How does the U.S. stack up against other countries in high’speed internet? Not very well, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The inventory wouldn’t cover other countries, but a cursory look shows the U.S. lagging behind at least some of them. In South Korea, for instance, the average apartment can get an Internet connection that’s 15 times faster than a typical U.S. connection. In Paris, a “triple play” of TV, phone and broadband service costs less than half of what it does in the U.S.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development - a 30-member club of nations - compiles the most often cited international comparison. It puts the U.S. at 15th place for broadband lines per person in 2006, down from No. 4 in 2001.

The article points out that the OECD is often vigorously attacked by anti-regulation think tanks. What the hell is an anti-regulation think tank anyway? How does one become a member of one of these? WHY would anyone want to? Do these people not have anything better to do with their time?

War, disease and poverty abounds. Thank God for the anti-regulation think tank!

Good stuff! And scary!

I urge you to take the time to watch/listen to the following six videos (below the fold). Quite an eye-opener!

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(Cross-posted at Vagabond Scholar)

Several recent posts have touched on false equivalency, perhaps the most persistent, pernicious mistake perpetrated by the press. Although the post Color Commentary was undertook partially in jest, on political issues, the typical media formula is to present a Republican and a Democrat, let them both have their say, and leave it at that. The problem is this is socially or politically equitable, but has absolutely nothing to do with veracity and accuracy. As The Bullshit Matrix explored, anyone who lies with some cleverness has an advantage in most political arenas, because the press typically won’t call them on it. It would be impolite, the correction can be attacked as partisan, and it might cost the reporter a source or two. In such an environment, the truth can easily be muddied or obscured. The public may also labor under the assumption that “surely the Vice President wouldn’t lie about such an important matter!” Alternatively, a cynical viewer might say, “all politicians are liars!” which is another pernicious form of false equivalency. Not all participants are equally honorable, honest or accurate. If the press does not fact-check, it does a grave service to their viewers/readers, and abets liars and bullshitters.

As Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” As I’ve seen others note, if speaker one comes on and says 2+2=4, and speaker two, a hack, says 2+2=8, the press’ default approach is to suggest 2+2=6. Issues exist where there are simply legitimate differences of opinion or where judgment is ultimately subjective. However, on factual matters, that’s not the case. On matters of science in particular, there’s no reason not to say 2+2=4, or at the very least explain that the overwhelming number of scientist hold that 2+2=4 (and if necessary, why that’s the case).

The national discourse on global warming and man-made climate change may have improved in the past couple years, but it remains badly skewed. The debate has not centered on Democrats and Republicans arguing about what to do about global warming, a legitimate policy issue. Instead, the conflict has been between reality and fantasy, with many Republicans simply denying empirical facts, much as tobacco executives used to say that no scientific proof existed to show that cigarettes were harmful to one’s health.
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(crossposted at Vagabond Scholar)

LONDON (AFP) - A right-wing American think tank is offering 10,000 dollars (7,700 euros) to scientists and economists to dispute a climate change report set to be released by the UN’s top scientific panel, media reported.

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI), which receives funding from oil giant ExxonMobil according to the Guardian, sent letters to scientists in the United States, Britain and elsewhere offering the payments in exchange for articles emphasising the shortcoming of the UN’s report.

AEI also reportedly offered additional payments, and to reimburse travel expenses.
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There is an old addage that says history is written by the victors, so with that in mind you would think history would be severely harsh to President Bush, wouldn’t you? Well not if his supporters have their way. Apparently, according to them, history is written by whoever can raise half a billion dollars.

Bush is attempting to raise $500 million to build his library and a think tank at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Bush fund-raisers hope to get approximately $250 million from what they call “megadonations” of $10 million to $20 million each.

Bush allies feel they need enormous funds to shape how history views Bush’s legacy. A Bush insider said, “The more [money] you have, the more influence [on history] you can exert.” Much of the money will be used to build a “legacy-polishing” institute:

More here

Here are more examples of why the blogs are so important. One extends the readership of another, enlarging the conversation and making us all better informed.

Wayne Madsen Reports has good information of Robert Gates dated November 9, 2006. You will have to scroll way down to get to it, passed the squirmy pic of Rush Limbaugh and just under the photo of the new senator from Virginia. For a less complicated path to the same story, visit Carbon Paper, Out With The Old Boss Same As The Old Boss, and also from there visit the link commenter Steven Rix provides to his fine blog, Pensees sur les USA, and his in-depth analysis: Rumsfeld’s Firing…

This excerpt from the original Madsen post:

“Gates obfuscation on Iran-Contra continues to this day. As President of Texas A&M University, Gates has been the host for the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library. In the bowels of the library are presidential papers that could shine a bright light on the Iran-Contra scandal. However, in November 2001, George W. Bush signed an executive order that upended the 1978 Presidential Records Act and permits the Bush Iran-Contra papers to be kept secret in perpetuity. The executive order also affects 60,000 pages of papers from the Reagan Presidential Library that include details of then-Vice President George H. W. Bush’s role in Iran-Contra. Robert Gates has always been a trusted consigliore for the Bush family. At the Pentagon, he will undoubtedly use his two years to clean up for Dubya and suppress incriminating information on the Iraq debacle — all in a continuing effort to protect the Bush family legacy. His nomination should be rejected.”

Members of this think tank: Richard Haass who worked in State Department under Bush, Brent Scowcroft, National Security Advisor to Bush Sr., and Robert Blackwill, who directed Iraq policy at White House. Ummmmmmm where did they think this talk was going?????

NEW YORK (AP) - Iran’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad broke away from events at the U.N. General Assembly to hold an informal question-and-answer session with high-powered members of America’s most prestigious foreign policy think tank - despite objections from some Jewish groups and the Bush administration.

The Council on Foreign Relations said afterward that Ahmadinejad had engaged in a “protracted punch and counter-punch” with 19 members for about 90 minutes in the conference room of a New York City hotel late Wednesday.

More here

PNAC PROJECT DIRECTORS
William Kristol, Chairman
Robert Kagag
Bruce P Jackson
Mark Gerson
Randy Scheunemann

PROJECT STAFF
Ellen Bork, Acting Executive Director
Gary Schmitt, Senior Fellow
Thomas Donnelly, Senior Fellow
Ruel Marc Gerecht, Senior Fellow, Director of Mid-East Initiative
Timothy Lehmann, Assistant Director
Michael Goldfarb, Research Associate

MEMBERS
Elliott Abrams
Gary Bauer
William J Bennett
Jeb Bush
Dick Cheney
Eliot A Cohen
Midge Decter
Paula Dobriansky
Steve Forbes
Aaron Friedberg
Francis Fukutama
Frank Gaffney
Fred C Ikle
Donald Kagan
Zalmay Khalilzad
Lewis Libby
Norman Podhoretz
Dan Quayle
Peter W Rodman
Steven P Rosen
Hanry S Rowan
Donald Rumsfeld
Vin Weber
George Weigel
Paul Wolfowitz

‘An Ideology Packs It In’

In America at present, a completely un-American debate is germinating: Is it time for neo-conservatism’s obituary?

If political theories have an address, the address of neo-conservatism reads 1150 17th Street NW, Washington, DC. There on the fifth floor in rather ordinary-looking offices reside a half dozen right-wing intellectuals, who supply a steady stream of arguments for the propagation of democracy and a world dominated by America. The little club is called The Project for the New American Century . In 1997 nearly every important American neoconservative signed the club’s founding charter. The thinking that evolved here then circulated amongst a group of friendly think tanks. With the election of George Bush to the presidency and especially after 9/11, the significance of the think tank increased, even if the staff size remained small. Neo-conservatism was a dominant force in American foreign policy, and the network of friends had become a network of power.

Now, nine years later, the Project for the New American Century is closing - due to a shortage of funds, it is said. Those that remain there are looking for work. Their ranks are thinning. The New American Century has taken too long to arrive. An ideology is packed up and in moving crates. One couldn-t have a sight more pregnant with symbolism.

DELIGHTFUL STORY HERE!

If your would like to tell these m’fers Goodbye and Good Riddance
here’s where to do it.