Powell alters Bush campaign pledges, already. BBC

“It’s about time you had a say in what you are wearing. Make your mark!” Bid to personalize sneakers has Nike sweating. Although Nike’s website invites fans to “build your own shoe”, the company invoked its right to refuse the request of a customer who wanted the word “Sweatshop” on his personal shoe “to remember the toil and labor of the children that made my shoes.” It was abit hard for them to find a justification in their own fine print, but they sputtered on; San Jose Mercury Center here’s the email exchange.

ACLU Action Alert: Legislation Would Entangle Government and Religion — a campaign to oppose Dubya’s “faith-based initiative”. Since courts have allowed religious institutions to discriminate
on the basis of their beliefs and teachings in such areas as race,
religion, sexual orientation, gender and pregnancy status, funneling an expanding slice of the existing social services pie to faith-based organizations (after all, you don’t really think there’s going to be an expansion of social needs funding, do you? It’s not even likely we’re going to maintain current levels of expenditure on our most needy!) would result in taxpayer-funded
discrimination in social services employment and service delivery. The alternative in this devil’s bargain would be increasing regulation of religious institutions and loss of traditional autonomy of religious practices. Furthermore, a proportion of the delivery of social services would inherently shift from licensed and trained professionals to those in ministry who, for example, see drug addiction as a sin rather than a mental health problem. With a single click from this site, you can fax your U.S. Senators and Representatives, as well as the President himself, to make your feelings on ths issue known.

Here‘s the entire range of ACLU civil liberties concerns facing the 107th Congress, subject to your similar one-click action.

The Search for Another Earth: “NASA is currently mulling over a proposal that could help answer a question that has
divided astronomers since we began looking skyward: Are we alone?

The proposal is called the Kepler Mission and both proponents and opponents of the
project say it could change the way we see the universe.

The Kepler Mission, proposed by the Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in
Sunnyvale, California, wants to search for potentially life-sustaining planets by launching
a telescope that would orbit around the sun in 2005. For four years, the telescope would
monitor 100,000 stars contained in an area of the sky equal to the size of a human hand
held at arm’s length.” Wired

Scientists Seek Sense of Balance “Can rich social environments protect against dementia and cognitive decline?” The Scientist

Hidden meanings of the initials of New York City using Microsoft fonts. [via MetaFilter]

Who Let the Cat Out?

Thanks to LingMachineGo for pointing me to David Icke’s reaction to the accession of the Shrub: Another Shapeshifter in the White House: ” The Bush inauguration marks the start of the massive push by the Illuminati to further their agenda for a
global fascist state. You will see this clearly unfolding in the next 24 months and, as usual, watch what
they do, not what they say. The Bush administration will be a cold, calculating, vicious, period of human
history. I know people who have met the Shrub during his period as Governor of Texas and cold,
calculating, and vicious, as well as staggeringly unintelligent, are words they chose to describe him. But
those who will be dictating the actions of his presidency make him look like a puppy dog. Or maybe
lapdog would be more appropriate.” And here is Icke’s self-justification.

Annals of the Age of Depravity (cont’d.): Father Who Killed Sons Finds Way to Deepen Their Mother’s Grief New York Times

A Brand of Tap Dance Springing From Europe’s Streets sounds like an exciting reinvigoration of the art. New York Times

The Body Artist, Don DeLillo’s new, short, ‘pamphlet’ of a novel (at 124 pp.), seems uncharacteristically weightless until you dig beneath the surface, says Adam Begley in this complimentary review. And, as usual, a New York Times review of a major author’s new work is the occasion for a feature page linking to reviews of his earlier books and articles about and by him, as well as an audio reading and interview with the author.

Who’s afraid of Falun Gong? In this interview, progressive journalist Danny Schechter (when I was in college in the early ’70’s, he was “the news dissector” on underground rock radio station WBCN in Boston), whose recent book Falun Gong’s Challenge to China has been called a whitewash by the New York Times, explains why it’s not the cult it’s made out to be and why the Chinese are so afraid of the movement some call the most effective protest against the Chinese regime since Tiananmen. This in the aftermath of the recent attempted self-immolation by five sect members, including a 12-year-old girl, protesting continued Chinese suppression of the sect (an act which the sect has publicly disavowed), and, in one of his first official acts as Secretary of State, Colin Powell’s criticism of China’s stance, which drew a bitter rejoinder from its Foreign Ministry. Salon

Who’s afraid of Falun Gong? In this interview, progressive journalist Danny Schechter (when I was in college in the early ’70’s, he was “the news dissector” on underground rock radio station WBCN in Boston), whose recent book Falun Gong’s Challenge to China has been called a whitewash by the New York Times, explains why it’s not the cult it’s made out to be and why the Chinese are so afraid of the movement some call the most effective protest against the Chinese regime since Tiananmen. This in the aftermath of the recent attempted self-immolation by five sect members, including a 12-year-old girl, protesting continued Chinese suppression of the sect (an act which the sect has publicly disavowed), and, in one of his first official acts as Secretary of State, Colin Powell’s criticism of China’s stance, which drew a bitter rejoinder from its Foreign Ministry. Salon

Who’s afraid of Falun Gong? In this interview, progressive journalist Danny Schechter (when I was in college in the early ’70’s, he was “the news dissector” on underground rock radio station WBCN in Boston), whose recent book Falun Gong’s Challenge to China has been called a whitewash by the New York Times, explains why it’s not the cult it’s made out to be and why the Chinese are so afraid of the movement some call the most effective protest against the Chinese regime since Tiananmen. This in the aftermath of the recent attempted self-immolation by five sect members, including a 12-year-old girl, protesting continued Chinese suppression of the sect (an act which the sect has publicly disavowed), and, in one of his first official acts as Secretary of State, Colin Powell’s criticism of China’s stance, which drew a bitter rejoinder from its Foreign Ministry. Salon

Landlord created ‘noise machine’ to drive tenants out. “A landlord who wanted to get rid of a family renting a flat in his
building rigged up a ‘banging machine’ to annoy them so much
they would leave.

A court in Germany has heard that the plan came unstuck
when he went out himself because of the noise – and the family
from Geretsried called the police. Ananova

Caffeine ‘reduces productivity’ “Office managers who want to get the best out
of their workers should put a limit on how much
coffee and tea they drink each day.

Researchers have found that caffeine intake
may be partly to blame for office workers’ poor
performance.” The research was supported by Volvic bottled water… BBC

Report: DEA’s Latin drug operation’s numbers show discrepancies. They attempt to score a public relations coup with cooked-up statistics that don’t bear up to investigation at all.

Could the Scientists Be Wrong on Madcow Disease? One of those mavericks-bucking-the-received-wisdom stories, but credible enough to keep track of. New York Times

Doctor’s Doctor Home. IMHO, these two pathologists use the language of empowerment —

Patients should be more in charge of their own care. One way to do this is to learn as much about your
disease as you can. Much of the information you need is already accessible, you just need to ask for it.

The laboratory, surgical pathology, and cytology reports are your property, but most patients do not ask for
copies. This web site is dedicated to keeping patients informed and in control.

— to prey on patients’ fears and take them for a ride. After they hook you in, you get to the heart of their site, where they offer to “translate” your pathology report or lab test results “into plain English” for $50 a pop. Save your money, I’ll empower you for free: as this web site points out, you should feel free to request a copy of any of your lab tests or pathology reports; it’s your property and you have a right to it for the asking. But the appropriate physician to get to interpret it is your own, with whom you have a treatment relationship. S/he knows the particulars of your health situation which can put the lab values in context, the most medically responsible way to interpret them for you. (A generic interpretation reminds me of the booklets you can buy on the corner newsstand offering “cookbook” interpretations of your dreams.) Most physicians should be willing to do this with you, and if yours doesn’t satisfy you in this respect, then be empowered enough to consider finding a different doctor.

And, in related news, the New York Times says Talking Back to Doctors is Good Medicine, warning that the baby boomers are poised to become uppity senior health consumers.

Curiouser and curiouser: Killer Dog Linked to Ring Run by Inmates. “What first looked like a terrifying
tragedy–young woman killed by rogue dog–has
revealed an illegal guard dog-breeding operation run
from behind the walls of the state’s most secure prison,
law enforcement officials said Tuesday.
Authorities investigating the death of Diane Whipple,
33, are on the trail of a bizarre story, complete with white
supremacists, a surprise adoption and the Mexican Mafia.” LA Times

The founder of the field of cognitive ethology is No Longer Alone in daring to say that animals other than humans have consciousness and thoughts. New York Times

Salon reviews a laundry list of Democratic ills; is the party Riding a road to nowhere? “While the Republican president tries to broaden his party’s
tent, critics are wondering aloud whether Democrats are
folding their party’s tent altogether.” And the New York Times sees the Democrats Shift into Reverse with “the
Democratic National Committee’s
expected election tomorrow of Terry
McAuliffe as chairman. Mr. McAuliffe is
a walking symbol of the wretched excess of the Clinton
years. He raised millions in special-interest money for
President Clinton’s campaign. He made it clear that no
amount of presidential misconduct would sour him on Mr.
Clinton. Now he is promising to lead the entire party on a
quest for big bucks, and he is also expected to push Mr.
Clinton forward as a principal party spokesman during the
presidency of George W. Bush. With Mr. Clinton in that role,
the D.N.C. might as well vote to give the Bush White House
a permanent deed to the character issue.” And, speaking of his endearing character, the Boston Globe reports that Dubya is inviting Democrats out on dates these days.

Who’s afraid of Falun Gong? In this interview, progressive journalist Danny Schechter (when I was in college in the early ’70’s, he was “the news dissector” on underground rock radio station WBCN in Boston), whose recent book Falun Gong’s Challenge to China has been called a whitewash by the New York Times, explains why it’s not the cult it’s made out to be and why the Chinese are so afraid of the movement some call the most effective protest against the Chinese regime since Tiananmen. This in the aftermath of the recent attempted self-immolation by five sect members, including a 12-year-old girl, protesting continued Chinese suppression of the sect (an act which the sect has publicly disavowed), and, in one of his first official acts as Secretary of State, Colin Powell’s criticism of China’s stance, which drew a bitter rejoinder from its Foreign Ministry. Salon