Tell Congress: Take Our Money Back from the HMOs

Sony's singing, dancing robot, QRIO has decided that what it really wants to do is conduct the Tokyo Philharmonic. Not to be outdone, Toyota has unveiled a trumpet-playing robot (as yet unnamed, but "cybersatchmo" has been suggested). If it wants a gig with the Tokyo Phil, it'll have to audition for the maestrobot.

9/11 Attack Warnings: People who knew to stay clear of airlines and the World Trade Center on 9/11/01"

"Let's raise taxes and cut benefits for working families so we can give big tax cuts to the rich!"

Must read: The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction, by Justine Larbalestier

From National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States - May 23, 2003 - Second Public Hearing day two:

MR. HAMILTON: We thank you for that. I wanted to focus just a moment on the Presidential Emergency Operating Center. You were there for a good part of the day. I think you were there with the vice president. And when you had that order given, I think it was by the president, that authorized the shooting down of commercial aircraft that were suspected to be controlled by terrorists, were you there when that order was given?

MR. MINETA: No, I was not. I was made aware of it during the time that the airplane coming into the Pentagon. There was a young man who had come in and said to the vice president, "The plane is 50 miles out. The plane is 30 miles out." And when it got down to, "The plane is 10 miles out," the young man also said to the vice president, "Do the orders still stand?" And the vice president turned and whipped his neck around and said, "Of course the orders still stand. Have you heard anything to the contrary?" Well, at the time I didn't know what all that meant. And --

(continued at the link)

From WBZ-AM: AWOL Iraq soldier seeks conscientious objector status:

He says he was particularly upset over an incident in which he and others were ambushed in Iraq and seven civilians were killed in the ensuing gunfire.

Ask your pharmacist if they stock Emergency Contraception (EC), such as Plan B and Preven. Tell them you'll stop shopping there if they don't.

CommonDreams.org: Shallow Electorate's Deep Flaws -- When will we Seek out Leaders, not Photogenic 'Pals' who Appear no Smarter than we are?, by Marge Piercy

From the Fungi Family to You -- try the wholesome goodness of Quorn -- the other white meat substitute!

ACLU: Tell your senators to Oppose Infringement on the First Amendment by the proposed "Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004" (S. 2056), which would allow the government to levy large fines on broadcasts that the Federal Communications Commission considers “indecent.”

What is a "smart briefcase bomb"?

csmonitor.com: Where job drain is biggest (it's not Ohio). In percentage terms, Massachusetts tops the list of job-losing states since 2001

Listen to "You Ain't A Cowboy" (guess who it's about), by Stephan Smith

An Outside Takeover of the Sierra Club is in the works by right-wing anti-immigrant groups.

ACLU Action: Oppose Attorney General John Ashcroft request to the FCC for authority to force Internet communications services to build “backdoors” in their systems to allow wiretapping and thereby create weaknesses that hackers, thieves and rogue government agents could exploit to invade your privacy and conduct identity theft.

Must read: Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich - and Cheat Everybody Else, by David Cay Johnston

Moscow Times: U.S. Harbored Terrorists to Bolster Its Case [for invading Iraq]

FLASHBACK: 2003.06.21: CIA and DOD Attempted To Plant WMD In Iraq

CIA bank heist in Iraq?

iAbolish Actions:

• Don't Turn a Blind Eye to Sudan's Slaves
• Boycott Taco Bell
• Tell Ghana: Enforce Anti-Slavery Laws

Yet another poll from the American Family Association: Which of the 3 candidates for president will you most likely vote for in November? Current results:

John Kerry      89.62 %  52,457 vote(s)  
George Bush     4.02 %   2,353 vote(s)  
Ralph Nader      6.36 %   3,722 vote(s) 

Salon.com: The new Pentagon papers, by Karen Kwiatkowski:

A high-ranking military officer reveals how Defense Department extremists suppressed information and twisted the truth to drive the country to war.

If Bush was a girl, what would s/he look like?

Spook Words: 300 words that will make the CIA, FBI, and/or NSA want to look at your website

Democracy Now!: Interview with Aristide

Amnesty International actions: Stop Violence Against Women:

• Stop violence against women in the U.S. Military
• Support women human rights defenders in Colombia
• Express your concern about war crimes against women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Take action against domestic violence in Iraq
• End the killings and violence in Chihuahua and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
• Urge President Bush to help stop violence against women

Tell Bush to fire Rod Paige! Sign the petition.

Last month, President Bush's Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, called America's largest teachers' union a "terrorist organization." Why? Because teachers and the other professionals who run our schools told the truth: the Bush team has failed to live up to their promises on education.

ActForChange Petition: Urge Justice Scalia to Recuse Himself:

Along with leading editorial boards and legal scholars, I urge Justice Antonin Scalia to immediately recuse himself from the case currently before the Supreme Court involving the right of Vice President Cheney’s Energy Policy Task Force to keep secret its participants and details of its deliberations. Justice Scalia’s recent actions –accompanying Mr. Cheney on a private hunting trip, accepting a valuable gift of transportation on Air Force Two, and the gift of access to a private hunting reserve owned by an oil industry executive, have irreversibly created the appearance of prejudice and lack of objectivity in a critical proceeding. The reputation of the Court is at stake, and Justice Scalia should recuse himself now.

Help Keep Families Safe from Toxic Mold! Tell your U.S. rep to support Rep. John Conyers's "United States Toxic Mold Safety and Protection Act", H.R. 1268.

The SWIPE Toolkit: "Ever noticed the barcode on the backside of your license? Ever wondered what information it stores or why it is even there? "

Asimov's Science Fiction magazine responds "to the sensationalized and highly inaccurate news report broadcast by WOOD TV's 24 Hour News 8 on February 12, 2004, stating that Asimov's is full of 'stories about sex, drugs, and molestation.'" My guess is that somebody at woodtv must have read about rishathra and got all squicked. I guess I'd better subscribe, 'cause now I'll be too embarrassed to buy it at the book store like I used to.

NARAL Action: Anti-Choice Bill Moves to the Senate - Help Stop It!

Order your Official Babes Against Bush Regime Change Countdown Calendar today!

In searching for who's behind yesterday's bomb attacks in Karbala and Baghdad, I'd start with the group that has already killed 10,000 Iraqi civilians and doesn't want to see an Iraqi government dominated by the Shi'ite majority. Here's my plan: I'll invite Condi Rice, Colin Powell and George Tenet out to dinner at some swanky Washington restaurant, ply them with liquor to get them in a talkative mood, bribe the chef to slip some truth serum in their soup, and bribe the maitre'd to seat a bunch of reporters wearing wires at the next table.

From DARPA Defense Sciences Office: SPECIAL FOCUS AREA: METABOLIC DOMINANCE:

"The vision for the Metabolic Dominance Program is to develop novel strategies that exploit and control the mechanisms of energy production, metabolism, and utilization during short periods of deployment requiring unprecedented levels of physical demand. The ultimate goal is to enable superior physical and physiological performance by controlling energy metabolism on demand. An example is continuous peak physical performance and cognitive function for 3 to 5 days, 24 hours per day, without the need for calories."

Stranger than (science) fiction -- what would Philip K. Dick think? Maybe they can get Governor Ahnold to volunteer as a test subject. Just imagine how popular this technology is going to be with sweatshop owners.

"Toothpaste, Cough Drops, Aspirin, Contraception", by Katha Pollitt, National Treasure (IMHO)

I just sent the following message to Colin Powell at the State Dept.:

In the Feb 18, 2004 edition of the Detroit Free Press, in an article titled "A GROWING REBELLION: Haiti on edge of coup; outside help unlikely" (http://www.freep.com/news/nw/haiti18_20040218.htm), U.S. Ambassador James Foley is quoted as saying "We are calling for a truce. It doesn't mean that we want to maintain the status quo. We want a radical change in the country."

In light of recent reports that President Aristide was forced out of office and possibly kidnapped by U.S. forces, I'm wondering if you can clarify just what Ambassador Foley meant by "radical change", and if the current situation is what he had in mind.

I'll post any interesting responses (don't hold your breath).