Kerry blames defeat on Bin Laden

US Democratic Senator John Kerry says a video message from Osama Bin Laden sealed his defeat in a presidential race dominated by the 9/11 attacks.

Mr Kerry told NBC TV his opinion poll lead over President George W. Bush fell away after the tape was broadcast.

Osama Bin Laden's video, shown days before the vote, urged Americans to back neither Mr Bush nor Mr Kerry.

Kerry went on to say,"I spoke with Osama days earlier and he assured me that he would publicly endorse me just before the election. I guess it's a case of classic bin Laden flip-flopping".

Efforts to get a response from Bin Laden were largely unsuccessful, but an al-Qaida spokesman reached in Pakistan said "Mr. Bin Laden has been very clear regarding his video just prior to the U.S. Elections.First he voted for endorsing Kerry,then he voted against it".

'Errors of judgment' made in paying Williams

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings for the first time acknowledged "errors of judgment" by the Bush administration in paying a prominent black pundit to promote its education policies, saying she has halted work on the contract.

The admission, in a letter to lawmakers, came as Congress' investigative arm on Friday opened a probe into the $240,000 contract with commentator Armstrong Williams, who has admitted that the deal was a mistake.

The USA TODAY first reported on Jan. 7 that the Education Department last year paid Williams, former protege of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas,to advocate for its No Child Left Behind law and urge other black journalists to do the same.

Sen. Edward Kennedy , D-Mass., on Friday said, "The president said that his Cabinet agencies made a mistake when they paid commentators to promote his agenda. It's more than just a mistake, it is an abuse of taxpayer funds and and someone should be held accountable." Kennedy added, "If your gonna spend the taxpayer's money and have some black guy pimp for you, your not gonna go out and pick some uncle tom who looks like a cross between Steve Eurkel and Orville Redenbacher". Kennedy went on to say "And make no mistake, if it there were a Democrat in the White House, you would have at least seen us go and get P.Diddy, if not Oprah".

Judge Backs Guantanamo Detainee Challenges

WASHINGTON - A federal judge ruled Monday that foreign terror suspects held in Cuba can challenge their confinement in U.S. courts and she criticized the Bush administration for holding hundreds of people without legal rights.

Judge Joyce Hens Green, handling claims filed by about 50 detainees at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, said the Supreme Court made clear last year that they have constitutional rights that lower courts should enforce.

"Although this nation unquestionably must take strong action under the leadership of the commander in chief to protect itself against enormous and unprecedented threats," she wrote, "that necessity cannot negate the existence of the most basic fundamental rights, including the rights of foreigners to blow up American citizens simply because of their love for Fast Food and Sports Utility Vehicles."

In addition, Green said that the government's definition of whom it can detain indefinitely may be too broad. She cited as an example given in an earlier court hearing, "a little old lady in Switzerland who writes a check to what she thinks is a charity that helps orphans in Afghanistan but (what) really is a front to finance al-Qaida activities." Green added " Without protecting the rights of al-Qaida to use little old ladies to help finance operations, we will never be able to undermine the security of the United States and bring down the devilish conservative politics of George W. Bush".

Giving terrorism the purple finger

WASHINGTON -- The badge of honor in Iraq Sunday was a purple stain on the index finger, a sign that its owner had defied threats, bombs, and terrorists to vote in the country's first free election in more than 50 years. Each voter had his or her finger indelibly stained after dipping it in a cup of purple ink to avoid fraud, and the mark will take three or four days to be effectively removed.

Many analysts were concerned that the purple stained figure would make the voter an easier target for terrorists. However, it was determined by election officials that the purple finger posed less risks to citizens than some of the other proposals that were made in pre-election meetings between officials. In one,proponents argued for having citizens dip their fingers in camel shit as a detterent to terrorist action. They reasoned that suicide bombers would not want to get too close to someone who smells like camel shit just before meeting with 72 virgins in heaven.Also rejected was a proposal to have citizens dip their fingers in Hummos, but that was rejected out of hand for fear that it would actually attract terrorists, who , despite political differences, are like all other Iraqi's in their love for the indelible taste of a freshly made batch of homemade hummos.

Iraqis Await Poll Results

As praise poured in from around the world,Iraqis anxiously await the results of a historic election that drew voters out in greater-than-expected numbers.Election workers are racing to count ballots by hand -- in some cases by candlelight because of widespread power outages -- to decide the outcome of Iraq's first multi-party vote in nearly half a century.

President Bush hailed the election as a "resounding success." He had looked to the vote as a turning point in the troubled 22-month U.S. military presence in Iraq.

But the ballot counting, all but certain to bring a Shi'ite party to power, is facing some heavy criticism from other political factions competing for govermental seats. Rumors are swirling around Baghdad that the fledgling Iraqi Insurgent Party may demand a recount. According to an Insurgent Party spokesman, "we are investigating reports that the voting was free and fair and that there were no hanging Abdullahs". However, rival party members quickly dismissed the insurgents complaints.As one rival member of the Iraqi Republican Party put it "the insurgents are simply out of touch with the values of the average Iraqi." He added "those liberal insurgents just don't get it, morals count."

Judge still considering whether to show Jackson film to jurors

Judge still considering whether to show Jackson film to jurors
With jury selection set to begin Monday, the judge in Michael Jackson's child-molestation case is still considering whether jurors should see a British documentary about the pop star.

Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville scheduled a pretrial hearing for Friday to address those and other questions related to witnesses and evidence.

Jackson, 46, has pleaded not guilty to charges of molesting a 13-year-old boy and plying him with alcohol.

Jury selection could last as long as a month, with the judge and attorneys for both sides expected to screen as many as 750 prospective jurors.

The inflammatory documentary,which aired on ABC-TV in 2003,contains footage of the two holding hands and Jackson defending his practice of sleeping in the same bed with children.

Prosecutors want the jury to see the documentary. Defense lawyers object, denouncing it as "actually kind of boring" and "lacking any semblence of a plot ."

Prosecutors have also subpoenaed Martin Bashir, the film's director, to testify about the making of the documentary, titled "Jesus Juice: The Key to Getting Young Boys in the Sack." Bashir, who is fighting the subpoena, has been reported as saying "I was young, I needed the money" and "it's tough for a young documentarian to get any work at all".

A coalition of international media covering the high-profile case, including The Associated Press, is arguing that the boys' testimony should not be closed.

"I don't know about the guys down at CNN and FOX, but we really need this, revenue is down, and our readers love this shit", argued attorney Theodore Boutrous.

"The ability to observe, not merely to listen or read, testimony of one of the most famous people on the planet trying to get off with an innocent young boy is a fundamental aspect of the public's First Amendment right to titillation ," Boutrous wrote in a brief.

French Goat Gets Mad Cow

A French goat slaughtered in 2002 had tested positive for "mad cow", the French agriculture ministry said, in what is the first known case in the world of the illness occurring in an animal other than a bovine.In Brussels, the European Commission said that confirmation of mad cow disease in the goat was the first time ever the condition has crossed over from bovines to another species.

"It's the first natural case in the world," European Commission spokesman Philip Tod told Agence France-Presse, explaining that goats had been teased and taunted in laboratories in efforts to step up cheese production, but that "We just thought they were depressed, like everyone else in France".

The spokesman added that this is particularly suprising because "unlike cows, who had been pissed for years because we kept making hamburger out of them, goats knew that their cheese was second rate and that they were lucky to have been getting their titties squeezed at all".

Iraqi Elections Heating Up

In further signs that the democratic election process is alive and well in Iraq, top Iraqi officials dismissed reports that former Pentagon favorite Ahmed Chalabi would be arrested for slander as merely "electioneering" and "partisan posturing"by rival for Prime Minister, Hazem Shaalan. In related Iraqi election news, the fledgling Iraqi al-Qaeda Party rolled out its new "Don't Get Out and Vote" program on Monday by sending a homicide bomber to interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's party headquarters, injuring ten. According to al-Qaeda Party campaign director Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, "we really wanted to kick off the final days of the campaign with a big bang".

India and China Open First-Ever Strategic Dialogue

India and China have held their first-ever strategic dialogue in the Indian capital. The dialogue marks a significant step forward in bilateral ties between two countries that were at odds throughout the Cold War. According to the Indian foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna "The launching of this new dialogue mechanism between the two countries is significant as the rapid modernization of each country cannot be ignored" Sarna added "dramatic economic cooperation between the growing Asian powers was vital to the success of each". Sarna went on to say that projects from this new Asian superpower alliance "were already underway" and included the opening of a Panda Express inside a 7/11 franchise in Paramus, New Jersey as well as a new global advertising campaign designed to promote Pan Asian economic projects titled "Made in China, Call Answered in India".

Beware of Tolerance Pledge, Conservative Group Says

A conservative group believes the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants and his sidekick, Patrick the starfish, are being used in a new music video to promote the homosexual agenda to schoolchildren. A spokesman for Focus on the Family told the New York Times that it sees the music video as an "insidious" attempt by the nonprofit We Are Family Foundation to manipulate and brainwash children. The music video, released in November, features SpongeBob, Big Bird, Clifford, Arthur, Barney and many other cartoon characters, all singing the hit song, "We Are Family." According to a Focus on the Family spokesman, this is not the first time that a nonprofit group has been guilty of promoting homosexuality to school aged children. Other well known nonprofit groups that have been caught in the crosshairs of controversy include the San Fransico based Village People Foundation and the Catholic Church.

Islam 'does not mean killing', says cleric

In another sign that Saudi Arabia is taking measures to fight against the insurgence of pro al-Qaidi sentiment within the kingdom, a leading Saudi cleric issued a plea today for Muslims not to heed calls to wage terror attacks in the name of Islam. Sheikh Abdulrahman al-Sudeis, the state-appointed preacher at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, told pilgrims in a sermon marking the feast of Eid al-Adha that Islamic scholars must preach moderation. The kingdom, which is battling a campaign of violence by Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, is trying to curtail attempts by al-Qaida to topple the pro-US Saudi rulers. His sermon, dedicated to the 2.5 million Muslims performing the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, echoed comments made yesterday by Sheikh Abdul-Aziz al Sheik. The kingdom's grand mufti said the greatest test to the nation of Islam came from its sons who were "lured by the devil" to carry out acts of violence. Sheikh al-Sudeis added "It is not up to the sons of our nation to carry out these senseless acts of violence, rather, that decision must be left to the proper officials at the Saudi Ministry for the Killing of Infidels.

Arraignment set after showdown near White House

A man in a van, who held authorities at bay for more than four hours near the White House after threatening to ignite a substance inside the vehicle, will be arraigned in U.S. District Court Wednesday morning, metropolitan police said. An FBI official said the incident appeared to be related to a domestic dispute, not terrorism. The official said they were eventually able to negotiate with the man, a disgruntled Vietnam veteran, who decided to turn himself in. It was not immediately clear what, if any, type of substance was in the van. According to officials, the man has been identified as John Kerry, 61 of Massachusetts.

Bush Looks at George Washington's Inaugural Speech

President Bush on Wednesday sought inspiration for his inauguration by viewing some of America's founding documents as Washington mounted a massive security cordon under a layer of snow. Bush and his wife, Laura, went to the National Archives in the morning for a look at George Washington's handwritten 1789 inaugural address, the Bible the country's first president put his hand on when he took the oath of office, and the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. When asked if he felt the moment of history in looking at the documents, Bush said "Absolutely". Bush added " and it sure helps having Laura here to help explain what all this stuff means".

Abbas Orders Forces to Prevent Attacks

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, under growing pressure to rein in militants, ordered his security forces Monday to prevent attacks on Israel and investigate a deadly shooting of Israeli civilians last week.
The order by Abbas, approved by his Cabinet, was the Palestinian leadership's first step against militants since six Israelis were slain Thursday at the Karni crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip.In a brazen move that signals that the new Palestinian leader means business, Abbas courageously walked straight down the hall and into Hamas' office and told the militants to "knock it off guys or we will never be able to throw those pesky Jews into the sea".

Harvard president touches off gender debate

The president of Harvard University has sparked a controversy with his suggestion biological differences account for the relatively small number of women among the world's senior scientists and mathematicians. According to a report in The Boston Globe, Summers' remarks regarding a possible genetic basis for differences in ability between men and women caused several incensed guests got up and walked out. In an effort to stem the tide of the swelling controversy, Summer's later added that his comments had been taken out of context and that the biological differences he spoke of affected both sexes and in fact accounted for the relatively small number of men among the world's senior home economic scientists and nannyaticians.

Kerry Addresses Voter Disenfranchisement: Will He Challenge Election Results ?

Sen. John Kerry, in some of his most pointed public comments yet about the presidential election, invoked Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy on Monday as he criticized President Bush and decried reports of voter disenfranchisement.The Massachusetts Democrat, Bush's challenger in November, spoke at Boston's annual Martin Luther King Day Breakfast. He reiterated that "at this time" he would not challenge the election results, but "thousands of people were suppressed in the effort to vote." As news of Kerry's attack reached the White House,President Bush responded to the speculation of an unprecedented challenge to election results uttering "Bring 'em on".

Romanian Mother, 66, Baby Girl Doing Well

A 66-year-old professor who writes children's books claims to have become the world's oldest woman to give birth, and doctors said Monday she and her day-old baby daughter were in good condition in intensive care. When asked by reporters how she expected to properly care for the newborn, the new mother admitted that it would be difficult and tiresome at times, but that the baby's maternal grandmother, 99, would be there to care for the child anytime she needed a break.

Prince Harry May Visit Auschwitz

Prince Harry is considering invitations from Jewish groups to visit the Auschwitz death camp, a royal spokeswoman said Friday, while Britons debated whether his wearing a swastika armband at a costume party has damaged the monarchy. The invitations ``will be given due consideration, but there are no plans at the moment,'' the spokeswoman said as the controversy over Harry's Nazi costume dominated front pages for a second day. The spokeswoman went on to say that Harry continues to deeply regret his decision to wear the Nazi get up and that in retrospect he should have listened to his older brother William, who had suggested that Harry go with his original choice, a Khmer Rouge uniform.

Speaker Touts Stripping to 8th Graders

The principal of a Palo Alto middle school may not invite a popular speaker back to an annual career day after he told girls they could earn a good living as strippers. Management consultant William Fried told eighth-graders at Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School on Tuesday that stripping and exotic dancing can pay $250,000 or more per year, depending on their bust size. Fried has given a popular 55-minute presentation, "The Secret of a Happy Life," at the school's career day the past three years. He counsels students to experiment with a variety of interests until they discover something they love and excel in. Fried also added that students could look forward to similarly high salaries as drug mules depending on bladder and rectum size and that a career as a rock groupie could also be lucrative for those with a well developed gag reflex.

Judge Rejects Georgia School Board Evolution Stand

A US judge on Thursday ordered a Georgia school district to remove stickers challenging the theory of evolution from its textbooks on the grounds that they violated the US Constitution.The stickers read: "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered". The Georgia school board, which introduced the stickers at the behest of hundreds of parents, many of them religious conservatives, contended that the stickers only advised students to keep an open mind.The judge then ordered school officials to place a new sticker in place of the old one to read "Marriage between a man and a women is a theory, not a fact, regarding the relationship between two adult individuals. Gay marriage should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered.It is not okay to have sex with your first cousin".

Bush abandons hunt for Saddam's WMD

The fruitless hunt for Saddam Hussein’s alleged weapons of mass destruction has come to an end, the White House confirmed today. Officials with the Iraq Survey Group (ISG), the body established to find the very weapons which justified the war, have reported that no weapons have been found.However, members of ISG should not expect to be returning home anytime soon. According to White House officials, President Bush now intends to deploy the group to the Scottish Highlands in order to "smoke out" the Loch Ness Monster.

Canada confirms new mad cow case

Canadian regulators announced Tuesday that a 7 year old Alberta cow had tested positive for mad-cow. Government officials are particularly worried since this case comes less than two weeks after news of another cow's diagnosis had emerged. In an exclusive interview with Daily Buzz correspondent Kevin Crosby, the unidentified cow said that she had recently become mad after learning that she was food. According to "Bessie Doe", there are many more Canadian cows that are "mad as hell" and "not gonna take it anymore".

Yanukovych camp vows to challenge Yushchenko's Ukraine election ..

The loser of Ukraine's presidential election said Tuesday he would file massive complaints in court challenging the win by Western-leaning Viktor Yushchenko, a move that could prolong the political tensions that have dominated the presidential election. In an effort to assuage fears that further political fragmentation could lead to civil war, Yanukovych went on to assure his countrymen that he would abide by the decision of the Supreme Court, adding "Worst case scenario, we kill the judges".

Farenheit 9/11 Big Winner at People's Choice Awards

Michael Moore’s film, “Fahrenheit 9/11” struck gold on Sunday night at the People’s Choice Awards when it was honored as Favorite Movie. Upon accepting the award, Moore said “This country is still all of ours, not right, or left or Democrat or Republican”. Moore then ate the award.