The Decline and Fall of Western Civ. for 14 Sep

Heads up, this news rolls downhill.

• According to AP, Candidate Ned Lamont gets help once again from multimillionaire Ned Lamont in his bid to oust incumbent Sen. Joe Lieberman. The wealthy Greenwich businessman spent about $4 million of his own money in last month's Democratic primary to defeat Lieberman.

• Also from AP, Lamont's campaign got a boost Wednesday from former President Carter, who offered a blistering critique of Lieberman's support for the Iraq war. "He's joined in with the Republican spokespersons by saying that Democrats who disagree are really supporting terrorism," Carter said. "So for all these reasons, I've lost my confidence in Joe Lieberman and don't wish to see him re-elected."

• Segway Inc. is recalling all 23,500 of the self-balancing scooters it has shipped to date because of a software glitch that can make its wheels unexpectedly reverse direction, causing riders to fall off - and in at least one incident, break some teeth, reports AP.

• Marie Michel's fifth child was one for the record books. Michel gave birth to a 14-pound, 13-ounce boy Tuesday at William W. Backus Hospital, reports AP. Backus officials said the newborn - Stephon Hendrix Louis-Jean - broke the 18-year record for the biggest baby ever born at the hospital by 1 pound, 13 ounces. He was nearly 23 inches long.

• The New York Times reports the White House took a critical step on Wednesday in its effort to get Congressional blessing for President Bush’s domestic eavesdropping program, but it ran into increasingly fierce resistance from leading Republicans over its plan to try terror suspects being held in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

• Now that local some of the nation's most pristine lands and endangered species may be affected by illegal aliens crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, typically-liberal environmentalists join with typically-conservative secure-border proponents, according to the Washington Times.

• From the Examiner, John Kerry says of the Boat Vets in '08, "I'm prepared to kick their ass from one end of America to the other." Kerry should be reminded that, unlike another enemy -- the one he shot in the back -- the Swift Boat Vets probably aren't going to expose their backsides while running away.

• Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger warned that Europe and the United States must unite to head off a "war of civilizations" arising from a nuclear-armed Middle East, reports AFP.

• The BBC reports Pope's speech stirs Muslim anger: Muslim religious leaders have accused Pope Benedict XVI of quoting anti-Islamic remarks during a speech at a German university this week.

• And finally ynet news reports Iranian president says: We can better lead the world. The nuclear standoff with West can be resolved peacefully; adds: ‘there is no need for UN sanctions against his country; US should moderate its language’

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