16 September 2007

Greenspan attacks Bush's financial disaster

The BBC reports that Bush ignored his advice to veto "out-of-control" bills that sent the US deeper into deficit. This severely under reported news story is one of the many huge warts on the ugly face of the policies of King George during his reign as pseudo dictator over this country. The massive defecits have generated a staggering national debt that has now surpassed the 9 TRILLION mark (see the US National Debt Clock for current figures).

If you were the head of a household, and spent beyond your income, paying for things by running up credit card debt, it wouldn't be long before the bank would forclose on your house, take away your car and all your furniture, and leave you destitute and homeless. That is EXACTLY what is happening to our nation! In the insanely despicable act of granting behemouth tax cuts to the rich and large corporations, coupled with out of control military spending, King George has screwed our national economy. Sure things never look too bad when you are still borrowing money to pay for things, giving the false appearance of prosperity, but those debts need to be repayed at some point.

Who will repay the debts the conservatives have given us? Our children? Our grandchildren? What was the dire need to go many trillions of dollars into debt for? Were chinese hordes invading north america? Was there a deadly plague killing millions? Was there a comet coming to destroy the planet? The loss of the world trade center and the initial spending to attack the terrorist infrastructure (which is NOT the failed occupation of Iraq) only add up so far.

In the end, this national financial disaster will haunt the Bush legacy for generations to come. With any luck, it will also quell any archaic notions that linger about the supposed financial misdeeds of 'tax and spend' democrats from back in the 60s and 70s as well. The republicans should forever be remembered as the party that bankrupted our nation to make the rich richer.

04 September 2007

Burma

Myanmar's constitutional talks a "total sham" accd to the AFP. For once, the state dept has hit the nail on the head. Myanmar (formerly Burma) has held a constitutional congress that sidesteps democracy and gives the appearance of legitimacy to the countries military rulers. These are harsh dictators bent on subjugating all ethnic groups and brutally supressing any dissent. Funny how this barely gets mentioned on the back page of an online newspaper where another tinpot dictator got front page news for months. I guess if Myanmar (Burma) had large quantities of oil, they could expect an invasion. As it stands, our hypocritical govt here in the US sends an less well known spokesman from the State Dept (Tom Casey) to issue a verbal reprimand.

03 September 2007

Sneaky Bush

King George snuck into Iraq under the darkness of night recently to praise his own policy of escalation. It is clearly a preemptive and futile attempt to justify his failed foreign policy here in the wake of the upcoming report on the 'progress in Iraq' (set up on a pass/fail basis with low expectations, thus a D- will be spun into a positive on any of the marks).

30 August 2007

Internet Censorship

Call to regulate the net rejected accd to the BBC. The internet should not be used as a scapegoat for society's ills, said Vint Cerf, Google's net evangelist and a founding father of the network.

There is already heavy censorship of online material in most of the world, especially in China. Now, the conservatives in the US are trying to take away all freedom of real expression in this country in much the same way, albeit in more insidious ways.

From the inception of the internet to the modern day, the internet has been a bastion of free expression. Whether information (such as Wikipedia), searches (such as Google), movies (imdb), etc., anything, I repeat ANYTHING has been able to be posted without harrassment from governments until recently. But the pressure is mounting. The bullshit artists are beginning to try to limit free speech via the precedence of undecency standards, which we all know is the start of government censorship of anything deemed contrary to its own position (in ANY country you live in around the world). Net Neutrality must be preserved, unless we all want big brother to tell us what is acceptable to think.

17 August 2007

Wikipedia under attack!

the BBC reports that certain agencys have made tactical edits to the free online encyclopedia. Though this should come as no surprise, it is yet another reminder on how information itself is under attack from groups or individuals with an agenda. Scientific facts are regularly questioned both here in the United States as well as the Islamic world and many, many places elsewhere.

This attack on knowledge is nothing knew. It has been in place by governmental institutions from tribal elders to royal courts to the nazi regime. They simply attack the truth to push their own agenda, and get their puppets (in the US, this comes in the form of radio talk show hosts) to put a seed of doubt into the mass consciousness about proveable theories, thus advancing their false adgenda. Look at the attack on evolution in the US today, what factual, scientific basis do any of these assholes have?

An assault on Wikipedia is an assault on education, free thought, wisdom, and science. We all need to be offended by this bullshit and speak out against it in our "outdoor voices".

14 August 2007

Karl Rove tribute







Karl Rove, the chief architect of the neofascist movement in the United States, has finally left his post as Deputy Chief of Staff for the Bush regime. For those of you who have been living under a rock or are too poor to pay attention, let me give you a brief list of his highlights as executive puppet master to King George.

1. He was instumental in devizing the most divisive and polarizing political attack strategy in US history. Rove advocated "energizing" the conservative republican base to win elections, rather than seek middle ground positions. Although they somehow worked in getting a doofus like George Bush elected twice, they mercilessly savaged good people both on the left and in the middle for the last 7 years. This shifted the political spectrum in this country far to the right, making even regular conservatives appear to be moderates by comparison.

2. This brutal tactic of vicious and personal attacks extended to means inside office as well. In the wake of 911, he tried to score politcal points by saying that, "liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers." He insinuated Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) "fathered an illegitimate black child". Rove is linked to the so called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the smear group that accused war hero John F. Kerry of cowardice in the 2004 election. Typical rumor-mongering and dirty mud slinging that effectively plants a seed without any evidence, but always has an effect.

3. TREASON! Hot Karl was likely the one who orchestrated, if not directly leaked the name of an undercover CIA operative, Valeria Plame. This was done as direct retribution because her husband, Joseph C. Wilson, IV, refused to manufacture evidence implicating Iraq as trying to purchase Yellowcake from Nigeria in the propaganda war leading up to the invasion.

4. Karl Rove was involved in the firings of 9 US attorney who were not Republican loyalists. Though Alberto Gonzales is ultimately the one with the greatest fault here, it was a vindictive politcal vendetta meant to further stack the courts with former colleagues and neocon activist judges. Further, he was likely involved in the "accidental" deleting of all emails pertaining to this scandal (funny how those were the only ones that disappeared).



There are many, many more things (this IHT for example)I could list in detail, but I think you get the idea. This behind the scenes neofascist is finally out of official government. There is a legacy of destruction behind him, and I dont think anybody could blame the Democrats if they adopt similar attactics to rebalance the political system when they win the presidency in 2008 (though it will take them 8 years to undo the damage).

Remember Karl Rove not at "boy genius" or "bushs brain", but as Darth Deceiptful.

Kosovo partition

An international envoy says the partition of Kosovo could be acceptable as a way of breaking the deadlock over the province's future. the BBC reports.

This may be only viable political solution to this horrific situation in my opinion. It would appease the Kosovo Albanians by giving them their independence while allowing the Serbs who cherish this land as the birthplace of their culture and civilization a stake as well. In order to be an acceptable compromise by the Serbian nation however, the partition would have to include an area much larger than a 10% slice, and would likely have to include a meandering boundary to guarantee access to their most sacred historical sites.

28 July 2007

Gorbachev attacks American Imperialism

Former President Mikhail Gorbachev said Friday that the fall of the Soviet Union, which he helped bring about, ushered in an era of U.S. imperialism responsible for many of the world's gravest problems.

I truly don't understand how something this important could get absolutely zero coverage in the western world. This issue is at the forefront of what has gone wrong with the world in the last 20 years.

In the insane days of the Cold War, there was a counterbalance between the Communists centered in the Soviet Union and the capitalists centered in the United States. With both sides mounting multiple warhead ICBMs (InterContintinental Ballistic Missiles) capable of horrific destructive capacity, there was an atmosphere of Mututally Assured Destruction (MAD), which didn't allow either side to get too agressive.

Michael Gorbachev ascended to the rule the Politburo of the Communist party, and this man of vision clearly saw that the adversarial and antagonistic attitudes of both nations was hurting both parties. In a bold move, he unilaterally began opening up the USSR to change in a show of good faith thru such measures as perestroika and glasnost (google or wikipedia them if you are unfamiliar).

Gorbachev was a man of peace and made the first overtures of reconcilliation, expecting that the US would follow suite and initiate their own domestic measures of trust and disarmament. Unfortunately, under the conservative cultural change embodied by the great deceiver Ronald Reagan, the powers that be in our county interpreted every concession by the USSR as further cause what we were right in the first place.

This is like some schoolyard squabble where one kid realizes thats its ridiculous to fight, so they begin to seek compromise (regardless of who was right in the first place or who threw the first punch). Let bygones be bygones and lets just walk away so to speak. But this other kid doesn't have peace on his mind, and see's every gesture of the first kid as being a pussy, so gets even more aggressive. Without a playground monitor, you can guess where this leads.

The US had and continues to have a moral obligation to stand down. We must dismantle our gargantuan sized military industrial complex, and use the peace dividend to rebuild our nation. No more world police, no more CIA overthrows of foreign governments, no more invasions of sovereign countries. The end result of us showing our truly peaceful character is a better world. The result of us bullying the world in a show of superiority is for other nations to rise up and confront us in the future. Its our choice.

Another MidEast Gamble

US 'plans huge Saudi arms deal'

In a huge strategic gamble, the Bush Administration plans to sell the conservative republic of Saudi Arabia 20 billion dollars worth of sophisticated weaponry to counter the growing strength of Iran in the region. Iran is far from a friend of liberal freedoms in the world. In fact, they are so brutally repressive towards basic human liberties, that they make King George and his neocon collaborators look nice in comparison. Iran is an ultra conservative power in the region that must be dealt with at some point and time. The main question is how and when.

Let us review some of the strategic gambles the US has taken in the Middle East in the past. To counter Soviet alliances among Arab republics, the Pentagon gave a vast arsenal to our current ally in the region, the Shah in Iran. Being shortsighted as the military industrial complex often proves to be, they failed to predict a mass popular uprising in that country in 1979.
Following the horrific events of that tragedy, they fueled one Saddam Hussein with massive amounts of weaponry to counter the Islamic republic in Iran. Again, failing to see things as they really are, Hussein turned out to be a brutal dictator, more bent on his own ambitions than anything else. Iraq soon turned its new arms on a territorial gambit with Kuwait. The first and second wars ensued (and let me say, the second was completely unnecessary).

Which brings us to this latest gamble. The Pentagon argues that Saudi Arabia is steady ally in the region that supports a march towards not only Western, but humanistic values (basic freedoms of human beings) and is prepared to support them with the brute force of advanced weaponry. What if, now this a hypothetical, but the question must be asked, WHAT IF this sale turns out to once again go to support some force of evil in the region? It would be testimony to the failure of the central forces in the US once again to be a force for good in the region.

We must tread very carefully in this hornets nest of regions. Giving deadly weapons to a country based on poor evidence could backfire yet again on us.

26 July 2007

Decades of False Detention in the US

The BBC reports that "[four men] spent decades in prison after the FBI withheld evidence of their innocence. Two died in jail. After being falsely convicted and jailed in 1965, they were finally released in 2001 when the buried evidence of their innocence finally leaked its way out of the FBIs secrative locked files. For those of us in dictatorial-like states with excessive government control, this comes as no real surprise, the fact that it ever was proven to have taken place is most surprising. People disappear or are falsely imprisoned everyday in the United States and other harsh countries in the world.

A jury awared the families a total of $100 million US (worth much less with our wimpy dollar and being split by 4 families), which is hardly compensation for spending 36 years, half of their lives in a federal pen. The men who were behind this cowardly act should be imprisoned for the rest of their lives to give them a taste of what they did to innocent men, which would hardly even be enough, since these men have spent the better parts of their lives in freedom and are now nearly dead themselves.

25 July 2007

The good fight

"Democrats gather in Tennessee this weekend to discuss how to appeal to moderate, independent-minded voters in 2008" AP. There is a bit of an identity crisis in the democratic party the last couple decades. On one hand, the left side of the party advocates a strong stance on issues of social justice and the other, often termed the "moderate" side advocates a soft spoken approach.

In the last election, John Kerry listened to the moderate side of the party and tried to appeal early to the more "centrist" issues and "independent" voters. His opponent, King George was starkly devisive, had strongly worded speeches, and appealed solely to the hard core ultra conservative base (didn't even attempt to appeal to independent voters). What was the result? As bad of a president as he proved to be, driving our nation into deep debt, selling out to China, making up bullshit excuses to invade Iraq, and waging a deadly assault on the Constituion, this horror of presidents won by 3 million votes!

When will the Democratic party wake up? Evil must be opposed. Wrongs must be confronted. The conservative Republican deceit must be fought. The only thing that keeping your mouths shut will do is to let them get their way and win yet another presidency (7/10 terms of this uber powerful post have been under conservative control). The late fallen Senator from Minnesota Paul Wellstone claimed that he was from the "Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party". This is the type of leader reasonable thinking men and women need to stand up for whats right. Not some watered down type of compromiser who will sell out real values for a non-confrontational manner.

23 July 2007

US may now strike Pakistan

Sometimes the Republicans are so ridiculously and obnoxiously stupid that I have to wonder how they got so shortchanged on brains at birth. In their latest signs of lunacy, the govt of King George states that "American forces might be sent into Pakistan to strike at Osama Bin Laden." Don't misunderstand me, any chance to hit that islamo-conservative fanatic would be music to my ears, but if he is in Pakistan, you *have* to let them do the job.

"President Pervez Musharraf has a shaky hold over their country the way it is, and has already "vowed to root out extremists from every corner of the country". The conservative elements of this country are ready to rebel, and all it would take is a spark, like King George ordering an airstrike within their sovereign borders. Then what would we have? A conservative islamic uprising and possible revolution in Pakistan.

The short sighted nature of Republicans in the US simply astounds me. Sometimes I think they *want* the conservative islamists to take control over there (maybe to justify destroying the economy to support a mammoth military-industrial complex or using the Constitution as toilet paper).

18 July 2007

Political Vendettas

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
US Govt attacking Cats. In a region of the USA that actively aspires to achieve independence, the Keys of Florida, the US Government under the direction of King George and his consevative minions have sunk to a new low. They are attacking the right of the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum to keep control of its own pets. More specifically, the famous 6 toed cats introduced by the famous writer Ernest Hemmingway.

This shallow and petty political vendetta has nothing to do with animal control in the slightest. It has EVERYTHING to do with a vindictive conservative republican administration bent on the task of attacking anything that disagrees with it. Under their polically appointed partisan puppet, the U.S. Animal and Plant Inspection Service officials argue that the house, listed as a National Historic Landmark since 1968, requires a federal Animal Welfare License, like a circus or zoo. Like a fucking CIRCUS! Like cats with 6 toes are as dangerous as Lions or Elephants! Get a fucking life you bastards. Wake up and smell the corruption already! Attacking cats to fight free thought via a long dead author and the spirit of freedom he inspired, give me a break. We have better ways to spend our tax dollars than a republican political vendetta like this.

12 July 2007

US National Debt

By the time you finish reading this article, the national debt in this country will be well over a million dollars greater. The US debt is fast approaching 9 trillion. check out theU.S. NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK to see what it is currently at, thanks to King George. Our debt is increasing by $14,815 every second thanks to gross fiscal mismanagement by the neocons. I have reported on this previously, to refute the misconception that liberal democrats are 'tax and spend' oriented, but nobody seems to be listening.

How would your personal finances hold up if you got a bunch of credit cards, and just continued to borrow thousands of dollars a year to give you a false sense of financial well being? Bankruptcy, thats where. You would soon realize that the mounting debt you are accumulating will ruin your material well being. All those electronic toys, nice furniture, and ample floor space will soon be repossessed, leaving you on the street, begging for soup. It is the same with our nation. Tax cuts for the rich, a war to rectify daddy, exporting jobs, etc. are the motto of the conservatives, and this is ruining our country financially. Thanks again King George and you shortsighted neocon fucksticks. We are now over a million dollars poorer as a nation!

NY firefighters attack Giuliani



NY firefighters attack Giuliani. The NYC firefighters state that, "Giuliani pushed for a faster clean-up at Ground Zero before all the remains had been recovered, and placed an emergency centre in a building that later collapsed" which [led to the deaths of 121 men]. It went on to state, "[Giuliani] failed to provide working radios for crews and halted the recovery effort too soon" and that "Giuliani is exploiting the disaster as a theme for his presidential candidacy."

Lets see how he tries to spin his lies in the face of this!

05 July 2007

Poll: Majorities say income gap too wide

An AP article on Yahoo! reports that, "seven in 10 said discrepancies between income levels are too large". This has been a problem in societies since the dominant social patterns changed from roaming bands to larger semi-sedentary tribes, although the more complex and large a culture is the more pronounced the gap between rich and poor is.

In the United States, free market capitalism and entrepeneurialship have devolved into little more than short term greed. The conservative Republicans who have been in charge of this nation virtually since 1970, continue to be true to their corporate masters and find ways to further unbalance the economic system to favor greed. Reagan began a series of tax cuts for the rich and corporate loopholes (remeber Vodoo economics and the 'trickle down effect'?), which were added to by the first Bush, and compounded exponentially by King George.

They will try to sell you their propaganda that tax cuts are good for the economy, but the real results have been the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Previous to these pieces of draconian legislation, a family could easily get by with one income earner, while today, both parents need to work to attain almost half of what was to be had a generation earlier. On the other side of the spectrum, the richest 80,000 people in this country own half the wealth. HALF!

What could anyone possibly need that much money for anyways? One private jet isn't enough? Need to have a 72' yacht on both coasts? One mansion isn't enough? Come fucking on, over a third of this country is struggling to simply put food on the table, and conservative politicians talk about giving tax breaks to oil companies? Well, the poor got fucked for a long time, but it hasn't been until recently that the middle class in America has started to seriously suffer from wealth consolidation.

If the rich and powerful can return someone like King George to his throne (such as the election of 2004), despite his tragic deficiencies, what hope is there for any of us to turn this situation around? They will always outspend groups seeking to balance the situation by a magnitude of 10, and some talented sap will always be willing to pull the wool over their own eyes and do their dirty work for a big paycheck, so this situation might be inescapable. Who knows, perhaps one day poor people will start selling their children and bodily organs, oh wait, THATS ALREADY GOING ON!

Kosovo again tense

"UN chief warns Kosovo may regress if status unresolved" Yahoo! News. Though I adhere to a Wilsonian 'self-determinationist' ideology as long it is applied equally across the board. If the Serbian spiritual heartland of Kosovo is allowed to attain self determination, then so should other regions in the world. Europe is full of diversity, and if a cultural group is allowed to have their own independent political nation, then we should allow this for the Basques, Catalans, Galicians, Brittany, Scotland, Wales, Trans-Dnieper, etc. Equal rights to all for self governance. In the US, Native American regions and Hawaii continue to seek their own independent nations, but all pleas fall on deaf ears in the tyrranical US Government.

However, this policy is applied discriminantly, and Serbia is clearly being singled out, likely because of their staunch support of their traditionally close ally for generations, Russia. So get ready everyone, because of a short sighted punitive geopolitical strategy that had more to do with hegemony than ideology, Kosovo will yet again soon erupt in yet another round of violence. That is, unless, full independence is granted and the remaining Serbs, Gypsys, Romani, and possibly the Turks are ethnically cleansed. That is sarcastic if you couldn't tell, I abhore the very notion of ethnic cleansing.

04 July 2007

Pakistani cleric captured under burqa

This is hillarious. The ultra right wing radical cleric, Maulana Abdul Aziz was caught trying to escape capture at a mosque in Pakistan by fleeing dressed as a woman (in the full Burka dress). I think this just goes to show that conservatives around the world will stoop to any means to try to evade responsibility for their actions. Can't trust them, no matter where in the world you are. Read the full article at Yahoo! News.

02 July 2007

Corruption at the highest level !

The bar has been set so laughably low for this president (King George), that this news may barely phase some in the American audience, just like previous atrocities have (blatant lying to invade Iraq, actually invading Iraq, stocking the Supreme Court with fascist judges with an agenda, suspending the Bill of Rights for warantless wiretaps on civilians, unilaterally crushing international arms treaties, destroying the dollar, massing a 9 trillion dollar national debt, etc. etc. etc.). But for those who continue to dream of and fight for a better nation and world, this news should be a 9 on the political richter scale.

George W Bush has pardoned Lewis "Scooter" Libby!

This demon was the only one who inept prosecutors could actually finger for the treasonous affair in which the name of an active CIA undercover operative was publically named (Wikipedia) in revenge for her husband not following orders to manufacture evidence implicating Iraqs Baath regime trying to acquire nuclear material in the days before the morally bankrupt start of the Iraq War.

There is little doubt that King Georges director of propaganda, Karl Rove and his headmaster Dick "the Dick" Cheney were ultimately responsible for the deepest blame for this, but they tossed Scooter up as a prize high enough to get the American public off their backs, knowing that the Executive Branch of government has enough dictatorial powers these days that nobody could expect any greater accountability. That was far short of even a hint of justice in this act of treason, and now, to make matters worse, Scooter is off the hook all together.

What kind of nation do we have where our president can condone such treason, betrayal, and corruption? Do we not expect our leaders to exhibit a higher moral fiber than this? Are we living in a communist dictatorship or a constitutional democracy?

27 June 2007

...and Justice for...everyone except the rich


A short while back, a corrupt sheriff released Paris Hilton from prison, to serve out the rest of her sentence after only 1 DAY IN JAIL! I was ecstatic when the presiding judge seriously reprimanded this "law enforcement" official and ordered Hilton back behind bars, not because I am one of those bonehead "tougher laws and more prisons" bafoons, but because this represented equality under the law. Despite her many millions of dollars and a huge good ole boy network suporting her and her snotty, bratlike ways, justice would be blind. Those tears when she was led back to the clink made me smile.

Now, after spending only 24 days in a lockdown facility, she was "released early due to crowded jail conditions and time off for good behaviour." BBC According to the a paparazzi website (Egotastic), "this is probably the most coverage anyone has gotten for being released from prison since Nelson Mandela. And sadly, I'm pretty sure she's getting more coverage." They also have a video of the little princess being escorted from the compound and acting like she is on "the red carpet."

Although this is only a minor case of bias, it goes to prove that justice is no longer blind in the USA. If you have enough money and fame, you can literally get away with murder (see OJ Simpson). The middle class do not get preferential treatment or leniency, and the poor, well they just get fucked. Freedom and justice for all is supposed to be a hallmark of our society, and events like Paris Hilton getting cut loose early(and probably pampered in a one room private resort inside) is a pathetic example of how screwed up things have become in America.

24 June 2007

Blurring Knowledge

There is truth in life. There is truth and there is perspective. From the beginning of language, selfish and greedy people have used deceipt to blur the truth in order to gain or profit in some way. This is an everyday reality to those of us in America who are subject to Fox News and other 24 hour cable news programs that routinely couple views from a non-biased source and some conservative ideologue and proclaim that as "fair and balanced".

To get to the point, there is a free online dictionary called Wikipedia (link to the english site), an unbiased, scientific site dedicated to truth. As always, conservatives hate that public has access to truth, and have launched their own version called Conservapedia . This propaganda site is dedicated to distorting reality by stating such things as, "Earth is less than 10,000 years old, A increase in the minimum wage is... "a controversial manoeuvre that increases the incentive for young people to drop out of school.", Hillary Clinton may suffer from "clinical narcissism", and Environmentalists...would want to impose legal limits on the use of toilet paper." (source the Star Tribune and LA Times).

Its actually quite an entertaining, albeit scary read.

Energy Bill

The new Democratic Senate seems to be fighting the good fight, even if they compromise too quickly in the recently passed energy bill. Unlike previous versions passed by King George and his Republican minions, this one does not give billions of dollars to the oil industry. Republicans blocked a $32 billion tax package to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, accd to Yahoo! So despite what the people want (and know to be the smart thing to do), Bush and the conservatives are once again bowing to the corporate masters by killing incentives for such things as wind and solar.

The bright side to this energy bill was that for the first time in nearly 20 years (BBC), mandatory fuel efficiency will be increased. Granted, by nothing at first, and only to 35mpg (from the current 22) by the year 2020. We may finally be joining the rest of the worlds industry in promoting minimal standards such as these.

CIA declassified documents

For anyone who is naive enough to put their total trust in their own government, this should be an enlightening article. OK, naive isn't actually in the dictionary (try looking it up!), but I digress.

As a red blooded American, my youthful notions that the USA was not just another country, but the beacon of freedom and justice throughout a corrupt and cruel world. This idea has been fostered by generations in this country, as I'm sure it has in many if not most nations across the globe. In America, it is an easy morsel to digest. Our country broke away from a tyrranical empire, passed a radical piece of humanitarian legislation in the form of the Bill of Rights, fueled freedom and independence movements across the globe for 2 centuries, and appears on the surface to hold itself to a higher standard.

In the aftermath of the great struggle against fascism and for freedom in World War II, things appear to have begun to change however. The military-industrial complex started to take over, pull the strings behind the curtain, and the ideals this country was built on began to erode: freedom, justice, equality, self determination. This was the beginning of the Cold War, a multi-generational struggle against what was stated to be a new form of tyrrany. But this was really the beginning of a covert war of control over the american populace.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) began betraying the trust of the American people by engaging in acts that ranged from improper to outright treasonous. Of course, these activities were covered up in the interest of "national security", a bullshit formality that ensures they and other conservative fascists will get away with their immoral acts and one which has expanded exponentially today.

None the less, after a pledge in 1990 for greater openness from the agency, 17 years later, they are FINALLY releasing some documents about their activities from the 1950's to the 1970's. According to a story on Yahoo! News, the report includes the CIA engaging in "illegal activities, such as tapping reporters' phones, engaging in surveillance on students, opening mail, plotting assassinations and human experimentation." as well as kidnappings [and] warrantless searches." It continued, "Until now, only a few dozen pages from the file have been declassified, but with heavy redactions."

Surprise, surprise, surprise. Wake up. This is nothing new to us in the US who have our eyes open. In fact, the only surprise from this is simply the timing, that these documents are being declassified during the most extremist right-wing government we have ever had in the history of this nation.

The well paid government spinmeisters are already at work. CIA Director Michael Hayden on Thursday called the documents being released next week unflattering, but he added that "it is CIA's history."

"The documents provide a glimpse of a very different time and a very different agency," Hayden told a conference of historians.


Bullshit. Things have only intensified. Do you think the CIA (or FBI, NSA, ATF, etc.) would suddenly have a change of heart and cease their invasive ways? Again, look up NAIVE. The digital age only makes people more vulnerable to their domestic spying.

19 June 2007

Gaza

Preamble
Having been unable to post for the last 3 months (I was detained), I am proud to announce that I am back at my desk, ready to report and comment on events around the world once again. I apologize for the long delay, but understand that certain events are out of anyones control in this world. From the sitemeter reports, I see that many of my loyal readers kept checking for new posts while I was unavailable, thank you. Without further delay, let us begin...



I love to say I told you so and be vindicated for my predictions, although I hate that it has to be like this. Hamas gunmen have taken complete control of the Gaza strip in an act of defiance to due process and the legally recongnized international laws. I predicted this years ago when Bush (King George) used his immense skills at mismanagement by promoting true democracy throughout the middle east. To reiterate, democracy is normally a good thing, but only functional in a decently educated culture with a strong middle class. Many places in the Islamic world simply have too much fanatacism to handle that type of government, it tends to elect violent radicals such as Hamas, who when they get impatient with the machinery of government, allow their gun toting hoolingans to take physical control of the streets, just as what happened in Gaza.

What next? Well, the simple answer is not a popular one in the Palestinian territories, partition. Deal with the new government of Abu Mazen in the West Bank, encourage a final settlement, normalization, and stability to ensue. Rooting out the Gaza gunmen in the narrow, crowded streets of Gaza would be an extremely bloody affair, so simply keep them isolated for the next few years (assuming they fail to yield to international agreements and renounce terrorism). Maybe allowing Egypt to annex that territory would be a decent solution, especially considering Gaza simply cannot economically support the masses of people within its boundaries. Otherwise, this could represent a second Palestinian state with the possibility of rejoining the West Bank at some point in the future when they discard their violent ways.

Of course, the more likely course of action will be a slow reconciliation with Fatah. In that course of events, too many compromises will have to be made to the Hamas thugs controlling the streets, and will likely not lead to any real peace with Israel for at least another generation.

You think King George learned his lesson in this fiasco? Probably not. Maybe he will inadvertantly push for a Hezbollah takeover in Lebanon next.

22 February 2007

Separation of Church and State

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, "an American Freethought organization " (Wikipedia) will "fight its most high-profile battle when the
U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on its lawsuit against
President Bush's faith-based initiative
" (Associated Press story on Yahoo! News).

Since King George Sr. injected religion into the oval orifice, the lines separating church and state have been blurred further and further. Today, King George (jr.) and his "faith based initiative" allows government taxpayer money to be channeled through religious organizations doing good deeds for communities. While a noble gesture, they are clearly allowed to push their own faith and beliefs on anyone in need of their charity.

If there is such a need for charity in the public sector, why is it up to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to help people out? Isn't that the governments job in the first place, to ensure the rights and benefits of its own citizens?

But a much larger issue is at stake here, the Constitution of the United States of America. Therin, the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights clearly states that there should be a separation of church and state. Like it or not, it is the highest law in the land and you either support the Constitution (as we true patriots do) or you do not (and can thus get the hell out of my country). It doesn't get any more cut and dry than this my friends.

13 February 2007

US House debating Iraq escalation

The House has finally begun a long awaited debate on the direction of our failed policy in Iraq. As you recall, King Georges Republican party threatened to filibuster debate on the senate floor (perhaps Democrats should remove that parliamentary procedure, as Republican threatened to do while stocking the courts with ultra conservative activist judges last year). Each [House] member will have five minutes to speak ahead of Friday's [non-binding resolution] vote. BBC.


Pressing the feeble dictator-presidents failed policies is a new bad guy in this arena, John Boner R-OH (the name says it all), the House minority leader who has troubling ties to corrupt lobbyists such as Jack Abramof (the man who defrauded native american tribes to the tune of tens of millions of dollars and is currently incarcerated) and the Mark Foley paedophelia scandal. Boner stated that, "attempts to undermine US policy would embolden terrorists worldwide, a pathetic and untenable defense, and that, Democrats of trying to "cut off funds for troops in harm's way and leave Iraq in chaos. First off, I am pretty tired of the neocon puppets hiding behind our troops to defend their failed policies and second, it was these horrible policies that created the chaos on Iraq. As ridiculous as it is to defend King Georges disasterous policies, it is sort of nice to have a new bad guy to target.


But back to the point. After 4 years of a gag-order on any serious debate in congress (and by default, the mainstream media) over how to take positive action in Iraq, we finally have a chance to have a minimal debate. Very refreshing to see a counterbalance to King George and his dictator like ways.


UPDATE - "Because they cannot defeat Americans on the battlefield, al-Qaida and terrorist sympathizers around the world are trying to divide us here at home," John Boner (the AP. Same old tired attack rhetoric from the quasi-fascists.

I like this quote, "If we let Democrats force us into a debate on the surge or the current situation in Iraq, we lose," Reps. Peter Hoekstra (news, bio, voting record), R-Mich., and John Shadegg. You know they understand the weakness of their position and arguments when they make a statement like this.

12 February 2007

N'kisi the talking Parrot

Humans usuall have such rigid arrogance about "intelligence". Anyone who spends any time with animals can see coherant thoughts, emotion, preplanning, etc. Case in point, N'kisi, the African Grey parrot that has a 950 word vocabulary (BBC). Reminds me Koko the gorilla, who could use ASL (American Sign Language) with 1000 signs and could understand 2000 English words. See Kokos favorite signs. Thats more than some humans can do.

11 February 2007

John Howard, Bush's Aussie Puppet


Australian Prime Minister John Howard has claimed al-Qaeda should be "praying as many times as possible" for an Obama victory in the 2008 elections. King Georges little Aussie puppet should mind his own business, or at the very least listen to his fellow countrymen who strongly advocate withdrawing their own troops instead of attacking an American with the balls to say it here. Just shows what type of person John Howard really is inside.

A New Cold War?


Vladamir Putin, the president of the Russian Federation was warned
"unilateral, illegitimate actions have not solved a single problem, they have become a hotbed of further conflicts" and that "one state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way." the AP. In response, the new US Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates
tried to deflate President Putin's attack by poking a bit of fun at their past careers as spies.
according to the BBC.




Now, I personally have a great deal of respect for Robert Gates. His straight forward style of speech and honesty is very refreshing for the dictatorial policies of King George. None the less, the facts speak for themselves.

When Mikhail Gorbachev ended the Cold War with such bold steps as glasnost and perestroika, the US missed a golden opportunity. Instead of disarming the bulk of our nuclear arsenals (which Putin is still actively trying to get an agreement on), downsizing our gigantic military (the US spends over a third of our annual budget on military related expenditures, which is more than the next 10 nations military budgets combined), shutting down most of the CIA and NSA activities (relating to the fight against communism), and most importantly, stopping the extremely aggressive posture (which included funding islamic terrorist organizations in Afganistan in the 80s), the US did the opposite.





The military industrial complex in this country decided that Reagan and the warmongers here somehow 'won' the Cold War, and without anyone to counter our might, they expanded their activities. Even in diplomatic measures, we bully other nations to do our bidding (see: pressure to sign on to invade Iraq, have secret CIA torture bases and detainee flights, etc.).

Most disconcerting for Russia, is the expansion of NATO and the US into former regions of the Soviet Union. How can this be perceived as anything but aggressive? Now that Russia is back on its feet (at least economically due to oil prices), how dare they speak up for themselves. I am sure the neo-con assholes in the US will take this as a sign that the Russians want to fight again, and it will serve as fuel in the fire of their mistrust and suspicion. There is word for what they are: bullies.

04 February 2007

Taxes



Finally someone running for president has the balls to call for what is really needed in the economic realm. John Edwards, former US Sentator from North Carolina, said "he would raise taxes, chiefly on the wealthy, to pay for expanded healthcare coverage. source: Yahoo! As someone who works their ass on a low paying job with no insurance, I know this is good news for most of America. The state of our public health is comparable to the third world. Being the wealthiest country in the world and last remaining developed nation without it, it is high time for free public health care.

"We'll have to raise taxes. The only way you can pay for a healthcare plan that cost anywhere from $90 to $120 billion is there has to be a revenue source," Edwards said on NBC's Meet the Press news program. King Georges tax cuts for the rich, powerful, and big corporations have bankrupted America and benefitted only a small portion of our society. They are wrong, pure and simple. See the National Debt Clock

John Edwards is the first to take the politically dangerous step to call for what is right and just in the economic realm. This guy has some serious potential.

01 February 2007

The Kosovo Syndrome



The BBC reports that special UN envoy to the Kosovo region of Servia stated that "Kosovo 'should split from Serbia". For those of you who have been under a rock for the last 10 years, a brief history. As punishment for loyalty to the former Soviet Union, the US and NATO plotted to break up the Balkan European country of Yugoslavia. This ethnically diverse country had been established at the conclusion of WWII as an entity large enough to be self sustaining and defensible (much as greater Poland and Czechoslovakia was). Pushing ethnic divisions, the US sponsored dissident independence movements in Slovenia, Croatia, and the multi-diverse Bosnia (and soon Macedonia). The Serb led nation fought many wars to keep national unity, but was severely outclassed at every step.



Then the US govt and the CIA began giving financial, diplomatic, and logistical support to the Kosovo Liberation Army, an ethnic Albanian terrorist organization seeking seperation of a region inside Serbia. Due to demographic trends (mainly a low birth rate for ethnic Serbs and a very high birth rate for ethnic Albanians) in the Serbain province of Kosovo, ethnic Albanians grew to be a strong majority of the population. This presented the US with a perfect opportunity to further punish Serbia for their support to the former communist block.



In accord with the noble beliefs of Woodrow Wilson, former president of the USA in WWI, the current corrupt US govt perverted his ideal of self determination for ethnic areas to support a the KLA. This would normally be a good gesture if done with honesty. However, Kosovo is the heartland of the Serbian nation, their most sacred place mainly due the valiant but futile efforts of their ancestors to stem the Ottoman Turkish invasion of Europe centuries ago. By WWI, the Serb population has disintegrated to 40% of the province.



Following the NATO bombing campaign in the Kosovo conflict (which included massive bombing, thousands of deaths, cluster bombs hitting even ethnic Albanian villages, etc.), most of the remaining Serb population (and other ethnicities) fled, fearing murder, rape, and other forms of oppression by the ethnic Albanians. Now the UN commander says the province should become a new nation.

How would people in the United States feel if the latino majority in southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas suddenly decided to succeed from the USA? Perhaps ethnically cleanse all of the non-latinos from this area. Don't get me wrong, I support many movements for self-determination in the world, including the Catalans, Basques, Galicians, Corsicans, Tyrolians, Scots, Welsh, Brittany, Kurds, Tamil, etc. But to create an artificial stimulus to such ends is purely vial.

20 January 2007

Zeus, Armenian Assasination, and corruption in Genoa




Freedom of religion is more than just lip service. If we truly value ones ability to worship as they please, or not at all, we must enforce the rights of those of other faiths to follow the tenets of their faith (unless of course it oppresses its own members, damages surrounding communities, or harms our cities, land, or planet physically). An AP article carried by Yahoo! News reports that, "Zeus worshippers demand access to [the 1,800-year-old Temple of Olympian Zeus]. The Greek government is trying to bar them from their holiest of holy sites, claiming that is protecting it from potential damage, but it is really strict social pressure applied by the vast majority of the population, Greek Orthodox by faith. This is similar to the problems faced by many smaller religions across the world, such as Druidic pagans in the UK, native Americans in the Americas, Zoroastrians in Iran, and thousands of others.



Next, we have the assasination of an Armenian dissident in Turkey. Hrant Dink (link to Wikipedia) was a Turkish-Armenian editor, journalist and column writer who was well-known for writing controversial articles about the mass killing of Armenians by Turks during World War I. (BBC). He was "was shot dead in broad daylight outside his newspaper offices in Istanbul on Friday." The main suspect and others have been swiftly arrested, but the damage is already done. This is what happens to those that daree dissent in Muslim countries and is a key reason why Turkey cannot be permitted to join the EU. The cultural divide is simply too far.



Finally, in what comes as no shock to us on the left (as it has happened over and over for generations), Key evidence in the trial of 29 Italian police officers charged over violence during the 2001 G8 summit in Genoa has vanished BBC. For those who dont remember, this brutal suppression took place during peaceful anti-globalization protests in Genova, Italy during the G8 summit in the summer of 2001. Two Molotov cocktails allegedly planted by police in a school used as a base by anti-globalisation protesters mysteriously vanished from the heavily guarded evidence bunker, imagine that. A violent right wing instigated crackdown on a peaceful leftist protest followed by evidence vanishing. Face it, conservatives everywhere are crooks.

15 January 2007

Muslim Integration

Most nations around the globe are quite strict about immigration, not neccesarily from a racist standpoint, but rather from one of cultural harmony. As such a would be immigrant faces governmental and/or serious social pressure to fit in. As a world traveler, I try to be conscientious as to the local customs and laws, and though I would never sacrifice those values I hold most dear, small steps to adaptation go a long way in foreign lands. If I were to relocate to another nation, I would learn the language, dress the way they do, and fully integrate myself into my new homeland. Anyone should do this, it is quite simply basic respect and common sense.

There are a few nations in the world that readily take in floods of immigrants every year. Unfortunately, this is usually not done for such noble purposes as humanitarianism, sheltering political refugees, or creating a 'melting pot' of all the peoples of Earth. This massive immigration floods are caused by greedy corporations seeking cheap (almost slave) labor to fill lower tiered jobs. Many immigrants are happy to be working illegally for these wages, as they are much higher than in their homelands.

Unfortunately, this often creates an artificial division in society, where there are 2 distinct classes, such as the case with Latino immigrants (mostly Mexican) in the United States. This takes a deeper twist however in Europe, an immensely diverse subcontinent that is in the process of adopting the American model of increased economic gain via massive immigration.

European immigration flows in from all parts of the planet, but a majority of the influx emanates from Muslim countries. Starting with France a century ago and Germany following WWII, most of Europes nations are now becoming saturated. Many Europeans consider these immigrants as temporary guest workers, who hypothetically will leave someday. However, generations later, they persist, and just to tie this back into my original message, they have yet to significantly integrate themselves into their new cultures.

Don't misunderstand me, there is a degree of adaptation, but not nearly enough to not be a problem. Lets take Germany for instance with its estimated 4 million Turks (among millions of other muslims). They speak German, dress like Germans, yet retain a strict Islamic way of thinking, which is oppressive to women, intolerant to others in society, and inconsistent with Western customs of freedom of expression. When they are questioned, violent protests often erupt.





Thats why its a good idea for integration to take place. The BBC reports that, "Germany's interior minister has called for an EU-wide dialogue with Muslims in an effort to integrate them better.

The points I am trying to make are:
1. Massive population migrations cause social dischord and friction
2. Immigration numbers should be kept to a low, manageable number
3. Economies should not be dependent on cheap foreign labor
4. New citizens should be encouraged to integrate

13 January 2007

Political and Economic Force

Its rather ironic how the entire justification of the Cold War in the USA (and to a lesser degree Western Europe) was based on economic principle. Unfettered capitalism was held in the highest regard while any type of planned economy or society was portrayed as pure evil. The propaganda machine has such a persuasive effect on the human psyche and on common social values regardless of merit.

Now that the USSR has collapsed and capitalism been brought to the former communist lands, isn't it a bit strange how the US government quickly becomes critical when Russia starts to brew financial success? MoscowNews reports (I could not find this covered in the American press) that "U.S. National Intelligence Director John Negroponte warned Thursday that Russia is becoming a regional energy superpower. Strange, wasn't the evil alliance between King George, his "neocon" (ie. religious right, ultra conservatives), and the energy industry the thing that initiated a 300% increase in petroleum prices to start with?



This unholy alliance manipulated the free market, creating the conditions that artificially elevated oil prices, screwing the average "consumer" in America and to a lesser degree Europe who is entirely dependent on fuel prices, and consequently allowing Russia to exercise it economic muscle. Who is to blame for their increased political influence? Its a matter of market competence, pure and simple.

This just goes to show that the US never wanted peace with the former Soviet Union, it wanted unconditional surrender. When the Cold War ended, both sides were supposed to disarm, letting the massive military budgets to flow into a newly prosperous economy, stringent laws to be eased, allowing societies to become more free, and the rhetoric to ease, ensuring peaceful relations to future generations in the West. Unfortunately, the conservatives in the USA thought Gorbachevs generosity was a weakness, and have exploited the former union ever since. Is this the USA, or just another greedy country only in the game for its own selfish interests?

12 January 2007

A Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives


A Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives ..by Michael Moore

To My Conservative Brothers and Sisters,

I know you are dismayed and disheartened at the results of last week's election. You're worried that the country is heading toward a very bad place you don't want it to go. Your 12-year Republican Revolution has ended with so much yet to do, so many promises left unfulfilled. You are in a funk, and I understand.

Well, cheer up, my friends! Do not despair. I have good news for you. I, and the millions of others who are now in charge with our Democratic Congress, have a pledge we would like to make to you, a list of promises that we offer you because we value you as our fellow Americans. You deserve to know what we plan to do with our newfound power -- and, to be specific, what we will do to you and for you.

Thus, here is our Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives:

Dear Conservatives and Republicans,

I, and my fellow signatories, hereby make these promises to you:

1. We will always respect you for your conservative beliefs. We will never, ever, call you "unpatriotic" simply because you disagree with us. In fact, we encourage you to dissent and disagree with us.

2. We will let you marry whomever you want, even when some of us consider your behavior to be "different" or "immoral." Who you marry is none of our business. Love and be in love -- it's a wonderful gift.

3. We will not spend your grandchildren's money on our personal whims or to enrich our friends. It's your checkbook, too, and we will balance it for you.

4. When we soon bring our sons and daughters home from Iraq, we will bring your sons and daughters home, too. They deserve to live. We promise never to send your kids off to war based on either a mistake or a lie.

5. When we make America the last Western democracy to have universal health coverage, and all Americans are able to get help when they fall ill, we promise that you, too, will be able to see a doctor, regardless of your ability to pay. And when stem cell research delivers treatments and cures for diseases that affect you and your loved ones, we'll make sure those advances are available to you and your family, too.

6. Even though you have opposed environmental regulation, when we clean up our air and water, we, the Democratic majority, will let you, too, breathe the cleaner air and drink the purer water.

7. Should a mass murderer ever kill 3,000 people on our soil, we will devote every single resource to tracking him down and bringing him to justice. Immediately. We will protect you.

8. We will never stick our nose in your bedroom or your womb. What you do there as consenting adults is your business. We will continue to count your age from the moment you were born, not the moment you were conceived.

9. We will not take away your hunting guns. If you need an automatic weapon or a handgun to kill a bird or a deer, then you really aren't much of a hunter and you should, perhaps, pick up another sport. We will make our streets and schools as free as we can from these weapons and we will protect your children just as we would protect ours.

10. When we raise the minimum wage, we will pay you -- and your employees -- that new wage, too. When women are finally paid what men make, we will pay conservative women that wage, too.

11. We will respect your religious beliefs, even when you don't put those beliefs into practice. In fact, we will actively seek to promote your most radical religious beliefs ("Blessed are the poor," "Blessed are the peacemakers," "Love your enemies," "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God," and "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."). We will let people in other countries know that God doesn't just bless America, he blesses everyone. We will discourage religious intolerance and fanaticism -- starting with the fanaticism here at home, thus setting a good example for the rest of the world.

12. We will not tolerate politicians who are corrupt and who are bought and paid for by the rich. We will go after any elected leader who puts him or herself ahead of the people. And we promise you we will go after the corrupt politicians on our side FIRST. If we fail to do this, we need you to call us on it. Simply because we are in power does not give us the right to turn our heads the other way when our party goes astray. Please perform this important duty as the loyal opposition.

I promise all of the above to you because this is your country, too. You are every bit as American as we are. We are all in this together. We sink or swim as one. Thank you for your years of service to this country and for giving us the opportunity to see if we can make things a bit better for our 300 million fellow Americans -- and for the rest of the world.

Signed,
Michael Moore

11 January 2007

Iraq fiasco heading in dark directions



King George just had his 'historic' speech in which he was suppose to set out in a new direction on Iraq. What he gave everyone was the same old shit. In the clearest sign yet that he doesn't have a clue about what the reality of the situation is (not public opinion, but whats going on on the ground and where things are heading).

The LA Times reports, "U.S. approaches falling short not only in Iraq, but in the entire Arab world. The BBC states that "Senior US legislators from both parties have attacked President George W Bush's plans to send more than 20,000 extra troops to Iraq." In perhaps the most stinging review, a piece in the International Herald Tribune states that the "war is already over. This last article is a must read.

What I find so infuriating about King Georges ignorance is that it is dangerously short sighted. There are times when we must go to war, there are times we need to sacrifice the lives of our young men and women, and there are times to stand alone. The situation in Iraq meets none of the criteria.

The worst part about this new plan is in the details. Over 20,000 American troops will flood into Baghdad, systematically sweep the neighborhoods, then stay stationed in those neighborhoods, presumably to keep the peace and order. What is going to happen however, is that these troops will be sitting ducks for any muslim fanatic with a truck bomb or insurgents with a moderately planned assault. Remember what happened in Beirut under Reagans disasterous Lebanon mission?

The civil war is already raging and all sides (except perhaps the Kurds) want us dead. If this isn't a clue its time to leave, what would be? Partition the damn country, let each side govern itself, and lets get our troops out ASAP.


ps. entertaining sidenote: make King George talk

Latin Americas move to the Left

Right wingers have always taken some sort of perverse pleasure in attacking good people on the left side of the political spectrum. From the dissapearings under Pinochet in Chile, to the violent repression during Francos rule in Spain, to the concentration camps in Germany under Hitler.

Daniel Ortega is a prime example of how people suffer persecution from conservatives. His rise to power followed a popular uprising against the brutal dictator, and American supported Samoza regime. He and the other revolutionaries quickly attempted to make life more fair for the poor, comprising a vast majority of the country, who had been systematically impoverished by Samoza and international corporations. His reward for trying to be a humanitarian...Ronald Reagan, a great speaker but incompetent leader, began to fuel illegal resources (money, weapons, and intel) to a newly formed rebel group, the Contras. The CIA smuggled drugs into the US to help fund them, and when the US Congress made financing them illegal, Reagan sold weapons to the Iranian government (who had just held US hostages a few years before) funneling the proceeds to the rebels in the Iran Contra affair. This heinous and immoral act was caught, but not punished (except for a public humiliation of Oliver North).

In any case, to make a long story short, this illegal activity coupled with an economic embargo and support for opposition groups eventually led to the tense days leading to the defeat of Ortega in democratic elections. Since 1990, he has continued to work for the benefit of the larger society, and partly as a result of the continued exploitation by international corporations and the resulting financial mess for the masses, Ortega was elected president of Nicaragua.

He joins other progressive leaders in most of Latin America, including Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Cuba. In fact, only Columbia, Mexico, Peru, and a handful of Central American nations have corrupt right wing leaders. The move of Latin America to the political left is very refreshing to see. The US has marched further and further into the arms of the irrational right since the 70s, the wrong direction for social justice and economic fairness. Congratulations Daniel Ortega, your victory brings hope to us all.

10 January 2007

Bush the anti-environmentalist

In the wake of foreign turmoil and a major speech, King George is set to once again appease his energy masters. By using the cover of the Iraqi castarophe and a major directional speech, Curious George is once again using political deceipt to grease the wheels of his major campaign contributors. He unilaterally opened Alaska's Bristol Bay and Lease Area 181 in the Gulf of Mexico to open drilling. Fuck the environmental and ecological consequences, the political speech on Iraq will give him cover.

This is the sad truth about the morality of the conservatives and the Republican party. They use foreign policy disasters to cover their tracks on domestic policy transgressions, all to benefit the rich, corporate interests that fund their re-election campaigns. This is what is known worldwide by the dirty word of corruption. Pure and simple, corruption.

Democracy? How much money does it cost? In King Georges version, democracy equals a voice for the rich only.

09 January 2007

US launches air strike in Somalia

US launches air strike in Somalia

This one probably did not come out of the oval 'orifice', but in a great stroke of military opportunism, the US military bombed Islamist fighters in southern Somalia today. This has been a long time coming, not as a tool of revenge for the debacle in Mogadishu a decade ago, but as a way of waging a real war on terror. Congratulations to whoever had the stones to authorize this, you are this blogs Hero of the Week.