EFF: Fighting for Bloggers' Rights

"If you're a blogger, this website is for you."

"EFF's goal is to give you a basic roadmap to the legal issues you may confront as a blogger, to let you know you have rights, and to encourage you to blog freely with the knowledge that your legitimate speech is protected."

"To that end, we have created the Legal Guide for Bloggers, a collection of blogger-specific FAQs addressing everything from fair use to defamation law to workplace whistle-blowing."

They Are Not "Conspiracy Theories", They Are, in Fact, "Discoveries"

"Those to whom information is presented must deal with their personal unwillingness to hear new facts."

"We have to make a serious effort to distinguish between the expression of an unfounded theory and the disclosure of verifiable information and facts."

"They absolutely refuse to accept even the most convincing proof because they dare not admit to themselves that they have been lied to by officials in whom the placed their trust."

Yes, so many suckers. These people are old enough to know that politicians lie, ALL of them, it's their job. But for some odd reason, in their minds, only politicians they didn't vote for lie, and all the ones they've supported, are always truthful. Sounds like a brain disorder to me. Hell, they didn't even realize that a big lie was just about to be told, when standing in the rubble of 9/11, the president immediately warned everyone not to believe in any of the "conspiracy theories" that might come about from the events of that day. What a strange thing to say, at that time, unless he was preconditioning people to only listen to his version of the truth, and that anyone else who says differently, should be discounted as being misled, unpatriotic, traitorous, or a conspiracy nut.

So far, it's been a good plan, as it continues to work.

Pro-war parents: How to get your kid into uniform

" This one is for you parents who think our fight in Iraq is a really swell idea.
As you may know, the Army is having trouble getting kids to join up. Recruitment is down on account of all the soldiers dying in the desert. Go figure.
And you know whose fault it is? YOURS.
They need kids. They need YOUR kid!
But YOUR kid is still hanging around the house. Going to college, working, standing in front of the fridge. Unwilling to make the ULTIMATE SACRIFICE for … well, whatever it is we're fighting for.
Be honest. You're not doing your part as a parent, either. You're in favor of the war in Iraq but want to send someone else's kid instead of yours, right? What kind of American parent are you, anyway?
It's time to get that kid out of the house and into a uniform! And I'm here to tell you how. It's easy. The government has already done most of the work for you."

Ha Ha, hell yeah!! Get busy parents, 'cause they're already trying to get the maximum age from 35 to 42, and when they start coming after 47 year olds, that's when I'm going to be pissed!!! So get that lazy-ass kid of yours off to war, before I have to go!

How the UN won the war

A short history lesson in this article, that needs to be remembered, especially today. It gives an all to brief timeline on the creation of the U.N. as begining during, not after WW2.

"Roosevelt and Churchill did not respond to fascism with a doctrine of pre-emptive war and totalitarian neoliberalism. Quite the opposite: just three weeks after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor they set about creating an agenda that, in modern terms, is leftwing social democracy. In doing so, they knew that hard bargaining and unpleasant compromise might be necessary. They understood that cooperation was essential to survival. Today that lesson has almost been forgotten in America and Britain."

Defense Department Refuses to Turn Over Abuse Photographs

"The government is raising newfound reasons for withholding records to which the public has an undeniable right," said Amrit Singh, a staff attorney with the ACLU. "Instead of releasing these records and holding officials accountable for detainee abuse, the government now seeks to shield itself from public scrutiny by filing these reasons in secret."

Secrets, secrets, and more secrets. When are we going to start demanding government accountability? I don't mean just by letting organizations like the ACLU to speak for us, I mean, we ALL need to work to put a stop to an ever increasingly secretive government.

Treaty gives CIA powers over Irish citizens

"US investigators, including CIA agents, will be allowed to interrogate Irish citizens on Irish soil in total secrecy, under an agreement signed between Ireland and the US last week."

"Suspects will also have to give testimony and allow property to be searched and seized even if what the suspect is accused of is not a crime in Ireland."

"Under 'instruments of agreement' signed last week by Justice Minister Michael McDowell, Ireland and the US pledged mutual co-operation in the investigation of criminal activity. It is primarily designed to assist America's so-called 'war on terror' in the wake of the September 11 atrocities."

Damn, don't we have enough people around the world pissed at us, we need to piss off the Irish too? I mean, to hell with whatever the excuse is, if I were an Irishman, I'd be seriously thinking about how to get rid of the SOB politicians eroding the sovereignty of their own nation. It just seems really strange that the indigeouness security services aren't able to handle things on their own soil, and allow the CIA, not only a free hand, but a legal free hand. I wonder what the Irish got in return?

Master Plan:The Rise of the Commander-in-Chief State

Here's a good piece, from the Empire Burlesque blog. I always like reading commentary like this because it reminds me I'm not alone in seeing where we're all heading. For some, it's all too obvious, and for others, well, they're either in denial hoping it'll all turn out ok, or they're just living in the bliss of ignorance. I don't really care about those people anyway, since they remind me of the quote by Ben Franklin;

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

The only reason I can think of for their complacency, can be found in this quote by James Madison;

"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."

I guess they expect the only way to lose freedoms is by "violent and sudden usurpations", instead of the reality of the little-by-little, for-your-own-good method.

Now, an excerpt from the article;

"George W. Bush has granted himself the power to declare anyone on earth – including any American citizen – an "enemy combatant," for any reason he sees fit. He can render them up to torture, he can imprison them for life, he can even have them killed, all without charges, with no burden of proof, no standards of evidence, no legislative oversight, no appeal, no judicial process whatsoever except those that he himself deigns to construct, with whatever limitations he cares to impose. Nor can he ever be prosecuted for any order he issues, however criminal; in the new American system laid out by Bush's legal minions, the Commander is sacrosanct, beyond the reach of any law or constitution."

Identity Theft Resource Center

"Welcome to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), a nonprofit, nationally respected program dedicated exclusively to identity theft It provides consumer and victim support and advises governmental agencies, legislators and companies about this evolving and growing crime."

Very good site. I hope you never need it!

'Star Trek's' Scotty dies

"James Doohan, the burly chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise in the original Star Trek TV series and movies who responded to the command "Beam me up, Scotty," died Wednesday. He was 85."


"Doohan died at 5:30 a.m. at his Redmond, Wash., home with his wife of 28 years, Wende, at his side, Los Angeles agent and longtime friend Steve Stevens said. The cause of death was pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease, he said."

Commentators - Direct links to popular columnists and commentators

If you like political commentaries, this is the place. A nice little portal, updated daily.

Cyberterrorism: Regional and Local Response

Here's a program you can watch online, or read the transcript, dealing with a hypothetical cyber-terror situation. I used to watch programs like this on public television. They would take topical situations that had really happened recently, and change it to a hypothetical scenario, and with a panel of usually well know members of government, business, military, and law, and then discuss how they would deal with the situation. I found those shows very interesting and informative, because it gave insight into how decisions are actually made, behind closed doors, by the very people who have made such decisions in real life.

"Cyberterrorism: Regional and Local Response" is a joint collaboration between the Interactive Media Laboratory (IML) at Dartmouth College and The Fred Friendly Seminars, under the auspices of the Program on Counterterrorism Preparedness of the Institute for Security Technology Studies (ISTS), also at Dartmouth College.

The Socratic Dialogue format was developed and refined by Mr. Fred Friendly, first under the auspices of the Ford Foundation and then as a program of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Using a hypothetical case history and a skilled moderator, the Seminars compel panelists to decide how to act in complicated situations where the right choices are not clear. As panelists wrestle with the hypothetical, a tense and spontaneous drama is created that illuminates complex questions in stimulating and entertaining ways. The Seminars have proven uniquely effective in exploring knotty ethical, legal and public policy issues and in creating the basis for panelists to "talk to each other, rather than shout past each other." Fred Friendly died on March 3, 1998, but the Socratic series continue to carry on his work. Mrs. Ruth Friendly serves as senior editorial advisor.

"Cyberterrorism: Regional and Local Response" was shot in front of a live audience at Atlantic Video Studios, Washington DC.

How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else)

Here's a page I found via Metafilter that gives some useful tips on avoiding hassles about what you blog.......

"Blogs are like personal telephone calls crossed with newspapers. They're the perfect tool for sharing your favorite chocolate mousse recipe with friends--or for upholding the basic tenets of democracy by letting the public know that a corrupt government official has been paying off your boss.

If you blog, there are no guarantees you'll attract a readership of thousands. But at least a few readers will find your blog, and they may be the people you'd least want or expect. These include potential or current employers, coworkers, and professional colleagues; your neighbors; your spouse or partner; your family; and anyone else curious enough to type your name, email address or screen name into Google or Feedster and click a few links.

The point is that anyone can eventually find your blog if your real identity is tied to it in some way. And there may be consequences. Family members may be shocked or upset when they read your uncensored thoughts. A potential boss may think twice about hiring you. But these concerns shouldn't stop you from writing. Instead, they should inspire you to keep your blog private, or accessible only to certain trusted people.

Here we offer a few simple precautions to help you maintain control of your personal privacy so that you can express yourself without facing unjust retaliation. If followed correctly, these protections can save you from embarrassment or just plain weirdness in front of your friends and coworkers. "

The Spanish Inquisition - Monty Python

"In the early years of the 16th century, to combat the rising tide of religious unorthodoxy, the Pope gave Cardinal Ximinez of Spain leave to move without let or hindrance throughout the land, in a reign of violence, terror and torture that makes a smashing film. This was the Spanish Inquisition..."

I love these guys

SUDAN: Darfur Overview

On the off chance that anything in either of these previous posts (1), (2), has piqued your interest, this site will help bring you up to speed.

"Tens of thousands of civilians have been murdered and thousands of women raped in Sudans' western region of Darfur by Sudanese government soldiers and members of the government-supported militia sometimes referred to as the Janjaweed. Over 1.5 million civilians have been driven from their homes, their villages torched and their property stolen by the Sudanese military and allied militia. Some have escaped into the neighboring country of Chad, but most are trapped inside Darfur. Thousands die each month from the effects of inadequate food, water, health care, and shelter in a harsh desert environment. All are afraid to return home because the military and the militia are still marauding in the countryside."

U.S. TV Networks Largely Ignoring Genocide in Darfur

U.S. TV Networks Largely Ignoring Genocide in Darfur, Covering Michael Jackson, Martha Stewart Instead - Yahoo! News

"'During June 2005, CNN, FOX News, NBC/MSNBC, ABC, and CBS ran 50 times as many stories about Michael Jackson and 12 times as many stories about Tom Cruise as they did about the genocide in Darfur,'' the campaign said, citing the private Tyndall Report, which monitors broadcast media.

Last year, the ABC, CBS, and NBC network nightly newscasts aired a total of only 26 minutes on genocide and fighting in Sudan, the Tyndall Report found. ABC devoted 18 minutes to Darfur coverage, NBC five and CBS only three. By contrast, lifestyle doyenne
Martha Stewart's woes received 130 minutes of nightly news coverage.

''Stated differently, only about one in every 950 minutes of news coverage in 2004 covered the genocide in Sudan,'' campaigners said."

Yep, the whole point of it is to lead you around like sheep, drawing your attention away from anything important. As a rule, any time I see the media becoming obsessed with some nonsense stories, ones that don't affect anyone other than the few people involved, but for some reason are constantly and repeatedly pushing all other news to the background, if not completely off the radar, I start looking in the opposite direction. It's at these times, when the media is spending way too much time on tabloid crap, that the power-hungry, seeing you all drooling and staring at the "shiny objects", take the opportunity to pull fast ones, knowing that even if it does get reported, it will still be overshadowed and drowned out by the nonsense. And you fall for, and except it.

BrowserSpy

"BrowserSpy can tell you all kinds of detailed information about you and your browser. Stuff like the version of your browser. What kind of things it supports and what it doesn't support. Furthermore it can provide you detailed information about JavaScript, Java, Plug-ins, Components, Bandwidth, Language, Screen, Hardware, IP, Cookies, Web Server, and much more...."

Well, maybe not so much info about you, as your browser, and what websites learn about it when you visit. Good to know about all the info those browser features like Java, Javascript, and ActiveX, reveal about your system.

Saving a Dying Corpse

"Like the Luddites who fought the industrial revolution, the established order will not give up its privileges without a fight. Efforts to revive the dying corpse of centralized power structures have taken on paramount importance. With the demise of the Soviet Union as its symbiotic partner for the rationalization of state power – itself the victim of decentralist forces – the United States has had to find a new threat with which to keep Americans as a fear-ridden herd. The statists believe they have found this eternal danger in the specter of “terrorism,” which they hope can be manipulated to justify endless wars and unrestrained police powers.

But if you can cut through the veneer of propaganda as “news,” and begin to ask such questions as how US-supported persons and organizations (e.g., Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, the Taliban) could suddenly became threats to America, you will begin to understand the nature of the herding game being played at your expense.

What government officials and the media have labeled the “war on terror” has, I believe, a more encompassing target: the decentralizing processes that are eroding institutionally-controlled social behavior. “Terrorism” is the state’s new scarecrow, erected to ward off the changes that threaten the interests of the rigidly-structured political establishment. What is now drifting away into diffused networks of freely developed, alternative forms and practices, must be resisted by a state system that insists upon its central control of the lives of us all. As has always been the case, the life-sustaining processes of spontaneity and autonomy are being opposed by the life-destroying forces of coercive restraint."