Saturday, May 18, 2002

Bad Week for Bush As regular readers know, I spend a lot of time Bush bashing. Lord knows there’s plenty of Bush Bashing to do. But today, all I can say is wow, wow, wow, wow, WOW!   There is so much well deserved Bush bashing going on in the major media these days, it just doesn’t make sense for me to waste perfectly good, biting, funny commentary when others are doing the slicing and dicing for me.   We also have stories today on security and tech issues, CD copy protection and a bunch of other subjects, but first, and without additional commentary, here, in chronological order, is a quick run-down of some of the tales of Bush idiocy currently circulating through the mass media.   It makes for fascinating, terrifying reading.   Cheers,   Dusty 5:55:05 PM

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Bush warned of possible hijacks. World latest: US president of possible hijackings linked to Osama bin Laden before September 11. [Guardian Unlimited] 5:53:28 PM

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Bush defiant on terror warnings. The US president defends his handling of terror warnings issued before 11 September but one of his officials hints at security reforms. [BBC News: world] 5:53:20 PM

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No Hint of Sept. 11 in Report in August, White House Says, But Congress Seeks Inquiry. The White House said Thursday that reports last summer of terrorist threats seemed general and pointed toward potential attacks overseas. By David E. Sanger and Elisabeth Bumiller. [New York Times: National] 5:53:14 PM

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Mrs. Bush Defends Husband on Attacks. First lady Laura Bush scolded those who question her husband's handling of pre-Sept. 11 terrorism intelligence, saying they "prey upon" the victims' families and encourage dissent. [AP World News] 5:53:02 PM

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Lieberman to Seek Subpoena on White House's Enron Contacts. Senator Joseph I. Lieberman said today that he will seek to subpoena the White House about its contacts with Enron. By Richard A. Oppel Jr.. [New York Times: NYT HomePage] 5:52:54 PM

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Study Said Hijack - Suicides Possible. A federal report warned the executive branch that Osama bin Laden might plan to hijack a plane fly it into the Pentagon. By The Associated Press. [New York Times: Politics] 5:52:43 PM

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Bush Seeks to Deflect Questions About Warnings Over Sept. 11. President Bush said today that he would have done everything he could to protect the U.S. if he had known of the terrorists' plans. By David Stout. [New York Times: Politics] 5:52:31 PM

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Text of Senator Hillary Clinton's Speech to Congress. A speech by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Senate on Thursday, as recorded by The Congressional Record. [New York Times: Politics] 5:52:17 PM

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F.B.I. Knew for Years About Terror Pilot Training. WASHINGTON, May 17 — The F.B.I. had been aware for several years that Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network were training pilots in the United States and elsewhere around the world, according to court records and interviews at flight schools and with federal law enforcement officials. By Philip Shenon. [New York Times: Politics] 5:52:09 PM

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Sheik's Son and bin Laden Spoke of Plots, Officials Say. The White House learned in February 2001 that Osama bin Laden had discussed hijacking a Pakistani airliner with the son of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman. By Judith Miller. [New York Times: Politics] 5:52:02 PM

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Democrats Raise Questions Over Remarks on Warnings. Concerns were raised about remarks made by senior Bush administration officials last fall that they had received no warnings about the type of terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. 11. By Don Van Natta Jr.. [New York Times: Politics] 5:51:51 PM

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G.O.P. Fights Proposed Rules on Auditors. Republicans led by Senator Phil Gramm of Texas and the accounting industry's trade group are working to kill a Democratic measure that would impose new rules on auditors. By Stephen Labaton. [New York Times: Politics] 5:51:43 PM

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Democrats Pressure White House to Disclose Enron Contacts. Senator Joseph I. Lieberman said that he plans to subpoena the Bush administration about its contacts with Enron. By Richard A. Oppel Jr.. [New York Times: Politics] 5:51:34 PM

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Bush and His Aides Accuse Democrats of Second-Guessing. The White House attacked Democrats on Friday as President Bush tried to contain the political fury over a warning of a terrorist threat he received last August. By Elisabeth Bumiller and Alison Mitchell. [New York Times: Politics] 5:51:27 PM

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What Bush Knew May Play in November Election. President Bush's ferocious reaction to criticism over the disclosures of the past week is a sure sign that he recognizes the political danger threatening his party. By Patrick E. Tyler. [New York Times: NYT HomePage] 5:51:16 PM

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U.S. Intercepting Messages Hinting at a New Attack. Vague signals from Al Qaeda operatives over the last few months indicate that an operation as big as or bigger than the Sept. 11 attacks is being planned. By James Risen and David Johnston. [New York Times: NYT HomePage] 5:51:08 PM

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Storm on Capitol Hill. The president smells "the sniff of politics in the air," but as the 9/11 story hits Washington, Democrats and Republicans alike demand "a sniff of truth." [Salon.com] 5:50:50 PM

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Senator Clinton's Speech on Sept. 11 Intelligence. The full text of Mrs. Clinton's speech on the Senate floor Thursday asking President Bush to answer questions about terrorist warnings prior to Sept. 11. [New York Times: Politics] 5:50:43 PM

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F.B.I. Knew for Years About Terror Pilot Training. The F.B.I. largely failed to share its findings and draw together evidence gathered piecemeal over the years that Al Qaeda pilots were training in the U.S. By Philip Shenon. [New York Times: Politics] 5:50:33 PM

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Sir Winston Churchill. "Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught." [Quotes of the Day] 5:44:02 PM

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CuteFTP 5.0 XP Beta Released [BetaNews.Com] Folks, the last few version of CuteFTP, before release 2.8 my favorite Windows FTP client, have contained spyware. I wouldn’t trust this version, either. At very least, check it with AdAware.   Cheers,   Dusty 5:30:19 PM

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Horace Mann. "Resolve to edge in a little reading every day, if it is but a single sentence. If you gain fifteen minutes a day, it will make itself felt at the end of the year." [Motivational Quotes of the Day] 5:24:46 PM

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The BOFH Desidoreplicator [The Register] Very funny stuff, but the cited date of 1970 is highly suspect, at best, given the ICQ reference.   Cheers,   Dusty 5:22:13 PM

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Sonique 2 Alpha (5/14/02) Released [BetaNews.Com] Sonique is a *great* media player, the first to adopt the open source OGG Vorbis codec, for example. I’m looking forward to playing with this 2nd generation release.   Cheers,   Dusty 5:19:55 PM

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Sony's latest CD copy protection comes unstuck. Improvements designed to prevent people beating copy protection on music discs can still be defeated with sticky tape [New Scientist] More stupid security schemes in the news. Yesterday we told you about the Gummi Bear fingerprint scanner hack. Today we see this story on hacking CD copy protection. So, what kind of advanced technical equipment is required to circumvent this high tech protection scheme? Think magic marker.   Cheers,   Dusty 5:18:23 PM

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Dell partners for PC recycling. The computer maker gets a little greener with a program designed to recycle consumers' outmoded PCs. Helping in the process: federal inmates. [CNET News.com: Personal Technology] It’s about time a major manufacturer stepped up to the plate an addressed this important issue. Tech junk has become a huge waste and environmental problem. Kudos to Dell for taking action.   Cheers,   Dusty 4:49:08 PM

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Microsoft opts Passport holders into spam hell [ActiveWin] You mean MS is compromising user security? You’ve GOT to be kidding. We all know they’d never do anything like that, right?   Cheers,   Dusty 4:47:56 PM

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New Intel USB 2.0 Drivers 5.1.2600.41 for Windows XP [ActiveWin] 4:46:40 PM

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Ed Howe. "Americans detest all lies except lies spoken in public or printed lies." [Quotes of the Day] 4:46:03 PM

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Claud Cockburn. "Never believe anything until it has been officially denied." [Quotes of the Day] 4:45:52 PM

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Fred Hoyle. "Space isn't remote at all. It's only an hour's drive away if your car could go straight upwards." [Quotes of the Day] 4:45:44 PM

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blueyonder escapes Usenet death row. UDP lifted, double secret probation [The Register] Hello, RoadRunner? Earth to RoadRunner? Is any of this getting through to you? You think just because you’re a part of the world’s largest corporation you’re immune from a UDP? Think again. That’s not Wile E. Coyote on your tail.   Cheers,   Dusty 4:45:24 PM

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After Arrest, Town Shamed by '68 Killing Seeks Renewal. Some view an arrest in the murder of black woman as a chance for an Indiana town to move beyond its resentments. By Sara Rimer. [New York Times: National] They ought to be ashamed. Few places in this country, even in the Deep South, harbor the kind of active, festering racial hatred common as corn in rural Indiana. As this article points out, the history of the modern Klan is closely intertwined with Indiana.   If you think all is OK today, you couldn’t be more wrong. As a manufacturer’s rep for professional studio recording equipment, Indiana was part of my territory. A more backwards, hateful group of fucks you won’t find this side of Mississippi.   Indiana is so backwards they don’t even know what time it is. Seriously. The Eastern/Central time zone line runs right down the middle of the state. Instead of choosing one or the other and adopting a uniform daylight savings time policy, the idiots at the state house decided to leave it up to each municipality.   Towns 5 miles apart have different times, and by as much as 2 hours. Towns on the far west side of the state use EST or EDT while some on the far eastern side use CST or CDT. I used to have to call ahead to an appointment, even if it was only a few miles away just to find out what fucking time it was there. It is almost as stupid as the lack of state-wide auto registration.   Given all of this, is it any wonder rural Indiana is packed with slack jawed racist shithead yokels?   Cheers,   Dusty 4:43:05 PM

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Court cracks down on anti-abortion site. An appeals court reverses its decision in a high-profile online publishing case, finding that anti-abortion protesters can be held liable for posting inflammatory comments. [CNET News.com] Well, let’s here it for the triumph a little common fucking sense. What kind of moron could possibly consider “Wanted” posters with the faces of doctors who provide abortions listed on a Website that labels them murderers and calls for their execution to be anything but a terrorist threat? Seriously.   I expect no better from that brain dead anti-abortion, pro-superstition idiots. That’s their shtick. But then they got a court to agree with them, well, that was just plain ridiculous. The scary thing here is how close the vote was. This is not likely to be the last appeal.   Cheers,   Dusty 4:32:16 PM

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W. Somerset Maugham. "The important thing was to love rather than to be loved." [Motivational Quotes of the Day] 4:26:02 PM

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© Copyright 2002 Dusty Rhodes. Last update: 6/28/2002; 10:30:51 PM.