UBL: The Progressive Regressive?

Emmanuel Goldstein Lives!

Wow, the guy is pro-environment, anti-corporation, pro-Chomsky, anti-bailout ... a real hero of the progressive left, and just in time! Thank heavens we figured this out before the world lurched leftward; now we can stay firmly rooted in rightness, secure in the knowledge that the friend of our enemies is our enemy -- or is it friend? This is all getting very confusing, and quite tiresome as well. No word yet on UBL's upcoming book "Cave Fear" or whether Michael Moore will write the foreword...

Read it and get the creeps

Yes, There's Lots of OIL in Haiti

Exxon Marks the Spot

"There is evidence that the United States found oil in Haiti decades ago and due to the geopolitical circumstances and big business interests of that era made the decision to keep Haitian oil in reserve for when Middle Eastern oil had dried up.... There is also good evidence that these very same big US oil companies and their inter-related monopolies of engineering and defense contractors made plans, decades ago, to use Haiti's deep water ports either for oil refineries or to develop oil tank farm sites or depots where crude oil could be stored and later transferred to small tankers to serve U.S. and Caribbean ports...."

Read it and weep

And there's more here too

Did oil drilling trigger the earthquake?

Invasion of the Body Scanners

Bon Voyeur, and Have a Nice Strip

The concept of "stimulus" may soon take on new connotations in the days ahead. The federal government is poised to emplace full-body scanners at airports across the nation, capable of peering under a person's garments. As noted by a former Cabinet member, this new technology "will give us the ability to see what someone has concealed underneath their clothing." The prurient implications of this startling revelation are obvious, and one can only marvel at the full cultural import of widely available "x-ray vision" technology being deployed. Indeed, for those who remember the old X-ray Specs advertised on the back of comic books to see through women's clothes, it is apparently a longstanding boyhood fantasy now set to become national policy. This is essentially a form of high-tech voyeurism masking as security, and it portends more such incursions into liberty and privacy. How did it come to this, and so suddenly at that?

Read the whole article with x-ray vision

Solidarity, Not Charity

Helping Haitians Help Themselves

It is indeed a challenge for the well-meaning among us to know how to help in an effective and worthwhile manner. By focusing on people and entities working at the grassroots with long-term perspectives, we can assist Haitians in creating structures through which they may strive to help themselves and chart their own course of action going forward. Indeed, this is the best form of support we can offer during times of both obvious and subtle crisis alike. It is, in short, an expression of solidarity that reflects the best sense of our common humanity.

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Haiti: A Brief and Revealing History

Things They Forgot to Teach Us in School

"The US has worked for centuries to break Haiti. The US has used Haiti like a plantation. The US helped bleed the country economically since it freed itself, repeatedly invaded the country militarily, supported dictators who abused the people, used the country as a dumping ground for our own economic advantage, ruined their roads and agriculture, and toppled popularly elected officials. The US has even used Haiti like the old plantation owner and slipped over there repeatedly for sexual recreation. Here is the briefest history of some of the major US efforts to break Haiti...."

Read the whole article by Bill Quigley

What to Do When Peace Breaks Out

Well, It Could Happen One of These Days!

I'd like to take a moment and pose the question that never gets asked, the one that seems counterintuitive but is actually empirically valid. We keep hearing about people essentially making preparations for a war of aggression -- incidentally, something defined as a "war crime" under the Nuremberg Principles -- yet rarely are given a chance to reflect upon the more likely scenario that far more people are preparing for. Simply put, what are we going to do when peace finally breaks out? Here are some suggestions...

Read the whole sordid tale

Tomorrow’s Info Today

Staying Ahead of the News Cycle

With the proliferation of infotainment sources, 24/7 outlets, do-it-yourself journalism, incessant crawls and tweets, and the ever-expanding blogosphere, one might argue that we have democratized the media in a meaningful way -- something doubly important in light of recently revealed Bush Administration plans to suspend the First Amendment and eviscerate noncompliant shops right after 9/11. Yet at times it seems to me as if we have simply democratized “information anxiety” instead, since, in the prescient words of Francis Bacon, “he that increaseth knowledge increaseth anxiety.”

Read the whole futuristic blog!

Lines in the Sand

The Subtle Significance of a Presidential Visit

While it remains to be seen whether the President’s plan has the effect of stemming the tide of foreclosures, it certainly represents a sharp break from the inaction of the previous Administration, and could serve as a wake-up call about the shortsighted “slash and burn” policies being implemented here at the state level. President Obama came to Arizona to announce a relief plan, but he also announced simply by his presence that he’s aware of our plight, and that perhaps he won’t sit idly by as we struggle to prevent the legislature from foreclosing on our future.

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Brave New World Order

A Googlement Above the People, Around the People, and Ahead of the People

Conspiracy theorists long have mused about a “shadow government” working its machinations from a secret locale with a cloak-and-dagger ethos. But that’s not the post-postmodern way of doing things anymore; in the age of hyper-spectacle, one puts it right out there in a manner reminiscent of what’s known as “hiding in plain sight.” This is the genius logic that could very well lead Google to conquer the earth and all of humanity -- and with governments everywhere seemingly on the verge of financial collapse anyway, who else would you want keeping track of stuff, watching your back (and front), fighting our undeclared cyber-wars, and making the trains run on time? Next stop, Googletopia!

Read the whole thrilling saga

A War to End All Warring?

Iraq's Shocking Human Toll

"We are now able to estimate the number of Iraqis who have died in the war instigated by the Bush administration. The overall figures are stunning: 4.5 million displaced, 1-2 million widows, 5 million orphans, about 1 million dead -- in one way or another, affecting nearly one in two Iraqis. By any sensible measure, it would be difficult to describe this as a victory of any kind. It speaks volumes about the repair work we must do for Iraqis, and it should caution us against the savage wars we are prone to. Now that Bush is gone, perhaps the U.S. can honestly face the damage we have wrought and the responsibilities we must accept from it."

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Exit Stage Right!

Cheney Wheels Off to Undisclosed Location to Thunderous Applause

A hypocritical right-winger undergoing a character assassination who plays for sympathy in the final act? Ol’ Dick is pretty smart at that, leaving an indelible image of helplessness and enfeeblement in the minds of viewers, preemptively casting a pall on attempts to lay the blame for Bush’s failures (and crimes) at his feet. Hats off to you, sir, for creating an unforgettable character, for inspiring our ire and steeling our resolve, and for reminding us that even someone in a wheelchair can be an equally cynical SOB just like the rest of us. Yes folks, that was Dick Cheney, born-again ADA activist and differently-abled former dictator, heading off to an undisclosed location for the final time.

Read the whole post and wave goodbye

Barack to the Future?

Electric Car Rides Again!

A blast from the past: "The Electric Runabout, made by Columbia, was the first electric car ridden in by a U.S. President [are you listening, Prez-O? what was that gas-guzzling inauguration vehicle anyway?]. That historical event happened over 105 years ago, in case you were wondering. The 1903 Columbia Electric Runabout had a 40-mile range and, like most electric cars of the era, was very popular with female drivers. While that 40-mile range sound wicked good compared to today's electric cars (and concept cars), the Runabout was really more like a Walkabout since its top speed was a solid 14 miles per hour -- downhill. The car was powered by a 40-volt, 30 amp motor from General Electric and cost $850 back at the beginning of the last century." Let's roll!

100-year-old model works *** Seriously! *** Like, for real :)

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