October 2002 Archives

"The Iraq Research and Documentation Project (IRDP) website is a collection of resources documenting the government, politics, and society of modern Iraq. IRDP is engaged in the gathering of information of diverse content and format (official government documents, maps, citizen testimonies, reference sources, chronologies, bibliographies, notable articles, human rights reports, photographic and other images, audio and video materials). This online collection is made available to the public to provide a window into the inner workings of the repressive state system evolved under the aegis of the Iraqi Ba'th Socialist Party in Iraq since 1968."

This site looks like a useful reference.

"viameta"

"Riding the tidal waves of groove still reverberating in Alice Tully Hall after the sold-out "Organ Summit" in November 2001, Jazz At Lincoln Center will produce another concert of the bluesy, down-home style of "soul jazz." Taking place on Friday and Saturday, December 6 & 7, 2002 at 8pm in Alice Tully Hall, the concerts titled "Soul Call" will feature vibraphonist ROY AYERS with his band UBIQUITY; tenor saxophonist DAVID "FATHEAD" NEWMAN; alto saxophonist LOU DONALDSON; and the MASTERS OF GROOVE - an all-star group featuring organist REUBEN WILSON, guitarist GRANT GREEN, JR. and drummers CLYDE STUBBLEFIELD (12/6 only), and BERNARD PURDIE (12/7 only). Tickets for of these shows are available at the Alice Tully Hall box office, by calling CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500, or via www.jazzatlincolncenter.org.

"Soul jazz" was the most popular jazz style of the 1960s and has re-emerged in recent years. This form of jazz, which had strong roots in hard bop, placed an emphasis on the rhythmic groove. It is the allure of the groove and the amount of heat generated by the soloists that determines whether performances of soul jazz are considered successful or not. The talented musicians assembled for this "Soul Call" concert are some of the foremost innovators and practitioners of this genre. "

If you're in the NYC area and have any interest in a good groove, this should be a great show.

This is why I loved Norway.

I worked in Oslo for a few months a few years back, and regretted never getting the change to venture way up north.  Someday I will return.

"viameta"

"Five years after Mohammad Khatami was propelled to a landslide victory on a platform of liberalizing Iran's Islamic system, the charismatic president is losing his sheen. There is widespread frustration over the pace of his reforms.

Few doubt his decency or sincerity or blame him personally. They know his efforts have been thwarted by an unelected hard-line minority that still controls key institutions such as the courts, the armed forces, and the broadcast media.

But Mr. Khatami's supporters have been urging him to stand up to the old guard. The president has finally thrown down the gauntlet: Last month Khatami presented two bills to the Iranian parliament that would end his opponents' stranglehold on power. Whether the bills are passed or blocked, they are likely to mark a major turning point in Iranian politics."

Signs of life from democratizing forces in Iran. 

"Legendary hip-hop DJ Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC was shot and killed in Queens on Wednesday (October 30), according to group representative Dave Goodsen."

Not sure what to say about this, but I don't think its reaching too far to say that Run DMC pretty much revolutionized rock.  If it weren't for "Walk this Way", Poison would probably still be running the show ;)

8(

"The United States National Security Entry Exit Registration System (NSEERS), introduced on September 11, 2002, authorizes the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service to keep track of the arrival and departure of non-immigrants to the United States who were born in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, or Syria or who may be citizens of those countries. NSEERS requires that these individuals be photographed and fingerprinted and have their entry into and exit out of the United States verified. In addition, individuals who were born in or who have the citizenship of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, or Yemen could also attract special attention from American immigration and security authorities.

In these circumstances, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade advises Canadians who were born in the above countries or who may be citizens of these countries to consider carefully whether they should attempt to enter the United States for any reason, including transit to or from third countries. In addition, all Canadians should be aware that NSEERS activity by the Immigration and Naturalization Service may lead to delays at U.S. immigration checkpoints."

Canada is warning its middle-eastern citizens to reconsider travel to the US. 

"viadrudge"

"In the future we'll have to practice "supply side security" and ask questions we ignored when we looked only at the world as consumers of security. What are the sources of enmity against us, and how could those sources be reduced? How can we increase the supply of goodwill which is ultimately the most stable and plentiful source of security? What could be done to cause others to see us as important allies in meeting their own critical needs?

We'll have to take seriously the goal of hearing and understanding needs; building economies, schools, hospitals; earning a reputation for deep commitment to the well-being of all and accountability to the world community.

There's an old saying: If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything you see is a nail. It's time for America to demonstrate that we have more tools than big hammers. Our task is to leave no doubt that we care as much about the survival and well-being of others as our own. And we don't even need to be generous to do this.

The truth is, our own survival is at stake."

A good article in the Christian Science Monitor on what I agree to be our only possible future course of action in a world where pretty much anyone will be able to get their hands on the weapons to kill thousands.

"The man who told the world "I Won't Back Down," "Don't Do Me Like That" and "Don't Come Around Here No More" doesn't need any assertiveness-training course. Tom Petty's determined, sometimes defiant attitude has collided with the music business throughout the years. For instance, in 1982 Petty recorded Hard Promises with the Heartbreakers, only to find that his then-record company had plans to use his name to initiate a new, higher $9.98 list price for albums. Petty withheld the tapes and threatened to retitle his record $8.98 in protest. "

Tom Petty talks to Rolling Stone about some of the stupidity going on in the music industry of today.  His complaints, as summarized by Rolling Stone in the article, follow:

• Radio is not even worth listening to
• All anyone thinks about is money
• It's ridiculous to make people pay twenty dollars for a CD
• Only a complete greedhead would charge $150 for a concert ticket
• Record labels don't care about artists
• Filthy lyrics make me sick
• Only a sick culture would sexualize young girls
• Why are we rewarding people for being rich?
• And TV is worse
• A lot of artists are as greedy as the industry

This article presents a technical analysis of the TCPA hardware system and the Palladium operating system. Palladium and TCPA have been covered in some depth on slashdot and various FAQA. Unfortunately, much of the information available from these sources is highly subjective and confusing (for example, TCPA and Palladium are presented as if they were the same thing). Reliable and objective technical information on Palladium and TCPA has been hard to come by-and the actions of Microsoft has not made obtaining such information any easier.

An interesting technical overview of how the TCPA/Palladium platform will work.  There are some interesting comments on this paper in a thread on Kuro5hin.

[via Kuro5hin]

Well, that was easy enough to find...

I smile to the couple next to me, and when they both smile back I ask, "Do you go to many house concerts?"

House concerts are exactly what those two words say -- concerts that people hold in their houses -- and they've become something of a nationwide phenomenon during the past 10 years. While there has always been live music in homes -- classical drawing room salons, rural front-porch hoedowns, Harlem rent parties, rock bands in basements -- the current style of house party has flourished because of a confluence of circumstances, the primary one being the graying of the baby boomers.

This seems like a really interesting idea that I've never heard of before.  Probably because I'm not a graying baby boomer.

"viablogcritics"

Dear Mr. President:

I represent a small consortium of voters who are deeply concerned over your proposed {or, if appropriate, ongoing} military action in Iraq. Given the amount of public speech and political rhetoric you have devoted to this issue in past months, it seems to us as though you are more interested in playing commando than in fighting an actual war with actual human casualties.

Enclosed with this letter, we have sent you some small gifts: one PlayStation 2 game console, one copy each of SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs and Conflict: Desert Storm, a memory card and an extra controller for Mr. Cheney's use. We ask that you accept these gifts and use them, rather than the lives of Iraqi civilians and our U.S. servicemen, to fulfill any militaristic fantasies.

Respectfully,

Mikel Reparaz
Chairman
Buy Bush a PlayStation 2 Campaign

[via Memepool]

"Cronkite said he fears Americans are learning less and less about what their government is doing, and worse, they do not seem to care.

He cited recent presidential elections that have seen less than half of registered voters go to the polls. The result has been leaders who are chosen by about a quarter of the electorate.

“That means we don’t have a democracy,” he said. “We’ve got an oligarchy here, not a democracy. Our democracy is in some danger if we don’t concentrate on educating the populace.”"

Walter Cronkite is worried about what unilateral action on Iraq could mean to the world.  He's even more worried about the fact that his fellow American's don't seem to care.

"viadrudge"

"The fact is that less than a year after the celebrated demise of the Taliban, Afghanistan is experiencing a low-grade war, a bubbling pot of violence and anarchy that only the U.S. military presence is keeping from boiling over. The moment the international presence scales down in the capital, the very second that U.S. military attention drifts away and westward toward Iraq, ambitious men within the new Afghan government will kick off a bloody snatch-and-grab operation, leaving a large number of civilians dead, and they will take anything that is not bolted down and then shell the rest, a replay of the mid-'90s when Kabul was laid to waste. It will be the same people doing it, another tragic irony. No one can predict the future, but this is how it feels in Kabul, and everyone I asked, whether journalist or Afghan national, agreed that this was what was coming. Conflicts are breaking out all over the country, but Afghanistan isn't a story any more, so most of these battles and the reasons they are being fought are going unreported. And as Iraq looms, Afghanistan will shrink even more. When I left Kabul, the big agencies were already scaling back their news bureaus, the great unblinking eye of the media making plans to look at something else. "

The US is obviously very concerned about pariah states hosting international terrorist organizations.  This is why we are ignoring Afghanistan. 

"The Task Force identified six critical mandates that deserve the nation's immediate attention:

• Empower front-line agents to prevent terrorist attacks and make first responders ready to respond; 650,000 local and state law enforcement officers are operating in a counterterrorism information vacuum, and first responders are not nearly ready enough to respond to catastrophic events.
• Make trade security a global priority; the system for moving goods affordably and reliably around the world is ripe for exploitation and vulnerable to mass disruption by terrorists.
• Set critical infrastructure protection priorities; some potential targets pose a graver risk for mass disruption than others.
• Enhance America's public health system so that it is able to quickly detect and respond to biological attacks.
• Move quickly to clear federal obstacles to forging effective private-public security partnerships by addressing industry concerns with respect to potential antitrust conflicts, public release of sensitive security information by way of the FOIA, and liability exposure.
• Fund, train, and equip the National Guard to make homeland security a primary mission. "

The CFR brings together Hart and Rudman for a reprise of their last report, which was widely ignored in Washington when it was presented in March of 2001.  Hopefully this time around they'll have a more receptive audience.

"viameta"

“In my opinion, there are maybe four or five people in the whole country who might be able to make this stuff, and I’m one of them,” said Richard O. Spertzel, chief biological inspector for the U.N. Special Commission from 1994 to 1998. “And even with a good lab and staff to help run it, it might take me a year to come up with a product as good.”

Some experts are wondering about who really was behind the anthrax attacks.  Conveniently for the administration, the article points to Iraq.  If true, I'm all for attacking, but our president has so botched up this process that any evidence he comes up with is going to sound suspicious.

" The eclectic nature of the group's music may help explain why its concerts are often sold out and its albums typically sell 200,000 copies worldwide, an almost unheard of figure for jazz. Young listeners more attuned to rock hear jam-band sounds in the group's improvisations, while jazz fans are reminded of the organ trios led by Jimmy Smith and Big John Patton in the 50's and 60's."

An article in the New York Times on MMW's 'crossover' success.

Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone, his wife and a daughter died Friday in a small plane crash near Eveleth, Minnesota, Democratic sources said.

8(

"That having been said, I'm happy to announce that I'm going into the certification business. If anyone cares to send me $500 and copies of their alphanumeric passwords, I'll return to them a diploma conferring on them the title "Certified Strong Password-Using Professional" (CSPUP) that's good for four years from the date on their check or money order."

Richard Forno on the paradox of rising marketplace values of increasingly useless Info Security certifications.

[via ISN]

"This essay proposes to confront this case for preemptive war on Iraq head on. My argument stresses principles and long-term structural effects rather than prudence and short-term results. It rests not on judgments and predictions about future military and political developments, which I am not qualified to make, but on a perspective missing from the current discussion, derived from history, especially the history of European and world politics over the last four centuries. Rather than criticizing the proposed preemptive war on prudential grounds, it opposes the idea itself, contending that an American campaign to overthrow Hussein by armed force would be an unjust, aggressive, imperialist war which even if it succeeded (indeed, perhaps especially if it succeeded), would have negative, potentially disastrous effects on our alliances and friendships, American leadership in the world, the existing international system, and the prospects for general peace, order, and stability. In other words, a preemptive war on Iraq would be not merely foolish and dangerous, but wrong.

This essay attempts to build a case against the war on systemic grounds; it cannot for reasons of space hope to treat all-important aspects of that systemic case or answer all possible questions and challenges. It talks about the damage a preemptive war would do to the existing international system, but not about the equally important impacts it could have in terms of side effects on nascent changes in the international system needed to meet new problems already looming on the horizon. It draws on international history in regard to preemptive wars, but will not take up a legitimate though tricky question of counterfactual history, i.e., whether certain preemptive wars, had they been waged in the past, might have averted disasters as the advocates of such a war against Iraq claim a war will do now. (1) While examining the official case for a war on Iraq, it will not take up, except in passing fashion in the last footnote, what is possibly the unacknowledged real reason and motive behind the policy – security for Israel."

A very interesting article in Pat Buchanan's new magazine, The American Conservative.  Its not just those on the left that have problems with this war.  Anyone with a reasonable sense of history should have some concern over what our President is trying to do.

"viadrudge"

"The New York legislation is the latest development in an ongoing debate over artists rights in the recording industry. Over the last year, California lawmakers have held hearings to examine allegations by artists about unfair contracts and music companies shortchanging them on wages and health-care and pension benefits."

More artists fighting back, this time in New York State.

"I hope the court rejects the efforts of the music industry to assault the Internet and the music fans who use it. Speaking as an artist, I want us to work together -- industry leaders, musicians, songwriters and consumers -- to make technology work for all of us."

Another artist speaks out against the music industry.

"viaslashdot"

"After a brief hiatus, Blogcritics interviews are back. We are looking for your questions to ask Billy Martin of Medeski Martin and Wood, who has a cool new beats and scratches CD under the name "illy B Eats," entitled Drop the Needle on his own Amulet Records, as well as a deeply grooving recent MMW disc. Ask your questions in the comments section below."

Cool!  If you have any questions, follow the link.

The Post's endorsement of incumbent Republican Wayne Allard in 1996 urged him "to seek compromise and moderation to keep the country moving." We've been deeply disappointed on both counts. Allard has chosen strict party-line voting rather than the Colorado-style moderation we sought - and the country, far from moving forward, is in a serious economic downturn. Traditionally, The Post has continued to stand by incumbents we have supported in the past. Our endorsement is, quite frankly, theirs to lose. To our sorrow, Sen. Allard, by failing to show any instinct for centrism, conciliation or independence, has lost our support. Indeed, on almost every major issue, challenger Strickland's positions and ideas are markedly more attuned to Colorado than those of his opponent.

Allard (R) vs Strickland (D) is one of the key races for control of the Senate this year.  Thankfully, the Post has realized the mistake of its ways back in 1996 and endorsed Allards challenger.  Tom Strickland is no great shakes -I'm not a big fan of lobbyists - but at least he seems to think for himself, although there's no solid evidence that this will be the case should he be elected.  In Allard's case however, his voting record speaks directly to the problem:

[via Joe Conason's Journal]

Ok, I can't help it.  I'm a game-playing nerd.  This is hilarious.

"So how about using the same shock-value tactics the administration uses in the drug war to confront the public with the ultimate -- and much more linearly linked -- consequences of their energy wastefulness? Imagine a soccer mom in a Ford Excursion (11 mpg city, 15 mpg highway) saying, "I'm building a nuclear bomb for Saddam Hussein." Or a mob of solo drivers toodling down the freeway at 75 mph shouting in unison, "We're buying weapons that will kill American soldiers, Marines and sailors! Yahoo!" "

Good Arianna Huffington column on Salon today.  She asks why it's so unreasonable to crank back our oil usage a bit.

"Would it be so painful for us to slow down the intravenous drip of oil that keeps these hideously anti-American regimes alive? There are car companies with electric and hybrid cars already on the market. And a little pressure on our wasteful ways could unleash a new wave of good old American inventiveness."

Officials said U.S. intelligence has determined that Al Qaida is supported by 12 financiers, most of them Saudis. They said the Bush administration is sharing the findings with Washington's allies in NATO and the European Union.

BTW, these are the same folks that run the subscription only geostrategy-direct, which I've posted from here before and has a LOT of good information.

"The challenge is clear: Exercise a deeper form of patriotism, one rooted in an uncompromising devotion and love of country that calls for examining and changing conduct in political life. Each of us must assume responsibility for this task. The time to act is now."

"One journalist described to me an anti-American demonstration held last April in Baghdad to celebrate Saddam's sixty-fifth birthday. She saw the same high school students pass by several times, simulating an endless stream of angry protesters. When her colleagues turned their cameras on, officials with bullhorns instructed the crowd to increase the volume of their chants. "Everyone knows they're a sham," says the journalist. "But CNN in Atlanta is telling Nic Robertson that he has to file a story. He doesn't have anything else to work with. So he shows the demonstration." "

A very good article in the New Republic on the price of being a foreign journalist in Iraq.  CNN in particular gets pointed to as a particularly compliant organization.  A good demonstration of why modern mass-media news is fairly empty.  Ahhhh, pseudo-events.

"viablogcritics"

So here's a Cyber Security strategy that would work. It's as anti- competitive as you can get and has a snowball's chance in hell of being adopted. It's downright Machiavellian. Or, perhaps, Napoleonic:

1. Make it illegal to sell a PC that doesn't come with a fully-licensed Antivirus product and personal firewall pre-installed on it.
   
   
2. Standardize government Infosec products in use on a best-of-breed basis like any FORTUNE 500 company would - across all federal computers.
   
   
3. Terminate federal employees and their supervisors if they are proven responsible for security breaches due to their negligence.
   
   
4. Spend a few million dollars (or use some internal resources) to code a government-issue personal firewall and anti-virus product. Give it away. Standardize on it. Make it available to ISPs. Writing firewalls isn't hard. I've written two single-handedly.
   
   
5. Establish a standard firewall configuration policy (e.g.: a site security policy) for all internet-connected federal agencies and adhere to it rigorously. 99% of the government's security problems result from incompatible policies and lax enforcement. FORTUNE 500 firms get this right; the taxpayers' employees should do no less.

So it's anti-competitive and Machiavellian. National defense always is.

Don't sweat consensus. Lead.

Marcus Ranum, the man behind SEAL - the first commercial firewall, Gauntlet - another early commercial firewall, and NFR - the first commercial intrusion detection platform, comments on the lack of teeth in Bush's Cybersecurity Plan, and offers a plan of his own.

"The new antiwar movement is in danger of being hijacked by bizarre extremist groups -- and most protesters don't even know it."

A very good article (subscription only) on the group behind the recent "Not In Our Name" protests.  Their views are rather extreme.  To quote from their "Three Main Points":

1) The whole system we now live under is based on exploitation-- here and all over the world. It is completely worthless and no basic change for the better can come about until this system is overthrown.

2) Many different groups will protest and rebel against things this system does, and these protests and rebellions should be supported and strengthened. Yet it is only those with nothing to lose but their chains who can be the backbone of a struggle to actually overthrow this system and create a new system that will put an end to exploitation and help pave the way to a whole new world.

3) Such a revolutionary struggle is possible. There is a political Party that can lead such a struggle, a political Party that speaks and acts for those with nothing to lose but their chains: The Revolutionary Communist Party, USA.

Just take a look at the resolutions passed by Congress: HJ Res. 114 -- SJ Res. 45

In summary Congress finds that:

• Iraq sponsors international terrorism
• Iraq harbors terrorists
• There is a "high risk" that Iraq is planning a "surprise attack"
• against the United States
• Any non-Iraqi terrorists are hereby declared to be Iraqi surrogates
• The invasion of Iraq is, therefore, hereby found to be
• (i) "defensive" and (ii) just part of the "war on terrorism" anyway
• Furthermore, the Congress hereby declares that George W. Bush has
• full Constitutional authority to do whatever he pleases, militarily,
• just as long as he claims he's doing it for "national security"
• reasons.
• Pursuant to this, "national security" is hereby defined to include
• the pursuit (by military force and invasion) of "international peace
• and security", and such interests will now include the
• entire "Persian Gulf region."

Notice that this states THE ENTIRE PERSIAN GULF REGION. Yes, that is the authority Bush has been given. He has been authorized to declare war as he sees fit against any country in the Persian Gulf region.

Is it just me, or do the resolutions say nothing of the sort about declaring war against "any country in the Persian Gulf region."  Am I missing some subtle wording? 

The Senate resolution is a bit vague, although it still refers to the "threat posed by Iraq":

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES

ARMED FORCES.

The President is authorized to use all means that he
determines to be appropriate, including force, in order to
enforce the United Nations Security Council Resolutions
referenced above, defend the national security interests of
the United States against the threat posed by Iraq, and
restore international peace and security in the region.

But the House resolution has no such vague wording.

The point that open season is being declared on the whole Persian Gulf is highlighted, when in fact no such evidence exists.  The quoted phrase, "Persian Gulf region" is only used in reference to the fact that Iraq poses a threat to it.

What am I missing?  Or is Rebecca Knight (and some others I've seen making the same assertion) just making stuff up?

[note, I edited to clarify what I meant by 'any country']

"For some reason, Richard Clarke continues to believe that he can increase cybersecurity in this country by asking nicely. This government has tried this sort of thing again and again, and it never works. This National Strategy document isn't law, and it doesn't contain any mandates to government agencies. It has lots of recommendations. It has all sorts of processes. It has yet another list of suggested best practices. It's simply another document in my increasingly tall pile of recommendations to make everything better. (The Clinton Administration had theirs, the "National Plan for Information Systems Protection." And both the GAO and the OMB have published cyber-strategy documents.) But plans, no matter how detailed and how accurate they are, don't secure anything; action does.

And consensus doesn't secure anything. Preliminary drafts of the plan included strong words about wireless insecurity, which were removed because the wireless industry didn't want to look bad for not doing anything about it. Preliminary drafts included a suggestion that ISPs provide all their users with personal firewalls; that was taken out because ISPs didn't want to look bad for not already doing something like that.

And so on. This is what you get with a PR document. You get lots of varying input from all sorts of special interests, and you end up with a document that offends no one because it demands nothing.

The worst part of it is that some of the people involved in writing the document were high-powered, sincere security practitioners. It must have been a hard wake-up call for them to learn how things work in Washington. You can tell that a lot of thought and effort went into this document, and the fact that it was gutted at the behest of special interests is shameful...but typical. "

From today's Crypto-Gram.  Bruce Schneier wasn't too impressed with Bush's Cybersecurity Plan.

"The :rarum series is a journey through revelatory moments in jazz history. This is the music the artists want you to hear, and they've written liner notes, too, to tell you why.... "

I've been a fan of the hard-to-classify, Munich-based record label, ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music), for many years now.  It was through ECM that I discovered Bill Frisell, one of my favorite guitarists.  In the 70's and early 80's, when jazz was being largely ignored by the mainstream recording industry, important artist's such as Keith Jarret, Dave Holland and Chick Corea found an outlet in ECM.

Earlier this year, ECM started to release a series of recordings under the name ":rarum"  Each recording is a sampler of some of a particular artist's favorite works on ECM.  The artist has complete editorial control over the contents and have written extensive liner notes, and included photo's from their own archives.

I just picked up the Rarum volumes from Keith Jarret and Bill Frisell and I'm amazed at the quality of both.  Amazing recordings, and a wide variety of selections from each artists stint with ECM.  The opening clavichord pieces (Book of Ways 18, 12 and 14) on the Keith Jarret album alone make it worthwhile.

If you have any interest in these performers, or are generally an admirer of the type of music ECM produces (and that topic alone is worthy of a small book), you should definately check out this series of albums.

• Rarum 1 - Keith Jarret
• Rarum 2 - Jan Garbarek
• Rarum 3 - Chick Corea
• Rarum 4 - Gary Burton
• Rarum 5 - Bill Frisell
• Rarum 6 - Art Ensemble of Chicago
• Rarum 7 - Terje Rypdal
• Rarum 8 - Bobo Stenson

These are the volumes currently available.  In addition, the following artists are working with ECM on their own Rarum volumes: Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Egberto Gismonti, Paul Motian, Carla Bley, David Darling, John Surman, Tomasz Stanko, Eberhard Weber, and Arild Anderson

"My thesis is that how well we come through the era of globalization (perhaps whether we come through it at all) will depend on how we respond ethically to the idea that we live in one world. For the rich nations not to take a global ethical viewpoint has long been seriously morally wrong. Now it is also, in the long term, a danger to their security."

A great article in the Chronicle of Higher Education on the responsibilities that come with reaping the benefits of globalization.  I found this article in a thread on Plastic.  The thread contains several other interesting articles on globalization and an American empire.  Not too many comments in the thread yet, but that will hopefully change as the day passes.

"I hope it all goes down the crapper. I would never take another deal in the record business, which means I may not record again, or I have to figure out a way to sell over the Net or do something else. But I'll be damned if I'll line their pockets."

Joni Mitchell on the music biz.

"viablogcritics"

A report by the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said the Bush administration and Congress appear to have launched the first reassessment of U.S. relations with the Arab world. The report said that longtime relationship was based on the United States ignoring Arab totalitarianism and human rights violations in return for plentiful oil from the Middle East.

I haven't been able to find the report mentioned on the CEIP web page, but the Middle East Newsline brief unfortunately doesn't give the title of the report.  I'm going to keep an eye out for it however, since this could be a longer term good sign of some understanding penetrating the thick skulls of our leaders.

""Strategic Energy Policy Challenges For The 21st Century describes how America is facing the biggest energy crisis in its history. It targets Saddam as a threat to American interests because of his control of Iraqi oilfields and recommends the use of 'military intervention' as a means to fix the US energy crisis.""

Its taken me longer than I would have liked, but my read through the document does not strike me as anywhere near as sinister as alleged in this article, at least not militarily.  I don't really see this as a call to invade Iraq for its oil, rather it cites Iraq as an example of the problem over-reliance on volatile regions for our energy can cause.  In fact, here are some of the reports recommendations

• "Minimize public conflicts with OPEC and other independent oil-exporting countries."
• "Review policies toward Iraq with the aim to lowering anti-Americanism in the Middle East and elsewhere, and set the groundwork to eventually ease Iraqi oil-field investment restrictions"

I'm still a bit disturbed at its use of the energy crisis in California as a justification for all sorts of things, especially with Ken Lay's involvement in the task force, but thats a whole other mess. 

All-in-all, this may be a smoking gun of some sort, but its not about invading Iraq.

"The United States Copyright Office is launching a rare round of public comment on rules that bar people from breaking through digital copy-protection technology on works such as music, movies, software or electronic books. Regulators aren't looking to change the law, but they are looking for public suggestions on what kinds of activity should be legalized in spite of the rules."

The public gets another chance to provide comment on the types of material that should be immune from the DMCA's effects.

"This time around, the office is again asking for specific examples of cases where the law's restrictions cause "actual instances of verifiable problems occurring in the marketplace." Inconvenience or "theoretical critiques" are not enough, the office warned."

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been hired to help rid Mexico City of its infamously high rates of kidnappings, robberies and murders.

From America's Mayor to Mexico's Crime Czar.  This should be interesting.

Senate Remarks:  A Preordained Course of Action on Iraq

Senator Robert C. Byrd
October 10, 2002

The Moving Finger writes; and having writ,
Moves on; nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.

So said the Persian poet Omar Khayyam in the 11th century.  So say I today.  The Senate has made clear its intent on the Iraq resolution.  The outcome is certain; the ending has been scripted.  The Senate will vote, and the Iraq resolution will pass.

I continue to believe that the Senate, in following this preordained course of action, will be doing a grave disservice to this nation and to the Constitution on which it was founded. In the newly published  National Security Strategy of the United States – the document in which the President outlines the unprecedented policy of pre-emptive deterrence which the Iraq resolution will implement – he asserts that the Constitution has served us well, as though it were some dusty relic of the past that needs to be eulogized before it is retired.  He is wrong.  The Constitution is no more dated in the principles it established than is the Bible. The Constitution continues to serve us well, if only we will take the time to heed it.

I am deeply disappointed that the Senate is not heeding the imperatives of the Constitution and is instead poised to hand off to the President the exclusive power of Congress to determine matters of war and peace.

I do not, in my heart of hearts, believe that this is what the American people expect of the Senate.  I have heard from tens of thousands of Americans – people from all across this country of ours – who have urged me to keep up the fight.  I am only one Senator from a small state, yet in the past week I have received nearly 20,000 telephone calls and nearly 50,000 e-mails supporting my position.

I want all of those people across America who took the time to contact me to know how their words have heartened me and sustained me in my efforts to turn the tide of opinion in the Senate. They are my heroes, and I will never forget the remarkable courage and patriotism that reverberated in the fervor of their messages.

As the apostle Paul said, "I  have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." There are Americans all across this country who have joined in spirit with me and a small band of like-minded Senators in fighting the good fight. We could stay here on the floor and continue to fight, and it is certainly a fight worth the effort.  But there is also a point at which it becomes time to accept reality and to regroup.  It is clear that we have lost the battle in the Senate, but we have not yet lost the war.

The next front is the White House, and I urge all those people who are following this debate, and who have encouraged me in my efforts, to turn their attention to the President. Call him, write him, e-mail him.  Urge him to heed the Constitution and not short-circuit it by exercising the broad grant of authority that the Iraq resolution provides.

The P