Police 'abused power' during demo

Police 'abused power' during demo. Now this can be determined after the event, how about making a giant leap and having a bit of fairness before and during the proceedings?

One of the leading protesters, Jane Laporte, said: "It was just completely surreal being surrounded by motorcycle outriders and Land Rovers and police filming us constantly while we were on the coaches. We couldn't believe it was happening in this country. This is why we were supposed to be going to war in Iraq, because people were being denied their freedom of speech, and it was happening to us."

The irony of it all.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Nice interactive Flash animation on the Nation site outlining the big ten media conglomerates in the world and areas of media ownership.

Mark Crispin Miller's original article is worth a look too and keep your eyes peeled as Disney has unanimously rejected a takeover bid by cable firm Comcast. This really isn't that far off being true.

Attrition Security Rant: Anti-Virus Companies: Tenacious Spammers

If spam is "unsolicited junk e-mail" and anti-virus software alert messages include advertisements for the software that generated them which end up in your mailbox as a result of someone spoofing your email address, are anti-virus companies guilty of spamming?

Morris mom turns tables in music industry lawsuit

Morris mom turns tables in music industry lawsuit

And quite right too! The music industry has for too long been allowed to hold the music-buying public to ransom.

eXile

From eXile: "You Pussies!"

"I just read the new polls. Americans are losing their war hard-ons faster than a fag in a whorehouse. At the start of May 2003, 61% said the war was going "very well." Now only 19% say that. Back in May, only 4% said the war was going "not well." Now 35% think so.

You make me sick.

What the Hell did you think was gonna happen? The Iraqis were gonna fall in love with an occupying army? "Oh thank you for blowing up our power plants and water supply! Allah be praised, now we have democracy!"

White House Admits Bush Lied in 2002 State of The Union Over Al Qaeda Obtaining U.S. Nuke Plant Plans

President Bush claimed in his 2002 State of the Union address that the U.S. discovered in Afghanistan detailed plans of U.S. nuclear plants. The Bush administration was forced to admit this week that the claim was not based on factual evidence after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said there was no evidence any such plans were found in Afghanistan.

More at http://www.democracynow.org and Greenpeace USA.

Yes, kids, governments tell lies.

Greg Palast

If you don't already know the work of this man, here's a couple of RealAudio pointers:

- Theft of the Presidency
- Bush blocked Bin Laden probes

More of the writings of Greg Palast.

I love death

A superb animation for a rather catchy tune from Finnish band, Lodger (album out in the next four weeks).

It's nice when the 24x7 audio-visual and 'broadcast' capabilities that we have at our disposal are used to highlight the elusive obvious rather than to captivate and distract us from what actually is.

Blunkett plans tougher terror law

A blind man in the UK isn't going to be happy until such time as we're all locked up.

Home Secretary David Blunkett wants new anti-terrorism laws to make it easier to convict British terror suspects. He wants to extend this so prosecutors can take action against suspected British extremists even though the evidence may not be strong enough to win a conviction under existing laws.

This may mean lowering the burden of proof in such cases from "beyond reasonable doubt" to what is acceptable in civil cases, "the balance of probabilities".

Words fail me... However, the reactions of those that frequent the BBC web site seem rather more balanced than usual. Given the nature of the democracies that are imposed on us, I'm not entirely certain that the opinions of the general public are going to make much of a difference in the long run, but we can hope.

Benjamin Franklin said it best when he said, "He that gives up a little liberty to gain temporary security will lose both and deserve neither".