Sunday, 11-5-06: Quote from a column by Brian Doyle: "Bush and his advisers have created, in six brief years, the worst presidency in American history, what with record deficits, an exhausted military, attacks on the Constitution, attacks on American civil liberties, secret prisons, governmental defense of torture, a new policy of pre-emptive war, willful failure to address environmental decay and what increasingly appears to be the fomenting rather than the destruction of violent anit-American terrorism around the world." Couldn't have said it better myself.... Sunday, 11-12-06: Summary: Boy, the world is fascinating these days. The war goes on in Iraq, and it's creating insurgents far faster than they're being killed. Israel's war in Lebanon caused billions of dollars in damages, and accomplished only the strengthening of Hezbollah and a massive oil spill in the Mediterranean. Because the Taliban have a safe zone along the border with Pakistan, the war in Afghanistan is getting worse. The Bush administration is the worst the US ever had, and has caused enormous damage. Now Bush is hopefully hamstrung by the Democrats taking over the House and Senate. The gap between the rich and poor in America and the rest of the world grows ever wider. Developing countries are typically contributing to the ecodestruction of the planet. China kills more prisoners than all the rest of the world combined, and contributes more pollution. The oceans are nearly empty of fish, and within 30 years could be empty of all life when the ecosystem collapses. The polar bears are going extinct as the arctic icecap melts. The Antarctic icecap is getting thicker, and crumbling around the edges. Colonies of penguins are moving farther south, and are threatened by overfishing of krill, the shrimp they feed on. Global warming will change the world within a decade or two, in ways that are all too predictable. But don't get me started.... What's the good news? For a person with unshakeable self worth, this is the most amazing opportunity in centuries. This next few decades are going to be fascinating, and quite educational. And the chances to help others will abound. It will be a bit of a resilience test, so I hope you've been stocking up.... 5 Cabinet ministers resigned in Lebanon. The ministers from Hezbollah and an allied party walked out after talks over forming a national unity government collapsed. The Prime Minister is ordering them back to their posts. That's not enough to bring down the government. It would take 8 quitting to do that. But it costs the Prime Minister in support from the Shiites, who are the majority in Lebanon. Insurgent activity in Afghanistan has risen more than fourfold this year, to 600 attacks a month. The rising drug trade is funding the insurgency. The poppy crop increased by 50% last year. Tuesday, 11-14-06: A study has found that eating red meat causes one kind of breast cancer, the commonest kind and one that's increasing. A woman who eats red meat regularly in her 20s, 30s and 40s doubles her risk of breast cancer in her 50s. It's long been known that red meat causes colon cancer. Guess how glad I am I've been a vegetarian for 38 years.... In local news, a cop who stopped women and asked them to show him their underwear has resigned. He also asked them if they had breast implants and if they shave their pubic hair. John Wood, 31, has to do 100 hours of community service. He's been on paid leave since August 1st. In a hearing yesterday afternoon, one woman said, "Every time I see a law enforcement official, I feel as though I can't breathe, and I start to feel nausous." You'll remember that recently a cop named Chris Green was stopping women and asking to see their tattoos. He remains on paid leave and under investigation. Wednesday, 11-15-06: South African legislators OKed same-sex marriage yesterday. That makes them the first nation in Africa and the fifth in the world to do so. They join Belgium, Netherlands, Spain and Canada. Arab raiders are crossing into Chad from the Darfur region in Sudan and burning villages. Dozens have been torched in the last 10 days. At least 220 have been killed. A government spokesman for Chad said they're expecting this is preparation for large-scale war. The UN has approved a peace-keeping force, but Sudan refuses to let them deploy. The Justice Department filed a document this week with the US Court of Appeals arguing it has the right to indefinitely detain foreign nationals living in the US if they're accused of ties to terrorism. Those arrested would have no right to challenge their detention in court. In local news, a Hillsboro woman was formally cited for neglect yesterday. Her home was raided, and she had 257 rabbits living in squalor. Thursday, 11-16-06: Researchers are reconstructing the Neanderthal's genome, and will finished in 18 months. A thousandth of it is done already. The hardest part has been finding bones that haven't been handled a lot and contaminated. Pakistan has amended it's rape law. It used to be that a woman who claimed she was raped had to produce four male witnesses to prove it, or she'd be prosecuted for adultery. Thousands of women have been punished under the law, often on the flimsiest of evidence. The new law gives judges the discretion to try rape cases in criminal court rather than Islamic courts. It also creates the concept of statutory rape and sets the age of consent at 16. It will continue to allow prosecutions for "fornication," at the insistence of religious parties. A spokesman for them said the bill "will turn Pakistan into a free-sex zone." In local news, a woman who worked for the Forest Service in eastern Oregon stole more than $642,000 over the course of six years. The money went for gambling, car and mortgage paments, farm expenses and eating out. She could get 50 years in prison. Friday, 11-17-06: Yesterday a soldier who raped a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and killed her family was sentenced to 90 years in prison. James Barker agreed to testify against the other four soldiers involved in order to avoid the death penalty. He'll be eligible for parole in 20 years. In local news, the cop who had women strip because he was checking for a "flower tattoo" has resigned. He's being fined $2000. After making women raise their skirts, unzip their pants and remove their bras, Chris Green would give them his phone number. It took from March until September for him to be removed from street patrol, even though nine women had complained. Saturday, 11-18-06: Two guys in Hatford, Connecticut, tried to rob people waiting in line to buy a new Play Station 3 game system. THey shot one man who refused to give up his money. In Sullivan, Indiana, a man is in critical condition in the hospital after he and a friend tried to rob 2 men of consoles they had waited in line 36 hours to buy. They stabbed him. Police around the country reported assaults and robberies related to the consoles. In local news, the former finance director of West Linn was convicted yesterday of embezzling $1.4 million. Wow! As a result of the theft, West Linn's bond rating tanked, making it more expensive to borrow money. Elma Magkamit has to pay the money back, which will be hard to do during the next 8 years while she's in prison. She has to give the city her $100,000 retirement account and the proceeds from selling her luxury home and Mercedes SUV. The money fed a gambling habit, and bought $17,000 worth of jewelry.