illegal aliens, health care and rampant crime."
Feingold says he supports gay marriage - "Sen. Russ Feingold said Tuesday he supports giving gays and lesbians the right to marry, becoming the fourth U.S. senator to take that position, according to a gay-rights advocacy group."
Same-Sex Marriage Lands Before Court - "A lawyer for a gay couple suing for the right to wed argued before a federal appeals panel that it is unconstitutional to outlaw same-sex marriage. ... Richard Gilbert, the couple's attorney, said procreation is not the important element of marriage, and Judge Sidney Thomas appeared to agree. "I don't understand, really, the procreation argument," Thomas said." -- The procreation argument cracks me up. So, using their logic, infertile heterosexual couples should not be allowed to marry because they can not procreate.
Same sex marriage veto 'not anti-gay' - "The federal government's opposition to the ACT's proposed laws on same sex marriages is not an anti-homosexual gesture, Prime Minister John Howard says." -- Huh? Orwell rolls again.
Mass. Lawmakers OK Mandatory Health Bill - "Lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a bill Tuesday that would make Massachusetts the first state to require that all its citizens have some form of health insurance. ... If all goes as planned, poor people will be offered free or heavily subsidized coverage; those who can afford insurance but refuse to get it will face increasing tax penalties until they obtain coverage; and those already insured will see a modest drop in their premiums."
Doctor flies into South Dakota to perform abortions - "Not a single doctor in South Dakota will perform an abortion, which is why Dr. Miriam McCreary has come out of retirement. Once or twice a month, the 70-year-old grandmother takes a 45-minute flight from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to perform abortions at the last clinic in the state willing to offer the procedure."
Sex tourism thriving in Bible Belt - "In a sleazy hotel room, "Brittany," then aged 16 and drugged into oblivion, waited for the men to arrive. Her pimps sent as many as 17 clients an evening through the door. ... It took place in Atlanta, the buckle of the U.S. Bible Belt, where the world's busiest passenger airport provides a cheaper, more convenient and safer underage sex destination for men seeking girls as young as 10. "Men fly in, are met by pimps, have sex with a 14-year-old for lunch, and get home in time for dinner with the family," said Sanford Jones, the chief juvenile judge of Fulton County, Georgia. ... "People are stunned that Atlanta's the No. 1 sex center in the country," said Steinberg. The FBI has identified 14 U.S. cities as centers for the sexual exploitation of children. In addition to Atlanta, they are Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis, Tampa, and Washington, D.C. ... The risks are worth it. While there are few reliable statistics, child sexual exploitation is believed to be the world's third-biggest money maker for organized crime, said Stephanie Davis, policy adviser to Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. One reason for the demand is the false assumption that youths are disease-free. ... "This is a place where you can buy, sell or rent kids. It must be stopped.""
Religion, politics fuel U.S. decline - "As he's done in so many of his earlier books, Phillips draws a lot of detailed analogies in these pages, using demographics, economic statistics and broader cultural trends to map macropatterns throughout history. In analyzing the fates of Rome, Hapsburg Spain, the Dutch Republic, Britain, and the United States, he comes up with five symptoms of "a power already at its peak and starting to decline": 1) "widespread public concern over cultural and economic decay," along with social polarization and a widening gap between rich and poor; 2) "growing religious fervor" manifested in a close state-church relationship and escalating missionary zeal; 3) "a rising commitment to faith as opposed to reason and a corollary downplaying of science"; 4) "considerable popular anticipation of a millennial time frame"; and 5) "hubris-driven national strategic and military overreach" in pursuit of "abstract international missions that the nation can no longer afford, economically or politically." Added to these symptoms, he writes, is a sixth one, almost too obvious to state: high debt, which can become "crippling in its own right." Phillips methodically proceeds to show how each of these symptoms applied to great powers like the Dutch Republic and the British empire in the past, and how they apply to the United States today."
"Wake Up America" Ad Campaign Runs on National Air America - "The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national watchdog group whose members are atheists and agnostics working to keep church and state separate, is taking its "Wake up America" message to national airwaves."
40% lose virginity by 14th b'day, survey sez - "A new survey shows four out of 10 city kids say they have had intercourse before age 14, and have engaged in oral and even anal sex by 17."
The evolution of clots - "Scientists, unlike creationists, do not know everything, but as they learn more, every such claim has been rubbished. Evolution is not mocked but glorified by life's intricacy. ID is a bad idea, but has generated lots of good research, all of which shows how inane it is. ... What use is part of a clot? Much better, in fact, than no clot at all. Plenty of animals manage with just a few parts of the machinery and DNA shows that - like the eye - the rickety apparatus that stops us from bleeding was assembled from random bits that just happened to be hanging around. "
Evolution debate shifts to textbooks - "In a 3-to-2 vote, a House education subcommittee authorized the addition of language to a Senate bill that directs the state Board of Education to approve only textbooks that “emphasize critical thinking and analysis in each academic content.” ... Most science educators reject attempts to inject the phrase “critical thinking” into lessons about evolution because they insist it invites religious discussions — specifically about creation — that are difficult to prove."
Challenging false prophets - "People have a right to believe whatever they like, including irrational beliefs. In fact, we all have irrational beliefs, in a certain sense. We have to. If I walk out the door, I have an irrational belief that the floor is there. Can I prove it? You know if I’m paying attention to it I see that it’s there, but I can’t prove it. In fact, if you’re a scientist, you don’t prove anything. The sciences don’t have proofs, what they have is surmises. There’s a lot of nonsense these days about evolution being just a theory. Everything’s just a theory, including classical physics! If you want proofs you go to arithmetic; in arithmetic you can prove things. But you stipulate the axioms. But in the sciences you’re trying to discover things, and the notion of proof doesn’t exist."
Religion on Top - "But mention religion in the title and you can hear the posters coming - sounds like a swarm of bees. So no interest on HuffPost in the coming real catastrophe, but endless fascination with imaginary friends and people's right to have them, and the absolute prohibition on anyone suggesting that they are imaginary."
Episcopalians consider freeze on gay bishops - "U.S. Episcopal leaders will try to safeguard their membership in the worldwide Anglican Communion by holding back, at least until 2008, on electing new homosexual bishops and on allowing same-sex unions, according to two Episcopal bishops."
Google map used to bolster missile claim - "A researcher of the TWA Flight 800 downing says his use of the map program Google Earth to verify the claims of witnesses bolsters his belief that the 747 jetliner was shot down by a missile, contrary to the official explanation."
Concern Grows Over College Gender Gap - "After years of trying to lure young women to college, some universities are now trying to attract more men. The number of girls going to college has been rising for 30 years. For many people, that's cause for celebration. But there's also concern over what's happening to boys. ... Joe Manthey, Kid Culture In Schools: "By the year 2020, it's estimated that its going to be two-thirds female." Right now, 57-percent of college students are women. Forty-three percent are men."
Local Bar Favors TABC's "SIPS" Program; Disagrees With National Criticism - "The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission's public intoxication sting program hit the national spotlight in recent days, which has resulted in negative responses from people nationwide. ... "Their officers going around to bars in the city, it helps everybody out. It's a win-win for everybody, it keeps customers safe, it keeps us safe, and it keeps them from breaking the law," said Fontes."
Tensions Prompt School To Alter Dress Code - "Students at Shaw Heights Middle School are no longer allowed to wear anything that is patriotic, including camouflage pants, because they have become a political symbol for a version of patriotism, CBS4 reports."
More Children and Men Getting Fat - "According to the government's most accurate recent check of the nation's girth, U.S. men and children are increasingly tipping the scales. But the obesity rate among women — who at 33 percent are heavier as a group — held steady."
Polyester fabric neutralizes stun gun jolt - "A consulting firm with a background in lightning warning systems has come up with a fabric that takes the powerful sting out of being hit with a stun gun or a cattle prod."
New Dinosaur Resembles Large Turkey - "Fossils discovered in southern Utah are from a new species of birdlike dinosaur that resembled a 7-foot-tall brightly colored turkey and could run up to 25 mph, scientists said Tuesday."
Quote of the Day
"People want the world to make sense."
~ Lt. Stanton, Fallen
April 4, 2006
News (Page 2) -- April 4, 2006
When War Crimes Are Impossible - "Is President Bush guilty of war crimes? To even ask the question is to go far beyond the boundaries of mainstream U.S. media. ... In medialand, when the subject is war crimes, the president of the United States points the finger at others. Any suggestion that Bush should face such a charge is assumed to be oxymoronic. But a few journalists, outside the corporate media structures, are seriously probing Bush's culpability for war crimes. One of them is Robert Parry. ... Although the evidence is ample that President Bush led the way to aggressive warfare against Iraq, the mainstream U.S. news media keep proceeding on the assumption that -- when the subject is war crimes -- he's well cast as an accuser but should never be viewed as an appropriate defendant."
How Massacres Become the Norm - "US soldiers killing innocent civilians in Iraq is not news. Just as it was not news that US soldiers slaughtered countless innocent civilians in Vietnam. However, when some rare reportage of this non news from Iraq does seep through the cracks of the corporate media, albeit briefly, the American public seems shocked. Private and public statements of denial and dismissal immediately start to fill the air. We hear, "American soldiers would never do such a thing," or "Who would make such a ridiculous claim?" It amazes me that so many people in the US today somehow seriously believe that American soldiers would never kill civilians. Despite the fact that they are in a no-win guerrilla war in Iraq which, like any other guerrilla war, always generates more civilian casualties than combatant casualties on either side."
Iraq much worse off than before we "liberated" it - "In 1980, Ronald Reagan's chances to unseat Jimmy Carter improved dramatically when he asked one simple question of Americans during a debate: "Are you better off now then you were four years ago?" With inflation running rampant, Americans held hostage in Iran and mortgage rates at 18 percent, the answer from the masses came back a resounding: "No!." Today, if you asked the average Iraqi the same question you would get the same answer."
Silence in class - "University professors denounced for anti-Americanism; schoolteachers suspended for their politics; students encouraged to report on their tutors. Are US campuses in the grip of a witch-hunt of progressives, or is academic life just too liberal?" -- This is nothing but browbeating subjects into submission so that questions are never asked. This is more proof that humans, as a species, are nothing but violent, closed-minded, and controlling. Most of us don't respect opinions different from our own and would rather "imprison" those who think differently rather than rethink our own beliefs for fear that we may be wrong. People would rather be wrong than not agree with the masses. Critical thought is thrown away for acceptance, for patriotism, for fear. If a vicious attack is underway against someone, then more than likely there is some truth to the validity of the attacked person's claim. They must have gotten a little too close to the truth. It is true: If you are not pissed off, then you are not paying attention.
Anti-Israel bias at colleges scrutinized - "The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, responding to allegations that an anti-Israel bias is rampant on college campuses, approved recommendations Monday aimed at ensuring that Jewish college students are protected from anti-Semitic harassment."
Senior China official urges cut in US debt holding - "China should trim its holdings of U.S. debt, a senior Chinese official said, rattling markets on Tuesday in the run-up to a visit by President Hu Jintao to Washington this month. As China is a leading financier of the U.S. current account deficit and holds the world's largest foreign exchange reserves, the comments from Cheng Siwei, a vice chief of the national parliament, sent the dollar and U.S. government bonds lower." -- If you didn't know, the Chinese own the U.S.
2008 : A premature preview - "I've been doing a little thinking about the upcoming 2008 election. Specifically, who among the Democrats will run, and which ones I would vote for in the primary. So for this post, I will go through some of the potential candidates and give my short opinion."
PLAYS, FILMS, CARTOONS - "During all the cartoon row, which I personally think was deliberatly whipped up by leaders in all of the places to help foster an Us against them attitude, one of the things that kept being repeated was that christians don't go nuts like that when someone slags off their religion. So I thought I should compile a little list..."
Please Allow Me to Rant - "What nearly caused the catapult-ulation of my Coolmints Icebreakers onto my Samsung LCD monitor was a mere number. Two trillion dollars, to be exact. That's two thousand billion dollars, not exactly chump change, so to speak. What will really blow your mind is if you put that amount in perspective with what Congress was told it was going to cost to fight the war in Iraq, a mere 60 billion dollars."
Jesus Could Have Walked on Ice, Scientist Says - "Rare conditions could have conspired to create hard-to-see ice on the Sea of Galilee that a person could have walked on back when Jesus is said to have walked on water, a scientist said today."
Vanishing Acts - "The world's treasures are under siege as never before. So get out and see as many as possible—before they disappear."
Here be dragons - "With luck, you may soon be able to buy a mythological pet. ... Making a mythical creature real is not easy. But GeneDupe's team of biologists and computer scientists reckon they are equal to the task. Their secret is a new field, which they call “virtual cell biology”. ... Using this rapid evolutionary process, GeneDupe's scientists have arrived at genomes for a range of mythological creatures—in a computer, at least. The next stage, on which they are just embarking, is to do it for real." -- I really don't know what to say. Dragons? They are trying to create real live dragons?
Self-Parking Cars Coming To U.S. - "Vehicles that are able to parallel park themselves while drivers sit and relax behind the wheel are coming to the United States, according to a Local 6 News report."
Rooms in Exchange for Sex - "In Atlanta, an online ad offers a room in exchange for "sex and light office duty." In Los Angeles, a one-bedroom pool house is free "to a girl that is skilled and willing." And in New York City, a $700-a-month room is available at a discount to a fit female willing to provide sex. ... "The mere posting itself is absolutely not illegal," said Anthony Lowenstein, a defense lawyer in San Francisco, "unless the guy who posts it or the person who answers it does something that makes it a little closer to happening.""
How Massacres Become the Norm - "US soldiers killing innocent civilians in Iraq is not news. Just as it was not news that US soldiers slaughtered countless innocent civilians in Vietnam. However, when some rare reportage of this non news from Iraq does seep through the cracks of the corporate media, albeit briefly, the American public seems shocked. Private and public statements of denial and dismissal immediately start to fill the air. We hear, "American soldiers would never do such a thing," or "Who would make such a ridiculous claim?" It amazes me that so many people in the US today somehow seriously believe that American soldiers would never kill civilians. Despite the fact that they are in a no-win guerrilla war in Iraq which, like any other guerrilla war, always generates more civilian casualties than combatant casualties on either side."
Iraq much worse off than before we "liberated" it - "In 1980, Ronald Reagan's chances to unseat Jimmy Carter improved dramatically when he asked one simple question of Americans during a debate: "Are you better off now then you were four years ago?" With inflation running rampant, Americans held hostage in Iran and mortgage rates at 18 percent, the answer from the masses came back a resounding: "No!." Today, if you asked the average Iraqi the same question you would get the same answer."
Silence in class - "University professors denounced for anti-Americanism; schoolteachers suspended for their politics; students encouraged to report on their tutors. Are US campuses in the grip of a witch-hunt of progressives, or is academic life just too liberal?" -- This is nothing but browbeating subjects into submission so that questions are never asked. This is more proof that humans, as a species, are nothing but violent, closed-minded, and controlling. Most of us don't respect opinions different from our own and would rather "imprison" those who think differently rather than rethink our own beliefs for fear that we may be wrong. People would rather be wrong than not agree with the masses. Critical thought is thrown away for acceptance, for patriotism, for fear. If a vicious attack is underway against someone, then more than likely there is some truth to the validity of the attacked person's claim. They must have gotten a little too close to the truth. It is true: If you are not pissed off, then you are not paying attention.
Anti-Israel bias at colleges scrutinized - "The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, responding to allegations that an anti-Israel bias is rampant on college campuses, approved recommendations Monday aimed at ensuring that Jewish college students are protected from anti-Semitic harassment."
Senior China official urges cut in US debt holding - "China should trim its holdings of U.S. debt, a senior Chinese official said, rattling markets on Tuesday in the run-up to a visit by President Hu Jintao to Washington this month. As China is a leading financier of the U.S. current account deficit and holds the world's largest foreign exchange reserves, the comments from Cheng Siwei, a vice chief of the national parliament, sent the dollar and U.S. government bonds lower." -- If you didn't know, the Chinese own the U.S.
2008 : A premature preview - "I've been doing a little thinking about the upcoming 2008 election. Specifically, who among the Democrats will run, and which ones I would vote for in the primary. So for this post, I will go through some of the potential candidates and give my short opinion."
PLAYS, FILMS, CARTOONS - "During all the cartoon row, which I personally think was deliberatly whipped up by leaders in all of the places to help foster an Us against them attitude, one of the things that kept being repeated was that christians don't go nuts like that when someone slags off their religion. So I thought I should compile a little list..."
Please Allow Me to Rant - "What nearly caused the catapult-ulation of my Coolmints Icebreakers onto my Samsung LCD monitor was a mere number. Two trillion dollars, to be exact. That's two thousand billion dollars, not exactly chump change, so to speak. What will really blow your mind is if you put that amount in perspective with what Congress was told it was going to cost to fight the war in Iraq, a mere 60 billion dollars."
Jesus Could Have Walked on Ice, Scientist Says - "Rare conditions could have conspired to create hard-to-see ice on the Sea of Galilee that a person could have walked on back when Jesus is said to have walked on water, a scientist said today."
Vanishing Acts - "The world's treasures are under siege as never before. So get out and see as many as possible—before they disappear."
Here be dragons - "With luck, you may soon be able to buy a mythological pet. ... Making a mythical creature real is not easy. But GeneDupe's team of biologists and computer scientists reckon they are equal to the task. Their secret is a new field, which they call “virtual cell biology”. ... Using this rapid evolutionary process, GeneDupe's scientists have arrived at genomes for a range of mythological creatures—in a computer, at least. The next stage, on which they are just embarking, is to do it for real." -- I really don't know what to say. Dragons? They are trying to create real live dragons?
Self-Parking Cars Coming To U.S. - "Vehicles that are able to parallel park themselves while drivers sit and relax behind the wheel are coming to the United States, according to a Local 6 News report."
Rooms in Exchange for Sex - "In Atlanta, an online ad offers a room in exchange for "sex and light office duty." In Los Angeles, a one-bedroom pool house is free "to a girl that is skilled and willing." And in New York City, a $700-a-month room is available at a discount to a fit female willing to provide sex. ... "The mere posting itself is absolutely not illegal," said Anthony Lowenstein, a defense lawyer in San Francisco, "unless the guy who posts it or the person who answers it does something that makes it a little closer to happening.""
News -- April 4, 2006
Former Head Of Star Wars Program Says Cheney Main 9/11 Suspect - "The former head of the Star Wars missile defense program under Presidents Ford and Carter has gone public to say that the official version of 9/11 is a conspiracy theory and his main suspect for the architect of the attack is Vice President Dick Cheney."
Blix: Iran Years Away From Nuclear Bomb - "Former U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said Monday that Iran is a least five years away from developing a nuclear bomb, leaving time to peacefully negotiate a settlement."
Hussein charged with genocide - "Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been charged for the first time with genocide, Iraqi chief investigative judge Ra'id Juhi announced Tuesday."
West accused of fiddling figures on Iraq aid - "Britain and other Western nations are using huge debt write-offs to Iraq to boost development aid statistics and give a misleading impression of their generosity to the Third World, campaigners say. ... A report released yesterday by non-governmental organisations said that, while the countries were not breaking international rules, they were misleading the public."
Reid calls for Geneva Convention to be rewritten - ""We risk trying to fight 21st-century conflict with 20th-century rules which, when they were devised, did not contemplate the type of enemy which is now extant," he said. "The laws of the 20th century placed constraints on us all which enhanced peace and protected liberty. We must ask ourselves whether, as the new century begins, they will do the same."" -- Hasn't terrorism always been around? It's not new to the 21st century.
Chávez seeks to peg oil at $50 a barrel - "A long-term agreement at that price could allow Venezuela to count its huge deposits of heavy crude as part of its official reserves, which Caracas says would give it more oil than Saudi Arabia. "We have the largest oil reserves in the world, we have oil for 200 years." Mr Chávez told the BBC's Newsnight programme in an interview to be broadcast tonight. "$50 a barrel - that's a fair price, not a high price.""
Obama: Dems Should Stress Oil Independence - "Democrats should stress energy independence, education improvement and science investment in the 2008 presidential campaign, Sen. Barack Obama said Monday. He laughed off a question on whether he wants a place on the ticket."
US Media Dead Silent On Israel Lobby Report - "Never before have the mainstream US media performed so atrociously, if not discouragingly, as they did this month when the editors ignored a damning report by two prominent university professors who are on the faculties of some of the country's most respectable institutions, Harvard University and the University of Chicago." -- And that speaks volumes.
Straight Out of Science Fiction: Organs Engineered in a Lab - "The news is being hailed as a medical milestone: Several years after receiving new bladders engineered entirely in a laboratory, seven young patients are all still healthy. ... The neo-bladder is just one of many different forms of tissue engineering currently being explored. Bone and skin regeneration already exists, and in the future, parts of or entire complex organs like the heart may even be replicated in a laboratory."
DeLay to quit campaign, step down from Congress - "Rep. Tom DeLay, the Texas Republican who stepped down as House majority leader last year, will abandon his re-election bid and resign his seat in coming months, sources on Capitol Hill say."
UT professor criticized over comments about impending pandemic - "A University of Texas biology professor has been targeted by talk radio, bloggers and vitriolic e-mails _ including a death threat _ after a published report that he advocated death for most of the population as a means of saving the Earth. But Eric Pianka said Monday his remarks about what he believes is an impending pandemic were taken out of context. "What we really need to do is start thinking about controlling our population before it's too late," he said. "It's already too late, but we're not even thinking about it. We're just mindlessly rushing ahead breeding our brains out.""
Churchgoers Live Longer - "The study, which is actually a review of existing research from the three categories, does not reveal what the link between faith and health might be. "Religious attendance is not a mode of medical therapy," said study leader Daniel Hall, a resident in general surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "While this study was not intended for use in clinical decision making, these findings tell us that there is something to examine further." Hall is also an Episcopal priest."
Stockpile human bird flu vaccine now, say experts - "Countries should stockpile vaccines against H5N1 flu even before any H5N1 pandemic begins, experts warn. A new modelling study shows that without such vaccines, and antiviral drugs, efforts such as school closures and travel restrictions will have almost no effect on the number of deaths a pandemic would cause in the US."
Canada Scraps Plans to Legalize Marijuana - "The bill, which had alarmed law enforcement officials in Canada and the United States, died on the floor of the House of Commons after the Liberal Party lost elections in January. ... U.S. authorities worried the legislation would have weakened their efforts to curb marijuana exports from Canada, which has numerous marijuana farms, particularly in the lush western province of British Columbia."
Expert Says It Was Hotter 247M Years Ago - ""It was the biggest extinction by far of all time," he said. "Geologists and paleontologists all agree on that. ... The extinction that killed the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago, that wasn't anything compared to this." ... Scientists aren't certain what caused the episode some 247 million years ago. They estimate that temperatures ranged in the low 100s year-round for thousands of years, he said. "Its kind of scary that we don't know for sure what caused the worst catastrophe of life on this planet," he said."
Laughter really is the best medicine - "It might be regarded as a statement of the obvious. But scientists have proved what everyone else takes for granted - that laughter really is good for you. It turns out that even the anticipation of watching a funny video can raise the levels of immune-boosting hormones in the blood and the benefits can last up to a day."
How art of conversation between parents and children has died - "All-day television, the demise of the family meal and even the forward-facing design of pushchairs are conspiring to kill the art of conversation between parents and children."
3 percent of U.S. families victimized by identity theft, Justice study finds - "The department said the most frequent victims of identity theft were households headed by people age 18 to 24; those in urban or suburban areas; and those with incomes of at least $75,000."
When the facts get in the way of a story - "Nothing comes for free: if you can cope with 400 words on statistics, we can trash a front page news story together. "Cocaine floods the playground," roared the front page of the Times last Friday. "Use of the addictive drug by children doubles in a year." ... So I got the document. It's a survey of 9,000 children, aged 11 to 15, in 305 schools. The three-page summary said, again, there was no change in prevalence of drug use. I found the data tables, and for the question about using cocaine in the past year, 1% said yes in 2004, and 2% said yes in 2005. Except almost all the figures were 1%, or 2%. They'd all been rounded off. By asking around, I found that the actual figures were 1.4% for 2004 and 1.9% for 2005, not 1% and 2%. So it hadn't doubled. But if that alone was my story, this would be a pretty lame column, so read on."
Even Cell Phone Users Annoyed by Them - "Most cell users find their phones very useful, with half keeping them on all the time. But almost nine in 10 say they encounter others using those phones in an annoying way. Only 8 percent of cell users acknowledge their own use of cell phones is sometimes rude."
Public TV host Brancaccio says people just don't trust the media - ""The level at which the public trusts journalists continues to fall," he said. "The good news is the public still seems to think that it's a decent idea for the news media to keep a close eye on public officials and government -- that's nice, but they don't trust us. They think we are biased." ... "Only 5 percent of what was in the blogs were what you or I might consider journalism," he said. Defined as: "Did they do any interviews? Did they consult any documentary sources? Were they witness to events? The answer: no, 95 percent of the time," he said."
Oliver Stone: "Media Slanders Politically-Minded Stars" - "Movie-maker OLIVER STONE has blasted media groups who "slander" celebrities for their political comments - because intelligent stars have every right to question their leaders."
The misinformation superhighway - "Gone, too, I'm afraid, is the pipe dream of the Internet becoming a trusted source of information. Instead of the "Information Superhighway," the 'Net has become the "Misinformation Superhighway," an ever-engulfing sea of extremism, fringe web sites, paranoia and outright lies. ... But all too often the Internet fuels extremism, paranoia and tin-hat conspiracy theories at cyberspeed. It also fosters hate, bigotry and racism."
Workers Have Retirement 'Overconfidence' - "The majority of American workers think they'll be able to retire comfortably, but most aren't saving nearly enough to meet that goal, according to a new study."
Will they choose the girl or God in reality show - "God or the Girl captures the tension, terror, and triumph of Joe, Mike, Steve, and Dan, four 20-something men at the most important crossroads of their lives, as, over the course of this series, they decide whether or not to enroll in the seminary and become Roman Catholic priests, or to find the love of a woman and settle down with a family. This is the ultimate struggle between the choice of two goods."
Bringing Back the Brontosaurus - "But the past few years have brought new developments. Scientists have gotten better at isolating DNA from fossils. They have also learned that perfectly preserved samples aren't necessary to build up lost genomes. Meanwhile, Haussler, benefiting from clever algorithms and massive increases in computing power, has made it much easier for them to fill in the gaps. If one scientist has sequenced DNA fragments from a woolly mammoth bone, and if Haussler has a tool that can re-create other parts of its genome, the two together put us a lot closer to seeing that beast at the local zoo."
Quote of the Day
"You are what you love, not what loves you."
~ Donald Kaufmann, Adaptation
Blix: Iran Years Away From Nuclear Bomb - "Former U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said Monday that Iran is a least five years away from developing a nuclear bomb, leaving time to peacefully negotiate a settlement."
Hussein charged with genocide - "Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been charged for the first time with genocide, Iraqi chief investigative judge Ra'id Juhi announced Tuesday."
West accused of fiddling figures on Iraq aid - "Britain and other Western nations are using huge debt write-offs to Iraq to boost development aid statistics and give a misleading impression of their generosity to the Third World, campaigners say. ... A report released yesterday by non-governmental organisations said that, while the countries were not breaking international rules, they were misleading the public."
Reid calls for Geneva Convention to be rewritten - ""We risk trying to fight 21st-century conflict with 20th-century rules which, when they were devised, did not contemplate the type of enemy which is now extant," he said. "The laws of the 20th century placed constraints on us all which enhanced peace and protected liberty. We must ask ourselves whether, as the new century begins, they will do the same."" -- Hasn't terrorism always been around? It's not new to the 21st century.
Chávez seeks to peg oil at $50 a barrel - "A long-term agreement at that price could allow Venezuela to count its huge deposits of heavy crude as part of its official reserves, which Caracas says would give it more oil than Saudi Arabia. "We have the largest oil reserves in the world, we have oil for 200 years." Mr Chávez told the BBC's Newsnight programme in an interview to be broadcast tonight. "$50 a barrel - that's a fair price, not a high price.""
Obama: Dems Should Stress Oil Independence - "Democrats should stress energy independence, education improvement and science investment in the 2008 presidential campaign, Sen. Barack Obama said Monday. He laughed off a question on whether he wants a place on the ticket."
US Media Dead Silent On Israel Lobby Report - "Never before have the mainstream US media performed so atrociously, if not discouragingly, as they did this month when the editors ignored a damning report by two prominent university professors who are on the faculties of some of the country's most respectable institutions, Harvard University and the University of Chicago." -- And that speaks volumes.
Straight Out of Science Fiction: Organs Engineered in a Lab - "The news is being hailed as a medical milestone: Several years after receiving new bladders engineered entirely in a laboratory, seven young patients are all still healthy. ... The neo-bladder is just one of many different forms of tissue engineering currently being explored. Bone and skin regeneration already exists, and in the future, parts of or entire complex organs like the heart may even be replicated in a laboratory."
DeLay to quit campaign, step down from Congress - "Rep. Tom DeLay, the Texas Republican who stepped down as House majority leader last year, will abandon his re-election bid and resign his seat in coming months, sources on Capitol Hill say."
UT professor criticized over comments about impending pandemic - "A University of Texas biology professor has been targeted by talk radio, bloggers and vitriolic e-mails _ including a death threat _ after a published report that he advocated death for most of the population as a means of saving the Earth. But Eric Pianka said Monday his remarks about what he believes is an impending pandemic were taken out of context. "What we really need to do is start thinking about controlling our population before it's too late," he said. "It's already too late, but we're not even thinking about it. We're just mindlessly rushing ahead breeding our brains out.""
Churchgoers Live Longer - "The study, which is actually a review of existing research from the three categories, does not reveal what the link between faith and health might be. "Religious attendance is not a mode of medical therapy," said study leader Daniel Hall, a resident in general surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "While this study was not intended for use in clinical decision making, these findings tell us that there is something to examine further." Hall is also an Episcopal priest."
Stockpile human bird flu vaccine now, say experts - "Countries should stockpile vaccines against H5N1 flu even before any H5N1 pandemic begins, experts warn. A new modelling study shows that without such vaccines, and antiviral drugs, efforts such as school closures and travel restrictions will have almost no effect on the number of deaths a pandemic would cause in the US."
Canada Scraps Plans to Legalize Marijuana - "The bill, which had alarmed law enforcement officials in Canada and the United States, died on the floor of the House of Commons after the Liberal Party lost elections in January. ... U.S. authorities worried the legislation would have weakened their efforts to curb marijuana exports from Canada, which has numerous marijuana farms, particularly in the lush western province of British Columbia."
Expert Says It Was Hotter 247M Years Ago - ""It was the biggest extinction by far of all time," he said. "Geologists and paleontologists all agree on that. ... The extinction that killed the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago, that wasn't anything compared to this." ... Scientists aren't certain what caused the episode some 247 million years ago. They estimate that temperatures ranged in the low 100s year-round for thousands of years, he said. "Its kind of scary that we don't know for sure what caused the worst catastrophe of life on this planet," he said."
Laughter really is the best medicine - "It might be regarded as a statement of the obvious. But scientists have proved what everyone else takes for granted - that laughter really is good for you. It turns out that even the anticipation of watching a funny video can raise the levels of immune-boosting hormones in the blood and the benefits can last up to a day."
How art of conversation between parents and children has died - "All-day television, the demise of the family meal and even the forward-facing design of pushchairs are conspiring to kill the art of conversation between parents and children."
3 percent of U.S. families victimized by identity theft, Justice study finds - "The department said the most frequent victims of identity theft were households headed by people age 18 to 24; those in urban or suburban areas; and those with incomes of at least $75,000."
When the facts get in the way of a story - "Nothing comes for free: if you can cope with 400 words on statistics, we can trash a front page news story together. "Cocaine floods the playground," roared the front page of the Times last Friday. "Use of the addictive drug by children doubles in a year." ... So I got the document. It's a survey of 9,000 children, aged 11 to 15, in 305 schools. The three-page summary said, again, there was no change in prevalence of drug use. I found the data tables, and for the question about using cocaine in the past year, 1% said yes in 2004, and 2% said yes in 2005. Except almost all the figures were 1%, or 2%. They'd all been rounded off. By asking around, I found that the actual figures were 1.4% for 2004 and 1.9% for 2005, not 1% and 2%. So it hadn't doubled. But if that alone was my story, this would be a pretty lame column, so read on."
Even Cell Phone Users Annoyed by Them - "Most cell users find their phones very useful, with half keeping them on all the time. But almost nine in 10 say they encounter others using those phones in an annoying way. Only 8 percent of cell users acknowledge their own use of cell phones is sometimes rude."
Public TV host Brancaccio says people just don't trust the media - ""The level at which the public trusts journalists continues to fall," he said. "The good news is the public still seems to think that it's a decent idea for the news media to keep a close eye on public officials and government -- that's nice, but they don't trust us. They think we are biased." ... "Only 5 percent of what was in the blogs were what you or I might consider journalism," he said. Defined as: "Did they do any interviews? Did they consult any documentary sources? Were they witness to events? The answer: no, 95 percent of the time," he said."
Oliver Stone: "Media Slanders Politically-Minded Stars" - "Movie-maker OLIVER STONE has blasted media groups who "slander" celebrities for their political comments - because intelligent stars have every right to question their leaders."
The misinformation superhighway - "Gone, too, I'm afraid, is the pipe dream of the Internet becoming a trusted source of information. Instead of the "Information Superhighway," the 'Net has become the "Misinformation Superhighway," an ever-engulfing sea of extremism, fringe web sites, paranoia and outright lies. ... But all too often the Internet fuels extremism, paranoia and tin-hat conspiracy theories at cyberspeed. It also fosters hate, bigotry and racism."
Workers Have Retirement 'Overconfidence' - "The majority of American workers think they'll be able to retire comfortably, but most aren't saving nearly enough to meet that goal, according to a new study."
Will they choose the girl or God in reality show - "God or the Girl captures the tension, terror, and triumph of Joe, Mike, Steve, and Dan, four 20-something men at the most important crossroads of their lives, as, over the course of this series, they decide whether or not to enroll in the seminary and become Roman Catholic priests, or to find the love of a woman and settle down with a family. This is the ultimate struggle between the choice of two goods."
Bringing Back the Brontosaurus - "But the past few years have brought new developments. Scientists have gotten better at isolating DNA from fossils. They have also learned that perfectly preserved samples aren't necessary to build up lost genomes. Meanwhile, Haussler, benefiting from clever algorithms and massive increases in computing power, has made it much easier for them to fill in the gaps. If one scientist has sequenced DNA fragments from a woolly mammoth bone, and if Haussler has a tool that can re-create other parts of its genome, the two together put us a lot closer to seeing that beast at the local zoo."
Quote of the Day
"You are what you love, not what loves you."
~ Donald Kaufmann, Adaptation
April 3, 2006
News (Page 2) -- April 3, 2006
Jury: Moussaoui is eligible for death - "Jurors agreed with federal prosecutors that Moussaoui's lies to FBI agents resulted in 9/11 deaths. The nine men and three women reached their verdict on the fourth day of deliberations. Moussaoui refused to stand and showed no reaction as the verdict was read. But after jurors left the courtroom he shouted, "You'll never get my blood. God curse you all.""
Iran Tests Second New Torpedo in Gulf - "A spokesman for the elite Revolutionary Guards suggested the new, Iranian-made torpedo was more powerful and capable of going deeper than others in its arsenal."
Russians Sense the Heat of Cold War - "In this city, it's beginning to feel like a new Cold War, driven by what many people here see as an old American impulse: to encircle, weaken or even destroy Russia, just as the country is emerging from post-Soviet ruins as a cohesive, self-confident and global power. The specter of a U.S. nuclear first strike even resurfaced this month. An article in Foreign Affairs magazine, published by the Council on Foreign Relations, suggested that the United States could hit Russia and China without serious risk of retaliation. That sent heads spinning here with visions of Dr. Strangelove. ... Intensifying U.S. criticism -- that Russia is rolling back democratic institutions, interfering in the countries of the former Soviet Union and using its vast energy resources to further its interests -- is leading to widespread resentment here and seen as little more than self-serving rhetoric. Russians widely believe that U.S. programs to promote democracy in Ukraine, Georgia and Belarus are a Trojan horse intended to sideline Russia and expand NATO."
Chomsky: The Israel Lobby? - "I've received many requests to comment on the article by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt (henceforth M-W), published in the London Review of Books, which has been circulating extensively on the internet and has elicited a storm of controversy. A few thoughts on the matter follow. ... But recognizing that M-W took a courageous stand, which merits praise, we still have to ask how convincing their thesis is. Not very, in my opinion."
Noam Chomsky and the Pro-Israel Lobby: Fourteen Erroneous Theses - "Noam Chomsky has been called the US leading intellectual by pundits and even some sectors of the mass media. He has a large audience throughout the world especially in academic circles, in large part because of his vocal criticism of US foreign policy and many of the injustices resulting from those policies. Chomsky has nonetheless been reviled by all of the major Jewish and pro-Israel organizations and media for his criticism of Israeli policy toward the Palestinians even as he has defended the existence of the Zionist state of Israel. Despite his respected reputation for documenting, dissecting and exposing the hypocrisy of the US and European regimes and acutely analyzing the intellectual deceptions of imperial apologists, these analytical virtues are totally absent when it comes to discussing the formulation of US foreign policy in the Middle East, particularly the role of his own ethnic group, the Jewish Pro-Israel lobby and their Zionist supporters in the government. This political blindness is not unknown or uncommon. History is replete of intellectual critics of all imperialisms except their own, the abuses of power by others, but not of one’s own kin and kind. Chomsky’s long history denying the power and role of the pro-Israel lobby in decisively shaping US Middle East policy culminated in his recent conjoining with the US Zionist propaganda machine attacking a study critical of the Israeli lobby. I am referring to the essay published by the London Review of Books entitled "The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy" by Professor John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Professor Stephan Walt, the purged Academic Dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University."
Israel and Moral Blackmail - "The reaction to a pathbreaking – or, rather, taboo-busting – study of how and why Israel's interests came to be substituted for America's national interests in Washington policymaking circles, "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy," [.pdf] by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, has confirmed, in part, its thesis."
Criticism of U.S ties to Israel draws fire - "The media have been trying to keep this study as quiet as possible but, no matter how much they try, it is bound to make its way to the american public. Let's just hope it makes wider publication. The American people need to know the root of the problems we face today. This passionate attachment to Israel has come to hurt America's security and the Israeli Lobby deserves much of the blame. Our leaders and our representatives are under the control of a foreign lobby and it's not a healthy situation for the American people. It has cost the loss of too many American lives and billions of wasted money."
New Christian pro-Israel lobby aims to be stronger than AIPAC - "Televangelist John Hagee told Jewish community leaders over the weekend that the 40 million evangelical Christians in the United States support Israel and that he plans to utilize this power to help Israel by launching a Christian pro-Israel lobby. ... Hagee said his group would be a Christian - and more powerful - version of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a large pro-Israel lobby, and would target senators and congressmen on Capitol Hill. A quarter of congressmen are evangelicals, and many American legislators represent regions that include a large evangelical population, he said."
Iran, Syria call for withdrawal of occupiers from Iraq - "At the meeting, Iranian and Syrian officials underlined the need to support Iraqi nation and called for withdrawal of the occupying forces from Iraq."
Standing up to Bush - "PRESIDENT BUSH'S secret intercepts of American citizens' communications are ''more serious abuses" than President Nixon perpetrated in Watergate, according to an informed observer. John Dean, counsel to Nixon during Watergate, was on target when he told the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Friday that Congress should fight back when a president ignores laws it has passed."
Who Will Be The People’s Candidate? - "While much of the rest of the world is moving away from religion and authoritarian rule, and toward reason and populist ideals, in this country, we seem to be moving in the opposite direction, clamoring for more restrictions on our freedoms in the elusive search for security. But, there are many in this country who are growing tired of being afraid, and the time is right for a leader who will inspire us to move toward a better future and who will help us break the chains of fear that are holding us back. And that inspiration is not going to come from the lackluster Presidential frontrunners currently dominating the stage, but instead will come from someone the D.C. insiders will likely consider a long shot candidate." -- I'll do it.
Hot money leaving a cold climate could signal the big freeze - "It may just be a chilly island close to the Arctic Circle with a population barely above 300,000 and fish its main export - but it could end up cutting the value of your home and your share portfolio. Events in and around the Icelandic economy, culminating last Thursday in a further interest rate rise from its central bank, may be the first sign of problems in global financial markets with unpleasant consequences for all of us. The crisis in Iceland is not about to bring the world economy crashing down. It is too small. But the run on its currency and that of New Zealand could be warning signs that the world ignores at its peril. "It is possible that Iceland is the tip of the iceberg, the first domino to fall, albeit a very small one," says Julian Jessop, chief international economist at the consultancy Capital Economics in London."
60 Minutes Reinforces the 9/11 Conspiracy Theory! - "So 60 Minutes had free access to Bin Laden’s driver? They expect us to believe that 60 Minutes had access to this most valuable target of the US war on terror, yet the U.S. has not attempted to “rendition” him into one of our secret prisons by now? The host nation of this terror suspect never even gets mentioned by our controlled media? What happened to Bush’s “with us or against us” threat to nations that host terrorists? ... What did this guy prove on 60 Minutes? He told a story. Apparently his knowledge was of no interest to the people fighting the war on terror. ... How stupid are we? How do we not see through this at this point? ... Here is what I think about Bin Laden. I think he has not made any video tapes because he is unwilling to go as far as his bosses. I think he wants nothing to do with defaming Islam by forever linking it with 9/11. When Bin Laden made his first public statement after 9/11 he said that he had nothing to do with it. He claimed that he heard that “they say the Atta group did this” but he could have heard that on TV like everyone else. The only Bin Laden confession came in the form of a fake video and since then he has not been seen. I think he had to be killed because he would talk and let the public know that he was not responsible for 9/11 or he is simply not playing along any more. I have no evidence of this, just common sense based on what has unfolded and uncovered. Think about it!"
Straight-Talk Regress - ""His message of peace and reconciliation under almost all circumstances is simply incompatible with Christian teachings as I interpret them. This 'turn the other cheek' business is all well and good but it's not what Jesus fought and died for. What we need to do is take the battle to the Muslim heathens and do unto them before they do unto us." – Jerry Farwell on Jimmy Carter ... RUSSERT: Do you believe that Jerry Falwell is still an agent of intolerance? MCCAIN: No, I don’t."
Big Brother cleans up crime in New Jersey town - "Police here say that thanks to new technology there has not been a single violent crime in almost a year on a street where the notorious Bloods gang sold $10 hits of crack cocaine and drive-by shootings were once commonplace. Now high-tech cameras and gunshot sensors are mounted at each end of Lenox Avenue, and on many other East Orange streets. The residential avenue of mainly multifamily homes is blocked from traffic and, with the exception of the 24-hour police presence, it looks as tranquil as most New Jersey suburbs."
109 Years in Prison Sought for Peaceful Speech in America: The Dr. Elsebeth Baumgartner Case - "A number of critics of the actions taken against Dr. Baumgartner by the Ohio judiciary contend that she is being made a political prisoner in order to silence her and punish her for speaking out on government corruption by the very parties accused of corruption as a means to protect themselves from the legitimate consequences of their crimes and to make an example out of her by creating a chilling effect to intimidate others from speaking out against their corruption. These critics note that she has already been jailed for peaceful political speech and that the Ohio government is currently attempting to imprison her for a total of 109 years for peaceful political speech. Such critics further contend that even if all of her accusations were false that a person ought not be made a criminal or suffer imprisonment for mere peaceful speech (i.e., not threatening to aggress against another), even if said speech is false, and that the ultimate reason for the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is precisely so that people can be free to criticize the government and officials in government, and say things which said officals greately dislike, without fear of retaliation by the government."
Why pay taxes? - "Each year about this time, as many of us supplement our paycheck-to-paycheck giving unto Caesar, I raise this question. This year, let's start with the following observation from a reader, sent in the wake of the reauthorization of the Patriot Act. He notes that "terrorism" is defined, in Webster's, as "the systematic use of terror, esp. as a means of coercion," and provides a long list of examples, past and present, where the U.S. government has done exactly that. He then notes that under the current Patriot Act, it is now illegal to provide money to organizations that practice terrorism, and therefore concludes that as a matter of national security he must refuse to pay his federal taxes. ... So why do so many of us pay our taxes? Two hundred thirty or so years ago, this was called "taxation without representation" and we threw out the government. Today, we vent our frustration by laughing along with the Tax Day jokes on late-night TV, or going further into debt at the Tax Day sales at our local mall -- "revolutions" are something bad people do. But what if we refused?"
Privitazation of the Internet - "Now, corporate interests want to violate the principle of network neutrality in order to increase their own profit margins. They must not be allowed to destroy the free and open culture of the web!"
Prayer Kills! - "Not that I believe that prayer has the power to heal or to kill, but just think about the ramifications if it this particular study are true. How should we respond to our devout friends who ask that we include them in our prayers? If praying for them to get better proves detrimental should we pray for them to die? Or should we compromise and just pray for painful, permanent disability? I really want to do the right thing by them, but if doing what they want--playing into the fantasy of a psychologically maladjusted big daddy in the sky--is actually harmful to them, should I tell them that I will pray for them or gently tell them that I consider such behavior more appropriate to chimpanzees and orangutans."
Sexy media a siren call to promiscuity? - "Sexually charged music, magazines, TV and movies push youngsters into intercourse at an earlier age, perhaps by acting as kind of virtual peer that tells them everyone else is doing it, a study said Monday. ... "Interestingly one of the strongest predictors of risk for early sexual intercourse for both black and white teens (in the study) was the perception that his or her peers were having sex," the report said." -- They're surprised by that?
ROUGH 'N' READY - "The Women Against Domestic Violence group was already in a dither because Keanu Reeves told an interviewer he learned something filming a rape scene with Hilary Swank for "The Gift" - "that some of the ladies don't mind it . . . Hah, that's awful to say.""
Commentary: Astrobiology Research Threatened at NASA - "I predict that in the future when unanticipated costs for sustaining the shuttle and building the CEV arise, more dollars will be pulled from science to pay the bills. There is simply nowhere else to go within the NASA budget. Life science and aeronautics have already been starved. Griffin and his team are in a hard spot. They are being asked to achieve a poorly funded Vision. Science is suffering, and scientists, students and the public are not going to quietly accept the cancellation of nearly completed missions. Nor will they tolerate the starvation of fundamental research programs."
How A Locust's Eardrum Could Lead To Tiny Microphones - " Being able to hear the smallest of noises is a matter of life or death for many insects, but for the scientists studying their hearing systems understanding how insect ears can be so sensitive could lead to new microphones able to capture and analyse extremely faint sounds."
Miss America, the reality show - "The Miss America pageant will broadcast a seven-episode reality show/documentary series next year to draw in viewers and let the audience choose some of the finalists, officials announced Saturday."
Iran Tests Second New Torpedo in Gulf - "A spokesman for the elite Revolutionary Guards suggested the new, Iranian-made torpedo was more powerful and capable of going deeper than others in its arsenal."
Russians Sense the Heat of Cold War - "In this city, it's beginning to feel like a new Cold War, driven by what many people here see as an old American impulse: to encircle, weaken or even destroy Russia, just as the country is emerging from post-Soviet ruins as a cohesive, self-confident and global power. The specter of a U.S. nuclear first strike even resurfaced this month. An article in Foreign Affairs magazine, published by the Council on Foreign Relations, suggested that the United States could hit Russia and China without serious risk of retaliation. That sent heads spinning here with visions of Dr. Strangelove. ... Intensifying U.S. criticism -- that Russia is rolling back democratic institutions, interfering in the countries of the former Soviet Union and using its vast energy resources to further its interests -- is leading to widespread resentment here and seen as little more than self-serving rhetoric. Russians widely believe that U.S. programs to promote democracy in Ukraine, Georgia and Belarus are a Trojan horse intended to sideline Russia and expand NATO."
Chomsky: The Israel Lobby? - "I've received many requests to comment on the article by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt (henceforth M-W), published in the London Review of Books, which has been circulating extensively on the internet and has elicited a storm of controversy. A few thoughts on the matter follow. ... But recognizing that M-W took a courageous stand, which merits praise, we still have to ask how convincing their thesis is. Not very, in my opinion."
Noam Chomsky and the Pro-Israel Lobby: Fourteen Erroneous Theses - "Noam Chomsky has been called the US leading intellectual by pundits and even some sectors of the mass media. He has a large audience throughout the world especially in academic circles, in large part because of his vocal criticism of US foreign policy and many of the injustices resulting from those policies. Chomsky has nonetheless been reviled by all of the major Jewish and pro-Israel organizations and media for his criticism of Israeli policy toward the Palestinians even as he has defended the existence of the Zionist state of Israel. Despite his respected reputation for documenting, dissecting and exposing the hypocrisy of the US and European regimes and acutely analyzing the intellectual deceptions of imperial apologists, these analytical virtues are totally absent when it comes to discussing the formulation of US foreign policy in the Middle East, particularly the role of his own ethnic group, the Jewish Pro-Israel lobby and their Zionist supporters in the government. This political blindness is not unknown or uncommon. History is replete of intellectual critics of all imperialisms except their own, the abuses of power by others, but not of one’s own kin and kind. Chomsky’s long history denying the power and role of the pro-Israel lobby in decisively shaping US Middle East policy culminated in his recent conjoining with the US Zionist propaganda machine attacking a study critical of the Israeli lobby. I am referring to the essay published by the London Review of Books entitled "The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy" by Professor John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Professor Stephan Walt, the purged Academic Dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University."
Israel and Moral Blackmail - "The reaction to a pathbreaking – or, rather, taboo-busting – study of how and why Israel's interests came to be substituted for America's national interests in Washington policymaking circles, "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy," [.pdf] by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, has confirmed, in part, its thesis."
Criticism of U.S ties to Israel draws fire - "The media have been trying to keep this study as quiet as possible but, no matter how much they try, it is bound to make its way to the american public. Let's just hope it makes wider publication. The American people need to know the root of the problems we face today. This passionate attachment to Israel has come to hurt America's security and the Israeli Lobby deserves much of the blame. Our leaders and our representatives are under the control of a foreign lobby and it's not a healthy situation for the American people. It has cost the loss of too many American lives and billions of wasted money."
New Christian pro-Israel lobby aims to be stronger than AIPAC - "Televangelist John Hagee told Jewish community leaders over the weekend that the 40 million evangelical Christians in the United States support Israel and that he plans to utilize this power to help Israel by launching a Christian pro-Israel lobby. ... Hagee said his group would be a Christian - and more powerful - version of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a large pro-Israel lobby, and would target senators and congressmen on Capitol Hill. A quarter of congressmen are evangelicals, and many American legislators represent regions that include a large evangelical population, he said."
Iran, Syria call for withdrawal of occupiers from Iraq - "At the meeting, Iranian and Syrian officials underlined the need to support Iraqi nation and called for withdrawal of the occupying forces from Iraq."
Standing up to Bush - "PRESIDENT BUSH'S secret intercepts of American citizens' communications are ''more serious abuses" than President Nixon perpetrated in Watergate, according to an informed observer. John Dean, counsel to Nixon during Watergate, was on target when he told the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Friday that Congress should fight back when a president ignores laws it has passed."
Who Will Be The People’s Candidate? - "While much of the rest of the world is moving away from religion and authoritarian rule, and toward reason and populist ideals, in this country, we seem to be moving in the opposite direction, clamoring for more restrictions on our freedoms in the elusive search for security. But, there are many in this country who are growing tired of being afraid, and the time is right for a leader who will inspire us to move toward a better future and who will help us break the chains of fear that are holding us back. And that inspiration is not going to come from the lackluster Presidential frontrunners currently dominating the stage, but instead will come from someone the D.C. insiders will likely consider a long shot candidate." -- I'll do it.
Hot money leaving a cold climate could signal the big freeze - "It may just be a chilly island close to the Arctic Circle with a population barely above 300,000 and fish its main export - but it could end up cutting the value of your home and your share portfolio. Events in and around the Icelandic economy, culminating last Thursday in a further interest rate rise from its central bank, may be the first sign of problems in global financial markets with unpleasant consequences for all of us. The crisis in Iceland is not about to bring the world economy crashing down. It is too small. But the run on its currency and that of New Zealand could be warning signs that the world ignores at its peril. "It is possible that Iceland is the tip of the iceberg, the first domino to fall, albeit a very small one," says Julian Jessop, chief international economist at the consultancy Capital Economics in London."
60 Minutes Reinforces the 9/11 Conspiracy Theory! - "So 60 Minutes had free access to Bin Laden’s driver? They expect us to believe that 60 Minutes had access to this most valuable target of the US war on terror, yet the U.S. has not attempted to “rendition” him into one of our secret prisons by now? The host nation of this terror suspect never even gets mentioned by our controlled media? What happened to Bush’s “with us or against us” threat to nations that host terrorists? ... What did this guy prove on 60 Minutes? He told a story. Apparently his knowledge was of no interest to the people fighting the war on terror. ... How stupid are we? How do we not see through this at this point? ... Here is what I think about Bin Laden. I think he has not made any video tapes because he is unwilling to go as far as his bosses. I think he wants nothing to do with defaming Islam by forever linking it with 9/11. When Bin Laden made his first public statement after 9/11 he said that he had nothing to do with it. He claimed that he heard that “they say the Atta group did this” but he could have heard that on TV like everyone else. The only Bin Laden confession came in the form of a fake video and since then he has not been seen. I think he had to be killed because he would talk and let the public know that he was not responsible for 9/11 or he is simply not playing along any more. I have no evidence of this, just common sense based on what has unfolded and uncovered. Think about it!"
Straight-Talk Regress - ""His message of peace and reconciliation under almost all circumstances is simply incompatible with Christian teachings as I interpret them. This 'turn the other cheek' business is all well and good but it's not what Jesus fought and died for. What we need to do is take the battle to the Muslim heathens and do unto them before they do unto us." – Jerry Farwell on Jimmy Carter ... RUSSERT: Do you believe that Jerry Falwell is still an agent of intolerance? MCCAIN: No, I don’t."
Big Brother cleans up crime in New Jersey town - "Police here say that thanks to new technology there has not been a single violent crime in almost a year on a street where the notorious Bloods gang sold $10 hits of crack cocaine and drive-by shootings were once commonplace. Now high-tech cameras and gunshot sensors are mounted at each end of Lenox Avenue, and on many other East Orange streets. The residential avenue of mainly multifamily homes is blocked from traffic and, with the exception of the 24-hour police presence, it looks as tranquil as most New Jersey suburbs."
109 Years in Prison Sought for Peaceful Speech in America: The Dr. Elsebeth Baumgartner Case - "A number of critics of the actions taken against Dr. Baumgartner by the Ohio judiciary contend that she is being made a political prisoner in order to silence her and punish her for speaking out on government corruption by the very parties accused of corruption as a means to protect themselves from the legitimate consequences of their crimes and to make an example out of her by creating a chilling effect to intimidate others from speaking out against their corruption. These critics note that she has already been jailed for peaceful political speech and that the Ohio government is currently attempting to imprison her for a total of 109 years for peaceful political speech. Such critics further contend that even if all of her accusations were false that a person ought not be made a criminal or suffer imprisonment for mere peaceful speech (i.e., not threatening to aggress against another), even if said speech is false, and that the ultimate reason for the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is precisely so that people can be free to criticize the government and officials in government, and say things which said officals greately dislike, without fear of retaliation by the government."
Why pay taxes? - "Each year about this time, as many of us supplement our paycheck-to-paycheck giving unto Caesar, I raise this question. This year, let's start with the following observation from a reader, sent in the wake of the reauthorization of the Patriot Act. He notes that "terrorism" is defined, in Webster's, as "the systematic use of terror, esp. as a means of coercion," and provides a long list of examples, past and present, where the U.S. government has done exactly that. He then notes that under the current Patriot Act, it is now illegal to provide money to organizations that practice terrorism, and therefore concludes that as a matter of national security he must refuse to pay his federal taxes. ... So why do so many of us pay our taxes? Two hundred thirty or so years ago, this was called "taxation without representation" and we threw out the government. Today, we vent our frustration by laughing along with the Tax Day jokes on late-night TV, or going further into debt at the Tax Day sales at our local mall -- "revolutions" are something bad people do. But what if we refused?"
Privitazation of the Internet - "Now, corporate interests want to violate the principle of network neutrality in order to increase their own profit margins. They must not be allowed to destroy the free and open culture of the web!"
Prayer Kills! - "Not that I believe that prayer has the power to heal or to kill, but just think about the ramifications if it this particular study are true. How should we respond to our devout friends who ask that we include them in our prayers? If praying for them to get better proves detrimental should we pray for them to die? Or should we compromise and just pray for painful, permanent disability? I really want to do the right thing by them, but if doing what they want--playing into the fantasy of a psychologically maladjusted big daddy in the sky--is actually harmful to them, should I tell them that I will pray for them or gently tell them that I consider such behavior more appropriate to chimpanzees and orangutans."
Sexy media a siren call to promiscuity? - "Sexually charged music, magazines, TV and movies push youngsters into intercourse at an earlier age, perhaps by acting as kind of virtual peer that tells them everyone else is doing it, a study said Monday. ... "Interestingly one of the strongest predictors of risk for early sexual intercourse for both black and white teens (in the study) was the perception that his or her peers were having sex," the report said." -- They're surprised by that?
ROUGH 'N' READY - "The Women Against Domestic Violence group was already in a dither because Keanu Reeves told an interviewer he learned something filming a rape scene with Hilary Swank for "The Gift" - "that some of the ladies don't mind it . . . Hah, that's awful to say.""
Commentary: Astrobiology Research Threatened at NASA - "I predict that in the future when unanticipated costs for sustaining the shuttle and building the CEV arise, more dollars will be pulled from science to pay the bills. There is simply nowhere else to go within the NASA budget. Life science and aeronautics have already been starved. Griffin and his team are in a hard spot. They are being asked to achieve a poorly funded Vision. Science is suffering, and scientists, students and the public are not going to quietly accept the cancellation of nearly completed missions. Nor will they tolerate the starvation of fundamental research programs."
How A Locust's Eardrum Could Lead To Tiny Microphones - " Being able to hear the smallest of noises is a matter of life or death for many insects, but for the scientists studying their hearing systems understanding how insect ears can be so sensitive could lead to new microphones able to capture and analyse extremely faint sounds."
Miss America, the reality show - "The Miss America pageant will broadcast a seven-episode reality show/documentary series next year to draw in viewers and let the audience choose some of the finalists, officials announced Saturday."
News -- April 3, 2006
Court sidesteps war powers challenge - "A divided Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from a man held until recently as an enemy combatant without traditional legal rights, in effect sidestepping a challenge to Bush administration wartime detention powers."
The Ground Zero Grassy Knoll - "But if Oswald didn’t kill the president, who did? So 11/22 remains an open case, an open wound. Now here we are again, contemplating the seemingly unthinkable events of September 11. An official explanation has been offered up: The nation was attacked by the forces of radical Islam led by Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda jihadists. Again, this narrative has been accepted by many. But not all."
U.S. to create a bird flu virus mutation - "CDC scientists inside an ultra-secure laboratory have started swapping the genes of the H5N1 avian virus with the genes of an H3N2 virus, the strain behind most recent human flu outbreaks. The goal is to substitute the eight genes of each virus, one by one, with the eight genes from the other virus to see which of more than 250 possible combinations create flu viruses that could spread easily among humans."
Growth in federal spending unchecked - "Federal spending is outstripping economic growth at a rate unseen in more than half a century, provoking some conservatives to complain that government under Republican control has gotten too big. The federal government is currently spending 20.8 cents of every $1 the economy generates, up from 18.5 cents in 2001, White House budget documents show. That's the most rapid growth during one administration since Franklin Roosevelt."
Exxon Dethrones Wal-Mart on Fortune 500 - "Fortune compiled its list based on companies' 2005 revenues. Exxon Mobil raked in $340 billion in revenue, a 25.5 percent increase over and had $36.1 billion in profits, the most by any U.S. company in history."
The Dangers of Monotheism in the Age of Globalization - "The great pre-Christian civilizations of Greece and Rome had no religious wars and had a far healthier view of their frolicking gods and goddesses than the intolerant monotheistic Christianity that later came to dominate Europe. Polytheistic religions also tend to have a far more positive and healthier attitude to sex, which is seen as a good thing, than do the monotheistic faiths, where there is a much stronger tendency to equate sex with sin. ... The planet also needs an alternative geopolitical force to the American Christian fundamentalist brand of hegemonic thinking that the Bush Administration has generated — and that is not likely to evaporate even after his departure from office."
What war on Christians? - "Once, conservatives used to deplore the left's cult of victimhood and ridicule the obsession with real or imagined slights toward women, minorities, and other historically oppressed groups. Now, the right is embracing a victimhood cult obsessed with slights toward a group that makes up 85 percent of the American population."
Conservative Christian voters' policy agenda - "Conservative Christian voters say that Republican leaders they helped put in office haven't moved quickly enough on their policy agenda. Here are some of the issues they feel haven't been addressed:"
Conservative Christians losing faith in GOP - ""The nation isn't focused today in a way it was on such issues as abortion, marriage, the nature of the family," said the Rev. Laurence White of Houston. "For us, it's not the economy, stupid. It's the morality, stupid." ... "We're tired of talk. We want action," he said. "It occurs to us that no matter who is in the White House or who says what we want to hear, nothing ever changes." High on the list are a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and a judiciary more sympathetic to religious expression, like permitting the Ten Commandments in government buildings and allowing pastors to endorse candidates from the pulpit. "If these issues are not addressed, you'll see values voters stay home by the millions. And then the Republicans and others who have been the beneficiary of the values vote are going to lose," Mr. Scarborough said."
Heart of the Beholder – The Movie The Religious Right Didn’t Want Made! - "The United States of America is a free country – a country where censorship is censured as being morally wrong, right? Unless, of course, you’re a hard line religious zealot – then it’s okay to charge a video store chain with obscenity, through a blackmailed prosecutor, for renting out titles like “Splash,” or blasphemous movies like “The Last Temptation of Christ.” That’s the story behind “Heart of the Beholder,” a movie by Ken Tipton, who brings his real life experience to the film – only the names have been changed… ... “Heart of the Beholder” is unique among indie movies in a number of crucial ways – it does not follow the standard Hollywood formula for revenge flicks; it certainly doesn’t follow the Hollywood formula for movies that are “based on a true story” [whereas most of these films are between 15-50% accurate, “Beholder” clocks in at about 90-95%]; it does not look like a low-budget indie flick; it looks like a twenty-million dollar movie – not a half-million dollar indie, and it took thirteen years to get made."
Evolution theory on last legs, says seminary teacher - "To William Dembski, all the debate in this country over evolution won't matter in a decade. By then, he says, the theory of evolution put forth by Charles Darwin 150 years ago will be dead. The mathematician turned Darwin critic says there is much to be learned about how life evolved on this planet. And he thinks the model of evolution accepted by the scientific community won't be able to supply the answers. "I see this all disintegrating very quickly," he said."
Testing Darwin's Teachers - "Two decades of political and legal maneuvering on evolution has spilled over into public schools, and biology teachers are struggling to respond. Loyal to the accounts they've learned in church, students are taking it upon themselves to wedge creationism into the classroom, sometimes with snide comments but also with sophisticated questions — and a fervent faith. As sophomore Daniel Read put it: "I'm going to say as much about God as I can in school, even if the teachers can't." Such challenges have become so disruptive that some teachers dread the annual unit on evolution — or skip it altogether."
The foundations of global morality - "Some people believe that this concept of morality derives from religion; others that the great monotheistic religions themselves seek to encapsulate and enshrine, even codify, a pre-existing concept of the right way for human beings to live. It is, in my view, of the greatest importance that, if we seek to conceive of a global ethic, we separate the idea of morality from that of religion. This does not mean abandoning religion, it means only that when we argue about right and wrong we should keep separate arguments based on human morality – the desire of human beings in society to do good rather than harm – from those based on divine law."
Government should stay out of religion - "Apparently people insecure about their place in society and unwilling to adapt to the new religious landscape find this threatening. They seem to want to return to a time (that never existed) when everyone went to church at 11 a.m. on Sunday and, almost in national unison, sang "Jesus Loves Me." As someone who usually is in church at that time on Sundays and who loves that song, I also find myself at least at first attracted to the idea that such a shared national experience wouldn't be a bad thing. But that's never going to happen. And the sooner we get on with the task of learning how to live in harmony in a religiously diverse culture, the better off we'll be and the more we can be a model for other nations struggling with questions of religious freedom."
Should a leader impose belief over reason? - "As a citizen, Patrick Augustus Manning has the right to believe whatever he wants. But, as the Prime Minister, Mr Manning should not have the right to impose his religious beliefs on other citizens."
Smoke and ire - ""If this is such a big health issue," he wonders, pulling out a Pall Mall, "why do we have hundreds of people up in these casinos smoking, while I can't sit here in the VFW hall and have a cigarette and a beer?""
Nicotine interferes with chemotherapy, study finds - "Nicotine can prevent chemotherapy drugs such as taxol from killing lung cancer cells, researchers reported on Sunday in a finding that may help explain why lung cancer is so difficult to treat in smokers."
Gold set to become even scarcer - "Bobby Godsell, chief executive of AngloGold Ashanti, predicted that worldwide gold production would stagnate, then fall in the coming years as large deposits of the precious metal become scarce. He said this would support the rally in the gold price, which last week hit a 25-year high of $588 per ounce."
New York City Losing Blacks, Census Shows - "An accelerating exodus of American-born blacks, coupled with slight declines in birthrates and a slowing influx of Caribbean and African immigrants, have produced a decline in New York City's black population for the first time since the draft riots during the Civil War, according to preliminary census estimates."
Teen pregnancy rates dropping - "But an increased fear of contracting sexually transmitted diseases -- and more teenagers deciding to use birth control or simply waiting to have sex -- has dropped teen pregnancy rates to their lowest levels in 30 years, experts said. The national pregnancy rate fell 24 percent among 15- to 19-year-olds from 1992 through 2000, the most recent data available, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy in Washington, D.C."
Erotic thrillers lose steam at box office - ""Anything that is erotic has been banned in the United States," said the Dutch native. "Look at the people at the top (of the government). We are living under a government that is constantly hammering out Christian values. And Christianity and sex have never been good friends.""
At last, movies to keep arrive on Net - "Six major studios on Monday plan to begin selling movies over the Internet that buyers can download and keep for watching at any time. ... For example, "Memoirs of a Geisha," from Sony, will cost $19.99 to download from CinemaNow and $25.99 from Movielink. As a DVD, by contrast, it is priced at $16.87 at Wal-Mart. "King Kong," from Universal, which will cost $19.99 from both download services, is being sold on DVD for $14.96 by Amazon.com and $13.99 by Circuit City." -- Not going to succeed if they continue to do that.
Quote of the Day
"The most dangerous man, to any government, is the man who is able to think things out for himself... Almost inevitably, he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane and intolerable."
~ H.L. Mencken
The Ground Zero Grassy Knoll - "But if Oswald didn’t kill the president, who did? So 11/22 remains an open case, an open wound. Now here we are again, contemplating the seemingly unthinkable events of September 11. An official explanation has been offered up: The nation was attacked by the forces of radical Islam led by Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda jihadists. Again, this narrative has been accepted by many. But not all."
U.S. to create a bird flu virus mutation - "CDC scientists inside an ultra-secure laboratory have started swapping the genes of the H5N1 avian virus with the genes of an H3N2 virus, the strain behind most recent human flu outbreaks. The goal is to substitute the eight genes of each virus, one by one, with the eight genes from the other virus to see which of more than 250 possible combinations create flu viruses that could spread easily among humans."
Growth in federal spending unchecked - "Federal spending is outstripping economic growth at a rate unseen in more than half a century, provoking some conservatives to complain that government under Republican control has gotten too big. The federal government is currently spending 20.8 cents of every $1 the economy generates, up from 18.5 cents in 2001, White House budget documents show. That's the most rapid growth during one administration since Franklin Roosevelt."
Exxon Dethrones Wal-Mart on Fortune 500 - "Fortune compiled its list based on companies' 2005 revenues. Exxon Mobil raked in $340 billion in revenue, a 25.5 percent increase over and had $36.1 billion in profits, the most by any U.S. company in history."
The Dangers of Monotheism in the Age of Globalization - "The great pre-Christian civilizations of Greece and Rome had no religious wars and had a far healthier view of their frolicking gods and goddesses than the intolerant monotheistic Christianity that later came to dominate Europe. Polytheistic religions also tend to have a far more positive and healthier attitude to sex, which is seen as a good thing, than do the monotheistic faiths, where there is a much stronger tendency to equate sex with sin. ... The planet also needs an alternative geopolitical force to the American Christian fundamentalist brand of hegemonic thinking that the Bush Administration has generated — and that is not likely to evaporate even after his departure from office."
What war on Christians? - "Once, conservatives used to deplore the left's cult of victimhood and ridicule the obsession with real or imagined slights toward women, minorities, and other historically oppressed groups. Now, the right is embracing a victimhood cult obsessed with slights toward a group that makes up 85 percent of the American population."
Conservative Christian voters' policy agenda - "Conservative Christian voters say that Republican leaders they helped put in office haven't moved quickly enough on their policy agenda. Here are some of the issues they feel haven't been addressed:"
Conservative Christians losing faith in GOP - ""The nation isn't focused today in a way it was on such issues as abortion, marriage, the nature of the family," said the Rev. Laurence White of Houston. "For us, it's not the economy, stupid. It's the morality, stupid." ... "We're tired of talk. We want action," he said. "It occurs to us that no matter who is in the White House or who says what we want to hear, nothing ever changes." High on the list are a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and a judiciary more sympathetic to religious expression, like permitting the Ten Commandments in government buildings and allowing pastors to endorse candidates from the pulpit. "If these issues are not addressed, you'll see values voters stay home by the millions. And then the Republicans and others who have been the beneficiary of the values vote are going to lose," Mr. Scarborough said."
Heart of the Beholder – The Movie The Religious Right Didn’t Want Made! - "The United States of America is a free country – a country where censorship is censured as being morally wrong, right? Unless, of course, you’re a hard line religious zealot – then it’s okay to charge a video store chain with obscenity, through a blackmailed prosecutor, for renting out titles like “Splash,” or blasphemous movies like “The Last Temptation of Christ.” That’s the story behind “Heart of the Beholder,” a movie by Ken Tipton, who brings his real life experience to the film – only the names have been changed… ... “Heart of the Beholder” is unique among indie movies in a number of crucial ways – it does not follow the standard Hollywood formula for revenge flicks; it certainly doesn’t follow the Hollywood formula for movies that are “based on a true story” [whereas most of these films are between 15-50% accurate, “Beholder” clocks in at about 90-95%]; it does not look like a low-budget indie flick; it looks like a twenty-million dollar movie – not a half-million dollar indie, and it took thirteen years to get made."
Evolution theory on last legs, says seminary teacher - "To William Dembski, all the debate in this country over evolution won't matter in a decade. By then, he says, the theory of evolution put forth by Charles Darwin 150 years ago will be dead. The mathematician turned Darwin critic says there is much to be learned about how life evolved on this planet. And he thinks the model of evolution accepted by the scientific community won't be able to supply the answers. "I see this all disintegrating very quickly," he said."
Testing Darwin's Teachers - "Two decades of political and legal maneuvering on evolution has spilled over into public schools, and biology teachers are struggling to respond. Loyal to the accounts they've learned in church, students are taking it upon themselves to wedge creationism into the classroom, sometimes with snide comments but also with sophisticated questions — and a fervent faith. As sophomore Daniel Read put it: "I'm going to say as much about God as I can in school, even if the teachers can't." Such challenges have become so disruptive that some teachers dread the annual unit on evolution — or skip it altogether."
The foundations of global morality - "Some people believe that this concept of morality derives from religion; others that the great monotheistic religions themselves seek to encapsulate and enshrine, even codify, a pre-existing concept of the right way for human beings to live. It is, in my view, of the greatest importance that, if we seek to conceive of a global ethic, we separate the idea of morality from that of religion. This does not mean abandoning religion, it means only that when we argue about right and wrong we should keep separate arguments based on human morality – the desire of human beings in society to do good rather than harm – from those based on divine law."
Government should stay out of religion - "Apparently people insecure about their place in society and unwilling to adapt to the new religious landscape find this threatening. They seem to want to return to a time (that never existed) when everyone went to church at 11 a.m. on Sunday and, almost in national unison, sang "Jesus Loves Me." As someone who usually is in church at that time on Sundays and who loves that song, I also find myself at least at first attracted to the idea that such a shared national experience wouldn't be a bad thing. But that's never going to happen. And the sooner we get on with the task of learning how to live in harmony in a religiously diverse culture, the better off we'll be and the more we can be a model for other nations struggling with questions of religious freedom."
Should a leader impose belief over reason? - "As a citizen, Patrick Augustus Manning has the right to believe whatever he wants. But, as the Prime Minister, Mr Manning should not have the right to impose his religious beliefs on other citizens."
Smoke and ire - ""If this is such a big health issue," he wonders, pulling out a Pall Mall, "why do we have hundreds of people up in these casinos smoking, while I can't sit here in the VFW hall and have a cigarette and a beer?""
Nicotine interferes with chemotherapy, study finds - "Nicotine can prevent chemotherapy drugs such as taxol from killing lung cancer cells, researchers reported on Sunday in a finding that may help explain why lung cancer is so difficult to treat in smokers."
Gold set to become even scarcer - "Bobby Godsell, chief executive of AngloGold Ashanti, predicted that worldwide gold production would stagnate, then fall in the coming years as large deposits of the precious metal become scarce. He said this would support the rally in the gold price, which last week hit a 25-year high of $588 per ounce."
New York City Losing Blacks, Census Shows - "An accelerating exodus of American-born blacks, coupled with slight declines in birthrates and a slowing influx of Caribbean and African immigrants, have produced a decline in New York City's black population for the first time since the draft riots during the Civil War, according to preliminary census estimates."
Teen pregnancy rates dropping - "But an increased fear of contracting sexually transmitted diseases -- and more teenagers deciding to use birth control or simply waiting to have sex -- has dropped teen pregnancy rates to their lowest levels in 30 years, experts said. The national pregnancy rate fell 24 percent among 15- to 19-year-olds from 1992 through 2000, the most recent data available, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy in Washington, D.C."
Erotic thrillers lose steam at box office - ""Anything that is erotic has been banned in the United States," said the Dutch native. "Look at the people at the top (of the government). We are living under a government that is constantly hammering out Christian values. And Christianity and sex have never been good friends.""
At last, movies to keep arrive on Net - "Six major studios on Monday plan to begin selling movies over the Internet that buyers can download and keep for watching at any time. ... For example, "Memoirs of a Geisha," from Sony, will cost $19.99 to download from CinemaNow and $25.99 from Movielink. As a DVD, by contrast, it is priced at $16.87 at Wal-Mart. "King Kong," from Universal, which will cost $19.99 from both download services, is being sold on DVD for $14.96 by Amazon.com and $13.99 by Circuit City." -- Not going to succeed if they continue to do that.
Quote of the Day
"The most dangerous man, to any government, is the man who is able to think things out for himself... Almost inevitably, he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane and intolerable."
~ H.L. Mencken
April 2, 2006
News -- April 2, 2006
Attacking Iran May Trigger Terrorism - "As tensions increase between the United States and Iran, U.S. intelligence and terrorism experts say they believe Iran would respond to U.S. military strikes on its nuclear sites by deploying its intelligence operatives and Hezbollah teams to carry out terrorist attacks worldwide." -- Isn't bombing Iran's nuclear sites terrorism?
The War Drums Are Getting Louder and Sounding a Clear Message - "The way things are today, why on earth would those in charge in Washington ever want another war or maybe two of them. Already they're embroiled in two out-of-control debacles in the Middle East and Central Asia, and the country is leaching multi-billions we don't have to pay for them. Despite this hopeless chaos, it looks almost certain we're now headed for a new one with Iran and may try to "double our displeasure" by adding still another with Venezuela to remove their twice democratically elected President Hugo Chavez. ... Readers should understand and never forget that Hugo Chavez gave the people of Venezuela a participatory democracy and an array of essential social programs for everyone, especially the 80% or more poor or desperately poor who never before had them. That's why the majority of Venezuelans love him, will likely fight to protect and keep him, and will never easily surrender the essential services they now have. That's also why the US hates him and will try to remove him. He represents the greatest of all threats to us - a good example, one that may spread to other nations, and we can never tolerate that. It's bad for business. By US rules it's corporations first, second, third, and to hell with the people. We're doing the same thing here in the US so why would we ever care about those dark-skinned Venezuelans - except the rich ones, of course. With them the only color that counts is green."
Sleuths look for the tiniest smoking gun that could lead to war on Iran - "A single stray picogram of plutonium, one trillionth of a gram, is all that is needed to raise suspicions that a civilian nuclear plant could be making weapons-grade material. "It is like looking for fingerprints," said Mr Donohue. "To make a bomb you need about 10kg of plutonium or enriched uranium, but we can find nanograms or picograms, which are about 15 orders of magnitude less than that. There's just no way you can hide it.""
Government in secret talks about strike against Iran - "A high-level meeting will take place in the Ministry of Defence at which senior defence chiefs and government officials will consider the consequences of an attack on Iran. It is believed that an American-led attack, designed to destroy Iran's ability to develop a nuclear bomb, is "inevitable" if Teheran's leaders fail to comply with United Nations demands to freeze their uranium enrichment programme."
Keeping It Quiet: The Israel Lobby's Crushing of Dissent - "The first weapon of choice for the Israeli lobby when someone with prestige publishes a soundly researched paper or book critical of Israel or its powerful lobby is silence. If it's a book, it rarely gets reviewed; its author doesn't get interviewed. If it's a paper, there are no news stories in the big corporate press, no interviews with the authors, no television appearances. For the average American who depends on the press to tell him what's going on, it's as if the criticism never existed. The second weapon is, of course, to launch vicious personal attacks."
Most favored nation - "In all the controversy over a recent Kennedy School paper on 'the Israel lobby,' perhaps the most interesting question has gone largely unasked: Has the closeness of the US-Israel alliance been good for Israel?"
A just peace or no peace - "Do policymakers in Washington and Europe ever feel ashamed of their scandalous double standards? Before and since the Palestinian elections in January, they have continually insisted that Hamas comply with certain demands. They want us to recognise Israel, call off our resistance, and commit ourselves to whatever deals Israel and the Palestinian leadership reached in the past. But we have not heard a single demand of the Israeli parties that took part in this week's elections, though some advocate the complete removal of the Palestinians from their lands."
Editor hits back over Israel row - "The article has been praised by white supremacist and former head of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke - a move that Wilmers admits was 'unsettling'. 'I don't want David Duke to endorse the article,' he told The Observer from France on Friday. 'It makes me feel uncomfortable. But when I re-read the piece, I did not see anything that I felt should not have been said. Maybe it is because I am Jewish, but I think I am very alert to anti-Semitism. And I do not think that criticising US foreign policy, or Israel's way of going about influencing it, is anti-Semitic. I just don't see it.'"
Meeting Doctor Doom - "But there was a gravely disturbing side to that otherwise scientifically significant meeting, for I watched in amazement as a few hundred members of the Texas Academy of Science rose to their feet and gave a standing ovation to a speech that enthusiastically advocated the elimination of 90 percent of Earth's population by airborne Ebola. The speech was given by Dr. Eric R. Pianka (Fig. 1), the University of Texas evolutionary ecologist and lizard expert who the Academy named the 2006 Distinguished Texas Scientist."
Clean the Blood, Cure Bird Flu? - "California researchers say a blood-cleaning machine could save lives if bird flu becomes a pandemic. Fighting viruses by cleansing the blood might sound too good to be true, and many infectious disease experts say it is. The device, called the Hemopurifier, performs a type of dialysis. According to James Joyce, founder and CEO of Aethlon Medical in San Diego, it can also remove smallpox and the Ebola and Marburg viruses. The Hemopurifier works against so many different viruses, according to Joyce, that the device could one day serve as a "portable immune system.""
America's war on the web - "IMAGINE a world where wars are fought over the internet; where TV broadcasts and newspaper reports are designed by the military to confuse the population; and where a foreign armed power can shut down your computer, phone, radio or TV at will. In 2006, we are just about to enter such a world. This is the age of information warfare, and details of how this new military doctrine will affect everyone on the planet are contained in a report, entitled The Information Operations Roadmap, commissioned and approved by US secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld and seen by the Sunday Herald."
New York mayor: Fairways would sufferif undocumented immigrants sent home - "While Congress debates immigration reform, weighing proposals ranging from making it a felony to be in the U.S. illegally, to building a wall along the border with Mexico, to adopting a guest worker program that leads to full citizenship, New York City's billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg has weighed in against deporting illegal aliens because they are the ones who take care of the golf courses."
Poll: Most Open to Letting Immigrants Stay - "Americans are divided about whether illegal immigrants help or hurt the country, a poll finds. More than one-half of those questioned are open to allowing undocumented workers to obtain some temporary legal status so they can stay in the United States. At the same time, people doubt that erecting a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border could help to fix such a complex and enduring problem, an AP-Ipsos poll found. Two-thirds do not think it would work."
'Paedophiles are outed. Why shouldn't those involved in abortion be, too?' - ""Naming and shaming is fine by me," Mr Dowson, the leader of the pro-life UK Life League, says with a somewhat self-satisfied smile. "Paedophiles are outed, why shouldn't those involved in abortion be, too? After all, they are murderers. A child may survive a paedophile. No child survives an abortion clinic.""
The Prostitution of John McCain - "In case you missed it, this past week completed the transformation of John McCain from GOP maverick to Republican prostitute. In his no-holds barred pursuit of the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, the Arizona Senator has exchanged his seething hatred of George W. Bush for a fawning courtship and high-profile bootlicking of the Bush political machine."
Catholic Billionaire Envisions City of God - "America's newest town is rising up in the midst of a dusty tomato field in southwest Florida. And if the Catholics building it have their way, this ultraconservative community with a 65-foot crucifix at its center will be the closest thing to heaven on Earth. They envision a town that adheres to strict religious values, a place void of adult bookstores, strip clubs, massage parlors and abortion clinics. At one time they had planned to prohibit the sale of contraceptives at drugstores and bar X-rated channels from cable television. But the law got in the way." -- Well, then who the hell would want to live there?
Experiment: Closed-Heart Surgery - "Dr. Samuel Lichtenstein cut a 2-inch hole between an elderly man's ribs. Peering inside, he poked a pencil-sized wire up into the chest, piercing the bottom of the man's heart. Within minutes, Bud Boyer would have a new heart valve -- without having his chest cracked open. Call it closed-heart surgery. ... The hope is that one day, replacing a heart valve could become almost an overnight procedure."
Ohio set to pass zero tolerance 'drugged driving' law - "Activists groups that focus on the decriminalization of marijuana are outraged that the almost-certain-to-become law will also target individuals found with trace amounts of tetra-hydro cannabinol or THC - the active ingredient in the drug - still in their system, even if they weren't "drugged" at the time. Marijuana can remain in a user's system for up to weeks afterward."
Battle Brews As Porn Moves Into Mainstream - "Harmer is part of a cadre of anti-porn activists seeking new tactics to fight an unprecedented deluge of porn which they see as wrecking countless marriages and warping human sexuality. They are urging federal prosecutors to pursue more obscenity cases and raising funds for high-tech brain research that they hope will fuel lawsuits against porn magnates. "We don't think it's a lost cause," said Harmer, a Utah-based auto executive and former politician who's been fighting porn for 40 years. "It's the most profitable industry in the world," he said. "But I'm convinced we'll demonstrate in the not-too-distant future the actual physical harm that pornography causes and hold them financially accountable. That could be the straw that breaks their back.""
A Burning Need for More Porn - "If you could buy a porn video, download it in about an hour and burn it to a DVD that will play in any standard drive, would you do it? What if it had built-in digital rights management (DRM) code that only let you burn the file to disk one time, and one time only? Vivid, arguably the most tech-savvy of the big adult entertainment studios, is launching a new Burn to DVD service on April 3 with the expectation that you, and millions like you, will. "We expect the service to be extremely popular," says Hirsch. "Just hit the button, download and burn." The prices for a DVD by download are the same as a traditional DVD, about $25 per feature, and your homemade DVD sports the same menu system, chapter navigation and any interactive features included with the original. Print the jacket art, add a jewel case and it's just like the real thing, without a plain brown wrapper or a trip to the store."
New Maine Law Shields Animals in Domestic Violence Cases - "In the past, she said in a telephone interview yesterday, he had retaliated against her by running over her blind and deaf border collie named Katydid, shooting two sheep and wringing the necks of her prized turkeys. "It wasn't just the cats and the dogs I had, it was the sheep and the chickens I was terrified for their welfare," Ms. Walsh, 50, said. "I knew if I were to leave, he wouldn't hesitate to kill them. He had done it before." Experts on domestic violence say accounts like that of Ms. Walsh, who is now divorced, are not unusual. They say many men who abuse wives or girlfriends threaten or harm their animals to coerce or control the women. To address the problem, Maine's governor, John Baldacci, signed a bill yesterday that allows animals to be included in protection orders in domestic violence cases. ... Maine is believed to be the first state with such a law. But the issue has captured attention around the country as police departments, domestic-violence programs, animal protection societies and state officials become increasingly aware of a link between domestic violence and animal abuse."
Pet food is healthier than fast food! - "It may seem a bit over the top, but a new study has found that the tins of cat and dog food you feed your favourite pet is not only good for their health but yours as well, for it contains less fat, salt and sugar levels than fast food."
Quote of the Day
"Terrorism is the best political weapon for nothing drives people harder than a fear of sudden death."
~ Adolf Hitler
The War Drums Are Getting Louder and Sounding a Clear Message - "The way things are today, why on earth would those in charge in Washington ever want another war or maybe two of them. Already they're embroiled in two out-of-control debacles in the Middle East and Central Asia, and the country is leaching multi-billions we don't have to pay for them. Despite this hopeless chaos, it looks almost certain we're now headed for a new one with Iran and may try to "double our displeasure" by adding still another with Venezuela to remove their twice democratically elected President Hugo Chavez. ... Readers should understand and never forget that Hugo Chavez gave the people of Venezuela a participatory democracy and an array of essential social programs for everyone, especially the 80% or more poor or desperately poor who never before had them. That's why the majority of Venezuelans love him, will likely fight to protect and keep him, and will never easily surrender the essential services they now have. That's also why the US hates him and will try to remove him. He represents the greatest of all threats to us - a good example, one that may spread to other nations, and we can never tolerate that. It's bad for business. By US rules it's corporations first, second, third, and to hell with the people. We're doing the same thing here in the US so why would we ever care about those dark-skinned Venezuelans - except the rich ones, of course. With them the only color that counts is green."
Sleuths look for the tiniest smoking gun that could lead to war on Iran - "A single stray picogram of plutonium, one trillionth of a gram, is all that is needed to raise suspicions that a civilian nuclear plant could be making weapons-grade material. "It is like looking for fingerprints," said Mr Donohue. "To make a bomb you need about 10kg of plutonium or enriched uranium, but we can find nanograms or picograms, which are about 15 orders of magnitude less than that. There's just no way you can hide it.""
Government in secret talks about strike against Iran - "A high-level meeting will take place in the Ministry of Defence at which senior defence chiefs and government officials will consider the consequences of an attack on Iran. It is believed that an American-led attack, designed to destroy Iran's ability to develop a nuclear bomb, is "inevitable" if Teheran's leaders fail to comply with United Nations demands to freeze their uranium enrichment programme."
Keeping It Quiet: The Israel Lobby's Crushing of Dissent - "The first weapon of choice for the Israeli lobby when someone with prestige publishes a soundly researched paper or book critical of Israel or its powerful lobby is silence. If it's a book, it rarely gets reviewed; its author doesn't get interviewed. If it's a paper, there are no news stories in the big corporate press, no interviews with the authors, no television appearances. For the average American who depends on the press to tell him what's going on, it's as if the criticism never existed. The second weapon is, of course, to launch vicious personal attacks."
Most favored nation - "In all the controversy over a recent Kennedy School paper on 'the Israel lobby,' perhaps the most interesting question has gone largely unasked: Has the closeness of the US-Israel alliance been good for Israel?"
A just peace or no peace - "Do policymakers in Washington and Europe ever feel ashamed of their scandalous double standards? Before and since the Palestinian elections in January, they have continually insisted that Hamas comply with certain demands. They want us to recognise Israel, call off our resistance, and commit ourselves to whatever deals Israel and the Palestinian leadership reached in the past. But we have not heard a single demand of the Israeli parties that took part in this week's elections, though some advocate the complete removal of the Palestinians from their lands."
Editor hits back over Israel row - "The article has been praised by white supremacist and former head of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke - a move that Wilmers admits was 'unsettling'. 'I don't want David Duke to endorse the article,' he told The Observer from France on Friday. 'It makes me feel uncomfortable. But when I re-read the piece, I did not see anything that I felt should not have been said. Maybe it is because I am Jewish, but I think I am very alert to anti-Semitism. And I do not think that criticising US foreign policy, or Israel's way of going about influencing it, is anti-Semitic. I just don't see it.'"
Meeting Doctor Doom - "But there was a gravely disturbing side to that otherwise scientifically significant meeting, for I watched in amazement as a few hundred members of the Texas Academy of Science rose to their feet and gave a standing ovation to a speech that enthusiastically advocated the elimination of 90 percent of Earth's population by airborne Ebola. The speech was given by Dr. Eric R. Pianka (Fig. 1), the University of Texas evolutionary ecologist and lizard expert who the Academy named the 2006 Distinguished Texas Scientist."
Clean the Blood, Cure Bird Flu? - "California researchers say a blood-cleaning machine could save lives if bird flu becomes a pandemic. Fighting viruses by cleansing the blood might sound too good to be true, and many infectious disease experts say it is. The device, called the Hemopurifier, performs a type of dialysis. According to James Joyce, founder and CEO of Aethlon Medical in San Diego, it can also remove smallpox and the Ebola and Marburg viruses. The Hemopurifier works against so many different viruses, according to Joyce, that the device could one day serve as a "portable immune system.""
America's war on the web - "IMAGINE a world where wars are fought over the internet; where TV broadcasts and newspaper reports are designed by the military to confuse the population; and where a foreign armed power can shut down your computer, phone, radio or TV at will. In 2006, we are just about to enter such a world. This is the age of information warfare, and details of how this new military doctrine will affect everyone on the planet are contained in a report, entitled The Information Operations Roadmap, commissioned and approved by US secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld and seen by the Sunday Herald."
New York mayor: Fairways would sufferif undocumented immigrants sent home - "While Congress debates immigration reform, weighing proposals ranging from making it a felony to be in the U.S. illegally, to building a wall along the border with Mexico, to adopting a guest worker program that leads to full citizenship, New York City's billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg has weighed in against deporting illegal aliens because they are the ones who take care of the golf courses."
Poll: Most Open to Letting Immigrants Stay - "Americans are divided about whether illegal immigrants help or hurt the country, a poll finds. More than one-half of those questioned are open to allowing undocumented workers to obtain some temporary legal status so they can stay in the United States. At the same time, people doubt that erecting a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border could help to fix such a complex and enduring problem, an AP-Ipsos poll found. Two-thirds do not think it would work."
'Paedophiles are outed. Why shouldn't those involved in abortion be, too?' - ""Naming and shaming is fine by me," Mr Dowson, the leader of the pro-life UK Life League, says with a somewhat self-satisfied smile. "Paedophiles are outed, why shouldn't those involved in abortion be, too? After all, they are murderers. A child may survive a paedophile. No child survives an abortion clinic.""
The Prostitution of John McCain - "In case you missed it, this past week completed the transformation of John McCain from GOP maverick to Republican prostitute. In his no-holds barred pursuit of the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, the Arizona Senator has exchanged his seething hatred of George W. Bush for a fawning courtship and high-profile bootlicking of the Bush political machine."
Catholic Billionaire Envisions City of God - "America's newest town is rising up in the midst of a dusty tomato field in southwest Florida. And if the Catholics building it have their way, this ultraconservative community with a 65-foot crucifix at its center will be the closest thing to heaven on Earth. They envision a town that adheres to strict religious values, a place void of adult bookstores, strip clubs, massage parlors and abortion clinics. At one time they had planned to prohibit the sale of contraceptives at drugstores and bar X-rated channels from cable television. But the law got in the way." -- Well, then who the hell would want to live there?
Experiment: Closed-Heart Surgery - "Dr. Samuel Lichtenstein cut a 2-inch hole between an elderly man's ribs. Peering inside, he poked a pencil-sized wire up into the chest, piercing the bottom of the man's heart. Within minutes, Bud Boyer would have a new heart valve -- without having his chest cracked open. Call it closed-heart surgery. ... The hope is that one day, replacing a heart valve could become almost an overnight procedure."
Ohio set to pass zero tolerance 'drugged driving' law - "Activists groups that focus on the decriminalization of marijuana are outraged that the almost-certain-to-become law will also target individuals found with trace amounts of tetra-hydro cannabinol or THC - the active ingredient in the drug - still in their system, even if they weren't "drugged" at the time. Marijuana can remain in a user's system for up to weeks afterward."
Battle Brews As Porn Moves Into Mainstream - "Harmer is part of a cadre of anti-porn activists seeking new tactics to fight an unprecedented deluge of porn which they see as wrecking countless marriages and warping human sexuality. They are urging federal prosecutors to pursue more obscenity cases and raising funds for high-tech brain research that they hope will fuel lawsuits against porn magnates. "We don't think it's a lost cause," said Harmer, a Utah-based auto executive and former politician who's been fighting porn for 40 years. "It's the most profitable industry in the world," he said. "But I'm convinced we'll demonstrate in the not-too-distant future the actual physical harm that pornography causes and hold them financially accountable. That could be the straw that breaks their back.""
A Burning Need for More Porn - "If you could buy a porn video, download it in about an hour and burn it to a DVD that will play in any standard drive, would you do it? What if it had built-in digital rights management (DRM) code that only let you burn the file to disk one time, and one time only? Vivid, arguably the most tech-savvy of the big adult entertainment studios, is launching a new Burn to DVD service on April 3 with the expectation that you, and millions like you, will. "We expect the service to be extremely popular," says Hirsch. "Just hit the button, download and burn." The prices for a DVD by download are the same as a traditional DVD, about $25 per feature, and your homemade DVD sports the same menu system, chapter navigation and any interactive features included with the original. Print the jacket art, add a jewel case and it's just like the real thing, without a plain brown wrapper or a trip to the store."
New Maine Law Shields Animals in Domestic Violence Cases - "In the past, she said in a telephone interview yesterday, he had retaliated against her by running over her blind and deaf border collie named Katydid, shooting two sheep and wringing the necks of her prized turkeys. "It wasn't just the cats and the dogs I had, it was the sheep and the chickens I was terrified for their welfare," Ms. Walsh, 50, said. "I knew if I were to leave, he wouldn't hesitate to kill them. He had done it before." Experts on domestic violence say accounts like that of Ms. Walsh, who is now divorced, are not unusual. They say many men who abuse wives or girlfriends threaten or harm their animals to coerce or control the women. To address the problem, Maine's governor, John Baldacci, signed a bill yesterday that allows animals to be included in protection orders in domestic violence cases. ... Maine is believed to be the first state with such a law. But the issue has captured attention around the country as police departments, domestic-violence programs, animal protection societies and state officials become increasingly aware of a link between domestic violence and animal abuse."
Pet food is healthier than fast food! - "It may seem a bit over the top, but a new study has found that the tins of cat and dog food you feed your favourite pet is not only good for their health but yours as well, for it contains less fat, salt and sugar levels than fast food."
Quote of the Day
"Terrorism is the best political weapon for nothing drives people harder than a fear of sudden death."
~ Adolf Hitler
April 1, 2006
News -- April 1, 2006
Rice admits multiple Iraq errors - "US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has admitted the US has made thousands of tactical errors in Iraq, but said it was right to remove Saddam Hussein." -- It would also be right to remove George W. Bush.
'Innocent Until Proved Guilty?' - "A Pentagon study obtained by ABC News finds that a new kind of voice lie detector used by the U.S. military and American police departments is no better than "flipping a coin" in detecting lies. Until the Pentagon ordered a halt to its use, the Voice Stress Analyzer was being used by military intelligence interrogators at Guantanamo Bay and in Iraq. Several suspected terrorists were released from custody based on the machine's results and former Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariz Aziz was one of the many "high value targets" who were hooked up to the now discredited machine."
'Cheney and Halliburton hold title — top earners in Iraq' - " There has never been an investigation into Cheney's involvement in awarding Halliburton no-bid contracts making the company the number one war profiteerer in Iraq. Apparently people have forgotten about the March 5, 2003 e-mail between the Army Corps of Engineers and a Pentagon employee that stated the contract "has been coordinated w VP's office." People also seem to have forgotten that Cheney continues to own stock in Halliburton. Stock that has risen in leaps and bounds since its former CEO moved into the White House and developed the most prolific war profiteering scheme of all time."
Corporate Profits surge to 40-year high - "For all of 2005, before-tax profits totaled $1.35 trillion, up from $1.16 trillion in 2004 and just $767 billion in 2001. Meanwhile, the share of national income going to wage and salary workers has fallen to 56.9%. Except for a brief period in 1997, that's the lowest share for labor income since 1966."
Inside Trading: Congress for sale - "Unfortunately, Congress forgot itself. It remains perfectly legal for a member of Congress to buy and sell stocks based on information that's not available to the public. Last year it was reported that a "political intelligence" firm tipped off its clients to an undelivered speech by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on asbestos liability. The information was profitable to those in the know."
Vision Quest - "None of these aims have been harmed in the slightest by Iraq's death spiral into civil war. The Bush faction's war profiteering and fraud -- on a scale surpassing anything ever seen in world history -- has fueled a ruthless political machine that, despite its growing unpopularity with the U.S. people, now controls all three branches of government and has overthrown the Constitution, openly declaring that its leader is beyond the reach of "judicial review, congressional oversight or international law," as The Washington Post reported, rather belatedly, this week. Swollen by the swag of aggressive war, the elite interests represented by the Bush regime -- oil, military-related industries and predatory venture capitalists like the Carlyle Group -- have had their already inordinate sway over American society and policy increased by several magnitudes. They will remain ascendant for decades to come, no matter what happens in Iraq, or in any U.S. election."
Interview of the Vice President by Tony Snow - "Q I want to be clear because I've heard you say this, and I've heard the President say it, but I want you to say it for my listeners, which is that the White House has never argued that Saddam was directly involved in September 11th, correct? THE VICE PRESIDENT: That's correct. We had one report early on from another intelligence service that suggested that the lead hijacker, Mohamed Atta, had met with Iraqi intelligence officials in Prague, Czechoslovakia. And that reporting waxed and waned where the degree of confidence in it, and so forth, has been pretty well knocked down now at this stage, that that meeting ever took place. So we've never made the case, or argued the case that somehow Osama bin Laden [sic] was directly involved in 9/11. That evidence has never been forthcoming. But there -- that's a separate proposition from the question of whether or not there was some kind of a relationship between the Iraqi government, Iraqi intelligence services and the al Qaeda organization."
The Lobby Strikes Back - "Harvard study of Israeli lobby's influence costs the academic dean of the Kennedy School his job. ... Now, somebody please tell me that Mearsheimer and Walt have overplayed the power and influence of the Lobby in American political life."
Scholarship and the History of the Bible - "Today I'm writing about the possibility of Georgia approving a law that allows historic Bible study in public high schools. ... I have four concerns with this proposition (well, four that I'll share here): ... In the end, my concerns are that this is nothing but someone's attempt to indoctrinate students into a religion, or to indoctrinate students into a narrow, western-centric perspective. Neither of these agendas have anything to do with honest, academic persuits."
General Motors building $600 to $650 million US plant in Mexico - "General Motors Corp., which is closing plants in the United States, says it will spend $600 million to $650 million US to build a small car assembly plant in Mexico, employing 1,800 to 2,300 workers. It is to open in 2008. ... The plant will produce compact and subcompact vehicles, he said, adding that GM does not plan to sell any of them in the United States."
Pacific Ocean getting warmer, more acidic - "Testing by U.S. scientists finds that the Pacific Ocean is getting warmer and more acidic, while the amount of oxygen is decreasing."
Third teenage girl charged in child pornography case - "The 16-year-old from Lincoln was arrested and charged with conspiracy. She's accused of taking explicit photos of two friends, 19-year-old Elizabeth Muller of North Smithfield and a 16-year-old girl from Lincoln whose name hasn't been released. The photos were later posted on their MySpace Web sites. The name of the third girl, who was charged Wednesday, also has not been released. The other two teens were arrested earlier this week and charged with child pornography." -- Seems these three girls knew what they were doing and were acting with mutual consent.
Three Men Charged in 'Dungeon' Castration - "Three men have been arrested on charges of performing castrations on apparently willing participants in a sadomasochistic "dungeon" in a rural house, authorities said Friday."
Mumps In Iowa - "It first showed up in January and by the end of February. Iowa had 26 cases of the mumps. Three weeks later, that number more than doubled. Today, health officials believe there are more than 200 Iowans with the disease. Iowa hasn't seen an outbreak like this in nearly 20 years. About one-third of Iowa counties are reporting cases of mumps. Dubuque county alone has already had 85 cases this year. But who's at risk? Health officials say it's not kids that should worry as much as the Baby Boomer generation. That's the age group health officials say might not have had a second dose of the M.M.R., or measles, mumps, rubella vaccine."
Alcohol: No Heart Benefit After All? - "Drink to your health — not for it. Moderate drinking does not protect against death from heart disease, a new study suggests."
Up With Grups* - "This is an obituary for the generation gap. It is a story about 40-year-old men and women who look, talk, act, and dress like people who are 22 years old. It’s not about a fad but about a phenomenon that looks to be permanent."
Quote of the Day
"Birth, School, Work, Death."
~ The Godfathers
'Innocent Until Proved Guilty?' - "A Pentagon study obtained by ABC News finds that a new kind of voice lie detector used by the U.S. military and American police departments is no better than "flipping a coin" in detecting lies. Until the Pentagon ordered a halt to its use, the Voice Stress Analyzer was being used by military intelligence interrogators at Guantanamo Bay and in Iraq. Several suspected terrorists were released from custody based on the machine's results and former Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariz Aziz was one of the many "high value targets" who were hooked up to the now discredited machine."
'Cheney and Halliburton hold title — top earners in Iraq' - " There has never been an investigation into Cheney's involvement in awarding Halliburton no-bid contracts making the company the number one war profiteerer in Iraq. Apparently people have forgotten about the March 5, 2003 e-mail between the Army Corps of Engineers and a Pentagon employee that stated the contract "has been coordinated w VP's office." People also seem to have forgotten that Cheney continues to own stock in Halliburton. Stock that has risen in leaps and bounds since its former CEO moved into the White House and developed the most prolific war profiteering scheme of all time."
Corporate Profits surge to 40-year high - "For all of 2005, before-tax profits totaled $1.35 trillion, up from $1.16 trillion in 2004 and just $767 billion in 2001. Meanwhile, the share of national income going to wage and salary workers has fallen to 56.9%. Except for a brief period in 1997, that's the lowest share for labor income since 1966."
Inside Trading: Congress for sale - "Unfortunately, Congress forgot itself. It remains perfectly legal for a member of Congress to buy and sell stocks based on information that's not available to the public. Last year it was reported that a "political intelligence" firm tipped off its clients to an undelivered speech by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on asbestos liability. The information was profitable to those in the know."
Vision Quest - "None of these aims have been harmed in the slightest by Iraq's death spiral into civil war. The Bush faction's war profiteering and fraud -- on a scale surpassing anything ever seen in world history -- has fueled a ruthless political machine that, despite its growing unpopularity with the U.S. people, now controls all three branches of government and has overthrown the Constitution, openly declaring that its leader is beyond the reach of "judicial review, congressional oversight or international law," as The Washington Post reported, rather belatedly, this week. Swollen by the swag of aggressive war, the elite interests represented by the Bush regime -- oil, military-related industries and predatory venture capitalists like the Carlyle Group -- have had their already inordinate sway over American society and policy increased by several magnitudes. They will remain ascendant for decades to come, no matter what happens in Iraq, or in any U.S. election."
Interview of the Vice President by Tony Snow - "Q I want to be clear because I've heard you say this, and I've heard the President say it, but I want you to say it for my listeners, which is that the White House has never argued that Saddam was directly involved in September 11th, correct? THE VICE PRESIDENT: That's correct. We had one report early on from another intelligence service that suggested that the lead hijacker, Mohamed Atta, had met with Iraqi intelligence officials in Prague, Czechoslovakia. And that reporting waxed and waned where the degree of confidence in it, and so forth, has been pretty well knocked down now at this stage, that that meeting ever took place. So we've never made the case, or argued the case that somehow Osama bin Laden [sic] was directly involved in 9/11. That evidence has never been forthcoming. But there -- that's a separate proposition from the question of whether or not there was some kind of a relationship between the Iraqi government, Iraqi intelligence services and the al Qaeda organization."
The Lobby Strikes Back - "Harvard study of Israeli lobby's influence costs the academic dean of the Kennedy School his job. ... Now, somebody please tell me that Mearsheimer and Walt have overplayed the power and influence of the Lobby in American political life."
Scholarship and the History of the Bible - "Today I'm writing about the possibility of Georgia approving a law that allows historic Bible study in public high schools. ... I have four concerns with this proposition (well, four that I'll share here): ... In the end, my concerns are that this is nothing but someone's attempt to indoctrinate students into a religion, or to indoctrinate students into a narrow, western-centric perspective. Neither of these agendas have anything to do with honest, academic persuits."
General Motors building $600 to $650 million US plant in Mexico - "General Motors Corp., which is closing plants in the United States, says it will spend $600 million to $650 million US to build a small car assembly plant in Mexico, employing 1,800 to 2,300 workers. It is to open in 2008. ... The plant will produce compact and subcompact vehicles, he said, adding that GM does not plan to sell any of them in the United States."
Pacific Ocean getting warmer, more acidic - "Testing by U.S. scientists finds that the Pacific Ocean is getting warmer and more acidic, while the amount of oxygen is decreasing."
Third teenage girl charged in child pornography case - "The 16-year-old from Lincoln was arrested and charged with conspiracy. She's accused of taking explicit photos of two friends, 19-year-old Elizabeth Muller of North Smithfield and a 16-year-old girl from Lincoln whose name hasn't been released. The photos were later posted on their MySpace Web sites. The name of the third girl, who was charged Wednesday, also has not been released. The other two teens were arrested earlier this week and charged with child pornography." -- Seems these three girls knew what they were doing and were acting with mutual consent.
Three Men Charged in 'Dungeon' Castration - "Three men have been arrested on charges of performing castrations on apparently willing participants in a sadomasochistic "dungeon" in a rural house, authorities said Friday."
Mumps In Iowa - "It first showed up in January and by the end of February. Iowa had 26 cases of the mumps. Three weeks later, that number more than doubled. Today, health officials believe there are more than 200 Iowans with the disease. Iowa hasn't seen an outbreak like this in nearly 20 years. About one-third of Iowa counties are reporting cases of mumps. Dubuque county alone has already had 85 cases this year. But who's at risk? Health officials say it's not kids that should worry as much as the Baby Boomer generation. That's the age group health officials say might not have had a second dose of the M.M.R., or measles, mumps, rubella vaccine."
Alcohol: No Heart Benefit After All? - "Drink to your health — not for it. Moderate drinking does not protect against death from heart disease, a new study suggests."
Up With Grups* - "This is an obituary for the generation gap. It is a story about 40-year-old men and women who look, talk, act, and dress like people who are 22 years old. It’s not about a fad but about a phenomenon that looks to be permanent."
Quote of the Day
"Birth, School, Work, Death."
~ The Godfathers
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