OPEC hurt by weak dollar
Here’s an interesting little example of how interconnected the world is. Today I read that OPEC appears ready to defend $60 floor on oil prices. Now, as somebody who has a 12 mile drive to the nearest grocery story — each way — this really bothers me, because I don’t like paying $2.40 a gallon [...]
I guess it’s not actually funny …
I do a lot of joking about Bushisms, because the mangling of the English language is one of my pet peeves. (For heaven’s sake, you’re the President of the most powerful nation in the free world. LEARN TO SAY NU-CLE-AR!!!!!) But maybe it’s not that funny; I wondered how somebody who was so … well [...]
Audacity? Do you want to talk about audacity?
On Thursday, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Bush administration cannot try Guantánamo Bay detainees via military tribunals, in which as few as three military officers make the decisions, and the accused cannot face their accusers. Instead, the court suggested that military courts-martial, with protections similar to civil trials, would be appropriate. in [...]
US border patrol under orders to encourage illegal immigration
okay, maybe that’ll will strong, but check out this report that the U.S. Customs and Border Protectionis under orders to notify the Mexican government of Minutemen positions. the Minutemen, as you may or may not know, our civilians who have taken it upon themselves to patrol the border and keep out illegal immigrants: According to [...]
Sandra Day O’Connor: US slipping into dictatorship
Sandra Day O’Connor, dictatorship, freedom
Net Neutrality: It’s not just a good idea, it’s essential
AT&T was broken up for good reason. Now, with the pending merger with Bellsouth, they’re just about back where they were, with one big difference. Now we have the internet. Good, right? Wrong. AT&T is one of the largest supporters of the end of “net neutrality”, which means that all data traffic is treated equally. [...]
Where the Patriot Act falls short
I hate to sound cynical, but isn’t it a sweet deal for Senators that they blocked the unreformed Patriot Act last year, thereby seeming to be on the side of civil liberties, but are now set to pass it almost unchanged, thereby staying on the Administration’s good side? The bill still lacks basic protections for [...]
Wikipedia caught up in cartoon madness
Never discuss religion and politics. Yeah, right. Rogers Cadenhead points out that Wikipedia is now embroiled in the mess over the Mohammed cartoons. I undestand that Muslims don’t want people to make images. I understand that they don’t want to see images. But when I read a comment like “Every time I enter the page [...]
Slavery is not history
iAbolish is collecting signatures for a petition to as the US Government to Create a Task Force to Eradicate Slavery in Sudan. Some disturbing statistics from Christian Solidarity International: Based on interviews with 1,306 freed male and female slaves over the age of eleven: Forced labor 95.5% Frequent beatings 95.7% Racial insults 95.8% Forced conversion [...]
Narnia kills … reality TV show?
Here’s an intersting little mystery. (Or non-mystery, really.) It seems that ABC cancelled a reality show in which a gay couple convinces white, conservative, Christian neighbors they should win a house. The question that remains: was the company worried that early gay-bashing comments would turn people off, or did parent company Disney do it to [...]