RTFA: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2276225,00.as…

Members approved H.R. 3773 by a vote of 213 to 197 Friday afternoon after a battle over whether members should vote on a House or Senate version of the bill.

At issue is a warrantless surveillance program that helped the government more easily eavesdrop on suspected terrorists after Sept. 11. Telecommunications companies cooperated with the government, and allowed the National Security Agency access to their networks without any court intervention.

The Senate passed a FISA bill recently that would grant telecommunications companies retroactive immunity for participating in the program, but the House version would requires those companies to face the music in the courtroom.

President Bush has for weeks pressured the House to adopt the Senate version of the bill, and has pledged to veto any bill that does not include retroactive immunity. A temporary FISA extension expired on February 16.

Apparently, the telecom companies could only corrupt 197 house reps, which is less than 50%. Yes! Democracy works!

RTFA: http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/03/vo…

But it was Val’s voice that haunted his dreams after he left the show. Even eight months later, Pham still has conflicting emotions. While he didn’t find his isolation therapeutic, he says it was worthwhile simply for the experience. Even at the depths of his pain and humiliation, he could appreciate the show’s entertainment value. “It’s very hard to explain,” he says of the ball gag, which he cites as both a high and low point. “You’re trying to ham it up and let yourself have fun, entertain them, making the best of a pretty horrible situation. It’s like when you’re on death row. How sad can you be on death row? You’ve got to at least have as much fun as you can when you know you’re coming to an end.”
Stanford University psychologist Phil Zimbardo might classify Pham’s attitude as a rationalization. The professor emeritus is best known for his 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment, wherein students were divided into two groups-guards and prisoners-and placed in a mock prison setup. Within days, the students were subsumed by their roles. The guards turned cruel and the prisoners suffered emotional breakdowns rather than walk away, as they were free to do. “They became prisoners,” Zimbardo recalls.
He hasn’t watched Solitary-the reality genre is distasteful in his view-but he was repelled by what I told him about it. “My sense is it’s a debasement of human nature, and it doesn’t matter if the process is a competition, a game show, or a war,” he says. Nor does Zimbardo buy Hiatt’s claim that Solitary has therapeutic value. “Is it therapeutic for me to shit on you?” counters the psychologist. “Well, yeah, because then you realize you’re not as prideful as you thought you were.”

Wow - Fox made a torture show, inspired by Abu Ghraib and the famously unethical Stanford Prison Study.

Just, wow. Oh, did I mention they’re making a third season of the show?

WOW.

RTFA: http://uk.youtube.com/user/AnonymousFacts

Anonymous — Religious Hate Crimesand Terrorism directed at Church of Scientology.Anonymous: Since January 17, 2008, “Anonymous,” a group of cyber-terrorists hiding their identities behind masks and computer anonymity, has targeted the Scientology religion, its Churches, leaders and parishioners with hate speech and hate crimes. To inform “Anonymous” members who may be unaware of the criminal acts committed by their leaders, and to prevent others from being misled by “Anonymous” propaganda, this video has been produced to provide the facts. The video reveals “Anonymous” repeated incitements to hate and violence. The Church has not interacted with these “Anonymous” individuals nor does it desire to. However, death threats and threats to plant nitroglycerin bombs in Churches have made it necessary to take security precautions and identify members of this group responsible for these crimes.

Anonymous vs. the Church of Scientology.