Scientists Discover True Love

Brain scans show that some couples have as much passion twenty years into a relationship than in the first blush of love.

A team from Stony Brook University in New York scanned the brains of couples who had been together for 20 years and compared them with those of new lovers. They found that about one in 10 of the mature couples exhibited the same chemical reactions when shown photographs of their loved ones as people commonly do in the early stages of a relationship.

Previously, it was believed that love begin to fade at 15 months and that …

Israel May Be Right, But Not Wise

Jonathan Freedland at the Guardian has good analysis of what’s happening in Gaza.  Israel has great war tactic, but not such good ones for peace.  Each side believes it has the high moral ground, but getting bogged down in who is right and who is wrong won’t solve the crisis.  Israel thinks it can teach the Palestinians a lesson and then get them to agree to some kind of pact to avoid further conflict. 

First, even if Israel gets the quiet it wants there is every reason to believe it could have got that without resorting to war. The longtime …

Ground War!

Israeli tanks have crossed into Gaza, escalating the war to the next level.  Tanks backed by helicopters advance, in spite of international pressure and calls for a cease-fire. 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is visiting the region next week, and U.S. President Bush and U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon both spoke in favor of an internationally monitored truce.

President Bush, in a radio address taped Friday, accused Hamas of an “act of terror” in its rocket attacks into Israel and suggested that no cease-fire would be acceptable without monitoring to halt the flow of weapons to terrorist groups.

But Hamas, …

Blago Still Innocent Until Proven Guilty

But he’s not being treated that way.  Now he’s being stripped of his national security access by the Department of Homeland Security, meaning he can’t have classified information.  Blago’s spokesperson calls this “pretty standard procedure.”  Meanwhile, Illinois House speaker Michael Madigan is fast tracking impeachment proceedings, calling lawmakers to Springfield next week for a vote.

In the past, Blagojevich would get personal briefings on major situations such as the alleged 2006 plot to blow up Sears Tower and the alleged 2006 plot to blow up planes traveling from London to the United States, [Illinois Emergency Management Agency spokesperperson Patti] Thompson …

FWM: Flying While Muslim

It happened again.  This time, Atif Irfan turned to his wife while boarding an AirTran flight from DC to Orlando and wondered aloud where the safest place to sit would be.  Worried passengers saw Irfan’s beard and his headscarf and notified flight attendants, who then notified the TSA.  Next thing you know, Irfan and his wife were taken off the plane and questioned in the jetway.  Six family members were taken off the plane.   Then a family friend who was traveling with them was removed. 

All but one of the passengers taken off the train are American-born US citizens.  …

On Friday’s Radio Show…

Guest host Ellis Henican fills in for Alan.

Topics include:

• After a few worried passengers spoke out, an airline refused to allow a Muslim family to fly, even after they were cleared of wrongdoing. Did the airline overreact?

• Dick Clark, refusing to let a stroke slow him down, hosted his umpteenth New Year’s Eve from Times Square. But is it time for the frail legend to hang it up?

• She said WHAT? While co-hosting CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage, comedian Kathy Griffin launched into a profane tirade in response to a heckler. Was she amusing …

Israel Vs. Hamas: Who Has The Moral High Ground?

Gaza militants say they will conduct suicide bombings and  ”strike at Zionist targets everywhere.”

“We will not rest until we destroy the Zionist entity,” said Hamas leader Fathi Hammad at the funeral of Nizar Rayyan, the cleric who was killed along with his family.

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Hamas spokesman Ismail Rudwan said that “following this crime, all options are now open including martyrdom operations to deter the aggression and to strike Zionist interests everywhere … killing begets killing and destruction begets destruction.”

Nine mosques have been hit since last Saturday.   And the London Times is reporting that Israel is …

Unhappy Old Year

Think Progress lists some of the “accomplishments” for which BushCo is responsible during 2008.

– Number Of U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq: 322.
– Number Of U.S. Troops Killed in Afghanistan: 151.
– Number Of Jobs Lost: 1.9 million.
– Number Of Banks Federal Government Now Owns Stock In: 206.
– Number Of Uninsured Americans: 47.5 million.

– Change In Housing Prices: declined 18 percent.
– Change In Health Insurance Premiums: increased 5 percent.
– Change In Number Of Delinquent Mortgages: increased 75 percent.
– Change In Use Of Food Stamps:…

Is This Any Way To Run A War?

Israel is attacking mosques and homes.  They claim the mosque was used to store weapons and the homes belong to Hamas operatives.  So far, Israel is ignoring international calls for a cease-fire.

“There is no water, no electricity, no medicine. It’s hard to survive. Gaza is destroyed,” said Jawaher Haggi, a 14-year-old U.S. citizen who said her uncle was killed in an air strike when he tried to pick up some medicine for her cancer-stricken father. She said her father died several days later.

Israel warned nearby residents by phone and fired warning shots in an attempt to …

On Thursday’s Radio Show…

Guest host Jay Diamond fills in for Alan on a LIVE New Year’s Day show.…

Deepak To Barack: How To Convert To A Peace Economy

Michael Lerner’s Tikkun has published a letter from Deepak Chopra to President-elect Obama with the premise that if peace can’t make as much money as war, it doesn’t stand a chance.  Here are some ways to ameliorate that situation:

1. Scale out arms dealing and make it illegal by the year 2020.

2. Write into every defense contract a requirement for a peacetime project.

3. Subsidize conversion of military companies to peaceful uses with tax incentives and direct funding.

4. Convert military bases to housing for the poor.

5. Phase out all foreign military bases.

6. Require military …