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Saturday, May 24, 2003

They posted a tribute to June Carter Cash at Johnny's website. Roseanne Cash's talk is especially moving; read it if you have a minute. One of the heroines of American music, and proof that country music can be something powered by love and friendship, fueled by the spirit of something greater. Do me a favor, if you will, and send some prayers, happy thoughts, or good karma in Johnny Cash's direction; he is surely needing it about now. I guess June would say, "Lift him up."

posted by Jenny at 1:07 PM |

Richard Kahn has an informative post up on the perils of Bush's hydrogen fuel plan. This is the kind of stuff we need to store up for confrontations with Bushites who claim that we "damn liberals" ain't satisfied with his environmental friendliness...right up there with chopping down the forest to save the trees, no?

posted by Jenny at 12:42 PM |

Drezner's got the lowdown on Tom DeLay "doing the hurt dance"...*smirk of satisfaction*

posted by Jenny at 12:35 PM |

Glad to see Neil Young taking a stand about the Bush regime...wonder what the GOP toadies have in store for him?

(Has anybody noticed how jaded my language has become? Has the "Cabal" really turned me into a pessimist?)

posted by Jenny at 12:30 PM |

Friday, May 23, 2003

The zen of Donald Rumsfeld

I know that I've posted this before, but while browsing today at Slacktivist (where I also found the Buffet piece), I decided our weary progressive souls could use some laughs...or some inspirational poetry, however you choose to call it. (Published in June's Harpers, but also in the Guardian and beyond):

THE UNKNOWN

As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.

-- February 12, 2002, Department of Defense news briefing

Scary to think that one day, thousands of years from now, if we haven't vaporized ourselves off the planet, some of our descendants will come upon the book they've made of Rumsfeld's "poetry", and probably attribute it to the aesthetic pinnacle of the Neocapitalist Era...they'll dissect it as if it were Heraclitus or Homer, and make a much more interesting civilization out of what was the ruinous Bush regime...

posted by Jenny at 1:27 PM |

Man, if you thought the Lugar thing was pretty shattering, check out what Warren Buffett (the second richest guy in the US) has to say about the tax cut...it's a Recommended Read.

posted by Jenny at 1:20 PM |

Chris Hedges elaborates on the hair-raising reaction to his commencement speech at Rockford College:

You know, as I looked out on the crowd, that is exactly what my book is about. It is about the suspension of individual conscience, and probably consciousness, for the contagion of the crowd for that euphoria that comes with patriotism. The tragedy is that – and I've seen it in conflict after conflict or society after society that plunges into war – with that kind of rabid nationalism comes racism and intolerance and a dehumanization of the other. And it's an emotional response. People find a kind of ecstasy, a kind of belonging, a kind of obliteration of their alienation in that patriotic fervor that always does come in war time.

As I gave my talk and I looked out on the crowd, I was essentially witnessing things that I had witnessed in the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina or in squares in Belgrade or anywhere else. Crowds, especially crowds that become hunting packs are very frightening. People chanted the kind of cliches and aphorisms and jingoes that are handed to you by the state. "God Bless America" or people were chanting "send him to France" – this kind of stuff and that kind of contagion leads ultimately to tyranny, it's very dangerous and it has to be stopped.

I've seen it in effect and take over countries. But of course, it breaks my heart when I see it in my country. That's essentially what I was looking at was in some ways a mirror of what I was trying to speak about. And I think I managed to touch upon it somewhat when I talked upon this notion of comradeship as a suppression of self awareness and self-possession to sort of follow along, locked in the embrace of a nation, or of a group, or of a national group unthinkingly, blindly. And there is a kind of undeniable euphoria in that. And that's what I was looking at.

posted by Jenny at 9:49 AM |

Howard Dean raises $1 million via Internet

Good for him. He'll need all the money and effort and volunteerism he can get to fight the Bush propaganda machine. Based on the way he talks alongside the lackluster performance of the Senate Democrats he's up against, it seems on many levels that the party might be crazy not to nominate him.

More Dean campaign dirt here at his official blog--my favorite part is when they quote an article with somebody's observation that the internet-based Dean supporters who show up at MeetUp events look like the "Star Wars bar scene"...must be my kind of folks.

posted by Jenny at 8:38 AM |

Dissent as Terrorism

You can make an easy kind of a link that, if you have a protest group protesting a war where the cause that's being fought against is international terrorism, you might have terrorism at that (protest). You can almost argue that a protest against that is a terrorist act. --Mike Van Winkle, spokesman for the California Anti-Terrorism Information Center

Read this entire article--if you're participating in any kind of activist work, or if you simply wear T-shirts that might get you stopped at an airport, or if you're a progressive who might want to meet up and talk to your friends about current events, you should probably keep apprised of who might be spying on you, or your organization. (Not to sound too Orwellian here, but I guess that's what it is.) And I'm willing to bet that this isn't limited to California, although that news certainly rains on my grad school search parade. It seems that the California Anti-Terrorism Information Center, sponsored by the Department of Justice, has been collecting intelligence on the antiwar movement, in the words of Jake at LMB, "apparently using tiny tidbits and distortions of this info to scare police into cracking down on them." So we have organizations collecting dossiers on activists from all sides of the spectrum, judging them by arbitrary ideological convictions on "Americanism" and "anti-Americanism". Folks, are we the United States, or are we the USSR?

This is the stuff we need to be watching, pestering Congress about it on a regular basis. Not that we should let it stop us, or make us afraid to leave our houses or associate with groups beyond the Church Basketweaving Association or corporate bingo...but this is the beginning of something that could unravel our civil liberties bit by bit if we don't keep abreast of the goings-on. And we have to respond to these things persistently and with integrity...it's not a laughing matter anymore; indeed, it never really was. And this is how fascism and totalitarianism sneaks up on you; it comes through the backdoor when you're not looking, or choosing not to see.

Now, some of us in cyberspace might be thinking, "eh, that doesn't apply to me. I'm not an activist or anything, I abstained from the antiwar stuff, Ashcroft couldn't possibly be interested in my daily activities..." Well, think again if you have ever supported any pro-environment legislation. Karen Charman elaborates at TomPaine.com:

Have you ever signed a petition in support of an environmental or animal-rights issue? Do you belong to the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, or Greenpeace? Have you publicly protested some environmental or animal rights outrage? If legislation crafted and promoted by the ultra-conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) becomes law, these fundamental rights of American citizenship could become illegal.

Exploiting the current political climate against terrorism, ALEC has teamed up with the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, a pro-hunting group, to create a model "Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act." The legislation is part of an intense backlash against increasingly effective and vocal citizen campaigns aimed at halting -- and holding corporations accountable for -- environmental, animal-rights and public health abuses.

Forging this kind of marriage to produce anti-progressive legislation is old hat to ALEC, now in its thirtieth year of policy bending. With an annual budget of nearly $6 million, ALEC's funders read like a Who's Who of the right, and include organizations like the National Rifle Association, Family Research Council and Heritage Foundation. It counts conservative activists and politicians such as Jesse Helms, Jack Kemp and Henry Hyde among its alumni. Enron, Phillip Morris (now Altria) and several oil companies rank among ALEC's corporate sponsors. And to bring the loop full-circle, ALEC boasts 2,400 state lawmakers representing all 50 states among its current members.

In light of this, it's hardly shocking that ALEC is no friend to green groups. According to a 2002 report by Defenders of Wildlife and the Natural Resources Defense Council, corporations and trade associations "funnel cash through ALEC to curry favor with state lawmakers through junkets and other largesse in the hopes of enacting special interest legislation -- all the while keeping safely outside the public eye."

The strategy obviously works. ALEC spokesperson David Wargin estimates that out of about 1,000 ALEC model bills introduced in the last legislative session, 200 were enacted.

The Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act may be next. Intended for states, it criminalizes virtually all forms of environmental or animal-rights advocacy. Versions of the proposed law were introduced in Texas in February and in New York in March. New York Assembly member Richard Smith (D-Blasdell), who introduced that state's bill, says four or five other states have also expressed interest.

The Texas bill defines an "animal rights or terrorist organization" as "two or more persons organized for the purpose of supporting any politically motivated activity intended to obstruct or deter any person from participating in an activity involving animals or... natural resources." The bill adds that "'Political motivation' means an intent to influence a government entity or the public to take a specific political action." Language in the New York bill is similarly broad.

Michael Ratner, a human rights lawyer and vice-president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, has never seen such draconian legislation in the United States.

"This is unique. Even under the definition of domestic terrorism in the Patriot Act, you have to at least do something that arguably threatens people's lives," he says. "The definitional sections of this legislation are so broad that they sweep within them basically every environmental and animal-rights organization in the country."

Sandy Liddy Bourne, director of the ALEC task force that came up with the model bill, insists the legislation is narrowly targeted at environmental and animal-rights extremists who blow up buildings or destroy research facilities.

"We're certainly not attempting to interfere with anybody's civil rights to protest or express their opinion on environmental or animal-rights issues," she says. However, "there are legitimate business operations across our country that are being targeted by environmental extremists, and it's time to bring this kind of activity to a halt."

Ratner points out that there are laws against trespassing, vandalism, destruction of property, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace. The only reason for this legislation, he says, is to eliminate all forms of dissent, including the time-honored democratic traditions of nonviolent, peaceful protest and civil disobedience.

posted by Jenny at 5:51 AM |

Thursday, May 22, 2003

There's a good Molly Ivins column posted on Alternet, one you can forward to people on the fence regarding the Iraq war...but hey, if you're talking to dyed-in-the-wool Republicans, you don't even have to try to convince them that Molly is worth reading. At least one GOP member is airing his misgivings, and in a pretty big way:

THE most senior Republican authority on foreign relations in Congress has warned President Bush that the United States is on the brink of catastrophe in Iraq.

Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that Washington was in danger of creating “an incubator for terrorist cells and activity” unless it increased the scope and cost of its reconstruction efforts. He said that more troops, billions more dollars and a longer commitment were needed if the US were not to throw away the peace.

Mr Lugar’s warning came as it emerged that the CIA has launched a review of its pre-war intelligence on Iraq to check if the US exaggerated the threats posed by Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction. The review is intended to determine if the Pentagon manipulated the assessment of intelligence material for political ends.

Democrats have begun to say that the US is in danger of jeopardising the success of the military action in Iraq, but Mr Lugar is by far the most senior Republican to break ranks with the White House over the issue. Mr Lugar, a moderate who expressed initial reservations about the war, said that the Govevrnment’s planning for post-war Iraq had clearly been inadequate.

“I am concerned that the Bush Administration and Congress have not yet faced up to the true size of the task that lies ahead, or prepared the American people for it,” he said, writing in The Washington Post. Mr Bush should state clearly “that we are engaged in ‘nation-building’,” he said, a statement that would require the President to swallow one of his tenets of the 2000 election campaign.

...

Mr Lugar also took a swipe at Mr Bush’s victory speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln earlier this month, delivered under a banner that read: “Mission Accomplished”. He said: “President Bush should make clear to one and all that he will declare ‘Mission Accomplished’ in Iraq not on the basis of our military victory or the date of our withdrawal, but on what kind of country we leave behind.”

...

Mr Lugar’s remarks are likely to infuriate the White House and the Pentagon. He criticised Pentagon officials for talking about “quick exit strategies”, saying: “The days when Americans could win battles and then come home quickly for a parade are over.”

The ability of the White House to fire back at Mr Lugar is limited. Mr Bush described him last week as “a fine, fine man”, after being introduced by him at a speech in Indiana.

Both of these links via BlogLeft.

posted by Jenny at 11:02 PM |

Somehow, although I post this stuff all the time, I still have trouble believing it all--and of course, the most daunting element of this is the number of incidents like this that probably take place everyday, all over the country, and don't get reported, either out of shame or politics. Pretty incredible what racism, sexism and general condescension people get away with under the guise of humor, isn't it?

Anissa Khoder has filed a complaint against Tarrytown Village Justice William Crosbie with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Khoder went to court on Thursday to contest a pair of parking tickets. As she approached the judge's table, she said, Crosbie considered her name out loud and asked if she were a terrorist. She said she was stunned by the implication, but responded with a weak, reflexive smile.

"I felt offended, and I kept it to myself," she said, but then it got worse. After completing her explanation for why the tickets should be dismissed, she said the judge asked her, "You don't really want to pay these tickets, do you?"

"Then he said something like, 'You have money to support the terrorists, but you don't want to pay the ticket,' " Khoder said. "I could not believe I was hearing that."

She was unable to say anything in protest and, almost immediately, collapsed to the floor. A court officer and two Tarrytown police officers helped her and called for an ambulance, but Khoder soon recovered and declined medical attention.

Crosbie yesterday confirmed that he made the initial comment, asking Khoder if she were a terrorist, and acknowledged that it "may have been inappropriate." But he denied saying anything further regarding terrorism.

Crosbie's been censured before, for cronyism and other things...read the article for more info.

posted by Jenny at 2:56 PM |

More useless deportations, this time, of French reporters (big shocker there) in Los Angeles:

On the weekend of May 10 and 11, six French television journalists visiting Los Angeles to cover the massive E3 video-game expo were stopped for questioning by LAX border guards, barred from entering the country, and sent back to Europe. "These journalists were treated like criminals—subjected to several body searches, handcuffed, locked up and fingerprinted," Reporters Without Borders Secretary-General Robert Ménard complained in a letter to the American ambassador to France.

Their offense? Trying to enter the U.S. the same way European journalists have been coming for the last 17 years: on the Visa Waiver program, which allows the citizens of 27 friendly countries (from Andorra to Switzerland) to visit the States up to 90 days without a visa, as long as the trip is for "business or pleasure." Journalism, according to American consular writ, does not qualify as either.
...

"The chilling effect this could have, depending on how it is implemented, feels un-American," Brand said. "We're used to regimes like North Korea and Saudi Arabia denying legitimate journalists entry to their countries because they have something to hide. Why would we want to keep legitimate journalists away from the story?"

Via Cursor, of course...

posted by Jenny at 2:44 PM |

Listen up, Texas women

Actually, this really isn't only for women, or Texans, for that matter. After all, Molly Ivins reminds us that Texas politics are the oracle of America's future...

HOUSTON -- Texas approved one of the nation's most sweeping abortion counseling laws Wednesday, requiring doctors, among other things, to warn women that abortion might lead to breast cancer.

That link, however, does not exist, according to the American Cancer Society and federal government researchers, and critics say the law is a thinly veiled attempt to intimidate, frighten and shame women who are seeking an abortion. Proponents say they are merely trying to give women as much information as possible, and argue that research into the alleged link between abortion and breast cancer remains inconclusive.

More here (reg. required), via Bob Harris.

posted by Jenny at 2:35 PM |

GoogleNews, "a news service compiled solely by computer algorithms without human intervention," has humanly intervened to axe search linkage to Indymedia. More on this, and the implications thereof, at The Daily Outrage.

Update: Hey folks, Elayne points out that there are indeed links to Indymedia on Google, but not for the last few days...as Matt explains in the above-linked post, the links stop after May 16th within GoogleNews.

posted by Jenny at 6:56 AM |

What would Mr. Rogers say?

Children's TV Shows Cut by Half after Media Mergers

Yup, it's the next step in the Matrixization of society as we know it...kind of makes me think that pretty soon it's just going to be one TV channel, one show...thus all the more reason to sign the FCC petitions if you haven't already! (MoveOn.org reports that over 175,000 have signed theirs, all the more reason to tell more people about it!) FAIR has the skinny on this, suggesting that we contact the news networks and ask them to do substantive reporting on the FCC deregulation controvery--

Imagine living in a community where one large, multinational conglomerate controlled eight radio stations, two major TV stations and the leading daily newspaper. Given the damage that media consolidation has already done to the quality and diversity of media offerings, such a scenario--repeated in communities across the country--has worrying implications.

For people relying on network television for news, however, it would be tough to know much about the changes in the works. ABC World News Tonight aired a May 15 report on FCC deregulation-- divided into "pro" and "con" segments-- and a May 18 report on radio deregulation. At CBS and NBC, there have been no mentions of the sweeping proposals on any of the nightly newscasts, and only three brief early-morning reports elsewhere on the network schedule (ABC World News This Morning, 9/9/02, 2/27/03; CBS Morning News, 5/13/03).

These networks are all owned by companies that stand to profit from the FCC's plan to re-shape the media landscape. Their scant coverage of these issues-- ranging from very little at ABC to none at all at NBC-- reflects a glaring conflict of interest.

FAIR urges us to contact these networks and remind them of their "ethical duty" to report what's going on. Email addresses of just about every major network, plus many individual shows, can be found at FAIR's Media Contact List...so pick out your favorite news outlet--or several--and drop them a line!

Update: Another way to make your voice heard is by attending grassroots meetings with district offices of key members of the House and Senate, says MoveOn:

Next week, Representatives and Senators will be in their home districts for a one-week break. It's a perfect time to let them know how we feel in person. Common Cause, one of the country's leading civic groups, is convening grassroots meetings with the district offices of key members of the House and Senate. We need your help to let Congress know we care about media deregulation. An hour of your time could leave an indelible impression.

You can see if there's a meeting in your area and register at:
http://meetings.commoncause.ctsg.com

Please, somebody go for me: I'm still over here in rainy Europe...

posted by Jenny at 6:41 AM |

Awhile back I posted a link to the Center for Cooperative Research's account of Bush's movements on September 11th, 2001. RuminateThis links to the same essay, with this excerpt from the president's own remarks. Now...maybe I'm just really jaded, but I am almost on the verge of a love-fest for Clinton (whom I mostly disliked) simply because his ability to extemporaneously bullshit was so much better...and, incidentally, am I the only one who finds it a bit odd that he's joking with Jeb, is that really appropriate in the context of a grievous "attack on America"?

Q What was the first thing that went through your head when you heard that a plane crashed into the first building?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Well, I was sitting in a schoolhouse in Florida. I had gone down to tell my little brother what to do, and -- just kidding, Jeb. (Laughter.) And -- it's the mother in me. (Laughter.) Anyway, I was in the midst of learning about a reading program that works. I'm a big believer in basic education, and it starts with making sure every child learns to read. And therefore, we need to focus on the science of reading, not what may feel good or sound good when it comes to teaching children to read. (Applause.) I'm just getting a plug in for my reading initiative.

Anyway, I was sitting there, and my Chief of Staff -- well, first of all, when we walked into the classroom, I had seen this plane fly into the first building. There was a TV set on. And you know, I thought it was pilot error and I was amazed that anybody could make such a terrible mistake. And something was wrong with the plane, or -- anyway, I'm sitting there, listening to the briefing, and Andy Card came and said, "America is under attack."

And in the meantime, this teacher was going on about the curriculum, and I was thinking about what it meant for America to be under attack. It was an amazing thought. But I made up my mind that if America was under attack, we'd get them. (Applause.) I wasn't interested in lawyers, I wasn't interested in a bunch of debate. I was interested in finding out who did it and bringing them to justice. I also knew that they would try to hide, and anybody who provided haven, help, food, would be held accountable by the United States of America. (Applause.)

Anyway, it was an interesting day. -- George W. Bush, remarks by the President in Town Hall Meeting with Citizens of Ontario, Ontario Convention Center, Ontario, California (January 5, 2002), White House transcript

posted by Jenny at 3:41 AM |

Bush's basket

Richard Goldstein analyzes the politics of representation of the presidential package (!) on "Liberty Day"...interesting stuff, to be sure.

posted by Jenny at 12:14 AM |

Wednesday, May 21, 2003

Chalupas for Jacko

Maybe he really is an extraterrestrial working for Men in Black...

Michael Jackson has burst into the office of his local Congressman wearing a Spiderman mask - to complain about the lack of fast-food restaurants near his Neverland ranch.

The star wore the superhero's disguise when he made an unannounced visit to US Representative Elton Gallegly in Solvang, California.

He asked the politician's deputy, Steve Lavagnino: "How come Solvang doesn't have any fast-food restaurants?"

After Jackson was told the town's only eaterie was a Subway sandwich shop, the disappointed singer said he loved food from the Taco Bell chain.

The 44-year-old then pulled his disguise off and apologised for disturbing the office.

He signed a few autographs before roaring off in a black Bentley to a Taco Bell in a nearby town.

posted by Jenny at 4:04 PM |

Here's a handy reference from Amnesty International to quote when hawks start running at the mouth about the French/Germans/collective European scapegoat being the only ones to arm Iraq...

A Catalogue of Failures: G8 Arms Exports and Human Rights Violations

posted by Jenny at 4:00 PM |

Heh, Felber has a great skit up depicting Ari being quizzed about his own resignation...check it out! Via LMB.

posted by Jenny at 2:12 PM |

*splutter*

AUSTIN - One day before Democrats ended their boycott of the Texas House last week, the Texas Department of Public Safety ordered the destruction of all records and photos gathered in the search for them, documents obtained Tuesday show.

A one-sentence order sent by e-mail on the morning of May 14 was apparently carried out, a DPS spokesman said Tuesday. The revelation comes as federal authorities are investigating how a division of the federal Homeland Security Department was dragged into the hunt for the missing Democrats -- at the request of the state police agency.

Addressed to "Captains," the order said: "Any notes, correspondence, photos, etc. that were obtained pursuant to the absconded House of Representative members shall be destroyed immediately. No copies are to be kept. Any questions please contact me."

It was signed by the commander of the DPS Special Crimes Service, L.C. "Tony" Marshall.

More.

posted by Jenny at 1:49 PM |

And, in other Cursor news, it seems that Time magazine has fallen victim to the Republican astroturf campaign...

posted by Jenny at 1:47 PM |

Yet another commencement with unfair boos.

Chris Hedges, a Pulitzer Prize winner and author of a recent book that describes war as an addiction, was booed Saturday at the graduation ceremony at Rockford College, a small liberal arts school about 80 miles northwest of Chicago.

"He delivered what I guess I would refer to as a fairly strident perspective on the war in Iraq and American policy," college President Paul Pribbenow said Tuesday. "I think our audience (members) at commencement were not prepared for that."

Many audience members turned their backs on Hedges, while others booed and shouted, said Pribbenow, who at one point pleaded to let the speech continue. After protesters rushed the stage and twice cut power to the microphone, Hedges drew the speech to an early close.

Hedges said he had given similar talks at several other colleges on his book, but had never had such a response.

"I was surprised at how vociferous it was and the fact that people climbed onto the podium," Hedges said.

Elinor Radlund, who attended the ceremony, said a woman beside her began singing "God Bless America" while a man rushed down the aisle shouting, "Go home!"

Of course, they wouldn't have caused such a ruckus if Hedges wasn't on to something. It's worth your while to go read that speech that got everybody so riled up. Via Cursor.

posted by Jenny at 1:44 PM |

Tuesday, May 20, 2003

...and the plot thickens on the Danny Glover/MCI debacle, with Joe Scarborough claiming victory while MCI makes no claims to have dropped Glover. For more on this, go to today's postings at the Cursor. I'd excerpt Scarborough's commentary here, but frankly, this stuff is starting to make me nauseated. Honestly folks, I'm getting past the point of being able to write witty comments about this stuff...and pretty soon I'm just going to start drawing blatant parallels to the Goebbels and McCarthy propaganda machines...

posted by Jenny at 9:29 AM |

Smear campaigns and such

Last year, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks contemptuously dismissed Toby Keith's popular pro-war song "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue," saying it was "ignorant and it makes country music sound ignorant." No boycott was called. In fact, not a word was said.

So there's no reason to interpret the hostile response that followed Maines's anti-war comments as the spontaneous reaction of an outraged country audience. In fact, the attack on the Dixie Chicks was a political maneuver no less calculated than the Watergate break-in.

According to a story from americannewsreel.com sent to RRC by former Reprise president Howie Klein, "Phone calls originating from Republican Party headquarters in Washington went out to country stations, urging them to remove the Chicks from their playlists.The 'alternative concert' [to the Dixie Chicks' tour opener] is actually the work of the South Carolina Republican Party and party officials are helping promote the concert.We received a call from 'Gallagher's Army,' urging us to support the alternative concert. Caller ID backtraced the call to South Carolina GOP headquarters."

Chain radio stations were quick to dump the Chicks because their parent companies (Clear Channel, Viacom, et al) have pressing business in the nation's capitol and they want help from the Republican Party. [hmm, FCC much?]

The Dixie Chicks Top of the World tour was set to begin in Greenville, South Carolina, on May 1. The state legislature had passed a resolution condemning the group. Lipton Tea, their corporate tour sponsor, scrapped most of its endorsement deal with the Chicks, saying that it's "wrong" to be for peace. In the wake of the many death threats against the three young women in the group, bomb dogs searched the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville before the show.

posted by Jenny at 9:20 AM |

I don't think many of us realize all the stuff going on in the world's oceans--trawlers, whaling, the laying of cables across the ocean floor, nuclear tests and more. When I think of the sea, I remember IMAX films about coral reefs, or National Geographic specials about the rediscovery of the Titanic...and, of course, Cousteau's Calypso. Unfortunately, the "last frontier" on earth is hardly undiscovered country, and marine ecosystems are bearing the brunt of societal "progress". This Guardian article tracks the alarming decline of the ocean's great predator fish--90% in the last 50 years, thanks mostly to industrial scale fishing. There is, however, a ray of hope--a fish farm in Shetland has conceptualized a new grid system which does not damage fish, and can be used as a conventional net. Interesting reading. But I digress--back to work with me!

posted by Jenny at 1:03 AM |

Monday, May 19, 2003

Pentagon unable to account for $1 trillion (yes, one trillion)

And, once more, way to go Rummy:

Though Defense has long been notorious for waste, recent government reports suggest the Pentagon's money management woes have reached astronomical proportions. A study by the Defense Department's inspector general found that the Pentagon couldn't properly account for more than a trillion dollars in monies spent. A GAO report found Defense inventory systems so lax that the U.S. Army lost track of 56 airplanes, 32 tanks, and 36 Javelin missile command launch-units.

And before the Iraq war, when military leaders were scrambling to find enough chemical and biological warfare suits to protect U.S. troops, the department was caught selling these suits as surplus on the Internet "for pennies on the dollar," a GAO official said.

Given these glaring gaps in the management of a Pentagon budget that is approaching $400 billion, the coming debate is shaping up as a bid to gain the high ground in the battle against waste, fraud and abuse.

posted by Jenny at 11:30 PM |

Way to go, Jeb

13,000 Florida Seniors Fail Achievement Test

posted by Jenny at 11:20 PM |

The pot calls the kettle black

France has sent a letter claiming that they are the target of untruths from White House disinformation. It's about time; not that anybody will listen. The vehement hatred for the French around the United States is pretty damn pathological. One statement that I found to be particularly rich in this article, though:

Strong French complaints to the administration brought a May 9 statement by State Department spokesman Richard Boucher saying, "We don't have any information that would indicate the French issued passports or visas to Iraqi officials. . . .We don't have anything that would substantiate the premise."

But the next day, when Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was again asked about the report, he replied: "France has historically had a very close relationship with Iraq. My understanding is that it continued right up until the outbreak of the war. What took place thereafter, we'll find out."

What took place before then, we already know:

posted by Jenny at 11:13 PM |

Ah, competing boos and applause--this reminds me of my own commencement! 100 graduates walked out of St. Joseph's University to protest Santorum's keynote address:

SANTORUM, THE SENATE’S third-ranking Republican, didn’t mention the walkout or the controversy directly. “We are all called to love one another, even people we disagree with, even people who hate us for what we believe,” he said.

Students were offered an opportunity to leave before Santorum was introduced to receive an honorary degree and make his speech, and about 100 graduates walked out amid competing boos and applause.

Some students had urged the Jesuit university to rescind Santorum’s invitation after he likened gay behavior to bigamy, polygamy, incest and adultery in an April 7 interview with The Associated Press. He later said he intended the remarks as a legal analysis and didn’t intend to comment on individual lifestyles.

“Senator Santorum and I are at completely opposite ends of the spectrum,” said graduate Sara Foglesong, among those who walked out. “I am not incestuous. I am not a bigamist. I just happen to be bisexual. It offended me.”

posted by Jenny at 1:48 PM |

Sunday, May 18, 2003

Update your Christmas list

Nobel prizewinner (and, incidentally, World Bank affiliate) Joe Stiglitz is putting the finishing touches on a "searing critique of Dubyanomics".

"They talk a free-market ideology but, if you look at their politics in terms of bailouts and protectionism, it is not a free-market policy; if you look at their procurement agenda and what they did with Bechtel in Iraq, it doesn't even look like a fair competition agenda. So you have to sort of suspect an element of ideology but more an element of particular groups seizing control," says the former chairman of the White House council of economic advisers under President Clinton.

Stiglitz drives a bulldozer through US domestic economic policies, too. The American economy has lost 2 million jobs since Bush came to power.

"There is less concern about distributive issues, about unemployment, welfare, education and safety nets," says Stiglitz. "Underneath this there is an anti-distributive agenda. You can't look at the proposed [$695bn (£428bn)] dividend tax cut without seeing this. There are ways of integrating corporate and personal income tax while maintaining progressivity, like in Europe. Their attempt here was to destroy progressivity under the name of a structural agenda."

...

"It is not just that they do not pay much attention to it but they are positively engaged in increasing inequality," says Stiglitz.

Pretty smart to release that on the eve of an election year.

posted by Jenny at 12:05 PM |

WorkingforChange has a great article by Arianna Huffington up on what would happen if women ran corporate America. What I like most about this article is the fact that Huffington debunks that myth that something vile would be better "if only women were in control" (take that, second-wave quasi-feminists). Plus there's a wonderful line about the "fetid bog of corporate malfeasance". That's right up there with Obi-Wan Kenobi's infamous appraisal of Mos Eisley Spaceport. Let's go ahead and reword that one--I don't think he'd mind:

Corporate America: You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

I like it, I like it!

posted by Jenny at 11:29 AM |

Meanwhile, the World Bank has shown its sympathy for the "plight" of the indigenous peoples worldwide (my emphasis below):

The vast majority of indigenous leaders, assembled here from as far as the lush green valleys of the high Himalayas to the rainforests of the Amazon basin, hold a similar view. In meeting after meeting of the two-week annual Forum, they tell countless stories about how oil, gas, lumber and mining projects by multinational business, and in some cases by national governments, continue to pose threats to the survival of their communities.

''For me, the environment is the single largest issue at this Forum, because it is everything,'' says Goodluck Diigbo, president of Partnership for Indigenous Peoples Environment (PIPE), who grew up in Ogoni, Nigeria, a region with a fragile ecosystem.

...

Earlier this week, the World Bank launched a 700,000-dollar-fund called the ''Grants Facility for Indigenous Peoples'', which will provide up to 50,000 dollars for projects on development themes recommended by the Permanent Forum [on Indigenous Issues--website here].

''It's cruel joke,'' says Roy Laifungbam, of the Center for Organization and Research and a leader of the Meitei people of northeast India. ''Many of the World Banks officials are earning more money than this every year.''

''The World Bank has lent millions of dollars for projects that had led to the destruction of indigenous communities and their environments,'' adds Tauli, and it should address the issue of compensation for that devastation.

''The small grants facility should not be used in exchange for those demands,'' she says.

Bank officials acknowledge that the amount is insufficient. "It's not a huge amount of money, but it is symbolic of our relationship with indigenous people," said Ian Johnson, vice president of the Bank's environmentally and socially sustainable development network.

Yup Ian, that just about hits the nail on the head. The World Bank's piss-poor showing of grant money does a great job of symbolizing how you've been treating the indigenous since, oh, your organization's inception.

Maybe it would be a nice idea for us to write the World Bank and let them know what we think about this. The media contacts for Johnson's department, the "Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Network", are Sergio Jellinek and Kristyn Ebro.

posted by Jenny at 11:08 AM |

This is the kind of thing that makes a person speechless with outrage:

One of the greatest wonders of civilization, and probably the world's most ancient structure - the Sumerian city of Ur in southern Iraq - has been vandalized by American soldiers and airmen, according to aid workers in the area.

They claim that US forces have spray-painted the remains with graffiti and stolen kiln-baked bricks made millennia ago. As a result, the US military has put the archaeological treasure, which dates back 6,000 years, off-limits to its own troops. Any violations will be punishable in military courts.

Land immediately adjacent to Ur has been chosen by the Pentagon for a sprawling airfield and military base. Access is highly selective, screened and subject to military escorts, which - even if agreed - need to be arranged days or weeks in advance and carefully skirt the areas of reported damage.

There has been no official response to the allegations of vandalism - reported to The Observer by aid workers and one concerned US officer.

Ur is believed by many to be the birthplace of the prophet Abraham. It was the religious seat of the civilization of Sumer at the dawn of the line of dynasties which ruled Mesopotamia starting about 4000 BC. Long before the rise of the Egyptian, Greek or Roman empires, it was here that the wheel was invented and the first mathematical system developed. Here, the first poetry was written, notably the epic Gilganesh, a classic of ancient literature.

The most prominent monument is the best preserved ziggurat - stepped pyramid - in the Arab world, initially built by the Sumerians around 4000 BC and restored by Nebuchadnezzar II in the sixth century BC.

The Pentagon has elected to build its massive and potentially permanent base right alongside the site, so that the view from the peak of the ziggurat - more or less unchanged for 6,000 years - will be radically altered.

Update: And in slightly related news, check out the latest possible botch up by the office assigned to Iraqi reconstruction...

posted by Jenny at 10:50 AM |

Excerpt of the day:

Carl Parker of Port Arthur used to say, "If you took all the fools out of the Legislature, it would not be a representative body anymore." When one confronts such people with facts -- such as that free education was established in the United States long before there was ever a Communist revolution in Russia, or that people in South Texas speak English quite fluently (some of them are even college graduates) -- it does no good. These folks are not stupid, they're like members of some weird cult. You can't dent their worldview with reality. It's like trying to talk to the people who followed David Koresh.

They are, at long last, the perfect unpoliticians -- they don't compromise, they don't deal, they don't look for the middle way, they don't give a damn about accommodating anybody else. Because they believe they're right. And they won't go out for a beer after work. They think it's them against evil. And everybody who ain't them is evil. These are Shiite Republicans. --Molly Ivins, via Magpie

posted by Jenny at 10:47 AM |