Great Firewall of China

China's Cyber Warriors are not only going after Western industrial and military secrets, they are also shutting down Chinese dissidents who are operating from the West. Hundreds of Chinese language web sites and blogs are based in the West, where they can be reached by the 10-20 percent of Chinese users willing and able to use available tools that allow you to bypass the "Great Firewall of China." The government knows this is going on, because they see news, and ideas, from these offshore sights quickly showing up in China. The Chinese government does not like this, because the "illegal" news is often embarrassing to the government.

Information Warfare: Chinese Thought Police Gone Wild

The Beep Beep Song

Simone White (thanks to a car commercial..)

Bhutto's Successor

Benazir Bhutto's son has been anointed her successor, the slain former prime minister's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) confirmed today. A senior PPP official had told TIME late Saturday that Bhutto's 19-year-old son, Bilawal, would likely be named as her political heir and the new party leader on Sunday. PPP members met this morning to discuss the party's future and to give Bilawal, a student at Oxford, a chance to read his mother's last will and testament.

Bhutto's Successor - TIME

More about the boy here, like "The 19-year-old, currently studying in Oxford, told a local daily in a rare interview three years ago that he will always regret the fact that he could not play cricket because of the "circumstances in which my family had been put". (link)

'Why Did We Invade Iraq?'

LiveLeak.com - 'Why Did We Invade Iraq?'

Japanese woman dies after 30 hospitals reject her

An 89-year-old woman died after an ambulance crew spent two hours trying 30 hospitals before finding one that would accept her for treatment, Japanese officials said today.

The ambulance crew and local fire department contacted 30 hospitals before one of the hospitals finally said it could admit her - about two hours after her family had called for an ambulance, Matsumoto said.

The woman’s heart stopped when she was taken to Osaka Minami Medical Centre, according to Matsumoto.

She was resuscitated at the hospital but died on Wednesday, according to hospital official Hiroshi Tone.

Matsumoto said the other hospitals rejected the woman saying their hospitals were full or their doctors were not immediately available to treat her.

Last year, a pregnant woman in western Japan died after being refused admission by about 20 hospitals that said they were full.

The latest case underscores Japan’s health care woes, in part created by a shortage of doctors in the country’s rapidly aging society. Critics say long working hours and a government policy change several years ago to keep the number of doctors down are to blame.

Japanese woman dies after 30 hospitals reject her : thewest.com.au

So that is why they need robots in their hospitals...?
as Popgadget says: "If this is where the future services industry of Japan is heading, it will only add to the woes of an already disgruntled and out-of-work labor force. With all due respect to the tremendous applications that robots have had in the manufacturing industry, when it comes to caring, give me a human being any day. No robotic hospitals for me" (link)

The Destruction Of Atlantis

A two hour long presentation by Michael Tsarion

Red Fluorescent Cat Cloned

Researchers found a way to clone pet cats five years ago. Now they can play a trick on their genes to change their color.
A Gyeongsang National University team said they have succeeded in cloning cats after modifying a gene to change their skin color. Because of the red fluorescence protein in their skin cells, the three Turkish Angola kittens look reddish under ultraviolet light, the researchers said.
The red cloned cat research is expected to be utilized in dealing with certain genetic diseases in animals and humans. It will also help reproduce rare animals, such as tigers and wildcats, which are on the verge of extinction, the team said.

According to the team led by professor Kong Il-keun, three kittens were born in January and February by caesarian section, but one died during the procedure. They weighed between 110 and 136 grams at birth and now weigh 3.5 kilograms each now, the researchers said.

Red Fluorescent Cat Cloned (The Korea Times)

Lakota Freedom Delegation

"We are the freedom loving Lakota from the Sioux Indian reservations of Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana who have suffered from cultural and physical genocide in the colonial apartheid system we have been forced to live under." 

During the week of December 17-19, 2007, the Lakota Freedom Delegation traveled to Washington DC and withdrew from the constitutionally mandated treaties to become a free and independent country. We are alerting the Family of Nations we have now reassumed our freedom and independence with the backing of Natural, International, and United States law.

Lakota Freedom Delegation

Lakota Withdrawal Letter, December 17, 2007 (pdf)

Download the complete Declaration of Continuing Independence (pdf).

More about the Lakota people on Wikipedia and also remember the Wounded Knee Massacre (1890) and on the very good site  Manataka American Indian Council "The Legacy of Wounded Knee" lots of information about the 1973 siege with a very good presentation (click here to watch)

LAAF Eternal rains of fire

Dutch Governmental fireworks safety advertisement. LiveLeak.com - LAAF Eternal rains of fire (English Subtitles)

Bhutto Conspiracy Theories

In the 24 hours since a lone attacker assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the rumor mill has again been working overtime. Not only are there conflicting reports of how Bhutto died — from bullet wounds or from a bomb blast that followed or from fracturing her skull against her car's sun-roof as the assailant blew himself up — but many Pakistanis are pointing the finger of blame at President Pervez Musharraf and his allies in Washington.

On jihadi websites, al-Qaeda claimed the assassination was their work and intelligence officials in both Pakistan and the U.S. agree that Islamic extremists from al-Qaeda or the Taliban were probably responsible for the devastating attack. But as Musharraf's popularity has slipped badly, moderate and religious Pakistanis alike have begun to blame him for the increasing chaos in their country — and to trace every incident directly to his rule and his high-profile allies. "This assassination was fabricated by the present government," says Liaqat Baloch, a senior official in Jamaat-e-Islami, one of Pakistan's main Islamic parties. "It is part of the American strategy to scare people that Pakistan is falling apart."

Bhutto Conspiracy Theories Fill the Air - TIME

 

See the actual shooting below:

 

Also see this on Democratic Underground.com:"How quickly will people fixate on specific Bhutto conspiracy theories?"

And right on cue, shortly after former Pakistani premier Bhutto's own slaying, key al-Qaeda news items appear. Like "senior US officials" are checking into an al-Qaeda claim of responsibility for the assassination, and—lo and behold—"Osama" himself will soon release a message regarding Iraq.

 

Remember Operation Cyclone? "Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, concerned of the growing strength of the Islamist movement, told President George H. W. Bush, "You are creating a Frankenstein". More here

Chicago's public military academies draw controversy

In a controversial new program, the city of Chicago has opened five public schools since 1999 based on a military academy model. Over 10,000 students attend the schools, which offer college preparatory courses combined with a military curriculum.

According to the Chicago Tribune, "military personnel work at the schools as teachers and administrators, and all academy students must enlist in the Junior ROTC, wear a military uniform and take a daily ROTC course that includes lessons on leadership, character development, drug prevention and military history."

Former army officer Paul Stroh, now principal of the Marine Military Academy, told PBS that the school's aim is to produce graduates who will become leaders of their communities. Parents interviewed by PBS agreed that the school gives their children special opportunities to succeed, while the students described the chance to take on leadership roles as "really cool."

The Raw Story | Chicago's public military academies draw controversy

Scientology's Military

This.Film.Is.Not.Yet.Rated.

Bhutto assassinated

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in the wake of a suicide bombing that killed at least 14 of her supporters, doctors, a spokesman for her party and other officials said.

Bhutto suffered bullet wounds in the aftermath of the bomb attack, TV networks were reporting.

An AP reporter at the scene saw body parts and flesh scattered at the back gate of the Liaqat Bagh park in Rawalpindi where the rally was held. He counted about 20 bodies, including police, and could see many other wounded.
The road outside was stained with blood and people screamed for ambulances. Others gave water to the wounded lying in the street. The clothing of some of the victims was shredded and people put party flags over their bodies.

CBS News - CNN - BBC - Aljazeera

See this defiant Bhutto after the last assassination attempt:

They're watching your expressions

Travelers at Sea-Tac and dozens of other major airports across America are being scrutinized by teams of TSA behavior-detection officers specially trained to discern the subtlest suspicious behaviors.

TSA officials will not reveal specific behaviors identified by the program -- called SPOT (Screening Passengers by Observation Technique) -- that are considered indicators of possible terrorist intent.

But a central task is to recognize microfacial expressions - a flash of feelings that in a fraction of a second reflects emotions such as fear, anger, surprise or contempt, said Carl Maccario, who helped start the program for TSA.

"In the SPOT program, we have a conversation with (passengers) and we ask them about their trip," said Maccario from his office in Boston. "When someone lies or tries to be deceptive, ... there are behavior cues that show it. ... A brief flash of fear."

Such people are referred for secondary screening, which can include a pat-down search and an X-ray exam. The microfacial expressions, he said, are the same across many cultures.

Airport profilers: They're watching your expressions

Have a Merry F*cking Christmas!

Kentucky Fried Cruelty

Kentucky Fried Cruelty :: Undercover Investigations :: Pilgrim's Pride

NO CHICKEN FOR X-MAS FOR ME !

Time - Person of the Year 2007

Putin grudgingly reveals a few personal details between intermittent bites of food: He relaxes, he says, by listening to classical composers like Brahms, Mozart, Tchaikovsky. His favorite Beatles song is Yesterday. He has never sent an e-mail in his life. And while he grew up in an officially atheist country, he is a believer and often reads from a Bible that he keeps on his state plane. He is impatient to the point of rudeness with small talk, and he is in complete control of his own message.

He is clear about Russia's role in the world. He is passionate in his belief that the dissolution of the Soviet Union was a tragedy, particularly since overnight it stranded 25 million ethnic Russians in "foreign" lands. But he says he has no intention of trying to rebuild the U.S.S.R. or re-establish military or political blocs. And he praises his predecessors Yeltsin and Mikhail Gorbachev for destroying a system that had lost the people's support. "I'm not sure I could have had the guts to do that myself," he tells us. Putin is, above all, a pragmatist, and has cobbled together a system—not unlike China's—that embraces the free market (albeit with a heavy dose of corruption) but relies on a strong state hand to keep order.

A Tsar Is Born - Person of the Year 2007 - TIME

Hoover Planned Mass Jailing in 1950

Newly declassified document shows that J. Edgar Hoover, the longtime director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, had a plan to suspend habeas corpus and imprison some 12,000 Americans he suspected of disloyalty.

Hoover sent his plan to the White House on July 7, 1950, 12 days after the Korean War began. It envisioned putting suspect Americans in military prisons.

Hoover wanted President Harry S. Truman to proclaim the mass arrests necessary to “protect the country against treason, espionage and sabotage.” The F.B.I would “apprehend all individuals potentially dangerous” to national security, Hoover’s proposal said. The arrests would be carried out under “a master warrant attached to a list of names” provided by the bureau.

Hoover Planned Mass Jailing in 1950 (New York Times via PrisonPlanet)

Jilin Prison Uses 'Death Beds' to Torture Falun Gong Practitioners

The death bed, a torture method originating from Jilin Prison, is frequently used to torture imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners at the Jilin Prison and Jilin Province Women's Prison, also known as Heizuizi Women's Prison, in Changchun City. Similar to the ancient, cruel punishment of being drawn and quartered, many Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death this way.

The tortured person is left feeling neither dead nor alive. Falun Gong practitioners who refuse to give up their beliefs have all been tortured with the death bed at least once. Some can't even count how many times they've been put on the death bed.

Ms. Song Yanqun of Shulan City, Jilin Province, is an English teacher at Dade Japanese School in Haerbing. She was sentenced to 12 years in prison for refusing to give up the practice of Falun Dafa. After Ms. Song was tortured on the death bed by the guards at Jilin Province Women's Prison in May 2005, her left leg became cold and numb. Her entire right arm constantly trembles from pain, and she can no longer write.

More on: Jilin Prison Uses 'Death Beds' to Torture Falun Gong Practitioners

Also see The Falundafa in Europe Site

Blair called for BAE inquiry to be halted

Tony Blair's personal role as prime minister in halting the Saudi arms sale bribery investigation is revealed in court documents which the Guardian is publishing in full on its website.

Government memos stamped "Secret" reveal that the then attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, twice tried in vain to stop Blair interfering in the criminal investigation.

His chief of staff told the cabinet secretary, Gus O'Donnell, on October 3 2006: "The attorney general is of the firm view that, if the case is in fact soundly based, it would not be right to discontinue it."

But Blair wrote a "Secret and Personal" letter to Goldsmith on December 8 2006, demanding he stop the investigation. He said he was concerned about the "critical difficulty" in negotiations over a new Typhoon fighter sales contract, as well as a "real and immediate risk of a collapse in UK/Saudi security, intelligence and diplomatic cooperation".

More on: Blair called for BAE inquiry to be halted | The Guardian BAE investigation | Guardian Unlimited

Tony Blair turns out to be a Catholic

Former prime minister Tony Blair has left the Anglican Church to become a Roman Catholic.

His wife and children are already Catholic and there had been speculation he would convert after leaving office.

Last year, Mr Blair, who is now a Middle East peace envoy, said he had prayed to God when deciding whether or not to send UK troops into Iraq.

And one of Mr Blair's final official trips while prime minister was a visit to the Vatican in June where he met Pope Benedict XVI.

BBC NEWS | UK | Tony Blair joins Catholic Church

Also read the Guardian:"After 30 years as a closet Catholic, Blair finally puts faith before politics"

Diana Letter claiming Charles planned to kill her

A SENSATIONAL handwritten letter by Princess Diana claiming Charles wanted to kill her in a car crash was revealed in full for the first time yesterday.

Diana scribbled the letter on headed paper in October 1996 warning her husband wanted her murdered so he could marry their children’s nanny.

The Princess of Wales was wrongly convinced that Charles was having an affair with pretty Tiggy Legge-Bourke and had got her pregnant. And she dismissed Camilla Parker Bowles as “nothing but a decoy.”

Diana gave it to butler Paul Burrell, who revealed its existence in his 2003 book.

But a dramatic page of the letter – written by the princess as “insurance” less than a year before she died in a car accident in August 1997, aged 36 – was yesterday seen publicly in full for the first time.

More at "Diana inquest | Letter claiming Charles planned to kill her | The Sun"

Pamela Anderson's Explicit New Video

 

"You won't find my new release at your local cinema. My latest project is "Kentucky Fried Cruelty," an undercover exposé blowing the whistle on the cruel treatment of animals at KFC's factory farm and slaughterhouse suppliers.
The video details just how horribly KFC treats chickens—birds are so crippled that they can't even walk, live birds are forced into tanks of scalding-hot water while completely conscious and able to feel pain, and Moorefield, West Virginia slaughterhouse workers kill birds by slamming them against the wall and stomping on them!

I'm calling on consumers to "Kick the Bucket" and boycott KFC until the company agrees to make some simple improvements in the way it treats animals."

Take Action: Pamela Anderson's Explicit New Video