Bush's patriotism smear - The Boston Globe

This is a good editorial about the Republican Party's tendency to smear anyone who does not agree with them.

H.D.S. Greenway for the Boston Globe writes:

GEORGE W. BUSH and his supporters are past masters at impugning the reputations and patriotism of opponents, no matter how unimpeachable their reputations might be.

It was therefore amusing to watch the White House switch into reverse after Representative Jean Schmidt of Ohio lectured her congressional colleague, retired Marine Colonel John Murtha of Pennsylvania, about how ''cowards cut and run, Marines never do." White House spokesman Scott McClellan compared Murtha to the lefty filmmaker Michael Moore after Murtha suggested a six-month timetable pulling troops out of Iraq. House Speaker Dennis Hastert said that war critics would ''prefer that the United States surrender to terrorists who would harm innocent Americans," and, as usual, Vice President Cheney played the heavy.

When asked about Cheney's criticism, Murtha, a combat veteran, said: ''I like guys who got five deferments and never been there and send people to war and then don't like suggestions about what needs to be done." Murtha was referring to the fact that Cheney, who had ''other priorities" than fighting for his country, sought and received five deferments during the Vietnam War.

Since when does "other priorities" mean that you don't have to go into the army? He's insulting every soldier by doing this crap. He gets out of the draft by making lots of money, then turns around and blames people that did go and fight.

Then it dawned on the White House that, with the president's approval ratings in the cellar, perhaps it was not a good idea to launch personal attacks on such a man as Murtha, who has spent his congressional career backing and helping the military.

So, overnight, the rhetoric changed. From Bush in Asia to Cheney in Washington, Murtha became an honorable American -- misguided, perhaps, but no longer a coward or someone who wanted to have terrorists harm Americans. Schmidt, who appears not to have known who Murtha was, sort of apologized and had her remarks struck from the Congressional Record.

Letting up on Murtha didn't mean letting up on war critics, however. Cheney said that senators who suggested that he and the administration had manipulated prewar intelligence to fit their preconceived decision to invade Iraq were making ''one of the most dishonest and reprehensible charges ever aired in this city." This by the man who went back to the CIA again and again, leaning on them to find evidence to support an invasion of Iraq; this by an administration that spread a net of misinformation about Saddam Hussein-Al Qaeda links, a charge that the CIA refused to confirm but that Cheney kept making anyway.

They are still doing it. There are idiots out there that still believe that Al Qaeda were in Iraq before we invaded.

Yet for all of that, lying about WMD is too strong a word to use. It isn't that the administration knew there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The point is that the administration wanted to invade Iraq anyway, and WMD were only the most acceptable excuse. As antiterrorism expert Richard Clarke noticed right after 9/11, the Bush team was determined to use that national tragedy to push their Iraq agenda. Rumsfeld is quoted as saying after 9/11 that it would be better to start with bombing Iraq -- which had nothing to do with 9/11 -- rather than Afghanistan, in which Al Qaeda dwelt.

I am sure that the Bush administration thought there would be at least some weapons of mass destruction lying around in Iraq to justify its war. Indeed, it seemed reasonable that there might be and surprising that there were none. But weapons of mass destruction were the excuse, not the reason, for the war, and that was the deception perpetuated on the American people. The real reason was to get rid of a potential problem even if there was no immediate danger, control an oil-rich country that could be made friendly to Israel, and promulgate neoconservative theories about the transformational powers of democracy in the Middle East -- none of which would have been acceptable to Congress or the people as a cause for war.

They're getting less acceptable by the hour. The real reason was oil and control of the Middle East. The U.S. has been trying to control that region for decades. This was another attempt. It is failing miserably. Looks like killing a whole bunch of people won't win their hearts over.

And so by accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative, as the old song goes, they manipulated the available intelligence. Uninterested in anything that didn't support their Iraq plans, the Bush team ran through all the intelligence yellow lights, and some red ones, in order to sell their war. Bush's statement that Congress saw the same intelligence as he did is most certainly not true.

Most members of Congress do not have the clearance necessary (or at all) to be able to see that intelligence. To say that congress has seen it has got to be an outright lie. Anything else is just plain stupidity.

One longs for the straightforward arm-twisting of Lyndon Johnson in support of his lost war. When Idaho Senator Frank Church advocated negotiating with Hanoi, LBJ asked him whom he had consulted. When Church answered ''Walter Lippmann," the distinguished columnist, LBJ said: ''All right, Frank, next time you want a dam for Idaho you go talk to Walter Lippmann."

Bush's patriotism smear - The Boston Globe

ABC News: U.S. Environmental Stance Draws Heat

Beth Duff-Brown from the AP writes:

The United States came under renewed criticism Tuesday as thousands of environmentalists and international officials hammered out rules for a global treaty to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

U.S. comments that it would resist any binding commitment to curb global warming by capping industrial emissions infuriated environmentalists, who accused Washington of trying to derail the U.N. Climate Change Conference.

"When you walk around the conference hall here, delegates are saying there are lots of issues on the agenda, but there's only one real problem, and that's the United States," said Bill Hare of Greenpeace International.

By the way, just so you know. The U.S. has 5% of the worlds population while we product 25% of the worlds greenhouse gasses.

The Kyoto agreement targets carbon dioxide and five other heat-trapping gases blamed for rising global temperatures and disrupted weather patterns. It calls on the top 35 industrialized nations to cut emissions to 5.2 percent below their 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012.

The United States, the world's largest emitter of polluting gases, has refused to ratify the agreement, saying it would harm the U.S. economy and is flawed by the lack of restrictions on emissions by emerging economies such as China and India. President Bush called for an 18 percent reduction of U.S. greenhouse gases by 2012 and has committed $5 billion a year on science and technology to combat global warming.

President Bush refused to sign a treaty for a 5.2% reduction and said their going to cut by 18% in the same time frame. Why didn't he just sign the treaty? Easy. He can say he's cutting emissions and not do anything instead of being audited by the world.

Here's an interesting little factoid: Greenhouse gas emissions have gone down by 0.8% since Bush took office. Next time a Republican tries to throw that in your face just remember. Bush also instutituted Self-regulation. Where the companies measure their own emissions and are never audited. I think that is where you'll find your 0.8% drop.

Be sure to also check out: Taipei Times - UN climate conference blasts US. This is NOT a U.S. friendly article.

ABC News: U.S. Environmental Stance Draws Heat

Mozilla Firefox 1.5 Ready for Download

Even with this new release. They are already talking about 2.0. If you don't have Firefox or haven't tried it. I suggest getting it. It is a much better browser overall. It doesn't let in viruses or adware. It blocks popups and unders. And it can be customized by downloading "Extensions" the tweak the functionality of it.

Eweek writes:

After many rounds of beta candidates, the open-source Firefox 1.5 browser was offered for download to the masses late Tuesday. Not resting on its laurels, however, the Mozilla Foundation programming team is now eyeing the feature set for Version 2.0.

The anticipated Version 1.5 offers performance gains, usability enhancements and support for new Web graphics standards through a beefier version of the Gecko layout engine.

A good product is getting even better. Hey, tell us about the security.

On the security front, the update offers a new "safe mode" for enhanced protection against potential threats and daily, automated checks for security updates.

According to the Firefox product planning wiki, the targeted release for Version 2.0 is July 27, 2006. However, some onlookers in Mozilla message boards described the proposed schedule as "ambitious."

However, Goodger said the new timetable is still under development.

eWEEK.com Special Report: The Invention of the Browser

On the Mozilla site, the download page for Firefox offers versions in 39 languages running on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux on Intel 686 platforms.

Launched about a year ago, the Mozilla browser is now used by an estimated 45 million individual users.

Mozilla Firefox 1.5 Ready for Download

Calif. Congressman Admits Taking Bribes

From Associated Press via breitbart.com:

Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy and tax charges and tearfully resigned from office, admitting he took $2.4 million in bribes to steer defense contracts to conspirators.

Cunningham, 63, entered pleas in U.S. District Court to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud, and tax evasion for underreporting his income in 2004.

Cunningham answered "yes, Your Honor" when asked by U.S. District Judge Larry Burns if he had accepted bribes from someone in exchange for his performance of official duties.

Later, at a news conference, he wiped away tears as he announced his resignation.

"I can't undo what I have done but I can atone," he said.

Cunningham, an eight-term Republican congressman, had already announced in July that he would not seek re-election next year.

Something in the back of my head is screaming Halliburton at me for some reason...

House Ethics rules say that any lawmaker convicted of a felony no longer should vote or participate in committee work. Under Republican caucus rules, Cunningham also would have lost his chairmanship of the House Intelligence subcommittee on terrorism and human intelligence.

The former Vietnam War flying ace was known on Capitol Hill for his interest in defense issues and his occasional temperamental outbursts.

After the hearing, Cunningham was taken away for fingerprinting and released on his own recognizance until a Feb. 27 sentencing hearing. He could receive up to 10 years in prison.

He also agreed to forfeit to the government his Rancho Santa Fe home, more than $1.8 million in cash and antiques and rugs.

In a statement, prosecutors said Cunningham admitted to receiving at least $2.4 million in bribes paid to him by several conspirators through a variety of methods, including checks totaling over $1 million, cash, rugs, antiques, furniture, yacht club fees and vacations.

"He did the worst thing an elected official can do _ he enriched himself through his position and violated the trust of those who put him there," U.S. Attorney Carol Lam said. The statement did not identify the conspirators.

Halliburton... God I can't get that out of my head!

The case began when authorities started investigating whether Cunningham and his wife, Nancy, used the proceeds from the $1,675,000 sale to defense contractor Mitchell Wade to buy the $2.55 million mansion in Rancho Santa Fe. Wade put the Del Mar house back on the market and sold it after nearly a year for $975,000 _ a loss of $700,000.

He drew little notice outside his San Diego-area district before the San Diego Union-Tribune reported last June that he'd sold the home to Wade.

Cunningham's pleas came amid a series of GOP scandals. Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas had to step down as majority leader after he was indicted in a campaign finance case; a stock sale by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is being looked at by regulators; and Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff was indicted in the CIA leak case.

BREITBART.COM - Calif. Congressman Admits Taking Bribes

Canadian Government Falls on No-Confidence Vote

Living so close to Canada I always looked at it with a sort of reverence. They had cleaner cities, lower crime rates, universal health care, and the people are so darn nice. It's quite a large contrast to where I live, Detroit. While they are only a few hundred yards apart, the difference is staggering.

I used to go there all the time. I would go over and enjoy the better selection of beer, better parking, and the casino (this was before Detroit got their three).

We would get to see Canadian television like it was our own. There is a news satire program on CBC called "This hour has 22 minutes" Which would review the week’s news and make fun of it.

This is surprisingly good insight into how Canadian Citizens view their government. The Liberal Party, on the whole, is good. Except for the rampant corruption festering in the party like gangrene.

On the other hand. The Canadian Conservative Party (yes there is one) is just downright scary and weird. Just ask Stephen Harper. They also have a few scandal problems too but hey, who cares, right?

From the Associated Press via Yahoo! News:

A corruption scandal forced a vote of no-confidence Monday that toppled Prime Minister Paul Martin’s minority government, triggering an unusual election campaign during the Christmas holidays.

Canada’s three opposition parties, which control a majority in Parliament, voted against Martin’s government, claiming his Liberal Party no longer has the moral authority to lead the nation.

This vote isn’t suprising. There are three separate conservative parties that hold seats in parliament. Normally they can’t really get along. Except for one little issue. Sticking it to the Liberals!

What’s really going to matter is when the citizens vote in January or Februrary.

The loss means an election for all 308 seats in the lower House of Commons, likely on Jan. 23. Martin and his Cabinet would continue to govern until then.

Opposition leaders last week called for the no-confidence vote after Martin rejected their demands to dissolve Parliament in January and hold early elections in February. Monday’s vote follows a flurry of spending announcements in Ottawa last week, with the government trying to advance its agenda ahead of its demise.

Martin is expected to dissolve the House of Commons on Tuesday and set a firm date for the elections. Under Canadian law, elections must be held on a Monday --unless it falls on a holiday-- and the campaign period is sharply restricted.

For more interesting Canadian news and stuff check out: The Bourque Newswatch (People who know me will be laughing right about now).

Also check out The Rick Mercer Report. The best way to understand Canadian Politics to to watch them make fun of it.

Be sure to check out Rick Mercer's Blog when you get a chance. I’m a fan of his. I would like to be the Rick Mercer of America but I would probably be tortured or shot. It’s the American Way.

Canadian Government Falls on No-Confidence - Yahoo! News

Ex-Powell Aide Criticizes Detainee Effort

From the Associated Press via the Washingtonpost.com:

A top aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Monday that wrongheaded ideas for the handling of foreign detainees arose from White House and Pentagon officials who argued that "the president of the United States is all-powerful" and the Geneva Conventions irrelevant.

In an Associated Press interview, former Powell chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson also said President Bush was "too aloof, too distant from the details" of postwar planning. Underlings exploited Bush's detachment and made poor decisions, Wilkerson said.

Wilkerson blamed Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and like-minded aides. He said Cheney must have sincerely believed that Iraq could be a spawning ground for new terror assaults, because "otherwise I have to declare him a moron, an idiot or a nefarious bastard."

Nefarious bastard: I like that line. How could our intelligence been so wrong for so much time as to delude so many people? I believe there's a bit of deception going on.

On the question of detainees picked up in Afghanistan and other fronts in the war on terror, Wilkerson said Bush heard two sides of an impassioned argument within his administration. Abuse of prisoners, and even the deaths of some who had been interrogated in Afghanistan and elsewhere, have bruised the U.S. image abroad and undermined support for the Iraq war.

Cheney's office, Rumsfeld aides and others argued "that the president of the United States is all-powerful, that as commander in chief the president of the United States can do anything he damn well pleases," Wilkerson said.

On the other side were Powell, others at the State Department and top military brass, and occasionally Condoleezza Rice, who was then national security adviser, Wilkerson said.

Powell raised frequent and loud objections, his former aide said, once yelling into a telephone at Rumsfeld: "Donald, don't you understand what you are doing to our image?"

Now I like Powell, There are things he's said that makes me believe he's not really conservative. If he took some time and thought it through, he would realize that he needs to abandon the Republican party.

Colin, give me a call. There'sa great restaurant in Detroit we can go to and talk it over.

Wilkerson said Bush tried to work out a compromise in 2001 and 2002 that recognized that the war on terrorism was different from past wars and required greater flexibility in handling prisoners who don't belong to an enemy state or follow the rules themselves.

Bush's stated policy, which was heatedly criticized by civil liberties and legal groups at the time, was defensible, Wilkerson said. But it was undermined almost immediately in practice, he said.

In the field, the United States followed the policies of hard-liners who wanted essentially unchecked ability to detain and harshly interrogate prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere, Wilkerson said.

Wilkerson, who left government with Powell in January, said he is now somewhat estranged from his former boss. He worked for Powell for 16 years. Wilkerson became a surprise critic of the Iraq war-planning effort and other administration decisions this fall, and he has said his Powell did not put him up to it.

On Iraq, Wilkerson said Powell may have had doubts about the extent of the threat posed by Saddam Hussein but was convinced by then-CIA Director George Tenet and others that the intelligence behind the push toward war was sound.

Don't feel too bad about it. The americal people were convinced too. Who could have known that they "tweaked" the information a little?

About torture; When could it ever be a good idea? When should we say that the rest of the world does not count as human beings and are therefore not bound by these "Inalienable Rights?"

Personally, I found these truths to be self evident. That all men are created equal,with Liberty and Justice for all.

But what do I know?

Ex-Powell Aide Criticizes Detainee Effort

Squabble builds over Internet service providers' power to block access

Jonathan Krim from The Washington Post writes (via DetNews.com):

A couple of years ago, a group of big technology companies got together and issued a public alarm about the future of the Internet:

Those who own the wires that get us online, the companies said, should not be able to pick and choose what Web content and services we can see and use.

Just as electric companies can't cut deals with electronics makers to allow only some products to work, the Internet should have similar, guaranteed "network neutrality," argued tech firms such as Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc.

The telephone and cable companies that provide most Internet access dismissed the warning as a pro-regulatory, paranoid rant. It was a solution in search of a problem, they said, and they vowed they would never, ever do such a thing. And the issue receded.

I don't care that they say "They wouldn't do it". Who's to say that they won't change their minds? What if a new CEO comes in that hates CNN and you'll never be able to see it again? How about HGTV, or Disney? Just because someone say they won't do it doesn't mean it shouldn't be illegal.

But now it's back in a big way, and the question is: How will the tech industry respond?

Consider:

• ---On March 3, the Federal Communications Commission announced that it settled a case against a small North Carolina-based telephone company that was blocking the ability of its customers to use voice-over-Internet calling services instead of regular phone lines.
  

• ---On Sept. 15, the first major draft of proposed changes in the nation's telecommunication's laws was circulated by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The draft said Internet service providers must not "block, impair, interfere with the offering of, access to, or the use of such content, applications or services."

• ----On Nov. 2, another draft of the bill came out, with language specifically addressing the Internet video services that are proliferating as connection speeds increase and the phone companies get into the digital television business. In this draft, the prohibition on blocking or impeding content was gone.

We the consumer, are about to be screwed again. Laws such as these do not help citizens. They help a much more important population than us, Corporations. Giving Corporations the ability to block what does not make them money is monopolizing and profiteering.

If the bill passes as is, tech companies say, the Internet could be forever compromised.

"Enshrining a rule that broadly permits network operators to discriminate in favor of certain kinds of services and to potentially interfere with others would place broadband operators in control of online activity," Vinton Cerf, a founding father of the Internet who now works for Google Inc., wrote in a letter to Congress.

The phone companies argue that with their new fiber-optic systems capable of handling huge amounts of bandwidth, they simply want the ability to set aside some of it for their own services, be it television, gaming or anything else.

Unfortunately for them, the head of phone giant SBC Communications Inc., Edward E. Whitacre Jr., was a little more plain-spoken in an interview in Business Week.

"Now what they (Google, Yahoo, MSN) would like to do is use my pipes free, but I ain't going to let them do that because we have spent this capital and we have to have a return on it," Whitacre said. "So there's going to have to be some mechanism for these people who use these pipes to pay for the portion they're using."

Translation: You the consumer are going to be required to pay to access Google or Yahoo! through SBC's networks. Above paying for regular access.

Contact your Government Repersentative. We need laws like this struck down or modified to keep the internet free for everybody, not just SBC.
Click here for House
Click here for Senate

Squabble builds over Internet service providers' power to block access

We're Past Politics With Iraq

William Raspberry from the Washington Post writes:

When it comes to Iraq, are the congressional Democrats chicken-hearted flip-floppers, merely clueless critics with no ideas of their own -- or are they Karl Rove cunning?

It's clear enough what the administration would have you believe: that congressional Democrats, privy to the same information then possessed by the administration, voted to go to war in Iraq. Now that the war has proved difficult and unpopular, they want to lay the whole burden for it on the president -- a latter-day version of John Kerry's "I voted for it before I voted against it."

The characterization seems wrong on virtually every count. Congress didn't have the same information the administration had; it had the information -- and the analysis of that information -- that the administration opted to share. The choices, really, were to share the administration's conclusion that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction or to accuse it of cooking the evidence.

But when events suggested just such culinary hanky-panky, how can it be considered inconstant or duplicitous to second-guess the earlier pro-war vote?

It's easy to second guess the vote. We were either lied to or told what only complete idiots can believe as truth with that evidence.

I believe Colin Powell. I think the Administration misled him and that's why he left.

Colin Powell, who -- unwittingly, I believe -- passed along some of the cooked evidence, is on record as having changed his mind. As Powell told Barbara Walters in September, when he made his dramatic show-and-tell presentation before the U.N. Security Council, there were "people in the intelligence community who knew at the time that some of these sources were not good and shouldn't be relied upon, and they didn't speak up. That devastated me. . . . It's a blot . . . [that] will always be a part of my record."

Powell is nobody's flip-flopper. People who wanted a certain conclusion gave him bad information and he passed it on -- to his regret. Can't members of Congress who believed the bad evidence enough to vote us into war also experience regret?

Except they didn't really vote us into war. As I recall, that vote authorizing the president to use force against Iraq was analogous to a trade union's strike vote. When negotiations bog down, union leaders often will ask their members for a resolution authorizing a strike. For members to refuse such a vote would cripple their own leadership. But to grant it is not the same as ending negotiations and launching a strike. It is a way of steeling the leadership, giving it a powerful negotiating tool.

Since there was no about-to-explode crisis, the president could have asked Congress for a declaration of war. Would it have been granted? Who knows? Apparently the administration didn't want to chance it.

Maybe Congress would have approved the war if we were told the truth. but then again maybe if they told the truth in the first place, we wouldn't have elected him.

Now several things have the administration lashing out in all directions in an attempt at political salvage. Public opinion polls show both the popularity of the president and confidence that the war in Iraq was justified at a low ebb. The war itself is going badly, with our forces apparently spending the bulk of their effort to protect themselves against the insurgents, and with more people -- ours and Iraq's -- dying every week.

And Rep. John P. Murtha, a pro-military Democrat and decorated Vietnam veteran, has called unequivocally for the allied forces to quit Iraq.

So how do the Republicans respond? Sometimes by direct attack, as when they tried to discredit Murtha as a coward. But given a president whose National Guard service was suspect at best and a vice president who was garnering draft deferments while Murtha served, that couldn't work.

And sometimes by simply noting that the Democrats don't have an exit strategy, either.

Of course they don't.

If the Democrats had their own Karl Rove, he'd probably tell them not to even try to come up with one. If a sound exit plan means getting out without leaving Iraq less stable than it is now, and with a reasonable chance of becoming an American-style democracy, nobody has one.

We're Past Politics With Iraq

Timing Entwined War Vote, Election - Los Angeles Times

Ronald Brownstein and Emma Vaughn from the LA Times writes:

Tom Daschle, the former Democratic senator from South Dakota, remembers the exchange vividly.

The time was September 2002. The place was the White House, at a meeting in which President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney pressed congressional leaders for a quick vote on a resolution authorizing military action against Iraq.

But Daschle, who as Senate majority leader controlled the chamber's schedule, recalled recently that he asked Bush to delay the vote until after the impending midterm election.

"I asked directly if we could delay this so we could depoliticize it. I said: 'Mr. President, I know this is urgent, but why the rush? Why do we have to do this now?' He looked at Cheney and he looked at me, and there was a half-smile on his face. And he said: 'We just have to do this now.' "

Daschle's account, which White House officials said they could not confirm or deny, highlights a crucial factor that has drawn little attention amid rising controversy over the congressional vote that authorized the war in Iraq. The recent partisan dispute has focused almost entirely on the intelligence information legislators had as they cast their votes. But the debate may have been shaped as much by when Congress voted as by what it knew.

Republicans seem like they'll do anything to get elected. Even kill tens of thousands of Iraqis

Few candidates sparred over the war resolution itself. But Republicans in states including Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota and Georgia strafed Democratic senators seeking reelection who had supported military spending cutbacks in the 1990s, accepted money from a liberal arms-control group, opposed Bush's preferred approach for organizing the new Department of Homeland Security, and voted in 1991 against the Persian Gulf War.

With national security then such a flashpoint in so many campaigns, many Democrats believe, the vote's timing enormously increased pressure on their party's wavering senators to back the president, whose approval rating approached 70% at the time.

"There was a sense I had from the very beginning that this was in part politically motivated, and they were going to maximize the timing to affect those who were having some doubt about this right before the election," Daschle said.

White House counselor Dan Bartlett denied that charge, saying the vote's timing represented a desire to increase pressure on Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, not Democrats.

"The president, during the run-up to the war, went out of his way not to make it political," Bartlett said.

Whatever the motivation for the vote's timing, the effect was to produce a clear contrast between the Democratic senators who sought reelection that November and those who did not.

The Democrats not on the ballot split almost evenly, with 19 supporting the war resolution and 17 opposing it. Among those facing the voters, 10 voted for the resolution while only four opposed it. And of those four, only one — Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, who died in a plane crash a few weeks after the resolution vote — was in a seriously competitive race.

Timing Entwined War Vote, Election - Los Angeles Times

OK. So I Went A Little Overboard..

You might notice that I posted WAY too many entries today. There were a few reasons for that.

1. They are very good stories. It will be worth your while to take your time, and peruse each entry and link to it's fullest extent. You won't be sorry
2. I work midnights. I work from 6pm to 6:30am, Wednesday through Saturday. I spend most of my time sitting in front of a computer working on servers. In my free time, I find interesting links and articles and provide them to you, loyal readers. Both of you :)
3. I am REALLY REALLY bored tonight!

So please forgive the extra work I've given you and enjoy the content.

Send me an Email or post a comment and let me know what you think. Should I have many posts or just a few?

Adam Mindwolf

WorkingForChange-Cheney's trouble with the truth

You've got to hand it to Dick Cheney -— no other modern politician has come so close to perfecting the theater of the absurd. Even as he protests his innocence of lying about matters of state, he lies about matters of state.

In two major speeches Friday and Monday, the vice president -— who has long insisted Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida were allies, Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, we would be greeted as liberators in Baghdad and the Iraqi insurgency is in its 'last throes" -— again evidenced his trademark inability to speak the truth.

All of these "facts" were already disproven. Why are they still trying this rhetoric?

Continuing the administration's recent shrill defensive barrage over whose fault the Iraq mess is and with the truth chasing the lies in full public view, Cheney had the gall to smear the war's critics as 'corrupt and shameless." Then, within a few sentences, he showed again why 52 percent of those recently polled by Newsweek believe Cheney deliberately "misused or manipulated" prewar intelligence.

First, he shamelessly repeated the absurd notion that a bum-rushed Congress, most of which does not have high security clearance, was privy to the same intelligence as he and his war-salesmen allies. In fact, not only was Cheney and his staff poring over the classified testimonials of an array of known liars, forgers, drunks, opportunists and desperate exiles we now know supplied White House speechwriters with their best lines, he also had access to the intelligence community's combined disclaimers, rebuttals and outright denunciations of these sources and their conveniently tawdry tales.

"Yes, more than 100 Democrats voted to authorize him to take the nation to war," wrote former Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., in a devastating statement in The Washington Post on Sunday. 'Most of them, though, like their Republican colleagues, did so in the legitimate belief that the president and his administration were truthful in their statements that Saddam Hussein was a gathering menace -— that if Hussein was not disarmed, the smoking gun would become a mushroom cloud."

They were lied to like we were lied to. All to get Iraq. Was it for the oil? Or just because Daddy didn't get him the first time?

WorkingForChange-Cheney's trouble with the truth

White House Briefing  News on President George W Bush and the Bush Administration

A column from Dan Froomkin

From The Washington Post:
Within official Washington, politicians and journalists keep going round and round about whether or not the Bush administration deliberately misled the public in the run up to war in Iraq.

But out there in America, it appears the general public has already made up its mind. In fact, a very solid majority of Americans apparently feels that the Bush administration is being consistently deceptive, on a wide array of issues.

I love this part:
Overall, 64 percent of Americans believe the Bush administration "generally misleads the American public on current issues to achieve its own ends" -- including 91 percent of Democrats, 73 percent of independents and 28 percent of Republicans.

So here's my question: At what point does the mainstream media stop spending so much time covering the inside-the-Beltway rhetorical hairsplitting over whether the public has been intentionally misled -- and concentrate instead on the essential W's of reporting: who, what, where, when and why?
That's what I want to know! If they did the investigative reporting they used to be known for, we'd already know!


White House Briefing  News on President George W Bush and the Bush Administration

Daily Kos: The new map

The Daily Kos has drawn up a new political map. Based on W's approval ratings, there's only three states left pinkish.

I'm also adding a more permanent link to the homepage of The Daily Kos in the Link List. It's a good site and I think you should check it out.

Daily Kos: The new map

The way forward in Iraq

IRAQ'S SUNNI, SHIITE AND KURDISH leaders have finally found an issue on which they agree: a timetable for the U.S. to leave Iraq. That's fine. They have also agreed it's permissible for insurgents to kill U.S. soldiers. That's dreadful. But it's also the realization of prewar fears that if the aftermath of the invasion went poorly, American troops would be viewed not as liberators but as occupiers.

The politicians did not spell out an exact date for U.S. troops to leave. That may be the reason the White House so far has not linked them to filmmaker Michael Moore, as it did 10 days ago in smearing decorated combat veteran Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) when he called for a immediate withdrawal of troops.

Although President Bush long ago declared victory in Iraq — remember that "Mission Accomplished" banner? — both the fighting and the administration's campaign against its critics continue at a torrid pace. The death toll of U.S. troops in Iraq topped 2,100 in the same week that Vice President Dick Cheney called some critics of the war "dishonest and reprehensible."

Like the vice president, we welcome an "energetic debate" about the war and its aims. But we reject his attempt to set its terms. Our view continues to be that the administration should announce specific goals and timetables — and mete out the consequences if they are not met.

The way forward in Iraq - Los Angeles Times

BUSH UNWILLING TO REIN IN THE RACISTS IN HIS RANKS

This is a nice editorial piece by Cynthia Tucker with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

It goes on to say how he and his party will not work to restrain any of the racist strains of their party because they need them for votes.

Like the illegal Voter ID Law of Georgia. The Federal Appeals Court delayed implementation of the law saying it's a poll tax, which is unconstitutional.

BUSH UNWILLING TO REIN IN THE RACISTS IN HIS RANKS

Rise in Gases Unmatched by a History in Ancient Ice - New York Times

More proof that we're screwed.

Scientists drilled shafts into the Antartic ice and pulled cores that go back 650,000 years. They measured levels os Carbon Dixoide, Methane, and Nitrus Oxide.

You know what they found? Absolutely nothing like today.

Conventrations of these gasses have risen dramatically far beyond that seen before humans even knew fire.

From the New York Times:
"Experts familiar with the findings who were not involved with the research said the samples provided a vital long-term view of variations in the atmosphere and Antarctic climate. They say the data will help test and improve computer models used to forecast how accumulating greenhouse emissions will affect the climate."

Rise in Gases Unmatched by a History in Ancient Ice - New York Times

Bush said a lot of things before Iraq war

Bush said a lot of things before Iraq war

This Opinion Piece is a good listing of the promises and the reasons to invade Iraq. All of them were outright lies or blatant stupidity.

We're stuck in Iraq now because of this. Bush is right about one thing. We can't pull out early. It would destabilize the entire region, and turn Iraq into a worse Dictatorship then what they were faced with.

He is going about things in a wrong way though. Terrorists and militants flood across the unprotected borders while troops protected a tiny little piece of Baghdad called the Green Zone. That almost failed a few weeks back when a Cement Truck full of explosives almost made it through a hole in the wall made by a previous bomb. Fortunately, he got stuck on debris and didn't make it to the hotels. The explosion seemed big enough to level an entire building. I would hate to see what would have happened if it made it through.

I think the video of the explosion made it to the internet. I'll try to find it for you.


Update: I found an article with a link to the video. It's small but most of the other sites have deleted it already. That's the ADHD nature of the Internet unfortunately.

Click here: SignOnSanDiego.com

Forced Prostitution and Slavery On Rise in Iraq

According to veteran Middle East observer, Robert Fisk, Iraqi citizens are not worried about the new Constitution They are worried about protecting their wives from being sold into slavery and prostitution.

"As we sit in New York or London with wall-to-wall coverage of the (Iraqi) constitutional referendum, in their homes Iraqis are not talking about the constitution. They are talking about how to protect their wives," said Fisk.

This is a big problem, people. We can't control the borders enough to keep terrorists out. Now we can't even protect the people of Iraq which is now the only reason left for us to be there.

United Press International - Intl. Intelligence - Analysis: Iraqis worried about wives

Get Out of Voice Menu Pergatory

Paul English, the creator of Kayak, has written a list of ways to bypass computerized voice systems and get to an actual person. Want to get out of IVR Hell at HP? Say "agent". Symantec? Press zero twice.

Paul's Blog and Homepage is here

His IVR Cheat Sheet is here and the Boston Globe Article is here

Slashdot discussion is here: Slashdot | Get Out of Voice Menu Pergatory

More News On The Report That Bush Wanted to Bomb Al-Jazeera

The article discusses a call to release the document in which Bush allegedly announced his wish to bomb Qatar.

It also mentions how unlikely it seems since it would have caused a huge backlash. Like attacking Iraq without any sort of plan would.

In the next paragraph it retracts it's statement by stating one of the individuals that leaked the document is being charged under the "Official Secrets Act" for releasing the document.

POLITICS-US: A Close Call for Al-Jazeera?

It's a good read. I highly reccomend it.

Liberal Blogger Hires Two Journalists - November 22, 2005 - The New York Sun - NY Newspaper

Here's a good idea. I wish I afford to hire a staff. This would be a much bigger blog though

That and people would read it :)

Liberal Blogger Hires Two Journalists - November 22, 2005 - The New York Sun - NY Newspaper

Mirror.co.uk - News - EXCLUSIVE: BUSH PLOT TO BOMB HIS ARAB ALLY

Bush wanted to bomb a civilian news agency because it disagreed with him.

Al-Jazeera Was set up in 1996 by former BBC journalists.

I wonder is he wants to bomb my blog?

Mirror.co.uk - News - EXCLUSIVE: BUSH PLOT TO BOMB HIS ARAB ALLY

KRT Wire | 11/21/2005 | It's disturbing that the FDA would let politics interfere with sale of safe drug

More evidence of the Bush Administration poking it's fingers into every aspect of your life.

It's time to get rid of the ultra-conservative in Wasthington. They are more worried about getting their way and getting more places to drill for oil than working for the people of this country.

We elected him to do a job. Either he does it, or he gets out.

KRT Wire | 11/21/2005 | It's disturbing that the FDA would let politics interfere with sale of safe drug

Top 20 geek novels -- the results! from Guardian Unlimited: Technology

I've read 9 of them.

Top 20 geek novels -- the results! from Guardian Unlimited: Technology

CNN.com - Powell aide: Torture 'guidance' from VP - Nov 20, 2005

More statements that Cheney supported Torture.

From CNN:
"Retired U.S. Army Col. Larry Wilkerson, who served as former Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff, told CNN that the practice of torture may be continuing in U.S.-run facilities.

"There's no question in my mind that we did. There's no question in my mind that we may be still doing it," Wilkerson said on CNN's "Late Edition."

OK, What now? Can we indict him yet. Is someone pushing for an Investigation of this?

Someone let me know if they are. If not let's find how we can start the ball rolling.
CNN.com - Powell aide: Torture 'guidance' from VP - Nov 20, 2005

War pain, not politics

From The Journal News:
"The White House is making a huge mistake in attempting to demonize those who disagree with Bush administration policy on the Iraq war — including new critic Rep. John Murtha, R- Pa., who said Thursday that "the U.S. cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. It's time to bring the troops home."

The press secretary for President George W. Bush immediately did what the administration is known for, attacked those who differ with it. He lumped Murtha with "Michael Moore and and extreme liberal wing of the Democratic Party."

War pain, not politics

Why is it so difficult for this ultra conservative administration to accept that there are differing views? That there are people out there who happen to disagree?

You have to ask yourself why it is so important for the Bush Administration to demonize dissenting views. It's the easiest way for them to get what they want without having to give valid reasons. In Logic that's called Ad Hominem which literally means "against the man". A full description of Ad Hominem can be found at The Nizkor Project but in short, it's rejecting an argument based on some irrevelant fact anout the person.

Like:
Person 1: "I believe the war is wrong"
Person 2: "Of course you would, you're a liberal."
Person 1: "What about the facts I previously stated?"
Person 2: "Who cares? You're just a tree hugger."

Can they come up with actual reasons other than what was already determined to be lies? WMD? Oops. Iraq was supporting Al Qaeda? Nope not that either.

I do have to say that I disagree with Rep. John Murtha, R- Pa. (a Republican that they called a Liberal like Michael Moore). We cannot evacuate Iraq. We are stuck there until we can secure some kind of peace or at least a fighting chance for the Iraqis to hold their own.

We're in a, what was the word? Quagmire?

Guardian Unlimited | Owning ideas

This is a good article explaining Intelllectual Property, what it is and the pros and cons.

From the Guardian:
"The difference between ideas and things is obvious as soon as someone hits you over the head with an idea - so obvious that until recently it was entirely clear to the law. Things could have owners and ideas could not. Yet this simple distinction is being changed all around us. Ideas are increasingly treated as property - as things that have owners who may decide who gets to use them and on what terms."

Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | Owning ideas

Slashdot writes about the article:
"An excellent article giving lay readers an overview of some of the problems being caused by the concept of 'intellectual property', including references to stories familiar to Slashdot readers, such as DVD Jon, the Sony rootkit, Amazon and Google business patents."

Slashdot | The Guardian On Intellectual Property

Prosecutor to Take CIA Leak Case Before New Grand Jury - Los Angeles Times

Maybe we'll actually be able to see this go up to Cheney.

From L.A. Times:
"Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald said in filings in federal District Court that "the investigation is continuing" but did not elaborate on the need for a new grand jury. He also argued that much of the evidence in the inquiry should be withheld from news organizations, but suggested a compromise that would allow some information to be released."

Prosecutor to Take CIA Leak Case Before New Grand Jury - Los Angeles Times

CNN.com - Whistleblower's Iraq claims to be investigated - Nov 18, 2005

More fraud and gouging from divisions of Halliburton.

From CNN:
" A whistleblower's claims that reconstruction in Iraq has been rife with waste, fraud and abuse -- particularly in regard to a division of Halliburton -- will be turned over to the Justice Department, a U.S. senator said Friday."

CNN.com - Whistleblower's Iraq claims to be investigated - Nov 18, 2005

Here's the article about the U.N. report stating that the company owes Iraq $208 million:
CNN.com - U.N.: Shoddy work, overcharges merit $208M refund - Nov 5, 2005

CNN.com - Ex-CIA boss: Cheney is 'vice president for torture'

From CNN:
"Former CIA chief Stansfield Turner lashed out at Dick Cheney on Thursday, calling him a "vice president for torture" that is out of touch with the American people.

Turner's condemnation, delivered during an interview with Britain's ITV network, comes amid an effort by Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, to pass legislation forbidding any U.S. authority from torturing a prisoner."

I can't believe that Cheney actually said that supporting the anti-torture legislation aided the terrorists. Is this another "If you don't do it my way, the terrorists win" thing.

Who can be stupid enough to believe that letting America torture people is in any way a good thing?

There is a good article from the Washington Post about torture From January called:
The Torture Myth (washingtonpost.com). Which asks a very important question. Does Torture work?

The point of the matter is: Our Constitution was set up to outlaw "Cruel and Unusual" punishment. This administration has made the specific claim that it is ok because the people they are torturing and locking up indefinitely are not U.S. citizens. That makes me furious!

Since when is it ok to treat anyone like filth just because they are not us? Remember when we told the world that we were better than everyone else because we didn't torture and oppress? Now what?

CNN.com - Ex-CIA boss: Cheney is 'vice president for torture' - Nov 18, 2005

Slashdot | Sony, Amazon Detail Rootkit CD Buybacks

Sony BMG is detailing a plan where it will exchange CDs with it';s severely flawed Rootkit DRM and exchange it with the same CD minus the rootkit.

There are 52 titles that have the DRM on it. You can find the list here:
List of Titles

Slashdot | Sony, Amazon Detail Rootkit CD Buybacks

Here is a direct link to the exchange site:
PSI

Amazon.com also is sending out e-mails to customers who bought the discs, offering to replace or refund them at no cost.

CNN.com - Poll: More Americans want off world stage

I didn't even know that this poll was taking place every year. Now that I found it I'm glad it is. I believe that the United States is spending too much time meddling and fiddling with other countries that it is falling apart at home.

Let's spend a little more time at home and less time making sure everyone is doing what we tell them to.

CNN.com - Poll: More Americans want off world stage - Nov 17, 2005

Slashdot | FEC Rules Bloggers Are Journalists

A good ruling for the freedom and openness of the Internet. The article states the Bloggers (herein referred to as 'us') qualify for "press exemption" to federal campaign finance laws.

From Slashdot:
"The press exemption, as defined by Congress, is meant to assure 'the unfettered right of the newspapers, TV networks, and other media to cover and comment on political campaigns."

The entry on Slashdot is here:
Slashdot | FEC Rules Bloggers Are Journalists

The complete FEC filing is here:
aor2005-16draft.pdf (application/pdf Object)

IT workers dubbed 'worst dressed' - smh.com.au

I've been up and down the IT Corporate ladder. I've been in management and been a lowly peon. After ten years in the industry, I can only say one thing about this article; "Holy Crap, Yes."

I swear to you that we cannot dress ourselves properly. We cannot even use excuses like, "I get dressed in the dark" because there are several garments in each of our closets that are so bright they generate their own light!

From the Sydney Morning Herald:
"Short sleeved shirts, man-made fibres and the wrong coloured socks were some of the most common fashion faux-pas cited by corporate stylist, Melanie Moss, who hosted the event.

"Because the majority of IT people are not in front of customers all the time, they tend to slack off," she said."

In our own defense...

Who am I kidding? There is no real defense! I can say that we like the way we dress (I am right now admiring the black with red flames shirt of the guy next to me) and we shall keep it up for as long as we're allowed.

And as long as we have access to your personal data, it'll be a while. ;)

IT workers dubbed 'worst dressed' - Breaking - Technology - smh.com.au

SPACE.com -- X Files Opened: The National Security Agency's UFO Investigations Unearthed

Interesting article. It doesn't talk really about UFOs. What it talks about is why all these UFO related documents were hidden. It seems that releasing these documents would reveal the NSA's international Communications Intercept (COMINT) throughout the world.

That and UFOs are a bunch of crap anyways ;)

Article from Space.com:
SPACE.com -- X Files Opened: The National Security Agency's UFO Investigations Unearthed

Direct link the the affidavit:
In Camera Affidavit of Eugene F. Yeates: Citizens Against UFO Secrecy v. National Security Agency, October 9, 1980

FEMA, La. outsource Katrina body count to firm implicated in body-dumping scandals

Doubt anything will come of this. Why does it seem like no one gets punished if they make enough maney?

"The Federal Emergency Management Agency has hired Kenyon International to set up a mobile morgue for handling bodies in Baton Rouge, Louisiana following H urricane Katrina, RAW STORY has learned.

Kenyon is a subsidiary of Service Corporation International (SCI), a scandal-ridden Texas-based company operated by a friend of the Bush family. Recently, SCI subsidiaries have been implicated in illegally discarding and desecrating corpses.

Louisiana governor Katherine Blanco subsequently inked a contract with the firm after talks between FEMA and the firm broke down. Kenyon's original deal was secured by the Department of Homeland Security.

In other words, FEMA and then Blanco outsourced the body count from Hurricane Katrina -- which many believe the worst natural disaster in U.S. history -- to a firm whose parent company is known for its "experience" at hiding and dumping bodies. "

FEMA, La. outsource Katrina body count to firm implicated in body-dumping scandals

RELIGION AND SECRECY IN THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION

The Gentleman, the Prince, and the Simulacrum
By:
Hugh Urban
Ohio State University

This is a really interesting essay concerning George W. Bush and his administration. He makes excellent points and backs them up with facts.

Hugh Urban writes:
" When contemplating the figure of George W. Bush, the historian of religion—and really, any thoughtful citizen—is presented with a very strange paradox and apparent contradiction. On the one hand, this is by many accounts the most outspokenly religious president in U.S. history—a man who claims to have been not only saved but called by God to political office, who uses extensive references to scripture throughout his public speeches (both explicit and subtly double-coded), who has denounced certain nations as part of an insidious "Axis of Evil," and who promises to bring freedom as a "Gift from the Almighty" to benighted regions of the world like the Middle East. Bush's remarkable display of piety has been noted not just by the Religious Right, his strongest base of support,[3] and the mainstream media,[4] but also increasingly by historians of religion.[5] Strong morality and grounding in faith have been the bulwarks of his administration and major reasons for his widespread public appeal; and, according to some estimates, they are among the most important factors in the 2004 elections.[6] "]

PREVARICATION AND THE ART OF RULING

CNN.com - Report: Politics may have influenced former public broadcasting chief - Nov 15, 2005

I remember the stories about this guy tryign to make PBS and NPR more "balanced" (read: right wing). It's about time we got rid of this guy.

From CNN:
"The former chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting overstepped his bounds in several areas, including initiating contracts without the board's approval, and may have let politics have a hand in picking a new board president, according to a report released Tuesday by the corporation's inspector general."

CNN.com - Report: Politics may have influenced former public broadcasting chief - Nov 15, 2005

POLITICS-US: Republicans Cut and Run from Iraq and Bush

Republicans are running like crazy from the Bush White House. They're trying to save face for the next election. My thinking is, if the people didn't want you to do it in the first place, why did you do it at all? Isn't you job to do the work of the people that elect you?

From IPS:
"While nominally still loyal to the White House, Republican lawmakers are now distancing themselves from Bush, and especially from some of his more controversial policies like Iraq and the abuse of detainees in the "war on terror", with surprising alacrity.

In the wake of the party's poor performance in last week's off-year elections, as well as the continuing slide to unprecedented lows of Bush's public approval and credibility ratings, Republican senators have begun to seize control of policies that the White House has long insisted should be in its exclusive domain. "


POLITICS-US: Republicans Cut and Run from Iraq and Bush

American Chronicle: George W. Bush: We Do Not Torture! (Yeah, Right)

I like this guy. His writing is clear. He gets to the point. He hates Bush.

American Chronicle: George W. Bush: We Do Not Torture! (Yeah, Right)

Japan Today - If you could meet U.S. President George W Bush during his visit to Japan, what would you say to him?

Did I ever mention that I love Japan? Probably not considering that this blog is only about a week old. but here's one of the reasons.

Japan Today:

"I'd advise him to not only think about all the profits that his country is generating around the world. I am talking about oil reserves, which the U.S. has taken over in Iraq, for example. I want to tell him to not be so greedy and think about things other than money. Bush acts and thinks very childishly in my opinion. He thinks he can get away with anything in this world."

Japan Today - If you could meet U.S. President George W Bush during his visit to Japan, what would you say to him?

CNN.com - Poll: Bush approval mark at all-time low - Nov 14, 2005

I guess it takes some people five years to figure out what an idiot he is.

From CNN:
"Beset with an unpopular war and an American public increasingly less trusting, President Bush faces the lowest approval rating of his presidency, according to a national poll released Monday.

Bush also received his all-time worst marks in three other categories in the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll. The categories were terrorism, Bush's trustworthiness and whether the Iraq war was worthwhile."

CNN.com - Poll: Bush approval mark at all-time low - Nov 14, 2005

Good News For Bloggers Using AdWords

From eWeek:
"Google Inc. on Sunday added a free traffic-tracking feature to its advertising system, known as AdWords, as the Internet search giant tries to keep pace with advances by rivals.

Google Analytics, as the new feature is called, details the activities of visitors to a Web site, including the number of visitors at any given time and how long they remain on the site. Most importantly to advertisers, the feature also reports on how often their ads are noticed."

Google Move Jolts Web Analytics Market

Google Expects Analytics to Click with Advertisers

Biodiesel might soon be filling your home with heat and the delicious aroma of Chinese food

Willie Nelson is also promoting his own brand of Biodiesel. It ended up being called "BioWillie". The name just want you to run and scream doesn't it?

From Wired:
"Biodiesel, the vegetable-oil alternative to diesel that sparked a small, grass-roots movement, is exploding onto the commercial marketplace and rapidly gaining widespread acceptance. But not as an alternative to gasoline, as many had envisioned. This clean-burning, renewable fuel is making its way into a growing number of American homes as a substitute for residential heating oil."

Let's get rid of our dependency on foreign oil! You with me?

Wired:

Biodiesel Keeps Home Fire Burning

AV Firms Say New Trojan Uses Sony DRM Rootkit

Anti-virus firms are warning computer users about a new malicious program that attempts to hide on victims' computers by taking advantage of maligned DRM (digital rights management) technology from Sony BMG.

AV Firms Say New Trojan Uses Sony DRM Rootkit

Sony Suspends 'Rootkit' DRM Technology

Music company Sony BMG Music Entertainment has succumbed to mounting criticism, announcing plans to stop production of music CDs that use a controversial digital rights management technology called XCP.

Sony Suspends 'Rootkit' DRM Technology

Microsoft Zapping Sony DRM 'Rootkit'

Not even Microsoft wants any part of Sony's rootkit fiasco, adds it to anti-spyware detection.

Microsoft Corp. will start deleting the rootkit component of the controversial DRM scheme used by Sony BMG Music Entertainment.

The Microsoft move comes 24 hours after Sony announced it would stop production of music CDs that use the XCP technology and re-examine its DRM initiative to make sure it has balanced ease of use for consumers with security.

The XCP technology, created by U.K.-based First 4 Internet Ltd., manipulates the Windows kernel to make it almost virtually undetectable on Windows systems and nearly impossible to remove without possibly damaging the Windows operating system.

Microsoft Zapping Sony DRM 'Rootkit'

Bacteria Eat Human Sewage, Produce Rocket Fuel

The high cost of treating human wastewater may one day tank thanks to a bacterium that eats ammonia and produces rocket fuel.

Standard water treatment plants use oxygen-hungry bacteria to break down human waste. To feed the microbes, plants must aerate sewage sludge with costly, power-hogging equipment.

But Brocadia anammoxidans, or anammox bacteria, survive without oxygen, producing energy from nitrite and ammonia, which is found naturally in human waste.

"Conventional [bacteria] treatments do a good job, so the big benefit is doing this much more efficiently and cheaply," said Marc Strous, a microbiologist at the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands.

Strous says savings could be enormous, up to 90 percent versus standard sewage treatment plants. A prototype facility in Rotterdam is already earning praise.

Bacteria Eat Human Sewage, Produce Rocket Fuel

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Televangelist condemns anti-creationism policy

We should send a standing ovation to the residents of Dover!

From The Guardian UK
"America's best known televangelist, Pat Robertson, has warned a Pennsylvania town that it could face divine retribution for voting creationists off its education authority.

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected him from your city," Mr Robertson said on his Christian Broadcasting Network, which claims a daily audience of one million.

Residents ousted conservative Christian members of the local Dover board who had ordered teachers to tell their classes evolution was a questionable theory."

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Televangelist condemns anti-creationism policy

Government Enters Fray Over BlackBerry Patents

The first time in years the Government tried to save something and it's their own convienence. Ten Percent of U.S. BlackBerry Users are Federal Employees who use their devices to communicate while out of the office.

I used to work for the D.O.D. and I know what that means.

It means that they can give the impression that they are working while they are at the Strip Club.

From the Washington Post
"Some people make jokes about Washington wonks being attached to their BlackBerry e-mail devices, but the U.S. government takes the service very seriously.

The Justice Department has filed a legal brief in a patent dispute, asking a federal court to delay any immediate shutdown of the popular wireless e-mail system to ensure that state and federal workers can continue to use their devices"

Government Enters Fray Over BlackBerry Patents

CNN.com - Army considering combat chewing gum - Nov 11, 2005

The Army is developing a new chewing gum to help soldiers fight dental problems in the field. The gum takes the place of brushing teeth, which the soldier in a combat situation might not have time or means to do.

CNN.com - Army considering combat chewing gum - Nov 11, 2005

Slashdot | Anti-Gravity Device Patented

From Slashdot:

"According to the United States Patent Office website, Boris Volfson has recently patented a "Space vehicle propelled by the pressure of inflationary vacuum state", which is essentially an anti-gravity propulsion device." The validity of this patent remains to be seen, but the general consensus of the physics community seems to be that it is complete malarky.

Slashdot | Anti-Gravity Device Patented

Good Website for everything You Want to Know About Windows

Check out Sysinternals.com

The Sysinternals web site provides you with advanced utilities, technical information, and source code related to Windows NT/2000/XP/2K3 and Windows 9x, Windows Me internals that you won't find anywhere else. Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell alone write and update everything there.

Check out their blog entry Sony, Rootkits and Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far.

First Post!

Why do people do that in new forum threads? The moment a new thread opens up, they have to be the first to post to it. Is it a race? Do they get a prize? There's a site that I go to that hates it. They set up a language filter that takes "first post" and turns it into boobies!. So you'll end up seeing stupid mesages in threads that read, "This is my boobies!".

Well this is my new Weblog. I blogged for a little bit at Yahoo 360 but realized that I had no friends and no one was reading it anyways. I decided to broaden my audience to more than myself. I opened a MySpace page, but the blogging functions didn't seem that good. Not to mention that MySpace looks more like a hook up and get together site that would make my ultra-left rants seem a little out of place.

So Here I am at Blogger. I opened up a Space for My Blog and started typing. That was 15 minutes ago. This is my FIRST POST! (boobies?) so far let me know what you think.

The kind of things you'll see on my blog are links to news articles, snippets from interviews and other web paraphenalia. This will also be a dumping ground for various stuff that I might need to get off my chest. Hence the Ranting and Venting title.

So look around and make yourself comfortable. There's beer in the fridge and fresh coffee. Pull up a chair and help me throuw things at the images of George W. Bush on the television.