AT&T is buying BellSouth. Didn’t we break this company up once already?

The White House is spooling up an effort to actively discourage aggressive coverage of itself, including threats of jail time for journalists under espionage laws.

We’re sure this is easier than, say, not trying to legalize torture, for example.

The DHS may come snooping if you do something suspicious, like pay off a credit card.

As it turns out, Bush was given a detailed briefing before Katrina:

WASHINGTON — In dramatic and sometimes agonizing terms, federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees, put lives at risk in New Orleans’ Superdome and overwhelm rescuers, according to confidential video footage. Bush didn’t ask a single question during the final briefing before Katrina struck on Aug. 29, but he assured soon-to-be-battered state officials: “We are fully prepared.” The footage _ along with seven days of transcripts of briefings obtained by The Associated Press _ show in excruciating detail that while federal officials anticipated the tragedy that unfolded in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, they were fatally slow to realize they had not mustered enough resources to deal with the unprecedented disaster. Linked by secure video, Bush’s confidence on Aug. 28 starkly contrasts with the dire warnings his disaster chief and a cacophony of federal, state and local officials provided during the four days before the storm.

Just to be clear, since the press seems to be missing it, this means that not only did PLENTY of people anticipate the levee’s failure (contrary to Bush’s claim), but some of those people BRIEFED HIM ON THAT VERY POSSIBILITY only days before he lied to everyone about it.

Which is funnier: Defamer’s Hermione and the Corona of Fire or their eponymous site’s Hermione Granger and the Hangover of Doom“?

The Feds are prosecuting Forrest County, Mississippi sheriff Billy McGhee for seizing a pair of 18-wheelers full of ice on September 4, in the wake of Katrina. Said 18-wheelers were intended for aid, and the area in question needed aid.

Nice.

Via TPM.

Read this to find out. Here’s a tidbit I didn’t know: many if not most are there on scant real evidence, as they were turned over to US forces by rival Afghanis with little or no documentation. Don’t like your neighbor? Tell the Yanks he works for Osama!

NYT sues Pentagon over domestic spying.

Because otherwise, the jackasses in charge can get away with crap like this.

Microsoft’s next iteration of Windows will come in SIX versions. We don’t know whose idea this was, but their notion of “clear communication with the marketplace” is pretty jacked up.

This isn’t a simple whistle-blower thing, since the guy in question is an employee of Diebold’s law firm, not Diebold directly, but it still looks pretty shitty.

Florida cops threaten people who ask for complaint forms.

We’ve been too busy to follow this closely, but what Bruce says makes an awful damn lot of sense.

Fafblog weighs in on the cartoon controversy. It begins like this, and then gets even better:

“What if it’s not really a picture of Mohammed,” says me, “just a picture of a picture of Mohammed?” “Metablasphemy!” says Giblets. “It is sacrilegious and pretentious!” “What if it just looks like a picture a Mohammed but it’s really a picture a Jesus wearin a real good Mohammed costume?” says me. “Then it is pretend blasphemy,” says Giblets. “God can’t tell the difference. He has to smite you just to make sure.”

(Their follow-up is deliciously pointed as well.)

Go read this. He’s right. Again.

It turns out, at least according to BoingBoing that Google Video allows the uploader to determine what countries may or may not view the file. Ergo, whomever uploaded the IED video decided that USAians need not see it, not Google.

Bob Parsons points out they’re trying to control the .COM registry. Forever.