Randy Newman - A few words in defense of our country.

Found this great new video by Randy Newman. Some pointed political comments by someone with a style all his own.




This made me think of another old Randy Newman song, "Let's Drop the Big One." Found it on YouTube where someone had made an anti-American video of it. Don't miss the snippet at the end.









Constant rape in America's prisons.

The problem of rape in America's massive gulag of prisons, detention centers and concentration camps continues to worse. It's not just at Baghram or Abu Ghraib or outside the country. The worst of it is inside the US itself. The whole world ignores it since everyone knows the USA is a great place and they don't do that kind of stuff there.

Well they do, and it's getting worse. Human Rights Watch has released an important and horrifying report on the wide and rampant amount of rape and other abuses in America's massive domestic prison complex. It's just unbelievable that the situation is so bad, and even more unbelievable that it's gone on for so long and no one even mentions it or does anything about it. People just don't realize how huge the US prison population is now, or what living hell the prisons are.


There are thousands, tens of thousands of accounts like this. It's not just a few people at a few prisons, but nearly everyone at nearly all prisons, in all 50 states. And the wardens, guards and other government officials are involved, and are makiing money off of it as well.

Another problem, nearly as heinous, is the growing extent of slave prison labor by American corporations, which has grown enormously under the Clinton and Bush administrations. Some say slave labor prisons may be one of the largest employers in the country now. That may be exaggerated, no one knows the real extent of it, just that it's incredibly profitable and a booming growth industry. But no one wants to talk about this, it's easier to spread this nonsense about how jobs have moved to Mexico and China and other places.

There are laws to prevent this of course, but the unspeakably vile lawyers who have taken over the government and the legal system (both liberals and conservatives, there's no difference) couldn't care less about the law or human rights. They're interested in making money off the cheap slave labor, and keeping people of color in line. The only organization really working to deal with this problem is Stop Prisoner Rape, which could use your help.

The horrific violence Americans are inflicting in Iraq and other places around the world, is just a reflection of and stems from the violence inside America itself. Until we deal with the core problems, there's no chance of dealing with the warmongering and other stuff, which are just symptoms. Our prison system is nothing more than an organization designed to breed vicious violent people. People, prisoners AND guards, come out there as less than human, and incapable of decency.






Hershey's and M&M/Mars continue to engage in child slavery.

This post in Undernews states that global corporations, in particular Hershey's and M&M/Mars are continuing to engage in extensive child slavery in Africa and other places where they get their chocolate. And they repeatedly refuse to abide by agreements they have made to terminate the practice. And of course, the federal government, controlled by the greedy and corrupt lawyers who have taken over the Democratic and Republican parties, is refusing to enforce its laws. This would implicate corporations such as Starbucks, which use extensive amounts of chocolate. Think about that the next time you get a mocha. If you still have any doubts that the American people are just as vile and evil as the Nazis or any other people who have ever lived, this should dispel those. But of course it won't, because evil people aren't capable of understanding the nature of evil. What kind of people would enslave children? Americans, that's who.








The actions of the stock market really baffle me.

More and more I'm coming to the conclusion that the people in the stock markets must be living in an alternative universe from the rest of us. For instance, today there's a story in the NY times saying that Google has posted a "sharp rise" in profits. And yet the stock goes down. Last week, there was a report that Ford Motor Company lost more money than any time in its entire history, yet the stock went up. Very strange. I guess if I think about it there's some sense here. No matter how much money Google is making, if it's not as much as people expected, the stock will go down. And the fact that Ford is losing so much money must indicate that it's only a matter of time before it will be taken over by someone who's competent, which would make its stock a good bet in the long run. But it's still rather weird, and certainly indicates that stock prices are no longer at all directly related to how much money the companies are actually making or losing.


As far as Ford and General Motors' problems go, I'm willing to bet that within ten years the Chinese, or at least a consortium of companies with major Chinese financing, will own one or the others' brands. Just a guess. :)






Up in Alaska, the blog of an Alaskan cycler.

Stumbled onto the blog of a woman up in Alaska, Up in Alaska. Her obssession (her word) is cycling, generally long-distance cycling, generally alone, at all times of the year, even in the coldest and wettest conditions. In this recent post, Liquid gray infinity, she tries to explain why. I guess only people who are truly obsessed by something will ever understand. I can relate though. I don't think I'd ever be able to explain why being an artist is so important to me, although of course, at least with art there's a lot of money to be made. But I'd probably do it even without the money.








Wolfgang's Vault, awesome new music site with vintage concerts.

Via Expecting Rain, the center for all things Bob Dylan related, I found this incredible new web site full of vintage concerts available for free listening. It turns out the great concert promoter Bill Graham made master soundboard recordings of just about all of the shows he ever produced. These tapes have been purchased by these folks who have been transferring them to digital form and making them available for listening off the web. They're all at Wolfgang's Vault (Wolfgang was Bill Graham's real name).

I can't believe the quality and variety of the music here, over 300 concerts so far and more coming on a regular basis. Graham made a point of showcasing and combining many different performers in his shows, so this isn't just rock music, but all different kinds of music, jazz, country, folk, rock, reggae, you name it. Miles, Emmylou Harris, great early Sly and the Family Stone, Pentangle, early Who, Asleep at the Wheel, Steve Earle, nearly every rock performer you've ever heard of extending well into the 80s, lots of singer songwriters of all types, it goes on and on and on. All in a very well designed web site which is easy to use, and quick to stream. Extremely impressive. I'm listening to this 1968 concert by Sly and the Family Stone as I write this, very early stuff just before they made it big, and my toes are tapping so hard I can barely write. Wow! In addition to the individual concerts, there's a radio stream where they play selected cuts, lots of assorted other goodies as well. No Dylan though, except this one show where he plays with Neil Young, Levon Helm, Rick Danko and other friends, but there's all the live Dylan you'll ever want over at Expecting Rain so that doesn't matter.






John Prine tells it like it is.

Found this great version of John Prine doing his song Flag Decal on YouTube. Although written in 1970 or so, it seems more relevant than ever. Especially note his pointed remarks about our "draft-dodging" so-called president at the end.








Happy birthday to Tom Waits.

Via Wood s Lot is part of this poem about the American mess by Tom Waits and his wife Kathleen Brennan. What a great poet he is. Looking forward to Orphans, his new 3 disc extravaganza of assorted goodies.








Fighting the No Child Left Behind Act.

Via Undernews is this petition by teachers fighting the ridiculous No Child Left Behind Act. I like the list of things that are wrong with it, and the many links to other sources of info. Good job. It's a horrible piece of legislation that not only doesn't do what it's supposed to do, it actually is making things worse by taking valuable resouces and time from truly effective programs and teaching.








Civility in a Democracy: A conversation with Miss Manners.

Came across this interview with the fascinating Judith Martin, better known as Miss Manners. She's quite a gal, sharp as a tack and quite outspoken. She's been writing on the history of etiquette in the world, especially in the US, and has come up with some interesting facts.


It's ok not to wait for guests for dinner. I didn't know that. But if it's ok with George Washington and Miss Manners I guess that's good enouigh for me. The entire interview is well worth reading, she's got a lot to say.






Massive war profiteering by Bush family members.

Via Common Dreams is this excellent round-up by Heather Wokusch of the various ways the Bush family is profiteering from their wars, How the Bush Family Makes a Killing from George's Presidency. I can't believe that people are just turning their eyes from this level of corruption and perfidy, not when it's so widespread and so very, very well documented. And it's everyone in the family, not just a few of them. That's what's so disgusting. It's worth reading the whole thing, about Neil and Marvin and Uncle Bucky, but I guess the most interesting is on what the senior George Bush has been up to.


I did not realize that at the moment of the 9/11 attacks, while George Jr. was reading 'My Pet Goat' to the kids, Bush Sr. was actually in a meeting with a bin Laden. Unbelievable.

I also think that people should know that Vice President Cheney continues to hold over 400,000 options on shares in Haliburton, while openly steering them all the business they can handle. It's beyond scandalous that a sitting vice president should be openly making so much money war profiteering at such a critical time.

But what she's talking about is just the tip of the iceberg. She's just discussing current profit making activities, not those from the larger investments that the Bush family and their many relatives and retainers have in the larger military-industrial-financial-legal-media complex. It's spread out and shielded and well hidden, but they own staggering chunks of the world. They are making tens of billiions out of this war, if not more. This is the most massive war profteering in world history. By far.






Horrific BBC report on torture in America's prisons.

The BBC has produced a graphic news program on torture in America's prisons, Torture Inc: America's Brutal Prisons. This is not the torture in Iraq, Guantanamo and other places outside the US, but in domestic prisons. It's very widespread, and extremely brutal. But no one talks about it, or about the way the culture of brutality has become normalized in the US. It's a very graphic program, a must see really. Includes videos of people being literally beaten to death. The brutality of the guards is just unbelievable.






Good overview of America's huge domestic gulag.

Steve Lendman has a good lengthy overview of the abysmal state of the US's domestic prison gulag. With over 2 million incarcerated it is probably the largest in world history, almost certainly larger than any Hitler or Stalin or any other "evil" dictators ever had at one time. It's so scandalous that people talk about torture and American prisoners outside of the US and just ignore the abominable conditions inside the US. It's a very long article with some much needed information about the so-called War on Drugs, the growing use of prisoners as free corporate slave labor (which is costing Americans a hell of a lot more jobs than low wages overseas), extensive torture and much else.


All the problems with torture and abuse by Americans overseas have their core in the problems here. Until they are dealt with here, they will just continue to spread, both here and abroad. Haliburton was just given a contract worth several hundred million dollars to begin preparations for building large complexes of "detention centers" to supposedly hold "illegal immigrants", but they could be for anyone. They are clearly prepared to incarcerate millions more, and are capable of doing it too. The big difference between these people and the likes of the Nazis and the Soviets is that the Americans have a lot more money, a lot better technology and infinitely many more resources to carry out their plans. They may or may not be as "evil", but they certainly are capable of causing untold amounts of suffering.

It's hard for most Americans to acknowledge that "dissenters" and political prisoners are regularly tortured in the US, but they are. Very brutally assaulted and tortured on a regular and systematic basis. People wonder why more Americans don't speak out and fight what's going on. It's because they're afraid.






Brooklyn's Abu Ghraib.

A lot of Americans are trying to deny the realities of the extensive torture and abuse happening in American prisons worldwide by telling themselves that this is just a few bad apples, and, most importantly, that this doesn't happen inside the US. But it does, and has been been going on for a long time now.

Larry Cohler-Esses reports in the New York Daily News that both Jews and Muslims suspected of so-called "terrorism" were held in inhumane conditions, and subjected to repeated beatings, and other abuse. The details in fact are remarkably similar to those reported to have happened in Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan.


There's a lot more in the article, pretty horrific in places. Strip searches 6 times a day, even though they were shacked in chains and held in solitary!!! Especially hard to realize this is New York we're tallking about. Note that these were not just Muslims.


These practices are now standard in American prisons, both here and abroad. Prisoners, especially those not American citizens, are simply not considered to possess any rights at all. They're not even considered human. Consider the cruelty in deliberately giving prisoners spoiled food in order to make them sick. They wouldn't even do that to an animal.

And there is a deliberate policy of hiring sadistic and violent people as prison guards and officers, not to mention doctors and lawyers. It just keeps getting worse. I know that's hard to believe, but that's the way it is. Note that none of these people were ever charged with anything (except visa violations.) They suffered permanent injuries.

And people wonder why the folks in NY were attacked.






Demands to stop illegal child labor at Wal-Mart.

Via Truthout is this demand by child labor and union activists that Wal-Mart stop engaging in illegal child labor. It's already been fined repeatedly for it, but with the connivance of the Labor Department itself is still getting away with it.


The sweetheart arrangement between the Labor Department and Wal-Mart is one of the sleaziest and most illegal deals allowed by the Bush administration, and that's saying something. It violates so many laws and principles they can't even be counted.






Extraordinary rendition.

In a NY Times column, Torture, American Style, Bob Herbert discusses the American people's practice of "outsourcing torture" or "extraordinary rendition", the process of flying people to other countries to torture them.

He's commenting on a recent article in the New Yorker, Outsourcing Torture by Jane Mayer, that gives a "secret history" of America's extraordinary rendition program, and describes how it has now become standard policy.


The Americans are now taking anyone they want, American citizen or not, and imprisoning and torturing them as they will without any attempt at due process. And we're talking serious torture here; by organized professionals in well equipped torture centers. Torture that may not last forever, but which is deliberately designed so that the memory of its effects will never go away. And in which doctors participate, advising on how to create the most pain with the least permanent marks or damage.


Because he was a "co-worker of a man in Canada whose brother was a suspected terrorist." Jesus. That could be ANYONE. Anyone at all. That could be ME. Or YOU. What do YOU really know about the relatives of YOUR co-workers? :) Come on. They could haul you away just because someone you WORK with knows someone who MAY be involved in something, even though they haven't been convicted of anything. Talk about your vague and arbitrary standards.

(Everyone's acting as if this (torture, that is) is some new development of the Bush administration. But it's been going on, if not on the same scale, for some decades. The US set up the School of the Americas to train torturers back in the 1960s, if I'm not mistaken. It has continued to operate since then, with only a brief break during the Carter administration. No one really knows what they've been doing all this time. But disturbing reports have been heard for a long, long time now, regularly reported in the alternative press. From Vietnam, central America and other places. It's nothing new.)






Bush wants to cut funds for Amtrak.

Via Common Dreams is Derailing Amtrak, an article by Derrick Z. Jackson which discusses Bush's proposed elimination of operating subsidies for Amtrak. And compares it unfavorably to the increased support for rail travel in the rest of the world.


This is incredibly short-sighted. A viable rail network is important for security, economic, environmental and other reasons. What would happen to the US if it's airspace was closed down again, as it was on 9/11. The amount of money being saved here is miniscule compared to what it would buy, and would more than pay for itself in savings of time, money and energy. And the American people have repeatedly said that they want more railways. Ridership is up, not down. So why are they cutting funding?






ACLU releases document proving Bush ordered torture.

The ACLU has released a report proving that immediately after the 9/11 attacks, Bush issued an Executive Order authorizing, and it would seem, ordering, the use of torture by American forces and agents.

They also released memos indicating that the FBI was aware of, and concerned with, acts of torture in both Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, back in 2003.


This is what they call a "smoking gun": indisputable proof that far from being a case of a "few bad apples", American torture and terrorism are standard techniques, not only tolerated by the very highest levels of government, including the President, but actually ordered by them.

It should also be pointed out though that the use of torture by Americans has been going on for decades, throughout both Democratic and Republican adminstrations. There are countless reports of this from Vietnam and Central America, among other places, during the 60s, 70s and 80s. Virtually none of which were ever investigated, much less prosecuted, by officials of either party.

And the so-called School of the Americas, the torture training academy run by the US, was allowed to operate throughout Clinton's administrations. Torture, in fact, was a standard part of the War of Drugs long before it became part of the War on Terror.

But no other US president has actually and specifically order torture to be used the way Bush apparently did. It seems in fact, that he did so mostly just out of a sadistic desire to see other people suffer, and not because of any belief that it was necessary to pursue his so-called war on "terror."






From Abu Ghraib to American prisons.

Via AlterNet, Normon Solomon writes on the racial and class divisions that underlie American's prison abuses, From Attica to Abu Ghraib – and a Prison Near You. A short history of the abuses in America's prisons, going back to the horrors of Attica in 1971, and an overview of the racism and contempt for the poor that underlies the climate of cruelty and inhumanity to others that is becoming (or rather, has become) the trademark of 21st century America.

The part about Attica is especially important. Well suppressed by American media is the fact that torture and abuse were prevalent in American prisons decades ago, is nothing new, and has continued to get much worse. Attica exploded in 1971 because conditions there had gotten so bad, and it is only a matter of time before the even worse conditions of today result in even worse outbreaks.


Actually, there hasn't been much "outrage" about Abu Ghraib, at least not from Americans. (There certainly has been outside the US, though, where it has become a watershed event.) It's pretty much dropped off the news. Google, among other media outlets, is censoring the images and news reports, which hasn't been reported at all, and the various investigations and trials are clearly shaping up as something that can best be described as a travesty. No Democrat at their convention even mentioned it. And virtually all of the people responsible are still in charge, and essentially continuing on as before. To me this is the real scandal. Things like that do happen, especially in war. But to cover up and ignore crimes this horrendous is itself a crime of absolutely enormous proportions, and clearly indicates that much worse is yet to come.

I still can't believe that the government has been successful in preventing the release of the remainder of the photos and videos that were taken in Iraq. The ones Rumsfeld himself referred to as "much worse." And that no one seems to care. Why haven't Kerry or Edwards at least once demanded that they be released?






9/11 report a bestseller, despite being available for free.

The major argument made against people being able to download stuff off the internet for free is that it will cut into sales. You hear this over and over and over again: if it's free then people won't pay for it. Despite overwhelming evidence through the years that this just isn't so, and that, in fact, making something available for free in one format generally improves its sales in other formats.

So the 9/11 Commission's report is an excellent example. Here's something that is easily available over the web, and in multiple formats (HTML, PDF, probably more). And its availability has been widely publicized. And yet the printed, for sale version, has become an instant best-seller, and looks like it will sell millions. Curious. People could simply print it out off the web if they had objections to reading it on the screen and really wanted a hard copy, but they prefer to buy it.

This should clearly debunk the myth that people won't buy something if it's also available for free, but I guess people will believe what they want to believe, regardless of the facts. Nothing new really. For years free radio play has helped promote record sales, and yet the record companies continue to argue that it hasn't.

There's a NY Times article about the publishing of the book. Apparently with no royalties to pay (the federal government doesn't copyright it's own stuff?) and endless free publicity it's turned into a publisher's dream.






Susan Sontag on American torture.

Noted writer Susan Sontag has written a long piece, Regarding the Torture on Others for the NY Times Magazine. She discusses a number of subjects, most especially the inability of Americans to acknowledge that the word "torture" is applicable here.


Well worth reading. She does an excellent job of placing not only the abuse but the photographing of that abuse in the context of American culture and (so-called) values. For instance, comparing them to older photographs taken of grinning whites standing underneath the lynched bodies of African-Americans. And on and on.





Google definitely censoring news images.

Google advertises its image search page as "The most comprehensive image search on the web." Yet a Google search for images from Abu Ghraib turns up none of the many widely publicized photos of abuse at the Iraqi prison. Yes, that's right. NONE. Not even the one of the hooded figure standing on the box with the wires attached that has been very well publicized.

This is very disturbing. They have long refused to disclose any information about the extent of the searching and information-compiling that they are doing for government agencies, as has Microsoft. But this takes that a step further to suggest that they are actively working with the government to suppress information. Could it be related to the fact that among the companies that they have chosen to back their upcoming IPO are Morgan-Stanley and Credit-Suisse, both of which are at the very heart of the American financial-legal-industrial-military complex? Both these companies themselves and their many clients have extensive investments in America's defense industries, and very close personal relationships with the politicians who finance them. Is there a quid pro quid going on here, where they refuse to publish information critical of those companies in return for favorable analysis of their stock plans?

And one can only wonder exactly what else are they censoring? News? Web sites critical of American actions? And, especially, stories that may perhaps raise doubts about their upcoming IPO and/or about the companies that are behind it? What are their policies on censorship?

The argument that these photos are too disturbing, pornographic or obscene to reproduce doesn't hold much water given that they continue to allow you to search for nude photos, pornography and other adult materials. They have filtering on their image search that normally hides adult photos from those who don't want to see them, but the prison photos don't show up even with that disabled.

At the very least they need to rewrite their slogan: "The most comprehensive image search on the web." At the minimum, take out the "comprehensive" since that clearly isn't true. Perhaps it should be: "The most heavily censored image search on the web."






America's mercenary corporations.

In two different articles, The Other U.S. Military and The Outsourced War "Is Here to Stay", Business Week reviews the growing role (and profits) of private American military contractors.

You can take these two different ways. If you're a decent human being you will almost certainly be appalled that American corporations are so gleefully making billions of dollars profiting from what is in effect cold-blooded murder. (Basically they are what the Mafia used to call "hit men.") Or if you're a corporate money junkie you will be delighted to know how much money you can make in investing in companies that manufacture weapons of mass destruction, that provide torturers and other thugs to anyone who has the money to pay for them, and which engage in a wide range of activities that the rest of the world considers "war crimes", most of which are very specifically prohibited by both American and international law.

(This is a great investment actually if you're into that sort of thing. Perennial government contracts are being given to companies that are allowed to operate completely outside of the law, even in direct defiance of it, and without any sort of regulation or legal restraint, and which are allowed to keep details of their activities secret from even their shareholders since they are considered "classified" military information.)

American tax-payers will cetainly want to know about that. And they will also want to know that, at the moment at least, these companies are operating without any sort of written regulations, as well as any real civilian, military or judicial oversight. One reason that they are growing so rapidly is that this allows the government to engage in military action without having to achieve the public consensus necessary to use the official U.S. military. They don't even have to tell the taxpayers, not even Congress necessarily, exactly what they're paying these people, since that is information is "classified."

And if you're an American voter, you will almost certainly want to know that both Bush and Kerry have very extensive and close relationships to the individuals running these companies, and that both of their families are profiting very handsomely from it. Not surprising since both are members of the notorious "Skull and Bones" fraternity at Yale, and that their many fraternity brothers are well represented among the groups of people both awarding and receiving these contracts. Not to mention among the groups of people donating to their campaigns. And Kerry, of course, is a part of the fraternity known as the U.S. Senate, an insiders' club of millionaires and billionaires (Kerry's family's net worth is close to a billion), whose members, both Democrat and Republican, virtually all voted to go to war in Iraq, and most of whom, coincidentally, also have enormous investments in the growing private military, or very close and long-standing relationships with those who do.

At least the folks at Business Week have the guts to at least wonder if it is "out of control?" Of course it is.



Entire state of Vermont makes endangered places list.

An amazing article in the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the entire state of Vermont has made the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of endangered places, because of the threat of damage from Wal-Mart.


The basic argument seems to be that the scale of Wal-Mart's proposed developments is such that they would literally wipe out the state's small towns. Naturally the folks at the corporate monster deny this, and say that they are just trying to help the economy there.






The American climate of torture.

The Asia Times, a superb source of objective information on global affairs, is running a series on America's climate of torture, Brutality Starts At Home, which shows how what has become a pervasive pattern and practice of torturing and abusing its own citizens, especially its children, has now begun to be exported to the rest of the world.

The two articles are Torture? Just another day at the office by Ritt Goldstein, and Abuse travels very well by Jack Smith.

In the first Goldstein reviews the increasing amount of violence by American police officers (and others, but especially by the police) over the past decades, and shows how it has created an environment where torture and abuse are considered not only acceptable, but admirable and essential.

His review of a number of cases is particularly effective.


In the other article, Smith reviews the history of American violence and torture, and showing how, contrary to Bush's assertion that "that's not the way we do things in America," it actually is exactly the way Americans do things, and always have.


These are just selections. Both articles go on to offer more instances, and to provide some chilling conclusions. But at this point it's becoming clear that this isn't a few "bad apples", but the very heart of American culture and represents the views and desires of the majority of the American people. At least the white ones.

(Virtually all of the instances of torture are of whites torturing non-whites. Not entirely so, but very close. I didn't see any African-American or Mexican-American soldiers in those photos. There may have been some, but I for one believe that one of the major factors underlying these actions is a pervasive belief that non-whites are simply non-human, and aren't deserving of any respect or consideration.)

And this clearly isn't entirely due to the Republicans, although so many so-called liberals would like you to believe it is. On the contrary. Is it just coincidence that under the regime of Democrats Bill Clinton and Al Gore, two white southerners, the rate of incarceration of people of color accelerated so rapidly, and that the reports of torture by white police became so commonplace? As Goldstein notes:


The HRW report was issued in 1998. That is, during the Clinton-Gore administration. As I say, two white southerners. It's time the Democrats acknowledged this, and stopped blaming Bush for everything.

Since the 2000 elections, many Democrats have been claiming that Bush stole the election, in particular claiming that many thousands of African-American Floridians had been wrongly disenfrancised, and that their votes would have turned the tide. But the policies to (unconstitutionally by the way) take away the vote from so-called drug users was vigorously supported and enforced by Bill Clinton. Al Gore never once mentioned it during the election.]

Which is not to say that only whites commit torture and other crimes. On the contrary. See the post I made yesterday on an article by Arundhati Roy detailing incidents of the same type of thing in India. And there are many similar stories coming out of Africa. But unlike Americans the people in these places don't have the power or resources to implement this as a worldwide strategy, and to continue with it decade after decade after decade.



Sympathy for Lynndie England.

Via The Pinocchio Theory, Steven Shaviro's highly literate weblog, and one new to me. An excellent and thought-provoking essay.


He's perfectly correct of course. They take poor, uneducated people, who mostly joined up simply because they couldn't find any other job, or any other way out of their particular dead end, train them to be killers, and to do their dirty work for them, and then blame them when the going gets tough. Reminds me of that line from Dylan's License to Kill, "And his brain has been mismanaged with great skill."






Red Cross report on Iraqi prisons.

Here's a link to the complete Red Cross report published last February. Full title: Report of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on the Treatment by the Coalition Forces of Prisoners of War and Other Protected Persons by the Geneva Conventions in Iraq During Arrest, Internment and Interrogation.

Here's the conclusion:








More shocking photos from Iraq.

The New York Post reports on the "shocking" photos shown to selected members of Congress yesterday. There are, of course, tons of articles on this subject. This one focuses on the sexual romps that the soldiers were engaged in while supposedly serving their country.


The article notes that Private England, the woman in some of the most infamous photos, has been claiming that the photos showing her holding someone on a leash and so on were all done under strict orders. But these newest ones clearly show her voluntarily engaging in sexual activity, and, apparently, clearly relishing it.

It appears that they're going to try to prevent the release of these to the public. "Too disturbing to release" they claim. I know that the folks in Congress, not to mention the Defense Department, are out of touch with reality, but I can't believe that they seriously think that there's any chance that these photos won't make it out soon. Even if they don't do so officially, then someone, somewhere, will do it unofficially. You can count on it. You just can't hide that kind of thing any more.

Did you catch Rumsfeld's comments, in his recent testimony to Congress, about how irritating it is to live in an age of digital cameras and video recorders.


Ha! There's so much to say about these. One thing though that they make very clear: the troops over there certainly have plenty of time on their hands. It'll be hard to justify demands for more troops when it would seem that those over there aren't spending much time fighting, but are just horsing around and indulging themselves.



Vonnegut explains America.

Via Common Dreams, is this essay, Cold Turkey , by esteemed American writer and philosopher Kurt Vonnegut, in which he explains our political system, the world we live in, why neither of those make any sense, our addiction to fossil fuels (what the title refers to), why we're here, and why there's nothing we can do about that, what the war on drugs is all about, and many other things which have probably long puzzled you. Yes, all in one essay.

As always he doesn't mince words. Here's how he begins.


I guess that's really it: we're here to help each other through this thing, whatever it is. Sometimes that's hard to remember. But now it's in my computer, as he advises, so if you ever forget you know where you can come read it and be reminded.

Oh, and he says our addiction to fossil fuel is about to come back to haunt us. That we're about to go "Cold Turkey." Personally, I have to disagree with that one. I think the end of the fossil fuel age, or even just substantially higher prices for oil, will cause us to break through to a new age of cleaner and better and cheaper energy. That it won't be a disaster at all, but a blessing in disguise. But we shall see.

And I also have to disagree with that nonsense about the Baby Boomer corporations. As far as I can see our system, political and economic, was set up by his generation, the so-called Greatest Generation, which I personally consider to be the Worst Ever. But his generation loves blaming other people for their problems. It's their hobby I guess. But the Baby Boomers (god, how I hate that phrase) actually tried very hard to change it. But the old folks wouldn't listen.

On that same note, I have to say something else. I'm 51, been in America all of these years, and hearing the "Greatest Generation" complain about things all of that time. And I honestly can't recall even hearing any member of that generation come right out and admit that they were wrong about anything. Not one single solitary time. That includes my parents and everyone else of that age. And not just those on the right either. But folks like Kesey and Kerouac too, also part of that generation. For whatever reason these people just are incapable of accepting responsibility for their actions and of facing up to the truth. Like Vonnegut, they always look for someone else to blame. Always.

But who am I to contradict someone who's sold so many books? Mostly to the Baby Boomers themselves, now that I think about it. And call me an incurable optimist if you must, but I think that there's at least "one chance in hell" for America to pull it together. Maybe even more than that. Low odds I admit, but nothing lasts forever. America too shall pass, and whatever comes after it will be better.






Number of US lifers grows to 128,000.

In the shortest news article I've ever seen, the Scotsman reports on the number of lifers and other prisoners in US prisons.


This isn't a quote from the article. It's the entire thing. I guess sometimes words just aren't enough.






Happy Mothers' Day.

The original Mother's Day Proclamation by Julia Ward Howe.








The insanity and intolerance of Americans.

Found this collection of quotations from the American Christian right, who are trying to take over America. People should know who they're dealing with, and just how intolerant they are. Via this excellent free-thinker's site, which contains information all sorts of religion.

I know it's a huge post, but it's something people should know. When these people espouse tolerance or freedom of religion, it's just a tactic to use until they get their way. They don't believe in those things, or the constitution or America or anything except their own absolutism.