Two years ago last month, Bush gave his second inaugural address. As I watched the speech on television, I and perhaps millions of other Americans struggled to answer the obvious question about the speech: Is it puerile or is it merely tripe?
Bush was hailed throughout the greater Washington metropolitan area for a speech that invoked freedom and liberty almost 50 times. The Washington Post headlined its report on ... (more)
Toddlers will be taught how to talk in an attempt to arrest the shocking decline in children's communication skills.
A recent study revealed that half of them are unable to string a sentence together at age five.
As a result, ministers are encouraging the use of the special "early talk" programme, targeted at infants from their earliest months to age five, which uses signing, gestures and symbols to expand vocabulary.
Can you hear that deep, silent anger inside you, pounding like a heavy iron fist on a wooden door, banging relentlessly every time you notice the America of your dreams vanish more each and every day, instead becoming a most unwelcome nightmare that you are impotent to wake up from? Can you feel the hollow pain in your bones, the restlessness running through your veins every time another freedom is gutted or another right is eviscerated, every time... (more)
"The blue collar class which is the backbone of any society, is so oppressed and crushed under debts here in the US, they see no hope, being hired for a lifetime in some industry, they have been told, they must fend for themselves and be rootless, moving from job to job across the country or if displaced, removing themselves entirely via crime or death. No longer being asked to be part of a specific community, they are told; they must be more flexible and move from region to regio
Four years ago, I watched, with other young officers, the invasion of Iraq on TV in the mess. We were sick with envy. Our brother officers were having the most exciting time of their lives, at the centre of history, while we, on ceremonial duties in London, marched about in red tunics and bearskin hats.
The invasion, it seemed, was a necessary evil to be redeemed by the creation of a free, democratic Iraq. The WMD issue was a pretext, we all concurred, an honourable white lie to k... (more)
Months before the US invaded Iraq, Pentagon planners were developing an elaborate propaganda campaign to ensure US government-"approved" information was broadcast to the Iraqi public, according to a previously classified White Paper released Tuesday by the independent National Security Archives.
The White Paper, prepared in January 2003, lays out plans to install American-friendly media with an Iraqi face and to silence local anti-US news outlets, referred... (more)
"Sharon Labchuk is a longtime environmental activist and part-time organic beekeeper from Prince Edward Island. She has twice run for a seat in Ottawa's House of Commons, making strong showings around 5% for Canada's fledgling Green Party. She is also leader of the provincial wing of her party. In a widely circulated email, she wrote:
I'm on an organic beekeeping list of about 1,000 people, mostly Americans, and no one in the organic beekeeping world, including commercial beekeepe... (more)
BAGHDAD - This is the 24-square-kilometer theater where a great part of Iraq's future is already being played out; a vital element in US President George W Bush's surge; the place Pentagon generals dream of smashing into submission; one of the largest and arguably most notorious slums in the world: Sadr (formerly Saddam) City.
Sadr City is also, along with Gaza and the West Bank, the theater of the already evolving 21st-century war, pitting the high-tech Western haves against the ... (more)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Prosecutors issued arrest warrants on Tuesday for eight former prison employees accused of abusing inmates, including forcing some to clean toilets with their tongues.
The eight were among 13 prison employees who had already been fired from the 605-inmate medium and minimum security at the Hendry Correctional Institution in the Everglades. The previous warden and an assistant warden resigned, and three others were reassigned after an in... (more)
A civil servant and an MP's researcher were today found guilty of breaching the Official Secrets Act after leaking an 'extremely sensitive' memo detailing talks on Iraq between Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George Bush.
The four-page document was passed by Cabinet Office communications officer David Keogh to Leo O'Connor, who worked for anti-war Labour MP Anthony Clarke.
Its contents were considered so explosive that much ... (more)
(CNN) -- Just hours before his execution by injection, a Tennessee death row prisoner who was convicted of killing a police officer ordered his final meal -- pizza for a homeless person.
Philip Workman, 53, requested a vegetarian pizza be delivered to a homeless person in Nashville, Workman's attorney confirmed.
Riverbend Maximum Security Institution refused, said Riverbend spokeswoman Dorinda Carter.
"We can get some special things for the inmate ... (more)
Last week, the House of Representatives acted with disdain for the Constitution and individual liberty by passing HR 1592, a bill creating new federal programs to combat so-called “hate crimes.” The legislation defines a hate crime as an act of violence committed against an individual because of the victim’s race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. Federal hate crime laws v... (more)
Vice President Dick Cheney’s surprise trip to Baghdad today was meant to deliver a tough message to the Iraqi government – put off your vacation plans and get back to work.
U.S. officials have been livid since discovering that Iraq’s fledgling parliament – hardly a hive of activity in the first place – was planning to take a two-month summer recess, postponing work on a bill spelling out how oil money would be shared among Iraq... (more)
Evidence that genetically modified (GM) crops can contaminate food supplies for miles around has been revealed in independent tests commissioned by The Sunday Times.
The tests found alien GM material in honey from beehives two miles from a site where GM crops were being grown under government supervision. It is believed to have been carried there by bees gathering pollen in the GM test sites.
The disclosure, showing that GM organisms can enter the food chain without... (more)
David Rockefeller, founder of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission, discusses his meeting with Saddam Hussein. The meeting was held at the reques... (more)
ARLINGTON, VA – Congressman Ron Paul's support has soared since the first Republican presidential debate. Conservative commentator John McLaughlin, host of “The McLaughlin Group," cited Ron Paul as having given "the best performance of the debate." In fact, the Paul campaign's apparent strength has many other pundits scrambling to explain it. Paul campaign officials offer the following examples of the candidate's rising success.
Biologist Josef Reichholf discusses the benefits of a warmer climate for animals and plants, large cities as centers of biological diversity and the myth of the return of malaria.
Josef Reichholf is unconvinced by those who argue that global warming will threaten animals and plants with extinction, and cause malaria to spread in Europe.
SPIEGEL: Mr. Reichholf, are you worried about global warming?
San Francisco - Some scandals don't involve illegal activity – they're just outrageous and unjust. Take gambling in America. Abetted by Congress, legislatures from 48 states now sponsor gambling operations and lottery monopolies to balance their budgets on the backs of their poorest and most vulnerable citizens – while basking in the virtue of fighting tax increases.
Three decades ago, there were no casinos outside Nevada, and only 13 states ran lotteries. Today 19 sta... (more)
A DIRECTOR OF a US spy agency says that ignorance is bliss and has called for censorship of commercial satellite photos on the Interweb.
Robert Murrett, the new director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency thinks that if there was a situation where any imagery products were being used by adversaries to kill Americans, his department should act.
Murrett's job is to study geospatial intelligence and provides information on insurgencies, nuclear sites, terro... (more)
In case you're wondering why crude oil prices are down from last year, hanging around at about $60 a barrel, while gasoline prices have soared past $3.10/gallon nationwide, just check out the latest profit reports from the oil companies. They are at record levels.
The answer for this seeming contradiction is simple: Americans are being robbed blind by the oil industry.
Sure, the oil companies, and their PR and lobbying agency, the American Petroleum Institute, will ... (more)
Can you be fired for doing a great job, year after year, and in fact becoming nationally known for your insight and performance? Yes, as in the case of Marilee Jones, who was the dean of admissions at MIT until her dismissal last week, when it was discovered that she had lied about her academic credentials 28 years ago. She had claimed three degrees, although she had none. If she had done a miserable job as dean, MIT might have been more forgiving, but her very success has to be threatening to a... (more)
Toddlers who watch too much television can become aggressive and suffer from poor attention span, a survey claims.
The report discovered that an increasing number of children are watching television at a younger age and that nearly half of children in the study were regular viewers of television, video or DVDs by the age of three months.
The figure jumps to 90 per cent of two year olds, according to researchers who say parents are ignoring the health warnings. ... (more)
Second only to Christmas, Valentine's Day is the holiday when diamonds are most often given as the ultimate token of love. Central to the diamond's role as a romantic symbol is the belief that diamonds are one of the rarest, most precious gifts for a loved one. But it's only a myth--... (more)
I am personally disgusted that Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Phillip are even allowed to visit the United States. The British monarchy should be abolished and not one member of their so called royal family should be allowed to set foot on American soil. The idea of a royal or elite class that believes they are entitled to rule over the people is an abomination and contradicts the very idea of individual freedom. Queen Elizabeth’s husband Prince Phillip who holds the ridiculo... (more)
