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Thursday, March 15, 2007 |
CommonDreams: "Environmental group Greenpeace launched a fresh attack on genetically modified maize developed by U.S. biotech giant Monsanto, saying on Tuesday that rats fed on one version developed liver and kidney problems."
10:55:37 AM 
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Guardian: "Britain's Trident nuclear weapons are being secretly upgraded to increase their accuracy and ability to attack a wider range of targets, the Guardian has learned.
Ministers have repeatedly denied there are plans to refurbish Britain's nuclear warheads, arguing that it will be up to the next parliament to decide whether to do so. However, the MoD has now admitted that a new firing device developed by the US is to be installed in Britain's nuclear weapons system by scientists at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston in Berkshire.
The disclosure angered anti-nuclear campaigners on the eve of a Commons vote today on the government's plans to renew Trident."
So the decision was already made before the vote in Parliament. What a splendid example of democracy!
Guardian: "95 Labour backbench MPs rejected his plans to commence the £20bn renewal of the Trident nuclear submarine system."
It appears Tony Blair rules with the help of the Tories.
FAS: "'It is not true,' British Defence Secretary Des Browne insisted during an interview with BBC radio, that a new fuze planned for British nuclear warheads and reported by the Guardian will increase their military capability. The plan to replace the fuze 'was reported to the [Parliament's] Select Committee in 2005 and is not an upgrading of the system; it is merely making sure that the system works to its maximum efficiency,' Mr. Browne says.
The minister is either being ignorant or economical with the truth. According to numerous statements made by US officials over the past decade, the very purpose of replacing the fuze is - in stark contrast to Mr. Browne's assurance - to give the weapon improved military capabilities it did not have before.
Unlike the British government, US officials and agencies have been very clear that the new fuze is not merely a replacement but a significant upgrade that will give the Mk4 significant military capabilities.
British nuclear planners may have successfully argued that they need more accurate nuclear weapons to better deter potential adversaries. That is the dynamic they created in the Trident system during the Cold War. Since then, Britain has moved from a Soviet-focused deterrent to a 'Goldilocks doctrine' today aimed against three incremental sizes of adversaries: Russia, 'rogue' states, and terrorists."
Britain and the US have already chosen their new enemies; these include Russia, China and all other states who don't submit to the sovereignty of the neocon West, which in the long run will include India and Saudi Arabia. Only one can be numero uno, and the rest is quantité negligeable.
10:49:06 AM
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The Secret Order of Revolutionary Operettists presents The Beastly Bombing, a Terrible Tale of Terrorists Tamed by the Tangles of True Love.
Music, Maestro, Please!
Or if you prefer this charade:
NYTimes: "Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, long said to be the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, confessed to them at a military hearing held in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Saturday, according to a transcript released by the Pentagon yesterday. He also acknowledged full or partial responsibility for more than 30 other terror attacks or plots."
10:19:23 AM
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GAP: "The federal government is sanctioning agreements that cost whistle-blowers their jobs after they expose safety and security lapses at nuclear facilities and toxic waste sites, Labor Department records show.
Federal law requires the department to safeguard whistle-blowers from reprisals and approve settlements of their retaliation claims against private or federal employers. Yet 45 of 73 settlements approved since 2000 involving whistle-blowers who complained of environmental and nuclear safety problems included permanent bans on working for the employer.
Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a statement that the clauses amount to blacklisting, which is barred under whistle-blower protection laws."
10:10:53 AM
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Gonzo by Mark Fiore.
10:06:52 AM
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© Copyright 2008.
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