Caffeinated Gonzo!

A religious court in Afghanistan has sentenced a man to be put to death for downloading a document from the Internet. The man was accused of blasphemy after he downloaded a report criticizing religious leaders for their treatment of women. The harsh sentence handed down against a young 23 year old journalism student was recently upheld by the country’s rulers.

It’s wonderful to know that the “post-Taliban” Afghanistan has improved it’s human-rights record so much under the influence and presence of American and NATO troops over the past few years isn’t it?

It has been pointed out elsewhere that this appears to be a first in recorded history: “a death penalty for downloading.” Let’s hope that a certain industry’s lawyers are not paying attention and getting any bright ideas. Death penalty or not, this is the tip of an iceberg that only appears to be getting larger as the waters get colder.

Seriously: This is a scary precedent, no matter how you look at it and where you look at it from.

The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.
-Friedrich Nietzsche

Something to keep in mind as we approach the upcoming elections in America and elsewhere.

Peace.

This song has been around for a few months, but as we find ourselves mired in another presidential election cycle, I find it worth bring this creation to you attention once again.

Put your headphones on, listen to VoiceDude’s brilliant mashup “War Bombs” then join me while we pray in support of our troops and for real peace.

Afterwards… if you like we can gather together to sing a rousing A cappella rendition of “Kumbaya.” [Sarcasism Alert!]

Have I failed to mention September 11th lately? 

Rudi Giuliani sure hasn’t forgotten to mention it!   He’s been sure to remind us of 9/11… many, many times, that is for sure.

In case you’ve been in a whole and failed to hear his message, listen to it here (really… you should).

Or is that bare all?  In any case, talk is spreading in publishing circles that Donal Rumsfeld is shopping his memoirs.  This of couse would be no surprise to any one who has ever stepped inside a bookstore, but I have  to ask… why should anyone want buy his book?  Do you really expect to learn something from it, gain state secrets… get a good laugh, maybe?

Political memoirs, 99.995% of the time are nothing if not boring. Yet, publishers keep shelling out huge advances for this pap. Come on… be honest Mr. Publisher, we all  (and you certianly should) know that Rumsfeld’s tome will end up taking up valuable space in the remainder bins in bookstores within a matter of months. 

Do your part for the environment and your bottom line… just say “no” to Mr. Rumsfeld.  Save the space in the remainder bin’s for something more valuable to the culture as a whole like the latest two or three Tom Clancy titles or last year’s Danielle Steel’s hard cover.

I agree with booksquare… stop the madness.

Apparently upset by America usurping or (worse) ignoring such French innovations as French Fries, French Toast, and the world just plain refusing to drink French Wine like water, the French have decided if they can’t innovate, they’ll just stop the rest of us from innovating. Of course I am being (somewhat) factious here, but I suggest reading more about American tech companies’ concerns over French moves to reign in technology companies’ proprietary rights.

read on…
New French law attacks all technology innovators: US group from PhysOrg.com
A US technology association has labeled a new French law requiring “interoperability” of devices like Apple’s iPod music player as “attack on intellectual property rights” of all companies. [...]

A lot of crap has been written about the Net Neutrality issue. It is then refreshing in light of all the chaff and strafing that is going on around all the rhetoric on both sides to read Tim Berners-Lee's (a pioneer developer of the Internet) opinion on the subject.

"When I invented the Web, I didn't have to ask anyone's permission. Now, hundreds of millions of people are using it freely. I am worried that that is going end in the USA."

read more | digg story

Two Republican lawmakers announced yesterday that according to a recently declassified portion of a report by the National Ground Intelligence Center the United States has found more than 500 chemical weapons in Iraq since 2003. The report continues on to assert more weapons of mass destruction are likely to be uncovered in the future.

The report prepared by DoD's National Ground Intelligence Center states that most of the chemical weapons and other WMD's in the count are thought to have been manufactured before 1991. Of the chemical weapons found, many contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent and can still pose a serious threat to Coalition troops and civilians in their unstable state.

Despite the reported existance of the dangerious munitions most privy to the details of the entire report have to date stopped short of calling the recently declassified information a vindication of the Bush Administration's justification for going to war.

Perhaps emboldened by the public's growing distaste for our country's involvement in Iraq, many Senators and other bolder critics of the administration question the timing of the declassification and publicizing of the report. Making this particularly suspicious to some is that it was released in an era that finds more and more documents being classified top secret (or higher) now more than ever.

Read more about this announcement in the story on FoxNews.com.

A few worthy quotes…

As they say around the Texas Legislature, if you can't drink their whiskey, screw their women, take their money, and vote against 'em anyway, you don't belong in office.

~Moly Ivins

The middle of the road is for yellow lines and dead armadillos.

~Jim Hightower

Good thing we've still got politics in Texas – finest form of free entertainment ever invented.

~Moly Ivins

I've always said that in politics, your enemies can't hurt you, but your friends will kill you.

~Ann Richards

I heartedly agree with the recent editorial published in the
The Boston Globe titled "Gay marriage, so what?" The latest efforts of George Bush's White House to push through a Marriage amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the re-ignite the flag burning debate is nothing more than political theater intended to distract the nation from it's real problems.

When all else fails — distract the children!

So much for expecting real leadership from our nation's leaders.