When Journalism Becomes ‘Terrorism’ Senior Pentagon adviser Richard Perle abruptly announced his resignation on March 27 as chair of the Defense Policy Board, an influential Pentagon advisory panel. Not coincidentally, Perle had shortly before his resignation described the respected journalist Seymour Hersh as a "terrorist," and threatened to sue Hersh for libel in Britain. Pulitzer-winner Hersh’s report in the New Yorker (dated 3/17/03) on Perle’s messy finances became the first of a series of embarrassing stories that threatened Perle’s considerable access to power. It now looks as though Perle, frequently described as the chief architect of the war in Iraq, launched his counter-attack on Hersh as part of a "hide-in-plain-sight" strategy--dodging scrutiny, not the spotlight--in a calculated spin campaign. Notwithstanding his resignation as the board's chair, Perle’s strategy may have worked. As the chair of the Defense Policy Board, Perle was indeed well-placed to broker influence in the military establishment.
Blog do Dvorak A bill proposed this week by Assemblywoman Pamela R. Lampitt (D., Camden) would impose a fine of up to $50 and possibly 15 days in jail for pedestrians caught using their cellphones without hands-free devices while walking on public sidewalks and along roadways.If the bill becomes law, “petextrians” – people who text while walking – would face the same penalties as jaywalkers in New Jersey.“I see it every single day,” Lampitt said Friday. Another study, from Safe Kids Worldwide, a Washington-based nonprofit, found that 40 percent of teens said they had been hit or nearly hit by a car, bike, or motorcycle while walking.The survey of more than 1,000 children between ages 13 and 18 found that 47 percent of those who said they were hit or almost hit were listening to music, 20 percent were talking on the phone, and 18 percent were texting, researchers said. In a world populated with idiots, the banning of risky behavior has its downside.
Hizballah Exploiting Wikileaks Cables by IPT News • Apr 14, 2011 at 2:56 pm U.S. cooperation with pro-Western Lebanese politicians is actually a conspiracy against Hizballah, according to identical reports on the terror organization's news website and in Iranian media. The stories cite U.S. diplomatic cables released by the website Wikileaks and say the United States backed a compromise Lebanese presidential candidate in order to "embarrass" Hizballah and harm its political allies. From Hizballah's perspective, the documents show the subservience of Saad Hariri's pro-Western bloc to the United States and their Saudi allies. "They [the Wikileaks releases] confirmed that the 'battle' against Hezbollah was the essence of all challenges in the country in the eyes of the Hariri bloc," the article said. Another Wikileaks document from Nov. 3, 2007, quoted Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Abdul Aziz Khoja's conversations with Lebanese politicians.
The TWiT Podcast Network with Leo Laporte War on Tierra: WikiLeaks Reveals Climate Blackmail Conference of Parties 16 (COP16), United Nations Global Warming Summit Cancún, Mexico, 2010 Hardly a lunar landscape, the Moon Palace resort in Cancún, Mexico, boasts material opulence cum tropical paradise, complete with its own skull-like circumference of militia to protect the world's most revered gray matter - or should I say green matter? Slated between the dates of November 29 and December 10, this meeting of minds attracted over 20 heads of state, coupled with environmental ministers representing 193 countries. The impetus of their gathering: to settle their differences and patch together some kind of an agreement over what should be done to address climate change on a global scale. In what some have declared a new low for climate profiteering, one of the agreements outlined in Cancún was the establishment of REDD. Another initiative proposed at Cancun was the "Green Climate Fund," which promises monetary compensation for poor nations affected by climate change. Maldives: Brazil:
Design Observer: writings about design & culture Social Media and Subpoenas: The Loophole That Puts Journalistic Sources at Risk The Department of Justice issued Twitter a subpoena for access to the accounts of Julian Assange and several others in relation to its investigation of the whistle-blower organization, which released roughly 2,000 classified cables. As a result of its current law enforcement guidelines, Twitter is going to divulge the information. The provision is fairly typical for technology startups to include in their policies as a way to protect themselves from getting involved in legal issues pertaining to the platform's users. Jodi Olson, a spokeswoman at Twitter, would not comment on details about the subpoena, but she said that "to help users protect their rights, it's our policy to notify users about law enforcement and governmental requests for their information, unless we are prevented by law from doing so." That's because most of such requests come with a gag order, and so companies like Twitter and Google cannot notify the user that his or her information is being requested. A Broken System
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