30.Oct.2006 CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Calls Out Lynne Cheney For ‘Sniping At My Patriotism’ - Nico - 

On Friday, Lynne Cheney repeatedly attacked CNN for having a liberal bias during a combative appearance on the Situation Room. At one point, she criticized CNN for “running terrorist tapes, terrorists shooting Americans” and asked Wolf Blitzer, “Do you want us to win?” She also repeatedly asked Blitzer to end his line of questioning and focus on her new children’s book.

Today on CNN’s Late Edition, Blitzer said he was “surprised” at Cheney’s “sniping at my patriotism,” and pointed out that CNN had specifically labeled the tape of a U.S. soldier under fire as terrorist “propaganda.” He also said that CNN had made clear to Cheney’s staff “only hours before the interview” that she would be asked questions about politics during her appearance, not just about her children’s book. Watch it : Digg It!

Full transcript:

BLITZER: On Friday in the Situation Room on CNN, I interviewed the wife of the Vice President, Lynne Cheney. The interview generated quite a bit of commotion and we are going to replay the unedited version. First, some history. I have been covering the Cheneys for many years, including on a day-to-day basis when he was the defense secretary during the first Gulf War and I was CNN’s Pentagon correspondent.

This — Mrs. Cheney has been a frequent guest on my programs. I have often invited her to discuss her new children’s books. She always is open to discussing the news of the day.

In this most recent interview, she, of course, knew we would would be speaking about politics. That was reaffirmed to her staff only hours before the interview. As a former co-host of Crossfire during the 1990s, she knows her way around the media. She was never shy about sparring with Democratic strategist and co-host.

I was surprised when she came out swinging on Friday, surprised by what she said about the “Broken Government” series and the excellent one-hour report by our chief national correspondent John King. One of the most precise and respected journalists in Washington. The decision to air sniper video which Anderson Cooper branded, I’m quoting now, “a single propaganda tape.” Surprised at her sniping at my patriotism.
30.Oct.2006 Fox Responds To Limbaugh Claim That He’s ‘Cruel’ For Creating ‘False Hopes’ About Stem Cells - Think Progress - 

Last week, Rush Limbaugh called Michael J. Fox “cruel” for giving people “false hope” that stem cell research will lead to medical breakthroughs:

When you start telling them there’s a cure around the corner if only somebody gets elected, you are misleading them. You are creating a false hope scenario and that is cruel.

Today on ABC, Fox responded, “What is crueler? To not have hope or to have hope?” He pointed out that “it’s not false hope, it’s a very informed hope. I mean, it’s hope that’s informed by the opinion of our leading scientists, almost to the point of unanimity” that embryonic stem cell research offers tremendous potential for treating and and even curing a wide range of diseases and injuries. (Read a list HERE.) Watch it: Full transcript:

STEPHANOPOULOS: We stopped for a moment because Michael was getting warm.

FOX: I’m just about to hit a pocket. This is good.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But after a short break his medication kicked in. (To Fox:) You’re just saying you were about to hit a pocked.

FOX: I just hit a nice pocked. I should be calm for a sec. It’s kind of like surfing. You wait for a wave and I just hit a nice wave.

STEPHANOPOULOS: I don’t want to rile you up but I want to bring up Rush Limbaugh one more time.

FOX: (Laughing) There he goes!

STEPHANOPOULOS: One of the thing he says when you’re talking about all these cures you’re giving people false hope.

LIMBAUGH (tape): When you start telling them there’s a cure around the corner if only somebody gets elected, you are misleading them. You are creating a false hope scenario and that is cruel.

FOX: What is crueler? To not have hope or to have hope? And it’s not false hope, it’s a very informed hope. I mean, it’s hope that’s informed by the opinion of our leading scientists, almost to the point of unanimity, that embryonic stem cells, because [inaudible], because they have the capacity to be anything are truly — you know, will it be a straight path to victory? Probably not, probably you’ll have stutter step along the way. In fact, they just did some work where they found it relieved the symptoms of Parkinson’s in one test, but there was residue, some tissue residue that built up, which is not ideal. But two steps forward, one step back, you know, it’s a process. It’s how this country was built. It’s what we do. I don’t want to get too corny about it, but isn’t that what the person in the harbor with the thing (referring to the Statue of Liberty) — it’s about hope and so to characterize hope as some kind of malady or some kind of flaw of character or national weakness is to me really counter to what this country is about.
29.Oct.2006 Serbia backs draft constitution Serbia votes for a new constitution asserting Kosovo is an integral part of the country, initial results say.
29.Oct.2006 US critics pan Dylan musical US critics pan a Broadway musical featuring the songs of Bob Dylan, following its debut last week.
29.Oct.2006 Under Fire, Soldiers Kill Blogs Hundreds of active duty personnel have been weighing in on the Iraq war with personal posts on topics from basic training to military strategy. Now the brass is taking notice -- and they don't like what they see. By Xeni Jardin.
29.Oct.2006 Plane Sensors Forecast Weather A network of high-tech sensors installed on some U.S. passenger planes are part of an experiment to more quickly predict weather conditions that endanger flights.
29.Oct.2006 Greek Blog Aggregator Arrested - kdawson 48 -arcanumas that Greek authorities have raided the house of Antonis Tsipropoulos, administrator of the blog aggregation site Blogme.gr. His hard drive was seized and he was arrested. The impetus was a satiric website, not named in the stories, that apparently offended a Greek public figure (also unnamed). The site in question was not hosted by Tsipropoulos but was merely linked to by his RSS fed. From the first article: "The developing story coincides with the Internet Governance Forum being hosted in Athens this week, to be attended by Internet luminaries, entrepreneurs + activists like Vint Cerf, Bob Kahn + Joi Ito and featuring panels on Openness and Freedom of Expression."
29.Oct.2006 Venezuelan Interest In U.S. Voting Software - kdawson 123 - A number of readers wrote in about a

U.S. federal investigation into the Venezulean ownership of Sequoia Voting Systems, which makes voting machines used in 17 states and the District of Columbia.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States wonders whether the anti-U.S. government of Hugo Chávez could be trying to influence the U.S. midterm elections.

From the article:

"Government officials familiar with the Smartmatic inquiry said they doubted that even if the Chávez government was some kind of secret partner in the company, it would try to influence elections in the USA.

But some of them speculated that the purchase of Sequoia could help Smartmatic sell its products in Latin America and other developing countries, where safeguards against fraud are weaker."
29.Oct.2006 Testosterone Tumbling in American Males - CmdrTaco 369 - 

"Yahoo is running a story about a study that concludes that testosterone levels are falling across all age groups among American men. It says 'The testosterone-fueled American male may be losing his punch'" I leave it to you all to draw your conclusions about this, but I still wonder what my hours of laptop-fu does to me.
29.Oct.2006 Sex- Affäre: Israels Präsident verteidigt sich als Verschwörungs- Opfer
29.Oct.2006 Telefonat mit Merkel: Israels Premier ruft Luftwaffe zur Ordnung
29.Oct.2006 A Message from Jerry Falwell to BuzzFlash Telling Christians to Vote for the Heathen GOP Leaders -- A BuzzFlash News Analysis
Don't Forget, You Can Vote on the News at BuzzFlash.net 24 Hours a Day! It's As Easy as One, Two, Three... Don't Complain About the News When You Can Produce The News!
Buy An Anti-Bush, Pro-Democracy Kit for $7.50. Don't Leave Home Without It!

29.Oct.2006 Weldon sinks lower and lower: Contacted Navy for negative statements about opponent, Admiral Sestak 10/30
11 charged in Republican vote fraud 10/30

29.Oct.2006 About that Iraqi democracy: "Any law or decision that goes against Islam, we'll put it under the boot!" raves one of its Bush-installed Founding Fathers 10/30
Will John Bolton's mustache continue to make its U.N. Security Council rounds after its Jan. 1 expiration date? 10/30

29.Oct.2006 Sweatshops, made in the good, old U.S.A.: How an official who tried to help exploited workers ran afoul of powerful Republicans 10/30
The company they keep: In Maryland, Democratic contender Andrew Duck is a veteran, but Republican Roscoe Bartlett prefers to hang out with Reverend Moon and Tom DeLay 10/30
Tennessee race draws attention to unpleasant fact that race is not dead in American politics 10/30
29.Oct.2006 http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/erde/0,1518,druck-444899,00.html

Statt Hochkultur aus Ägypten zu importieren, hätten die Vorfahren der Garamanten sogar Fertigkeiten dorthin weitergegeben. Im Jahr 1958 entdeckte sein Vorgänger Fabrizio Mori im Akakus-Gebirge den mumifizierten Körper eines schwarzafrikanischen Jungen. Diese gut erhaltene "schwarze Mumie" war aber 5500 Jahre alt, Hunderte von Jahren älter als die erste bekannte ägyptische Mumie. Möglicherweise existierte also in jener fernen Vergangenheit bereits eine heute unbekannte Hochkultur im Herzen der libyschen Sahara. Vor der sich ausbreitenden Wüste flüchteten diese Ur-Libyer in das Nildelta.
29.Oct.2006 http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/erde/0,1518,druck-444899,00.html
"Um 86 n. Chr. ging der König der Garamanten auf eine viermonatige Sklavenexpedition" - wahrscheinlich zum Tschadsee an der heutigen Südwestgrenze des Tschads zu Nigeria.
29.Oct.2006 http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/erde/0,1518,druck-444899,00.html

Und aus ihrem Berg "Gyri" - dem Berg des Rings - gewannen sie laut Plinius eigenhändig kostbare Edelsteine.

Im Fessan hinter den schwarzen Vulkanbergen erforscht David Mattingly seit 1997 das Wadi al-Ajal - eine etwa 150 Kilometer lange Trockensenke, die im Norden vom Ubari-Sandmeer und im Süden vom Steinplateau Hamada Murzuk begrenzt ist. Bis dato hatte man hier keine größeren Siedlungen aus der Antike gefunden. Wie Eduard Vogel vermutete auch der Brite das legendäre Garama in der Nähe von Jerma - tausend Kilometer südlich der heutigen Hauptstadt Tripolis.

Sieben Jahre lang grub sich sein Team durch Sand, Geröll und die Schichten der von Vogel entdeckten mittelalterlichen Lehmbauten, bis es in vier Meter Tiefe fündig wurde: Ruinen aus massivem Stein, die mindestens in das 4. Jahrhundert v. Chr. datierten - laut den antiken Chronisten also in die Frühzeit der Garamanten. Die Grundrisse künden von einer außergewöhnlichen Stadt. Gestufte Steinfassaden müssen einmal zu einem riesigen Tempel gehört haben - ein Steintempel mitten in der Wüste! Und im Zentrum von Wohnvierteln, Marktplätzen und Badeanlagen - ein befestigtes Militärlager.

Offenbar rühmte Herodot die Kriegskunst des Wüstenvolks zu Recht. "Alles spricht dafür, dass Garama ein stehendes Heer an Kriegern hatte", erklärt Mattingly. Zumal eine große steinerne Mauer mit Wachtürmen die Stadt sicherte - davor ein Ringgraben, der auf den Forscher wie ein Wassergraben wirkte. Doch wie soll eine große Stadt samt Kaserne in der Wüste überlebt und sogar einen Wassergraben unterhalten haben?
29.Oct.2006 Murtha: ‘There Is No Question’ The U.S. Military Is Turning Against The Iraq War - Nico - 

Today on CBS’s Face the Nation, host Bob Schieffer said,

“We keep hearing from people who say the American military is turning against the war.” Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) responded, “There is no question about it.” Watch it:

Earlier this month, veterans advocacy group VoteVets.org released the first-ever poll of Iraq and Afghanistan vets. Some key findings:

– 63 % of all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans believe the Army and Marine Corps are overextended at this time. 67 % of Army and Marine veterans believe their forces are overextended.

– 53 % of respondents said they “did not always know who the enemy was” when they were engaged in the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

– 42 % of the veterans said their equipment was below the military standard of being 90 % operational. 35 % said their Humvees and trucks were not up-armored when they arrived in-country.

Full transcript:

SCHIEFFER: We keep hearing from people who say the American military is turning against the war. Now, you have a lot of contacts in the military community. Do you think there is anything at all to that?

MURTHA: Well, there is no question about it. They’re frustrated. They realize — listen, the plan has changed from weapons of mass destruction to al Qaeda to topple Hussein to stabilize Iraq to democratize Iraq. We need an achievable plan. We don’t have that. The military operates best when it has an achievable plan. These folks are going back in less than a year. There is no question about the hardship on this small proportion of people + we’re spending $8 billion a month, $11 million an hour.
29.Oct.2006 Dole: Midterms Are Not A Referendum On Bush, Says She Is Trying To ‘Change That Scenario’ - Faiz - 

Only BushJob1.htm">37 % of Americans approve of the job President Bush is doing. 34 % approve of his handling of Iraq; 60 % think we are losing ground there while 61 % want to set a timetable for our departure.

On Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace repeatedly asked Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) whether she was content with having the 2006 midterm elections be viewed as a national referendum on President Bush and his management of Iraq. She dodged the question twice, before finally answering, “What we’re doing is changing that scenario.” Watch it: Full transcript:

WALLACE: The president held a news conference this week on Iraq and in it he said that the ultimate responsibility for what’s going on in the war resides with him. Are you and your Republican candidates okay with this becoming a national referendum on Bush and his war policy?

DOLE: First of all, Chuck, of course, is trying very hard to make it a national referendum. President Bush’s name is not on the ballot. But let me speak to Iraq. Each candidate must speak to Iraq from his own conscience. Obviously, it’s a major issue. There’s no question about that. But, you know, what we’re trying to do is find a way to win. The Democrats appear to be convinced or content, rather, to lose. And by lose, I mean —

WALLACE: You’re talking about win and lose the election or the war?

DOLE: The war. They appear to be content to lose. Losing is withdrawing before the mission is accomplished. In other words –

WALLACE: So you’re happy to see this become a referendum on the President and the war.

DOLE: I just want to make a statement about the fact that if we were to pull out of Iraq, you’ve got Syria, you’ve got Iran. Iran obviously would love to fill that vacuum. And here’s one of the largest oil supplies in the world. I think the Middle East would be in flames. And what is likely to happen is that we would have to go back in + that is certainly something that no one desires.

WALLACE: If I may press the point, though, I’m asking you a political question, not a policy question. Are you happy to see this as a referendum on the President and the war?

DOLE: In my view, what we’re doing is changing that scenario.
29.Oct.2006 Boehner: ‘Rumsfeld Is The Best Thing That’s Happened To The Pentagon In 25 Years’ - Judd - 

This morning on ABC’s This Week, George Stephanopoulos asked House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) whether he agreed with the growing number of prominent conservatives who think Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should resign.

Boehner said that “Rumsfeld is the best thing that’s happened to the Pentagon in 25 years.” He told Stephanopoulos the buck should stop nowhere. “Let’s not take the problems in Iraq, the tough fight that we’re in there and blame it on anyone.” Watch it: Digg It! Transcript:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me just ask one more question on this. Your own senators, I said Mike DeWine, thinks Rumsfeld has to go. Do you agree?

BOEHNER: I think Donald Rumsfeld is the best thing that’s happened to the Pentagon in 25 years. This Pentagon and our military needs a transformation and I think Donald Rumsfeld is the only man in America who knows where the bodies are buried at the Pentagon, has enough experience to help transform that institution. Let’s not take the problems in Iraq, the tough fight that we’re in there and blame it on anyone. We’re in a tough fight. Al Qaeda is doing everything they can to disrupt our efforts in Iraq, to disrupt the new government, creating more violence than anyone can imagine and defeating al Qaeda there is important, because if we were to pull out before we win, we will embolden every terrorist in every corner of the world and then instead of fighting them in Iraq, we’ll be fighting them on every street in America.
29.Oct.2006 Fierce storm lashes Philippines The northern Philippines is battered by fierce winds and torrential rains as Typhoon Cimaron arrives.
29.Oct.2006 Miliband draws up green tax plan The environment secretary is planning green taxes to combat global warming, ahead of a major report.
29.Oct.2006 Campaigns Target Web Audience Significant numbers of U.S. voters go online for political news and information + they tend to be younger, educated and liberal, according to a recent AP-AOL poll.
29.Oct.2006 The Crusade Against Religion

A band of intellectual brothers is mounting a crusade against the belief in God. Are they winning converts, or merely preaching to the choir? By Gary Wolf from Wired magazine. Plus: The Scribe
29.Oct.2006 UK Think Tank Calls For Fair Use Of Your Own CDs - CmdrTaco 65 - jweatherley writes

"The BBC reports that a UK think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research, has called for the legalization of format shifting.

In a report commissioned by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, they state that copyright laws are out of date + that people should have a 'private right to copy' which would allow them to legally copy their own CDs and DVDs on to home computers, laptops and phones. The report goes on to say that: 'it is not the music industry's job to decide what rights consumers have. That is the job of government.'

The report also argues that there is no evidence the current 50-year copyright term is insufficient. The UK music industry is campaigning to extend the copyright term in sound recordings to 95 years."
29.Oct.2006 New Solar Panel Technology Gaining Momentum - kdawson 79 - jessiej writes,

"Even though copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS), a newer type of solar panel, is less efficient than it's silicon counterpart, millions are being invested in manufacturing. From the article: 'CIGS panels use far less raw material than silicon solar panels and the factories themselves cost less to build,' $25 million compared to $230 million in one example. These types of panels could even be made into a t-shirt logo."
29.Oct.2006 Irak- Spott vor Wahlen: Bush hält Kurs - oder auch nicht
29.Oct.2006 Uraufführung "Ulrike Maria Stuart": Heiterer Abgesang auf die radikale Linke
29.Oct.2006 Neue Produktionsstätte: Volkswagen legt Grundstein für Werk in Russland

29.Oct.2006 Weltraumteleskop: Nasa entscheidet über Leben oder Tod von "Hubble"
29.Oct.2006 Israel: Mutmaßlicher Sex- Täter klammert sich ans Präsidentenamt
29.Oct.2006 Die Garamanten: Das mysteriöse Herrschervolk der Wüste
29.Oct.2006 Sex- Affäre um Israels Präsident: Generalstaatsanwalt fordert Katzav zum Rückzug auf (
29.Oct.2006 Cannabis Culture Forums: High Society preview: The Bush clan on drugs ... area as director of several banks, including the Dresdner Bank, the Deutsche Reichsbank + the private Nazi-oriented ...
29.Oct.2006 News Analysis CAPITALIST CORRUPTION: Greed Is Bad,

04.Jun.2002 (Paul Krugman on "Principle-Agent Theory") Plutocracy and Politics, 14.Jun.2002 (Krugman on Kevin Phillips ' new book) www.suu.edu/faculty/bowman/NYTimes/CaptialistCorruption.htm
29.Oct.2006 Wealth and Democracy: A Political History of the American Rich - Computer Store ... So writes Kevin Phillips , the accomplished historian and one-time Washington insider ... traded hands with foreign owners: Dresdner Bank purchased Wasserstein Peralla; Sumitomo owned ... www.investordictionary.com/store/product/0767905342.aspx
29.Oct.2006 Irakkrieg - Chronologie Teil 1: 20.03.2003 bis 31...
... irakischer Gefangenschaft +++ Bush verlangt humane Behandlung von ... Stadt Nassirijah am Euphrat dauern an +++ ... www.boa-muenchen.org/boa-archiv3/irak_k01.htm
00.Okt.2001 Die Petro-Dollar-Verschwörung ... in Nahost betreibt, braucht man eigentlich nur bei George W . Bush persönlich nachzufragen. www.umweltbrief.de/neu/html/archiv/Petro.dollar.ver.txt
29.Oct.2006 Syna: Protestnote an amerikanische Botschaft in Bern - sfux 
Rund 360 Delegierte der Gewerkschaft Syna haben in Baden Kurt Regotz zum neuen Präsidenten gewählt. Weiter beschlossen die Delegierten, der US - Botschaft eine Protestnote wegen der CIA-Affäre zu übergeben.
Der Spionageangriff durch die CIA sei inakzeptabel und müsse verurteilt werden, sagte ein Syna-Sekretär. Der Verdacht liegt nahe, dass der CIA - Agent Daten über arabischstämmige Mitglieder der Gewerkschaft habe ausspionieren wollen. "Wir werden die Ausweisung...
29.Oct.2006 Limbaugh launches new attack on Michael J. Fox. - Judd -  Media Matters has the details.
29.Oct.2006 Gene flaw increases autism risk A gene mutation which affects brain development increases the risk of autism, scientists have suggested.
29.Oct.2006 DR Congo votes in landmark poll Polling stations open for DR Congo's presidential run-off, seen as one of Africa's most significant elections for years.
29.Oct.2006 Cuba TV shows pictures of Castro Cuban TV broadcasts images of President Fidel Castro defiantly countering rumours that he had died.
29.Oct.2006 Climate change 'hitting Africa' Climate change is already hitting Africa and will wipe out anti-poverty efforts unless action is taken, a report says.
29.Oct.2006 Nato 'kills 70 Afghan militants' Nato forces in Afghanistan say they have killed 70 suspected militants in clashes in Uruzgan province.
29.Oct.2006 Katsav 'should halt his duties' President Katsav should step aside while he is investigated over alleged sexual offences, Israel's attorney-general says.
29.Oct.2006 Lula favourite to win Brazil poll Brazilians go to the polls on Sunday to elect a president, with incumbent Lula da Silva the strong favourite.
29.Oct.2006 Bolivia agrees new energy deals Bolivia seals agreements with 10 foreign energy companies, a major boost to President Morales' nationalisation plans.
29.Oct.2006 No Qatar trip for senior Israeli Israel's foreign minister cancels a visit to Qatar as Hamas representatives would be at the same conference.
29.Oct.2006 Experts crack cancer 'gene codes' Scientists crack the entire genetic code of breast and colon cancers, offering new treatment hopes.
29.Oct.2006 Egypt sends troops to Gaza border Egypt deploys at least 3,000 extra troops near the Gaza border after reports of a possible Israel operation.
29.Oct.2006 FBI Raids Security Researcher's Home - kdawson 365 - Sparr0 writes,

"The FBI has raided the home of Christopher Soghoian, the grad student who created the NWA boarding pass site. Details can be found on his blog including a scanned copy of the warrant. The bad news is that he really did break the law. The good news is that Senator Charles Schumer did it first, 19 months ago, on an official government website no less. The outcome of this trial should be at least academically interesting. At best, it could result in nullifying some portion of the law(s) that the TSA operates under." Read on for Sparr0's take on what laws may apply in this case.
29.Oct.2006 http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/911/
The fact that Bush signed these Martial Law changes the same day as the Military Commissions Act of 2006, makes it very clear that his Junta is lying when it says the Military Commissions Act was not meant for American citizens.  
29.Oct.2006 http://www.uruknet.biz/?p=m27769&hd=0&size=1&l=e
Senator Leahy's final ruminations: "Since hearing word a couple of weeks ago that this outcome was likely, I have wondered how Congress could have gotten to this point. It seems the changes to the Insurrection Act have survived the Conference because the Pentagon and the White House want it."
The historic and ominous re-writing of the Insurrection Act, accomplished in the dead of night, which gives Bush the legal authority to declare martial law, is now an accomplished fact.
The Pentagon, as one might expect, plays an even more direct role in martial law operations. Title XIV of the new law, entitled, "Homeland Defense Technology Transfer Legislative Provisions," authorizes "the Secretary of Defense to create a Homeland Defense Technology Transfer Consortium to improve the effectiveness of the Department of Defense (DOD) processes for identifying and deploying relevant DOD technology to federal, State + local first responders."
In other words, the law facilitates the "transfer" of the newest in so-called "crowd control" technology and other weaponry designed to suppress dissent from the Pentagon to local militarized police units. The new law builds on and further codifies earlier "technology transfer" agreements, specifically the 1995 DOD-Justice Department memorandum of agreement achieved back during the Clinton-Reno regime.(4)
It has become clear in recent months that a critical mass of the American people have seen through the lies of the Bush administration; with the president's polls at an historic low, growing resistance to the war Iraq + the Democrats likely to take back the Congress in mid-term elections, the Bush administration is on the ropes. And so it is particularly worrying that President Bush has seen fit, at this juncture to, in effect, declare himself dictator.
29.Oct.2006 Rockefeller Predicted "Event" To Trigger War Eleven Months Before 9/11 - Paul Joseph Watson -Hollywood director Russo recalls remarkable "forecast" of coming attack
29.Oct.2006 http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200609/091906a.html

U.S. SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY

CONTACT: Office of Senator Leahy, 202-224-4242

VERMONT

Hill’s National Guard Advocates Hold News Conference
To Protest DOD Bill’s Proposed Decisions On National Guard

. . .’Empowerment’ Steps Likely To Be Dropped, While Provision Threatening State Control Likely To Be Added  

WASHINGTON (Sept. 19) – Congressional leaders heading the fight for National Guard empowerment Tuesday expressed grave disappointment over the House and Senate conference agreement on the Fiscal Year 2007 Defense Authorization Bill for abandoning the National Guard “empowerment” thrust of the Senate’s version of the bill.  The conference report is also likely to take a sizable step toward weakening states’ authority over their Guard units, according to the congressional leaders who are leading the fight for Guard empowerment.

Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) – the co-chairs of the Senate’s National Guard Caucus – said the conference agreement is expected to include a provision making it easier for the President to declare martial law, stripping state governors of part of their authority over state National Guard units in domestic emergencies.  The provision is opposed by the National Governors Association and by key leaders in both the House and Senate.  The conference report is also expected to drop a Senate-adopted provision authored by Bond and Leahy to elevate the status of the National Guard within the Pentagon.
29.Oct.2006 http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=eed74d9d44c30493706fe03f4c9b3a77
Also in September, NORTHCOM conducted its highly classified Granite Shadow exercise in Washington. As William Arkin reported in the Washington Post, "Granite Shadow is yet another new Top Secret and compartmented operation related to the military's extra-legal powers regarding weapons of mass destruction. It allows for emergency military operations in the USA without civilian supervision or control."
It is clear that the Bush administration is thinking seriously about martial law.
Many critics have alleged that FEMA's spectacular failure to respond to Katrina followed from a deliberate White House policy: of paring back FEMA + instead strengthening the military for responses to disasters.
A multimillion program for detention facilities will greatly increase NORTHCOM's ability to respond to any domestic disorders.
Scott is author of "Drugs, Oil + War: The USA in Afghanistan, Colombia + Indochina" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003). He is completing a book on "The Road to 9/11." Visit his Web site .
29.Oct.2006 http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=eed74d9d44c30493706fe03f4c9b3a77
For those who follow covert government operations abroad and at home, the contract evoked ominous memories of Oliver North's controversial Rex-84 "readiness exercise" 00.000.1984. This called for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to round up and detain 400,000 imaginary "refugees," in the context of "uncontrolled population movements" over the Mexican border into the USA. North's activities raised civil liberties concerns in both Congress and the Justice Department. The concerns persist.
"Almost certainly this is preparation for a roundup after the next 9/11 for Mid-Easterners, Muslims and possibly dissenters," says Daniel Ellsberg, a former military analyst who 00.000.1971 released the Pentagon Papers, the U.S. military's account of its activities in Vietnam. "They've already done this on a smaller scale, with the 'special registration' detentions of immigrant men from Muslim countries + with Guantanamo."
Plans for detention facilities or camps have a long history, going back to fears in the 1970s of a national uprising by black militants. As Alonzo Chardy reported in the Miami Herald on July 5, 1987, an executive order for continuity of government (COG) had been drafted 00.000.1982 by FEMA head Louis Giuffrida. The order called for "suspension of the Constitution" and "declaration of martial law." The martial law portions of the plan were outlined in a memo by Giuffrida's deputy, John Brinkerhoff.
29.Oct.2006 http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/28/1934208&from=rss
Public Law 109-364, or the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007" (H.R.5122) (2), which was signed by the commander in chief on October 17th, 2006, in a private Oval Office ceremony, allows the President to declare a "public emergency" and station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder."
President Bush seized this unprecedented power on the very same day that he signed the equally odious Military Commissions Act of 2006. In a sense, the two laws complement one another. One allows for torture and detention abroad, while the other seeks to enforce acquiescence at home, preparing to order the military onto the streets of America. Remember, the term for putting an area under military law enforcement control is precise; the term is "martial law."
Section 1076 of the massive Authorization Act, which grants the Pentagon another $500-plus-billion for its ill-advised adventures, is entitled, "Use of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies." Section 333, "Major public emergencies; interference with State and Federal law" states that "the President may employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service, to restore public order and enforce the laws of the USA when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in any State or possession of the USA, the President determines that domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of ("refuse" or "fail" in) maintaining public order, "in order to suppress, in any State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy."
For the current President, "enforcement of the laws to restore public order" means to commandeer guardsmen from any state, over the objections of local governmental, military and local police entities; ship them off to another state; conscript them in a law enforcement mode; and set them loose against "disorderly" citizenry - protesters, possibly, or those who object to forced vaccinations and quarantines in the event of a bio-terror event.
The law also facilitates militarized police round-ups and detention of protesters, so called "illegal aliens," "potential terrorists" and other "undesirables" for detention in facilities already contracted for and under construction by Halliburton. That's right. Under the cover of a trumped-up "immigration emergency" and the frenzied militarization of the southern border, detention camps are being constructed right under our noses, camps designed for anyone who resists the foreign and domestic agenda of the Bush administration.
An article on "recent contract awards" in a recent issue of the slick, insider "Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International" reported that "global engineering and technical services powerhouse KBR [Kellog, Brown & Root] announced in January 2006 that its Government and Infrastructure division was awarded an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in the event of an emergency." "With a maximum total value of Read the rest of this comment...
29.Oct.2006 http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/28/1934208&from=rss

In less than 2 weeks, we have a very legal, effective and powerful to take this clown out of office and reign these jokers. Vote. Vote early, vote intelligently (base your decisions on the candidate platform and whether they're just going to be Bush flunkies. After the election, get involved and nage your elected officials to impeach this creep before we all end up in the gulags. This is a mess we got ourselves in for not thinking rationally and demanding our elected officials are actual law abiding and sane. Nope, we chased one president's member and let our mathematically irrational fear of terrorists throwing nukes stop us from thinking rationally. It took years of political indifference, social apathy and outright stupidit to put us here. Its going to hard thinking, hard choices and direct action (beyond protests and fantasies about gunfights with the national guard) to get us out.

We can sit here and talk about how we're going to go underground to fight "The Man" (and subsequentially get our collective asses kicked) or we can use our ballots to make truly frightening revolution -- Americans actually taking politics seriously and voting these clowns out of office. The choices is yours/ours. Peace - Cappadonna
29.Oct.2006 http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/28/1934208&from=rss
Appropriate William Adama Quote (Score:5, Insightful) by Laven (102436) on Saturday October 28, @06:27PM (#16625756) There's a reason why we separate military and the police: one fights the enemy of the State, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the State tend to become the people. William Adama from Battlestar Galactica Episode S01E02 "Water"
29.Oct.2006 http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/28/1934208&from=rss
Inflammatory and Misleading (Score:5, Insightful) by crucini (98210) on Saturday October 28, @05:28PM (#16625176) In a stealth maneuver, President Bush has signed into law...
Before the president can sign a bill, it has to get passed by both houses of congress. It's one of the least stealthy processes on the planet.
And once a bill has been passed by Congress, the president normally signs it. To refuse to sign it is the exceptional event. So why does this writeup make it sound like Bush magically created this law himself?
29.Oct.2006 http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/28/1934208&from=rss
Text of the section (Score:4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 28, @04:58PM (#16624866) Rather than having everyone load a huge bill... here is the text of the section:
The formatting sucks, but hey, it's congress.=========
SEC. 1076. USE OF THE ARMED FORCES IN MAJOR PUBLIC EMER-
GENCIES.
(a) USE OF THE ARMED FORCES AUTHORIZED.--
(1) IN GENERAL.--Section 333 of title 10, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
" 333. Major public emergencies; interference with State and Federal law
"(a) USE OF ARMED FORCES IN MAJOR PUBLIC EMERGENCIES.--
(1) The President may employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service, to--
"(A) restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in any State or possession of the United States, the President determines that--
"(i) domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of maintaining public order; and "(ii) such violence results in a condition described in paragraph (2); or
"(B) suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy if such insurrection, violation, combination, or conspiracy results in a condition described in paragraph (2).
"(2) A condition described in this paragraph is a condition that-- "(A) so hinders the execution of the laws of a State or possession, as applicable + of the United States within that State or possession, that any part or class of its people is deprived of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named in the Constitution and secured by law + the constituted authorities of that State or possession are unable, fail, or refuse to protect that right, privilege, or immunity, or to give that protection; or
"(B) opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States or impedes the course of justice under those laws.
"(3) In any situation covered by paragraph (1)(B), the State shall be considered to have denied the equal protection of the laws secured by the Constitution.
"(b) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.--The President shall notify Congress of the determination to exercise Read the rest of this comment...
28.Oct.2006 http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/28/1934208&from=rss
by yamamushi (903955) <yamamushi@gmail.cUMLAUTom minus punct> on Saturday October 28, @04:53PM (#16624812)
(http://www.aetheralresearch.com/) How much more are people going to take before they realize what is going on here? Seriously, we're only a step away from open revolution.. Will it actually take having troops parade around your hometown enforcing martial law before people stand up for their rights?? (which we don't have many anymore). I'm not saying there should be a call-to-arms, but I AM saying that people need to wake up and see what's going on before it's too late! First Patriot Act, Patriot Act II, Military Commissions Act + now THIS?! All in the name of "terrorism". We're just letting the government trample all over our constitution, because people don't understand why it was written in the first place, TO LIMIT GOVERNMENT! When will people realize that FREEDOM is NOT letting your government take away all your rights...
29.Oct.2006 http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/28/1934208&from=rss
Most Americans want Congress to impeach Bush [afterdowningstreet.org].
29.Oct.2006 http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/28/1934208&from=rss
Re:Oh My. (Score:5, Interesting) by lonesome phreak (142354) on Saturday October 28, @08:09PM (#16626696)
(http://www.analogcodec.com/ | Last Journal: Tuesday November 04, @06:40PM) Actually, probably so. Many in the armed forces would not take up arms against their fellow countrymen without a damn good reason. It's one thing doing disaster recovery...it's another to tell them to go "house to house" in New York or Chicago. Even using troops from different areas of the country probably wouldn't work too well. I would expect the officer corp would be very much against it to.
A decent chunk of the US's population is former military too. They know how to fight, know what equipment to sabatoge + could easily make life a living hell for the troops who didn't just flat walk out and quit when the pacification order was given.
Currently, there are 499,000 active duty Army troops, backed up by 700,000 National Guard and Army reservists. There are, as of 2005, 67,742,879 males age 18-49 and 67,070,144 females age 18-49. 12 million vs. 1.2 million. Many of the active duty / reserve troops are dissatisfied due to Iraq already...what do you think their reaction would be to have to come home to enforce martial law?
If it actually came to the point of using artillary or ordinace against US citizens, then whatever administration started it has already lost. They would probably accomplish hastening the end of our current civilization too.
This isn't even bringing the UN or EU into the fray. A highly destablized and civil-warring US would be horrible news for the rest of the globe too. Something tells me everyone wouldn't just sit by and watch us nuke ourselves 10,000 times over.
29.Oct.2006 http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/28/1934208&from=rss
List of who voted (Score:4, Informative) by bussdriver (620565) on Saturday October 28, @11:41PM (#16628450) The following list of people voted to suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus and must NOT be allowed to violate their oath again.
Don Young (R-AK)
Robert Aderholt (R-AL) Spencer Bachus (R-AL) Jo Bonner (R-AL) Robert Cramer (D-AL) Artur Davis (D-AL) Terry Everett (R-AL) Michael Rogers (R-AL)
John Boozman (R-AR) Mike Ross (D-AR)
Jeff Flake (R-AZ) Trent Franks (R-AZ) J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) Rick Renzi (R-AZ) John Shadegg (R-AZ)
Brian Bilbray (R-CA) Mary Bono (R-CA) Ken Calvert (R-CA) John Campbell (R-CA) John Doolittle (R-CA) David Dreier (R-CA) Elton Gallegly (R-CA) Wally Herger (R-CA) Duncan Hunter (R-CA) Darrell Issa (R-CA) Jerry Lewis (R-CA) Dan Lungren (R-CA) Howard McKeon (R-CA) Gary Miller (R-CA) Devin Nunes (R-CA) Richard Pombo (R-CA) Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) Ed Royce (R-CA) William Thomas (R-CA)
Bob Beauprez (R-CO) Joel Hefley (R-CO) Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) John Salazar (D-CO) Thomas Tancredo (R-CO)
Nancy Johnson (R-CT) Christopher Shays (R-CT) Robert Simmons (R-CT)
Michael Bilirakis (R-FL) F. Allen Boyd (D-FL) Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) Ander Crenshaw (R-FL) Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) Tom Feeney (R-FL) Mark Foley (R-FL) Katherine Harris (R-FL) Connie Mack (R-FL) John Mica (R-FL) Jeff Miller (R-FL) Adam Putnam (R-FL) Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) E. Clay Shaw (R-FL) Cliff Stearns (R-FL) Dave Weldon (R-FL) C.W. Bill Young (R-FL)
John Barrow (D-GA) Sanford Bishop (D-GA) Nathan Deal (R-GA) Phil Gingrey (R-GA) Jack Kingston (R-GA) John Linder (R-GA) Jim Marshall (D-GA) Charles Norwood (R-GA) Tom Price (R-GA) David Scott (D-GA) Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA)
Leonard Boswell (D-IA) Steve King (R-IA) Tom Latham (R-IA) Jim Nussle (R-IA)
C.L. Otter (R-ID) Mike Simpson (R-ID)
Melissa Bean (D-IL) Judy Biggert (R-IL) J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) Henry Hyde (R-IL) Timothy Johnson (R-IL) Mark Kirk (R-IL) Ray LaHood (R-IL) Donald Manzullo (R-IL) John Shimkus (R-IL) Jerry Weller (R-IL)
Dan Burton (R-IN) Steve Buyer (R-IN) Chris Chocola (R-IN) John Hostettler (R-IN) Mike Pence (R-IN) Mike Sodrel (R-IN) Mark Souder (R-IN)
Dennis Moore (D-KS) Jim Ryun (R-KS) Todd Tiahrt (R-KS)
Ben Chandler (D-KY) Geoff Davis (R-KY) Ron Lewis (R-KY) Anne Northup (R-KY) Harold Rogers (R-KY) Edward Whitfield (R-KY)
Rodney Alexander (R-LA) Richard Baker (R-LA) Charles Boustany (R-LA) Bobby Jindal (R-LA) Jim McCrery (R-LA) Charlie Melancon (D-LA)
Michael Michaud (D-ME)
Dave Camp (R-MI) Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) Joseph Knollenberg (R-MI) Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI)
Candice Miller (R-MI) Michael Rogers (R-MI) Joe Schwarz (R-MI) Fred Upton (R-MI)
Gil Gutknecht (R-MN) Mark Kennedy (R-MN) John Kline (R-MN) Collin Peterson (D-MN) Jim Ramstad (R-MN)
Todd Akin (R-MO) Roy Blunt (R-MO) Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) Sam Graves (R-MO) Kenny Hulshof (R-MO)
Charles Pickering (R-MS) Gene Taylor (D-MS) Roger Wicker (R-MS)
Dennis Rehberg (R-MT)
Howard Coble (R-NC) Bob Etheridge (D-NC) Virginia Foxx (R-NC) Robin Hayes (R-NC) Patrick McHenry (R-NC) Mike McIntyre (D-NC) Sue Myrick (R-NC) Charles Taylor (R-NC)
Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)
Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) Tom Osborne (R-NE) Lee Terry (R-NE)
Charles Bass (R-NH) Jeb Bradley (R-NH)
Robert Andrews (D-NJ) Michael Ferguson (R-NJ) Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) Scott Garrett (R-NJ) Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) Jim Saxton (R-NJ) Christopher Smith (R-NJ)
Steve Pearce (R-NM) Heather Wilson (R-NM)
James Gibbons (R-NV) Jon Porter (R-NV)
Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) Vito Fossella (R-NY) Brian Higgins (D-NY) Sue Kelly (R-NY) Peter King (R-NY) Randy Kuhl (R-NY) John McHugh (R-NY) Thomas Reynolds (R-NY) John Sweeney (R-NY) James Walsh (R-NY)
John Boehner (R-OH) Sherrod Brown (D-OH) Steve Chabot (R-OH) Paul Gillmor (R-OH) David Hobson (R-OH) Michael Oxley (R-OH) Deborah Pryce (R-OH) Ralph Regula (R-OH) Jean Schmidt (R-OH) Patrick Tiberi (R-OH) Michael Turner (R-OH)
Dan Boren (D-OK) Tom Cole (R-OK) Ernest Istook (R-O Read the rest of this comment...
29.Oct.2006 http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/28/1934208&from=rss
Here is a link to the bill in question. The relevant part is Sec. 1076 about 3/4 of the way down the page.
29.Oct.2006 AnalogWhole, an Alternative To FairUse4WM - kdawson 113 - Squidmarks writes,

"AnalogWhole is a free application that allows any file that can be played in Windows Media Player to be transferred to iTunes as an MP3. It uses, you guessed it, the 'analog hole' to re-record any DRM'ed song as an MP3. Because the analog signal doesn't actually leave the computer, but is simply looped back in the sound card, sound quality of the re-recording is excellent. All meta data is transferred as well. The MP3 file is automagically added to iTunes. Just show it where you store your DRM music and walk away."
29.Oct.2006 Bush Signs Bill Enabling Martial Law - kdawson 1101 -  An anonymous reader writes to point us to an

article on the meaning of a new law that President Bush signed on Oct. 17. It seems to allow the President to impose martial law on any state or territory, using federal troops and/or the state's own, or other states', National Guard troops. From the article: "In a stealth maneuver, President Bush has signed into law a provision which, according to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), will actually encourage the President to declare federal martial law. It does so by revising the Insurrection Act, a set of laws that limits the President's ability to deploy troops within the USA. The Insurrection Act (10 U.S.C.331 -335) has historically, along with the Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C.1385), helped to enforce strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic law enforcement. With one cloaked swipe of his pen, Bush is seeking to undo those prohibitions." Here is a link to the bill in question. The relevant part is Sec. 1076 about 3/4 of the way down the page. Note: the site hosting the article is already sluggish; I was unable to prime the CoralCDN cache with it. Please consider mirroring this article if you are able.
29.Oct.2006 http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/print_articles.asp?aid=330840&sid=FTP
The remains were destroyed during the middle or end of the Yangshao culture dating back 5,000 to 7,000 years when people usually lived in houses built partly underground, an expert said.
29.Oct.2006 http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/print_articles.asp?aid=330840&sid=FTP
Beijing, Oct 23: Chinese archaeologists have discovered the remains of houses dating back 6,000 years in northwest Shaanxi province.
The remains were located on a section of a farming terrace in Linglong village of Baoji city.

The remains were about one-fifth the size of the original houses which are estimated to be nearly 200 square meters, archaeologists said.
29.Oct.2006 Great Wall size mystery may be resolved  A 500-year-old question - just how long is China's Great Wall? - will be answered 00.000.2008 by two government departments. posted by _{Prof. Hex}
29.Oct.2006 Ex-Bush official receives 18 month prison sentence  Bush_official_receives_18_month_prison_1027.html">Raw Story's got it. posted by _{Prof. Hex}
29.Oct.2006 Archeologists unveil Aztec monolith 

Mexican archeologists have found a massive stone icon that may be the most important Aztec figure ever discovered, unearthing a door at a ruined temple in the throbbing heart of Mexico City. posted by _{Prof. Hex}
29.Oct.2006 Book Paints Escape-Artist Houdini As Spy  A new biography of the legendary performer suggests that Houdini worked as a spy for Scotland Yard, monitored Russian anarchists and chased counterfeiters for the U.S. Secret Service - all before he was possibly murdered. Via rieraci's page at Stumbleupon. posted by _{Prof. Hex}
29.Oct.2006 State Dept.'s Karen Hughes's stunningly stupid ideas to combat insurgency:
Fund "micro scholarships" and an Iraqi AV club

29.Oct.2006 Don't Forget, You Can Vote on the News at BuzzFlash.net 24 Hours a Day! It's As Easy as One, Two, Three... Don't Complain About the News When You Can Produce The News!
HELP WANTED:
BUZZFLASH BENEFACTORS NEEDED.
APPLY TODAY.
Buy An Anti-Bush, Pro-Democracy Kit for $7.50. Don't Leave Home Without It!
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Twelve days before the midterm elections, Republican congressional incumbents are struggling to corral a key voter group -- rural residents. A new bipartisan poll indicates that Democrats now dominate rural voters, a critical part of the Republican base. 10/29

29.Oct.2006 Will Durst: Don't Stay the Course
"Timetables," "Benchmarks"? It's All Just a Lot of Bushevik Hooey. What They Say is Contradictory and Doesn't Make Any Sense. 10/29
Chaos, Death Squads + Bushevik PR in Iraq 10/29

29.Oct.2006 NewsHour reports:
Top military commander says all troops should leave Baghdad. This Would Reconfirm that American GIs -- and Iraqis -- Are Dying for Bush's Domestic Political Goals.
29.Oct.2006 _{http://www.cannonfire.blogspot.com/} George Allen is a fountain Wanna make $250? Democrats.com is offering that much to anyone who can tell a true tale of Senator George Allen spitting on women. Y'see, Allen has been making a stink about the attitude toward the fairer sex (is that term still permitted?) in the novels of his opponent, Jim Webb. So the time has come to shine a light on Allen's own misogyny: He stopped and looked straight at me. He had to look down at me, because he stood so tall in those cowboy boots. I thought I spotted a twinkle in his eye + for a moment, I suspected he might give a humorous, light-hearted answer. Then he leaned forward and looked all the way down at the pavement. I figured he was planning a perfectly crafted answer to my question. I put pen to paper, ready to take it down. His lips puckered as if he might speak.
Then, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia gathered up a glob of tobacco-laced saliva. He used his lips to squirt it out, as if he had practiced. The spit landed just at the tip of my shoe. He grinned, but didn't say a word. Then he walked into the building. That was from a female reporter in Virginia. This tale comes from Jimmy Carter's gradndaughter, Sarah: My husband’s family lives in Virginia. Several years ago, his little sister went with a friend to a parade where George Allen was making an appearance + her friend’s Mom got a chance to speak to Allen. While they were talking, he was chewing tobacco. He spit on the ground and a fleck of brown spittle landed on my sister-in-law’s shoe. She was horrified.
So now you know: George Allen spits on little girls. Maybe that's the big secret in those sealed divorce papers. Lovers' spat.
(Sorry for the irregular posting. Sick friend.) Permalink
29.Oct.2006 http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,druck-445270,00.html

Fidel Castro. Er liegt nicht mehr im Bett, sondern telefoniert, liest Zeitung, läuft ohne fremde Hilfe herum. Der 80-Jährige gibt sich kämpferisch: "Mal sehen, was unsere Feinde jetzt sagen!"

Havanna - Auf den letzten Bildern im Staatsfernsehen war Fidel Castro noch bettlägerig: Mitte August scherzte der kubanische Präsident mit seinem Bruder Raul Castro und seinem venezolanischen Amtskollegen Hugo Chavez, die ihn am Krankenbett besuchten. Castro war müde und blass.
29.Oct.2006 Videobotschaft: Castro wieder fidel

29.Oct.2006 Finanzinvestoren: Pleitegeier im Anflug

29.Oct.2006 Afghanistan: Isaf- Soldaten töten mehr als 50 Taliban

29.Oct.2006 Auslandseinsätze: Jung und Struck sehen Bundeswehr an der Leistungsgrenze

29.Oct.2006 Wieder Zwischenfall vor Libanon: Israelischer Jagdbomber bedrängt erneut deutschen Hubschrauber
29.Oct.2006 Angst vor Gewalt: Nervöse Spannung vor Stichwahl im Kongo
28.Oct.2006 LEAKED MEMO: Karen Hughes Thinks Small In Combating Iraq Insurgency - Guest - 

Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes heads off to the Middle East this weekend for a round of public diplomacy. Think Progress has obtained this internal memorandum sent from Hughes to National Security Council Principals earlier this month entitled “Thinking ‘bigger.’”

A key section of this memo offers the Bush administration’s strategy for “Public Diplomacy to Counter Insurgency in Iraq.” Far from “thinking bigger,” the recommendations for defeating the insurgency are small-minded, unambitious + disconnected from reality. Here are Hughes’ three ideas:

– Substantially expand…[the] “Micro scholarship” program…targeted at youth in key disadvantaged areas in Iraq, such as Sadr City or Anbar Governorate.”

– Create a fund to support media projects by Iraqis, such as documentaries, short films, animation, audio-visual productions and other material that would show Iraq’s reality to pan-Arab and pan-Islamic audiences.

– Revive book publishing in Iraq to fill the intellectual vacuum…and support…Iraq’s hard-pressed intellectuals.

See the full memo HERE.

These are all nice ideas in theory, but the problems affecting Iraqi society go much deeper and are far more serious that the administration wants to admit. Iraq is in a state of endemic chaos, marked by four raging internal conflicts, ethnic cleansing + few significant advances in Iraq’s economic reconstruction.

These recommendations fail to scratch the surface of the underlying problems and do not address what the recent Iraq NIE described as “a deep resentment of U.S. involvement in the Muslim world.” Hughes’ memo sadly reveals that the administration is not “thinking big” enough about the problems resulting from our current occupation of Iraq. To get things right in Iraq, we need to embrace a complete shift in strategy and adopt a policy of strategic redeployment. – Brian Katulis
28.Oct.2006 Rep. Blunt Blames Media For Sputtering Economy - Payson - 

54 % of Americans think the economy is getting worse. And Friday, the Commerce Department reported that “U.S. economic growth slowed during the summer to its lowest growth rate in three years” — 1.6 % — “amid a slump in the housing sector.”

The conservative response? Blame the media. On Fox News yesterday, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) said “a bigger story is that so much of the media - and I don’t put Fox News in this category - has constantly talked down this economy.” “Believe me, if we were in the mid-90s, Bill Clinton was president,” Blunt said, “I am convinced there would be a totally different national media coverage by most of the media of this economy.”

Watch it:

The economic data points to a slumping economy that is squeezing the poor and the middle class. Wages are stagnating, poverty rates are climbing, family debt is rising + the housing market is slowing.

Transcript:

But I think a bigger story is that so much of the media - and I don’t put Fox News in this category - has constantly talked down this economy. Believe me, if we were in the mid-90s, Bill Clinton was president, we had the things happening in the economy that are happening today, I am convinced there would be a totally different national media coverage by most of the media of this economy.
28.Oct.2006 Cheney backs away from waterboarding approval. - Nico - 

“Vice President Cheney said yesterday that he was not referring to an interrogation technique known as ‘waterboarding’ when he told an interviewer this week that dunking terrorism suspects in water was a ‘no-brainer.’” Read the transcript and judge for yourself.
28.Oct.2006 REPORT: Top U.S. Military Officer Recommends ‘We Remove All Troops From Baghdad’ - Judd - 

President Bush has consistently said that his strategy in Iraq is dictated by military officials on the ground. Last night on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, columnist Mark Shields revealed that one of the “highest ranking men” in the military has recommended removing all U.S. troops from Baghdad. Here’s the key excerpt:

MARK SHIELDS: The highest ranking or certainly one of the highest ranking men in the USA military today has recommended that we remove all troops from Baghdad, all American troops from Baghdad …All of the troops out of Baghdad, secure the road to the airport, secure the oil fields and the borders + say that the pacification and the maintaining of order in Baghdad is the responsibility of the Iraqis. That is the recommendation of probably one of the most — probably the most respected man in uniform today.

JIM LEHRER: You mean in uniform, serving on active duty today?

MARK SHIELDS: That’s right.

JIM LEHRER: So who did he make this recommendation to?

MARK SHIELDS: He made it to the civilian leadership of the USA.

If Shields’ report is true it represents an acknowledgment by the military that the conspicuous presence of U.S. troops in Iraq is actually making the situation worse. This is one of the core rationales of the American Progress plan, Strategic Redeployment.
28.Oct.2006 The Simpsons take on Iraq. - Nico - 

The annual ‘Treehouse of Horror’ Halloween episode of FOX’s The Simpsons, set to air Nov. 5, will “parody the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq.” Titled “The Day the Earth Was Stupid,” the segment “recalls the panic caused by Orson Welles’ 1938 radio broadcast of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, only this time aliens Kang and Kodos capitalize on the confusion by invading Springfield.”
28.Oct.2006 Lynne Cheney Unhinged On CNN - Think Progress - 

Lynne Cheney repeatedly attacked CNN for having a liberal bias during a fiery and combative appearance today on the Situation Room.

Cheney said a CNN special that aired yesterday was a “terrible distortion of both the president and the vice president’s position on many issues,” in part because CNN used the phrase “domestic surveillance” to describe the so-called “Terrorist Surveillance Program.” When Wolf Blitzer pointed out that some individuals have been arrested and interrogated despite having no ties to terrorism, Cheney warned, “I think that you might be a little careful” declaring someone has “clean hands.”

Later, Cheney criticized Virginia Senate candidate Jim Webb for including sexually explicit material in his novels. Asked whether her own novel Sisters had “lesbian characters,” Cheney said, “no, not necessarily. This description is a lie. I’ll stand on that.” In fact, her novel did contain multiple scenes describing a lesbian love affair.

Repeatedly, Cheney asked Wolf Blitzer to end his line of questioning and about her new children’s book.

Watch it: Digg It!

Full transcript:

CHENEY: You know, I understand your point. It’s kind of the point of a lot of people right now, to try to distort the administration’s position + if you really want to talk about that, I watched the program on CNN last night, which I though — it’s your 2006 voter program, which I thought was a terrible distortion of both the president and the vice president’s position on many issues. It seemed almost straight out of Democratic talking points using phrasing like “domestic surveillance.” […]

CHENEY: You know, I think that you might be a little careful before you declare this as a person with clean hands.

BLITZER: You’re referring to the CNN “BROKEN GOVERNMENT” special.

CHENEY: I certainly am.

BLITZER: This was the one that John King reported on last night.

CHENEY: Well, you know, right there, Wolf, “BROKEN GOVERNMENT.” Now, what kind of stance is that? Here we are. We’re a country where we have been mightily challenged over the past six years. We’ve been through 9/11. We’ve been through Katrina. The president and the vice president inherited a recession. We’re a country where the economy is healthy. That’s not broken. This government has acted very well. […]

CHENEY: Well, all right, Wolf. I’m here to talk about my book, but if you want to talk about distortion…

BLITZER: We’ll talk about your book.

CHENEY: Well, right, but what is CNN doing running terrorist tapes of terrorists shooting Americans? I mean, I saw Duncan Hunter ask you a very good question and you didn’t answer it. Do you want us to win?

BLITZER: The answer is, of course, we want the USA to win. We are Americans. There’s no doubt about that. Do you think we want terrorists to win?

CHENEY: Then why are you running terrorist propaganda?

BLITZER: With all due respect — with all due respect, this is not terrorist propaganda.

CHENEY: Oh, Wolf.

BLITZER: This is reporting the news. […]

CHENEY: Now, do you promise, Wolf, that we’re going to talk about my book?

BLITZER: I do promise.

CHENEY: Because this seems to be a mighty long trip around the merry-go-round.

BLITZER: I want you to — this was in the news today and your name has come up, so that’s why we’re talking about it. […]

BLITZER: Here’s what the Democratic Party put out today, the Democratic Congressional — Senatorial Campaign Committee: “Lynne Cheney’s book featured brothels + attempted rape.

00.000.1981, Vice President Dick Cheney’s wife, Lynne, wrote a book called “Sisters”, which featured a lesbian love affair, brothels and attempted rapes.”

CHENEY: No.

BLITZER: “00.000.1988, Lynn Cheney wrote about a Republican vice president who dies of a heart attack while having sex with his mistress.” Is that true?

CHENEY: Nothing explicit. And actually, that was full of lies. It’s not — it’s just — it’s absolutely not a…

BLITZER: Did you write a book entitled “Sisters”?

CHENEY: I did write a book entitled “Sisters.”

BLITZER: It did have lesbian characters.

CHENEY: This — no, not necessarily. This description is a lie. I’ll stand on that.

BLITZER: There’s nothing in there about rape and brothels?

CHENEY: Well, Wolf, could we talk about a children’s book for a minute?

BLITZER: We can talk about the children’s book. I just wanted to…

CHENEY: I think my segment is, like, 15 minutes long and we’ve had about 10 minutes of…

BLITZER: I just wanted to — I just wanted to clarify what’s in the news today, given — this is…

CHENEY: Sex, lies and distortion.
28.Oct.2006 Former Bush official gets 18 months in prison. - Nico - 

Former top White House contracting official David Safavian “wept as he asked for leniency in his obstruction of justice case Friday, telling a judge that his lobbyist friend Jack Abramoff manipulated him.” Safavian was sentenced to 18 months in prison for lying to federal investigators about his ties to Abramoff.
28.Oct.2006 Bush stumps for Jeff Lamberti, keeps calling him “Dave.” - Judd - 

Watch it: Bush_Stumps_for_Jeff_Lamberti_Keeps_Calling_Him_Dave_Video">Digg It!
28.Oct.2006 McCain Calls For Escalation In Iraq, Wants 20,000 More Troops On The Ground - Faiz - 

Today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) called for sending 20,000 more troops to Iraq. The AP reports:

Republican Sen. John McCain, a possible 2008 presidential candidate, said Friday the USA should send another 20,000 troops to Iraq.

A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, McCain said increasing U.S. forces would require expanding the standing Army and Marine Corps - a step the Bush administration has resisted. […]

‘’Another 20,000 troops in Iraq, but that means expanding the Army and the Marine Corps,'’ he said.

McCain’s call for escalation would exacerbate the deteriorating situation in Iraq and would only further damage U.S. national security. Here’s at least two reasons why:

1) No troops to send. “Sending more troops to Iraq would, at the moment, threaten to break our nation’s all-volunteer Army and undermine our national security.” McCain suggests enlarging the force to send them to Iraq, an idea that is implausible to carry out over the short-term and would damage the military’s ability to recruit over the long-term.

2) The insurgency would grow more inflamed. “A more visible presence of U.S. troops risks further stoking the flames of the insurgency by feeding perceptions of long-term U.S. occupation among many Iraqis.” The recent effort to increase troop numbers in Baghdad has only increased violence. A recent poll of Iraqis indicated that support for attacks on US-led forces has grown to a majority position — now six in ten — a number sure to increase if more U.S. troops are put on the ground.

Phased withdrawal is gaining consensus as the last best option for Iraq. A growing group of experts — including the Iraq Study Group and host of conservative senators — are consolidating behind a redeployment. 63 % of Americans believe Congress should set a timetable.
28.Oct.2006 Snow: Cheney ‘Is Not A Guy Who Slips Up’ - Judd - 

Vice President Cheney is under scrutiny for the following exchange with North Dakota radio host Scott Henen:

HENEN: And I’ve had people call and say, please, let the Vice President know that if it takes dunking a terrorist in water, we’re all for it, if it saves American lives… Would you agree a dunk in water is a no-brainer if it can save lives?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: It’s a no-brainer for me , but for a while there, I was criticized as being the Vice President “for torture.” We don’t torture. That’s not what we’re involved in.

Cheney’s comments were widely understood as an endorsement of a practice called “waterboarding” — a technique where prisoner “who is bound and gagged has water poured over him to make him think he is about to drown.” (00.000.1947, the U.S. tried and convicted a Japanese officer with war crimes for waterboarding a U.S. civilian.)

Today, Press Secretary Tony Snow insisted that Cheney’s comments did not endorse waterboarding. Snow said that Cheney does not comment on specific interrogation techniques and is “not a guy who slips up.” ABC’s Ann Compton countered that Cheney “did go up and curse a senator to his face on the Senate floor and accidentally shot his friend.” Watch it: Transcript:

SNOW: I’m telling you what the Vice President — I talked to Leeann about it. She says, No, he wasn’t referring to waterboarding; he was referring to using a program of questioning, not talking about waterboarding.

Let me put it this way: You’ve got Dick Cheney, who has been head of an intelligence committee. He’s been the secretary of defense. He’s been the vice president. This is not a guy who slips up. And he’s also not a guy who does winks and nods about things that involve matters that you don’t talk about for political reasons. Sorry.

[Snip]

COMPTON: Saying that Vice President Cheney doesn’t make mistakes like this, he did go up and curse a senator to his face on the Senate floor and accidentally shot his friend. So he’s not perfect.
28.Oct.2006 Snow: Cheney ‘Is Not A Guy Who Slips Up’ - Judd - 

Vice President Cheney is under scrutiny for the following exchange with North Dakota radio host Scott Henen:

HENEN: And I’ve had people call and say, please, let the Vice President know that if it takes dunking a terrorist in water, we’re all for it, if it saves American lives… Would you agree a dunk in water is a no-brainer if it can save lives?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: It’s a no-brainer for me , but for a while there, I was criticized as being the Vice President “for torture.” We don’t torture. That’s not what we’re involved in.

Cheney’s comments were widely understood as an endorsement of a practice called “waterboarding” — a technique where prisoner “who is bound and gagged has water poured over him to make him think he is about to drown.” (00.000.1947, the U.S. tried and convicted a Japanese officer with war crimes for waterboarding a U.S. civilian.)

Today, Press Secretary Tony Snow insisted that Cheney’s comments did not endorse waterboarding. Snow said that Cheney does not comment on specific interrogation techniques and is “not a guy who slips up.” ABC’s Ann Compton countered that Cheney “did go up and curse a senator to his face on the Senate floor and accidentally shot his friend.” Watch it:
28.Oct.2006 Saddam Hussein’s verdict was recently postponed - Nico - until November 5, two days before the U.S. election. Media Matters asks: Will the media turn a skeptical eye?
28.Oct.2006 ABC Political Director: ‘Every Elite Politico’ In The Country Knows The Media Has A Liberal Bias - Nico - 

Earlier this week, ABC Political Director Mark Halperin told Bill O’Reilly that members of the “old media” are too liberal and that “we’ve got to fix that” by “prov[ing] to conservatives that we understand their grievances.” Previously, Halperin has called right-wing muckraker Matt Drudge “the Walter Cronkite of his era” and said he “rules our world.”

In today’s Note, Halperin goes further. The Note claims that “President Bush, Nancy Pelosi, Lynne Cheney, Phil Singer, Karl Rove, Elizabeth Edwards + every other elite Republican and Democratic politico share a set of cherished core American beliefs.”

Among the beliefs Halperin attributes to everyone:

– The only way to get a fair message out is through (friendly) New Media, because the Old Media is incompetent, weak + biased.

– You can’t refresh Drudge too often.

It’s one thing to believe in an imaginary liberal bias. It’s another to deceive yourself into thinking that everyone else agrees with you. Digg It!
28.Oct.2006 Tonight: Letterman v. O’Reilly. - Nico - 

Bill O’Reilly has taped an episode of CBS’s “Late Show With David Letterman” set to air tonight. During the show, Letterman “machine-guns him with insults,” prompting O’Reilly to say, “It isn’t so black and white, Dave - it isn’t, ‘We’re a bad country. Bush is an evil liar.’ That’s not true.” Letterman responds, “I didn’t say he was an evil liar. You’re putting words in my mouth, just the way you put artificial facts in your head!”
28.Oct.2006 New Bush security policy asserts U.S. ownership of outer space
(NewsTarget) The potential battleground of the future -- outer space -- now belongs to the USA, according to U.S. President George W. Bush. Bush, who just recently signed a new National Space Policy that asserts America's right to deny access to space to anyone "hostile to U.S. interests." In...
28.Oct.2006 Elections easily hacked via electronic voting machines
(NewsTarget) As more voting processes across the country turn from the old-fashioned pencil-and-ballot to newer, computerized voting systems, the possibility increases that these new systems will be open to many kinds of electronic fraud. Cheryl Kagan, a former Maryland Democratic legislator, was...
28.Oct.2006 Former Intelligence Agent Says Google In Bed With CIA - Paul Joseph Watson -Steele also sounds off on 9/11 doubts
28.Oct.2006 Fox seeks to end Mexican unrest Mexican President Vincente Fox orders security forces to quell violence in the Mexican city of Oaxaca.
28.Oct.2006 Nato apology over Afghan deaths A top Nato commander apologises for the deaths of Afghan civilians in an air raid, but blames Taleban fighters.
28.Oct.2006 Bush enters Cheney 'torture row' President Bush reiterates the US does not condone torture, after comments by Vice-President Dick Cheney.
28.Oct.2006 Global warming 'threat to growth' Global warming may cut world annual economic output by as much as 20%, an influential report is expected to say.
28.Oct.2006 Skirmishes mark riot anniversary Minor skirmishes are reported in Paris suburbs a year after two deaths which sparked riots across the country.
28.Oct.2006 Banks facing fines over ID thefts Some leading banks could face unlimited fines because of allegations customer details were dumped in the street.
28.Oct.2006 EU seeks Hungary unrest 'facts' The EU asks Hungary to respond to reports its police used excessive force to break up anti-government protests.
28.Oct.2006 Boarding Pass Hacker Under Fire Rep. Ed Markey wants the government to arrest a graduate student for launching a website that lets users create fake boarding passes capable of fooling airport screeners. That'll fix everything! By Ryan Singel.
28.Oct.2006 Boarding Pass Hacker Goes Offline A controversial, do-it-yourself boarding pass generator disappears from the web soon after its creator says in an instant message that the FBI is at his door.In 27B Stroke 6
28.Oct.2006 Climate Camp Eyes U.S. Elections
Baffled as to why the Bush administration won't approve a carbon cap, negotiators heading to Kenya for a global conference on climate say the 2008 U.S. elections will mark a shift in policy and global cooperation.
28.Oct.2006 Diebold Makes Fixes on the QT
The maker of the controversial electronic voting machine fails to let Maryland election officials know that it replaced the motherboards on 4,700 potentially faulty machines in four Maryland counties, raising questions about whether the company violated state contracts.
28.Oct.2006 Honeybee Genome Sequenced - mapkinase (posted by kdawson) 31 - mapkinase writes to let us know about articles in Nature

on the completed sequencing of the honeybee genome. From the first article: "Two other insects have already been sequenced: the malaria-carrying mosquito Anopheles gambiae + one of science's great model organisms, the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster. Like these, the bee is much easier to manipulate and study than, say, the monkey. But unlike the mosquito and the fruitfly, the bee's social behavior is of special interest." Another article in the same issue clarifies why this sequencing is important: "The genome is helping to reveal some of those [such as the bees' dance language and the division of labor in the hive] mechanisms. For instance, there are 65 spots in the genome that seem to code for short RNA molecules called microRNAs (miRNAs), molecular switches that can turn genes on or off. The researchers found that miRNA activity differs between bees doing different jobs."
28.Oct.2006 UK Banks Dump Credentials in Bin Bags - CowboyNeal 39 - Plutonite writes

"BBC news is reporting that several UK banks face 'unlimited fines' for careless handling of sensitive client information. This apparently came after investigators found account details while rummaging through the trash outside the banks involved. In this age of online banking and related security problems + in light of this scandal, where can we expect to find the greatest threat of ID theft?"
28.Oct.2006 More Evidence for Early Oceans on Mars - Zonk 71 -  DestroyAllZombies writes

"More news about Mars. The good news: New Scientist reports that more analysis of Rover data supports the claims for widespread oceans in Mars' distant past. The bad news, from the article: 'An ocean of water once wrapped around Mars, suggests the discovery of soil chemicals by NASA's rovers. But the same chemicals also indicate that life was not widespread on the planet at the time the ocean was present.'"
28.Oct.2006 Congressman Calls for Arrest of Security Researcher - Zonk 499 - Christopher Soghoian writes

"Yesterday, I published a tool that allows you to Create your own boarding pass for Northwest flights. This was an attempt to document the fragile and broken state of identity/security for domestic flights in the US. Today, Congressman Markey (D-Mass) has called for my arrest." From the ABC article: "'I don't want to help terrorists or help bad guys do bad things on airplanes, but what we have now is what we in the industry call security theater. It's made to make you think you're secure without actually making you secure,' Soghoian said. 'As a member of the academic research community, I consider this to be a public service.' Soghoian admits that he hasn't actually tried to use one of the boarding passes yet."
28.Oct.2006 Dirtiest Jobs in Science - Zonk 116+ -  ExE122 writes

"CNN and CareerBuilder have posted a listing of the top 10 dirtiest jobs in science. 'Whether they are sifting through reeking mud banks to find cures for contamination, or sorting stool samples to get to the bottom of our bathroom dilemmas, these are some of the science jobs that sacrifice their time, energy and comfort for the greater global good.' Sounds like a job opportunity for Mike Rowe!" From the article: "Hot-zone Superintendent - What they do: Perform maintenance work for bio-safety labs that study lethal airborne pathogens, for which there is no known cure. Their work enables scientists to study the nature of disease-causing organisms, such as anthrax."
28.Oct.2006 Smart Cameras Detect Crime, Erode Privacy - Zonk 189+ -  MattSparkes writes

"Smart surveillance systems could identify crimes as they take place, if a computer vision system developed at the University of Texas goes into production. The system is capable of classifying behaviour as friendly or violent. In the past there have been attempts to spot unusual behaviour, but this required subsequent user classification. These new systems may keep us more secure, but is it worth sacrificing our privacy for? And will we see false positives, where police cars screech to a halt beside hugging couples?"
28.Oct.2006 Politicians Have Poor Grasp of Technology? - Zonk 278+ - Alfred Lee Deon writes

"Chris Patten, a former EU Commissioner, was speaking at the three-day conference in Nice, France, on European business and technology. 'Many politicians don't understand the technology issues that could affect government IT schemes,' he said.' Politicians have no sound grasp of technology issues — but politicians don't necessarily have a profound grasp of any issue.' He was especially critical of UK's government's ID card scheme — a scheme he felt would not achieve one of its possible objectives of making borders more secure."
28.Oct.2006 Depressed? Net-based Treatments Can Help - CowboyNeal 128+ - Jung and the Restless writes

"Researchers at an Australian university have found that regular visits to therapeutic and educational web sites can successfully treat depression. Researchers directed patients to The MoodGYM, a cognitive behavior therapy site + BluePages, a depression education site. After 12 months, users of both web sites reported improvement, with the educational site working out better than the behavior therapy site. A psychotherapist who did not participate in the study says that the results aren't all that surprising. 'Cognitive behavioral strategies — sometimes in conjunction with medication — are the most effective means of treating depression,' and 'a person who is visiting an educational site like BluePages is taking the necessary steps with her own self-care. That's a key component of successful treatment for depression'"
28.Oct.2006 Navies of 6 states to exercise in Persian Gulf against nuclear shipments: Ships from the USA and five other countries will interdict a British vessel in the Persian Gulf on Monday in a mock interception of dangerous weapons technology, an exercise the U.S. expects nearby Iran to notice.

28.Oct.2006 Fears of new North Korea nuclear test: SOUTH Korean military officials fear the North may be making preparations for a second nuclear test. They claim to have observed activities today at the original testing site.

28.Oct.2006 U.S. journalist killed in Mexico's Oaxaca conflict: Nine people, mostly protesters, have been killed in a conflict that began in Oaxaca state five months ago, when striking teachers and leftist activists occupied much of the state capital, a popular tourist destination.

28.Oct.2006 Noam Chomsky: US threats to Venezuela: [T]he US has had two major weapons for controlling Latin America for a long time. One of them is economic controls, the other is military force. They have both been used continually. Both of them are weakening and it’s a very serious problem for US planners

28.Oct.2006 US terror law 'could violate international treaties' : Washington's new anti-terrorism law could end up violating international treaties protecting detainees, with some provisions denying suspects the right to a fair trial, a key UN rights expert said today.

28.Oct.2006 Airport screeners fail to see most test bombs: Screeners at Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the starting points for the Sept. 11 hijackers, failed 20 of 22 security tests conducted by undercover U.S. agents last week, missing concealed bombs and guns at checkpoints throughout the major air hub's three terminals, according to federal security officials.
28.Oct.2006 Turkey Refuses NATO Request to Go Outside Kabul : The Turkish Defense Ministry released a written statement saying Turkish troops would not operate beyond Kabul and serve in different tasks other than their specified mission.

28.Oct.2006 An enigma that only the Israelis can fully explain : If the Israelis or the Americans want to avoid accusations, at the very least, of a cavalier attitude to the use of nuclear waste products, they need to explain what was in that bomb and why it was there.
28.Oct.2006 Confession That Formed Base of Iraq War was Acquired Under Torture: Journalist : An Al-Qaeda terror suspect captured by the USA, who gave evidence of links between Iraq and the terror network, confessed after being tortured, a journalist told the BBC.

28.Oct.2006 Launching a new kind of warfare: Robot vehicles are increasingly taking a role on the battlefield - but their deployment raises moral and philosophical as well as technical questions
28.Oct.2006 The Way Out Of War-By George S. McGovern and William R. Polk a blueprint for leaving iraq now
We should find a way to express our condolences for the large number of Iraqis incarcerated, tortured, incapacitated, or killed in recent years. This may seem a difficult gesture to many Americans. It may strike them as weak, or as a slur on our patriotism. Americans do not like to admit that they have done wrong. Continue

28.Oct.2006 Robert Fisk: Mystery of Israel's secret uranium bomb -Alarm over radioactive legacy left by attack on Lebanon -By Robert Fisk
Did Israel use a secret new uranium-based weapon in southern Lebanon this summer in the 34-day assault that cost more than 1,300 Lebanese lives, most of them civilians ? Continue
28.Oct.2006 http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/0,1518,druck-444334,00.html

Zaubern ist ein wunderbares Beispiel dafür, was das Gehirn dem Menschen vorgaukelt. Seit Jahrhunderten arbeiten die Ma-gier mit dem Wissen, dass Menschen in jeder Situation nur selektiv wahrnehmen; dass in das Langzeitgedächtnis nur jene Teilaspekte wandern, denen der Mensch überhaupt einmal seine Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt hat. Auf den Nebenschauplätzen kann der Zauberer derweil ganz unverdeckt hantieren. Vor Kindern, sagt Rawert, sei das Zaubern allerdings schwieriger. Ihr Gedächtnis habe zu wenige Erfahrungen gespeichert, die das, was sie sehen, manipulieren könnten. Erwachsene dagegen dächten Ergebnisse immer schon vorweg.
28.Oct.2006 http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/0,1518,druck-444334,00.html

"AUF UNSERER EIGENSCHAFT , verzerrt wahrzunehmen und verzerrt zu erinnern, baut die gesamte Zauberkunst auf", sagt Peter Rawert. Tagsüber ist er Notar, akribisch genau, der jeden Fehler in einem Vertrag sofort bemerkt, abends jedoch spielt er als Zauberer mit den menschlichen Unzulänglichkeiten. Sein häusliches Arbeitszimmer schmücken nicht Bilder, sondern Zauberbücher und Kunststücke. Darunter der originalgetreue Nachbau einer Kartentaube aus dem späten 18. Jahrhundert.
28.Oct.2006 http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/0,1518,druck-444334,00.html

Einer US-amerikanischen Studie zufolge beruhen 90 Prozent aller Justizirrtümer in den USA auf falschen Zeugenaussagen.

"Als Zeuge ist der Mensch eine Fehlkonstruktion", bestätigt der Strafrechtler Thomas Rönnau von der Bucerius Law School in Hamburg. Horst Herold, einst Präsident des Bundeskriminalamtes, habe den Zeugenbeweis sogar ganz aus dem Strafverfahren verbannen wollen. Nur noch der Sach-beweis sollte gelten. Die unbewussten Irr-tümer, die Erinnerungsfehler, seien das eigentliche Problem für die Justiz, sagt Rönnau, nicht die bewussten Lügen, die man viel eher entlarven könne. Die Vereidigung von Zeugen ist deshalb heute die absolute Ausnahme. Man wolle sie nicht in die Strafbarkeit treiben, heißt es dazu.
28.Oct.2006 http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/0,1518,druck-444334,00.html
Bei der Erinnerung an traumatische Erlebnisse ist das Gedächtnis besonders unzuver-lässig: Erfahrungen wie die Dresdner Bombennacht können - ähnlich wie die einer Vergewaltigung - extremen Stress und damit zusammenhängende biochemische Prozesse im Gehirn auslösen, die eine Speicherung von Erinne-rungen empfindlich stören. Nur noch Fragmente des ursprüng-lichen Ereignisses gelangen dann ins Langzeitgedächtnis. Um verstehbare Zusammenhänge bemüht, übernimmt das Gedächtnis dann die kreative Aufgabe, die Lücken zu schließen. Welzer vermutet, dass Erinnerungen an emotional belastende Situationen deutlich mehr hinzugedichtete Episoden enthalten als solche an "normale" Ereignisse
28.Oct.2006 http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/0,1518,druck-444334,00.html

Wer das autobiografische Gedächtnis trainieren will, müsse, so Markowitsch, "ein Ereignis emotionalisieren - eine Bewertung vornehmen und sich fragen: Wie fühle ich mich gerade?" Wahrscheinlich erinnere man sich selten an das Ereignis selbst, sondern an die Gefühle, die man einst damit verband.

Wie wichtig Gefühle für die Erinnerung sind, wird besonders dann deutlich, wenn sie fehlen. Markowitsch berichtet von einer Patientengruppe, die an dem sehr seltenen Urbach-Wiethe-Syndrom leidet, einer Stoffwechselstörung mit neurologischen Ausfällen, bei der sich Kalk in den Gefäßen der Amygdala, des Mandelkerns, ablagert und dadurch das Gefühlszentrum des Gehirns lahm legt. Diesen Patienten erzählten die Forscher eine Geschichte von einer Frau, die in einem schwarz-gelb geblümten Kleid einen Raum betritt, in dem sie nach einiger Zeit von einem Mann hinterrücks erstochen wird.

Später konnten viele der Patienten zwar ausführlich berichten, was die Frau trug, den Mord aber hatten sie vergessen. "Sie sind nicht mehr in der Lage, eingehende Reize emotional adä-quat zu bewerten", erklärt Markowitsch. Weil ihre Gefühlswelt verarmt ist, vermochten sie die Wertigkeit von Kleiderfarbe und Mord nicht zu unterscheiden. Banales wird behalten, Bedeut-sames gelöscht.

BLACK-OUTS, Verwechslungen und verzerrte Erinnerungen - was Menschen häufig besorgt an sich selbst wahrnehmen, ist letztlich oft ein Segen. "Unser ganzes Leben ist eine Erfindung", so spitzt Harald Welzer es zu, S-zialpsychologe und Leiter der Gruppe "Erinnerung und Gedächtnis" am Kulturwissenschaftlichen Institut Essen. "Es gehört zur menschlichen Normalität, sich falsch zu erinnern. Das korrekte Erinnern ist das Anomale." Zwar forme das Gedächtnis das Ich, Erinnerung bilde sich aber erst in der Gemeinschaft, in der Kommunikation mit anderen heraus. Welzer spricht vom "kommunikativen Gedächtnis". Ein Ereignis sei nicht das, was passiert sei, sondern das, was erzählt werden könne.
28.Oct.2006 http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/0,1518,druck-444334,00.html

"Eines sollten wir uns klar machen", sagt Loftus, "unser Gedächtnis wird jeden Tag neu geboren."

Die Kapriolen, die es schlägt, sind höchst verblüffend. Ein dras-tisches Beispiel dafür lieferte unfreiwillig der US-Gedächtnis-forscher Donald Thompson. Er wurde von einem Vergewaltigungsopfer akribisch genau als Täter beschrieben und wiedererkannt. Zu seinem Glück hatte Thompson ein zweifelsfreies Alibi: Zur Zeit des Verbrechens war er live im Fernsehen zu sehen, wo er ein Interview zum Thema Gedächtnisverzerrung gab.

Das Vergewaltigungsopfer hatte zufällig unmittelbar vor der Gewalttat gerade diese Sendung gesehen und dann eine "Fehlattributierung" vorgenommen: Für die Frau sah der Täter wie der Professor aus.

DAS TRÜGERISCHE GEDÄCHTNIS - ein Versehen der Schöpfung? Wohl eher ein geglückter Coup der Evolution. "Das autobiografische Gedächtnis hat wenig mit der Vergangenheit zu tun, es ist vielmehr dafür da, dass wir uns in der Gegenwart und in der Zukunft orientieren können", sagt Hans Markowitsch, Professor für Physiologische Psychologie an der Universität Bielefeld. Im autobiografischen Gedächtnis lagert die persönliche, subjektiv erlebte Lebensgeschichte. Es ist das komplexeste der Erinnerungssysteme und zugleich dasjenige, das bei Kindern als letztes entsteht, im Alter von etwa drei Jahren, wenn ein Kind eine Vorstellung von seinem Selbst zu entwickeln beginnt. Dass Schimpansen und Menschen, die 99 Prozent des genetischen Codes gemeinsam haben, dennoch grundverschieden sind, liege vor allem am autobiografischen Gedächtnis, sagt Markowitsch. Nur der Mensch kann sich an seine Biografie bewusst erinnern, nur er weiß, wie er eine bestimmte Situation erlebt und wie er sich dabei gefühlt hat.

Die Erinnerungen an die Lebensgeschichte prägen die Persönlichkeit, formen die Identität. Doch nicht etwa die objektiven Lebensdaten spielen dabei die Hauptrolle, sondern Gefühle. Sie sind es, die filtern, was im Langzeitspeicher landet und was gelöscht wird. "Gefühle", sagt Markowitsch, "sind die Wächter unserer Erinnerung."
28.Oct.2006 http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/0,1518,druck-444334,00.html

Durch Bilder lassen sich Erinnerungen besonders leicht durcheinanderbringen, weil sich die für das Visuelle zuständigen Verarbeitungssysteme im Gehirn mit jenen überlappen, die bei Fantasien aktiv werden.

DIE VERWIRRENDE ERKENNTNIS, dass das Gedächtnis keineswegs ein Archiv ist, das pendantisch die Vergangenheit speichert, beschäftigt Neurobiologen, Psychologen und Sozialwissenschaftler inzwischen weltweit. Noch vor 20 Jahren hielt man das Gedächtnis für eine Art Computer, der unbestechlich aufzeichnet, was faktisch geschehen ist.
28.Oct.2006 Bundeswehr- Skandal weitet sich aus: Bericht über Horror- Fotos aus dem Kosovo
28.Oct.2006 AllofMP3- Sperrung: Aufregung um dänisches MP3- Urteil
28.Oct.2006 Truppenbewegung: Seoul rechnet mit zweitem Atomwaffentest in Nordkorea
28.Oct.2006 Raketenabwehr: US- Luftwaffe testet fliegendes Lichtschwert
28.Oct.2006 Waldbrände in Kalifornien: Schwarzenegger setzt 500.000 Dollar Kopfgeld auf Brandstifter aus
28.Oct.2006 Zwischenfall mit deutscher Marine: Opposition verlangt Freigabe des Video- Beweises gegen Israel

28.Oct.2006 Elfenbeinküste: Giftmüll auf dem Rückweg nach Europa
28.Oct.2006 Refugee Relief International is an affiliate of CAUSA and US chapter of WACL + involves John Singlaub , as well as working with Andy Messing's National Defense Council. Messing is a member of Singlaub's American chapter of WACL,  the U.S. Council for World Freedom.

It operates RRI jointly with Soldier of Fortune .  27.  

Samuel A. Brunelli - CNP Member 1996. Former Executive Director and  1995 Chairman of the Board, American Legislative Exchange Council. ( ALEC ). 28 National Advisory Board of Capital Research Center ; former assistant to Secretary of Education William Bennett; formerly with the Denver Broncos. Senior Vice-President Team Builders International 29.   

Board member and co-founder The Empowerment Network, (TEN) 30 , "1992, former U.S. Housing and Urban Department (HUD) Empowerment Deputy Assistant Secretary David Caprara co-founded TEN with state legislative leaders Sam [Brunelli] and Robin Brunelli, National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise President Bob Woodson, Indianapolis Mayor Steve Goldsmith, Kimi Gray, former Governor George Allen, Clint Bolick of the Institute for Justice + other leaders who shared the vision of creating a "hub" to springboard empowerment initiatives at the grassroots, state and federal levels."
28.Oct.2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Allen_(U.S._politician)
Allen's sister's memoir

00.000.2000 Allen's younger sister Jennifer Allen Richard wrote in her memoir Fifth Quarter: The Scrimmage of a Football Coach's Daughter (Random House Publishing, 2000) that Allen attacked his younger siblings during his childhood. [52] The memoir claims that Allen held her by her feet over Niagara Falls, [53] struck her boyfriend in the head with a pool cue, [54] threw his brother Bruce through a glass sliding door, tackled his brother Gregory, breaking his collarbone, [55] and dragged Jennifer upstairs by her hair. In the book, she wrote, "George hoped someday to become a dentist…George said he saw dentistry as a perfect profession—getting paid to make people suffer." [55]

00.May 2006 Richard qualified some of the claims made in the book. [56] With regards to the pool cue incident, she claimed it was a joke and that "Allen was simply testing her boyfriend's reflexes." With regards to the dentist quote, Jennifer claims that the book was a "novelization of the past" and written from the perspective of a young girl "surrounded by older brothers and a larger-than-life father". She claims to have a great relationship with her brother and noted that Allen stepped in for their father to walk her down the aisle at her wedding. [57]

[edit] Barr Labs controversy

It was revealed on August 8, 2006 that Allen owned stock in Barr Pharmaceuticals, the only American maker of the Plan B "morning after pill", an abortifacient. The Webb campaign criticized Allen for holding stock in a company that makes a product that many of his supporters oppose. Allen responded by saying that he holds the stock because Barr has created jobs in Virginia + by pointing to his consistently pro-life voting record. [58] Allen is described as an "abortion opponent"; as governor he pushed successfully for parental notification of teenagers' abortions + in the Senate, he opposed the approval of Plan B for over-the-counter sales. [59]

Allen supports abortion before viability (as well as for children resulting from incest, rape and IVF + before (rather than during) a medical procedure is performed on the mother (see double effect) + who have a gross fetal abnormality) [7].
28.Oct.2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Allen_(U.S._politician)
Com-Net Ericsson

Allen became a member of the advisory board of Com-Net Ericsson 00.Feb.2000 .

The advisory board's responsibility was to meet at least twice a year and provide advice and service.

Allen terminated his service on the board before the end of 2000.

He was paid approximately $300,000 for his services. [34]

Com-Net Ericsson became part of Tyco after Allen left the advisory board + then got a new management team. [28]
28.Oct.2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Allen_(U.S._politician)

00.000.1994 Allen endorsed Oliver North for U.S. Senate.

00.000.1995,

1996 +

1997, Allen proclaimed April as Confederate History and Heritage Month and called the Civil War "a four-year struggle for independence + sovereign rights." [23] The proclamation did not mention slavery + his successor, Republican Governor James Gilmore, changed the proclamation and wrote a version that denounced slavery. [24]

Allen could not run for re-election because Virginia's constitution does not allow a governor to succeed himself; as of 2006 Virginia is the only state that has such a provision. [25]
28.Oct.2006 Dana Milbank - The Senator's Gentile Rebuke - washingtonpost.com George Allen's Macaca Moment. Then we learned of challenger Jim Webb's thoughts ... Turns out the Forward, a Jewish newspaper, reported that the senator's ... www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/18/AR2006091801014.html
28.Oct.2006 Alter: George Allen's Problem With Honesty - Newsweek Jonathan ... George Allen didn't mention anything to the evangelical Family Research Council ... Despite more than a decade as governor and senator , Allen is facing a ... www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14973254/site/newsweek
28.Oct.2006 Politics1 - 2008 Presidential Candidates: US Senator George Allen ... US Political + Election news from around the nation -by Ron Gunzburger,publisher of the award-winning Politics1.com site. _{www.politics1.com/p2008-allen.htm}

George Allen - Congresspedia George Allen currently serves as the Jr. Senator for Virginia ... December 13, 2004: "In a sign that US Senator George Allen Jr. (R-VA) is planning a 2008 ... _{www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=George_Allen}

Teammates: Allen used "N-word" in college | Salon News

George Allen's college football team remember a man with racist attitudes ... by the Virginia senator , said he too remembers Allen using the word "nigger," ... www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/09/24/allen_football
28.Oct.2006 George Allen (U.S. politician) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia George Allen was the only Republican to unseat a Democrat incumbent that year. ... Senator Allen Proposes Federal Line Item Veto Amendment. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Allen_(U.S._politician)

Project Vote Smart: Senator George Allen Information from PVS including the Senator's biography, issue positions, interest group ratings, committee assignments, campaign finances, ...
www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=CNIP9093

Allen Quip Provokes Outrage, Apology George Allen (R) apologized Monday for what his opponent's campaign said were demeaning and insensitive comments the senator made to a 20-year-old volunteer ...
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/14/AR2006081400589.html

ALLEN, George - Biographical Information ALLEN , George , a Representative and a Senator from Virginia; born in Whittier, Los Angeles County, Calif., March 8, 1952; B.A., J.D., University of Virginia ...
bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=A000121

GOP Senator George Allen's Sister Documents Her Brother's Bully ... Senator George Allen's racial remark to a 20 year old Indian man last week, has re-highlighted accusations that the Senator is a bully and a bigot. ...
www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/08/16/gop-senator-george-allen_n_27382.html

George Allen's race problem Senator George Allen is the only person in Virginia who wears cowboy boots. ... The senator has emerged as the principal conservative alternative to John ... _{www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20060508&s=lizza050806}
28.Oct.2006 http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,druck-445189,00.html

Aber nicht nur im Werben um Spenden erreicht der Wahlkampf in den USA eine neue Härte - die Kandidaten beider Parteien setzen inzwischen auch im Werben um Wahlstimmen auf schmutzige Tricks. So sehen sich Politiker plötzlich öffentlich als Kunden von Prostituierten und Sex-Hotlines dargestellt oder als Freunde von Schwerverbrechern. Die "Washington Post" sieht das Niveau des Wahlkampfes ins Bodenlose sinken. Verzweifelte Kandidaten würden alles versuchen, um Konkurrenten zu beschädigen. kaz
28.Oct.2006 http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,druck-445189,00.html

Selbst der Rüstungskonzern Lockheed Martin , der 70 Prozent seiner Spenden den Republikanern zukommen lässt, reduzierte in den ersten Oktobertagen seine Ausgaben für die Republikaner zugunsten der Demokraten; diese erhielten 60 Prozent der Spenden des Unternehmens - insgesamt 127.000 Dollar.
28.Oct.2006 http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,druck-445189,00.html

Zehn Tage vor den Kongresswahlen setzt die US-Wirtschaft auf einen Sieg der Demokraten: Angesichts verheerender Umfragewerte für die Republikaner haben führende Konzerne ihre Spenden für Bushs Partei gekürzt. Die Demokraten können sich dagegen über Last-Minute-Millionen freuen.

Hamburg - Die Nachricht dürfte US-Präsident Bush nicht erfreuen: Eine sichere Geldquelle für den Wahlkampf der Republikaner sprudelt nicht mehr ganz so stark - die Demokraten erhalten dafür um so mehr Geld von der Industrie, berichtet die "New York Times" heute. Den Republikanern droht bei den Wahlen zum Senat und Repräsentantenhaus am 7. November Umfragen zufolge eine herbe Niederlage + schon überdenken Konzerne und Wirtschafts- und Industrieverbände ihre Beziehung zum politischen Establishment. Lobbyisten, heißt es in dem Bericht, seien bereits intensiv dabei, viel versprechende politische Neulinge aus den Reihen der Demokraten für sich zu gewinnen. Veranstaltungen der Demokraten würden von Vertretern der Wirtschaft gut besucht werden, zitiert das Blatt einen Mitarbeiter der Partei.
28.Oct.2006 Hartz- IV- Korrekturvorschläge: Robin Rüttgers will den Armen geben
28.Oct.2006 Gemeinsame Erklärung: Bushs Zeitplan für den Irak verpufft

28.Oct.2006 Heute in den Feuilletons: Das Expansions- Gen der USA
28.Oct.2006 Kontodaten in Müllsäcken: Britischen Banken drohen wegen Dummheit drakonische Strafen
28.Oct.2006 Sachsens Kultusminister Flath: "Schüler- Nummern wären wie ein Gefängnis"
28.Oct.2006 Kampf um den Kongress: US- Wirtschaft läuft zu den Demokraten über

28.Oct.2006 Mächtige Souffleure: Der nervende Musterschüler
27.Oct.2006 27. OKTOBER 2006 Chile: Ex- Diktator Pinochet erstmals wegen Folter, Mord und Entführung angeklagt
27.Oct.2006 Online- Musik: Dänisches Gericht sperrt Zugang zu russischer MP3- Website
27.Oct.2006 Psychologie der Skandalfotos: Macho- Macker, Mutproben, Totenköpfe
27.Oct.2006 Frankreichs Vorstädte: Dauerrandale der Ghetto- Guerilla
27.Oct.2006 Urananreicherung: Iran weitet Atomprogramm aus

27.Oct.2006 Handelspolitik: Stoiber verlangt härteres Durchgreifen gegen China
27.Oct.2006 Schüsse auf deutsche Marine: Video- Beweis soll Israel der Lüge überführen
27.Oct.2006 Syna verurteilt den CIA-Angriff aufs Schärfste! - sfux Syna -

Mit Bestürzung haben wir erfahren, dass der amerikanische Geheimdienst (CIA) versuchte, die Gewerkschaft Syna auszuspionieren. Syna verurteilt solche Machenschaften mit aller Deutlichkeit und fordert die Bundesbehörden auf, diese Attacke restlos aufzuklären. Syna stellt fest, dass kein Datenmaterial von Mitgliedern in unbefugte Hände geraten ist.
Die CIA hat offenbar im Frühsommer erfolglos versucht,...
27.Oct.2006 Outsourcing: The CIA's Travel Agent - sfux Jane Mayer -

On the official Web site of Boeing, the world's largest aerospace company, there is a section devoted to a subsidiary called
27.Oct.2006 Abschliessende Bemerkungen zu Herrn Engelbrechts et al. - sfux 
Umwälzung der HIV Erkenntnisse.
Dr. Alexander von Paleske - Zunächst einmal zur Definition von AIDS. Das Center for Disease Control (CDC) hat 1993 eine Fassung herausgebracht, die zu einem zentralen Punkt die Anzahl der CD4-positiven Lymphozyten macht.
Hier handelt es sich keineswegs um Erbsenzählerei, wie die HIV-Leugner gerne behaupten....
27.Oct.2006 RAF man 'witnessed abuse of Iraqis' - sfux 

A Royal Air Force serviceman has told how he witnessed British Army soldiers allegedly abusing Iraqi detainees.
Senior Aircraftsman (SAC) Scott Hughes said while visiting the holding facility in Basra, southern Iraq, he saw soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment (QLR) kicking and shouting at hooded...
27.Oct.2006 IRS plays politics. - Nico - “The commissioner of internal revenue has ordered his agency to delay collecting back taxes from Hurricane Katrina victims until after the Nov. 7 elections and the holiday season, saying he did so in part to avoid negative publicity,” the New York Times reports.
27.Oct.2006 The Dixie Chicks Ad NBC Doesn’t Want You To See - Judd - 

NBC is refusing to air an ad for the new Dixie Chicks documentary, “Shut Up & Sing.” Variety reports, “NBC’s commercial clearance department said in writing that it ‘cannot accept these spots as they are disparaging to President Bush.’”

Harvey Weinstein, who is distributing the movie, issued the following statement:

It’s a sad commentary about the level of fear in our society that a movie about a group of courageous entertainers who were blacklisted for exercising their right of free speech is now itself being blacklisted by corporate America. The idea that anyone should be penalized for criticizing the president is profoundly un-American.

ThinkProgress has obtained the ad NBC doesn’t want you to see. Watch it:

More on Shut Up and Sing, including when it comes to your city, HERE. Digg It!
27.Oct.2006 Ohio Republican Party Spokesman on Franken Smear: ‘It Is What It Is’ - Think Progress - 

Yesterday, the Ohio Republican party distributed a press release claiming comedian Al Franken compared conservative to Nazis “who should drink poison and die.” The quote, represented as fact in the press release, came from a fabricated “satire” piece by right-wing author Bernard Goldberg.

The news release was also accompanied by a doctored photo of Franken, showing him dressed up like a baby bunny, wearing adult diapers and clutching a white teddy bears.

ThinkProgress contacted Ohio Republican party spokesman John McClelland, who issued the release, for comment. Here’s what he told us:

When someone gets under his skin [Franken] can’t handle it. He gets on his radio program and tries to get people fired up. … What goes around comes around. … It is what it is, nothing more.

Told of McClelland’s comments, Franken responded, “That’s an apology?”
27.Oct.2006 Ohio Republican Party Spokesman on Franken Smear: ‘It Is What It Is’ - Think Progress - 

Yesterday, the Ohio Republican party distributed a press release claiming comedian Al Franken compared conservative to Nazis “who should drink poison and die.” The quote, represented as fact in the press release, came from a fabricated “satire” piece by right-wing author Bernard Goldberg.

The news release was also accompanied by a doctored photo of Franken, showing him dressed up like a baby bunny, wearing adult diapers and clutching a white teddy bears.

ThinkProgress contacted Ohio Republican party spokesman John McClelland, who issued the release, for comment. Here’s what he told us:

When someone gets under his skin [Franken] can’t handle it. He gets on his radio program and tries to get people fired up. … What goes around comes around. … It is what it is, nothing more.

Told of McClelland’s comments, Franken responded, “That’s an apology?”
27.Oct.2006 Michael J. Fox: ‘I Could Give a Damn About Rush Limbaugh’s Pity…I’m Not A Victim’ - Judd - 

Rush Limbaugh has smeared Michael J. Fox, claiming that he exaggerated the symptoms of his Parkinson’s disease in an ad supporting embryonic stem cell research. (He also mocked Fox by impersonating tremors associated with the disease on air.) In an effort to deflect criticism, Limbaugh told Katie Couric the following: “I believe Democrats have a long history of using victims of various things as political spokespeople because they believe they are untouchable, infallible, they are immune from criticism.”

Last night on CBS, Fox fired back, telling Couric, “I could give a damn about Rush Limbaugh’s pity or anyone else’s pity. I’m not a victim.” Watch it: Digg It! Transcript:

COURIC: I called Rush Limbaugh and he told me: I believe Democrats have a long history of using victims of various things as political spokespeople because they believe they are untouchable, infallible, they are immune from criticism.

FOX: Well, first thing, he used the word victim. And on another occasion I heard him use the word pitiable. And understand, nobody in this position wants pity. We don’t want pity. I could give a damn about Rush Limbaugh’s pity or anyone else’s pity. I’m not a victim. I’m someone who is in this situation. I think I’m in this situation along with millions of other Americans + we have a right, if there’s answers out there, to pursue those answers with the full support of our politicians. And so I don’t need anyone’s permission to do that.

COURIC: You have said before this is a bipartisan problem that requires a bipartisan solution.

FOX: No, disease is a nonpartisan problem that requires a bipartisan solution.

COURIC: Would you support a Republican candidate?

FOX: I have. Arlen Specter is my guy. I have campaigned for Arlen Specter. He has been a fantastic champion of stem cell research. In the meantime, separate and apart from my political involvement, I’ve started a foundation that has raised $85 million for research and is the second leading funder of Parkinson’s research after the federal government.

And, you know, it’s not — I’m not a Johnny-come-lately. Nobody plucked me off the apple cart to come and do this. I mean, I believe in this cause. I put a lot of my life and energy into it + I’m serious about
27.Oct.2006 October 27, 2006 - Think Progress - 

96: the total number of troops who have died so far this month in Iraq, the bloodiest since October 2005. Five American troops were killed during fighting in Anbar Province yesterday.

Variety reports both NBC and The CW television networks have refused to air ads for the new Dixie Chicks documentary “Shut Up and Sing.” NBC reportedly claims the network “cannot accept these spots as they are disparaging to President Bush.”

Scott Howell, a close associate of Karl Rove, helped produce the racist ad targeting Harold Ford in Tennessee. A second producer of the ad, Terry Nelson, is a consultant to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Wal-Mart. Huff Post reports Nelson will be fired by Wal-Mart.

Responding to accusations made by Rush Limbaugh, Michael J. Fox said he was neither acting nor off his medication for Parkinson’s disease. “The irony of it is that I was too medicated,” Fox told CBS’s Katie Couric, adding that his jumpy condition as he spoke to her reflected “a dearth of medication — not by design. I just take it + it kicks in when it kicks in.”

President Bush, “who has not been talking about gay marriage” in recent weeks, “took pains to insert a reference” to gay marriage during an appearance yesterday in an effort to use “to rally dispirited conservatives to the polls.”

A stark warning was delivered to Tony Blair and his cabinet yesterday by Sir Nicholas Stern, a former World Bank economist, about the potential economic effect of global warming . Stern argued “global warming could cost the world’s economies up to 20 per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP) if urgent action is not taken to stop floods, storms and natural catastrophes.”

Meanwhile, “the drive to tackle climate change gathered pace on Thursday as Morgan Stanley, the investment bank, announced a $3 billion plan to invest in the carbon trading market amid mounting evidence that some US states are growing more sympathetic to international action.”

Amnesty International is asking bloggers to show their support for the plight of fellow bloggers jailed for what they wrote in their online journals . The organization says freedom of expression and privacy “are under threat from governments that want to control what their citizens say + what information they can access.”

Eighty-two % of Americans believe Congress will set timetable for Iraq redeployment + 63 % believe Congress should set a timetable, according to a new USA Today/Gallup poll.
27.Oct.2006 Bush condemns Iran nuclear move The US calls for "redoubled" efforts on Iran, amid reports Tehran has stepped up uranium enrichment work.
27.Oct.2006 Housing slump hits US economy US economic growth slows to 1.6% in the third quarter of 2006 - its lowest level in more than three years.
27.Oct.2006 Judge 'orders arrest of Pinochet' A judge orders the arrest of Chilean ex-ruler Augusto Pinochet over crimes at a detention centre, sources say.
27.Oct.2006 Karzai 'sadness' at raid deaths Afghan President Hamid Karzai says Afghans are "hurt and saddened" by civilian deaths in a Nato air strike.
27.Oct.2006 Israel denies German ship clash Israel denies reports that its jets fired shots near a German naval ship contributing to the Lebanon peace force.
27.Oct.2006 German army skull row intensifies Germany suspends two soldiers over photos showing German troops posing with human skulls in Afghanistan.
27.Oct.2006 Free speech online 'under threat' Amnesty International calls on bloggers to back a campaign to preserve free speech on the net.
27.Oct.2006 Niger suspending Arab expulsions Niger's government suspends a controversial decision to deport thousands of Arabs back to Chad.
27.Oct.2006 Oaxaca teachers vote for return Teachers in the Mexican state of Oaxaca vote to end their five-month strike.
27.Oct.2006 Australia Muslim cleric suspended Australia's top Muslim cleric is barred from preaching after comparing immodestly dressed women to "uncovered meat".
27.Oct.2006 Next UN head in China for talks The next UN chief, South Korea's Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, visits China for talks on the North Korea crisis.
27.Oct.2006 Riots haunt Parisians a year on Hundreds march through a Paris suburb in memory of two youths whose deaths sparked riots a year ago.
27.Oct.2006 Israeli minister to visit Qatar Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni accepts an invitation to a conference in the Gulf state of Qatar.
27.Oct.2006 Iran denies Argentina charges Iran rejects Argentine charges of involvement in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre as "a Zionist plot".
27.Oct.2006 Tropical storm hits Mexico coast Tropical storm Paul lashes Mexico's mainland after dumping heavy rain on the Baja California peninsula.
27.Oct.2006 A Better Way to Build a Face Facial scarring is one of the toughest challenges for plastic surgeons + full transplants may be the best option for some patients.

But a Stanford team wants to learn how to grow a new face instead.
27.Oct.2006 Deep Blue See The Neptune Project sets out to reveal the mysteries of the sea by connecting 10 semiautomated geobiological labs bristling with cameras + sensors 8,000 feet underwater. _{By Doug Merlino for Wired magazine.}
27.Oct.2006 Should ICANN Become Autonomous? Some international leaders think the internet's main governing body should sever its ties to the U.S government.

It's just one issue that will be on the table when the Internet Governance Forum kicks off next week in Greece.
27.Oct.2006 Images: Marooned after 1,000 days on Mars Mars rover Spirit, idled for the Martian winter, still reaches a milestone on the Red Planet and sends back a new panorama.
27.Oct.2006 RFID passports take off Despite security and privacy concerns, all but three of the countries required by the U.S. to issue passports with radio tags are doing so.
27.Oct.2006 Web   Results 1 - 10 of about 69,700 for dubya+bushisms .

- George Dubya Bushisms -Need SORTING! George Dubya Bushisms

14.Jan.2001 . "I am mindful of the difference between the executive branch + the legislative ... alfatomega.com/index_03.html

Dubya Speak Dedicated to chronicling the misstatements of President Bush. Includes text quotes and audio files. www.dubyaspeak.com
Bush">George W. Bush - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia He is often referred to by the nickname Dubya , playing on a stereotyped and ... by Bush during his public speeches (colloquially known as Bushisms ) [112].
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush

Bush+dubya%2Bbushisms&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3">Cached

DUMBYA! Anti Bush satire mocking our dimwit president George Dubya ... George Dubya Bushisms - Screw the country, screw the planet + screw the English language.

"There's a lot of people in the Middle East who are desirous to ... home.twcny.rr.com/felicity/bushisms.htm

George W. Bush Dumb Quotes - Dubya's Bushisms - metermill.com Dumb Quotes by President George "Dubyah" Bush When you're out there campaigning and ... www.metermill.com/bushisms.html

The Bushisms - Poppy and Dubya Speak George W. Bush's verbal gaffes have proven that he shares his father's flair for butchering the English language. But the many adventures in Bushspeak ...
politicalhumor.about.com/library/weekly/aa102400a.htm

The Dubya Report - Dubya Talk

Bush misstatements and malapropisms. ... Dubya Talk. DubyaSpeak.com · Jacob Weisberg's " Bushisms " www.thedubyareport.com/quotes.html

Dubya, dubya, dubya...What have we done?

Dubya says...... Home of the George W. Bush quote library. Includes a large list of good bushisms , mostly from the past year. www.geocities.com/caleblauritsen/politics_bushisms.html

Bushisms Return to index. www.toostupidtobepresident.com/shockwave/bushisms.htm

Dubya's World Humorous Pictures of President George W Dubya Bush

Still More George W. Bushisms : "Neither in French nor in English nor in ... Dubya's World -- humorous captioned pictures of George W. Bush -- Barbara Bush ... www.dubyasworld.com/home.html
27.Oct.2006 Don't Forget, You Can Vote on the News at BuzzFlash.net 24 Hours a Day!
The GOP Hypocrite of the Week is a Desperate Congressman from Indiana Who Psychotically Claims Nancy Pelosi Has a "Homosexual Agenda": Congressman Hostettler, if you want to talk about a "homosexual agenda," talk to your own party. And while you are at it, talk to them about that pedophile agenda, too.

27.Oct.2006 Daniel Ellsberg: The Next War - A BuzzFlash Guest Contribution
Brent Budowsky: Ken Mehlman Demeans Gays, Rush Limbaugh Ridicules Parkinsons, RNC Goes Racist and Ann Coulter Calls 9-11 Widows
A Book About Torture in Our Name That You Should Read. Now that Cheney has flippantly declared that torturing like waterboarding is a no-brainer, no book could be more timely: Ghost Plane: The True Story of the CIA Torture Program (Hardcover)
Greg Palast: Cut and Run - It's Fun! -- A BuzzFlash Guest Contribution

27.Oct.2006 Only You Can Help BuzzFlash Grow. So Do It Now -- And Help Change America Back to a Constitutional Democracy.
Don't Miss Out on the Right to Vote at BuzzFlash.net. It's as Easy as One, Two, Three...

27.Oct.2006 George Lakoff: Staying the Course Right Over a Cliff - A BuzzFlash Guest Contribution
Gallup: Only 1 in 4 Americans Very Confident Votes Will Be Counted Accurately. 10/
27.Oct.2006 _{http://www.cannonfire.blogspot.com/} Permalink Good economic news, under the radar dr. elsewhere here
Just a quick suggestion to check out this concise and pithy article in this month's Scientific American that points out the fact that enough evidence is in + the laissez faire market experiment has failed, miserably.
This is good news because the analysis compares high income nations who adhere to this free-market, low-tax model - i.e., Anglo-Saxons (UK, US, Australia, Canada) - to those that adhere instead to social welfare, high-tax constraints - i.e., Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark). And the numbers don't lie. The economic health of the Nordic countries significantly exceeds that of the Anglo-Saxons. Plus, no one in those Nordic countries goes without health care or education + the poverty rate is miniscule, even when unemployment is roughly equal that of more British countries.
And we all know, the US and its fellow members of the old British Empire have soared to shamefully high levels on lists of infant mortality, illiteracy, poor health care, prison rates + general poverty, while Nordic countries consistently rank highest in international lists of social necessities.
The author, Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University, points out, "The results for the [Nordic] households at the bottom of the income distribution are astoundingly good, especially in contrast to the mean-spirited neglect that now passes for American social policy." This situation completely refutes the standing "wisdom," originally perpetrated by Nobel laureate Friedrich Von Hayek, that high taxes are the "road to serfdom."
Sachs' conclusion: "Von Hayek was wrong. In strong and vibrant democracies, a generous social-welfare state is not a road to serfdom but rather to fairness, economic equality and international competitiveness."
And, as Thom Hartmann (who alerted his listeners to this article) has repeatedly stressed, a corporate feudalism has actually descended upon us through the low-tax, minimal social-welfare model, largely because those low taxes are also offered to robber barron corporations.
27.Oct.2006 Werbung mit Politikern: Satire erlaubt, Witze tabu
27.Oct.2006 Italiens Finanzaffäre: Auch Berlusconi und Del Piero bespitzelt

27.Oct.2006 Neues Teledienstegesetz: Diensteanbieter sollen Kundendaten offenlegen
27.Oct.2006 Law and Globalization from Below A successful international campaign led by the NBA, with the. participation of NGOs drawn from several countries from Europe ,. North America + Japan , ...
http://www.ces.uc.pt/bss/documentos/law_and_globalization_from_b...
27.Oct.2006 http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/0,1518,druck-445033,00.html

Beim Rundgang durch das Lupanar versäumt es kein Fremdenführer, auf die Zote hinzuweisen, die im Namen des antiken Bordells offenbar wird: Der Name Lupanare ist abgeleitet von Lupa (Wölfin), einem derben lateinischen Ausdruck für Prostituierte. Diese etymologische Herkunft ist zumindest irritierend, wurden doch Romulus und Remus der Sage nach von einer Wölfin großgezogen, bevor sie die Stadt am Tiber gründeten. stx/AP
27.Oct.2006 http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/weltraum/0,1518,druck-445073,00.html

Har Nuur ist komplett vom Niederschlag abhängig. NASA

Har Nuur: Im Herbst wichtige Raststätte für Zugvögel im kargen Zentralasien Den ganzen Sommer über schrumpfte der See, den ISS-Astronauten Anfang September im Vorbeiflug fotografieren konnten. Im Frühling steigt sein Pegel stets aufs Neue wieder an, denn dann fällt in der Region der meiste Regen. Jetzt, im Herbst, bietet der See Zugvögeln einen wichtigen Rastplatz auf ihrer Reise durch das öde, nahrungsarme Zentralasien.

Erst durch das beständige Schrumpfen und Ausdehnen der Wasserfläche entsteht rund um Har Nuur ein einzigartiges Feuchtgebiet. Dieser Kreislauf ist Jahrtausende alt. Forscher wissen: Früher befand sich hier ein deutlich größerer See. Dieser Paläosee begann aber vor ungefähr 5000 Jahren zu schrumpfen - und ließ Har Nuur und seinesgleichen in den Senken der kargen Landschaft zurück
27.Oct.2006 Flaue Konjunktur: Schwacher Häusermarkt bremst Amerika
27.Oct.2006 Internationaler Aufruf: Amnesty will Blogger befreien

27.Oct.2006 Kaiserschnitt- Mangel: In Entwicklungsländern sterben bis zu 80.000 Schwangere
27.Oct.2006 Afghanistan: Taliban kündigen Rache an
27.Oct.2006 US- Kongress: Wahlkämpfer setzen auf schmutzige Tricks
27.Oct.2006 Wärmedämmung: Windige Geschäfte mit dem Klimaschutz
27.Oct.2006 Schändungen in Afghanistan: "Die Verteidigung ist schwierig"
27.Oct.2006 Jahrestag der Krawalle: Leben auf einem Pulverfass
27.Oct.2006 Satellitenbild der Woche: Uralter See zwischen Wanderdünen

27.Oct.2006 Australischer Skandal- Mufti: "Wir müssen die Welt vom Weißen Haus befreien"
27.Oct.2006 "Waterboarding": Cheney facht Folter- Debatte wieder an
27.Oct.2006 Zeitarbeit: Unsicher, unverzichtbar, unterschätzt
27.Oct.2006 Skandal- Bilder aus Afghanistan: Neue Fotos zeigen nachgestellte Hinrichtung
27.Oct.2006 Saurier- Streit: Showdown um den Dino- Killer

27.Oct.2006 Trip ins All: Nächster Weltraumtourist trainiert schon

27.Oct.2006 Nach Festnahme: Naomi Campbell in der Ausnüchterungszelle
27.Oct.2006 Antikes Bordell: Forscher restaurieren Pompejis Wandbild- Pornos
27.Oct.2006 Skandal- Fotos aus Afghanistan: Bundeswehr trennt sich von zwei Totenschändern

27.Oct.2006 Unternehmensberatung: McKinsey kürt neuen Deutschland- Chef
27.Oct.2006 Afghanistan: Bundeswehr trennt sich von Totenschändern
27.Oct.2006 Olmert's dangerous choice: Avigdor Lieberman is a bad advertisement for Israel. The latest member of Ehud Olmert's coalition is a rightwinger who advocates a hard line against the Palestinians - and in a way that borders on the racist.

27.Oct.2006 Exclusive: Hillary Clinton On Israel, Iraq And Terror : Clinton Says U.S. should Only Support Democratic Elections When Certin That The Outcome Favors U.S. / Israel

27.Oct.2006 Rep. Jane Harman’s Connections With AIPAC: The Sept. 13 dinner took place at the home of Harman, the ranking Democrat on the House Select Committee on Intelligence + was attended by over 120 top financial backers of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

27.Oct.2006 Shin Bet to upgrade security in LA Airport: The original initiative for the visit was brought up by Jack Weiss, a Los Angeles City Council member who participated in a homeland security conference held by the Israeli Foreign Ministry

27.Oct.2006 Democratic leaders: Carter wrong on Israel : Does Jimmy Carter represent the Democratic Party's view on Israel? Carter - who's about to publish a book on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Palestine Peace, Not Apartheid - is quoted as saying that he represents "the vast majority of the Democrats." But House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi begs to differ

27.Oct.2006 Stephen Lendman : The Power of Israel in the USA: The Lobby's influence is broad and deep enough to include officials at the highest levels of government, the business community, academia, the clergy (especially the dominant Christian fundamentalists/Christian Zionists) and the mass media.

27.Oct.2006 Russia opposes draft UN resolution on Iran: International attempts to forge a united front in the nuclear standoff with Iran today suffered a setback as Russia declared its opposition to current UN proposals

27.Oct.2006 Will Harper back an Iran strike? : While Canadians agonize over the quagmire in Afghanistan, few people are looking at what the Harper government will do if George Bush finds a rationale for military action against Iran.

27.Oct.2006 Bolton: sanctions ‘help regime change’: Imposing economic and political sanctions against Iran and North Korea will help democratic forces in those countries as Washington pursues its “ultimate objective” of regime change, John Bolton, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said on Tuesday.

27.Oct.2006 Cheney confirms U.S. uses torture: Cheney indicated that the Bush administration doesn't regard water-boarding as torture and allows the CIA to use it. "It's a no-brainer for me," Cheney said at one point in an interview.

27.Oct.2006 Book tells of CIA bid to hush up torture: According to a secret report, the CIA offered to let Germany see one of its citizens, an al-Qaeda suspect being held in a Moroccan cell. But US secret agents demanded that in return, Berlin should co-operate and "avert pressure from EU" over Morocco's human rights.

27.Oct.2006 Robert Kennedy Jr.: 'We Have A Negligent Press In This Country': "We know more about Tom and Katie than we do about global warming," Kennedy Jr. said. "We're the most entertained, least informed people in the world."

27.Oct.2006 Peace groups say FBI monitored their e-mails: Obtaining the e-mails of Peace Action Maine and Veterans for Peace is a waste of FBI resources + it has a chilling effect on people who want to speak out against government policies, said Shenna Bellows, executive director of the MCLU.

27.Oct.2006 A Superpower In Decline: America's Middle Class Has Become Globalization's Loser: Globalization is striking back. The USA has promoted the worldwide exchange of commodities like no other nation + the result is that their local industry has begun to be eroded.

27.Oct.2006 Number of Uninsured Still Climbing Despite ‘Healthy’ Economy: 00.000.2005 another 1.3 million Americans joined the ranks of the uninsured, bringing the total uninsured non-elderly population to just over 46 million. Not counting seniors eligible for Medicare, the uninsured rate reached about 18 %.
27.Oct.2006 27 October 2006 Web informationclearinghouse.info

Number Of Iraqi Civilians Slaughtered In America's War? At Least 655,000

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America's War 2 809

Cost of America's War in Iraq $337,273,200,602
To see more details, click here.

Key Articles

Bush Planned Iraq 'Regime Change' Before Becoming President

The president's real goal in Iraq

The Project for the New American Century.

The Plan is for the USA to rule the world.

America's War for Global Domination:

Will Iran Be Next?