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01/16/2003 Archived Entry: "ACLU Report and ifeminists.com"

On the Political Front:

A just-released report from the ACLU, entitled "Bigger Monster, Weaker Chains: The Growth of an American Surveillance Society," gives a chilling assessment:

a Big Brother society is not just a realistic possibility, it is a likelihood... WordNetDaily offers a fair summary of the report. It also provides good perspective -- e.g. "The biggest threat to privacy comes from the government. Many Americans are naturally concerned about corporate surveillance, but only the government has the power to take away liberty."

The UK Guardian Unlimited has an interesting article on the feebleness of the American media's debate/discussion re: the approaching war with Iraq. The major media's near black-out on anti-war opinions and events has led some activists to take innovative steps to be heard. For example, a group of women in California have launched a nude peace campaign to protest Bush's "naked aggression" against Iraq. Go ladies!

For daily information re: anti-war, I recommend truthout which delivers the news to your inbox upon request.

On the Personal Front:

The bureaucratic logjam on the transfer of ifeminists.com seems to be broken. I expect the site to be up-and-running shortly under the auspices of the Independent Institute, which is the "solution" I have fought for vigorously since the e-plug was pulled on December 20th. I do not know whether II will want to host "frivolous" features, such as the BB; if they do not, I will add those features to this homepage.

I was pleased to hear from Alberto Mingardi yesterday who invited me to contribute to a special issue of an academic journal, "Etica e politica", which is sponsored by the University of Trieste (Italy). I accepted with pleasure as I am eager to boost the presence of my writing in Europe. Thanks Alberto!

Meanwhile, Dyanne Petersen of Laissez Faire Books tells me she will be moving near San Diego in the next month or so. LFB is on its way to its new home in Little Rock, Arkansas and none of the San Francisco staff will be relocating.

Back to work, as always,
mac