Month: December 2005

After yesterday’s courtroom outburst and threats of a boycott, Saddam Hussein followed through, at least partially today by not attending a court session. The trial adjourned until December 21, 2005.

After two prosecution witnesses described beatings and torture by the regime, Chief Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin adjourned the proceedings and said the court would reconvene six days after the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections.

On Tuesday, Saddam had said he would not to take part in what he called an “unjust” court.

The other defendants and Saddam’s lawyers were present in the courtroom when Amin convened the session at 3 p.m., about four hours late. Amin said the court would inform Saddam about or brief him on the proceedings that took place during his absence.

The judge then told defense attorneys that the court will meet with them “after today’s hearing to discuss the security of the lawyers,” which became a major issue after two members were murdered.

Court official Raid Juhi told reporters after the session that Saddam attended a closed-door hearing that preceded the public session “and the court decided that he should be removed from the hearing on the basis of the law.”

“So Saddam did not boycott but he was allowed to stay out of the hearing on the basis of a certain request,” Juhi said without explaining what it was. “He was present at the courtroom during the closed session. He presented something to the court and the court decided to excuse him.”

Juhi said Saddam would attend the Dec. 21 session.

“The court is trying to balance the rights of the defense with the rights of victims,” Juhi added.

They should be dragging this guy out of his bed every morning and force him to sit through and listen to the testimony of his victims. His protestations of injustice and his outright denial of responsibility is completely outrageous.

(Take a deep breath, phew.)

I admit, this is a tough one for me. The idea that a brutal dictator like Saddam should have any rights at all after what he’s done to the Iraqi people is a hard pill to swallow. But, the reality is, he does have the support of some in Iraq and if this trial is to succeed in serving up any justice it must be legitimate. The ‘letter of the law’ has to be followed.

Still, this shouldn’t excuse Saddam’s behavior. His little courtroom tantrums have to be stopped, or the trial will turn into a complete circus and it’s legitimacy will be called into question.

It’s a real balancing act for Judge Amin. So far he’s done a fair job. Let’s hope he has an iron will and can see this process through.

                                   64 years ago today
                                   December 7, 1941

Kerry spokesman David Wade, responding to criticism from RNC Chair Ken Mehlman and Radio host Rush Limbaugh, regarding John Kerry comparing American troops to terrorists: 

‘Ken Mehlman’s filthy and shameful lie about a decorated combat veteran is disgraceful. Political hack Ken Mehlman and draft dodging, donut eating Rush Limbaugh have something in common. Neither of them know anything about how to make American troops safe. John Kerry will continue to speak out about how to succeed in Iraq and protect brave American troops’…

Yes, yes, John Kerry has a plan. How often did we hear that during the 2004 campaign? Kerry’s handlers must really get tired of defending the man’s idiotic statements. I mean really, there can’t possibly be anyone inside the Kerry camp that believes in the “troops are just like terrorists” concept. Or even if they did believe it, surely they wouldn’t have given Kerry the nod to say such an outrageous thing.

Right?

(Ahem) Right?

<insert chirping cricket sound>

Has Castro looked in the mirror lately?

MORE: Jeb – “It’s an honor”

Give an inch and…well, you know the rest.

Canadian health authorities want to make permanent the country’s first test facility for heroin injection. Set up in 2003, the three year experiment was exempt from drug laws, and today, they shoot-up 800 addicts per day.

“It’s all-round positive, with no downsides,” said Perry Kendall, British Columbia province’s chief medical officer.

Yet another happy graduate of the Joycelyn Elders School of Drug Legalization.

No downsides huh? Well, there is that little problem of dealing with 800 addicts roaming the street looking for the next dealer who will sell them a dime bag. And then they have to find their way back to the clinic, which is easier said than done when you’re tripping on china white. Not a problem though, because any addict can make a pit stop at the local city park and shoot up there, if they can’t wait.

The clinic looks like an innocuous storefront in Vancouvers squalid Downtown Eastside district, Canada’s most impoverished neighbourhood with more than 5,000 heroin addicts concentrated in a 10-block area.

Addicts bring in drugs purchased illegally on the street, and self-inject them under medical supervision. There are onsite emergency services in case of overdose and staff nurses and counselors to provide health care and referrals to rehabilitation facilities.

Hey all you Conservative, right minded Canadians! Come on, I know you’re out there somewhere! Ain’t it great to see your tax dollars in action! Beauty eh?

The Vancouver clinic is a stone’s throw from the border with Washington state, and since it opened the White House has criticized it as an “inhumane” medical experiment.

Phew! If it weren’t for the Minuteman, we’d have all sorts of riff raff to deal with.

Advocates for drug users protested that the police crackdown is cruel because the clinic can only serve a minority of drug users.

“It’s just a really destructive thing,” said Ann Livingston of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users.

She notes that the supervised site can handle just 800 of 15,000 heroin injections daily, and staff are prohibited from physically injecting addicts or letting other addicts inject incapacitated users.

“There’s also no place for addicts who smoke cocaine”, said Livingston.

Oh, the inhumanity, the injustice! Foul! Foul! And what about the poor souls who want to huff spray paint, or the meth addicts? Yeah, what about them? They have rights too you know.

    O Canada!
    Our home and native land!
    True patriot love in all thy sons command.

    With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
    The True North strong and free!

    From far and wide,
    O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

    God keep our land glorious and free!
    O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

    O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Canada has stopped standing guard. Now she’s laying face down in the gutter.

It appears that today was the day Saddam Hussein realized he wouldn’t be able to manipulate a court of law to wrestle free from his chains of bondage. No more payoffs. No more threats of immediate death. No more intimidation.

Saddam now knows the good ‘ol days are over.

The trial of Saddam Hussein adjourned for the day Tuesday, with the former Iraqi leader indicating he’s unlikely to return when the court reconvenes Wednesday.

“I will not be in a court without justice. Go to hell, all you agents of America,” Hussein said.

His announcement came after five witnesses testified about brutalities they experienced during a government crackdown 23 years ago.

The rantings of a desperate former dictator. Pathetic and sad, but nonetheless amusing.

It’s as if the whole Valerie Plame matter never happened.

ABC News is blowing their ‘EXCLUSIVE’ horn again in an ongoing investigation to ‘out’ a handful of secret CIA prisons where alleged “enhanced interrogation techniques” are authorized for use by 14 CIA officers. Officially, the CIA has declined to comment on the existence of these prisons, let alone the intensity of interrogation tactics used at any such facility. President Bush has said plainly that the U.S. does not use torture as a means of extracting information from captured terrorists. But…

ABC News has access to information which they believe will prove otherwise. And how does ABC News assume any confidence in their investigation?

Current and former CIA officers are leaking information, confidentially of course.

Given what happened with Valerie Plame, why would any current or former CIA official want to slip information to a major news media organization? I believe there are two reasons.

Reason #1 – ABC News has been chasing this ambulance ever since CBS broke the news about Abu Ghraib. The logic is this. If there’s one prison where torture and humiliation tactics are used to interrogate prisoners, there has to be more. Incorporating their own AVIS slogan, ABC News is pushing a “WE TRY HARDER” methodology in this investigation. They aren’t satisfied with tips from soldiers, or seeking out a random CD-ROM containing damning photos. No, they are heading right to the agency who would know – the CIA, and when they won’t talk, ABC News will move on current and former CIA agents, promising anonymity in exchange for the real dirt.

In short, CBS got theirs and ABC News wants one too.

Reason #2 – The breakdown of loyalty inside the CIA family. I believe a serious rift within the agency occurred just before George Tenet resigned, and wounds remained open through the leadership of interim director John McLaughlin right through to today’s direction from Porter Goss. As such, it has become easier for news organizations to gain information from current and former agents/officials who have yet to remove the chip from their shoulder. Agents used to guard their identities with their life, and that protection extended to other agents and to the secrets held by the agency as a whole. But, in the last few years we’ve seen a shift from blanket loyalty to a ‘watch your own back’ protectionism. Today, identities are only as good as the confidentiality covenant between a reporter and their source. Ask Bob Novak how rock solid that guarantee is. Even still, agent to agency loyalty has been tossed under the bus in favor of retribution, power struggles, and political gain.

In short, a call to a CIA official from ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, WaPo, NYT, MSNBC (ad infinitum), is a call to take, even if risks exist.

The Plame Affair cracked the informant door open wide enough that it now swings freely, and news organizations like ABC are willing to take advantage of the sieve if it means a win in the race for ratings, and the all important ad revenues. Meanwhile, CIA officials with an ax to grind are whispering into cell phones and conducting meetings over coffee at an undisclosed Starbucks.

So, what’s the problem? After all, it’s only the secrets of the CIA, and ultimately the national security of the United States that is in serious jeopardy. For some, the risks are worth the temporary gain.

Related: AP Poll – Most Say Torture OK in Rare Cases | Condi: U.S. does not condone torture |

The World Wide Fund for Nature (who?) claims to have spotted a new lizard like creature in the forests of Borneo.

Researchers from the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) may have spotted a new mammalian species in the dense central forests of Borneo island, the organisation said. The carnivorous animal, slightly larger than a domestic cat with dark red fur and a long bushy tail, was caught by a camera trap at night twice in 2003, the WWF said in a press release.

Photos of the animals have been shown to locals well acquainted with wildlife in the area and the organisation also consulted several Bornean wildlife experts but none recognized it.

“Most were convinced it was a new species of carnivore,” WWF said, adding that researchers were hoping to set cage traps to catch a live specimen.

If confirmed, it would be the first time in more than a century that a new carnivore has been discovered on the island, it added.

It looks like someone read the same ‘How to create a fake monster picture’ manual as the guys who worked this one up.

Man, this picture used to give me the heebeegeebees somethin’ fierce when I was a kid.

Oh well, Bigfoot was getting a little long in the tooth anyway. Why not have a new monster for a new generation? At least now I’ve got something to scare the wits outta my kids.

Prediction: By this time next year, Wikipedia won’t be Wikipedia anymore. 

In the past week or so, a couple of instances of editorial creativity have come to light. First, there was the issue involving Adam Curry who was caught rewriting the history of podcasting, and now we have evidence of libel within a biographical article on John Seigenthaler Sr., the former administrative assistant to Robert Kennedy.

Now these are just a couple of controversies that have come to light. There could be (and likely are) more ‘problematic’ articles interwoven through Wikipedia. Yet, I’m sure that little blemish hasn’t tarnished the sparkle seen by many tech savvy individuals and investment firms as they dream about the financial prospects of this community encyclopedia. So, the only way to transform Wikipedia into a vehicle that can realize its true destiny (i.e. ‘money making machine’), is to change its overall business model.

And when this changes, Wikipedia will not be Wikipedia anymore. 

Oh, it will still look like Wikipedia, and the functionality will remain the same. It just won’t be a community encyclopedia that can be edited and changed instantly by anyone anymore. Wikipedia will take submissions for new articles and screen current article changes before they hit the web. Sounds like a regular everyday encyclopedia doesn’t it? That’s because it is, and it’s what Wikipedia will become.

And the same things that plague other online and offline encyclopedias will ultimately plague Wikipedia. The ‘publishing’ cycle will slow way down as users inundate the site with new offerings and requests for content accuracy changes. Faced with the overwhelming task of working through the mountains of data, the editors oversight committee will cut and chop Wikipedia and in the process take on a subtle bias peppered with a dash of political correctness. The breadth of material will narrow, since some topics will be just a little too ‘hot’, a little too intellectual and not sensational enough to keep an audience that makes money for the big pocketed corporate owners Google by clicking on Google Adwords sidebar ads related to the articles they’re reading.

And don’t forget about the pressure Wikipedia will receive from higher education as it realizes that students throughout the globe regularly cite the online encyclopedia in their dissertations which find their way into STM (Science, Technical and Medical) journals and other online databases.

And then of course, the Government will have an interest in the ‘community’ encyclopedia as lawyers begin to include citations of law precedent in court documentation which they researched on GoogleWikipedia.

Alarmist? Chicken Little-ism?

I predict. We’ll see.

UPDATE: Good dialog on this subject happening at Dean’s World. Check the comments.

Others: Growing Pains for Wikipedia | Wikipedia and the Nature of Truth | How wikis are changing our view of the world | Wikipedia slander? | What Wikipedia doesn’t want you to know | Is Wikipedia a threat or a menace? | Wikipedia: A Techno-Cult of Ignorance | Wikipedia is the next Google |

And to think that this guy could have been our president.

John Kerry, in an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation” yesterday, suggested that American soldiers are the ones spreading the terror in Iraq, and that the U.S. should leave terrorism to the new Iraqi army. Host Bob Schieffer countered with, silence.

Add Kerry’s position (Soldiers=Terrorists) to that of John Murtha (Withdraw Now), Nancy Pelosi (Yeah, what Murtha said), to Joe Lieberman (Stay and Win), and Hillary Clinton (Position? I don’t need no stinking position) and what have you got?

A fractious jumbled mess of selfish ideas, or as I like to call it, the Democratic Party. 

Face the Nation Transcript (PDF)
Video