carapace – Not your father's america

HAS CANADA GOT THE CURE?

Holly Dressel, YES! Magazine

Since 1970, Canada has had a publicly funded, single-payer health system. Today, all Canadians are equally healthy, regardless of income.

At:

http://www.alternet.org/story/40951/

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August 28th issue of “The New Yorker” article regarding pensions and healthcare

The conclusion is that the US needs a national health care system along with a better hational pension system and neither of those two systems should depend upon the long term health/survival of your current employer as they typically do now.

At:

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060828fa_fact

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Beck baselessly claimed Nagin did not order evacuation until “the day after President Bush called him and told him” to

On his CNN Headline News program, Glenn Beck baselessly claimed that as Hurricane Katrina approached the Gulf Coast, New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin did not order an evacuation until “the day after President Bush called him and told him” to. However, news reports indicate that it was Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, not Nagin, who was called by Bush and that Nagin ordered the evacuation the same day that phone call reportedly occurred.

Read more

http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200608290008?src=other

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Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday linked troop reduction in Iraq and the possibility of terrorist attacks in the United States.

At:

http://tinyurl.com/kye53

From: Poacnewsletter

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MCCAIN HEARTS THE FUNDIES

First Falwell…now Bob Jones U?

At:

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/41000/

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THE MEDIA BEAST VS. THE PUBLIC INTEREST

Jeff Cohen, AlterNet

As the whole John Mark Karr debacle shows, the TV news industry loves stories that keep viewers passive and fear the ones that might motivate us to take action as citizens.

At:

http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/41030/

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Beware of the ethanol hype

By Salman Anwar

Ethanol appears to be the new and exciting source of renewable energy, drawing considerable investor interest, as reflected by recent initial public stock offerings such as VeraSun Energy and Pacific Ethanol. The use of ethanol is also politically expedient, as it is perceived to be an alternative to Middle Eastern oil.

Ethanol also benefits from growing concerns over the long-term supply of oil. And in the US, ethanol’s environmentally friendly role is growing because of legislation mandating a phasing-out of other fuel sources with the toxic ingredient methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) in favor of ethanol.

Yet there remain big questions about the projected long-term viability of ethanol as the major oil-replacement fuel stock.

Why ethanol?

The economics behind ethanol do not necessarily demonstrate its practicality. Simply stated, it is unclear whether ethanol will be the solution to US energy woes.

At the same time, there is currently an inadequate supply of ethanol to fulfill demand. The pressure from government forced the United States to produce 4 billion gallons (15.14 billion liters) of ethanol in 2006, which is forecast to increase to 7.5 billion gallons (28.39 billion liters) in 2012. This is helping to fuel an ethanol boom that will double the size of the industry by 2008. A number of states have a mandate in place to use 10% ethanol as the blending agent, replacing MTBE, which contributes to more environmental pollution than ethanol. As of April at least 85% of Hawaii’s gasoline must be 10% ethanol.

In the United States, ethanol has been used in vehicle fuel for many years, but only as a blending agent. The recent increase in oil prices and angst over depleting oil reserves has led everyone’s attention toward ethanol production. Over time it is likely that ethanol will become much more important as a fuel source, but the technologies to make that happen appear to be decades away. It took decades for petroleum to be the main source of energy and years to make it burn more efficiently. For example, petroleum was first used as medicine, then as a fuel for lighting, then slowly moved toward its use in transportation.

It took time for petroleum to go mainstream. The same factors apply to ethanol; it will take years before ethanol can fully replace oil, because basically everything runs on gasoline. For example, the median age of light vehicles in the US vehicle fleet is about 14 years, and it could take about 14 years for the fleet to be replaced by vehicles that can run on both gasoline and ethanol.

Who’s pushing ethanol?

…

Complete article at:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/HH01Dj01.html

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HURRICANE EXPERT THREATENED FOR PRE-KATRINA WARNINGS

A Greg Palast special investigation for Democracy Now!

Monday, August 28. From New Orleans.

DON’T blame the Lady. Katrina killed no one in this town. In fact, Katrina missed the city completely, going wide to the east.

It wasn’t the hurricane that drowned, suffocated, de-hydrated and starved 1,500 people that week. The killing was done by a deadly duo: a failed emergency evacuation plan combined with faulty levees. Behind these twin failures lies a tale of cronyism, profiteering and willful incompetence that takes us right to the steps of the White House.

Here’s the story you haven’t been told. And the man who revealed it to me, Dr. Ivor van Heerden, is putting his job on the line to tell it.

Van Heerden isn’t the typical whistleblower I usually deal with. This is no minor player. He’s the Deputy Director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center. He’s the top banana in the field — no one knew more about how to save New Orleans from a hurricane’s devastation. And no one was a bigger target of an official and corporate campaign to bury the information.

Here’s what happened. Right after Katrina swamped the city, I called Washington to get a copy of the evacuation plan.

Funny thing about the murderously failed plan for the evacuation of New Orleans: no one can find it. That’s right. It’s missing. Maybe it got wet and sank in the flood. Whatever: no one can find it.

That’s real bad. Here’s the key thing about a successful emergency evacuation plan: you have to have copies of it. Lots of copies — in fire houses and in hospitals and in the hands of every first responder. Secret evacuation plans don’t work.

I know, I worked on the hurricane evacuation plan for Long Island New York, an elaborate multi-volume dossier.

Specifically, I’m talking about the plan that was written, or supposed to have been written two years ago by a company called, “Innovative Emergency Management.”

Weird thing about IEM, their founder Madhu Beriwal, had no known experience in hurricane evacuations. She did, however, have a lot of experience in donating to Republicans.

IEM and FEMA did begin a draft of a plan. The plan was that, when a hurricane hit, everyone in the Crescent City would simply get the hell out in their cars. Apparently, the IEM/FEMA crew didn’t know that 127,000 people in the city didn’t have cars. But Dr. van Heerden knew that. It was his calculation. LSU knew where these no-car people were — they mapped it — and how to get them out.

Dr. van Heerden offered this life-saving info to FEMA. They wouldn’t touch it. Then, a state official told him to shut up, back off or there would be consequences for van Heerden’s position. This official now works for IEM.

So I asked him what happened as a result of making no plans for those without wheels, a lot of them elderly and most of them poor.

“Fifteen-hundred of them drowned. That’s the bottom line.” The professor, who’d been talking to me in technicalities, changed to a somber tone. “They’re still finding corpses.”

Van Heerden is supposed to keep his mouth shut. He won’t. The deaths weigh on him. “I wasn’t going to listen to those sort of threats, to let them shut me down.”

Van Heerden had other disturbing news. The Hurricane Center’s computer models showed the federal government had built the levees around the city a foot-and-a-half too short.

After Katrina, the Hurricane Center analyzed the flooding and found that, had the levees had just that extra 18 inches, they would have been “overtopped” for only an hour and a half, not four hours. In that case, the levees would have held, and the city would have been saved.

He had taken the warning about the levees all the way to George Bush’s doorstep. “I myself briefed senior officials including somebody from the White House.” The response: the university’s trustees threatened his job.

While in Baton Rouge, I dropped in on the headquarters of IEM, the evacuation contractors. The assistant to the CEO insisted they had “a lot of experience with evacuation” — but couldn’t name a single city they’d planned for when they got the Big Easy contract. And still, they couldn’t produce the plan.

An IEM press release in June 2004 boasted legendary expert James Lee Witt as a member of their team. That was impressive. It was also a lie. In fact, Witt had nothing to do with it. When I asked IEM point blank if Witt’s name was used as a fraudulent hook to get the contract, their spokeswoman said, weirdly, “We’ll get back to you on that.”

Back at LSU, van Heerden astonished me with the most serious charge of all. While showing me huge maps of the flooding, he told me the White House had withheld the information that, in fact, the levees were about to burst and by Tuesday at dawn the city, and more than a thousand people, would drown.

Van Heerden said, “FEMA knew on Monday at 11 o’clock that the levees had breached… They took video. By midnight on Monday the White House knew. But none of us knew …I was at the State Emergency Operations Center.” Because the hurricane had missed the city that Monday night, evacuation effectively stopped, assuming the city had survived.

It’s been a full year now, and 73,000 New Orleanians remain in FEMA trailers and another 200,000, more than half the city’s former residents, remain in temporary refuges. “The City That Care Forgot” — that’s their official slogan — lost a higher percentage of homes than Berlin lost in World War II. It would be more accurate to call it, “The City That Bush Forgot.”

Should they come home? Rebuild? Is it safe? Team Bush assures them there’s nothing to worry about: FEMA won’t respond to van Heerden’s revelations. However, the Bush Administration has hired a consulting firm to fix the failed evacuation plan. The contractor? A Baton Rouge company named “Innovative Emergency Management.” IEM.

Watch this special investigative report about Katrina on Democracy Now! this morning or hear it on your local Pacifica or NPR station. You can also download it at DemocracyNow.org.

And catch the one-hour special report, “Who Drowned New Orleans?” on LinkTV, with Greg Palast in New Orleans plus an exclusive interview with Amy Goodman. (Get it on Direct TV channel 375 and Dish TV channel 9410. Or check your cable listing at LinkTV.com.)

And for more on IEM and Katrina, read Greg Palast’s new NYT bestseller, “Armed Madhouse” (Penguin 2006).

A Jacquie Soohen BigNoise Films Production, produced by Matt Pascarella.

And very, very, special thanks to our Associate Producers on this particular story — without their generosity and financial support this report would not have been possible.

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Borowitz Report – Insanity Plea Shocker

Boulder District Attorney Pleads Insanity

‘Out of My Mind’ to Arrest John Mark Karr, Lacy Explains

In an attempt to explain a mystery that has baffled millions for the past two weeks, Boulder Counter District Attorney Mary Lacy pleaded insanity today for her decision to arrest John Mark Karr for the murder of child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey.

Since the arrest of Mr. Karr two weeks ago, millions of Americans have been mystified as to how anyone with a background in law enforcement could have arrested someone for the Ramsey murder without any evidence that he had ever set foot in Boulder.

But in a press conference in Boulder today, Ms. Lacy hoped that her insanity plea would put the mystery to rest once and for all, telling reporters, “I was out of my mind when I arrested John Mark Karr.”

While Ms. Lacy’s insanity plea is expected to satisfy many who were baffled by her decision to arrest Mr. Karr, criminologist Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota says that it only provides “one piece of the puzzle.”

“The question remains, why would someone arrest a whackjob like John Mark Karr for a murder he clearly did not commit?” Dr. Logsdon said. “Like many district attorneys, Mary Lacy may have been looking for her fifteen minutes of fame.”

For her part, Ms. Lacy told reporters that she wanted to put the Karr episode behind her and get on with her life: “I have recently been given the opportunity to purchase the Brooklyn Bridge and I would very much like to pursue that.”

Elsewhere, Britney Spears’ husband Kevin Federline will appear on “CSI,” hoping to add acting to the list of things he cannot do.

http://www.borowitzreport.com/

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three to see

Jeff Danziger: Impeachement, Bush, Clinton, Iraq War, Monica Lewinsky

http://danzigercartoons.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/dancart2897.jpg

Matt Bors: never forget

http://www.mattbors.com/strips/201.gif

Steve Sack: katrina promises – follow through

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/23103/

A bill to promote government transparency faces an uncertain future because an unknown number of anonymous senators have blocked it, effectively killing the measure.

At:

http://federaltimes.com/index.php?S=2018089

From: Poacnewsletter

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Blitzer again let Mehlman claim public opposes Iraq withdrawal timetable; polling still shows otherwise

On The Situation Room, Wolf Blitzer failed to challenge Ken Mehlman’s false claim that the American public is opposed to setting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. The two polls taken in August that asked about a timetable found that a majority of Americans support the idea.

Read more

http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200608280001?src=other

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S. 2611: Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006

A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cost estimate.

At:

http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/75xx/doc7501/s2611spass.pdf

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SEE DICK RUN (THE COUNTRY)

Robert Kuttner, The American Prospect

Cheney’s the real president. It’d be nice if the press noticed.

At:

http://www.alternet.org/story/40960/

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The Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT) published their 2006 Terrorism Annual yearbook.

At:

http://www.tkb.org/documents/Downloads/2006-MIPT-Terrorism-Annual.pdf

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A few years past 1984

By Ed Quillen
Denver Post Columnist

It was a bright warm day in August, and the clocks were striking 13. A newspaper that morning announced that the administration “has begun designating as secret some information that the government long provided even to its enemy: the number of strategic weapons in the nuclear arsenal.”

Winston Smith, a redacting clerk, returned from lunch to find a new assignment on his desk at the Ministry of Truth.

It was a reversal of a previous job. Back in 1984, when he had started at the ministry, Winston had been put in charge of releasing the numbers of warheads, so as to frighten the enemy at the time, Eurasia, and deter it from attacking Usamerica.

Now he was supposed to remove all that information from the earlier reports, lest the current enemy use the old information in some way that Winston could not even imagine. Winston was not even sure of the identity of the current enemy. Some days he was told it was the shadowy Alkeedah. Other times it was remote Mesopotamian Factions. Occasionally it was domestic Cuttanrunners or foreign Frogeaters.

Finding all the old documents in the files of the Ministry of Truth would be difficult, but possible, Winston thought. But what of those that had escaped, that might be lurking in public libraries and private hands? And where might the now-classified information be listed?

He glanced across his cubicle. Most information from the Ministry of Truth was stored on computers where it could be quickly adjusted on orders from Super Shrub, but some historical material remained on paper because the budget did not allow for the complete digitization of old data.

He opened the 1989 edition of the Statistical Abstract of Usamerica and turned to chart 542: “Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, Submarines, and Bombers – Balance 1980 to 1987.” Usamerica had 996 ICBMs in 1987, Eurasia 1,389. There were 256 Usamerican submarine Poseidon systems. And 234 B-52 bombers. This information must now be kept from the public.
…

Complete article at:

http://www.denverpost.com/quillen/ci_4234089

Ed Quillen of Salida (ed@cozine.com) is a former newspaper editor whose column appears Tuesday and Sunday.

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BIG PROFITS IN THE BIG EASY

Volume XI No. 10 – August 28, 2006

While the Lower Ninth Ward tragically continues to look like a scene from a post-apocalyptic scene in a movie, the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina finds huge contracting corporations working hard to loot the federal treasury.  After its shameful failure in responding to the aftermath of the storm, FEMA, the Corps of Engineers, and the rest of the federal government assured concerned Americans that not only would New Orleans be rebuilt, but that such reconstruction would occur in a fiscally accountable and timely manner.

Uncle Sam promised to shield us from the all too common occurrences of cronyism, greed, and mismanagement reminiscent of other recent reconstruction efforts. Sadly, in the same way that CNN showed the gaping holes in the Louisianan levees, so to has there been a breach in the promise to protect our federal coffers from opportunists and corporate shysters.

Read the rest of this week’s Wastebasket

http://www.taxpayer.net/TCS/wastebasket/budget/2006-05-12breakvetostreak.htm
Going on at Taxpayer.net This Week

TCS Supports Rep. Kolbe’s Penny Act — If the mint stopped producing the penny, we’d all have less change in our pockets but more money in our wallets. This move would save taxpayers $23 million each year!

TCS in the News

Political clout behind the wheel driving federal funding (Modesto Bee)
NOAA center cited as pork (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
Katrina contractors clean up (Toledo Blade, Ohio)
US Disaster Center Would Be in Harm’s Way on Gulf Coast (Newhouse News Service)
Nancy Cunningham portrays herself as victim (North County Times)
Injured vets deserve better (USA Today)
Welcome to Byrd country (Christian Science Monitor)
Mailing tax rebates to cost state $3M (Associated Press)
Katrina victims get finger-printed and photographed–not everyone is happy (Mother Jones)
Road Home program requires fingerprints (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

Taxpayers for Common Sense   www.taxpayer.net

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WHEN GOVERNMENT SHRUGS: LESSONS OF KATRINA

Adolph L. Reed Jr., The Progressive

Public policies designed to serve the narrow interests of business and the affluent are the ultimate cause of New Orleans’ devastation.

At:

http://www.alternet.org/katrina/40961/

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Borowitz Report – Video Piracy Shocker

Video Piracy Ring Drops Tom Cruise Films
Chinese Bootleggers Call Star’s Behavior ‘Unacceptable’

In the latest ominous sign for the film career of actor Tom Cruise, a large video piracy ring based in Beijing said today that they will no longer sell illegal copies of the star’s films, calling Mr. Cruise’s recent behavior “unacceptable.”

The head of the illegal operation, Mr. Yung-Ho Zhaoye, said that the decision brings down the curtain on over two decades of illegally copying and selling Mr. Cruise’s films on the streets of the Far East.

“We have enjoyed a profitable relationship with Mr. Cruise for years by selling copies of his films, often before those films were even released,” Mr. Zhaoye told reporters in Beijing. “But after witnessing his antics over the past year or so, even our customers are saying, ‘Enough is enough.’”

Mr. Zhaoye added that it was getting “harder and harder” to convince people to sit in the back of movie theaters and secretly videotape Tom Cruise films.

“I tried on a number of occasions to get people to secretly tape ‘Mission Impossible III,’ and after about a half an hour they couldn’t take it anymore,” Mr. Zhaoye said. “Tom Cruise is making it impossible for me to conduct my business.”

But in Washington, Dan Glickman, head of the Motion Picture Association of America, said that the solution to his industry’s nagging piracy problem may have finally been found: “Instead of the FBI warning at the beginning of DVDs, we need to put a warning that says, ‘This film features Tom Cruise.’”

Elsewhere, NASA cancelled the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis after two of the astronauts attempted to carry liquids on board.

http://www.borowitzreport.com/

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three to see

This Modern World: The enablers

http://www.workingforchange.com/webgraphics/WFC/TMW08-30-06.jpg

Steve Benson: to pull out now would be a disaster

http://www.azcentral.com/sshow/News/Benson/4023_66954.jpg

Khalil Bendib: mission accomplished – new orleans

http://www.bendib.com/newones/2006/august/small/8-28-No-Bid-Par-tey.jpg

Millions wasted in Katrina contracts:

70% of contracts awarded without full bidding

At:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14502390/

From: Poacnewsletter

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On Countdown, Limbaugh received “Worst Person” second place for Survivor comments, O’Reilly third for dig at Time’s Hillary poll

On the August 24 edition of MSNBC’s Countdown, host Keith Olbermann awarded nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh and Fox News host Bill O’Reilly second and third place, respectively, in his nightly “Worst Person in the World” segment. O’Reilly was recognized for dismissing without explanation a Time magazine poll showing 53 percent of Americans have a favorable impression of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) as “not scientific, in my opinion.” Limbaugh took the second spot for his invocation of ethnic stereotypes in discussing which “tribes” on the new season of CBS’ reality TV program Survivor, in which the teams are reportedly divided by ethnicity, will outperform the others.

Read more

http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200608250005?src=other

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Amendment 41 promises lockbox on VIP freebies

By Jim Spencer
Denver Post Staff Columnist

A $629 IBM Pocket computer/phone. If someone gave me one of those, I’d remember them.

Fondly.

According to a new report by Coloradans for Clean Government, a $629 pocket computer/phone was among the many gifts legislators and other state officials received in 2005. Democratic Rep. Michael Garcia of Aurora got it from Qwest.

“I was looking for a phone that was easier to do e-mail and do work as I moved around,” Garcia said. “I inquired. Qwest is my phone service. And they gave me the phone.”

Garcia’s gift was legal, said Jared Polis, co-chairman of Coloradans for Clean Government. “But it’s not healthy for democracy.”

That is precisely the point of Amendment 41, which voters will consider in November. It takes only one trip to www.bangifts.org to see why Coloradans should vote for Amendment 41. The amendment “prohibits public officials and government officials from accepting any amount of money or any gift worth more than $50,” according the state’s official explanation.

The amendment also “bans lobbyists from giving gifts or meals to public officials or employees or the immediate family members of the public officials and employees.”

It makes ex-legislators and former state officeholders wait two years before lobbying certain of their erstwhile brethren.

Finally, Amendment 41 “creates a new ethics commission to hear state and local complaints, assess penalties and issue advisory opinions.”

For those who think this is regulatory overkill, consider your newfound access to professional sports.
…

Complete article at:

http://www.denverpost.com/spencer/ci_4247665

Jim Spencer’s column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He can be reached at 303-954-1771 or
jspencer@denverpost.com.

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you’re stupid, don’t vote

Neal Starkman, guest columnist: The Stupid Factor seems to govern way too many people’s voting behaviors. Some people don’t think — they see everything in either-or mode, they succumb to emotional arguments rather than reasoned ones, they’re swayed by charisma rather than facts.

Complete article at:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/282754_firstperson28.html

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BOB NOVAK’S PLAME SOURCE IDENTIFIED

David Corn, The Nation

Conservative columnist Bob Novak’s first source on the identity of Valerie Plame in 2003 was former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.

Complete article at:

http://www.alternet.org/story/40929/

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Experts warn U.S. is coming apart at the seams

By Chuck McCutcheon
Newhouse News Service

WASHINGTON — A pipeline shuts down in Alaska. Equipment failures disrupt air travel in Los Angeles. Electricity runs short at a spy agency in Maryland.

None of these recent events resulted from a natural disaster or terrorist attack, but they may as well have, some homeland security experts say. They worry that too little attention is paid to how fast the country’s basic operating systems are deteriorating.

“When I see events like these, I become concerned that we’ve lost focus on the core operational functionality of the nation’s infrastructure and are becoming a fragile nation, which is just as bad — if not worse — as being an insecure nation,” said Christian Beckner, a Washington analyst who runs the respected Web site Homeland Security Watch (www.christianbeckner.com).

The American Society of Civil Engineers last year graded the nation “D” for its overall infrastructure conditions, estimating that it would take $1.6 trillion over five years to fix the problem.

“I thought [Hurricane] Katrina was a hell of a wake-up call, but people are missing the alarm,” said Casey Dinges, the society’s managing director of external affairs.

British oil company BP announced this month that severe corrosion would close its Alaska pipelines for extensive repairs. Analysts say this may sideline some 200,000 barrels a day of production for several months.

Then an instrument landing system that guides arriving planes onto a runway at Los Angeles International Airport failed for the second time in a week, delaying flights.

Those incidents followed reports that the National Security Agency (NSA), the intelligence world’s electronic eavesdropping arm, is consuming so much electricity at its headquarters outside Washington that it is in danger of exceeding its power supply.

“If a terrorist group were able to knock the NSA offline, or disrupt one of the nation’s busiest airports, or shut down the most important oil pipeline in the nation, the impact would be perceived as devastating,” Beckner said. “And yet we’ve essentially let these things happen — or almost happen — to ourselves.”
…

Complete article at:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003226851_fragile26.html

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Borowitz Report – Demotion Shocker

Pluto Demoted, But Not Rumsfeld

Scientists Baffled By Defense Secretary’s Staying Power

Scientists who gathered in Prague last week to strip Pluto of its planet status said today that they were “baffled” that Pluto had been demoted but that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld still clung to his position of power.

Dr. Hiroshi Kyosuke of the University of Tokyo was one of many scientists who favored the demotion of Pluto but thought that Secretary Rumsfeld should be stripped of his status as well.

“It seems counterintuitive to me that we should say Pluto is no longer a planet, yet Donald Rumsfeld is still Secretary of Defense,” Dr. Kyosuke said. “After all, Pluto has done no harm.”

Scientists studying Secretary Rumsfeld have for some time believed that he is not worthy of the Secretary of Defense designation and should be demoted to some lesser position, such as Postmaster General.

Still others believe that some new definition should be invented to characterize Mr. Rumsfeld, such as Dwarf Secretary of Defense.

“At the very least, the language he speaks should be demoted from English to gibberish,” Dr. Kyosuke said.

Other experts, however, such as the University of Minnesota’s Davis Logsdon, said that while there is “no rational explanation” for why Secretary Rumsfeld has remained in power, his longevity must be classified as one of many cosmic mysteries that science has yet to understand.

“The fact is, the more we learn about Donald Rumsfeld, the more we realize just how little we understand about him,” Dr. Logsdon said.

Elsewhere, Sir Elton John announced plans to record a rap album, as was originally reported in the Book of Revelation.

http://www.borowitzreport.com/

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three to see

Joel Pett: how goes the rebuilding in iraq?

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/22957/

Mike Peters: whitney houston sleeper cell

http://www.grimmy.com/images/MP_Archive/MP_2006/MP0826.gif

Deb Milbrath: deep macaca

http://www.milbrathdraws.com/archives/2006/08/23.jpg

Zimbio

A community site to help you research and learn about any topic

http://www.zimbio.com/

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Katherine Harris says the separation of church and state is a lie. Tells Mr. DeMille that she’s ready for close-up.

At:

http://tinyurl.com/mw6a5

From: Poacnewsletter

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Matthews let slide Gillespie’s denial that McCain criticized “the president” for overly optimistic rhetoric on Iraq

Chris Matthews failed to challenge former RNC chairman Ed Gillespie’s false suggestion that Sen. John McCain had not recently criticized “the president” for his overly optimistic rhetoric on the war in Iraq, but rather had stated that “the people thought it was going to be easier than it was.” In fact, the four comments McCain specifically quoted as having “led” the American people “to believe that this [the Iraq conflict] would be some kind of a day at the beach” all came from high-ranking members of the Bush administration, including one statement from President Bush himself.

Read more

http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200608250007?src=other

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One Year After Katrina

PRATAP CHATTERJEE, pratap@corpwatch.org, http://corpwatch.org

Chatterjee is director of CorpWatch, which just released the report “Big, Easy Money: Disaster Profiteering on the American Gulf Coast.” He said today: “We see a pattern of profiteering, waste and failure — due to the same flawed contracting system and even many of the same players as in Iraq and Afghanistan.
 ”The process of getting Katrina-stricken areas back on their feet is needlessly behind schedule, in part due to the shunning of local business people in favor of politically connected corporations from elsewhere in the U.S. that have used their clout to win lucrative no-bid contracts with little or no accountability and that have done little or no work while ripping off the taxpayer.”

From: Institute for Public Accuracy

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Stop Social Security Privatization–Again

Listen! You can hear the drumbeat coming from Republican leaders to privatize Social Security if their party retains control of Congress in the November elections:

Last week, President Bush talked about overhauling Social Security and Medicare: “I’m going to continue to work with the Congress and call on the Congress to work with the administration to reform these programs.”

On June 27, Bush told the Manhattan Institute, “If we can’t get it done this year, I’m going to try next year.”

That same month, Rep. Jim McCrery (R-La.), who’s likely to chair the powerful House Ways and Means Committee if Republicans retain control of the House, said overhauling Social Security should be the top congressional priority next year.

In July, House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) declared, “If I’m around in a leadership role come January, we’re going to get serious about this.”

Do your part to stop Social Security privatization. Click here to sign our petition to incumbents and candidates for Congress.

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/socialsecurity_c/s3guserf7wkdk7?

The petition urges your members of Congress and candidates to strengthen Social Security, rather than privatize it, and to oppose cutting benefits, running up huge new debt or raising the retirement age to pay for privatization.

Last year, we dealt Bush his greatest domestic policy defeat by blocking his attempt to privatize Social Security—which would cut our benefits, place our retirement security at risk, run up massive federal deficits and possibly raise the retirement age. But now Bush and key Republican leaders are at it again.

This is a classic battle of working people taking on big-money interests. Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security would make working families’ retirement problems worse, not better. But it would give billions of dollars in privatized account management fees to rich Wall Street outfits that can afford high-priced lobbyists on Capitol Hill.

We beat the big-money lobbyists last year. Now we have to do it again. When candidates ask for our votes, we have the power to demand they keep the “security” in Social Security.

Click here now to sign the petition.

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/socialsecurity_c/s3guserf7wkdk7?

In this election year, we have the power to tell candidates and members of Congress we expect them to strengthen Social Security, not destroy it through privatization. If they deserve our votes in November, they will.

Thank you for fighting to stop Social Security privatization—again.

In solidarity,

Working Families e-Activist Network, AFL-CIO

P.S. Please forward this e-mail to others you know who are concerned about the future of Social Security. Urge them to sign the petition, too.

                          ==========

New study finds elections using electronic voting easily rigged

WASHINGTON, DC – The Brennan Center Task Force on Voting System Security, an initiative of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, today released a report and policy proposals concluding that all three of the nation’s most commonly purchased electronic voting systems are vulnerable to software attacks that could threaten the integrity of a state or national election.

(more)

http://www.brennancenter.org/presscenter/releases_2006/pressrelease_2006_0627.html

                          ==========

VALERIE PLAME AND IRAN NUKES

Part of why ‘we don’t know shit about Iran’

At:

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/40827/

 

                          ==========

The Ruling of Judge Anna Diggs Taylor on NSA’s Warrantless Surveillance Program

Free Searchable Version

Search and analyze the the full-text of the NSA Eavesdropping Ruling by Judge Anna Diggs Taylor. On Thursday August 17 2006 a federal judge, U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit, ruled that the government’s warrantless surveillance program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it. Judge Diggs became the first judge to strike down the National Security Agency’s program, which she says violates the rights to free speech and privacy as well as the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.

At:

http://www.asksam.com/ebooks/nsaruling/

                          ==========

Is the United States Bankrupt?

A research publication of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

At:

http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/review/06/07/Kotlikoff.pdf

 

                          ==========

three to see

David Horsey: mike mcgavick – big problem

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/20060825/cartoon20060825.gif

Tom Toles: being even a little overweight can shorten your life

http://www.buffalonews.com/graphics/2006/08/25/0825toles.jpg

Ted Rall: victimhood credits
 

http://picayune.uclick.com/comics/trall/2006/trall060826.gif

Grazr

Grazr is a publishing tool for feeds. It lets you quickly and easily display RSS, RDF, Atom, and OPML files on any Web page so they can be viewed by any visitor to the site.Grazr is written in Javascript, so no software download or installation is necessary for someone to view it in a browser. As long as Javascript is enabled, it can be used in any modern Web browser.

At:

http://grazr.com/

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Your World guest host Brenda Buttner invited Coulter to discuss her “great job” of bashing Dems; later on Fox, Coulter bristled over more challenging questions

On Your World, discussing her latest column, Ann Coulter repeated numerous false claims to assert that Democrats do not support the Bush administration’s fight against terrorism. However, hours later on Hannity & Colmes, when she was challenged on her claim that Osama bin Laden “was handed to Bill Clinton twice,” Coulter abruptly cut short her appearance on the show.

Read more

http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200608250012?src=other

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House leader Boehner says that the “problems are in Baghdad and within a 30 mile radius of Baghdad. The rest of the country is peaceful.”

See interactive diagram

At:

http://tinyurl.com/zmbea

From: Poacnewsletter

                          ==========

Seniors Going Broke with Bush’s Medicare Drug Plan

For nearly 40 years, Paul Sauerland helped people in need while working as a social worker for Catholic Charities. Now when he is in need, the Bush-run federal government is failing him.

Like millions of other retirees, Sauerland thought he would save money on prescription drugs under the Bush Medicare Part D plan. But this year, he and his wife will pay $4,500 for drugs he paid $3,000 for last year—before the Bush “reform.” In fact, he’ll spend $3,000 in the last six months of this year alone for prescription drugs.

Under the new Medicare Part D rules passed by Congress in 2003, out-of-pocket prescription expenses between the annual amounts of $2,251 and $5,100 are not covered. This nearly $3,000 gap has been dubbed the “doughnut hole.” Of the 11.8 million Medicare enrollees whose plans include a coverage gap, the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates 6.9 million of them could hit the doughnut hole. A staff researcher says the real number may be higher.

Sauerland, 86, who has been blind since age two, reached the doughnut hole in July, after just six months in the Medicare program. He says he has no choice but to pay the cost because he needs his medications to keep his heart and thyroid conditions under control. But he’s not sure how much longer he can continue to pay out of pocket. His voice trails off when he tries to explain what choices he and his wife may have to make in order to afford the medicines he needs:

I’m so disgusted. I didn’t expect to get into this hole when the year was just about half over. I still have a half year to go. We got on Medicare because we were looking to save as much as we can. But when you’re living on a fixed income…if this keeps going on, I don’t know what will happen. We will have to give up something and cut down expenses some way. We’d be eating into our savings and that could be troublesome. I don’t want to think about it.

…

Complete article at:

http://blog.aflcio.org/2006/08/22/seniors-going-broke-with-bush%e2%80%99s-medicare-drug-plan/

 

                          ==========

Pharmacists must dispense Plan B

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

STEWART M. JAY
GUEST COLUMNIST

The Washington Board of Pharmacy has proposed granting pharmacists the right to refuse filling a prescription for any reason. Despite its neutral wording, this rule is intended to allow pharmacists to decline dispensing the emergency contraceptive, Plan B.

The proposed regulation is illegal because the Pharmacy Board has no authority to adopt it. The voters of Washington decided this question in 1991 by enacting Initiative 120, the Reproductive Privacy Act.

I-120 forbids all state agencies from discriminating against contraception “in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information.” The people passed I-120 to prevent unelected agencies such as the Board from interfering with reproductive rights.

The Pharmacy Board proposes to do exactly that by authorizing any pharmacist to turn away a woman in need of emergency contraception.

The Board apparently thought that by wording its “conscience clause” generally, to allow pharmacists to refuse literally any prescription, the rule would not violate the anti-discrimination clause of I-120. That is legally wrong and reckless.

Discrimination occurs when a neutral regulation is adopted with the intent of singling out a specific practice for adverse consequences. The proposed rule, which has grown out of a desire to deny women access toPlan B, clearly discriminates against women under I-120.

…

Complete article at:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/282142_pharm23.html
Stewart Jay is a law professor at the University of Washington School of Law. He was a principal drafter of I-120.

                          ==========

One Year After Katrina

CHRIS KROMM, chris@southernstudies.org,

http://www.reconstructionwatch.org
Kromm is executive director of the Institute for Southern Studies, which launched Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch last year and has just released the report “One Year After Katrina: The State of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.” The 100-page study features over 250 statistical indicators, as well as over 45 status reports, investigations, and community profiles in 13 key areas.
He said today: “Despite promises from national leaders to ‘do what it takes’ to rebuild the Gulf, many in the region have been left to fend for themselves — with tragic results. Without a bold, national commitment, the Gulf and its people won’t come back.”

From: Institute for Public Accuracy

                          ==========

Katrina One Year Later: ‘The George Bush Dog-and-Pony Show’

Today, we launch the first in a series of profiles highlighting the experiences of Hurricane Katrina survivors—and exposing the gap between Bush administration spin and on-the-ground reality for the tens of thousands of survivors whose lives are still torn apart one year after the storm.

As the one-year anniversary of the Hurricane Katrina disaster approaches, some in the media have focused on New Orleans resident Rocky Vaccarella, who this week told President Bush he should have four more years in office.

But as Will Bunch on Attytood, Christy Hardin Smith on Firedoglake and others have written, Vaccarella’s appearance with Bush smells like the familiar smarmy sizzle of a White House PR campaign, this one swirling around the one-year anniversary of the Bush administration’s disaster relief debacle. Writes Bunch:

Turns out that the earthy Vaccarella—a highly successful businessman in the fast-food industry—is indeed a Republican pol, having run unsuccessfully under the GOP banner for a seat on the St. Bernard [New Orleans] Parish commission back in 1999.

Shouldn’t the media be a tad more skeptical about events like these? And isn’t the fact that Vaccarella was once a Republican candidate for office a relevant fact that should be mentioned, to help viewers place his effusive, nationally televised praise in context.

Maybe reporters should instead talk with Vaccarella’s childhood friend and Chalmette High School classmate Rickey Fabra:

All George Bush has done so far is a dog-and-pony show. Nothing has been done. If we can go to a third-world country and tear down bombed out buildings and rebuild them, how come we don’t have that here? George Bush is just saying something to satisfy the public and doing nothing.

…

Complete article at:

http://blog.aflcio.org/2006/08/25/katrina-one-year-later-%e2%80%98the-george-bush-dog-and-pony-show%e2%80%99/

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THE TROUBLE WITH BUSH’S ‘ISLAMOFASCISM’

Katha Pollitt, The Nation

If you thought the War on Terror was bad, get ready for the international disasters that the “war on Islamic fascism” will produce.

Complete article at:

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/40850/

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“Recognizing Iran as a Strategic Threat: An Intelligence Challenge for the United States”

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, MI-08, today announced release of a bipartisan House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence report on the strategic global threat posed by Iran and the challenges of addressing its destabilization of the Middle East region. 

The report, “Recognizing Iran as a Strategic Threat: An Intelligence Challenge for the United States,” is signed by Rogers and Ranking Democrat member Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey.

Complete report at:

http://www.mikerogers.house.gov/media/pdfs/iran082206.pdf

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three to see

Pat Oliphant: idiot! tell them you mean yes

http://www.uclick.com/feature/06/08/24/po060824.gif

Signe Wilkinson: faith-based relief group

http://www.uclick.com/feature/06/08/25/wpswi060825.gif

Monte Wolverton: Bush Above the Law

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/22706/

The August Southwest Climate Outlook is online.

This month’s outlook provides recent drought conditions and the latest seasonal forecasts. There are two feature articles entitled, “NWS new local three-month temperature outlook” and “East Pacific hurricanes bring rain to Southwest.”

Special thanks to Steve Novy from the UA Institute for the Study of Planet Earth, who offered this month’s cover photo of the Rillito River.

To download a printer-friendly PDF file (3.4 MB) of the August 2006 Outlook, visit:

http://www.ispe.arizona.edu/climas/end/packets/augpacket2006.pdf

As always, you can view the latest Southwest Climate Outlook in html format at:

http://www.ispe.arizona.edu/climas/forecasts/swoutlook.html

Highlights from the August 2006 Outlook

Drought – The monsoon rains have brought some drought relief to the Southwest, but the relief is likely to be temporary due to long-term moisture deficits.

• Drought conditions are expected to improve in the short-term in New Mexico and Arizona.
• Reservoirs in Arizona and New Mexico have declined since this time last year.

Fire Danger – Heavy rainfall and high humidities since the start of the monsoon season have reduced the fire danger considerably, virtually ending the active fire season.

Temperature – Since the start of the water year on October 1, 2005, temperatures over most of the Southwest have been above average.

Precipitation – Since the start of the monsoon season precipitation has been above average across most of the Southwest. Heavy rainfall has caused extensive flooding in many areas in Arizona and New Mexico.

Climate Forecasts – Experts predict increased chances of warmer-than-average temperatures and equal chances of precipitation through November 2006.

El Niño – ENSO-neutral conditions are expected to continue through February 2007.

The Bottom Line – Some drought relief has occurred due to the abundant rain since the start of the monsoon season, but that relief may be limited to short-term impacts due to the accumulated effects of long-term, multiyear precipitation deficits.

                          ==========

First salvos prepared for statehouse redistricting battles

By Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org Staff writer

Behind the scenes of this year’s legislative elections, both parties are quietly laying the groundwork for the next round of fierce redistricting battles that will decide who controls future statehouses and the U.S. Congress. 

Read More

 

http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=136505

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Lamest staged photo-op ever:

If Cindy Sheehan would have driven to D.C. with a FEMA trailer calling for another term for Bush, he would have met with her.

At:

http://www.attytood.com/archives/003647.html

From: Poacnewsletter

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Media amnesia: News outlets omitted key facts in coverage of Bush press conference

In their coverage of President Bush’s August 21 press conference, the media repeatedly omitted key information, including evidence of sharp divisions among Republicans on the issue of withdrawal from Iraq and repeated examples of Bush administration officials suggesting a connection between the 9-11 attacks and Iraq.

Read more

http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200608230003?src=other

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Trends in Terrorism: 2006

This July 2006 CRS (Congressional Research Service) Report for Congress surveys trends in terrorism, including more “micro-actors” (small autonomous groups and individuals), increased sophistication, and an overlap of terrorism with international crime. Includes statistics and policy discussions. Opens directly into a PDF file. Provided by the U.S. Department of State, Foreign Press Centers.

At

http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/69479.pdf

                          ==========

IN IRAQ, REPORTERS QUOTE THE GIS THAT EMBED THEM

At

http://www.psu.edu/ur/2006/embedreporting.html
When considering the practice of embedding journalists with U.S. military units in Iraq, the question is not whether they “can provide neutral reporting,” but “whether embedded reporters had the access or opportunity to talk with people other than the soldiers.” That’s the conclusion of a Penn State study that reviewed nearly 750 print articles in major outlets by more than 150 journalists — some embedded, some reporting from Baghdad hotels, and others reporting independently. Embedded reporters relied heavily on soldiers for information; 93 percent of their stories featured soldiers as sources. Only 43 percent of independent reporters’ stories featured soldiers as sources. Iraqis were sources in just 41 percent of embedded reporters’ articles, compared to 73 percent for independent reporters. The study also found that “articles by embedded reporters were both more prominent and more widely available than other types of reporting.” From mid-March to May 2003, 100 percent of USA Today’s Iraq articles came from embedded reporters.
SOURCE: Penn State University (U.S.), August 11, 2006

For more information or to comment on this story, visit:

http://www.prwatch.org/node/5091

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Will the U.S. Accept Iran Talks Without Preconditions?

TRITA PARSI, tp@tritaparsi.com,

http://www.tritaparsi.com, http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33983
A specialist on Iran, Parsi is head of the largest Iranian-American organization in the U.S., the National Iranian American Council. He said today: “The U.S. should pursue a resolution of all outstanding issues with Iran as soon as possible. Iran’s response to the P5+1 proposal … should not be regarded as the end of the diplomatic track. Doing so would put the U.S. on a slippery slope towards military action.
“In 2003, the Iranian government sent Washington an offer to without preconditions negotiate all the areas of friction between them, including the nuclear issue, Hezbollah and Iran’s position on Israel. The Bush administration rejected that offer.
“Had it not done so, much indicates that nuclear concessions would have been won, no war in Lebanon would have taken place, more than 1,000 Lebanese and 150 Israelis would not have gotten killed, and the risk for war between the U.S. and Iran would not be existing today.
“The lesson is that every delay to negotiate the full range of problems Washington has with Tehran has only served to exacerbate the situation, increase the suffering and weaken America’s leverage over Iran.
“Iraq and Lebanon have shown that there is no military solution to the problems in the Middle East. As long as the aim is to avoid war, diplomacy must be given a fair chance — without preconditions from either side.”
Parsi is the author of “Treacherous Triangle — The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel and the United States,” a book scheduled for publication next year.

From: Institute for Public Accuracy

                          ==========

Borowitz Report -Lunar Career Shocker

Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson to Build Movie Studio on the Moon

Move Reflects Dwindling Career Options on Earth, Insiders Say

Embattled actors Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson served notice to the entertainment industry that they intend to keep marching to the beat of a different drum by announcing today that they will build the first movie studio on the moon.

Industry insiders speculated that the actors’ decision to build the first lunar movie studio was motivated in part by their dwindling career options on the planet Earth.

“Tom Cruise just got dropped by Paramount for being too crazy, which in the movie business is really saying something,” said Buddy Schlantz, a veteran talent agent and observer of the Hollywood scene. “And Mel Gibson can’t get arrested, except on the Pacific Coast Highway.”

But in a press conference at Cape Canaveral today, the two actors denied that the state of their earthly careers had caused them to shift their attention moonward, with Mr. Gibson telling reporters, “The great thing about the moon is that it isn’t controlled by one specific group of people, if you know what I mean.”

When a reporter noted that the moon has no people at all, Mr. Cruise became argumentative: “Who told you that? Psychiatrists? Brooke Shields? That is such a load of crap!”

According to Mr. Schlantz, Mr. Cruise’s departure for the moon could result in the first public appearance of his daughter, Suri Cruise.

“Like Paramount, Suri has been trying to put some distance between herself and Tom,” he said. “If he leaves the planet, she’ll come out of hiding.”

Elsewhere, obesity increases one’s chances of premature death, according to a study published today in “Duh” magazine.

http://www.borowitzreport.com/

                          ==========

three to see

David Horsey: i could just stay in the senate

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/20060824/cartoon20060824.gif

Minimum security: Dear leaders

http://www.workingforchange.com/webgraphics/WFC/sm082206.jpg

Bad Reporter(Don Asmussen): youtube video of jesus slamming gays

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2006/08/25/082506-950×315-badreporter.gif