News – Ailing Arafat

Israel/Palestine

Yasser Arafat has been flown to France to be tested and treated, one of the suggestions for his ailment being leukemia. An interesting aspect of this is that Sharon has promised Arafat will be able to return. An odd thing to me, considering how much the Israeli government has been hinting toward getting rid of him. This would be a prime time for it. He’s not looking to good, but I’m not really moved to sympathy for him. I just want him out of the political picture.

Iraq

US marines are preparing to hit Falluja and Ramadi. A decisive strike, the say. I have to wonder if there is a Plan B if the strike is not so decisive as they want and they can’t pacify the whole of the country before the elections. Time is running out.

Speaking on civilian death sin Iraq, Les Roberts of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health says in an online report: “Making conservative assumptions, we think that about 100,000 excess deaths, or more have happened since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.”

Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Britain says Iraq needs more troops. Not that he’s a military authority, but considering the recent news I’d be inclined to agree.

US

The FBI is now scrutinizing the Pentagon’s deals with Halliburton, to see if any laws were broken in awarding contracts to them. I can express that I am pleased by this scrutiny. I want to know what’s up once and for all.

The FDA pulls some more vaccine out of the international magic hat, 5 million more doses drawn from Germany and Canada.

Florida officials, perhaps seeking to not be the laughingstock of the US for the second time in eight years, play down the thousands of missing absentee ballots. Sorry, it’s too late. You’ve had four damn years to clean up your house, but we can see things haven’t changed much in that time.

Accusations of aims to suppress the vote fly from both sides and the middle. OF course, both sides have to face up to the fact that there are partisans on both sides trying to suppress the votes of the opposition. If any of them had integrity, they would, but we all know that integrity is in short supply in politics.

Bush has said at least one thing that is correct. This election cycle hinges on trust. Unfortunately for him, I don’t trust him. Of course, my trust in Kerry is lacking as well.

The NAACP is in trouble and under investigation by the IRS for violating it’s tax-exempt status. Why? Because it “distributed statements in opposition of George W. Bush for the presidency” during a convention. Sorry boys, you can’t go political if you’re a tax-exempt entity. So either keep your politicizing on your own time with your own private money or start paying out the tax dollars. Of course, the same should go for the politicizing churches as well. If preacher starts politicizing the pulpit, they need to make the same choice. We have laws, follow them.

The sexual harassment suit against Bill O’Reilly has been dropped and his own suit against his accuser has been dropped. Sadly we’ll never find out beyond the shadow of a doubt if Bill is a sex fiend. Of well.

With SpaceShipOne winning the Ansari X Prize, we’ve proven that private industry can reach outerspace. Now to find investors for the market.

Despite what one might think, not all Arabs are adverse to a second term for Bush. Though likely that’s due to Kerry being a less than exciting alternate choice.

Back in the day, you could get away with voting twice. But today, it’s being cracked down on, perhaps one slight silver lining in the overcast cloud cover of this election.

At a campaign rally, republicans recite the Bush pledge. That being: “I care about freedom and liberty. I care about my family. I care about my country. Because I care, I promise to work hard to re-elect, re-elect George W. Bush as president of the United States.” What a load of tripe.

General

Could there be a mental predisposition toward Democratic or Republican thought? Research suggests that, which I find quite interesting. Of course, it opens up a bevy of new questions. Are these differences born into you, part of your overall psychological make up? Or are they learned, perhaps a little of both. Very curious.

The battle for the next generation of high definition DVDs is being fought. So far Toshiba has a leg up on Sony with backing from three Hollywood studios. Not bad at all.

Could loyalty cards which reward you for viewing be the next big thing in TV? I surely hope not.

Fetal tissue grafts are proving able to reverse otherwise incurable eye ailments, giving sight back to those resigned to losing it.

Explainer details species identification, showing how scientists name their finds.

An assessment of Britney Spears in a stage of declining winter. The girl’s a living contradiction.

Today’s Papers has militants grabbing three UN workers in Kabul, militants in Iraq claiming 11 more Iraqi National Guard dead, a big jump in early voting and more in the one page news.

Amusements

Department of Homeland Security: Securing your right to a legal Rubik’s Cube

Japanese company making dog-collar digital camera. Includes pic of dog looking absolutely thrilled to be wearing it

Restaurant owner blames crisis on public’s poor taste, unwillingness to pay ridiculous prices for ridiculous foods

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Theme: Everything’s better with cheese

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this guy and his not-so-subtle glance

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Theme: Photoshop real-life situations or people with Fark tags enabled. Difficult: No politicians with the “Dumbass” tag