] The Bush Administration is planning a secret meeting to
] discuss the construction of a new generation of nuclear
] weapons, including "mini-nukes", "bunker-busters" and
] neutron bombs designed to destroy chemical or biological
] agents, a leaked Pentagon document reveals.]
] A meeting of military officials and nuclear scientists at
] the Omaha headquarters of the United States Strategic
] Command in August would also decide whether to restart
] nuclear testing and how to convince the public new
] weapons are necessary.

Secret Pentagon plan for new nuclear arsenal

] Global media networks have also changed their tune.
] Unlike in the days and weeks immediately after the
] September 11 attacks, news anchors and reporters are
] taking pains to talk to people from the "other side":
] correspondents and experts on Arab affairs are being
] asked about the repercussions of the war on the region;
] Iraqi people are being interviewed on what war would mean
] to them; and suddenly the US actions are
] themselves being scrutinised.
] What brought on this introspection and self-analysis?

Good article. It goes off in a direction that doesn't support itself, but does ask the right questions and make a point.

The war on Iraq is not a war against terrorism or dictatorship.

] The biggest congestion charge scheme ever to be
] undertaken by a capital city has got off to a relatively
] trouble-free start in London.
] Motorists travelling into central London on Monday
] morning faced a £5 daily charge for the first time.
] The scheme designed to alleviate traffic gridlock in
] London is being watched closely by cities across the UK.

Smooth start for congestion charge

He also called President Bush an ?idiot? and ?the Pharaoh of this era,? accusing him of waging a ?new crusade to divide the region for the sake of Israel.?
       ?The September 11 attackers destroyed the idols of infidel America and rubbed the nose of the United States in the dirt,? the newspaper quoted bin Laden as saying.
       ?They proved that it (the United States) could be defeated and humiliated,? he added. ?Oh Muslims, do not fear America because we have defeated them repeatedly and they are the most cowardly of people when you meet them face to face.?

BIN LADEN: BUSH IS AN ?IDIOT

] Japan has given a warning it would launch a pre-emptive
] military action against North Korea if it had firm
] evidence Pyongyang was planning a missile attack.
] Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba said it would be "a
] self-defence measure" if North Korea was going to "resort
] to arms against Japan".
] Mr Ishiba said it would be too late if a North Korean
] missile was already on its way.
] His remarks were the latest in the international row over
] Pyongyang's nuclear intentions, and followed a North
] Korean warning that it had the ability to strike American
] targets anywhere in the world, if provoked.

Kudo's to Japan!

Japan threatens force against N Korea

] One of the biggest surprises revealed in the data is that
] the first generation of stars to shine in the Universe
] first ignited only 200 million years after the Big Bang,
] much earlier than many scientists had expected.
] In addition, the new portrait precisely pegs the age of
] the Universe at 13.7 billion years old, with a remarkably
] small one percent margin of error.
] The WMAP team found that the Big Bang and Inflation
] theories continue to ring true. The contents of the
] Universe include 4% atoms (ordinary matter), 23% of an
] unknown type of dark matter, and 73% of a mysterious dark
] energy. The new measurements even shed light on the
] nature of the dark energy, which acts as a sort of an
] anti-gravity.

New Image Of Infant Universe Reveals Era Of First Stars, Age Of Cosmos, And More

Americans have apparently heeded the U.S. government's advice to prepare for terror attacks, emptying hardware store shelves of duct tape.

On Tuesday, less than 24 hours after U.S. Fire Administrator David Paulison described a list of useful items, stores in the greater Washington, D.C. area reported a surge in sales of plastic sheeting, duct tape, and other emergency items.

CNN.com - Duct tape sales rise amid terror fears

] Amnesty International has documented the brutal
] executions of Iraqi women accused of prostitution. For
] example, Najat Mohammad Haydar, an obstetrician in
] Baghdad, was beheaded in October 2000 after criticizing
] corruption within local health services. According to
] another report, in October 2000 "a group of men led by
] Saddam Hussein's son Uday, beheaded with knives 50 young
] women in Baghdad. The heads of these women were hung on
] the doors of their houses for a few days."
] The Iraq Foundation joins Amnesty International in
] chronicling human rights violations, such as the methods
] of torture in prison, which include rape and "bringing in
] a female relative, especially the wife or the mother, and
] raping her in front of the detainee."
] Why then does the Feminist Majority site have a "Help
] Afghan Women" button but no "Help Iraqi Women?" Why does
] an Oct. 10, 2002 press release from NOW warn, "A U.S.
] invasion of Iraq will likely entail ... dangers to the
] safety and rights of Iraqi women who currently enjoy more
] rights and freedoms than women in other Gulf nations,
] such as Saudi Arabia."

Iraqi Women Brutalized by Saddam

] President Mohammad Khatami said Sunday Iran had mined
] uranium for use in its nuclear power plants and would
] reprocess the spent fuel itself, but he insisted its
] nuclear program was solely for civilian use.

Here comes the next war on the Axis of Evil. We will have
to wait and hear what Bush will have to say.

Khatami says Iran mines uranium for nuclear plant

] The U.S. government Friday raised the national threat
] level to "orange," indicating a "high risk of terrorist
] attacks."

secure your networks, stock your food, we are going to war!

Ashcroft, Ridge, Mueller announce threat level increase