And more on the ongoing FISA battle...

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And Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts said the president was using “the specter of terrorism” to push his own agenda.

“If the telecommunications companies didn’t break the law, they do not need immunity,” the senator said. “If they broke the law, the American people deserve to know the size and scope of their lawbreaking. Adhering to the rule of law would not ‘aid our enemies’ — it would uphold the very principles we are fighting for. The President’s position has nothing to do with protecting Americans and everything to do with sweeping under the rug illegal activity by his administration and his corporate partners.”

- Bush Calls Surveillance Bill an ‘Urgent Priority’

If there was illegal activity, Senator, why no impeachment?!?!

There's more than enough evidence of wrongdoing. There should be impeachment. There needs to be impeachment.

(Also, there needs to be no immunity or warrantless wiretapping of Americans in FISA, too!)

BTW, Sean posted a very funny link in a comment on the Olbermann post... the following quote and picture are from the article:

Commenting on the action, and responding to questions about pending privacy litigation and the stalled Congressional effort to shield the telecoms from these lawsuits, NSA spokesperson [REDACTED] remarked: "[REDACTED] we [REDACTED] condone [REDACTED] warrantless [REDACTED], [REDACTED] SIGINT intercepts, [REDACTED] torture [REDACTED] information retrieval by [REDACTED] means necessary."

- NSA Gets the Best AT&T Coverage Around

More Good Stuff from Olbermann

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This is a timeline of the intermixing of politics and "credible evidence of terrorist threats" as laid out by Keith Olbermann a few days ago. Good stuff.

A Lead on the Ark of the Covenant?

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This is an interesting story about a guy who thinks he tracked down the Ark of the Covenant. He thinks he traced it somewhere into Africa: Zimbabwe to be precise.

In the end, he thinks he tracked it to a burned out husk of a 400 year old replica of the Ark. (Sorry to spoil the story!) It is an interesting read though...

In the 1980s Parfitt lived with a Southern African clan called the Lemba, who claimed to be a lost tribe of Israel. Colleagues laughed at him for backing the claim; in 1999, a genetic marker specific to descendents of Judaism's Temple priests (cohens) was found to appear as frequently among the Lemba's priestly cast as in Jews named Cohen. The Lemba — and Parfitt — made global news.

Parfitt started wondering about another aspect of the Lemba's now-credible oral history: a drumlike object called the ngoma lungundu. The ngoma, according to the Lemba, was near-divine, used to store ritual objects, and borne on poles inserted into rings. It was too holy to touch the ground or to be touched by non-priests, and it emitted a "Fire of God" that killed enemies and, occasionally, Lemba. A Lemba elder told Parfitt, "[It] came from the temple in Jerusalem. We carried it down here through Africa."

- from the article: A Lead on the Ark of the Covenant

Keith Olbermann on Bush

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I find that I am enjoying Keith Olbermann more and more.

Apparently, last night on the MSNBC show, Countdown, he issued a "scathing commentary" on Bush. You can read about it here. I've only had the chance to watch some of the video footage, but it appears to be included at the bottom of the article. I've also found it on YouTube, and embedded it below. Good stuff.



In related news:

"The Democratic-led House of Representatives defied President George W. Bush on Friday and recessed without replacing an expiring spy law with one that would shield telephone companies from lawsuits."

- Democrats defy Bush on spy program and immunity

That's good news. Now, I hope they keep it up when they get back.

"The lot of you," [Keith Olbermann] said, speaking of those who sought to pass [telecom immunity], "are the symbolic descendants of the despotic middle managers of some banana republic, to whom 'Freedom' is an ironic brand name, a word you reach for, when you want to get away with its opposite."

- Olbermann: Bush 'panoramic invasion of privacy' is terrorism - source: The Raw Story

"You are a liar, Mr. Bush, and after showing some skill at it, you have ceased to even be a very good liar"

- Keith Olbermann - Olbermann: Bush 'panoramic invasion of privacy' is terrorism - source: The Raw Story

Robert Wexler Rocks

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Filesharing in Sweden

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This is an interesting quote on the difference between theft and filesharing. The linked article (look at the quote's source) is also interesting as it talks about Sweden's stance on the issue.

I also included some other quotes from the article below.

"...Akko argued that filesharing can’t be compared to theft, as theft is when someone takes away the possibility for another person to use something, whereas filesharing only creates a new copy without erasing the original."

- from the article: The Pirate Bay and Filesharers Backed by Swedish Politicians

"You could argue that filesharing hinders some people from earning as much money as they would have if filesharing was not possible. But now it is possible, the technology is there, and then the industry needs to find new ways of handling it. They’ve had the chance to work on new ways for 10 years but haven’t come up with much else than silly trailers that say filesharing is theft. […] When new technology emerges, it’s not necessarily it that must be adapted to the old ways. Sometimes, the industry itself must adapt."

- Akko Karlsson, member of the Swedish Green Party’s executive board (from the above article)

"Because there is also the democratic aspect of this,” she says, “There are so many people under repressive regimes for whom filesharing and the Internet is the link to the rest of the world that inspires, gives hope and makes it endurable to fight for human rights and democracy. The state’s control system is expanding. We used to heavily criticize the intrusions of privacy and control systems in place behind the Iron Curtain, but now we are building this ourselves."

- Akko Karlsson, member of the Swedish Green Party’s executive board (from the above article)

"New technologies mean we as legislators are faced with an entirely new reality. Tougher measures against filesharing means risking the police’s possibilities of fighting child pornography and organized crime. It is worrying that the Minister of Justice doesn’t seem to realize this. For The Green Party, this is one of the main arguments of legalizing non-commercial downloading. […] The Minister of Justice should leave to the industry to clear up the mess they have made for themselves. Judicial resources should be diverted to fight severe online criminality instead of hunting filesharing sixteen-year-olds."

- Lage Rahm, member of the Swedish Parliament (see also the above article)

Spotlight on Norah Jones

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Daniel and I have been bored, and, while playing in the playground sometime called YouTube, we discovered a cache of interesting Norah Jones performances. Namely, odd combinations pairing her amazingly talented voice with the voice(s) of others. Here, courtesy of YouTube, is a sampling. (Note: Please also watch the Nickelback Sucks video in the proceeding post...I made both posts tonight.)


Norah Jones....and Dolly Parton?!? Yea, it works.


Norah Jones and Willie Nelson


Norah Jones...and Keith Richards!?!?! (Keith Richards = comic relief)


Bonnie Raitt & Norah Jones


Norah Jones and Kris Kristopherson


Norah Jones - Tribute to Johnny Cash (I wish a real collaboration could of happened here...)


Norah Jones and Ray Charles (a fan video)


Just Norah Jones - Don't Know Why (Live)

"Love is like a flame, it burns you when it's hot"

- Love Hurts - written by: Boudleaux Bryant (this was not the original lyrics, but this is from the version in the Keith Richards / Norah Jones video and was first recorded that way by Nazareth

Random Quote for the Day

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So, we were watching this video of the not so talented band known as Nickelback (don't ask), and there was this awesome quote at the end. Here's the video, and, after it, (in case you lack the Nickelback resistant stomach to watch it) is the quote.


Nickelback - If Everyone Cared (the video is pretty cool, even if the band is not so great)



Nickelback Sucks (awesomeness!)

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

- Margaret Mead

Conan vs. Colbert and Stewart

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The three best late night tv shot hosts do not have any writers at the moment, the list of their names does not include Letterman or Leno, and the pricelessness of the following clip can not be overstated...

Language has always been important in politics, but language is incredibly important to the present political struggle. Because if you can establish an atmosphere in which information doesn't mean anything, then there is no objective reality. The first show we did, a year ago, was our thesis statement: What you wish to be true is all that matters, regardless of the facts. Of course, at the time, we thought we were being farcical.

- Stephen Colbert - New York Magazine interview, October 16, 2006