Saturday, February 2

Iraq Conflict Has Killed a Million Iraqis: Survey

“The research covered 15 of Iraq's 18 provinces. Those that not covered included two of Iraq's more volatile regions -- Kerbala and Anbar -- and the northern province of Arbil, where local authorities refused them a permit to work.” I'm sure they were all terrorists and evildoers. (2 pages)

U.S. Settles Immigrant Drugging Suit

“Amadou Diouf, an immigrant from Senegal, says U.S. agents injected him with drugs against his will as he was about to be deported in February 2007.” Another victim of the war on free association.

No Fat People Allowed: Only the Slim Will Be Allowed to Dine in Public!

“It has actually happened. Lawmakers have proposed legislation that forbids restaurants and food establishments from serving food to anyone who is obese (as defined by the State). Under this bill, food establishments are to be monitored for compliance under the State Department of Health and violators will have their business permits revoked.”

Ann Coulter Prefers Hillary Over McCain

Wow, this says a lot about the choices that voters have.  (Editor's pick, video clip)  

Corn on the Mob

“Indonesia is a land in turmoil, home to massive volcanoes, tsunamis, and earthquakes. On Monday, January 14, it experienced a brand new type of disturbance, the world's first food riot caused by another nation pandering to the global warming mob. Indonesians took to the streets, demanding that their government to do something about the price of soybeans, a dietary staple.” Ethanol is corporate welfare.

Lobbyists for Foreign Governments Raise Money, Get Clinton, McCain Meetings

“Top fundraisers for the presidential campaigns of Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain lobby on behalf of foreign governments and sometimes helped their clients gain access to the senators, according to a Center for Investigative Reporting and ABCNews.com review of records.” (4 pages) Speaking of which . . .

Ruling Class Conducts Its Hidden Primary

“Presidential candidacies are big business and candidates need unending amounts of money for staff, headquarters, travel, television and radio advertising, polls, postage, and literature. The corporate ruling class and its allies have the money and are happy to donate some of it to a candidate or candidates of the right persuasion. There are five main pots of gold available for the right candidate, four of them corporate and one made up of professionals often tied to corporations.”

Political Stimulus

“Nearly all politicians claim that the economy needs a stimulus that only they can provide. That is odd right off the bat. Politicians produce nothing; they spend other people’s money and, in the process, interfere with people’s productive activities. Why would anybody think they could stimulate an economy?”

War Spending Games

When President Bush hands Congress his budget on Monday, he’ll no doubt boast about cutting the fat from domestic programs and urge Congress to be fiscally responsible. But once again, the Administration will leave one of the government’s most expensive efforts — the “Global War on Terror”— off the books. While this accounting trick doesn’t quite rise to the level of an Enron scheme, it’s based on the same premise: Any budget can look good if you leave enough expenses off.

Homeless Veterans Bringing Their Fight to Bill O’Reilly

“Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly recently told his television audience recently that John Edwards was wrong to assert that there are 200,000 homeless U.S. military veterans. He told his viewers 'there’s not many of them out there,' and said he would intervene to help veterans sleeping under bridges.” Bill O'Reilly is an idiot.

US Court Clears Snipes of Fraud

“Actor Wesley Snipes has been found guilty of failing to file tax returns by a US jury but cleared of more serious charges including fraud.” Taxes are, of course, wrong. Unfortunately Snipes and many in the tax protest movement are wrong as to why. Sheldon Richman explains it here, here and here.

Eating Dirt for Lunch in Haiti. 'Overwhelming Strength' in Florida

“One thing Rudy Giuliani did after losing the Florida primary was give a speech with the line 'The best way to achieve peace is through overwhelming strength'.  That could have been said by the rulers of colonial France as they tore the gold from Haiti's mountains, or by Thomas Jefferson as he warned against tolerating Haiti's slave uprising. Or by the US rulers of the '50s through '80s as they backed the Duvaliers as Haiti's dictators, or of the '90s as they backed the FRAPH death squad and imposed a World Bank/IMF plan on Haiti that -- a decade before Wednesday's dirt-consumption update -- began making Haitians hungrier.”

Talk of Independence in a Place Claimed by Two Nations

“Down the road from a neighborhood here called the Hill, where reggae blares out of weathered houses and parishioners sing hymns in English at the First Baptist Church, President Álvaro Uribe recently inaugurated a hospital with a decidedly Colombian name: Amor de Patria.” Secession for all!

Modern-Day Cowboys Frozen in Time

“Photographer Robb Kendrick traveled 41,000 miles searching for cowboys. His six-year quest took him across 14 states, Mexico and Canada. He emerged with a collection of images that seem trapped in time.”

Strange New Creature: Giant Shrew or Tiny Elephant?

“Sporting a trunk-like nose and a jet-black rump, a new species of a bizarre furry mammal was caught on film as it scuttled along a forest floor in Tanzania.”

Supernova Surprise: Black Holes May Pull Apart, Reignite White Dwarf Stars

“A strange and violent fate awaits a white dwarf star that wanders too close to a moderately massive black hole. According to a new study, the black hole's gravitational pull on the white dwarf would cause tidal forces sufficient to disrupt the stellar remnant and reignite nuclear burning in it, giving rise to a supernova explosion with an unusual appearance.”

How to Build a Self Watering Planting Container

Plant a garden anywhere! (pdf)

With Us or Against Us

A funny look at reality.

Angry Buddha's Photoblog

A photo blog.