Tuesday, December 20, 2005

F.B.I. Watched Activist Groups, New Files Show - Who will be next?

F.B.I. Watched Activist Groups, New Files Show - New York Times

Some people may thought I was joking with yesterday's story comment. Apparently not.

Counterterrorism agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation have conducted numerous surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations that involved, at least indirectly, groups active in causes as diverse as the environment, animal cruelty and poverty relief, newly disclosed agency records show.

Groups like PETA, Greenpeace, and the Catholic Workers group have all been targeted by the FBI. Why?

One F.B.I. document indicates that agents in Indianapolis planned to conduct surveillance as part of a "Vegan Community Project." Another document talks of the Catholic Workers group's "semi-communistic ideology." A third indicates the bureau's interest in determining the location of a protest over llama fur planned by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

I am particularly intrigued by the equation of Catholic Workers with Communists. Catholic Workers group is anti-poverty. Communists are anti-poverty. Therefore, Catholic Workers group is Communist!

No, they're really not.

Monday, December 19, 2005

U.S. military appears to be spying on 'don't ask, don't tell' protests | News | Advocate.com

U.S. military appears to be spying on 'don't ask, don't tell' protests | News | Advocate.com

Ok, so we have the NSA caught spying on American citizens, the CIA and FBI involved in covert activities in the U.S., and now the Department of Defense is spying on citizens, looking for "credible threats" at gay demonstrations.

How many government departments are there with their own intelligence-gathering divisions, anyway? I'm half expecting to hear a news story about the U.S. Postal Service spying on recipients of the Victoria Secret catalog.

Time Honors Bill and Melinda Gates, Bono - Yahoo! News

Time Honors Bill and Melinda Gates, Bono - Yahoo! News

I've never been a huge Microsoft fan, but even I have to admit that everything that Bill and Melinda Gates are doing to advance the cause of world poverty relief is admirable and should be emulated by everyone who has more money than God.

And I've always been a huge Bono fan, so I'm happy about his inclusion as well.

I'm hoping that a charitable spirit becomes "in vogue" once again in America.

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Religious Leaders Arrested in Opposition to Bush's False Morality

Not to put too fine a point on it:

114 religious leaders were arrested in front of the Cannon House Office Building while kneeling in prayer to protest the immoral budget and tax agenda which slashes spending on the poor to finance tax breaks for the rich.

Yes, folks, poverty is a moral issue. In fact, there are thousands more passages in the Bible addressing the immorality of poverty and social inequality than there are addressing homosexuality, or the War on Christmas.

Maybe Falwell needs to realize that Jesus would rather there be one less poor person in the world than one less person saying "Happy Holidays".

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

FrontPage magazine.com: Buying Fox News

FrontPage magazine.com :: Buying Fox News by Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld and Alyssa A. Lappen

A fascinating quote:

After bin Talal purchased his voting shares in News Corp., on September 23, 2005, he stated in an advertising supplement to the New York Times, “When I invest in a group like CITICROUP, the Four Seasons, the News Corp. or Time Warner, my objective is not to manage those companies.” But this is not quite accurate, considering the Prince’s December 5, 2005 statement given to Middle East Online regarding his ability to change what viewers see on Fox News. Covering the riots in Paris last November, Fox ran a banner saying: "Muslim riots." Bin Talal was not happy. "I picked up the phone and called Murdoch... (and told him) these are not Muslim riots, these are riots out of poverty," he said. "Within 30 minutes, the title was changed from Muslim riots to civil riots."

The Gospel according to Fox News: poor Muslim immigrants = terrorists; wealthy Muslim financier = Rupert Murdoch's sugar daddy.

Maureen Dowd: W. Won't Read This

She certainly has a way of skewering those who should be skewered. And occassionally those who don't.

The president's bubble requires constant care. It's not easy to keep out huge tragedies like Katrina, or flawed policies like Iraq. As Newsweek noted, a foreign diplomat "was startled when Secretary of State Rice warned him not to lay bad news on the president. 'Don't upset him,' she said."

Meanwhile, Katrina, or should we say FEMA, continues to victimize the poor people of New Orleans. But I'm sure if Bush realized these peoples' plight, he'd do something about it. Like give a 15-second prayer.