Posts from — October 2004

Help with the Shifted Wiki!:

Unfortunately, many issues and ideas got lost during this last month’s downtime. Some of them made it online, but only a couple of people were able to find them. I’ll try to highlight the ones I think were most important, starting with The Shifted Wiki.
Here’s the original introduction of it, but basically it’s a place to put your ideas for RSS feeds you think different types of librarians could benefit from reading in an aggregator. If we can pull this off, it will be a great way to help those who are new to RSS get a jumpstart.

So I’d like to ask that you think about which library feeds are most useful to you and ask that you add them to the appropriate library type on the wiki. There’s also the start of the never-got-off-the-ground Honor Roll of Shifted Libraries, so feel free to add suggestions there, too.

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this is something you might like.

What the…:

Zizka has a great tagline on his blog: “Uncool when uncoolness is necessary.” We’ve reached that point. This is a goddamn outrage. GOP apparatchiks in Ohio may face prosecution for making false claims in their challenges to hundreds of new voter registratrations. Their challenges were thrown out at the initiative of the Republican members of the Board of Elections, proving that not every single thing on Earth is about politics. Completely unacceptable.
And this… I really hope that it’s revealed to be a parody, or a forgery, or something. Even the Kossacks are suspicious. It’s so over the top, it’s like seeing a recruiting poster for COBRA.

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the ‘and this’ is just horrible. if someone actually did this, they should be prosecuted for something.

Video Purports to Show Bin Laden

“We fought you because we are free .. and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security we undermine yours.”

seems clear to me.

BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Bin Laden threatens new attacks

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well mostly.

retroCRUSH: The World’s Greatest Pop Culture Place

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this looks like it will be a classic comic.

FBI Opens Probe into Halliburton Contracts:

The Army Corps of Engineers’ chief contracting officer alleged last week that the Army unfairly awarded Halliburton billions of dollars in no-bid contracts. The FBI has now opened an inquiry.

FBI agents this week sought permission to interview Bunnatine Greenhouse, the Army Corps of Engineers’ chief contracting officer who went public last weekend with allegations that her agency unfairly awarded a Halliburton subsidiary no-bid contracts worth billions of dollars in Iraq, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

I myself wrote on April 23, 2003 about the “Secrets and Lies” associated with our contracting practices in Iraq. The argument that Halliburton was uniquely capable of being the main contractor in Iraq never made much sense.

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it is about darn time. this was criminal fraud.

so we contracted the ‘raptor’ to win wars at a very high price… which is more costly… the jets or the wars we will start in order to use them….

http://www.christianethicstoday.com/Issue/003/Wallbuilders%20or%20Mythbuilders%20By%20Nicholas%20P%20Miller_003_17_.htm

Internet Vets for Truth launch election-week download blowout:Xeni Jardin:
An anonymous tipster points us to the launch of an election-related download project organized by a group called “Internet Veterans for Truth.” If you’re familiar with P2P-politics, you get the basic idea — though the projects are not related, and don’t follow the same content-gathering process.

The site features excerpts (and some full-length downloads) from features including Going Upriver, Farenheit 9/11, Uncovered, a bunch of Jon Stewart and Daily Show clips, and Eminem’s Mosh video.

Snip from the internetvetsfortruth.org site:

Subject: The Rumors On the Internets Are True!

The INTERNETS VETERANS FOR TRUTH have launched a new pre-election campaign, “Never Forget,” at internetvetsfortruth.org in an effort to educate the voting public prior to the November 2nd election.

The website features documentary content highlighting the records of both
George W. Bush and John Kerry. The Internets Veterans for truth invite you to view this documentary evidence
as well as to enjoy the social and political commentary of Jon Stewart,
Eminem, and others.

We know the rumors on the Internets are true. We invite you to visit and decide for yourself. And please, pass this on to our fellow Americans. Let’s blogroll.

Link. Everything’s free, natch.

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somewhat interesting….

The Economist: John Kerry for President:
As rumored, the Economist endorses Kerry, albeit with some reluctance. Indeed, the endorsement is more an indictment of Bush. It sums up:

“After three necessarily tumultuous and transformative years, this is a time for consolidation, for discipline and for repairing America’s moral and practical authority. Furthermore, as Mr Bush has often said, there is a need in life for accountability. He has refused to impose it himself, and so voters should, in our view, impose it on him, given a viable alternative. John Kerry, for all the doubts about him, would be in a better position to carry on with America’s great tasks.”——–
against bush is good enough.