Judge rules terrorist can sue over torture memos

Jose Padilla at the time of his sentencing. (Photo source unknown)

Now, I'm unequivocally against torture, but even I think something's off here.

A convicted terrorist can sue a former Bush administration lawyer for drafting the legal theories that led to his alleged torture, ruled a federal judge who said he was trying to balance a clash between war and the defense of personal freedoms.

The order by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White of San Francisco is the first time a government lawyer has been held potentially liable for the abuse of detainees, AP reported Saturday.

The lawyer who wrote the memos? What about the Bush administration? What about Bush himself?

White refused to dismiss Jose Padilla's lawsuit against former senior Justice Department official John Yoo on Friday. Yoo wrote memos on interrogation, detention and presidential powers for the department's Office of Legal Counsel from 2001 to 2003.

Oh, I remember this guy. He was arrested after the Sep 11 attacks on charges linked to a dirty bomb and was held forever without a trial. He's from Chicago.

Padilla, 38, is serving a 17-year sentence on terror charges. He claims he was tortured while being held nearly four years as a suspected terrorist.

"The treatment we allege does violate the Constitution and John Yoo should have known that," wrote White, Bush appointee. "Like any other government official, government lawyers are responsible for the foreseeable consequences of their conduct."

And Yoo wrote those memos on his own inspiration...it had nothing to do with a job he was hired to do...

White ruled that Yoo, now a University of California at Berkeley law professor, went beyond the normal role of an attorney when he helped write the Bush administration's detention and torture policies, then drafted legal opinions to justify those policies.

Opinions--therein lies the key, if you ask me, though I'm no legal expert. I'm starting to understand this ruling. Yet, if he was hired to provide those opinions to back the government's use of torture, wouldn't the government be accountable as well?

Yoo's recently released 2001 memo advised that the military could use "any means necessary" to hold terror suspects. A 2002 memo to then-White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales advised that treatment of suspected terrorists was torture only if it caused pain levels equivalent to "organ failure, impairment of bodily function or even death."

Holy crap. That's not torture; that's murder. One does not require a Harvard degree in law or medicine to know that. Now I'm really starting to understand this ruling.

Yoo also said the president might have the constitutional power to allow torturing enemy combatants.

Regardless of my personal beliefs on the matter, I can't help but wonder what is the military supposed to do after a massive terrorist attack on U.S. soil to obtain what it expects to be crucial information from a hostile enemy that tortures women and children? What if there's no time to sugarcoat things?

"This lawsuit poses the question addressed by our founding fathers about how to strike the proper balance of fighting a war against terror, at home and abroad, and fighting a war using tactics of terror," White wrote in his 42-page decision.

No one can win or lose this debate. It's one of those that could go on forever because, in the end, like so many other ongoing controversial debates, it's a matter of opinion...in my opinion.

The Justice Department is representing Yoo and has argued for dismissing the lawsuit. The department has not said if it will appeal White's ruling.

Padilla is an American citizen who was arrested in Chicago in 2002 and accused of conspiring with al-Qaida to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb." He was held in a Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., for three years and eight months as an enemy combatant. Padilla's lawsuit alleges Yoo personally approved his time and treatment in the brig.

What about those who carried out that "treatment"? Couldn't Padilla sue them, too?

His lawsuit alleges he was illegally detained and was subjected to sleep deprivation, temperature extremes, painful stress positions, and extended periods of bright lights and total darkness. Padilla also alleges he endured threats that he would be killed, that his family would be harmed, and that he would be transferred to another country to be tortured.

Torturers at other countries must be laughing at this list of torture techniques, given the atrocities committed elsewhere.

He eventually was charged in an unrelated conspiracy to funnel money and supplies to Islamic extremist groups--no dirty bomb! Padilla was convicted in 2007 in Miami federal court, and is appealing.

Sources: The Associated Press
Copyright © 2009

Knox says police coerced her during questioning

American college student Amanda Knox, 21, testified Friday at her murder trial in Perugia, Italy.

I'm going to say she did it.

What exactly was her role? I don't know, but she did something, though she didn't slice her roommate's throat.

What was her motive? I don't know, but she was involved...somehow.

The story as per AP:

American student Amanda Knox, accused of killing her housemate two years ago, testified in her murder trial Saturday that she was intimidated by Italian police during questioning.

The 21-year-old from Seattle is charged in the death of British student Meredith Kercher, who was her housemate in Perugia, a university town north of Rome.

Kercher, 20, died in what prosecutors say was a "drug-fueled sex game" after suffering a sexual assault. She was found half-naked with a stab wound to her neck on November 2, 2007.

Knox and her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 25, are charged with murder and sexual assault.

Knox tried to explain Saturday why she gave conflicting answers to police when they interrogated her on Nov 6. She said it was a combination of police pressure, their suggestions, and her confused and frightened state of mind.

"When I would say that I was with Raffaele, they would say, 'You are a liar,' and they repeated this," she said, testifying in fluent Italian.

"You will go to prison for 30 years. ... You must remember," Knox recalled the police as saying.

Knox said the police were standing behind her and officers were going in and out of the interrogation room. A policewoman next to her was constantly pressing her to give them a name, and an interpreter on her right said people under trauma tend to forget things, she said.

"I was confused. ... I had so much fear," Knox said. She testified that she thought, "Hell, perhaps they're right and I have forgotten."

Knox repeated Saturday that police slapped her on the back of her head while questioning her. As she spoke, she hit her head a few times with her right hand and gestured broadly.

Knox testified Friday that she was not at the women's villa the night Kercher died, which authorities believe was the evening of Nov 1. She said she was at Sollecito's house.

She said the couple had dinner, watched a movie, smoked marijuana, had sex and went to bed on the night that night, and that she returned to the villa the next morning to take a shower.

That's when she said she noticed "strange things" such as the front door being left open, dried blood in the bathroom sink and on a bath mat, feces in the toilet, and the door to Kercher's room locked. (So, the murderer took a dump and forgot to flush the toilet? Or was the victim assaulted as the was defecating? Either way...eew.)

When Knox returned to Sollecito's house, she said, he suggested they call police in case the house had been burglarized. Police then found Kercher's body.

All cameras were barred from the courtroom Saturday because the public prosecutor said he wanted to avoid "sensationalism." Cameras were allowed at the beginning of the session Friday.

Knox's father, Curt, defended his daughter Saturday.

"What we've seen over the past five months is a character assassination, and now, hopefully .... a different point of view of who she is is coming out," he told reporters. "People are beginning to see that "she is not this dark angel she's been portrayed as," he added.

He said she did a great job on the stand. "She was very articulate in her answers. She answered all of the questions truthfully. She was not quivering in her voice. She was looking the judge in the eyes."

Earlier this week, he told 20/20 that the family has already spent close to "seven figures" to help defend Knox. From what he said, I understood that the two parents alternate weeks in Italy to visit their daughter in prison, where she has been for 18 months.

Her attorney, Carlo della Vedova, described his client as "very confident."

"She has repeated exactly what happened that night, on the fifth and sixth, when she was arrested. She gave all the information that was requested" during her testimony, he said.

The trial is to resume next Friday, but Knox isn't expected to testify again.

A third person, Ivory Coast native Rudy Hermann Guede, was convicted of murder in a fast-track trial in October and sentenced to 30 years in prison. He is appealing the verdict.

If I remember correctly, he--allegedly--was brought in by Knox and her boyfriend to have an orgy with the Kercher. If he got convicted, chances are she will too. If that's the case, I hope she's guilty because, otherwise, it would suck ass to be sentenced to do time in some Italian prison in the middle of nowhere and away from her family for something she didn't do.

Sources: The Associated Press
Copyright © 2009

N. Koreans wave uranium-enriched tiny dicks

I'm definitely not in the mood for this, but I can't blow it off. How can we ignore words like uranium and plutonium--right?

It's not that I don't take the prospect of a nuclear war seriously; it's just that I think N. Korea is a bully with a runaway mouth. All it would take is one definite offensive move toward them, and they would crap their pants...if you ask me.

Nevertheless, you never know--right? Some trigger-happy or color-blind dude over there could press the red button instead of the green one and, poof, there we goes the world.

But this Oracle doesn't see that happening anytime soon.

Anyway...here's the latest on this model of democracy's bullying campaign.

North Korea responded to new U.N. sanctions with more defiance, promising Saturday to step up its nuclear bomb-making program by enriching uranium and threatening war on any country that dares to stop its ships on the high seas, AP reported.

North Korean officials with tiny dicks said they were enriching uranium and would weaponize all plutonium, according to KCNA, the state-run North Korean news agency, as reported by CNN.

The North's threats were the first public acknowledgment that the reclusive communist nation has been running a secret uranium enrichment program. Suspicions of the program touched off the latest nuclear crisis in 2002, AP reported.

The country also vowed never to give up its nuclear ambitions as a way to protect its sovereignty amid signs of preparations for naming its ailing leader Kim Jong Il's youngest son, Jong Un, as his successor.

"It has become an absolutely impossible option for [North Korea] to even think about giving up its nuclear weapons," the North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency, AP reported.

N. Korea also warned that any attempted blockade by the U.S. and its allies would be regarded as "an act of war and met with a decisive military response."

When enriched to a high degree, uranium can be used for weapons-grade material; plutonium can be used in atomic bombs.

N. Korea is believed to have about 110 pounds of plutonium, enough for a half dozen bombs, Yoon Deok-min, a professor at South Korea's state-run Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security said according to the AP report. Reprocessing 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods stored at N. Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex could yield an additional 18 to 22 pounds of plutonium—enough to make at least one more atomic bomb, he said.

The U.N. Security Council voted for a resolution imposing sanctions against N. Korea.

The U.N. Security Council unanimously voted Friday to expand and tighten sanctions on N. Korea after the nation's recent nuclear test. The 15-0 vote on U.N. Resolution 1874 imposes an embargo on the shipment of arms from the communist regime and broadens a ban on the import of weapons, CNN reported.

"No matter how hard the U.S.-led hostile forces may try all sorts of isolation and blockade, the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea], a proud nuclear power, will not flinch from them," KCNA said. Democratic my ass.

The resolution comes amid rising tension surrounding N. Korea, which last month conducted a nuclear test, fired test rockets and threatened U.S. and South Korean ships near its territorial waters. It strengthens provisions already in U.N. Resolution 1718, passed in 2006, but there are also new provisions in the resolution, said Susan E. Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

The new resolution requires states to "exercise vigilance" over the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer to North Korea of small arms or light weapons, CNN reported.

The sanctions are aimed at depriving N. Korea of the financing used to build its rogue nuclear program. The resolution authorizes searches of N. Korean ships suspected of transporting illicit ballistic missile and nuclear materials, and prohibits nations from providing bunkering services, such as fuel, to N. Korean ships believed to be carrying contraband.

Late last month, two Defense Department officials said U.S. satellite imagery spotted "vehicle activity" at a N. Korean ballistic missile facility. The officials said the images showed vehicles used to transport Taepodong-2 missiles, but no missile parts. The Taepodong-2 is a long-range missile North Korea tested in April, CNN reported.

That test showed a significant improvement in range from N. Korea's initial long-range missile test in 2006.

This week, a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak on the record told CNN that Washington had "indications" that North Korea may be planning another test. The official would not provide any details, CNN reported.

U.S. President Barack Obama's special envoy to N. Korea, Stephen Bosworth, called "simply groundless" accusations by Pyongyang that its nuclear and rocket tests were in response to American aggression.

Despite repeated assurances from Washington, N. Korea has harbored deep-rooted suspicions that the U.S. could invade to topple its regime, AP reported. Washington officials have said the U.S. wants N. Korea to return to nuclear negotiations with the U.S., China, South Korea, Japan and Russia, known as the six-party talks.

Are we past talks?

Sources: CNN, The Associated Press, Getty Images, My Twisted Mind
Copyright © 2009

Digital TV: Get with the program, people!

Throw Away TV by Street Artist Banksy (Source: weburbanist.com)

How many years and how many deadline extensions do they need to unconfuse themselves and get with the program?--the digital TV program, that is.

Nearly 700,000 calls were received by a federal hot line this week from people confused about the nationwide switch from analog to digital TV broadcasts that occurred Friday, AP reported.

The Federal Communications Commission said Saturday that about 317,450 calls went into the help line, 1-888-CALL-FCC, on Friday alone, the day analog signals were cut off.

OK, here's the thing: if you called, it's because you watch TV, and if you watch TV, wouldn't you freaking know by now about the switch? And if you know but need help with the converter bos, why wait until Friday to call? Why wait until the signal is gone, gone, gone forever to then call in a panic about all the shows you're missing because you don't have a box?

About a third of the calls were about federal coupons to pay for digital converter boxes, an indication that at least 100,000 people still didn't have the right equipment to receive digital signals, AP reported. Another third of the calls were handled by live agents, and 30% of those were about how to operate the converter boxes (alrighty then). The FCC said most of the converter box questions were resolved when callers were told to re-scan the airwaves for digital frequencies. Over 20% of the live calls were about reception issues.

"Our job is far from over," acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps said in a statement. "This transition is not a one-day affair. We have known about re-scanning and reception issues for some time and have been doing our best to get the word out."

The largest volume of calls came from the Chicago area, followed by Dallas-Ft. Worth, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, AP reported. With 4,000 FCC staffers manning the phones Friday, the average wait time per call was 4.6 minutes.

The National Association of Broadcasters said that 278 stations it surveyed nationwide received 35,500 calls on Friday, and the vast majority were resolved by re-scanning. (I wonder why this wasn't covered in the instructions--or was it?--so that in case of a bad signal people would know what to do vs having to call.)

Any set hooked up to cable or a satellite dish is unaffected by the end of analog broadcasts, but around 17 million U.S. households rely on antennas. Nielsen Co. said poor and minority households were less likely to be prepared for Friday's analog shutdown, as were households consisting of people younger than 35.

The Commerce Department reported a last-minute rush for the $40 converter box coupons: It received 319,990 requests Thursday, nearly four times the daily average for the past month. In all, the government has mailed coupons for almost 60 million converter boxes. The limit is two coupons per household.

Thursday. Some 320K people waited until the day before the signal would vanish to request coupons. This, after years of preparation for this day and multiple delays. Where they hoping for a miracle? Where they thinking that the switch was some sort of conspiracy theory and their TVs would continue to transmit after it?

It takes nine business days for a coupon to reach the mailbox.

Research firm SmithGeiger LLC said Thursday that about 2.2 million households were still unprepared as of last week. Sponsored by the broadcasters' association, it surveyed 948 households that relied on antennas and found that one in eight did not have a digital TV or digital converter box.

What's up with homo sapiens and procrastination? Do animals procrastinate? No, really, I'd like to know.

Nielsen Co., which measures TV ratings from a wide panel of households, put the number of unready homes at 2.8 million, or 2.5% of the total television market, as of Sunday. In February, the number was 5.8 million. Both the Nielsen and SmithGeiger surveys counted households as unprepared even if they have taken some steps toward getting digital signals, like ordering a converter box coupon.

Sources: The Associated Press, My Twisted Mind
Copyright © 2009

Ex-Miss California Prejean speaks out...again

Left: Carrie Prejean (CNN photo)

Former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean wants to set the record straight. In other words, she wants to have the last word...as usual.

And her last word is...are you ready?...that she was fired because she's against same-sex marriage.

Haven't we heard this before? Hasn't this been the excuse for all the hoo-ha from day one?

I'm sorry, but I'm out of sympathy for this girl.

Carrie found herself at the center of controversy when she declared her opposition to same-sex marriage in response to a question posed by a judge--celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton, who's as in-your-face gay as they get--during the Miss USA pageant on April 19, overshadowing the victory of Kristen Dalton, the contestant from North Carolina.

Carrie was allowed to keep her Miss California USA crown in May after topless photos and missed appearances, but on Wednesday she was dethroned on the basis of multiple "contract violations" as per pageant director Keith Lewis.

On Friday, she got to tell her side of the story (at this point, do we care?) on CNN's Larry King on Friday, discussing whether she would sue to reclaim her title and her future plans. Following is an edited version of the interview.

Larry King: You've had a couple of days now, Carrie, to think it all over and it's sunk in. What are your feelings today?

Prejean: I'm definitely a little bit surprised just by the way that I found out about this. You know, I was called by the media to inform me that I was fired.

King: Are you saying the pageant didn't call you?

Prejean: No. I haven't received any phone calls. In fact, my lawyer found out from the media, as well, before we received any contact. I still have not, to this day, received any contact from Mr. Lewis.

King: Now, since they were so supportive of you at the time and after the Trump announcement, what do you make of the fact that they didn't call you?

Prejean: Well, I think Mr. Trump was definitely in the middle. And I think that, you know, he has only heard one side. Ultimately, at the end of the day, you have to think about, Are you going to release Mr. Keith Lewis or are you going to release Carrie Prejean? I think that they had to release the beauty queen at the end of the day. (How many ends of how many days?)

(Pet peeve side note: Am I the only one who cringes upon hearing "at the end of the day" and "step up to the plate"? Within a couple of years, these two phrases have from obscurity to mainstream to I can't stand them anymore.)

King: How do you respond to (charges from Lewis)?

Prejean: Well, Larry, all I can tell you was this basically comes down to the answer that I gave the night of the pageant. As you can see, Mr. Lewis does not agree with the stance that I took. I think he's very angry. I think he's hurt. He said in a previous statement that he's deeply saddened and hurt that--what Carrie Prejean believes in--a marriage is between a man and a woman. Politics and religion have no play in the Miss California family. (Family? Oh...corporate talk...eek.)

My question is, then why was the question asked at the pageant in the first place? If politics has no role in the pageant, why was I given this question?

It was a hidden personal agenda that judge No. 8 asked, and I think that they were not ready for my answer that I gave. (My answer that I gave? Maybe she was nervous.)

King: Let's say they were upset by your remarks. They didn't like your answer. Why didn't they just tell Donald Trump we're unhappy and let's pick the runner-up or whatever?

Prejean: He absolutely did. I mean Keith Lewis held a press conference in Los Angeles and didn't invite me to the press conference and, you know, awarded the first runner up as the new ambassador of California. That is just undermining me and undermining his own titleholder from day one.

As far as the other appearances, I've had some inappropriate appearances that Keith Lewis has asked me to do. And I'm sure you're aware of them already: one of them being Playboy; another one being a reality show which is being filmed in Costa Rica. So had I said yes to these, I mean, I would have been out of the country. (These? Only the second one would've been out of the country--right?)

Again, Playboy, I couldn't believe. I was completely shocked that he would even pass this along to me. Another one was a gay movie premiere that he wanted me to attend incognito. He actually said he wanted me to wear a hat and go in disguise and attend this movie premiere promoting gay marriage and then come out with a statement the next day saying that Carrie Prejean attended a gay movie premiere.

It just doesn't seem right, Larry, does it? (Oh, c'mon--Larry ain't gonna fall for that, Carrie.)

(Playboy, reality show, incognito at a gay movie...I hope Keith Lewis will respond to these allegations because if they're true, well, he might be in trouble. If they're fabrications, she's toast--well, she's already toast, so she would be burnt toast. People have had enough of Carrie Prejean, if you ask me. She's on her way to becoming the most hated person [remember Jason from The Bachelor?] in the U.S., if she already isn't.)

King: Are you now sorry you even entered. Or, in retrospect, has this been a boom for you publicity-wise?

Prejean: You know, this isn't something that I signed up for, Larry. I simply entered in a pageant, the Miss California USA contest, and I gave an answer that a lot of people weren't expecting. (Then why haven't you stepped off the radar?)

The bottom line, I took a stand, and I think I am now being punished for the answer that I gave. This isn't about contracts. This isn't about me missing out on appearances.

If you want to ask Keith Lewis any appearances that I have made prior to the Miss California U.S. pageant, I will guarantee you, Larry, he will not even--he can't even tell you an appearance that he--he scheduled for me.

This isn't about appearances. This isn't about a breach of contract. This is about Keith Lewis not agreeing with the stance that I took on saving traditional marriage. And from day one, he wanted me out.

(Uh, oh...yup...this just crossed a certain line that, in my opinion, will compel Lewis to respond either via the media or in court.)

King: Well, are you going to sue, Carrie? (There we go.)

Prejean: That's--you know, that's something that is not something that I want to--I want to do. (She says "want" because this does not answer whether she will or not. She will, and she'll remind us she didn't want to but she had to because of what was done to her. ) I think that what's going on is wrong. And I think that there is definitely some information that is missing. And I know that sooner or later, the truth will come out and people will recognize here who's right and who's wrong.

King: What are your lawyers telling you to do or advising you to do?

Prejean: You know, that's up to my lawyers to determine whether or not they think that there will be a lawsuit involved. But that's not up to me, at this point. (Yes it is, my friend. And you're avoiding the question--again.)

King: What are you going to do right now, career-wise?

Prejean: Well, first of all, I want to thank the millions of viewers. I know you have so many viewers on your show, Larry. Thank you so much for your support. (Who says he's supporting her? Who says the millions of watchers support her? That's a bit presumptuous, isn't it?) Thank you to all the Californians who have supported me, who backed me, who sent me thousands of letters and e-mails. I just want to thank you so much for your prayers, for your support.

And I know that when God is for you, no one can be against you. So thank you.

(Um...and your answer to the career question is?)

King: Can you tell us what you're going to do, though?

Prejean: I'm not sure. Definitely some--a lot of offers--opportunities have come my way, a lot of offers. (Wouldn't it be the ultimate irony if she posed for Playboy...with a bible on her crotch? No, I'm not knocking religion--I'm knocking hypocrisy because I think there's some of that going on here.)

I'm just really excited. I feel relieved. I feel just so blessed and so honored to have represented the state of California. And I'm ready to move on with my life and just be where God leads me.

Then if she's so happy, excited, relieved, why are we to pity her? I mean, that's one of the purposes of this interview, isn't it?--to sympathize with her or pity her. This is what many people do when they couldn't be angrier or sadder: they publicly declare life couldn't be better hoping that will somehow get under the skin of whoever did them wrong...if you ask me.

I think it's time for her to move on past this pageant drama.

Sources: CNN Larry King, Me
Copyright © 2009

Unrest in Iran upon disputed election results

Right: Iranian riot police stand in front of a cloud of tear gas, as supporters of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi fight running battles using stones and petrol bombs against police, as they protesting the results of the Iranian presidential election in Tehran, Iran, today, June 13. (Photo: AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Hell just broke loose in Iran. Just watch the videos of protesters clashing with police and you'll see what I mean. Be glad you're not there.

Riots broke in Tehran as news of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's landslide election victory spread throughout the city.

Ahmadinejad won 62.63 percent of the vote while chief rival Mir Hossein Moussavi received 33.75 percent, the Iranian government said Saturday. The reformist opposition candidate is contesting the results, claiming fraud.

At a press conference, Mousavi declared himself "definitely the winner" based on "all indications from all over Iran." He accused the government of "manipulating the people's vote" to keep Ahmadinejad in power and suggested the reformist camp would stand up to challenge the results, AP reported.

"It is our duty to defend people's votes. There is no turning back," Mousavi said, alleging widespread irregularities.

Millions of mostly young Iranians desperate for change and who supported Mousavi in passionate pre-election rallies were crushed and furious. They clashed with police and set up barricades of burning tires upon learning about the results of the election.

Correspondents say the violence is the worst seen in Tehran in a decade, BBC reported.

A statement from Mousavi posted on his website urged his supporters to resist a "governance of lie and dictatorship."

"I'm warning that I won't surrender to this manipulation," he said. "The outcome of what we've seen from the performance of officials ... is nothing but shaking the pillars of the Islamic Republic of Iran sacred system and governance of lie and dictatorship."

Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad said Saturday the election in which he secured another four-year term was "free and healthy," rejecting allegations of irregularities by a moderate rival in the vote without making direct reference to Mousavi's remarks, Reuters reported.

"Everybody should respect people's vote...we need a calm atmosphere to build the country," Ahmadinejad said amid the protests.

The results flowed quickly after polls closed showing the hard-line president with a comfortable lead, defying expectations of a nail-biter showdown following a month of fierce campaigning and bringing immediate charges of vote rigging by Mousavi, AP reported.

It was even unclear how many Iranians were even aware of Mousavi's claims of fraud, according to the report, as communications disruptions began in the later hours of voting Friday, suggesting an information clampdown, according to various news reports. State television and radio only broadcast the Interior Ministry's vote count and not Mousavi's midnight press conference.

Sadeq Mahsouli, the country’s interior minister, on Saturday lauded the “unprecedented” turnout. He had said 85 percent of 46 million eligible voters had gone to the polls.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, closed the door on any chance he could use his limitless powers to intervene in the disputes from Friday's election, AP reported. In a message on state TV, he urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad, calling the result a "divine assessment" and the voters’ turnout a show of Iran’s “pride” and “honor.”

Iran does not allow international election monitors. During the 2005 election, when Ahmadinejad won the presidency pledging to revive the values of the 1979 Islamic revolution, there were some allegations of vote rigging from losers, but the claims were never investigated.

His face covered with a green scarf symbolizing his party's color, a supporter of Iranian reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi holds a stone as others burn a trash bin in Tehran, Saturday, June 13, 2009. Mousavi supporters clashed with police and set up barricades of burning tires as authorities claimed the hard-line president was re-elected in a landslide. (AP Photo).

The U.S. and Canada challenged Iran's claims that hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won re-election, but much of the rest of the world remained silent Saturday despite claims of fraud and scenes of clashes on the streets of Tehran.

Iran is a key economic player in the region, a perceived threat to Israel's national security, and a major worry for the U.S. and allies who fear Tehran is trying to build a nuclear weapon.

"We are monitoring the situation as it unfolds in Iran, but we, like the rest of the world, are waiting and watching to see what the Iranian people decide," Clinton told reporters in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said his country, too, was "deeply concerned" by reports of irregularities.

Most countries appeared to be taking a wait-and-see approach, including the European Union and China, Germany, Italy and Japan--nations with strong economic ties to Iran.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said concerns about ballot counting that candidates have expressed are an issue for Iranian authorities to address.France said it was closely following the situation.

Following are the latest headlines related to this story:

• Iran's opposition leader Mousavi calls on all his supporters to avoid violence.

• A senior US official tells Reuters that the U.S. is "not yet ready" to pronounce the outcome of Iran's election; urges peaceful resolution.

• Cell phone service in Tehran is down while Facebook and websites affiliated with Ahmadinejad's top opponent have been blocked.
  

Source: BNO News, AP, Reuters, CNN, BBC, USA Today, CBS News

Obama writes girl a note for missing school

Kennedy Corpus, 10, of Green Bay, Wis., holds a note President Barack Obama gave to her after learning she was missing her last day of school on Thursday, June 11, 2009 to hear the president speak in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Shawano Leader, Cory Dellenbach)

This is too cool.

Ten-year-old Kennedy Corpus has a rock-solid excuse for missing the last day of school: a personal note to her teacher from President Barack Obama.

Her father, John Corpus of Green Bay, stood to ask Obama about health care during the president's town hall-style meeting at Southwest High School on Thursday. He told Obama that his daughter was missing school to attend the event and that he hoped she didn't get in trouble.

"Do you need me to write a note?" Obama asked. The crowd laughed, but the president was serious.

On a piece of paper, he wrote: "To Kennedy's teacher: Please excuse Kennedy's absence. She's with me. Barack Obama." He stepped off the stage to hand-deliver the note - to Kennedy's surprise.

"I thought he was joking until he started walking down," Kennedy said after the event, showing off the note in front of a bank of television cameras. "It was like the best thing ever."

The fourth-grader at Aldo Leopold elementary in Green Bay already knew what she was going to do with the note: frame it along with her ticket to the event. She said she'd make a copy for her teacher.

Kennedy said she had never seen Obama before. "He's really nice," she said.

Can you imagine what that note is worth? Invaluable in terms of historical value, and big bucks in terms of monetary value. She's one lucky girl, if you ask me.

Sources: The Associated Press
Copyright © 2009

Cher to become mother of son at 63!

Cher’s lesbian daughter, Chastity Bono, is in the early stages of changing her gender from female to male, TMZ reported Thursday.

She began the process earlier this year, shortly after becoming 40 years old,

“Yes, it’s true--Chaz, after many years of consideration, has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity,” her publicist, Howard Bragman, was quoted as telling the celebrity gossip site.

Chaz is the daughter of Cher and the late musician and politician Sonny Bono. Cher, 63, already has one son, Elijah Blue Allman, 32, from her marriage to Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band.

Chastity publicly revealed she was a lesbian in 1995. She briefly worked in the music business, wrote a memoiur and a guide to coming out, and worked as a spokeswoman for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which applauded her sex-change decision.

“Chaz Bono’s decision to live his life authentically represents an important step forward, both for him personally and for all who are committed to advancing discussions about fairness and equality for transgender people,” said GLAAD president Neil G. Giuliano. “Coming out as transgender is an extremely personal decision and one that is never made lightly. We look forward to hearing Chaz’s story in his own words in the future.”

Sources: TMZ, Reuters, E! Online
Copyright © 2009

Suicide unlikely in Carradine's death

David Carradine's death does not appear to have been a suicide, a former New York City chief medical examiner asked by Carradine's family to do an independent examination of the 72-year-old actor's body said Thursday.

However, he said that more information is needed from Thai investigators to determine the true cause of death.

"To reach a final determination as to the cause and the manner of death, we must wait for further information from Thailand as to the scene findings and the completion of the crime laboratory and toxicology studies that are still being performed," Dr. Michael Baden said in a statement.

Baden said he expects to receive more information from Thai authorities in a week or two and stressed that the information at hand was incomplete.

Carradine was found dead in his Bangkok hotel room on June 4. Although police initially believed the Kung Fu and Kill Bill star committed suicide, they later said it could have been accidental. Their description of the crime scene--that the actor's body was found nude, with ropes around his neck, wrist and genitals--fueled speculation that he was killed while engaging in a dangerous sex practice called auto-erotic asphyxiation. Others suspect foul play.

Sources: The Associated Press, NPR News, US magazine
Copyright © 2009

Senate passes smokescreen bill empowering FDA

(Photo: Oliver Weiken/European Pressphoto Agency)

The U.S. Senate backed a bill Thursday to give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate the content, marketing and advertising of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

The legislation, one of the most dramatic anti-smoking initiatives since the U.S. surgeon general's warning 45 years ago that tobacco causes lung cancer, would give the FDA new power to limit nicotine in cigarettes, drastically reduce ads, require stronger package warnings, ban candied tobacco products aimed at young people and inspect manufacturers.

The tobacco industry must be fuming...pun intended.

Cigarette foes say the changes could cut into the 400,000 deaths every year caused by smoking and reduce the $100 billion in annual health care costs linked to tobacco, AP/CBS reported.

The 79-17 Senate vote sends the measure back to the House, which in April passed a similar but not identical version. The House will pass the bill again Friday (because the Senate made a few changes), then the measure will then go to President Obama for his signature, according to the report.

Opponents, led by Republican Sen. Richard Burr of the tobacco-growing state of North Carolina, argues that the FDA, which is in charge of ensuring the safety of food and drug products, is the wrong place to regulate an item that is injurious to health, AP/CBS reported. He says the bill would restrict tobacco companies from developing new products that might be less harmful to users. He unsuccessfully proposed the creation of a new agency that would both regulate tobacco products and encourage efforts to make cigarettes less harmful.

Supporters said the bill, which passed in a bipartisan 79-17 vote, would help rein in the tobacco industry and curb smoking, especially among teenagers and children, Reuters reported.

Under the Senate plan, industry user fees would fund a new FDA tobacco division to inspect manufacturers as well as set certain cigarette standards.

Here's what I don't get: why charge fees to fund inspections for manufacturing standards that in no way alter the fact that cigarettes are suicide and homicide sticks, that nicotine is highly addictive psychoactive drug that has a fifth of Americans by the balls, and that there's no such thing as corporate responsibility when it comes to the manufacture of tobacco products?

One of the most absurd concepts of all time, in my opinion, is that of a powerful, multibillion dollar industry pushing the sale of tobacco products while at the same time curtailing their use as part of pseudo-corporate responsibility programs. Are you fucking kidding me?

They proudly point out in their mission statements that their priority is long-term success of their businesses--that is, growth and profit. How can they have long-term or any success in the manufacturing and selling of tobacco products while at the same time running "cessation support" departments to reduce the use of tobacco products? Brownie points don't count when it comes to quarterly earnings per share.

Such a ridiculous concept can only lead to the cognitive dissonance so prevalent in this society as people are forced or compelled to accept as sensible something that in no way, shape or form makes any sense. It drives people nuts.

Perhaps that's why cigarette sales drop while antidepressant sales soar.

Sources: Reuters, The Associated Press, CBS News
Copyright © 2009

New element added to Periodic Table

A new, superheavy chemical element numbered 112 will soon be officially included in the periodic table, German researchers said late Wednesday.

"The new element is approximately 277 times heavier than hydrogen, making it the heaviest element in the periodic table," the scientists at the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt said in a statement.

The team first produced 112 in 1996 by firing charged zinc atoms through a 120-meter-long particle accelerator to hit a lead target. The zinc and lead nuclei were fused to form the nucleus of the new element, also known as Ununbium, Latin for 112.

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) confirmed the discovery of 112 by the team led by Sigurd Hofmann at the Helmholtz Center. IUPAC has asked for an official name for the element to be submitted.

Discovery? Doesn't that imply that the element was there prior to being discovered?

I love all things scientific, yet I find myself wondering--what's the point? Do we need another element? What for?

Sounds like a bunch of scientists having fun accelerating charged particles to inconceivable speeds in a tube towards a target instead of playing darts Friday nights, if you ask me.

John Jost, executive director of IUPAC in North Carolina, told Reuters that creating new elements helped researchers to understand how nuclear power plants and atomic bombs function.

Ah...there we go. I thought they already knew how a bomb works...

The atomic number 112 refers to the sum of the atomic numbers of zinc, which has 30, and lead, which has 82. Atomic numbers denote how many protons are found in the atom's nucleus.

Scientists at the Helmholtz Center have "discovered" six chemical elements, numbered 107-112, since 1981. The remaining five elements have already been recognized and named.

In 1925, scientists discovered the last naturally occurring element on the periodic table. Since then researchers have sought to create new, heavier elements. Then these are not discoveries...is it just me?

Proving the existence of atoms with such a high mass, the so-called superheavy elements, is a complex procedure because they exist for only tiny fractions of a second and then decay radioactively into other elements.

Will there be a practical application for a lab-concocted superheavy element that exists only fractions of a second? Sounds like a ticking bomb, if you ask me.

Sources: Reuters
Copyright © 2009

FLASH NEWS - Swine flu, Palin-Letterman war, neo-nazi gunman, flight 447, MySpace jobs

WHO Declares 'Moderate' Swine Flu Pandemic

The World Health Organization raised its pandemic flu alert to phase 6, its highest level, urging countries to shore up defenses against the swine flu virus.

"At this time, the global assessment is that we are seeing a moderate pandemic," WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan told reporters on a teleconference.

The move to phase 6 reflects the fact that the disease, widely known as swine flu, is spreading geographically, but does not indicate how virulent it is, Reuters reported.

A unanimous decision was based on an overall assessment in the eight most heavily hit countries--Australia, Britain, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, Spain and the U.S.--where the virus is spreading in a sustained way in communities.

"Moving to pandemic phase six level does not imply we will see an increase in the number of deaths or very severe cases," she noted. "Quite on the contrary. Many people are having mild disease, they recover without medicines in some cases and it is good news," she said.

The WHO reiterated its advice to its 193 member countries not to close borders or impose travel restrictions to halt the movement of people, goods and services.

Neo-Nazi Gunman Charged with Murder

Authorities are charging an 88-year-old white supremacist with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum Wednesday.

A complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington Thursday accuses James W. Von Brunn of the premeditated murder of Security Guard Stephen T. Johns, AP reported.

Right: At a news conference Thursday, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier says James von Brunn will be charged with murder. (CNN photo)

A ranking FBI official said authorities also are pursuing a hate crime charge against the racist dirtbag.

An affidavit filed in court said officers recovered a notebook from Von Brunn's car that had handwritten notations signed by James W. Von Brunn stating the following:

“You want my weapons--this is how you’ll get them. The Holocaust is a lie. Obama was created by Jews. Obama does what his Jew owners tell him to do. Jews captured America’s money. Jews control the mass media. The 1st Amendment is abrogated--henceforth. See: holywesternempire.org. JVB swore (LT USNR) to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Jews–Bolsheviks–Zionist are America’s enemies. See: Talmud–Sanhedrin 'Kill the Best Gentiles!'”

Palin and Letterman Fight Over Jokes

The tiff began on Monday night's "Late Show," when Letterman joked that during the 7th inning of the Yankees game, Palin's "daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez." Letterman followed up with more barbs on Tuesday, joking that "the toughest part of Palin's visit was keeping Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter," Extra reported.

On Wednesday morning, Gov. Palin unloaded and said Letterman's jokes about her daughter were "disgusting" and "sexually perverted." Palin has three daughters; teen mom Bristol, 18, and Willow 14, and Piper, 8.

On Wednesday, Dave announced on his show that his jokes on the Palin family were "unpleasant" and "ugly" and said he would love to have the Governor as a guest on "Late Night."

"These are not jokes made about her 14-year-old daughter. I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl," he said.

Left: Sarah Palin and David Letterman (Getty Images/Extra composite photo)

"Maybe these are questionable because the girl who actually, excuse me, but was knocked up is now 18 years old. So, the difference there is 14-year-old and of legal age--okay, I can't really defend the joke. I agree. Unpleasant. Ugly."

Dave said Gov. Palin is a "lovely woman" and he would love to have her on the show.

The Palins released a statement in response: "The Palins have no intention of providing a ratings boost for David Letterman by appearing on his show. Plus, it would be wise to keep Willow away from David Letterman."

"Laughter incited by sexually perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity aimed at a 14-year-old girl is not only disgusting, but it reminds us some Hollywood/N.Y. entertainers have a long way to go in understanding what the rest of America understands--that acceptance of inappropriate sexual comments about an underage girl, who could be anyone's daughter, contributes to the atrociously high rate of sexual exploitation of minors by older men who use and abuse others," Palin added.

Flight 447 "Survivor" Killed in Car Crash

An Italian woman who missed Air France Flight 447, which crashed in the Atlantic on May 31, has died in a car crash, several news sources reported

Johanna Ganthaler, a pensioner from Bolzano-Bozen province who had been vacationing in Brazil, died when a car she was riding in "veered across a road in Kufstein, Austria, and swerved into an oncoming truck. Her husband was seriously injured."

All 228 people aboard died after the plane crashed into the Atlantic four hours into its 11-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.

MySpace Running out of Space for Jobs

MySpace is about to hand pink slips to some 300 to 500 employees, multiple sources close to the company told TechCrunch.com.

It’s unclear if these numbers apply to MySpace alone or its parent company Fox Interactive Media, but MySpace makes up around 1600 of the 2900 employees in FIM, so it’s likely that the social network will be hit hard, TechCrunch reported.

Last summer MySpace laid off 5% of its staff, and as many as 45 employees were let go last month. These cuts go far deeper. We’ve heard that the company’s legal team is hammering out the paperwork that will need to be submitted to the state of California under the WARN act, which requires large companies to give advance notice of any major layoffs, TechCrunch reported. We’ve contacted the California Employment Development Department, which has yet to receive the filing, but we hear they should be getting it any day now.

A FIM spokesperson replied with the following statement:

“Like any company with new leadership, Fox Interactive Media is reviewing every aspect of our operations, performance and structure. It’s no secret that we are looking for ways to improve our products, increase the value of our digital assets, and enhance the overall financial strength of the company.”

Why the cuts? MySpace traffic is plummeting, and revenue is going to take a huge hit when the Google deal terminates in mid 2010. MySpace already has an uphill battle on its hands as it vies to compete with Facebook, and it’s no longer going to have that very lucrative revenue stream to lean on, TechCrunch reported.

Sources: Reuters, AP, Extra, US mag., BBC, BNO, TechCrunch.com
Copyright © 2009