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« Liberal Outrage: April 2006 | Main | Liberal Outrage: June 2006 » Liberal OutrageGet yourself in even more trouble with the government If you've used a telephone in the past five years, join the ACLU in filing a complaint. By fnord12 | May 26, 2006, 1:06 PM | Liberal Outrage | Comments (1)| Link Wired magazine has published all the info on AT&T and how it's been helping the NSA spy on us via our phone records and across "the entire internet". (I'm not linking directly to Wired because they seem to be getting overwhelmed by traffic right now. The link to Wired is in the article. They are very brave because Attorney General Gonzalez has threatened to put journalists in jail over this. Meanwhile Business Week is reporting that the government has been bypassing privacy laws by buying data wholesale from private companies. This is not about protecting us from terrorists. This is about creating a massive database which can be used and abused for all sorts of reasons, like keeping political enemies in check and staying in power. By fnord12 | May 24, 2006, 1:50 PM | Liberal Outrage | Comments (1)| Link Speaking of Chavez, here's something interesting. Regular readers know that i harp on and worry about the fact that some scientists believe that we are approaching or have reached the point in time where we will be at peak oil extraction, meaning that from here on in oil will be harder to access and become gradually more expensive to the point where our modern way of life is no longer viable. I highly recommend (again) renting or borrowing The End of Suburbia or reading The Long Emergency. Seriously. Anyway, this article talks about how when the scientist who made the intial estimate regarding peak oil made his calculations, he was only considering the "light sweet" crude oil, but now that oil is $70+ a barrel it's more economically viable to produce some of the types of oil that are harder to extract, like the stuff stuck in tar. (Based on what i've read from the Peak-Oil people, this type of oil isn't irrelevant due to the economics, it's due to the amount of energy required to extract it. In other words, you spend more energy digging up and refining this typing of oil than you get out of burning it. But let's pretend for a minute that they are wrong.) Well, it turns out that the majority of the world's "difficult" oil is in Venezuela. By fnord12 | May 24, 2006, 1:38 PM | Liberal Outrage | Link In an article on the demonization of Chavez, i read this: Perkins explains that his real task - rarely discussed but always understood in high government and business circles - was to deliberately exaggerate growth forecasts in countries like Peru, Ecuador, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. The goal was for these countries to +fail+ to achieve their inflated targets and so be unable to repay their loans. The point being, as Perkins writes, that Third World leaders would then "become ensnared in a web of debt that ensures their loyalty". As a result, American interests "can draw on them whenever we desire - to satisfy our political, economic, or military needs. In turn, they bolster their political positions by bringing industrial parks, power plants, and airports to their people. The owners of US engineering and construction companies become fabulously wealthy". (Ibid, p.xi) The "needs" include military bases, votes at the UN, cheap access to oil and other human and natural resources. Perkins describes this as a non-military means for achieving "the most subtle and effective form of imperialism the world has ever known". (Ibid, p.139) Bankrupt debtor countries have thus been forced to spend much of their national wealth simply on repaying these debts even as their people sicken and die from malnutrition and poverty. For example, international banks dominated by Washington loaned Ecuador billions of dollars from the 1970s onwards so that it could hire engineering and construction firms to improve life for the rich. In the space of thirty years, poverty grew from 50 to 60 per cent, under- or unemployment increased from 15 to 70 per cent, public debt increased from $240 million to $16 billion, and the share of national resources allocated to the poor fell from 20 per cent to 6 per cent. By fnord12 | May 24, 2006, 1:37 PM | Liberal Outrage | Link Found on The Carpetbagger: I've heard Robertson make the claim many times on The 700 Club, but not knowing much about exercise, I never thought much of it. Sure, 2,000 pounds sounds like a lot, but what do I know. An alert reader, however, emailed me a new column from Clay Travis, a writer for CNS Sportsline, who apparently is on a personal quest to be able to leg press 400 pounds. Someone alerted him to Robertson's miraculous claims. Apparently, Travis is a little skeptical. Those sound like reasonable questions. In fact, Travis has contacted Christian Broadcast Network directly with a request. Will Robertson respond? Stay tuned. By fnord12 | May 24, 2006, 1:34 PM | Liberal Outrage | Link Via Carlos, here is an article about how New York will soon be collecting DNA on file for all criminals, even misdemeanors. I understand how it can be a good thing. For example, a lot of death row cases have been reversed based on new DNA evidence. But on the other hand i think it's kind of creepy for the government to be housing a database of people's DNA, and i also worry about mistakes and mix-ups. By fnord12 | May 24, 2006, 12:24 PM | Liberal Outrage | Link This article (also liberated from the subscription only NY Times Select section) compares the way the producers of the Da Vinci Code have co-opted Christians into watching and promoting a movie that questions their religion with the way the Republicans have managed to co-opt Christians into a party that has nothing to do with actual Christian values. It's interesting and you should give it a read, although i'm not sure how good a comparison it is. Anyway, what's important is when the author gets to the part where the Democrats try to get in on the game: This idiocy began the morning after Election Day 2004, when a vaguely worded exit-poll question persuaded credulous party leaders that "moral values" determined their defeat (as opposed to, say, their standard-bearer's campaign). Their immediate response was to seek out faith-based consultants not unlike those recruited by Sony, and practice dropping the word "values" and biblical quotations into their public pronouncements. In the House, they organized, heaven help us, a Democratic Faith Working Group. As the next election approaches, they're renewing this effort, to farcical effect. The Democrats' chairman, Howard Dean, who proved his faith-based bona fides in the 2004 primary season by citing Job as his favorite book in the New Testament, went on the Pat Robertson TV network this month and yanked his party's position on same-sex marriage to the right. (He apologized for his "misstatement" once off the air.) Not to be left behind, Senator Clinton gave a speech last week knocking young people for thinking "work is a four-letter word" and for having TV's in their rooms, home Internet access and, worst of all, that ultimate instrument of the devil, iPods. "I hope that we start thinking some very old-fashioned thoughts," she said. (She also subsequently apologized, once her daughter complained, joining the general chorus of ridicule.) I supported Dean in the primaries and for his chairman position, so i'm doubly disgusted by him, but in general the Democrats just continue to show what idiots they are. They are not an opposition party. They're a lesser-degree-of-evil-stupidity party. They are useless. By fnord12 | May 24, 2006, 12:16 PM | Liberal Outrage | Link On Sunday, an op ed was published in the NY Times (liberated from behind the Times Select wall here) by Ted Koppel where he is advocating the exansion of the role of private armed forces companies like Blackwater: He thinks it's a good thing, because with "public disenchantment" with the Iraqi war, it would be easier to continue the war with private armies so we wouldn't have to worry about public opinion (policy being determined based on public opinion being the definition of Democracy, and we can't have that). Can anyone imagine a world where global mega-corporations have their own private armies? Don't these people read/watch science fiction? What is wrong with them? By fnord12 | May 24, 2006, 12:03 PM | Liberal Outrage | Comments (1)| Link People who make less than $40,000 don't pay taxes. I bet you didn't know that, but Dennis Hastert, speaker of the house, said so, and he should know. (I mean, he should know, right?) That's why people who make $40,000 don't deserve a tax cut (but millionaires do). Now look, when you caveat out payroll taxes and try to figure in deductions for 2 children (what family can support 2 children on $40,000?), you may start to be able to figure out what he's talking about, but seriously... who does he think he's fooling? Anyone can look at their paycheck and see 1/3rd taken out for "taxes". It's like they've so totally taken their working class supporters for granted that they can just start legislating for the millionaires (their real constituents). By fnord12 | May 22, 2006, 3:08 PM | Liberal Outrage | Link By fnord12 | May 22, 2006, 3:07 PM | Liberal Outrage | Link The NSA had a system that could have gathered phone data without compromising privacy laws. They decided not to go with it. They opted instead for the less efficient system that didn't have protections against abuse of records. And as an added bonus, it would be illegal, to boot. Digby's got the article up. I'd link directly to the article, but it's a subscription site. The agency opted instead to adopt only one component of the program, which produced a far less capable and rigorous program. But the NSA, then headed by Air Force Gen. Michael V. Hayden, opted against both of those tools, as well as the feature that monitored potential abuse of the records. Only the data analysis facet of the program survived and became the basis for the warrantless surveillance program. That's all i need to know that they should confirm Hayden as the new head of the CIA. I mean, he's clearly the sort of lackey they love putting in powerful positions. Aces! By min | May 18, 2006, 11:11 AM | Liberal Outrage | Link And in the kitchen cookin' supper. Stole this link from firepile. Federal guidelines are being instituted to treat women as pre-pregnant. That's all women. Even you misguided freaks who don't plan on having kids. When you're more mature, you'll see the error of your ways. Overall, the recommendations are good ones. Maintain a healthy weight, don't smoke, keep asthma and diabetes under control, take vitamins. The problem is that they're not recommended so that women can lead a healthy lifestyle. No. The context is purely so that women can make healthy babies. Really, what else are women good for? By min | May 18, 2006, 10:51 AM | Liberal Outrage | Link Military investigations into the killing of Iraqis back in November reveal the Marines murdered innocent civilians in cold blood, including children. Digby has a post up on it. One military official says it appears the civilians were deliberately killed by the Marines, who were outraged at the death of their fellow Marine. Tbogg parallels this with the incident in Vietnam when American soldiers went into a village and massacred the people there. Old men, women, and children. They were stopped when a U.S. helicopter crew landed in between the soldiers and the Vietnamese hiding in a bunker. The helicopter crew threatened to open fire if the American soliders did not desist. The death of a friend combined with the pressures the soldiers are experiencing in Iraq, the constant tension, never knowing when you might get shot or blown up, general helplessness at improving your situation can be a dangerous mixture. How can someone seeing this situation and insisting we "stay the course" possibly say they support the troops? They support the destruction of people's lives. By min | May 18, 2006, 10:37 AM | Liberal Outrage | Link This 53-yr old woman posted an anti-bush sign on a utility post. Two cops arrested her for it. Now she's being charged with assaulting 2 officers. She says she was defending herself. The judge says her stance that Bush's invasion of Iraq was illegal proves she's delusional and therefore should be in a psych ward. Um....I don't really know what to say. You're just going to have to read it for yourself. The testimony of a courageous EMS worker who was afraid for Carol's safety from the police rampage was cut to a mere 4 minutes. Only one character witness was allowed, and then only for a couple minutes. The judge refused to inform the jury of a serious lie by the prosecution during closing testimony. But even after this outrageous verdict, it still wasn't over! The judge actually praised the "professionalism" of these cops and said they "they have a bright future!" He then ordered that Carol submit to a psychological exam as part of the pre-sentencing investigation! He said that he thinks she might have a "martyr complex." The judge told Carol that she better be prepared to apologize at her sentencing or else "bring your toothbrush with you." And here: On the phone this morning, Carol Fisher stated that, in addition to sending her to the psych unit, McGinty has also put her on "suicide watch"! They have taken away her eyeglasses. And if she refuses the psych exam, she will be forcibly sent to North Coast Mental Institute for a 20 day evaluation. Who will protect the poor 200lb policemen from the 53-yr old women? During cross-examination, Downey said Fisher gave him and his partner all that they could handle even though the officers weigh over 200 pounds, lift weights and are 20 years younger than Fisher. By min | May 12, 2006, 3:09 PM | Liberal Outrage | Link AT&T, Verizon, BellSouth, Cingular (owned by AT&T and BellSouth), and MCI (owned by Verizon) all handed over phone records to the NSA without requiring any warrants or authorization of any kind. This is beyond the "international calls only" wiretaps the agency took heat for earlier. This is data mining. They're collecting data on every phone call made (domestic and international) by everyone, what number called what number and how often. Everyone. That would include you. Do you feel safer now? When asked about their data mining, the NSA (and the White House) say they can't comment on anything that may or may not be occurring that may or may not be legal and may or may not be done with the complete approval of the Administration. In the article, it says that one telecom giant has held out. Qwest Communications. They and their lawyers didn't feel comfortable with handing over that information to the NSA without some kind of warrant or written authorization from FISA or the Attorney General's office. The NSA said they couldn't ask FISA because FISA might not approve it. That's almost too logical for my brain. Now, my first reaction is that i would soon be giving my patronage to a new phone company. I wasn't alone in that sentiment, either. However, knowing Qwest is a huge telecommunications company, they were bound to have a few skeletons in their closet. Fnord12 pointed out a few to me today. First off, their CEO is against net neutrality. It was a hard line to take with a roomful of entrepreneurs and techies, many of whose startup dreams hinge, at least in part, on the idea that their Internet traffic will move through the system at the same cost as everyone else's. "If you have enough money, we can make a lot of things happen," said Mr. Notebaert, referring to customers such as Internet portals, startups, and content providers that would be willing to pay for more bandwidth. Notebaert calls it the future. I call it bribery. I wonder if those people left that convention feel just a little bit dirty. Second, their former CEO was indicted for insider trading back in December. Sure, he's gone now, but who's to say they got rid of all the rotten apples over there? And they're a giant telecommunications firm which automatically generates distrust. So it comes down to which phone company is slightly less disgusting. Either that or i get rid of my phone and my DSL. You guys would have to start communicating with us via smoke signals and snail mail. Grim prospects indeed. By min | May 12, 2006, 12:47 PM | Liberal Outrage | Comments (1)| Link In Europe, the goverment is pushing to make scientific papers free online, which, as you may imagine, is quite a blow to the publishing companies. The reasoning is that the research was funded by taxpayer money and therefore every member state should have free access to the results. Can anyone imagine our government proposing such a thing? I think i can almost hear the "hindrance to a free market and economic growth" arguments now. Speaking of free access, how much do you pay for internet service? Taxpayer dollars funded that research. I suppose we don't pay for the internet itself, just for being able to access it. Nice. Ofc, if we lose the net neutrality fight, it won't matter so much that we have access to the internet because ISPs could decide to block or slow down access to any sites they don't like. Here's an interview with Amazon VP Paul Misener who makes the case for net neutrality. I find that pretty interesting since a company as large as Amazon could be one of the preferred sites that get loaded faster since they have the money to pay the ISPs for the "premium access" service. I think it's interesting that part of the argument of companies like Verizon who want to get rid of net neutrality is that it's hurting companies' ability to compete effectively and hurting the market. Everyone's page getting loaded at the same rate and everyone having access to all sites equally hurts the market. We should give the advantage to companies who pay the telecoms a fee. That, ladies and gentleman, is the new capitalism at work. Screw the idea that the one with the best product wins the most business. It should all go to whoever pays the biggest bribe. By min | May 12, 2006, 12:43 PM | Liberal Outrage | Link
Roughly one-quarter of U.S. adults say "things in the country are going in the right direction," while 69% say "things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track." This has been the trend since January, when 33% said the nation was heading in the right direction. Iraq remains a key concern for the general public, as 28% of Americans said they consider Iraq to be one of the top two most important issues the government should address, up from 23% in April. The immigration debate also prompted 16% of Americans to consider it a top issue, down from 19% last month, but still sharply higher from 4% in March. The Harris poll comes two days after a downbeat assessement of Bush in a New York Times/CBS News poll. The Times, in analyzing the results, said "Americans have a bleaker view of the country's direction than at any time in more than two decades." By fnord12 | May 12, 2006, 10:59 AM | Liberal Outrage | Comments (1)| Link On his tour in Florida to promote his Senior Tax, Bush showed off his quick wit and charisma: Oh, and if you don't know what the Senior Tax is, basically, the Bush Administration has decided that if seniors don't sign up for the Medicare prescription drug program by May 15th, they can face lifetime penalties. It's interesting that Democrats are using such strong language to condemn the drug companies, who we damn well know they are in bed with, as well. I guess they have to at pay lip service, and they'd rather talk about this than Iraq (right Senator Clinton?). At any rate, even if they only mean it a little bit, it's nice to see Democrats stand up to the Administration. It's a rare sight indeed. By min | May 10, 2006, 3:26 PM | Liberal Outrage | Link Last year, Florida introduced a new bill that allows people to shoot someone if they feel threatened without fear of criminal or civil prosecution. They call it the "Castle Doctrine," as in your body is your castle and you can defend it with force. Now, a woman in Florida has been arrested for pulling a sword out of her cane and assaulting a woman who took her parking space at the Walmart. So, Ms. Till felt "threatened" when her parking space was taken, and she acted to defend herself because that space was part of her "castle". If she wanted to properly defend anything, she should have pulled her rifle out of the gun rack in her trunk and shot the woman. I mean, a sword is so 1800s. Conversely, if the woman in the car feared for her life because this crazy lady was swinging a sword at her, she would also have been perfectly in her right to shoot Ms. Till with her glock. Thank you, NRA. Culling the herd one moron at a time. Thanks to Rob for the link. By min | May 10, 2006, 10:11 AM | Liberal Outrage | Comments (2)| Link Several topics I'd like to talk about today -- Farm Bill, trade with Japan, WTO, avian flu... but before I do, let me touch on a subject people always ask about... progress in Iraq. We are helping the Iraqi people build a lasting democracy that is peaceful and prosperous - one that will never again be a safe haven for terrorists, and will serve as a model for freedom in the broader Middle East. That's from the talking points that were sent to USDA officials. The USDA - that's the US Department of Agriculture - is now required to promote the war in Iraq whenever it gives a speech. Your government is working hard with your tax dollars... to promote Republican politicians. By fnord12 | May 9, 2006, 1:37 PM | Liberal Outrage | Link Bush says fight against terror is 'World War III': Bush said: "I believe that. I believe that it was the first counter-attack to World War III. Of course, former CIA directory James Woolsey thinks we are up to IV. These World Wars are a lot like movie sequels. The first two are major events, and after that they start getting released direct-to-video and you don't even know they came out. By fnord12 | May 9, 2006, 1:30 PM | Liberal Outrage | Link Bolivia is daring to claim that they own their own natural gas, so look for a war on them and Venezeula some time soon: And things aren't going so well in Nigeria, either: The rebels have tapped into deep resentment in poor local communities against big oil and government neglect. Delta residents live in abject poverty and also suffer from the environmental effects of oil pumping, including the pollution of drinking water and rivers and damage to fishing. The oil gives rivers a rainbow gloss in some places. And if that's not enough, looks like Cheney is spoiling for a fight with Russia: Vice President Dick Cheney made a keynote speech on relations between the West and Russia in which he practically established the start of the second Cold War ... The Cold War has restarted, only now the front lines have shifted," it said Commentators said the speech was an answer to Russia's new self-confidence, which has stemmed from high oil prices and a shortage of energy supplies giving it new influence. "What can Russia do? It would appear it will have to strengthen ties with Belarus and Central Asia. And get close to China, to balance this Western might." Also, that whole thing about Iran's PM saying that he wanted to "wipe Israel off the map" may not have been entirely on the up-and-up, although i don't see that the alternate translation is much better. By fnord12 | May 8, 2006, 1:38 PM | Liberal Outrage | Comments (1)| Link So Peter Goss, once best known as the congressman who unsuccessfully tried to hide behind his office door from his constituents, was put in charge of the CIA by Bush less than a year ago. Goss went in, kicked out all the competent CIA agents, including the ones who were right about about Iraq's WMDs, and replaced them with partisan Republican hacks. Then he got himself involved in the Watergate prostitution scandal, and now he's resigning. Remember, these are the people that are going to protect us from terrorists. By fnord12 | May 8, 2006, 1:26 PM | Liberal Outrage | Comments (1)| Link I'm not even sure if i know who Godsmack is, but if you want to see them get smacked around by an interviewer because they let their music be used in army recruiting commercials, here's the link. By fnord12 | May 8, 2006, 1:24 PM | Liberal Outrage
& Music | Comments (1)| Link ...i don't need to live in them. One: Two oil terminals - this one and the Khawr al Amaya a few kilometers away - rise from the sea, miles out of sight of land. The oil wealth of Iraq flows into supertankers that berth here. There is a post-Apocalyptic, industrial wasteland feel to this oil terminal. It's all hard edges - steel grating, concrete and massive valves. The whine of machinery, the thump of pumps and the roar of generators are constant. The smell of crude oil permeates everything. The Bush administration is seeking to develop a powerful ground-based laser weapon that would use beams of concentrated light to destroy enemy satellites in orbit. By fnord12 | May 4, 2006, 4:44 PM | Liberal Outrage | Comments (5)| Link When i start sounding like Rush Limbaugh, it's all over. By fnord12 | May 2, 2006, 1:15 PM | Liberal Outrage | Comments (3)| Link « Liberal Outrage: April 2006 | Main | Liberal Outrage: June 2006 » |