Tuesday, November 11, 2003

News From the Front Burner News From the Front Burner - Technology and Entertainment News from Mediaburn.net 10:52:36 PM

Action Sports Athletes Tour High Schools. The world's leading professional skateboarders, BMX riders and inline skaters including Richie Lopez, Eito Yasutoko, Dave Volker and Gabe Weed performed mind-boggling stunts on a tour covering 35 public high schools in seven metropolitan areas. [Nov 11] [Apple Hot News] 7:10:23 PM

Pioneer, Iomega launch DVD burners. Aiming to tap the growing popularity of DVD writers, Pioneer designs its device to store data equally quickly in rival DVD formats, while Iomega simplifies recording from camcorder or VCR. [CNET News.com - Front Door] 7:05:51 PM

Dean's Statement From Iowa City Statement from Dean on War Profiteering. IOWA CITY, IA--Howard Dean released the following statement today: "In 1940, Senator Harry Truman set off in his old Dodge to investigate accusations of war profiteering in the construction of Fort Leonard Wood in south-central Missouri. What he found appalled him -- millions of dollars being wasted due to mismanagement or funneled into the hands of a small number of large corporations at taxpayers' expense. Soon thereafter, Congress established what became known as the Truman Commission to root out war profiteering and establish oversight of defense contracts. "But similar attempts at oversight in Iraq have been thwarted by the Bush Administration. When Congress voted to give this President an additional $87 billion for his war in Iraq, both the House and Senate agreed to attach a provision that would require the General Accounting Office to conduct ongoing audits of how our taxpayer money is being spent. Instead, the White House and Tom Delay strong-armed Senate Republicans into killing the provision. "And now, in Iraq, the United States finds itself reliant upon massive corporations to protect and rebuild a country destroyed by war. And this time around, there is no Truman Commission to ensure that American taxpayers are not getting swindled. "According to a recent study by the Center for Public Integrity, more than 70 American companies and individuals have won up to $8 billion in contracts for work in postwar Iraq and Afghanistan over the last two years. Those companies donated more money to the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush--a little over $500,000--than to any other politician over the last dozen years. "Kellogg, Brown & Root, the subsidiary of Halliburton--which Vice President Dick Cheney led prior to being chosen as Bush's running mate in August 2000--was the top recipient of federal contracts for the two countries, with more than $2.3 billion awarded to the company. "We need to know how this money is being spent. We need to ask these questions for our veterans and more importantly for our troops in Iraq. Every penny wasted means only one thing: our troops will be there longer. Asking these questions is how we will most honor veterans." [Blog for America] 4:17:41 PM

Veterans Day A big thank you. to all the veterans out there on this Veteran's day. This year, Veteran's Day means a lot more to me, as I have friends who are over fighting wars for this country. If people like my friend J had not decided to fight over the years, we would not be the country we are today. Who knows, we all could be speaking German. So, thank you, and to all those still involved in wars around the world, stay safe. By webmaster@skadz.com (Skadz). [Geeks, Guitars and Guinness] 1:18:25 PM

Jon Zall, Colonel, USAF (Ret). Guest Writer: Jon Zall, Colonel, USAF (Ret). A Choice on Veterans Day Veterans Day remembers the sacrifices of so many who have served our country and who continue to do so today. Many, of course, have paid with their lives or disabling injuries over the years. So, I would first ask you to consider taking a moment sometime today to "salute" them in whatever way you choose to do so. You have seen the bumper stickers, "Support our Troops", and I know most of you do, regardless of administration policies and actions. Patriotism isn't the sole province of Republicans. And a lot of you have family and friends now in Iraq. Please also understand that, in my opinion, "troops" includes our veterans, many of whom are being forgotten in a variety of ways by this administration. Nobody was sorry to see Saddam Hussein go. Nevertheless, many of us do not agree with how the Bush administration justified its actions in going to war. Nor do we agree with the Bush Doctrine, including pre-emptive invasions and regime changes as regular courses of action for the future. Nor do we agree with a Patriot Act that threatens the basic freedoms which many of you fought for. Nor do we agree with the deficiencies in veterans' medical care. Nor do we like the fact that veterans are three times more likely to be homeless than anyone else. Why should military veterans, or anyone associated with the military, consider any option other than Mr. Bush for the coming 2004 election? I'm a veteran, retired with almost 27 years of service, who no longer believes this administration has the best interests of our veterans and our military in mind. Until two months ago, I (like many veterans) wasn't going to consider any Democrat – after all, I had voted mostly Republican for 40 years. But the weight of events and the actions of the Bush administration, especially with regard to veterans and the use of our military, including the Reserves and National Guard, caused me to change my mind. That's why I decided to put the Veterans for Dean Blog into play. Something inside me said that if I am needing to talk about a lot of things that really bother me about the use of our military and support of our veterans, then I suspect there may be many more of you out there. The Blog is a forum for all of you – you don't have to be a veteran or in the military – who don't like the direction their country is taking. And, know this for sure, the blog is not intended to create dissent among our troops, veterans or active duty, but to intelligently lay out and discuss ideas. The blog also links to other important Veterans-for-Dean websites and other links of interest for you to check out. Veterans, there are millions of you out there, and there is a better alternative for 2004! You can have a huge impact. On this Veterans Day while you honor your brothers and sisters in arms, resolve to make things better for those that follow them in the future, and for our country. Gov. Dean has taken time to clearly support veterans and their needs (see his Veterans Day statement, then go to Veterans Coalition site for more information). Dr. Dean will be happy to have you on board! Jon Zall, Colonel, USAF (Ret) Veterans for Dean – the Blog [Blog for America] 1:10:18 PM

The Failure of Washington D.C. $87.5B Iraq aid bill gets final OK; voice vote avoids roll call. WASHINGTON - Congress voted its final approval Monday for $87.5 billion for U.S. military operations and aid in Iraq and Afghanistan, a day after Americans in Iraq endured their worst casualties since March. [Arizona Daily Star: Front Page] 12:29:05 AM

Additional Notes on Andy Goldsworthy Some photos of Andy Goldsworthy's work. more: Snowballs in Summer An article in the Smithsonian Magazine An article from the San Diego Union-TribuneThanks Carol [Ottmar Liebert] 12:15:23 AM