New Jersey now the 3rd state in the country to gay civil unions

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After the NJ Supreme Court ordered the state legislature to allow gay marriage or create a legal equivalent, the state lawmakers passed a bill allowing civil unions yesterday, making it the third such state in the US (along with Vermont and Connecticut). Massachusetts remains the only state where gay couples can legally marry.

Story via the LATimes

Over 25% of Congressional activity was renaming buildings

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Despite criticism for adjourning last week without acting on several major legislative initiatives, members of Congress can boast significant achievements in at least one area of federal lawmaking — naming post offices.  Of the 383 pieces of legislation that were signed into law during the two-year 109th Congress, more than one-quarter dealt with naming or renaming federal buildings and structures — primarily post offices — after various Americans. 

via the CNN Political Ticker

Reports Say Senator had Stroke – Dems could lose control of Senate

There are conflicting reports that Senator Johnson of South Dakota had a stroke today and is currently hospitalized. Aides and the Senator himself realized something was awry when the Senator began to stutter during a radio interview, after which reports say the Senator lost all ability to speak. The on-staff doctors were notified and an ambulance subsequently took the senator to the George Washington hospital in downtown DC.

Many have noted that should Johnson not be able to continue service that the Republican governor of South Dakota, Mike Rounds, would appoint his replacement to take the seat until the end of what would have been Johnson’s term in 2008. If this were to happen, the 51-49 Dem/Rep split in the Senate that was the result of the midterm elections would return to the 50-50 split that we have now, with VP Dick Cheney being tie-breaking vote, essentially creating a Republican majority (albeit one that is not veto proof)

It is however important to note, as Tim Russert did on NBC Nightly News tonight, that there is indeed quite the interesting precedent for such a situation, ironically also involving South Dakota. In 1969, Senator Mundt suffered a stroke and was incapacitated. After demanding that the governor appoint his wife to fill his seat, which the governor refused to do, Mundt refused to step down thus preventing the governor from appointing a replacement. He remained in office until his term ended in 1973.

We’ll link to MSNBC on this one since they were the ones that broke the story.

Update: There are now reports that the Senator did not actually suffer a stroke….Regardless, we wish the Sen. Johnson a speedy recovery (and not just because the balance of power is at stake, but because we ninjas have feelings too)

Mandated Carbon Neutrality for all new homes in the UK in 2016?

If only American politicians would propose ideas like this. Here’s an excerpt from the BBC article:

All new homes in England will have to be carbon neutral by 2016, under proposals announced by Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly. The scheme includes tightening building and planning rules, and a star rating system that reveals a property’s energy efficiency to potential home buyers. The UK’s 21 million homes are responsible for 27% of CO2 emissions.

The government hopes that the measures will help it meet the target of cutting CO2 emissions by at least 60% by 2050.”

Story via BBC News

Ninja please!? Ultra-Orthodox Jews at Iran’s Holocaust denial conference?

Another example of news we couldn’t have made up if we had tried.

As many of you ninjas know, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been hosting a conference for Holocaust deniers. Many of the attendees are easy to guess, including prominent white supremacists like the US’ own David Duke, and a mix of Islamic fundamentalists. So why are the ultra-orthodox jews pictured above attending such an event? Well, they too seek the destruction of the state of Israel.

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Incompetence knows no party

Looks as though incoming Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has picked a real winner for the new chair of the House Intelligence Committee.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Rep. Silvestre Reyes of Texas, who incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tapped to head the Intelligence Committee when the Democrats take over in January, failed a quiz of basic questions about al Qaeda and Hezbollah, two of the key terrorist organizations the intelligence community has focused on since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

When asked by CQ National Security Editor Jeff Stein whether al Qaeda is one or the other of the two major branches of Islam — Sunni or Shiite — Reyes answered “they are probably both,” then ventured “Predominantly — probably Shiite.”

That is wrong. Al Qaeda was founded by Osama bin Laden as a Sunni organization and views Shiites as heretics.

Members of the Intelligence Committee, mind you, are paid $165,200 a year to know more than basic facts about our foes in the Middle East. How do these people get elected? Coupled with the fact that only 6 people in the American embassy in Iraq speak Arabic fluently (probably because the rest were fired for being gay), it looks like

via CQ and CNN

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Taxpayer dough going to evangelical Christian religious indoctrination

In prisons across America there is a way to get better ammenities and have more recreation options than the usual hour a day most get in the ‘yard.’ Sign up for a religious ‘rehabilitation’ program, which is 99% of the time run by evangelical Christians and for which there are no alternatives for prisoners of other faiths. Sound like an unconstitutional violation of the separation of church and state? You bet. Recently, Robert W. Pratt, chief judge of the federal courts in the Southern District of Iowa, ordered one such Christian ministry to return the $1.5million it had received from the government for its program. Of course, the legal issue doesn’t seem so clear to some, who see these programs as a way to combat recidivism etc.
The NYTimes has published a great article on the subject, Religion for a Captive Audience, Paid for by Taxes. Some excerpts:

The cells in Unit E had real wooden doors and doorknobs, with locks. More books and computers were available, and inmates were kept busy with classes, chores, music practice and discussions. There were occasional movies and events with live bands and real-world food, like pizza or sandwiches from Subway. Best of all, there were opportunities to see loved ones in an environment quieter and more intimate than the typical visiting rooms.

But the only way an inmate could qualify for this kinder mutation of prison life was to enter an intensely religious rehabilitation program and satisfy the evangelical Christians running it that he was making acceptable spiritual progress.

Related reading: Jails for Jesus – a great article on the topic from MotherJones magazine

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The Brits & ‘Big Brother’ (not the TV show)

MNP has already reported on the ubiquitous surveillance cameras in the UK, which can even record conversations. (And let’s not forget the large number of cameras to catch speeding motorists either) Well now, a senior police official in the UK has suggested creating a DNA database to help combat crime, starting with taking and catalogging DNA samples from every baby born in the country.

Sounds eerily reminiscent of Gattaca doesnt it? (which was based on Brave New World of course)

Story via the BBC

Sudan: the oil factor

And that is just on one side of the White Nile. Opposite Alsunut, on the Omdurman side, Saudi and Kuwaiti investors have bought a large plot of land on which they intend to build a huge financial centre. And all this is taking shape in a country which is still subject to comprehensive economic sanctions, imposed by America, for giving shelter and support to terrorists—including, at one time, Osama bin Laden.

article at economist

Global livestock emissions (farts etc) create more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transportation sector!

That’s right ninjas, your eyes are not fooling you. The new United Nations FAO report, “Livestock’s Long Shadow –Environmental Issues and Options,” reads:

“…the livestock sector accounts for 9% of CO2 deriving from human-related activities, but produces a much larger share of even more harmful greenhouse gases. It generates 65% of human-related nitrous oxide, which has 296 times the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CO2. Most of this comes from manure.

And it accounts for respectively 37% of all anthropogenic methane (23 times as warming as CO2), which is largely produced by the digestive system of ruminants, and 64% of ammonia, which contributes significantly to acid rain.”

The report also notes the contribution of the livestock business to deforestation as land is cleared for grazing, and water pollution, as antibiotics, growth hormones, pesticides, chemicals, and manure leak into the environment.

Story via Green Car Congress

Read the full report (PDF format) here

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The War Against Terror Unfolds

In the form of a llama.

Llamas are not just for transportation anymore. It turns out that the animals’ blood could be useful for detecting all sorts of maladies in the surrounding environment–from deadly pathogens to industrial emissions. A research effort has done just that, manipulating a rare type of antibody found in llamas to make an inexpensive and diverse biosensor.

article at sciam

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