Friday, January 25
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Melinda Secor is the guest editor today. |
Canadian Military Has Quit Turning Detainees Over to Afghans
"The Canadian military secretly stopped transferring prisoners to Afghanistan’s government in November after Canadian monitors found evidence that they were being abused and tortured. The suspension, which began Nov. 5, was disclosed in a fax sent by government lawyers to Amnesty International and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, which are seeking to block the prisoner transfers. The government’s internal concerns about detainees is also at odds with Canadian officials’ repeated public statements that the Afghan government does not engage in systematic torture." (Free Reg. Req.) Too bad they haven't the integrity to openly denounce the brutality of Bushco and its puppet government in Afghanistan, but at least they aren't participating directly.
Democratic Leaders Delay Contempt Again
"Just two weeks ago, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi seemed prepared to bring the contempt citations against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers to the House floor for a vote when Congress came back from their winter break this week. The contempt citations were issued in July 2007, when Bolten and Miers refused to cooperate with the Congressional investigation into the potentially criminal firing of nine US attorneys by the Bush administration. Initially, Pelosi signaled her support for the citation of contempt, but has repeatedly delayed a vote on the matter." Well, she already got the press for looking as if she was doing something, mission accomplished. The attention span of the Sheeple is too short for them too realize that nothing was really done. Standard operating procedure for these politicians.
Senate Rejects Secret Court Measure
“The Senate on Thursday rejected an attempt to expand a secret court's oversight of government eavesdropping, sticking instead with a surveillance bill favored by the White House. The bill, which failed 60-36, would have strengthened the oversight powers of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. It would have given the court the authority to monitor and enforce how the government protects the identities of innocent Americans whose communications may be inadvertently collected.” Yet another big wet smooch for the posterior of the Fuhrer, given with love by the “opposition party.”
The Danse Macabre of US-Style Democracy
“The former president of Tanzania Julius Nyerere once asked, 'Why haven’t we all got a vote in the US election? Surely everyone with a TV set has earned that right just for enduring the merciless bombardment every four years.' Having reported four presidential election campaigns, from the Kennedys to Nixon, Carter to Reagan, with their Zeppelins of platitudes, robotic followers and rictal wives, I can sympathize. But what difference would the vote make? Of the presidential candidates I have interviewed, only George C. Wallace, governor of Alabama, spoke the truth. 'There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between the Democrats and Republicans,' he said. And he was shot. What struck me, living and working in the United States, was that presidential campaigns were a parody, entertaining and often grotesque. They are a ritual danse macabre of flags, balloons and bullsh*t, designed to camouflage a venal system based on money power, human division and a culture of permanent war.”
Poll: Bullsh*t Is Most Important Issue for 2008 Voters
Satire....I think.
Don’t Even Think About It: Enter the Thought Police
“Perhaps no campaign tactic is more effective than fearmongering, and in the current presidential race the sum of all fears, once again, is radical Islamic terrorists—or 'jihadists,' to use the now-ubiquitous term. On the Republican side, it's a pissing match over who can look toughest against this shadowy enemy, with John McCain running ads showing masked Islamic gunmen, while Mitt Romney spouts the old neocon warning about forces that want to 'unite the world under a single jihadist caliphate.' Although the Democrats' rhetoric is more restrained, Hillary Clinton didn't hesitate to suggest that the new president might quickly face another terrorist attack on American soil, as part of her quest to convince voters they need her cool-headed experience....Congress is in the midst of passing legislation aimed not at actual hate crimes or even terrorist conspiracies, but at talking, Web surfing, or even thinking about jihadism or other 'extremist belief systems.' Last October, a piece of legislation called the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 sailed through the House with near-universal bipartisan support; it is likely to reach the floor of the Senate early this year and appears certain to be signed into law.”
Courts Strip Elders of Their Independence
“Cromwell, after a broken ankle and a brief rehab in early 2006, had expected to go home. But on the say-so from the nursing home's doctor - a short, nearly illegible diagnosis - a judge decreed that Cromwell was mentally ill and handed all of her decision-making to a guardian. Cromwell lost all power over her own life, with no opportunity to object, no right to have a lawyer represent her, no chance to even be in the courtroom. Three months later, the same judge, E. Chouteau Merrill, made the guardianship permanent - in a two-minute hearing in which the judge asked not a single question.” Well, they do it to children all the time...and soon will have more legislation passed to make it easy to label and lock up the rest of us...if our thoughts aren't in line with the Ministry of Truth.
Rummy Resurfaces, Calls for U.S. Propaganda Agency
"One of the many things I love about Donald Rumsfeld is that he's totally unrepentant. Back in 2001, the Pentagon under his leadership created the controversial Office of Strategic Influence, which was closed down just a few months later after its existence became public. Rightly or wrongly, the Pentagon was accused of creating a propaganda office. Now, the former defense secretary has a bigger vision: he is advocating a '21st century agency for global communications'."
We Hate to Bring Up the Nazis, But They Fled to South America, Too
“Here’s a fun question for Tony Snow: Why might the president and his family need a 98.840-acre ranch in Paraguay protected by a semi-secret U.S. military base manned by American troops who have been exempted from war-crimes prosecution by the Paraguyan government?”
“The Wall Street Journal last week had a story about conservative churches ostracizing 'sinners' in order to maintain 'church discipline.' On Sunday, a host of obituaries celebrated the career of pioneering journalist Frances Lewine, 86. Also on Sunday, The New York Times Magazine ran a photo essay on female genital mutilation in Indonesia. These three stories are related in subtle - and not so subtle - ways.”
Drought Could Force Nuke-Plant Shutdowns
“Nuclear reactors across the Southeast could be forced to throttle back or temporarily shut down later this year because drought is drying up the rivers and lakes that supply power plants with the awesome amounts of cooling water they need to operate.”
Bubble-Busting Sounds Could Keep Chips Cool
“Sound waves can boost the efficiency of liquid cooling techniques by nearly 150%, a feat that may help keep hardworking computer chips and other components from overheating in future.”
Kite to Pull Ship Across Atlantic
“The world's first commercial cargo ship partially powered by a giant kite is setting sail from Germany to Venezuela.”
Endangered Turtle Makes Record 647-Day Journey
“A leatherback sea turtle recently completed the longest recorded migration of any sea vertebrate: 12,774 miles (20,558 kilometers) across the Pacific Ocean.”
Virgin Galactic Unveils Suborbital Spaceliner Design
“Future thrill-seekers will ride a sleek spacecraft berthed under a massive, twin-boom mothership to the fringe of space in a design unveiled Wednesday by Virgin Galactic.”
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