Archive for February 11th, 2006


Attack on LA?

Email from Joe Hartley

One of the depressing facts of modern journalism is that few reporters do more than follow the story developed by others with no independent inquiry. Bush’s story of foiling an attack on the “Liberty” Tower in LA (633 W. Fifth St., now the US Bank Tower and formerly the Library Tower because it’s across the street from the LA Central Library).

For those unfamiliar with the topography of downtown Los Angeles, the US Bank Tower sits at the southern foot of Bunker Hill, which rises about 50 feet above 5th St. In a circumference of 6 blocks or so, there are at least a dozen buildings of 40 stories or more on all sides of the tower. True, the building itself is taller than the surrounding buildings, but often only by 10 stories or so. There is no “unprotected” side as there was in the World Trade Center. Hitting the building where it could really do some damage would be a challenge for an experienced fighter pilot, let alone for a minimally-trained crew on a suicide mission with a big plane.

This is not to say that signficant damage of a plane hitting downtown Los Angeles is impossible, but the impracticality of the plan should give us some insight into the amateurish nature of the alleged conspirators.

Or into the nature of a lying Bush Adminstration makin’ shit up again.

I can think of a dozen more effective attacks on the LA infrastructure that would wreak far more damage than trying to fly an airplane into a tallish building surrounded by many buildings which are equally as tall. This should have been discussed at least by LA-based journalists instead of being accepted at face value as another World Trade Center attack. Of course, that also diminishes the nature of the threat that such conspiracies pose–as though any hijacker is ever going to be able to take over a domestic US plane without being torn to shreds by the passengers, even if some of them get killed.

Obvious and effective attacks on LA would include blowing up the aqueduct that supplies LA with most of its water or demolishing the 4-level freeway interchange in downtown LA , something that would create gridlock for months. These are not my ideas, they’ve been discussed by many elsewhere and unquestionably would be in the contingency plans for the city and county.

Oh, “about that L.A. terror plot…”

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a top member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said she has no information to support White House claims that its secret wiretapping helped thwart a 2002 Los Angeles terrorist attack.

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Watching us?

On some political blogs I frequent, some have been wondering if the government is watching leftie blogs and protesters.

Well of course they are. They watch antiwar protests, and blogs too no doubt. I helped organize an antiwar march and rally Hollywood last March that was specifically mentioned in the news as being watched by the Pentagon.

This goes with the territory.

a) We aren’t doing anything illegal.
b) This happened in the 60’s too.
c) Let’s make sure they hear us the next time they “monitor” us.

That would be March 18. Be there. Be loud. Not cowed.

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Net Freedom Now

I was on a conference call yesterday about the Future of the Internet. There’s been unsettling changes in underlying laws which threaten network neutrality. If this trend continues the telcos and cablecos could, and indeed want to, institute a multi-tier system where only those who can afford it will get top service. This would destroy the Net as we know it. For example, great blogs like Crooks and Liars that do videocasting would not be able to afford top-tier prices and thus would be relegated to a slower-download-speed lane (if they weren’t blocked altogether.) Technology exists now, in the form of new routers, for this to happen.

Speakers on the call included Stanford Law Professor Lawrence Lessig, Mark Cooper of Consumer Federation of America, Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy and Ben Scott of Free Press. I’ll be blogging about this on a continuing basis, here’s some intro information

From their main site, FreePress.net

Until now, the Internet has been governed by the principle of “network neutrality,” which allows independent voices to try out new ideas without having to pay extra or ask for permission.

But net neutrality is in danger. Major communications companies are planning to discriminate against the online content and services that they don’t yet control. If successful, their scheme would forever alter the free flow of information and ideas in the blogosphere.

Congress is now debating the future of the Internet. Unless bloggers and their readers get involved, our elected representatives could allow the Internet to become a “walled garden” and shift the digital revolution into reverse.

Send the telcos an email and let’s mobilize the blogosphere on this.

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Global warming: passing the ‘tipping point’

A crucial global warming “tipping point” for the Earth, highlighted only last week by the British Government, has already been passed, with devastating consequences.

Research commissioned by The Independent reveals that the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has now crossed a threshold, set down by scientists from around the world at a conference in Britain last year, beyond which really dangerous climate change is likely to be unstoppable.

Meanwhile, the Bushies continue their anti-science jihads, which, in a bizarre coincidence, also aid the spread of rapacious capitalism and imperialism. Screw the planet as long as the ExxonMobils of the world continue to make bloated obscene profits. The US government stands pitifully alone in their refusal to accept global warming is happening and is serious, a grotesquerie based on greed and religious fundamentalism.

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This is different

Israelis may regret Saddam ousting

Israel’s Shin Bet security service chief has said his country may come to regret the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, because strong dictatorship is preferable to the present chaos in Iraq. Yuval Diskin, who was secretly recorded talking to teenage Jewish settlers preparing for military service, also said Israel’s judicial system discriminates against Arabs.

He added that “Jewish terrorists” who used violence to oppose withdrawals from the occupied territories were worse than Arab attackers.

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