California Sate Parks and SBC Communications bring wireless high-speed Internet access to 85 state visitors (Video)

SBC Communications Inc.: "Through an agreement with California State Parks, SBC companies will be providing wireless high-speed Internet access — better known as Wi-Fi — to the picnic tables, tents, RV spaces and cabins of more than 85 million park visitors every year.

Wi-Fi — short for wireless fidelity — will allow park visitors with wireless-enabled laptop computers or personal digital assistants (PDAs) to access the Internet at speeds of 50 to 100 times as fast as a dial-up connection.

San Elijo State Beach, located outside of San Diego, is the first state park to offer SBC FreedomLink service. Over the next six months, 84 other California state parks will become SBC Wi-Fi locations, making this the largest Wi-Fi deployment in any park system nationwide.

The California state park locations will be added to the more than 6,000 hot spots that make up the SBC Wi-Fi network, which is one of the nation's largest Wi-Fi networks.


View video (14MB)

Address arouses hopes and fears

Address arouses hopes and fears: "Address arouses hopes and fears
World's leaders give opinions on Bush's speech
Craig Nelson
Cox News Service
Jan. 22, 2005 12:00 AM
When President Bush declared in his inaugural address America's goal of 'ending tyranny in our world,' he conspicuously left out mention of any tyrants.

But there could be little mystery about who Bush had in mind in suggesting that the U.S.-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan were only the start of a global strategy to spread freedom."

The John Kerry Song (2004) By Evan Greer

picketline:
"my name is john kerry i'm a vietnam vet
i'm here to tell you how much better things could get
if you just let me be the king instead of that guy bush
i'm a softer kind of fascist when shove comes to push
you know you've gotta love my presidential style
my presidential face and my presidential smile

(chorus)
so vote for me! john kerry!
see the softer side of tyrrany
vote for me! john kerry!
get rid of tweedle-dumb
bring in tweedle-dee!"

click title for more

Listen to the Bluey John Kerry Song on the Riot Folk Soundclick page

An Interview with Army Medic, Patrick Resta

"I Will Continue to Speak Out Until the Last Soldier Leaves Iraq"
By DEREK SEIDMAN

Patrick Resta, Specialist/E4, served as an Army medic in Iraq with the 30th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. He was stationed in Iraq for eight months in 2004, returning home just about two months ago. He has recently begun speaking out against the war and occupation, and he is involved with Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Thank you for doing this interview Patrick. Can you begin by telling us when you were in Iraq? Where were you and what were you doing?

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to have my voice heard. I think it's vital that veterans of this conflict speak out about what it's really like out there.
I was at my camp in northeastern Iraq from March 12, 2004 to November 15, 2004. My camp was located in the Diyala province, the capital of which is Baqubah. To make that a little more understandable, we were about 100 miles northeast of Baghdad and roughly 30 miles from the Iranian border.

I was a medic, so that was my main focus. I would work shifts in our 3 bed ER sometimes, where we would see everything from the common cold to gun shot wounds and shrapnel injuries. I also accompanied patrols into towns and convoys to get supplies in case anyone was injured during the accomplishment of the mission.

When did you enter the military, and why did you join? (click title for more)

Patrick Resta can be reached at eosonifilic@aol.com. The website for Iraq Veterans Against the War is www.ivaw.net.

Derek Seidman is co-editor of Left Hook. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and can be contacted at derekseidman@yahoo.com.

His interview with antiwar vet Jim Talib can be read here: http://lefthook.org/Interviews/SeidmanTalib112904.html


This picture was taken shortly before we left Kuwait to cross into Iraq on the way to our camp in northeastern Iraq. This vehicle was used as a troop transport during the trip. As you can plainly see the "armor" consists of nothing more than half inch thick sheets of plywood. (more)

the adventures of a boy and his computer - Fox News Reporter gets 0wn3d

the adventures of a boy and his computer - Fox News Reporter gets 0wn3d Oliver Willis has a nice video clip of Fox News reporter Brigitte Quinn interviewing Vanity Fair contributing editor Judy Bachrach about the presidential inauguration. I think Quinn wasn't expecting Bachrach to say anything of consequence, but Bachrach managed to get her two cents in about the $40 million extravaganza:

Update: if you aren't able to get the video on Oliver's site, it's also on ifilm.com.

Interview Transcript:

Quinn: ...the festivities, Judy Bachrach, contributing editor at Vanity Fair Magazine. Judy, welcome to you. We were noticing all the snow in Washington... it's really coming down! I hope that doesn't put a crimp in anybody's plans. Look at that gorgeous shot of the White House.

Bachrach: Well, I have a feeling that maybe it should put a crimp, or at least something should put a crimp in the plans of the White House, they have such a very lavish inaugural, at a time of war, um...

Quinn: Really?

Bachrach: Yes.

Quinn: Oh, OK.

Bachrach: What I've noticed is, the worse a war is going, the more lavish the inaugural festivities. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president, during a time of war, of course, as you know, he had a very modest inauguration and a very tiny party, where he served chicken salad, or where chicken salad was served. And that was when we were winning a war.

click title for more

Yahoo! News - Top Stories Photos - Reuters: Very Creative Sign - Buck Fush

Yahoo! News - Top Stories Photos - Reuters: "Protesters hold up signs as U.S. President George W. Bush (news - web sites) passes by during the inaugural parade in Washington, January 20, 2005. The entire parade route was lined with heavy security as thousands of anti-Bush protesters turned out to voice their dissent. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque "


Watch protest inaugural slide show - click title

The Seattle Times: Local News: Protest fills downtown Seattle streets

The Seattle Times: Local News: Protest fills downtown Seattle streets: "Inauguration Day in Seattle featured a student walkout, rallies and marches, with demonstrators protesting the war in Iraq and the entire 'Bush agenda' on issues from tax cuts and Social Security to gay marriage and abortion.
Though Seattle police typically don't release crowd counts, one officer, standing on Second Avenue as a wall of people approached, estimated there were a couple thousand.
Protesters, many of them students who walked out of class around noon, assembled downtown at Westlake Park. One man was arrested, but otherwise the protests were peaceful, said Officer Debra Brown. Demonstrators arrived at the Federal Building around 5 p.m., chanting 'Not our president, not our war.' "

The New York Times > Washington > Boxer Is Loudest Voice of Opposition to Rice Nomination

The New York Times > Washington > Boxer Is Loudest Voice of Opposition to Rice Nomination: "ASHINGTON, Jan. 19 - While some Democrats are still struggling to find their voices after November's election losses, Senator Barbara Boxer of California is not among them.

Her full-throated and combative questioning of Condoleezza Rice during two days of hearings on her nomination to be secretary of state was a vivid illustration of the aggressive posture that Ms. Boxer, a 64-year-old liberal from Marin County, near San Francisco, brought back to Washington after rolling up a big margin of victory in her re-election to a third term.

Before casting one of two Democratic votes against Ms. Rice on the Foreign Relations Committee - the other was John Kerry's - Ms. Boxer explained bluntly why she had been so persistent in pressing the national security adviser on what Ms. Boxer portrayed as the administration's misleading and misguided rationale for the war in Iraq.

'The fact is we've lost so many lives over it,' she said. 'So if we do get a little testy on the point, and I admit to be so, it's because it continues day in and day out, and 25 percent of the dead are from California. We cannot forget. We cannot forget that.'"

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: AP - Washington, D.C.: U.S. views Iran as potential trouble spot

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "President Bush refuses to rule out war with Iran. Iranian President Mohammad Khatami says his country is ready to defend itself against a U.S. attack. The United States is pushing for a peaceful solution to its nuclear impasse with Iran but, with mistrust on both sides running high, encouraging signs are hard to find."

By GEORGE GEDDA
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

Contacting the Congress

Contacting the Congress: "

Find Who Represents You In Congress

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3511243
visitors since March 12, 1995.
Latest Update to Contact Information: January 19, 2005



Online Directory for the 109th Congress
SITE NEWS (January 4, 2005): This site has been updated for the 109th Congress.
�Quiere ponerse en contacto con miembros del Congreso en Espa�ol?
Contacting the Congress is a very up-to-date database of congressional contact information for the 109th Congress. As of January 19, 2005 there are 494 email addresses (of which 422 are Web-based email homepages), and 532 WWW homepages known for the 540 members of the 109th Congress. More traditional ground mail addresses are available for all Congressmembers. "

DC Indymedia: Inauguration Coverage

DC Indymedia: home: "7:11pm Physical confrontation just occurred between a Republican and a protester at Union Station; protester was arrested, but Republican was allowed to enter Inaugural Ball at Union Station; Police are now forming a line between Republicans and protesters;
7:02pm Confrontations now occurring between Republicans and protesters at Union Station;
6:56pm Police have gone behind Union Station; Police reporting that Metro PD has situation at Union Station covered, other police forces going back to the motorcade;
6:33pm Marchers from unpermitted march say it was 'spontaneous', comprised of many different people of all types; they are now at Union Station regrouping and playing music; Police are estimating 200 protesters at Union Station; "

click title for up to the minute coverage

Open Park - 2005 Inauguration Blog - Photos

Open Park - 2005 Inauguration Blog




Hmmmm. Garment partrol: Get down to 1st and 5th NOW. A small boned female is wearing an oversized outter garment - her male companion is talking on a cell phone using an unregistered Sprint unit.

Party Tonight with George W Bush (Audio, Song)

Frenz - free MP3 music downloads on SoundClick

Party Tonight
play lo-fi
play hi-fi
MP3

USATODAY.com - Inauguration Day blog

USATODAY.com - Inauguration Day blog: "USATODAY.com's Patrick Cooper posts Inauguration Day events as they happen, with contributions from USA TODAY and Gannett News Service reporters."

The morning commute. Washington's subway system was jammed earlier with a mix of working stiffs who'd left their cars at home and Republican faithful wearing "Bush/Cheney" pins and red-white-and-blue scarves. There was such a crush of people that riders who managed to squeeze their way into a subway car were squashed flat against the doors, like bugs against a windshield. At one downtown stop, the train was too full to allow hundreds of people to board. "People, please, please, please, the doors are closing!" pleaded the conductor. The crowding was compounded by many riders' unfamiliarity with public transit.

Newsday.com - Web log: Big day ahead for the President

Newsday.com - National News: "Jan. 20, 9:22 a.m.

Getting dressed to head over to the Capitol now. Wanna know the coolest thing I have?

Foot and hand warmers. They're these little packages that get hot/warm as soon as you open them up. So you stick 'em in your gloves and shoes and voila! The only hitch is the Heat Treat hand warmers last 7 hours while the Heat Treat foot warmers only last 5.

I'll letcha know how these things work -- and whether the secret chemical compound inside (which includes 'cellulose and vermiculite') gives me a third eye or anything."

Check back frequently for updates as Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell chimes in from events leading up to today's presidential inauguration.

The JibJab Times: New Animation: Second Term

The JibJab Times Blog


The JibJab Brothers have just released their new musical ditty flash animation “SECOND TERM!” featuring President Bush, conservatives, liberals, Hollywood activists and dysfunctional world leaders duking it out for power and influence.

Boxer, Rice Exchange Pointed Words

Boxer, Rice Exchange Pointed Words Following is a transcript of Sen. Barbara Boxer's remarks and Condoleezza Rice's (photo) response at Rice's confirmation hearing as provided by Federal News Service.

SEN. BOXER: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Dr. Rice, for agreeing to stay as long as it takes, because some of us do have a lot of questions.

And, Senator Lugar, you are a very fair chairman, and I wanted to say to the new members also welcome -- and you'll enjoy this committee, because we have such a great chairman and such a terrific ranking member, and we really do a lot of things in a bipartisan way, unlike other committees. And I think you're going to enjoy your time here.

Dr. Rice, before I get to my formal remarks, you no doubt will be confirmed -- that's at least what we think. And if you're going to become the voice of diplomacy -- this is just a helpful point -- when Senator Voinovich mentioned the issue of tsunami relief, you said -- your first words were, "The tsunami was a wonderful opportunity for us." Now, the tsunami was one of the worst tragedies of our lifetime -- one of the worst -- and it's going to have a 10-year impact on rebuilding that area. I was very disappointed in your statement. I think you blew the opportunity. You mention it as part of one sentence. And I would hope to work with you on this, because children are suffering, we're worried they're going to get in the sex trade. This thing is a disaster, a true natural disaster and a human disaster of great proportions, and I hope that the State Department will take a huge lead under your leadership in helping those folks in the long range.

Well, Mr. Chairman, again I thank you. I am -- Dr. Rice, I was glad you mentioned Martin Luther King -- it was very appropriate, given everything. And he also said, Martin Luther King, quote, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter." And one of the things that matters most to my people in California and the people in America is this war in Iraq.

Now, it took you to page three of your testimony to mention the word "Iraq." You said very little really about it, and only in the questioning have we been able to get into some areas. Perhaps you agree with President Bush, who said all that's been resolved. I'm quoting today's Post: "Bush said in an interview last week with the Washington Post that the '04 election was a moment of accountability for the decisions he made in Iraq." But today's Washington Post/ABC poll found that 58 percent disapprove of his handling of the situation, to 40 percent who approve -- and only 44 percent said the war was worth fighting.

Audio: Target Iran? Here and Now Interviews Seymour Hersh

Here and Now Interviews Seymour Hersh Seymour Hersh, writing in the latest New Yorker magazine, reports that American soldiers have been conducting secret reconnaissance missions inside Iran. The missions have been underway for several months, in preparation for potential U.S. military.

Pentagon slams Iran raid report. 18/01/2005. ABC News Online

Pentagon slams Iran raid report. 18/01/2005. ABC News Online: "The Pentagon has made a blistering attack on American journalist Seymour Hersh for claiming the United States has been preparing for possible air strikes against Iran.

But the US Government has not denied his central allegation.

In today's edition of The New Yorker magazine, Hersh uses unnamed government sources in an article claiming the US has been undertaking reconnaissance missions, gathering information about Iran's nuclear, chemical and biological facilities.
He alleges extensive planning has been under way for possible air strikes against Iran since the middle of last year.
The Pentagon has issued a written statement saying Mr Hersh's piece is so riddled with errors of fundamental fact that the credibility of his entire piece is destroyed.

But the errors the Pentagon points out are comparatively minor.

While it also accuses Mr Hersh of being unable to keep track of his wanderings, it never refutes his central claim that the US is considering air strikes against Iran.

Mr Hersh has since responded to the criticism by Pentagon spokesman Lawrence di Rita.

'The last time he [Mr di Rita] and I crossed swords was over Abu Ghraib, when I wrote about it six months ago or so,' he said.
'At that time he said ... there's not much of a story there.'"

Reuters.com: Pentagon Faults Iran Raid Report

Politics News Article | Reuters.comWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Monday criticized a published report that said it was mounting reconnaissance missions inside Iran to identify potential nuclear and other targets.
"The Iranian regime's apparent nuclear ambitions and its demonstrated support for terrorist organizations is a global challenge that deserves much more serious treatment than Seymour Hersh provides in the New Yorker article titled "The Coming Wars," the Pentagon's chief spokesman, Lawrence DiRita, said in a statement.

Hersh's article, published on Sunday, was "so riddled with errors of fundamental fact that the credibility of his entire piece is destroyed," DiRita said.

Editor: It is amazing that the Pentagon can say the Seymour Hersh article is "so riddled with errors of fundamental fact that the credibility of his entire piece is destroyed" but will not produce a single fact in their assult on the author. Just saying it it so...doesn't make it true.

New York Post : "Unforgivable Blackness" Tonight 9pm PBS

New York Post Online Edition: entertainment: "IF you must apply a boxing metaphor to Ken Burns' new documentary about Jack Johnson, then score it a TKO.

It's a technical knockout because it's the technical aspects of Burns' films that lift them above all other historical documentaries made for TV.

What's his gift? It just might boil down to patience.
He never hurries to tell his stories and he is obviously painstaking and dogged in his pursuit of every known scrap of appropriate, historically accurate footage, no matter how old or obscure.
With 'Unforgivable Blackness,' the result is a rich, hypnotic documentary - aided by an original score by Wynton Marsalis - that more than justifies its four-hour length. "



Ken Burns Interview: The Globe and Mail
PBS Website : Unforgivable Blackness
Seattle Times: Article - Ken Burns' documentary tells of a champion who knocked down barriers with zeal

The New Yorker: THE COMING WARS: by SEYMOUR M. HERSH

The New Yorker: Fact: "George W. Bush’s reëlection was not his only victory last fall. The President and his national-security advisers have consolidated control over the military and intelligence communities’ strategic analyses and covert operations to a degree unmatched since the rise of the post-Second World War national-security state. Bush has an aggressive and ambitious agenda for using that control—against the mullahs in Iran and against targets in the ongoing war on terrorism—during his second term. The C.I.A. will continue to be downgraded, and the agency will increasingly serve, as one government consultant with close ties to the Pentagon put it, as “facilitators” of policy emanating from President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney. This process is well under way.

Despite the deteriorating security situation in Iraq, the Bush Administration has not reconsidered its basic long-range policy goal in the Middle East: the establishment of democracy throughout the region. Bush’s reëlection is regarded within the Administration as evidence of America’s support for his decision to go to war. It has reaffirmed the position of the neoconservatives in the Pentagon’s civilian leadership who advocated the invasion, including Paul Wolfowitz, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Douglas Feith, the Under-secretary for Policy. According to a former high-level intelligence official, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff shortly after the election and told them, in essence, that the naysayers had been heard and the American people did not accept their message. Rumsfeld added that America was committed to staying in Iraq and that there would be no second-guessing. "

CNN.com - Journalist: U.S. planning for possible attack on Iran

CNN.com: "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration has been carrying out secret reconnaissance missions to learn about nuclear, chemical and missile sites in Iran in preparation for possible airstrikes there, journalist Seymour Hersh said Sunday.
The effort has been under way at least since last summer, Hersh said on CNN's 'Late Edition.'
In an interview on the same program, White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett said the story was 'riddled with inaccuracies.'
'I don't believe that some of the conclusions he's drawing are based on fact,' Bartlett said.
Iran has refused to dismantle its nuclear program, which it insists is legal and is intended solely for civilian purposes. (Full story)"


Seymour Hersh said his information on Iran came from "inside" sources.

First-person account: The horror of surviving a tsunami

First-person account: The horror of surviving a tsunami: "Sitting around, day after Christmas, just staring at the TV, some movie we've seen before. Mid-morning, post-breakfast stupor controlling Karin and me. The power flickers and we moan. We'll have to get up and do something? Then we hear some yelling outside.

I look out the front door, still puffed up with pride about our new house, just 400 feet back from the beach. People are running up our street yelling. It looks like a fire at the large two-story resort that effectively blocks our view of the beach. Smoke and dust coming up and all these people.

Then a small line of really brown water comes rolling toward us. That's weird. But I reckon it must be some strange full-moon high tide. So we go upstairs so we don't get wet. I look out the window and try and take some pictures. There is a quiet rumble to it, like those white-noise generators that are supposed to help you sleep. The water is getting higher and higher and then it destroys our friend's cement bungalow! Then our front door caves in, and then water is coming up the stairs!

This was the last point my brain worked for a long time."

click title for more

DC Indymedia: Tonight - a night of anti-capitalist folk music!

DC Indymedia

Featuring:
-David Rovics (www.davidrovics.com)
-Anna Roland (www.annaroland.com and www.riotfolk.org)
-Evan Greer (www.evangreer.com and www.riotfolk.org)
-Counterfeit Matt (http://www.counterfeitmatt.cjb.net)
-Ryan Harvey (www.ryanharvey.cjb.net and www.riotfolk.org)
-Alex Aston (amazing poetry)
-Slug's Revenge
(and maybe more...)

Sunday, January 16th
6:00pm til 11:00pm or so.
@ The Brian Mackenzie Infoshop/Flemming Center
9th and P St. NW (Shaw/Howard METRO)

$$$ Donation suggested!
This will be a benefit for Seeds of Peace, doing free feedings during the inauguration protests!

--Brought to you by the Riot-Folk! Collective (www.riotfolk.org) and Anarchist Resistance (www.anarchistresistance.org)

David Rovics International Activist Singer/Songwriter/Blogger Performs New Tune “Election” At The Counter-Inaugural In Washington DC

Apple iPod Shuffle Owners Download Free “Election” At SoundClick.com

Washington DC (PRWEB) January 17, 2005 -- Internationally acclaimed activist David Rovics will perform daily on the Counter-Inaugural stage in Washington DC beginning Sunday January 16 through Friday January 21. During the week, he will also publish accounts from Washington DC to his blog hosted on LiveJournal.com. For the first time, David will perform “Election” a song he wrote immediately after the November 2, 2004 presidential election. Lyrics and free streaming MP3s for low and high bandwidth Internet users as well as a free download for Apple iPod Shuffle owners of the complete tune recorded on December 30th is now available at http://www.soundclick.com/davidrovics

Full Press Release (prweb)
Full Press Release (i-newswire)
Full Press Release (dc indy media)