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30 June 2002

 

Developers worry Web too controlled
(Anick Jesdanun, The Mercury News/AP, June 21, 2002)
The Internet's potential for promoting expression and empowering citizens is under threat from corporate and government policies that clash with the medium's long-standing culture of openness, some leading Internet thinkers warn. . . . At the annual Internet Society conference this week, the engineers who built the Internet and many of the policymakers who follow its development urged caution as governments try to exert control and businesses look to maximize profit. . . . ``We're at a turning point in the evolution of the Internet,'' said William Drake, a fellow at the University of Maryland. A wrong turn means ``robbing it of its real democratic potential.'' . . . Vint Cerf, co-developer of the Internet's basic communications protocols, worries that big, traditional businesses could gain unprecedented control through technical manipulation of the next-generation, high-speed services that are delivered over cable and phone lines. . . . That openness is increasingly threatened by ``profit motives of corporations and control issues of governments,'' said Eric Schmidt, chief executive of Google. He pointed to the current ``balkanization'' of instant messaging, where a lack of standards prevents America Online users from communicating with people on rival services. . . . Steve Crocker, an Internet pioneer who promoted open protocols at the standards-setting Internet Engineering Task Force, said today's decisions ``could stunt the Internet to where it becomes a mechanism for delivering entertainment, ads and conducting consumer-oriented business for large players.''

posted by Lorenzo 4:49 PM

 

What's New — Posted on June 29, 2002
World Events . . . The first fireball
U.S. News . . . Food industry backs animal welfare rules
War on Drugs . . . Erowid Library : 'Pharmacracy'
Palestine & Israel . . . EU peace move amid fears of West Bank breakdown . . . Arafat’s successor will not be an America-loving Palestinian poodle . . . Against Israeli Apartheid . . . Israeli forces keep 700,000 Palestinians under curfew . . . Francis Boyle's comments on Bush's lack of vision
Free Speech . . . Break the Chain: Stop Junk E-Mail and Misinformation . . . No Subscription for Spam Relief . . . Spies at liberty in your PC

posted by Lorenzo 4:20 PM

29 June 2002

 

What's New — Posted on June 28, 2002
U.S. News . . . COOKED BOOKS: Now Xerox admits $2bn hole . . . LIVING BEYOND OUR NATIONAL MEANS: Congress Raises National Debt Limit . . . Now, he wants an investigation
Earth News . . . Report: Warming harmful to public lands . . . Aqua makes a splash
War on Venezuela . . . A TALE OF TWO COUPS (Greg Palast)
News from Africa . . . Africa is forced to take the blame for the devastation inflicted on it by the rich world

posted by Lorenzo 10:48 AM

28 June 2002

 

What's New — Posted on June 27, 2002
Science & Health . . . Gene therapy cures immune disease in kids

posted by Lorenzo 9:41 AM

27 June 2002

 

What's New — Posted on June 26, 2002
World Events . . . WorldCom Accounting Scandal Sends Markets Reeling . . . Analysis: Choose your friends, not foes
U.S. News . . . Federal Appeals Court Rules Pledge Of Allegiance Unconstitutional Endorsement Of Religion . . . Regressive Progressive? . . . Some U.S. cities are formally resisting the federal police state
Science & Health . . . Teleportation is Real
Earth News . . . Climate 'future health threat'
Palestine & Israel . . . I wonder why Bush doesn't let Sharon run his press office (Robert Fisk) . . . Professor Edward Said Talks About the State of Palestinian Leadership . . . What the US papers say about Bush being Sharon's spokesman . . . Blair in rift with Bush over Israel . . . Both sides are wrong . . . A Speech to End All Peace . . . State Terrorism in Israel?

posted by Lorenzo 8:08 AM

26 June 2002

 

What's New — Posted on June 25, 2002
Earth News . . . A Warmer Planet is a Sicker Planet

posted by Lorenzo 7:23 AM

25 June 2002

 

American's should follow Bush junior's advice
In His Fraudulency's speech yesterday in which he discussed the situation in Palestine, Bush junior said "Palestinians must elect a new leadership not compromised by terror." I'm not so sure that is great advice at this moment for the Palestinians, but it certainly would do wonders here in the U.S. ... with one slight modification.

Americans must elect a new leadership not compromised by terror.

posted by Lorenzo 9:08 AM

 

Crime is Up
Yesterday the FBI reported that last year saw the first increase in violent crime in ten years. Now let's think about this for a minute. For eight of those ten years the Democrats held the White House. Then, through vote fraud in Florida, Bush junior stole the election. His rein of terror (canceling the Bill of Rights, murdering thousands of civilians in Afghanistan and elsewhere, etc.) began with a crime perpetrated against black voters in Florida. Is it any wonder then that other violent crimes in the U.S. are on the rise as well?

posted by Lorenzo 9:03 AM

 

What's New — Posted on June 24, 2002
World Events . . . Fatal vision: how Bush has given up on peace
U.S. News . . . Bush at bay . . . BEWARE OF WHAT YOU READ: FBI Begins Visiting Libraries
Earth News . . . Humanity's 'footprint' bigger than Earth
Palestine & Israel . . . The whole world's against us . . . Ethnic Cleansing And The Establishment Of Israel . . . CNN blinks first in battle with Israeli officials . . Listening to Ted Turner

posted by Lorenzo 8:55 AM

24 June 2002

 

The not so independent press
"The business of the journalists is to destroy the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, to fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread. You know it and I know it, and what folly is this toasting an independent press? We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes"
-- John Swinton (formerly of the New York Times upon his retirement after more than thirty years as a journalist)

posted by Lorenzo 1:20 PM

23 June 2002

 

What's New — Posted on June 22, 2002
U.S. News . . . Civil wrongs
Science & Health . . .Scientist mix spiders with goats . . . Researchers grow organ from stem cells
Palestine & Israel . . . Were Israelis Detained on Sept. 11 Spies? . . . Israeli settlers rampage after blood-soaked week . . . Urgent Appeal From Nablus
Free Speech . . . Supreme Court Upholds Anonymity, Free Speech . . . Digital Rights Management and Privacy

posted by Lorenzo 10:17 AM

22 June 2002

 

What's New — Posted on June 21, 2002)
U.S. News . . . Congress Can No Longer Ignore Corporate Control of the Media . . . What Happened at Emma E. Booker School on the Morning of September 11th? . . . Rhetoric Distorts Realities
Earth News . . . Surprise asteroid nearly hits home - June 21, 2002
Palestine & Israel . . . Palestinian Public Figures, Intellectuals Issue Appeal to End Suicide Bombing
Free Speech . . . Gagged by Google - censored by search engine

posted by Lorenzo 10:15 AM

21 June 2002

 

Bush Doctrine 2.0 - a Flash presentation
Several funny (if you like black humor) Flash presentations available here.

posted by Lorenzo 12:51 PM

 

The Bush Doctrine in a Nutshell
The United States has the right to destroy any society anywhere for whatever reason it chooses regardless of international opinion, law, or basic morality.
[Hagerty comment: And we thought the Monroe Doctrine was over the top! The Bushwhackers in Washington seem to believe they own the world. If you live in the U.S., please be sure to vote in the next elections ... unless we restore the White House to elected officials, we're doomed.]

posted by Lorenzo 12:25 PM

 

What's New — Posted on June 20, 2002
World Events . . . Israeli TV Companies Weigh Taking CNN Off the Air
U.S. News . . . US Trade gap widens to a record
Science & Health . . . Baby Star 'Winks,' Hints at Nascent Planet System . . . Wet wiring humanity: Trade in your mobile phone for a MOLAR phone? . . . Cyborg: Digital Destiny and Human Possibility in the Age of the Wearable Computer
Palestine & Israel . . . Hackers Hijack, Use E-Mail Addresses of Activists to Propagate Falsehood on the Internet
Free Speech . . . Experts warn of cyber security holes

posted by Lorenzo 9:23 AM

20 June 2002

 

Announcing the Short List for the 2002 Independent e-Book Awards
If you want an advance look at some exciting new books that are now available in electronic format, check out the short list for this year's Independent e-Book Awards. Categories include: Historical, Mainstream, Comics/Humor, Children/Young Adult, Autobiography/Memoir, Gay/Lesbian/Bi-Sexual, Romance, Reference Books, Horror/Thriller, Mystery/Suspense, Speculative (Fantasy/Paranormal/Sci-Fi), and Inspirational/Metaphysical/Spiritual.

posted by Lorenzo 9:47 AM

 

What's New — Posted on June 19, 2002
U.S. News . . . UK anti-terrorist officials alarmed at US tactics
Palestine & Israel . . . Israel to reoccupy lands
War on Iraq . . . US turf wars betray the Iraqis
Awakening . . . The DuVersity - Chapter 12 from The Intelligent Enneagram

posted by Lorenzo 9:02 AM

19 June 2002

 

Palestine Chronicle - An Important Update to our 'Farewell' Message
We are hoping that the following strategy will be a way out.

The Palestine Chronicle needs very little to cover expenses for our staff in Palestine and the U.S., but these expenses must be covered. If we can raise a minimum of $50,000.00 this year, we will be able to continue publication and expand our services.

We would like to propose a "suggested subscription", where those who can afford to subscribe to this online service, do so. We have a "whatever you can afford" subscription policy. This way our publication will continue to be open to all, regardless of their ability to pay.

Our readership is large and strong, and we have great hopes that this goal can be met with the generosity and backing of our readers. We will continue this voluntary subscription campaign for one month.

The Palestine Chronicle is only as strong as its supporters. Please, let�s pull together to serve this virtuous cause. Your subscription will carry us through this trying time.

Click here to subscribe online

Or kindly mail your donation, or subscription request to:

Palestine Chronicle
PO Box 196
Mountlake Terrace
WA 98043-0196
USA.

Thank you from all of us,
The Team at the Palestine Chronicle

posted by Lorenzo 10:18 AM

 

Starbucks the target of Arab boycott for its growing links to Israel
(Robert Fisk, The Independent, 14 June 2002)
Across five Arab states a new and closely co-ordinated campaign to boycott American goods is being launched, with Starbucks coffee shops their primary target, but with Nestl�, Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson and Burger King outlets also on the list. . . . In a speech to Jewish Americans in Seattle earlier this year � at the height of the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon's, reoccupation of West Bank towns � Starbucks' top man condemned Palestinian "inaction" and announced that "the Palestinians aren't doing their job � they're not stopping terrorism". Gideon Meir, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, complimented Mr Shultz for helping American students to hear "Israeli presentations on the Middle East crisis". . . . both Palestinians and Muslim groups at Ein Shams University in Egypt and the American University of Cairo, have a much wider list of companies they wish to punishfor allegedly supporting Israel, not only in the Middle East but in the United States itself. They include AOL Time Warner, Disney, Est�e Lauder, Nokia, Revlon, Marks & Spencer, Selfridges and IBM. Students at Dubai University and in the Syrian capital, Damascus, are now also liaising over their boycott plans. . . . "Most Arab countries have fallen into a capitalist world that accepts American companies with close links to Israel. What we are now initiating is an economic war." . . . Arab students believe the real fears of American executives are focused not on losses in the Arab world but on the danger that Arab protests will be picked up by Palestinian sympathisers in Europe and even in America itself.

posted by Lorenzo 10:01 AM

 

What's New — Posted on June 18, 2002
World Events . . . Stop trying to behave like a Hollywood hitman
Palestine & Israel . . . Israel Starts Building Fence Along West Bank: Palestinian Interim State Is Rejected by Sharon . . . CNN chief accuses Israel of terror . . . U.S. expresses reservations about fence . . . Palestinian elections now (Edward Said) . . . Jenin residents had no chance to run, soldier says
Free Speech . . . Supreme Court rejects law on doorstep sales, proselytizing . . . 'Snoop' climbdown by Blunkett

posted by Lorenzo 8:44 AM

18 June 2002

 

What's New — Posted on June 17, 2002
World Events . . . State of emergency in southern Peru . . . Israel Starts Building Fence Along West Bank: Palestinian Interim State Is Rejected by Sharon . . . Were U.S. troops in Afghanistan complicit in a massacre?
U.S. News . . . Hill Leaders Back Bush Order on Hussein . . . REPUBLICAN RED: Deficit now looks `well above $100 billion,' Congress' budget office says
Peace is Possible . . . Poets seek like-minded souls online
Science & Health . . . Questioning the Big Bang . . . Who’s keeping your genetic keys? Is your DNA safe from Big Brother? Questions about DNA testing, confidentiality and ethics . . . Could bionic eye end blindness?
Earth News . . . Radiological attack: 'Manhattan would be uninhabitable for years'

posted by Lorenzo 8:19 AM

16 June 2002

 

The End of Something
(Richard Thieme, ThiemWorks.com)
I recently attended a homeland defense conference. . . . There are lots of details but they don�t connect into a coherent whole. . . . During the conference I spoke with a friend who is an expert on corruption, terrorism, and money laundering. She had written a book about an international financier and his involvement in all of the above. . . . not a single publisher would touch her account of that well-known figure�s misdeeds. Nor would a single magazine print an article based on the material. The financier has a lot of clout. One of his �employees� told my friend early on that her book would never get anywhere. �We know how to keep people like you quiet,� he said. . . . The official story we are asked to believe, a simplistic tale of �us and them,� is at odds with the complexity of the real multi-leveled game we are playing. What we�re told is the signal is the noise and the noise hides the real signal. . . . Meanwhile, quietly quietly, the strategy of decades is changed and we announce that we are prepared to strike first anywhere anytime we perceive a threat. The imperative to manage and control everything is finally articulated clearly, a global doctrine analogous to the Monroe Doctrine, just a little bigger. At the same time � quietly, quietly � basic rights are surrendered as I predicted they would be when an event of sufficient magnitude justified the shift. Last time around it took a Viet Nam, a Watergate, and Congressional hearings to get some of them back. . . . The bigger question before us is whether or not we have the will and the desire to know the truth, all of it, all the details, all the levels of motivation and complexity, so the data can be integrated into a coherent framework that makes sense. . . . And all this is happening absent an acceptable forum for public discourse about these critical issues. The cumbersome machinery of a global society that uses technologies of social and political control axiomatically, the way it breathes in and breathes out, has lurched for so long to the right that there is no longer a center, much less what was once called the left. When a moderate voice speaks out, it is denounced as radical, unpatriotic, even treasonable. The desire of the great mass of people to want to believe in their leaders and the righteousness of their cause, fused with a fear of fear and fear of the power of a war machine unparalleled in human history, is absolute. . . . The world to which we truly belong is not a world of narrow self-interest fueled by religious righteousness, with Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus all dreaming feverishly that God loves them only or best. That is a landscape distorted by waves of anxiety rising like summer heat seen through a telescope inversely in the distance, as crazy-making as all those idiotic alerts, disconnected utterly from elephant seals barking and jousting in the brine, dolphins carving the water in the bliss of their unknowing.

[Hagerty comment: I highly recommend that you read the full text of the above essay.]

posted by Lorenzo 8:20 PM

 

What's New — Posted on June 15, 2002
U.S. News . . . System gets millionth DNA profile . . . Cracks show in Bush's White House
Science & Health . . . Nanoscience offers the potential for a second Industrial Revolution . . . Dr. Stephen Wolfram: Did This Man Just Rewrite Science?
Earth News . . . Indonesia's rainforest is in danger . . . Bangladesh Launches Greenery Campaign . . . Restoring an Ecosystem Torn Asunder by a Dam

posted by Lorenzo 3:07 PM

15 June 2002

 

What's New — Posted on June 14, 2002
Peace is Possible . . . Nations Vow Rapid Cooperation to Feed the Hungry
Earth News . . . EPA to relax pollution rules for utilities, allowing more plants to expand . . . AIR POLLUTION LINKED TO DROUGHT . . . SHORT-TERM FIXES MAY STALL GLOBAL WARMING . . . Antarctic ice fringe 'melting faster' . . . Desert Earthquake Hits Near Yucca Mountain; Proposed Site For Nuclear Waste . . . Blue Planet: Early spring hurting animals
War on Drugs . . . Smoking in the Boardroom

posted by Lorenzo 10:04 AM

14 June 2002

 

What's New — Posted on July 13, 2002
World Events . . . Gulf buildup: U.S. has doubled troops in Kuwait this year . . . Planetary system found that resembles ours
U.S. News . . . Gun Control
Science & Health . . . Solar system similar to ours discovered
Earth News . . . NY to sue Bush Administration over utility rules . . . Drought Conditions Expected to Last

posted by Lorenzo 9:30 AM

13 June 2002

 

What's New — Posted on June 12, 2002
World Events . . . By shipping plutonium around the world, Britain is courting catastrophe . . . Dollar hits 17-month low versus euro
U.S. News . . . British security sources raise doubts over US claims about 'dirty bomber' . . . Suspect Held 8 Months Without Seeing Judge . . . Gun Control only seems like a good idea!
Science & Health . . . Advocates of Cloning Ban May Try New Approach . . . Panoramic View of 'Pillars of Creation' Unveiled . . . Computer 'life' said possible
Earth News . . . World's Gene Banks Need Funds to Save Crop Variety

posted by Lorenzo 9:08 AM

12 June 2002

 

2 Tinkerers Say They've Found a Cheap Way to Broadband
(John Markoff, The New York Times, June 7, 2002)
The pair's company, known as Etherlinx, has taken the 802.11b standard and used it to build a system that can transmit Internet data up to 20 miles at high speeds � enough to blanket entire urban regions and make cable or D.S.L. connections obsolete. . . . The two Etherlinx executives say they have a religious fervor to change that by making broadband available widely and cheaply. "We're bandwidth junkies, and I can't imagine a world in which people don't have broadband," Mr. Furrier said. "That's our mission." . . . "A French engineer would say this isn't the most elegant solution," Mr. Furrier said, "but we didn't care about that. We took advantage of these cheap commodity chips and we just wanted to make it work." . . . Etherlinx is already beginning to attract serious attention from both government officials who are interested in last-mile solutions and corporate executives who believe the lack of high-speed Internet connections is the biggest obstacle to growth in the computer industry.

posted by Lorenzo 12:30 PM

 

Mr Bush's titanic war on terror will eventually sink beneath the waves
(ROBERT FISK, The Independent, 12 June 2002)
Because the intelligence men of the United States are not going to beat their real enemies like this. Theirs is a mission impossible, because they will not be allowed to do what any crime-fighting organisation does to ensures success � to search for a motive for the crime. They are not going to be allowed to ask the "why" question. Only the "who" and "how". . . . Yet Saudis � who comprised the vast majority of the September killers � are going to have no problems entering the US under the new security rules. In other words, men and women from the one country whose citizens the Americans have every reason to fear will be exempt from any fingerprinting, or photographing, or interrogation, when they arrive at JFK. Because, of course, Saudi Arabia is one of the good guys, a "friend of America", the land with the greatest oil reserves on earth. Egypt, too, will be exempt, since President Hosni Mubarak is a supporter of the "peace process". . . . Thus America's new security rules are already being framed around Mr Bush's political fantasies rather than the reality of international crime. . . . all of the men who claim to be fighting terror are using this lunatic "war" for their own purposes. The Egyptians, who allegedly warned the CIA about an attack in America before 11 September, have been busy passing a new law that will so restrict the work of non-governmental organisations that it will be almost impossible for human rights groups to work in Egypt. So no more reports of police torture. The Algerian military, widely believed to have had a hand in the dirty war mass killings of the past 10 years, have just been exercising with Nato ships in the Mediterranean. We'll be seeing more of this. . . . My guess is that the "Titanic War on Terror" will follow its unsinkable namesake. And we all know what happened to that.

posted by Lorenzo 10:10 AM

 

Gangsters, murderers and stooges used to endorse Bush's vision of 'democracy'
(ROBERT FISK, The Independent, 10 June 2002)
Washington wants the loya jirga to succeed. True, far too many of its pliant warlords � the Pashtun and Tajik gangsters whom the Americans paid in thousands of dollars for their sometimes loyal alliance against Osama bin Laden � have been trying to bribe and bamboozle their own candidates into power once they realised that the "grand assembly" of Afghans would actually be held today. And true, there has been intimidation and delegates murdered. . . . But even if the democrats and the killers and murderers of Afghanistan � let us not be squeamish about some of the "delegates" � bring off their tribal rites today, it's by no means certain that Afghanistan's central authority will be able to do any more than they have already: rule the streets of Kabul while regional warlords � including one of their own vice-ministers � battle with rival mafiosi in the rest of the country. . . . The gang leaders of Afghanistan have agreed to let Mr Karzai remain leader of the next interim government. But at present, those same mafia bosses are running many of the major cities of Afghanistan.

posted by Lorenzo 10:04 AM

 

What's New — Posted on June 11, 2002
World Events . . . UK FOLLOWS US: 'Massive abuse' of privacy feared
U.S. News . . . Public Transportation On the Decline
Earth News . . . Hungry to Bed, Hungry to Rise
War on Drugs . . . arrested for civil disobedience in Washington D.C.

posted by Lorenzo 9:23 AM

11 June 2002

 

What's New — Posted on June 10, 2002
World Events . . . Israel Serves as a Convenient Foil for the United States
U.S. News . . . A STATEMENT OF CONSCIENCE . . . The Infamous Israeli Attack on the USS Liberty: Special Report
Peace is Possible . . . Palestinians still want peace
Science & Health . . . US needs 'crisp' nanotech plan . . . Biotech aids farmers . . . Trees next biotech crop? . . . Iceland Study Provides Detail Map of Human Genome
Earth News . . . The Sky is Indeed Falling Bush Says, Get Used to It
War on Drugs . . . Why I Am Willing to Go to Jail For Medical Marijuana
Palestine & Israel . . . Bush sides with Sharon over conditions for peace talks

posted by Lorenzo 9:26 AM

10 June 2002

 

Alternewswire
If you are looking for a trustworthy source for the deep facts behind the news, this is the place to go. I'll be posting more information about this great resource soon, but until then you might want to check it out for yourself. For what it's worth, I can personally attest to the quality of the investigative journalism that goes into this website. It is information you can trust.

posted by Lorenzo 8:20 PM

 

Palestine Chronicle - A Word of Farewell and Thanks to our Readers
This is indeed a sad announcement. The Palestine Chronicle will be ceasing operations on July 31st due to lack of funding. Our sincere best wishes to all of our friends at the Chronicle who have labored so long and tirelessly to get the news out each day. We wish them all the best.

posted by Lorenzo 8:15 PM

 

A STATEMENT OF CONSCIENCE
The signers of this statement call on the people of the U.S. to resist the policies and overall political direction that have emerged since September 11, 2001, and which pose grave dangers to the people of the world. . . . We believe that people of conscience must take responsibility for what their own governments do -- we must first of all oppose the injustice that is done in our own name. Thus we call on all Americans to RESIST the war and repression that has been loosed on the world by the Bush administration. It is unjust, immoral, and illegitimate. We choose to make common cause with the people of the world. . . . What kind of world will this become if the U.S. government has a blank check to drop commandos, assassins, and bombs wherever it wants? . . . In our name, the government has brought down a pall of repression over society. The President�s spokesperson warns people to �watch what they say.� Dissident artists, intellectuals, and professors find their views distorted, attacked, and suppressed. The so-called Patriot Act -- along with a host of similar measures on the state level -- gives police sweeping new powers of search and seizure, supervised if at all by secret proceedings before secret courts. . . . We must take the highest officers of the land seriously when they talk of a war that will last a generation and when they speak of a new domestic order. We are confronting a new openly imperial policy towards the world and a domestic policy that manufactures and manipulates fear to curtail rights. . . . President Bush has declared: �you�re either with us or against us.� Here is our answer: We refuse to allow you to speak for all the American people. We will not give up our right to question. We will not hand over our consciences in return for a hollow promise of safety. We say NOT IN OUR NAME. We refuse to be party to these wars and we repudiate any inference that they are being waged in our name or for our welfare. We extend a hand to those around the world suffering from these policies; we will show our solidarity in word and deed. . . . Let us not allow the watching world today to despair of our silence and our failure to act. Instead, let the world hear our pledge: we will resist the machinery of war and repression and rally others to do everything possible to stop it.

posted by Lorenzo 6:57 PM

 

Don't Let the Major Credit Cards distribute your Social Security Number
[The following email came from a trusted friend.]

Subject: Social Security Information
Subject: End distribution of your Social Security number
CALL:1-888-567-8688

Just wanted to let everyone know who hasn't already heard, the four major credit bureaus in the US will be allowed, starting July 1, to release your credit info, mailing addresses, phone numbers, etc., to anyone who requests it. If you would like to 'opt out' of this release of your info, you can call 1-888-567-8688.

It only takes a couple of minutes to do, and you can take care of anyone else in the household while making only one call, you'll just need to know their social security number.

Once the message starts you'll want option #2 and then option #3 - Be sure to listen closely, the first option is only for a two year period. Make sure you wait until they prompt for the third option which opts you out forever. My friend, who emailed this to me, received their paperwork in the mail confirming her 'opting out'' within less than one week of making the call.

First I listened to 'prompt #1'. then I called back and listened to 'prompt 2' and decided to follow through with opting out of allowing my info to be given out....listen to the prompts carefully and make your own decision.

posted by Lorenzo 8:13 AM

 

What's New — Posted on June 9, 2002
World Events . . . Arafat threatens 'disastrous explosion' . . . 10 Things to Know about U.S. Policy in the Middle East
Peace is Possible . . . India and Pakistan Cool War Talk
Science & Health . . . Retired neurologist dispels the myth of ADHD
Earth News . . . Ministers Fail to Agree on Earth Summit Plan
Free Speech . . . Police to spy on all emails

posted by Lorenzo 8:06 AM

09 June 2002

 

What's New — Posted on June 8, 2002
World Events . . . NEWS ANALYSIS Bush's goal: regaining the political initiative
U.S. News . . . FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MUST PAY NONPROFIT?S ATTORNEYS? FEES . . . Secret Agent Scam - The FBI leverages its failures
Science & Health . . . First Strike or Asteroid Impact? The Urgent Need to Know the Difference . . . Scientists link emerging diseases with environmental destruction. . . . Genetic engineering, conservation and development. Who owns the building blocks of life?
Earth News . . . Climate report marks watershed . . . Microbes 'Control Weather' . . . Breaking the Global-Warming Gridlock

posted by Lorenzo 12:43 PM

08 June 2002

 

Voice over the Internet and much more
I've just spent a couple hours online visiting with some new friends in England, Austria, and Australia using DigitalSpace's new online voice technology. While voice over the Internet is nothing new, the DigitalSpace tool has taken the ease of use and quality of the experience to a new high. With the insignificant exception of the short delay (maybe one second worse case) when speaking half way around the planet, our conversations were as high quality as one gets using the telephone network. (I'm speaking about "sound" quality, of course, not necessarily the quality of my end of the conversation. :-)

If anyone is interested in helping us test this new, FREE, service just send me an email (hagerty@matrixmasters.com), and I'll send you the instructions for joining the test. . . . Here's the best part, there is NO SOFTWARE TO INSTALL. The entire voice/chat/whiteboard/etc. space runs within your browser.

posted by Lorenzo 4:01 PM

 

What's New — Posted on June 8, 2002
U.S. News . . . Subways on Alert . . . Credit Checks Sought On Suspicious Air Travelers . . . White House: Bush in Titanic struggle
Peace is Possible . . . Sept. 11 attacks spur largest Global war build up since the end of the 'cold war'
Science & Health . . . Universe is a computer
Earth News . . . Oil Refiners Can Make 'Clean' Hydrogen Too -Shell . . . New BBC drama about genetically modified crops
Palestine & Israel . . . Suicide Settlers vs. Suicide Bombers

posted by Lorenzo 3:00 PM

07 June 2002

 

Overhaul could close VA hospitals - June 6, 2002
(CNN, June 6, 2002)
Veterans hospitals across the country and the vets they serve will come under intense scrutiny as officials consider where to cut back . . . In the end, an unknown number of hospitals are likely to close as the Department of Veterans Affairs shifts its focus to outpatient care . . . "While they keep saying they're improving services, they are drastically cutting services," said Bruce Parry, 55, of Veterans for Unification, a Chicago advocacy group.

[Hagerty comment: As a Viet Nam veteran and former veterans' affairs activist, I believe the way the U.S. treats its military veterans is unconscionable. It took decades for those suffering from Agent Orange exposure to even get their cases heard. The same is true for vets suffering from Gulf War Syndrome. We have abandoned our Prisoners of War as a matter of state policy as far back as World War II. I just hope our current crop of volunteers are aware of the fact that most of the benefits being promised to them today will be taken away once their duties are completed.

posted by Lorenzo 3:19 PM

 

How the computer 'killed' nation state
(Angelique Chrisafis, The Guardian, June 7, 2002)
Philip Bobbitt, who has counselled the Carter, Bush Snr and Clinton administrations and served as a director of intelligence at the White House, yesterday gave Britain its first glimpse of a polemic that challenges the political fabric of all modern states. . . . Bobbitt, who teaches constitutional law at the University of Texas, claims the nation state, "that comfortable unit developed over six centuries as the prime institution for waging war and organising peace," is on its last legs. In its place will come an increasingly interdependent global system of "market states" in which no one nation can regard itself as independent or invincible. Even the US is vulnerable - as September 11 showed. . . . Our new political landscape will have scuffed and hazy borders, and bear no resemblance to the territorial markers of the past. We will not know how to adapt unless we rethink our approaches to bodies such as Nato and the UN. "Previously, we knew our enemies would come from a small club of known adversaries. Now nothing is certain." .. . Bobbitt said the nation state is "as clumsy as a bear chained to a stake, trying to chase a beam of light". . . . He said: "The nation state had a unique basis: you give us power, and we will improve your material wellbeing. This was the same for Stalin, Hitler and Franklin D Roosevelt ... That is dying, and dying very rapidly." . .. What sounded the death knoll were the global forces washing across boundaries. These include human rights agreements, weapons of mass destruction, disease like Aids, and global communication.. . . One option is to create umbrella states with a common economic and defence policy allowing for cultural variation. Something that, in decades, could solve a conflict such as Isreal and Palestine.

posted by Lorenzo 9:38 AM

 

What's New — Posted on June 6, 2002
World Events . . . Egypt got 24 N. Korean No-Dong missiles, violating pledge . . . 'Millions face famine' in Africa . . . UN Warns of Rollback in Liberties After Sept. 11
U.S. News . . . Amtrak Faces Shutdown In July, Says New Chief . . . Bush: Refocus science on terrorism . . . Unleashing the FBI
Science & Health . . . Monkey Think, Monkey Do in Brain Experiment
Earth News . . . Global Warming Blamed for Melting Everest Glacier . . . Don't Let the Major Credit Cards distribute your Social Security Number
Free Speech . . . Spying and Lying: The FBI's Dirty Secrets . . . Air Force Officer Suspended Criticizing Bush

posted by Lorenzo 9:29 AM

06 June 2002

 

What's New — Posted on June 5, 2002
World Events . . . India plans war within two weeks . . . Israelis storm Arafat's compound
U.S. News . . . FBI expended vast resources to bust brothel . . . Global warming report violates agreement to settle lawsuit . . . White House defends U-turn on global warming . . . For Peace and Freedom . . . U.S. Unveils Fingerprint Plan, Angers Arab Groups
Peace is Possible . . . The Guardian Middle East Dialogue . . . Africa Recovery Plan Hinges on Peace, Security
Science & Health . . . Marijuana praised despite legal issues . . . Scientists seek superconductor secrets . . . Repaired Space Camera Shows Four-Galaxy Collision . . . Rich Nations Have Higher Cancer Prevalence - Study . . . Has time run out on Einstein's theory? Atomic clocks on the space station might reveal truth. . . . Dwarf galaxy swarms boost dark matter theory . . . when walls become doors into virtual worlds
Earth News . . . Environmental Movement at 40: Is Earth Healthier? . . . World ocean map goes online . . . Australia follows US and rejects Kyoto pact
Palestine & Israel . . . Israeli Army Attacks Arafat?s Office, Kills Palestinian, Wounds Several
Free Speech . . . District Court Finds Library Filtering Law Unconstitutional

posted by Lorenzo 8:54 AM

05 June 2002

 

May 31, 2002
Please Distribute Widely

Dear Colleagues,

Last year, Four Walls Eight Windows Press asked Lisa Fithian and I to write
new introductions for the republication of "Steal This Book" by our late
friend and mentor Abbie Hoffman.

Careening now into the summer of 2002, as we in the Narco Newsroom are
putting the finishing touches on the imminent launch of Phase II of our
project in Authentic Journalism, the timing couldn't be better for the
re-release of Abbie's guide to causing trouble for tyrants.

Because we have big trouble planned in the coming weeks and months for the
two-headed tyranny of the "war on drugs" and the corrupt commercial media
that revealed its role as enemy of authentic democracy last month during the
attempted coup in Venezuela.

By way of setting the tone for what is ahead with Phase II of the Narco News
project, today we publish my new intro to Steal This Book:

http://www.narconews.com/

Yes, kind readers, big trouble ahead, indeed.
from somewhere in a country called Am�rica,

Al Giordano
Publisher
The Narco News Bulletin
http://www.narconews.com/
narconews@hotmail.com

Subscribe for free alerts of new reports:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/narconews

Suscribete gratis para alertas de reportajes nuevos:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/narconewsandes

posted by Lorenzo 9:40 PM

 

World ocean map goes online
(CNN.com, June 5, 2002)
In an effort to focus attention on the failing health of the world's oceans the United Nations has marked World Environment Day with the launch online of a global marine atlas. . . . The atlas will be continuously updated and is designed to track the state of ocean resources including threats to the marine environment such as over-fishing and the effects of climate change on the Earth's ice caps, as well as ship piracy, the spread of poisonous algae and offshore oil. . . . Among the major concerns are the unsustainable exploitation of the world's marine resources -- primarily fish stocks -- and the effects of climate change on global sea levels. . . . It forecast that U.S. total greenhouse gas emissions would increase 43 percent between 2000 and 2020.

posted by Lorenzo 9:36 PM

 

Flaw reported in IE browser
(CNN.com, June 5, 2002)
A security flaw in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser could allow a hacker to take control of a remote computer if its user clicks a link to an outdated Internet protocol . . . A Microsoft spokesman who refused to be identified said Tuesday that the company is "moving forward on the investigation with all due speed" and will take the action that best serves its customers. . . . According to Oy Online, a hacker could take over a user's computer simply by having the user click on a link to a "hostile Gopher site." That one click would install and run any program the hacker chose on the victim's computer, and the victim might never know. . . . All versions of Internet Explorer are believed to be vulnerable, the Star reported.

posted by Lorenzo 9:33 PM

 

The Global Brain and Singularity
(Interview with Francis Heylighen in nanomagazine.com)
The more I think about the singularity, the less I believe it is a realistic description of what will happen. It is true that most parameters of technological progress have been showing a spectacular acceleration over the past century, but this doesn't mean that the speed of progress will ever become infinite, as the mathematical definition of a singularity would imply. I have rather the feeling that we can already see the first signs of a *deceleration*. . . . I believe we are confronted with a complexity bottleneck, which will significantly dampen the speed of further progress. The human mind simply is no longer able to cope with the information overload. This also means that all the big software projects that require a lot of coordination between different people and sources of information (e.g. the present "Semantic Web" efforts) either will get seriously delayed or end up with buggy products. . . . If you would ask me when the singularity would take place in the million year view, then I would answer that we are right in the middle of it. But it may take another 50 years or so to come to an end, unlike a real singularity which is by definition instantaneous. . . . The "Global Brain" is a metaphor for the emerging collectively intelligent network formed by the people of this planet together with the computers, knowledge bases, and communication links that connect them together. This network is an immensely complex, self-organizing system that not only processes information, but increasingly can be seen to play the role of a brain: making decisions, solving problems, learning new connections and discovering new ideas. No individual, organization or computer is in control of this system: its knowledge and intelligence are distributed over all its components. They emerge from the collective interactions between all the human and machine subsystems. Such a system may be able to tackle current and emerging global problems that have eluded more traditional approaches, but at the same time it will create new technological and social challenges which are still difficult to imagine. . . . Without doubt, the most important technological, economic and social development of the past decade is the emergence of a global computer-based communication network. This network has been growing at an explosive rate, affecting--directly or indirectly--ever more aspects of the daily lives of the people on this planet. Amidst this growing complexity, we need to look ahead, and try to understand where all these changes are leading to.

posted by Lorenzo 9:13 AM

 

What's New — Posted on June 4, 2002

World Events . . . Wage peace, not war
U.S. News . . . Egypt Warned U.S. of a Qaeda Plot, Mubarak Asserts . . . Pre-Sept. 11 mishaps unfolding . . . At the White House, 'The People' Have Spoken -- Endlessly
Science & Health . . . PROTOZOAN NEXT UP FOR GENE SEQUENCING . . . GLOBAL WARMING? WATCH OUT CALIFORNIA . . . Cloning used to create functioning kidney . . . Automakers: Fuel cell cars by 2010 .
. . NASA Presses Its Search for Extraterrestrial Life . . . United Press International: Fuel-cell car crosses North America . . . United Press International: 'Hydrogen economy' a decade away
Earth News . . . Bush agrees with Clinton on U.S. climate . . . Oceans losing oxygen due to global warming . . . Bush shifts global warming stance . . . Bush dismisses global warming report . . . United Press International: Asian war would wreak eco havoc
Free Speech . . . Pro-Israel groups take aim at U.S. news media

posted by Lorenzo 7:53 AM

04 June 2002

 

Waking Life
In my note below about the next issue of "Trip" I forgot to mention that it also has an interview with filmmaker Richard Linklater. If you haven't see his latest film, "Waking Life," you are missing an incredible treat. It is very rare for me to see a film more than once . . . I've now seen "Waking Life" three times and have written several pages of notes while watching it. You owe it to yourself to rent this video . . . I am sure you won't be disappointed.

posted by Lorenzo 5:15 PM

 

Trip Magazine - Issue Eight Sneak Preview
If you don't already have a subscription to Trip Magazine, you might want to take one out after you see what's planned for the next issue. Here are just a few of the stories: An article on the link between Psychedelics and Sexuality . . . First-person accounts of "psychedelic ifestyles"
An interview with Stanley Krippner on the Drug War . . . More Corporate Metabolism from Paco Xander Nathan

posted by Lorenzo 5:10 PM

 

Other online news sources
I just posted a link to Flyby News. This is an excellent source of alternative information on topics most of the Matrix Masters community will be interested in. Check them out if you have a chance.

posted by Lorenzo 4:47 PM

 

What's New — Posted on June 2 & 3, 2002
World Events . . . Nuclear neighbours teeter on brink of Armageddon . . . Under the nuclear shadow . . . 'India ready for nuclear response'
U.S. News . . . The Mideast War Breaks Out on Campus . . . Yahoo! News - Stocks Sag, Wall St. Questions Honesty . . . Egypt Warned U.S. of a Qaeda Plot, Mubarak Asserts . . . Pre-Sept. 11 mishaps unfolding
Science & Health . . . Yahoo! News - New Type of Drug-Resistant Bacteria Reaches England . . . SENSITIVE RAINFOREST ECOSYSTEMS
Earth News . . . Climate Changing, U.S. Says in Report; Bush Admin Admits But Sees Little Hope . . . Water crisis hurts U.S.-Mexico farmers: 'The Rio Grande isn't a river anymore'
Palestine & Israel . . . Secret Middle East talks in Britain

posted by Lorenzo 10:06 AM

02 June 2002

 

What's New — Posted on June 1, 2002
U.S. News . . . Critics: New FBI rules allow data snooping
Science & Health . . . Polymer could form artificial tissue

posted by Lorenzo 10:28 AM

01 June 2002

 

What's New — Posted on May 31, 2002
World Events . . . U.S. Urges 60,000 Americans to Leave India
U.S. News . . . New FBI rules allow data snooping
Earth News . . . Europe Will Ratify Kyoto Climate Protocol Friday In New York While US Abstains . . . Corporate phantoms
War on Drugs . . . Better Living Through Fumigation . . . Drug War Continues Targeting African Americans Palestine & Israel . . . Israelis are right to fear the truth
Free Speech . . . Easing of FBI spying rules under fire . . . FBI 'Carnivore' glitch hurt al Qaeda probe . . . Net Effect: Antiterror eavesdropping

posted by Lorenzo 11:10 AM