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AP story

Nonono. We need to keep giving the military more money. They always put it to good uses. They'd never, say, misplace 1 trillion dollars. More money for the military is the solution to everything.

Even sarcasm. :)

You mean the same CNN who is reporting this?

Or perhaps the San Fransisco gate reporting it.

Maybe Yahoo New's report?

C'mon man, turn on the TV... normally I'd say just because it's not in the mainstream media doesn't mean it's not true. But this time it is...

Nothing will change until we get out of a two party system mentality. Nothing. I don't understand why people don't see that it's just too fucking easy for a powerful group of people to buy BOTH parties, give the general population the bone every four years, and say "just be glad you have the right to vote!" When was the last presidential election where we actually had someone we really wanted to elect? 1992 :-/? 1980 :-)? 1960?

If the Internet is supposed to be this massive force of change, why can't an internet based "popular" party nominate someone through the Internet, and then everyone can vote for that person to do an end-around this fucked up two party system? You know, I can just see all the fat-assed geeks say "well, just think of the fraud from overseas voters, and blah blah blah." Well, instead of just sitting there on your big fat asses and criticize, why don't you use your supposed massive intellect and THINK of a way to do a national based internet nomination of a candidate... Our only other alternative is for everyone to choose another party such as this or this.

I also think it's time for all the Democrat and Republican Koolaid drinkers to wake up from their coma and realize these two choices are actually more alike than different. They are in agreement with military issues, immigration, and other misc. topics. So what does that leave, abortion? Great, that's leaves a whole lot for me to pick from...

Until then, don't be surprised for another round of pick the worst of the two in 2008...

Uh, did you look at the numbers?

Here are some of the numbers: 2004 not the breakout year for youth vote after all

Basically, no greater electorate percentage of young people came out this year than any other election. People voted in droves, including young people. But young people didn't get out any more or less than anyone else.

This was the biggest young voter turnout, ever.

Yep. And the biggest (insert demographic of choice) voter turnout, ever, as well.

I haven't been affected... yet...
In Wisconsin I voted for Feingold, the only senator to vote against the PATRIOT Act, for that very reason.
Badnarik's take on it:
A party organizer told the candidate they'd have to leave to make his flight. So, would Badnarik repeal the Patriot Act? "In a heartbeat," he answered. "In a heartbeat." Then, despite the time, he couldn't resist expounding: "Technically, I cannot repeal the Patriot Act, because in Marbury v. Madison, a Supreme Court decision from 1803, the Supreme Court ruled that any law repugnant to the Constitution is null and void," he said. "And it is null and void from the day you enact it, not from the day you discover it's unconstitutional. So from my point of view, the Patriot Act does not exist," he said. Source

Tuesday, June 29, 2004

The U.S. Supreme Court cast a cloud on the medical marijuana movement's biggest legal victory Monday when the justices agreed to hear the Bush administration's appeal of a ruling that protects marijuana patients in California from federal prosecution.

The court will hear the case in the term that starts in October, with a ruling due by the end of June 2005.

I wouldn't be surprised if Bush & Co. decided on a major offensive Monday:

It's certainly interesting that a huge number of fresh troops just arrived in preparation for just that.

Would it work against the administration to do this? Polls say no.

Obviously, I'm not sure if they'd be that daring, but if they are, you heard it here first (if they're not, this comment, like most conspiracy theories, will just lapse into oblivion).

"The reason oil, coal and gas are called fossil fuels is that they once came from living organisms."

Actually, this 'fact' is still very much disputed: Fossil Fuels and Suspected Fuel

So, if "every ounce of coal and every last cubic foot of gas were burned by mankind" the world would be covered in an atmosphere of CO2 that makes Venus look like a pleasant place to vacation (not that all the ozone smog, radioactive and toxic chemicals output from burning the coal, and violent weather changes associated with climate change wouldn't kill us first, regardless of which theory of fossil fuels was true).

How would you like to have to manually lock 20 thousand doors everytime you left your house?

1. Staffing
2. Machines, Such as this one
3. Information. Track the source and destinations of the containers.
4. We don't have to scan all of them, but we can do better then scanning 5%.

that destroying and keeping the terrorists and the reason they exist is a lot easier

Easier? Like how Israel's anti-terrorism campaign in Palestine, now going on for more then 50 years? Britains efforts against the IRA? America's efforts against the Taliban in Afghanistan?

I think you don't understand the nature or scope of the problem.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/09/30/MNG9U91ANA1.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/09/30/BAGPE91B571.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/07/EDGII94AG81.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/08/BAG4M95J231.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/11/MNGID9748P1.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/24/BAGML9F94221.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/27/BAGGE9FSN057.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/09/30/MNG9U91ANA1.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/09/30/BAGPE91B571.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/07/EDGII94AG81.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/08/BAG4M95J231.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/11/MNGID9748P1.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/24/BAGML9F94221.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/27/BAGGE9FSN057.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/09/30/MNG9U91ANA1.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/09/30/BAGPE91B571.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/07/EDGII94AG81.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/08/BAG4M95J231.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/11/MNGID9748P1.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/24/BAGML9F94221.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/27/BAGGE9FSN057.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/09/30/MNG9U91ANA1.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/09/30/BAGPE91B571.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/07/EDGII94AG81.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/08/BAG4M95J231.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/11/MNGID9748P1.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/24/BAGML9F94221.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/27/BAGGE9FSN057.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/09/30/MNG9U91ANA1.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/09/30/BAGPE91B571.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/07/EDGII94AG81.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/08/BAG4M95J231.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/11/MNGID9748P1.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/24/BAGML9F94221.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/27/BAGGE9FSN057.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/09/30/MNG9U91ANA1.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/09/30/BAGPE91B571.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/07/EDGII94AG81.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/08/BAG4M95J231.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/11/MNGID9748P1.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/24/BAGML9F94221.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/27/BAGGE9FSN057.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/09/30/MNG9U91ANA1.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/09/30/BAGPE91B571.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/07/EDGII94AG81.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/08/BAG4M95J231.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/11/MNGID9748P1.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/24/BAGML9F94221.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/10/27/BAGGE9FSN057.DTL

Can't admit there's any holes in your argument can you. Let's check out the facts
1) During the taliban's rule Afghanistan was the largest supplier of poppy to the world.
2) The taliban used money generated from the sale of opium to support terrorists (al-Qaeda.)
3) Less than 6 months after the Taliban was ousted Afghanistan was miraculously exporting poppy at almost the same level as before their self imposed ban (must have been instant poppy.)

Sources
1
2
3
4
5

Just one question: Is ignorance really bliss?

And what makes you think that you can't get screwed over even if there is no "One True Database". In the UK, people are still being mistaken for criminals, in the states, even Senators are being stopped as terrorist suspects.

Here in Sweden, there's been a standard for ID-cards for several years. Any SIS-approved ID-card (such as, for instance, my drivers license, bank ID or postal ID) is valid for identification.

I have yet to see any lack of civil liberties resulting from this. On the contrary, our ID-cards, along with our personal numbers (think social security numbers, except better) make it easier to make sure who's who. And that's the point if it all, anyway. To let you tell others that you're the one that your ID-card says you are.

As for databases, well, there'll never be a "one true database" anyway. Different organizations will always have their own databases. A standardized ID will let them make sure who's who though, so that you won't get confused with that terrorist guy on the floor above, who just happens to share your last name.

Same here. Can't find a transcript, but here is an article from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Let's see. There is some reported voter registration fraud. Here is a case in Ohio were a registrar was paid with cocaine and registered "Dick Tracy" and "George Foreman":
http://www.cleveland.com/crime/plaindealer/index.s sf?/base/iscri/109818543096130.xml

along with non-anecdotal evidence of potential fraud (higher incidence of registrations from incorrect address).

There is record voter registration in important states:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/ a/2004/10/17/MNGAB99QEA1.DTL

The democrats have supposedly hired many lawyers to monitor polls, etc.:

http://www.voanews.com/english/US-Democrats-Republ icans-Deploy-Lawyers-for-Possible-Election-Battles .cfm

Al Gore is telling blacks to "vote early" so their vote will count, presumably not like the last time:

"Early voting is a good idea," he said. "You want to give them plenty of time to count all the votes."

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/10/24/gore.ap/

In all, it seems like the making for a very big mess, and I think this election, with things so close, I for one would be suspicious and at least investigate.

One thing I find interesting about this story, is that there is no evidence of any actual wrongdoing, just innuendo, but perhaps this is just part of the democrat playbook, which is to allege claiming voter intimidation, whether it's true or not:

http://cleveland.indymedia.org/news/2004/10/12700. php

Good idea and San Francisco is a great place to visit, but shouldn't they do something to help the unemployed and homeless in that town? And when I say "help the homeless", I mean REALLY help them, like get them a place to live and a way to make a buck, not just handouts, which they've done in the past.

While the submitter stated Newsom's goal of wi-fi access for all, the focus of his speech *was* on the homeless problem in San Francisco.

He said that, "Homeless are the new symbol of San Francisco" and proposed expanding our "Care Not Cash" program to help them out. (Care not Cash actually cuts their welfare benefits and finds places for them to live, as well as help with jobs and such)

Regarding free wi-fi access for all, it's so prevalent already that I don't think it should be that big of a deal. Between all these cafes and things that run hotspots and residential units running unsecure wi-fi, it's fairly easy to get wireless access in the city already.

I live on a hill in the inner Sunset, and if I stand on our balcony with my laptop, I can get 12 unsecured networks!

[...] you foist off on us the western-centric view that internet access is as vital to third world economies as it is to western economies.

Yes, indeed it is.

Doctors need to be paid, as I society I think we really should help ensure that the sick are able to get medical care. Healthy people = healthy workers = increased productivity.

A government which is abiding by the law would be firing and prosecuting the Secret Service agents and police officials responsible for these outrages, rather than institutionalizing the violation of civil rights under color of law. A government which abuses the power of arrest to "protect" the President from seeing people who disagree with his policies is not a government which is abiding by the Constitution, and to allow it to remain in office one day longer is to place all rights in jeopardy. The bastard has violated his oath of office (so much for his claim of "keeping his word"), and voting him out is the duty of everyone who holds the Constitution to heart.

Which, unfortunately, isn't all that many people these days.

Yes I do.

1998 Florida Mayoral race overturned because of massive voter fraud. This is only the most recent of a half dozen cases in Florida some of which resulted in convictions and/or invalidated elections. Lots of funs stuff... Deceased voters, vote buying, non-resident voters, ballot switching - the whole nine yards. (Gee I wonder if THAT could possibly explain the "intimidating" presence of Republican poll watchers and an attempt to purge the rolls of deceased, illegal and non-resident voters? NO it MUST be "suppression"). As it turns our there WERE still dead people that voted in 2000. The Miami Herald found André Alismé who died in 1997 among 144 other illegal voters after investigating only about a sixth of the precincts in Miami.

Forged absentee ballots in S. Dakota in 2002

Apparently some of the Democratic voting dead vote in primaries too.

Deceased voters still making it to the polls

Of course the 1960 Presidential election... Long past history but memories are long and political

And there is plenty of proof that this year may be a high-water mark for fraud... Fictional people registered to vote
Tons of registrations accumulated over months including many fraudulent ones with fictional names, dozens of the same name, forged signatures, dead people etc. all dumped on the county offices at the last minute to overload the checks to prevent fraud in Pennsylvania, Florida (and here), Colorado, Texas.

I don't mind Walmart discounting albums or anything, but keep in mind that Walmart only sells you what they see fit.

Here's a few links to keep you busy as you praise Walmart for "puttin' it to the RIAA". Keep in mind that this is also the biggest company (Well... next to the military) to mandate RFID tags on everything.

So not only do you get to choose from a limited selection of CD's (those deemed acceptable by Walmarts censors), but soon you'll potentially be able to have Walmart scan you as you shop to see what other items someone in your demographic is purchasing. Or in Walmart terms, "Shoppers who purchase band XXX from our censored music selection, are also likely to purchase items YY and ZZ".

Ain't it great to be a number with big brother determining what you can have!

Walmart CD Censorship
Market censors and market mechanisms
Censored magazines, banned music and pseudo-Christian fun at America's scariest retailer

they don't just do this with server seizure proceedings -

Say they think you have some information they want, but you don't know shit and thus cant tell them?

Simple! Arrange with a friendly foreign government (let's say, for example, Syria) to dump you over there where you can be tortured at their convenience without interference from liberal journalists and activists.

sound far-fetched? have a look here. Given I'm posting on YRO, I imagine most of you know all about this, but a lesson worth repeating..

Russell, a former Voters Outreach of America employee in Las Vegas, said he witnessed his supervisor shred eight to 10 Democratic registration forms from prospective voters. Russell could not recall his supervisor's name.

It's funny how if one party claims something enough times about another, people start believing it.

"CBS who pursues the ridiculous air national guard story for 5 years and finds nothing but forged documents and testimony from a Kerry campaign chairman."

Something has been last in the whole furor over the CBS guard story. The documents were forged but what they said probably accurately represented the thoughts of the guard commander, at least according to his secretary. The only reason forged documents were resorted to by the people pushing the story is because Bush's political operatives managed to destroy all the original and embarrasing documents about Bush's guard career. Since they destroyed all the embarrasing documents they have concealed something that speaks strongly about Bush's character or lack thereof.

From the SF Chronicle though you can get the same story of numerous sources. Its a tribute to the Republicans that they completely buried the story and may bury Dan Rather and CBS though in fact the underlying story was true.

"The secretary for a squadron commander purported to be the author of now-disputed memorandums questioning President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard said Tuesday that she had never typed the documents and believed they were fakes."

"But she said they accurately reflected the thoughts of the commander, Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, and other memorandums she typed for him about Bush."

"The information in them is correct," the woman, Marian Carr Knox, now 86, said in an interview at her home in Houston. "But I doubt," she said, pausing, "it's not anything that I wrote, because there are terms in there that are not used by Guards. The format wasn't the way we did it. It looks like someone may have read the originals and put that together.

"We did discuss Bush's conduct, and it was a problem Killian was concerned about," Knox said. "I think he was writing the memos so there would be some record that he was aware of what was going on and what he had done."

Yep, the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting this.

If you doubt the partisan nature of the F.B.I., please read
Reagan, Hoover, and the U.C. Red Scare.

J. Edgar Hoover was a nut.

Seditously as always,
Kilgore Trout

Wow, It was only last month that I ran into some guy from Norway who was here for the world championships of Magic the Gathering.
San Francisco is in danger of losing it's hip image and turning into some sort of nerdly paradise!

How long until we see space marshals keeping our heavens safe from Al-Qaeda ?

It also looks like they are gonig to have an even harder time keeping their cover as space ship one cas a capacity of oh say... about 2 passengers.

Actually, that wasn't Chris Anderson's Wired back in 1996. A few years after Conde-Nast (publishers of Cosmopolitan, among other things) bought Wired in 1998, they brought in Chris as the new editor-in-chief, with the provision that he could hire his own staff and redesign the magazine. So the Wired you know and loathe today is Chris's baby -- not the one you might still have some nostalgic memories for, back during the bubble.

Sen. John Kerry's doctors have told him he is cured of the prostate cancer that sidelined him almost two years ago and that there is a slim chance it could recur in the next decade, The New York Times said Sunday in a report based on interviews with the Democratic presidential nominee and several of his physicians.

"I am cured," the 60-year-old Kerry said in the interview last month. "I am cancer-free, and the percentages of me being cancer-free 10 years from now are about as good as they get."

But companies in America not only hate their employees, but they are starting to hate their customers as well.

Remember Best Buy's Demon Customers?

It seems if you are not acting in a company's interests at every moment, the company is out to punish you. And until we start holding corporations accountable for their actions, as a consumer AND a country, they will continue to throw tantrums when things don't go their way.

Spare the rod, spoil the company.

Link re: the sending Candians abroad to be tortured part here. This is frigging terrifying.

Here.
In a draft of the House GOP legislation obtained by The Associated Press, many of the provisions were similar to the draft copy of the "Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003" that a nonprofit group said had leaked out of the Justice Department in January 2003.

The Justice Department said then that they had made no final decision on the legislation, and never submitted it to Congress.

But many of the anti-terrorism provisions of that draft show up in the the House discussion draft section on terrorism prevention and prosecution that part of the proposed House legislation.

Among the provisions are measures on the deportation of aliens who become members of or help terrorist groups, required pretrial detention for terrorism suspects, warrants against non-citizens even when a target can't be tied directly to a foreign power, and enhanced penalties for threats or attempts to use chemical or nuclear weapons against the United States, including attacks through the mail system.

and

HereThe draft obtained by the AP shows House Republicans want increased border security and customs agents and crackdowns on illegal immigration, including fines of up to $10,000 and possible prison time for illegal immigrants, and penalties for states who don't allow their local law enforcement agents to help with immigration enforcement.

You said:

Now, the Republican party is getting ready with "Patriot Act II" in response to the findings of the Sept 11 commission, but in stark contrast to what's required, has granted far greater power and reach to the security agencies while dramatically eroding constitutional protections and providing a fraction of added security.

Explain to me how, Increasing border security to crackdowns on illegal immigration, imposing fines of up to $10,000 and possible prison time for illegal immigrants, required pretrial detention for terrorism suspects (no bail for individuals charged with terrorism), warrants against non-citizens even when a target can't be tied directly to a foreign power, and enhanced penalties for threats or attempts to use chemical or nuclear weapons against the United States, including attacks through the mail system erodes our constitutional protections. I see the Mexico-US border as one of the, if not the, biggest threats to our security.

"And as far as radical islamic terrorists, this play has just begun, its Act 1. Also they dont want you to bow to Islam, most of them just want the US to leave them the fuck alone."

They just want us to leave them alone? You are kidding right? Listen, what drove the terrorists to blow up the WTC is the realization that their warped fundamentalist religious culture is being replaced in the name of progress. For instance, the fundamental Saudi religious leader who sees his grandson watching Baywatch, and his granddaughter starting to get thoughts in her head that she should be treated like a human being, given freedom and an education. They oppose the concepts of freedom of religion, equality of men and women, freedom of speech, etc. They see these ideas which oppose their radical religious views starting to influence their culture and declare a "holy war" against western culture "the great satan". Now who is the leader of the poster child of this 'western evil'? The USA.

"To

When even with the info lower level agents get ignored because "terrorist" actions are merely part of the plan? something like a "new pearl harbor" like event And which is it again, when you are "following orders", do you investigate, or shine it on because some "superior" individual has connections with those you are supposedly investigating, so vital information gets ignored on purpose? Why is it, when someone with the legal and law enforcement cred of David Schippers, successful impeacher of a freekin president, successful chicago area mob prosecutor, can't even get word to ashcroft (I'm sure you heard of that gent) about upcoming bad news scenarios despite repeated and exhaustive attempts? Why is that, an "unfortunate intelligence failure"? Or was it because it was ON PURPOSE. Ignored, avoided on purpose?

Sorry, I'll be way way WAY more impressed when some white guys in suits and uniforms get indicted by a grand jury for some charges up to and including murder and treason. You can talk about "additional powers" then, once you effectively use the ones you already have, and a LOT more of you come forward like the small handful of TRULY brave and honest agents have,and stop being chicken for your careers over the nations safety. Follow your oath, not your paycheck in other words. Use your brain for something more than to absorb "commands". You're an agent, they are supposed to QUESTION things, not just blindly follow orders, they are supposed to deal in data, not be part of a massive coverup that's destroying a nation and imperiling the entire planet.

Nuhremberg established the precedent, "following orders" is no excuse for helping along high crimes and misdemeanors, and being as it's the internet age and some decent info is available, there's no excuse for remaining so uninformed other than laziness and an uncaring attitude and blind obedience and brainwashing.

Oh, the links? There's hundreds more, THOUSANDS more,just use google, 9-11, government prior knowledge is a good start. I'm not going to do your work for you, and if you had been paying attention even just on slashdot you would have already seen quite a few of them dropped, in many articles and in many comments.

Educate thyself before wanting to make all the US people some "enemy" to "investigate". We have had enough of the surveil/command/CONTROL aspect of this and the recent past US "regimes" and their (mostly) *mercenaries*. Stop being a stooge for them killers and thieves.

Here, I'll give you an easy one. How did WTC building 7 manage to fall down? Here's another easy one, bush and company, including rice, swore to the 9-11 "investigative commission" that they had "no idea that planes could be used for hijacking and then used as weapons" and etc.. uh huh. How do you explain terrorist hijacking scenario drills, one being run the same day as the attacks then? A COINCIDENCE? You smelling a rat yet? I hope so, I really do.. we need more honest cops, less blind order followers. I hope you are one of the former.

pudge: Second ... two star hitters ...
I plead nolo contendere on that one! On the other hand, Bush doesn't know the name of his star Supreme Court Justice Anthony/Antonio Scalia! And I could argue that Antonin Scalia counts as at least 1.8 Supreme Court justices because Clarence Thomas votes with him over 80% of the time! Which would you rather have, a President who didn't know his hometown baseball stars, or a President who didn't know who was on the Supreme Court? (Yeah, I know, Bush just misspoke. Lighten up, will ya!)

pudge: Third, you can't be serious about the forgeries. ...
I seriously think there's not enough information to draw a firm conclusion, and that's what I wrote. Look, all CBS ever had, all anybody's ever seen, are faxes from Burkett. Fax resolution is 150 DPI, which, for purposes of document forensics, is piss poor. As I type I'm looking at a blowup of a CBS doc that says "Report to the 111th" (with superscript). The 'o' in "Report" is exactly 9 pixels tall. The 'o' in 'to' is 10 pixels tall. the '1's in "111" are 7 pixels wide. My point is that no reputable expert is going to swear beyond the shadow of a doubt based solely on 150 DPI faxes. Sure, the preponderance of the evidence says they're forgeries, but the standard in a criminal trial is beyond the shadow of a doubt. You want a little doubt? It looks to me like some of the instances of the same glyph are higher or lower than others. Typewriters; especially worn ones, strike at varying heights. MSWord doesn't. I'm not claiming that proves the docs are valid; I just think there's still signifcant uncertainty about them. From what I know now, on a 50/50 bet I'd bet against them. But on a 20:1 bet, I'd put up $10 to say they're valid against your $200 claiming they're false. Would you take that bet? How about 100:1? See what I mean? There's still uncertainty about them.

pudge: Fourth ... he hasn't done anything..
Flat out false. here's a small summary from Kerry's Senate career awards. Here's another, comparing Kerry's legislative accomplishments with Cheney's. Read here and here about the BCCI affair.

A word of advice here. You've clearly been getting most of your information from anti- Kerry sources. It's a free country, you're welcome to do that, but my advice is: don't take all that stuff as the full and complete story on Kerry. Taking that stuff as gospel and ignoring the counter arguments makes you look, well, ignorant. I'm not saying you are ignorant; just that some of the things you say leave an unfortunate impression. Case in point:

pudge: Further, I don't know how you can consider what Bush has done in Iraq a substantive issue, ...
Most observers consider Iraq to be the most substantive issue of the campaign.

pudge: ... Kerry has completely reversed his position on Iraq ...
False. Read this analysis from the SF Chronicle's Marc Sandalow. Yeah, I know, you think you can safely igore it because the paper's probably liberal. But I'm telling you, that's the kind of ignoring that can lead to ignorance! By the way, Kerry didn't say 'the invasion was "the right decision,"' he

Want to see Kerry's changing positions on Iraq, in his own words?

For a more analytical look with some of Bush's words thrown in for context look here.

It's ridiculous only if you believe that the American way of life is the only way, and the right way for people to live and organize themselvs.

The Chinese on the other hand believe a different thing. They belive, to take from your quote, that a governments legitimacy has nothing to do with democratic elections "conducted in an uncensored arena of free expression".

On whatever planet that may theoretically take place.

Now, I accept that they believe that, live by that, and good luck to them. As long as they dont try and make me live by their rules, they can live in whatever way they like.

Some people on the other hand, are incapable of understanding that the ways of other countries are, whilst being unsuitable for us, perfectly legitimate ways of self organization. They tend to be people who have never travelled extensively, perhaps speak only one language, and are generally insular and culturally unexposed. In other words, its not their fault that they are limited in their understanding of other cultures, and its not their fault that they come to these wrongheaded conclusions.

It doesnt make them less wrong I'm afraid.

And as for "nothing" happening to you if you post "subversive" text on Slashdot, think back to the Kuro5hin poster who got a visit from the FBI simply because he posted on that site.

Or this guy who got a visit just for speaking in a gym.

Case In Point. Real quotes from real fundies regarding what I just said. I feel sorry for how gullible they are.

All I was saying is that it gets very little press for the kind of event it is, and nearly all of this press is in California. Its kind of hard to tell people it doesn't exist when they can just drive there and see it.

Before you start handing out tinfoil hats, maybe you should open a browser.

DD

...and that's just the point. Government DOES define marriage and DOES give certain rights based on that type of a union. Civil unions DO NOT give equal rights to those provided under a marriage.

For one such comparison, go here:

http://lesbianlife.about.com/cs/wedding/a/unionvma rriage.htm

Marriage was never about "romantic love" until the Victorian Era. It was an institution created to perpetuate land ownership and money - in order to "keep it in the family". Marriage institution was co-opted by religion to promote a certain type of behavior and control that the church was trying to achieve.

For a scientific view on this see:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch ronicle/archive/2004/02/27/MNGSK59NGM1.DTL

There was also a very good article about how "romantic love" has change the way we view marriage in the last 100+ years in The New Yorker a few months ago.

My wife and I have rights (and obligations, for that matter), that my cousin and her partner do not - even though they have made the same life commitment as us as well as pay their taxes. And the two of them even served in the armed forces!

The child-rearing argument is tired. Fewer and fewer couples in the US and other educated countries are even having children. Many married couples are specifically deciding NOT to have children. I have gay couples who have taken responsibilty for rearing disabled and foster children who would otherwise not had caring parents. These couples are certainly much more responsible with their children than many of the middle aged BoBo's who have had children in order to check another item off on their life's to do list.

If you want to have the religion/separation-of-church-and-state argument, then you should be prepared to pull your religous influence out of things like "Right to choose", the words "Under God" in the pledge of allegiance, and "In God We Trust" on the dollar bill (just to name a few!)

The most depressing thing about this whole thread is that people need to cloak their homophobia in "righteous arguments".

The Phantom is innocent, I tell you! Some villain has framed the Phantom - I don't know who it was, but once he's free, the Phantom won't rest until he has uncovered the devious plot and cleared his name. You must release the Phantom!

That explains all the headlines:

Doctor shortage cripples Canadas free health care
Broken health care system
Canadian health care deal adds $14 billion to ailing fund Pact ...

Just because people want something for free, doesn't mean they can actually get it.

It happened. And Bush and co. were pissed.

Unlike American reporters, who lob softball questions Bush can field with prepared, rehearsed answers, Coleman performed as most European broadcast interviewers normally do -- in a naturally engaging, intellectually rigorous, conversational manner. However, Bush bristled at Coleman's questions and interviewing style, about which the White House (which posted a transcript of the session on its Web site) later "lodged an official complaint with the Irish embassy in Washington."