Tuesday, January 13

 

 William Muller is the guest editor today.

 

Idionomics

"Why just a Car Czar? Why not a Financial Fuhrer, Communications Kaiser, Internet Caesar, Housing Emperor, Movie Capo or Airline Pope?"  Column by Emiliano Antunez.

 

Once I Was Your Candy Colored Dream Girl

Reflections on the plight of the great American auto industry from the ultimate insider.  Column by Douglas Herman.

 

The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794

“...resistance to payment of the federal excise tax on whiskey was widespread in all American frontier areas, from northern New York to southern Georgia. Furthermore, as Mary Tachau, author of this study, observes: until recently 'this remarkable story of tax evasion' has experienced a near historical blackout and cover-up."

 

War Is Boring: U.S. Wages First Battles in New Generation of War

"...the U.S. military and its government partners are writing new rules, and putting them to the test on the first of the fifth-generation battlefields emerging in Africa.  Fifth-gen enemies do not have traditional 'centers of gravity' -- armies, governments, factories, charismatic leaders -- that can be destroyed by military attacks. By their mere survival, these enemies undermine the notion that nation-states, their ideals and their economies are viable in the modern world."

 

'Homeland Security USA': The Outtakes

"Shapiro agreed to grant the [Homeland Security] department 'pre-screening' rights over the series....Missing, then, from the Jan. 6 premiere—and presumably from future episodes—are allegations…that some federal air marshals, for example, have accepted bribes, trafficked cocaine themselves and even sought to have a woman killed in one stupefying instance. There is nothing like the reports of border agents taking luxury cars as payment for secretly allowing illegal immigrants to cross into the United States."

 

Joe the Fascist

Joe plays Fonda for Israel and Goebbels to the media.  (Video)

 

IDF Uses Live Ammo to Break Up West Bank Protests

"The .22 rifle fires a small cartridge which has a much lower stopping power than larger caliber rifles in use by Israeli security forces, but can still be lethal at close range. IDF snipers will use the rifle to fire at demonstrators, aiming at the lower half of the body."

 

Countries That Will Miss George Bush

“'Israel is probably the only place on earth where Bush can still get a standing ovation,' says Mr Berkowitz, who was in Israel at the time of Mr Bush's visit in May for the 60th anniversary of Israel's creation, when he got several standing ovations.”

 

Train Search by Border Patrol Just Another Incident from the Constitution-Free Zone

"I asked BP agents 'why the stop?', and had a bright flashlight directed at my head in a threatening manner for a while as I was told their view that 'we can stop any person, vehicle or aircraft any time for any reason anywhere within 100 miles of the border.'"

 

U.S. Army Recruiting at the Mall with Video Games

"The U.S. Army Experience Center at the Franklin Mills shopping mall in northeast Philadelphia has 60 personal computers loaded with military video games, 19 Xbox 360 video game controllers and a series of interactive screens describing military bases and career options in great detail.  Potential recruits can hang out on couches and listen to rock music that fills the space."

 

Feds Have 'Surge' Plan If Mexico Drug Violence Spills Over

"The plan includes federal homeland security agents helping local authorities and maybe even military assistance from the Department of Defense, possibly including aircraft, armored vehicles and special teams to go to areas overwhelmed with violence, authorities said."

 

St. Louis Man Arrested for Shoe Bomb Comment

“When a flight attendant asked him to close his laptop after boarding, Shafermeyer says he was just trying to make a joke when he asked her, 'Are you the one who checks for shoe bombs?'"

 

Strip Search of Teens in Chicago School

“The families of two 14-year-old girls filed a lawsuit yesterday alleging an off-duty Chicago police officer illegally strip searched them in an effort to find a lighter she believed was used to set a small fire at the girls' school.”

 

Chinese Officials Gamble Away $3 Million in Casinos

"Mr Wu was handed a four-year jail term for embezzling large sums of public money to finance his gambling habit, the state-run China Daily newspaper reported....Ironically, Mr Wu had carried out several operations against gambling, pornography and drugs.

 

Panties for Peace

"The Panties for Peace campaign plays on the regime leaders’ superstitious fear that contact with a woman’s underpants will rob them of their power. Women around the world are asked to post their panties to local Burmese embassies in a bid to strip the regime of its power and bring an end to its gross violations of human rights, especially those committed against Burma’s women."

 

Terror, Anthrax, Explosives and More in Free, Downloadable 'Counterterrorism Calendar'

 

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