Swater wrote:
] A nice little graph that sums it all up.
]
] Nothing we haven't heard before but a good reference place for
] the block-headed to clue in.

This is part of why things are so broken in the U.S.A. right now.

Number of corporations that control major US Media

PBSes Frontline special on SUV safety.

frontline: rollover | PBS

] "It is a well-known and widely accepted fact that, during
] wartime, news companies and governmental representatives
] fuse their voices together into one univocal beam of
] support for the national military objective. And, while,
] for many, this is a vital aspect of institutional
] patriotism, it is also a very dangerous and troubling
] reality. For, if the news media have abandoned their
] responsibility to objectively inform the population, then
] our concept of a democracy (which is founded on the
] ability for all citizens to choose their nation's destiny
] based on a full spectrum of information) is in desperate
] peril."

Guerrilla News Network: S-11 Redux

leed25d wrote:
] actually, tech and society. annalee newitz's columns are
] often excellent

Yes, and the Bay Guardian is one of the best local news rags I've read. Of course, it sort of does have my particular political slant most of the time.

RE: sfbg.com

The Bush administration is developing a parallel legal system in which terrorism suspects -- U.S. citizens and noncitizens alike -- may be investigated, jailed, interrogated, tried and punished without legal protections guaranteed by the ordinary system, lawyers inside and outside the government say.

Welp... kiss your freedom goodbye.

OMG! Break out the jack boots!!!

Originally from Moon Pie...

This passage caught my eye:

It has always been good to have a rich or powerful father. Last week my Princeton colleague Alan Krueger wrote a column for The Times surveying statistical studies that debunk the mythology of American social mobility. "If the United States stands out in comparison with other countries," he wrote, "it is in having a more static distribution of income across generations with fewer opportunities for advancement." And Kevin Phillips, in his book "Wealth and Democracy," shows that robber-baron fortunes have been far more persistent than legend would have it.

The country is in the hands of the elites in the society and you aren't invited. You could, theoretically, claw your way into that circle, but it's not going to be easy and it would take the kind of success that someone like Bill Gates has had.

Your average American still doesn't get this country is run by Blue Bloods and pretty much has been since it's inception. Rich White Folk (TM) wrote the constitution and instituted the initial U.S. government, not your momma or your daddy. . .

RE: The Sons Also Rise

] "Casting doubt on a basic principle of U.S. anti-drug
] policies, an independent study concluded on Monday that
] marijuana use does not lead teenagers to experiment with
] hard drugs like heroin or cocaine.
]
] The study by the private, nonprofit RAND Drug Policy
] Research Center countered the theory that marijuana acts
] as a so-called gateway drug to more harmful narcotics, a
] key argument against legalizing pot in the United States.
]
] "

Study: Marijuana May Not Lead to Hard Drugs

] "But since Sept. 11 and the government's expansive
] campaign of monitoring and detention, people are turning
] to the 82-year-old organization to help safeguard their
] liberties. Among them are conservatives who made the
] phrase "card-carrying member of the ACLU" a political
] insult, but who are signing up. "

This is good to hear... Conservatives spent a decade talking smack about the ACLU because the Christian right likes perpetuating misconceptions about the first amendment with the goal of establishing religion. This obviously conflicts with the general conservative notion of upholding "individual liberties." This is the most central contradiction in modern conservative thought. Of course the Libertarians have been saying that for years.

ACLU Membership up

] "Actor Robert Redford (news), in an op-ed opinion piece
] published in the Los Angeles Times, accused the Bush
] administration on Monday of "lack of leadership" for
] failing to wean the United States from dependence on
] fossil fuels.
]
] The actor, a longtime solar power advocate, warned that
] the nation's wasteful use of gas and oil created
] political problems abroad and air pollution at home."

Not that any of the current oil oligarchy is even going to think about listening to this. Unless they corner the market on alternative energy.

Redford Says Patriotism Means Weaning US from Oil

A short snip about Schneier's new book. This is how hackers can help prevent a police state. Thinking critically about security mechanisms that control but don't secure. For example, at Defcon, John Q. Newman, an expert on identity fraud, made a very interesting case that "national ID cards" were really LESS SECURE then the existing system. They merely serve the purpose of database centralization. If there is only one card to forge, then all of the resources in the forgery community get aimed at that card, and it falls no matter how strong it is. If there are many cards to forge, resources are spread out and forgeries aren't as good. Canada is learning this the hard way with their new national birth certificate. Lets not make the same mistake.

Counterpane: Crypto-Gram: November 15, 2002