• Prospect Magazine had a poll asking who was the Top Public Intellectual in the world..Here are the results..
• Al-Qaida is threatening Omar Sharif because he played St. Peter in an Italian film..and a parking attendant is suing him for punches and racial slurs...not a good week for Mr. Sharif.
• Since we have a lot of people with blood pressure problems, here is news that one of the common meds might not be the best...
• The pentagon finally admits that they do civillian body counts and the report shows that show that the daily number of Iraqi casualties has more than doubled in the past 18 months...such are the joys of democracy and mission accomplished..
• Malaria is the world's number one killer...anyone wearing a ribbon for it? The Independent says Medical research 'biased towards diseases of rich Westerners'

In the wake of a disaster there are always things that you hear that are just pure crayyzee...
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After the Tsunami I had the disgusting experience of hearing from a Scottish female convert to Islam that the Tsunami was God's punishment for all the sins of those poor victims..What were those sins? Well they had to do with her real obsessive fears of all things sexual and her rabid anti-semitism...neither of which has anything to do with Asia...This was after she gave me a lecture about Islam that made Islam sound very much like Catholicism..confused, confused.
After Katrina..Christian conservatives in the US were convincing people that the hurricane was God's punishment for abortions..and in Israel, the spiritual leader of the right wing Shas party suggests that it was America's punishment for the Gaza pullout..I googled Katrina and Gaza and got only sites that supported the theory on the first three pages of google..there is that much crazy going around.
Right now in the Pakistan a Muslim cleric is suggesting that the Earthquake was God's punishment for...are you ready for this... watching too much cable tv...
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Funny how God always punishes innocent folks for the very 'sins' that fundamentalists are obsessed with..I say if you're looking for the devil...he's the one saying it's your fault a natural disaster tore your life and loved ones apart..and then probably didn't help you out unless it meant he could use it as a chance to convert you.
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By the way..the earthquake victims need our help..It's not unusual for people to have turned off their compassion switches after all the emotional fuss that was rightly made over the Tsunami and Katrina...but 80,000 people are dead and thousands more homeless and in need and we are getting near the end of Ramadan...which is more than about sleeping all day and pigging out at night and trying to buy our way into heaven by hiding out in the mosque...

Doctors without Borders

Save the Children

Red Cross/Red Crecent

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Word of the day:

Donor Fatigue: A state in which donors no longer contribute to a cause because they have become tired of receiving appeals for donations

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Updated

OK as you know these two days have seen a storm of speculation about Plamegate...and many have high hopes that Fitzmas is here...Fitz Wha? Don't worry if you have no idea what I'm saying I have the places you can go to stock up on tons of information, gossip and all you need to follow the events of this scandal as they unfold right before your eyes... So grab the popcorn and kazoos..
Of course it could all just uneventfully fizzle out tomorrow..in which case we could resume watching CSI...which is also fun.
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If you want to keep up with the news you need to know the following names:

Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson
The figures at the center of the storm..

Partick Fitzgerald

the Special Counsel assigned to investigate the case...and here is his site
There are all the big guys...
with the big guns that are involved in the scandal at the top...the link also tells you a little about how they are connected to the affair...and you'll see why this is such a big deal.

Robert Novak..

"Novak has been frequently criticized as acting as a political operative of the Republican Party while posing as a journalist; ... Novak also has been implicated in a number of political scandals and violations of journalistic ethics and standards, the most recent of which is the Plame affair..
yes... he will sorta make you want to vomit a little...not because of his leanings but because he just has no shame...and well..his nickname is 'the prince of darkness'..which is both sad and creepy.
And speaking of sad and creepy..there's Judy Miller..

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The story...Briefly...US wants reasons for Iraq war...finds a nice one in a story about Saddam attempting to buy uranium from Niger...Claims which made it to the President's 2003 state of the Union speech..Former Ambassador Wilson says he did not find any evidence of such attempts to acquire yellowcake-his claims are disputed here-Novak writes an article which outs Wilson's wife Valerie Plame as a CIA agent-Very very bad since it can be a felony to out a covert agent-blogs and news pick up the story and start running-the Justice Department is called in to investigate the matter-Patrick Fitzgerald is special counsel and this Friday the 28th is the day everyone expects him to deliver his findings because the Grand Jury effectively expires-the trail may well lead to administration officials in high places...so everyone is waiting with bated breath...
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Here is a good timeline from the NYT..
If you are really on a roll and want to turn dinner conversation about the affair into an opportunity to show of your ability to wrestle the truth from the spin here is a handy tool...use it well..
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The bloggers that are hot on the heels of the whole fiasco and will have up to the minute news for you are Blondsense-Daily Kos-TPM Cafe-Crooks and Liars- MoJo-Josh Marshall -David Corn-Arianna Huffington
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More a listen than read kinda person? Well the folks at Air America will keep you right on the news and I am sure Amy Goodman will have something to say about it all..

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Articles you can load up on :
Outing CIA Agents
Fitzgerald vs. the Bush Administration
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Movie recommendations:
Three Days of the Condor
Boy, what is it with you people? You think not getting caught in a lie is the same thing as telling the truth?
.
All the President's Men
You know the results of the latest Gallup Poll? Half the country never even heard of the word Watergate. Nobody gives a shit. You guys are probably pretty tired, right? Well, you should be. Go on home, get a nice hot bath. Rest up... 15 minutes. Then get your asses back in gear. We're under a lot of pressure, you know, and you put us there. Nothing's riding on this except the, uh, first amendment to the Constitution, freedom of the press, and maybe the future of the country. Not that any of that matters, but if you guys fuck up again, I'm going to get mad. Goodnight.
.
Network
Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad! I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot - I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you've got to get mad.
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Updates:

Midday..Friday

Lewis 'Scooter' Libby has been indicted on 5 counts..for obstruction of justice, perjury and making a false statements...He has resigned...Scooter is Vice President Dick Cheney's Advisor...Karl Rove has not been indicted but remains under investigation...
Here is the Indictment
Here is the Press release
Fitzgeralrd explained over and over again in the press conference that "the harm in an obstruction investigation is it prevents us from making the fine judgments we want to make."..that is, that he cannot submit a 'leak' charge because of the obstruction charge..not because there was no alleged leak..but because the obstruction charge stands in it's way, as it were..

Casualties of a war a world away

Please read this..

Elaina Morton is not listed as one of the 2,000 Americans now confirmed killed in Iraq since the start of the war, but she might as well be. In US military parlance the 23-year-old lab technician from Kansas would have been referred to as a "surviving spouse". But three months after her husband, Staff Sergeant Benjamin Morton, was killed by insurgents in Mosul, Elaina picked up a gun and shot herself.

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Wednesday the 26th of October was a day of vigils all across America..over a thousand of them in towns and cities across the country..it was to mark the 2000th American killed in Iraq..and the tens of thousands of those we don't do body counts on..and the billions being spent to do what wars do..

Almost a century ago a man who was to die a 25 year old in war wrote something that has been humming around us these past few days..

.

What passing-bells for those who die as cattle?

-Only the monstrous anger of the guns.

Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle

Can patter out their hasty orisons.

No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;

Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,-

The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;

And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

Wilfred Owen

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And so it is...

Ok everyone at work came running into my office with their favourite morning paper, freaking out about the Bird Flu news today..and as much as I hate this whole drama..well..I just had to mention it..
....
Al-Qabas says that IF we were to get hit by bird flu we would expect 900 thousand cases within the first 8 weeks after the first case..
Gulp..


Have no fear...the Arab Times says

.

"an emergency team and an operation room were set up to receive information about the epidemic around the clock. He added that a special committee to monitor bird imports had been formed in cooperation with the health ministry, the customs department and the civil aviation directorate."

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Sorry sorry, why is that funny to me? Is it becausue I have worked for too many ministries and can only imagine the "emergency team" within the context of scenes from Reno 911...

Ok no more laughing at possible disasters...or at the efforts put in by our officials...just wish they had put more solid precautionary measures in the articles rather than repeat 5 billion times (read the Arab Times article if you don't believe me, 5 billion) that the ministry is doing all it can do...and that it has drafted a contigency plan.

When asked about the much hailed contingency plan "officials refused to divulge details of the plan"..maybe they're afraid the plans might get leaked to those sneaky calculating disease carrying avians...because I can't think of any other reason they would have to hide the plan..
unless...it is the 'alleged plan'...

oh I must have forgotten to take my stop doubting them at all times pills today...

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Rise up this morning,

Smiled with the rising sun

Three little birds pitch by my doorstep

Singin' sweet songs of melodies pure and true

Sayin', "This is my message to you-u-u.

"Singin'...

Don't worry about a thing,

'Cause ev'ry little thing gonna be al-right."

Bob Marley

Rosa Parks has passed away

Aged 92

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On the first of December 1955 a woman refused to move to the back of the bus to make room for whites..she was arrested and it lit the fire under the already steaming civil rights movement with the Montgomery Bus Boycott...Tired of being treated like a second class citizen and already involved with the NAACP, Rosa Parks became a beautiful symbol of non-violent resistance...

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Rosa Parks: She was Tired . . . Sick and Tired
The civil rights movement has been applauded as one of the most successful nonviolent movements in history. People believed in their rights so much so that they were willing to risk their livelihood and their very lives for the cause of equality and justice.

To learn more:

Rosa ParksThe Woman Who Changed a Nation

Bush is urging the UN to deal with what he calls a 'deeply disturbing' UN report... Rice calls the Mehlis report 'deeply troubling'(who's been looking through the thesaurus?) and Shimon Peres is singing the regime change song...ah the triple punch that signals the knock knock knock of intervention...the timing for distraction is perfect considering the dirty laundry hanging out Stateside...there are already reports of US troops and Syrians fighting... we wait and we shall see..

.
Kuwait's Ahmed Al-Rubei's opinion in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat---Al-Arabiya's Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid's opinion in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat
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Full text of the 'censored paragraphs' of Mehlis report into Hariri assassination

Accusations in Mehlis's report shock Syrians Syria's Champress

Bashar in the eye of the storm Ha'aretz

Russia Opposes Politicization of UN Debates on Hariri's Murder

Hariri's son wants int'l court to try father's killers

'We do not seek revenge. We seek justice"

The Politics of Hariri's Assassination Naseer Aruri:

"There is no shortage of potential perpetrators, considering that numerous actors, including Syria, Israel, the United States, Libya and Palestinian militias have all tried their hands at political assassinations in Lebanon through the use of bombing. Although the identity of the assassins may never be known and indeed may prove less important than the consequences, the important questions are, what the crime will lead to in geo-political terms, and who the greatest beneficiaries are? What is the likely impact of this heinous crime on the Lebanese political landscape and the regional map? We might even add the global dimension."

.

Things to consider from the transcript of the UN Report at Ya Libnan:

205. The Commission considers that the investigation must continue for some time to come. In the short time period of four months more than 400 persons have been interviewed, 60 000 documents reviewed, several suspects identified, and some main leads established. Yet, the investigation is not complete.

210. As a result of the Commission's investigation to date, a number of people have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder and related crimes in connection with the assassination of Mr. Hariri and twenty-two others. The Commission is of course of the view that all people, including those charged with serious crimes should be considered innocent until proven guilty following a fair trial.

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Since we're in the mood to solve assassinations..a very good thing...there's a backlog that the ever so conscientious international community might want to look into..in the spirit of fairness and cleaning house that is...

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"can India put in a side-request for the extradition of Warren Anderson of the USA? He was the chairman of Union Carbide, responsible for the 1984 Bhopal gas leak that killed 16,000 people. We have collated the necessary evidence. It's all in the files. Could we have him, please? Arundhati Roy

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Homework:

• MERIP's Inside Syria and Lebanon Fall 2005
• Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East-Patrick Seale
• Pity The Nation: Lebanon at War- Robert Fisk

Transparency International says Kuwait is one notch more corrupt than it was last year...but we knew that didn't we?
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Guardian journalist abducted in Baghdad
Rory Carroll..33 years old.

"He volunteered for the assignment and his coverage has been critical of the US-led coalition"
That's another journalist critical of the occupation gone missing..

CPJ's coverage of attacks on Journalists in Iraq---RSF'S News agencies targeted by Iraqi and US troops---RSF's special on Iraq
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As of news Friday the 21st-Rory Carroll has been freed
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Coverage of the Saddam Trial at the Guardian--'I am the president of Iraq. I do not recognise this court' ---Watch with Real or Qtime---The who's who of the trial in pictures---BBC Coverage

To understand what is going on Please read :

Saddam and Iraq on trial

Read the piece from IHT written by the director of Human Rights Watch"Give Iraq Justice Not Vengeance"

A useful piece from FindLaw about the controversy surrounding the trial

Legal Lynching Of Saddam Hussein
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Word of the day:
Kangaroo Court: An unfair trial in which the rights of the accused and precepts of justice are ignored and the outcome is usually known beforehand.
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The death toll of the earthquake reaches 80,000..say that out loud, slowly..then see here
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Reading list:
Laws for a secret state without any safeguards Sydney Morning Herald
The lies of war-Eduardo Galeano (I say again, Eduardo Galeano, so read it)

In the news today:

China Crisis: threat to the global environment
"China's exploding, double-digit-growth miracle economy - it is turning into one of the greatest environmental threats the earth has ever faced."---"a groundbreaking report from Greenpeace, published today, which maintains that China is now by far the world's biggest driver of rainforest destruction"
Read on, it's full of depressing info..and you know how i love to depress you..
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Saddam's trial was set for today, though his lawyer will ask for an adjournment..there is news that it has been delayed for unknown reasons...saddam's lawyers challenge the legitimacy of the US backed court--International Rights groups are also questioning the fairness of the trial--Can justice be served for the victims of that tyrant if a shadow is cast over the legitimacy of the proceedings? Amnesty is supposed to observe the trial.
The trial will be broadcast with a 20 minute delay..
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These days even Asterix has something to say about Bush
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Unusually High Vote Totals Raise Concerns About Iraq Election
hhmm electoral fraud possibilities...learning from ..well..
Steal This Vote
The US electoral system is deeply dysfunctional—and always has been
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Ayayay yayay, lord we love a good drama..
And the avian flu runaway train drama is front page material these days...
I am no stranger to sayings like 'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'...'Better Safe than sorry'..'Failing to plan is planning to fail'... but people have gone super crazy over the bird flu all of the sudden...which, as scary as it will be if it turns into a pandemic, has been around for a few years now and no one gave a damn.. taw il nass!

Several glitches in the current rush to protect ourselves:
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Flu drug sales soar; specialists fear overuse Boston Globe
"Alarmed infectious disease specialists said excessive use of Tamiflu and other antiviral drugs could lead to the emergence of flu strains that do not respond to antivirals, making both avian and regular flu strains even more of a health threat. They also said they have seen evidence that patients and doctors are stockpiling the drug on their own, which could create a shortage for people actually stricken with the flu, especially if there is a global epidemic...

There is no vaccine against avian flu, although scientists are trying to develop one, and in recent weeks, Tamiflu has sold better than ever."

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Tamiflu is the anti-viral made by Roche..the Pharma company that is unwilling to share the patent on the drug so that it can be sold cheaply and made in greater numbers...Some companies are going to defy the patent and Roche might consider granting licences to other makers...also a bird flu strain in Vietnam has been discovered that is resistant to Tamiflu...

.

Roche poised for £1bn deal on bird flu drugs

Swiss shares outperform other mkts midmorning on Novartis, Roche gains

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"An American doctor is warning that a drug that is thought to be a guard against the H5N1 avian flu is showing resistance to the deadly disease.
Doctor Frederick Hayden says there's new data that indicates Tamiflu isn't completely effective in treating humans affected by the bird flu." CFRA Talk Radio

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WHO plays down human bird flu risk, Tamiflu stockpile unneeded

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"The U.S. Senate has already approved an amendment by Iowa's Democratic Senator Tom Harkin, adding $3.9 billion to a military appropriation for preparations for the expected outbreak. That money is earmarked for stockpiling medications to combat the virus, if it does occur, and also, reportedly for "immunity from lawsuits if a vaccination causes harm,” according to an article in the Washington insider publication, The Hill". FMNN

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Bird flu: everything you need to know

Bird Flu Timeline

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Last but not least amusing:

Avian Flu has been a health risk for quite some time now..and no one moved...in fact the warnings to prepare and stockpile were sounded in 2004 , and before, by the WHO...Bush now says "wait a minute this is an important subject"...some suggest, in a bid to show he really does have a handle on things after the whole Katrina scandal...suddenly it's bird flu fever all over the place...well better late than never I suppose (i am out of control with the aphorisms, so sorry), but at this rate it will take 10 years to make enough Tamiflu for 20% of the world's people... and in exchange for Bush supporting Roche's monopoly on Tamiflu, Roche will set up a Tamiflu factory in the US, which won't start up till 2007..which will be crap news to those that get the dastardly deadly flu this year...so are we supposed to be scared or are we supposed to think ain't nuthin happenin till 2007..or later..or ever...

.

Pandemic coverage for a not-so-new flu:
Suddenly, it's all bird flu all the time. Did the president's remarks spark this?

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Movie recommendations:

The Birds

"Do you happen to have a pair of birds that are just friendly? "

The Andromeda Strain

"Most of them died instantly, but a few had time to go quietly nuts".

Panic in the Streets

"We can't track down an unknown killer in two days."

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Homework:

The Great Health Grab

"The world’s giant drug companies pursue profit above all else. Dinyar Godrej inspects an industry that’s more than a little sick."

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Be safe, be healthy, be happy..bye now.

"Doubt is the begining not the end of wisdom"

Scared of flying, and tired of explaining to people how your fear just might make sense? Interested in court cases? Like stories about corporate greed and malfeasance?

Have I got the story for you?

Here are some teasers courtesy of Mother Jones Magazine:

..

"Documents made public in a whistleblower lawsuit filed against The Boeing Company suggest that thousands of unsafe and unapproved parts have been installed on jets the company produced "

...

"structural defects in these parts, some classified as “flight safety critical” by the government, could likewise threaten the airworthiness of at least 1,600 commercial airplanes manufactured between 1994 and 2004"

...

"More serious than charges of uninspected parts are charges that parts were actually used that were known to be imperfect, with incorrectly drilled holes or other physical defects"

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The parts came from a company called Ducommun

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Watch MoJo for more on the story

**

For those of you who are Amtrak fans..who love the sound of a train whistling and hissing on the tracks, waiting to roll away through cities and open plains as you sip on your coffee and eat hot dogs or those veggie melted piping hot square pizzas..and for those of you who are a little (or very) wary of out of control cowboy privatisation..have I got a story for you..

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"The Amtrak board has approved an essential step in the Bush administration plan to break up the railroad, voting to carve out the Northeast Corridor, the tracks between Boston and Washington, as a separate division"NYT

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"a move by some conservatives in the Bush administration to break up, and eventually kill, the troubled passenger rail service."Boston Globe

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"It is possible that some or all Amtrak routes eventually would be competitively bid. It is also possible that some of Amtrak's long-distance trains, which mainly ply the South, West and Midwest, would be discontinued because of budget pressures". Reuters

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saveamtrak.org

ttd.org (AFL-CIO)

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shoo away the swarms of commuter planes

and find that train ticket we lost

cuz once upon a time the line followed the river

and peeked into all the backyards

and the laundry was waving

the graffiti was teasing us

from brick walls and bridges

we were rolling over ridges

through valleys under stars

i dream of touring like duke ellington

in my own railroad car

i dream of waiting on the tall blonde wooden benches

in a grand station aglow with grace

and then standing out on the platform

and feeling the air on my face

Ani Difranco

Self Evident

Reports that the Bird flu has reached Europe...Uhm we are in between Asia and Europe..did it just skip us?
They don't mean to scare you but the headlines are Bird flu 'could kill 150m people' /WHO warns of dire flu pandemic/Pandemic: A Worldwide Outbreak of Influenza..
ok they are really trying to scare you..
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Then there's this:
Falcons hit by bird flu said to be in Kuwait :Arab Times
Infected cargo enters Kuwait-Avian Flu Blog
All imported falcons are free of disease: PAAAFR; 'Violators to face the law' -Arab Times (covering their behinds?? or are the certificates really in order..we wait to see)

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Get to know this: The initial symptoms of avian flu are similar to those of other influenza viruses, including fever, generalised muscle pain, cough and sore throat. However, it is more likely to result in high fever, chest infection, respiratory failure, multi-organ failure, and death..Also avian flu can cause eye infections and respiratory illness as primary symptoms
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Expect the Flu and the vaccine companies to make a killing..
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Other news:
After 9/11 they said it was safe to breathe the air...now people know better..and frankly many people were screaming foul back then too...Time for the New Orleans health risks to be downplayed in a push to reopen the city..
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US campus wars- Anti-war students v. the anti-anti-war students..two articles in the Nation that are really shocking..take a look.
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And for those of you who were looking for a vegan blog...here is one called Vegan Freaks, enjoy.

Time to Give

30,000 people dead in areas hit by the 7.6 Earthquake..and counting...Millions are left homeless...Pakistan is calling out to the world for help...this is how the world is responding so far...anyone think Kwt is going to give anywhere near $500,000 mil.?? ...here are accounts of people's experiences collected by the BBC...here is a map...

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This is some of what we can do:

Disaster Emergency Committee

Doctors Without Borders

Save The Children

UNICEF

International rescue Committee

Red Cross/Red Crecent

Oxfam

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Hundreds of thousands of quake survivors in the mountains of northeast Pakistan were on Monday desperately waiting for help after spending a second night in freezing temperatures

Mail&Guardian

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A WHOLE generation had been wiped out in the areas most devastated by the weekend's huge quake in Pakistan

Courier mail

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When is Serenity coming to a theater near us?
**
A very Dangerous thing is being sold on Amazon..it's the Warner Classics Mega Collection--something my public sector job won't let me afford in one go..but it is singing its siren song..it includes the beautiful: Freaks- Gaslight-The thin Man Collection-Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder, Stage Fright, Strangers on A Train, Suspicion -And last but not least a film I have seen even more times than Waiting for Guffman: A night at the Opera.
**
I have a huge crush on Justice Potter Stewart's voice..you can hear him on the audio for the Roe v. Wade oral arguments before the Supreme court..here is a transcript so you can follow it..He was also on the bench for the following: Gideon v. Wainright, NYT v. Sullivan, Griswold v. Connecticut (good to know if you are interested in Roe v. Wade) Miranda v. Arizona (That's why people under arrest hear "You have the right to remain silent..", Loving v Virginia, NYT v. US (The Pent. Papers Case), Furman v Georgia (death penalty= unconstitutional) and Gregg v Georgia (which brought the death penalty back) and tons of other cases that are just as interesting..Ahh Potter, the only Republican I find attractive..
**
News Shorts
The IAEA and Baradei are getting the Nobel prize--Bernard Shaw once said "I can forgive Alfred Nobel for having invented dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize."--Tropical Storm Stan--An article in the Guardian about The Blogging Generation--Satya magazine has an article titled The Women of Afghanistan: Abandoned

M'barak 3aleikum il Shahar..Happy Ramadan everyone..

Lord there is a lot of news out there today...
Here it goes:

Turkey has been invited to open membership talks to join the EU..after a long battle between the 'yes let 'em join' and the 'no way!' voters, the 'only Muslim country' that might join the EU has been finally accepted..It will still take up to 15 years for them to join the exclusive club, so Islamophobes have some time before they see their worst nightmare come true..
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I think DeLay must be looking for where the clouds opened up and chose to crap all over him..Those who know better will simply say what goes around..yeah you know the rest...and now Margaret Thatcher's office has been caught in the net of this scandal...
-
Afghanistan's elections are riddled with fraud...
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The second Supreme court justice to be apointed by G.W.B has been named..That would be Harriet Miers..she was his personal Lawyer, has never been a judge, has no judicial record on which to judge her positions on important issues, and no side seems really happy about it..
Being a Justice on the Supreme Court of the US is a lifelong position...On the docket for this year are cases that deal with abortion, religious freedom, free speech and Disability Rights.
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Word of the day:
Crony: A longtime close friend or companion.
Cronyism: partiality to long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to public office without regard for their qualifications. The word "cronyism" is always used derogatorily
Use it in a sentence:

When there are so many proven judges in the mix, it is unacceptable this president has appointed a political crony with no conservative credentials.” — Eugene Delgaudio, president of the conservative group Public Advocate

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The the folks at Zogby International have a forecast for the 2006 US elections...see who is red and blue and all points in between..
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October is chock full of religious celebration..It is the month of Ramadan this year, and it includes Laylat il-Qadr ---It is Rosh Hashanah (ras il-Sana) Today, then there is Yom Kippur (not a celebration but a Day of Atonement) and Sukkot for the Jewish members of our human family...Hindus around the world will celebrate Navaratri, Dussera, Durga Puja and Deepavali/Diwali--Buddhists will observe Pavarana---Neo-Pagans will be celabrating Samhain

*

October is also a time to celebrate for the following reasons: Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday (oct2)--World Teachers day(Oct 5)--Make A Difference Day(Oct 22)--Intenet's Birthday :) (Oct 29) and for only one person who will understand why this is a special day, it's the month that celebrates Can Can Day (Oct 21)..'can ya do the caahn caahn'..
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Bali is hit again..

-

This is a beautifully written piece by Rafael Behr

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Apparently babies cared for by mom do "significantly" better than those cared for by nannies, relatives and childcare facilities..The children "show higher levels of aggression or are inclined to become more withdrawn, compliant and sad".. Of course when you read the whole article it is not as simple as that..wait, why is there no mention of dads anywhere in the piece?

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Desperate Housewives of the Ivy League? An article critiquing the myth (repeat, MYTH) that women with big name degrees and careers are choosing to give them up to be housewives..

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I am sick and tired of the stupid authorities holding your book/film/music orders hostage...this is ridiculous..if I am importing nothing illegal, what the hell is their problem? Isn't this bloody country enough of a prison without them also invading your mail? Anyone out there having similar problems? I have heard there is someone who is even on the 'not allowed to leave the country' list for ordering regular stuff from amazon and refusing to pay the customs 400kd fine for it..

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