text:
Sassafrass Log Links Only
Sassafrass Linkers
NewsIsFree Weblogs
~HOW to OCCUPY IRAQ~
Target Iraq Portal
North Korean Nukes
(NPR audio,
1 hr.)
~How to find NEWS and NEWSFEEDS~
~FWJC News Sources~
~JD Lasica News Search Tutorial~
The NewsInsider
Unknown News
Alternet news
Love Alternative News Radio
Plausible Futures
The Agonist
Defense Tech
On Point
Totalitarianism Today
Worlds End
Thoughts on the Eve of the Apocalypse
sleep schedule
- A personal experience
- Sleep? How inconvenient!)
Rate Me on BlogHop.com!
Sustainable air conditioning technology - The windcatcher, aka badgir or barjeer
Saturday, July 12, 2003 04:59 p.m.
'No real planning for postwar Iraq' - lotsa MeFi linx
Saturday, July 12, 2003 04:52 p.m.
Turning Tables - an American military blogger in Iraq
And, Chief Wiggles - Straight from Iraq
The Malaysiana Digests Blog
- via Digital Fugue
How to hide the bad economic news - Slate
Saturday, July 12, 2003 04:27 p.m.
Dear Reader,
I've just been offered a "real" job in a library in DC. Perhaps this weblog will resume in a few weeks once I get settled in ... It's been fun attempting to surf about for a sustainable-alternatives newsfeed!
To dig out the sort of material linked on Sassafrass Log for youself, here's a start:
Check Metafilter, World's End, the international, environmental, and tech links on Green Man Ark; also Unknown News, Random Walks, Red Rock Eater, NewsInsider, MaxSpeaks, Cursor or BuzzFlash, Rantburg, anything with Dr. Menlo ... and then surf around a bit at random through the material in my blogroll ...
- Sassafrass
I've just been offered a "real" job in a library in DC. Perhaps this weblog will resume in a few weeks once I get settled in ... It's been fun attempting to surf about for a sustainable-alternatives newsfeed!
To dig out the sort of material linked on Sassafrass Log for youself, here's a start:
Check Metafilter, World's End, the international, environmental, and tech links on Green Man Ark; also Unknown News, Random Walks, Red Rock Eater, NewsInsider, MaxSpeaks, Cursor or BuzzFlash, Rantburg, anything with Dr. Menlo ... and then surf around a bit at random through the material in my blogroll ...
National Interest Weblog - Democratic perspectives from Oregon
Count on those independently-minded Oregonians to be uncomfortably forthright and direct!
"The key question is whether a candidate can successfully run on his record of service while actually serving the country, instead of spending all his time trawling for money and votes."
"The key question is whether a candidate can successfully run on his record of service while actually serving the country, instead of spending all his time trawling for money and votes."
Be heard - A Survey of Blogs and Bloggers
Any opinions regarding weblogs vs. regular news coverage? The U of Tennessee would like to know.
Russian cosmonauts keep sawed-off shotgun in capsule to defend against hungry wolves
Thursday, May 8, 2003 07:47 p.m.
Take Action! Support strong Bioterrorism Regulation by the FDA
Thursday, May 8, 2003 09:18 a.m.
An outspoken candidate for First Lady
I'd look forward to reading the morning newspaper with more women like this in Washington.
Prospects for a 2004 invasion of Iran
Thursday, May 8, 2003 08:27 a.m.
Fired sewage plant worker says employer is full of (improperly treated) shit
Wednesday, May 7, 2003 11:37 p.m.
"A self-confident elite might have children early, late or never. But it wouldn't have an ongoing angst about the immediate impact of children on your wallet, sex life, career path and social life. It would treat children as something you did, and the future as something you talked about."
Nostalgic Soviet emigre sees a new Brezhnev in George Bush
Wednesday, May 7, 2003 11:19 p.m.
Nicaraguan Police Raid Two Companies Accused of Selling Government Files to U.S
Wednesday, May 7, 2003 11:15 p.m.
Maps of the blogosphera hispana
Wednesday, May 7, 2003 11:01 p.m.
Feature article on Bob Graham and national security
Tuesday, May 6, 2003 11:23 p.m.
Los Alamos nuclear lab looks to build clean energy and hydrogen fuel cells
"What Bush didn't reveal in his nationwide address, however, is that his administration has been working quietly to ensure that the system used to produce hydrogen will be as fossil fuel dependent - and potentially as dirty - as the one that fuels today's SUVs."
7 month drought in Panama
Restoration of Iraqi marshes
Allegedly, the US is restructuring Baath units to clamp down on opposition
Iran favours a nuclear-free Middle East
Leave Home Without It
Tuesday, May 6, 2003 11:00 p.m.
Healthful miso recipes - 26 p. .pdf
Tuesday, May 6, 2003 10:30 p.m.
Quick comebacks on a touchy subject - condoms
Tuesday, May 6, 2003 10:20 p.m.
Will environmental laws still apply to military bases? Ask yr. congressman.
Tuesday, May 6, 2003 07:53 p.m.
Offshore coding work raises security concerns ....
... yet exporting IT jobs continues apace.
Your reading list on the future - What information a Red Rock Eater eats
Tuesday, May 6, 2003 07:43 p.m.
Where did Ashley Banfield go?
And what's the deal on the fall of Bagdhad?
"After all, nation building can hardly be considered the United States' best export."
Links on cuts in social services
Especially recommended: The Great Society
Uh, good question, Vlad! ... ain't there an old saying about close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades?
"Where is Saddam? Where are those arsenals of weapons of mass destruction, if indeed they ever existed?
"Perhaps Saddam is still hiding somewhere in a bunker underground, sitting on cases of weapons of mass destruction and is preparing to blow the whole thing up and bring down the lives of thousands of Iraqi people."
Which political stereotype are you?
Friday, May 2, 2003 07:44 p.m.
Why spend more than a year looking for a 'good' job?
"Worn down by job searches that have stretched on for months, demoralized by disappointing offers or outright rejections, some unemployed people have simply stopped the search. Over the last two years, the portion of Americans in the labor force � those who are either working or actively looking for work � has fallen 0.9 percentage points to 66.2 percent, the largest drop in almost 40 years ...
More than 74.5 million adults were considered outside of the labor force last month, up more than 4 million since March 2001 ...
"This is what we see today � job searches that can take 6 to 12 months," said Charlie Beck, who has directed the support group, Priority Two, for the past 20 years. "By six months, people really start to doubt themselves, and they start to doubt they're ever going to find anything. They start to doubt everything."
Uncertainty crept slowly into Mike Guido's outlook. But after the third "really good opportunity" slipped away, "it started to dawn on me," Mr. Guido said. "It just wasn't happening. It wasn't going to."
Training peacekeepers (only non-Americans need apply)
"The Pentagon's decision to close its only peacekeeping training institute must be the ultimate in false economies."
"For political progressives in the US, the first item on a new agenda could be how to reconstitute the Peacekeeping Institute. As the ongoing conflict in Iraq demonstrates, international issues today require civil-military partnerships as never before. Whether it is called peacekeeping, public security or nation-building, the fact is that success or failure in Iraq will be measured largely on the extent to which social and political stability is built over the long-term."
Senator John McCain - The Case for Expanding National Service
"What is lacking today is not a need for patriotic service, nor a willingness to serve, but the opportunity. Indeed, one of the curious truths of our era is that while opportunities to serve ourselves have exploded---with ever-expanding choices of what to buy, where to eat, what to read, watch, or listen to--- opportunities to spend some time serving our country have narrowed ...
"Americans did not fight and win World War II as discrete individuals. Their brave and determined energies were mobilized and empowered by a national government headed by democratically elected leaders. That is how a free society remains free and achieves greatness. National service is a crucial means of making our patriotism real, to the benefit of both ourselves and our country."
Please Safety - NO Explosion
Friday, May 2, 2003 06:59 p.m.
Shut up and vibrate already
"Want to be healthy? Strong? More open and lickable and less bitter and baffled and cynical? Ask for it, place some divine intent behind it and breath it in and imagine what it would feel like to radiate health and sexual vibrancy and self-defined joy and really cool taste in shoes. That's how you start.
Because this is the biggest collective delusion of all, that you can't get at it, that it's so much wimpy tofu-hugging BS, so much fluffy New Age psychobabble. What a convenient excuse that is to remain wallowing and acidic and humming at a simplistically low, want-based pitch, happily drunk on the disinfo They want to sell you. It's just too easy. And lazy.
And it does require work. It takes some concentrated and open-hearted effort to raise that awareness, to tune in on that level, sift through the bogus media and healers and teachers and pretentious yoga classes, gurus, smarmy inane Chicken Soupy books to find the authentically divine heat and rush and thrust.
You gotta get off your ass. You gotta question everything. You gotta see the world anew, always, every moment, to progress and evolve and vibrate higher. And, to be sure, it can be a total divinely annoying pain in the ass.
But, really, when you get right down to it, what else is there?"
'When much is wrong, much needs to be hidden'
Friday, May 2, 2003 06:45 p.m.
The "No Fat Chicks" movement hits a snag at Purdue
Friday, May 2, 2003 06:04 p.m.
Open Source Judaism
Friday, May 2, 2003 05:51 p.m.
Fleecing the family - The end of overtime pay
Friday, May 2, 2003 05:39 p.m.
Ziska sets A New Direction for Democrats
Rah, Ziska!
The five best tools to find newspapers
Tuesday, April 29, 2003 10:38 p.m.
Treatment of Davis-Besse nuclear plant whistleblower questioned
Another Journalist forced to Close Down a Blog
White House gutting environmental rules while closing public out of say
Cockroach inspires the invention of a new collision avoidance system
"Researchers have copied the bug's nervous system to develop intuitive sensors that can prevent mid-air collisions ...
"The cockroach works like a tiny robot, constantly analysing its surroundings and reacting instinctively to possible threats.
"As a result, the insect scuttles around on automatic pilot. The data it receives triggers the correct evasive action automatically."
Dosing the nation's produce supply
Toxic fuel traces found in grocery lettuce -
and in organic salad mix too!
"A laboratory test of 22 types of lettuce purchased at Northern California supermarkets found that four were contaminated with perchlorate, a toxic rocket-fuel ingredient that has polluted the Colorado River, the source of the water used to grow most of the nation's winter vegetables ...
"State and federal environmental officials now believe that perchlorate, a salt widely used by the U.S. government to help power missiles and the space shuttle, may cause health problems, even in trace amounts."
Iraq policy for dummies
Bernard Weiner sums it up.
Simple, succinct, and astringent!
US rejects depleted uranium (DU) cleanup
"US troops open fire on Iraqi demonstrators: 13 killed, 75 injured, third such incident since US occupation
Say what? Background, please."
"Putting Dan Amstutz in charge of agricultural reconstruction in Iraq is like putting Saddam Hussein in the chair of a human rights commission,"
Uncle Sam sponsors Grace News
"The U.S. government this week launched its Arabic language satellite TV news station for Muslim Iraq.
"It is being produced in a studio -- Grace Digital Media -- controlled by fundamentalist Christians who are rabidly pro-Israel.
"That's Grace as in "by the Grace of God." Grace Digital Media is controlled by a fundamentalist Christian millionaire ..."
BBC blasts U.S. broadcasters
Buddhist Rites, Military Ritual Honor Marine at Arlington National Cemetery
"Seven monks swathed in saffron robes padded onto the moist grounds of Arlington National Cemetery yesterday, followed by six uniformed Marines in crisper pace bearing the coffin of a fallen comrade.
"Even in death, Kemaphoom Chanawongse, 22, straddled two worlds -- the Thailand he left when he was 9 and the America he ultimately gave his life for. The corporal died in Iraq March 23 in an ambush outside Nasiriyah.
Friends and family called him "Ahn." His fellow Marines called him "Chuckles," for his sense of humor and love of laughter."
Former Vivendi Chairman Barry Diller speaks out on behalf of regulation to prevent media conglomeration
Sunday, April 27, 2003 07:38 p.m.
Who is Aspasia?
"Aspasia, quite simply, is the inspiration for this page. She is also one of the great dissenters of world history. Arriving in Athens around 450 BCE, she challenged gender prejudice by opening a school of rhetoric and philosophy that welcomed both men and women. She introduced salon culture to the city and counted amongst her contemporaries Socrates, who claimed he learned from her the art of rhetoric, the playwrite Euripides, the philosopher Anaxagoras, and the sculpter Pheidias. When Aspasia married Pericles, the great statesman of the Golden Age, his opponents charged her with impiety (the age-old slur of the malcontent), and spread rumors that her salon was a bordello. Her successful defense in court wasn't enough to put an end to this kind of politics, as it occassionally resurfaces to torment our own vulnerable democracy. Nonetheless, Aspasia can be counted among the great figures of our Hellenic heritage, as much for her courage in the face of ingrained superstition as for her eloquence."
Graham now in the running
Sunday, April 27, 2003 07:22 p.m.
Cheap Coffee Threatens to Wipe Out Wildlife and Ruin Farmers
Sunday, April 27, 2003 07:13 p.m.
How to choose a search engine
Sunday, April 27, 2003 03:43 p.m.
Revolution is not an AOL keyword
"You will not be able to stay home, dear Netizen.
You will not be able to plug in, log on and opt out.
You will not be able to lose yourself in Final Fantasy,
Or hold your Kazaa download queues,
Because revolution is not an AOL Keyword.
"Revolution is not an AOL Keyword.
Revolution will not be brought to you on Hi-Def TV
Encrypted with a warning from the FBI.
Revolution will not have a jpeg slideshow of Dubya
Calling the cattle and leading the incursion by
Secretary Rumsfeld, General Ashcroft and Dick Cheney
Riding nuclear warheads on their way to Iraq,
Or North Korea, or Iran ...
"Revolution will not be right back after
Pop-up ads about eCommerce, eTailers, or eContent.
You will not have to worry about a
Cookie in your browser, a bug in your email, or a
Worm in your recycling bin.
Revolution will not run faster with Intel inside.
Revolution, dude, is not getting a Dell.
Revolution will increase your Google rank.
Revolution is not an AOL Keyword, is not an AOL Keyword,
"Is not an AOL Keyword, is not an AOL Keyword.
Revolution will be no stream or download, dear Netizen;
Revolution must still be live."
Compliance or Consequences - the Sybase PATRIOT Compliance Solution
Sunday, April 27, 2003 03:25 p.m.
Venerable bird notches five million air miles
Sunday, April 27, 2003 12:32 p.m.
How many bears are enough?
Sunday, April 27, 2003 12:30 p.m.
Innovation under attack - Rheingold and Dyson
"Vested interests -- the music and movie industries, telecommunications companies and governments -- are starting to clamp down politically and economically ...
"They would very much like to get us back to the days when there were three radio stations and one telephone company," he said. "We're going to have to fight to remain users and not be turned back into consumers."
"Rheingold cited a range of political, legislative and technological barriers to innovation, including the broadcast flag, trustworthy computing ("don't trust the user," Rheingold dubbed it) and tight control of the radio spectrum by incumbent telcos.
"If all the attempts to control people's use of technology are successful, "it really could make the Internet something we look back on with nostalgia," he said.
Judge demonstrates Sanity, Respect for Law - Kuro5hin on Grokster and Morpheus decision
Sunday, April 27, 2003 12:11 p.m.
How pollution triggers heart attacks
Sunday, April 27, 2003 12:06 p.m.
Criminal Agents Diverted to Drive EPA Boss - WaPo
"EPA criminal agents are being diverted from their normal investigative work to provide security and drivers for agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman ... EPA agents assigned to investigate environmental crimes have at times been ordered to perform more personal tasks ..."
nj.com version
Alternatives to military service - AFSC
Young People, the Military and Alternatives That Can Make a Difference
Flagrancy to Reason - An Anarchist Blog
Sunday, April 27, 2003 08:23 a.m.
Chomsky and Zinn do the Lord of the Rings
Sunday, April 27, 2003 08:19 a.m.
Gephardt supports universal health coverage - do Americans agree?
Good luck, you sick and injured Iraqis! (When the US regime signs on to the UN Declaration of Human Rights, we'll let you know.)
""Why shouldn't the typical citizen, faced with a choice between Bush-style tax cuts and a plan to provide health insurance to most of the uninsured, choose the latter?"
Officials: 9-11 was main reason for war
Saturday, April 26, 2003 09:43 a.m.
Waging jihad against hatred and terror
"The calamity of 9/11 demonstrated that modern technology and human intelligence guided by hatred can lead to immense destruction. Such terrible acts are a violent symptom of an afflicted mental state. To respond wisely and effectively, we need to be guided by more healthy states of mind, not just to avoid feeding the flames of hatred, but to respond skillfully. We would do well to remember that the war against hatred and terror can be waged on this, the internal front, too."
Beautiful Horizons comments on Simon Wiesenthal's retirement at 94
Saturday, April 26, 2003 09:06 a.m.
The strange career of Mohammed Atta, Exchange Student
Saturday, April 26, 2003 08:53 a.m.
So, where's the Iraqi WMD?
Friday, April 25, 2003 09:28 a.m.
Really that stupid, or playing us for chumps?
"As Iraqi Shiite demands for a dominant role in Iraq's future mount, Bush administration officials say they underestimated the Shiites' organizational strength and are unprepared to prevent the rise of an anti-American, Islamic fundamentalist government in the country."
Comments on transitional justice in Iraq - Talk Left
"They are happy here that the Shia mosques have taken control of the Mukhabarat files, and seem confident that the religious establishment is well suited to the task of finding the missing. "I think the mosque is better than any government," says Fadil Eissa, another man just back from Baghdad, searching for a lost cousin."
Now Iraq will wear Brand America
"One has to wonder about the convenience and efficacy of Iraq losing its cultural heritage for those hell-bent on remaking the society in the image of rapacious capitalism and thoughtless consumerism. Of course, that�s yet another discussion that is light-years beyond our media�s capabilities."
"So here�s my cartoon:
"Teenager holding progressive magazine with headline �Chaos all part of the plan�: Dad, how could you have supported an action that is so fucked up?
"Dad, head in hands: I didn�t know. I didn�t know."
"One has to wonder about the convenience and efficacy of Iraq losing its cultural heritage for those hell-bent on remaking the society in the image of rapacious capitalism and thoughtless consumerism. Of course, that�s yet another discussion that is light-years beyond our media�s capabilities."
Waging war on dissent - A report by the Seattle National Lawyers' Guild Legal Group
Tuesday, April 22, 2003 09:21 a.m.
National TV Turnoff Week - April 21-27
Monday, April 21, 2003 04:48 p.m.
"Did you know that a US Marine of the rank of Private or Corporal, ranks that make up a majority of the Corp, brings home less than 10,000 dollars a year? I knew our service people are not getting rich but this is shameful. If a Marine Corporal is married, or married with kids his pay would have his family ranked as 'poor' by US Census Bureau standards."
BlogMatcher - Who's your counterpart?
BlogMatcher is a program that helps people find weblogs that match their interests and find like-minded blogs. When given an URL to a weblog (called "Reference Blog") the system finds other blogs that appear to discuss similar topics.
E-government in 3 clicks or less
What we could talk about, besides war and murders.
Another possibility:
Lead Paint Removal.
A great investment, better than tax breaks!
Info today at PLA - Politics Law and Autism
US Renewable Energy fueled by local efforts
Monday, April 21, 2003 12:17 a.m.
Time to stop the national train wreck - NYT
Monday, April 21, 2003 12:14 a.m.
MOSAIC - World News from the Middle East - WorldLinkTV
"Showing that I'm not _completely_ submerged in ephemera, here's a new, serious project that I think has been soundly overlooked. It's courtesy of San Francisco-based Worldlink TV and the place I sometimes volunteer/help at, the Internet Archive. [I have nothing to do with this particular effort, though, just dig it.] Basically, the two parties are teaming up to offer streaming daily news sourced from the TV stations of the Middle East. The show is called 'Mosaic', and it takes footage from national broadcasters in Jordan, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Syria, and more, creating a fascinating compilation of news as it's reported in those countries ..."
Religious organizations and environmental groups unite - VOA
"The answer is conservation. Fuel efficiency. Solar and wind power. And keeping our promise to care for creation. Care about America. Care for America. For our families, for our future.
"Brought to you by the Sierra Club and the National Council of Churches"
William Buckley on UN and Iraq reconstruction - Sac Bee
Daily Kos thread on Iraq political future
Officials Argue for Fast U.S. Exit From Iraq
The Command Post - Iraq - Newslinks, shorter than The Agonist
"VIPS, made up of 25 former intelligence officials in the CIA, State and Defense Departments, Army Intelligence and FBI, made their first public statement on February 5, critiquing Powell's presentation before the UN Security Council seeking an international mandate for the war.
"Never before has a group of veteran CIA graduates -- all cum laude -- gotten together to critique the government," McGovern said.
"CIA spokesman Tom Crispell, asked for comment on the former officials' remarks Thursday, said: "They're criticizing policy, not intelligence."
Former U.S. official says CIA aided Iraqi Baathists
Jessica Lynch rescue was tough on hospital staff
Unconventional weapons destroyed on eve of war - Iraqi scientist tells MET Alpha
Bush: It's Not Just His Doctrine That's Wrong - Howard Dean
Saturday, April 19, 2003 11:26 a.m.
The 2003 Iraq war and archaeology
Friday, April 18, 2003 10:20 p.m.
Caveat Lector - A very literate sort of blog
Friday, April 18, 2003 12:36 p.m.
All about the Southern Baptist influence on the Bush Administration
"...there's power, wonder-working power, in the goodness and idealism and faith of the American people."
"That phrase was not mere wordsmithing. I know it well. I know about polished church pews; I know about dress shoes that blistered my young feet and the smooth heft of the hymnal. As the son of a Baptist minister, I know ...
"Bush was stealthily passing the message to the flock, to my flock. The issues that have plagued that flock for a quarter century are integral to understanding the second self-professed "born-again" man in the White House, his political tactics and his war in Iraq."
Root Blog
A blog aggregator, in beta.
Tabloids applaud Microsoft Research direction
"A prototype application called "Stuff I've Seen," for instance, will store every screen that has popped up on a given computer monitor for a year."
"Other technologies showed off this week include MyLifeBits, a new personal information database that takes advantage of storage gains to record all of life's moments digitally ..."
Papers on Corporate Ethics, Connections between Ethics and Materialism, etc.
Available for purchase for just $9.95.
Why Starbucks' building strategy is good for wireless
Friday, April 18, 2003 01:16 a.m.
Elecution lessons, call centers, and the IT move to India
Thursday, April 17, 2003 11:57 p.m.
Mindfulness in Plain English
Thursday, April 17, 2003 11:25 p.m.
What AIDS patients need is a good case of malaria
Sounds awful! Could Malariotherapy be an example "kill or cure" medicine, or will it really work?
LA suburb legalizes extramarital sex and immoral conduct
"The City Council voted Monday to repeal an old ordinance that prohibited immoral conduct, including extramarital sex. The law was passed after the city incorporated in 1957.
"The ordinance banned immoral conduct defined as "any person exposing his or her person or the private parts thereof; or the doing of any other act with the intent of arousing, appealing to or gratifying the lust or passions or sexual desires of any person to whom he or she is not married."
Violating the law could result in a $250 fine or three months in jail, or both.
Clinton blasts US approach to foreign affairs
"Our paradigm now seems to be: something terrible happened to us on September 11, and that gives us the right to interpret all future events in a way that everyone else in the world must agree with us," said Clinton, who spoke at a seminar of governance organized by Conference Board.
"And if they don't, they can go straight to hell."
The Democratic former president, who preceded George W. Bush at the White House, said that sooner or later the United States had to find a way to cooperate with the world at large.
"We can't run," Clinton pointed out. "If you got an interdependent world, and you cannot kill, jail or occupy all your adversaries, sooner or later you have to make a deal."
Tune Out, Turn Off, Drop Offline - Wired
"The digital divide is not just about the haves and the have-nots. It's also about the yawning gap between those who are comfortable using technology and those who fear or despise it.
It's a gap strewn with broken computers, faulty ISPs and confusing technical manuals, as well as various other financial, social, psychological and physical factors ...
Matriot (ma� - tri - at) noun
1: One who loves his or her country. 2: One who loves and protects the people of his or her country. 3: One who perceives national defense as health, education, and shelter of all people in his or her country. (Orig. FPA, 1991)
TDP - the organic materials alternative to oil
Wednesday, April 16, 2003 03:15 p.m.
Syria backs WMD-free Middle East zone
Avoiding Armageddon - PBS series
Corruption at CNN
Wednesday, April 16, 2003 03:11 p.m.
It's still our country, says Michael Moore
Tuesday, April 15, 2003 11:40 a.m.
PNAC.info - Exposing the Project for the New American Century
Germany explores a new axis
SARS watch blog
Tuesday, April 15, 2003 11:29 a.m.
Reporters without Borders
Tuesday, April 15, 2003 11:29 a.m.
Anti-war Playing Cards - Know the players, stack your deck for peace
Tuesday, April 15, 2003 11:14 a.m.
Moorishgirl - A sophisticated Muslim-American blog
Tuesday, April 15, 2003 10:02 a.m.
Tug Boat Potemkin
Original commentary, from the left - and a bit of Australia.
Clueless and unafraid to admit it - Could this be a teachable moment?
"I mean, you look at dictatorships and basically, they get up in the morning and the single most important thing is not looking out for their people, it's how do we preserve the regime. How do we continue our ability to control everything and repress everyone and control the press and deny freedom of religion and enlarge our prisons and force people, in the case of other countries, to live on subsistence food. I don't get it."
-- U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, on April 14's "Meet the Press"
- via cheesedip
US soldiers' wives fight bitter battle of their own
And howabout that Mom with one kid in the Gulf, one kid touring with Spearhead?
Enemies of civilization destroy Iraqi National Library - US administration could care less
However, Google's turning up very little info about this National Library in Iraq. What gives?
electronic iraq - Voices in the Wilderness
Nationalize Google!!
"Google is a privately-owned US company that has a policy of collecting as much information as possible about everyone who uses its search tool.
It will store your computer's IP address, the time/date, your browser details and the item you search for.
It sets a tracking cookie on your computer that does not expire until 2038.
This means that Google builds up a detailed profile of your search terms over many years.
Google probably knew when you last thought you were pregnant, what diseases your children have had, and who your divorce lawyer is.
It refuses to say why it wants this information or to admit whether it makes it available to the US Government for tracking purposes."
Blix finally speaks his mind
Sunday, April 13, 2003 10:08 a.m.
Simply indefensible! - US forces on German embassy and Baathist interior design
"Troops were driving past the German embassy even as looters carted desks and chairs out of the front gate ...
"It also provided a glimpse of the shocking taste in furnishings that senior Baath party members obviously aspired to; cheap pink sofas and richly embroidered chairs, plastic drinks trolleys and priceless Iranian carpets so heavy it took three muscular thieves to carry them."
Facetiousness aside, the Iraqis' future is at stake, and payback's not fun. Civil distubances may also give cover for another form of looting.
Working class carries burden of US defense
Saturday, April 12, 2003 07:07 a.m.
Casus Belli
A political science graduate student on contemporary international politics.
- Don't flake out on patching up Iraq
- Don't gloat over victory like North Korea's next
- Don't cash in and rip off the Iraqis
What CNN hasn't been telling you about their experiences in Iraq
A CNN executive describes the horrible incidents he's had to keep to himself. How much collaboration with a criminal regime is acceptable for the sake of keeping your operations running?
The US betrays its core values - Gunter Grass
A liberal hawk perspective
Index of Congressional Research Service Reports
Search by country or topic.
Intel Dump Blog
"Near real-time analysis and commentary from Phil Carter -- a former Army officer, journalist and UCLA law student."
Gets good reviews from Time, Slate, and the Washington Post.
The Accidental Hawk
... blogs his discoveries as he begins his study of the Middle East. A few old-fashioned book reports are provided for your perusal.
In which Republicans discover the joy of government programs
"One of my research areas is public sector efficiency, which means the analysis of diverse methods of providing public services, such as by contracting out, vouchers, public enterprise, etc.
"The new Iraq is now one giant Federal government program, the new libertarian nightmare. Much of it will be under the purview of contractors ...
Work-safe and family-safe conversation starters
A blog of inoffensive conversation-starters for those awkward moments.
In the Pipeline: a drug discovery blog
Pharmaceuticals and related topics - SARS therapies, how to identify a chemical weapons plant, Cipro in Iraq, patents, etc. A good spot to check in on the industry.
When chickenhawks question a vet's patriotism ...
Wednesday, April 9, 2003 12:33 p.m.
Untelevised - Transmissions from the Left
A sophisticated Democratic blog that strives to "put the liberal back in the liberal media."
What kind of causes might unite America?
"Bruce asked what kind of non-violent cause or causes might unite America and why Democrats have not proposed it. I can suggest at least three: homeland security, energy security, and national productivity.
"Americans should be enlisted in an urgent national effort to secure our neighborhoods against terrorist attacks. We can volunteer for training in emergency medical response in case of mass casualties and assume auxiliary police and fire duties. Our people would also rally around a national project to make us sufficiently energy efficient that no American need die for foreign oil in the future. And we can all participate in shifting our economy from one of consumption to one of saving, investment, and productivity."
Dictators and their demise: Saddam and the destruction of civil society in Iraq
A brief, informative dissertation on Iraq, plus MetaFilter's dhartung's pick of links on overthrowing dictators.
"To ask whether democracy, even in a non-Western sense, has a chance in Iraq is to jump one step ahead of the game. The fundamental questions we need to answer first are: What was the nature of Iraqi civil society before the Ba`thist regime destroyed it? How did the Ba`th oliberate it? And can Iraqi civil society be rebuilt after Saddam has left the stage?"
Shortsightedness? It's policy now,
Q: How do you get the attention of the Bush Administration? Say, for example, you have run across lots of information that Saddam's fanatics are organizing to fight a guerrilla war ...
A: You can't get their attention. First, they're not willing to listen. Second, they are committed to cutting out the long-term, strategic research at agencies like the CIA, thereby ensuring that the country can't think more than 5 minutes ahead.
Hybrids lose budget battle with SUVs - Score: 75 thousand to nothin'
"The House Ways and Means Committee has dropped the hybrid tax break from the next budget. It's not needed because people will buy hybrids without the government's help. Turns out the people still need 75,000 worth of help buying SUVs."
Reuters Raw Video
The Feedroom
The Paperboy
Major News Search Engines
Media map of Iraq - Where the journalists are
Poynter Iraq resources page
IIS Iraq page
Comments on China CCTV Iraq coverage
- The Peking Duck
Iraqi WMD capable missiles and ultra light vehicles (UAVs)
- Congressional Research Service Report (CRS)
Anatomy of a refugee camp - CBC News Online
"How refugee camps are laid out: buildings, supplies, logistics ("Aid workers try to give the food to women instead of men. Workers find the food is more likely to get to older people and children that way because women are the ones who cook the food. Men are more likely to sell the rations for money to buy something else").
"There's also a well-done Flash version that shows a typical layout."
Rewriting the curriculum for Iraqi schools
Will the US adopt a true pedagogy of liberation?
We await, breathlessly.
The Wile E. Coyote weapon - Concrete bombs
What's next - a baby boomer dropping Mr. Moose ping pong balls?
What's information architecture?
- by Rusty of Kuro5hin
The sociology of the mobile phone
"The only thing I can do is to be available." Why do people say where they are when they're on a cell phone? What's different in intergenerational cell phone use, vs. teenagers on the cell phone? Plus a bunch of info on wireless and networking ...
Gates pledges $99m to develop anti-HIV cream
(Evidently, this approach to AIDS prevention isn't a big enough money-maker to have attracted commercial attention.)
The Political Economy of Transparency: What Makes Disclosure Policies Sustainable? (.pdf)
Friday, April 4, 2003 12:23 p.m.
After Resigning to Protest War, Diplomat turns Peace Envoy
Friday, April 4, 2003 11:16 a.m.
An absolutely haunting Flash video
- via BuzzFlash
Please, folks, this is no time to bring the Good News to Iraq!
"It's particularly disturbing that a group headed by a man who openly states he believes the faith of Islam is evil would enter into a Muslim country in the wake of an invading army," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesmen for The Council on American-Islamic Relations."
Iraq reconstruction interviews and links
War Watch weblog - Hosted by Silicon Valley.com
Former KGB head Primakov consulting for Homeland Security
Avoiding Chemical Catastrophe - NYT
To conclude: Remember the following first rule of disinformation analysis: truth is specific, lie is vague. Always look for palpable details in reporting and if the picture is not in focus, there must be reasons for it.
Quote of the day
"This country fought a war of national liberation with France - and we should never forget it."
Wage Slave Journal
Brief political commentary with links to substantive articles - such as this comparison of Bush and Blair.
"To those who tuned in for the Thursday morning press conference, there seemed to be another glaring discrepancy between the two men: forthrightness. This may be more a reflection of the way politicians need to speak in the U.S. because of the oversimplifying American media, or it may be because of the American political system and the short attention span of the American voter. But whatever the reason, there were obvious differences when the two men were called upon to address serious issues surrounding the war. Blair acknowledged them and discussed them; Bush ignored their validity altogether and obfuscated with misleading information.
"To those who tuned in for the Thursday morning press conference, there seemed to be another glaring discrepancy between the two men: forthrightness. This may be more a reflection of the way politicians need to speak in the U.S. because of the oversimplifying American media, or it may be because of the American political system and the short attention span of the American voter. But whatever the reason, there were obvious differences when the two men were called upon to address serious issues surrounding the war. Blair acknowledged them and discussed them; Bush ignored their validity altogether and obfuscated with misleading information.
The Second Superpower
Thursday, April 3, 2003 07:44 a.m.
Business customs and etiquette - A directory by country
Thursday, April 3, 2003 07:42 a.m.
Should racist schools be accredited? - Ken Adelman
Wednesday, April 2, 2003 10:12 p.m.
Preemptive Diplomacy!! - (Flash)
Wednesday, April 2, 2003 09:41 p.m.
Look who's a hippie these days ...
Wednesday, April 2, 2003 09:38 p.m.
No Strings Attached 2003 - CWRU, Cleveland, OH
A National and Virtual Conference and Showcase on the Application of Wireless Technology and PDAs in Higher Education
Brewed Fresh Daily - Your blog center for visionaries of Cleveland, Northeastern Ohio
Wednesday, April 2, 2003 01:53 p.m.
Technology, Talent and Tolerance: Attracting the Best and the Brightest
Civic Strategies - Hot issues in various metropolitan areas
The Subversive Intellectual Society Situation Room
Wednesday, April 2, 2003 01:28 p.m.
What are the valid purposes of protest?
"To sway public opinion (with the ultimate aim of affecting the government), and to add one's presence and voice to a chorus of opposition. Violent or disruptive protests, while they will get attention, will neither win public sympathy, nor change government policy.
"The disrupters are mostly just alienating the mainstream and marginalizing their own viewpoint. This is counterproductive. Justin Raimondo at Antiwar.com points out that disruptive protests make their perpetrators look narcissistic and self-dramatizing, and could even bring on a whole new wave of surveillance and crackdowns from Ashcroft.
"So what kind of protests are valid and useful?
"I'm still up for peaceful marching, which did make a national impact on February 15 and March 22. Other smart ideas: protests by key groups whose opinions are respected (hint: this doesn't mean Hollywood celebrities), and concerted efforts to positively influence media coverage."
Are we any different from terrorists? - A US Naval Academy perspective
"An ethics instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy explores how fighting a ruthless enemy can provoke ordinary soldiers to become ruthless themselves:"
"In the spring semester following the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the start of President Bush's "war on terror," I gave an unusual assignment to my students. I asked them to write essays detailing exactly why they are different from terrorists. The midshipmen were to spell out as clearly as possible how the roles they intended to fill as future Navy and Marine Corps officers are distinct in morally relevant ways from that of, say, an Al Qaeda operative. They dubbed the assignment "creepy," but gamely agreed to do it. After they had read their efforts aloud, I gave the project a twist. I had them exchange papers, and told them each to write a critical response to their classmate's paper, from the point of view of a terrorist. Then I had them read those responses aloud."
"The midshipmen found the entire exercise very disturbing because it forced them to reflect on that thin but critical line that separates warriors from murderers ..."
The Last Mile Fiber Optic Community
"A wired LAN in every home, free community Intranet, and a choice for a fiber optic connection.
How much is a pre-wired house worth to you? What will this do for community building?"
Best war reporters: The Russians?
Kuroshin give you the scoop.
Ex-generals defend their blunt comments - NYT
Wednesday, April 2, 2003 08:53 a.m.
The Tiny Polemics of Robert Dobbs
Tuesday, April 1, 2003 12:35 p.m.
A lovely prayer for peace
- via the Space Waitress
Iraq rebuilding contracts
"Halliburton, Stevedoring Services of America get government contracts for early relief work. "It puts Halliburton in a prime position to handle the complete refurbishment of Iraq's long-neglected oil infrastructure, which will be a plum job."
"... is the news on who is being awarded government contracts to clean up the mess in Iraq. I mean, honestly, could it get more obvious than this?"
"If Cheney were pushing this war to get money for Halliburton, and Bush is the new Hitler, stifling free speech and advancing his agenda with dictatorial glee, how did it happen that Halliburton actually lost its bid for reconstruction in Iraq?"
Happy Cesar Chavez Day!
Monday, March 31, 2003 08:45 p.m.
The Oregonian's Text of interview with Gen. Merrill A.
- This retired former chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force does not hold back on the firepower! Opening gambit:
"There's some things that surprised me a little bit. One is, as a consequence of the clumsiness, political clumsiness, we do not have help from Turkey and Saudi Arabia ...
So why do people watch Fox News? - Douglas Keller
"So why do people watch Fox News? Its popularity is linked to the belief that most mainstream media is liberal. I couldn't understand either viewpoint until I started living and working among knee-jerk Republicans, the types who feel entitled to squander resources, who think violence can solve problems, and who are pitifully overweight because they drive oversized cars to eat supersized meals."
"People in conservative suburbs know they live immoral lives. They know they drive too much and eat too much, and they know their bloated lifestyles impoverish the world. They know they are permanently degrading the environment, and, somewhere down inside, they know it takes a massive
military machine capable of unprecedented murder to keep their SUVs rolling. And they also know the government they support could easily turn on them, take away their nominal prosperity in the name of higher corporate profits. Finally they know they are unhealthy and could do much better for themselves and their families. But they don't want to admit it, because then they would have to take action. And that's why Fox News is popular. It doesn't confront viewers with the sordid truths of our society. Instead it creates
a steady, slick flow of opinion that comforts people who would prefer not to change. Who prefer working for others than for themselves. Fox gives them a feeling of belonging, the same way a sportscast creates team spirit. It
does so by lying ..."
An Anti-Protest Song - by The Trenchcoat
"Feel sorry for the tyrant
Champion his cause
I admire your conviction
But your logic has some flaws
Protest marchers march for peace
Rallies on the hour
Yet you offer no solution
On removing him from power ..."
"Middle- and high school age youth:
-- Plan for shared time in front of a reliable national newscast. Because the war will be discussed in school every day, your teen may be more ready to talk when he or she gets home than you�d guess. This is a good opportunity for conversation.
-- Discussing history with this age group can help put the war and related politics in context.
-- Get teens to open up about what they�ve heard each day about the war. Use the opportunity to correct any misinformation they may have acquired.
-- This age group may ask very technical or even grisly questions that may seem off the wall to you. Take each question seriously and do the best you can to answer it.
-- Encourage them to work out their own positions on the war � even it differs from your own. This is an age when kids are developing personal ethics and morals, a process you can support with open discussion and debate."
Rumsfeld on Syria
- Comments from The Belgravia Dispatch -
(Mostly) Foreign Affairs Musings From a New Yorker Transplanted to London"
Cordesman on Iraq policy
Rep. Peter DeFazio on Iraq - 4th District, Oregon - Floor Speech
Iraq and The Project for a New American Century" (PNAC)
Making the case, eloquently. World Domination 'R Us!
Yet, even Republicans critique Cheney-Wolfowitz strategy - WaPo
Iraq War Blog
Iran's Security Policy in the Post-Revolutionary Era - RAND
A Pyrrhic Victory in Iraq? - Robert Parry
A big slew of Iraq links in response
The metaphorical implications of shock and awe
The Counterinsurgency Challenge in Iraq
With Steven Van Evera, director of the security studies program at MIT, author of "Causes of War: Power and the Roots of Conflict"
Visa Backlog as Foreign Students Scrutinized
"A group of higher education experts is calling on the federal government to change the way it handles visa applications for foreign graduate students in math, science, and engineering. Since 9-11, the State Department has become more cautious about issuing visas for those students, saying their skills could be exploited by terrorists. The new scrutiny has led to an application backlog of as many as 2,000 cases.
"Last week, David Ward, president of the American Council on Education, testified at a House Science Committee hearing on the issue. Here he speaks about what he thinks are the main problems with the State Department's policy on foreign students."
Transcript of Peter Arnett Interview on Iraqi TV
Comparison of CNN and Al Jazeera coverage
Daniel Ellsberg lets it fly on CNN
Comments and discussion on Ellsberg Interview - ReachM High Cowboy Network Noose
Making the case, eloquently. World Domination 'R Us!
With Steven Van Evera, director of the security studies program at MIT, author of "Causes of War: Power and the Roots of Conflict"
"A group of higher education experts is calling on the federal government to change the way it handles visa applications for foreign graduate students in math, science, and engineering. Since 9-11, the State Department has become more cautious about issuing visas for those students, saying their skills could be exploited by terrorists. The new scrutiny has led to an application backlog of as many as 2,000 cases.
"Last week, David Ward, president of the American Council on Education, testified at a House Science Committee hearing on the issue. Here he speaks about what he thinks are the main problems with the State Department's policy on foreign students."
Peacemaker Teams having a rough trip in Iraq
Christian Peacemaker Team blows tire at 80 mph while high-tailing it for the Jordanian border. One member sustains minor injuries.
An Assrian Christian Peace Activist has a rough trip also.
"`When the Priest asked us to gather for a Peace Service we said we didn't want to come`. He said.
`What do you mean` I inquired, confused. `We didn't want to come because we don't want peace` he replied.
`What in the world do you mean?` I asked. `How could you not want peace?` `We don't want peace. We want the war to come` he continued.
What in the world are you talking about? I blurted back.
That was the beginning of a strange odyssey that deeply shattered my convictions and moral base but at the same time gave me hope for my people and, in fact, hope for the world."
"`When the Priest asked us to gather for a Peace Service we said we didn't want to come`. He said.
`What do you mean` I inquired, confused. `We didn't want to come because we don't want peace` he replied.
`What in the world do you mean?` I asked. `How could you not want peace?` `We don't want peace. We want the war to come` he continued.
What in the world are you talking about? I blurted back.
That was the beginning of a strange odyssey that deeply shattered my convictions and moral base but at the same time gave me hope for my people and, in fact, hope for the world."
Freedom of Thought Blog
Almost as obsessed with the news as "The Agonist" ...
Human Security: A Framework for Assessment In Conflict and Transition
CERTI's Crisis and Transition Toolkit -
The Linking Complex Emergency Response and Transition Initiative
at Harvard's School of Public Health
Indigo Blog - Take a Break with Art
Why not move to Wisconsin, where you'll still have time for art?
War puts radio giant Clear Channel on the defensive - NYT
For fair and balanced reporting, try:
Sirius Left
Your SIRIUS Talk Alternative. When you�re left of center there aren�t many talk personalities to listen to - People who think like you. Sirius Left has solved that problem with hosts like Peter Werbe, Ernie Brown, Mike Malloy, consumer advocate David Horowitz, shows like The Young Turks, and SIRIUS� own, John McMullen. Sirius Left offers uncompromised dialogue about the political and social issues affecting both the national and international community. Progressive, liberal, and open minded - Sirius Left your SIRIUS talk alternative.
The Peter Werbe Show
Weekdays on Sirius Left, Peter Werbe presents alternative political discussion and analysis about the current war in Iraq. Peter says that Iraq does not represent a threat to the Middle East and certainly not to the U.S. It is not about "liberating the Iraqi people." It is not about "ending terrorism." It is about oil and empire. Learn the arguments to the Bush regime's lies and how the people of the world are reacting with mass resistance... Weekdays at Noon and 6 pm EST.
Sirius Right
Your home for conservative talk. When you�re right, you know it. You�re probably Republican and like less government. Sirius Right offers you a place to listen and talk with people who think like you.
Leading the hard-hitting line-up is Oliver North, Bob Dornan, and The BQ View and Dateline Washington.
If you�re conservative or even middle of the road, your home for talk is on Sirius Right.
NEW SHOW: The Roger Fredinburg Show
Roger's confrontational style provokes his many listeners to call in and participate while his engaging dialogue with guests illustrates his populist points of view on the issues ... His trademark monologues include colorful insights on life, experiences, and a variety of events that are both domestic and global. He's conservative, but willing to criticize fellow conservatives, giving no one the opportunity to take the easy way out.
Recent Guests include:
Ross Perot, Former Presidential Candidate, Reform Party - Pat Buchanan, Conservative Commentator - Al Gore, Former Vice President - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Bill O'Reilly, Fox News Channel - Senator Bob Dole, Former Presidential Candidate, Republican Party
Your SIRIUS Talk Alternative. When you�re left of center there aren�t many talk personalities to listen to - People who think like you. Sirius Left has solved that problem with hosts like Peter Werbe, Ernie Brown, Mike Malloy, consumer advocate David Horowitz, shows like The Young Turks, and SIRIUS� own, John McMullen. Sirius Left offers uncompromised dialogue about the political and social issues affecting both the national and international community. Progressive, liberal, and open minded - Sirius Left your SIRIUS talk alternative.
The Peter Werbe Show
Weekdays on Sirius Left, Peter Werbe presents alternative political discussion and analysis about the current war in Iraq. Peter says that Iraq does not represent a threat to the Middle East and certainly not to the U.S. It is not about "liberating the Iraqi people." It is not about "ending terrorism." It is about oil and empire. Learn the arguments to the Bush regime's lies and how the people of the world are reacting with mass resistance... Weekdays at Noon and 6 pm EST.
Your home for conservative talk. When you�re right, you know it. You�re probably Republican and like less government. Sirius Right offers you a place to listen and talk with people who think like you.
Leading the hard-hitting line-up is Oliver North, Bob Dornan, and The BQ View and Dateline Washington.
If you�re conservative or even middle of the road, your home for talk is on Sirius Right.
NEW SHOW: The Roger Fredinburg Show
Roger's confrontational style provokes his many listeners to call in and participate while his engaging dialogue with guests illustrates his populist points of view on the issues ... His trademark monologues include colorful insights on life, experiences, and a variety of events that are both domestic and global. He's conservative, but willing to criticize fellow conservatives, giving no one the opportunity to take the easy way out.
Recent Guests include:
Ross Perot, Former Presidential Candidate, Reform Party - Pat Buchanan, Conservative Commentator - Al Gore, Former Vice President - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Bill O'Reilly, Fox News Channel - Senator Bob Dole, Former Presidential Candidate, Republican Party
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Hydrogen Car Research
Thursday, March 27, 2003 08:43 p.m.
The Agonist
Thursday, March 27, 2003 08:30 p.m.
The Offficial Guidelines for Teachers and Parents on Talking About The War with Kids (.pdf)
In the Setting of War - Teacher's Guide to Talking to Your Students
How to facilitate discussions about the war while maintaining a safe, open atmosphere, and respecting others' rights to privacy and their own opinions. Explanations of typical emotional reactions by different age groups, and among people who are experiencing different sorts of personal impacts as a result of the war. THIS SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING FOR ALL OF US!
Parents' Guide to Talking to their Children About War
(Spanish Version)
The National Center for Children Exposed to Violence, at Yale University, has some true insight into these matters.
What to Tell Kids when Mom or Dad are Reserve or Active Duty Military
(This factsheet is not quite as convincing; but it does tell who to call for more help. This morning at coffee, in a DC suburb, one fellow in a suit opined that it will probably turn out to be necessary to organize an anti-war movement just like Vietnam all over again; his buddy, a policeman in uniform, said a single mother in his circle of acquaintances was in the Reserves, and had been told to sign the papers handing her kid over to someone else as soon as she was deployed ... )
How to facilitate discussions about the war while maintaining a safe, open atmosphere, and respecting others' rights to privacy and their own opinions. Explanations of typical emotional reactions by different age groups, and among people who are experiencing different sorts of personal impacts as a result of the war. THIS SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING FOR ALL OF US!
The National Center for Children Exposed to Violence, at Yale University, has some true insight into these matters.
(This factsheet is not quite as convincing; but it does tell who to call for more help. This morning at coffee, in a DC suburb, one fellow in a suit opined that it will probably turn out to be necessary to organize an anti-war movement just like Vietnam all over again; his buddy, a policeman in uniform, said a single mother in his circle of acquaintances was in the Reserves, and had been told to sign the papers handing her kid over to someone else as soon as she was deployed ... )
Today's news: elephants on the rampage at my housemate's former elementary school.
This morning my new housemate told me a great story about being a little boy walking eight miles to school past the leopards and wolves outside his village.
You never know what life will bring you ...
Meanwhile on the homefront ...
Memo faults EPA reporting of 9-11 air quality in Manhattan
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan fined for Clean Air Act violations in Louisiana
Noxious pesticide Balance Pro banned from 2 million acres of New Jersey cornfields
Civil Disobedience Training - Links and Discussion
CSPAN video of 3-15 Peace Rally in DC - (RealPlayer)
United for Peace and Justice Rally
Training for Anti-War Demonstrations - (RealPlayer)
Civil Disobedience Training in Jamaica Plain
Severe acute respiratory syndrome - SARS
Sounds a lot like something that was going around in Pittsburgh about 3 years back. Think I might have picked it up from a neighbor who had it. Not exactly a flu, a cold, bronchitis, or pneumonia -- somewhere between the four --- makes you cough, and totally knocks you out. FWIW, the neighbor was doing medical research on killed cold viruses at the time.
Best advice: Everybody, get lots of sleep and eat good the next few weeks! If you're strong, buff, and energetic you'll fight this thing off, eventually. I tried Echinacea on it, but didn't notice the usual immediate overnight effect. (Could be the Echinacea is what cured me, but I was too sick to notice at the time.) I recommend a Reiki treatment, cough syrup, and neighbors bringing you hot soup to get you through the first 3-4 days.
Clinton adviser Martin Indyk on Middle East policy - (RealPlayer)
Tuesday, March 18, 2003 08:14 p.m.
Eloquent Tony Blair speech on Iraq in House of Commons - (RealPlayer)
Tuesday, March 18, 2003 08:11 p.m.
Confidentiality, Minor Consent, and Practice Concerns When Treating Teen Patients
Tuesday, March 18, 2003 08:04 p.m.
Peace Correspondent - Washington Post
'Democracy Now!' Host Amy Goodman Is Making Her Voice
Self-help, computer programming, the Koran and jihad are all aspects of the same thing ...
"When he's not talking about blowing himself up and killing American troops, Fadi talks about his other great dream. ''I want to be a programmer at Microsoft,'' he says. ''Not just a programmer. I want to be well known, famous.''
"Fadi doesn't see anything strange about using American self-help tapes to get a job at an American company, while at the same time harboring hatred of the American government to the point of self-annihilation ...
The French - German Threat
Richard Perle Calls Investigative Reporter, Seymour Hersh a Terrorist
Declare war on Disloyal Mexico Now!
Why are Dems who voted for war now siding with France? - WSJ
Maximizing e-mail productivity
Monday, March 10, 2003 08:38 p.m.
Harkin: I was fooled on Bush Iraq plans - Des Moines Register
"As I look back, it sure looks like the administration was never serious about resolving the situation peacefully - I thought they were," said Harkin.
Geoslavery is the new threat - GPS expert Dobson
"The phrase I like to use to bring this home is to ask, 'How long would Anne Frank's diary be if she were wearing one of these nifty devices?' "
26,000 Catholics worldwide now demanding to be excommunicated
Monday, March 10, 2003 08:28 p.m.
Heavy Seas!
"an all too brief gallery of terrifying photos of huge waves crashing down around large boats & drilling rigs."
Wireless reindeer herders - The Saami Network Connectivity Project
Monday, March 10, 2003 08:06 p.m.
Rantburg Iraq coverage is greatly expanded
Interview with a faithful human shield at Quae Nocent Docent
The Mother of All Bombs planned for Iraq
Undeclared Iraqi drone
CNN has reported that Barbara Bodine, mentioned in the next section of this article, will be "administering" central Iraq once the forthcoming "war" is over.
Fence cut on Kuwait - Iraq border
"Iran nukes program 'a surprise'
(March 10, 2003) IRAN has a far stronger nuclear weapons program than earlier thought, US officials said today ...
"(How in the hell is this a suprise? I've been carrying on about this since March 12th, 2001 when Russia agreed to hand over bio-chem and nuke technology for oil exploratory rights in the Caspian Sea! Suprise!! news.com.au has been scooped for 2 whole years on this story!!!...-Ed.) - Worlds End"
"Why I am going to the Gulf with a heavy heart ... I have been a serving officer in Her Majesty's Armed Forces for more than 23 years ... After the Gulf War, I helped to administer and enforce the no-fly zones over Iraq ... In my service career, I have never felt compelled to speak to a journalist or contact a newspaper. Until now. I should also add that I am not alone in my views."
Squares with my limited, random personal input from that sector. Running across a staunch ally type who says "this doesn't seem to be very well planned," ya gotta wonder ...
Interesting material on the financial impact of the war at Totalitarianism Today. (Use ol' Control-F, search on "fargo" - as in Wells Fargo Bank)
Smart Mobbing the War
CNN has reported that Barbara Bodine, mentioned in the next section of this article, will be "administering" central Iraq once the forthcoming "war" is over.
(March 10, 2003) IRAN has a far stronger nuclear weapons program than earlier thought, US officials said today ...
"(How in the hell is this a suprise? I've been carrying on about this since March 12th, 2001 when Russia agreed to hand over bio-chem and nuke technology for oil exploratory rights in the Caspian Sea! Suprise!! news.com.au has been scooped for 2 whole years on this story!!!...-Ed.) - Worlds End"
" I hereby kneel down in my liberal hippie gay-friendly S.F. cocoon and pray to my godless tofu-lovin' universe that they don't die in oily vain."
Conference on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees
Thursday, March 6, 2003 08:02 p.m.
US Coast Guard prepares for oil spills in Persian Gulf
Thursday, March 6, 2003 07:57 p.m.
US Condemns Conviction of Turkmen Environmental Activist
Thursday, March 6, 2003 07:56 p.m.
VisionMonitor's Comprehensive Environmental Compliance Intelligence Enterprise Software System installed in Texas
Thursday, March 6, 2003 07:55 p.m.
Solar power is reaching India's backcountry
Thursday, March 6, 2003 07:53 p.m.
UN Enlists Sierra Leone Peacekeepers In Fight Against HIV/Aids
Thursday, March 6, 2003 07:52 p.m.
The number of people who get welfare assistance should have nothing to do with the number of people who need it.
Thursday, March 6, 2003 07:49 p.m.
Swedish DXer picks up a bizarre Iraqi radio station
... doing a sudden 180 degree turn in its editorial line. Maybe FoxNews is next! We're Left, They're Wrong quotes the story for those of us who can't afford the WSJ subscription.
The Lysistrata Project
Monday, March 3, 2003 08:52 p.m.
Amish men finally resort to politics on behalf of their horses
Monday, March 3, 2003 08:16 p.m.
Bring me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free ... not battered wives
Monday, March 3, 2003 08:08 p.m.
Not again! Fire at the Library of Alexandria
Monday, March 3, 2003 08:07 p.m.
A psychologist vs. psychotherapy
Monday, March 3, 2003 08:05 p.m.
Pondering the value of copyright vs. innovation - NYT
Monday, March 3, 2003 08:04 p.m.
Human shields display little affection for industrial infrastructure
Swedish peace group says it's time to go home. Others head for Babylon.
"Watching this Iraq story unfold, all I can say is this: If this were not about my own country, my own kids and my own planet, I'd pop some popcorn, pull up a chair and pay good money just to see how this drama unfolds." - Thomas Friedman
"The pace of Special Operations forces will also be stepped up. Their main focus will be denying Iraqi forces access to certain chemical and biological weapons sites that cannot be bombed for fear of setting up toxic plumes ... " - WaPo
Jordan's sweatshops
The lessons of Anaconda
"Promises of a Marshall Plan-like reconstruction plan for Afghanistan never materialized, Singer said. It is estimated it would take about $20 billion to get Afghanistan on track, but the U.S. financial commitment has fallen far short of that figure, he said. The Bush administration forgot to add funding in its 2004 federal budget proposal to reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, only to have go back and put in $300 million."
Karzai asks for help
Algerians accused of killing thousands in secret war
US accused of spying on Security Council delegates
Small plane buzzing about raises concern in Bloomington
FBI claims it's one of ours
Drop us a line if you hear anything ...
Saudis, Iraqis, and the bomb
Saudi envoy linked to 9-11
Israel, China, and military tech
"In Japan, there is a memorial to the guinea pig apologising for the tests done on the rodent over the years in the name of science."
The Future of Iraq Project
The Afghanistan Digital Library
"Promises of a Marshall Plan-like reconstruction plan for Afghanistan never materialized, Singer said. It is estimated it would take about $20 billion to get Afghanistan on track, but the U.S. financial commitment has fallen far short of that figure, he said. The Bush administration forgot to add funding in its 2004 federal budget proposal to reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, only to have go back and put in $300 million."
Monitoring Iraq - War of the Airwaves
"This is a guide to monitoring radio stations transmitting to and from Iraq. Although television coverage on Iraq is even heavier than before the Gulf War of 1991, shortwave and mediumwave radio still offer a unique chance to get alternative, first hand accounts and opinions on the crisis - at least if you speak Arabic or Kurdish. Here you can find a listing of radio stations involved in the crisis, complete with frequencies and audio samples."
Alternative energy is imperative, official says
"He noted that the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) and the Prisons department, which were perceived as the main culprits in the use of fuelwood collection, had now shifted to other forms of energy."
Solar panels installed on the sly at another official residence - ssshh!
Are you stranded without petrol or stuck in a petrol queue in Nigeria?
Use the post form below to send us your experiences ...
Oil company loses radioactive material somewhere in Nigeria
Missing African fisherman make landfall in Brazil
Greenpeace whups Esso
Bad rapper Zhirnovsky raps against war in Iraq
Russian plan for Saddam exit
Cyanide poisioners make threats if Iraq is attacked
Civilian cost of nuclear bunker busters
"The controversial Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) programme has been awarded $15 million development funding in 2002, with the same amount likely in 2003. But a new clause attached to the funding calls for the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to investigate what effect any use of the weapon would have."
Russian environmentalists warn of harmful after-effects of strike on Iraq
This article not only describes environmental damage, it also alleges that bombing Afghanistan provoked earthquakes ...
"US intelligence officials have identified more than 2,000 members of the Iraqi elite, including some to be captured and tried as war criminals and many more the American military will try to turn against Mr Saddam Hussein during any invasion, senior government officials said on Tuesday."
"The controversial Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) programme has been awarded $15 million development funding in 2002, with the same amount likely in 2003. But a new clause attached to the funding calls for the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to investigate what effect any use of the weapon would have."
This article not only describes environmental damage, it also alleges that bombing Afghanistan provoked earthquakes ...
Bay Area is key port of entry for sex trade
Wednesday, February 27, 2002 02:00 p.m.
Norman Mailer: Gaining an empire, losing democracy - Norman Mailer
"For a White House said to be oh-so-brilliant at spin, these people are doing a lousy job of spinning the war."
The Atlantic
Smallpox? We're too busy to notice.
If anti-war protesters succeed
"Will you hear the cries of Iraqis executed in acid tanks in Baghdad? the Iraqi women raped in front of their husbands and fathers to extract confessions? Or of children tortured in front of their parents? Or of families billed for the bullets used to execute military "deserters" in front of their own homes?
"No. I suspect that most of you will simply retire to your cappucino cafes to brainstorm the next hot topic to protest, and that you will simply forget about us Iraqis, once you succeed in discrediting President Bush.
Please, prove me wrong."
"If it doesn�t want to hibernate for another 20 years, then the peace movement � in reality a multicolored collection of different groups � should work more intensively than it has on alternatives�. It must learn to say more than a loud �no.� It must ask itself whether there are situations in which people with pacifist leanings can agree to rescue actions of a military character. It must formulate its justified call for conflict prevention much more precisely than it has so far. Then something could grow that a demonstration, no matter how large, can only sow the seeds for: a lasting effort on the part of civil society for peaceful conflict resolution."
netLife - Blogging, Indian IT, links and a touch of masala
Tuesday, February 26, 2002 09:44 a.m.
La Beta Corpo - a blog by Jeremy Wells
"Mostly daily nods to social art, innovative activism, globally-scoped sounds, contemporary urbanism and, yes, these are very much related ... "
US military leading the charge towards sustainablility
"So it is no small thing that the bases run by Forces Command have embarked on an �Installation Sustainability Program� (�installation� is Army-talk for �base�; apparently, only the Air Force has �bases�). And that these installations are busily setting long-term goals for transformation that are some of the most visionary I�ve ever seen.
"In consultation with their surrounding communities, and a small invasion of American sustainability �wonks� - Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, Bill McDonough and myself have all done tours of duty - they are setting long-term goals like 80% reduction in fossil fuel use. All new buildings constructed to Platinum standard on the US Green Building Council�s rating scale. Zero toxic emissions."
A dot mil reader gives Rebecca an unexpected viewpoint on Iraq
"I asked a .mil reader for a view of the situation with Iraq from where he sits. His account of the attitudes which prevail inside the military caught me by surprise:
'Inside the military' is not an easy place to get to. There are at least three sub-communities: green suiters, people who are enlisted or commissioned in the military; DOD civilian employees, such as myself, who do a lot of the work of making the military function; and contractors, who are also civilians, but are not federal employees.
"Starting with Federal employees, I'll say that those that I know of and work with in the base operations and training communities view Iraq as an enormous waste of time, money and resources. We're all praying that it gets put off past the summer, so that the funds for our projects aren't sucked back into the black hole that is Desert Storm II or whatever they're calling it. The political leadership is not held in esteem. No one is planning on them being around past 20 January 2005.
"The green suiters I work with are ambivalent about Iraq. They recognize it as an inordinate allocation of resources and effort that is distracting from actual threats, such as the continued fighting in Afghanistan and the real threat from North Korea. The higher you go in the military hierarchy, the more pronounced this perception is, or, at least, the more loudly it is vocalized. (At least up to the level I work with, which is the 0-6 and 0-7 level.)"
Audit trails for voters
"David Dill is trying to "organize opposition to unauditable electronic voting machines by technologists, especially computer science researchers". Hopefully they can make enough noise that people will listen."
Peace. On Prozac. - John Perry Barlow on Dick Cheney
"I believe that Dick Cheney has thought all these considerations through in vastly greater detail than I�m providing here and has reached these following conclusions: first, that it is in the best interests of humanity that the United States impose a fearful peace upon the world and, second, that the best way to begin that epoch would be to establish dominion over the Middle East through the American Protectorate of Iraq. In other words, it�s not about oil, it�s about power and peace ...
"By these terrible means, they will create a world where war conducted by any country but the United States will seem simply too risky and the Great American Peace will begin. Unregulated Global Corporatism will be the only permissible ideology, every human will have access to McDonald�s and the Home Shopping Network, all �news� will come through some variant of AOLTimeWarnerCNN, the Internet will be run by Microsoft, and so it will remain for a long time.
Peace. On Prozac."
Daypop Top Word Bursts
Monday, February 25, 2002 08:16 a.m.
Bush backed up tax cut by citing an economic report that does not exist
Monday, February 25, 2002 08:12 a.m.
Bloggers may freshen up Google's links - NYT
Monday, February 25, 2002 08:09 a.m.
Renewable energy - Is enough being done?
BBC readers respond.
Traumatized people may be better off repressing the experience than illuminating it in therapy - NYT
She began to consider directing her clients away from their traumas and toward the parts of their lives that ''gave them more juice.'' She found that it worked. With trauma survivors, Miller now never begins a group session by asking, ''How are you feeling?'' ''Oh, my God, that would just be a disaster,'' she says. ''All I'd get was, 'Terrible, fearful, awful.' Instead I say, 'What strengths do you need to focus on today?'''
Emergent Democracy - Joi Ito
Sunday, February 24, 2002 03:10 p.m.
A smorgasbord of slogans
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography"
Prankster's Osama bin Laden snowman adds grim amusement to Kabul's daily grind
"If the Americans think this is success, then outright failure must be pretty horrible to behold."
The two men driving Bush to war - A portrait of Rove and Wolfowitz
Professor arrested in FL as alleged terrorist met with Rove
Friends don't let friends become terrorists.
All the more reason to reach out to our fellow humans who are sad, having a tough time, upset, or justifiably disgruntled. Today I was rather shocked when an out-of-work fellow who fought in Panama and Desert Storm said to me, "Maybe it would be better to move to Canada, where they still care about people." Well, I'm an American, and I care. Don't we people who care about the disadvantaged and unemployed still count as Americans? What ever happened to "United We Stand?"
Where US foreign policy meets biblical prophecy
Saturday, February 23, 2002 11:02 p.m.
GOP swayed by the powerful Ohio duct tape lobby
More on the duct tape situation
Caring for your introvert
"My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay, you're okay�in small doses."
Heresy: A software tradeshow with no new technology of particular interest
Saturday, February 23, 2002 10:53 p.m.
Smoogle - Searching weblogs first - Well, some of 'em
Friday, February 22, 2002 07:40 a.m.
Gen. Wesley Clark considers presidential bid
Wesley Clark on Meet the Press, Feb. 16
Some states propose to end arts spending - NYT
Friday, February 22, 2002 07:37 a.m.
Accidental Privacy Spills: Musings on Privacy, Democracy, and the Internet
Friday, February 22, 2002 07:34 a.m.
Blogging as cubism - Mark Phillips
Experimental writing and sundry projects.
Rumsfeld says troops are ready, Iraq seeks dialogue - Deutsche Welle
Germany to reallocate funds to peace missions abroad
"German Defense Minister Peter Struck has outlined cuts and re-allocations of funds so Germany's armed forces can better operate in crisis zones abroad, such as the ISAF peace mission in Afghanistan. By reducing outlays on planes, tanks, naval boats and helicopters, at least three billion euros would be freed up over ten years for new projects."
2 million refugees possible - RealPlayer video clip of German preparations for humanitarian assistance to Iraq. An aid worker reports he's received a request for gas masks in anticipation of chemical attack.
"German Defense Minister Peter Struck has outlined cuts and re-allocations of funds so Germany's armed forces can better operate in crisis zones abroad, such as the ISAF peace mission in Afghanistan. By reducing outlays on planes, tanks, naval boats and helicopters, at least three billion euros would be freed up over ten years for new projects."
"The thing that's interesting about living in another country,'' he says, ''is that it's difficult to forget you're an American. The actions of the American Government won't let you. They make you self-conscious, make you aware of yourself as an American. You find yourself mixed up in world politics in more subtle ways than you're accustomed to. On the one hand, you're aware of America's blundering in country after country. And on the other hand, you're aware of the way in which people in other countries have created the myth of America, of the way in which they use America to relieve their own fears and guilt by blaming America automatically for anything that goes wrong."
Your search - 'talking about peace with people' - did not match any documents
Thursday, February 21, 2002 08:41 p.m.
Spooky stuff dept.: Proposed revisions to Privacy Act Program procedural and exemption rules
Thursday, February 21, 2002 08:35 p.m.
Viridian Notes: The Mood at Davos
Key concepts:
war, depression, anguished and jittery rich people
Attention Conservation Notice:
It's charming personal gossip about the rich and powerful that the gossiper didn't intend for us to hear. So I feel kind of bad about letting on to it to 1,800+ people. On the other hand, Viridians need to hear this, so that you can go buy duct tape, survival weapons and bags of rice.
Here's my bottom line:
... at a time of war, at what point does subverting our national security in the name of profitability turn from ugly business into high treason?
Erase - disrupt - destroy. Oh no.
"There is a tendency to think of the Information Age threat as consisting of software worms or viruses or a shutdown of electrical power, but there is a middle ground where energy is used to erase or disrupt or destroy digital systems without cutting off power and without introducing contaminating software."
The trouble with corporate radio : The day the protest music died
Thursday, February 21, 2002 08:21 p.m.
The Marital Plan - Billions for offense, not one cent for reconstruction.
"Meanwhile, outraged Iraqi exiles report that there won't be any equivalent of postwar de-Nazification, in which accomplices of the defeated regime were purged from public life. Instead the Bush administration intends to preserve most of the current regime: Saddam Hussein and a few top officials will be replaced with Americans, but the rest will stay. You don't have to be an Iraq expert to realize that many very nasty people will therefore remain in power � more moral clarity! � and that the U.S. will in effect take responsibility for maintaining the rule of the Sunni minority over the Shiite majority.
"If this all sounds incredibly callous and shortsighted, that's because it is. But then what did you expect? This administration doesn't worry about long-term consequences � just look at its fiscal policy. It wants its war; there's not the slightest indication that it's interested in the boring, expensive task of building a just and lasting peace."
Who plows the road to surfdom?
In which a libertarian approach to snow removal is considered, and rejected.
Science goes underground - International scientific journal editors call for restraint
"A group of editors from leading scientific journals have called for restraint in publishing articles that might contain information useful to terrorists."
2 out of 5 Gulf War vets on disability
Thiodiglycol, a chemical that could be used to make mustard gas, shipped out of Baltimore? A lawsuit 'alleges that companies knew "products and/or manufacturing facilities supplied ... were to be used to produce chemical and biological weapons."'
The war on the working poor
"If you start a small business that pays most employees the minimum wage, those employees will have difficulty making ends meet in much of the country ...
"For workers trying to grab that brass ring, any misfortune can be devastating. A car accident, a house fire, an illness, an unplanned pregnancy or a divorce can be a major setback. As a former social worker, I've met some impressively talented and industrious people who've been levelled this way. Some perfectly civil, amiable, well-groomed and talented folks have experienced more than one misfortune, completely negating new-age karmic philosophies, religious, and Ayn-Randian myths that suggest good people always go far.
"Most US politicians do not cater to such folks. We remain one of the few developed countries without accessible health care for an appallingly high number of its citizens. Politicians in both major parties are guilty of neglect in this regard, but some heap insult upon injury by marginalizing the working poor even more."
Stoutdem - Political newsfeed and quotes from the blogs
"Sundry articles, comments, and links on topics broadly political by BILL HOWELL. He is both a stout Democrat and a democrat from Stout, Texas. He was Dallas County Democratic Party Chair from May 1999 through April 2002."
Tell the truth - Tom Friedman
"The Bush folks are big on attitude, weak on strategy and terrible at diplomacy.
"Seeing senior Bush officials abroad for any length of time has become like rare-bird sightings. It's probably because they spend so much time infighting in Washington over policy, they're each afraid that if they leave town their opponents will change the locks on their office doors.
"Also, you would think that if Iraq were the focus of your whole foreign policy, maybe you would have handled North Korea with a little less attitude, so as not to trigger two wars at once. Maybe you would have come up with that alternative � which President Bush promised � to the Kyoto treaty, a treaty he trashed to the great anger of Europe. You're not going to get much support in Europe telling people, "You are either with us or against us in a war on terrorism, but in the war you care about � for a greener planet � America will do whatever it wants."
Afghanistan, "Terrorism" and Blowback: A Chronology
- by Janette Rainwater, Ph.D.
Inspectors Call U.S. Tips 'Garbage' - CBS
Thursday, February 21, 2002 11:45 a.m.
"Q: What's the problem? Is it money?
A; No, the problem is that Turkey is a democracy ..."
Mainstreaming our conversations on war
"Except with close friends, most Americans used to avoid political subjects in conversation. But now that our country operates on an endless war footing, it's less likely to be true. You may not be able to avoid the subject. The more Americans start talking with each other about where our country is headed the better. But these conversations need to be genuinely helpful, not exercises in mutual misunderstanding. And since they are most likely to occur without much prior arrangement, you need to get ready."
Mental illness prevails among Afghan women
"A study by the Physicians for Human Rights organisation two years ago found that more than 70 per cent of Afghan women suffered from major depression, nearly two-thirds were suicidal, and 16 per cent had already attempted suicide. Even in areas not controlled by the student militia, the study showed that more than half �perceived their mental health as poor�."
Opium addiction is rising. "These women have not become addicted for pleasure. The main cause of their addiction is 23 years of war."
Mergers and acquisitions: an update on the prospective Iraq - Jordan deal
On a small bridge in Iraq - A must-read e-book, reviewed by Ruminate This
Who's next? South Africa's ANC says after oil, diamonds could be an empire's best friend
Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:44 a.m.
Home again, home again, the old trot's dead
The Scud ship returns to North Korea with a thoughtful gift of sodium cyanide. What's on the menu today, plastics and agricultural products, or sarin nerve gas? Starving people want to know.
The Crisis Papers - Your topical collection of choice, progressive opinions
Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:35 a.m.
Wickedly funny video of protesters who couldn't talk their way out of a paper bag
QuickTime exposes a gaggle of perfectly nice, well-intentioned protesters who are utterly incapable of arguing their own side of the story ...
"Let's just make the most of this. Turn on CNN and take a swig everytime you hear Weapons of Mass Destruction!"
Protato - The GM potato bursts on the scene to rescue starving children in India. Maybe.
Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:08 a.m.
Contrariwise Blog - So uncomfortably and wonderfully direct
A blog of "What Alice Found." Top-notch, thought provoking quotes and newslinks. Takes one to know one! This style of directness is a dead giveaway for a liberal arts heritage or a Swedish-American upbringing.
Dealing with doubts - NYT
"Now take a look at the budget just presented to the Congress by the Bush administration. The first thing you'll notice is that there is no accounting for the cost of the coming war. None. ... The only description for this kind of fiscal insouciance is irresponsible."
"Two hundred and fourteen years ago the First Congress standing upon the holy ground of a new Constitution met in this city. Their permit came from the Declaration of Independence. The same High Power which entrusted them entrusts us with the Declaration, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. We call upon the Spirit of the Founders to guide us as we create a new world where all may live in peace.
"The United States, brought forth by the power of human unity, seeks to be reborn. We invoke the Spirit of Freedom. We hear the cadence of courage echo across the ages: "Life, Liberty, pursuit of Happiness." Once again, the hour has come for us to stand for unity, even as our government tells us we must follow it into war. Once again the hour has come for us to be strong of heart. The direction of human unity is forward. We are on the march. It is our government which must follow, or be swept aside."
Patriot II - Why it's even scarier than the original act - Anita Ramasastry
Tuesday, February 19, 2002 03:47 p.m.
Three mystery ships maintaining radio silence are cause for concern
Tuesday, February 19, 2002 03:45 p.m.
Greatful Dread - Progressive News by Natalie Davis!
"Progressive news & commentary from
the armchair activist: musings, clippings, links, do-gooding, rants, dissent, & occasional music and recipes from a journalist, activist, Earth citizen, nonconformist, & mom working for a more peaceful, civilized, safe, just planet... & struggling to find moments of kindness, joy, and love despite this lonely, dangerous world's overwhelming lack of peace, humanity, safety, and fairness"
Iranian-backed forces cross into Iraq
Tuesday, February 19, 2002 03:14 p.m.
"I actually find it encouraging that the anti-war movement is developing without any prominent national leadership. Our media is obsessed with personalities. If any one or two individuals were to rise to that level then the whole movement would become, in the media's presentation of it, a minor adjunct to those people's personalities.
"Furthermore, when there is a prominent leader the movement becomes that much more vulnerable to being killed off at the head (either by a convenient scandal or a real death).
"I like the way this is developing and I'm not sure I want anyone to become too prominent. Especially not if they are a politician who is looking to make a name for themselves by riding the crest of a new wave."
"Well today, it happened for me, so I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't affecting a lot of other people. We've been sent to the Home Depot for tape, told not to bother with the tape, told we'll suffocate if we use the tape, told we should probably still use it anyhow, and made fun of for buying tape and now we're fed up.
"I know there are people who are un-affected by this stuff. But the relentlessness isn't our fault. The constant stream of information, the shifting sands of perspective always tilted toward war war war weren't built by us. Maybe it's time to declare a blackout ... Force yourself to the surface of this morass and think for yourself!
The War on the Poor
"When democratic nations face foreign policy challenges, their leaders usually pursue domestic policies designed to promote social solidarity and national unity ...
"Churchill recognized that a time of war places a special obligation on the governing classes to those who benefit least from a nation's social and economic arrangements. Bush, on the other hand, is doing all he can to benefit the economic elites and, through stealth, to undercut government's commitments to the least fortunate.
"This not a liberal fantasy. Conservatives acknowledge that Bush's long-term goal is to reduce the federal government's capacity to act -- yes, to spend -- without saying so publicly."
Library patron hauled off from Internet terminal in handcuffs after talking politics.
Don't ask, don't tell.
It's classified!
Never criticize the President. Or use a public terminal to look for work. It's suspicious.
And if you do, make sure you log off properly, so you don't wind up like this poor schlunk!
"The way our country is now, the only way people apologize anymore is with money. So I'm going to sue."
America fights again for the Four Freedoms - Chuck Barrett
Your Negro Tour Guide
There are a lot of Chuck Barretts out there, who probably don't want to acquire each others' reputations.
Personal History for Sale.
- Premier Slashdot account, full karma,low ID number
Experimental implant zaps even the worst of headaches
Monday, February 18, 2002 02:05 p.m.
A suggestion that German Foreign Minister Fischer might have a little too much personal insight into terrorism
But did he inhale?
Isn't anyone out there astute enough to figure out how Mr. Fischer's background could be of value in resolving the current situtation? If you're too square and rigid, when the earthquake hits, your structures collapse.
Trust us, we have no idea what will happen next
"Senior Bush administration officials are for the first time openly discussing a subject they have sidestepped during the buildup of forces around Iraq:
what could go wrong, and not only during an attack but also in the aftermath of an invasion."
what could go wrong, and not only during an attack but also in the aftermath of an invasion."
Possibly, but the folks at MSNBC can't tell. Evidently, there's nobody around who speaks Arabic well enough to be certain of what he was trying to say.
Smithsonian Folkways Dusts Off Titles With New Technology
Smithsonian Folkways Homepage
The scoop from Ashton Carter, formerly Clinton's point man on nonproliferation and North Korea
If you read just one thing about North Korea, this is it.
Report from a brave Freedom Corps volunteer
"When President Bush announced the USA Freedom Corps and said that every American should donate 4000 hours of unpaid volunteer work to his country, I answered the call! Since then I have spent at least 1000 hours reading, studying, and writing anti-Bush "rants" and essays. (Only 3000 hours to go!)"
GOP exports its telephone fundraising operation to India
"HCL eServe has put in place a team of 75 people to work on the project out of its call centres in Noida and Gurgaon ...
These operators are required to call up people in the US seeking their support for President George W Bush and a donation for the Republican cause."
Arab League split on emergency summit - Egypt says pressure Iraq, Syria says pressure US
Monday, February 18, 2002 11:00 a.m.
HEMP's not just for stoners -The e-bomb under discussion for Iraq
The implications of this technology could complicate things considerably.
"So if a terrorist group is trying to drive in we can identify the car, it can be flagged up instantly and we can even possibly be in a position where we can recognise the driver."
Monday, February 18, 2002 10:50 a.m.
The accidental ecotourist
Monday, February 18, 2002 10:40 a.m.
Guatemalan government admits responsibility for killing human rights activist Myrna Mack
"The 39-year-old anthropologist allegedly angered the military when she wrote a groundbreaking report blaming state anti-insurgency campaigns for killing Mayan Indians during the country's 1960-1996 civil war."
VP Alarcon of Cuba on the hijacking problem
LANDAU: "I remember, more than 30 years ago when planes were being hijacked to Cuba from the U.S. and the Cuban government said we won�t accept anymore of this and that stopped the hijackings. I can�t recall any planes that have been hijacked to Cuba recently, but there are regularly Cubans who hijack planes to the U.S. Do you think that the U.S. doesn�t understand that this sets a precedent?"
ALARCON: "30 years ago we kept telling Americans that you�re playing with fire. The hijackings began, from Cuba to U.S. The first hijacking was on January 1, 1959. The Batista people that escaped and landed in your country by plane or boat without visas, passports and authorization, yet all of them were warmly received by U.S. authorities. That was the beginning of this whole story. Then commercial planes were hijacked from Cuba to the U.S., using violence. We always said this was creating a new form of international crime and that was the case.
"So, Americans started doing the same thing the other way. We stopped that. We said this is wrong and we won�t admit anyone and we will punish you. On one occasion, a plane was hijacked by 2 Cuban Americans and we returned the plane to the U.S. as we always did.
"Since that moment, no more planes came from the United States to Cuba. Lately, we have a series of hijackings of small planes and boats from Cuba and the US fails to return them, the perpetrators or planes. They are repeating history. That was the way the hijackings began in the 60s."
Enemies of music force singers into prostitution
Monday, February 18, 2002 10:27 a.m.
Brushes and rollers rule! - TaggerTrap satellite spyware catches spray graffiti artists
"The unique, ultrasonic tone emitted by aerosol paint cans trips the sensors, which signal a transmitter linked to a police cell phone or radio. The global positioning system pinpoints the location of the transmitter, Lerg said.
"Just from the test I have seen and word from Chula Vista it has worked wonderfully," said Officer Judy Ronnebeck of the Escondido Police, adding that the $2,000 price tag for each unit seems a small price to pay for space surveillance."
Februrary 2003 anti-war demonstrations worldwide
Extra: 3 Wars after Iraq
"U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton said in meetings with Israeli officials on Monday that he has no doubt America will attack Iraq, and that it will be necessary to deal with threats from Syria, Iran and North Korea afterwards."
A full writeup on John Bolton's viewpoints
"Additional evidence of Bolton's extreme, take-no-prisoners worldview is not difficult to find ..."
"Known as a standard-bearer among the notorious hard-line hawks of the Bush administration Bolton never opens his mouth without making anti-DPRK remarks, bereft of reason. Therefore, his recent outbursts do not deserve even a passing note,� said a DPRK foreign ministry�s spokesman on August 31. �If there is any security issue over which the U.S. should worry, it is entirely attributable to the Bush administration�s hostile policy toward the DPRK,� he added."
Gosh, after that kind of praise, let's make the next delegation Jesse Ventura and Newt Gingrich. They can't do any worse at softening these guys up.
"Known as a standard-bearer among the notorious hard-line hawks of the Bush administration Bolton never opens his mouth without making anti-DPRK remarks, bereft of reason. Therefore, his recent outbursts do not deserve even a passing note,� said a DPRK foreign ministry�s spokesman on August 31. �If there is any security issue over which the U.S. should worry, it is entirely attributable to the Bush administration�s hostile policy toward the DPRK,� he added."
Why nerds are unpopular
"I wonder if there is anyone in the world who works harder at anything than American school kids work at popularity. Navy SEALs and neurosurgery residents seem slackers by comparison. They occasionally take vacations; some even have hobbies. An American teenager may work at being popular every waking hour, 365 days a year."
China's dilemma in tackling North Korea crisis
Monday, February 18, 2002 09:32 a.m.
The Infomaniac - Behind the News
Monday, February 18, 2002 12:11 a.m.
The Person Sitting in Darkness - Mark Twain
"The Person Sitting in Darkness is almost sure to say: "There is something curious about this -- curious and unaccountable. There must be two Americas: one that sets the captive free, and one that takes a once-captive's new freedom away from him, and picks a quarrel with him with nothing to found it on; then kills him to get his land."
"The truth is, the Person Sitting in Darkness is saying things like that ..."
'On Iraq, I would still like to defend a position of tortured liberal ambivalence ...'
Donating a health kit to Iraq
Poetry for the war - The Wall Street Journal
Poets Against the War - 8000, and more every day
A guide to anti-war websites
"As best as I can understand it, the case for war against Iraq rests primarily on what Aristotle � these old Greeks, they understood things � called the argument of future fact, or the possibility that a thing might occur in the future based on events that have happened in the past ..."
- The Better Rhetor makes the argument against acting out of fear
Col. David Hackworth makes the case for containment
A rather hawkish case, but containment nonetheless.
"This is not the first time President Saddam has apparently fallen out with his family. In 1996 he had his two sons-in-law executed ... His estranged first wife Sajida is no longer on speaking terms with him after the mysterious death of her brother."
"As best as I can understand it, the case for war against Iraq rests primarily on what Aristotle � these old Greeks, they understood things � called the argument of future fact, or the possibility that a thing might occur in the future based on events that have happened in the past ..."
- The Better Rhetor makes the argument against acting out of fear
"We organized a rally here at the US Amundsen-Scott Station, South Pole, Antarctica. We were only five rallying, probably the smallest protest in the world. Antarctica is the only continent where no wars ever happened and where all countries recognise that the only way to survive is collaboration."
Chemical suits - What 60 Minutes missed
"Warren Ball e-mailed Joe about a story on 60 Minutes about a minor scandal involving defective chemical warfare protective suits. While I did not see the story, I am familiar with the scandal.
"My day job is as a quality specialist for the Defense Department. The textile side of military procurement has been a nightmare for years ..."
"By the time every rich kid is 21, they'll likely have something like $300,000 in assets in their Roth-like accounts. Compound that by the time they retire -- or need a home or anything else they can use the accounts for -- and they'll be living pretty tax-free while the tax burden falls only on those earning wages day to day."
-Nathan Newman
The Hairy Eyeball blog is on a roll today!
And so is Cursor!
Tidbits from BuzzFlash
DC journalists hatch escape plans in event of attack on Washington
How the attempt to link bin Laden and Saddam impedes the war on terrorism - Haaretz editorial
Helen Thomas rails against Bush's 'imperial presidency'
Clinton speech at University of Texas
A Mumbai think tank looks at oil and an Iraq war
CNN edited its Blix transcript - Comparison to the BBC text
"How in the world do you trust a 'news' organiztion like CNN, when they offer what purports to be a full transcript of Hans Blix' address to the UN Security Council but they leave out nearly 800 words - and those words just happen to be the ones where Blix refutes Colin Powell's 'smoking gun' presentation from earlier this week?"
A lone supporter braves snow to hear Moseley-Braun anounce she's running for President
Sunday, February 17, 2002 07:11 a.m.
'Denim' solar panels may clothe future buildings
Sunday, February 17, 2002 07:08 a.m.
To Nile Delta villagers, a war on Iraq would be unjust -- and a disaster for Egypt's economy.
Switzerland Hosts Iraq Relief Talks
"When you try to feed 100-200,000 people it costs about $8 per person. Neighboring countries cannot meet all the expenses by themselves."
"A war could create anywhere from 600,000 to 1.5 million refugees. Food supplies in Iraq could run out within six weeks of the start of a conflict."
Who's behind the attack on liberal professors?
Liberal radio is planned by rich group of Democrats
If campaign financing changes make it impractical to spend money on ads, suddenly more money may start moving to actual "content." Whoo-hoo!
Oregano may cut listeria risk
Saturday, February 16, 2002 11:58 p.m.
Consider these options for web certifications
Saturday, February 16, 2002 11:57 p.m.
A new transit-oriented village in Quebec
A new kind of suburbia
Village de la gare in Mont St. Hilaire is designed to discourage car use
"it's got textbook transit-oriented development characteristics--quick access on foot to transit, narrower streets to discourage driving--i hope it works out like it should."
- Affinity
Terrorism, the CIA veterans said, is like malaria.
"You don't eliminate malaria by killing the flies. Rather you must drain the swamp.
Tracking sexual harassment and assault on women in the military
Grrls just wanna stay *in* their uniforms,
even if some cadets have other ideas.
Links from the Great Cross Blog Debate on War with Iraq - Omphalos
Saturday, February 16, 2002 11:11 p.m.
Interconnected - Google is building the Memex
Saturday, February 16, 2002 11:03 p.m.
Theme Park Insider - List of accidents
Saturday, February 16, 2002 04:26 p.m.
Why Russian, not French, is the language of love - Moscow Times
Saturday, February 16, 2002 02:05 p.m.
MI6 and CIA: the new enemy within
"You cannot just cherry-pick evidence that suits your case and ignore the rest. It is a cardinal rule of intelligence."
The Che Bush stencil
Saturday, February 16, 2002 09:48 a.m.
The democratic Iraqi opposition continues, despite American opposition - Kanan Makiya
The Foundation for the Defense of the Democracies appears to have more to do with the American than with the Iraqi experience.
If there are as many as 500,000 Iraqis in Britain, as one article I spotted claimed, surely there are more indigenous strains of leadership than this foundation.
"The Iraqis made a fruitless appeal for fraternal solidarity last month. The Kurdish leader Barham Salih flew to a meeting of the Socialist International in Rome to argue for 'the imperative of freedom and liberation from fascism and dictatorship'. Those marchers who affect to believe in pluralism should find his arguments attractive, if they can suppress their prejudices long enough to hear him out."
Baghdad snapshot action
On February 13, 2003, teams of artists and activists began postering New York City with snapshots from Baghdad. Quiet and casual, the snapshots show a part of Baghdad we rarely see: the part with people in it.
Growing frustration over losing research and good will due to barriers to foreign scholars.
Friday, February 15, 2002 12:51 p.m.
Twelve Peace Prayers
From a variety of traditions.
An interview with the demographer who counted the Iraqi dead in the first Gulf War
Beth Osborne Daponte talks about how her estimates of Iraq's Gulf War dead got her in deep trouble with the White House
Iran is no longer a member of the Axis of Evil
Friday, February 15, 2002 10:48 a.m.
Virtualtuner.com - International Internet radio and TV
Friday, February 15, 2002 10:33 a.m.
Secretary Rumsfeld Interview with German ARD TV
Q: Mr. Secretary, You put Germany in one category with Cuba and Libya in remarks this week that have outraged many Germans. What's the point of such blunt characterization of one of your allies? ...
Tensions within NATO - German perspectives
Frankfurter Rundschau
(February 10)
"Only on the surface is this about a refusal of preventive military assistance for Turkey. At heart, the conflict is over the soul of NATO: Should it remain a defense organization or, in line with the new U.S. security doctrine, be developed into an instrument of global preventive intervention?� Bush's mantra - those who are not with us are against us - removes the alliance's foundation cemented together out of voluntariness, equality and solidarity. NATO will not fall apart over the conflict over Iraq. Rather it will collapse as a result of its own inner aimlessness. The old NATO is, for lack of a clear enemy, already dead. As yet, no one has been able to breathe life into a new one. And the likelihood that this might yet succeed looks close to zero at this point."
"As the U.S. government's latest terror warnings underscore, Americans have been living with the knowledge that they are at war since September 11 [2001]. Nothing justifies the war [in Iraq]? You can't tell them that. What separates the allies is more than an ocean or a dispute. It is varying sensibilities. Following the end of the Cold War, these changed gradually, after September 11, 2001, rapidly. With this [divergence] and its expansion, the Atlantic alliance loses the significance it had for decades. Open conflict without end threatens to accelerate the process. You don't have to be a cynic to predict that a war in Iraq would ensure a new orientation and more cohesion. If it ends quickly and victoriously, the success will have a hundred fathers. If it unleashes chaos, we will all have to deal with the consequences."
"Even NATO must recognize that the U.S. is really the only world power. And the European part of NATO will have to get used to the idea that in many cases this world power is a world power first and a partner second. The task at hand for the Europeans is structurally not so different from Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik. There needs to be a new Westpolitik, an attempt to come to acceptable arrangements with a difficult and occasionally stubborn partner. In contrast to those days, the structure for such discussions exists. It is NATO. But it must be used so cleverly that no one finds a reason to shove the mechanism aside. Then the alliance would indeed be in danger."
'Washington, we have a problem ...
What about the 1,000 UN peacekeepers of UNIKOM in the DMZ between Kuwait and Iraq?
- asks disinformation
GE, Halliburton and ConocoPhillips urged to cut ties to terrorist states
"The pension fund manager for New York City's firemen and policemen has filed shareholder resolutions to force General Electric and two other large US companies to review their commercial ties to what it calls "terrorist-sponsoring states".
Between Iraq and a Hard Place - (Requires RealPlayer)
Don't miss this winning combination of sitcom and dry British humor! A MUST SEE.
"A great (and funny) 50-minute show from on the history of Iraq and the problems with the current attack. They should show this on every channel here." - Aaron Swartz
(Per Hixie's Natural Log, "Between Iraq and a Hard Place" was screened in January on Britain's Channel 4.)
Choice quotes from the transcript.
Bush administration fails to request money to help Afghanistan
Meanwhile, The Economist warns the US about Afghanistan-- "don't start what you can't finish."
Bill Herbert explains how the Afghanistan funding request relates to covering up the budget deficit.
For commentary, background, and links on aid to Afghanistan, take a look at Heretical Ideas.
Going to anti-war protests this weekend? Become a photo stringer for the BBC!
"The BBC is asking people attending Saturday's anti-war protests who are carrying new combination camera/cell phones to relay their pictures to its newsroom at (44) 7970 885089 or email them to firstname.lastname@example.com. The broadcaster said that it hopes to provide coverage of the demonstrations 'from a protester's perspective.' It is also accepting photos taken with digital cameras." - MetaFilter
Senior democrats have accused the CIA of sabotaging weapons inspections in Iraq
... by refusing to co-operate fully with the UN and withholding crucial information about Saddam Hussein's arsenal."
"The president says the US has to act now against Iraq. The trouble is, his own security services don't agree."
(Or do they? What's with this CIA director who keeps insisting it's his job to present the actual facts, not make policy?)
Like someone said recently, "I was in the military, and in the military it doesn't matter whether it's good or bad, you have to tell the truth. If you don't tell the truth, people die."
"During a Senate Budget Committee hearing, Sen. Ernest F. Hollings, South Carolina Democrat, asked the secretary whether it was worth breaking up Washington's alliances "just to get" Iraqi President Saddam Hussein."
"Unless America is willing to police the new order for many years and invest vast political and economic resources in assisting, not imposing, the reconstruction of state and society, Iraq will fracture and descend into chaos. Its neighbours will be destabilised. New jihadi groups will arise. Not only will there be no peace and democracy in Iraq, but the West�s security interests will be endangered further. Sadly, this worst-case scenario is hardly entertained by American officials, who now seem to be prisoners of their own rhetoric."
- Fawaz A. Gerges is Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Sarah Lawrence College, and author of the forthcoming �The Islamists and the West�
Exile Group Leaders Fault US Plan for Postwar Iraq - WaPo
Global Warming notes : This year's Iditarod dogsled race moves north, to Fairbanks
Thursday, February 14, 2002 07:25 p.m.
Town Hall meetings with the Greatest Generation in Alexandria, VA are the 'essence of the republic'
"First, I want to let people know that the president hasn't made any decision yet about military action," said Victoria Clarke, assistant secretary of defense for public affairs and chief spokeswoman for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
"Yeah, right," an elderly woman blurted out.
...Clarke went on to say that diplomacy was very important in solving the Iraqi problem. And, despite indications by the Bush administration that war would come "within weeks, not months," she maintained that "the U.S. is not acting so fast."
I can't remember the last time I heard so many people sigh or saw so many roll their eyes and throw their hands up in exasperation.
"Someone tell Bush that Oz is having a sale on brains," a woman said.
The audience was made up mostly of working-class and professional people from throughout the Washington area. Some brought their children in hopes of helping them understand what was going on. They were not your usual peaceniks.
...While talking about the proposed Patriot Act II, for instance, which would essentially give Attorney General John D. Ashcroft more power to spy on and secretly detain U.S. citizens, one woman said, "It's made me think a lot about George Orwell lately."
To which her friend replied, "It's more like the Gestapo to me."
Someone from the audience asked, "Where is the imminent threat?"
Clarke replied with a riddle: "That all depends on what you mean by imminent."
Farewell to the 'red sheep of the family' - Food not Bombs activist Hugh Mejia
"There are very acute mental illnesses that are specific to the activist scene. For one, you have a society that ridicules and marginalizes your vocation ...
Why you probably tilt your head right when you're making out
A kiss is still . . . "an osculatory apposition of the orbicularis oris and levator labii muscles with posterior involvement of the sternocleidomastoids, commonly in a dexterous orientation," commented the dashing and romantic German researcher.
(Several women in the audience swooned.)
Getting the picture on fighting non-state actors like al-Zarqawi
Thursday, February 14, 2002 06:57 p.m.
Today's theory : It's an oil 'currency' war, ie. it's all about the euro
Thursday, February 14, 2002 06:55 p.m.
The chemical warfare broadcast in Israel ain't just duct tape
Thanks to Gil Shterzer, the Israeli guy, for posting these links and making it a little more real.
Why would people in countries which make no civillian preparations for this awful form of warfare support using these weapons?
"There is deep resentment and anger here [in Iraq] that it was Western companies that helped Iraq develop its chemical weapons arsenal in the first place and that the world did nothing to punish Iraq for its use of chemical weapons throughout the war."
Google wins the Big Brother nomination
Thursday, February 14, 2002 06:40 p.m.
Rep. Ron Paul, R-TX, speaks out against war on Iraq - (RealPlayer video)
Thursday, February 14, 2002 06:37 p.m.
How the tech crash became a generational divide - SJ Mercury News
"While older workers struggle to find employment and redefine them selves in a place that often values youth over experience, those in their 20s have generally landed on their feet in new jobs."
Cannot find weapons of mass destruction - Microsoft Internet Explorer
Protect your pet from CBRN attack with the "How Meow" tent.
Peace marches by city, 2-15-03
�The last thing I want to do is get in the way of a working person trying to get to work,� says Leone Reinbold, a veteran of civil disobedience protests. �But when 200,000 people marching in the streets doesn't get people's attention in Washington, this is our last resort.�
"We are trying to find a peaceful solution to a grave, international crisis and, I repeat, we will be heard."
- Vladimir Putin
The Senate stands passively mute - Senator Byrd of West Virginia
"High level Administration figures recently refused to take nuclear weapons off of the table when discussing a possible attack against Iraq. What could be more destabilizing and unwise than this type of uncertainty, particularly in a world where globalism has tied the vital economic and security interests of many nations so closely together? There are huge cracks emerging in our time-honored alliances, and U.S. intentions are suddenly subject to damaging worldwide speculation. Anti-Americanism based on mistrust, misinformation, suspicion, and alarming rhetoric from U.S. leaders is fracturing the once solid alliance against global terrorism which existed after September 11.
"Here at home, people are warned of imminent terrorist attacks with little guidance as to when or where such attacks might occur. Family members are being called to active military duty, with no idea of the duration of their stay or what horrors they may face. Communities are being left with less than adequate police and fire protection. Other essential services are also short-staffed. The mood of the nation is grim. The economy is stumbling ...
"Calling heads of state pygmies, labeling whole countries as evil, denigrating powerful European allies as irrelevant -- these types of crude insensitivities can do our great nation no good. We may have massive military might, but we cannot fight a global war on terrorism alone. We need the cooperation and friendship of our time-honored allies as well as the newer found friends whom we can attract with our wealth."
An Unremitting Verse for Today
Now courage call, and dark concerns dispel:
The closed racecourse of fear is better quelled
Than let to run. The shadow has been there
A time; we slept in comfort, unaware.
When now we wake, it casts a fearsome form
That seems a portent of some dreadful storm.
Fear not: the light does it, not us, offend:
It is our waking that will make its end.
Mexico declares itself for peace - kinda
- via The Lincoln Plawg
Hacking away at dissent - The case of The Yellow Times
In related news, "The US Government does not condone so-called 'patriotic hacking' on its behalf."
Max Speaks on taxes - C-SPAN video link
Max begins at about 15 minutes in.
Making the case for turning off the news - Clear Channel
"Remember to ask me if regular programming should continue to run on weekends and if we have specialty shows that can't or won't talk about the war, we will probably blow them off. Even Dr. Laura. Remember, no fishing shows, gardening shows. We are AT WAR ..."
Apartheid leader Pik Botha goes on a peace mission
"South Africa once dismantled its own nuclear weapons. Now a former icon of the apartheid government is trying to persuade Iraq to do the same."
Student Loans
"These kids will not take low-paying jobs teaching in the inner cities. They won't join the Peace Corps. If they find themselves with a few extra hours here and there, they won't volunteer at a homeless shelter--they'll take a second job. When young people defer their dreams, when options vanish, America loses."
A Soldier's Viewpoint on Surviving Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Attacks
Practical advice, for a change.
A nation of snitches - Ashcroft's worrisome spy plans - CNet
"When investigating a computer crime or other serious felonies, prosecutors would be able to serve secret subpoenas on people, ordering them to hand over evidence and testify in person. If served with a secret subpoena, you'd go to jail if you "disclosed" to anyone but your lawyer that you received it."
Reporter spoofs terrorists, National Security Council, and fakes responsiblity for Slammer virus
Right. Anything for a story. Who is this masked man?
Rah, Honda!
"Honda Motor Co is only major automaker that has not joined Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, industry group that has led fight against tougher fuel and emissions standards."
FBI and Chinese government vie for grad students' favors ...
... Who will have the benefit of all that specialized knowledge of missiles, technology, and encryption?
The travels of the VC - From North Vietnam to dot.coms to alternative energy
Saturday, February 9, 2002 01:45 p.m.
Old hippie congressman demands the return of the draft
Saturday, February 9, 2002 01:43 p.m.
Do non-lethal weapons still count as chemical weapons? - Counterpunch
Saturday, February 9, 2002 01:40 p.m.
Lynxx Pherett isn't buying it on anti-gravity propulsion
Saturday, February 9, 2002 12:08 p.m.
free dartmouth blog
"A forum for independent, progressive, and liberal thinkers and activists at Dartmouth College"
Circulars - Poets, Artists and Critics Respond to US Global Policy
Saturday, February 9, 2002 09:48 a.m.
Classics scholar warns: We're repeating the mistakes of 53 B.C.
"Just as there was no act of aggression against Rome to prompt an attack against the Parthians, Ms. Fantham argued, there has been no act of aggression by Iraq against the United States."
Sea World penguins assimilate the local work ethic during their Ohio stay
Saturday, February 9, 2002 08:00 a.m.
"It may be drugs. It may be avocados. It may be Cuban cigars. It may be weapons of mass destruction. We're looking for anomalies," he said.
"Four Cuban coast guardsman defected Friday, docking their patrol boat at a Key West resort, walking into town and surrendering to a police officer.
"The men, dressed in their military uniforms, approached Officer Matt Dorgan at about 4 a.m. and told him they wanted to surrender, Key West police spokeswoman Cynthia Edwards said. One man had a Chinese handgun holstered to his side, which he allowed Dorgan to take."
"Officers searching their boat docked at the Hyatt Marina Resort found two loaded AK-47 machine guns along with ammunition. The boat was still flying a Cuban flag."
"By all accounts, the four Cuban border agents who arrived in Key West before dawn Friday, one of them carrying a Chinese-made handgun in a hip holster, meant no harm."
The rules of engagement for cyber-warfare are in place
- Tom Ridge reminds families that scribbled notes and homing pigeons can be your best bet for staying in touch during terrorist attacks.
- Employment agencies quietly stockpile contact information for baby-boomer era bureaucrats, accustomed to writing reports on manual typewriters.
- Colleges nationwide report inquiries from students interested in adding techniques like long division, using pencil and paper, to their resumes.
- Recent shortages of tin cans and string appear to be the result of a spike in demand at several large telecoms.
Aron's Israel Peace Weblog
Saturday, February 9, 2002 07:30 a.m.
What's the deal on the FBI and the American Library Association?
"You may have hear rumors about an FBI agent hovering around the ALA midwinter meeting in Philadelphia. In fact, there is some truth to the rumor. Here's what happened ... "
"The people who succeeded and did well were those who didn't stand up, who didn't write the big stories, who looked the other way when history was happening in front of them, and went along either consciously or just by cowardice with the deception of the American people."
- Robert Parry
Jan Oberg, of the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research (TFF) on Iraq
A view from the ground in Iraq - World Press Review
Talking Points on the US - Iraq Crisis - Phylis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies
Same story, different disasters
"Many of us have worked in bureaucracies, and we have seen this dynamic in action. We have met the bureaucratic geniuses, the people who consolidate their power with blind carbon copies and ambush presentations, who move up the organizational chart by paying full-time attention to the organizational chart."
"Saudi Arabia's leaders have made far-reaching decisions to prepare for an era of military disengagement from the United States, to enact what Saudi officials call the first significant democratic reforms at home, and to rein in the conservative clergy that has shared power in the kingdom."
War Haiku
Use utmost caution
When opening gates of hell
For they might not close
Renegade poets laureate applaud peace - McDonalds' across the nation resound with the cheers of starving artists
"Concern about a possible war has also changed what had been a relatively positive relationship between Mrs. Bush and the literary community. A former librarian who has made teaching and early childhood development her signature issues, she has held a series of symposiums to salute America's authors."
Family-friendly administration attacks the 40-hour workweek - Urges kids to cook their own dinner.
"A Bush administration overhaul of decades-old labor regulations could force many Americans to work longer hours without overtime pay.
"The administration argues that the pillars of American labor law, which established the 40-hour work week, a minimum wage and overtime pay, are antiquated."
A tactless way to spy on your employees
A professor comes back to the office unexpectedly, calls security to report that his computer's missing, and they tell him "Computer's gone? No problem, man, you're cool." So what's that supposed to mean anyway?
No drug matches the threat posed by marijuana, says the White House
"The overwhelming majority of marijuana users quit voluntarily in their early 30s -- often citing health or professional concerns or the decision to start a family."
"I find it irritating how drug-abusing campus residents seem to think they wield an inherent right to use drugs in the dorms. I've spoken with several students who are equally irritated. Occasionally we like to study, and for the most part we would like to study without having to smell somebody's stinky marijuana joint."
Black Box Voting
"Walk right in, sit right down. Replace vote-counting files with your own."
More links at Seeing the Forest
Claims and evaluations of Iraq's proscribed weapons
Because Mr. Blix can always use another proofreader, why shouldn't it be you? It's not like the rest of us need to get any work done, watch important chick flick videos, etc.
Avoid copper-containing fungicides if you want that DDT to break down
Friday, February 8, 2002 10:08 p.m.
PoliticalStrategy.org shows you how to win arguments about Iraq
Your associates will cringe when you head 'em off at the pass, by anticipating their every riposte.
The suggestion to scrap the nebulous term "war," and Call an Invasion an Invasion, Call a Premptive Strike a Premptive Strike, could do a lot to clear up the debate on all sides!
For all practical purposes, a war is already in progress. The question is a measured response, which maintains an appropriate degree of containment, so that nobody makes any false moves, vs. erratic escalation which makes people way too nervous ...
Alchemists needed! Required: Transmutation, waste management experience
Friday, February 8, 2002 09:53 p.m.
West Nile wipes out 88 percent of crows and 66 percent of bluejays in Chicago
Friday, February 8, 2002 09:51 p.m.
Judge decides Italian teens should share their marijuana during school field trips
Friday, February 8, 2002 09:45 p.m.
Greenpeace Southeast Asia moves to Free Software
Friday, February 8, 2002 09:41 p.m.
Bill Moyers interview on the Patriot Act
Metafilter commentary on Patriot II
TalkLeft commentary on Patriot II
Patriot Act II - The Unwanted Sequelae
The Center for Public Integrity describes what Mr. Ashcroft's gang has been cooking up, just in time for this overwhelmingly popular war.
Guard your DNA carefully, such as the cigarette butts, coffee cups, or Kleenex that go out in your garbage. Otherwise, when you disappear mysteriously without a trace, like these three female students visiting Georgetown from Afghanistan, we'll just have to assume you were some sort of terrorist evildoer!
Meanwhile, the UN High Commission on Refugees and the good townspeople of Vermont and Upstate New York are doing their best to keep frightened Pakistanis attempting to flee the country warm and fed. I could swear I heard this story on my car radio, but it doesn't seem to appear anywhere on the NPR site. Could it be some pirate radio broadcaster attempting to sow misinformation?
Shouldn't all sane people disregard this sort of annoying information, forget about the fact that a few of the 600,000 Iraqis displaced in the upcoming war might possibly bear a grudge, avoid flying cross country to transmit messages received directly from God regarding Iraq to the President at the National Prayer Breakfast, and go about our business, pausing briefly in our Watchful Waiting to read up on What You Can Do to Prepare Your Family for Smallpox, Anthrax, and Dirty Bombs ...
Your tax cut is on its way. Check's almost in the mail! "Meanwhile, the President omits any provision for financing a possible war with Iraq." Trust him, he's President, he knows what he's doing. And if not, his advisors can always turn to Google, the Internet, and our army of highly-paid grad students to figure out what's next.
In which we plagiarize our case for war from an Iraqi grad student ...
... When our hero's work is presented in a major speech by a top US official at the UN, as usual, our grad student doesn't get any credit. Give this kid tenure!
How to find pseudonyms, nomes de guerre, and pen names
Friday, February 8, 2002 08:01 p.m.
The Mother of All Maritime Links
John's Nautical Links List.
SASSAFRASS LOG is Available Via Me-Zine!
The Four Freedoms
The Neurobiology of Religious Experience
Don't Multitask.
TACT Symposium - Technology and Terrorism
The "Dreaded Them"!
"The Taliban tried to tell you!" - A rant on the importance of Area Studies
Unarmed Peacekeeping Initiatives
Spongeworthy again!
Mildly polygynous?
Dead Microbiologists - Scientists deaths are under the microscope
Archive of
Sassafrass Log
current entries
- Lotsa material!
march 2002