Here are links — sorry no pictures!
Announcement from Adobe (Small – 4 MB)
Lessig 1 of 4 (Small – 16 MB)
Lessig 2 of 4 (Small – 11 MB)
Lessig 3 of 4 (Small – 12 MB)
Lessig 4 of 4 (Small – 13 MB)
Lessig – All (Small – 51 MB)
Neeru’s Speech (Small – 7 MB)
Neeru’s speech has a lot of great statistics in it explaining ‘ progress over the last year!
Lovely Comprehensive Page On The Saddam Capture Cover-up Links
Knitwitology has just posted a great page with all the information on it I was just about to take the time to create links for:
Of Spiderholes and Spiderwebs
Thanks, Morgan for letting me off the hook!
Remember to not let any of this stuff get you down people! Things just keep getting stranger and stranger. But we’re all in this together, and we’re gonna get out of it together!
Happy Holidays and Remember to Be Careful About Driving Tired, Wasted or in Bad Weather. When in doubt – chill out and wait till later.
Peace and Love Ya’ll!
(I’m probably out for the next few days…connectivity uncertain.)
More On The Real Story Behind Saddam’s Capture
An intelligence website has reported that former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, might have been a prisoner at the time of his arrest.
According to Debkafiles there is a possibility that Saddam was held for up to three weeks in the underground pit by a Kurdish splinter group while they negotiated a handover to the Americans in return for the US$25m reward.
The website, edited by former Israeli intelligence agents reports that this is the only answer to questions on why Saddam looked dishevelled and disorientated when captured.
The website reported that it was clear Saddam had not shaved for weeks nor had he washed his hair. He was also starved and looked neglected.
The opening of the underground pit was camouflaged with rocks and mud and it was accessible for above ground only. As a result it was impossible for Saddam to leave his underground cell.
No information has been released on the two men captured at the site except for the fact that they tried to escape during the American operation.
The other question asked is where did the US$750 000 found at the scene come from. It is possible that the new notes were a down payment of a ransom.
The possibility that Saddam was drugged has also emerged. This could have been why he appeared so disorientated, read the report. This would also explain why Saddam did not use the firearm found in the pit.
SADDAM Hussein was found by US troops only after he had been taken prisoner by Kurdish forces, drugged and abandoned ready for American soldiers to recover him, a British newspaper reported yesterday.
Saddam came into the hands of the Kurdish Patriotic Front after being betrayed to the group by a member of the al-Jabour tribe, whose daughter had been raped by Saddam’s son Uday, leading to a blood feud, reported the Sunday Express, which quoted an unnamed senior British military intelligence officer.
The newspaper said the full story of events leading up to the ousted Iraqi president’s capture on December 13 near his hometown of Tikrit in northern Iraq, “exposes the version peddled by American spin doctors as incomplete”.
A former Iraqi intelligence officer, whom the Express did not name, told the paper that Saddam was held prisoner by a leader of the Kurdish Patriotic Front, which fought alongside US forces during the Iraq war, until the leader negotiated a deal.
The deal apparently involved the group gaining political advantage in the region.
An unnamed Western intelligence source in the Middle East told the Express: “Saddam was not captured as a result of any American or British intelligence”.
Saddam Actually Captured By The Kurds
Can’t the Shrub Administration tell the truth about anything?
Would it have really been so bad to just tell the truth on this one? We still have him in custody and all. The Kurds could have gotten their proper credit — we could have bonded with a persecuted people, and then we all could have held hands and hated Saddam together. (These are the Kurds, remember? The ones that were gassed ten years ago that the Administration likes to bring up all the time as justification for the Shrub War’s unfound WMD!)
But no.
Instead we have to find out a week later that we were lied to yet again.
I hope this is getting as old for you as it is for me. I want a President that can tell the truth at least part of the time. How about once. I’d like to go a day or two, or maybe a week even, without hearing a lie from my President. I don’t think it’s too much to ask.
Well, at least now we know what the new terror alert level is all about. It’s all about diversion: “Pay no attention to the information coming in from the rest of the world. Just be afraid and keep watching the box for further instructions.”
Saddam was held by Kurdish forces, drugged and left for US troops
Saddam Hussein (news – web sites) was captured by US troops only after he had been taken prisoner by Kurdish forces, drugged and abandoned ready for American soldiers to recover him, a British Sunday newspaper said.
Saddam came into the hands of the Kurdish Patriotic Front after being betrayed to the group by a member of the al-Jabour tribe, whose daughter had been raped by Saddam’s son Uday, leading to a blood feud, reported the Sunday Express, which quoted an unnamed senior British military intelligence officer.
The newspaper said the full story of events leading up to the ousted Iraqi president’s capture on December 13 near his hometown of Tikrit in northern Iraq (news – web sites), “exposes the version peddled by American spin doctors as incomplete”.
A former Iraqi intelligence officer, whom the Express did not name, told the paper that Saddam was held prisoner by a leader of the Kurdish Patriotic Front, which fought alongside US forces during the Iraq war, until he negotiated a deal.
The deal apparently involved the group gaining political advantage in the region.
An unnamed Western intelligence source in the Middle East told the Express: “Saddam was not captured as a result of any American or British intelligence. We knew that someone would eventually take their revenge, it was just a matter of time.”
Terror Alert Level High: Happy Holidays Everyone
So they won’t say exactly why, and they won’t say exactly what they’re doing as a result of it, but the terror alert level has been raised to “high.”
Tom Ridge, chief Dept of Homeland Security dude, was on the tube saying absolutely nothing, over and over again.
It was all very surreal. Like a chapter in a book… (called 1984).’
Peace everybody!
Michael Moore Posts Letters From The Troops
I’ll be posting some stuff today…(even though technically I don’t have time to.)
Some of this stuff is just too important…(Ugh…that’s how I got behind in my school work to begin with!)
Letters the Troops Have Sent Me
As we approach the holidays, I’ve been thinking a lot about our kids who are in the armed forces serving in Iraq. I’ve received hundreds of letters from our troops in Iraq — and they are telling me something very different from what we are seeing on the evening news.
What they are saying to me, often eloquently and in heart-wrenching words, is that they were lied to — and this war has nothing to do with the security of the United States of America.
I’ve written back and spoken on the phone to many of them and I’ve asked a few of them if it would be OK if I posted their letters on my website and they’ve said yes. They do so at great personal risk (as they may face disciplinary measures for exercising their right to free speech). I thank them for their bravery.
Lance Corporal George Batton of the United States Marine Corps, who returned from Iraq in September (after serving in MP company Alpha), writes the following:
“You’d be surprised at how many of the guys I talked to in my company and others believed that the president’s scare about Saddam’s WMD was a bunch of bullshit and that the real motivation for this war was only about money. There was also a lot of crap that many companies, not just marine companies, had to go through with not getting enough equipment to fulfill their missions when they crossed the border. It was a miracle that our company did what it did the two months it was staying in Iraq during the war
Attention: Job Available At NewsMonster For Linux and Java-experienced Search and Reputation System Programmer
My buddy Kevin Burton is having a hard time finding just the right programmer for his NewsMonster company.
I know you’re out there, just waiting to hear about such a position, so I thought I would take a minute out from my blogging moratorium to let you know that your new job awaits!
Email Kevin at burton@newsmonster.org if you’re interested.
Here’s the conversation I just had with Kevin:
Kevin: We’re still hiring. We’re still trying to hire people.
Lisa: Who are you trying to hire?
Kevin: Well, we’re trying to hire people with Linux and Java experience. Hopefully people that have *really* strong skills — like PhD quality stuff. Knowledge of search experience, and knowledge of reputation systems. But they’re just impossible to find. Even in this job market. If you’re a smart person, you still get sucked up. So it’s just impossible to find anyone. It’s not impossible, but you just have to spend a lot of time looking.
In The Spirit: First MP3s and Video From My Dec 13 Showcase
So I’m still very much in the throws of finals hell in school, but I wanted to start throwing stuff up from the show last Saturday night, which was a huge success!
There were about 100 people there over the course of the night. I collected $460 in donations and gave the EFF its $230 on Monday.
Here is a live track of my new anti-war song, In The Spirit. I’ll include the lyrics below. It’s got Alex Walsh sitting in with us on guitar – “us” being Ron Taylor (guitar), Jeff Norwood (bass) and Simon Grant (drums).
I’ve made two versions – one with the little introduction explaining what the song is about, one without the intro so you don’t have to listen to the intro over and over again when you’re listening to the song on your ipod 🙂
Lemme know what cha think!
In The Spirit – w/intro (MP3 – 9 MB)
In The Spirit – Radio Edit (MP3 – 8 MB)
In The Spirit – Video (Small – 14 MB)
So this is the last song. Thanks a lot for coming out. I really appreciate it.
So this song is my first anti-war song. This song is basically about the war and how it sucks and all that kind of stuff, but it’s also about keeping a good attitude about how we have to change things and basically, kind of, rebuild our entire country from the ground up. From square one. And trying to keep a good attitude about it, ’cause there’s a lot of work to do. But if we stay in a good mood and have a good time doing it then we have a better chance of pulling it off.
In The Spirit – Lyrics
Words and Music by Lisa Rein
Sticks and stones won’t make them go away
problems rearranging every day
30,000600,000 faces disappear
history repeats itself in fear
how far will you run
how far have we come
won’t be any fun
without you in the spirit
sticks and stones can’t build a better way
hear their story changing every day
in the distance you can see their lies
targeting you right between the eyes
how far will you run
how far have we come
won’t be any fun
without you in the spirit
how far can we go
time to hit the road
such a heavy load
unless you’re in the spirit
solo 1
sticks and stones can’t build a better way
hear their story changing every day
in the distance you can see their lies
targeting you right between the eyes
how far will you run
how far have we come
won’t be any fun
without you in the spirit
how far can we go
time to hit the road
such a heavy load
unless you’re in the spirit
solo 2
Hope To See You At The Show Tonight!
See you there!
Lisa Rein’s Music Showcase
Parking’s tough! Better to take public transit!
Map and Transit Info

Matt Gonzalez For SF Mayor!
Remember San Franciscans to get out there and vote this Tuesday!
Don’t let scheduling or accessibility deter you from voting:
I just received a phone call from the Matt Gonzalez for SF Mayor campaign. They wanted me to let as many people know as I could about a couple of things.
Whoever you’re voting for, this information might be useful to you:
1. If Tuesday is not a convenient day for you, you can also vote Sunday from 10-4pm, or Monday from 8-5 am at City Hall.
2. If you need any assitance to the polling place, or have basic questions about your polling place, etc., you can call 415-734-9340 ext 325, and they will assist you in getting to the polls or with basic information.
Every vote counts people!
This is a great opportunity to put San Francisco on a more progressive track.
Please do your best to get to the polls this Tuesday and Vote For Matt Gonzalez.