The Observer | Comment | Pro Bono:
"'You can see the halo over his head,' said Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, a man not given to irony or overstatement."
"'I believe that Bono has used his celebrity status for more good than anyone who has ever used their celebrity for any cause,' says Jim Leach, the moderate Republican congressman for Iowa"
"At a time, then, when we seem mesmerised by the empty lives of the rich and famous, Bono seems single-handedly to have grasped the idea that fame can be a means to a bigger, more morally honourable, end, his undimmed idealism now tempered by a very real and hard-earned understanding of global economics and the politics of aid."
Bono is heaped with praise in this well-informed article.
Sunday, September 26, 2004
Saturday, September 25, 2004
Homeland Security: Mission Accomplished
TIME.com: You Say Yusuf, I Say Youssouf...:
"Still, the TSA is learning. It recently acknowledged that a Federal Air Marshall, unable to fly for weeks when his name was mistakenly put on the 'no-fly' list, was in fact not a threat, and removed his name from the list."
Another "would be funny, if not so sad" story for ya. With the $400 Billion we've spent on Iraq, I bet we could have retnia scanners at all airports and we could upgrade and simplify this outmoded system.
This incident pissed off moderate Muslims, even the ones who like US.
"Still, the TSA is learning. It recently acknowledged that a Federal Air Marshall, unable to fly for weeks when his name was mistakenly put on the 'no-fly' list, was in fact not a threat, and removed his name from the list."
Another "would be funny, if not so sad" story for ya. With the $400 Billion we've spent on Iraq, I bet we could have retnia scanners at all airports and we could upgrade and simplify this outmoded system.
This incident pissed off moderate Muslims, even the ones who like US.
Where Did the RatherGate Story Go?
Conservative bloggers....y'all who spent 2 months on Swift Boats Vets and just 2 weeks on Dan Rather's botched story....why has the RatherGate talk suddenly ceased? Why aren't you conservatives still in a furious uproar? It would be perfectly legitimate to be outraged that one of the three major news anchors had it in for your candidate and even aired false documents. Why did the uproar die down so quickly?
Because, some Bush-Backers noticed:
Dan Rather vs George Bush on the facts
September 22, 2004
Dan Rather, CBS News Anchor
1) given documents he thought were true
2) failed to thoroughly investigate the facts
3) reported documents to the American people as true to make his case
4) when confronted with the facts, apologized and launched an investigation
5) number of Americans dead: 0
6) should be fired as CBS News Anchor
George W. Bush, President of the United States
1) given documents he thought were true
2) failed to thoroughly investigate the facts
3) reported documents to the American people as true to make his case
4) when confronted with the facts, continued to report untruths and stonewalled an investigation
5) number of Americans dead: 1100 -- so far
6) should be fired as President of the United States
Because, some Bush-Backers noticed:
Dan Rather vs George Bush on the facts
September 22, 2004
Dan Rather, CBS News Anchor
1) given documents he thought were true
2) failed to thoroughly investigate the facts
3) reported documents to the American people as true to make his case
4) when confronted with the facts, apologized and launched an investigation
5) number of Americans dead: 0
6) should be fired as CBS News Anchor
George W. Bush, President of the United States
1) given documents he thought were true
2) failed to thoroughly investigate the facts
3) reported documents to the American people as true to make his case
4) when confronted with the facts, continued to report untruths and stonewalled an investigation
5) number of Americans dead: 1100 -- so far
6) should be fired as President of the United States
Friday, September 24, 2004
"Turn it up loud, Captain!"
U2 : U2log.com - weblog - news - info
U2log.com , one of the very best U2 sites out there has some links to the rockin' new U2 single "Vertigo". You gotta hear this one to believe it!
Uno, Dos, Tres, Catorce? Is this album #14? Are they restarting from "War"? Is this the Anti-Unforgettable Fire? What if U2 had gone more punk and less asthetic after "War"?
Enjoy and let me know what you think
U2log.com , one of the very best U2 sites out there has some links to the rockin' new U2 single "Vertigo". You gotta hear this one to believe it!
Uno, Dos, Tres, Catorce? Is this album #14? Are they restarting from "War"? Is this the Anti-Unforgettable Fire? What if U2 had gone more punk and less asthetic after "War"?
Enjoy and let me know what you think
Thursday, September 23, 2004
U2's Back!
update: link looks to be dead, I'll try to find another and link it
U2Valencia.com - Ch� U2!
Click on link to go to download page for U2's new single "Vertigo".
I love it! Just what I've been wanting from U2 for years, this song ROCKS, and at the same time it's very U2. Less production, almost live in the studio feel, I hope the whole album was recorded like this. It's a hit right out of the box, but maybe too rockin' to be as "everywhere" as Beautiful Day.
Parts remind me of other songs I've seen mentioned, just want to add "Where Did it All Go Wrong" to that list.
Uno, Dos, Tres, Catorce? Is this album #14? Are they restarting from "War"? Is this the Anti-Unforgettable Fire? What if U2 had gone more punk and less asthetic after "War"?
U2Valencia.com - Ch� U2!
Click on link to go to download page for U2's new single "Vertigo".
I love it! Just what I've been wanting from U2 for years, this song ROCKS, and at the same time it's very U2. Less production, almost live in the studio feel, I hope the whole album was recorded like this. It's a hit right out of the box, but maybe too rockin' to be as "everywhere" as Beautiful Day.
Parts remind me of other songs I've seen mentioned, just want to add "Where Did it All Go Wrong" to that list.
Uno, Dos, Tres, Catorce? Is this album #14? Are they restarting from "War"? Is this the Anti-Unforgettable Fire? What if U2 had gone more punk and less asthetic after "War"?
watts4u2 posts in the @U2 Forum, part II
@U2 Forum - U2 Fan Community:
People in the "Real World" section of the @U2 Forum needed some help figuring out why they shouldn't vote for George W., so I put in a few words:
" The UN never passed a resolution authorizing military force to topple Saddam. In fact, the US knew a resoultion worded that way would not pass, so they abandoned it and decided to defy the UN and invade Iraq. The resolution you speak of called for 'serious consequences' and specifically did not include a threat of force.
Also, the Congress never passed a Declaration of War, as required by the Constitution. Presidents have side-stepped this for ages, but in THIS war, we are without a doubt the aggressors and therefore Congress should have had to make a formal declaration of war. Bush would have never been able to pass that through Congress, so it wasn't even considered. They preferred the open-ended 'threat of force' bill that gave them the most leeway, and political leverage against anyone who opposed it.
The miscalculations of George W on Iraq are too numerous to count, and his insistence that things are getting better would be laughable if it weren't so sad. The war in Iraq has made the War on Terrorism much more difficult and emboldened terrorists worldwide, while at the same time we've dissed almost all of our strongest allies, with Bush's 'go it alone' policies.
But we are where we are, so the real question is what do we want to do from here? Rather than change diapers, I like the baseball analogy: it's time for a relief pitcher, and Kerry is the perfect man for the job. Respected worldwide, Kerry has experience with wars gone wrong and he is more capable of doing the job than just about anybody save John McCain (who the Republicans should have nominated in 2000....he would have won in a landslide).
If you've been a Bush-backer, but don't like the way things are going in Iraq, then say a fond 'Thank You' to George W for ousting Saddam, but place your vote for the person that can best handle the situation we are in right now.
Did you see the reaction Bush got at the UN yesterday?
We can't go on like that for another 4 years.
"
People in the "Real World" section of the @U2 Forum needed some help figuring out why they shouldn't vote for George W., so I put in a few words:
" The UN never passed a resolution authorizing military force to topple Saddam. In fact, the US knew a resoultion worded that way would not pass, so they abandoned it and decided to defy the UN and invade Iraq. The resolution you speak of called for 'serious consequences' and specifically did not include a threat of force.
Also, the Congress never passed a Declaration of War, as required by the Constitution. Presidents have side-stepped this for ages, but in THIS war, we are without a doubt the aggressors and therefore Congress should have had to make a formal declaration of war. Bush would have never been able to pass that through Congress, so it wasn't even considered. They preferred the open-ended 'threat of force' bill that gave them the most leeway, and political leverage against anyone who opposed it.
The miscalculations of George W on Iraq are too numerous to count, and his insistence that things are getting better would be laughable if it weren't so sad. The war in Iraq has made the War on Terrorism much more difficult and emboldened terrorists worldwide, while at the same time we've dissed almost all of our strongest allies, with Bush's 'go it alone' policies.
But we are where we are, so the real question is what do we want to do from here? Rather than change diapers, I like the baseball analogy: it's time for a relief pitcher, and Kerry is the perfect man for the job. Respected worldwide, Kerry has experience with wars gone wrong and he is more capable of doing the job than just about anybody save John McCain (who the Republicans should have nominated in 2000....he would have won in a landslide).
If you've been a Bush-backer, but don't like the way things are going in Iraq, then say a fond 'Thank You' to George W for ousting Saddam, but place your vote for the person that can best handle the situation we are in right now.
Did you see the reaction Bush got at the UN yesterday?
We can't go on like that for another 4 years.
"
watts4u2 posts in the @U2 Forum
@U2 Forum - U2 Fan Community:
" Bush is very careful not to come out and blatantly lie, but I would characterize him as 'misleading' the public on WMD and terrorist connections to Saddam. In addition to misleading the public on the reasons for....I have to say it- invading Iraq -, Bush and his team were manipulating intelligence data from the CIA, Pentagon and State Department....they ignored details that hurt their case for war and exaggerated details that helped their case. Many of the details that helped their case turned out to be false....
Did Bush lie? I don't think you can say that exactly, but I do think you can now say that he led us into an unjust war against an enemy that was no real threat to its neighbors or the US. We now know that economic sanctions and the inspectors were both effective in limiting Saddam's ability to wage any kind of attack, and he was as isolated as Castro (who hasn't caused the US any real trouble in 40 years). There was not imminent threat, no need for pre-emptive war. Bush mislead us, the whole world, and it reminds me of the fairy tale about 'crying wolf'....next time there may be a real danger out there and the world won't listen because we were all mislead about this wolf.
And when you get right down to it, isn't being mislead on the Iraq invasion worse than a bold-faced lie about a BJ? "
" Bush is very careful not to come out and blatantly lie, but I would characterize him as 'misleading' the public on WMD and terrorist connections to Saddam. In addition to misleading the public on the reasons for....I have to say it- invading Iraq -, Bush and his team were manipulating intelligence data from the CIA, Pentagon and State Department....they ignored details that hurt their case for war and exaggerated details that helped their case. Many of the details that helped their case turned out to be false....
Did Bush lie? I don't think you can say that exactly, but I do think you can now say that he led us into an unjust war against an enemy that was no real threat to its neighbors or the US. We now know that economic sanctions and the inspectors were both effective in limiting Saddam's ability to wage any kind of attack, and he was as isolated as Castro (who hasn't caused the US any real trouble in 40 years). There was not imminent threat, no need for pre-emptive war. Bush mislead us, the whole world, and it reminds me of the fairy tale about 'crying wolf'....next time there may be a real danger out there and the world won't listen because we were all mislead about this wolf.
And when you get right down to it, isn't being mislead on the Iraq invasion worse than a bold-faced lie about a BJ? "
George W. Rather?
All ye Republicans, lend me yer big floppy, charming ears. What Dan Rather did with those memos was wrong. He mislead us with false information. To think we would believe that George W. slacked off toward the end of his National Guard duty....that's an outrage!
But let's see....who else mislead us with false information recently? Seems to me I remember somebody who told us that Saddam was an imminent threat, repleat with WMDs, Biological and Chemical agents with little remote control planes that could fly through our cities, spreading death across America. He even showed us a bit of evidence: satellite photos of buildings, testimony from Iraqi exiles like Chalibi, yellowcake from Nigeria. Who sold us this false information backed by dubious sources? George W & Co.
Bush's evidence, much like the RatherGate Memos, turned out to be false. Therefore, if you're upset with Rather's false evidence and misleading story, then certainly you should be upset with Bush's false evidence and misleading story.
The big difference is that Rather's "miscalculation" has only led to a firestorm on Blogs, while Bush's miscalculations have led us into a deteriorating state of occupational war.
The consequences of Bush's false information have been more serious than Rather's.
The end of Rather at CBS News? The end of CBS News itself? SHOCKING!
The end of the US as a respected leader of the free world?
The instigation of an questionable war in the heart of the Middle East?
...mmmore than SHOCKING.
I'm thinking Congress should call hearings about the "memos" Bush & Co. sold to us before the invasion....seems to me that is more their job than going after Dan Rather.
And I'm no Rather fan...stopped watching him years ago and the last time I saw him was when he interrupted a golf tournament to announce Reagan's death.
He was terrible...
But let's see....who else mislead us with false information recently? Seems to me I remember somebody who told us that Saddam was an imminent threat, repleat with WMDs, Biological and Chemical agents with little remote control planes that could fly through our cities, spreading death across America. He even showed us a bit of evidence: satellite photos of buildings, testimony from Iraqi exiles like Chalibi, yellowcake from Nigeria. Who sold us this false information backed by dubious sources? George W & Co.
Bush's evidence, much like the RatherGate Memos, turned out to be false. Therefore, if you're upset with Rather's false evidence and misleading story, then certainly you should be upset with Bush's false evidence and misleading story.
The big difference is that Rather's "miscalculation" has only led to a firestorm on Blogs, while Bush's miscalculations have led us into a deteriorating state of occupational war.
The consequences of Bush's false information have been more serious than Rather's.
The end of Rather at CBS News? The end of CBS News itself? SHOCKING!
The end of the US as a respected leader of the free world?
The instigation of an questionable war in the heart of the Middle East?
...mmmore than SHOCKING.
I'm thinking Congress should call hearings about the "memos" Bush & Co. sold to us before the invasion....seems to me that is more their job than going after Dan Rather.
And I'm no Rather fan...stopped watching him years ago and the last time I saw him was when he interrupted a golf tournament to announce Reagan's death.
He was terrible...
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
"Piece Plane"
FOXNews.com - U.S. & World - Watch-List Passenger ID'd as Cat Stevens
Whew! Now We're Safe.
Good work Homeland Security, I feel so much better knowing Cat Stevens can't visit the US. Nice work diverting the plane before he had a chance to hijack it.
Maybe they though his song was "Piece Plane" not "Peace Train"...
Whew! Now We're Safe.
Good work Homeland Security, I feel so much better knowing Cat Stevens can't visit the US. Nice work diverting the plane before he had a chance to hijack it.
Maybe they though his song was "Piece Plane" not "Peace Train"...
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Bush the Liberal - The nobility and folly of democratizing Iraq. By William Saletan
Bush the Liberal - The nobility and folly of democratizing Iraq. By William Saletan
Been reading Saletan for a while now, and his views are pretty close to mine....he supported the war when Iraq was an "imminent threat", but now no WMD and no 911 connection, plus bad planning for the "peace"...
If you read the papers you know that Iraq has been and continues to be a catastrophie on many levels, and the occupation will continue indefinitely...we are trapped. If we stay to create a "stable" Iraq, it will take at least 10 years, maybe 40. If we leave even in the next 2-3 years, it's very likely that Iraq will fall into a civil war, destabalizing the already unstable region. We may have created a bigger terrorist monster in Iraq by deleting the evil dictator. So, we will be forced to stay and the casualties will mount, year after year, while our security here at home is none the better for it. How did we get here? George W. and his gang led us here, and he's proud of it.
Been reading Saletan for a while now, and his views are pretty close to mine....he supported the war when Iraq was an "imminent threat", but now no WMD and no 911 connection, plus bad planning for the "peace"...
If you read the papers you know that Iraq has been and continues to be a catastrophie on many levels, and the occupation will continue indefinitely...we are trapped. If we stay to create a "stable" Iraq, it will take at least 10 years, maybe 40. If we leave even in the next 2-3 years, it's very likely that Iraq will fall into a civil war, destabalizing the already unstable region. We may have created a bigger terrorist monster in Iraq by deleting the evil dictator. So, we will be forced to stay and the casualties will mount, year after year, while our security here at home is none the better for it. How did we get here? George W. and his gang led us here, and he's proud of it.
Monday, September 20, 2004
John Kerry Sent Me an E-Mail Today
....and you can tell Clinton's gang has been at work. It's a masterpiece, and it would have been great at the convention. This makes me think the debates may be more important this cycle...if Kerry can use logic like this to break Bush down on TV...maybe it will make a difference. I still have some hope in the American electorate. Don't let me down.
If you want to read Kerry's letter, I'm sure it's on their website.
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Chromed Moon
Photoshopped from a while back. The DSC-P5 just can't really capture the moon without some help.
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