News from Around the World

The only car the late Pope John Paul II ever owned has sold at auction for more than $A900,000 to a Houston attorney and car collector.

The answer is found in an essay written about 40 years ago by Richard Hofstadter called “The Paranoid Style in American Politics.” Hofstadter argues that sometimes people who are dispossessed, who feel their country has been taken away from them and their kind, develop an angry, suspicious and conspiratorial frame of mind. It is never enough to believe their opponents have committed honest mistakes or have legitimate purposes; they insist on believing in malicious conspiracies.

In the museum shop I came across a campaign for fair trade. Due to almost one billion dollar in subsidies a year, the European Union still produces excessive amounts of sugar, more than we could ever consume. (this can be said of almost any agricultural product in fact). The surpluses, heavily subsidised and extremely cheap, go to developing countries. These products are literally being dumped on the Thirld World, with disastrous effects. Sugar farmers over there cannot sell their sugar anymore, because their is no serious possibility of fair competition on the world markets. Many of them decline further and further into poverty. The EU-agricultural politics are a crying shame and a grave injustice. Help stop the dumping. Sign the online petition for a world without poverty, where trade is free and fair.

Oh, just now figuring that out? Because now it's one of your "own" in the hot seat? I wonder if this dawned on Mr. Rivkin and Mr. Casey during the 4+ year, 70 million dollar, hyper-partisan Ken Starr investigation of Bill Clinton? And not one person can credibly argue that Fitgerald's inquiry has even the slightest hint of partisan politics behind it- can the same be said of Ken Starr's invesstigation? No.

Brace yourselves for a shocking confession: I know next to nothing about sports. Furthermore, I care next to nothing about sports. The total time my television has been tuned to a sporting event is roughly the equivalent of the time George W. Bush spends reading The Washington Post on any given day. In my lifetime, I have attended exactly three professional baseball games (each time having been coerced into attending by friends), no football games, no soccer games, no hockey games, no basketball games, and no any other type of sporting event you can mention. Are you starting to get the picture that sports plays absolutely no part in my life?

yesterday i saw the film "the day after tomorrow"...it was such a good movie...abt global warming and ice age and everything..makes one wonder where earth will end up if we keep exploiting natural resources in this way..

Isn't it interesting how Bush (the elder) is the founder of the Arbusto oil company, also a former shareholder in 7 Energy, yet another oil company and a former director of Harken Oil and Gas. As for Condoleeza Rice, a former director of Chevron Oil and Caspian Oil, she even had an oil tanker named after her. Vice President Cheney used to be the CEO of Halliburton Industries and is involved in Unocal, Exxon, Shell and Chevron, yet more oil companies! Perhaps the moral reason of why Hussein is "evil" and why we are going to war, lies in the fact that Hussein is sat upon that oil and not the US administration that is full of oil barons! They've been pushing for it since 1998 and before.

Modern day heroines are like Oprah Winfrey, Madeleine Albright, Condoleeza Rice etc I am sure my esteemed readers can come up with lots more example.

As President Laurent Gbagbo heads towards the end of his five year term, it’s possible that violence may flare in Côte d’Ivoire, which has been functionally divided since a flawed election in 2002. Presidential polls have been postponed, and Gbagbo - at the urging of the UN and the AU - is likely to retain control after his term ends Sunday. This is unlikely to go over well with the opposition, who will likely consider his rule illegitimate after October 30th.

What is also striking is whatever takes place politically in this region immediately becomes a concern of the European Union and the United States. In other words, relevant international opinion is watching very closely what is occurring in Sri Lanka – especially in the northeast. All these, create a sense of responsibility on the part of the voters of this region when casting their ballots at the presidential polls.

There are a number of reasons why economics appears to trump politics. The shift from statist mercantilism to high-tech capitalism has transformed the economics behind war. Markets generate economic opportunities that make war less desirable. Territorial aggrandizement no longer provides the best path to riches. Free-flowing capital markets and other aspects of globalization simultaneously draw nations together and raise the economic price of military conflict, because the political destabilization resulting from war deters profitable investment and trade. Moreover, sanctions, which interfere with economic prosperity, provides a coercive step short of war to achieve foreign policy ends.

Well, one way to prevent the coup is to be utterly fearless and authentic in pronouncing the things we believe. Pope John Paul II made enormous headway against the Painless Coup which had gone so far as to turn our beautiful churches into bare concrete monstrosities (ready-made for quick-conversion into temples to secular reason) and he managed to reclaim the liturgy and renew appreciation for the Eucharist by repeating the truth over and over, with the reminder, “do not be afraid!”

After being shamed by Bloggers around the world USA Today has now altered their picture of Condoleeza Rice. But check out their bullshit excuse.....anyone with even basic knowledge of picture manipulation knows this is crap.

I also find myself reminded of Ted Rall’s Condoleeza Rice cartoon.

Next day I catch the subway back to Time Square, like Vegas it’s no where near as interesting during the daytime. I decided to walk down Broadway to Macy’s the world’s largest department store. After this I walked through Soho towards lower Manhattan. I ran into Sid the guy from Boston (this was the 3rd time we had just ran into each other in the street, what are the chances of this in cities the size of Boston and NY), we then went and looked at the World Trade Centre site. I was here 2 years ago and not much has changed in those 2 years, one new Skyscraper has been re-built on the edge of the site but no building work has happened yet on the Freedom Tower. The Freedom Tower aims to be the tallest building in the world when it is finally built. Next we walked past the Stock Exchange and then down to the Staten Island ferry terminal where we caught a free ferry across the river. On this 30 minute transfer you get a great view of downtown Manhattan as well as the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. There is nothing to do once you get to Staten Island, so like most tourists we got back on the ferry to Manhattan without leaving the terminal.

Hee. I have no idea whether this is photoshopped or genuine, but either way…aww. The Pope stole Bono’s hipster sunglasses! I think Pope John Paul II was probably the first pope who could actually be described as “adorable.”

Joe Wilson took “a prominent role” in the Kerry campaign, “joined forces” with Win Without War (the group claiming that the President misled Americans about weapons of mass destruction and collaborated with MoveOn.org), called Vice President Cheney a “lying son of a bitch,” and the President a “liar.” He donated $2,000 to the Kerry campaign, $2,000 to Senator Ted Kennedy, and $2,000 to Senator Hillary Clinton.

We are running out of oil, the earth is becoming warmer, and our cities can't handle any more people than they have now. In fact the earth is pretty much on its last legs, because if Ice Ages or global warming don't get us, surely the bird flu, or an asteroid will.

Climate modeling is science’s attempt to try and understand the earth’s complex climate system and all its inherent processes. Arguably its most important roles are to discern whether anthropogenic forcing is responsible for the current global warming trend and to predict future increases in the earth’s average temperature as green house gas emissions continue to rise. This is accomplished using mathematical equations.

It’s about a year or so late... but now it is on!!! Syria... Look out!!! Today you have been warned... America... I think you just got a Heads-Up today from your President too...

New West has the story. Apparently, Dennis “Wasn’t Interested in Science ‘Til He Heard It Involves Flasks” Rehberg is amazed by how “real scientists” want some changes to the Endangered Species Act. He apparently found other “real scientists” less convincing when they told him that stem cell research is good and global warming exists.

No one had seen other galaxies from the Hubble Telescope or the earth from a Space Shuttle. When Jesus healed in Galilee, No one had heard of the germ theory, or antibiotics, Or stem cell research, the double helix of DNA or the Human Genome project. When Paul wrote to the churches in Corinth and Ephesus, and Philippi, no one knew of CroMagnon, Neanderthal, Java Man or Louis Leakey’s Lucy. Biblical writers and Jesus-followers knew no conflict between science and religion. We might envy them. Today, major science/religion issues make news weekly, if not more often: stem cell research, genetic engineering, abortion, evolution/intelligent design, to name just a few. When scientific observations (whether they be of the solar system, or subatomic particles, animal behavior or cell physiology) meet religious faith (whether that be of the origin of the humankind, or end-of-life choices) fireworks spark in both fields and people get nervous. So, how do you and I who live in an advanced scientific culture sustain a religious faith whose history dates to a pre-scientific age? Scientists are asked the question and edge toward atheism. Theologians are asked the question and find refuge in fundamentalism. Politicians are asked the question and try to gain votes, choose the most widely acceptable Supreme Court Justices, and raise campaign funds. Poets write bad couplets like Scottish poet William McGonagall who wrote, “When faith and reason clash Let reason go to smash” OR “And, when faith and reason clash, ‘Tis faith that goes to smash.” But what helps us when it comes to practical living—what gets taught in public schools, who gets public funding, how we live a life of faithfulness before God? We enjoy jokes which cover up our existential angst: God is sitting in heaven when a scientist prays to Him, “God, we don’t need you anymore. Science has finally figured out a way to create life out of nothing. In other words, we can now do what you did in the “beginning.” “Oh, is that so? Tell Me…” replies God. “Well,” says the scientist, “we can take dirt and form it into the likeness of you and breathe life into it, thus creating man.” “Well, that’s interesting…show Me.” So the scientist bends down to the earth and starts to mold the soil. “No, no, no…” interrupts God, “Get your own dirt.” Dirt. When it comes to the question of evolution, that’s what it comes down to. Primordial mud. To find answers to life’s persistent questions, both Christians and anthropologists turn to dirt…for bones…or for the story of creation. This second creation account of Genesis 2 arises out of a different tradition than that in Genesis 1. It is simplified: no formless void and darkness, no creation “ex nihilo” out of nothing, no mention of days or time, no chorus of “it’s very good”. Creation is not complete: no animals as yet, no passing weather fronts to provide rain, no garden for food. The text suggests there is dry land, and underground springs which flood the land. From this barren environment, God scoops up, and then molds, (not creates, which is a different Hebrew word, but molds like clay) the adamah, (earth) into the “adam” the as yet genderless earthling. (Woman and man are differentiated later in the chapter; until then the word is generic for “human”.) Our bodies actually are composed of the same elements as in the earth and sea: Oxygen, and hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus as well as trace amounts of zinc and copper and iron. We are of humble origins; some physicists will tell us that those elements came from exploding stars…we are made of recycled stardust! But the earthling made of earth’s clay was not complete! God inspirited it with God’s very breath, the breath of life, granting the earthling unique status among all other animals. Dirt and Deity. The Judeo-Christian faith tells us we are made of Dirt And Deity. Remembering that the Bible is no more a book of science than the Darwin’s Origin of the Species is of faith, I suggest we can affirm these statements from Genesis: God’s hand is evident in creation. Humankind alone is inspirited with the breath of God. Each human being is both spirit and matter, of earth and heaven. Our other text, from Psalm 8, which we sang earlier, suggests two additional affirmations: God’s awesome beauty and power manifests itself in the physical world. Humans stand in humble awe of their Creator, and their Creator’s care. The Presbyterian Church (USA) adds this statement for our consideration: “Neither Scripture, our Confession of Faith, nor our Catechisms, teach the Creation of man by the direct and immediate acts of God so as to exclude the possibility of evolution as a scientific theory.” Evolutionary theory in particular, scientific inquiry in general, need not be a threat to us. These affirmations in hand, how might we interface with scientific theories of our beginnings? Ian Barbour, theologian and physicist, observes four ways science and theology meet one another. They act in conflict, act independently, are in dialogue, or integrate. Imagine with me a school with four classrooms, physicists, biologists, anthropologists, scientists, and people of faith…we name them all theologians because they have been thinking about God. We enter the first classroom and are immediately overwhelmed by aggressive, noisy debate. CONFLICT! Passions run high. Think Scopes “Monkey Trial”, or school boards in Georgia arguing about which textbook science teachers will use. The media and those on the extremes of each field have fanned the flames to encourage conflict and an “I’m right, you’re wrong” attitude. Biblical literalists and fundamentalists clash in this room. The Biblical Literalists believe, for example, that the theory of evolution denies the existence of a deity: it must be jettisoned or proved in error. On the other hand, the scientists defend a philosophy that matter is the only reality in the universe and argue that evolution is completely incompatible with any religious belief inclusive of a Higher Being. Fundamentalist scientists and fundamentalist people of faith put on face masks and protective jackets and go at it like fencers, parlaying forward, back, thrust, touché! The good news is that we need not stay and bear this attack. Exhausted by the conflict, we move on to the next classroom. Immediately we see an entirely different attitude: All the scientists are in one corner talking amongst themselves. All the religious advocates are in another. Occasionally they look over and smile at the other group. They have decided to maintain independence. Both sides have their own ways of “knowing”, (science through observation and testing of hypotheses and formulating theories, and faith through divine revelation in scripture, history, personal experience). In this worldview, scientific theory is taught in schools; matters of faith are taught and tended in church and home. The constitutionally mandated separation of Church and State requires it. Occasionally a visitor from the Conflict Room enters and stirs things up by suggesting that classically religious beliefs (Creationism or Intelligent Design) are actually scientific theory, but for the most part, there is peace. Science and religion would no more engage in this room than, say, Colin Powell would consult with Star Trek’s Captain Kirk We see merits in what’s happening in this classroom. It’s easier to live in, less stressful, even happy. We look at each other and nod. Maybe this is the solution. But the tour is not over. The next room is the Dialogue Room. Two lines of chairs sit in the middle of the room, one line of scientists, another line of theologians and people of faith. Each is clear about what they believe and know. They are comparing methods, and asking questions of one another in attempt to bridge differences and gain input in areas lacking in clarity. Anthropologists are conversing with theologians around the idea that at a certain time in history, suddenly the fossil record shows that humans intentionally buried their dead. What does this mean to the theologians? Has there been an evolution of the spirit? The author of a new book, Spook, engages a scientist and a preacher about the weight and existence of the soul. A bizarre book, but at least there is dialogue. On the walls of this room we read the rules. “Every opinion is valid. Everyone has a chance to talk.” We do not see the likes of Pat Robertson. In this room, science can speak with religion about what the history of the universe has been like and how life developed on Earth. Faith may suggest in response that God preceded evolutionary process, established the rules of physics, or biochemistry, reminding their dialogue partner that science need not deny the that the world is God’s creation. It’s tempting to remain here, but there is one more classroom, the Room of Integration. On the walls we notice quotations from the past when science and religion cooperated. “Nothing would ‘rejoice’ me more than that my science should be used for the purpose of demonstrating the existence of a deity.” Sir Isaac Newton. “Science is not only the surest path to knowing God, it is the only path.” Maimonides. “No doubt God could have produced a ready made world with a snap of the divine fingers, but the Creator chose to do something cleverer than that!” English Clergyman Charles Kingsley. The interaction in the room looks like the Meet and Mingle café. Everyone is mingling about, occasionally pairing up for deeper engagement because in here, scientists and religious folk do not see themselves as enemies, but rather as partners in search of the truth. Theologians do not attempt to be scientists, suggesting they can prove their beliefs and scientists do not dabble ignorantly in Biblical interpretation—unless they have been cross-trained. . You hear a physicist discussing his recent graduation from a theological seminary with a seminary professor who also has a PhD in physics. What a contrast to the first classroom! You wonder what would happen if you shared some of your religious beliefs here…both with the other people of faith, and with the scientists: God’s hand is evident in creation. Humankind alone is inspirited with the breath of God. Each human being is both spirit and matter, of earth and heaven. God’s awesome beauty and power manifests itself in the physical world. Humans stand in humble awe of their Creator, and their Creator’s care. We have walked through imaginary, external rooms, but conversations and conflicts about science and faith are internal as well; our minds fight with our spirits; our life of faith dialogues with our intellectual acceptance of scientific theory. At times we push evolution into one corner, and our faith into another. There is more than one way to resolve this dissonance! As for me, Biblical faith tells me that God molded humanity into being. Science theorizes how, over what period of time; I am intrigued by both! If the heavens are declaring God’s glory, why not learn from scientists about how, whether or not they themselves believe in a Creator? Do we have ancestors who climbed trees, walked on all fours, had pea size brains? Did the universe begin with a Bang? I’m reasonably convinced by those theories, but whether or not they can be proven, I know God’s hand molded me and keeps on molding me, that God’s Spirit is within this physical body, so similar to other animals. I shall still praise God for the beauty of a fall day, and the playful whimsy of Chimpanzee, the twinkling of the stars on a crisp dark night and that I am made of stardust.

With 3 years to go until the next presidential election and the end of the Bush/Cheney nightmare, most inside the Beltway pundits have anointed Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) the Democratic presidential frontrunner. Sen. Clinton, always coy on the subject, insists her focus is on reelection to a second term to the senate. Polls show her popularity among New Yorkers in the mid-60’s. If Sen. Clinton decides to run for president, she has one enormous obstacle to overcome: her passionate support for the Iraq war.

Here is a link to the now infamous picture of Pope John Paul the Great wearing the glasses of U2’s Bono. The pic is hosted by Flickr.

The word from Third Party Watch is that anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan may run as a Libertarian against Hillary Clinton.

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members, though there is apparently no evidence of his involvement in the terrible events of September 11, 2001. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons. Should he succeed in that endeavor, he could alter the political and security landscape of the Middle East, which as we know all too well affects American security." -- Hillary Clinton, October 10, 2002

The theory, called altered nuclear transfer (ANT), proposes that researchers first create genetically altered embryos that are unable to implant in a uterus, and then extract stem cells from these embryos. Because the embryos cannot implant, they are by definition not "potential" human lives. Some suggest that this would quell the protests of critics who claim that embryonic stem cell research necessitates the destruction of human life. Scientists and ethicists have debated the merits of this approach, but so far it has not been achieved.

Erik’s respect for tradition, his ability to preserve old forms while simultaneously updating and reviving them, may in part explain why his own songs are so durable. Fellow folk singer Robert Blake once commented on how Mischief Brew songs, entirely apart from their performances and recordings, have the ability to take on a life of their own: “Underneath the bodies moving and the hands-in-the-air singing along,” he writes, “I heard songs that will be sung for a long time.” Here’s to you, then, Mischief Brew: may your songs never get stuck out of my head.

In 1939 Francis was proclaimed patron saint of Italy and in 1980 he was proclaimed patron of ecology by Pope John Paul II.

Although U.S. astronauts have visited the moon before, they only spent a few days there, making short forays into the barren landscape. A new Vison for Space Exploration, announced by President George W. Bush in January 2004, calls for the establishment of human outposts on the moon and later, human exploration of Mars. This time, we're going back to stay.

All I can conclude is that this global warming stuff is real, and we’re going to lose a lot of our coast to it.

How do we spur the invention of a 200-mpg car or promote genome sequencing for $1000 or less? How do societies contend with the accumulation of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere, the accompanying global warming and the rapid acidification of the world's oceans? How can the media be transformed into a forum where scientific discovery is heralded as it was during the Apollo program's glory days?

Greenland’s ice cap has thickened slightly in recent years despite wide predictions of a thaw triggered by global warming, a team of scientists said on Thursday.

And then there is the other foot…. isn’t there. The next Republican candidate for the next U.S. President. All of the above seven, including a ‘devout’ Catholic, have indicated they would be happy to support, “I’m all for a woman’s right to choose”, Condoleeza Rice.

Above all, the Vietnam War was never banished from the minds of our war planners and policymakers. Even when they were playing an opposites game with Vietnam (as in, for instance, their no-body-bags, no-photos-of-the-American-dead-coming-home policy), Bush administration officials had a clear case of Vietnam-on-the-brain, as did the society they represented. In 2003, while the invasion of Iraq was still ongoing, the historian Marilyn Young commented, “In less then two weeks a 30 year old vocabulary is back: credibility gap, seek and destroy, hard to tell friend from foe, civilian interference in military affairs, the dominance of domestic politics, winning, or more often, losing hearts and minds.”

It's good to see Hillary Clinton speaking about the domestic issues that affect the poor and working classes. Sirota is correct in saying that this is the way the Democrats should be speaking. Truthfully, if they were speaking like this I may not have left the party. She continues on to say that the rich did not make America great, it was the middle class. I am very happy that she feels that the job of government is to bring balance to the economic scales of the country. The government must level the playing field.

US Presidente bandidos George W. Bush (2nd-R), US Vice Presidente bandidos Dick Cheney (2nd-L), US Secretary of Defense criminalos and bandidos Donald Rumsfeld (R) and National Security Advisor mucho grande bandidos Condoleezza Rice (L) walk out to speak to reportersat Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch in 2004. Former secretary of state Colin Powell's top aide has accused Cheney and Rumsfeld of creating a 'cabal' that has hijacked US foreign policy.

Bill Clinton was impeached for that lie, or at least, that's what the campaign to impeach him was based upon. If lying about a sex act in a civil trial is an IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE for Republicans, then how can they argue that lying about possible treason in a criminal investigation should be ignored?

As the masses clamor in protest to these cuts, politicians will line up seeking to buy those votes with contrived concern for the ‘uninsured americans’ being denied the ‘right to basic health care’. Hillary Clinton tried the universal health care scheme and Americans weren’t ready yet, so the issue died. However, cuts such as those by GM will provide the public hysteria needed to get universal health care moving.

In this journalist's humble opinion, Baltimore today subscribed to the “any attention is better then no attention” theory. I mean reallyv- as beautiful Baltimore may be, that’s all they got. Next thing you know somewhere, anywhere, Wisconsin will be diverting your news away from the war in Iraq, global warming, and corporate fraud in order to bring you the latest update on the Arab hostage situation at the local Cheese Factory.

This doesn't really surprise me.... the arctic and antarctic regions of this planet have been seeing some of the strongest effects of global warming, with average air temperatures rising and glaciers showing signficant melt. It only makes sense that the warming would affect the ocean water itself. Unfortunately, these effects are not going to limit themselves to just the polar extremes.... its tempting for some to think that we are just going to lose a few obscure animals in a place that no one ever visits, so who is going to care? However, the Antarctic and Arctic oceans are important food resources for birds and mammals (particularly whales) that migrate there to feed before returning to more temperate water. Extinctions at the extremes of the globe will have effects that reach far into our own familiar territory.

Anyway - probably no other entries today - I’ll be making dinner and hanging out with everyone here that I avoided all morning. Meanwhile - for your entertainment: Check out this rumour: Dick Cheney will resign and be replaced with Condoleeza Rice. The story is over at US News.

Grabbing a smoke before my midterm, Michael P. mentioned that this Friday our dear campus will be playing host to Condoleeza Rice and Jack Straw.

I’m not going to lecture you about not taking drugs. Hey, I smoked dope in high school. Unlike Bill Clinton, I inhaled. Also unlike Bill Clinton, I exhaled.

Science has never been more crucial to deciding the issues facing the country, yet science and scientists have less influence with the federal government than at any time since the Eisenhower administration. On a broad array of issues-stem cell research, climate change, missile defense, abstinence education, product safety, environmental regulation, and many others the Bush administration's positions fly in the face of overwhelming scientific consensus. Federal science agencies, once fiercely independent under both Republican and Democratic presidents, are increasingly staffed by political appointees and fringe theorists who know industry lobbyists and evangelical activists far better than they know the science.

I’m going to use the word “diagenic” to describe phenomena in which a single cause results in two opposite effects. Eg the global warming theory where the tropics heat up but areas near the poles freeze, hyperfocus and hypofocus in ADD.

With three conservatives for every two liberals, the sheer arithmetic truth is that in a polarized electorate effectively mobilized by both major parties, Democratic candidates must capture upwards of 60 percent of the moderate vote — a target only Bill Clinton has reached in recent times — to win a national election.

Given the prospect of both protracted criminal cases and then civil lawsuits, it now seems possible the issue will bedevil the final years of Bush's presidency, much as the Iran- contra affair burdened President Ronald Reagan's second term and the Monica Lewinsky scandal plagued President Bill Clinton's.

Part of my argument for stem cell research naturally derives from my pro choice views. An embryo is just that, an embryo. Whether or not it can be considered a person is highly debatable. At any stage during which stem cells would conceivably be harvested, it lacks the central nervous system necessary to feel pain or even care about its state of being. If one accepts a woman’s right to choose abortion, then an embryo about to be aborted is essentially terminal. What harm can there be, then, by using it for the benefit of others? After all, the embryo is little more than a clump of organic tissue, no more a person than a harvested organ.

Scientists and ethicists said the approaches offered a potential compromise with social conservatives who see embryonic stem cell research as an untenable trade-off that amounts to destroying life to create medical cures.

I have discussed stem cell research previously, but I have read a new article about a new procedure…

Are these two books about the same country? The first depicts Saudi Arabia as a violent, benighted place whose ruling family is pursuing a decades-long plan to subvert American power. The second is the authorized biography of the richest man in Saudi Arabia, a member of the ruling family, who is portrayed as the consummate mix of “East” and “West” — a man who can bridge cultures and repair the torn U.S.-Saudi relationship. Unfortunately, neither is a reliable source about politics and life in Saudi Arabia today, nor does either book shed much light on the fascinating, difficult issues involved in relations between Riyadh and Washington.

The real crackup has already occurred, on the left! The Democratic Party has been hijacked by 1960s retreads like Howard Dean; billionaire eccentrics like George Soros; and leftwing computer geeks like MoveOn.org. It nominated John Kerry, a notorious Vietnam-era antiwar activist, as its presidential standard-bearer. Its major spokesmen are old extremists like Ted Kennedy and new propagandists like Michael Moore. Its great presidential hope is one of the most divisive figures in U.S. politics, Hillary Clinton. And its favorite son is an impeached, disbarred, held-in-contempt ex-president, Bill Clinton.

Ogre at Ogre’s Politics and Views presents ACLU Supports Censorship. If you want to argue Intelligent Design Vs. Evolution, this is the place to go.

President Bush is taking more liberal positions. For example global warming. He used to be against it. Now it’s the Republican plan for heating homes this winter. � Jay Leno

Why do the public seem to believe everything that the media prints? The case regarding global warming is quite shocking. Moreso to believe that our schools are turning out hundreds of thousands of youngsters who allegedly achieved high grades in their science exams yet don't actually know what a scientific theory is.

Blog #2: The Bird Flu, specifically known as the H5N1 strain of the virus, has depleted poultry populations in mulitple parts of asia as well as 60 people. Though strains spreading from human-to-human have not been found, scientists are afraid the virus will mutate. This mutation might possibly make the Bird Flu easily transferable between individuals. Scientists predict that, in a worst case scenario, a new strain of the Bird Flu could wipe out millions of people. In the last century three pandemics have occured and scientists warn another is very possible. “Whether or not H5N1 is the virus that will ultimately trigger such a pandemic is unknown to us,” Mike Leavitt told a news conference. “The probability is uncertain. But the warning signs are troubling. Hence we are responding in a robust way.” In retatilliation to the virus, George W. Bush has formed the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza to develop a strategy to preventing the spread of the Bird Flu and other pandemics. According to Leavitt, containment is the best way to currently battle the virus. He has urged countries to help prevent the spread as well. “Now we know in advance what is happening and we have to prepare ourselves. That is our duty,” Leavitt said. I believe as long as countries continue to cooperate in the fight against the bird flu, a quicker solution to this virus as well as other future pandemics can be prevented. With the most recent pandemics experienced, I believe all precautions should be taken. Preventing further spread and increasing study of strains of the bird flu will benefit the future of the Asian countries who are suffering, as well as the rest of the world.

"The fact of the matter is that when we were attacked on September 11, we had a choice to make. We could decide that the proximate cause was al Qaeda and the people who flew those planes into buildings and, therefore, we would go after al Qaeda…or we could take a bolder approach..." - Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice

According to Condoleeza Rice, it's because we thought Al Qaeda attacked us. She was on Meet The Press today.

since the apocalypse didn’t happen in the first century (at least not in the way predicted in the Revelation), people have been eagerly looking forward to the end of the world, seeking out individuals they don’t like and trying to make their names add up to 666. Likely candidates have been Martin Luther, Henry VIII, Robespierre, Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington (and his alleged Illuminati double, Adam Weishaupt), Lenin, Adolf Hitler, Stalin, Chairman Mao, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman, Prince Charles, King Juan Carlos of Spain, Mikhail Gorbachev, Bill Clinton, Osama Bin Laden, and both George Bushes - and, oh, I almost forgot, all the Popes.

Robert Blake on Thursday gave jurors in his civil trial contradictory portraits of his relationship with his wife, vowing he loved her while saying she once offered him her teenage daughter for sex.Save to My Web

Went on a Politics social on wednesday, and frankly it wasn’t great, there was such a lack of 3rd years, but I did enjoy going to Red Leicester at the end since all my housemates were out there even though I somehow managed to miss Matt all night.

We now find ourselves in a funny predicament. Being mostly blind to our own paradigms, we’re having a hell of a time figuring out what to do with ourselves. Lots of gloom and doom talk with terrorism, global warming, peak oil, nuclear proliferation, overpopulation, ozone holes, super-bugs, etc. All of this stuff comes about because of unintended consequences of unchecked growth.

There is really no need to do more than point out some rather randomly selected examples of freedom lost in the past four years under this administration. Of course, under Clinton freedom sank. In fact, during Clinton’s term I looked forward to seeing him out. Little did I know! This is why I know enough to say that Bush is the worst enemy of freedom "so far." I thought Clinton was rock bottom, but he was far from that.

South Korea Catholic Church offers $10 Million for Adult Stem Cell Research :: Stem Cells :: ProLifeBlogs

In particular, in his private office, John Lewis has pictures of himself with Bobby Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, as well as his family. Also throughout his office are pieces of art from all over the country, if not the world.

The incredible corruption and cronyism emerging out of the funding of New Orleans’ reconstruction is the final nail in the Republican electoral coffin. According to this op-ed article from Colombia’s El Pais, the best outcome for Americans and the world would be the election of Hillary Clinton as president in 2008.

Both Democratic and Republican senators were questioning the qualifications of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, who has never argued a case before the Supreme Court but has been often referred to as President Bush’s “work wife.” UNICEF released a short film that shows an airstrike attack on a village of Smurfs. The U.S. Senate passed a $440 billion defense-spending bill; the bill includes an amendment that places limits on the torture of military prisoners. President George W. Bush promised to veto the bill if it was passed containing the amendment. An Oregon woman was suing her doctor for trying to heal her lower back pain by having sex with her. The doctor was also in trouble for charging the state $5,000 for giving the woman the treatment. A new vaccine that prevents cervical cancer was found to be 100 percent effective. A Cambodian couple was in trouble for biting their 12-year-old daughter so that they might drink her blood, and in Australia a worker at a forensics laboratory was under investigation for stealing parts of human brains so that they could be injected into racehorses in order to make the horses run faster.

fashioned hater. But Bill Clinton has endorsed this march--is he accepting the homophobia of Farrakhan?

I've been to that beach, folks. There are no rocks; there are no stones on that beach. But Bill Clinton with cameras up on the hill overlooking the beach decided to take a stroll as a lone man; out there on the horizon, a lone battleship. Bill Clinton strolling along in pensive, sensitive, deep-caring thought. All of a sudden Clinton stops. He looks down; he notices something. Why, it's a pile of rocks, on a beach where there are none! Bill Clinton, with tear now beginning to stream from his eye, kneels down and arranges, with the photographers and TV cameras all focused from atop the hill, overlooking the beach. Bill Clinton kneels down and places those stones, which had to be put there by somebody, into the shape of a cross. The battleship is in the background. He knew exactly where to stop. The battleship was told where to be, stones were placed so that he would be right in the line of fire for those cameras shooting the beach and the Clinton leaned down and placed those stones. This is the man who wrote once of having "loathing the military." It was an entirely, purely staged event. But did the press see it as such? Heck, no, the press themselves started crying. "What a man. What a president. Look at how he cares!" They marveled at this miracle of the stones on the beach. But then, it was but two days later, Clinton found himself at an American war dead cemetery in Italy, and each grave had planted a little, tiny American flag.

Pro-embryonic stem cell research scientists are increasingly pushing the limits of the age of the unborn child when it becomes socially and scientifically acceptable to take apart for its body parts. While the 14-day embryo