They Thought They Were Free … Do you also?

“What no one seemed to notice … was the ever widening gap … between the government and the people …And it became always wider … the whole process of its coming into being, was above all diverting, it provided an excuse not to think for people who did not want to think anyway … (it) gave us some dreadful, fundamental things to think about … and kept us so busy with continuous changes and ‘crises’ and so fascinated … by the machinations of the ‘national enemies,’ without and within, that we had no time to think about these dreadful things that were growing, little by little, all around us. . .

 

Each step was so small, so inconsequential, so well explained or, on occasion, ‘regretted,’ that unless one understood what the whole thing was in principle, what all these ‘little measures’… must some day lead to, one no more saw it developing from day to day than a farmer in his field sees the corn growing … Each act … is worse than the last, but only a little worse. You wait for the next and the next. You wait for one great shocking occasion, thinking that others, when such a shock comes, will join you in resisting somehow.

 

You don’t want to act, or even talk, alone … you don’t want to ‘go out of your way to make trouble.’ … But the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds or thousands will join with you, never comes. That’s the difficulty. The forms are all there, all untouched, all reassuring, the houses, the shops, the jobs, the mealtimes, the visits, the concerts, the cinema, the holidays. But the spirit, which you never noticed because you made the lifelong mistake of identifying it with the forms, is changed. Now you live in a world of hate and fear, and the people who hate and fear do not even know it themselves, when everyone is transformed, no one is transformed.

 

You have accepted things you would not have accepted five years ago, a year ago, things your father … could never have imagined.”: They Thought They Were Free, The Germans, 1938-45 – From Milton Mayer, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1955)

from http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11845.htm

 

DON’T BELIEVE IT: “FLAWED EVIDENCE” FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC – THE GOAL WAS PREDETERMINED, THEN THE MEANS WAS SET IN MOTION TO TAKE POWER AND CONTROL

THE STORY: 

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday she regrets the U.S. relied on flawed intelligence as the basis for going to war in Iraq and took partial responsibility for mismanaging the post-invasion occupation.

As eight years of the Bush administration come to a close, the president and now one of his longest-serving advisers are acknowledging mistakes in Iraq while steadfastly defending the war and Saddam Hussein’s overthrow.

“While it’s fine to go back and say what might we have done differently, the truth of the matter is we don’t have that luxury,” Rice said in a broadcast interview.

“I would give anything to be able to go back and to know precisely what we were going to find when we were there. But that isn’t the way that these things work,” Rice said “And I still believe that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein is going to turn out to be a great strategic achievement.”

With the support of Congress, President George W. Bush ordered the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. It was a decision largely justified on grounds — later proved false — that Saddam was building weapons of mass destruction.

Give Americans some credit-we’re not still going to fall for the old THINK-TANKS story again

from FOX NEWS “Think Tanks Say Obama Should Shift Focus From Iraq to Iran”

A report from analysts at two major think tanks says Barack Obama should focus on curtailing Iran’s nuclear program and promoting peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors.  What a piece. No names of who at these supposed “think-tanks”. Well, I did a little thinking myself, and I analyzed that Obama should talk with Iran itself, instead of relying on Bush’s old think-tanks, and let’s talk instead about Israel’s nuclear program, and then we will let them promote peace among themselves. What old and worn out is this term of the Bush mouthpieces: Don’t these “THINK-TANKS have names, reminds me of BOMB-SHELTERS. Come on, we voted for CHANGE, not the same old repetoire.

Fresh drinking water will be to the 21st century was Oil was to the 20th century

Fresh drinking water will be to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th century - a commodity that people and nations will kill each other for.

Rare Lyrics to Hush-A-Bye (Greatest Lullaby Ever) from “The Jazz Singer” written by Sammy Fain and Jerry Seelen (Based on theme by Danny Thomas)

Out of a mother’s heart a song arose,

lullaby of love,

A tender tune,

And tired little eyes begin to close,

When mama very softly starts to croon.

Lu lul la lu lu HUSH A BYE

Dream of the angels  way up high,

Lu lul-la lu lu, don’t you cry,

Mommy won’t go away,

Sleep in my arms while you still can,

Childhood is but a day,

Even when you’re a great big man,

Mommy won’t go away.

Lu lul la lu lu HUSH A BYE

Dream of the angels way up high,

Lu lul-la lu lu, don’t you cry,

Daddy won’t go away,

Sleep in my arms while you still can,

Daddy would always say,

Even when you’re a great big girl,

Daddy won’t go away.

Lu-lah, lu-lah, lu-lah lu.

Dennis Kucinich – most courageous Congressman

The Fight Americans Can’t Afford to Lose Everyday Americans are in the fight of their lives. Their jobs, their homes, their pensions, their savings, a modest standard of living – all under assault by rising prices, tightened credit, corporate greed, and a Congress that has bailed out Wall Street financial interests at the expense of taxpayers and to the detriment of struggling homeowners. The fight is far from over, and the ONE Congressman who has been the leader in defending your interests needs your help to continue being your voice in Washington. Dennis Kucinich has been sounding the alarm for years. He has led the opposition to these obscene giveaways to corrupt interests that have been gambling with your hard-earned dollars. He’s been demanding direct assistance to Americans whose lives and futures are at risk – proposing real economic recovery programs that will create millions of jobs and put money in the pockets of working men and women all across the country. But, as Dennis continues fighting for the interests of everyday Americans, he’s also fighting to hold on to his seat in the House of Representatives against a Republican who’s raising money, spending money, and aggressively seeking to put Ohio’s 10th Congressional District into GOP hands. The honest, decent, hard-working families of this country can’t afford to lose the fight of their lives. And they can’t afford to lose Congressman Dennis Kucinich. His voice is crucial to our future. And your support has never been more important.

Afghan ‘Dictator’ Proposed in Leaked Cable (NY Times)

Published on Saturday, October 4, 2008 by the New York Times – by Elaine Sciolino

PARIS – A coded French diplomatic cable leaked to a French newspaper quotes the British ambassador in Afghanistan as predicting that the NATO-led military campaign against the Taliban will fail. That was not all. The best solution for the country, the ambassador said, would be installing an “acceptable dictator,” according to the newspaper.

 

Army Gen. David D. McKiernan, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, speaks during a news conference at the Newseum, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008, in Washington. McKiernan said Wednesday that he needs more troops and other aid ‘as quickly as possible’ in a counterinsurgency battle that could get worse before it gets better. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

“The current situation is bad, the security situation is getting worse, so is corruption, and the government has lost all trust,” the British envoy, Sherard Cowper-Coles, was quoted as saying by the author of the cable, François Fitou, the French deputy ambassador to Kabul. 

The two-page cable – which was sent to the Élysée Palace and the French Foreign Ministry on Sept. 2, and was leaked to the investigative and satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaîné, which printed excerpts in its Wednesday issue – said that the NATO-led military presence was making it harder to stabilize the country.

“The presence of the coalition, in particular its military presence, is part of the problem, not part of its solution,” Sir Sherard was quoted as saying. “Foreign forces are the lifeline of a regime that would rapidly collapse without them. As such, they slow down and complicate a possible emergence from the crisis.”

Within 5 to 10 years, the only “realistic” way to unite Afghanistan would be for it to be “governed by an acceptable dictator,” the cable said, adding, “We should think of preparing our public opinion” for such an outcome.

Sir Sherard, as quoted, was critical of both American presidential candidates, who have vowed, if elected, to substantially increase American military support for Afghanistan to fight the Taliban.

In the short run, “It is the American presidential candidates who must be dissuaded from getting further bogged down in Afghanistan,” he is quoted as saying.

On Wednesday, General David D. McKiernan, the senior American military commander in Afghanistan, called on NATO to send more troops and other support as soon as possible to counter the insurgency.

British officials said that the comments attributed to Sir Sherard were distorted and did not reflect official British policy.

“It’s not for us to comment on something that is presented as extracts from a French diplomatic telegram, but the views it quotes are not in any way an accurate representation of the government’s approach,” said a spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office, who, like other French and British officials, spoke on the condition of anonymity under normal diplomatic rules.

The spokeswoman confirmed, however, that the two men did have a meeting, but said that the British ambassador’s comments were taken out of context. But Sir Sherard, a British career Foreign Service officer who has served as ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Israel, is known for his frank talk, and other British officials who know him say that his words ring true.

Mr. Fitou, meanwhile, is considered a responsible and precise diplomat who would be unlikely to misreport a conversation, a senior French official said. The cable did not say whether the two men spoke in English or French.

French officials, who said they were deeply embarrassed about what they called a serious leak, criticized the broad dissemination of the cable and have started a leak investigation.

The senior French official described it as a “diplomatic disaster” that could put French soldiers at more risk.

Reached by telephone, Seyamak Herawy, a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai, attributed Afghanistan’s problems, in part, to the “multiplicity in the viewpoints of the international community about Afghanistan.”

Claude Angeli, one of the executive editors of Le Canard Enchaîné and the author of the article, defended its publication.

“This is not the first time we have been the target of a leak investigation,” he said in a telephone interview. “The cable is authentic, and we reported its contents accurately.”

The pessimistic British analysis comes as France has increased its troops in Afghanistan amid concern over a further erosion of popular support for French troops present there.

At the last NATO summit meeting in April, President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that he would send an additional 700 French soldiers to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan, bringing the total to about 3,000. He was criticized by the Socialist opposition, criticisms that grew louder after the deaths of 10 French soldiers in a Taliban ambush in August.

The deaths represented the highest death toll suffered by France in a military attack since the bombing of a French barracks in Beirut in 1983 that killed 58 French paratroopers.

In his cable to Paris, Mr. Fitou quoted the British ambassador as saying that the reinforcement of military troops “would have perverse effects: it would identify us even more strongly as an occupation force and would multiply the targets” for the insurgents.

The cable also quoted the British envoy as saying that despite public statements to the contrary, “the insurgency, although still incapable of a military victory, has the capacity to make life more and more difficult, including in the capital.”

Acknowledging that there is no option other than supporting the Americans in Afghanistan, the ambassador reportedly added, “but we must tell them that we want to be part of a winning strategy, not a losing one.” The American strategy, he is quoted as saying, “is destined to fail.”

Sarah Lyall contributed reporting from London, and Sangar Rahimi from Kabul.

 

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

Information Technology & Social Justice Presentations April 15-17, 2008

Addison – (Text Messaging) interesting topic and well-done presentation.

Ada – (YouTube.com) interesting topic and well-done presentation.

James – (Cyberwarfare) interesting topic and informative presentation.

Stevie – (GIS Geographical Information Systems (spatial data) – using technology to help create policy which will increase diversity & maximize effficiency of the system) – unique topic and informative presentation.

Jeremy – (Pedophilia & the Internet) important topic and well-done presentation.

Carlos – (Viral Videos & Viral Politics – new strategies for the candidate, ie, MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, IM) – interesting presentation.

Global Rain – Online Source Determines How Debate is Framed (Cognitive Linguistics) (my presentation)

David Anthony (Effects of Internet on Children) important topic and simple presentation.

Cyberterrorism

Cyberterrorism is the threat of information technology being used against us as a weapon instead of a tool. Hackers working for a religious fundamental organization may become a powerful threat to nation states. But also, information technology can be used for the war of ideas as much as a war relying on cyber attacks. An example are the Middle Eastern groups who are using this networked organization to organize their activities, raise money, and distribute propaganda and recruit members. Computers and disks have been found with instructions on how to make bombs. Chat rooms have been used to pass information and plan activities because everything cannot possibly be monitored by national intelligence. And email is encrypted, and is getting much more difficult to break. However, some of this technology can also work against terrorists and sometimes their activity is logged, and provides law enforcement with the information they are looking for.

Religious Fundamentalism and IT

One view of religious fundamentalism was that is is contradictory to information technology. But a second study believes that the Internet is culturally constructed to adapt to religious fundamentalism and that community is also affected by information technology.

A religious fundamentalist community is characterized by subordination of large groups to an elite religious authority which control the channels of communication using censorship as their major means of control, by women using technology to discover and pass on information to aid other women, signs the community is trying hard to preserve the original meaning of its texts, with as little adaption to modernity as possible, and religious fundamentalists using IT to get information on their own religions, not to learn about other ones.

Technology is used as a tool to further religious studies and goals. It is also being used for political and economic reasons in an increasingly global market. The technology is quick, cheap, efficient, and allow users more discretion.