Not to be self-referential or anything, but Slate is running an article on blogging. Unfortunately, while mentioning several community blogs such as Slashdot, they neglect one of the most successful community-participation sites of all, the Independent Media Center. Or, on the other side of the political arena, Free Republic. These political sites are totally revolutionizing the way people in political movements network, get news, and organize actions. Slashdot … reviews computer books. Oh well.

Some people on indymedia.org just posted a fantastic article called Stick it to the Manarchy, which criticizes male supremacist posturing within the anarchist movement.

In international news, war criminal and genocidal maniac Ariel Sharon has been officially approved as Prime Minister of Israel. The New York Times notes that, In a speech to the Knesset, Sharon said his coalition would be ready for painful compromises toward peace with the Palestinians, but not under the pressure of violence and terror. Indeed, the pressure of violence and terror would be an excellent thing to remove from the process; for example, dug-in Israeli blockades around Palestinian ghettoes that prevent innocent civilians from receiving medical care. Not to mention continuing assassinations of Palestinian leaders and attacks on Palestinian children…

The most outrageous thing about the whole affair is, of course, that Sharon has succeeded in getting exactly what he aimed to: he started the current Intifadah with his incindiery visit to the al-Aqsa (accompanied by a crowd of heavily armed security troops) mosque at a time of high tension in the peace process. Why? In order to incite conflict and weaken Barak’s already-tenuous hold on office. Now, with hundreds of Palestinians slaughtered by Israeli military and riots by Jewish settlers, he has gotten his way. Congratulations Arik.

Ever wanted to hear famous anarcho-capitalist Murray Rothbard’s lectures on economic history? You too can hear them on mp3 at Rothbard Speaks. See RIAA? They do have a legitimate use. Fight the power.

This week’s award for most laugh-out-loud insane statement goes to Salon.com’s own David Horowitz for the following nugget of wisdom: The mission of the modern Republican Party is to give power back to the people, in Other people’s money [Salon]. Now, maybe it’s just me, but it seems like a party dedicated to corporate welfare, tax cuts for the ultra-rich, obliterating the past three decades of gains in women’s rights and queer rights, and imposing as sadistic a prison system as possible, is just a tad selective in the people that it is giving power back to.

This anecdote was the best, though:

I remember attending a charter meeting of Newt Gingrich’s GOPAC organization in Washington in 1995 to celebrate the Contract With America. Gingrich was on the podium saying that the contract was just the beginning; that devolving power to the states by ending federal mandates was just one step. Now, he said, we are going to devolve power back to the municipalities, and then to the communities and then to individuals. That is our plan. At this point, somebody in the audience stood up and shouted power to the people. Except for the dinner ties and the elegant setting, I could have sworn I was back in Berkeley in the ’60s again.

What compassion! What conservatism! What utter nonsense!