What is wrong with our Government?

When they don't look like the scariest people on Earth they look like the biggest fools. Is anybody following the Chalabi story? We got used by Iran to topple Iraq? IRAN?? I mean are we going to attack China for Taiwan? Apparently Bush told King Abdullah of Jordan he could piss on Chalabi which I think is actually pretty funny. We gave this guy secrets and almost thirty million of our tax dollars just so he could make America even more of a bad, scary joke. Not that we really needed any help with that one. We were going to take down Saddam. Chalabi's lies just made it easier.

mandatory reading

Here are some articles culled from other sources that I've read recently that bring up some good points. Read them all, or pick one based on these descriptive words:

the draft

college voting (this was a problem for local elections in Boone, where I went to school. They were tricky. They held elections during fall break. On purpose? Maybe, maybe not. It seemed more than a coincidence after two or three years though.)

GNU radio (i really just like the metaphor at the end because it can be applied to so many things and used to win so many arguments.)

government and middle class (this report, while very useful and interesting, fails to take into account the party pressure and politics of votes in the house and senate. Also, the drum institute probably had its own motives for performing the study. Take the report with a grain of salt.)

That's all for now, but rest assured that I'm on the case, for you dear reader, to find interesting and informative articles. Oh, and I'll try to use a few more sources from now on.

Sound Familiar?

The movie industry says the proposed revisement to the DMCA (that allows consumers to copy DVD's they own [imagine that]) is going to "legalize hacking."

Jack Valenti, head of the MPAA:
"It legalises hacking. It allows you to make a copy or many copies, and the 1000th copy of a DVD, Mr. Chairman, is as pure and pristine as the original."

Besides the pristine quality, this was the argument against consumer VHS and Beta video tape recorders. And the average consumer doesn't care overly about an exact copy.

Do these guys even think? The damage done in public image to the RIAA and MPAA has cost them more than any new technology ever could. Let the people have the technology. See the effects. If it really hurts your sales then fight or adapt. Stop whining.

So, what's happening this morning?

Oy.

Well, The top story today has to do with Israelis and Palestinians. Big Surprise. Israelis killed three and wounded nine with a missile strike and the Palestinians responded by killing an officer and four soldiers and injuring three others presumably in the area to retrieve the "remains" of soldiers that had been killed last week. In the last two days at least 20 Palestinians and 11 Israelis have been killed with hundreds more (mostly Palestinians) injured.

Eventually this is going to get old, right? Wasn't it only a month or so ago when everything looked like it might be getting better? Didn't Sharon say troops were to be withdrawn from the Gaza strip? I realize that the vote failed, but are troops helping anything? When are the troops themselves simply going to refuse to fight?

Post 0.1

So, this weblog is a way for me to express my interest in politics and world events without resorting to my usual method of getting drunk and ranting to friends who have stopped pretending they give a damn.

I'll post links to stories that I consider important and/or under-reported. Hopefully, it'll help me to focus my understanding and arguments so if I ever revert back to my old ways I'll at least be able to cite a few sources.

Even if no one reads or cares, I hope to keep this site humorous and relevant. Wish me luck!