Anti-War Group Says McClellan Should Not Profit From Book

From The Washington Times:

"The liberal anti-war group MoveOn.org today launched a petition drive calling on former White House official Scott McClellan to donate the proceeds of his book to veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan..."

One of Brazil's Last Remaining Uncontacted Tribes Discovered in Amazon

"Survival International said the Indians are in danger from illegal logging in Peru, which is driving tribes over the border and could lead to conflict with the estimated 500 uncontacted Indians now living on the Brazilian side.

"There are more than 100 uncontacted tribes worldwide, most of them in Brazil and Peru, the group said in a statement."

From CBS News

A Remarkable Feature on Re-Thinking Media Depiction of African Poverty

This is one you won't find anywhere else. Check it out from "Brave New Traveler", gives a break-down of what's down like you've never seen before. Including a look at modern day Liberia, the place we, as Americans, encouraged African-Americans to go at one point. Disturbing. We think gas and food prices are bad...although Liberia is, undobtedly, a topic open for much discussion.

Global Cluster Bomb Ban Approved

A draft treaty was entered Wed. in Dublin. The U.S. opposes the elimination of the weapons, which often fail to detonate and are gruesomely discovered by curious children and other innocents many years later:

From Reuters UK

U.N. Report on Food Crisis Calls for Action

From the New York Times:

"...Food prices have soared since 2006, prompting discontent across the globe and, in some instances, rioting. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s index of food prices increased 24 percent in 2007 compared with the previous year, and 53 percent in the first three months of 2008.

"While noting that price spikes in agricultural markets were not uncommon, the report suggested that the current run-up in prices was different because it had lasted longer and affected nearly all major food and feed commodities, instead of just a few crops. It predicted that higher food prices would continue but was vague on how long the higher prices would last..."

Assembly in Nepal Abolishes Monarchy

From the AP:

"KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The main palace in Nepal's capital lowered the flag of the country's royal family Thursday, a day after lawmakers, led by former communist insurgents, abolished the monarchy that had reigned over the Himalayan land for 239 years..."

Assembly in Nepal Abolishes Monarchy

From the AP: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i7r1pF1wwyRn2PaqU6DsZFzTzODAD90V99V00

Federal Study Connects Lead Exposure to Criminal Behavior

The study was begun in 1979, with pregnant women living in impovrished areas of Cincinnat known to have high lead levels in buildings. This is disturbing as hell. Building owners should face criminal charges for maintaining, (or not, as the case may be), places that are so unsafe.

lead study

Explains a lot about the behavior of the Romans.

Former White House Press Secretary Calls War Unneccessary, Along With Some Other Choice Remarks About Bush

"According to published reports, Scott McClellan writes that Bush relied on an aggressive "political propaganda campaign" instead of the truth to sell the Iraq war. McClellan reportedly concludes that the war "was not necessary."

From KXMB.com:

former Press Sec. criticizes Bush

his new book

Majority of CA Voters Support Gay Marriage

From "Mercury News"

Long Island Businessman Testifies that he Gave Israeli Prime Minister Over $100,000.00

Olmert might be out over this: corruption case

Danger! Artists in All Mediums, Work Stop the Orphan Works Bill

From our friend Molly Crabapple's blog: "What the Orphan Works bill says is that, unless you've paid to register the copyright for your work on (as yet undefined) directories, your work no longer belongs to you. Your snapshots, your drawings, your songs, can all be used by big corporations without compensation or consent. What it'll do is force creative professionals to yank our work offline, for fear that it will be stolen. We won't be able to let fans post our work (this makes it eligible for orphaning). We won't be able to promote ourselves. It will ruin many careers."

Molly's Blog

But hey, just think how much fun Time Warner will have if it passes, along with others like them. Why pay artists when you can just steal what you want from the internet?

For more about the Orphan Works Bill, posted by one of her friends:

Orphan Bill

To sign a petition to stop the Bill: Petition

Sara Macias Vasquez, Mother of Best-selling Author, Don Miguel Ruiz, Departed this Life May 22, 2008

The mother of Toltec Shaman and best-selling author, Don Miguel Ruiz, passed away on Thursday. Ruiz is perhaps best known for his book, "The Four Agreements". His mother, Sara Macias Vasquez, ("Mother Sarita), was widely recognized as a powerful, gifted healer. If you're so inclined, meditate for a few minutes in her memory, and/or on her motto, "Yes, it is possible".

From Don Miguel's site: "Mother Sarita was inducted into the San Diego Women's History Museum and Educational Center in 2007 in recognition of a life filled with generosity. She was a powerful presence who lived in service to all who needed her, without condition."

Our MySpace page includes a video of Don Miguel discussing reality and illusion, along with footage of a sacred Toltec site in memorium.

I had the pleasure of interviewing him some time ago and our discussion, along with reviews of several of his books, are linked to here. (Scroll down past the blog and you'll see it listed in the interviews section, his books in the book reviews section.

Please do take the time to learn more about these remarkable people. His main site is here.

Mandela on U.S. Terrorist Watch List

This has gotten COMPLETELY out of control: http://www. usatoday. com/news/world/2008-04-30-watchlist_N. htm

Drug Lords Lay Down the Line for Soldiers and Police in Mexico

From "Yahoo News":

By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer
Sun May 18, 2:09 PM ET

"CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - Drug cartels are sending a brutal message to police and soldiers in cities across Mexico: Join us or die.

"The threat appears in recruiting banners hung across roadsides and in publicly posted death lists. Cops get warnings over their two-way radios. At least four high-ranking police officials were gunned down this month, including Mexico's acting federal police chief...

"..."It's almost like a military fight," said Jayson Ahern, the deputy commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. "I don't think that generally the American public has any sense of the level of violence that occurs on the border."

the rest of the story

Ok - this is our BORDER and there are now, officially NO POLICE IN MEXICO WTF? And all the soldiers are in Iraq and Afghanistan and none dealing with this issue because...why?

Viva la North American Union my ass.

Mass Murders in Korea Hidden in the 50's

It's astonishing how effectively paralyzing fear can be. From "Yahoo News": the rest of the story

Speaking of the Drive-By Truckers, an Interview With Patterson Hood

From the "Aquarium Drunkard" blog: Patterson Hood tells it like it is

Moonshine Songs

Check the "Y Raddish Playlist" for today:

Moonshine Medley

Including "Where the Devil Don't Stay" by the Drive-By Truckers, recently met, discussed and then re-visited in the blog on our MySpace site by your host here.

Robo-Soldiers?

There's a robotic "exoskeleton" now, made of aluminum and electronics that multiplies strength and endurance as many as 20 times.

From CNN.com: I Robot

Police Use Force to Break Up Wesleyan Party

On the one hand, there were 200 students who reportedly refused to break up the party. Don't know how many police there were. But setting dogs on college kids?


It ain't 4 dead in CT but still:

Wesleyan & Cops Gone Wild

Bush Tells Mideast They Need More Freedom

So do we Herr Presidante. How about bringing back a little old thing called the Constitution?

From CNN.com: heil

I mean, sure, who doesn't need more freedom. But please - hi pot, I'm kettle...

oh wait, he only inhales through his nose.

Sorry, letting more of the attitude out than usual - just makes me in a bad mood. Kind of like going to the grocery store or gas station does these days, or listening to the impossible time my cousin's having selling her house.

Back to Bush and the Mideast, he's not answering questions from reporters while there: Bush's apparant vow of silence

No More Funding for Iraq War for a Year but There's a Catch

From Reuters:
By Richard Cowan

"WASHINGTON, May 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives, in a surprise and largely symbolic move, defeated legislation on Thursday to fund the war in Iraq for another year.

"But it also sent the Senate a controversial troop withdrawal plan that will give that chamber an opportunity to restore the money for waging the conflict, which is deeply unpopular with the public..."


war spending priority

Rob O'Connors List of the Day, 10 Performers Who Won't be Changing Their Stage Names any Time Soon

These include Gene Simmons--Chaim Witz and Iggy Pop--James Newell Osterberg, Jr.

Check it out:

the song may remain the same but the name had to change

So Much for the Economic Stimulus

1,500 checks sent to the wrong people and 350,000 people not getting correctly credited for children.

I'm soooo surprised. Now, if we made that kind of mistake on our taxes, we'd get thrown in jail.

From "Yahoo News": no taxation without re-imbursation

California Supreme Court Overturns Ban on Gay Marriage

From "Yahoo News":

"Same-sex couples could tie the knot in as little as a month. But the window could close soon after — religious and social conservatives are pressing to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would undo the Supreme Court ruling and ban gay marriage..."

how long will it last this time

Country Legend Eddie Arnold Dies

Last Thursday, following the death of his wife of 66 years a few months ago.

From "EFluxmedia":

"Eddy Arnold gave dignity and respect to country music at a time when it was referred to as ’hillbilly music,'" Cusic said. "The story of country music is, in many ways, the story of a fight for respect. Eddy Arnold gave it respect; he made you proud to be a country fan."

R.I.P.

R. Kellys' Child Pornography Trial Began May 9

From Eflux Media: "Kelly, 41, pleaded not guilty to charges that he videotaped himself having sex with a girl as young as 13."

R. Kelly Trial

53 Illegal Immigrants Detained By Suspected Smugglers in Phoenix

The smugglers are demanding more money -

talk about smugglers blues. Detainees include 2 13 year old girls and a mentally disabled man.

"Smugglers wanted an average of $2,500 for each person's release.

"The single-family home where they were kept had been fortified to prevent escape and weapons were seized at the location. The suspected smugglers also took away the immigrants' shoes so they couldn't run off...

"Authorities on the scene said the immigrants had little food and water and it was unclear how long they had been held inside the house.

"Because the undocumented aliens are held in fortified rooms and do not have access to watches, clocks, telephones, televisions, etc, so when they are interviewed, many do not have a true sense of time and whether hours, days or weeks have passed..."

From the AP: smugglers blues ain't no joke

New, New Inglewood Blues: Police Kill Innocent Passenger, Wound Driver

Reportedly, they believed (they being the police), they were under fire but but no weapons were found and no one has been charged.

Including the police, presumably.

"Police Sgt. Dennis Brown later said the patrol car had not been hit by gunfire. Investigators initially indicated that the incident might have been gang-related, but later said the three men were not suspected gang members.

"At a small vigil for Byoune on Sunday night, his mother, Jackie Roberts, 55, said her son had never been to jail and was not involved in violence or gangs.

"Right now it's Mother's Day. Last year on Mother's Day he was there for me. Now he's not here and I won't see him no more," she said."

From the "LA Times": happy mother's day

Tough Love Backfires

A father had his son jailed, thinking the resultant rehab would help him but he was then severely beaten when a guard left his post - other inmates jumped on his head from third teir bunks. He's left with permenant brain damage.

"Sonia Mercado, the McNamaras' attorney, argued in court papers that jailers never should have put the nonviolent low-risk offender in with violent gang members of another race. She also accused the deputy who was assigned to the area where the beating occurred of improperly "abandoning his post."

From the LA Times: (insert something that rhymes here) tough love

I have a feeling tough love backfires a lot. I don't think jail ever helped anyone. Think before you clink.

Hundreds of Tibetan Women Arrested in Nepal

From CNN.com:

"Police in Nepal arrested more than 500 Tibetan protesters, nearly all of them women, on Sunday before what was to be the first all-female rally against China's actions in Tibet.

"Nepalese police officers detain Tibetan exiles participating in a silent peace march.

"A senior police officer said the protesters were arrested for carrying the Tibetan flag and wearing head bands that read "Free Tibet."

"Nepal's police have broken up almost all anti-China protests by Tibetan exiles during the past several weeks and detained participants...The United Nations and international rights groups have criticized Nepal for using what they say is excessive force to stop the protests, AP reported. Police have beaten people with batons and dragged them through the streets while detaining them."

appaling Nepal

Survivors of Disasters in Burma in Desperate Need of Aid

"So tired, tired of waiting..." Help has reached 1/3 of those who need it after cyclones hit Burma:

"On Sunday, Burmese TV said the death toll had risen to 28,458, while 33,416 were still missing after the cyclone.

"Aid agencies, however, estimate that 100,000 have died and warn that this figure could rise to 1.5 million without provision of clean water and sanitation...

"In the US, meanwhile, two senior campaigners for Republican presidential candidate John McCain have resigned over links with Burma's military government."

It's being called a humanitarian disaster.

Burma

And Burmese blog what's going down: first-hand accounts, live as it happens

Iraqi Man Sues U.S. for Torture

At Abu Ghraib, imagine...: torture

As U.S. Economy Goes Down the Drain, Exon Soars to Over 10 Billion

Goody goody for them: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1736554,00.html?iid=336x280_ad3nh

As Unemployment Worsens, So Does U.S. Health Care Crisis

And now it's getting ready to hit the children too. Oh well, guess the Gov't figures, as with so much Medicare scamming, that less people will create less of an unemployment problem.

From "Time":

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1737546,00.html?xid=rss-topstories

And you know, I'm noticing an unsettling trend. Have been for a while. Doctors are more and more frequently prescribing not what will work best for patients but what will make the most $. The most $ for pharmecutical companies = the most kickbacks I suppose.

For example, a friend had a car wreck a few weeks ago and I'm still recovering from one a year ago, (bad one). I had moved some heavy stuff and was having serious issues. So...we both went to the Dr.

He has insurance and paid $20. I don't and paid $80.

It was a good Dr. in theory. Cool, very intelligent guy who listened to what all the problems were, asked a lot of questions. Went to medical school in the Carribian. Good call.

So he determined that we both needed muscle relaxers. I told him my bizzarre reactions to a variety since the accident, down to serious stuff like my speech being all mixed up from one. I said that one and one only had worked and that one very well. And it wasn't Valium or anything class whatever with a high abuse, or any abuse potential.

He gave me something different anyway.

My friend was given what the Dr. first suggested to me but I him told had mde me very ill.

There is a great pharmacy here that reduces your Rx to the amount, or as close to it as they can, that it would be with insurance if you don't have it. (If only they all did that). So we go there.

Well, what the doctor had tried to push on me and had given my friend was $35 even though he has insurance, (which should guarantee that he pays, at most, $20 but there are a few drugs that fall outside of that).

That's not cool. And don't get me started on SSRI's, (most anti-depressants fall into this category). They do not treat anxiety as a general rule or when they do they don't neccessarily do it extremely well. But doctors are prescribing them rather than older, time-tested medications for anxiety disorders anyway. These also fall into categories that exceed what your insurance policy generally guarantees Rx will cost.

Sneaky and greedy.

Yet Another Big Surprise: Extreme Racial Inequality in Drug Arrests Persists

From the "New York Times":

http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/us/06disparities.html&OQ=_rQ3D1Q26refQ3Dus&OP=6524b3d0Q2F5Q2AQ26E5_L@GQ24LLQ7CQ3C5Q3CTTC5TW5Tn5sG5Tn_qGRQ2FQ24qQ7CqQ26Gp3Q7CMu

A New Threat in Iraq: Faulty Wiring is Electrocuting Soldiers

From the "New York Times":

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/world/middleeast/04electrocute.html?em&ex=1210132800&en=5070918b8c8d2951&ei=5087%0A

Immigrants Dying in Custody - Little Known About the Details

From the "New York Times":

Example:

"Word spread quickly inside the windowless walls of the Elizabeth Detention Center, an immigration jail in New Jersey: A detainee had fallen, injured his head and become incoherent. Guards had put him in solitary confinement, and late that night, an ambulance had taken him away more dead than alive.

"But outside, for five days, no official notified the family of the detainee."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/nyregion/05detain.html?em&ex=1210132800&en=96e9678322774201&ei=5087%0A

Congress Wants to Help Vets - Bush Wants the Money to Go to the War

Locking heads - big surprise. This is just disgusting: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/washington/06house.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin

Job Loss Worst it's Been in 5 Years

From CNN Money.com:

"Based on today's Employment Report, if we are not in a recession, it is a darned good imitation of one," said Kevin Giddis, managing director of fixed income at Morgan Keegan. "We are in an unprecedented real estate and credit crisis that is whipping its way through the U.S. economy like a Midwestern tornado."

"Job losses were widespread, reaching beyond the battered construction sector, which lost 39,000, and manufacturing, where job losses hit 52,000.

"Retailers cut 34,000 jobs.

"Temporary staffing firms cut nearly 28,000 from their payrolls, another warning sign of employers pulling back.

"Hotels cut about 4,000 jobs, a sign that discretionary consumer spending could be on the wane.

"Overall the private sector cut 101,000 jobs, with only a gain in government employment limiting losses.

"Job growth appears to have weakened across nearly every industry with the exception of health care and government," said Keith Hall, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics."

http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/07/news/economy/jobs_february/index.htm

1 in Every 194 U.S. Households Have Received a Foreclosure Filing

So not only are we facing escalating food and gas prices, but losing our places to live. Jolly. Land of the feed and home of the - oh wait, we're losing our homes, that's right.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/29/real_estate/foreclosures_still_rising/index.htm

Rioting World-Wide Over Food Shortages

Sooo...when is it going to hit here? I mean, if feul keeps rising and the trucks can't get the food around...

explain to me please, by the way, why our occupation of Iraq, where so much oil is, hasn't lowered gas prices?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/04/14/world.food.crisis/index.html

Hendrix Estate Disputes Sex Tape

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080502/ap_en_mu/people_jimi_hendrix;_ylt=Aj0oW7gbJGguNuJgRbmS30SVEhkF

15 Year Old Canadian Captured in Afghanistan to be tried at Guantanamo

For war crimes:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080502/wl_canada_nm/canada_guantanamo_canadian_col;_ylt=Aq55vqhP0Wqb75amxiz.qONvaA8F

10th Annual Marijuanna March in Downtown Toronto

The police let thousands be:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080503/wl_canada_nm/canada_marijuana_col;_ylt=AgAmziWX91Gxgknz8n6NZO9vaA8F

Deputy Premier of Malaysia and His Wife Implicated in Murder

Blogger who reports their speculated involvement in the murder of a Mongolian model raided. From Yahoo News:

"Last year Raja Petra was also questioned by police after posting material that drew allegations of insulting Islam and the king -- triggering condemnation from media watchdogs, which have accused Malaysia of suppressing press freedom."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080503/tc_afp/malaysiamongoliainternetcrimecensorship;_ylt=AoTyQBXkaAHkG91SMXRGWXlvaA8F

Shell Oil Installation Attacked in Nigeria

From the AP:

"Militants are stepping up attacks on oil infrastructure in Africa's biggest oil producer as one of their reputed leaders is put on trial for treason and terrorism, which carry a possible death penalty for conviction. Militants say they are agitating to force the federal government to send a greater share of the country's oil revenues to their region. The southern Niger Delta where Nigeria pumps its crude remains desperately impoverished, despite four decades of oil production in the area"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080503/ap_on_re_af/nigeria_oil_unrest;_ylt=At5hXmOybZrBf2SIO8r06NlvaA8F

It's World Press Freedom Day

And here's the condition free press's condition is in, from the AFP: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080503/ts_afp/mediarightsworld;_ylt=Alp4wWihdrvVqR.4gCAX6p1vaA8F

Innocent Man on Japan's Death Row?

From the AP:

"Iwao Hakamada, Japan's longest serving death row inmate, has insisted for 40 years that he is innocent of the four murders he was convicted of...Now the judge who wrote the ex-boxer's death sentence agrees...The case — and Kumamoto's stunning admission last year — has fixed an unprecedented spotlight on Japan's secretive criminal justice system, causing a stir in legal circles and raising questions about the death penalty in a country where it's rarely questioned."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080503/ap_on_re_as/japan_death_row_dilemma

"Minority Report" Becoming a Reality?

The bots may be coming soon per Discovery News:

"The five-year, $38 million Army Research Laboratory project combines industry, university, and defense expertise.

"Minority Report was probably one of the inspirations for this project," said William Devine of BAE Systems, the major partner in the project, known as the Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST) Collaborative Technology Alliance. "We've been showing the movie to our researchers to inspire them."

BAE and the other groups already have working microrobots and expect them to be ready for customized projects in 12 to 18 months."

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/05/02/army-tiny-robots.html

How Many Rock Stars are Going to get a DUI? Now Nickleback...

Of course, NONE of these people can afford a cab, or a driver, I mean, John Lennon always had somebody drive his drunken (wonderful) self around... honestly...http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080501/music_nm/nickelback_dc;_ylt=AoT0_rKHNcXI2onTUyFvvpiVEhkF

Second Columbian Drug Lord Captured

The twin: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080502/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/colombia_drug_lord;_ylt=AhxjwqXQREflLlfRmJtv4plvaA8F

Hundreds of Children in China May Have Been Sold to Factories

From Yahoo News: "The report said the children were "sold like cabbages" by their parents to gangs who in turn sold them off to employment agencies or directly to factories hundreds of miles from their homes."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/china_slavery;_ylt=AshLKOx5MrvL2SBUW0elf6aaK8MA

Last Surviving Member of Failed Plot to Kill Hitler Dies

Too bad it didn't work. RIP: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080502/ap_on_re_eu/obit_von_boeselager;_ylt=AqcavvL13HV5Il7WRMV9xq5vaA8F

10 U.S. Diplomats Expelled from Former Soviet Republic

From the "New York Times": “It’s an unwarranted and unjustified action,” Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman, said of the Belarussian move on Wednesday to expel the diplomats, who worked at the United States Embassy in Minsk. “It is something that is being done solely as a result of the United States’ support for democracy and human rights activists in Belarus.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/world/europe/02belarus.html?ref=world

No Free Speech in Fiji?

Austrailian publisher deported in what critics of Fiji's military government are calling an attack on free speech: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7379345.stm

From Dali Lama's Office: Envoys Leave for Talks With China

The first official contact between representatives of the Tibetan exiles and the Chinese government since protests in Tibet became violent in March:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h5Z6bJwtN_roGSIUQiQnfbf2NkhgD90DGBAO0

The Music of the Spheres

The Earth hums, though no one knows why or how and now new elements of the mysterious symphony have been discovered: http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/viewnews.php?id=124181

and...

A new method called 'geometrical musical theory' has been defined by professors: http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/viewnews.php?id=124107

Weather Modification May Soon Become a Reality

'Cloud seeding' technology, which may enable scientists to create 'stormy weather' is on it's way to becoming a reality:

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/viewnews.php?id=124533

Senate Passes Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act

So, we don't have to worry about the world turning to Gattica, (yet)...

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/viewnews.php?id=124720

Thousands of Immigration Rights Activists March

All over the U.S. but: "In Los Angeles, an estimated 8,000 people converged on City Hall. But the numbers were nowhere near the 500,000-strong showing in March 2006 that caught authorities off-guard and prompted activists to hail the start of a new civil rights movement." - Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0146621520080502