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February 4, 2006
Amensty International is going to be showing a light-hearted short in UK theaters (um, theatres) next week. It’s about the arms trade and it’s very well done. [Tags: arms peace amnesty_international film humor]
From Tim Grieve in Salon:
The Bush administration is asking Congress for an additional $120 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan — money that comes on top of the $226 billion the administration has already budgeted for Iraq.
Would we be “aiding and abetting the terrorists” if we mentioned just now that the Bush administration’s top budget official insisted in 2002 that the entire war in Iraq would probably cost between $50 billion and $60 billion? Or that the president’s secretary of defense suggested that the cost would be “something under $50 billion” and that other countries would be paying some of it? Or that the deputy secretary of defense said that Iraq could “pay for its own reconstruction”? Or that the White House eased out the president’s chief economic advisor after he dared to suggest that the war would actually cost $100 billion or — gasp! — $200 billion?
You have to wonder: What if we earmarked $200 billion to make the world more peaceful? Which would be the better investment? Which would make our children safer? [Tags: iraq george_bush peace]
February 1, 2006
Steve Johnson blogs about a Bill Clinton talk at Davos, and about the question Steve asked Bill Gates. Entertaining and perceptive, as usual. [Tags: steve_johnson bill_clinton bill_gates games davos]
January 31, 2006
David Isenberg points out that if you do an image search on “tiananmen” at Google.cn, you get tourist photos, while if you search on “tiananmen” at non-Chinese Google, you get the uncensored images we expect…and, most surprisingly, if you search Google.cn for “Tiananmen” (note the initial capital) you get the uncensored photos. Fascinating. (David acknowledges Sid Karin and Sam Smith.) [Tags: china google politics digital rights]
January 29, 2006
David Stephenson has noted some small changes at the Center for Disease Control site that would be useful if the site were to become a center for information during a pandemic such as we may well be facing with bird flu. They’re small changes that will be useful in any case because they make it easier to find fresh information. [Tags: cdc avian flu david stephenson]
My senators — Kennedy and Kerry — are doing their duty to protect us from granting virtually unlimited power to the executive branch. My senators are fillibustering.
Are yours? We don’t have a lot of time left and apparently we only need eleven more Senators. Why not give yours a call today? [Tags: politics alito fillibuster]
January 28, 2006
The “Bush Step Down” demonstrations an hour before the State of the Union are appealing to me. unfortunately, I’m going to be on a train… [Tags: george bush politics]
January 24, 2006
Since the Bush Administration will not release White House photos of Bush and Abramoff, even though the pitctures were taken with tax payer money, I figure it’s our patriotic duty to release our own.
(Hasn’t anyone already photoshopped a Brokeback parody photo of George and Jack? They have the hats for it.) [Tags: gerogeBush jackAbramoff]
January 21, 2006
Zephyr Teachout and Britt Blaser, both veterans of the Howard Dean Internet campaign, reflect on how to fix what’s going wrong at the well-intentioned Since Sliced Bread contest. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is sponsoring the contest, offering $100,000 to the person who comes up with the best idea for improving the lives of working women and men. 22,000 ideas were submitted which “a group of diverse experts” winnowed to 70, a process some felt was too top down.
This is a fascinating case in which a bottom-up process is supposed to squeeze out a single winner, the contest is intended to advance the social good, and the reward includes a hefty chunk of change. [Tags: seiu zephyrTeachout brittBlaser]
January 20, 2006
Defective Yeti has a funny transcript of the invasion of Iraq as a text adventure. Here’s how it begins:
Oval OfficeYou are standing inside a White House, having just been elected to the presidency of the United States. You knew Scalia would pull through for you.
There is a large desk here, along with a few chairs and couches. The presidential seal is in the middle of the room and there is a full-length mirror upon the wall.
What do you want to do now?
> INVADE IRAQ
You are not able to do that, yet.> LOOK MIRROR
Self-reflection is not your strong suit.> PET SEAL
It’s not that kind of seal.> EXAMINE CHAIRS
They are two several chairs arranged around the center of the room, along with two couches. Under one couch you find Clinton’s shoes.> FILL SHOES
You are unable to fill Clinton’s shoes.
(Thanks to Deborah Elizabeth Finn for the link.) [Tags: iraq humor defectiveYeti]
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