the/diseased/republik

Recent weeks have brought major changes in the music industry and a major victory in our battle against DRM. First Steve Jobs pledged to drop DRM if major labels would let him. We held his feet to the fire with over six thousand people signing an open letter to Jobs asking him to back his pledge! Apple and EMI then announced that the iTunes Music Store would sell EMI tracks without DRM, and this has been followed by similar announcements from other online music stores and retailers. Call these Criminals TODAY and let them kmow how you feel. The Heroes Behind This Campaign. Make a call today! All the folks listed below work in Warner's New York offices. Try to make your calls in the morning on the East Coast. If your on the West Coast, you might want to wait until around 10AM PDT (after lunch for those on the East Coast). * Laird Popkin , Director of Digital Technology * Alex Zubilaga , Executive Vice President for Digital Strategy and Business Development * Edgar Bronf

In light of democratic presidential candidate, Mike Gravel , being banned for the next debate, he is asking that you sign the official petition to prevent this blatant and unjustified censorship. Mike Gravel is a real voice of the American people, now it's our chance to return the favor and sign the petition! read more | digg story

...why the hell didn't they do something. Now that we have intelligence experts, the military community, present and former administration, a Senator, and the media saying that they all knew the evidence was bullshit. Durbin's excuse is that he was sworn to secrecy . I don't know about Dick, I was taught that you call bullshit when you see (or hear) it. If he thinks that he is a good American for not ratting out his politico brethren, he is sadly mistaken. Questioning the status quo is what America and being a patriot is all about. In my opinion, not only is the Bush Administration guilty of treason , so are the Democrats, with very few exceptions. I keep hearing that the Democrats should impeach Bush or Cheney or some other Republican slob and the first thing that comes to mind is that the American People should be rounding up the whole lot. The Democrats are just as guilty as enablers ( Patriot Act amongst other crimes against the American People) in this whole fiasco an

'Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she does not rule out a meeting with her Iranian counterpart at a conference on Iraq's security in Egypt.' I don't see why this is not a requirement. I would want every neighboring country involved. What we have done to the power balance within the Middle East (Iraq and Afghanistan) is criminal. The vacuum it will leave when we pull out of these countries effects the whole region and they should have been consulted before the invasions and during the ongoing conflicts. It is both arrogant and negligent that we (the USA)went to someone else's neighborhood and completely trashed it. We have the Monroe Doctrine , which is pretty much a big FUCK YOU to the rest of the world about meddling in the affairs of our neighborhood. Sweet Condi has also been back pedaling (video and transcript) on the "imminent threat" put out about Iraq and its nuclear/chemical/biological programs. In my opinion the Bush Administration is w

The Washington Post has a very informative article on the vast number of people under indictment or facing conflict of interest cases in the Bush administration. It reads like a who's who of power-brokers and Bush croneys. A must read and another reason our political parties must be boycotted in the next election.

Marijuana Policy Project - News : "ATLANTA — Two police officers pleaded guilty Thursday to manslaughter in the shooting death of a 92-year-old woman during a botched drug raid last fall. A third officer still faces charges. Officer J.R. Smith told a state judge Thursday that he regretted what had happened. 'I'm sorry,' the 35-year-old said, his voice barely audible. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, violation of oath, criminal solicitation, making false statements and perjury, which was based on claims in a warrant. Former Officer Gregg Junnier, 40, who retired from the Atlanta police in January, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, violation of oath, criminal solicitation and making false statements. Both men are expected to face more than 10 years in prison."

The Raw Story | Deputy Secretary of State resigns after admitting escort link : "'Condi loves him,' friend tells Washington Post WASHINGTON -- Deputy Secretary of State Randall Tobias submitted his resignation Friday after confirming to ABC News that he had been a customer of a Washington escort service, multiple media outlets reported Friday. Tobias, 65, said 'that he must step down' from his post 'effective immediately,' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement Friday that did not disclose his escort service link."

VentureBeat » Secretive Silicon Valley company, OptiSolar, builds largest solar farm : "A secretive Hayward, Calif. company has just announced it will build the largest solar power “farm” in North America, using solar cells manufactured in Silicon Valley. The site, near Sarnia in Ontario, Canada, will be enough to power between 10,000 and 15,000 homes on sunny days, drawing on a monstrous 40-megawatt capacity. The company, called OptiSolar, is backed by private equity firms apparently with oil connections. It has studiously avoided saying anything until this announcement."

History While many CHA sites have been maligned for their monotonous, institutional-looking architecture, the Raymond Hilliard Homes(Hilliard) is regarded as an aesthetic gem. With their curving structure and honeycomb-shaped windows, Hilliard Homes is reminiscent of one of Chicago’s architectural treasures, Marina Towers. This is hardly coincidence. Both sites were designed by renowned architect Bertrand Goldberg, who designed Hilliard in 1966 as his team was completing the Marina Site. Hilliard was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, a distinction that played a significant factor in plans for the site’s renewal. More than 30 years after its construction, the Hilliard site remains architectural unique, a bold expression of individuality that shatters the conventions of public housing. Existing Conditions About 290 residents currently reside in Hilliard, which consists of two 22-story family buildings, shaped in an arc and encircling a public space, and two cyli