Time to settle, chumps

☺♥☺♥☺
One election at a time...

Stop using a proxy.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Ask.com unveiled Tuesday a "privacy switch" that lets users completely erase their search queries and related data from the search engine's servers.

The new feature, dubbed AskEraser, gives users control over whether their information is retained by the search engine. Company officials and privacy advocates hope the "privacy switch" will pressure other Internet companies to follow suit.

"Anywhere that you log into, anywhere where you put in personalized information, there should be a way - an easy way - to control how that information is used and retained," said Doug Leeds, senior vice president at Ask.com, a unit of IAC/InterActiveCorp. "We are giving users the ability themselves to take control of their privacy."

Ari Schwartz, deputy director of the public-policy group Center for Democracy and Technology, said he hoped AskEraser would force other search engines to respond. "As you start giving users more control on certain sites, we hope that sites pressure each other (to implement) privacy control as a competitive tool," he said.

But it wasn't immediately clear whether AskEraser will reset the parameters of the ongoing debate over online privacy, given that usage of Ask.com continues to lag far behind that of its rivals. Ask.com accounted for just 2.9% of the U.S. search market in October behind Google Inc., Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, according to research group Nielsen Online.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119738061204320863.html?mod=googlenews_w...

NEW YORK – A dentist in charge of identifying victims killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by their teeth has admitted to writing illegal drug prescriptions for his girlfriend.

Jeffrey Burkes, 59, of Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J., pleaded guilty to criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance. In a hearing Tuesday, he said he gave Shari Perl Herman, 42, illegal prescriptions for Vicodin and other drugs.

Burkes, an oral surgeon, was chief forensic dental consultant in the city medical examiner's office, but an office spokesman said Burkes went on unpaid leave when he was arrested in November 2006.

Sentencing was set for Jan. 23. State Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro told Burkes he would be sentenced to five years' probation and 150 hours of community service, and must have psychiatric exams twice a year.

Had he been convicted at trial, Burkes could have faced as many as 15 years in prison.

The state licensing board will review his right to practice medicine, said Barbara Thompson of the Manhattan prosecutor's office.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20071128-1549-brf-attacks-dent...

An ice storm sweeping the central United States has left at least 15 people dead amid warnings of more freezing weather to come.

More than 600,000 homes and businesses were left without electricity after icy winds toppled power lines and trees.

Forecasters have issued winter storm warnings for parts of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and Texas.

Ice up to 1in (2.5cm) thick coated parts of Oklahoma and Missouri, where states of emergency have been declared.

"The predictions were pretty grim and they're still not good at all," said meteorologist Noelle Runyan.

The worst-hit states so far have been Oklahoma and Missouri, where at least 13 people have died on roads made treacherous by driving sleet and ice.

Twelve people were killed in road accidents in Oklahoma over the weekend, including four who died in an 11-vehicle pile-up on the ice-covered Interstate 40, west of Okemah.

A highway accident claimed another life in Missouri, while a homeless man died of hypothermia in Oklahoma City.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7137682.stm#map

the laws against drugs...than the drugs themselves.

The US central bank is expected to cut interest rates to 4.25% from 4.5% when Federal Reserve officials meet later.

Analysts predict the Fed will cut rates for the third time in 2007 to boost economic growth and ease the impact of the housing crisis and credit crunch.

But a half a percentage point cut is less likely, analysts say, given that more jobs were created in November than had been expected.

The meeting of the Fed will be its final one of the year.

The bank is expected to make its announcement on interest rates at 1915 GMT.

Third time?

The Federal Reserve has cut rates twice already this year.

On 18 September, the central bank cut interest rates from 5.25% to 4.75%.

The first cut in four years, it was aimed at preventing a downturn in the housing market and limiting the impact of the credit crunch.

It lowered rates again on 1 November, reducing them to 4.5%.

This loosening of monetary policy has been replicated around the world. In the past week, the Bank of England cut rates from 5.75% to 5.5%, though the European Central Bank decided to keep rates on hold at 4%.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7136932.stm

A carbon footprint equivalent to 6,000 car journeys around the world will be produced by the UK tucking into Christmas dinner, researchers say.

It is claimed the UK's love of the traditional turkey dinner will generate 51,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Academics calculated the production, processing and transportation costs of the festive ingredients.

The Manchester researchers estimate a dinner for eight generates 20kg (44lbs) of carbon dioxide emissions.

They arrived at the total emissions figure by assuming one third of the UK population eats a typical Christmas meal.

Methane emissions

Project leader professor Adisa Azapagic, from the University of Manchester, said: "Food production and processing are responsible for three quarters of the total carbon footprint, with the largest proportion - 60% - being related to the life cycle of the turkey.

"All stages in the supply chain have been considered, including raising the turkey, growing the vegetables, food storage, consumer shopping, cooking the meal at home and waste management.

"This includes the emissions of carbon dioxide due to energy consumption along the turkey supply chain and the emissions of methane and nitrous oxide generated due to the agricultural activities to raise the turkey."

The cranberry sauce alone, normally imported from North America, contributes half the carbon footprint related to transport.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/7137504.stm

A vicar has asked Led Zeppelin fans to stop visiting his remote rural Welsh cottage made famous by the rock icons.

Bron-yr-Aur in Gwynedd's Dyfi Valley was used by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page to write their third album in 1970, and one track is named after it.

The Reverend John Dale, its owner for 35 years, says many fans have been to see it, and some have even broken in.

But now, after the band played a reunion concert at London's O2 Arena, he is appealing to be left alone.

"We've had more than one break-in and once a photograph was taken near the fireplace and posted on the web," said Mr Dale, vicar of St Michael's Church in Michaelston-y-Fedw, between Cardiff and Newport.

"There have been other incidents too, with one quite amusing one where someone removed a piece of cement stuff from the house but later posted it back to us."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/north_west/7136151.stm

Submitted by MMRules on Tue, 12/11/2007 - 12:47pm
new
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 12/11/2007 - 12:53pm.
Stop using a proxy
*******
Just a Regular wireless router connected to a cable modem..

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Quit farting and help save the earth.

A man walked into the ladies department of a Macy's, one of the largest department store chains. He shyly walked up to the woman behind the counter and said. 'I'd like to buy a bra for my wife'

'What type of bra?' asked the clerk.

'Type?' inquires the man 'There is more than one type?'

'Look Around,' said the saleslady, as she showed a sea of bras in every shape, size color and material.

'Actually, even with all of this variety, there are really only three types of bras,' replied the salesclerk.

Confused, the man asked what were the types.

The saleslady replied 'The Catholic type, the, Salvation Army type, and the Baptist type. Which one do you need?'

Still confused the man asked 'What is the difference between them?'

The lady responded 'It is all really quite simple. The Catholic type supports the masses, the Salvation Army type lifts up the fallen, and the and the Baptist type makes mountains out of mole hills.

are compitent to investigate the destruction of the tapes w/o independent investigator.

FIASCO.

Mukasey implys that he hasn't decided IF he's reporting if waterboarding and the destruction of tapes will be reported to the public. That was his final word before the mic was cut.

Just another YES man for the neo-scum agenda.

☺♥☺♥☺
One election at a time...

Kicked off Internet 3 times ! Had Reboot Wireless Router 3 Times
Submitted by MMRules on Tue, 12/11/2007 - 12:47pm.
!
Sucks !
Sorry..I'm a huge fan of both..
But,not going to pay for something I can't watch !
Smack Tv,or Smash Tv whatever it is,Sucks !

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

a view to the hearings on C-Span???
I can never get the video or sound. Don't know why

Sunshine JIm - I would love to get the Volksgarden Rotary Garden

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/071207-ns-geminids.html

"The Geminid Meteors are usually the most satisfying of all the annual showers, even surpassing the famous Perseids of August.

Studies of past find the "Gems" have a reputation for being rich both in slow, bright, graceful meteors and fireballs as well as faint meteors, with relatively fewer objects of medium brightness.

They are of medium speed, encountering Earth at 22 miles per second (35 kps). They are bright and white, but unlike the Perseids, they leave few visible trails or streaks. They are four times denser than most other meteors, and have been observed to form jagged or divided paths.

Generally speaking, depending on your location, Gemini begins to come up above the east-northeast horizon right around the time evening twilight is coming to an end. So you might catch sight of a few early Geminids as soon as the sky gets dark.

There is a fair chance of perhaps catching sight of some "Earth-grazing" meteors. Earth grazers are long, bright shooting stars that streak overhead from a point near to even just below the horizon. Such meteors are so distinctive because they follow long paths nearly parallel to our atmosphere.

The Geminids begin to appear noticeably more numerous in the hours after 10 p.m. local time, because the shower's radiant is already fairly high in the eastern sky by then. The best views, however, come around 2 a.m., when their radiant point will be passing very nearly overhead.

"Take the advice of a man whose teeth have chattered on many a winter's night – wrap up much more warmly than you think is necessary!"

Hot cocoa or coffee can take the edge off the chill, as well as provide a slight stimulus. It's even better if you can observe with friends. That way, you can keep each other awake, as well as cover more sky. Give your eyes time to dark-adapt before starting."

I think this hearing, today, is a closed hearing.

Afternoon to you.
Wondering - - - - - did you get the info. I posted on "Post Show Post"

If not I will e-mail you some more info. (Feral Cats)

Im sorry MMRules -I just saw your post on wanting the web-site for the Bush Family Tree. Give me some time
on that and I'll get that for you.

I'm keeping it all for Thursday's meeting...

does not spend a lot of time on the blog. I wonder why???

Good Luck Alice - I'll say a little prayer for you & the kitties.

Danny Schechter "The News Dissector": Television coverage of the Venezuelan referendum

From IWT The Real News...

2:30 p.m.
Intelligence
To receive a closed briefing on certain
intelligence matters.

http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/committees/b_three_sections_with_teaser...

Alaska’s Gull Island Oil Fields Could Power U.S. for 200 Years

By Mark Anderson

“Crude oil is the real ‘currency’ of the world,” said Lindsey Williams at a gathering of the Midwest Concerned Citizens group in Kansas City on July 22. But Americans will never hear about huge oil and gas reserves in the United States, which, if ever tapped, would bring today’s fuel prices at least as low as $1.50 per gallon and make America more energy independent.

As a Baptist missionary in the 1970s, Williams said he rubbed elbows with members of the world’s power elite—who boasted of detailed 30-year and 50-year plans to control the flow of oil and information.

A huge quantity of crude oil and natural gas exists under Gull Island, located in the waters of Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, says Williams. He cited key British Petroleum memoranda and related the statements of upper echelon oil officials who told him that Gull Island would be kept under wraps, limiting domestic supplies so Americans would someday see prices hit up to $10 a gallon at the pump.

“Every issue in the world today relates to crude oil,” said Williams. The U.S. occupation of Iraq and the saber rattling about attacking Iran fit into the crude oil matrix.

Iran is being targeted because it’s one of several countries that want to use their own currencies for oil sales, rather than using the U.S. dollar. Williams told AFP that any country that doesn’t want to “play ball” with the U.S. government and the financial and oil interests is, in essence, put on a hit list.

The United States, he said, learned that Iran intended to form its own bourse and not use the dollar for oil sales. Therefore, the notion that Iran is a menacing “almost-nuclear” country was trumped up, presented as fact via the corporate media and Iran is now in the crosshairs.

http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/gull_island_oil.html

The folks over at www.Ask.com continue to do some good work, and get very little notice. The NY Times took notice of AskEraser, which allows users to make their searches more private. Ask.com and other major search engines like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft typically keep track of search terms typed by users and link them to a computers Internet address, and sometimes to the user.
However, when AskEraser is turned on, Ask.com discards all that information, the company said.

Bush demands Iran explain nuke program

By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer 31 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Tuesday called on Iran to explain why it had a secretive nuclear weapons program, and warned that any such efforts must not be allowed to flourish "for the sake of world peace."

"Iran is dangerous," Bush said after an Oval Office meeting with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. "We believe Iran had a secret military weapons program, and Iran must explain to the world why they had a program."

Bush's comments came after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that it was "a step forward" that U.S. intelligence agencies had concluded that Tehran stopped developing its nuclear weapons program four years ago.

Ahmadinejad told reporters that an "entirely different" situation between the United States and Iran could be created if more steps like the intelligence report followed.

"We consider this measure by the U.S. government a positive step. It is a step forward," Ahmadinejad said.

"If one or two other steps are taken, the issues we have in front of us will be entirely different and will lose their complexity, and the way will be open for the resolution of basic issues in the region and in dealings between the two sides," he said.

Iran has said its nuclear program is peaceful, but until last week, the United States and Western allies had countered that Iran was hiding plans for a bomb.

"Iran has an obligation to explain to the IAEA why they hid this program from them," Bush said, referring to the nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency.

"Iran is dangerous, and they'll be even more dangerous if they learn how to enrich uranium," Bush said. "So I look forward to working with the president," Bush said, referring to Napolitano, the Italian leader, "to explain our strategy and to figure out ways we can work together to prevent this from happening for the sake of world peace."

Bush's comments amounted to a renewed effort to keep pressure on Iran after the release of last week's National Intelligence Estimate. That report found that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, and administration officials worry it could weaken their ability to build global pressure on Tehran to stop its uranium enrichment program.

That estimate cautioned that Tehran continues to enrich uranium and still could develop a bomb between 2010 and 2015 if it decided to do so.

It also concluded that it may be difficult to ultimately dissuade Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb because Iran believes such a weapon would give it international prestige and leverage to achieve its national security and foreign policy goals, the assessment concluded.

Iran is still enriching uranium for its civilian nuclear reactors that produce electricity. That leaves open the possibility that fissile material could be diverted to covert nuclear sites to produce highly enriched uranium for a warhead.

Napolitano said he and Bush broadly "share the same concerns, and we express a common commitment" on a variety of issues.

"We want to discuss, constructively, our positions on all questions in all tracks," he said. "We just want to give our contributions and our ideas on how to face, successfully, all threats, including the very serious threat of nuclear weaponization of Iran."

On Tuesday, diplomats from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany are to discuss a draft plan for new United Nations sanctions against Iran. If passed by the Security Council, the plan would slap a third round of sanctions on Iran for defying international demands that it halt its enrichment of uranium.

"The agency report and the NIE are before the eyes of the international public opinion," Ahmadinejad said in Tehran on Tuesday. "There is no reason for the continuation of enmities and hostilities. The threats failed, they were not effective."

Bush took no questions from reporters after his meeting with Napolitano.

Pentagon blocks ex-Gitmo prosecutor from testifying. Yesterday, ThinkProgress noted that Air Force Col. Morris Davis resigned his position as the chief prosecutor for the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay after he was placed under the command of torture advocate William Haynes. During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this morning, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) revealed that the Pentagon had blocked Davis from testifying before the committee. “The Defense Department has ordered him not to appear,” said Feinstein. Watch it:

Calling it a shame, Feinstein said that she had “to conclude” that the administration is trying to stop a fair and open discussion about the legal rights of detainees at Guantananmo.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004877.php

You might also want to put all that info in a Open Mic..
It's interesting history.. :)

I know the web site..Just couldn't find link !
Onlinejournal.com is the site....But,no link to story..

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Bush: ‘It’ll be interesting to know what the true facts are.’ In an interview with ABC News, President Bush asserted that he first learned about the CIA’s destruction of the torture tapes when Director Michael Hayden briefed him last Thursday:

“My first recollection of whether the tapes existed or whether they were destroyed was when [CIA Director] Michael Hayden briefed me,” Bush said.

“There’s a preliminary inquiry going on and I think you’ll find that a lot more data, facts will be coming out,” he said, “that’s good. It will be interesting to know what the true facts are.”

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/12/bush-i-didnt-kn.html

for anyone that is computer savvy. Would or is it possible to get a computer and NOT register it. Someone who doesn't want his or her name/address out there for all to get.
My argument is they already have that info. on you. You know when you get a new computer you have to register it - is there any way around not registering your name??????

Is CIA Director Michael Hayden Lying About When The Agency Stopped Videotaping Interrogations?
Last week, in his letter to CIA employees informing them of the destruction of videotapes featuring interrogations, CIA director Michael Hayden claimed that “videotaping stopped in 2002.” Hayden said the agency “determined that its documentary reporting was full and exacting, removing any need for tapes.”

But the videotaping may not have actually stopped in 2002. The New York Times reports today that “a lawyer representing a former prisoner,” Muhammad Bashmilah, “who said he was held by the C.I.A. said the prisoner saw cameras in interrogation rooms after 2002“:

Meg Satterthwaite, a director of the International Human Rights Clinic at New York University who is representing Mr. Bashmilah in a lawsuit, said Mr. Bashmilah described cameras both in his cells and in interrogation rooms, some on tripods and some on the wall. She said his descriptions of his imprisonment, in hours of conversation in Yemen and by phone this year, were lucid and detailed.

According to an Amnesty International report, Bashmilah was detained in October 2003 and was transfered nearly a year later to a “detention facility run by US officials, apparently underground.” Bashmilah told Amnesty that there were “surveillance cameras in the cells.” He was released in May 2005.

CIA spokesperson Paul Gimigliano refused to comment on Bashmilah’s claims, telling the New York Times only that “he had nothing to add” to Hayden’s previous statements.

In November, a court filing revealed that “the CIA has three video and audio recordings of interrogations of senior al Qaida captives” that it had previously refused to disclose, but it is unclear when those recordings were made.

It’s possible that the cameras Bashmilah saw weren’t actually recording anything, but if they were, it would mean that Hayden was not being truthful when he said that “videotaping stopped in 2002.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/12/11/videotaping-waterboarding/

UPDATE: Spencer Ackerman comments: “The CIA lied for years about the existence of videotaped interrogations, so there’s no reason to credit Hayden’s account of when the recordings ceased.”

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004876.php

Hey I have a question
new
Submitted by smcgee43 on Tue, 12/11/2007 - 1:55pm.
for anyone that is computer savvy. Would or is it possible to get a computer and NOT register it. Someone who doesn't want his or her name/address out there for all to get.
My argument is they already have that info. on you. You know when you get a new computer you

What do you mean register?

register your copy of windows vista with microsoft so they know its an authentic copy?

register with your internet service provider?

register when you buy it at the store?

what exactyly are you worried about?

Even if you bought your comp with cash, It would be very difficult to connect to the net through cable or DSL modem and do it anonymously. I think its probably illegal.

Every networked device carries a mac id. In order for you to pay your bill to your ISP, for you to have an IP, they carry an account on who you are. The IP is associated with your Mac id/computer and your IP is connected to your billing account.

Carrying water in a open hand offers little advantage. You might wrap that fist around the handle of a bucket. It's all about using tools.

Want to use Google, but don't want records kept on your searches?

Go to Scroogle.org (and click on the Scroogle Scraper)

http://www.scroogle.org/cgi-bin/scraper.htmre7#R

http://www.scroogle.org/cgi-bin/scraper.htm

I have a 17 yo nephew who is a hard core leftie. Sam has nothing for sale I can get him. I already got him a copy of Fubar some time ago. Does anyone have any ideas?

job - you don't have to register your computer, most people don't - but you cannot remain incognito if you get an internet connection to your name - most people do because obviously that's the most convenient way to use the internet and have an email address. But but, if someone really wanted to stay anonymous they could use public wi-fi outlets, libraries and coffee shops etc, really not worthy it just for privacy's sakes

who provided me with intellect on the computer registering question.
I know I can ALWAYS count on my buddies on this wonderful blog.
Thank You again!!! :)

When Lindsey " shut that closet door" Graham sounds liberal when questioning our military, you know our military has hit rock bottom.

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/12/11/graham-waterboarding-iran/#comments

dvd biographys of chomsky, there are two good ones out "Manufacturing Consent" ( a classic) and "Rebel without a pause"; I also liked "You can't be neutral on a moving train" biography of Howard Zinn on video - there are a lot of good documentaries out or even some movies with a message, can't think of any right now but you could check a video store - if he likes to read there is no shortage of lefty books

Fernando - there is a great book about our government overthrowing other governments.

I think it would be an interesting read for your nephew - I throughly enjoyed the book & learned from it.

"OVERTHROW" - America's century of Regime change from Hawaii to Iraq
Stephen Kinzer

I love it. I really love that. That is great!!!

Calling it a shame, Feinstein said that she had “to conclude” that the administration is trying to stop a fair and open discussion about the legal rights of detainees at Guantananmo.

Feinstein is a real disgrace, rockefeller too.

Im ashamed the Dems wont step up and stop this torture

Is that whats the USAs become?

Your not patriotic unless you support torture?

was a good one. But he sounded totally defeated.
I personally have lost all faith in "our" government with all that has been going on.
There seems to be NO light @ the end of the political tunnel.

Those are good ideas.

OK, I know I need to get DSL, but I can't afford it yet. In the interim, is there any way to just get the sound from the show? When it first started, months back, I used to be able to get sound (and shakey pics), although intermittently with a lot of buffering. Now, I get still images that change about every 30 seconds, with virtually no sound. I did get about two words, and that's it. So is there a way to get just the sound? I started to d/l a previous show and the d/l manager said it would take over 24 hours.

Secondly, what's the cheapest DSL that is worthwhile? Is it true you can have it on the same line as your phone, and just flip a switch to answer your phone? I have done some websearch on this, but am still way confused.

While I'm here, that was moi who posted earlier about no sound, as anon--I finally figured out how to sign on w/a name. It took me several times to post as some of the Captcha looked like Russian!

Go on line to at&t, verizon.

You can plug your phone number in and it will tell you if you can get dsl from them.

Then look at their dsl packages.

I'm with at&t and pay $14.99 a month.

Cable also has high speed internet but I found in my area that they charge more.

.

If you live in a rural area where dsl is not currently available, it is possible to get together with neighbors and form a sort of 'co-op' to get the phone company to make it available. I know some people who did this. 12 households in the country, within a 3 mile radius where able to convince bellsouth (now at&t) to hook them up with dsl service.

There is no "switch" to it. Your phone works on the analog signal that transmits through the cooper wire. DSL is a digital signal that transmits on the same wire. You get free little filters to separate the signal, sending digital to your computer modem and analog to the phone.

Look into it, it's as cheap as dial-up these days.
You'll wonder where it's been all your life, really!

I'm on the AT&T page and think I'll try a "live chat" to see what they say. Yes, it's available in my town. Hmmm, the $10 I now pay to aohell could go towards that $15, eh? I wonder how often DSL goes down. I need to compose some questions for them. As long as I can get the Seder & Maron show, I'll be a happy camper. It's a devastating realization that I am so dependent on this computer.

Thanks again! I'll let y'all know what happens.

And by the way, dsl has some problems sometimes, but nothing like dialup.

You'll be happy you changed. You can watch any video without problems on dsl.

a bad experience with dsl - though it could be my phone lines were screwed up because the phone also didn't work well, the land line - it was down more than it was up and finally I gave up and got cable broadband, but yes it is expensive - now i couldn't live without it - but back to you - if for now you only care about the sam streaming video, can't you go to a library with some headphones just for an hour? or coffeeshops that have free wireless (if you have a laptop) mmrules has also been bitching about wireless not working though - it's tough - i hope sam comes up with some new ideas to distribute his stuff - a lot of sites have video clips that you can download and watch like avi files or mp4 quicktimes or something

You can tell I haven't chatted w/AT&T yet...Here's the option I'm looking at:
https://swot.sbc.com/swot/dslMassMarketCatalog.do?do=dslProductPage&offe...

toni, my main dialup prob is s-l-o-w d/l speed--about 10 minutes for every minute of video. I know I'll love it, once I figure out the expenses, etc. I can't quite figure out how much the initial stuff will cost (should I get a modem? etc.)

mire, yes, I could go to the library, once I find my headphones. Will the VOD replays load and play immediately? I'm guessing the library's on a T1/E1 whatever it is. I dropped into a cafe that offered hookups, but as I didn't have a puter at the time, I just costed the option using one of theirs--something like $5 for 20 minutes! Now that I have one again, I'll re-cost and check a few other places. I *know* I've seen free wi-fi hookups around town, although you probably have to buy a $4 cup of coffee....I'll definitely ask about phone quality/dependability when I get around to it all; thanks for the warning.

What baffles me is why did it used to work, albeit poorly, when I was running a slower laptop and old aol version, back when the show first came into existence? I emailed Sam asking if he could get an mp3 version for us po' folks.

Anyway, tonight I'm going to start a d/l and see what happens while I gather my ducks in a row. Thanks immensely for all your feedback!

AT&T and Verizon offer about the same deal for $15.
www dot verizon.net/greatrate for Verizon

Questions linger after Hayden testimony

Hayden Faces Questions on CIA Tapes Destruction As Ex-Agent
Says Waterboarding OK'd at the Top

PAMELA HESS
AP News

Dec 11, 2007 20:18 EST

CIA Director Michael Hayden, testifying before the Senate
Intelligence Committee behind closed doors Tuesday, failed
to answer central questions about the destruction of secret
videotapes showing harsh interrogation of terror suspects,
the panel's chairman said.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., called the committee's 90-
minute session with Hayden "a useful and not yet complete
hearing" and vowed the committee would get to the bottom of
the matter. Among lingering questions: Who authorized
destruction of the tapes, and why Congress wasn't told
about it?

Hayden told reporters afterward that he had "a chance to
lay out the narrative, the history of why the tapes were
destroyed" and the process that led to that decision. But
since the tapes were made under one of his predecessors,
George Tenet, and destroyed under another, Porter Goss, he
wasn't able to completely answer all questions, he said.

"Other people in the agency know about this far better than
I," Hayden said, and promised the committee he would make
those witnesses available.

A similar session is set for Wednesday, when Hayden appears
before the panel's House counterpart.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/mochila.php?articleId=10984947&channelId=76...

What's Really Happened During the Surge?

By PATRICK COCKBURN

Has the US turned the tide in Baghdad? Does the fall in violence mean that the country is stabilizing after more than four years of war or are we seeing only a temporary pause in the fighting?

American commentators are generally making the same mistake that they have made since the invasion of Iraq was first contemplated five years ago. They look at Iraq in over-simple terms and exaggerate the extent to which the US is making the political weather and is in control of events there.

The US is the most powerful single force in Iraq but it is by no means the only one. The shape of Iraqi politics have changed over the last year though for reasons that have little to do with 'the Surge'--the 30,000 US troop reinforcements -- and much to do with the battle for supremacy between the Sunni and Shia communities.

The Sunni Arabs of Iraq turned against al Qa'ida partly because it tried to monopolize power but primarily because it had brought their community close to catastrophe. The Sunni war against the US occupation had gone surprisingly well for them since it began in 2003. It was a second war, the one against the Shia majority led by al-Qa'ida, which the Sunni were losing with disastrous results for themselves.
www.counterpunch.org

http://www.counterpunch.org/johnstone12122007.html

Updated, December 9, 2007

"There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part, you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!"

--Mario Savio, the steps of Sproul Plaza, UC Berkeley, December 2, 1964

For almost two weeks In November, 2007, anti-war activists in Olympia, Washington slowed down and for two different periods of 12 hours or more, stopped the flow of military weapons and military cargo that were unloaded from a Navy ship that had returned from Iraq. For 24 hours a day, we used a variety of tactics and actions. They have included sitting in front of trucks carrying Stryker vehicles and other military equipment from leaving the Port of Olympia, building barricades on the roads where these military vehicles were traveling, anti-war demonstrations through the streets of Olympia and vigils, downtown. A hearing was held at City Hall, on Sunday, November 11th, 2007 to document the excessive police force used against people who participated in these actions. We testified at the Olympia City Council and at a hearing of the elected Port Commissioners demanding that they take a stand opposing the U.S. war against Iraq by not letting our Port be used to transport war supplies. On Saturday, November 17th, more than 400 people marched through the streets of Olympia to protest the war in Iraq, against police violence towards demonstrators and in support of the protests at the Port of Olympia. About 600 people have taken part in some or all of these protests.

History

For three years, various anti-war, social justice and student groups such as Students for a Democratic Society, SDS, have demanded that Olympia officials take a stand against the war by not permitting our Port to be used for military cargo going to and coming from Iraq. To make this a reality people have put their bodies on the line each time the port has been used with the most recent actions being the longest, largest and most successful in actually stopping shipments. Lt. Ehren Watada, who was the first commissioned officer to refuse deployment to Iraq, was in part, inspired by anti-war Port protests in 2005, in making his decision to refuse to go to Iraq. There have also been protests against and resistance to military shipments to Iraq in spring, 2007 in Aberdeen and Tacoma, WA, which is the main port used by the military. We hope by our actions to inspire direct and militant action against the U.S. war in Iraq and to end the complicity of local communities, e.g., our ports in the carrying out of this war. Growing non-cooperation with this war and the possible future war with Iran by more and more communities is one key part of a strategy to get the U.S. to withdraw from Iraq and not attack Iran.

Has this strong and powerful, “Two Weeks that Shook Olympia”, helped build a stronger anti-war movement in Olympia, has it raised the social costs of waging this brutal war and occupation of Iraq? Many, mainly younger people, took major physical risks in blocking Stryker vehicles from moving and sitting down in front of them. This has been inspirational to others in Olympia and surrounding communities. Hopefully, this courage and commitment will continue as we build a broader and more inclusive movement that integrally connects the war to economic injustice, repression and racism at home and to U.S. corporate domination abroad, that the primarily white student protesters act more in the future in solidarity with the repression and oppression faced by Muslims, African-Americans, Native Americans, Latinos/Latinas, immigrants, poor people and workers in their daily lives. It is hard to assess the support for this port resistance in Olympia, most likely the majority does not support it. More outreach needs to be done. The Olympia Port Militarization Resistance organization (PMR) needs to make it easier for people to be involved in our actions who are not already on our listservs. PMR is continuing to meet to reflect on what happened and to plan further education, action and outreach. Hopefully, the militancy, courage, tactics, spirit, of these very powerful actions will inspire others throughout the United States to stand up and not be complicit with the torture and occupation being carried out in our name.

It is very likely the military will not use the Port of Olympia again for military shipments during the duration of the occupation of Iraq. This is a victory. A bigger victory and ongoing task is for PMR to educate ourselves and others about how Olympia is being militarized, e.g., by challenging military recruiters in the schools and the deployment of the National Guard to Iraq. It also means working with the Longshore Union, and other communities in Washington State and nationally and with military resisters to raise the social cost of this war and make it impossible to wage. Now is the time to increase militant and dramatic action against this war as well as more traditional demonstrations where 70% of U.S. residents oppose the war while those in power continue to wage it and most of the Democratic Party leadership acquiesces to it. NOT IN OUR NAME!!

Here are some links to the actions provided by Zoltán Grossman,
Olympia Movement for Peace & Justice
http://www.omjp.org/Port2007.html
OlyBlog updates
http://www.olyblog.net/newsflash-port
Port Militarization Resistance background
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Militarization_Resistance
Other videos from this week:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEmQDrKGXBA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM2tNL_roBY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOkn2Fg7R8w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgi5ESpueX8
Music video on past port protests
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlndgiBhNQQ

:)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

FISA Court to ACLU, Public: Buzz Off

By Spencer Ackerman - December 11, 2007, 4:02PM
In August, the ACLU made an unorthodox request to the FISA Court. It wanted the Court to declassify the early 2007 rulings on President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program that led the administration to seek broad new authority from Congress to conduct surveillance.

And while the ACLU petition was a long shot, a few days later, the Court went back to the government and asked what the harm in declassification would be. After all, as the ACLU wrote, the facts behind the rulings had direct bearing on an ongoing legislative debate over the scope of surveillance powers. As far-fetched as it still seemed, perhaps the Court would buck its long tradition of secrecy.

Today the Court gave an answer: Nah.

Con't
"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

hows it goin'??

What's your browser?

Much better

Stealing from Malloy ! O'well ;)

IE,Zeek.. :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Now we need to post the video of Sam's Olbermann segment here too.

Fernando has it on YouTube now.

Love your Open mic's ! Thanks.. :)
Don't you post audio for Sam vs Marc ?

Have the New one ?
Cat Chew does sometimes too..

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Hi MMRules
Submitted by smcgee43 on Tue, 12/11/2007 - 10:34pm.
hows it goin'??

:)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Sam's segment...

Click here: Halliburton attack in Iraq?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/

For the hundredth time !
You guys are the best ! :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Thanks Fer!!

Nooooooooooo!

Hope your keeping warm !

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Good to read ya..
You crack me up !
And,everyone else ! Thank god ! :)

This Bush crime family can wear ya out ! Duh ! :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

I just call him brave. On Olberman discussing torture (rape) by Americans on Americans. Call them out Sam.

how's it going?

They are covering a few of our government's hypocrisies.

No Child left behind test

No National Guard to protect our nation because they are all deployed in Iraq.

It's a good one to watch.

that's yer dada on the TV.

MMRules;

Yah, fella. Good idea moving the party back here, this keg wasn't anywhere near beat.

and woefully underutilized at AAR. It's actually shameful.

The boy's out like a light on the recliner, gotta go shift him.

2morrow 2 all U fine 4ks.

AARRRRRRRRrrrrrrgggghhhhhh !
Is All ya got to say !

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

I was cracking up over Annettes horror over the size of Hillary's teeth in the other thread... :)

:)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Holy shit!!!!
Submitted by Annette on Tue, 12/11/2007 - 10:49pm.
there's a giant hugeass Hillary billboard up there and she scares the shit outta me!

Those teeth! Cannibalistic...

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/2007/12/121107.html
VICE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE IS NOT AN AGENCY, ISOO TOLD

The Office of the Vice President is not an "agency" for purposes of the executive order on classification and therefore its classification and declassification activity no longer need be reported to the Information Security Oversight Office, the Justice Department finally informed ISOO Director Bill Leonard in a newly disclosed letter.

http://tinyurl.com/36twbs
[emptywheel.firedoglake.com/files/28/files//
2007/12/eos-7-20-07-doj-to-leonard.pdf]

On July 12, 2007, the Counsel to the President wrote a letter to Congress stating that"[t]he President has asked me to confirm to you that. . . the Office of the Vice President. . . is not an 'agency' for purposes of the Order." Letter to the Honorable Sam Brownback, United States Senate, from Fred F. Fielding, Counsel to the President (copy enclosed). That statement on behalf of the President directly resolves the question you presented to the Attorney General. Therefore, the Department of Justice will not be providing an opinion addressing this question.

Sincerely, ~~~ Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General

What the President is claiming, Sen. Whitehouse said, is that "I don't have to follow my own rules, and if I break them, I don't have to tell you that I am breaking them."
.=.=.=.=.=
Jamesbennett

http://www.am1090seattle.com/pages/13408.php

If ya missed Malloy earlier..
"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

so, how was your all's day? I had a 'snowday'...:-)

Got alot done too! Cleaned out closets, got a bunch of good shit over to good will, wrapped presents, got a car in the garage.

All in all, it was a good day!

Are you all ready for the holidays?

:-)

How's the oasis? I've been so busy, I feel outta touch...

Historian: First English Bible
fueled first fundamentalists

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The translation of the Bible into English marked the birth of religious fundamentalism in medieval times, as well as the persecution that often comes with radical adherence in any era, according to a new book.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20071211/sc_livescience/historianfir...

Some fun stuff there.. :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

is that you?

Ice storm has come and hopefully gone.

It warmed up here and it turned to slush.

But now they are saying more to come tonight. Evidently it is going below freezing again so the ice will reform over night.

Sure Wish he would get a fulltime gig..Just Not right ! Duh again ! :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

posted on line right after the seder clip there was an ad for the nissan and they were playing the pressure drop music from the majority report

too much!

!!!!!!!!!!!!

Huckabee: Don't Mormons believe Jesus and the devil are brothers?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, asks in an upcoming article, "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?" The article, to be published in Sunday's New York Times Magazine, says Huckabee asked the question after saying he believes Mormonism is a religion but doesn't know much about it.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/politics/story/217333.html

Poll reveals Edwards best Democrat to beat top Republican candidates

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the Democratic side, Edwards performs best against each of the leading Republicans. In addition to beating Huckabee by 25 percent and McCain by 8 percent, the North Carolina Democrat beats Romney by 22 percentage points and
Giuliani by 9 points.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/10/poll.head.to.head/index.html?sect...

Hey guys

I'm going to be taking a driving trip next week and need some suggestions for audio books for the trip.

What I've liked in the past were things like America the Book (Jon Stewart). Funny political stuff is great or just plain good solid humor.

I wish FUBAR was in CD format.

Sam? How about downloadable mp3 excerpts from the book!

I've been neglecting it... www.samsedershow.com/node/1691!

Still have the link memorized! LOL

I'm not sure! I think it's me, but as I'm foregoing the haircolor, the manicurist/pedicurist, and all the primping until after Christmas, I'm hating the girl in the mirror and counting the days til January!!! Dear God! Ugh! LOL

Boss is prolly pissed at hisself that he let me stay home after things really, weren't that bad...

But that's OK. He'll get over it. :-)

It was really REALLY fun! I was a freshman in a state university at the time. I went to archives, pulled out original letters from the pioneers. I was shocked at what I found. Joe Smith was trippin out, man, and saw a vision. An indian standing on a hill who said his name was Mormon and he was going to tell him a bunch of groovy shit and that he should write it all down in a book. Stuff like, you can have as many wives as you want, Independence Missouri is the promised land...shit like that.

Which made me wonder, why didn't the Grateful Dead do the same thing? Maybe their acid wasn't as effective. :-)

I think it was those magic mushrooms the Indian gave Smith!

Taking the fun out of fundamentalists...
http://tinyurl.com/3x8gjv
[findarticles.com/p/articles/
mi_m1282/is_n19_v49/ai_19866350]
A graduate of Magdalen College, Oxford, and a Roman Catholic priest, Tyndale was a prodigious scholar. Working directly from the Hebrew and Greek rather than like previous translators, from the Latin of the Vulgate he translated into English the complete text of the New Testament (1525), and had finished about half of the Old Testament by 1536 when he was arrested by Church authorities, stripped of his priesthood, painfully imprisoned, and then finally attached to a stake, strangled, and burned in Vilvorde in the Netherlands. This was a tragedy, but not quite the utter outrage that it must seem today.
...
One thing that came as a revelation to me is of the first importance. I had long assumed that the magnificence of the King James Version (1611) is due a) to the inherent strength of seventeenth-century prose, and b) to the excellence of the group of translators James I assembled at Hampton Court under the supervision of Lancelot Andrewes.

William Tyndale himself was the major source of the prose strengths of the KJV. An astonishing percentage of the familiar phrases in the KJV come right out of Tyndale, who wrote almost a century earlier, his prose strengthened by Gloucestershire speech rhythms and perhaps by Welsh, which was spoken just across the Severn River from where he grew up.
.=.=.=.=.=
Jamesbennett

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

available as an audio book on iTunes. Burn a disk!

You never know! Nice gif mmr!

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

;)

Where's that Dead radio channel that plays The Dead 24/7 ? ;)
"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

repeat on now.

Never tried 'em..although I gotta say, them portabello ones are pretty tasty!

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

I was trippin on Fernando's Vid and,almost missed it.. ;)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Cool Open mic..
Where did you get those ?
The Gif motherload? :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

started out as gifs

Damn if I know how to 'save as' so they stay intact. Guess I probably have to get the embed from the owners...

Just right click on picture..
Go to the properties..Click on that..

After that go up to where the URL/imfo/address is..All the same place..
Right click on that..Select all..Copy..
Then copy and paste it in post.. That's it ! :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Hey, when ya got it, flaunt it.

I knew you'd come up with something that would put that post over the top, Crank. You never disappoint! :D

How ya doing ?
Good I hope ! :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

:)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Thanks for the heads up on the Seattle Malloy link.

Shore and Crane distract me every Tuesday.

I love that show.

: )

Hi Brett..Who's Shore & Crane ?

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

But, to bring back my selfish, whiny-ass topic without interfering in a newer thread: guess what? You made me bite the bullet! You DID! YOU did! Not only did I get DSL, but a WIRELESS "Gateway" so I can drag my puter along w/my sorry ass from room to room! The whole shebang will cost me less than my two phones and aohell! I'll only need one phone from now on, and it will work on the po' folks' LifeLine dealybop. OR SO THEY SAY. You saved me money! Where have you been all my internet life? Oh, *I've* not been around much. Well, phooey on that, eh?

The big deal, and this is where a salesperson can *help*, is that the wireless thang, which costs $80, and/or the modem ("mandatory" with the "package"--"in case your puter's modem doesn't work, so you won't suffer a lack of service blah de fuckin blah") which costs $50, comes with a $50 mail-in rebate. So, the most you (uh, I) would pay is zero, but for taking the puter to the goddam bathroom costs just $30, once. How cool is that?

I was on the chat line with my rep for over an hour, and she answered all my questions. It was the BEST online service I've ever gotten; she walked me through everything after I tore her mind out with idiotic questions which she answered to perfection. Now, perhaps I'm just a stooge, but *that* would not be news. What's news is that this was THE best online service (and that's a compliment for AT&T--I've been bawled out by one of their reps for accidentally cursing; ok, it was on purpose because she was a raving insane bitch; whatever).

My only complaint is that I missed copying her last answer--how the DSL thingy *works* to *connect* to my wireless puter. Something about the modem (even the "wireless" modem?) is connected to the phone, always. And yes, it works with an answering machine. And yes, when you unhook your puter from the power source, it will be working on a battery--I didn't get into that too much....Guess I was having a shopping surge; I can call them up and ask for a "payment plan" I think.

Yeah, so the shipping will be $13, and arrive in 3-5 days, whatever. Now, if it works....We'll see, but I have great expectations. In the afterglow, the only thing I forgot to ask was "What if I'm not satisfied...." Oh well, for once I'll look on the bright side and assume that won't be an issue.

I copied all but that missing answer above (sowwy, user err), so if any lurky-loo is out there with unanswered questions, I could c/p and email, or, post here. I know if I, who used to feel like the smartest puter person in my town about 15 years ago but have devolved into a total dumbass, have been contemplating such stuff for ages, others have too.

She promised it's an easy install (close to "plug and play"--no tools needed); gave me toll-free numbers should a problem arise; said DSL rarely goes down, but if so, it's usually a telephone line problem and readily fixed (well, that last part could be a lie if you can't call to report the downed line--I know about that shit). It should arrive by the 14th or so. I feel like I'm about to come out of a cave, any moment! And when I do, you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be a bigtime Sammy & Marc supporter here on the blog. (You know, I'm positive I once registered here, but I guess I forgot my name! So, I'm now rawfoodie, which fits me, except that I do eat cooked stuff.) Whew, am I done yet? I think you'll say "yes"! lol love ya peeps