Friday, December 29, 2006

THE phone company went to Atlanta and all I got was this crappy two year commitment

The big concessions that ATT had to make to recreate Ma bell:
a two year commitment to net neutrality and the promise to offer 19.95 crap-ass DSL to people in the south.

From Business Week.



Digg!

Monday, December 25, 2006

Ethopia bombs Somalia

From the Times
ZANZIBAR, Tanzania, Dec. 24 ? Ethiopia officially plunged into war with Somalia?s Islamist forces on Sunday, bombing targets inside Somalia and pushing ground troops deep into Somali territory in a major escalation that could turn Somalia?s internal crisis into a violent religious conflict that engulfs the entire Horn of Africa.

The coordinated assault was the first open admission by Ethiopia?s Christian-led government of its military operations inside Somalia, where ? with tacit American support ? it has been helping a weak interim government threatened by forces loyal to the Islamic clerics who control the longtime capital, Mogadishu, and much of the country.
[snip]
Some of the most frightening snipets:
The bombs also destroyed a recruitment center and a fuel depot, killing at least 10 people, witnesses reported. Hours later, the transitional troops marched into the area, and a new mayor was installed.

Many of Beledweyne?s people seemed relieved, not so much about the change in government, but because the fighting appeared to have ended so fast.

?We?re so sick of war,? said Ahmed Issa, a shopkeeper in Beledweyne. ?We?ll obey anybody.?
[snip]

In a hint of a possible direction to come, Ethiopia?s prime minister recently told American officials that he could wipe out the Islamists ? in one to two weeks.?


Digg!

Saturday, December 16, 2006

US Army might break Goodyear strike

From the The Financial Times ("The only paper that tells the truth"). It seems to be the only paper reporting this, but it also charges money for full access.

The US Army is considering measures to force striking workers back to their jobs at a Goodyear Tire & Rubber plant in Kansas in the face of a looming shortage of tyres for Humvee trucks and other military equipment used in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A strike involving 17,000 members of the United Steelworkers union has crippled 16 Goodyear plants in the US and Canada since October 5.



Digg!

Thursday, December 14, 2006

The Next Afghanistan?

I don't know if you all have been following this, but a coalition of Muslim groups have overthrown the warlords running the transitional government in Somalia, and pushed them out of most of the country. Now, Ethiopia, a mainly Christian country has thousands of "trainers" (give or take a few thousand) in the country and the Somalis want them out. Of course, its hard to know who the good guys are when one is an invader and the other is a group of religious zealots.
From the NYT today:

The inevitability of war hangs over Mogadishu, Somalia?s bullet-pocked seaside capital. But unlike the internal anarchy that has consumed the country for 15 years, the looming battle is now with Ethiopia, threatening to further destabilize the troubled Horn of Africa.

In the past week the increasingly militant Islamists in control of Mogadishu and much of the rest of the country have begun a food drive, a money drive and an AK-47 assault rifle drive, and have sent doctors and nurses, along with countless young soldiers, to the front lines.

For its part, Ethiopia, with tacit approval from the United States, has been steadily slipping soldiers across the border, trying to hold off the Islamists and shore up Somalia?s weak, unpopular and divided transitional government.


Digg!

Monday, December 11, 2006

Judge's Decision on Libby's Graymail Gambit

Judge settles classified info fight in Libby case - Politics - MSNBC.com:
"WASHINGTON - A federal judge has accepted a series of redactions and substitutions proposed by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald - to be provided to I Lewis 'Scooter' Libby's defense team - which will limit what Libby can share with jurors at his upcoming trial on some of the specifics of his top-secret White House briefings."

Iran students heckle Ahmadinejad

From Al Jazeera.

Digg!

Thursday, December 07, 2006

AlterNet: War on Iraq: Oil for Sale: Iraq Study Group Recommends Privatization

The Report also states that its suggestions should be implemented as a whole, not piecemeal (i.e. no consideration of troop w/drawl before oil is clearly available to multinationals):

AlterNet: War on Iraq: Oil for Sale: Iraq Study Group Recommends Privatization: "In its heavily anticipated report released on Wednesday, the Iraq Study Group made at least four truly radical proposals.

The report calls for the United States to assist in privatizing Iraq's national oil industry, opening Iraq to private foreign oil and energy companies, providing direct technical assistance for the 'drafting' of a new national oil law for Iraq, and assuring that all of Iraq's oil revenues accrue to the central government."

Monday, December 04, 2006

Venezuela's Chávez Wins Decisive Victory - washingtonpost.com

Venezuela's Chávez Wins Decisive Victory - washingtonpost.com: "CARACAS, Venezuela, Dec. 3 -- By an overwhelming margin, Venezuelans reelected President Hugo Chávez on Sunday, further extending a presidency that began when the former paratrooper was swept into power eight years ago, intent on overturning Venezuela's old social order. Chávez will receive another six years in office to broaden his leftist revolution and contest American initiatives across Latin America."

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Friday, December 01, 2006

Bush Fails Women With Global AIDS Plan

Figures I was not aware of and won't attest to their authenticity, but seeing this coming from Ms. Magazine is shocking. Since today is World AIDS day I thought it appropriate to recognize this form of structural violence...(had to throw that in there)

Bush Fails Women With Global AIDS Plan: "Today, 17.3 million women in the world live with HIV/AIDS, and of the 16,000 new HIV infections daily, as many as 55 percent occur among women. The proportion of women among the total infected population has risen at a steady and frightening rate: from 35 percent in 1990 to 41 percent in 1997, to 48 percent in 2004."