Latest News of Note:

• AP: Hamas Pledges Revenge for Killing - Israel has gone too far this time. Regretably the US has set the precedent that vengeance is the solution to terrorism, so we have no credibility to speak against the Israeli assasinations.
  

• NY Times: Surrender of Taliban Begins at Kunduz
  

• NY Times: Legal Powers Are Expanded in Bush Plan
  
  As Pentagon officials begin designing military tribunals for suspected terrorists, they are considering the possibility of trials on ships at sea or on United States installations, like the naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The proceedings promise to be swift and largely secret, with one military officer saying that the release of information might be limited to the barest facts, like the defendant's name and sentence. Transcripts of the proceedings, this officer said, could be kept from public view for years, perhaps decades...
  
  

• NY Times: Swept Up in a Dragnet, Hundreds Sit in Custody and Ask, 'Why?' - It looks like the US won it's "war against terrorism" but lost its intergrity and protection of civil liberties to do it. Once upon a time, the US protected the rights of all criminal suspects. Our nation wasn't perfect, but most of the time the accused were considered innoucent until proven guilty in a fair trial.
  

  Those days are long past. In just a few months, we now have secret military trials, no freedom to speak to your attorney in confidence, detention of imigrants for unlimited amounts of time, mandatory spying by private businesses on customers who pay with cash, and in general a lack of respect for civil liberties.
  

  What I want to know is, what in the **** was the US fighting for?! It sure doesn't look like it was the principles of the liberty and justice, or we wouldn't be sacrificing them so easily.
  

posted by J.M. Branum at 5:28 PM | link

I was told by a regular reader that I use the word fascist a lot. Well, the reason I use it a lot is because of the times we live in. Too many folks think that their security is worth more than their freedom.

Sorry. I'll never go along with that. Frankly, sacrficing liberty for security is what brought the Nazis to power in Germany.

Liberty must come first.
posted by J.M. Branum at 1:41 AM | link

Last week's Austin Chronicle has a story on the draconian tactics that the Austin PD (and other police departments nation-wide) are taking in their paranoid offensive in the ecastacy campaign of the War Against Drugs (a.k.a. War against Civil Liberties) In particular, the fascist actions of the APD in sending out their threatening letters is particularly troublesome.
posted by J.M. Branum at 1:29 AM | link

Hey, if you've tried unsuccessfully to post something via the Comments link at the bottom of each of my posts, I'm sorry. As it turned out the service that runs the comments thing has been down for awhile.

So, for the time being if you want comment, discuss, gripe about, etc. anything you read on JMBzine.com please go to:

http://www.exitzine.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=118.... Once you sign up for a free membership on the Exitzine.com forum, use the message thread linked to above to discuss things found on JMBzine.com.

(I'll try to have a more permanant solution later next week.)
posted by J.M. Branum at 1:00 AM | link

The Gotham Gazette has an op-ed piece on the dire straights that the City University of New York (CUNY) as a result of budget cutbacks. It seems such a shame that a school with CUNY's mission of providing low-cost education to NYC residents isn't being funded adequetly.

Also from The Gotham Gazette: Rebuilding NYC, a series of articles and other information and views on the future of NYC.
posted by J.M. Branum at 12:41 AM | link

Randomness:

• Mybluehouse.com - an interesting blog by a mother who lives in France. Reading this makes me want to visit France, but also glad I don't live there. I think the French are a bit too uninhibited when it comes to public urination. I have no problem with going when you need to go, but why don't they at least find an alley or a dumpster to pee behind like we do in Austin.
  

• The Holy Land Craftsman Association is giving away free doves or crucifixes (you have to pay for shipping from Palestine though for $5.96) that are hand-made from Olive wood. I have bought their items in the past and was very impressed them.
  

posted by J.M. Branum at 10:49 PM | link

Please note, I'm making a slight change in the format for the news stories I link to in jmbzine.com, starting with this pst.

Latest News of Note:

• AP: Anti-Taliban Forces Besiege Kunduz
  One paragraph that I found positive in the story was: Efforts continued to arrange power-sharing talks for a post-Taliban government next week in Bonn, Germany. Afghanistan's exiled former monarch will send two women and six others reflecting the country's varied ethnic makeup, the king's grandson said.
  
  
• Boston Globe: New Federal Patriot Act Turns Retailers into Spies against Customers -
  Nov. 18--Ordinary businesses, from bicycle shops to bookstores to bowling alleys, are being pressed into service on the home front in the war on terrorism.
  

  Under the USA Patriot Act, signed into law by President Bush late last month, they soon will be required to monitor their customers and report "suspicious transactions" to the Treasury Department -- though most businesses may not be aware of this.
  

  Buried in the more than 300 pages of the new law is a provision that "any person engaged in a trade or business" has to file a government report if a customer spends $10,000 or more in cash. The threshold is cumulative and applies to multiple purchases if they're somehow related -- three $4,000 pieces of furniture, for example, might trigger a filing.
  

  Until now, only banks, thrifts, and credit unions have been required to report cash transactions to the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, under the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970. A handful of other businesses, including car dealers and pawnbrokers, have to file similar reports with the Internal Revenue Service.
  

  "This is a big deal, and a big change, for the vast majority of American businesses," said Joe Rubin, chief lobbyist for the US Chamber of Commerce. "But I don't think anybody realizes it's happened."

  
  
• NY Times: Spain Sets Hurdle for Extradictions
  Spain will not extradite the eight men it has charged with complicity in the Sept. 11 attacks unless the United States agrees that they would be tried by a civilian court and not by the military tribunals envisioned by President Bush, Spanish officials said today.
  
  
• NY Times: Pakistanis Again Said to Evacuate Allies of Taliban
  

• NY Times: Woohoo Nebraska loses to Colorado and is out of National Title contention, and UT whooped up on A&M! - OK, I rewrote the headline. (BTW, if you're wondering my football loyalties are divided between OU & UT. Now I've made everybody mad.)
  

• NY Times: With Ban Loosened, Some Small Aircraft Return to Manhattan Skies
  

• Facing Decreased Demand for Coins, Mint Starts Layoffs
  

posted by J.M. Branum at 10:40 PM | link

MSNBC reports that Microsoft is using their case settlement to screw Apple.
posted by J.M. Branum at 12:39 AM | link

While I'm on the history kick, here's a site that has links concerning historical markers across the United States
posted by J.M. Branum at 10:45 PM | link

Here are some links on US Route 66 and the Old Ozark Trail:

• One account of father and son journey on Route 66
  
• A history of Newcastle, OK that talks about the South Canadian river bridge on the Old Ozark Trail
  
• Midpoint Cafe is located at the exact mid-point of Route 66 out in the Texas Panhandle
  
• An article that talks about Route 66 and The old Ozark Trail
  
• KWTV story on Middleburg which mentions the Ozark Trail
  
• A page on Stratford, OK that mentions the Ozark Trail
  
• Rootsweb Article on Cyrus Avery, a key promoter of the Ozark Trail
  

posted by J.M. Branum at 10:10 PM | link

In a Reuters story entitled Taliban in Kunduz Reportedly Agree to Surrender, I found a particularly moving quote...

Many civilians have fled Kunduz, an ancient city guarding routes into the central Asian republic of Tajikistan to the north.


``We left because of the bombing,'' one refugee, Abdullah, told Reuters.


``On the street next to ours, 14 members of the same family were killed when a bomb fell on their house. Only the father and a little daughter survived. So we decided to leave.''

Why wasn't this man's story on the evening news?
posted by J.M. Branum at 9:36 PM | link

Pine Ridge Journal (my other blog) has changed its url to: www.jmbzine.com/pineridge
posted by J.M. Branum at 6:54 PM | link

GothamGazette.com is an interesting site on NYC News and politics that I found from BradHoylman.com.
posted by J.M. Branum at 6:12 PM | link

Evhead.com is created by someone who is works on the Blogger project.
posted by J.M. Branum at 4:57 PM | link

Here's another news item from Oregon. MSNBC reports that a Federal Judge has overruled Ashcroft's move to suspend Oregon's Assisted Suicide Law.
posted by J.M. Branum at 4:52 PM | link

From MSNBC:

• First Lady speaks against Taliban's treatment of women
  
• Editorial piece from an atheist perspective on why "God Bless America" shouldn't be sung - I don't agree with this article neccesarily, but do think it raises good questions.
  
• Portland police stymie terror probe: Oregon law bars questioning of non-suspects, chief says - Good for Portland. I'm glad someone is standing against witch hunts and for states' rights.
  

In recent years I have heard more and more about the posted by J.M. Branum at 4:44 PM | link

This is a cross-post with my other blog, The Pine Ridge Journal:

Here are some links that I found interesting on the subject of simpler/indendent living:

• Pathtofreedom.com's story of an "Urban Homesteader - This is a fascinating story. Wouldn't it be amazing if thousands or even millions of people started living like this?
  
• Countrylife.net
  
• Homestead.org
  
• Center for the New American Dream
  

posted by J.M. Branum at 3:41 PM | link

Yahoo News reports that the 94 year old Conn. woman who was infected with inhalational anthrax has died. That is so sad.
posted by J.M. Branum at 1:23 PM | link

ICQ is celebrating their 5th anniversary this month, claiming to have 116 million users. Regretably though this anniversary is marked in my mind with the increasing bugginess and unreliability of the program. It seems like ever since AOL bought it from Mirabilis it has gone downhill.

Find out more about the Heritage Forest Campaign at Ourforests.org
posted by J.M. Branum at 11:35 AM | link

From MSNBC:

• FBI announces plans to spy on computers via their newly created "Magic Lantern Virus"
  
• This story was originally published in the Washington Post. It documents the power grab of the Bush Administration and the revival of the "Imperial Presidency."
  
• Concern increases on anti-terror moves: Administration actions threaten
  civil liberties, critics say
  
  
  

From NY Times:

• Terror Attacks have left Chinatown's Economy Battered
  
• The Music Makers Return and, Hesitantly, a City Sings Again
  
• Muslim group seeks to meet Billy Graham's son

Here are a couple of Oklahoma history sites:

Oklahoma Historical Society

1895 Twin Territories Atlas
posted by J.M. Branum at 11:31 AM | link

Equip.org has an interesting article on the subject of Christian baptism.
posted by J.M. Branum at 11:25 AM | link

Here are some links from yesterday's protest at the US military's notorious WHISC (Formerly the School of Americas, derisvely but accurately known as the "School of Assasins.")

• The Columbia (GA) Ledger-Enquirer's coverage of the protests
  
• According to this story, the protests stopped a full month's worth of training at this institution that teaches the "art" of oppression.
  
• School of the Americas Watch Website
  
• Coverage of the protests by the Atlanta Indymedia Center
  
• A listing of the human rights abuses committed by SOA graduates
  

posted by J.M. Branum at 5:33 PM | link

From MSNBC:

• Olympic torch is lit amid the gloom
  
• Green issues sidelined by Sept. 11

From The NY Times:

• Phillips and Conoco to form U.S. gasoline giant
  
• Bioterror: U.S. Publicly Accusing 5 Countries of Violating Germ-Weapons Treaty

posted by J.M. Branum at 4:53 PM | link

Pine Ridge Journal is a new blog that I'm starting. It'll be a sort of journal of my life out on the farm in Oklahoma. (I'm moving to live on my Grandpa's old farm/ranch in Northern Caddo County in mid-December.)
posted by J.M. Branum at 4:47 PM | link

If you're concerned with police power in these times of restricted civil liberties, check out PoliceAbuse.com
posted by J.M. Branum at 4:25 PM | link

Diary of a Mad Monk is an entertaining and interesting blog by an ex-Roman Catholic priest. TI enjoy what the author has to say, especially with regards to the idea of mystery in spirituality. [Thanks for Blogger.com for the recommendation.]
posted by J.M. Branum at 2:11 PM | link