Articles

Some of these links may no longer be usable.
Several are more than two years old and the original site may have removed the
story/link. I hope I have provided enough information (date, subject) that you
could search and locate it elsewhere.

I will continue adding articles to this page out
of the ease it provides in locating articles.

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July 24, 2005: NBC, Meet the Press with Tim Russert. Interview with Senator Dick DurbinThe interview concerns Durbin's standard for questioning of Judge John Roberts for the Supreme Court. The last couple questions deal with his recent comparison of US troops in Guantanamo Bay to Nazis. You decide whether he is sorry for those comparisons or not.

September 2, 2005: Reuters: World stunned as US struggles with Katrina.I am not sure what to say about this. Perhaps it was punishment for the US removing Saddam - so say some. The world has forgotten and perhaps it is time we show them again.


September 7, 2005: OPEC: Oil production exceeding demand Strange. The more they pump the higher the cost. Would a Senator come forward and do more than mouth concern!

September 8, 2005: Oil Prices Rise Ahead of Inventory ReportEven if OPEC tells us more oil was pumped and available - this reports suggests prices go up anyway because. Go figure - the less oil, the higher the price. The more oil - the higher the price because there is less oil. Makes perfect sense. FYI: I understand that if you produce 1000 barrels and I can only refine 10, the price will not be based upon 1000, but upon 10 with the 1000 barrels less useful in determining costs. This makes little sense in the macro view. Very little. Too many holes.

October 27, 2005: More Oil News. ExxonMobil's quarterly profit to exceed $8.5bnThis is a rather long article but it does explain issues concerning oil, types of oil, who has it, and what the issues might be. Between Oct 2005 and April 2006, the oil companies have posted profits that exceed every quarter past and each other. The answer is not a tax on oil companies, that provides revenue to the federal government without fixing the costs.

Oct 27 and 28, 2005: As oil profits soar, scrutiny rises. Record oil profits prompt calls for probe. Exxon, Shell Net Record ProfitsThree articles to choose from. The oil companies told us: OPEC raised the prices for us, so we must charge higher gas prices. It costs more to refuel, so we must raise prices. Katrina came along and blew over our oil refineries and oil pumps - consequently we must raise prices because we have to fix those broken bits. My question - how then can they make more money than ever in history if they are spending so much!!

October 27, 2005: Sex Workers Ask EU to Respect Their 'Rights'.

October 28, 2005: UN Team names firms in oil-for-food scandal.The UN and why they are not only irrelevant but dangerous and criminal. Nearly half of the companies in over 60 countries used bribes. Bribery, apparently, is the business as usual practice for them.

October 28, 2005: How some Gold Star Families feel about Cindy Sheehan. Military Families 'Disgusted' by Sheehan

October 29, 2005: Third night of trouble in Paris suburb following teenage deaths. Yahoo news. What is omitted from this news story by AFP. 'French leaders fiddled while France Burned' Best headline.

October 30, 2005: Bush administration as dangerous now as beforeHaroon Siddiqui writes in the Toronto Star about the dangerous and belligerent Bush Administration.

October 30, 2005: Caller claims Islamic group behind New Delhi bombings.The interesting fact to pay attention to is not the bombing which has killed between 58-60 people, but a lesser point.

On October 8, 2005, a major earthquake struck Pakistan. The numbers of dead range from 20,000 to 50,000. Pakistan's president pleaded with the world community for assistance and of all the countries who signed up to help Pakistan, one was unusual in that it has been in a low state of conflict with Pakistan over the Kashmir - India. India helped the earthquake victims. India sent medical aid and money, food, and supplies. In return, 20 some days later ... if the report/claim is to be believed.

October 30, 2005: Remember OHIO and Florida. How about we pay attention to Detroit! Absentee ballots tainted?

November 3, 2005: Court widens parental status in lesbian case: Ruling a win for non-birth parents.Ruling is a win for anyone.

December 19, 2005: Our Friends the Pakistanis: Support for the U.S. is surging in some parts of the Muslim world.

February 21, 2006: POLL: Youths Back N. Korea if AttackedWhat happens two generations removed! Look at South Korea.

March 17, 2006: Canadian Senator attacks US family and US policyAnother reason why we should not be interested in what Canada thinks

April - May YEARLY: POLAR BEAR HUNTOne safari company and description. Suggestion: leave the seals alone, polar bears will have food source, no need to place bears on endangered species list. Maybe we should send the suggestion to the Canadian Senator who cannot distinguish between the morality of years of criminal justice/appeals/right to counsel and shooting/clubbing an animal for a piece of fur - AND NOTHING more.UN position on polar bears

National Geographic - they need the ice, but what the magazine mentions yet fails to payt any attention to is the seal as the polar bears food source. Without the food source, readily available, the number of polar bears will decline regardless of ice.

What the Canadians say about their hunting polar bears: It's a tradition! All of this is fine. Kill the bears because it's a tradition. Kill the seals because it's a tradition. But don't tell us that the polar bear is endangered. Don't tell us to protect the environment you systematically are eliminating all life from. Save the polar bears which requires the seals which requires the ice. Without the seals, the bears will die off. Without the ice, the seals will swim and the bears will drown. A very odd world the Canadians live in. We may be a geographic neighbor, but surely not an intellectual neighbour.

March 22, 2006: China's Competitiveness May be on the decline

March 23, 2006: A former aide spills the dirt on Fidel CastroAs of April 2006, Castro is ranked by Forbes as worth over $900 million.

March 23, 2006: Chiac walks out of EU summit because a French businessman spoke EnglishAnother reason to really not care what happens to the French.

March 23 - 26, 2006: Islamic Law and Converting. Afghan man on trial for his lifeThis story is more important than is conveyed by words alone. Due to international pressure, the political leadership in Afghanistan has caved in (whether they did or not, it will be perceived as such) to Western demands. This may well be as significant an issue as Mohammad al-Durrah or the Danish cartoons, although it may be long simmering and more political than emotive.

March 24, 2006: Canada says annual seal hunt to start SaturdayAnother reason why we should not pay attention to what Canada thinks:
"At one time most thought the hunt would die out. By 1983, only 25,000 seals were being killed. But in the early 1990s the hunt was revived with the support of the Canadian Government, as a substitute for the failed cod fishery off Canada's Atlantic coast." http://smh.com.au/news/world/eight-weeks-of-pain-record-seal-kill-tipped/2006/03/24/1143083994112.html

March 24, 2006: No agreement in talks on French labor lawAnother reason why we should not be interested in what the French think

March 24, 2006: Russia gave Saddam US intelAnother reason not to be interested in what Russia thinks

March 24, 2006: Want a burger with that beer.In England, the concern was beer and burger could be poisoned. So heard the court.

March 24, 2006: Al-Qaeda's Nuclear OptionAs Iraq settles down, Iran involves itself - Bin Laden et al, find themselves with fewer options. Iraq will not fall to Sunni insurgency while Iran sits by. This leads us back to, what is described as the inescapable conclusion of a nuclear attack.

March 25, 2006: Freed UK Hostage: Full StatementI personally hope Norm enjoys his freedom after four months captivity, and has time to reflect. Read his statement and tell me - what isn't mentioned? And let us hope he does reflect or next time another person may not have the opportunity Norm has at this time.

March 26, 2006: More on Russia - Provided intel to SaddamOf course Russia and Canada are our friends and we must acknowledge their interests. We may also consider that not everything is as it may be portrayed on either side/case. However, giving Russian interest precedence over US, given the very questionable position they find themselves, places our national security at potential risk.

May 1, 2006: May Day and Protests. A Day Without MexicansWhat does Mexico, Boycotts, and McDonalds have to do with illegal immigration and immigration reform?

May 8, 2006: WSJ: A Dying Nation's Schizophrenia (This is a paid site and may not be available to non-subscribers)The social system some would impose upon us works fine until it doesn't. You do not purchase a large item knowing it will fail and when it does the social chaos will outweigh any benefit you think you received. Example: Germany. A great social welfare system that is now about to implode. In 12 generations there will be no more Germans.

May 8, 2006: WSJ: Cost of textbooks. A letter in the WSJ: Predatory Behavior in Textbook Buybacks (This is a paid site and may not be available to non-subscribers)I have heard this from more than one source as to why the textbooks costs so much.

May 21, 2006: Culture of Corruption in WashingtonEver wonder what happens to government funds to Louisiana

May 28, 2006: Washington Post: Murtha's Rush to JudgmentDo our Marines make mistakes? Are they human. A better question to ask is not whether a crime was committed at Haditha, but rather why a member of congress would make such prejudicial and ignorant statements.

May 28, 2006: London's Daily Mail: Babies Aborted for not being perfectStriving for perfection. Aren't we all. Just make sure you get out of my way or I will stomp all over you.

June 4, 2006: AP: Masked Gunmen in IraqIt is foolishness to believe what is happening in Iraq is purely Anti-Americanism, or for that matter anti-Americanism almost all together. It is something far worse in many respects than simply anti-American. Unfortunately, for the useful idiot types, they can not and will not ever understand this.

June 11, 2006: The Times of London. He Found God in the Human GenomeThe scientist who led the team that cracked the human genome is to publish a book explaining why he now believes in the existence of God

June 12, 2006: Canada Free Press An Inconvenient TruthJust because Al Gore believes he created the internet and the world is melting, does not make it so.

July 2, 2006: Opinion Journal: Don't believe the Hype
As soon as we finish reading this article, the earth will simply implode, leaving only Al Gore to clean up, claiming he was correct after all.

July 4, 2006: UPI: N. Korean missile test apparently fails
On July 4th, North Korea test fired three missiles. Efforts by Japan, US, China, Russia, and South Korea have failed. The fact the long range missile failed is not important to the fact it tested it as if it would work and then covered up, in their little minds, by firing two short range missiles into the Sea of Japan. Engagement failed in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 .... and has failed again - having China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and the US all urge North Korea to NOT test-fire missiles. What would you suggest we do? Give them something? A hug perhaps. Kim Jong il is a despotic little tyrant. The very first article at the top of this page - Life under the Red Star, April 17, 2001. Read it, then consider what South Korea would be like if Kim Jong il reproduces his evil regime in the south.

July 16, 2006: Independent Online: President Jacques Chirac has accused Israel of possibly seeking the destruction of Lebanon
Do the French have any moral or legal authority to speak on this subject.

July 23, 2006: Daily Pioneer. War for the World
Ms Ganguli has an interesting position, one I believe to be morally clear - at a time when some find these issues to be foggy and vague.

August 4, 2006: You think it's hot now? Think Global Warming is to blame? Try 1930

September 2, 2006: HEADLINE: The Sky Is Falling - Global Warming Around the Corner. UPDATE: Not quite
From The Australian. Scientists have changed their dire predictions from DIRE to less DIRE. Quick, someone - tell Al Gore.

September 2, 2006: Global Warming is too important to leave to Al Gore.
One scientist at Cook University has it right - pathetic. With that stated - the governments of the world should make efforts toward repairing damage done.

September 3, 2006: Idiots on Parade: CBS: Chilling Effect on Free Speech Worries prompt questions on 9/11 program
When you read this you begin to feel as if words have every meaning yet no meaning. If the FCC fines CBS for the program, I will: 1) move out of the United States, and 2) pay a small percentage of the total fine, and 3) I will never vote for a Republican the rest of my life and will instead only vote for the Green party. Yet an Executive Vice President of CBS would make such a stupid and ignorant statement. he has no clue what a chill is nor what a chilling effect is. he is over reaching and me thinks the rationale doesn't live up to his concern - there must be another reason why he and CBS are pulling the programs!! Question: which markets, demographics!! Find the answers, follow the trail and you will find the truth. He (the Exec Vice Pres) is an idiot. The American Family Association is behaving irresponsibly as are all affiliates who cave in to these issues. Foolishness.

September 7, 2006: Disney / ABC - Path to 9/11. Read this very unthreatening letter to Mr Iger, from several concerned citizens.
Afterward, please spend a couple hours, less than the length of the film, read what the 9/11 commission did state, research the facts, research the history involved, and then write a very nice letter to the same concerned citizens expressing your sincere thanks for the gestapo nazi tactics employed.

September 11, 2006: Newsweek: The New First Grade: Too Much Too Soon?
What have we become that we begin sex education in kindergarten and first grade; testing, homework, essays, and reading by first grade. What fools we are. It would be a great moment to do the whole 'tsk tsk I told you so' when it implodes but for the fact there may not be a world left to exercise that moment of gloating. Silly, silly ... stupid people.

September 11, 2006: Five Years Later. Not an article, but an observation.
I have inserted it here as I cannot think of another page where it should be situated.

September 23, 2006: CBS Reports: Bin Laden: May be living his last few days. InshahAllah. Seattle Intelligencer: France looking into reports Bin Laden dead
It would not be a disappointment for this man to have celebrated his last Ramadan or viewed his last sunset. However, even if the man is dead, we will hear from him at least once more.

October 9, 2006: AP: Democrats Assail Bush on North Korea.

October 9, 2006: Reuters: North Korea conducted a nuclear test. Otherwise known as: The Day The World Changed For the Worse.

1994 Agreed Framework October 1994 between the Clinton Administration and the government of Kim Jung il.

November 11, 2006: Reuters: Another reason why people in Broward County Florida should have to pass a voting / eye exam

November 25, 2006: Reuters, WP: Rwanda cuts diplomatic ties with France
It was not bad enough the French trained and armed the Hutu, aided and abetted the Hutu genocidaires, now the French have decided that the President of Rwanda, a man who would have been butchered had the Hutu aided by the French succeeded, is responsible for the downing of the plane that sparked the genocide - even though no legitimate, respected, honest review of the facts or report on the events supports the conclusion the French have arrived at on their own. One should ask themselves why the French have now decided to file a legal action, what prompted it? And better still, what do the French have to gain? For all those who still somehow find an ounce of usefulness in the French or their leaders - this should be the final nail.

November 25, 2006: Reuters, NYT: Chad Rebels Seize Key Eastern Town
The French once again and perhaps the answer (in part) to the question of why the French are so interested in Rwanda's Kigame . They just can't seem to keep their hands off everyone else's country even though they make a big deal of the US and Iraq - all one needs to do is look at their actions practically everywhere else in the world.

December 23, 2006: Reuters. Islamists in Somalia urge Muslims worldwide to wage jihad against Ethiopia Somalia should be the showcase for anyone interested.


January 19-22, 2007
This newspaper is considered one of the finest in the world. Editorial staff come from the Ivy leagues and 'anyone' who is 'anyone' thinks of this newspaper as some beacon of newspaper journalism.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/world/europe/21turkey.html?hp&ex=1169355600&en=cf5f785b70340095&ei=5094&partner=homepage


The other great paper, the Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/19/AR2007011900453.html

And finally, our own paper rag:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-journalist20jan20,1,4651120.story?coll=la-headlines-world

First, read each of the above stories. Then read the two articles (Reuters and the Telegraph)
REUTERS:
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-01-19T155927Z_01_L1968420_RTRUKOC_0_US-TURKEY-AUTHOR-SHOT.xml&pageNumber=0&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage2

TELEGRAPH:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/20/wturkey20.xml

Then my question is, what is missing from the greatest and best of all news sources – NYT, LAT, WP and what is it that is in the other two and most importantly - WHY is that piece of information missing. It is NOT for the newspaper to decide what should be printed and what we should know for that is not printing the news, that is deciding what we see and hear - and that is he same attack leveled at FOX news and any conservative news site.

January 31, 2007. NYTimes: FRANCE tells US to sign Kyoto or get taxed. Inevitable that worldwide carbon tax.

February 6, 2007: Canada Free Press: Global Warming. yet another climatologist who disputes the fearmongering

March 25, 2007: Moderate Islam? What responsibility do they play in the greater war upon terror?

March 27, 2007: Sheep with 15% human DNA. http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=444436&in_page_id=1770&in_a_source=

9/11

Remember the day, and all those who lost their lives that day, and all those who have given their lives since.

9/11/01

Remember the day, and all those who lost their lives that day, and all those who have given their lives since.


Four years since that evil of that day.

Property Seizures

Justices Affirm Property Seizures by 5-4 vote

And guess what? It was not the conservatives who made it possible to take your property from you!!

Be VERY CONCERNED.




Justices Affirm Property Seizures5-4 Ruling
Backs Forced Sales for Private Development
By Charles LaneWashington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 24, 2005; A01

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that local governments may force property owners to sell out and make way for private economic development when officials decide it would benefit the public, even if the property is not blighted and the new project's success is not guaranteed.

The 5 to 4 ruling provided the strong affirmation that state and local governments had sought for their increasing use of eminent domain for urban revitalization, especially in the Northeast, where many city centers have decayed and the suburban land supply is dwindling.

Opponents, including property-rights activists and advocates for elderly and low-income urban residents, argued that forcibly shifting land from one private owner to another, even with fair compensation, violates the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits the taking of property by government except for "public use."

But Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the majority, cited cases in which the court has interpreted "public use" to include not only such traditional projects as bridges or highways but also slum clearance and land redistribution. He concluded that a "public purpose" such as creating jobs in a depressed city can also satisfy the Fifth Amendment.

The court should not "second-guess" local governments, Stevens added, noting that "[p]romoting economic development is a traditional and long accepted function of government."

Stevens's opinion provoked a strongly worded dissent from Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who wrote that the ruling favors the most powerful and influential in society and leaves small property owners little recourse. Now, she wrote, the "specter of condemnation hangs over all property. Nothing is to prevent the State from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory."

D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams, who serves as president of the National League of Cities, issued a statement praising the court for upholding "one of the most powerful tools city officials have to rejuvenate their neighborhoods."

In addition to its national repercussions, the court's decision removed a possible obstacle to the District's plans to build a baseball stadium along the Anacostia River waterfront and to redevelop the Skyland Shopping Center in Southeast -- a project Williams said could generate 300 jobs and $3.3 million in tax revenue.

A number of property owners in those areas had hoped the court ruling would help them resist the city's exercise of eminent domain. But David A. Fuss, an attorney for several of them, acknowledged that the court's ruling "is going to have a major impact."

The redevelopment program at issue in yesterday's case -- the plan of the Connecticut city of New London to turn 90 acres of waterfront land into office buildings, upscale housing, a marina and other facilities near a $300 million research center being built by pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer -- was also expected to generate hundreds of jobs and, city officials say, $680,000 in property tax revenue.

New London, with a population of about 24,000, is reeling from the 1996 closing of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, which had employed more than 1,500 people.

But owners of 15 homes on 1.54 acres of the proposed site had refused to go. One of them, Susette Kelo, had extensively remodeled her home and wanted to stay for its view of the water. Another, Wilhelmina Dery, was born in her house in 1918 and has lived there her entire life.

The Connecticut Supreme Court upheld the city's plan, so the homeowners, represented by lawyers from the libertarian Institute for Justice, appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

According to the institute, the New London plan, which the City Council approved in 2000, is typical of "eminent domain abuse," which has spawned more than 10,000 threatened or filed condemnations involving a transfer of property from one private party to another in 41 states between 1998 and 2002.

Scott Bullock, a lawyer for the institute, said that the only recourse for property owners facing condemnation under eminent domain would be to sue in state court based on the property rights provisions of each state's constitution.

New London City Manager Richard M. Brown said he was "very pleased" by the court's decision. He said the city hopes to restart its redevelopment plan, which has lost money so far, partly because of the litigation.

In the disputed neighborhood, known as Fort Trumbull, most residents sold out and their homes were demolished. The site is now a flat expanse of dusty, rock-strewn soil dotted by the few remaining houses. Signs advertising the development site are withered and torn; builders who once considered projects have moved on, deterred by the controversy.

Stevens was joined in the majority by Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer.

Kennedy's vote was something of a surprise because he had expressed strong sympathy for property-rights claims in past cases. But in a brief concurring opinion he explained that the New London plan showed no sign of improper favoritism toward any one private developer.

O'Connor was joined in her dissent by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. They wrote that the majority had tilted in favor of those with "disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms."

And in a separate dissent, Thomas sounded a rare note of agreement with liberal groups such as the NAACP, which had sided with the property owners in the case.

He protested that urban renewal has historically resulted in displacement of minorities, the elderly and the poor.

"Regrettably, the predictable consequence of the Court's decision will be to exacerbate these effects," he wrote.

The case is Kelo v. City of New London , No. 04-108.

Staff writer Kirstin Downey contributed to this report.

The Answer to Who Said It from March 2008

Well, not quite.

I believed that the person who said it was one of the greatest of presidents in our history ... until very recently. The affairs did not alter my opinion, nor did his wealth. His education, his background, nothing changed or altered my perception of him as one of the greatest presidents we have ever had ... until very recently.

I believed that his was a presidency unfinished. The hopes, ideals, and dreams of millions were washed away in that one brief moment, November 22, 1963. The pretender to the throne took credit for his programs, for his dreams. Until very recently I believed John Kennedy was a great president.

Until I heard Barrack H. Obama ... and I began to consider what Kennedy achieved and failed to achieve and why. Historians almost universally ripped Kennedy apart, placing him near the bottom of any top list, if not down with the medicore of presidents. Until recently that is.

If the speech seemed familiar, it is and should - Kennedy's chief speechwriter - Ted Sorrenson, has jumped into the Obama campaign and brought with him and the Kennedyesque treasures. All Kennedy's speeches have been pulled out and dusted off ... the same mindless tripe from 1959 is being shuffled back into use for a new generation to swallow, and by all measures the American people are swallowing it, with vigor.

Kennedy has become a myth and he should remain in our mythology. We do not need another pretender to the throne who will offer us nothing but words and war when we bought hope and idealism.

UN: NO GENOCIDE in Sudan

U.N. Panel Finds No Genocide in Darfur but Urges Tribunals

By Colum Lynch
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 1, 2005; Page A01

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 31 -- A U.N. commission investigating atrocities in Sudan has concluded that the government did not pursue a policy of genocide in the Darfur region but that Khartoum and government-sponsored Arab militias known as the Janjaweed engaged in "widespread and systematic" abuse that may constitute crimes against humanity.

The five-member U.N. commission of inquiry "strongly recommends" that the U.N. Security Council invite the International Criminal Court to pursue a war crimes prosecution against those suspected of the worst abuse. The Sudanese justice system, it concluded, "is unable or unwilling" to address the situation in Darfur.

The 177-page report documents a concerted campaign of violence directed primarily at Darfur's black African Fur, Masalit, Jebel, Aranga and Zaghawa tribes. Since the violence began in early February 2003, more than 70,000 people have died from violence and resulting disease, and more than 1.8 million have been driven from their homes.

The commission's work is the most extensive international effort yet to document the atrocities in Darfur and to analyze their legal implications. In doing so, the commission was more cautious on the question of whether the violence amounted to genocide, the position taken by former U.S. secretary of state Colin L. Powell.

Nevertheless, the commission set the stage Monday for international war crimes prosecutions, charging the government and the Janjaweed of engaging in violence that included murder, torture, kidnapping, rape, forced displacement and the destruction of villages.

Senior U.S. officials said the commission's findings were serious enough to prosecute rights abusers as war criminals, despite the panel's decision not to declare that genocide had occurred. A finding of genocide -- an attempt to systematically destroy a nation or ethnic group -- would have been considered a more powerful and symbolic statement, experts said, but its practical and legal impact would not have been significantly different from the commission's finding of possible crimes against humanity.

"Our interest here is accountability for the perpetrators of the atrocities, and there are obviously various ways that can be achieved," said Anne W. Patterson, acting U.S. representative to the United Nations.

The report's author, Antonio Cassese of Italy, said the commission placed the names of suspected war criminals, and the supporting evidence of their crimes, in a sealed file that will be presented to a future prosecutor.

The report's long-anticipated release precedes what many expect will be an intensified political battle in the Security Council over how to pursue such prosecution.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and European governments on the council want the International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, to oversee prosecution of Sudan's alleged war criminals. "This is a case which is tailor-made for the ICC," said Emyr Jones Parry, Britain's U.N. ambassador.

But the United States opposes the ICC and wants to create a new African court to handle the prosecutions. The Bush administration refuses to recognize the legitimacy of the ICC out of concern that U.S. citizens could be subject to politically motivated charges before it.

Pierre-Richard Prosper, the U.S. ambassador at large for war crimes, has cautioned European supporters of the ICC not to force the Bush administration into a "thumbs-up or thumbs-down" vote in the council on an ICC prosecution.

Instead, he sought to rally support for a new tribunal in Tanzania that would be headed by the African Union and supported by the United Nations.

Stuart Holliday, the U.S. representative to the United Nations for special political affairs, said: "We're still in the process of discussing a variety of options, including with our African colleagues."

The violence in Darfur began in February 2003, when rebels from the Sudanese Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement took up arms against the government. Khartoum organized and equipped the Arab militias known as the Janjaweed, which participated in a counterinsurgency campaign aimed at expelling many of the region's black tribes.

Khidir Haroun Ahmed, Sudan's ambassador to the United States, did not respond to a request to comment Monday before the report's release. But the Sudanese government has long denied that it has targeted civilians as part of its military campaign against the rebels.

The U.N. commission's report said a court could still determine that government officials or militia leaders did commit acts "with genocidal intent." But the panel found that "the crucial element of genocidal intent appears to be missing" from policy pursued by the government.

"Generally speaking," it said, "the policy of attacking, killing and forcibly displacing members of some tribes does not evince a specific intent to annihilate, in whole or in part, a group distinguished on racial, ethnic, national or religious grounds."

That, however, should not "detract from the gravity of the crimes perpetrated" in Darfur, the report said, adding that they may be "no less serious and heinous than genocide."







Genocide







Sudan

Leave it to the English

The cover page of the Daily Mirror (http://www.mirror.co.uk/) from January 21, 2005, Friday is quite interesting on several levels.

3 stories on the front page. And before anyone suggests the Daily Mirror is a tabloid/rag, forget it, I am aware, but it is also one of the most read papers in England so forget whether it is quality stuff, that ain't the point.

Story 1, far left column - something about Jennifer Aniston - Is the Strain getting to Jen. I don't care if she is stressed.

Story 2, the major story along the top of the page (above the fold) - Mr Un-Credible ... and Bush is still on the warpath.

I suppose I should look up the news of the day to find out what they may be refering to, but given the fact there is no credibility issue, if one is intellectually honest and not a beacon for retarded rodeo clowns.

The third article - Drink Drive Girl, 12 ... and her family don't care. The story goes - A girl of 12 was nearly twice the drink limit when she was stopped at the wheel of her father's car.

The English prefer their stories tainted by politics to dealing with what I would consider a far more serious issue for them - their social system is collapsing. And before you jump around like stupid from the stupid tree, I understand one case does not a social collapse make else the US would implode for we have Jerry Springer and his band of retarded rodeo clowns. No, it is a more serious issue for the English - girls at 14/15 who have had more than a dozen abortions and the state (county government) is more concerned with STDs than with an issue that slaps them everytime they turn around.

No, they have some very serious issues and they would prefer to play up idiotic nonsense with such witless commentary as Mr Un-Credible.

It is their choice, but then when they fail and someone is called to pull their butts out of the oven, again, why should we. What you witless wonders will accomplish with all this bashing of yours is not a regime change (made you smile) but a very defiant attitude to never help you again, when the time comes, and bank on it, it will come.

Medieval Teeth

Medieval teeth 'better than Baldrick's'

BBC, October 8, 2004
Jane Elliott BBC News Online health staff

Think of medieval England and you are likely to conjure up an image of a wizened hag with black stumps for teeth.

But although that might have been the unfortunate state of some people's teeth, others had much better care.

Documents show that, not only were the educationally elite aware of the importance of keeping their teeth clean, but they also knew how to fill cavities and deal with facial fractures.

They could recognise oral cancer and even knew the rudiments of teeth whitening.

Advanced

A paper published in the British Dental Journal shows that medieval (12-14th century) literature even makes reference to creating false teeth.

The paper's author, osteo-archeologist Trevor Anderson, said the papers referred to ways of preserving and improving teeth.

"There were liquids to whiten teeth, methods of removing calculus (plaque) and compounds for filling cavities.

"There is also a reference to dentures made of human teeth or cow bone.

"Surgery is known for oral cancer as well as the repair of fractured jaws."

But Mr Anderson said the documents would only have been available to an elite group of physicians and surgeons, usually based in the larger cities or university towns.

He added: "The richer the person was the more sugar they had in their diet and therefore the more decay. The medieval peasants would probably have been eating a coarser diet and so they would have less trapped in their teeth and therefore less decay.

"Most people would probably have to rely largely on local barber surgeons, the local blacksmith, their friends and their own traditional remedies to treat dental problems."

Herbs

One of the earliest texts 'The Chirurgia of Roger Frugard', which was written in Latin in Italy around 1180AD mentions oral cancer and suggests surgery.

It recommends that in the acute stages the disease can be cured by cutting into the normal flesh around the cancer, cauterising the wound and then sealing it with egg yolk before washing it with wine.

After three days the wound should be rubbed with alum before applying a lotion made from wine and honey and infused with the roots of the herb mullein; honeysuckle, pomegranate and ginger.

It also suggests solving dislocation of the jaw by applying a preparation of marshmallow and giving the patient soft, easily digested food to ensure that chewing does not lead to further dislocation.

The remedy for toothache suggests cauterising the skin behind the ears before heating the plant henbane and leek seeds over hot coals and ensuring the patient inhales the smoke through a funnel.

Welsh folklore makes of the period mentions a variety of herbal remedies and a combination of magic and prayer to cure toothache.

Early forms of teeth whitening include using the herb elecampane (Inula helenium) to scrub the teeth and taking sage leaves and making a powder of them and salt.

Sage, along with rosemary and mallows, is suggested to help alleviate gangrene and, soreness of the mouth and along with salt and vinegar to help deal with mouth cancer.

But as well as using the more traditional herbs, writers also suggest several bizarre recipes to promote painless extractions. One instructs medieval dentists to:

"Take some newts, by some called lizards, and those nasty beetles which are found in fens during the summer time, calcine them in an iron pot and make a powder thereof.

"Wet the forefinger of the right hand, insert it in the powder, and apply it to the tooth frequently, refraining from spitting it off, when the tooth will fall away without pain. It is proven."

Prayer

Another, from 1314AD, suggests that simply praying to St Apollonia on her feast day of February 9th,will cure toothache. She was an elderly deaconess who was martyred by having all her teeth extracted and was then burnt alive.

Other literature of the period includes tips to avoid "stinking of the breath" by gargling birch and mint soaked in wine and rubbing the gums with a strong linen cloth until they bleed.

Material used for early fillings include gall nuts, pig grease and myrrh. sulphur, camphor, beeswax, arsenic among others.

Jo Tanner of the BDA said the research showed a fascinating insight into medieval dentistry.
"When most people think about medieval teeth, they think of the likes of Baldrick from Blackadder.

"What this research shows, though, is that our ancestors were far more aware of the value of a good smile than we have previously given them credit for.

"While tooth whitening may be more commonly associated with today's pop stars and Hollywood actors, this research shows that their medieval ancestors were every bit as concerned about projecting star quality with their smiles."




teeth

9/11

Remember the day, and all those who lost their lives that day, and all those who have given their lives since.


I have decided I will repaste this post each year on the day, not for any reason except to remind me, however busy or not, that there is something more important than worrying about a bill or class. Something far greater and more important.

Men in the Middle Ages v. Men Now

Men From Early Middle Ages Were Nearly As Tall As Modern People

ScienceDaily (Sep. 2, 2004) —

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Northern European men living during the early Middle Ages were nearly as tall as their modern-day American descendants, a finding that defies conventional wisdom about progress in living standards during the last millennium.

"Men living during the early Middle Ages (the ninth to 11th centuries) were several centimeters taller than men who lived hundreds of years later, on the eve of the Industrial Revolution," said Richard Steckel, a professor of economics at Ohio State University and the author of a new study that looks at changes in average heights during the last millennium.

"Height is an indicator of overall health and economic well-being, and learning that people were so well-off 1,000 to 1,200 years ago was surprising," he said.

Steckel analyzed height data from thousands of skeletons excavated from burial sites in northern Europe and dating from the ninth to the 19th centuries. Average height declined slightly during the 12th through 16th centuries, and hit an all-time low during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Northern European men had lost an average 2.5 inches of height by the 1700s, a loss that was not fully recovered until the first half of the 20th century.

Steckel believes a variety of factors contributed to the drop – and subsequent regain – in average height during the last millennium. These factors include climate change; the growth of cities and the resulting spread of communicable diseases; changes in political structures; and changes in agricultural production.

"Average height is a good way to measure the availability and consumption of basic necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, medical care and exposure to disease," Steckel said. "Height is also sensitive to the degree of inequality between populations."

The study appears in a recent issue of the journal Social Science History.

Steckel analyzed skeletal data from 30 previous studies. The bones had been excavated from burial sites in northern European countries, including Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Great Britain and Denmark. In most cases, the length of the femur, or thighbone, was used to estimate skeletal height. The longest bone in the body, the femur comprises about a quarter of a person's height.

According to Steckel's analysis, heights decreased from an average of 68.27 inches (173.4 centimeters) in the early Middle Ages to an average low of roughly 65.75 inches (167 cm) during the 17th and 18th centuries.

"This decline of two-and-a-half inches substantially exceeds any height fluctuations seen during the various industrial revolutions of the 19th century," Steckel said.

Reasons for such tall heights during the early Middle Ages may have to do with climate. Steckel points out that agriculture from 900 to 1300 benefited from a warm period – temperatures were as much as 2 to 3 degrees warmer than subsequent centuries. Theoretically, smaller populations had more land to choose from when producing crops and raising livestock.

"The temperature difference was enough to extend the growing season by three to four weeks in many settled regions of northern Europe," Steckel said. "It also allowed for cultivation of previously unavailable land at higher elevations."

Also, populations were relatively isolated during the Middle Ages – large cities were absent from northern Europe until the late Middle Ages. This isolation in the era before effective public health measures probably helped to protect people from communicable diseases, Steckel said.

"It is notable that bubonic plague made its dramatic appearance in the late Middle Ages, when trade really took off," he said.

Steckel cites several possible reasons why height declined toward the end of the Middle Ages:
* The climate changed rather dramatically in the 1300s, when the Little Ice Age triggered a cooling trend that wreaked havoc on northern Europe for the following 400 to 500 years.

Colder temperatures meant lower food production as well as greater use of resources for heating. But many temperature fluctuations, ranging in length from about 15 to 40 years, kept people from fully adapting to a colder climate, Steckel said.

"These brief periods of warming disguised the long-term trend of cooler temperatures, so people were less likely to move to warmer regions and were more likely to stick with traditional farming methods that ultimately failed," he said. "Climate change was likely to have imposed serious economic and health costs on northern Europeans, which in turn may have caused a downward trend in average height."

* Urbanization and the growth of trade gained considerable momentum in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Both brought people together, which encouraged the spread of disease. And global exploration and trade led to the worldwide diffusion of many diseases into previously isolated areas.

"Height studies for the late 18th and early 19th centuries show that large cities were particularly hazardous for health," Steckel said. "Urban centers were reservoirs for the spread of communicable diseases."

* Inequality in Europe grew considerably during the 16th century and stayed high until the 20th century – the rich grew richer from soaring land rents while the poor paid higher prices for food, housing and land.

"In poor countries, or among the poor in moderate-income nations, large numbers of people are biologically stressed or deprived, which can lead to stunted growth," Steckel said. "It's plausible that growing inequality could have increased stress in ways that reduced average heights in the centuries immediately following the Middle Ages."

* Political changes and strife also brought people together as well as put demand on resources.
"Wars decreased population density, which could be credited with improving health, but at a large cost of disrupting production and spreading disease," Steckel said. "Also, urbanization and inequality put increasing pressure on resources, which may have helped lead to a smaller stature."

Exactly why average height began to increase during the 18th and 19th centuries isn't completely clear, but Steckel surmises that climate change as well as improvements in agriculture helped.

"Increased height may have been due partly to the retreat of the Little Ice Age, which would have contributed to higher yields in agriculture. Also improvements in agricultural productivity that began in the 18th century made food more plentiful to more people.

This study is part of the Global History of Health Project, an initiative funded by the National Science Foundation to analyze human health throughout the past 10,000 years.

Steckel wants to continue looking at, and interpreting, fluctuations in height across thousands of years

"I want to go much further back in time and look at more diverse populations to see if this general relationship holds over 10,000 years," he said.




middle ages

Saddam's nuclear materials - 1st Wave Removed

US Removed Radioactive material From Iraq


The Washington Post
July 7, 2004 Wednesday
Final Edition
SECTION: A Section; A16


U.S. Removed Radioactive Materials From Iraq Facility



Walter Pincus, Washington Post Staff Writer


Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced yesterday that almost two tons of low-enriched uranium and about 1,000 radioactive samples used for research had been removed from Iraq's Tuwaitha Nuclear Center and brought to the United States for security reasons.

The airlift of the radioactive materials was completed June 23, Abraham said in a statement, "to keep potentially dangerous nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists." Less sensitive radiological materials -- used for medical, agricultural or industrial purposes -- were left in Iraq, according to a Department of Energy statement.

...


In April 2003, just days after the statue of Hussein in Baghdad was pulled down, a U.S. Marine engineering company took a close look at Tuwaitha, which is 30 miles south of Baghdad. There they found guards had abandoned their posts and looters were roaming the giant facility. At one storage building, which later was found to hold radioactive samples used in research, the radiation levels were too high to enter safely, although the entrance door stood wide open.

A month later, the Pentagon rejected suggestions that U.N. inspectors be allowed to reenter Iraq but agreed the IAEA experts could return to secure the uranium that had been under its seal for years.














Iraq

Saddam, Iraq and Al Qaeda

Case Closed: The Link between Osama bin Laden and Saddam

Iraq - Human Shields

March 23, 2003: Human Shield: I was a naive fool. Daniel Pepper



October 12, 2003: Human Shield: I Was Wrong. Ken Joseph Jr.

Iraq - When will the Americans Come

March 5, 2003: When will Americans Come? Asla Aydintasbas



March 22, 2003: You're Late: What Took You So Long? James Meek, The Guardian

Abu Nidal - The Bin Laden of the 70s

Abu Nidal, one of the most notorious terrorists of the 1970s and 1980s, after escaping justice for his role in the Achile Lauro hijacking and death of an American tourist on board the cruise ship, fled to Iraq, where he lived for almost 30 years ... in an apartment, paid for by Saddam Hussein.

On August 16, 2002, Abu Nidal died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound - apparently of more than one bullet was involved.

Support for terrorists, aid to terrorists ($25,000 paid to every Palestinian suicide killer's family).

That's Saddam.







Saddam is dead