Monday, December 23, 2002

Venezuelan Protests, Oil Strike Continue [AP World News] The latest from the mainstream media. Compare this story to the following story, from an actual Venezuelan. comment () trackback ()  10:51:24 PM     Another great day for the opposition. It was another great day for the opposition as we had a huge  candlelight march. It was also a day in which the National Guard used tear gas to disperse a peaceful demonstration on the Lake Maracaibo bridge. Once the people were gassed off the bridge, you should have seen the grotesque images of National Guards in motorcycles throwing tear gas cannisters at ladies and older gentlemen, as if they were cattle. There was also a grenade thrown at the headquarters of the Confederation of Chambers of Commerce. Separately the crew of some of the tankers were jailed, denied lawyers, food and water. While the first item may sound positive, why do I think the other two are good? Simple, the more the Chavez Government shows its true miltaristic facist face, the more the world will realize what a democratic charade Chavez is performing in Venezuela. For three days, the Government's negotiating team did not show up at the table being mediated by the Secretary General of the OAS. Why do you think that is? Also simple, they don't want to negotiate. For a month and a half the Government has said the only option is  that a recall referendum may be held in August. That is not a negotiaton stance, it is what the Constitution says. The country can't wait that long, there is no Government, there is a rebellion and there is no justice. As simple as that! The whole family including patriotic chihuahua attend candlelight march [Miguel Octavio: Venezuela] Here's a report direct from Venezuela on the latest events. Notice the difference between this and the AP report. comment () trackback ()  10:49:06 PM     Marx after communism. Anti-globalism has been aptly described as a secular religion. So is Marxism: a creed complete with prophet, sacred texts and the promise of a heaven shrouded in mystery. Marx was not a scientist, as he claimed. He founded a faith. The economic and political systems he inspired are dead or dying. But his religion is a broad church, and lives on. [The Economist] I've heard many different people (none of them in academia) describe Marxism as a "death cult." It seems the author has the same idea. comment () trackback ()  7:57:48 PM     Iraq Shoots Down Unmanned U.S. Drone [AP World News] Iraqi fighter aircraft penetrated the southern no-fly zone over the country and fired on the Predator, and its controllers then lost contact with the $3.7 million plane, U.S. officials said. "This action is the latest chapter in a lengthy list of hostile acts by the Iraqi regime," said Jim Wilkinson, a Central Command spokesman. Central Command is the U.S. military command that oversees operations in Iraq and the surrounding countries. He must be joking. Shooting down an aircraft of a type known to carry air-to-ground weapons which has invaded your airspace is hostile? So I suppose by that "logic" if the Chinese sent a strategic bomber flying over Los Angeles and we shot it down we would be committing a hostile act against the poor innocent Chinese? comment () trackback ()  3:45:29 PM     Euro DCMA Fails [Slashdot] Good news, but I'm afraid it will be irrelevant given the trend to impose one country's laws on citizens of another country. comment () trackback ()  9:31:08 AM     Boy left home alone for Christmas. An 11-year-old boy is left home alone for Christmas while the rest of his family fly to the Canary Islands. [BBC News | Front Page | UK Edition] The irony of stories like this is that when I was 11 or 12 I would have thought it the best possible Christmas present if my family went of and left me alone. It's not like people that age can't take care of themselves! comment () trackback ()  8:38:18 AM     Does the US really need Iraqi oil?. Oil is frequently cited as one of the primary factors in the US's decisions for action in the middle east. With the gulf supplying less than 20% of the current US imports, and at least 40 other countries capable of supplying oil that are not located in the Persian Gulf region, it doesn't seem to be much in the interests of the US to act in Gulf region solely because it is a source of petroleum. As an energy source, petroleum coming from the Persian Gulf supplies the US with less than 2% of total required BTU's. Cheap oil is also cited as a major motivator when it comes to US decisions; however, the US appears to increase consumption from OPEC countries routinely whenever they raise their prices. So who does need Iraqi oil? The Persian Gulf, and specifically Iraq, is more important to the rest of the world as their primary source of oil and energy than it is to the US. If the US is after cheap oil in the Persian Gulf, it is most likely interested in securing a cheap stable source for it's trading partners and not itself. [kuro5hin.org] Here's a good article for the people who insist that everything the US does in the Middle East is about oil. comment () trackback ()  8:35:51 AM     The directory feature in Radio seems to be working pretty well, but I've noticed a significant shortcoming. There's no way to attach descriptive text to the links in the directory! comment () trackback ()  6:22:13 AM     Sometimes standards aren't. The Radio UserLand news aggregator reads certain types of RSS or RDF files in theory--but in practice these files aren't always useable. Consider the feeds from InstaPundit.com. The RSS 0.91 feed has very short summaries with no links, making it useless-you have to go to the regular site in order to read anything anyway. The RSS 1.0 version of the feed does have links, but UserLand has a religious objection to the existence of RSS 1.0 and therefore won't support it in Radio. comment () trackback ()  5:59:04 AM

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