Reuters obtained from Iraqi guerrillas "an English-language video urging U.S. troops to lay down their weapons and seek refuge in mosques and homes" (Michael Georgy, "Iraq Rebels in Video Taunt," January 12, 2005), promising protection to soldiers who heed their call. The Information Clearing House has made the video and a transcript of its content available: "A Message from the 'Iraq Resistance.'"

Here are two useful documentaries for activists: "The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear": and "Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire."

Wright (Triumph Over Hepatitis C) & Beattie (Choices and Codependent No More) to be featured Saturday, January 8th on the KRLA radio show (870 AM) “The Bradley Quick Experience” at 11:00 pm in LA (also LIVE and archived on Internet*)

By examining a very wide range of sworn testimonies from voters, polling officials and others close to the administration of the Nov. 2 election; by statistical analysis of the certified vote by mathematicians, election experts and independent research teams who have conducted detailed studies of the results in Ohio, New Mexico, Florida and elsewhere; from experts who studied the voting machines, tabulators and other electronic equipment on which a fair vote count has depended; and from a team of attorneys and others who have challenged the Ohio results; the freepress.org investigative team has compiled a portrait of an election whose true outcome must be investigated further by the Congress, the media and all Americans -- because it was almost certainly not an honest victory for George W. Bush.

One of Wikipedia's co-founders discusses the need for WIkipedia to adopt an official policy of deferring to expertise while still allowing contributions from "non-experts." An interesting issue that has much in common with Indymedia and similiar qualms about its reliability.

Original Publisher: World Wildlife Fund
Synopsis -

Wake-up call for Planet Earth as natural resources decline

Tuesday 9 July 2002

Planet Earth is suffering such a rapid loss of its natural resources - its biodiversity - that we are now eating into its capital stocks of forest, fish and fertile soil. That is the stark reality laid out in the latest Living Planet Report, WWF's periodic update on the state of the world's ecosystems, published today.
"In other words," declared Jonathan Loh, the report's author, "humanity now exceeds the planet's capacity to sustain its consumption of renewable resources."

The report is based on WWF's Living Planet Index, which tracks trends in populations of hundreds of species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. It reveals that since 1970, populations of the world's forest species declined by some 15 per cent, marine species populations by 35 per cent and freshwater species populations by a particularly alarming 54 per cent.

Well folks, it has not been such a happy New Year for a good portion of the globe and the shocking story of the Asian tsunami has dwarfed all others. Despite the political hay making about who is giving what, we here at the BHC are preferring to avoid trivialising the horror by getting into such unpleasant frays. We simply recommend giving what you can to help alleviate the terrible conditions now plaguing that unfortunate part of the world.

But this won't prevent us from making fun of this week's cast of bozos.

The BHC has seen Donald Rumsfeld really sad and then he blurted out something he probably shouldn't have, the Army National Guard is now offering up free t-shirts in exchange for the chance to get blown up, and Pell grants are going the way of the dodo for many low income students. In Pennsylvania, evolution cannot explain a few things and these will now be happily explained in class by tortured readings of the Bible. Jesus scores!

Best wishes to all atheist grinches