china

That is an interesting argument raised by Michael Froomkin about the Wikileaks case:

This isn’t a classic prior restraint on speech since it reaches the registrar not the speaker — but it’s close enough to stopping the delivery trucks on a newspaper that I think this aspect of the decision is a cause for some First Amendment concern. The IP numbers for the site still work, though. Try 88.80.13.160.

Of course this ruling also makes us look more like China. Hopefully an upper court judge will overturn this poor decision.

China is banning plastic shopping bags effective June 1. Does that mean the U.S. will soon follow suit? I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

In the last few weeks we have heard the right-wing talking heads going on about how the Insurgents, Iran and North Korea are trying to influence the elections. This morning, we have the following as the big story:

North Korea agreed on Tuesday to return to six-party talks on dismantling its atomic weapons just weeks after staging its first nuclear test, and a U.S. envoy said he wanted to see "substantial progress" after a year-long hiatus.

Envoys from North Korea, the United States and China met in Beijing and agreed to resume the talks in the near future, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on its Web site.

So is North Korea still trying to influence the elections? Maybe they are. Perhaps they are hoping this will boost the Republicans chance of winning, because they know it is easier to screw with a Republican controlled America. They didn't have nukes under Clinton. They got them under Bush and even tested them. Chew on that one for awhile John Gibson.

Well I have been wondering where China would fit into the entire Iran debacle
and now we might know:

China is hastening to complete a deal worth as much as $100 billion that
would allow a Chinese state-owned energy firm to take a leading role in
developing a vast oil field in Iran, complicating the Bush administration's
efforts to isolate the Middle Eastern nation and roll back its nuclear
development plans, according to published reports.

View complete article

here

China is quickly on its way to becoming a new super power in the world. When
it comes to Iran, this could spark a larger battle with us going against China
now. Also we must consider if China goes against us, Russia will do the same.
Considering how much we are in debt to China, are we really in a position for
this to happen?

Just In Via
ABC News
Australia:

US accuses Iran of supplying Iraqi
insurgent bombs

 US intelligence believes that a cache of manufactured bombs seized in
Iraq about two weeks ago was smuggled into the country from Iran by the
Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

"We believe they came from Iran's Revolutionary Guards," the official told
AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The find is significant not only because of the Iranian connection but also
because it indicates manufactured bombs are now being introduced in a conflict
that has seen the use of mainly improvised explosive devices.

"I think we believe there is more of them out there, that this is just the
first cache we've actually obtained," the official said.

He said intelligence analysts had "fairly high confidence" that the bombs
came from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

So will we see this used as yet another excuse to go to war with Iran? At
this point nothing will shock me. You can bet the administration is already
looking at it and also considering the ties Iran has with China and Russia.