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Sunday, September 01, 2002
I forgot to mention... I've realized that I never posted a link to this This Modern World comic from earlier this month. It's a great one!
Seizing any excuse "Within twenty-four hours of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center the federal Department of Transportation had removed maps of the nation's 2.2 million miles of pipe lines from its Web site. The government had created the maps only recently, to identify places where ruptures in pipes that carry oil, natural gas, or hazardous chemicals could endanger lives, property, or drinking water. In the 1990s an average of four accidents a week caused property damage of more than $50,000, injury, or death." This piece discusses the steps toward secrecy taken by the U.S. goverment since 9/11, using the terrorist attacks as an excuse for implementing policies that they had already shown a desire to put into place. Read the article here.
Greed before green "The most dire predictions of the United States' intention of sabotaging the conference seem to be coming true. Late last night [August 27, 2002], American negotiators began systematically to disembowel the language that will govern the 'System of Implementation,' which is where the rubber meets the road. Even if the summit adopts high-flying language about goals and commitments, not much will actually get done if the System of Implementation is gutted. Perhaps there will be a backlash." Once again the U.S. goverment is apparently doing it's best to stand in the way of protecting the enviroment, which should come as no surprise since the corporations that own the government don't want anything getting in the way of "free trade" or their profits. Read the story here.
Bailing out investors, again "Congressman Bernard Sanders (I-VT), the Ranking Member of the International Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee, today called for an immediate Congressional investigation of the recent $30 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout of Brazil. Sanders, who is strongly opposed to the bailout and considers it corporate welfare, wants Congress to find out why U.S. taxpayers are being asked to provide billions of dollars to Brazil and how much of this money will be funneled to U.S. banks such as Citigroup, FleetBoston and J.P. Morgan Chase. These banks have about $25.6 billion in outstanding loans to Brazilian borrowers. U.S. taxpayers currently fund the IMF through a $37 billion line of credit." It's good to see someone in Congress who is actually paying attention to just who the IMF is really benefitting. Of course, it's no surprise that Bernie is the one who's doing it. Read the press release here.
Big Brother Bush? "As President Bush wages his war against terrorism and moves to create a huge homeland security apparatus, he appears to be borrowing heavily, if not ripping off ideas outright, from George Orwell. The work in question is 1984, the prophetic novel about a government that controls the masses by spreading propaganda, cracking down on subversive thought and altering history to suit its needs. It was intended to be read as a warning about the evils of totalitarianism -- not a how-to manual." An excellent piece on the always interesting TomPaine.com, this article takes a look at the parallels between the policies of President Bush and the chilling version of the future laid out by George Orwell. Read the whole thing here.
A Nobel Peace Prize winner speaks against the war with Iraq "Nelson Mandela has warned President Bush that his administration risks destroying the United Nations if it attacks Iraq without international support." Another respected figure adds his voice to the chorus around the world (see this story) that is opposed to a U.S. attack on Iraq. He is apparently also going to talk to Prime Minister Blair about the matter, which is good, since his efforts might actually bear some fruit there. Read the BBC News story here.
You have the right to watch what we let you watch, when we let you "This [WIPO] treaty would undermine many of the public's rights under the copyright laws of most countries in the world. In the U.S., for example, it would eliminate the public's rights, established by law since 1984 (though already somewhat curtailed by legislation), to make recordings of broadcasts without the permission of a broadcaster. Indeed, the treaty text is a direct attack on home recording and the public's rights in recordings of broadcast programming." The European Community has proposed a new World Intellectual Property Organization treaty which would make the "broadcast flag" that is currently being pushed by the MPAA (read more about that here and here) law all over the world, or at least in every country that is a member of WIPO. This would effectively bypass the current fight by consumer and civil liberties groups (and, fortunately, hardware manufacturers) that is going on in the U.S. and other countries to stop the media giants from taking away the rights viewers currently enjoy. Read the story here.
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