FEMA’s fake Press conference: Are you surprised?

Reporters were given only 15 minutes’ notice of the briefing, making it unlikely many could show up at FEMA’s Southwest D.C. offices. They were given an 800 number to call in, though it was a “listen only” line, the notice said — no questions. Parts of the briefing were carried live on Fox News, MSNBC and other outlets.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/10/26/femas-fake-press-conference-are-you-surprised/

The Raw Story: White House: Fake FEMA news conference won't happen again

Reuters: US agency apologizes for news conference on fires

America Seems to be Going Through an Atheist Phase

The US may be one of the most religious countries in the West but is it undergoing a period of doubt? It may be daring to say it but America seems to be experiencing an atheist moment. Although "In God We Trust" was declared the national motto by an act of Congress more than 50 years ago, some considerable doubt has developed of late.

Comments: Yes, and I've been going through a "there is no Santa Claus" phase for the last few decades too! People finally accepting reality and giving up on outgrowing the magic and superstition of religion is not a "phase". It's a sign of maturity. I think the inevitable outcome of education, civilization and social evolution is the death of organized religion. Educated people just don't buy into the dogma of the church. They may not be atheist, and they may consider themselves spiritual, but they know that organized religion is a fraud.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7053157.stm

Ad in USA Today: America Not Made Safer by Weakening the Constitution

Not only is it interesting that USA Today printed the advertisement but Amnesty International's ad is amazing. (PDF)

http://www.amnestyusa.org/pdf/10_17USA_Today.pdf?dload_do

Your Violent Kids Are Your Own Fault

It is not the cartoons that make your kids smack playmates or violently grab their toys but, rather, a lack of social skills, according to new research.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=AB014D4A-E7F2-99DF-32520DB62378CE94&chanID=sa003

Naomi Klein: America is being 'shocked' into fascism

Video: Big business, big government are in collusion to turn human tragedy into private profits, says 'No Logo' author.

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Naomi_Klein_explains_how_we_willingly_1013.html

US Soldiers Have a New Enemy: Mercenaries Paid With US Tax Dollars

The colonel was furious. "Can you believe it? They actually drew their weapons on U.S. soldiers." He was describing a 2006 car accident, in which an SUV full of Blackwater operatives had crashed into a U.S. Army Humvee on a street in Baghdad's Green Zone...

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/12/105744/13

Fox News Immediately Begins Smear Campaign Against Al Gore, Nobel Prize

On Fox and Friends this morning, co-host Steve Doocy wasted no time in attacking Al Gore & his Nobel Prize. "Here's something extraordinary," Doocy sarcastically said. "What do Al Gore, Yasser Arafat, and that crazy Jimmy Carter have in common? They all won the Nobel Peace Prize?"

http://alternet.org/blogs/video/65111/

The Mega-Lie Called the "War on Terror": A Masterpiece of Propaganda

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the state can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie" -- Joseph Goebbels, minister of propaganda in Nazi Germany, 1933-1945

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/63632/

4 Myths Government and Media Use to Scare Us About 'Dictators'

The Bush White House calls Iran's President Ahmadinejad a "dictator" when he isn't -- part of scaring the public into thinking preemptive war is a good thing.

http://www.alternet.org/story/64103/

Global Hypocrisy on Burma

Why should large oil companies like the US based Chevron, the Malaysian Petronas, South Korea's Daewoo International Corp or the French Total continue to be involved in Burma without facing penalties for their support of one of the world’s most heinous dictatorships?

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=44&ItemID=13934

Losing the War on Terror: Why Giving Up Our Rights Won't Stop Terrorists

In this interview, legal expert David Cole says, "The Bush administration has adopted a particular approach to fighting terrorism, something it calls the 'preventive paradigm.' This paradigm seeks to employ the most coercive measures that a state has against people, not because of what they have done but because of what they might do."

http://www.utne.com/webwatch/2007_318/news/12791-1.html