You know you want it.

Hey everyone!
Okay, so the fateful day is upon us. June 29, a day that will go down in pop-culture record books. I-Phone day!! So, this godsend of a gadget has been selling for approx. 3 1/2 hrs. Lines for the phone have been starting since Monday even though it will take a chunk of change out of the buyers' wallets selling from $500 for the lower gigabyte phone and approx. $600 for the higher gb phone.
News reporters have been reporting about of course, the disadvantages of the phone including the slow internet and the difficult keypad as well as other numerous "kinks." For $500, its so worth it! I rather wait though until Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple and the Apple Engineers come out with more stuff for the I-Phone. If you don't know what I am talking about see the I-Pod as an example. I will be the first person in line for a hot pink I-Phone.
But honestly, the question I raise with the phone. Is why do you need all the stuff? Granted its easy access to the internet, pictures, music, and a phone which can fit in your purse or pocket. But if you have an i-pod or a phone that as the internet, why do you need the I-Phone? The answer for me is simple: Its just so cool!!! I am a gadget person and I love that kinda stuff. I guess as we get older, we still have some kid left in all of us... Except toys become gadgets like the I-Phone.. I still can't believe all this fuss is for a phone!?
Signing off,
sam.

What an anti-Giuliani ad should say.

Considering Rudy Giuliani's image as the hero of Sept. 11, 2001, and the nation's ultimate first responder, burnished yet again by the warm reception he received at a firehouse during a recent campaign swing through South Carolina, it might surprise many of his supporters to learn that the country's largest union of firefighters hates "America's mayor" with a passion.

...

"Our disdain for him," said the letter, "is not about issues or a disputed contract. It is about a visceral, personal affront to the fallen, to our union and indeed, to every one of us who has ever risked our lives by going into a burning building to save lives and property."

...

The public may also be unaware that Giuliani's preparation for and management of the crisis that has come to define his career, and on which his presidential ambitions rest, has actually become a case study for emergency management experts of what not to do.

Full Article Here.

There is always room for Paris

Hey guys!
So now we are about a month into summer and of course, we have news about the latest adventures of hotel heiress, Paris Hilton. Much to the dismay of her fans, she has been sent off to jail twice. But not for two separate issues, it was the same crime that she had to serve time for. The reason why she went to jail again for the second time is still unsure. It is rumored on the news channels, that she was not eating and suffering from a nervous disorder. The judge called her back into his court when he found out she was released with only serving about three days into jail sentence. She was put back into the jail after serving a few days in house arrest which was another possibility to serve her time. If she was allowed to continue with house arrest, she would be serving it in her mansion in the Hollywood Hills. Not bad, for someone serving time, sign me up for that vacation!
Paris Hilton when she was forced back into jail, was under examination at the treatment center for her "undisclosed medical issue." She is now currently serving the rest of her 45-day sentence in the women's jail. Just days before she started to serve her sentence, she discussed to the press how she was going to serve as a role model to kids and serve her sentence completely without any problems. Odd or does she have a different way of defining that? Recently, she talked to the Hilton's family friend, Barbara Walters, stating that, "I used to act dumb, that act is no longer cute. Now, I would like to make a difference, God has given me this new chance." Some people like The View co-host, Joy Behr, bring up the point when people go to jail why do they always find God?
Was the Simple Life's characterization of Hilton really her just acting? Possibly. The jail time has given her even more press time. Details come out daily. Some journalists like Gia Cortina from the Post Chronicle suggest that she is going to come out even more famous. Oh just great, we need another rich ,spoiled, famous for all the wrong reasons woman in Hollywood? But I really just don't care, and I know many people don't care. Lots of people are happy that she is in jail. Just check out the MTV Movie Awards where Sarah Silverman made a couple jokes about her situation and the crowd erupted into applause. Hopefully, she learned her lesson but we can never be too sure? I don't really want to judge her because I don't know her but her situation is tough and its a good learning experience, even if your a 26 year old heiress.
Well that's all for now!
Signing off,
Sam

QOD: Future Crisis

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. ... corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."

President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864, letter to Col. William F. Elkins, in The Lincoln Encyclopedia, by Archer H. Shaw.

EDIT: Apparently there is a serious question as to weather this quote is correctly attributed (see the comment made on this post). Though I found it attributed to Lincoln in more then one place, the Internet is never the most trustworthy source, so I am striking the attribution.

Blog Log - Mason Students Blog!

[MasonTechBeat] - Mason student Jimmy Rogers provides succinct and interesting posts on the latest in technology. Check it out, his writing is clear enough that even the less tech savvy can come out on top.

[ChinaFox] - Kate Fox has only just begun a blog on her CGE trip to China. Anyone interested in China, or just traveling abroad through Mason, should keep an eye on this gem of a blog.

And of course, don't forget to keep a ready eye for my own new blog, documenting my upcoming month in the UK. I still need a name, so feel free to throw out ideas.

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"If Bush and Cheney Can Curse…" - An interesting article about the recent court decision to strike down "the government policy of fining stations and networks that broadcast shows containing profanities." Dear reader, I encourage celebrating by cursing as loudly as you can for as long as you can, preferably in a public place. [The Caucus]
--Further Reading:
○ Business Section Article
○ FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin's Press Statement
○ Full Appellate Court Decision
○ Summery (with links to full copy) of "Big Chill: How the FCC's Indecency Decisions Stifle Free Expression, Threaten Quality Television, and Harm America's Children" by Center For Creative Voices in Media

"Frank Rich: Failed Presidents Ain't What They Used to Be" is an article which takes a look at why there has been no real call for Bush's impeachment and what is going on to cause the recent party infighting. [Free Democracy]

A summery of some of the more amusing parts of RollingStone's article on Giuliani. I recommend you click through for the full, and therefore far more depressing, article. [Wonkette]

In "How Not To Get Elected President" Freakonomics links to data on what presidential characteristics (Black, Female, Etc…) are most likely to be voted for. An interesting topic as Dems consider just how much the obvious differences of their candidates' genetics will matter in the Presidential race. It's good news, if the percentages continue to increase at this rate, 100% of the electorate will be willing to vote for a Jew by the time I'm ready to run! [Freakonomics]

Justice Ginsburg speaks out against the recent Abortion ruling. Calls the majority "parsimonious." Commentators say that Ginsburg is saying "the Court is moving backwards." Essentially, she looked at the timing and composition of the Court and called the recent case a political move, one which has no place in the Supreme Court. [AMERICAblog]

Captain's Quarters takes a look at Nationalized Health Care, and it's Panopticon-like implications. Will government control of our health care mean a loss of our privacy? [CQ]

The manipulation of language in politics, especially the tags of Liberal and Conservative, is one that should be of great interest to all. When a party, media outlet, or individual, succeeds in changing the definition of one of the mainstays of political language all bets are off. [Kos Diary]

Guest Workers and the reasons behind immigration laws applying to them is the topic of discussion. Will they harm Americans? Do we need them? [Ezra Klein]

Looking for a quick look at the recent Dem debate? On Call has it, but check the reader Comments for some interesting further reactions. [Hotline]

Spencer Ackerman writes, on the dusk of the 40th anniversary of the Six Day War, that Arab and Jewish Americans are not so divided on the subject of Mideast Peace. [TPMmuckraker]

Does Freedom Endure?

|-‘Why is showing the injured or dead of the war important? Why has the media become the enemy?’-|

“Maybe I know what I’m doing here! These people are risking their lives for us. I want to see what they’re going through even if they don’t want us to, and I want other people to see it! What do you think they’re doing out there, protecting and defending secrecy? That’s the world of Mao… The world of Stalin, the world of secret police, secret trials, secret… secret deaths. […] You force the Press into the cold, and all you will get is lies and innuendo, and nothing, nothing is worse for a free society than a press that is in service to the military and the politicians. Nothing!”

There was a recent article in the New York Times - “Not To See The Fallen Is No Favor,” by David Carr – which was interesting, as was the backlash against it; notably the WSJ’s Opinion Journal, which asked the question “Why is it so important to show images of hurt and dead Americans?” The WSJ goes off into a conservative la-la land; however, the question is an important one. Why do we even bother with Journalists in the field? What exactly have 143 media workers lost their lives for? Why is the media defined for military supervisors as a “nontraditional” threat, on the same level as drug cartels? Why do soldiers with blogs face the very real possibility of being tried for acts of espionage?

Why is it that the media has to fight for its ability to fulfill its basic function? Why are reporters dying for information and images that are not allowed on TV? Why do our soldiers die without us seeing how or seeing the war they fight?

I can tell you why: 3756 Coalition Fatalities. Three Thousand, Seven Hundred, and Fifty Six men and women who have died in a war we started for reasons that have turned out to not even be the truth. Take a moment. Read that again. 3756 deaths. I don’t know about you, but I can feel that number, right down in my chest, and at the bottom of my stomach where it makes me feel a little sick. It makes me think about all those people with Support our Troops stickers and it makes me realize that they have no idea what’s going on with the troops they supposedly support, otherwise our soldiers would have come back a long time ago.

Why shouldn’t they have? Why do none of us have a good idea of the real situation in Iraq? Because nothing is worse for a war than to have the citizenry see it uncensored. Let us face the truth; the strongest element that worked against the Vietnam war was the television. Back then, when televised media was new, and raw, they broadcasted images of the war - deaths, lives, victories, and defeats - into America’s living rooms. The people saw something in their televisions, something horrible. They stood up and they said, as strong as they could, NO! When that many people spoke, the government had no choice to listen. We left Vietnam.

Today we have something different. Our generation has grown up with the television. For me and my peers we are too used to seeing what is broadcast as a work of fiction. When we see images of the war, they are separated from us, the pane of glass onto which they are projected works as a method of division as well. The impact is lessened. Then that impact is lessened even more because the images that show the war are censored, cut out, in the name of “privacy” and “operational security.”

You know it is a funny thing, but I can think of a few other leaders who censored the presses coverage of wars in order to prevent their full impact from reaching their nation’s citizens. They were all fascists.

Face Facts! These people fight and die for us. It is unjust that we cannot see who they are, or how they died. This war has taken a lot, and I do mean a lot, of lives. This sort of policy, this sort of secrecy, robs us of the impact that our decision as a nation has made on the families and friends of those dying for freedom. Part of that freedom that we value so dearly as to have spent 3756 lives on (thus far) is the freedom of speech, the freedom of expression, the freedom of the press. Yet, instead, they die, and their deaths are used, disgustingly, as an excuse for secrecy. By disrespecting what they died for, we are destroying the very purpose of the fight.

Ashley Gilbertson, a freelance photographer who has been in Iraq seven times to pursue his work, said “They are not letting us cover the reality of war … I think this has got little to do with the families or the soldiers and everything to do with politics.”

Don’t roll over it with bullshit about the “liberal media.” ANY media outlet that is not trying to bring these images to the forefront of the public’s attention is FAILING in its responsibility to the people. As far as I can see, the WSJ’s opinion article, and those who align themselves with its ideas, are outright supporting the abridgement of our basic human rights, of the soldiers’ basic human rights, and of our nation’s most important freedoms.

As our government tries to manage the press’s coverage of the war, it becomes harder to bring the truth, the hard, bloody truth, of the war to us. A difficulty only compacted by the rising danger to journalists, the cost of the war to the media, its journalists, and their resources, and the simple fact that as the number of resources dwindles the price becomes higher and higher for a result that lessens with each governmental censure.

“As the number of reporters there [Iraq] dwindles further and further because of the difficult conditions we work under, the kind of work they are able to publish becomes very important,” said James Glanz, a Baghdad correspondent for the New York Times. “This tiny remaining corps of reporters becomes a greater and greater problem for the military brass because we [the Press] are the only people preventing them from telling the story the way they [the Military] want it told.”

To bring the brutal truth of the war back to the home front is a responsibility of the press that dates far back. It is the reason we know what people sacrificed in the wars previous. It is the reason we know and feel the horrors and atrocities that have been committed around the world, throughout the past. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. With the government keeping our very recent history from us, is it any surprise that they are making noises about seeking to repeat it? Is it any surprise that it continues, without any real end in sight?

To quote David Carr, “If the government chooses to overmanage the wages of war in Iraq, there is a real danger that when this new generation of veterans, whose ranks grow every day, could come home to a place where their fellow Americans have little idea what they have gone through.”

New York Times – “Not to See the Fallen Is No Favor”
WSJ OpinionJournal – "We Are The Only People Preventing Them From Telling the Story”
Iraq Coalition Casualties
Operation Enduring Freedom Casualties (Afghanistan)