October 28, 2006

THE THINKING SPOT

An elder Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, "A fight is going on inside me...It is a terrible fight, and it is between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, pride and superiority. The other wolf stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside of you and every other person too." ……They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee simply replied..."The one I feed."

ALERT

GAO Chief: Government On Track To Economic Disaster ... Federal government's top accountant warns that DC has dug a fiscal black hole.
http://tinyurl.com/ybquhb

WAR

Top U.S. Military Officer Recommends ‘We Remove All Troops From Baghdad’ - 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.
http://tinyurl.com/yh3524

Report Says Iraq Contractor Is Hiding Data From US --- this marks the first time the federal government has weighed in and accused it of systematically engaging in a practice aimed at veiling its business practices in Iraq.
http://tinyurl.com/ymag2d

Iraq Correspondent Richard Engel: “The People Who Are Being Killed Are Too Old, Too Stupid, Too Poor…To Leave”…
http://tinyurl.com/ygf5wr

Blame and Run? --- "...this president is so messianicly consumed with 'victory' there that he will remain in his 'State of Denial' and leave it to his successor to clean up his mess - as JFK did to LBJ, as LBJ did to Nixon, and as Nixon did to Jerry Ford."
http://tinyurl.com/ykarjj

"Not America's Man in Iraq," Premier Says --- Iraq Prime Minister Nouri Maliki told the US Ambassador Saturday that he's "not America's man in Iraq." Maliki criticized what he called the patronizing US tone toward the Iraqi government and warned US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad to respect Iraq's sovereignty, two of the prime minister's advisors said.
http://tinyurl.com/yffbou

Confession That Formed Base of Iraq War was Acquired Under Torture: Journalist
http://tinyurl.com/yztdu5

New York Times Says Dem Congress Won't Have Authority to Change Course of Iraq War
http://tinyurl.com/yd7gfc

While the Administration Struggles with Spin, USIP Forecasts Iraq's Potential "Descent into Hell"
http://tinyurl.com/yc5syh

THE WHITE HOUSE
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"The establishment of the writ of habeas corpus ... are perhaps greater securities to liberty and republicanism than any it [the Constitution] contains....The practices of arbitrary imprisonments have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny. ************************************************
An Administration That Defies Any Semblance of Common Sense. Now Bush Says That Cheney Didn't Really Mean Torture is a "No Brainer," Although He Said It. And That the Busheviks Don't Torture People, Although It's Documented and They Fought Tooth and Nail for a Bill to Allow Them to Continue to Torture. Today, Bush's Envoy to Iraq and the Iraqi Prime Minister Hold a PR Opportunity to Announce Agreement on Timetables, Even Though Bush Says Supporting Timetables is Supporting al-Qaeda. These People Belong in a LOONY BIN! They Make No Sense!
http://tinyurl.com/v7zx8

MSNBC analyst: Bush approval jump is 'too little, too late'
http://tinyurl.com/ybsg8x

Porn business grows under Bush
http://tinyurl.com/ykogv4

POLITICS
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"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against its government." Edward Abbey, naturalist and author (1927-1989)
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No Foley report before Election
http://tinyurl.com/yhlcsh

IRS won't enforce taxes until after the election. Government pulls out all stops to help GOP
http://tinyurl.com/ye7an9

Stem Cell Politics --- Paul Wellstone about Michael J. Fox and stem cell research, remembering a point Wellstone made: "When a prominent figure who suffers from a life-threatening condition joins the debate over funding scientific research, it can shift the political pendulum."
http://tinyurl.com/yl7xfk

Why Nancy Pelosi is WRONG - she says:impeachment would be "off the table" if Democrats take over the House of Representatives in November, calling it a "waste of time."
http://tinyurl.com/ygxjza

Poison Pill --- How Abramoff's cronies sold the Medicare drug bill.
http://tinyurl.com/yxpeow

SCANDAL

Investigators Say Speaker's Aide Hindered Inquiry of Hill Security Contracts --- Two former House committee investigators who were examining Capitol Hill security upgrades said a senior aide to Speaker J. Dennis Hastert hindered their efforts before they were abruptly ordered to stop their probe last year.
http://tinyurl.com/ycqr3r

Reports Shed Light on Ties Between Weldon, Businesses --- Pennsylvania Congressman Curt Weldon, under investigation for allegedly trading his influence to get lobbying business for one of his daughters, also has helped corporations that have hired another daughter, a friend and some of his former aides.
http://tinyurl.com/yh4253

LEGAL ISSUES

Jeremy Scahill/Garrett Ordower From Whitewater to Blackwater: Ken Starr, the Mercenaries' New Lawyer
http://tinyurl.com/yefhhx

NYPD Must Investigate Response to Alleged Assault of Transgender Woman at McDonald's, Says Amnesty International
http://tinyurl.com/ynaaaa

18 months for Bush procurement boss
http://tinyurl.com/ymgsn6

ACLU drops Patriot Act challenge
http://tinyurl.com/yl2fxp

ELECTION ITEMS
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"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against its government." Edward Abbey, naturalist and author (1927-1989)
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Risk remains that Republicans will out-organize Democratic activists on Election Day -- Howard Dean prepares to kick it into high gear
http://tinyurl.com/yk63w2

Corporate America Increasing Its Last-Minute Donations To Dems...
http://tinyurl.com/yftdqc

Congressman facing ethics flap - U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, (Republican) who is seeking his third term in Congress, has mixed campaign activities and official government work in a manner that present and former staffers consider unethical or in violation of House rules, according to interviews with a half-dozen of them.
http://tinyurl.com/yjomn7

TURNING ON HARDLINERS? Are Voters Turning Against Hardliners in Texas? In Houston, a Republican state legislator finds that party discipline has a cost.
http://tinyurl.com/yglzkk

Touch-Screen Votes Reportedly Hopping to Republicans During Early Voting in Texas, Missouri and Arkansas
http://tinyurl.com/yctzco

How Webb won the Navy Cross
http://tinyurl.com/y7yh7v

911

Phone call to NTSB regarding AA77 Flight Data Recorder - Phone call was made 10/26/06 to the NTSB to get answers based on the Flight Data Recorder information/animation they provided of American Airlines Flight 77. AA77 was reported to have struck the Pentagon and is in direct conflict with the official story of striking down light poles on its path to impact. The actual flight path shown in the animation based on the Flight Data Recorder also conflicts with the physical damage on the ground. Here is what the NTSB had to say...
http://tinyurl.com/y6k8ch

CONGRESS

GOP Alabama Congressmen Keep “Stranglehold” On Condom Contracts For Foreign Aid...
http://tinyurl.com/ylk4g2

DOMESTIC

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.
http://tinyurl.com/y4werz

RELIGIOUS ITEMS
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"True religion is the life we lead, not the creed we profess." -- Louis Nizer, lawyer (1902-1994)
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US Bishops Draft Guidelines Advising Teaching Against Same-Sex Relationships...
http://tinyurl.com/y4fblc

Former Pastor Gets 11 Years in Prison - A former Baptist pastor who disappeared with a 15-year-old girl for a month and later pleaded guilty to raping her was sentenced Friday to more than 11 years in federal prison. (It ain't just the Catholics folks! By the way, it looks like heterosexuality is the same as pedophilia.)
http://tinyurl.com/ym5ukz

INTERNATIONAL
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"When shall it be said in any country of the world, my poor are happy, neither ignorance or distress is to be found among them; my jails are empty of prisoners, my streets of beggars; the aged are not in want, the taxes not oppressive; the rational world is my friend because I am friend of its happiness. When these things can be said, then may that country boast of its constitution and government ." - Thomas Paine
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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.
http://tinyurl.com/ybcded

North Korea's Collapse? The End Is Near -- Maybe -- inevitable fall into economic and political chaos National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 205
http://tinyurl.com/yf8qc2

Nicaragua Votes to Outlaw Abortion --- Nicaragua voted last night to outlaw all forms of abortion - including operations to save a pregnant woman's life - after a campaign by the Catholic church. The main political parties supported a bill establishing jail sentences of six to 30 years for women who terminate their pregnancies and doctors who perform the procedure. (Church and Religion don't mix folks!)
http://tinyurl.com/yftv6e

Noam Chomsky: US threats to Venezuela: The 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
http://tinyurl.com/yb4coc

Dozens die in Russia from bad booze
http://tinyurl.com/ycbajb

Ex-dictator Pinochet ordered arrested in Chile - Judge Alejandro Solis ordered the arrest of Pinochet for 36 cases of kidnapping, one of homicide and for 23 cases of torture at the Villa Grimaldi, a political detention center run by Pinochet's secret police where thousands of people were tortured between 1974 and 1977.
http://tinyurl.com/ydb4r8

MEDIA AND JOURNALISM

Lou Dobbs On Lynne Cheney Interview: “Now We Are Watching Power Bridling And Truth Being Spoken To Power”...
http://tinyurl.com/yhe34p

Bush's Absolute Power Grab - Many Americans are in denial about what is happening to the United States. They don't want to believe that a totalitarian structure could be put in place in their own country.
http://tinyurl.com/yfaqa2

The New Queen Of Mean Is Lynne Cheney…
http://tinyurl.com/ykvqlt

LETTERMAN'S O'REILLY SMACKDOWN UPDATED: “YOU GUYS OVER THERE AT FOX…YOU GUYS KNOW IT’S ALL JUST A GOOF, RIGHT? YOU’RE JUST HORSING AROUND”…
http://tinyurl.com/yb53nl

What do you know about Iran's Princess Ashraf? --- "On March 23, 1979, late on a Friday afternoon, Chase Manhattan Bank Chairman David Rockefeller and his longtime aide Joseph Verner Reed arrived at a town house in the exclusive Beekham Place neighborhood on New York's East Side," states Robert Parry. "They were met inside by ... Iran's Princess Ashraf, the strong-willed twin sister of Iran's long-time ruler, who had gone from wielding immense behind-the-scenes clout in the ancient nation of Persia to living in exile - albeit a luxurious one.... Now, she was turning for help to the man who ran one of the leading US banks, one which had made a fortune serving as the Shah's banker for a quarter century and handling billions of dollars in Iran's assets. Ashraf's message was straightforward. She wanted Rockefeller to intercede with Jimmy Carter and ask the president to relent on his decision against granting the Shah refuge in the United States."
http://tinyurl.com/ymsnsq

EDITORIALS - OPINIONS

The End of the Rove
http://tinyurl.com/yg7t92

HEALTH and SCIENCE

Ethics Rules Send NIH Scientists Packing --- Nearly 40 percent of the scientists conducting hands-on research at the National Institutes of Health say they are looking for other jobs or are considering doing so to escape new ethics rules that have curtailed their opportunity to earn outside income.
http://tinyurl.com/ym6rnh

Bringing a health issue to the table --- New Jersey State Sen. Ellen Karcher (D., Freehold) wants restaurant patrons to eat healthier; for this she receives statewide ridicule, defensive outrage from businesses, and even death threats.
http://tinyurl.com/ydqlbo

It's Not "Unnatural" --- "Is homosexuality an unnatural behavior?
http://tinyurl.com/y9nny7

SPECIAL INTEREST ITEMS

How to Make International Calls at No Cost - A new service allows residents in 56 countries to make no-charge international calls from any phone you like, including a mobile.
http://tinyurl.com/ybuwwm

A New Campaign Tactic: Manipulating Google Data --- By flooding the Web with references to the candidates and repeatedly cross-linking to specific articles and sites on the Web, it is possible to take advantage of Google's formula and force those articles to the top of the list of search results.
http://tinyurl.com/yc3vop