War Is Stupid

WASHINGTON – The Senate on Thursday passed a $91.3 billion military spending bill, shorn of money President Barack Obama wants to close the Guantanamo Bay prison but allowing him to significantly ramp up the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

The Senate voted 86-3 to pass the bill, which provides money for military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, setting up House-Senate talks on a compromise measure to present to Obama next month.

The spending measure closely tracks Obama's request for war funds, although the $80 million he was seeking to close the U.S. naval prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was dropped Wednesday. - Yahoo!

That's nuts.

An Epidemic In Mexico

April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared an emergency in his country’s swine flu outbreak, giving him powers to order quarantines and suspend public events.

Authorities have canceled school at all levels in Mexico City and the state of Mexico until further notice, and the government has shut most public and government activities in the area. The emergency decree, published today in the state gazette, gives the president authority to take more action.

“The federal government under my charge will not hesitate a moment to take all, all the measures necessary to respond with efficiency and opportunity to this respiratory epidemic,” Calderon said today during a speech to inaugurate a hospital in the southern state of Oaxaca.

At least 20 deaths in Mexico from the disease are confirmed, Health Minister Jose Cordova said yesterday. The strain is a variant of H1N1 swine influenza that has also sickened at least eight people in California and Texas. As many as 68 deaths may be attributed to the virus in Mexico, and about 1,000 people in the Mexico City area are showing symptoms of the illness, Cordoba said.

A huge drug war in Mexico and now this.

Spain Plans To Prosecute Bush Officials

(AP) A Spanish court has agreed to consider opening a criminal case against six former Bush administration officials, including former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, over allegations they gave legal cover for torture at Guantanamo Bay, a lawyer in the case said Saturday.

Human rights lawyers brought the case before leading anti-terror judge Baltasar Garzon, who agreed to send it on to prosecutors to decide whether it had merit, Gonzalo Boye, one of the lawyers who brought the charges, told The Associated Press.

The ex-Bush officials are Gonzales; former undersecretary of defense for policy Douglas Feith; former Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff David Addington; Justice Department officials John Yoo and Jay S. Bybee; and Pentagon lawyer William Haynes.

Prosecute them!

A Whimper End To Riots

Scotsman.com - LEADERS of demonstrations that plunged the Thai capital, Bangkok, into chaos called off their protests yesterday after rioting killed two and injured more than 120.

The swift and unexpected resolution came with a crowd of 2,000 die-hard protesters dutifully lining up for waiting government buses to take them home. There were no confrontations with the troops ringing the anti-government demonstrators' last strong hold, nor any visible anger. Many looked broken, tired and almost in shock.

Four of the protest leaders surrendered, said the country's deputy police commissioner.

"This is not a victory or a loss of any particular group," said prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in a televised address. "If it is victory, it is victory of society that peace and order has returned."

I would say its a loss for the anti-government demonstrators. I mean they did end up taking government buses home. That's fail.

News Briefs (April 10)

De-Baptisms

Breitbart.com - More than 100,000 Britons have recently downloaded "certificates of de-baptism" from the Internet to renounce their Christian faith.

The initiative launched by a group called the National Secular Society (NSS) follows atheist campaigns here and elsewhere, including a London bus poster which triggered protests by proclaiming "There's probably no God."

"We now produce a certificate on parchment and we have sold 1,500 units at three pounds (4.35 dollars, 3.20 euros) a pop," said NSS president Terry Sanderson, 58.

John Hunt, a 58-year-old from London and one of the first to try to be "de-baptised," held that he was too young to make any decision when he was christened at five months old.

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Foreign Aid Hurting Africa

Wall Street Journal - Over the past 60 years at least $1 trillion of development-related aid has been transferred from rich countries to Africa. Yet real per-capita income today is lower than it was in the 1970s, and more than 50% of the population -- over 350 million people -- live on less than a dollar a day, a figure that has nearly doubled in two decades.

Even after the very aggressive debt-relief campaigns in the 1990s, African countries still pay close to $20 billion in debt repayments per annum, a stark reminder that aid is not free. In order to keep the system going, debt is repaid at the expense of African education and health care. Well-meaning calls to cancel debt mean little when the cancellation is met with the fresh infusion of aid, and the vicious cycle starts up once again.

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Electricity Grid Penetrated By Spies

Wall Street Journal - WASHINGTON -- Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system, according to current and former national-security officials.

The spies came from China, Russia and other countries, these officials said, and were believed to be on a mission to navigate the U.S. electrical system and its controls. The intruders haven't sought to damage the power grid or other key infrastructure, but officials warned they could try during a crisis or war.

"The Chinese have attempted to map our infrastructure, such as the electrical grid," said a senior intelligence official. "So have the Russians."

News Briefs (April 7)

Wall Street Journal - China on Tuesday repeated its call for calm after North Korea's latest test of a multistage rocket, attempting to defuse anger in the U.S. and elsewhere at a time when its own economic interest in the neighboring state is soaring.

Since North Korea's test of a rocket similar to a long-range missile on Sunday, Chinese diplomats have refused to criticize Pyongyang and forestalled penalties against it in the U.N. Security Council, where China is a permanent member with veto power.

In Tuesday's daily briefing at the China Foreign Ministry in Beijing, spokeswoman Jiang Yu advised calm and caution over the rocket launch. While other countries that tracked the launch say North Korea's rocket fell into the Pacific Ocean, Ms. Yu appeared to suggest that China accepts North Korea's story that it succeeded in its stated goal of putting a satellite in space.

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L'AQUILA, Italy (CNN) -- An emergency worker fought back tears amid the rubble of Italy's deadliest earthquake in decades. Helicopters buzzed overhead, and sirens echoed across the region.

"It's my people. It's really hard to deal with," said Dr. Emanuela Troiani Sevi, who has been working around the clock at makeshift hospitals in her hometown of L'Aquila ever since the quake struck.

"There are a lot of dead and seriously wounded."

Across town, parents anxiously awaited any word on their children buried amid a mountain of twisted concrete at a student dormitory.

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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Hugo Chavez railed against Venezuela's Roman Catholic leaders on Tuesday for condemning a law that has weakened his political opponents.

Chavez took issue with the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference for accusing him of sidelining adversaries with a new law that let him take control of airports and seaports previously under the administration of opposition politicians.

"This group of bishops is shameless," Chavez told state television from China, where he is wrapping up a tour that also included visits to Japan, Iran and Qatar. "They side with all those who attack the government."

Quoting the Bible, Chavez added: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Obama Will Reduce Nuclear Arms

LONDON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama and President Dmitry Medvedev began their first face-to-face talks Wednesday, hitting the restart button on U.S.-Russian ties by trying to move forward on nuclear arms-reduction efforts.

Obama acknowledged before the meeting, on the eve of a G20 economic crisis summit in London, that the two former Cold War foes had some genuine differences but insisted they could still find common ground.

One major concrete achievement widely expected from the Obama-Medvedev encounter was an agreement to start talks on a new treaty limiting long-range nuclear missiles, to replace a pact that expires this year.

I trust fully that Barack will be able to not only limit nuclear arms, but will totally outlaw them. Himself. He's strong.

Obama Meets W/ A Silly Brit

LONDON (AP) -- As President Barack Obama sought to rally the world's powers to fix a lifeless global economy, the White House announced Wednesday that Obama and Russia's president were ready to negotiate on reducing both nations' nuclear arsenals.

The flurry of diplomacy came as Obama stepped on the world stage for the first time as president, aiming to shore up both America's economy and its reputation across the globe. The White House confirmed that Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev would announce new talks to limit the number of nuclear warheads, the first major negotiations in years over what Obama called the gravest threat to humanity.

Ahead of the G-20 summit of the world's richest and emerging economies, Obama said he came to listen, not lecture -- but also to lead. Pushing for unity, he said, "We can only meet this challenge together."

The world's greatest diplomat sure will teach that redcoat a lesson! <3>

Soros Profiting Off Economic Crisis

A hedge fund manager who predicted the global credit crunch has said the financial crisis has been 'stimulating' and the culmination of his life's work.

George Soros, who predicted the global financial crisis twice before, was one of the few people to anticipate and prepare for the current economic collapse.

Mr Soros said his prediction meant he was better able to brace his Quantum investment fund against the gloabal storm.

But other investors failed to take notice of his prediction and his decision to come out of retirement in 2007 to manage the fund made him $US2.9 billion. - Dailymail.co.uk

What a dick!

UN Adopts Anti-Free Speech Measure

GENEVA (AP) — The U.N.'s top human rights body has approved a proposal by Muslim nations urging the passage of laws protecting religion from criticism.

Members of the Human Rights Council voted 23 in favor of a resolution Thursday to combat "defamation of religion." Eleven nations, mostly from the West, opposed the resolution and 13 countries abstained.

The resolution was proposed by Pakistan. Muslim countries have cited the inflammatory effect of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad as an example of unacceptable free speech.

Critics say the resolution, while not binding, will have a chilling effect on free speech and may worsen relations between faiths.

Unacceptable free speech is still free speech and must be protected.

Spying On Your Computer?

TORONTO — A vast electronic spying operation has infiltrated computers and has stolen documents from hundreds of government and private offices around the world, including those of the Dalai Lama, Canadian researchers have concluded. In a report to be issued this weekend, the researchers said that the system was being controlled from computers based almost exclusively in China, but that they could not say conclusively that the Chinese government was involved.

The researchers, who are based at the Munk Center for International Studies at the University of Toronto, had been asked by the office of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader whom China regularly denounces, to examine its computers for signs of malicious software, or malware. Their sleuthing opened a window into a broader operation that, in less than two years, has infiltrated at least 1,295 computers in 103 countries, including many belonging to embassies, foreign ministries and other government offices, as well as the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan exile centers in India, Brussels, London and New York. - New York Times

The media loves to make us scared.

China's Global Currency Proposal

BEIJING – China is calling for a new global currency to replace the dominant dollar, showing a growing assertiveness on revamping the world economy ahead of next week's London summit on the financial crisis.

The surprise proposal by Beijing's central bank governor reflects unease about its vast holdings of U.S. government bonds and adds to Chinese pressure to overhaul a global financial system dominated by the dollar and Western governments. Both the United States and the European Union brushed off the idea.

The world economic crisis shows the "inherent vulnerabilities and systemic risks in the existing international monetary system," Gov. Zhou Xiaochuan said in an essay released Monday by the bank. He recommended creating a currency made up a basket of global currencies and controlled by the International Monetary Fund and said it would help "to achieve the objective of safeguarding global economic and financial stability." - Yahoo! News

Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury, "said the U.S. is "open" to a headline-grabbing proposal by the governor of the China's central bank, which was widely reported as being a call for a new global currency to replace the dollar, but which Geithner described as more modest and "evolutionary." Source: Politico

Our Must-Win War (Not)

Later this month, the Obama administration will unveil a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan. This comes as most important indicators in Afghanistan are pointing in the wrong direction. President Obama's decision last month to deploy an additional 17,000 U.S. troops was an important step in the right direction, but a comprehensive overhaul of our war plan is needed, and quickly.

As the administration finalizes its policy review, we are troubled by calls in some quarters for the president to adopt a "minimalist" approach toward Afghanistan. Supporters of this course caution that the American people are tired of war and that an ambitious, long-term commitment to Afghanistan may be politically unfeasible. They warn that Afghanistan has always been a "graveyard of empires" and has never been governable. Instead, they suggest, we can protect our vital national interests in Afghanistan even while lowering our objectives and accepting more "realistic" goals there -- for instance, by scaling back our long-term commitment to helping the Afghan people build a better future in favor of a short-term focus on fighting terrorists. - The Washington Post

We are just making matters worse. Don't we understand yet...

Harvard AIDS-Prev. Director: "Pope's Correct"

March 19, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Edward C. Green, director of the AIDS Prevention Research Project at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, has said that the evidence confirms that the Pope is correct in his assessment that condom distribution exacerbates the problem of AIDS. "The pope is correct," Green told National Review Online Wednesday, "or put it a better way, the best evidence we have supports the pope's comments."

"There is," Green added, "a consistent association shown by our best studies, including the U.S.-funded 'Demographic Health Surveys,' between greater availability and use of condoms and higher (not lower) HIV-infection rates. This may be due in part to a phenomenon known as risk compensation, meaning that when one uses a risk-reduction 'technology' such as condoms, one often loses the benefit (reduction in risk) by 'compensating' or taking greater chances than one would take without the risk-reduction technology."

Pope Benedict knows what's up.

Animal Rights Protests

The move will surprise many, as the chef's television show investigating pig welfare standards urged people to buy British rather than cheaper pork produced abroad under poorer conditions.

But Peta argued: "The answer to saving pigs is not to buy British pork, it's to go vegetarian."

Mr Oliver's spokesman said the chef was a "big supporter" of animal welfare, while his London restaurant Fifteen served pork products from "the happiest pigs you can get".

"They do seem to be protesting against somebody who is trying to help the situation," he said.

"It's a slightly odd place for them to be protesting but nonetheless they are welcome to do that. My main concern was that they would get cold." - Telegraph.co.uk

PETA is a threat to individual freedom.

Volcano Erupts in Tonga

NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga (March 18) - An undersea volcano erupted off the coast of Tonga shooting clouds of smoke, steam and ash thousands of feet into the sky above the South Pacific ocean, officials said Wednesday.

Spectacular columns spewed out of the sea about 6 miles from the southwest coast off the main island of Tongatapu — an area where up to 36 undersea volcanoes are clustered, said Tonga's geological service head, Keleti Mafi.

"It's a very significant eruption, on quite a large scale," he told The Associated Press. - AP

Puck naw...

Laser Gun Mosquito Killer

LONDON, England -- Scientists in the U.S. are developing a laser gun that could kill millions of mosquitoes in minutes.

The laser, which has been dubbed a "weapon of mosquito destruction" fires at mosquitoes once it detects the audio frequency created by the beating of its wings.

The laser beam then destroys the mosquito, burning it on the spot.

Developed by some of the astrophysicists involved in what was known as the "Star Wars" anti-missile programs during the Cold War, the project is meant to prevent the spread of malaria. - CNN

Great development.

Iran Declared A Space and Nuclear Power

TEHRAN, March 13 (RIA Novosti) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday that pressure from Western powers trying to keep Iran in economic isolation have in fact spurred the country to become a space and nuclear power.

"Had you not been bad-tempered and blocked the way, the Iranian nation would not have been present in space, and would not have become a nuclear power," Fars news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying at the inauguration ceremony of a natural gas deposit in the Bushehr province.

Iran put its first communications satellite, Omid (Hope), into a near-Earth orbit on February 2. The research satellite was carried into orbit by a home-made launch vehicle, Safir (Messenger). Iranian Communications Minister Mohammad Soleimani earlier said that the country's scientists were working on the creation of four new satellites to be placed into near-Earth orbit. - Rian.ru

Not to sympathize with him, but it is America's hegemony that has contributed to Iran's (and many other nation's) build up.

An Auto Pizza Machine

ROVERETO, Italy — Is Europe bringing back the automat? Claudio Torghele hopes so.

Over the last decade, Mr. Torghele, 56, an entrepreneur in this northern Italian city who first made money selling pasta in California, has developed a vending machine that cooks pizza. The machine does not just slip a frozen pizza into a microwave. It actually whips up flour, water, tomato sauce and fresh ingredients to produce a piping hot pizza in about three minutes.

The machine, which Mr. Torghele calls Let’s Pizza, is only the spearhead of a trend. Restaurants reminiscent of the old Horn & Hardart chain in the United States, which are fully automatic, are also showing up around the Continent.

Unlike the old automats (the last Horn & Hardart closed in 1991), which were staffed with workers who refilled the machines with creamed spinach and baked beans as fast as customers pulled them out, these restaurants consist entirely of vending machines. - New York Times

This is great. Bring it to Wakefield High!

Vatican: Give Up Texting...Your Car...Etc

ROME - Roman Catholic bishops in Italy are urging the faithful to go on a high-tech fast for Lent, switching off modern appliances from cars to iPods and abstaining from surfing the Web or text messaging until Easter.

The suggestion goes far beyond no-meat Fridays, giving a modern twist to traditional forms of abstinence in the five-week period Christians set aside for fasting and prayer ahead of Easter.

And it shows the Church's increasing focus on technology's uses — with many of the Lenten appeals posted on various dioceses' Web sites. - Yahoo!

Sorry, Vatican, but I don't think this is a good idea. I agree with Angelo Dente, who said, "I have to decide how to experience the Lent period. I should give up something if I really feel it, not because the Church says so."