Protest Reports

This is one of a number of telling articles at NYC Indymedia. These guys are the forefront of the protests going on in NYC this week and the best I have found so far. This is an excerpt from the events that took place earlier.

“Most of the march was through the intersection when all of a sudden the police came charging out from the east side of 29th street carrying these six-foot long metal barricades that they were ramming into people. It was totally unnecessary.”

More Nomadic Photos

The other day I put up a link to Nomadics protest photos. Here are a few that caught our eye and we recommend that you take a look at them all.

Protesters Vs. Delegates

Protests have gotten rather interesting these past few days if not creative. In some protests, that I don't necessarily agree with, they have gone to taking on the delegates. In what can only be called comical in my view, protesters are following the delegates around the city and ruining their off hours. They are letting it be known that they are not welcome in New York City. From disrupting morning breakfasts to spoiliing the ending of popular Broadway plays, these protesters are clocking in and doing overtime. To these protesters I take my hat off and only offer a reminder to keep it clean, keep it safe, and keep it up.

Michael Moore Joins the Press

Michael Moore Joins the Press and the press just can't help it's self. Who would have thought that by going to NeoCon to report for USA, that Moore would create such a disruption. The press fawned over Moore in such a way as to disrupt the halls of the garden and get under the skin of delegates. This is a rather interesting article from the Washinton Post and a nice read if you are into Moore and interested in what it must be like to be him at the Convention.

Hardline Republican Resigns Under Scandal

It would appear that a hardline republican that supports anti-homosexual laws has been busted. What started out as a slow leak of information, blew up in (R) Rep. Ed Schrock of Virginia's face. Turns out that this stout republican that votes along party lines has actually gotten caught being, well gay. The funniest part about it is that there is nothing wrong with it other than he may have recieved the calls in his office. Now he has resigned. The problem though is that now he has to kick his own ass for being so anti-gay. The great thing about the democratic party is we really don't care if you are gay or not. If he had just came out and said, "I am a big mean ole' anti-human rights homosexual", most democrats would only of been outraged at the human rights part. Republicans really need to let go of these bed room issues as it has taken them down time after time after time. It is hollow to support it if you really don't believe it. There are more important things to deal with and it is time that as a nation we delt with them. Keep praying that your god does not take your soul and send you to the hell that you condemn so many others to. Till then though, SeeYa!

DNC: Mission Not Accomplished

Who says no one visits a website when seeing a sign being waved behind some talking head news show. I sure did and so did others in the channel tonight. So take a stroll on over and give their video a view. - DNC: Mission Not Accomplished

Republican's Insult Wounded Soldiers

I am not a war type person. But even I would not go to certain steps. Today, republicans at the RNC wore bandaids to downplay Kerry's purple hearts. Little do they realize that when they pick on one, they pick on them all. They minimize all the wounded combat vets of Vietnam, Korea, WWII, GulfWar I & II. Good job you creatins. Maybe you should think before you act. Before you say support the troops, you should mean it. Better yet, quit listening to talking points and do some research for yourself. While I am at it, let me leave you with something else to chew on. Before you go bashing Kerry for telling Congress about attrocities in Vietnam, try to remember that they did happen and because of his actions, he was able to stop them. If you are against Kerry speaking out, you are against all whistle blowers. You are for the torture our troops are guilty of in Iraq. You are against the Geneva Convention. Think before you speak! Read before you make up your mind! You are only showing your ignorance and driving America into a shithole that it will take 20 years to recover from you dolt.

These bandaids and the people handing them out got busted on the convention floor and the were told to stop. Delegates were then told to remove the bandaids as reported from the floor of the convention on CNN.

Moore's Take: Day 1

Moore's writeup is on the web. You might remember that during DemCon, Ann Coulter got fired from USA Today and her story was not published. I think that you will find Moore's article more articulate, enjoyable, and nicer. Thank you Mike for grounding me after having to sit through Rudy's speech.

NeoCon Violates The Rules

The NeoCon 2004 has just started and it has already violated the Department of Defense code of military conduct by having active duty persons as delegates. Get the story as reported by Slate.

Bikes Against Bush Arrested

Bikes Against Bush founder Josh Kinberg, was arrested on MSNBC. Lots of video can be watched. For those who may not know Josh, he set up his bike to recieve text messages from his website. The messages were then sent to his laptop on his bike. From there, they were programed into his bike and then through clever inventing, transfered to a chalk spraying machine. Then the messages would be sprayed in chalk onto the road or sidewalk. This arrest is a total outrage. There is video of his bike in action in a demo at the Bike's Against Bush website.

Protest Photos From Nomadic

Our good friend Nomadic went to the NY City protest on Sunday and took some pictures with his digital camera. Take a look at the photos and see if it brings back memories. If you did not make it to the protests, then take a look at what you missed. Great job Nomadic, this is some good stuff.

NYC IMC Home

Stay on top of the latest events and news going on with the New York protests:NYC IMC: home. This is some good stuff.

Screen Captures Of The Protests

PhilKll sent in these captures from CSpan

Parade of the dead

A puppet of the puppet master

Look at all these unhappy Americans

America has a voice. Now will someone please acknowlege it.

Fox News only live coverage. FOX NEWS SUCKS!

MSNBC Coverage

MSNBC has an article and images from the protest today down 7th Ave in New York City. Click the image to go to the article.

New York Protests

The protests continued today in New York and are being televised on CSpan1. Did a sign catch your eye? How about a chant? Or just a moment in the parade. Share your favorite moments in our comments.

Global Warming Does Exist Mr President

After years of siding with polluters, Bush must finally fess up to either A) He has no clue what he is talking about or B) Global Warming is caused by man. In a recent government sponsored report that went to congress this week, it stated:

"North American temperature changes from 1950 to 1999 were unlikely to be due only to natural climate variations," the report said.

This should not surprise Bush though as there was a similar report released in 2002 by his own environmentally unfriendly EPA.

Todays report, "Our Changing Planet," finds that warming in the first part of the 20th century was likely due to natural climate variation, but that the 0.5°C rise over the second half of the century can only be explained by human activity, such as carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions.

So how about it Mr. President? Can we get some real environmental reform and save our water, trees, and playgrounds? Can we try to reduce asthma in the children? Will you finally do something and recognize that we only rent the earth? Why does this president insist on ignoring science?

Bush Made A "Miscalculation"

President Bush is finally starting to say what we have been saying for over a year. He has made a mistake in Iraq. Though the president is incapable of actually saying he made a mistake, he did have this to say in an interview with the New York Times about Iraq and then later about Global Warming:

Mr. Sanger: So this— the mistake is specifically what?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, it's a — it's a miscalculation of the — what the conditions would be like after a swift victory, because we never dreamt it would be that swift. And so the fundamental question is, what are you doing about it? And what we're doing about it is dealing with it. We've got a flexible plan. In other words, a plan —

Q Was it flexible fast enough? I mean ...

THE PRESIDENT: Well, David, that's what historians and that's what people like yourself could judge. The point is, it was flexible. And we're now dealing with it, and Iraq is headed toward elections.

On Global Warming:

Ms. Bumiller: Mr. President, why did your administration change its position on what causes global warming?

THE PRESIDENT: I don't think we did.

Ms. Bumiller: According to —

THE PRESIDENT: I don't think so, Elisabeth.

Ms. Bumiller: You said that it's almost certainly carbon monoxide — which you hadn't said in the past, carbon dioxide.

THE PRESIDENT: I think that was my position during the campaign, if I'm not mistaken.

Ms. Bumiller: It changed —

MR. McCLELLAN: You're talking about the National Academy of Science report?

Ms. Bumiller: Yes, yes.

MR. McCLELLAN: We've always talked about how that would - we'd be guided by their science on the issue, and that's why the President has done a lot in terms of climate change, advancing the science of climate change, and also doing more research —

THE PRESIDENT: Let me get back with you on that, because I think you might — I don't know why you said what you just said.

We'll be waiting Mr. President.

Mean Old Man

Do you trust this man with your retirement? Well Alan Greenspan says the government does not have enough money to pay you back what you paid in. The odd thing is, is that he is the one who set the economic policy to begin with. Maybe it is time we put someone in charge of our financial future who can envision having a future.


"You kids get out of my yard!"

House Income By State

Don't let these numbers fool you too much. A HOUSE who makes $1 million offsets 50 HOUSES that make $20,000.

Three-year averages for median household income in each state, according to the Census Bureau.

State 2000-02 2001-03

Ala. 36,771 37,419
Alaska 55,412 55,143
Ariz. 41,554 42,062
Ark. 32,423 33,259
Calif. 48,113 48,979
Colo. 49,617 50,224
Conn. 53,325 55,004
Del. 50,878 50,451
D.C. 41,313 42,597
Fla. 38,533 38,572
Ga. 43,316 43,535
Hawaii 49,775 49,839
Idaho 38,613 40,230
Ill. 45,906 45,607
Ind. 41,581 42,124
Iowa 41,827 41,985
Kan. 42,523 43,622
Ky. 37,893 38,161
La. 33,312 34,307
Maine 37,654 37,619
Md. 55,912 55,213
Mass. 50,587 52,084
Mich. 45,335 45,176
Minn. 54,931 54,480
Miss. 32,447 31,887
Mo. 43,955 43,492
Mont. 33,900 34,375
Neb. 43,566 44,357
Nev. 46,289 46,118
N.H. 53,549 55,166
N.J. 53,266 55,221
N.M. 35,251 35,265
N.Y. 42,432 43,160
N.C. 38,432 38,096
N.D. 36,717 38,212
Ohio 43,332 43,535
Okla. 35,500 36,733
Ore. 42,704 42,429
Pa. 43,577 43,869
R.I. 44,311 45,205
S.C. 38,460 38,791
S.D. 38,755 39,829
Tenn. 36,329 37,529
Texas 40,659 40,934
Utah 48,537 49,143
Vt. 41,929 43,212
Va. 49,974 52,587
Wash. 44,252 45,960
W.Va. 30,072 31,210
Wis. 46,351 46,782
Wyo. 40,499 41,501
U.S. 43,052 43,527

KPOP - AAR Press In San Diego

KPOP 1360AM stated up in San Diego this week and here is some press from the area. Good luck and welcome aboard. Gopher will take your bags.

Bush Ignores IOC

The International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic Committee have asked that President Bush remove ads which illegally use the name and logos of the Olympics.

The Bush campaign said it had no intention of stopping the ads. They will continue to air through Sunday as originally scheduled, said Bush-Cheney spokesperson Scott Stanzel.

An act of Congress, last revised in 1999, grants the USOC exclusive rights to such terms as "Olympic," derivatives such as "Olympiad" and the five interlocking rings. It also specifically says the organization "shall be nonpolitical and may not promote the candidacy of an individual seeking public office."

States In Poverty

Three-year averages for poverty rates in each state, according to the Census Bureau. The percentage represents the number of people living below the poverty line.

State 2000-02 2001-03

Ala. 14.6 15.1
Alaska 8.3 9.0
Ariz. 13.3 13.9
Ark. 18.0 18.5
Calif. 12.8 12.9
Colo. 9.4 9.4
Conn. 7.8 7.9
Del. 8.1 7.7
D.C. 16.8 17.3
Fla. 12.1 12.7
Ga. 12.1 12.0
Hawaii 10.6 10.7
Idaho 11.8 11.0
Ill. 11.2 11.8
Ind. 8.7 9.2
Iowa 8.3 8.5
Kan. 9.4 10.3
Ky. 13.1 13.7
La. 17.0 16.9
Maine 11.3 11.8
Md. 7.3 7.7
Mass. 9.6 9.7
Mich. 10.3 10.8
Minn. 6.5 7.1
Miss. 17.6 17.9
Mo. 9.6 10.1
Mont. 13.7 14.0
Neb. 9.5 9.9
Nev. 8.3 9.0
N.H. 5.6 6.0
N.J. 7.8 8.2
N.M. 17.8 18.0
N.Y. 14.0 14.2
N.C. 13.1 14.2
N.D. 11.9 11.7
Ohio 10.1 10.4
Okla. 14.7 14.0
Ore. 11.2 11.7
Pa. 9.2 9.9
R.I. 10.3 10.7
S.C. 13.5 14.0
S.D. 10.2 10.9
Tenn. 14.2 14.3
Texas 15.3 15.8
Utah 9.3 9.8
Vt. 9.9 9.4
Va. 8.7 9.3
Wash. 10.8 11.4
W.Va. 16.0 16.9
Wis. 8.6 8.8
Wyo. 9.5 9.1
U.S. 11.7 12.1

State By State Health Care Numbers

Here are the three-year averages for uninsured rates in each state, according to the Census Bureau. The percentage represents the number of people without health insurance.

State 2000-02 2001-03
Ala. 13.0 13.3
Alaska 17.8 17.8
Ariz. 17.1 17.3
Ark. 15.6 16.6
Calif. 18.7 18.7
Colo. 15.3 16.3
Conn. 10.2 10.4
Del. 9.5 10.1
D.C. 13.2 13.3
Fla. 17.5 17.6
Ga. 15.7 16.4
Hawaii 9.7 9.9
Idaho 16.4 17.5
Ill. 13.9 14.0
Ind. 12.0 12.9
Iowa 8.6 9.5
Kan. 10.9 10.9
Ky. 13.2 13.3
La. 18.6 19.4
Maine 10.8 10.7
Md. 12.0 13.2
Mass. 9.0 9.6
Mich. 10.4 11.0
Minn. 8.0 8.2
Miss. 15.6 17.0
Mo. 10.4 10.9
Mont. 15.2 16.1
Neb. 9.6 10.3
Nev. 17.5 18.3
N.H. 9.2 9.9
N.J. 13.1 13.7
N.M. 22.0 21.3
N.Y. 15.8 15.5
N.C. 14.9 16.1
N.D. 10.7 10.5
Ohio 11.4 11.7
Okla. 18.2 18.7
Ore. 13.3 14.8
Pa. 9.7 10.7
R.I. 8.3 9.3
S.C. 12.3 13.1
S.D. 10.6 11.0
Tenn. 11.0 11.8
Texas 24.1 24.6
Utah 13.6 13.6
Vt. 9.6 9.9
Va. 12.0 12.5
Wash. 13.6 14.3
W.Va. 14.0 14.8
Wis. 8.4 9.5
Wyo. 16.4 16.5
U.S. 14.7 15.1

Let The Protests Begin

The protests got kicked off today in New York with a banner being hung high outside a New York building.

The black and white banner was about three stories high and read 'Truth Bush,' each word placed on opposing one-way arrows. It was suspended from the upper floors and faced the Fifth Avenue side of the hotel.

Four people were eventually arrested and will be charged with Tresspassing and Unlawful Endangerment.

ABC News Breaks The Convention Agreement

Last month for the Democratic Convention, all of the networks played by the rules by agreeing to show only 1 hour of coverage for 3 of 4 nights. As you may remember, they failed to cover Tuesday night and the speech of Barak Obama. We were all told they would do the same thing for the Republican Convention. Well it seems that since the speaker line up has been announced, that ABC is going back on it's word. During Monday Night Football, ABC is planning on covering the convention during halftime and highlight the John McCain speech. It seems to me as though they are deciding who is more important and not letting the American people choose. This is the exact reason why we asked that the whole conventionn be covered for 3 hours on all 4 nights. Now we have an equal time problem. It is too late to correct the matter for the DemCon and it is not fair to do it with the NeoCon. Now you can bitch in our comment box or channel, or you can email ABC News via their feedback form and tell them not to show the convention on Monday night. In the words of Billie Jean, "Fair is fair!"

Bush Lawyer Resigns Due To Connections To Swift Goats

As reported earlier, Bush's lawyer for his re-election campaign Benjamin Ginsberg, has resigned. Just hours after being found out, Ben Ginsberg resigned from the campaign saying ...

"I have decided to resign as national counsel to (Bush's) campaign to ensure that the giving of legal advice to decorated military veterans, which was entirely within the boundaries of the law, doesn't distract from the real issues upon which you and the country should be focusing,"

The Bush campaign still contends though that they have no links to the 527 group 'Swift Boat (Goats) Veterans for Truth' and has rejected that his team uses such 'front groups'.

Kerry has sent several decorated vets to Crawford Texas with a letter to Bush to try to get him to denounce the Swift Goats and stop this illegal practice he has engaged in.

10 Nobel Prize Economists Support Kerry

10 Nobel Prize winning economists came out today to endorse Kerry and his economic plans.

The Democratic presidential nominee released a letter from the economists saying the Bush administration had "embarked on a reckless and extreme course that endangers the long-term economic health of our nation."

They cited "poorly designed" tax cuts that instead of creating jobs have turned budget surpluses into enormous budget deficits, a "fiscal irresponsibility threatens the long-term economic security and prosperity of our nation."

This all comes as Kerry continues his campaign for better jobs, a better economic strategy, and better health coverage. So far the only economist that is supporting Bush is Alan Greenspan and he set the economic policy for Bush.

Bush Has Ties To Swift Goats Oddly

If you thinking that this is what you heard about before, guess again. This is yet another person within the Bush camp that has ties to the Swift Boat Vets (Swift Goats) for ... um Truth? This time the tie is Ben Ginsberg, the Bush cammpaign's chief outside counsel. Yep, you heard it, Bush's lawyer. And guess who he is giving legal advice to? Yep, you guessed it, the Swift Goats. Oddly enough, Bush still claims that there are no ties to the 527 group that has gone to great length to distort the truth by editing the audio clips of kerry to make him say things he has not. So how will all this play out? Well the Bush side is saying that Kerry has MoveOn people on his staff but has failed to mention names or produce evidence. Kerry has said that Bush is using the Swift Goats to do his dirty work and has outted 2 of them so far. If Kerry does have MoveOn people on his staff, I would guess they are ex MoveOn staff. Either way, both parties need to abide by the law and we can only hope that Bush learns his lesson from this. Now if we can get Bush to admit it was a mistake to use the Swift Goats is another story in it's self.

Government Secrets?

When you think of high level classified government secrets, I know you were not thinking of these. That is right, the meetings were held, the reports were read, and the American people are scratcing their heads. Things range from a plot to kill Santa Claus to Iraqi's buying aluminum tubes at the outragous price of $17.00 each (So you know they were up to no good). Some are fun and some are an outrage.

Steven Aftergood, director of a Federation of American Scientists project on secrecy, said some classification was clearly designed to conceal illegality or avoid embarrassment, even though that is forbidden.

Aftergood cited the "secret" stamp on Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba's report of "numerous incidents of sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuses" inflicted on Iraqi inmates at Abu Ghraib prison.

New Site Logo?

ABGuy was cool enough to make up a graphic for the site. I think it is pretty damn cool. Let him know what you think.

A House Divided

Cheney's gay marriage comments draw criticism from both foes and proponents as he suggests that the matter should be left up to states.

"Lynne and I have a gay daughter, so it's an issue our family is very familiar with," Cheney told an audience that included his daughter. "With the respect to the question of relationships, my general view is freedom means freedom for everyone ... People ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to.

Cheney however refused to say that he would not support President George Bush's amendment to ban gay marriage.

Addressing Bush's position on the amendment, Cheney said, "at this point, save my own preference, as I have stated, but the president makes policy for the administration. He's made it clear that he does, in fact, support a constitutional amendment on this issue."

Simply put, POTUS and VPOTUS are a team and they won't let a thing like the love of two people stand in the way of Christian happiness.

Dogs used to frighten teenagers at Abu Ghraib

Well it turns out, just as we had stated earlier, that things would get worse in the Abu Ghraib mess as the investigations were allowed to move along. In recent remarks it has been found that dogs were used to frighten teenagers at Abu Ghraib. This reallly is no surprise for those of us who have been following this mess as these revelations were brought out during the Congressional hearings in July. These incidents are not only immoral, but they are illegal according to military code and the Geneva Convention.

An Army investigation into the Abu Ghraib prison scandal has found that military police dogs were used to frighten detained Iraqi teenagers as part of a sadistic game, one of many details in the forthcoming report that were provoking expressions of concern and disgust among Army officers briefed on the findings.

Doing A Lynndie

Bad Gas has a rather odd page of people doing the Lynndie. No, we are not talking about the dance craze of the 1930's. We are talking about non other than the famous Lynddie England who participated in the tortures in Iraq. The whole thing would be bad if it was not so good.

So what does doing a Lynndie involve? Here are the basic instructions:

1. Find a victim who deserves to be "Lynndied".

2. Make sure you have a friend nearby with a camera ready to capture the "Lynndie".

3. Stick a cigarette (or pen) in your mouth and allow it to hang slightly below the horizontal.

4. Face the camera, tilt your upper body slightly forward but lean back on your right leg.

5. Make a hitchhiking gesture with your right hand and extend your right arm so that it's in roughly the same position as if you were holding a rifle.

6. Keeping your left arm slightly bent, point in the direction of the victim and smile.

Louisiana Gets A 2nd Chance

Top KTBS Channel 3 of Shreveport, Louisiana is reporting today that U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander's attempts to undermine the political system have been foiled. You may remember that Alexander last month, who was registered as a Democrat, switched parties and became a Republican before anyone else could run.

"Mr. Alexander has attempted to subvert the electoral process for his own personal gain," Edwards said. "His action deprived voters of the right to vote for a Democratic candidate."

Hearing Bush Took Some Doing

Hearing Bush took some doing, and that is how it is in these modern times. It is no longer good enough to be an American citizen to see the president. To take your children to see the leader of the free world now requires a back ground check and loyalty papers. I remember many times having the opportunity to see a president of the US speak, whether I supported him or not. It was an honor to see the leader up close. To hear the words come off his lips. To see that he was for all the people, Democrat, Republican, or Independent. Those days are gone for this president at least. In a series of 'papers only' rallies across this great land, Bush continues to impose his will and cut himself off from people who may only wish to see or hear him.

The Bush visit was a huge event in Mankato, which had not hosted a president since Harry Truman. Walz got a ticket without trouble, but others were refused because they didn't seem rah-rah enough, including two teens rejected because they were baby Democrats.

One of the kids had his mom get tickets for the boys, in their names. The mom asked Walz to chaperone the boys. But the kids would not get to see the president.

Only supporters got into the quarry where Bush spoke to a sanitized crowd of 7,000. Not one person carried a sign in protest. But one -- one -- listened without applauding. It was Walz, and his thoughts were his own, unless someone was scanning his brain.

"It was uncomfortable," says Walz, who joined the Guard at 17 and teaches geography at Mankato West High School. "Where else in America will you find 7,000 people who agree on anything?

Service Records of John F. Kerry and George W Bush

Service Records of John F. Kerry and George W Bush in full detail. Now you can see how the candidates stackup. So where was Bush and where are his medals?

Godchecker - Your Guide To The Gods. Mythology

Godchecker - Your Guide To The Gods. Mythology for when the one true God just isn't enough. This site is great for when you just are not feeling infidel enough. All praise Akka!

A New Face

Whether you are new to IRC, or AAR, we welcome you all. Some of you might have noticed a change. We used to be #MajorityReport, a chat channel dedicated to the Air America Radio show Majorty Report. It did not take long though for us to outgrow just that one show. While we have all enjoyed and supported all the shows on AAR, our name seemed limiting. Well no more. We are now AAR-IRC. The only true, and most successful, IRC chat channel that supports AAR. If you are concerned if we will continue to support Majority Report as we have in the past, then not to worry. Nothing has changed. In fact over the comming weeks, we will be supporting even more shows in the same way you have come to know and love us. For those that are new and wondering if we are trying to steal traffic from the blogs, then rest assured we are not. Our goal is to try to offer an alternative to the AAR blogs and their shows in an unofficial way. We wish to work hand in hand with the blogs and only offer an alternative way to communicate with one another. We fully recoginize the importance of the blogs. We also realize how tiresome it can be to hit that refresh key every 10 seconds.

Those that are new to the whole IRC experience will have a slight adjustment to make compared to the blog world. We have found though that once you give it a fair enough chance, that you will fit right in.

Those who are used to us from Majority Report and wondering about our old website and other details. Don't worry. We are slowly migrating all our services over and all the people you have come to love are in the new channel.

To all the trolls who may be checking us out for the first time. You are in for the biggest surprise of all. There is no post and run. There is no hiding. And yes, we do ban if you get out of hand. Don't underestimate us.

If you have an IRC Client, then hit the #AAR link on the right hand panel, or use the webclient. Grab yourself a nice French wine, a plate of cheese, and click on one of our streams. Sit back and enjoy as you enter a no-spin zone like none other.

Sample Blog Ad

#AAR on Undernet IRC... "We provide the environment, you provide the content, and Bush provides the reason"

Join the live chat with other Air America Radio listeners at
irc://us.undernet.org/AAR

and visit our blog at:
http://aar-irc.blogspot.com/

If you don't have an IRC Client, you may also connect using a webclient at:
http://www.undernet.org/webchat.php
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The only true IRC chat to support Air America Radio since it's launch, just got better. Some might remember us from The Majority Report and to others we are new. For all, we are expanding to provide an environment for all listeners of Air America Radio to come and chat in a real time environment. Don't be shy, and come and make your voice heard. Engage in interesting debates on the issues that concern you or chat about your day as we provide a troll free environment for all liberals to enjoy. Give us an hour and you will never hit refresh again.

Annotating Web Links

As a courtesy to channel goers and the hard-working moderators, please be sure to annotate any links you post in #AAR with a minimal description of what you're linking to. For instance, rather than pasting a naked link:

leftnut> http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2004/06/01/ban_unconstitutional/index.html

on a line all by itself, mark it with a brief phrase:

leftnut> Federal judge rules partial-birth abortion ban unconstitutional: http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2004/06/01/ban_unconstitutional/index.html

Even if the subject can be partly inferred from the link, it's less likely to draw the notice of users or the blog moderators without a description. This is especially true for garbled links
(http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=aSRAXJBOQmkk) and shortened links (http://www.tinyurl.com/ysuqx) that don't suggest any context by themselves.

If your link points to a news article, its headline is frequently suitable as a description. If it's to a blog thread, start with the name of the blog plus the thread's topic. Links to static webpages may be marked up with the page's title if it is sufficiently descriptive.

Note: Once you've annotated your link in a descriptive and interesting way, there isn't a need to post excerpts of the article or page to the channel. Please refrain from flooding!

AAR-IRC Channel Guidelines

The following are guidelines for those visiting #AAR.

• We are an 18+ channel and as such swearing may be used from time to time. We can not be responsible for what is said and minors or easily offended persons should find somewhere else to talk.

The #AAR ops encourage free discussion and try hard not to stifle free expression. However, the following behaviors are unacceptable and will result in a response from the ops. These may range from a warning to a kick or ban:

1. Personal attacks on channel users.


2. EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF YELLING.


3. Excessive repetition, especially of a useless comment, or other forms of channel monopolization.


4. Obvious trolling (i.e., insincere statements intended to inflame).


5. Relentless and obnoxious pursuit of fallacious arguments (see here to brush up).


6. Stalking and/or harassment.


7. The use of font attributes (ie: colors, bolds, underlines, etc) are not allowed. Channel bots are the only ones that may use such attributes.
   
   

Ops have substantial discretion to interpret these rules; please do not appeal to technicalities. Just remember, mutual respect is the key to a happy channel.