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Begun this Clone War has...

Second 'cloned baby' born

The group which claimed the first birth of a cloned human last week says a second such baby has now been born to a Dutch lesbian couple.
The baby girl and the mother are said to be well after the birth on Friday night.

Chief executive of the US-based Clonaid organisation Brigitte Boisselier told the French news agency the child weighed 2.7 kilograms (six pounds), but would not specify in which country the natural birth had taken place.

Lawyer trying to take first clone baby

On Tuesday, a U.S. lawyer petitioned Florida state court to appoint a legal guardian for the child, arguing that she is being exploited and may have suffered birth defects. The lawyer admitted that the courts may have no jurisdiction in the case, but said that he chose Florida because that's where Dr. Boisselier held her press conference.

The principals involved in Eve's birth have been summoned to appear in court in less than three weeks, the plaintiff-lawyer said Thursday.

In light of that threat, Raël told CNN Crossfire, he has urged the mother to retain her privacy if she wants to be sure of keeping her daughter.Via New World Disorder

Clone cult firm raided in S Korea

Prosecutors in South Korea have seized documents from a biotechnology company linked to a controversial sect which claims to have created the world's first cloned baby.

After raiding the offices of BioFusion Tech Inc. in the southern city of Daegu, officials questioned members of staff to see whether they had taken part in the cloning project.

Ian MacNaughton, 76, a 'Monty Python' Director, Is Dead

Ian MacNaughton, a British director who helped a group of young comedians shape "Monty Python's Flying Circus" into a watershed of absurdist television comedy, died on Dec. 10 in Munich after being injured in a car crash, The Times of London reported. He was 76.

A former actor, Mr. MacNaughton came to work with the Monty Python troupe after directing the "Q5" television series with Spike Milligan in 1969, when he distinguished himself by keeping a madcap sketch-comedy program under tight control. [MORE]

Daily Llama

Quantum computer: Quick thinking

The Deutsch–Jozsa algorithm — a type of simple decision-making routine — has the potential for fast operation in a quantum computer. Whereas the analogous classical problem involves two examination steps, this algorithm can do the job in one: the quantum realm computes exponentially faster than its classical counterpart. Another milestone in the path to practical quantum computing has now been achieved with the demonstration of the Deutsch–Jozsa algorithm in an ion-trap quantum computer, a processor based on a single trapped 40Ca+ ion driven by laser pulses. This is the first time a quantum algorithm has been demonstrated in a potentially scalable system. A high degree of control is achieved over the quantum states needed to run the algorithm, making the development of larger processors a realistic goal.

Official 2002 Darwin Awards

Named in honor of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, the Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it.

Mummers strut into controversy
Cardinal complains of 'mean-spirited mockery'

Philadelphia's New Year's tradition has generated a storm of controversy this year, even while being postponed until Saturday.

The archbishop of Philadelphia has said that a satirical sketch mocking sexually abusive priests to be performed at the annual Mummers Parade is an "attack on the Catholic faith."

The sketch, put on by the Slick Duck Comic Brigade, was expected to show priests being chased by police and nuns in a go-go cage. [MORE]

British police foil drug-smuggling chicken legs

British police said on Friday they had foiled an attempt to smuggle fried chicken legs stuffed with cannabis to a gunman involved in one of Britain's longest armed sieges on record.

Detectives agreed to let the gunman order the food in a bid to persuade him to end the stand-off at a house in east London where he has been holding a man hostage for more than a week.

But when officers examined the food delivered by a friend of the gunman on Sunday, they found the cooked chicken was full of cannabis, a police spokeswoman told Reuters.

The (re)evolution will be blogged
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Join the LibertyThink Research Hive in 3 easy steps:

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2.) Scan the datasphere for news and information of interest and post it to your own website in real-time.

3.) Tell us about your blog. Send us a message and we shall post a link to your site on our LibertyThink Research Hive page. (coming soon)

What have you got to lose?

[special note to those who already blog: Start a new one.]

Top Ten Conspiracy Theories of 2002

from Alternet

For about thirty minutes after his chief of staff told him that America was under attack, George W. Bush continued to sit in an elementary school classroom listening to a second-grader tell a story about a pet goat. He did a marvelous job of looking completely unsurprised. Meanwhile, four hijacked jumbo jets were able to fly off-course across several states without encountering any opposition from the most powerful and responsive air force in the world.

Click here to vote for your favorite on LibertyForum.

LibertyThink Honorable Mention:

1.) Jeb Bush's 7 September 2001 martial law declaration in Florida (Executive Order 01-261).

2.) George W. Bush's Executive Order W199I-WF-213589 ordering Federal agents to "back off the bin Ladens"

3.) FOXNews Spy Story

1984: Will Your TV Become a Spy?
from BusinessWeek Online

Hollywood wants every new digital set to include a monitoring device that will inform copyright holders of everything you watch. Bad idea.

[The system of cataloging everything you watch is already a standard 'feature' in modern cable boxes.]

Also see: The Next Step into Tyranny: Police Cameras In Your House

Annan Sees No Reason Yet for Military Action Against Iraq

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan says he sees no reason for military action against Iraq at this time. In an interview with Israel's Army Radio, Mr. Annan said U.N. inspectors should be allowed to finish their work.

Kofi Annan said the U.N. inspectors are in Iraq to ferret out banned weapons or weapons programs Iraq may have. He told Israel's Army Radio it was agreed that the inspectors should report their findings to the U.N. Security Council January 27.

Therefore, he said there is no basis for further action now, since Iraq has cooperated with the inspectors. "Iraq is cooperating, and [the inspectors] are able to do their work in an unimpeded manner," said Mr. Annan. "Therefore I do not see an argument for a military action now."

Meanwhile Back at the ranch: A little incuBLOGula insider info from a source that formerly served as a Pentagon advisor- "The US is leaning so far forward (a reference to the economic and political ramification of the current mid-east military build-up) that war is inevitable no matter the outcome of the inspections." One could even say that the US has been marching off to war from the beginning.

From crackpots to gurus

If terrorists strike again, Bill believes he is ready -- no matter what form the attacks might take. In his rural home he keeps biowarfare chemical agent detection paper, airline smoke hoods, P100 disposable protective face masks, a Geiger counter and radiation pills; plus a freezer full of beans, 19 containers of water with filters and an air cleaner and a roll of plastic and duct tape to fashion a "safe room" in case of chemical attack.

Bill -- no last name, just "Bill," as he anonymously posts on misc.survivalism newsgroup -- says he's kept this protective arsenal around for years "just in case." He's an old-school survivalist, once the target of widespread eye rolling and derision, now a respected font of sought-after tips for staying alive in the wake of Sept. 11. [MORE] Via Post Atomic

Software company tries to survive terrorism investigation

Life has quieted down at Ptech Inc. in the month since the software firm's offices were searched by federal agents with television news crews and a wave of devastating publicity hard on their heels.

But it's a bad kind of quiet. Business has slowed, and 17 of 27 workers have been let go.

The remainder are confronting hateful voice message and e-mails. The bank accounts of four employees of Middle Eastern descent have been canceled, without explanation.

``I feel like I'm not allowed to dream,'' chief executive and co-founder Oussama Ziade said in a recent interview.

Ptech is similar to a thousand other software startups, but its fortunes turned on a distinction: It has connections to Middle Eastern people and groups that have attracted attention from federal authorities investigating the funding of terrorist groups like al-Qaida.

Ptech calls itself an injured bystander in the war on terrorism. Ziade says the company has been assured neither it nor any employees are the target of government investigations, and the government has said use of Ptech's software poses no threat to clients like the FBI and Pentagon.

Tech industry to take on Hollywood over digital rules

The high-tech industry plans to launch a sophisticated new lobbying campaign later this month to strike back against Hollywood in a battle to shape rules of the road for new digital technologies.

The Business Software Alliance and Computer Systems Policy Project -- two prominent high-tech trade groups representing Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and other industry heavyweights -- are forming a new coalition and working to enlist support from consumer and business groups.

They hope to convince Congress that strict copy-protection legislation that sets technological mandates would stifle innovation, harm consumers and threaten an already suffering tech industry. [MORE]

Cat-and-mouse asteroid pulls close to Earth

An asteroid playing a cat-and-mouse game with Earth will pull to its closest point in almost a century Monday before swinging away for another 95 years, NASA said in a statement.

Asteroid 2002 AA29 is like a mouse teasing a cat, approaching Earth first on one side and then on another, without ever making contact or actually passing our planet as the two bodies circle the sun, the astronomers said Thursday.

At just 200 feet, the tiny asteroid will get within 3.7 million miles Monday.

This particular asteroid is the first ever found to orbit the sun in nearly the same path as Earth, but never manages to pass it, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said. [MORE]

Second cloned baby claim

The cult-linked company Clonaid, which claims to have cloned the world's first baby, now say a second cloned child will be born in Europe by Sunday.

But scepticism is increasing as efforts to substantiate the claim of the first cloned birth on 26 December with DNA tests appear to be unravelling.

'Cloned baby' DNA test delayed

Tests to identify whether a baby is the world's first human clone have been held up after a lawsuit was filed against her parents.
DNA samples were to have been taken from the girl born on 26 December and her 31-year-old mother to see if they were an exact genetic match as has been alleged.

But the head of the cloning company which claims it engineered the baby said the parents were reconsidering allowing the tests after a court was asked to determine if they were fit guardians of the child.

chimp amazes scientists with own 'words'

A chimpanzee has challenged the widely held view that animals do not have language by making up its own words from scratch.

Kanzi, an adult bonobo or pygmy chimpanzee kept at Georgia State University, Atlanta, has come up with four distinct sounds for the things closest to his heart - banana, juice, grapes and yes.

Although the choice of words may be a little predictable, it is the first report of an ape making sounds that seem to have the same meaning across different situations.

The findings have astonished ape experts, who believe Kanzi has come the closest yet to mastering a simple form of speech.

Kanzi has grown up among people and is skilled at communicating with symbols. It understands some spoken English and can respond to simple phrases such as "do you want a banana?", New Scientist reports today.

Sex toys on review

From the Fukuoku 9000 to a Hello Kitty vibrator, gals test-drive the newest bedroom playthings and report the results.

Female impotence: Firms under fire

Drugs companies have been accused of "creating" the disease of female impotence to help form a lucrative market for Viagra-style treatments aimed at women.

An article in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) says the pharmaceutical industry has funded and driven an effort for the last six years to have the theory of "female sexual dysfunction" clinically confirmed and publicly accepted.

"The corporate sponsored creation of a new disease is not a new phenomenon but the making of female sexual dysfunction is the freshest, clearest example we have," says Australian medical journalist Ray Moynihan in the BMJ on Friday.

Rat-Brained Robot

Rat neuron cells on silicon are the brains behind a new robot—a breakthrough that may lead to better computer chips.

The device, which Potter calls a hybrot, is in essence a rat-controlled robot, and marks the first instance in which cultured neurons have been used to control a robotic mechanism. And while the hybrot’s movements may appear less than graceful, the knowledge gained could lead to computer chips modeled on biological systems—and perhaps even to computers that incorporate biological components.

New Whitey Beige: Weren't We Jewish Last Year?

The holiday season has come and gone. Another year of survival, another year of therapy; the Earth spins and time goes on. Yet I feel we should all take a moment to reflect on the recent opportunity most of us had to spend time with our families and pray they all have something better to do next year.

As a native Los Angelino, the holiday season takes on a whole new sense of dementia for me. My family is big, my family is close and my family is insane.

So as you read this true tale of my Yule season, I cast the ridiculous movie that would play out my life during the holidays. The movie would most likely be called “Hand Me That Ice Pick” or something to that effect.

U.S. SPY Satellite Agency's Mock 9/11 Drill Exposes Administration Lies

On 11 September 2001, a key U.S. intelligence agency was running a drill in which a plane hits a government building. While U.S. spy satellites could easily observe what actually happened in New York City and Washington, this “bizarre coincidence” sent the people who operate America’s “eye in the sky” home.

On the very day that planes struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the “super-secret” intelligence agency that “designs, builds, and operates U.S. reconnaissance satellites” had planned to conduct an emergency drill in which a simulated plane from the nearby Dulles International Airport would have crashed into their building. When reality intruded in New York and Washington the exercise was cancelled and nearly all of NRO’s three thousand employees, the people who operate the nation’s “eye in the sky,” were sent home.

The NRO, which works closely with the Dept. of Defense and CIA, had planned a simulated exercise in which a small jet “crashes” into one of the four towers at the agency's headquarters on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. The government said it was a “bizarre coincidence” that one of the most important U.S. intelligence agencies had planned a mock plane-into-building crash on Sept. 11, according to the Associated Press who reported the story on August 22.

Also see: Actual 9-11 attacks 'piggy-backed' on top of 9-11 Emergency Drill?More info about the links between the 9-11 drill and the real thing:

"Part of the exercise?" the colonel wondered. No; this is a real-world event, he was told. Several days into a semiannual exercise known as Vigilant Guardian, NEADS was fully staffed, its key officers and enlisted supervisors already manning the operations center "battle cab."

Also see: US Senator: At Least One Foreign Country Assisted the 9/11 Terrorists

SEN. BOB GRAHAM: It will become public at some point when it's turned over to the archives, but that's 20 or 30 years from now. And, we need to have this information now because it's relevant to the threat that the people of the United States are facing today.

Also see: Executive Order W199I-WF-213589

Also see: Fox News Channel ran a blockbuster series on Israeli spying in the US contending that Israeli intelligence had advanced information about the Sept. 11 attacks before the fact. Via LibertyThink

Stop Alien Abductions

"Since trying Michael Menkin’s Helmet, I have not been bothered by alien mind control. Now my thoughts are my own. I have achieved meaningful work and am contributing to society. My life is better than ever before. Thank you Michael for the work you are doing to save all humanity..." (via)

An Ode to Crazy Billy

Well, Old William Kuker
has 31 cats,
and each one of them wore
a tin foil hat.

...for each pussy cat
he designed a cap
out of tinfoil and wires
with a cunning chin-strap.

Jack Chick: King of the Xtian Samizdat?

Ever since the 70s, I have seen these little comicbook pamphlets scattered on the sidewalks, tucked behind the TP in public restrooms, left on restaurant tables, the list goes on. You have to give this guy points for samizdatic tenacity. Then again...wasn't it Goebbels who said, "Simplicity of the message and repetition of the message make the message remembered" ? Maybe he should have added, "A tenacious delivery boy doesn't hurt either." Ok, so the Chickster doesn't have the corner on THAT market, but still, you have to wonder why somebody with a (r)Evolutionary message hasn't taken on the spectacle with as much vigor.

Seems like there's more people interested in saving my "immortal soul" than in my mortal ass. Go figure. What did those Yippies used to say? "Free your mind and your ass will follow!" Yeah, that's it.

Vampire fears prompt PR blitz

Horrifying stories of vampires attacking villagers in the dead of night and sucking their blood has forced Malawi's government to wage a massive public relations blitz to calm the public.

The rumours began three weeks ago in the south of this impoverished country in southeast Africa and have intensified in recent days. Last week, frightened villagers beat to death a man suspected of being a vampire, attacked and nearly lynched three visiting priests and destroyed an aid group's encampment they feared was the vampires' headquarters.

President Bakili Muluzi called the rumours unfounded and malicious, and accused unnamed opposition groups of trying to undermine him by saying his government gave aid agencies human blood in exchange for food aid.

"No government can go about sucking (the) blood of its own people," Muluzi said Sunday. "That's thuggery."

Pakistani says he's wrongly pictured in FBI alert

A Pakistani jeweler who admits he bought a fake British passport said Thursday he has no idea why his photograph is among the five pictures the FBI has distributed of men it believes entered the United States illegally.

Cecil Rhodes: Lowdown Thief or Hero for the Nation?

Do you ever wonder why names of places seem to change? If you look at this part of the world on maps before 1980, you'll see Northern Rhodesia, which is present-day Zambia, and Southern Rhodesia, which is now Zimbabwe. I knew about Rhodesia, but I didn't know that the "Rhodes" in Rhodesia is the same "Rhodes" as in the Rhodes Scholarships (the one that President Bill Clinton of the US received), and the same "Rhodes" as the statue in the Company Gardens in Cape Town, South Africa. The statue points north, back to England, exhorting the early colonialists to build, conquer, and colonize everywhere from Cape Town to Cairo.

Who is this Rhodes? Cecil John Rhodes was born in England on July 5, 1853. A sickly child, he was sent to South Africa for the warmer climate. Before the age of 25, Rhodes was a millionaire, having struck it rich in South Africa's Kimberley diamond mines. The modern De Beers diamond company, whose ads you'll see in any glossy magazine, is the result of one of his lucrative (many would say 'unfair') contracts with local farmers, gaining land rights and access to the diamond-crusted soil.

LibrarianX
The Inside Scoop on the Library of Congress

Since the corporate media is not reporting what is happening at the Library of Congress it is up to Librarian X to fill the void in the best tradition of internet journalism. You will find the links below to a variety of issues.

Want to know who the Librarian of Congress is, the mysterious "former" CIA James Billington? Outsiders consider him a great scholar, others the Ayatollah of Kissassolla and Fuhrer of Fraud. While outsiders praise the efforts of the Management Team, insiders consider them the Taliban Management Team. Is the Billington-created Madison Council a collection of "benevolent" billionaires or tightwad Mullahs of Moolah who secretly influence Congress? And just what is that Russian Leadership Program really about?

While outsiders and Congressmen think Ayatollah Billington is "improving" the Library into the Temple of Mucho Dinero, insiders see decay, chaos, infinite lawsuits, and a serious threat to the future of this great institution. Read the links below, with various topics to be added semi-whenever, and you decide as a citizen in an open democracy should.

Ten Thousand Monkeys 41st Issue

Happy New Year all you crazy monkeys out there!

I'm sure I'm way too hung over to make any sense of this latest issue of Ten Thousand Monkeys (as you all should be), so I don't think I'm even going to try. Please enjoy it ... but enjoy it quietly ... very very quietly.

As always, check it out. Let us know what you think (even if it's "Could you not breath so loud?").

Irrational Reactionism: The Last War on Terror
by valis

How has G.W. Bush's reaction to the attacks on September 11th, 2001 differed from that of Hitler's reaction to the attacks of February 27th, 1933? Sadly, not by much. Both implemented policies that were previously planned, such as pre-emptive strikes on sovereign nations, using the attacks as a pre-text. In both cases, governments used “national security” as an excuse to launch an assault on Constitutional freedoms, one under the guise of "Homeland Security", the other under "Fatherland Security".

Originally published in my weekly column at PrisonPlanet.com
Also see: The LibertyThink Originals Archive

#!/usr/bin/girl/wallpaper

Our Favorite #!/usr/bin/girl has put up a collection of her famous desktop/wallpaper images for all to enjoy.
From the site: I know that several of the readers of this site have asked, in the past, for copies of the wallpapers that I have created for my desktop. Previously, I was forced to either say no due to time constraints, or email them out to each person.

I have now created a site just for my desktops, and you can find it at ethereal x. I will be creating new desktops and adding to the site frequently, as well as digging up past wallpapers that I have made and putting them on the site. I hope you enjoy them as much as I like making them!

Born to Be Happy, Through a Twist of Human Hard Wire

In the course of the last year, the woman lost her husband to cancer and then her job. But she did not come to my office as a patient; she sought advice about her teenage son who was having trouble dealing with his father's death.

Despite crushing loss and stress, she was not at all depressed — sad, yes, but still upbeat. I found myself stunned by her resilience. What accounted for her ability to weather such sorrow with buoyant optimism? So I asked her directly.

"All my life," she recalled recently, "I've been happy for no good reason. It's just my nature, I guess." But it was more than that. She was a happy extrovert, full of energy and enthusiasm who was indefatigably sociable. And she could get by with five or six hours of sleep each night. [MORE]

Area 51: Bush Exempts Secret Base From Environmental Laws

That super-secret Air Force base near Groom Lake, Nevada -- purported site of everything from captured aliens to the highest of high-tech aircraft -- has been exempted by President Bush from environmental laws that would disclose classified information regarding base operations.

The Presidential decision exempts the Air Force activity at Groom Lake, Nevada, "from any Federal, State, interstate or local provision respecting control and abatement of solid waste or hazardous waste disposal that would require the disclosure of classified information concerning the operating location to any unauthorized person."

A Few of the things to come in 03

"I want to put food on your family"

GNN's Spin of the Year

We tried to pick just one Spin of the Week story to feature as our Spin of the Year, but we couldn't. The U.S. government's propaganda machine was in overdrive in '02, trying to rally support for an invasion of Iraq here in the States, and to prop up the image of America the Brand in an increasingly hostile world. Following every twist and turn was a full-time job. Luckily, GNN partners PR Watch were on it. We'd like to thank them for helping our Guerrillas keep track of Bush's War on Tru... I mean, Terror. Here's the lowlights.

"It is arguable that the success of business propaganda in persuading us, for so long, that we are free from propaganda is one of the most significant propaganda achievements of the Twentieth Century"

- Alex Carey

Also see: John Stauber GNN video on propaganda

Happy New Year According to Whose Calendar?

Ok, everyone wants to know, "Are you doing something special for New years Eve on the blog?" In answer to that question, here's a little ditty from William Burroughs.

To achieve independence from alien domination and to consolidate revolutionary gains, five steps are necessary:

1. PROCLAIM A NEW ERA AND SET UP A NEW CALENDAR*
   
2. REPLACE ALIEN LANGUAGE
   
3. DESTROY OR NEUTRALIZE ALIEN GODS
   
4. DESTROY ALIEN MACHINERY OF GOVERNMENT AND CONTROL
   
5. TAKE WEALTH AND LAND FROM INDIVIDUAL ALIENS.
   

In his The Revised Boy Scout Manual from which the above quote is from, William S.Burroughs is exploring 'revolutionary tactics and weapons'. He is referring to the Ruling Class as 'Aliens' and shows examples and strategies how to overthrow them. For a period of time he appears to have been actually convinced that the Earth was run by agents from Venus. He was right. (There's also some nice calendar based ruminations in Book of Breething: Text and Conception, but this one is harder to find.)

*Obviously this means abolishing the Christian Calendar. It's high time the final death blow is dealt to the cultural domination of this scum. There will be no more saint days or any of this bullshit; there will hardly be need for holidays as everybody does what s/he wants to do all the time anyway. Important big festivals can be held at certain days or at random. On the whole the 20th century and all the centuries before will be remembered as dark ages, when people had to work, were controlled, brainwashed and oppressed. Even the most sophisticated mind control techniques of the Old Rulers will be pale remnants of idiocy compared to the "delirious freedon and splendid poetry" that will fill the vacuum they will have left behind.

Happy New Year? Whatever...

Commerce in Security (Audio Link)

Homeland security warriors at the Pentagon and the CIA say the next terrorist attack may be prevented by investing in data-mining -- the science of finding patterns in colossal amounts of information. Companies are lining up to supply the government with the equipment to process the raw data.

Rep. Rangel Calls for Reinstatement of Draft

Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel called yesterday for the reinstatement of the draft, saying it would give legislators pause before authorizing military action.

Rangel, a strident opponent of war against Iraq, said the United States has been "too cavalier" in its foreign policy. Its willingness to place troops in harm's way, the Democrat said, is tied to the fact that many soldiers are volunteers recruited from low- and moderate-income families.

"Realistically, when you talk about a war, you're talking about ground troops, you're talking about enlisted people, and they don't come from the kids and members of Congress," Rangel said on CNN's "Late Edition."
[MORE]

APOCALYPSE NOW?
By Rob Brezsny

I confess that I suffer from a peculiar variety of chauvinism. I'm not zealously inflated about the glory of my religion or region or football team, but rather of the era I live in. I fantasize that our moment in history is more important than all the others that have come before. I harbor the secret hope that those of us alive today are on the cusp of a radical turning point in the evolution of humanity.

It's a little embarrassing. It associates me with wacky millennialists of all stripes, from histrionic New Age prophets to fundamentalist Christians who fanatically await the "end times." And as much as I would like to imagine my views are subtler and more rational than those of the superstitious extremists, I must admit that I sometimes catch myself dreaming of how deliriously interesting it would be if the sour mass hallucination that is mistakenly referred to as "reality" really did mutate "in the twinkling of an eye," as the Bible insinuates.

Did I scoff at the scaremongers who shivered at the approach of Y2K? Well, yeah, I mostly did. But there was also a Drama King in a dark corner of my psyche who indulged in perversely thrilling fantasies about the possibility that the melodramatic doomsayers might be right. The same is true about my relationship with the Nostradamus wannabes who forecast "earth changes" and a global economic depression in the face of the massive conjunction of planets in Taurus in May, 2000. Ditto the "Cosmic Crucifixion" predicted for August, 1999, when a solar eclipse coincided with a seemingly alarming array of planetary configurations.

And yet there is another part of me, a voice that feels older and wiser, who suspects that even if we ARE on the verge of an evolutionary turning point, even if those of us who are alive today *will* experience the End of Life As We Know It, it just won’t be as simple and obvious and bad as the literalist prophets fantasize. The transformation will not come via some cataclysmic overnight world-wide presto-chango like an asteroid plunging into the earth or the reversal of the Earth's magnetic poles or massive solar flares baking the planet -- or even the most appalling terrorist attack in history. [MORE]

Of Big Oil, By Big Oil, For Big Oil: The 10 Most Startling Speculations and "Conspiracy Theories" About September 11 and America's New War

For about thirty minutes after his chief of staff told him that America was under attack, George W. Bush continued to sit in an elementary school classroom listening to a second-grader tell a story about a pet goat. He did a marvelous job of looking completely unsurprised. Meanwhile, four hijacked jumbo jets were able to fly off-course across several states without encountering any opposition from the most powerful and responsive air force in the world.

Less than a month later, on the pretext of pursuing terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, the Bush administration began what it called a "war" on the impoverished and already war-torn country of Afghanistan. It turns out this assault had been in the works well before September 11 took place. [MORE]

Nazis Plotted Post WWII Return to Power: Pioneer Fund and U.S. Army Tried to Create A Master Race

The Nazis plotted a post WWII return to power - and have they ever succeeded. GW Bush is just one link in this ongoing effort.

Following the excerpted Reuters article are excerpts from a Wall StStreet Journal article on eugenics and links to 12 exceptional sites with very extensive material on this subject and how it is connected to the pharmaceutical industry, the "war on drugs", the Bush administration, the war in Afghanistan and 9/11.

Internment Camps and Authoritarian US Fast Becoming Reality

America as you know it is changing dramatically. The democratic freedoms which long defined American life are under siege. Today's Bush administration is moving towards America's military pursuing law enforcement, internment camps are on the horizon, and a member of the US Civil Rights Commission previously broached Arab-American internment.

As the FBI pursues an unprecedented investigation of Senators for leaking the truth, Bureau monitoring of domestic dissent and internet traffic has intimidated many into comparative silence. Concurrently, the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) poses an unseen threat to the America we know, recalling a darkly obscure side of recent US history.

More of this and extra related material at Libertythink

CDC Proposes: A New Politicultural Meme

I'm introducing a new politicultural meme today (and a Merry "It's a few days after the winter solstice"! to you all).

We all remember the great success that the "Tricky" Dick Nixon meme enjoyed for so many years. This was a great meme, right up there with "Honest" Abe Lincoln in public recognition and usage by virtually all strata of American politicultural consumers.

With that in mind, I'd like to introduce you all to what I hope will be a very successful politicultural meme:

"Jackboot" John Ashcroft.

I had prepared a PowerPoint presentation with charts and graphs, but, well, you know. Microsoft. Need I say more?

The Peanuts Arcana Tarot Deck

It is what the headline says it is. It's just WRONG!
(Whereas, other people have a different opinion. Or DO THEY?)
This just in: HyperSpaceGirl sez, "Why?"

Free State Project

What the Free State Project wants to do is pretty simple: get at least 20,000 libertarianish sorts to move to one single state and then become civically and politically active enough in that state's government and institutions to make that state a "free state" in their lifetimes. These folks are completely serious about this... but seem to be having a hard time deciding which state will be chosen for liberation. Delaware was one of the first to be considered, but there are other possibilities being discussed.

SECRECY NEWS

SECRECY NEWS is a email publication of the FAS Project on Government Secrecy. It provides informal coverage of new developments in secrecy, security and intelligence policies, as well as links to new acquisitions on our web site. It is published 2 to 3 times a week, or as events warrant. Archives of past issues on-line.

Open Source Style Fusion Project

Pictured above is Philo T. Farnsworth. On the left is the difficult thing that he invented in the 1920s. You are probably familiar with it. It's called "television."
On the right is the "impossible" thing that he invented in the 1950s.. You are probably less familiar with it. In fact you are probably not familiar with it all, because the device was never perfected nor made practical. At least, not yet. Indeed, the impossible takes slightly longer. In this case, about 40 years longer...

The device is a nuclear fusion reactor.

Raelian leader: Cloning first step to immortality

The Raelians eventually hope to develop adult clones into which humans could transfer their brains, Rael said.

"Cloning a baby is just the first step. For me, it's not so important," he said. "It's a good step, but my ultimate goal is to give humanity eternal life through cloning."

Boisselier said the cloned child was born Thursday in an undisclosed country. A group of independent scientists has been chosen by freelance journalist and physicist Dr. Michael Guillen to verify that Eve is the first human clone.

"I have accepted on two conditions: that the invitation be given with no strings attached whatsoever and that the tests be conducted by a group of independent world-class experts," Guillen said.

Results are expected in eight to nine days, Boisselier said.

Meanwhile back at the ranch: Italy's Antinori Says Clone Baby Claim 'Invention'

Maybe it's just me, but it sure looks like Jesus lives in Iraq

(left) This image of what Jesus may have looked like is on the cover of Popular Mechanics this month.

(right) Gasim Risun and his two-week-old baby in a Baghdad hospital.

The Beast of Bodmin Moor lies in wait...

The legendary Beast of Bodmin has made the UK's Western Morning News. A woman phoned the RSPCA because a black cat-like creature had been crouching on her doorstep for 24 hours, trapping her inside her home... the Beast of Bodmin Moor, undoubtedly!

"The skulking beast turned out to be a delivery of phone directories in a black plastic bag," notes the Western Morning News. With beautiful irrelevancy, they report that "baffled RSPCA inspectors also attended the report of an injured magpie lying in the motorway, and found a black and white Nike trainer."

(Thanks to Michael Thomas for the pointer.)