Thursday, August 21:

Stephen Lendman: "Peace Mom" v. "Guardian of Power" (2 comments) Challenging entrenched power in California's Eighth Congressional District. Attempting to defeat the Speaker of the House.

W. Christopher Epler (Bill): Is Obama the final nail the coffin of our pseudo two party system? Hitting bottom isn't all bad since that's where all the bounce is. Hitting bottom means "seeing things like they are": America is a Dictatorship of the Rich on the way to being a Police State, the Bush/neocons are all of a piece with the Israeli lunatic fringe right wing which has been dictating American foreign policy like a dog wags a tail, and we are in a Class War between elites and cattle. (us!). Will truth set us free?

Mumia Abu-Jamal: The Foreign Policy of Fools (1 comments) Virtually every elected forum in Pakistan has voted for the impeachment of Pakistan's so-called President (and US ally) Pervez Musharraf, the de facto dictator who locked up his opponents, tossed lawyers in jail, and removed Supreme Court judges who didn't vote his way. Who has America supported - the dictator? -- or the People? How's this supporting democracy?

This Is Not the Change We Hoped For: House Concurrent Resolution 362 In this article, Professor Bica analyzes H.Con. Res. 362 and expresses disappointment and frustration with the democrats in Congress.

Glen Clancy: The Neo-Cons: A Series Of "Unfortunate" Events Neo-cons' steps in the lead up to the Iran war.

Project Vote: How Voter ID Laws Unfairly Burden Voters And Skew The Electorate With little more than two months left before Election Day, prospective voters are rushing to get registered. And like the way that slugs thrive in moist weather, voter suppression attacks spring up around large-scale voter registration drives. Partisan attempts to shape the electorate, in effect choosing the voters rather than voters choosing their own representatives, seek to impose barriers to voter participation by eligible

Viki: McCain May Win Election....Thanks to Nancy Pelosi (1 comments) The second major BLUNDER, next to the invasion of Iraq, is Nancy Pelosi's refusal to hold the Bush administration accountable for their treasonous policy decisions, and it may be the reason that Republicans win the next Presidential election and continue to take our nation on its current downward spiral.

Why we love 'America's Outrageous War Economy' Yes, America's economy is a war economy. Not a "manufacturing" economy. Not an "agricultural" economy. Nor a "service" economy. Not even a "consumer" economy.

US Mercenary Chickens Will Come Home To Roost These are conscious, methodical decisions by the nation's corporate rulers, rather than emergency measures. At some point, the privatization of coercive power becomes irreversible, as seems to have already occurred in the U.S. military.

I Resign From the Mont Pelerin Society I have come to the conclusion that the Mont Pelerin Society is no longer an effective force for freedom, becoming instead another tool in behalf of US hegemony, ringing Russia with US military bases and puppet governments in the name of "supporting democracy." As far as I am aware, the MPS has not addressed the Bush administration's assault on US civil liberties

Poverty IS NOT An Adventure Poverty isn't fun, it isn't an adventure, it isn't about being creative by going "retro" (as in sooo last season) at H&M, it isn't a passing thing.

Roy S. Carson: McCain, Bushes I and II - the same complicity of dictatorship that served Hitler with the means to horrible genocide! But Danny wants to deny everyone else in the world except Republican (United States) Americans the right to pick and choose their own friends among the nations of the world. If McCain says the Vatican is bad, well then there's nothing left to do but to condemn the autocratic leader of the Roman Catholism to Evil Axis status as an autocratic Dictator. What after all is a Papal Bull other than an edict/decree that must be ob

Made Man: How Cindy Hensley invented John McCain McCain was a relative nobody when he married Cindy Hensley--a middle-aged divorcé working a mid-level job in a far-off bureaucracy. It was the Hensleys who would breathe life into his prospects and provide a springboard for his ascent. Their ambitions burned every bit as brightly as his did. Except that, unlike McCain, they'd long since hidden their motives from public view.

Greenwald: The decay of serious journalism and Rachel Maddow's new show Maddow is unquestionably one of the smartest and most incisive commentators anywhere on TV-perhaps the smartest. But no matter. She's a liberal and, therefore, her mere presence is likely to infect and degrade our political discourse. The reaction to Maddow's show highlights just how suffocatingly narrow, and right-wing, the spectrum of mainstream political discourse is.

WaPo Wins BuzzFlash "Media Putz of the Week" Award The Washington Post has been the target for the FBI's leaks about the Bruce Ivins anthrax case. But it's clear from recent events that the only advocating The Post is interested in is on behalf of the FBI and other government agencies.

Why Not Simply Abolish NATO? In the United States, both the Republicans and the Democrats see the old NATO transformed into this new offensive military alliance as a good (neocon) idea to promote American interests around the world, as well as those of its close allies, such as Israel.

Carville's Advice to Obama I couldn't agree more.

George Washington: NIST: "Then a Miracle Occurs" (3 comments) Here's what NIST is really saying.

The "Loopy" Zogby Polls All pollsters, it seems, eventually find themselves with "loopy" results. It happened to Gallup in the 2000 election, and to Pew in 2004. And several polls this season have produced loopy results as indicated by the subsequent primary election vote counts. This time, it's Zogby's turn to confuse the masses with his latest Reuters/Zogby poll.

Kevin Gosztola: Things to Do in Denver (1 comments)

Greg Moses: Nationalism vs. Internationalism in S. Ossetia (2 comments) Whether you look to Russia, Georgia, Poland, or the USA, the victor stands waving flags. His name is nationalism. And in the face of this victory, what are the chances that the people of the USA will be able to choose internationalism instead?

John McCain, and His Finger Should Not Be Near the Red Button Author, a Nam POW and classmate of Rep. candidate, writes about a "wild man with quick wit." Quote: John McCain is a long-time acquaintance of mine that goes way back to our time together at the U.S. Naval Academy and as Prisoners of War in Vietnam. He is a man I respect and admire in some ways. But there are a number of reasons why I will not vote for him for President of the United States.

Bob Burnett: McCain's Surge, Obama's Challenge (2 comments) Over the last six weeks, John McCain's campaign has gotten its act together. The latest Pew Research Poll indicates the 2008 presidential contest has tightened and Barack Obama's lead is now within the statistical margin of error.

Why T. Boone Pickens' 'Clean Energy' Plan Is a Ponzi Scheme (1 comments) Pickens is currently the head of BP Capital Management, a secretive hedge fund (aren't they all?) that has extensive connections to the magnate's hated "foreign oil" interests. The most glaring example from its investment portfolio is Halliburton, which was once run by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, is currently headquartered not in America but Dubai, AND now he is curbing the market on Water!

steve young: The Standup Comedy Genius of Mr. Bob Barr

The Other Political Drama Next Tuesday Night There will be political drama the night Sen. Hillary Clinton gives her salutatorian speech to the Democratic National Convention, but it will be far from Denver and isn't likely to get much notice. On that same Tuesday, actual voters will be casting real ballots in party primaries that may end some political careers and launch new ones on Capitol Hill. Florida primary!

Does air conditioning make people vote Republican? (4 comments) I blame A/C for the decline of the labor movement and for decimating the Midwest's population. Mostly, I blame it for the election of George W. Bush. After all, the GOP's rise in the South coincides with the region's adoption of air conditioning.

Grant Lawrence: Are You a NeoCon? (4 comments) Take A Simple Test

Jim Miles: Canada's Harper serves as Bush's mouthpiece (1 comments) Canada's Prime Minister Harper again speaks on bended knee in support of Bush's foreign policy.

US falters on NATO's failure On the US's part, instead of applying the arithmetic of political realism and coming to terms with the sources of Russian anger, that is, at NATO's unwelcome, intrusive and threatening expansion near Russian territory, the US is now seeking to augment Russia's insecurity by pushing more aggressively for NATO's role and influence in the region and beyond.

Larry Sakin: Spinning Gitmo Army National Guard Brigadier General Greg Zanetti is deputy commander of the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In a recent interview with American Legion magazine's Jeff Stoffer, Zanetti spun the purpose of the prison camp like a top, referring to it as "the most misunderstood mission in the military."

Dean Powers: McCain "More Prepared;" All Preperation Gained in Reviled Congress McCain has every year of his preparation for the Oval Office in a Congress that 75 percent of Americans revile.

Ron Fullwood: Bush and McCain's Reckless Adventurism (2 comments) Bush and McCain have demonstrated a reckless disregard of those who they expect to prosecute their opportunistic agenda, and of those who they claim to be defending with their unbridled and reflexive militarism.

MsSwin: Johnny Cash Is Not For Sale (3 comments) Country singer John Rich has just informed us Johnny Cash would have supported John McCain. In what parallel universe does he imagine Johnny Cash singing harmony to John McCain's Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran?

Laura Stein: A New Focus for Progressives (5 comments) The successful Neo-Con attack on our democratic institutions must be countered. In fact restoring power to bodies representative of the people is the only way to achieve our more traditional goals. A case is made for four doable measures.

PeterJ: *We Can Take The Bush Administration Out Of Power! Someone, somewhere, has a solution. A reasonable, safe approach to take this administration out of office. Bush and Cheney, in the very least, need not only impeachment but prosecution for treason, conspiracy and mass murder. There needs to be authentic investigations into every illegal move they've made and we are not going to get it by constitutional means. Lot's of attention in the right direction may be the only answer.

M. Davis: Belching, bloviating and biociding our way to extinction Are we smarter than gold fish? Lessons from a fish tank full of dying fish.

David Glenn Cox: The Happy Happy Joy Club Being the youngest of three children I grew up cynical, it was only natural. After being used and manipulated a number of times by my siblings, I learned to read the fine print. "Mom says we can have some cookies if you go get them." "David! What are you doing in that cookie jar? You know better than that! You know that you have to ask first! Now get out of there!" "But, Mom?" "Don't but mom me, get out of there!"

Allen L Roland: *OBAMA & RICHARDSON / DEMOCRATS DREAM TICKET FOR 2008 Governor Bill Richardson's ringing endorsement earlier this year of Barack Obama was not only the dagger in the heart of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign but obviously set the stage for the Democrats strongest, most attractive and obvious dream ticket ~ Obama / Richardson: Allen L Roland

Mary Neal: *JEFF WOOD, CONDEMNED MENTAL PATIENT TO DIE TODAY (7 comments) Today, Texas mental patient Jeff Wood is scheduled for execution, despite the fact that everyone knows he never killed a soul.

Cathy Garger: No More DU, No More Hiroshimas, No More Nagasakis The original prepared version of a speech presented by Cathy Garger at the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Peace Commemoration at the WWII Memorial in Washington, DC on August 5, 2008.

Arthur Joel Katz: In Defense of Lawyers (Yes, Lawyers!) (2 comments) Lawyers have a purpose and a reason. Want to know what? Get hit by a drunk driver--or just read this article.

Rabbi Michael Lerner: 150 Clergy Appeal to Obama (2 comments) In an open-letter to Senator Obama, over 150 American clergy appealed to the Democratic candidate for President to retain the ethical and spiritual vision that won him the nomination in the first place. Rejecting the "inside-the-Beltway" wisdom that a Democrat must "move to the center to win the election," the clergy disputed the very notion that this is an accurate understanding of American politics.

Brent Budowsky: Democrats should remove Joe Lieberman as committee chair (With Poll) (3 comments)

Roy S. Carson: East/West? Obama/McCain? It's about time that the gringos understood that Venezuela is for Venezuelans... (1 comments) The 'clash of cultures' has taken a compass swing to an off-kilter West (loosely seen as anglosaxon America, Europe and some former imperial colonies) and the East -- now represented not only by some sectors of the former Soviet and Asia, but South and Central America as well as the North American hinterland to the south of the Rio Grande and other non-British, Spanish-Portuguese-speaking former coloni

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Thursday, August 21:

Roy Lipscomb: Internet voting fatally flawed The Chicago Tribune recently suggested that overseas troops should be allowed to vote via the Internet. But that ideas was deep-sixed by the Pentagon in 2004, after the concept was found to be riddled with terrifying vulnerabilities.

Sherwood Ross: Law Profs Getting Rich At Students' Expense There's a reason why so few students from working-class homes and minorities never become lawyers. The cost of legal education today has priced them out of attending. And who's responsible for that?

Olga Ivanova - A Free Press? Not This Time. - washingtonpost.com She is an Intern with a Western paper who sees the news as NOT "fair and balanced" in Europe or in America. Her opinion of how the coverage of the news in Georgia by America affects youth in Russia and their "vision" of democracy is astounding.

Miliband visit puts pressure on Georgian leader - Europe, World - The Independent Here, a British official more than hints that even the people of Georgia are "sick" of their leader, Saakasvili and that, " . . .as soon as the Russians are out of the country, Saakashvili is finished."

German Social Democratic leader slams US missile shield deal with Poland Germany's Social Democratic Party 'SPD' leader Kurt Beck on Wednesday lashed out at the American missile shield accord with Poland, the press reported.

India places two-billion-dollar order for Russian missiles Designers of the Indo-Russian supersonic cruise missile BrahMos hope to receive an order for the production of missiles for submarines of the Indian Navy, the chairman of board of directors of the joint-venture, Alexander Dergachev said.

JGideon: 'Daily Voting News' For August 21, 2008 a collection of local, state, national and international articles on electronic voting and election issue

Notorious Vote Suppressor Back In Civil Rights Work Hans von Spakovsky, the former Justice Department official whose nomination to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) was thwarted when Democrats objected to his long record of support for restrictions on voting rights, has been hired as a "consultant and temporary full-time employee" at the ostensibly bi-partisan U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) the agency confirmed to TPMmuckraker.

Dispatch From Paraguay: Hope Reigns at Dawn of Fernando Lugo Presidency "Soldiers will never again be sent out to kill campesinos," Lugo promised, but the uniformed men who passed through the crowds nevertheless drew quiet, suspicious looks. Their olive green uniforms still in some sense symbolized the forty-year-long Stroessner dictatorship....Lugo had broken all protocol by dressing in sandals and a typical Paraguayan shirt, an aopo'i, and he began his speech in Guarani, the indigenous language.

Burma: Aung San Suu Kyi does not have confidence in the UN envoy Ms. Suu Kyi failed to meet with the UN envoy

McCain's Housing Crisis Worsens; Campaign Responds With References To Vietnam, Hawaii, 9/11 It appears the McSame campaign is having difficulty, erm, managing McSame's "I have no idea how many houses I own" gaffe. The level of whining and shrieking is an indication of just how bad a day it's been for Multimansion McSame.

Cyprus lets activists sail to Gaza, despite Israeli siege Cyprus will allow two boats carrying members of a US-based activist group to sail for Gaza in defiance of Israel's blockade of the Palestinian territory.

U.S. won't sell refueling jets to Israel, fearing strike on Iran It emerged on Wednesday that the United States has refused to sell Jerusalem new refueling planes, fearing such a transaction could be interpreted as support for an Israeli attack on Iran.

Suicide Blast Kills 70 In Pakistan Latest reports said that at least 70 people were killed and over hundred injured in a suicide attack in front of an arms manufacturing factory situated near Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. This is the second suicide attack after the departure of President Musharraf. A day earlier over 30 people were killed in DI Khan. Security forces backed by US forces have been carrying out a big operation in Bajaur Agency, tribal reas.

Draft Is Set to Keep U.S. Forces on Iraqi Soil Iraqi and American negotiators have agreed to a draft of a long-awaited security agreement to govern the presence of American troops in Iraq, American and Iraqi officials confirmed Wednesday night. The main sticking points are also the most delicate: setting a timeline for American troops to leave and declaring whether American forces would be granted immunity from Iraqi prosecution.

Missile deal riles Russia The United States and Poland signed a deal Wednesday to place a U.S. missile defense base 115 miles from Russia -- a move followed swiftly by a new warning from Moscow of a possible military response.

McCain not sure how many houses he and wife own Days after he cracked that being rich in the U.S. meant earning at least $5 million a year, Republican presidential candidate John McCain acknowledged that he wasn't sure how many houses he and his wealthy wife actually own.

Rob Kall: Should The Dems Strip Joe Lieberman of His Committee Appointments? (18 comments) has Lieberman gone too far?

GLloyd Rowsey: Fidel Castro: My Life: A Spoken Autobiography, by Ignacio Ramonet (2008) (1 comments) A book review.

Clear Channel Removes UCS Ad from Minneapolis Airport Northwest, the official airline of the Republican National Convention, has taken on a new role of censor.

Americablog: Debate Schedule Upcoming debates: Hope they talk about more pressing issues than lapel pins and English professors with a past.

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: POLL: Is The Two party System Dead in The Water? Lets Use This System Instead! (10 comments) This may be a satire, but am I deadly serious or what? Who the Hell knows. All I do know is that I doubt that three parties are enough, or two many, or too few. So, I bring a few seriously silly points up to prove my own points. No, not the ones on the top of my head, the ones on the top of yours. Hey get over your serious side and have some fun. well, maybe and maybe not. At least have a good day... or not-maybe.

Ashin Mettacara: *Burma: Aung San Suu Kyi does not have confidence the in UN envoy

How Big Brother watches your every move (2 comments) With every telephone call, swipe of a card and click of a mouse, information is being recorded, compiled and stored about Britain's citizens.

Iran plans Iraq fuel exports Iran has agreed to export one million liters of fuel to Iraq to help feed the war-torn country's power plants. Iran is now Iraq's third most important trading partner. Iran has also provided a $1 billion loan to Iraq to fund its reconstruction projects.

Allen Rees: Collapse of Building 7 News Conferences Thursday, August 21. Both Broadcast Live on No Lies Radio. (5 comments) Coming up Thursday, August 21st -- 2 Live News Conferences on Collapse of WTC7 - Building 7 8am Pacific - 11am Eastern - 15:00 GMT -- N.I.ST News Conference - Final Report on Building 7 9am Pacific - 12 noon Eastern - 16:00 GMT --- AE911Truth.org News Conference - Response showing flaws in the N.I.S.T report Repeated Saturday, August 23rd at 11am Pacific - 2pm Eastern - 18:00 GMT Will be archived here after the broadcasts.

The Magic Pudding (2 comments) Why is the US government still pouring billions into missile defence? By George Monbiot. Published in the Guardian 18th August 2008

Wednesday, August 20:

JGideon: 'Daily Voting News' For August 20, 2008 a collection of local, state, national and international articles on electronic voting and election issue

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: Shall We Indict The Oil Profiteers And Nationalize All Necessities? (10 comments) record oil prices again? I say never again. I say cap oil, retroactively.Bush likes retroactive guarantees. I say Give him one, rebate retroactively all profits in a lump sum check to each citizen based on their use of fuel for the last seven years, and then indict the oil profiteers and their enablers!

Roger Shuler: Do Liberals Control Higher Education? Not Hardly (1 comments) A progressive getting fired from a university for blogging on his own time? And he's not even the first progressive in his office to get in trouble for blogging? Who says liberals control higher education?

Rady Ananda: Zogby Poll: 2 in 3 Voters Want None of the Above (35 comments) A new Zogby poll commissioned by Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily founder and author of the new book: "None of the Above: Why 2008 is the Year to Cast the Ultimate Protest Vote" indicates a large percentage are ready to throw in the towel rather than vote for either of the two candidates in Nov. 2008.

Bush Administration Rule on Pollution Struck Down A federal appeals court yesterday struck down a Bush administration rule that prevented states and local governments from imposing stricter monitoring of pollution generated by power plants, factories and oil refineries than required by the federal government.

Senior House Democrat Wants Ban on U.S. Oil Exports The head of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming is calling on the White House to halt all exports of U.S. oil. "Sending America's vital energy resources overseas during our time of need should stop," wrote Edward J. Markey , D-Mass., to President Bush on Tuesday. The US exported 1.806 million barrels a day in May.

Tubbs Jones in critical condition at Huron Hospital Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who campaigned for Hillary, is dead. A yahoo alert just came in Wednesday afternoon. Sending this from Plain Dealer to describe why.

Jonah Goldman: *Help to Sponsor the Election Protection Hotline (1 comments) THE NEW YORK TIMES on Election Protection:"...an effort that anyone who cares about democracy should get behind."Everywhere you go, everyone you talk to, there's buzz about this election. New voters are registering by the hundreds of thousands. Every expert predicts record-breaking mobilization on November 4.That's the good news. The bad news is: our rusty election infrastructure isn't ready for it.

Mary Ann Gould: Moles in the Garden:Vendors Undermine US Elections on Voice of the Voters 8/20 How Dependent are we on vendors to run our elections?What have we lost?What are some election officials doing to reclaim our elections?What can both election officials & citizens do in time for 2008 to limit vendor dependency & reclaim PUBLIC ownership of elections.Ellen Theisen looks at the depth of vendor-dependency,some repercussions, and election officials who are resisting corporate control of our elections.

Obama, VP choice to campaign together Saturday Obama strategist Anita Dunn sidestepped the question of whether the event would be Obama's first appearance with his vice presidential pick,....possibilities, meanwhile, is believed to be down to Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine

Martha Rosenberg: Is A Bipolar Disorder Diagnosis the Latest Mania? (4 comments) In his latest book, Mania: A Short History of Bipolar Disorder (the John Hopkins University Press) David Healy, author of Let Them Eat Prozac, looks at the historic roots of our current "medicalized distress" in which half the population is said to suffer a mental illness at some point in life and babies are diagnosed in utero as bipolar.

Martha Rosenberg: Is A Bipolar Disorder Diagnosis the Latest Mania? (6 comments) In his latest book, Mania: A Short History of Bipolar Disorder (the John Hopkins University Press) David Healy, author of Let Them Eat Prozac, looks at the historic roots of our current "medicalized distress" in which half the population is said to suffer a mental illness at some point in life and babies are diagnosed in utero as bipolar.

VICTORY! -Tree Sitters Descend; Old Growth Won't Be Cut on Old Pacific Lumber land Eureka, CA-Community residents and forest activists from the redwood region and far beyond Humboldt County in Northern California, were relieved and elated as news spread of an unprecedented commitment by Humboldt Redwood Company owners of what was Maxxam/PL land to spare the Nanning Creek and Fern Gully ancient groves where tree-sits have been keeping chain saws at bay. The message was delivered directly to tree-sitters...

Large U.S. Bank to Collapse This Year: Worst is Yet to Come (4 comments) The worst of the global financial crisis is yet to come and a large U.S. bank will fail in the next few months as the world's biggest economy hits further troubles. We're not just going to see mid-sized banks go under in the next few months, we're going to see a whopper, a big investment bank or huge bank go under. The U.S. Federal Reserve was wrong to cut interest rates because that will lead to hyper inflation.

BBC NEWS | Business | Brazil's farms see quiet revolution "Without any arrogance or self-importance, we Brazilians need to confront what for others is a crisis, as an extraordinary opportunity to truly transform ourselves into the granary of the world, as many people have long predicted."

Anti-Regulation Aide to Cheney Is Up for Energy Post (1 comments) A senior aide to Vice President Cheney is the leading contender to become a top official at the Energy Department, according to several current and former administration officials, a promotion that would put one of the administration's most ardent opponents of environmental regulation in charge of forming department policies on climate change.

Iraqis buy billions in U.S. arms (1 comments) Iraq is fast becoming one of the United States' top customers for military sales. Since January 2007, Iraq has spent $3.1 billion on U.S. weapons. That number looks likely to grow exponentially as Iraq uses its vast unspent reserves of petrodollars to develop its army into a force capable of defending its borders against hostile neighbors.

Tuesday, August 19:

JGideon: 'Daily Voting News' For August 19, 2008 a collection of local, state, national and international articles on electronic voting and election issue

Maddow Mania!!! (3 comments) Yay!!!!!!!!!

Free digital texts begin to challenge costly college textbooks free digital textbooks are starting to take off. "Publishers have broken an implicit contract with academics, in which we gave our time and they weren't too greedy," Free digital text author McAfee wrote on the web page for his book. McAfee said many publishers, going for the lowest common denominator, were making some books too simple.

Telegraph Confirms What Progressives Have Known: McCain Gets Free Ride Surprise: McCain gets a free ride on gaffes.

Center for Constitutional Rights: Antiwar Activists Win $2 Million Settlement from New York City in Major Victory for Free Speech Rights (6 comments) Activists announced a $2 million settlement in their lawsuit against the City of New York. The activists were illegally arrested on April 7, 2003 while protesting against the Iraq war in front of a military contractor's offices in midtown. The settlement follows the dismissal in 2003 of all criminal charges brought against these individuals and 4 costly years of delays by the City in negotiating an end to the lawsuit.

McCain Voted for Bear Study From Factcheck via Digg

John McCain aide's dual roles intersect Randy Scheunemann operated for years deep inside Republican foreign policy circles, a burly, bearded lobbyist with powerful patrons, neoconservative credentials and little public profile. Georgia's pro-Western government in Tbilisi has paid $830,000 to Scheunemann's two-member lobbying firm, Orion Strategies, since 2004, according to records at the Justice Department's foreign agents registration office.

Sherwood Ross: How Jack Goldsmith Gave Torture Green Light (2 comments) Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith when head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel wrote or accepted opinions permitting torture and the transfer of prisoners out of Iraq for torture.

Nato meets as US demands EU allies apply sanctions (2 comments) Washington is pressing its European allies to deliver initial sanctions against Russia by deciding today to freeze the six-year-old Nato-Russia council. Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, arrived in Brussels last night for an emergency meeting of Nato foreign ministers at which the Americans are demanding that the alliance punishes Moscow for its operations in Georgia.

McCain tells war veterans victory is in sight (2 comments) "Though victory in Iraq is finally in sight," McCain told the 109th convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, "a great deal still depends on the decisions and good judgment of the next president. ... The lasting advantage of a peaceful and democratic ally in the heart of the Middle East could still be squandered by hasty withdrawal and arbitrary timelines."

Viewers of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Test High for News Knowledge (3 comments) Home bad is our news media? A poll shows viewers of "fake news" score higher on simple tests of news knowledge than consumers of network TV, news magazines, or daily newspapers.

Sunday, August 17:

alan17b0: Streaming Ad at Top of Main Page (11 comments) What do you think of the streaming ad at the top of the OEN main page?

Saturday, August 16:

Edwin Rutsch: Will the progressive movement eventually implode and 'eat their young'? (22 comments) In my interview with Gavin Newsom, calls for inculsivity and warns against the progressive movement 'eatting it's young'.

Thursday, August 14:

DrTruth: How will you defend America and your freedoms? (12 comments) Are we only a nation of sheeple, or are we sick of the games and crimes, and willing to do something to stop this madness?

Darren Wolfe: Who Do You Believe? (14 comments) The question is, do you believe the government's figures that show growth and no recession or the private economist's figure's that show contraction and recession?

Sherwin Steffin: Do articles have an effect on your vote? (9 comments) This poll seeks to determine the effect, if any, that posted articles will have on your vote in this Presidential Election. What do you plan to do?

PeterJ: Do We Really Have Any Control Over Our Current State (27 comments) Can we control our own destiny or is it "In God's Hands"? Is this a problem created by man that can be fixed by man or are we powerless, at the mercy of greedy, evil people who have attained so much power we can have no affect on them? Should we boycott, should we revolt or should we just pray until our knees are bloody? How you feel is going to affect the final outcome. Will you bring us to Armageddon?

Richard McGinn: Would President Washington continue to warn against party faction and foreign influence? (6 comments) Washington's 1796 Farewell Address to the nation emphasized the need for a unified federal government and warned against party faction and foreign influence. If he were alive today, what is the likelihood that our first President would change his mind about those two things?

Donald Rankin III: When Might You Vote For a Political "Outsider"? (19 comments) When do the potential benefits outweigh the risks of voting for Nader, McKinney, Barr etc.?

Wednesday, August 13:

Rob Kall: Which rating system will you be more likely to USE on OpEdNEws (29 comments) in the spirit of bottom-up participation OpEdNews encourages, please voice your opinion on the two possible rating systems we're considering.

Rob Kall: Should McCain or Obama Be Speaking to the Georgian President? (22 comments) SHould either candidate be talking to Georgian President Shakashvilli

hal smith: Is the conflict in Georgia a pretext to WWIII (31 comments) Do you know the truth?

Gene Cappa: Did Bush Comply With "Authorization to Use Military Force"? (8 comments) Did Bush comply with the "Authorization to Use Military Force" Resolution when he attacked Iraq without UN Security Council approval?

Rob Kall: Do You Support Equal Rights for Third Party Candidates? (20 comments) Do you support a federal law requiring equal treatment for all political parties, in terms of rules for registering candidates and getting them on the ballot, including petition requirements and participation in debates?

Monday, August 11:

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: Poll: Why Isn't Obama Closing McCain Out? Putting Him away? (22 comments) In the wake of the most unpopular Presidents in history who leaves an economy on shambles, millions in foreclosure, almost as many out of work or under-employed, the clone of Bush-McCain with the same platform as Bush is not going away and is persistently, though slowly, closing the deficit between them. WHY? IS THAT?

Sunday, August 10:

John Wood Sr: Poll: Follow up to "Should Obama Use Bush's Powers to Restore America?" (2 comments) If this was our last, best chance, would you support doing these things?

Rob Kall: Should Iraq Start Paying for it's own reconstruction? (36 comments) Iraq is projected to see over $75 million in revenues. Should they start paying their own way.

Friday, August 8:

Rob Kall: Should OpEdNews Have Posted News of John Edwards Affair? (40 comments) Now that the news about John Edwards affair is out, now that he's admitted it and told ABC news, now that the major news shows are saturated with reporting on it, did OpEdNews make the right decision posting a link to an article reporting on Edwards scandal?

Richard McGinn: Congressional Apology to Muslims imminent in the anthrax terrorism case? (2 comments) Although few of the details are known, it is already patently clear that the 2001 anthrax mailings were an inside job and a false flag operation intended to lay the blame on uncooperative Arabs, and to frighten the rest of the world into waging war against "the enemies of civilization" in the Middle East.

Gene Cappa: Should Congress Go Into Special Session For Impeachment Hearings? (20 comments) Should Congress be called into Special Session for Impeachment Hearings?

john de herrera: The Article V Convention? (14 comments) In regards to change, America's Supreme Law offers each and every citizen one of two choices: Congress or Convention.

Mark E. Smith: How Many Votes Does Obama Need? Does the popular vote have any impact on a candidate's decision whether or not to concede?

Thursday, August 7:

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: Poll: Would you vote for Nancy Pelosi? (26 comments) Nancy Pelosi has steadfastly refused to consider impeachment of the war criminals in the White House. Will, or should, the democrats re-elect her? If you lived in San Francisco's 8th District, would you vote for her again?

Wednesday, August 6:

John Wood Sr: Should Obama Use Bush's Powers to Restore America? (19 comments) Would you support a president Obama if he were to use the Executive powers Bush grabbed and abused to enable America to realize its constitutional ideals? WHY, OR WHY NOT?

Tuesday, August 5:

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: POLL: FOR WHICH WOULD YOU VOTE IF AT ALL? (28 comments) My Poll Litmus Test: A)-WOULD YOU VOTE FOR MCCAIN IF HE WAS A DEMOCRAT, SAYING THE SAME THINGS HE NOW IS SAYING? YES, NO B)-WOULD YOU VOTE AGAINST OBAMA IF HE WAS A REPUBLICAN, SAYING THE SAME THINGS HE NOW IS SAYING? YES, NO

Monday, August 4:

Ben Kall: Do you support racists and propagandists, I mean big media? (14 comments) do you still subscribe to cable TV

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: Poll: Should The USA Ban Private Contractor Armies? (23 comments) Private armies in America? Blackwater says it wants to rent the largest private armies in the world to American Corporations. To do what hunt down people who return toxic goods they buy at department stores or slaughter private citizens in Banana Republic Nations which protest land grabs? Vote now!

Rob Kall: Votingwise, Are you Sane or Psychotic? (33 comments) voting to end Eight Years of Shock Doctrine Presidency or Deludedly Supporting McCain, by voting for Him or any Third Party Candidate?

Sunday, August 3:

Mary Neal: Treatment or Prison for Mental Patients? (20 comments) Poll to determine if Americans favor prison or treatment for the mentally ill.

Saturday, August 2:

Gene Cappa: Is Bush Guilty of Nuremberg War Crimes? (40 comments) Could Bush be guilty of the very same war crimes that got the Nazi war criminals convicted on in 1946?

Robert N Smith: Petition the Government (15 comments) Would a mass petition of the government instead of a demonstration work better?

Richard McGinn: Suicide or assassination? (19 comments) The FBI's lead suspect in the September, 2001 anthrax attacks -- Bruce E. Ivins -- died Tuesday night, apparently by suicide, just as the Justice Department was about to charge him with responsibility for the attacks. The underreported implication is that the anthrax attacks were an inside job, and a false flag operation as well, because Muslims (and Saddam Hussein in particular) got the blame, and the Iraq war was the result.

Thursday, July 31:

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: Poll: Should The USA Nationalize The Oil Industry? (8 comments) Record Profits on DECREASED production of oil this quarter near $12 Billion in profits for three months and on target for $45 billion for the year! What is wrong with the above picture when Russian oil companies are selling gasoline at the pump for $1.00 a Gallon, Venezuela for $00.12 a gallon, in Iraq before the war at $00.05 a gallon and other Mid-East oil companies at between $00.14 gallon to $00.30 a gallon, today?

Ed Martin: Can George Bush's crimes be prosecuted after he leaves office? (16 comments) Can George Bush's crimes be prosecuted after he leaves office?

Wednesday, July 30:

DC Rapier: Contemptuously yours, Karl Rove (3 comments) Aye or Nay on issuing a warrant for the arrest of Karl Rove

Tuesday, July 29:

Gustav Wynn: Poll on the Government's Terror Alerts (6 comments) Weigh in on the government's terror alerts. What do they mean to you in 2008?

Monday, July 28:

Rob Kall: Did Right Wing Hate Radio Influence the Tennessee Unitarian Church Killer? (34 comments) Did the hate spewed by toxic right wing talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage and Glen Beck plant the seed of the idea to kill liberal Unitarian church members?

Georgianne Nienaber: Is it Ethical to Manage Baboons in South African Pine Plantations by Culling? (10 comments) For the third consecutive year, I will be attending a baboon management workshop in South Africa. I need something more than my own opinion, which has changed over the past three years.

Sunday, July 27:

Cathy Garger: Can Cindy Sheehan Beat Nancy Pelosi? (17 comments) Do you think Cindy Sheehan can beat Rep. Nancy Pelosi in Congress?

Allen Lee: Automated Tellers and Bias (3 comments) This poll is an attempt to learn whether person who use automated machines in public do so to avoid racial or gender bias from a human service provider.

PeterJ: What Do You Believe Is The Number One Problem Plaguing Our Nation? (69 comments) The economy "experts" think that they have the answers,the wannabe "generals" tell us how to run a war,immigration crowd wants to build a fence and shoot Mexicans. Now,there are a growing number of people who recognize the "Establishment",the industrial-military complex of the ruling class elite as the vampire sucking our country dry. How do you believe we should begin rebuilding this nation? From outside in or inside out?

Edwin Rutsch: Is Bob Barr correct that conservative values have failed? (10 comments) Is Libertarian Presidential Candidate Bob Barr correct that traditional conservative values have failed?

Saturday, July 26:

Mark Adams: Do you think that impeachment is newsworthy? (18 comments) Do you think that impeachment is newsworthy?

Friday, July 25:

Kevin Gosztola: Who do you believe gave the most valuable testimony at the "impeachment" hearing today? (33 comments) The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Executive Power and the Bush Administration today. It was a result of a groundswell of support for impeachment in America.

Rob Kall: Should Clean Energy Alternatives Be Fast Tracked? (17 comments) this approach was used to build the border security fence. Should it be used to expedite development of clean energy alternatives?

Ty: What is the best economic system? (16 comments) Economics, Economic Systems

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: Can The Bush Family Wealth Be Seized Under The Trading With the Enemies Act? (21 comments) Are the Fascists who escaped in WW II secretly, and without their knowing affecting the campaigns of Both McCain and Obama? If so how can we stop them? I propose we indict Prescott Bush Post-Humously, freeze and then confiscate all current Bush wealth under the Ricoh Act, as having been seeded. sourced by Prescott Bush''s Trading With the Enemy Act Violations in 1941-1951. What do you think?

Thursday, July 24:

Paul Kruger: Test for Congress (27 comments) Should you have to take a test to be a member of Congress?

karmacounselor: Which broken immigration policy would you fix first? (11 comments) Broken immigration parts Which to fix first?

Gene Cappa: Should John Conyers Hold An Impeachment Hearing in August? (19 comments) Should John Conyers forgo his August vacation break to hold a hearing on the 39 "privileged" pending Articles of Impeachment presented to Congress by Rep Dennis Kucinich?

Wednesday, July 23:

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: Poll: If They win, Will Dems Do What is Right? (23 comments) This poll chronicles a 10 of items many people think should be legislated. Check those you think will actually be enacted

Tuesday, July 22:

Gabe Shames: Is there a North American Union forming, and why? (27 comments) The Security and Prosperity Agreement (SPP) signed in 2005 by Bush, then-Presidente Fox, and the then-Prime Minister of Canada, has sparked waves of fear across the continent. Many are concerned it's not just an "agreement" but the start of the removal of all three countries sovereignty to form a continental superstate. Could this be true or will it just be a "community," or is it in fact just an agreement?

Bill Samuel: Can We Defeat Terror by Escalating the War In Afghanistan? (43 comments) Escalation of war in Afghanistan is a major campaign position of Barack Obama. Do you agree his assumptions are correct.

Saturday, March 15:

Sponsored by www.worldproutassembly.org: "Building a New World" Conference The deep longing for positive, lasting change is the bedrock upon which this conference is based. How do we fix our country and our world? And how can we form one mass movement to address the crisis? (Event Date: May 22, 2008)

Sponsored by ourfuture.org: Take Back America a meeting of progressives (Event Date: Mar 17, 2008)

Wednesday, December 31:

Sponsored by Freedom Ambassadors: Walk for Human Dignity A national coalition of over 50 local, state and national organizations are participating in walk from Tucson to Phoenix beginning May 2 to call for an end to racially fomented hate crimes. The ten-day peaceful walk will end with a rally in downtown Phoenix on Mother's Day, May 11, honoring mothers for teaching children to treat all human beings with equal dignity. (Event Date: May 1, 2008)

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Thursday, August 21:

robert wolff: WhAT THERE IS IS ALL THERE IS Sustainability, "why worry about the price of oil, why not consider how to do without?"

Ramona Byron: Making Terra Preta Soil: Ramona's Recipe for Home-Made Dirt Personal account of efforts to replicate Amazonian self-fertilizing Terra pretta soil.

Brenda Epperson: Living with the Insane (3 comments) I wrote a short summary of my experiences from being raised by a mentally ill parent to read at that meeting but wasn't given that opportunity. I no longer have that letter but it went something like this:

robert braunstein: No Fault Capitalism Same story different decade. They get the mine we get the shaft

Why a common treatment for prostate cancer ultima... ( Some of the drugs given to many men ...) Treatments for prostate cancer have not produced the expected results. Although the drugs may slow the growth of some cells, a new study has found that other cells may actually be stimulated to grow. The androgen receptor in prostate cells can provide a natural inhibitor for cell growth. This new study suggests that turning the receptors off in some cells while turning others on may provide better results.

Wednesday, August 20:

Sally Stride: *The Politics of Fluoridation (2 comments) Science never has shown that adding fluoride chemicals into water supplies is a safe and effective way to reduce tooth decay. Fluoridation was achieved through clever PR and persistence by special interest groups.

HEALTH: Bad New Air Pollutant Found (1 comments) LSU scientists report a new form of air pollution -- persistent free radicals. Each day, we breathe in 300 cigarettes' worth of the harmful molecules.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran launches satellite carrier Iran says it has successfully launched a rocket capable of carrying its first domestically built satellite.

Meryl Ann Butler: Fresh New Discovery - Can You Guess What This Photo Is? (15 comments)

Tuesday, August 19:

Georgianne Nienaber: Mr. Bill: "OH NO, Fix the coast you broke, Shell Oil!"

Key Photosynthesis Step Replicated: Scientists Learn From Nature To Split Water Into Hydrogen And Oxygen (1 comments) [[IM1]] An international team of researchers led by Monash University has used chemicals found in plants to replicate a key process in photosynthesis paving the way to a new method that uses sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The breakthrough could revolutionize the renewable energy industry by making hydrogen – the clean, green fuel of the future – cheaper and easier to produce on a commercial scale.

Allen L Roland: *BUSH AND CHENEY IMPEACHED IN SAN FRANCISCO / SEE VIDEO (2 comments) A small group of San Francisco actors, including myself, and our fearless director have created, what Congress continues to resist, the successful Impeachment trial of George W Bush and Dick Cheney ~ watch the pre-release video, order a free copy and get involved by signing Dennis Kucinich's Impeachment petition : Allen L Roland

Monday, August 18:

It's starting in Canada (video) (4 comments) After 10,000 plus years of safe, effective, affordable botanical medicine, the federal governments of various countries have decided, with the "encouragement" of the white collar criminals in the pharmaceutical industry and government, to "protect" the Canadian public from herbs and food supplements. 70% of currently available natural health products will be removed from the market.

Smithsonian scientists discover new bird species Scientists have discovered a new species of bird in Gabon, Africa, that was, until now, unknown to the scientific community: an olive-backed forest robin (Stiphrornis pyrrholaemus). Their findings were published in the international science journal Zootaxa today, Aug. 15.

McCain: No Net Neutrality While many of McCain's proposals mirror his Democratic opponent Barack Obama's technology policy, a McCain presidency would sharply differ from an Obama presidency on the issue of network neutrality, which would mandate that broadband service providers treat all network traffic in a nondiscriminatory manner. "John McCain does not believe in prescriptive regulation like net neutrality," the policy statement declared.

New Video: McCain's McMansions (2 comments) John McCain is soaring to new heights of hypocrisy on his wife's personal jet. He flies around the country bent on duping the public into believing he's "one of them," a regular guy who can empathize with Americans facing an overwhelming economic crush. What's more, he disparages those who oppose his ridiculous policy proposals as "elitist." But who's the real elitist? The REAL McCain is...

Michael Dewey: Don't Get Me Started (2 comments) We ran into trouble scamming for oil. The whole Middle East is coming to a boil. While there is genocide in Africa. When we can't come to their aid, it just goes to figure there is no money for our powers that be to eat.

Sunday, August 17:

Obama, McCain discuss faith, issues at Saddleback Church (1 comments) The lead sentence in LA Times report: The presidential candidates were on stage together for just a moment, but John McCain and Barack Obama offered an arresting contrast Saturday night both stylistically and on sensitive issues, most sharply on abortion. Final paragraph deals with candidates' definition of "rich."

Allen L Roland: *THE ULTIMATE CELEBRATION / LOVE AFTER LOVE The ultimate celebration is the celebration of our true authentic self as it emerges, like the butterfly, from a dark cocoon of fear, self doubt and unworthiness into a world of light, freedom and celebration ~ and love is the vehicle for, in relationship, it brings us face to face with our deepest fears: Allen L Roland

Saturday, August 16:

Mark E. Smith: A Jew in Jalalabad (16 comments) In the early seventies when I went to live in Afghanistan for five years, I knew very little about Moslems but I had a vague idea that they hated and killed Jews, so I was very careful not to tell anyone that I was Jewish.

Steve Windisch (jibbguy): Are CFL's Designed to Make Us Pay More On Our Power Bills? (14 comments) Poor AC Power Factor and the billing practice of charging by "Apparent Power" add up to U.S. Consumers being billed nearly double for the use of Compact Flourescent Lamps... But this is just the tip of the iceberg when considering AC motors: Adding up to over $160 Billion annually in "over-billing" by the electric utility corporations, simply for want of a low-cost component that U.S. appliance manufacturers refuse to add!

Colorado Creating US's First Fossil Fuel-Free Community The latest trend in the green movement – other than EVs – seems to be greenhousing communities. Considering everyone needs a place to live, this is a perfect focus for injecting green technology into daily living. Arvada, Colorado is all over this concept, going farther than solar roofing, or LEED certification goals. They're setting up a community that will completely eliminate the use of fossil fuels.

7 Myths of Crowd Psychology (2 comments) 7 common myths about crowd psychology debunked

Eileen Fleming: Why I am the Left's Response to Coulter and NOT a "Pro-Palestinian Blogger" (3 comments) Coulter was quoted as saying that Jews should be "perfected" into Christians...and that Christians considered themselves to be perfected Jews. If ONLY Christians would look within their own imperfect hearts, focus on the work needing to be done there and doing what Jesus actually taught; we would all inhabit a very different world...

Rising ocean acidity slows marine fertilization | Environment | Reuters More finding for a troubles water planet. Small acidic changes in the ocean have significant impacts. Last year we learned shells soften with very small pH changes. Now we learn sperm reacts.

Suzana Megles: Blackout 2003 (4 comments) A large portion of NE Ohio, Ontario,Canada and the NE--including New York City experienced a Blackout in 2003. Those of us who did now have a new profound respect for the gift of electricity.

FDA to hold meeting on baby bottle chemical | U.S. | Reuters BPA is finally getting some coverage by the FDA. Although some can scoff at the small levels of contamination, babies are the most vulnerable to chemicals. Ignoring risks to them is inexcusable.

ALONE: Ashes to Memory or Commemoration As America gets older, it is called to deal with a national issue that involves local communities, individuals and families. More and more Americans--for a variety of reasons--are choosing cremation over buriel. How do americans remember and commemorate their parents? How do parents and others want to be commemorated? How little or how much? America currently has too many rules and laws on this matter,leaving uncertainty

GLloyd Rowsey: Commies: A Journey Through the Old Left, the New Left and the Leftover Left, by Ronald Radosh (2001) (2 comments) A book review.

How Anti-Intellectualism Is Destroying America Sad but true: Intelligence is a political liability in the US. Author of The Age of American Unreason Susan Jacoby explains why. The interview delves into difference between gaining knowledge for a job and education for thinking. Computers and TV are tools. It takes basic learning skills to use them to advantage.

Writing My Twitter Etiquette Article: 14 Ways to Use Twitter Politely As it turns out, you are one fascinating SOB, and people need to know what you're doing. You can almost feel the yearning. What are you doing? You already have a phone, an email account, a blog-but what about the moments too small to blog? (Snacking on pretzels.) Too insignificant to email? They're happening every second! How can you share the moments between the moments worthy of note? Enter Twitter.

Zogby Poll: Majority Want Libertarian Bob Barr Included in Presidential Debates Majority of Independents - 59% - also favor inclusion of Ralph Nader in debates this fall. More than half of likely voters nationwide - 55% - want Republican-turned-Libertarian Bob Barr to participate in presidential debates this fall, while nearly half - 46% - said they think Ralph Nader should be allowed into the on-stage fray, the latest Zogby Interactive polling shows.

Gene Cappa: *The 3rd Anti-Christ of Nostradamus Famed French Physician and Prophet Nostradamus (Our Lady) has predicted the rise of 3 anti-Christ villains who would be a scorge on all humankind.

Allen L Roland: *SEEING THROUGH THE HEART (1 comments) The great dawning and, I would add, inevitable realization of psychology, science and religion is that our separateness is an illusion measured by the state of our consciousness and that our ultimate reality, once again measured by the state of our consciousness, is the realization that we are all united and part of a loving and indivisible whole ~ and we resist it at our peril : Allen L Roland

Friday, August 15:

Under the Abbaya: Female Producers in Saudi Arabia Amy Teuteberg just got back from her first "No Reservations" road trip, and the number one question from friends, family and co-workers isn't about the food, the shoot, or how it was to work with Tony. "It's about what I had to wear. Of course, the question is less about the garment, than how far I had to go to conform."

Ancient Saharan Cemetery Reveals Lost History (1 comments) A tiny woman and two children were laid to rest on a bed of flowers 5,000 years ago in what is now the barren Sahara Desert. The slender arms of the youngsters were still extended to the woman in perpetual embrace when researchers discovered their skeletons in a remarkable cemetery that is providing clues to two civilizations who lived there, 1,000 years apart, when the region was moist and green.

Michael Salla: UFO's Targeting Bush's Crawford Ranch? (10 comments) Was the Secret Service Overruled by an interagency national security team in the Release of FAA Radar Data on the Stephenville UFO?

Prince Charles warns GM crops risk causing the biggest-ever environmental disaster (2 comments) In his most outspoken intervention on the issue of GM food, the Prince said that multi-national companies were conducting an experiment with nature which had gone "seriously wrong".

Thursday, August 14:

Aurangzeb Qureshi: Non-Enemy Combatant The following is a poem about Omar Khadr, the only western national not to be repatriated by its host country from Guantanamo Bay. This is due to the utter incompetence and blatant disregard the current Canadian government has for its own citizens. Khadr was interned at age 15 and he is now 21.

Crusading ex-lawmaker takes in sex offenders (4 comments) It's temporary but neighbors complain. MARIETTA, Pennsylvania - A former tough-on-crime Pennsylvania lawmaker has adopted a new and unpopular cause, taking into his home three sex offenders who couldn't find a place to live.

Ocean dead zones become a worldwide problem (1 comments) WASHINGTON - Like a chronic disease spreading through the body, "dead zones" with too little oxygen for life are expanding in the world's oceans. "We have to realize that hypoxia is not a local problem," said Robert J. Diaz of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

GLloyd Rowsey: The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic, by Chalmers Johnson (2003) A book review. Sorrows of Empire.

Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps' 12,000 Calorie-A-Day Diet (3 comments) Swimming sensation Michael Phelps has an Olympic recipe for success - and it involves eating a staggering 12,000 calories a day. "Eat, sleep and swim. That's all I can do,"...

Wednesday, August 13:

Georgianne Nienaber: Former MN Senator Becky Lourey: Why Not Let Moral Principles Guide Governance? (9 comments)

Michael Salla: FAA Release of Radar Data Signals a new 'Openness Policy' on UFOs (6 comments) Significant support for the testimony of multiple witnesses of a UFO seen near Stephenville Texas on January 8, 2008 came in the form of radar data recently released by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).

Tuesday, August 12:

mikel paul: The Real Olympics. We are in them. (4 comments) This is my vent. It rambles, but I hope you'll get the point. It's about WE. Not us and them. Most people are pretty cool with the concept of WE. Our leaders are not. People's lives are in the balance. All our lives. Got the connection? You think everything is broken? It never wasn't. Life is a series of attempting to fix stuff. Here's an alternative.

Giant dog turd wreaks havoc at Swiss museum (1 comments) Inflatable artwork blown from moorings and brings down power line

Georgia's volatile risk-taker has gone over the brink Lots of angles and perspectives before you figure out who the good and bad guys are.

C.L. Pagano: Aquarius Lunar Eclipse August 16, 2008 (2 comments) On eclipses and 8-8-8 and finding your own security in the midst of change.

Margaret Bassett: Count My Vote (11 comments) I'm not up on all the rules for effective voting in these 50 United States of America. So I bought a book!

Photography as a Weapon Using the doctored Iranian Missile photo, this blog entry presents a thorough review of the impact of imagery as a psychological weapon.

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Thursday, August 21:

Tony Seton: The Armageddon Ritual

Mac McKinney: Full Spectrum Dominance or "Real Men go to Moscow"

Tony Seto