Il n'y rien en ce moment qui fait plus peur à l'administration Bush que le deal qu'est en train de négocier Jack Abramoff, un puissant lobbyiste du parti républicain, afin d'éviter la prison. En effet, c'est plus d'une vingtaine d'élus républicains qui pourraient tomber avec lui.
Extrait de l'article:
Abramoff‘s cooperation would be a boon to an ongoing Justice Department investigation of congressional corruption, possibly helping prosecutors build criminal cases against up to 20 lawmakers and their staff members.
The deal could be completed before then, the sources said. Abramoff could sign the plea agreement and exchange it with prosecutors via fax over the weekend, they said.
Voir Wikipedia, pour une belle description de cette charmante personne.
31.12.05
Jack Abramoff
30.12.05
Things get hard? Change the subject..
Can't get out of an unjustified war without losing? Get into another one, for the same reasons.
Good luck George.
From Der Spiegel, via Americablog.
...But the growing likelihood of the military option is back in the headlines in Germany thanks to a slew of stories that have run in the national media here over the holidays.
The most talked about story is a Dec. 23 piece by the German news agency DDP from journalist and intelligence expert Udo Ulfkotte. The story has generated controversy not only because of its material, but also because of the reporter's past. Critics allege that Ulfkotte in his previous reporting got too close to sources at Germany's foreign intelligence agency, the BND. But Ulfkotte has himself noted that he has been under investigation by the government in the past (indeed, his home and offices have been searched multiple times) for allegations that he published state secrets -- a charge that he claims would underscore rather than undermine the veracity of his work.
According to Ulfkotte's report, "western security sources" claim that during CIA Director Porter Goss' Dec. 12 visit to Ankara, he asked Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to provide support for a possibile 2006 air strike against Iranian nuclear and military facilities. More specifically, Goss is said to have asked Turkey to provide unfettered exchange of intelligence that could help with a mission.
DDP also reported that the governments of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman and Pakistan have been informed in recent weeks of Washington's military plans. The countries, apparently, were told that air strikes were a "possible option," but they were given no specific timeframe for the operations.
André Pratte strikes again
Je le cite intégralement, puisque LaPresse fait disparaître ses articles après une semaine.
APPUI AUX LIBÉRAUX?
Question de F. Perrier
AlleZ Monsieur Pratte, votre réponse à la question de Monsieur s.lefebvre est tout simplement farfelue. Tout le monde suivant le moindrement la politique sait que La Presse et ses quotidiens affiliés soutiennent le parti Libéral Québec et Canada. C'est bien connu. Par contre, je dois dire que cela me permet de voir certains autres point de vue auxquels je ne m'arrête pas toujours. Par contre, je dois avouer que vous me faites souvent dresser les cheveux sur la tête lorsque je vous lis le matin.
Joyeuses fêtes !
Frédérick Perrier
Réponse
M. Perrier,
Votre courriel est fondé sur une prémisse erronée. La Presse ne soutient pas les partis libéral du Québec et du Canada. Au cours des dernières années, les éditorialistes de La Presse (et non la rédaction, qui reste neutre) ont appuyé les conservateurs, les libéraux, et parfois personne. Lors des élections fédérales de 2004, nous avons souhaité la formation d'un gouvernement minoritaire, de quelque parti qu'il soit.
Nous appuyons cependant l'unité du Canada. Nous sommes convaincus que le Québec est mieux à même de prospérer au sein de la fédération canadienne, comme le démontrent amplement les progrès du Québec au cours des dernières décennies. C'est en raison de cette conviction que nous n'avons jamais appuyé un parti souverainiste. Cette position est aussi légitime que celle d'autres quotidiens qui, eux, appuient la souveraineté. La démocratie se nourrit de la diversité d'opinions.
Joyeuses fêtes,
André Pratte
Il est amusant de se remémorer le congédiement de Chantal Hébert et de le contraster avec les propos dégoulinants de mauvaise foi de Pratte. Diversité d'opinion? Rédaction neutre? C'est ça.
Are you drowning in the sea of comprehensive sex ed?
The Abstinence Survival Kit (ASK!) to the rescue.
Mel Gibson
Via C&L. Ça vaut la peine de lire ces petits extraits d'entrevue de Mel Gibson avec Playboy à propos des femmes, de la politique et de l'évolution.
Ex.:
PLAYBOY: Do you believe in Darwin's theory of evolution or that God created man in his image?
GIBSON: The latter.
PLAYBOY: So you can't accept that we descended from monkeys and apes?
GIBSON: No, I think it's bullshit. If it isn't, why are they still around? How come apes aren't people yet? It's a nice theory, but I can't swallow it.
Comment savoir si votre courriel est "lu" par Echelon
Via Boingboing.
Extrait:
With all of the controversy about the news that the NSA has been monitoring, since 9/11, telephone calls and email messages of Americans, some folks might now be wondering if they are being snooped on. Here's a quick and easy method to see if one's email messages are being read by someone else.
The steps are:
1. Set up a Hotmail account.
2. Set up a second email account with a non-U.S. provider. (eg. Rediffmail.com)
3. Send messages between the two accounts which might be interesting to the NSA.
4. In each message, include a unique URL to a Web server that you have access to its server logs. This URL should only be known by you and not linked to from any other Web page. The text of the message should encourage an NSA monitor to visit the URL.
5. If the server log file ever shows this URL being accessed, then you know that you are being snooped on. The IP address of the access can also provide clues about who is doing the snooping.
The trick is to make the link enticing enough for someone or something to want to click on it. As part of a large-scale research project, I would suggest sending out a few hundred thousand messages using various tricks to find one that might work. Here are some possible ideas:
* Include a variety of terrorist related trigger words
* Include other links in a message to known AQ message boards
* Include a fake CC: to Mohamed Atta's old email address (el-amir@tu-harburg.de)
* Send the message from an SMTP server in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.
* Use a fake return address from a known terrorist organization
* Use a ziplip or hushmail account.
Besides monitoring the NSA, this same technique can be used if you suspect your email account password has been stolen or if a family member or coworker is reading your email on your computer on the sly.
Ooops
L'histoire à propos d'un étudiant qui se reçoit des agents du DHS parce qu'il s'est procuré une copie du livre rouge de Mao est fausse. Quand cesserai-je de croire ce qu'on lit sur Internet?
29.12.05
Des documents confirment la politique de la torture...
Via C&L.
Voir aussi ici.
Extrait:
The UK government has been quick to deny that we practice, or tolerate the practice of torture. So it is perhaps not suprising that they are determined that you should not see the following documents.
Lien pdf.
Craig Murray was the UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, until his complaints and protest at the use of intelligence gained by torture got too much for Jack Straw and the Foreign Office, who set about attempting to unsuccessfully smear him, and to successfully remove him from office.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3750370.stm
http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2005/04/timeline_of_cra.html
Repeat a lie...
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”
Joseph Goebbels
“Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it”
Adolf Hitler
Extrait (avec sympathie, de la part du WSJ):
WASHINGTON – The television commercials are attention-grabbing: Newly found Iraqi documents show that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, including anthrax and mustard gas, and had "extensive ties" to al Qaeda. The discoveries are being covered up by those "willing to undermine support for the war on terrorism to selfishly advance their shameless political ambitions."
The hard-hitting spots are part of a recent public-relations barrage aimed at reversing a decline in public support for President Bush's handling of Iraq. But these advertisements aren't paid for by the Republican National Committee or other established White House allies. Instead, they are sponsored by Move America Forward, a media-savvy outside advocacy group that has become one of the loudest -- and most controversial -- voices in the Iraq debate.
Move America Forward officials acknowledge that the group's leadership is conservative, but insist they are nonpartisan and point out that the organization also has criticized Republicans. They say that the organization has no connections to the Bush administration or the Republican Party and has been unable to get meetings with White House personnel. And they say there is no conflict between the organization's advocacy work and Mr. Russo's financial ties to the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq.
"If you consider being pro-America and pro-troop to be Republican, then we'll proudly take that label," Ms. Morgan says. "But we've never been embraced by the White House or made part of a secret-right wing conspiracy."
Goodale, le timing de la nouvelle plutôt particulier
Ça fait plusieurs semaines que l'histoire est connue. La Presse nous la sort en plein dans la semaine où les gens sont le moins attentifs. Bien sûr, il ne s'agit que d'un hasard.
24.12.05
23.12.05
Yet another bigfoot sighting
Via boingboing.
"Oui, j'étais occupé à rien filmer, lorsque..."
Debunked here.
Being a Muslim in the USA
Pourquoi ne pas défoncer les portes des domiciles en pleine nuit et fouiller tout le monde, tant qu'à y être.
Extrait:
In search of a terrorist nuclear bomb, the federal government since 9/11 has run a far-reaching, top secret program to monitor radiation levels at over a hundred Muslim sites in the Washington, D.C., area, including mosques, homes, businesses, and warehouses, plus similar sites in at least five other cities, U.S. News has learned. In numerous cases, the monitoring required investigators to go on to the property under surveillance, although no search warrants or court orders were ever obtained, according to those with knowledge of the program. Some participants were threatened with loss of their jobs when they questioned the legality of the operation, according to these accounts.
Fox et le White Power
Via Atrios.
Fox news, prêts à tout pour aider ses amis. La page a maintenant été retirée, mais la cache de google subsiste, ainsi qu'un screenshot ici.
Extrait:
Even though Stormfront was created by former Ku Klux Klansman Don Black, Kelso says their message isn't one of hate. "We're called anti-Semitic, we're called neo-Nazi, we're called racist [but] we're none of that." Instead, Stormfront members say their message is much more simple. "We don't hate anybody. The only thing we're concerned with is that 100 years from now, 500 years from now that there will actually be the kind of white neighborhoods and white nations that our parents and ancestors gave to us."
Kelso says Stormfront simply provides a safe forum for people to use without fear of retaliation. "Really the political correctness today, you could even call it vicious. On the Internet you can anonymously talk to other people and open up and say what you want to say. This has really opened up a new chance for people to have free speech."
22.12.05
La France à contre-courant
Ce vote surprise est le signe, parmi d'autres, que ce texte sur les droits d'auteurs sur Internet divise — comme on l'a rarement vu dans le passé — tous les partis. Et d'abord l'UMP. Des alliances étonnantes se sont nouées, mercredi 21 décembre. Ainsi la députée UMP Christine Boutin a apporté un soutien sans faille au groupe socialiste dans sa défense de la licence légale et s'est même payé le luxe de se moquer du rapporteur Christian Vanneste (UMP, Nord) en refusant de "faire la course à l'échalote" pour savoir "qui était le plus réactionnaire".
Bravo, et enfin.
Lien slashdot.
Dossier Libération, qui explique ce que le projet de loi voulait faire avant le coup de théâtre d'hier.
21.12.05
Le créationnisme
Beaucoup de bruit sur Internet aujourd'hui à propos du fait que les créationnistes de Dover PA se sont fait littéralement humilier par le juge qui entendait leur cause (l'introduction des sornettes bibliques au sein des classes de biologie).
Un extrait parmi d'autres:
It is never a good sign when the judge in your case rules that your testimony was "marked by selective memories and outright lies under oath," calls your arguments a "sham," or says that he is writing a particularly comprehensive ruling "in the hope that it may prevent the obvious waste of judicial and other resources which would be occasioned by a subsequent trial involving the precise question" he faced as a result of your position in your case.
20.12.05
Bloquer Bittorrent?
Plusieurs sources confirment que de plus en plus de fournisseurs Internet cherchent à bloquer tout traffic Bittorrent pour des raisons qui, probablement, sont douteuses d'un point de vue légal. C'est aussi maintenant le cas de Rogers au Canada. Un truc? L'utilisation du port 1720, réservé au VoIP, si jamais ces pratiques se répandent au QC. Ils ne voudront certainement pas ralentir le traffic sur leurs beaux téléphones IP.
Est-ce vraiment la fin pour GWB?
De mal en pis pour The Chimp. La Maison-Blanche a tout fait pour empêcher le NYT de publier un article révélant le fait que la NSA espionne régulièrement les gens qu'elle veut bien espionner (comme, par exemple, les Quakers, ces dangeureux terroristes), sans limite judiciaire. Or, on parle enfin maintenant d'arrêter cette administration en délire...
(Gros) extrait:
Finally we have a Washington scandal that goes beyond sex, corruption and political intrigue to big issues like security versus liberty and the reasonable bounds of presidential power. President Bush came out swinging on Snoopgate—he made it seem as if those who didn’t agree with him wanted to leave us vulnerable to Al Qaeda—but it will not work. We’re seeing clearly now that Bush thought 9/11 gave him license to act like a dictator, or in his own mind, no doubt, like Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War.
No wonder Bush was so desperate that The New York Times not publish its story on the National Security Agency eavesdropping on American citizens without a warrant, in what lawyers outside the administration say is a clear violation of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. I learned this week that on December 6, Bush summoned Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger and executive editor Bill Keller to the Oval Office in a futile attempt to talk them out of running the story. The Times will not comment on the meeting,
but one can only imagine the president’s desperation.
The problem was not that the disclosures would compromise national security, as Bush claimed at his press conference. His comparison to the damaging pre-9/11 revelation of Osama bin Laden’s use of a satellite phone, which caused bin Laden to change tactics, is fallacious; any Americans with ties to Muslim extremists—in fact, all American Muslims, period—have long since suspected that the U.S. government might be listening in to their conversations. Bush claimed that “the fact that we are discussing this program is helping the enemy.” But there is simply no evidence, or even reasonable presumption, that this is so. And rather than the leaking being a “shameful act,” it was the work of a patriot inside the government who was trying to stop a presidential power grab.
No, Bush was desperate to keep the Times from running this important story—which the paper had already inexplicably held for a year—because he knew that it would reveal him as a law-breaker. He insists he had “legal authority derived from the Constitution and congressional resolution authorizing force.” But the Constitution explicitly requires the president to obey the law. And the post 9/11 congressional resolution authorizing “all necessary force” in fighting terrorism was made in clear reference to military intervention. It did not scrap the Constitution and allow the president to do whatever he pleased in any area in the name of fighting terrorism.
What is especially perplexing about this story is that the 1978 law set up a special court to approve eavesdropping in hours, even minutes, if necessary. In fact, the law allows the government to eavesdrop on its own, then retroactively justify it to the court, essentially obtaining a warrant after the fact. Since 1979, the FISA court has approved tens of thousands of eavesdropping requests and rejected only four. There was no indication the existing system was slow—as the president seemed to claim in his press conference—or in any way required extra-constitutional action.
This will all play out eventually in congressional committees and in the United States Supreme Court. If the Democrats regain control of Congress, there may even be articles of impeachment introduced. Similar abuse of power was part of the impeachment charge brought against Richard Nixon in 1974.
In the meantime, it is unlikely that Bush will echo President Kennedy in 1961. After JFK managed to tone down a New York Times story by Tad Szulc on the Bay of Pigs invasion, he confided to Times editor Turner Catledge that he wished the paper had printed the whole story because it might have spared him such a stunning defeat in Cuba.
This time, the president knew publication would cause him great embarrassment and trouble for the rest of his presidency. It was for that reason—and less out of genuine concern about national security—that George W. Bush tried so hard to kill the New York Times story.
Une baffe pour les USA
On December 15, the state-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) inaugurated an oil pipeline running from Kazakhstan to northwest China. The pipeline will undercut the geopolitical significance of the Washington-backed Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC)oil pipeline which opened this past summer amid big fanfare and support from Washington.
The geopolitical chess game for the control of the energy flows of Central Asia and overall of Eurasia from the Atlantic to the China Sea is sharply evident in the latest developments.
Making the Kazakh-China oil pipeline link even more politically interesting, from the standpoint of an emerging Eurasian move towards some form of greater energy independence from Washington, is the fact that China is reportedly considering asking Russian companies to help it fill the pipeline with oil, until Kazakh supply is sufficient.
Initially, half the oil pumped through the new 200,000 barrel-a-day pipeline will come from Russia because of insufficient output from nearby Kazakh fields, Kazakhstan's Vice Energy Minister Musabek Isayev said on November 30 in Beijing. That means closer China-Kazakhstan-Russia energy cooperation - the nightmare scenario of Washington.
Simply put, the United States stands to lose major leverage over the entire strategic Eurasian region with the latest developments. The Kazakh developments also have more than a little to do with the fact that the Washington war drums are beating loudly against Iran.
PLC whore no.2
Vincent Marissal et maintenant André Pratte, ces grands analystes. Feriez-vous ne serait-ce que chier votre chien sur une copie de La Presse? Pas moi.
Extrait:
Vous commencez votre question ainsi: «Comment pouvez-vous soutenir les libéraux fédéraux...» Cette prémisse est inexacte: je (ni La Presse d'ailleurs) ne soutient pas les libéraux. Il nous arrive d'approuver certains de leurs gestes; nous en désapprouvons d'autres, et dans le cas des commandites, nous les avons souvent dénoncés.
Par ailleurs, si vous estimez qu'il faut du courage pour être toujours en accord avec le Bloc, le PQ et les souverainistes, dont le message monopolise les milieux des médias, des arts et des intellectuels, univers de pensée unique, alors en effet, je ne suis pas courageux du tout.
J'en profite pour vous souhaiter de joyeuses fêtes.
André Pratte
L'argument de Pratte, en plus d'être ridicule, n'est pas original: il sort tout droit du playbook républicain aux USA, où l'on essaie de nous faire croire que le GOP (et le PLC) et ses supporteurs sont en fait une minorité opprimée, victime de la censure bien pensante des gros méchants qui les opposent. Lâchez-moi.
The Kiss of Death
À l'occasion d'une intervention exceptionnelle dans une campagne électorale fédérale, le premier ministre Jean Charest donne un coup de pouce au chef conservateur Stephen Harper, dont les troupes ne vont nulle part au Québec.
Lors d'une entrevue accordée à La Presse hier, Jean Charest a mis de côté sa réserve habituelle et a exprimé haut et fort sa satisfaction à l'égard des plus récents engagements de M. Harper.
19.12.05
High value detainees
After visiting six of the twenty-five or so U.S. prisons, the International Committee of the Red Cross reported registering 107 detainess under eighteen, some as young as eight years old. The Journalist Seymour Hersh reported in May 2005 that Defense Secretaary Donald Rumsfeld had recieve a report that there were "800-900 Pakistani boys age 13-15 in custody." The International Red Cross, Amnesty International, and thePentagon have gathered substantial testimony of torture of children, confirmed by soldiers who witnessed or participated in the abuse.
[...]
It was early last October that Kasim Mehaddi Hilas says he witnessed the rape of a boy prisoner aged about 15 in the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. “The kid was hurting very bad and they covered all the doors with sheets,” he said in a statement given to investigators probing prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib. “Then, when I heard the screaming I climbed the door … and I saw [the soldier’s name is deleted] who was wearing a military uniform.” Hilas, who was himself threatened with being sexually assaulted in Abu Graib, then describes in horrific detail how the soldier raped “the little kid”.
Addendum
J'imagine que le DHS utilise cette liste. Attention au dangeureux Kinsey Report et à Democracy and Education de John Dewey!
Who's afraid of Mao?
Via Pandagon.
Yes, the 50's are back.
Extrait:
A senior at UMass Dartmouth was visited by federal agents two months ago, after he requested a copy of Mao Tse-Tung's tome on Communism called "The Little Red Book."
Two history professors at UMass Dartmouth, Brian Glyn Williams and Robert Pontbriand, said the student told them he requested the book through the UMass Dartmouth library's interlibrary loan program.
The student, who was completing a research paper on Communism for Professor Pontbriand's class on fascism and totalitarianism, filled out a form for the request, leaving his name, address, phone number and Social Security number. He was later visited at his parents' home in New Bedford by two agents of the Department of Homeland Security, the professors said.
The professors said the student was told by the agents that the book is on a "watch list," and that his background, which included significant time abroad, triggered them to investigate the student further.
Bush et Sharon
Jaloux du courage sans borne de son ami Sharon, après s'être payé ses propres territoires arabes pour y chasser le bougnoule, Bush veut maintenant se lancer dans la construction d'un mur le long de la frontière canado-américaine (!). Pourvu qu'il le fasse sur son territoire :).
Un projet de loi américain adopté jeudi prévoit l'érection de clôtures sur plus de 1000 kilomètres entre le Mexique et les États-Unis. Les autorités étudieraient la possibilité d'en ériger le long de la frontière canadienne.
Les débats des chefs
Ne trouvez-vous pas étrange le fait que Paul Martin garde la défense de son pays contre les méchants séparatistes pour le débat en anglais seulement? Est-ce qu'on est rendu au point où on considère que le combat est carrément perdu auprès des francophones? Toutefois, l'organe officiel du PLC s'est chargé de nous rappeler la grandeur de son timonier, grâce à la participation active de son lap dog de première.
15.12.05
Le gouvernement Charest
Les dernières 24 heures ont été tout à fait étranges, même pour un gouvernement qui nous a habitué à des méthodes tout droit sorties d'une boîte de CrackerJacks (comme l'autre dit). Même les ministres étaient visiblement incapables d'expliquer la fin des négociations, qui, en ce qui a trait au salaire, dans le meilleur des cas, se traduisent par des compressions de près de 4% sur les annnées qui suivent. Des salaires qui diminuent, des réformes qui se succèdent (sans succès) et qui plongent les institutions publiques dans un état de crise perpétuelle, la qualité des services qui se dégradent et la majorité des employés du secteur sur le bord de la retraite: préparez-vous à des années vraiment charmantes, si vous souhaitez un tant soit peu que les profs soient en mesure d'enseigner à vos enfants, et qu'il soit possible pour vous d'obtenir des soins décents dans les établissements de santé.
Il y aura toujours des imbéciles, gavés des hoquetements des êtres unicellulaires qui les font passer pour des idées sur les lignes ouvertes du AM, qui croient que "les crottés ont eu ce qu'ils méritaient". J'imagine que, en tant de se crosser devant des reprises de "Star Académie" ils pourront oublier que leur support inconditionnel de cette bande de crétins qu'ils ont élu sont à la source de problèmes dont on sentira les effets encore dans 20 ans.
Le Joyeux Nöwell de Charest
Les événements d'hier soir vont assurément contribuer à améliorer le climat qui règne en santé et en éducation au Québec, climat déjà au beau fixe. Qu'est-ce qui est plus beau que beau? Autre réaction.
14.12.05
Pffffft
Pour ceux qui croyait que le retrait de Gaza était autre chose qu'une simple diversion afin de mettre la main sur des territoires beaucoup plus intéressants (je crois même avoir vu Chris Hitchens verser une larme à Real Time with Bill Maher en parlant du courage du "général Sharon" (il se souvenait en même temps de l'admiration indéfectible qu'il vouait à Lénine, sans doute), j'espère qu'on peut enterrer tout ça une fois pour toute.
Israel has approved the building of about 300 new homes for Jewish settlers in the West Bank, the government says.
Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz approved construction in Maale Adumim, the largest settlement in the territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
He also approved preparatory steps for the expansion of the smaller settlements of Bracha and Nokdim.
The decision violates the roadmap peace plan, under which Israel agreed to freeze all settlement building.
Israel has nevertheless continued to expand settlements since the road map was approved in June 2003.
It says the construction is to accommodate "natural growth" of settlement populations and the Maale Adumim building is "within the current geographical borders of this settlement".
Dowd: The Bubble Boy
Never ask a guy who’s in a bubble if he’s in a bubble. He can’t answer.
‘Cause he’s in a bubble.
The president’s bubble requires constant care. It’s not easy to keep out huge tragedies like Katrina, or flawed policies like Iraq. As Newsweek noted, a foreign diplomat “was startled when Secretary of State Rice warned him not to lay bad news on the president. ‘Don’t upset him,’ she said.”
Pour en finir avec les amateurs de Jack Bauer
Un excellent texte de Michael Kinsley, en réponse à Charles Krauthammer.
Extrait:
Of course a million deaths is hard to shrug off as a price worth paying for the principle that we don't torture people. But college dorm what-ifs like this one share a flaw: They posit certainty (about what you know and what will happen if you do this or that). And uncertainty is not only much more common in real life: It is the generally unspoken assumption behind civil liberties, rules of criminal procedure, and much else that conservatives find sentimental and irritating.
Sure, if we could know the present and predict the future with certainty, we could torture only people who deserve it. Not just that: We could go door-to-door killing people before they kill others. We could lock up innocent people who would otherwise be involved in fatal traffic accidents. Civil libertarians like to believe that criminals get their Miranda warnings and dissidents enjoy freedom of speech because human rights are universal. But if we knew for sure that a newspaper column by Charles Krauthammer would lead—even by a chain of events he never intended and bore no responsibility for—to World War II, wouldn't we be nuts not to censor it? Universal human rights would make no sense in a world where everything was known and certain.
This is not to say that Krauthammer's killer hypothetical could never happen. It is to say that morality does not require us to build a general policy on torture around a situation that is not merely unlikely in real life, but different in kind from the situations we are likely to face in real life. What we would do or should do if this situation actually arose is an interesting question for bull sessions in the dorm, but not a pressing issue for the nation.
Être journaliste aux USA
Difficile d'être un journaliste qui refuse d'être à la solde du Parti républicain. Dan Froomkin est un des seuls qui résiste à la vague au Washington Post, et son propre patron le bitche publiquement, non pas parce qu'il publie des faussetés (comme eux), mais parce qu'il n'est pas gentil avec l'administration Bush. Lisez les commentaires des lecteurs, ça décape.
Exemple:
If you, a boss at the Post, does not realize what has been happening to your once great paper, then we truly are in big trouble. You are being used, plain and simple, by the "master" himself, and you don't see this - not good for those of us seeking the truth. For years, Rove and his minions have been setting you, and other big time news sources, up. When a so-called "reporter" like Woodward sits on important news, so he can later use it in a book, something is wrong, sir. And he is not the only one, as we are learning almost daily now.
Froomkin doesn't play the White House game. Because of this he is considered, by a helluva lot of us out here, your most trusted reporter right now.
We have too many Krauthammers, Bob Novaks, Fred Barnes's, etc. spewing administration propaganda, coming at us from so many media sources. What we need are more Froomkins, more truth without the White House slant on it.
Get back to doing what you used to do - give us the facts, and remember that facts are not "fair and balanced", or always have two sides. The truth can stand alone.
Sincerely, Gary Van Ess, Green Bay, Wi.
13.12.05
Le vote électronique
Avec le bordel qui a eu lieu aux élections municipales, certains se posent des questions quant au fonctionnement de la chose. Pas mauvais, considérant que le CEO de Diebold vient tout juste de démissionner.