OpEdNews - Diary: THE BIG NEWS STORIES YOU AREN'T HEARING

...a list of stories the media have largely ignored over the past year.

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DIANE'S NEWS CLIPS begins here :)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> FOR FULL ARTICLE, PASTE ARTICLE LINK(S) INTO YOUR BROWSER - OR GO TO: http://www.truthout.org Ten Big News Stories You Aren't Hearing http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091306e.shtml The San Francisco Bay Guardian newspaper has printed a list of stories the media have largely ignored over the past year. Here are the Top 10 most ignored stories from an annual list developed by Project Censored, a media research group based at Sonoma State University that tracks the news published in independent journals and newsletters. ----- Tom Engelhardt | The Real Link Between 9/11 and Iraq (Finally) Revealed http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091306p.shtml ----- Martin Schram | Maybe the Time for Apologies Has Not Yet Arrived http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091306c.shtml "The facts we know provide key answers: Was there a White House effort to discredit Wilson by dishing details to trusted journalists? Yes. Fitzgerald's public filings last April make that clear. Were Cheney, Libby and Rove involved in the effort? Again, yes. And Fitzgerald's filing says President Bush wanted it done," writes Martin Schram. ----- Dominique Dhombres | Survivors of the CIA's "Secret" Programs http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091306d.shtml Peaceful German citizen Chaled El-Masri, Canadian computer consultant Maher Arar, and Yemeni Muhammad al-Assad were all kidnapped, secretly imprisoned, tortured, and finally released by the CIA. None of them has been charged with any links to terrorism. ----- Senate Republicans Block Attempt to Curb Wiretapping http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091306g.shtml Senate Republicans blocked Democratic attempts to rein in President Bush's domestic wiretapping program Wednesday amid a sustained White House campaign to give the administration broad authority to monitor, interrogate and prosecute terrorism suspects. ----- Cindy Sheehan | Hey George http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091306j.shtml Cindy Sheehan writes to George W. Bush: "Torture is a crime against humanity, George, and information gained from torture is highly compromised and not even admissible in a court of law, so basically, the information you have been cruelly gleaning from 'suspected' terrorists is useless in protecting America." ----- Military Wants to Use Microwave Weapons on American Citizens http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091306k.shtml The Secretary of the Air Force said the military is interested in using nonlethal weapons such as high-power microwave devices on American citizens in crowd-control situations before they are used on the battlefield. ----- Bush Administration Objects to Nuclear Treaty http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091306s.shtml The Bush administration is objecting to a groundbreaking treaty that would set up a nuclear weapon-free zone in Central Asia. Arms control groups believe that the Bush administration is reticent to give up the option of deploying nuclear weapons at its military bases in the region. ----- GOP Candidates Distancing Themselves From Bush http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091306b.shtml Congressman Curt Weldon, vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, is desperate to hold onto his seat in the Philadelphia suburbs. He is sounding more like a Democrat and like the increasing number of dissident Republicans who are talking about a timetable for bringing the troops home. ----- American Airlines Could Pull Ads from ABC http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091306l.shtml American Airlines is prepared to pull its advertising from ABC in order to protest its portrayal in the network's recently aired movie "The Path to 9/11." The carrier also said it is considering legal action against the network. ----- Robert Scheer | Subverting Democracy With the Big Lie http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091306m.shtml ----- Soldiers Reveal Horror of Afghan Campaign http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091306n.shtml Soldiers deployed in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, say that the sheer ferocity of the fighting in the Sangin valley and privations faced by the troops are far worse than is generally known. ----- Dean Baker | Deficit Hits New Record http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091306f.shtml ----- Bush Administration Plans Even Bigger EPA Cuts for '08 http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/091306ea.shtml "EPA planning is now driven entirely by external fiscal targets without regard to the effects upon public or environmental health," says public employee advocate Jeff Ruch. "The Bush administration seeks to 'disinvest' in environmental science, pollution control and global sustainability." ----- Habitat Protections for Threatened Marbled Murrelet Slashed http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/091306eb.shtml ----- Gadgets Eating More Energy http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/091306ec.shtml ----- Michigan Bill Proposes Cancer Vaccination http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/091306hb.shtml Michigan girls entering the sixth grade next year would have to be vaccinated against cervical cancer under legislation backed Tuesday by a bipartisan group of female lawmakers. The legislation is the first of its kind in the United States, said Republican state Senator Beverly Hammerstrom, lead sponsor. ----- Greenstone Launches All-Women Radio Talk Network http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/091306wa.shtml Greenstone Media, a radio company whose founders include social activist Gloria Steinem and actress Jane Fonda, has launched an all-women, all-talk network across the United States. Steinem said the network, which is run by women, aims to provide an alternative to current radio talk, which she describes as "very argumentative, quite hostile, and very much male-dominated." ----- Nancy Pelosi: Republicans Have "Resorted to the Desperation Politics of Fear" http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091306o.shtml _________________________________ from: http://jblankfort@earthlink.net IDF COMMANDER: WE FIRED MORE THAN A MILLION CLUSTER BOMBS IN LEBANON By Meron Rappaport "What we did was insane and monstrous, we covered entire towns in cluster bombs," the head of an IDF rocket unit in Lebanon said regarding the use of cluster bombs and phosphorous shells during the war. Quoting his battalion commander, the rocket unit head stated that the IDF fired around 1,800 cluster bombs, containing over 1.2 million cluster bomblets. In addition, soldiers in IDF artillery units testified that the army used phosphorous shells during the war, widely forbidden by international law. According to their claims, the vast majority of said explosive ordinance was fired in the final 10 days of the war. ...................snip.................... The use of such weaponry is controversial mainly due to its inaccuracy and ability to wreak great havoc against indeterminate targets over large areas of territory, with a margin of error of as much as 1,200 meters from the intended target to the area hit. The cluster rounds which don't detonate on impact, believed by the United Nations to be around 40% of those fired by the IDF in Lebanon, remain on the ground as unexploded munitions, effectively littering the landscape with thousands of land mines which will continue to claim victims long after the war has ended. ....................snip...................... It has come to light that IDF soldiers fired phosphorous rounds in order to cause fires in Lebanon. An artillery commander has admitted to seeing trucks loaded with phosphorous rounds on their way to artillery crews in the north of Israel. [snip] Full article: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/761781.html ----- THE MORAL BANKRUPTCY OF ISRAEL'S FOUNDING IDEA By Kathleen Christison Former CIA Analyst Is it only observers outside the conventional mainstream who have noticed that by its murderous assault on Lebanon and simultaneously on Gaza, Israel finally exposed, for even the most deluded to see, the total bankruptcy of its very founding idea? [snip] http://www.counterpunch.org/christison09122006.html _________________________________ http://wanttoknow.info Team DON'T MISS this amazing, moving 9/11 documentary (86 minutes) now available for FREE VIEWING on Google video at: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1016720641536424083. The film is also available for purchase at http://cooperativeresearch.org/911_press_for_truth.html. DISTURBING 9/11 FILM IS WORK OF HOOSIER September 7, 2006, Indianapolis Star (Leading newspaper of Indianapolis) http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/20060907/entertainment03/609070314/-1/zones01 Familiar, disturbing images from five years ago flash by in "9/11: Press for Truth." But the 86-minute documentary, directed by Ray Nowosielski of Indianapolis, also asks what warnings top government officials received before the terrorist attacks, and why so many questions remain unanswered. The limited-run movie, opening in 27 cities, premieres tonight in Manhattan. It will show in Indianapolis Friday through Monday. Nowosielski, 25, and co-producer John Duffy got the idea for the movie in 2003, during their last semester of film school at Columbia College Chicago. It was there they learned of Paul Thompson's "The Complete 9/11 Timeline," and went online to read the researcher's compilation detailing the events surrounding that fateful day. "We ended up reading until the sun came up," said Nowosielski, who recently opened a Massachusetts Avenue office. Nowosielski said he double-checked whatever they used. "We did everything we could" to ensure accuracy. The documentary prominently features Thompson; Bob McIlvaine, whose son died in the World Trade Center attack; and several 9/11 widows who became known as "the Jersey Girls." McIlvaine, after screening a rough version of the film, sent Nowosielski an e-mail signed "Forever grateful," thanking the filmmakers and saying, "Every high school, college and university should have a copy of this documentary." ----- WORRIED CIA OFFICERS BUY LEGAL INSURANCE September 11, 2006, Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/10/ar2006091001286.html ----- MORE @ http://www.wanttoknow.info/060913.9-11newsarticles _________________________________ Excerpted from: http://mediamatters.org Part two of ABC's 9-11 "docudrama" contained falsified scenes bolstering Bush A Media Matters for America review of the conclusion of ABC's two-part miniseries, The Path to 9/11, contained scenes that were factually inaccurate, and that showed President Bush taking aggressive action there is no indication he ever took. Read more http://mediamatters.org/items/200609130003?src=other ----- NY Times, Wash. Post suggested that Democrats spoiled nonpartisan aura of Bush's 9-11 events Read more: http://mediamatters.org/items/200609120008?src=other ----- Providence Journal issues correction to "incorrect[ ]" Path to 9/11 review The Providence Journal has issued a correction to its September 10 review of ABC's miniseries The Path to 9/11, which falsely reported that the miniseries is "all completely true" and "[a]ll the details are documented," as Media Matters for America noted. Read more: http://mediamatters.org/items/200609120004?src=other ----- Bush 9-11 prime-time address "nonpartisan"? Then why the echoes -- verbatim -- of recent campaign speeches? Read more: http://mediamatters.org/items/200609130001?src=other ----- Democratic responses largely absent from network news coverage of Bush speeches on national security Read more: http://mediamatters.org/items/200609120005?src=other ----- After a week of "Free Speech" on CBS, no Democratic or liberal voices on national security The first week of the new "Free Speech" segment on CBS Evening News with Katie Couric included appearances by Rudy Giuliani and Rush Limbaugh echoing GOP rhetoric on national security. But the program has offered no time to Democratic or progressive commentators to offer their views on the subject. Read more : http://mediamatters.org/items/200609120006?src=other _________________________________ ELECTRIC ICE | NASA Science News for September 13, 2006 Imagine looking inside a million clouds. That's what NASA researchers have done using the TRMM satellite to explore the strange connection between lightning and ice. FULL STORY at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/13sep_electricice.htm?list748463 | Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml ! _________________________________ THE VISUAL THESAURUS http://www.visualthesaurus.com/index.jsp?content=trialover.jsp _________________________________ http://www.glossarist.com/ ^ http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/ _________________________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FIND A GOOD BOOK I'm a busy person. I spend a lot of time caring for my four-year-old son, Ian. And then there's the business I run. Sometimes it's difficult to find time for myself. So I have to make my "down time" count. That's why I visit Complete Review. Complete Review has reviews of books that are just hitting the shelves. So you can find out if they're worth your time. But you don't have to rely on just one reviewer. There are links to other popular review sites. If you decide to invest your time in the book, you can link directly to its product page on Am-azon. 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Use to find me near you http://www.komando.com/listen/index.aspx _________________________________ eHEALTHY NEWS TIPS ON LEARNING HOW TO SPEED READ Increase your knowledge while saving time with these incredible techniques. http://www.mercola.com/2006/feb/21/tips_on_learning_how_to_speed-read.htm ----- IS IT BEST TO EXPECT THE WORST? - Who feels better -- those who expect to succeed, and fail, or those who expect to fail, and do? http://www.mercola.com/2006/feb/21/is_it_best_to_expect_the_worst.htm _________________________________ Video: UNFAIR 4:06 What it feels like to be a kid. 4min / Comedy / Animation / USA In Competition | Ian Jones-Quartey is a cartoon-obsessed animator and comic book artist currently directing an animated TV series for World Leaders Entertainment in New York City. His greatest influences are old Looney Tunes and modern cartoon designers. He graduated from the School of Visual Arts in 2006. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://movies.aol.com/short_film_festival _________________________________ NationalGeographic.com http://lava.nationalgeographic.com/pod/ _________________________________ NASA Astronomy picture of the day http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html _________________________________ Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work. ~ Robert Orben