:: NEWS COCKTAIL aka BlahBlahBlog ::

:: 4.30.2003 ::

23 skiddoo

:: 10:30:00 AM [+] ::
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:: RE spam ::

From The NY Times via CNET News.com:
Spam sent by fraud is made a felony

In the toughest move to date against unsolicited commercial e-mail, Virginia enacted a law Tuesday imposing harsh felony penalties for sending such messages to computer users through deceptive means.

posted by me

:: 10:24:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Anti-war ::

Congressman Says Views Haven't Changed

(Binghamton-AP) -- An upstate congressman who was one of the most vocal opponents to the war with Iraq says his views haven't changed.

Maurice Hinchey, an Ulster County Democrat, recently visited Qatar, where he met briefly with General Tommy Franks, the head of U.S. Central Command.

Hinchey told a Binghamton radio station (WNBF) that the military operation in Iraq was, in his words, "enormously successful."

But Hinchey said he still believes the same objectives could have been achieved without resorting to military action.
Hinchey said it would have been better to allow U.N. weapons inspectors another three months to complete their work in Iraq.

The congressman said it appears to him that U.S. policy decisions now are being "made on the basis of the needs of private companies rather than on the needs of "U.S. citizens.

posted by me

:: 10:23:00 AM [+] ::
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:: War & Iraq ::

From The Guardian UK:
We are not with you and we don't believe you

Tony Blair's first public attempt to heal the diplomatic wounds of the Iraq war suffered a humiliating rebuff yesterday when Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, refused to lift UN sanctions and mocked the possibility that weapons of mass destruction existed in Iraq.

Mr Putin also clashed with Mr Blair by demanding UN weapons inspectors be allowed back into Iraq and challenged Mr Blair's vision of a new world strategic partnership, arguing it would be unacceptable for the US to dominate the international community.

The public dressing down for Mr Blair came during a 63-minute press conference staged by the two men at Mr Putin's private residence outside Moscow. The two men had a fabled special relationship and Mr Blair had high hopes he would be able to wean Mr Putin away from his new anti-war alliance with France and Germany.

Rumsfeld: Iraq belongs to Iraqis

US troops 'shoot dead two more Iraqis'

US troops today opened fire on Iraqi civilians for the second time this week as an angry crowd in Falluja protested over an earlier shooting.

posted by me

:: 10:21:00 AM [+] ::
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:: RE online music ::

From CNET News.com:
RIAA to file swappers: Let's chat

Tapping into the chat functions built into software programs such as Kazaa and Grokster, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on Tuesday started sending automatic messages to people who are providing copyrighted songs online, warning them that they're breaking the law.

"We're going to be sending messages to the very people who are offering music, in real time, as they do it," said Cary Sherman, president of the RIAA. "The hope is that, this way, we'll be reaching the people who need to know that they are not anonymous, that there are risks of legal consequences if they continue, and also that there are risks to privacy and security."

Whether viewed as an educational campaign or simply as a means of scaring some file-swappers, the new tactics come at a critical time for the industry. A Los Angeles federal court last week ruled for the first time that file-swapping tools such as Grokster and Morpheus were legal, handing copyright holders a serious setback in their efforts to pull the plug on such services.

The court, however, did indicate that individual file-swappers were likely breaking copyright law.

The new campaign, which will be run by an unnamed outside company, will take advantage of automated technology that scans peer-to-peer networks for files that appear to be copyrighted, logs the appropriate user name and Internet address, and then often sends notices to the person’s Internet service provider.

posted by me

:: 8:37:00 PM [+] ::
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:: War & Iraq ::

From The Guardian UK:
US troops 'kill 13 Iraqi protesters'

US troops opened fire on a group of Iraqi demonstrators near Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 13 people and wounding 75 others, according to reports from the area.

Qatar's al-Jazeera television station reported that troops had fired on the demonstrators in the town of Falluja, around 30 miles west of Baghdad, after someone in the crowd threw a stone at US soldiers. The protesters had been demonstrating against the continued US presence in Iraq, al-Jazeera said.

US central command in Qatar said troops had shot at armed Iraqis who had fired on the soldiers. Witnesses said that the demonstrators, who had been protesting at a local school, had not been armed. They said that the protest had been peaceful.

Delegates agree new talks on government

Home town defies ban on Saddam birthday party

Payback time for states that left US in lurch

Slate's US press review

posted by me

:: 8:27:00 PM [+] ::
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:: "Stop me now! Before…!" ::

From Wired:
Gibson Kicks the Blogging Habit

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Writer William Gibson will wind up his hugely popular weblog within a few weeks, out of fears that it might stifle his creative thinking about his next novel.

"I think it's in its last couple of weeks," he said. "I do know from doing it that it's not something I can do when I'm actually working. Somehow the ecology of writing novels wouldn't be able to exist if I'm in daily contact. The watched pot never boils," he added with a laugh.

posted by me

:: 2:14:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Anti-war ::

From The Daily Texan:
Anti-war protests continue campus activity

Despite the apparent end of the war in Iraq, the anti-war movement remains active on campus.

Participants in the Campus Anti-war Network's Southern Regional Conference debated international policy and received updates on anti-war activity on various campuses Saturday.

From The Athens News:
Anti-war panel discusses news coverage,U.S. in post-war Iraq

From Crosswalk.com:
Pro-War Celebrities Bash Hollywood Anti-War Activists

From Middle East Online:
Antiwar US celebrities bounce back

From The NY Times:
Report Says the Police Used Excessive Force at Antiwar Rally

posted by me

:: 2:10:00 PM [+] ::
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:: War & Iraq ::

From The Guardian UK:
After 13 years fighting Saddam, Lord of the Marshes wants his country back

For 13 years he was a defiant symbol of Iraqi resistance. Hunted in vain by Saddam Hussein's militia, the legendary guerrilla fighter Abu Hattem fought an extraordinary campaign against the Iraqi regime from his secluded bases in the poisoned marshland of southern Iraq.

Known as the Lord of the Marshes, his exploits earned him a reputation that is a cross between Robin Hood and Lawrence of Arabia, with tales of suicidal missions and narrow escapes.

Western journalists tried for years to track him down during the guerrilla years, visiting Iranian border towns in the hope of finding him. They had no more success than the Iraqi secret police. Now that Saddam has fallen, the rebel leader has finally emerged from hiding and has given his first interview to the Guardian.

Al-Qaida links still dubious

Iraqis protest at Baghdad talks

Fury at agriculture post for US businessman

posted by me

:: 1:58:00 PM [+] ::
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:: War & Iraq ::

From Yahoo! News:
Pentagon Sending a Team of Exiles to Help Run Iraq

WASHINGTON, April 25 The Pentagon has begun sending a team of Iraqi exiles to Baghdad to be part of a temporary American-led government there, senior administration officials said today.

The exiles, most of whom are said by officials to have a background in administration, are supposed to take up positions at each of 23 Iraqi ministries, where they will work closely with American and British officials under Jay Garner, the retired lieutenant general who is serving as Iraq's day-to-day administrator.

The group of technocrats was assembled two months ago and has been working from an office in suburban Virginia.

posted by me

:: 2:45:00 PM [+] ::
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:: So Weird ::

From Chuck Shepherd's News of the Weird

At the height of the war in Iraq, Army chaplain Lt. Josh Llano, 32, a Southern Baptist, commandeered 500 gallons of water to fill his baptismal pool at Camp Bushmaster near Najaf and offered exhausted, grimy soldiers a chance for a refreshing dip, provided they agreed to formal baptisms following a 90-minute sermon. Llano told a Miami Herald reporter: "It's simple. They want water. I have it, as long as they agree to get baptized." (The Army's chief of chaplains said he would investigate.) [Miami Herald, 4-4-03]

Also, in the Last Month ...
Hong Kong Tourism Board ads (promising that the city would "Take Your Breath Away") debuted in several British magazines just as the SARS epidemic broke. And the Utah Supreme Court upheld the right of an atheist to pray aloud at a city council meeting (prayer of choice: to be delivered from "weak and stupid politicians"), since the council always opens with a public prayer (Murray, Utah). And four city council members in Mount Sterling, Iowa, proposed an ordinance to forbid its townspeople to tell lies. [The Guardian, 4-9-03] [St. Petersburg Times, 4-12-03] [Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph-AP, 3-30-03]

Send your Weird News to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa FL 33679 or WeirdNews@earthlink.net

posted by me

:: 2:36:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Anti-war ::

From The Oakland Tribune:
Probe urged of anti-war rally tactics

OAKLAND -- Labor unions organized a rally and march Saturday to protest police tactics during an anti-war demonstration earlier this month at the Port of Oakland, where officers used nonlethal ammunition and rubber-pellet-filled grenades to disperse protesters.

ALSO:
A Reuters UK report:
Eerie Silence in Hollywood as Anti-War Stars Vanish

posted by me

:: 2:34:00 PM [+] ::
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:: And now for a completely different perspective ::

From The Guardian UK:
Mr Blair's dark days
By Terry Jones

Tony never took his eye off the real issues of the day: the survival of the Labour government and his continued residence in No. 10.

It's reassuring to know we never need to worry about our Prime Minister placing our country in danger because he wishes to pursue a moral line. His only interests, and those of his government, are manifestly those of the right-wing extremists who now inhabit the White House, and that must be good for someone - if only we knew who.

posted by me

:: 2:28:00 PM [+] ::
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:: /. ::

EFF on Patriot II

"Techfocus.org has an interview with EFF's Legal Director Cindy Cohn, where she talks about the Domestic Security Enhancement Act, or 'Patriot Act II'. She talks about what the act is, how it might infringe on your freedoms, where it does right and how ordinary people can make a difference."

[Join the Slashdot discussion.]

posted by me

:: 10:59:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Strange Days ::

From The Herald Sun, Australia:
'Doors' slammed

THE parents of late rock star Jim Morrison are suing the remaining members of the Doors, claiming that by reforming the band with another singer, they have "maliciously misappropriated" the name.

George and Clara Morrison claim breach of contract, unfair competition and trademark infringement in the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages. They also want to stop any performances by the band, which has hired English rocker Ian Astbury as singer.

postted by me

:: 10:49:00 AM [+] ::
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:: For your consideration ::

From The Age, Australia:
The spooky provenance of the smoking gun that backfired

The fact remains that the Iraq war has been a boon for forgers and peddlers of misinformation.

Take the phoney war's great hoax: the dossier that Colin Powell finally presented to the UN in early March as "proof" that Iraq had imported illicit uranium ore from Niger. For months before that, the Bush Administration kept the file close to its chest, citing it constantly, but seldom letting anyone take a closer look.

Now, quietly, quite a few people are paying it a good deal more attention, including a handful of congressional investigators. Far from clearing up the mystery, however, the digging has only deepened it. What investigators have achieved isn't much, having teased just a few tantalising strands of truth from a dark web of deceit - but for laymen, the whodunit is as captivating as a le Carre novel.

"Who falsified this?" chief weapons inspector Hans Blix demanded last week, arguing that his team should be readmitted to occupied Iraq. "Is it not disturbing that the intelligence agencies that should have all the technical means at their disposal did not discover that this was falsified?"

posted by me

:: 10:47:00 AM [+] ::
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:: War & Iraq ::

From The Guardian UK:
American to oversee Iraqi oil industry

The US is preparing to install an American chairman on a planned management team of the Iraqi oil industry, providing further ammunition to critics who have questioned the Bush administration's agenda in the Middle East.

The administration is planning to structure the potentially vast Iraqi oil industry like a US corporation, with a chairman and chief executive and a 15-strong board of international advisers.

UN heads for new rift over Iraq role

The Bush administration is preparing a draft security council resolution that would reduce the United Nations to a marginal role advising the US on running Iraq until the creation of a new government, diplomats and administration officials said yesterday.

The document is likely to provoke another serious split in the security council when it is presented, as early as next week. It represents another defeat for Tony Blair and his attempt to push the US towards a more multilateral approach to solving postwar problems.

One of the key issues in the debate will be control over Iraq's oil revenues. Under the resolution international organisations - possibly including the International Monetary Fund and World Bank - would sit on an advisory board.

However, day-to-day operations would be managed by a former Shell Oil executive, Phillip Carroll, according to the Wall Street Journal yesterday.

posted by me

:: 10:43:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Anti-war ::

S.F. Chronicle Fires Anti-War Reporter

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A San Francisco Chronicle reporter who was arrested while participating in an anti-war demonstration last month said he has been fired for falsifying his timesheet.

Henry Norr, who covered technology and wrote a weekly column for the Chronicle, said he was fired on Monday.

Norr was suspended without pay after his arrest. The day before the March 20 demonstration, Norr said he sent an e-mail to his supervisor that said he planned to participate and expected to be arrested.

Norr said he took sick leave for the day of work missed, which the Chronicle determined was a falsification. Norr is contesting the termination through his union, the Northern California Media Workers/Newspaper Guild.

posted by me

:: 10:20:00 AM [+] ::
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:: War ::

From The Guardian UK:
Powell defends attack on Baghdad hotel

American secretary of state Colin Powell has written to Spain's foreign minister defending the decision by US troops to open fire on a hotel in Baghdad used as a base for foreign journalists.

Two journalists were killed, including a Spanish cameraman, and a further four injured when a US tank shelled the Palestine Hotel on April 8, provoking widespread criticism from press watchdogs and politicians.

"Our review of the April 8 incident indicates that the use of force was justified and the amount of force was proportionate to the threat against United States forces," Mr Powell wrote in a letter to Ana Palacio dated April 21.

ALSO:
Keep out of town hall, Kut tells US troops
Self-appointed Shia ruler issues decrees from barricaded building

US accuses Iran of stirring up protests
America's interim administrator admits that the strength of opposition by Shias was not expected

Goodbye to Baghdad
Reporter Suzanne Goldenberg files her last report.

On the elegant corniche that lines the west bank of Baghdad, a mansion that belonged to one of Saddam's bodyguards has been transformed into a search service for the disappeared. Volunteers from the Freed Prisoners Association - an offshoot of Islamist Shia forces - are going through files carted off from intelligence buildings, and putting up lists of the dead, laying them to rest at last, years after they disappeared into Iraq's prisons.

"After suffering for 35 years most of the people now want to punish the people who caused them pain," said Ahmed Hassan Mohammed al-Dujaili. Seven of his brothers were killed by the regime after they were arrested in 1982 for having Islamist tendencies. He was spared because he was then only 14.

"The new government will have to be smart to keep a balance between handing out punishments for the past, and building our future." He said he was happy and scared all the same. "Everything is vague now," he said. "Things must take shape."

posted by me

:: 10:16:00 AM [+] ::
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:: In other news ::

From Wired:
Verizon Must Reveal Song Swappers
WASHINGTON -- A federal judge rejected a constitutional challenge Thursday by Verizon Communications, which is trying to avoid turning over the names of two of its Internet subscribers suspected of illegally offering free music for downloading.

posted by me

:: 9:13:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Anti-war ::

From The San Jose Mercury News:
Rooney Draws Ire With Anti-War Statements

NEW YORK -Andy Rooney, who covered World War II and was one of television's few voices to strongly oppose the war in Iraq, says he's chastened by what happened but doesn't regret his "60 Minutes" commentaries.

"I'm in a position of feeling secure enough so that I can say what I think is right and if so many people think it's wrong that I get fired, well, I've got enough to eat," the 84-year-old Rooney said.

"I hate everything about this war except that we're winning it," he said. "You can't even be critical, either, without sounding unpatriotic."

He mocked the idea of the war being a coalition, and said "the only real good news will be when this terrible time in American history is over."

ALSO:
From The London Free Press, Canada:
Death threats shake up Dixie Chicks

From CBS News:
Dixie Chicks Fire Back (And Get Naked)

[In case you forgot, here's what they said: "we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." I was born in Texas and feel exactly the same way!]

posted by me

:: 2:43:00 PM [+] ::
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:: War & Iraq ::

From The Guardian UK:
Iraqi government process to begin next week
· Iraqi academics courted
· US angry at Annan remarks
· Possible clue to missing airman

posted by me

:: 2:27:00 PM [+] ::
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:: "Explained" ::

From The Guardian UK:
Sunnis and Shias
As thousands of Iraqi Shias make the pilgrimage to Kerbala for the first time in many years, here's a guide to the main branches of Islam.

posted by me

:: 11:42:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Anti-war ::

From The San Jose Mercury News:
Activists must find broad strokes to paint new message

posted by me

:: 11:41:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Children & war ::

From The Guardian UK:
US detains children at Guantanamo Bay

The US military has admitted that children aged 16 years and younger are among the detainees being interrogated at its prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnson, a US military spokesman, yesterday said all the teenagers being held were "captured as active combatants against US forces", and described them as "enemy combatants".

The children, some of whom have been held at Guantanamo for over a year, are imprisoned in separate cells from the adult detainees, Lt Col Johnson said. He would say only that the teenagers are "very few, a very small number" and would not say how old the youngest prisoner is.

The US military confirmed their presence yesterday after Australia's ABC television reported that children were being held at Guantanamo, the controversial detention centre where prisoners from the war in Afghanistan have been held by the US, in breach of the Geneva conventions, for over a year.

The news sparked outrage from human rights groups already campaigning against the indefinite detention of the roughly 660 males from 42 countries, held on suspicion of having links to al-Qaida or Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime. They have not been charged or allowed access to lawyers.

"That the US sees nothing wrong with holding children at Guantanamo and interrogating them is a shocking indicator of how cavalier the Bush administration has become about respecting human rights," said an Amnesty International spokesman, Alistair Hodgett.

Guardian UK Special Report:
The US

posted by me

:: 11:39:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Earth Day: Bushwhacked ::

From The Gainesville Times:
Activists: War lets Bush aim at environment

With the nation's attention still riveted on the war in Iraq, most Americans probably aren't aware that today is Earth Day.

Some area environmentalists say the Bush administration has taken advantage of the public's distraction, pushing through an anti-environmental agenda without anyone noticing.

ALSO:
Lieberman Slams Bush On Environment
3:23 PM EDT,April 22, 2003
An AP report

VERPLANCK, N.Y. -- President Bush's record on environmental issues is "the worst since the modern environmental movement began," Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut said Tuesday.

The president "wants to protect the power plants that make out air dirtier instead of protecting the people that are hurt by that pollution," said Lieberman, a Democratic presidential candidate, at an Earth Day news conference. "He wants to open up more and more of our public land to drilling and logging and mining. ... He tried to roll back the protections to keep our water safe from arsenic poisoning."

An editorial from Florida Today:
Earth Day brings little cause for cheer

The natural resources we need to survive are increasingly threatened by human greed, ignorance and, shamefully, the anti-environmental agenda coming down from Washington.

posted by me

:: 3:58:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Earth Day: Time Capsule ::

This is a story of mine from 2000:
Internet To Host Earth Day's 30th Birthday Celebration
By Matthew W. Beale
NewsFactor Network

The Earth Day Network is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Earth Day festival this year by presenting a live Webcast of this weekend's EarthFair 2000 festivities from the Capitol Mall in Washington, D.C.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who is chairing the event, will be the featured speaker. Web surfers will also be treated to appearances by Bill Nye the Science Guy, actor Chevy Chase and Senator John Kerry. The speakers will focus on clean energy, this year's theme.

Going to the Amazon

A non-profit organization with a stated mission to "promote a healthy environment and a peaceful, just, sustainable world," the Network is seeking to expand its reach and gain additional funding by incorporating e-commerce components in its information-centric Web site.

In addition to selling items produced from "reclaimed, recycled, and eco-spun or organically grown" materials at its Earth Day Eco-Store, the network is working with Amazon.com to offer charity auction items.

Online auction fans can support Earth Day by bidding on such offerings as a lunch with former presidential press secretary Dee Dee Myers, which was going for around $123 (US$) as of Friday morning. A signed copy of George Stephanopoulos' book "All Too Human" and an adventure in the Amazon rain forest of Ecuador are also up for grabs.

The "Ultimate Image of Earth" contest is another Internet event commemorating the Earth Day's 30th anniversary. Artwork submitted to the contest will be displayed not only at the Washington, D.C. celebration, but also online for the enjoyment of Earth Day supporters around the world.

The artwork will be available for viewing at the EarthImage2000 site, by means of software provided by Earth Day co-sponsor, the Altamira Group.

Save Your Mother, Inc.

Elsewhere on the Net, organizers have tapped into the online auction model to benefit the Save the Earth Foundation, a nonprofit group that promotes environmental research.

Users visiting the foundation online will find such collectibles as a signed Jerry Garcia lithograph, "Dog Beating Pan," with a starting bid of $1,000.

Other stars who have donated signed memorabilia are Robert Cray, Devo, Aretha Franklin, the Indigo Girls, Lou Reed and the Rolling Stones. One of the site's bargain items is a Gloria Estefan Hollywood Walk of Fame collector's pin, with a $15 entry bid. Sports memorabilia will also be available.

Earth Day, Every Day

Ken Margolis, online event producer for the auction, told the E-Commerce Times that the Internet is boosting organizations like the Save the Earth Foundation by allowing them to "reach out to the general public across the world in a relatively cost-effective way."

Promoting the idea that Earth Day is every day, Margolis' organization is working to create a "continual fundraising store" by making the auction available year round.

posted by me

:: 3:28:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Blogs in the news ::

From Wired:
Online, Some Bloggers Never Die

The messengers are gone, but their messages live on. The final posts from webloggers now deceased have become a popular topic of discussion on some weblogs. By Christopher Null.

posted by me

:: 3:07:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Earth Day: Green Computing ::

Recycling not easy for PC makers
By Ian Fried, CNET News.com
April 22, 2003, 4:00 AM PT

What goes around comes around.

That's a lesson the computer industry is learning the hard way as it tries to develop workable plans for recycling the millions of PCs, monitors and printers that have been assembled in recent years.

The upside is that by examining the recycling process, computer makers are starting to change the way they build their gear, making it easier to dispose of the volumes of obsolete systems--and a handful of potentially toxic ingredients they contain--in an environmentally friendly way. Although many PC makers have a long way to go with their recycling efforts, some of the lessons learned are already showing up in new designs.

CNET's "The Big Picture" RE computer recycling

posted by me

:: 2:21:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Anti-war ::

From The San Jose Mercury News:
Protesters hit Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale

posted by me

:: 2:02:00 PM [+] ::
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:: War & Iraq ::

From The Guardian UK:
Blix attacks US war intelligence

The chief UN weapons inspector, Hans Blix, has claimed that the US tried to discredit his team and used "shaky" intelligence to make the case for war in Iraq.

Speaking ahead of a briefing to the UN security council today, Mr Blix told the BBC that US officials tried to discredit UN weapons inspectors working in Iraq in a bid to win security council support for military action.

ALSO:
US troubleshooter fails to impress Iraqis

posted by me

:: 2:00:00 PM [+] ::
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:: /. ::

Revolution is not an AOL keyword

"Revolution is not an AOL Keyword* is an entertaining piece of prose, which has been floating around the blogspace for the past month. In reinterpreting Gil Scott-Heron's The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Eddan Katz has given us quick worldview, common to most Slashdoters, and of course reminds us of what is most important to all, to go out and enjoy life!"

Deep Thoughts with Slashdot:

"This life is a test. It is only a test. Had this been an actual life, you would have received further instructions as to what to do and where to go."

posted by me

:: 4:06:00 PM [+] ::
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:: In other news ::

From Wired:
U.S. Backs RIAA in ISP Fight

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is siding with the recording industry in its court fight to force Internet providers to disclose the identities of people who are illegally trading songs over the Web.

posted by me

:: 3:52:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Privacy report ::

From CNET News.com:
Inside Cisco's eavesdropping apparatus
By Declan McCullagh

Cisco Systems has created a more efficient and targeted way for police and intelligence agencies to eavesdrop on people whose Internet service provider uses their company's routers.

The company recently published a proposal that describes how it plans to embed "lawful interception" capability into its products. Among the highlights: Eavesdropping "must be undetectable," and multiple police agencies conducting simultaneous wiretaps must not learn of one another. If an Internet provider uses encryption to preserve its customers' privacy and has access to the encryption keys, it must turn over the intercepted communications to police in a descrambled form.

Cisco's decision to begin offering "lawful interception" capability as an option to its customers could turn out to be either good or bad news for privacy.

posted by me

:: 3:48:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Anti-war ::

From The Guardian UK:
Pope puts pressure on US

The Pope sent a coded rebuke to Washington yesterday when he urged Iraqis to take charge of rebuilding their country while working closely with the international community.

In the Vatican's diplomatic lexicon, the phrase "international community" normally refers to the UN. Before the conflict started, Pope John Paul II vigorously opposed the US-led assault and advocated resolution of the crisis in the UN general assembly.

"With the support of the international community," the 82-year-old pontiff declared in his 25th Easter message, "may the Iraqi people become the protagonists of their collective rebuilding of their country." The speech appeared aimed at putting pressure on Washington and London to involve the UN more closely in political reconstruction in Iraq and to speed up the handover to civilian rule.

ALSO:
From The Independent UK:
Hollywood revives McCarthyist climate by silencing and sacking war critics

From The Globe and Mail:
Researcher feels anti-war views cost him U.S. funding

posted by me

:: 3:11:00 PM [+] ::
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:: War with Iraq ::

From The Guardian UK:
Jay Garner tours Baghdad

Jay Garner, the retired US former general faced with the job of restoring basic services to Iraq, arrived in Baghdad today.

General Garner landed at Baghdad airport after a short flight from Kuwait to take up the position of Iraq's postwar civil administrator in a city still largely without power, clean water or a clear direction toward a new political future.

Meanwhile...

Around 2,000 Shia muslims staged an anti-US demonstration today, the Reuters news agency has reported. The protesters shouted "no, no to colonialism," in the demonstration outside the Palestine hotel, where some US troops are based.

ALSO:
US 'to keep bases in Iraq'

The US is planning a long-term military presence in Iraq, in a move which will dramatically extend American power in the region and spread dismay and fear among its opponents across the Arab world.

According to reports, the Pentagon intends to retain four military bases in Iraq after the invasion force withdraws. It is already using the bases to support continuing operations against pockets of resistance. They are at the international airport near Baghdad, at Talil; close to the city of Nassiriya in the south; at an isolated airstrip called H-1 in the western desert; and at the Bashur airfield in the Kurdish north.

A senior administration official told the New York Times: "There will be some kind of a long term defence relationship with Iraq, similar to Afghanistan. The scope of that has yet to be defined - whether it will be full-up operational bases, smaller forward operating bases or just plain access."

The plans would be eyed nervously by neighbouring Syria and by Iran, a member of President George Bush's "axis of evil", now facing American-backed governments along two sides of its border. "This is a nightmare unfolding for both Syria and Iran," Toby Dodge, an Iraq expert at the University of Warwick, said.

How American power girds the globe with a ring of steel

Ba'athists slip quietly back into control

U.S. Won't Confirm Story on Iraq Weapons

WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States has inspection teams inside Iraq searching for evidence of weapons of mass destruction, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Monday, adding that the government would ``obviously look with favor on'' Iraqis who provide information on hidden materials.

Rumsfeld declined to confirm a story that said a U.S. team had been told that Iraqis destroyed and buried chemical weapons and biological warfare equipment days before the March 20 beginning of the war.

posted by me

:: 2:55:00 PM [+] ::
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:: So Weird ::

From Chuck Shepherd's News of the Weird:

Two American Legion posts and two other veterans' groups in Pleasanton, Calif., sponsored a class on dowsing in March to study whether domestic terrorists could be identified by pointing sticks at suspicious people to see if the sticks move. One of the veterans' leaders (who vouched that "the government" and oil and mining companies regularly use dowsing) told the local Tri-Valley Herald, "You can't wait for the FBI and police to come up with solutions when you have the bad guys living among us." Following the 9-11 attacks, some Pleasanton veterans received training in so-called "remote (psychic) viewing" and are now reportedly bringing local families up to speed on their missing-in-action relatives from past wars. [Tri-Valley Herald, 3-25-03]

Send your Weird News to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa FL 33679 or WeirdNews@earthlink.net

posted by me

:: 9:18:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Anti-war ::

Bestseller success for anti-US war books
Ed Vulliamy, The Observer
Sunday April 20, 2003

Beneath the uniformity of a US media high on victory in Iraq, a wave of books of a heretical flavour is flooding the bestseller lists.

At number five in the New York Times bestsellers and climbing Amazon's chart is The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, a collection of essays by journalist Greg Palast, one of a triad known as the 'Angry White Men' - a play on the title at number six in the chart, Stupid White Men by film director Michael Moore, with 500,000 sales.

The third in the 'axis of anti' is Noam Chomsky, whose controversial 9/11 - in which he calls America 'a leading terrorist state' - has 205,000 copies in print.

The books are comfortably outselling titles which might seem at first to better reflect the zeitgeist, such as Hatred's Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism and similar.

Concluding his recent book tour, Moore said: 'I look out into the auditorium or gymnasium and I see Mr and Mrs Middle America, who voted for George W Bush and believed in the American dream as defined by the Bushes and Wall Street. Then they woke up to realise it was just that, a dream.'

On Iraq, a number of fast-selling books have joined British writer Con Coughlin's Saddam: King of Terror with less conventional attacks not on the fallen tyrant but on America's war. They include Targeting Iraq: Sanctions, Bombing and US Policy by Geoff Simons and Gore Vidal's Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Bush-Cheney Junta .

Palast's book - published by Pluto Press in Britain last year - is the latest to appear in America. Subtitled The Truth About Globalisation, Corporate Cons and High Finance Fraudsters, Moore endorsed it with an enthusiastic 'Read this book'.

The essays include Palast's investigation into vote-rigging during the Florida campaign that won Bush the election and into the place where Americans fear to tread: alleged close ties between the Bush and bin Laden families.

Once Palast's book was published in America, the media took a cue from Tony Blair's aide Alastair Campbell, who issued a political health warning on the author in Britain.

Plans by CNBC television to have him as a commentator on the Phil Donahue chat show were reversed after one performance, following an internal company memo recommending against guests who were 'sceptical of the Bush administration' when 'other networks are taking every opportunity to wave the flag'.

But his book is selling without the name recognition or marketing behind Moore and Chomsky.

'Michael Moore was the battering ram through the media Berlin Wall,' he said, 'and Chomsky and I are rushing through.

'There is a whole number of Americans who have been hypnotised, propagandised, and short-changed, who know something is wrong. Apparently the moment has come for the awful truth.'

posted by me

:: 8:50:00 PM [+] ::
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:: War in Iraq ::

From The Guardian UK:
No role for UN in weapons hunt

Weary Iraq counts human cost of war

Revolution city

Capsules of U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq

posted by me

:: 8:35:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: RE Iraq ::

From The Guardian UK:
Prove Iraqi guilt, MPs tell Blair

Tony Blair is facing the threat of a fresh rebellion from Labour backbenchers who are growing increasingly alarmed that the failure to uncover weapons of mass destruction in Iraq will confirm that the war was illegal.

ALSO:
Protesters pour from the mosques to reclaim the streets for Islam

Iraq's huge political differences erupted into the open in the capital yesterday as tens of thousands of religious protesters called on the US to leave the country even as Washington's closest protege, Ahmad Chalabi, told a press conference that "the moral imperative is on the US to provide leadership and the Iraqi people will accept it".

On the second Muslim day of prayer since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, thousands of worshippers poured out of the mosques and marched through Baghdad's predominantly Sunni al-Azameyah neighbourhood. They chanted both anti-American and anti-Saddam slogans.

posted by me

:: 10:47:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Planning for the Next Net War ::

A Wired report:

Department of Defense futurists call it network-centric warfare. Other military strategists simply refer to it as the digital war. The first Gulf War was analog, they say. This one was digital.

Digital it may have been -- using real-time video images to target missiles in flight, wireless PDAs to connect with stateside medical records from the battlefield, and virtual-reality simulations to provide just-in-time delivery of material to front-line troops. But the nascent version of network-centric warfare waged in Iraq was but a pixilated, low-res harbinger of computer combat to come.

posted by me

:: 10:50:00 AM [+] ::
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:: "Privacy in the electronic age has become a massive, intractable paradox: ::

A commentary from CNET News.com
By Michael Kanellos

ALSO:
From Wired: Frequent Fliers Fear Privacy Loss

posted by me

:: 10:42:00 AM [+] ::
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:: RE Iraq ::

From The Guardian UK:
Blair: I was ready to quit over Iraq
· Ba'ath party leader captured
· Arab ministers hold Iraq talks
· Blix: UN inspectors will not work under US

With US troops controlling most of Iraq, Washington has all but replaced the UN inspections with its own search for banned Iraqi weapons.

The US teams have visited between three and four dozen sites, a Pentagon official said. So far they have found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction ...

ALSO:
Here's The Guardian's Iraq Archive

posted by me

:: 9:50:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: Oh, yeah... ::

Farewell to Michael Jordan

posted by me

:: 9:20:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: And this just in ::

From NEWS.com.au:
Pope not dead

CNN is having plenty of problems these days and there will have been plenty of red faces yesterday when the company's website published obituaries of several well-known people who are live and kicking.

posted by me

:: 9:05:00 PM [+] ::
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:: /. ::

Hackers in the Henhouse

"A good story on SecurityFocus from the RSA
Conference. Kevin Mitnick debated
his former prosecutor, DOJ attorney Christopher
Painter, on the whether ex-hackers could be trusted as
computer security professionals. Mitnick says hackers
bring special skills to the job, while Painter says a
criminal is a criminal."

[Join the Slashdot discussion.]

A Mitnick archive piece from Wired, November 2K2:
Mitnick's 'Lost Chapter' Found

ALSO from today's Slashdot:
Paul Allen Plans Sci-Fi Shrine in Seattle

posted by me

:: 10:20:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Wired report ::

Car Makers Go Green With Hybrids
A report on "new fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles that also reduce the amount of harmful pollutants." Worth considering.

posted by me

:: 10:11:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: Anything into Oil ::

From Discover Magazine:
Technological savvy could turn 600 million
tons of turkey guts and other waste into 4
billion barrels of light Texas crude each year
By Brad Lemley

In an industrial park in Philadelphia sits a new
machine that can change almost anything into
oil.

Really.

"This is a solution to three of the biggest
problems facing mankind," says Brian Appel,
chairman and CEO of Changing World
Technologies, the company that built this pilot
plant and has just completed its first
industrial-size installation in Missouri. "This
process can deal with the world's waste. It can
supplement our dwindling supplies of oil. And it
can slow down global warming."

posted by me

:: 9:51:00 AM [+] ::
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:: War Diary ::

From The Guardian UK:
Roll credits
By Jason Burke

The men were moving through a grey urban landscape
under a flat, leaden sky. I had suddenly walked into the opening
sequence of the second section of Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal
Jacket. In the film, marines fan out and move into broken,
bombed-out urban rubble under a sky the colour of smoke.

Overhead, both in the film and in real life, Huey helicopters (the
1960s version and the 1990s version respectively) wheeled
overhead. This, I thought, is completely ludicrous. Stop thinking
about films and concentrate on what you are doing. Any
moment some sniper might open fire.

That's what happened in the film. But now it might happen for
real. Or not. It was a girl who shot all the soldiers in the film. The
Ba'ath party don't have barely pubescent female snipers. Or
maybe they do? I was rapidly becoming more concerned by my
own pathetically unprofessional responses, and clear Vietnam
film fixation, than on reporting the fall of Tikrit and the final death
throes of Saddam's regime.
We stopped and took up positions behind a long, low wall (like
they do in the film). The radio crackled. The marines surveyed
the rubble ahead of them. Vroman (19 years old, from New
York), and Norr (21, from Michigan), were told to "get on point".
And Specialist Hemming turned to me. "You seen that film Full
Metal Jacket?" he asked.

ALSO from The Guardian:

Iran attacks US and braces for nuclear dispute

The Iranian president Mohammad Khatami yesterday lashed out
at America for its aggressive stance, stating that Tehran would
not recognise a US-installed administration in Iraq and warning
Iran would support Syria were it attacked.

World waits to see which way US will jump

The Blair government believes that in the next few weeks it will
be clear how the Bush administration has been influenced by its
military victory in Iraq, and what kind of superpower it wants the
United States to be in the post-war world.

The administration went into Iraq at war with itself over its role in
the world, and there are abundant signs that conflict has not
been settled with the fall of Saddam Hussein.
posted by me

:: 9:38:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: End of war: Day 1? ::

The Guardian UK, which has published a timeline I've linked to every single day since the US-led war with Iraq opened ("War: Day 23," & so forth), has stopped running them. So, will we begin with end of war timelines? This of course would be inappropriate, and I can only hope that President Chawbacon isn't going to do anything more disastrously stupid in the region.

In any case, here are a few noteworthy items from The Guardian:

EU leaders to make Iraq statement

Amid widespread anti-war protests on the streets of Athens, EU leaders meeting to sign a landmark enlargement agreement today were reported to be drawing up a surprise joint statement on Iraq.

A declaration had not been expected because of the division between the union's four UN security council members - pro-war Britain and Spain opposing France and Germany over the conflict - but EU diplomats said bitter splits on Iraq's future had been overcome.

A two-part statement calling for an "important" or "essential" role for the United Nations in rebuilding post-war Iraq, and EU help to stabilise the country, is now to be distributed among all 15 member states for approval.

13 Points Issued at Postwar Iraq Meeting

Pro-Saddam gangs challenge marines' control of Tikrit

Gangs of Arab tribesmen armed with Kalashnikovs and machine guns were still in control of much of Tikrit last night, a day after US marines apparently liberated the town.

Hours after the Pentagon announced the war in Iraq was virtually over, Arab youths established their own checkpoint on the edge of Saddam Hussein's former stronghold.

US neglect casts dark shadow over a city without light or much love for the invaders

A week after the US occupation of Baghdad began, if you count from the contrived symbolism of the destruction of one of the many statues of Saddam Hussein in the city - the one which happens to be closest to the Palestine Hotel - there is a bitterness and tension between citizens and occupiers.

Riots greet would-be leader of Mosul

US special forces struggled to impose order in Mosul yesterday after a public address by the self-styled governor of Iraq's third largest city descended into a riot involving several thousand people, in which 12 were reported killed and at least 16 injured.

Steve Bell's two cents.

posted by me

:: 10:16:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: "A less worrisome yellow" ::

From Wired:
Privacy Threat in Primary Colors

Privacy advocates are touting a Privacy Threat Index to counter the federal government's own terrorism threat alert. The color-coded gauge measures the risk citizens face from intrusion to privacy from domestic surveillance. By Joanna Glasner.

The project was established by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). You can find their announcement here.

:: 9:26:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: War: Day 27 ::

Talks begin on postwar Iraq

ALSO:
Bush vetoes Syria war plan

posted by me

:: 9:15:00 AM [+] ::
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:: RE war blogs ::

From New Zealand News:
War is no cakewalk for internet bloggers

More and more readers are discovering Warblogging.com, Warblogs.cc and the scores of similar sites as they look for a fresh and unfiltered perspective on current events as well as a forum for debate.

posted by me

:: 9:40:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: "The Buddy Hackett of international diplomacy" ::

From Wired:
Wacky Iraqi Minister a Web Star

Iraq's irrepressible Information Minister is fast becoming a major cyber-celebrity on the Web, thanks to what fans see as his great sense of gallows humor.

In the last few days, the official mouthpiece of the Iraqi regime, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, has become the subject of fan sites, spoof weblogs, petitions to get him a TV show and merchandise like coffee mugs and T-Shirts.

Al-Sahaf's patently absurd claims about the course of the war, his florid insults against U.S.-led forces and the fact that he appeared to be about to bust out in laughter -- all have been recognized by many as signs that the minister was enjoying an outrageous private joke.

"I was just crying laughing," said Jim Jonas about al-Sahaf's daily press briefings from Baghdad. "It was incredible how he could keep a straight face through this stuff. He could come up with some incredible invective."

ALSO from Wired:
The Race Back to the Moon

posted by me

:: 9:30:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: Guilty until proven innocent ::

Intel engineer Mike Hawash is in solitary confinement in a federal prison in Sheridan, Ore.

From CNET News.com:
Declan McCullagh's latest column

On Mar. 20, the FBI arrested Hawash at gunpoint in Intel's parking lot near Portland for reasons that remain confidential. A 38-year-old American citizen with a wife and three children, he has not been charged with a crime.

The Hawash case is not an isolated situation. I wrote recently about how Attorney General Ashcroft wants more power to snoop on the Internet, observing private conversations by installing secret microphones, spyware and keystroke loggers. Combine that with the broad powers that the Justice Department received under the 2001 Patriot Act, and you've got a situation that concentrates a tremendous amount of surveillance power in a small group of federal police and prosecutors.

Hawash is being held as a "material witness" under a 1984 law that the Justice Department believes should let the government detain American citizens at will for an arbitrary length of time. A well-researched Washington Post article from last fall said the Justice Department has imprisoned at least 44 people, including seven U.S. citizens, under the same law, with some held for many months and possibly for more than a year.

posted by me

:: 8:33:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: War ::

Day 26.

ALSO:
The final fortress crumbles

posted by me

:: 8:18:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: And now for something... not so completely different ::

Terry Jones on the Iraqi gravy train.

posted by me

:: 3:04:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Antiwar ::

Day 25.

posted by me

:: 3:01:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: War ::

Day 25.

ALSO:
Painful rebirth of Iraq after Saddam

In pictures: Children of Iraq

Syria could be next, warns Washington

posted by me

:: 2:46:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: NY Times Quote of the Day ::

"It's untidy. And freedom's untidy. And free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things."
- Donald Rumsfeld

posted by me

:: 3:01:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Anti-war ::

Day 24.

posted by me

:: 10:04:00 AM [+] ::
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:: War ::

Day 24.

posted by me

:: 9:53:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: War ::

Day 23.

ALSO:
Looting erupts as Mosul falls

In pictures: Looting and disorder

Pentagon: No Major Iraqi Forces Remain

UN: coalition breaching Geneva convention

Anti-war leaders discuss Iraq

posted by me

:: 12:24:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: Wired reports ::

Iraqi Currency Hot on EBay

The Iraqi dinar -- a currency so hyper-inflated as to be virtually worthless in the real world -- is gaining fresh value among collectors.

IQ Test for Rebuilding Iraqi Net

Even before Saddam Hussein's regime started losing its grip, a London ISP began rallying momentum for a plan to bring pervasive and unfettered Internet access to post-war Iraq.

ALSO:
Reporters Flout Cuban Censorship

Despite a recent government crackdown on journalists who work outside the state-run media in Cuba -- and many other obstacles -- dissident writers continue to publish their work online.

posted by me

:: 11:50:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: War ::

Day twenty-two.

posted by me

:: 11:42:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: Across the Arab World ::

From The Washington Post:
TV Images Stir Anger, Shock and Warnings of Backlash
By Emily Wax and Alia Ibrahim

"Please, America must hear our voices. The American media and people are in a state of euphoria right now, but they are not seeing it the way we are seeing it at all," said Diaa Rashwan, a political scientist at Cairo's Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

"The Arab street is very frustrated, and to America, I repeat, I repeat, I repeat, the real war hasn't started yet. We have to be careful with such euphoria. It will only increase the feelings of anger in the Arab world. No Arabs want to welcome an occupying power."

ALSO:
From The Boston Globe:
Arab media subdued, incredulous by Iraqi elation at fall of Baghdad

From The Daily Telegraph, UK:
Iraqi cheers leave Arabian leaders fearful of domino effect

posted by me

:: 9:56:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: Wired reports ::

Urban Combat Takes Street Smarts

The technologies behind U.S. troops' victories in the open expanses of the Mesopotamian deserts aren't what's triggering the fall of Saddam's rule in the alleys and shadows of Baghdad.

GPS-guided bombs, advanced radios and spy drones all become less reliable as sand gives way to concrete and steel. Instead, the American military has leaned on the cunning of its junior officers and the overwhelming firepower of its heavy armor in its battle for the Iraqi capital.

Iraqi Dead Counted, Not Forgotten

A website keeping a running tally of civilian deaths in the Iraq war is attracting a lot of traffic, and appears to be emerging as an authoritative source of information on the gruesome subject.

The Iraq Body Count website claims to attract 100,000 visitors a day, and is increasingly being cited as a source in news outlets such as The Boston Globe, the San Jose Mercury News and the Associated Press.

Q&A: Meet Howard Schmidt, US Minister of Net Defense

WIRED: Your predecessor, Richard Clarke, used to talk about the likelihood of a digital Pearl Harbor. Others have dismissed cyberattacks as weapons of mass annoyance. That's a pretty wide spectrum.

SCHMIDT: I use the term weapons of mass disruption. Is it possible that we could have a catastrophic failure on a regional basis? Absolutely. Could we see that on a universal basis? That likelihood has been reduced significantly.

WIRED: What worries you, then?

SCHMIDT: An unknown vulnerability in a system that someone chooses to exploit in conjunction with some sort of a physical attack.

posted by me

:: 9:32:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: BBC Iraq Reporters' Log ::

Reporters' Log: War in Iraq

posted by me

:: 9:21:00 PM [+] ::
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:: MSNBC survey ::

A few questions RE the media's coverage of the war

posted by me

:: 9:07:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: Have your say ::

From BBC News:
Fall of Baghdad: Is the war over?

This is not the beginning of the end, it is the end of the beginning. Military defeat of the Iraqi regime was always going to be easy, but the real difficulties are yet to come. Imagine the consequences of a prolonged occupation of Iraq by the so-called coalition. Imagine also the disgust across the Arab world today as people watched the Stars and Stripes being attached to the statue in Baghdad. -Chris Calvert, Warwick, UK

posted by me

:: 9:07:00 PM [+] ::
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:: War ::

Day 21.

1845: The US secretary of defence, Donald Rumsfeld, accuses Damascus of "unhelpfully" assisting Iraq, and claims that senior Ba'ath party figures are fleeing to Syria. He adds that Saddam Hussein's whereabouts remain a mystery.

1830: Mr Rumsfeld says the world is "watching history unfold", adding that Saddam Hussein is taking his place alongside Hitler, Stalin, Lenin and Ceaucescu in the pantheon of failed brutal dictators.

MORE from The Guardian UK:
Is this the end?

There's looting and celebration in Baghdad, but the battle may not yet be over, writes Brian Whitaker

In Pictures: Looting in Baghdad

From BBC News:
Baghdad falls to US forces

posted by me

:: 7:25:00 PM [+] ::
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:: War ::

Day 20.

In pictures: images from Iraq

ALSO:
'Saddam caught in blast'

posted by me

:: 9:44:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: /. ::

IN OTHER NEWS...

Spammers, Privacy, Anti-Spam, and Lawsuits

"The Washington Post is running a story about a spammer suing to keep his address and personal info private. George Allen Moore Jr. of Linthicum, MD has sued Francis Uy for posting his contact information on the web. He has gotten threatening phone calls and messages, as well as an over-abundance of unsolicited catalgs and packages as a result of Uy's actions. The spammer is getting a taste of his own medicine, but the guy's business address turns out to be the same as his home address, so there may be real safety concerns. Should spammers get some privacy protection too?"

[Join the Slashdot discussion.]

Don't anyone harrass this guy:
Maryland Internet Marketing LLC, George Alan Moore Jr, 300 Twin Oaks Rd, Linthicum MD, 21090-2154, 877-655-3438, 410-963-8226.
-Bilestoad (60385)

posted by me

:: 9:08:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Agonist = Plagiarist ::

From Wired:
Noted War Blogger Cops to Copying

Kelley's insightful window on the details of the war brought him increasing readership (118,000 page views on a recent day) and acclaim, including interviews in the The New York Times and on NBC's Nightly News, Newsweek online and National Public Radio.

The only problem: Much of his material was plagiarized -- lifted word-for-word from a paid news service put out by Austin, Texas, commercial intelligence company Stratfor.

ALSO in today's Wired:
Al Qaeda Website Refuses to Die

posted by me

:: 8:54:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: Dubya in N. Ireland ::

Anti-war protesters flock to Bush-Blair summit in Belfast

ALSO:
UPI Think tanks wrap-up II

"Given that we're trying to end 30 years of conflict in Northern Ireland, it's really ironic that there's a war summit in Belfast. Many of those politicians here who say they are anti-war will meet with Bush, and many in the community are appalled by this. Meeting with Bush puts Sinn Fein in a dilemma. Bush is trying to manipulate the Irish-American community by portraying himself to them as a man of peace. Words like imperialism, which once seemed out of fashion, now describe too many U.S. policies in the Mideast."
-- Eamonn McCann, author of the books "War and Peace in Northern Ireland" and "Bloody Sunday in Derry."

"Now, every day is Bloody Sunday in Iraq."

MEANWHILE, @ home:
Police open fire at anti-war protest, longshoremen injured

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Police opened fire Monday morning with wooden dowels, ``sting balls'' and other non-lethal weapons at anti-war protesters outside the Port of Oakland, injuring at least six demonstrators and six longshoremen standing nearby.

posted by me

:: 8:36:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: War ::

Day N-n-n-n-nineteen.

ALSO:
US troops enter heart of Baghdad

In pictures: Tanks into Baghdad

In quotes: War in Iraq

'Mood of fear in Baghdad'

There is almost a surreal, spectral quality about Baghdad this morning.

posted by me

:: 7:40:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: TV Nation ::

IN OTHER NEWS...

The Travel Channel is offering something on TV that's worth a watch:
The World Poker Tour.

posted by me

:: 11:34:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: Chilling quote of the week ::

"I'm sorry, but the chick was in the way."
-A Marine after shooting at an Iraqi soldier, hitting a female civilian instead.

RELATED: Open Access For Media Troubles Pentagon

posted by me

:: 10:53:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: War ::

Day 18.

ALSO:
Baghdad on brink

Fierce battle on edge of Baghdad

U.S.: Over 2,000 Iraqis Killed in Baghdad

posted by me

:: 10:31:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: War ::

Day 17.

ALSO:
US forces 'in Baghdad'

posted by me

:: 10:18:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: Bushleaguer ::

Pearl Jam Reads Reporter Riot Act

On the defensive for some antiwar remarks at the opening show of their first North American tour in nearly three years, the grunge rockers are rejecting as media hype a report that there was a mass walkout by upset fans after lead singer Eddie Vedder impaled a mask of President Bush on a microphone stand during the encore.

"Dissension is nothing we shy away from--it should just be reported about more accurately," the band says. "Ed's talk from the stage centered on the importance of freedom of speech and the importance of supporting our soldiers as well as an expression of sadness over the public being made to feel as though the two sentiments can't occur simultaneously."

posted by me

:: 6:52:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: Michael Kelly ::

From a Reuters reprt:
U.S. Columnist Killed in Iraq
Friday, April 4, 2003; 3:23 PM

posted by me

:: 2:57:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: RE MLK ::

From an AP report:
Anti-War Activists Join King Jr. March

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Marchers remembering the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King 35 years ago were joined Friday by anti-war demonstrators.

Several hundred people marched more than a mile to Mason Temple, a church where King gave his "I have been to the mountaintop" speech the night before he was killed.

King was in Memphis to lead a garbage workers' strike when he was shot April 4, 1968, on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. Escaped convict James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to the murder. He died in prison in 1998.

A champion of nonviolent social change and world peace, King had opposed the Vietnam War.

posted by me

:: 1:54:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: Baghdad city limits ::

From The NY Times:
Iraqi Official Warns of 'Unconventional Attack'
By DEXTER FILKINS

OUTSIDE BAGHDAD, April 4 — American marines advanced to the Baghdad city limits today, meeting scant resistance, and stopped at the brink of entry, awaiting orders.

Iraq's information minister, Muhammad Said al-Sahhaf , today said that Iraq would use "unconventional" tactics to fight the coalition's advance on Baghdad.

Asked whether he meant the use of chemical or biological weapons, he replied: "No. that's not what I said. What I meant are commando and martyrdom operations in a very new, creative way."

posted by me

:: 1:48:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: Internet and the fog of war ::

From CNET News.com:
Stumbling our way through the fog of war, one conclusion is beyond dispute: The Internet has emerged as the best antidote to the numbing stupidity that passes for daily television coverage two weeks into America's battle with Iraq.

posted by me

:: 9:04:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: War ::

Day 16.

1410: Prime minister Tony Blair tells the Arabic service of BBC World Service that the US has no plans to attack Syria and Iran, who have been warned by Washington over their alleged involvement in Iraq.

:: 8:55:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: War ::

In pictures: Off the battlefield

posted by me

:: 6:24:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: RE Iraq ::

Viewpoint: 'The West does not understand Iraqis'
Haifa Zangana, an Iraqi novelist living in London, tells BBC News Online that politicians, pundits and journalists in Britain are dehumanising Iraqis and have a simplistic view of the conflict. She also predicts long, drawn-out resistance to the US and British presence in her country, even after Saddam Hussein falls.

ALSO: Media comment
How the Arab and Iraqi media view the conflict

The US is practising the greatest hypocrisy by asking the world to respect democracy and human rights while forgetting them itself. Al-Jumhuriyah - Egypt

posted by me

:: 6:23:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: Ch-ch-ch-ch-change... of regime ::

From The Boston Globe:
Kerry says US needs its own 'regime change'

John Kerry is a Vietnam vet. FYI, here's how Dubya avoided the Vietnam War.

ALSO:
Bush Braces US for Further Sacrifices

posted by me

:: 5:45:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: "It is not the Orwellian monster described by many critics" ::

From News.com:
TIA proponents defend domestic spy plan

posted by me

:: 10:12:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: War ::

Day 15.

posted by me

:: 9:02:00 AM [+] ::
...

:: Kaveh Golestan ::

BBC cameraman killed in Iraq

posted by me

:: 3:24:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: TECH SHIT: News from the OS wars ::

Ellison: Linux will wipe Microsoft out of data center
By Stacy Cowley

NEW YORK -- At a gathering here Tuesday of current and potential Oracle ISV (independent software vendor) partners, Oracle Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison extolled the virtues of Linux and predicted that the open-source operating system will soon decimate Microsoft in the battle for the data center market.

"(Microsoft has) already been killed by one open-source product. Slaughtered, wiped out, taken from market dominance to irrelevance," Ellison said, speaking of the Apache Web server's displacement of Microsoft's IIS (Internet Information Services) technology. "They had a virtual monopoly on Web servers, and then they were wiped off the face of the earth. And it's going to happen to them again on Linux."

posted by me

:: 3:23:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: In pictures ::

War.

Anti-war.

posted by me

:: 3:16:00 PM [+] ::
...

:: Doing the government's dirty e-work ::

From /.:
Don't Worry, We're Not from the Government

"It seems that MSNBC.com is reporting that the government (U.S.) is looking to the private sector to data mine against it's [citizens|terrorists] since they are prevented by law from doing so themselves. Two quotes: 'People in the government, very much so in the Justice Department, have been playing out a lust for information that is not consistent with who we have been as a nation' & 'A range of laws limits how government can collect and use information on its citizens. The private sector, by contrast, operates under fewer restrictions.' Seems to show a nation fighting itself."

[Join the Slashdot discussion.]

"Haw haw. It's April 2nd now. No more jokes. This is a joke, right?" - Daleks (226923)

posted by me

:: 3:01:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Anti-war ::

For protesters in military base town, cause is both lonely and rewarding

posted by me

:: 2:33:00 PM [+] ::
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:: War ::

Day 14.

ALSO:
US smashes Baghdad defence positions

11 Bodies Found With Rescued POW

posted by me

:: 2:24:00 PM [+] ::
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:: History's Hoaxes ::

April Fools' Special
By John Roach
for National Geographic News
April 1, 2003

Happy April Fools' Day. In celebration of the day, National Geographic News has compiled a listing of some of the greatest hoaxes in history. They are the lies, darned lies, and whoppers that have been perpetrated on the gullible and unsuspecting, probably since humans evolved the art of speech.

ALSO:
From /.:
Top 100 Hoaxes of All Time

#24: Drunk Driving on the Internet
An article by John Dvorak in the April 1994 issue of PC Computing magazine described a bill going through Congress that would make it illegal to use the internet while drunk, or to discuss sexual matters over a public network. The bill was supposedly numbered 040194 (i.e. 04/01/94), and the contact person was listed as Lirpa Sloof (April Fools backwards). The article said that the FBI was going to use the bill to tap the phone line of anyone who "uses or abuses alcohol" while accessing the internet. Passage of the bill was felt to be certain because "Who wants to come out and support drunkenness and computer sex?" The article offered this explanation for the origin of the bill: "The moniker 'Information Highway' itself seems to be responsible for SB 040194... I know how silly this sounds, but Congress apparently thinks being drunk on a highway is bad no matter what kind of highway it is." The article generated so many outraged phone calls to Congress that Senator Edward Kennedy's office had to release an official denial of the rumor that he was a sponsor of the bill.

posted by me

:: 10:07:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Patriot II update ::

From MSNBC:
Encryption could lead to jail time

DRAFT LEGISLATION circulating in the Justice Department would extend prison sentences for scrambling data in the commission of a crime, something encryption advocates fear would achieve little in catching terrorists — and only hurt legitimate uses of cryptography.

“Why should the fact that you use encryption have anything to do with how guilty you are and what the punishment should be?” asks Stanton McCandlish of the CryptoRights Foundation, which teaches human rights workers to use encryption. “Should we have enhanced penalties because someone wore an overcoat?”

Such law enforcement tools sought after the Sept. 11 attacks are expected to be among top discussion items at the annual Computers, Freedom and Privacy conference, that begins Wednesday in New York.

From Geek.com:
Justice Department contemplates encryption law

From InfoWorld:
CFP puts spotlight on privacy post-9/11
Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy kicks off on Wednesday

[More information on the conference can be found here.]

posted by me

:: 4:41:00 PM [+] ::
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:: Media Notes ::

Journalists at War
By Howard Kurtz
The Washington Post

posted by me

:: 11:35:00 AM [+] ::
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:: Arnett update ::

From BBC News:
Anti-war paper hires Arnett

pposted by me

:: 10:55:00 AM [+] ::
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:: War ::

Day 13.

ALSO:
From Time: Double Vision
What You See vs. What They See

In this war, the mighty but merciful allies target bombs carefully and tend to the enemy's wounded. In that war, the allies blow up women and babies. In this war, Iraq is postponing certain defeat by cheating, killing civilians and using human shields. In that war, a weak nation is steadfastly defending itself using the only effective means available. This war, on American television, is alternately "the war in Iraq" or "Operation Iraqi Freedom." That war, broadcast by the media of the Arab and Muslim worlds, is "the invasion."

US backs checkpoint killings soldiers

posted by me

:: 10:37:00 AM [+] ::
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