Everything you need to know about the new Iraq deal in 30 seconds thanks to Elonka. My comments follow.

] The benchmarks listed below would be criteria for Iraq to
] follow within a week or 10 days if it wanted to avoid war,
] by showing it was fully complying with U.N. disarmament
] obligations.

Summarizing for brevity:

(1) Saddam would have to make a public, broadcasted statement, in Arabic, that Iraq has made a strategic decision not to produce or retain Weapons of Mass Destruction, and he should further publicly encourage all Iraqis to come forward if they have any such info, disregarding any orders that they might have received in the past to hide such information.

(2) At least 30 Iraqi scientists selected by UN Inspectors must be made available for private interviews, with their families, outside of Iraq.

(3) All remaining anthrax or anthrax production capability must be either surrendered, or credible evidence must be provided to account for the whereabouts or destruction of known past stockpiles.

(4) All remaining Al-Samoud missiles must be destroyed.

(5) Credible evidence on the purpose of the unmanned or remote-piloted vehicles must be provided, along with a full accounting of the organizations and technology involved.

(6) (wording still being worked on) Iraq must give up all mobile biological production labs for destruction.

-=-=-=-

I think #1 is the deal breaker. Saddam is not going to come out in front of his people and say "I was wrong". That is less likely to happen then him actually disarming.

British Draft List of Iraqi Tasks

] Britain's The Observer newspaper has published a memo
] that purportedly orders increased espionage against U.N.
] Security Council diplomats. The memo is likely a forgery:
] It includes un-American spellings, and the writer
] apparently lacks understanding of the U.S. intelligence
] community's structure.

Observer story likely faked.

] I'm starting to wonder if were aren't watching something
] like the same strategy again. In other words, it's
] possible Cheney and company are actually bluffing. This
] time, instead of trying to terrify the Soviets into
] collapse, the objective is even grander. If I'm right
] about this, they have two goals. Neither involves actual
] war, any more than the MX missile did.

The thought had occurred...

John Perry Barlow provides a personal perspective on Dick Cheney

So, here is an official U.S. Government site that explains terrorist attack preparedness using the format of airline saftey instruction cards. "Duck and Cover..."

Ready.gov - Be Informed - Chemical threat - Visual Guide

] President George W. Bush will propose a nearly $470
] million boost in NASA's budget for fiscal 2004, an
] administration official said on Sunday, promising
] investigators would look into whether past cutbacks
] played any part in the space shuttle Columbia disaster.

Someone shouldn't have had to die in order to make this happen.

Forbes.com: Bush to propose budget increase for NASA

] Iraq will chair the United Nations' most important
] disarmament negotiating forum during the panel's May
] session.
] At the rules-minded United Nations, it's not a country's
] status with international weapons inspectors, but the
] letters in its name that determine which member state
] chairs the Conference on Disarmament.
] "The irony is overwhelming," a U.S. diplomat said.

Iraq to chair U.N. disarmament conference

Anti-war protests in SF, about 6 blocks away from my old flat.

Helicopter Pictures of SF Demo : SF Indymedia

] Peace in a country like the Ivory Coast is a myth. It's
] tribe vs. tribe, religion vs. religion, till one side
] wipes out the other. And if that never happens, then the
] sneak attacks and small-time massacres will just go on and
] on. And if that seems terrible to you, try this thought on:
]
] Maybe they LIKE it.

An informative if also informal brief on the basic problems in Africa.

eXile #157 - War Nerd - Live from the Skeleton Coast - by Gary Brecher

] "Al-Jazeera, the Arab satellite television channel known
] to broadcast statements from Osama bin Laden (news - web
] sites), will reach out to the West starting in February
] with an English-language Web site. "

Yes!

I've been craving the opportunity to read the Al-Jazeera news stories directly, and not just be limited to excerpted bits from BBC and CNN. I have yet to find a good online translator that would convert Arabic websites into something English-readable. So it'll be great to get Arabic news from the source (or at least closer to the source).

In the past, I have attempted to read Al-Jazeera stories via several web translators. It never translates well. I am very happy about this.

Al-Jazeera to provide English-language Web site

] "Hundreds of Iranian and other Middle East citizens were
] in southern California jails on Wednesday after coming
] forward to comply with a new rule to register with
] immigration authorities only to wind up handcuffed and
] behind bars."

If this dosen't wind up in the TV news rotation by the end of the day, our media isn't functioning properly.

I'm pissed. I feel the comparisons people are making to Japaneese internment are valid. Our justice dept cannot be allowed to go off half-cocked. I better be seeing some sort of statement from Ashcroft before lunch tommorow. This is something that needs to be explained and justified, not just happen without anyone noticing.

I want to detailed breakdown of what the people were arrested for. This will have a backlash. They better be prepared. They better be transparent in their handling of this.

If I had to guess at the near-future outcome at this point, based on the two articles I have read thus far... Optmistic: Next week we hear in the sweep they caught a few people with terrorist ties, they release everyone else, and appoligize for the nature of the sweep but claim it was necessary. After, a program for speed up naturalization starts to aid these people attain their citizenship. Given the timeframe of several months, its viewed as part of a critical restructure of the INS's handling of foriegn nationals. Pessimistic: We just don't hear about it again or its the first of many, and many immigrants get the shaft.

I am keenly aware of the effects of immigration in America. I do not have to look any farther then my granparents to see where half my blood line entered this country. No farther then my great grandparents for the other half. I am an average American in that respect. Even people such as the creator of MemeStreams would not be in the US if not for our open immigration and borders.

Here in Jersey, we have a downright huge Middle Eastern population. Ironicly, they tend to work in all the gas stations and its the brunt of many jokes. They view Jersey as a good place to "start in America".. They live and work here for a few years, save up money, and move elsewhere. Its the modern American Dream for the immigrant. This is a critical part of New Jersey's heritage. If I see this type of shit going down here, you can be assured I will be one of the people holding a sign in front of a jail.

Yahoo! News - Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Calif.