News Quickies — 09/06/06

• Due to last month’s terror alert, British Airways is claiming a £40m ($75.9m) loss.  Between August 10th and 17th, it cancelled 1,280 flights and incurred costs of hotels, catering and recovering baggage for stranded passengers. [“ BA says terror alert cost it £40m” (BBC News)]
• “A coalition of 300 Iraqi tribal leaders on Saturday demanded the release of Saddam Hussein so he could reclaim the presidency and also called for armed resistance against U.S.-led forces.” Yikes! [“A Demand for Hussein’s Release” (WashingtonPost.com)]
• On the fifth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, CNN will replay their coverage of the day’s events on the Internet.  Viewers will be able to watch how events unfolded starting at 8:30am, just minutes before the first reports of the first airplane hitting the World Trade Center started, all the way until midnight in real time.  For the day, the usually for-fee service will be free. [”CNN.com to replay 9/11 attacks coverage” (Yahoo!News)]

Tags: British Airways, airport security, terror alert, Saddam Hussein, Iraq, 9/11, CNN, WTC

Feeling Old Yet?

Beloit College has released its latest “Mindset List,” to help academics understand what freshmen know — and what they don’t have a clue about. This list has been prepared each August since 1998 and past lists are available online. [“What Your Freshmen Don’t Know” (Inside Higher Ed)]

Here is this year’s list, for the Class of 2010. I’ve bolded the ones that really made me feel old. Which ones make you feel old?

1. The Soviet Union has never existed and therefore is about as scary as the student union.
2. They have known only two presidents.
3. For most of their lives, major U.S. airlines have been bankrupt.
4. Manuel Noriega has always been in jail in the U.S.
5. They have grown up getting lost in “big boxes”.
6. There has always been only one Germany.
7. They have never heard anyone actually “ring it up” on a cash register.
8. They are wireless, yet always connected.
9. A stained blue dress is as famous to their generation as a third-rate burglary was to their parents’.
10. Thanks to pervasive head phones in the back seat, parents have always been able to speak freely in the front.
11. A coffee has always taken longer to make than a milkshake.
12. Smoking has never been permitted on U.S. airlines.
13. Faux fur has always been a necessary element of style.
14. The Moral Majority has never needed an organization.
15. They have never had to distinguish between the St. Louis Cardinals baseball and football teams.
16. DNA fingerprinting has always been admissible evidence in court.
17. They grew up pushing their own miniature shopping carts in the supermarket.
18. They grew up with and have outgrown faxing as a means of communication.
19. “Google” has always been a verb.
20. Text messaging is their e-mail.
21. Milli Vanilli has never had anything to say.
22. Mr. Rogers, not Walter Cronkite, has always been the most trusted man in America.
23. Bar codes have always been on everything, from library cards and snail mail to retail items.
24. Madden has always been a game, not a Super Bowl-winning coach.
25. Phantom of the Opera has always been on Broadway.
26. “Boogers” candy has always been a favorite for grossing out parents.
27. There has never been a “skyhook” in the NBA.
28. Carbon copies are oddities found in their grandparents’ attics.
29. Computerized player pianos have always been tinkling in the lobby.
30. Non-denominational mega-churches have always been the fastest growing. religious organizations in the U.S.
31. They grew up in minivans.
32. Reality shows have always been on television.
33. They have no idea why we needed to ask “…can we all get along?”
34. They have always known that “In the criminal justice system the people have been represented by two separate yet equally important groups.”
35. Young women’s fashions have never been concerned with where the waist is.
36. They have rarely mailed anything using a stamp.
37. Brides have always worn white for a first, second, or third wedding.
38. Being techno-savvy has always been inversely proportional to age.
39. “So” as in “Sooooo New York,” has always been a drawn-out adjective modifying a proper noun, which in turn modifies something else.
40. Affluent troubled teens in Southern California have always been the subjects of television series.
41. They have always been able to watch wars and revolutions live on television.
42. Ken Burns has always been producing very long documentaries on PBS.
43. They are not aware that “flock of seagulls hair” has nothing to do with birds flying into it.
44. Retin-A has always made America look less wrinkled.
45. Green tea has always been marketed for health purposes.
46. Public school officials have always had the right to censor school newspapers.
47. Small white holiday lights have always been in style.
48. Most of them have never had the chance to eat bad airline food.
49. They have always been searching for “Waldo”.
50. The really rich have regularly expressed exuberance with outlandish birthday parties.
51. Michael Moore has always been showing up uninvited.
52. They never played the game of state license plates in the car.
53. They have always preferred going out in groups as opposed to dating.
54. There have always been live organ donors.
55. They have always had access to their own credit cards.
56. They have never put their money in a “Savings & Loan.”
57. Sara Lee has always made underwear.
58. Bad behavior has always been getting captured on amateur videos.
59. Disneyland has always been in Europe and Asia.
60. They never saw Bernard Shaw on CNN.
61. Beach volleyball has always been a recognized sport.
62. Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti have always been luxury cars of choice.
63. Television stations have never concluded the broadcast day with the national anthem.
64. LoJack transmitters have always been finding lost cars.
65. Diane Sawyer has always been live in Prime Time.
66. Dolphin-free canned tuna has always been on sale.
67. Disposable contact lenses have always been available.
68. “Outing” has always been a threat.
69. Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss has always been the perfect graduation gift.
70. They have always “dissed” what they don’t like.
71. The U.S. has always been studying global warming to confirm its existence.
72. Richard M. Daley has always been the mayor of Chicago.
73. They grew up with virtual pets to feed, water, and play games with, lest they die.
74. Ringo Starr has always been clean and sober.
75. Professional athletes have always competed in the Olympics.

Hat tip: Dr. Steven Taylor @ Poliblog

Tags: Freshmen, Soviet Union, U.S. airlines, bankrupt, Manuel Noriega, Germany, DNA, Milli Vanilli, Google, Mr. Rogers, Walter Cronkite, bar codes, Phantom of the Opera, Law & Order, Retin-A, green tea, Waldo, Savings & Loan, Michael Moore, Disney, CNN, Bernard Shaw, Diane Sawyer, Dr. Suess, Richard M. Daley, global warming, virtual pets, Ringo Starr

Update On Americans Fleeing Lebanon

I’m not a big fan of Secretary of State Condi Rice. That’s no secret. However, I do give props when they are deserved and I must say that I was quite stunned when I read this morning that she had made the decision to waive the transportation fee to Americans evacuating from Lebanon. Kudos to her!

I will add a comment that a number of bloggers were blaming the Republicans solely for the transportation fee in the first place, but a little research does reveal that while “un-fucking-believable,” it is apparently a leftover U.S. policy from a 1956 law. Maybe it’s out of date and we should look to the governments of France, Ireland, Britain and Italy who didn’t delay in evacuating their citizens or worry about charging them for the trip.

It did seem a bit outrageous of the U.S. considering all the money we have to throw about in the Middle East.

“A nation that can provide more than $300 billion for a war in Iraq can provide the money to get its people out of Lebanon,” the California Democrat said in a statement earlier Tuesday.

I saw a cartoonist’s take on this earlier today who questioned whether the American people were even on the American agenda anymore. Good question. Especially considering the complaints from people trying to find out what’s going on from their government and finding out more information from the media…

Several of the Americans in Lebanon wrote e-mails to CNN, expressing their frustration with the evacuation process.

“We are desperately trying to evacuate and have become more and more disappointed and angry with the way the evacuation is being handled,” said Lina Fleihan, of Greensboro, North Carolina. “We hear more about what’s going on from CNN than we do from the U.S. government and the American Embassy here.”

Natalie Kerlakian of Denver, Colorado, wrote that she had not heard from the embassy in a week.

“I hope this response will be better than that of Katrina,” she wrote, referring to the heavily criticized government response to the hurricane that struck the Gulf Coast in August.

Susan Omar, of Clifton, New Jersey, wrote that she has family stuck in the southern Lebanese city of Maryajoun, and her phone calls to various governments’ offices have been fruitless.

“We have begged and pleaded with anyone and everyone, but our kids still don’t have water, food or medicine,” she wrote. “The media is telling everyone that those with medical necessity have already been evacuated. I guess that only means those lucky enough to be near Beirut!”

Kellee Khalil of Los Angeles, California, wrote that she was trapped in Lebanon while vacationing with her father, who has diabetes and a heart condition.

“The embassy has not put him on a priority list,” she wrote. “It has been several days of airstrikes and the United States seems to care little about the 25,000 Americans that are trapped here.” [“U.S. waives fee to flee Lebanon” (CNN.com)]

Tags: Lebanon, U.S. Embassy, CNN, Condi Rice

Where In The World Is Iraq?

Maybe the reason that Americans think we’re so superior is because we don’t take time to realize we’re not actually alone and that there are actually whole other countries and cultures beyond our borders. Then again, we aren’t all that good with figuring out what’s in our own borders, are we? I recall my mother telling me that some friends of hers were on one of those game shows like The Price Is Right and it took them a year to get their prizes shipped to them because they lived in New Mexico and the show wouldn’t ship outside of the country — kid you not.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — After more than three years of combat and nearly 2,400 U.S. military deaths in Iraq, nearly two-thirds of Americans aged 18 to 24 still cannot find Iraq on a map, a study released Tuesday showed.

The study found that less than six months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, 33 percent could not point out Louisiana on a U.S. map.

The National Geographic-Roper Public Affairs 2006 Geographic Literacy Study paints a dismal picture of the geographic knowledge of the most recent graduates of the U.S. education system.

“Taken together, these results suggest that young people in the United States … are unprepared for an increasingly global future,” said the study’s final report.

“Far too many lack even the most basic skills for navigating the international economy or understanding the relationships among people and places that provide critical context for world events.” [“Study: Geography Greek to most young Americans (CNN.com)]

Tags: Iraq, education, Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, Gulf Coast, National Geographics, CNN

Bush Administration Ignored CIA Intelligence, Same Old News

I watched 60 Minutes last night and I’ve been reading all of the related articles on Yahoo!News, The Washington Post, CNN, and Reuters. O.K. It’s all the same article. They all say the same thing. And really for those of us liberals who’ve been paying attention since 2002, it’s nothing new. In fact, there wasn’t anything in that report I hadn’t heard before, so it’s hard to get excited.

And I know none of the conservative right-wingers were paying attention anyway so it was just preaching to the choir. In fact, I stopped by Fox News and there’s no mention of the story on their website, not even something to refute Tyler Drumheller’s claims that the White House flat out ignored CIA intelligence that conflicted with what they needed to make the case for war in Iraq.

“The (White House) group that was dealing with preparation for the Iraq war came back and said they were no longer interested,” he was quoted as saying in interview excerpts released by CBS on Friday.

“We said: ‘Well, what about the intel?’ And they said: ‘Well, this isn’t about intel anymore. This is about regime change’,” added Drumheller, whose CIA operation was assigned the task of debriefing the Iraqi official. [“Ex-CIA agent says WMD intelligence ignored” (Reuters)]

Tags: WMD, Tyler Drumheller, Fox News, Yahoo!News, Washington Post, CNN, Reuters, White House, CIA, Intelligence, Iraq, 60 Minutes

CNN: “Dead Wrong — Inside an Intelligence Meltdown.”

CNN will be airing a special entitled Dead Wrong — Inside an Intelligence Meltdown this coming Sunday night. In it Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, a longtime Powell adviser who served as his chief of staff from 2002 through 2005, is one of several insiders interviewed.

A former top aide to Colin Powell says his involvement in the former secretary of state’s presentation to the United Nations on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction was “the lowest point” in his life. [“Former aide: Powell WMD speech ‘lowest point in my life’” (CNN.com)]

Makes you wonder what he knows that we don’t, doesn’t it? I’m thinking of that song from one of the Charlie Brown musicals “If I knew then what I know now.” If only I knew then and now.

In preparation for Powell’s Valentines’ Day (2003) call to arms, Wilkerson makes it sound like Powell was unprepared and had not been given all of the information he needed to be well-prepared.

“(Powell) came through the door … and he had in his hands a sheaf of papers, and he said, ‘This is what I’ve got to present at the United Nations according to the White House, and you need to look at it,’” Wilkerson says in the program. “It was anything but an intelligence document. It was, as some people characterized it later, sort of a Chinese menu from which you could pick and choose.”

Wilkerson and Powell spent four days and nights in a CIA conference room with then-Director George Tenet and other top officials trying to ensure the accuracy of the presentation, Wilkerson says. [“Former aide: Powell WMD speech ‘lowest point in my life’”(CNN.com)]

According to Wilkerson, what they later discovered was that it was innacurate despite their four days and nights. At least one of their sources was untrustworthy — something Powell didn’t know at the time, though apparently the Defense Intelligence Agency knew. More lack of communication between departments and government tentacles.

In one dramatic accusation in his speech, Powell showed slides alleging that Saddam had bioweapons labs mounted on trucks that would be almost impossible to find.

“In fact, Secretary Powell was not told that one of the sources he was given as a source of this information had indeed been flagged by the Defense Intelligence Agency as a liar, a fabricator,” says David Kay, who served as the CIA’s chief weapons inspector in Iraq after the fall of Saddam. That source, an Iraqi defector had never been debriefed by the CIA, was known within the intelligence community as “Curveball.”

After searching Iraq for several months across the summer of 2003, Kay began e-mailing Tenet to tell him the WMD evidence was falling apart. At one point, Wilkerson says, Tenet called Powell to tell him the claims about mobile bioweapons labs were apparently not true. [“Former aide: Powell WMD speech ‘lowest point in my life’”(CNN.com)]

So, more conflicting information spilling into the media. I’m going to have to try to remember to set my DVR so I don’t forget to watch this.

Somewhere out there really is the truth. I’d like to find it, but I’m starting to feel like we’ll never really know the whole story.

Tags: CNN, Iraq, Colin Powell, Intelligence, WMD, Conspiracy Theories, politics

America’s Red, White, and Blue-colored Glasses Are Slipping

I know it’s wrong but a little Chinese food and this article on CNN.com cheered me up just a little.

A solid majority still see Bush as a strong and likable leader, though the poll indicates the president’s confidence is seen as arrogance by a growing number.

Approval of Bush’s handling of Iraq, which had been hovering in the low- to mid-40s most of the year, dipped to 38 percent. Midwesterners and young women and men with a high school education or less were most likely to disapprove of Bush on his handling of Iraq in the past six months.

If worries about Iraq continue, they could become a major issue in the 2006 midterm congressional races, and if the war is still going in 2008, they could be a factor in the presidential race.

Bush’s overall job approval was at 42 percent, with 55 percent disapproving. That is about where Bush’s approval has been all summer but slightly lower than at the beginning of the year.

The portion of respondents who consider Bush honest has dropped slightly from January, when 53 percent described him that way while 45 percent did not. Now, people are just about evenly split on that issue — with 48 percent saying he is honest and 50 percent saying he is not.

The drop in the number of people who see Bush as honest was largest among middle-aged Americans as well as suburban women, a key voting group in the 2004 election. A further erosion of trust could make it tougher for Bush to win support for his policies in Congress and internationally.

“The reason that trust is so important has to do with the long-standing belief that you could trust him, even if you don’t always agree with him and don’t understand what he’s doing,” said Bruce Buchanan, a political scientist at the University of Texas. “The honesty dip is partly caused by a loss of faith in his credibility on Iraq.”

Well, I certainly stopped trusting him the minute I didn’t understand with what he was doing in regards to what I didn’t agree with. I don’t understand why people kept clinging to these beliefs so blindly all this time.

But the portion of respondents who view his confidence as arrogance has increased from 49 percent in January to 56 percent now.

“This country is a monarchy,” said Charles Nuutinen, a 62-year-old independent from Greenville, Wisconsin. “He’s turning this country into Saudi Arabia. He does what he wants. He doesn’t care what the people want.”

Six in 10 surveyed said they think the country is headed down the wrong track, despite some encouraging economic news in recent weeks.

I feel like Harlan in Eight-Legged Freaks when frustrated, he asks if people have been paying attention to what he’s been saying all this time, warning them of impending danger. Hello?! President Bush is trying his very best to make this country a dictatorship, built on his own personal religious views or at least the religious views he claims to have. He doesn’t give a rats ass how he does it, he turns his nose up at the judicial system, he ignores requests from Congress. He’s a spoilled-rotton little boy who thinks he rules the world and won’t stop until women are secondary citizens and the homosexual community is rounded up into concentration camps.

Hmmmm…I’m all riled up now and my migraine’s coming back…but at least I feel like I got something off my chest.

Tags: CNN, poll, George W. Bush, Iraq, dictatorship

7/27 London Copycat Bombings Just a Protest Against the War?

Remember 10 days ago when I thought that second London Bombing attempt was a copycat?

This article appeared on CNN.com today. Apparently they’ve arrested one of the July 21rst attempted “bombers” in Italy and he claims that is was an act of protest against London’s participation in the War on Iraq and seems to indicate that he never intended for anyone to die.

Hussain Osman, who is also known as Hamdi Issac, said the four men who partially detonated backpack bombs before running from their targets on July 21 were not working with the July 7 bombers who killed themselves and 52 travelers on three London Underground trains and a bus, the source said.

Osman also claimed the July 21 group was not working for al Qaeda, the Islamic terrorist organization behind the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States, last year’s Madrid train bombings and numerous atrocities worldwide.

Further, the source said, Osman told authorities the bombs were meant to draw attention to anger over the war in Iraq and not to kill anyone.

“I am against war,” the source quoted Osman as saying. “I’ve marched in peace rallies and nobody listened to me. I never thought of killing people.”

Further more, the 4 men involved in the 7/7 attack were of Pakistani ethnicity while at least three of the men involved in the 7/21 “attack” were from East Africa.

Why admit to the crime but deny Al-Q connections if you are a true soldier of the jihad?

And if they really were just trying to protest the war, why pick this method?

Oy. What a messed up world we are in. Sometimes I think I’m the only sane one, but I’m in therapy, on anti-anxiety and anti-depression meds, and come from a line of family displaying signs of odd quirks and mental illness…still I do think I’m increasingly becoming one of the few sane ones left.

Tags: CNN, London bombing, terrorism, anti-war, protest

Find Latoyia Figueroa

Found this at In Search of Utopia who found it at iFlip-Flop. As David so eloquently points out, there is hypocricy in the fact lack of coverage for this particular story of this particular pregnant missing mother of one, who, while apparently quite beautiful, is not the usual blonde, anglo-saxon type that the media likes to flash on television screens and front page newspapers. This woman deserves as much media attention as Lacy Peterson and the young woman who went missing in Aruba.

I copied Howard’s post directly from Philly Future, where he started this thread about Latoyia Figueroa last week. Please help out on your site if you can. And help find Latoyia Figueroa:When the news of Latoyia Figueroa’s disapperance first made it onto the Philly Future front page last week, she was a relatively anonymous missing person. Unfortunately, she is still both relatively anonymous and missing. That’s the continuing sad truth of the matter.

The hopeful news is that, thanks to local bloggers like Richard at All Spin Zone, and those who’ve followed his lead, her name is starting to get out, and hopefully her face has a greater chance of being seen by someone who may be able to help find her.

Richard’s post on Latoyia has been picked up by Evan Derkacz at Alternet.

Richard asks, and we echo his request, for all Philly area bloggers to put the word out on their blogs about Latoyia Figueroa, who’s been missing for over a week now. Include a picture of her. Even if you only get one visitor a day, every little bit helps raise awareness of this missing Philadelphia woman, who is not only five months pregnant, but also has a seven-year-old waiting for her at home.

Another course of action Richard has suggested is to write an email to Nancy Grace.

at CNN, who has provided wall-to-wall coverage of missing teenager
Natalee Holloway. In a world where only the white-skinned, blond-haired
young women seem to be missed by the mainstream media, these are some
ways to help bring Latoyia’s story a little attention too.

UPDATE: CNN is covering the story.

Tags: Latoyia Figueroa, missing persons, Natalee Halloway, Lacy Peterson, CNN

RIP: James Doohan

When the series ended in 1969, Doohan found himself typecast as Montgomery Scott, the canny engineer with a burr in his voice. In 1973, he complained to his dentist, who advised him: “Jimmy, you’re going to be Scotty long after you’re dead. If I were you, I’d go with the flow.”

Read the story at CNN.com

Tags: CNN, James Doohan

House restores $100 million to public broadcasting

Sometimes peer pressure works in our favor. Let’s hope the trend for using peer pressure for good keeps going.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Big Bird and National Public Radio won a reprieve Thursday as the House restored $100 million that had been proposed as a budget cut for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The 284-140 vote demonstrated the enduring political strength of public broadcasting, whose supporters rallied behind popular programs such as “Sesame Street,” “Postcards From Buster” and “The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer.”

The Public Broadcasting Service undertook a high-profile campaign to rescind the proposed cut. Lawmakers were flooded with letters and phone calls.

PBS still might end up with less money than in its current budget. The legislation would eliminate a $23 million for the Ready to Learn program, which subsidizes children’s educational programming and distributes learning materials.

Public broadcasting advocates say $82 million is set to be cut for satellite upgrades and a program to help public TV stations switch to digital technology. Restoring the money would mean dipping into dollars intended for stations and programming, they say.

Opponents of the cut said public broadcasting provides programming not available elsewhere.

“Do we want to live in a society where pop culture dictates all that is offered on the airwaves,” said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-New York.

Full story at CNN.com.

Tags: House of Representatives, NPR, CNN, PBS

Have Your Own Opinion

I was examining the polls on CNN’s website today. I find it interesting that 50% of Americans still think it was worth it to go to Iraq and 47% say no. Usually polls aren’t that close either with only 3% not having an opinion.

Also to note, something like 62% don’t think Bush is doing a good job handling Iraq.

I remember a year ago, watching in horror as over a few months time the polls changed drastically from few people thinking we should go to war with Iraq to the majority thinking it was a grand idea. I remember how it seemed that everyone got on the bandwagon and cursed the French for not agreeing with the high-and-mighty U.S. popular opinion that Iraq needed a beating. I remeber the stupidity of boycotting French wine and French imports — even more stupid were the people who bought the expensive French wines to make public spectacles of themselves pouring it out in the streets. I remember that having an opinion that wasn’t popular could get you verbally abused, even from people who are supposed to be your friends. In fact, only a few months ago, I made an offhand observation about the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq (one of which I agreed with for the most part) and was verbally battered by someone who is supposed to be a close friend.

We are a fickle lot, we Americans. We are proud and stubborn, but we do tend to form our opinions based on what the media, our parents, our friends, and the people we respect as leaders tell us should be our opinions. Many of us vote the way our parents vote (I haven’t), are in the same political party as our parents (I’m not), have the same beliefs as our parents. (My father and I agree on many political things but this may be the first year we’ve voted the same in a decade.) Many people vote the way their spouses vote too.

So many of us don’t really have opinions of our own and that’s such a sad thing, because when we allow ourselves to get caught up in the rhetoric, in the propoganda, in the popular opinion, we cheat ourselves and we lose our identities. Indeed, there’s a truth that mob intelligence isn’t the brightest — in fact, mob intelligence usually means that the least intelligent is the influencing member. Stupidity usually comes out of such things — like rioting, looting, hysteria.

It’s one thing to stand up for what you believe in; it’s something entirely when you’re just standing up to be part of the crowd, whichever crowd it is that you want to be a part of.

Tags: poll, CNN, Iraq, politics, stupidity