He will be missed.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2AQXB8cg70[/youtube]
Month: August 2008 Page 7 of 9
So many times in the course of conversations about privacy and politics, people are otherwise share my same general socio-political moorings express great doubt that the US government would ever spy on people for any reason other than crime prevention.  While I’m never at a loss for counter examples, I’ll have to say that the best documented examples are often a generation or two old, and probably carry a little less currency, as a result. Well, governments – state and federal – have been obliging me lately. First we had Maryland police closely tracking the activities of dangerous people like anti-death penalty activists, and now we’ve got a straight admission from the FBI that it spied on reporters from the Washington Post and New York Times.
It not only can happen here, it *does* happen here.
That’s a title I have to say that I didn’t expect to be writing about with any seriousness. Yet here we are, with Russia and Georgia facing off over South Ossetia:
The president of the separatist region, nestled in the Caucasus mountains, said 1,400 people had been killed. Moscow said its troops were responding to a Georgian assault to take back the region.
This is a big deal, and the US is rather involved with things there. US-Georgia relations are generally pretty good, and Georgia has been seeking NATO membership for a while (something that – were it in place now – conceivably require a US military response to the Russian movements, today). Not sure where the best news source for this is yet, but if I find one, I’ll post it here.
Update: Understandably, Georgia’s taking 1,000 of its troops out of Iraq and bringing them home. The discomfitting bit? The US is the one doing the transportation. Wired’s (excellent) Danger Room blog gives us some general background on the Georgia-US military relationship:
Since 2002, the U.S. military has been providing Georgia with a serious amount of military assistance, beginning with the Georgia Train and Equip Program in 2002. I first visited Georgia’s Krtsanisi training range in fall of 2002, when the Georgian military was still little more of a militia, with some of the troops wearing sneakers and surplus Soviet uniforms.
[ . . . ]
Officially, SSOP was supposed to prepare Georgians for service in Iraq. But Georgian trainees I spoke to in 2006 at the Krtsanisi training range saw things a bit differently. A female sergeant told me: “This training is incredibly important for us, because we want to take back Georgia’s lost territories.â€
There are no innocent actors here, and the US public should keep its eye on this (even if its President is busy playing games in China).
I’ll let you sort the connection.
The plan, at the moment, is to stay up to watch the Olympic men’s road race (cycling), which runs well past 3am EDT. So given 1) the events of the day, and 2) that I’ll have the time, later, I think I’ll make this a double header. The first edition will start off with actual children’s songs, from different generations. The second edition? More about children than for them.
The first comes from the Animaniacs, and fits well with the Olympic theme I seem to have, today:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDtdQ8bTvRc[/youtube]
The next comes from a special Sesame Street effort by Fiest:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fciD_II7NI[/youtube]
And finally, a song/video that I will always hold near and dear – Rupert and the Frog Song:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0auCDOERZyE[/youtube]
Objectively, the Olympics are a scam. It’s a conspiracy between global corporations interested in advertising, local governments looking for an excuse to shovel public money to favored private contractors, and the Skekis (also known as the International Olympic Committee) who suck the lifeblood out of young men and women. If this were the last Olympics ever, it would probably be a net good for the world.
But it won’t be. So make of it what you will. Living in the center of the ’96 Olympics was among the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. The people, the energy, the – forgive me, Francis – post-history feeling to all of it (it was 1996, after all). Not even some wingnut with a bomb could ruin it for us. After the experience of those couple of weeks, I will always be up for hanging out in an Olympic city.
It’s more than a party, though. It’s – despite NBC’s best efforts to ensure I never care about someone’s triumphantly-overcoming-tragedy again – the story of thousands of people who have busted their ass for most of their lives to be there. It’s the amazing people it produces, like Otto Peltzer (follow and read that). It’s people.
And finally, it’s among the very few events where we can truly say that “the world is watching.” And that, my friends, leads to profound and important actions like this:
The Olympics can still be shaped by individuals. All of the people in these (amazing) Opening Ceremonies pictures? They are individuals, like you and me, who worked incredibly hard to be there. Don’t cede the good of the Olympics to spite the bad.
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If you want to watch the Olympics online, and live in the United States, NBCOlympics.com is probably the place for you. I say “probably”, because 1) while it will show most events live, it will delay online access for any event it plans to broadcast until *after* its been broadcast, and 2) there’s some ridiculous deal by which access is only available to those US viewers living in areas served by NBC’s “partners”. They check this by asking for a zipcode (I have a friend who lives in 22203, and it works perfectly).
If you’re getting screwed by the inability of the IOC and world broadcasters to find a way to make the Olympics accesible to you, you might be interested in this article on the “alternative” means of watching the events.
DC is forever trying to claim that it’s a city on par with NYC. It isn’t, of course, but I’d love to see that ambition (delusion?) fuel a copycat attempt at this:
Summer Streets will take place for three consecutive Saturdays in August (August 9, 16, & 23) from 7:00 am – 1:00 pm. The route will connect the Brooklyn Bridge with Central Park [,in addition to closing down a continuous route the length of Manhattan] and there will be recommended connections to the Hudson River Greenway, allowing participants to plan a route as long or short as they wish.
This event takes a valuable public space – our City’s streets – and opens them up to people to play, walk, bike, and breathe. Summer Streets provides more space for healthy recreation and is a part of NYC’s greening initiative by encouraging New Yorkers to use more sustainable forms of transportation.
Click for the map. Impressive.
Nothing much else to say about this, I guess.
Update: from Elizabeth Edwards.
The end of another week. So much to write about, so little time. Here’s what I wish I’d talked more about, this week:
Steve Clemons takes Obama to task for abandoning his Muslim-American outreach chief over an absolutely ridiculous issue (brief concurrent corporate board service with a questionable fellow):
I think that this is outrageous — and those on the left who appreciate Obama and what he may mean for this country must become as tenaciously committed to what is right and what is good — and fighting for that — because those on the other side of these debates are trying to compel Obama to dilute himself.
[ . . . ]
Obama should say it. Convince the American public that he’s not setting up a zero sum game between Muslims on one side and Christians and Jews on the other.
Obama is a Christian. I get that. I’m a secularist hard core — but I won’t stand by to watch more good people be flushed down the political drain because they are Muslims trying to work for a balanced and level playing field in America.
The rest is well worth reading.
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The Lori Drew case is a case full of disgusting facts – appalling adult behavior (on all sides) contributed to circumstances that drove a young girl to suicide. One of those adults is now being prosecuted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for violating the MySpace.com terms of use agreement. That’s right, Federal prosecutors are trying to treat not complying with those ridiculous click-through agreements on nearly every web site you use a crime. Thankfully not everyone is losing their mind over this (horrible) situation, and the EFF, Public Citizen, and others have stepped in with an amicus brief demonstrating just what a bad idea this is.
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There is an art to writing interesting reviews, and John Brownlee demonstrates it in this review of Monkeylectric . . . uh, bike lights.
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The more I read about the Bruce Ivins/anthrax story, the less I know. Serious coverup vibes coming from that.
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Here’s a test – which one of these are jokes? Bike Commuter Banned for EPO or Race Walker Banned for EPO?
Despite a childhood’s worth of disdain for things like county fairs (or even worse – instruments of torture like Kaposia Days), I’ve somehow turned into a very big fan of the Arlington County Fair. Rides for the kids, stages for musicians, shadows for teens holding hands, Best Local Vegetable competitions for gardeners, and policy information booths for dorks like me. Go check it out.
Location: Thomas Jefferson Middle School
Parking/transport: Options listed here. Parking can be a bit of a pain in the immediate vicinity. Consider parking the south ends of the Ashton Heights/Lyon Park neighborhoods (now they’ll never invite me over) and walking there. Keep in mind, however, that the pedestrian bridge at the end of N. Jackson St. is out of service. Plenty of bike racks near the school.
Indoor Hours of Operation:
Thursday, August 7 – 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Friday, August 8 – 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Saturday, August 9 – 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Sunday, August 10 – 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Outdoor Hours of Operation:
Wednesday, August 6th: 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Thursday, August 7th: 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Friday, August 8th: 10:00 am – 10:00 pm
Saturday, August 9th: 10:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sunday, August 10th:11:00 am – 10:00 pm