Contact Me
Please don't support this Blog
Weekly Archives
News:
Required Reading:
|
Saturday, May 03, 2003
Under-EaseWear them for the ones you love.
posted by Walter Reade at 8:34 PM
At least he doesn't need to worryOn the safety of an aircraft carrier 63 miles off the coast of the United States, President Bush declared victory but not and end of the war. Meanwhile, children continue to be killed and maimed by unexploded cluster bombs that the US dropped in civilian-populated areas. I wonder how well George would hold up if he had to live in the chaos-that-is-Iraq since the war. Remember, this is a guy who almost killed himself eating a pretzel.
posted by Walter Reade at 8:14 PM
On TargetDuring his speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln to congratulate himself, er, the troops for a job well done, President Bush said the following, "Any person involved in committing or planning terrorist attacks against the American people becomes an enemy of this country and a target of American justice." I was always under the impression that American justice included such safeguards as reasonable doubt, due process, etc. Of course, there is none of this for non-citizens. And even for citizens of the United States, it is no longer a guarantee. So let's just call it Bush Justice from now on.
posted by Walter Reade at 7:57 PM
The results are in . . .My daughter and I attended the 2003 Wisconsin State Junior Judo Championships and 31st Annual West Bend Wisconsin Invitational Senior Judo Tournament today. She took 2nd in the Girl's Junior <50 lb. division, and had the pleasure of meeting Lynn Roethke, a silver medallist in Judo at the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea. I took 3rd in the Men's Masters Heavy-weight division, and had the pleasure of jamming my finger.
posted by Walter Reade at 6:15 PM
Library of Congress Hosts Symposium on Scientific Legacy of 9th Century BaghdadThe John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress and the Institute for the Study and Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts at Brigham Young University present "First Renaissance: The Scientific Legacy of 9th Century Baghdad" from 2:30 to 5 p.m. on Monday, May 12, in LJ-119 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public. More information here.
posted by Walter Reade at 7:48 AM
Friday, May 02, 2003
What media bias?
The bottom line is that the media will favor the ones that pay the bills. It has recently come to light that CNN was aware of the atrocious of Saddam's government long ago, but did not report them in order to keep its Baghdad office open. More recently, the Memory Hole reports the case of an MSNBC article that was completely pulled off the its web site. In the pulled article, Bush cited a U.N. Atomic Energy Agency report as saying Iraq was only a few months from having nuclear weapons. The only problem was the the U.N. report said no such thing. And now the MSNBC article has gone the way of the Memory Hole.
Let's broaden our thinking a bit. It's not so much the political ideology that drives the media bias as it is the money behind the political ideology.
posted by Walter Reade at 9:25 PM
<blush>
I just learned that it is possible to surgically sever the facial nerves that make you blush! Learn this and more in Better Than Well: American Medicine Meets the American Dream.
posted by Walter Reade at 7:38 PM
A recent conversation
Q: If we care so much about the freedom and safety of oppressed people, why aren't we doing anything in Africa?
A: Uh . . . is something happening in Africa?
This animation captures the sentiment well.
posted by Walter Reade at 7:30 PM
The most devastating infection
With all the recent news about SARS, the Patient Predator in the April 2003 Issue of Mother Jones reminds us that tuberculosis is the world's most devastating infection. "Currently, 8 million people worldwide fall ill with the disease each year and, because only a quarter receive effective treatment, 3 million die." Particularly worrisome is the rise in multi-drug-resistant TB strains.
posted by Walter Reade at 7:21 PM
Is Grandma the next "enemy combatant"?
The April 2003 issues of Mother Jones contains a lucid article on the issues of Jose Padilla and his detainment.Padilla's case, many legal scholars agree, marks a dramatic escalation of the broad detention powers that the government claimed in the wake of September 11. The White House initially assured Americans that any encroachments on civil liberties would affect only foreign nationals. But the Justice Department later declared that Yaser Esam Hamdi -- a Saudi captured by Northern Alliance forces -- qualified as an enemy combatant, despite the fact that he was born in Louisiana. Unlike Hamdi, however, Padilla's citizenship was never in doubt. And far from being captured on a battlefield in Afghanistan, he was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, after federal agents -- who evidently didn't consider him enough of an immediate threat to prevent him from boarding a plane -- tailed him back from Pakistan. My Take: Let Padilla have his day in court. If he is guilty of what the government alleges, he will pay for his actions. If not, he can get on with his life. We simply cannot allow even one case of the government stripping Constitutional safeguards from an American.
posted by Walter Reade at 7:09 PM
Highlights from the May 5, 2003 issue of the New American.
Trading Freedom for Security
Recall that throughout history — and particularly in the past century — governments have been by far the primary and most lethal instruments of terror. Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, and their fellow dictators have proven the most efficient terrorists.
[The United States has] already allowed an incredible and unprecedented concentration of power, threatening to destroy all constitutional protections. The new Department of Homeland Security and the USA Patriot Act represent an enormous restructuring and centralizing of power.
According to the former [FBI official, Sid Caspersen], red alert can mean a virtual lockdown of all citizens. "You literally are staying home," Caspersen said. He continued: "What we’re saying is, ‘Everybody sit down.’ If you are left standing, you are probably a terrorist.... That’s how we’re going to catch you."
What Can Be Done?
Write or e-mail your senators and representative, urging them to:
1) Oppose Patriot Act II, the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 (DSEA).
2) Oppose efforts to extend the Patriot Act of 2001 beyond the 2005 sunset provision.
For additional information see the Patriot Act / Patriot Act II Focus area.
For information on how to contact your senators and representative, go to www.thenewamerican.com/congress/.
posted by Walter Reade at 6:38 PM
Bush Regime Playing Cards: Now, why didn't I think of this!
posted by Walter Reade at 6:19 PM
The REAL Reason
"The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorize himself." —George W. Bush, Grand Rapids, Mich., Jan. 29, 2003 (from Political Humor:Bushisms).
posted by Walter Reade at 1:27 AM
Reverse Psychology?
Regarding North Korea's nuclear capabilities, a senior Bush administration official said, "We think they are bluffing." My Take: Oh, I get it. Iraq claims it has no WMDs, inspectors in the country don't find any, and we still take 'em out. North Korea, on the other hand, claims it has nukes, has no inspectors in the country, and we call it a bluff. Am I missing something?
posted by Walter Reade at 1:21 AM
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
"Just" a Matter of Emphasis
Read Paul Krugman's New York Times op-ed, "Matters of Emphasis":
"We were not lying," a Bush administration official told ABC News. "But it was just a matter of emphasis." The official was referring to the way the administration hyped the threat that Saddam Hussein posed to the United States. According to the ABC report, the real reason for the war was that the administration "wanted to make a statement." And why Iraq? "Officials acknowledge that Saddam had all the requirements to make him, from their standpoint, the perfect target."
posted by Walter Reade at 9:56 PM
Stay Up-to-Date on SARS
SARS Watch Org blog.
posted by Walter Reade at 7:01 PM
From PatriotWatch:
Take Action Against Expansion of the Secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)
The ACLU has an action alert regarding S.113 which seeks to expand FISA
"Legislation sponsored by Senator Kyl (R - AZ) and Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) would allow the shadowy FISA court to approve secret government surveillance of non-citizens even if there is no probable cause of criminal activity or any evidence that the individual is operating under direction from a foreign power. Consequently this legislation (S. 113) would grant the government new, unprecedented spying powers and significantly infringe on the privacy rights protected by the Fourth Amendment."
S.113 also made news because Senator Hatch (R-UT) sought to use this legislation as a vehicle to to make the PATRIOT Act permanent. This is bad. Bad all the way around. We need to reign in FISA. (It appears that General Ashcroft will be seeking this power anyway under PATRIOT II.)
Take Action! Tell Your Senator to Oppose S.113!!
posted by Walter Reade at 4:03 PM
Cashing in on Homeland Security
The New York Times reports that
at least four of Mr. Ridge's senior deputies at the White House are now working as 'homeland security' lobbyists, as is a chief of staff from his days as Pennsylvania governor. They are a small part of a booming new lobbying business in Washington that is focused on helping large corporations get a share of the billions of dollars that will be spent by the vast domestic security bureaucracy that Mr. Ridge oversees. And what about the potential conflict of interest?
"My one year is up, so I can lobby him and lobby the White House and lobby the Hill," said Rebecca L. Halkias, who was Mr. Ridge's legislative affairs director in the White House, referring to her former boss and to the one-year ban on contacts between former senior government officials and their colleagues. . . .
"I'm not really comfortable talking about homeland security lobbying," Ms. Halkias said in a brief telephone interview, refusing to answer most questions. Asked if she was concerned about any conflict of interest in lobbying Mr. Ridge, she said, "This conversation is over," and hung up. My take: Not a lot of surprise here. Homeland Security is a beast that can only get bigger -- every incident will generate a call for more spending. (And what politician wouldn't jump on the bandwagon? Opposition would be political suicide.) And the bigger the Homeland Security budget gets, the more companies will scramble to see some of the action. Please note, I do feel a bit sorry for Ms. Halkias, who was made to feel uncomfortable by a nosey reporter bringing up the question of conflict of interest.
posted by Walter Reade at 3:48 PM
First we liberate 'em, then we shoot 'em . . .
The New York Times reports: "U.S. soldiers opened fire on Iraqis at a nighttime demonstration against the American presence here after people shot at them with automatic rifles, soldiers said Tuesday. The director of the local hospital said 13 people were killed and 75 wounded. The demonstrators insisted they were unarmed."
Update: Less than 48 hours after this last incident, U.S. soldiers again fire on more Iraqi demonstrators (read here or here).
My take: Don't these uppity Iraqis understand that they shouldn't bite the hand that feeds them?
posted by Walter Reade at 10:27 AM
If this keeps up, we may never know the truth
The special commision to examine the 9/11 attacks continues to have problems accessing documents compiled during the congressional inquiry on the attacts. My take: Why even have the panel, if it can't do its job? It will be a long time, if ever, before we know the truth.
posted by Walter Reade at 7:37 AM
General Franks a War Criminal?
The BBC reports, "A Belgian lawyer says he is preparing a case that could see General Franks charged under a law which allows the prosecution of non-Belgian citizens for war crimes." The US has threatened "diplomatic consequences" for Belgium if this happens. My take: If Franks hasn't done anything wrong, he has nothing to worry about. (Don't we trust world courts?) (Thanks to Casualties of War)
Update: More on the story.
posted by Walter Reade at 7:22 AM
Top Notch Political ParodyThe Propaganda Remix Project is simply fantastic!
posted by Walter Reade at 12:55 AM
Monday, April 28, 2003
Bush Telegraphs His Intentions "If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator, he he he." See the transcript and video.
posted by Walter Reade at 5:15 PM
Sunday, April 27, 2003
Sticks and StonesOne correspondent reports increased instances of large groups of Iraqi children throwing stones (and in one case, puppies) at soldiers.
posted by Walter Reade at 6:58 PM
|
|
