From owner-freebsd-current@FreeBSD.ORG Tue Apr 15 20:30:39 2003 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-current@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 185A737B405 for ; Tue, 15 Apr 2003 20:30:39 -0700 (PDT) Received: from tango.chessclub.com (tango.chessclub.com [204.178.125.70]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with SMTP id 8506D43FDD for ; Tue, 15 Apr 2003 20:30:29 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from sleator@tango.chessclub.com) Received: (qmail 81141 invoked by uid 1000); 16 Apr 2003 03:19:17 -0000 Date: 16 Apr 2003 03:19:17 -0000 Message-ID: <20030416031917.81140.qmail@tango.chessclub.com> From: Danny Sleator To: freebsd-current@freebsd.org Subject: better ways to get the news X-BeenThere: freebsd-current@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussions about the use of FreeBSD-current List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2003 03:30:39 -0000 I'm alternately outraged and depressed by what's happening in the world. We now have the most powerful, deceitful, arrogant, and belligerent administration in US history. And almost everything they're doing is wrong. Here's one example to illustrate the power of Emperor Bush. He can start a unilateral, preemptive, unprecedented war costing hundreds of billions of dollars. His justification for it constantly changes, and is buttressed by a stream of lies. Simultaneously he can demand and get from congress a huge tax cut for the rich, despite the fact that we're in a recession and there's a huge budget deficit. And while doing all this outrageous stuff, he remains extremely popular. I'm thinking about what I, an average Joe, can do to slow down this juggernaut. One thing I did was put up this lighted sign outside of my house: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~sleator/pictures/no-war.jpg But I think the real problem, and the reason for Bush's popularity, is that the American people basically don't have a clue about what's really happening. The mainstream media are not communicating it. Here are four examples to illustrate this point. 1. Remember the huge crowd of Iraqis cheering and pulling down a statue of Saddam? It turns out that the crowd was very small and some (all?) of the jubilant members of the crowd were actors. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2842.htm 2. Remember the rampant looting of Baghdad? Perhaps you knew that the US didn't lift a finger to stop it. But did you know that it was encouraged by US troops as a photo op? http://truthout.org/docs_03/041603D.shtml 3. Did you know that Richard Perle (a key author of the US's current Iraq policy) worked to undermine the Camp David accords in the summer of 2000? http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,342857,00.html 4. There's an outrageous, little-known part of NAFTA called chapter 11, which foreign corporate investors are using to challenge laws designed to protect public health, environmental regulations, and jury verdicts. The cases are heard before a secret international trade tribunal. http://www.citizen.org/publications/release.cfm?ID=7076 These are just a tiny sample to illustrate the problems of missing and/or misleading stories in the media. This situation goes a long way toward explaining why the war is so much more popular in the US than it is everywhere else. So I'm suggesting (to all the addresses in my inbox over the last few years) some good alternative sources of information that I've found. A good place to start is http://www.truthout.org They collect stories from reputable sources all over the world. You can sign up for a daily mailing of stories of their suggested stories. I've included one below. Sign up for their mailings at: http://216.25.72.229/membership/sub_mgmt.php http://www.fair.org is a media watchdog group. They maintain a web site, and they let you sign up for sporadic mailings about media deceptions and bias. They often have action alerts about specific outrages in the media. Another very good organization is http://www.moveon.org They email reminders when congress is considering important issues. They make it easy to contact your congress person to voice your opinion. They also run ads in mainstream publications and on TV. I also highly recommend the book "What Liberal Media?" by Eric Alterman. He explains in great detail all the ways in which the media system is broken, and how it got this way. Here are some other great sites to take a look at: http://www.consortiumnews.com http://www.copvcia.com http://www.democraticunderground.com http://www.informationclearinghouse.info http://www.tompaine.com http://www.zmag.org/weluser.htm I hope you find this mailing useful, and I apologize if you got this more than once. Feel free to distribute this further. One warning: If you keep up with these sites, your world view will start to diverge from the "standard" (i.e. false) world view. You risk being viewed as a conspiracy theorist or a nut. Danny Sleator Professor of Computer Science Carnegie Mellon University Email: sleator@cmu.edu t r u t h o u t | 04.16 Eagleburger: Bush Should be Impeached if He Attacks Syria GO Echoes of Empires Past GO Bomb Before You Buy GO US Troops Encouraged Ransacking GO Reflections on the Battle of Baghdad GO Bush-Hitler Remark Sinks Movie Exec GO 'Fearless' Dean Wins Converts GO What About Private Lori? GO t r u t h o u t - Newsletter Sign-up (Free) : GO Problems with the links? Go direct to our HomePage : http://www.truthout.org _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ t r u t h o u t | 04.15 William Rivers Pitt | How America Lost the War GO Rout Proves Anti-War Point GO Aftermath: The Bush Doctrine GO Baghdad Seeths With Anger Toward U.S. GO Syria Could Be Next, Warns Washington GO America Targeted 14,000 Sites. So Where Are The WMDs? GO Scandal-Hit US Firm Wins Key Contracts GO Civilisation Torn To Pieces GO Mesopotamia. Babylon. The Tigris and Euphrates GO t r u t h o u t - Newsletter Sign-up (Free) : GO Problems with the links? Go direct to our HomePage : http://www.truthout.org _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ t r u t h o u t | 04.14 War and Peace: Anarchy in the Streets GO U.S. Marines Exchange Heavy Fire in Central Baghdad GO Pillagers Strip Iraqi Museum of Its Treasure GO Crime Against Humanity GO Garner Waiting For "Last Shot" To Rule Baghdad GO Vanishing Liberties -- Where's the Press? GO Anthrax Source Probably Domestic GO India Mulls 'Pre-Emptive' Pakistan Strike, Cites Iraq War Precedent GO Outspoken Yellowstone Ranger Loses Job GO t r u t h o u t - Newsletter Sign-up (Free) : GO Problems with the links? Go direct to our HomePage : http://www.truthout.org _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ t r u t h o u t | 04.13 Congressman Questions Iraq Work Given To Halliburton Subsidiary Without Competition GO US Arms Group Heads for Lisbon GO US Show of Force Galls Arab World GO U.S. Govt Accused of War Crimes against Journalists GO Ordinary People Fear Their Nation Could Be Next Target of 'Regime Change' GO Northern Iraq Falls, Mobs Run Riot in Baghdad GO The Future of Iraq's Oil GO War Within A War A Real Possibility GO t r u t h o u t - Newsletter Sign-up (Free) : GO Problems with the links? Go direct to our HomePage : http://www.truthout.org _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ t r u t h o u t | 04.12 Hans Blix: War Planned 'Long in Advance' GO The Press and the War GO Spoils of War GO Suicide Bomber In Baghdad Injures Four Marines GO Security Council Balks at Postwar Plans GO Murdoch Adds to Empire With Control of DirecTV GO Bush Offers Crooks And Warmongers To Lead Iraq GO House Revives ANWAR Again GO t r u t h o u t - Newsletter Sign-up (Free) : GO Problems with the links? Go direct to our HomePage : http://www.truthout.org _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ t r u t h o u t | 04.11 Despite Cheering Crowds, Army Unit Sees Urban Combat in Baghdad GO In Search of Horror Weapons GO Syria Now Top US Target for 'Regime Change' GO Descent Into a Charnel-House Hospital Hell GO Republicans Want Patriot Act Made Permanent GO The Pentagon's 'Trainee,' Ahmad Chalabi GO UNICEF Warns Of Worsening Situation For Children In Iraq GO House Democrats Want Halliburton Probe GO CPJ Condemns Journalists' Deaths In Iraq GO t r u t h o u t - Newsletter Sign-up (Free) : GO Problems with the links? Go direct to our HomePage : http://www.truthout.org _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ t r u t h o u t | 04.10 William Rivers Pitt | The Longest Winter GO Dark Day for Journalists in Iraq GO Wailing Children, the Wounded, the Dead GO The Taliban are Back in Southeast Afghanistan GO War Out of Compassion GO Iraqis In Basra Weigh Freedom's Cost GO Oakland Cops Defend Use of Force Against Protesters GO Coleman Apologizes For Remark About Wellstone GO Saddam Hussein, "Chemical Ali" Apparently Survive Attacks GO Economy on the Edge GO t r u t h o u t - Newsletter Sign-up (Free) : GO Problems with the links? Go direct to our HomePage : http://www.truthout.org _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ t r u t h o u t | 04.09 Oakland Police Open Fire At Anti-War Protest GO Iraqis Launch Urban Fightback in Baghdad GO Simpson: 'This Is Like A Scene From Hell.' GO Baghdad Hospitals Overwhelmed, No Longer Counting Casualties GO "Smoking Gun" WMD Site in Iraq Turns Out to Contain Pesticide GO 'I Love My Country, But.' GO Cronies Set To Make A Killing GO William Rivers Pitt's New Book Now Available GO t r u t h o u t - Newsletter Sign-up (Free) : GO Problems with the links? Go direct to our HomePage : http://www.truthout.org _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ t r u t h o u t | 04.08 Surgeon Describes "Horrific Injuries," Sanitized War GO Up to 3,000 Iraqi Fighters Dead in Show of Force GO Red Cross: Iraq Wounded Too High to Count GO U.S. Finds No Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq GO Little Hope for Post-War Boom in US Economy GO Carlyle Group Heads for Lisbon GO Army Chaplain Offers Baptisms, Baths GO Irish Anti-War Marchers to Confront Bush GO Disarmament In Tatters GO 7-Year-Old Kurd: 'I Like War' GO t r u t h o u t - Newsletter Sign-up (Free) : GO Problems with the links? Go direct to our HomePage : http://www.truthout.org _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ t r u t h o u t | 04.07 Thirsty Iraqis Must Be Baptized to Get Water GO Near Baghdad, U.S. Troops Encounter 'Remarkable' Foe GO Britain Admits There May Be No WMD's in Iraq GO Forecasters Underrating Weakness of US Economy GO US Marines Kill Seven Iraqis After Truck Fails to Stop (Again) GO Baghdad Hospitals Stretched to their Limits GO American Portrayal of War of Liberation Faltering Across Arab World GO Blair and Friends Staring Into War's Political Abyss GO Turf War Rages in Washington Over Who Will Rule Iraq GO To Activists, Real Battles Are on Home Front GO t r u t h o u t - Newsletter Sign-up (Free) : GO Problems with the links? Go direct to our HomePage : http://www.truthout.org _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ t r u t h o u t | 04.06 Red Cross Horrified by Number of Dead Civilians GO Samar's Story GO At Umm Qasr, the "Secured" Port, "It's Chaos" GO How the Dissidents Fooled the Washington Hawks GO US Military Admits 'Suspicious' Powder is Explosive GO Kerry Lashes Out at Republican Criticisms GO Saddam Was Not Always Washington's 'Demon' GO The War's Dirty Secret: It's About Changing United States, Not Iraq GO Jobs Show Worse-Than-Expected Drop GO Senate Won't Debate Alaska Oil Drilling GO t r u t h o u t - Newsletter Sign-up (Free) : GO Problems with the links? Go direct to our HomePage : http://www.truthout.org _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ To JOIN the TO list: http://www.truthout.org/membership/sub_mgmt.php