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Illinois Legislature to Vote on Banning Marijuana Speech
Monday, October 29, 2001
Talk about marijuana over the internet, get arrested.
This is so ridiculous I'm rendered speechless.
The Drug War - Back To The Stone Age
Just this past March Walters declared in the Weekly Standard, "What really drives the battle against law enforcement and punishment however, is not a commitment to treatment but the widely held view that ( 1 ) we are imprisoning too many people for merely possessing illegal drugs; ( 2 ) drug and other criminal sentences are too long and harsh; and ( 3 ) the criminal system is unjustly punishing black men. These are among urban myths of our time."
Let's hear it for the new drug czar!
Fighterpilots may be endangered species
Monday, October 29, 2001
Is the day of the manned strike aircraft over? Probably not for the time being since the armed services hate them. They aren't sexy enough and they don't want pilots replaced by console jockeys! UCAVs will prove to be much more cost effective than manned aircraft and better still for politicians, don't risk human pilots.
Joint Strike Fighter faces future competition
X-45 Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV)
UAV Forum
The Get Away
Sunday, October 28, 2001
Rich, paranoid Manhattenites ready to make a break for the Hamptons, but not Janeane Garofalo:
She said she was not scared of death. "There is no point in not being ready to die," she said. "And also, it might be kind of interesting if someone says in passing, 'Hey, whatever happened to Janeane Garofalo?' And the other person will say, ‘Jihad.’"
Thanks to Bred Crumbs, even though he hates Enterprise! :)
The botched mission of Hollywood Haq
Saturday, October 27, 2001
US intelligence agencies back a covert operation in Afghanistan. The operative is betrayed and is ambushed in Taliban territory. He radios for help. The CIA fails in a half-hearted attempt to rescue him. He is executed. There's confusion and finger pointing in Washington over a botched mission.
Sounds like the Bay of Pigs all over again.
We have a long history of proxy warfare.
We don't like to get our hands too dirty.
The U.S. also has a long history of telling people to revolt and then abandoning them in the field to get slaughtered.
See Bush/Clinton and the Shiites/Kurds:
When Shiites in southern Iraq appeared ready to finish the job with a grass-roots revolt against Saddam in the spring of 1991, the Bush administration chose to step aside and permit Iraqi troops to regroup and crush the rebels with helicopter gunships. The alternative, as the White House saw it, might have been the collapse of Iraq and the rise of a new Islamic state bordering Iran.
In March 1995 and again in the late summer of 1996, the Clinton administration faced similar dilemmas in northern Iraq. Rather than throw its weight behind a coalition of rebels with divergent allegiances to Iran and Iraq, and aspirations for an independent Kurdistan, Clinton chose to do nothing while Saddam’s troops invaded the safe haven and destroyed the CIA-backed opposition.
Ten years gone and Saddam still sits in one of his forty-eight palaces that he built after the Gulf war, giving the finger to the West.
I'm not optimistic that this time will be any different.
Terror Act Has Lasting Effects
Saturday, October 27, 2001
After the president signs the measure on Friday, police will have the permanent ability to conduct Internet surveillance without a court order in some circumstances, secretly search homes and offices without notifying the owner, and share confidential grand jury information with the CIA.
The Fourth Amendment has officially been blowtorched.
The founding fathers twich fitfully in their graves.
The terrorists have triumphed.
They hate freedom and justice and so does most of Congress.
The depraved part to all this is that it is just a panacea or placebo; pure smoke and mirrors. You are no safer now than you were six weeks ago.
CD sales reflect surge in patriotic hits
Saturday, October 27, 2001
Pop fossils are cashing in on the rush of popular "patriotism".
Lord, deliver us from Celine Dion.
The disc, which Columbia Records touts as "a collection of songs of hope, freedom and inspiration," also includes Frank Sinatra's "America the Beautiful," Mariah Carey's "Hero," Tramaine Hawkins' "Amazing Grace" and Pete Seeger's "This Land Is Your Land."
I find the inclusion of "This Land Is Your Land" ironic, since it was written by Woody Guthrie, who was blacklisted during the Communist witch hunts of the 1950's.
Pete Seeger was blacklisted as well.
How dare they include such a antimerican song!
FBI and CIA Suspect Domestic Extremists
Saturday, October 27, 2001
Top FBI and CIA officials believe that the anthrax attacks on Washington, New York and Florida are likely the work of one or more extremists in the United States who are probably not connected to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist organization, government officials said yesterday.
Remember that bombing in Oklahoma City in 1995?
What about that bombing at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta?
How about that big high school shooting in Colorado in 1999?
That's right, domestic terrorists all.
Privacy is just so suspicious
Saturday, October 27, 2001
We have gone from a nation of people whose motto was "Don't Tread on Me" to one where citizens don't mind so much being trod upon as long as it doesn't take much time -- as long as the sobriety check-point line isn't excessively long, as long as the security guard looking in our purse is quick about it. Any grumbling comes not from the intrusion but the inconvenience. In modern America, time is more valuable than privacy.
Well said.
Thanks, World New York :)
Big Brother meets Freud for science, and TV
Saturday, October 27, 2001
The reality TV craze is dying a quick death, so I hope we don't have any cheesy imitations of this show over here.
Thanks, TV Tattle :)
The real Stanford Prison Experiment.
The Stanford Prison Experiment: Still powerful after all these years
Loss of momentum in Afganistan is worrying America
Saturday, October 27, 2001
For all the US bombing of Taliban positions north of Kabul and elsewhere, the offensive of opposition Northern Alliance troops seems to have ground to a halt – both against the capital and against the town of Mazar-i-Sharif and its strategically important airfield.
There is also scant evidence of defections by moderate elements within the Taliban, which the US had been hoping would undermine the Islamic regime from within.
Reports from Pakistan suggest that even anti-Taliban tribal leaders are not taking the Western bait, and one intelligence official described US hopes to that effect as "hopelessly naïve".
Air power and token ground operations won't be very effective in this kind of war. There doesn't seem to be much evidence that the the government has the stomach for using large numbers of ground troops in Afganistan either.
First US ground attack 'could have ended in disaster'
The attack was meant to be a purely cosmetic exercise for the benefit of the media and the public against a relatively safe and poorly defended target.
But there had been a failure of intelligence, and the troops from the elite 75th Rangers Regiment ran into such heavy fire on the ground near Kandahar that they had to beat a hasty retreat. A Chinook helicopter airlifting them out lost its undercarriage and had to make a forced landing.
Could it be that the Pentagon propoganda machine is exaggerating their claims of success? Nah, they'd never do that!
Taliban fight now looks long, slow
Though White House and military officials have publicly paved the way for a long conflict, Wednesday's comments were the first indication that the campaign in Afghanistan was not going according to plan. It also suggests a Pentagon miscalculation - despite examples in Iraq and Serbia, in which stubborn leaders outlasted far fiercer US air campaigns - that air power alone might have been enough to push the Taliban from power.
The alliance foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah, says he does not agree with the Pentagon assessment, noting that at peak times during the Afghan civil war 2,000 rockets a day landed on Kabul. "So far, the level of pressure on the Taliban is not such to expect them to lay down their arms and run away," he says.
10,000 Pakistanis set to join Afghan war
A party spokesman reached at the border area by telephone said that the tribesmen numbered around 10,000.
"We will resist if the authorities try to stop us. The jehad (holy war) will start here," said spokesman Qazi Ihsanullah.
One Hell of a Business
Saturday, October 27, 2001
This year's 45-minute tour is kind of a greatest hits of sin. In past years, the church utilized human sacrifices and Monica Lewinsky--Bill Clinton scenes to scare the bejesus out of impressionable young minds. This year's standards include a gay wedding scene (actually a married couple with the woman dressed as a man -- "We weren't going to have men kissing in our church," said Roberts) which ends with one of them dying of AIDS, a graphic abortion scene, a teen-age drunk-driving fatality, a rave party where a young girl dies from an overdose and a teen suicide.
Now that's scary!
bread, peace, land and directionals
Thursday, October 25, 2001
Use your damn turn signal or we'll have to smack you!
USA Act Stampedes Through
Thursday, October 25, 2001
Read the following sentence carefully:
The USA Act permits police to obtain court orders to conduct secret searches of Americans' homes and offices, browse medical and financial records without showing evidence of a crime and monitor e-mail and Web activity without a judge's approval in some circumstances.
I know I've been harping on this for the past month.
Somebody has to do it.
I just wish webloggers (and the general public) were a tenth as upset about this as they seem to be about what the RIAA is doing, The Evil Empire That Is Microsoft (Windows XP, aieeee! Ooga booga!) or the SSSCA. It's not that we shouldn't worry about those three things, just that the USA Act (doublespeak lives) is far more threatening.
No one seems to give much of a damn. That pisses me off.
Doesn't it bother anyone but me that their privacy rights are being trampled and that this act is ripe for government and law enforcement abuse?
(Maybe I'm looking on the wrong places.)
Berkeley rally supports military in Afghanistan
Thursday, October 25, 2001
"Almost immediately, Berkeley jumped on the anti-war bandwagon that was present in the'60s," shouted Bret Manley, 18, co-president of the United Students group. "They had to show the United States that Berkeley doesn't support America. Well, news flash -- people preaching anti-American ideals have been here too long."
At least he didn't call for their summary execution.
I've seen only one example of anti-war sentiment anywhere in person: a bumpersticker that read "Support Justice - Not War", or something like that. If you drove around with a sticker like that where I live, I'd guarantee a prompt lynching.
Hundreds Volunteer to Go to Bed for NASA
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
Could you stay in bed for a month for eleven bucks an hour?
I think I could do it!
Romania to host new Dracula theme park
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
Mist shrouds the Casa Vlad Dracul, where tourists sink their teeth into bloody chops coated with Dracula sauce - red and spicy - and wash it down with bottles of Vampire cabernet.
Over at the medieval main square, pallid-faced actors film a scene for "Dracula Resurrection," a new B movie. Down in the dungeon-like Dracula video arcade, teenagers zap virtual vampires while their elders belly up to the bar for a Bloody Mary.
It still sounds like more fun than Disney World.
Mobile Porn Coming to Europe
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
I ask again, do we really need mobile porn?
Cannabis laws set to be eased in UK
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Still illegal, but now decriminalized.
Odyssey orbits Mars
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Third time's the charm for NASA. Yea!
New Indian satellite could provide military surveillance
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
What no one seems to be noting about India's new launch capabilities that it proves that they are now more than capable of fielding ICBMs.
India Plans to Send Spacecraft to Moon
Anthrax attacks now being linked to US right-wing cranks
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
It's just a theory, but seems plausible to me given the targets and "pinprick" nature of the attacks.
Thanks, wood s lot :)
Beyond Carnivore: FBI Eyes Packet Taps
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Carnivore was just the beginning:
"It's clear they [the Bureau] have decided that in the next year or so they are going to make a big push on packet data and they are going to use whatever leverage they can to get people to cooperate and to build a set of packet data systems that are more wiretap friendly than the ones we have today."
Governor Calls for 'Cyber Court'
Sunday, October 21, 2001
Let's hear it for the Way New Stalinism (TM)!
The so-called FISA court is notorious among civil libertarians for being a secret, seven-judge court that meets behind closed doors to approve surveillance requests in "national security" cases. Proceedings are sealed and judges do not require "probable cause" -- a legal standard required in ordinary investigations -- before ordering eavesdropping or surreptitious entries to plant listening devices.
Is it just me or does the Office of Homeland Security sound an awful lot like the People's Comissariat for Internal Affairs?
Thanks, Unknown News :)
Sting-ray weapon could be used against Taliban
Sunday, October 21, 2001
Up to $500 billion has been spent in 20 years on such weapons as part of what are known as "black projects".
That's half a trillion taxpayer dollars: $500,000,000,000.
Think of all of the good that could have done with that money.
Don't know how accurate any of this speculation is about specific weapon systems is, but you can bet that the "black project" boys are up to something in Afganistan.
Leaders in the field
Sunday, October 21, 2001
Crop circle makers inject the world with a much needed sense of strangeness and wonder:
The circles function as what Hitchcock called a MacGuffin - the thing that propels the plot along, evoking a whole set of desires and beliefs and the promise of something bigger. In this way the circles confuse the distinction between reality and representation. They create rumours, tantalizing narratives, something you can't be sure about.
Crayola Color Census 2000
Sunday, October 21, 2001
Six out of the top ten are hues of blue. That's surprising to me.
I would have expected more reds.
When did Crayola start using funky names like "atomic tangerine", "macaroni and cheese" and "neon carrot"?!?
Thanks, Strange Brew :)
Car that detects driver's emotions unveiled in Tokyo
Sunday, October 21, 2001
Can a new happymobile prevent road rage?
The car, developed by the Toyota Motor Corp and Sony, is designed to quickly "learn" a driver's style, and monitor any deviations. Biometric sensors built into the car's steering mechanism also monitor a driver's pulse and galvanic skin response - sweat level - for signs of agitation.
Australians on alert for 'invincible' ant
Sunday, October 21, 2001
Having been bitten by fire ants on one memorable occasion, the people of Australia have my sincere sympathies.
Mystery of bird 'V' formation solved
Sunday, October 21, 2001
Migrating birds fly in formation to conserve energy.
Everyday accidents far deadlier than bioterrorism
Saturday, October 20, 2001
Another statistician pointed out that 340 people will drown in bathtubs this year and 350 will die by falling from a ladder -- but the U.S. has not outlawed tubs or ladders.
Or guns. Or SUVs. Or meat. Or alcohol. Or tobacco.
Are you seeing a pattern here?
Life is more dangerous than most people think.
Bioweapons alerts may cause lasting psychological harm
Fastest scramjet test set for launch
Saturday, October 20, 2001
Can the University of Queensland succeed where NASA failed?
We sure hope so.
Countering bioterrorism
Saturday, October 20, 2001
There has been a run on gas masks since Sept. 11, despite persistent warnings from public health experts the devices could do more harm than good. Here's why you shouldn't buy one:
A gas mask works only if worn at the exact moment of attack, and it's not practical to wear it day and night just in case. Moreover, many masks are sold without warranties or even directions. A mask requires training to use properly, and won't work unless it fits perfectly with an airtight seal.
Wearing a mask incorrectly can cause serious injury or death by accidental suffocation, especially in people with heart or lung disease.
Despite the wildly exagerated and downright criminal claims of many gas mask sellers, nerve agents such as VX and Sarin can kill by skin contact alone (you'll just die more slowly) and a gas mask is completely useless against radiation and/or viruses. So unless you want to live in a NBC suit that covers every square inch of your body, you're wasting your time.
I haven't heard of anyone accidentally suffocating themselves with a gas mask just yet, but it's bound to happen. Please, don't buy gas masks (or Cipro or "anthrax testing kits"). You're just throwing your hard earned money away and contributing to the spread of fear and panic.
From Doobie Brother To Top Missile Defense Adviser
Along with a roster of high-power politicians and military men, Baxter — who learned everything he knows about military defense from reading war history books, technical weapons texts and defense manuals — is now playing a key role in determining how the U.S. can best protect itself against a major nuclear, chemical or biological attack.
If the government is relying on this supposed "expert" for our defense, than consider me scared!
Rep. Buyer Suggests Limited Nuclear Retaliation
More scary: psycho terrorists or dumbass politicians?
Congress reaches compromise on anti-terror legislation
Thursday, October 18, 2001
New authority wanted by the Bush administration to wiretap and eavesdrop on suspected terrorists, including secret police searches of their homes and records, would expire in four years under a compromise negotiated Wednesday, according to congressional sources.
The White House had sought unfettered and permanent authority for so-called roving wiretaps to monitor telephone and computer communications of terrorism suspects no matter where they take place but encountered stiff opposition from civil rights and privacy advocates in both parties.
(Bold annotation mine)
Four years might as well be a eternity.
Senator Backs Off Backdoors
"I'm glad to hear it's gone. Whether or not it's true is another matter," Carlson said. "(Gregg) said he was definitely supporting it. Now he says he's definitely not. Maybe he'll say he's definitely supporting it again."
I'm not gonna hold my breath.
Downing Street reassures comics
Wednesday, October 17, 2001
"The purpose of this law is to protect communities from violence that can be provoked by free speech."
We've heard that before.
Hollywood 'inspired US attacks'
Veteran film director Robert Altman has blamed Hollywood for "inspiring" the recent attacks on the US.
"Nobody would have thought to commit an atrocity like that unless they'd seen it in a movie," said Altman, who also directed MASH and The Player.
This only proves that Altman is a complete fool who conveniently believes that people didn't hate each other prior to the existence of motion pictures.
Thanks to Arts Journal for both links. :)
Civil libertarians say military doesn't need police powers
Wednesday, October 17, 2001
In light of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., says it's time to revisit the 1878 Posse Comitatus law, which bars the military from directly participating in domestic police work, such as arrests, searches or seizures.
Warner, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is urging Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to consider the measure.
His suggestion has created concern among civil libertarians, who argue that giving police powers to the military is unnecessary and dangerous.
Given that John Warner, best known for his abortive marriage to Liz Taylor and a Senator whose name is synonymous with the term "clueless" is in favor of this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.
Thanks, Unknown News :)
UNC chemists figure out what causes ‘skunky beer’
Wednesday, October 17, 2001
"This light problem is a phenomenon that was reported in the literature as early as 1875, but until now the detailed mechanism has not been unraveled," Forbes said. "The final product of the reaction turns out to be what we call "skunky thiol," an analog of a compound found in skunk glands that produces a very bad taste and smell. This molecule has an extremely low taste and smell threshold in humans, just a few parts per trillion."
I'm sure beer drinkers will sleep better at night knowing this. Or, you can do what I've done and switch to hard liquor, which doesn't go bad.
US buys up rights to satellite pictures of Afghanistan
Wednesday, October 17, 2001
. . . some commentators believe the main motivation behind the buy-up is to prevent images of civilian targets hit during bombing raids reaching the media.
Seizing the moral High Frontier, as it were.
Mayan writers for defeated kings met a cruel fate
Monday, October 15, 2001
These scribes - the rough equivalent of today's public relations writers - would have their fingers broken and then be executed after their kings were defeated in battle.
Spin control is not a new concept!
RIAA Wants to Hack Your PC
Monday, October 15, 2001
I used to think that the RIAA were just a bunch of petty monopolists, but now I see just how dangerous they can be.
What scares me is that most politicians are so technologically clueless that something like this might actually have a chance of passing.
Congress needs more scientists and engineers; far fewer lawyers.
What robot are you really?
Sunday, October 14, 2001
Where did I come from?
Where am I going?
How long have I got?
Please Excuse The M-16s
Friday, October 12, 2001
Mark Monford on our amok time:
It's an ugly itching presence we'll probably have to learn to live with, like a bunion, like a mosquito buzzing around your skull at 2 a.m., like plunging the toilet, like that dark skeleton in your closet you only reveal over multiple vodka tonics and a very heavy sigh.
I'll take my tonic with gin.
I've decided not to live with the ugly itching.
And do you have any of those little biscuits?
You know, the cheesy ones?
(I used to dig Cheez-Its before Sunshine got bought out by those Keebler bastards. Now, they're just flavorless cardboard.)
As someone who has railed time and again about our general ignorance of anything that happens beyond our borders, you might be surprised that I've stopped paying much attention to the news. The Pentagon is not going to let anything that they don't want you to hear go uncensored and most of the media is so gutless at this point (which happened long before September 11) that they're going to lockstep to whatever will give them the most ratings. Journalism? No, sensationalism. Journalism is quite dead and rotten in times like these.
There's the potential for personal liberation here somewhere.
You don't have to be afraid.
(Common sense still applies though. Sorry!)
Now, I'm gonna wash that TV news paranoia out of my hair, smoke a joint and watch some Nicktoons!
Go do something fun for a change.
You remember fun, don't you?
Gas Masks, Casual Sex
America Loves Its Litter
Friday, October 12, 2001
If there is one thing about the constant degradation of day to day life that pisses me off to no end, it's thoughtless wankers who think the world is their own personal trashcan.
BTW filter cigarette smokers, butts are not biodegradable!
Thanks, Unknown News :)
The Rise of the Brand State
Friday, October 12, 2001
The traditional diplomacy of yesteryear is disappearing. To do their jobs well in the future, politicians will have to train themselves in brand asset management. Their tasks will include finding a brand niche for their state, engaging in competitive marketing, assuring customer satisfaction, and most of all, creating brand loyalty. Brand states will compete not only among themselves but also with superbrands such as the EU, CNN, Microsoft, and the Roman Catholic Church (boasting the oldest and most recognized logo in the world, the crucifix). In this crowded arena, states that lack relevant brand equity will not survive. The state, in short, will have become the State(r).
As this article wisely points out, this is nothing but a thinly veiled psychological pacification campaign.
Thanks, Null Device :)
Senate Passes Aviation Security Bill
Friday, October 12, 2001
Senate leadership rams through USA Act; Feingold is lone voice of conscience.
Only Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., dissented after failing in an effort to tone down parts of the bill's police powers. He also grew angry that the bill, which came straight to the floor and not through committees, was moving so fast. "What have we come to when we don't have either committee or Senate deliberation or amendments on an issue of this importance?" he said.
While sympathetic to Feingold's cause, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said any new amendments would upset the fragile Senate-White House compromise that allowed the bill to move so quickly. "I'm much more sympathetic to arriving at a product that will bring us to a point where we can pass something into law," he said.
Yes, God forbid that some careful thought and democratic debate upset the Senate-White House balance!
Also note that the Senate bill has no expiration date and that it is far easier to enact new laws that to take existing laws off the books.
Terror Bill Clears Senate
A Senator's Lonely Privacy Fight
Friday, October 12, 2001
The USA Act. The Patriot Act.
Don't you just love how this legislation designed to restrict privacy is clothed in jingoistic, feel good Orwellian doublespeak?
We've all heard the classic straw man argument:
If you have nothing to hide, there's no need to worry.
Oh really? Does that mean you don't care about letting the Feds read all of your personal, private information?
We've all got something to hide.
What I find most disturbing is the watered down response from so many who claim to champion the Bill of Rights, lest someone might label them "unpatriotic".
Same as It Ever Was
Friday, October 12, 2001
Public ignores Hollywood's new hypersensitive insincerity:
All the same, the longer the audience expresses a contrary opinion by choosing to attend violent distractions, the shorter the studio and network executives will stick to their original feel-good declarations. Even as the cruise missiles started falling Sunday, some networks abandoned the breaking news in favor of NFL football, which attracted better ratings. What the audience wants, for better or worse, is what the audience gets.
The Jews are Guilty!
Thursday, October 11, 2001
One of these measures is the institution of the yellow star that each Jew must wear. We wanted to make them visible as Jews, particularly if they made even the least attempt to harm the German community. It is a remarkably humane measure on our part, a hygienic and prophylactic measure to be sure that the Jew cannot infiltrate our ranks unseen to sow discord.
As the Jews first appeared several weeks ago on the streets of Berlin graced with their Jewish star, the initial reaction of the citizens of the Reich capital was surprise. Only a few knew that there were still so many Jews in Berlin. Everyone suddenly found someone in the neighborhood who seemed like a harmless fellow citizen, who perhaps complained or criticized a bit more than normal, and whom no one had thought to be a Jew. He had concealed himself, mimicked his surroundings, adopting the color of the background, adjusted to the environment, in order to wait for the proper moment. Who among us had any idea that the enemy was beside him, that a silent or clever auditor was attending to conversations on the street, in the subway, or in the lines outside cigarette shops? There are Jews one cannot recognize by external signs. These are the most dangerous. It always happens that when we take some measure against the Jews, English or American newspapers report it the next day. Even today the Jews still have secret connections to our enemies abroad and use these not only in their own cause, but in all military matters of the Reich as well. The enemy is in our midst. What makes more sense than to at least make this plainly visible to our citizens?
It is hardly necessary to point out that the Osama Bin Laden's of the world are the Goebbels of our age, spreading their disease of total hatred. What has concerned me just as much in the past month has been the near fear and near hysteria concerning Arab-Americans.
Who are they?
What are they doing?
Why are they here?
I have heard calls from certain people, both in person and in print, that we've got to keep an eye on those people, that we should round them all up, detain them and deport them. Like you, I suspect, I've even heard ideas far more frightening than those mentioned above. No doubt much of this was a result of simple hotheadedness following the attacks, but I wonder just what is festering just under the surface of our society.
I know that reasonable people won't condemn entire cultures based on the actions of a few psychotic hatemongers. Right?
Food for thought.
the fantod deck
Thursday, October 11, 2001
An Edward Gorey tarot deck. Just what I always wanted!
Thanks, Boing Boing :)
Nuke 'Em From On High
Wednesday, October 10, 2001
Though large "theater" thermonuclear devices -- doomsday bombs -- don't fit the Bush administration's war on terrorism, smaller tactical nukes do not seem out of the question in the current mindset of the Defense Department.
As I pointed out some months ago, this is a bad idea.
Harvard's quiet secret: rampant grade inflation
Wednesday, October 10, 2001
As at many schools, at Harvard, the A to F grading range has unofficially turned to an A to B-minus range. As a result, the university's current honors requirements make Harvard unique: It inevitably rewards grade inflation with honors.
Harvard has to be one of the most successful brands in American history. When you go to Harvard (or one of the many other famous high priced private universites), you're paying for the name.
When you buy a Rolls-Royce, you're paying for the name.
Wouldn't it be less hypocritical to just sell diplomas to those who can cough up the dough for the four years of tuition?
Thanks, La Di Da, La Di Da :)
The Wisdom of Ann Coulter
Wednesday, October 10, 2001
Yes Virginia, there are a few intelligent conservative commentators in the world. Ann Coulter doesn't happen to be one of them. I find it embarrassing that we are the same species.
Thanks, Liberal Arts Mafia :)
National Review Cans Columnist Ann Coulter
I think "right wing telebimbo" is a accurate description. The sad part is that all this publicity will no doubt make her the pin-up girl for the radical right.
I love the fact that flaming dimwits like Coulter get paid big bucks to appear on television to express their uninformed opinions.
How come no one is paying me for weblogging?
I perform the same function, don't I?
Mad Rush on Web for Anthrax Drug
Wednesday, October 10, 2001
Mindless scaremongering flares up again as prescription drug sellers and charletans laugh all the way to the bank.
Time to buy some Bayer stock!
We're bound to see a wave of "anthrax hypochondria" soon.
As always, your best health resource is information:
Center for Disease Control - Anthrax
States Taking the Initiative to Fight Global Warming
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
Even though Bush has chosen to turn a blind eye care about global warming, individual states can still take action.
Baby steps. Baby steps.
Psychological warfare underway in Afghanistan
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
The importance of "PsyOps" is probably the most unappreciated and quite possibly most important aspect of modern warfare.
PsyOps has two main purposes: to persuade the enemy to surrender, and to convince local civilians that the attackers are not the real enemy. Leaflet drops and radio propaganda broadcasts are the chief weapons.
Six EC-130E "Commando Solo" aircraft are known to be in the Afghanistan region. These planes operate as airborne radio stations, blocking local transmissions and broadcasting replacement propaganda programmes.
Control their minds and their asses shall follow.
EC-130E Commando Solo
Psywar Society Home Page
Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare
Army PSYOP in Bosnia: Capabilities and Constraints
Special Ops Forces Intelligence and EW Operations
Damage assessment critical to Afghanistan mission
Closer to Earth are high altitude spy planes such as the crewed U2S or uncrewed RQ-4A Global Hawk. Both fly at around 20,000 metres (65,000 feet) and have high resolution, synthetic aperture radar systems that can produce photographic quality images through cloud or at night. They also have optical and infrared cameras.
U.S. Intelligence Collection
Programs and Systems
(This includes both HAARP and Star Gate. Weird!)
India won't attack: US tells nervous Pak
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
Do two countries that despise each other and are both armed with nuclear missiles make you nervous? Me too.
India, Pakistan Exchange Fire
Passenger faces charges after charging into jetliner cockpit
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
I'm afraid of paranoid nuts, not terrorists.
U.S. Will Have Favors to Return
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
"Coalition against Terrorism" clusterfuck leads to strange bedfellows. Remember, it's O.K. if they're bad guys as long as they're our bad guys!
Please consult Human Rights Watch for background information about the repressive regimes in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and many other of our allies, both new and old.
DEA Raids Clinic
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
Illegal, unconstitutional DEA raid seizes the medical and legal records of as many as six to seven thousand medical marijuana patients.
Federal Magistrate Sets Oct. 22 Hearing in Case
U.S. Attorney Anne Pings argued Thursday that the records are relevant to her department's investigation and a possible case that clinic recommendations of eligibility represent "aiding and abetting" marijuana sales.
Might I point out that medical marijuana has been legal in the state of California for five years?!?
Court Case Challenges Privacy Boundaries
This is not just about medical marijuana and the drug war, but about your rights to privacy and keeping the government out of your private records.
Schools, politicians mix God and country in wake of attacks
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
The "In God We Trust: United We Stand" billboard I'm forced to drive past on I-40 twice a week falls under this category.
Thanks to Unknown News for the link. Now more than ever it's an essential daily read for free thinkers everywhere. :)
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
Bush and the Pentagon might not want you to read this.
One of the most valuable functions of the internet is the distribution of news from many different sources and perspectives.
I urge you to do some of your own net exploration and not just rely on the censored, tell you what they want you to hear, hyperbolic infotainment from CNN and the rest of the mainstream media.
As always, I also recommend the other links in the left and right hand columns of this page.
The Nobel Peace Prize
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
In time of war, my thoughts turn to peace.
FAS - Terrorism: Background and Threat Assessments
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
Lots of material here for those who are seeking comprehensive information on terrorism beyond the current headlines.
Also of historical interest, United States Military Operations, a subset of the excellent FAS Military Analysis Network.
How to make patriotism cool ... and profitable
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
"We’ve gotten this big public announcement from people at the very top that a return to watching sitcoms and buying things is tantmount to our patriotic duty," said Robert Thompson, professor of pop culture and media at Syracuse University. "It’s given Madison Avenue carte blanche permission to go ahead and make commercials."
Or as Rich Hamilton chief executive of Zenith Media put it, "one of the ways people in marketing can be patriotic is do a better job convincing people to fill their cabinets with Cheerios and their refrigerators with Yoplait."
I can't watch TV anymore since every time one of these ads comes on, I think I'm going to throw a brick through the screen. What gets under my skin is that the advertising industry is so happy to exploit the deaths of thousands of innocent people to make a buck. It's sickening.
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