Ted Koppel: Time for Army of U.S. Mercenaries?

The longtime TV broadcaster, writing in the New York Times, snarkily suggests that oil companies that have the greatest interest in safeguarding a particular region should pick up the tab for hiring soldiers to defend it.

Posted on May 22, 2006 READ MORE  | 26 READS

Blockbuster Report: AT&T Allows NSA to Spy on Entire Internet

This is the big one, folks. Wired News unearths internal AT&T documents that show how the telecom company, at the behest of the government, built “secret rooms” in cities across America that enable the NSA “to look at every individual message on the Internet and analyze exactly what people are doing.”

Posted on May 22, 2006 READ MORE  | 63 READS

Meth Addict Hopes His Pain Helps Others

A withered, wasted-away 34-year-old meth addict, who lives on a hospital bed in his father’s house, is the subject of a film about his agonies—produced as a warning to would-be speed users.

Posted on May 21, 2006 READ MORE  | 58 READS

Menstruation Fast Becoming Optional

The 22-year-old featured in this story hasn’t had a period since she was 17, thanks to new hormonal contraceptives that many young women are using.

Posted on May 21, 2006 READ MORE  | 4 READS

1 in 136 U.S. Residents Behind Bars

Let those numbers sink in for a minute. 1 in 136. According to government statistics, roughly 2.2 million U.S. residents were in prisons and jails last summer. It’s by far the highest per capita rate of any country in the world. And it’s mostly due to our unforgivably barbaric drug policies.

Posted on May 21, 2006 READ MORE  | 96 READS

The Religious Left Rises Again

The Washington Post charts the resurgence of religious liberals, who emphasize issues like poverty, affordable healthcare and global warming. Some observers worry that this will create an even more polarized environment in 2006 than during the 2004 election.

Posted on May 21, 2006 READ MORE  | 49 READS

Christian Sex Author: Time to Retool Abstinence Pledges

An Op-Ed writer in The N.Y. Times says that it’s no wonder chastity vows don’t work: Christian communities don’t meaningfully support those who make them.

Posted on May 21, 2006 READ MORE  | 126 READS

Inhalable Aphrodisiac for Women Shows Promise

A New Jersey drug company says Bremolanotide, which stimulates the brain, rather than the genitals, may be the long-sought female version of Viagra. The drug is still in preclinical tests.

Posted on May 21, 2006 READ MORE  | 199 READS

Poll: Bush Losing Support Among Hispanics, Conservatives

White conservatives form the base of the GOP, and Hispanics were supposed to be its future. But thanks to Bush’s stance on immigration (and some other issues), both groups are running away from the party.

Posted on May 21, 2006 READ MORE  | 38 READS

Nedrenaline!

Ned Lamont’s bid to capture Joe Lieberman’s Connecticut Senate seat took a quantum leap this week when Lamont captured enough convention votes to force a primary against Lieberman. Jane at FDL has a great roundup of what the establishment is saying about Ned.

Posted on May 21, 2006 READ MORE  | 38 READS

The House Is in Play for Democrats

Throw conventional wisdom out the window, says the New York Times: Many seats in the House of Representatives that were once thought safe for Republicans have now become competitive races.

Posted on May 21, 2006 READ MORE  | 39 READS

Did Telcos Use Scapegoat-for-Hire in NSA Case?

Via Business Week, we learn that an entire niche industry has sprung up to provide the government with commercially purchased telecommunications records that the government isn’t allowed to purchase itself. (TPM Muckraker has a good sum-up.)

Posted on May 20, 2006 READ MORE  | 27 READS

Climate Scientist to Think Tank: Stop Misrepresenting My Research

A global warming researcher is claiming that a Big Gas-funded think tank has been misrepresenting one of his studies in an effort to throw doubt on the reality of global warming.

Keep in mind that, to date, there have been no peer-reviewed studies that cast real doubt on the fact of global warming.

Posted on May 20, 2006 READ MORE  | 50 READS

Fatal Shooting at U.S.-Mexico Border Crossing

Authorities killed the driver of a truck suspected of transporting illegal immigrants.
A sign of things to come?

Posted on May 20, 2006 READ MORE  | 76 READS

Authorities Mining More Corporate Data for Personal Information

We learn from the Wall Street Journal that banks, Internet service providers and other companies are being besieged by law enforcement authorities who want to pore over their corporate data in hunting for clues in criminal cases.
Just another example of how the government is going through personal records.

Posted on May 20, 2006 READ MORE  | 25 READS