Expect nothing. Be ready for anything.

Mother Earth gets undressed : Nature News

Seeded on Thu Jul 31, 2008 7:35 PM EDT (News at Nature)

The first digital geological map that spans the globe has been unveiled by a collaboration of Earth and computer scientists called OneGeology.

science, geology

Talking doll establishes "direct connection with Jesus"

Seeded on Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:32 PM EDT (Boing Boing)

"Order your Talking Jesus Doll now for only $19.99. Don't miss this opportunity for your child to experience a direct connection with Jesus and the scriptures."

odd-news, talking-jesus-doll

The Festival of Wesak: May 19, 2008

Thu May 15, 2008 7:11 PM EDT

Wesak is a yearly holiday that marks the birth, enlightenment and death of the Gautama Buddha. It's celebrated during the first full moon that occurs while the sun is in Taurus, which means that it generally falls on the date of the first full moon in late April or May.

Continue reading this entry ...

world-news, holidays, buddhism, wesak

Detainees drugged against their will for deportation

Seeded on Thu May 15, 2008 12:09 AM EDT (Raw Story)

In a Chicago holding cell early one evening in February 2006, five guards piled on top of a 49-year-old man who was angry he was going back to Ecuador, according to a nurse's account in his deportation file.

immigration, politics, government, detainee-abuse, deportation, u-s-news, drugging, involuntary-chemical-restraint, immigration-detention-centers

Dad died saving his little girl

Seeded on Thu May 8, 2008 12:51 AM EDT (Chicago Sun-Times)

With an out-of-control car bearing down, Joseph Richardson grabbed his 4-year-old daughter and held her up out of harm's way. It was his last act -- and one that apparently saved his daughter's life.

accident, hero, us-news, drunk-driving, parenting, u-s-news, heroic-father

What's Your Sign? : An Introduction to the Zodiac

Sun Apr 27, 2008 6:23 PM EDT

What's your Sun sign? In this article I'll be taking a quick look at all twelve signs of the zodiac, and offering some brief insights into each one. To give fair warning: these descriptions are by no means complete. I'd also like to add that an individual's astrologi …

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cancer, poll, gemini, leo, mythology, astrology, zodiac, virgo, capricorn, aquarius

John McCain gets tax-free disability pension

Seeded on Wed Apr 23, 2008 7:04 AM EDT (The L.A. Times)

McCain would be the oldest man to enter the White House if he is elected president, and questions have been raised about his health. McCain has twice developed melanoma, a potentially deadly form of skin cancer.

election, politics, mccain, john-mccain, disability, election-2008

Talking to ourselves

Seeded on Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:06 PM EDT (The L.A. Times)

Americans today have become a people in search of validation for opinions that they already hold. This absence of curiosity about other points of view is the essence of anti-intellectualism and represents a major departure from the nation's best cultural traditions.

politics, americans, society, op-ed, psychology, sociology, news-opinion, laziness, intellectual-laziness

Jurors open pocketbooks to help Fort Worth-area crime victim

Seeded on Sun Apr 13, 2008 7:26 PM EDT (star-telegram.com)

Johnny Bryant is a vulnerable adult who was defrauded out of his life savings. When his case went to court, the jury was very sympathetic to his situation and current financial difficulties.

fraud, donation, law, crime, us-news, jury, u-s-news, happy-ending, kindness, legal-system

Dr. Peter Breggin: More Reasons Not to Take Psychiatric Drugs

Seeded on Thu Apr 10, 2008 11:15 PM EDT (The Huffington Post)

Psychiatric drugs sustained another blow when the FDA recently declared that yet another group of these chemical agents causes the very problems that the drugs are supposed to treat. This time the culprits are antiepileptic drugs--medications used to control seizures.

fda, suicide, health, mental-health, prescription-drugs, depression, fda-warning, psychiatry, big-pharma, medical-science

A Response to 'The Medicated Child'

Tue Apr 8, 2008 4:52 PM EDT

I noticed that PBS is re-running an episode of FRONTLINE called The Medicated Child. I watched it the first couple of times it was run, but something tells me that I wouldn't find it any less despicable the third time around.

Continue reading this entry ...

health, pbs, kids, mental-health, prescription-drugs, frontline, parenting, pharmaceuticals, medication, big-pharma

HNN Poll: 61% of Historians Rate the Bush Presidency Worst

Seeded on Sun Apr 6, 2008 12:53 AM EDT (History News Network)

Asked to rank the presidency of George W. Bush in comparison to those of the other 41 American presidents, more than 61 percent of the historians concluded that the current presidency is the worst in the nation's history.

bush, poll, politics

The Abstinence Gluttons

Seeded on Wed Apr 2, 2008 12:28 AM EDT (The Nation)

While federal guidelines prohibit the use of these funds for "religious activities"--worship or proselytizing--it's clear that the infrastructure for these evangelical outfits is being subsidized by taxpayers.

politics, abstinence, u-s-news, sexual-education, abstinence-only-education, the-abstinence-gluttons

U.S. scientists uncover secret behind squid beaks

Seeded on Tue Apr 1, 2008 1:11 AM EDT (CBC)

Scientists in the United States have discovered how a squid is capable of operating its knife-sharp beak without harming its soft, gelatinous body.

animals, nature, research, science, discovery, engineering, marine-life, biology, squids, marine-biology

New Ob/Gyn Guidelines Stir Ethics, Legal Debate

Seeded on Wed Mar 19, 2008 5:51 PM EDT (NPR)

The Bush administration says new ethics guidelines written by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists may violate federal "conscience" laws.

doctors, abortion, health, law, medicine, u-s-news, ob-gyn, legal-debate, conscience-laws, doctor-referral

Give Dennis Kucinich His Due

Seeded on Fri Feb 29, 2008 6:19 PM EST (The Nation)

Five years ago, this month, the world said no to the Iraq War, with massive demonstrations all around the world involving 10 million people.

election, politics, 2008-election, election-2008, dennis-kucinich, kucinich, anti-war-effort

Billboard Liberation Front vs. ATT + NSA

Seeded on Fri Feb 29, 2008 5:05 PM EST (Boing Boing)

The Billboard Liberation Front today announced a major new advertising improvement campaign executed on behalf of clients AT&T and the National Security Agency.

odd-news, att, nsa, domestic-spying, wiretapping, government-spying, billboard-liberation-front

Bhutto Sent Blitzer Security E-Mail

Seeded on Fri Dec 28, 2007 10:58 PM EST (breitbart.com)

It was a story CNN's Wolf Blitzer hoped he'd never have to report—an e-mail sent to him through an intermediary by Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto complaining about her security. Conditions of use: only if she were killed.

pakistan, assassination, musharraf, politics, bhutto, benazir-bhutto

Police State America - A Look Back and Ahead

Seeded on Mon Dec 17, 2007 10:13 PM EST (globalresearch.ca)

Year end is a good time to look back and reflect on what's ahead. If past is prologue, however, the outlook isn't good, and nothing on the horizon suggests otherwise...

politics, government, police-state, year-in-review, u-s-news, fascism, police-state-america

Penn endorses Kucinich, challenges 'conventional wisdom' on electability

Seeded on Sat Dec 8, 2007 9:16 PM EST (Raw Story)

Actor Sean Penn endorsed dark horse Democratic presidential contender Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) in what was billed as a "major political address" given by the actor Friday in San Francisco.

politics, election-2008, dennis-kucinich, kucinich

Environmental disaster unfolding in Russia

Seeded on Tue Nov 13, 2007 12:25 AM EST (International Herald Tribune)

An environmental disaster began to unfold in southern Russia on Monday as tens of thousands of oil-slicked seabirds and globules of heavy oil dotted the shoreline, a day after at least 11 ships, including a small oil tanker, sank or broke apart in a fierce storm, Russian official …

russia, disaster, environment, oil-spill, world-news, environmental-disaster

Donald Rumsfeld Charged With Torture During Trip To France

Seeded on Sat Oct 27, 2007 5:51 PM EDT (ccrjustice.org)

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) along with the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), and the French League for Human Rights filed a complaint with the Paris Prosecutor before the "Court of F …

france, rumsfeld, politics, torture, donald-rumsfeld, activism

New Humanist Blog: US teacher dismissed for urging pupils not to take Bible literally

Seeded on Sun Oct 7, 2007 2:12 AM EDT (blog.newhumanist.org.uk)

Steve Bitterman, a teacher at Southwestern Community College, Red Oak, Iowa, was fired after he urged his pupils not to take the story of Adam and Eve literally.

religion, bible, u-s-news