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18.Apr.2006 MSFT, YHOO to build data centers near NSA's in WA?
MSFT + YHOO to build data centers near NSA's in WA?

Boing Boing: Xeni Jardin : According to this AP item,

Microsoft + Yahoo may soon build massive data storage facilities in a rural corner of Washington state known for wide open spaces + potato farms. Coincidentally ...

Source: https://findory.com/read-rss-blogs?id=FVOojvRNUiiCRl8xiUTayQ..
17.Apr.2006
UK Police State, Surveillance Society Out Of Control - Paul Joseph Watson 

UK Police State, Surveillance Society Out Of Control Crude propaganda posters mirror images from Orwell's 1984 Steve Watson
18.Apr.2006
Fw: Charlie Sheen Says Media Complicit In 9/11 Cover-Up - Paul Joseph Watson 
Charlie Sheen Says Media Complicit In 9/11 Cover-Up Response to Kimmel appearance betrays unparalleled willful ignorance Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones/Prison

18.Apr.2006 US Doku -Thema 11.Sep.2001 - deutsche UT - bushtrash Dokumentarfilm Made in USA 2005 Louder than Words Production
18.Apr.2006 Inside Bay Area Currently a device known as the E-Nose, or electronic nose, is being developed by researchers

at the University of California, Berkeley using technology provided by Emeryville-based company Nanomix Inc. "Instead of sending a sample to a laboratory where they do some kind of elaborate analysis + ...
18.Apr.2006
Body Movement Generates Electricity in Miniature Device A new class of nanogenerator aims to produce electricity while being smaller and less toxic than traditional batteries.
18.Apr.2006 Rumsfeld Goes on Limbaugh Show and Equates Iraq War with WWII and Our Revolutionary War - Site admin Rumsfeld is thinking of himself as a modern George Washington
18.Apr.2006 Rural killings marked in Brazil Thousands of Brazilians gather to mark the 10th anniversary of the killing of 19 land rights protesters.
18.Apr.2006 Iran fears drive oil to new high Crude oil prices rise to a new high, as markets continue to fret about the idea of US attacks on Iran.
18.Apr.2006 Petition for nuclear-free Wales Campaigners travel to Downing Street to press for nuclear power to be kept out of Wales.
18.Apr.2006 Oil price hovers near 2005 high Oil prices rise to $70.70, just below 2005 s historic high, as the nuclear standoff with Iran dominates the market.
18.Apr.2006 Chernobyl death figures 'too low' Greenpeace says the health effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster have been grossly under-estimated.
18.Apr.2006 Flu health staff may stay home Four in 10 US health professionals will stay away from work in the event of a flu pandemic, a study says.
18.Apr.2006 Video: See live animations of geophysicist's re-creations of great quake of 1906 Video: See live animations of geophysicist's re-creations of great quake of 1906.

Brad Aagaard, a geophysicist at USGS + part of the Earthquake Hazards Team, explains live animations he + other geophysicists created to show the magnitude + effect on Earth that the great San Francisco earthquake of 00.Apr.1906 had in exact dimensions.
18.Apr.2006
Coming Around to Nuclear Power? - ScuttleMonkey 758
Heywood J. Blaume writes "In a Washington Post editorial Patrick Moore, a founder of Greenpeace, now says he was wrong about opposing nuclear power 30 years ago.

In the article he addresses common myths about nuclear power + puts forth the position that nuclear power is the only feasible, affordable power source that can solve today's growing environmental + energy policy issues.

From the article: 'Thirty years on, my views have changed + the rest of the environmental movement needs to update its views, too,

because nuclear energy may just be the energy source that can save our planet from another possible disaster: catastrophic climate change.'"
18.Apr.2006
Preisspirale: Ölpreis peilt 72-Dollar-Marke an
18.Apr.2006 Sorbonne - Minister nennt BesetzerInnen Nazis - Michal Stchura 

Frankreichs Bildungsminister vergleicht BesetzerInnen der Sorbonne mit Nazis + sieht Parallelen zu Bücherverbrennungen. Der Gesamte Artikel ist auf  https://www.ostblog.de/
18.Apr.2006Blog Growth Remains Strong - Steve Rubel 
David Sifry from Technorati reports on the State of the Blogosphere: * The blogosphere is over 60 times bigger than it was only 3 years ago. * 75,000 new weblogs created every day * 19.4 million bloggers (55%) are...

18.Apr.2006 Boeing Parts and Rules Bent, Whistle-Blowers Say
00.000.2000 -On a Boeing Co. assembly line in Kansas- Prewitt saw workers drilling extra holes in the long aluminum ribs that make up the skeleton of a jetliner's fuselage.

That was the only way the workers could attach the pieces, because some of their pre-drilled holes didn't match those on the ...
18.Apr.2006
On Exxon, Corporate Salaries + Gouging - Hoffman 
The blogosphere was abuzz toward the end of last week about Lee Raymond&apos;s reported $398,000,000 retirement package.

The obscene package contrasts sharply with Raymond&apos;s congressional testimony, at the height of the post-Katrina gas gouging crisis, that ""We're all in this...
18.Apr.2006
Balkans in race to stem flooding The swollen Danube threatens to flood more of the Balkans as communities race to shore up barriers.
18.Apr.2006 Moussaoui 'from broken home' An expert tells jurors deciding whether to execute al-Qaeda plotter Zacarias Moussaoui of his troubled childhood.
18.Apr.2006 Ex-US governor convicted of fraud George Ryan, the former governor of the US state of Illinois, is found guilty of corruption.
18.Apr.2006 Fifth Nepal protester 'shot dead' Security forces in Nepal kill a fifth anti-monarchy protester as an opposition strike enters its 12th day, reports say.
17.Apr.2006 Neil Young writes anti-war album Veteran rock singer Neil Young announces an album of protest songs called Living with War.
17.Apr.2006 High court skips Falwell Web site case Justices won't hear the televangelist's arguments for shutting down a critic's site with a similarly spelled domain name.
17.Apr.2006 https://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/04/17/1216244&from=rss

17.Apr.2006 Roland Piquepaille writes "Later this month, Carnegie Mellon University + the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will unveil the successor of the Spinner, a 7-ton unmanned robotic vehicle Dubbed Crusher, this new 6.5-ton robot will be able to carry payloads of up to 2 tons on very complex terrains.
17.Apr.2006 The power of Betsy

17.Apr.2006 NY Times: "Bloggers are fascinated by what they see as eerie parallels between Watergate and a phone-jamming scandal in New Hampshire.

It has low-level Republican operatives involved in dirty campaign tricks.

It has checks from donors with murky backgrounds.

It has telephone calls to the White House. What is unclear is whether it is the work of a few rogue actors, or something larger."

The blogger responsible for this story is Betsy Devine. She camped out in the New Hampshire courthouse + kept driving the story until today, when it appeared on the op-ed page of the NY Times. Way to go Betsy!!
17.Apr.2006 Americas Gulag: Spy Chief: CIA Detainees Will Be Held Indefinitely: Exclusive: John Negroponte says accused Al-Qaeda members will remain in secret prisons as long as 'war on terror continues'

17.Apr.2006 Gwynne Dyer: U.S. immigration ballyhoo: It's all about keeping illegal labour plentiful and unskilled wages low
17.Apr.2006 Ilan Pappe: Ingathering: From left to right, the manifestos of all the Zionist parties during the recent Israeli election campaign contained policies which they claimed would counter the ‘demographic problem’ posed by the Palestinian presence in Israel.

17.Apr.2006 Pollard's lawyer: U.S. demanding document held by Rafi Eitan : Jonathan Pollard's attorney said Sunday that the USA would release the convicted spy if Pollard's onetime handler, Rafi Eitan, handed over a secret document which details broad Israeli government involvement in the affair.

17.Apr.2006 Pollard-Barghouti release deal may be on horizon : Israeli officials believe that in several months, when the chaos in the Palestinian Authority increases, the USA will agree to release convicted spy Jonathan Pollard in exchange for the release of Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti, who is serving time in an Israeli jail.

17.Apr.2006 Barghouti: Olmert doesn't want peace: Jailed Fatah leader blasts Olmert's diplomatic plan, says convergence aims to deepen occupation; Barghouti charges Israeli society failed to give rise to genuine peace partner.
17.Apr.2006 SAS soldier quits Army in disgust at ‘illegal’ American tactics in Iraq: He said he had witnessed “dozens of illegal acts” by US troops, claiming they viewed all Iraqis as “untermenschen” - the Nazi term for races regarded as sub-human

17.Apr.2006 Tribute To A National Hero: RAF Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith, having refused to serve in Iraq: Despite all the pompous huffing and puffing from a few military wallahs rolled-out for the occasion the fact remains that, according to the Geneva Convention, Dr Kendall-Smith was perfectly entitled to refuse service

17.Apr.2006 Making war academic: I disagree with the need for military recruitment altogether. If society deems that military action is the right decision, the society must commit to that vision and force conscription and draft people from all walks of life, not just target those who are poor and want to go to college.

17.Apr.2006 Generals versus Rumsfeld: The search for scapegoats has begun in earnest. Who shall bear primary responsibility for this shipwreck, the civilian officials who conceived the war or the generals charged with waging it?

17.Apr.2006 US firms suspected of bilking Iraq funds: American contractors swindled hundreds of millions of dollars in Iraqi funds, but so far there is no way for Iraq's government to recoup the money, according to US investigators and civil attorneys tracking fraud claims against contractors.

17.Apr.2006 U.S. backup plan: invade iran by land, air, water strikes : The USA began planning a full-scale military campaign against Iran that involves missile strikes, a land invasion and a naval operation to establish control over the Strait of Hormuz even before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, a former US intelligence analyst disclosed on Sunday.

17.Apr.2006 William M. Arkin: The Pentagon Preps for Iran: In early 2003, even as U.S. forces were on the brink of war with Iraq, the Army had already begun conducting an analysis for a full-scale war with Iran.

17.Apr.2006 Blair refuses to back Iran strike: TONY Blair has told George Bush that Britain cannot offer military support to any strike on Iran, regardless of whether the move wins the backing of the international community, government sources claimed yesterday.

17.Apr.2006 General says Iran’s military ready “to project its power” : A top Iranian military commander said on Friday that the Islamic Republic’s Army + Revolutionary Guards “are today in a situation to make the Oppressor World [the USA and its allies] feel the great powers that are at Iran’s disposal”, the state-run news agency Mehr reported.

17.Apr.2006 Bush's Insane First Strike Policy: If You Don't Want to Get Whacked, You'd Better Get Your Nation a Nuke

17.Apr.2006 General Bush's lose-lose Iranian war options: There is something unreal about the bellicose statements coming from some sources in the Bush administration towards Iran.
17.Apr.2006 Iran was not ordered to Stop Enrichment - By Mike Whitney
It’s easy to get confused about developments in Iran because the media does everything in its power to obfuscate the facts and then spin the details in way that advances American policy objectives.

But, let’s be clear; the Security Council did NOT order Iran to stop enriching uranium . Continue

17.Apr.2006 What President Ahmadinejad Said About Israel and Iran's Nuclear Program - Full text of President's Ahmadinejad address
"Palestine is the meeting point of right and wrong. Freedom for Palestine is the present aspiration of humanity.

We must believe that good will prevail and evil will disappear. We must believe that Palestine will be free soon." Continued

17.Apr.2006 U.S. Program Is Directed at Altering Iran's Politics - By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
As the Bush administration confronts the Tehran government over its suspected nuclear weapons program and accusations that it supports terrorism, a newly created office of Iranian affairs in the State Department is poring over applications for a rapidly expanding program to change the political process inside Iran.
Continue 

16.Apr.2006 U.S. backup plan: invade Iran by land, air, water strikes - By Maxim Kniazkov
The USA began planning a full-scale military campaign against Iran that involves missile strikes, a land invasion + a naval operation to establish control over the Strait of Hormuz even before the 00.Mar.2003 invasion of Iraq, a former US intelligence analyst disclosed on Sunday.
Continued

17.Apr.2006 U.S. strike on Iran could make Iraq look like a warm-up bout - TIM HARPER -WASHINGTON BUREAU
Poison-laced missiles raining down on U.S. troops in Iraq or Afghanistan, the downing of a U.S. passenger airliner, suicide bombers in major cities, perhaps unleashing their deadly payload in a shopping mall food court.

It could be 9/11 all over again. Or worse. Continued
17.Apr.2006 The Touchable and the Untouchable: A Tale of Two Members of Congress and the Capitol Hill Police

17.Apr.2006 Neil Young sets his sights on Bush : He is country rock's biggest icon + he is angry. Recorded in secret, his forthcoming album savages the war in Iraq. One track says it all: 'Impeach the President'
17.Apr.2006 Blair gets away with his assault on liberty, because we let him : Lord Steyn's attack on the Prime Minister is a wake-up call to those who think their own freedoms are unaffected

17.Apr.2006 Justices Reject Gitmo Detainees' Appeal : The Supreme Court rejected an appeal Monday from two Chinese Muslims who were mistakenly captured as enemy combatants more than four years ago + are still being held at the U.S. prison in Cuba.

17.Apr.2006 Russia, US slipping into familiar 'chill'?: In a recent poll, 57 % of Russians regard the US as a 'threat to global security.'

17.Apr.2006 Lessons of a Left Victory in France: France's leading bureaucrats, from President Jacques Chirac on down, have been defeated. French neo-liberalism - the dismantling of its welfare state in favor of business -- has suffered a serious blow.

17.Apr.2006 "Unbridled Capitalism Will Lead to Very Real Problems": Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff discusses the dangers of unbridled capitalism, the greed of corporate CEOs + a fundamental problem with USA economy.

17.Apr.2006 Dollar Falls Sharply in Asian Trading: The dollar fell sharply against the euro and yen in Asia Monday on a media report suggesting that China might reduce its purchases of U.S. Treasury holdings + amid speculation that U.S. interest rates may have peaked.

17.Apr.2006 U.S. Tourism Industry On The Decline: The US market share of international tourism trade is at an all-time low +

00.000.1992 -since- has dropped 35% according to the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA).

17.Apr.2006 Scientists Say They're Being Gagged By Bush : Scientists doing climate research for the federal government say the Bush administration has made it hard for them to speak forthrightly to the public about global warming. The result, the researchers say, is a danger that Americans are not getting the full story on how the climate is changing.
17.Apr.2006 IDF accused of 'knowingly risking Palestinian lives' : Six human rights organizations appealed the High Court on Sunday to cancel a regulation which allows Israel Defense Forces artillery to fire shells at targets up to 100 meters away from Palestinian houses.
17.Apr.2006 The Disintegration of Iran : The US intends to separate the oil rich province of Khouzestan from Iran and establish a small government in that region in its drive to control Middle-East oil.

But is this fear realistic, or just part of the imagination of some Iranians?
17.Apr.2006
Eric Margolis: A war of nerves: The Bush Administration has used Iran’s gleeful announcement that it enriched uranium to 3.5 % (83 % is needed for nuclear weapons), to generate a major US-Iranian crisis seven months before national mid-term elections.

17.Apr.2006 Retired Colonel Sam Gardiner on Iran War Plans: "The Issue is Not Whether the Military Option Would Be Used But Who Approved the Start of Operations Already"

17.Apr.2006 Rafsanjani says Gulf countries will not assist U.S. if it attacks Iran : "Reports about plans for an American attack on Iran are incorrect.

We are certain that Americans will not attack Iran because the consequences would be too dangerous," former president Hashemi Rafsanjani said in an appearance in the Kuwait parliament.

17.Apr.2006 U.S. could attack Iran next year - Russian expert : "If [the U.S.] ventures a military operation, it will conduct it next year after thorough political + military + propaganda preparations," Alexei Arbatov, head of the International Security Center in Moscow, told RIA Novosti.

17.Apr.2006 In case you missed it: Ahmadinejad Did Not Say - "Wipe Israel Off The Map": Let’s fill in the Blanks in the Speech of Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

17.Apr.2006 No U.S. nuclear facilities in Romania : The U.S. cannot launch attacks from their military facilities in Romania without our approval, President Traian Basescu pointed out on Sunday during a television talk show.
17.Apr.2006 The US, Iran and the End of the International Order - By Jussi Sinnemaa
As the IAEA has repeatedly acknowledged, Iran is not in violation of any of her legal obligations as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In fact, Iran has allowed far more intrusive international inspections of her nuclear facilities than required by the NPT. Iran remains the only country to have done so .
Continued

17.Apr.2006 Zarqawi; the Pentagon’s ongoing war of deception -By Mike Whitney
In more than 3 years of war, there has never been a positive citing of alleged terror mastermind Abu Musab al Zarqawi. This has led many to believe that he is merely a creation of Pentagon propagandists working with their agents in the western press. Colonel Derek Harvey strengthened those suspicions last week .
Continued

17.Apr.2006 Blood On Our Hands -By Craig Winters

This country, my country, has already become a fascist police state. Our government lies to the people, spies on citizens, kidnaps, imprisons without trial, engages in torture + is leading the country to ruin. Incredibly, all of this is done with the support of its citizens. How is this possible? How can a democratic government abandon the people it serves and squander blood, treasure + traditions in an irrational pursuit of global domination? Continued

17.Apr.2006 The Most Evil People in the World? -By Doug Soderstrom, Ph.D.
I have come to the conclusion that the Christian fundamentalists, also known as the religious right, are the most evil people in the world. Others (such as those of various Islamic terrorist groups) were considered, but after due consideration, the Christians won……. hands down. In fact it was no contest.
Continued

17.Apr.2006 Bombs That Would Backfire By RICHARD CLARKE and STEVEN SIMON
The parallels to the run-up to to war with Iraq are all too striking: remember that in May 2002 President Bush declared that there was "no war plan on my desk" despite having actually spent months working on detailed plans for the Iraq invasion. Congress did not ask the hard questions then. It must not permit the administration to launch another war whose outcome cannot be known, or worse, known all too well.
Continued

17.Apr.2006 In Case You Missed It from BuzzFlash.com Yesterday, Why Bush Can't Cut Rumsfeld Loose -- Excerpt From a BuzzFlash Editorial --
Monday is a Good Spring Day to Invest in Democracy. Without Your Support, BuzzFlash Doesn't Exist. It's That Simple. Click Here and Make It Happen. Because our Big Visa Bill is Coming up Again on 28.Apr.2006
Death Toll up to Nine in Suicide Bombing in Tel Aviv 4/18

17.Apr.2006 Former Illinois Republican Governor George Ryan Convicted of Racketeering and Fraud. He Was Actually a Good Guy on Many Issues, Most Notably the Death Penalty, But, Like Most Republicans in Elective Office, He Was a Crook. The Presiding U.S. Attorney Over His Case is None Other Than Patrick Fitzgerald. Powerful Republican Connected Law Firm "Donated" an Estimated $10 Million in Legal Fees Defending Ryan. 4/18

17.Apr.2006 It's April 17th, So It's Fair Trade Monday on BuzzFlash.com: Two Bagos of Organic "Mind, Body & Soul Blend" Whole Bean Coffee -- And, Of Course, It's Fair Trade!
The New Hampshire GOP Felony Vote Suppression Scandal that the RNC Spent Way More Than a Million Dollars Defending. It's Looking More Like Watergate Every Day. It Started with the Theft of the Election 2000 and Never Stopped. 4/18

17.Apr.2006 Rumsfeld's Folly -- and Cheney's and Bush's and Rice's....U.S. Military Deaths Rise Sharply in Iraq 4/18
The BuzzFlash Mailbag -- Uncensored and Unvarnished Truth from BuzzFlash Readers.

17.Apr.2006 "The intense opposition to Bush is larger than any faced by Clinton. For all the polarization the 42nd president inspired, Clinton's strong disapproval never got above 37 % in Post-ABC polls during his presidency." Anger Against Bush Could Spell Defeat for Republicans in the Mid-terms.
The Turtle Creek Chorale, a Gay Choir, Celebrates 25 Years of Accomplishment and Community Deep in the Heart of Baptist Texas -- A BuzzFlash Interview

17.Apr.2006 https://www.cannonfire.blogspot.com/ Greg Palast shares an intriguing anecdote from a different general, one Jay Garner, that provides yet another angle on the whole holy mess.

The ultimate point, of course, is that - for all Rummy's flash and contemptuous conceit - he's not the boss. Some idiot hired him + that same idiot refuses to fire him.
That idiot is the guy who should go. Along with Dummy Rummy, Darth the Dick + the entire cabal of criminals.
Permalink

17.Apr.2006 https://www.cannonfire.blogspot.com/ No doubt most of you are as grateful as I am to hear this string of generals spilling the down and dirty on the DOD Secretary.

(Oh + you can now add General Wesley Clark to the list.) Sounds so good, doesn't it, to hear all these brassy truths, even if they are just a few years too late.
But
17.Apr.2006 https://www.cannonfire.blogspot.com/ Obviously, anyone who sneaks into a fireworks factory and strikes a match must want to see an explosion.
(For more on the shadowy world of Opus Dei, see
here.) UPDATE:

While my focus above was on Opus Dei and the rather mysterious Ahmed Abu-Laban, I should also have noted that Jyllands-Posten is run by a lady named Merete Eldrep, who was once the Deputy Director of the Danish Energy Authority. Her husband, Anders Eldrep, heads up the Danish Oil + Natural Gas Company, the acronym for which is - I kid thee not - DONG. The firm will soon be privatized.
Now, one could -- if one were of a sufficiently conspiratorial turn of mind - create an interesting little scenario out of all this.

Presuming that the current "clash of civilizations" is largely the pretext for grabbing Middle Eastern oil - a fair presumption - one can easily understand why someone in that business might want to use a family-owned media resource to help keep the fires of war burning. Permalink
17.Apr.2006 Karikaturenstreit: Katholische Zeitung zeichnet Mohammed in der Hölle
17.Apr.2006 Geburtssimulator: Hebammen trainieren mit Roboterfrau
17.Apr.2006 Nuklear-Poker: Rafsandschani sieht USA ohne Unterstützung

17.Apr.2006 Hochwasser: Donau-Dämme drohen zu brechen
17.Apr.2006 Rätselhaftes U-Boot-Wrack: Geheimnis der Perleninsel gelüftet
17.Apr.2006 Deutsche Großkonzerne: Unionspolitiker beschimpft Manager als moderne Spesenritter

17.Apr.2006 Tarifstreit: Stahlharte Fronten in der Metallbranche
17.Apr.2006 Energie: Ölpreis erreicht 70-Dollar-Marke

17.Apr.2006 Doppelmord an Sexualverbrechern: US-Bundesstaat schließt Triebtäter-Datenbank

17.Apr.2006 Atomstreit: US-Senatoren drängen auf direkte Verhandlungen mit Iran
17.Apr.2006 https://www.cosmicpenguin.com/911/bradm/911index/index.html

Gerard Holmgren Debunking Conspiracy Theorists

The 9/11 Commission's Incredible Tales - By David Ray Griffin
This explanation was provided in the first chapter of The 9/11 Commission Report.
Although that chapter is only 45 pages long, the issues involved are so complex that my analysis of it required six chapters.
One of the complexities is the fact that the 9/11 Commission's account of why the military could not intercept the hijacked airliners is the third version of the official account we have been given.
To understand why three versions of this story have been deemed necessary, we need to review the standard operating procedures that are supposed to prevent hijacked airliners from causing the kinds of damage that occurred on 9/11.

17.Apr.2006
https://analysis.batcave.net/cell_phones.html
So were the cell phone calls real ???
Maybe, just not from a plane at 35,000ft. Which is what the flight maps told us.
So are we to believe the flight maps, or the calls ?
Is the answer here???

11.Sep.2001 Airgames - what do we know about the flight maps from 911 ?

In response to a new article about new pico cells aboard aricraft + comments following i wanted to put something together...
First let me clarify a few points about cell phones on aircraft, I have heard a few people say that they have heard a cell phone ringing while they were aboard a flight.

This may not be that uncommon.

Though, there
is a big difference between the phone seeing a signal (the ring) and the ability to connect + hold that call. For a ring to occur, the phone just has to see the signal, for it to connect, a whole series of events have to take place. The phone has to talk back to the cell site (a
handshake), then a traffic channel has to be setup. After this, the phone does several things. It adjusts its power accordingly + looks for other cell sites, or signals it can hand off to.

It keeps a list of the strongest ones and takes into consideration the signal to noise
ratio (Ec/Io in CDMA). IThese sites have a neighbor list. If a strong site seen by the phone is not on this list, it wil not be able to handoff to that site.

At several thousand feet in the air, travelling hundereds of miles an hour, the sites the phone sees will change very
rapidly, as will the power level coming from those sites. This, not to mention that the sites may be miles from each other + not on the neighbor list of the current site being used by the phone.

This is a problem for engineers, when a phone is on a hilltop, then dips down below, loosing the original signal, or if a phone being used in a car goes behind a building (just a couple of examples).
We have all had dropped calls, this is why.
Media Release - Professor says 9-11 Cellphone Calls 'Impossible'

17.Apr.2006 https://team8plus.org/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.8

Looking for more details on Flight 91

I found the following site: https://rsjames.com/newsletters/2001/14-10-26-2001-13-14.txt Here is the significant portion:

You had posted a few e-mails last month about flight 91 and 93.

I have a friend who was the pilot of flight 91.

The reason they changed flights was, when the flight crew boarded and started to prepare for flight, my friend had noticed a crack in the windshield, so they grounded the plane.

They took the passengers and put them on flight 93, but not the crew members, that flight crew was saved.

This means that a number of people (possibly all the passengers on board) were removed from Flight 91 and put on Flight 93.

If this is the case - just how many people were actually booked onto Flight 93 in the first place?

Was it an exclusive flight just for the hijackers?

Why was it this flight in particular that had so many phone calls?

Another significant point about Ziad Jarrah - supposed pilot of Flight 93.

Nowhere on the Internet does it mention Jarrah booking or purchasing a ticket on Flight 93.

On the indictment against Moussaoui it mentions most of the other hijackers purchasing their tickets but not Jarrah.

Was Ziad Jarrah actually booked onto Flight 91 and moved onto Flight 93. Is this why the phone calls mentioned only three hijackers?

If anyone has an explanation for this - conventional or otherwise, or any further information - please email me at -email- There are a other pieces of weirdness about this flight:

Mark Bingham phoned his mother and said, "Hi Mom, This is Mark Bingham" I don't care how stressed you are - you never phone your mother and give her your full name

17.Apr.2006 https://physics911.ca/org/modules/weblog/
Here is some information regarding the 911 commission and Chicago!
Brunner checked out the commissioners and discovered that out of 10, at least six represent the very companies they're now investigating.
"Here we've got the most important event in America in the past 50 years, the most horrible thing that's happened to Americans + yet we pick a bunch of people who are connected to the very people who are at the center of the question of who's at fault," says Terry Brunner, a former federal prosecutor who now runs the Aviation Integrity Project in Chicago . "It's ridiculous."
He says they are: "Fred Fielding, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines; Slade Gordon represents Delta Airlines; Sen. Max Cleland – $300,000 from the airline industry; Jim Thompson represents American Airlines; Richard BenVinesta represents Boeing and United Airlines; and Rep. Tim Roemer - Boeing and Lockheed Martin."
"They're all up to here, with either being connected to the airlines or to the manufacturer of the airplane," says Brunner.
One of the commissioners, former Illinois Gov. Jim Thompson, once represented United and still counsels American - the very airlines involved in the 11.Sep.2001 attack.
Brunner checked out the commissioners and discovered that out of 10, at least six represent the very companies they're now investigating.
"Here we've got the most important event in America in the past 50 years, the most horrible thing that's happened to Americans + yet we pick a bunch of people who are connected to the very people who are at the center of the question of who's at fault," says Terry Brunner, a former federal prosecutor who now runs the Aviation Integrity Project in Chicago . "It's ridiculous."
www.bestandworst.com/38/explosives-building-obvious-cover-up-38416.html
great thread here at DU on UA 93's phone calls
Were UA 93's phone calls really recorded??
Deconstructing Edward Felt's phone call
9/11 cell phone calls an overview

17.Apr.2006
https://physics911.ca/org/modules/weblog/
04.Jul.2005
9/11 cell phone calls, Chicago ?? I am a senior R.F. design engineer + have built out systems for Sprint Verizon and other companies.
Interesting that most of the reports were of cell phones, then, they changed to Airphones later,
(after a few people said that cell phones couldnt work.)
I can accept the fact that some reporters may not have known the difference, or payed attention to the details, but it seemed to be too many reports to attribute to that.
GTE/Verizon did state that they handled over 20 calls at a special call center set up just for Airphione.
The problem still remains though.
a few victims relatives purposely said cell phones.
CeeCee Lyles husband said that he saw the caller ID, Ed Felt had called from a bathroom + Airphone cords dont reach that far.
As a matter of fact, in a bathroom, one would expect that it would be harder to make a call, probabally bringing down the power about in 1/2 (3dB).
Ted Olson first said that Barbara had used a cell pohone, then he said she was in the bathroom, then he said she forgot her purse and had to borrow a credit card from someone to make an airphone call. his story kept changing.
If you look at the flight maps, most of the calls for flight 93 "should" have been made at 35,000ft or even above.
I seriously doubt that happened. Even Airphones would have had a real problem at that altitude, unless there happened to be a antenna pointed right at them
https://airgames.bravehost.com is a detailed look at the flight maps for all flights...

17.Apr.2006 DoD to Set Up Joint Intelligence Operations Centers Worldwide
[The neoconservatives are still engaged in massive global empire-building, using the DoD as a base of operations. 

Nothing has changed.  William Boykin, mentioned below, is apparently a militant Christian Zionist + one of many neocon tools in the Bush administration.]  

[The neocons don't care how low Bush sinks in the public opinion polls -- they hold the democratic process in total contempt, even while falsely claiming to be acting in the name of democracy. 

If the Democrats come back into power, the neoconservatives will simply be replaced by neoliberals -- same thing.  Most of the key neocon plans are still on track.]   [Still waiting in the wings: 9/11 Part II.]  

[The current revolt against Rumsfeld in the military establishment will not be nearly enough to derail this juggernaut.]   https://www.lincolntribune.com/modules/news/print.php?storyid=4257
17.Apr.2006 This article comes from Lincoln Tribune
https://www.lincolntribune.com The URL for this story is: https://www.lincolntribune.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4257
17.Apr.2006 Mainstream Media "Liberal" Joe Klein Wants to Keep Nukes on the Table
A quintessential mainstream media neoliberal, one among many, pushing the neoconservative agenda for all the obvious + usual reasons:
https://feeds.dailykos.com/dailykos/index?m=3484  

Is Daily Kos, any more than the Huffington Post, able to connect the dots here + exit from the hamster wheel? 

Nope.  DK can get angry, but it can't get smart.   Keep those little feet moving and that little wheel spinning -- round and round we go.
17.Apr.2006
More Retired Generals Call for Rumsfeld's Resignation
Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack Jr. of the Army met with a sheik on 09.Feb.2004 in Ramadi, Iraq, before a provincial council meeting.

Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack Jr., who led troops on the ground in Iraq as recently as 2004 as the commander of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, on Thursday became ...
17.Apr.2006
The legal lock on stem cells
CALIFORNIA'S $3-billion stem cell program has encountered repeated setbacks since it was approved by voters 17 months ago. Now it faces an entirely new and potentially even more worrisome challenge arising from two powerful patents — patents No. 5,843,780 and No. 6,200,806, to be exact —

17.Apr.2006 US nuclear talks with Iran urged
Leading US senators call on the Bush administration to hold talks with Iran on its nuclear programme.

17.Apr.2006 Let's revisit + learn from the Pearl Harbor investigations Say good night, Mr. Robertson ... revisit + learn from the Pearl Harbor investigations ... Gaynor has written articles + letters on ... www.renewamerica.us/columns/gaynor/050826
17.Apr.2006 PSYOPS Did you vote for this? "But we were attacked!" you say ? Just like Pearl Harbor ? ... is should have us all sending hand written letters to our webpages.charter.net/geminiwalker/PSYOPS.html

11.Sep.2001 9-11 The New Pearl Harbor: Who Benefits? by Laura Knight-Jadczyk Some analysts say that only a National organization could do this. www.cassiopaea.org/cass/pearl.htm
17.Apr.2006 Another Pearl Harbor Only the wealthiest have money - the rest of Americans are flat broke.) Yet we are told that polls say more than half the American people... uscrisis.lege.net/911/another /
17.Apr.2006 https://www.cooperativeresearch.org/entities.jsp
Reuel Marc Gerecht Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute US diplomat in the Middle East CIA operative
17.Apr.2006
NRO Media Blog
That year, Jayson Blair rocked the foundations of The New York Times and a collective hallucination caused the American press to search for Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. In 2005, Dan Rather resigned as anchor of the ?CBS Evening News? after an offensive from conservative bloggers. They ...

17.Apr.2006 Missing the Point, Redux - Dan Gillmor 
Bertrand Pecquerie, in a guess blog posting on CBSNews.com (I’m doing one later this week), sums up: In the U.S., people blog but they don’t vote. Virtual democracy doesn’t seem to have any affect on real democracy. In Europe, we vote (last week’s elections in Italy, for ...

17.Apr.2006 Expansion in China is strongest in 3 years - Webhelp President Hu Jintao of China said Sunday that his country's economy grew at the rate of 10.2 % in the first quarter of this year, a pace of expansion that could force Chinese officials to take action to prevent the economy from overheating.
16.Apr.2006 New mad cow case in Canada Canada confirms a new case of mad cow disease in the western province of British Columbia.
16.Apr.2006 Group demands Da Vinci disclaimer Roman Catholic group Opus Dei has asked for a disclaimer to be placed on the film of The Da Vinci Code.
16.Apr.2006 Censored Wikipedia Articles Appear On Protest Site - Zonk 211
Gregory Rider writes "According to a recent article in The Guardian,

a group of disenchanted Wikipedia administrators has been going through back channels on Wikipedia + retrieving articles deleted by Jimbo Wales or other higher-ups.

Now they're putting them back up on a website for everyone to see.

This includes articles on Justin Berry, Paul Barresi +, most strangely, Brian Peppers, which has been solicited for deletion off of Wikipedia 6 times with mixed success + is now banned from being edited on for a whole year."
16.Apr.2006
ISP Rise Against P2P Users - CmdrTaco 344
bananaendian writes "Spencer Kelly from BBC's Click program writes about the emerging backslash against high bandwidth P2P users.

Apparently it has been estimates that up to one third of internet's traffic is caused by BitTorrent file-sharing program.

Especially ISPs who are leasing their bandwidth by the megabyte are more inclined to resort to 'shaping your traffic' by throttling ports, setting bandwidth limits or even classifying accounts according services used.

What is your ISPs policy regarding P2P and is it fair for them to put restrictions and conditions on its use."
16.Apr.2006-11.
Sep.2001 News.com – 00.Oct.2001 Daily Timeline & Chronology of

14.Oct.2001 Jalalabad, long surrounded by militant training camps including some ... week of strikes against Islamic ... 11.Sep.2001 Historical 9/11 Videos USA www.september11news.com/DailyTimelineOct.htm
16.Apr.2006 DoD News: DoD News Briefing - Secretary Rumsfeld + Gen. Myers ... + was being protected by an Islamic militant leader. .. that more documents, videos ... that used to be used as terrorist training camps www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2001/t12272001_t1227sd.html
16.Apr.2006 New Delhi were severed in December 2001 after a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament was blamed on Pakistan-supported Islamic militants.
fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/16357.pdf
16.Apr.2006 SEIU Investigating Major Security Contractor at U.S. Military Bases -

Wackenhut - Alutiiq guarded U.S. Army installations include: Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville AL - Fort Carson, Colorado Springs CO - Fort... https://www.forrelease.com/D20050425/nym079.P2.04252005081456.10488.html
Atlanta IMC (((i))): SPFPA - International Union, Security * Police... ...are scheduled to begin in 00.Jan.2006 https://atlanta.indymedia.org/newswire/display/39114/index.php
16.Apr.2006-11.Sep.2001 The Imperial Republic after 9/11
Download File (pdf)
16.Apr.2006 The New Calculus of Pre-emption Download File (pdf)
16.Apr.2006 https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,druck-411622,00.html
Auch der Atom-Experte des Londoner "International Institute for Strategic Studies" hält Militärschläge nur für begrenzt wirksam.

"Es wird sehr schwierig sein, das Wissen, das sich die Iraner angeeignet haben, auszulöschen", sagte Fitzpatrick.
16.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,druck-411622,00.html
In den vergangenen Tagen häuften sich Medienberichte, nach denen die US-Regierung bereits seit längerem an der konkreten Planung von Militärschlägen arbeite.

Dabei solle auch der Einsatz taktischer, bunkerbrechender Atomwaffen eine Rolle spielen, mit denen unterirdisch liegende Einrichtungen zerstört werden können.

Erst heute hatte die "Washington Post" berichtet, die USA plane seit Jahren einen möglichen Angriff auf Iran.

Der frühere US-Geheimdienstler Arkin schreibt in der Zeitung, das Szenario gegen den Mullahstaat sei schon vor dem Irak-Krieg entwickelt worden.
16.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,druck-411622,00.html
Wien/London/New York - Das
"Institute for Science and International Security" (ISIS) verbreitete in einer E-Mail-Nachricht an mehrere Medien Satellitenfotos, die in den vergangenen Jahren entstanden sein sollen.

Die Aufnahmen zeigen nach Angaben des Instituts die Atomanlagen in Isfahan + Natans.

Die Auswertung der Bilder habe ergeben, dass Iran erst vor kurzer Zeit in Isfahan einen neuen Tunneleingang eingerichtet habe.

"Dieser neue Eingang deutet auf eine neue unterirdische Einrichtung oder den Ausbau der bestehenden Anlagen hin",

zitiert die Nachrichtenagentur Reuters den Chef des Instituts, David Albright, einen ehemaligen Uno-Waffeninspekteur + Nuklearexperten.
16.Apr.2006
Demonstrationen: Tausende machen bei Ostermärschen mit
16.Apr.2006
Großbritannien: Abfuhr für Blairs Atompläne
16.Apr.2006
Philippinen: Präsidentin Arroyo hebt alle Todesstrafen auf
16.Apr.2006
https://www.ancient-yew.org/home.shtml Fred Hageneder
Born in 1962 in Hamburg, Germany, Fred Hageneder has been extensively studying trees for more than twenty years, in conjunction with comparative religion, cultural history, mythology + archaeology.

This led to the publication of two books, "The Spirit of Trees – Science, Symbiosis and Inspiration", bridging natural science, myth, history + the fine arts + "The Heritage of Trees – History, Culture and Symbolism", a deep survey of the role trees have played played in ancient culture and religion.

Fred's work has been translated into German, Italian and Czech.

Presently he prepares an international book about the yew tree.

Also, he is a founding member and the chairman of the Friends of the Trees, a charity to re-establish sacred groves on the British Isles + to protect ancient trees, particularly yews.

For other ideas of spiritual ecology visit his website www.spirit-of-trees.net
16.Apr.2006
Italien: Prodi lässt sich nicht beirren
16.Apr.2006
Nachkriegs-Irak: USA planen zweite Befreiung Bagdads
16.Apr.2006
Naturwanderung: Siebenjähriger von Puma angegriffen

16.Apr.2006 Vatikan: Papst ruft zum Frieden auf
16.Apr.2006
USA: Iran-Kriegsplanungen sollen seit 2002 laufen
16.Apr.2006
USA: Pentagon-Memo zielt gegen Rumsfeld-Kritiker
16.Apr.2006
Why the Washington Post (and the Rest of the MSM) Are Going Down
Too many birdbrains like Deborah Howell and Fred Hiatt have acquired a comfortable home in these esteemed + corrupt old media institutions + it is much too easy to knock them off their perches on the Internet. 

One day they wake up and discover: the protective shield is gone.  They are on a level playing field with the rest of the world.  They have to start making sense or else. 

But they are constitutionally unable to make sense, or to engage in real dialogue with their betters.  

What a loathsome tale Jane Hamsher relates here, concerning the dishonest methods the Washington Post has used to enable the Iraq War: https://feeds.huffingtonpost.com/huffingtonpost/raw_feed?m=2530

Donald Graham, the head of the Washington Post, requires at least as much scrutiny for what has gone wrong in Iraq as does Donald Rumsfeld - probably more.

16.Apr.2006 Re: On the Israel Lobby and Christian Armageddonism A few points:  

1. John Hagee believes that the USA will be (and should be) nuked by God if it fails to obey Greater Israelists in the Israeli government.  

2. The CPMAJO (Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations) is by far the most powerful Jewish and Israeli lobbying group in the world + it supports John Hagee + his fellow Christian Armageddonists.  AIPAC + the ADL are only two of a dozen or so components of the CPMAJO. 

(Most Americans know very little about the CPMAJO, since the mainstream media take care to whisper about it only occasionally.)  

3. Kevin Phillips, one of the most astute analysts of political trends in America, argues in his latest book that

Christian fundamentalists have become very (+ dangerously) powerful in the Republican Party + the USA in general. 

Since they think the world is going to end at any moment, they don't really give a damn about supporting any policies that make practical efforts to improve the quality of life of Americans or anyone else.  

Phillips' new book is American Theocracy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067003486X/
4. The views of fundies like Hagee are so alien to American values + the American interest + so sympathetic to scenarios in which Americans are attacked by the angry God of Israel, that one wonders whether they shouldn't be treated as potential religious terrorists.  

5. George W. Bush himself is quite likely a Christian Armageddonist + may believe that he is on mission from God to trigger the End of the World. 

There are obviously some very crazy thoughts floating around in his head.
LeaNder <l.l.hahn@web.de> wrote: &#61656;

Think I am being alarmist?  On the relations between the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and Christian Armageddonist John Hagee, see:
https://www.google.com/search?q=conference+of+presidents+of+major+american+jewish+organizations+john+hagee
Yes, Sean, I often thought you were slightly alarmist. Maybe I just have heard to many bible based prophesies.

But yes, I have to admit that these religious fanatics frightens me a bit too. Somehow I can't help, but think religion is a bit misused here. Talking of sheep.

Sheep are good, always vote as they are told.
> One thing is for certain: the Israel lobby doesn't represent the views of the majority of Jews in America.
Definitely, lately I read an interesting exchange on the topic. Jewish Americans seem to watch this with alarm, while Israelis tend to take it with a grain of salt, mainly joking about it. Gallows humor?
But then look at this
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591858933/104-2648113-3507938?v=glance&n=283155
The rabbi likes the book because after reading it he realizes what Mr. Hagee believes & then states.....a TV Pastor has proven from the Christian bible that Jews do not need to be converted.
I wasn't aware of Jones and Jonestown by the way. Why are so many files top secret?

16.Apr.2006
https://digg.com/technology/AOL_Caught_Red_Handed_Censoring_Email_-_Credibility_Gone   It's really simple: never use AOL for anything + encourage all your acquaintances to do likewise. 

It is a backward company whose values contradict the best spirit of the Internet.  AOL just doesn't get it.
16.Apr.2006
xymphora Cleanser rather than cleansee By Andrew

Isn’t it funny how Jews in Russia were upset at the antics of extreme nationalist Russian political parties who advocated the ethnic cleansing of the Jewish people from Russia, decided to escape the anti-Semitism by moving to Israel, and then set up an extreme nationalist Israeli political party which advocates the ethnic cleansing of Arabs from Israel?  In other words, it wasn’t the concept of ethnic cleansing that bothered them.  They just wanted to be sure that they were the cleanser and not the cleansee.  Due to the faulty Israeli electoral system, this party, Yisrael Beiteinu, will probably end up holding a vastly disproportionate amount of power, with no doubt disastrous consequences.  Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of the party, has some striking similarities to Ariel Sharon.

16.Apr.2006 [William Kristol, Michael Ledeen + Reuel Marc Gerecht: any ties to Israel?  Nah.  No Israel lobby at work there.]

  [The truly mind-boggling thing in all this is that precisely the same dishonest methods are being used to promote this war that were used to create what has proven to be a disaster in Iraq. 

Are we actually going to conduct *TWO* Vietnam War-like screw-ups, back to back? 

How can such a crazy situation be unfolding?  

Simple: the mainstream media, which are heavily influenced by Israeli interests, are bending over backwards to disconnect the dots and to censor even the most elementary investigative journalism into what has gone grievously wrong in the Bush administration. 

The mainstream media have been major villains in creating this mess + continue to perform the role of villains. 

A hell of an accounting will be coming due.]  

[By the way, there is not the slightest bit of evidence that the oil industry thinks that attacking Iran is a good idea. 

I am still wondering when Michael Ruppert is going to begin noticing these basic facts of political life in America. 

The drive to attack Iran is an Israeli/neocon op, one which, if successful, will greatly damage American access to affordable Mideast oil.]   https://www.antiwar.com/lobe/?articleid=8852  

14.Apr.2006 Neocons Turn Up Heat for Iran Attack by Jim Lobe
15.Apr.2006
A Defiant Sheen Challenges Official 9/11 Fable on National TV - Paul Joseph Watson 
A Defiant Sheen Challenges Official 9/11 Fable on National TV Dares Millions of Viewers to "Do [their] own research" Prison Planet | Actor

16.Apr.2006 Reinforcing The Official Lie - Paul Joseph Watson 
Reinforcing The Official Lie Government Keen On Playing Allah Akbar Tapes, But Goes Shy On Shredded Air Traffic Control Conversations Paul Joseph Watson/Prison Planet

16.Apr.2006 Rutgers Research Highlights: A Gene for the Fear Factor
Professor Alan Goldman and his Rutgers team in collaboration with researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed a way to convert carbon sources, such as coal, to diesel fuel. This important advance could significantly cut America’s dependence on foreign oil & ...

16.Apr.2006 Thank Stanislav Petrov Day - Sean 
Stanislav Evgrafovich Petrov is arguably the most influential person who ever lived, although I had never heard of him until seeing this post on Cynical-C and this tribute. Our story unfolds on September 26, 1983. Lieutenant Colonel Petrov was the officer on duty at the Serpukhov-15 bunker near ...

16.Apr.2006 AT&T Seeks to Hide Spy Docs The telecom giant asks for the return of technical documents that purport to show how it helped the NSA install internet wiretap gear as part of a secret domestic surveillance operation. By Ryan Singel.
16.Apr.2006 Will the US Economy Decellerate Rapidly as Boomers Retire? - Ritholtz 
Bloomberg reports that a Revolutionary Federal Reserve study is shaking economists&apos; forecasts by suggesting the U.S. economy will have to decelerate much more over the next decade than most now expect. The study won&apos;t be out until July (we referenced it last week here) and was drafted ...

16.Apr.2006 Japan eyes moon colonized by robots
Japan plans to send robots to explore and set up a base on the moon, possibly within the next 10 years, officials said. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has formed a team of researchers to promote the exploration of the moon and planets in the solar system using robots. The agency also ...

16.Apr.2006 Skulls & Bones Is for a Very Specific Niche
And, you wonder, if Jared Paul Stern's clothing line is anywhere close to successful, why would he need an infusion of cash from any billionaire, whether one being shaken down or otherwise? Then suddenly it's clear: Because there just aren't that many ironic preppy homos shopping for $95 polos. ...

16.Apr.2006 Rev. William Sloane Coffin Dies at 81; Fought for Civil Rights and Against a War
The Rev. William Sloane Coffin Jr. sought to inspire and encourage an idealistic and rebellious generation of college students in the 1960's from his position as chaplain of Yale University.

16.Apr.2006 Defending science - Sean 
Greetings from New Mexico, where I selflessly rise early to share a couple of items on the fight-to-save-honest-science front: At Daily Kos, DarkSyde has an interview with Representative Brad Miller (D-NC) about his efforts to ferret out instances of the overt politicization of science within the ...

16.Apr.2006 AT&T Assisting NSA Surveillance
Interesting details emerging from EFF&apos;s lawsuit: According to a statement released by Klein&apos;s attorney, an NSA agent showed up at the San Francisco switching center in 2002 to interview a management-level technician for a special job. In January 2003, Klein...

16.Apr.2006 As China, U.S. Vie for More Oil, Diplomatic Friction May Follow
Think of next week's meeting between President Bush and China's President Hu Jintao as a summit of the planet's most voracious energy user and the planet's fastest-growing energy user. In a world of limited oil resources, that could strain U.S.-China relations as much as any issue.

16.Apr.2006 By Shel Holtz and Ted Demopoulos
I dream of a world without prejudice. Wars will be a distant memory. No child will go to bed hungry. A organizations will trust their employees enough to let them subscribe to RSS feeds. In case you hadn’t heard about it, some companies have begun blocking RSS feeds at the firewall. The ...

16.Apr.2006 Do the Math? - Jim Henley 
Okay, on the third day, He rose, right? But we mark the crucifiction on Good Friday and the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. I count two days there. And the time of death is taken to be 3pm. Where'd the extra day go. UPDATE: Yeah, Scudder (in comments) is probably right.

16.Apr.2006 What Gave You The Idea The Cold War Is Over? - Uncle Dave Russian nuke designer confident they have superior nuclear capability for decades.
16.Apr.2006 Fossils found in Ethiopia provide clues to human evolution A cache of fossils found in Ethiopia's Afar desert offers interesting insights into the evolution of human beings. The discovery, made by a team of experts led by University of California in Berkeley paleo-anthropologist Tim White, might provide the 'missing link' between Australopithecus, believed to be ancestors of humans + an ape-type animal that roamed the area around 4.4 million years back.
16.Apr.2006 Swollen Danube threatens Balkans A state of emergency is declared in Serbia as the River Danube continues to swell across south-eastern Europe.
16.Apr.2006 Dublin due to mark Easter Rising Thousands are expected to attend a Dublin parade commemorating a revolt against British rule.
16.Apr.2006 Minister says BNP tempting voters
White working class voters are tempted by the BNP because they feel Labour is not listening, a minister says.

16.Apr.2006 China worried over pace of growth Chinese President Hu Jintao voices concern about the rapid speed of the country's economic development.
16.Apr.2006 Rumsfeld resignation row simmers Two more US generals enter the row over whether Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should quit.
16.Apr.2006 Britain now 'eating the planet'

16.Apr.2006 the UK stops relying on its own natural resources and begins living off imports, research claims.
16.Apr.2006
Gun charges follow rapper death A man is charged with gun offences following the fatal shooting of rapper Proof, a close friend of Eminem.
16.Apr.2006
BitTorrent battles over bandwidth Net providers are trying to cope with the demand placed on networks by BitTorrent file-sharing software.
16.Apr.2006
China calls for talks with Taiwan Chinese President Hu Jintao calls for talks between China and Taiwan to take place as soon as possible.
16.Apr.2006
Bush rebuffs attack on Rumsfeld President Bush dismisses calls for Donald Rumsfeld to resign, saying the defence secretary enjoys his "full support".
16.Apr.2006
Berlusconi defiant on poll result Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi refuses to accept he has lost the general election, saying results are "not clear cut".
16.Apr.2006
Stark warning over climate change The world is likely to suffer a disastrous temperature rise of more than 3C, the UK's chief scientist warns.
16.Apr.2006
Iran urges funding for Hamas Iran's supreme leader calls on the Muslim world to aid the Palestinians as Western funding dries up.
16.Apr.2006
No deal in Japan-US troop talks Japan and the US fail to agree on details of a plan to redeploy some of the 50,000 US troops on Japan's soil.
16.Apr.2006
Palestinians to get Russian aid Russia says it will give the Palestinian Authority urgent aid, in opposition to EU and US policy.
16.Apr.2006
Explorer faces Russia expulsion A British explorer walking the globe is to be expelled from Russia for entering the country without paperwork.
16.Apr.2006
Call for counter-terror minister The UK needs a minister dedicated to tackling terrorism or the momentum will be lost, a senior Labour MP says.
16.Apr.2006
Rumsfeld quit calls grow The White House backs US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, as more retired generals call for him to quit.
16.Apr.2006
Conservatives 'still right wing' The Conservative Party is still at its core "right wing and unpleasant", says Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell.
16.Apr.2006
Nepal parties reject king's offer Nepal's main political parties reject an offer for talks with King Gyanendra, vowing more protests.
16.Apr.2006
US in warning to 'defiant' Iran The US warns Iran there will be consequences if it continues to defy the UN on its nuclear programme.
16.Apr.2006
Talks fail to halt Iran programme The UN's nuclear watchdog chief fails to convince Iran to freeze its nuclear work but says dialogue will go on.
16.Apr.2006
Hundreds more hospital jobs to go Hundreds of hospital jobs are being axed by a debt-ridden health trust in an attempt to save £20m.
16.Apr.2006
North Sea oil hits record price Crude oil prices hit an all-time high in London on fears of growing tensions between Iran, a major oil exporter + the international community.
16.Apr.2006
New terror law comes into force Measures making it illegal to glorify terrorism and distribute terrorist publications are introduced.
16.Apr.2006
Venus probe returns first images The Venus Express probe has returned its first images since slipping into orbit around our nearest planetary neighbour.
16.Apr.2006
Katrina rebuilding rules issued The US government issues long-awaited guidelines on rebuilding hurricane-devastated New Orleans.
16.Apr.2006
China hosts first Buddhism forum China's nominee as Panchen Lama appears at a Buddhist forum, communist China's first global religious gathering.
16.Apr.2006
Police open fire on Nepal lawyers Police in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, open fire on a group of lawyers protesting against the king.
16.Apr.2006
N Korea offers nuclear talks deal North Korea has offered to return to nuclear talks if the US releases assets frozen in a bank in Macau.
16.Apr.2006
Fat cells link to heart disease Fat cells around coronary arteries may play a key role in heart disease, research suggests.
16.Apr.2006
Lost molecule key to lung cancer The loss of a single type of protein molecule may play a key role in the development of much lung cancer.
16.Apr.2006
Foetuses 'cannot experience pain' Foetuses cannot feel pain because they have no way of recognising the feeling, a psychologist says.
16.Apr.2006
Lack of research 'patient risk' Patients are suffering because not enough basic clinical research is being done, a senior doctor warns.
16.Apr.2006
Fourth bird flu fatality in Egypt A fourth person dies in Egypt after being infected with bird flu, the state news agency reports.
16.Apr.2006
'First face transplant' for China A Chinese hospital says it has carried out the country's first face transplant on a man disfigured in a bear attack.
16.Apr.2006
Suicide rate falls to record low The suicide rate in England is at its lowest in a century, official figures have shown.
16.Apr.2006
Mistakes 'aid OCD understanding' Events such as forgetting your keys trigger brain reactions which could provide a clue to OCD.
16.Apr.2006
Patients' Hep C detection 'delay' Patients who contracted Hepatitis C in the 1980s had to wait 20 years before finding out, a lawyer claims.
16.Apr.2006
Cell division rewind button found Scientists find a way to reverse the process of cell division, previously thought irreversible.
16.Apr.2006
Rants 'n' Raves: Mass Hypnosis On a cheery note for the weekend, readers comment on how technology is crippling the masses + on the inability of iPod users to communicate intellectually. In Rants 'n' Raves.
16.Apr.2006
Snake Bots Slither to the Rescue Snakelike robots fortified with cameras and sensors could inch up and around storm drains and pipes to help rescue victims trapped by natural disasters.
16.Apr.2006
'Bug-Eyed' Telescope Seeks ETs The mammoth device will give SETI a dedicated tool to search the skies for telltale flashes of light from extraterrestrials.
16.Apr.2006
Video: Opposition to the Real ID Act Video: Opposition to the Real ID Act. In 1775, New Hampshire declared its independence from the British. Today it appears ready to say no to Washington on the issue of digital IDs. New Hampshire Rep. Neal Kurk speaks.
16.Apr.2006
AOL e-mail bounce: 'Software glitch' or suppression? Blog: You say po-TAY-to. I say po-TAH-to. What America Online calls a "software glitch." Many bloggers are calling "censorship."...
16.Apr.2006
How secure are your tax filings? Blog: As if some of you late filers aren't anxious enough on tax day, we're afraid this won't make you feel any better. EPIC, the Electronic...
16.Apr.2006
ISP snooping gaining support Politicians embrace idea of requiring Net providers to record what you do online for potential investigations.
16.Apr.2006
Collaborative gaming takes to the streets New Web-based game presents a variety of absurd or even borderline-illegal tasks in and around San Francisco.
16.Apr.2006
AOL charged with blocking opponents' e-mail Company accused of bouncing messages related to effort to stop its adoption of program requiring marketers to pay.
16.Apr.2006
RFID vulnerable to attacks, researchers say Australian researchers say RFID tags can be disrupted by being bombarded with different radio frequencies.
16.Apr.2006
Alleged NASA hacker to speak at security show Gary McKinnon, the British man fighting extradition to the U.S., is planning to appear on a panel at a U.K. security conference.
16.Apr.2006
NASA shuttle program turns 25 In the 25 years, the space shuttle program has made 114 trips. Its successor has much loftier goals.
16.Apr.2006
African Catfish Hunts On Land - Zonk 66
Dave Knott writes "The journal Nature will be publishing a report on an African catfish that hunts its prey on land. The fish wriggles out of the swamps to catch land-based prey. From the article: 'The eel catfish, Channallabes apus, catches unsuspecting victims by arching upwards and descending upon prey, trapping an insect against the ground before sucking it up. The same trick may have been used by the very first vertebrates to venture onto land, the researchers speculate.' There is a video of the fish in action."

16.Apr.2006
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? - Zonk 184
theodp writes to mention a C|Net article about Chinese President Hu Jintao's historic first visit to the U.S.. The catch is that his first dinner won't be at the White House. It will be at Bill Gates' manse. From the article: "The approximately 100-person guest list is a who's who of the U.S. Pacific Northwest power elite, including Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz and Washington state Gov. Christine Gregoire, said event organizers. The guests will undergo strict security checks before entering Gates' lodge-style, 66,000-square-foot home overlooking Lake Washington with a reported seven bedrooms, six kitchens, 24 bathrooms, a domed library, a reception hall and an artificial estuary stocked with salmon and trout. Gates and Gregoire are expected to introduce and welcome Hu, who will then offer a toast in front of the gathering."

16.Apr.2006
High-Tech Electro-Defroster - Zonk 68
DahBaker writes to mention a News.com story about an ingenious way to de-ice a surface. From the article: "Dartmouth College engineering professor Victor Petrenko, not to be confused with one of the Champions on Ice, has devised a way to use a burst of electricity to remove ice caked on walls or windows. For surfaces coated with a special film, the jolt gets rid of ice in less than a second, far less time than it takes to hack at it with an ice scraper. While drivers might find easy-cleaning windshields convenient, the technology--called thin-film pulse electrothermal de-icing, or PETD--could have significant economic impact if widely deployed. It could, for example, cut the costs of repairing power lines downed by ice storms and keep plane windshields frost-free, decreasing fuel consumption."

16.Apr.2006
Sculpture to Reflect Campus Wireless Traffic - Zonk 65
prostoalex writes "Ball State University, the top unwired school in the nation according to Intel survey, is set to unveil a sculpture that will reflect the wireless traffic on the campus network. From the article: 'Beginning Tuesday night at 8 p.m., as people log onto the Internet via Ball State's network, their online activity will appear as sound, color, patterns and images projected onto giant screens set up around the base of Shafer Tower, located in the middle of campus on McKinley Avenue.'"

16.Apr.2006
The European Grand Challenge - Zonk 37
An anonymous reader writes "A European version of the DARPA Grand Challenge is being held in Germany next month. Instead of a race through the desert, the EU challenge is split into three events. Urban, non-urban + landmine detection will be the 'courses', with multiple winners in each event. Interestingly Sebastian Thrun, winner of last year's Challenge, has been forbidden from taking part despite being a European citizen." From the article: "The trials will take place in and around Hammelburg, a mockup of a town used by the German military for training exercises. In the non-urban course the robots will have to contend with a one-kilometer route containing ditches, barbed wire fences, cattle guards, fires, narrow underpasses + inclines of up to 40 degrees. The urban and landmine 500-meter trials will require the robots to negotiate doorways, stairs, partially collapsed buildings + poor visibility from smoke or partial lighting. Along the way, they will also have to search for designated objects and report their findings back to base."

16.Apr.2006
Wiki to Help Solve Millennium Problems? - CowboyNeal 182
MattWhitworth writes "A new wiki has been set up over at QEDen to try to gather a community to solve the Millennium Problems. The problems are seven as yet unsolved mathematical problems that continue to vex researchers today. What do you think of this effort? Will gathering a community of people help solve problems such as P=NP, or do you think it requires a lot more than a semi-qualified community to approach the problem?"

16.Apr.2006
Organic LED Could Replace Light Bulbs? - Zonk 102+
egrinake writes to mention a BBC article about a 'natural' replacement for lightbulbs. From the article: "The organic light-emitting diode (OLED) emits a brilliant white light when attached to an electricity supply. The material, described in the journal Nature, can be printed in wafer thin sheets that could transform walls, ceilings or even furniture into lights. The OLEDs do not heat up like today's light bulbs and so are far more energy efficient and should last longer."

16.Apr.2006
Video Tape Recorder Unveiled 50 Years Ago - Zonk 83+
Argyle writes "50 years ago Ampex unveiled the first video tape recorder. TV Technology has an excellent story about the surprise launch of the video tape recorder, impacting almost every aspect of business, entertainment + family life as we know it today. The enabler of the entire modern entertainment industry, the video tape recorder was was designed by only six men, Charles Ginsburg, Charles Anderson, Ray Dolby, Shelby Henderson, Alex Maxey + Fred Pfost."

16.Apr.2006
Bionic Man May Soon be a Reality - Zonk 90+
choongiri writes "The London Guardian is reporting on the creation of replacement eyes and working hands in the race to build a $6bn human. Currently being worked on is everything from bionic eyes to an entire exoskeleton enabling the wearer to carry 200lbs. From the article: 'The 1970s gave us the six-million-dollar man. Thirty years and quite a bit of inflation later we have the six-billion-dollar human: not a physical cyborg as such, instead an umbrella term for the latest developments in the growing field of technology for human enhancement.'"

16.Apr.2006
Military Investigates Sale of Sensitive Data - Zonk 119+

smokeslikeapoet wrote to mention an article being run in the New York Times detailing the sale of sensitive data in Afghan markets. From the article: "The military acted after The Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press reported that computer memory drives smuggled out of the base were being sold in shops. Some drives bought by the reporters contained material marked secret as well as information about insurgency activities and names and personal details about American service members and Afghan agents working for the USA military." Fox News is reporting the sold storage units are being repurchased by the military as they can find them.
16.Apr.2006
The World's Most Modern Management System - Zonk 191+

NeoPrime writes "CNN has a story about an Indian IT outsourcing firm HCL Technologies, whose president feels that 'employees come first and customers second.' He further feels that every employee should 'rate their boss, their boss' boss + any three other company managers they choose, on 18 questions using a 1-5 scale. There is even an electronic ticket system to flag anything they think requires action in the company. The company president explains, 'It can be I have a problem with my bonus, or My seat is not working, or My boss sucks.' This ticket is then routed to a manager for resolution. The article's argument: India has the most modern management system in the world."
16.Apr.2006
Support for U.S. Mandatory Data Retention Laws - Zonk 211+

chill wrote to mention a C|Net article about an upswell in support for a mandatory data retention policy here in the U.S. From the article: "Top Bush administration officials have endorsed the concept + some members of the U.S. Congress have said federal legislation is needed to aid law enforcement investigations into child pornography. A bill is already pending in the Colorado State Senate. Mandatory data retention requirements worry privacy advocates because they permit police to obtain records of e-mail chatter, Web browsing or chat-room activity that normally would have been discarded after a few months."
16.Apr.2006
China Bans Running Your Own Email Server - Zonk 106+
Erwin_D writes "Under the guise of banning spam, China has ruled that running your own e-mail server has been banned, unless you have a license. To qualify for such a license, an 'e-mail service provider' must abide by some chilling rules: all e-mail must be stored for two months + e-mail with discussing vaguely defined subject as network security or information security may not be transmitted. While the rules contains all the good measures we would all like to see to combat spam, such as prohibiting open relays and outlawing zombie network, the law is also geared toward controlling free speech. From the article: 'I believe that the intent to have an antispam regulation was a good one ... Unfortunately, it seems like during the policy formulation process, it got hijacked and went to one extreme.'"

16.Apr.2006
AOL Allegedly Censors 'Email Tax' Opponents - Zonk 98+
Mediacitizen writes "AOL was accused yesterday of censoring email to AOL customers that included a link to a site opposing AOL's proposed 'email tax.' Over 300 people reported that they had tried sending AOL subscribers messages that contained a link to www.DearAOL.com, but received a bounceback message informing them that their email 'failed permanently.' After the DearAOL.com Coalition -- 600 organizations convened by Free Press, MoveOn and EFF -- notified the press of this blocking, AOL quickly cleared the opposition URL from their filters, alleging a 'software glitch.'"

16.Apr.2006
States Seeking Levies on Digital Downloads - Zonk 185+
evdubs writes "15 states and the District of Columbia currently tax online media, with others eager to begin their own taxes. The RIAA estimates that domestic sales totaled $503 million last year, but that figure doesn't include movies, e-books, online video games and other forms of digital media. Perhaps the most interesting point in this article is the way states, looking to start taxing online media, are trying to use the interpretation of previous law and apply it to digital media. In Washington, politicians are using their definition of software (already taxable), 'a set of coded instructions designed to cause a computer...to perform a task,' to justify taxation of online media because 'they cause some action by a piece of hardware to play them.'"

16.Apr.2006
A Stark Warning On Climate Change - Zonk 555+
cliffski writes "In a report based on computer predictions, UK government advisor Professor David King said that an increase of even three degrees Celsius would cause drought and famine and threaten millions of lives The US refuses to cut emissions and those of India and China are rising. A government report based on computer modeling projects a 3C rise would cause a drop worldwide of between 20 and 400 million tonnes in cereal crops, about 400 million more people at risk of hunger and between 1.2bn and 3bn more people at risk of water stress."

16.Apr.2006
Microsoft's Security Disclosures Come Under Fire - CowboyNeal 123+
Old Banana writes "Is Microsoft silently fixing security vulnerabilities and deliberately obfuscating details about patches in its monthly security bulletins? Matthew Murphy, a security researcher who has worked closely with the MSRC (Microsoft Security Response Center) in the past, is accusing the software maker of 'misleading' customers by not clearly spelling out exactly what is being patched in the MS06-015 bulletin released on April 11."

16.Apr.2006
More Unintended Consequences of the DMCA - Zonk 146+
BrianWCarver writes "In the seven years since Congress enacted the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), examples of the law's impact on legitimate s, scientists + competitors continue to mount. A new report released today from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), 'Unintended Consequences: Seven Years Under the DMCA,' (pdf) collects reports of the misuses of the DMCA -- chilling free expression and scientific research, jeopardizing fair use, impeding competition and innovation + interfering with other laws on the books. The report updates a previous version issued by EFF in 2003, which Slashdot also covered."

16.Apr.2006
Yahoo's Amazing Disappearing Mail Servers - Zonk 85+
Golygydd Max writes "A Techworld story reveals that the reason Yahoo email has delivery problems is that the company's mail servers mysteriously close once in a while." From the article: "According to trimMail's Email Battles site, which recently monitored 16 of the company's advertised email hosts 240 times over a half hour period, only 133 of its probes were answered. Many of the servers were closed and unavailable. Overall availability ranged from 25 % to 75 % over the admittedly short test period. The average availability was 55 % , with the worst of the servers available only 7 % of the time."

16.Apr.2006
Missing Link Found Between Human Ancestors - Zonk 438+
simetra writes "Researchers with a University of California, Berkeley team are now saying they have 'proof' of human evolution. Fossils have been found linking two types of pre-human species." From the article: "The remains of eight individuals found in the northeastern Afar region of Ethiopia belonged to the species Australopithecus anamensis -- part of the Australopithecus genus thought to be a direct ancestor to humans, according to a report due to be published Thursday in Nature magazine. 'The fossils are anatomically intermediate between the earlier species Ardipithecus ramidus and the later species Australopithecus afarensis,' he said."

16.Apr.2006
When Telecom Mergers Hit Home - Zonk 109+
netbuzz writes "A telecom manager submitted an essay to Network World that paints a sadly humorous picture of what the mega-telecom mergers really mean on the ground." From the article: "Well, when I heard that these companies were about to combine forces, it made my blood run cold. How would they be able to take, in each case, two companies with already broken processes and mediocre customer support and successfully merge them? How could they continue to provide me with the support I need to keep my company's networks functioning as they need to in this age of the bandwidth junkie? The answer ... at this moment, is they can't!"

16.Apr.2006
https://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=8139
find it interesting that even after a hundred years, man still exhibits the same behavioral characteristics. That is to say, when a group of people witnesses something "beyond the realm of normalcy," even when the event is clearly seen, it seems they choose to explain it with answers that fall within that realm, e.g., when interviewed by the Bee, Weather Observer Barwick admits that the object couldn't have been a meteor based on the description of the light and the speed of the object, so he goes onto say that it "must" have been a hoax.
16.Apr.2006 https://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=8139

That article which was of course, "front page news," was the beginning of a wave of sightings that continued through the end of 1897 + was a "national phenomenon." Today UFO researchers refer to that period as the "Air Ships of 1897.”

The focus here will be on that very first sighting as reported by the Bee + later by San Francisco papers. In analyzing the article(s), there are some very interesting observations one can make about our culture during that time period as well as from a psychological standpoint.

First let's understand the "flavor of the times." Jules Verne had people's minds churning with his "science fiction novels" about mysterious inventors creating "futuristic machines,"
16.Apr.2006 Ancient seaside villa found near Rome 
Workers digging a new sewage system for a coastal resort near Rome found the remains of a second-century villa belonging to two Roman senators.
16.Apr.2006 The People Of Opus Dei  For most of its history -- few inside and outside Catholicism even knew Opus Dei existed. That changed with release of "The DaVinci Code."
The controversial novel - and soon to be released movie - portrays a member of Opus Dei as a murderous fanatic obsessed with painful acts of penance and fixated on controlling the church.

16.Apr.2006 https://www.cannonfire.blogspot.com/ Placing a tale damaging to Clinton within the confines of a book otherwise embarrassing to Bush would have been a clever move. All we know of Risen's sources is that they are career field agents + guys like that have misled reporters in the past. Unless Risen burns his sources -- which he won't do -- we can only guess at the truth. Permalink
16.Apr.2006 https://www.cannonfire.blogspot.com/ The egregious Newsmax is already using the story as a cudgel against Clinton, claiming that he personally approved the operation. We cannot be sure just what the CIA told him -- relations between the Agency and Clinton were strained, to say the least. The President was neither a nuclear scientist nor an espionage professional; he would have had to rely on the assurances of his briefers that the "Trojan horse" operation had a minimal risk factor.
Predictably, Newsmax tries to use "Merlin" as a weapon against Hillary.

This is ironic, because she has positioned herself as the pro-war Democratic contender. (Like it or not, we may need such a candidate if a WMD hits one of our cities.)
Do not dismiss the possibility that the entire "Merlin" tale is a ruse -- a yarn spun to mislead James Risen and, through him, us.

16.Apr.2006
https://www.cannonfire.blogspot.com/ Cannon here: As readers know, I have long warned that a domestic terrorist incident involving a "small" nuclear device will trigger war with Iran.

The Iranians have, of course, no practical reason to sponsor such an event, since the only possible outcome would be the annihilation of their country.

Only Bush and the neocons would benefit from a terrrorist incident involving a WMD. They would then have sufficient strength to crush domestic dissent and to take over the oil fields of the Middle East.
Although I felt foolish when I first mentioned this "hare-brained" prediction, recent events have increased its plausibility:
1. Phil Giraldi, formerly of the CIA, revealed that his sources say that the administration plans to use a new terror event as the trigger for a nuclear war against Iran.
2. Seymour Hersh confirms that the Pentagon has made plans involving nuclear "bunker buster" bombs.

As the Union of Concerned Scientists points out, these weapons stand little chance of penetrating deeply enough to take out underground facilities, but

they will eradicate a large portion of the Iranian population - in all likelihood, the real goal.
16.Apr.2006
https://www.cannonfire.blogspot.com/ Neil Young has a new album coming out, Life in War + the signature single from it is entitled, “Impeach the President.”
Doncha just love it? The man who wrote the anthem of the 60s war resistance, “Ohio,” manages to be the one with the courage enough to speak truth to power this critical time around. Again.
We need an anthem. We need an anthem real bad .
Read the whole piece; it's wonderfully gritty and human and hopeful.
We need an anthem. We need an anthem real bad .
Permalink

16.Apr.2006 https://www.cannonfire.blogspot.com/ summary below.
Many who have been working on the problems of how votes are being counted in California see the recertification of the Diebold voting machines as one cog in the wheel of a major effort to turn California into a red state, going back to Gray Davis' recall.
A
lawsuit, Holder v. McPherson , was filed in CA a few weeks ago. Jody Holder, the first-named petitioner, has been at this a long time. Another ally, Dan Ashby, works full time on the e-voting issues in California.

He's living at subsistence level in order to work nonstop on trying to keep California from becoming red, which means he's hopping from emergency to emergency as the Republicans, using stealth and wealth, push forward.

He is a spokesperson for one of the voting rights organizations supporting Holder v. McPherson and has been extensively interviewed on the subject of the lawsuit.
This of course does not affect just the state of California. Nationwide, we need to be concerned.

According to Election Data Services (on the home page go to the link to the voting machines for 2006), 136M out of 170M votes nationwide

00.Nov.2006 will be counted on secret software (electronic voting machines + optical scanners).

It appears that two companies, Diebold and ES&S, count 80% of those 136M votes.
To further refresh your memories of the 2000 fiasco, check out the great CD available
here (it's an interactive multimedia CD, with lots of video clips and documents).

There is also available here a DVD titled "Invisible Ballots" featuring Bev Harris, Avi Rubin, David Dill (Stanford computer security professor) and others.

Also, Mark Crispin Miller, who recently wrote about the stolen election and 2004 and why the Republicans are likely to continue stealing them, did a great job on C-Span II Booknotes recently.

We'll keep you updated when we hear anything new.

In the meantime, certainly the best ongoing source for all matters related to voting is the indefatigable Brad Friedman.
Keep your eyes open on this, folks. The integrity of our elections and our press is the core of our democracy. We're close to losing both + therefore, all.
Permalink

16.Apr.2006
Bush said to be open to release of Israeli spy: The wife of convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard says President Bush is willing to release him if there is a formal request for it from Israel.

16.Apr.2006 End of story: Israel triumphant : No serious politician in either the Republican or Democratic camp can ignore the resurgence of Zionism in US politics.

16.Apr.2006 Berlusconi loses bid to hold power: ITALIAN Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's last-ditch attempt to cling to office by trying to change the law to force a recount of more votes from the national election has been rejected by President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.

16.Apr.2006 US Military Exercise Seeks to Intimidate Progressive Governments: Former Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister William Izarra told TeleSur on Wednesday that US military operations in the Caribbean are geared to intimidate the progressive governments of the region.

16.Apr.2006 Alexander Cockburn: Courtroom bumps for the war on terror: A terrorism trial of two Muslims in federal court in Sacramento has thus far left the FBI looking manipulative, credulous + prodigiously extravagant.

16.Apr.2006 A boxer in the visa line : When he was in the spotlight during the 2004 Olympics, the State Department was only too happy to exploit him for propaganda purposes.

But when he applied four times for a student visa to study in this country, that same State Department found reasons to turn him down.

16.Apr.2006 AT&T pulled into domestic spying controversy : A former employee claims firsthand knowledge of AT&T's cooperation in "wholesale" monitoring of Americans' communications.

16.Apr.2006 Ward Reilly: The Failure Of The U.S. "Free Press": Television is a wonderful tool used responsibly. It is a nation-killer if used improperly, as it is today.

16.Apr.2006 3 degrees: Chief scientist warns temperature will put 400 million at risk : The world's temperature is on course to rise by more than three degrees Centigrade despite efforts to combat global warming, Britain's chief scientist has warned.

16.Apr.2006 A window into a world of need: When an economist and her three children gave up their lifestyle to live on a welfare budget for 40 days, they did not bargain for what they would find out

16.Apr.2006 Homeless arrests in L.A. ruled unconstitutional: A U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday that a Los Angeles city policy of arresting homeless people found sitting, lying or sleeping in public access areas is unconstitutional

16.Apr.2006 Mentally Ill Woman Shot Dead By Police: ”Twelve or 13 shots went off and we all hit the floor,” Thomas said. “I'm afraid to open the door and see what's out there.”
16.Apr.2006
Once we were slaves, now we're slavers : "When I started the job, M.R. told me that I had to work a year without pay to repay the many expenses he had in bringing me to Israel,"
16.Apr.2006 Army report on al-Qaida accuses Rumsfeld : Donald Rumsfeld was directly linked to prisoner abuse for the first time

yesterday, when it emerged he had been "personally involved" in a Guantánamo Bay interrogation found by military investigators to have been "degrading + abusive".

16.Apr.2006 U.S.: Rumsfeld Potentially Liable for Torture: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld could be criminally liable for the torture of a detainee at Guantanamo Bay in late 2002 + early 2003, Human Rights Watch said today.

16.Apr.2006 Torture? What Rumsfeld knew : In a sworn statement to the inspector general, Schmidt described Rumsfeld as "personally involved" in the interrogation + said that the defense secretary was "talking weekly" with Miller.

16.Apr.2006 Patrick J. Buchanan : The Generals' Revolt : This is a vote of no confidence in the leadership of the U.S. armed forces by senior officers once responsible for carrying out the orders of that leadership.

It is hard to recall a situation in history where retired U.S. Army + Marine Corps generals, almost all of whom had major commands in a war yet underway, denounced the civilian leadership + called on the president to fire his secretary for war.

16.Apr.2006 A warning to Pentagon: Does this look familiar?: A now-retired three-star Marine Corps general who was the chief operations officer for the military in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq has a message for his colleagues who still report for duty at the Pentagon. Speak out. Do not hide your doubts about misguided policies promoted by the ideologically driven civilian leadership at the Defense Department.

16.Apr.2006 Sidney Blumenthal: The slow-motion trap: His presidency was built on secrecy and, we now know, on lies. The more Bush struggles to free himself, the more his past deceptions bind him.

16.Apr.2006 Rice hints at Iran attack: THE United Nations must consider action against Iran which could lead to the use of military force, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said last night.

16.Apr.2006 Retired colonel claims U.S. military operations are already 'underway' in Iran : During an interview on CNN Friday night, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner claimed that U.S. military operations are already 'underway' inside Iran

16.Apr.2006 Israel's Peres Says Iran Leader Will Meet Saddam's Fate: - Former Israeli premier Shimon Peres says the president of Iran is destined to meet the same fate as Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi leader deposed in a U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

16.Apr.2006 Iran: 'Israel will be annihilated by one storm': MAHMOUD Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, caused further international outrage yesterday by calling Israel a "rotten, dried tree" which he predicted would be annihilated by "one storm".

16.Apr.2006 Iran Issues Warning to US: "You can start a war but it won't be you who finishes it," said General Yahya Rahim Safavi, the head of the Revolutionary Guards and among the regime's most powerful figures.

16.Apr.2006 Rice: US seeks enforcement power against Iran: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the UN Security Council's handling of the Iranian nuclear issue will be a test of the international community's credibility.

16.Apr.2006 Russian Military Chief Says Iran Far From Nuclear Bomb : Russia's chief of military staff says that he is confident that Iran's current nuclear activities will "not allow it the possibility, either in the near or distant future, to make a nuclear weapon."

16.Apr.2006 Duma member: US, Israel enemies of Iran nuclear program: Member of Russian State Duma Victor Alksnis said today that Israel and the USA are real enemies of Iran's peaceful nuclear program.

16.Apr.2006 Russia offers aid to Palestinians: Russia says it had promised emergency aid to the Palestinian Authority, breaking with the EU and Washington, which have stopped funding to try to force Hamas to recognise Israel.

16.Apr.2006 'We would rather starve' : Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has said the country's Hamas government would not be brought down by financial pressure from what he called an "unholy alliance" led by the USA.

16.Apr.2006 Defending Palestine, top priority of Islamic world,: An Iranian official said here Thursday night defending the oppressed Palestinian people would be the most important issue of the Islamic world.

16.Apr.2006 Hamas tells Arabs to honour aid pledge: The Palestinian foreign minister has called on Arabs to fulfil their promises of financial assistance to the Palestinian government.

16.Apr.2006 US business ban on Hamas-led PA : The USA has banned its nationals from doing business with the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, a Treasury spokesperson says.

16.Apr.2006 Aid workers fear America now sees them as terrorists: International help for the occupied territories was close to paralysis yesterday because aid workers, including many Britons, fear that the USA now sees them as terrorists.

16.Apr.2006 An Israel Accountability Act: The House Bill, modeled on the one designed by AIPAC against Palestine, HB4681 (the Palestine Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006) would have imposed measures to "defund" the newly elected government of Israel (once it is formed with Kadima as the party in control) unless it met the following requirements:
16.Apr.2006
Britain took part in mock Iran invasion Pentagon planned for Tehran conflict with war game involving UK troops -By Julian Borger in Washington and Ewen MacAskill
British officers took part in a US war game aimed at preparing for a possible invasion of Iran, despite repeated claims by the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, that a military strike against Iran is inconceivable.
Continued

16.Apr.2006 Retired colonel tells CNN a secret war is already in progress in Iran
"The retired generals, in effect, have declared Mr. Rumsfeld unfit to lead the nation's military forces as the USA faces crucial decisions on how to extricate itself from Iraq and what to do about Iran's nuclear program."

16.Apr.2006 Saturday is Last Day of Test. Help BuzzFlash Test Its New Expanded Progressive Marketplace for Democracy by Donating a Dollar. It will look the same, but we have spent months making it much more customer friendly and with new features in the software that will help you, including payment options. You can help us make sure that it is running top-notch by donating one dollar to the Buzz. Right, that's all, one dollar.
How Globalization is Failing the World's Poor

16.Apr.2006 Plan would spend $85 million in tax dollars on messing with Iran's political system. Who's in charge? Cheney's daughter. 4/16
Count me in! I oppose the NRA's "License to Murder." Join the Brigade Against Legalized Murder in Your State.

16.Apr.2006 Is Blair refusing to support any attack on Iran? That's what government sources are saying -- won't get fooled again. 4/16
Is there any worse job than Iraqi government cop? Dozens of Najaf's finest are missing after an ambush 4/16

16.Apr.2006 Updated: BuzzFlash's Last Chance Democracy Cafe: Read it with Your Coffee

16.Apr.2006 Derrick Jackson: That last assertion of "conclusive evidence" of WMD was eight months after the DIA team found ruled out bioweapons in the first four hours 4/16
16.Apr.2006
Wochenausblick: Neuer Anlauf auf die 6000-Punkte-Marke
16.Apr.2006
Robotik: Silizium unterm Schuppenkleid
16.Apr.2006
Hamas-Regierung in Geldnot: Russland verspricht Palästinensern Finanzhilfe

16.Apr.2006 Milliarden-Auftrag der US-Luftwaffe: Bieter-Wettstreit zwischen Boeing und Airbus eröffnet
15.Apr.2006 https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2005/10/02/plamegate-sources-prosec_n_8203.html
THE HUFF AND PUFF HEADLINE SMEAR STRIKES AGAIN.

As long as we are "considering conspiracy" we should consider her husband + her for outing themselves.

If ever someone needed exposed it is Plame + her lame husband.

I think we should consider an investigation as to how this loser wrangled himself into a trip on our nickel so he could end up with a book deal.

If this woman’s identity is such an issue she should yank her husband off of the talk circuit.

Posted by: Neo Concarney on 02.Oct.2005 at 10:11am
Plunger: just want to thank you for the succint and right on synopsis of what this is all about. isn't it incredible to consider that the majority of the bushbots, the mindless critons that they are, still BELIEVE that 9/11 was caused by hussein/iraq + that we have in fact found the wmd's ? ! and it this 'majority' that is responsible for electing fuhrer bush ? so , in essence, all these souless souls who are living in a complete state of delusion, just like their fuhrer, have been the DETERMINING force for the fact that the fuhrer remains in power ? so tragically the full consequences of this evil synergy is yet to be fully realized. as you more or less allude too in your thoughts these evil souls will not give up their power at any cost and are fully capable, with a great boost assit from the corporate media, of inventing / creating 'circumstances' that would lead to martial law and the suspension of the u.s. constitution in order to sustain themselves in power .. god help us

Posted by: alias on October 02, 2005 at 10:12am
15.Apr.2006
https://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0407/S00244.htm
Norma Sherry is co-founder of
TogetherForeverChanging.org, an organization devoted to educating, stimulating + igniting personal responsibility particularly with regards to our diminishing civil liberties. She is also an award-winning writer/producer and host of television program, The Norma Sherry Show, on WQXT-TV, Florida.
15.Apr.2006 https://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0407/S00244.htm

Unabashedly, our president and many from both sides of the congressional fence tout the horrors of 911 and remind us of the "evil doers" that wish to destroy our way of life.

This administration uses this national assault to bolster its deeds and misdeeds in the name of security.

Wide-eyed and clear-throated we were told in no uncertain terms of the proof that Iraq had weapons of mass-destruction.

Even now in the face of the truth, President Bush said on July 9th to a throng of supporters that we just haven't found the WMD yet.

Besides, he said, we know that Saddam Hussein had the capability to make WMD.

He neglects to state he knows this because we, the USA government, sold him the goods that would have enabled him to do so. But, that's not important now, is it?

Just weeks after 911 President Bush succeeded in getting the USA Patriot Act signed into law.

It wasn't until many months later we learned that not a single senator or congressman read the Act before signing it into law.

Afterwards, many of their voices, including ultra-conservative leaders, Bob Barr and Dick Armey, loudly proclaimed their regret in doing so.

Since then we heard Senator John Conyers, a strong distracter of the actions of this administration, state that we are foolish if we think our representatives read anything that comes their way.

It's impossible he says, otherwise they'd get nothing done.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.progressivedailybeacon.com/commentary.php?id=1086
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14.Apr.2006
https://www.progressivedailybeacon.com/commentary.php?id=1086
NBC Almost Reported the Truth About Bush's NIE Leak -By: A. Alexander

In the USA of America today, it is news unto itself when our corporate news media almost manages to accurately report a story relevant to ... more
13.Apr.2006 Lies + Death - Impeach George W. Bush - By: A. Alexander -

How much more clear does it need to be made -- Bush + his administration lied the American people to war in Iraq using 11.Sep.2001 9/11 as ... more
15.Apr.2006 What is the question?

What is the debate about?

Did he lie and exaggerate intelligence reports for political purposes some months back? 

He still, clearly, obviously + without possible other explanation, is doing it now. Reference: Yahoo! News
15.Apr.2006 https://www.moderateindependent.com/v1i5editorial.htm

DID THE PRESIDENT LIE ABOUT WMD’S? What Exactly Is The Debate? By Thomas J. Bico, Editor-in-chief

00.Jul.2003 The debate is supposed to be whether or not President Bush would or did exaggerate the intelligence he was given for political or practical purposes.

I don't really understand the question, because things are pretty clear and simple.

A couple of weeks ago the President stood in Poland before you, me + the world + said, "We have found the Weapons of Mass Destruction."

The press tried to figure out if he misspoke, what he was referring to, covered for him.

But he himself never said he misspoke + said essentially the same thing the next day, using unclear evidence about two trailers that may or may not be related to a weapons program - he used this little bit of unclear intelligence, exaggerated it massively + flat out, openly + boldly lied that this shows we have found what we were looking for, “..the Weapons of Mass Destruction.” 

There is not a single piece of even doubtful intelligence that even remotely suggests we have found any WMD's. 

But the President stood before us and the world and said twice, "We have found the WMD's."

So what is the question?

President Bush is not educated, but he is shrewd in his own way. 

His genius is knowing how to lie + get away with it - how to fail + fail + fail - in life + in office - + never be held accountable - not for his possibly checkered past, not for his business failures, not for the economy he presides over, not for the things he says.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.progressivedailybeacon.com/commentary.php?id=1086
The Unindicted Disgrace Bush and his Fristian Lemmings are getting desperate. They need to 'wag the dog pound' now because 1 doggie is not enough.

Liein' Leezy is already spreading the Frank Luntz/Ari Fleischer spin they used in Invading Iraq.

The "Q" has only been changed to an "N". Maybe they can also recycle "Curveball's" Intelligence and lie to the United Nations again.
15.Apr.2006 Old Scotty needs to be asked, How come Tony Blair, the British media and the British public knew the truth about those weather balloon trailers + that his gang didn't?
08.Jun.2003 the British Gaurdian had an article explaining that Blair was caught in a lie about those trailers. In other words, this argument we are having today, happened in Britain back 00.Jun.2003 .
Here, the Bushies went on to lie for months about those "mobile labs." In Britain Blair stopped his lieing after The Gaurdian article.
Read the Gaurdian reporting.
https://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,973012,00.html + mine https://theprogressivewolf.blogspot.com/2006/04/bush-mobile-weapons-lab-lie.html
15.Apr.2006 Gee, I wonder if the White House will apologize when the civil war starts in America. Bush has managed to alienate 12 million Mexicans and 37 million poverty strickin "folks" without medicare...

That's more than 10 % of the American population that's real close to being pissed off enough to start rioting. But for Bush; it's just another day in the "Ivory Tower..." Sorry; I meant "White House."
15.Apr.2006 The scary thing is this desperate bunch of idiots, are going to bomb the crap out of Iran with no Congressional approval.
15.Apr.2006 George W. Bush Falsely Claiming US Found Mobile Bio-Labs in Iraq "We recently found two mobile biological weapons facilities which were capable of producing biological agents." ... 
more
15.Apr.2006 Dwight D. Eisenhower from a Tomb of Quotes Found at BuzzFlash "Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists + rebels - men + women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine.

As their heirs, we may never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion." ... more
15.Apr.2006 Christopher H. Sheppard, Former Marine Corps Captain on the Invasion of Iraq "I thought we were going to prove all of the left-wing antiwar protesters + dissenters wrong.

I thought we were going to make America safer. Regrettably, I acknowledge that it was I who was wrong" ... more
15.Apr.2006 Colin Powell Suddenly Tells Truth About Bush's State of Union Iraq-Niger Nuclear Claim

"I didn't need Wilson to tell me that there wasn't a Niger connection. He didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. I never believed it." ... more
15.Apr.2006 https://www.netzeitung.de/servlets/page?section=784&item=392516
Streit um Erweiterung des Strafgesetzbuchs

Uneins ist sich die Union darüber, ob sie einen Zwangsehe-Paragraphen nach dem Vorschlag Bosbachs ins Strafgesetzbuch aufnehmen will.

Der CSU-Innenexperte Hans-Peter Uhl hält das für «strafrechtlich schwer zu fassen» und forderte stattdessen eine Änderung des Ausländerrechts.

Die FDP-Politikerin Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger kritisierte die «aktionistischen Forderungen».

Zwangsverheiratungen seien in Deutschland bereits heute strafbar, sagte die frühere Bundesjustizministerin am Samstag in Berlin.

«Der Straftatbestand der Nötigung ist durch den der Zwangsheirat längst ergänzt worden und bereits jetzt geltende Rechtslage.»

00.Feb.2005 -trat der veränderte Nötigungsparagraf 240 unter Zustimmung aller Fraktionen in Kraft:

«Ein besonders schwerer Fall liegt in der Regel vor, wenn der Täter eine andere Person zu einer sexuellen Handlung oder zur Eingehung der Ehe nötigt», heißt es.

Als Strafe drohen bis zu fünf Jahre Haft. Bisher ist die Zwangsehe allerdings kein eigener Straftatbestand im Strafgesetzbuch. (nz)
15.Apr.2006 Indiana Jones of the Balkans and the mystery of a hidden pyramid 

DRIVE 20 miles northwest of Sarajevo through the mountains of central Bosnia and you enter the broad Visoko valley, dissected by the meandering Bosna River. Beyond the river sits the town of Visoko, watched over by its minarets. And beyond Visoko rises an extraordinary triangular hill, 700ft (213m) high and looking for all the world like an ancient pyramid.

See also: Pyramids In Bosnia - Real Or Imaginary?
And:
Excavation of Bosnian hill may reveal first discovery of European pyramid

15.Apr.2006 Mysterious ice chunk falls in Loma Linda  Oakland isn't the only California city to experience a mysterious chunk of ice hurtling from the sky this week.
15.Apr.2006 Bush Crew Buys Back Stolen Data by Afghan Base. The Keystone Cops In Charge of our National Security.

15.Apr.2006 E-Mails Link Abramoff, Bush Official. He Was the Former Head of the General Services Administration. Okay, Name a Top Bush Official Who Is Corrupt, a Liar, or Incompetent. The Answer is, They All Are!
Saturday is Last Day of Test. Help BuzzFlash Test It's New Expanded Progressive Marketplace for Democracy by Donating a Dollar. It will look the same, but we have spent months making it much more customer friendly and with new features in the software that will help you, including payment options. You can help us make sure that it is running top-notch by donating one dollar to the Buzz. Right, that's all, one dollar.
Bush Basically Tells America: "I Would Never Ask Rumsfeld to Resign. After Dick and Me, Rummy is the Most Consistent Failure in the Administration. You Don't Want to Pull a Losing Pitcher When He's Got Such a Stinker of a Bad Game Going, Do You? I Know, I Was a General Manager." (BuzzFlash Translation of Bushspeak.) 4/15

15.Apr.2006 Katrina vanden Heuvel: "As the spirited site Buzzflash.com put it this morning, 'It's not that Rumsfeld's resignation would alone begin to turn this nation back from being run by the crew of the Titanic, but it would restore hope that there is some accountability for the disastrous failure in performance by our one-party Republican government.'" 4/15

15.Apr.2006 Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld could be criminally liable for the torture of a detainee at Guantanamo Bay in late 2002 and early 2003, Human Rights Watch said today. 4/15
BuzzFlash's Last Chance Democracy Cafe: Read it with Your Coffee

15.Apr.2006 The BuzzFlash Mailbag -- Uncensored and Unvarnished Truth from BuzzFlash Readers.
A BuzzFlash Editorial -- The Revolt of the Generals: Just Short of a Coup Against the Incompetence of the Busheviks?
Vice President Dick Cheney directed his then-chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, on July 12, 2003 to leak to the media portions of a then-highly classified CIA report that Cheney hoped would undermine the credibility of former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson

15.Apr.2006 https://www.cannonfire.blogspot.com/ Is your "Spidey sense" tingling too...? Permalink
15.Apr.2006 https://www.cannonfire.blogspot.com/ There's something funny going on: Although the Bush administration earmarked Iran as being part of the so-called Axis of Evil back in 2002, the CIA was forced to shut down one of its most successful penetrations of an Iranian espionage operation. Read this fascinating story from roughly a year ago.
15.Apr.2006 https://www.cannonfire.blogspot.com/ Giraldi is partnered with another former CIA man, Vincent Cannistraro, who has had his eye on Michael Ledeen as a possible perpetrator of the Niger forgeries. Ledeen decried Cannistraro as a trafficker in "groundless" accusations. But on the Iran front, at least, Cannistraro and Associates seemed to be on the money. Perhaps they were right about Ledeen as well...?
15.Apr.2006 https://www.cannonfire.blogspot.com/ See also here.
15.Apr.2006 https://www.cannonfire.blogspot.com/ "The problem is that our policy has been all carrots + no sticks,"the [Bush administration] adviser told a gathering of academics + outside strategists,

according to members of the audience.

"And the Iranians know it."

No sticks?

Armies in bordering countries do not qualify as being even vaguely stick-like?

Just what "carrots" have we, in fact, offered? Better question: Why are authorities dishing out this dissembling swill? The real scoop can be found in lots of places -- for example, William Arkin's recent column.
To my knowledge, the first to report on plans to use nukes against Iran was former CIA officer Phil Giraldi, writing in the
American Conservative.

Let's review:

The Pentagon, acting under instructions from Vice President Dick Cheney’s office, has tasked the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) with drawing up a contingency plan to be employed in response to another 11.Sep.2001 -type terrorist attack on the USA.

The plan includes a large-scale air assault on Iran employing both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons...
15.Apr.2006
https://www.cannonfire.blogspot.com/ To war, to war, to war we're going to go...

From the NYT: "Is it a good thing for the Iranians to think there are occasions where the U.S. would use force?

Sure," said Eliot A. Cohen, a professor at Johns Hopkins University who directed the Air Force's definitive study of the first war against Iraq.

"But I don't get a sense that people in the administration are champing at the bit to launch another war in the Persian Gulf." So, just what would it take to make the good professor get that sense?
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html
Das Freitagsgebet ist überall auf der Welt der Höhepunkt der Woche im Leben eines frommen Muslim. Es war ein Freitag, an dem Adam das Paradies betrat + es war ein Freitag, an dem es wieder verließ.
15.Apr.2006 https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html
"Wenn ihr auch nur ein Zeichen von Aggression gegen das islamische Regime wagen solltet, dann werden wir euch mit unserer Faust einen Schlag aufs Maul geben."

Mit einer Anrufung Gottes endet seine Predigt:

Er möge dem geliebten Iran Schutz und seinen verehrten Führern Erfolg gewähren und sie alle als Soldaten des Wali-je Asr annehmen - des zwölften, des Verborgenen Imam.

"Beschleunige seine Auferstehung", beschwört er den Allmächtigen.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html

"Sie haben uns einen Monat Zeit gegeben, um die Forschung einzustellen", sagt er in Anspielung auf den Uno-Sicherheitsrat. "Ein Monat, ein Jahr - ihr könnt uns so viele Ultimaten geben, wie ihr wollt."

Iran bestehe auf seinem Recht + das bedeutet, "dass wir bis zu unserem letzten Atemzug und mit unserem Blut für unser Recht geradestehen werden".
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html
Die schiitischen und sunnitischen Brüder sehen sich einem gemeinsamen Feind gegenüber, der das Ziel verfolgt, den Islam anzugreifen. Hier ist nicht nur die Rede von den Schiiten.

Jede Beleidigung des Propheten ist eine Beleidigung der ganzen Religion.

Es ist daher notwendig, dass die Schiiten und Sunniten in dieser Beziehung sich mehr um Zusammenhalt + Einigung der Herzen bemühen sollten.

Schiiten und Sunniten sollten brüderlich miteinander leben ...
Mit dem Märchen über die Kernenergie wollen unsere Feinde eine Krise heraufbeschwören.

Der Sicherheitsrat der Vereinten Nationen ist selbst ein Faktor der Unsicherheit und der Ungerechtigkeit geworden, anstatt ein Platz für die Sicherheit der Welt zu sein ...

Nach internationaler Gepflogenheit ist es unser Recht, die Technik der Gewinnung von Kernenergie zu beherrschen.

Der Sicherheitsrat will uns zwingen, diese Technik nicht zu beherrschen. Das ist ein Gesetz des Dschungels, denn es besagt: Wer stärker ist, kann sich durchsetzen.

Aber unsere Nation hat klar gesagt, dass wir unser Recht wollen.

Für dieses Recht stehen wir bis zu unserem letzten Atemzug und mit unserem Blut ein.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html

Alles, auch das nächtliche Bombardement der israelischen Luftwaffe, folge einer großen göttlichen Weisheit:

"Hasse nicht das Böse, es könnte eine Gabe Gottes für dich sein." Das ist die islamistische Antwort auf die Frage der Theodizee: Wenn Gott allmächtig ist, warum ist dann so viel Übel in der Welt?
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html

Es ist eine dialektische Denkfigur, die seit langem den Diskurs der Islamisten bestimmt:

Je härter uns der Feind schlägt, je deutlicher er uns seine vermeintliche Überlegenheit vorführt, desto enger rücken wir zusammen, desto entschlossener sind wir, ihm entgegenzutreten.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html

Klar sind dagegen die Fronten in Palästina, noch klarer die in Iran.

25 Minuten lang spricht Imam Talal al-Madschdalawi im Gaza-Streifen über den bevorstehenden Prophetengeburtstag und über die Notwendigkeit, ständig über Gott und den heiligen Koran nachzudenken.

Dann folgt, in den letzten fünf Minuten, das politische Resümee seiner Predigt: "Gestern sind auf uns 200 Geschosse abgefeuert worden", sagt der Imam.

"Was hindert uns daran, beim Einschlag jedes Geschosses an Gott zu denken?"
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html
Mit gleichem Eifer sollen die Gläubigen aber auch den Koran lesen: "Da gibt es keine Ausrede. Niemand kann behaupten, er könne den Koran nicht lesen. Habt ihr keine Computer, keine CDs?"
15.Apr.2006 https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html
Der Prophet vergab denen, die Unrecht an ihm getan hatten. Er vergab dem Mörder seines Onkels Hamsa. Er verzieh seinen Landsleuten, nachdem sie ihn aus Mekka vertrieben hatten ...

Der Islam verbreitete sich über die ganze Welt durch Argumente und Überzeugung, nicht aber mit dem Schwert, wie die Feinde des Islam behaupten.

Der Islam benutzte das Schwert nur dann, wenn er angegriffen wurde ...

Der Prophet verbot Extremismus und Fanatismus.

Er sagte: "Ich wurde von der Großzügigkeit des Himmels selbst entsandt. Die Nacht wurde zum Tage. Wer von diesem Wege abweicht, fällt dem Verderben anheim."

Die Religion wirkt auf manche wie ein Irrgarten. Betretet ihn mit Vorsicht, denn wer immer sich der Religion als Extremist nähert, kommt in seinem Extremismus um.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html
Musharraf versucht nicht nur, den Westen und die USA zufriedenzustellen, sondern für immer an der Macht zu bleiben".
15.Apr.2006 https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html
Der Maulana Khalil Ahmad verglich im pakistanischen Peschawar die monotheistischen Weltreligionen und pries, wenig überraschend, den Islam als die vollendetste:

"Vor allem im Christen- und Judentum sowie im Kommunismus herrschen Widersprüche vor."
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html

"Setze mich über die Speicher des Landes; siehe, ich bin ein kluger Hüter", schlägt Josef in der nach ihm benannten Koran-Sure dem Pharao vor.

Niemand sei je ein derart effizienter Manager gewesen wie Josef, so der Imam in Jakarta.

An seinen Fähigkeiten sollten die Führer der Gegenwart sich orientieren, denn "Korruption, Trägheit und Betrug bringen Zerstörung hervor".

Dagegen belohne Gott Sachverstand und eine "strikte Arbeitsethik" mit Glück und Erfüllung.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html

Doch diese prekäre Weltlage kommt beispielsweise in der Predigt von Didin Hafiduddin, dem Imam der Istiqlal-Moschee in Jakarta, nicht vor.

Seine Ansprache in einem der größten Gebetshäuser der Welt trug den Titel "Professionalität und ehrliche Treuhänderschaft" und hörte sich an wie ein Vortrag auf dem Weltwirtschaftsforum in Davos.

Hafiduddin erzählte den Gläubigen im bevölkerungsreichsten islamischen Land der Erde vom Israeliten Josef, dem Wirtschaftslenker im Dienste des ägyptischen Pharao.

Er versucht, die auch in der Bibel erwähnte Geschichte auf das moderne Indonesien zu übertragen, einen Staat, der den Kampf gegen die Korruption aufgenommen hat.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html
Zwischen Iran und dem Westen zeichnete sich bereits die nächste Zuspitzung im Atomkonflikt ab. Hohe religiöse Würdenträger nannten die Forderung der Uno, die Urananreicherung einzustellen, inakzeptabel.

Das Weiße Haus, enthüllte dann am Wochenende das Intellektuellenblatt "The New Yorker", beschleunige die Ausarbeitung der Pläne für einen Militärschlag auf Irans Atomanlagen.

Der Mullahstaat wiederum, verkündete Präsident Mahmud Ahmadinedschad, habe erfolgreich Uran angereichert und sei nun Mitglied im Club der Atommächte.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html

Die Nachrichtenlage am vorvergangenen Freitag hielt alle Zutaten für eine dramatische politische Predigt bereit:

In der Nacht zuvor hatte die israelische Armee zwei Büros der Aksa-Brigaden im Gaza-Streifen beschossen; die USA + die Europäische Union kündigten an, der Hamas-Regierung ihre Finanzhilfen zu streichen.

In der irakischen Stadt Nadschaf riss am Donnerstag eine Bombe 10 Menschen in den Tod, 70 weitere starben in Bagdad, als sie nach der Freitagspredigt die Moschee verließen.

Die Washingtoner Regierung machte deutlich, dass sie keine neuerliche Kandidatur des Amtsinhabers Ibrahim al-Dschaafari für den Posten des irakischen Premierministers will.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html
In der den Extremisten der Hamas nahestehenden Moschee im Flüchtlingslager Dschabalija endete die Freitagspredigt mit einem Aufruf an die Palästinenser, sich gegen die Besatzungsmacht Israel zu wehren.

Die Predigt hielt Imam Talal al- Madschdalawi, 38. Als die Juden aus dem Gaza- Streifen abzogen, dachten wir, dass wir alle Freiheit der Welt gewonnen hätten. Dann kam das Bombardement.

Dies ist ein Zeichen, ihr Gläubigen, dass euer Kampf mit den Juden noch lange nicht zu Ende ist.

Es ist der Beweis, dass der Konflikt nicht unter uns und zwischen uns stattfindet, sondern mit den ungläubigen Juden.

Deshalb solltet ihr bei jedem Raketeneinschlag sagen: Gott sei gepriesen, es gibt keinen Gott außer dem Einen + Er ist unser Beschützer.

Wir sagen den Juden: "Was ihr heute mit uns macht, steht geschrieben im Buch Gottes." Dort heißt es: "Ihr werdet Angst und Hunger erleiden."

Aber auch wir werden in den Herzen derer, die uns heute Angst und Hunger bringen, solche Angst und Furcht säen, wie sie sie nie zuvor kennengelernt haben.

Wir sollten uns mit Gottes Hilfe vor nichts fürchten. Wir dürfen uns nicht bei jedem Einschlag eines Geschosses oder bei jeder Drohung erschrecken ...

Das macht uns keine Angst. Das soll uns stark machen im Kampf gegen die Juden.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html

Der Befund ist vielschichtig, als Faustregel kann gelten:

Je virulenter ein Konflikt erscheint, in dem sich fromme Muslime vom säkularen Westen bedroht sehen, desto eifernder rufen auch die Prediger zu gottgefälligem Kampf auf.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html
Sie sind einem Verdacht nachgegangen, der sich über Jahre, zumal seit dem 11.Sep.2001 ,

im Westen verfestigt hat: dass die Moschee vom Gebetshaus zu einem Hort des Extremismus geworden sei, zu einem Zentrum islamistischer Indoktrination.

Der Kampf der Kulturen, so auch in Deutschland die gar nicht so heimliche Angst, sei längst in voller Schärfe entbrannt.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html
In diesem Jahr endete Mohammeds Rückkehr allerdings in einem Blutbad: 57 Menschen kamen in Karatschi ums Leben, als ein Selbstmordattentäter beim Gebet eine Bombe zündete.
15.Apr.2006 https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html
In Pakistan setzen die Gläubigen einen als Beduinen verkleideten Knaben auf ein Pferd + lassen ihn durch die Straße reiten:

die Wiederkehr des Propheten in Kindesgestalt - kein Widerspruch offenbar zum sonst vehement verteidigten Bilderverbot.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,druck-411407,00.html

Die Ägypter feiern den Prophetengeburtstag, den Maulid al-Nabi, als eine Art islamisches Weihnachtsfest.

In den Städten des Nildeltas ziehen Tausende mit Trommeln + Trompeten durch die Straßen, die Mädchen bekommen Puppen, die Jungen kleine Pferde aus Zucker geschenkt. Es ist das größte religiöse Volksfest in Ägypten.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/erde/0,1518,druck-411327,00.html

Evolutionär gesehen ist das höchst sinnvoll: Schwarmbildung ist für viele Fischarten eine zentrale Überlebensstrategie.

Im Verband können die Tiere angreifende Räuber schneller erkennen + sogar mittels koordinierter Manöver täuschen. Zudem können Schwarmfische Nahrungsquellen effizienter orten + erschließen.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/erde/0,1518,druck-411327,00.html
Ein eingespieltes Team hat in kritischen Situationen bessere Überlebenschancen.

Die Fische verlassen sich auf die individuellen Stärken von vertrauten Artgenossen und fühlen sich deshalb sicherer. "Da scheinen sie uns Menschen ziemlich ähnlich zu sein", sagt Magurran.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/erde/0,1518,druck-411327,00.html
Das Sozialverhalten ist bei Weibchen deutlich ausgeprägter als bei den fast ununterbrochen balzenden Männchen.
15.Apr.2006 https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/erde/0,1518,druck-411327,00.html

Guppys (Poecilia reticulata) sind weltweit beliebte Aquarienfische. Ihr Heimat sind die tropischen Flüsse Ost-Venezuelas und der Insel Trinidad.

Trotz der geringen Größe von maximal sechs Zentimetern + einer Lebensdauer von höchstens fünf Jahren verfügt diese Art über evolutionäre Errungenschaften wie

lebendgebärende Weibchen + penisartig umgestaltete Afterflossen bei Männchen.
15.Apr.2006
https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/erde/0,1518,druck-411327,00.html

So beobachteten schwedische Wissenschaftler kooperatives Verhalten bei Stichlingen: Werden sie im selben Aquarium gehalten, geht der Futterneid unter den Tieren zurück.

Über die Beständigkeit solcher Beziehungen wusste man jedoch wenig - bis jetzt.

In einer neuen Studie konnten die Biologinnen Anurandha Bhat + Anne Magurran von der schottischen University of St. Andrews nachweisen, daß Guppys ihre Schwarmgenossen auch nach einer längeren Trennung wiedererkennen

15.Apr.2006 Britische Lobeshymne: "Germany is coming back!"

15.Apr.2006 Serbien: Häftling vernäht sich die Lippen
15.Apr.2006
Iran-Krise: Peres sieht Ahmadinedschad enden wie Saddam

15.Apr.2006 Ex-Yukos-Chef Chodorkowski: Mithäftling greift Ölbaron an

15.Apr.2006 Archäologie-Tourismus: Pyramiden-Wunder beflügelt Bosnier

15.Apr.2006 Rückzug aufs Land: Queen findet ihr Leben zu stressig
15.Apr.2006
Arbeitsmarkt: Bundesagentur sieht Osten vor Abwärtsspirale
15.Apr.2006
Cap Bon: Wo Afrika Europa die Hand reicht

15.Apr.2006 Unterschätzte Fische: Guppys sind treu und mutig

15.Apr.2006 Hauptversammlungen: Aktionäre auf Absahnertour

15.Apr.2006 US-Lager Guantanamo: Rumsfeld soll Misshandlungen erlaubt haben
15.Apr.2006
Italien-Wahl: Berlusconi erklärt sich zum Sieger der Herzen
15.Apr.2006
Steuererklärung: Cheney verdient 13 Mal mehr als Bush