January 17, 2007

NEWS ITEMS TO KEEP YOU UP-TO-DATE
(Illness precludes my doing the regular blog.)

AG Gonzales Tells Courts to Look the Other Way while Bush Tramples Constitution in Speech to Neocons

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted earlier this week to study the feasibility of banning trans fats in county restaurants,

U.S. Official Who Wanted Boycott on Law Firms Representing Guantanamo Detainees Offers Apology

Software companies are just beginning to realize that miserly protection of software code is not always as lucrative as giving it away and participating in certain open-source software practices instead.

McCain takes fourth among polled Phoenix-area Republicans, loses Phoenix Republican straw poll

One interprets Senator Barbara Boxer's remark last week toCondoleezza Rice that the secretary of state, single and childless, doesn't have a "personal price" to pay in Iraq, the brief exchange still has people debating.

Enemies Of The New Ethics Bill: Abramoff Friend, Christian Conservatives

According to an article in the Jan. 9 issue of Neurology, brain bleeding associated with the blood thinner warfarin -- also known as Coumadin -- increased roughly 500 percent in the 1990s, and by an even greater degree in patients aged 80

Patriot Act purge sweeps U.S. Attorneys from office across America -- who gave White House this power?

Finding 12 People Who Can Impartially Judge Libby Trail Harder Than It Looks

Sixteen months after Hurricane Katrina tore this city apart, a hidden sort of damage is emerging. Local officials see it in reports of suicides, strokes and stress-related deaths. They see it in the police calls for fights and domestic violence. They see it in the long waiting lists for psychiatric care that they have no way to provide. These days, life in the Big Easy isn't easy at all.

Russia has sold new anti-aircraft missiles to Iran

Wrong Winner Chosen Twice by Same Voting Machine

The Justice Department, easing a Bush administration policy, said
Wednesday it has decided to give an independent body authority to monitor the government's controversial domestic spying program.

Bush Won't Budge on Greenhouse Emission Limits

Consumer Reports tests indicate that 83 percent of fresh, whole broiler chickens bought nationwide harbor campylobacter or salmonella, the leading bacterial causes of foodborne disease.

A sociopath is defined as someone who displays at least three of seven distinguishing characteristics, such as deceitfulness, impulsivity and a lack of remorse. Such people often have a superficial charm, which they exercise ruthlessly in order to get what they want. ))Sound like anyone we all know?((((((

Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro has had at least three failed operations and complications from an intestinal infection and faces "a very grave prognosis," a Spanish newspaper reported Tuesday. The Iraqi government is moving to solidify relations with Iran, even as the United States turns up the rhetorical heat and bolsters its military forces to confront Tehran's influence in Iraq.

Iraq vets' suicide rate soars: While over 3,000 American soldiers have died in hostilities, a growing number have taken their own lives, often because of the horrors of fighting the war.

Russia has delivered new anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran and will consider further requests by Tehran for defensive weapons

A Pakistani arms broker convicted of exporting U.S. missile parts to Iran resumed business after his release from prison. He purchased Chinook helicopter engine parts for Iran from a U.S. company that had bought them in a Pentagon surplus sale.

After campaigning for months on a promise to tighten ethics rules, Senate Democratic leaders tried unsuccessfully Thursday to block a measure that would shine a light on the shadowy practice of earmarking federal money for lawmakers’ pet projects.

Quick Tax Refund Loans Continue to Gouge Taxpayers

A letter from about 1,000 active-duty, Guard and Reserve members calling for Congress to end the war in Iraq was delivered to Capitol Hill

A Defense Department database devoted to gathering information on potential threats to military facilities and personnel, known as Talon, had 13,000 entries as of a year ago - including 2,821 reports involving American citizens, according to an internal Pentagon memo to be released today by the American Civil Liberties Union. The Pentagon memo says an examination of the system led to the deletion of 1,131 reports involving Americans, 186 of which dealt with "anti-military protests or demonstrations in the US."

Libby Seeks Jurors Who Trust Cheney ((OOHEE - what fool would say yes to that inquiry?)))

Bush Administration Leaving Out Important Details on Iraq http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0115-04.htm

Acrylamide content of most foods remains a mystery:http://www.newstarget.com/021428.html

Boosting olive oil intake can lower blood pressure in men, study finds:http://www.newstarget.com/021427.html

CO2 emissions to cause catastrophic rise in sea levels, warns top NASA climatologist:http://www.newstarget.com/021425.html

Plastic circuitry breakthrough may revolutionize electronics industry:http://www.newstarget.com/021424.html

Visionary Vehicles races big three auto makers to market with a hybrid plug-in electric car:http://www.newstarget.com/021429.html

New Report Links High Credit Card Debt to Medical Expenseshttp://www.commondreams.org/news2007/0116-08.htm

Drug for Deadly Brain Tumor Shows PromiseAZD2171 reduces the size of a brain tumor and improves the effectiveness of other therapeutic techniques.
http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=15337

Periodontal Disease Linked to Pancreatic CancerHere's a new reason you may not want to miss your dental cleanings.
http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=15338

Iran Does Not Pose A Threat To The U.S. (Audio 10 Minutes) *** Radio National host Paul Barry interviews Scott Ritter. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17203.htm