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Iraq War Enters Year Five
Speakers at the Pentagon rally criticized the Bush administration at every turn but blamed congressional Democrats, too
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Bush Might Permit Stem Cell Research On Foreign Embryos
By Charles Newton
Bethesda Chronicle
George W. Bush used the first veto of his presidency to stop legislation that would have permitted federal funding for embryonic stem cell research saying that it was tantamount to murder and "crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect".
The bill would have permitted research only on embryos that were stored at fertility clinics and would ultimately be destroyed. The president wielded the veto despite strong bipartisan support for funding the research, which is widely believed to hold promise for those with Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes and a host of other illnesses that afflict millions.
Bush adamantly defended the rights of frozen embryos to possibly become human beings.
"Once they're born, they're on their own, but until then, I'm going to make sure these icy little guys have the protection they deserve." Bush was candid when asked if he was torn about crushing the hopes of many citizens who suffer from disabling conditions. "Most of these folks are uninsurable anyway so there’s not much chance they would have seen any benefits from the stem cell thing," he stated.
Fearing a backlash from voters, who polls show widely favor the promising research, a new version of the legislation is being put together in a bid to get Bush onboard. In the updated version, frozen embryos culled from American women will still be off-limits but those stem cells originating from foreign females could be utilized.
"We understand that the president might be reluctant to allow experiments to take place on American cells but we believe that he would have far fewer qualms if the tissue came from off shore sources." said Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)
The Senator declined to specify the points of origin to which he was referring. However, a source close to the White House who spoke on the condition of anonymity told The Chronicle that France, Germany, Russia and a host of Middle Eastern countries topped the list of possible stem cell sources that the President might allow.
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Hamid Karzai Says War On Terror Failing In Afghanistan
In an effort to curb the bloodletting, some 10,000 troops from the U.S.-led coalition have been deployed in a major offensive across the nation's south. The spasm of violent attacks and intense fighting has left more than 600 people, mostly militants, dead since May.
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Sexually Harrassed and Traumatized Soldier, Suzanne Swift, Arrested After Going AWOL
Suzanne Swift, young and idealistic, wanted to serve her country. Her mother, Sara Rich, was taken by surprise when Suzanne told her that she had joined the military, but there was nothing that could be done because her daughter had already signed the papers.
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Has Anyone Ever Noticed That World War Three Is Already Here?
Absolutely shocking news just in! The U.S. will be keeping a force of approximately 50,000 soldiers in Iraq for years to come!
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"I Was Wrong" Says Former Bush Supporter
But the President shifted the argument to WMDs and the urgent threat of Iraq getting atomic weapons. The debate turned to Saddam passing nukes on to terror groups. After 9-11, the risk was too great. As the President said, "The next smoking gun might be a mushroom cloud." At least that’s what I thought at the time.
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Sick Twist Zarqawi Departs, Rumsfeld Calls the Kettle Black
Zarqawi is dead. Yet another vicious murderer who clothed his bloodlust in the garment of twisted ideological conviction departs the world stage. Good riddance to bad rubbish. Right Wing pundits celebrate and call it a "turning point". Left wing pundits say "glad he's dead" but he was a propaganda tool in the first place.
Cenk Uygur writing in the Huffington Post said "he told us so" (and he did).
A fumbling, reckless, highly visible character with a ton of enemies and precious few friends makes for one very dead man in Iraq. The most likely scenario is that someone shoots him in the back and turns him in for the bounty. Twenty five million dollars looks more and more appealing as Zarqawi's friends dwindle and his base of support disappears.
He is not likely to be captured because my guess is that he would fight rather than be taken in. Besides which, the Iraqis or his own crew are far more likely to turn on him than we are to capture him. The locals' field of expertise is not arrest and detention. There is always a chance that he is brought in injured or alive, but anyway you slice it, he will be out of commission pretty soon. I'm saying a year just to be generous, but it is likely to be sooner.
One last prediction, when it happens, the US will claim it as a critical victory in the war on terror and in the fight against the insurgents in Iraq - and it will be neither.
The best quote of the day came from Donald Rumsfeld who was speaking at a meeting of NATO ministers in Brussels, Belgium:
Over the past several years, no single person on this planet has had the blood of more innocent men, women and children on his hands
Rumsfeld continues to amaze with his bold audacity. Zarqawi was a vile creature because of his callous disregard for innocent lives in his self-proclaimed righteous war. Rumfeld...oh hell, that one is way too easy.
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1st Lieutenant Ehren Watada Is Not Just Following Orders
1st Lieutenant Ehren Watada is the first military officer to publicly refuse orders to deploy to Iraq. Watada, 28, who does not consider himself a conscientious objector because he does not oppose all wars, has stated that:
I refuse to be silent any longer. I refuse to watch families torn apart, while the President tells us to 'stay the course.'... I refuse to be party to an illegal and immoral war against people who did nothing to deserve our aggression. I wanted to be there for my fellow troops. But the best way was not to help drop artillery and cause more death and destruction. It is to help oppose this war and end it so that all soldiers can come home.
Watada, who twice tried to resign his commission but was refused, is up against the possibility of harsh punishment for his actions. He could face a court-marshal, dishonorable discharge and several years in prison.
Watada's bravery is even more impressive given the fact that he will undoubtedly be met with a campaign of vicious attacks against his character. In a time when military recruitment is way down and support for the war in Iraq is at an all time low, the military and the administration can hardly allow Lieutenant Watada's actions to gain widespread support...
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A Real Sleeper Cell: New York And D.C. Are Not High Risk Targets According To Homeland Security
New Yorkers can rest assured that they are safe from threats of terrorism. According to the department of Homeland Security, New York has: "zero national monuments or icons and only four major financial institutions." What a relief! Which is why The Big Apple's anti-terror dollars will be cut 40 percent this year.
Homeland Security Chief, Michael Chertoff, was peeved when New York lawmakers angrily criticized his decision to slash the funding for their little town. In a statement at The Brookings Institute Chertoff admonished the critics:
"Attacking the secretary personally or threatening the secretary is not a way to drive funding decisions," Chertoff scolded.
What he really meant to say was "Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me. "
In the meanwhile, Milwaukee citizens can sleep easier since they'll be getting a boost in anti-terror funding. And of course Louisville, Kentucky; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Omaha, Nebraska, will get an increase too.
Another city that can breathe easier knowing that it isn't really a major target is Washington, D.C. which will get approximately 30 million dollars less than last year to protect it from attack. No monuments or targets there it seems.
Also, is it a little imbalanced that the DHS budget for anti-terror protection is 740 million dollars while the "war on terror" is being fought abroad with literally so many billions of dollars that it is hard to comprehend the exact amount? How about skimming a billion or so from the war effort and putting it into a coffer to protect our cities on our own soil. Maybe Halliburton could even make a donation to the cause. Or do the folks at the top know something we don't, like the imminent, constant threat isn't as imminent or constant as we are led to believe?
Then again, perhaps there really is a "sleeper cell" from some unknown government or group in our very midst. Can you say "Manchurian Candidates"?
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Preparing For The Invasion Of Other Countries One Game At A Time
Here’s a great gift for your little guy or gal who is just itching to get out there and fight the designated "evildoers". Mercenaries 2: World In Flames is a new combat video game based on the overthrow of an "imaginary Venezuelan Tyrant" who is messin' with that country's oil supply, and is obviously just askin' for an ass-kickin'. The designers of the new game, Pandemic Studios, say that the video game is purely for entertainment purposes. Sounds like good clean fun.
Some Venezuelan politicians aren't terribly pleased about this particular game. Can't imagine why. It's not like the military would ever use the medium of entertainment to encourage kids to see how "cool" it is to take out bad guys like tyrannical dictators who won't play "fair". Pandemic also has this offering for those who like their "entertainment" super real.
Full Spectrum Warrior:
Based on a game commissioned by the U.S. Army to train light infantry in tactical urban combat, Full Spectrum Warrior is one of the most visceral, high-stakes military simulations ever created.
Spend a day in the boots of an elite 301st Light Infantry soldier, with a deadly arsenal of weapons and authentic military technology at your disposal. Deploy your Alpha and Bravo teams and guide them through bombed-out buildings and rubble-strewn back alleys. Make split-second tactical decisions and engage in intense close-quarters combat with a ruthless and unpredictable enemy force. Employ actual U.S. Army combat techniques and lead your squad to victory in missions based on real conflicts around the world...
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U.S. Comes Under Increasing Pressure To Close Gitmo
And President Bush has reserved a right to interpret his powers as commander-in-chief as he sees fit, which is taken to mean that in extreme circumstances (for example, in the questioning of a suspect with knowledge of an impending attack) the provision might be ignored.
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A Clueless And Arrogant View Of The War
Congessman Dana Rohrabacher (R-California) appeared on a recent episode of Real Time With Bill Maher. His comments about the Iraq war were a perfect illustration of the clueless yet arrogant approach that has characterized the tragic debacle from the beginning.
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Bush Administration Is Spying On Reporters
An entry posted Monday evening on The Blotter, an ABC News blog, by investigative reporters Brian Ross and Richard Esposito, reports that, "The FBI acknowledged late Monday that it is increasingly seeking reporters' phone records in leak investigations. 'It used to be very hard and complicated to do this, but it no longer is in the Bush administration,' said a senior federal official."
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The NSA Phone Record Controversy Is Just The Beginning
The NSA phone record controversy is growing as new revelations have surfaced about just how extensive the secret government program has become.
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Egypt Violently Cracks Down On Protesters Demanding More Democracy
Last December, for the first time, the government tolerated protesters chanting anti-Mubarak slogans. But it has shown no tolerance for protesters backing the judges. That has put the United States, which considers Egypt one of its closest allies in the region and gives it nearly $2 billion annually in aid, in an awkward position. But, faced with huge challenges in the region - from Iran to Sudan - the United States has appeared to back off on putting pressure on Egypt over its domestic policies.
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U.S. Newborns Have High Mortality Rate
Still, the U.S. should be doing more to help women take care of their health before they start families, Green said. Increased attention to family planning and maintaining adequate time between births also reduces the risk of newborn deaths, she said.
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Will Latin America Be "Allowed" To Continue Its Move to The Left?
Latin Americans have suffered at the hands of foreign companies, foreign governments and their own self-interested leaders whose only goals have been to reap tremendous profits with little regard for the people who are being exploited and the environment which has been devastated.
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The President Makes 'Em Laugh While Major Combat Operations Continue Three Years Later
If only Bush''s high-flown rhetoric had turned out to be true. What a relief it would have been for Iraq and America alike. Unfortunately, as we all know by now, his words were just more wishful thinking.
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Egypt Faces Decisions About Free Trade Or State Control
The Egyptian government is very interested in an F.T.A. with the U.S. because the benefits to such an agreement could prove striking for Egypt. The International Institute of Economics calculated that a bilateral trade agreement between Egypt and the United States could increase Egypt's GDP by almost 3 percent. The United States' main objective is to advance its political agenda of democratization, which it hopes will spread across the region.
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Bolivia's President Evo Morales Sends In Soldiers To Take Control Of Natural Gas Fields
It comes as Ecuador argues with Washington over a new oil royalties law and less than a month after Chavez ordered the seizure of oil fields from Total and Italy's Eni SpA when the companies failed to comply with a government demand that operations be turned over to Venezuela's state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA.
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What To Do With FEMA Before The Next Disaster Strikes
In the wake of the Katrina debacle some members of congress are proposing a massive overhaul of FEMA but others, including the White House say that since hurricane season is almost upon us now is not the time to start making major changes.
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Health Insurance Woes Spreading To Middle Income Families
The study estimates that 48 million Americans lack health insurance. Of those, two-thirds are in families in which at least one person works full time, the study says.
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See The Film "About Baghdad" To Really Understand How Iraqis Feel About The War
One of the best pieces of media we’ve seen on Iraq is “About Baghdad”, a terrific documentary made in 2003 by the InCounter Collective.
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Bridesmaids And Bombs In Baghdad
Yesterday we spoke with a group of young bridesmaids in Baghdad who were preparing their cousin for her wedding. Traditionally, weddings in Iraq are held at night, often beginning close to midnight and continuing until early morning.
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The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range
One of the watchwords of our present time is "sacrifice". The current administration savors that word and uses it often in speeches to stir emotions and steel the citizenry for more bloodshed. More soldiers will "sacrifice their lives for a noble cause" -- so expect more flag-draped coffins to return to our soil (without being photographed, of course).
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Energy Consumers And Producers Meet For Oil Forum
The last time the forum met, in Amsterdam in May 2004, importers were complaining that oil cost $40 a barrel and many believed $50 would see world economic growth grind to a halt.
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Ahmadinejad Gives The West His Own Version Of "Bring 'Em On"
The war of words heats up as Iran's President Ahmadinejad reminds the West that he has something they want: oil. The battle rhetoric between America and Iran has already sent oil prices skyrocketing.
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Berlusconi Won't Let Go Of The Big Time
Premier Silvio Berlusconi is another player on the world stage who is digging in his heels. His refusal to concede that he has been ousted fair and square is causing consternation in Italy.
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Rumsfeld Holds Firm While Serving The President "At His Pleasure"
With President Bush firmly backing him again, Rumsfeld appears to have weathered the latest storm - six retired generals demanding his ouster and accusing him of disregarding military advice, ruling by intimidation and making strategic blunders.
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Berlusconi Refuses To Concede Despite Judges Ruling
Berlusconi has made no public comments since the court's announcement Wednesday that Prodi, a former premier and European Union chief, won the lower house by 24,755 votes - a margin virtually unchanged from the one previously announced. The court made the announcement after a review of contested ballots.
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Ahmadinejad Reminds West Of His Biggest Weapon--Oil
"Ahmadinejad is trying to show his muscle so that the Bush administration can realize the consequences on the oil market of further confrontation with Iran," Orwel said, adding that he fully expected Iran to threaten to cut off oil supplies if the confrontation with the West continued.
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Conservatives Say Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalists James Risen and Eric Lichtblau Should Be In Prison
Remember, these are the people who think that they are elevated and pure enough to invade other countries in order to teach the repressed masses about democracy and freedom. They endlessly tout their own patriotism and crusades for freedom while agitating for the imprisonment of journalists who publish stories that reflect poorly on their leader. On countless fronts, they are on the precipice of dismantling every defining value and principle of liberty we have.
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Rumsfeld Accused Of Being Criminally Liable For Torture Of Gitmo Detainee
Gen. Schmidt said that Secretary Rumsfeld was "talking weekly" with Gen. Miller about the al-Qahtani interrogation, and that the secretary of defense was “personally involved in the interrogation of (this) one person." Schmidt’s statement indicates that Rumsfeld maintained a high level of knowledge of and supervision over al-Qahtani’s treatment. Although Schmidt said that he believed that Rumsfeld did not specifically order the more abusive methods used in the al-Qahtani interrogation, he concluded that Rumsfeld’s policies facilitated the abuse.
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Ken Saro-Wiwa, Was Killed For His Belief In Justice For Nigerians
The escalating violence in Nigeria has begun to capture the attention of the world. News coverage of the region has been increasing and people are beginning to wonder if Nigeria is about to explode into yet another terrorist flashpoint tied to oil.
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RAF Officer Malcolm Kendall-Smith Says No To Iraq And Becomes A Prisoner Of Conscience
"Iraq was the only reason I could not follow the order to deploy. As a commissioned officer, I am required to consider every order given to me. Further, I am required to consider the legality of such an order not only as to its effect on domestic but also international law. I was subjected, as was the entire population, to propaganda depicting force against Iraq to be lawful. I have studied in very great depth the various commentaries and briefing notes, including one prepared by the Attorney General, and in particular the main note to the PM dated 7 March 2003."
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ManticEye Iraq: Accounts Of The Dangers Ordinary Citizens Face Each Day
In Their Own Words: Iraqis speak about the hardships they face in their daily lives. Each account has been translated from Arabic.
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Baghdad Burning Blogger Nominated For Non-Fiction Prize
Unabashedly biased towards what? Iraq? One thing that bothers me is that many people equate being anti-occupation with anti-American. I am not anti-American - I know many wonderful Americans and correspond and communicate with them regularly. I am, however, anti-occupation.
I don't wish for the "days of Saddam", if that's what you're asking. I am, however, completely against the presence of foreign troops in Iraq.
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Iranian Women Attacked By Security Forces At Women's Day Rally
The attack took place shortly after activities began. According to witnesses, plainclothes agents, anti-riot police and Revolutionary Guardsmen first surrounded the park. Within minutes, after agents had photographed and videotaped the gathering, the police told the crowd to disperse. In response, the participants began to sing the anthem of the women's rights movement, one participant told Human Rights Watch.
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Climate Scientists Feel The Chill Under Bush Administration
"There has been a change in how we're expected to interact with the press," said Pieter Tans, who measures greenhouse gases linked to global warming and has worked at NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder for two decades. He added that although he often "ignores the rules" the administration has instituted, when it comes to his colleagues, "some people feel intimidated -I see that."
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ManticEye Iraq: Reports From Doctor Zayed In Baghdad (Part One)
Doctor Zayed is a surgeon as well as a professor who has lived in Baghdad for most of his life. He is known for his kindness and generosity and his willingness to treat those in need for free. He has lived through all of the upheavals in Iraq.
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ManticEye Iraq: First-Hand Report Of Being Jailed And Tortured In The Ministry Of The Interior
Late last year the abuse of prisoners who were being kept in the Iraqi Interior Ministry came to light. It was reported that the detainees were malnourished and many appeared to have been tortured.
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Why America Once Was The Taliban's Biggest Financial Supporter
The war on drugs has become our own fanatics' obsession and easily trumps all other concerns. How else could we come to reward the Taliban, who has subjected the female half of the Afghan population to a continual reign of terror in a country once considered enlightened in its treatment of women?
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A Reminder Of Our Past Friendship With The Taliban
Ever since the invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan has become something of an afterthought in the daily news.
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Edited Transcripts From Trade Center Are Released
Just before the south tower collapsed at 9:59 A.M., a spurt of calls reached the 911 operators. One of these was from Shimmy Biegeleisen, who worked for Fiduciary Trust in the south tower on computer systems. He was on the 97th floor where, by chance, an emergency drill had been scheduled for that day. Mr. Biegeleisen called his home in Brooklyn, spoke with his wife and prayed with a friend, Jack Edelman, who remembered hearing him say: “Of David. A Psalm. The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world and those that live in it.”
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Journalist Jill Carroll Is Freed After Being Held Captive For Nearly Three Months
She is also one of many journalists the world over who prove their commitment to a free media by putting their lives on the line to report from dangerous places.
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Baghdad Becoming A Killing Ground As Death Squads Target Civilians
Pace, a Maltese-Australian who has now retired, said the constant violence and lack of security in Iraq were creating a vicious circle in which ordinary citizens were turning to extremist sectarian groups for protection.
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More than 170 Prisoners Found Starved And Beaten In Iraq Interior Ministry
US military sources said troops were shocked when they came across the prisoners, some of whom showed the marks of beatings and looked like they had not been fed well for weeks. "It's not what we expected, we were looking for a 15-year-old boy," a soldier from the US 3rd Infantry Division, the Baghdad-based force which conducted the raid, told Reuters.
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Police Regularly Beat And Sexually Abuse Transgender People In Kathmandu
This is the latest incident in a violent police campaign to "cleanse" Kathmandu of those considered undesirable. Police regularly assault and in some cases sexually abuse transgender people, all in the name of enforcing "moral values."
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"Our Patience Is Growing Thin" US Senators Tell Iraqi Leaders
The U.S. delegation also voiced alarm about increasing sectarian violence in Iraq showing itself in the daily count of drive-by shootings, bombings and dumped corpses, victims of execution-style killings in the shadowy Shiite-Sunni settling of scores.
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Massive Demonstrations Against Proposed Tough Immigration Law
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that would make it a felony to be in the U.S. illegally, impose new penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants and erect fences along one-third of the U.S.-Mexican border.
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Hospitals Are Dumping The Poor Who Are Sick On Skid Row Streets.
In addition, LAPD officials have said that they often see people with hospital wristbands on skid row, often appearing ill and sometimes wearing colostomy bags.
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Appalling Revelations Surface In Audit Of Iraq Reconstruction Efforts
The first US government audit of reconstruction efforts in Iraq revealed a shocking tale of corruption and incompetence that is almost too disturbing to read.
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Global Warming Is Having Major Effect On Structures Around The World
At other remote catastrophe sites, Lewkowicz has documented a bizarre situation in which thin permafrost sits atop unfrozen sand containing groundwater under pressure. The system is stable until the icy overlay gets slushy. The whole mess then gives way.
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The Basque Separatist Group ETA Lay Down Their Arms to Try Democratic Process
"I can't believe it!" said Carmen Marichalar, 53, a Madrid tourism office official. "I think it's brilliant. Now they can negotiate and bring an end to this terrorism which has gone on for so long in Spain."
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Rejoicing As Captive Peacemakers Are Freed After Four Months
The soldiers found the three men, all members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams organisation, which opposed the Iraq war, tied up together in a room. There was no sign of those who had held them captive and murdered their colleague, 54-year-old American Tom Fox.
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Running Foreign Policy Like A Big Game Of "Risk"
With the landslide victory of Hamas, American policy makers are scratching their heads over the rising tide of Islamist power players in Muslim countries whose agendas diverge sharply from that of the West.
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The Life And Tragic Death Of "Alan" Jill Carroll's Interpreter
During the sanctions, Iraq was virtually cut off from the outside world.We had maybe four or five local tv stations and it was only during the later years that the internet became more popular. Alan was one of those links with the outside world. Walking into Alan's shop was like walking into a sort of transitional other world.
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The Suffering Of The Ordinary Iraqi By Jill Carroll
Near the site of the first bomb, the back window of a car was blown out and lay on the ground littered with twisted black metal. A yellow decal on the cracked window read in Arabic: "In the name of God the compassionate, the merciful." The opening line of the first chapter of the Koran was meant to protect the car's owner.
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How The Occupation Betrays The People Of Iraq
After our hospitals were bombed and looted, millions of dollars were given to contractors to repair them. We suggested that this money be used to buy things that we urgently need, but the contractors refused and instead bought furniture and flowers and superficial things.
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Going On Year Four: Bush Insists That America Will Be Victorious
Bush's address comes at a time when confidence in the administration's Iraq strategy appears to have reached a new low. A Washington Post-ABC News poll this month found that 65 percent of Americans think Bush has no plan for victory, while 35 percent -- the lowest level ever recorded by the poll -- think he does.
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Chertoff Outlines New Plans For Extensive Security Upgrades
The U.S. government is working to make sometimes frustrating airport security checks less time-consuming. Yet there is no perfect security, Chertoff acknowledged. "If everybody had to go on the plane naked, I guess that would be perfect security," he quipped.
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Adding Up The Number Of Innocents Killed In War
In 2000, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) published a survey which showed the war in Democratic Republic of Congo was the deadliest since World War Two, with around 1.7 million people killed by violence or war-related disease and hunger.
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George W. Bush Sticks to His Preemptive Guns
Bush outlined the preemptive force doctrine in 2002 and many critics believe he used it as a framework for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq three years ago over weapons of mass destruction that were never found.
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San Diego Woman, Linda Laroca, Alleges She Was Fired For Air America Bumper Sticker
During the brief encounter, Laroca charges, the manager pointed to the bumper sticker ---- the only one on Laroca's car ---- and remarked that it was a new sticker and called it "that Al Franken left-wing radical radio station.
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Neoconservatives Beginning To Admit They Were Wrong About Iraq
Finally, there was the blatant contradiction between the neocons' aversion to government meddling at home and their childlike faith in their ability to impose massive social engineering in foreign and utterly unfamiliar countries like Iraq. Thence sprang the mistakes of the occupation period.
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Peace Activist Tom Fox Found Dead In Baghdad
Iraqi police found the body near a railway line late Thursday afternoon. The U.S. State Department said on Friday it had notified Fox's family in Virginia to break the news of his death.
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Milosevic- the Butcher Of The Balkans- Found Dead In His Cell
Milosevic was charged with 66 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo as he sought to carve out a "Greater Serbia" as Yugoslavia broke up in the 1990s. He dismissed the trial and refused to plead.
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Modern Chinese Are Increasingly Turning to Spirituality
Amelie Yu met her guru in Qinghai Province, and says Buddhism saved her from suicide. In despair, she had traveled to Qinghai and made a vow to become a Buddhist just so she could visit Tibetan temples for free. She then planned to kill herself. But while visiting the Za Er Temple in Qinghai, she had an awakening.
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New February Video Shows Norman Kember And Other Peace Activists Are Still Alive
More than 200 foreigners and thousands of Iraqis have been kidnapped since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Fifty-four foreign hostages are known to have been killed by their captors.
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Bungling Bush Has Run Out Of Political Capital
This is a presidency coming unraveled before our eyes. It is not a pretty sight, and it is not good for the country. What a difference a year makes. After his re-election, Bush said that he would use his political capital.
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New Report On Global Warming Warns Of Extreme Temperature Change
If we continue to burn fossil fuels at current rates, levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will reach 550 ppm (parts per million) - double pre-industrial levels - by around 2050. The most recent IPCC report, published in 2001, said this would increase global temperatures by between 1.4 and 5.8C by 2100, and that sea levels would rise by between 0.09 and 0.88 metres.
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Not Interested In TV On Their Phones Say Users
According to a survey conducted by RBC Capital Markets, about 75 percent of roughly 1,000 people polled said they had no interest in watching TV on their cell phones. And about 70 percent said they didn't see themselves using their cell phones for musical entertainment.
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Palestinian Women Question How Their Lives Will Change Under Hamas
The great majority of Palestinians are Muslims, and many will be comfortable with talk of enhancing the influence of Islam. And particularly in more conservative Gaza, Hamas is moving very much with the prevailing social grain.
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Video Shows Warnings About Hurrican Katrina Were Ignored By Bush
The suffering of thousands of people in the Superdome in subsequent days was to become a symbol of the Government failures to respond and of the abandonment of the mainly poor, black people of New Orleans.
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Poll Of Troops And Public Shows Disillusionment With Iraq War
The face-to-face survey of 944 military respondents, whose names and specific locations were withheld for security reasons, is the latest in a series of polls showing a continued erosion of support for the Iraq war, as well as for Bush himself.
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Removing Saddam A Mistake Say Many But 74% Of Iraqis Say It Was Right
The removal of Saddam Hussein in 2003 is seen as a mistake in 21 countries, compared with 11 countries where more people view it as the right decision. Three countries are divided.
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"Free Trade" Matters More Than Security To Bush Administration
How much does "free" trade have to do with this? How about a lot. The Bush administration is in the middle of a two-year push to ink a corporate-backed "free" trade accord with the UAE.
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The Future Of Democracy In The Former Soviet States
After years of consolidation of authoritarian or semi-authoritarian regimes in the former Soviet states, citizens are pushing back against their rulers, in some cases roundly turning them out.
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Nigerian Court Tells Royal Dutch Shell to Pay For Devastation
The oil wealth has long been a source of tension in southern Nigeria, where communities say they see too little benefit and bear too much burden.
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Newswoman Atwar Bahjat Killed During Massive Sectarian Violence In Iraq
A total of 82 journalists and media assistants have been killed since the start of the Iraq war in March 2003, including seven this year, according to a Reporters Without Borders Count.
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Attack On Askariya May Ignite Civil War In Iraq
"The war could really be on now,'' says Abu Hassan, a Shiite street peddler who declined to give his full name. "This is something greater and more symbolic than attacks on people. This is a strike at who we are."
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Anger In Muslim World Over Destruction Of Holy Shrine
The bombing of the shrine, which contains the tombs of two revered Shiite imams – both descendants of the Prophet Mohammed – was the third major attack against Shiite targets in as many days.
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Energy Budget At Odds With "Renewable" Promises
Critics of the administration's energy policies say Bush's proposals are modest, and that the president is promoting renewable energy because polls show his job approval numbers are being weighed down by American's concern about high utility bills and the price of gasoline.
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Nigerian Rebels Launch Wave Of Attacks Against Shell Oil
The militants say they are fighting for more autonomy, a greater share of oil wealth and compensation for environmental degradation for the impoverished region's estimated 8 million Ijaw people. The area's largest tribe accuses the government and oil companies of cheating it of wealth produced on its land.
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Programs For Disadvantaged College-Bound Kids Get The Axe
Supporters of the college-prep programs say that it does no good to get the teens ready for college academically if they have no help actually getting into college and paying for it.
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Healthcare Problems Are Crippling United States
The rest of us would like to have a government that cares enough about our people to protect us from greedy self-interests when we are sick and vulnerable or elderly or impoverished.
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Venezuela's Oil Bonanza Is Bringing The Country Big Benefits
The driving force behind Venezuela's spending spree is the desire to integrate South America's energy sector, to become more self-sufficient and less dependent on the United States as a trading partner. The Venezuelan government says the overriding goal is economic integration for Latin America.
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US Rejects UN calls for Guantanamo Bay Closure
The 54-page report summarizing an investigation by five UN experts, accused the United States of practices that "amount to torture" and demanded detainees be allowed a fair trial or be freed. The panel, which had sought access to Guantanamo Bay since 2002, refused a US offer for three experts to visit the camp in November after being told they could not interview detainees.
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Worst Drought In Years Devastates East Africa
Across east Africa, hundreds of people, and tens of thousands of livestock, are believed to have died from hunger and thirst since the drought began in late 2005.
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Oil In Canadian Sand Bodes Ill For Environment
This future isn't a pretty sight. Just north of the oil boomtown of Fort McMurray, the forest suddenly falls away into a series of enormous strip mines as deep as 250 feet and covering many square miles each.
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Bird Flu Spreading Quickly According To New Research
Wild swans have tested positive for H5N1 in Italy and Greece in the past few days. Twenty-two wild swans with the virus were found dead in three southern regions of Italy, according to a story posted by the United Kingdom's news.telegraph web site. Reports late last week said three swans in Greece's Thessaloniki and Pieria areas had tested positive.
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United Nations Investigation Of Gitmo Finds Torture, Violation Of Rights
The US is holding about 500 people at Guantanamo on suspicion of links to al-Qaeda or the old Taleban regime in Afghanistan. It has filed charges against only ten of the detainees.
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Will Birds Be The First To Go?
Officials urged citizens not to panic over the findings while pointing out that all the previous cases of human infection had been linked with domestic poultry, not wild birds.
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India Works Toward Real Equality For Its People
The new amendment cuts to the heart of a critical debate about how best to bring about social mobility within India's rising economy: should the government legislate in favor of social justice, or should it limit its role to facilitating private enterprise?
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Strong Warning About ADHD Drugs
Adderall, a stimulant used to treat ADHD, already carries a black box warning about possible cardiovascular side effects; the advisory panel recommended a similar warning be added to Ritalin, Concerta, Methylin and Metadate. While not binding, the advisory panels' recommendations usually are followed.
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Bears To Bush: "Help!"
The bears are vulnerable to climate change because they depend entirely on the polar ice to catch seals, their main prey. The seals swim too fast in open water, and so bears have to lie in wait for them to surface for air through holes and cracks in the ice.
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The Reverend Joseph Lowery Spoke Truth To Power At Corretta Scott King's Funeral
A big deal was made about the pointed remarks aimed at President Bush's policies at Coretta Scott King's funeral. Bush attended, gave a well-received speech and then heard remarks that were most likely uncomfortable for him to sit through.
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The Con Artist Who Ran Reconstruction Efforts In South-Central Iraq
One of the key players in the reconstruction debacle of South-Central Iraq is Robert J. Stein Jr., also known as "The Scum Of The Earth".
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US Audit Shows Iraqi Reconstruction Money Squandered
The audits offer a window into the chaotic U.S.-led occupation of Iraq of 2003-04, when inexperienced American officials - including workers from President Bush's election campaign - organized a cash-intensive "hearts and minds" mission to rebuild Iraq's devastated economy.
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Media Freedom In Iraq May Incite Sectarian Violence
"Some channels air talk-shows which host personalities and receive phone calls inciting sectarian hatred. Their effect is more risky than carrying arms."
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