…Does Anyone Pretend To Be Shocked???
The bush administration behaved in accordance with these memos. It shouldn’t require reading them to figure this out…just breathing anytime during the past 8 years should have been enough.
Oh yea, the wars continue and can anyone confirm that the immoral and unconstitutional wiretaps have ceased?
Just when is the patriot act and its siblings going to be repealed?
Despite what Cookie Jill says, this kind of crap is not unique to the bush administration:
Less than a week before it leaves office, the Bush administration has sparked anger across the Atlantic by tripling the import duty rate on roquefort cheese to 300%, a move which the US hopes will “shut down trade” in the sheep’s milk product by making it prohibitively expensive.
It is a thing of governments and various rent seekers looking for unearned treasure.
In a free country, a free world, there are no tarriffs. Individuals and groups of individuals voluntarily trade goods and services without the interference of third parties unless force or fraud have been used in the transaction
Regarding the Hamdan trial verdict Warren Richey writes in the Christian Science Monitor:
Even if he’d been acquitted of all charges, Hamdan was unlikely to be released from his Guantánamo cell anytime soon. In addition to the military commission charges, Hamdan is being held in open-ended detention as an unlawful enemy combatant.
Under the law of war, he can be held for the duration of the war on terror.
As the title says: “OK, so what will define the end.”
Avedon argues that impeachment will prevent bush from pardoning the many criminals in his administration:
Brent Budowski is predicting Bush will issue mass pardons of all the criminals in his administration, and I have no reason to think he’s wrong, because there is only one thing that can prevent it: impeachment.
Well, it may take more than simply impeaching bush. There is, you see, a line of succession. You will have to take out cheney before he becomes president. Then numbers 2 and 3 are democrats, byrd and pelosi, who have spent the past 7 years enabling the bush debacle.
byrd might be more likely than pelosi to not issue pardons before the next president takes office. But, really, what makes you think a president obama would not issue pardons? Bringing all these perps to trial would lead to a diminishment of the very power obama seeks.
On the less dim side of this: it will be clear that anyone bush pardons was, indeed, guilty!
No, I’m not going to do much Apple bashing here.
My MacBook Pro has been running continuously for 9 days and 23 hours including multiple bus commutes where it is a treat to be online immediately on opening the lid while my traveling companions, using various Windoze machines (generally shiny Dell Computers), are tapping their fingers for 2-3 minutes…
The Free Software Foundation, though, thinks that you should buy their phone instead of an iPhone 3G. Here are their 5 real reasons to avoid iPhone 3G:
- iPhone completely blocks free software. Developers must pay a tax to Apple, who becomes the sole authority over what can and can’t be on everyone’s phones.
- Ed: Well this is not exactly a tax-you won’t go to jail if you don’t pay it. This is not to say I think Apple’s closed model is a good thing.
- iPhone endorses and supports Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) technology.
Ed: A good point.
- iPhone exposes your whereabouts and provides ways for others to track you without your knowledge.
- Ed: How is this is different from any other cell phone?
- iPhone won’t play patent- and DRM-free formats like Ogg Vorbis and Theora.
- Ed: This might be a reason to choose something else but, really, how many folks are using anything besides ACC and MP3 on their players?
- iPhone is not the only option. There are better alternatives on the horizon that respect your freedom, don’t spy on you, play free media formats, and let you use free software — like the FreeRunner.
- Ed: Yep, lot’s of choices out there. For my purposes the little Sanyo works just fine.
The sixth, and number one reason not to buy an iPhone in the US:
You will be supporting a criminal organization: AT&T.
It is clear that AT&T committed illegal acts prior to being granted immunity by a cowardly congress and it is clear that AT&T continues to commit immoral and unconstitutional acts to this day. We do not need to quietly accept the behavior of war criminals or the illegal and immoral acts of corporations.
The iPhone may be cool and, yes I want one, but I’m not buying anytime soon. Why are you supporting AT&T?
Both a boycott and picketing are reasonable first steps to reestablishing justice in the US. If enough join in perhaps even congress will mend its ways.
Via Just Well Mixed.