Monday, March 31, 2003
On the Political Front:
Flipper is back after 2 days AWOL! On a more serious note...a review of military events of the weekend. And the featured link of the day: Reporters Without Borders.
[more]
Posted by mac @ 05:20 AM EST [Link]
Sunday, March 30, 2003
On the Political Front:
To begin with an item from the lighter side of the news..."The US Marines have suffered an embarrassment with reports last night that one of their most prized investigators may have defected. Takoma, the Atlantic bottle-nosed dolphin, had been in Iraq for 48 hours when he went missing on his first operation to snoop out mines." Swim free little dolphin. [more]
Posted by mac @ 07:24 AM EST [Link]
Saturday, March 29, 2003
On the Political/Economic Front:
I highly recommend Geov Parrish's article "Beyond the funhouse walls", subtitled, "Prospective sources of information -- sans cheerleading -- regarding the U.S.invasion of Iraq and world response." It includes an *excellent* list of web news sources.
Reflection of the day: When Bush addressed the troops at McDill Air Force Base in Florida last week, the Star Spangled Banner introduced him with a flourish. Did anyone reflect on the irony of this? The anthem was written by Francis Scott Key who watched his city survive the intensive bombardment of a foreign aggression. My heart goes out to the people of Baghdad, some of whom died in last night's US bombardment. Mark Fiore's latest cartoon, "Congratulations on Your Liberation," has real sting.
[more]
Posted by mac @ 05:43 AM EST [Link]
Friday, March 28, 2003
On the Political Front:
The speeches by Blair and Bush in the wake of their Wednesday summit were more BOMFOG. That is the acronym that cynical journalists applied to the speeches of Nelson Rockefeller. It means Brotherhood Of Man, Fatherhood of God -- a speech of hot air wrapped in words like "patriotism" and "moral duty." The process of delivering such a speech is called bomfoggery.
IRAQWAR.RU offers a detailed review of yesterday's military events in Iraq, including data that the Coalition seems unwilling to provide anymore -- an estimate of the Coalition's dead and wounded. For balance, I suggest checking out "Stars and Stripes," which surprised me in its straight-forward and valuable analysis. The images of war seem to be the focus of Real Geek's Blog which provides a dimension the written word cannot. If you need something lighter thereafter, visit these 1940s propaganda posters which have been remixed for the war in Iraq. I particularly like this one: Libidinous Arabiacs lust for our white women! [more]
Posted by mac @ 06:11 AM EST [Link]
Thursday, March 27, 2003
On the Political Front:
For an excellent military analysis of yesterday's events in Iraq....here. And follow it up with a Ben Sargent cartoon on the Patriot II Act. [more]
Posted by mac @ 06:51 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, March 26, 2003
On the Political Front:
The new Tom Tomorrow cartoon "This Modern World: Safe for Hypocrisy!" is available. And Lenny Kravitz offers a free download of his song "We Want Peace." Click on "What's Hot." Meanwhile, I am constantly searching for alternative news sources on the war. These are the two discoveries for today: [more]
Posted by mac @ 04:36 AM EST [Link]
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
On the Political Front:
The "Where is Raed?" blog purports to be from inside Baghdad. The consensus, backed by some evidence, is that Raed is real. [more]
Posted by mac @ 10:25 AM EST [Link]
Monday, March 24, 2003
On the Political Front:
ZNet Toons is featuring a cartoon by Kevin Moore, "In Contempt," that captures the manner in which too many journalists -- and especially those from CNN -- have handled the invasion of Iraq. Too many of the "embeds" -- journalists embedded in military units -- are actually in-beds with the military, constantly reporting the equivalent of "Gee Whiz" as American tanks roll through Iraqi sand. How did American oil get beneath their sand? Meanwhile, to judge the mood of the Arab side of this conflict, it is valuable to view the work of Arab cartoonists from Al Jazeerah. Warning: slow download. [more]
Posted by mac @ 09:24 AM EST [Link]
Sunday, March 23, 2003
Al-jazeera shows the civilian caualties after the US bombings of Basrah.
Posted by mac @ 07:38 AM EST [Link]
On the Political Front:
Basra is taken; there is still fighting in Basra. The Turks are in N. Iraq; no Turksh troops have crossed the border. With news stories directly contradicting each other, here are three founts of alternate news about Iraq: the War Blogs -- a group of bloggers who keep close tabs on breaking news from a multitude of sources; antiwar.com; and, Al-Jazeera for the "other" side of the war. For those brave enough to venture into news sources in Arabic, this site offers translations from Arabic to English. Let's hope it is more accurate than Babelfish.
[more]
Posted by mac @ 04:26 AM EST [Link]
Saturday, March 22, 2003
On the Political Front:
Baghdad is burning. British pilots seemed jubilant about the fact. For information as events unfold, I recommend accessing foreign sources such as The Middle East Times. For those who prefer audio reports and a more sanitized take on things, Talk Radio News has three reporters on the front lines, each of whom provides audio reports that are immediately posted on the Internet. [more]
Posted by mac @ 04:27 AM EST [Link]
Friday, March 21, 2003
On the Political/Economic Front:
An eloquent statement by Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D – WV), Today I Weep for My Country.
[more]
Posted by mac @ 08:04 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
This is a map of troop and weapon placement for the invasion of Iraq...at least as I write at 3:30 EST.
There was an amazingly prescient satire posted on Monday morning, before Bush's 48-hr ultimatum to Saddam. "TV Guide: Gulf War to start prime time Wednesday on FOX, following the Simpsons: Observant readers of the weeks upcoming television listings point out that the publication has revealed the start date for the war: Wednesday, March 19 at 8EST/5PST, the time set to kick off the FOX Networks new spring comedy and reality show lineup." [more]
Posted by mac @ 04:22 AM EST [Link]
Tuesday, March 18, 2003
On the Political Front:
An interesting site devoted to Gandhi's life and teachings. Over the years, I have developed some reservations about non-violent strategy but -- in terms of social change rather than of personal defense -- it is still the most versatile and powerful tool either for reform or revolution. [more]
Posted by mac @ 12:26 AM EST [Link]
Monday, March 17, 2003
On the Political Front:
Found out. "President George Bush announced that his administration has found 'clear and compelling evidence' of a banned weapons program in neighbouring Canada." It was only a matter of time. [more]
Posted by mac @ 12:57 AM EST [Link]
Sunday, March 16, 2003
On the Political/Economic Front:
For those who need a smile, I recommend the cartoon search engine that allows you to search the 'Net for cartoons by key words or by artists. [more]
Posted by mac @ 08:35 AM EST [Link]
Saturday, March 15, 2003
On the Political/Economic Front:
For months, I've been speculating on what I expect will be a rush to raid pension funds by many North American companies who will view them as standing pools of available cash. Such a trend is only one aspect of the redefinition of the relationship between businesses and employees. [more]
Posted by mac @ 09:23 AM EST [Link]
Friday, March 14, 2003
On the Political Front
Positioning for war in the next few days... [more]
Posted by mac @ 04:24 AM EST [Link]
Thursday, March 13, 2003
A report from Salon and one from the Christian Science Monitor re: the "smoking gun" that has received such US media attention..."A remotely piloted aircraft that the United States has warned could spread chemical weapons appears to be made of balsa wood and duct tape, with two small propellors attached to what look like the engines of a weed whacker." The plane is controlled by the naked eye from the ground and has a range of about 5 miles, far below anything that requires reporting to the UN. Is this why Blix buried the item so deeply in his report? [more]
Posted by mac @ 11:06 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, March 12, 2003
On the Political Front:
It was inevitable, I suppose. There is now talk of the forced nationalization of the airlines in the event of war. It would give the government a virtual carte blanche on who can fly and on what terms. [more]
Posted by mac @ 01:25 PM EST [Link]
Tuesday, March 11, 2003
On the Political Front:
Here's another cartoonist I like to check out, especially on Homeland Security: Russmo. [more]
Posted by mac @ 10:58 AM EST [Link]
Monday, March 10, 2003
On the Political Front:
North Korea's test firing of another missile is placed in context by Mark Fiore's cartoon on "loser dictators." Meanwhile the US has rejected North Korea's demand for direct talks to end the nuke crisis. [more]
Posted by mac @ 01:00 PM EST [Link]
Sunday, March 9, 2003
On the Political Front:
To cope with the unremitting news of war, I recommend Satire Search -- a search engine that tracks down satire on the Web. Just feed in the key word "Iraq." The item of the moment is "Poll: No Support For Iraq War If It Preempts Primetime Shows." [more]
Posted by mac @ 05:21 AM EST [Link]
Saturday, March 8, 2003
On the Political/Economic Front:
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is predicting a 1.82 trillion dollar deficit for the US in the coming years. The practical impact of this reckless, insane government spending can be seen in unemployment figures -- 308,000 jobs lost in February. This is not a recession. It is becoming a depression, and it will be as miserable as anything our grandparents lived through in the '30s. [more]
Posted by mac @ 09:29 AM EST [Link]
Friday, March 7, 2003
On the Political Front:
John Brady Kiesling's letter of resignation to Secretary of State Colin Powell is an eloquent statement of dissent on Iraq. Kiesling is/was a member of Bush's Foreign Service Corps and Political Counselor to the American embassy in Greece.
For a much-needed humor break...
[more]
Posted by mac @ 06:59 AM EST [Link]
Thursday, March 6, 2003
On the Political Front:
Tom Tomorrow pretty much nailed the reaction of invertebrate Democrats in this prophetic 2002 cartoon strip. Where were their voices when Congress was handing Bush a de facto blank check for war? Oh yes...they were cheering, on their feet applauding, voting "Let's Roll!" [more]
Posted by mac @ 11:37 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, March 5, 2003
On the Political Front:
Check out Tom Tomorrow's hilarious new cartoon strip entitled The Loyal American's Guide to War Preparedness. [more]
Posted by mac @ 07:55 AM EST [Link]
Tuesday, March 4, 2003
On the Political Front:
Tom Lehrer is my favorite political/social satirist -- I mean, who can forget his classic song "Send the Marines!" or the poignant "So long Mom, I'm off to drop the bomb"...not to mention "The Vatican Rag"? Where has he been lo' these many years? He tells us in a recent interview that "there's no place for [my] style of humour now: the world just wouldn't get it." [more]
Posted by mac @ 07:55 AM EST [Link]
Monday, March 3, 2003
On the Political Front:
Check out Mark Fiore's latest animation on "unpatriotic anti-war nuts!" I *love* the opening segment with G.W. [more]
Posted by mac @ 09:38 AM EST [Link]
Sunday, March 2, 2003
To its burning shame, Delta Airlines is actively co-operating over and above any legal requirement in a government campaign to profile every airline passenger by accessing and evaluating his or her personal data from such sources as bank records and credit reports. [more]
Posted by mac @ 08:40 AM EST [Link]
