American Buddhist Net

Their numbers and influence may be declining, but American nuns demonstrated Wednesday what generations of schoolchildren already knew: They are a force to be reckoned with.

By sending a letter to Congress in support of the Senate healthcare bill, a wide coalition of nuns took sides against not only the Republican minority but against their own church hierarchy, as represented by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which opposes the bill. The nuns' letter contributed to the momentum in favor of the legislation, despite opposition that is partially rooted in a disagreement over abortion funding.

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Senior Bush administration officials sternly cautioned the 9/11 Commission against probing too deeply into the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, according to a document recently obtained by the ACLU.

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SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Talks with China over censorship have reached an apparent impasse and Google, the world’s largest search engine, is now “99.9 percent” certain to shut its Chinese search engine, the Financial Times said on Saturday.

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This is getting interesting. Whatever else, if Google leaves there will be a strong reaction in China. Dirty politics aside, the nub of this issue is an open Internet versus a closed one. Google is favored by better educated Chinese, who will probably still be able to access it on servers outside of China. Ultimately, I don't think China has a chance in this fight if the US plays its cards right, which so far it has been doing. Clinton's strong statements about Internet freedom last week and the FCC's proposals today greatly enhance Google's position. Clearly, these statements were made with an understanding of the Google-China dispute. I have had almost nothing but problems with US foreign and domestic policy for a long time, but this all looks fine to me. The Chinese model for the Internet has essentially no argument in its favor. At the same time, the US cannot easily abandon its own basic principles of free speech, so the two are natural adversaries on this front. Add to that the power of an open Internet on China's population and you have another reason for the US to take the position it has. Progressive Chinese should want China to lose this one. Ultimately, this matter comes down to technology, and that is one genie no one - not even China - will be able to put back in the bottle. ABN

WASHINGTON — In a giant auction, the federal government has agreed to sell for pennies on the dollar most of the 120,000 formaldehyde-tainted trailers it bought nearly five years ago for Hurricane Katrina victims. But the sale of the units, perhaps the most visible symbol of the government's bungled response to the hurricane, has triggered a new round of charges that it is endangering future buyers for years to come.

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It's a haiku: Big storm, trailers, sold. ABN

The Federal Communications Commission is proposing an ambitious 10-year plan that will reimagine the nation’s media and technology priorities by establishing high-speed Internet as the country’s dominant communication network.

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This is a must-read and something we have to pay attention to. From what I see in this short piece, the plan looks very good. The devil will come in details that grant too much power to corporations or that permit censorship. ABN

Tarpley makes some good points, but he is missing the crucial point that we have to take sides--either an open Internet or a closed one. For now, the US is far more supportive of an open Internet than China. The Obama administration seems to have made this position clear. I hope they stick to it. An open Internet is BOTH in the best interests of the USA and the world. IF the US abuses the principle of an open Internet, which they may very well do, I will oppose that 100%. But let's wait for that to happen before we oppose it. As for the partnership between Google and the NSA, same difference--it comes down to which side is more pro-open Internet. Yes, it's all dirty politics but there is no way to avoid that, so the US is the best bet again. I do not see anything worth supporting in the Chinese position. I am putting my money on the USA on this one. ABN

Jesse Ventura on AlJazeera w/ Riz Khan (part 2)

The FBI says that the anthrax case is closed, and that they have proved that Dr. Bruce Ivins did it.

But Congress is not convinced.

On March 3, 2010, Representative Holt called for a new investigation:

Last week, [Congressman Holt] succeeded in including language in the 2010 Intelligence Authorization Bill that would require the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community to examine the possibility of a foreign connection to the 2001 anthrax attacks.

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Ventura: ‘You’re not allowed to ask’ about 9/11

by Gavan McCormack

For a country in which ultra-nationalism was for so long a problem, the weakness of nationalism in contemporary Japan is puzzling. Six and a half decades after the war ended, Japan still clings to the apron of its former conqueror. Government and opinion leaders want Japan to remain occupied, and are determined at all costs to avoid offence to the occupiers. US forces still occupy lands they then took by force, especially in Okinawa, while the Government of Japan insists they stay and pays them generously to do so. Furthermore, despite successive revelations of the deception and lies (the secret agreements) that have characterized the Ampo relationship, one does not hear any public voice calling for a public inquiry into it.2 Instead, on all sides one hears only talk of "deepening" it. In particular, the US insists the Futenma Marine Air Station on Okinawa must be replaced by a new military complex at Henoko, and with few exceptions politicians and pundits throughout the country nod their heads.

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Neighbors were chagrined last week when the police here found the body of a 75-year-old woman who had frozen to death, alone in her house, during unexpectedly frigid weather.

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Well-worth reading this story. ABN

New York (CNN) -- The WTC Captive Insurance Co. announced settlements Thursday with more than 10,000 plaintiffs who claimed sickness or injuries after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The settlements could total up to $657 million.

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Kemp said Ivins repeatedly denied that he sent the letters or that he developed the deadly anthrax spores. And Kemp cited Ivins' fellow scientists, who insisted he was incapable of making such a high-grade, dried anthrax with the equipment available at his workplace at the Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases in Frederick, Md.

"There's not one shred of evidence to show he did it," Kemp said.

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DETROIT | Detroit, the very symbol of American industrial might for most of the 20th century, is drawing up a radical renewal plan that calls for turning large swaths of this now-blighted, rusted-out city back into the fields and farmland that existed before the automobile.

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A 50-year mystery over the 'cursed bread' of Pont-Saint-Esprit, which left residents suffering hallucinations, has been solved after a writer discovered the US had spiked the bread with LSD as part of an experiment.

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New watchdog report says the Treasury Department sank billions into auto finance giant GMAC without an exit strategy or proof the company was viable - a decision that could cost taxpayers $6.3 billion.

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Socialism for corporations. ABN

The House voted down a challenge to President Obama's conduct of the war in Afghanistan Wednesday, rejecting a measure that would have compelled U.S. armed forces to leave the country within 30 days.

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In this edition of CrossTalk host Peter Lavelle asks his guests why discussion of the events of 9/11 continue to attrack so much attention but is all but banned in the media mainstream.

The US shrugged off Israel’s small settlement announcement yesterday, insisting that it would have no impact on peace talks, even as Palestinian officials were condemning it and analysts were wondering why Israel did so as Vice President Joe Biden was arriving in the nation. Today, the other shoe fell.

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Gay couples have exchanged vows in civil ceremonies and churches in Washington on the first day same-sex marriage was allowed in the US capital.

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Internal CIA documents reveal a meticulous protocol that was far more brutal than Dick Cheney's "dunk in the water"

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ABC interviews Coleen Rowley (2 of 2)

States and companies have started investing very differently when it comes to the billions of dollars they are safeguarding for workers’ retirement.

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FDIC wants pension funds to prop up failed banks

Why would a rational society not want to investigate and discuss 9/11? UPDATE: Here's an ABC report, which could be worse. The bottom line for me is there must be a thorough, honest, and believable public discussion of 9/11. The issue is far too important to just drop. There are many aspects to 9/11 that call for investigation. This ABC piece is better than most mainstream reporting, but it still slants heavily toward "truthers are crazy." Is the official story really so manifestly true that anyone who questions it must be suspected of being on the lunatic fringe? The answer is obviously no. 9/11 was a massive event with massive ramifications. We owe it to ourselves, to the people of the world, and to history to be sure we have all of the facts. Now is the time to gather them, and hence the urgency of the 9/11 movement. ABN

After serving as governor from 1975 to 1983 and losing a race for U.S. Senate, Brown traveled to Japan to study Zen Buddhism.

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by Kevin Howley

...According to a new study published by Global Research, a Canadian-based independent research organization, news reports that bring up troubling questions about the official story surrounding the events of Sept. 11, 2001, are gaining traction in the international press.

Significantly, these news narratives no longer frame the 911 Truth movement as so much conspiracy theory. Rather, independent, commercial and public service news organizations the world over are giving serious consideration to allegations that challenge the veracity of the official story that emerged in the days and weeks following the 911 attacks.

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Entire February 2010 Issue of the American Behavioral Scientist Devoted to State Crimes Against Democracy

Terror attacks top last 15 years' online news searches

Prof. Kevin Howley Notes "Changing Journalistic Attitudes" Toward 9/11 Questions

9/11 comes down to one thing--do you want more information or not? ABN

ABC Vs. Loose Change Part II

Ultimately 9/11 comes down to this--do you want more information or not? Do you want the official institutions of our society - Congress, courts, media, scientists, police, and more - to openly and deeply investigate 9/11 or not? Think about it for a minute. Who wants to close off information? When do societies say no more information on this can be allowed? Cults do that to their members. Religious fundamentalists do that to their members. The military does it with secret technology and plans. Some companies have secret formulas. But who else does it? When do governments do it? Why do they do it? Ultimately 9/11 comes down to do you want your society to openly and transparently gain more information on the subject or not? ABN