Legislative Profits

As lawmakers ride the gravy train, state's residents pay the freight
Paul D'Ambrosio of the Asbury Park Press led a team of Gannett New Jersey reporters in studying state legislators who profit from public service, finding that "New Jersey's laws, regulations and patronage practices provide state lawmakers with a grab bag of financial rewards," including no-bid contracts, larger pensions and government jobs. A third of state lawmakers and a quarter of their spouses hold another public office, boosting their retirement pay, while legislators receive full pay for the second job even while the legislature is in session. Lawmakers operate almost free of ethical scrutiny because there are virtually no laws to prevent conflicts of interest in the state Senate or Assembly. A member who could profit from a bill can absolve himself by simply sending a note to the secretary of the chamber saying he can still cast a fair vote.
The papers combined for a six-day series and also posted the lawmakers' personal financial disclosure forms online.
· Lawmakers operate almost free of ethical scrutiny [via TheScoop]
· CASH FUNNELING INTO COMMITTEES [Gainesville ]
· Taxing Dark Secrets [BusinessWeek ]

Whenever I come across plastic and slimey kindofish (sic) characters: bullies at work, or cowards in print; bashers pregnant women in the safety of their homes, or liars around the parliamentary bar..., this saying tends to commits itself in my mind: The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in times of comfort, but where he stands in time of challenge and controversy.
-King (Martin Luther)

So True Cowards & Crowds
GAS BAG, EH? Someone called Norman Finkelstein says
In contrast to bursting windbags like Vaclav Havel, Hitchens is too smart to take his vaporizings seriously.
This is a former Marxist, but very much a member of the implacable left. Oppose Bush and anyone who defends any of his policies at all costs.
This fashion of hatred for Vaclav Havel among the left is fascinating to me. Must return to this. In terms of practical politics, Havel's a social democrat, really. In principle he's probably close to, say, an American lefty on a range of social issues. But he opposed the Soviets. And this is unforgivable. He opposed the Soviets eloquently (and bravely). Ergo, he is a bursting gasbag. I realize that Havel's worst crime, however, was to support the overthrow of a totalitarian regime in Iraq.
Imagine Finkelstein in Havel's shoes facing a choice between prison and freedom, all based on whether he shuts up or not. He'd fold the very first time he was interrogated and sign anything they put in front of him.
The piece is a rant about Christopher Hitchens, by the way, not Havel. For a good time, read Hitchens' response.
· Hitchens [via Pragueblog]

Exclusive Perspective

Why we're all the way with the USA
Central European perspective on modern history and even a lesson in Czech grammar by someone who is stuck inside the # 1 industry in Washington.
· Antipodian perspective [SMH ]

The Final Earthy Campfire

My Dragon starts and ends with Daily Dose of Dust...
Oh it's-a lonesome away from your kindred and all
By the campfire at night we'll hear the wild dingos call
But there's nothing so lonesome, morbid or drear
Than to stand in the bar of a pub with no beer ...
· A Pub With no Beer is about mateship, the friendship of drinking together as equals contrasted with the misery of loneliness in exile [Slim Dusty]

The world's best blogs

Whether it's gossip, news, personal revelations or tech talk, online diaries can make anybody an opinionated commentator.
· 20 Must-surf weblogs [SMH ]

The Tax Man's Tale

In West Haven, you can't fight City Hall--even when you are City Hall.
When you are the tax collector, for example, you expect to be in charge of collecting taxes.
But in West Haven, the mayor calls the shots. All the shots.
Testimony in a suit against West Haven and its private tax collection agency shows that Mayor Richard Borer:
: hired the agency, JER Revenue Services, without competitive bidding and over the objections of Tax Collector Art Gilbert;
: decided to let JER charge delinquent taxpayers a whopping 15 percent fee on top of their back taxes and 18 percent interest--again over Gilbert's objections;
: behind Gilbert's back, broke an agreement and let JER unleash its dogs on taxpayers who were as little as three months behind.
Then Borer's henchman tried to get Gilbert fired for refusing to knuckle under completely.
But wait. They couldn't fire Gilbert. He was elected by West Haven taxpayers.
Did he stand up to the mayor, tell the public what was going on?
· Nah... [NewHeavenAdvocate]

No New Panther Under Sydney Sun

Penrith Panthers, (Sydney, Australia) the state's biggest club, is the focus of an investigation amid revelations that its chief executive, Roger Cowan, has charged the club millions of dollars for services provided by his family company over the past 30 years.
· Panthering... [SMH ]

Lessons on leadership

John Uhr finds lessons for John Howard in the story of Bob Hawke’s prime ministership
BOB HAWKE is back, larger than life. The recent publication of a book called The Hawke Government, edited by Susan Ryan and Troy Bramston, brought Hawke back to Canberra. The book was launched on September 11 by Simon Crean, who then had to watch as all the media attention moved from him to Hawke, and not back again. Crean served in the Hawke ministry but it is hard to imagine Hawke serving in a Crean ministry.
· If there ever is a Crean ministry [Political Science Program, Australian National University25-9-2003]
Labor needs to build bridges...
· Lawrence’s pillars of wisdom [APO ]

Canadian FOI Access

Vancouver journalist Ann Rees spent a year assessing the effectiveness of Canada's freedom of information laws. In a report published in the Toronto Star, she concludes that "the public's right to access government information is often subverted, delayed and denied by politicians and their advisers who appear more concerned with protecting the government's political image than the public right to know." In addition to the withholding of information, government officials often are given the identities of requestors, despite a provision saying such information can be released only on a need-to-know basis.
· Right/To/Know [Star(Canada) ]

These Are Historic Times: Is it to be Lincoln or Sisyphus?

Like Sisyphus, we have pushed our terrible rock nearly to the top of the hill. We need only a few dramatic final and critically symbolic shoves — either the capture of Saddam Hussein, proof of bin Laden's demise, textual or material evidence of WMDs, or the finalization of a legitimate government in Baghdad — to go over the top, showing the discontented at home how far we have come. But just as Sisyphus was forever doomed to start pushing his rock anew — once it cascaded back just as he reached the apex — so shall we too have to start all over again should we lose our nerve with the summit now within sight. And such large boulders roll faster and in deadlier fashion downhill than during the slow and arduous push up.
· So will we — if we do the same and push our rock over the top [National Review]

Interview with Dennis Miller. (via Occam)
I always wondered how Hitler happened. I even went so far as to read William L. Shirer?s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. I read all 1,200 pages and at the end of it I remember thinking, ?Yeah, but how does Hitler happen?? Part of it has to do with the Left mislabeling people as Hitler. It?s like Pierce Brosnan at the end of the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair. He dressed everybody up in the same Bowler cap and overcoat, and then he walks right through the middle of them without being noticed. The Left is so busy saying John Ashcroft is Hitler, and President Bush is Hitler, and Rudy Giuliani is Hitler that the only guy they wouldn?t call Hitler was the foreign guy with the mustache who was throwing people who disagreed with him into the wood-chipper.
· Labeling [AmericanEnterprise ]

Cold War Mummy

During The dark days of the Cold War an archeological expedition headed by Soviet scientists were given a mummy by the Egyptian government. They carefully prepared it for shipping and sent it back to the Soviet Union for further study.
Among other things, the scientists wanted to determine the mummy's age.
But the scientists were rudely pushed aside by the notorious Soviet secret police (KGB) who insisted, Leave it to us; we'll find out.
After a few days the secret police made the astounding announcement that the mummy's age was 3,402 years."That is amazing comrades," cried the Soviet scientists. How did you ever determine it?
That was easy, reported the secret police.
The mummy confessed.
I know...it's a lousy joke but there is a moral to the story: A little confession is good for the soul!
· However, Before You Sign Anything Czech Out My Very Own Rich List

Capitalism's Next Revolution

SHOSHANA ZUBOFF Capitalism's Next Revolution

As you shop for new classes this week, consider this: the pandemic of corporate narcissism, greed, rigidity and sheer cluelessness that you have been reading about all summer is a sign of the ripening conditions for economic revolution. We are facing a once-in-a-century opportunity for wholesale innovation and extreme creativity comparable to the rise of mass markets and mass production nearly 100 years ago. It is a time for a new generation—yours—to reinvent capitalism for our times. Your fresh insight and heart can ignite the next wave of wealth creation capable of carrying the global economy to new heights of prosperity and community. Here is why.
We are living in a period of “disruptive capitalism,” because we have changed more than the companies we depend on as consumers and employees. Today, we have all become history’s shock absorbers, struggling to reconcile our new needs with the demands of an exhausted business model. A chasm has developed between organizations and us. It is filled with our stress, outrage and frustration. Anxiety is widespread and most people feel that they are being forced to fight over an ever-shrinking pie. How did we get here? ....
· Life Model [The Crimson]

Orwell Thing

Hit & Run: The Vision Thing
How did I misappropriate Orwell? I'm not suggesting Orwell would be for or against the war in Iraq (I have no clue where he would stand). I'm talking about our leaders' strategy here, not the actual war. Our leaders' PR campaign has been an ever-shifting series of possible explanations, and it bears some eerie resemblances to 1984 and Animal Farm. Obviously this isn't a dictatorship like Oceania and Manor Farm were. But the observations on how leaders go about lying to the public apply to all societies, not just totalitarian states.
· Orwell [Published in Reason Comments- circa Sep 19, 2003]

Dam filled with Selfinterest

Fair & Balanced Water Reserve

Real Estate agents are holding auctions for rental properties, forcing prospective tenants to bid against one another. Dam of greed is likely to burst sooner rather than later...
· Successful Failure [ Jim Soorley]
· Two incomes, more debt? [Christian Monitors]
· Reserve::Nowhere to Run [SMH ]
· My ExtendedFamily [WereRich Family]
· Family Stories [Forbes ]

Pretty Good eBook Surfing ...

At some point, just before oblivion of the sound of trees falling in the forrest takes us, someone will finally utter these fateful words:
eBooks are not so much different to paperbacks...

Trends
I have to brag about this! If you do a Google search for Cold River this site comes out at number 3 and 4 of about 2 million. That’s pretty good eBook surfing ...
The Open eBook Forum, www.openebook.org, suggests that Online reading, once viewed as a refuge for the nerds and as a faintly disrespectable way to read book, is rapidly becoming a fixture of publishing life for readers of all ages, backgrounds and interests.
I view this as a logical and inevitable move that more and more readers will make in the near future. I await the day when eBooks growth is routine, and no longer newsworthy. Reading will never go completely virtual, but readers have certainly noticed that with better quality Palm eReaders they can move towards saving space and creating less dust on shelves at homes and offices.
According to New Farm Organic Price Index, Organic farming makes up a fraction of farming in America, the industry is growing about 25 percent a year. Organic retail food sales in the U.S. reached $7.8 billion in 2000, up from $6 billion in 1999.

Open Democracy serves up a first class stories inspired by human misery...

VOICES FROM M.L.: RUSSIA EATS HER CHILDREN EXILE:
The family of a Russian geologist has paid a terrible price for defending (and marrying) members of unpopular minority groups.
· [Open Democracy]
· The Soviet archives exposed [Open Democracy]

In the End, the KGB Won
Garry Kasparov has a rather worrisome piece in the WSJ today on what is going on in my former homeland, Russia. Check this out:

Russia now is entering an extremely dangerous phase of property redistribution, which is shaking the country's weak economy from top to bottom. The Putin regime's recent, blatant attack on Russia's largest private oil company, Yukos, run by the outspoken oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, illustrates this trend. One of Yukos's major shareholders, Platon Lebedev, has been jailed on charges widely seen in Russia as having less to do with justice than with signaling to all Russian business that no one is safe.
Security forces are interfering in business activities when and where they choose. The attorney general's office rubber stamps accusations against oligarchs and big businesses upon orders from the Kremlin, while local prosecutors are on a business-bashing quest to meet the expectations of their governors and mayors. Small and medium-size businesses are desperately trying to raise awareness for myriad Yukos-type clampdowns elsewhere in Russia. Independent-minded journalists are being sued and even imprisoned for publicly criticizing members of local administrations. Members of Mr. Putin's "pocket parliament" are reduced to private lobbying activities, while all major laws are drafted in the Kremlin and sent to the Duma for pro forma approval. In Chechnya, Moscow's "Road Map to Peace" is paved with 100,000 Russian soldiers taking part in the constitutional referendum (imagine, U.S. and British soldiers granted voting rights in Iraq!) and all potential opponents of Ahmad Kadyrov's bloody and quisling administration are being kicked from the presidential race upon the Kremlin's advice.
The bottom line is the collapse of infant democracy in Russia is contrary to vital U.S. interests. With de facto liquidation of the institution of a free press (hardly noticed by the U.S. State Department) and increasing power of the former KGB, now called the FSB, Russia is increasingly overloaded with anti-U.S. hysteria. State-controlled media have been competing with the ultra-nationalistic press in slamming American policies right, left and center. All this is breeding xenophobia and fascism. In the new election list of the Communist Party, lifetime leader Gennady Zuganov -- no friend to the West -- is joined by two Nikolays: Haritonov, proud KGB colonel, renowned for his demands to bring back the statue of KGB founder Dzerzhinsky to Moscow's Lubyanka square; and Kondratenko, the ex-governor of the Kuban region whose views on Jews and Caucasians would have made Jean-Marie Le Pen look like a liberal.
...
Indeed, President Putin has been playing a clever game of reaping benefits from both sides of every major international crisis. While the Russian Foreign Ministry kindly offers the U.S. its mediating services, Russia's military and security wings work behind the scenes to bolster rogue regimes, thus adding value to Mr. Putin's bargaining chips at the geopolitical table.
Astonishingly, nearly 50% of the top positions in Russia's governmental structures are occupied by Mr. Putin's former KGB colleagues. This newly emerging Russian ruling elite (no longer content with having squirreled away billions of dollars in foreign banks), sits in ambush, anxiously awaiting the moment when it can cut the throat of U.S. imperialism. Five years ago, then FSB chief Vladimir Putin spoke the truth when he said, "There are no ex-KGB officers!" Will the West ever learn?
So now, not only are they in charge of the government, but they are also able to make a lot more money.
· Russia [WallStreet (subscribersonly)]

Publishing translations

Disappointing news as another publisher is giving up publishing new translations: Czech-oriented Catbird Pres:
When I checked in with Wechsler, I learned that the current squeeze is putting him out of business. He'll maintain his backlist and website, he says, but cutting his losses on any future books, saying that favorable reviews have not convinced the chains, Amazon, and distributors to stock his wares.
· Lost in Translation [Saloon ]

Snubbed unknown sweeps giants off shortlist

The Booker Prize judges have ignored the uncrowned king of English letters and two past winners in favour of an unpublished writer
A piano teacher from Birmingham, whose first four novels were rejected by publishers, has beaten Martin Amis to the last six of the Man Booker Prize. 'I suppose it is a strike for all those of us who have unpublished books under our beds and wonder is it worth going on. Well it is,' Clare Morrall declared. 'Keep going'!
· Agentless Rejected Author Beats Literary Majors For Booker Nomination [The Guardian (UK) 09/17/03]

Margin of Freedom in Australian media

Australia is often cited as an exemplar of the failure of media policy to guarantee the quality and independence of broadcasting. But in its development of arguments about ‘freedom of communication’, this outpost of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire offers a surprising lesson in the significance of local experience in promoting a culture of informed citizenship.
· Regulating for freedom [Open Democracy]

Abuse kills one child a fortnight
An international table comparing child deaths from abuse and neglect places Australia in a worse position than Spain, Greece, Italy and Ireland, but better than the US, New Zealand and Britain.
· Children, Our [SMH ]

Constitution Day

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Happy 216th birthday to the US Constitution. History
· The reminder via [Slightly Off Center]
· Pious Bias: Lies and the lying liars who attribute them to the other party [SlateI]
· Pious Fun With Bush v. Gore [SlateII]

CARPE DIEM - Seize the Justice!

Our role in the terror
Since the second anniversary of September 11, we have had sober reminders that military force alone cannot eliminate the threat of religiously inspired terrorism. There has been the dramatic, if disputed, reappearance of Osama bin Laden; new reports that Islamist extremism is again gaining ground in Afghanistan; and in the wake of horrific attacks by Hamas, the Israeli right has called for the expulsion of Yasser Arafat - a move that would almost certainly provoke a new spate of suicide bombings.
· The only way to create a safer world is to ensure that it is more just [Guardian ]

The Leaders We Deserve?

Irving Kristol once said something to the effect of there are no ethical problems that a Great Depression wouldn't cure

The Leaders We Deserve?
by Stephanie Dowrick 13 September 2003, The Sydney Morning Herald, Good Weekend p 57 (Not Available onLine)

It is easier to decry the mean-spiritedness of our politicians than admit they might just reflect the society we have become.

I was at a conference recently where at each mention of JohnHoward or Philip Ruddock (and there were many), jeers went up that seemed to indicate that so-called thinking Australia does not think much of its politicial leaders.
I cannot pretend that I think much of them, either. In fact, I find their stance on key international issues utterly dispiriting. Nevertheless, as the conference continued, I found it almost as troubling that there was so much focus on those individuals, as powerful as they are, when the problems we face seem to me to be shared problems, mirroring the society we are collectively creating.
It is easy to denigrate (or inflate) Howard and his team. It is less easy to face the possibilitiy that most of us are insular antiintellectual, shallow and selfish. Or so our voting habits and media choices would indicate. Of course we are also friendly, inclusive, egalitarian, etc. But those values do not drive our public policies. And we need to wonder why. I am confident that a fair, tolerant, hospitable, inclusive and not entirely materially obsessed Australia does still exist in many minds and hearts. But the fact that it is running low on currency is not the responsibility of politicians only.
If the current Liberal (or Labor) leadership were to march into the annals of history tomorrow, Australian politics and policies might not change very much. Psychologically and morally, it is quite possible that on both sides of our Parliament we have leaders who mirror our personal realities all too well.
To change our social and political outlook significantly, we may have to look much more closely at who we are, and and at what we, individually and collectivelly, stand for. We may need to think about what factors make ordinary people like us mean spireted rather than generous. And we may need to do something decisive about that ourselves -from the group up - rather than assuming meaningful change can happen only from the top down.
Thinking about our national character is no small thing. We contribute to it. We are also consciously and unconsciously shaped by it. That national character is represented and moulded in key ways by our media and leaders. But those individuals - and the institutions they represent - do not arise out of nowhere. They represent and they certainly respond to the rest of us. Moral imperatives can and do run both ways.
The idea of broadening responsibility for what our nation is, and is becoming, is unlikely to be welcome. There is something comforting as well as familiar about blaming someone else for whatever mess w eare in.Yet that kind of thinking is itself part of what keeps us in danger of being psychologically small and morally petty.
In the wake of the horrors of the Third Reich, many fine books were written analysing the social and psychological conditions that allowed fascism to arise. Our historical situation is profoundly different from that of the pre-war Europe. But one lesson we can certainly learn is how contagious and dangerous is the state of mind that is suspicious, defensive, inward-looking, quick to blame others for difficulties, slow to take responsibility for its own actions and, most chilling of all, indiferent to the fate of others.
Indifference is a psychological defence against feeling. It is the enemy of empathy. It is a failure of imagination. And it is widespread in Australia.
Maintaining the rage against Howard, Ruddock, Crean or any other political leader may seem like a credible response to indifference. But it is not a remedy. We are most defensive when we feel least powerful (the most dangerous animal in the forest, my Czechoslovak father used to say, is the injured one: no matter how small) Waking up to our actual power to live out the best of our national values - tolerance, fairness, good humour, inclusiveness - we do more than help ourselves. We free ourselves from the delusion that the destiny of this country is entirely in politicians' hands.
And we acknowledge the simple truth that our individual wellbeing depends on our capacity to look beyond ourselves - and effectively look out for one another.

The dissident does not operate in the realm of genuine power at all. He is not seeking power. He has no desire for office and does not gather votes. He does not attempt to charm the public, he offers nothing and promises nothing. He can offer, if anything, only his own skin -- and he offers it solely because he has no other way of affirming the truth he stands for. His actions simply articulate his dignity as a citizen, regardless of the cost.
-Vaclav Havel

Definite Maybe

The Yes Minister website
Sir Humphrey: You know what happens: nice young lady comes up to you. Obviously you want to create a good impression, you don’t want to look a fool, do you? So she starts asking you some questions: Mr. Woolley, are you worried about the number of young people without jobs?
Bernard Woolley: Yes
· Definite Maybe [Yes/No]

Man In Black: Johnny Cash

Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on.
I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.
I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me.
Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black...
Ah,
I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.
· Rainbow of Hope? [CommonDreams ]

A Left-wing or Right-wing outfit
Jennings says his broadcast plays news straight down the middle. 'I don't think anybody who looks carefully at us thinks that we are a left-wing or a right-wing organization. 'We have been criticized, a little bit to my surprise, by people who think I was not enough pro-war. That is simply not the way I think of this role. This role is designed to question the behavior of government officials on behalf of the public.
· Right/Wrong [USAToday ]

Great Ethics

Irving Kristol once said something to the effect of there are no ethical problems in America that a Great Depression wouldn't cure

Hollinger critic plays ethics cop, but ignores some offenders

Robert Feder, a TV/radio critic for Hollinger's Chicago Sun-Times, spanks Chicago television and radio execs for all but ignoring some of the most clear-cut ethical lapses ever witnessed in this market. Of course, Feder fails to mention the Sun-Times' parent company's terrible ethics record.
ALSO: Feder notes that two TV journalists were photographed for a boutique's magazine ad. What he doesn't mention: Sun-Times political writer Steve Neal appears in full-page restaurant ads.
· Full Monty [SunTimes viaRomenesko]

Those Days, Years, Decades After

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, there was grief, sorrow, anger, and a heightened awareness of the sacredness of life and connection. In tribute to the dead, many of us vowed we would never forget the perspective this tragedy gave us. Beliefnet's coverage explores the spiritual impact two years later--with comments, prayers & reflections by Beliefnet members, clergy, 9/11
· Survivors! Still Shaking as we are reading this... [Belief Net]

There are Few Flawless Victories
The Second World War in Europe began in defense of Poland's freedom against Nazi tyranny. It ended in a tremendous Allied victory, but left Poland subject to an alternate despotism.
· Victories [NYPost]
· 9/11 [TNR]

Transparency and accountability

Ministerial staff: a need for transparency and accountability?

In this submission to the Senate inquiry into the staff of members of parliament, Anne Tiernan and Patrick Weller identify five core problems with the ministerial staff system as it has evolved. They argue that the system has outgrown the arrangements designed to support and control it; that it is premised on a number of myths and assumptions that have become redundant as the staffing institution has evolved; that the roles and responsibilities of ministerial staff and the public service are ill-defined, undermining the quality of advice and support to ministers; that there is too little public information about the operations of the staffing system.
· Ministerial staffing system lacks transparency [Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance, Griffith University: PDF via APO::http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/fapa_ctte/mops/submissions/sub04.doc]

Journalistic excess...

Does Aussierika not care about politics because the media doesn't cover it, or because we cover it to excess?

Much Ado About One Animal, Political
Last Sunday, in a front-page, above-the-fold story, The New York Times reported that Democratic Party leaders are "worried about the strength of their field of candidates" in the 2004 presidential race, "and fearful of what they view as President Bush's huge advantage going into next year's election." The next day, in a top-of-the-front-page story filed by the same reporter, Adam Nagourney, The Times revealed that both major political parties have fundamentally changed their White House strategies. Insiders told the paper they now want to win over "core voters" who are intensely loyal to one party, rather than the swing voters once so highly prized. Another story on the same page observed that embattled California Gov. Gray Davis is attempting a "belated personality makeover" that "seems to be partly genuine and partly orchestrated."
· Meanwhile, other political news was breaking [NationalJournal]

Unrivaled

42.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

Neoironic Fathers Submerging a Few Home Truths
What do neoconservatives believe?
Neocons believe that the United States should not be ashamed to use its unrivaled power – forcefully if necessary – to promote its values around the world. Some even speak of the need to cultivate a US empire. Neoconservatives believe modern threats facing the society can no longer be reliably contained and therefore must be prevented, sometimes through preemptive crocodile tears
· Since the 1991 Gulf War, neocons relentlessly advocated Mr. Hussein's ouster [CSMonitor ]
· The big swimmers in the big water polo game are naked & out of control, flailing around for a lifeboat while they sink ever deeper into the mire of their own hypocrisy [SMH]
· Special Sydney Morning Herald [My Favourite Paper properly indexed by librarians]

Song is the ghost of the swagman

Chief tormentor Keating's Song

The writing of The History Wars (Stuart Macintyre and Anna Clarke) is very important. The book will sit on the shelves of libraries as a sort of code stone to help people understand the motivations of players in today's contemporary debate. It sheds light on the political battle which is carried on in the pubs and on the footpaths about who we are and what has become of us. For the protagonists and antagonists in academe are now surrogates in a broader political battle about Australia's future.
· The History Wars [SMH]
· Banjo Paterson's trick: the song is the ghost of the swagman [SMH ]

September 11th, 30 Years After

Chile September 11th, 30 Years After

On September 11, 1973, a military coup cut out the democratic way of Chile. Today, 30 years after, local media are remembering what, why, and how it happened. The newspaper La Tercera has an hour by hour historical account of that day, while La Segunda offers a full biography of President Salvador Allende, who was overthrown by Augusto Pinochet and his troops. Finally, Emol.com has the private stories of 40 people, who write very personal My September 11th accounts.
Other media websites also are in the mood of remembering. Television Nacional, a state-owned TV network, has an hour-by-hour story with photos and video (including the "Palacio de la Moneda" bombing by air, and Radio Cooperativa has a wide selection of audio clips with the most important moments of that day, including the last speech of President Allende (5Mb file in MP3 format).

Now It's Your Turn

History is littered with the guilty consciences of those who chose to remain silent. It is time to speak out.

Sixty-four summers ago, when Hitler fabricated Polish provocations in his attempt to justify Germany’s invasion of Poland, there was not a peep out of senior German officials. Happily, in today’s Germany the imperative of truth-telling no longer takes a back seat to ingrained docility and knee-jerk deference to the perceived dictates of "homeland security." The most telling recent sign of this comes in a recent edition of Die Zeit, Germany’s highly respected weekly newspaper. The story, by Jochen Bittner, holds lessons for us all.
Die Zeit’s report leaves in tatters the "evidence" cited by Secretary of State Colin Powell and other administration spokesmen as the strongest proof that Iraq was using mobile trailers as laboratories to produce material for biological weapons.
· German Intelligence on Powell’s "Solid" Sources [Tom Paine]

Symbolism & substance

Politics, like any public performance, draws on symbolism as well as substance.

"The Thing About Men
I haven’t read Jon Krakauer’s new book Under the Banner of Heaven, whose subtitle is A Story of Violent Faith. But I gather from reviews that he sees a cause and effect between religious faith and murder. The New York Times Book Review quotes Krakauer as saying, as a means of motivating people to be cruel or inhumane...there may be no more potent force than religion. Evidently he has forgotten all about the 20th century, in which the most potent forces for killing people were Nazism and Communism. The truth is, self-righteousness is the real culprit, whether in the name of God or a secular ideal.
As time passes following the worst blackout in the nation's history, the focus will be on pinpointing blame and fixing problems. But before we shift to recrimination and failure, remember that every disaster has its heroes. We'd like to nominate three -- some representing a whole class of people who acted responsibly, quickly and well to mitigate a disaster that could have been far, far worse.
71-year-old Atlantic City resident, Ron Bennehoff, is typical of those who recognize the power -- and the responsibility -- of individuals to ease a crisis. Bennehoff got caught in Manhattan's rush hour blackout gridlock and decided to pitch in by directing traffic -- for three straight hours. During that time, passers-by supplied him with bottles of water and a traffic officer deputized him. After helping innumerable drivers, he finally made his way to the bus terminal and got back to Atlantic City by dawn. So many people during this blackout refused to let adversity turn into incivility. Bennehoff is one of countless such individuals.
(Used with kind permission from The Press. Thanks to Ruth Rundgren for submission)

Officially denied

Claude Cockburn dictum applies today as much to investors as it does journalists: ,i>Never believe anything until it is officially denied.
Whistleblower says he just wanted Coke to listen

Matthew Whitley wanted to work for Coca-Cola so much he submitted his resume 15 times. After getting hired, the auditor and finance manager drank nothing but water and Coke and decorated a room in his house with company trinkets.
Eleven years after getting his dream job, Whitley is just drinking water. His wife sold the Coke plates, glasses and memorabilia at a garage sale. He is out of his $140,000-a-year job after accusing officials of the world's largest soft drink maker of shady accounting and fraudulent marketing practices.
· Coke denies insider information allegations [ StAugustine]
· Boeing denies insider information allegations [LJWorld ]

Irony

Ackley's Translation of Gray Davis's Speech"

Governor Gray Davis recently gave a speech to open his anti-Recall campaign, but writer Michael Ackley thought it needed translating and interpreting. Michael's writing usually contains satire and parody based on current events, and thus may mix fact with fiction. He assumes informed readers will be able to tell which is which.
· Irony [ChronWatch]

Irony of corporate welfare

We do hope and trust here at the MD that the irony of corporate welfare is not lost on our readers.

A Little Irony in North Carolina

US Airways is one of the largest airlines in the world. It had more than $8 billion in sales last year. TIAA-CREF is a retirement fund for educators with more than $250 billion in assets. What do these two business giants have in common? They are likely to receive $5 million in sales tax incentives from the state of North Carolina.
· Incentives [TaxAnalyst ]

Never believe anything until it is officially denied

Claude Cockburn dictum applies today as much to investors as it does journalists: Never believe anything until it is officially denied.

Whistleblower says he just wanted Coke to listen

Matthew Whitley wanted to work for Coca-Cola so much he submitted his resume 15 times. After getting hired, the auditor and finance manager drank nothing but water and Coke and decorated a room in his house with company trinkets.
Eleven years after getting his dream job, Whitley is just drinking water. His wife sold the Coke plates, glasses and memorabilia at a garage sale. He is out of his $140,000-a-year job after accusing officials of the world's largest soft drink maker of shady accounting and fraudulent marketing practices.
· Coke denies insider information allegations [ StAugustine]
· Boeing denies insider information allegations [LJWorld ]

Do you call this capitalism?

Do you call this capitalism?

Capitalism is advancing as it sheds its classical skin. Marxist predictions have been fulfilled -- at least in part.
A century and a half ago, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels predicted the fall of capitalism. The socialist revolution was expected to happen in the most, not least, advanced capitalist states, where the contradiction between poverty and wealth is greatest. What happened in 1917 was just the opposite. The socialist revolution took place in Russia, not Germany or Britain, as Marx had predicted. Marxists chose to ignore this small detail and for the ensuing 70 years maintained that the Bolshevik revolution was the culmination of the Marxist doctrine. Some still hold on to this belief. Anti- communists, of course, point out this historic anomaly, calling it a flaw in Marxist thinking.
· Flaws [Ahram ]

The workplace pursuit of happiness

It's time to bring to the workplace the principles of democracy, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Working In America Jobs Without Power

This is the first of a series of bi-weekly columns by Jonathan Tasini called "Working In America."
For at least half their waking hours, the American people live in a dictatorship. At home or in public places, Americans enjoy a measure of freedom and liberty envied by most people around the world: freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of association (true, John Ashcroft is trying to change all that but that's another story). But, the moment Americans walk through the doors of their workplace, they enter into a world that strips away all their basic rights.
· American workers live in a dictatorship. [TomPaine ]