Another Angle 4 - April - 2006

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you



NATIONAL:



BREAKING: DeLay Reveals Plan To Have Texas Legislature Oust Ronnie Earle
On an interview this morning on Fox News Radio’s Tony Snow Show, Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) revealed a plan to have the Texas legislature oust district attorney Ronnie Earle, the prosecutor who charged DeLay with money laundering.



Cynthia McKinney Accuses Capitol Police of Racial Profiling
Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) has complained she was the victim of racial profiling that led to a run-in with a Capitol police officer last week. Prosecutors are now reviewing whether to bring charges against her. We speak with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee about the incident and we look at when several members of the Georgia General Assembly were denied entry to Coretta Scott King's funeral in February.
Listen to Segment from Democracy Now
GOP: Commend cops who grabbed rep.



Bush Ohio chief had Diebold stock
The state's top elections official said Monday he accidentally invested in a company that makes voting machines. Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, said he discovered the shares for Diebold Inc. while preparing a required filing for the Ohio Ethics Commission.



DeLay Announces Resignation From House
Funny how he does all this right after his top aide pleads guilty and promises to help prosecutors.



Chronological Oddity to Hit Digital Clock
Call it a coincidental sign of our digital times or a reason to stay up late and stare at the clock. Either way, early Wednesday morning the time and date will be 01-02-03-04-05-06.



INTERNATIONAL:



Venezuela takes back oil fields
The government said it had taken the step after failing to agree a deal with the two firms which would give it a majority stake in new ventures. President Hugo Chavez has been working to strengthen state control over oil production in the country. So far, 16 oil firms have agreed to change their operations into joint ventures with state oil firm PDVSA. US based Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and Spain's Repsol are among the companies that signed the agreement on Friday.



Israel Fires Missiles into Abbas' Compound
"For every action, there's a reaction," ministry spokesman Khaled Abu Hilal said. "The occupation must understand that our people have the ability to be steadfast in confronting acts of occupation."



IRAQ:



Is US Planning More Attacks on Shi'ite Militias?
CIA advisers to the Interior Ministry created a force of "special police commandos" consisting of 5,000 elite troops commanded by a former Ba'athist general, Adnan Thabit. Many of the commandos recruited for the unit were former Hussein security personnel themselves, partly because of their experience in counterinsurgency, and partly because they would be strongly anti-Iran. While still under the Interior Ministry in theory, these commandos will follow the lead of the U.S.-supported Gen. Thabit.



ECONOMY:



Chinese official: Buy less U.S. debt
China should trim its holdings of U.S. debt, a senior Chinese official said, rattling markets on Tuesday in the run-up to a visit by President Hu Jintao to Washington this month. As China is a leading financier of the U.S. current account deficit and holds the world's largest foreign exchange reserves, the comments from Cheng Siwei, a vice chief of the national parliament, sent the dollar and U.S. government bonds lower.



Wal-Mart to Add Jobs in Struggling Areas in U.S.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, said Tuesday it plans to build more than 50 stores in struggling communities over the next two years, as part of a goal to create between 15,000 and 25,000 jobs.
Hmm, let's see, 15-25,000 MORE substandard jobs with crappy or no benefits. Sounds like just what we need!



OP-ED:



'Latino Only'
The young black man hesitated as he stood outside the small furniture manufacturing shop in South Los Angeles. He was dressed neatly, and he was well-groomed. He eyed the building warily. The sign on the narrow glass door, in English and Spanish, read "help wanted" and trabajo aqui. After a moment he went in and politely asked for an application. The petite receptionist, a young Latina, handed him an application form, with an airy nonchalance. She curtly suggested that he fill it out and bring it back. When he asked if there would be an interview, she haltingly said only if there was a position open. A couple of hours later two young Latinos came in to apply. One was immediately hired. The other was told that another helper job might open up within the next few days.



The dangers of unintended consequences
Before the Middle East's unfriendly volcano erupts again, it would behoove the National Security team to advise the president that kicking butt in Iran, like kicking Iraq's gluteal region, triggers the law of unintended consequences.



How Massacres Become the Norm
It amazes me that so many people in the US today somehow seriously believe that American soldiers would never kill civilians. Despite the fact that they are in a no-win guerrilla war in Iraq which, like any other guerrilla war, always generates more civilian casualties than combatant casualties on either side.



SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY:



The Future of Glasses: Electronic Bifocals
Don't throw away those bifocals just yet, but scientists have developed prototype spectacles that change prescriptions with the flick of a switch. The new glasses could benefit people suffering from presbyopia, a condition in which faraway objects are in focus but those nearby appear blurry. Presbyopia is a natural, age-associated progressive loss, and scientists estimate that about 90 percent of people over 45 suffer from it.



FOOD&DRINK:



LAYERED TACO SALAD
This was great! Only change I would make is to add a bit of sour cream to the dressing to make it more creamy.



REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



Jackie McLean's Death Ends Decades of Inspired Jazz
Alto saxophonist Jackie McLean has died. Coming of age in the shadow of Charlie Parker, McLean mastered that saxophonist's style of bebop and went on to become an early advocate of the free jazz movement of the 1960s. In 2001, McLean was recognized as a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts. That same year, he was inducted into Downbeat magazine's Jazz Education Hall of Fame. McLean died Friday at his home in Hartford, Conn., after a long illness. He was 73 years old.



HUMOR?:



THIS MODERN WORLD