Sunday, February 05, 2006

Another Angle 5 - February - 2006

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you




NATIONAL:



POSSIBLE DETROIT "SUPER BOWL" TERRORIST ATTACK?
I do not have any direct evidence of a planned or staged terror event during the Superbowl. But if it does, always ask, "Who benefits? Who gets what they want?"



Halliburton Subsidiary Gets Contract to Add Temporary Immigration Detention Centers
KBR would build the centers for the Homeland Security Department for an unexpected influx of immigrants, to house people in the event of a natural disaster or for new programs that require additional detention space.



US to expel Venezuelan diplomat
On Thursday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced the expulsion of a US naval attaché for spying - a charge the US described as "baseless". "The decisions that Venezuela takes are taken based on facts and proof, not simply for retaliation," Mari Pili Hernandez said.



Tough Road Back for New Orleans' Black Colleges
The New Orleans schools Tulane and Loyola have reopened this semester with large numbers of students coming back. But the historically black colleges in the area have been less fortunate. They are trying to lure students back to campuses that were all but destroyed.




INTERNATIONAL:



Chavez reveals US ‘operation’
Mr Chavez accused the expelled US official of buying information on the Venezuelan armed forces and of setting the stage for a ‘Panama-type operation’. to capture him. US forces invaded Panama in 1989 to arrest strongman Manuel Noriega and try him in Miami on drug charges. “If they think about coming to get me, then come, we are waiting for you,” Mr Chavez said.



Al-Qaida in Yemeni jail break
The escape on Friday came a day before the trial of Muhammad Hamdi al-Ahdal, an al-Qaida suspect, and 14 others charged with involvement in operations in Yemen, particularly the 2000 attack on the USS Cole.



IRAQ:



Sunni leader says Interior Ministry killed 24 Sunnis in Baghdad
The bodies of 24 Sunni Arabs found on Friday to the west of Baghdad were killed “in cold blood” by forces from the Interior Ministry, Secretary General of the Sunni Iraqi National Dialogue Council Khalaf Al Olayan told a press conference on Saturday.



BUSH CRIME FAMILY:



New Details Revealed on CIA Leak Case
Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff told prosecutors that Mr. Cheney had informed him "in an off sort of curiosity sort of fashion" in mid-June 2003 about the identity of the C.I.A. officer at the heart of the leak case, according to a formerly secret legal opinion, parts of which were made public on Friday. Here are the 8 pages of Judge Tatel's opinion. pdf



Jeb shredding state records?
A source inside the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation told Insider magazine that Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has ordered the shredding of documents and public records, a clear violation of Florida law.



Bush's 'Gulf Of Tonkin' Underlines Criminal Desperation For War
The US government considered staging an act of provocation that would fool the world into supporting an unpopular war. This tactic is by no means new. The Gulf of Tonkin incident, where US warships were apparently attacked by North Vietnamese PT Boats, an incident that kicked off US involvement in the Vietnam war, was a staged event that never actually took place.



OP-ED:



Super Bowl City on the Brink
Detroit -- and there is no soft way to put this -- is a city on the edge of the abyss. Its 2005 unemployment rate was 14.1 percent, more than two and a half times the national level. more than one-third of its residents live under the poverty line, the highest rate in the nation. In addition, the city has in the past year axed hundreds of municipal employees, cut bus and garbage services, and boarded up nine recreation centers.



The Failure of Citizenship
We are witnessing an all pervasive mediocrity in government that has come as a result of a spectacular failure of citizenship. We are a people that value ease and convenience over self education, sacrifice and truth. We do not demand evidence in support of our views. We believe what we are told; and we do what we are told by authority. We do not like to make trouble. Asking questions requires self examining critical thinking, a skill that is rapidly disappearing from our culture of fluff and ease.



What Would Jesus Do?
Picture this: A cartoon of Jesus, with his pants down, smiling, raping a little boy. The caption above it reads “Got Catholicism?” Or how about a picture of a Rabbi with blood dripping from his mouth after bludgeoning a small Palestinian boy with a knife shaped like the Star of David—the caption reads “The Devil’s Chosen Ones.” I wonder if people around the world would just consider this free speech?



HEALTH&FITNESS:



Generic Drugs Hit Backlog At FDA
"We have a kind of crazy situation now where the FDA's generic reviews -- which are supposed to be quicker because they're less complicated -- on average take longer than the new drug reviews," said Kathleen Jaeger, president of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association. "The flood of applications is coming in generics, but the review resources mostly go to new drugs."



FOOD&DRINK:



PUEBLA CHICKEN AND POTATO STEW
Tinga Poblana de Pollo y Papas Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 1 hr



REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



HungryBlues: Malik Rahim On Black Panthers And Black Resistance In ...New Orleans
The 30th Anniversary of the Desire Shoot-out: An Interview with Malik Rahim
This is an interview conducted on WTUL (91.5 FM) on March 13th, 2000.



JUST WEIRD:



Whale Attacks Santa Barbara Sightseeing Boat
The Bayliner was cruising off Leadbetter Beach Wednesday evening when the whale came up from under its right bow, belly-flopped onto the ship, and crushed its cabin.



HUMOR?:



Boondocks

Friday, February 03, 2006

Another Angle 3 - February - 2006

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you




NATIONAL:



The art of deception: Is it war for oil or war to save the dollar?
The spiraling downfall of the dollar neither is, nor would be, the fault of Iran, but the chicanery of the Federal Reserve banking system. The problem is not Iran; the problem is that America has fiat money as its medium of exchange, or simply paper money backed by governmental laws that legalize it as tender for debts or exchange.



Boehner: Yet Another Lobbying Slut?
Somehow, Boehner managed to brand himself the reform candidate. That might be news to Sallie Mae, the student-loan behemoth, which in the 2003-2004 election cycle contributed over $100,000 to Boehner through its PACs and individual contributors. That's 40 percent of all contributions made by the entire student loan industry.



Evidence of Earliest African Slaves Found
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Autonomous University of the Yucatan made the discovery at one of the oldest European settlements in Mexico -- Campeche, a port city on the Yucatan Peninsula. The remains date between the late-16th century and the mid-17th century, not long after Columbus first set foot in the Americas.



Avoiding the hard questions
This is the worst possible time for probe-ophobia to grip us. Our nation was irretrievably transformed by 9/11 -- and yet there remain troubling questions about what really happened before, during and after that day. Rather than demanding a full and fearless vetting to hone in on the truth and silence the conjecture about 9/11, many Americans remain unwilling to peer into the microscope.



Robertson still wants Chavez 'taken out'
Robertson reiterated his call to get rid of Chavez. Colmes asked him a few questions and while he appeared to be trying to apologize- flipped and went back to the "let's get him some day" theme. Video-WMP Video-QT



Keith Sweat Opens New Luxury Hotel in Atlanta
The artist’s S Hotel, located at 395 Piedmont Ave in Midtown, boasts 294 rooms designed by Sweat himself with an eye toward pulling in the business market. Each room comes with flat screen televisions, CD/DVD players, high-speed wireless Internet and an en-suite bathroom with bath and separate walk-in power shower. A number of rooms also have a nice view of downtown Atlanta.



INTERNATIONAL:



Venezuela expels US naval 'spy'
Thursday's announcement came three days after Mr Chavez said agents had infiltrated an alleged spy ring at the US embassy. "We have decided... to throw out of the country a military official from the mission of the United States for espionage."



"Greek Watergate" scandal sends political shockwaves
Most of the wiretaps took place around the August 2004 Athens Olympics -- the most guarded Games in history with a 1.2 billion euro ($1.45 billion) security budget. They stopped when Vodafone Greece, a subsidiary of British firm Vodafone, discovered the incident and reported it to authorities. Greek officials said that by shutting down the illegal software, Vodafone made it impossible to trace the taps. They also revealed that the calls were being relayed to unknown destinations via four mobile phone antennas in a zone in the centre of Athens that includes the U.S. embassy.



IRAQ:



President Carter: "We did not need to go into Iraq."
"...The reason that we went into Iraq was to establish a permanent military base in the Gulf region and I have never heard any of our leaders say that they would commit themselves to the Iraqi people that ten years from now there will be no military bases of the United States in Iraq."



BUSH CRIME FAMILY:



Bush approved multi-agency program to spy on Americans
Through executive orders or – more often – clandestine powers that he believes he possesses as a “wartime President,” Bush has ordered the Pentagon, FBI, NSA and CIA to expand domestic spying operations to levels never before seen by professional operations.



Bush's Brezhnev period
Bush has entered his Brezhnev era of stagnation. Everything -- from the latest five-year plan to the grandiose promise of world transformation -- was repetitive and abstracted from grinding realities. His attempt to use the first year of his second term for permanent revolution at home, following Rove's script, has failed. Social Security privatization is now whittled down to a commission, the sort of gambit employed when a leader lacks support.



ECONOMY:



Del Monte stops pineapple growing in Hawaii
"It would be cheaper for Del Monte to buy pineapples on the open market than for the company to grow, market and distribute Hawaiian pineapple," the company said in a statement Wednesday.



OP-ED:



MARGARET KIMBERLEY: Bin Laden’s wasted warning
Bin Laden's latest message went out to a nation that is overwhelmingly deaf and blind. It is not altogether the fault of individuals. We are encouraged to be stupid. The corporate media is just that, corporate. It has been a long time since they were interested in telling their readers, viewers, and listeners anything resembling the truth.



Racism, Neo-Confederacy and the Raising of Historical Illiterates
Those who wave the Confederate flag, for example, insist they are merely trying to fondly remember part of their history. Yet if blacks (including, to be sure, more than a few Southerners) broach the subject of their ancestors' enslavement and its lingering effects on black America today, they are viewed as wallowing in pity. But what, other than wallowing, and most certainly pitiable, can we call those who insist on waving the standard of a defeated government.



FOOD&DRINK:



Smoked Turkey Quesadillas
A low-fat but tasty version of a typically calorie-laden favorite. nice flavourful finger food to go with cocktails. Can't see how it could be called bland. The combo of the tart/sweet grapes with the salt and the lime juice, the subtle smokiness of the turkey and cumin, the crispy tortilla and the creamy cheese - hey, it's all good!



REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



Racism and 'The Slave Side of Sunday'
Former pro football player Anthony Prior's new book The Slave Side of Sunday draws comparisons between the gridiron and the slave plantation.



The Case for Sam Cooke, Soul Pioneer
His cultural influence can hardly be overstated. From the infectious "Another Saturday Night" and "Twistin' the Night Away" to the anthemic "A Change Is Gonna Come," Cooke's impact on American popular music is lasting. His singing style has been connected to everyone from Otis Redding to Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye.



JUST WEIRD:



Bulgarian Vanga predicted horrible catastrophes
Her most shocking prediction was made in 1980. The blind old woman said: “At the turn of the century, in August of 1999 or 2000, Kursk will be covered with water, and the whole world will be weeping over it.”


HUMOR?:



McGassy's Global Warming Guide

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Another Angle 2 - February - 2006

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you



NATIONAL:



Rethink the old Slavemaster-Slave relationship
It appears that integration has only meant the surrendering of our dollars to others so that they can enhance their lives while our businesses close and our problems remain unattended. We must look like a very foolish people in the eyes of others who nurse themselves to economic strength on our earnings and then abandon us and ridicule us as they advance and leave us further behind. We need to turn constructively inward, pool our resources intellectually and financially, and begin to build a future for ourselves and our children. We must patronize ourselves, as others patronize themselves.



Read the letter: Fitzgerald admits some emails in CIA leak case possibly deleted
In the letter, Fitzgerald admits that he has been told some emails from the President and Vice President's offices have been deleted, though he cautions that "no pertinent evidence has been destroyed. In an abundance of caution," he writes, "we advise you that we have learned that not all email of the Office of the Vice President and the Executive Office of the President for certain time periods in 2003 was preserved through the normal achiving process on the White House computer system."



Bush: U.S. will defend Israel against Iran
"Israel is a solid ally of the United States, we will rise to Israel's defense if need be. So this kind of menacing talk is disturbing. It's not only disturbing to the United States, it's disturbing for other countries in the world as well," he added. Asked if he meant the United States would rise to Israel's defense militarily, Bush said: "You bet, we'll defend Israel."



14 US House Reps Want Bush Impeach Probe
The number of US House Representatives who have signed on to H. Res 635–supporting a probe looking into the grounds for impeaching Bush–has jumped to fourteen (14), including US Rep. John Conyers who initially sponsored the bill, Atlanta Progressive News has learned. The total number of Members of US Congress who want Bush’s impeachment or resignation is actually seventeen (17), including 14 co-sponsors of H. Res 635, plus US Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) who called for Bush’s impeachment over wiretapping, and US Reps. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) and Bobby Rush (D-GA) who have called for Bush to step down.



Abramoff case, spying loom over Gonzales
Gonzales faces scrutiny over his role in justifying a White House policy to conduct domestic surveillance without search warrants. In addition, critics say Paul McNulty, selected as the new choice to be deputy attorney general, has been slow to consider allegations of abuse of detainees held in the war on terror.



Listen to a One-Hour Special on Coretta Scott King



INTERNATIONAL:



Iran's message to the west: back off or we retaliate
In an interview with the Guardian - his first with western media - Manouchehr Mottaki accused the US of manufacturing the crisis and insisted there was still time to avoid a collision. But he warned that any military action by the US or Israel against Iran would have "severe consequences" and would be countered "by all means" at Iran's disposal.



IRAQ:


Women bear brunt of poverty in post-invasion Iraq
Poverty has exploded across Iraq in the aftermath of the 2003 US invasion. A recent study by the United Nations Development Program and International Monetary Fund shows that 20 percent of the population has fallen below the international poverty line of $1 per day per person.



BUSH CRIME FAMILY:



Annexing Khuzestan; battle-plans for Iran
Those who doubt that the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld team will attack Iran, while so conspicuously overextended in Iraq, are ignoring the subtleties of the administration’s Middle East strategy. This strategy has been called the “Khuzestan Gambit”, and we can expect that some variant of this plan will be executed following the aerial bombardment of Iranian military installations and weapons sites. If Iran retaliates, then there is every reason to believe that either the United States or Israel will respond with low-yield, bunker-busting nuclear weapons. In fact, the Pentagon may want to demonstrate its eagerness to use nuclear weapons do deter future adversaries and to maintain current levels of troop deployments without a draft.



Oil profit shouldn't mean breaks: Bush
President Bush defended the huge profits of Exxon Mobil Corp. on Wednesday, saying they are simply the result of the marketplace and that consumers socked with soaring energy costs should not expect price breaks.



Administration backs off Bush's vow to reduce Mideast oil imports
One day after President Bush vowed to reduce America's dependence on Middle East oil by cutting imports from there 75 percent by 2025, his energy secretary and national economic adviser said Wednesday that the president didn't mean it literally.



Study: Bush backers more likely racist
A study presented at the conference, which was in Palm Springs, Calif., explored relationships between racial bias and political affiliation by analyzing self-reported beliefs, voting patterns and the results of psychological tests that measure implicit attitudes -- subtle stereotypes people hold about various groups. That study found that supporters of President Bush and other conservatives had stronger self-admitted and implicit biases against blacks than liberals did.
What amazes me is that THEY think this is news! We already knew this was one of the main factors in this BUSHMANIA.



Removal of the Abramoff Prosecutor was a Political Deal to Scuttle Investigation
We also know that in 2002 Bush got rid of a prosecutor. U.S. Attorney Black, who was about to indict Abramoff in Guam. That indictment also related to Abramoff's purchasing of influence. It's the modus operandi of this administration. Bush got rid of him, put in his own man, and the Abramoff prosecution ended.



ECONOMY:



Gold Reaches 25-Year High as Oil Gains Renew Inflation Concerns



OP-ED:



State of Our Family Address
I remember the day I got the phone call..My son was back in the states. I fell to the floor sobbing, thanking the creator that my son was alive. Little did I know at that time that all that returned was a physical shell. My son’s spirit and soul must still be wandering the streets of Iraq.



The US has become a rogue nation.
Gentle reader, if you prefer comforting lies to harsh truths, don't read this column.



The Democrats' Response - Welcome to Weenie World
Tuesday night brought us another example of the weenie effect. George Bush gave his State-of-the-Union Address. Newly elected Virginia Governor, Tim Kaine, followed with the Democratic response. Kaine may be a dynamo as Governor of Virginia, but as the national spokesman for the Democratic Party he was instant weenie. Having observed this phenomenon for the past five years - it reached its nadir with John Kerry - it appears that Democratic speakers are obligated to follow four rules of weenie world.



SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY:



Satellites That Bleed
Future spacecraft may be able to extend their mission lifetimes by borrowing a human trait to heal minor nicks and scratches.



HEALTH&FITNESS:



Study: Cardiac Drug Doubles Risk of Kidney Failure
Aprotinin -- a drug approved by the FDA, marketed internationally for the last 13 years, and given to an estimated one million surgery patients to limit bleeding -- has now been proven to double a patient's risk of kidney failure, and increase the risk of heart attack, heart failure, and stroke.



FOOD&DRINK:



A Taste of Ghana
Few countries reward the sidewalk chowhound as well as Ghana. From rough-hewn sheds, women sell sharp wedges of starchy yam, perfectly fried in splendorously saturated palm oil and slathered with a fiery sauce of pulverized Scotch bonnet peppers and garlic. From stainless steel bowls perched atop their heads, women dish out hearty bowls of perfectly spiced stew and rice, endlessly customizable with a plethora of condiments, from crunchy vegetables to a hard-boiled egg.



Mediterranean Supper Omelet
This hefty omelet is big enough for two people to share, and the recipe makes great use of the flavored goat cheese varieties now available at supermarkets across the country.



REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



San Francisco Bay View - National Black Newspaper of the Year
Meet Sgt. DeLacy Davis of Black Cops Against Police Brutality
Sgt. DeLacy Davis is a 14-year veteran of the East Orange, New Jersey, police department. His organization, Black Cops Against Police Brutality, has worked to reduce and prevent police abuse and misconduct and to eliminate community violence through innovative techniques and programs.



Japanese Jazz Prodigy Hiromi: 'Spiral'
At just 26 years old, Hiromi is considered one of Japan's best jazz pianists and composers. Musician and Day to Day contributor David Was says her music is "part classical, part jazz and part simply unclassifiable." He reviews her third album, Spiral.
She is phenominal!



HUMOR?:



Tom Tomorrow: Domestic Surveillance Scandal Smack Down!

Monday, January 30, 2006

Another Angle 30 - January - 2006

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you




NATIONAL:



Rice Admits U.S. Underestimated Hamas Strength
Ms. Rice's comments seemed to reflect a certain second-guessing over how the administration had failed to foresee, or factor into its thinking, the possibility of a Hamas victory.



Pentagon Can Now Fund Foreign Militaries
The move, included in a little-noticed provision of the 2006 National Defense Authorization Act passed last month, marks a legislative victory for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who pushed hard for the new powers to deal with emergency situations.


Study Says 80% of New Orleans Blacks May Not Return
If the projections are realized, the New Orleans population will shrink to about 140,000 from its prehurricane level of 484,000, and the city, nearly 70 percent black before the storm, will become majority white.



Grand theft New Orleans
San Francisco Bay View - National Black Newspaper of the Year
People heard about the numerous abuses by the military and Blackwater mercenaries who were called in to “restore order” by setting up a hostile military environment simulating martial law – but who did little to search for or save the residents, most of whom were still in need of rescue, food, water, health care and shelter.



New Black Cable Channel Mixes Old Shows, New Documentaries
TV One, recently added to Time Warner Cable on its digital tier, is the black channel for grown-ups. You wont find reality shows about dorm life on TV One or a hip-hop knockoff of the MTV Music Awards. It doesnt air music videos obsessed with bling and booty. It has a cooking show, a new financial advice show (with Michelle Singletary) and, coming soon, documentaries and new dramas.



INTERNATIONAL:



Iran's new bourse may threaten the dollar
Should the Iranian Oil Bourse gain momentum, it will be eagerly embraced by major economic powers and will precipitate the demise of the dollar. America's greatest export is currently the dollar and when "the balance of reserve holdings starts to shift from dollars to euros, that's very bad news for America's system of dollar hegemony.



EU inquiry may call Cheney
Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, the most hawkish members of the US administration, may be invited to appear before a European parliamentary committee investigating allegations of "extraordinary rendition" of terrorist suspects by the CIA.



Osama bodyguard is quietly let go
Tabarak was captured and taken to the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he was classified as such a high-value prisoner that the Pentagon repeatedly denied requests by the International Committee of the Red Cross to see him. Then, after spending almost three years at the base, he was suddenly released.


IRAQ:



Don't Call It Napalm
Little is known or seen of the air part of the American war of today, in Iraq. After the U.S. and Britain withdraw the bulk of their ground troops, plans call for the air war to be beefed up and kept that way for years to come.



U.S. invasion responsible deaths of over 250,000 civilians in Iraq
The on-going American Occupation has also created worsened civil strife as well as mass environmental destructions and related public health problems that is associated with American bomb-related released radioactive and other life-threatening pollutions.



BUSH CRIME FAMILY:



Rumsfeld's Roadmap to Propaganda
The 74-page "Information Operations Roadmap" admits that "information intended for foreign audiences, including public diplomacy and PSYOP, increasingly is consumed by our domestic audience and vice-versa," but argues that "the distinction between foreign and domestic audiences becomes more a question of USG [U.S. government] intent rather than information dissemination practices."



Bush once again playing on fears of U.S. public
With apologies to Garrett Morris, fear ''been beddy beddy good'' to the White House. That's why Sept. 11 has become Team Bush's fallback position, its default reply to every hard question.
A ruinous war fought under false pretenses? Sept. 11.
Indefinite detention of alleged terrorists? Sept. 11.
Torture? Sept. 11.
The right of the people to dissent? Sept. 11.
Spying on Americans in violation of federal law? Sept. 11.
A growing record of incompetence and lies? Sept. 11.



Gag Orders
And the secrets and secret deals continue to tumble out.



ECONOMY:



Petrodollar Warfare: Oil, Iraq and the Future of the Dollar
Asian countries hold approximately $2 trillion in dollars and dollar denominated securities. China has already announced its intention to diversity its foreign asset holdings, and India is considering a similar course. The Iranian oil bourse could be the pebble that starts an avalanche.Petrodollar Warfare will help you pick through the rubble.



OP-ED:



Memo to Big Oil Companies: Africa’s Oil Belongs to Africans ...
We must begin to encourage the African World to make honest assessments of the historical relationship between Africa and large foreign corporations generally. Too many Africans are mesmerized by the extent of western economic development, and a fallacious belief that Africa’s full-scale embrace of capitalism will replicate such prosperity on that continent. This myth must be punctured with the fact that western countries were able to prosper only because they exploited Africa.



They Know They Broke the Law
One can imagine George W. Bush silently thanking God each night for the fact that he has a Republican congress at his back. Were it otherwise, the man would be neck-deep in impeachment hearings. This road trip, and the tortured convolutions being put forth as justification for spying on Americans, leads to one inescapable conclusion: they know what they did was illegal.



SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY:



Russia plans to mine the Moon
"We are planning to build a permanent base on the Moon by 2015 and by 2020 we can begin the industrial-scale delivery ... of the rare isotope Helium-3."



HEALTH&FITNESS:



Natural Food, Unnatural Prices
We started looking around for something to buy. As we stared bug-eyed at the lofty price tags, I wondered aloud what sort of income it would take to become a regular Whole Foods shopper. Why not give Whole Foods the Wal-Mart test?



FOOD&DRINK:



Grilled Pound Cake with Pineapple "Salsa" and Tequila Whipped Cream
The grill was the original toaster. And there's nothing like a quick sizzle on the grill to transform ordinary pound cake into a singular, even extraordinary dessert. Especially when paired with a pineapple "salsa" and tequila-scented whipped cream.



REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



Harry Belafonte on Bush, Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and Having His Conversations with Martin Luther...
He sent money to bail King out of the Birmingham City Jail and raised thousands of dollars to release other imprisoned protesters. He financed the Freedom Rides, and supported voter-registration drives and helped to organize the March on Washington in 1963.


HUMOR?:



Candorville

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Another Angle 25 - January - 2006

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you



NATIONAL:



White House Declines to Provide Storm Papers
The Bush administration, citing the confidentiality of executive branch communications, said Tuesday that it did not plan to turn over certain documents about Hurricane Katrina or make senior White House officials available for sworn
testimony before two Congressional committees investigating the storm response.



Alaska: Raw votes 'can't be made public'
The official vote results from the last general election are riddled with discrepancies and impossible for the public to make sense of. At this point, it's impossible to say whether the correct candidates were declared the winner in all Alaska races from 2004. The private contractor hired to provide Alaska's electronic voting machines is Diebold Election Systems. It has told Alaska officials it owns the "structure of the database" though the data itself is public.



"VIDEO - Belafonte Smacks Down Blitzer"



Duke Professor Skeptical of bin Laden Tape
Bruce Lawrence has just published Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama Bin Laden, a book translating bin Laden's writing. Lawrence recently analyzed more than 20 complete speeches and interviews of the al Qaida leader for his book. He says the new message is missing several key elements.



N.C. Police Chief Resigns After Racial Scandal
A racial profiling scandal has forced the resignation of the police chief in Greensboro, N.C. He used an internal affairs unit to secretly investigate 14 black officers for alleged misconduct. Rusty Jacobs of WUNC North Carolina Public Radio reports.



Roundtable: Domestic Surveillance, Black Jesus
Topics include President Bush's defense of domestic surveillance, and controversy over a new film featuring a black Jesus. Guests: Mary Frances Berry, professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania; Roland Martin, executive editor of The Chicago Defender; and Nat Irvin, professor of future studies at Wake Forest University.



INTERNATIONAL:



Iran official threatens oil blockades
"if Europe does not act wisely with the Iranian nuclear portfolio and it is referred to the UN Security Council and economic or air travel restrictions are imposed unjustly, we have the power to halt oil supply to the last drop from the shores of the Persian Gulf via the Straits of Hormuz."


IRAQ:



Iraq abuse lenience 'affects' US image
Such cases erode US credibility at a time when it is urging other countries to increase human-rights protections. They could also set human rights progress back by giving countries such as Libya an excuse to justify abuses.



BUSH CRIME FAMILY:



NSA Director Hayden--One Needle in a Growing Bush "Hay"stack of Lies
General Hayden should reconcile his contradictory statements.



OP-ED:



New Blood, New Visions, and a New Political Party
Working class people, especially progressives, must come to understand that our interests are not being served by hitching our political wagons to either the Democratic or the Republican Party. Whichever party we choose represents a system that favors plutocrats—those of wealth and privilege. It is a system of their creation, for their sole benefit. We cannot possibly compete in this system. We have no alternative but to create a new system in place of the old.



Alito Filibuster: It Only Takes One
A filibuster could touch a public nerve if it concentrates on protecting the Founding Fathers' framework of checks and balances, the Bill of Rights, and the rule of law - all designed specifically to prevent an abusive Executive from gaining dictatorial powers.



FOOD&DRINK:



MISS SHIRLEY'S EASTERN SHORE CRAB CAKES
Shirley Phillips was raised on Hooper Island, Maryland, in Chesapeake Bay, and grew up surrounded by the finest seafood imaginable. Given her upbringing, it's not surprising that she married a waterman, Brice Phillips. The couple made their way to Ocean City, Maryland, and opened a crab shack, selling "jimmies" — heavy, fat, perfectly seasoned crabs — to tourists and locals alike. Almost fifty years later, that roadside crab shack has evolved into one of the largest seafood operations in America.



REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



Watch Out for Barbers' Clippers, and Zingers
MTV plans to bring to its viewers next month "The Shop," a new reality series that chronicles all the goings-on at Mr. Rooney's - all the debates, the "yo momma" jokes, the pseudopolitical commentary, and the wry observations. The show, part "McLaughlin Group," part BET's video show "106 and Park," is the brainchild of Corey Rooney, a popular R&B producer and founder of the shop.



New Book Examines Black Youth, Economic Boom of the 90s
Black Males Left Behind showcases the research of 17 leading scholars and gives policymakers an essential starting point and reference for addressing the complex problems of young black men with limited education. This book gives us a clear, detailed look at a growing crisis in black America. It’s a critical first step toward helping less-educated young black men get on track so they can fulfill their promise.



HUMOR?:



Has Bush Fallen Off The Wagon?

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Another Angle 24 - January - 2006

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you




NATIONAL:



Abramoff shopping Bush photos
Appearing on MSNBC, Newsweek correspondent Michael Isikoff reported that it was indeed Abramoff who floated the photographs to Washingtonian.



Homeland Security To Confiscate Bank Safe Deposit Box Contents
In the event of a national disaster no weapons, cash, gold, or silver will be allowed to leave the bank - only various paperwork will be given to its owners.



Boxer, Waxman, Solis Denounce Leaked Bush Administration Plan to Promote Human Pesticide Experiments
This is yet another example of the Bush Administration choosing to ignore the letter of the law and going its own way. Congress passed legislation to curb the practice of unethical pesticide testing on humans, but with this rule the Bush Administration is authorizing systematic testing of pesticides on humans which not only fails to meet its congressional mandate but which will increase the number of unethical studies.



White House Was Told Hurricane Posed Danger
A Homeland Security Department report submitted to the White House at 1:47 a.m. on Aug. 29, hours before the storm hit, said, "Any storm rated Category 4 or greater will likely lead to severe flooding and/or levee breaching."



Pentagon study: U.S. may lose Iraq
Army leaders are not sure how much longer they can keep up the unusually high pace of combat tours in Iraq before they trigger an institutional crisis.


A Perfect Spiderweb
NSA whistle-blower wants to tell congress, but they don't have clearance to hear.



FLASHBACK: The Man Behind The Vaccine Mystery
Just before President Bush signed the homeland security bill into law an unknown member of Congress inserted a provision into the legislation that blocks lawsuits against the maker of a controversial vaccine preservative called "thimerosal," used in vaccines that are given to children.



INTERNATIONAL:



Saudi plans Islamic megabank
The authorised capital shall be $1 billion to be paid in instalments according to demand. Hence, it shall be the first private Islamic bank of its kind in capital terms.



Argentina Breaks Plutocrat, Banker Stranglehold
Argentina learned, just like Brazil and other nations in the region before it, that being tied to the IMF meant being forced to follow its promotion of globalization, free trade and privatization. Those were policies which often turned out to be of no benefit to ordinary people or to the economies of the countries subjected to them.



IRAQ:



Nothing depleted about 'depleted uranium'
Conservatively, at least 300 tons and 1,700 tons of depleted uranium were used in the Gulf War and the current Iraq War, resectively. This is about 70 grams of depleted uranium per Iraqi citizen, and if inhaled or ingested, it is enough to kill them all. Disturbing photos of children



ECONOMY:



Currency market wary of Iran
What we are concerned about is that going forward they may decide to remove petrodollars and redirect them elsewhere. If they do, it is negative for the bond market and ultimately for the U.S. dollar.



Wolfowitz under Fire
The immediate cause of the turmoil at the World Bank is the appointment of an adviser to Mr Wolfowitz with close ties to the Republican party as the new director of the internal watchdog that investigates suspected fraud and staff misconduct.



OP-ED:



Let’s Get Rid Of Congress
We don’t need Congress. Those folks are doing a lot to us but very little for us? Are they really representin’ you? They voted for a bankruptcy bill that allows big corporations to continue to file but prevents poor people from doing so. They voted for a raid on Iraq’s natural resources, disguised as a “war on terror,” in which thousands have been slaughtered. They allow King George to lock-up U.S. citizens without due process, tap our phones, and check our records. What’s next? Internment camps?



Democrats:Get Up and Walk Out
George W. Bush's delivery of the State of the Union address will take place on Tuesday, January 31, a little more than a week from now. It is my strong belief that every single Democrat present in the House chamber for the speech should, at a predetermined moment, stand up and walk out. No yelling. No heated words. Every Democrat should simply stand silently and leave.



FOOD&DRINK:



Beef Pinwheels with Arugula Salad
10 minutes to prepare(as long as you have a sharp knife), looks terribly stylish on the plate, and most of all tastes amazing!


REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



Miles at the Cellar Door
The new box set Miles Davis: The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 is the latest in a crop of critical anthologies that add perspective to the history of jazz.



HUMOR?:



Tom Tomorrow: The Terrifying World of the Average Conservative

Monday, January 23, 2006

Another Angle 23 - January - 2006

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you



NATIONAL:


Rice: Time for talk with Iran is over
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Monday there was strong international consensus against Iran's nuclear plans and time had run out for talking to Tehran.



Anti-Alito ad targets Thomas marriage
This is a slam dunk ad on Alito by the National Black Justice Coalition. It will be published in black newspapers in Baltimore and Washington, and in Roll Call, the Congressional newspaper.



San Francisco Bay View - National Black Newspaper of the Year
The title of this piece, "Rise of a Black Messiah," is in direct contention with not only the U.S. military, state and local police, but also the CIA and the FBI's war on Blacks, not only in America, but internationally. It is particularly an undeviating response to one of the 1966 long-term goals of the Counterintelligence Program (Cointelpro), issued by then FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover: to "'prevent the rise of a 'messiah' who could unify, and electrify, the militant Black Nationalist Movement."


Assclowns of the Week: “Just Do It” Edition
So just scroll down and laugh and cry with us. C’mon, just do it!



INTERNATIONAL:



Iran’s Oil Exchange threatens the Greenback
The Bush administration will never allow the Iranian government to open an oil exchange (bourse) that trades petroleum in euros. If that were to happen, hundreds of billions of dollars would come flooding back to the United States crushing the greenback and destroying the economy. This is why Bush and Co. are planning to lead the nation to war against Iran. It is straightforward defense of the current global system and the continuing dominance of the reserve currency, the dollar.



Swiss bank drops Iranian clients
The idea that the world's sixth-largest bank had made the decision in order to protect ties with the United States, where it does a huge part of its business and which is one of Tehran's fiercest opponents (was rejected).



IRAQ:



Moqtada al-Sadr Enters the Iran Attack Fray
Firebrand Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has assured Iran that his Shi’ite Muslim militiamen will support the Islamic Republic if it comes under attack, the official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday. Reuters notes. "If neighboring Islamic countries, including Iran, should come under attack, then the Mehdi Army will support them," Sadr said in Tehran.



Saddam's lawyers to launch legal bid against illegal foreign invasion
Saddam Hussein's lawyers are aiming to file a case against Tony Blair and US president George Bush at a European international court regarding the alleged illegal invasion and occupation of a sovereign state.



BUSH CRIME FAMILY:



Bush nominee broke law
A judge nominated by President Bush to one of the highest courts in the nation apparently violated federal law repeatedly while serving on the federal bench. Judge James H. Payne, 64, who was nominated by Bush in late September to join the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Denver, issued more than 100 orders in at least 18 cases that involved corporations in which he owned stock, a review of court and financial records shows.



ECONOMY:



Oil, conflict and the future of global energy supplies
Saddam’s selling of Iraq’s oil in the Euro (as of 2000) was more of an explosive threat to US interests than any WMDs so far found in Iraq by George Bush. If not by political persuasion for continued Iraqi oil sales in the US dollar, then by invasion to finally fix the problem. Consider the precipitous impact on the US economy when petrodollars rapidly cease to subsidise US living standards.



Petrodollar Warfare: Dollars, Euros and the Upcoming Iranian Oil ...Bourse
Tensions between the United States and Iran likely include a proposed Iranian “petroeuro” system for oil trade. Similar to the Iraq war, the unpublicized but real challenge to U.S. dollar supremacy from the euro as an alternative oil transaction currency. It is now obvious the invasion of Iraq had less to do with gaining strategic control over Iraq’s hydrocarbon reserves and in doing so maintain the U.S. dollar as the monopoly currency for the critical international oil market. Barring a U.S. attack, it appears imminent that Iran’s euro-denominated oil bourse will open in March 2006.

OP-ED:



Being Black when no one is looking
You cannot run or move away from being Black; you cannot graduate from being Black; and you cannot gain enough wealth to remove your Blackness. Unfortunately, some of us think we can, and we are sadly disappointed when we find our efforts are futile.



Harry Belafonte Reaffirms a Proud Tradition
Harry Belafonte did more than speak truth to a President who lied to justify an invasion that has taken the lives of more than 2,000 Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis. He became part of a proud African American tradition Frederick Douglass started in 1848.



FOOD&DRINK:



Dinner in the Fireplace
As with so many great culinary discoveries, this one was an accident. Johanne Killeen and George Germon, co-owners of the famed Al Forno in Providence, R.I. first put it on their menu in 1985. Killeen says that one very busy night at the restaurant, Germon unknowingly dropped a steak in the fire. When he finally found and tasted it, a dish was born.


REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



King Britt Marks a Big Year
Former Digable Planets DJ King Britt has recently released three new albums, including King Britt Presents: Sister Gertrude Morgan, a groovy remix of archival gospel music. Gertrude Morgan was an artist and preacher, who often sang on a corner in the French Quarter of New Orleans in the 1960s. Morgan, who believed she was the bride of Christ, made the record that became the source for Britt's album in 1970. The original recording consisted of Morgan and her tambourine..



HUMOR?:



Sutton Impact: Political Debates of Tomorrow

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Another Angle 22 - January - 2006

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you



NATIONAL:



Time: Bush-Abramoff Photos "Suggest A Level Of Contact Between Them That Bush's Aides Have Downplayed"...
In one shot that TIME saw, Bush appears with Abramoff, several unidentified people and Raul Garza Sr., a Texan Abramoff represented who was then chairman of the Kickapoo Indians, which owned a casino in southern Texas. Garza, who is wearing jeans and a bolo tie in the picture, told TIME that Bush greeted him as "Jefe," or "chief" in Spanish. Another photo shows Bush shaking hands with Abramoff in front of a window and a blue drape. The shot bears Bush's signature, perhaps made by a machine. Three other photos are of Bush, Abramoff and, in each view, one of the lobbyist's sons (three of his five children are boys). A sixth picture shows several Abramoff children with Bush and House Speaker Dennis Hastert.



Belafonte: Bush administration backs Gestapo tactics
"We've come to this dark time in which the Gestapo of Homeland Security lurks here, where citizens are having their rights suspended. You can be arrested and not charged, you can be arrested and have no right to counsel," said Belafonte, who called President Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world" during a trip to Venezuela two weeks ago. Belafonte, 78, made that comment after a meeting with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. The Harlem-born Belafonte, who was raised in Jamaica, said his activism was inspired by an impoverished mother "who imbued in me that we should never capitulate to oppression."



Fear of the intelligent thug: When Black power gets gangsta
You see them every morning same time, same place. “Dem boyz in da hood sell anything for profit, five in the morning on the corner clockin’.” I wonder if anyone has ever taken the time to tell these 14-year-old kids about Fred Hampton, who by the age of 21, had already become one of the most powerful leaders we’d ever produced? Wonder if anyone ever took the time to tell them about Huey P. Newton or Bunchy Carter organizing tha hood to protect Black people?



Putting Black Women in Power in Alabama
Tanya Ott reports on an organization that's working to put black women in leadership roles throughout the state.



The Black Commentator - Cover Story: Fighting the Theft of New Orleans
The overwhelmingly Black New Orleans diaspora is returning in large numbers to resist relentless efforts to bully and bulldoze them out of the city's future.



Walking Wounded
Hatred comes easily. There are wounds and there are wounds. The memory haunts him. He was not a joyous killer. He remembers what he did, knows now that he was had. It gnaws at him.



Public School left behind
“For everyone of those we are saving through a variety of these kinds of programs, we are losing nine or 10 and we’ve got to confront it,” says Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund. “The Black community has got to confront it. The country’s got to confront it.”



Photography: Who Owns Seydou Keïta?
Okwui Enwezor, a scholar of photography and curator of a 1996 exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum that included Mr. Keïta's work, maintained that in the amount of information he conveys about his middle-class subjects, in the controlled complexity of the portraits and the high level of quality maintained over a great volume, his work is "comparable to the portraiture of Rembrandt."
The Ghosts of Seydou Keita



INTERNATIONAL:



Iran's Really Big Weapon
Tehran is preparing to open a bourse, a mercantile exchange and potentially a futures market, where traders can buy and sell oil and gas, along the lines of the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) in London and the NYTMEX in New York. The differences are first, that this one would price its energy in euros, not dollars, and second, that it would not use West Texas Intermediate or Brent Crude (from the North Sea) as its standard oil for pricing. It would use a Persian Gulf-produced oil instead.



US navy captures Somali 'pirates'
When I started reading this my first thought was what right do we have to hunt pirates in the INDIAN OCEAN? But as the story tells you, it's always about money. AND this part is very telling...Piracy, including hijackings and hostage-taking, has become common off anarchic Somalia, where there has been no effective central government since 1991... The Somali government has signed a $50m (£28m) two-year deal with a private US marine security company to carry out coastal patrols.
If there is no central government who hired the private company? I am still on my original question.



Pakistan accused of Baluchistan abuses
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said it had "received evidence that action by armed forces had led to deaths and injuries among civilians". It also said that "populations had also been subjected to indiscriminate bombing" in a crackdown in the southwestern province launched last month, after rocket attacks by tribal fighters battling for greater autonomy and control of natural gas fields.



Hydropolis - The World's First Underwater Hotel
Currently under construction in Dubai, Hydropolis is the world's first luxury underwater hotel. It will include three elements: the land station, where guests will be welcomed, the connecting tunnel, which will transport people by train to the main area of the hotel, and the 220 suites within the submarine leisure complex.


BUSH CRIME FAMILY:



Bush Empire's Version of the News
The clandestine Bush administration is so afraid of letting the public see what it's doing that it has denied the president himself all access to outside information except for the sports pages and religious news. It's not nice to turn the president, almost an emperor, into a figure of ridicule.



Chain of Fools
Things are looking a bit grim for the Bush faction these days. Their chief bagman, Jack Abramoff, is in the clink, naming names. Their top congressional enforcer, Tom DeLay, is in the dock, sinking fast. Their "war of choice" in Iraq has stalled in murderous quagmire. Their poll numbers are plummeting as scandal after scandal turn the American people against them. What, then, will be the fate of these brutal, bungling, bloodstained goons when they face the voters in the coming elections?Why, victory, of course!



OP-ED:



Impeachment Would Make Matters Worse
"We could impeach Cheney, but then we'd get Bush as president." All right, for the sake of argument let's assume that Bush is impeached and Cheney is carted off to The Hague to be tried as a war criminal along with Rumsfeld. What does that leave us? With President Hastert. That's an improvement?



SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY:



Astronaut says space shuttle a deathtrap
It was this lack of ejector seats that ensured the deaths of Challenger's astronauts. Such a powered escape system could have blasted them from their stricken ship and saved them. 'That was the true tragedy of Challenger. Nothing was learnt. Only janitors and cafeteria workers at Nasa were blameless in the deaths of the Challenger seven.'



HEALTH&FITNESS:



New Mexico Begins Legislative Process To Ban Aspartame
A senate bill to rid New Mexico of what has been called "Rumsfeld's Disease" was introduced Thursday by Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, as 15 other senators from both sides of isle also signed on, supporting legislation to ban the deadly artificial sweetener, aspartame. Linked to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for his efforts in the 1970s for putting the sweetener on the market, New Mexico is the first state to consider banning the artificial additive linked to numerous ill-health affects, including cancer.



Live-in bugs fight HIV
Some of the 'friendly bacteria' found in yoghurt have been genetically modified to release a drug that blocks HIV infection.



FOOD&DRINK:



CHERRY CHEESECAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ALMOND CRUST
This cheesecake pops off the plate after you add SALT!!!!



REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



Blige's 'Breakthrough'
Before there was any such thing as American Idol, kids who aspired to singing careers had to find other paths to stardom. In 1989, a young girl from the New York projects stepped into a Karaoke booth at a White Plains mall and sang an Anita Baker tune. Today it's Mary J. Blige's songs that young girls sing.



JUST WEIRD:



Villagers Shun Man They Believe Is Dead
Is Raju Raghuvanshi alive or dead? Ask Raghuvanshi, he'll tell you he is alive.
Believed by his friends and family to have died in prison, Raghuvanshi returned home earlier this month from his short jail stint to shouts of "Help! Ghost!" and the sounds of neighbors locking their doors in his home village of Katra(India).

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Another Angle 21 - January - 2006



ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you




NATIONAL:



Report: 5 photos of Abramoff, Bush
If the White House can’t find the photos, prosecutors already know where to look. The Washingtonian has seen five photos of the President with Abramoff or his family. One photo shows the President and Abramoff shaking hands at a meeting in the Old Executive Office Building, where a bearded-Abramoff introduced Bush to several of the lobbyist’s native-American clients.



KIA in Alabama
On January 16th, after having talked quite normally on the phone with at least two other people that same day, Douglas Barber, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) living in Lee County, Alabama, changed the answer-message on his telephone. "If you're looking for Doug," it said in his Alabama drawl, "I'm checking out of this world. I'll see you on the other side."



Claim: Insider trades from House offices
After a comment by Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) on Air America's Majority Report Wednesday evening, RAW STORY has learned that House Democrats are pushing the ethics committee to investigate allegations of congressional offices providing privleged information to Wall Street investors. On Air America, Slaughter alleged that "day traders" in the offices of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) had aided such investors. She mentioned as a specific example that individuals got advance notice that an asbestos bill was not going to emerge from the Senate (Audio here).



Mystery firm linked to US lobbyist scandal
Abramoff recorded Rose Garden's address as a luxury flat in Tai Hang, above Causeway Bay, and its business as international trade. Hong Kong's Companies Registry has no record of Rose Garden Holdings; nor does the telephone directory. The apartment listed by Abramoff as Rose Garden's premises has been owned since 1992 by Luen Thai Shipping and Trading, according to the Land Registry.



Powerful Men Who Meet Secretly and Plan
The first group met at the Bilderberg Hotel in Holland. The first meeting was called by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands in response to his concerns regarding the increasingly antagonistic relationship between the U.S. and Western Europe thus providing the Group with a declared purpose - to further the understanding between Western Europe and North America through informal meetings between powerful individuals. The Group has grown since that first meeting in 1954 and has met once a year every year since that time.



Latest Bin Laden Tape: Another of the NeoCons' "Greatest Hits"
Just like Orwell's ubiquitous Emmanuel Goldstein, Bin Laden always seems to pop up right on cue so we can disengage our minds from reality and join in the two minutes hate.



INTERNATIONAL:



Iran will be taught a lesson: Burns
Undersecretary of State R Nicolas Burns has called Iran “a threat to world peace” and vowed to “teach it a lesson”. He said this in a press conference following talks with Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran on Friday. Iran has “crossed so many international red lines, that it has to know that will be a penalty to be paid.



Japan again halts import of US beef
The discovery of bone in a veal shipment from New York prompted the order. Asian countries believe the presence of bone indicates a risk of mad cow disease and restrictions against it in beef shipments have remained.



In Bolivia, a $100 Million Question
What will become of the U.S.-financed program to eradicate coca, the plant used to make cocaine, now that the longtime head of the coca growers' union, Evo Morales, is about to become the country's president?



Terrorism & incitement trial date certain for Trinidad’s Muslim leader
Abu Bakr will face a jury after he allegedly said during a sermon that there will be “war” and “bloodshed” , if rich Muslims did not contribute zakaat; a compulsory contribution which is usually made twice a year to be given to poorer people.



Black TV Channel Ignites Ire in Brazil
A Brazilian TV channel dedicated especially to black people has been provoking controversy. Not only Brazil, but parts of Europe, the western U.S., Asia and Angola have been watching "Canal da Gente," or "Our Channel," since Nov. 20, 2005.



IRAQ:



Italy to pull troops out of Iraq
Italy will withdraw 1 000 of its 2 600 troops in Iraq by June and aims to finish its mission there by the end of this year, Defence Minister Antonio Martino said on Thursday.




ECONOMY:



Steve Clemons: Paul Wolfowitz Busy Neo-Conning the World Bank ...
Wolfowitz may be showing his stripes now -- and may be finally tilting the Bank into a groove where it becomes a harsher instrument of U.S. foreign policy -- rewarding friends and punishing those who don't fall into lockstep behind George W. Bush's vision.



Collapse of U.S. Economy Imminent
Should America (along with British & Israeli forces) launch a war against Iran, or another country, without yet paying for, or even recovering from the current losses in Iraq and elsewhere - the costs of such of an invasion will overwhelm an already crippled economy and push the U.S. over the edge into oblivion.



OP-ED:



Jesse Jackson Jr.:
The Right to Vote
"The vote" is a human right. It is seen as an American right. In a democracy there is nothing more fundamental than having the right to vote. And yet the right to vote is not a fundamental right in our Constitution. Some liberals argue that the fundamental right to vote for every American citizen is implied in the Constitution, based on Supreme Court precedent. Yet when I ask them about the denial of voting representation in Congress to District of Columbia citizens, or about the denial of ex-felons' voting rights in most states, many liberals concede that the current structure of our Constitution limits the ability of the courts and Congress to adequately address important voting-rights issues.



Medicare Drug Plan Looks Like a Big Scam
The Medicare drug benefit is shaping up as the single most cynical scam perpetrated by the Bush administration on American consumers. Designed to maximize profits for drug makers and health insurers, the program was launched so ineptly Jan. 1 that hundreds of thousands of patients have been prevented by computer glitches from filling their prescriptions. California and 25 other states have had to step in temporarily to pay for improperly rejected prescription claims.



FOOD&DRINK:



BANANA NUT BREAD

Mother's learned to cook this bread during the Depression, when nothing was wasted — especially overripe bananas. I've discovered that overripe bananas can be peeled, mashed, and frozen, then defrosted whenever you want to bake up a memory.



REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



A Coming of Age, an Era of Change
"Quinceañera," which will premiere Monday afternoon at the Sundance Film Festival is a heartfelt story about — as the filmmakers put it — "what happens when teenage sexuality, age-old rituals and real-estate prices collide."



'Glory Road' Plays Fast and Loose with Facts
Hollywood sports films often ignore facts in favor of plot, and the new hit Glory Road is no exception.



HUMOR?:



Fiore: Welcome to Greater Georgelandia!