FT.com / Arts & Weekend - Drowned out: "The governor hasn’t accepted this: the ban on the Sun reporters remains. The main reason for this, Sun people believe, is that he doesn’t need them. It may be the only paper in town, but it’s not the only medium. There’s also talk radio, and talk radio - on the WBAL channel - is on the right, and for the governor. A lot of people listen to talk radio; fewer people than before read the Baltimore Sun.

Talk radio jocks tend to adopt a posture of anti-liberal-elitist rage, rarely coming in at less than full, jet-powered whine. And they have real political effect. An example from elsewhere, brilliantly reported in Atlantic Monthly by David Foster Wallace: John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou of the KFI station in Los Angeles, who bill themselves as ‘the Junkyard Dogs of Talk Radio’, over a period of months violently attacked Gray Davis, the Democratic governor of California succeeded by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. One on-air comment was: ‘We just happened on our own to decide that Davis was a rotting stool that ought to be flushed.’ With the aid of such nuanced comment, they are credited with being a major influence in stimulating the 2003 campaign to recall Davis, which ended with the election of Schwarzenegger. It is a form of politics: the politics of the rant. But its power gives Ehrlich the confidence to face down the Sun."

(Via Financial Times.)

CNN.com - The machine that can copy anything - Jun 2, 2005: "A revolutionary machine that can copy itself and manufacture everyday objects quickly and cheaply could transform industry in the developing world, according to its creator.

The 'self-replicating rapid prototyper,' or 'RepRap' is the brainchild of Dr. Adrian Bowyer, a senior lecturer in mechanical engineering at the University of Bath in the UK."

...

"He also said that the technology could help solve some of the recycling issues commonly associated with plastics: 'If the machine can copy itself, it can make its own recycler. When you break something you can just feed it into the recycler and break it down to its raw materials and re-build it.

'The key ecological point is that it cuts down on the transportation necessary both to manufacture products and to dispose of them. Every household would have its own recycling set-up.

'This is recycling heaven rather than recycling hell.'"

(Via CNN.)

Salon.com News | U.S. confirms Gitmo soldier kicked Quran: "The Pentagon on Friday released new details about mishandling of the Quran at the Guantanamo Bay prison for terror suspects, confirming that a soldier deliberately kicked the Muslim holy book and that an interrogator stepped on a Quran and was later fired for 'a pattern of unacceptable behavior.'

In other confirmed incidents, water balloons thrown by prison guards caused an unspecified number of Qurans to get wet; a guard's urine came through an air vent and splashed on a detainee and his Quran; and in a confirmed but ambiguous case a two-word obscenity was written in English on the inside cover of a Quran."

(Via Salon.)

Bush Hints He Will Withhold Further Data About Bolton - New York Times: "Democrats gave no indication they would back down. 'Mr. Bolton's fate lies with the president,' said Jim Manley, the spokesman for Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader. 'If he agrees to turn over the requested information about his nominee, then Mr. Bolton will get his up or down vote. The Senate is entitled to the information. It's really that simple.'

President Bush's comments came on the day the White House and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice marked the second anniversary of the White House program to slow nuclear proliferation, in which Mr. Bolton was a key player. The targets of the program include North Korea, Iran and Syria.

Mr. Bush said, 'We've got a lot of work to do with the North Korean,' apparently referring to Kim Jong Il, the president, 'because he tends to ignore what the other five nations are saying at times.' The United States, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia have been engaged in more than two years of talks aimed at persuading the North to end its nuclear arms program.

He added at another point: 'It's either diplomacy or military. And I am for the diplomacy approach.'"

Sorry, it's gotta be said:

1. Of course it's gotta be diplomatic, it's blatently obvious that the current leadership doesn't have enough skill to muscle itself out of a paper bag.
2. And if they could, we no longer have the money or military resources to pull it off.
3. For the love of God, at least remember Kim Jong Il's name!
4. Finally, a quick reminder on the North Korean disarming progress with 2 years of Bolton.

This constitutes the full 1% [ls] content for the week. I hope you enjoyed it.

(Via NY Times.)

Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | Judge considering Limbaugh records case: "Rush Limbaugh's attorney urged a judge Tuesday to limit the medical records that prosecutors can review for their investigation into whether the best-selling commentator illegally purchased painkillers.

Attorney Roy Black said the records, which were seized in 2003, should be reviewed by a judge before they are opened to prosecutors."

...

"Prosecutors seized the records after learning that Limbaugh received about 2,000 painkillers, prescribed by four doctors in six months, at a pharmacy near his Palm Beach mansion. They contend that Limbaugh engaged in 'doctor shopping,' or illegally deceived multiple doctors to receive overlapping prescriptions."

(Via Salon.)

Baghdad Burning: "We woke up this morning to the interesting news that Muhsin Abdul Hameed had also been detained! A member of the former Iraqi Governing Council, a rotating puppet president, and *The Sunni*. He is The Sunni they hold up to all Sunnis as an example of cooperation and collaboration. Well, he’s the religious Sunni. There is a tribal Sunni (supposedly to appease the Arab Sunni tribes) and that is Ghazi Al Yawir and there is the religious Sunni- Muhsin Abdul Hameed.

The Americans are saying Muhsin was ‘detained and interviewed’, which makes one think his car was gently pulled over and he was asked a few questions. What actually happened was that his house was raided early morning, doors broken down, windows shattered and he and his three sons had bags placed over their heads and were dragged away. They showed the house, and his wife, today on Arabiya and the house was a disaster. The cabinets were broken, tables overturned, books and papers scattered, etc. An outraged Muhsin was on tv a few minutes ago talking about how the troops pushed him to the floor and how he had an American boot on his neck for twenty minutes."

...

"Was it meant to send a message to Sunnis? That’s what some people are saying. Many people believe it was meant to tell Sunnis, 'None of you are safe- even the ones who work with us.' It’s just difficult to believe this is one big misunderstanding or mistake."

(Via Baghdad Burning.)

Report: Scientific Integrity in Policy Making: "On February 18, 2004, 62 preeminent scientists including Nobel laureates, National Medal of Science recipients, former senior advisers to administrations of both parties, numerous members of the National Academy of Sciences, and other well-known researchers released a statement titled Restoring Scientific Integrity in Policy Making. In this statement, the scientists charged the Bush administration with widespread and unprecedented 'manipulation of the process through which science enters into its decisions.'"

(Via ArmsControlWonk.)

Free State Project — Liberty in Our Lifetime: "What the Free State Project is... The Free State Project is an effort to recruit 20,000 liberty-loving people to move to New Hampshire. We are looking for neighborly, productive, tolerant folks from all walks of life, of all ages, creeds, and colors who agree to the political philosophy expressed in our Statement of Intent, that government exists at most to protect people's rights, and should neither provide for people nor punish them for activities that interfere with no one else."

While I love the idea of similar-minded people aggregating into a single political structure for better representation, wtf do you do in NH on a Friday night? I'm liking the idea of phyles from Diamond Age, but I doubt that's happening anytime soon...

Informed Comment : "The US military has released Muhsin Abd al-Hamid, the leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party. The IIP runs the provincial council in Anbar and is the only major Sunni Arab religious party that has generally been willing to cooperate with the Americans. Abd al-Hamid served on the American-appointed Interim Governing Council."

...

"Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari and President Jalal Talabani complained bitterly about the US action and apparently were not consulted about the arrest. They pointed out that the US keeps saying it wants to involve the Sunni leadership, but that arrests like this one just drive away even the moderates. The initial reports also talked about US troops confiscating money. Basically they kicked down his door, rifled through his things, hooded him, and dragged him away. There was no arrest warrant, no consultation with the supposedly sovereign Iraqi government, and apparently no knowledge of who Abd al-Hamid really is.

Susan Hu is leading a good discussion of the SNAFU over at Daily Kos. I've been watching CNN for hours and there is nothing about this.

A keen observer of Iraq's legal and economic scene writes in with regard to whether the US military was legally justified in arresting Abd al-Hamid in the first place."

(Via Informed Comment.)

The Nation | Blog | The Daily Outrage | Did Someone Say Withdrawal? | Ari Berman: "For the first time since the war in Iraq began twenty-six months ago, the House of Representatives debated the need for US troops to exit Iraq. The modest amendment, introduced by Rep. Lynn Woolsey of California last Thursday evening, called on President Bush to develop a plan for the withdrawal of US forces. With virtually no prior notice or lobbying, 123 Democrats and 5 Republicans voted for Woolsey's amendment. But with no support from either the Democratic or Republican leadership, and thus no chance of passing, no major US newspaper felt obligated to cover the unprecedented proceedings.

Instead, the House added $49 billion more for the Iraqi occupation--on top of the $82 billion recently appropriated--as part of the $491 billion 2006 National Defense Authorization Act."

(Via The Nation Weblogs.)

Corporate Fallout Detector: "Every consumer has a comfort level when it comes to determining which corporations to purchase goods from and which to fundamentally boycott. Following the general rule that killing puppies should equal a boycott may be a tough concept to grasp, so for the socioeconomically and geopolitically obtuse amongst you, James Patten has developed the Corporate Fallout Detector.

On display in February, the device will scan a barcode and quickly generate a geiger-counteresque rapport indicating the amount of corporate malpractice likely involved in its production. The device maintains an index of negativity for each corporation involved in the supply chain of a rather robust number of products. "

(Via Gizmodo.)

Wired 13.06: START: "For more than four years - steadily, seriously, and with the unsentimental rigor for which we love them - civil engineers have been studying the destruction of the World Trade Center towers, sifting the tragedy for its lessons. And it turns out that one of the lessons is: Disobey authority. In a connected world, ordinary people often have access to better information than officials do.

Proof can be found in the 298-page draft report issued in April by the National Institute on Standards and Technology called Occupant Behavior, Egress, and Emergency Communications. (In layman's terms, that's who got out of the buildings, how they got out, and why.) "

...

"Also, occupants of the towers had been trained to use the stairs, not the elevators, in case of evacuation.

Fortunately, this advice was mostly ignored. According to the engineers, use of elevators in the early phase of the evacuation, along with the decision to not stay put, saved roughly 2,500 lives. This disobedience had nothing to do with panic. The report documents how evacuees stopped to help the injured and assist the mobility-impaired, even to give emotional comfort. Not panic but what disaster experts call reasoned flight ruled the day."

(Via a DefenseTech.)

Defense Tech: Torture, Broken Down: "Slate's 'interactive primer on American interrogation,' however, is different. By breaking a large, messy, complex issue into digestible online bites, Phil Carter and friends succeed in educating readers on the torture debate better than any TV show or magazine article or blog post I've seen so far."

(Via Defense Tech.)

Jet Defense Lifts Off: "Finally... In an airplane hangar north of Fort Worth, technicians are preparing to mount a fire-hydrant-shaped device onto the belly of an American Airlines Boeing 767. It is an effort that could soon turn into a more than $10 billion project to install a high-tech missile defense system on the nation's commercial planes. The Boeing 767 - the same type of plane that terrorists flew into the World Trade Center - is one of three planes that, by the end of this year, will be used to test the infrared laser-based systems designed to find and disable shoulder-fired missiles."

Ok, so if another 767 is taken over, the same terrorists now have access to a mobile laser?

(Via Defense Tech.)

Know Your Enemy--China: "The cover of a recent RAND report (right) depicts the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) five-star logo stretching across a Eurasian landmass that has been colored black in a fashion strangely reminiscent of propaganda films. A professor of mine from Augusta College, David Snowball, notes:

The spreading stain is a fairly common motif in propaganda films. It’s used in the Nazi film Eternal Jew (Ewige Jude) and is used in at least two of the ‘Why We Fight’ series (‘Prelude to War’ and ‘Know Your Enemy: Japan’). It’s likely also used in the Disney film Victory Through Airpower though I’d need to check to the sure – VTA has the famous scene of the Japanese octopus extending its tentacles throughout the Pacific, the eagle’s airstrike and the withering of the octopus as it releases its grip.

The RAND report isn’t as bad as its cover, but the next edition of Chinese Military Power may be. Chris Nelson has been covering the battle royal between DOD and NSC regarding the much anticipated (and delayed) publication, officially titled Annual Report on the Military Power of the People’s Republic of China."

...

"Update: Umm. For some reason RAND says that “this document has been withdrawn.” But is is still here."

(Via ArmsControlWonk.com.)

Pressure on North Korea: U.S. Stealth Jets Sent to South - New York Times: "The deployment last week of 15 stealth fighters to South Korea, along with the severing of the American military's only official interaction with North Korea, appears to be part of a new push by the Bush administration to further isolate North Korea despite China's hesitation to join the effort.

The deployment, confirmed by the Pentagon on Friday after several news reports, came just after the Defense Department said Wednesday that it was suspending the search for soldiers missing in action since the Korean War."

(Via NY Times.)

In Rising Numbers, Lawyers Head for Guantánamo Bay - New York Times: "In the last few months, the small commercial air service to the naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, has been carrying people the military authorities had hoped would never be allowed there: American lawyers.

And they have been arriving in increasing numbers, providing more than a third of about 530 remaining detainees with representation in federal court. Despite considerable obstacles and expenses, other lawyers are lining up to challenge the government's detention of people the military has called enemy combatants and possible terrorists.

A meeting earlier this month in New York City at the law firm Clifford Chance drew dozens of new volunteer lawyers who attended lectures from other lawyers who have been through the rigorous process of getting the government to allow them access to Guantánamo."

(Via NY Times.)

Salon.com Politics: "Is Hillary an inevitability? That's the question sparked by a new Gallup poll, which shows that 53 percent of Americans would vote for the junior senator from New York if she ran for the White House in 2008. The poll marks the first time Gallup has found majority support for the idea of a Hillary Clinton presidential run.

According to the poll, as reported by USA Today, '29 percent were 'very likely' to vote for Clinton for president if she runs in 2008; 24 percent were 'somewhat likely.' Seven percent were 'not very likely' and 39 percent were 'not at all likely' to vote for her.'

The paper notes that Clinton is in a better position than Al Gore was in two years before he ran for president. Clinton enjoys roughly the same favorability ratings as George W. Bush did in 1998, but opposition to Clinton is also stronger than it was to Bush. Remarkably, though, even Clinton's strongest opponents are (slowly) changing their ideas about her, the poll reveals. In the past two years opposition to a Clinton presidency has dropped by 5 percent, USA Today says."

(Via Salon.)

Salon.com Politics: "Sometime in the last couple of weeks (though it's not clear exactly when), the U.S. Marine Corps Web site posted this image in its photo gallery, which it identified as having been taken in Iraq on May 5, 2005. The tank with the words 'New Testament' painted on its main gun was accompanied by a blurb (cached here by War Room) entitled 'M1-A1 Abrams tank rolls over insurgency in Iraq,' which emphasized the tank's destructive capabilities. It referred to the 'New Testament' in particular as 'an intimidating piece of machinery.' The caption reiterated that the tank itself was called the 'New Testament.'"

...

"The Pentagon, however, appears to have realized the folly of its ways; the image and accompanying text disappeared from the Marine Corps site Thursday afternoon."

(Via Salon.)

Martini Republic - Lead, follow, or have a drink.: "President Bush today shamelessly used the occasion of a visit to Arlington not to honor the dead, but to promote his own (failing) political agenda:

'We must honor their sacrifice by defeating the terrorists, advancing the cause of liberty.'

Bush, Memorial Day comments, May 30"

(Via Martini Republic.)

Betrayals in Public Education by Linda Schrock Taylor: "All children are betrayed when they are not provided with opportunities to develop skills and talents; to use their minds in clear, logical thinking; to gain knowledge to broaden their experience base; to speak with confidence that comes from forming opinions, supporting them with truthful information, then standing for something in which they believe. All lose when powerful agencies manipulate educational choices and policies to assure the success of the dumbing-down agenda by awarding money to districts contingent upon purchases of certain textbooks. For example, the National Science Foundation awards grants-tied-to-limited-choices – new-new ways to get new-new math into classrooms thus insuring that children waste their time 'constructing knowledge' instead of learning and practicing real mathematical concepts and skills that will prepare them for ever higher maths.

The illiterate are betrayed when the propaganda cries out 'Accountability! Reading first! A literate America! Title I grants! No Child Left Behind!' The reality is that districts still choose low-quality instructional materials from fast-talking sales reps; that teachers still graduate from college unable to teach reading. School administrators pick reading curriculums that are billed as 'research based' from companies with no track record at all. Too many claim that their materials are research based simply because the five strategies proven necessary for effective reading instruction are stuck into poorly designed and badly written curriculum. Decision makers fail to demand long-term research data proving effectiveness/ineffectiveness of a product before agreeing to the purchase. Decision makers fail to notice when children become 'word callers' instead of readers. Schools fail to question why, near the end of the school year, children are still reading drawings of boys and girls instead of having learned to actually read such basic words. The rate of illiteracy continues to climb despite the rhetoric and the money thrown at the problem."

(Via Lew Rockwell.)

Just when you thought Arnold couldn't get any more shameless: "As anyone who has worked on a commercial shoot knows, every single prop and piece of scenery that is seen in a commercial gets placed there carefully and purposefully. The chance that a certain product or logo could make it into the frame without getting there by explicit design is precisely zero.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's new commercial is filled with conspicuously placed products. And these products just so happen to be sold by major contributors to his campaign."

(Via Brian Flemming's Weblog.)

May 27, 2005: A very bad week: "The White House has had a very bad week, suffering defeats on every single front. They were forced to abandon the biggest power grab Washington has ever seen in the face of united Democratic opposition and bipartisan support. They suffered a stinging defeat in the House, which passed a bipartisan bill to expand stem cell research in the face of a Presidential veto. The Senate delayed the confirmation of John Bolton, refusing to accept the White House's attempt to deny Senators access to critical documents. And the latest poll numbers show that Bush's approval ratings are anemic, while the Republican controlled Congress has approval ratings that are at record lows."

(Via DNC: Kicking Ass.)

Salon.com News | Plastic's harmful side effects: "Scientists in America have found the first evidence that common chemicals used in products as diverse as cosmetics, toys, plastic wrap and plastic bags may harm the development of unborn baby boys. Researchers have long known that high levels of substances called phthalates have gender-bending effects on male animals, making them more feminine and leading to poor sperm quality and infertility. The new study suggests that even normal levels of phthalates, which are ubiquitous, can disrupt the development of male babies' reproductive organs.

The discovery poses a huge problem for the chemical industry, which is already embroiled in a battle with the government over the European Union's proposals on chemical safety.

Several types of phthalates, which are used to make plastics more pliable, and have been around for more than 50 years, have been banned, but many are still produced in vast quantities.

The study was carried out by scientists from centers across the United States, including the University of Rochester and the National Center for Environmental Health."

(Via Salon.)

U.S. Is Set to Test Missile Defenses Aboard Airlines - New York Times: "In an airplane hangar north of Fort Worth, technicians are preparing to mount a fire-hydrant-shaped device onto the belly of an American Airlines Boeing 767. It is an effort that could soon turn into a more than $10 billion project to install a high-tech missile defense system on the nation's commercial planes.

The Boeing 767 - the same type of plane that terrorists flew into the World Trade Center - is one of three planes that, by the end of this year, will be used to test the infrared laser-based systems designed to find and disable shoulder-fired missiles. The missiles have long been popular among terrorists and rebel groups in war zones around the world; the concern now is that they could become a domestic threat.

The tests are being financed by the Department of Homeland Security, which has been directed by Congress to move rapidly to take technology designed for military aircraft and adapt it so it can protect the nation's 6,800 commercial jets. It has so far invested $120 million in the testing effort, which is expected to last through next year.

Yet even before the tests begin, some members of Congress, and several prominent aviation and terrorism experts, are questioning whether the rush to deploy this expensive new antiterrorism system makes sense."

(Via NY Times.)

Baghdad Burning: "In Baghdad there's talk of the latest 'Operation Lightning'. It hasn't yet been implemented in our area but we've been hearing about it. So far all we've seen are a few additional checkpoints and a disappearing mobile network. Baghdad is actually split into two large regions- Karkh (west Baghdad) and Rasafa (east Baghdad) with the Tigris River separating them. Karkh, according to this plan, is going to be split into 15 smaller areas or sub-districts and Rasafa into 7 sub-districts. There are also going to be 675 checkpoints and all of the entrances to Baghdad are going to be guarded.

We are a little puzzled why Karkh should be split into 15 sub-districts and Rasafa only seven. Karkh is actually smaller in area than Rasafa and less populated. On the other hand, Karkh contains the Green Zone- so that could be a reason. People are also anxious about the 675 check points. It's difficult enough right now getting around Baghdad, more check points are going to make things trickier. The plan includes 40,000 Iraqi security forces and that is making people a little bit uneasy. Iraqi National Guard are not pleasant or upstanding citizens- to have thousands of them scattered about Baghdad stopping cars and possibly harassing civilians is worrying. We're also very worried about the possibility of raids on homes."

(Via Baghdad Burning.)