Link Mecca

Iranians Love Nukes More Than They Hate Mullahs

2006-01-22T20:25:00.000-05:00

Ordinary Iranians overwhelmingly favor their country's nuclear ambitions, interviews and surveys show. The support runs deep in the population of 68 million, cutting across differences of education, age and, most significantly, attitudes toward the fundamentalist government that the Bush administration says is intent on using an energy program as a cover for developing atomic weapons.

"Look at all this civilization!" said Mehrdad Khanban, 23, the sweep of his arm taking in the towering pillars and regal staircases of the stone city founded by Darius the Great in about 518 B.C. in the southern corner of Iran first known as Persia. "What has George Bush got? And he's telling Iranians what to do?"...

Many Iranians also emphasized that their enthusiasm was for nuclear power, not weapons.... "Did you read that and know that Iranians are not after nuclear weapons?" Ghalenoi asked. "All the great people of Iran have always spoken about peace. We need nuclear power for electricity and for medical uses.

"But countries like Israel, that's not what they want," he went on. "They want to use it against people. Unfortunately, the Americans support them."

Previously: Mofaz to Iranians: Faster, Please -- Or Else

Previously: Debka: Iran Plans Nuke Test

Update: Iran Threatens to Sic al-Sadr on U.S.

U.S. Won't Recognize Gov't That Includes Hamas

2006-01-22T19:49:00.000-05:00

The sources said that American envoys who visited here about 10 days ago told Israeli officials that recognizing such a government would violate American law.

Israel has also received similar messages from Javier Solana, the European Union's top foreign policy official, and Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos, who visited Israel last week, the sources said.

Palestinians Set to Elect "Hitler"

Roub, 40, is a leader of the militant Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades in this turbulent corner of the West Bank and has spent the past five years leading his ragtag band of gunmen in frequent clashes with the Israeli military. Roub's deeds include hauling a Palestinian suspected of collaborating with Israel and of molesting his own daughters into a town square, where the man was shot to death....

Roub said he has always been adamant about his beliefs, so much so that when he was 16 a high school friend began calling him Hitler, and it stuck. Roub said Hitler's slaughter of the Jews was wrong, yet he seems quite willing to keep the nickname.

When Roub was leaving after an interview, a group of Palestinian women spotted him and a buzz swept through the room. "It's Hitler; it's Hitler," they said, one after another. Roub could not resist speaking to them for 15 minutes.

Fearing Hamas Win, U.S. Tries to Prop Up Fatah

Convicted Killer Barghouti Sees Fatah/Hamas Coalition

Jihadis Feed Media Tons of Bullshit About Zarqawi

2006-01-22T18:59:00.000-05:00

Iraq's most wanted man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, goes to sleep every night wearing a suicide belt packed with explosives, according to a leading insurgent who met him two weeks ago....

He helped his guests to wash before praying and devoted five hours a day to reading the Koran, listening to taped sermons at night and holding religious discussions with his entourage, Ansari said....

At prayers Zarqawi, 39, deferred to his elders, telling them: "I am younger than you and of less knowledge and status." He could be heard weeping during worship, which is not uncommon among extremely devout Muslims.

The next morning, the leaders of four other Sunni groups joined the gathering. There was little water so Zarqawi found a bucket and poured for his guests — a task usually left to junior servants.

Homo, Homo on the Range

2006-01-22T18:53:00.000-05:00

Gay cowboys are coming out of the corral in droves since the release of the controversial film "Brokeback Mountain," People magazine reports this week.

The magazine, on stands tomorrow, says the Golden Globe-winning movie has prompted many to declare their sexual orientation - and spawned a forum for gays and lesbians to be held in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Dec. 9.

Previously: Cowboy Country Crazy for "Brokeback"

Like Most Indies, "Brokeback" Won't Play Military Theaters

L'Etat, C'est Blah: French Horns Go Unblown

2006-01-22T14:41:00.000-05:00

Far from being obsessed with sex, almost half of French people living alone (49.5%) could not care less if they went without sex for months on end; 23% said they would be "relieved" not to have sex for several months. Half the population did not associate sex with pleasure....

[O]nly half of men and even fewer women (45%) expressed “relative satisfaction” with their sex life. Only one-third of men did not wish to change their sex life and a quarter complained of a "diminution of sexual desire". A pitiful 5.6% of men (and 8% of women) expressed satisfaction with the "frequency of intercourse"....

According to an opinion poll taken last spring, sex is considered to be an important part of life by only 17% of French people, well below the European average.... As for the frequency of sex — 1.8 times a week — she said it was "pretty much the same" all over Europe.

Previously: French Cuisine Based on a Lie

Update: Brits Waiting Longer to Have Sex

The age at which the typical Briton loses their virginity has increased since they were last asked in 2002, when the figure was 17.13 years. Young women generally have sex younger than their male counterparts - at the age of 17.44 years, compared with 18.06 for men....

The most alarming finding, however, was that almost one in three women said she had sex without her consent. Fourteen per cent of women said they had had non-consensual sex while trying to keep the other person happy. Nine per cent did so under the influence of alcohol and 8 per cent when there was physical pressure to do so.

More: British Singles Loneliest in Europe

Michael Schiavo Remarries

2006-01-22T14:26:00.000-05:00

"It was very emotional," John Centonze said after the noon ceremony. "It's been a long time coming. A lot of things happened in between."

Debka: Iran Plans Nuke Test

2006-01-22T12:36:00.000-05:00

...and moves Shahab missiles within range of Israel: Western and Israeli intelligence have known for more than six months that Iran’s nuclear program has reached the capability of being able to carry out a nuclear explosion, albeit underground. It would probably be staged in a desert or mountain region and activated by a distant control center. Tehran would aim at confronting the Americans, Europeans and Israelis with an irreversible situation....

[A]n Iranian underground nuclear blast, which will most probably be attempted on March 22, would turn around the strategic position of all the parties concerned and the Middle East as whole.

Previously: Iran May Already Have Sophisticated Centrifuges

Previously: AKI Exclusive: Iran Closer to Bomb Than Thought

Update: Telegraph: Major Construction at Iran Nuke Plant

Western intelligence agencies are focusing on alarming similarities in satellite imagery of Iran's nuclear sites, which the regime claims are for civilian purposes, and atomic facilities in Pakistan used to make the raw materials for nuclear weapons, as they try to identify the purpose of the Natanz construction spree.

The building work took place unannounced during a 16-month pause in research and development at the site, while Iran engaged the West in protracted talks over its professed desire to develop nuclear power....

Evidence of new building at Natanz has further fuelled concerns about Iran's intentions. "It is surprising to see how much construction work has taken place," said Mr Pike. "The Iranians have been very busy even while the seals were in place."

Previously: ElBaradei Refuses to Condemn Iran for Obstruction

Update: Multimedia: The Natanz Nuclear Facility

Update: Zakaria: Anything But Bombs

This does not mean accepting a nuclear-armed Iran. Tehran is many years away from nuclear weapons.

Update: "Shameful" -- Iran Scolds Chirac Over Nuke Threat

Pali Feminists Demand Equal Right to Die

2006-01-21T23:55:00.000-05:00

With her textured handbag, heavy mascara, and a veil revealing only her eyes, Alaa Awdeh sounds like the ultimate feminist. Women, she believes, should have equal rights in Palestinian society, especially the right to die in the armed struggle against Israel....

Islamic women like Awdeh have redrawn the debate over women's rights in Palestinian society. In the past, the fight was between secular feminists and men who wanted to protect their monopoly on political and social power. Now the debate is between Western-style feminists and religious women who want to share political power without changing the traditional role of women in the family....

Hamas has attracted legions of women followers of Islam, giving them control over Hamas-funded educational and job-training programs, and encouraging them to finish school and attend university, but at the same time restricting their legal rights to those laid out in the Koran....

Palestinian support for religious factions, in particular Hamas, has exploded over the last 10 years, frustrating secular women who have worked in politics for decades and who now find many young women turning to a starkly different Islamic vision of empowerment and equality.

Previously: Terrorists Terrified of Women, Says Rushdie

Mofaz to Iranians: Faster, Please -- Or Else

2006-01-21T20:51:00.000-05:00

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz warned the Iranian people Saturday that they faced "destruction" unless they managed to restrain their new President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"Look at the fate of others who sought the destruction of the Jewish people. They only brought havoc and destruction to the own people," Mofaz said.

"I know that a large part of the people of Iran do not support his policies but his despicable acts could bring destruction to all of you. You understand what must be done to prevent this," Mofaz added, directly addressing the Iranian people.

Israel Assassinated Arafat, Says Assad

Diplomatic officials in Jerusalem characterized Assad's comments as "ridiculous," and said that -more than anything else - they showed the level of his distress.

Previously: Khaddam: Assad's an Idiot

David Irving Just Won't Shut the Fuck Up

NYT: Pak Tribal Areas More Jihadist Than Ever

2006-01-21T20:43:00.000-05:00

The tribal areas are off limits to foreign journalists, but the Pakistani officials, and former residents who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution, said the militants - who call themselves Taliban - now dispensed their own justice, ran their own jails, robbed banks, shelled military and civilian government compounds and attacked convoys at will. They are recruiting men from the local tribes and have gained a hold over the population through a mix of fear and religion, the officials and former residents said....

Qaeda operatives are the driving force behind the local militants and are influencing their tactics, the officials said. The militants have managed this despite a hammer-and-anvil strategy in the region, with American forces pressing from the Afghan side of the border....

Pakistan's military has become more cautious about emerging from its bases in North and South Waziristan, and the civilian administration is so hamstrung that the senior government representative in South Waziristan does not even live there.

Update: Terror Tensions Rise Between Pakistan, Afghanistan

Terrorists Terrified of Women, Says Rushdie

2006-01-21T16:05:00.000-05:00

Rushdie told German weekly magazine Stern that his latest novel, "Shalimar the Clown," dealt with the deep anxiety felt among many Islamic men about female sexual freedom and lost honor....

When asked why he probed the issues in his new novel in the context of a love triangle, he said: "It has a lot to do with sexual fear of women."

Rushdie, 58, said that much of the anger toward the West was provoked by that split on sexual issues.

"(It is) because Western societies do not veil their women. Because they do not defuse this potential danger," he said.

Useful Idiot "Glad" Osama Recommends His Book

2006-01-20T23:20:00.000-05:00

"This is almost as good as being an Oprah book," he said yesterday between telephone calls from the world media and bites of a bagel....

By last night, "Rogue State" shot up from 205,763 to 26 on Amazon.com's index of the most-ordered books.

"I'm calling it the book review of the decade," said Sam Smith, editor of the Progressive Review in Washington and a fan of Blum's work....

Blum said his life's mission has been this: "If not ending, at least slowing down the American Empire. At least injuring the beast. It's causing so much suffering around the world."

Previously: Osama Recommends U.S. Leftist's Book

Jawa Report Helps Bust Jihadi

2006-01-20T17:34:00.000-05:00

Obeid told David Vazquez in e-mails that "we are starting a big operation that will make 9/11 nothing but a little bit of headache."...

A Federal immigration judge ordered Obeid's deportation in September. Obeid was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in October. He pleaded guilty to the felony charge of lying to Federal investigators.

His trial is now in the sentencing phase where Federal prosecutors are using the testimony of David Vazquez, who is now a police officer in Norfolk, Virginia, to insure that Mohammad Radwan Obeid receives the maximum penalty of five years.

Jihadis Silent as Deadline on Reporter Expires

2006-01-20T16:44:00.000-05:00

Muslims from Baghdad to Paris urged the militants to free the 28-year-old woman and end Iraq's wave of kidnappings....

A U.S. official said little has been heard from the kidnappers since two roughly 20-second portions of the videotape were aired Tuesday and Thursday. They showed Carroll sitting in a house, surrounded by three armed, masked men.

Hamas Lunatics Hire ... Image Consultant

2006-01-20T16:02:00.000-05:00

"Hamas has an image problem. The Israelis were able to create a very bad image of the Palestinians in general and particularly Muslims and Hamas. My contract is to project the right image," said Mr Aqtash, who also teaches media at Birzeit University in Ramallah....

"Abdel Aziz Rantisi [the former Hamas leader killed by Israel two years ago] was on television saying things that foreigners cannot accept, like we will remove Israel from the map. He should have talked about Palestinian suffering. He should have said we need this occupation ended. Foreigners will accept this," he said....

"How did I do?" he asked as the interview ended. "Did I make you think differently about Hamas?"

More: Hamas Rally in Gaza: "We tell you today that Hamas will go on until we raise flags over the Dome of the Rock," he said, referring to the Jerusalem shrine located in a complex holy to Muslims and Jews.

Pali Polls Show Hamas, Fatah in Dead Heat

More: Fatah Schism May Propel Hamas to Power

More: Abbas, Arafat's Heir, a Liability for Fatah

51% of Israelis Want Disengagement from West Bank

ElBaradei Refuses to Condemn Iran for Obstruction

2006-01-20T15:00:00.000-05:00

[He] has given Tehran until the end of next month to give his inspectors improved access to documents and sites.

Only if Iran does not accede would he be ready to declare his investigation was no longer making progress and that his hands were tied, the Financial Times said.

Update: Iran May Already Have Sophisticated Centrifuges

A second diplomat said the UN watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has been investigating Iran's nuclear program for three years, was investigating the P-2 report.

Asked if this could be the "smoking gun" for the West's fears, the diplomat replied: "Yes. If this is confirmed the game is over."

Previously: AKI Exclusive: Iran Closer to Bomb Than Thought

Iran Prez Meets With Pali Terror Mafia in Syria

The heads of a dozen Palestinian factions vowed the continuation of violent attacks against Israel and expressed their solidarity with Syria, under pressure for its failure to cooperate with a U.N. inquiry in Lebanon, and Iran, which faces the threat of United Nations sanction over its nuclear activities.

Related: Wannsee Conference Held 64 Years Ago Today

Iran Prez Tells Europe Jews Are Their Problem

"Would you open the doors of your own countries to these (Jewish) immigrants so that they could travel to any part of Europe they chose?"

"Would you offer the necessary guarantees that you would provide for their security when they came to your countries and not allow another anti-Semitic wave in Europe?"

Russia Rejects Israel's Proposal on Iran Sanctions

Update: 49% of Israelis Back Attack If Diplomacy Fails

Report: New Zawahiri Tape Released

2006-01-20T14:57:00.000-05:00

The 18-minute tape, whose authenticity could not immediately be confirmed, gave no indication of when the recording was made....

In the style of classical Arabic poetry, the speaker praises "the martyrs of the Crusader campaign against Afghanistan".

Update: CBS News: The tape made no mention of a Jan. 13 U.S. airstrike in Pakistan that was targeting al-Zawahiri and killed four al Qaeda leaders.

Europe Wets Itself Over Chirac Nuke Comment

2006-01-20T14:42:00.000-05:00

"Jacques Chirac is an idiot," chided Belgian daily De Morgen in an editorial. "He lives in a time where France is no longer a world power, but he's still acting as if prolonging a Napoleonic dynasty."

Spain's El Pais called the speech "radical and dangerous."...

"Such saber rattling in the face of the current crisis over Iran's atomic weapons program is basically a false signal," said Xanthe Hall of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War in Berlin....

But at home, too, the speech garnered criticism.

"Another pearl in the words of Chirac — but this one is a bit dramatic and provocative," said Revolutionary Communist League party leader Alain Krivine, a longtime critic of the conservative Chirac, on French TV. "It's a completely irresponsible declaration."

German Paper: Chirac Should Be More Like Bush

"Whoever postures like Chirac, is obviously being counterproductive. And not only when it comes to Iran. Chirac should look to George W. Bush for example, who may like to use a bellicose tone of voice, but still speaks of various options in the fight against terror, rather than bringing the taboo word "nuclear weapon" into the debate."

"Evo Fashion": Bolivian Prez Sets Hideous Trend

2006-01-20T14:32:00.000-05:00

Comedian Cosby Pronounces Himself "Delighted": Raul Valda, who operates a factory in the hills of the capital of La Paz, said his designers began working on 1,000 sweaters after people flocked to stores requesting the Evo-style sweater....

It will hit stores nationwide on Monday Morales' first full day in office and sell for an affordable $7.80.

Morales Fancies Himself "America's Nightmare"

Although he still refers to America as "the empire", there are signs that Señor Morales has softened his stance towards Washington since winning power. Earlier this month in South Africa he formally forgave the US for "past humiliations" and on Thursday he said: "If the empire wants to support us, the support will be welcome," he said.

Rove: Democrats Live in Pre-9/11 World

2006-01-20T14:11:00.000-05:00

"That doesn't make them unpatriotic, not at all. But it does make them wrong — deeply and profoundly and consistently wrong."

Update: Most NYers Think President Hillary Would Be Swell

Asked how she would be as president, 14% of New York voters said the former first lady would be "great" and 37% said "good." Twenty percent said Clinton would make a "so-so" president, and 22% said she would be "bad."

Back to the Land: Eco-nuts Plan Treehouse v2.0

2006-01-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

In Joachim's vision, the exterior of the living house is shaped over the course of several decades into a protective crisscross of vines, interspersed with soil pockets and growing plants. A clay and straw composite fills in the gaps to insulate against the cold and heat and keep out moisture....

Water would be gathered in a roof-top trough and circulate by gravity through the house, where it would be used by the inhabitants, filtered through a garden, and purified in a pond containing bacteria, fish, and plants that consume organic waste.

Osama Tape Analysis: He's On His Own

2006-01-20T13:29:00.000-05:00

The poor quality of Osama bin-Laden's latest message - a audio-only recording with crackling voice-distorting static, may shed some light on the whereabouts of the fugitive Islamist leader. This contrasts sharply with the clear images and sound of a video released earlier this month showing al-Qaeda's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri. "Firstly, it indicates the recordings were made in different places, and hence that the two men are not hiding out together" says Hani al-Sebai, director of London-based al-Maqrizi Institute for Historical Studies.

"The poor quality of bin Laden's recording suggests that from his hideaway, he doesn't have access to the same technology as al-Zawhairi. Also bin-Laden speaks in a hushed tones, which could mean he didn't want to be hear by those near him when the recording was made," al-Sebai who is an al-Qaeda expert told Adnkronos International (AKI).

More: MSNBC: U.S. military and intelligence officials believe bin Laden remains in hiding somewhere on either side of the rugged Pakistan-Afghanistan border — his whereabouts closely guarded by local tribesmen. It's believed he rarely travels, and when he does, it's alone. No large entourage — a potential dead giveaway — and probably on motorbike.

Update: Surprise -- Opinion Split on Tape's Significance

Cowboy Country Crazy for "Brokeback"

2006-01-20T13:14:00.000-05:00

Even in predominantly Mormon Utah, where one theater owner cancelled its scheduled showings of the picture, the film was an unexpected smash in Salt Lake City where it grossed $40,000 its first weekend. “For a film like this, that’s saying something in my business,” Schamus says. And in Mason City, Iowa, last week, 41 people petitioned an eight-screen commercial multiplex to get the movie shown. “It’s the first time I’ve seen that happen,” says the cinema’s assistant manager, Johnny Mattis, who explains that the film was scheduled to arrive on Jan. 27 anyway.

Iraqi Election Results: Coalition Government

2006-01-20T13:01:00.001-05:00

Commission official Safwat Rasheed said the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance captured 128 of the 275 seats in the Dec. 15 election, down from the 146 it won in the January 2005 balloting. It needed 138 to rule without partners.

A Sunni ticket, the Iraqi Accordance Front, won 44 seats. Another Sunni coalition headed by Saleh al-Mutlaq finished with 11 seats, Rasheed said. A few other Sunnis won seats on other tickets.

That will give the Sunni Arabs a bigger voice in the legislature than they had in the outgoing assembly, which included only 17 from the community forming the backbone of the insurgency.

Update: Despite Gains, Sunnis Keep Whining

Sunnis were insistent they had been the victims of a massive poll fraud perpetrated by the ruling Shi'ite Islamist Alliance as well as by their ethnic Kurdish allies in the north.

Sheikh Qosai Al-Ramah, who led Friday prayers at the Sunni 14th of Ramadan mosque in central Baghdad, said he also suspected American interference in fixing the election.

"I think the Americans had a direct involvement in the results and the formation of the government. We will witness a new kind of dictatorship," he told Reuters.

Update: ToL on New Iraqi Parliament: What to Expect

The first battle is going to be for the presidency, and it is here that the fact that the Shia and Kurd coalition partners have failed to get a two-thirds majority is going to be crucial.

Update: Allawi Proves Too Darn Secular for Shiites

[A]nother prominent secular Shiite and former Washington favorite, Ahmad Chalabi, didn't even win a seat.

NYC Child Killer: She Had It Coming

2006-01-20T12:54:00.000-05:00

Rodriguez denied sexually abusing Nixzmary in the Daily News interview, but admitted to the fatal beating, saying, "I probably used all my force."

Nixzmary, Rodriguez said, repeatedly misbehaved. He said that he had to lock her in her room to protect himself and enable her five siblings to sleep at night.

"I don't want to say she deserved it, but...," he said.

Want to Be Healthy? Drink Wine

2006-01-20T12:10:00.000-05:00

Or at least shop like you do: This study showed wine buyers purchased more poultry, cooking oil and low-fat cheese, where beer buyers were partial to cold cuts, pork, butter, margarine, sausages, lamb and soft drinks.

Want to Be Healthy? Laugh

Want to be Healthy? Be Tall

Want a Healthy Baby? Eat Fish

The amount of omega-3 helps to determine the child's intelligence, fine motor skills - the ability to manipulate small objects and hand and eye co-ordination - and the propensity to anti-social behaviour, says a study by Dr Joseph Hibbeln, of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.

Singularity! XPod Will Key Songs to Listener's Mood

2006-01-20T11:53:00.000-05:00

The device is able to monitor a number of external variables to determine its user's levels of activity, motion and physical states to make an accurate model of the task its user is undertaking at the moment and predict the genre of music would be appropriate.

Another Venue for Emotion-Recognition Software? Prisons

Cell microphones are linked to the control centre with sounds analysed by emotion recognition software to alert guards to any violence. "If prisoners are cheering because they're watching a soccer game and someone has scored, it wouldn't pick that up," Mr Janssens said. "But if they're shouting like 'Hey, hey, there's a fight', it would detect that."

DVRs Will Shut Down When Viewer Nods Off

According to Lucent, "the sleep detector may comprise an electronic camera for forming images of the viewer, and pattern recognition means connected to the electronic camera to monitor the physical condition of the viewer. For example, the pattern recognition means determine whether the viewer's eyes are open or shut."

Canadian Computer Algorithm Detects Politicians' Bullshit

According to a new computer algorithm, Prime Minister Paul Martin, of the Liberal Party, spins the subject matter of his speeches dramatically more than Conservative Party leader, Stephen Harper, and the New Democratic Party leader, Jack Layton.

Coming Soon to ORs: Suspended Animation

Once repairs are complete the patients' blood would be warmed up and pumped back into their bodies, bringing them "back to life".

New Ion Design Ten Times as Powerful as Propulsion Engines

Big Brother Losing Its Grip in China

2006-01-20T02:56:00.000-05:00

Increasing numbers of Chinese are choosing to air their discontent through public protests, a trend causing alarm in the highest echelons of the Communist Party that has ruled unchallenged since 1949....

A leading cause of unrest is rampant land confiscation by local officials, who often collude with developers in lucrative property and industrial deals....

The rising number of protests also suggest that Beijing is losing control over the provinces.

More: China Arrests 18,000 Uighurs for "National Security Reasons" in '05

Previously: Sexual Revolution Sweeps China

Previously: Chinese Demanding Greater Privacy Rights

Women On Top: Koizumi Wants Female Monarchs

[S]ome conservatives - including Prince Tomohito, a cousin of Emperor Akihito - have opposed the idea, suggesting instead the crown prince use concubines to produce a male heir.

Celebrity Sorbet

2006-01-20T00:28:00.000-05:00

Crap to cleanse the blog palate

Sexy Grandma: NC-17 for BI2

Actress Sharon Stone's sexy sequel to Basic Instinct has been hit with an NC-17 rating in America for graphic sexual content, including an orgy and a threesome....

Producers have returned to the editing suite to tone down the controversial scenes in a bid to score a more audience-friendly rating.

Sexy Grandpa: Ford Sets Deadline for Indy 4

"[I]f it doesn't happen in the next two years we should all forget it."

Globes Mop-Up: Gay Cowboy Gives Himself the Clap

"[S]he said, 'It's OK honey, it's OK!' and she calmed me down."

More: Take It Easy, Champ. Why Don't You Stop Talking for Awhile?

Glick on Globes: "Cool" Anti-Semitism Is In!

The sight of the Jewish American diva Sarah Jessica Parker, of Sex in the City fame, excitedly announcing that a film which glorifies the mass murder of Jews in Israel was the big winner for 2005 only served to demonstrate how deep this trivialization of evil now runs.

Scarlett Fever Makes Johansson's Mom Sick

"She said she looked like a member of the 'Baywatch' cast. Mel feels Scarlett tried a little too hard to show off her figure - to the point where she was almost bursting out of her dress."

More: Johansson Credits Tennis for "Taut Legs," "Great Butt"

Paris Can't Find London

Asked, by Graff's lawyer, if she was aware that UK tabloids had picked up the story from the Post, Hilton responds "No... there is stuff in London," at which point her own attorney, Larry Klein, points out, "London is a UK publication." Hilton then retorts, "Right. UK. Whatever."

Cobain's Daughter Rebels: Big Fan of Mainstream Crap

In an interview with i-D magazine, Frances Bean lists her favourite shows as Laguna Beach and American Idol and professes her love for Honey hitmaker [Mariah] Carey.

"Commander in Chief" Bogged Down in Nielsen Quagmire

Full Osama Tape Littered With Lefty Talking Points

2006-01-19T22:17:00.000-05:00

Quagmire: "[T]he [American] soldier is caught between two hard options. He either refuses to leave his military camp on patrols and is therefore dogged by ruthless punishments enacted by the Vietnam Butcher (U.S. army) or he gets destroyed by the mines.... The solution is in your hands if you care about them (the soldiers)."

Iraq worse off than before: "On another issue, jihad (holy war) is ongoing, thank God, despite all the oppressive measures adopted by the U.S Army and its agents (which is) to a point where there is no difference between this criminality and Saddam's criminality, as it has reached the degree of raping women and taking them as hostages instead of their husbands."

"Mission accomplished": "[I]f you compare the small number of dead on the day that Bush announced the end of major operations in that fake, ridiculous show aboard the aircraft carrier with the tenfold number of dead and wounded who were killed in the smaller operations, you would know the truth of what I say.

Halliburton/mercenaries: "There is no shame in this solution, which prevents the wasting of billions of dollars that have gone to those with influence and merchants of war in America who have supported Bush's election campaign with billions of dollars — which lets us understand the insistence by Bush and his gang to carry on with war."

Earlier: Osama Recommends U.S. Leftist's Book

Earlier: Osama to Useful Idiots: Bush Is Our Common Enemy

Hamza's Defense? "I Was Just Quoting the Koran"

2006-01-19T18:14:00.000-05:00

Ahem: "It is said he was preaching murder, but he was actually preaching from the Koran itself."

It's All Happening At the Zoo

2006-01-19T17:44:00.000-05:00

Pandas rock the house reverse-cowgirl style in Thailand

Update: "The pandas are very happy. For the last two days, they have made love together," said Rossukhon Chuicomwong, head of public relations for the Chiang Mai Zoo....

The Thai press on Wednesday was filled with photos of the black and white bears mating. Hundreds of visitors gathered at the zoo to watch the ritual, which officials expect will continue for two or three days.

More: "She is ready. But the male panda is inexperienced.

"We believed yesterday's mating was his first one. He needs more experience."...

Dr Kannika says Lin Hui will probably not become pregnant from their initial romantic coupling.

"A successful mating requires at least two minutes," she said. "But we learned that Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui parted just after 30 seconds."

Update: Bin Laden Offers Truce While Pandas Do the Dirt

Hamas Cleric Sandbags Hamas, Says "Don't Vote"

2006-01-19T17:34:00.000-05:00

For months, Hamas has been conducting propaganda to explain why it decided to participate in the January 25 elections and bring supporters to the polls. Nimer's statement, which broke the Hamas taboo of not airing internal controversies in public, was immediately snatched by Fatah, and used by its election candidates and radio stations to mock and deride the organization.

More: Hamas: Extremists at the Ballot Box

Tzipi Livni, the Israeli Foreign Minister, voiced his dismay. “Can you imagine any European country or the United States allowing a terrorist organisation to take part in elections?”

Israeli Intel: Abbas Losing Power, Marbles

Maariv newspaper reports today, and Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman reported on January 4, that the PA Chairman, whose real name is Mahmoud Abbas, appears to be in a difficult emotional state. European and American representatives who recently met with Abbas confirm the reports.

The current diagnosis is that Abbas has lost control, as well as the confidence of those close to him, cancels meetings, and falls into depression from time to time. The Palestinian Authority, at least in Gaza, is close to total governmental collapse, the reports say.

Abbas: I'm Just Tired

Shock: Bush Wants Gov't Agency to Help Win War

2006-01-19T16:31:00.001-05:00

The Bush administration on Thursday appointed Randall Tobias, a retired pharmaceuticals executive, to the powerful new position of director of foreign assistance, in a move officials said would subordinate US overseas aid programmes to the broader policy objectives of government....

[D]evelopment organisations are concerned that USAID, created by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, will lose its independence and that development assistance will become hijacked by a short-term political agenda driven by the “war on terror”....

Two senior State Department officials, explaining the reorganisation, denied that USAID was being “merged” into the department, as critics fear. The two agencies were becoming “aligned”, they said, and the move had the support of Mr Natsios.

USAID website: "USAID is an independent federal government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State."

Iran Tries Its Hand at "Plantation" Rhetoric

2006-01-19T15:36:00.000-05:00

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said any "nuclear apartheid" regime was doomed to fail and that Western powers could not deny his country's legitimate right to purse a nuclear programme, IRNA news agency reported.

Previously: Hillary Calls for Iran Sanctions

Bayh Out-Hawks Hillary, Offers Hardline Resolution on Iran

[H]e plans to introduce his resolution Friday, calling for Iran to be excluded from international forums and events and asking the administration to urge other governments to sever economic relations with Tehran....

"We need tough action now, including economic sanctions, cultural sanctions, cutting off their supply of gasoline, arms sales, those kind of things, to convince the radical leaders of Iran that nuclear weapons are something they just cannot have," Bayh told Fox News.

Leb Leader Jumblatt Sees Iran/Syrian Mutual Defense Pact

The purpose of this pact, he continued, is to link Lebanon with the Iran-Syria axis, and it reflects right-wing control in Tehran and the strong relationship between Ahmadinejad and Lebanon-based Hizballah. Jumblatt said in the daily that "Hizballah in particular is in favor of linking Lebanon to Syria and Iran at the expense of Lebanon's independence, freedom, and democratic track."

Assad Backs Iranian Nuke Program

Update: Germans Hammer Iran Over Holocaust Denial

"This is international anti-Semitism at work," said Gert Weisskirchen, the foreign affairs spokesman for the Social Democratic Party in an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel.

Osama Recommends U.S. Leftist's Book

2006-01-19T14:39:00.000-05:00

In an Arabic transcription of the entire tape on the Al-Jazeera Web site — but not aired — bin Laden ... tells Americans that "if you are sincere in your desire for peace and security, and if Bush refuses to do anything but continue lies and oppression," then he recommends Americans read a book entitled "The Rogue State," apparently a reference to a book of that title by political analyst William Blum. The book has been published in Arabic.

"In its introduction, it states: 'If I were president, I would stop the attacks on the United States: First I would give an apology to all the widows and orphans and those who were tortured. Then I would announce that American interference in the nations of the world has ended,'" he said.

Blum's Zmag Bio

More: Blum's Website

Re: Blum's Book, "Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II"

"Far and away the best book on the topic." -- Noam Chomsky

"I enjoyed it immensely." -- Gore Vidal

"I bought several more copies to circulate to friends with the hope of shedding new light and understanding on their political outlooks." -- Oliver Stone

More: Amazon Page for "Rogue State"

Previously: Osama to Useful Idiots: Bush Is Our Common Enemy

Study: Most College Students Are Complete Idiots

2006-01-19T14:25:00.000-05:00

[T]hey could not interpret a table about exercise and blood pressure, understand the arguments of newspaper editorials, compare credit card offers with different interest rates and annual fees or summarize results of a survey about parental involvement in school.

Bush: Rumsfeld "Crusty"

2006-01-19T14:14:00.000-05:00

Many Republicans and Democrats have said Bush was overly reliant on a tight group of key aides who rarely disagree with him, and that one result was U.S. involvement in the Iraq war over weapons of mass destruction that were never found.

Without exactly saying so, Bush made clear he disagreed with that point of view. "I think the worst thing that can happen for decision-makers is to get a filtered point of view," Bush said.

Previously: Brownie: Truth Be Told, I Didn't Do a Heckuva Job

Superpowers Ready for War: Bush Vs. Google

2006-01-19T13:55:00.000-05:00

The Bush Administration has asked a federal judge to order the world’s most popular internet search engine to hand over the records of all Google searches for any one-week period, as well as other closely guarded data. The California-based company is to fight the move.

The immediate flashpoint is the Government’s effort to revive an online child pornography law that was struck down by the Supreme Court two years ago.

Osama to Useful Idiots: Bush Is Our Common Enemy

2006-01-19T11:26:00.000-05:00

"We know that the majority of your people want this war to end and opinion polls show the Americans don't want to fight the Muslims on Muslim land, nor do they want Muslims to fight them on their (US) land....

"But Bush does not want this and claims that it's better to fight his enemies on their land rather than on American land.

*
"In response to the substance of the polls in the US, which indicate that Americans do not want to fight Muslims on Muslim land, nor do they want Muslims to fight them on their land, we do not mind offering a long-term truce based on just conditions that we will stick to.

"We are a nation that Allah banned from lying and stabbing others in the back, hence both parties of the truce will enjoy stability and security to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan, which were destroyed by war.

"There is no problem in this solution, but it will prevent hundreds of billions from going to influential people and warlords in America - those who supported Bush's electoral campaign - and from this, we can understand Bush and his gang's insistence on continuing the war."

Flashback: Bin Laden's first use of lefty talking points: He mocked Mr Bush for his conduct immediately after the September 11 attacks, talking about him preferring to stay in a classroom, "listening to a child discussing her goats", leaving "50,000 citizens in the two towers to face those horrors alone".

Bin Laden's attack was reminiscent of Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11 which used footage of Mr Bush in the first minutes after being told of the attacks continuing to read My Pet Goat to children.

Tape Is a Month Old

World's Most Alarmist Website: It's a Diversion!

Kossacks Weigh In: Bush Is OBL's Puppet

I know Bush doesn't have the brains to compete with Bin Laden - but I sometimes wonder if his advisors keep Bin Laden out there to help Bush's ratings out.

Kossacks Weigh In: OBL Has Given Dems a Gift!

Update: U.S. Intel: No Signs of Looming Attack

Intelligence officials said authenticating the tape, released by the television network Al-Jazeera Thursday morning, could take between several hours and several days — and perhaps through the weekend.

Update: NYT: The voice sounded short-winded on the tape and lacked the charismatic tone typical of Mr. bin Laden's past recordings.

Bombs Backfire: Afghans Rally, Chant "Death to Al Qaeda"

Previously: 90% of Afghans Reject Bin Laden

DU Turds Question the Timing

Update: Jazeera Didn't Broadcast Entire Tape

The network's editor in chief, Ahmed Sheik, said the full tape is 10 minutes long and that four "newsworthy" excerpts were broadcast, the Associated Press reported. Sheik would not say what was on the rest of the tape or comment on when or where it was received.

Update: Time's Analysis: Jealousy?

Despite directly addressing Americans, its primary purpose may nonetheless be to remind Arab and Muslim audiences of his existence, and to reiterate his claim to primacy among the Jihadists....

[I]n the year of Bin Laden's silence, he has begun to be supplanted as the media face of global jihad by Musab al-Zarqawi, whose grisly exploits in Iraq grab headlines week after week. Not only that, Zarqawi may even be running operations abroad.... Although Zarqawi two years ago swore an oath of loyalty to Bin Laden, he is believed previously to have had something of a competitive relationship with the al-Qaeda leadership. And the public statements attributed to Zarqawi and those of Ayman al-Zawahiri have been noticeably at odds over questions of beheading kidnap victims and of wanton violence against Shiite Muslims. Zarqawi may have embraced the Qaeda brand with Bin Laden as its figurehead, but his essentially autonomous field operation in Iraq has become the movement's center of gravity.

McClellan: We Don't Negotiate With Terrorists

Previously: Report: U.S. Negotiating With Terrorists

Update: It's Him

U.S. intel authenticates Bin Laden audio

Hillary Calls for Iran Sanctions

2006-01-18T23:28:00.000-05:00

Ahmadinejad decries Senator's "plantation" mentality, says Iran "ain't nobody's slave"

Update: Hill Still Buzzing Over "Plantation" Slur

"Is this the real her, the real Hillary? I don't know. But if it is, I like it," said the Rev. Al Sharpton, who hosted Monday's forum.

Update: Arab News Finally Gets One Right

Heat Is On: Syria Frees Five Dissidents

2006-01-18T22:54:00.000-05:00

The release of the activists was seen by many as an attempt to rally Syrians behind a beleaguered government that has come under intense international pressure....

But Seif, 60, may instead become a unifying presence in Syria's fragmented political opposition.... "We have arrived at the point where we really have to change," Seif said after his release. "There is no way to continue as it is now. We want to build, as soon as possible, democracy in Syria, because that is the only way to save the country and to avoid catastrophe."...

"It is stupid to make enemies of them," said Seif, referring to the current tensions between Syria and many Western countries. "We want to learn, and we want our friends to help us build a nice and happy society.

More: U.S. Freezes Assets of Syrian Security Chief

Brownie: Truth Be Told, I Didn't Do a Heckuva Job

2006-01-18T22:33:00.000-05:00

"I should have asked for the military sooner. I should have demanded the military sooner," Brown told a gathering of meteorologists at a ski resort in the Sierra Nevada....

In an interview after his speech Wednesday, Brown told The Associated Press: "I think it's important to realize that all of us made mistakes. ... After a while you get a different perspective."

Update: Malkin Vindicated: "Heckuv An Epiphany, Brownie"

Survey: Israelis Most Patriotic

2006-01-18T22:26:00.000-05:00

85% of all [Israeli] respondents did express a willingness to fight [for their country] compared to 63% in the US, 53% in Italy, 51% in France, 37% in Spain, 32% in Germany and 32% in Japan.

More than half of Israeli Arabs are not proud of their Israeli citizenship. 56% replied in the negative about pride in being Israeli and defined themselves as Palestinians, while 73% said they would not fight to defend the state.... Where there is minimal discrepancy between Jews and Arabs is in the intention and desire to continue living in Israel, regardless of security hazards or the state of the economy. The overall ratio was 87% including 82% of Arabs....

Replies to questions such as these indicated that patriotism among Jewish citizens is stronger among people on the political right than on the political left.

Scientists: French Cuisine Based on a Lie

2006-01-18T22:15:00.000-05:00

"People were trying to be chic but really it has become clear that red wine and cheese is a pretty ghastly combination which most people in the wine trade are well aware of."

French Sommelier to Scientists: Eat It

CAIR to Iraq to Beg for Hostage's Life

2006-01-18T21:51:00.000-05:00

"We're taking a serious step on behalf of our community, and we are hopeful that our words will be heard and our appeal will be listened to," said Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR.

Flashback: Awad praised Iran's revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini and at a university forum in 1994 declared, "I am in support of the Hamas movement."

Canadian Intel Shocker: Islamist Fanatics Tough to Rehab

Two U.S. counterterror officials, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject, said that whatever the Canadians believe about the risks of releasing detained jihadis, the Bush administration was likely to continue to release detainees from detention who were not regarded as serious risks to resume terrorism, in full recognition that some of them might return to the battlefield.

Update: Gitmo Inmates Offer Key Info on London Bombers

Awesome Iran Round-Up

2006-01-18T18:24:00.000-05:00

Featuring crappy clickable Photoshop!

Emergency Nuke Meeting Set for Feb. 2

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said nuclear weapons were against Islamic teachings, as well as Iranian interests, but he vowed to pursue atomic energy.

UPDATE: Russians Ask, What's the Rush?

Brilliant UN Strategy: Try to Shame Holocaust Deniers

"Iranians are very proud and don't want to become a pariah state like North Korea," said Edward Luck, a Columbia University professor specializing in U.N. affairs. "I think they would find it very unattractive."

Iran on Referral: We Triple Dog Dare You

Iran Prez Wipes Himself With Draft Resolution

Experts: Russia, China Will Defang Sanctions

It's all about ooooooiiiiiiillllll

The West's Options -- CSM's Analysis

For some experts, the time is ripe to prepare the world economy for living without Iranian oil - by developing pipelines in the oil-rich Gulf region to circumvent Iran- dominated transport routes.... [D]eveloping a pipeline alternative for exporting Iraqi and other oil without the strait would reduce the impact [of losing Iranian oil exports] to less than 1 percent of GDP, Sokolski says.

The West's Options -- Israel's Proposal

* Sanctions against Iranian oil exports. According to the defense establishment's analysis, an oil embargo would hurt Iran more than it would hurt the West, since Iran's economy is wholly dependent on oil....

* Banning Iran's soccer team from this summer's World Cup.

* Denying visas for foreign travel to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iranian officials involved in the country's nuclear program.

* Halting the IAEA's technical cooperation with Iran on nuclear issues.

* Restricting landings by Iranian civilian aircraft.

Guardian Op-Ed: We - can't - win

Study: Divorce Reduces Wealth by 77 Percent

2006-01-18T17:48:00.000-05:00

After divorce, the typical man had 2.5 times the wealth of the typical woman. While that may seem large, he said, the difference in dollars is a relatively small $5,100. Odds of divorce? 1 in 2.

Deadbeat Faked Death to Avoid CS Payments

Britain Privatizes CS Collection

[Debt collectors] would take a share of the collected debt, with the rest handed on in child support payments.

Dads' Group Disbands After Blair Kidnap Plot

"I'm proud of the work we've done, but if we're going down this road with extremist elements then it's come to an end."

ID Isn't Science, Says ... Vatican Newspaper

2006-01-18T17:28:00.000-05:00

The article echoed similar arguments by the Vatican's chief astronomer, the Rev. George Coyne, who said "intelligent design" wasn't science and had no place in school classrooms.

Pope Benedict XVI reaffirmed in off-the-cuff comments in November that the universe was made by an "intelligent project" and criticized those who in the name of science say its creation was without direction or order.

Airstrike Killed AQ Bomb Maker

2006-01-18T15:12:00.000-05:00

ABC News has learned that al Qaeda's master bomb maker and chemical weapons expert was one of the men killed in last week's U.S. missile attack in eastern Pakistan....

The United States had posted a $5 million reward for Mursi's capture. He is described by U.S. authorities as the man who ran al Qaeda's infamous Derunta training camp in Afghanistan, where he used dogs and other animals as subjects of experiments with poison and chemicals.

"This is extraordinarily important," said former FBI agent Jack Cloonan, an ABC News consultant, who was the senior agent on the FBI's al Qaeda squad. "He's the man who trained the shoe bomber, Richard Reid and Zacharias Mousssaoui, as well as hundreds of others."

Earlier: U.S. Pretty Sure It Missed Zawahiri

Nightmare: Arab Militias Go Rape-Crazy in Darfur

2006-01-18T14:14:00.000-05:00

Sexual violence is now an integral and devastating part of the conflict aimed at breaking the will of the local people, humiliating them so that they will abandon their lands and weakening tribal ethnic lines....

Until a few weeks ago women who sought medical help after being raped were actually arrested by the Sudanese security forces. Previously: Sudan Butcher Set to Lead African Union

Syria Bans Feminist's Anti-Hijab Book

In the book, first published in France in 2003, Chadortt, who lives in Paris, condemns the use of the Muslim headscarf throughout the world and criticises Islam's view of women. She has reportedly received several threatening telephone calls on account of this.

Saudis Let Women Attend Soccer Match -- But No Mingling

The ban on women spectators caused an upset in Sweden, one of the world's leading nations on gender equality, where 45 percent of MPs are female.

Bad Omen: U.S. Chopper Was Felled by SAM

2006-01-18T13:59:00.000-05:00

There are also indications insurgents are developing what one Army general calls aerial IEDs — sophisticated bombs designed to leap in the air and detonate when a helicopter passes by.

FBI IDs IED Makers

CBS News has learned that U.S. explosives experts have succeeded in identifying — by name in some instances — the terrorists responsible for building many of the improvised bombs used in everyday attacks in Iraq.

Iraqis Tuning into Talk Radio

Mrs. Rabiat said politicians and government officials are among her most devoted listeners. "It's the one place where they can hear what people are truly thinking," she said.

Talabani to Sunnis: Stop Whining

Study: Men Enjoy Watching Bad People Suffer

2006-01-18T13:30:00.000-05:00

New Andrew Sullivan post on torture practically writes itself. [I]t could help explain why men have historically taken charge of punishing criminals and others who violate societal rules, said researcher Dr. Klaas Stephan.

Jilted Boyfriend Jailed for Bathroom Wall Revenge

Jeffrey Evans, of Victoria Street, Briton Ferry, used topless holiday photos of [his ex-girlfriend] to advertise her as a prostitute in pub toilets.

But: Snake and Hamster Buddy Up at Tokyo Zoo

With heartwarming photo! "I've never seen anything like it. Gohan sometimes even climbs onto Aochan to take a nap on his back," Yamamoto said.

Update: U.S. Pretty Sure It Missed Zawahiri

2006-01-18T13:27:00.000-05:00

U.S. intelligence sources said there was mounting evidence that several of Zawahiri's aides, including Egyptian men, were killed in the strike. The targeted compound, in the village of Damadola, was believed to have hosted key al Qaeda figures in the past.

Hamas TV to Begin Airing ... Kids Show

2006-01-18T11:58:00.000-05:00

As he describes it, his television show, which begins in a few weeks, will teach children the basics of militant Palestinian politics - the disputed status of Jerusalem, Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and the Palestinian refugees' demand for a right to return to the lands they lost to Israel in the 1948 war - without showing the violence that Hamas's pursuit of those goals entails....

Mr. Sharawi said he would leaven the sober and pedantic material with fun and games, including such standards as egg-and-spoon races, eating apples on a string or "tug of war, which will show children that the more you cooperate with others, the more you win."...

Through it all, Mr. Sharawi will be accompanied by animal-costumed sidekicks to provide comic relief.

Arab Laurel & Hardy Keep 'Em Laughing

A restaurant parody has Palestinians ordering various kinds of torture from an Israeli waiter ("The electric shocks are fresh today.")

Hamas: Push the Jews Into the Sea? Us?

"We did not say we want to throw the Jews in the sea or feed them to sharks. We just said that there is a land called occupied Palestine. It was burglarized and it needs to be returned to the Palestinian people," Hanieh added.

More: Text of Hamas Charter, 1988

Article Seven: The prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, said: The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!

Article Twenty-Eight: Israel, by virtue of its being Jewish and of having a Jewish population, defies Islam and the Muslims. "Let the eyes of the cowards not fall asleep."

Article Thirty-Two: Today it is Palestine and tomorrow it may be another country or other countries. For Zionist scheming has no end.... Their scheme has been laid out in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and their present [conduct] is the best proof of what is said there.... Within the circle of the conflict with world Zionism, the Hamas regards itself the spearhead and the avant-garde.

Israel Won't Talk to Palis Until Jihadis Disarm

Pali Jihadis Will Carry Weapons On Election Day

"We are expecting a very violent Election Day," an official said, according to a report by Middle East Newsline.

Pali Journos Tone Down Suicide-Bomb Rhetoric

A reporter from Hebron described how he now uses the term "explosive incident" to describe suicide bombings, which he said was a gradual but perceptible shift towards recognition of such acts as illegitimate.

British Lords Reject Prohibition on "Glorifying" Terrorism

Israel's Jewish Population Now Exceeds U.S.'s

Singularity! South Korea Plans Robocops

2006-01-18T11:09:00.000-05:00

Also robots "to perform such household tasks as cleaning, monitoring homes, reading to children, and ordering pizza via the Internet."

Computers Unbeatable at Chess Within Decade

Mr Topalov, 30, also raised the possibility that today's version of chess could give way to "Fischer Random Chess" - invented by the eccentric former champion Bobby Fischer - which sets back-row pieces randomly to narrow the importance of rehearsed openings.

Random chess will take off, Mr Topalov said, "when the chess we play now is exhausted from computers and [knowledge of] openings and everything will be [fore]seen. It will not happen next year."

Japan Plans Levitation Elevators by '08

Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corp. will employ so-called maglev technology -- capable of suspending objects in mid-air through the combination of magnetic attraction and repulsion -- to control the lifts, it said in a statement.

Scientists Zero In on Alzheimer's Gene

"We're now trying to nail down which one of these six genes is the most likely to be involved," Goate said. She expects that a total of five to 10 genes eventually will be identified as possible risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer's.

Update: New Wristwatch Detects Malaria

Gay Cowboy Turns Drama Queen After Globes Loss

2006-01-17T23:22:00.000-05:00

Heath Ledger has snubbed a post awards press conference after he was beaten for the best actor Golden Globe....

A Globes organiser was heard asking one of the Brokeback Mountain producers why Ledger did not show up with the rest of the Brokeback team to talk about their best film win. "Well, he lost out to Philip Seymour Hoffman," the producer said. Previously: Men Shoot Fluids Onto Heath Ledger's Face

Ledger Inspired by Bad-ass Gay Uncle

Bell, who admitted his broad sexuality at a young age, is currently the president of the Australian Arm Wrestling Federation and is a successful bare-knuckle boxer.

Indymedia: "Brokeback" Not Nearly Gay Enough

More Celebrity Bullshit: Beckinsale - "I Feel Fat"

Trashy Skank Lohan Obsessed With Skanky Trash Depp

"He's dark and cool and edgy and dirty."

Turner Quits Tinseltown Over Trashy Skank Lohan

"Once my daughter Rachel (18) starts university, I'm going to Europe because I think women of my experience and my body of work are so much more respected there....

"I find the idea of today's icons all being teenagers, incredibly uninspiring."

AKI Exclusive: Iran Closer to Bomb Than Thought

2006-01-17T19:37:00.000-05:00

In Vienna, in November 2004, Farid Soleimani, the Council leader, alleged that in 2001 [A.Q.] Khan had handed over to Iran a significant quantity of enriched uranium. The government of [Pakistan] swiftly issued a denial. However, a high-level source, who asked to remain anonymous, says that the allegation was founded and that the transferral of enriched uranium (as well as components for building centrifuges for enrichment and of designs for building missile heads able to transport the bomb) dated back much earlier....

"I am recounting this episode to illustrate what everyone knows and no-one in Pakistan will ever admit officially, that is, Khan was a scape goat, he was sacrificed to pay for everyone because his network was under the control of the government and the military” our source explained....

"On various occasions, Tehran received plans and component for the centrifuges, uranium and even some enriched uranium. Technology and materials were often moved across the border with Baluchistan, or through Afghanistan, all areas where the controls of ‘enemy’ intelligence services were almost impossible" he added.

Iranian TV Roundtable: Israeli "Tumor" Requires "Surgery"

"The [Zionists] claimed that they had to be the rulers of the world. That's why they prepared the Protocols [of the Elders of Zion] in Russia, and implemented each and every clause. They wrote instructions how to gain control of the global media, and how to control the world's natural resources...."

"One of the mistakes they made – despite their cleverness – was to claim that [the Nazis] used Zyklon-B gas. This gas, according to chemists – and I asked before this program, just to make sure – is a very dangerous gas. It remains in the air and on the skin for a long time. In the photographs they published, German soldiers are seen dragging the bodies of those who suffocated, and they are doing so without gloves or masks. If this was true, the German soldiers should also have died.

"Besides, if six million people had died, wouldn't there be a record somewhere of at least a hundred names?..."

"I hope that one day humanity will reach the conclusion that the only solution for this cancerous tumor is surgery."

Big Sex Round-Up

2006-01-17T18:07:00.000-05:00

Smut-acular!

Anti-War Website: Pull Out or Else Pull Out

Petition Would Shut Down Bush by Shutting Down Bush

Japan to Workers: Take Time to Hump

Kuniko Inoguchi, the minister charged with boosting the birthrate, ... insist[s] that companies must allow men to spend more time at home and help women return to work after giving birth. "The next five years are crucial," Ms Inoguchi said in an interview. "We have the second baby boomers who will remain in their 30s for only another five years, so I am up against the clock."

Size Matters to Female Fish

[A] study in the same publication concluded that female swordtails prefer male swordtails with big, striped swords....

The researchers staged duels between swordtails, Xiphophorus helleri, by putting two comparably sized males with different-sized swords in a tank....

Repeatedly, the male with the bigger sword won. Often all he had to do was to show his sword and then the other male slunk away.

Breaking: Auto retailers report surge in purchases of sports cars by male swordtails

Canadian Researchers Discover "Sexomnia"

Many people fall asleep after sex, but there are some that sleep during sex. Canadian researchers have named this intriguing phenomenon "sexomnia" – a condition in which people who are asleep proceed to initiate sex with their bed partner....

The researchers made an even more astonishing discovery when they found that not all the partners of people with the disorder were distressed or irritated by the idea of having sex with an unconscious person. In fact some almost prefer it.

Update: New study shows 100% of sexomniacs are men trying to avoid foreplay

Scientists Discover Most Potent Irishman

Surprisingly, not Colin Farrell: The scientists, from Trinity College Dublin, have discovered that as many as one in twelve Irish men could be descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages, a 5th-century warlord who was head of the most powerful dynasty in ancient Ireland....

"It's another link between profligacy and power," Bradley told Reuters. "We're the first generation on the planet where if you're successful you don't (always) have more children."

Pope's First Encyclical to Tackle Erotic Love

Benedict notes that marriages that base themselves solely on "eros" risk being "degraded to pure sex," turning love into a form of "merchandise ... that can be bought and sold."

Islamic Clerics Debate Sexual Practices

On this issue, Dr Qaradawi's views are more permissive than those of several other clerics on the internet. One states that oral sex is definitely forbidden, adding that "this hideous practice will draw the anger of Allah". [Allah replies: Only if you use the teeth.]

Parrot Tells Owner's Boyfriend About Her Lover

"Bros before hos," says Polly.

Controversial DOJ Study: Prison Rape Is Rare

Research reveals inmates too busy tossing salads

Surprise! Russia, China Retreat from UNSC Referral

2006-01-17T15:52:00.000-05:00

Asked in a news briefing in Moscow when Russia would be willing to refer Iran to the Security Council, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was vague, saying: "This is a very schematic approach. Politics allow no such approach." He added, "I don't think the I.A.E.A. board of governors has run out of possibilities."

China called today for a resumption of negotiations as the best way to defuse the crisis.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Beijing favored diplomacy and urged all sides to "keep patient and make utmost efforts to resume negotiations" between the Europeans and Iran. Previously: Source: Iran's Referral to UNSC "A Done Deal"

Source: "China Is the Major Obstacle"

He added that China, which has a veto on the security council, felt squeezed between pressure from the west and dependency on Iranian oil....

China, speaking before the London meeting, said resorting to the security council would "complicate the issue", citing Iran's threat to hit back by halting snap UN inspections at its atomic plants. Related: China's GDP Up 9.8% in '05

UK, Russia Reject Further Talks with Iran

The senior British official dismissed the offer, saying: "That is vacuous because the Iranians have created the conditions to make (further talks) impossible."

Likely PM Olmert: We Won't Let Them Have the Bomb

"Under no circumstances, and at no point, can Israel allow anyone with these kinds of malicious designs against us, to have control of weapons of destruction that can threaten our existence."

Counter-Terror Head: WMD Attack a Matter of Time

"If we look at the threat posed by Iran, they have links with Hizbollah [the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim militia], which is a terrorist organisation with global reach, and they are actively pursuing WMD. And the leadership has made a conscious decision to defy international treaties. I am deeply troubled by this."

Egypt: What About Israel's Nukes?

Israelis Head to Moscow to Talk Iran

Regev declined to comment on whether Israel would also send a delegation to China. But he did say that Israel is speaking with everyone.

Israeli Experts Urge Covert Ops Strikes on Iranian Nukes

An air raid on Iran's nuclear facilities, he said, would ultimately fail since some of the reactors are hidden deep in underground bunkers. Therefore Israel had the best chance at thwarting the program by sabotaging one of the reactors and causing nuclear fallout, he said.

"The goal is not to stop the plan since that is almost impossible," the former security official said. "We need to delay it by five years and hope that within that period the current Iranian government will be overturned."...

Former IDF deputy chief of staff Maj.-Gen. (res.) Uzi Dayan backed up Shoval's call on Israel to engage in covert operations but also hinted that the government needed to act "on a personal level" against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Iran, CNN Resolve Lovers' Quarrel

The Jomhuri-e-Eslami newspaper said Tuesday that CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour was a "CIA and Mossad agent with a bad record" who should be barred from Iran.

Wrath of Allah? IDF Intel Unit Struck by Lightning

The highly skilled unit is involved in a variety of activities aimed at gathering information from different sources regarding the plans of various groups. The unit is also tasked with formulating an "intelligence map" on the activities of different organizations....

IDF officials confirmed that the unit's operation was halted, but refused to talk about intelligence damages.

Hamas Bristles as Fatwa Instructs Palis Not to Vote

2006-01-17T15:24:00.000-05:00

The ILP has attacked Hamas for its participation, claiming that the elections are taking place in the context of the Oslo agreements, 'which give up sections of Palestine.'

The ILP also claims that the elections are "part of colonialist game" aimed at integrating Islamic organizations into the political game, as is taking place across the Muslim world.

Pali Terrorists Threaten Election Observers

Ten days ago a fax was received from the Al-Aqsa Brigades in Jenin recommending that international observers of the Palestinian elections stay away. Two weeks ago a Nablus hotel owner where the observers intended to stay was threatened if he hosted them. Less than three weeks ago an Italian aide to a European parliamentary delegation was kidnapped in the Gaza Strip and released hours later....

The observer missions are using diplomacy to dispel threats.... "We resolved it and the threat disappeared," said Murphy. "It is possible to negotiate."

U.S. Ambassador: We Won't Deal With Hamas

"We have no dealings with Hamas. We will have no dealings with Hamas, but that does not mean that Hamas or people who support Hamas should be denied the participation in the election and I think we've made that pretty clear to people," he said.

Khaddam Tells Spiegel: Assad's an Idiot

2006-01-17T15:06:00.000-05:00

Well worth reading in full. "It's always the fools who end up causing their own downfall. The differences between Bashar and his father couldn't be greater. Hafez Assad counted on human reason, while his son counts on money, on his material benefit. He is an idiot."

***
SPIEGEL: Your accusations sound as if you were describing the conditions in Iraq under Saddam Hussein.

Khaddam: It's certainly a valid comparison. Assad himself behaves like Saddam, his family behaves like Saddam's family and Syria's security agencies act in precisely the same way as Saddam's thugs. But there is one difference: The collapse of the Syrian regime will be brought about peacefully, without an American invasion and without civil war. This is because the Syrians see their nation as a single entity. We Syrians are shocked by the situation in Iraq. We do not wish to divide our country into various ethnic groups, denominations and regions.

Iraqi Restaurants Refusing to Serve Police

Restaurant owners and workers say the presence of the peacekeepers makes their dining rooms a target for suicide bombers, Knight-Ridder newspapers reported....

Some diners explain they "do not want to dine with the Prophet Muhammad," a gallows-humor reference to being blown to heaven while eating, Knight-Ridder said.

Hamza Trial: "Six Enemies of Islam"

2006-01-17T14:34:00.000-05:00

1. Muslim clerics; 2. Muslim politicians; 3. Muslim journalists; 4....: Mr Abu Hamza said Islam's first enemy was "tyrants and apostates of our leaders, Jews number two, Christians number three, evil scholars of Muslims number four, hypocrites number five, ignorance of our umma [the Muslim community] number six".

Number 7? French "Charity" Only Offers Meals With Pork

"Pork is a European symbol, whether we like it or not. The day when there are laws forbidding the distribution of pork in Alsace I believe there will be a lot of us who will leave France and take refuge in a country where there is still a certain culinary freedom."...

The philosophy behind Soulidarieta, which means solidarity in the local dialect, is made clear in the association's literature, in which it claims: "Our people face being submerged by a rising black demographic tide," and announces "the launch of a voluntary social and political action in favour of our most deprived blood brothers".

World's Biggest Fish Getting Smaller...

2006-01-17T14:21:00.000-05:00

"Now if you consider that the sharks probably aren't sexually reproductive or mature until they're six or seven metres long - that's a very worrying sign."

...While U.S. Marines Are Getting Larrrrger

MLK Day Report: School Segregation Increasing

2006-01-17T14:14:00.000-05:00

[T]he percentage of black students attending schools where most students are non-white increased across the US from 66% in 1991 to 73% in the 2003-2004 school year, according to the report by Harvard's Civil Rights Project and released at the weekend. In the south, where the desegregation effort was concentrated, the number of black students in schools where most students are non-white rose from 61% to 71% over a 12-year period. More than three-quarters of intensely segregated schools serve children from poor families, the report said.

Orange Crush: Ukraine Loser Back in Favor

2006-01-17T13:57:00.000-05:00

[A]fter a year of turmoil that culminated in popular anger over his handling of a dispute with Russia over natural gas, the prospects for Yushchenko's coalition are not promising. In a poll released Friday by the Democratic Initiative Fund, Yanukovich's Party of Regions was selected by 31 percent of those who responded, compared with 13 percent for Yushchenko's bloc, led by Our Ukraine.

Mexican Military Invades U.S.

2006-01-17T13:44:00.000-05:00

Rafael Laveaga, spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington, denied that Mexican military personnel are crossing into the United States....

"Give me a break," said T.J. Bonner, a 27-year Border Patrol veteran who heads the National Border Patrol Council. "Intrusions by the Mexican military to protect drug loads happen all the time and represent a significant threat to the agents."...

Several agents said the attacks have escalated in the past two years as U.S. security efforts on the border have increased -- including the July shooting of two agents in an ambush near Nogales, Ariz., by assailants in black commando-type clothing, who fired more than 50 rounds. Authorities said the gunmen used military-style cover-and-concealment tactics to escape back into Mexico. No one has been arrested.

Update: DHS Announces Passcard for Regular Mexico Travel

"This new People Access Security Service, or PASS system card, will be particularly useful for those citizens in border communities who regularly cross northern and southern borders every day as an integral part of their daily lives," Mr. Chertoff said. "We're talking about essentially like the kind of driver's license or other simple card identification that almost all of us carry in our wallets day in and day out."

Singularity! Robot Bureaucrat to Resolve Disputes

2006-01-17T13:31:00.000-05:00

In relatively minor cases, such as criticism of car parking facilities, the "agent" may even be able to resolve the complaint online without any further human involvement.

In more complicated cases, the "agent" might have to hold meetings between the two sides in secure internet chatrooms or by using video-conferencing. In the few remaining, unresolved, cases the "agent" will refer the matter to lawyers.

UK Testing Unmanned Combat Planes

The jet-powered Corax had performed several successful flights as early as 2004 – taking off and landing under computer control.

Vibrating Insoles to Protect Geezers from Slip-and-Falls

Unfortunately, as people age the mechanical sensors in their feet, joints and muscles degrade, much as hearing and vision decline, Dr. Collins said. Signals from the feet and lower limbs do not reach the brain to promote balance....

To deliver more useful noise to the brain, Dr. Collins and his colleagues embedded three battery-powered vibrating elements into insoles made of an elastic silicone gel. When people stand on the insoles, their feet are stimulated by random vibrations that they cannot consciously feel but that nevertheless reach their brains.

Scientists See Looming Metal Shortage

2006-01-17T13:21:00.000-05:00

News prompts global run on "bling"

Mystery of British Dentition Solved

2006-01-17T13:13:00.000-05:00

The boyfriend worked on more than 600 people, drilling out cavities without local anaesthetic and installing expensive fillings that crumbled within days, often leaving patients in agony, the BBC said.

Pakistan: Four or Five Terrorists Killed in Airstrike

2006-01-17T11:45:00.000-05:00

The statement was the first official confirmation by Pakistani authorities that foreign militants were killed in the attack, which officials have said also killed innocent civilians....

"Four or five foreign terrorists have been killed in this missile attack whose dead bodies have been taken away by their companions to hide the real reason of the attack," the statement said, citing the chief official in the Bajur region where Damadola is located....

The provincial government did not identify who the foreigners were or who was the target of the missile strike.

More: AP: There have been conflicting accounts from Pakistani officials and witnesses over who, if anyone, reclaimed bodies from the scene of the missile strike.

Damadola residents claim all the victims were locals and they buried them all. One Pakistani official told The Associated Press Saturday that the bodies had been taken away for DNA tests, although it wasn't clear by whom.

SCOTUS: Feds Can't Block Oregon Kevorkians

2006-01-17T11:29:00.000-05:00

Writing the majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the federal drug law does not allow the attorney general to prohibit doctors from prescribing regulated drugs for use in physician-assisted suicide under state law permitting the procedure.

The court's most conservative members -- Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas and Chief Justice John Roberts -- dissented.

Euthanasia "Extremely Rare in UK"

It is the first time such a comprehensive study into medical practice has been undertaken in the UK and shows euthanasia rates are lower than in many other countries.

Scarlett Fever

2006-01-17T01:42:00.000-05:00

Big winners at awards show: gay cowboys, suicide bombers, Johansson's golden globes

MORE: Gay Designer Mizrahi Turns Straight, Cops Feel

It was more like inviting a bunch of pals over to watch and dish than it was your typical stiff red-carpet rote, particularly once the stars got to Mizrahi, who could barely contain himself at times, pawing Desperate Housewife Teri Hatcher, and later literally feeling up a dressed-in-scarlet Scarlett Johansen.

MORE: This Year, Dress Stays On

"I kept saying: 'I want it to be tighter!' And he replied: 'I'm telling you, you're not going to be able to sit down.'"

MORE: Scarlett to Fellas: Bring It On

"I don't think human beings are monogamous creatures by nature."

MORE: Knightley Has Scarlett Seeing Red

MORE: Burnt Out on Iran, Allah Posts Dumbest Shit He Can Find

Hillary: GOP Runs House Like a "Plantation"

2006-01-16T21:10:00.000-05:00

Her remarks were met with thunderous applause by a mostly black audience at the Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem.

The House "has been run like a plantation, and you know what I'm talking about," said Clinton, D-N.Y. "It has been run in a way so that nobody with a contrary view has had a chance to present legislation, to make an argument, to be heard."...

"I predict to you that this administration will go down in history as one of the worst that has ever governed our country."

Oprah's Timely Reminder: Wiesel Is Club Choice

2006-01-16T20:06:00.000-05:00

In announcing the selection, Ms. Winfrey said the book "should be required reading for all humanity." Previously: Iran to Sponsor Holocaust Revisionism

Former Iranian Diplomat: Jews Had It Coming

All Germans viewed the Jews in a negative light. Why? This question should also be asked. What did the Jews do that made them so evil? I believe this should be investigated as well....

The reason is that the Jews had only their own interests in mind, and tried to accumulate wealth. They placed their personal interests above the national interest, and were willing to commit any crime in order to accumulate wealth. This incited public opinion against them.

Times of London on UNSC's Iran Options

NY Sun on UNSC's Iran Options

As Europe and America discuss limiting the travel of Iranian diplomats, the Committee on the Present Danger is poised to release a new policy paper on Iran that recommends America send diplomats to its interest section in Tehran to reach out to the country's burgeoning democratic opposition....

Mr. Palmer said last week that he was unimpressed with the options he had seen on possible Iran sanctions. "I've seen the ban on diplomats from traveling, economic sanctions. I find that stuff a waste of time. We ought to be focused on working with students to get rid of this guy. Sanctions should target the leaders, and we should try to expand our ties with the Iranian people," he said.

Debka: Look for Iran to Accept Russian Enrichment Proposal

[T]he Iranians are genuinely concerned to explore the Russian option, to find out if they can learn enough from the Russians to improve their enrichment techniques. A project in Russia would not prevent them from continuing their enrichment operations – openly in Natanz and covertly at the closed military compound at Parchin and other sites scattered around the country. It will therefore not be surprising if Tehran comes out with an offer to seriously discuss this project with Moscow.

Report: Sistani Rejects Iraqi Citizenship

2006-01-16T19:46:00.000-05:00

"I was born Iranian and I will die Iranian," al-Sistani reportedly told the Baghdad government which had offered him an Iraqi passport.

U.S.'s New Best Friend in Iraq? The Sunnis

Increasingly, the US is throwing its weight in Iraq behind Sunni Arabs, about 20 percent of the country, to ensure they are part of a new coalition government.

Analysts say the US is convinced reconciliation with Sunni Arabs will help stop the insurgency. There is also an American unease with the growing influence of Iran on Iraq's dominant Shiite bloc.

UPI: Shiite Areas Now the "Islamic Republic of Iraq"

"We call it 'Western Iran,'" says a demoralized Joseph.... Joseph said that once you head south of Baghdad Iraqi flags disappear. "All you see are the green flags of the Islamic parties." And the blatant Iranian influence that began surfacing soon after U.S. and coalition forces entered the country.

Vines: 800+ U.S. Troops Killed on Syrian Border

The general said Iraq sustained more than twice the number of casualties.

Singer Mistaken for Bryan Adams Needs Therapy

2006-01-16T19:38:00.000-05:00

US rocker Ryan Adams underwent therapy after his last tour because he couldn't handle fans screaming Bryan Adams' song titles from the audience....

"They're a bunch of f**king c**ks. They come to my shows just to provoke me."

French Pol Trapped in Plot of "A Star Is Born"

2006-01-16T19:32:00.000-05:00

M Hollande, whose own presidential ambitions are handicapped by a lack of charisma, has given his telegenic partner no public encouragement.... For the first time he acknowledged that Ségolène, as she is popularly known, could win the nomination. "It is possible," he said between clenched teeth.

France Nostalgic for Glory Days of Mitterand

During his 14-year reign, Mitterrand hid his cancer from the public. He tried to prevent the reunification of Germany and ignored the AIDS epidemic. There were illegal wiretappings in part to protect the secret existence of a daughter born out of wedlock. Financial scandals and revelations about Mitterrand's wartime service for the collaborationist Vichy government further tarnished his name.

He bloated the civil service, made high unemployment a permanent feature of the economy, fixed the retirement age at 60 and set in motion a reduced workload than culminated in the 35-hour week. It was, according to a recent editorial in the center-right newspaper Le Figaro, "an incredible collection of economic follies for which the bill is far from settled."

Singularity! Morphine v2.0

2006-01-16T19:25:00.000-05:00

If the research pans out, it might one day offer doctors, and veterinarians, a desperately needed new approach to attack intractable pain. And it's from an unlikely source, a more potent cousin of the chemical that makes chile peppers hot.

Computer of the Future? The "Bookshelf"

While the media content itself could be downloaded via subscription, it would then reside in its associated hardware folder which would slot onto the Bookshelf allowing for visual scanning of content similar to locating a book on a bookshelf. Content would then be viewed remotely via a computer monitor or television.

AI Turns 50

Wacko Armageddon: PETA Tackles Jacko

2006-01-16T19:15:00.000-05:00

"The animals have no enrichment of any kin[d]."

Jacko Has Job Interview in Bahrain

UK School Welcomes Our Chinese Overlords

2006-01-16T19:07:00.000-05:00

All 140 boys and girls entering Brighton College from September will study [Mandarin] alongside a more traditional fare of French, Spanish and Latin for at least a year.

Thai Students Eager to Learn Chinese

Currently, more than 30 million people worldwide are studying Mandarin, the Chinese news service Xinhua reported.

Allah Goes Tabloid: Big Sex Round-Up

2006-01-16T14:31:00.000-05:00

No news too smutty!

Missile Gap: Sexual Revolution Sweeps China...

A survey taken last January of seven major Chinese cities found that among those 14 to 20, the average age of first sexual experience was 17.4, while those 31 to 40 had lost their virginity much later, at 24.1 years old. Says Fu Zhen, 28, a teacher in Shanghai: "My parents' only entertainment came from revolutionary movies, so they were very conservative about sex. My generation, we see everything from everywhere, and we are hungry for new experiences." Previously: Chinese Demanding Greater Privacy Rights

...While Japanese Noodles Go Limp

The links between economics and sex are highly speculative, at best. So are explanations for why Asians appear to be unenthusiastic lovers. Stress, perhaps. Maybe it's the cramped dwellings in which many Asians live. Or perhaps Asians are just more honest about sex. Who, after all, likes to admit they don't have much, even anonymously?

Durex's findings, as unscientific as they are, mesh well with the biggest risk facing Asia's No. 1 economy: a dwindling population. Previously: Japanese Men Retreat from Relationships

Possible Explanation: Too Many TVs in Tokyo

A study by an Italian sexologist has found that couples who have a TV set in their bedroom have sex half as often as those who don't.... The study found certain programmes are far more likely to impede passion than others. Violent films will put a stop to sexual relations for half of all couples, while reality shows stem passion for a third of couples.

Study Shows Beliefs about Sex After Vaginal Birth Are a Stretch

There is a widespread belief among the public and some doctors that women who have a surgical birth will experience fewer sexual problems than those who give birth naturally.... [S]ix months after birth, the differences between Caesarean birth and vaginal delivery were much reduced, or even reversed.

Survey Says: 70+% Think First-Date Sex OK

But the same survey shows that sex is not so high on the agenda when looking for a mate. A mere 54% of those surveyed said that sex was the most important thing in a partner, while 75% said the ability to provide companionship was top of their list.

Female IDF Soldier Takes On All Comers in Orgy

According to a military probe, a female soldier had sex with 13 servicemen while on duty at an IAF base two years ago but failed to seduce the non-commissioned officer in charge into engaging in oral sex.

Ricky Martin to Groupies: Wear a Raincoat

The Latin star originally told America's Blender magazine, "I love giving the golden shower.

"I've done it before in the shower. It's like so sexy, you know, the temperature of your body and the shower water is very different."

Aussies Spring into Action Over Rush-Hour Erections

"There was a woman on the address system," Frankston-bound passenger Angela told the Herald Sun. "It was very graphic about how she was going to have sex with a driver for about three minutes."

Judge Affirms: Penises Have No First Amendment Rights

During the show, Huffman used his penis as a stand-up comic.

Rolling Stone: Does Wachowski Brother Still Have His Penis?

Hitchens: Red on Red Spells Doom for AQ

2006-01-16T14:16:00.000-05:00

If all goes even reasonably well, and if a combination of elections and prosperity is enough to draw more mainstream Sunnis into politics and away from Baathist nostalgia, it will have been proved that Bin-Ladenism can be taken on—and openly defeated—in a major Middle Eastern country. And not just defeated but discredited. Humiliated. Is there anyone who does not think that this is a historic prize worth having? Worth fighting for, in fact?

Clinton's VP Worried About Respect for Rule of Law

2006-01-16T14:05:00.000-05:00

Funniest part: The Dean of Yale Law School, Harold Koh, said after analyzing the Executive Branch's claims of these previously unrecognized powers: "If the President has commander-in-chief power to commit torture, he has the power to commit genocide, to sanction slavery, to promote apartheid, to license summary execution."

Iran's Referral to UNSC "A Done Deal"

2006-01-16T13:37:00.000-05:00

"The Russians are agreed now. They have changed their position," said the source. "The Chinese are still a little hesitant, but effectively a Security Council referral is now a done deal. It will go to the Security Council."

Saudis Oppose Nukes for Iran, Blame Israel

In an interview broadcast Monday by the British Broadcasting Corp., Prince Saud al-Faisal said Western nations' failure to stop Israel from becoming a nuclear power "has done the damage we are all suffering from now."

Hamza: Jews Rule World by Blackmailing Western Leaders

"They got a file for each one of these politicians, how much homosexual you are, how many money he has taken as bribe, whom his wife goes with, which child he has been abusing and they got all this against them.

"Jews know how to control people. This is how they know how to control our leaders."

UPDATE: UNSC Members to Iran: Suspend Nuke Program

The British Foreign Office said all five permanent members of the Security Council the U.S., Britain, France, Russia and China and Germany had shown "serious concern over Iranian moves to restart uranium enrichment activities."

They agreed on the need for Iran to "return to full suspension," according to the statement.

PA Tells Security Forces to Vote Fatah or Else

2006-01-16T13:25:00.000-05:00

"We consider this a serious violation," said Michael Murphy, the country director of the National Democratic Institute....

Hamas Benefiting from Pali Disgust with Fatah

"We've heard a lot of promises from Fatah and every politician, but little has been achieved," said Said Saleh, 45, who has been unemployed for years.... "I'm not talking against Fatah alone, but from the founding of the P.L.O. to today, what did they do?" Mr. Saleh asked bitterly. "They didn't bring us peace, but the reverse."

Abbas Says He Won't Run Again After Term Is Up

U.S. Sniper Dials Long Distance on Jihadi

2006-01-16T13:19:00.000-05:00

A single shot hit the Iraqi in the chest and killed him instantly. It had been fired from a range of more than three-quarters of a mile, well beyond the capacity of the powerful Leupold sight, accurate to 3,300 feet.

"I believe it is the longest confirmed kill in Iraq with a 7.62mm rifle," said Sgt. Gilliland, 28....

JPost Joins U.S. Troops on Night Raid in Mosul

"We apologize for the inconvenience tonight. We had bad intelligence and believed there was terrorist activity here. All your items have been returned. We are not taking anyone tonight and we are returning all your items," he says.

Science Confirms: Having Kids Is a Drag

2006-01-16T13:14:00.000-05:00

"There is a strong cultural assumption that parenthood is the key to lifelong personal development and happiness and that people without children feel empty and depressed, but this study shows conclusively that is not the case."

...But There Are Some Advantages

"Many benefits seem to emerge from motherhood as the maternal brain rises to the reproductive challenge. When the going gets tough, the brain gets going."

Singularity! Spaceships, the Next Generation

2006-01-16T13:03:00.000-05:00

These range from galactic blimps to Anthony Colozza's "Entomopter." Designed to fly like an insect rather than a typical aircraft, it would be used on planets with thin atmospheres, such as Mars. A fleet of Entomopters could serve as scouts for rovers or humans....

He also devised a solar-powered craft for use in thicker atmospheres made from a new generation of flexible plastics. They change shape under the influence of electricity, exhibiting the digital equivalent of a central nervous system. The flying wing would have no moving parts, but would gently flap its way through an atmosphere.

Scientists Discover Diabetes Gene

Neanderthals Floated to Europe Via Gibraltar

2006-01-16T12:59:00.000-05:00

"If the only way of getting to Europe was via the Middle East then, theoretically, they should have got to France before reaching Spain."

Brokeback May Have Hollywood Grabbing Its Ankles

2006-01-16T12:26:00.000-05:00

The film is prompting renewed interest in projects that have kicked around Hollywood for years. One is Peter Lefcourt's 1992 novel "The Dreyfus Affair," about two gay baseball players, the World Series and how organized baseball deals with the public relations fallout from their relationship....

"We actually got close to (casting) Ben Affleck" at New Line, Lefcourt said....

Katie Holmes Becomes First Person to Own Copy of "Legend"

Fashion '06: Nazi-Caught-in-a-Fishnet Look Is In

2006-01-15T21:33:00.000-05:00

MORE: Metrosexuality Reaches Logical Conclusion

Telegraph: Iran Could Have Bomb in Three Years

2006-01-15T20:56:00.000-05:00

Iran now has all the means of production and materials to proceed to the final weapons stage....

The only question remaining for western intelligence is to assess exactly how long it will take the Iranians to complete the process.

"We just don't know how efficient the Natanz plant is at enriching uranium," said an intelligence official.

ElBaradei: Iran Could Have Bomb in a Few Months

"[I]f they have the nuclear material and they have a parallel weaponization program along the way, they are really not very far—a few months—from a weapon."

Jumblatt to Syrians: West Can Help Depose Assad

2006-01-15T20:32:00.000-05:00

"The only way to topple this guy is to try him like Milosevic," he said. As for the Ba'ath Party that Assad heads, Jumblatt believes "there is no difference in essence between the Iraqi Ba'athists and the Syrian Ba'athists. . . the worst regimes are the Ba'athist regimes"....

He urged the Syrian opposition to seek western support to help topple the beleaguered Damascus regime. "I am not calling for military intervention in Syria but I am asking the Syrian opposition to decide that without western help there can be no change - without [it] they will be in jail or exiled and will be blackmailed and killed."

FLASHBACK: Jumblatt: Iraq Is Start of "New Arab World"

PREVIOUSLY: Syrian Ex-VP Khaddam Forms Government in Exile

NYC the Abortion Capital of U.S.

2006-01-15T20:19:00.000-05:00

The New York Daily News reported Sunday that ... 40 out of 100 pregnancies in the city ended in a planned abortion in 2004 -- almost double the national average of 24 of 100 pregnancies in 2002.

Abortions for out-of-town women performed in the city increased from 57 per 1,000 to 70 out of every 1,000 between 1996 and 2004, the newspaper said, because of increased restrictions elsewhere.

Sudan Butcher Set to Lead Africa Union

2006-01-15T20:16:00.000-05:00

The union has mediated in peace talks between Sudan's regime and Darfur's rebels. Its 6,000-strong military force in Darfur has documented numerous attacks on civilians.

Critics fear that if Mr Bashir takes the union's helm the mission will be compromised and Africa's attempt to solve a grave crisis will end.

Zawahiri Update: U.S. Still Hopeful

2006-01-15T19:23:00.000-05:00

American officials have said they had not seen solid indications of his death or his survival. At minimum, the officials said they believed that other senior Qaeda officials had died in the attack.

MORE: Officials Say Pakistanis Helped

U.S. officials insist that some of the intelligence for the strike was provided by Pakistan's intelligence service....

"I've seen intelligence reports that have the top al-Qaeda leadership all over a huge geographical area out there," says a senior Pentagon official. A lot of the intelligence, he notes, "comes from people who are deliberately trying to deceive us."

MORE: Pakistani Sources Profess Innocence

Two top Pakistani officials - one from the nation's powerful military, the other from the civilian government - said Sunday that Pakistan was only told by U.S. officials about Friday's purported CIA airstrike that killed at least 17 people after it happened.

MORE: Bayh Defends Strike: What Else Could We Do?

MORE: Bin Laden Dead?

Cronkite: Pull 'Em Out Now

2006-01-15T18:58:00.000-05:00

Cronkite said one of his proudest moments came at the end of a 1968 documentary he made following a visit to Vietnam during the Tet offensive. Urged by his boss to briefly set aside his objectivity to give his view of the situation, Cronkite said the war was unwinnable and that the U.S. should exit....

The best time to have made a similar statement about Iraq came after Hurricane Katrina, he said.

FLASHBACK: Text of Cronkite's Tet Broadcast

FLASHBACK: De Borchgrave on Tet Reporting

Vietcong units not only did not reach a single one of their objectives -- except when they arrived by taxi at the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, blew their way through the wall into the compound and guns blazing made it into the lobby before they were wiped out by U.S. Marines -- but they lost some 50,000 killed and at least that many wounded. Giap had thrown some 70,000 troops into a strategic gamble that was also designed to overwhelm 13 of the 16 provincial capitals and trigger a popular uprising. But Tet was an unmitigated military disaster for Hanoi and its Vietcong troops in South Vietnam. Yet that was not the way it was reported in U.S. and other media around the world. It was television's first war. And some 50 million Americans at home saw the carnage of dead bodies in the rubble, and dazed Americans running around.

As the late veteran war reporter Peter Braestrup documented in "Big Story" -- a massive, two-volume study of how Tet was covered by American reporters -- the Vietcong offensive was depicted as a military disaster for the United States. By the time the facts emerged a week or two later from RAND Corp. interrogations of prisoners and defectors, the damage had been done. Conventional media wisdom had been set in concrete. Public opinion perceptions in the United States changed accordingly.

LAT: Democracy Initiative May End with Bush

2006-01-15T15:26:00.000-05:00

Opinion polls indicate Americans are not averse to Bush's idea. They just don't think it can work. Only one-third of Americans believe expanding democracy in the Middle East is a good idea that can succeed, according to a survey published in November by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press in Washington. The rest either consider it a bad idea or think it stands no chance of success.

"There's almost no evidence the public, even Bush's strongest supporters, have embraced or are enthusiastic about spreading democracy," said Andrew Kohut, Pew center executive director....

"When he goes, it will go," predicted a senior administration official who declined to be quoted by name because of the sensitivity of the issue. "We haven't sold the policy as well as we should have."

MORE: Saudis Ignore Bush's Demands to Rein in Jihadis

Report: Israeli Forces Ready for Iran Strike

2006-01-15T14:45:00.000-05:00

At the Hatzerim air base on the edge of the Negev desert, the elite 69 strategic F-15 I squadron is ready to attack. Months of preparations have been completed and the young pilots have finished training for the long-haul flights that will be necessary to reach Iran and back without refuelling.

The planes, costing £60m each, are equipped with secret state-of-the-art weaponry and precision bombs that have yet to be tested in battle.

Two submarines capable of launching cruise missiles are on standby: one hidden in the depths of the Persian Gulf, the other stationed in the Israeli port of Haifa. In an attack they will be used to receive high quality signal intelligence.

Israel’s elite special forces are also prepared for their role — flying into Iran by helicopter to sabotage the underground targets that cannot be bombed from the air.

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