- Hey Preacher, Leave those kids alone.
This week, the final phase of the atheist bus campaign will appear in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast – not on buses, but on billboards.

"Nobody would seriously describe a tiny child as a 'Marxist child' or an 'Anarchist child' or a 'Post-modernist child'. Yet children are routinely labelled with the religion of their parents. Guardian

In charting how far afield (or a'sea) that Somali pirates are venturing into the Indian Ocean, Gadahn at maritime blog Information Dissemination also points out. . .

With Army Generals in Afghanistan now pointing out that Al Qaeda has almost entirely shifted out of Afghanistan to Pakistan and Somalia, Somalia should be treated as an emerging asylum for the global jihad with intent to attack the United States. It is unreasonable to suspect Al Qaeda movement and activity in Somalia only to additionally assume they will ignore the incredible effectiveness of piracy originating from Somalia. The tactics, training, technology, and revenue streams surrounding the Somali piracy problem suggests an ideal environment for further expansion of Al Qaeda capabilities and techniques, and the absence of any containment off the coast of Somalia is an invitation to future disaster for western nations that depend on trade at sea. The ranges involved in recent attacks highlight that containment must be examined as the next step, because if the global community does not move to contain the expanding problem of piracy in the Indian Ocean, we are playing with gasoline in one hand, and a flamethrower in the other.

First they organize a tea bagging of a speech by Al Gore, then they vandalize the venue. I wonder if Koch Industries $ paid for the spray paint?

Full Disclosure: While I am not involved with this speech, I do consult for the Alliance for Climate Protection

Nov 18

Abc.net.au - The Church of Scientology says allegations made in the Australian Federal Parliament by Independent Senator Nick Xenophon are an abuse of parliamentary privilege.

Senator Xenophon used a speech in Parliament last night to raise allegations of widespread criminal conduct within the church, saying he had received letters from former followers detailing claims of abuse, false imprisonment and forced abortion.

He says he has passed on the letters to the police and is calling for a Senate inquiry into the religion and its tax-exempt status.

"I am deeply concerned about this organisation and the devastating impact it can have on its followers," he told the Senate.

So, there has been lately some women's issues in The Agonist and I even read the word 'vagina' here. So, here is my contribution, without the word 'vagina':

working as a prostitute until late 2004, describing it as "so much more enjoyable" than an earlier job as a computer programmer.

CNN

She charged £300 for an hour from her victims.

Nov 17

BBC - A Zambian journalist has been acquitted of pornography charges after sending officials pictures of a woman giving birth in a hospital car park.
The incident happened during a nurses' strike and the baby died. Zambian President Rupiah Banda had described the photos as pornographic.
Chansa Kabwela said she had sent them in protest at the effects of the strike that paralysed the country's hospitals.
whew, a sensible outcome in a bizarre trial - background

Johann Hari writes:

Independent.co.uk - Ever since I started meeting jihadis, I have been struck by one thing – their Britishness. I am from the East End of London, and at some point in the past decade I became used to hearing a hoarse and angry whisper of jihadism on the streets where I live. Bearded young men stand outside the library calling for "The Rule of God" and "Death to Democracy".

November 16

BBC -
Australian PM Kevin Rudd has apologised to the hundreds of thousands of people, some British migrants, who were abused or neglected in state care as children.

Under the Child Migrants Programme - which ended just 40 years ago - the UK sent poor children to a "better life" in Australia, Canada and elsewhere. As they were compulsorily shipped out of Britain, many of the children were told - wrongly - their parents were dead. Many parents did not know their children, aged as young as three, had been sent to Australia.

Care agencies worked with the government to send disadvantaged children to a rosy future and supply what was deemed "good white stock" to a former colony.In many cases they were educated only for farm work, and suffered cruelty and hardship including physical, psychological and sexual abuse.

Yes, yes, I know I've been on my hobby-horse about women's rights in America most of this week. But really, can one describe the desire for equal pay and an equal choice set for fully half of our population as a hobby-horse? I think not. I do realize that women have it very well on our society. But it could be better. Much better, as this post demonstrates.

The only quibble I have with the post--and the report--is that it's too narrowly focused on economic determinants. Matters of choice, education and general quality of life measures would be most welcome too.

And yet, how can such things improve when women are only 3% of CEOS, or, even more worrisome, when women are 'losing ground relative to men in terms of salaries: female CEOs [of non-profits] now make only 66 percent of male salaries, compared with 71 percent in 2000,' or in politics: "In state politics, there are only six women governors, and women comprise only 15 percent of mayors of cities with populations of over 100,000."

I have a sinking feeling that there has been a steady erosion of women's rights in the country over the last twenty-five years and I'd like to see a study focusing on that. Sure, there has been some high profile window dressing in corporate America and in politics, but still. How can 78 cents on the dollar be a good thing?

Thalif Deen | United Nations | Nov

IPS - When the U.N. children's agency (UNICEF) commemorates the 20th anniversary of its landmark international treaty protecting the rights of children next week, there will be two countries skipping the celebrations: the United States and Somalia.

"It is embarrassing to find ourselves in the company of Somalia, a lawless land," presidential candidate Barack Obama said last year during his election campaign.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which was adopted unanimously by the United Nations back in 1989, will be 20 years old on Nov. 20.

Described as the world's most rapidly and universally ratified human rights treaty, the Convention has been ratified by 193 states.

But the only two countries that have not ratified the treaty have nothing in common.

"Somalia is understandable," Kul Gautam, a former U.N. assistant secretary-general and ex-UNICEF deputy executive director, told IPS.

It has been a failed state without an effective government for over two decades, he added.

"But the United States does have a functioning government, which claims to be a great champion of human rights in the world. It baffles non-Americans, and even many Americans, as to why the U.S. is reluctant to ratify this Convention," Gautam added.

Nov 15

BBC - Leaders remain split on specifying targets
World leaders meeting in Singapore have said it will not be possible to reach a climate change deal ahead of next month's UN conference in Denmark.

After a two-day Asia-Pacific summit, they vowed to work towards an "ambitious outcome" in Copenhagen.

But the group dropped a target to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, which was outlined in an earlier draft.

Leaders also vowed to pursue a new strategy for growth after the world's worst economic crisis in decades.

They resolved to conclude the Doha round of global trade talks in 2010.

In a joint declaration issued at the end of their two-day annual summit, they said: "We firmly reject all forms of protectionism and reaffirm our commitment to keep markets open and refrain from raising new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services."

They also agreed to keep stimulus spending in place until a recovery was seen.

Guardian - One of the best kept literary secrets of the decade was revealed last night when 34-year-old scientist Dr Brooke Magnanti announced she was the writer masquerading as call girl Belle de Jour.

The author behind the bestselling books detailing her secret life as a prostitute decided to come out to one of her fiercest critics, Sunday Times columnist India Knight, after claiming anonymity had become "no fun". "I couldn't even go to my own book launch party", she said.

Until last week, even her agent was unaware of her name. But now Magnanti, a respected specialist in developmental neurotoxicology and cancer epidemiology in a hospital research group in Bristol, has spoken of the time six years ago she worked as a £300 an hour prostitute working through a London escort agency. Magnanti turned to the agency in the final stages of her PhD thesis when she ran out of money. She was already an experienced science blogger and began writing about her experiences in a web diary later adapted into books and a television drama starring Billie Piper.

November 14

BBC -
Venetians have been taking part in a mock funeral procession to highlight the city's dwindling population. Organisers of Saturday's event say the population has dipped below 60,000, with many native Venetians choosing to live in more affordable areas. City officials have refuted the claims that Venice is simply a "ghost town", filled only with tourists.

The Venetian architect and historian, Francisco da Mosta, told the BBC that the government needed to step in to make the city habitable for its residents. He said Venice is not being run "with intelligence or dignity". The city's population has dropped by two-thirds since the 1950s and much of the blame has been put on tourism. It has driven up food and property prices, forcing many people to move to the mainland.

Residents carried an empty coffin in a procession of boats to the mayor's office.

Zenit - FACEBOOK, WIKIPEDIA AND YOUTUBE IN THE VATICAN

Nov 13 | Rome | Jesús Colina
There are not a few voices in the Church calling for the message of the Gospel to make better use of the Internet -- Benedict XVI's is among them.

And yet, when representatives of some of the most successful Internet initiatives met in Rome today with the European bishops' Commission for the Media, a great difference in mentality became obvious, even if there was also evidence of a genuine desire for mutual understanding.

The chamber of the former hall of the synod of bishops -- which the producers of "Angels and Demons" rented for millions of euros -- witnessed two views of reality: On one hand, an institution, the Church, founded for 2,000 years on the proclamation of Truth; and on the other, exponents of successful business initiatives, which arose a few years ago, based on giving everyone the chance to express "his own truth."

Washington | November 13

CBC - Omar Khadr will be transferred to the United States from Guantanamo Bay to face charges in a military commission, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday, on the same day that the Supreme Court of Canada heard a federal government appeal in his case.

It is unclear when or where the 23-year-old inmate will be transferred, but he is one of 10 high-profile detainees to be sent to the U.S. to face justice.

Moscow | Nov 12

AFP - Talks between Moscow and Washington to replace a key nuclear disarmament treaty that expires next month have hit a snag over proposed restrictions on Russian missiles, a newspaper said Thursday.

The dispute threatens to derail high-stakes talks on a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which US President Barack Obama's administration hopes to replace before it expires on December 5.

The Kommersant daily, citing an expert familiar with the START talks, said Washington was seeking to keep a provision from the original treaty for monitoring Russia's arsenal of mobile ground-based missiles.

"They are offering to keep and even strengthen control over our mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) such as the Topol," the expert was quoted as saying by Kommersant.

Russia is against the proposal since the United States currently does not have its own mobile ground-based ICBMs and it is therefore of "unilateral character," he said.

The maximum number of "carriers" capable of delivering nuclear warheads remains another sticking point, the newspaper reported.

I have come to the conclusion that there is a direct correlation between a man's ability to say that icky word, vagina, and how he treats and sees women. If he can't say the word, he's probably a dick.

This post inspired by Digby.

And while we're on the subject of vaginas this is just wrong on so many levels. Clearly the influence of porn is deleterious on many levels.

Shaun Polczer | Calgary | Nov 11

Calgary Herald - He proposes switching semis' fuel as first step

North Americans need to embrace natural gas as the clean-burning solution to North America's energy and environmental security, one of the world's leading oilmen told the Calgary Herald's editorial board Tuesday.

T. Boone Pickens, one of the world's foremost oil barons, is hoping to convert more than seven million heavy trucks and vehicles over to the cleaner-burning fuel in an attempt to reduce U.S. reliance on imported oil.

In a meeting with the Herald, Pickens described North America as the "Saudi Arabia" of natural gas, with more than 100 years of potential supplies.

"We have more gas than anyone else in the world," he said. "America is the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. It's time for us to use this abundant resource to end the cycle of foreign oil dependency and addiction that is making us less safe and more economically insecure."

Pickens was in Calgary to promote his latest venture, the BP Energy Fund, which is to begin trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Andrew E. Kramer | Moscow | Nov 10

NYT - What’s powering your home appliances?

For about 10 percent of electricity in the United States, it’s fuel from dismantled nuclear bombs, including Russian ones.

“It’s a great, easy source” of fuel, said Marina V. Alekseyenkova, an analyst at Renaissance Capital and an expert in the Russian nuclear industry that has profited from the arrangement since the end of the cold war.

But if more diluted weapons-grade uranium isn’t secured soon, the pipeline could run dry, with ramifications for consumers, as well as some American utilities and their Russian suppliers.

Already nervous about a supply gap, utilities operating America’s 104 nuclear reactors are paying as much attention to President Obama’s efforts to conclude a new arms treaty as the Nobel Peace Prize committee did.

In the last two decades, nuclear disarmament has become an integral part of the electricity industry, little known to most Americans.

Salvaged bomb material now generates about 10 percent of electricity in the United States — by comparison, hydropower generates about 6 percent and solar, biomass, wind and geothermal together account for 3 percent.

Utilities have been loath to publicize the Russian bomb supply line for fear of spooking consumers: the fuel from missiles that may have once been aimed at your home may now be lighting it.

Terry Macalister | Nov 10

The Guardian -

Exclusive: Watchdog's estimates of reserves inflated says top official

The world is much closer to running out of oil than official estimates admit, according to a whistleblower at the International Energy Agency who claims it has been deliberately underplaying a looming shortage for fear of triggering panic buying.

The senior official claims the US has played an influential role in encouraging the watchdog to underplay the rate of decline from existing oil fields while overplaying the chances of finding new reserves.

The allegations raise serious questions about the accuracy of the organisation's latest World Energy Outlook on oil demand and supply to be published tomorrow – which is used by the British and many other governments to help guide their wider energy and climate change policies.
'There's suspicion the IEA has been influenced by the US' Link to this audio

In particular they question the prediction in the last World Economic Outlook, believed to be repeated again this year, that oil production can be raised from its current level of 83m barrels a day to 105m barrels. External critics have frequently argued that this cannot be substantiated by firm evidence and say the world has already passed its peak in oil production.

Now the "peak oil" theory is gaining support at the heart of the global energy establishment. "The IEA in 2005 was predicting oil supplies could rise as high as 120m barrels a day by 2030 although it was forced to reduce this gradually to 116m and then 105m last year," said the IEA source, who was unwilling to be identified for fear of reprisals inside the industry. "The 120m figure always was nonsense but even today's number is much higher than can be justified and the IEA knows this.

Nov 10

BBC -

The US military has deployed its Reaper unmanned drones to scour the Indian Ocean with their all-seeing, infra-red eye.

Somali pirates are attacking farther and farther from home; previously safe areas are now very much within range.

The farthest attack from shore has just taken place, 1,000 nautical miles (1,850km) off Somalia.

In total, close to 200 crew members are being held hostage for ransom and hardly a day passes without news of another attack.

The drone is controlled remotely and can fly up to 18 hours at a time.

Its camera is capable of zooming in on suspected pirates from heights of up to 15,200m (50,000ft).

"It has multiple zooms and is very good for the mission for scanning very large areas," said Cdr Gregory Hand of the US military, as he watched one of the three grey drones taxi along the runway besides the turquoise waters of the Seychelles.

"These aircraft have the capability of carrying weapons, but there are currently no plans to place weapons on them," he says.

Breaking The Great Australian Silence |John Pilger | November 5

Thank you all for coming tonight, and my thanks to the City of Sydney and especially to the Sydney Peace Foundation for awarding me the Peace Prize. It's an honour I cherish, because it comes from where I come from.

I am a seventh generation Australian. My great-great grandfather landed not far from here, on November 8th, 1821. He wore leg irons, each weighing four pounds. His name was Francis McCarty. He was an Irishman, convicted of the crime of insurrection and "uttering unlawful oaths". In October of the same year, an 18 year old girl called Mary Palmer stood in the dock at Middlesex Gaol and was sentenced to be transported to New South Wales for the term of her natural life. Her crime was stealing in order to live. Only the fact that she was pregnant saved her from the gallows. She was my great-great grandmother. She was sent from the ship to the Female Factory at Parramatta, a notorious prison where every third Monday, male convicts were brought for a "courting day" - a rather desperate measure of social engineering. Mary and Francis met that way and were married on October 21st, 1823.

Erich Follath & Holger Stark | Nov 2

Spiegel Online - How Israel Destroyed Syria's Al Kibar Nuclear Reactor

In September 2007, Israeli fighter jets destroyed a mysterious complex in the Syrian desert. The incident could have led to war, but it was hushed up by all sides. Was it a nuclear plant and who gave the orders for the strike?

Seymour Hersh | Nov 16 Issue | New Yorker

Obama did not say so, but current and former officials said in interviews in Washington and Pakistan that his Administration has been negotiating highly sensitive understandings with the Pakistani military. These would allow specially trained American units to provide added security for the Pakistani arsenal in case of a crisis. At the same time, the Pakistani military would be given money to equip and train Pakistani soldiers and to improve their housing and facilities—goals that General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the chief of the Pakistan Army, has long desired. In June, Congress approved a four-hundred-million-dollar request for what the Administration called the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund, providing immediate assistance to the Pakistan Army for equipment, training, and “renovation and construction.”

The secrecy surrounding the understandings was important because there is growing antipathy toward America in Pakistan, as well as a history of distrust. Many Pakistanis believe that America’s true goal is not to keep their weapons safe but to diminish or destroy the Pakistani nuclear complex. The arsenal is a source of great pride among Pakistanis, who view the weapons as symbols of their nation’s status and as an essential deterrent against an attack by India. (India’s first nuclear test took place in 1974, Pakistan’s in 1998.)

Nick Pisa | Nov 4

DailyMail UK - Catholic convert Tony Blair is among several world leaders being invited to attend a top level summit with Pope Benedict XVI to discuss the role of the Church in politics.

The two-day summit will be held at the Vatican and will include other Catholic politicians from all over the world, including German chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. vice president Joe Biden, former Spanish PM Jose Maria Aznar, and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Church officials have been quietly working on the conference, which will be called 'Witnesses of Christ in the Political Community', for several months.