Interesting News Items You May Have Missed


If I owned a newspaper, this is what you'd see in it.  These are news item of which you probably haven't heard, if you get all your information from television.  Some of these stories have appeared in the "mainstream media" briefly but they deserve additional publicity.  Special attention is given to stories which show the alarming growth rate of the federal government's size and power, and abuses of that power, as well as especially bad ideas which are being given undue consideration.  The links will be removed when they get stale or when they are no longer valid.  As a general rule, the most recent and the most important items are at the top of the page.

The stories that interest me the most are the ones that show blind over-reliance on technology — especially GPS-related systems and computers in general.  There is no shortage of minimum-wage clerks who believe anything that pops up on a computer screen.  (That's why electronic voting is a very bad idea.)  But there are apparently a lot of politicians and cops who assume that GPS tracking devices are infallible, too.

This page is for stories that the mainstream press seems to have overlooked.  On the other hand, the stories that appear to have been intentionally squelched are on this page.

More odd/weird news that imply little or no political controversy can be found on this page.

Note:  The material about Hurricane Katrina has moved here.

The information and commentary about Cynthia McKinney's scrape with the Capitol police is now located here.

Material related to the NAFTA Superhighway, which had been on this page, is now located here.

Additional weird, unusual and humorous news can be found here.



Lawmakers being forced to give up gas-guzzling cars.  Congress has been bearing down to do more about global warming.  But a little-noticed amendment to last year's energy bill has hit especially close to home.  It requires House members who lease vehicles through their office budgets to drive cars that emit low levels of greenhouse gases.  Among the victims: Texas Republican Joe L. Barton, who will probably have to give up his Chevy Tahoe, despite his protests that it is made in his district.  "I guarantee you my district is not upset that I'm driving a Chevy Tahoe," he said.

Milk Prices Rise to Record Highs.  It's cheaper than oil and, barring a global mad cow crisis, we'll probably never run out of it.  But milk has one thing in common with oil:  It's trading at record highs.

Baskin-Robbins co-founder dies.  Irvine Robbins, who delighted ice cream afficionados by conjuring up ever more inventive flavours as co-founder of the Baskin-Robbins empire, has died aged 90.  Mr Robbins, who started the Baskin-Robbins ice-cream chain with late brother-in-law Burt Baskin in 1945, died on Monday at the Eisenhower Medical Centre in Rancho Mirage, California, company officials said.

Smallest car for sale in U.S. receives top crash scores.  Unlike most cars on the road, the pint-sized 2008 Smart fortwo evokes a simple question at first glance:  "How safe is it?"  The micro car, the smallest car for sale in the U.S. market, offers a good level of safety, according to new crash tests conducted by the insurance industry.

Paul McCartney 'horrified' as his eco car is flown 7,000 miles from Japan.  The Lexus LS600H, which costs £84,000, was a gift from Lexus to the 65-year-old former Beatle, who helped promote the hybrid vehicle.  But instead of arriving by boat as expected, the car was flown to Britain on a Korean Air flight, creating a carbon footprint almost 100 times bigger than if it had come by sea.

Sir Isaac and the Airbus:  What the GAO is saying, in its lawyerly language, is that the facts show that the Airbus 330 cannot reach a sufficient speed to pull away from one or more aircraft it's supposed to refuel.  And if it can't, there could be a mid-air collision.

UN says Iceland is the best place to live, Africa the worst.  Iceland has overtaken Norway as the world's most desirable country to live in, according to an annual U.N. table published on Tuesday [11/27/2007] that again puts AIDS-afflicted sub-Saharan African states at the bottom.

France reaffirms its faith in future of nuclear power.  It looks like an ordinary building site, but for the two massive, rounded concrete shells looming above the ocean, like dusty mushrooms.  Here on the Normandy coast, France is building its newest nuclear reactor, the first in 10 years, costing $5.1 billion.  But already, President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced that France will build another like it.

Man says 9-foot tapeworm came from undercooked salmon salad.  Anthony Franz had started to eat healthy, but the salmon salad he ordered for lunch from Shaw's Crab House in August 2006 wasn't the best choice, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.  Franz says he became violently ill for several days after eating that salad and later "passed a 9-foot tapeworm."  A pathologist determined the giant tapeworm only has one source — "undercooked fish, such as salmon," according to court papers.

Lost cameras "phone home" to catch thieves.  Alison DeLauzon thought the snapshots and home videos of her infant son were gone for good when she lost her digital camera while on vacation in Florida.  Then a funny thing happened:  her camera "phoned home."  Equipped with a special memory card with wireless Internet capability, DeLauzon's camera had not only automatically sent her holiday pictures to her computer, but had even uploaded photos of the miscreants who swiped her equipment bag after she accidentally left it behind at a restaurant.

Airlines Are Safer Than Ever.  Flights on U.S. airlines have never been more crowded — nor have they ever been safer.  The last crash of a commercial jet occurred in November 2001, although the number of flights has increased substantially in the past six and one-half years.

Editor's note:
The last crash was that of American 587.

Argentina lays new claim to Falklands.  Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands, which remain in British hands after a 1982 war, is "inalienable", President Cristina Kirchner says.  "The sovereign claim to the Malvinas Islands (Argentina's name for them) is inalienable," she said in a speech marking the 26th anniversary of Argentina's ill-fated invasion of the two islands 480km offshore.

Judge Denies McDougal Bid To Unseal Whitewater Testimony.  A federal judge has denied an attempt by Whitewater figure Susan McDougal to unseal her grand jury testimony from the case.  Lawyers for McDougal, who served 18 months in jail for civil contempt for refusing to answer grand jury questions, argued the reasons for sealing the case had "grown stale and disappeared" in the time since.

Post-9/11 Dragnet Turns Up Surprises.  In the six-and-a-half years that the U.S. government has been fingerprinting insurgents, detainees and ordinary people in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn of Africa, hundreds have turned out to share an unexpected background, FBI and military officials said.  They have criminal arrest records in the United States.

Sonny Bono 'assassinated' by hitmen.  Sonny Bono, former husband and singing partner of superstar Cher, was clubbed to death by hitmen on the orders of drug and weapons dealers who feared he was going to expose them, a former FBI agent claims.  Ted Gunderson, now a private investigator, has told the US Globe tabloid that Bono, who served as mayor of Palm Springs for four years, did not die after hitting a tree on a Nevada ski slope in January 1998 as everyone believed.

Climate change will boost farm output.  Australian agricultural output will double over the next 40 years, with climate change predicted to increase, rather than hinder, the level of production.  A recent spate of reports forecasting the decline of Australian agriculture because of climate change have greatly exaggerated, and even completely misreported the threat of global warming, according to senior rural industry figures.

Presidential Candidates Find 51st State Overseas.  The number of Americans living overseas is commonly estimated at about 6 million — twice the population of Chicago and greater than that of 33 U.S. states.  Britain is home to about 300,000 Americans, nearly the population of Pittsburgh.

Sex and the city leads to this.  Last week it was revealed that a staggering one in four adults in New York has the virus that causes genital herpes, with the rate climbing to a colossal one in two for African-Americans.  Far more women carry the virus than men — 36% vs. 19%.  This makes New York the national capital for genital herpes, something which will surely grace the state's licence plates in years to come.

The OPEC of Vitamin C:  Most U.S. consumers are aware that Chinese products dominate the shelves of most retail stores, but few realize the dominance extends to vitamins and drugs.  Fully 90 percent of all the vitamin C sold in America comes from the communist trade giant.  This near-monopoly control of the vitamin-C market caused the Wall Street Journal to dub China the "OPEC of vitamin C," and like the oil cartel it has been accused of price fixing.

Plane flies five passengers from US to London.  A major airline is under fire from environmentalists for flying an aircraft across the Atlantic with only five passengers on board.  The flight from Chicago to London meant that the plane, a Boeing 777, used 22,000 gallons of fuel.

The Editor says...
There's nothing wrong with flying a plane with only five passengers aboard.  The error was in the use of such a large jet.  Was that the only available jet?

Shock horror for would-be power cable thief.  Police in central England are hunting for a badly scorched would-be copper power cable thief after finding a hacksaw embedded in an 11,000 volt power cable Saturday night [2/9/2008]. … Copper prices have more than doubled in the last four years as China has gobbled up huge quantities of it, sparking a wave of copper thefts across the globe from South Africa and the United States to Italy and Britain.

Fake fears over Ethiopia's gold.  Ethiopia's national bank has been told to inspect all the gold in its vaults to determine its authenticity.  It follows the discovery that some of the "gold" it had bought for millions of dollars was gold-plated steel.

Canon is using Iris watermarking.  While visible watermarks are common among a variety of photographers, invisible watermarks, which are embedded in the image file, are somewhat less prevalent — but gaining ground and acceptance among photographers.

IBM to shove ads onto DVDs.  IBM hopes to slip commercials onto your DVDs.  Big Blue has asked the US Patent Office for the exclusive rights to a "system and method of providing advertisements during DVD playback."  If this thing ever shows up in your DVD player, your discs won't be ad-free — unless you shell out some cash for some sort of digital certificate.

The Editor says...
The only difference between that and a virus is the size of the organization that produced it.

Capital has severe HIV epidemic, report finds.  Washington, D.C., has the highest rate of AIDS in the United States, and more babies are born with the AIDS virus in Washington than in other U.S. cities, according to a report released on Monday [11/26/2007].

NYC traffic fees closer to fruition.  A panel in charge of solving the chronic gridlock plaguing New York City made its final recommendations Thursday [1/31/2008], offering a scaled-back version of the original plan but still proposing an $8 charge on cars entering the most traffic-choked parts of Manhattan.

Do As Dems Say, Not As They Dine.  According to auditors, the chain of restaurants run by the Senate food service, including the snooty Senate Dining Room, has almost never been in the black.  It's lost more than $18 million since 1993 and dropped about $2 million this year alone.  If the food service doesn't get an emergency bridge loan of a quarter-million dollars, it won't be able to make payroll.  So how will the Senate fix the problem?  Well, with California Sen. Dianne Feinstein taking the lead, the Democrats — that's right, the Democrats — have called a classic Republican play:  Privatize it.

Code Talkers' reunion shows their numbers are dwindling.  They were an elite group, assisting in the development of an unbreakable code that helped to win World War II.  And only 11 are still surviving.

Titanic search was cover for secret Cold War subs mission.  The man who located the wreck of the Titanic has revealed that the discovery was a cover story to camouflage the real mission of inspecting the wrecks of two Cold War nuclear submarines.  When Bob Ballard led a team that pinpointed the wreckage of the liner in 1985 he had already completed his main task of finding out what happened to USS Thresher and USS Scorpion.  Both of the United States Navy vessels sank during the 1960s, killing more than 200 men and giving rise to fears that at least one of them, Scorpion, had been sunk by the USSR.

Barr forms exploratory committee.  Former Republican Rep. Bob Barr said Saturday he has formed a presidential exploratory committee and may seek the Libertarian party nomination. … He currently runs a lobbying and public affairs firm with offices in Atlanta and outside Washington.  His clients have included the American Civil Liberties Union and the Marijuana Policy Project, a group pushing Congress to allow medical marijuana use and to cut spending for what it says are failed anti-drug media campaigns aimed at young people.

Barr Fight:  Libertarians are not necessarily looking for the same things as anti-McCain Republicans.  Barr's 98 percent American Conservative Union rating, pro-life voting record, and hard line on immigration might help him in the general election.  But these positions aren't necessarily assets in a party that is officially pro-choice, supports open borders, and prefers the Nolan Chart to the left-right political spectrum.

Judge blocks Clinton deposition over FBI files.  A federal judge has rejected an effort to force Hillary Rodham Clinton to testify in a decade-old lawsuit over White House acquisition of FBI background files.  The court ruling spares Clinton a politically sensitive deposition at a time when she is fighting to overtake Barack Obama in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Jihadists' useful idiots:  Given that hard evidence is often scarce in trials of unsuccessful terrorists, prosecutors in Miami no doubt felt fortunate to be trying defendants who participated in a ceremony pledging allegiance to al Qaeda — and it was captured on video. … Narseal Batiste stated — on tape — that it was for creating an "Islamic army" to wage a "full ground war" and commit an attack that would be "as good or greater than 9/11," such as blowing up the Sears Tower.  It wasn't enough.  He wasn't convicted.

Alan Keyes Leaving Republican Party.  After 20 or so years of working within the GOP to try and reform it into a more Christian/conservative Party, Dr. Alan Keyes is leaving the Republican Party.  He will soon make this announcement and explain why he can no longer, in good conscience, remain a Republican.

Army begins using $150,000 artillery shells in Afghanistan.  Canadian army gunners in Afghanistan are now cleared to fire GPS-guided artillery shells at Taliban militants — at the cost of $150,000 a round.  The Excalibur shell could very well be the most expensive conventional ammunition ever fired by the military.  Supporters argue that the weapon, which has the ability to correct itself in flight, has pinpoint accuracy.

Pressing Need for Blue-Collar Labor.  I am going to be politically incorrect.  The fact is not everyone should go to college.  Yet we have pushed the notion that the only way to get a useful education is to obtain a college degree.  Recently I spoke with an official of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).  He supervizes an important part of the subway system.  He told me there are hundreds of vacant jobs.  The result is that the infrastructure is deteriorating. … Another downside is that many people who go to college are out of place — they simply don't belong there.

Police concerned about order to stop weapons screening at Obama rally.  Security details at Barack Obama's rally Wednesday [2/20/2008] stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena.  The order to put down the metal detectors and stop checking purses and laptop bags came as a surprise to several Dallas police officers who said they believed it was a lapse in security.

Big Brother is a liar.
Badda Bing Badda Boom.  Even though the satellite's orbit was over populated areas, the risk to humans was low according to research scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  "It certainly would seem that protecting people against a hazardous fuel was not what this was really about," said Geoffrey Forden, a (sic) MIT researcher.  Forden and his colleagues calculated there was a 3-in-100 chance that the fuel tank would land within 100 yards of someone and there was virtually no chance it would remain intact.  So why did the president go ahead with the estimated $40 million operation if the risk was so low?  Apparently, the unspoken advantages tipped the scales on the disadvantages.

Pastors in China Imprisoned to String Christmas Lights.  Their fingers bleed.  If they don't see through their day's quota — 5,000 bulbs, they are beaten.  The next day they report to duty under guards' eyes.  They thread the fine wire through plastic frames for Christmas lights to be strung for selling around the world.  But their Christmas celebration is confined to being imprisoned.  Their crime?  Preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.  This past year, 600 pastors alone were put behind Chinese bars.

Read All About It.  Papers remained quite profitable, for the most part.  But as the future began to look increasingly troubled, one publisher's stock after another got hammered, starting around the turn of the century.  Especially hard hit were publishers of prestigious newspapers.  Dow Jones stock was at less than half its high before News Corp. made its successful bid for the Wall Street Journal publisher last spring.  Times-Mirror fell more than 50% before being acquired by Tribune Co., which in turn has fallen around 45% from its high.

No Safe Harbor.  China's closing of its ports to the U.S. Navy is another action by a hostile power.  So why are we turning the other cheek to a dictatorship that threatens us?  Apparently the phrase "any port in a storm" does not translate well into Chinese.  Two U.S. minesweepers, the USS Patriot and the USS Guardian, found that out when they requested refuge in Hong Kong from an approaching storm and were refused by Chinese authorities in clear violation of long-standing naval tradition.

A very mysterious foundation.  Some 3,000 scientists, including more than 100 Nobel laureates, have apparently accepted membership of a body called the World Innovation Foundation (WIF), which claims to be a powerful world-changing network to provide "the technological tools and miracle technologies that we shall all need to solve the world's impending global problems". … [Robert] Huber, described as vice-president, claims that he has no recollection of joining the organization.  "I am not aware what this organization is," he says.

Proposal raises bones of contention.  Alarm is growing among anthropologists in the United States over a plan that could empty institutions of about 120,000 human skeletons currently stored for research purposes.  Under a new proposal, the bones at museums, universities and federal facilities across the nation could be given to Native American tribes now living in the area from which the remains were excavated, even if the skeletons are not culturally identifiable to the tribes.

None dare call it 'conspiracy'.  On Tuesday [11/6/2007], the U.S. national debt topped $9 trillion for the first time in history, according to the U.S. Treasury Department's daily accounting of the national debt.  Nine trillion dollars!  The number is so staggeringly high that it exceeds our ability to comprehend it in monetary units.  Million, billion, trillion — in financial terms, for most of us, it means a lot of money, really a lot of money, but that is about as specific a picture as most ordinary people can grasp.

The Olympic Bible:  The organizers of the 2008 Olympic Games in China have put the Bible on the list of items that athletes are banned from bringing with them to Beijing … This would seem to undermine claims by a Chinese government official, Ye Xiaowen, who told Reuters last month that China would accommodate the religious needs of visiting athletes.

Did someone mention the Olympics?

Police tell woman who had bag snatched 'sorry, that's not a crime'.  A mother who had her bag snatched was told by police it was not a crime — because she chased after the thief and won her property back.

Last pineapple cannery in the U.S. is gone.  The Ginaca machine is as Hawaiian as — well, as pineapple — maybe even more.  Pineapple was introduced, but the Ginaca was invented in Hawaii.  It cores and peels pineapples with little human labor.  It made possible the Hawaii pine industry, which at one time produced 82 percent of the world's canned pineapple.

Pilot of plane that bombed Hiroshima dies.  Paul Tibbets, who piloted the B-29 bomber Enola Gay that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, died Thursday [11/1/2007].  He was 92 and insisted almost to his dying day that he had no regrets about the mission and slept just fine at night.

On the Death of 'Hiroshima Bomb' Pilot Paul Tibbets.  A bulletin topping many news sites this afternoon announced the passing of Paul W. Tibbets, pilot of the plane, the "Enola Gay" (named for his mother), which dropped the atomic bomb over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.  Tibbets was 92, and defended the bombing to the end of his life.  Some of the obits noted that he had requested no funeral or headstone for his grave, not wishing to create an opportunity for protestors to gather.

Nitrite, Nitrate-Rich Foods Boost Heart Attack Outcomes.  Eating nitrite/nitrate-rich foods such as vegetables and cured meats may help improve the chances of surviving a heart attack and of recovering more quickly.

Robbery Suspect Charged With Murder After Alleged Accomplices Killed by Homeowner.  Three young black men break into a white man's home in rural Northern California.  The homeowner shoots two of them to death — but it's the surviving black man who is charged with murder.  In a case that has brought cries of racism from civil rights groups, Renato Hughes Jr., 22, was charged by prosecutors in this overwhelmingly white county under a rarely invoked legal doctrine that could make him responsible for the bloodshed.

Shooting of theft suspects may test self-defense law.  In a case legal experts say may "stretch the limits" of the state's self-defense laws, a Pasadena [TX] man shot and killed two suspected burglars during a confrontation as they attempted to flee his neighbor's property Wednesday afternoon [11/14/2007].

Battling Ghost Calls, That Telemarketing Annoyance.  The culprit behind what is becoming a common occurrence in some households may have a less than otherworldly explanation.  More often than not it is a telemarketer — and one that complies with federal regulation.  Indeed, adherence to the rules may be one reason for the ghost calls.

Twenty percent of Republicans vote 'present' on Ramadan resolution.  Forty-one Republicans, more than 20 percent of the caucus, and one Democrat voted "present" on a resolution recognizing the commencement of Ramadan on Tuesday.  The 42 lawmakers make up more than 10 percent of the members voting on the resolution.  There were zero "no" votes, and 14 members did not vote. … Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) said, "I voted 'present' because I read somewhere that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion."

The Editor says...
If Congressman Pence really thought Congress was about to establish Islam as a national religion, he should have voted "no" instead of "present".

Elian II:  The Sequel "Elian II," the sequel we hoped never to see, is what fathers' groups are calling a Miami case that once again highlights our confusion about paternal rights in child custody battles.  This time, the dispute revolves around a 5-year-old Cuban girl, her biological father in Cuba, her mentally unstable mother in the U.S., a passel of relatives, therapists, guardians ad litem, activist attorneys and, finally, a wealthy, influential Cuban-American foster family.

Headline translated from British to American English.
War Hero Dies As Paramedics Have Their Tea.  An 82-year-old war hero choked to death in front of his daughter — while a nearby ambulance crew were having their tea.  Paramedics were just 500 yards from stricken Ernie Rutkiewicz.  But a crew took 22 MINUTES to reach him because of a Government rule which says crews can't be disturbed during their meal breaks.

Congress considers Concord hazardous?  NASCAR fans might seem rabid, but are they actually contagious?  Getting a hepatitis shot is standard procedure for travelers to parts of Africa and Asia, but some congressional aides were instructed to get immunized before going to Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord and the racetrack in Talladega, Ala.

NASCAR cooties:  House Homeland Security Committee staffers are on a peculiar mission to study "public health issues at events involving mass gatherings," which has personally insulted Rep. Robin Hayes of Concord, North Carolina.  The event:  NASCAR.  The rub:  the requirement that the Democrat and Republican staffers attending first be immunized against Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria, and influenza.

Homeland Security hires fired MnDOT official.  The Minnesota Department of Transportation emergency response director fired following the Interstate 35W bridge collapse has been on the payroll for months at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  Now, she's the subject of an internal investigation. … [Sonia] Pitt, 44, confirmed her new job to the newspaper but declined further comment.  Her job title is "Transportation Security Specialist" and she is paid $89,920 a year, TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe said.

'USAF struck Syrian nuclear site'.  The September 6 raid over Syria was carried out by the US Air Force, the Al-Jazeera Web site reported Friday [11/02/2007].  The Web site quoted Israeli and Arab sources as saying that two strategic US jets armed with tactical nuclear weapons carried out an attack on a nuclear site under construction.  The sources were quoted as saying that Israeli F-15 and F-16 jets provided cover for the US planes.  The sources added that each US plane carried one tactical nuclear weapon and that the site was hit by one bomb and was totally destroyed.

The Editor says...
The story above comes from Al-Jazeera, so there's at least a 99 percent chance that it's a pack of lies.  But just suppose that this is really true — what a story!  The first hostile use of nukes in 60 years!  And I can't think of more deserving recipients.

How Many Site Hits?  Depends Who's Counting.  The growth of online advertising is being stunted, industry executives say, because nobody can get the basic visitor counts straight.

Threats aren't confined to the war zone.  Tainted toothpaste is only the latest in a series of Chinese import disasters.  As the New York Times reported last month, all 24 of the toys recalled for safety reasons this year were made in China.  Chinese exports have inspired a massive recall of pet food, a recall of 450,000 tires, and a ban on China's farm-raised shrimp, catfish and eel, prompting this shot from Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.:  "'Made in China' is rapidly becoming a warning label for American consumers."

Fire ants may have met their match.  Imported red fire ants have plagued farmers, ranchers and others for decades.  Now the reviled pests are facing a bug of their own.  Researchers have pinpointed a naturally occurring virus that kills the ants, which arrived in the U.S. in the 1930s and now cause $6 billion in damage annually nationwide, including about $1.2 billion in Texas.

Surging debate surrounds the use of 'smart' meters.  As early as next year, some electricity customers in western New York may be able to save money, thanks to new "smart" meters, by doing their laundry and dishes at night or programming their air conditioner to raise the temperature in their homes if power becomes too expensive.  Advocates see the new meters as a tool that will help New Yorkers cut their utility bills, reduce the demand for power and help the environment.  But critics see a darker side to this idea.

Scientists hail 'frozen smoke' as material that will change world.  A miracle material for the 21st century could protect your home against bomb blasts, mop up oil spillages and even help man to fly to Mars.  Aerogel, one of the world's lightest solids, can withstand a direct blast of 1kg of dynamite and protect against heat from a blowtorch at more than 1,300C.

Drought?  HOA requires grass be green.  Amid record drought and heat that have pushed cities across the state to severe water conservation measures, residents of the Margot's Pond community outside Raleigh have been ordered by their homeowners association to keep the grass green.

Chavez puts Venezuela's clock ahead 30 minutes.  President Hugo Chavez has announced that Venezuela's official time will be put ahead by half an hour starting January 1, and its first-ever offshore oil rig will start pumping before the year is out.

FBI agents taped Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens as part of corruption sting.  The FBI, working with an Alaska oil contractor, secretly taped telephone calls with Sen. Ted Stevens as part of a public corruption sting, according to people close to the investigation.  The secret recordings suggest the Justice Department was eyeing Stevens long before June, when the Republican senator first publicly acknowledged he was under scrutiny.

Kathleen Willey Reports Stolen Manuscript, Suspects "Clinton Operative".  Kathleen Willey had planned to spend the Labor Day weekend proofing pages of her forthcoming book, "Target:  In the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton."  Instead, she says, someone broke into her Powhatan County home Friday, Aug. 31, and stole a copy of her unpublished 230-page manuscript.  Her publishers are "aghast," she says.  "I think it's a Clinton operative," Willey says.  "It sounds like Watergate.  It's amateurish, but I know they're not amateurs."

U.S.'s dilemma:  It costs 1.7 cents to make a penny.  The U.S. penny is not what it appears to be, and some in Congress would like to see it change further, if not disappear entirely.  Because of a surge in the price of copper, the U.S. Mint decided 25 years ago to manufacture the coins almost entirely with zinc, save for the coating on which Abraham Lincoln's profile is engraved.

The poorest countries in the world are the ones with the worst pollution.
Oxygen supplies for India police.  Police stations across the Indian city of Calcutta have been equipped with oxygen devices to enable police to offset the effects of pollution.  The extra air is for the benefit of hundreds of traffic policemen in the city who have to brave some of the worst pollution in the world.

'Green' Means Money, Not Environmentalism to Madonna.  Madonna, who seems to be on top of all her many business endeavors, has actually invested about $2.7 million dollars in companies that are creating the destruction that Live Earth is trying to raise awareness about.  She has invested in several companies named as the biggest corporate polluters in the world.

Ranch exempt from 'Click It or Ticket'.  President Bush found himself in a flap Tuesday about seat-belt use, a day after a federal agency began a campaign to encourage drivers to buckle up.  Video cameras caught Bush without his seat belt while driving a pickup on his Texas ranch last weekend, giving a tour to NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

The Editor says...
Most of the reporters who cover the White House beat probably have very little experience with wide-open ranch land.  It is also possible that some of the reporters have never considered the possibility that certain laws do not apply on private property.

Al Gore's son busted for drugs in hybrid car.  The 24-year-old son of former Vice President Al Gore was arrested for drug possession on Wednesday after he was stopped for speeding in his hybrid Toyota Prius, a sheriff's official said.

[So... if you stand on the gas pedal long enough a Toyota Prius will go 100 mph.  That's newsworthy!]

Al Gore's Son Arrested on Drug Suspicion.  Al Gore's son was pulled over for speeding on a California freeway early Wednesday and arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana and prescription drugs, authorities said.  Al Gore III, 24, was driving a blue Toyota Prius about 100 mph south on the San Diego Freeway when he was pulled over by sheriff's deputies who said they smelled marijuana, said Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino.

The Editor says...
The Editor says...
Can you even imagine the media frenzy that would surround this story if it had been one of President Bush's kids arrested?

Condo rule waived so U.S. flag can wave.  Although his condo complex has strict rules against decorations, Brendan Davis figured he could put up a small American flag outside his unit door.  After all, who would object to a flag on Memorial Day?  Apparently, a condominium security guard.  Albert Gonzalez, a guard at the ParkCrest Harbour Island condominiums, found the small flag stuck in a light fixture and warned, then later fined, Davis for violating the rules.

Official caught off-roading in preserve.  In this 11-hour battle between mud and man, the mud won.  It beat Chris Sharek, the director of Venice's utilities department, whose job is to ensure that the city obeys environmental regulations, though he apparently failed to do so himself.  A judge slapped Sharek with 25 hours of community service and probation last month for off-roading through a protected wilderness preserve with his wife and father-in-law.

Another target for terrorists...
Spain and Morocco to link by tunnel.  Spain and Morocco are planning a joint effort to link their countries by undersea train tunnel, Spanish news agency EFE reported Wednesday [3/7/2007].

Women at Love Field 'acting suspiciously'.  Dallas police and federal terrorism officials are investigating two women, both dressed in camouflage pants under their traditional Muslim robes and scarves, who were seen conducting what appeared to be surveillance and acting suspiciously at Dallas Love Field.

Airport watch figure confirms terrorist tie.  One of the subjects of a Dallas police intelligence bulletin, Asma Al-Homsi, says she's known convicted terrorist Wadih el Hage and his wife for more than two decades.  Mr. el Hage, a former Arlington resident and naturalized U.S. citizen, was the personal secretary of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden before he was sent to prison.  But Ms. Al-Homsi said she still considers him and his wife to be close friends.

Family film audience shown glimpse of horror flick in New York.  A family film audience was stunned to get an unintended glimpse of a horror movie, which left some parents and their children shaken and the theatre chain apologizing for the movie mix-up.

All noise banned on thrill ride.  No screaming on the Screamer!  A suburban amusement park has gotten so many complaints from neighbours about blood-curdling screams that it has instituted a no-shrieking rule for its scary new thrill ride, the Scandia Screamer. … Riders who let out a screech — or just about any other noise — are pulled off and sent to the back of the line.

The Editor says...
What kind of an amusement park demands total silence from people riding on roller coasters and other machines that are designed to be frightening?  Only in a place like California would this kind of prohibition be considered reasonable.

Habitat house sits rejected.  The house is neat and new, with three bedrooms, white concrete walls and a pretty lawn.  And no family searching for a deal could ask for a more generous seller:  Habitat for Humanity.  But it seems Habitat can't find a buyer willing to live in Bartlett Park, even in a brand new house that comes with a zero percent interest loan.

Coin shortage could turn pennies to nickels.  Sharply rising prices of metals such as copper and nickel have meant the face value of pennies and nickels are worth less than the material that they are made of, increasing the risk that speculators could melt the coins and sell them for a profit. … The best solution, [Francois] Velde said, would be to 'rebase' the penny by making it worth five cents rather than one cent.  Doing so would increase the amount of five-cent coins in circulation and do away with the almost worthless one cent coin.

[A penny very clearly has "ONE CENT" printed on it.  That's an iron-clad (or at least copper-clad) guarantee that it is never going to be worth five cents.]

Congress looking at steel pennies and nickels.  Further evidence that times are tough: It now costs more than a penny to make a penny.  And the cost of a nickel is more than 7½ cents.  Surging prices for copper, zinc and nickel have some in Congress trying to bring back the steel-made pennies of World War II, and maybe using steel for nickels, as well.

House passes bill to make coin-making cheaper.  The House voted for cheaper change Thursday [5/8/2008], the kind that would make pennies and nickels worth more than they cost to make and save the country $100 million a year. … The bill would require the U.S. Mint to switch from a zinc and copper penny, which costs 1.26 cents each to make, to a copper-plated steel penny, which would cost 0.7 cents to make, according to statistics from the Mint and Rep. Zack Space, D-Ohio, one of the measure's sponsors.  It also would require nickels, now made of copper and nickel and costing 7.7 cents to make, to be made primarily of steel, which would drop the cost to make the five-cent coin below its face value.

Metal thieves knock Vancouver radio station off air.  A Vancouver radio station was knocked off the air for several hours Thursday after thieves raided its transmitter, stealing copper and other metal.  CFUN program director Stu Ferguson said the station went off the air around noon.

Public has almost no access to new police radios.  A new police and fire communications system designed to help emergency crews stay in touch also means the news media has less access to information about incidents affecting the public.  Abilene police and fire departments recently ditched an 18-year-old dispatch system for a new $14 million system that has better encryption capabilities and keeps many of the conversations people using police scanners are accustomed to hearing off the air.

Scientists cast doubt on Kennedy bullet analysis.  In a collision of 21st-century science and decades-old conspiracy theories, a research team that includes a former top FBI scientist is challenging the bullet analysis used by the government to conclude that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

JFK single-bullet theory in question.  More than four decades after his death, John F. Kennedy's assassination remains the hottest cold case in U.S. history, and the clues continue to trickle in.  Now Lawrence Livermore Laboratory scientists say a key piece of evidence supporting the lone-gunman theory should be thrown out.

The Editor says...
The single-bullet theory has been in question since the day it was announced.

Pot linked strongly to mental illness.  The report, released today by former Australian Federal Police commissioner Mick Palmer, analysed the growing body of evidence of the long-suspected link between marijuana use and mental disorders.

Jermaine Jackson wants Michael to convert to Islam.  Jermaine Jackson said on Monday [1/29/2007] he wants his brother Michael to convert to Islam; and he believes the reclusive superstar has given it serious thought.

["Convert" from what?]

Dinner with Louisiana Governor Goes for $1 at Auction.  Call it a sign of the times for Louisiana's embattled governor:  A chance to dine with Gov. Kathleen Blanco fetched a winning bid of $1 at a recent fundraising auction hosted by a group of business leaders.

Muslim census a difficult count.  A new census of Muslim congregations is reviving controversies over how many Muslims are in the USA, how they are counted and why it matters.  For minority religious groups, particularly Muslims and Jews, higher numbers can mean enhanced social and political clout in the U.S. public square.

Census Acknowledges D.C. Undercount.  After decades of losing residents to the suburbs, the nation's capital is growing with its largest increase in population since 1950.  The U.S. Census Bureau acknowledged on Friday [7/21/2006] that it had underestimated the number of people living in the District of Columbia and added more than 31,000 people to Washington's official population — increasing it to 582,049.

That almost qualifies as incompetence.

Web chief warns of domain name chaos.  Plans to fast-track the introduction of non-English characters in website domain names could "break the whole internet", warns ICANN chief executive Paul Twomey.  At present there are 37 possible characters that can be used in domain names, but if non-English letters are allowed, this number would rise to 50,000 or more, said Twomey.

California court says bloggers can't be sued.  The California Supreme Court ruled Monday [11/20/2006] that bloggers and participants in Internet bulletin board groups cannot be sued for posting defamatory statements made by others.

Just for a nickel token.  Because Mrs. Romanski picked up an abandoned token, she was surrounded, arrested and led to a security office.  There the guards stole her orphaned nickel.  They refused to let her use a restroom by herself.  They prevented her from having lunch with her friends.  Finally they threw her out of the casino.

Speaking of small change...
Lawmakers Consider Elimination of Pennies.  The rising cost of metals isn't just hurting jewelry makers and aluminum consumers.  The price of copper and nickel, the very materials used to make U.S. currency, is on the minds of House lawmakers trying to find a way to cut production expenses.

Ditch The Penny.  Giving money away for free is not behavior one expects from ordinary, rational Americans.  But it's something they do every day in massive numbers — that is if you consider the penny to be money.  At store counters around the country, people will leave pennies for the next customer, something they'd never do with a dime or quarter or any piece of currency they actually value.

FBI Probes Office of Sen. Stevens' Son.  The offices of at least six Alaska legislators, including the son of Sen. Ted Stevens, were raided by federal agents searching for possible ties between the lawmakers and a large oil field services company, officials and aides said.

Children charged in video store holdup.  Three children, including a 9-year-old boy, were taken into police custody after a video store was held up by a 14-year-old girl wielding a BB gun that looked like a pistol, authorities said.  The holdup happened about 9 p.m. Wednesday at a Hollywood Video store downtown.  A 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy were charged as juveniles with armed robbery.  The 9-year-old was not charged because police said he was too young.  He was released to his mother.

Official in S.C.:  Sterilize Bad Parents.  A City Council member, reacting to a video store holdup believed to have been carried out by children, says parents who can't properly care for their kids should be sterilized.  "We pick up stray animals and spay them," Larry Shirley said in a story published Saturday by The Post and Courier of Charleston.  "These mothers need to be spayed if they can't take care of theirs.  Once they have a child and it's running the street, to let them continue to have children is totally unacceptable."

[The stray animals analogy is inappropriate.  Stray animals are usually put to death.]

Getting help to remember passwords.  In 2005, RSA Security Inc. surveyed 1,700 business computer users.  It found that almost 60 percent had to manage at least six passwords, while 28 percent had to manage more than 13.  And that doesn't count personal passwords for who-knows-how-many e-mail accounts, voice mail boxes and Web sites.  Some are important, such as bank, credit card and stock brokerages, and some aren't.  But they require passwords all the same.

Poverty Reduction or Pork?  One likely reason for the World Bank's dearth of profits is its penchant for granting zero interest loans — grants by any other name — to middle-income countries such as China and India.  The World Bank sends 80% of its loans to 12 middle-income countries, including Turkey, Mexico, Brazil, and China.  It sends only 10% of its loans to Africa.

Solved:  the mystery of the crumbling €50 notes.  Thousands of Germans have been stuffing euro notes up their noses — and destroying not only their health but also the currency, police believe.  They say that the mystery of why euro notes have been falling apart since the summer — many look moth-eaten after only a day in the pocket — is down to an increasing use of crystal methamphetamine.  In Germany this drug is fast replacing cocaine as the illegal party substance of choice.

High metal prices drive coin smuggling.  Smugglers have tried to ship out millions of older one-peso coins from the Philippines, not for their face value of less than 2¢ each but for the copper and nickel content as metals prices soar.  The central bank said customs authorities seized a 40-foot container at the weekend that was loaded with 2 to 3 million coins, weighing 12.2-18.3 tonnes, bound for Japan.

Speaking of money, the following article is lengthy but very interesting.
No Ordinary Counterfeit.  After the indictments were released, U.S. government and law-enforcement officials began to say in public something that they had long said in private:  the counterfeits were being manufactured not by small-time crooks or even sophisticated criminal cartels but by the government of North Korea.

Speaking of North Korea...
Elk Grove man remembers the Pueblo.  The USS Pueblo still stands prisoner 40 years after its capture.  Tethered on the Taedong River in Pyongyang, the only commissioned U.S. Navy ship in foreign hands is promoted as a trophy celebrating the communist nation's Cold War conquest.

Army to switch from green to blue uniforms.  The U.S. Army plans to eliminate the green uniform worn by its soldiers for more than 100 years and switch back to traditional blue worn by those fighting the Revolutionary War.  Everyday-wear uniforms will include a dark blue jacket, light blue trousers and gray shirt, the Army said.

Is 60 too old to be a pilot?  Robert "Hoot" Gibson was not the happiest camper Friday, despite a party in his honor.  Not only was the longtime astronaut piloting his last commercial airline flight because of a forced retirement, but the flight was five minutes late, to boot.  Gibson, a colorful member of NASA's elite astronaut corps who commanded four of the five space shuttle missions he flew, is ending a 10-year run with Southwest Airlines because he turns 60 on Monday, the mandatory retirement age for pilots in the U.S. Gibson calls it blatant age discrimination.

[How many former astronauts are now airline pilots?]

Data files erased at Aznar Government systems.  Aznar Government deleted all the Spanish Government Presidency computer systems in "La Moncloa" Official Palace after the elections (three days after the terrorism attacks in Madrid-Atocha train station).  There is a 12 thousand Euros bill just for deleting everything, even data back-ups. … As far as we know, in USA is not possible to do anything like that, and even Henry Kissinger files will be known in the years to come.  I mean that USA presidents can encrypt and legally protect that information, but they can not erase as Aznar did.

Deal With Wen Ho Lee Begets Warning of Yet More Claims.  A decision by five major news organizations to pay $750,000 to a nuclear scientist named in news stories as the target of an espionage investigation is prompting warnings that the unusual payment could embolden others aggrieved by government leaks and lead to more litigation involving the press.

Many drivers are on the road illegally.  About 5 percent of South Carolina's drivers — more than 156,000 — have suspended or revoked licenses, according to South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles records.  Officials say many of those people continue to drive, causing crashes and financial strain because many people with suspended licenses also are uninsured.

FOX News Steps in the PC Puddle.  It's official.  FOX News has joined the rest of the politically correct and liberal news outlets.  Like CBS and NBC, FOX has given a $10,000 donation to the pro-homosexual journalism organization National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA).  FOX News is listed as a "Feature Level" sponsor of the NLGJA annual convention which runs through this weekend in Miami.

FBI says Violent crime was on the rise in 2005.  FBI statistics Monday [6/12/2006] confirmed what big cities like Philadelphia, Houston, Cleveland and Las Vegas have seen on the streets:  Violent crime in the U.S. is on the rise, posting its biggest one-year increase since 1991.

As DVD sales slow, Hollywood seeks a new cash cow.  After more than half a decade as Hollywood's savior, the DVD is looking a little tired — and the movie studios, for once, are having trouble coming up with a sequel.  DVD sales represent more than half of the revenue studios generate from most of their movies.  But those sales are expected to grow just 2 percent this year, a far cry from the double-digit growth the industry enjoyed just two years ago.

Penny-wise, pound-for-pound foolish?  The cost of zinc, one of its main current component elements, is rising.  A penny was worth just under a cent (.97 to be exact) in metal last year; each one is worth 1.4 cents now.

New spyware program blackmails computer users.  A new spyware program that lures computer users by claiming to give free access to pornographic Internet content ends up "blackmailing" them into purchasing a program to clean the infection.

The Wrath of Grapes:  In today's remarkable economy, with just a few minutes online, you can buy almost any product imaginable from almost anywhere in the world and have it delivered to your front door.  Except wine.

Truth About CastroThe Lost City not only is a loving tribute to Havana and Cuban art and music, it is also a loving tribute to liberty, democracy and capitalism.  Castro's regime is clearly portrayed as an evil dictatorship.

Speaking of Cuba ...
Gonzalez Backers Press Suit After Six Years.  Six years after the government raid to seize Elian Gonzalez and return him to his father, supporters of the Cuban boy continue to press their claims that federal agents used excessive force in seizing him.  Oral arguments were heard Wednesday [6/7/2006] before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an amended lawsuit against the government.

Moussaoui Sentenced To Life In Prison.  A federal jury rejected the death penalty for al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui on Wednesday [5/3/2006] and decided he must spend life in prison for his role in the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history.

Castro says he will resign if the US proves him wealthy.  Cuban President Fidel Castro has said that he would offer his resignation if his arch-rival, the United States, can prove that he has a huge personal fortune as claimed by Forbes magazine.

Does Rupert Murdoch Own your MySpace Content?  Originally, the MySpace terms of service granted the website a limited license that give it non-exclusive rights to use the material users display there, but only while they keep it there.  If a user deletes the data, MySpace no longer has any rights to it (if they happened to keep an archived copy).  But soon after MySpace was bought by Rupert Murdoch's media empire News Corporation last year, the terms were changed to indicate that "Content posted by you may remain on the MySpace.com servers after you have removed the content from the services, and MySpace.com retains the rights to those copies."

Murdoch could endorse Obama.  Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corp, says he could endorse Democratic Sen. Barack Obama for president in several of his newspapers, including the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal, according to an interview published in Silicon Alley Insider, a business blog.

10 years after Ron Brown:  Only weeks earlier, Brown had been Clinton's bag man in a trip to New York where he collected about $1.2 million from Loral for the Democratic Party to use as "soft money." … America's security was traded for Clinton's re-election campaign.  Following the Clinton meeting and the money delivery, a close friend of Ron Brown told a Justice Department presentencing conference that he only had one option — to report the president's possible treasonous dealings with China.  Soon thereafter Ron Brown died in an air crash.

NJ Bill Would Prohibit Anonymous Posts on Forums.  Too much important opinion, including that leading to the founding of the country, was published anonymously to permit the government to ban anonymous opinion.  Even unto this day, anonymous pamphleteering is an honorable activity at the core of the First Amendment. … I would expect that such a statute, were it to be enacted, would be quickly challenged and almost as quickly overturned.

[Yeah, but that's what they said about Campaign Finance Reform.]

Curt Weldon:  Bin Laden Is Dead.  Rep. Curt Weldon, who broke the Able Danger story last year revealing that military intelligence had identified lead hijacker Mohammed Atta as a terrorist threat before the 9/11 attacks, now says that Osama bin Laden has died.

Massive fraud hits tsunami aid.  Of the 170,000 homes promised to the people of Aceh, only about 15,000 have been built, one year and four months after the tsunami.

Tsunami aid 'spent on politics'.  Three years after Australians donated $400 million to rebuild Asian lives devastated by the 2004 tsunami, aid groups are under attack for spending much of the money on social and political engineering.  A survey by The Australian of the contributions by non-government organisations to the relief effort found the donations had been spent on politically correct projects promoting left-wing Western values over traditional Asian culture.

'Hanoi Jane' Fonda Honor Withdrawn.  The sponsor of an effort to honor Jane Fonda in the Georgia state Senate withdrew her resolution Thursday [3/16/2006], after a rocky reception from some colleagues and a phone call from the actress' office.

California gang members to be tracked by GPS.  California prison officials have begun using Global Positioning System anklets to track known gang members.

[GPS receivers are not infallible.  They do not work deep inside buildings, in underground parking garages, or when wrapped in cement shoes at the bottom of a river.]

Neither King nor abortion foes are racketeers.  The Supreme Court's unanimous 8–0 decision this week rejecting claims by the National Organization for Women that demonstrations at abortion clinics are extortion and therefore punishable under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act was an important vote for freedom and free speech.

Illegal Broadcasts Hamper Miami Pilots.  The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is helping with the investigation under a state law that went into effect a year ago.  It makes it a felony for interfering with signals from licensed public or commercial stations, or broadcasting without a license.

The Editor asks...
If the states have such laws, and the technology and manpower to enforce them, why does the FCC still exist?

Bottled water, a natural resource taxing the world's ecosystem.  Bottled water consumption, which has more than doubled globally in the last six years, is a natural resource that is heavily taxing the world's ecosystem, according to a new US study. … "Making bottles to meet Americans' demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 US cars for a year," according to the study.  "Worldwide, some 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year."

This is what "swift and sure" means...
Prosecutor says Guilty Saddam would hang quickly.  The Iraqi High Tribunal's chief prosecutor says Saddam Hussein will hang immediately if he is found guilty on charges relating to deaths of 148 Shiites. … "If the court passes a death sentence on any of the defendants in the Dujail case, the law is clear, the sentence must be carried out within 30 days following the appeal," Mr Mussawi said.

ACLU opposes creation of 'Catholic town'.  The founder of Dominos Pizza, Tom Monaghan, plans to create a town in Florida named Ave Maria.  No condoms, birth control pills or porn would be sold there.  The ACLU of Florida's executive director, Howard Simon, opposes it.

Invasion of the Computer Snatchers.  Hackers are hijacking thousands of PCs to spy on users, shake down online businesses, steal identities and send millions of pieces of spam.  If you think your computer is safe, think again.



Special Subsection about Patrick Kennedy's brush with the law:

Another Kennedy Cover-up?  If this driver is you then you can get ready for your field sobriety test.  Time to blow into the little tube!  Ohhhh … but not Patrick Kennedy!  He's Ted Kennedy's son!  According to one of the Capitol Hill police officers on the scene superior officers did not permit them to perform a field sobriety test.  Patrick Kennedy was put into a supervisor's car and driven home.

The Kennedy Tradition:  After his second smash-up in three weeks — and a lot of unanswered questions about an alleged police cover-up — Rep. Patrick Kennedy yesterday declared that he's entering rehab to deal with an addiction to painkillers.  Those questions need to be answered.  Because not even a Kennedy should be above the law.

Riding With Kennedy Worse than Hunting With Cheney, Group Says.  "I'd rather go quail hunting with Dick Cheney than get in a car being driven by a Kennedy," said Second Amendment Foundation founder Alan M. Gottlieb.  "As it stands right now, I think Congress should consider mandating drug testing of its members before they vote on legislation that would take away any of our civil rights.

Kennedy Sentenced After Guilty Plea to DUI.  Rep. Patrick Kennedy pleaded guilty Tuesday [6/13/2006] to driving under the influence of prescription drugs and was sentenced to undergo court-ordered drug treatment and a year's probation.  Kennedy, D-R.I., also was ordered to pay at least $350 in connection with his middle-of-the-night car crash last month near the Capitol.

Read Rep. Patrick Kennedy's Traffic Accident Report for Yourself.  In a statement to the press, Kennedy said that he "do[es] not remember getting out of bed, being pulled over by the police, or being cited for three driving infractions."

The Editor says...
Nonsense!  Who among us has ever had such a reaction to prescription medicine (...while driving at 3:00 a.m.)?  And who, after having such a complete loss of consciousness, would be able to drive a car at all?  And how many of us ordinary citizens, under the same circumstances, would escape DUI charges?

Sleepwalking Into History, Kennedy Style.  Police officers involved in the incident complained through their labor union about the special treatment afforded Rep. Kennedy, whose "eyes were red and watery," according to the police report, which added that his "speech was slightly slurred and, upon exiting his vehicle, his balance was unsure."  Rather than cop to drinking, Kennedy claimed he had no memory of the incident because of an interaction between "the prescribed amount of Phenergan and Ambien."
Yeah, right.

The Sleeping Pill Ate My Homework.  A couple of months back, US Congressman Patrick Kennedy drove his car into a security barricade near the Capitol building early one Thursday morning, leading many observers to think this scion of Camelot had been throwing back a few too many at the Hawk 'n' Dove, a Capitol Hill bar where, according to the Boston Herald, he'd been seen drinking earlier that evening.  But, "no," said Paddy.  "I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident."  In an excuse reminiscent of 'the dog ate my homework,' Kennedy said it was his sleeping pills that did it.



Special Subsection about the Sony Copy Protection Scandal of 2005:

Sony's anti-file-sharing CD causes a firestorm of anger.  On Halloween, a developer with an Austin-based software company posted on his blog a detailed report on a troubling discovery — a CD from Sony BMG had installed software on his PC that uses the same technique for hiding itself as the most pernicious type of spyware.

Sony halts production of music CDs with copy-protection scheme.  Stung by continuing criticism, the world's second-largest music label, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, promised Friday [11/11/2005] to temporarily suspend making music CDs with antipiracy technology that can leave computers vulnerable to hackers.

 Editorial Comment:   If an individual had done what Sony did, peddling a product with a built-in rootkit, he could have been sent to prison as an evil, pernicious hacker.  But the courts seem to look favorably on music companies that are trying to protect their intellectual property, no matter how they do it.

Sony CD DRM Blow-Up Continues — Recalls Ordered, Lawsuits Possible.

Sony's DRM Rootkit:  The Real Story.  On Oct. 31, Mark Russinovich broke the story in his blog:  Sony BMG Music Entertainment distributed a copy-protection scheme with music CDs that secretly installed a rootkit on computers.  This software tool is run without your knowledge or consent — if it's loaded on your computer with a CD, a hacker can gain and maintain access to your system and you wouldn't know it.

Texas sues Sony BMG over alleged spyware.  Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed a civil lawsuit on Monday [11/21/2005] against Sony BMG Music Entertainment for allegedly including spyware on its media player designed to thwart music copying.

Update:
Sony BMG Settles Suit Over CDs.  Sony BMG Music Entertainment will pay $1.5 million and kick in thousands more in customer refunds to settle lawsuits brought by California and Texas over music CDs that installed a hidden anti-piracy program on consumers' computers.  Not only did the program itself open up a security hole on computers, but attempts to remove the software by some customers also damaged the PCs.  The settlements, announced Tuesday [12/19/2006], cover lawsuits over CDs loaded with one of two types of copy-protection software — known as MediaMax or XCP.



Conyers Aides Say He Used Them as Servants.  Three former aides to U.S. Rep. John Conyers say the lawmaker used them as baby sitters and personal servants while they were supposed to be working in his Michigan offices.  The aides said that Conyers had them tutor and care for his two sons; help his wife, now-City Councilwoman Monica Conyers, with law studies; and drive him to political and private events.

Five weeks later, the same story showed up on CNN's web site.
Congressman accused of using staff to baby-sit.  Two former staff members of U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Michigan, say the longtime Detroit congressman made them baby-sit his children, run errands and work on political campaigns while they were on his congressional payroll.

Tantrums:  [Al] Gore is bidding fair to become the Muqtada al-Sadr of America's Angry Left.  Savor his recent vituperations.  He has called our suave president a "moral coward" who is in alliance with "digital brown shirts."  He refers to Abu Ghraib prison as "the Bush Gulag;" and, forgetting the discrepancies of his former boss, he calls President George W. Bush "the most dishonest president since Richard Nixon."

Pentagon anti-male room?  Sex scandals at the Air Force Academy in 2003 sparked several investigations and constructive reforms.  Recent surveys indicate harassment has diminished at the military academies.  You would never know it, however, because bad news is good news for civilian "victim advocates" seeking more government contracts and jobs.

Man fired after being caught smoking at home.  A German company has sacked one of its employees for smoking at home after hiring a detective to catch him in the act.  Sandro Beier was dismissed from his £19,000-a-year job with a Berlin printing company after being photographed smoking in his back garden.

WHO won't hire smokers.  The World Health Organisation yesterday [12/02/2005] became the largest international employer to ban the hiring of smokers in an effort to promote its public health campaign against tobacco use.

The four-year scandal of the 9/11 billions.  Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on projects that seemingly had nothing to do with 9/11 and lower Manhattan. … Millions went to help projects already in the works before 9/11 or on the drawing board with no prior funding source. … Substantial sums were given to companies to stay in lower Manhattan even though they had no intention of leaving.  In many cases, original eligibility rules were expanded, and deadlines extended, so that virtually no one was ineligible.

U.N. Procurement Scandal:  The Case of the Official Who Never Was.  Trouble in the United Nations Procurement Division is now well established as the world organization's successor scandal to Oil-for-Food.

Or perhaps this is the next U.N. scandal:
Overheads take up to 1/3 of tsunami funds.  Up to about a third of the $590 million U.N. fund spent for the Indian Ocean tsunami relief may have gone to pay for overhead.  The Financial Times says its two-month investigation showed the money appears to have been spent on administration, staff and related costs.  The $590 million was part of the United Nation's $1.1 billion disaster flash appeal.

Louis Freeh On Clinton's Skeletons.  In his upcoming book, My FBI, Freeh writes, "The problem was with Bill Clinton — the scandals and the rumored scandals, the incubating ones and the dying ones never ended.  Whatever moral compass the president was consulting was leading him in the wrong direction.  His closets were full of skeletons just waiting to burst out."

Freeh at last.  In his book, Freeh says … "There was always some new investigation brewing, some new calamity bubbling just below the headlines."  Freeh continued:  "The problem was with Bill Clinton, the scandals and rumored scandals, the incubating ones and the dying ones never ended.  Whatever moral compass the president was consulting was leading him in the wrong direction.  His closets were full of skeletons just waiting to burst out."

Hands off the Internet.  The international bureaucrats and influence-seekers who want to hand the Internet over to the United Nations just got a major boost from the European Union.  In an apparent about-face from its previous positions, the EU announced last month that it supports transferring the assigning of Internet domain names — currently handled by a California nonprofit — to an international body.

Who Should Control the Internet?  The United Nations next week will hold the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunisia, at which national representatives will discuss strategies to bridge the "digital divide" and harness information and communication technologies.

Will the Internet become the UNTERNET?  The United Nations wants control of the internet. … At the WSIS Preparatory Commission meeting held this past September in Geneva, the European Union joined with countries like China and Iran in rejecting the concept of not fixing what is not broken and decided that increased international supervision — maybe even international control — of the internet has become necessary.

Update:
US retains hold of the internet.  The US has won its fight to stay in charge of the internet, despite opposition from many nations.

Bored readers cutting off Globe's circulation.  Circulation is melting away at the Boston Globe, on top of vanishing ad revenue, and the need for deep cuts is forcing closure of its national news desk and two sections within the broadsheet.

Seceding seldom succeeds, but Vermonters try.  "If we had a right to join the Union, we certainly have a right to disband from it," SVR founder Thomas Naylor told the assembly.  In his view, Vermonters should join the cause if they say the US has lost moral authority and is unsustainable, ungovernable, and unfixable.  [And if they] want to help take back Vermont from big business, big markets, and big government — and do so peacefully.

The Mother of All Connections.  We know from these IIS documents that beginning in 1992 the former Iraqi regime regarded bin Laden as an Iraqi Intelligence asset.  We know from IIS documents that the former Iraqi regime provided safe haven and financial support to an Iraqi who has admitted to mixing the chemicals for the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center.  We know from IIS documents that Saddam Hussein agreed to Osama bin Laden's request to broadcast anti-Saudi propaganda on Iraqi state-run television.  We know from IIS documents that a "trusted confidante" of bin Laden stayed for more than two weeks at a posh Baghdad hotel as the guest of the Iraqi Intelligence Service.

What is wrong with the legal system in this country?
Michael Jackson Called for Jury Service.  Authorities want Michael Jackson back in court — this time as a juror.  Jackson received a jury summons at his Neverland Valley Ranch, four months after he was acquitted of child molestation charges.

Republicans Introduce Bill That Unions Won't Like.  Labor unions and their Democrat allies have been howling ever since President Bush suspended the Davis-Bacon Act in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  The suspension allows federal contractors to hire employees at less than the prevailing wage in hurricane-devastated Gulf states.

Sustainable Earth and UN Delusions:  The bureaucratic international boondoggle hilariously misnamed the United Nations came together in 1992, without a great deal of fanfare that I recollect, to build a new Tower of Babel called "sustainable earth."  Very simply, all they want to do is to manage the world … not a very new or very creative idea.

BRAC Wars, Episode Three.  One of the most important issues in military transformation today is Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). … President George W. Bush has initiated a new round of BRAC designed to eliminate excess basing infrastructure and free up resources that can be reinvested into the Pentagon's critical transformation initiatives.

Shortsighted tall tales:  Mr. Rove has testified before the grand jury several times.  So has Mr. Libby and many others.  E-mails and memos have been produced.  Phone logs have been examined.  There is no hint of complaint from Mr. Fitzgerald that the White House has been anything less than cooperative.  But top Democratic leaders, desperately looking for an issue in the absence of a real agenda, are crying "stonewalling" and some people apparently believe that's happening here.

I agree, let's not let the Rove story die just yet.  Before President Bush's Supreme Court nomination of Judge John Roberts completely overshadows the misidentified Karl Rove scandal, I think we better take a second look at the twisted direction this sad story has taken.  As far as Karl Rove's conduct in the Plame/Wilson affair, there is no scandal.  He didn't come close to committing a crime, nor even an ethical infraction.

How the Media Created Rovegate:  It's clear, based on the notes of his discussion with Matt Cooper of Time, that Rove wasn't aware of the facts and didn't have access to classified information about Valerie Plame's service or status in the CIA.  He said she "apparently" worked at the agency.  In any case, it turns out she isn't covered under a law designed to protect the identities of secret CIA agents.

A role model he is not.  The American Heart Association believes you can trust President Bill Clinton to mentor your daughter.  But try getting the nonprofit organization to admit that Mr. Clinton is a good role model for children.

Birth Control Patch Claims 23 Lives — and Counting.  Federal drug safety reports obtained by The Associated Press under a Freedom of Information Act request, "indicate that in 2004 — when 800,000 women were on the patch — the risk of dying or suffering a survivable blood clot while using the device was about three times higher than while using birth control pills."

Bollixing up the Ballot:  Once the Democrat pulled ahead, Washingtonians were told it was time to move on.  "The election is over," Gregoire announced in December.  "I hope we can move forward, unite our state and address the problems our state is facing."  One problem the state faced, and presumably will face again, is voter fraud.  Even in dismissing Rossi's lawsuit, the judge admitted there were at least 1,678 illegal ballots cast — more than enough to flip the outcome in either direction.

FEC Rules Against DNC/Jesse Jackson.  The Federal Election Commission announced [May 26, 2005] that the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Democratic National Committee have been found guilty of violating federal election law.

Earlier coverage, now somewhat outdated:
Clinton Case Mystery:  A Democratic fund-raiser involved in Senator Clinton's 2000 campaign has offered a guilty plea to bank fraud charges and is likely to become a government witness at the upcoming federal trial of a top finance aide to Mrs. Clinton, David Rosen, court records obtained by The New York Sun show.

Terri's grave:  "I kept my promise".  Michael Schiavo had a grave marker placed yesterday [6/20/2005] on the cremated remains of his wife Terri Schiavo that lists her death as Feb. 25, 1990 — more than 15 years before she died of court-ordered dehydration.

Terri Schiavo's Autopsy Report Leaves Unanswered Questions.  What is a surprise is that Dr. Thogmartin found no evidence of bulimia or of a potassium imbalance that would have caused Terri to collapse on February 25, 1990.  There is no evidence she had a heart condition before that date, either.  Michael Schiavo made the talk show rounds, asserting that Terri's profound disability resulted from undiagnosed bulimia.  That means Michael Schiavo lied.

Schiavo Autopsy Shows She Died of Severe Dehydration.  Media coverage of the autopsy results have centered on the lack of evidence for abuse and Terri's brain being "severely atrophied."

Vegetative Woman Awakens After Six Years.  A woman who went into a vegetative state more than six years ago awoke this week for three days and spoke with her family and a local television station before slipping back. … Her neurologist, Dr. Randall Bjork, said he couldn't explain how or why she awoke.  "I'm just not able to explain this on the basis of what we know about persistent vegetative states," he said.

Schiavo-like woman speaks after 2½ years.  A Kansas woman severely brain-injured after an accident in 2002 has begun speaking — to the amazement of her doctor.

In Canada, the Schiavo case with an outrageous twist.  An elderly Orthodox Jew is on life support.  His children have adamantly opposed his removal from the ventilator and feeding tube, on the grounds that Jewish law expressly forbids any action designed to shorten life.

Funeral called off after dying mom wakes from coma.  As Raleane (Rae) Kupferschmidt lay motionless in her hospital bed, family and friends said their final goodbyes and the funeral home was called.  But just as the grieving began in her Lake Elmo home, Kupferschmidt woke up from her coma.

First no more air maps, next no more road maps?  The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has proposed to withdraw all aeronautical data and products from public distribution.

Information about political junkets paid by lobbyists:
Rahall slips in the freebie poll.  The list of travel paid by lobbyists and other friends of Congress has an interesting pattern.  Democrats dominate the list, holding the top 12 positions.  The way Democrats have been demonizing Tom DeLay of late, I figured DeLay would be one of the biggest mooches in Congress.  But he is way down at 119th in travel paid for by lobbyists and the like.

Here is the list:  the ranking of Members of Congress taking privately-funded trips, from 2000 to winter 2005.

Also of interest:  Members Receiving the Most Gifts of Travel  during the last five and a quarter years the ranking of Members of Congresss receiving privately-funded trips.

2001 Clinton logging plan challenged.  The Wyoming attorney general and an environmental lawyer challenged the legitimacy of a 2001 Clinton administration logging plan Wednesday [5/4/2005] before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.  The plan set aside 58 million acres nationwide as roadless areas in which logging is prohibited.  It also barred the U.S. Forest Service from maintaining roads in those areas.

Less speech, and no more car ads.  In 1965 Russ Darrow founded the business — Russ Darrow Group Inc. — that now includes 22 new and used vehicle dealerships.  Because of [the McCain-Feingold legislation], the company felt compelled to ask the Federal Election Commission whether it can continue to advertise when its founder is running for federal office.

Hazel O'Leary, Clinton's Energy Secretary, Removed From Plane.  Nine days after being named president of Fisk University, Hazel O'Leary found herself being questioned by the FBI after being escorted off a commercial airplane.  O'Leary disputes a report that she was loud and abusive.

United Flight 93 crashed without cockpit struggle.  Passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 fought back against the hijackers but never actually made it into the cockpit, the Sept. 11 commission concluded.

Subway's Anti-American Tray-Liners.  Subway's advertising strategy is a new low in corporate behavior — exploiting cultural tensions and inflaming anti-American sentiment abroad just to sell more sandwiches.  It is appalling that Subway, a U.S. company, would attack Americans and the Statue of Liberty in a time of war ... just to gain market share.

58 Million Wage Earners Pay No Federal Income Tax.  According to the Washington, DC-based Tax Foundation, "a record 44 million tax returns filed in 2005 will be correctly demanding the return of every dollar (or more) that is being withheld from their paychecks during 2004."

The silly war against Wal-Mart:  In response to Wal-Mart's broader plan to build 40 new supercenters in California, opponents are mobilizing a coalition that includes the Nation of Islam and the once-grand civil-rights group the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.  How everyday low prices violate civil rights is a mystery.

Automatic registration for the draft:  The Texas DPS is going to automatically register 18 to 26 year old males with the US Selective Service (military draft) when they apply for or renew a Texas driver's license.

 Editor's Note:   This raises some important questions.  How many state agencies use their leverage to gather information for federal agencies?  And what other agencies will begin using this technique?

Charges Dropped Against Yee.  Citing national security concerns, the Army on Friday [3/19/2004] dropped all charges against a Muslim chaplain accused of mishandling classified documents at Guantanamo Bay, which houses suspected terrorists.

 Editor's Note:   The charges were dropped because of "national security concerns"?  That's why he was arrested!

Cheney:  War Could Last Generations.  Vice President Dick Cheney warned that the battle against terrorism — like the Cold War — could last generations, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Review of death sentences "ordered".  The International Court of Justice ruled [3/31/2004] that the United States "must" review the convictions and death sentences of 51 Mexicans in U.S. jails, saying local authorities had failed to consult Mexican consulates in violation of international law.

 Editor's Note:   Obviously the International Court has no leverage with which to enforce this order.

Dean urged unilateral action in Bosnia.  In a letter to President Clinton, Howard Dean appears to contradict his core complaint that President Bush has followed a unilateral foreign policy, instead of a multilateral approach that relies on consultation and joint action with allies.  He has repeatedly attacked Bush's decision to invade Iraq.

Supreme Court Upholds Political Money Law.  A sharply divided Supreme Court upheld key features of the nation's new law intended to lessen the influence of money in politics, ruling Wednesday [12/10/2003] that the government may ban unlimited donations to political parties.

Is Haiti Facing a Voodoo-Christian Showdown?  In late April, Haiti's President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a former Catholic priest, declared voodoo an officially recognized religion.  The decision means, among other things, that marriage ceremonies conducted by voodoo priests now have equal standing with Catholic ones.

Hi-tech hunt for music downloaders:  Using a surprisingly astute technical procedure, the RIAA examined song files on a woman's computer and traced their digital fingerprints back to Napster.

Clinton Whitewater costs won't be paid by taxpayers.  An appeals court in Washington, D.C., [has] rejected a request by former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton that the federal government reimburse them for legal fees incurred during the Whitewater independent counsel investigation.

Juanita Broaddrick Dares Hillary:  Clinton rape accuser Juanita Broaddrick took to the radio airwaves on Friday [06/06/2003] to challenge Hillary Clinton's claim that she didn't know about her husband's philandering.

Carter Silent On Castro's Crackdown:  Jimmy Carter is the self-appointed globetrotter on behalf of human rights.  But when Carter friend Fidel Castro unleashed a brutal wave of repression recently, that included extradjudicial executions, Carter's reaction was silence, followed by muted criticism, and finalized with a stinging criticism of — the United States!

Fidel Castro's Dupes:  In Castro's Cuba, it is a crime to meet to discuss the economy, to write letters to the government, to report on political developments, to speak to international reporters, to advocate human rights, to visit friends or relatives outside your local area of residence without government permission.

Chicago Uses Storm-Troop Tactics to Trash Meigs.  The City of Chicago used surprise and shock tactics to start demolishing Meigs Field, the world-renowned airport serving downtown, ripping up runway without notice in the dark of night under police guard.

Why not just outlaw the potatoes?  Homemade potato cannons have become popular in Germany, and "prosecutors in the republic's 16 states are passing emergency rulings to try to outlaw them."

Nation's Most-Dangerous Cities Ranked:  Rankings Based On FBI Crime-Figures Analysis.

The list:  America's safest — and the most dangerous - cities:  St. Louis, Missouri is the Most Dangerous.

Was United Flight 93 shot down on September 11?  Report revisits nagging question of what really happened to the doomed jet.

To protect and serve:  Chances are the 42-year-old mother of two who was allegedly gang-raped in New York City by five illegal aliens did not know that Article Four, Section Four of the Constitution says that the federal government will protect each state against "invasion" and "domestic violence."

Smithsonian Museum Blasted for Stressing America's Failures.  A tour of America's premier federal historical museum in Washington D.C., reveals an unflattering historical portrait of America oppressing minorities.  Some tourists and cultural critics say the Smithsonian curators have "washed out" the nation's European ancestry in favor of "diversity" history.

U.S. won't support Net "hate speech" ban:  The Bush administration said on Friday [11/15/2002] that it will not support a proposed treaty to restrict "hate speech" on the Internet.

Political history – and the future:  Not since Ronald Reagan has a man who was supposed to be so dumb kept beating people who were supposed to be so smart.

Crying Wolf — The Genuine Dilemma of False Alarms:  It's absolutely astonishing that up to 98 percent — yes, 98 percent! — of all alarms are false.  Millions upon millions of dollars' worth of precious law enforcement time and resources are squandered annually responding to erroneous alarm calls.  And, even more tragic, over the years numerous police officers have been severely injured, and indeed killed, answering false alarms.

A New "Standard" For Customer "No-Service":  We have taken a giant step backwards with regard to the use of the telephone based customer service.  More and more companies are making it absolutely impossible for customers to reach them by telephone.

Painting Depicting Police Shooting Not a Threat, Court Rules:  A California high school student's painting, which depicted him shooting a female police officer in the head, does not constitute a threat, according to a recent ruling by a state appeals court in Sacramento.

 Excellent!   Four Attacks on the Rule of Law:  The Rule of Law is of profound value to all of us.  Yet most of us fail to raise a finger against those who are waging flat-out war against its very foundations.  The assault comes from four directions.

Mailboxes Vanish:  If you've noticed that mailboxes seem harder to find than ever, it's true:  The government has removed almost 7,000 of them since September 11.

"Metric Martyrs" Appeal To Go To UK's Highest Appeals Court:  Five small businessmen who were prosecuted for selling goods in imperial measures plan to take their case to Britain's highest appeals court, arguing that a series of lower court rulings have resulted in a constitutional crisis and may even jeopardize the U.K.'s sovereignty.  The five "metric martyrs" are battling against European Union regulations requiring loose goods to be sold in metric units only.

White House vandalism report delayed:  The investigation into last year's White House vandalism has stalled because staffers have not been available for interviews for three months, a General Accounting Office investigator told WorldNetDaily.

NOW got federal tax dollars:  Feminist group received anti-tobacco money during Clinton years.

Survey: 1 in 5 Teenagers Ignorant About U.S. Independence:  As America celebrated its 225th birthday, a recent poll shows that almost a quarter of America's teenagers have trouble passing a fourth-grade level U.S. history test.  In fact, 22 percent could not name the country from which the United States declared its independence.



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