Tim O'Reilly: Why I support Barack Obama

(via BoingBoing)
This is great info with very interesting links to other stuff. My favorite reason here:

9/11, The War in Iraq, and the Growth of Authoritarian Government

Perhaps the most frightening thing about 9/11 is how easily we, as a nation, forgot who we are and what we stand for. We threw away the sympathy of the world by acting as though the threat of terrorism justifies the abandonment of human rights. The false intelligence and the lies that linked Iraq with the terrorists of 9/11, the abuses in Guantanamo, the drumbeat of fear that was used for political gain, all lost us the respect and moral leadership we once enjoyed. Meanwhile, Americans gave up freely the liberties that were the very foundation of our nation and made us a model for the rest of the world.

We need a clear break with that sordid epoch. John McCain is as outraged by Guantanamo as Barack Obama, but he continues the misplaced focus of American foreign policy on Iraq. And he seems to share the Bush administration's idea that terrorism is the greatest threat facing this country.

Barack Obama has outlined a commitment to extricate ourselves from a colossal foreign policy mistake. This plan, derided as naive by the Republicans, is in line with the wishes of the Iraqis, and will allow us to realign our foreign policy priorities to deal with far more substantial threats to our national interest.

But more importantly, it is itself a strategic move in "the war on terror. " By invading Iraq, we created a haven for terrorism that didn't previously exist. Even worse, we gave them exactly what they wanted, an enemy that could serve as a recruiting tool.

And we played completely into their hands here in America as well! What, after all, is the goal of terrorism? To disrupt the society of an enemy by creating an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty.

Al Quaeda no longer needs to do anything to create that atmosphere of fear. Our government does that for them! From the horrific -- abuses of civil rights that undermine fundamental constitutional freedoms -- to the ridiculous -- what Bruce Schneier has so ably criticized as security theater that has increased the costs and inconvenience of travel while providing no added security, the Bush administration has acted the puppet to Osama bin Laden's game plan.

On the internet, we know how to deal with people who try to disrupt our activities. While griefers are not the same as terrorists, the same principle applies. We say, "Don't feed the trolls!"

Even without any overt action, an Obama presidency will undermine the aims of terror by providing a clear break with the past, a break with the policies that have made America more of a target for terrorism than we were before 9/11.

My hope -- and I'll admit that it's only a hope -- is that Obama is smart enough to know, like Roosevelt, that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself," and will use the power of the presidency to reverse the fear-driven policies of the past seven years.

Perhaps the most alarming aspect of what has happened in those years is the way that fear has been used to claim extraordinary power for the Presidency. Those of you who know my background know that my degree is in Greek and Latin Classics. So it's perhaps forgivable that historical parallels with ancient Rome are quick to come to my mind. The claims of the Bush administration to be above the law, its claims that the threat of terrorism demand the suspension of civil liberties, are eerily reminiscent of the events that led to the end of the Roman Republic. Faced with an invasion by pirates (the terrorists of 68 BC), Pompey the Great was given extraordinary powers. Within a decade, Rome was a dictatorship, led by the one Senator who had supported Pompey's exaggerated claims, Julius Caesar.

Of course, we are a long way from that point, but the drift of our country towards authoritarianism is alarming. John McCain has been trying to paint Obama as the candidate of big government. Yet it is the Right, not the Left, that is bringing us the biggest, most powerful, most centralized, and most intrusive government that America has ever seen. Many members of the technical community have libertarian leanings; you should vote for Obama for this reason alone!

I don't see evidence in Obama's platform that he has come to explicit grips with this issue. But it is seems far more likely to me that any Supreme Court justices he appoints will be more inclined to stop this mad slide towards an authoritarian society than the candidates who might be proposed by John McCain. I do know that the technological sophistication and political predilections of Obama's advisors will be to warn of the slippery slope that awaits us if we continue down the path of fear, with the tools of technology applied to end freedom rather than to increase it.

NSA Spying, Winter Soldier, Impeachment, ACLU, IVAW

A good 10 minutes. You are not alone.

Good news: Data driftnets rejected as both bad and wrong

In an astounding feat of intelligent analysis and courage, a privacy and terrorism commission composed of technical experts funded by Homeland Security (USA) has reported that sifting through everyone's information about everything will not be an effective way to detect terrorists. Plus it would cause a lot of innocent people's doors to be kicked in, which is "un-American." They recommend revamping privacy laws to make them more coherent and protective and using traditional methods to look for terrorists.

Truly a triumph of mathematics and civil rights over fear.

Next let's elect people who will prevent the government from collecting and purchasing and seizing data on everyone. Because that's un-American too. And un-British, and un-Australian.

Anyway, a little good news in our handbasket to hell this week. Check the comments on the article too. Some intelligent life is out there.

Olbermann: Palin's own anti-American associates (her husband, for one)

In case the mainstream media forgets to mention it ... here's a little concrete. This woman who would be president is looking scarier (and more desperate and out of control) by the minute.

Ray of sunshine from the Supremes

In a stunning show of interest in the Constitution, today the US Supreme Court decided the alleged terrorist detainees in Cuba can appeal their status. This is great because due process will tend to discover who is who and what is what if it's allowed to proceed.

We can hope the end of Gitmo is near, thus closing a shameful period in US history, where the imperial president made up laws and ignored others at whim. If those people are really "unlawful combatants" then no one should fear giving them their day in court. Imprisonment without fair trial or legal representation is so Middle Ages, so Middle East.

But what about those rumored prison ships and "extreme renditions" abroad? One can hope the Court will also put a stop to those. In a just world, there would be prosecution for the idiots who decided that was a good idea too.

Philly cops charged in attack on graffiti artist

Cops break this guy's jaw, knock out some teeth, then try to cover it up. PD vows to stop the violence.

Most larger police depts in the USA seem to have a few bone breakers and shoot-first guys working for them, and those guys get most of the excessive force complaints, statistically. It would be great if these thugs could all be forced to find other jobs before they kill people. It would be REALLY GREAT if the police departments would fire them before they become front page news. When the courts have to step in to clean up the PD, the thugs should all go to jail.

If the goal is to have citizens obey the law, it's essential for the police and elected officials to toe that line and to be punished when they don't. Terrorizing citizens is not something civilized society should allow its police to do. Document, publish, and complain when you see it go down, because you could be saving lives.

Thanks to David Vernitsky for fighting this good fight in Philly. We sure hope he's recovering well from his awful injuries.

Kudos to the Philly PD for getting rid of the violent offenders on the force.

We hope the wedding-party-killing NYPD thugs don't go unpunished either. The courts really let the people down on that one, but the department is taking some internal action allegedly.

--from the article:

-AP

"Philly cops charged in attack on graffiti artist

By BOB LENTZ ? 9 hours ago

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? Two Philadelphia police officers accused of beating a man they saw painting graffiti were charged Tuesday with assault and falsifying records.

[...]

Authorities say Officers Sheldon Fitzgerald and Howard Hill III broke the graffiti painter's jaw on one side and dislocated it on the other before throwing him head first into the back of a patrol car. The man was never charged with a crime.

'This is an unfortunate incident, but it is in no way a reflection on the entire department,' Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said at a news conference Tuesday. 'I do think that it is another statement that excessive force just will not be tolerated in our department.'

District Attorney Lynne Abraham said her office completed its investigation into the attack on David Vernitsky earlier this month after receiving a complaint of excessive force in November.

Vernitsky had attended a wedding and was spray-painting congratulations to the couple on the wall of a beauty supply house in the city's Feltonville section when police saw him, officials said.

Vernitsky fled, but the officers caught up and beat him, kicking him in the groin, bruising his face and ribs, and knocking out three teeth, Abraham said at the news conference.

The officers released Vernitsky after they checked for outstanding warrants and found none, officials said. The 36-year-old Philadelphia man was taken by friends to a hospital, where he stayed a few days, Abraham said.

The officers didn't document their contact with Vernitsky. Instead, officials said, the pair made a false entry in their log showing they were elsewhere at the time of the beating.

Fitzgerald and Hill were suspended without pay pending trial, Ramsey said. The pair was notified of the charges Tuesday and have 72 hours to turn themselves in.

[...]

The officers, who have been on the force five years each, face charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, tampering with public records and conspiracy.

Earlier this month, a television news helicopter videotaped 18 city police officers and a transit officer kicking and beating three shooting suspects as they were dragged from their car. Ramsey said last week that four officers would be fired and four others disciplined for their roles in the beatings."

-AP

A rare dose of truth about the terrorized USA

It's rare to find anything true in the current sea of propaganda, advertisement, disinformation, and Britney. But here is something both true and provocative. Years from now, when people reflect back to this time of eroding civil rights and growing xenophobia in America, they will say what Zbigniew Brzezinski said in this article. As he says, somehow we need to elect a president who will turn things around before they get completely out of hand.

UPDATE - Petition: Afghan man sentenced to death for downloading an article about Islam and the treatment of women

UPDATE: Apparently there's an ulterior motive in having Sayed arrested and perhaps a reason to be optimistic about his fate as well according to NPR

-

See the link for a synopsis of the case and a petition you can sign. It's hard to know if public disapproval can sway foreign officials, but it's worth a try when someone's life hangs in the balance.

The document he allegedly downloaded was from Iran and about Islamic thought. Makes you wonder what they would do to people who read Western secular documents.

When a country's belief system is so shaky that authorities have to kill or imprison people for thinking outside the book, its days are numbered. Suppression leads directly to keen interest in forbidden ideas. Let's hope 23-year-old Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh and the brave women of Afghanistan survive this shameful period of their country's history, and that it passes quickly into the books itself.

Mark Klein vs Big Brother

* US spooks tap the net illegally (not just tapping terrorists, they hoover as much as they can get of everybody's business into storage)

* Mark Klein blows the whistle

* Telecoms want immunity from prosecution

* Congress, White House, (spooks), and newspapers want the story to go away

If only the truth would set us free...

Meanwhile, there's no reason to think the tapping has stopped.
Every time you talk about bombing trains in email or in a forum, think of the fascinated audience you'll have.

Thanks, Mark! This is what heroes do.
If only we had people like him in office instead.

Frontline "Homefront" - Surveillance program podcasts

Unofficial podcasts (Quicktime) of the actual broadcast from the recent Frontline program. Downloadable, scary, in RSS (if your browser does not do RSS, copy the link to your newsreader).

Official site for the Frontline program, which has other forms of video that you might be able to watch online.

Fascist America, in 10 easy steps

1 Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy

2 Create a gulag

3 Develop a thug caste

4 Set up an internal surveillance system

5 Harass citizens' groups

6 Engage in arbitrary detention and release

7 Target key individuals

8 Control the press

9 Dissent equals treason

10 Suspend the rule of law

Criticize Bush or go to a peace rally and get on do-not-fly list!

This is so wrong, so illegal, so appalling, words fail me. The effective response to this type of abuse of power is for everyone to do these things and thus render the list useless. (Clearly the list is already useless, but you know what I mean.)

If we are afraid, the terrorists win; if we are ignorant, the fanatics win

Great article from Kung Fu Monkey.
"There are a million factors in this New World of Terror. You weigh 'em, you process, and then you move on.

"You move on, building a better international society so that luddite fundamentalist criminal gangs/cults of personality are further and further marginalized.

"Or, if you don't understand 4th Generation Warfare at all, you move on, bombing the shit out of nation-states and handing your opponents massive PR victories. Either way, you move the fuck on."

Speaking of luddite fundamentalist idiots, it's so nice to hear something rational now and again here in the land where we argue about whether science has any merit or if instead you should believe whatever you like. Lawrence Krauss suggests the real question might be whether the ignorant and poorly educated should be in charge of schools and curricula. (nytimes):

"The chairman of the [Kansas, USA] school board ... has openly stated that he believes that God created the universe 6,500 years ago .....?

"... the age of the earth, and the universe, is no more a matter of religious faith than is the question of whether or not the earth is flat."

[Nay, indeed, it is testable. Science is fascinating and exciting, kids. Please look into it. Careers await you that can change the world for the better, really. Be both skeptical and informed.]

Noam Chomsky: There is No War on Terror

"Well, the first thing that should be done in Iraq is for us to be serious about what's going on. There is almost no serious discussion, I'm sorry to say, across the spectrum, of the question of withdrawal. The reason for that is that we are under a rigid doctrine in the West, a religious fanaticism, that says we must believe that the United States would have invaded Iraq even if its main product was lettuce and pickles, and the oil resources of the world were in Central Africa. Anyone who doesn't believe that is condemned as a conspiracy theorist, a Marxist, a madman, or something. Well, you know, if you have three gray cells functioning, you know that that's perfect nonsense. The U.S. invaded Iraq because it has enormous oil resources, mostly untapped, and it's right in the heart of the world's energy system. Which means that if the U.S. manages to control Iraq, it extends enormously its strategic power, what Zbigniew Brzezinski calls its critical leverage over Europe and Asia. Yeah, that's a major reason for controlling the oil resources -- it gives you strategic power. Even if you're on renewable energy you want to do that. So that's the reason for invading Iraq, the fundamental reason.

"Now let's talk about withdrawal. Take any day's newspapers or journals and so on. They start by saying the United States aims to bring about a sovereign democratic independent Iraq. I mean, is that even a remote possibility? Just consider what the policies would be likely to be of an independent sovereign Iraq. If it's more or less democratic, it'll have a Shiite majority. They will naturally want to improve their linkages with Iran, Shiite Iran. Most of the clerics come from Iran. The Badr Brigade, which basically runs the South, is trained in Iran. They have close and sensible economic relationships which are going to increase. So you get an Iraqi/Iran loose alliance. Furthermore, right across the border in Saudi Arabia, there's a Shiite population which has been bitterly oppressed by the U.S.-backed fundamentalist tyranny. And any moves toward independence in Iraq are surely going to stimulate them, it's already happening. That happens to be where most of Saudi Arabian oil is. Okay, so you can just imagine the ultimate nightmare in Washington: a loose Shiite alliance controlling most of the world's oil, independent of Washington and probably turning toward the East, where China and others are eager to make relationships with them, and are already doing it. Is that even conceivable? The U.S. would go to nuclear war before allowing that, as things now stand.

"Now, any discussion of withdrawal from Iraq has to at least enter the real world, meaning, at least consider these issues. Just take a look at the commentary in the United States, across the spectrum. How much discussion do you see of these issues? Well, you know, approximately zero, which means that the discussion is just on Mars."

.... and other stuff worth reading as always. Noam brings it home. Check it out. Search out some of his online audio also. It's great.