Wednesday, December 11, 2002

New Tools for Domestic Spying, and Qualms. From New York City to Seattle, police officials are looking to do away with rules that block them from spying on people and groups without evidence that a crime has been committed. [New York Times: Technology] 1:08:29 AM

Record ice loss in Arctic [Daypop Top 40] We should definitely study this for a few more years before doing anything about it, especially something really radical, like imposing higher mileage requirements on SUVs. God knows, without all those Americans running out to buy SUVs, why, the economy would be in the shitter! 12:58:35 AM

Public Interest Be Damned in U.S. and California The increasingly up-yours style of the Bush administration is clear in its attitude toward those, including a few members of Congress, who want information on the identities and interests of the people who "advised" the administration on its pro-oil, pro-coal, pro-nuclear, anti-conservation, anti-renewable energy policy. The Bush crowd doesn't want us to know, for obvious reasons. [Dan Gillmor's eJournal] 12:45:42 AM

MS fights Open Source with freebies [The Register] This is a perfect example of Microsoft using their ill-gotten gains (remember, they were convicted of anti-trust violations) to preserve their monopoly. As long as Microsoft is sitting on $45 billion in cash, they can do this all day long. Hopefully the publicity will cause many more customers to threaten to switch to Open Source, just to get the discount that Microsoft will inevitably throw at them... 12:39:40 AM

Corporate Insiders Reap Riches, Shred Investor Trust The Mercury News' Chris O'Brien and Jack Davis have just finished a three-day series on a Silicon Valley scandal -- the way a few insiders enriched themselves on company stock during the tech bubble while so many others lost so much. [Dan Gillmor's eJournal] 12:34:49 AM

Bush's frightening Middle East appointment. By naming Iran-contra rogue Elliot Abrams its top policy advisor on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the White House is signaling a hard pro-Sharon line that could prove disastrous. [Salon.com] 12:28:18 AM

Brad DeLong's scathing analysis of White House economics adviser Larry Lindsey's ouster. Choice quote:   Today we know that it never crosses the minds of the powers-that-be in the Bush White House that good economic policies might be worth pursuing because good economic policies lead to a stronger economy. To the powers- that-be in the Bush White House, economic policies are way to reward favored groups of constituents. And their effect on the economy? They don't need to think about no stinking effect of policy on the economy. [Scott Rosenberg's Links & Comment] 12:23:29 AM

We'll All Be Under Surveillance Orwell died in 1950. Prophetic as he was in 1984, however, he could not have imagined how advanced surveillance technology would become. His novel is now being actualized in real time at the Defense Department, headed by the Washington press corps's favorite cabinet officer, the witty Donald Rumsfeld. [Daypop Top 40] 12:21:00 AM

Caught whistling Dixie. Four days later, Lott's controversial comment gets some attention. But not from top congressional Democrats. [Salon.com] This is why the Democrats lost big in November. If the shoe was on the other foot, the Republicans would be giving them enormous grief over the gaff. As Daschle says, I'm sure it was a gaff. But Republicans are more than willing to turn nothing into a major firefight, and they're pretty good at it, so people just assume their right, instead of merely manipulating the media, and the public. 12:16:17 AM

© Copyright 2003 Michael Alderete.