EFI Evening News With Your Host Pile On®

Ramsey Clarke to defend Saddam

Former US Attorney General under Lyndon Johnson joins the team of lawyers defending Saddam Hussein.

Clark said in the Jordanian capital Amman that his principle concern was protecting the former president's rights, who only saw a lawyer for the first time this month - a year after his capture.

"In international law, anyone accused of crime has the right to be tried by a confident, independent and impartial court, and there can be no fair trail without those qualities," he said.

"The special court in Iraq was created by the Iraqi governing council, which is nothing more than a creation of the US military occupation and has no authority in law as a criminal court," he said.

The Iraq Special Tribunal was established by the US-led administration in Iraq last December to try members of the former government.

Clark also said the US itself must be tried for the November assault on Falluja, destruction of houses, torture in prisons and its role in the deaths of thousands of Iraqis in the war.

Excuse me counselor but the US is not on trial. Did you take this gig to defend your client or to get your mug on camera and criticize your country?

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Fannie May Sells $4 Billion in Preferred Stock


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fannie Mae, the largest U.S. home funding company, said on Wednesday it may privately sell up to $4 billion of preferred stock this week, which could help it meet higher capitalization standards it faces after regulators found it broke accounting rules.

This should help them cover the cost of the retirement package of former CEO Franklin Raines.


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John Wayne Bobbitt Acquitted of Battery

LAS VEGAS (AP) - John Wayne Bobbitt has been acquitted of charges that he battered family members after the discovery of a sex toy in his bedroom.
In finding Bobbitt innocent of domestic violence, a Las Vegas judge ruled Monday that Bobbitt's 14-year-old stepson was to blame for the August fight.

Outside the courtroom, Bobbitt said he was thrilled with his acquittal.
"I've never been so happy with the judicial system," Bobbitt said.

No kidding?

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Bush Administration is Insensitive

The Bush administration more than doubled its financial commitment yesterday to provide relief to nations suffering from the Indian Ocean tsunami, amid complaints that the vacationing President Bush has been insensitive to a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions.

Is there one sensitive person left in the Bush Administration? Perhaps we need a cabinet level Department of Sensitivity.

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Space Station Crewman Study New Diet

Two crewman aboard the International Space Station discover rationing food supplies leads to weight loss.

Who knew?

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The Red Carpet Flesh Factor

Stars are showing more flesh than ever as they step out at premieres - 59% of their naked bods, in fact. Researchers claim celebs show, on average, more than half their naked body when treading the red carpet.

They have scanned through the years to see how much nudity has been on show over the decades. Liz Hurley famously upped the ante in a safety pin Versace creation at the opening of Four Weddings And A Funeral in 1994. In that year, the average bare skin quota was just 39% - compared to Liz's treble-figure flash.

Since the 1950s, the most prudish decade was, interestingly, the 70s when stars like Carrie Fisher and Goldie Hawn showed just 7%. Researchers for the Odeon survey says if trends continue, stars with be showing off THREE-QUARTERS of their bods by 2010.

Our research indicates that by the year 2025 a postage stamp will suffice.

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Obese Women On The 'Pill' More Likely To Get Pregnant

Women who are overweight or obese and who use oral contraceptives like the "pill" are more likely to become pregnant compared with women of lower weight, according to a new study.
The findings, by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center will be published next month in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

The researchers also said that no one knows for sure why obese women experience a higher level of birth-control failure. However, they did suggest a couple of possible reasons, including increased metabolism and fairly low hormone levels in today's oral-contraceptives compared with those from 40 years ago.

We could make a few suggestions, but since our lights are on, we will keep them to ourselves.


Birth control pills are less effective with overweight women