Provides a commentary from a French view and from earlier in U.S. history. "The more I advanced in the study of American society, the more I perceived that this equality of condition is the fundamental fact from which all others seem to be derived and the central point at which all my observations constantly terminated." 9-04
"Morphine and other opioids work wonders for pain. Unfortunately, their effectiveness declines over time while their addictiveness grows, meaning patients need the drug even as it affords them less and less relief. But new research into the cellular workings of opioids offers a promising new pathway to improved pain relief--without the addiction--by triggering one receptor and blocking another."
"Medicinal chemist Philip Portoghese of the University of Minnesota and his colleagues began by studying two of the four major opioid receptors in the cells of the central nervous system. Each bears the name of a Greek letter and the chemists focused on the Mu and Delta receptors. Previous research had shown that drugs that linked up with Mu receptors lasted longer with less addiction when combined with drugs that blocked Delta receptors. But it was not known whether the two channels worked separately or in concert to improve the overall effect." 12-05
"The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) is one of the nation's leading progressive legal organizations. Founded in 2001, ACS is comprised of law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, policymakers, activists and other concerned individuals who are working to ensure that the fundamental principles of human dignity, individual rights and liberties, genuine equality, and access to justice are in their rightful, central place in American law."
"ACS is committed to fostering a progressive vision of the law on issues such as access to the courts; anti-discrimination and affirmative action; civil liberties; consumer rights; criminal justice; disability rights; freedom of speech; gay rights; international human rights; immigration; labor law; open government; privacy; protection of health, safety and the environment; and women's rights and reproductive choice." 01-06
"By definition, federal borrowing eventually results in a transfer of income from U.S. taxpayers, whose taxes go to pay the interest on the debt, to the investors who hold the Treasury bonds. As long as the bonds are owned by Americans, the transfer is simply from one group of citizens to another.""Today, however, 43 percent of the United States' publicly held debt of $4.8 trillion is held abroad, mainly by central banks in Japan, China and Britain and by offshore hedge funds. That's up from a 30 percent share in 2001, an extraordinary increase. Indeed, during the Bush years, 73 percent of new government borrowing has been from abroad."
"America is living beyond its means, and foreigners are increasingly supporting the excess - in exchange for a government guarantee that a chunk of America's future collective income will benefit them, not the Americans who earn it." 05-06
"...a task force of the American Bar Association has concluded that the president's stream of signing statements poses a dangerous challenge to the constitutional checks and balances central to governmental power in the United States. One of the signing statements reserves the right to torture detainees held in the war on terrorism." 07-06
"The protests rocking the Arab world this week have one thread uniting them: Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based satellite channel whose aggressive coverage has helped propel insurgent emotions from one capital to the next."
"Al Jazeera has been widely hailed for helping enable the revolt in Tunisia with its galvanizing early reports, even as Western-aligned political factions in Lebanon and the West Bank attacked and burned the channel’s offices and vans this week, accusing it of incitement against them."
"In many ways, it is Al Jazeera’s moment — not only because of the role it has played, but also because the channel has helped to shape a narrative of popular rage against oppressive American-backed Arab governments (and against Israel) ever since its founding 15 years ago." 01-11
Provides information on dining, where to stay, and interesting things to see. Search by city, state, or country. Includes Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. 3-02
Provides analysis and research on voucher systems. The American Federation of Teachers is against vouchers as a central method of improving education. vouchers1-02
"The highest-efficiency models listed here include the American Standard Allegiance 18, which tops the list in all ranges except the 2-ton range where it does not offer a product. Other high-performing models include the Rheem RAPB in the 2-ton category, and the Amana Prestige Ultra and the Carrier Two Speed w/Puron in the 2.5- and 3-ton categories." 5-05
"Ouendake (called Huronia by the French) was the original homeland of the Huron occupying a fairly compact area of central Ontario between the southern end of Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe."
"There never was a Nipmuc tribe as such. Nipmuc is a geographical classification given to the native peoples who lived in central Massachusetts and the adjoining parts of southern New England. They lived in independent bands and villages, some of which at different times were allied with, or subject to, the powerful native confederacies which surrounded them." 12-03
Walter Mosley has written a "newly completed book, What Next?, to be published in America early next year. It is a collection of essays whose central theme is that America needs a new peace movement and that the black community should be at the vanguard of that movement." 9-03
"George Tenet, director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, said his agency's prewar assessments never cast Iraq as 'an imminent threat' and there was no pressure to manipulate the findings."
"Tenet said his agency never said Hussein had nuclear weapons. 'We said that Saddam did not have a nuclear weapon and probably would have been unable to make one until 2007 to 2009,' he said." "Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, who leads among Democrats vying to oppose Bush in the November election, used Tenet's speech to attack the president." "Tenet 'admitted that the intelligence agencies never told the White House that Iraq posed an imminent threat,' Kerry said in a statement. 'But that's not what the White House told the American people. They said Iraq posed a 'mortal threat,' an 'urgent threat,' an 'immediate threat,' a 'serious threat.' " " 'Americans should be able to trust that what the president tells them is true,' Kerry said." 2-04
"As Haiti struggles with the effects of Tropical Storm Jeanne, BBC News Online looks at the latest hurricanes and storms which have battered Central and North America."
"Jeanne, though not as powerful as other hurricanes this season, has proved to be the deadliest, killing more than 600 people." 9-04
"John Paul II took an institution just beginning to throw off the chains of centuries of insularity and autocracy and to be plain speaking, reshaped it into what can only be described as a totalitarian institution."
"In 1958 Pope John XXIII assumed the papacy. Within months he called for an 'aggiornamiento,' a 'bringing up to date' of the church. Church services began to be conducted in native languages. Priests and nuns and laity were given more participation and authority."
"Pope John XXIII died shortly after Vatican II convened. But the reforms he nurtured took root and flowered under his successor. Journalist Gwynne Dyer recently recalled his impressions after visiting Catholic churches around the world in 1978 in preparation for a televised documentary. 'In southern Africa, Catholics were playing a leading role in resistance to apartheid. In Latin America, the phenomenon of 'liberation theology' was reconnecting the church with the impoverished peasant millions whom it had long ignored. In Europe and North America, the old hierarchies were all under challenge, but especially the hierarchy of gender. Justice and equality were the themes and the energy was astonishing."
" 'Twenty-five years later,' Dyer sadly observes, 'it is all gone.' "
"John Paul II attended the Vatican Council meetings in the 1960s and opposed the changes. Upon taking office he undertook to reverse them. To achieve this goal he dramatically centralized and exercised powers."
"In the 1980s French theologican Marie-Dominique Chenu put it bluntly. John Paul harkens back to the 'prototype of the church as an absolute monarchy.' " 4-05
"Perhaps most ominous for President Bush, 52 percent said war in Iraq has not contributed to the long-term security of the United States, while 47 percent said it has. It was the first time a majority of Americans disagreed with the central notion Bush has offered to build support for war: that the fight there will make Americans safer from terrorists at home. In late 2003, 62 percent thought the Iraq war aided U.S. security, and three months ago 52 percent thought so." 6-05