News -- December 31, 2005

2005: The year the US government undermined the internet - "2005 will be forever seen as the year in which the US government managed to keep unilateral control of the internet, despite widespread opposition by the rest of the world. However, while this very public spat went on, everyone failed to notice a related change that will have far greater implications for everyday internet users and for the internet itself. That change will see greater state-controlled censorship on the internet, reduce people's ability to use the internet to communicate freely, and leave expansion of the internet in the hands of the people least capable of doing the job. It is also another example of where the US government's control has - in real, verifiable terms - had a direct, unchecked impact on the internet, despite constant assurances that it takes only a benevolent and passive role. And it has come as a result of the US administration's hugely controversial decision to invade Iraq."
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/29/us_undermines_internet/

WhiteHouse.gov Uses Cookies, Bugs - "David Almacy, the White House's internet director, promised an investigation into whether the practice is consistent with a 2003 policy from the White House's Office of Management and Budget banning the use of most such technologies at government sites."
http://www.wired.com/news/wireservice/0,69945-0.html?tw=wn_tophead_3

White House will continue to track Net - "The White House said Friday its Web site will keep using Internet tracking technologies, deciding that they aren't prohibited after all under 2003 federal privacy guidelines."
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/tech/D8EQPR8G3.htm

Snow says don’t let Uncle Sam go broke - "Treasury Secretary John Snow said yesterday the United States could face the prospect of not being able to pay its bills early next year unless Congress raises the government’s borrowing authority, now capped at $8.18 trillion."
http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=119225

Why Our Military Despises Donald Rumsfeld - "Probably the least told story of the Iraq war-quagmire is the extent to which the Pentagon military, especially the U.S. Army brass, disagrees with and despises these civilian superiors. Donald Rumsfeld, one of the most disliked of the Secretaries of Defense, has spent much energy making sure that high level dissent in the military is muzzled and overlayered by his loyalists. Just last week Rumsfeld demoted three military service chiefs in the Pentagon hierarchy and replaced them with three loyalists who previously worked for his buddy Dick Cheney."
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1231-05.htm

How Bush's Sick Joke Became Public Policy - "Once would be a lame joke; twice, a symptom of a seriously impaired sense of humor. Three times, however, is suggestive of seriously malevolent intentions. In our system of government, which remains in form if not in practice a constitutional republic, chief executives simply do not joke about dictatorial ambitions. Here's a useful parallel. It is a serious federal offense even to joke about wanting to kill the President of the United States. Doing so even one time is sufficient to provoke a visit from the Secret Service. Were someone to do so three times, he would almost certainly face prosecution, as well as an invasive psychological evaluation. Shouldn't it be considered just as grave an offense for a president, who swore an oath in God's name to uphold our Constitution, to make jokes about murdering our republic in order to erect a dictatorship?"
http://www.thenewamerican.com/artman/publish/article_2974.shtml

Top Ten Tactics to Influence Negative News: The PR Playbook - "Recently, when comparing notes with fellow investigative reporters, I learned I'm not the only one noticing these common strategies. In short, they seem to be operating from the same playbook. If there were such a playbook, it might read something like this."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/29/2005/main1171279.shtml

Pupils Being Given 'Patriotism' Tests in Washington State Schools - "Children in Washington State are being given 'Patriotism tests' which are completely unrelated to their studies. The paper gauges whether or not the student shows fealty to the power of the state and whether the student believes in the right to overthrow a corrupt government."
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/december2005/301205patriotismtests.htm

Online daters sue matchmaking Web sites for fraud - " Match.com, a unit of IAC/Interactive Corp., is accused in a federal lawsuit of goading members into renewing their subscriptions through bogus romantic e-mails sent out by company employees. In some instances, the suit contends, people on the Match payroll even went on sham dates with subscribers as a marketing ploy."
http://today.reuters.com/business/newsarticle.aspx?type=media&storyID=nN18708924&imageid=%E2%88%A9=




Quote of the Day
"I don't really give a crap."
~ Chef, South Park