Signs of the Times2007-01-05T22:13:15ZSigns of the Timestag:signs-of-the-times.org,2006-01-30:/:signsofthetimesEditorial: Will Jimmy Carter's Book Liberate the Palestinians?tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/editorials/signs20070105_WillJimmyCarter27sBookLiberatethePalestinians.php:8a423b5edd2066796aeb6e9361b2007-01-05T10:13:09Z"Nothing else in the world...is so powerful as an idea whose time has come." - Victor Hugo
Let's face it! The year 2006 was another hell on earth for the Palestinians. Since 1967, they have been suffering under the heel of the Zionist Death, Mayhem & Occupation Machine. Earlier this summer, as the situation grew desperate in Gaza, where 1.4 million people are trapped, Israel's Far Right Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, wisecracked: "Nobody dies from being uncomfortable." He lied! Six hundred and sixty Palestinians perished from the 24/7 siege by the Israeli Occupation Army (IOF). Of that number, 141 were children. (1) Enter ex-President Jimmy Carter and his best selling book, "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid." (2) Will this good and decent man from Georgia do for the Palestinians, what Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" did for African-Americans, who were then languishing under the crime of slavery? Can Carter light the fuse that leads to the liberation of the Palestinians from their cruel oppressors?Editorial: Soldiers and Imperial Presidentstag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/editorials/signs20070105_SoldiersandImperialPresidents.php:0eec37453de6263c16ba5304fa62007-01-05T10:13:09ZThe vast majority of those who serve in the United States military probably do so with the best of intentions and with honor. The belief that they are defending their country from foreign attackers and doing their patriotic duty as citizens is persistently reinforced. Military service is one of America's sacred cows; it is something that is rarely questioned and is surrounded by an invisible aura of nobility. No one, especially those who serve, wants to think of their time in the military as anything less than honorable and worthy of glorification. Editorial: Sacrifice Translates into More Dead Peopletag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/editorials/signs20070105_SacrificeTranslatesintoMoreDeadPeople.php:fee604b8b3e8e36e233b73a08322007-01-05T10:13:09ZIs John "Keating Five" McCain sincerely clueless? Or is he simply a politician playing a cynical numbers game with Iraq and thus eventually condemning to certain death more troops that should be here at home, protecting our borders? Editorial: Clash of the Elites: Beltway Insiders Versus Neo-Constag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/editorials/signs20070105_ClashoftheElitesBeltwayInsidersVersusNeoCons.php:c3cacbea53b279e00a71139fb032007-01-05T10:13:09ZA titanic power struggle is being waged within the policy elite or power elite, or more simply the U.S. ruling class. The clash is taking place over the war on Iraq, U.S. policy toward Israel--and ultimately over the best way to run the U.S. empire. The war on Iraq is shaping up as such a disaster for the empire that it can no longer be tolerated by our rulers in its present form. The struggle is as plain as the nose on your face; nevertheless it draws little comment. One reason is that we are taught to view matters political through the prism of Democrat versus Republican, whereas this struggle among our rulers cuts across party lines. On the "Left," few so much as allude to this internecine war, much less use it to good effect. This is apparently due to a very rigid, very dogmatic view of how empires function, indeed how they "must" function, and due to a fear of being labeled anti-semitic and thus running afoul of the Israeli Lobby. In many cases this silence reflects an actual sympathy among "liberals" for neocon foreign policy, either out of a latter day do-gooder version of the White Man's Burden, or an attachment to Israel.Editorial: The "Demonization" of Muslims and the Battle for Oiltag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/editorials/signs20070105_The22Demonization22ofMuslimsandtheBattleforOil.php:b7acf09a0e9cac7ce691501b66c2007-01-05T10:13:09ZThroughout history, " wars of religion" have served to obscure the economic and strategic interests behind the conquest and invasion of foreign lands. "Wars of religion" were invariably fought with a view to securing control over trading routes and natural resources.
The Crusades extending from the 11th to the 14th Century are often presented by historians as "a continuous series of military-religious expeditions made by European Christians in the hope of wresting the Holy Land from the infidel Turks." The objective of the Crusades, however, had little to do with religion. The Crusades largely consisted, through military action, in challenging the dominion of the Muslim merchant societies, which controlled the Eastern trade routes. Editorial: OPEN LETTER: To Our U.S. Senators: Show Me the Moneytag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/editorials/signs20070105_OPENLETTERToOurUSSenatorsShowMetheMoney.php:a32395192c8894ae91b3d380d922007-01-05T10:13:09Z...we don't need to have our fingers in every little pie around the world. And stop lying to us about this "war on terror." That is such a ridiculous concept. We won't end terrorism by making war on any one country. People who commit acts of terror exist in every country in the world, and there's no way to prevent every possible act. And taking leaders who promote terrorism out of power won't stop it either. ...
And how can we continue to give money to other governments? I manage our personal finances, as well as those of my employer. When my checkbook's in the red, I tell charities that I just can't afford to give. The bills need to be paid and I need to buy groceries first. That only makes sense. But our government seems to operate on the concept that as long as there are checks in the checkbook, we can go on spending.
Editorial: What Is the 'Root' of Evil?tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/editorials/signs20070105_WhatIsthe27Root27ofEvil.php:f4b6cace23d59ba51c954cba5082007-01-05T10:13:09Z"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root." ~ Thoreau
Lake dweller Henry David Thoreau enjoyed an enviable, pastoral life in the pre-industrial age. Living in the woods on the shore of the 60 acre Walden Pond, a mile from the village of Concord, Massachusetts , Henry had ample time to dwell on the topic of good and evil.Editorial: Executing Saddam Hussein was an Act of Vandalismtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/editorials/signs20070105_ExecutingSaddamHusseinwasanActofVandalism.php:3f0fc991930ea21ab2511da59572007-01-05T10:13:09ZThe obvious objections to the execution of Saddam Hussein are valid and well aired. His death will provoke violent strife between Sunni and Shia Muslims, and between Iraqis in general and the American occupation forces. This was an opportunity to set the world a good example of civilized behaviour in dealing with a barbarically uncivilized man. In any case, revenge is an ignoble motive. The usual arguments against the death penalty in general apply. If Bush and Blair are eventually put on trial for war crimes, I shall not be among those pressing for them to be hanged. But I want to add another and less obvious reason why we should not have executed Saddam Hussein. His mind would have been a unique resource for historical, political and psychological research: a resource that is now forever unavailable to scholars. Saddam is Hanged for His Crimes: Who will Hang Bush/Blair for Theirs?tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ShuttingUpSaddam.php:3be84baefbf6d96ddb683a1ea902007-01-05T10:13:10ZSaddam Hussein was hanged on the orders of a US sponsored Kangaroo court. Who has the authority to hang Bush, Blair and company for their crimes?The Barbaric Lynching of President Saddam Husseintag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ShuttingUpSaddam.php:d095ee9365fce7d4115f93b35042007-01-05T10:13:10ZOn the Holy day of Eid, the world watched in horror at the barbaric lynching of President Saddam Hussein of Iraq, allegedly for crimes against humanity. This public murder was sanctioned by the War Criminals, President Bush and Prime Minister Blair.
This sadistic act broadcasted to the whole world is a travesty of justice, and was meant to demonstrate the imperial power of the United States and serves as a warning to peace loving peoples that we must either bow to the dictates of the Bush regime or face the consequences of a public lynching.Saddam Hussein asks for no mercy during his execution - Would George W. Bush Act as Courageously in the Same Circumstances?tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ShuttingUpSaddam.php:c07e30430fb60606840b165f7c82007-01-05T10:13:10ZThe murder of ex-President Saddam Hussein in Baghdad was perhaps the worst example of political blindness shown by the inept, incompetent and incapacitated Bush regime.After the YouTube execution, what now for death penalty?tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ShuttingUpSaddam.php:69bdc6f6859af2576d73e859b6e2007-01-05T10:13:10ZIt was never meant to be a public execution. But two and a half minutes of jerky footage, shot with a mobile phone, brought the hanging of Saddam Hussein into living rooms across the world. By yesterday, it had provoked a wave of international condemnation, and put the question of capital punishment under renewed scrutiny.
"Welcome to the sordid world of the execution chamber, brought to you by the YouTube generation," Amnesty International said. More than half of all countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice; Iraq has now rejoined the small number of countries where executions are routine and justice uncertain. That roll call includes China, Saudi Arabia, the US and Iran, where more than 90 per cent of executions are committed.Official arrested for filming Saddam executiontag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ShuttingUpSaddam.php:d8be3cb5495581991d399bc21262007-01-05T10:13:10ZThe person believed to have recorded Saddam Hussein's execution on a mobile phone camera was arrested today, an adviser to Iraq's prime minister said.
The adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, speaking on condition of anonymity, did not identify the person. But he said it was "an official who supervised the execution" and who is "now under investigation."
"In the past few hours, the government has arrested the person who made the video of Saddam's execution," the adviser said.U.S. on Saddam: "Would have done it differently"tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ShuttingUpSaddam.php:87e4ba840a7d60a5d00479bd4d02007-01-05T10:13:10ZBAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces had no role in Saddam Hussein's hanging, but would have handled it differently, a U.S. general said on Wednesday as Iraqi authorities questioned a guard over a video of officials taunting Saddam on the gallows.
National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie said a committee investigating who had illicitly filmed and leaked a video of the hanging was questioning one of the guards at the prison facility where Saddam was hanged at dawn on Saturday.
There were conflicting reports of whether Saddam's two co- defendants, including his half-brother Barzan, would be hanged on Thursday at dawn. Rubaie said the date had not been set.Blair fails to condemn hanging as Bush ducks the questiontag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ShuttingUpSaddam.php:ef3374e224f8f8e8e391e56e15f2007-01-05T10:13:10ZDowning Street has welcomed the Iraqi government's decision to hold an inquiry into the fiasco over the execution of Saddam Hussein and admitted that mistakes had been made.
But No 10 declined to endorse comments by John Prescott who said the unauthorised filming and taunting of the former Iraqi dictator by guards who told him to "go to hell" was "deplorable" and that those responsible should be "ashamed." A spokeswoman said the Deputy Prime Minister was giving his "personal" view.Cairo dismayed at 'primitive' Saddam deathtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ShuttingUpSaddam.php:376c945beb052e69a23a5eaa5882007-01-05T10:13:10ZSaddam Hussein was made into "a martyr" by the manner of his execution, the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, warned today, saying he had urged Washington not to hang him during the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.
In an interview with an Israeli newspaper, Mr Mubarak said that when it became clear the former Iraqi dictator was about to be hanged he sent a message to president George Bush asking to get it postponed. "Don't do it at this time," Mr Mubarak told the US leader, he recounted in an interview with the Yediot Ahronot newspaper.From Vatican to India, Saddam Hanging enrages millionstag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ShuttingUpSaddam.php:6c800df76151564fa251a0daa462007-01-05T10:13:10ZIn Hyderabad, leftist and Muslim political parties protested against the execution of Saddam Hussein. The Vatican, through its newspaper, condemned the hanging of Saddam, saying it was a crime to distribute the video of his hanging. In North Africa, Yemen, Mecca (Makkah), and even in Dubai, the sentiment among Sunni Muslims across the world is anger and spite for the US and its President, George W. Bush. Is Saddam more dangerous dead than alive?Iraq to go ahead with hangings despite UN call to halt themtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ShuttingUpSaddam.php:963ed35697ad4781ace8e540b6e2007-01-05T10:13:10ZThe Iraqi government said yesterday it will execute two of Saddam Hussein's henchmen despite a call from the UN to refrain from hanging them.
"Nobody can stop the carrying out of court verdicts," said Sami al-Askari, an adviser to prime minister Nouri al-Maliki.
"The court's statute does not allow even the president of the republic or the prime minister to commute sentences, let alone grant a pardon. Therefore, no pressure can stop the executions," he told the BBC's Arabic service.Saddam: A Monster of Our Creationtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ShuttingUpSaddam.php:98a2a062332749c591eac819a842007-01-05T10:13:10ZThe hanging of Saddam Hussein was an act of barbarism that makes a mockery of President Bush's claim it was "an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy."Saddam: From monster to martyr?tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ShuttingUpSaddam.php:c6786c41121b4ef084d209ade002007-01-05T10:13:10Z How Bush and Blair's choices have led to disaster in Iraq, culminating in a chaotic execution that is fuelling civil war.
It takes real genius to create a martyr out of Saddam Hussein. Here is a man dyed deep with the blood of his own people who refused to fight for him during the United States-led invasion three-and-a-half years ago. His tomb in his home village of Awja is already becoming a place of pilgrimage for the five million Sunni Arabs of Iraq who are at the core of the uprising.Saddam's execution cited in boy's accidental hanging deathtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ShuttingUpSaddam.php:cee3fd784b32ec0cf362cafe7a92007-01-05T10:13:10ZHOUSTON - Police and family members said a 10-year-old boy who died by hanging himself from a bunk bed was apparently mimicking the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.Another 'Saddam suicide'tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ShuttingUpSaddam.php:a7f215c2af2559857a56b5915fb2007-01-05T10:13:10ZKolkata, India - A 15-year-old girl from eastern India hanged herself in response to the execution of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, police and family members said on Thursday.
"She said they had hanged a patriot. We didn't take her seriously when she told us that she wanted to feel the pain Saddam did during the execution," the girl's father, Manmohan Karmakar, told AFP by phone from the town of Kharda.Truth at last, while breaking a U.S. taboo of criticizing Israeltag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_CrimesoftheZionistEntity.php:1fc43499e786a1d5dff09a0db6e2007-01-05T10:13:10ZAmericans owe a debt to former President Jimmy Carter for speaking long hidden but vital truths. His book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid breaks the taboo barring criticism in the United States of Israel's discriminatory treatment of Palestinians. Our government's tacit acceptance of Israel's unfair policies causes global hostility against us.
Israel's friends have attacked Carter, a Nobel laureate who has worked tirelessly for Middle East peace, even raising the specter of anti-Semitism. Genuine anti-Semitism is abhorrent. But exploiting the term to quash legitimate criticism of another system of racial oppression, and to tarnish a principled man, is indefensible. Criticizing Israeli government policies - a staple in Israeli newspapers - is no more anti-Semitic than criticizing the Bush administration is anti-American.'My crime was to protest at Israeli assassinations'tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_CrimesoftheZionistEntity.php:0dd0cf6bc8e2cbf06bde9f148322007-01-05T10:13:10ZThey said they wanted to teach her to be a "good Jew" as she sat with her arms handcuffed to the legs of her chair for 16 hours a day.
But if Tali Fahima was not prepared to be a good Jew then Shin Bet, the Israeli secret service, was determined to put her in jail for as long as possible regardless of what she did.Israeli troops kill Palestinian militants in raid on Ramallahtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_CrimesoftheZionistEntity.php:d82b15e1406a889cd613903c3542007-01-05T10:13:10ZIsraeli undercover troops, backed by helicopters, armoured cars and bulldozers, killed four Palestinians and wounded 25 others in a gun battle in Ramallah. One Israeli soldier was wounded.
Yesterday's clash in the West Bank administrative capital came as Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, flew to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for talks with the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, in an attempt to revive the stagnant Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The summit ended inconclusively.Israeli activist who helped Palestinian militant is freedtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_CrimesoftheZionistEntity.php:fc6170f21a953b6fbb035f999f22007-01-05T10:13:10ZTali Fahima, an Israeli peace activist, has been freed on parole after serving two-thirds of her three-year jail sentence for aiding Zakaria Zubeidi, one of the most wanted gunmen in the West Bank.
As a condition for her early release, the 30-year-old Tel Aviv office worker was barred from travelling abroad for a year, contacting enemies of the state or visiting the Palestinian territories. She emerged defiant from Neve Tirtzah women's prison yesterday and told family and supporters: "I don't regret anything. I will continue to work against the occupation and for peace."Israeli 'traitor' vilified in press freed after two years in jailtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_CrimesoftheZionistEntity.php:734f618d14b7b45ab9d6082dfd62007-01-05T10:13:10ZAn Israeli woman whose attempts to better understand Palestinians led to a campaign of vilification and charges of treason was released yesterday after serving more than two years in jail.
Tali Fahima, 30, said she had no regrets and insisted that she had done nothing to harm the state of Israel as she left prison to the cheers of a hundred supporters.4 Palestinians killed in Israeli raid of Ramallahtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_CrimesoftheZionistEntity.php:41a821af6b6270e65c69f49ed422007-01-05T10:13:10ZBacked by armoured cars, undercover Israeli forces stormed the centre of Ramallah in the West Bank on Thursday, sparking a gun battle in a main marketplace that left at least four Palestinians dead.
Hospital officials said 25 people were wounded during the Israeli operation to arrest wanted militants. Many of the wounded were in critical condition, the officials said.Cleric gunned down in Gaza after plea for calmtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_CrimesoftheZionistEntity.php:aad1bf245cb279c7d9de3e462da2007-01-05T10:13:10ZGAZA (Reuters) - Unidentified gunmen shot dead a Muslim cleric after he delivered a sermon in the Gaza Strip on Friday calling for an end to fierce factional fighting between Hamas and Fatah, hospital officials and local residents said.
The cleric's shooting in central Gaza came hours after Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said he and President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah had agreed to keep rival gunmen off Gaza's streets after clashes in which eight were killed.
Tension remained high across the coastal strip as thousands of Palestinians loyal to Fatah took part in funeral marches for a commander killed in a barrage of rocket-propelled grenades fired by Hamas gunmen on Thursday. Hamas: U.S. is funding a 'revolt' against our gov'ttag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_CrimesoftheZionistEntity.php:9c0f6ef3b7d0f209ea8dc9da50e2007-01-05T10:13:10ZSenior Hamas official Mushir al-Masri blamed the United States on Friday for attempting to promote a revolt against the Hamas government, after U.S. documents showed that the Bush administration will provide $86.4 million to strengthen security forces loyal to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
"We demand that Abbas postpones this U.S. policy, which is tearing the Palestinian people apart," he said.
The new policy would expand U.S. involvement in Abbas' power struggle with Hamas.Fischer: Israeli Banks exploit the poor and undercharge the wealthytag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_CrimesoftheZionistEntity.php:d54e6b9d587731a42ffb2e2781b2007-01-05T10:13:10ZBank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer thinks that Israeli banks are too kind to the rich and too hard on ordinary families.
In an interview appearing in this Friday's Haaretz Magazine, Fischer said: "The banks' profits from companies are very low compared with the international scene, but their profits from households are high."
According to Fischer, this is the root of the feelings of anger and exploitation experienced by ordinary account-holders. Rattling the Cage: A bigot called Bibitag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_CrimesoftheZionistEntity.php:266fce55adb1c0b9dfae582e8f42007-01-05T10:13:10ZBy rights, Binyamin Netanyahu, who every poll says is by far the most popular politician in Israel, should be ranked with Jean Le Pen, Jorge Haider and the rest of the Western world's racist demagogues.
But he won't be, because anti-Arab racism in Israel is either supported or strategically ignored by the mainstream of the Jewish world, and pretty much taken for granted by the gentile world.Israel eyes West Bank growthtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_CrimesoftheZionistEntity.php:46c8d3e52d3b381d6710a1b7caf2007-01-05T10:13:10ZMASKIOT, WEST BANK - Tucked into a remote cluster of hills is a rather rare species these days: a new Israeli settlement taking shape.
As advocates are keen to point out, there has been an Israeli presence here since 1982, including an army base and military prep school. Two decades ago, in 1986, Maskiot's plot of "state land" was given an approval to become a bona fide settlement.
For a smattering of reasons political or bureaucratic, it never happened, and Maskiot's existence was hardly known outside the 20 other small Jewish settlements in the Jordan Valley. But last week, the Israeli defense ministry announced that it had authorized construction of 30 new homes here - for settlers who were evacuated from the Gaza Strip.Abbas, Haniyeh agree to defuse tensions in Gaza after six dietag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_CrimesoftheZionistEntity.php:6c0807b32a808a9966ebd2b0fed2007-01-05T10:13:10ZPalestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Friday he and President Mahmoud Abbas had agreed at emergency talks to keep gunmen from their rival Hamas and Fatah factions off Gaza's streets after six people were killed.
"We have expressed our regret and sorrow for these incidents that do not reflect our struggle," Haniyeh told reporters at Abbas's office at the end of their first meeting in two months.Israel desperately seeks war with Irantag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_CrimesoftheZionistEntity.php:59d9c4a1bfc0e468d759336f5da2007-01-05T10:13:10ZWith Saddam out of the way, israel throws all its weight into jumpstarting a war with Iran.Record snowfall buries Anchoragetag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_DestroyingOurHome.php:7697875e81ebaa9774bdc1bcee32007-01-05T10:13:10ZAnchorage, Alaska - It snowed all day in Anchorage Wednesday. A combination of snow, fog and ice contributed to more than 100 cars becoming stuck in ditches and snow berms across the city. The Anchorage Police Department said accidents occurred at a pace of a collision every 10 minutes today. A snow advisory remains in effect and the job of digging out is only beginning.Warm winter wreaks havoctag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_DestroyingOurHome.php:b32a4e8674a9f01c290ceeae99d2007-01-05T10:13:10ZBill Weigle's tree service in Lyndeborough, N.H., usually delivers five to 10 cords of firewood a day this time of year. He's sold only one in the past two weeks.
Business is "dead," Weigle says. "I've never seen it like this ... I feel like the Maytag man."
This winter's curiously warm weather across the Northeast and much of the Midwest has played havoc with more than seasonal businesses. In Washington, D.C., springlike temperatures have faked out flora, causing dogwoods and daffodils to bloom.2 dead after strong storms, tornadoes rip through southern Louisianatag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_DestroyingOurHome.php:fc974b5d67c286805ee0970d1e22007-01-05T10:13:10Z NEW IBERIA, La. - Powerful storms that killed at least two people and ripped apart mobile homes in Louisiana headed into Alabama on Friday, where tornado watches were posted across the state.
A flash-flood watch was still in effect Friday morning for parts of southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi after the heavy rain.
Some of the worst damage from Thursday's storms was in Louisiana's Iberia Parish after what appeared to be a tornado hit in the New Iberia area just before 4 p.m.Scientists Say 2007 May Be Warmest Yettag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_DestroyingOurHome.php:0a3e94cff0898b36a6d4f93c9ba2007-01-05T10:13:10ZLONDON - A resurgent El Nino and persistently high levels of greenhouse gases are likely to make 2007 the world's hottest year ever recorded, British climate scientists said Thursday.
Britain's Meteorological Office said there was a 60 percent probability that 2007 would break the record set by 1998, which was 1.20 degrees over the long-term average.
"This new information represents another warning that climate change is happening around the world," the office said.2007 likely warmest year ever: Scientiststag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_DestroyingOurHome.php:34c7f14492a0a35d57b81c18c512007-01-05T10:13:10ZAs British meteorologists announced that the world will probably be the warmest on record in 2007, Torontonians will get a burst of that heat today as the city is expected to "obliterate" record temperatures.
The mercury is due to reach 13C today, breaking the 1997 record of 10.1 degrees, according to Environment Canada.Hurricane center chief issues final warning: The Big One is Comingtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_DestroyingOurHome.php:1570b9af280ba0c002aabdc2e812007-01-05T10:13:10ZMIAMI - Frustrated with people and politicians who refuse to listen or learn, National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield ends his 34-year government career today in search of a new platform for getting out his unwelcome message: Hurricane Katrina was nothing compared with the big one yet to come.
Mayfield, 58, leaves his high-profile job with the National Weather Service more convinced than ever that U.S. residents of the Southeast are risking unprecedented tragedy by continuing to build vulnerable homes in the tropical storm zone and failing to plan escape routes.Grim prognosis for Earthtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_DestroyingOurHome.php:258204a36fce66396b7c968304f2007-01-05T10:13:10ZSo far away, and yet so close.
It's 2050.
Read any report on climate change and, chances are, that date will stare back at you.
It's frequently set as the year when we can expect a long, frightening list of devastating impacts, including decimation of the oceans' fish and the planet's forests; an ice-free Arctic; hordes of starving environmental refugees seeking new homes; and the extinction of a million animal species.
But Canada's main political parties and the governments of many countries also cite 2050 as the target by which to achieve massive cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
Why that year?
Part of its appeal is that it's a middling distance into the future.China Report Warns of Agriculture Problems from Climate Changetag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_DestroyingOurHome.php:fb6bb2519c3af4d02f6266b8a122007-01-05T10:13:10ZBEIJING -- Climate change will harm China's ecology and economy in the coming decades, possibly causing large drops in agricultural output, said a government report made public Wednesday.
The report, issued by six government departments including the State Meteorological Bureau, the China Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Technology, comes several days after state media said 2006 was hotter than average with more natural disasters than normal.Warming oceans make it tough for fish to breathtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_DestroyingOurHome.php:6cbe88ec702cab151196e9cbb732007-01-05T10:13:10ZBEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Recently completed research reveals warmer oceans caused by global warming is making it more difficult for eelpouts to breath and survive.
Biologists have known for years declining fish stocks are connected to global warming, but a new study of eelpouts -- big-headed fish that resemble eels -- is the first to go deeper and see how warmer seas are connected to how fishes take in oxygen.We could become extincttag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_DestroyingOurHome.php:374efd81a719c03e31e867f7db12007-01-05T10:13:10ZNow 2007 is upon us, but not the white-fin dolphin. It's gone, too. Another year, another species.
A team of 25 scientists recently searched the Yangtze River, the dolphin's only home, and could find not a one. That was not a great surprise. The species was known to be in trouble. The last sighting was in 2004.
Perhaps the search missed one or two of the dolphins. If so, no matter. The species is done for. The United Nation's environmental unit has declared the Yangtze a dead zone.
This fresh-water dolphin had been on Earth 20 million years. Imagine that: 20 million. Geologic epochs came and went. The dolphin had taken the worst that volatile and violent nature could throw at them. They were no match for a man-made environment of overfishing, industrial development and intense shipping.The Big Question: How quickly are animals and plants disappearing, and does it matter?tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_DestroyingOurHome.php:0c7cc9e9cb582d49660b786a53c2007-01-05T10:13:10ZWhy are we asking this question now?
As 2006 drew to a close, the polar bear was about to be classified as a threatened species by the United States Government. Melting Arctic sea ice could significantly reduce numbers of the world's largest terrestrial carnivore over the next 50 years. And, just before Christmas, a 38-day search for the Yangtze River dolphin ended without finding a single member of the species. It is feared that the aquatic mammal may be the latest in a long line of extinct animals.Now the Pentagon tells Bush: climate change will destroy ustag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_DestroyingOurHome.php:afef53b5c7ad3a5fbf9fb61ed452007-01-05T10:13:10Z- Secret report warns of rioting and nuclear war
- Britain will be 'Siberian' in less than 20 years
- Threat to the world is greater than terrorism Bush Looking at Global Warming Ideastag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_DestroyingOurHome.php:786aa93fe2fd0620783b9c0fd602007-01-05T10:13:10ZWASHINGTON - President Bush on Thursday welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel's proposal to prod the Middle East peace process and said he was open to new ideas to combat global warming.
"I believe there is a chance now to put behind us the old stale debates of the past," Bush said at a joint White House news conference with the German leader.Pa. girl, 12, charged with disorderly conduct for wetting pants in schooltag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheyLoveYouReally.php:d1e269dd8befe99f5c5afc836f62007-01-05T10:13:10Z DANVILLE, Pa. - A 12-year-old special education student was charged with disorderly conduct after authorities said she deliberately wet her pants at school.
The girl's mother said she urinated only because the principal frightened her. The mother said in Thursday's Press Enterprise that the incident occurred last month, after the girl, classmates and teachers ate a holiday lunch at Danville Middle School.In Padilla Wiretaps, Murky View of 'Jihad' Casetag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheyLoveYouReally.php:c2a09e955725aedb59f8fa8cd352007-01-05T10:13:10ZIn 1997, as the government listened in on their phone call, Adham Hassoun, a computer programmer in Broward County, Fla., proposed a road trip to Jose Padilla, a low-wage worker there. The excursion to Tampa would be his treat, Mr. Hassoun said, and a chance to meet "some nice, uh, brothers."America's Holy Warriorstag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheyLoveYouReally.php:e4e1cd28f8f283549ce255ac1dd2007-01-05T10:13:11ZThe radical Christian Right is coming dangerously close to its goal of taking over the country's military and law enforcement.Bush Claims Right to Open Mailtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheyLoveYouReally.php:d1c02cee620b14196b7e407398b2007-01-05T10:13:11ZThe New York Daily News today reports on a signing statement President Bush quietly issued two weeks ago, in which he asserts his right to open mail without a warrant.
Signing statements have historically been used by presidents mostly to explain how they intend to enforce the laws passed by Congress; Bush has used them to quietly assert his right to ignore those laws.Join the Marines... for the Summertag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheyLoveYouReally.php:190d99e80c5cf698c04649138272007-01-05T10:13:11ZThe other day, the college-age daughter of a friend received an e-letter from a Marine Corps Officer Selection Officer, inviting her to "an awesome summer training program called the Platoon Leader's Course." Think of it as Marine Corps summer camp. No uniforms ("This is not ROTC!"), but reasonable amounts of moolah. Here's some of what was on offer to her, part of a desperate military's Iraq-era appeal to citizenly duty:
"You will earn approximately $2,400 (six weeks) or $4,000 (ten weeks) plus room and board during the training. How's that for a summer job?.... You will not incur any obligation to the Marine Corps even after completing the training. (You can choose whether or not to continue with the program).... Tuition assistance will be available to you after you complete training this summer. You could potentially earn $8,000 to $25,000 for school, depending on graduation date."The Next Stage of Capitalismtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheyLoveYouReally.php:f0aec18911efd35b6b5c7da641e2007-01-05T10:13:11ZIn his new book Capitalism 3.0, Peter Barnes writes that the costs of our current capitalist system are clear: inequality, stressful lives and a dwindling financial safety net. But how do we revise such a complex system?Are you pro-union? You're fired!tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheyLoveYouReally.php:6defbfd334779b7922edd53c6422007-01-05T10:13:11ZFrom the "what you already knew but couldn't put a number to" files ...Fine Print in Defense Bill Opens Door to Martial Lawtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheyLoveYouReally.php:edd6b308570684580046af945552007-01-05T10:13:11ZIt's amazing what you can find if you turn over a few rocks in the anti-terrorism legislation Congress approved during the election season.
Take, for example, the John W. Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2006, named for the longtime Armed Services Committee chairman from Virginia.
Signed by President Bush on Oct. 17, the law (PL 109-364) has a provocative provision called "Use of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies."
The thrust of it seems to be about giving the federal government a far stronger hand in coordinating responses to Katrina-like disasters.Propaganda! Never again?tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheyLoveYouReally.php:45507680416e407c5b06dcbfb682007-01-05T10:13:11ZWASHINGTON -- Through history, rulers, despots, nations and empires have humbled and humiliated, and with the advent of Adolph Hitler, massacred Jews by the millions. From the Exodus from ancient Egypt to the First Crusade, which didn't distinguish between Jews and Arabs, to the Spanish Inquisition under Tomas de Torquemada, to Czarist pogroms, to the World War II Nazi genocide, some historians calculate that had Jews been treated like other citizens through the ages, they would number at least 200 million today. They now number less than 15 million. And from right to left, the five million Jews in Israel now feel threatened with extinction yet again. How to Brainwash a Nationtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheyLoveYouReally.php:83156c6f46d7bc1a19c70583a462007-01-05T10:13:11Z How did we get here?
How did we get to a place where a president can blatantly lie us into a war - and get away with it?
How did we get to a place where crooks can wrap themselves in the flag and rob the country blind - and no one challenges them?
How did we get to a place where a country once known for innovation and generosity can degenerate into a front of corruption and mindless viciousness - and life goes on as if normal?
We've been "worked on" for decades...
The Power of Suggestiontag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheyLoveYouReally.php:4332c1eb8c56dbeb7aafa09d33f2007-01-05T10:13:11Z "The secret of mind control is to change people outside of their awareness so they do your bidding without realizing that that's what they're doing."
* * *
"In 1776, Franz Mesmer unveils a device called a [baquette?] at the court of Louis the XVI of France. It is an oak barrel filled with iron filings that gives off an almost imperceptible magnetic charge. Mesmer tells the assembled guests that the charge is very powerful and that if they touch it they will have pleasant convulsions. And in fact, when members of the court touch the baquette, they collapse in convulsive fits and faint. What Mezmer has discovered is the power of suggestion." MIND CONTROL - The Ultimate Imperialismtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheyLoveYouReally.php:f38696fc9b87c7a49ad352284342007-01-05T10:13:11ZIn 1946, President Truman approved Project Paperclip, bringing Hitler's top scientists into the United States.Scientists attack plan to ban 'hybrid' embryostag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ScienceorNot.php:34333d92e924932c45cad2c0d782007-01-05T10:13:11ZGroundbreaking research into incurable diseases could be jeopardised if permission to create human embryos from animal eggs is withheld, scientists warned yesterday.
British researchers want to use the embryos to make stem cells with genetic faults linked to conditions such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's and motor neurone disease. Studying how the cells grow could yield unprecedented insights into disease, leading to cures for the otherwise untreatable conditions.Surgery on Girl Raises Ethical Questionstag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ScienceorNot.php:efef1a30327b4727d5c64912c032007-01-05T10:13:11Z CHICAGO (AP) -- In a case fraught with ethical questions, the parents of a severely mentally and physically disabled child have stunted her growth to keep their little "pillow angel" a manageable and more portable size.
The bedridden 9-year-old girl had her uterus and breast tissue removed at a Seattle hospital and received large doses of hormones to halt her growth. She is now 4-foot-5; her parents say she would otherwise probably reach a normal 5-foot-6. Parents who froze girl in time defend their actionstag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ScienceorNot.php:02990e7c7b498ee3d429eee3f892007-01-05T10:13:11ZOpinion was divided yesterday about the case of Ashley X, the nine-year- old girl whom doctors have determined will never grow up. The severely disabled child has had her womb and breasts removed and hormone treatment to halt puberty and stunt her growth, freezing her development so that her parents can continue to lift and care for her at home.
Called "Pillow Angel" by her parents, the girl, who suffers from static encephalopathy, cannot walk, talk or hold her head up. She is fed through a tube and lies wherever she is put, usually on a pillow.Boosting intelligence among poor is child's playtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ScienceorNot.php:7972d1dee7314dcb9dbc1ba540e2007-01-05T10:13:11ZLONDON - Giving pre-school children toys to play with boosts their mental development even if they suffer from malnutrition, a report said on Friday.
The report, published in the Lancet medical journal, said several studies had found a clear link between intelligence and child's play.
"We have done play programs in Bangladesh where the children are severely malnourished and we have produced up to a nine-point improvement in the IQ of these kids -- just with play," said author Sally McGregor of the Institute of Child Health at University College London. Encephalitis scare closes Rhode Island schoolstag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ScienceorNot.php:c9bda5e22d689728037ef338cf82007-01-05T10:13:11ZBEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Public schools in the state of Rhode Island canceled classes Thursday and Friday for more than 20,000 students after the death of a second-grader from encephalitis and a suspected case of meningitis.
Another 2,600 students were kept from school by the Catholic Diocese of Providence, which closed eight schools in three communities as a precaution. No cases of meningitis or encephalitis have been reported among the students, said diocese spokesman Michael Guilfoyle.Cold sore virus increases Alzheimer's risktag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ScienceorNot.php:61ac668193c1f9040156e33d94f2007-01-05T10:13:11ZBEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- New research announced Thursday reveals the virus responsible for causing cold sores around the mouth also plays a role in the development of Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia.
The latest work describes a connection between a gene and herpes simplex 1, or HSV. The form of the ApoE gene called ApoE-4 is the leading known risk factor for Alzheimer's. HSV is the type of herpes responsible for cold sores around the mouth. More than 80 percent of Americans are infected with HSV.Stem cells regenerate teeth in pigs, study saystag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ScienceorNot.php:9bc3296a1d85ea647f24ba47c002007-01-05T10:13:11ZNEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Using stem cells harvested from the extracted wisdom teeth of young adults, researchers have successfully generated tooth root and supporting tooth ligaments to support a crown restoration in experiments using miniature pigs.Take a Wagyu cow, give it a drop of wine... delicioustag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ScienceorNot.php:3d26d5c3cf81f88221e95bdc1bb2007-01-05T10:13:11ZMost people enjoy a glass of good red wine with a juicy steak. Australian farmers have gone one step further. They have put their prized Wagyu cows on a diet laced with red wine, in the hope of creating an even more succulent beef.Captive-bred panda injured by rivals on return to wildtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ScienceorNot.php:6e947c4cebc762b3c845096c8d82007-01-05T10:13:11ZThe only captive-bred giant panda to be released into the wild has gone missing after being badly beaten by a rival for territory, food or a mate.
In a major setback for China's efforts to replenish the endangered species with animals reared in zoos, Xiang Xiang has broken at least one bone and could be in danger, a leading Chinese zoologist said.
"Xiang Xiang has been badly hurt in a competition with other pandas," said Zhang Hemin, the director of the Research and Conservation Centre for the Giant Panda. "We think he fell from a high place after being chased up a tree by a wild panda."Bush prepares to escalate Iraq wartag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheIraqiOccupationPhase2.php:6c090965207b1b787a7f425f75a2007-01-05T10:13:11ZAs the death toll of U.S. troops passes 3,000 and the number of Iraqi casualties exceeds 600,000, the execution of Saddam Hussein signals Bush's intention to escalate the war against the people of Iraq as he plans to send 30,000 more troops to maintain the occupation.
The billions that have been spent on this war-and the more than $100 billion that Bush is asking for this winter and spring-have been robbed from the people here who need the money for jobs at a living wage, health care, affordable housing, education and rebuilding the Gulf Coast.American Leaders Promise More Pain - Democrats, Republicans, CEOs, Generals United tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheIraqiOccupationPhase2.php:667358ccc5572e52f51f6c4b9792007-01-05T10:13:11ZJust 32 years ago in 1975, former US President Gerald Ford (unelected to both the vice presidency and the presidency) served as master of ceremonies for the close of the Vietnam War. There are two images that remain seared in the minds of many around the world from that terrible 10 year debacle and defeat. One is a photograph taken by Hubert van Es during the fall of Saigon depicting Vietnamese civilians climbing to the top of an apartment building frantically attempting to board a US helicopter. The other is a photograph taken by Nic Ut of a young Vietnamese girl, Phan Thi Kim Phuc, her flesh seared by napalm in a US aerial assault. She is running down a road, naked and screaming.A 'Surge' to Save Bush's Legacytag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheIraqiOccupationPhase2.php:cf5285e47433ed32028d12e618d2007-01-05T10:13:11ZWith 3,000 American soldiers already dead along with possibly a half million or more Iraqis, Bush is determined to escalate the war in the Middle East into a pitched battle for his presidential legacy. McCain Reaffirms Support For US Troop Surge In Iraqtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheIraqiOccupationPhase2.php:c37ccb0d3fa44941118eeaaece82007-01-05T10:13:11ZUS Senator John McCain on Thursday reaffirmed his support for the deployment of thousands of additional US troops in Iraq, a proposal expected to figure in President George W. Bush's upcoming reassessment of US strategy there. "When I raise my hand and vote to send young men and women, American men and women into harm's way and fight a war, I am committing to accomplishing the mission," McCain, an early frontrunner for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, told MSNBC.
He said the fight against Islamic extremism must be joined with renewed fervor.Old guard back on Iraq policytag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheIraqiOccupationPhase2.php:a271b8ba757c65afad37af5ae6e2007-01-05T10:13:11ZWASHINGTON - Ever since Iraq began spiraling toward chaos, the war's intellectual architects - the so-called neoconservatives - have found themselves under attack in Washington policy salons and, more important, within the Bush administration.
Eventually, Paul D. Wolfowitz, the Defense department's most senior neocon, went to the World Bank. His Pentagon colleague Douglas J. Feith departed for academia. John R. Bolton left the State Department for a stint at the United Nations.
But now, a small but increasingly influential group of neocons are again helping steer Iraq policy. A key part of the new Iraq plan that President Bush is expected to announce next week - a surge in U.S. troops coupled with a more focused counterinsurgency effort - has been one of the chief recommendations of these neocons since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.The Adults take Charge - The Reality Based Community Strikes Back in Iraqtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheIraqiOccupationPhase2.php:d818a15f7eb1d19b15cb2646de52007-01-05T10:13:11ZThe professionals take charge. Bush is bringing in Ryan Crocker, a distinguished career foreign service officer, as the new US ambassador to Iraq. And Gen. David Petraeus will replace Gen. Casey as top ground commander in Iraq. Zalmay Khalilzad, the outgoing ambassador to Iraq, will go as ambassador to the United Nations, replacing the lying blowhard John Bolton.
Dreyfuss on Bush's Wizard-of-Oz Iraq Plantag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheIraqiOccupationPhase2.php:d307d076b2c015198a72784edf42007-01-05T10:13:11ZAmong Iraqi Shiites, no individual has been viewed as more of an enemy by the Bush administration than the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. American troops fought bloody battles with his Mahdi Army in 2004, destroying significant parts of the old city of Najaf in the process. American forces make periodic, destructive raids into the vast Baghdad slum and Sadrist stronghold of Sadr City to take out his followers and recently killed one of his top aides in a raid in Najaf. The upcoming Presidential "surge" into Baghdad is, reputedly, in part to be aimed at suppressing his militia, which a recent Pentagon report described as "the main threat to stability in Iraq."
Nonetheless at the crucial moment in the execution what did some of the Interior Ministry guards do? They chanted: "Muqtada! Muqtada! Muqtada!"
In all press reports, this has been described as a "taunting" of Saddam (and assumedly of Iraqi Sunnis more generally). But it could as easily be described as the purest mockery of George W. Bush and everything he's done in the country.UK Exempts Soldiers from Abuse Guilttag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheIraqiOccupationPhase2.php:21bed3326f69079e0c6e40ccaf12007-01-05T10:13:11ZLondon, Jan 4 (Prensa Latina) The British Military Law exonerated nine soldiers accused of beating Iraqi civilians, because it considered that crime, the scenes of which were broadcast by the local television, had become invalid.
According to that branch of the British armed forces, which is in charge of the investigation of the events on April, 2004 in the southern Basora province, it is impossible to try those involved six months after the incident.I lost 11 members of my family in less than one yeartag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_KillingtheInnocent.php:22ba7be7f3f0c8592456bccfa622007-01-05T10:13:11Z I'm 29-years-old. I've been handicapped since 18 January, 2006, when I lost my leg in an explosion while I was working as a waiter in a Baghdad restaurant.
On the same day I lost my brother Muhammad, who was working with me at the restaurant. He was only 19-years-old and didn't survive his injuries.
In March of last year, I lost my mother, Suheiya, and my father Dawood. They were killed inside our home. A militia member asked them to leave the neighbourhood but they refused because they were too old. They were shown no mercy and were brutally shot dead.Iraq Vets Left in Physical and Mental Agonytag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_KillingtheInnocent.php:adce70ee1efa3bb53f3173120332007-01-05T10:13:11Z SAN FRANCISCO (IPS) - On New Year's Eve, the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq passed 3,000. By Tuesday, the death toll had reached 3,004 -- 31 more than died in the Sep. 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.
But the number of injured has far outstripped the dead, with the Veterans Administration reporting that more than 150,000 veterans of the Iraq war are receiving disability benefits.
Advances in military technology are keeping the death rate much lower than during the Vietnam War and World War Two, Dr. Col. Vito Imbascini, an urologist and state surgeon with the California Army National Guard, told IPS, but soldiers who survive attacks are often severely disabled for life.Our Meaningless 'Sacrifice' in Iraq Must Stoptag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_KillingtheInnocent.php:8115a2117be433ba6018e4e4d5e2007-01-05T10:13:11ZPresident Bush may not be very good at dealing with reality, but he is still gifted at letting American troops be killed, and then turning their deaths to his own political advantage.US Soldier Deaths Spiral in Iraqtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_KillingtheInnocent.php:fea7db6e2c5604961e65c884aa32007-01-05T10:13:11ZBaghdad, Jan 5 (Prensa Latina) While US President George W. Bush said it will announce a new Iraqi strategy, the US death toll continues increasing, with two soldiers reported dead in the first five days of the new year, according to the central command.The Real Cost of the Iraq War: 50,000 U.S. Casualtiestag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_KillingtheInnocent.php:9d4741d837d267638cb4b4bc9a12007-01-05T10:13:11ZDeath is not the only measure of loss in Iraq. What about all of the lost limbs, bloodshed and other casualties that aren't being reported?10% of Active Journalists in Iraq Were Killed in 2006tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_KillingtheInnocent.php:1f6183873606ff5418fbe8a190b2007-01-05T10:13:11ZAfter 64 journalists were killed in Iraq in 2006, Reporters Without Borders has described the country as "the world's most dangerous" for the media.AP employee found shot to death in Iraqtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_KillingtheInnocent.php:53861dcb91d97f64f391eb723c22007-01-05T10:13:11ZBAGHDAD, Iraq - The body of an Associated Press employee was found shot in the back of the head Friday, six days after he was last seen by his family leaving for work. Ahmed Hadi Naji, 28, was the fourth AP staffer to die violently in the Iraq war and the second AP employee killed in less than a month. He had been a messenger and occasional cameraman for the AP for 2 1/2 years.
"All of us at AP share the pain and grief being felt by Ahmed's family and friends," said AP President and CEO Tom Curley. "The situation for our journalists in Iraq is unprecedented in AP's 161-year history of covering wars and conflicts. The courage of our Iraqi colleagues and their dedication to the story stand as an example to the world of journalism's enduring value."Cop's Wife Admits To Drowning Newborn In Tubtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_KillingtheInnocent.php:0e19cec5fef0f60d53cc6d1078e2007-01-05T10:13:11Z(CBS/AP) BRIDGETON, N.J. A police officer's wife has admitted she allowed her newborn daughter to drown in the bathtub where she had just given birth.
In pleading guilty Thursday to reckless manslaughter, Tina Marie Reynolds said she saw the baby, named Kaylee, move her limbs but did not explain why she let her daughter die in the tub April 14. Democrats Take Control of Congresstag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheDemocraticIllusion.php:159c4a74263664f46a4bd20bd972007-01-05T10:13:11ZWASHINGTON - In a day of ceremony and historic change, Rep. Nancy Pelosi became the nation's first female House speaker on Thursday as Democrats eagerly took control of Congress for the final two years of President Bush's term.
"The Democrats are back," rejoiced Pelosi, and she immediately set the rank-and-file to work passing tougher ethics rules.
As is customary, the opening moments of the 110th Congress produced pledges of bipartisanship at both ends of the Capitol. Yet Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid signaled a new political order when they swiftly challenged Bush over the war in Iraq.The Democrats are back: Pelosi opens a new era in Washingtontag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheDemocraticIllusion.php:0306d84b92088626935eeca191b2007-01-05T10:13:12ZAt the stroke of noon yesterday, a new political era opened in Washington as jubilant Democrats assumed control of both Houses of Congress for the first time since 1995 - a takeover the party hopes will be springboard for the recapture of the White House in two years' time.
"The Democrats are back," proclaimed Nancy Pelosi, the newly elected Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 100th Congress, the first woman to hold the third-ranking post under the constitution, a proverbial two heartbeats away from the presidency. "Today we make history. Today we change the direction of our country," she beamed, as she was formally installed to lead the House, where Democrats hold a solid 233 to 202 seat majority.The Big Question: Will the new Democratic Congress transform politics in Washington?tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheDemocraticIllusion.php:e4f5736c8b046da31b332adc6862007-01-05T10:13:12ZWhy we are asking the question now?
The new Democratic-controlled 110th Congress, chosen at last November's midterm elections, convened yesterday. The party has a majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate for the first time since January 1995 (with the exception of an 18-month period until January 2003 when a sitting Republican crossed the aisle). Otherwise they have not had a sniff of real power in Washington since George W Bush entered the White House. All that now changes. Mr Bush is still President, but he faces the novel experience of a hostile legislature, which will send him laws he opposes and conduct the sort of tough investigatory hearings - on domestic issues as well as Iraq - that he was spared during his first six years when the President's own party ran Congress.Veto threat as Democrats plan whirlwind of reformstag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheDemocraticIllusion.php:18421a25934065a768f035cf7652007-01-05T10:13:12ZThe new Democrat-controlled 110th Congress convenes today, with plans for a "100-hour" whirlwind of legislation to seize the political initiative before President George Bush delivers his State of the Union address later this month.
Today's ceremonies on Capitol Hill will see several novelties, including the formal election of Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in US history, and the swearing-in of Keith Ellison, who will represent a Minnesota district as America's first Muslim member of Congress. He will take the oath on the Koran - or, more precisely, an English translation of the Koran that once belonged to Thomas Jefferson, the third US president.Bush prepares for Congress battle over Iraqtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheDemocraticIllusion.php:511bd11395f7dbf73c6a1f6f79a2007-01-05T10:13:12ZGeorge Bush will embark this week on the toughest phase yet of his presidency, with a Democratic-controlled Congress arrayed against him for the first time, ahead of his expected - and certain to be controversial - decision to send more US troops to Iraq.
After spending much of his Christmas and New Year break at his Texas ranch consulting senior advisers over the various options on Iraq, Mr Bush is likely to make his announcement next week.House Democrats push proposal to link spending changes, tax shiftstag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheDemocraticIllusion.php:fe5b76e83d8bb07af7db39eab8f2007-01-05T10:13:12ZWASHINGTON (AP) - The House moved in its second day under Democratic reign toward changing budget rules that allowed deficits to swell with lawmakers' pet projects and President Bush's tax cuts.
But the changes sought Friday could bedevil efforts to appease middle-class voters later.
Another rule change would curb past abuses in which GOP leaders held votes open for hours and excluded minority party lawmakers from House-Senate negotiations on the language of final bills sent to the White House for enactment.Giuliani's presidential bid is undermined by leaktag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_TheDemocraticIllusion.php:04f92bfecad21f9b86f8b215a372007-01-05T10:13:12ZEven before he has formally entered the presidential race, the former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani has been embarrassed by the leak of a voluminous campaign document, listing possibly "insurmountable" obstacles, including his marital history and liberal social views, that could torpedo his candidacy.Bush plans changes in key advisers for Iraq fresh starttag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_SleightofHand.php:c9911804639a84cfa8854f285e82007-01-05T10:13:12ZWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush is planning to name a new ambassador and military commanders for Iraq as he prepares to make a fresh start on a worsening problem that has mired his administration and threatens his legacy.
The changes are part of a major realignment of administration personnel as Bush seeks to adjust his approach to Iraq, where nearly four years of a large U.S. military presence has failed to bring stability and an end to violence.
The current U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, Ryan Crocker, is expected to replace Zalmay Khalilzad in Baghdad as U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Khalilzad is expected to be nominated to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, three senior U.S. officials said on Thursday. Bush poised to name new Iraq commandertag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_SleightofHand.php:2e9d6b8f6f403f580c32d22f9352007-01-05T10:13:12ZGeorge Bush is set to appoint Lieutenant General David Petraeus as the top US commander in Iraq, it was reported today.
Lt Gen Petraeus, a military intellectual and counter-insurgency expert, is currently the head of the US army's leading military schools.
He will be Mr Bush's most important appointment as the US president prepares to unveil a fresh approach that is expected to include a temporary increase in troop numbers.Negroponte steps down to be Rice's new deputytag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_SleightofHand.php:236d081395e9bc0ef8e64af93cc2007-01-05T10:13:12ZIn a shake-up of the Bush national security team, John Negroponte will step down as America's first national Director of Intelligence to become Deputy Secretary of State, serving under Condoleezza Rice.
The impending move, which is, if anything, a demotion, has caused some bafflement - not least because only last month Mr Negroponte said he expected to remain intelligence tsar until the end of the current administration in 2009.Bush Announces Pick for Intelligence Posttag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_SleightofHand.php:a261b28832903d754c92f4bc6152007-01-05T10:13:12ZWASHINGTON - From the start, John D. Negroponte felt miscast as the nation's first director of national intelligence, a diplomat who never seemed comfortable in spook's clothing, colleagues and friends of his said.'Clean sweep': Bush replaces top general in Middle East who opposed troop surge tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_SleightofHand.php:ce53ee75217bc8c0f688be92d172007-01-05T10:13:12ZIn what appears to be a military shakeup surrounding Iraq, President Bush has replaced both the top US general in the Middle East and the top general in Iraq, ABC NEWS is reporting on air.
Admiral William J. Fallon will replace Gen. John Abizaid, US commander in the Middle East, who announced his retirement in December and was expected to leave the post in March. Abizaid was a critic of Bush's efforts to add more troops to Iraq, but the circumstances of his early departure are unclear.
"The president wants a clean sweep," an official told ABC News.Nuclear Agency Head Dismissed for Lapsestag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_SleightofHand.php:bb10db28814abfee370341262152007-01-05T10:13:12ZWASHINGTON - Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman on Thursday dismissed the chief of the country's nuclear weapons program because of security breakdowns at the Los Alamos, N.M., laboratory and other facilities.
Linton Brooks said he would leave in two weeks to three weeks as head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, a post he held since May 2003.
Bodman said the nuclear agency under Brooks, a former ambassador and arms control negotiator, had not adequately fixed security problems. "I have decided it is time for new leadership at the NNSA," Bodman said.Subway hero: 'I had to decide, do I let the train run him over'tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_LifeintheUSofA.php:59fdbdc955d6e208841a2bf56e22007-01-05T10:13:12ZFor one young man in New York, the gods of good and ill fortune struck at once. The bad news came when he suffered a seizure on a subway platform in Harlem on Tuesday afternoon, a medical crisis that sent him stumbling on to the rails below. The good news was that Wesley Autrey was standing near by.FBI Files: Rehnquist Had Hallucinationstag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_LifeintheUSofA.php:7b99c01001a610f42e09ff5a2362007-01-05T10:13:12ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- The FBI's file on former Chief Justice William Rehnquist _ made public more than a year after his death _ indicates the Nixon and Reagan administrations enlisted its help in blunting criticism of him during confirmation hearings.
The file also offers insight into the hallucinations and other symptoms of withdrawal that Rehnquist suffered when he was taken off a prescription painkiller in 1981. A doctor was cited as saying that Rehnquist, an associate justice of the Supreme Court at the time, tried to escape the hospital in his pajamas and imagined that the CIA was plotting against him.Fainting dieters crimp NYC subway schedulestag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_LifeintheUSofA.php:8fa870027ee895cdc861b79d20c2007-01-05T10:13:12ZBEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Dieters who faint from dizziness are among the top reasons for subway train delays in New York city, according to Metropolitan Transportation Authority statistics.
Track work and signal problems headed the list, but fainting dieters topped the "sick customer" list, AM New York newspaper reported Tuesday.Immigrants launch 25% of U.S. high-tech startupstag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_LifeintheUSofA.php:73d752b9e662abe6f07b9c26da32007-01-05T10:13:12ZBEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Recent political debate over immigration is most often about unskilled, illegal workers in low-wage jobs. But a recent study at Duke University discovered one in four U.S. technology startups in the last 10 years can be credited to foreign-born entrepreneurs.
In a study published Thursday, researchers estimated 25 percent of technology and engineering companies launched from 1995 to 2005 had at least one senior executive -- a founder, chief executive, president or chief technology officer -- who was not born in America.
Immigrant entrepreneurs' companies employed 450,000 workers and generated 52 billion U.S. dollars in sales in 2005, according to the survey.Guardsmen overrun at the Bordertag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_LifeintheUSofA.php:e589605442a4198bb83caceb5702007-01-05T10:13:12ZA U.S. Border Patrol entry Identification Team site was overrun Wednesday night along Arizona's border with Mexico.
According to the Border Patrol, an unknown number of gunmen attacked the site in the state's West Desert Region around 11 p.m. The site is manned by National Guardsmen. Those guardsmen were forced to retreat.Moroccan convicted over Sept. 11 attacks protests innocence as sentence hearing openstag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_LifeintheUSofA.php:bf6c3ede7e6ec519cfea39e125d2007-01-05T10:13:12ZHAMBURG, Germany - A Moroccan convicted as an accessory to murder in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks made an emotional declaration of innocence as a court opened hearings Friday to set his sentence.
Mounir el Motassadeq, a friend of three of the suicide pilots, could receive up to 15 years in prison in the latest chapter of the tangled, five-year legal saga.
In November, a federal appeals court ruled that judges in Hamburg had wrongly acquitted el Motassadeq in 2005 of direct involvement in the attacks, even as they sentenced him to seven years in prison for belonging to a terrorist group.Airport Battles Some Muslim Cabbiestag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_LifeintheUSofA.php:70155b012618b86ad752f38b3a52007-01-05T10:13:12ZMINNEAPOLIS - Officials at Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport are proposing stiffer penalties - including suspension of an airport taxi license - to Muslim cab drivers who refuse service to passengers toting alcohol or service dogs.
Officials on Wednesday asked the Metropolitan Airport Commission for permission to hold public hearings on a proposal that would suspend the airport licenses of cab drivers who refuse service for reasons other than safety concerns. The penalties would also apply to drivers who refuse a fare because a trip is too short.Alleged Russian Rocket Comes Down Over Wyo.tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ThingsFromtheSky.php:b89e335a67d944d466c9eb046e62007-01-05T10:13:12Z"NORAD identified the rocket as an SL-4 that had been used to launch a French space telescope in December, and Kelly said U.S. spacewatchers knew the rocket was coming down."Spent Russian Space Rocket Falls on Western U.S.tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ThingsFromtheSky.php:f506f5edd1c7aede75ee50e8dfd2007-01-05T10:13:12ZPieces of a spent Russian rocket reentered the atmosphere over Colorado and Wyoming early on Thursday, showering parts of the western United States with space debris, the Reuters news agency reported quoting U.S. space monitors.
Pieces of the Russian SL-4 spacecraft that survived their blazing descent intact most likely landed in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico, U.S. Northern Command spokeswoman Air Force Major April Cunningham said.Missing jet mystery deepenstag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ThingsFromtheSky.php:f2f16817dea12baff1ef80660f82007-01-05T10:13:12ZJakarta - Officials say they are baffled they cannot find a trace of the missing Adam Air Boeing 737-400 despite marking its coordinates from an onboard Emergency Locator Beacon Aircraft (OLBA).
This as the massive, internationally-assisted search operation in Indonesia prepared to halt at nightfall and resume at daybreak on Saturday over an even wider area of Sulawesi Island.
"We're trying to find it but there's an 'X-factor' about it," said Ahmad, an official from the National Search and Rescue Agency in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province and base of search and rescue operation.UFOS IN THE CLOUDS tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ThingsFromtheSky.php:0aaf5191ede86546c8e8c01c46a2007-01-05T10:13:12ZMore than 3,000 reports of unidentified flying objects were sent to the National UFO Reporting Center over the past year - but not one has generated as much buzz as November's sighting at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Was it a metallic-looking, saucer-shaped object rising through the clouds, or nothing more than a meteorological oddity? It's hard to figure out whether the truth is really out there, but one thing is for sure: Clouds can do some positively alien-looking things.UFO crash still a mysterytag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ThingsFromtheSky.php:8c1abc2b7e029d543e2ce2b4cf92007-01-05T10:13:12Z Lephalale - Mystery still surrounds the UFO that reportedly crashed somewhere in the Lephalale (Ellisras) region on Monday.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Leonie Ras, the administrative manager of Lephalale saw a strange object fall to the ground at about 04:33 on her daughter's farm east of the town.
She was lying in bed checking her SMS messages when she heard a noise "like an Airbus aircraft firing up its motors".Turbulence Detected in Spacetag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ThingsFromtheSky.php:0c32223e8b0d99dc30f9ca3f7942007-01-05T10:13:12ZThe highly ionized solar wind blows around our planet, disrupting satellites and endangering unprotected astronauts. A flotilla of four satellites have recently measured random variations in the solar wind's propagation, providing the first definitive detection of turbulence in space.Scientists' Report Documents ExxonMobil's Tobacco-like Disinformation Campaign on Global Warming Sciencetag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_MoneyMatters.php:c63778abf086270371cdb5b844d2007-01-05T10:13:12ZOil Company Spent Nearly $16 Million to Fund Skeptic Groups, Create Confusion
WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 3-A new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists offers the most comprehensive documentation to date of how ExxonMobil has adopted the tobacco industry's disinformation tactics, as well as some of the same organizations and personnel, to cloud the scientific understanding of climate change and delay action on the issue. According to the report, ExxonMobil has funneled nearly $16 million between 1998 and 2005 to a network of 43 advocacy organizations that seek to confuse the public on global warming science.U.S. slaps fines on 4 diet pill companies for false promisestag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_MoneyMatters.php:ae4ce357218154e36937e535c052007-01-05T10:13:12ZScience doesn't support the advertising claims made by four weight-loss pill companies, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said Thursday after fining the companies' marketers millions of dollars.
The FTC is allowing Xenadrine EFX, One A Day Weight Smart, Cortaslim and TrimSpa to remain on store shelves but ordered the companies to stop making misleading advertising claims.Oil prices continue retreattag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_MoneyMatters.php:73bf6c9dff025dbf2c77452ab642007-01-05T10:13:12ZOil prices continued their recent retreat on Thursday, falling more than $1 US per barrel on commodity markets as mild winter weather continued in eastern North America.
The February futures contract for light sweet crude oil was down $1.43 at $56.89 in late morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.FIAT EMPIREtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_MoneyMatters.php:5099855de4c4767a7988b4463d72007-01-05T10:13:12ZWhy the Federal Reserve Violates the U.S. Constitution (Formerly called FIAT EMPIRE - A Closer Look at the Federal Reserve).
This important documentary is inspired by the well-known book, The Creature From Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin.
Produced by William L. Van Alen, Jr., the 1-hour documentary is a co-production between Matrixx Productions and Cornerstone Entertainment and features interviews by not only G. Edward Griffin, but Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas), MOVIEGUIDE Founder, Ted Baehr, and constitutional authority, Edwin Vieira (4 degrees from Harvard). See the official website of FIAT EMPIRE for at for more information on all four experts and how to get a DVD copy.
FIAT EMPIRE was written and directed by James Jaeger and narrated by Kris Chandler. Associate producers are Ted Pollard, author and former Commissioner of Radnor Township and James E. Ewart, well-known author of MONEY.
You can screen a 60-minute promo version of FIAT EMPIRE (plus raw interviews).
FIAT EMPIRE is also up at Google Movies and the promo version has already been downloaded by over 5,300 people who have given it a collective 5 star rating (that's 5 out of a possible 5). Please note, we did not authorize the placement of this on Google. Someone else commandeered it and placed it up there. Given this and the number of downloads, it's apparent that someone out there feels this subject and film may be of concern to citizens. Accordingly, we are looking for a wider distribution, perhaps on DVD or even theatrical, so if you are a distributor, or can help us find one, please contact James Jaeger at 610/688-9212 or contact@mecfilms.com. This show is not authorized for sale but may be displayed in private settings and for the purpose of promoting completion funds, distribution and future shows based upon G. Edward Griffin's book. Again, if you can help out on any of these goals, or wish to proffer comments on the film, please contact us at 610/688-9212 or email us at contact@mecfilms.com.Gov. to seek insurance for all childrentag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_MoneyMatters.php:03cc73825db645db6e4392e54e32007-01-05T10:13:12ZSACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will propose that all Californian children, including those in the state illegally, be guaranteed medical insurance as part of the health-care overhaul he intends to unveil next week, according to officials familiar with the plan.
If enacted by the Legislature, his proposal would affect about 763,000 children who now lack insurance. Although the administration has not revealed details of how it would pay for such a program, officials estimate that extending insurance to all children could cost the state as much as $400 million a year.Images of Saturn's moon Titan reveal lakestag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_StrangerthanFiction.php:9d39ca7907a9fc468e9e8f9d7e32007-01-05T10:13:13ZThe Cassini spacecraft has discovered another similarity between Earth and Saturn's moon Titan, revealing images of what appear to be lakes on its surface.
The radar images show dark, smooth patches that appear to be lakes based on their shape and low radar reflectivity.Ancient Vishnu Idol Can Change View on Russian Historytag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_StrangerthanFiction.php:34f997bd304f7bec4507a1ca7232007-01-05T10:13:13ZAn ancient Vishnu idol has been found during excavation in an old village in Russia's Volga region, raising questions about the prevalent view on the origin of ancient Russia, the Reuters news agency reports.
The idol found in Staraya (old) Maina village dates back to VII-X century AD. Staraya Maina village in Ulyanovsk region was a highly populated city 1700 years ago, much older than Kiev, so far believed to be the mother of all Russian cities. Rare Rhinos Go Missing in Nepaltag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_StrangerthanFiction.php:f64044259f52fb48db7e9b8452d2007-01-05T10:13:13ZHow do you make a 4,000-pound (1,800-kilogram) rhinoceros disappear?
That's the weighty mystery facing a Nepali nature reserve where more than four dozen Indian rhinoceroses have gone missing over the past several years.Two-Headed Reptile Fossil From Age of Dinosaurs Foundtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_StrangerthanFiction.php:970b68df2cdd26d40158c5c97dc2007-01-05T10:13:13ZPalaeontologists have found a tiny dinosaur-era reptile with two heads-the first time the extremely rare developmental anomaly has been found in a fossil.
The 120-million-year-old specimen, just 2.8 inches (7 centimeters) long, is a hatchling of a species of Choristodere-extinct aquatic reptiles resembling modern-day crocodiles or lizards.Propaganda! Sam Harris's Faith in Eastern Spirituality and Muslim Torturetag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_StrangerthanFiction.php:df8f9730306a8598a0de66870a72007-01-05T10:13:13ZThe best-selling author of "The End of Faith" may argue against Christianity, but he is also supportive of phenomena such as reincarnation and ESP, and calls for "compassionately killing" the "Muslim hordes."Black's ex-colleagues take aim at 'five-star girl' Amieltag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_Blairtown.php:a4a5b74010eb345ace617682a9e2007-01-05T10:13:13ZAssailed by lawsuits and criminal charges and still brooding on the loss of a media empire that was once the third largest in the world, Lord Black of Crossharbour has now to contend with a public attack on his marriage by several of his most senior former lieutenants at the Daily Telegraph.
The Telegraph's former editor Charles Moore, and chief executive Jeremy Deedes are among those who help trace the peer's downfall to his 1992 marriage to Barbara Amiel, the columnist who drew him deeper into a rich-list world of celebrity and influence. Their comments, in interviews for the forthcoming issue of Vanity Fair, come only two months before Lord Black goes to trial to fight charges that he used his network of media companies to fund a lavish lifestyle in the US, the UK and Canada.11 hospitalized after chemical leak in Britaintag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_Blairtown.php:37e3e76a99c0ff2938189b46ca42007-01-05T10:13:13ZLONDON, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Eleven people are receiving treatment in hospital on Thursday after a toxic chemical leak from the BASF plant in Britain, Sky news reported.
Three were suffering from serious burns from a substance called HMD, which was released from the factory in Billingham, Teesside, said the report.OECD Pressures London To Explain Halt To Saudi Arms Probetag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_Blairtown.php:ae5eda77417801d81b83e1b59d12007-01-05T10:13:13ZBritain's government is facing international pressure over its decision to halt its probe into a controversial arms deal between British defence group BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia during the 1980s. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, a grouping of 30 industrialised nations, confirmed Thursday that it had written to the British government asking it to explain why it dropped the investigation last month.
"The letter was sent before Christmas asking for further information about the BAE affair," OECD head of media Nicholas Bray told AFP.British formal inquest into Diana death to reopentag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_Blairtown.php:f265df81c9e84ad19b0ea17a4f92007-01-05T10:13:13ZLONDON - The deaths of Britain's Princess Diana and her lover Dodi al Fayed in a 1997 car crash, one of the most thoroughly investigated events of recent times, comes in for more scrutiny on Monday when an inquest reopens after a three-year break.
Three weeks ago, a lengthy police investigation ruled that the crash was an accident and the two were not the victims of an elaborate murder plot. A two-year French investigation had already come to that conclusion.
Diana, who was 36, Fayed and their chauffeur Henri Paul died when their Mercedes limousine smashed at high speed into a pillar in a Paris road tunnel after they sped away from the Ritz Hotel, pursued by paparazzi on motorbikes. Chirac warns rival Sarkozy to do his jobtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_WineandCheese.php:78bf89bcac993ff254372bce4802007-01-05T10:13:13ZPARIS, Jan 3, 2007 (AFP) - French President Jacques Chirac took a veiled swipe this week at his rival and would-be successor Nicolas Sarkozy, warning him not to neglect his job as interior minister as the presidential race heats up.
Chirac was speaking to a cabinet meeting a day after the 327,000 members of his centre-right UMP party started voting in an online presidential primary -- the outcome of which is all-but-certain since Sarkozy is the only candidate.Poll: France's Sarkozy seen as defeatedtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_WineandCheese.php:f9b7056369889facdb09abe3beb2007-01-05T10:13:13ZPARIS, Jan 3, 2007 (AFP) - Segolene Royal, the Socialist aiming to become France's first woman president, would beat conservative frontrunner Nicolas Sarkozy, in the second round of presidential elections later this year, according to a new poll.
The poll, carried out by telephone on Wednesday among 891 registered voters aged at least 18, showed Royal slipping by one percentage point to 52 percent and Sarkozy picking up one point to 48 percent compared with a CSA institute poll in late November.France's Royal steals limelight with platformtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_WineandCheese.php:e12cccf87d2687953714a47b4d82007-01-05T10:13:13ZPARIS, Jan 4, 2007 (AFP) - Segolene Royal, who is campaigning to become France's first ever woman president, on Thursday grabbed an early political advantage by unveiling a raft of planned policies and details of a visit to China.
The one-two punch undercut both incumbent President Jacques Chirac, who announced planned tax cuts for businesses in France the same day, and her chief rival on the right for the presidency, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy.France shocked by cannibalism in prisontag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_WineandCheese.php:e00ea017fe6940636dff8cfe1922007-01-05T10:13:13ZROUEN, France, Jan 5, 2007 (AFP) - A French prisoner who killed a cellmate and apparently ate part of his chest and lungs was in custody Friday facing charges of premeditated murder and cannibalism, officials said.
The 35-year-old prisoner -- named by the French daily Le Parisien as Nicolas Cocaigne -- had confessed to the gory attack, confirmed by an autopsy, state prosecutor Joseph Schmit said in a statement.Basque police discover bombtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_MilitaryShananigans.php:5bc184c5863434af249d02e960c2007-01-05T10:13:13ZPolice found a bomb in the Basque region of Spain yesterday, five days after a car bombing in Madrid killed one person and shattered a nine-month ceasefire between the government and the armed separatist group Eta.
Nearly 100kg (220lb) of explosives were found in a drum near an abandoned car outside the town of Amorebieta, and they had been rigged to be used in an attack, a spokesman for the Basque police said.
Bangkok awash with whispers of another couptag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_MilitaryShananigans.php:b23763eaa0f9e6b58374e03508a2007-01-05T10:13:13ZBEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Whispers of another coup are spreading through Bangkok, but Thai leaders reviewing security videotapes of the New Year's Eve bombings said the rumors are being spread by unnamed soldiers and police implicated in the bombings.
But some residents Thailand's capital have been speculating that supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra could try to retake power and others are citing a possible move within the military against the civilian government it installed less than four months ago.Russia to Write Off 80 Percent of North Korean Debt - Newspapertag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_MilitaryShananigans.php:f05b2c2061b986fd5f5b9643d0b2007-01-05T10:13:13Zussia has agreed in principle to write off up to 80 percent of some eight billion dollars owed by North Korea, a South Korean newspaper report has said.
The AFP news agency said on Thursday that the Chosun daily had quoted diplomatic sources in Moscow as saying Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak and his North Korean counterpart Kim Yong-Gil reached the agreement in December.
"They have agreed to finish negotiations on this issue before March," the source said.East Asia The Biggest Suspect In US Military Technology Thefttag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_MilitaryShananigans.php:0494b7e13ea000a1a691affcd572007-01-05T10:13:13ZEast Asian nations are the biggest suspected thieves of American military technology, according to an annual Pentagon study showing foreign spies using sex and computer hacking to steal defense secrets. There will be no let up in technology theft in East Asia, which includes rising military power China, as the economically booming region modernizes its defense systems, said the "2006 Technology Collection Trends in the US Defense Industry" report.Prisoner slips out of Norwegian jail after smearing himself with vegetable oiltag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_IWantOuttaHere.php:cc46b6a200d3169ad3f02283d272007-01-05T10:13:13ZOSLO, Norway (AP) - A Lithuanian held on suspicion of theft in an Arctic Norway jail slipped out of custody - literally - by stripping naked, smearing himself with vegetable oil and sliding through the prison bars, police said Wednesday.Incoming Archbishop of Warsaw 'spied for communist secret police'
tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_IWantOuttaHere.php:b6c2f6697aa088c29c530efd4b82007-01-05T10:13:13ZThe Catholic church in Poland has been convulsed by claims that the priest who is due to be sworn in this weekend as Archbishop of Warsaw, one of the leading posts in the hierarchy, spied for the communist secret police.
Stanislaw Wielgus is under pressure to withdraw from Sunday's ceremony or request its postponement after Polish newspapers accused him of collaborating for two decades with a communist regime that the Catholic church staunchly opposed.Terrorist Vegetablestag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_IWantOuttaHere.php:bbea1f86fe62d1afbcd4146e5932007-01-05T10:13:13ZThe heroic occupation army of Israel today attacked vegetable stands. The vegetables were accused of terrorist links. US Congress acted immediately: all the offending vegetables were put on terrorist-watch lists.Feminist Blogs Respond to Club Culture and Rape Articletag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_IWantOuttaHere.php:715399c3334d68437e9c9f36b752007-01-05T10:13:13ZTuesday's article on young women, club culture and rape has the feminist blog world hopping mad.Iran's president says international sanctions won't stop uranium enrichmenttag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ProvokingIran.php:6efa758d8c5600d738c698200422007-01-05T10:13:13ZTEHRAN, Iran - Iran stepped up its defiance of international sanctions aimed at rolling back its nuclear program, vowing on Friday to continue enriching uranium and announcing it has produced and stored more of the gas used as a feedstock for enrichment.
Hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran would not give into U.N. Security Council demands that it suspend enrichment, state-run television reported.
"Iran will stand up to coercion. ... All Iranians stand united to defend their nuclear rights," state-run TV quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.Bush: No peace with Iran developing nuclear armstag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ProvokingIran.php:b99d1d18691d031a2eaec2a31a22007-01-05T10:13:13ZWASHINGTON - President Bush on Thursday applauded German Chancellor Angela Merkel's support for U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran, saying he did not see peace with Tehran developing nuclear weapons.US had better end acting based on double standards - Larijani
tag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_ProvokingIran.php:c18b6171c5df9457191f24262fa2007-01-05T10:13:13ZIran's top nuclear negotiator said here Friday night that the United States had better end acting based on double standards in various fields.
Secretary of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani said at a press conference, comprised of Chinese and foreign media correspondents, "If the Americans are truly after the establishment of global peace, the first thing they would have to do is to end observing double standards."
He made the comment in response to a question in which the reporter had quoted the US President George W. Bush as saying that peace cannot be achieved resorting to nuclear weapons.America's new puppettag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_Somalia.php:c9d0710753d8e3a4f38a9ed70ec2007-01-05T10:13:14ZBy its ill-judged invasion of Somalia, Ethiopia has become an accomplice in Bush's war on terror.
If the 20th century taught us anything, it was that powerful armies can be brought to their knees by small groups of fighters who are not afraid to die. Small Vietnam humiliated mighty America, and the "stone-age" mujahideen of Afghanistan sent the Soviet army packing. With all this so apparent, why has the Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, sent his army into Somalia?
The transitional government had been fighting a civil war against the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC). Meles may think the former has the people's backing, but that poses the question: if it's so popular, why does it need the Ethiopian army to fight for it?
Somali conflict enters 'final battle' as soldiers hunt down Islamiststag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_Somalia.php:acc83261fa4f2f8fe9341c9e48c2007-01-05T10:13:14ZEthiopian and Somali government troops are engaged in what they were describing as one the "final battles" of the war with hundreds of Islamist fighters in the south-west of Somalia.
With combat intensifying near its border, and renewed fears that the conflict may spread across the region, the Kenyan government sent extra forces to the area and declared the frontier has been "sealed". Sources say American forces were helping to direct attacks by Ethiopian helicopter gunships as US warships stepped up patrols off Somalia.Zero Infant Mortality, Much of Cubatag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_LatinAmericaAwakens.php:e9648adad6e15e739a00537c8572007-01-05T10:13:14ZHavana, Jan 5 (Prensa Latina) Twenty-five Cuban municipalities reported zero infant mortality rates in 2006, making for a current national rate of 5.3 percent.
The National Statistics Department of the Ministry of Health, which previously reported on the national infant mortality rate, said in a new report that those 25 municipalities have a population of over 800,000 inhabitants each.Venezuela's Chavez Names Vice-President, Ministers for New Termtag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_LatinAmericaAwakens.php:f512b2c86e03b6585ee381b102a2007-01-05T10:13:14ZCaracas, January 4, 2007 (venezuelanalysis.com)- Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced yesterday that former Electoral Council president Jorge Rodríguez would replace José Vicente Rangel as his new Vice-president while Minister for Justice and the Interior Jesse Chacón is to be replaced by National Assembly Deputy Pedro Carreño.2 More British Test Positive for Polonium in Russian Agent Litvinenko Probetag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_LitvinenkoAffair.php:f5c6f9f7751926cc6af7a8dfdbd2007-01-05T10:13:14ZTwo more people have tested positive for low levels of polonium 210, the radioactive poison that killed former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, the Reuters news agency quoted British health authorities as saying on Wednesday.
The tests bring to 12 the number of people in Britain found to have been contaminated by polonium since Litvinenko died on November 23. He accused the Kremlin of assassinating him in a murky spy case which has strained relations between London and Moscow.U.K. radiation monitors say Polonium-210 traces found at another restauranttag:signs-of-the-times.org,2007-01-05:/signs/chains/signs20070105_LitvinenkoAffair.php:a18d90529f42e37825e441ca0b82007-01-05T10:13:14ZLONDON - Traces of lethal Polonium-210 have been detected at a restaurant linked to the investigation of the murder of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, the Health Protection Agency said Friday.