7M in U.S. jails, on probation or parole
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A record 7 million people - or one in every 32 American adults - were behind bars, on probation or on parole by the end of last year, according to the Justice Department. Of those, 2.2 million were in prison or jail, an increase of 2.7 percent over the previous year, according to a report released Wednesday
Kansas Outlaws Practice Of Evolution
"No species is exempt," said Marcus Holloway, a state police spokesman. "Whether you're a human being or a fruit fly—if we detect one homologous chromosome trying to cross over during the process of meiosis, you will be punished to the full extent of the law."
Although the full impact of the new law will likely not be felt for approximately 10 million years, most Kansans say they are relieved that the ban went into effect this week, claiming that evolution may have gone too far already.
The New Middle East
another story from dre...
Just over two centuries since Napoleon's arrival in Egypt heralded the advent of the modern Middle East - some 80 years after the demise of the Ottoman Empire, 50 years after the end of colonialism, and less than 20 years after the end of the Cold War - the American era in the Middle East, the fourth in the region's modern history, has ended. Visions of a new, Europe-like region - peaceful, prosperous, democratic - will not be realized. Much more likely is the emergence of a new Middle East that will cause great harm to itself, the United States, and the world.
All the eras have been defined by the interplay of contending forces, both internal and external to the region. What has varied is the balance between these influences. The Middle East's next era promises to be one in which outside actors have a relatively modest impact and local forces enjoy the upper hand - and in which the local actors gaining power are radicals committed to changing the status quo. Shaping the new Middle East from the outside will be exceedingly difficult, but it - along with managing a dynamic Asia - will be the primary challenge of U.S. foreign policy for decades to come.
Just over two centuries since Napoleon's arrival in Egypt heralded the advent of the modern Middle East - some 80 years after the demise of the Ottoman Empire, 50 years after the end of colonialism, and less than 20 years after the end of the Cold War - the American era in the Middle East, the fourth in the region's modern history, has ended. Visions of a new, Europe-like region - peaceful, prosperous, democratic - will not be realized. Much more likely is the emergence of a new Middle East that will cause great harm to itself, the United States, and the world.
All the eras have been defined by the interplay of contending forces, both internal and external to the region. What has varied is the balance between these influences. The Middle East's next era promises to be one in which outside actors have a relatively modest impact and local forces enjoy the upper hand - and in which the local actors gaining power are radicals committed to changing the status quo. Shaping the new Middle East from the outside will be exceedingly difficult, but it - along with managing a dynamic Asia - will be the primary challenge of U.S. foreign policy for decades to come.
All-Day Permanent Red: Alex Cox and the Long March of American Militarism
didnt read the whole article but it looks very interesting. thanks to dre for the story...
This is the kind of cognitive dissonance evoked by a new screenplay from renowned director Alex Cox: "Our War Against Canada." The British-born Cox - long resident in the United States - is planning a three-part, 90-minute documentary on the all-too-true story of serious American plans to wage war against Canada, Mexico and Great Britain in the years before World War II. These detailed schemes are filled with "echoes from the future," in Pasternak's apt phrase: eerie prefigurements and deep-rooted patterns that have been played out - in reality, not just on paper - over and over down through the decades, and now confront us once again, most starkly and horribly, in Iraq.
This is the kind of cognitive dissonance evoked by a new screenplay from renowned director Alex Cox: "Our War Against Canada." The British-born Cox - long resident in the United States - is planning a three-part, 90-minute documentary on the all-too-true story of serious American plans to wage war against Canada, Mexico and Great Britain in the years before World War II. These detailed schemes are filled with "echoes from the future," in Pasternak's apt phrase: eerie prefigurements and deep-rooted patterns that have been played out - in reality, not just on paper - over and over down through the decades, and now confront us once again, most starkly and horribly, in Iraq.
Depleted Uranium Situation Worsens
Today, US, British, and now Israeli military personnel are using illegal uranium munitions—America and the United Kingdom's own "dirty bombs"—while US Army, US Department of Energy, US Department of Defense (DOD), and UK Ministry of Defence officials deny that there are any adverse health or environmental effects as a consequence of the manufacture, testing, or use of uranium munitions, so that they may avoid liability for the willful and illegal dispersal of a radioactive toxic material—depleted uranium (DU).
GPS Surveillance Creeps into Daily Life
Nov. 14 – For $5.99 per month, you can turn a cell phone into a surveillance device and track when your target leaves home, where he or she travels and at what speed. You can even detect how much battery power is left on the phone. Marketed as "virtual eyes" on your kids or employees, the service also allows you to construct a virtual "fence" so that you can receive electronic alerts if the phone’s carrier crosses into forbidden areas.
U.S. Embassy Asks Bush Twins to Leave Country
Send 'em to a Boca match and let them fend for themselves...
NYC police shoot 3 after bachelor party, killing groom
Police sprayed 50 rounds at the car, hitting the vehicle 21 times, and hit nearby homes and a train station, though no residents were injured. Kelly said it was too early to say whether the shooting was justified. A grand jury was investigating.
US dollar 'will keep falling'
The US dollar has reached a 'tipping point' as foreign exchange markets wake up to the threat that the Federal Reserve will have to slash interest rates in the new year to stave off recession, analysts say. After a sharp sell-off on Friday took the greenback to 18-month lows against the euro, and pushed the pound to $1.93, economists warned that there was worse to come for the US currency.
El Salvador-style 'death squads' to be deployed by US against Iraq militants
THE Pentagon is considering forming hit squads of Kurdish and Shia fighters to target leaders of the Iraqi insurgency in a strategic shift borrowed from the American struggle against left-wing guerrillas in Central America 20 years ago.
Under the so-called “El Salvador option”, Iraqi and American forces would be sent to kill or kidnap insurgency leaders, even in Syria, where some are thought to shelter.
Under the so-called “El Salvador option”, Iraqi and American forces would be sent to kill or kidnap insurgency leaders, even in Syria, where some are thought to shelter.
Don't Mess With Texas!
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Police say personal hygiene led to a bloody brawl outside a Texas tavern.
Iraq conflict passes WWII
THEY were America's days of infamy, 60 years apart - Pearl Harbour and September 11. The first led the US into World War II, a conflict it endured for 1348 days; the second was followed by a war that from tomorrow will have lasted even longer.
America's involvement in Iraq will reach that milestone at a time when the clamour for withdrawal has never been louder, and the possibility of achieving it has never seemed so difficult. The decisive end of World War II in 1945 delivers no lessons that could be applied to a very different war in a very different era.
Tomb of Jesus--Did he die on the cross?
I love this stuff...
Details below and more here: http://www.tombofjesus.com/home.htm
A Research Documentary on Jesus Surviving crucifixion and migrating to Kashmir with sub-titles in Urdu.
Founder of Ahmadiyah movement in Islam (Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani "A.S") said 100 years earlier that Allah (God) has told him that Jesus had died a natural death. Thus he did not ascended bodily to heavens as believed both by Muslims and Christians.
Crucifixion takes a week to kill a healthy man, unless the legs are broken (which was not the case with Jesus according to the Bible). Yet the Bible says Jesus was only on the cross for a few hours before being declared dead. As reported in the Bible, Pontius Pilate (who we can assume knew a great deal about crucifixion) expressed great surprise that Jesus expired so quickly, but was restrained from further investigation by his wife.
Numerous ancient sources repeat the story of Jesus and his followers faking his quick death to get him off the cross while still alive. Even the new testament contains the recipe for "Wounds of Christ Ointment" (Aloe and Myrrh) suggesting that the post-crucifixing Jesus was not an ascended spirit, but a badly wounded man trying to get the heck out of Dodge.
This is your captain speaking . . . I'm just raising the cash to get us home
Heroic effort by the pilot!
Two U.S. men charged with broadcasting Hezbollah TV
According to the new charges, between September 2005 and August 2006, the two men used the television company they own, Brooklyn-based HDTV Ltd., to negotiate with representatives of the al-Manar network to air the channel, according to the indictment.
Jury finds Net pharmacy kingpin guilty
Jurors convicted online pharmacy kingpin Christopher Smith on nine charges, including conspiracy to unlawfully sell drugs and launder money. One of the counts includes a minimum 20-year prison sentence.
The Burnsville entrepreneur, who trolled for customers by setting loose a flood of spam e-mail, amassed a fortune selling prescription drugs via Xpress Pharmacy Direct.
The 26-year-old once owned a million-dollar house in Prior Lake, drove a Lamborghini, kept a mistress and handed out painkillers to his call-center operators.
The Snooping Goes Beyond Phone Calls
The Justice Dept. alone, which includes the FBI, spent $19 million in fiscal 2005 to obtain commercially gathered names, addresses, phone numbers, and other data, according to the GAO. The Justice Dept. obeys the Privacy Act and "protects information that might personally identify an individual," a spokesman says. Despite the GAO's findings, a Homeland Security spokesman denies that his agency purchases consumer records from private companies. The State Dept. didn't respond to requests for comment.
First Daughter Barbara Robbed in Argentina
First Daughter Barbara Bush had her purse and cell phone stolen as she had dinner in a restaurant in Buenos Aires, Argentina, even though she was being guarded by a detail of Secret Service agents, according to law enforcement reports made available to ABC News.
It was not the only mishap on the two-week trip to Argentina by Barbara and her twin sister Jenna.
A Secret Service agent on the advance detail got into an "altercation" with someone after a night out and was badly beaten, according to the law enforcement reports. The Secret Service said today the incident was an attempted mugging that occurred while the agent was on his own time. The agent is doing fine.
It was not the only mishap on the two-week trip to Argentina by Barbara and her twin sister Jenna.
A Secret Service agent on the advance detail got into an "altercation" with someone after a night out and was badly beaten, according to the law enforcement reports. The Secret Service said today the incident was an attempted mugging that occurred while the agent was on his own time. The agent is doing fine.
Senior Democrat renews call for military draft
Rangel, who opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, also said he did not think the United States would have invaded Iraq if the children of members of Congress were sent to fight. He has said the U.S. fighting force is comprised disproportionately of people from low-income families and minorities.
Times Up: NYC Spends 1.3 Million Policing Critical Mass
New York, NY (November 15, 2006)- - Since September 2004, the Bloomberg administration and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office have spent at least $1,320,000 harassing law-abiding cyclists on Critical Mass bike rides. The costs analysis covering the period from 9/2004 through 8/2006 was prepared by Economist Charles Komanoff and Time’s Up! to inform New York taxpayers of the monies spent by the City and State to suppress the monthly rides. New parade permit rules announced by the NYPD will add further to the expenditure of tax dollars on police actions against Critical Mass as well as other gatherings of 10 or more cyclists, motorists or pedestrians.
Neanderthal DNA nearly identical to humans
They estimate that modern humans and Neanderthals split from a common ancestor at least 370,000 years ago, and possibly 500,000 years ago, although we share 99.95% of our DNA.
"We see no evidence of mixing 40,000, 30,000 years ago in Europe. We don't exclude it, but see no evidence,"Edward Rubin of the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, California, who led one study, told reporters....
Neanderthals and modern humans are both descended from Homo erectus, which left Africa and spread around the world about 1.5 million years ago.
Neanderthals lived in Europe and the Middle East until about 30,000 years ago. Cro-Magnon people, the ancestors of modern humans, started a second wave of migration out of Africa about 10,000 years earlier.
"We see no evidence of mixing 40,000, 30,000 years ago in Europe. We don't exclude it, but see no evidence,"Edward Rubin of the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, California, who led one study, told reporters....
Neanderthals and modern humans are both descended from Homo erectus, which left Africa and spread around the world about 1.5 million years ago.
Neanderthals lived in Europe and the Middle East until about 30,000 years ago. Cro-Magnon people, the ancestors of modern humans, started a second wave of migration out of Africa about 10,000 years earlier.
Voodoo practitioner tries to jinx Bush
BOGOR, Indonesia - A renowned black magic practitioner performed a voodoo ritual Thursday to jinx President George W. Bush and his entourage while he was on a brief visit to Indonesia.
Ki Gendeng Pamungkas slit the throat of a goat, a small snake and stabbed a black crow in the chest, stirred their blood with spice and broccoli before drank the "potion" and smeared some on his face.
"I don't hate Americans, but I don't like Bush," said Pamungkas, who believed the ritual would succeed as, "the devil is with me today."
The Educational System Was Designed to Keep Us Uneducated and Docile
THINK!
In 1888, the Senate Committee on Education was getting jittery about the localized, non-standardized, non-mandatory form of education that was actually teaching children to read at advanced levels, to comprehend history, and, egads, to think for themselves. The committee's report stated, "We believe that education is one of the principal causes of discontent of late years manifesting itself among the laboring classes."
By the turn of the century, America's new educrats were pushing a new form of schooling with a new mission (and it wasn't to teach). The famous philosopher and educator John Dewey wrote in 1897:
Every teacher should realize he is a social servant set apart for the maintenance of the proper social order and the securing of the right social growth.
CIA Acknowledges 2 Interrogation Memos
After years of denials, the CIA has formally acknowledged the existence of two classified documents governing aggressive interrogation and detention policies for terrorism suspects, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
But CIA lawyers say the documents -- memos from President Bush and the Justice Department -- are still so sensitive that no portion can be released to the public.
The disclosures by the CIA general counsel's office came in a letter Friday to attorneys for the ACLU. The group had filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New York two years ago under the Freedom of Information Act, seeking records related to U.S. interrogation and detention policies.
President Authorized Abu Ghraib Torture, FBI Email Says
Among a new batch of documents rights groups have forced the gov't to release, a Bureau communication refers to a presidential Executive Order endorsing some forms of torture witnessed at Iraq prison.
THE ACE OF SPADES!!!
The Greenbank under-10s B team have the internationally renowned band's name on their shirts along with the band's motif - a skull named Snaggletooth.
The North Hykeham team also run out to the band's famous Ace of Spades track.
Team manager Gary Weight said the deal came about as he used to know lead singer Lemmy.
Lawsuit filed in Germany against Rumsfeld for war crimes
Berlin- Eleven former prisoners of the US armed forces on Tuesday filed a lawsuit in Germany calling for outgoing US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and other American officials to be investigated for war crimes. Backed by human rights groups, the 11 ex-prisoners say they were tortured at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and the US prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba on the orders of Rumsfeld and other top members of US President George W Bush's government.
US: Immigrants may be held indefinitely
WASHINGTON - Immigrants arrested in the United States may be held indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism and may not challenge their imprisonment in civilian courts, the Bush administration said Monday, opening a new legal front in the fight over the rights of detainees.
Photos of Rovers v. Rovers on 11/05/06
Match report for the game here:
http://www.barnstonworth.com/2006/11/rover-v-rover-part-i-11506.html
Jay DeMerit interview - Part One
Interview with Jay DeMerit, American player for Watford in the Premiership. The future of US soccer...
If You Could See How Praying Mantises Hear
Cool. Click on the photo of the mantis to see some more cool shots.
Burger King sued over marijuana in police officers' burgers
ALBUQUERQUE: Two police officers have sued Burger King Corp., alleging personal injury, negligence, battery and violation of fair practices after they were served hamburgers that had been sprinkled with marijuana.
"It gives a whole new meaning to the word 'Whopper,'" plaintiffs attorney Sam Bregman said Monday. "The idea that these hoodlums would put marijuana into a hamburger and therefore attempt to impair law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs is outrageous."
Peace mom Sheehan arrested in Washington
WASHINGTON - Activist Cindy Sheehan was arrested Wednesday as she led about 50 protesters to a White House gate Wednesday to deliver anti-war petitions she said were signed by 80,000 Americans.
The Berkeley, Calif., woman, whose son was killed in Iraq more than two years ago, was arrested along with three other women on the sidewalk outside the White House gate, said Lt. Scott Fear, a U.S. Park Police spokesman. They were charged with interfering with a government function after they blocked the gate and ignored orders to move, he said.
The Berkeley, Calif., woman, whose son was killed in Iraq more than two years ago, was arrested along with three other women on the sidewalk outside the White House gate, said Lt. Scott Fear, a U.S. Park Police spokesman. They were charged with interfering with a government function after they blocked the gate and ignored orders to move, he said.
Naked Man Arrested for Concealed Weapon
The man was lying on a tree stump, masturbating beside a nature path, near a Bay Area Rapid Transit station Thursday, police said.
Now this is really freaking cool! Check out Saturn!
From WRH:
"Taken by Cassini, this is a photo of Saturn directly in line with the sun. What is amazing is how much scatter from the rings illuminates the night side of the planet. What a view that must be in the night sky from near the surface!
Meanwhile, that itty bitty dot at ten-o-clock on the rings is Earth."
Make sure you go to the link to see it at maximum size.
Simultaneous Explosions in Mexico City
The bust of former Mexican President Plutarco Elias Calles lays among the debris after a bomb exploded in the national headquarters of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in Mexico City, Mexico, early Monday, Nov. 5, 2006. Three simultaneous explosions late Sunday targeted the offices of one of Mexico's main political parties, the headquarters of the country's electoral tribunal and a bank. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Prosecutors reject 87% of FBI's terror cases
WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department increasingly has refused to prosecute FBI cases targeting suspected terrorists over the past five years, according to researchers.
The government says the findings are inaccurate and ''intellectually dishonest.''
The government says the findings are inaccurate and ''intellectually dishonest.''
Military Times editorial: Rumsfeld Must Go
Guess that photo explains how they knew Saddam had WMD's. Cuz we sold the shit to them.
Hudson River Valley Blogging
Went upstate about 1 hour north of NYC to check out the leaves turning. Gorgeous fall day it was. These shots are just across the river from West Point, home of the US Military Academy. That's yours truly and mammasita up top.
NYC Marathon Blogging
These photos were taken a block from home yesterday during the marathon. 37,000 runners this year. Check out all the cups strewn on 1st Avenue just after the water station. Always a fun day with the marathon passing thru the hood. Click on photos to see a blow up.
'THE PENTAGON PAPERS OF E-VOTING'
Tonight, The BRAD BLOG is releasing that report exclusively in full as given to us by Abrahams, who says she obtained it from a source described to us as "a patriotic high-level state official." She says the source is "someone very close to this situation" in the Maryland government.
The original, never-before-released SAIC report was nearly 200 pages in all, and details a number of extraordinary security vulnerabilities found in Diebold's AccuVote-TS (touch-screen) voting systems as deployed by the state of Maryland initially in 2002. The version of the SAIC report that was eventually released to the public, after extreme redaction, was a mere 38 pages long...
"Microsoft has admitted that the Windows operating system in use in Maryland's Diebold voting systems is subject to at least 75,000 known exploits," Spoonamore told us. "The unredacted version [of the SAIC report] reveals that none of them have been defended against in these Diebold machines."
The original, never-before-released SAIC report was nearly 200 pages in all, and details a number of extraordinary security vulnerabilities found in Diebold's AccuVote-TS (touch-screen) voting systems as deployed by the state of Maryland initially in 2002. The version of the SAIC report that was eventually released to the public, after extreme redaction, was a mere 38 pages long...
"Microsoft has admitted that the Windows operating system in use in Maryland's Diebold voting systems is subject to at least 75,000 known exploits," Spoonamore told us. "The unredacted version [of the SAIC report] reveals that none of them have been defended against in these Diebold machines."
Cheating possible on vote machine
Days before the election, state officials have learned that California's most widely used electronic voting machines feature a button in back that can allow someone to vote multiple times.
More GOP dirty phone tricks in New Hampshire
For the second straight day yesterday, Democratic field offices received dozens of phone calls and e-mails from frustrated voters upset about repeated automated phone calls they thought were coming from Democratic candidate Paul Hodes - though the calls were paid for by a Republican group instead.
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