Newshog 26-01-2005

A fairly mixed bag for today's news briefs. Kudos as usual to Shadows and Shirrins for their assistance. Post your opinions.

• "Europhobia" blog says it's Europe vs America - again - and it may by the US not Europe that is trapped in the past.
  
  
• The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience. Why don't Christians live what they preach? (via The Sideshow)
  
  
• A coalition of major conservative Christian groups is threatening to withhold support for President Bush's plans to remake Social Security unless Mr. Bush vigorously champions a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
  
  
• This isn't exactly news, but "This Space For Rent" blog puts it rather aptly - Let Freedom Reign, to the tune of Horst Wessel...
  
  
• The FCC has kicked out The Parents Television Council's complaints about ABC Network's screening 'Saving Private Ryan'
  
  
• A new secret Pentagon espionage unit is treading on the CIA's toes and extending Rumsfailed's reach. By the way, who made General Boykin, famous for his "fighting Satan in Iraq" speeches, deputy undersecretary for intelligence?
  
  
• Rivals for Russia's oil - The most interesting diplomatic visits are those that are never made public. This is certainly the case with the trip that Russian Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko undertook last week to China.
  
  
• Police release Guantánamo four - Four Britons who were returned to the UK after being detained at Guantánamo Bay for up to three years are released without charge.
  
  
• Israel's Defence Minister refused to rule out a pre-emptive strike on Iran, claiming that Tehran was "close to a point of no return" on its suspected development of a nuclear weapon.
  
  
• The latest Zogby poll shows that over three-quarters of those polled say they are against the US toppling the Iranian regime.
  
  
• While the Bush administration is making sure America's front door is tripled-locked, it has left the jewel box out on the front lawn. A look at what the money isn't being spent on, including 30,000 loose nukes (that's 460 tons of material) that Russia doesn't have any use for anymore.
  
  
• As Gonzales gets confirmation, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) files a complaint with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the State Bar of Texas over Gonzales misrepresenting his role in assisting President Bush to escape jury duty.
  
  
• I had to look twice at this site to be certain it was satirical. Welcome to Jesusland! Enjoy.
  

Quote of the Day:

For as adamant as my country has been about civil liberties during peacetime, it has a long history of failing to preserve civil liberties when it perceived its national security threatened...After each perceived security crisis ended, the United States has remorsefully realized that the abrogation of civil liberties was unnecessary.
Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.