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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Skywatcher who wrote (229873)	4/19/2005 3:51:47 AM
From: Raymond Duray	Respond to of 1573817

"Code Names" by William Arkin Chris, The MoJo article referred to William Arkin. Arkin was featured discussing his new book "Code Names" on BookTV this past weekend. Here's one of the more interesting book reviews I've read so far on Amazon.com: amazon.com "Polo Step" is secret Pentagon code for classified material that is more sensitive than "Top Secret." When veteran military-affairs journalist William Arkin first publicly mentioned "Polo Step" in a 2002 column in the Los Angeles Times, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was apparently furious and ordered an investigation into the leak. Over 1,000 officials, military personnel, and contractors were ultimately interviewed, and the investigation even had its own code name, "Seven Seekers." Such is the zealousness, Arkin writes in his book Code Names, with which secrecy is protected in the 9/11 world. Arkin, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst and long-time military commentator for NBC News, has come out with a fascinating retort to Washington's secrecy obsession. His 608-page tome is an encyclopedia of 3,000 U.S. national-security code names, some revealed for the first time, that tell a tantalizing hidden story about the American war on terrorism and operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Among the code names in the book, listed in an alphabetic section that makes up the majority of the book, are "West Wing," a sensitive program to deploy 5,000 troops to Jordan to support the war in Iraq; a U.S. Air Force cyber-attack capability called "Project Suter," which is managed by a secretive unit called "Big Safari"; a CIA remote-viewing project called "Grill Flame"; and "Thirsty Saber," an ultra-secret project of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a sensor "that would replicate human reasoning." Arkin has a specific goal. He believes the post-9/11 drive for secrecy has imperiled American security and democracy. Information is often classified, he writes, not because of the danger of passing information to those who would harm the United States, but in order to close down public debate about controversial activities. The intelligence failures that allowed 9/11 to occur, Arkin writes, show that safety is better achieved when the national-security establishment is subjected to oversight and scrutiny. His book caused a small sensation even before it came out and is essential reading for understanding the mechanics of the U.S. military and intelligence apparatus. --Alex Roslin

To: Skywatcher who wrote (229873)	4/19/2005 3:53:43 AM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1573817

Presidente Quixote Posted at Rigorous Intuition: rigorousintuition.blogspot.com <COPY> You want to know something? There's good magic, too. Venezuela's decision to print and distribute a million free copies of Don Quixote strikes me just that way: a banishing ritual of beautiful dreams that are only said to be impossible. "To some extent, we are followers of Quixote," said President Hugo Chavez, as he encouraged Venezuelans to "feed ourselves once again with that spirit of a fighter who went out to undo injustices and fix the world." I'm awaiting now Donald Rumsfeld to weigh in, as he did a couple of weeks ago regarding Venezuela's recent arms purchases, and say "I'm just asking, what in the world is the threat that Venezuela sees that makes them want to have all those books?" One of the most heartening things of the Venezuelan miracle - and let's call it that - has been the symbology of the 1999 constitution. The sight of a mobilized populace, largely dark-skinned and underclass, waving copies of their own constitution, must make the hearts of oligarchs quail. It's easy to forget that history's most celebrated constitutions are revolutionary documents, but it's easy to see that the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is making living history. Dawn Gable writes: Article 132 states that everyone has the duty to fulfill his or her social responsibilities through participation in the political, civic, and community life of the country with the goal of promoting and protecting human rights as the foundation of democratic coexistence and social peace. Article 133 repeals forcible recruitment into the armed forces, but recognizes everyone’s duty to perform civilian or military service as may be necessary for the defense, preservation, and development of the country. Article 135 says that the state’s obligation to the general welfare of society does not preclude the obligation of private individuals to participate according to their abilities. These duties describe participation much beyond the electoral process. They compel the public to see themselves as not so much the governed masses, but as active builders of their own society. Meanwhile, the multi-generational campaign of intentionally dumbing down the populace, of encouraging public disengagement with the processes of governance, continues apace in the United States. There's something about a literate and educated citizenry that frightens tyrants even more than the right to bear arms. And when an informed and mobilized people compose a militia, it's the inclination of tyrants to back down. Americans retreating from the public square and inhabiting purely private space has been called "cocooning." But cocoons are temporary utilities of metamorphosis. If you never come out to unfold new wings, and dry them in the sun, it's not a cocoon. It's your tomb.