carapace – Not your father's america

Few people realize that the origins of a form of Christmas was pagan & celebrated in Europe long before anyone there had heard of Jesus Christ.

No one knows what day Jesus Christ was born on. From the biblical description, most historians believe that his birth probably occurred in September, approximately six months after Passover. One thing they agree on is that it is very unlikely that Jesus was born in December, since the bible records shepherds tending their sheep in the fields on that night. This is quite unlikely to have happened during a cold Judean winter. So why do we celebrate Christ’s birthday as Christmas, on December the 25th?

The answer lies in the pagan origins of Christmas. In ancient Babylon, the feast of the Son of Isis (Goddess of Nature) was celebrated on December 25. Raucous partying, gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were traditions of this feast.

In Rome, the Winter Solstice was celebrated many years before the birth of Christ. The Romans called their winter holiday Saturnalia, honoring Saturn, the God of Agriculture. In January, they observed the Kalends of January, which represented the triumph of life over death. This whole season was called Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. The festival season was marked by much merrymaking. It is in ancient Rome that the tradition of the Mummers was born. The Mummers were groups of costumed singers and dancers who traveled from house to house entertaining their neighbors. From this, the Christmas tradition of caroling was born.

In northern Europe, many other traditions that we now consider part of Christian worship were begun long before the participants had ever heard of Christ. The pagans of northern Europe celebrated the their own winter solstice, known as Yule. Yule was symbolic of the pagan Sun God, Mithras, being born, and was observed on the shortest day of the year. As the Sun God grew and matured, the days became longer and warmer. It was customary to light a candle to encourage Mithras, and the sun, to reappear next year.

Huge Yule logs were burned in honor of the sun. The word Yule itself means “wheel,” the wheel being a pagan symbol for the sun. Mistletoe was considered a sacred plant, and the custom of kissing under the mistletoe began as a fertility ritual. Hollyberries were thought to be a food of the gods.

The tree is the one symbol that unites almost all the northern European winter solstices. Live evergreen trees were often brought into homes during the harsh winters as a reminder to inhabitants that soon their crops would grow again. Evergreen boughs were sometimes carried as totems of good luck and were often present at weddings, representing fertility. The Druids used the tree as a religious symbol, holding their sacred ceremonies while surrounding and worshipping huge trees.

In 350, Pope Julius I declared that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25. There is little doubt that he was trying to make it as painless as possible for pagan Romans (who remained a majority at that time) to convert to Christianity. The new religion went down a bit easier, knowing that their feasts would not be taken away from them.

Christmas (Christ-Mass) as we know it today, most historians agree, began in Germany, though Catholics and Lutherans still disagree about which church celebrated it first. The earliest record of an evergreen being decorated in a Christian celebration was in 1521 in the Alsace region of Germany. A prominent Lutheran minister of the day cried blasphemy: “Better that they should look to the true tree of life, Christ.”

The controversy continues even today in some fundamentalist sects.

At:

http://de.essortment.com/christmaspagan_rece.htm

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TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

December 26
Dearest Bill: Today the postman delivered a partridge in a pear tree. With deepest Love and Devotion, Sara
December 27
Dearest Bill: Today the postman brought two turtle doves! With deepest Love, Sara
December 28
Dearest Bill: Oh! Your third gift arrived. Three French hens. Love, Sara
December 29
Dearest Bill: Today the postman delivered four calling birds. Affectionately, Sara
December 30
Dearest Bill: Today the postman delivered five golden rings, one for each finger. The rings are wonderful. All my love, Sara
December 31
Dear Bill: Today there were actually six geese a-laying on my front steps. The police came by with a formal complaint. Please stop. NO MORE BIRDS!! Cordially, Sara
January 1
Bill: Happy New Year. Seven swans a-swimming? There’s bird guana all over the house and they never stop squawking. STOP SENDING BIRDS. GOT IT? Sincerely, Sara
January 2
OK, WISE GUY:. What am I going to do with eight maids a-milking? And they had to bring their cows. Have you ever smelled a yard full of cow patties? NO MORE OF YOUR “GIFTS.” Sara
January 3
Hey, Vacuum-for-a-brain: Now there’s nine ladies dancing. The way they’ve been bickering with the milk maids, I hesitate to even call them ladies. You’ll get yours, buddy. Sara
January 4
You rotten piece of cow patty: What’s with the ten lords a-leaping? The City Commissioner has subpoenaed me to give cause why my house shouldn’t be condemned. I’m filing a complaint to the police about you! One who means it, Sara.
January 5
Listen, brainless: Now there’s eleven pipers piping. And they’re chasing those maids and dancing girls. The cows are getting very upset and are sounding worse than the birds ever did. There is a petition going around to evict me from the neighborhood I hope you’re satisfied, you rotten, vicious swine. Your sworn enemy, Sara
January 6
Dear Sir: This is to acknowledge your latest gift of twelve drummers drumming which you have seen fit to inflict on our client, Miss Sara Truelove. If you should attempt to reach Miss Truelove at Happy Glen Sanitarium, the attendants have instructions to shoot you on sight. With this letter please find attached a warrant for your arrest. Cordially, Law Firm of Sue, Pillage, and Plunder

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#1 of 10 myths — and 10 truths — about atheism

By Sam Harris, SAM HARRIS is the author of “The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason” and “Letter to a Christian Nation.”
December 24, 2006

SEVERAL POLLS indicate that the term “atheism” has acquired such an extraordinary stigma in the United States that being an atheist is now a perfect impediment to a career in politics (in a way that being black, Muslim or homosexual is not). According to a recent Newsweek poll, only 37% of Americans would vote for an otherwise qualified atheist for president.

Atheists are often imagined to be intolerant, immoral, depressed, blind to the beauty of nature and dogmatically closed to evidence of the supernatural.
Even John Locke, one of the great patriarchs of the Enlightenment, believed that atheism was “not at all to be tolerated” because, he said, “promises, covenants and oaths, which are the bonds of human societies, can have no hold upon an atheist.”

That was more than 300 years ago. But in the United States today, little seems to have changed. A remarkable 87% of the population claims “never to doubt” the existence of God; fewer than 10% identify themselves as atheists — and their reputation appears to be deteriorating.

Given that we know that atheists are often among the most intelligent and scientifically literate people in any society, it seems important to deflate the myths that prevent them from playing a larger role in our national discourse.

1) Atheists believe that life is meaningless.

On the contrary, religious people often worry that life is meaningless and imagine that it can only be redeemed by the promise of eternal happiness beyond the grave. Atheists tend to be quite sure that life is precious. Life is imbued with meaning by being really and fully lived. Our relationships with those we love are meaningful now; they need not last forever to be made so. Atheists tend to find this fear of meaninglessness … well … meaningless.

Complete article at:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-harris24dec24,0,3994298.story?page=2&track=tothtml

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The Spirit of Christmas: Bush banned from birthplace of Jesus Christ

Global Research, December 17, 2006

BETHLEHEM, April 01, 2003 (Online): The Church of Nativity, widely believed to be the birth-place of Jesus Christ, decided to ban entry each of the US President George Bush, his Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Foreign Secretary Jack Straw the privilege of visiting this sacred place, which is one of the holiest Christian shrines.

The move came in protest of “the aggressive war these leaders have waged against Iraq,” top Clergy of the church said.

The Church Parishioner Father Panaritius made the decision public at a massive protest demonstration organized by Orthodox institutions in front of the Church of Nativity.”They are war criminals and murderers of children. Therefore the Church of Nativity decided to ban them access into the holy shrine for ever,” the parishioner said.

…

Complete article at:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20061217&articleId=4179

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CONTRACEPTION SAVES MONEY AND MARRIAGES

By Cristina Page, TomPaine.com
Family planning has led to seismic change in our society, but not the kind of change the religious right would have you believe.

See:

http://www.alternet.org/sex/45725/

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The Winter Solstice took place Thursday December 21, 2006 at 7:22 PM EST.

This event marks the Sun’s lowest point in its apparent annual journey across the sky as seen from our planet’s Northern Hemisphere. South of the equator, the Sun appears to reach the highest position marking the onset of summer. For those of us in the United States, Europe and other points north, however, Winter Solstice is also the shortest day of the year, in the sense that the period of time between sunrise and sunset on this day is a minimum for that 365-plus days it takes Earth, our home, to revolve around our star.

There has been abundant speculation about what of this meant to early peoples even with their limited understanding of celestial mechanics and the movements of planets, the Sun and the Moon. We know that
“ancient astronomers” tracked phenomenon including the position of the rising sun throughout the year. They erected monuments like Stonehenge, and devised calendars to record these movements which were so intimately connected with the repetitive cycle of the year. The summer and winter solstices were crucial events in the seasonal oscillation, marking the depth of winter or the height of the summer. The solar risings around June 21 and December 21 seemed fixed at either their most northern or southern point on the horizon. The Latin term “Solstice” is, then, a combination of two terms: “sol” or “Sun” and “sistere,” or “stitium”meaning to cause a stoppage or stand still.

All of this is caused by the 23.5-degree tilt of Earth’s axis. Today that axis points to a potion in space near Polaris, the so-called North Star. As a result, during this time of year the Southern Hemisphere receives more direct sunlight our part of the planet. The conditions reverse six-months later when it is summer in the North.

The rhythms of life itself were intimately attached to the Solstices and the two Equinoxes when night and day were of equal length. Planting, harvesting and other events called for celebration and ritual which were integral elements of early communal life.

Countless cultures have celebrated this and other “natural holidays” or events since ancient times. But the symbolism, rituals and meaning of this holiday, especially Solstice, was co-opted and even banned by
the Christian church as it gained political and cultural hegemony. Pagan celebrations like Saturnalia were grafted on to church doctrine. The “Sun,” giver of life, was transformed into the “Son” of God, a dreary, self-sacrificing being cobbled together from artifacts of earlier religions (such as virgin birth, death and resurrection).

There is a renaissance of interest, however, in events like the Solstice as people seek new rituals and means of celebration appropriate to our increasingly diverse, secular world. In the history of modern Atheism, it was Madalyn Murray O’Hair who first proposed that the four major astronomical events of the year — the two Solstices and the two Equinoxes — become “natural holidays” again for all humanity to recognize and celebrate. Different groups including many Atheists, Freethinkers and Humanists have taken up the call, and various organizations sponsor Winter Solstice events. Under a tapestry of names, we search for new ways to re-connect with the natural world in the spirit of friendship and conviviality without the need for religious dogmas.

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PASTOR TED’S GAY LOVER TO KISS AND TELL

By Sarah Posner

It’s not just Haggard…

See:

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/45817/

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“They’re free” said the Lord.Goodyear’s Plans to Move Jobs to China Adds to Nation’s Economic Woes

by Tula Connell, Dec 21, 2006

Goodyear strikers have leafleted customers at outlets around the nation to explain how Goodyear has backed away from its promises to workers. ¼br />
Let’s see. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson went to China last week to get the Chinese government to voluntarily lower the value of its currency, the yuan.

He failed.

But to save face for the United States, China said it will buy four Westinghouse nuclear reactors—never mind worries that this nation is selling its competitive advantage one industry at a time.

At the signing ceremony for the deal, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman had this to say:

The Chinese were very demanding.

Too bad the same can’t be said of the Bush administration when it comes to creating economic policies that will strengthen the United States. (Bonddad has done a great job detailing Bush’s economic failures here and here, where he points out Bush’s job growth record is the worst in 40 years.)

So, while China keeps its yuan undervalued by as much as 40 percent, this nation runs up a $202 billion trade deficit with China in 2005—and Bush’s solution is to send his cabinet to China to ask its government to see things our way, rather than take any concrete action.

Meanwhile, profit-making corporations like Goodyear are adding to our economic imbalance by sending family-supporting U.S. jobs overseas—to China.

Click here to read the full post.

http://bonddad.blogspot.com/2006/12/pretzel-logic-hold-salt.html

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Plant and Factory Closings

Weyerhaeuser closing two Oregon plants

A plywood mill in Springfield and a veneer plant in Coburg are being permanently shut down.

http://www.retailnet.com/rss/view.cfm?ID=33558

A sad, familiar story

Spartanburg Herald Journal (subscription) – Spartanburg,SC,USA

… closing of Ameritex resulted from sudden funding cuts made by the company’s bank. He declined to disclose the bank. He said the workers at the Ameritex plant …

http://www.goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061221/NEWS/612210328/1051/NEWS01

Summit plastics plant closing – The Clarion-Ledger

Summit plastics plant closing. The Associated Press. SUMMIT — A plastics company that successfully lobbied the town of Summit to obtain nearly $1 million in …

http://clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061214/BIZ/61214009

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five for fun

Jack Higgins: I bet everybody forgets your birthday

http://img.slate.com/media/337/content.todayscartoons.uclick.gif

Deb Milbrath: happy chriskwanzadhanukah

http://www.milbrathdraws.com/archives/2006/12/20.jpg

Signe Wilkinson: Peace on earth! Congo. Afghanistan. Iraq. Darfur. U.S. Gun violence. Israel/Palestinians.

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/28575/

Jack Ohman: I don’t want these stupid books…

http://images.ucomics.com/comics/tmjoh/2006/tmjoh061219.gif

Minimum Security: The war on Christmas

http://www.workingforchange.com/webgraphics/WFC/sm121906.jpg

All we wanted for Christmas was a plausible Iraq strategy.

In the White House briefing room last week, George Bush’s spokesman, Tony Snow, explained why this was unrealistic.

…

Complete article at:

http://www.workingforchange.com/go.cfm?href=http://origin.stag.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/061225ta_talk_coll

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School bans book about two male penguins who raise an egg.

Next on their list, that Horton guy who raised an egg out of wedlock

At:

http://tinyurl.com/y64qr4

From: Poacnewsletter

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FOR RELIGION OR MONEY: JESUS ON THE BIG SCREEN

By Jonathan Jones, AlterNet

Hollywood doesn’t care as much about Christmas or Christians as it does about making a profit. But just how much money do religious films make?

See:

http://www.alternet.org/movies/45668/

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A CAUSE (-RELATED MARKETING) FOR JOY?

See:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-watson/consumer-philanthropy-no_b_36261.html

“Large American nonprofits spend at least $7.6 billion per year on marketing and public relations,” according to a consulting firm’s analysis of U.S. tax data. “$7.6 billion annually in spending for advertising, communications, public relations and branding … is not an insignificant business sector,” writes Tom Watson. “Total spending on public relations in the U.S. reached some $3.7 billion last year. … So while corporations are increasingly tying their brands to nonprofit causes, the nonprofits themselves are — in a way — increasingly competing with corporations for consumer attention, and consumer dollars. Clearly, causes sell. … According to projects sponsorship consultancy IEG, Inc., cause-marketing spending will rise 20.5% this year to $1.34 billion — that means cause-marketing sponsorships are now outpacing sports sponsorships.” While Watson sees this as good news for both nonprofits and marketers, Huffington Post readers seem less enthusiastic. “Couldn’t that money be used to directly serve people?” one commenter asks. “In the end, the corporate-allied nonprofits wear out their welcome,” warns another.
SOURCE: The Huffington Post, December 13, 2006

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

http://www.prwatch.org/node/5553

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Church and sex abuse

Settlement in Oregon archdiocese priest sex abuse case

KRIS-TV – Corpus Christi,TX,USA

There’s a settlement in a sex abuse case against priests in the Archdiocese of Portland … Most of the cases involve a now-dead priest who worked in several …
http://www.kristv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5798708&nav=Bsmh

Court appearance adjourned in priest sex abuse case

WSTM-TV – Syracuse,NY,USA

SYRACUSE, NY A Syracuse city court appearance for a 77-year-old priest accused of sexual abuse was adjourned today until January 23rd. …
http://www.wstm.com/Global/story.asp?S=5800040&nav=2aKD

Settlement in Oregon archdiocese priest sex abuse case

WIS – Columbia,SC,USA

(Eugene, OR-AP) December 11, 2006 – There’s a settlement in a sex abuse case against … Most of the cases involve a now-dead priest who worked in several parishes …
http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5798714&nav=0RaP

Judge rules priest sex abuse documents should be public

Boston Globe – United States

–A Superior Court judge has ruled that sealed documents from priest sex abuse cases in the Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocese should be open to the public. …
http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/12/07/judge_rules_priest_sex_abuse_documents_should_be_public

Priest Sex Abuse Settlement Announced

KOIN.com – Portland,OR,USA

PORTLAND – The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland has agreed to a plan to settle 150 sex abuse cases against priests and protect the assets of parishes and …
http://www.koin.com/Global/story.asp?S=5799681

Judge announces settlement between Portland Archdiocese, priest …

Contra Costa Times – CA,USA

… Maurice Grammond, a priest at the center of a number of Oregon abuse claims … have paid an estimated $1.5 billion since 1950 to handle claims of sex abuse by its …
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/16220347.htm

Ore. priest sex abuse claimants agree to settle MSNBC – USA

… the first in the nation to seek protection from creditors when it went to federal bankruptcy court to head off a massive lawsuit claiming sexual abuse by the …

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16156547/
Ex-minister pleads guilty to sex abuse

Louisville Courier-Journal – Louisville,KY,USA

AP. GRAYSON, Ky. — A former youth minister from northeastern … The sex-abuse crimes were Class A felonies, which carry a sentence of 20 years to life in prison. …
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061217/NEWS0104/612170403/1008/NEWS01

Salesianum priest sex-abuse suit will go to trial

The News Journal – Wilmington,DE,USA

A Superior Court judge ruled today that a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by a former principal of Salesianum School may go to trial. Judge Calvin L. Scott Jr. …
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061206/NEWS/61206057
Pope Benedict XVI’s personal priest asked the pontiff Friday to …

By LiquidLifeHacker

Pope Benedict XVI’s personal priest asked the pontiff Friday to declare a day of fasting and penance to express the Roman Catholic Church’s solidarity with the victims of clerical sex abuse. In a strongly worded lecture, the Rev. …
http://liquidlifehacker.blogspot.com/2006/12/pope-benedict-xvis-personal-priest.html

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‘CHRISTIAN’ GAME LEAVES BEHIND A PILE OF CORPSES

By Matt Taibbi, RollingStone.com

The Left Behind video game encourages you to celebrate the birth of Jesus by wasting dozens of people at a time, using a variety of Christ-sanctioned weapons.

See:

http://www.alternet.org/stories/45767/

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How’s Your Holiday Bonus?

by Tula Connell, Dec 21, 2006

Are you getting a holiday bonus this year?

Yes

No

Pat Hunnell of Raleigh, N.C., described the holiday bonus her husband, an engineering manager, received in recent years: A $10 gift certificate to Red Lion, ostensibly for a Christmas turkey. While Hunnel says she doesn’t want to seem ungrateful, she describes the bonus as “ungracious.”

Hunnell was among the lucky.

A study by HR consultancy Hewitt Associates of more than 300 organizations found that two-thirds of companies said they would not award holiday bonuses this year. More than half had never offered a holiday bonus, while 14 percent had discontinued their programs. Of those that canceled, nearly two-thirds did so in the past six years.

Contrast the empty envelope of most U.S. workers to the platinum-lined pay packets of Goldman Sachs employees, who will receive an average of $542,000 per employee this year, with $5 million or more for a handful of star traders and top bankers. In 2005, the average worker in the United States made a grand total of $41,861.

In fact, securities-industry employees in New York City are slated to receive $23.9 billion in bonuses this year, surpassing last year’s record by 17 percent, according to a forecast by New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi.

Wall Street bonuses will average $137,580 this year, nearly 2½ times the average annual salary for the city’s nonfinancial jobs, according to a report from Hevesi’s office. The payments will generate about $1.6 billion in tax revenue for New York state and $500 million for New York City, Hevesi said today.

This level of private excess is “indefensible,” says AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. In a letter today to Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Reps. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.Y) and Jim McCrery (R-La.), Sweeney says the situation cries out for a more progressive tax policy that “puts our country’s urgent needs ahead of a few individual’s desire to spend more on a bottle of champagne than a minimum wage worker will make in an entire year.”

Middle class and lower-income American families face continued wage stagnation and spiraling health care costs. Between 2000 and 2004, real median family income fell 3 percent, or about $1,600 in 2004 dollars. We urge you in your leadership capacity in the new Congress to take a fresh look at closing executive pay loopholes that skirt congressionally mandated limits.

We must address the fundamental unfairness of a system that allows Wall Street investment bankers to buy $15,000 champagne bottles while our troops die for lack of body armor and hundreds of thousands of our fellow Americans in New Orleans remain refugees in their own country.

See Sweeney’s letter to the senators here and to the House members here.

In the Hewitt survey, companies said the main reasons for scrapping a bonus program include cost (61 percent), employees did not value it (35 percent)—these likely are the employees who got $10 turkey certificates—entitlement issues (33 percent) and the development of pay-for-performance programs (21 percent).

Among 1,500 small businesses, 39 percent plan to give employees holiday bonuses this year, according to Constant Contact, an e-mail marketing service for small businesses, up 2 percent from last year.

Bonuses, of course, are just the foam in champagne glass.

In 2005, the average CEO in the United States earned 262 times the pay of the average worker, the second-highest level of this ratio in the 40 years for which there are data. In 2005, a CEO earned more in one workday (there are 260 in a year) than an average worker earned in 52 weeks.

Cheers.

From:

http://blog.aflcio.org/2006/12/21/how%e2%80%99s-your-holiday-bonus/

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CHRISTMAS HAS NOT BEEN STOLEN

By Mary Shaw, AlterNet

It only takes one look at tinseled-out storefronts to see that Christmas is alive and thriving.

See:

http://www.alternet.org/stories/45536/

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three to see

Trouble Town (Lloyd Dangle): have a merry scary christmas

http://troubletown.com/cartoons/cartoons/ttown.841.gif

Jeff Danziger: Bush, Cheney, ISG Report, Christmas, The Way Ahead

http://danzigercartoons.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/dancart3016.jpg

Chappatte: have you been competitive this year?

http://public.globecartoon.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/globecartoon.woa/1/wr?wodata=212318501368140809

Subject: An Ominous Milestone: 100 Million Data Leaks

From: TechNews technews@ACM.ORG

*Wired News* senior editor Kevin Poulsen announced on his blog last Thursday that with announcements from UCLA (800,000 records stolen), Aetna (130,000 records stolen) and Boeing (320,000 records stolen), over 100 million records had been stolen since the ChoicePoint breach almost two years ago. While perpetrators of the Aetna and Boeing laptop thefts were probably not after personal records, the same cannot be said for the UCLA data theft, where a hacker had been accessing the university’s database of personal information for over a year before being discovered.  A Public Policy Institute study, using data from the Identity Theft Resource Center, showed that of the 90 million records stolen between 1 Jan 2005, and 26 Mar 2006, 43 percent were at educational institutions. …
In: ACM FORUM ON RISKS TO THE PUBLIC IN COMPUTERS AND RELATED SYSTEMS (comp.risks)

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CNN “surpris[ed]” at Dem reaction to Bush’s “conciliatory” tone, effort to “press the reset button”

On CNN’s The Situation Room, Wolf Blitzer noted that Harry Reid took “a new jab at President Bush on Iraq, despite [Bush's] talk of bipartisanship,” while Suzanne Malveaux uncritically reported that Bush “vow[ed] several times not only to work with Republicans, but Democrats as well” and John King asserted that the Democratic reaction to Bush’ press conference was “surprising.” These statements ignored reports — including those by King and Jeff Greenfield on the same edition of The Situation Room — that undermine the credibility of Bush’s pledge of bipartisanship.

Read more

http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200612220001?src=other

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Fox radio hosts suggests putting liberal commentators and activists in concentration camps. The fact that this kind of talk is broadcast easily as it is and elicits no major public outcry should scare the crap out of everyone.

At:

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/12/20/gallagher-damon-olbermann/

From: Poacnewsletter

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TACO BELL SEEKS PR ANTIDOTE TO E. COLI CASES

See:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116596104973148101.html?mod=us_business_whats_news

Taco Bell has hired a safety expert, tested its produce, eliminated green onions, changed suppliers, and hired a PR crisis-response firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland. The firm’s advice: publicize safety, which the company has done in big market newspaper ads. Still, with 69 reported East Coast cases of E. coli and no smoking gun, the restaurant chain faces what reporters Janet Adamy and Suzanne Vranica call “a difficult marketing challenge: how to convince consumers its food is safe when it doesn’t know what has made people sick.” The last reported case occurred on December 2, 2006. The outbreak has produced calls from lawmakers to establish new rules and regulations to prevent food contamination. The brand has also taken a shot from the Produce Marketing Association, which stated that Taco Bell is not a member of an industry safety coalition that investigated sources of contaminated California spinach that killed three persons and sickened 200 nationwide in September.
SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal (sub req’d), December 13, 2006

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

http://www.prwatch.org/node/5546

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Church and sexual abuse

News-Leader.com – Springfield,MO,USA

The Catholic Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau announced today that in October it received an accusation of sexual abuse of a minor that occurred 40 years …

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061219/BREAKING01/61219020

Catholic Church in Oregon OKs $75 mln settlement

Reuters – USA

… Facing nearly 70 claims of priest sex abuse, the archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2004 on the day an abuse lawsuit asking for $135 million …

http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-1219T201012Z_01_N19282987_RTRUKOC_0_US-CHURCH-SEXABUSE-SETTLEMENT.xml&WTmodLoc=USNewsHome_C2_domesticNews-5

Principal rejects blame for priest

By BY LISA DONOVAN Staff Reporter

The Archdiocese of Chicago has reprimanded the principal of Our Lady of the Westside School for allowing her boss, the Rev. Daniel McCormack, to teach and coach at the elementary school even after sex abuse allegations came to light, …

http://suntimes.com/news/metro/177746,CST-NWS-priest19.article

Maine diocese complies with sex abuse rules

Portsmouth Herald News – Portsmouth,NH,USA

… The US Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted the Dallas Charter in 2002 in the wake of the church’s priest sexual abuse scandal. …

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/12202006/mainenews-ph-me-church.html

Catholic diocese reveals sex-abuse accusation against deceased priest

By kshaw

MISSOURI News-Leader The Catholic Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau announced today that in October it received an accusation of sexual abuse of a minor that occurred 40 years ago against one of its priests, Eugene Deragowski. …

http://ncrnews.org/abuse2006a-archives/2006_12.html#022145

Call for sex abuse penance at Vatican

Monsters and Critics.com – Glasgow,UK

… the preacher to the papal household, the only person allowed to preach to the Pope. The Church has been rocked by a series of child sex abuse scandals in …
http://lifestyle.monstersandcritics.com/religion/news/article_1234509.php/Call_for_sex_abuse_penance_at_Vatican

                          ==========

Troop Levels

KELLY DOUGHERTY, kellydough@hotmail.com,

http://www.ivaw.net

Executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Dougherty said today: “The Democrats’ continued consent and funding of the war allows Bush to conduct it as he wishes. … The U.S. military presence in Iraq is the main factor, either directly or indirectly, instigating the violence there.”
From: Institute for Public Accuracy

                          ==========

Mr. President, you’re no Harry Truman

Marianne Means: The biggest difference between George W. Bush and Harry Truman lies in their sense of personal responsibility. Truman was famous for a sign on his desk pronouncing “the buck stops here.” Bush has never really conceded a mistake nor admitted there was any buck that might reach his desk.

…

Complete article at:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/296809_means22.html

Marianne Means is a Washington, D.C., columnist with Hearst Newspapers.

                          ==========

U.S. Buildup Against Iran

The New York Times is reporting on its front page today: “The United States and Britain will begin moving additional warships and strike aircraft into the Persian Gulf region in a display of military resolve toward Iran that will come as the United Nations continues to debate possible sanctions against the country, Pentagon and military officials said Wednesday.” Another Times front-page piece is headlined “Iran President Facing Revival of Students’ Ire.”
TRITA PARSI, (202) 386-2303, tp@tritaparsi.com,

http://www.tritaparsi.com

Parsi is head of the National Iranian American Council. He said today: “As bad as the war in Iraq is, the U.S. action raises the specter of a wider regional war. Some ‘neo-cons’ have called for just such a military deployment. Some in Saudi Arabia seem to be preferring a wider war to an Iraq dominated by Shiites.” Parsi is author of the forthcoming book “Treacherous Triangle: The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel and the United States.”

From: Institute for Public Accuracy

                          ==========

Borowitz Report – Naughty Versus Nice Shocker

Naughty Outnumber Nice in New Survey

Awake Edges Asleep, Poll Finds

In a University of Minnesota survey designed to determine who is naughty and who is nice, the naughty outnumbered the nice by a whopping three-to-one margin, the University of Minnesota revealed today.

The survey, conducted by the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research Institute, showed that 70% of Americans identify themselves as naughty while only 22% identify themselves as nice, with 8% defining themselves as “other.”

According to the survey, Democrats were twice as likely as Republicans to admit that they were naughty, while Republicans were more likely to claim that they had been nice, only later to be found out to have been naughty.

Davis Logsdon, who supervised the survey for the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research Institute, said that the rise of the naughty, along with the steady decline of the nice, can be attributed to two major factors.

“The Internet has spread naughtiness at a rate that few of us could have anticipated,” Mr. Logdson said. “Also, some of the credit has to go to the Fox network.”

In another part of the survey, the number of Americans who know that they are sleeping was slightly edged by the number of Americans who know that they are awake.

According to Mr. Logsdon, those numbers are the reverse of a poll taken in 2004, when more Americans defined themselves as sleeping than awake: “Some of that may have been due to the presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass).”

Elsewhere, obesity may be caused not by eating habits but by bacteria in one’s guts, according to a study underwritten by the American Society of Gluttons.

http://www.borowitzreport.com/

                          ==========

three to see

Matt Bors: passionately nuanced activists

http://www.mattbors.com/strips/230.gif

Slowpoke: suspicious minds

http://www.slowpokecomics.com/strips/deniers.gif

Mike Peters: iraqy – the final fight

http://www.grimmy.com/images/MP_Archive/MP_2006/MP1222.gif

Zuula

Zuula is the best way to find what you are looking for on the Internet. With Zuula, it is quick and convenient to get results from all the top search engines. Search engines often return very different results for the same terms. So checking multiple search engines will give you the best results, and Zuula makes it easy. Currently, Zuula offers Web, Image, News, Blog, and Job searches.

Go to:

http://www.zuula.com/

                          ==========

News from TRAC: Less Time Spent on IRS Audits of Largest Corporations

As a result of TRAC’s long-standing FOIA efforts against the agency, we recently received limited but important data from the IRS about its audits of the largest corporations.  In the last few years, despite claims to the contrary by Commissioner Everson, this enforcement effort has faltered. 

Go to:

http://trac.syr.edu/tracirs/latest/current to see these latest findings.

Other significant TRAC news on the FOIA front is that Justice Department lawyers in Washington last week rejected an IRS request that it be allowed to appeal the April 4 decision of a federal judge in Seattle who had ordered the agency to provide us statistics about its audits.  The decision blocking a possible appeal is good news for TRAC because it would appear to signal the appearance on our free web site of new and more complete information.

David Burnham and Susan B. Long, co-directors
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse
Syracuse University
488 Newhouse II
Syracuse, NY  13244-2100
315-443-3563
trac@syr.edu
http://trac.syr.edu

                          ==========

On MSNBC, Mitchell allowed McCain aide to distance Terry Nelson from controversial RNC ad

NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell did not challenge Sen. John McCain aide Rick Davis when he asserted that Terry Nelson was not “behind” a campaign ad attacking Rep. Harold Ford Jr. that was criticized as racist. In fact, Nelson was head of the political unit that paid for the ad and presumably in a position to sign off on its creation and broadcast.

Read more

http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200612200014?src=other

                          ==========

Senator Sam Brownback wants to restart judicial hearing process since judge once had a gay neighbor and attended the neighbor’s same-sex ceremony

Read more

http://www.wibw.com/news/headlines/4960541.html

From: Poacnewsletter

                          ==========

WHITE HOUSE ACCUSED OF LIMITING DEBATE ON IRAN

At:

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-censor19dec19,1,5975603.story

Former CIA analyst and National Security Council official Flynt Leverett has accused the White House of trying “to silence his criticism of Middle East policies by ordering the CIA to censor an op-ed column he wrote.” Leverett said the CIA’s attempt to remove already-public information about prior U.S. contacts with Iran from his op-ed is intended “to silence an established critic of the administration’s foreign policy incompetence at a moment when the White House is working hard to fend off political pressure to take a different approach.” A CIA spokesman said the agency’s review of the op-ed is ongoing, and “more often than not the issues are worked out.” An anonymous White House official dismissed Leverett’s claims, saying, “There was nothing political here.” Leverett’s op-ed faults the administration for not taking Tehran up on a 2003 offer to “settle several disputes between the two countries,” and predicts that “any deal that Washington made now would be on less favorable terms, because Iran had gained strength in the region and the United States was tied down in Iraq.”

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, December 19, 2006

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

http://www.prwatch.org/node/5565

                          ==========

Troop Levels

CARL CONETTA,

http://www.comw.org

Co-director of the Project on Defense Alternatives, Conetta said today: “Unless you are planning more invasions like that of Iraq, or you think a 10 percent increase will change the direction of the war, a troop level increase — if achievable — is a purely political move. It’s a sop to the military brass for continuing to go along with the Iraq war. Many of the Democrats have been calling for this so they can be seen as tough and pro-military.”

From: Institute for Public Accuracy

                          ==========

MILITARY ESCALATION: BUSH CAN’T KICK THE HABIT

By Robert Scheer, Truthdig
The Bush Administration is hooked on the drug of military might, with Gates calling for sending more troops to a war we can’t win.

At:

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/45764/

                          ==========

**Interview: Triple Cross: A Conversation With Peter Lance

Interview at:

http://www.internetwritingjournal.com/dec06/lance5.htm

Five-time Emmy award-winning investigative reporter Peter Lance is back with the third book in his bestselling nonfiction series about terrorism, the FBI and the gross negligence of U.S. intelligence agencies in the years leading up to 9/11. In his new book, Triple Cross, (Regan Books) Peter reveals the shocking story of how top Qaeda spy Ali Mohamed was able to infiltrate the Green Berets, theFBI and the CIA, all while planning the African Embassy bombings and training the terror cell that bombed the World Trade Center in 1993. Lance also explains how the Department of Justice and federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, known to most Americans as the investigator in the stalled Valerie Plame leak case, failed to stop Mohamed although he had multiple opportunities to do so.In this exclusive new interview, Peter talks about Ali Mohamed, the damage he caused to U.S. interests, why the FBI failed tocatch him and whether or not the information he has uncovered will trigger a new investigation into the events leading up to 9/11.

From: The Writers Write Update

http://www.writerswriteinc.com/

                          ==========

Borowitz Report – Reindeer Violence Shocker

Brawl Erupts at Reindeer Games

Rudolph Suspended for Season

The epidemic of sports violence spread to the North Pole last night as a brawl erupted between fans and reindeer at this year’s reindeer games, resulting in the ejection and suspension of Rudolph for the remainder of the season.

The games, a holiday classic that dates back to 1949, had a mostly uneventful history until 2002, the year that beer and other alcoholic beverages first became available for sale at the event.

Since then, fans say, the reindeer games have drawn increasingly unruly crowds who aggressively goad the hoofed creatures with catcalls and obscenities.

“Given how wasted the fans are, it’s amazing that something like this didn’t happen sooner,” said Harlan McDougal, a fan who makes the trip from Pittsburgh every year to see the reindeer play.

Rudolph, who was fined by the league for spitting in the face of Blixen earlier in the season, was the object of the fans’ ire from early in the first period.

“Fans were shouting at him,” Mr. McDougal said. “I didn’t hear everything they said, but let’s put it this way — they were not shouting out with glee.”

After nearly two periods of such abuse, Rudolph had had enough, prancing into the stands and attempting to gore several fans with his antlers.

Mr. McDougal said that alcohol may have played a role in Rudolph’s violent rampage.

“It was obvious that he had been drinking,” Mr. McDougal said. “Did you check out his nose?”

Elsewhere, as part of a new plan to eradicate the insurgents, President Bush said he favors increasing the number of Taco Bells in Iraq.

http://www.borowitzreport.com/

                          ==========

three to see

Jim Morin: sectarian strife continues

http://img.slate.com/media/338/content.todayscartoons.uclick.gif

Mike Keefe: We’re not Winning

http://www.intoon.com/toons/2006/KeefeM20061221.jpg

Bad Reporter (Don Asmussen): firing miss usa …

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2006/12/20/950×315-badreporter.gif

Yoople! Project

At Yoople! Project we believe that Web Searches are quite good, but not as smart as a human brain could do. As today we are forced to accept the order given by search engines and click the results as they are, unfortunately this does not mean the human searcher agrees with the returned results index. Moreover clicking a result does not mean the website contains the contents we were looking for.

Starting from these thoughts we have started to think about a new way to interact with web searches and a new project, codename Yoople!, has born with the aim to give a human touch to the typical user experience with search engine indexing.

At:

http://www.yoople.net/

                          ==========

Kristol falsely asserted that Sen. Kennedy wants to continue failed Iraq strategy

On Fox News Sunday, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol misrepresented Sen. Ted Kennedy’s “current position” on Iraq as a plan to “continue to pursue a strategy which has not been winning.” In fact, Kennedy was one of only 13 senators who voted to withdraw troops from Iraq by July 2007.

Read more

http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200612190004?src=other

                          ==========

JOINT CHIEFS: WHITE HOUSE LACKS DEFINED MISSION FOR IRAQ.

At:

http://tinyurl.com/yklw5l

From: Poacnewsletter

                          ==========

Report to Congress Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq, December 18, 2006

Complete report at:

http://defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/9010Quarterly-Report-20061216.pdf

                          ==========

Boots on the Ground: Troop Density in Contingency Operations

ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COLL FORT LEAVENWORTH KS COMBAT STUDIES INST

Occasional paper

PERSONAL AUTHORS:McGrath, John J.

REPORT DATE: 2006

211 PAGES

At:

http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/mcgrath_boots.pdf
ABSTRACT: Recent Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) operations in Iraq have focused attention on the issue of the number of deployed troops needed to effectively conduct contingency operations. While pundits, military observers, and serving officers frequently address this issue, there seems to be no concise, systematic approach to this subject. Planning factors appear to be either extremely vague or nonexistent. Since historical analysis can be used to seek out examples from past similar operations to determine trends or estimates based on historical precedent, this work fills that gap with a brief but intensive study of troop strength in past contingency operations. While there are no established rules for determining troop density, since 1995 several military observers, analysts, and civilian journalists have promulgated general theories on troop density. Most theorists generally cite historical precedent when proposing ratios for troop density levels. Most density recommendations fall within a range of 25 soldiers per 1000 residents in an area of operations (soldier per 40 inhabitants) to 20 soldiers per 1000 inhabitants (or soldier per 50 inhabitants). The 20 to 1000 ratio is often considered the minimum effective troop density ratio. However, are these estimates supported by historical data? This work will study a selected sample of successful military contingency operations to answer that question. Since many of the activities of military forces in contingency operations are similar to the daily functions of civilian police forces, the work also will consider size and density factors for police forces in New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, and Los Angeles, and State Police forces. The analysis will then provide a recommended planning estimate for future contingency operations based on this review of historical experience. The current operation in Iraq will be analyzed using the recommended planning estimate.

                          ==========

Counterinsurgency

An Army field manual “designed to fill a doctrinal gap. It has been 20 years since the Army published a field manual devoted exclusively to counterinsurgency operations. For the Marine Corps it has been 25 years. With our Soldiers and Marines fighting insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is essential that we give them a manual that provides principles and guidelines for counterinsurgency operations.” (Manual hosted by the Federation of American Scientists)

At:

http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-24.pdf

                          ==========

IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS

At:

http://kdpaine.blogs.com/kdpaines_pr_m/2006/12/let_me_get_this.html
“Walmart used to annoy me with its horrible labor practices, draconian rules, and blatant manipulation of the media, but now it’s gone past annoyance to bafflement,” writes marketing consultant K.D. Paine. “The latest was the firing of their VP of Marketing because she allegedly went for rides in an Aston Martin and accepted dinners from Agencies pitching their business. … Their message is: we’re all about ethics. Which might be believable for a nanosecond, except that the agency behind the biggest ethics scandal to hit the blogosphere in awhile (and presumably the PR person who okay-ed those fake blogs) are still happily employed.” Michael Deaver, a former chief of staff for President Reagan, is now helping to oversee the Wal-Mart account as a vice chairman at the Edelman PR firm.
SOURCE: KD Paine’s PR Measurement Blog, December 8, 2006

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

http://www.prwatch.org/node/5530

                          ==========

New Drug Development: Science, Business, Regulatory, and Intellectual Property Issues Cited as Hampering Drug Development Efforts,

Full text GAO-07-49, and Highlights, November 17, 2006.

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0749.pdf

“Recent scientific advances have raised expectations that an increasing number of new and innovative drugs would soon be developed to more effectively prevent, treat, and cure serious illnesses. However, industry analysts and the FDA have reported that new drug development, and in particular, development of new molecular entities (NMEs)–potentially innovative drugs containing ingredients that have never been marketed in the United States–has become stagnant.”

Press release: “GAO Analysis Refutes Industry Myths About Drug Development – Rep. Waxman,

http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1148

along with Sens. Durbin and Kennedy, today released a new GAO analysis revealing a decline in new drug development by the pharmaceutical industry. The report contradicts the myth that higher research expenditures have resulted in more treatment options for patients…The panel of experts convened by GAO recommended increased collaboration among government, industry, and academia in the drug development proces and in the development of scientists who can translate scientific breakthroughs into practical results. The panel also indicated that the government could consider providing additional financial incentives — such as longer patent lives for innovative drugs and shorter patent terms for “me-too” drugs — to shape the drug development process.”

Fact Sheet on Drug Development, by Rep. Henry Waxman

http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/Documents/20061219112943-24453.pdf

                          ==========

Borowitz Report – Lou Dobbs Warning Shocker

Lou Dobbs Warns Santa Not to Cross U.S. Border

Anchor Attacks Foreign-made Items in Claus’ Sack

CNN anchor Lou Dobbs devoted his entire news broadcast last night to a searing expose of Santa Claus in which he warned the legendary fat man not to cross the United States’ border with Canada on Christmas Eve.

Mr. Dobbs has made “America’s broken borders” one of his signature crusades in recent years, but even for viewers familiar with his incendiary rants about illegal immigration and cheap foreign imports, his attack on Santa Claus seemed particularly vitriolic.

“To our knowledge, Santa Claus is a resident of the North Pole and therefore is doing business in the United States as an undocumented worker,” Mr. Dobbs told his television audience. “In short, he is taking jobs away from hard-working American toy-delivery personnel while the government looks the other way.”

Mr. Dobbs also pressed Congress to open a “full investigation” into the country of origin of the gift items in Santa Claus’ sack.

“We have reason to believe that Santa’s sack is full of cheap gift items manufactured in China, only adding to America’s already burgeoning trade deficit,” the CNN anchor said.

Pledging to stand guard on the U.S.’s border with Canada on Christmas Eve and to “shoot down Santa’s sleigh on sight,” Mr. Dobbs directed the last words of his broadcast to St. Nick himself.

“Santa Claus, lest you write me off as some sort of a lunatic, I must warn you, I’m not alone,” Mr. Dobbs said. “Pat Buchannan agrees with me.”

Elsewhere, singer Britney Spears was voted “Worst Celebrity Dog Owner,” reportedly because of her treatment of estranged husband Kevin Federline.

http://www.borowitzreport.com/

                          ==========

three to see

Jeff Danziger: on the u.s.-mexican border

http://img.slate.com/media/336/content.todayscartoons.uclick.gif

Sandy Huffaker: …santa doesn’t want to raise troop levels!

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/28330/

Larry Wright: my dog ate my iraq study group report

http://cagle.com/working/061213/wright.gif

USB AirSoft turret mows down unsuspecting office mates

Where else but the good ole US of A would we revel in crafting items that not only utilized that oh-so-lonely USB port on the rear of your leased laptop, but had the potential to “deliver welts” to unsuspecting co-workers? While the pre-packaged USB missile launchers are quite the novel desk adornment, this DIY job seriously brings the heat (and the pain). While the modder responsible here envisions a more robust, costly, and dangerous version in the future, his 1.0 edition features a $19 electronic AirSoft gun, the turret base from an aforementioned USB missile launcher, super glue, and the usual compliment of assembly tools. After disassembling the launcher and tapping into its base, a bit of fancy wire work is required to affix the more powerful AirSoft gun to the rotating turret. A few more screws and finagling, and you’re all set to demolish the fun at your annual holiday bash, all for just around $70 and a few hours of your time.

At:

http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/11/usb-airsoft-turret-mows-down-unsuspecting-office-mates/

                          ==========

AP falsely suggested that NSA can eavesdrop on Americans without a warrant

A December 17 Associated Press report falsely suggested that Congress would need to pass a law to prohibit the Bush administration from “eavesdrop[ping] on Americans’ electronic communications” without a warrant. In fact, such a law already exists — the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) — and the Bush administration’s apparent violation of FISA has given rise to bipartisan condemnation. The article, discussing what actions Congress could take in response to President Bush’s warrantless domestic wiretapping program, stated that “[t]he president … can veto legislation, including a law demanding the National Security Agency obtain warrants before monitoring communications.”

Read more

http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200612180008?src=other

                          ==========

Total Information Awareness  – is now Tangram

Tangram: A Fully Automated, Continuously Operating, Intelligence Analysis Support System

See:

http://www.fbo.gov/spg/USAF/AFMC/AFRLRRS/Reference-Number-BAA-06-04-IFKA/SynopsisP.html

                          ==========

Sometimes Congressional incompetence is a good thing:

GOP misses chance to reshape environmental laws

At:

http://tinyurl.com/ygqfgq

From: Poacnewsletter

                          ==========

OUTSOURCING JOURNALISM

At:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/19/business/outsource.php
As newspapers seek to cut costs in the face of sagging circulation and advertising pressures, some have started to ship jobs overseas to places like India. “More than two years ago, Reuters, the financial news service, opened a new center in Bangalore,” reports Doreen Carvajal. “The 340 employees, including an editorial team of 13 local journalists, was deployed to write about corporate earnings and broker research on U.S. companies. Since then, the Reuters staff at the center has grown to about 1,600, with 100 journalists working on U.S. stories.” Other publications are using the services of Hi-Tech Export, an Indian company with some 700 employees that offers proofreading, copy-editing and writing services to companies in the United States, France and Britain.
SOURCE: International Herald Tribune, November 17, 2006

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

http://www.prwatch.org/node/5531

                          ==========

Plant and Factory Closings

Herrin couple faces daunting task of unemployment

The Southern – Carbondale,IL,USA

… that comes with the announcement of a factory closing. … for the past year, but said diminishing factory jobs in … When the plant closes three days before Christmas …
http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2006/12/18/top/18575767.txt

Weyerhaeuser closing 2 Oregon factories

KOMO – Seattle,WA,USA

… (AP) – Weyerhaeuser is closing two Oregon … The forest products giant says it will close immediately a plywood mill in Coburg and a veneer plant in Springfield. …
http://www.komotv.com/news/business/4946512.html

News – StatesmanJournal.com

TTM Technologies is closing the former Tyco electronics plant in Dallas.

… 7 to close its Dallas factory within 60 days. All 300 workers will be laid off. …
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061217/NEWS/612170342/1001

                          ==========

Questions for Colin Powell

Yesterday, as Colin Powell left his interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Sam Husseini of the Institute for Public Accuracy asked him about claims he made regarding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction in his speech at the UN Security Council before the invasion of Iraq.

Powell was asked by IPA about his speech’s citing of the defector Hussein Kamal, Saddam Hussein’s late son-in-law, in support of U.S. claims about Iraqi WMDs. When asked if he knew at the time he gave his UN speech on Feb. 5, 2003, that Hussein Kamal had stated that Iraq had destroyed its WMDs, Powell replied: “Of course not!” However, in the mid-1990s, Kamal told UN inspectors as well as CNN that Iraq no longer had WMDs.

In addition, Powell was questioned Sunday about his reported distortion of quotes from Iraqi intercepts at the UN session. Bob Woodward in his book “Plan of Attack” writes that Powell “had decided to add his personal interpretation of the intercepts to rehearsed script, taking them substantially further and casting them in the most negative light.”

But Powell did not address this allegation in his response on Sunday. Instead he replied: “Everything that was in that presentation that I gave was approved and edited by the intelligence community, the director of central intelligence and the deputy director of central intelligence and all of their principal assistants.”

 Video and transcript are available at:

 http://www.WashingtonStakeout.com
JONATHAN SCHWARZ, jonathan_schwarz@sbcglobal.net,

http://tinyrevolution.com
Schwarz’s latest piece is titled “Powell Again Blames CIA For Fabrications And Lies-By-Omission In U.N. Speech” and provides a detailed critique of Powell’s comments Sunday as well as suggested follow-up questions.

For further background, see the media watch group FAIR’s media advisory “Star Witness on Iraq Said Weapons Were Destroyed,” from Feb. 27, 2003, three weeks before the invasion of Iraq. The FAIR advisory stated: “On Feb. 24 [2003] Newsweek broke what may be the biggest story of the Iraq crisis. In a revelation that ‘raises questions about whether the WMD stockpiles attributed to Iraq still exist,’ the magazine’s issue dated March 3 reported that the Iraqi weapons chief who defected from the regime in 1995 told UN inspectors that Iraq had destroyed its entire stockpile of chemical and biological weapons and banned missiles, as Iraq claims.”

See

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1845
From: Institute for Public Accuracy

                          ==========

THE JOKE OF “SURGING” TO VICTORY IN IRAQ

By Barry Lando

Dispatching another 20,000 troops is a joke–just look at the figures.

See

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/45670/

                          ==========

CRS Report for Congress, 9/11 Commission Recommendations: Implementation Status, December 4, 2006 

PDF

http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/77700.pdf

                          ==========

Borowitz Report – Gay War Shocker

Bush Calls Iraq Main Front in War on Gay Marriage

Accuses Iran, Syria of Sending Wedding Planners over Border

President George W. Bush attempted to build support for the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq today, arguing that Iraq is now “the main front in the war on gay marriage.”

The president had never before linked the war in Iraq to the broader war on gay marriage, but in a nationally televised address today he made such a case.

Speaking from the Oval Office, the president said that America’s enemies, such as Syria and Iran, were directly involved in sending wedding planners over the border into Iraq to plan gay weddings.

The president said that were the United States to withdraw its forces now, as some in Congress have suggested, it would be “sending a dangerous message to gay engaged couples around the globe.”

“Our choice is simple,” Mr. Bush said. “Do we fight the gay fiancés and fiancées in Iraq, or do we leave and let them bring their fabulous nuptials to our shores?”

But even as President Bush was making his argument that the war in Iraq was part of a larger war on gay marriage, gay wedding planners in that war-torn country disputed the president’s assertions.

Hassan El-Medfaii, a gay wedding planner in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, said he had seen “no increase” in gay weddings since the insurgency in Iraq began.

“In this country right now, it’s hard to find two people who can even stand each other, let alone want to get married,” Mr. El-Medfaii said.

Elsewhere, in a positive sign for holiday retailers, sales of totally useless items surged last week.

http://www.borowitzreport.com/

                          ==========

three to see

This Modern World: The year in review, Part II

http://www.workingforchange.com/webgraphics/WFC/TMW122006.jpg

Tom Toles: why is bush postponing his new iraq policy until after christmas?

http://www.buffalonews.com/graphics/2006/12/18/1218toles.jpg

David Horsey: which option will it be?

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/20061218/cartoon20061218.gif