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December 29, 2005
Monday, November 28, 2005
Monday's Links
Activism
Political Ringtones: What Can 527s Do With This? Here's a nifty little idea from the Development Seed blog: Political ring tones. We feel that they could be useful, but how to maximize their effectiveness? Well, we'll start by encouraging you to download and use one or two. Imagine, sitting on the metro and hearing Bush say, "Brownie, you're doin' a heck of a job." Wouldn't that start to piss you off? And if you want more than what Eric's got on the above page, check out these of Tom DeLay. Sometimes, people need constant reminders of how inept and/or corrupt their leaders are.
News
Pentagon Expanding Its Domestic Surveillance Activity. Under this Republican leadership, we're moving closer and closer to an Orwellian society, and frankly, it scares the shit out of us. Chances are you've never heard of CIFA, the Counterintelligence Field Activity agency, created three years ago under the Pentagon. CIFA currently coordinates Pentagon security efforts, but under a Presidential commission proposal, CIFA would turn to spying on Americans. The Pentagon has also been pushing for an exemption from the Privacy Act, which would allow "the FBI and others to share information gathered about U.S. citizens with the Pentagon, CIA and other intelligence agencies, as long as the data is deemed to be related to foreign intelligence." Thankfully, when it comes to the latter, some of the most extreme requests have been beaten down, but there's still quite a bit to be worried about here. Of course, this info won't be kept within the confines of the E-ring. No, we've got to bring in contractors. The result is that dossiers of Americans will be available to be hijacked by "White Oak Technologies, Inc." and "MZM, Inc." This administration has already proven, time and time again, that it can't abide by any sense of ethics, particularly when it comes to "trying to get our man." We abduct and send a Canadian Arab into Syria for 18 months, bloody, bruise and beat him, only to find out that he's completely innocent, yet we can't find Osama bin Laden? And this administration wants to collect even more data on us, in order to "keep us safe"? No thank you.
'Trophy' Video Exposes Private Security Contractors Shooting up Iraqi Drivers. Who decided that contractors (private security companies) were above the law? If this kind of thing was happening here in America, there would be no limit to our moral outrage, and rightfully so. Why then, should we allow it to happen in Iraq? Given the video evidence, the company can't simply deny what has occured. So, they do the next "best" thing: declare an internal investigation. This will give them time to grind the gears and come up with the right spin. In the meantime, Aegis could be killing more Iraqi civilians. Believe it or not, though, this isn't even the most important thing to come out of the UK this week. Britain's Tony Blair now seems to be facing the full-scale parliamentary inquiry into the Iraq war -- its justification, conduct and aftermath -- that Bush has been able to avoid. While Bush has been able to escape it here at home (and that's another point of contention), the Blair investigation will undoubtably open up some ugly cans of worms for Bush. We can't wait!
US Reveals Blueprint for Iraq Pullout. And speaking of Iraq, the White House finally came out of the closet on Sunday, indicating that they have a troop withdrawal plan for Iraq. Of course, this administration never does anything without attacking someone, so it should come as no surprise that Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) was the recipient of that attack. On Saturday, the Washington Post published this commentary from Biden, which outlines an exit strategy for Iraq. Biden lays out a sensible plan that doesn't leave anyone "hanging." Then, yesterday, BushCo announced that...well, read for yourself. "Today, Senator Biden described a plan remarkably similar to the administration's plan to fight and win the war on terror." Really? Then how come Bush has never mentioned it before? In fact, how come Bush has routinely said that setting a timetable would be a mistake? As Bull Moose writes, Republicans don't even know what the party line is anymore. Oh, who's the flip-flopper now?
Editorials
A Tolerable Genocide. Hey, remember that whole genocide in Darfur thing? It didn't go away! African Union peacekeepers can't even protect themselves, much less the Sudanese there. And if they have to pull out, estimates put the monthly death toll at 100,000. Nicholas Kristof has followed this story extremely closely, and he wonders what it'll take to get Bush interested in the genocide. We can't continue to proclaim ourselves to be the best in the world, and yet ignore the world when our help is needed. And, lest we forget, Darfur is just another example of a place that we'd be in much better shape to help if we weren't bogged down in a useless war. America is rapidly becoming the shame of the world - richest in material goods, poorest in nobility.
Dishonest, Reprehensible, Corrupt... Do you think Frank Rich is talking about George Bush and Dick Cheney? If so, you get a gold star! Rich writes about the cover-up that led to the Iraq War. The cover-up is failing, and the administration's penchant for lying will ultimately be fruitless, because the truth always comes out. It's already started, between Bob Drogin, John Goetz and Murray Waas. These are probably not names you know, but names that you should. All three are reporters, and all are helping to fill in the blanks when it comes to what we knew and when we knew it. "'We're not going to sit by and let them rewrite history,' the vice president said of his critics." How about just telling the truth about history, then? They say that history is written by the winners, and it certainly looks like Bush's version is slipping down the drain. When 2/3 of the country thinks that you're lying, it's time to come clean.
Blogger Commentary
A Democratic Karl Rove. Armando, at Daily Kos, writes about a William Raspberry editorial in today's Washington Post. Democrats don't have their own Karl Rove, and perhaps that's part of the problem. But if they did, you can bet he'd do exactly as Raspberry and Armando indicate: he would tell Democrats to not come up with an exit strategy for Iraq. Not having one has served them well so far; and there's nothing that BushCo can really come up with that will curry them favor with the American people. So, let Bush flounder, but we need to be prepared to "act in ways designed to allow [them] to regain power in 2006." Sounds good to us!
Inherit the Dumbassery. It's almost possible to consider that lawsuits like this hurt the system, by taking court time away from other cases. Then again, we'd love to see Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell have their moment in the sun, if only to be shot down. You see, the Caldwells are suing the University of California - Berkeley, which has a website (partially funded by the National Science Foundation), designed to help teachers teach evolution. The Caldwells maintain that this violates the Seperation of Church and State. As Shakespeare's Sister writes, "Yes, it a conspiracy to brainwash kids into believing in science and not god! The eeeevil scientists and science teachers are out to get your children!" Oh, and the Caldwells don't believe in Intelligent Design. They just "object to the teaching of evolution as scientific fact." Ah yes. A widely accepted scientific theory can't be taught as fact. Well, we feel put in our place now.
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December 29, 2005
Monday, November 28, 2005
Monday's Links
Activism
Political Ringtones: What Can 527s Do With This? Here's a nifty little idea from the Development Seed blog: Political ring tones. We feel that they could be useful, but how to maximize their effectiveness? Well, we'll start by encouraging you to download and use one or two. Imagine, sitting on the metro and hearing Bush say, "Brownie, you're doin' a heck of a job." Wouldn't that start to piss you off? And if you want more than what Eric's got on the above page, check out these of Tom DeLay. Sometimes, people need constant reminders of how inept and/or corrupt their leaders are.
News
Pentagon Expanding Its Domestic Surveillance Activity. Under this Republican leadership, we're moving closer and closer to an Orwellian society, and frankly, it scares the shit out of us. Chances are you've never heard of CIFA, the Counterintelligence Field Activity agency, created three years ago under the Pentagon. CIFA currently coordinates Pentagon security efforts, but under a Presidential commission proposal, CIFA would turn to spying on Americans. The Pentagon has also been pushing for an exemption from the Privacy Act, which would allow "the FBI and others to share information gathered about U.S. citizens with the Pentagon, CIA and other intelligence agencies, as long as the data is deemed to be related to foreign intelligence." Thankfully, when it comes to the latter, some of the most extreme requests have been beaten down, but there's still quite a bit to be worried about here. Of course, this info won't be kept within the confines of the E-ring. No, we've got to bring in contractors. The result is that dossiers of Americans will be available to be hijacked by "White Oak Technologies, Inc." and "MZM, Inc." This administration has already proven, time and time again, that it can't abide by any sense of ethics, particularly when it comes to "trying to get our man." We abduct and send a Canadian Arab into Syria for 18 months, bloody, bruise and beat him, only to find out that he's completely innocent, yet we can't find Osama bin Laden? And this administration wants to collect even more data on us, in order to "keep us safe"? No thank you.
'Trophy' Video Exposes Private Security Contractors Shooting up Iraqi Drivers. Who decided that contractors (private security companies) were above the law? If this kind of thing was happening here in America, there would be no limit to our moral outrage, and rightfully so. Why then, should we allow it to happen in Iraq? Given the video evidence, the company can't simply deny what has occured. So, they do the next "best" thing: declare an internal investigation. This will give them time to grind the gears and come up with the right spin. In the meantime, Aegis could be killing more Iraqi civilians. Believe it or not, though, this isn't even the most important thing to come out of the UK this week. Britain's Tony Blair now seems to be facing the full-scale parliamentary inquiry into the Iraq war -- its justification, conduct and aftermath -- that Bush has been able to avoid. While Bush has been able to escape it here at home (and that's another point of contention), the Blair investigation will undoubtably open up some ugly cans of worms for Bush. We can't wait!
US Reveals Blueprint for Iraq Pullout. And speaking of Iraq, the White House finally came out of the closet on Sunday, indicating that they have a troop withdrawal plan for Iraq. Of course, this administration never does anything without attacking someone, so it should come as no surprise that Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) was the recipient of that attack. On Saturday, the Washington Post published this commentary from Biden, which outlines an exit strategy for Iraq. Biden lays out a sensible plan that doesn't leave anyone "hanging." Then, yesterday, BushCo announced that...well, read for yourself. "Today, Senator Biden described a plan remarkably similar to the administration's plan to fight and win the war on terror." Really? Then how come Bush has never mentioned it before? In fact, how come Bush has routinely said that setting a timetable would be a mistake? As Bull Moose writes, Republicans don't even know what the party line is anymore. Oh, who's the flip-flopper now?
Editorials
A Tolerable Genocide. Hey, remember that whole genocide in Darfur thing? It didn't go away! African Union peacekeepers can't even protect themselves, much less the Sudanese there. And if they have to pull out, estimates put the monthly death toll at 100,000. Nicholas Kristof has followed this story extremely closely, and he wonders what it'll take to get Bush interested in the genocide. We can't continue to proclaim ourselves to be the best in the world, and yet ignore the world when our help is needed. And, lest we forget, Darfur is just another example of a place that we'd be in much better shape to help if we weren't bogged down in a useless war. America is rapidly becoming the shame of the world - richest in material goods, poorest in nobility.
Dishonest, Reprehensible, Corrupt... Do you think Frank Rich is talking about George Bush and Dick Cheney? If so, you get a gold star! Rich writes about the cover-up that led to the Iraq War. The cover-up is failing, and the administration's penchant for lying will ultimately be fruitless, because the truth always comes out. It's already started, between Bob Drogin, John Goetz and Murray Waas. These are probably not names you know, but names that you should. All three are reporters, and all are helping to fill in the blanks when it comes to what we knew and when we knew it. "'We're not going to sit by and let them rewrite history,' the vice president said of his critics." How about just telling the truth about history, then? They say that history is written by the winners, and it certainly looks like Bush's version is slipping down the drain. When 2/3 of the country thinks that you're lying, it's time to come clean.
Blogger Commentary
A Democratic Karl Rove. Armando, at Daily Kos, writes about a William Raspberry editorial in today's Washington Post. Democrats don't have their own Karl Rove, and perhaps that's part of the problem. But if they did, you can bet he'd do exactly as Raspberry and Armando indicate: he would tell Democrats to not come up with an exit strategy for Iraq. Not having one has served them well so far; and there's nothing that BushCo can really come up with that will curry them favor with the American people. So, let Bush flounder, but we need to be prepared to "act in ways designed to allow [them] to regain power in 2006." Sounds good to us!
Inherit the Dumbassery. It's almost possible to consider that lawsuits like this hurt the system, by taking court time away from other cases. Then again, we'd love to see Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell have their moment in the sun, if only to be shot down. You see, the Caldwells are suing the University of California - Berkeley, which has a website (partially funded by the National Science Foundation), designed to help teachers teach evolution. The Caldwells maintain that this violates the Seperation of Church and State. As Shakespeare's Sister writes, "Yes, it a conspiracy to brainwash kids into believing in science and not god! The eeeevil scientists and science teachers are out to get your children!" Oh, and the Caldwells don't believe in Intelligent Design. They just "object to the teaching of evolution as scientific fact." Ah yes. A widely accepted scientific theory can't be taught as fact. Well, we feel put in our place now.
|
December 29, 2005
Political Ringtones: What Can 527s Do With This? Here's a nifty little idea from the Development Seed blog: Political ring tones. We feel that they could be useful, but how to maximize their effectiveness? Well, we'll start by encouraging you to download and use one or two. Imagine, sitting on the metro and hearing Bush say, "Brownie, you're doin' a heck of a job." Wouldn't that start to piss you off? And if you want more than what Eric's got on the above page, check out these of Tom DeLay. Sometimes, people need constant reminders of how inept and/or corrupt their leaders are.
News
Pentagon Expanding Its Domestic Surveillance Activity. Under this Republican leadership, we're moving closer and closer to an Orwellian society, and frankly, it scares the shit out of us. Chances are you've never heard of CIFA, the Counterintelligence Field Activity agency, created three years ago under the Pentagon. CIFA currently coordinates Pentagon security efforts, but under a Presidential commission proposal, CIFA would turn to spying on Americans. The Pentagon has also been pushing for an exemption from the Privacy Act, which would allow "the FBI and others to share information gathered about U.S. citizens with the Pentagon, CIA and other intelligence agencies, as long as the data is deemed to be related to foreign intelligence." Thankfully, when it comes to the latter, some of the most extreme requests have been beaten down, but there's still quite a bit to be worried about here. Of course, this info won't be kept within the confines of the E-ring. No, we've got to bring in contractors. The result is that dossiers of Americans will be available to be hijacked by "White Oak Technologies, Inc." and "MZM, Inc." This administration has already proven, time and time again, that it can't abide by any sense of ethics, particularly when it comes to "trying to get our man." We abduct and send a Canadian Arab into Syria for 18 months, bloody, bruise and beat him, only to find out that he's completely innocent, yet we can't find Osama bin Laden? And this administration wants to collect even more data on us, in order to "keep us safe"? No thank you.
'Trophy' Video Exposes Private Security Contractors Shooting up Iraqi Drivers. Who decided that contractors (private security companies) were above the law? If this kind of thing was happening here in America, there would be no limit to our moral outrage, and rightfully so. Why then, should we allow it to happen in Iraq? Given the video evidence, the company can't simply deny what has occured. So, they do the next "best" thing: declare an internal investigation. This will give them time to grind the gears and come up with the right spin. In the meantime, Aegis could be killing more Iraqi civilians. Believe it or not, though, this isn't even the most important thing to come out of the UK this week. Britain's Tony Blair now seems to be facing the full-scale parliamentary inquiry into the Iraq war -- its justification, conduct and aftermath -- that Bush has been able to avoid. While Bush has been able to escape it here at home (and that's another point of contention), the Blair investigation will undoubtably open up some ugly cans of worms for Bush. We can't wait!
US Reveals Blueprint for Iraq Pullout. And speaking of Iraq, the White House finally came out of the closet on Sunday, indicating that they have a troop withdrawal plan for Iraq. Of course, this administration never does anything without attacking someone, so it should come as no surprise that Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) was the recipient of that attack. On Saturday, the Washington Post published this commentary from Biden, which outlines an exit strategy for Iraq. Biden lays out a sensible plan that doesn't leave anyone "hanging." Then, yesterday, BushCo announced that...well, read for yourself. "Today, Senator Biden described a plan remarkably similar to the administration's plan to fight and win the war on terror." Really? Then how come Bush has never mentioned it before? In fact, how come Bush has routinely said that setting a timetable would be a mistake? As Bull Moose writes, Republicans don't even know what the party line is anymore. Oh, who's the flip-flopper now?
Editorials
A Tolerable Genocide. Hey, remember that whole genocide in Darfur thing? It didn't go away! African Union peacekeepers can't even protect themselves, much less the Sudanese there. And if they have to pull out, estimates put the monthly death toll at 100,000. Nicholas Kristof has followed this story extremely closely, and he wonders what it'll take to get Bush interested in the genocide. We can't continue to proclaim ourselves to be the best in the world, and yet ignore the world when our help is needed. And, lest we forget, Darfur is just another example of a place that we'd be in much better shape to help if we weren't bogged down in a useless war. America is rapidly becoming the shame of the world - richest in material goods, poorest in nobility.
Dishonest, Reprehensible, Corrupt... Do you think Frank Rich is talking about George Bush and Dick Cheney? If so, you get a gold star! Rich writes about the cover-up that led to the Iraq War. The cover-up is failing, and the administration's penchant for lying will ultimately be fruitless, because the truth always comes out. It's already started, between Bob Drogin, John Goetz and Murray Waas. These are probably not names you know, but names that you should. All three are reporters, and all are helping to fill in the blanks when it comes to what we knew and when we knew it. "'We're not going to sit by and let them rewrite history,' the vice president said of his critics." How about just telling the truth about history, then? They say that history is written by the winners, and it certainly looks like Bush's version is slipping down the drain. When 2/3 of the country thinks that you're lying, it's time to come clean.
Blogger Commentary
A Democratic Karl Rove. Armando, at Daily Kos, writes about a William Raspberry editorial in today's Washington Post. Democrats don't have their own Karl Rove, and perhaps that's part of the problem. But if they did, you can bet he'd do exactly as Raspberry and Armando indicate: he would tell Democrats to not come up with an exit strategy for Iraq. Not having one has served them well so far; and there's nothing that BushCo can really come up with that will curry them favor with the American people. So, let Bush flounder, but we need to be prepared to "act in ways designed to allow [them] to regain power in 2006." Sounds good to us!
Inherit the Dumbassery. It's almost possible to consider that lawsuits like this hurt the system, by taking court time away from other cases. Then again, we'd love to see Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell have their moment in the sun, if only to be shot down. You see, the Caldwells are suing the University of California - Berkeley, which has a website (partially funded by the National Science Foundation), designed to help teachers teach evolution. The Caldwells maintain that this violates the Seperation of Church and State. As Shakespeare's Sister writes, "Yes, it a conspiracy to brainwash kids into believing in science and not god! The eeeevil scientists and science teachers are out to get your children!" Oh, and the Caldwells don't believe in Intelligent Design. They just "object to the teaching of evolution as scientific fact." Ah yes. A widely accepted scientific theory can't be taught as fact. Well, we feel put in our place now.
