January 29, 2003
Bush on Hydrogen
Bush in his State of the Union Address last night, President Bush proposed $1.2 billion to research hydrogen powered cars. Hydrogen is, at the tail pipe, the cleanest of energy sources. When burned, it simply recombines with oxygen creating water vapor. Yet, what Bush failed to mention is that the only economically viable source of hydrogen today is Natural Gas, a product of the petroleum industry. Processing Natural Gas involves high temperatures and releases carbon dioxide. Other sources of hydrogen include electrolyzing water. Electricity can be used to break water into hydrogen and oxygen yet the amount of electricity required is greater than the amount of energy released by the reformation. Further, the source of this electricity has to be taken into account when one is seeking a truly “Green” fuel for vehicles. It makes no sense at all if you are burning oil, coal or running a nuclear power plant to create hydrogen for your car.
So the current administrative push for hydrogen powered cars is an attempt to sound like an environmentalist, to express a little concern clean air, but in fact it is another bone thrown to the petroleum industry and to create new markets for natural gas.
January 24, 2003
Serious New SQL Server Exploit
There is a new SQL Server worm running rampant right now. Seems that the attack began about an hour ago and some ISPs are reporting 10-15 hits per sec.
Read more about this here.
Partial Victory against TIA
Our Senator Wyden has given us a partial victory against John Poindexter's Total Information Awareness project. A provision added unanimously to the Senate spending bill restricts TIA and would defund it under certain conditions. This provision must survive the Conference Committee on the budget to become law.
Full story :
News: Senate curbs Pentagon data-mining plans
January 23, 2003
Vote Yes on Measure 28
It's hard to support a tax increase (let alone taxes at all) yet at this time, we have a very poor choice ahead of us. Schools are being closed due to a shortage of funds. The legislature is caught in a quagmire of deal making, maneuvering and deceit and we are now left with one simple choice: increase income tax or close more schools. I’m no fan of taxes yet Measure 28 is very modest and expires in 2005.Please vote today and support Measure 28.
Ballots can be dropped off at the library and ballots are due by January 28.
Here's what others are saying:
Poll showing 48/48 split on Measure 28 with 4% undecided.
Yes on 28
OCPP on 28
Master Keys Cracked
Uber Coder Matt Blaze has cracked real space. By applying cryptoanalysis to door locks he's figured out to make a master key with a file with just a few attempts.
Read the NY Times storyhere.
January 22, 2003
January 16, 2003
Opposition to the USA Patriot Act grows
Local opposition to the USA PATRIOT Act continues to grow as the local activist group, "Ashland Patriots" completes a draft resolution to define how city employees will be able to participate in USA PATRIOT Act enforcement. The Resolution will be presented to the City Council at the Jan 21 meeting by Cate Hartzell.
Read the complete text of the resolution at Ashland.net
related stories:
Mail Tribune Jan 10 - Civil rights worry prompts action
Nov 25 2002 - The Eugene City Council Passes a Resolution Opposing the USA Patriot Act
January 15, 2003
Live on RadioFreeAshland
Two live shows coming up on
January 13, 2003
March on Medford Jan 18
Friends,
Please join me in the National Day of Action Honoring Martin Luther King's
Birthday and His Legacy of Peace and Justice on Saturday January 18. A group
will be gathering at the Ashland Place at 8:45am and leaving 9am for Alba
Park in Medford. We will be marching along Highway 99 and people will be
joining the joining the march all along the route. We expect to arrive at
the Federal Building by 2pm and a rally will follow. Speakers include Peter
Buckley, Rev. Paul Robinson and Rev. Caren Caldwell. Musicians and other
speakers TBA.
There will be vehicles to return people to Ashland.
The event is sponsored by Peace House and SO ANSWER and endorsed by the
Jackson County Green Party. For more information call Peace House at
482-9625 or 488-6447 or call me.
If you can't march on Medford, please do come to the Rally at 2pm.
Thank you!
January 08, 2003
How I Learned to Love the Policy State
After a full day of serious headlines, the Daily Show provides some reprieve. With hints of Dr Strangelove, enjoy this video from Comedy Central :
So you're living in a police state
Letter to the Editor
In response to an article in the Mail Tribune I wrote the following letter to the Editor.
Dear Editor,
The Iran-Contra affair is a serious blemish on our nation's recent history. A cadre of administration officials conspired to circumvent Federal law and sells weapons to Iran, in order to fund a guerilla army in Nicaragua. The Contra forces were responsible for tens of thousands of deaths including the assassination of Ben Linder of Portland.
The 14 conspirators included Ollie North, Robert McFarlane, Elliot Abrams (currently an Assistant Secretary of State), Richard Secord, and Casper Weinberger. Abrams plead guilty and Weinberger was pardoned before his trial.
John Poindexter was convicted of 5 felonies including obstruction of justice and lying to Congress. His conviction was overturned by a court on the grounds that the jury was influenced by prior testimony he had given to Congress under immunity. He is now Director of the Information Awareness Office, a military research effort to create a government database of all personal information including email, credit card purchases and travel history. His "Total Information Awareness Program" will enable domestic surveillance with an incredible level of detail.
The Walsh Investigation details the known evidence (the Reagan Administration refused to declassify all appropriate documents requested) and is available at the Federation of American Scientists' website http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/. The evidence is overwhelming.
George H.W. Bush's "New World Order" was characterized by government officials operating outside of the law, subverting the will of Congress with complete disrespect for the US Constitution. Today we are faced with a predominantly complicit Congress unwilling to stand up against the Bush/Cheney regime. What scandals are already lurking within the walls of the Pentagon, and among the bureaucrats given high level green lights with a wink and a nod? What scorn for the rule of law and the Constitution permeates our Federal Government today?
January 03, 2003
Still standin
Harvey Silvergate writes in the Boston Phoenix, "Although the ground has rumbled beneath the twin pillars of American civil liberties, judicial review and free speech are still intact". Read the whole editorial -
News and Features | Still standin.
He considers an independent judicial system and the right of the American people to dissent to be the lynch pin rights. As long as they remain intact. there is hope.
January 01, 2003
UN Violations
One US excuse for waging war against Iraq is their scorn for UNSC Resolutions. Yet, this analysis shows that many countries are in violation of UNSC Resolutions as well. Are we going to invade Turkey or Israel? Is this a good reason to invade a country?
United Nations Security Council Resolutions Currently Being Violated by Countries Other than Iraq
This list deals exclusively with resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, a fifteen-member body consisting of five permanent members (the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom) and ten non-permanent members elected for rotating two-year terms representing various regions of the world. The Security Council's primary responsibility, under the UN Charter, is for the maintenance of international peace and security. For a resolution to pass, it must be approved by a majority of the total membership with no dissenting vote from any of the five permanent members. Since the early 1970s, the United States has used its veto power nearly fifty times, more than all other permanent members during that same period combined. In the vast majority of these cases, the U.S. was the only dissenting vote. The preceding list, therefore, includes only resolutions where the United States voted in the affirmative or abstained.