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October 27, 2005
Cheney - proponent of torture
Just when you think it couldn't get any worse for this administration... Honestly, you think they'd stop shooting themselves in the foot.
Drumroll please...
Vice President for Torture - Taken from the Washington Post
It's not surprising that Mr. Cheney would be at the forefront of an attempt to ratify and legalize this shameful record. The vice president has been a prime mover behind the Bush administration's decision to violate the Geneva Conventions and the U.N. Convention Against Torture and to break with decades of past practice by the U.S. military. These decisions at the top have led to hundreds of documented cases of abuse, torture and homicide in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Cheney's counsel, David S. Addington, was reportedly one of the principal authors of a legal memo justifying the torture of suspects. This summer Mr. Cheney told several Republican senators that President Bush would veto the annual defense spending bill if it contained language prohibiting the use of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by any U.S. personnel.
This whole building is coming down. If you think we know the dirt on these criminals now, just you wait.
Posted by PJ at 05:08 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 14, 2005
Big-Money Censorship
Study Says Software Makers Supply Tools to Censor Web
But a new report from the OpenNet Initiative, a human rights project linking researchers from the University of Toronto, Harvard Law School and Cambridge University in Britain, once again raises tough questions about the use of filtering technologies - often developed by Western companies - by autocratic governments bent on controlling what their citizens see on the Web.Myanmar "employs one of the most restrictive regimes of Internet filtering worldwide that we have studied," said Ronald J. Deibert, a principal investigator for the OpenNet Initiative and the director of the Citizen Lab at the Munk Center for International Studies at the University of Toronto.
Myanmar now joins several nations, including China, Iran and Singapore, in relying on Western software and hardware to accomplish their goals, Mr. Deibert said.
Microsoft, Cisco and Yahoo, for example, have all come under fire recently for providing technology or otherwise cooperating with the Chinese government to enable it to monitor and censor Internet use.
Meanwhile, on the other spectrum...
Guide aims to help bloggers beat censors
Reporters Without Borders' "Handbook for Blogger and Cyber-Dissidents" is partly financed by the French government and includes technical advice on how to remain anonymous online. It was launched at the Apple Expo computer show in Paris on Thursday and can also be downloaded from RSF's Web site in Chinese, Arabic, Persian, English and French.
Same 'ol thing - corporations willing to brush aside human rights in pursuit of the dollar and the underpaid, overworked non-profiteers to try to clean up their mess and stop it from getting worse.
Your thoughts?
Posted by PJ at 05:08 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 12, 2005
I've seen it all
World Chess Boxing Organisation
Posted by PJ at 08:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A letter to Media Matters
I am a frequent visitor of Media Matters and I feel they offer an amazing service to the public. However, I feel they're only going halfway by concentrating on the conservative radicals. Just as I feel that the Republican party has let down its own supporters and many are ignorant to it, the same may one day happen to the Democratic party. There needs to be accountability on both sides for our system to operate correctly.
I wrote them a letter urging them to continue what they're doing and expand it across all political views.
To whom it may concern,First of all, I want to thank you for providing such a wonderful service. I frequent your site on nearly a daily basis and I cite your articles many, many times in my own writings.
One concern I do have about this site however is what seems to be a lack of observation on the press/media biased on the liberal side of the political spectrum. While I may agree with many of the viewpoints of such people and welcome hearing their opinions, I want to know that they are telling the truth. Just as much as I despise the talking heads spreading lies and half-truths on the conservative side, I would hate to find out that things I've heard on the liberal side that helped shape my viewpoint are less than fully true.
In the end, I think everyone that writes and reads this site is not looking for a less conservative or more liberal media -- we are looking for a more honest and partial media that inherently will be willing to show all sides of the story. While we may not always like what we hear from a media like this, we will at least take solace that it's closer to the truth than what we have today.
Just as O'Reilly and company foster radical viewpoints based on mere opinion (and bad ones at that), the liberal equivalent of O'Reilly is doing the same. All this does is perpetuate the divide in this country and destroys an already weak line of communication between party lines.
We need to hold the spokesmen of our views just as accountable -- if not more than the other side. How can our criticism of people we deem perpetrators be taken seriously if we're just as guilty? In addition, this site and supporters of this site will always be unfairly labeled liberal radicals if we are seen only holding one side responsible.
I go to this site because I want to have a better idea of how this country is being lied to. I obviously want to know if I'm being lied to as well. I hope that you will consider this idea as a way to take Media Matters to another level by holding not only the people we disagree with accountable, but the people we agree with as well.
P.J. Onori
Posted by PJ at 05:14 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 10, 2005
Could the RIAA become any more evil?
Apparently, the answer is yes.
Posted by PJ at 06:25 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Bedlam
Honestly, this makes Hurricane Katrina look like a Sunday parade... Can anyone remember this many disasters (the Tsunami, Katrina, Rita, now this) occurring so close together?
My thoughts go to all the victims and survivors of this monstrosity.
Posted by PJ at 05:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 07, 2005
Ning: Stupid widgets for stupid people?
I was browsing through Technorati and I noticed some phrases that I had not seen on the top ten before. On a side, note, the top ten on Technorati has become much less political in recent days, but that's another subject. Getting back on track, I did a search on "Ning" and after a few clicks, I was at Ning's website. After looking through a few pages,I became turned off very quickly due to the sickningly high amount of crap I ran into. You know all those stupid web apps that, after answering a few questions, determine what type of muffin you'd be? I got that sort of vibe from many of the apps on Ning.
Don't get me wrong, the idea is great. I'm just not sure how often it will really be used to its full potential. Once something gets inundated with mediocrity, it'll become more difficult for the truly innovative to shine through. A great example of this is Konfabulator. I was greatly excited about the concept of having widgets for specific needs. However, I spent most of the time sifting through useless widgets that were created for reasons I have yet to comprehend. Another great example of this is DeviantArt - a site that has some truly amazing artists. However, for every great artist, there are 1000 people whose parents should have thrown away their crayons at the age of four. Obviously, it's hard to find that one person in 1000...
Ning is going to have to understand it's deadling with a double-edged sword. They better be willing to have some quality control or they just be another flash in the pan that would have had a great product if it just weren't for all those stupid people.
Posted by PJ at 08:08 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 05, 2005
Death of the SUV?
Music to my ears:
Buyers shift gears to high-mileage cars
With only a nine-day supply of Civics, Honda officials are struggling to keep up with demand. "Inventories are as low or lower than they've ever been for the Civic," said Sage Marie, a Honda spokesman. "They're basically being bought right off the truck."
Taken from the Seattle Times.
Gasoline surge leads to pedal power
Close to 20 million bicycles are likely to be sold this year, approaching the record hit after a cut-off of Arab oil triggered gasoline lines in the United States.
Taken from the CNN.
Is this a sign that people are finally understanding what we're doing to our environment and how it's going to significantly impact all of our lives for the worse if we don't change our ways? Harldy. People are just tired of paying high gas prices. It's sad that people are more concerned about their wallet than the welfare of our world.
Posted by PJ at 03:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack