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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ish who wrote (46778)	7/24/1999 8:17:00 AM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

Ish, you dog, good morning!

To: Ish who wrote (46778)	7/24/1999 8:26:00 AM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

Buddy, I use you as a point of insertion for something from the Kosovo thread: I will tell you a story: once upon a time there was a powerful nation that had just won a great war that had largely exhausted its allies. It bestrode the earth, holding in own hand the atomic bomb. It was poised to impose a vengeful peace, and perhaps overcome remaining rivals and establish undisputed hegemony. Instead, it aided rebuilding, and brought back its enemies from the brink of chaos. Meanwhile, one of its main allies reneged on obligations to hold free elections in the territories under its control, and supported insurgencies in several war torn countries. This regime was formally dedicated to the overthrow of bourgeois democracy, and its leader was widely known for his brutality towards his own people. In fact, before the rise of Hitler, he had been looked upon as the chief threat to peace on the continent. In reaction, the remaining allies supported the countries fighting insurgencies, and formed a broader alliance in defense of Western Europe. Thus began the Cold War....Years later, the dictator who succeeded Stalin acknowledged, once and for all, that Stalin had tormented his people. However, he maintained an aggressive demeanor towards the West himself, claiming "We will bury you", building the Berlin Wall, and trying to establish a missile base in Cuba. Eventually, though, he was deposed by the Politburo for being too liberal... ...The other story is that the United States of America is ruled by a clique determined to advance the interests of capital through neo- colonial exploitation; that democracy is a sham, because the government shamelessly manipulates public opinion; and that the Cold War was a farce, used as a pretext to oppress the wretched of the earth so that fat cats could get even fatter... ...Which do you think is closer to accuracy?

To: Ish who wrote (46778)	7/24/1999 8:30:00 AM
From: nihil	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

It's really easy to catch them. They glow so brightly. But you are, I'm sure, a big catch and release guy. Use lead-lined gloves.<g>

To: Ish who wrote (46778)	7/24/1999 8:55:00 AM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 108807

An interesting German article (translated) on Reagan: berliner-morgenpost.de

To: Ish who wrote (46778)	7/24/1999 11:11:00 AM
From: Father Terrence	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 108807

Has Big Brother Finally Arrived? Uncle Sam Has All Your Numbers By Robert O'Harrow Jr. Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, June 27, 1999; Page A1 As part of a new and aggressive effort to track down parents who owe child support, the federal government has created a vast computerized data-monitoring system that includes all individuals with new jobs and the names, addresses, Social Security numbers and wages of nearly every working adult in the United States. Government agencies have long gathered personal information for specific reasons, such as collecting taxes. But never before have federal officials had the legal authority and technological ability to locate so many Americans found to be delinquent parents – or such potential to keep tabs on Americans accused of nothing. The system was established under a little-known part of the law overhauling welfare three years ago. It calls for all employers to quickly file reports on every person they hire and, quarterly, the wages of every worker. States regularly must report all people seeking unemployment benefits and all child-support cases. Starting next month, the system will reach further. Large banks and other financial institutions will be obligated to search for data about delinquent parents by name on behalf of the government, providing authorities with details about bank accounts, money-market mutual funds and other holdings of those parents. State officials, meanwhile, have sharply expanded the use of Social Security numbers. Congress ordered the officials to obtain the nine-digit numbers when issuing licenses – such as drivers', doctors' and outdoorsmen's – in order to revoke the licenses of delinquents. Enforcement officials say the coupling of computer technology with details about individuals' employment and financial holdings will give them an unparalleled ability to identify and locate parents who owe child support and, when necessary, withhold money from their paychecks or freeze their financial assets. "They never get away from us anymore. It's just wonderful. . . . What you're trying to do in child support is build a box, four walls, around a person," said Brian Shea, the acting executive director of child-support enforcement in Maryland. "It has in some ways revolutionized this business." But privacy experts and civil libertarians say the scope of the effort raises new questions about the proper line between aggressive public policy and intrusive government snooping. In pursuing an objective that is almost universally applauded, the government has also created something that many Americans have staunchly opposed: a vast pool of fresh personal information that could be used in a variety of ways to monitor their lives. "What you have here is a compilation of information that is much better and more current than any other data system in the U.S.," said Robert Gellman, a lawyer and privacy specialist in the District. "All of the sudden we're on the verge of creating the Holy Grail of data collection, a central file on every American." Already lawmakers, federal agencies and the White House have considered expanding the permitted aims of the system to include cutting down on fraud by government contractors, improving the efficiency of the government and pinpointing debtors, such as students who default on government loans. Under the system, every employer must send information about new hires and quarterly wages to state child-support agencies. State officials gather the data, along with information on unemployment benefits and child-support cases, and then ship it to computers run by the Administration for Children and Families. ACF officials then use computers to sort and send back to state authorities reports about people obligated to pay child support. More at: washingtonpost.com