not that we need this

because i think we all already know they're doing a crappy job and are robbing us* blind, BUT if you want actual facts and data, here is a link to representative henry waxman's study (performed FOR him, not by him by the way) on

HELL-IBURTON

Halliburton’s Performance Worsens under Second Iraqi Oil Contract

Tuesday, March 28, 2006 -- Rep. Waxman releases the first analysis of Halliburton's RIO 2 contract to restore Iraq's southern oil fields. The examination of previously undisclosed correspondence, evaluations, and audits reveals that government officials and investigators have harshly criticized Halliburton’s performance under RIO 2. The documents disclose an "overwhelmingly negative" performance, including:

.......Exorbitant Costs: Halliburton was “accruing exorbitant indirect costs at a rapid rate.” Government officials concluded that Halliburton’s “lack of cost containment and funds management is the single biggest detriment to this program.” They found a “lack of cost control … in Houston, Kuwait, and Iraq.” In a partial review of the RIO 2 contract, DCAA auditors challenged $45 million in costs as unreasonable or unsupported. .......

........Refusal to Cooperate: Evaluations described Halliburton as “obstructive” with oversight officials. Despite the billions in taxpayer funds Halliburton has been paid, the company’s “leadership demonstrated minimal cooperative attitude resolving problems.” .........

UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM — MINORITY STAFF
SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION
MARCH 28, 2006
HALLIBURTON’S PERFORMANCE UNDER THE
RESTORE IRAQI OIL 2 CONTRACT


*the us is you and me NOT the bushwhacked administration. SOMEONE'S POCKETS ARE BEING LINED

more news of an unbelievable nature

our government IS trying to kill us it would seem. they're not even waiting for the rapture. they're getting a head start AND beginning at our united states military bases..


How Environmentalists Lost the Battle Over TCE

By Ralph Vartabedian, Times Staff WriterMarch 29, 2006 After massive underground plumes of an industrial solvent were discovered in the nation's water supplies, the Environmental Protection Agency mounted a major effort in the 1990s to assess how dangerous the chemical was to human health.Following four years of study, senior EPA scientists came to an alarming conclusion: The solvent, trichloroethylene, or TCE, was as much as 40 times more likely to cause cancer than the EPA had previously believed. The preliminary report in 2001 laid the groundwork for tough new standards to limit public exposure to TCE. Instead of triggering any action, however, the assessment set off a high-stakes battle between the EPA and Defense Department, which had more than 1,000 military properties nationwide polluted with TCE.By 2003, after a prolonged challenge orchestrated by the Pentagon, the EPA lost control of the issue and its TCE assessment was cast aside. As a result, any conclusion about whether millions of Americans were being contaminated by TCE was delayed indefinitely. An internal Air Force report issued in 2003 warned that the Pentagon alone has 1,400 sites contaminated with TCE.

in all fairness i wanted to post this story

it says the story released the other day regarding united states troops attacking a mosque was fabricated by some shi'ites. bodies were moved to make it look like the united states massacred innocent people. the united states says it did NOT happen (the massacre). i do hope one day (soon) we will get the REAL story. which story is the correct one? or is there NO correct story?

Iraq raid photos show weapons caches: senator
Tue Mar 28, 2006 2:08 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon has photographs that show Iraqi and U.S. forces were fired on from buildings filled with weapons in an operation that has generated controversy after Shi'ite accounts of a mosque massacre, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, said on Tuesday.
Accusations of a U.S.-led massacre of unarmed worshipers on the weekend have prompted the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government to demand that U.S. forces give up control of security.
U.S. commanders in Iraq have accused Shi'ite groups of moving the corpses of gunmen killed in battle to encourage such accusations.
The U.S. military has said that the raid on Sunday in Baghdad was by about 50 Iraqi special forces troops backed by about 25 American "advisers."
Warner, after a briefing on Iraq at the White House, said the strike was conducted largely by Iraqi forces supported by American forces, and they were fired upon from surrounding buildings..........

and here's a thorough article in the christian science monitor

posted March 28, 2006 at 12:40 p.m.
Iraq raid dispute threatens to draw US into sectarian conflict
Differing accounts of raid come a few days after Pentagon announces investigation into other US attacks.
By Tom Regan csmonitor.com
As relations between US authorities and Shiite leaders in Iraq have gotten increasingly rocky , Shiite officials have suspended negotiations over a new government, The New York Times reports.
The reason for the rift is an outburst of bitterness and mistrust after a hotly-disputed joint Iraqi-US raid on a compound that resulted in the deaths of at least 16 Iraqis, many of whom were followers of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
On one hand, The Washington Post reports that US Lt. Col. Sean Swindell, whose unit participated in the raid, said it was led by Iraqi soldiers and targeted an insurgent group at a compound in northern Baghdad.
Reuters reported that US officials accused "powerful Shiite groups" of moving the bodies of dead gunmen killed in battle into a mosque to make it look like a massacre of peaceful worshippers.
But on the other hand, the Post story quotes Shiite officials, and Baghdad residents who lived near the raid say that US and Iraqi troops targeted a Shiite mosque and gunned down innocent worshipers in the half-light of evening prayers. As the suspension of government talks indicates, the raid has created a precarious situation for the US presence in Iraq. Agence France-Presse reports in a Truthout translation of the French newspaper Le Figaro that several key Shiite officials have said they will cease cooperating with US military officials. The governor of Baghdad, Hussein al-Tahan, said he would "cease all political and logistical cooperation with American forces," and said that the United States embassy and the Iraqi Defense Ministry should conduct an investigation, "but not the American military." The Iraqi interior minister called the event an "unjustified aggression against the faithful as they prayed in a mosque.......

curiouser and curiouser.......who does one believe? our government certainly doesn't have a good track record for telling the truth. however, i will still (try to) keep an open mind on this

this story gives you a warm fuzzy feeling ALL over

NOT

instead of worrying about swearing on television or spying on peace activists (and vegetarians) or bombing mosques, why don't we WATCH OUR OWN BORDERS?????????


Investigators enter US with 'dirty-bomb' material


Mon Mar 27, 11:35 PM ET
Four years after the September 11 attacks, investigators were able to easily enter the United States with enough radioactive material to make two so-called dirty bombs, according to a report on a government undercover investigation obtained on Monday.
Two teams made simultaneous entries at the U.S.-Mexican border and the border with Canada carrying radioactive material in their vehicles in December 2005, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in the report on its investigation.
The congressional watchdog agency said the test was designed to examine potential weaknesses related to radiation monitors that have been installed at U.S. border ports of entry, the GAO said.
The monitors worked. But the investigators, posing as employees of a fictitious, still got past the border patrol with fake paperwork authorizing them to transport the material, the report said..
"The CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) inspectors never questioned the authenticity of the investigators' counterfeit bill of lading or the counterfeit NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) authorizing them to receive, acquire, possess and transfer radioactive sources," the GAO said in a letter to Sen. Norm Coleman (news, bio, voting record), chairman of a Senate Homeland Security subcommittee.
"We believe the amount of radioactive sources that we were able to transport into the United States during our operation would be sufficient to produce two dirty bombs, which could be used as weapons of mass disruption," the letter said.
Coleman, a Minnesota Republican, requested the investigation. His subcommittee has scheduled a hearing on Tuesday to examine how the United States is guarding against nuclear and radiological threats.
A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security was not immediately available for comment.......

Radioactive Matter Gets Into U.S. in Test


By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 4 minutes ago
Installing radiation detectors at U.S. entry points is taking too long and costing too much, says a congressional watchdog agency whose undercover investigators breached security by slipping nuclear material into the United States.
In a test last year, the small amounts of cesium-137, which is used in industrial gauges, triggered radiation alarms in Texas and Washington state. The material was enough to make two small "dirty bombs," officials said, yet U.S. customs agents permitted the investigators to enter the United States because they were tricked with counterfeit documents.
The Bush administration says that within 45 days it will give U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents the tools they need to verify such documents in the future.
Senators were to grill administration officials on security problems identified during the Government Accounting Office's undercover operation during a Senate Homeland Security subcommittee hearing Tuesday.
In a series of reports, the GAO, which is the investigative arm of Congress, found that the Homeland Security Department's goal of installing 3,034 radiation detectors by September 2009 across the United States — at border crossings, seaports, airports and mail facilities — was "unlikely."
Investigators also said the government probably will spend $342 million more than it expects to complete the job, given its current costs and pace. Between October 2000 and October 2005, they said, the government spent about $286 million installing radiation monitors inside the United States.
"We suffer from a massive 'blind spot' in our cargo security measures," Sen. Norm Coleman (news, bio, voting record), R-Minn., said in a statement.........

this essay by katherine brengle rather fits in with a few postings i've done recently

(lily, katherine used the word feminism NOT me........)

it's a damn fine essay.
March 28, 2006
The Next Wave: Feminism in the 21st Century, Part IV
March Wrap-Up
By Katherine Brengle
As Women's History Month draws to a close, here are some questions and facts it would do us all good to spend some time seriously considering:Whether I am a woman or a man, how do I treat women? How do I treat them in reality, and how do I treat them in my mind?Whether I am a woman or a man, do I use gender-specific language that is meant to marginalize women and their contribution to society? Do I feel the need to add the qualifiers "woman" or "female" to occupations such as doctor, executive, engineer, professional athlete? Do I use words like "slut" and "whore" to describe women, regardless of whether or not they are promiscuous or accept money in exchange for sex? ........

..........If I am a woman, do I consider my menstrual cycle something to be ashamed of and “discreet” about? Do I always feel the need to dab on makeup before leaving the house, for fear of not looking my “best” for other people? Do I wear clothing that is uncomfortable in order to look “hot” or “sexy” for other people? Do I restrict food consumption when I am eating in public, out of fear of looking “unladylike” or like a pig? ..........

.........If I am a man, do I find myself assuming that my female significant other will do the majority or all of the housework, regardless of whether or not both of us work outside the home or who works more hours?...........

.....There are 14 women currently serving in the United States Senate. There are 86 men currently serving. Female Senators make up 14% of the Senate. The United States population is almost evenly divided between the sexes–but one sex is vastly under-represented in the Senate.There are 67 women currently serving in the United States House of Representatives. There are 368 men currently serving in the House. Female Representatives make up 15.4% of the House.60% of women in relationships work outside the home. Women make up almost half of our nation’s workforce. But women make up only 2.7% of the highest earning bracket.57% of college students in the United States are women. One in five women will be the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Every 2-5 minutes, a woman is raped somewhere in the United States. 90% of rape victims are women. Of the 10% who are male, 70% are raped by men. .........

i LOVE this bumper sticker!

is it an offense to have the word 'shit' as part of a bumpersticker? i don't know.

Woman fights $100 fine for 'Bushit' bumper sticker
RAW STORY Published: Tuesday March 28, 2006

"It was 9:30 on a recent Friday night when Denise Grier saw blue lights in her rearview mirror," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution begins in Thursday editions. Excerpts:

She pulled over on Chamblee-Tucker Road, unaware of her infraction.
"The officer asked if I knew I had a lewd decal on my car and I thought, 'Oh gosh, what did my kids put on my car?' "
As it turns out, the decal was an anti-Bush bumper sticker Grier slapped on her 2001 Chrysler Sebring last summer. The bumper sticker — "I'm Tired Of All The BUSH—" — contains an expletive...................

wow, this extends past catholics seeing the virgin of guadalupe on the sides of a bridge

WHO KNEW?

Muslims see Allah's name on pet fish
LIVERPOOL, England, March 27 (UPI) -- Two fish purchased at an English pet shop by Ali AlWaqedi, 23, appear to have Arabic inscriptions on their scales.
One Oscar fish bearing the name Allah and the other Mohammed are living in a fish tank in Liverpool while drawing crowds of the faithful to witness the "miracle."
Ali said: "This is a message from Allah to me, a reminder, and now my faith is stronger. Everyone is so excited by the discovery," reported the Liverpool Echo. .....

is this professor on crack?

ideally, it WOULD be wonderful if parents (BOTH) could STAY HOME with their children. many parents CANNOT because of finances and many parents WISH TO WORK OUTSIDE OF THE HOME. the world is NOT coming to an end because some WOMEN choose to work outside of the home. i remember my sister crying for DAYS when she went back to work after having her babies. she HAD to go back to work though. they needed TWO salaries. my sister loves her work. my sister's kids turned out to be wonderful (well for children from HELL that is), well behaved and well loved. my sister and bubba my brother in law work different shifts. most of the time ONE of them is home with the kids (bevis, butthead and the bubbleheaded baby). when they're not, my popi is there (yeah, my sister is lucky). in a year or two they'll most likely be able to stay on their own when no one is home. the world around my sister didn't suffer because she worked outside the home. we're not in iraq because my sister worked outside the home.

Professor: Society suffers when women work
LONDON, March 27 (UPI) -- The negative effects of women choosing to pursue careers rather than raise children and look after elderly relatives are "enormous," says a British professor.
Alison Wolf, a professor at King's College in London, market expert and government adviser, wrote an article for Prospect magazine, "Welcome to the end of female altruism," which itemizes the losses to society when women choose careers over caring for family and volunteering within communities.
Four million more British women work now than in 1971, and 70 percent of British women now have jobs, the Daily Mail reported.

condo-loser was on some talk show yesterday

and i heard her saying things were JUST FINE in iraq (or something close to that). how the MAJORITY of people in iraq LOVED US and WANTED US THERE. hmmmmmmmmm is all i can say

from the baltimore sun

U.S., Shiite forces clash
Accounts vary on whether gunbattle was in mosque
Originally published March 27, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq // this year if At least 17 Iraqis were killed last night when U.S. and Iraqi special forces stormed a mosque and clashed with Shiite Muslim militiamen, police officials said, further inflaming the country as its leaders struggle to form a new government and stem sectarian violence.
The American military, clearly worried about exacerbating a combustible situation that many Iraqis are already describing as civil war, denied that American forces had entered the mosque. It said in a statement that 16 insurgents were killed and 15 captured in a nearby combat operation against a terrorist cell.
The differing versions of what happened seemed to underscore growing friction between the American-led military forces and the fractious Iraqi government, on a day that was punctuated with rising sectarian tensions, deepening leadership problems and at least 40 mutilated bodies surfacing in the streets - 30 of them beheaded.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, echoing U.S. commanders, said yesterday that the U.S. could withdraw a significant number of troops from Iraq Iraqi forces are able to assume greater control of the country's security...........

i used to hang in brattleboro (and marlboro)

back in the day that is (a LONG LONG LONG time ago). if i ever moved from the hartford area, brattleboro is where i'd go
Towns, Cities Pass Resolutions Urging Impeachment
by David Swanson http://www.opednews.com/
Brattleboro, Vermont, has joined nine other towns and cities, five state Democratic parties, and 19 local Democratic committees in passing resolutions urging the impeachment of President Bush and -- in most cases -- Vice President Cheney."Hopefully if enough towns start passing these somebody will take action," Brattleboro Town Representative Dora Bouboulis told the Burlington Free Press. "It's about starting a movement and helping them have the courage to act."ImpeachPAC is working with Progressive Democrats of America and local activists to pass similar resolutions around the country, and has created a kit to assist local organizations in the task:http://www.impeachpac.org/resolutions Impeachment has become a live topic in the U.S. media, including the Washington Post, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and the Vermont Guardian Forums are being held around the country on the topic of impeachment, as in this video. BASIC STATISTICSResolutions Urging Impeachment Passed ByTowns and Cities:10State Democratic Parties: 5Local Democratic Committees: 19 Full list Funds raised by ImpeachPAC: $63,316 from 1,656 donorsCandidates Endorsed by ImpeachPAC: 3 List Congress Members sponsoring H Res 635: 33 List Senators Supporting Censure: 3 List Americans Favoring Impeachment: between 26 and 53% Polls.......

we can't even treat our OWN people right

so how the HELL are we going to treat others right? coincidentially i saw a story very similar to this on tv on friday. it was on cnn or one of those news channels. i was SHOCKED. the reporter was interviewing an la cop and he told the same tale. a tale of people in hospital gowns being driven into the 'skid row' district by AMBULANCES (this news story has a taxi dropping the patient off) and DUMPED OUT on the street to fend for themselves. how sad is that? are the same people doing the dumping 'pro-lifers' i wonder? do they INSIST we make women bear children that cannot be cared for (by them OR by society???????)

Video Catches Hospital 'Dumping' Incident
by Ina Jaffe
Video: Surveillance
All Things Considered, March 23, 2006 · For many months, Los Angeles city officials have complained that regional hospitals are dropping off their indigent patients in the city's tough Skid Row area. On Wednesday, officials at a homeless shelter released a videotape that allegedly catches one hospital in the act. The incident has become part of an ongoing investigation that could result in criminal or civil penalties.
Security cameras outside the Union Rescue Mission, the city's largest homeless shelter, show a taxi pulling a U-turn in front of the building. Several seconds later, an elderly woman in a hospital gown shuffles into view. She appears to have only hospital socks on her feet, and walks in the street for a while before turning back to the mission entrance.
Mission worker Regina Chambers met the woman outside, later identified as Carol Reyes, a homeless resident of the city of Gardena, a dozen miles south of downtown Los Angeles.
"When I first approached her, she was very disoriented, didn't know where she was or what she was doing," Chambers says. "All she knew is that she had been to a hospital."............

i have been reading about this massacre

and praying it is NOT true. i wasn't going to post the story, but i must. vietnam all over again??? it makes my skin crawl. someone did it that's for sure - don't know who. again, i PRAY it wasn't who they say it was

Iraqis killed by US troops ‘on rampage’


Hala Jaber and Tony Allen-Mills, New York
Claims of atrocities by soldiers mount
THE villagers of Abu Sifa near the Iraqi town of Balad had become used to the sound of explosions at night as American forces searched the area for suspected insurgents. But one night two weeks ago Issa Harat Khalaf heard a different sound that chilled him to the bone.
Khalaf, a 33-year-old security officer guarding oil pipelines, saw a US helicopter land near his home. American soldiers stormed out of the Chinook and advanced on a house owned by Khalaf’s brother Fayez, firing as they went.
NI_MPU('middle');
Khalaf ran from his own house and hid in a nearby grove of trees. He saw the soldiers enter his brother’s home and then heard the sound of women and children screaming.
“Then there was a lot of machinegun fire,” he said last week. After that there was the most frightening sound of all — silence, followed by explosions as the soldiers left the house.
Once the troops were gone, Khalaf and his fellow villagers began a frantic search through the ruins of his brother’s home. Abu Sifa was about to join a lengthening list of Iraqi communities claiming to have suffered from American atrocities.
According to Iraqi police, 11 bodies were pulled from the wreckage of the house, among them four women and five children aged between six months and five years. An official police report obtained by a US reporter for Knight Ridder newspapers said: “The American forces gathered the family members in one room and executed 11 people.” ..............

and from editor and publisher
British Papers Focus on Alleged U.S. 'Massacres' in Iraq

By E&P Staff Published: March 26, 2006 11:45 AM ET
NEW YORK Two leading British newspapers carried new accounts and details on alleged “massacres” of civilians in Iraq in the past four months. Except for an AP article and a Knight Ridder account published by some American papers last week the incidents have gained little exposure in the U.S. press.The most recent incident this month was first brought to light by Time magazine, as it covered another episode last November when U.S. marines killed 15 civilians in their homes in Haditha. The military at first claimed the 15 were killed by a roadside bomb. The British daily The Independent returned to this story today, adding several details, including allegations by villagers that the Americans had allowed one injured man to bleed to death. The March 15 incident took place in the village of Abu Sifa. According to Iraqi police, 11 bodies were pulled from the wreckage of a house, among them four women and five children aged between six months and five years. An official police report obtained by Knight Ridder said: “The American forces gathered the family members in one room and executed 11 people.” Knight Ridder also related that military spokesman Maj. Tim Keefe had said that while the idea of U.S. troops turning into executioners is "highly unlikely," the military is taking the accusations very seriously.....

this IS NOT new. we've read about it before

and i'm sure we will continue to read about it. if protesters GET violent, i do believe they SHOULD be treated accordingly (i.e. .ARRESTED by LOCAL police). to expend the time and energy of the fbi on groups feeding vegetarian meals to the homeless is LUDICROUS (and i don't mean the singer either)

FBI casts 'overly broad net' in war against terror
RAW STORY Published: Sunday March 26, 2006
The FBI casts an "overly broad net" by including antiwar and environmental protesters in its investigations "while waging a highly publicized war against terror," according to a story slated for the front page of Monday's edition of the L.A. Times, RAW STORY has learned.
Excerpts from the article written by Nicholas Riccardi:

The FBI, while waging a highly publicized war against terrorism, has spent resources gathering information on antiwar and environmental protesters, and activists who feed vegetarian meals to the homeless, the agency's internal memos show.
For years, the FBI's definition of terrorism has included violence against property, such as the window smashing during the 1999 Seattle protests against the World Trade Organization. Those activities have led the FBI to investigate the online chat rooms, organizing meetings and demonstrations of a wide range of activist groups. Officials say that international terrorists pose the greatest threat to the nation, but they cannot ignore crimes committed by some activists........

(NOTE: the article is NOT up in the la times yet. once it is i will post a link)

UPDATE: here is the la times story

FBI Keeps Watch on Activists
Antiwar, other groups are monitored to curb violence, not because of ideology, agency says.
By Nicholas Riccardi, Times Staff WriterMarch 27, 2006

DENVER —
.....They don't know where Osama bin Laden is, but they're spending money watching people like me," said environmental activist Kirsten Atkins. Her license plate number showed up in an FBI terrorism file after she attended a protest against the lumber industry in Colorado Springs in 2002.ACLU attorneys acknowledge that the FBI memos are heavily redacted and contain incomplete portraits of some cases. Still, the attorneys say, the documents show that the FBI has monitored groups that were not suspected of any crime."It certainly seems they're casting a net much more widely than would be necessary to thwart something like the blowing up of the Oklahoma City federal building," said Mark Silverstein, legal director of the ACLU of Colorado.........

possibly THE worst movie i've seen in the last ten years

trouble every day

it was just downright STUPID. was it supposed to be horror? it was horrible all right. was it supposed to be a social commentary? the only comment i have is it was SHITE. was it supposed to be a thriller? it missed it's mark by a mile. was it supposed to gross me out? it made me squirm but out of agony at the sheer banality of it all. IT STUNK, save your money (and your mind)

it DID feature beatrice dalle though who was in one of my all time favorite movies, betty blue (the english title. i don't know why she did THIS movie. it's beyond me

some startling figures on the GENOCIDE of women

we are treated as below second class citizens EVERYWHERE (yes, even here). it MUST stop and it WILL stop. make sure your sisters of the world are safe and cared for.
Published on Saturday, March 25, 2006 by the International Herald Tribune
Women Go 'Missing' by the Millions
by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

As I was preparing for this article, I asked a friend who is Jewish if it was appropriate to use the term "holocaust" to portray the worldwide violence against women. He was startled. But when I read him the figures in a 2004 policy paper published by the Geneva Center for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, he said yes, without hesitation.One United Nations estimate says from 113 million to 200 million women around the world are demographically "missing." Every year, from 1.5 million to 3 million women and girls lose their lives as a result of gender-based violence or neglect.How could this possibly be true? Here are some of the factors:In countries where the birth of a boy is considered a gift and the birth of a girl a curse from the gods, selective abortion and infanticide eliminate female babies.Young girls die disproportionately from neglect because food and medical attention is given first to brothers, fathers, husbands and sons.In countries where women are considered the property of men, their fathers and brothers can murder them for choosing their own sexual partners. These are called "honor" killings, though honor has nothing to do with it.Young brides are killed if their fathers do not pay sufficient money to the men who have married them. These are called "dowry deaths," although they are not just deaths, they are murders.The brutal international sex trade in young girls kills uncounted numbers of them.Domestic violence is a major cause of death of women in every country.So little value is placed on women's health that every year roughly 600,000 women die giving birth.Six thousand girls undergo genital mutilation every day, according to the World Health Organization. Many die; others live the rest of their lives in crippling pain.............

hmmmmm how can this be????????

only SOME life is worth saving???????? not ALL life????? where is the justification i ask ye??? why is a fertilized egg worthy of saving and not a BORN person??? lucy............ you got some 'splainin' to doooooooooooooooooooo
In South Dakota it's ''Sanctity of Life,'' so Time for First Execution in 60 Years by A. Alexander, March 25th, 2006
South Dakota has officially joined the surreal world of right-wing hypocritical insanity. Only days ago, the state became the nation's first to unconstitutionally outlaw any and all abortions except for in the case -- well, there weren't any exceptions. This law, the South Dakota Republicans insisted, affirmed their unyielding belief in the "sanctity of life." Fast-forward a week or so, and the same so-called "pro-lifers" are making ready to kill their first person in more than 60 years.Now, in fairness to South Dakota's Republicans, this particular inmate seems to want to die. However, if they were truly "pro-life" GOPers, they'd kindly tell the guy that Republicans care too much about the "sanctity of life" to allow his execution. Sadly, they won't!No, it is more likely that South Dakota Republicans will encourage, trumpet, and demand the inmate be murdered by the State. It is, after all, the Republican way. Oppose abortion based upon some shadowy interpretation of their Christian faith that says all life is sacred, then turn right around and celebrate the murder of people who've murdered people. ............

some rather GOOD news

it appears there is a damn good chance women CAN have a choice in south dakota if need be. thanks to the sovereign nation of the oglala sioux on the pine ridge reservation Tribal leader rallies for abortion clinic on reservation
By Bill Harlan, Journal Staff Writer
Oglala Sioux Tribe President Cecelia Fire Thunder says a clinic on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation could provide abortions if South Dakota’s new abortion ban goes into effect.
“We’re working on it,” Fire Thunder said in a telephone interview Friday. “This is a free-choice issue. If I were in that situation, I’d want somewhere to go where I’d be taken care of.”The new South Dakota law bans all abortions except to save the life of the mother — with no exceptions for rape or incest.Fire Thunder said the state law would not apply to the reservation. “We’re a sovereign nation,” she said.The new law is set to go into effect July 1, but a court challenge almost certainly will delay it, and opponents of the law are already gathering signatures to put it on the ballot in November.Fire Thunder, in fact, is one of 15 co-leaders of the new South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, which on Friday announced a statewide campaign to overturn the new law.South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long declined to comment on the proposal, saying he likely would have to write a description of the new law for ballots in November.Long said that major crimes committed on reservations come under state jurisdiction if they are committed by non-Indians against non-Indians. Other major crimes fall under federal law.Rapid City attorney Charlie Abourezk, who has experience in Indian law and who has represented tribes and President Fire Thunder, said Indian doctors might be immune from the new state law if abortions were done on a reservation — whether the woman was Indian or non-Indian.University of South Dakota law professor Frank Pommersheim, an expert in Indian law, agreed that Fire Thunder’s proposal was “potentially workable” — especially if doctors were Indians and if the clinic were on Indian trust land........ and fromwomyn "To me, it is now a question of sovereignty." President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Cecilia Fire Thunder, says "I will personally establish a Planned Parenthood clinic on my own land which is within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Reservation where the State of South Dakota has absolutely no jurisdiction."

and here i thought everyone on deep space 9 defeated the dominion

turns out i was wrong. they're still around and about.

Divine Destruction: Dominion Theology and American Environmental Policy (Melville Manifestos) (Paperback)by Stephenie Hendricks

This is a thought-provoking, insightful exploration of how the Bush Administration developed an anti-environmental policy that is leading us into the destruction of "America the Beautiful," the selling off of our publicly owned national parks and forests, and our continued slouching toward an irreversible global warming meltdown.
In the onslaught of their rapacious assault on our natural resources and natural heritage, much blame has been placed on the corporations who benefit from gaining private wealth from public property. And it is true that these GOP contributors -- epitomized by the king of the natural resource exploiters, Dick Cheney -- now have people placed in key positions of the Bush Administration.
These exploiters see preservation of the environment only as an obstacle to the extraction of natural resources or recreational development that destroys natural settings. Profit trumps nature any day of the week in the Bush Administration.
But, as "Divine Destruction" explains, a key underpinning of the Bush anti-environmental policy is based on extremist religious thinking. This includes the "Dominionists" who claim Biblical justification for the outlook that God gave the earth to men and women to use for their comfort and wealth. In fact, many "Dominionists" regard conservationists as unholy "pantheists" who make the mistake of seeing God in nature.
As an adjunct to the "Dominionist" movement (and we are simplifying this complex fanatical religious overview here for the sake of brevity), many hardcore right wing fundamentalist supporters of Bush believe in the "End Time" theory that Jesus will return to earth and lead the true Christian believers to heaven. The despoiling of the earth (and a world torn apart by war) isn't really anything to be concerned about because the world is nearing "Rapture" (the return of Christ) anyway. ..........

that's EXACTLY how i initiate sex

a condom, b b q tongs AND a fish..........

in all seriousness, i thought this an interesting article

Venomous snails aid medical science

By Louise Yeoman BBC producer
Dr Jon-Paul Bingham, of Clarkson University, has an unusual note on his file at the local hospital in New York State.
If he is admitted unconscious, they are to check to see whether he's been harpooned by a deadly snail.
Every week, he milks lethal marine molluscs called cone snails for their venom, using a condom, barbecue tongs and a fish. If anything goes wrong, though, it's no laughing matter.
Cone shells look like a seaside souvenir from the tropics. You find them in places like the Great Barrier Reef or Hawaii.
They're basically seashells, sometimes two to three inches long, often with striking patterns which make them collectable. ..........

.........That's where Jon-Paul Bingham's work has been important. By developing his way of milking the snails, Jon-Paul keeps the animals alive in his lab and learns more about them.
He doesn't need to dissect the "goose that lays the golden egg" to study its venom. He analyses their venoms and then synthesises the compounds he finds for further work.
His hope is to set up a library of venoms to help other researchers get access to this field. He sees potential for snail toxins to be used in everything from agriculture to anti-fouling paints against marine worms. .......................

oh goodie!

photo: pharyngula.org/images/ chimeric_creature.jpg
now we can all move to kansas and start creating half human half clam (or any bi-valve of your choice) or half human half pygmy hippo creatures. yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Kansas House Rejects 'Hybrid' Cloning Ban
Last Updated:03-25-06 at 11:59AM
A proposed ban on human-animal hybrids died Friday when the House cut the heart out of a bill and ended debate early on the issue.The vote was 63-52 against the proposal from Rep. Mary Pilcher Cook, R-Shawnee, to make it a felony to create or attempt to create a hybrid embryo or "non-human life form" with human brain tissue. A first offense would be punished by up to five years and one month in prison and a fine of $1 million.Concerns about such hybrids, or "chimeras," are part of a larger debate over human cloning and medical research with embryonic stem cells. Pilcher Cook offered her ban as a substitute for a bill creating a new legislative committee on biosciences.Some House members questioned whether any such research is being conducted in Kansas, but Pilcher Cook said her review of medical literature suggests it's happening elsewhere. A chimera, mentioned in her amendment, is a mythical Greek creature with a lion's head, a goat's body and snake's tail..........