DeLaWho? DeLaWhat? DeLaWhere?

From BBC

ATTACK PROMPTS BUSH WEBSITE BLOCK

Access to the site is blocked

The official re-election site of President George W Bush is blocking visits from overseas users for "security reasons".

The blocking began early on Monday so those outside the US and trying to view the site got a message saying they are not authorised to view it.

But keen net users have shown that the policy is not being very effective.

Many have found that the site can still be viewed by overseas browsers via several alternative net addresses.

Hack attack

The policy of trying to stop overseas visitors viewing the site is thought to have been adopted in response to an attack on the georgewbush.com website.

Scott Stanzel, a spokesman for the Bush-Cheney campaign said: "The measure was taken for security reasons."

He declined to elaborate any further on the blocking policy.

The barring of non-US visitors has led to the campaign being inundated with calls and forced it to make a statement about why the blocking was taking place.

In early October a so-called "denial of service" attack was mounted on the site that bombarded it with data from thousands of PCs. The attack made the site unusable for about five hours.

ALTERNATIVE ADDRESSES

https://georgewbush.com/
http://65.172.163.222/
http://origin.georgewbush.com/

About the same time the web team of the Bush-Cheney campaign started using the services of a company called Akamai that helps websites deal with the ebbs and flows of visitor traffic.

Akamai uses a web-based tool called EdgeScape that lets its customers work out where visitors are based.

Typically this tool is used to ensure that webpages, video and images load quickly but it can also be used to block traffic.

Geographic blocking works because the numerical addresses that the net uses to organise itself are handed out on a regional basis.

Readers of the Boingboing weblog have found that viewers can still get at the site by using alternative forms of the George W Bush domain name.

Ironically one of the working alternatives is for a supposedly more secure version of the site.

There are now at least three working alternative domains for the Bush-Cheney campaign that let web users outside the US visit the site.

The site can also be seen using anonymous proxy services that are based in the US. Some web users in Canada also report that they can browse the site.

THE ONION's ELECTION DAY GUIDE

Tuesday is Election Day. Here are some pointers to keep in mind when heading to the polls:


* If at all possible, vote before work. That way, you can make smug comments to non-voters all day long.

* The new electronic voting machines are complicated. But don't worry: Octogenarians will be on hand to troubleshoot any technological problems that might arise.

* If your election official hooks you up to a machine via a needle in your arm, you are actually donating blood.

* Tip for those on the go: Voting a straight ticket can save you up to 15 seconds.

* Remember that, as a member of a participatory democracy, you have a duty to make your voice heard on Election Day. If you find that idea hard to grasp, think of it like the lotto: You can't win if you don't play.

* Don't wear dress shoes. They leave black scuff marks on gymnasium floors.

* Voting is no longer considered uncool. Note that it is not cool, either.

* Many newspapers offer sample ballots. Buy 10 copies and practice, practice, practice.

* Remember to vote, or P. Diddy will kill you.

* This is one of the most important elections in recent times, so it's best if you just leave it up to the pros.

* When voting, you don't need to dress up in a scary costume or hand out candy. That happens two days earlier.

* You might think it's funny, but it's disrespectful to submit write-in candidates like "Don Knotts," "Mickey Mouse," or "Michael Badnarik."

* Remember to take the day off to vote. And the day before, to psyche up. And the morning after, to dry out.

* If you are black and a resident of Florida, work out two or three alternate routes to your polling place to avoid police checkpoints.

* The most important thing is to vote your conscience.

* Okay, this is your conscience speaking: "Vote Nader. Vo-o-o-o-ote Nader."

* If you are a Flintstone, make sure to put the granite slab arrows-first into the dinosaur's mouth.

* If you live in Florida, for Christ's sake, look at the ballot very, very carefully this time.

* Education is the issue Americans say is most important. Find someone with one of those to read the ballot to you.

* Keep in mind that the name of every person who votes against George Bush is going to be read aloud on television the next time we're attacked by terrorists.

* If you don't know where the polling place is in your district, just try to remember the ugliest, dingiest, most depressing building in a three-mile radius. That's probably it.


What To Bring
Remember to bring proper identification to the polls.
This can be:


* Driver's license or your chauffeur

* Passport and photos of your boyfriend in Paris

* SuperVoter discount card

* Note from president

* Proof that your grandfather voted

* Retinal scan or your alderman's retinas

* Two Iraqi scalps

* Receipt for your shoes

* Videotape of your first steps

* Halliburton employee ID

* Birthday card from grandmother

* Pint of sperm for DNA-identification purposes

* Casserole dish to pass

* A good friend who can totally vouch for you

* Signed $20 bill

* Autographed celebrity photo inscribed with your name

From YAhoo News

Remains of New Species of Hobbit-Sized Human Found

Wed Oct 27, 1:18 PM ET

By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists in Australia have found a new species of hobbit-sized humans who lived about 18,000 years ago on an Indonesian island in a discovery that adds another piece to the complex puzzle of human evolution.

The partial skeleton of Homo floresiensis, found in a cave on the island of Flores, is of an adult female that was a meter (3 feet) tall, had a chimpanzee-sized brain and was substantially different from modern humans.

It shared the isolated island to the east of Java with miniature elephants and Komodo dragons. The creature walked upright, probably evolved into its dwarf size because of environmental conditions and coexisted with modern humans in the region for thousands of years.

"It is an extraordinarily important find," Professor Chris Stringer, of the Natural History Museum in London, told a news conference on Wednesday. "It challenges the whole idea of what it is that makes us human."

Peter Brown of the University of New England in Armidale, Australia, and his colleagues made the discovery of the skull and other bones, and miniature tools in September 2003 while looking for records of modern human migration to Asia. They reported the finding in the science journal Nature.

"Finding these hominins on an isolated island in Asia, and with elements of modern human behavior in tool making and hunting, is truly remarkable and could not have been predicted by previous discoveries," Brown said in a statement.

Local legends tell of hobbit-like creatures existing on islands long ago but there has been no evidence of them.

I caught a bit of one of Nader's speeches on CSPAN yesterday, and it brought me back to the previous two times I had heard him speak in person. For a man whose appearance and tone can put some asleep, he does an amazing job of inspiring and energizing. He raises so many important issues that both of the dominant parties refuse to address. He provokes pro-active political thoughts from within. He reminds me that Kerry is a pawn in the game of politics just as Bush is. He too plays to please the big corporations, just as most senators and representatives seem to as well. There needs to be a third party in our democratic system. The two party system does not serve the people in the most productive and effective way. Instead, big corporations are the ones who benefit the most. When 4 billion dollars is spent on campaign advertising with non-sensical and misleading TV spots with wolves and ostriches. Tell me that that 4 billion dollars is well spent...I think not. That money could have been used for a better cause...say improved education, health care for those who can't afford it, increasing minimum wage or something of that nature. There needs to be change...."Silver Spooners" should be joined on the campaign trail by the working class that they are "fighting for". We need campaign finance reform. All that being said...chalk me up as a Green for Kerry.

From the NYT

As Voting Rolls Increase, So Do the Wild Cards
By JAMES DAO

Published: October 27, 2004
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 26 - Lionel White seems like the kind of new voter who could help the Democrats win this crucial swing state. He is 23, black, works at a fast food restaurant and is angry about the economy, urban blight and the war in Iraq.

But Mr. White registered himself to vote this year for the first time because he was getting paid by the Urban League to register others. He did not watch the debates, confesses to having a marginal interest in politics and feels the candidates are not talking about issues he cares about. He is lukewarm at best about going to the polls next week.

"I don't think either one of them gives a damn about us," he said of the two main presidential candidates while standing on the stoop of his house on the east side of this city.

As Mr. White's story suggests, many newly registered voters are wild cards whose uncertain allegiances could tip the vote in closely contested states like this one, making such voters the focus of an intense tug of war between the parties.

Certainly, their numbers are legion. In Ohio, nearly three-quarters of a million people registered to vote this year, bringing the state's total registration to over 7.8 million, a record. In Iowa, Florida and Pennsylvania as well, registration drives - largely by Democratic groups - have swelled voter rolls to new levels, raising the likelihood that more people will vote this year than since the high-turnout year of 1992, experts said.

The new voters' potential to decide the election has become graphically evident in the streets, on the airwaves and in courtrooms of this state, where Democrats have marched with placards proclaiming "every vote counts," and Republicans have been determinedly challenging thousands of new registrations as fraudulent.

But a fundamental question remains: will the new voters vote? Historically, newly registered voters - because they are younger, more independent or less politically engaged - have voted at lower rates than the rest of the electorate, typically under 50 percent, experts say.

A visit to a Columbus neighborhood where Democratic groups registered voters this year shows the challenge the Kerry campaign faces. Of the six new registrants listed on county records on a single block, three had recently moved, one could not be found and one was listed at a nonexistent address. read on...

What brilliant political strategy displayed by the Bush Campaign with this little Flash game, titled John Kerry's Flip Flop Olympics. Can he run a slightly higher campaign than this....

The leader in the field of misleading and spin doctoring is "making a big move" from the comforts of Australia to the small wonder of Delaware. Thats right, the News Corp who owns FOX News is "moving" to DE. Heres the story from The Australian...

Adelaide gives Murdoch another victory: Delaware
Geoff Elliott and Jane Schulze
October 27, 2004

RUPERT Murdoch's victories started in Adelaide. Yesterday he secured another one.

Shareholders in The News Corporation Ltd (publisher of The Australian) voted overwhelmingly to endorse the final act in five decades of expansion: to shift the company's domicile from the South Australian capital to the US state of Delaware.

"For 50 years Adelaide has been our home," Mr Murdoch told the 700 shareholders who gathered in the ballroom of the Hilton Hotel to vote on the move. "It's where I got my start, and where this company got its start. Our very first annual meeting was held five blocks from here, up on the North Terrace in the small boardroom of the old Adelaide News.

"I think 10 stalwarts, including me, were at that first meeting. We didn't serve tea or biscuits and I think the meeting lasted less than 10 minutes ... I think I'm right in saying the single biggest jump in attendance came the year we introduced free drinks."

Watched from the audience yesterday by daughter Prue and sister Janet Calvert-Jones, and flanked by son and fellow board member Lachlan, Mr Murdoch spent 3 1/4 hours fielding questions about the company's move to a country from which News now sources 75 per cent of its $US21 billion ($28billion) in annual revenues.

Mr Murdoch had been confident about the result of yesterday's vote but shored up his position in the past few weeks with constitutional changes to appease some institutional investor concern about their protection once the company was incorporated in Delaware. Satisfied, institutional investors sent in their proxy votes on the four resolutions put to share and option holders yesterday.

This story, which chronicles how the Boston Red Sox have assembled a team of pine-tar nuts, is taken from Page 2 of ESPN.com.

Whatever happens in the World Series, everyone knows the Red Sox are the unquestioned kings of baseball this year when it comes to flamboyant hair styles. Look a bit closer at the players' heads, however, and you'll see that the Sox also lead the league in a more esoteric category.

Uni Watch is referring, of course, to players who smear pine tar all over their batting helmets. The Sox feature several charter members of this club, led by Manny Ramirez, who often spreads the gunk so thick that you can barely see his helmet logo. Other Bosox pine barons include Trot Nixon and Kevin Millar. And just to corner the market, the Sox made mid-season trades this year for longtime helmet-smudgers Orlando Cabrera (whose pine tar acumen had been honed with the Expos) and Doug Mientkiewicz (whose tar-smeared habits go back to his days with the Twins and the 2000 Olympic baseball team).

It isn't clear who started the tar trend, although the first such player Uni Watch recalls seeing was Craig Biggio, back in the 1990s. In any case, the idea is to turn the helmet into a surrogate pine tar rag, so the player can simply touch his helmet during an at-bat to access the sticky stuff. (Note that several of the pine partisans, including Mientkiewicz, Jorge Posada, and Vlad Guerrero, are also among the small contingent of big league hitters who don't wear batting gloves.) This essentialy makes the pine tar crew the spiritual heirs of NFL legends Lester Hayes and Fred Biletnikoff, who were notorious for slathering themselves with so much adhesive goo that they essentially were walking stickum factories.

Although the Sox get the nod as Team Tar, Uni Watch's vote for MVP (that's Most Voluminous Pine) goes to Guerrero, who clearly has baseball's skankiest helmet. Players who stand next to him look shiny and fresh by comparison, as his former and current teammates have discovered. So thick is the tar cloud perched above his head, even his happy moods seem to beg the question, "Why is this man smiling?"

Helmet customization, incidentally, is nothing new. Back in 1963, Earl Battey of the Twins created the first makeshift earflap by attaching a metal plate to the side of his batting helmet. Brooks Robinson insisted on wearing a mere stub of a visor (he had problems with glare from the underside of the full-size brim), and Carl Yastrzemski preferred an oversized earhole.

But none of those alterations did anything to obscure the helmet logo. That's a no-no, which is why there was some chatter this summer that Major League Baseball might fine some of the more heavily-tar-encrusted Red Sox players. Nobody would comment about that on the record (as you can well imagine with such an explosive issue, the pine tar situation is very hush-hush), but don't be surprised if the MLB honchos enforce a stricter policy next season.

I posted some beats on My.Soundclick.com that I have made over the past semester. My most recent creation is "Legends Among Us." I sampled John Legend's version of "Motherless Child". Legend, whose debut album was scheduled to be released on October, 26th has been pushed back to January 5th. Why? I wanted to Get Lifted now.

Delawhere's own, influential senator Joe Biden verbally attacked President Bush's policies on Iraq, taxes, and prescription drugs (calling Bush brain dead on drug bill). Here is the full story from Delawareonline.com

Biden: Bush 'brain dead' on drug bill
Del. GOP says senator's remark went too far

Sen. Joe Biden rallied supporters for John Kerry's presidential campaign Tuesday with a blistering attack on Bush administration policies that he said hurt retirees and working-class Americans.

Biden criticized the administration's prescription drug policies and their impact on consumers. "He is brain dead," Biden said of the president. His comment was greeted with loud applause at the UAW Local 435 union hall in Cranston Heights but quickly drew the ire of Delaware Republicans.


"Sen. Biden should be ashamed of his below-the-belt rhetoric and personal attacks on the president," said David Crossan, executive director of the state's Republican Party. "Challenging policies is one thing, but calling someone 'brain dead' crosses the line."

Many of the union members and retirees who attended the rally didn't think Biden's comments were out of line.

They said in the past they often crossed party lines to support the late U.S. Sen. Bill Roth, a conservative Republican who spent more than three decades in the Senate, and continue to vote for U.S. Rep. Mike Castle, a moderate Republican. However, they would have a hard time supporting Bush, they said, because of his administration's policies.

"The senator wasn't talking the political talk, he was pretty straightforward. That's what we wanted and that's what we got, straight talk," said Bill Wasik, Local 435's vice president. "Basically, the senator said that the Bush administration isn't listening to the working men and women, and that's true."

Local 435 recording secretary Nancy Smith said that while Biden's speech was "very emotional" she did not think his comments were off base.

"He spoke from his heart about what's at stake for all labor and all working-class people in America," she said. "He talked about issues that definitely affect us. These are serious issues for us, and he talked about what could happen if we don't make a change."

Biden touched on a wide range of issues during a speech in which he walked among audience members, stopping to shake hands with people whose names he wove into anecdotes.

Wasik and other members of the audience said they are concerned about the war in Iraq. They worry because it seems the White House has no clear strategy for getting U.S. troops out of there.

"It's a quagmire," Wasik said. "We support our troops, of course, but we know now that the war in Iraq didn't turn out to be what they said it was going to be about. I think that the war should be in Afghanistan. That's where the terrorists are, not in Iraq."

Biden discussed the war during his speech and later told reporters the United States and its allies must send large numbers of soldiers to Iraq to guarantee free elections

in 2005, just as they did in Afghanistan this year. The Bush administration may not have the political will nor the international credibility to ensure that happens, he said.

Biden's attack on the Bush administration's policies focused attention on White House support for the prescription drug bill and tax policies that favor U.S. industries that move their operations overseas.

If Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry is elected president, Biden said to loud applause, the tax breaks will go to companies that remain in America instead of those that go overseas.

The prescription drug bill, he said, "is a sham" and illegal because it forbids Medicare from negotiating for lower drug prices.

Biden took exception to Bush's recent statements that lower-priced prescription drugs from Canada - which are made by the same companies that make and sell them in the United States - may not be safe.

"He said that and yet he then told a Canadian company to manufacture our flu vaccine," Biden said.

In a separate interview, Biden said he won't call for a suspension of the U.S. military's controversial anthrax vaccination program.

Recent stories in The News Journal have called attention to the plight of soldiers who received anthrax vaccines containing a booster called squalene. The booster is blamed for adverse reactions in troops who received the shots at Dover Air Force Base.

Biden reiterated a statement he issued last week with Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Castle in which they said no evidence has yet surfaced that current batches of the vaccine contain squalene. He believes the military must continue vaccinating troops against the threat of anthrax attacks as long as the shots are safe.

Check this instrumental, titled "It's Not TIme", out on my.soundclick.com. I sampled Gene Chandler's "Rainbow 65", used Fruity Loops again...Let me know what you think.

With the election only 12 or 13 days away, my roommates and I (all of us are...liberals) are becoming more and more excited and nervous about the upcoming presidential election. Between the four of us, it is easy to say that we cover the full spectrum of feelings about the race. My roommate, Josh, who is usually an upbeat and optimistic individual, has been heard dishearteningly proclaiming that Bush is going end up winning. He seems to have reached a point where he doesnt have faith in those voters who accept information instead of questioning the constant spin that all the President's men send our way. Chris is very confident in Kerry's campaign. He is sure that Kerry will prevail. Zach, who can usually be found talking to himself after trying to talk a certain amount of sense into his closed minded girlfriend, presents a slightly less extreme confidence in the Senor Kerry. As for me, my feelings about the upcoming elections is a mish mash of the three outlooks. I am always suspicious of the Republicans ability to gain support with misleading and elementary politics, for example, the most recent commercial put out by the Bush Campaign, which doesnt attack John Kerry's voting record, but instead groups John Kerry together with all of his "liberal allies". The entire TV spot is filled with deception and spin, for example, it states that the liberals voted against a successful Reagan. How could those damn liberals vote against a dead man? He is dead, he has to be right....right?...I digress. Anyway, I think Kerry is closing well and he has a great chance to win..............................................................................................................................................................................I just wish and hope that Osama Bin Laden doesnt show up in American custody next week.

Did anyone watch Billy O'Reilly's appearance on the Daily Show last night? If not check it out on Comedy Central Online...watch the clip....digest it...and tell me how you thought Senor O'Reilly came across. I was quite confused by some of his comments and expressions. He almost came off as "fair and balanced".

From the Drudge Report

funny thing is...if I said it was from the Onion, it would be just as unbelievable or believable.

MAN GIVEN CRACK COCAINE TO REGISTER VOTERS ARRESTED IN OHIO
Mon Oct 18 2004 13:26:03 ET

October 18, 2004

The Defiance County Sheriff's Office arrested Chad Staton, age 22, of Stratton Ave., Defiance, on a charge of False Registration, in Violation of Section 3599.11 of the Ohio Revised Code, a felony of the fifth degree.

The SheriffÕs Office alleges that Staton filled out over 100 voter registration forms that were fictitious. Staton was to be paid for each registration form that he could get citizens to fill out. However, Staton himself filled out the registrations and returned them to the woman who hired him from Toledo, Ohio. Deputies allege that Staton was paid crack cocaine for the falsified registrations.

Defiance Deputies along with Toledo Police Department detectives conducted a search warrant of a residence on Woodland in Toledo, believed to be the home of the woman who hired Staton to solicit voter registration. Officers confiscated drug paraphernalia along with voter registration forms from the home. The occupant of the home, Georgianne Pitts, age 41, advised law enforcement, along with Ohio B.C.I.&I., that she had been recruited by Thaddeus J. Jackson, II, of Cleveland, to obtain voter registrations. Pitts admitted to paying Staton crack cocaine for the registrations in lieu of money.

A business card provided by Pitts indicated that Jackson is the Assistant NVF Ohio Director of the NAACP National Voter Fund.

The initial complaint received by the Sheriff's Office came from the Defiance County Board of Elections. The Board had received the 100 plus registration forms from the Cuyahoga Board of Elections that had been submitted to the Cuyahoga Board by the NAACP National Voter Fund.

Developing...

As more and more school work was piled on the to do mountain, blogging was regularly was a task which was cut from my schedule. I had blogged relatively consistently over the summer and I tried to maintain that creative frame of mind as the work has accumulated. However, recently, the creative juices have been soaked in by the sponge of math take home tests and geology lab reports. When Dave Gilbert (once prof. @ Denison, now prof @ Marymount Manhattan College), left for the bright lights and hustle and bustle of NYC, he took a break from blogging. However, it seems as though he has settled in and his blogging has continued on. So in the spirit of rejuvenation, expect more from me as the elections approach and potential chaos erupts.

Via the Drudge Report

JON STEWART 'DAILY SHOW' IN SURPRISE AUDIENCE -- DROP
Sun Oct 17 2004 20:30:24 ET

COMEDY CENTRAL's 'DAILY SHOW' has experienced surprise audience erosion -- despite a publicity push by host Jon Stewart.

Stewart, who announced last week that he plans to support John Kerry, pulled 1,040,000 total viewers for month of September -- down 7% from August, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

Jumbo hype from media writers and a bestselling book apparently has failed to translate into any TV audience improvement.

MORE

CNN editors were busy this weekend cleaning up a transcript from Stewart's Friday appearance on CROSSFIRE. One CNN executive called Stewart's performace "belligerent."



During the live program, Stewart slammed host Tucker Carlson: "You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show."

The awkward exchange came at the end of an 8 minute segment between Stewart, Carlson and co-host Paul Begala.



***

CARLSON: You had John Kerry on your show and you sniff his throne and you're accusing us of partisan hackery?

STEWART: Absolutely.

CARLSON: ...you have this marvelous opportunity not to be the guy's butt boy, to go ahead and be his butt boy. Come on. It's embarrassing.

STEWART: I was absolutely his butt boy. I was so far -- you would not believe what he ate two weeks ago.

STEWART: You know, the interesting thing I have is, you have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably.

CARLSON: You need to get a job at a journalism school, I think.

STEWART: You need to go to one.

The thing that I want to say is, when you have people on for just knee-jerk, reactionary talk...

CARLSON: Wait. I thought you were going to be funny. Come on. Be funny.

STEWART: No. No. I'm not going to be your monkey.

BEGALA: Go ahead. Go ahead.

STEWART: I watch your show every day. And it kills me.

CARLSON: I can tell you love it.

STEWART: It's so -- oh, it's so painful to watch...

CARLSON: Is this really Jon Stewart? What is this, anyway?

STEWART: Yes, it's someone who watches your show and cannot take it anymore. I just can't.

CARLSON: What's it like to have dinner with you? It must be excruciating. Do you like lecture people like this or do you come over to their house and sit and lecture them; they're not doing the right thing, that they're missing their opportunities, evading their responsibilities?

CARLSON: I wouldn't want to eat with you, man. That's horrible.

STEWART: I know. And you won't.


***

Before appearing on CNN, Stewart blasted reporter and CROSSFIRE co-host Bob Novak.

"I would not have him on the show. I have standards," Stewart explained to the NEW YORKER's Ken Auletta. "I wouldn't do it. He shouldn't be on television. CNN should not have him on the air. He should not be amongst civilized people."

Seeing as my father has been a posting machine, I feel the need to pick up the posting. With about two weeks till the election, things should be heating up here in Ohio. I will post my thoughts on the impending election, although my frustration with the Bush campaign may cause misspellings and/or poor grammar usage.

I promised that I would post a review of Talib Kweli's new album "The Beautiful Struggle", but I never said it would be mine. After reading my friend, Dave Berman's (a fellow Denison student) review in the Denisonian, I have decided to post his unique and expressive review. My former prospective host shares very similar musical tastes and he has a way of expressing his opinions and takes on music in a clear and concise fashion. Check out his fledgling blog Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned. To the review...

Dear Talib Kweli,
I was really feeling your work with Mos Def and Hi-Tek on the Black Star and Reflection Eternal albums, respectively.
I was confused by your direction on your first solo album, Quality, but I was still with you and curious where you would go next.
I am writing this letter because I am worried about your latest project, The Beautiful Struggle.
You have created an album that is so at odds with itself, I can't help but wonder if you made two different albums and put the best tracks from each on a single disc.
It is, at once, a masterpiece and a disaster. It's a disasterpiece.
All I can figure is that one of these two albums was for the true hip hop heads and the other was for the easily impressed teenybopper set.
I understand Talib, you gotta get paid.
But did you have to ruin what could have been a stellar album with club-ready tracks that any wet-behind-the-ears-Chingy-type cat could rip?
Where do I begin?
Well, there's "Back Up Offa Me," produced by the hit-or-miss Hi-Tek who laced you beautifully on the Reflection Eternal album.
You say on the song "radio suckers never play me 'cause I don't let 'em."
Don't be too sure Talub. When radio programmers hear this track, which is equally catchy and void of meaning, they might just latch onto it.
Then there's "A Game," which has a beat that even G-Unit might have rejected for its wackness.
See the thing is Talib, part of what has always made you one of my favorite emcees was how musical your music was.
Now you're jumping on these Casio-made pieces of garbage just as quick as my least favorite emcees do.
But just when I think you've lost your way the album keeps playing and the Kweli I used to know shows up to party.
Your track with John Legend called "Around My Way," now that's what I'm talking about.
It has you waxing poetic on religion and kids following their dreams. All of this is on top of a beautiful piano-driven instrumental (complete with a Police sample).
Then, with the final four tracks, you completely save the album and in turn, your place as one of my fave's.
With some help from one of my other favorites, Common, you make "Ghetto Show" an optimistic ode to those living the beautiful struggle.
Your verse packs a lot of punch, especially when you put a spin on the line Jay-Z spit on The Black Album that was a homage to you.
Classic stuff, Talib, classic.
The album's best track is "Black Girl's Pain," on which you and my favorite female emcee Jean Grae drop advice and support for young black women.
You are one of the few rappers that takes time to elevate women rather than degrade them and that's why you are so important.
A couple more heartfelt tracks fill out the album and as it comes to a close, I smile.
Sorry I doubted you Talib.

Your Fan,
David Berman


I spoke to Dave after this review was printed. Both he and I, agree that the album is growing on us. He was just his frustration with a rapper who we all know can do so much better. This is not to say that this album is bad....in fact, it is a solid, quality album that is worth more than a couple listens.

I thought that Bush was doing well until, he threw a fit in front of the entire nation. By the way, De La Soul's The Grind Date is amazing. You gotta grip that. They are still bringing it.

I appreciate the continued visits by the faithful, I have been swamped by work for the past week and half...hopefully tomorrow I will post a little bit about Talib Kweli's new Album "Beautiful Struggle".

I was a bit worried about the presidential debate last night, I feared that Bush would somehow come out on top when dealing with his supposed area of "strength". I was happily mistaken. Once the first question was posed to Senator Kerry, I thought he took control of the stage and stuck it to Bush. He brought numerous points to the table and left Bush speechless numerous times as well as provoking Bush to use the 30 second extensions. He maintained composure and diversified his attacks on the Bush administration. He was forceful and cunning, while Bush stuck to his three "talking points". Kerry also was able to shake the widely held conception that his sentances are too-long, too wordy, and too drug out. He managed his time well and came to strong and concise conclusions. Bush on the other hand, did not present his points clearly and seemed to make these all-encompassing statements, like "I know how the world works..." What is that about? His broken record statements, which defy all logic and are based on "emotion", became repetitive and didnt provide any clear and concise explanations. Bottom line: Kerry took the 1st of the three debates. Unfortunately, the media will spin the debate into a much more even event. The Republicans will bombard the networks with their talking points and the media will continue to be the face for both the parties. With the 24 hour news channels, Kerry's victory will be slowly downplayed and Bush's nonsensical comments will be praised. This all comes to one point: Polls are bad and so is non-stop news because both of them restrict free thought. Let the people think for themselves.