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• The British have sunk to a new low of political correctness by busting a teen for calling Scientology a cult.
• If there’s a U.S. attack on Iran, the press will shoulder much of the blame.
• President Bush claims to be a great friend of Israel, but his grandfather was a friend of the Nazis.
• Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.
•Another foolish over-reaction in the government’s ongoing, if rather ineffetive, campaign against illegal immigration: In the event of a hurricane evacuation, Houston area ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, formerly the INS) agents will be checking the documentation of people fleeing a storm’s path. Those who are determined to be illegal residents will be sequestered (out of the storm’s path, we’ve been assured) for later processing and deportation. Or maybe now, illegals will try to ride out a storm rather than risk being deported, putting themselves and their familes at great risk.
Today’s 1984 moment: Lawmakers are currently trying to stop funding for a new government agency, one that would allow high tech military satellite surveillance data to be shared with local law enforcement. Don’t bother drawing the shades any more; they are no longer an obstacle.
• The worst thing is, a new passport card being designed by the Department of Homeland Security is not designed with safety in mind; it is all about getting people across the border as fast as possible.
• It was only a matter of time: Youporn has arrived.
• OK, so you have a blog, but no one reads it. If you are still desperate to reach a wider audience, maybe it’s time to try a different medium. Here’s how to set up a pirate radio station.
• Finally, from the indefatigable journalists at ONN:
In The Know: Are Politicians Failing Our Lobbyists?
It has been several years, but the government, despite using every means of “enhanced interogation” at its disposal, has dropped the war crimes charges against Mohammed al-Qahtani, the alleged “20th highjacker” from Sept. 11.
• More on John McCain’s involvement in the USS Liberty cover up.
- For views from survivors and more on the cover up, go here.
• And if you have not seen it, Keith Olberman’s rant last week about George W. Bush and his appeasement comments, it’s worth a look, no matter which side you are on.
- Some analysis from Rawstory.
More to follow after lunch.
• Think that safety deposit box down at the bank is really safe? Not if the government wants what’s inside. Never forget who’s really in charge of your assets once you relinquish physical control — not you.
• An international team of scientists in Switzerland is building the world’s most powerful collider in an attempt to answer some of the more profound questions of quantum physics. What remains to be seen is, if once the collider is operating, it will destroy the earth by creating a black hole. Even those scientists who fully support the project will only say that the creation of a black hole is improbable, not impossible.
• Here’s the real toll from the Iraq War.
• TSA screeners take another page from the Stasi handbook.
• Today in the housing crisis:
• Foreclosures are soaring, up 65 percent in April.
• California is now conducting 1,000 foreclosure auctions every day.
• Most mainstream Republicans hate him, but Ron Paul has no fear. Here he is, shaming the neocons:
• The Air Force wants control of your computer and they don’t want you to know about it.
The British do. They released some of their own X-Files recently.
• Ready to be part of the R3volution? Then join in on June 5th.
• The humorless police state continues to grow. This week’s threat — college students.
• Republicans are furious that Bob Barr is going to run for president as a libertarian, but Democrats are thrilled to have someone on the ballot who can do to John McCain in 2008 what Ralph Nader did to Al Gore in 2000.
• Ron Paul’s continued and surprisingly vibrant campaign is also delighting Democrats. It could make for a far more interesting GOP convention than the Republicans are hoping for.
• The stand-off between Karl Rove and Congress continues.
• Our colleagues at the Chicago Reader have compiled a comprehensive list of police torture incidents in the Windy City.
• The scale and scope of the earthquake disaster in China is difficult to imagine from this far away. But, National Public Radio’s Melissa Block provided this wrenching report of one couple’s search for their toddler and grandparents. Outstanding and heart-breaking journalism. Sit down and listen to all 12 minutes; it’s worth it.
News is something that someone, somewhere, wants to suppress. All the rest is advertising.
— Lord Northcliff
• Civil liberties: 1, FBI: 0.
• Does our weakness even matter?
• The investigation of the alleged misdeeds of Special Counsel Scott Bloch is starting to point at some important figures in the GOP, including Secretery of State Condoleeza Rice and former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman.
• The Navy has released John McCain’s record. The man is a hero. Should he be president? That’s another question.
• Neocon Douglas Feith has finally admitted what thinking people have known all along: the “War on Terror” is a hoax.
• But that has not stopped the U.S. from killing “suspected terrorists” without a trial. Oh yes, and 24 other people died in the process, since we used a cruise missle to carry out the execution.
• Does the renewed fighting in Lebanon have anything to do with a pending U.S. attack on Iran?
• The war on drugs claims another innocent victim. Coming soon to your home, an unwarranted no-knock paramilitary style police raid.
• Sick. Teens arrested for digging up body and using skull for bong.
• Still want to cheat on that pre-employment drug screening? Too bad, the feds have raided Urineluck Corporation.
• AT&T is helping the government spy on you.
• Death of the SUV and not a moment too soon.
• And finally, here’s how cooperating with an FBI investigation can actually be a winning strategy:
What’s your vote worth to Hillary Clinton? How about as little as $27.16?
• Curious about the decision-making (or lack thereof) in the Bush White House prior to the invasion of Iraq? You (and future historians) are not going to read any of the 10 million e-mails that were supposed to be archived. Can anyone say cover up?
• Still hankering for the truth about the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal? Still want to see some of the decision-makers held accountable? Well, you are going to be disappointed by the new film “Standard Operating Procedure.” At least that what one Army intelligence officer had to say.
• Today’s first entry in the annals of “Abuse of Police Power.” Yes, this man was arrested for failing to use his turn signal.
• The second entry. Yes, this farmer was arrested for selling milk.
• One cheeky Australian fellow has been improving his nation’s roadsides, one new traffic sign at a time.
One of my favorite authors was, until this morning, Carl Hiassen, mystery novelist, Miami Herald columnist, and ass-kicking environmentalist. Waiting for me in the morning’s New York Times was this story, about how Hiassen had gone soft, moved out of the Keys, and like so many other aging boomers, has now devoted his life to golf. At least Ed Abbey stayed true to the very end.
• The world’s first proposed zero-carbon city isn’t being built in the United States. One does have to question, however, the sustainability of where it is being built.
• Is today’s economy worse that the one that preceded The Great Depression? A startling number of factors paint a dire picture.
• Think the lame duck Bush Administration has given up on war with Iran? A recent expenditure of $300 million (with bipartisan support!) and General David Petraeus’ promotion to commander of Centcom indicate otherwise.
• Is President Bush planning to go into exile in Paraguay once he leaves office and loses diplomatic immunity to prevent being brought up on war crimes charges?
• Today’s personal safety tidbit: If you are planning on being arrested, you need a Miranda. Miranda is a black box-like arrest documentation device that records video, audio, motion, impact, location, and other data and streams it over cell phone data networks to third party observers such as the ACLU.
• And finally, do you crave domination, subjugation and dominion over your fellow man? Do you desire to enslave the masses and make them subject to your wishes? Do you dream of building a tyrannical regime where free will is replaced with your will? If you answered yes, then you need to read this book. We’ll have to find out how Dick Cheney got a prepress copy.
The state of New Jersey is considering putting a sin tax — like those already levied on alcohol and tobacco — on fast food Why? To help bail out a failing an overburdened hospital system. Can Florida, with its severe budget woes leading to a host of new fees this year, be far behind?
In other news this Friday morning:
• For those worried about the ever-expanding and unchecked power of the Executive Branch of government, here’s some more bad news.
• And whatever you do, don’t take your child to a baseball game and order him a lemonade.
• Visit the wild bloggers at deathby1000papercuts.com and read the puzzling tale of a supposed senior CIA agent committing “Suicide by cop” along a busy street in Houston.
• Our friends at DBKP also give us this week’s example of truly pointless scientific research: a study proving that alcohol consumption impairs judgement.
• Finally, it’s hard to beat a good exploding toilet video.
Here’s the math: To fill the average gas tank with ethanol, it take more than 500 pounds of corn. That much corn can feed a child for a year. To see more disheartening figures on why the mathematics of biofuels don’t add up, go here.
Other headlines this Thursday morning:
• Despite it being more than 60 years since the end of World War II, we are still looking for some of the war’s most wanted Nazi criminals, including this guy.
• Why the U.S. Constitution is not just for Americans.
• Imagine that: Local governments are trying to prevent people from generating their own power with wind turbines. Aren’t we supposed to think globally and act locally?
• Meanwhile, the solar power revolution continues and may even show us a way out of Iraq. Warning, more math required to read this column.
• A Texas man wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for 27 years — the longest stretch yet — has finally been released following DNA evidence that showed he did not commit the crime.
• And finally, a light-hearted look at what can be done with a twenty-dollar bill.
See you later.
