Congressman Barr and I have disagreed many times over the years, but we have joined together today with thousands of our fellow citizens-Democrats and Republicans alike-to express our shared concern that America's Constitution is in grave danger.

In spite of our differences over ideology and politics, we are in strong agreement that the American values we hold most dear have been placed at serious risk by the unprecedented claims of the Administration to a truly breathtaking expansion of executive power.

As we begin this new year, the Executive Branch of our government has been caught eavesdropping on huge numbers of American citizens and has brazenly declared that it has the unilateral right to continue without regard to the established law enacted by Congress to prevent such abuses.

It is imperative that respect for the rule of law be restored.

So, many of us have come here to Constitution Hall to sound an alarm and call upon our fellow citizens to put aside partisan differences and join with us in demanding that our Constitution be defended and preserved.

It is appropriate that we make this appeal on the day our nation has set aside to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who challenged America to breathe new life into our oldest values by extending its promise to all our people.

On this particular Martin Luther King Day, it is especially important to recall that for the last several years of his life, Dr. King was illegally wiretapped-one of hundreds of thousands of Americans whose private communications were intercepted by the U.S. government during this period.

The FBI privately called King the "most dangerous and effective negro leader in the country" and vowed to "take him off his pedestal." The government even attempted to destroy his marriage and blackmail him into committing suicide.

This campaign continued until Dr. King's murder. The discovery that the FBI conducted a long-running and extensive campaign of secret electronic surveillance designed to infiltrate the inner workings of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and to learn the most intimate details of Dr. King's life, helped to convince Congress to enact restrictions on wiretapping.

The result was the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act (FISA), which was enacted expressly to ensure that foreign intelligence surveillance would be presented to an impartial judge to verify that there is a sufficient cause for the surveillance. I voted for that law during my first term in Congress and for almost thirty years the system has proven a workable and valued means of according a level of protection for private citizens, while permitting foreign surveillance to continue.

Yet, just one month ago, Americans awoke to the shocking news that in spite of this long settled law, the Executive Branch has been secretly spying on large numbers of Americans for the last four years and eavesdropping on "large volumes of telephone calls, e-mail messages, and other Internet traffic inside the United States." The New York Times reported that the President decided to launch this massive eavesdropping program "without search warrants or any new laws that would permit such domestic intelligence collection."

During the period when this eavesdropping was still secret, the President went out of his way to reassure the American people on more than one occasion that, of course, judicial permission is required for any government spying on American citizens and that, of course, these constitutional safeguards were still in place.

But surprisingly, the President's soothing statements turned out to be false. Moreover, as soon as this massive domestic spying program was uncovered by the press, the President not only confirmed that the story was true, but also declared that he has no intention of bringing these wholesale invasions of privacy to an end.

At present, we still have much to learn about the NSA's domestic surveillance. What we do know about this pervasive wiretapping virtually compels the conclusion that the President of the United States has been breaking the law repeatedly and persistently.

A president who breaks the law is a threat to the very structure of our government. Our Founding Fathers were adamant that they had established a government of laws and not men. Indeed, they recognized that the structure of government they had enshrined in our Constitution - our system of checks and balances - was designed with a central purpose of ensuring that it would govern through the rule of law. As John Adams said: "The executive shall never exercise the legislative and judicial powers, or either of them, to the end that it may be a government of laws and not of men."

An executive who arrogates to himself the power to ignore the legitimate legislative directives of the Congress or to act free of the check of the judiciary becomes the central threat that the Founders sought to nullify in the Constitution - an all-powerful executive too reminiscent of the King from whom they had broken free. In the words of James Madison, "the accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."

Thomas Paine, whose pamphlet, "On Common Sense" ignited the American Revolution, succinctly described America's alternative. Here, he said, we intended to make certain that "the law is king."

Vigilant adherence to the rule of law strengthens our democracy and strengthens America. It ensures that those who govern us operate within our constitutional structure, which means that our democratic institutions play their indispensable role in shaping policy and determining the direction of our nation. It means that the people of this nation ultimately determine its course and not executive officials operating in secret without constraint.

The rule of law makes us stronger by ensuring that decisions will be tested, studied, reviewed and examined through the processes of government that are designed to improve policy. And the knowledge that they will be reviewed prevents over-reaching and checks the accretion of power.

A commitment to openness, truthfulness and accountability also helps our country avoid many serious mistakes. Recently, for example, we learned from recently classified declassified documents that the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which authorized the tragic Vietnam war, was actually based on false information. We now know that the decision by Congress to authorize the Iraq War, 38 years later, was also based on false information. America would have been better off knowing the truth and avoiding both of these colossal mistakes in our history. Following the rule of law makes us safer, not more vulnerable.

The President and I agree on one thing. The threat from terrorism is all too real. There is simply no question that we continue to face new challenges in the wake of the attack on September 11th and that we must be ever-vigilant in protecting our citizens from harm.

Where we disagree is that we have to break the law or sacrifice our system of government to protect Americans from terrorism. In fact, doing so makes us weaker and more vulnerable.

Once violated, the rule of law is in danger. Unless stopped, lawlessness grows. The greater the power of the executive grows, the more difficult it becomes for the other branches to perform their constitutional roles. As the executive acts outside its constitutionally prescribed role and is able to control access to information that would expose its actions, it becomes increasingly difficult for the other branches to police it. Once that ability is lost, democracy itself is threatened and we become a government of men and not laws.

The President's men have minced words about America's laws. The Attorney General openly conceded that the "kind of surveillance" we now know they have been conducting requires a court order unless authorized by statute. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act self-evidently does not authorize what the NSA has been doing, and no one inside or outside the Administration claims that it does. Incredibly, the Administration claims instead that the surveillance was implicitly authorized when Congress voted to use force against those who attacked us on September 11th.

This argument just does not hold any water. Without getting into the legal intricacies, it faces a number of embarrassing facts. First, another admission by the Attorney General: he concedes that the Administration knew that the NSA project was prohibited by existing law and that they consulted with some members of Congress about changing the statute. Gonzalez says that they were told this probably would not be possible. So how can they now argue that the Authorization for the Use of Military Force somehow implicitly authorized it all along? Second, when the Authorization was being debated, the Administration did in fact seek to have language inserted in it that would have authorized them to use military force domestically - and the Congress did not agree. Senator Ted Stevens and Representative Jim McGovern, among others, made statements during the Authorization debate clearly restating that that Authorization did not operate domestically.

When President Bush failed to convince Congress to give him all the power he wanted when they passed the AUMF, he secretly assumed that power anyway, as if congressional authorization was a useless bother. But as Justice Frankfurter once wrote: "To find authority so explicitly withheld is not merely to disregard in a particular instance the clear will of Congress. It is to disrespect the whole legislative process and the constitutional division of authority between President and Congress."

This is precisely the "disrespect" for the law that the Supreme Court struck down in the steel seizure case.

It is this same disrespect for America's Constitution which has now brought our republic to the brink of a dangerous breach in the fabric of the Constitution. And the disrespect embodied in these apparent mass violations of the law is part of a larger pattern of seeming indifference to the Constitution that is deeply troubling to millions of Americans in both political parties.

Continue reading "Because this is important..."

{ Tuesday, 10 January, 2006 }

"Judge Doom's" Application for Employment

I can't quote the whole thing here since it's an image file, but not surprisingly, ScAlito believes in "the legitimacy of a government role in protecting traditional values." That meaning, of course, that many pervert that gets the slightest wood over Brokeback Mountain ought to be rounded up and publicly shot, paying for the bullet beforehand. I kid mostly, but this kind of openly political statement (and others, read the app) deeply concern me. If the Preznit is so serious about not selecting activist judges, why did he pick Alito?

jaybird found this for you @ 12:00 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 20 December, 2005 }

Turn down the heat: Inuit sue US over climate policy

People living in the Arctic have filed a legal petition against the US government, saying its climate change policies violate human rights. The Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) claims the US is failing to control emissions of greenhouse gases, damaging livelihoods in the Arctic.

Its petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights demands that the US limits its emissions. Temperatures in the Arctic are rising at about twice the global average. The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, a vast scientific study which took four years to compile, found that the region will warm by four to seven degrees Celsius by the end of the century, with summer sea ice disappearing within 60 years.

jaybird found this for you @ 21:05 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 14 December, 2005 }

Peekaboo: Is the Pentagon spying on Americans?

“It means that they’re actually collecting information about who’s at those protests, the descriptions of vehicles at those protests,” says Arkin. “On the domestic level, this is unprecedented,” he says. “I think it's the beginning of enormous problems and enormous mischief for the military.”

Some former senior DOD intelligence officials share his concern. George Lotz, a 30-year career DOD official and former U.S. Air Force colonel, held the post of Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Oversight from 1998 until his retirement last May. Lotz, who recently began a consulting business to help train and educate intelligence agencies and improve oversight of their collection process, believes some of the information the DOD has been collecting is not justified.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:26 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Happy Place: Bush in the Bubble

Bush may be the most isolated president in modern history, at least since the late-stage Richard Nixon. It's not that he is a socially awkward loner or a paranoid. He can charm and joke like the frat president he was. Still, beneath a hail-fellow manner, Bush has a defensive edge, a don't-tread-on-me prickliness. It shows in Bush's humor. When Reagan told a joke, it almost never was about someone in the room. Reagan's jokes may have been scatological or politically incorrect, but they were inclusive, intended to make everyone join in the laughter. Often, Bush's joking is personal—it is aimed at you. The teasing can be flattering (the president gave me a nickname!), but it is intended, however so subtly, to put the listener on the defensive. It is a towel-snap that invites a retort. How many people dare to snap back at a president?

jaybird found this for you @ 08:14 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 30 November, 2005 }

Dubya, the Obvious: Costly Withdrawal Is the Price To Be Paid for a Foolish War

Maintaining an American security presence in the region, not to mention withdrawing forces from Iraq, will involve many complicated problems, military as well as political. Such an endeavor, one would hope, will be handled by a team different from — and more competent than — the one presently in charge of the White House and Pentagon.

For misleading the American people, and launching the most foolish war since Emperor Augustus in 9 B.C sent his legions into Germany and lost them, Bush deserves to be impeached and, once he has been removed from office, put on trial along with the rest of the president's men. If convicted, they'll have plenty of time to mull over their sins [via metafilter]

jaybird found this for you @ 08:11 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 29 November, 2005 }

Hersh: Where is the Iraq war headed next?

Bush’s closest advisers have long been aware of the religious nature of his policy commitments. In recent interviews, one former senior official, who served in Bush’s first term, spoke extensively about the connection between the President’s religious faith and his view of the war in Iraq. After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the former official said, he was told that Bush felt that “God put me here” to deal with the war on terror. The President’s belief was fortified by the Republican sweep in the 2002 congressional elections; Bush saw the victory as a purposeful message from God that “he’s the man,” the former official said. Publicly, Bush depicted his reëlection as a referendum on the war; privately, he spoke of it as another manifestation of divine purpose.

The former senior official said that after the election he made a lengthy inspection visit to Iraq and reported his findings to Bush in the White House: “I said to the President, ‘We’re not winning the war.’ And he asked, ‘Are we losing?’ I said, ‘Not yet.’ ” The President, he said, “appeared displeased” with that answer.

“I tried to tell him,” the former senior official said. “And he couldn’t hear it.”

jaybird found this for you @ 16:32 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Tsunami Remembered: The Day the Sea Came

For the earth, it was just a twinge. Last Dec. 26, at 7:59 a.m., one part of the planet's undersea crust made an abrupt shift beneath another along a 750-mile seam near the island of Sumatra. The tectonic plates had been grating against each other for millenniums, and now the higher of the two was lifted perhaps 60 feet. For a planet where landmasses are in constant motion across geological time, the event was of no great moment. But for people - who mark the calendar in days and months rather than eons - a monumental catastrophe had begun, not only the largest earthquake in 40 years but also the displacement of billions of tons of water, unleashing a series of mammoth waves: a tsunami. These surging mounds of water raced toward land with the speed of a jet aircraft and then slowed as they reared up to leap ashore at heights of 50 feet and higher. They were long as well as tall, stampeding inland and carrying with them all they were destroying. People caught in the waves became small ingredients in an enormous blender, bludgeoned by concrete slabs and felled trees, stabbed by jagged sheets of glass, tangled up in manacles of wire.

The number of the dead and missing is now estimated at 232,000. And while this includes victims from a dozen nations, more than two-thirds - some 169,000 - came from a single place, the Indonesian province of Aceh. And of Aceh's mortal toll, more than half - some 90,000 - came from a single city, Banda Aceh, and its immediate surroundings. This provincial capital was a place of large government buildings, two major universities, a historic mosque, stores and restaurants, a harbor and a fishing fleet. It sits in the northwest nub of Sumatra, where converging sea lanes from the Malay Peninsula, India and Arabia once sustained a flourishing trade in aromatic spices. The location, for centuries so favorable, was a mere 155 miles from the earthquake's epicenter. Banda Aceh was swamped by the tsunami within 30 minutes of the tremor.

The devastation left its own peculiar boundaries. Roughly a third of the city - the two miles nearest the Indian Ocean - was flattened and denuded, with only an occasional tree or shank of cement escaping the sledgehammer strength of the waves. A mile or so farther inland, the destruction was more erratic, its effects less a consequence of battering than of flooding. The rest of the city entirely evaded the water's horrific reach; hours went by before some of its residents even knew the day was anything other than sunny and serene...

That morning, as usual, Jaloe, who was 46, was out the door soon after sunup. His wife, Yusnidar, and their three children, Mukhlis, 15, Mutia, 14, and Azarul, 5, were left at home. Their rented wooden shack - just a 12-by-12-foot space diced into three tiny rooms - was but 50 yards from the Aceh River, near where it meets the sea. Jaloe carried breakfast with him - coffee as well as a bar of sticky rice sweetened with coconut milk and packed in banana leaf. In an hour, he was four miles off the coast, within sight of the tree-covered Breueh Islands. The water was remarkably tranquil. Barely a bird arced across the deep blue sky...

jaybird found this for you @ 12:29 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 21 November, 2005 }

Double Header: Bush's secret cronies & Bush's secret PR

From Cronies:

No discussion of cronyism in the Bush administration would be complete without talking about PFIAB, short for the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. George W. Bush's latest appointments to the PFIAB, which advises the president on how various intelligence agencies are performing, represent a who's who of the Halliburton-Texas Rangers-oil business crony club that made Bush into a millionaire and helped propel him into the White House.

From PR:

It was damning stuff -- just the kind of evidence the Bush administration was looking for. If the charges were true, they would offer the White House a compelling reason to invade Iraq and depose Saddam. That's why the Pentagon had flown a CIA polygraph expert to Pattaya: to question al-Haideri and confirm, once and for all, that Saddam was secretly stockpiling weapons of mass destruction.

There was only one problem: It was all a lie. After a review of the sharp peaks and deep valleys on the polygraph chart, the intelligence officer concluded that al-Haideri had made up the entire story, apparently in the hopes of securing a visa.

The fabrication might have ended there, the tale of another political refugee trying to scheme his way to a better life. But just because the story wasn't true didn't mean it couldn't be put to good use. Al-Haideri, in fact, was the product of a clandestine operation -- part espionage, part PR campaign -- that had been set up and funded by the CIA and the Pentagon for the express purpose of selling the world a war. And the man who had long been in charge of the marketing was a secretive and mysterious creature of the Washington establishment named John Rendon.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:27 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 16 November, 2005 }

Revision Thing: A history of the Iraq war, told entirely in lies

We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories. And we found more weapons as time went on. I never believed that we'd just tumble over weapons of mass destruction in that country. But for those who said we hadn't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they were wrong, we found them. We knew where they were.

We changed the regime of Iraq for the good of the Iraqi people. We didn't want to occupy Iraq. War is a terrible thing. We've tried every other means to achieve objectives without a war because we understood what the price of a war can be and what it is. We sought peace. We strove for peace. Nobody, but nobody, was more reluctant to go to war than President Bush.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:30 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 15 November, 2005 }

Secret Scrutiny: In Hunt for Terrorists, FBI Examines Records of Ordinary Americans

The FBI came calling in Windsor, Conn., this summer with a document marked for delivery by hand. On Matianuk Avenue, across from the tennis courts, two special agents found their man. They gave George Christian the letter, which warned him to tell no one, ever, what it said.

Under the shield and stars of the FBI crest, the letter directed Christian to surrender "all subscriber information, billing information and access logs of any person" who used a specific computer at a library branch some distance away. Christian, who manages digital records for three dozen Connecticut libraries, said in an affidavit that he configures his system for privacy. But the vendors of the software he operates said their databases can reveal the Web sites that visitors browse, the e-mail accounts they open and the books they borrow.

Christian refused to hand over those records, and his employer, Library Connection Inc., filed suit for the right to protest the FBI demand in public. The Washington Post established their identities -- still under seal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit -- by comparing unsealed portions of the file with public records and information gleaned from people who had no knowledge of the FBI demand.

The Connecticut case affords a rare glimpse of an exponentially growing practice of domestic surveillance under the USA Patriot Act, which marked its fourth anniversary on Oct. 26. "National security letters," created in the 1970s for espionage and terrorism investigations, originated as narrow exceptions in consumer privacy law, enabling the FBI to review in secret the customer records of suspected foreign agents. The Patriot Act, and Bush administration guidelines for its use, transformed those letters by permitting clandestine scrutiny of U.S. residents and visitors who are not alleged to be terrorists or spies.

The FBI now issues more than 30,000 national security letters a year, according to government sources, a hundredfold increase over historic norms. The letters -- one of which can be used to sweep up the records of many people -- are extending the bureau's reach as never before into the telephone calls, correspondence and financial lives of ordinary Americans.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:10 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 10 November, 2005 }

Comprehensive: Who Is Lying About Iraq?

Among the many distortions, misrepresentations, and outright falsifications that have emerged from the debate over Iraq, one in particular stands out above all others. This is the charge that George W. Bush misled us into an immoral and/or unnecessary war in Iraq by telling a series of lies that have now been definitively exposed.

What makes this charge so special is the amazing success it has enjoyed in getting itself established as a self-evident truth even though it has been refuted and discredited over and over again by evidence and argument alike. In this it resembles nothing so much as those animated cartoon characters who, after being flattened, blown up, or pushed over a cliff, always spring back to life with their bodies perfectly intact. Perhaps, like those cartoon characters, this allegation simply cannot be killed off, no matter what.

Nevertheless, I want to take one more shot at exposing it for the lie that it itself really is. Although doing so will require going over ground that I and many others have covered before, I hope that revisiting this well-trodden terrain may also serve to refresh memories that have grown dim, to clarify thoughts that have grown confused, and to revive outrage that has grown commensurately dulled. [via metafilter]

jaybird found this for you @ 16:50 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 09 November, 2005 }

Spreading Freedom: US forces used chemical weapons during assault on Fallujah

Powerful new evidence emerged yesterday that the United States dropped massive quantities of white phosphorus on the Iraqi city of Fallujah during the attack on the city in November 2004, killing insurgents and civilians with the appalling burns that are the signature of this weapon.

Ever since the assault, which went unreported by any Western journalists, rumours have swirled that the Americans used chemical weapons on the city.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:41 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 04 November, 2005 }

Illegitimate governemnt notices itself, winces

As a legal noose appears to be tightening around the Bush/Cheney/Rove inner circle, a shocking government report shows the floor under the legitimacy of their alleged election to the White House is crumbling.

The latest critical confirmation of key indicators that the election of 2004 was stolen comes in an extremely powerful, penetrating report from the Government Accountability Office that has gotten virtually no mainstream media coverage.

The government's lead investigative agency is known for its general incorruptibility and its thorough, in-depth analyses. Its concurrence with assertions widely dismissed as "conspiracy theories" adds crucial new weight to the case that Team Bush has no legitimate business being in the White House.

Nearly a year ago, senior Judiciary Committee Democrat John Conyers (D-MI) asked the GAO to investigate electronic voting machines as they were used during the November 2, 2004 presidential election. The request came amidst widespread complaints in Ohio and elsewhere that often shocking irregularities defined their performance.

According to CNN, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee received "more than 57,000 complaints" following Bush's alleged re-election. Many such concerns were memorialized under oath in a series of sworn statements and affidavits in public hearings and investigations conducted in Ohio by the Free Press and other election protection organizations.

The non-partisan GAO report has now found that, "some of [the] concerns about electronic voting machines have been realized and have caused problems with recent elections, resulting in the loss and miscount of votes."

jaybird found this for you @ 08:18 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 03 November, 2005 }

Raging Chimp: Bush's Increasing Mental Lapses and Temper Tantrums

Senior aides describe Bush as increasingly “edgy” or “nervous” or “unfocused.” They say the President goes from apparent coherent thought one moment to aimless rambles about political enemies and those who are “out to get me.”

“It’s worse than the days when Ronald Reagan’s Alzheimer’s began setting in,” one longtime GOP operative told me privately this week. “You don’t know if he’s going to be coherent from one moment to the next. What scares me is if he lapses into one of those fogs during a public appearance.”

Aides say Bush, who has always had trouble focusing during times of stress, is increasingly distant during meetings, often staring off into space during discussions on the nation’s security and other issues.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:07 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 01 November, 2005 }

Noonan: A Separate Peace

I think there is an unspoken subtext in our national political culture right now. In fact I think it's a subtext to our society. I think that a lot of people are carrying around in their heads, unarticulated and even in some cases unnoticed, a sense that the wheels are coming off the trolley and the trolley off the tracks. That in some deep and fundamental way things have broken down and can't be fixed, or won't be fixed any time soon. That our pollsters are preoccupied with "right track" and "wrong track" but missing the number of people who think the answer to "How are things going in America?" is "Off the tracks and hurtling forward, toward an unknown destination."

I'm not talking about "Plamegate..." I'm not talking about "Miers." I mean . . . the whole ball of wax. Everything. Cloning, nuts with nukes, epidemics; the growing knowledge that there's no such thing as homeland security; the fact that we're leaving our kids with a bill no one can pay. A sense of unreality in our courts so deep that they think they can seize grandma's house to build a strip mall; our media institutions imploding--the spectacle of a great American newspaper, the New York Times, hurtling off its own tracks, as did CBS. The fear of parents that their children will wind up disturbed, and their souls actually imperiled, by the popular culture in which we are raising them. Senators who seem owned by someone, actually owned, by an interest group or a financial entity. Great churches that have lost all sense of mission, and all authority. Do you have confidence in the CIA? The FBI? I didn't think so.

But this recounting doesn't quite get me to what I mean. I mean I believe there's a general and amorphous sense that things are broken and tough history is coming.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:24 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 28 October, 2005 }

Merry Fitzmas!

It's only the stocking stuffer!

jaybird found this for you @ 13:06 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 25 October, 2005 }

Merry Fitzmas:Dick in the know

I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, first learned about the C.I.A. officer at the heart of the leak investigation in a conversation with Mr. Cheney weeks before her identity became public in 2003, lawyers involved in the case said Monday.

Notes of the previously undisclosed conversation between Mr. Libby and Mr. Cheney on June 12, 2003, appear to differ from Mr. Libby's testimony to a federal grand jury that he initially learned about the C.I.A. officer, Valerie Wilson, from journalists, the lawyers said.

The notes, taken by Mr. Libby during the conversation, for the first time place Mr. Cheney in the middle of an effort by the White House to learn about Ms. Wilson's husband, Joseph C. Wilson IV, who was questioning the administration's handling of intelligence about Iraq's nuclear program to justify the war.

Lawyers involved in the case, who described the notes to The New York Times, said they showed that Mr. Cheney knew that Ms. Wilson worked at the C.I.A. more than a month before her identity was made public and her undercover status was disclosed in a syndicated column by Robert D. Novak on July 14, 2003.

Mr. Libby's notes indicate that Mr. Cheney had gotten his information about Ms. Wilson from George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence, in response to questions from the vice president about Mr. Wilson. But they contain no suggestion that either Mr. Cheney or Mr. Libby knew at the time of Ms. Wilson's undercover status or that her identity was classified. Disclosing a covert agent's identity can be a crime, but only if the person who discloses it knows the agent's undercover status.

More here, here, and here.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:11 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Rosa Parks

Rest in Peace.

jaybird found this for you @ 09:06 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 14 October, 2005 }

Gone Tomorrow: Anticipated disappearance

Albert Einstein claimed he never thought of the future. “It comes soon enough,” he said. FOREIGN POLICY decided to not grant 16 leading thinkers that luxury. Instead, to mark our 35th anniversary, we asked them to speculate on the ideas, values, and institutions the world takes for granted that may disappear in the next 35 years. Their answers range from fields as diverse as morals and religion to geopolitics and technology. We may be happy to see some of these “endangered species” make an exit, but others will be mourned. All of them will leave a mark. [via ?]

jaybird found this for you @ 16:26 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 12 October, 2005 }

The Body Language of Bush

The fidgeting clearly corresponded to the questioning. When Lauer asked if Bush, after a slow response to Katrina, was "trying to get a second chance to make a good first impression," Bush blinked 24 times in his answer. When asked why Gulf Coast residents would have to pay back funds but Iraqis would not, Bush blinked 23 times and hitched his trousers up by the belt.

When the questioning turned to Miers, Bush blinked 37 times in a single answer -- along with a lick of the lips, three weight shifts and some serious foot jiggling. Laura Bush, by contrast, delivered only three blinks and stood still through her entire answer about encouraging volunteerism.

jaybird found this for you @ 21:21 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 07 October, 2005 }

The Administration's Swagger

In an increasingly hazardous world teetering on increasingly dangerous technology in the control of a most dangerous and unstable nation, a nation that has returned US to the morality of the Dark Ages and its justice based upon torture, invasion and mass murder, a nation controlled by the satanic cult-driven motive of world domination and control via the enslavement of all people, a robust, inquiring press that informs the American people as opposed to pimping for its dangerous politicians is what is really needed.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:11 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Gore: the strangeness of our public discourse

I came here today because I believe that American democracy is in grave danger. It is no longer possible to ignore the strangeness of our public discourse . I know that I am not the only one who feels that something has gone basically and badly wrong in the way America's fabled "marketplace of ideas" now functions.

How many of you, I wonder, have heard a friend or a family member in the last few years remark that it's almost as if America has entered "an alternate universe"?

I thought maybe it was an aberration when three-quarters of Americans said they believed that Saddam Hussein was responsible for attacking us on September 11, 2001. But more than four years later, between a third and a half still believe Saddam was personally responsible for planning and supporting the attack.

At first I thought the exhaustive, non-stop coverage of the O.J. trial was just an unfortunate excess that marked an unwelcome departure from the normal good sense and judgment of our television news media. But now we know that it was merely an early example of a new pattern of serial obsessions that periodically take over the airwaves for weeks at a time.

Are we still routinely torturing helpless prisoners, and if so, does it feel right that we as American citizens are not outraged by the practice? And does it feel right to have no ongoing discussion of whether or not this abhorrent, medieval behavior is being carried out in the name of the American people? If the gap between rich and poor is widening steadily and economic stress is mounting for low-income families, why do we seem increasingly apathetic and lethargic in our role as citizens?

jaybird found this for you @ 08:07 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 26 September, 2005 }

Letter from Louisiana: High Water

Kalamu ya Salaam told me that he thought the suffering was far from over. Hurricane Rita has made recovery even more difficult. For the moment, people are focussed on the grace of their own survival, and are grateful for the small and large acts of compassion that have come their way. And yet, he said, “you are going to see a lot of suicides this winter. A lot of poor people depend entirely on their extended family and their friends who share their condition to be a buffer against the pain of that condition. By winter, a lot of the generosity and aid that’s been so palpable lately will begin to slow down and the reality of not going home again will hit people hard. They will be very alone.

“People forget how important all those Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs are for people. It’s a community for a lot of folks who have nothing. Some people have never left New Orleans. Some have never seen snow. So you wake up and you find yourself beyond the reach of friends, beyond the reach of members of your family, and you are working in a fast-food restaurant in Utah somewhere and there is no conceivable way for you to get back to the city you love. How are you going to feel?”

jaybird found this for you @ 08:02 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 22 September, 2005 }

Typical of this Gov't: National Archives Indian Records Discarded

Federal officials are investigating how National Archives documents of interest to Indians suing the Interior Department were found discarded in a trash bin and a wastebasket. The discovery came to light on Sept. 1, when Archives staff noticed federal records in one of the trash bins behind the National Archives Building near the Capitol. They notified the Archives' inspector general, Paul Brachfeld, whose staff recovered the documents. They found at least a portion of the documents were Bureau of Indian Affairs records dating to the 1950s... in a letter last week to an Interior Department official.

Brachfeld's office began investigating, and ``what appear to be Indian records were discovered in a waste basket in the stack areas at Main Archives,'' Baron wrote. Taken together, the two dumping incidents ``may be intentional acts aimed at unlawfully removing or disposing of permanent records from the Interior Department,'' he wrote.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:52 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 21 September, 2005 }

Oral Histories of Katrina Survivors

Babies were floating on a mattress, and the baby fell off the mattress. And nobody couldn’t find him., and they had a bunch of men trying help find him. I come up with the baby. It feels good, you know, to save lives, because I have seen people get killed and die, but I have not seen that many people at one time. What I went through, I never thought I feel the way I feel about life. Living, you know, is beautiful, and God sent us to a place that we never been.

I even saved a dog. That’s how intimate this thing wa. It was intense, it was scary, it was a situation you’ll never forget. I heard the dog screaming. The dog was trapped in the twines where a tree had fallen. He was standing up on his hind legs trying to keep his head above water. He was trembling. But the dog was real friendly to me. He must have known I was the onliest person going to save him. I held him in my arms and brought him to this porch.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:02 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Frank Rich on Bush: I Care About the Black Folks

Taking responsibility, as opposed to paying lip service to doing so, is not in this administration's gene pool. It was particularly shameful that Laura Bush was sent among the storm's dispossessed to try to scapegoat the news media for her husband's ineptitude. When she complained of seeing "a lot of the same footage over and over that isn't necessarily representative of what really happened," the first lady sounded just like Donald Rumsfeld shirking responsibility for the looting of Baghdad. The defense secretary, too, griped about seeing the same picture "over and over" on television (a looter with a vase) to hide the reality that the Pentagon had no plan to secure Iraq, a catastrophic failure being paid for in Iraqi and American blood to this day.

This White House doesn't hate all pictures, of course. It loves those by Karl Rove's Imagineers, from the spectacularly lighted Statue of Liberty backdrop of Mr. Bush's first 9/11 anniversary speech to his "Top Gun" stunt to Thursday's laughably stagy stride across the lawn to his lectern in Jackson Square. (Message: I am a leader, not that vacationing slacker who first surveyed the hurricane damage from my presidential jet.)

The most odious image-mongering, however, has been Mr. Bush's repeated deployment of African-Americans as dress extras to advertise his "compassion." In 2000, the Republican convention filled the stage with break dancers and gospel singers, trying to dispel the memory of Mr. Bush's craven appearance at Bob Jones University when it forbade interracial dating. (The few blacks in the convention hall itself were positioned near celebrities so they'd show up in TV shots.) In 2004, the Bush-Cheney campaign Web site had a page titled "Compassion" devoted mainly to photos of the president with black people, Colin Powell included.

Some of these poses are re-enacted in the "Hurricane Relief" photo gallery currently on display on the White House Web site. But this time the old magic isn't working. The "compassion" photos are outweighed by the cinéma vérité of poor people screaming for their lives. The government effort to keep body recovery efforts in New Orleans as invisible as the coffins from Iraq was abandoned when challenged in court by CNN.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:52 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 19 September, 2005 }

Lest we forget: Katrina Day 21

We do remember that NOLA is where are cameras are. My thoughts go to all those places where the cameras aren't, and to my good friend Jen Wo who is in Gulfport, Mississippi right now volunteering for the Red Cross.

Bogalusa, Louisiana: Far from spotlight, deep in plight

What hasn't been said

Even big media noticed it: I am duty-bound to report the talk of the New Orleans warehouse district last night: there was rejoicing (well, there would have been without the curfew, but the few people I saw on the streets were excited) when the power came back on for blocks on end. Kevin Tibbles was positively jubilant on the live update edition of Nightly News that we fed to the West Coast. The mini-mart, long ago cleaned out by looters, was nonetheless bathed in light, including the empty, roped-off gas pumps. The motorcade route through the district was partially lit no more than 30 minutes before POTUS drove through. And yet last night, no more than an hour after the President departed, the lights went out. The entire area was plunged into total darkness again, to audible groans. It's enough to make some of the folks here who witnessed it... jump to certain conclusions.

FEMA, Slow to the Rescue, Now Stumbles in Aid Effort

The City We All Love (and pray is not lost forever).

Katrina through the eyes of the world press: “How America now responds to their desperate plight will tell the wider world much about what Americans really value.”

As New Orleans Drowned, Chertoff Was Focused On Avian Flu and Immigration

Karl Rove in charge of rebuilding effort?

Firms with White House ties get Katrina contracts

Of failures and unfairness

The few people left in New Orleans are unimpressed with President Bush's visit: The site of Bush's speech was notably antiseptic and isolated, given the mayhem all along the Gulf coast. Fallen trees had been cut down, and scores of bags of leaves and branches were piled outside the 154-year-old, cast-iron fence that surrounds the square. The government brought in a truck-mounted generator, and Hollywood-style lighting. In the afternoon, fresh liners were put in trash cans. By dusk, soldiers from the 82nd Airborne had been deployed to keep regular citizens several blocks back.

After Blocking the Bridge, Gretna Circles the Wagons...

More surely to come

We must remember, and rebuild.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:48 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 16 September, 2005 }

Louisiana Took Necessary and Timely Steps

Conyers: "This report closes the book on the Bush Administration's attempts to evade accountability by shifting the blame to the Governor of Louisiana for the Administration's tragically sluggish response to Katrina. It confirms that the Governor did everything she could to secure relief for the people of Louisiana and the Bush Administration was caught napping at a critical time."

jaybird found this for you @ 08:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 15 September, 2005 }

Surprise: Louisiana officials did everything right

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report Tuesday afternoon asserting that Louisiana governor Katherine Blanco took the necessary and timely steps needed to secure disaster relief from the federal government...

jaybird found this for you @ 12:10 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 14 September, 2005 }

Dionne: End of the Bush Era

The Bush Era is over. The sooner politicians in both parties realize that, the better for them -- and the country.

Recent months, and especially the past two weeks, have brought home to a steadily growing majority of Americans the truth that President Bush's government doesn't work. His policies are failing, his approach to leadership is detached and self-indulgent, his way of politics has produced a divided, angry and dysfunctional public square. We dare not go on like this...

The breaking of the Bush spell opens the way for leaders of both parties to declare their independence from the recent past. It gives forces outside the White House the opportunity to shape a more appropriate national agenda -- for competence and innovation in rebuilding the Katrina region and for new approaches to the problems created over the past 4 1/2 years.

The federal budget, already a mess before Katrina, is now a laughable document. Those who call for yet more tax cuts risk sounding like robots droning automated talking points programmed inside them long ago. Katrina has forced the issue of deep poverty back onto the national agenda after a long absence. Finding a way forward in -- and eventually out of -- Iraq will require creativity from those not implicated in the administration's mistakes. And if ever the phrase "reinventing government" had relevance, it is now that we have observed the performance of a government that allows political hacks to push aside the professionals.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Roberts: The princess and the frog

Bufo... was menaced by big guys. In his case, the big guy was a San Diego developer who wanted to get his hands on the soil from Bufo's breeding ground. This would have been the end of Bufo and all his kind. The US Fish and Wildlife Service - Bufo's bodyguards if you will - stopped the developer. So the developer went to court. A three-judge panel in California ruled for Bufo and against the builder. For their authority, they relied on that commerce clause.

Step forward Judge Roberts - that pivotal nominee for the Supreme Court. Everyone has been trawling through his record to see how he might tip the balance of the Court. A response of his to Bufo gives us the best clue so far. Writing a commentary, Roberts was critical of those three judges who rescued Bufo from extinction. Bufo, he said, ought not to have been protected by the interstate commerce clause, because "he is a hapless toad that for reasons of its own lives its entire life in California."

jaybird found this for you @ 12:28 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 13 September, 2005 }

Nero revealed

Amid a slew of stories this weekend about the embattled presidency and the blundering government response to the drowning of New Orleans, some journalists who are long-time observers of the White House are suddenly sharing scathing observations about President Bush that may be new to many of their readers.

Is Bush the commanding, decisive, jovial president you've been hearing about for years in so much of the mainstream press?

Maybe not so much.

Judging from... blistering analyses... it turns out that Bush is in fact fidgety, cold and snappish in private. He yells at those who dare give him bad news and is therefore not surprisingly surrounded by an echo chamber of terrified sycophants. He is slow to comprehend concepts that don't emerge from his gut. He is uncomprehending of the speeches that he is given to read. And oh yes, one of his most significant legacies -- the immense post-Sept. 11 reorganization of the federal government which created the Homeland Security Department -- has failed a big test.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:32 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 12 September, 2005 }

Total Information Awareness - Katrina Day 14

Two weeks now, and the scope of the disaster and its disastrous response widens and become even more sad as time goes by. American citizens are living in 'camps' where few can enter or leave, environmental collapse threatens the Delta, and the criminal negligence of the government becomes more apparent. But, there is the goodness of humanity emerging, and like any American morning, people are slowly waking up to the gravity of this nation-shattering event. On a personal note, my dear friend and colleague Jen Wo leaves today to be a Red Cross volunteer in Alabama. You go girl. Bring them hope.

Destruction is manifold: major oil spills, lost islands, industrial collapse.

Med student's report from inside the Astrodome: "You will never know what happened in that city during the flood."

The GAO to investigate contracts to rebuild offered to ethically challenged corps in an ethically challenging manner.

A scorcher: How Bush Blew It (Newsweek): "How this could be—how the president of the United States could have even less "situational awareness," as they say in the military, than the average American about the worst natural disaster in a century—is one of the more perplexing and troubling chapters in a story that, despite moments of heroism and acts of great generosity, ranks as a national disgrace."

German plane carrying Katrina aid turned back

Some towns completely wiped off the map

Cover-up: toxic waters 'will make New Orleans unsafe for a decade...' "He said the water being pumped out of the city was not being tested for pollution and would damage Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi river, and endanger people using it downstream."

Maureen Dowd stings: "Getting truth on the ground in New Orleans was very difficult," a White House aide told The Times's Elisabeth Bumiller. Not if you had a TV.

Head of National Guard: Guard stretched too thin by Iraq, hampering Katrina recovery.

Texas Gov and Bush crony Perry seems to believe that Jehova the thunder god brought Katrina in to punish the gays. Primitive!

NIMBY callousness: Police in Suburbs Blocked Evacuees, blockaded key bridges out.

On-the-scene report from a rescuer

The polluted water, a looming ecological crisis

...Karl Rove, the White House political chief, said the president did not go into the heart of New Orleans and meet with black victims on his first trip there, last Friday, because he knew that White House officials were "scared to death" of the reaction.

A Letter to All Who Voted for George W. Bush from Michael Moore: "Hurricane Katrina came in and blew off the facade that we were a nation with liberty and justice for all. The wind howled and the water rose and what was revealed was that the poor in America shall be left to suffer and die while the President of the United States fiddles and tells them to eat cake."

We must remember, and for the sake of justice, we must rebuild.
Godspeed Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Sources include Kos, Sploid, Metafilter, Huffington Post and the randomness of the internet.

jaybird found this for you @ 10:40 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 09 September, 2005 }

Katrina Outrage Quickie

Sweet! Gov't finally realized that Mike Brown is an idiot.

Police State: Locked out of the Astrodome.

Report: I just got back from a FEMA detainment camp.

A dismal report from an EPA agent.

jaybird found this for you @ 14:16 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Total Information Awareness - Katrina Day 11

I'm not getting off the bus until we know where we're going...

In the Crescent City, there are other fears: "At the very least, there are two Level-3 biolabs in New Orleans and a cluster of three in nearby Covington. They have been working with anthrax, mousepox, HIV, plague, etc. There are surely other labs in the city."

In Bush's emergency declaration before the storm, no southern parishes were covered by the declaration, contrary to where we knew the storm would hit. Weather Channel, Dubya?

Evacuees: Welcome to the Rockies, now get behind the fence! "The signs on the buildings say "Community College of Aurora," though for now they're serving as an impromptu Camp Katrina. About 160 hurricane survivors are being housed in the dorms, surrounded by fences, roadblocks, security guards and enough armed police officers to invade Grenada."

Reporter's book predicts disaster months before: "If I, a reporter in Little Rock, with nothing more than Internet access, a car and a telephone, could predict, almost hour-by-hour, the horror that Katrina would unleash, what were [the] cronies at Homeland Security doing with all the assets at their disposal and nearly $40 billion in funding?"

3.7 million gallons contribute to ecological mayhem: Oil spillages threaten Gulf of Mexico

Even Mike Brown's resume is fudged.

Mississippi Burning: hiding the devastation to score political points.

Series of first person reports from grad student inside Supoerdome: 1, 2, 3.

Even Colin Powell sees federal failure in the response.

Cindy Sheehan on the road to distribute relief to poor areas out of the spotlight.

Laura Bush does not know what the name of the storm was. Corrina?

LEVITY: 93 year old woman held off looters with a tight grip on the cajones.

Transcript of Daily Show exchange on Kos about sums it up:

Jon Stewart: The president has vowed to personally lead the investigation into the government's failed response to Katrina? Isn't that a job perhaps someone else should be doing? Samantha Bee: No, not at all, Jon. To truly find out what went wrong, it's important for an investigator to have a little distance from the situation. And it's hard to get any more distant from it than the president was last week.

.

Also, I'd like to thank Daisy Wififred from Animated Stardust for this encouragement:

Thank you for the work you have been doing in getting info out to people like me so far away but whose heart is very close to the abandoned and struggling many on your side of the pond. The BBC has kept us very well informed and I suspect the public here knows rather more than many of those in the States as I suspect even as some of your news people broke lose of the 'chains' midst the horrer thay were being asked to report on the leash will almost certainly be being tugged again now and misinformation and disinformation will begin to take the upper hand if people like you do not continue to bring in to the light the reality, the truth for so many lives and for so many deaths caused not just by a president and his men but by a society that got all wrapped up in a dream that many have woken to find nightmare. For all the cracks and mismanagement here as far as health, social services, education, infrastructure etc are concerned, and they are systems run by human beings so of course there are failings, in time of real need from the poorest to the richest are remembered and as a society we have not lost the understanding that taxes feed, educate, care and house us all even when there are some that are rich enough to provide that for themselves they understand that if the whole community is not endeavoured to be given the same opportunity the rich might as well be living in cardboard boxes for it is true no man is an island.

Sorry Jay, have gone on, am just so appalled that it might take the death of 1,000's of people for others left alive to question where their society has taken them and I fear that excuses, comfort zones etc will make memories and questioning very short and sense that a collapse of a nation is nearer than anyone would wish.

Thank you again for your work and for your continuing challenging and thoughtful blog...

.

I have spent an insane amount of time gathering and sorting through all this info, at the expense at times of my sanity. But from this information, my hope is more and more humanity, and more and more global sanity.

For their sake, we must remember, and rebuild.

Sources include Metafilter, Kos, Sploid, Eschaton, AmericaBlog, Crooks and Liars, and Talking Point Memo..

jaybird found this for you @ 11:46 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 08 September, 2005 }

Total Information Awareness - Katrina Day 10

Here's another burst...

MUST SEE: Famed N.O. musician Charmaine Neville details life in the aftermath. "What Charmaine describes is beyond what anyone should go through. In America her story makes it ever worse to believe such events could happen. This video will and should being you to tears..."[embedded real]

Here's the federal disaster plan that DHS and FEMA completely ignored [.pdf].

Stunning photos of the aftermath.

We must get them out: Astrodome unsafe, inhumane.

Low-Power FM station has license and ability to operate in Astrodome to help evacuees, but the gov't won't let them set up shop.

Standing floodwater major ecological, biological threat. It's 10x over the toxic load limit, and rising.

New Orleans Aquarium, which I visited a few years ago, is devastated, but a few critically important creatures have been saved. The Zoo, which I saw on the same trip, fared much better.

Pat Robertson is swimmin' in it: "Operation Blessing" a bane.

The Post-Katrina Era; Katrina's tragic consequences were not just due to incompetence, natural disaster, or Bush policies (though he is accountable). This is a failure of moral and political philosophy.

Ivins: A flood of bad policies.

Soloman: Ending the impunity of the Bush White House.

Speak up, Gov'nor: Race played a role in Katrina deaths.

Hurricane Katrina has shredded what was left of the Bush Administration's credibility. Now we watch the slow train wreck of America.

America Implodes: The devastation of Katrina demonstrates that we have come to the end of the tether. The American people have wasted so many resources on comfort, ego, and war that they can no longer afford basic protection against disaster.

The Principles of Reconstruction: "Take the opportunity to design and build the most efficient and secure and environmentally sound transportation, port, oil and gas, business and residential communities in the world."

The ballyhoo over martial law.

Former Deputy Sec'y of the Treasury: Americans are being brainwashed.

For their sake, and for the sake of their children,
we must remember, and rebuild.

Sources include Kos, Americablog, ThinkProgress, Metafilter, Sploid, and Intervention.

jaybird found this for you @ 09:19 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 07 September, 2005 }

Outrage A-Go-Go

Apologists and naysayers are trying to make a dent in the zeitgeist today, but the momentum seems to lie with those of us, from the left, right, neutral and previously apathetic, are keeping up the tidal wave of cries for accountability. The logic of those glad to make excuses for the Worst Preseident Ever is fairly simple to deconstruct. Sure, many of those in State government probably made a few mistakes, but not at the collosal level that helped to drown an entire city... it comes down to levee funding, and appointing completely inexperienced people by way of patronage to fill positions vital to national security. The accountability trail stops at the Oval Office door.

Here's a few new developments:

Pelosi on fire: She related that she had urged Bush at the White House on Tuesday to fire Michael Brown. "He said 'Why would I do that?'" Pelosi said. "'I said because of all that went wrong, of all that didn't go right last week.' And he said 'What didn't go right?'" "Oblivious, in denial, dangerous," she added.

FEMA fiddles dangerously with freedom of the press.

HRC grows some, seeks investigation.

Fake premise used to hike gas prices.

Tom DeLay halts Congressional hearings. 'Nuff said.

FEMA can't cope with biohazards.

Camping: FEMA camps for evacuees far from helping people to feel at home and comfortable after losing everything. Same goes in Colorado.

Sorting out opinion from fact.

Billmon: The Problem Solving Presdient.

New laws make life harder for evacuees.

Conyers calls for investigation from Congressional research agency.

BBC rescues the stranded where the US Government fails.


Never surrender.





Image from Kos, stories from Kos, Sploid, Rawstory, Billmon, AmericaBlog.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:48 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Total Information Awareness - Katrina Day 9

Regular blogging on my relatively regular schuedule will resume soon, but for now, all attention needs to go to this. We can't let the fuckers get away. So, no rest for those in their blazing desire to expose the wicked:

Comprehensive timelines here and here.

Experienced and professional personnel wanting to volunteer are given "promotional" duties for feds. Handling out flyers, or being photo-op props.

FEMA wankers waited hours before asking DHS "What should we do, boss?"

College kids make it down to help where Feds fear to tread. Their synopsis: "Disgraceful."

Feds had received briefings about Katrina's full potential before landfall. More context.

"Top FEMA deputies make Brown look qualified."

Disgusting politics being played with relief funds: Repub politicos poised to get relief first.

What the Katrina, Rehnquist, and Intelligent Design stories have in common

Broussard: "I'm asking Congress, please investigate this now. Take whatever idiot they have at the top of whatever agency and give me a better idiot. Give me a caring idiot. Give me a sensitive idiot. Just don't give me the same idiot."

Controversial: The Attempt to Declare Martial Law in Big Easy. The basis of the article is this WaPo article I posted yesterday. The thrust is whether federalizing N.O. would've enabled the feds to cover up. MeFi is on the case, and I'm mighty curious.

BBC: Has Katrina saved US media? "Mr Bush's famed "folksy" style has failed to impress in this crisis"

Outrage: Navy Pilots Who Rescued Victims Are Reprimanded

Foreign aid donors still waiting for clearance.

Further FEMA proof of incompetence.

FEMA bungles meta-evacuation: Flies planeload to Charleston, WV and not Charleston, SC!

FEMA: Please don't photograph the truth.

Time: It isn't easy picking George Bush's worst moment last week.

I'll add more as the day goes by. Stay tuned.

We must remember, and rebuild.

Pic by Fliss of Sunday's candlelight vigil. Link to her Flickr entry.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:20 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 06 September, 2005 }

Nero, or Caligula?

Never forget.

Oh, and he's investigating himself. Twit.

From the WWL ongoing coverage:

3:32 P.M. Ben Morris, Slidell mayor: We are still hampered by some of the most stupid, idiotic regulations by FEMA. They have turned away generators, we've heard that they've gone around seizing equipment from our contractors. If they do so, they'd better be armed because I'll be damned if I'm going to let them deprive our citizens. I'm pissed off, and tired of this horse$#@@."

3:11 P.M. - From all corners of this country, hundreds of would-be rescuers are wending their way to the beleaguered Gulf Coast in buses, vans and trailers. But government red tape has hampered many who ache to help Katrina's victims.

Louisiana's Jefferson Parish is desperate for relief, but parish President Aaron Broussard says officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency turned back three trailer trucks of water, ordered the Coast Guard not to provide emergency diesel fuel and cut emergency power lines.

Why? FEMA has not explained. But the outraged Broussard said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the agency needs to bring in all its "force immediately, without red tape, without bureaucracy, act immediately with common sense and leadership, and save lives."

The government says it is doing the best it can in the face of a massive and complicated disaster.

"Even as progress is being made, we know that victims are still out there and we are working tirelessly to bring them the help they need," said Michael Brown, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Some of the delays can be explained by the need to control a volatile situation. Long lines of volunteers are being stopped on freeways on their way into New Orleans.

"Anyone who self-responded was not being put to work. The military was worried about having more people in the city. They want to limit it to the professionals," said Kevin Southerland, a captain with Orange Fire Department in Orange County, Calif., a member of one of eight 14-member water rescue teams sent to New Orleans at FEMA's request.

10:12: A.M. - Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard: I'm not surprised at what the feds say, they're covering their butts. They're keeping the body counts down because they don't want to horrify the nation. It's worse than Iraq, worse than 9-11. They just don't want to know how many were murdered by bureaucracy.

10:10 A.M. - Broussard: I know what the body count is so far, but I won't horrify the nation.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:00 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Total Information Awareness - Katrina Day 8

I had a great roundup all set and Firefox went all to hell. So, I'm trying to put it all back together. Anyway, this will not rest until our sisters and brothers are in real homes and not Thunderdomes.

The Council on Foreign Relations has a very sobering assessment of the long-term effects, environmentally and socially, that will last for a very long time.

The Northern Command wasn't activated by the W until too late. The USS Bataan, a ship with a large hospital and major search and rescue capability, was left to bob offshore with no ok to go ahead. Video here.

HOPE in the heroes: Six year old Deamonte Love (above) saves many toddlers.

Abandoned pets facing a critical situation. Consider giving to the US Humane Society as well.

The Congressional Record doesn't obscure the many times that New Orleans pled for help to secure the levees. Homeland security, inaction.

Metafilter scoops: Love Canal-type toxic site under New Orleans floodwater, serious ecologic catastrophe immanent.

Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard in June '05: The President... has failed us.

WAPO: "As president, Bush typically has been loath to admit mistakes, and this situation is no different."

Further evidence of egregious media manipulation to prop up a wounded regime.

Krugman is hopping mad: Killed by contempt.

These two words need to be repeated over and over: Criminal Negligence.

Some asshole needs to sell the ranch.

Why FEMA turned away help.

Europe sees the problem here. How come the government can't?

Barbara Bush, the mother of the Beast, condescends to Astrodome evacuees. Audio.

Olbermann nails it: "Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said it all, starting his news briefing Saturday afternoon: 'Louisiana is a city that is largely underwater...' Well there's your problem right there."

Katrina survival story.

Heartbreaking: This is what a plea for help sounds like [mp3].

Interesting: Timeline of response to the last time America lost a city. Note the fast response, note the year.

A struggle for the soul of America.

We must remember, and rebuild.
Sources include Metafilter, Americablog, Crooks and Liars, Talk Left, emails and perousal.

jaybird found this for you @ 09:57 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 05 September, 2005 }

Total Information Awareness - Katrina Day 7

Here's the latest roundup of must-reads...

Tribes find ways to survive in the French Quarter.

Living paycheck to paycheck made leaving impossible.

Cuba can successfully evacuate and withstand a cat. 5 hurricane without any deaths. How? Preparedness...

Katrina reveals that America is still far away from fully achieving from Dr. King's dream...

Rove and Bartlett rush in to rescue W from his collpased house of cards and mist historic fuckup.

Death by Bureaucrats: Red tape hals flow of major medical help. You'll need this form in triplicate.

Inland survivors still aren't seeing any FEMA, Red Cross, presidential photo ops.

Experts: Homeland Security was too preoccupied with terrorism, to the terror of many. Depose Mike Brown!

Asking the right questions: Katrina and criminal negligence?

Has Katrina's wake created a new untouchable class in Amercia?

Newsweek: The lost city and its disastrously slow rescue. Exposes critical ineptitude.

Frank Rich: Falluja floods the Superdome.

"They embraced and they cried on Sept. 11; they cried for the tsunami... But they just left us here to die.... We survived the hurricane, and now we're still fighting to survive a week later. It's crazy."

NYT: The man-made disaster.

By the Numbers: In Katrina’s Wake, Race and Class Still Not Being Addressed

Despair: New Orleans, Year Zero.

And, most importantly...

Hope: Musicians keep the New Orleans spirit alive in Detroit.



We must remember, and rebuild.

Sources for the above include Metafilter, ThinkProgress, Americablog, through email and random perousal.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:24 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 04 September, 2005 }

Total Information Awareness

Here's some key information and stories for us to begin the process of understanding this massive event.

22 reasons America needs New Orleans

Army Times: N.O. going to look like a 'little Somalia,' residents are an 'insurgency.'

Bush visit halted food delivery to refugees

East of New Orleans, Heavy Damage, Lost Lives and Pleas for Help

From CNN, which recently discovered its cajones: The big disconnect on New Orleans

Bush and Chertoff both state that they didn't anticipate the levee breach. Governor Blanco did, and here is the Disaster Relief Request, filed last Sunday, to prove it [pdf].

Background articles on Iraq war & New Orleans crisis: A perfectly avoidable catastrophe

I call bull: Chertoff says that Katrina scenario did not exist. Even Mr. Bill knew about it.

Yet in 2001, FEMA ranked a cat. 3 hurricane strike on N.O. as a top three potential national disaster

Here's a Scientific American article from 2001 about that very same topic.

DHS apparently ignores its own mission statement.

The next crisis: refugees being treated like they aren't Americans.

Mississippi still not getting help due to FEMA bureaucracy, yet Bush's pal Gov. Barbour says everything just fine.

Bush faked levee repair for photo op

Bush faked food distribution for photo op

Feds rejected Chicago's help

Red Cross not allowed into N.O.

BBC: New Orleans crisis shames US

Maureen Dowd agrees

FEMA and DHS had privatised hurricane disaster preparations.

Times-Picayune: An open letter to the president

Video: Mr. Chertoff, are you contemplating resignation?

Video: Jefferson County Parish president says that "Bureaucracy has committed murder here." A very tearful, agry indictment.

My Pet Goat, The Sequel

Chopra: Tsunamis, New Orleans, and the War Against Nature

Anne Rice: Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?

Desperate plea from Landrieu, backing up photo op claim

Another Congressman can't get Bush on the line

Corps of Engineers honcho fired because he criticized Bush plan to halt levee funding.

Fox News outfoxed by its own reporters showing backbone

A not-so-modest proposal

Analysis: Can this actually be happening in America?

Sharpton on Olbermann: Where is the culture of life now?

Jackson Blasts Bush Over Katrina Aid

Rhetoric not matching reality

Katrina: America's shame

The speech a real president would give

Casual to the point of careless: Bush under fire for slow reaction

Michael Moore speaks out

We must remember, and rebuild.

Sources for the above include Metafilter, Dailykos, Sploid, Americablog, Crooks and Liars, emails and personal digging.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:06 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 02 September, 2005 }

A Can't-Do Government

A powerful indictment from Krugman...

Before 9/11 the Federal Emergency Management Agency listed the three most likely catastrophic disasters facing America: a terrorist attack on New York, a major earthquake in San Francisco and a hurricane strike on New Orleans. "The New Orleans hurricane scenario," The Houston Chronicle wrote in December 2001, "may be the deadliest of all." It described a potential catastrophe very much like the one now happening.

So why were New Orleans and the nation so unprepared? After 9/11, hard questions were deferred in the name of national unity, then buried under a thick coat of whitewash. This time, we need accountability.

First question: Why have aid and security taken so long to arrive? Katrina hit five days ago - and it was already clear by last Friday that Katrina could do immense damage along the Gulf Coast. Yet the response you'd expect from an advanced country never happened. Thousands of Americans are dead or dying, not because they refused to evacuate, but because they were too poor or too sick to get out without help - and help wasn't provided. Many have yet to receive any help at all.

There will and should be many questions about the response of state and local governments; in particular, couldn't they have done more to help the poor and sick escape? But the evidence points, above all, to a stunning lack of both preparation and urgency in the federal government's response.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Nagin: "They're spinning a line of bull..."

MP3 of interview with Mayor Ray Nagin. [via metachat]

This man has tremendous courage, and an incredible dedication to the people of his city. The very end of the interview is incredibly poignant. He reflects great virtue.

Bless this man.

jaybird found this for you @ 13:31 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Category 4 Hurricane Determined to Strike U.S.

The administration specifically cut the funds to fix these specific levees, in order to specifically divert that Corps money to Iraq, despite urgent warnings and predictions of catastrophic disaster if the levees were breeched. The administration specifically cancelled the Clinton-backed flood control program to preserve and restore the wetlands between New Orleans and the gulf, instead specifically opening parts of that buffer zone for development.

Nobody anticipated this disaster? It was identified by FEMA as one of the top three likeliest major disasters to strike America...

jaybird found this for you @ 09:22 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 01 September, 2005 }

The name of the beast

As the atmosphere warms, it generates longer droughts, more-intense downpours, more-frequent heat waves, and more-severe storms. Although Katrina began as a relatively small hurricane that glanced off south Florida, it was supercharged with extraordinary intensity by the relatively blistering sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico.

The consequences are as heartbreaking as they are terrifying. Unfortunately, very few people in America know the real name of Hurricane Katrina because the coal and oil industries have spent millions of dollars to keep the public in doubt about the issue.

The reason is simple: To allow the climate to stabilize requires humanity to cut its use of coal and oil by 70 percent. That, of course, threatens the survival of one of the largest commercial enterprises in history.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:18 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

An American Diaspora

The only certainty here now is uncertainty.

Across the south hundreds of thousands of Americans have been unceremoniously dumped: displaced by Katrina in rest stops and hotel lobbies; among strangers in shelters and in hospitals.

And for most there is no going back, for weeks, and more probably, months.

They sleep where they can.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:09 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 31 August, 2005 }

On Looting

...[A]n older woman was interviewed after taking part in the "looting" of a store for food. After giving her full name, she expressed a great deal of remorse for what she was doing, saying that every time she'd ever seen looters on television, she'd been extremely upset by it and never thought she'd be in their shoes. Well, shame on anyone who would make these people -- who are in the middle of a literal hell on Earth -- feel as if scavenging for bread and clean water from flooded and abandoned stores is somehow wrong or shameful.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:50 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Photo essay: As Katrina Struck, Bush Vacationed

What Bush saw: At El Pueblo Mirage, guests relax on the luxurious greens

What Bush missed: In Louisiana, residents dig themselves out from under the trees

jaybird found this for you @ 16:26 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

When the levee breaks...

It appears that the money has been moved in the president’s budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that’s the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees can’t be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us.

-- Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; New Orleans Times-Picayune, June 8, 2004.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:24 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

How out of touch is George Bush on this disaster?

'Nuff said

jaybird found this for you @ 07:54 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 30 August, 2005 }

shit.

Things in Louisiana and Mississippi are going to absolute hell. Please donate. Please volunteer. Please give blood, food, clothes to the Red Cross. Please expand your compassion wide and do something. Too many people just aren't quite noticing... there's not enough Guard troops (they're in Iraq), flood prevention funding for NOLA was severely cut by Bush in 2003, and poor fucker, he's cutting his vacation short by two days. I rarely use raw language on this site, but I've just got to say it... fuck him. This is a major "wake up" situation here. The government has failed in a criminally negligent manner to protect the population by redirecting critical resources away from the states and into a black hole of a false war. Citizens rising up with their compassion and giving to those who will directly help those in the Gulf States is a way to subvert a useless government through direct action by its people.

Doing something compassionate right now is revolutionary, and American. Godspeed Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.

jaybird found this for you @ 21:17 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 29 August, 2005 }

Mulkey: Cindy Sheehan's courageous stand

...Sheehan has helped move the national conversation on the war to the tipping point. For while the Bush administration continues to predict victory in Iraq and admits to no errors in judgment, truth is finally taking hold. As we knew it ultimately would, the reality of this bloody tragedy (over 1,800 American and perhaps 100,000 Iraqi deaths) has trumped this administration's hubris, arrogance and wishful thinking (being greeted as liberators, finding weapons of mass destruction and quickly exiting after transforming Iraq into a western-style democracy). At this time 54 percent of Americans believe it was a mistake to enter Iraq in the first place, 61 percent believe Bush is mishandling the war and Bush's approval rating, according to a recent poll, now stands at 36 percent.

One woman's courageous stance has reawakened us to our power, to the fact that a single citizen can make a difference and that millions of us standing together can create transformation.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:09 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 26 August, 2005 }

Cindy's Return Speech

They are going to know that I’m not going to give up and today was really hard when I came in and saw Casey bigger than life over there. I miss him so much and I miss him more every day, but like that song “Joe Hill,” Casey’s not dead. I see him in all of your eyes and Casey will never die. And they can kill the body, but they can’t kill the love and the spirit, and no matter how hard they try they can’t do that.

jaybird found this for you @ 21:38 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 23 August, 2005 }

"Christian" Calls for Assasination of Chavez

Twit, Pat Robertson: You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don't think any oil shipments will stop. But this man is a terrific danger and the United ... This is in our sphere of influence, so we can't let this happen. We have the Monroe Doctrine, we have other doctrines that we have announced. And without question, this is a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us very badly. We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.

Non-Twit, Thinking Person: Well, Gee, why not call upon the Thunder God to just plain smite him... y'know, send a hoard of locusts or even a few busloads of bingo-happy lepers? Why pull out the big guns? You, know, Pat-dear, you'll have to do a little work around with that whole Sixth Commandment thing? Oh, and you of all people ought to know what happens when you martyr someone who is the hotness, right? If you do it, be sure to wash your hands, m'kay?

jaybird found this for you @ 12:59 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 15 August, 2005 }

Sometimes, One Woman is All it Takes

...A single act of courage and determination can come to define a larger issue. Last Saturday, Mrs. Sheehan set up a roadside camp near Bush's ranch, which is now known as Prairie Chapel (The man truly has no shame), and vowed to remain there until Bush agreed to meet with her and answer questions about the war that has claimed the life of her son, Casey, and more than 1,800 others. In the week since, she has become a magnet for other antiwar activists and, perhaps as important, she has forced a gutless White House press corps to confront an issue it can no longer ignore: that a majority of Americans are rapidly losing faith in the scoundrels who lied us into a war with no coherent strategy for ending it.

See also: Someone tell the president the war is over.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:54 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 10 August, 2005 }

global struggle against a violent preident

Chaos under heaven

...The president and his people - who have spent the last four years reaching for their dictionaries (the way gunfighters once reached for their six-guns) whenever they wanted to redefine our world to fit their needs - suddenly, and quite atypically, broke ranks over a definition. A week ago, led by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, the president's top men and women began using a new phrase. The global war on terror (fondly, if inelegantly, known as GWOT) was to be no more. It was now the "global struggle against violent extremism" (or G-SAVE) and General Richard B Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, explained why. He told the National Press Club that he had "objected to the use of the term 'war on terrorism' before, because if you call it a war, then you think of people in uniform as being the solution".

Somehow, the new term, and acronym, hit the planet like one of those "tripods" from Mars after the germs got to it. The media ridiculed it, and Bush, our "war president", agreed. He immediately broke ranks with his own spinmeisters. In a speech last week, he managed to use the phrase "war on terror" repeatedly and "global struggle against violent extremism" a total of zero times. According to former State Department counterterrorism official Larry Johnson, at a White House meeting a peeved "Bush reportedly said he was not in favor of the new term ... In fact, he said, 'no one checked with me'. That comment brought an uncomfortable silence to the assembled group of pooh-bahs. The president insisted it was still a war as far as he is concerned."

Meh.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:28 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 04 August, 2005 }

juan cole

Fisking the "War on Terror"

...In July, 2005, General Richard Myers, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced that there was not actually any "War on Terror:" ' General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the National Press Club on Monday that he had "objected to the use of the term 'war on terrorism' before, because if you call it a war, then you think of people in uniform as being the solution." ' (Question: Does this mean we can have the Bill of Rights back, now?)

The American Right, having created the Mujahideen and having mightily contributed to the creation of al-Qaeda, abruptly announced that there was something deeply wrong with Islam, that it kept producing terrorists.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:32 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 01 August, 2005 }

a study of falsity

Manufacturing dissent; Right-wing fearmongering passed off as real 'studies.'

Paul Cameron, 65, who received his doctorate in psychology at the University of Colorado-Boulder in 1966, received widespread notice in 1983, when he cofounded the Institute for the Scientific Investigation of Sexuality. That organization eventually turned into Cameron's Family Research Institute. Cameron used his tiny think tank as a vehicle to publish reports saying homosexuals were more likely than heterosexuals to commit crimes and to molest children.

The American Psychological Association quickly launched an investigation into Cameron's methodology after receiving complaints from some of its members. The association sent Cameron a letter in December 1983, saying it had decided to ''drop you from membership" because he had not cooperated with the investigation. (Asked if the association still has concerns about Cameron, a spokeswoman, Rhea Faberman, said: ''We are concerned about Dr. Cameron because we do believe that his methodology is weak.")

In 1984, the Nebraska Psychological Association issued a statement saying it ''formally dissociates itself from the representations and interpretations of scientific literature offered by Dr. Paul Cameron."

The American Sociological Association issued a resolution saying: ''Cameron has consistently misinterpreted and misrepresented sociological research on sexuality, homosexuality, and lesbianism."

jaybird found this for you @ 16:19 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 29 July, 2005 }

If only...

A Clinton Cargo Cult

Any day now, the checks would come.

Any day now, the forces of darkness would stop holding back the checks.

Any day now, Jesus Himself would return in a spaceship, bringing news that President Clinton had signed a secret law in 2000 abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, with the heavenly acronym NESARA. This law (which supposedly stands for the National Economic Stabilization and Recovery Act) would expose the "Republican Party" for what they are: literally reptile space aliens posing as fiscal conservatives.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:32 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 28 July, 2005 }

whoops

Iraq has descended into chaos way beyond West's worst-case scenario

The bombers have paralysed Baghdad. I have spent half my time living in Iraq since the invasion. The country has never been as dangerous as it is today. Some targets have been hit again and again. The army recruiting centre at Al-Muthana municipal airport in the middle of Baghdad has been attacked eight times, the last occasion being on Wednesday, when eight people were killed. The detonations of the suicide bombs make my windows shake in their frames in my room in the al-Hamra Hotel. The hotel is heavily guarded. At one time the man who looked for bombs under cars entering the compound, with a mirror on the end of a stick, carried a pistol in his right hand. He reckoned if he did discover a suicide bomber he had a split second in which to shoot him in the head before the driver detonated his bomb.

The bombers, or rather the defences against them, have altered the appearance of Baghdad. US army and Iraqi government positions in Baghdad are surrounded by ramparts of enormous cement blocks that snake through the city. Manufactured in different sizes, each is named after an American state, such as Arkansas and Wisconsin. These concrete megaliths are strangling the city by closing off many streets.

For all the newspaper and television coverage of Iraq the foreign media still fail to convey the lethal and anarchic quality of day-to-day living...

jaybird found this for you @ 12:02 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

huffington

The Magic 8 Ball of American Politics

Sure it'd be nice if we could trust the Bush administration to do the right thing as it seeks to protect us from terrorist attacks -- but it’s proven that we can’t. And even if the White House had a shred of credibility left, we shouldn't. This nation was founded on skepticism and distrust of those in power. Our founding fathers didn't even trust themselves to do the right thing, creating specific rules for what a president should -- and shouldn’t -- be allowed to do, and giving the legislative branch oversight over how the executive branch fulfilled its duties. Remember "trust but verify?" It's just another way of saying oversight.

It's amazing the extent to which Congress has ceded that responsibility. This negligence of its constitutional duties is what allowed us to get so deeply into the disastrous war in Iraq in the first place.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:28 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 25 July, 2005 }

yup

Is it Treason?

Karl Rove seems never to have admired democracy, leaving a trail of filthy politics among the corpses of his political opponents. Karl Rove has always reeked of political trickery and as Americans, we are concerned with Karl Rove’s unethical and unpatriotic personal behavior. That's why citizens across America are fed up and outraged--especially by Rove's suspected role in Plamegate. America is asking, "Is it treason? And what then?"

jaybird found this for you @ 15:33 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 18 July, 2005 }

Arundhati Roy

World Tribunal On Iraq: Opening Speech

There are remarkable people gathered here who in the face of this relentless and brutal aggression and propaganda have doggedly worked to compile a comprehensive spectrum of evidence and information that should serve as a weapon in the hands of those who wish to participate in the resistance against the occupation of Iraq. It should become a weapon in the hands of soldiers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, and elsewhere who do not wish to fight, who do not wish to lay down their lives - or to take the lives of others - for a pack of lies. It should become a weapon in the hands of journalists, writers, poets, singers, teachers, plumbers, taxi drivers, car mechanics, painters, lawyers - anybody who wishes to participate in the resistance.

The evidence collated in this tribunal should, for instance, be used by the International Criminal Court (whose jurisdiction the United States does not recognize) to try as war criminals George Bush, Tony Blair, John Howard, Silvio Berlusconi, and all those government officials, army generals, and corporate CEOs who participated in this war and now profit from it.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:00 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 15 July, 2005 }

Daniel Schorr

A spot-on analysis: NPR's Schorr says that the real issue in the Karl Rove controversy is not a leak, but a war, and how America was misled into that war. [WMP or Real Player req'd]

jaybird found this for you @ 08:12 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 13 July, 2005 }

those dastardly birdwatchers!

US imposes controls on a new security threat

Law enforcement officials say that because the birdwatchers have equipment such as binoculars, telescopes and cameras, they have the potential to commit acts of espionage. The areas they use are sometimes close to military bases, dams and sewage plants. Because they have "sophisticated gear and [are] looking at things not normally photographed by the common citizen in this area, they may be stopped and asked a few questions..."

What, me tweet?

jaybird found this for you @ 07:46 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 07 July, 2005 }

my best to you

>Eyewitness reports

It was a train on the Piccadilly line between King's Cross and Russell Square and literally it was just a very loud bang. The train derailed.

There was smoke everywhere. There was no fire but the smoke was quite oppressive.

There were a lot of serious injuries down there as well. A lot of serious head injuries.

A guy by me thought he was going to die, I'm hoping he got out OK.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:18 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

hold fast

Flickr London bombing group pool

jaybird found this for you @ 15:05 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

damnit

MeFi Thread

British Red Cross

Guardian UK News Blog

jaybird found this for you @ 11:37 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 06 July, 2005 }

ignorant and ironic

Monbiot: The US and Britain are putting the multinational corporations that created poverty in charge of its relief

The G8 leaders and the business interests their summit promotes can absorb our demands for aid, debt, even slightly fairer terms of trade, and lose nothing. They can wear our colours, speak our language, claim to support our aims, and discover in our agitation not new constraints but new opportunities for manufacturing consent. Justice, this consensus says, can be achieved without confronting power...

The G8 leaders have seized this opportunity with both hands. Multinational corporations, they argue, are not the cause of Africa's problems but the solution. From now on they will be responsible for the relief of poverty.

They have already been given control of the primary instrument of US policy towards Africa, the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The act is a fascinating compound of professed philanthropy and raw self-interest. To become eligible for help, African countries must bring about "a market-based economy that protects private property rights", "the elimination of barriers to United States trade and investment" and a conducive environment for US "foreign policy interests". In return they will be allowed "preferential treatment" for some of their products in US markets.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:42 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

a cloak and dagger republic

Increase in the Number of Documents Classified by the Government

Driven in part by fears of terrorism, government secrecy has reached a historic high by several measures, with federal departments classifying documents at the rate of 125 a minute as they create new categories of semi-secrets bearing vague labels like "sensitive security information."

A record 15.6 million documents were classified last year, nearly double the number in 2001, according to the federal Information Security Oversight Office. Meanwhile, the declassification process, which made millions of historical documents available annually in the 1990's, has slowed to a relative crawl, from a high of 204 million pages in 1997 to just 28 million pages last year.

The increasing secrecy - and its rising cost to taxpayers, estimated by the office at $7.2 billion last year - is drawing protests from a growing array of politicians and activists, including Republican members of Congress, leaders of the independent commission that studied the Sept. 11 attacks and even the top federal official who oversees classification.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:39 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 05 July, 2005 }

Chomsky

It's imperialism, stupid

In his June 28 speech, President Bush asserted that the invasion of Iraq was undertaken as part of "a global war against terror" that the United States is waging. In reality, as anticipated, the invasion increased the threat of terror, perhaps significantly.

Half-truths, misinformation and hidden agendas have characterised official pronouncements about US war motives in Iraq from the very beginning. The recent revelations about the rush to war in Iraq stand out all the more starkly amid the chaos that ravages the country and threatens the region and indeed the world.

In 2002 the US and United Kingdom proclaimed the right to invade Iraq because it was developing weapons of mass destruction. That was the "single question," as stressed constantly by Bush, Prime Minister Blair and associates. It was also the sole basis on which Bush received congressional authorisation to resort to force.

The answer to the "single question" was given shortly after the invasion, and reluctantly conceded: The WMD didn't exist. Scarcely missing a beat, the government and media doctrinal system concocted new pretexts and justifications for going to war.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:56 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 30 June, 2005 }

Sowhatism

The Immoral Relativists of the Bush Administration

In his speeches, George Bush regularly calls for a return to or the reinforcement of traditional, even eternal, family values and emphasizes the importance of personal "accountability" for our children as well as ourselves. ("The culture of America is changing from one that has said, if it feels good, do it, and if you've got a problem, blame somebody else, to a new culture in which each of us understands we are responsible for the decisions we make in life.") And yet when it comes to acts that are clearly wrong in this world -- aggressive war, the looting of resources, torture, personal gain at the expense of others, lying, and manipulation among other matters -- Bush and his top officials never hesitate to redefine reality to suit their needs. When faced with matters long defined in everyday life in terms of right and wrong, they simply reach for their dictionaries.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:18 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 29 June, 2005 }

Prevarication and the art of ruling

The Gentleman, the Prince, and the Simulacrum

I will suggest that we look at the Bush administration through the lenses of three controversial theorists who have had much to say about secrecy in both its religious and political dimensions: the German-born political philosopher, Leo Strauss, the Florentine philosopher, Niccolò Machiavelli, and the French postmodern theorist, Jean Baudrillard. I have chosen these three, seemingly disparate, theorists because they correspond to and help make sense of three of the most important forces at work in the Bush administration, namely: 1) the Neoconservative movement, which is heavily indebted to Strauss' thought and has a powerful presence in the Bush administration through figures like Paul Wolfowitz (a student of Strauss) and the Project for a New American Century; 2) the manipulations of Bush's pious public image by advisors like Karl Rove (a reader of Machiavelli) and Vice-President Dick Cheney (often compared to Machiavelli), who have used the President's connections with the Christian Right for political advantage; [16] and 3) an astonishingly uncritical mainstream media, whose celebration of Bush's image as a virtuous man of faith and general silence about his less admirable activities is truly "hyperreal," in Baudrillard's sense of the term.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 28 June, 2005 }

stand for justice

Where You Stand Determines What You See, and How You Live

That's how Voices in the Wilderness members began our statement explaining why we'd decided to stay in Baghdad during the 2003 Shock and Awe bombing of Iraq. During the long war of the economic sanctions, we had stood at the bedsides of numerous mothers who held dying infants and looked at us with imploring eyes, asking "Why?" We saw too much of the catastrophic military and economic violence inflicted on ordinary Iraqis to ever consider giving up on efforts to end UN/US economic sanctions. We had returned to our homes haunted by the gasps of children in hospital wards that served as little more than "death rows" for infants, and we had tried to alert people in the U.S. and the U.K., people with some level of control over their governments, about how those governments brutally and lethally punished Iraqi children for political actions they could not control.

Where you stand determines what you see. For the latter half of June, eight of us will do plenty of standing, again in opposition to economic punishment of ordinary Iraqis, with children bearing the hardest punishment. We're fasting for fifteen days leading up to the June 28-30 UNCC deliberations over whether to saddle the poorest Iraqis with billions of dollars of Saddam Hussein's debt.

We're standing in Geneva, which is one of the most comfortably elegant cities in the world, and where the future of one of the world's most desperate countries will be decided...

jaybird found this for you @ 15:37 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 23 June, 2005 }

moyers

A Moral Transaction We are free to regard human beings as more than mere appetites and America as more than an economic machine. Leo Strauss once wrote, “Liberal education is liberation from vulgarity.” He reminded us that the Greek word for vulgarity is apeirokalia , the lack of experience in things beautiful. A liberal education supplies us with that experience and nurtures the moral imagination. I believe a liberal education is what we’re about. Performing arts, good conversation, history, travel, nature, critical documentaries, public affairs, children’s programs—at their best, they open us to other lives and other realms of knowing.

The ancient Israelites had a word for it: hochma , the science of the heart. Intelligence, feeling and perception combine to inform your own story, to draw others into a shared narrative, and to make of our experience here together a victory of the deepest moral feeling of sympathy, understanding and affection. This is the moral imagination that opens us to the reality of other people’s lives. When Lear cried out on the heath to Gloucester, “You see how this world goes,” Gloucester, who was blind, answered, “I see it feelingly.” When we succeed at this kind of programming, the public square is a little less polluted, a little less vulgar and our common habitat a little more hospitable. That is why we must keep trying our best.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:11 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 17 June, 2005 }

downing street masquerade

Inquiry Urged on Iraq War Intelligence

The White House refuses to respond to a letter dated May 5 from 122 congressional Democrats about whether there was a coordinated effort to “fix” the intelligence and facts around the policy, as the Downing Street memo said...

Conyers and a half-dozen other members of Congress were stopped at the White House gate last night when they hand-delivered petitions signed by 560,000 Americans who want Bush to provide a detailed response to the Downing Street memo.

When Conyers could not get in, an anti-war demonstrator shouted, “Send Bush out!” Eventually, White House aides retrieved the petitions at the gate and took them into the West Wing.

“Quite frankly, evidence that appears to be building up points to whether or not the president has deliberately misled Congress to make the most important decision a president has to make, going to war,” Charles Rangel, senior Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said earlier at the event on Capitol Hill.

Conyers pointed to statements by Bush in the run-up to invasion that war would be a last resort. “The veracity of those statements has, to put it mildly, come into question,” he said.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:31 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 16 June, 2005 }

war is a lying game

More Damning than Downing Street

It's bad enough that the Bush administration had so little international support for the Iraqi war that their "coalition of the willing" meant the U.S., Britain, and the equivalent of a child's imaginary friends. It's even worse that, as the Downing Street memo confirms, they had so little evidence of real threats that they knew from the start that they were going to have manufacture excuses to go to war. What's more damning still is that they effectively began this war even before the congressional vote.

With Congressman John Conyers about to hold hearings, coverage of the Downing Street memo is finally beginning to leak into the media. In contrast, we've heard almost nothing about the degree to which this administration began actively fighting the Iraq war well in advance of the March 2003 official attack--before both the October 2002 US Congressional authorization and the November United Nations resolution requiring that Saddam Hussein open the country up to inspectors.

I follow Iraq pretty closely, but was taken aback when Charlie Clements, now head of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, described driving in a Baghdad neighborhood six months before the war "and a building would just explode, hit by a missile from 30,000 feet -'What is that building?'" Clements would ask. "'Oh, that's a telephone exchange.'" Later, at a conference at Nevada's Nellis Air Force Base, Clements heard a U.S. General boast "that he began taking out assets that could help in resisting an invasion at least six months before war was declared."

jaybird found this for you @ 07:00 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 15 June, 2005 }

pigmentocracy of power

Bolivia, the Poor Little Rich Country

For three weeks, Bolivia has been paralyzed by blockades and protests, an uprising that forced the president, Carlos Mesa, to resign last week. The protesters, primarily indigenous Indians, want to nationalize Bolivia's vast natural gas reserves, South America's second largest; BP has quintupled its estimate of Bolivia's proven reserves to 29 trillion cubic feet, worth a whopping $250 billion. The Indians are in a showdown with the International Monetary Fund and companies like British Gas, Repsol of Spain and Brazil's Petrobras that have already invested billions of dollars in exploration and extraction.Many are calling developments of the past several years in Bolivia a war against globalization, but in fact this is more of a struggle over who has power here. An American Indian majority is standing up to the light-skinned, European elite and its corruption-fueled relations with the world.

When the Spanish Empire closed shop here in 1825, the Europeans who stayed on didn't seem to notice - and still don't. Even within Latin America, Bolivia is known for its corruption. It's also divided along a razor-sharp racial edge. Highland and Amazon peoples compose almost two-thirds of the population. And while Indians are no longer forcibly sprayed with DDT for bugs and are today allowed into town squares, Bolivian apartheid - a "pigmentocracy of power" - continues.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:25 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 26 May, 2005 }

mama africa

'Why isn't anyone telling the good news?'

The way most newspapers and TV news tell it, there's little going on in Africa except poverty, famine, disease, and even genocide. But there's more to Africa than hardship. And there are growing efforts to try to present a fuller, more rounded picture of this continent to the world... A prominent challenge came this week from Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Speaking in Kenya at the International Press Institute's annual gathering, he defied the media to tell the whole story.

"I urge you to play your role, not merely as watchdogs and whistle-blowers, but as advocates and educators in our joint venture to make Africa ... a better place," he said.

He further argued the negative portrayal hurts Africa's efforts to fix its problems. "One of the reasons why Africa has not been able to attract enough foreign direct investment, which we need for our development, is the constant negative reporting," he added.
(Link corrected)

jaybird found this for you @ 11:14 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 25 May, 2005 }

it's about freedom... yeah.

Amnesty accuses US over 'torture'

In a 300-page annual report, the group also accused the US government of damaging human rights over its attitude to torture and treatment of detainees. This encouraged and fuelled abuses by governments in all regions of the world, the human rights advocates said... The televised beheading of captives in Iraq, the bombing of commuter trains in Madrid and the siege at a school in Beslan in Russia showed that "four years after 9/11, the promise to make the world a safer place remains hollow", secretary general Irene Khan said.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:59 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 18 May, 2005 }

moyers

"We Were Getting it Right, But Not Right Wing"

Who are they? I mean the people obsessed with control using the government to threaten and intimidate; I mean the people who are hollowing out middle class security even as they enlist the sons and daughters of the working class to make sure Ahmad Chalabi winds up controlling Iraq’s oil; I mean the people who turn faith-based initiatives into Karl Rove’s slush fund; who encourage the pious to look heavenward and pray so as not to see the long arm of privilege and power picking their pockets; I mean the people who squelch free speech in an effort to obliterate dissent and consolidate their orthodoxy into the official view of reality from which any deviation becomes unpatriotic heresy. That’s who I mean. And if that’s editorializing, so be it. A free press is one where it’s okay to state the conclusion you’re led to by the evidence.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:01 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 17 May, 2005 }

A Glimpse into the Future

Clusterf**k Nation [via abuddha's memes]

It's customary when composing scenarios like this to say up front that nobody can predict the future and only fools attempt to, blah blah. It seems true that history is anything but linear. Events unfold fractally, so to speak, with surprising zigs and zags, with unexpected amplifications, resonances, and outcomes, showing up would-be smartypants prophets like me. But it strikes me as more foolish, in the face of what may be epochal and disruptive change in how we live, to put on a show of excessive humility and pretend that we can't make any sense of our unfolding circumstances...

We've thrown away our national wealth on free parking, cul-de-sac housing subdivisions, strip malls, fried food huts, and the other ridiculous accessories of the system. What will become of it all? A fraction of it will be retrofitted for sustainable living, the rest is apt to become materials salvage operations (steel, aluminum, copper), and ruins.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:52 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 10 May, 2005 }

he's just a schmo

Captured Al-Qaeda kingpin is case of ‘mistaken identity’

The capture of a supposed Al-Qaeda kingpin by Pakistani agents last week was hailed by President George W Bush as “a critical victory in the war on terror”. According to European intelligence experts, however, Abu Faraj al-Libbi was not the terrorists’ third in command, as claimed, but a middle-ranker derided by one source as “among the flotsam and jetsam” of the organisation.

Al-Libbi’s arrest in Pakistan, announced last Wednesday, was described in the United States as “a major breakthrough” in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.

Bush called him a “top general” and “a major facilitator and chief planner for the Al- Qaeda network”. Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, said he was “a very important figure”. Yet the backslapping in Washington and Islamabad has astonished European terrorism experts, who point out that the Libyan was neither on the FBI’s most wanted list, nor on that of the State Department “rewards for justice” programme.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:10 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 09 May, 2005 }

my dinner with knucklehead

Sex, Politics and Religion

“The problem I have with gays is that they wanna put their gayness in my face!”

“Whaddya mean?”

“Oh, you’ve seen those gay pride parades, with the leather and the bare buttocks. And have you seen Will and Grace? It’s nothing but gay, gay, gay.”

“So you think people should keep their sexuality to themselves?”

“Yep.”

“So you’re anti-Pamela Anderson?” (Being a courteous guest, I didn’t tell him that I consider Pamela Anderson to be a drag queen, a person who has drug out gender to a hilarious extreme, a person so femme that she makes the Marilyns, both Monroe and Manson, seem butch.)

“Well, yeah.”

“That’s not true!” my sister yelled from the other room. “He goes bug-eyed whenever she’s on tv!”

“And when straight people get married,” I said, “and drive around town honking their car horns and towing cans and streaming crepe paper, you’re against that flaming heterosexuality too?”

“That’s not flaming heterosexuality. They’re celebrating a sacred union. And they’re quite discrete. Not like those gays.”

“Ahh, I see,” I said, thinking about all the times I’d seen brides hoist their skirts and tuxed fellas ratchet garters up their thighs, while het guests whooped as if it were a good old-fashioned ho’ down.

jaybird found this for you @ 19:55 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

yeah, and I'm sure he was reading the da vinci code too.

Pope was investigating Knights Templar before his election

The new Pope, Benedict XVI, was actively investigating secret societies including the Knights Templar and the Illuminati, it was revealed yesterday. Details were exposed by a local newspaper in Hertfordshire, England. Cardinal Ratzinger was head of the Inquisition, the arm of the Church set up to investigate, persecute or eliminate heretics. But the curious thing is, we now know that he started his investigation shortly before he was elected as the new Pope. Did he know something? He certainly made no secret of his ambition to become Pope.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:50 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

And on the Eighth Day, Man Destroyed the Earth

Confronting Conservative Apathy to Environmental Destruction

Why do so many conservatives yawn, laugh derisively or change the subject at the first mention of Earth Day? How can they be so apathetic to the same earth that their preachers praise as �God�s creation�? Why don�t all Christians hold the Bush administration accountable for decisions that threaten our water, our air, and life itself? Having listened to countless conservative sermons on the subject, and to evangelicals and fundamentalists (not necessarily the same people), I�ve discovered that their denials of scientific evidence regarding environmental destruction aren�t really believed at a deep level. Instead, this �reactive thinking� has been learned from others.

Reactive thinking is a rehearsed mental security system of sorts, composed of unexamined assumptions and learned replies that defend the individual from complex, unpleasant or frightening realities. Reactive thinking accounts for most of the trouble that environmentalists are running up against, now that the pollution-friendly Bush administration is in control. This applies especially to the conservative Christian Bush supporters who should, being Christian, care that human beings are ruining the world that they believe God created in seven days.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:48 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

teetering

On the Brink of 'Theocracy'

There is a right way and a wrong way to engage religious voices in the public square. I believe "Justice Sunday" reflects the latter and highlights several disturbing trends. I agree with the Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, president of the Chicago Theological Seminary, who called "Justice Sunday" sacrilegious and said, "The radical religious right turned a sanctuary into a political platform." As a Baptist minister for more than 40 years with a profound respect for religious freedom and pluralism, I fear it will get worse. In fact, I think we are teetering on the brink of theocracy and the Christian Right could conceivably use the battle over the judiciary and weakening support for reproductive rights to push us over the edge. Unfortunately, although Frist has been vigorously, and appropriately, criticized for his poor judgment and political opportunism in taking part in the telethon, the greater problem of sectarian religious manipulation of public policy debates has been minimized. President George W. Bush brushed off a question about the role of faith in politics at his April 28th press conference with the innocuous response that "people in political office should not say to somebody you're not equally American if you don't agree with my view of religion." Rather than give a high school civics lesson, he should have had the courage to disavow the religious arrogance and extremism of "Justice Sunday."

jaybird found this for you @ 07:46 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 04 May, 2005 }

reality based community roundup

Pat Robertson can cause natural disasters with Mr. God's help when Queers throw parties (just don't let the cat out of the bag on mainstream teevee)! "I don't think I'd be waving those [rainbow] flags in God's face if I were you. ... [A] condition like this will bring about the destruction of your nation. It'll bring about terrorist bombs, it'll bring earthquakes, tornadoes and possibly a meteor."

Remember that thing with Whoopi Goldberg? Actually, remember Whoopi Goldberg? Anyway, at a Kerry fundraiser she raised the similarity of Our Dear Leader's name with that of rather sensitive female organ. The rightie backlash got her knocked off a spokesperson gig and fired up the anti-Hollywood types. Now, our First Lady can freely make jokes about hubby-dear stupidly jerking off a horse, and my God, we liberals suddenly can't seem to take a joke!

Floridiots: a few months ago, all we heard on the teevee was Schiavo-this, Schiavo-that. Jebby made all kinds of wonderful laws, bills of attainder actually, aimed at preventing her dignified death, and did that whole Christian soldier bit about the sanctity of life. Even, of course, if you're completely brain dead. The latest would-be headline grabbing caper out of the Tragic Kingdom is about a 13 year old child's quest to be free of the embryo inside her body, a child who is not leading a privileged life and obviously has some problems. Well, the righties could've have another nice jihad on their hands, but suddenly the Presidentially-inclined Jebby says, after the Schiavo disaster: "Look, if the judge has ruled, it's time to move on." Go marching backward Christian soldiers, this war is canceled.

Oh, and finally, you ought to know that illicit downloading is now tantamount to domestic terrorism. "A little sneaky law-making - and suddenly illicit downloading and file-sharing is a federal crime in the US..." Enjoy!

jaybird found this for you @ 06:56 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 29 April, 2005 }

Gore

"An American heresy" [once at the article, copy-n-paste this link to skip the ad]

...Today's Republicans seem hell-bent on squelching the ability of the minority in this country to express dissent. This is in keeping with other Republican actions to undercut the legislative process. And in the filibuster fight they are doing it with utter disregard for the rule of law so central to our democracy. There is, of course, a way to change the rules if they so choose -- and that is to follow the rules. When they decide instead to break the rules and push our democracy into uncharted, uncertain terrain, the results are often not to the liking of the American people.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:30 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 27 April, 2005 }

looting a culture

History lost in dust of war-torn Iraq

The picture there is appalling. More than 150 Sumerian cities dating back to the fourth millennium BC - such as Umma, Umm al-Akkareb, Larsa and Tello - lie destroyed, turned into crater-filled landscapes of shredded pottery and broken bricks. If properly excavated, these cities - covering an estimated 20 sq km - could help us learn about the development of the human race.

But the looters have destroyed ancient monuments, erasing the region's history in a tireless search for a cylinder seal, a sculpture or a cuneiform tablet that they can sell to a dealer for a few dollars. It is tough, poorly paid work carried out by jobless Iraqis with no way of earning a better income.

Even greater detail of the worldwide antiquities crisis

jaybird found this for you @ 16:07 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 20 April, 2005 }

coulter also off the list

Animal Rights Groups and Ecology Militants Make DHS Terrorist List, Right-Wing Vigilantes Omitted

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not list right-wing domestic terrorists and terrorist groups on a document that appears to be an internal list of threats to the nation’s security. According to the list — part of a draft planning document obtained by CQ Homeland Security — between now and 2011 DHS expects to contend primarily with adversaries such as al Qaeda and other foreign entities affiliated with the Islamic Jihad movement, as well as domestic radical Islamist groups.

It also lists left-wing domestic groups, such as the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), as terrorist threats, but it does not mention anti-government groups, white supremacists and other radical right-wing movements, which have staged numerous terrorist attacks that have killed scores of Americans.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:18 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

I stand

The Indiviudal-I

Today, the rights of individuals are being eroded: by government, by corporations, by society itself. This icon — the Individual-i — represents the rights of the individual. It represents the right to privacy and anonymity in the information age. It represents the rights to an open government, due process, and equal protection under the law. It represents the right to live surveillance free, and not to be marked as "suspicious" for wanting these other rights. It recognizes that a free society is a safe society, and that freedom is founded upon individual rights. The battle for individual rights is just beginning; our side needs a symbol. We hope to see this symbol displayed proudly wherever individual rights are valued.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:11 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 19 April, 2005 }

ok, seriously. this is just wrong.

Pope Godwin

In 1937 Ratzinger’s father retired and the family moved to Traunstein, a staunchly Catholic town in Bavaria close to the Führer’s mountain retreat in Berchtesgaden. He joined the Hitler Youth aged 14, shortly after membership was made compulsory in 1941... Ratzinger was enrolled in an anti-aircraft unit that protected a BMW factory making aircraft engines. The workforce included slaves from Dachau concentration camp. Ratzinger has insisted he never took part in combat or fired a shot — adding that his gun was not even loaded — because of a badly infected finger. He was sent to Hungary, where he set up tank traps and saw Jews being herded to death camps...

jaybird found this for you @ 17:28 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 12 April, 2005 }

The Economic Tsunami

Coming Sooner Than You Think

It seems that there are a growing number of people who believe as I do, that the economic tsunami planned by the Bush administration is probably only months away. In just 5 short years the national debt has increased by nearly 3 trillion dollars while the dollar has continued its predictable decline. The dollar has fallen a whopping 38% since Bush took office, due largely to the massive $450 billion per year tax cuts. At the same time, numerous laws have been passed (Patriot Act, Intelligence Reform Bill, Homeland Security Bill, National ID, Passport requirements etc) anticipating the need for greater repression when the economy takes its inevitable nosedive. Regrettably, that nosedive looks to be coming sooner rather than later.

The administration is currently putting as much pressure as possible on OPEC to ratchet up the flow of oil another 1 million barrels per day (well over capacity) to settle down nervous markets and buy time for the planned bombing of Iran in June. Like Fed Chief Alan Greenspan's artificially low interest rates, the manipulation of oil production is a way of concealing how dire the situation really is. Rising prices at the pump signal an upcoming recession, (depression?) so the administration is pulling out all the stops to meet the short term demand and maintain the illusion that things are still okay. (Bush would rather avoid massive popular unrest until his battle-plans for Iran are carried out)

But, of course, things are not okay. The country has been intentionally plundered and will eventually wind up in the hands of its creditors as Bush and his lieutenants planned from the very beginning. Those who don't believe this should note the methodical way that the deficits have been produced at (around) $450 billion per year; a systematic and orderly siphoning off of the nation's future. The value of the dollar and the increasing national debt follow exactly the same (deliberate) downward trajectory.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 08 April, 2005 }

The Long Emergency

What's going to happen as we start running out of cheap gas to guzzle?

A few weeks ago, the price of oil ratcheted above fifty-five dollars a barrel, which is about twenty dollars a barrel more than a year ago. The next day, the oil story was buried on page six of the New York Times business section. Apparently, the price of oil is not considered significant news, even when it goes up five bucks a barrel in the span of ten days. That same day, the stock market shot up more than a hundred points because, CNN said, government data showed no signs of inflation. Note to clueless nation: Call planet Earth.

Carl Jung, one of the fathers of psychology, famously remarked that "people cannot stand too much reality." What you're about to read may challenge your assumptions about the kind of world we live in, and especially the kind of world into which events are propelling us. We are in for a rough ride through uncharted territory.

It has been very hard for Americans -- lost in dark raptures of nonstop infotainment, recreational shopping and compulsive motoring -- to make sense of the gathering forces that will fundamentally alter the terms of everyday life in our technological society. Even after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, America is still sleepwalking into the future. I call this coming time the Long Emergency.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:10 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 28 March, 2005 }

Important Changes to Your Citizenship Agreement

Please read and retain for your records. We would like to explain certain changes in the terms of the Citizenship Agreement for your U.S. citizenship ("Agreement"). Some of the terms in this notice may already be in effect on your account and will not change. Any terms on your account not changed here remain in effect until such time as we ("We") decide they do not.

To help you understand the changes in the terms of your Agreement, We explain the most important changes in the Summary of New Terms below. The changes described will take effect for citizenship cycles beginning Jan. 20, 2005, and will apply to all existing and future balances on your account.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:42 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 25 March, 2005 }

the undoing of america

Gore Vidal on war for oil, politics-free elections, and the late, great U.S. Constitution

...The old American republic is well and truly dead. The institutions that we thought were eternal proved not to be. And that goes for the three departments of government, and it also goes for the Bill of Rights. So we're in uncharted territory. We're governed by public relations. Very little information gets to the people, thanks to the corruption and/or ineptitude of the media. Just look at this bankruptcy thing that went through--everybody in debt to credit cards, which is apparently 90 percent of the country, is in deep trouble. So the people are uninformed about what's being done in their name.

And that's really why we are in Iraq. Iraq is a symptom, not a cause. It's a symptom of the passion we have for oil, which is a declining resource in the world. Alternatives can be found, but they will not be found as long as there's one drop of oil or natural gas to be extracted from other nations, preferably by force by the current junta in charge of our affairs. Iraq will end with our defeat.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:11 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

planetary abuse

Who owns the Earth?

What... are future generations to think of the concept that individual members of a densely overpopulated species can claim unchallenged ownership of large sections of the earth, to nurture or destroy as they see fit? Considering the conflict between a finite planet and the infinite expansion of Homo Sapiens, does it make any more sense for people to be able to own pieces of the world than it does for people to own other people? If the concept of private ownership were followed to its logical extreme, it would be possible for one fabulously wealthy person, or corporation, to buy every acre of land on the surface of the earth, and to hold the rest of humanity hostage by withholding earthly resources.

As ridiculous as that scenario might seem, today’s economic trends make it increasingly possible for the wealthy (largely in the form of corporations) to claim massive portions of the earth’s surface. Prevailing attitudes toward private property in land also make it increasingly practical for those corporations to claim all the natural resources they can monopolize from their holdings, and to extort more wealth from the rest of society with the resources that they hoard.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:05 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 16 March, 2005 }

no tomorrow like tomorrow

On Revolutionary Optimism

The depredations of this system are no longer symptomatic of a class that is aggrandizing their power, but of a class astride a system that -- almost like like the yeast used to make a bottle of wine, that expands madly toward its own point of no return to extinction -- is in an inevitable decline. That's hard to see sometimes, because they have accumulated so much power, and because that system has so penetrated every dimension of our lives all over the world. And the chieftains of communications have so monopolized the images we see of the world and the interpretations of that world to which we are exposed that this power is magnified, while this decline is denied and minimized. But recognizing the accumulation of insults to humanity in this system's billions of daily doses of misery and defeat does not imply that we have failed by failing to defeat the system in each and all of its symptomatic forms.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:06 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 06 March, 2005 }

¿numero uno?

Let's try something more realistic

No concept lies more firmly embedded in our national character than the notion that the USA is "No. 1," "the greatest." Our broadcast media are, in essence, continuous advertisements for the brand name "America Is No. 1." Any office seeker saying otherwise would be committing political suicide. In fact, anyone saying otherwise will be labeled "un-American." We're an "empire," ain't we? Sure we are. An empire without a manufacturing base. An empire that must borrow $2 billion a day from its competitors in order to function. Yet the delusion is ineradicable. We're No. 1. Well...this is the country you really live in:

jaybird found this for you @ 22:57 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 03 March, 2005 }

The Media will eat itself

Gannon just a tip of the propaganda iceberg. What ho, Titanic?

Every president has sought to manipulate the media. But historians say that Bush, unhappy with what he calls "the filter," is courting controversy in his quest for innovative formats. Several conservative commentators have been paid to trumpet Bush policies in their work; one recipient, Armstrong Williams, is being investigated by the Federal Communications Commission. And two agencies have disseminated pro-Bush videos that look like TV newscasts, without disclosing the Bush sponsorship - a breach of federal law, according to the Government Accountability Office.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:59 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 02 March, 2005 }

too many other things to worry about?

Why death is no big deal (it's not what you think)

I lost a friend last week. These things happen - I'm bad at people, after all - but I can't say I'm not pissed off. Last week I also talked to a nice lady who was great at describing loss, the details of loss, the amputated future, the lack of company. Because I'm bad at people it took me a long time to remember she was so well-informed because her husband died a while ago. I mean, ages ago, but she hasn't forgotten him. Which is odd, isn't it ? She wants to be able to talk to her husband, I want to be able to talk to my friend - but we shouldn't. We should be over it.

How do I know? Because I should be caring about how a bony tart and a petulant clothes horse choose to christen their spawn. I should be fretting over whether a lack of established royal precedent at Windsor register office will cause Camilla to spontaneously combust... Then I would be part of the real world, the things that matter, the questions that deserve every scrap of media attention they get.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:19 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 16 February, 2005 }

Ignore the vanity of the Bushites

America's might is draining away

What time is it for America? If the Boston Tea Party was first light and the Gettysburg Address dawn, where between the sunrise and sunset of empire is the United States now? To judge from his inauguration speech... President Bush thinks it is about time for morning coffee: much to be proud of but big tasks — maybe the proudest of all — still ahead. To end tyranny on Earth is no small ambition...

I think it’s about half past four. For America-2005-Iraq, think of Britain-1899-Boer War. Ever-heavier burdens are being loaded upon a nation whose economic legs are growing shaky, whose hegemony is being taunted and whose sense of world mission may be faltering. “Overcommitted?� is the whisper.

Not that you would hear it in the din of drums and trumpets. More display is made in the spending of an inheritance than in its quiet accumulation, and the perfumed blossoms of July and August are heaviest after the nights have already begun to draw in. Like economic booms or summer solstices, empires have a habit of appearing at their most florid some time after their zenith has passed. Of the rise and fall of nations, history tends to find that the era of exuberance occurs when the underlying reasons for it are beginning to weaken. There is a time lag between success and swagger.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:32 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 15 February, 2005 }

living in a theocracy

Oh, that little bit about the separation of Church and State? Not so much anymore.

...They had guys wearing the traditional US (military) uniforms over time walk out in order while scenes from a Jesus movie I cant recall played... I know it's ridiculously bad taste but yes, that really is Jesus on the cross in the first picture…in behind our troops. When the final modern troop stepped out too the front and center he thrust his rifle one handed into the air to shouts of approval, the Jesus footage was still playing, and at that particular point even my dad was uncomfortable.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:40 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 08 February, 2005 }

bill moyers on apocalypticism

There is no tomorrow One of the biggest changes in politics in my lifetime is that the delusional is no longer marginal. It has come in from the fringe, to sit in the seat of power in the Oval Office and in Congress. For the first time in our history, ideology and theology hold a monopoly of power in Washington.

Theology asserts propositions that cannot be proven true; ideologues hold stoutly to a worldview despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality. When ideology and theology couple, their offspring are not always bad but they are always blind. And there is the danger: voters and politicians alike, oblivious to the facts.

jaybird found this for you @ 19:37 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Ten Underreported humanitarian crises

From Medicins-Sans-Frontières:

Intense Grief and Fear in Northern Uganda

No End in Sight to Devastating Conflict in Democratic
Republic of Congo

Civilians Caught in Colombia's Crossfire

Tuberculosis Spiraling Out of Control

Somalia Shattered By Anarchy and Chaos

The Trauma of Ongoing War in Chechnya

User-Fee System Excludes Burundi's Poorest From Basic
Health Care

North Koreans Endure Massive Deprivation and Repression

Constant Threat of Hunger and Disease in Ethiopia

The War is Over, But Liberians Still Live in Crisis

jaybird found this for you @ 15:30 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 03 February, 2005 }

Lessons of History?

Guess the dateline: United States officials were surprised and heartened today at the size of turnout in XXX's presidential election despite a XXX terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting.

jaybird found this for you @ 10:44 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 31 January, 2005 }

What I heard about Iraq, an exhaustive accounting of executive doublespeak:

In 1992, a year after the first Gulf War, I heard Dick Cheney, then secretary of defense, say that the US had been wise not to invade Baghdad and get ‘bogged down in the problems of trying to take over and govern Iraq’. I heard him say: ‘The question in my mind is how many additional American casualties is Saddam worth? And the answer is: not that damned many.’

In February 2001, I heard Colin Powell say that Saddam Hussein ‘has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbours.’

That same month, I heard that a CIA report stated: ‘We do not have any direct evidence that Iraq has used the period since Desert Fox to reconstitute its weapons of mass destruction programmes.’

In July 2001, I heard Condoleezza Rice say: ‘We are able to keep his arms from him. His military forces have not been rebuilt.’

jaybird found this for you @ 15:51 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 28 January, 2005 }

The Empire of Vulgarity

George Bush's second inaugural extravaganza was every bit as repugnant as I had expected, a vulgar orgy of triumphalism probably unmatched since Napoleon crowned himself emperor of the French in Notre Dame in 1804.

The little Corsican corporal had a few decent victories to his escutcheon. Lodi, Marengo, that sort of thing. Not so this strutting Texan mountebank, with his chimpanzee smirk and his born-again banalities delivered in that constipated syntax that sounds the way cold cheeseburgers look, and his grinning plastic wife, and his scheming junta of neo-con spivs, shamans, flatterers and armchair warmongers, and his sinuous evasions and his brazen lies, and his sleight of hand theft from the American poor, and his rape of the environment, and his lethal conviction that the world must submit to his Pax Americana or be bombed into charcoal.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:19 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 25 January, 2005 }

Soapbox: A Sampling 20th Century Political Speech (real audio)

jaybird found this for you @ 07:33 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 24 January, 2005 }

The Triumph of Gesture Politics

The world's governments, churches and even terrorist-affiliated groups have thrown themselves into the tsunami relief effort. You would expect that passing judgment about which kinds of aid and which modes of delivery work best would be a complicated matter. But you would be wrong. In Europe, at least, the public has separated the heroes from the scoundrels with a simple yardstick -- lost vacation time. Chancellor Gerhard Schroder of Germany stands among the winners. He rushed back from a post-Christmas vacation in his native Lower Saxony to set up a crisis center in Berlin, and has since been a whirlwind of activity, pledging more than half a billion dollars in aid and devoting his New Year's address to the disaster.

Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, who chose not to cut short his own vacation in Egypt, finds himself cast as the arch-goat. Blair's government was quite active during the days that followed the tsunami. But even though Britain has offered substantial assistance to the wave-damaged region, that is somehow insufficient. For the past month, the British news media have savaged their prime minister for his ''colossal act of disrespect.'' According to an editorial in The Independent, ''Blair has failed to grasp the essence of leadership.''

jaybird found this for you @ 19:22 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 23 January, 2005 }

Freedom given great PR, several setbacks: Nine months ago, I joined nearly a million other Americans—compared with the 500,000 ticketed guests attending the inauguration—to protest the Bush Administration’s curtailment of reproductive rights. We were marching for reproductive freedom, freedom that has been routinely slashed back by legislation supported by the President, by policies driven by the President. We were marching because we are a peaceful people, but we cannot continue to go peacefully into that good night if it means forsaking our Constitutionally protected rights. But that must not have been what the President’s publicist meant by “freedom.”

Photographs from the massive Inaugural protests

Ho Hum, More War And Death: And then you read the appalling little story about how BushCo is now "taking steps" to further the investigation into why their original intelligence on Iraq was so painfully, treasonously, colon-clenchingly wrong, why they thought Saddam had giant Costco-sized warehouses stacked to the rafters with snarling nukes and nasty biotoxins and active warheads when, in fact, he had nothing but a couple Dumpsters full of rusty 20-year-old shell casings and a bucket of stale glue.

And don't forget the part about how Congress allotted hundreds of millions of dollars for the futile WMD search, with no public accounting of the money, and the entire budget and the expenditures are to remain classified, by order of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Ha ha. Sigh.

This is about the time your head spins all the way around and you shudder in disbelief and you stifle a giggle and hold your sides and restrain yourself from gagging, think happy thoughts about sex and love and trees because otherwise you just smash your head with a brick and throw puppies into paper shredders to numb the pain and quiet the screams.

Notice of Revocation of Independence: To the citizens of the United States of America:
In the light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective today. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories except Utah, which she does not fancy. [thanks, Ramya!]

jaybird found this for you @ 14:11 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 21 January, 2005 }

Sy Hersh: The Coming Wars

“This is a war against terrorism, and Iraq is just one campaign. The Bush Administration is looking at this as a huge war zone,” the former high-level intelligence official told me. “Next, we’re going to have the Iranian campaign. We’ve declared war and the bad guys, wherever they are, are the enemy. This is the last hurrah—we’ve got four years, and want to come out of this saying we won the war on terrorism.”

Bush and Cheney may have set the policy, but it is Rumsfeld who has directed its implementation and has absorbed much of the public criticism when things went wrong—whether it was prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib or lack of sufficient armor plating for G.I.s’ vehicles in Iraq. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have called for Rumsfeld’s dismissal, and he is not widely admired inside the military. Nonetheless, his reappointment as Defense Secretary was never in doubt.

Rumsfeld will become even more important during the second term. In interviews with past and present intelligence and military officials, I was told that the agenda had been determined before the Presidential election, and much of it would be Rumsfeld’s responsibility. The war on terrorism would be expanded, and effectively placed under the Pentagon’s control. The President has signed a series of findings and executive orders authorizing secret commando groups and other Special Forces units to conduct covert operations against suspected terrorist targets in as many as ten nations in the Middle East and South Asia.

Also, stunning pics of that ol' counter-Inaugural spirit

jaybird found this for you @ 11:20 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 20 January, 2005 }

Good work, everybody.

jaybird found this for you @ 19:15 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

You knew this was coming: Conservatives Pick Soft Target, A Cartoon Sponge [via MeFi]

"Does anybody here know SpongeBob?" Dr. James C. Dobson Mr. Asshole, the founder of Focus on the Family, asked the guests Tuesday night at a black-tie dinner for members of Congress and political allies to celebrate the election results.

SpongeBob needed no introduction. In addition to his popularity among children, who watch his cartoon show, he has become a well-known camp figure among adult gay men, perhaps because he holds hands with his animated sidekick Patrick and likes to watch the imaginary television show "The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy."

Now, Dr. Dobson said, SpongeBob's creators had enlisted him in a "pro-homosexual video," in which he appeared alongside children's television colleagues like Barney and Jimmy Neutron, among many others. The makers of the video, he said, planned to mail it to thousands of elementary schools to promote a "tolerance pledge" that includes tolerance for differences of "sexual identity."

Here's the real story.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:05 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 19 January, 2005 }

Empire and Militant Christianity: How Americans Were Seduced by War

The greatest threat to the US is not terrorists but the neoconservative belief, to which President Bush is firmly committed, that American security and well-being depend on US global hegemony and impressing US values on the rest of the world. This belief resonates with a patriotic public. Bacevich writes, "in the aftermath of a century filled to overflowing with evidence pointing to the limited utility of armed force and the dangers inherent in relying excessively on military power, the American people have persuaded themselves that their best prospect for safety and salvation lies with the sword."

If Americans persist in these misconceptions, America will "share the fate of all those who in ages past have looked to war and military power to fulfill their destiny. We will rob future generations of their rightful inheritance. We will wreak havoc abroad. We will endanger our security at home. We will risk the forfeiture of all that we prize."

jaybird found this for you @ 20:51 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

"No shit!" This telling metaphorical find was just the lead graphic on CNN.com

jaybird found this for you @ 00:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 17 January, 2005 }

Abu Ghraib abuse firms are rewarded

Despite demands by human rights groups in the US that the two companies be barred from further contracts in Iraq - where CACI alone employed almost half of all interrogators and analysts at Abu Ghraib - CACI International has been awarded a $16 million renewal of its contract. Titan, meanwhile, has been awarded a new contract worth $164m.

jaybird found this for you @ 22:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Opposing Bush: A Form of Mental Illness?

“When the 109th Congress convenes in Washington in January, Senator Bill Frist, the first practicing physician elected to the Senate since 1928, plans to file a bill that would define ‘political paranoia’ as a mental disorder, paving the way for individuals who suffer from paranoid delusions regarding voter fraud, political persecution and FBI surveillance to receive Medicare reimbursement for any psychiatric treatment they receive,” writes Hermione Slatkin, Medical Correspondent for the Swift Report. “Rick Smith, a spokesman for Senator Frist, says that the measure has a good chance of passing—something that can only help a portion of the population that is suffering significant distress.”

“If you’re still convinced that President Bush won the election because Republicans figured out a way to hack into electronic voting machines, you’ve obviously got a problem,” says Smith. “If we can figure out a way to ease your suffering by getting you into therapy and onto medication, that’s something that we hope the entire 109th Congress will support.”

Um, this is pretty much the WORST THING EVER. I suppose we must all take our Soma rations so we can all be happy little workers, now.

Cue widespread outrage.

jaybird found this for you @ 10:14 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 15 January, 2005 }

The Madness of George W. Bush: A Reflection of Our Collective Psychosis

George W. Bush is ill. He has a psycho-spiritual disease of the soul, a sickness that is endemic to our culture and symptomatic of the times we live in. It’s an illness that has been with us since time immemorial. Because it’s an illness that's in the soul of all of humanity, it pervades the field and is in all of us in potential at any moment, which makes it especially hard to diagnose.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:12 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 10 January, 2005 }

India's untouchables forced out of relief camps: Kuppuswamy Ramachandran, 32, a Dalit or untouchable in India's rigid caste hierarchy, said he and his family were told to leave a relief camp in worst-hit Nagapattinam district where 50 more families were housed. "The higher caste fishing community did not allow us to sleep in a marriage hall where they are put up because we belong to the lowest caste," Ramachandran said. "After three days we were moved out to a school but now the school is going to reopen within three days and the teachers drove us out..."

Also, Earth "still ringing" after Indian Ocean earthquake: Australian National University scientists said Sunday that hyper-sensitive gravity measuring equipment showed minute reverberations may continue for weeks.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:15 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 03 January, 2005 }

100 things we didn't know this time last year

47. A "jiffy" is 10 milliseconds in computer science terms.

73. Ducks have regional accents. London ducks shout out a rough quack to be heard above the urban din; those in the West Country make a quieter, softer sound.

86. You can see the back of your own head in some parts of the universe as time and light are so curved. The universe is neither flat, nor football shaped - it looks like a flat-sided trumpet, German physicists believe.

jaybird found this for you @ 10:32 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 29 December, 2004 }

Stunning before/after satellite images of tsunami

jaybird found this for you @ 11:32 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 26 December, 2004 }

earthquake/tsunami cataclysm

More on the crisis is South Asia:

first hand reports and slideshow from the Amritapuri Ashram in southern India.

A WaPo reporter is swept out to sea, and fortunate to be alive.

A Flikr photostream from Chennai.

Creepy: “All the planet is vibrating” from the quake, said Enzo Boschi, the head of Italy’s National Geophysics Institute... Boschi said the quake even disturbed the Earth’s rotation. He likened its power to a million atomic bombs the size of those dropped on Japan in the Second World War, and said the shaking was so powerful it even disturbed the Earth's rotation. Alessandro Amato, director of Italy's national earthquake centre, said an effect on the rotation was possible but he did not know whether it had yet been established by the most sensitive instruments. WTF? Not enough info, but enough to scare the beejeezus out of anyone.

The Red Cross needs your help.

Blog entries: Suman Kumar, Extra Extra, Ceneus, and Lady Kiadri.

Compendium of Live Journal reports.

Eerily, the Bam earthquake in Iran occured exactly one year ago today.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:23 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Eyewitness to the Sri Lankan tsunami

We made our way out of the hotel, through the incredible rushing water. First of all we climbed up into a tree for a couple of minutes but then that began to fall down because of the water. We were swept along for a few hundred metres, trying to dodge the motorcycles and the refrigerators and the cars that were coming with us.

UPDATE: More here.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:24 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 22 December, 2004 }

The President's Grand Elusion

Qualifications for a director of national intelligence? "I'm going to find somebody who knows something about intelligence," Bush disclosed. Timeline for Iraq? "We'd like to achieve our objective as quickly as possible." Vladimir Putin's turn toward autocracy? "If we disagree with decisions, we can do so in a friendly and positive way."

When the subject turned to Social Security, the president made clear that questions about his views on the subject were strictly out of bounds

jaybird found this for you @ 11:42 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 13 December, 2004 }

An annual tradition we could all do without: Top Censored Stories of 2004

An excerpt from #15:

"Homeland security" has become the new mantra since September 11, 2001, and has been the justification for increasing U.S. military expansion around the world. Part of this campaign has been the varied and persistent appeals by the Pentagon to Congress for exemptions from a range of environmental regulations and wildlife treaties. The world's largest polluter, the U.S. military, generates 750,000 tons of toxic waste material annually, more than the five largest chemical companies in the U.S. combined. This pollution occurs globally as the U.S. maintains bases in dozens countries. In the U.S. there are 27,000 toxic hot spots on 8,500 military properties inside Washington's Fairchild Air Force Base is the number one producer of hazardous waste, generating over 13 million pounds of waste in 1997. Not only is the military emitting toxic material directly into the air and water, it's poisoning the land of nearby communities resulting in increased rates of cancer, kidney disease, increasing birth defects, low birth weight, and miscarriage.

The military currently manages 25 million acres of land providing habitat for some 300 threatened or endangered species. Groups such as Defenders of Wildlife have sued the military for damage done to endangered animal populations by bomb tests. The testing of Low-Frequency Sonar technology is accused of having played a role in the stranding death of whales around the world. Rather than working to remedy these problems, the pentagon claims that the burden of regulations is undercutting troop readiness.

Which is to say, "environmentalism is peace building, y'all."

jaybird found this for you @ 09:43 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 29 November, 2004 }

Gaian Democracies

In the midst of the prosperity and affluence of Western ‘democracies’ there is a pervasive sadness and sense of impotence about the future of our societies, of humanity and of the natural world. Many well-informed people have focused those negative feelings on the idea of‘globalisation’. For them the very term carries with it a sense of global despoliation, greed, oppression, injustice and irreparable loss. At the same time, many of us in the West are uncomfortably aware that the unprecedented material abundance we enjoy is being bought at the expense of the rest of the world’s peoples, natural resources and wildlife. Within the societies forced to pay the costs of today’s form of globalisation, tens of millions of citizens are seething with anger, envy and frustration.

Yet today’s globalisation is but the latest—and hopefully temporary —phase of a globalising process that has been going on for thousands of years. In effect, we humans are a global species: we have evolved the capacity to inhabit virtually every corner of the planet. Thus some form of ‘globalisation’ is part of our destiny. What is in question is the form that human globalisation will take in its next manifestation.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:05 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 24 November, 2004 }

You can follow all of the breaking news from the Ukraine on the wonderful blog Le Sabot Post-Moderne.

You have to understand the situation in Ukraine. The country is run by a series of oligarchic clans that actually found their beginnings in the Soviet Union, and then grew fabulously rich during the early days of "privatization".

Compare the situation to Russia, where an authoritarian Putin faced off against corrupt oligarchs. In Ukraine, authoritarianism and oligarchy are fused. Yanukovych isn't just another unscrupulous candidate, he's the main man of Akhmetov -- the duke of Donetsk and the richest man in Ukraine. The current president, Kuchma, is the head of a different clan, Dnepropetrovsk. The presidential administrator is Medvedchuk, who happens to run the Kiev-based Medvedchuk-Surkis clan. He also owns the two biggest Ukrainian TV stations, which is awfully convenient.

jaybird found this for you @ 22:09 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 17 November, 2004 }

By energizing the forces of reaction, George W. Bush has sown the seeds of defeat for his party: We Won, You Just Don't Know It Yet

Given his expanded majorities in Congress, Bush will likely get most of what he wants--and therein lies another danger for him. If he governs as his base demands, his second term will be a disaster. His zealously uncompromising fundamentalist supporters are loudly demanding a far-right Supreme Court that would be wildly out of step with the American middle. Though a majority of Americans support choice, Bush's base is determined to overturn Roe v. Wade. Moderate Republicans like Arlen Specter, terrified of a massive backlash if Bush's Christian soldiers get what they want, is already feeling their sting. Karl Rove made a Faustian bargain with these people. It worked in the short term, aiding Bush's reelection. Now they want payback, and Bush will be forced to deliver.

Let us hope so. The greater the uncompromising hubris of the right wing, the more problematic, and politically perilous, Bush's second term will be. All of the Republican talk of a mandate-echoed by a subservient national media--is a fatal misreading of what happened on November 2. The fundamental post-welfare state reality is that there are two minority parties in America, divided mostly by culture: the Republicans, who hold the ideological allegiance of roughly a third of the electorate, built on a core base of white evangelical Christians and lower-middle class voters, particularly in the South, and the Democrats, who have roughly the same size following, drawn from the well educated and minorities, particularly on the coasts. The party that wins elections is the one that induces greater motility in the non-ideological third in the middle.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:29 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 16 November, 2004 }

Dear God...

Poverty and unemployment are on the rise and 45 million Americans are living without health insurance. Although our elected officials refuse to acknowledge the irreversible and irrefutable damage being done to the planet we have now thoroughly trashed, there is a really big elephant residing in America’s ecological living room. OK, so I may be a bit of a downer and I’m not the most fun at a party these days, but it’s not all my fault. It’s kind of hard to be jovial during such times of duress. So what’s the deal? Are you angry? Is it something we did or didn’t do? Or is this some sort of test? Obviously we’re failing miserably if it is.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:12 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 12 November, 2004 }

Inside The Election Fraud Battle

John Kerry was faced with three options. One, fight on publicly rather than conceding and put the nation into a media frenzied limbo. Two, concede and go on with his life, turning his back on his promise to his supporters to ensure that “every vote will be counted.” Most people are assuming that John Kerry opted for the second of these while John Edwards, his runningmate, opted for the first, and since Kerry was the big dog, he won out. But people who think this are thinking in Bush terms, all or nothing, either you are for the war or against it, that either Senator Kerry was for recounting the votes or he was against it. The reality is, John Kerry has chosen a third, much smarter course – just as he said he would all along. John Kerry realized that to launch a public campaign calling the vote into question would be disastrous. In fact, he likely realized he would we walking right into a Bush-set booby trap.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:45 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 10 November, 2004 }

The stolen election of 2004 courtesy of Electronic Voting:

In a cynical view, and one that is likely accurate, the election of 2004 may have been nothing more than an elaborate trial balloon, a "good cop-bad cop" theater that is mandated every few years to uphold the appearance of legitimacy. Our candidates lie, all the while gauging the effectiveness of long-term manipulation programs. They think, are the people still gullible and uninformed? What slogans and illusions can we fool them with? Is the "war on terrorism" mindset still unwavering? How far can we push them? Will they accept the baseball bat in the face, or the velvet glove to the nose?

jaybird found this for you @ 13:19 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 09 November, 2004 }

How the Far Right Built a Media Empire to Manufacture Consent

...for the past quarter century or so, the conservatives and Republicans had been working very assiduously to build their own media infrastructure. Much of that came out of the bitterness they felt after the Watergate ouster of Richard Nixon, the defeat in Vietnam, which they blamed in some part on elements of the American public that had turned against the war. So, the conservatives went out, very -- (and we know their -- we have their thinking and their writings on this) to build their own establishment and in large part to build their own media. They began with money from conservative foundations, later on Reverend Moon stepped in with hundreds of millions of dollars that he brought in for the Washington Times and other publications. Later on, the talk radio came into this, and eventually FOX news. So it's really almost a -- a vertically integrated media infrastructure that the conservatives now have, and it reaches across the country.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:06 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 06 November, 2004 }

A bizzare pattern of impossible anomalies is unleashed in this MeFi Electiontheft special. I was listening to reports last night regarding the 400% surge of repug votes in a primarily Dem county in Florida... there's no way this election was fair. Observers from freedom lovin' countries like the Kingdom of Putin have cried foul. Even Nader is crying foul. I have a feeling that as wave upon wave of reports comes in, the legitimacy of the presidential shoplifter will come into play.

Also, please check out Black Box Voting, an amazing compendium of information on the politics behind electonic voting systems.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:34 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 04 November, 2004 }

FrightFest2004 Mini-Round-Up

Exit polls and ‘actual’ results don’t match; Evoting states show greater discrepancy... the odds of President Bush having gaining an advantage from every exit poll in swing states is an extremely improbable coincidence.

A concession speech you'd love to hear ...I concede that I overestimated the intelligence of the American people. Though the people disagree with the President on almost every issue, you saw fit to vote for him. I never saw that coming. That's really special. And I mean "special" in the sense that we use it to describe those kids who ride the short school bus and find ways to injure themselves while eating pudding with rubber spoons. That kind of special. I concede that I misjudged the power of hate... The unprecedented number of folks who showed up and cited "moral values" as their biggest issue, those people changed history. The folks who consider same sex marriage a more important issue than war, or terrorism, or the economy... Who'd have thought the election would belong to them? Well, Karl Rove did. Gotta give it up to him for that.

Kerry won, says Greg Palast: I know you don't want to hear it. You can't face one more hung chad. But I don't have a choice. As a journalist examining that messy sausage called American democracy, it's my job to tell you who got the most votes in the deciding states. Tuesday, in Ohio and New Mexico, it was John Kerry.

Michael Moore has 17 reasons not to slit your wrists and about 1,100 reactions to Dumb and Dumber: The American Electorate.

jaybird found this for you @ 19:37 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Surpise, it's Fraud! Post-mortem Ohio Ground Report

Countless other frauds occurred, such as postcards advising people of incorrect polling places, registered Democrats not receiving absentee ballots, duly registered young voters being forced to file provisional ballots even though their names and signatures appeared in the voting rolls, longtime active voting registered voters being told they weren't registered, bad faith challenges by Republican "challengers" in Democratic precincts, and on and on and on.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:21 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 03 November, 2004 }

Um...?

Hope, upon hope, upon hope.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:57 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 02 November, 2004 }

Your Voting Stories

Loxahatchee, Fla.: (From the West Palm Beach area.) This morning, I left my husband at home with my one-year-old twin sons, took my four-year-old son to preschool then waited 45 minutes in line to vote. The weather was perfect, the people were waiting patiently and the process went smoothly. Then I went home to stay with the twins while my husband went to vote. I watched them playing outside and thought of my other son at school and thought about the importance of today. I visualized the celebrations later this evening when Kerry is declared the winner. I may even have "prayed" to any deity or spirit / god or goddess that cared to hear my thoughts to make it so and spare us from another four years of this regime and salvage my sons future and the position of this country in the world. When I look at my three sons, I desperately hope that by the time they are old enough to vote, they live in a better world. And my heart breaks for all the mothers whose children have been sacrificed unjustifiably or who have to explain to their children why daddy isn't going to come home again.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:34 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Turnout!

Oh, this is huge. So many reports about magnificent turnout, and this momentum is very likely to mean one thing: we are in the process of rewriting history, renewing our stake in destiny, and preparing for democratic and non-violent regieme change.

If you haven't done it yet, you know what to do.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:14 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 01 November, 2004 }

Get Out The Vote!

Dear Friends,

I've got the car packed for a late-night drive to Greensboro for a week-long training for work. I will be nail-biting and celebrating in spirit with y'all while the upcoming Kerry victory is tallied a hundred and some-odd miles away in my hotel room.

I've already voted, so I won't have the thrill of the lines, the momentum, the crackling energy of change that is tangible and statistically tenable right now. I have an "unquiet" faith that good fortune and the will of the people, indeed, the will of the mysterious justice of the collective consciousness of humanity will prevail, and how.

In this, the final post of the final day of the campaign, I implore you to become a part of the revolution tomorrow. Join with your citizens in affirming and creating equity and liberty in the American conversation. This regieme has done well to cause significant impact on the planet, like never before. Stopping this devastation is imperative, and it's up to you.

How's that for a responsibility? You can do it, we can do it, and it's happening right now.

For now, that's today's programming. I'll see you tomorrow, posting from some anonymous place in foreign territory. Meanwhile, read the good words of Mr. Mike, and rest easy tonight, for there's major work to be done tomorrow. It's spirited work. This transition is a holy, in an odd sort of way. Our goal is to discover why.

Michael Moore: One Day Left

I know it’s gotta be rough for you right now. Hey, we’ve all been there. “You’re fired” are two horrible words when put together in that order. Bin Laden surfacing this weekend to remind the American people of your total and complete failure to capture him was a cruel trick or treat. But there he was. 3,000 people were killed and he’s laughing in your face. Why did you stop our Special Forces from going after him? Why did you forget about bin Laden on the DAY AFTER 9/11 and tell your terrorism czar to concentrate on Iraq instead?

jaybird found this for you @ 19:07 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Get Out The Vote!

In times of fear, we must always vote for democracy

I believe in an America that will lead all free nations in the fight against terrorism, and will not in the process abandon the freedoms brave Americans and others fought and died for. I believe in an America that won’t send my cousin off to fight with veterans of the Vietnam War because a former frat boy whose daddy hid him in the National Guard wouldn’t take the political risk of using enough troops to prosecute his trumped-up, fraudulent war. I believe in an America that doesn’t use the threat of terrorism as a bludgeon in the voting booth.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:11 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Get Out The Vote!

Bush Win Would Mean Dark Times; World Would Perceive Support For Preemptive War

The presidential election on Tuesday is one of the most crucial in American history. There are many reasons -- in foreign policy and on the domestic front -- why President George W. Bush should not be reelected. Among them is the dominance of the radical right in his advisory councils, who are taking the United States down the wrong road at the start of the 21st century.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:07 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 31 October, 2004 }

More Fear and Loathing from our man Hunter S:

Armageddon came early for George Bush this year, and he was not ready for it. His long-awaited showdowns with my man John Kerry turned into a series of horrible embarrassments that cracked his nerve and demoralized his closest campaign advisers. They knew he would never recover, no matter how many votes they could steal for him in Florida, where the presidential debates were closely watched and widely celebrated by millions of Kerry supporters who suddenly had reason to feel like winners...

...All we have to do is get out and vote, while it's still legal, and we will wash those crooked warmongers out of the White House.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:39 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 30 October, 2004 }

Ashcroft Seeking Control of Voting Rights

Bush administration lawyers argued in three closely contested states last week that only the Justice Department, and not voters themselves, may sue to enforce the voting rights set out in the Help America Vote Act, which was passed in the aftermath of the disputed 2000 election.

Veteran voting-rights lawyers expressed surprise at the government's action, saying that closing the courthouse door to aspiring voters would reverse decades of precedent. Since the civil rights era of the 1960s, individuals have gone to federal court to enforce their right to vote, often with the support of groups such as the NAACP, the AFL-CIO, the League of Women Voters or the state parties. And until now, the Justice Department and the Supreme Court had taken the view that individual voters could sue to enforce federal election law.

And here's another reminder of how our would-be overlords (anonymous senior Repug strategists) are thinking right now: "anything that makes people nervous about their personal safety helps Bush."

Vile, disgusting intimidation and pap. Get out the vote, peeps.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:59 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Transcript of Jack Hitt's report on election fraud for This American Life. (Listen here)

Is the crackhead faking a handful of registrations for Jeffrey Dahmer the same kind of thing as wiping 17,000 voters in Nevada, 23,000 voters in Florida, 30,000 voters in Ohio completely off the rolls? The other part of the ground war that's being waged this weekend is to make you think that they are.

jaybird found this for you @ 10:24 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 29 October, 2004 }

The surprise is on him...

Nice attempt at an October Surprise... Darth Bin Laden rises up from the sea of forget to smite us all! Are we expected to whimper like a helpless Penelope for a Dudley Doright to come and save the day? Please. If anything, this video is proof of Bush's grave ineptitude and will be a reminder of everyone waiting to vote of why they're in line; to vote for a hopeful future.

I've been waiting for their last desperate grasp, the BOO!, and this frankly is a feeble attempt to sway the undecided, whom the extreme wing of our democratic society take to be feeble minds. They shall see the light, my friends, when the truth collapses around them, to the tune of American regieme change. The "fact" that some government officials tried to stop the tapes from being played on al-Jezeera speaks volumes about the embarrassing thud such a hot potato makes when it lands before the [p]Resident's feet.

This will sway the undecided; it will sway them into logic, reason, and to pull the lever for defeating public enemy number one, a sad, jealous puppet who rules with an iron fist up his a**.

jaybird found this for you @ 23:00 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Never Forget: Internets Vets for Truth

All the rumors on the internets are here, fit for your consumption. A compendium of the most persuasive web videos related to, well, the political truth of the rise and fall of Dubya.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:00 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 28 October, 2004 }

Christian-right views are swaying politicians and threatening the environment

...many Christian fundamentalists feel that concern for the future of our planet is irrelevant, because it has no future. They believe we are living in the End Time, when the son of God will return, the righteous will enter heaven, and sinners will be condemned to eternal hellfire. They may also believe, along with millions of other Christian fundamentalists, that environmental destruction is not only to be disregarded but actually welcomed -- even hastened -- as a sign of the coming Apocalypse.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:38 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

The Church of Bush

Bush conflates religion and politics not because he wants the religious to see him as one of them. He does so because he knows that if they treat politics as a form of religion, he becomes their God.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:47 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 27 October, 2004 }

Postal Experts Hunt for Missing Ballots in Florida, and in NC. Asheville, NC.

Yup. Right here. Mine.

I sent off my absentee ballot certified return receipt requested over a week ago, and no postcard back yet with a signature. I spent $5 for my ballot to *not* be received at the Board of Selections. So, I'm hand delivering a second absentee ballot tomorrow, and whomever I hand it to will have to sign a receipt ackonledging that it will be properly counted.

Mr. Bush, listen up: You've got six days left. You can run but you can't hide.

jaybird found this for you @ 21:42 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

US gave date of war to Britain in advance, court papers reveal

Secret plans for the war in Iraq were passed to British Army chiefs by US defence planners five months before the invasion was launched, a court martial heard yesterday.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:29 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 26 October, 2004 }

Storm Clouds Gathering Over the Legitimacy of This Election

America has never had consecutive elections with a disputed outcome. But if voters don't give Bush or Kerry a clear victory, this election could produce competing charges of voter fraud and voter suppression, recounts, multiple lawsuits and even a split between the winner of the popular vote and the winner of the electoral college. Those were the key elements of the postelection warfare in 2000, which ended only when the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the Florida recount and allowed Bush to squeeze out the nation's second narrowest electoral college majority despite losing the popular vote.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:44 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 25 October, 2004 }

What happens when modern politics attempts to emulate nature?

jaybird found this for you @ 22:01 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 23 October, 2004 }

Wolf Packs for Truth:
The Real Story on George Bush's "Wolves" Commercial

They told us we were shooting a Greenpeace commercial! When the camera crew showed up, we wondered why they were all driving Hummers. Our agent assured us it was a Greenpeace commercial and they paid TWICE our hourly steak rate. Little did we know we were being tricked into this vicious campaign attack ad.

jaybird found this for you @ 10:08 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 22 October, 2004 }

Use this website to convince your fence-sitting friends WHY little George must be expelled:

100 Facts and 1 Opinion, The Non-Arguable Case Against the Bush Administration.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:41 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Bush is Not a Christian

"Judging him on his record, George W. Bush’s spiritual transformation seems to have consisted of little more than staying on the wagon, with Jesus as a sort of talismanic Alcoholics Anonymous counselor... The evidence of Bush's therapeutic approach to Jesus lies in his apparent disinterest in sin. Bush's "steadfast unwillingness to fess up to a single error betrays a strikingly un-Christian lack of attention to the importance of self-criticism, the pervasiveness of sin, and the centrality of humility, repentance, and redemption."

jaybird found this for you @ 13:13 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 21 October, 2004 }

(via Joshua via Ramya)

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards.

With his first swallow of coffee, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to insure their safety and that they work as advertised.

All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance -- now Joe gets it, too.

He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air.

He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work.

It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his workday. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards.

Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to form a union.

If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

Its noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards.

He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans.

The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day.

Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."

jaybird found this for you @ 22:46 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Irony at it's finest: this one goes out to all the would-be Repugs out there just chomping at the bit to steal another one...

A Lakewood Republican stealing campaign signs late one night got nabbed when he ran across a low- hanging driveway chain, fell face first onto a pilfered sign and the concrete and knocked himself unconscious.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:46 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

How many Bush administration officials does it take to change a light bulb?

None. There’s nothing wrong with that light bulb. There is no need to change anything. We made the right decision and nothing has happened to change our minds. People who criticize this light bulb now, just because it doesn’t work anymore, supported us when we first screwed it in, and when these flip-floppers insist on saying that it is burned out, they are merely giving aid and encouragement to the Forces of Darkness.

-- John Cleese

jaybird found this for you @ 07:12 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 20 October, 2004 }

Dumbya's Big Joke, and the frightening punchline.

This video is heart-wrenching, but it is a glaring example of everything that is wrong with George W. Bush's presidency and the Bush administration's policies. The original video is from an event in March 2004. During Bush's speech, he thought it would be funny to show pictures of himself (e.g., looking under a desk) while he joked about not finding WMDs in Iraq. If Bush had an ounce of compassion or the tiniest bit of empathy, he would understand that his lies are killing people. The victims of his war won't find his jokes very funny. Bush lied to the America people and the American people deserve better.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:26 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 19 October, 2004 }

Bush's own church calls for his repentance, because even the Thunder-God's Chosen One can f*ck up.

jaybird found this for you @ 23:38 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 18 October, 2004 }

John Kerry for President

Nothing in this life is remotely perfect by consensus. No system, process, regieme, philosophy or spiritual ideal is so absolutely symmetrical, precise and beautifully logical as as to earn that label by social agreement. Perfection is an internal, subjective and relative ideal, and we operate in the world by choosing the closest approximations to what internally sets each individual's secret standard. From a brand of coffee, to brand of religion, to brand of politics, we make the best choices possible, even if they do not fully overlap with our concepts of the perfect experience.

That said, today I waited in line at my post office to send in my absentee ballot certified-return receipt requested, my level of guarantee that my singular vote is counted, and hopefully, counted toward creating a change which is far from perfect in a system that is far from perfect. I might not have to go to that level of inconvenience, the wait, the high postage to send a letter with such a guarantee of delivery, but the questionable execution of our democratic principles forces me to be damn sure that my opinion is legally registered. It's sad that I or anyone needs to go that far. America is seriously wounded on the battlefield, and the war is one of conscience, and it was launched by a stolen presidency upon the values that framed this nation. Voting now means more than ever before, even if that vote may get 'lost,' shredded, not counted or ignored, for it's one of the last few legal voices endowed to the citizenry that has not been overruled by higher interests in the food chain of modern polemics. Perfection here isn't even under consideration, we've long passed that point and now are forced to settle for varying degrees of croneyism. Some croneys are villains, some are hacks, and some are well intentioned folks who are yet products of the system. Few politicians are immune from hucksterism, and many are infected beyond repair, and the systems falls further into disrepair as a result of that. Some, a rare breed, do attempt to represent their people with ethics, morals, and justice at heart, even if they do not meet the high standard of great leaders.

George W. Bush and his draconian administration of stooges and criminals represents the most corrosive and toxic of threatening elements to the Constitution of the United States. He must be stopped with the best of our institutions, that of our status as a republic, and the vote must be the sentence which indicts and dethrones one of the most tyrannous presidencies of American history. While casting my vote for a candidate whose ideals do not reflect my personal embodiment of political and philosophical values, and for a party that has often sold its soul and pandered for favor in the most embarrassing ways, it is essential that George W. Bush be defeated (again) and that we settle on the best possible constellation of thoughts and ideas which could regenerate democracy in this country. John F. Kerry and the Democratic Party may not be prefect, and I may grit my teeth on some positions, but today I gladly sent my ballot on its way to history, one potential history which I'm urging my readers to help make real on January 20th, 2005:

THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, JOHN FORBES KERRY

This is not an easy endorsement to make. I am not fond of the Senator's positions on guns, marriage, militarism and the private sector. I am concerned about his voting record. Yet he has the best chance to reverse some very severe damage, and create a little hope for the disenfranchised many in this nation. There are many things I like about the Senator, though; his statesmanship, his eloquence, his intelligence, and his deep understanding of the value of diplomacy. While the Democrats are one-half of a sick partisan dualism in this country, Senator Kerry I believe would at least listen to the marginalized that so-called third parties represent. Bush came into the pirated office claiming he will unite, not divide, and the exact opposite has happened. We can only grow, and I believe the Senator has the capacity and erudition to uphold the best of America, which will call us to join with each other to renew and rebuild the shattered alliance of our suppressed diversity.

We should not fear the squandering of our votes. We should not fear the squandering of our rights. We should not fear that the government will grossly misrepresent and lie to drag us into an unwinable war. I believe that if we vote our conscience, and the true will of the people prevails, we can begin to fear three less things, and hopefully, expect more out of our less than perfect Union, which is still our home, still a democracy, still a land of opportunity.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:43 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Severely disturbing: Teachers' T-Shirts Bring Bush Speech Ouster

Three Medford school teachers were threatened with arrest and thrown out of the President Bush rally at the Jackson County Fairgrounds Thursday night, after they showed up wearing T-shirts with the slogan "Protect our civil liberties."

The women got past the first and second checkpoints and were allowed into the Jackson County fairgrounds, but were asked to leave and then escorted out of the event by campaign officials who allegedly told them their T-shirts were "obscene." WTF???

jaybird found this for you @ 11:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 16 October, 2004 }

This is absolutely brilliant, you must see it: Pirates & Emperors

jaybird found this for you @ 14:10 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Krugman: Block the Vote

The important point to realize is that these abuses aren't aberrations. They're the inevitable result of a Republican Party culture in which dirty tricks that distort the vote are rewarded, not punished. It's a culture that will persist until voters - whose will still does count, if expressed strongly enough - hold that party accountable.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:04 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 15 October, 2004 }

US unprepared to handle election fraud

Obviously, the guv'mint isn't that worried about this. But we should be; after all, where they fail in accountability is our responsibility.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:27 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 14 October, 2004 }

What's the frequency, Mr. President?

The Internet is buzzing (at least the Internet I am familiar with – who knows what is being said on the other internets Bush mentioned during the second debate) with speculation about the odd bulges in the back of Bush’s suit jacket in all three debates. The White House has denied that Bush is wearing a radio receiver, but they don’t have a lot of credibility these days, and the video captures are suspicious at best.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:16 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 13 October, 2004 }

Ultra-Pundits!

Live-ish debate play-by-play with Robin, Joshua, Spiced Green Onion Dip, the Puss Party's Nominee for President and Vice-President Ursula and Avatar the Cats, and Jaybird, your humble scribe...

(Before the debate)

Spiced Green Onion Dip: Mmmm, I'm good. I think I'm better than the current major party candidates for president. Eat me, please.

Ursula: I need to lick my paw right now.

Jaybird: Where the hell are Joshua and Robin?

(later)

Jaybird: Fuck, I lost the beer!

Joshua: I'll go get it.

(making the hot cider, first minutes of debate)

Robin: Just looking at this makes me mad.

Jaybird: Red spotty ties, Bush has the advantage in lighting and zoom.

Robin: Don't type everything I say!

Robin: We can't get meds from Canada, but we can get flu shots?

Jaybird: What's with the slanty mouth?

Joshua: (did not see case of smashed beer along the road)

Joshua: Look at the dumb ass!

Ursula: ...

Joshua: Ursula, you fill the tax gap.

Robin: They wouldn't have to back to school if their job didn't go overseas.

Spiced Green Onion Dip: No one's eating me.

Jaybird: (Bush) just got shorter!

Joshua: (Bush) is talking about taxes, what about jobs?

Jaybird: (To Bush) You're doing a real good job of promo sting tolerance...

Jaybird: The action of one state to another, THAT'S HOT.

Robin: There's a separation of church and state, this doesn't matter...

Robin: It's going to be a real ideal when people are back using coathangers...

Robin: What the hell is a maternity group home?

Jaybird: They don't use the information technology? WTF?

Ursula: ...

Joshua: (Bush: In 2006, senior citizens will get prescription coverage with Medicare) But no food!

Robin: Why hasn't he done anything (about Social Security) in the past four years?

Joshua: !

Ursula: Lick self.

Spiced Green Onion Dip: Yay! I'm being eaten!

Jaybird: He talked about immigrant amnesty before 9/11! How can he attack Kerry on what heproposed???

Joshua: He didn't say he would secure the borders?

Joshua: Minimum wage is 25 minutes worth of work to get a loaf of bread.

Ursula: zzzzzzzzzzzz

Joshua: Just because you raise the standards doesn't mean that those jobs will be available...

Robin: Education doesn't fucking do anything in terms of pay.

Spiced Green Onion Dip: See, I'm good! Go dip, it's your birthday!

Jaybird: How can he say that Iraqis are protecting their country! Look at the last week of car bombings, Dead children in the street. Yeah, they're doing a great job. We're just there to run the street sweeper.

Jaybird: (Bush's) top spiritual adviser called Islam a 'wicked' religion. You obviously have problem equivocating that.

Robin: In case the faith fails, at least you'll have an assault weapon.

Robin: Remember when Bush had the recovery workers stop digging (at Ground Zero) so he could make his speech?

Jaybird: Bush is the greatest divider in American history.

Joshua: Why does he keep harping on Senator Kennedy?

Joshua: (Moderator: We're all married to strong women) ...so you wan to get together sometime?

All: (worried about Kerry not having the last word)

Robin: Even though I love that painting, I've cut the funding to the arts and everything creative.

Avatar: Ahahahahaha, it was I, the prissy one, who had the beer all along! Ahahahahaha, never underestimate the power of the vice presidency!

(now, we'll leave it the 'hack' pundits)

jaybird found this for you @ 22:33 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

RNC funds voter supression efforts

Found the following links which all seem to point to the same company that is suspected of tearing up Democratic voter registration forms in Las Vegas. It has set up registration drives in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Florida and Nevada and is accused of the same things in most if not all of these states. Sproul & Associates is a Republican consulting firm run by Nathan Sproul, former head of the Arizona Republican party and Arizona Christian Coalition.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:24 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 12 October, 2004 }

Amateur Revolution (via Ming TV)

...far-flung developments have all been driven by Pro-Ams -- committed, networked amateurs working to professional standards. Pro-Am workers, their networks and movements, will help reshape society in the next two decades.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:55 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 09 October, 2004 }

Kenyan ecologist wins Nobel prize

Kenyan environmentalist and human rights campaigner Wangari Maathai has won the Nobel Peace Prize. She is the first African woman to be awarded the peace prize since it was created in 1901.

jaybird found this for you @ 13:22 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

NOW! BUY SOME WOOD ON THE INTERNETS! CHEAP!

We've just been informed that this is such good quality wood that it will actually PROTECT you from the terrorists and various other enemies of the United States! This is truly an excellent buy!

I burst out laughing in this quiet cafe upon stumling across this strange debate reference.

Other debate wraps:

Watch him do flips!

Wonkette's low-down: "Kerry pats Bush on the back! Checking for that wire. . . "

Whoops! Three mistakes!

jaybird found this for you @ 11:56 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 08 October, 2004 }

Growing up in US can worsen kids' health

Foreign-born children are healthier when they arrive in the United States than those of the same age who were born in the country, a study shows.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:55 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 06 October, 2004 }

Thousands of Fla. Voters May

Thousands of Fla. Voters May Be Refused

Thousands of Floridians who think they're registered to vote could be turned away at the polls Nov. 2 because their voter registration forms weren't completely filled out, officials said Friday. Secretary of State Glenda Hood said some groups registering voters are turning in application forms with information missing, such as unchecked boxes asking whether applicants are citizens, mentally incompetent or felons.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:27 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 04 October, 2004 }

Only a genuine division of

Only a genuine division of power in multicultural Sudan can put an end to the country's bitter sibling rivalries...

Sudan is sometimes described as "Egypt's little brother". The phrase is meant to give a sense of the kinship between the two nations, but "little brother" also seems an apt personification of the country: if Sudan were a single human being, it might well be someone's troubled younger sibling - an overgrown teenage boy with floppy, uncontrollable limbs and a violent identity crisis.

Sudan is Africa's biggest country. It stretches from the Red Sea in the east and the border of Egypt in the north down to lush, tropical jungles in the south, encompassing hundreds of tribes who speak more than 100 languages.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:07 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 03 October, 2004 }

New Feature

You'll notice in the yellow table at the top of this page to a purportedly "highly scientific" electoral vote prognostication system. You'll just have to trust me here, but I've been doing my research... heh heh. Each week or as changing conditions merit, I'll post a new prediction, and virtually flip 538 coins just for fun's sake. This week, Puppet and Puppetmaster are ahead by 1-2 EVs, but there are many facotrs that could chage that.

The most important factor is YOU! Get out there and register, the deadline is Oct. 8th. Then, on Nov. 2nd, please for the love of All Creation, vote and vote wisely.

jaybird found this for you @ 13:51 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 28 September, 2004 }

This is one hell of

This is one hell of an October surprise, albeit a few days early. Here i was expecting some staged terror spectacular, and it's just plain and simple disefranchisement and dirty tricks, the Occam's Razor of political skulldudgery.

jaybird found this for you @ 00:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 27 September, 2004 }

Carter fears Florida vote trouble

Carter fears Florida vote trouble

Voting arrangements in Florida do not meet "basic international requirements" and could undermine the US election, former US President Jimmy Carter says. He said a repeat of the irregularities of the much-disputed 2000 election - which gave President George W Bush the narrowest of wins - "seems likely".

jaybird found this for you @ 16:12 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 24 September, 2004 }

Juan Cole: If America were

Juan Cole: If America were Iraq, What would it be Like?

What would America look like if it were in Iraq's current situation? The population of the US is over 11 times that of Iraq, so a lot of statistics would have to be multiplied by that number.

Thus, violence killed 300 Iraqis last week, the equivalent proportionately of 3,300 Americans. What if 3,300 Americans had died in car bombings, grenade and rocket attacks, machine gun spray, and aerial bombardment in the last week? That is a number greater than the deaths on September 11, and if America were Iraq, it would be an ongoing, weekly or monthly toll.

And what if those deaths occurred all over the country, including in the capital of Washington, DC, but mainly above the Mason Dixon line, in Boston, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco?

jaybird found this for you @ 17:26 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Bush by the numbers by

Bush by the numbers by 'A Wolf Who Sends Flowers.'

0 Number of times Bush mentioned Osama bin Laden in his three State of the Union addresses.

73 Number of times that Bush mentioned terrorism or terrorists in his three State of the Union addresses.

83 Number of times Bush mentioned Saddam, Iraq, or regime (as in change) in his three State of the Union addresses.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:16 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Michael Moore: Enough of the

Michael Moore: Enough of the handwringing! Enough of the doomsaying!

Do I have to come there and personally calm you down? Stop with all the defeatism, OK? Bush IS a goner -- IF we all just quit our whining and bellyaching and stop shaking like a bunch of nervous ninnies... It's never over for them until the last ballot is shredded. They are never finished -- they just keeping moving forward like sharks that never sleep, always pushing, pulling, kicking, blocking, lying.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:14 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Demonstration of 5 voting system

Demonstration of 5 voting system hacks using real software, including a monkey. Yes, a monkey. (via MeFi)

In Washington DC on Wed. Sept 22, five experts will demonstrate various manipulations of the actual Sequoia and Diebold software to be used in the Nov. 2 election. Experts range in skill level from Dr. Herbert Thompson, a security expert and the author/editor of 12 books, to Baxter, a chimpanzee.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:11 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 23 September, 2004 }

Bill Moyers: Journalism Under Fire

Bill Moyers: Journalism Under Fire

Our job remains essentially the same: to gather, weigh, organize, analyze and present information people need to know in order to make sense of the world. You will hear it said this is not a professional task—John Carroll of the Los Angeles Times recently reminded us there are “no qualification tests, no boards to censure misconduct, no universally accepted set of standards.” Maybe so. But I think that what makes journalism a profession is the deep ethical imperative of which the public is aware only when we violate it—think Jayson Blair, Stephen Glass, Jack Kelley. Ed Wasserman, once an editor himself and now teaching at Washington and Lee University, says that journalism “is an ethical practice because it tells people what matters and helps them determine what they should do about it.” So good newsrooms “are marinated in ethical conversations…What should this lead say? What I should I tell that source?” We practice this craft inside “concentric rings of duty and obligations: Obligations to sources, our colleagues, our bosses, our readers, our profession, and our community”—and we function under a system of values “in which we try to understand and reconcile strong competing claims.” Our obligation is to sift patiently and fairly through untidy realities, measure the claims of affected people, and present honestly the best available approximation of the truth—and this, says Ed Wasserman, is an ethical practice.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:28 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 17 September, 2004 }

Far Graver than Vietnam 'Bring

Far Graver than Vietnam

'Bring them on!" President Bush challenged the early Iraqi insurgency in July of last year. Since then, 812 American soldiers have been killed and 6,290 wounded, according to the Pentagon. Almost every day, in campaign speeches, Bush speaks with bravado about how he is "winning" in Iraq. "Our strategy is succeeding," he boasted to the National Guard convention on Tuesday.
But, according to the US military's leading strategists and prominent retired generals, Bush's war is already lost. Retired general William Odom, former head of the National Security Agency, told me: "Bush hasn't found the WMD. Al-Qaida, it's worse, he's lost on that front. That he's going to achieve a democracy there? That goal is lost, too. It's lost." He adds: "Right now, the course we're on, we're achieving Bin Laden's ends."

Retired general Joseph Hoare, the former marine commandant and head of US Central Command, told me: "The idea that this is going to go the way these guys planned is ludicrous. There are no good options. We're conducting a campaign as though it were being conducted in Iowa, no sense of the realities on the ground. It's so unrealistic for anyone who knows that part of the world. The priorities are just all wrong."

jaybird found this for you @ 11:47 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 14 September, 2004 }

Building Corporate Crap at Sacred

Building Corporate Crap at Sacred Sites: Wal-Mart at Mexico Ruins Sparks Protest

Burning incense and sounding a conch shell horn, residents of an ancient Mexican city protested on Saturday at the construction of a Wal-Mart store on the edge of the ruins.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:59 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 13 September, 2004 }

If he can't find his

If he can't find his heart, does that mean it's not there> This question especially relevant to cyborgs.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:57 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 09 September, 2004 }

Who Cares About the Truth?

Who Cares About the Truth?

To many, it seemed naïve to worry about something as abstract as the truth or falsity of our claims when we could concern ourselves with the things that really mattered -- such as protecting ourselves from terrorism and ensuring our access to oil. To paraphrase Nietzsche, the truth may be good, but why not sometimes take untruth if it gets you where you want to go?

jaybird found this for you @ 16:24 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Global opinion favours Kerry over

Global opinion favours Kerry over Bush, says poll

World opinion is overwhelmingly in favour of John Kerry, the Democrat candidate, to win the US presidential election, according to a poll covering 35 countries. In 30 countries, many of them staunch allies of the US, the public favoured Mr Kerry over President George W. Bush by a two-to-one margin, according to a poll conducted by GlobeScan, a public opinion group, and the University of Maryland. Only Poland, Nigeria and the Philippines backed Mr Bush, while India and Thailand were a statistical tie.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:23 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 08 September, 2004 }

Frances floods WNC: Well, we're

Frances floods WNC: Well, we're getting it too folks. It's been raining for quite some time, and heavily. I'll try to post pics of the creeks and rivers, they're full of big muddy rage. Schools and things are closed, shelters (!) are opened, and drug stores are all out of the little plastic granny hoodies.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:58 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 07 September, 2004 }

Please watch this. Please? Love

Please watch this. Please? Love Docs (Quicktime req'd)

jaybird found this for you @ 18:59 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 06 September, 2004 }

Outrage Roundup

Frank Rich: How Kerry Became a Girlie-Man: Only in an election year ruled by fiction could a sissy who used Daddy's connections to escape Vietnam turn an actual war hero into a girlie-man... Even a $10,000 reward offered this year by Garry Trudeau couldn't smoke out a credible eyewitness to support George W. Bush's contention that he showed up to defend Alabama against the Viet Cong in 1972. Yet John F. Kerry, who without doubt shed his own blood and others' in the vicinity of the Mekong, not the Mississippi, is now the deserter and the wimp.

Bob Graham: Bush and FBI block Congressional Investigation into ties between direct ties between Saudi agents and 9/11 hijackers: The discovery of the financial backing of the two hijackers ''would draw a direct line between the terrorists and the government of Saudi Arabia, and trigger an attempted coverup by the Bush administration...''

George sent out of Texas as a drunken liability: "Georgie was raising a lot of hell in Houston, getting in trouble and embarrassing the family and they just really wanted to get him out of Houston." Asked if she had ever seen him in uniform Mrs Allison said: "Good Lord, no. I had no idea the National Guard was involved in his life."

The Madness of Emperor George: In partial mitigation of his deluded mindset, it must be noted that the madness of George Bush is the madness of a society that produced such a man – and others like him – elevated him to power, and sustains his authority even in the face of his continuing patterns of lies, deceptions, and arrogance. I wrote, shortly after 9/11, that the attacks of that day "have struck deeper into our conscious and unconscious minds than any of us has begun to imagine." In varying ways, most of us are still engaged in a catharsis associated with these events, with many of us yet unable to discover their deeper meaning.

The Pentagon has ordered an investigation into the awarding of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's five Vietnam War decorations: ...to the consternation of campaign strategists, the navy has agreed to a request by Judicial Watch, a bipartisan lobby group, [NOT!]* for a full inquiry. Judicial Watch wants the navy to report before the elections, but navy officials are so far refusing to give a timetable for the inquiry.

*Check out their website. Non-partisan my foot.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:33 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 04 September, 2004 }

Censored! The 10 big stories

Censored! The 10 big stories the national news media ignore.

"Corporate media has abdicated their responsibility to the First Amendment to keep the American electorate informed about important issues in society and instead serves up a pabulum of junk-food news..."

jaybird found this for you @ 12:09 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

"My Pet Goat" ptII

"My Pet Goat" ptII

Wildly unreported in the media, here's this to kick off your Saturday... a moment of Zen: the Evil One's reaction to this: a protestor's sneak into the den of lies. [vid]

jaybird found this for you @ 10:14 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 03 September, 2004 }

Thankfully, some candor: Kerry says

Thankfully, some candor: Kerry says Bush 'unfit to lead this nation'

"Misleading our nation into war in Iraq makes you unfit to lead this nation. Doing nothing while this nation loses millions of jobs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting 45 million Americans go without health care makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting the Saudi royal family control our energy costs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Handing out billions of government contracts to Halliburton while you're still on their payroll makes you unfit. That's the record of George Bush and Dick Cheney, and it's not going to change."

Meanwhile, now that the party conflagration of pessimistic despotism is now over, Utter Wonder serves up some comedy gold: spot the people of color at the RNC!

jaybird found this for you @ 06:58 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 02 September, 2004 }

"God's Own Party" Roundup

For a God lovin', recovering alcoholic, Bush ain't following his process: Bush and the Twelve Steps [via Pax Nortona]

Optomism at the Convention

Spot the Crosses! [via Mefi], article pertaining to the cross-like designs on the podiums at the 'Convection.'

jaybird found this for you @ 15:21 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 31 August, 2004 }

Fear factor: By entering a

Fear factor: By entering a 2-digit code in a hidden location, a second set of votes is created. This set of votes can be changed, so that it no longer matches the correct votes. The voting system will then read the totals from the bogus vote set. It takes only seconds to change the votes, and to date not a single location in the U.S. has implemented security measures to fully mitigate the risks.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

More RNC Protest Pics, some

More RNC Protest Pics, some NSFW.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:13 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 30 August, 2004 }

Reagan Home for the Criminally

Reagan Home for the Criminally Insane

While the Ronald Reagan Home for the Criminally Insane specializes in “bad taste for a good cause” there is no skit or graphic that we could ever come up with that can match the bad taste of the Bush Administration’s continued attempts to exploit the tragedy of September 11th to further their political agenda.

jaybird found this for you @ 19:23 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 29 August, 2004 }

I'm tracking this week's

I'm tracking this week's protests at NYC Indymedia:
Have a look and get informed.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:45 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 25 August, 2004 }

Can the ethnic cleansing in

Can the ethnic cleansing in Sudan be stopped?

When Amina saw the janjaweed approaching, she hurried the donkeys to a red-rock hillock three hundred yards away. She assumed that Mohammed had fled in another direction, but she turned and saw that he had remained at the wells, with the older boys and the men, in an effort to protect the animals. He and the others were surrounded by several hundred janjaweed. As the circle closed around her son, she ducked behind the hillock and prayed.

jaybird found this for you @ 09:37 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 20 August, 2004 }

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth:

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth: A series of interviews and a review of documents show a web of connections to the Bush family, high-profile Texas political figures and President Bush's chief political aide, Karl Rove.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:12 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Ladies and gentlemen, the Bushism

Ladies and gentlemen, the Bushism has returned: Reprising a War With Words

Earlier this month, President Bush was almost done with a speech to a group of minority journalists when he dropped a rather startling proposal. "We actually misnamed the war on terror," he said. "It ought to be the Struggle Against Ideological Extremists Who Do Not Believe in Free Societies Who Happen to Use Terror as a Weapon to Try to Shake the Conscience of the Free World."

Or, if you prefer to abbreviate, SAIEWDNBIFSWHTUTAAWTTTSTCOTFW.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:38 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 19 August, 2004 }

Judge Redefines Freedom of the

Judge Redefines Freedom of the Press

A judge's decision to punish five reporters for refusing to identify their sources for stories about nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee threatens to chill vital newsgathering at a time of increased government secrecy, advocates say. U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson on Wednesday held the reporters in contempt and fined each of them $500 a day until they reveal their source. He said the information was needed for Lee, a former nuclear weapons scientist once suspected of spying, to litigate his privacy lawsuit against government officials.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:38 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 16 August, 2004 }

Outrage, pt. 3001: The long

Outrage, pt. 3001: The long and ugly tradition of suppressing the black vote is alive and thriving in the Sunshine State

State police officers have gone into the homes of elderly black voters in Orlando and interrogated them as part of an odd "investigation" that has frightened many voters, intimidated elderly volunteers and thrown a chill over efforts to get out the black vote in November.

jaybird found this for you @ 19:33 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Outrage, part 3000: 'Data Quality'

Outrage, part 3000: 'Data Quality' Law Is Nemesis Of Regulation

Herbicide approvals are complicated, and there is no one reason that atrazine passed regulatory muster in this country. But close observers give significant credit to a single sentence that was added to the EPA's final scientific assessment last year.

Hormone disruption, it read, cannot be considered a "legitimate regulatory endpoint at this time" -- that is, it is not an acceptable reason to restrict a chemical's use -- because the government had not settled on an officially accepted test for measuring such disruption.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:33 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Washington > Campaign 2004

F.B.I. Goes Knocking for Political Troublemakers

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been questioning political demonstrators across the country, and in rare cases even subpoenaing them, in an aggressive effort to forestall what officials say could be violent and disruptive protests at the Republican National Convention in New York.

"The message I took from it," said Sarah Bardwell, 21, an intern at a Denver antiwar group who was visited by six investigators a few weeks ago, "was that they were trying to intimidate us into not going to any protests and to let us know that, 'hey, we're watching you.' ''

jaybird found this for you @ 13:45 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 09 August, 2004 }

Kick ass: International team to

Kick ass: International team to monitor presidential election

Thirteen Democratic members of the House of Representatives, raising the specter of possible civil rights violations that they said took place in Florida and elsewhere in the 2000 election, wrote to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in July, asking him to send observers.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:33 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

OOPS, they did it

OOPS, they did it again! Unmasking of Qaeda Mole a U.S. Security Blunder... ya think? Another surprisingly bad mishandling of security operatives, reminiscent of a more paranoid Keystone Cops. "The revelation that a mole within al Qaeda was exposed after Washington launched its "orange alert" this month has shocked security experts, who say the outing of the source may have set back the war on terror. Reuters learned from Pakistani intelligence sources on Friday that computer expert Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan, arrested secretly in July, was working under cover to help the authorities track down al Qaeda militants in Britain and the United States when his name appeared in U.S. newspapers."

jaybird found this for you @ 07:44 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 06 August, 2004 }

Peace Pilgrimmage arrives at Hiroshima

Peace Pilgrimmage arrives at Hiroshima

After eight months and 4,500 km of walking since Roxby Downs Uranium Mine in South Australia, the International Peace Pilgrimage (IPP) arrives at Hiroshima Peace Park on August 6. The walk joins the commemorations at the Atomic Dome, to remember the hundreds of thousands of people who were killed by the atomic bomb on this day in 1945, and acknowledge the millions of others who continue to be affected by the nuclear industry globally. Australian Aboriginal Elders are presently touring Japan and will Speak at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:43 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 05 August, 2004 }

The latest GOP meme: Eugenics

The latest GOP meme: Eugenics Backer Causes Stir in Tenn. Race

He is an unapologetic supporter of eugenics, the phony science that resulted in thousands of sterilizations in an attempt to purify the white race. He believes the country will look "like one big Detroit" if it doesn't eliminate welfare and immigration. He believes that if blacks were integrated centuries ago, the automobile never would have been invented.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:12 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

A very telling malapropism: ""Our

A very telling malapropism:

""Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

[Quicktime req'd]

jaybird found this for you @ 17:25 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

A timeline of terror alerts

A timeline of terror alerts since 9/11, and the corresponding poltics behind them. Impressive and scary.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:06 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Danger to Human Dignity: the

Danger to Human Dignity: the Revival of Disgust and Shame in the Law

The law, most of us would agree, should be society's protection against prejudice. That does not imply that emotions play no legitimate role in legal affairs, for often emotions help people to see a situation clearly, doing justice to the concerns that ought to be addressed. The compassion of judge and jurors during the penalty phase of a criminal trial, for example, has been held to be an essential part of criminal justice, a way of connecting to the life story of a defendant whose experience seems remote to those who sit in judgment. Emotions are not intrinsically opposed to reason, for they involve pictures of the world and evaluations. But there are some emotions whose role in the law has always been more controversial. Disgust and shame are two of those.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:09 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 03 August, 2004 }

Howard Dean Still Makes Sense

Howard Dean Still Makes Sense

"I am concerned that every time something happens that's not good for President Bush he plays this trump card, which is terrorism. His whole campaign is based on the notion that "I can keep you safe, therefore at times of difficulty for America stick with me," and then out comes Tom Ridge. It's just impossible to know how much of this is real and how much of this is politics, and I suspect there's some of both in it."

jaybird found this for you @ 13:01 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 02 August, 2004 }

What we can do to

What we can do to bring awareness to the genocide in Sudan:

We are in a tragic and signal moment, a catalytic moment, where the world sees the need, has the means, and yet continues to experience a failure of will. Giving the Sudanese government 30 more days--and then asking Kofi Annan for a report to the UN Security Council--assures 30 more days of death and destruction. Given the nature of the genocidal process being carried out in Sudan--engineered, intentional famine and epidemic disease--30 more days translates into months of additonal famine, and hundreds of thousands of additional lives lost.

Now it is the public's turn. It is our turn. The time is now for our action. We must ask our leaders to act now, not in 30 days.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:43 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Good morning. Let's talk about

Good morning.

Let's talk about Bush: he's retreating into a sullen and reclusive world of his own, on strong antidepressants for his erratic behavior (while a key member of his campaign advises unhappy workers to pop 'em too) and now the most succint case against him has been made by the son of the man he emulates the most.

And the Punditocracy is still giving him a fighting chance? Please. Anyway, there's still Dick Cheney [Quicktime req'd, more comic relief from Jason Woliner].

jaybird found this for you @ 08:00 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 30 July, 2004 }

In His Own Words (Shrub,

In His Own Words (Shrub, Quicktime req'd)

jaybird found this for you @ 13:05 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 29 July, 2004 }

Pakistan delivers on the July

Pakistan delivers on the July surprise, but alas, it's not the big cheese. Good going on capturing a dangerous figitive, but nice try to divert attention away from a major step tonight toward overthrowing Prince George.

We're having a Kerry fundraiser here tonight, and despite the cats' own political ambitions, they will mingle as big John takes the reins.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Krugman: Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist:

Krugman: Fear of Fraud

It's election night, and early returns suggest trouble for the incumbent. Then, mysteriously, the vote count stops and observers from the challenger's campaign see employees of a voting-machine company, one wearing a badge that identifies him as a county official, typing instructions at computers with access to the vote-tabulating software. When the count resumes, the incumbent pulls ahead. The challenger demands an investigation. But there are no ballots to recount, and election officials allied with the incumbent refuse to release data that could shed light on whether there was tampering with the electronic records. This isn't a paranoid fantasy. It's a true account of a recent election in Riverside County, Calif., reported by Andrew Gumbel of the British newspaper The Independent. Mr. Gumbel's full-length report, printed in Los Angeles City Beat, makes hair-raising reading not just because it reinforces concerns about touch-screen voting, but also because it shows how easily officials can stonewall after a suspect election.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:44 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 28 July, 2004 }

The Metrosexual Superpower: The stylish

The Metrosexual Superpower: The stylish European Union struts past the bumbling United States on the catwalk of global diplomacy.

jaybird found this for you @ 13:03 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 19 July, 2004 }

Just say no... ...to

Just say no...
...to homophobic, sexist, mean and repugant movie-star governors.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:07 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 18 July, 2004 }

Not-a-Joke: Bush Channels God "Bush

Not-a-Joke: Bush Channels God

"Bush reportedly told [a group of Amish], 'I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn’t do my job.’"

So, of course, that means that Kerry channels the Prince of Darkness. Poor fellow. I think he's confused with Yog-Sothoth, the Soul Eater.

jaybird found this for you @ 19:31 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 15 July, 2004 }

The UN: 10 Stories the

The UN: 10 Stories the world needs to know more about

The stories are not ones that have never been reported, but are often second-rung issues that need more thorough, balanced and regular attention. The list itself is a snapshot of the most compelling stories that, at this point in time, the Department of Public Information believes are in need of more media attention. And the top story is merely the first among equals.

jaybird found this for you @ 23:01 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Moyers: Democracy in the Balance

Moyers: Democracy in the Balance [via MeFi]

How do we nurture the healing side of religion over the killing side? How do we protect the soul of democracy against bad theology in service of an imperial state?

jaybird found this for you @ 20:33 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 08 July, 2004 }

Will Chimpy and the goon

Will Chimpy and the goon squad, led by a seething, drooling Karl Rove, pull off a July Surprise?

This public pressure [to capture bin Laden] would be appropriate, even laudable, had it not been accompanied by an unseemly private insistence that the Pakistanis deliver these high-value targets (HVTs) before Americans go to the polls in November... Pakistani security officials have been told they must produce HVTs by the election. According to one source in Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), "The Pakistani government is really desperate and wants to flush out bin Laden and his associates after the latest pressures from the U.S. administration to deliver before the [upcoming] U.S. elections."

jaybird found this for you @ 19:00 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 06 July, 2004 }

The Post has a

The Post has a 'Dewey beats Truman' moment.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:41 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Edwards Vp" href="http://www.usaviation.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=11966">It's John

It's John Edwards!

At least, according to this aviation board, with sightings of new decals being applied to the campaign plane in Pittsburgh. If not, than that makes quite a few people, including yours truly, total fools for calling this one based on silly criteria. The buzz is 9am tomorrow, he'll announce without the veep there, for total surprise factor.

Maybe it's the Buddha...? Or Tutankhamen? There's gravitas for ya.*

*Keeping in mind that all politics is an illusory game.

jaybird found this for you @ 02:22 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 03 July, 2004 }

The Stop Bush Project This

The Stop Bush Project

This site is a documentation of anti-Bush sentiment from around the world expressed through graffiti, placards, flyers and other spontaneous, 'guerilla' means. The images are a gallery of visitor donated photos.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:09 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 01 July, 2004 }

The Devil made me do

The Devil made me do it: NC Supreme Court Orders God's Return to Courtroom

North Carolina's Supreme Court ordered a judge Tuesday to restore references to God used when he enters the courtroom and when witnesses swear to tell the truth.

jaybird found this for you @ 19:01 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 29 June, 2004 }

Family values with a hooker

Family values with a hooker on each arm: Sex pros get ready for party

With thousands of Republicans set to invade the city this summer, high-priced escorts and strippers are preparing for one grand old party. Agencies are flying in extra call girls from around the globe to meet the expected demand during the Aug. 30-Sept. 2 gathering at Madison Square Garden. "We have girls from London, Seattle, California, all coming in for that week," said a madam at a Manhattan escort service. "It's the week everyone wants to work."

jaybird found this for you @ 07:49 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 25 June, 2004 }

Terminator my ass... isn't there

Terminator my ass... isn't there anything more important to do than to decide when to kill things, Arnie? Schwarzenegger Wants Strays Killed Faster

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to repeal a state law that requires animal shelters to hold stray dogs and cats for up to six days before killing them. Instead, there would be a three-day requirement for strays. Other animals, including birds, hamsters, potbellied pigs, rabbits, snakes and turtles, could be killed immediately.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:49 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 24 June, 2004 }

I'm a little unsettled about

I'm a little unsettled about Ralph Nader. Four years ago, I was very excited about having a progressive choice on the ballot, and have been a long-time fan of Green Party politics. This year is very different, with a true danger of Nader swinging key states to the Forces of Darkness.

Kerry ain't my cuppa green tea per se, but I'll have no hesitation (with my paper ballot) voting for Kerry because this is just too damn important this go 'round. [links via MeFi]

Friends don't let friends vote Ralph.

Ralph's appeal to conservatives.

Ralph's friends in high places.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:04 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 23 June, 2004 }

YOU MUST BE HAPPY: Bush

YOU MUST BE HAPPY: Bush to screen population for mental illness

President Bush plans to unveil next month a sweeping mental health initiative that recommends screening for every citizen and promotes the use of expensive antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs favored by supporters of the administration.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:10 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 22 June, 2004 }

Several items of note: Rummy

Several items of note:

Rummy allegedly did not approve of the torture technique called "waterboarding." How conservatively compassionate.

Election Projection is calling for a 269-269 electoral vote tie! Yikes! Here's what happens if that nightmare scenario dawns upon us on the first Wednesday morning of November (from Oct. 2000).

Krugman is having some issues with selective persecution of terrorists, and there's good reason why...

jaybird found this for you @ 15:59 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 19 June, 2004 }

Bush told he is playing

Bush told he is playing into Bin Laden's hands

Al-Qaida may 'reward' American president with strike aimed at keeping him in office, senior intelligence man says

Anonymous does not try to veil his contempt for the Bush White House and its policies. His book describes the Iraq invasion as "an avaricious, premeditated, unprovoked war against a foe who posed no immediate threat but whose defeat did offer economic advantage.

"One way to keep the Republicans in power is to mount an attack that would rally the country around the president."

jaybird found this for you @ 09:16 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 18 June, 2004 }

A reader over at Eschaton

A reader over at Eschaton does some super-sleuthing: take a gander at this photo from Resident Bush's last cabinet meeting, and read the very interesting transcription that follows...

jaybird found this for you @ 10:22 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 14 June, 2004 }

Are you amazed? Interrogation abuses

Are you amazed? Interrogation abuses were 'approved at highest levels'

New evidence that the physical abuse of detainees in Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay was authorised at the top of the Bush administration will emerge in Washington this week, adding further to pressure on the White House.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:24 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Terror inquiry snares art exhibit

Terror inquiry snares art exhibit

Visitors to "The Interventionists" exhibit at MASS MoCA are greeted by a sight unusual even for the cutting-edge art museum. One of the galleries in the show devoted to contemporary political art is oddly vacant, dominated by empty tables and a sign explaining that the materials intended for the display have been impounded by the FBI.

The seized materials, including simple bacteria, have become part of a case that some feel is pitting artistic expression against the sweeping anti-terrorism powers of the federal government. In addition to confiscating the makings of the art installation, federal officials have subpoenaed the artists involved in the work and may be pursuing charges of biological terrorism.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:20 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 08 June, 2004 }

Interviewing ourselves on foreign policy:

Interviewing ourselves on foreign policy: a discussion with the always hard to pin down John and Jane Q. Public.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:15 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 07 June, 2004 }

This story is making the

This story is making the rounds in several channels, and this particular version is being vigorously fact-checked. The author of this piece had substantial involvement in the Reagan and Bush I admins. So, I think it's seriously worth looking at:

Bush's Erratic Behavior Worries White House Aides

President George W. Bush’s increasingly erratic behavior and wide mood swings has the halls of the West Wing buzzing lately as aides privately express growing concern over their leader’s state of mind. In meetings with top aides and administration officials, the President goes from quoting the Bible in one breath to obscene tantrums against the media, Democrats and others that he classifies as “enemies of the state.”

jaybird found this for you @ 07:20 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 03 June, 2004 }

One head rolls, more to

One head rolls, more to follow.

jaybird found this for you @ 13:38 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 01 June, 2004 }

Bury the 'surprising' news on

Bury the 'surprising' news on a holiday: Cheney office denies role in Halliburton deal

A reference to such an arrangement was made in an internal Pentagon e-mail from an Army Corps of Engineers official to another Pentagon employee...

jaybird found this for you @ 12:21 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 28 May, 2004 }

This is priceless, found via

This is priceless, found via atrios.

jaybird found this for you @ 09:55 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 27 May, 2004 }

Remarks by President Gore

Remarks by President Gore

jaybird found this for you @ 10:04 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 25 May, 2004 }

"It's been raining a lot

"It's been raining a lot and the topsoil is loose," Duffy said. "You know this president. He likes to go all-out. Suffice it to say he wasn't whistling show tunes."

Kos respectfully declines. Rainfall my foot.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:04 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 19 May, 2004 }

Bush White House checked with

Bush White House checked with rapture Christians before latest Israel move

It was an e-mail we weren't meant to see. Not for our eyes were the notes that showed White House staffers taking two-hour meetings with Christian fundamentalists, where they passed off bogus social science on gay marriage as if it were holy writ and issued fiery warnings that "the Presidents [sic] Administration and current Government is engaged in cultural, economical, and social struggle on every level"—this to a group whose representative in Israel believed herself to have been attacked by witchcraft unleashed by proximity to a volume of Harry Potter. Most of all, apparently, we're not supposed to know the National Security Council's top Middle East aide consults with apocalyptic Christians eager to ensure American policy on Israel conforms with their sectarian doomsday scenarios.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:15 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 18 May, 2004 }

Arianna Huffington: The New Contract

Arianna Huffington: The New Contract For A Better America

1. ACHIEVE ENERGY INDEPENDENCE
2. PRESCRIBE A CURE FOR THE HEALTH CARE EPIDEMIC
3. TREAT LOST JOBS AS A SOCIAL CALAMITY, NOT A LAGGING ECONOMIC INDICATOR
4. TRULY LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND
5. BREAK DOWN BARRIERS AND CREATE NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN EDUCATION
6. CALL A TRUCE IN THE DRUG WAR
7. SECURE THE HOMELAND FIRST
8. BE A LEADER, NOT A BULLY
9. RESTORE INTEGRITY TO THE POLITICAL PROCESS
10. PUT PEOPLE ABOVE CORPORATE PROFITS

jaybird found this for you @ 18:46 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 17 May, 2004 }

Rumsfeld Knew: Iraq Prison Abuse

Rumsfeld Knew: Iraq Prison Abuse Part of Pentagon-Approved Black Ops Program

Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh of The New Yorker is reporting that the prison abuse scandal in Iraq is the result of a top-secret black operations program OKd by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that called for the use of physical coercion and sexual humiliation during the interrogation of high-value suspects in the war on terror.

jaybird found this for you @ 14:40 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 14 May, 2004 }

Reading With the Enemy Looking

Reading With the Enemy

Looking for a challenge and a little affirmation, Oliver Griswold tests his die-hard liberal beliefs and goes on an all-conservative-media diet for one month. Life on the Right side of the dial doesn’t turn out the way he expected.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:08 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Your Friday cup of irony.

Your Friday cup of irony.

"Gerrymandered congressional districts are an affront to democracy and an insult to the voters. We oppose that and any other attempt to rig the electoral process."

Guess who said that?

jaybird found this for you @ 11:50 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Shiver me timbers, this is

Shiver me timbers, this is ridiculous: U.S. Takes Greenpeace to Court in Unusual Trial

Greenpeace, charged with the obscure crime of "sailor mongering" that was last prosecuted 114 years ago, goes on trial on Monday in the first U.S. criminal prosecution of an advocacy group for civil disobedience. The environmental group is accused of sailor mongering because it boarded a freighter in April 2002 that was carrying illegally felled Amazon mahogany to Miami. It says the prosecution is revenge for its criticism of the environmental policies of President Bush, whom it calls the "Toxic Texan."

jaybird found this for you @ 07:01 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 10 May, 2004 }

Atrios just posted this amazing

Atrios just posted this amazing tidbit:

Don Emilio Fulci:

It was the lead item on the government's daily threat matrix one day last April. Don Emilio Fulci described by an FBI tipster as a reclusive but evil millionaire, had formed a terrorist group that was planning chemical attacks against London and Washington, D.C. That day even FBI director Robert Mueller was briefed on the Fulci matter. But as the day went on without incident, a White House staffer had a brainstorm: He Googled Fulci. His findings: Fulci is the crime boss in the popular video game Headhunter. "Stand down," came the order from embarrassed national security types.

jaybird found this for you @ 19:25 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 07 May, 2004 }

You too can apply to

You too can apply to become a private interrogator in Baghdad! [Via Randi Rhodes on Air America]

Assists the interrogation support program team lead to increase the effectiveness of dealing with Detainees, Persons of Interest, and Prisoners of War (POWs) that are in the custody of US/Coalition Forces...

jaybird found this for you @ 16:40 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 06 May, 2004 }

Absurd: Jail for man who

Absurd: Jail for man who left bag in airport

A plumber who left an unattended bag containing a teddy bear, some fruit and clothes in an airport lounge was jailed yesterday for causing a full-scale security alert.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:04 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 04 May, 2004 }

Liberals and strangers Liberalism is

Liberals and strangers

Liberalism is not 300 years old; it was born 10,000 years ago with the invention of agriculture.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:20 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 02 May, 2004 }

Kerry Veep Poll Results

Your choice in the 1st Annual BirdOnTheMoon.com veepstakes poll is OTHER, here represented by none other than Homestar Runner. He would be interesting a choice as some of the other OTHERs, such as Rep. Jane Harman, Gov. Janet Napolitano, Rep. John Lewis or Sen. Bill Nelson. He likes marshmallows, has good colors for a national campaign, and since he's animated, he can adapt well to a changing political climate. While a Kerry/Runner ticket might be interesting, though, somehow my feeling is that some of his colleagues in the OTHER category might be a tad more qualified. Runners up, and polling even, include Sen. John Edwards, Sen. Phil Graham, Sen. Diane Feinstein, and the alleged space alien himself (and pundit's favorite for the nod) Rep. Dick Gephardt.

Thanks all for voting, new non-political poll next week.

jaybird found this for you @ 13:44 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 30 April, 2004 }

Viva Bob Edwards! As

Viva Bob Edwards!

As he leaves Morning Edition, where he has been host since the show's debut in 1979, NPR recognizes Bob Edwards' 30 years on the public airwaves. After nearly 25 years of waking up at 1 a.m., Edwards assumes new duties as senior correspondent for NPR News.

Nice tribute NPR, but a better tribute would've been not to remove Bob in the first place during your 'corporate revisisoning' of a show that has worked for the past 30 years. I'm an avid NPR listener, and my mornings won't be the same.... without.... BOB!

(cue dramatic music, a flinging of used tissues, and spotlight on a panicked run to the radio as Bob's voice recedes into static... )

jaybird found this for you @ 07:20 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 26 April, 2004 }

This is what happens if

This is what happens if you steal wood in Iraq (3mb wmv, via MeFi)

This is a disturbing film from Frontline that will make you question about America's plan for 'democratization' in Iraq.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:45 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 23 April, 2004 }

For Japanese Hostages, Release Only

For Japanese Hostages, Release Only Adds to Stress

The first three hostages, including a woman who helped street children on the streets of Baghdad, first appeared on television two weeks ago as their knife-brandishing kidnappers threatened to slit their throats. A few days after their release, they landed here on Sunday, in the eye of a peculiarly Japanese storm.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:12 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 21 April, 2004 }

Aboriginal curse put on

Aboriginal curse put on Oz PM Howard

An Aboriginal woman clad in animal skins has put a traditional curse on Prime Minister John Howard, apparently in retaliation for government plans to abolish Australia's top indigenous elected body.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:05 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 19 April, 2004 }

Kos: In Bush's world, the

Kos: In Bush's world, the Saudis are ranked higher than his own Secretary of State. And they reciprocate with cheap oil for Bush's reelection fight.

jaybird found this for you @ 22:28 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 14 April, 2004 }

The Onion Taken Seriously, Film

The Onion Taken Seriously, Film at 11

The article in the Beijing Evening News told a shocking story of American hubris: Congress was behaving like a petulant baseball team and threatening to bolt Washington, D.C., unless it got a new, modern Capitol building, complete with retractable roof. There was a problem with the story. Rather than do his own original reporting, Evening News writer Huang Ke had cribbed, nearly word for word, his text from an American publication. And as if that wasn't bad enough, Ke hadn't bothered to vet the source he had plagiarized: The Onion.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:17 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Let's deconstruct the press

Let's deconstruct the press conference, shall we?

Metafilter thread

Pandagon's live blow by blow

Kos digs the bloviations

Atrios' open thread (he's convinced Chimpy has an earpiece).

The thing, itself.

This could go down as one of the worst presidential press conferences in all American history. The fun part is, what will this do to voter sentiment? We might have to whack a few out of their trance from tripping on the tie.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:25 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 12 April, 2004 }

US forces' use of depleted

US forces' use of depleted uranium weapons is 'illegal'

'There is a moral point to be made here. This war was about Iraq possessing illegal weapons of mass destruction -- yet we are using weapons of mass destruction ourselves.' He added: 'Such double-standards are repellent.'

jaybird found this for you @ 17:01 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Outrage: a reporter's view of

Outrage: a reporter's view of Fallujah during last week's 'pacification operation.'

A gentle, urbane man who spoke fluent English, Al-Nazzal was beside himself with fury at the Americans' actions (when I asked him if it was all right to use his full name, he said, "It's ok. It's all ok now. Let the bastards do what they want.") With the "ceasefire," large-scale bombing was rare. The primary modes of attack were a little bit of heavy artillery and a lot of snipers. Al-Nazzal told us about ambulances being hit by snipers, women and children being shot. Describing the horror that the siege of Fallujah had become, he said, "I have been a fool for 47 years. I used to believe in European and American civilization."

jaybird found this for you @ 08:03 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 08 April, 2004 }

Duh! Study says (remarkably) that

Duh! Study says (remarkably) that television leads to attention deficits, so turn it off.

Helps to avoid viral marketing, too.

jaybird found this for you @ 10:29 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 07 April, 2004 }

Time for another war! Yay!

Time for another war! Yay! Drug war has failed, Iraq has failed, Afghanistan has failed... gee, what's left? SMUT!!!

Administration wages war on pornography

And somewhere far off, a voice cries out... "you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands!" In honor of this new *offensive* I bring you the man who started it all: the photography of Robert Mapplethorpe!

jaybird found this for you @ 13:00 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 06 April, 2004 }

Cronkite: Secrets and Lies Becoming

Cronkite: Secrets and Lies Becoming Commonplace

The initial refusal of President Bush to let his national security adviser appear under oath before the 9/11 Commission might have been in keeping with a principle followed by other presidents -- the principle being, according to Bush, that calling his advisers to testify under oath is a congressional encroachment on the executive branch's turf. (Never mind that this commission is not a congressional body, but one he created and whose members he handpicked.)
But standing on that principle has proved to be politically damaging, in part because this administration -- the most secretive since Richard Nixon's -- already suffers from a deepening credibility problem. It all brings to mind something I've wondered about for some time: Are secrecy and credibility natural enemies?

jaybird found this for you @ 19:08 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 05 April, 2004 }

Lovely tale of ethics in

Lovely tale of ethics in the pharmaceutical industry: UK firm tried HIV drug on orphans

Orphans and babies as young as three months old have been used as guinea pigs in potentially dangerous medical experiments sponsored by pharmaceutical companies... British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline is embroiled in the scandal. The firm sponsored experiments on the children from Incarnation Children's Centre, a New York care home that specialises in treating HIV sufferers and is run by Catholic charities. The city health department has launched an investigation into claims that more than 100 children at Incarnation were used in 36 experiments - at least four co-sponsored by Glaxo. Some of these trials were designed to test the 'toxicity' of Aids medications. One involved giving children as young as four a high-dosage cocktail of seven drugs at one time. Another looked at the reaction in six-month-old babies to a double dose of measles vaccine.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:31 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 03 April, 2004 }

Dennis Kucinich stirrin' it up

Today around 11 am in downtown Asheville before a very large and enthusiastic crowd.
Read one of his most amazing speeches, "Spirit and Stardust."
Here's an official campain video. [real]
He knows now that Kerry has it wrapped up, but the point is to stay for the long haul, to renew the spirit of the Democratic party.
Rock on, Denny.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:27 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Kucinich tells us at the

Kucinich tells us at the rally in Asheville today that "We are the change we've been waiting for." [ 1mb .wav ]

Dennis is an amazingly warm and moving speaker. He rejected the podium for standing with us, in the sunlight. He spoke so tenderly about our interconnection with the Earth that my eyes welled up- politicians don't usually say things like this. Especially when so much is at stake. I'll post the pictures later (I'm not at home to hook up my camera).

Among many of his points:

We have grown accustomed to a casual disconnection to our natural world.

The planet is not here for us to use; we must reconcile ourselves with it, heal it, and renew it through peace.

Decentralized applications will increase sustainability, thus advancing peace; peace is levered by sustainability.

War is 'ecocide:' destruction not only of human life but the vital infrastructure that supports us.

"Nonviolence is the organizing principle of our society."

"We can evole as a people by teaching reciprocity, mutuality and harmonious relationships... we have the capacity to evolve... We might just be at a moment of quantum leap as a species and as a society."

When asked about changing his position from pro-life to pro-choice, he described the mental process of evolving one's thinking: "It's not about changing one's mind, it's about the capacity to grow."

"America was not founded as a result of fear."

"The only way we can protect our democracy is to be courageous, see through the fallacies that that reduce us to apprehension... It's about finding that place within our selves, inour hearts... that enables us to be courageous, to open up all doors, being the light in the darkness, where freedom's holy light will shine for all."

jaybird found this for you @ 15:22 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 02 April, 2004 }

Sibel Edmonds will make Richard

Sibel Edmonds will make Richard Clarke look like Mickey Mouse:

A former translator for the FBI with top-secret security clearance says she has provided information to the panel investigating the 11 September attacks which proves senior officials knew of al-Qa'ida's plans to attack the US with aircraft months before the strikes happened... The Bush administration, meanwhile, has sought to silence her and has obtained a gagging order from a court by citing the rarely used "state secrets privilege".

jaybird found this for you @ 16:04 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 01 April, 2004 }

Please say it ain't so:

Please say it ain't so: Nader a threat to Kerry, polls say

Five weeks after he announced he is running for president again, early polls show Ralph Nader having the same influence on the 2004 election that he had in 2000 -- taking just enough votes from the Democratic candidate to ensure a victory for George W. Bush.

I was listening to the first day of Air America yesterday and a commentator echoed my thoughts exactly: like the idea, like the policies Nader proposes, but it's just not the right time. We're in a democratic crisis, possibly the most dramatic in American history. I don't really like John Kerry, but I'll settle in a second for him over the mock president lording over us now. Maybe in non-swing states we could "vote swap" as was proposed in 2000. But then again, every last vote counts and is a chip knocked off the wall that has been erected between we the people and the government allegedly there to represent our will.

/rant

jaybird found this for you @ 11:19 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 31 March, 2004 }

The Gross International Happiness Project

The Gross International Happiness Project [via MeFi]

The Gross International Happiness Project (‘GIH’) is based on the insight that conventional development concepts such as GNP and Per Capita Income do not properly reflect the general well being of the inhabitants of a nation. In order to develop real progress and sustainability and to effectively combat trends which compromise the planet’s natural and human ecosystems, GIH aims to develop more appropriate and inclusive indicators which truly measure the quality of life within nations and organizations. GIH is inspired by the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) proposed by the King of Bhutan, which puts the well being of individuals on top of the national development agenda. Rooted in Buddhist philosophy and values, GIH presents a radically different development paradigm, but one that holds a promise for achieving real sustainability. GIH aims to connect the international efforts which are taking place in the field of developing alternative development indicators, human economics and happiness psychology, so that individual efforts can benefit from each other and that collectively these efforts more strongly impact international development agendas.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:19 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 26 March, 2004 }

War Rationale: Version 10.0 In

War Rationale: Version 10.0

In the year since the invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration has repeatedly shifted its justification for going to war and constantly changed its story on intelligence, the United Nations, reconstruction, political transition and the cost to the American taxpayer. More than anything, the administration's war in Iraq resembles a software program that, at first, works brilliantly, but then catches the user in a cycle of "fatal error" messages.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:29 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Four 9/11 moms watch Rumsfeld

Four 9/11 moms watch Rumsfeld and grumble... meanwhile, our dubious guvmint is getting worse at telling lies.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:26 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 24 March, 2004 }

Scandal after scandal after scandal:

Scandal after scandal after scandal:

...with yesterday's news that the White House supports an investigation into the higher-than-advertised cost of Bush's Medicare plan, I started realizing that there have been an amazing number of investigations of Republicans since Bush took office, some of which directly involve the White House. So much for restoring "honor and dignity" to the Oval Office.

In fact, we've seen more substantive scandals involving the GOP in the last three years than we ever did with Dems in the 90s. I'm not talking about scandals that ought to be investigated; I mean Republicans and their scandals that have actually been the subject of formal investigation.

Meanwhile, let's read up on how the RNC's Shrubbies lie and cheat with numbers.

jaybird found this for you @ 13:38 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 22 March, 2004 }

Part satire, part fact: A

Part satire, part fact: A Consitiutional Amendment to codify marriage as based on Biblical principles

B. Marriage shall not impede a man's right to take concubines in
addition to his wife or wives. (II Sam 5:13; I Kings 11:3; II Chron
11:21)

jaybird found this for you @ 13:26 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 15 March, 2004 }

Oh no mister, I know

Oh no mister, I know nothing about computers. The internet? Never heard of it: Agency initiates steps for selective draft

The government is taking the first steps toward a targeted military draft of Americans with special skills in computers and foreign languages.

jaybird found this for you @ 13:43 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

What? Bush fabricating journalists? Quelle

What? Bush fabricating journalists? Quelle Surprise!U.S. Videos, for TV News, Come Under Scrutiny

Federal investigators are scrutinizing television segments in which the Bush administration paid people to pose as journalists praising the benefits of the new Medicare law, which would be offered to help elderly Americans with the costs of their prescription medicines.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:01 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 13 March, 2004 }

One man's testimony to the

One man's testimony to the loss of his wife in the Madrid blasts: 'The day my wife was snatched away'

When you bury a person, the pain is that it is the last moment when you have that person next to you and when the ceremony ends you hand that person over to God. You don't lose them, but you stop having them at your side through everything.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:51 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 12 March, 2004 }

Guantanamo Briton 'was tortured' "They

Guantanamo Briton 'was tortured'

"They actually said: 'You have no rights here'. After a while, we stopped asking for human rights - we wanted animal rights."

jaybird found this for you @ 07:27 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 11 March, 2004 }

Here's a dainty can of

Here's a dainty can of pastel worms: The Democracy Now! show on Pacifica Radio is asking this question: "Was Martha Stewart Targeted Because She is a Major Democratic Contributor and a Woman? Where is Ken Lay?"

Article here, or watch the stream for low or high bandwidth.

Is it still a good thing?

jaybird found this for you @ 16:05 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 09 March, 2004 }

Is Military Creeping Into Domestic

Is Military Creeping Into Domestic Law Enforcement?

Several recent incidents involving the military have raised concern among student and civil-rights groups. One was a visit last month by an Army intelligence agent to an official at the University of Texas law school in Austin. The agent demanded a videotape of a recent academic conference at the school so that he could identify what he described as "three Middle Eastern men" who had made "suspicious" remarks to Army lawyers at the seminar...

jaybird found this for you @ 15:44 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 08 March, 2004 }

Scientist 'gagged' after warning UK

Scientist 'gagged' after warning UK gov't over global warming

Downing Street tried to muzzle the Government's top scientific adviser after he warned that global warming was a more serious threat than international terrorism.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:38 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 27 February, 2004 }

Spot the irony: US promises

Spot the irony: US promises 'safer' landmines

Assistant Secretary of State Lincoln Bloomfield said the US would make all its landmines detectable and scrap those not timed to self-destruct. But Mr Bloomfield confirmed that the US did not intend to sign the international treaty banning mines. The treaty has been signed by more than 150 nations. Landmines cause an estimated 10,000 casualties a year.

jaybird found this for you @ 14:05 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 26 February, 2004 }

That's not playing by the

That's not playing by the rules, ol' chap: UK spies 'bugged UN's Kofi Annan'

British spies were bugging UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's office in the run up to the Iraq war, former UK cabinet minister Clare Short has claimed.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:50 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 25 February, 2004 }

Only in the Land of

Only in the Land of the Mouse: Slavery Alive and Well in Florida

Modern-day slavery is alive and well in Florida, the head of a human rights center said Tuesday as it released a report on people forced to work as prostitutes, farmworkers and maids across the state. Human traffickers bring thousands of people into the United States each year and Florida is believed to be one of the top three destinations, along with New York and Texas...

jaybird found this for you @ 14:51 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 23 February, 2004 }

Very Scary: Leaked Pentagon report

Very Scary: Leaked Pentagon report warns climate change may bring famine, war

The report... concluded: "Disruption and conflict will be endemic features of life.... Once again, warfare would define human life."

jaybird found this for you @ 08:14 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 17 February, 2004 }

Poverty 'is world's worst threat'

Poverty 'is world's worst threat'

The leader of Catholics in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, says the biggest challenge confronting the world is not terrorism but poverty.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 13 February, 2004 }

World Press Photo of the

World Press Photo of the year 2003 by French photographer Jean-Marc Bouju of the Associated Press shows a detained Iraqi man comforting his 4-year-old-son at a regroupment center for POW's near Najaf, Iraq.

jaybird found this for you @ 14:33 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

What if poor nations actually

What if poor nations actually caught up with rich ones?

Indulge in a dream scenario for a moment: Suppose the world awoke tomorrow and, miraculously, every country suddenly enjoyed the same per capita income as the United States, or roughly $40,000 per year.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:23 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 12 February, 2004 }

Censor 'Scooby-Doo'? Words fail The

Censor 'Scooby-Doo'? Words fail

The Bush administration has decided that people with bad hearing have bad judgment, too, and need special guidance from the federal government. So the U.S. Department of Education is declaring about 200 television programs inappropriate for closed-captioning and denying federal grant requests to make them accessible to the hearing-impaired.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:28 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 11 February, 2004 }

Debunking the Shrub: Fact vs.

Debunking the Shrub: Fact vs. Fiction in the [p]Resident's recent PR campaign.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:55 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 09 February, 2004 }

The Pentagon's Weather Nightmare Growing

The Pentagon's Weather Nightmare

Growing evidence suggests the ocean-atmosphere system that controls the world's climate can lurch from one state to another in less than a decade—like a canoe that's gradually tilted until suddenly it flips over. Scientists don't know how close the system is to a critical threshold. But abrupt climate change may well occur in the not-too-distant future. If it does, the need to rapidly adapt may overwhelm many societies—thereby upsetting the geopolitical balance of power.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:24 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Christian question alarms flight An

Christian question alarms flight

An American Airlines pilot terrified passengers on his flight when he asked Christians to identify themselves and went on to call non-Christians "crazy".

jaybird found this for you @ 08:23 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 08 February, 2004 }

More violence in Haiti At

More violence in Haiti

At least three police officers have been killed in bloody fighting with militants on the streets of Haiti's fourth largest city. Rebels seized Gonaives two days ago in a challenge to President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

This is very sad. Being a great lover of Haiti, I've struggled with this situation. I do think it's time for Aristide to either have face-to-face negotiations with the rebels or stand down and allow for UN monitored elections. And no matter what happens, I do plan on going back this summer.

jaybird found this for you @ 10:30 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 05 February, 2004 }

Cheney's boys were the ones,

Cheney's boys were the ones, appanently:

Federal law-enforcement officials said that they have developed hard evidence of possible criminal misconduct by two employees of Vice President Dick Cheney's office related to the unlawful exposure of a CIA officer's identity last year. The investigation, which is continuing, could lead to indictments, a Justice Department official said.

jaybird found this for you @ 19:07 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 02 February, 2004 }

Follow-up: Groundhog booed as he

Follow-up: Groundhog booed as he sees his shadow

Including Monday's prediction, the groundhog is reported to have seen his shadow 104 times since the tradition began in Punxsutawney. It is rooted in a German superstition that if a hibernating animal casts a shadow Feb. 2 - the Christian holiday of Candlemas - winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says spring will come early.

Yeah, that's smart. Critisize him. He's got the power, y'know.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

US officials knew in May

US officials knew in May Iraq possessed no WMD

Senior American officials concluded at the beginning of last May that there were no weapons of mass destruction... in Iraq

(Feigns great surprise)

jaybird found this for you @ 08:13 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 01 February, 2004 }

Haitian president lays groundwork for

Haitian president lays groundwork for peace talks:

Aristide said at a news conference Saturday night that the group established a framework for continued negotiations with a March deadline for concrete actions. Such actions would include a temporary electoral council that would allow for new parliamentary elections by midsummer, Aristide said.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:22 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 30 January, 2004 }

Bush wants 'facts' on Iraqi

Bush wants 'facts' on Iraqi WMD.

US President George W Bush has said he wants to "know the facts" about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction.

Funny, I thought he already *had* them. Isn't that the alleged reason why we went to war? Looks like you could use a little yoga to loosen you up, Georgie boy, as you reach out to insert your smelly foot into your gaping mouth. Bon appetit.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:55 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 27 January, 2004 }

America: An empire to rival

America: An empire to rival Rome?

"The United States," he said, "is an empire in every sense but one, and that one sense is that it doesn't recognise itself as such." He called it "an empire in denial."

jaybird found this for you @ 13:30 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Protests go on amid Haiti

Protests go on amid Haiti impasse

Several hundred students took to the streets in Haiti again on Monday to demand the resignation of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

I'm hopeful that I'll be returning to Haiti this summer, and hopefully by then Aristide will either step aside and live up to the democracy he promised.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:54 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 26 January, 2004 }

The Buying of the President:

The Buying of the President: a who's who of the subsidizers of America's wonded democracy.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:14 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 23 January, 2004 }

Yes, it's another "-gate" kiddies:

Yes, it's another "-gate" kiddies: Infiltration of files seen as extensive

Republican staff members of the US Senate Judiciary Commitee infiltrated opposition computer files for a year, monitoring secret strategy memos and periodically passing on copies to the media

jaybird found this for you @ 19:11 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Enough of Dean goes nuts,

Enough of Dean goes nuts,
here's Bush going nuts.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:47 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 19 January, 2004 }

"Peaceful ends can only be

"Peaceful ends can only be reached through peaceful means"

-Coretta Scott King

jaybird found this for you @ 16:10 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Martin Luther King Jr. Is

Martin Luther King Jr. Is Still Speaking Out

On this holiday, many remember a Martin Luther King Jr. who is restricted to the battles against racial segregation he valiantly fought during his lifetime. But his was a broader battle for justice, and that battle is not over. It presses on in the face of intolerance and injustice.

jaybird found this for you @ 10:22 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 18 January, 2004 }

World 'going too slow on

World 'going too slow on poverty'

The world is doing much too little to live up to its promises on eradicating poverty, an influential economic group says in an analysis of progress so far.

jaybird found this for you @ 19:47 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 17 January, 2004 }

Haiti funeral sparks new protests

Haiti funeral sparks new protests

Surrounding the coffin during the church ceremony, mourners began chanting anti-government slogans and calling for the resignation of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. [background 1, 2]

To see the best of Haiti, a country I love dearly, go here.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:59 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 16 January, 2004 }

Bush Booed at Martin Luther

Bush Booed at Martin Luther King Gravesite

In a sign of the difficulty President Bush faces as he tries to win black support for his reelection, several hundred protesters loudly booed him on Thursday as he laid a wreath at the grave of civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:48 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 14 January, 2004 }

Last Copter Out of

Last Copter Out of Baghdad

George Bush is selling out Iraq. Gone are his hard-liners' dreams of setting up a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic republic, a light unto the Middle Eastern nations. The decision makers in the administration now realize these goals are unreachable. So they've set a new goal: to end the occupation by July 1, whether that occupation has accomplished anything valuable and lasting or not. Just declare victory and go home. The tyranny of Saddam Hussein will be over. But a new tyranny will likely take its place: the tyranny of civil war, as rival factions rush into the void. Such is the mess this president seems willing to leave behind in order to save his campaign.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:29 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Quelle surprise! Bush admits he

Quelle surprise! Bush admits he targeted Hussein from thr start.

Comments could boost criticism of president's case for war against Iraq

jaybird found this for you @ 07:11 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 13 January, 2004 }

US military 'brutalised' journalists The

US military 'brutalised' journalists

The international news agency Reuters has made a formal complaint to the Pentagon following the "wrongful" arrest and apparent "brutalisation" of three of its staff this month by US troops in Iraq.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:05 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 05 January, 2004 }

Sheboygan Boy in Bubble:

Sheboygan Boy in Bubble: 7-year-old gets stuck in stuffed animal game machine. This could only happen at a place called "Piggly Wiggly."

There is something deeply Jungian going on here. Are we all collectively stuck in a box of wonderful prizes, disillusioned, waiting to be freed? Jeez, I'm in a mood this morning.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:55 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Quarantining dissent; How the Secret

Quarantining dissent; How the Secret Service protects Bush from free speech

When Bush went to the Pittsburgh area on Labor Day 2002, 65-year-old retired steel worker Bill Neel was there to greet him with a sign proclaiming, "The Bush family must surely love the poor, they made so many of us." The local police, at the Secret Service's behest, set up a "designated free-speech zone" on a baseball field surrounded by a chain-link fence a third of a mile from the location of Bush's speech. The police cleared the path of the motorcade of all critical signs, but folks with pro-Bush signs were permitted to line the president's path. Neel refused to go to the designated area and was arrested for disorderly conduct; the police also confiscated his sign.

And it gets worse. They give all the supporters free donuts. Heh.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:44 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 04 January, 2004 }

The face of a

The face of a miracle in Bam, Iran.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:26 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 03 January, 2004 }

Interesting... Flight Groundings Lead Allies

Interesting... Flight Groundings Lead Allies to Query Washington

In another indication of the turmoil resulting from the increased security measures, an American official said that the cancellation of the British Airways flights was not in response to United States safety concerns, but rather was prompted by the refusal of British pilots to fly with armed marshals on board. The United States put other nations on notice earlier this week that it would not allow certain suspicious flights into its airspace without armed marshals on board.

So, with all the gloating that Shrubby is protecting our airspace by cancelling suspicious flights, the real deal is that other countries are not willing to kowtow to the Admin's fearmongering (in a mutshell). Nifty.

jaybird found this for you @ 09:47 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 30 December, 2003 }

Vote for MoveOn.org's Bush in

Vote for MoveOn.org's Bush in 30 Seconds contest, where the winning video "will be televised during the week of the President's State of the Union Address this January."

jaybird found this for you @ 19:24 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Dave Barry: Between Iraq and

Dave Barry: Between Iraq and a Hard Place

It was the Year of the Troubling Question.
The most troubling one was: What the heck happened to all those weapons of mass destruction that were supposed to be in Iraq? Apparently there was an intelligence mix-up. As CIA Director George Tenet noted recently, "Our thinking now is that the weapons of mass destruction might actually be in that other one, whaddyacallit, Iran. Or Michigan. We're pretty sure the letter 'i' is involved."

jaybird found this for you @ 18:10 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

The fish that threatened national

The fish that threatened national security

He exclaimed that in no way, under no circumstances, was a small fish allowed to pass through security, regardless of what the ticket agents said. Mr. Supervisor was causing a grand scene, marshaling the full authority of the TSA to refuse me ... but doesn't it strike you as funny that, with all the commotion my little security threat was causing, by now engaging the full attention of the TSA at LaGuardia, that someone who posed a real threat to passenger safety might be conveniently slipping by? By this time, I was in tears. The supervisor furiously told me to dispose of the fish. Dispose of my fish?!

While we're at it, better ban them pesky almanacs, too:

The FBI is warning police nationwide to be alert for people carrying almanacs, cautioning that the popular reference books covering everything from abbreviations to weather trends could be used for terrorist planning.

And so, as alamanc readers (availible at elementary school libraries OMG!!!) and pretty fish (Osama is hiding in a pet store OMG!!) prepare to destroy the country, El Bush buries the signing of Patriot Act II Electric Bugaloo with the 'news' of Hussein's 'sudden' capture.

By signing the bill on the day of Hussein's capture, Bush effectively consigned a dramatic expansion of the USA Patriot Act to a mere footnote. Consequently, while most Americans watched as Hussein was probed for head lice, few were aware that the FBI had just obtained the power to probe their financial records, even if the feds don't suspect their involvement in crime or terrorism.

jaybird found this for you @ 10:00 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 26 December, 2003 }

This MeFi thread has several

This MeFi thread has several links to the tragic quake in Iran, possibly killing as many as 20,000. The historic city of Bam has been razed, as well as antiquities throughout the region. I'm trying to find resources regarding the rescue/relief effort.

Deep peace to all those affected by this disaster.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 22 December, 2003 }

The Bush administration is doing

The Bush administration is doing the public's business out of the public eye.

For the past three years, the Bush administration has quietly but efficiently dropped a shroud of secrecy across many critical operations of the federal government--cloaking its own affairs from scrutiny and removing from the public domain important information on health, safety, and environmental matters. The result has been a reversal of a decades-long trend of openness in government while making increasing amounts of information unavailable to the taxpayers who pay for its collection and analysis.

jaybird found this for you @ 09:50 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 21 December, 2003 }

Possible evidence of media complicity

Possible evidence of media complicity in gov't propaganda

During the middle of March, 2003, tbrnews received an email from a man who claimed to be a mid-level executive with a major American television network. He stated in this, and subsequent, emails that he was in possession of “thousands” of pages of in-house memos sent from his corporate headquarters in New York City to the head of the network’s television news department. He went on to say that these memos set forth directives about what material was, and was not, to be aired on the various outlets of the network... If these memos were true, they showed with a terrible clarity that at least one part of the American mass media was strictly controlled and that the news was so doctored and spun that it might as well be official news releases from the White House and Pentagon.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:25 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 18 December, 2003 }

9/11 Commission chair Kean: Attack

9/11 Commission chair Kean: Attack Was Preventable

"As you read the report, you're going to have a pretty clear idea what wasn't done and what should have been done," he said. "This was not something that had to happen."

jaybird found this for you @ 06:43 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 14 December, 2003 }

Metafilter's tilt-a-whirl thread on the

Metafilter's tilt-a-whirl thread on the capture of Saddam/Moses/Grizzly Adams is a good read and frankly the best way to digest this morning's news/bravado fest.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:59 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 13 December, 2003 }

Haiti protests marred by violence

Haiti protests marred by violence

Thousands of people protested in Haiti on Thursday in one of the largest anti-government demonstrations in years.

In the article, you'll read about a well known journalist shot outside his radio station. I've been to that station, and you can still see the bullet holes.

jaybird found this for you @ 02:02 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 12 December, 2003 }

Uranium bug has power potential

Uranium bug has power potential

US scientists have decoded and analysed the genome of a bacterium which could help clear up radioactive waste and possibly even generate electricity. Buggy.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:05 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

A Baghdad Thanksgiving's Lingering Aftertaste

A Baghdad Thanksgiving's Lingering Aftertaste

More lurid behind the scenes details on Bush's money-wasting 10000 mile PR stunt in Iraq.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:06 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Yet more wartime 'whoops' in

Yet more wartime 'whoops' in Iraq
and Afghanistan.

Hundreds of civilian deaths in the US-led invasion of Iraq could have been prevented, says Human Rights Watch.

and...

The US military in Afghanistan has revealed that six children died in a raid on suspected militants in the eastern province of Paktia last week.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:02 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Our fearless leader said something

Our fearless leader said something yesterday that should have set media outlets on fire, but instead, they whimpered away from the story with their tail between their knobby kneed legs. Apparently omitted from all the soundbites and press clippings, while discussing the contract row between US, France and Germany (which is in violation of Bush's beloved WTO accords) he said this:

"International law? I better call my lawyer. I don't know what you're talking about, about international law,"

More background here, with an eviscerated excerpt of his ignorant quip. MeFi thread here.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:57 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 11 December, 2003 }

High Payments to Halliburton for

High Payments to Halliburton for Fuel in Iraq

The United States government is paying the Halliburton Company an average of $2.64 a gallon to import gasoline and other fuel to Iraq from Kuwait, more than twice what others are paying to truck in Kuwaiti fuel, government documents show.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:49 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Mr. Bush's Kowtow Yesterday President

Mr. Bush's Kowtow

Yesterday President Bush essentially placed the United States on the side of the dictators who promise war, rather than the democrats whose threat is a ballot box. His gift to visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was to condemn "the comments and actions made by the leader of Taiwan" while ignoring the sanguinary rhetoric of the man standing next to him.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:48 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Cheney's canned hunt, more here.

Cheney's canned hunt, more here.

"This wasn't a hunting ground. It was an open-air abattoir, and the vice president should be ashamed to have patronized this operation and then slaughtered so many animals," states Wayne Pacelle, a senior vice president of The Humane Society of the United States. "If the Vice President and his friends wanted to sharpen their shooting skills, they could have shot skeet or clay, not resorted to the slaughter of more than 400 creatures planted right in front of them as animated targets."

via MeFi

jaybird found this for you @ 06:54 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 10 December, 2003 }

I've always thought that our

I've always thought that our policy toward China and Taiwan was utterly hypocritical, especially with all our gushing, guts anhd glory defence of democracy. Just goes to show that money talks loudest in this administravion: Taiwan presses on despite Sino-American bullying

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian says he won't be swayed from plans to hold a controversial referendum on China's missile threat despite a stinging rebuke from the U.S. president.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:51 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 08 December, 2003 }

Another 'whoops:' Afghan villagers shattered

Another 'whoops:' Afghan villagers shattered by attack

This village nestled in jagged mountains, in a remote area of the Pashtun heartland, will never quite be the same again, but the pain this attack has caused is being felt across the country, particularly by other Pashtuns.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:24 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 07 December, 2003 }

The words speak for themselves:

The words speak for themselves:

"With a heavy dose of fear and violence, and a lot of money for projects, I think we can convince these people that we are here to help them," Colonel Sassaman said.

jaybird found this for you @ 13:46 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 04 December, 2003 }

Another Bush stunt unravels: The

Another Bush stunt unravels:

The Bird Was Perfect But Not For Dinner

It just piles higher and higher, doesn't it? Link includes more myths about the costly PR poll prodding smile fest.

jaybird found this for you @ 09:54 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 03 December, 2003 }

Guess Who Wants to Be

Guess Who Wants to Be Governor?

How Kinky!

As a campaign slogan, it leaves something to be desired: "Why the hell not?" But Kinky Friedman, the irreverent Texas author, songwriter and salsa maker, and self-described "Gandhi-like figure" at the animal rescue ranch he runs here in the Hill Country west of San Antonio, says the message could propel him into the governor's mansion in Austin.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:19 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Fresh legal row over Guantanamo

Fresh legal row over Guantanamo

Military lawyers appointed to defend alleged terrorists being held by the US at Guantanamo Bay have expressed growing unease, according to reports.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:50 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 02 December, 2003 }

Rum remark wins Rumsfeld an

Rum remark wins Rumsfeld an award

"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know."

jaybird found this for you @ 06:43 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 29 November, 2003 }

There is absolutely nothing newsworthy

There is absolutely nothing newsworthy going on today. Not even scandalous or vaguely interesting.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:01 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 28 November, 2003 }

No Thank You says Margaret

No Thank You says Margaret Cho:

I do not wish to celebrate some holiday where the pilgrims and the Indians decided to have a potluck and the Indians bring some maize and the pilgrims bring whatever kind of bullshit those square hat, buckle shoe puritan motherfuckers eat, and then sat down together and gave thanks - for what? If I was the Indians, I would have RSVP'd a nice big old smoke signal "UNABLE TO ATTEND DUE TO YOUR IGNANCE. P.S. FUCK YOU MILES STANDISH!!!"

jaybird found this for you @ 16:57 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 27 November, 2003 }

Excellent commentary from the Guardian

Excellent commentary from the Guardian about Miami:

America's enemy within

Small, peaceful demonstrations were attacked with extreme force; organisations were infiltrated by undercover officers who used stun guns; buses of union members were prevented from joining permitted marches; people were beaten with batons; activists had guns pointed at their heads at checkpoints.

jaybird found this for you @ 10:29 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 23 November, 2003 }

Crimes Against Nature By Robert

Crimes Against Nature By Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Bush is sabotaging the laws that have protected America's environment for more than thirty years

jaybird found this for you @ 22:28 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 22 November, 2003 }

Peace: public enemy number one?

Peace: public enemy number one? F.B.I. Scrutinizes Antiwar Rallies

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has collected extensive information on the tactics, training and organization of antiwar demonstrators and has advised local law enforcement officials to report any suspicious activity at protests to its counterterrorism squads, according to interviews and a confidential bureau memorandum.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:04 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 21 November, 2003 }

Protesters Say Miami Police Overreacted

Protesters Say Miami Police Overreacted

On Friday, the National Lawyers Guild asked for an independent investigation into officers' conduct. The American Civil Liberties Union also was investigating. "Such paramilitary tactics are ill-conceived and self-defeating and have no place in a democratic society," said Michael Avery, president of the lawyers guild.

jaybird found this for you @ 22:29 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 20 November, 2003 }

Protesters cheer as Bush effigy

Protesters cheer as Bush effigy is toppled

The bronze-colour statue was meant to recreate the moment Saddam Hussein's bronze statue was toppled over in Baghdad earlier this year.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:41 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

War critics astonished as US

War critics astonished as US hawk admits invasion was illegal

International lawyers and anti-war campaigners reacted with astonishment yesterday after the influential Pentagon hawk Richard Perle conceded that the invasion of Iraq had been illegal.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:31 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 19 November, 2003 }

Chasing George A website dedicated

Chasing George

A website dedicated to tracking the [p]Resident's every move while in the UK, to coordinate protest resources.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:44 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 18 November, 2003 }

London mayor says Bush is

London mayor says Bush is 'greatest threat to life on planet'

Mr Livingstone, who is holding a "peace party" for anti-war groups in City Hall tomorrow, added: "I don't formally recognise George Bush because he was not officially elected. So we are organising an alternative reception for everybody who is not George Bush."

jaybird found this for you @ 06:37 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 17 November, 2003 }

Put up or shut up:

Put up or shut up:

Bush was last night branded chicken for scrapping his speech to Parliament because he feared being heckled by anti-war MPs.

jaybird found this for you @ 22:50 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Appeal for draft board volunteers

Appeal for draft board volunteers revives memories of Vietnam era

The Pentagon has begun recruiting for local draft boards, dredging up painful memories of Vietnam era conscription at a time of deepening misgiving about America's occupation of Iraq.

jaybird found this for you @ 22:30 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

FBI may collect juveniles' DNA

FBI may collect juveniles' DNA

DNA profiles from hundreds of thousands of juvenile offenders and adults arrested but not convicted of crimes could be added to the FBI's national DNA crime-fighting program under a proposed law moving through Congress.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:36 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 14 November, 2003 }

Excuse me, miss: more irony,

Excuse me, miss: more irony, please:

Adopt ways of Gandhi: Wolfowitz to Palestinians

Nuff said.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:40 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

War relative's message for Bush

War relative's message for Bush

A grieving father whose son died in Iraq said he would walk to London from north Wales just to tell US president George Bush what he thinks of his war effort.

This, BTW, is the 900th post. Yipee!

jaybird found this for you @ 06:44 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 13 November, 2003 }

Jeb Bush 'jokes' people of

Jeb Bush 'jokes' people of San Francisco may be endangered

Gov. Jeb Bush joked during a Florida Cabinet meeting Wednesday that the people of San Francisco may be endangered and, "That's probably good news for the country."

I don't think I've ever used the term 'asshat' on this blog before. But I will in regards to Jeb. He's an asshat. There. That feels much better.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:56 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Can Miami Really Ban Giant

Can Miami Really Ban Giant Puppets?

Over 100,000 protesters are expected at next week's Free Trade Area of the Americas summit in Miami. In anticipation, the city is considering an ordinance that would, according to Reuters, ban "glass bottles, slingshots, signs on wooden sticks and giant puppets." Can Miami really ban giant puppets?

jaybird found this for you @ 06:47 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 12 November, 2003 }

TV has made nation complacent,

TV has made nation complacent, Gore says

The "quasi-hypnotic influence" of television in America has fostered a complacent nation that is a danger to democracy, former Vice President Al Gore said Tuesday.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:20 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 11 November, 2003 }

Uganda conflict 'worse than Iraq'

Uganda conflict 'worse than Iraq'

The humanitarian situation in northern Uganda is worse than in Iraq, or anywhere else in the world, a senior United Nations official has said.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:50 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 10 November, 2003 }

Private Jessica says President is

Private Jessica says President is misusing her 'heroism'

Misgivings characterising Lynch's story are coming to a head: last week she accused the administration of manipulating her story for propaganda, saying she was not a heroine at all; accusations that she'd been raped were disputed by appalled Iraqi doctors who first treated her, and the army was accused of insensitivity and racism for awarding Lynch a full disability pension while others from her ambushed maintenance company, including Shoshana Johnson, the black cook wounded and captured by Iraqis, will receive barely a third of Lynch's discharge package.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:53 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Gore's most recent speech, sponsored

Gore's most recent speech, sponsored by MoveOn.org...

"..for the first time in our history, American citizens have been seized by the executive branch of government and put in prison without being charged with a crime, without having the right to a trial, without being able to see a lawyer, and without even being able to contact their families. President Bush is claiming the unilateral right to do that to any American citizen he believes is an “enemy combatant.” Those are the magic words. If the President alone decides that those two words accurately describe someone, then that person can be immediately locked up and held incommunicado for as long as the President wants, with no court having the right to determine whether the facts actually justify his imprisonment."

jaybird found this for you @ 16:27 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 05 November, 2003 }

A Statement from a Syrian-born

A Statement from a Syrian-born Canadian about his treatment at the hands of US 'authorities,' which led ultimately to torture-by-proxy in Jordan. Powerful stuff.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:47 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 03 November, 2003 }

Secret 9/11 case before high

Secret 9/11 case before high court

It's the case that doesn't exist. Even though two different federal courts have conducted hearings and issued rulings, there has been no public record of any action. No documents are available. No files. No lawyer is allowed to speak about it. Period.

jaybird found this for you @ 22:28 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

OMG.com, mainstream media finally 'gets

OMG.com, mainstream media finally 'gets it:'

Worries grow over new voting machines' reliability, security

jaybird found this for you @ 16:39 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 02 November, 2003 }

Students, Nuns and Sailor-Mongers, Beware

Students, Nuns and Sailor-Mongers, Beware

In a Miami federal court, the attorney general charged the environmental group Greenpeace under an obscure 1872 law originally intended to end the practice of "sailor-mongering," or the luring of sailors with liquor and prostitutes from their ships. Ashcroft plucked the law from obscurity to punish Greenpeace for boarding a vessel near port in Miami.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:54 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 31 October, 2003 }

Boo: FDA thinks products from

Boo:

FDA thinks products from cloned animals 'safe.'

Happy Halloween!

jaybird found this for you @ 06:47 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 30 October, 2003 }

Fighting 'fire' with fire, and

Fighting 'fire' with fire, and killing animals too:

US develops lethal new viruses

A scientist funded by the US government has deliberately created an extremely deadly form of mousepox, a relative of the smallpox virus, through genetic engineering.

Let Georgie do the testing on the animals himself if his conscience is so clear about American WMDs. Canada, please invade and help us stop this lunacy. Please.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:53 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Soldier faces charcge of 'cowardice'

Soldier faces charcge of 'cowardice'

The soldier said he experienced a “panic attack” after seeing the mangled body of an Iraqi man and told his superior he was heading for a “nervous breakdown.”

jaybird found this for you @ 16:33 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Hop on the Blacklist... the

Hop on the Blacklist... the NRA blacklist! Started as an internal NRA document of those opposed to the extremist policies of the NRA, it's now the rage to be blacklisted. Get on!

jaybird found this for you @ 06:49 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 29 October, 2003 }

Krugman: A Willful Ignorance Mr.

Krugman: A Willful Ignorance

Mr. Bush's ignorance may reflect his lack of curiosity: "The best way to get the news," he says, "is from objective sources. And the most objective sources I have are people on my staff." Two words: emperor, clothes.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:49 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 28 October, 2003 }

Stop making sense: Bush Says

Stop making sense: Bush Says Attacks Are Reflection of U.S. Gains

Oh, why that's very likely. Irony on a stick. I can't get over the idiocy if this [p]Resident. It's working, so more soldiers die every day. Oh, and those pesky civilians too. While you're at it, Georgie boy, make sure those serach engines don't crawl whitehouse.gov looking for info on Iraq, m'kay?

jaybird found this for you @ 17:07 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

An anxious report from California:

An anxious report from California:

Eyewitness: 'You cannot breathe'

The sky is black from the clouds but there is an orange glow from the fires themselves. When I was speaking to my daughter on the phone earlier today I opened the window and it just hits you in the back of the throat.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:38 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 27 October, 2003 }

Startling satellite pic of the

Startling satellite pic of the California wildfires.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:00 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Scroll down this article from

Scroll down this article from NYT and, surprise:

...the military had specific intelligence of an imminent attack on the hotel, the Rashid, where senior personnel of the American occupation live and eat, but that no special precautions had been taken.

So, they do nothing. Was the guvmint trying to make a martyr out of Wolfowitz or what?

jaybird found this for you @ 15:31 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

peacecoup.us: American citizens active for

peacecoup.us: American citizens active for peace.

1. The best strategy for achieving long-term security and prosperity is peace.
2. Living in healthy and peaceful communities allows unprecedented periods of peace on Earth.
3. A perpetual peace coup (American citizens active for peace) is more than just democracy,
it's great democracy.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:03 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 26 October, 2003 }

Note tremendous differences in reporting

Note tremendous differences in reporting style in these two stories on the Baghdad hotel strike from WaPo (objective), Canned News Network (nearly glowing pro-gov bias). Even the Nixonian Fox"News" had a more balanced report.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:22 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 25 October, 2003 }

[Hundreds of ] Thousands join

[Hundreds of ] Thousands join US anti-war march

[Hundreds of ] Thousands of protesters have turned out in Washington and San Francisco to demonstrate against the occupation of Iraq by the United States-led coalition.

jaybird found this for you @ 21:30 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 23 October, 2003 }

Rumsfeld's leaked memo: Leak it,

Rumsfeld's leaked memo:

Leak it, baby.

"...it will be a long, hard slog."

I know that's the way you like it, Donnie.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:03 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 21 October, 2003 }

Boy's Internet research snags him

Boy's Internet research snags him in FBI web

A 12-year-old kid... researches a paper on the Bay Bridge, and suddenly the FBI's Joint Terrorist Task Force shows up in the headmaster's office.

jaybird found this for you @ 21:51 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 18 October, 2003 }

Bush's 'spirit' cursed with black

Bush's 'spirit' cursed with black magic, tossed into river after being cursed by hundreds of farmers protesting US agriculture policy.

A photograph of the US leader was sealed inside a pot amid black magic mantra chants, then tossed into the Ping River on Friday by demonstrators after they rallied at the US consulate in Chiang Mai, a farm group leader said.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:51 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 17 October, 2003 }

Everyone around here is saying

Everyone around here is saying that this winter will be the uber-humdinger to end all uber-humdingers. Apparently, the black and brown woolly caterpillars I've seen lately are the first to warm of the upcoming deluge. I've had my doubts, thinking that never a winter goes by that's not prognosticated to be the 'worst ever.' The following article is good medicine in this regard:

A Hazy Forecast

Don't be surprised if the upcoming winter is just like last year's: colder and snowier than normal in the Northeast. Then again, don't be surprised if it's the exact opposite of last year: warmer and drier. What if it's somewhere in between, with normal temperatures and normal precipitation?

jaybird found this for you @ 18:42 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Senior Federal Prosecutors and F.B.I.

Senior Federal Prosecutors and F.B.I. Officials Fault Ashcroft Over Leak Inquiry

The criticism reflects the first sign of dissension in the department and the F.B.I. as the inquiry nears a critical phase. The attorney general must decide whether to convene a grand jury, which could compel White House officials to testify.

How very likely, indeed.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:06 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 16 October, 2003 }

Dubya is losing his grip.

Dubya is losing his grip.

[P]resident Bush - living up to his recent declaration that he is in charge - told his top officials to "stop the leaks" to the media, or else. News of Bush's order leaked almost immediately.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:34 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Sinister Dexterity cites a great

Sinister Dexterity cites a great letter to "Dr. Laura" regarding God's Law:

1. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for The Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

Etc. Brilliant!

jaybird found this for you @ 17:41 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

The Widening Crusade by Sydney

The Widening Crusade by Sydney H. Schanberg

If some wishful Americans are still hoping President Bush will acknowledge that his imperial foreign policy has stumbled in Iraq and needs fixing or reining in, they should put aside those reveries. He's going all the way—and taking us with him.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:19 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Top terrorist hunter's divisive views

Top terrorist hunter's divisive views

A highly decorated general who is one of the leaders of a secretive new Pentagon unit formed to coordinate intelligence on terrorists and help hunt down Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and other high-profile targets has a history of outspoken and divisive views on religion — Islam in particular.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:05 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 15 October, 2003 }

A British evaluation of our

A British evaluation of our current electoral woes:

All the President's votes?

A quiet revolution is taking place in US politics. By the time it's over, the integrity of elections will be in the unchallenged, unscrutinised control of a few large - and pro-Republican - corporations.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:34 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Another [yawn] stunning revelation: Powell

Another [yawn] stunning revelation:

Powell Misled Americans

The person responsible for analyzing the Iraqi weapons threat for Colin Powell says the Secretary of State misinformed Americans during his speech at the U.N. last winter.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:19 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 14 October, 2003 }

Occupation and reconstruction, or reprisal?

Occupation and reconstruction, or reprisal?

US soldiers driving bulldozers, with jazz blaring from loudspeakers, have uprooted ancient groves of date palms as well as orange and lemon trees in central Iraq as part of a new policy of collective punishment of farmers who do not give information about guerrillas attacking US troops.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:58 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 12 October, 2003 }

More policy gibberish ("Bushit") that

More policy gibberish ("Bushit") that makes absoluty no sense:

U.S. May Expand Access To Endangered Species

From the article: Giving Americans access to endangered animals, officials said, would feed the gigantic U.S. demand for live animals, skins, parts and trophies, and generate profits that would allow poor nations to pay for conservation of the remaining animals and their habitat.
And the caveat: No U.S. endangered species would be affected.

Of course not. Let's let this miserable policy destroy the resources of other countries where auditing and accountability would be much more difficult... it would be a public policy disaster if he did that here. Hard to get [re]elected if you're going to be greasing up the meatgrinder for bald eagles, huh George? This makes me so mad, Mr. [p]Resident, that I'm going to call you a BAD WORD. That's right, George, you are an "asshat."

There, I did it. Getting a bit potty mouthed here on the moon, aren't i? Anyway...

Chop down forests to prevent wildfires... kill endangered species to stop them from being endangered... decimate the Bill of Rights to assure terrorists don't deprive us of our Constitutional rights...

Irony has a new standard.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:07 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 10 October, 2003 }

Utterly ridiculous... this kid might

Utterly ridiculous... this kid might see drug charges for this. Maybe the judge will try him as a terrorist...

Teenager In Trouble In Inhaler Incident

A teenager was disciplined for sharing medication used to treat asthma, but he said it saved his girlfriend's life.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:55 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

The Nobel Prize for Peace

The Nobel Prize for Peace has been announced, MeFi is reporting:

We have a winner!

Iranian lawyer and human rights activist Shirin Ebadi has won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2003. Ebadi is Iran's first female judge and a leading figure in the struggle for women's and children's rights in Iran. She is known for representing the interests of persecuted individuals and has braved reprisals for her beliefs.

jaybird found this for you @ 09:53 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 08 October, 2003 }

Gorbachev calls Bush decision to

Gorbachev calls Bush decision to invade Iraq `mistake'
Gorbachev, who heads Green Cross International, an environmental group dedicated to preserving fresh water and eliminating weapons of mass destruction, criticized the U.S. action as based on a "new national strategy" that calls for acting unilaterally against perceived threats.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:44 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 06 October, 2003 }

Extract: Dude, Where's My Country?

Extract: Dude, Where's My Country? by Michael Moore The media didn't bother to run (over and over again) the footage from when Saddam was presented with a key to the city of Detroit, or the film from the early 1980s of Donald Rumsfeld visiting Saddam in Baghdad to discuss the progress of the Iran-Iraq war.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:33 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Guess the weasel* who's taken

Guess the weasel* who's taken to waxing waning poetic:

Roses are red/Violets are blue/Oh my, lump in the bed/How I've missed you...

Roses are redder/Bluer am I/Seeing you kissed by that charming French guy

The dogs and the cat, they missed you too/Barney's still mad you dropped him, he ate your shoe/The distance, my dear, has been such a barrier/Next time you want an adventure, just land on a carrier

*no offense intended to Mustela nivalis

jaybird found this for you @ 06:49 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Uber-spooky with implications a-go-go: Spying

Uber-spooky with implications a-go-go: Spying on your teens via satellite for $600
Tracking units to monitor children and teenagers - disguised as watches, mobile phones and belts - have hit Australia to the outrage of civil libertarians and parent groups. The latest in spy gadgets available in Australia are being marketed to anxious parents. They include a computer device and software that can record email and chatroom conversations and a clothing spray that can tell if teens are having sex.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:43 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 05 October, 2003 }

Another [yawn] shocking surprise: Former

Another [yawn] shocking surprise: Former Foreign Minister Robin Cook Says Blair Knew Iraq Had No Banned Arms

jaybird found this for you @ 21:48 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 02 October, 2003 }

Driving dangerously with the Patriot

Driving dangerously with the Patriot Act Attorney General John Ashcroft is running a dead heat with A. Mitchell Palmer, attorney general in the Wilson administration, for the distinction of being the worst in that job in the history of the United States.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:54 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 01 October, 2003 }

Rainbow City man rules as

Rainbow City man rules as hobo king ...being considered a hobo, or a rail-rider, isn't something Charles Gill of Rainbow City tries to hide, at least if the person asking doesn't work for a railroad company.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:49 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 28 September, 2003 }

They're going nuts: Weary troops

They're going nuts: Weary troops just want to go home A little Iraqi girl -- no more than eight years old -- squatted beside the road with tears of humiliation streaming down her cheeks. Twenty feet away, three American soldiers had their rifles aimed at her as she was forced to relieve herself in full view of a long line of parked cars. From inside their vehicles, the Iraqi onlookers screamed their rage at the U.S. troops. Whenever one of the Iraqis ventured to step out of his vehicle, an American officer bellowed, "Get back in the car, a--hole!" and the .50-calibre machinegun mounted on the U.S. Hummer would swing menacingly toward the protester.

via MeFi

jaybird found this for you @ 19:24 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Bottoms up! Whisky of Mass

Bottoms up! Whisky of Mass Destruction - how the US spied on a tiny island distillery If the slightest possibility exists that Bruichladdich distillery on Islay is a threat to world peace, we need to know.

jaybird found this for you @ 14:11 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 27 September, 2003 }

Anti-war protests span globe Protests

Anti-war protests span globe Protests around the world on Saturday called for an end to the US-led occupation of Iraq and Israel's claims on Palestinian territories.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:44 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Load of corn in

Load of corn in Somalia

jaybird found this for you @ 20:16 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

CIA seeks probe of White

CIA seeks probe of White House The CIA has asked the Justice Department to investigate allegations that the White House broke federal laws by revealing the identity of one of its undercover employees in retaliation against the woman’s husband, a former ambassador who publicly criticized President Bush’s since-discredited claim that Iraq had sought weapons-grade uranium from Africa...

jaybird found this for you @ 08:26 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 26 September, 2003 }

34.6 Million U.S. People in

34.6 Million U.S. People in Poverty in 2002 More than 1.7 million people in the United States slid into poverty in 2002 and incomes slipped for the second year in a row, the U.S. government said on Friday in a report sure to provide new ammunition for Democrats trying to unseat President Bush.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:24 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 25 September, 2003 }

Victory! Nigerian Islamic court clears

Victory! Nigerian Islamic court clears Amina Lawal of adultery in stoning case

jaybird found this for you @ 23:16 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 23 September, 2003 }

TGIF for the White House

TGIF for the White House when it has bad news Fridays are ideal for "throwing the news into a black hole."

jaybird found this for you @ 18:11 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 22 September, 2003 }

Yet another astonishing [yawn] revelation

Yet another astonishing [yawn] revelation [snore] from the Bush cabal [like their ethics were ever in question?]... Bush covers up climate research

jaybird found this for you @ 18:49 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 19 September, 2003 }

How to immigrate to Canada

How to immigrate to Canada Which more of we yanks are being forced to consider... I wouldn't mind, it's beautiful and generally friendier up yonder. I'm quite interested in BC.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:02 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 18 September, 2003 }

Watch the hurricane hit my

Watch the hurricane hit my old summer home ofRehoboth Beach Delaware...

jaybird found this for you @ 16:20 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 17 September, 2003 }

The UK gets it, we

The UK gets it, we don't: Terror laws are 'needless totalitarianism'

jaybird found this for you @ 06:53 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 15 September, 2003 }

Deceit, Manipulation and Intimidation... the

Deceit, Manipulation and Intimidation... the foundation for upheaval!

jaybird found this for you @ 16:15 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

For once, a temporary victory

For once, a temporary victory against the radical 'right:' Court Delays California Recall Vote

jaybird found this for you @ 15:58 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 14 September, 2003 }

The height of litigious stupidity:

The height of litigious stupidity: One Apple sues another over name

jaybird found this for you @ 11:15 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 12 September, 2003 }

News List-o-Mat

The Top 25 Censored Media Stories of 2002-2003

So, why after 730 days do we know so little about what really happened on 9-11? [20]

What You Think You Know About Sept. 11 …
… but don't [5]

jaybird found this for you @ 17:34 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Craziness! As seen in the

Craziness! As seen in the Jerusalem Post:

The world will not help us; we must help ourselves. We must kill as many of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders as possible, as quickly possible, while minimizing collateral damage, but not letting that damage stop us. And we must kill Yasser Arafat, because the world leaves us no alternative.

So much for the 'Roadmap.'

jaybird found this for you @ 08:11 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Whoops! US forces accidentally kill

Whoops! US forces accidentally kill 8 Iraqi police.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:06 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Palast: Bush Resignation Hailed by

Palast: Bush Resignation Hailed by World Leaders The surprise resignation of the forty-third President of the United States, George W. Bush, on the second anniversary of the terrorist attack on America, was hailed by chiefs of state throughout the world. Mr. Bush announced that after, "two years of bloodshed, economic devastation, and spreading fear in America and abroad," he saw no choice but to accept that, "I have held a title which I did not win, and for which I have proven unqualified." via MeFi

jaybird found this for you @ 01:50 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 11 September, 2003 }

Greenpeace obtains smoking-gun memo: White

Greenpeace obtains smoking-gun memo: White House/Exxon link Did conservative elements in the White House provoke an Exxon front group to sue EPA to suppress a report on climate change? That's the question that two State Attorney Generals have asked US Attorney General John Ashcroft to investigate, after Greenpeace uncovered a routine email in a Freedom of Information Act request. via MeFi

jaybird found this for you @ 06:58 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 10 September, 2003 }

You go! Protesters disrupt Rumsfeld

You go! Protesters disrupt Rumsfeld speech "Your foreign policy is based on lies. The war in Iraq is unjust and illegal and the occupation is immoral," she said. Shouts went up of "Bring the troops home now!" and "Tell us when the troops are coming home. They need to come home." Protesters unfurled a banner from the gallery before being led away, chanting, "Hey, Mr. Rumsfeld, what do you say? How many children did you kill today."

jaybird found this for you @ 16:58 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 09 September, 2003 }

City Council votes to impeach

City Council votes to impeach Bush Specifically, city leaders say Bush violated international treaties by going to war in Iraq, and that the president manipulated public fears to justify the war and undercut Constitutional rights.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:51 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 04 September, 2003 }

Young Webmaster Heads to Prison

Young Webmaster Heads to Prison for Political Website “We've been looking through the discovery, and it‚s so very clear to me that this is a case of entrapment, lies, the F.B.I. setting things up, changing things, twisting around, using words and terminology out of context and people just not being aware of the fact that these things are being done. And I really want to get the message out to activists or just people who are politically active out there, regardless of what communities they‚re in, to be very, very careful and to look at this case, to understand it, and to educate themselves about the law—about the law that's being used to put my son in prison.”

jaybird found this for you @ 19:01 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Bush wags the dog, then

Bush wags the dog, then drops it.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:08 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Is Elmo Bush's secret

Is Elmo Bush's secret weapon? Images of heavily-armed Marines patrolling Iraq may not be winning the US many friends in the Islamic world. So it could be time to enlist the soft and fluffy inhabitants of Sesame Street in the battle against anti-Americanism.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:57 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

The Global Rich List ranks

The Global Rich List ranks your wealth compared to the rest of world. Humbling.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:51 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 31 August, 2003 }

Voting and impropriety? Quelle surprise!

Voting and impropriety? Quelle surprise! The head of a company vying to sell voting machines in Ohio told Republicans in a recent fund-raising letter that he is "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year."
committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year

jaybird found this for you @ 07:18 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 27 August, 2003 }

Ooooh, this will be big:

Ooooh, this will be big: US Republican Party outsources fund raising to India via MeFi

jaybird found this for you @ 21:24 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Arnold gets smutty I'm only

Arnold gets smutty I'm only going to give a tame snippet here: I was living in Munich at the time, hanging out with night people--entertainers, hookers, and bar owners--and I had a girlfriend who was a stripper.

Anything to say about moral highgrounds, Arn? Not to say I disapprove, but I do disapprove of politicos that drone on about ethics and morality when their own slate is at least a bit smudgy. Lord knows mine is. But gee heck, Arn, sexual free-for-alls with bodybuilders?

(No, I've never even considered it).

jaybird found this for you @ 19:23 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Resident Bush's forays into grey

Resident Bush's forays into grey and dark legal areas: Not Up to Code? Embellishing the Flag, Then the Web Site "It's inappropriate. It's a government Web site. It's the use of government property for political work, which is illegal. They have to be careful."

jaybird found this for you @ 16:55 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 26 August, 2003 }

Roadmap to Peace

A Bird on the Moon exclusive: details beginning to emerge.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:47 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 25 August, 2003 }

For Sale: How King Shaped

For Sale: How King Shaped the Dream Occupying 20,000 square feet — nearly one a floor — of the auction house, the sprawling exhibition opens to the public tomorrow and runs through Sept. 8. Sotheby's is offering the collection for private sale — not at auction — on behalf of the King estate.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:55 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 22 August, 2003 }

Wow, those conservatives sure are

Wow, those conservatives sure are compassionate! Guantanamo may free children "three children - aged between 13 and 15 -" Sick and wrong.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:46 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 21 August, 2003 }

STUPID: Taco Bell launches it's

STUPID: Taco Bell launches it's Recall Poll. Buy a taco, exercise democracy? Please.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:04 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 20 August, 2003 }

MoveOn.org called in to help

MoveOn.org called in to help exiled Texas democratic senators fighting right-wing redistricting effort.

I am writing to you from a hotel room in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I and 10 of my colleagues in the Texas Senate have been forced to reside for the past 20 days. If we return to our homes, families, friends, and constituents, the Governor of Texas will have us arrested. I know, it sounds more like a banana republic than the dignified democracy on which we have long prided ourselves. We are effectively exiled from the state due to our unalterable opposition to a Republican effort -- pushed by Tom Delay and Karl Rove, and led by Texas Governor Rick Perry -- that would rewrite the map of Texas Congressional districts in order to elect at least 5 more Republicans to Congress.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:54 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

"Prosecute acts of terror" by

"Prosecute acts of terror" by stopping the illegal guvmint of George the Pretender and Ashcroft the Fowl from putting up partisan political websites like Preserving Life & Liberty

jaybird found this for you @ 16:38 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 19 August, 2003 }

On Getting Along by Howard Zinn

via Email

You ask how I manage to stay involved and remain seemingly happy and adjusted to this awful world where the efforts of caring people pale in comparison to those who have power?

It's easy. First, don't let "those who have power" intimidate you. No matter how much power they have they cannot prevent you from living your life, speaking your mind, thinking independently, having relationships with people as you like. (Read Emma Goldman's autobiography LIVING MY LIFE. Harassed, even imprisoned by authority, she insisted on living her life, speaking out, however she felt like.

Second, find people to be with who have your values, your commitments, but who also have a sense of humor. That combination is a necessity!

Third (notice how precise is my advice that I can confidently number it, the way scientists number things), understand that the major media will not tell you of all the acts of resistance taking place every day in the society, the strikes, the protests, the individual acts of courage in the face of authority. Look around (and you will certainly find it) for the evidence of these unreported acts. And for the little you find, extrapolate from that and assume there must be a thousand times as much as what you've found.

Fourth. Note that throughout history people have felt powerless before authority, but that at certain times these powerless people, by organizing, acting, risking, persisting, have created enough power to change the world around them, even if a little. That is the history of the labor movement, of the women's movement, of the anti-Vietnam war movement, the disabled persons movement, the gay and lesbian movement, the movement of black people in the South.

Fifth: Remember, that those who have power, and who seem invulnerable are in fact quite vulnerable, that their power depends on the obedience of others, and when those others begin withholding that obedience, begin defying authority, that power at the top turns out to be very fragile. Generals become powerless when their soldiers refuse to fight, industriaists become powerless when their workers leave the jobs or occupy the factories.

Sixth: When we forget the fragility of that power in top we become astounded when it crumbles in the face of rebellion. We have had many such surprises in our time, both in the United States and in other countries.

Seventh: Don't look for a moment of total triumph. See it as an ongoing struggle, with victories and defeats, but in the long run the consciousness of people growing. So you need patience, persistence, and need to understand that even when you don't "win," there is fun and fulfillment in the fact that you have been involved, with other good people, in something worthwhile.

Okay, seven pieces of profound advice should be enough.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:20 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Reporters Fault U.S. Troops in

Reporters Fault U.S. Troops in Iraq Death Fellow journalists accused U.S. troops of negligence in the shooting death of a Reuters cameraman, saying it was clear the victim was a newsman when soldiers on two tanks opened fire. Press advocacy groups called for an investigation.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:52 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 18 August, 2003 }

US notches world's highest incarceration

US notches world's highest incarceration rate More than 5.6 million Americans are in prison or have served time there, according to a new report by the Justice Department released Sunday. That's 1 in 37 adults living in the United States, the highest incarceration level in the world.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:03 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 15 August, 2003 }

Baghdad Blogger lays it down:

Baghdad Blogger lays it down:

As you go into Baghdad from the west there is graffiti on the walls that says "Welcome to the Republic of Darkness and Unemployment".
Baghdad had no electricity for a whole day. Call me the master of all whiners but do you have any idea what it feels like to sleep in 50C? I guess with the current heat wave you have a taste.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:29 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Who needs a constitution? Defiant

Who needs a constitution? Defiant chief justice vows to keep Ten Commandments monument The Alabama chief justice locked in a fierce battle with a federal court vowed Thursday that he would not remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the state's judicial building's rotunda.

jaybird found this for you @ 06:52 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 14 August, 2003 }

Thank you for taking my

Thank you for taking my call! is a website mentioned by a caller on ABC news tonight (during the Mighty Mohawk Power Grid Drama) that links... to prank calls?

jaybird found this for you @ 19:24 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

MeFi's breaking coverage of the

MeFi's breaking coverage of the New York power outage

jaybird found this for you @ 19:19 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 13 August, 2003 }

"Library Post!"

Post quick, jaybird! Library closes at 8!

Dowd on presidential bloggers

Apocalypse in a nutshell

Franken rebutts Fox

Dog passes breathalyzer

Taylor will be tried for warcrimes... finally a foreign policy statement I can approve of!

The evil worm... and it's minions

Left-Wing's 20 'worst' people of the 20th century

Meanwhile, please keep fingers crossed for speedy resolution to my comp probs... my techie is, as usual, stumped.

jaybird found this for you @ 19:01 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 12 August, 2003 }

Arnold's stupid movies kept off

Arnold's stupid movies kept off air during recall race,
Nader takes a pie in the face,
Internet cafe is closing,
Counterfolk give chase.

jaybird found this for you @ 20:59 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 10 August, 2003 }

Anti-War Reservist Fights Court-Martial A

Anti-War Reservist Fights Court-Martial A Marine reservist facing a court-martial says he's being unfairly prosecuted for criticizing the military at anti-war rallies and for publicizing his application for conscientious objector status.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:43 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

WMD, con't... Napalm update: A

WMD, con't... Napalm update: A 1980 UN convention banned the use against civilian targets of napalm, a terrifying mixture of jet fuel and polystyrene that sticks to skin as it burns. The US, which did not sign the treaty, is one of the few countries that makes use of the weapon. It was employed notoriously against both civilian and military targets in the Vietnam war.

jaybird found this for you @ 14:54 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 09 August, 2003 }

The 'Ole Family Ranch'

The 'Ole Family Ranch' in Crawford is a Set Completed the Same Day the Election Was Stolen Alas, the Crawford ranch is a symbol of the utter corporate phoniness of this administration. The whole scenario reminds me of those type of sophisticated con artists (like the ones who recently convinced several investors they could turn sand into gold! ) who blow into town, rent an upscale office space just long enough to give them enough credibility to hoodwink investors.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:13 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 08 August, 2003 }

Surprised? Bush Misuses Science, Report

Surprised? Bush Misuses Science, Report Says ...has repeatedly mischaracterized scientific facts to bolster its political agenda in areas ranging from abstinence education and condom use to missile defense...

jaybird found this for you @ 17:05 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Smelly Mystery Blob Takes Over

Smelly Mystery Blob Takes Over N.J. Town It might be outgoing EPA Chief and former NJ governor Christie Todd Whitman, an offical was reported as saying.

jaybird found this for you @ 15:56 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 07 August, 2003 }

Ashcroft does Orwell: U.S. Backs

Ashcroft does Orwell: U.S. Backs Florida's New Counterterrorism Database It would let authorities, for instance, instantly find the name and address of every brown-haired owner of a red Ford pickup truck in a 20-mile radius of a suspicious event.

jaybird found this for you @ 16:59 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Espresso Tax? Have they lost

Espresso Tax? Have they lost their minds?

jaybird found this for you @ 06:46 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 06 August, 2003 }

California 'recall election' officially

California 'recall election' officially a joke: Arnold (Total Recall) Schwarzenegger, Gallagher the Watermelon Smasher, Larry Flynt, porn star Mary Carey, Gary Coleman, and My Big Toe (left foot) step in to run for Governor. Enjoy your state.

Is anyone planning on selling popcorn on Election Day? I'll ontinue updating the list as further likely govs emerge.

jaybird found this for you @ 21:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Dean on King

Dean on King

jaybird found this for you @ 16:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 05 August, 2003 }

Scare Tactics - Why

Scare Tactics - Why are Liberian soldiers wearing fright wigs? Indeed, some of the more fully accessorized soldiers in Charles Taylor's militia even tote dainty purses and don feather boas.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:42 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Jaybird Makes Up His Mind for 2004

I've made my decision... it's time to support Howard Dean for [legitimate] President. I've signed up to support him, and just in case you haven't, here's how...

Why? Not only has he proven his ability to mobilize and thus generate interest in lieu of apathy, he doesn't dilly-dally, trying to appease every last lobbyist, and the Governor stands by his principles. I find it amazing for me to say myself, being someone who would rather subvert the dominant political paradigm and such who tends toward the Kucinich / Moseley-Braun left, but look at the storm that a Vermonter has kicked up. This kind of momentum, with continued exposure, has a thunderous chance to unseat our current neo-fascist overlords. So could Kerry or Lierberman, but what would they replace it with? Another centrist, wimpy, band of poll-ocrats. Dean is exciting, and it takes a lot for me to support someone from that party (in lieu of a Green) but in this case, we must and will without reservation. Go Dean!

jaybird found this for you @ 08:05 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 04 August, 2003 }

US anti-war activists hit by

US anti-war activists hit by secret airport ban After more than a year of complaints by some US anti-war activists that they were being unfairly targeted by airport security, Washington has admitted the existence of a list, possibly hundreds or even thousands of names long, of people it deems worthy of special scrutiny at airports.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:12 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Dowd: Butch, Butch Bush! Last

Dowd: Butch, Butch Bush! Last time I checked, we had separation of church and state, so I don't know why the president is talking about sin, or why he is implying that gays who want to make a permanent commitment in a world full of divorce and loneliness are sinners. And a gay political reporter goes on to say "Everything else about him just shouts `Butch, butch, butch!' But to throw Bush a metrosexual bone, whenever you see him walking off Air Force One with that little furball Barney under his arm, that canine puff of air that most drag queens wouldn't be caught dead with, it's like he's halfway to a Chanel rabbit fur handbag."

jaybird found this for you @ 17:53 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 03 August, 2003 }

Very misleading article... Teen arrested

Very misleading article... Teen arrested at Logan for alleged bomb threat in his bag Here's the note: ''[Expletive] you. Stay the [expletive] out of my bag you [expletive] sucker. Have you found a [expletive] bomb yet? No, just clothes. Am I right? Yea, so [expletive] you.'' Here, the kid explains: ''I can explain this. I wrote a note in my bag asking if there was a bomb in it and telling them to stay out.'' Read the article and you'd think he was making an actual threat. Just like the title of the new Alterman book, "What liberal media?"

jaybird found this for you @ 17:48 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 01 August, 2003 }

The Resident-in-Chief continues sidestepping on

The Resident-in-Chief continues sidestepping on Iraq with increasingly incoherant jingoism.... yawn.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:06 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 31 July, 2003 }

Bush, the rainforest and a

Bush, the rainforest and a gas pipeline to enrich his friends The plan will enrich some of Mr Bush's closest corporate campaign contributors while risking the destruction of rainforest, threatening its indigenous peoples and endangering rare species on the coast.

jaybird found this for you @ 19:17 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

VICTORY! Poindexter to Quit Pentagon

VICTORY! Poindexter to Quit Pentagon Post Amid Controversy

jaybird found this for you @ 18:25 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 30 July, 2003 }

Robin forwarded this to me

Robin forwarded this to me about Bush's visit to Senegal three weeks ago... grrrr!

As you probably know, this week George Bush is visiting Africa. Starting with Senegal, he arrived this morning at 7.20 PM and left at 1.30 PM.
This visit has been such an ordeal that a petition is being circulated for this Tuesday July 8th be named Dependency Day. Let me share with you what we have been trough since last week.

1- Arrestations : more than 1,500 persons have been arrested and putin jail between Thursday and Monday. Hopefully they will be released
now that the Big Man is gone
2- The US Army's planes flying day and nigh over Dakar. The noise they make is so loud that one hardly sleeps at night
3- About 700 security people from the US for Bush's security in Senegal, with their dogs, and their cars. Senegalese security forces
were not allowed to come near the US president
4- All trees in places where Bush will pass have been cut. Some of them have more than 100 years
5- All roads going down town (were hospitals, businesses, schools are located) were closed from Monday night to Tuesday at 3 PM. This means that we could not go to our offices or schools. Sick people were also obliged to stay at home.
6- National exams for high schools that started on Monday are postponed until Wednesday.

Bush's visit to the Goree Island is another story. As you may know Goree is a small Island facing Dakar where from the 15th to the 19th century, the African slaves to be shipped to America were parked in special houses called slave houses. One of these houses has become a Museum to remind humanity about this dark period and has been visited by kings, queens, presidents.
Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, and before them, Nelson Mandela, the Pope, and many other distinguished guests or ordinary tourists visited
it without bothering the islanders. But for "security reasons" this time, the local population was chased out of their houses from 5 to 12 AM.

They were forced by the American security to leave their houses and leaves
everything open, including their wardrobes to be searched by special dogs brought from the US. The ferry that links the island to Dakar was
stopped and offices and businesses closed for the day. According to an economist who was
interviewed by a private radio, Senegal that is a very poor country has lost huge amount of money in this visit, because workers have been prevented from walking out of their homes. In addition to us being prevented to go out,
other humiliating things happened also.

Not only Bush brought did not want to be with
Senegalese but he did not want to use our things. He brought his own armchairs,
and of course his own cars, and meals and drinks. He came with his own journalists and ours were forbidden inside the airport and in place he was visiting. Our president was not allowed to make a speech. Only Bush spoke
when he was in Goree. He spoke about slavery. It seems that he needs the vote of the African American to be elected in the next elections, and wanted to please them. That's why he visited Goree.

Several protest marches against
American politics have been organized yesterday and even when Bush was here, but
we think he does not care.We have the feeling that everything has been done to convince us that we are nothing, and that America can behave the way it wants, everywhere, even in our country. Believe me friends, it is a terrible
feeling. But according to a Ugandan friend of mine, I should not complain because it Uganda one of the country he is going to visit, Bush does not intend to go out of the airport. He will receive the Ugandan President in the airport lounge.
Nevertheless, I think I am lucky, because I have such wonderful American friends. But there are now thousands of Senegalese who believe that for all Americans the world is their territory.

Love to you all
Codou

jaybird found this for you @ 20:45 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Interesting argument: George Monbiot: America

Interesting argument: George Monbiot: America is a religion US leaders now see themselves as priests of a divine mission to rid the world of its demons

jaybird found this for you @ 20:31 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Responses to Bush deconstructs themisrepresentations

Responses to Bush deconstructs themisrepresentations of the State of the Union, line by line. via somebody, I forget who.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:32 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 29 July, 2003 }

Follow-up to this: 'Terror' Market

Follow-up to this: 'Terror' Market dropped! The Pentagon has abandoned plans to set up a 'terror stock market' in which investors could bag cash by successfully predicting terrorist attacks.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:40 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Global warming a weapon of

Global warming a weapon of mass destruction, says British scientist John Houghton, a former key member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said Monday that the impacts of global warming are such that "I have no hesitation in describing it as a weapon of mass destruction."

jaybird found this for you @ 07:38 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 28 July, 2003 }

This is just plain wrong:

This is just plain wrong: News - Defense Dept. Program Taking Terror Bets A new Department of Defense program allows traders to bet on the likelihood of future terrorist attacks.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:59 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 27 July, 2003 }

Doesn't this count as desecration?

Doesn't this count as desecration?

jaybird found this for you @ 16:04 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 22 July, 2003 }

L'Ayiti m'en prie: Tragedy in

L'Ayiti m'en prie: Tragedy in Haiti... Fifteen are killed due to faulty electrical system.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:17 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Dismayed Americans contemplate Canada, and

Dismayed Americans contemplate Canada, and why not? Their national symbol is a leaf, ours is a flag choked with the colors of conquest. BC looks better every day, but how?

jaybird found this for you @ 07:50 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 21 July, 2003 }

A Pattern Language for Sustainability

A Pattern Language for Sustainability Together, the patterns form a visual and conceptual framework that can be used to inspire innovation, focus planning efforts, and document emerging best practices. A conservation economy comprehensively integrates Social, Natural, and Economic Capital to demonstrate that a sustainable society is both desirable and achievable.

jaybird found this for you @ 22:15 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 20 July, 2003 }

White House Didn't Gain CIA

White House Didn't Gain CIA Nod for Claim On Iraqi Strikes "...did not seek CIA approval before charging that Saddam Hussein could launch a biological or chemical attack within 45 minutes..."

Dean responds to [p]Residential bungling with 16 questions: "...we need to know why Secretary Rumsfeld created a secret intelligence unit at the Pentagon that selectively identified questionable intelligence to support the case for war including the supposed link to al-Qaeda while ignoring, burying or rejecting any evidence to the contrary."

jaybird found this for you @ 18:46 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 18 July, 2003 }

Pentagon may punish GIs who

Pentagon may punish GIs who spoke out on TV "It went all the way up to President Bush and back down again on top of us. At least six of us here will lose our careers."

But wait, there's more! Not only is Guvmint retaliating against the troops, but also against the reporter that carried the original story! Some folks in the White House were apparently hopping mad when ABC News correspondent Jeffrey Kofman did a story on Tuesday's "World News Tonight" about the plummeting morale of U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq. So angry, in fact, that the next day, a White House operative alerted cyber-gossip Matt Drudge to the fact that Kofman is not only openly gay, he's Canadian.

Meanwhile, the alleged-Administration is in even more of a scandalous pickle with emerging details from Cheney's "Energy Task Force" show that long before the war or 9/11, they were very thristy for some black Baghdad tea; "...contain a map of Iraqi oilfields, pipelines, refineries and terminals, as well as 2 charts detailing Iraqi oil and gas projects, and "Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts.'"

But at least poor George isn't feeling the heat alone... his sidekick and apologist Blair is enduring not only a huge PR debacle, but the overly mysterious death of a goverment scientist and former Iraq weapons inspector is stirring up very strange waters, indeed.

So it brings me much happiness, though tentative, that the [p]Resident's poll numbers are sharply diving, according to Zogby. Are we finally waking up and smelling the shit that secretly replaced our coffee?

jaybird found this for you @ 21:42 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Viva Madiba! Nelson Mandela is

Viva Madiba! Nelson Mandela is celebrating his 85th birthday on Friday

jaybird found this for you @ 06:45 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

This is just a little

This is just a little too suspicious: Body found in Iraq expert search Police searching for the weapons expert named as the possible source for a BBC story on Iraq say they have discovered a man's body. Government adviser David Kelly, 59, went missing from his home in Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, at about 1500 BST on Thursday. "
He allagedly is the guy that spilled the beans on Blair's "sexed-up" dossier on WMD. Conspiracy bees are starting to buzzzzzz

jaybird found this for you @ 06:41 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Let's roll: Democrat Eyes Potential

Let's roll: Democrat Eyes Potential Grounds for Bush Impeachment

jaybird found this for you @ 06:39 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 17 July, 2003 }

The spies who pushed for

The spies who pushed for war ... the shadow rightwing intelligence network set up in Washington to second-guess the CIA and deliver a justification for toppling Saddam Hussein by force

jaybird found this for you @ 19:02 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 16 July, 2003 }

'Junta' declared in Sao

'Junta' declared in Sao Tome A man in civilian dress surrounded by armed soldiers read out the announcement on state television hours after the dawn coup, which appears to have been largely bloodless

jaybird found this for you @ 17:50 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 15 July, 2003 }

Former Inspector Ritter's Book Rips

Former Inspector Ritter's Book Rips Bush In the book, Ritter notes that the Bush administration's stated reason for launching the war was to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. The book argues that there is no evidence that Iraq possesses, produces or concealed nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. Therefore, Ritter argues that "the United States carried out an illegal war of aggression."

jaybird found this for you @ 22:54 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Robertson Calls for Justices' Retirement

Robertson Calls for Justices' Retirement Religious broadcaster Televangelist Pat Robertson urged his nationwide audience Monday to pray for God to remove three justices from the Supreme Court so they could be replaced by conservatives.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:16 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 13 July, 2003 }

Trading on Fear: From the

Trading on Fear: From the start, the invasion of Iraq was seen in the US as a marketing project. Selling 'Brand America' abroad was an abject failure; but at home, it worked. Manufacturers of 4x4s, oil prospectors, the nuclear power industry, politicians keen to roll back civil liberties - all seized the moment to capitalise on the war... We should ask ourselves whether we have made the mistake of believing our own propaganda, and whether we have been fighting the war on terror against the wrong enemies, in the wrong places, with the wrong weapons.

jaybird found this for you @ 12:09 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Bush's Data Dump - The

Bush's Data Dump - The administration is hiding bad economic news. Of course every administration likes to trumpet its good news and hide its bad, but what's remarkable about the Bush team is its willingness to stifle data that had been widely released and to politicize data that used to be nonpartisan. But that's alright because what comes around goes around: the administration faces trouble on credibility and casualties alike. Meanwhile Ted Rall is raising eyebrows: ...by any objective standard he has already gone way too far, but for many it would take the cancellation or delay of the elections to confirm that we are trading in our wounded democracy for a fascist state.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:39 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Why America is Running Out

Why America is Running Out of Gas I dunno, could it be greed?

jaybird found this for you @ 10:50 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Twenty Distortions About Iraq Falsehoods

Twenty Distortions About Iraq Falsehoods ranging from exaggeration to plain untruth were used to make the case for war. More lies are being used in the aftermath.

jaybird found this for you @ 10:49 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 12 July, 2003 }

It's not over, and this

It's not over, and this could be a very big deal, indeed: Fla. May Fine GOP Figure for 2000 Recount Actions As Florida's presidential recount raged in December 2000, a newly created political group spent $150,000 attacking three pro-Democratic state Supreme Court justices who threatened George W. Bush's hopes for victory.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:15 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 11 July, 2003 }

This is utterly stupid and

This is utterly stupid and probably some sick agitprop from the Bushies: Al-Qaida targeted Western forests, memo says.
So, terrorists have a "strike a match for the Jihad" campaign? What beloved American institution is next, Smokey the Bear? I don't buy it... forest fires just plain happen, sometimes with a careless camper involved. The next time some kid playing with matches blackens a few hundred acres, will he be sent to Guantanamo? Little Billy must've been IMing Osama all along, goldarnit.

jaybird found this for you @ 19:41 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 10 July, 2003 }

Thabo Mbeki: The Icy Ideological

Thabo Mbeki: The Icy Ideological Grip The recognition that global poverty constitutes the deepest and most dangerous structural fault in the world economy is not the preserve of progressive politics. All thinking people agree that the elimination of this structural fault requires sustained economic growth and development in the poorest areas of the world. Thinking people also agree that various macro-conditions - democracy, rule of law, property rights - have to be met to create the possibility for such growth and development to take place, and they agree that the first driver of growth and development is capital investment. Further, all these thinking people would agree that in contemporary society, the capital needed is privately owned, and that publicly owned capital is but a tiny proportion of the stupendous volume of capital in the global economy.

jaybird found this for you @ 19:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

WaPo: Media and Dems Begin

WaPo: Media and Dems Begin Serious Questioning of Bush's Credibility The former Vermont governor, who opposed the war, added: "The only other possibility, which is unthinkable, is that the president of the United States knew himself that this was a false fact and he put it in the State of the Union anyhow. I hope for the sake of this country that did not happen."

jaybird found this for you @ 19:19 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

On Goree Island, Bush Visit

On Goree Island, Bush Visit Sparks Anger

N'diaye and other residents of Goree, site of a famous slave trading station, said they had been taken to a football ground on the other side of the quaint island at 6 a.m. and told to wait there until Bush had departed, around midday. "It's slavery all over again," fumed one father-of-four, who did not want to give his name. "It's humiliating. The island was deserted."

jaybird found this for you @ 08:16 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Kim Jong-il's appetites are ingredients

Kim Jong-il's appetites are ingredients of book
Sordid tales of power and premium cognac in famine stricken N. Korea.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:13 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 09 July, 2003 }

How To Rig An Election

How To Rig An Election In The United States

jaybird found this for you @ 18:47 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Meteorologist spots suspect oil pipeline

Meteorologist spots suspect oil pipeline "I think we're in bed with Kuwait. I think we're pumping oil out of Iraq to pay for this war.... It's amazing to think about going to war with a country that's so bloody poor," Brandli says. "It's empty, it's vacant. They've got nothing. Not even electricity."

jaybird found this for you @ 18:11 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Big Brother Gets a Brain

Big Brother Gets a Brain "Right now, this may be a military program," added Lewis. "But when it gets up and running, there's going to be a huge temptation to apply it to policing at home"—to keep tabs on ordinary citizens, whether or not they've done something wrong.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:59 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Feel good: Man wakes after

Feel good: Man wakes after nearly two decades in coma, greets mother and has a lot to learn.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:47 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Man Held as 'Combatant' Petitions

Man Held as 'Combatant' Petitions for Release "The president lacks constitutional or other legal authority to unilaterally designate an individual captured on American soil as an enemy combatant, to detain such person without charge or judicial review, to deny such person his due process and other constitutional rights," or to circumvent the courts, the filing said.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:10 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

9/11 Commission Says U.S. Agencies

9/11 Commission Says U.S. Agencies Slow Its Inquiry The panel also said the failure of the Bush administration to allow officials to be interviewed without the presence of government colleagues could impede its investigation, with the commission's chairman suggesting today that the situation amounted to "intimidation" of the witnesses.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:06 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

White House 'warned over Iraq

White House 'warned over Iraq claim' The CIA warned the US Government that claims about Iraq's nuclear ambitions were not true months before President Bush used them to make his case for war

jaybird found this for you @ 08:02 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 08 July, 2003 }

Whoops: White House Backs Off

Whoops: White House Backs Off Claim on Iraqi Buy [P]Resident Bush should not have alleged in his State of the Union address in January that Iraq had sought to buy uranium in Africa to reconstitute its nuclear weapons program.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:03 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 07 July, 2003 }

Strong editorial: Bring reality on

Strong editorial: Bring reality on "...an American president needs to do better, much better, than: 'Bring 'em on.'"

jaybird found this for you @ 18:30 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Yep, I'm a bleedin' heart

Yep, I'm a bleedin' heart liberal: Which candidate matches your views best?

Results:

1. Kucinich, Cong. Dennis, OH - Democrat (100%)
2. Green Party Candidate (93%)
3. Dean, Gov. Howard, VT - Democrat (83%)
4. Kerry, Senator John, MA - Democrat (81%)
5. Sharpton, Reverend Al - Democrat (77%)

jaybird found this for you @ 18:26 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

More on Redmond Resignation

I hate to reprint a whole story, but this will likely be buried in the US media. The last sentence seems to be key. For more on Inslaw and the Promis software, visit disinfo.com

RIDDLE AS US SPY CHIEF QUITS
Sunday Express [UK]
July 6, 2003
**Exclusive**

AMERICA'S top spy catcher, Paul Redmond, has suddenly resigned in the middle of his secret investigation into how Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden allegedly obtained US computer software, the SUNDAY EXPRESS claimed this weekend.

The software is said to enable the two most wanted men in the world to avoid capture because it can pinpoint every move in the global manhunt.

Redmond's departure last week was accepted "without discussion" by President Bush, the man who had brought the spy catcher out of retirement to conduct the investigation.

Hours after Redmond had cleared his desk, Bush ordered a GBP 25million bounty on Saddam's head. He wants Saddam "dead or alive" and the same goes for bin Laden. Already Bush has agreed to either man forgoing a trial and being shot after interrogation. The official reason given for Redmond's abrupt departure was "health reasons." But stunned colleagues in the Homeland Security department in Washington, where Redmond had his office, insist the former Associate Director of the CIA was in perfect health. His departure has led to intense speculation that he may have begun to uncover embarrassing details of how the software came into the hands of Saddam and bin Laden.

Documents obtained by the respected International Currency Review, a London-based newsletter for the financial community, allege that the software was provided for Saddam on the authority of President Bush's father when he was in the White House - a time when relations between Iraq and Washington were close during Baghdad's war with Iran. The Review's publisher, Christopher Story, a former financial adviser to Lady Thatcher, said: "The documents are extremely sensitive and raise some very serious questions."

He confirmed that they had originally been in the possession of Barzan alTakriti, Saddam's half-brother, when he was managing Saddam's estimated GBP 40billion fortune.

A Paris intelligence source said the documents were copied by operatives of DGSE, the French intelligence service, earlier this year when al-Takriti made a visit to several banks in Geneva.

He is now in American hands, one of the key names on the famous "deck of cards" list.

Shortly after the documents reached Washington on the eve of the war with Iraq, President Bush brought Paul Redmond out of retirement.

Redmond was a legendary CIA spy catcher who helped unmask some of the most infamous spies before he retired in 1998.

He was told to investigate how Robert Hanssen, the renegade FBI computer specialist who was a longtime Soviet agent, had handed over a copy of the software - known as Promis - to his KGB controllers for $ 2million.

Hanssen, now serving a life sentence, has yet to reveal all he knows about how the KGB sold on a copy of the software to Osama bin Laden for $ 4million shortly before the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.

"But until Redmond's abrupt resignation, increasingly the documents relating to Saddam's use of Promis - and his relationship with President Bush's father - were what Redmond had begun to focus on", said a source close to the departed spy catcher.

Originally developed by a small company in Washington called Inslaw, there are now a number of versions of the software. One was installed by MI6 early in the 1990s. After Hanssen's arrest it was removed.

William Hamilton, president of Inslaw, said that top Bush aides and FBI director Robert Mueller had met to discuss the "implications" of Redmond's investigation.

"Redmond has said that Hanssen did hundreds of billions of dollars worth of damage. I have been told that Redmond's health is fine and there is a much more important reason for his resignation", said Mr Hamilton.

Like Mr Story, Mr Hamilton did not want to elaborate. ***But both men conceded that Redmond's investigation could have caused embarrassment to President Bush and his family.***

jaybird found this for you @ 18:11 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Unelected bonehead yearns for yet

Unelected bonehead yearns for yet more destructive power: (Bush) pushes for next generation of nukes

jaybird found this for you @ 07:57 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 05 July, 2003 }

Combat veteran responds to Bush's

Combat veteran responds to Bush's taunt: "Bring 'Em On?" "Even chauvinist paranoia has a half-life, it seems."

jaybird found this for you @ 08:07 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 04 July, 2003 }

Extreme weather prompts unprecedented global

Extreme weather prompts unprecedented global warming alert "In an astonishing announcement on global warming and extreme weather, the World Meteorological Organisation signalled last night that the world's weather is going haywire."

jaybird found this for you @ 17:27 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

The Cost of War "To

The Cost of War "To the right you will find a running total of the amount of money spent by the US Government to finance the war in Iraq. This total is based on estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. Below the total are a number of different ways that we could have chosen to use the money."

jaybird found this for you @ 17:05 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 03 July, 2003 }

Cannot find Weapons of Mass

Cannot find Weapons of Mass Destruction

jaybird found this for you @ 19:40 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 02 July, 2003 }

The United States gets all

The United States gets all persnippity
with 35 other countries because of the ICC Worpd Court. Gosh, we can't let Americans face prosecution for war crimes, the pseudo-Administration said yesterday.

jaybird found this for you @ 07:59 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 01 July, 2003 }

Frankly, I don't know what's

Frankly, I don't know what's so super about using space to kill, but alas: America to build super weapons Allies to become less important as new generation of weapons enables America to strike anywhere from its own territory

jaybird found this for you @ 07:59 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 30 June, 2003 }

Dubya further goes off the

Dubya further goes off the deep end, claiming the God is directly responsible for the Afghan and Iraq II Wars. Here's the article.

"According to Abbas, immediately thereafter Bush
said: "God told me to strike at al Qaida and I
struck them, and then he instructed me to
strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am
determined to solve the problem in the Middle
East. If you help me I will act, and if not,
the elections will come and I will have to
focus on them."

jaybird found this for you @ 19:07 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Dowd: Nino's Opéra Bouffe Judge

Dowd: Nino's Opéra Bouffe Judge Antonin Scalia "is too blinded by his own bloviation to notice that Americans are not as censorious as he is."

jaybird found this for you @ 18:38 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

How's that democracy going? Occupation

How's that democracy going? Occupation Forces Halt Elections Throughout Iraq

jaybird found this for you @ 18:14 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 29 June, 2003 }

Bill Clinton: Out of control

Bill Clinton: Out of control "Because more monolithic control over local media will reduce the diversity of information, opinion and entertainment people get. Interesting local coverage will be supplanted by lowest-common-denominator mass-market mush."

jaybird found this for you @ 11:42 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 28 June, 2003 }

You lose the election, but

You lose the election, but get to be President. You blunder national security, start unnessecery and bloody wars, give the wealthiest 10% deep tax cuts and entitlements, and completely gut what's left of the Bill of Rights. Gee, what else can you do, George? How about this: 8 million workers may lose OT pay under new rules, that's a nice legacy there, bucko.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:54 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

10 Appalling Lies We Were

10 Appalling Lies We Were Told About Iraq "The mainstream press, after an astonishing two years of cowardice, is belatedly drawing attention to the unconscionable level of administrative deception. They seem surprised to find that when it comes to Iraq, the Bush administration isn't prone to the occasional lie of expediency but, in fact, almost never told the truth. "

jaybird found this for you @ 00:25 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Justices Void Prison Term Given

Justices Void Prison Term Given Gay Teenager in Kansas

jaybird found this for you @ 00:09 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 26 June, 2003 }

The Memory Hole 5-Minute Video

The Memory Hole 5-Minute Video of George W. Bush on the Morning of 9/11 analyses a video of Resident Bush (no typo) doing absolutely zip when he was told of the second plane hitting, for five whole minutes. I think the bastard looks squirmy and rather malignant in the scenes. "What did the Commander in Chief do? Nothing. He sat there. He sat for well over 5 minutes, doing nothing while 3,000 people were dying and the attacks were still in progress."

jaybird found this for you @ 23:12 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

"Faux" News vs. http://www.agitproperties.com/... issues

"Faux" News vs. http://www.agitproperties.com/... issues 'cease and desist' order against parody site.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:16 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

William Gibson: The Road to

William Gibson: The Road to Oceania "Elsewhere, driven by the acceleration of computing power and connectivity and the simultaneous development of surveillance systems and tracking technologies, we are approaching a theoretical state of absolute informational transparency, one in which "Orwellian" scrutiny is no longer a strictly hierarchical, top-down activity, but to some extent a democratized one. As individuals steadily lose degrees of privacy, so, too, do corporations and states. Loss of traditional privacies may seem in the short term to be driven by issues of national security, but this may prove in time to have been intrinsic to the nature of ubiquitous information."

jaybird found this for you @ 17:36 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Palast: Hugo Chavez Is (not)

Palast: Hugo Chavez Is (not) Crazy! US Media's smear campaign against the leftist, freely-elected, president of Venezuela.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:04 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 25 June, 2003 }

Grow the momentum to flush

Grow the momentum to flush Bush: Economy Downs Dubya's Re-Election Support "For Democrats, struggling with a field of nine candidates and facing a Bush fund-raising machine that has raked in millions, the numbers provide some hope - and a challenge. "

jaybird found this for you @ 17:15 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Expert Said to Tell Legislators

Expert Said to Tell Legislators He Was Pressed to Distort Some Evidence "A top State Department expert on chemical and biological weapons told Congressional committees in closed-door hearings last week that he had been pressed to tailor his analysis on Iraq and other matters to conform with the Bush administration's views, several Congressional officials said today."

jaybird found this for you @ 08:09 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 24 June, 2003 }

He's catching on: Dennis Kucinich

He's catching on: Dennis Kucinich Blog I voted today in the MoveOn primary, and while I think Dennis has the best ideas, I cheesed and thought about electability. In the end I gelt that Dean could theoretically build the momentum and the foudation to legitimately win the next election.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:09 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 23 June, 2003 }

There's a little time left

There's a little time left to reguster for MoveOn's primary. Dean? Kucinich? I'm torn. Wired: Dems to Vie for Online Votes

jaybird found this for you @ 22:55 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Now Bush wants to buy

Now Bush wants to buy the complicity of aid workers "Relief groups have been told they must be an 'arm of the US government'"

jaybird found this for you @ 18:17 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Media Silent on Clark's 9/11

Media Silent on Clark's 9/11 Comments "Now, nine months later, media are covering damaging revelations about the Bush administration's intelligence on Iraq, yet still seem strangely reluctant to pursue stories suggesting that the flawed intelligence-- and therefore the war-- may have been a result of deliberate deception, rather than incompetence. The public deserves a fuller accounting of this story. "

jaybird found this for you @ 18:12 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

What's the buzz? Bees Swarm

What's the buzz? Bees Swarm Highway After Tractor-Trailer Wrecks

jaybird found this for you @ 17:54 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

John Ashcroft's intolerance could unjustly

John Ashcroft's intolerance could unjustly prosecute a protestor holding a sign at a SC airport while waiting for Shrub under a rarely used Secret
Service rule.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:53 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Kucinich profile: Campaign Pulls Bright

Kucinich profile: Campaign Pulls Bright Spot From Dark Story "And in an era of blow-dried candidates, Kucinich exudes a unique charm. He's a mix of working-class ethnic and New Age visionary, a vegan who jokes that although he doesn't eat pork, he consumes plenty of corn and soy, two of Iowa's major crops. He actually pauses a few beats before answering reporters' questions, and is just as likely to quote Percy Bysshe Shelley in response as JFK. With a seemingly endless reservoir of energy, he outlasts his own aides, and he rises early and talks late into the night with prospective voters about how he would change the country."

jaybird found this for you @ 06:46 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 21 June, 2003 }

A tasty campaign: Ben &

A tasty campaign: Ben & Jerry's ice cream founder backs Kucinich - Jun. 20, 2003

jaybird found this for you @ 11:22 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 20 June, 2003 }

Final letter from Julius

Final letter from Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to their children: "Eventually, too you must come to believe that life is worth the living. Be comforted that even now, with the end of ours slowly approaching, that we know this with a conviction that defeats the executioner!" Read a statement on the 50th anniversary of the execution by their son, Robert.

jaybird found this for you @ 23:01 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 19 June, 2003 }

Little white guys and their

Little white guys and their little white lies: "The White House has again angered the green lobby by censoring and re-editing a government report to play down the threat of global warming and the contribution made to it by industrial and vehicle emissions."

jaybird found this for you @ 18:33 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Register for MoveOn.org's Internet Primary

Register for MoveOn.org's Internet Primary (much coverage of late, including segment tonight on NPR). Give Dean, Kucinich, or Mosely-Braun a fighting chance against the elite-favored wannabees.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:18 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Only in Florida: Cops shut

Only in Florida: Cops shut down little girl's lemonade stand

jaybird found this for you @ 08:24 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 18 June, 2003 }

Unlikely Poll Results: 34% think

Unlikely Poll Results:

34% think Rock and Roll has had an overall negative impact on America
33% believe a wife should "submit herself graciously" to a husband
30% say the Bible is the "actual word of God" to be taken literally

jaybird found this for you @ 22:30 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 17 June, 2003 }

Sen. Hatch goes off the

Sen. Hatch goes off the deep end saying "he favors developing new technology to remotely destroy the computers of people who illegally download music from the Internet."

Imagine the vast lines of soccer-moms at Gateway clutching their moo-towers that have some Bette Midler tune festering on the defunct hard drive.

jaybird found this for you @ 23:26 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Lady Sun blogs from Tehran

Lady Sun blogs from Tehran and is describing the scene of the anti-government US psyops funded revolts there. Via somebody.

jaybird found this for you @ 18:40 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 16 June, 2003 }

It's not like we've done

It's not like we've done much for good PR lately: Poll suggests world hostile to US

jaybird found this for you @ 21:03 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Mary Starrett -- Big Brother

Mary Starrett -- Big Brother Comes to Wal-Mart "Starting this week, the nation's largest discount retailer will quietly begin selling tracking-chipped products to clueless shoppers. "

jaybird found this for you @ 17:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

It's the real thing: US

It's the real thing: US Coke worker sacked for drinking Pepsi"This is nothing more than an attempt to get rid of a pro-union employee. The Teamsters will fight every step of the way to get Rick's job back," he vowed. "

jaybird found this for you @ 16:49 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 15 June, 2003 }

US romances Taliban .... again.

US romances Taliban .... again.

jaybird found this for you @ 22:38 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Powderkeg+Hotheads=Disaster: U.S. Troops May Have

Powderkeg+Hotheads=Disaster: U.S. Troops May Have to Go After Hamas

jaybird found this for you @ 11:42 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 14 June, 2003 }

Time to stop this nonsense:

Time to stop this nonsense: French students 'not welcome' in US. Thank you, Mr. Bush, for all the xenophobic rot you've instilled into an already paranoid culture.

jaybird found this for you @ 11:41 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Friday, 13 June, 2003 }

Image link: The Shrub can't

Image link: The Shrub can't ride a Segway

jaybird found this for you @ 17:59 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 12 June, 2003 }

Are waffles next? US attacks

Are waffles next? US attacks Belgium war crimes law

jaybird found this for you @ 23:01 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Playwright Pinter blasts 'Nazi America'

Playwright Pinter blasts 'Nazi America' and 'deluded idiot' Blair

The US population had to accept responsibility for allowing an unelected president to take power and the British were exhausted from protesting and being ignored by Tony Blair, a "deluded idiot" Pinter hoped would resign.

jaybird found this for you @ 17:37 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Petagon Blamed for Blix Trix:

Petagon Blamed for Blix Trix: Blix: I was smeared by the Pentagon

jaybird found this for you @ 17:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 11 June, 2003 }

Rice and Beans: Waxman screws

Rice and Beans: Waxman screws Condi
Read the letter.

jaybird found this for you @ 19:49 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Who nominated them? Maybe Rupert

Who nominated them? Maybe Rupert Murdoch, but not me! Please sign the Reject Nomination of Bush and Blair for Nobel Prize Petition Thanks, Kali.

jaybird found this for you @ 19:40 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Bill Moyers' Address at "Take

Bill Moyers' Address at "Take Back America;" it's brilliant and stirring rabblerousing. This is Your Story - The Progressive Story of America. Pass It On.

"Ideas have power, as long as they are not frozen in doctrine. But ideas need legs. The eight-hour day, the minimum wage, the conservation of natural resources and the protection of our air, water, and land, women's rights and civil rights, free trade unions, Social Security and a civil service based on merit; all these were launched as citizen's movements and won the endorsement of the political class only after long struggles and in the face of bitter opposition and sneering attacks. It's just a fact: Democracy doesn't work without citizen activism and participation, starting at the community. Trickle down politics doesn't work much better than trickle down economics. It's also a fact that civilization happens because we don't leave things to other people. What's right and good doesn't come naturally. You have to stand up and fight for it; as if the cause depends on you, because it does. Allow yourself that conceit - to believe that the flame of democracy will never go out as long as there's one candle in your hand. "

jaybird found this for you @ 18:55 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Daddy, can we have another

Daddy, can we have another war, please? U.S. Can't Rule Out N.Korea Strike, Rumsfeld Adviser Says

jaybird found this for you @ 18:06 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 10 June, 2003 }

Another "Whoops:" Captives Deny Qaeda

Another "Whoops:" Captives Deny Qaeda Worked With Baghdad But we freed Iraq for American profiteering, so it's alright. Right?

jaybird found this for you @ 20:04 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Penmanship: A Dying Art? "Computers

Penmanship: A Dying Art? "Computers are better," the 9-year-old says, blonde pony tail bobbing behind her. "With typing, you don't have to erase when you make a mistake. You just hit delete, so it's a lot easier."

jaybird found this for you @ 08:32 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 09 June, 2003 }

The Other Energy Crisis: Natural

The Other Energy Crisis: Natural Gas. Prices have increased 700% in three years.

jaybird found this for you @ 08:27 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

SU-prise, Su-prise: Some Analysts of

SU-prise, Su-prise: Some Analysts of Iraq Trailers Reject Germ Use

jaybird found this for you @ 08:26 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Rudolph (a local boy) fesses

Rudolph (a local boy) fesses up: How He Stayed Hidden

jaybird found this for you @ 08:25 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Sunday, 08 June, 2003 }

Coup deposes leader who led

Coup deposes leader who led previous coup, and more on Mauritania.

jaybird found this for you @ 13:22 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Saturday, 07 June, 2003 }

Legal pundit on Missing Weapons

Legal pundit on Missing Weapons Of Mass Destruction"So what are we now to conclude if Bush's statements are found, indeed, to be as grossly inaccurate as they currently appear to have been?

After all, no weapons of mass destruction have been found, and given Bush's statements, they should not have been very hard to find - for they existed in large quantities, "thousands of tons" of chemical weapons alone. Moreover, according to the statements, telltale facilities, groups of scientists who could testify, and production equipment also existed.

So where is all that? And how can we reconcile the White House's unequivocal statements with the fact that they may not exist?"

jaybird found this for you @ 15:35 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Amnesty International Annual Report 2003

Amnesty International Annual Report 2003

jaybird found this for you @ 02:43 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Wednesday, 04 June, 2003 }

Duh? Wolfowitz: Iraq war was

Duh?
Wolfowitz: Iraq war was about oil

jaybird found this for you @ 21:52 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 03 June, 2003 }

Krugman nails it: Standard Operating

Krugman nails it: Standard Operating Procedure

jaybird found this for you @ 17:23 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Monday, 02 June, 2003 }

Six Flags Over Section Eight:

Six Flags Over Section Eight: Habitat for Humanity to open slum 'theme park'

jaybird found this for you @ 16:33 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 29 May, 2003 }

US finds evidence of

US finds evidence of WMD at last - buried in a field near Maryland

jaybird found this for you @ 09:48 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Tuesday, 27 May, 2003 }

Suburban Sprawl: A Public Health

Suburban Sprawl: A Public Health Issue? Ya think?

jaybird found this for you @ 22:00 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Is setting up Guantanamo as

Is setting up Guantanamo as an extrajudiciary execution farm American justice?

jaybird found this for you @ 17:52 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

{ Thursday, 22 May, 2003 }

Afghans' uranium levels spark alert

Afghans' uranium levels spark alert

jaybird found this for you @ 16:50 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

Tarrytown judge's remark sparks outrage

Tarrytown judge's remark sparks outrage

jaybird found this for you @ 16:38 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink

 
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