General

General — 2 Comments
08
Feb 03

Scary

I saw this today while at Ethel the blog. It makes me wonder how many sites the SS monitors waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce once they produce the flimsiest of justifications. Then they swoop in disappearing someone into endless custody and interrogation. Be very afraid. It could happen to anyone. You never know you’re in a cage until you try the door. Thought crime.

CABAL HUNTS VOXFUX


Caustic political essayist Voxfux is being

History — Comments Off on Cold war American propaganda
08
Feb 03

Cold war American propaganda

Documentation on Early Cold War U.S. Propaganda Activities in the Middle East from the National Security Archive.


    WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Security Archive at George Washington University today published on the World Wide Web documents concerned with an early Cold War campaign to win hearts and minds in the Middle East, launched 50 years before current efforts to achieve United States “public diplomacy” goals in the region.

    Soon after the events of September 11, the administration of George W. Bush announced a wide-ranging campaign to improve the image of America in Arab countries and in the greater Muslim world. One year later, its results appear unimpressive: a recent Pew Research Center poll found increasingly unfavorable international views of the U.S., “most dramatically, in Muslim societies.”

    The documents collected here describe an earlier program to expand and revitalize American propaganda directed at the Middle East, and the methods that were utilized, including graphic displays, manipulation of the news, books, movies, cartoons, activities directed at schools and universities, and exchange programs. U.S. propaganda efforts were assisted by collaborating governments, the news media, academics, publishers, and private associations. The documents show that many of the factors that generated resentment of the U.S. during the 1950s, and that impeded the effectiveness of U.S. propaganda, have persisted into the 21st century.

General — Comments Off on Alex Jones documentary on the big screen!
08
Feb 03

Alex Jones documentary on the big screen!

I may try to go if the man doesn’t make me go to work.

Politics — Comments Off on Not much time, but here’s the goods
08
Feb 03

Not much time, but here’s the goods

  • Iraq Shows Facilities Cited by Powell: Missiles Within U.N.’s Limits, Officials Assert:
    Nothing at the facility, Iraqi officials asserted as they showed reporters around, constitutes a violation of U.N.-imposed weapons restrictions.

  • CNN: French police seize mobile phone guns: The deadly phones come apart in the middle to reveal a four-chamber compartment for .22 caliber bullets, which can be shot out of a protruding fake antenna.
  • Bush Administration attempting to shift tax burden to poor Listen to this crap: Instead, the report says, such “distributional analyses” should consider that a poor person one year could be middle-class or even rich in subsequent years, and a rich person could drop down the income ladder. Given that fluidity, it would be folly to make social and tax policies to address the body of poor people at any particular point in time, it says.
  • Bomb kills 20 in meeting place for Colombian elite
  • Draconian Patriot Act II in the Works
  • CIA officer killed in Afghanistan
  • 200 high school students skip to protest possible Iraq war
  • New detainees held at Guantanamo Bay: More torture at camp x-ray
  • Moving Work Offshore Not Just For Blue-Collar Workers Anymore
  • Justice Dept. Drafts Sweeping Expansion of Anti-Terrorism Act: Center Publishes Secret Draft of ‘Patriot II’ Legislation
    • General — Comments Off on Linky dinks
    06
    Feb 03

    Linky dinks

    Some cool things here and there. Well, I guess that depends on your definition of ‘cool’.

  • Guardian: N Korea threatens US with first strike: “The United States says that after Iraq, we are next”, said the deputy director Ri Pyong-gap, “but we have our own countermeasures. Pre-emptive attacks are not the exclusive right of the US.” This was the obvious problem with the US asserting this in their doctrine of ‘preemptive strike’.
  • CNN: Pentagon considers cremation for bio-chem deaths: When Johnny Comes Marching Home again…this time in concentrated powder form! New from the Pentagon!
  • CNN: Man charged with spying for N. Korea
  • NY Times: North Korea Intensifies War of Words With U.S.: Mr. Powell and the White House commented on the day North Korea warned of “total war” if America attacked its nuclear complex, and one day after Mr. Powell appeared before the United Nations to press the case for war to disarm Iraq, should war become necessary. Someone is using North Korea as a lever to delay or impede the Bush war. Could be China, could be Russia or a number of other players.
  • NY Times: U.S. Economy in Worst Hiring Slump in 20 Years: In other words, no one is hiring. I have been hearing this from my unemployed friends. I could be without a job soon myself if we have our much anticipated Spring layoffs.
  • Pakistan and Russia end diplomatic chill
  • Profile: Kim Jong-il. Interesting profile from the BBC.
    • Science — Comments Off on More .mil minions
    05
    Feb 03

    More .mil minions

    The .mil visitors seem to be concerned enough about GPS jamming to go searching for information on it. Although the Russian jammer is no longer sold they are apparently easy to manufacture. The Russian AviaConversia unit runs on batteries and has an operating range of 150-200 km! Although this could jam Russian Glonass and civilian GPS according to things I’ve read it does not affect the encrypted military gps band which can be alternated or moved. However, theoretically one would have to assume it’s at least possible. Imagine if US jets were sent the incorrect GPS coordinates or if their GPS was blocked entirely. The military is becoming more and more dependent on this tech which just opens up further vulnerabilities. The future should be very interesting indeed.


    05 Feb, Wed, 14:26:34 WCS1-SCOTT.NIPR.MIL Netscape 3 Other

    05 Feb, Wed, 14:26:39 WCS2-SCOTT.NIPR.MIL MSIE 6 Windows 2000

    The search terms: aviaconversia, GPS jammer

    I’m curious why DoD pinheads are using Google’s Canadian site.

  • Info on the Russian (they have awesome engineers) AviaConversia unit including photographs and technical information. Very cool.
  • More photos
    • General — Comments Off on Breakfast Club related study
    05
    Feb 03

    Breakfast Club related study

    Seattle Times: Criminal, Basket Case, Jock, Princess or Brain?:


      Twenty-eight percent identified themselves as Jocks, 40 percent as Princesses, 12 percent as Brains, 11 percent as Basket Cases and 9 percent as Criminals. As it happened, these thumbnail descriptions were remarkably helpful in charting their lives after high school and college, Eccles reported in a recent issue of the Journal of Adolescent Research.

      Half of all Brains went on to graduate from college, compared with 17 percent of the Criminals, 29 percent of the Basket Cases, 30 percent of the Jocks and 36 percent of the Princesses. One in four Basket Cases said they had gone to a psychologist by age 24, compared with only 6 percent of the Jocks.

      Jocks, particularly female athletes, were earning more money at 24 than any other group, Eccles and her research team found. But Jocks also had their problems: They were more likely to be in alcohol recovery programs (5 percent) than any other group except the Criminals (11 percent).

    General — Comments Off on Interesting historical info on the Balkans
    05
    Feb 03

    Interesting historical info on the Balkans

    Found this at metafilter.com, it’s worth perusing.

  • TWENTY-FIVE LECTURES ON MODERN BALKAN HISTORY (THE BALKANS IN THE AGE OF NATIONALISM)
    • General — 7 Comments
    05
    Feb 03

    No oil for you!

    France & Russia warned support US war on Iraq or no Iraqi oil:


      (1/27/2003 – OGI: Cairo) France and Russia have been warned they must support the US military invasion and occupation of Iraq if they want acess to Iraqi oilfields in a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. According to a report in today’s Tehran Times, US Senator Richard Lugar, a leading member of the Bush administration and Republican Party chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Russia and France “must be ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in any US-led military intervention” if they want a share of Iraqi oil.
      The paper quoted Lugar as saying that Paris and Moscow oil companies will be deprived of Iraqi oil and have no share in the country’s resources if they refuse to join in the US war to oust Hussein. It noted that both the Russian Duma and the French parliament have both expressed opposition to a US military attack on Iraq.

    I was talking with a friend of mine whose father is a prominent Pakistani businessman. She said he told her that the US goal is to secure Iraqi oil control because British and French oil companies have secured most of the best oil deals in the region effectively shutting out American business. Control of Iraqi resources is clearly the objective. There has been acknowledgement by the US government to this effect. I read something where we will most likely attempt to seize control of Kirkuk first to prevent sabotage to oil wells and other infrastructure. Clearly oil is key to this whole charade. I also watched the Powell case at the UN today and did not see anything at all that would justify a takeover of Iraq.

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