News – How Bush Could Get Wider Support

North America

Bush expects the new congress to limit economy-damaging lawsuits by passing curbs on class action, asbestos injury and medical malpractice cases. How about some equal action to stop companies from doing things that cause economy-damaging lawsuits? Then you’d have a double effect and it would be a balanced action that fewer could find fault with.

Bush says he’ll be pushing to cut the US deficit to help the weak US dollar and cites the raising of the Federal Reserve interest rate as proof Alan Greenspan is well aware of the problem.

Oregon’s Supreme Court hears arguments on gay marriage, the hasty marriages of 3,000 couples hanging in the balance.

Jenna Bush wants to teach public school in Washington DC. The scuttlebutt is that she’ll be teaching at Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School, a public school for low-income children.

Does William Rehnquist have a right to keep his medical condition secret? Privacy is the right of all Americans, though that right softens(as a general unwritten rule) slightly when one becomes a public official.

Slate’s Fray zeroes in on the ownership society in which American’s live.

Marion Jones sues Victor Conte, the head of the BALCO lab for defamation, saying he falsely accused her of doping.

Part of the Bush Administration’s plans for responding to serious attack within the US is temporarily taking the GPS system offline within a certain area to deny its usage to terrorists.

Middle East

Iraq has awarded its first oilfield development contracts to Turkish and Canadian companies. Turkey’s Everasia won the contract to develop the Khurmala Dome field in the north and Canada’s Ironhorse Oil & Gas Inc will develop the Himrin field, says an unnamed official.

A powerful and as of yet undefined explosion hits central Baghdad.

Another of the Guardian’s intriguing ‘interview with some insurgents’ articles. Again, we have men who aren’t Saddam loyalists.. one was jailed four times under Saddam and didn’t start fighting until the clerics were calling for it. Saddam loyalists surely exist and are fighting, but they’re not the end all of who fights in Iraq.

Iraqi security is tightened in Kerbala after a previous explosion there killed 10.

Gunmen in Baghdad kill Kassim Imhawi, one of Iraq’s senior Communications Ministry officials, as he was headed to work. One of his bodyguards was also killed, two wounded in the attack.

Sergeant Idier Wahid Taysir, an Israeli soldier on trial for killing British peace activist Tom Hurndall in Gaza admits that he was lying when he said Tom had a gun. He also noted that he was under orders fo open fire even on unarmed people.

A new bin Laden audiotape is released, part of it praising gunmen who carried out a Dec. 6 attack on the U.S. consulate in Jeddah. He also lambasted Saudi Arabia’s leaders, calling them “corrupt, oppressive” U.S. agents and warned them they would be toppled in a popular uprising if they did not to allow their people to choose a true Muslim leadership. Typical stuff, all in all.

Bush rumbles at Syria and Iran about messing with Iraq before elections. Mind you, no one has yet come up with some serious evidence of Iran or Syria mucking about in Iraq. It’s been long enough, if they have been there should be some evidence of it that isn’t largely circumstantial or uselessly vague(If not they’re either too smart or our intelligence net is too dumb). Of course, now if anything does happen, people will automatically look askance at Iran and Syria. Cause Bush warned ’em.

Trying to find the true cause of Arafat’s death by speaking to those closest to him.

Europe

Britain’s high court has ruled in favor of nine Muslim men that the UK has been holding’ some as long as three years, in a manner similar to the US’ Guantanimo detainees.

EU sanctions on the US will be lifted on January 1st, following the repeal of illegal US export tax subsidies in October. This was reiterated in denial of claims that the lifting of the sanctions would have been delayed.

The bus siege in Greece has ended, the hostages released and it uncovered that the Albanian hijackers were bluffing about blowing up the bus. The training that Greek security forces went through for the Olympics paid off in dealing with this situation.

The Pope comes at ya with his opinion. “If we look to the present state of the world, we cannot help but note the disturbing spread of various social and political manifestations of evil, from social disorders to anarchy and war, from injustice to acts of violence or killing.” Alright. I wouldn’t use the term evil because I think it’s over hyped, but the rest is pretty much on target. So what’s the Pope going to do about it? He’s a powerful guy who people listen to even though he could collapse and expire at any time.

General

Be wary of emailed holiday greetings, the Zafi.D work is out causing havoc. It comes in the guise of a holiday greeting and can both match the users language by examining the domain of the users email address.

Nice holiday gifts for that eco-minded friend of yours that are sure to please.

Today’s Papers has the Pentagon sending vague letters to detainees in Guantanimo that inform them of their right to an attorney.. six months after that was decided and it neglects to tell them that probono lawyers stand ready to defend them, some top military lawyers coming out about Alberto Gonzalez, info on Fannie Mae’s legal troubles and more in the one page news.

Amusements

Note: I don’t make up the titles for these headlines, thank the twisted folk at Fark for this little bit of insanity. I enjoy them quite a bit. 😉

Todays story of your own personal Jesus brought to you by Matilda in Connecticut

Hollywood cameraman crashes VIP post-screening Q&A just to tell Bill Murray he’s a bastard

Guest snubs $3,051 meal in favor for takeout across the street. Snobs disapprove

Bids on Ebay for a pair of rocker Bryan Adams’ unwashed socks have so far reached £530 (with pic)

Canadian PM says Canada will participate in missile defence program as long as they don’t have to pay, don’t have to put missiles on Canadian soil, and get a say in how it runs. – Political, yes, but so damn funny it has to be here. 😉

Neurotically Yours: No Christmas For You

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Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this poster for “Batman Begins”

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this creepy-ass “living Christmas tree”

Fark Photoshop Challenge: In celebration of Lukket’s 1954 computer hoax, photoshop a hoax of your own