Newsday has well-balanced editorial coverage of the latest bush-league attempt by the GOP to scare up some votes: it's "Azzam the American"!
A "terrorist video" features previously unknown Azzam declaring war on America with stereotypical scariness. In a tactic previously unused by terrorists, Azzam calls himself an American and denounces Bush cabinet members by name. Apparently, Azzam is trying to get those of us who are against the administration to identify with his unique method of protest.
According to Newsday:
There was no actual evidence yesterday that the late October tape was produced in Karl Rove's basement or Ed Gillespie's garage...
However the tape materialized - wink, wink - it dovetails almost perfectly with the president's fear-based campaign.
And what a piece of work this video is!
The speaker is identified as "Azzam the American," which you have to admit is an odd name to choose for someone seeking to connect with "my fellow countrymen."...
He speaks in what sounds like the villain's dialogue in a bad Schwarzenegger film.
[I saw the video and the accent is just wrong. I grew up in Dearborn and the voice sounds like someone who doesn't know any Arabs trying to sound Arabic. -ed.]
Friday, October 29, 2004
Blair 'uses intelligence as PR tool'
The former chief investigator of Britain's Intelligence and Security Committee said that "intelligence has been used as a 'PR tool' since Tony Blair came to power." During 1998's Operation Desert Fox in Iraq, "I was under pressure and my analysts were under pressure," said John Morrison. "It got to the point that individual analysts were being rung up by the press office and being asked to say 'this is great, isn't it?'" During 1999's Kosovo bombing, Morrison set up his own press office to have greater control, but "we were under constant pressure to field talking heads ... [and] to have themes for individual days." [from PRWatch.org]
Homeland Security disavows PR document touting successes
A Bush political appointee in the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection bureau drafted and distributed a public relations strategy designed to "change perception" about the nation's security by repeating the message, in the weeks leading up to the presidential election, that America is safer, according to internal government documents.
The "90-day Strategy" lays out a detailed media plan to "push information out," "maximize" the media, and "brand" the border protection agency as a model of counterterrorism operations.
"Reassure the citizens of the United States," says the strategy, which was presented five weeks ago to public affairs officials for Customs and Border Protection regional offices around the country. "Repeat the message. . . . Repeat until we are completely exhausted by it."
The "90-day Strategy" lays out a detailed media plan to "push information out," "maximize" the media, and "brand" the border protection agency as a model of counterterrorism operations.
"Reassure the citizens of the United States," says the strategy, which was presented five weeks ago to public affairs officials for Customs and Border Protection regional offices around the country. "Repeat the message. . . . Repeat until we are completely exhausted by it."
LSD Reports From the US Military
The Memory Hole has received three Army reports on experiments involving LSD. (The documents date from the 1960s and 1970s.) One is posted below, and the others will follow.
In our FOIA request, we also asked for several other similar reports, which are currently being reviewed for release. We'll post them as they become available. [from TheMemoryHole.org]
In our FOIA request, we also asked for several other similar reports, which are currently being reviewed for release. We'll post them as they become available. [from TheMemoryHole.org]
Jon Stewart on C-SPAN
Jon Stewart on the Presidential Election, the Media, and PoliticsIn New York City, NY, Host and Executive Producer of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart, talks about presidential politics and the media.
NASA photo analyst: Bush wore a device during debate
George W. Bush tried to laugh off the bulge. "I don't know what that is," he said on "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, referring to the infamous protrusion beneath his jacket during the presidential debates. "I'm embarrassed to say it's a poorly tailored shirt."
Dr. Robert M. Nelson, however, was not laughing. He knew the president was not telling the truth. And Nelson is neither conspiracy theorist nor midnight blogger. He's a senior research scientist for NASA and for Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and an international authority on image analysis. Currently he's engrossed in analyzing digital photos of Saturn's moon Titan, determining its shape, whether it contains craters or canyons.
Dr. Robert M. Nelson, however, was not laughing. He knew the president was not telling the truth. And Nelson is neither conspiracy theorist nor midnight blogger. He's a senior research scientist for NASA and for Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and an international authority on image analysis. Currently he's engrossed in analyzing digital photos of Saturn's moon Titan, determining its shape, whether it contains craters or canyons.
Internet Vets for Truth
"Our goal is to present you with these clips to help you make an informed choice next Tuesday." Your one-stop-shop for documentary clips related to Kerry and Bush, presented by the Internets Vets for Truth.
Online Journalists Arrested in Iran
The recent arrest of several bloggers, online journalists, and Internet technicians in Iran has raised fears that the country's old guard is determined to muzzle dissent in cyberspace.
The Internet has become a refuge for liberal journalists since the hard-line judiciary closed scores of reformist publications over the past four years. The Web log, or blog, format - a cross between a diary and public commentary - has allowed dissident writers to reach a mass audience with less of the expense and oversight of print media.
The Internet has become a refuge for liberal journalists since the hard-line judiciary closed scores of reformist publications over the past four years. The Web log, or blog, format - a cross between a diary and public commentary - has allowed dissident writers to reach a mass audience with less of the expense and oversight of print media.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Defense Document and Flim Flam
WEIRD SCIENCE: TELEPORTATION PHYSICS
The Air Force Research Laboratory has paid for and published a newstudy on "teleportation physics," referring to the disembodiedtransport of objects across space.
The author strives to distinguish his subject from the fictionalStar Trek "transporter" concept, and notes that "we are still veryfar away from being able to ... teleport human beings (and evensimpler biological entities such as cells, etc.) and bulkinanimate objects...."But after fifty pages of opaque physics, he concludes with anendorsement of remote viewing, psychokinesis and spoon bending bypsychic Uri Geller.
"During a talk that he gave at the U.S. Capitol building, Uri caused a spoon to curve upward with no force applied, and then thespoon continued to bend after he put it back down and continuedwith his talk," he reports."
There are numerous supporters within the U.S. militaryestablishment who comprehend the significance of remote viewingand PK [psychokinesis] phenomenon [sic], and believe that they could have strategic implications," he notes.
And he repeats a warning that "foreign adversaries could exploit micro- or macro-PK to induce U.S. military fighter pilots to losecontrol of their aircraft and crash."
Given the looming ESP gap, the author recommends that "A research program improving on and expanding, or implementing novel variations of, the Chinese and Uri Geller-type experiments should be conducted in order to generate p-Teleportation phenomenon [sic] in the lab."
The report concludes with a ten-page bibliography on teleportation physics and a distribution list that amounts to something like a "who's who" in "alternative science." See "Teleportation Physics Study" by Eric W. Davis, Air ForceResearch Lab Special Report, Edwards Air Force Base, August 2004,distribution unlimited (1.7 MB PDF file) [from Secrecy News] http://www.fas.org/sgp/eprint/teleport.pdf
For more on Uri Geller, read the terrific book Flim-Flam! by magician James Randi.
The Air Force Research Laboratory has paid for and published a newstudy on "teleportation physics," referring to the disembodiedtransport of objects across space.
The author strives to distinguish his subject from the fictionalStar Trek "transporter" concept, and notes that "we are still veryfar away from being able to ... teleport human beings (and evensimpler biological entities such as cells, etc.) and bulkinanimate objects...."But after fifty pages of opaque physics, he concludes with anendorsement of remote viewing, psychokinesis and spoon bending bypsychic Uri Geller.
"During a talk that he gave at the U.S. Capitol building, Uri caused a spoon to curve upward with no force applied, and then thespoon continued to bend after he put it back down and continuedwith his talk," he reports."
There are numerous supporters within the U.S. militaryestablishment who comprehend the significance of remote viewingand PK [psychokinesis] phenomenon [sic], and believe that they could have strategic implications," he notes.
And he repeats a warning that "foreign adversaries could exploit micro- or macro-PK to induce U.S. military fighter pilots to losecontrol of their aircraft and crash."
Given the looming ESP gap, the author recommends that "A research program improving on and expanding, or implementing novel variations of, the Chinese and Uri Geller-type experiments should be conducted in order to generate p-Teleportation phenomenon [sic] in the lab."
The report concludes with a ten-page bibliography on teleportation physics and a distribution list that amounts to something like a "who's who" in "alternative science." See "Teleportation Physics Study" by Eric W. Davis, Air ForceResearch Lab Special Report, Edwards Air Force Base, August 2004,distribution unlimited (1.7 MB PDF file) [from Secrecy News] http://www.fas.org/sgp/eprint/teleport.pdf
For more on Uri Geller, read the terrific book Flim-Flam! by magician James Randi.
How John Kerry Exposed the Contra-Cocaine Scandal
In early 1986, the 42-year-old Massachusetts Democrat stood almost alone in the U.S. Senate demanding answers about the emerging evidence that CIA-backed Contras were filling their coffers by collaborating with drug traffickers then flooding U.S. borders with cocaine from South America.
Kerry assigned members of his personal Senate staff to pursue the allegations. He also persuaded the Republican majority on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to request information from the Reagan-Bush administration about the alleged Contra drug traffickers.
In taking on the inquiry, Kerry challenged President Ronald Reagan at the height of his power, at a time he was calling the Contras the "moral equals of the Founding Fathers." Kerry's questions represented a particular embarrassment to Vice President George H.W. Bush, whose responsibilities included overseeing U.S. drug-interdiction policies.
Kerry assigned members of his personal Senate staff to pursue the allegations. He also persuaded the Republican majority on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to request information from the Reagan-Bush administration about the alleged Contra drug traffickers.
In taking on the inquiry, Kerry challenged President Ronald Reagan at the height of his power, at a time he was calling the Contras the "moral equals of the Founding Fathers." Kerry's questions represented a particular embarrassment to Vice President George H.W. Bush, whose responsibilities included overseeing U.S. drug-interdiction policies.
Bush Hides Global Warming Evidence
"In my more than three decades in government, I have never seen anything approaching the degree to which information flow from scientists to the public has been screened and controlled as it is now," James E. Hansen told a University of Iowa audience.
Hansen is director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York and has twice briefed a task force headed by Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) on global warming.
Hansen said the administration wants to hear only scientific results that "fit predetermined, inflexible positions." Evidence that would raise concerns about the dangers of climate change is often dismissed as not being of sufficient interest to the public.
Hansen is director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York and has twice briefed a task force headed by Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) on global warming.
Hansen said the administration wants to hear only scientific results that "fit predetermined, inflexible positions." Evidence that would raise concerns about the dangers of climate change is often dismissed as not being of sufficient interest to the public.
Christian-right views are swaying politicians and threatening the environment
[A] scripture-based justification for anti-environmentalism -- when was the last time you heard a conservative politician talk about that?
Odds are it was in 1981, when President Reagan's first secretary of the interior, James Watt, told the U.S. Congress that protecting natural resources was unimportant in light of the imminent return of Jesus Christ. "God gave us these things to use. After the last tree is felled, Christ will come back," Watt said in public testimony that helped get him fired.
Today's Christian fundamentalist politicians are more politically savvy than Reagan's interior secretary was; you're unlikely to catch them overtly attributing public-policy decisions to private religious views. But their words and actions suggest that many share Watt's beliefs. Like him, many Christian fundamentalists feel that concern for the future of our planet is irrelevant, because it has no future. They believe we are living in the End Time, when the son of God will return, the righteous will enter heaven, and sinners will be condemned to eternal hellfire. They may also believe, along with millions of other Christian fundamentalists, that environmental destruction is not only to be disregarded but actually welcomed -- even hastened -- as a sign of the coming Apocalypse.
Odds are it was in 1981, when President Reagan's first secretary of the interior, James Watt, told the U.S. Congress that protecting natural resources was unimportant in light of the imminent return of Jesus Christ. "God gave us these things to use. After the last tree is felled, Christ will come back," Watt said in public testimony that helped get him fired.
Today's Christian fundamentalist politicians are more politically savvy than Reagan's interior secretary was; you're unlikely to catch them overtly attributing public-policy decisions to private religious views. But their words and actions suggest that many share Watt's beliefs. Like him, many Christian fundamentalists feel that concern for the future of our planet is irrelevant, because it has no future. They believe we are living in the End Time, when the son of God will return, the righteous will enter heaven, and sinners will be condemned to eternal hellfire. They may also believe, along with millions of other Christian fundamentalists, that environmental destruction is not only to be disregarded but actually welcomed -- even hastened -- as a sign of the coming Apocalypse.
New Human Species Discovered
Even more intriguing is the fact that Flores' inhabitants have incredibly detailed legends about the existence of little people on the island they call Ebu Gogo.
The islanders describe Ebu Gogo as being about one metre tall, hairy and prone to "murmuring" to each other in some form of language. They were also able to repeat what islanders said to them in a parrot-like fashion.
The islanders describe Ebu Gogo as being about one metre tall, hairy and prone to "murmuring" to each other in some form of language. They were also able to repeat what islanders said to them in a parrot-like fashion.
*Bush Wanted To Invade Iraq If Elected in 2000
“It was on his mind. He said to me: ‘One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is to be seen as a commander-in-chief.’ And he said, ‘My father had all this political capital built up when he drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait and he wasted it.’ He said, ‘If I have a chance to invade….if I had that much capital, I’m not going to waste it. I’m going to get everything passed that I want to get passed and I’m going to have a successful presidency.”
Bush Voted Year's Top Film Villian
Bush won the dubious accolade, announced Wednesday, for his appearance in Michael Moore's anti-Bush documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11."
He beat a shortlist that included the nefarious Doctor Octopus, played by Alfred Molina, in "Spider-Man 2"; "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'"s cannibalistic Leatherface; Andy Serkis' creepy Gollum from "Lord of the Rings" trilogy; and Elle Driver, the eyepatch-wearing assassin played by Daryl Hannah in "Kill Bill."
Almost 10,000 people voted in the poll, conducted by Total Film Magazine.
He beat a shortlist that included the nefarious Doctor Octopus, played by Alfred Molina, in "Spider-Man 2"; "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'"s cannibalistic Leatherface; Andy Serkis' creepy Gollum from "Lord of the Rings" trilogy; and Elle Driver, the eyepatch-wearing assassin played by Daryl Hannah in "Kill Bill."
Almost 10,000 people voted in the poll, conducted by Total Film Magazine.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Dada, Ephemera and Glasgow
I was wandering around the internets looking for early twentieth century ephemera and look what I found. Digital Dada Library “This page provides links to some of the major Dada-era publications in the International Dada Archive. These books, pamphlets, and periodicals are housed in the Special Collections Department of the University of Iowa Libraries. …Each document has been scanned in its entirety.” EphemeraNow “is a family-friendly Web site dedicated to the commercial art of mid-century America.” The Ephemera Society “is a non-profit body concerned with the collection, preservation, study and educational uses of printed and handwritten ephemera.” and more! For those of you who have complained that this place is getting too “US politics-filter” I give you Glasgow Digital Library Collections which has all sorts of stuff including a great history of the labour movement in Glasgow 1910-1932 [from MetaFilter.com]
*Global Warming Seen as Security Threat
A growing number of analysts argue that global warming linked to greenhouse gas emissions is not just a "green issue." They argue it might eventually top terrorism on the global security agenda, provoking new conflicts and inflaming old ones.
"The biggest security problem from global warming would be forced migrations, the dislocation of people because of flooding or drought," said Steve Sawyer, climate policy adviser for environmental group Greenpeace. "Or drastic ecosystem change could change the resource base and uproot rural people. Forced migrations of people almost always cause problems."
Former Canadian Environment Minister David Anderson said earlier this year that global warming posed a greater long-term threat to humanity than terrorism because it could force hundreds of millions from their homes.
"The biggest security problem from global warming would be forced migrations, the dislocation of people because of flooding or drought," said Steve Sawyer, climate policy adviser for environmental group Greenpeace. "Or drastic ecosystem change could change the resource base and uproot rural people. Forced migrations of people almost always cause problems."
Former Canadian Environment Minister David Anderson said earlier this year that global warming posed a greater long-term threat to humanity than terrorism because it could force hundreds of millions from their homes.
Thinking Machine 4
The artwork is an artificial intelligence program, ready to play chess with the viewer. If the viewer confronts the program, the computer's thought process is sketched on screen as it plays. A map is created from the traces of literally thousands of possible futures as the program tries to decide its best move. Those traces become a key to the invisible lines of force in the game as well as a window into the spirit of a thinking machine.
Play the game.
[this is so flippin' cool, I can hardly believ it. -- ed.]
Play the game.
[this is so flippin' cool, I can hardly believ it. -- ed.]
The Road To Abu Ghraib
A generation from now, historians may look back to April 28, 2004, as the day the United States lost the war in Iraq... It was a direct—and predictable—consequence of a policy, hatched at the highest levels of the administration, by senior White House officials and lawyers, in the weeks and months after 9/11. Yet the administration has largely managed to escape responsibility for those decisions; a month from election day, almost no one in the press or the political class is talking about what is, without question, the worst scandal to emerge from President Bush's nearly four years in office... Given the particular conditions faced by the president and his deputies after 9/11—a war against terrorists, in which the need to extract intelligence via interrogations was intensely pressing, but the limits placed by international law on interrogation techniques were very constricting—did those leaders have better alternatives than the one they chose? The answer is that they did. And we will be living with the consequences of the choices they made for years to come. [from MetaFilter.com]
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