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Articles from Dyre Portents

Senate Gets Habeas Corpus Restoration Ball Rolling 2007-06-07 14:57:02 Today the Senate Judiciary Committee passed an important bill to restore habeas corpus, the sacrosanct Constitutional right to challenge government detention in court, by a vote of eleven to eight. Habeas corpus was revoked by last year's Military Commissions Act, which has been assailed as unconstitutional and un-American by leaders across the political spectrum. Today's habeas bill was backed by the Judiciary Committee's Democratic Chairman, Patrick Leahy, and its Republican Ranking Member, Arlen Specter. "The drive to restore this fundamental right has come from both sides of the aisle," said Sharon Bradford, an attorney at the bipartisan Constitution Project, in response to today's vote. "Restoring America's commitment to the rule of law is not a partisan cause; it is a patriotic one," she added. Today's vote means the habeas bill can now be brought to the Senate floor at any time. One source with knowledge of the legislative plan said Majority Leader Harry Reid has commi ...

Lawmakers Want Body Armor Retested 2007-06-07 07:33:34 This is based on NBC's report that Dragonskin body armor consistently outperforms current body armor.I first heard of the armor on the show Future Weapons where Dragonskin was shown to stop NATO 7.62 armour piercing rounds and also protected covered areas when placed directly on top of a M-67 grenade. You can view some of those tests here.There is of course the question as to whether or not the original testing lab or the interceptor body armor manufacturer is politically connected to someone. A second official test would lay that question to rest. ...

Bush Nominates Chiurgeon General 2007-06-07 06:36:43 From ABC News:Bush's Choice for Top Doc Compared Human Genitalia to Pipe Fittings and Said Homosexual Practices Can Cause Injury or Death President Bush's nominee for surgeon general, Dr. James W. Holsinger Jr., wrote a paper in 1991 that purported to make the medical argument that homosexuality is unnatural and unhealthy. Doctors who reviewed the paper derided it as prioritizing political ideology over science, and Democratic aides on Capitol Hill say the paper will make his confirmation hearings problematic. Holsinger, 68, presented "The Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality" in January 1991 to a United Methodist Church's committee to study homosexuality. (Read the paper here.) The church was then considering changing its view that homosexuality violates Christian teaching, though it ultimately did not do so. Relying on footnotes from mainstream medical publications, Holsinger argued that homosexuality isn't natural or healthy. Noting that Holsinger also belongs to a church that ...

Iran Caught Red-Handed Shipping Arms to Taliban 2007-06-06 21:39:22 NATO officials say they have caught Iran red-handed, shipping heavy arms, C4 explosives and advanced roadside bombs to the Taliban for use against NATO forces, in what the officials say is a dramatic escalation of Iran's proxy war against the United States and Great Britain. "It is inconceivable that it is anyone other than the Iranian government that's doing it," said former White House counterterrorism official Richard Clarke, an ABC News consultant. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stopped short earlier this week of blaming Iran, saying the U.S. did not have evidence "of the involvement of the Iranian government in support of the Taliban." But an analysis by a senior coalition official, obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com, concludes there is clear evidence of Iran's involvement. "This is part of a considered policy," says the analysis, "rather than the result of low-level corruption and weapons smuggling." moreWell that is confirmation of what we already suspected. The ...

Turkish officials say troops enter Iraq 2007-06-06 21:28:11 Hundreds of Turkish soldiers crossed into northern Iraq on Wednesday pursuing Kurdish guerrillas who stage attacks on Turkey from hideouts there, Turkish security officials and an Iraqi Kurd official said.The reports came amid worries Turkey might launch an offensive against the rebel bases, touching off a conflict with U.S.-backed Iraqi Kurds in one of Iraq's most stable regions. The U.S. is urging its NATO ally not to strike, and Turkey's foreign minister denied any incursion occurred.An American intelligence official in Washington, who agreed to discuss the tense situation along the frontier only if not quoted by name, said the reports of a border crossing should be treated with skepticism.The official said some Turkish officials might be feeling pressure to show increasingly angry Turks that the government is responding to a recent escalation of attacks by PKK rebels, who are fighting for autonomy in Turkey's heavily Kurdish southeast. On Monday, for instance, Kurdish rebels ass ...

House urges China to press Sudan over Darfur 2007-06-05 23:56:39 ReutersTuesday, June 5, 2007; 8:56 PM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives urged China on Tuesday to use its influence and economic leverage to stop what President George W. Bush has called the genocide in Sudan's Darfur region.The lawmakers charged that China, which buys much of Sudan's oil, has stood in the way of halting bloodshed in the western Sudanese region, but stopped short of joining calls to boycott the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing made by some politicians, activists and celebrities."China should act consistently with the Olympic standard of preserving human dignity in Darfur, Sudan and around the world," said the resolution passed by the House on a vote of 410-0.The resolution urged China to stop selling Sudan arms and suspend economic cooperation with Sudan until Sudan "stops its attacks on civilians" in Darfur and engages in negotiations with Darfur rebels to achieve a peace deal. moreTo stay up to date on the crisis in Darfur please visit Sudan Wat ...

Libby Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison, Fined $250K 2007-06-05 18:34:08 By Amy Goldstein and Carol D. LeonnigWashington Post Staff WritersTuesday, June 5, 2007; 3:30 PMI. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison and fined $250,000 for lying to investigators about his role in leaking the identity of an undercover CIA officer.The federal judge who presided over the case indicated that he may not be sympathetic to allowing Libby to remain free pending appeal, but scheduled a hearing on the matter for next week."Evidence in this case overwhelmingly indicated Mr. Libby's culpability," U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton said moments before he handed out the sentence. The judge said he was sentencing Libby "with a sense of sadness. I have the highest respect for people who take positions in our government and appreciate tremendously efforts they bring to bear to protect this country."At the same time, Walton said, "I also think it is important we expect and demand a lot from people who p ...

Partisan Accusations 2007-06-05 06:47:37 File this one under Moutains out of MolehillsCalling Himself ?The Whitest Man In America,? Fox?s Gibson Defends ?Ooga Booga Fever?Last week, during a discussion of the ?TB Man story,? Fox News anchor John Gibson declared that tuberculosis usually affects someone ?from the third world? or who contracted ?ooga booga fever? in ?some godforsaken hellhole.? Noting the criticism of his remarks from Media Matters and ThinkProgress, Gibson responded on the June 1 edition of his radio show. Calling himself ?the whitest man in America, who is the black man?s best friend,? Gibson said his comments were not racist because he had just ?invented? the term. ?Now, I could have called it Machu Picchu fever or Latino jungle fever or something. I?ve gotten sick in those places too.? (Gibson noted, however, that he wouldn?t have called it ?Potomac fever,? after Washington, DC.) Later, Gibson contradicted himself, claiming he learned the phrase from reading Joseph Wilson?s book, which references Ouagadoug ...

Jury Indicts Rep. Jefferson in Bribery Probe 2007-06-04 14:14:34 By Jerry Markon and Allan LengelWashington Post Staff WritersMonday, June 4, 2007; 2:40 PMRep. William J. Jefferson was indicted today in a longstanding FBI corruption probe centering on allegations that he took bribes to promote high-tech business ventures in Africa.The Louisiana Democrat faces charges that include racketeering, money laundering, wire fraud and conspiracy to solicit bribes by a public official. The 16-count indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in Alexandria.Federal officials have scheduled a 3:30 p.m. news conference to discuss the 94-page indictment, which could land Jefferson in prison for life if he is convicted on all counts. The charges cap a long and tumultuous investigation that was stalled for months because of a legal battle over the constitutionality of an FBI raid on Jefferson's office last May. The raid came after the FBI found $90,000 in the freezer of his Capitol Hill home.A political and legal maelstrom followed the raid, prompting President ...

Second Democratic Debate 2007-06-04 01:16:46 I'm calling Hillary the winner in the traditional debating team sort of way. Obama comes in as first runner up.Boiling it down from CNN:Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, an early and outspoken opponent of the invasion who mounted an anti-war campaign in 2004, said the way to end the war was to cut off funding."The money's in the pipeline right now, enough to bring the troops home," he said. "Let's end the war, and let's make this a productive evening."But Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Delaware, said opponents of the war need to realize Democrats do not have the 67 votes needed to override a veto and force an end to the war."As long as there is a single troop in Iraq that I know if I take action by funding them, I increase the prospect they will live or not be injured, I cannot and will not vote no to fund them," said Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, who served in the Senate during the Vietnam War, said anyone who voted to authorize t ...

Sierra Club Moving to the Middle? 2007-06-03 01:14:16 And partnering with the National Rifle Association to push new legislation?From the new Sierra Sportsmen section of their web site:Open Fields: 20 Million More Acres for SportsmenSierra Club is one of 40+ conservation, agricultural, recreational, and labor organizations supporting the "Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program of 2005" bill in the U.S. Congress. More commonly known as the "Open Fields" bill, this important legislation-- sponsored by Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Pat Roberts of Kansas in the Senate, and Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota and Tom Osborne of Nebraska in the House-- would open more than 20 million acres of prime hunting and fishing land to sportsmen."Open Fields" calls for an increase in Department of Agriculture funding to bolster existing state programs that provide access to private lands for hunters and anglers. It further encourages the establishment of similar, new "walk-in" programs. Through these programs, states offer rural landowners smal ...

Who'd have guessed? 2007-06-02 23:13:03 I recently pointed out an article about porn being so commonplace that real women were now viewed as bad porn. I ran across this article from the NY Times that the internet is now so glutted with free amateur porn that traditional purveyors of pornography are taking a 30 to 40% hit in profits because:?The barrier to get into the industry is so low: you need a video camera and a couple of people who will have sex,? full article ...

Mannatech - Selling Placebos as Cures for Cancer? 2007-06-01 23:37:25 I know some someone who bought into this crap.from ABC News:Cure for Your Disease or Empty Promise?Sugar Pills Have Some People Turning Down Doctor's Advice, But Critics Say They're Bogus June 1, 2007 ?How much would you pay for a pill made of sugar?Try $415 million. That's how much Mannatech, a Texas-based company, made in the last 12 months selling sugar pills and powders made from larch bark and aloe, known as glyconutrients. Mannatech says its product, Ambrotose, is a simple nutritional supplement that helps the cells in one's body communicate with one another. Ambrotose is sold exclusively by multilevel marketing sales associates who, functioning as independent contractors, try to sign up customers to buy the product and become sales associates themselves. The product is shipped directly from the company to customers, with sales associates getting a cut of the profits. But critics say the company's bottom line is has been boosted by unverifiable health claims made by som ... Cancer

Dr. Kevorkian freed early 2007-06-01 22:50:12 By P.J. Huffstutter, LA Times Staff Writer6:36 PM PDT, June 1, 2007 CHICAGO -- Jack Kevorkian -- the infamous "Dr. Death" considered a remorseless murderer by some and a compassionate physician by others -- was released on parole Friday from a Michigan prison after serving eight years.The frail 79-year-old, wearing his familiar light-blue cardigan and a tie over a button-down shirt and dress slacks, walked slowly out of the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Mich., and grinned cheerfully. Telling a crowd of reporters outside the detention center that leaving prison was one of the "high points of life," the retired pathologist waved goodbye as he and attorney Mayer Morganroth stepped into a white van and drove away.In December, the Michigan Parole Board granted his request to leave prison early -- after eight years of a 10- to 25-year sentence for second-degree murder -- because of his good behavior and a promise not to conduct more assisted suicides.But Kevorki ...

Man says he's got a new Loch Ness video 2007-06-01 14:54:31 By BEN McCONVILLE, Associated Press WriterThu May 31, 7:49 PM ET The Loch Ness monster is back ? and there's video. A man has captured what Nessie watchers say is possible footage of the supposed mythical creature beneath Scotland's most mysterious lake. "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this jet black thing, about 45 feet long, moving fairly fast in the water," said Gordon Holmes, the 55-year-old a lab technician from Shipley, Yorkshire, who took the video Saturday. Nessie watcher and marine biologist Adrian Shine viewed the video and hoped to properly analyze it in the coming months. "I see myself as a skeptical interpreter of what happens in the loch, but I do keep an open mind about these things and there is no doubt this is some of the best footage I have seen," said Shine, of the Loch Ness 2000 center in Drumnadrochit, on the shores of the lake. Holmes said whatever it was moved at about 6 mph and kept a fairly straight course. "My initial though ...