There is some confusion among graduate students about the meaning of a strike vote to individuals. Students who wish to teach or do research are not required to go on strike, whether or not they voted to strike on Wednesday or Thursday, whether or not they signed a card last fall or this spring, and whether or not they voted for a union in the NLRB election two years ago. Furthermore graduate students who do not strike will of course not see their stipend or their benefits reduced, despite rumors to the contrary.
Is this is a thinly veiled threat that those who do strike will see their benefits reduced? Seems kind of funny, because later on the Dean says:
Please be assured that there will be no reprisals against you regardless of how you respond (or if you choose not to respond) to any questions from faculty members regarding your intentions.
Posted by Timothy,
2:40 PM
-
Could Korea's election mean the loss of another important U.S. ally?
The recent landslide election results in South Korea have not gotten much press what with everything going on with Iraq and the 9/11 commission. But its importance may be overlooked considering that South Korea is slated to become the third largest troop contributor in Iraq this June when it is scheduled to increase its troop presence from 600 to 3700. If Korea were to follow Spain's 1300 out of Iraq it could mean an even greater dent in the coalition's international makeup.
The April 15th elections saw the first legislative majority of a left leaning party in South Korea's history. The URI party smashed the pro-US GNP party increasing it's seat count from 49 to 152 (out of 299). While the party says it intends to maintain the troop commitment, it does indicate a shift away from the unconditional US support seen in South Korea since the Korean War. Most noticeably, the party is likely to reinvigorate the sunshine policy toward North Korea, which may ruffle feathers in the Bush Administration. Whether this could eventually endanger Korea's troop committment is unclear, but may be something to watch for.
Posted by Justin Sarma,
2:46 AM
-
Thursday, April 15, 2004 Ashcroft's Perjury In light of Attorney General John Ashcroft's testimony before the 9/11 committee yesterday, when he claimed that:
"Over eight years [since the last Bush administration], the Bureau [FBI] was denied nearly $800 million of its information technology funding requests.... On September 11, 2001, the FBI's annual technology budget uder the prior Administration was actually $36.1 million less than the Bush budget eight years before. The FBI's information infrastructure had been starved and by September 11, it collapsed from budgetary neglect."
and otherwise tried to shift blame to Janet Reno's DoJ for supposedly eviscerating America's protections from terrorism, here are some interesting facts:
"Attorney General Ashcroft specifically cut counterterrorism spending prior to 9/11. Justice Department documents released by American Progress reveal that in August 2001, the FBI specifically requested additional resources to bolster counterterrorism resources. In response, Ashcroft actually cut counterterrorism funding in critical areas including equipment grants, border control, and the National Domestic Preparedness Office. Our new analysis reveals the 2002 counterintelligence budget proposed by Ashcroft cut counterintelligence spending by more than $476 million – a 23 percent decline from 2001 funding levels."
According to the same Center for American Progress report, counterterrorism wasn't even on Ashcroft's May 2001 budget goals memo. Even more interestingly, he suddenly stopped flying commercial aircraft in the months prior to 9/11.
Where's Kenneth Star when we need him?
Posted by Ms. Anthrope,
8:26 PM
-
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Yo
Posted by Anoop,
3:40 PM
-
Tuesday, April 13, 2004 Even More On Wit
The New Republic has a comprehensively pissy article on Jon Stewart.
Personally, I'm a bit disgusted by any writer that juxtaposes Jon Stewart next to Josef Stalin, but check it out for yourself. The Stewart-bashing conclusions aside, it's an interesting analysis nonetheless.
Posted by Nick,
12:59 AM
-
Brevity is the Soul of Wit
And so this post is brief. DFP Issue 4.12. Witty indeed.
Posted by Nick,
12:28 AM
-
Sunday, April 11, 2004
Things have been a bit slow around here, so I thought I'd post this little creation of mine (rather than study for my finals).
bushmind.jpg (for some reason it only works as a link)
