Origins of Friday The 13th

Friday the 13th(image placeholder)Les Ecureuils ont Arrete de Fumer(The Squirrels Have Stopped Smoking)Friday, October 13, 2006Today is the 699th Anniversary of the demise of the Knights Templar. On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered for hundreds of the wealthy and secretive order of fighting monks to be rounded up, tortured, and massacred for alleged crimes against Christianity. Friday the 13th has been regarded as a day of deep misfortune ever since. So, why does the fate of the Knights Templar still matter to us 699 years later? - [Full Story]

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Neos’ News & Reports

Hi Neo

The Napa Valley vineyard workers at Charles Krug winery have recently been fired and they need your help to save their jobs. Sign this petition: http://go.care2.com/e/hFbE/plg/t69j In July of this year, the state Agricultural Labor Relations Board told the winery it was filing a formal complaint against the winery. The ALRB complaint alleges the winery cannot refuse to bargain with its vineyard workers over renewing their United Farm Workers contract. Shortly thereafter, all of the vineyard workers were fired. The situation is described by a vineyard employee: "On Friday, July 7, 2006, I along with all of my co-workers was fired from Charles Krug-Mondavi. I felt hurt like many of my co-workers, because we had felt prideful that we had given many of our best years of our life working at Charles Krug-Mondavi only to be told that we were no longer needed despite having contributed to the success of this wine making company." Krug-Mondavi had no legal or moral right to fire these workers! Now, workers with children and families to support are unjustly out of a job. Take action."I have three children that depend on me for their care and upbringing. It has been difficult for me to find work that has a comparable benefits package that I had under Union contract with the Company. Until the Company shows us respect by giving us our jobs back, a fair and just contract, we will have no other option but to boycott the wines of Charles Krug-Mondavi." Fired Charles Krug-Mondavi employees are calling for a nationwide boycott of all Charles Krug and C.K. Mondavi wine labels. Help them save their jobs. Tell Krug-Mondavi that you are joining the boycott of their wines. Thank you for making a difference today! Agata Gussmann,Care2 and ThePetitionSite Team

Gmail - News & Views | 10.27.06

Gmail - News & Views | 10.27.06

INTERNET CONTROL ?

Anti-Spam Domain Could Be Suspended

October 10, 2006 9:50 p.m. EST


Josephine Roque - All Headline News Staff Writer
London, England (AHN) - A U.S. court has filed an order to possibly suspend the Web site of UK-based anti-spam organization Spamhaus.
The firm was charged to be in contempt of court by refusing to pay $11.7 million as compensation to an email marketing company and omitting the company's name from its blacklist.
District judge Charles P Kocoras proposed that Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) suspend the domain name spamhaus.org, "until such time as [the] defendant [Spamhaus] demonstrates to this Court why [it] should not be held in contempt for its failure to comply".
Spamhaus is a company that maintains a blacklist of spammers' IP addresses.
e360 Insight LLC, an opt-in mass-mailing firm, was awarded $11.7 million compensation after winning a court battle against Spamhaus when it was included in its blacklist.
Spamhaus says the Internet could be deluged with spam if its domain is suspended.
There has been legal speculation whether the district court can order ICANN, as it is an independent regulator.
"It's a tricky question," said IT law expert David Woods, associate at Pinsent Masons solicitors. "In theory ICANN is an independent body to regulate the use of domain names - but it's subject to US law. If it is ordered to, it is likely to take the safer option [and comply]."

AntiChavez March

Anti-Chavez March Draws Thousands in Venezuela
Sunday, October 08, 2006
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CARACAS, Venezuela  —  Thousands marched Saturday in the biggest show of public support yet for Venezuela's main opposition presidential candidate, who pledged to undo what he called the ills of President Hugo Chavez's government.
Manuel Rosales accused the government of mismanaging the country's oil wealth and ignoring crime. He also played on fears that Chavez's close friendship with Cuban leader Fidel Castro was leading Venezuela down the same path as the communist island.
"They say the Venezuelan people rule — that's a lie," said Rosales, governor of oil-rich, western Zulia state, who faces Chavez in the Dec. 3 election. "(We have) a government that is a puppet of a communist, totalitarian system. ... We have a government that is governing from Cuba." Caracas' metropolitan police estimated the crowd at about 9,000, but reporters on the scene estimated the turnout was more than 10,000. The crowd packed full a 2-mile avenue.
"I'm marching for a different future, for better education," said Julia Pena, a 50-year-old teacher, who came out to show her support for the opposition for the first time since April 2002, when a short-lived coup toppled Chavez before he returned amid a popular uprising.
Chavez grabbed headlines recently when he called President Bush "the devil" and slammed U.S. leaders for trying to block his country from taking a seat on the U.N. Security Council.
Rosales also appeared to rule out the possibility of a boycott against the Dec. 3 presidential election, urging people to vote despite worries about transparency and electronic voting machines. Major opposition parties boycotted congressional elections last year over such concerns.
"We must vote on Dec. 3 and not believe in the threats of the government," he said. "That doesn't help anybody."
Venezuelan authorities had promised to have as many as 2,500 officers on the streets to ensure security amid concerns about violence as Rosales' supporters traversed sectors of the capital that are pro-Chavez.
A government helicopter flew overhead and a heavy police presence was on hand, but there were no reports of disturbances.
Caracas' metropolitan police estimated the crowd at about 9,000, but reporters on the scene estimated the turnout was more than 10,000. The crowd packed full a 2-mile avenue.
"I'm marching for a different future, for better education," said Julia Pena, a 50-year-old teacher, who came out to show her support for the opposition for the first time since April 2002, when a short-lived coup toppled Chavez before he returned amid a popular uprising.
Chavez grabbed headlines recently when he called President Bush "the devil" and slammed U.S. leaders for trying to block his country from taking a seat on the U.N. Security Council.
Rosales also appeared to rule out the possibility of a boycott against the Dec. 3 presidential election, urging people to vote despite worries about transparency and electronic voting machines. Major opposition parties boycotted congressional elections last year over such concerns.
"We must vote on Dec. 3 and not believe in the threats of the government," he said. "That doesn't help anybody."

Chavez Wields Oil Power

Chavez wields oil power to seek friends at home, abroad
Petroleum is the product Venezuelan president uses to shape his nation's relationships with U.S., rest of the world.
By John LantiguaTHE PALM BEACH POSTSunday, October 08, 2006

Terroism: The Experts Q & A

                                                                Terrorism   And   Growth  Of
                                                                            Part 1 of 2

     Experts Q & A

They Told Us So
Q&A with 14 different experts on the War on Iraq and Terrorism
The expert:
Joseph Cirincione senior vice president for national security,
Center for American Progress + Prediction:                                                           "A U.S. invasion — with or without a coalition behind it — is going to spawn
a massive new wave of recruits into terrorist ranks." (Jan. 1, 2003)
Advice:
"We should extract U.S. troops from this civil war in Iraq in a careful, but sustained way
that redeploys them by the end of 2007 to other bases in the region, Europe and home.
Most important, we must shift at least one division back to the country that they never should
have left, Afghanistan, before that war too is lost."The expert: Magnus Ranstorp research director, Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies, Swedish National Defense College Prediction: There "are amateur [jihadists] who are mobilized by [Islamist] rhetoric… [who] will act spontaneously, particularly if and when war breaks out." (Feb. 3, 2003)Advice: "The U.S. must avoid using the war on terror for domestic political gain, as the rhetoric only fuels anti-Americanism around the globe. It must stabilize Iraq, otherwise the conflict will eventually bite back through terrorism within the U.S., and must work with a long-term strategy because the enemy thinks in centuries. Ultimately, the U.S. must spearhead a Marshall Plan in the Middle East.The expert: William B. Quandt professor of politics, University of VirginiaPrediction: "With anti-Americanism already widespread in the Arab world there's a real danger that war with Iraq will produce more recruits for terrorism." (Oct. 18, 2002) Advice: "Focus less on military victory over terrorists in Iraq and more on forging a political coalition of Iraqis (including Sunnis) who will work to avoid full-scale civil war; put more troops into Afghanistan to fight resurgent Taliban, fewer in Iraq; cut the rhetoric of 'transforming' the Middle East and rediscover stability as a worthy goal; revive Arab-Israeli peacemaking; and put a stiff domestic tax on gasoline." The expert: Shibley TelhamiAnwar Sadat professor for peace and development, University of Maryland Prediction: "War with Iraq is likely to create more instability and more motivated [terrorist] recruits." (Feb. 9, 2003)Advice: "The U.S. must announce withdrawal from Iraq within two years. Withdrawal weakens Al Qaeda because most Iraqis and other Arabs root against the U.S., not for Al Qaeda, which has little chance of dominating Iraq as 94% of Iraqis reject it. We should allocate more resources to Afghanistan and assemble an international coalition to push for comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace and a new regime on the proliferation of nuclear weapons."The expert: Ted Galen Carpentervice president for defense and foreign policy studies, Cato InstitutePrediction: " A [U.S.] attack on Iraq [would be] perceived throughout the Islamic world as imperialist aggression. Thousands of new recruits would flock to Al Qaeda…." (Dec. 9, 2002)
Advice
It is long past time to terminate the misguided Iraq mission. We need to have a firm withdrawal timetable measured in months, not years. The current 'stay and die' strategy Advice: should appeal only to masochists. Our withdrawal should be complemented by a diplomatic initiative to engage Iraq's neighbors, including Iran, to ensure that the violence does not spread into a regional conflict."
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Bush Misleads On Iraq

Bob Woodward: Bush Misleads On Iraq

Veteran Washington reporter Bob Woodward says the Bush administration has not told the truth regarding the level of violence in Iraq.


(CBS) Veteran Washington reporter Bob Woodward tells Mike Wallace that the Bush administration has not told the truth regarding the level of violence, especially against U.S. troops, in Iraq. He also reveals key intelligence that predicts the insurgency will grow worse next year.In Wallace’s interview with Woodward, to be broadcast on 60 Minutes this Sunday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. ET/PT, the reporter also claims that Henry Kissinger is among those advising Mr. Bush.According to Woodward, insurgent attacks against coalition troops occur, on average, every 15 minutes, a shocking fact the administration has kept secret. "It’s getting to the point now where there are eight-, nine-hundred attacks a week. That's more than 100 a day. That is four an hour attacking our forces," says Woodward.The situation is getting much worse, says Woodward, despite what the White House and the Pentagon are saying in public. "The truth is that the assessment by intelligence experts is that next year, 2007, is going to get worse and, in public, you have the president and you have the Pentagon [saying], 'Oh, no, things are going to get better,'" he tells Wallace. "Now there’s public, and then there’s private. But what did they do with the private? They stamp it secret. No one is supposed to know," says Woodward."The insurgents know what they are doing. They know the level of violence and how effective they are. Who doesn't know? The American public," Woodward tells Wallace.Woodward also reports that the president and vice president often meet with Henry Kissinger, who was President Richard Nixon’s secretary of state, as an adviser. Says Woodward, "Now what’s Kissinger’s advice? In Iraq, he declared very simply, ‘Victory is the only meaningful exit strategy.'" Woodward adds. "This is so fascinating. Kissinger’s fighting the Vietnam War again because, in his view, the problem in Vietnam was we lost our will."President Bush is absolutely certain that he has the U.S. and Iraq on the right course, says Woodward. So certain is the president on this matter, Woodward says, that when Mr. Bush had key Republicans to the White House to discuss Iraq, he told them, "I will not withdraw, even if Laura and Barney are the only ones supporting me."Woodward reported for two years and interviewed more than 200 people, including top officials in the Bush administration, to learn these and other revelations that he makes in his latest book, State of Denial, published by Simon & Schuster, part of the CBS Corp.

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The Overview of The Obama Agenda pt.1of 3

Patriotic Quote

  

         Patriotic Quote

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time
  with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

  Thomas Jefferson

Weazl's Revenge: The Terror State Apparatus Has Completely Lost its Mind

Weazl's Revenge: The Terror State Apparatus Has Completely Lost its Mind: "Friday, October 06, 2006
The Terror State Apparatus Has Completely Lost its Mind
325,000 Names on Terrorism List"