12thharmonic blog

12thharmonic Blog has moved!

2005-04-21T17:36:00.000+10:00

Hi All. We have decided to put our blog on our own servers. Thank you for reading 12thharmonic blog and we hope you enjoy the new wordpress powered blog. The new blog is live below.http://www.12thharmonic.com/wordpress/index.phpWe will maintain this blogspot as long as possible. And our archives are being moved as we speak.. We've been posting to both for a couple of days and it's a pain in the

Republican websites go down

2004-10-21T15:44:00.000+10:00

NEW YORK (AP) - Web sites for President Bush's campaign and the Republican National Committee suffered outages for several hours on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear whether a systems failure or a hacking attack was to blame. Campaign and committee officials would only say they were investigating. The sites began experiencing problems about 11 a.m., according to two companies that monitor

Sidney Blumenthal: America's hidden vote

2004-10-21T15:23:00.000+10:00

Passing almost without notice earlier this month, the public release of The Civil Rights Record of the George W Bush Administration - the official staff report prepared by the US Civil Rights Commission - whose submission is required by federal law, was blocked by the Republican commissioners. None the less, it was posted on the commission's website: "This report finds that President Bush has

Bogeyman Backs Bush

2004-10-21T13:34:00.000+10:00

The Bush regime's relationships with other countries speak volumes. Bush's allies and backers are all either bullies and tyrants or are in receipt of US 'Military Aid' which is paying for their presence in Iraq. They are more employees than allies. Poland is withdrawing its troops because the $66 million they receive is not covering the $100 million it is costing them. If Bush wants to purchase

Walmart spooked by naked supreme court justices

2004-10-21T13:28:00.000+10:00

When Jon Stewart appeared on Crossfire he failed to show due reverence to the neocon media monolith by pointing out the quasi-journalists of the mainstream media are purveyors of theatrical propaganda masquerading as debate. He revealed that that the Emperor has no clothes. Consequently, there is something almost poetic about Walmart deciding not to stock Stewart's new book America: A Citizen's

George, Pat, God and the 8,000 Casualties

2004-10-21T11:54:00.000+10:00

More news of the Suskind kind. Disconcertingly, it comes from ultra Christian rightist Pat Robertson : Robertson, an ardent Bush supporter, told CNN in an interview Tuesday night that he urged the president to prepare the American people for the prospect of casualties before launching the war in March 2003. Robertson said Bush told him, " 'Oh, no, we're not going to have any casualties.

UK Foreign aid goes to Ultra right wing lobby group

2004-10-20T14:34:00.000+10:00

And this is meant to be a labour government! Labour's forefathers and mothers must be spinning in their graves. Why is British tax payers' foreign aid money being given to an ultra-right wing UK lobby group to promote schemes that will rob South Africa's poor of affordable access to water? George Monbiot: The agency keeping the South African government on track is Britain's Department for

The 9/11 Secret in the CIA's Back Pocket

2004-10-20T13:47:00.000+10:00

ICH via Bush Out The Bush Administration have been surpressing a damning report that was completed four months ago. The report points at senior officials and it names names. It is the first time in history a CIA director has attempted to withhold a report from Congress. It is also illegal to withold a report from Congress for any reason other than it being a threat to national security, which it

Sinclair news for Wednesday

2004-10-20T13:38:00.000+10:00

Sinclair Shareholders are taking legal action: Famed shareholder attorney William S. Lerach will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. today to discuss insider self-dealing by officers of Sinclair Broadcasting, the Baltimore-based television chain that is forcing its affiliates to show a propaganda film that attacks presidential candidate John Kerry. He will release a set of demands aimed at making

Sinclair news of the day

2004-10-19T18:28:00.000+10:00

In today's Sinclair news, a veteran sues and an employee is fired for honesty (not a part of the Sinclair code of practice). A Vietnam veteran filed a libel lawsuit Monday claiming he was falsely portrayed as a fraud and a liar in a film criticizing Sen. John Kerry's anti-war activities. Kenneth J. Campbell, now a professor at the University of Delaware, said in the suit that "Stolen Honor:

First Poland, Now Ukraine To Pull Out Of Iraq

2004-10-19T17:56:00.000+10:00

World Crisis Web Tuesday, October 19th, 2004 In a statement made today, Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko has promised to withdraw Ukrainian troops from Iraq in the event that he wins the forthcoming election, leaving an ever-diminishing alliance of countries presently occupying Iraq. The promise of the pro-Western former Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko, tipped to win the

Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, George and God

2004-10-19T16:17:00.000+10:00

The more I think about the possibility that Bush has epilepsy the more sense it makes. Even increased religiousity is a symptom in some types of epilepsy: Researchers interested in the connection of the brain and religion have examined the experiences of people suffering from Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. Apparently the increased electrical activity in the brain resulting from seizure activity (

Whats Up with George: Alcohol induced epilepsy?

2004-10-19T13:54:00.000+10:00

The Interent is rife with rumours that there is something seriously, medically wrong with Bush. Bush's recent drooling and lop-sided facial expression during the third debate have led to speculation that he may have had a stroke. It has been suggested that the mystery lump may be some kind of medical device. Though I quibble over the details, I do think there is something wrong with him. I

No10 did not tell truth about Iraq, says diplomat who quit

2004-10-19T13:44:00.000+10:00

From The Independent: A high-flying diplomat who helped frame the Government arguments that laid the groundwork for the Iraq war, has resigned because Downing Street "did not tell the whole truth" about the Iraqi threat. Carne Ross, a former first secretary to Britain's UN mission between 1998 and mid-2002 in charge of Iraq issues, had resigned a month ago just as he was about to take up a

The Sick & Twisted Mind behind Sinclair

2004-10-19T13:02:00.000+10:00

At The Nation, John Nicholls takes a look at the Orwellian culture of Sinclair, a culture so putrid with fanatical right-wing bias that it makes Fox look 'Fair and Balanced': If you want to see the Orwellian media future that the Bush administration envisions, pay close attention to Sinclair. This cobbled-together collection of television "properties" is not a network but a media holding

Saved by Google and Human Decency

2004-10-19T11:12:00.000+10:00

Don't expect any sympathy from your government if you get kidnapped Australians! After Aussie journalist John Martinkus was kidnapped in Iraq the other day Foreign Minister Alexamder Downer said: "In this particular case the journalist went out to investigate a story, I understand, and went to a part of Baghdad he was advised not to go to, but he went there anyway ... " Not only did Downer

London Antiwar Demo attracts up to 70,000

2004-10-18T22:51:00.000+10:00

An estimated 70-ish thousand anti-war demonstrators marched in London over the weekend. They pulled a really striking sculpture along with them: Way to guarantee media coverage Londoners!

Murdoch's Petty Censorship

2004-10-18T22:21:00.000+10:00

The Melbourne distributor of Outfoxed was declined when he sought to put this advert in Murdoch's Herald Sun: Advertising Executive Daniel Clarke said the title "Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism" was offensive. The Herald Sun refused to run the ad until it looked like this: In Brisbane where Murdoch's Courier Mail is the only newspaper , the local Outfoxed distributor had this ad declined

Killer Cola

2004-10-18T21:40:00.000+10:00

Graphics inspired by the post below. Help yourself.

Programmed to Consume

2004-10-18T11:42:00.000+10:00

This is a chilling finding that demonstrates what slaves to the corporations many people have become: The mind-altering power of advertising has been demonstrated in a remarkable study of the way in which brand recognition affects the workings of the human brain. A well-known label is so influential, say researchers, that it can alter consumers' perception of the product's taste. They

Bush's War on Reality (part 87b)

2004-10-17T18:39:00.000+10:00

Dylan Otto Krider (via Bob Harris) reports from yet another front of Bush's war on reason: There’s a war going on—and not just the one in Iraq. This conflict may not get as much media play, but it could have just as great an impact on our safety, national prestige, and long-term economic health. It is a war over the integrity of science itself, and the casualties are everywhere: career

Nightmare on Broadway

2004-10-17T17:28:00.000+10:00

The strange politics of the musical after 9/11 With fantasy dressed as truth in the news media; Johann Hari draws attention to a genre that is providing the mirror image. The most successful Broadway shows of the moment provide truths wrapped in allegory. "Who needs Marx and Engels when

The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear

2004-10-17T13:34:00.000+10:00

Finally someone has made a documentary that reflects my take on this. If I could go back to University and do an MA I'd be very interested in exploring this very subject. Unfortunately it's on UK TV not Australian so I'll just have to wait and hope that ABC or SBS pick it up. I'm just happy to know its out there. Adam Curtis three part documentary The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the

King George prepares for a second term

2004-10-17T01:51:00.000+10:00

Sidney Blumenthal: Even now, the White House - or at least one room, the Lincoln bedroom - is being redecorated for President Bush's second term. The famous long bed will remain; so will the original Emancipation Proclamation in its glass case. But, dominating the room, above the bed, will be placed a large carved crown from which will flow, ceiling to floor, royal purple satin drapes. The crown

World to John

2004-10-17T01:31:00.000+10:00

Letters to America

2004-10-17T01:25:00.000+10:00

The Guardian's campaign to get Britons to write to undecided voters in Ohio, launched a couple of days ago attracted 11,658 participants from all around the world in about 24 hours. The idea was less well received in the U.S., where House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert called for the Guardian's Washington correspondent's to have ther press accreditations withdrawn.

Naomi Klein: Why is war-torn Iraq giving $190,000 to Toys R Us?

2004-10-16T23:47:00.000+10:00

in the Guardian Next week, something will happen that will unmask the upside-down morality of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. On October 21, Iraq will pay $200m in war reparations to some of the richest countries and corporations in the world. If that seems backwards, it's because it is. Iraqis have never been awarded reparations for any of the crimes they suffered under Saddam, or the

The Freeway Blogger

2004-10-16T23:38:00.000+10:00

Has 8 pages of photos of signs that went up all over the U.S. on Freeway Free Speech day

Bush Senior Advisor: We create our own reality

2004-10-16T22:19:00.000+10:00

As pointed to by Daily Kos, there are some really chilling passages in Ron Suskind's huge article on Bush, Without a Doubt. Since the publication of his book ''The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House and the Education of Paul O'Neill.'', Washington insiders have sought Suskind out to express their anxieties about the Bush administration's culture of faith in which questioning

Rock the Vote told Don't mention the Draft

2004-10-16T20:54:00.000+10:00

News via Citizens for Legitimate Government and Talking Points Memo: RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie has sent a 'cease & desist' letter to Rock the Vote in an attempt to prevent the organisation from discussing the possibility of a draft. In what may be a legal overture the letter threatens to challenge the organisation's tax exempt status and accuses them of 'malicious intent". Rock the Vote's

Nevada democrat's votes to stay stolen

2004-10-16T19:55:00.000+10:00

Blue Lemur reports that a republican judge has disallowed the re-registration of democrat voters whose registrations were systematically destroyed by a republican funded canvassing company.

Police in riot gear fire on crowd with balls loaded with pepper

2004-10-16T19:49:00.000+10:00

JACKSONVILLE, Ore. (AP) — Police in riot gear fired paintballs filled with cayenne pepper Thursday night to disperse a crowd of protesters assembled in this historic gold mining town where President Bush was spending the night after a campaign appearance. Full Story

Signs of Lying

2004-10-16T16:27:00.000+10:00

How to spot a liar at Needlenose. Do these tell-tale signs seem familiar? Image courtesy of AMERICAblog

Civil Liberties declared Obscene

2004-10-16T16:03:00.000+10:00

From Common Dreams via American Leftist: This is how bad things have got: These teachers were ejected from a Bush rally, to which they had valid tickets. Bush campaign officials told them their T-shirts were "obscene".

Rob Hill - Bush's Big Joke

2004-10-16T15:46:00.000+10:00

There seems to be an outburst of excellent videos around today, here's another one: "Bush's Big Joke" by Rob Hill at Buzzflash (quicktime and Windows media)

Krugman: Block the Vote

2004-10-16T15:26:00.000+10:00

Earlier this week former employees of Sproul & Associates (operating under the name Voters Outreach of America), a firm hired by the Republican National Committee to register voters, told a Nevada TV station that their supervisors systematically tore up Democratic registrations. The accusations are backed by physical evidence and appear credible. Officials have begun a criminal investigation

GOP Hypocrite of the Week: The Republican National Politburo

2004-10-16T15:23:00.000+10:00

GOP Hypocrite of the Week Exclusively available on TakeBacktheMedia.com Radio, the BuzzFlash GOP Hypocrite of the Week Gives Credit Where Credit is Due. Listen to the most recent and then work backwards to our first honoree. Then go to Take Back the Media Radio to listen to their full weekly program (including the BuzzFlash segment.) These guys are great. And now, without further ado, the GOP

Murdoch: Patron of the fearful and the stupid

2004-10-16T15:12:00.000+10:00

MediaWatch ponder on why Murdoch's Australian papers ran with a story about a terrorist plot to kill Blair that they knew had already been refuted: We asked, but none of the editors could explain why they ran a yarn out here, already declared stone dead in London the day before. But here's a theory: there's a shabby idea in the media these days that the punters will buy anything served up as a

Global study finds one-third of amphibians face extinction

2004-10-16T14:56:00.000+10:00

A global study revealed yesterday that almost a third of amphibians face extinction - and pollution is cited as the biggest cause. The three-year survey, involving 500 scientists from more than 60 countries, has found that a third of the 5,743 known species are threatened with being wiped out and at least 427 are so critically endangered that they could disappear tomorrow. Full Story

"Take Back the Media" Does it Again!!

2004-10-16T14:24:00.000+10:00

New Flash From Take Back the Media From one of my favorite web sites. I hope the radio show comes back soon.They just get right to the point!

Jon Stewart on Crossfire: "Stop, stop, stop, stop hurting America."

2004-10-16T14:08:00.000+10:00

Go Jon Stewart! Windows Media Video here , MPEG4 here courtesy of Media Matters. The transcript is here.

US to use federal pension to fight debt

2004-10-16T13:37:00.000+10:00

Axing the ABC news feed

2004-10-16T13:27:00.000+10:00

We are about to Axe the ABC news feed. After complaining over a week ago about our Australian Broadcasting Corp news feed running ads for the Republican party we still haven't heard anything from them and it hasn't stopped. What is an Australian station, supposedly free of government and commercial interests doing running any ads in their news feed, let alone ads such as today's: "ADV: Help

US to use federal pension to fight debt

2004-10-16T13:09:00.001+10:00

The Bush administration has now created so much debt that they are raiding government employee's pension funds. Unless I'm mistaken, the FBI and CIA are Federal employees. They have been misused, abused and now they are being robbed. I foresee some big leaks between now and November 2nd. The Bushies might just get an October surprise of their own. Black leaders are predicting a higher turnout among African-Americans in November's presidential election, a factor that could prove crucial in tipping the race in favour of John Kerry. One group, Hip Hop Summit Action, is boasting it has persuaded an additional 2 million blacks to register to vote. The

Power Cut

2004-10-14T11:08:00.000+10:00

A longer than usual gap between posts owing to a power cut last night that lasted from 5pm to midnight. Yesterday was the hottest October day on record in Sydney. I blame Exxon! Energy Australia blamed the power cut on a possible fire at the substation. Surely they know whether they had a fire at the substation or not. My guess is that everyone turned their air-conditioners etc on at once

Radio controlled Bush-bot?

2004-10-13T15:20:00.000+10:00

From Salon.com via Atrios. The mystery lump appears to be permanent

Sinclair rewarded with surveillance contract

2004-10-13T15:07:00.000+10:00

Raw Story's blog The Blue Lemur reports: Sinclair Broadcasting Group, under fire for ordering its 62 networks to broadcast a film sharply critical of John Kerry’s opposition to the Vietnam War, is a major investor in a company recently awarded a military contract by the Bush Administration, RAW STORY has learned. Jadoo Power Systems, Inc., a producer of portable power systems, announced Sept.

Yet More Voter Fraud

2004-10-13T13:41:00.000+10:00

From Citizens for Legitimate Government: (Oct. 12) -- Employees of a private voter registration company allege that hundreds, perhaps thousands of voters who may think they are registered will be rudely surprised on election day. The company claims hundreds of registration forms were thrown in the trash. Anyone who has recently registered or re-registered to vote outside a mall or grocery

Question Mark over Maccas

2004-10-13T13:37:00.000+10:00

From the Iconic to the Ironic: The Guardian reports that MacDonalds are planning to drop the golden arches logo in favour of a giant question mark. I kid you not. This gives sooo much ammunition to Macca mockers like me (ie, people who only eat food). A question mark over the fat and plastic contents of their menu, a question mark over their quality, a question mark over their future and

Seymour Hersch

2004-10-13T13:20:00.000+10:00

Recently gave a speech to students at the University of California. Common Dreams discusses it and has a webcast. Extract: My government has a secret unit that since December of 2001 has been disappearing people just like the Brazilians and the Argentineans did. Rumsfeld decided after 9/11 that he could not wait. The president signed a secret document…There's a team of people, they fly in

Man of Straw withdraws claim that cost lives and jobs

2004-10-13T11:49:00.000+10:00

From the BBC Jack Straw has told MPs the claim Saddam Hussein could use weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes has been officially withdrawn. The claim was at the heart of an unprecedented row between the BBC and the government which led to the death of David Kelly and the Hutton inquiry. It also led to the persecution of the BBC, the resignation of its Director General Greg

"not being able to feel," A psychiatrist on Bush and Satan Dick!

2004-10-13T01:13:00.000+10:00

This was on the Unfiltered Blog today. On the topic of "not being able to feel," this related material hit my inbox yesterday. It came to me unattributed, but I found it a really interesting read - particularly the section on Cheney... --- A psychiatrist, with years of clinical experience, who works for the local government, offered the following clinical analysis of the conduct of President

Australia’s samidzat

2004-10-12T20:35:00.000+10:00

John Pilger at Green Left Weekly Extract: Never, in my experience, has free journalism been as vulnerable to subversion on a grand, often unrecognisable scale. Giant public relations companies, employed by the state and other vested interests, now account for much of the editorial content of the media, however insidious their methods and indirect their message. This is another kind of “

Exxon tells its staff who to vote for

2004-10-12T17:30:00.000+10:00

Following hot on the heels of yesterday's story about Exxon's obscene profits for the obscene amount of global pollution it is reponsible for, comes news from Greenpeace that the evil giant is telling its corporate serfs who to vote for. I like to think of myself as a nice person butI hope they all burn in hell. With global warming now increasing exponentially it looks like we all will. Exxon

Oh! What a feeling! My vote to send Dubya's ass back to Tejas. Maybe even to where he actualy comes from. Next stop Prison!

2004-10-12T17:11:00.000+10:00

Today was a great day! My absentee ballot arrived. Including everything down to dog catcher! I was beginning to think I'd have to get a write in. Then the Postman came with a thick envelope. From Oroville, California. Nice to know I could vote to keep Bidwell Park and Chico Ca. the wonderful place it is. I sat with a cup of coffee, the how to vote book, the web (to look up the candidates) and

Boycott Sinclair Broadcasting

2004-10-12T16:13:00.000+10:00

A new resource

Freeway Free Speech Day

2004-10-12T16:05:00.000+10:00

It is the Eve of the Freeway blogger's National Freeway Free Speech Day. Join the 770+ signposters in 190 Cities in 45 states and make a statement.

The inimitable Steve Bell

2004-10-12T15:11:00.000+10:00

The medium is the message

2004-10-12T15:01:00.000+10:00

This sculpture which is for sale on e-bay is entirely made of bullshit. Only the best quality Angus bullshit of course. The Artist describes the work as "a portrait sculptured relief of George W. Bush to commiserate his presidency."

The CIA 'old guard' goes to war with Bush

2004-10-12T14:43:00.000+10:00

Here's some good news. I have been wondering how long the Bushies would get away with their game of shoot the messenger. I've been really curious about how CIA and FBI agents feel about being used to oppress their fellow citizens and getting abused rather than rewarded for their complicity. It looks like the cracks are beginning to show: By Phillip Sherwell in Washington (Filed: 10/10/

Putting the Sin in Sinclair

2004-10-12T14:02:00.000+10:00

Courtesy of Atrios. I know its a cheap shot, but since they give it they are up for recieving it too Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania) August 17, 1996, Saturday, SOONER EDITION David D. Smith, president and chief executive officer of Sinclair Broadcast Group, was arrested this week in his hometown of Baltimore and charged with a misdemeanor sex offense. Sinclair owns WPGH, the Fox

No Democratic Media = No Democracy

2004-10-12T11:50:00.000+10:00

The former is the Index of the latter. The mainstream media has so patently become the proaganda arm of the republican party that its past time that we had a new word for them. This is not news, it is not journalism. It should be illegal and would have been if the republicans hadn't dismantled the media regulations that were designed to guarantee balance. My advice would be boycott all of it

Music, Downloads, Labels and the mess of mixing Business and Art!

2004-10-12T11:10:00.000+10:00

Here's an exchange and link given to me on the Air America Place Daily Blog. For all who love music, All of this is an issue . Download at your own risk! More important, Get the labels to think of music and art first! Not Units. The shortsightedness of the labels is a sad state of mediocrity. Thread began: Quote By: blue South Korean Music Retailers Dying "According to this Reuters

First the T, now the hump

2004-10-12T01:33:00.000+10:00

Chickenhawks shouldn't count their chickens

2004-10-12T01:30:00.000+10:00

More on my favourite theme: How Bush's abuse of the military will be his downfall. That should probably read Moore on - the following are extracts from troops' letters to Michael Moore published in The Guardian. If Bush (that should probably read moron) is delusional enough to think that he can count on the military vote he is in for a big surprise. .My unit was one of the first to Baghdad.

How do they sleep at night?

2004-10-12T01:11:00.000+10:00

But I'm forgetting. In a corporation every evil deed is someone else's responsibility. Profits on the other hand are all their own. It would be nice to see some accountability: The world's biggest oil company, ExxonMobil, has been increasing its greenhouse gas emissions after supporting President George Bush's refusal to sign the Kyoto treaty. The Texan oil firm, which is facing a

Krugman

2004-10-12T01:01:00.000+10:00

The NYT's credibility has been blown to hell and has been removed from our RSS feeds. They really don't deserve Paul Krugman. Perhaps he could remind the rest of them how to do their jobs.

Economics and business professors give Bush an F

2004-10-11T23:42:00.000+10:00

A group of top US professors have written an open letter to Bush

Keeping it in the family

2004-10-11T23:12:00.000+10:00

The Bushies seem to be making moves to distance themselves from all their little helpers who got rewarded with 'license to bilk' no-bid contracts in Iraq. Perhaps they think it will improve their credibility. It won't. The Seattle Times (via Raw Story) reports that: One of the U.S. security companies operating in Iraq has been suspended from doing business with the U.S. government after

Not even pretending to give a shit

2004-10-11T22:48:00.000+10:00

The neocons yet again show how much they care: The remains of hundreds of victims of the September 11 attacks are to be permanently buried in the world's largest rubbish dump, to the consternation of their grieving relatives.

More on the mystery bulge

2004-10-11T22:39:00.000+10:00

Extracted from Salon.com So what was it? Jacob McKenna, a spyware expert and the owner of the Spy Store, a high-tech surveillance shop in Spokane, Wash., looked at the Bush image on his computer monitor. "There's certainly something on his back, and it appears to be electronic," he said. McKenna said that, given its shape, the bulge could be the inductor portion of a two-way push-to-talk system

Breaking Ranks

2004-10-11T22:10:00.000+10:00

This is the Bushies weak link and I'm going to keep yammering on about it. Article from Mother Jones (extract): MIKE HOFFMAN would not be the guy his buddies would expect to see leading a protest movement. The son of a steelworker and a high school janitor from Allentown, Pennsylvania, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1999 as an artilleryman to “blow things up.” His transformation into an

Bush Signs Fewest International Treaties in last 20 years

2004-10-11T21:29:00.000+10:00

Presidential Comparisons Show U.S. Taking Step Back From Treaty System MINNEAPOLIS - October 6 - President George W. Bush has signed the fewest international treaties of any U.S. President since Ronald Reagan in his first term, according to a new analysis by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). President Bush also took the unprecedented step of trying to nullify the U.S.

US TV stations Run Bush Proaganda as News

2004-10-11T20:41:00.000+10:00

Republican propaganda masquerading as news and journalists get points for propagandising. I guess I shouldn't even be surprised anymore, except that even under the ragged remains of US media regulations this is still illegal. The Guardian WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration has promoted its education law with a video that comes across as a news story but fails to make clear the reporter

Climate fear as carbon levels soar

2004-10-11T20:04:00.000+10:00

Scientists bewildered by sharp rise of CO2 in atmosphere for second year running Paul Brown, environment correspondent Monday October 11, 2004 The Guardian An unexplained and unprecedented rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere two years running has raised fears that the world may be on the brink of runaway global warming. Scientists are baffled why the

Porn Ashcroft

2004-10-10T18:45:00.000+10:00

courtesy of hublog

Margo Kingston

2004-10-10T14:39:00.000+10:00

To all of you who, like me, are devastated by the result, tonight is also the begininning of a new era for dissenters to the direction of the new Australia. The media may well be concentrated in the hands of Murdoch and Packer within a year, and even now, with an independent Fairfax, it failed in Howard's third term to do its democratic job of ensuring truth in government and accountability for

It's not weak to see Iraq's ambiguities

2004-10-10T14:30:00.000+10:00

The Age is turning out to be a source of comfort to me today. You wouldn't know it from our politicians, but resistance in Iraq is a complex phenomenon, writes Waleed Aly. In his C. D. Kemp Lecture in May this year, John Howard described the continuing conflict in Iraq as a "contest of ideas"; a contest between the agents of freedom and democracy, and the supporters of violent

Australia embraces an American way

2004-10-10T14:20:00.000+10:00

In The Age Alistair Mant offers his final reflection on Election 2004 from the point of view of the overseas observer. ...John Howard's message throughout the campaign has been: this is not really a country - it is an $800 billion corporation and the CEO and board of directors are doing a first-rate job. This is not really an election - rather an extraordinary general meeting to confirm the

The Americanisation of Australia

2004-10-10T13:52:00.000+10:00

So Australia has declared its enthusiasm for its role as George Bush's whore. I feel debased. This is good news for our pimp: In the United States, President Bush congratulated "my good friend Prime Minister John Howard, who won a great victory". The Christian Science Monitor comments on US-style politics Down Under: Candidates for prime minister in Saturday's election were influenced

Election Results

2004-10-09T23:27:00.000+10:00

A bad day for elections

2004-10-09T23:09:00.000+10:00

Predictably: Afghanistan's first democratic election has been thrown into confusion after it was announced that most presidential candidates were boycotting it. The move follows claims of widespread voting irregularities.

A victory for fear and greed

2004-10-09T22:16:00.000+10:00

Australia gives a big thumbs up to lying without accountability, needless, unjustified war and death,to the imprisonment of children, the destruction of Australia's unique, irreplaceable ecology, and to kissing George Bush's arse. How shameful and how undignified. How selfish and myopic. How depressing. How easily people can be bought. Theres a word for that.

Winning already

2004-10-09T16:49:00.000+10:00

The BBC reports that: Mr Howard voted on Saturday in the Sydney suburb of Bennelong, where he faced a handful of demonstrators shouting "Liar, liar".... ....Mr Latham also voted in Sydney, and he won a meat tray in local raffle while on the way to vote.

And now we wait

2004-10-09T16:22:00.000+10:00

Its make your mind up time in Australia. I'm not making any predictions, I'm just hoping that enough Australians don't think bribes compensate for lies.

Bush's 22 most ridiculous statements

2004-10-09T13:58:00.000+10:00

So hard to choose.... 1. I tried diplomacy. 2. Saddam Hussein was a threat because he could have given weapons of mass destruction to terrorist enemies (What WMDs??) 3. "He [Allawi] talked about the fact that Iraqis love to be free." ( Free of life, limb, their families, their jobs, hospitals etc etc) 4. I remember sitting in the White House looking at those generals, saying: "Do you have

TV station reports that Bush has been elected President

2004-10-08T14:13:00.000+10:00

Scary Stuff from Boing Boing. They have a screen shot from WBAY TV which says At this hour, President Bush has won re-election as president by a 47 percent to 43 percent margin in the popular vote nationwide. Ralph Nader has 1 percent of the vote nationwide. That's with 51 percent of the precincts reporting. The story came from AP who are saying it was a "test article. A test article??

FBI seizes Indymedia servers in US & UK

2004-10-08T13:01:00.000+10:00

More bad news for democracy. Reports are coming in from here, here and here : The FBI issued a subpoena to Rackspace (an Internet Service Provider with offices in the US and London) to physically remove an Indymedia server located in London. The servers hosted numerous local IMCs: the global indymedia site, Belgian and African IMCs, Palestine, UK, Germany, and Brasil. Many are still not back

Habib

2004-10-07T22:33:00.000+10:00

US prosecutors are alleging that Australian Gitmo inmate Mamdouh Habib trained the 9/11 hijackers in martial arts. Just one tiny problem - Habib's lawyer Stephen Hopper points out that Habib only has a yellow belt in Karate, and would have to have had some pretty impressive super powers to remotely train terrorists from a home in suburban Australia. When asked where he thought the allegations