American Red Cross: "Hurricane Katrina: Why is the Red Cross not in New Orleans?

Acess to New Orleans is controlled by the National Guard and local authorities and while we are in constant contact with them, we simply cannot enter New Orleans against their orders.
The state Homeland Security Department had requested--and continues to request--that the American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans following the hurricane. Our presence would keep people from evacuating and encourage others to come into the city.
The Red Cross has been meeting the needs of thousands of New Orleans residents in some 90 shelters throughout the state of Louisiana and elsewhere since before landfall. All told, the Red Cross is today operating 149 shelters for almost 93,000 residents.
The Red Cross shares the nation�s anguish over the worsening situation inside the city. We will continue to work under the direction of the military, state and local authorities and to focus all our efforts on our lifesaving mission of feeding and sheltering.
The Red Cross does not conduct search and rescue operations. We are an organization of civilian volunteers and cannot get relief aid into any location until the local authorities say it is safe and provide us with security and access.
The original plan was to evacuate all the residents of New Orleans to safe places outside the city. With the hurricane bearing down, the city government decided to open a shelter of last resort in the Superdome downtown. We applaud this decision and believe it saved a significant number of lives.
As the remaining people are evacuated from New Orleans, the most appropriate role for the Red Cross is to provide a safe place for people to stay and to see that their emergency needs are met. We are fully staffed and equipped to handle these individuals once they are evacuated. "

While the 9/11 “My Pet Goat” episode was certainly illuminating, it’s not certain what might have worked out better that day had the president dropped the book and taken action. But his failure to grab the reins in the hurricane catastrophe for three days this week probably doomed hundreds, or more, to death.

This is not mere incompetence, but dereliction of duty. The press should call it by its proper name.

Bush stayed on vacation. On Monday he went to Arizona to cut a birthday cake with John McCain and play politics on Medicare. On Tuesday -- as the flood waters were rising and the death toll mounted -- Bush played politics again, heading out to California to make a speech offering another excuse for staying the course in Iraq (oil!) and jamming on a guitar. He knew he had to end his vacation early (sigh) but couldn't bring himself to head straight to Washington DC. So Bush went BACK to Crawford for one more cozy night of rest before finally heading back to Washington DC on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Condi Rice is in the midst of a THREE DAY vacation that began AFTER the hurricane struck New Orleans. She's gone to a Broadway show, played tennis with Monica Seles and reportedly bought really expensive Ferragamo shoes.

And DICK CHENEY HAS BEEN HANGING OUT IN JACKSON, WYOMING ALL THIS TIME!!!!

Every damn reporter in this country better insist on asking again and again and again exactly what Cheney and Rice have been doing these last few days and why the HELL THEY WEREN'T BACK IN WASHINGTON DC DEALING WITH THE WORST DISASTER IN OUR NATION'S HISTORY.

This guy is nuts!
Pat Robertson: sharply criticized the decision to withdraw from Gaza, saying that, 'God says 'I am going to judge the nations who have parted my land.' He said 'I am going to bring judgment against them.'

Katrina’s affect on Gulf oil production and fuel refining has caused a ruckus in the oil market.

Health News Article | Reuters.com: "Have a headache? No aspirin or ibuprofen handy? Try some olive oil -- actually, freshly pressed extra-virgin olive oil would be best, according to a group of chemists, who've discovered that it contains a compound that mimics the pain-relieving action of ibuprofen.
The compound, called oleocanthal, blocks the same pain pathway as ibuprofen, a member of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, Paul A. S. Breslin from the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia and colleagues report in the journal Nature this week.
According to Breslin and colleagues, oleocanthal in newly pressed extra-virgin olive oil and ibuprofen (in solution) both produce a strong stinging sensation in the throat, an indicator of a 'shared pharmacological activity, with oleocanthal acting as a natural anti-inflammatory compound that has a potency and profile strikingly similar to that of ibuprofen.'
In tests conducted on different premium olive oils, the chemists found a strong positive link between levels of oleocanthal and its intensity as a throat irritant. Similar results were achieved in tests of a synthetic version of oleocanthal they created, confirming that this compound is in fact the active ingredient in olive oil.
According to the chemists, oleocanthal, like ibuprofen, inhibits so-called COX enzymes in a dose-dependent fashion -- the higher the dose the greater the inhibition.
By their calculations, a 50-gram daily dose of olive oil is equal to about 10 percent of the ibuprofen dose recommended for pain relief in an adult. "

The president told us that we needed to fight in Iraq to save lives here at home, and yet -- after moving billions of domestic dollars to the Persian Gulf -- there are bodies floating through the streets of Louisiana. What does George W. Bush have to say for himself now?

While millions of Americans have lost their homes or lives in the devastation wrought by hurricane Katrina, Bush not only goes about business as usual, he plays the guitar.

President Bush plays a guitar presented to him by Country Singer Mark Wills, right, backstage following his visit to Naval Base Coronado, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. Bush visited the base to deliver remarks on V-J Commemoration Day. (AP Photo/ABC News, Martha Raddatz)




the only image of President Bush I can think of that's
more egregiously wrong is this one:








Besides, Bush has finally decided that he might need to pay a little attention to the WORST NATURAL DISASTER IN AMERICAN HISTORY and head back to Washington. The mainstream media, however, just doesn't seem to get it -- seeming to care more that Bush is going to miss those extra two days of vacation!

Amen Cindy...: "'I know that the Camp Casey movement is going to end the war in Iraq,' Sheehan said, adding that no other families should have to suffer the loss of a relative. She led the crowd in chanting 'Not one more!'"

Obedience is the test of Faith

Who is Cindy Sheehan: "Before the war in Iraq, Cindy Sheehan was no rebel. The mother of four was a youth minister at St. Mary's Catholic Church, in quiet, conservative Vacaville.
But when Sheehan's son Casey, 24, was killed in Iraq on April 4, 2004, her world lurched out of orbit. In the sleepless days and nights that followed, Sheehan tapped into the anti-war movement on the Internet, looking for answers.
'Sometimes I get up in the mornings and I turn on my computer,'' she told me when I met her in February at a peace vigil in Benicia, 'and my husband comes home at 5, and I'm still there in my pajamas.''
Back then, it would have been impossible to imagine that the quiet mother from Vacaville would be challenging President Bush in a quixotic vigil outside his ranch in Crawford, Texas. She wants the commander in chief to explain the 'noble cause' for which her son died. "

GooOS, the Google Operating System (kottke.org): "Google isn't worried about Yahoo! or Microsoft's search efforts...although the media's focus on that is probably to their advantage. Their real target is Windows. Who needs Windows when anyone can have free unlimited access to the world's fastest computer running the smartest operating system? Mobile devices don't need big, bloated OSes...they'll be perfect platforms for accessing the GooOS. Using Gnome and Linux as a starting point, Google should design an OS for desktop computers that's modified to use the GooOS and sell it right alongside Windows ($200) at CompUSA for $10/apiece (available free online of course). Google Office (Goffice?) will be built in, with all your data stored locally, backed up remotely, and available to whomever it needs to be (SubEthaEdit-style collaboration on Word/Excel/PowerPoint-esque documents is only the beginning). Email, shopping, games, music, news, personal publishing, etc.; all the stuff that people use their computers for, it's all there."

EPFL NEWS :: Service Presse et Information: "A team of researchers from the Ecole
Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) has successfully demonstrated, for
the first time, that it is possible to control the speed of light both
slowing it down and speeding it up in an optical fiber, using off-the-shelf
instrumentation in normal environmental conditions. Their results, to be
published in the August 22 issue of Applied Physics Letters, could have
implications that range from optical computing to the fiber-optic telecommunications
industry. "

We should all need one.
"Bill Moyer, 73, wears a 'Bullshit Protector' flap over his ear while President George W. Bush, on screen at rear, addresses the Veterans of Foreign Wars at their 106th convention Monday, Aug. 22, 2005, in Salt Lake City. Moyer served during WWII, Korea and Vietnam. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)"

SLAPP... Have you never heard of such an acrhonimus?
We'd better know what it means because our freedom of thinking is at odd.
SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.
So it means that if I say that my last 7 cats died because I live next to nuclear plant I can be sued by the big company and surelly enough (I don't have money) I will pay.
Some examples
here or keep reading: "In Las Vegas, a local doctor was sued for his allegation that a city hospital violated the state's cost-containment law.
In Baltimore, members of a community group faced a $252 million lawsuit after circulating a letter questioning the property-buying practices of a local housing developer.
In West Virginia, an environmental activist was sued for $200,000 for criticizing a coal-mining company for activities that were poisoning a local river.
In Pennsylvania, a farmer was sued after testifying to his township supervisors that a low-flying helicopter owned by a local landfill operator caused a stampede that killed several of his cows.
In Washington state, a homeowner found that she couldn't get a mortgage because her real-estate company had failed to pay taxes owed on her house. She uncovered hundreds of similar cases, and the company was forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes. In retaliation, it sued the woman for slander and dragged her through six years of legal harassment before a jury found her innocent.
In Missouri, a high-school English teacher was sued for $1 million after complaining to a weekly newspaper that an incinerator burning hospital waste was a health hazard."

The situation of drafting the Costitution for Iraq looks pretty shacky.
A friend sent me a draft of the Costitution.

I found this new web site that is very cool.
You can share your videos with others and I found even a video of the bridge that collaspe under vibrations.
You can find the website here
and the video of the bridge here

Rome, August 14, 2005 – The scandal exploded only during the 2003
summer when the US daily Worcester Telegram & Gazette obtained a copy
of a document that for 40 years had been kept as "strictly
confidential" in the secret archives of the Holy See that
describes
the story of a lawyer from Boston, Carmen Durso, who filed a complain
with the Prosecutor Michel J. Sullivan containing a copy of the 1962
Instruction "Crimen Sollicitationis" and asking to verify if,
within
the federal jurisdiction, would have been possible to prosecute the
Vatican hierarchies that he claimed were guilty of deliberately
covering from the US authorities the sexual abuses committed by
members of the clergy.

At the same time, another letter signed by Daniel Shea, a lawyer and
former seminarist who discovered the 1962 document and gave a copy of
it to the Boston daily and to Mr. Durso, reached the desk of the
Prosecutor. The document, said Shea in the letter, is quoted as still
applicable in a note of the epistle "De Delictis Gravioribus" of 18
May 2001 that the then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith, Joseph Ratzinger, delivered to the bishops and other
ordained and members of the ecclesiastic hierarchy.

This episode was brought to the attention of the international public
opinion by the US Television CBSand the Vatican hierarchies replied
by stating that the norms contained in the 1962 document could not be
anymore considered as binding after the entry into force of the 1983
reform of the Codice di Diritto Canonico, despite the fact that the
Ratzinger letter did not support this; in fact, the current Pope
Benedict XVI in such letter not only recalled the instruction
"Crimen
Sollicitationis", but concerning the "crimes under the
jurisdiction
of Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith" states that
"In the
Tribunals set up upon the ordained or the members of the Catholic
hierarchies only priests can validly carry out the function of judge,
justice promoter, notary and counsel for the defence" and it
restates
that "the trials of this kind are the subject of papal
secret".

Over the last two years the US judiciary has continued the
investigations and since January 2005, a prosecution against Joseph
Ratzinger is taking place at the District Court of Harris County
(Texas).

Mr. Daniel Shea, the lawyer who brought this case before the District
Court of Harris County, will join the demonstration entitled "For
sexual freedom and freedom of conscience, against the causes of the
deviations and sufferings, starting with those of the phedofile
priests and the phedofobic organizations" convened by the
association
anticlericale.net on Tuesday 16 August at 8 p.m. in S. Peter Square,
the exact time of the opening of the World Youth Day in Cologne,
Germany.

AWEA News Release >> Energy Bill Extends Wind Power Incentive through 2007: "Up to 2,500 megawatts of wind energy capacity are scheduled to come on line in the U.S. this year, bringing new power to the equivalent of 700,000 homes and injecting over $3 billion of investment into the power generation sector. With the timely extension of the PTC, the American Wind Energy Association anticipates that strong growth momentum will continue in 2006 and 2007. "

Entropy Production: The Feebate: "The best way I know of to encourage more efficient automobile buying habits is called a feebate. A feebate is a zero-sum tax-slash-rebate on motor vehicle fuel economy. Car buyers with fuel economy above the mean get a cash rebate, while gas guzzlers must pay an additional tax. The government simply acts as the creditor in the exchange -- it gains no net tax revenue. E.g. it is a very socialist concept. The nature of the feebate helps offset the higher capital investment of a hybrid vehicle. Increased mileage is, of course, a built-in reduction in operating costs."

A U.S. Navy photographer with lightning-fast reflexes captured this image of a fighter plane blasting through a "sonic boom cloud" as the jet broke the sound barrier. Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Chandler shot the picture as the F/A-18F Super Hornet blew past the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk in the Philippine Sea on July 27.

Finding warez using Google | The days start here: "Finding pirated software is surprisingly easy with Google. Yes, we have astalavista to find the serial numbers and key generators, but it might take you a little more time to find the original setup files, and software that do not use serial numbers to validate the license."

The Poor Man Cafe
“You are not what you think you are, but you are what you think.” The statement is not merely an ancient proverb, but it is also a Bible truth. The Bible states that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7).

How-to: Share your keyboard and mouse in realtime with Synergy - Engadget - www.engadget.com: "Synergy is an open source and free software project that allows one to share a keyboard and mouse across multiple monitors on separate computers and even between different operating systems. You may be a prime candidate for Synergy's superbum synergy if you code multi-platform software, use more than one computer at home such as a laptop and a tower, or if your computers have different functions (media server, net machine, etc.). Personally we do all of the above and were in dire need of a swift way to dispose of our old keyboards and mice to make way for all sorts of fun new usb gadgetry."

Housing Prices High for Low Income Workers
For example, the median household income for a nurse rose 10 percent between 2003 and 2005, to about $36,000. For a firefighter, wages were flat, remaining at about $37,000 a year.

Those salaries don't come close to the $71,000 annual income needed to qualify to purchase a $225,000 home. The number is based on a down payment of 10 percent.

The real reason American high-schoolers have such dismal test scores.

If you believe in test scores—and education policymakers seem to believe in little else these days—American high-school students are a pathetic bunch. Witness the results of National Assessment of Educational Progress (or NAEP)—the "nation's report card"—which were released last month. While younger students broke records in both math and reading, 17-year olds' scores as a whole showed no improvement from the early 1970s.

Ricotta
Homemade Ricotta
1 gallon whole milk
1 quart buttermilk

Select a sieve or colander with a wide surface area so the curds will cool quickly. Rinse a large piece of cheesecloth or muslin with cold water, then fold it so that it is 6 or more layers, and arrange it in the sieve, or colander placed in the sink.

Pour the milk and buttermilk into a large nonreactive saucepan. Place over high heat and heat, stirring the mixture frequently with a rubber spatula and making sure to scrape the whole pan bottom to prevent scorching. Once the mixture is warm, stop stirring, As the milk heats, curds wili begin to rise and clump on the surface. As the curds begin to form, gently scrape the bottom of the pan with the spatula to release any stuck curds.

When the mixture reaches 175 to 180F, the curds and whey wili separate. The whey looks like cloudy water underneath a mass of thick white curds on the surface. Immediately remove the pan from the heat. Working from the side of the pan, gently ladle the whey into the prepared sieve. Go slowly so as not to break up the curds. Finally, ladle the curds into the sieve. Lift the sides of the cloth to help the liquid drain. Don't press on the curds. When the draining slows, gather the edges of the cloth, tie into a bag, and hang from the faucet. Drain until the dripping stops, about 15 minutes. Untie the bag and pack the ricotta into airtight containers. Refrigerate and use within 1 week. Makes about 4 cups.

From Michael Chiarello's Casual Cooking (Chronicle Books, 2002)

eigelb.at - Paul Schmidinger - Screendesign and Webprogramming

This is a wonderful website for very high level web art.

Philadelphia Inquirer | 08/07/2005 | Priest: Silence ordered on abuse: "When the Rev. James Gigliotti told church officials in the early 1980s that a Northeast Philadelphia priest was molesting boys, he remembers receiving a stern warning.
'This comes from the highest authority: You're to keep your mouth shut,' Gigliotti said an assistant chancellor told him.
The Philadelphia Archdiocese quickly removed the accused priest, the Rev. James J. Brzyski, from his parish in the Fox Chase section.
But the archdiocese did not tell parishioners the reason. Nor did it report Brzyski to police.
With his conduct a secret, Brzyski remained a welcome guest in parishioners' homes. A former altar boy said this meant Brzyski kept abusing him - for years.
'I was raped by the time I was 13,' said John Delaney, a father of two who works as a roofer. 'I don't have any religious beliefs anymore because of what he did to me. I have no faith in anything anymore.'
Brzyski's run of alleged attacks took place in the late 1970s and early '80s. Ten men have said he assaulted them as boys during his six years of active service as a priest. That would make him one of the worst known offenders in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Three of his accusers have told The Inquirer that Brzyski plied them with candy, ice cream or alcohol before assaulting them - in rectories, in their homes, in his car, in a house at the Jersey Shore. Two say he molested them in the sacristy, the room near the altar where priests don their vestments.
Even so, the church did not identify him publicly as an abuser until this year, in a brief notice published June 23. It said only that Brzyski and six other priests had been defrocked for 'misconduct involving minors.'
After Brzyski left the church, he worked as a computer technician in Philadelphia. He lived for a time in East Falls, where he incorporated a talent and modeling agency, as well as a children's birthday party business, out of his home, public records show. It's unclear how much business, if any, his companies did.

He once told a neighbor that children loved it when he wore a Barney costume.

By 2002, Brzyski had moved to Virginia. That year, a 17-year-old filed a criminal complaint accusing him of attempted sexual battery, a misdemeanor. The teenager said he had dozed off from drinking at a cookout at Brzyski's house and awoke to discover Brzyski groping him in his underpants.

Brzyski filed a countercharge, accusing the teenager of kicking him and trespassing.

In court, both charges were withdrawn. Court papers don't explain why, and Brzyski's Virginia lawyer, Steven Shames, has declined to comment.
Why did no one call the police about Brzyski 20 years ago?

The answer is complicated.

"We were just so disturbed to find out that this creature was out there among young boys, and we kind of felt guilty," said the mother of one Brzyski accuser. "We should have gone to the police back then, and it would have stopped. Being good Catholics, we didn't do that."

Gigliotti said, "I think we'd all go back and say we should bring the police in right away."

When love has entirely cast out fear, and fear has been transformed into love, then the unity brought us by our saviour will be fully realized, for all men will be united with one another through their union with the one supreme Good. They will possess the perfection ascribed to the dove, according to our interpretation of the text: One alone is my dove, my perfect one. She is the only child of her mother, her chosen one.

Our Lord’s words in the gospel bring out the meaning of this text more clearly. After having conferred all power on his disciples by his blessing, he obtained many other gifts for them by his prayer to the Father. Among these was included the greatest gift of all, which was that they were no longer to be divided in their judgement of what was right and good, for they were all to be united to the one supreme Good. As the Apostle says, they were to be bound together with the bonds of peace in the unity that comes from the Holy Spirit. They were to be made one body and one spirit by the one hope to which they were all called. We shall do better, however, to quote the sacred words of the gospel itself. I pray, the Lord says, that they all may be one; that as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, so they also may be one in us.

Now the bond that creates this unity is glory. That the Holy Spirit is called glory no one can deny if he thinks carefully about the Lord’s words: The glory you gave to me, I have given to them. In fact, he gave this glory to his disciples when he said to them: Receive the Holy Spirit. Although he had always possessed it, even before the world existed, he himself received this glory when he put on human nature. Then, when his human nature had been glorified by the Spirit, the glory of the Spirit was passed on to all his kin, beginning with his disciples. This is why he said: The glory you gave to me, I have given to them, so that they may be one as we are one. With me in them and you in me, I want them to be perfectly one.

Whoever has grown from infancy to manhood and attained to spiritual maturity possesses the mastery over his passions and the purity that makes it possible for him to receive the glory of the Spirit. He is that perfect dove upon whom the eyes of the bridegroom rest when he says: One alone is my dove, my perfect one.

St Gregory of Nyssa

Pontifications: "The question for each orthodox Catholic is whether to take up the Magisterium's challenge or be content with the fundamental option of the rich young man, who is more comfortable with a religion based on rules than on self-donation."

John Paul II's Theology of the Body: "GENERAL AUDIENCES: JOHN PAUL II'S THEOLOGY OF THE BODY
Pope John Paul II"

Really to study in order to understand JPII.

Scary tatics of McCartism flavor!
EFF: Breaking News: "Today the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a release announcing its new rule expanding the reach of the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). The ruling is a reinterpretation of the scope of CALEA and will force Internet broadband providers and certain voice-over-IP (VoIP) providers to build backdoors into their networks that make it easier for law enforcement to wiretap them. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has argued against this expansion of CALEA in several rounds of comments to the FCC on its proposed rule."

Sunbeltblog: Massive identity theft ring: "In some recent research into a spyware exploit, our research team has discovered a massive identity theft ring.
We also found the keylogger transcript files that are being uploaded to the servers.
This is real spyware stuff�chat sessions, user names, passwords, bank information, etc. We have confirmed that this data is valid. Highly personal information, including even one fellow who has a penchant for pedophilia -- all logged in detail and returned a webserver.
Note that there is a LOT of bank information in here, including one company bank account with over US$350,000 and another small company in California with over $11,000 readily accessible. This list goes on and on and on. Of course, there's also eBay accounts and much more.
We have notified the FBI, but of course no response (too busy doing other more important things). We have notified a few of the parties involved.
If anyone has any other ideas, send �em to us. Right now, we�re sitting upon literally thousands of pages of stolen identities that are being used right now.
Alex Eckelberry"

Corriere della Sera - Agr - Ultima Ora: " Un'azione disciplinare e' stata sollecitata dal ministro della Giustizia, Roberto Castelli, al Procuratore generale della Cassazione nei confronti del giudice per le indagini preliminare di Milano Clementina Forleo. Il provvedimento riguarda l'episodio, avvenuto nel centro di Milano qualche settimana fa, che ha visto protagonista il magistrato, intervenuto nel corso dell'arresto di un immigrato. Secondo gli agenti di polizia il giudice sarebbe intervenuto in modo veemente protestando per le modalita' dell'arresto. La Forleo invece, che ha preso - tra l'altro - i provvedimenti nel caso Antonveneta, ha sostenuto di essersi offerta come eventuale testimone nel caso all'immigrato fosse stato contestato il reato di resistenza a pubblico ufficiale, inesistente secondo il magistrato"

IGN - Cronaca - Castelli promuove azione disciplinare contro gip Forleo: "A quanto apprende l'ADNKRONOS, il ministro della Giustizia Roberto Castelli ha promosso l'azione disciplinare nei confronti del gip milanese Clementina Forleo in riferimento allo 'scontro' di cui e' stata protagonista il magistrato con alcuni agenti di una volante che stavano fermando un egiziano.

I fatti oggetto dell'azione disciplinare si riferiscono all'8 luglio scorso quando, in una via del centro di Milano, il gip Forleo era intervenuto per contestare le modalita' con le quali gli agenti avevano fermato un extracomunitario che tentava di sottrarsi al controllo dopo che era stato sorpreso senza il biglietto per i mezzi pubblici. Gia' al centro di infuocate polemiche dopo l'assoluzione dal reato di terrorismo internazionale di alcuni cittadini islamici, il gip, oggi giudice dell'inchiesta sulla scalata Antonveneta, 'litig� con gli uomini della volante che avevano effettuato il fermo.

L'intervento del giudice, che aveva chiesto che gli fossero prese le generalita' per poter testimoniare a favore dell'extracomunitario, era stato considerato di ''gravita' inaudita'' dal sindacato di polizia Uilps, che aveva indetto una conferenza stampa. In merito alle critiche, il gip Forleo si era cosi' difesa: ''Non ho fatto altro che il mio dovere di cittadina. Non ho intralciato l'operato della polizia, perche' sono intervenuta quando questa persona era gia' stata ammanettata e caricata in macchina. E poi lo rifarei non una ma cento volte''. "

No excuse for 'Iraq fatigue' in the news: "Just a month ago, the administration took pains to tell us that any 'timetable' for disengagement from the war in Iraq was the worst possible idea, that it would 'encourage the insurgents' to just 'wait us out.' Those words came from the president himself.
The result was poll numbers that fell to the lowest point in Mr. Bush's presidency. Members of Congress, who - unlike President Bush - will be facing the electorate in 2006 and beyond, began looking over their shoulders and reviving talk about an 'exit strategy.'So over the last 10 days, we started to hear something new. Administration spokespeople began to hint there might be a pullout after all. And a timetable, too. The estimates, including one by the top soldier in Iraq, General Casey, have been remarkably consistent: down by more than 50 percent, to 60,000 troops, by this time next year, then 40,000 by the fall."

Hiroshima After Sixty Years: The Debate Continues: " President Trumans friend and Chief of Staff, five star Admiral William D. Leahy was deeply angered: The use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender. . . In being the first to use it, we . . . adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. "

World Turning Its Back on Brand America: "Right now the US government is not a credible messenger,' said Mr Reinhard, chairman of DDB Worldwide, the advertising group. 'We must work to build bridges of understanding and co-operation and respect through business-to-business activities"

Corn Dog - The ethanol subsidy is worse than you can imagine.:

"Making ethanol, they claim, will help America achieve the elusive goal of 'energy security' while helping farmers, reducing oil imports, and stimulating the American economy. But the ethanol boosters are ignoring some unpleasant facts: Ethanol won't significantly reduce our oil imports; adding more ethanol to our gas tanks adds further complexity to our motor-fuel supply chain, which will lead to further price hikes at the pump; and, most important (and most astonishing), it may take more energy to produce a gallon of ethanol than it actually contains. "

TalkLeft: Fitzgerald, Cooper, Sauber, Rove , Luskin and Ginsberg:

"Sauber says that Fitzgerald isn't disclosing his hand, either in conversation or in body language.
LT: From all that you've heard and all of the people you have spoken to, what do you think Fitzgerald is aiming for?
RS: I spent a lot of time on the phone [with Fitzgerald] and in person. He was so careful not to give away anything -- even with body language -- any indication of what he was looking at or where he was going. It was quite astonishing how uncommunicative he was. So the short answer is, I don't know.
But the only clue is that he submitted some fairly extensive material under seal. Every judge who has commented on that [has said] how impressive the showing is and how important this case is to national security. All I can surmise is that he has a substantial amount of evidence to continue a fairly robust investigation. And it does involve classified material."

In 1994, then-Archbishop of Portland William Levada offered a simple answer for why the archdiocese shouldn't have been ordered to pay the costs of raising a child fathered by a church worker at a Portland, Ore., parish.

In her relationship with Arturo Uribe, then a seminarian and now a Whittier priest, Stephanie Collopy had engaged "in unprotected intercourse … when [she] should have known that could result in pregnancy," the church maintained in its answer to the lawsuit.
Faithful Furious Over Tactic: "Collopy's suit against the Archdiocese of Portland was dropped in 1994 when the Denver Province of the Redemptorists, a religious order that ordained Uribe that same year, agreed to pay $215 a month in child support if Collopy stopped the legal action and signed a confidentiality agreement.

Last week, after having earlier battled Collopy in court when she asked for additional child support, the Redemptorists announced that they would provide more support to her son. "

Donald Rumsfeld (who had served in various positions in the Nixon and Ford administrations, including as President Ford's defense secretary, and at this time headed the multinational pharmaceutical company G.D. Searle & Co.) was dispatched to the Middle East as a presidential envoy. His December 1983 tour of regional capitals included Baghdad, where he was to establish "direct contact between an envoy of President Reagan and President Saddam Hussein," while emphasizing "his close relationship" with the president . Rumsfeld met with Saddam, and the two discussed regional issues of mutual interest, shared enmity toward Iran and Syria, and the U.S.'s efforts to find alternative routes to transport Iraq's oil; its facilities in the Persian Gulf had been shut down by Iran, and Iran's ally, Syria, had cut off a pipeline that transported Iraqi oil through its territory. Rumsfeld made no reference to chemical weapons, according to detailed notes on the meeting .

Aljazeera.Net - US journalist shot dead in Iraq
US journalist shot dead in Iraq

Steven Vincent had been staying in the southern city of Basra
An American freelance journalist and author has been found shot dead in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, the US embassy said.
Police on Wednesday said Steven Vincent was shot several times after he and his Iraqi translator were abducted at gunpoint hours earlier.
'I can confirm to you that officials in Basra have recovered the body of journalist Steven Vincent,' said embassy spokesman Pete Mitchell.
'The US embassy is working with British military and local Iraqi officials in Basra to determine who is responsible for the death of this journalist. Our condolences go out to the family.'
The embassy did not give the cause of death.
However, Iraqi police in Basra said Vincent was abducted along with his female translator at gunpoint on Tuesday evening. The translator, Nour Weidi, was seriously wounded.
Vincent and the translator were taken by five men in a police car as they left a currency exchange shop, police Lieutenant Colonel Karim al-Zaidi said.
Vincent's body was found on the side of the highway south of Basra later. He had been shot in the head and multiple times on his body, al-Zaidi said.
The author published a book on life in post-Saddam Iraq

Isn't this a NEWS? Now Novak seems to me revealing that Tenent was ultimately the source?
By the way, special prosecutors Fitzgerald have questioned former CIA director George J. Tenet and deputy director John E. McLaughlin, former CIA spokesman Bill Harlow, State Department officials, and even a stranger who approached columnist Robert D. Novak on the street.

In doing so, special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has asked not only about how CIA operative Valerie Plame's name was leaked but also how the administration went about shifting responsibility from the White House to the CIA for having included 16 words in the 2003 State of the Union address about Iraqi efforts to acquire uranium from Africa, an assertion that was later disputed.

Now here there is what Novak says... a confession?

Ex-CIA official's remark is wrong: "I have previously said that I never would have written those sentences if Harlow, then-CIA Director George Tenet or anybody else from the agency had told me that Valerie Plame Wilson's disclosure would endanger herself or anybody. "

HOW CONSERVATISM LEAVES US VULNERABLE TO NUCLEAR TERRORISM: "Democracy has become George W. Bush's reflexive answer to terrorism."

Moore Calls Mich. Film Fest a Big Success - Yahoo! News: "It may not rival Sundance or Cannes, but Michael Moore says the film festival he conceived with other movie lovers in this Lake Michigan town was a bigger hit than expected and has a bright future.

'By all accounts it was an overwhelming success,' Moore said Monday. 'It was a movie junkie's paradise.'
The festival ran from Wednesday night through Sunday, concluding with 'Casablanca' under the stars by the Grand Traverse Bay waterfront. It featured 31 films, most of which sold out, and panel discussions with Hollywood insiders.
About 20,000 tickets were sold for the indoor showings. Moore estimated total festival attendance when the outdoor movies and panels were added at 50,000."

Exclusive: Secret Memo—Send to Be Tortured - Newsweek Periscope - MSNBC.com

In a memo forwarded to a senior FBI lawyer on Nov. 27, 2002, a supervisory special agent from the bureau's behavioral analysis unit offered a legal analysis of interrogation techniques that had been approved by Pentagon officials for use against a high-value Qaeda detainee. After objecting to techniques such as exploiting "phobias" like "the fear of dogs" or dripping water "to induce the misperception of drowning," the agent discussed a plan to send the detainee to Jordan, Egypt or an unspecified third country for interrogation. "In as much as the intent of this category is to utilize, outside the U.S., interrogation techniques which would violate [U.S. law] if committed in the U.S., it is a per se violation of the U.S. Torture Statute," the agent wrote. "Discussing any plan which includes this category could be seen as a con-spiracy to violate [the Torture Statute]" and "would inculpate" everyone involved.

Journalists Former CIA Officer Alleges Info On Iraq Abandoning Nuclear Plans Was Ignored

In a federal lawsuit against the Central Intelligence Agency, a former officer alleges that the agency ignored information in 2001 from a "significant" informant who told the CIA that Iraq had abandoned a major element of its nuclear weapons program.

In the lawsuit, the anonymous CIA officer says that the informant told him that Iraq's uranium enrichment program had ended years earlier and that centrifuge components from the scuttled program were available for examination and even purchase.

Four signs she's high maintenance


Most men have been there. Many won’t admit they’ve been there: involved with a high-maintenance date or girlfriend. You can run from a high-maintenance woman and you can hide, but your best chance of going unharmed is to avoid her all together.

Consumers who purchase cars, light trucks, pick-ups and SUVs that run on diesel will be able to take advantage of a tax credit worth between $400 and $2,400 a vehicle now offered for hybrid vehicles, according to the Diesel Technology Forum. The greater the fuel efficiency savings of the vehicle the larger the credit.

Senators voted 74 to 26 to enact a measure that touches on virtually every aspect of American energy production and consumption, from new nuclear power plants to energy efficient appliances. The bill provides $14.5 billion in tax breaks, encourages much greater use of renewable fuels and takes steps to make the power grid more reliable.

"This bill represents a compromise," said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., expressing the view of a number of Democrats who had pushed for greater conservation and efficiency provisions in the bill but seemed satisfied with the final deal crafted by House and Senate negotiators.
Cantwell said the bill is "not a complete answer to all of our energy needs ... but it is an important first step."

A crucial win for the electric utilities is the repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, which would ease industry merger rules put in place to protect consumers from monopolistic utilities.
"This change should assist in the approval process of the Duke-Cinergy merger," according to a research note from RBC Capital Markets, referring to the proposed merger of Duke Energy Corp. (DUK: news, chart, profile) and Cinergy Corp. (CIN: news, chart, profile) announced in May.
New facilities that generate electricity from renewable energy sources such as wind power that are started up by the close 2007 would receive a 10-year production tax credit at a cost of $2.75 billion.
Firms that invest in wind power sites such as FPL Corp. (FPL: news, chart, profile) , Berkshire Hathaway's (BRKA: news, chart, profile) Iowa-based MidAmerican, and Scottish Power's (SPI: news, chart, profile) PPM Energy, would benefit from this provisions, according to Christine Tezak, an electricity analyst with Stanford Washington Research Group.
Coal-burning power plants built after 1975 and outfitted with pollution control devices since then would be able to depreciate costs over seven years. Some of the nation's largest utilities may be eligible for the credit including AES Corp. (AES: news, chart, profile) , American Electric Power Co. (AEP: news, chart, profile) , Entergy Corp. (ETR: news, chart, profile) , Progress Energy Inc. (PGN: news, chart, profile) , Southern Co. (SO: news, chart, profile) , Reliant Energy Inc. (RRI: news, chart, profile) , TXU Energy (TXU: news, chart, profile) , and Xcel Energy (XEL: news, chart, profile) , according to Tezak.
Power companies that undertake new high-voltage transmission projects would also be eligible for 15-year depreciation rather than the standard 20-years, at a cost of $1.2 billion to Treasury.

Senza parole:
Ma come si fa a resistere per non ridere.
Il buon Bobo e' sempre il piu' grande.
Vai Bobo.

Incentivi per chi scommette sul "solare"
Un decreto delle Attività produttive concede un bonus sul surplus prodotto e venduto alla rete elettrica

IL SOLE 24 ORE

Il “solare” apre le porte a famiglie, condomini e imprese.
Via, dunque, agli incentivi per chi scommette sul fotovoltaico. È in arrivo sulla Gazzetta Ufficiale un decreto del ministero delle Attività produttive, di concerto con l’Ambiente, per l’incentivazione dell’energia elettrica di origine solare prodotta con impianti fotovoltaici. Si tratta, in pratica, di incentivi in conto energia, che arriveranno con l’energia prodotta in surplus, venduta alla rete elettrica a tariffe incentivate, pari a tre volte la tariffa media delle forniture di energia elettrica. La tariffa è differenziata in base alla potenza dell’impianto, che dovrà, dunque, essere in esercizio e sottoposto a manutenzione.«Un decreto complesso – sottolinea Claudio Scajola, ministro delle Attività produttive – che arriva in ritardo, ma è molto significativo in un Paese che ha bisogno di energia». Una produzione di energia a bassissimo impatto ambientale, può aiutare a risolvere una questione, quella dell'energia, che secondo Altero Matteoli, ministro dell'Ambiente, «é il problema diquesto inizio secolo».In passato gli incentivi venivano dati in forma di finanziamento per gli impianti, come i 10mila tetti fotovoltaici che hanno visto coinvolte per lo più amministrazioni locali. Gli incentivi Per un impianto da 20 kilowatt di una famiglia o di un piccolo condominio il decreto prevede che i consumatori continuino a d avere la possibilità, per esempio di notte, di acquistare energia dalla rete, ma anche di vendere quella prodotta in eccesso. Tutto viene registrato su un contatore e a fine anno si effettua il conguaglio: l’energia acquistata dalla rete costa 15 centesimi al kilowatt, tasse comprese, su quella venduta alla rete c’è un incentivo di 45 centesimi al kilowatt, più il prezzo pagato dalla rete. Il problema è rappresentato dal costo base dell’impianto fotovoltaico, che per un kW, che copre circa 10mila metri quadrati, ha un costo di circa 7mila euro e produce in media 1.100 kWh l’anno.L’Autorità per l’energia elettrica e il gas è chiamata a determinare le modalità per la copertura degli incentivi tramite un prelievo sulle tariffe elettriche (circa 0,014 centesimi di euro per ogni kWh) e a individuare l’organismo erogatore dell’incentivo (Cassa conguaglio per il settore elettrico), con le relative modalità tecniche.Saranno previsti quattro bandi l’anno: per i piccoli basterà una semplice domanda con il progetto preliminare, per i grandi è prevista una gara per innescare un processo di competitività tecnologica. Il beneficio riguarda l’installazione di 100 MW di impianti fotovoltaici, di cui il 60% per impianti piccoli e medi, la restante parte per quelli grandi, che hanno una potenza massima installabile di 1 MW. Una volta concesso l’incentivo il soggetto è tenuto ad avviare i lavori di realizzazione dell’impianto fotovoltaico entro 6 mesi dalla comunicazione (12 per gli impianti oltre 50 kW) e concluderli entro 12 mesi (24 oltre 50 kW). Altri 6 mesi sono, poi, a disposizione per la messa a punto e il collaudo dell’impianto.

The Society offer 5 IQ tests that measure different aspects of intelligence. Each of their tests can be taken online. The persons scoring 126may become member of the society!International High IQ Society | Free IQ Tests

Telegraph News Shuttle commander surprised by debris problem

Colonel Eileen Collins, the commander of the space shuttle Discovery, has said she was surprised and disappointed that the debris problem that brought down Columbia in 2003 had re-emerged.

Col Collins, 48, said: "What I'd like to say is this is something that has to be fixed. I don't think we should fly again unless we do something to prevent this from happening again."

Tor: An anonymous Internet communication system

Tor: An anonymous Internet communication system

Tor is a toolset for a wide range of organizations and people that want to improve their safety and security on the Internet. Using Tor can help you anonymize web browsing and publishing, instant messaging, IRC, SSH, and other applications that use the TCP protocol. Tor also provides a platform on which software developers can build new applications with built-in anonymity, safety, and privacy features.

The 46 Best-ever Freeware Utilities
The 46 Best-ever Freeware Utilities

There are a lot of great freeware products out there. Many are as good or even better than their commercial alternatives.

Priest and His Son Are Bound by Poverty

Single and unemployed, Stephanie Collopy asked a Portland judge this month to order her son's father to increase her child support and to add their chronically ill boy to his health insurance plan.

Sitting on the witness stand in a white button-down shirt, gray slacks and blue blazer with a small gold cross on the lapel, Arturo Uribe — the 12-year-old boy's father — had an unusual defense: He is a Roman Catholic priest.



Uribe, who was a seminarian when he fathered the boy during a consensual affair with Collopy, had taken a vow of poverty and therefore had no money to support his son, he told the court. Now pastor of the 4,000-family St. Mary of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church in Whittier, Uribe had never seen the boy, who was born in 1993.And as for health insurance, Uribe said his plan — tailored for priests, nuns and brothers — didn't provide for children.Uribe's legal argument worked.Multnomah County Judge Keith Meisenheimer ruled that Uribe only had to continue his $323-a-month child support, paid by his religious order, the Redemptorists. And while the jurist instructed Uribe, 47, to formally ask his health plan carrier if an exception could be made for his son, the priest wasn't ordered to provide insurance.Like other women whose children were fathered by Catholic priests, Collopy, 38, could get only limited help from the legal system, which decides child support based on a parent's income. Although dioceses and orders often have considerable wealth, most Catholic priests — especially those in religious orders — make little or no money. Their living expenses are paid for by the church.Canon, or church, law didn't help Collopy either. It is silent on financial support for children fathered by priests. Still, several Catholic scholars said religious orders, such as the Redemptorists, should be guided by higher standards when it comes to providing for children. The Redemptorists are an order of missionaries, priests and brothers whose "special mission," according to its website, is "preaching the word of God to the poor."Father John J. Coughlin, a professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School and canon law expert, said it was "customary" for religious orders to provide financial support for the children of its members."Given the special needs" of Collopy's child, who has chronic asthma and allergies, "it would seem that the Redemptorists have a moral obligation to contribute to the child's support … in accord with the order's ability to provide that financial support," Coughlin said.Officials with the Redemptorists' Denver Province could not be reached for comment. Archdiocese of Los Angeles officials said they had not been informed by Uribe or his order about the priest's child until recently. In April, Uribe announced that his order was transferring him to Chicago later this summer.Parishioners at St. Mary also were never told that their pastor had a son."I'm very, very disappointed," said Rene Desmedt of La Habra, when told about the priest's secret child and the support dispute. Desmedt, 84, has served as an usher at St. Mary for 45 years. "I never expected that. When this becomes public, there's going to be very many people really angry."Desmedt said the church collects $12,000 to $13,000 each week from parishioners and that it could support the priest's child."St. Mary's Church is a rich church, in my book," Desmedt said. "We can afford it. Boy, that news is going to knock the heads off a lot of people."Uribe declined to be interviewed but issued a statement."Since [my son's] birth I have taken my obligation of support for him seriously, although as in many such situations this has not been easy because of the strained relationship and lack of contact between the parents," Uribe wrote.No statistics exist on the number of U.S. Catholic priests with children or how those children are supported. But several national support groups provide legal advice and encouragement for women whose children were fathered by priests.

DenverPost.com - LOCAL NEWS: "CIA officials used a sledgehammer handle to beat various prisoners in Iraq, and one official, whose name is classified, would often brag about his abuse of prisoners, according to testimony in a closed session of a military hearing.
The transcript, obtained this week by The Denver Post under a court order, was of a March hearing to determine whether three Fort Carson Army soldiers should stand trial for the death of Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush during an interrogation in 2003.
Chief Warrant Officer Jefferson Williams and Spec. Jerry Loper face murder charges in the case.
A third soldier, Sgt. 1st Class William Sommer, has not had final charges approved, though he also was involved in the March preliminary Article 32 hearing.
Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer waived his hearing but is charged with murder. "

Military's Opposition to Harsh Interrogation Is Outlined - New York Times

Senior military lawyers lodged vigorous and detailed dissents in early 2003 as an administration legal task force concluded that President Bush had authority as commander in chief to order harsh interrogations of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, newly disclosed documents show.

Who's Taking Blame for Christian Violence? So where are the Christian leaders when it comes to violent actions by our Western leaders? Where are the televangelists, who every Sunday take over the airwaves to trumpet the message of Jesus, when it comes to taking on bunker busting bombs and mass carnage?

Where are they when it comes to the death penalty prevalent in the majority of American states?

When President George Bush insists that billions of dollars need to continue flowing to the war effort in Iraq which leads to more American body bags and Iraqi graves, why is there no outcry? Why don't the Christian leaders stand up and challenge those decisions, and passionately assert that Jesus would have sought another way of solving the problems?

In this time when Christianity is on the rise all over America, when there is a growing surge in extolling Christian values, why is it that when the born-again Bush says it's better to fight "them" over there than on American soil, no concerted group of leaders stands up and yells that he's got it wrong?

extreme Catholic SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- A Roman Catholic priest and expert on church law who co-wrote a document on dealing with sexually abusive priests has been charged with molesting a boy more than 30 years ago.

A criminal complaint was filed May 12 against the Rev. Gregory Ingels, who until recently was a priest at St. Bartholomew Church in San Mateo.

Ingels, 60, was charged with engaging in sexual conduct with a 15-year-old boy in 1972, two years before Ingels was ordained. Ingels was teaching at a Catholic high school in Marin County at the time, and the boy was his student.

According to the complaint, Ingels made incriminating comments in recent conversations with the victim that were tape-recorded by police.

Ingels could get eight years in prison.

Ingels was one of four experts chosen to draft a legal interpretation of the "zero tolerance" policy adopted last year by the nation's Catholic bishops toward child-molesting priests. The guide, published in March, offered recommendations on how the policy could be implemented.

It could have been worse, they could have made this priest a bishop. News items like this sometimes create a sort of credibility for the claims that the priesthood in the United States is 40-60% homosexual.

irclog: "L'aspirante suicida, chiacchiera!"

Here one of Ciro's photosA Pic A Day | Photo @ 20020327

Mostra Utente: " La storia di Luca K, Ciro Milani, era nota da mesi e mesi. Ma nessuno ha voluto, saputo o potuto impedire che questo giovane di 26 anni si togliesse la vita. Forse, per� non sarebbe servito, nulla. In una delle innumerevoli corrispondenze interattive un navigatore mette in rete l�articolo che racconta come sia stato sventato un suicidio proprio grazie alla lettura di messaggi simili. Ciro aveva risposto: �Provate a farlo a me e vi uccido�. L�11 luglio 2004 V.D. 25 anni di Lecco si era gettato dal san Michele. "

Mostra Utente: "Da Trezzo d�Adda i sub hanno raggiunto il San Michele e si sono immersi nelle acque del fiume, in tarda mattinata. Le ricerche hanno dato esito positivo solamente alle 15.30 quando, circa al centro del fiume, proprio sotto il punto da cui li giovane si era gettato, � stato rinvenuto il cadavere. "

This is the link postdated for the suicide of Ciro MilaniAzim, re-re-re-re-reloaded.: "Me ne sono andato."

Mostra Utente: "INCREDIBILE, CIRO AVEVA SCRITTO IN UN BLOG: ``IL MIO FUTURO E` INUTILE NON HA PIU` SENSO VIVERLO. MEGLIO ANDARSENE ORA``"

Sara's Blog: "Non ce mai limite la peggio.
beccatevi questi due link.
questa storia (purtroppo vera) me la sono persa.
Mi meraviglio che i media nn ne abbiano parlato..
allora dunque:
http://primadipartire.weblogs.us/
ma,vi metto solo questo,poi voi sceglierete il vs eventuale percorso.
A me ha sconvolto parecchio.
inutile dire che a mio parere � assolutamente un gesto folle,sia il prima che il dopo"

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall: "As Rich says, this isn't about Valerie Plame or Joe Wilson or even Karl Rove. It's not about exposing a CIA agent. That's merely the tear in the fabric, the third-rate burglary, if you will. This is about a president who knowingly took his country to war on the basis of lies and the war on the homefront against anyone and everyone who's tried to peel back the lies and expose the truth."

JAMA -- Abstract: Contradicted and Initially Stronger Effects in Highly Cited Clinical Research, July 13, 2005, Ioannidis 294 (2): 218: "Of 49 highly cited original clinical research studies, 45 claimed that the intervention was effective. Of these, 7 (16%) were contradicted by subsequent studies, 7 others (16%) had found effects that were stronger than those of subsequent studies, 20 (44%) were replicated, and 11 (24%) remained largely unchallenged. Five of 6 highly-cited nonrandomized studies had been contradicted or had found stronger effects vs 9 of 39 randomized controlled trials (P = .008). Among randomized trials, studies with contradicted or stronger effects were smaller (P = .009) than replicated or unchallenged studies although there was no statistically significant difference in their early or overall citation impact. Matched control studies did not have a significantly different share of refuted results than highly cited studies, but they included more studies with 'negative' results. "

Abu Ghraib Tactics Were First Used at Guantanamo: "The report's findings are the strongest indication yet that the abusive practices seen in photographs at Abu Ghraib were not the invention of a small group of thrill-seeking military police officers. The report shows that they were used on Qahtani several months before the United States invaded Iraq."

FT.com / Home UK - Clinton slams Guantanamo: "In an interview with the Financial Times, the former president called for the camp, set up to hold suspected terrorists, to 'be closed down or cleaned up'.
Mr Clinton joined critics at home and abroad who have singled out the indefinite detention of prisoners without trial and widespread reports of human rights violations at Guant�namo.
He said: 'It is time that there are no more stories coming out of there about people being abused.'
Mr Clinton said the test for judging whether harsh treatment of terrorist suspects was justified was whether it challenged the 'fundamental nature' of American society. 'If the answer is Yes, you have already given the terrorists a profound victory.'"

hnk's blog: yes, I am blaming again: "Bad electricity service that we have here in Iraq couldn't give us more than 4 hours in the day. In lucky days, we have 7 hours of electricity at the most level.

That pushed my dad to buy us a light that works on battery, so we can continue our homework after the generators turn off. Every one in the family has his own torch."

Building Iraq's Army: Mission Improbable: "Young Iraqi soldiers, ill-equipped and drawn from a disenchanted Sunni Arab minority, say they are not even sure what they are fighting for. They complain bitterly that their American mentors don't respect them.
In fact, the Americans don't: Frustrated U.S. soldiers question the Iraqis' courage, discipline and dedication and wonder whether they will ever be able to fight on their own, much less reach the U.S. military's goal of operating independently by the fall."

Bush Aide Softened Greenhouse Gas Links to Global Warming - New York Times: "A White House official who once led the oil industry's fight against limits on greenhouse gases has repeatedly edited government climate reports in ways that play down links between such emissions and global warming, according to internal documents. "

Automotive Parts Information, Resources, Auto Parts And Car Care at Inner Auto Parts: "
Explore the marvel of the automobile."

How to build your own Linux distribution: "How to build your own Linux distribution"

Democratic Peace: The End of War?: "Global military spending is also in decline. Stated in current dollars, annual global military spending peaked in 1985, at $1.3 trillion, and has been falling since, to slightly over $1 trillion in 2004, according to the Center for Defense Information, a nonpartisan Washington research organization."

Democratic Peace: The End of War?: "the fact that we now see so many visuals of combat and conflict creates the impression that these problems are increasing: Actually, it is the reporting of the problems that is increasing, while the problems themselves are in decline. Television, especially, likes to emphasize war because pictures of fighting, soldiers, and military hardware are inherently more compelling to viewers than images of, say, water-purification projects. Reports of violence and destruction are rarely balanced with reports about the overwhelming majority of the Earth's population not being harmed. "

And this was in Date: 23 July 2002

The secret Downing Street memo - Sunday Times - Times Online: "The Defence Secretary said that the US had already begun 'spikes of activity' to put pressure on the regime."

This record is extremely sensitive. No further copies should be made. It should be shown only to those with a genuine need to know its contents.

The secret Downing Street memo - Sunday Times - Times Online: " Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

Friendly fire. || kuro5hin.org: "Writing in an army report, Brigadier General Gary Jones admits that the official cover-up even included 'the destruction of evidence'. Did the Army burn Tillman's Ranger uniform and body armor to hide the fact that he had died in a hail of American bullets? Why burn the body armor and clothes? A routine procedure in a combat zone?
It doesn't really matter, friendly-fire is a part of war. What matters is the government of the United States covered up the true events to score points with the public. A few more points, just like the winning field goal kick. In the game of propaganda, every point matters. We are the unsuspecting patrons of the propaganda game, paying our tickets with our taxes, allowing the government to wage an unpopular war. "

Excel add in ASAP Utilities free MS Excel tools. Add ins for Microsoft Excel 79, 2000, 2003. Numbering, decompiler, add time in excel, statistics, data analysis, statistical, hours excell add in. Excel addin erstellen. XP freeware 2000, : "ASAP Utilities contains over 300 useful and powerful utilities to fill the gaps in Excel, and automate frequently used tasks.
Guaranteed to save you many hours of time !"

PodcastAlley.com -- The place to find Podcasts: "Podcast Alley is the podcast lovers portal. Featuring the best Podcast Directory and the Top 10 podcasts (as voted on by the listeners). You will also find podcast software, the podcast forum and great podcasting info. "

Original web site that Adam Curry started to centralize information about podcasting. This site continues to be one of the central points to which new podcasters go to have their shows added to the primary directory others build from. The iPodder.org directory is maintained by podcasters, but is owned by Adam's commercial company; Adam assigns volunteers to specific categories to maintain the site listings, ensuring that links stay up-to-date and that new podcasts are categorized correctly. The number of people dedicated to maintaining the site is amazing.
iPodder.org :

WordCount™ is an artistic experiment in the way we use language. It presents the 86,800 most frequently used English words, ranked in order of commonness. Each word is scaled to reflect its frequency relative to the words that precede and follow it, giving a visual barometer of relevance. The larger the word, the more we use it. The smaller the word, the more uncommon it is.

WORDCOUNT / Tracking the Way We Use Language /

Bore Me Away

About the Center for Responsive Politics: "The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-partisan, non-profit research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics, and its effect on elections and public policy. The Center conducts computer-based research on campaign finance issues for the news media, academics, activists, and the public at large. The Center's work is aimed at creating a more educated voter, an involved citizenry, and a more responsive government. "

WhoWhatWhen - Interactive Historical Timelines: "WhoWhatWhen is a database of people and events from 1000 A.D. to the present. Create graphic timelines of periods in history and of the lives of individuals."

Quote-O-Matic: "My one regret in life is that I am not someone else"

Patridiot Watch - A Look At Today's News: "If the plane flying at the White House were really a terrorist attack and not a stupid student pilot, the President should know as early as possible. There could have been other attacks ongoing elsewhere like the Somerset, PA attack in 2001. The sooner the President is aware of a problem the sooner he gets over shock, gets briefed on the current situation and options, and can lead our nation's response.
The only reason that the President was allowed to ride happily in oblivion as Washington DC was evacuated is because the President is not involved in decision-making if we are under attack. That's scary."

After the evacuation of the White House and Congress a few days ago, we learned President Bush was off mountain biking

NAMES & FACES: "In a photo taken just after the ride, Bush is holding what appears to be a copy of 'I Am Charlotte Simmons,' the Tom Wolfe novel about debauchery on a college campus. In early February, Bush told reporters he was reading that same book -- which, if he is almost done, averages to about seven pages a day."

Opinions You Should Have: "Secretary of Health and Human Resources Tommy Thompson said today that the flu vaccine shortage thus demonstrated the kind of 'careful, long-range planning' that the Bush Administration brings to bear on difficult problems. 'One or two more vaccine shortages, and we'll be able to put away that so-called lockbox,' Thompson boasted."

Opinions You Should Have: "McCelllan explained that the President thought that the recent Newsweek debacle required the Administration to reexamine its own poorly sourced actions. 'We couldn't really ask Newsweek for an apology and not admit our own mistake,' said McClellan. 'We're not hypocrites.'"

Journalists Against Bush's B.S. (JABBS): "During its May 11 coverage of a small plane coming within three miles of Capitol Hill, Fox News Channel ran a 'Fox News Alert' banner, which included the following messages*:

-- 'White House and Capitol evacuated'
-- 'U.S fighter jets over White House'
-- 'Capitol Building evacuation ordered'
-- 'Fighter jets tracking small plane 3 miles from Capitol'
-- 'RNC headquarters evacuated'

The fifth alert item, about the Republican National Committee headquarters, is interesting. Seems the 'Fair and Balanced' network failed to note that the Democratic National Committee headquarters was also evacuated."

Blackmask Online.

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