April 16, 2008 archive

I have corporate sponsorship!

Very exciting times here at the the bustling blog offices!

Last night, yours-truly opened the front door to find a phalanx of high-powered corporate executives in even HIGHER powered suits standing expectantly on my stoop.

Well, these executives wined and dined and seventy-two’d me (that’s three better then sixty-nine) and as the caviar and truffles settled in my befattened tummy… I made the morally difficult decision to accept corporate sponsorship for my ongoing efforts.

burger king

Now, I understand how you might worry that the influence of multinational conglomerates (specifically the bags of cash, the bright red porsche, and the women of extremely low morals) might change the very nature of this blog, but let me tell you… NAY, PROMISE… as sure as the delicious Whopperâ„¢ I’m eating has a third less fat than the Big Mac… I CANNOT be corrupted!

Wanna Fix the Economy? Give Workers a Raise

The original article, by Mike Whitney, via dissidentvoice.org.

The bright new financial system, with all its talented participants, with all its rich rewards, has failed the test of the marketplace.

– Former Fed Chief, Paul Volcker

Not much more needs to be said, but will the failure in the marketplace be allowed to die a dignified death?  Yeah…right.

The Morning News

The Morning News is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Bombings kill nearly 60 in Sunni areas of Iraq

By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer

4 minutes ago

BAGHDAD – Bombings blamed on al-Qaida in Iraq tore through market areas in Baghdad and outside the capital on Tuesday, killing nearly 60 people and shattering weeks of relative calm in Sunni-dominated areas.

The bloodshed – in four cities as far north as Mosul and as far west as Ramadi – struck directly at U.S. claims that the Sunni insurgency is waning and being replaced by Shiite militia violence as a major threat.

The deadliest blasts took place in Baqouba and Ramadi, two cities where the U.S. military has claimed varying degrees of success in getting Sunnis to turn against al-Qaida.

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

The muses are ancient.  The inspirations for our stories were said to be born from them.  Muses of song and dance, or poetry and prose, of comedy and tragedy, of the inward and the outward.  In one version they are Calliope, Euterpe and Terpsichore, Erato and Clio, Thalia and Melpomene, Polyhymnia and Urania.

It has also been traditional to name a tenth muse.  Plato declared Sappho to be the tenth muse, the muse of women poets.  Others have been suggested throughout the centuries.  I don’t have a name for one, but I do think there should be a muse for the graphical arts.  And maybe there should be many more.

Please join us inside to celebrate our various muses…

The Weapon of Young Gods #19: Narcoleptic Blues

Peter and I returned from Ortega one Friday night at the end of March to find a message from R.J. on the machine. My roommate tossed his jacket on the bed and, with a perceptive nod, took off for Alex’s room to begin the weekend idiocy we’d anticipated for days. I slumped on my bed and dialed the number that, until I’d moved out, had been my private line all through high school, when Nadia and I would talk until 3 a.m. while R.J. was trying to sleep. He answered the phone after three rings.

previous episode

UPDATE: Revised a little bit on re-read.

soldiers. and. a right-to-life.

• unSupporting Our Troops

Rep. John F. Tierney (D-MA): So it is a little astonishing to me, and I think to others, the planning for what is going to happen to our troops, their meals, their water, their housing, the essentials of life, their protection, all of that doesn’t even begin to happen until May 2003, after Baghdad falls, but in the meantime the administration had your company planning for Iraq’s oil infrastructure months before it had a plan how to support our troops.

Iglesia ……………………………………… Episode 48

(Iglesia is a serialized novel, published on Tuesdays and Saturdays at midnight ET, you can read all of the episodes by clicking on the tag.)

Previous episode and previous pertinent episode (won’t be needing that again for awhile!

Rogers appeared startled by the sudden outburst after so much silence, he answered a bit louder than usual, his voice carrying in the twilight air. “I’m afraid I must impose upon your patience, and request that you wait for just a wee bit longer…”

“NO! Talk.” Abe exploded out of his seat and began to pace in circles around the fire pit. “NOW! I have put up with all of this, the endless walking,” he was getting warmed up, “all of these different places we have been through, desert and forest and…underwater…and,” gulp, “walking down that road and seeing ……and the giant cats and fucking being shot in the fucking head and waking up inside a fucking tree and…all of it. Like a good soldier I have just followed behind you and, and now I can finally think again and, and, NOW, Rogers, you insufferable ass, you….

Pause. “….you will….” A sudden revelation pops into his head with as much force as the bullet had. “Wait, wait, wait….wait! You said she was married, you bastard…..you  know  who  she  is…..”

We can’t heal until we face our demons

The United States of America tortures people.

Get used to that.  It is no secret – it isn’t even up for debate.  There is not one person that has even the cursory knowledge of what was discussed, what was authorized, what was justified or the acts that were carried out on detainees by people representing the United States of America.

This is not a “time for healing”.  Not yet.

This is the time of reckoning for the people and future of America – an accountability moment.  The corporate media here in the US, not surprisingly, is ignoring this story but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t widely reported or known around the world.  This isn’t new, although the revelations about the entire uppermost level of the Bush administration spent hours discussing sadistic acts that they could do via proxy to others “in the name of freedom” is new.

This can not pass – this can not fall into the waste heap of all of the dozens, nay, scores of scandals, crimes or “just” unethical acts taken by these torturing, lying, thieving, murderous criminals since stealing the 2000 election.  This can not be swept under the rug.  It can not and will not be forgotten.  After all, civilized countries do not torture people, no matter what.

We can’t just move forward and put this bad period behind us.  We need to understand how we got to this point, how we allowed this to be done in our names, and why those who were supposed to be “the opposition” did not object when briefed, did not investigate in any meaningful manner and are not screaming from the rooftops at the most recent discovery.

Torture is not something that will be excused – not for any reason.  There needs to be justice.  There needs to be a recognition of how far we have sunk – how a callous disregard for law and a complete and utter lack of any humanity by those who occupy the top offices in the United States Government has resulted in a sanctioned program that was specifically designed to do nothing other than torture people.

America’s Night and Fog

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N…

Rationale

The reasons for Nacht und Nebel were many:

   * First, distinct complaints by other governments or humanitarian organizations against the German government were made far more difficult because the exact cause of internment or death, indeed whether or not the event had even occurred, was obscured. It kept the Nazis from being held accountable.

   * The decree and hidden events afforded the Nazis the ability to act cruelly and unjustly without public outcry.

   * It allowed an across-the-board, silent veto of international treaties and conventions: one cannot apply the limits and terms of humane treatment in war if one cannot locate the victim or discern his destiny.

   * Additionally, it lessened the moral qualms and confrontations of the German public as well as that of servicemen, in an agreed and/or ignorant silence.

wapo editorial sept 06

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…

the actual decree

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/ava…

http://www.historyplace.com/wo…

keitel letter

Efficient and enduring intimidation can only be achieved . . . by measures by which the relatives of the criminals do not know the fate of the criminal. The prisoners are, in future, to be transported . . . secretly, and further treatment of the offenders will take place at the new destination]; these measures will have a deterrent effect because – A. The prisoners will vanish without a trace. B. No information may be given as to their whereabouts or their fate.Prisoners taken . . . are subjected to military procedure only if particular military interests require this. In case [any authorities inquire about such prisoners, they are to be told that they were arrested, but that the proceedings do not allow any further information.

http://www.shoaheducation.com/…

I’m mad as hell

and extremely tired of sucking up to power.  It is well past time to flex our collective muscles.  What is wrong with people in this country?  Most of us are wage slaves because we have to be.  Okay: fine.  Maybe that’s the way of the world.  They call it “work” for a reason, right?  And I don’t think anybody here opposes work, per se.  What I oppose is the suppression of the “underclass”–which increasingly means anybody who isn’t a multimillionaire.

The Politics of Distraction in an Age of Gotcha Capitalism w/poll

The original article, subheaded Disintegration is Everywhere, by Ralph Nader via counterpunch.com.

This is quite worth the read. If you are working for more and better Democrats, it’s worth a look just to see where someone who’s not part of the organization is seeing things. For those of you ready to rip on it being from Ralph, he’s not calling on you to change your vote in this article, he’s asking you to pay attention to what the campaign’s being run on and how it relates to what’s actually going on in the country. I don’t see a call for a serious discussion of the issues of the day as being a bad thing at all, whoever it comes from.  

To Boycott Or Not?

That is the question

Whether to suffer the slings and arrows of a mad banker

Is the only consideration.

Bush has said that the Olympics are a sporting event not a political event.  Actually it is an economic event.  Why?  How much of our economy does China control?  Oh God, does it control.  So if you were heavily indebted to a banker and he invited you to his wedding, you would go to keep him happy.  So Bush will go to China to keep his lender happy.  There will be NO boycott of the opening ceremony.

Even thought China has a horrible human rights record and it is killing and maiming Tibetans, who just want their country returned to them, but none of that is important to Bush.  The borrower must keep the lender happy at all times.

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