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News Briefs 1-09-2004

So, the War on Terror cannot be won? Depends on the purpose of it in the first place. If it was to increase domestic government powers, increase taxes and reduce civil liberties then it has been an unqualified success.

  • War on terror cannot be won.
  • Curious circle: Retiree seeks explanation for mysterious ring
  • Sceptic spots UFO.
  • Why an orgasm really is all in the mind.
  • Humans march to a faster genetic drummer than other primates.
  • Scan as damaging as atomic bomb.
  • Brain may produce its own antipsychotic drug.
  • The flying triangle enigma.
  • Sitting in front of a screen for hours can do irreparable harm to a child’s eyesight.
  • Questions in Qumran.
  • Jedi Academy opens in Romania.
  • Toothpaste, water and sunshine equals energy for the future.
  • A catalogue of false terror warnings.
  • Enron boss pleads guilty to conspiracy. So who else did he implicate to make it a conspiracy?
  • Adam and his eves. There’s nothing so certain than the story born of unjustified axioms.
  • Fred Whipple passes on at 97.
  • Egyptian mummy unwrapped by scanning.
  • Portable atomic clock is the size of a grain of rice.
  • Life on Mars: a definite possiblility.
  • Planet madness continues with two new discoveries.
  • Neolithic homes unearthed at roadside.
  • Ancient Pasargadae threatened by construction of dam.
  • A sleeping giant lies under Afghan sands.

Quote of the Day:

When war is declared, truth is the first casualty.

Arthur Ponsonby

  1. Political Comments
    This is a great site for alternative news and interesting topics. I hope it doesn’t degenerate into a forum for continued political opinions that some feel they need to make for whatever reason. I don’t believe they will really change anyone else’s mind who happens to have a different opinion. If people wish to post their political viewpoints, there are plenty of sites geared for that very purpose. Why spoil such a good site as this with it? That’s one reason I quit visiting the Jeff Rense site a couple years ago and haven’t been back. I hope this site can stay free of political bickering and/or presentation of a preferred viewpoint. We get enough of that stuff (crap) elsewhere.

    1. bush barriere
      Hi,

      Mr. Bush replied. “But I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world.”

      Hear, hear dubya is certainly achieving something here, never ever have americans been so unwelcome.

      As for the anon commenter, sticking your fingers in your ears or be blinded by the flag isn’t doing your fellow earthlings any good. Threatening to quit visiting something because you don’t like some of what’s on offer would be the best thing for you to do. For all you know this site might all ready be on the watch list by your homeland services, it would be unjust that a good patriot like you would be grinded as a result of your visits here. Don’t forget the non conformist base of this site –alternative archeology– subversive towards authority !

      ” explain why you doubt that which has been tought, what about all these books sissie/terrorist propaganda weakening the belief in our leader, in authority itself ! ”

      Not a pretty prospect so do yourself and your family a favor ……..

      1. Literary Criticism
        Liberal? Libertarian – get it right Mr. Right, or how about NeoCon. Ass smacks too much of donkey. Brilliant sentence that. Arse would be better, or more formally but still very naughty – how about bottom, or for the more educated and haughty – buttocks.

        J.

  2. War on terror? Where?
    Fighting a “war” on terror is like trying to nail jello to a tree. What we need is to get civilization to lower its tolerance for terrorism to the point where terrorists have no haven or support for their illegal and anti-social behavior. Nations who refuse to join the rest of society in this endeavor should suffer the severest possible sanctions, across the board, enforced by the U.N., or an organization like it – maybe one that will live up to its name better than the present setup. In this regard, the world community must align itself – you are either with us, or against us.

    As for political rhetoric centered on terrorism, I say “put up, or shut up” – unilateral actions like the U.S. has been prosecuting would not be necessary, nor even desirable as methods to control terrorism (assuming that’s their purpose, and I’m not convinced), if the rest of the civilized world would do their part. Since a good deal of the world hates America, and not without some reason, there’s a feeling of vindication, if not outright joy, when America or its interests take a kick in the agates.

    As a 60 year-old American veteran, I would like to see America pull back its troops – all of them; close our borders and enforce the strictest immigration policies; reclaim our manufacturing interests and outsourced jobs from the third world; stop sending aid to countries that funnel it into the pockets of corrupt administrators; and let the rest of the world handle its own problems. Toss the United Nations out – reclaim that piece of real estate on the East River to use as a parking lot or park to commemorate the innumerable American youth who died on foreign soil in the name of freedom. Let France host the U.N. for a while, or some Pacific Rim nation. Of course, if we did that, most of the world would start whining about how we don’t share, and we don’t help, etc., etc., ad nauseum.

    Sorry if I seem angry, but, you asked, and I’m not billing America as the “White Knight”, I may be old, but I’m not stupid. Corporate and political greed has put us where we are today, but we’re not alone in the world in that regard, so you don’t need to rub that in my face.

    With hope for peace, and continued dialogue.

    “I could lie to you about your chances, but…, you have my sympathies.”
    Ash, android on the Nostromo

    1. Agreed –>
      Anonymous … actually, I’ll call you Ash … I sympathise. I’m sick of hearing people whine on and on how much they hate America, and if the world is to be a better place America must do this and do that and what America needs to understand blah blah blah.

      There’s only one thing worse than America, and that’s people who continually bitch about it! 😉

      And you wrote:

      Corporate and political greed has put us where we are today, but we’re not alone in the world in that regard, so you don’t need to rub that in my face.

      I totally agree. America is a convenient scapegoat for the Left who are too narrow-minded in their political views to see the larger picture. Reality is a case of “if you want someone to blame, throw a rock in the air and you’ll hit someone guilty”. There are plenty of other countries who are just as much to blame as America. The Left is no better than the Right who use Islamic extremists and terrorism as a convenient scapegoat for their own greedy agendas. Put them both in a barrel, weight it with lead, and drop it in the ocean I say!

      America is a cause, not the cause of the world’s ills.

      That being said, stick around for Bill’s news briefs this Friday. He sure isn’t a Leftist pinko commie traitor! Then there’s me on Monday, you won’t be getting political propaganda and Left/Right bias on my news briefs. And Greg is always posting stuff that is paranormal and non-political. So don’t judge TDG by Jameske and Cernig — ignore their political links, like I do, and click on the many non-political links they do post. The more people complain, the more they’ll be political. I think Jameske likes the controversy. 😉

      And Ash, sign with a name. Otherwise your posts do get confused with other anonymous postings. You come across as a balanced reasonable person and I’d hate to confuse you with some unreasonable nutcase.

      All the best,

      Rico

      1. Biased against Big Government
        Biased against Big Government – not biased against Left and Right since in modern Western Politics, unlike chemistry, there is no chirality (gauging Kelvin nothwithstanding). Most people complain on the basis of left/right bias. But it is as always completely founded on false perceptions.

        It might be correct to say I like controversy. But this is TDG and is about controversial material – kind of the meaning of a site of alternative science, history, archaeology, philosophy and so forth…

  3. Great News Brief
    Well done Jameske. In particular I enjoyed the item about Robert Lomas and the “mental orgasm”. Wonder if his wife told him to say that? The many Eves of Adam was an excellent item which I wish I had found. It is such a pity that some out there would supress teaching this kind of thing in school for the sake of preserving thier own confidence in thier invisible-friend-of-choice. Lastly, I enjoy seeing the occasional “political” item when it ties in with the “conspiracies” theme. Its a pity that anonymous bullies appear out of the woodwork every time such an item is posted with threats to stop reading or diatribes from a neo-con angle which make as much sense as some of the original “conspiracy” items posted. This kind of secretive bully-boy tactic is exactly why such people have made the rest of the globe mistrustful. If these people are such avid followers of the TDG community why do we not see their comments on any other news items and why arent they members? Keep up the good work.

    Regards, c

    1. Conformist nonsense
      So you only approve of commentary which confirms your own opinion, and dissent is not welcome? As for anonymity, that’s a privilege afforded by the site owners/managers. If you can’t handle anonymous comments that you regard as “senseless” or “bullying”, then I suggest you get TDG to require membership and login for commenting. Then you can all commiserate in joyful brotherhood.

      The conspiracy angle is interesting. Do you check your closet before going to bed?

      Peace and respect,

      “If everybody wanted a blue suit, they wouldn’t make brown ones.”

      1. The anonymous thing
        The anonymous thing is not about different viewpoints as much as it is about the problem of identifying which anonymous poster says what. I often post without signing into the site and leave a signature. You could always pick a name to use just to make it easy for others to know who is saying what.

        As for my political views see a blog of mine on TDG news and my choice of stories – but to help you out – there wasn’t much to go on today and there was also what I regarded as an important U-turn in Bush’s policy. From winning the War on Terror to saying it cannot be won is a significant change. So, my remarks at the start of the news reflect that – what exactly has been won? Terror is still there and cannot be defeated, but what has been won is the reduction of civil liberties (a matter of fact), and increase in taxes (a matter of fact), and an increase in the powers of government (a matter of fact). Also a matter of fact is the end to Saddam’s reign in Iraq, but international socialism has never been an interest of mine – I don’t support toppling foreign dictators and I don’t buy fair trade coffee and chocolate. And since I think oil can be found just about anywhere you care to drill (I’m waiting for the planning permission for my back garden – it’ll probably be a cold day in hell thanks to the local council) I don’t see much point in messing around with Iraq for oil either. Besides, there’s plenty of sea power where I am, and there’s enough scientific infrastructure to develop new alternative forms of power anyway – which is why I want to get rich quick through Grail Oil before everyone has a go.

        Oh, and I nearly forgot…

        Jameske

        1. Who is who?
          “The anonymous thing is not about different viewpoints as much as it is about the problem of identifying which anonymous poster says what.”

          Then stop allowing non-registered users to post, for crying out loud. This whining about anonymous posters is really pathetic. As if having a handle of some sort is all that much less anonymous. Want to keep track of which user said what? Then make them register. Simple.

          1. Hear! Hear! What whining? Did
            Hear! Hear! What whining? Didn’t know TDG had sound. One would almost think you are moaning 😉

        2. Libertarian
          A quote from the ‘war on terror’ article:

          Analysts said Mr. Bush’s comment reflected both foreign policy and political realities, and appeared intended in part to emphasize that even a striking breakthrough, like the capture of Osama bin Laden, would not by itself assure the nation’s security.

          “From the start it’s been clear that we’re dealing with an ideological struggle that affects a region, and not just a single movement or group,” said Anthony Cordesman, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

          With Mr. Kerry having trouble getting across how his approach would have been different from Mr. Bush’s approach to Iraq, Mr. Bush can show some flexibility in his thinking, Mr. Cordesman said. “Bush can afford to move to a more nuanced ground precisely because Kerry has been unable to occupy it,” he said.

          So since the article itself wasn’t anti-Bush, and offered criticism of Kerry as well, why pick that one, especially since there are plenty of other articles with more bite?:

          Justice Dept. Assails Way It Won Key Terror Case
          A Call to ‘Win This Culture War’
          Bush’s ruinous economic plans

          But after reading all those, I had to concede a point alluded to by one of your critics — whether truthful or not, no amount of negative press about either of the main contenders is likely to change their supporters’ opinions. But more to the point, these stories also fail to get across libertarian views, so I began to wonder why you never post any libertarian articles or articles about libertarian candidates. After a two-hour search, I think I know why — well-written ones are damned hard to find. But here are a couple:

          Little fanfare for Libertarians as they make bid for White House,

          Badnarik choosing principles over paychecks.

          Libertarian candidate: ‘We are for liberty’,

          Interview with Libertarian Presidential Candidate, Michael Badnarik.

          The Libertarian Party nominates a candidate without knowing his views or knowing about his brushes with the law.

          So is it the dominance of the two-party system that’s holding them back, i.e. all those people who say they’d just be wasting their vote if they went with a third-party candidate?

          Or is it sort of the opposite of the phenomena of people who are famous for being famous, i.e. few people know anything about them, so the press doesn’t say much because readers aren’t interested?

          Or do they lack support because most people actually know and disagree with their platform?

          Curious

  4. War; * goto Hell
    Please allow me to point the way. since you all seem to be staggering around, not finding the entrance ramp…

    Republican: noun, Greek. Those that desire a republic (piece of land), of which is not their own. Those that will drain the blood of your children, but not their own, to gain ground that they so desperately desire, but not actually need to survive.

    Democrat: Greek. (see Democratic), One that will barter. To be diplomatic in nature. A person who will apply diplomancy in situations that require mutual mis-understandings, as in (successuful) marriages 🙂 (Any male member of the Kennedy Family)

    dd Lunatic Asylum, n.:The place where optimism most flourishes.

  5. Don’t fret Jamseke
    Your picks were perfectly appropriate. There is a large group of Americans right now who feel that “some butt needs to be kicked” as a result of 9/11. They keep score on the war on Terror by how much of this butt kicking has been “mission accomplished”. They are frustrated that the rest of the world does not see it this way. Finally they presume patriotism is directly related to how completely one accepts or rejects this particular military strategy.

    MARTIAL ARTS, NOT SCHOOLYARD BRAWL

    If the war on Terror was a war of might, like a wrestling match, the butt kickers would be right. Not only that, I would join them. But it’s not. They haven’t figured out yet that Al Qeada is waging a psychological war, not a “who’s stick is bigger” contest. In this regard, Al Qeada’s objectives of turning world opinion against the U.S. have been spectacularly successful, and everything Bush does adds to this PR success.

    The second Al Qeada objective, of getting Americans themselves (!!) to dismantle the very things we cherish so much (our constitution and our bill of rights) is a psychological coup unprecedented in America’s history. In this, as well, Al Qeada has also been extremely successful.

    In the martial arts, it is a given – emotional knee jerk reactions such as anger, fear, and self righteousness become a powerful tool for your enemy to use against you. And that is exactly what we are letting Al Qeada do to us. The best martial arts champions face their enemy with cold, methodical, emotionless calculating. They know that it is absolutely crucial to leave their emotions out of their strategy.

    The response to their attacker may then be physical or it may not.
    But the winner is going to be the one who can successfuly cause his opponent to feel rage and anger, and then redirect that energy such that it becomes the paramount tool for victory. Everytime an American gets pissed off and upset because somebody like Jameske or me is pointing this out to them, they are playing their emotions right into Al Qeada’s hands.

    (While it is true that “Jihad Anger” also exists, notice that this too, is being cultivated and used as a tool by terrorist leadership. Furthermore, martial arts does not say one should not feel emotion, just refrain from incorporating it in your strategic decisions. America’s neocons continue to make this mistake daily.)

    Personally, I wish it were so simple – “kick enough butt and the world will finally respect me, praise God!” As a tax paying contributor to the world’s most powerful military machine, I too, wish I could count on it for this problem. But it’s not that kind of war. Even a patriotic war vet like the guy who posted above can see all this clearly.

    Dashour

    1. What you say makes a lot of s
      What you say makes a lot of sense from a certain point of view. But note the similarity between Al Qaeda and the NeoCons. The war on terror is not between Al Qaeda and the NeoCons. It is between them as an Axis against people who just want to live their own lives. In this respect what one has is more like 1984 – Big Brother and Goldstein exist as concepts for sure, but as flesh and blood leaders it is not clear that they exist at all or whether they ever really did. They both fulfill media roles and appear opposites in a Good-Evil axis, no matter what way around you look at it on the surface. But in depth, both are one, and in logic… (Good and Evil) versus Not (Good and Evil).

      1. Jameske, I’m sorry but you ar
        Jameske, I’m sorry but you are a NeoLib so far gone that you would make Karl Marx cry. And Until you start posting the conspiracy crap about how John Kerry is nothing but a hollywood piece of crap puppet running with a horible running mate that made 300 million LYING and using junk science in mal practice suits, being the ipitome of why trial law has gone completely out of control, then you are not fair and balanced and nothing you say can be taken with any seriousness. The other link you posted was really a new low for you.

        I consider myself a libererian on almost every domestic issue, but I am glad we are out in the world trying to make a difference, and no matter how many conspiracies you want to try and preach as the ‘Real Agenda’ for giving people freedom will change that.

        BTW, where were all your posts on the recent dozens of lies that Kerry has been embarassed with about his Vietnam service? That man is a true disgrace. Bush is no saint but Kerry is a real anti-american puppet, and I hope he gets elected so you Neo-Faciasts can get what you deserve.

        PS-Cernig… We know you think religion is the foundation of all that is evil on earth, give it a rest.

        MeatPopsicle

        1. religion
          I wasn’t aware that Cernig believes that religion is the foundation of all that is evil on earth.
          If he does, however, he is just about right IMHO.

          The deaths of those little children in Russia can be laid at the door of religion.The Chechyns are Muslim.Look at the history.
          The war on terror is again religion based,the western Christian countries do not like Muslims.
          I could go on and on with nearly every country in the world but I won’t.

          Religion is the basic belief system that people hold and by this it is responsible for the way they decide to live their lives.

          Jews believe they are the Chosen People….Muslims believe that if they kill non-believers they will be given great rewards after death…..and Christians are bound by the infallible(!!) pope who says that the only correct religion is Christianity.

          So MeatPopsicle have a look around the various hot-spots in the world and look into what they are fighting about.
          You might be surprised.

          shadows

      2. A/Q vs. neocon
        J, I think you have pushed this point a bit too far. A/Q WILL gladly cut your and my heads off for not being one of them. On the other hand (if it isn’t cut off) the neocons have no interest in what you or I do or say unless we are trying to blow them up. At worst they may try to convince you to buy a BigMac and a Coke, but I have yet to see a Marine holding a gun to anyone’s head forcing them to buy that burger.

        1. You are splitting hairs
          Xavier, what about all the people in Guantanamo Bay without hearings or trials?
          What about the Patriot Act specifically deligned to take away your freedoms?
          Do you think this has not already led to innocent deaths?
          Sure Kerry and Edwards are show ponies, all politicians are..otherwise they would have the decency to stay out of politics.
          But maybe, just maybe,they might change things a bit so that our countries are not so hated and are able to regain the respect they once had.
          You are allowing yourself to fall into the old trap of actually believing in politicians.
          When the day comes when a politician offers himself in a spirit of altruism and does not accept pay,and refuses to play with the organisations that want to back him,then I will maybe begin to listen to what they have to say.

          Both Bush and Kerry have the big money that would enable them to do this without resorting to political skullduggery, so my advice is the same as Noam Chomsky’s……hold your nose and vote Democrat.
          They can’t do any worse, and they may possibly do a bit better.

          shadows

          1. Hair splitting?
            Let’s put this in perspective. In order of severity: 1) loss of human life, 2) severe physical/mental suffering, 3) ‘potential’ loss of liberties. Now let’s sort the ‘participants’: a) the players, and b) the innocent bystanders. So, we have a 3 x 2 matrix of grief/relief. If you take all the people involved in Afghanistan and Iraq and what their circumstances were before and after the events of the last three years, I think you will find a huge shift for the better for the bystanders at the deserved expense of the players. Now, if some of the players are misidentified and/or suffering (primarily involuntary confinement) in the interim, I would estimate that the payback to the innocent bystanders works out to about a million to one. I’ll take those odds any day.

            The Patriot Act is highly overrated by the loony left. I can assure you that there are many things that will be our demise long before there will be any measurable consequence to that particular law. As I have stated many times before, we have this little thing called the 2nd Amendment that was the trip wire our brilliant, dead white male forefathers carefully placed right after freedom of speech as the two most important rights we have. We have had far more trouble in the last 30-40 years fighting the wacko left from taking these two rights away than the Patriot Act could ever impose. Given the Swiss are the only other ‘civilized’ country where private gun ownership is widespread, it is going to be a small coalition taking down that ‘New World Order’ when the time comes.

          2. You are misleading yourself m
            You are misleading yourself my friend.

            In Afghanistan only the afflictor has changed, the affliction remains the same, happening to different people.
            The Taliban is on the rise again and the good old opium poppy is growing further afield than it ever was and with more reward for the middle men who trade in it.

            In Iraq, those tribes that Saddam kept under control are now out of control, and your countrymen are the ones that are suffering from their violent actions along with innocent Iraqis who just want to be left alone.
            How has that helped the country?

            Check out how many in both countries are dying from the effects of depleted uranium, not only ordinary people but soldiers from your country as well.

            As Digital Dragon said..no one had to die.

            When you say that the number of deaths or injured does not worry you because it is so small, it is very obvious that those deaths or injuries did not occur to one of your’s.
            You do not seem to realise that your own country people are just as expendable in this crazy attempt to teach Islam a lesson as are any Arab people the world over.
            The Arabs breathe and eat and s%%t and love and bleed and feel pain just as you do,they are no less human than you just because they are different.

            I don’t know about your 2nd Amendment but remember that Hitler started by telling people that they needed to be afraid of the Jews, and only he could save them, and only by removing their freedom could he do that.

            One of your own countrymen Tom Paine said that patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.
            He got it in one.

            shadows

          3. You want to see Innocents?!
            13,000 Iraqi civilian dead so far. Around 7 times that many wounded. This shocking figure hasn’t impacted on the American consciousness yet because the mainstream press wont print the pictures. Warning, the pics are not for the faint of heart or for chickenhawks who can still feel shame. Now tell me about innocents being better off in Iraq. I am disgusted that anyone can make their fingers type such self-serving, hiding-from-the-truth crap. Nor do I want to hear about “liberty” or “freedom” or “crusades”. YES, I know that both sides of the “players” are equally to blame! Save me the politics, people, and look inside for simple compassion.

            Yours in shame for belonging to this species, C

          4. Not patriotism
            I am sorry you misunderstand my analysis as patriotism. I am not counting ‘our’ folks as somehow better than some others. I am merely saying that if you were to talk to the average woman on the street in either Afghanistan or Iraq, she would more than likely be happy with the future prospects than what she endured in the past. Are her daughters going to school? Can she go out on the street without fear of being beheaded in the neighborhood sports stadium? Given the vote, do you think she will vote the mullahs back in power?

            And for C: I suggest that Saddam disposed of 13000 people on a slow month, just to watch them die. I can’t fathom this reverence for these thugs.

          5. Not true
            It is not true that Saddam disposed of 13000 people on a slow month.
            Here is a quote from Phillip Adams column in The Australian this weekend………

            I disputed in a recent column a claim of British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s,twice repeated, that 400,000 corpses had been found in mass graves sice the invasion of Iraq.As The Observer and The Guardian both pointed out, at last count 395,000 FEWER bodies had been unearthed and Number 10 was forced to issue a retraction.
            But the story had a life of it’s own-and was bounding and rebounding around the woorld on official US web sites.

            Bob Ellis states in his latest book…Night Thoughts in Time of War….
            Saddam was no fool, and he would not have killed without a reason….

            Not that we would approve of his reasons, but he was ever the pragmatist.He would kill to control tribes and to instil fear.

            As to the fear of the women of going out without being beheaded…you have your countries mixed up.In Iran recently a 16 year old girl was hanged for having a sharp mouth, and in Saudi Arabia there are far more beheadings and punishments of women that in all the other Muslim countries put together but the US prefers to ignore this, with the Saudis having 3 trillion dollars invested in their country.
            There are no mullahs in Saudi Arabia.

            The more that people like you Xavier adopt the “us and them” mentality the bigger the gap that separates the two cultures.

            shadows

    2. What?
      how many f’n butts need to be kicked? all the butts that are in front of your precious ass? then, thats enough ass kickin? because you are enlightened? and your butt is precious?
      lemme clue you in here man. NOBODY HAD TO DIE!
      not one soul had to give up the ghost for iraq.
      all that actually had to happen, was a mutual mis-understanding between communities. once established, the people that live in those communities that have jobs that deal with large groups of people legally, like cops and attorneys, could set the example, and enforce it.
      Can’t we all just get along?

      dd Not only is this incomprehensible, but the ink is ugly and the paper is from the wrong kind of tree.

  6. ANON BullShit
    ANON bullshit posters can continue to post here as freely as their ANON, don’t matter asses like. i actually like to hear from the chicken shit ANON side of the community! It really gives a density of “I wish I could stand up for myself side of the argument, however I’m too lazy to create a fictious account”, kinda bull-shit”

    dd This planet has — or rather had — a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn’t the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

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