Another must-see: The Take -- A film by Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein:

"In the wake of Argentina's spectacular economic collapse in 2001, Latin America's most prosperous middle class finds itself in a ghost town of abandoned factories and mass unemployment. In suburban Buenos Aires, thirty unemployed auto-parts workers walk into their idle factory, roll out sleeping mats and refuse to leave. All they want is to re-start the silent machines. But this simple act -- the take -- has the power to turn the globalization debate on its head."

The Yes Men -- the movie! Coming soon to a theater near you!

What would America look like if it were in Iraq's current situation?

Love Masochism? Vote BushCo! Could four more brutal years of the Dubya nightmare actually be *good* for America? Uh, no. This sort of political fatalism makes me sick, and angry enough to start calling up voters in the swing states to beg them to vote for Kerry.

Would $100,000.00 convince you to rat out your co-workers, friends, and family members to the Feds as spammers? How about $250,000.00? P.S.: Forward this message to everyone you know!

"Trying to eliminate Saddam ... would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible ... We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq ... There was no viable "exit strategy" we could see, violating another of our principles. Furthermore, we had been consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations' mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land."

-- George Herbert Walker Bush (aka "41"), from his memoirs, "A World Transformed," written five years ago.

Her name is Israa Abdul Amir. Israa was severely injured in a missile attack conducted by the US military on the morning of January 25, 1999. She had just finished a test at the Al Najed primary school and was walking home from school when the missile struck. A large piece of shrapnel severed her right arm below the shoulder and she suffered chest and abdominal wounds. A metal fragment remains lodged in her skull, a souvenir of the American Empire; doctors could not remove it for fear of killing her. Israa was nine years old.

If there were any justice, Bush, Clinton, and Saddam would spend the rest of their lives sharing a tiny cell.

(Sung to the tune of "The Beverly Hillbillies" Theme Song)

Come and listen to my story 'bout a boy name Bush.
His lQ was zero and his head was up his tush.
He drank like a fish while he drove all about.
But that didn't matter 'cuz his daddy bailed him out.
DUI, that is. Criminal record. Cover-up.

Well, the first thing you know little Georgie goes to Yale.
He can't spell his name but they never let him fail.
He spends all his time hangin' out with student folk.
And that's when he learns how to snort a line of coke.
Blow, that is. White gold. Nose candy.

The next thing you know there's a war in Vietnam.
Kin folks say, "George, stay at home with Mom."
Let the common people get maimed and scarred.
We'll buy you a spot in the Texas Air Guard.
Cushy, that is. Country clubs. Nose candy.

Twenty years later Georgie gets a little bored.
He trades in the booze, says that Jesus is his Lord.
He said, "Now the White House is the place I wanna be."
So he called his daddy's friends and they called the GOP.
Republicans, that is. Falwell. Jesse Helms.

Come November 7, the election ran late.
Kin folks said "Jeb, give the boy your state!"
"Don't let those colored folks get into the polls."
So they put up barricades so they couldn't punch their holes.
Chads, that is. Duval County. Miami-Dade.

Before the votes were counted, five Supremes stepped in.
Told all the voters "Hey, we want George to win."
"Stop counting votes!" was their solemn invocation.
And that's how George finally got his coronation.
Rigged, that is. Illegitimate. No moral authority.

Y'all come VOTE now!!!! Ya hear?

From Technology Review: High-tech Job Market Has Lost 400,000 Jobs:

"According to the study, the job losses were especially pronounced in San Francisco, which saw high-tech employment shrink by 49 percent between March 2001 and April 2004. Boston also suffered disproportionately, with the number of high-tech jobs falling by 34.1 percent. "

bushvchoice.com: "November 2: Just Another Day?" (high-bandwidth)