Congressional negotiators approved a measure on Wednesday to expand the FBI's counterterrorism powers, despite concerns from some lawmakers who said that the measure gave the government too much authority and that the public had been shut out of the debate.

Lawmakers Approve Expansion of FBI's Antiterrorism Powers

Some drawings are as much as 10 feet wide, rather lightly marked in pencil with arrows and names: delicate spider webs of scandal.

Lombardi's work has been called "conspiracy art". It's a kind of global MemeStreams, elegantly visualized with a purpose, as Art.

(Unfortunately, it appears impossible to obtain large prints of these drawings (some of which are absolutely fascinating). There is a book available, but the only poster/print I've found was in "Cabinet Magazine" in 2001. They've sold out of back issues and want $250 for a copy. I can buy the originals at pierogi2000.com, but I'm not Bill Gates.)

'Global Networks': Webs Connecting the Power Brokers, the Money and the World

Everyone should be concerned about this fight.

NYT weighs in on one of two ongoing labor disputes in southern California.

The Wal-Martization of America

] American officials who spoke on condition of anonymity
] said the evidence was strong that Mr. Arar had associated
] with suspected Islamic militants over a long period in
] Canada. They say he confessed under torture in Syria that
] he had gone to Afghanistan for terrorist training, named
] his instructors and gave other intimate details.

Is this the spin they are going to run with here? That a cosigned lease really is evidence of involvement with Al'Q, and that a confession obtained under duress in a Syrian prison is credible? If we're that gullible we're really in trouble.

Qaeda Pawn, US Calls Him. Victim, He Calls Himself.

"It is the central focus of my life. America, under Bush, is a danger to the world. And I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is."

Jeremy said:
The wrinkle in Soros's plan is that none of the major Democratic candidates are a particularly good fit for his foreign policy.

I'll add:
The campaign finance issues here are also interesting. This is the first time that major donations have moved to proxy organizations. What difference does it make?

Soros's Deep Pockets vs. Bush

] The most powerful country on earth cannot afford to be
] consumed by fear. To make the war on terrorism the
] centerpiece of our national strategy is an abdication of
] our responsibility as the leading nation in the world.
] Moreover, by allowing terrorism to become our principal
] preoccupation, we are playing into the terrorists' hands.
] They are setting our priorities.

I agree with Jeremy. George Soros says so much more in 10 pages then Gore did in 50. If you want an intelligent counterpoint to Bush and the Neocons this is one of the strongest I've seen.

The Bubble of American Supremacy

] Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating
] the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to
] make us safe -- because in the long run, stability cannot
] be purchased at the expense of liberty. As long as the
] Middle East remains a place where freedom does not
] flourish, it will remain a place of stagnation,
] resentment, and violence ready for export. And with the
] spread of weapons that can bring catastrophic harm to our
] country and to our friends, it would be reckless to
] accept the status quo.
]
] Therefore, the United States has adopted a new policy, a
] forward strategy of freedom in the Middle East.

Read this. This is Bush in rare form. Its probably the best I've heard out of him. It might be the best he'll ever offer. This is certainly the most positive perspective on current events that I've heard since before the market crashed. It is a hopeful and intelligent vision. Its something worth fighting for.

There is this nagging voice that keeps telling me to take a shot at him for ways that I think his policies diverge from these ideals. I'm not going to. This speech deserves to stand on its own. And Saffire was right, you ought to read it.

President Bush's speech at the National Endowment for Democracy

] For the first time in our history, American citizens have
] been seized by the executive branch of government and put
] in prison without being charged with a crime, without
] having the right to a trial, without being able to see a
] lawyer, and without even being able to contact their
] families.

Increasingly I must insist that brevity is genius, but many of you will enjoy watching Gore rip the President a new one for paragraph after paragraph, even if the material might be redundant for you. If 9-11 made everyone more radical, here you can really see how deep the chasm is between the left and the right. What I will say is most interesting is that Gore is even fair. He is careful, for example, to acknowledge that some of the sections of the Patriot act aren't unreasonable.... And yet he still has much to complain about.

Al Gore reads the administration the riot act.

Clearly, nothing like an elevator into space will ever work.

This is an editorial from the LA Times. No, not an op-ed from a humorist. It is an unsigned editorial, right after one about Governor Schwarzenegger and before one about traffic safety.

The tone of it strikes me as very odd. That, and jabs at "Raymond" seem to be popping up everywhere.

Punch Troposphere for Me

With the multidimensional twists that bind his music to his narrative, he's stitched the novel into a whole new set of clothes.

I must confess that I'm not a big Neil Young fan, but this does sound interesting...

Have You Heard the New Neil Young Novel?