Okay, I've read all that I'm going to today. I have snow to move. Here are some quick links to keep you entertained.

Maybe it is about oil. This fellow ominously named, Reagan, believes it is.

Smallpox, Propaganda and Fear, a users guide.

PNAC member and Undersecretary of State, John Bolton tells Syria and Iran, "You're Next".

American Hypocrisy in Action: One Policy for Israel, another for Iraq. It seems our government has a personality disorder.

Orange Alerts Keep Americans Cowed, Consuming and Conforming. Get your truth antidote here!

Get your news from the TV? All Television (of good quality) is local.

Cuban Crisis Redux. Don't Lie us Into War Again.

US Ousts Iraqi Journalist. Security Risks Cited.

Concerned that the media is an arm of its corporate parent? Stop worrying, you're correct!.

Polite Protestors Overwhelm NYC's Infrastucture. Very nice.

Okay, a whole article. This is important because it is our government playing fast and loose with our First Amendment Rights.

Free Speech Trampled in Standstill

February 15, 2003

There's a peace march scheduled in New York City today. But it will be more like a peace standstill. Unlike the 602 cities around the globe where protesters plan to march together to protest a war on Iraq, New York authorities won't allow it.

The Bloomberg administration made the decision well before last week's heightened security alert. A federal three-judge panel affirmed it - even though The New York Times reported a police commander told a federal judge that he had no reason to expect violence.

The Homeland Security Department alerted the country that there's a possible threat, but urged Americans to go on with our lives. Anyone considering marching with 100,000 other people can decide for themselves whether to take the risk.

But there's more to it than that. The Bush administration - which is in the midst of trying to sell the war to the public - filed a brief urging the judges to uphold denial of the permit. And the Bloomberg administration has no intention of forcing a St. Patrick's Day standstill instead of a parade - even though it's bigger and likely more raucous.

"The court bought, hook, line and sinker, the undifferentiated-fear factor," said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, which argued marches are a vital form of free speech.

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a speaker at the rally said, "I really cannot believe that a major city in the leading democracy in the world can refuse people this particular right."

Indeed.

Bad Governance Link

This must not stand. Write the president, Congress and anyone who'll listen.

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