2008: July - October Political Notes - R

Each political note has its own anchor in case you want to link to it.

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31 October 2008 (False accusations)
On the Republican false accusations about ACORN's voter registration program.
31 October 2008 (A firm requirement)
The Iraqi government has demanded a firm requirement for the Bush forces to leave Iraq by 2011, and limitations on their immunity in the meantime.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
31 October 2008 (Israeli colonists)
The Israeli colonists in Palestinian territories regularly attack Palestinians. Some even attack Israeli police and soldiers. Now Ehud Barak proposes to arrest the latter, but the former can apparently continue enjoying impunity.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
31 October 2008 (Forcing people to stay alive)
Deborah Purdy, suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, may have to kill herself while she still has enough capability to do it on her own, so as to spare her husband from being imprisoned for helping her do so later on.
Forcing people to stay alive when their lives have deteriorated into useless suffering is tantamount to torture.
If Mr Purdy faces prosecution by England for helping his wife go to Switzerland for a later assisted suicide, instead of performing an earlier unassisted one, I wonder if the Swiss government might Mr Purdy political asylum.
31 October 2008 (Resources)
Humans are using resources much faster than the Earth can replace them. According to these calculations, 30% faster — and that can't go on.
31 October 2008 (Winter ice)
The winter ice in the Arctic is much thinner this year.
In effect this means that the disappearance of Arctic summer ice is proceeding rapidly. That will mean positive feedback in global warming.
31 October 2008 (Ignorance a virtue)
How the US right wing makes ignorance a virtue and education a smear.
31 October 2008 (Senator Stevens Convicted)
Republican Senator Stevens has been convicted of corruption charges.
31 October 2008 (Troops kept doctors from entering)
Israeli troops kept 100 international doctors from entering Gaza for a WHO-sponsored conference on the health crisis caused by Israel's blockade of Gaza.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
Activists are planning a second boat trip to Gaza, to bring medicine. Israel says this time it will stop them.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
31 October 2008 (Trying to ban dancing)
Shi'ites in Karbal are trying to ban dancing and other forms of parties.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
31 October 2008 (Nothing is too low)
Following the Republican philosophy that nothing is too low, a woman fabricated accusations that someone attacked her because she had a McCain bumper sticker.
31 October 2008 (Urgent Note: Prevent Republicans)
US citizens: How to prevent the Republicans from stopping you from voting.
31 October 2008 (Urgent Note: voting in Ohio)
US citizens: tell Attorney General Mukasey not to try to suppress voting in Ohio.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
31 October 2008 (Bush forces crossed into Syria)
The Bush forces crossed into Syria and killed several people. The attack was supposedly aimed at supporters of the Iraqi resistance but seems to have killed construction workers instead.
31 October 2008 (Lt. Ehren Watada)
Lt. Ehren Watada has escaped some of the charges that he faced because of criticizing Bush for lying to start the conquest of Iraq.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
31 October 2008 (Iraqi Islamic Party)
The Iraqi Islamic Party is protesting the killing and arrests of its members.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
31 October 2008 (Delivery workers)
Delivery workers at Saigon Grill won a lawsuit for fair wages. Now the movement will target other restaurants.
26 October 2008 (Australia's planned internet censorship)
Australia's planned internet censorship will be worse than Iran's.
26 October 2008 (Republicans endorse Obama)
Many Republicans have endorsed Obama for president. And why not? In the 1970s, Obama's views would have made him a liberal Republican.
26 October 2008 (Iraqi Christians flee Mosul)
13,000 Iraqi Christians have fled the city of Mosul. It is not clear whether their attackers are Kurds or Sunni Arabs.
26 October 2008 (Ahmed Zaid Zuhair)
Ahmed Zaid Zuhair has kept up his hunger strike for three years in Guantanamo, even fighting the guards when they take him away to be force-fed.
Although I oppose the Islamist cause which he is accused of supporting, I admire his resistance to the injustice of perpetual imprisonment without trial.
26 October 2008 (Tsipi Livni)
Israeli Prime Minister designate Tsipi Livni has rejected an alliance with a right-wing hawkish party even though this could force an election.
It sounds to me like she might be serious about the concessions necessary for peace with the Palestinians.
26 October 2008 (Case against Cheney)
A summary of the case against Cheney for abetting the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
24 October 2008 (Deregulation)
Deregulation produced the current financial crisis. Now the banks will lobby against the regulations we need to prevent the next financial crisis. This includes regulation of energy trading.
24 October 2008 (green electricity)
In the UK, the option to pay extra for "green electricity" is just a con game. It does not lead to increased use of renewable power generation, and it enables companies to pretend they have cut their emissions.
24 October 2008 (Manufacturing of passports)
The US Government Printing Office outsourced the manufacturing of the passports to companies that make them cheaper. The result is that the GPO makes a profit (which it appears not to be inclined to give back to the treasury), and some of these companies might be less effective at preventing fake passports.
It may be interesting to think personally about a theoretical question: if any John Q. Public can get a false passport, and that is a bad thing, how much government violence and injustice would it take to transform that into to a good thing?
24 October 2008 (Guantanamo Bay kangaroo courts)
The Guantanamo Bay kangaroo courts have been denounced as unjust even by their own prosecutors and judges. The Bush regime response did little to address the problem.
24 October 2008 (Chagos Islanders)
The Chagos Islanders, forced out of their home 40 years ago so the US could build the military base on Diego Garcia island, have been forbidden to return to the other islands in the group.
The statements of the judges go beyond this case and asserts total power for the state, denying the very ideas of any kind of human rights.
24 October 2008 (Urgent note)
Support the Atheist Bus Campaign, putting ads for atheism on buses in London.
24 October 2008 (Bisphenol A)
As the FDA prepares to decide what to do about Bisphenol A, a company that makes it has tried subtly to corrupt the FDA head.
Gifts that don't go to an individual, but do go to something that he is attached to, have the potential to corrupt. For instance, Microsoft built a large facility in Gordon Clown's district in Scotland. Legally, this is not considered a payoff to Clown, but practically speaking it functions as one.
We should increase the taxes on companies; then the government can fund university research with that tax money. This will shield research from the corrosive effects of corporate funding.
24 October 2008 (Voting fraud)
Some Republicans face charges for voting fraud that is unrelated to computerized voting.
23 October 2008 (Cigarette vending machines)
German tobacco companies conspired in the 90s to keep cigarette vending machines in reach of children.
22 October 2008 (Israeli colonists)
Israeli colonists repeatedly attacked Palestinians harvesting their olive crops, and the Israeli army repeatedly took the side of the colonists against the Palestinians.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
22 October 2008 (Urgent note)
US citizens: demand that AIG refund the $534,000 of its bailout fund that it spent on partying.
22 October 2008 (UK's Director of Public Prosecutions)
The UK's Director of Public Prosecutions, on the brink of retiring, denounced the UK's regime of surveillance and control.
22 October 2008 (Face recognition)
Interpol wants to create a massive database for face recognition.
Last I looked, face recognition was not reliable. But we cannot assume that will hold back Big Brother forever.
21 October 2008 (Making cell phone users register)
The Clown regime wants to make all cell phone users register.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
21 October 2008 (Bush forces in Iraq)
The Iraqi negotiators made an agreement to let the Bush forces stay in Iraq, but the Iraqi parliament seems likely to reject it.
21 October 2008 (Protests in Colombia)
After the army attacked a protest by indigenous in Colombia, thousands more have joined in protests all around the country.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
President Uribe of Colombia is closely associated with Colombia's worst terrorist group, the paramilitaries.
21 October 2008 (Urgent note)
Bush's plan to put 20,000 Bolivians out of work, and how Americans can oppose it.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
20 October 2008 (Voter-suppression)
Massive Republican voter-suppression is stealing the election. Millions of eligible voters may be blocked using dishonest excuses.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
20 October 2008 (Political overreaction)
A former head of MI5 (the UK's counterspy agency) condemned the political overreaction to the 9/11 attacks, and blamed the invasion of Iraq for stimulating terrorism.
20 October 2008 (Using an Internet cafe)
China plans to identify and photograph everyone that uses an Internet cafe.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
This is a couple of steps beyond the unjust laws of France and Italy, which forbid open wireless networks. But any nasty thing that China does to the Internet is likely to show up in "free" countries soon. The excuses are "terrorism" (which often means dissent) and "child" pornography.
20 October 2008 (Airline security)
Conclusive proof that most airline security is just for show. It would block stupid terrorists, but not smart ones — if the smart ones are still interested in airplanes.
Blocking stupid terrorists is worth something, but it could be done with a lot less hassle without the show.
20 October 2008 (Wall Street banks)
Wall Street banks, just bailed out with 700 billion, are planning to pay 1/10 of that money to their staff.
20 October 2008 (US trade embargo)
A large oil discovery in Cuban waters may help end the US trade embargo.
The trade embargo is supposed to pressure Cuba to respect human rights, but it has achieved zero towards that goal; if anything, it convinces Cubans to rally behind their government. Likewise for the occasional US-supported terrorist attacks against Cuba.
20 October 2008 (ASBOs)
A representative of the UK's probation agents says, give the reckless bankers ASBOs.
The idea is amusing as satire, because if anyone does deserve such treatment, it is these bankers. On the other hand, it is also a serious possibility, because many kinds of police and governments in the UK can issue these orders and there are no clear rules about when they are justified. Almost anything that results in annoying people can be the excuse to threaten someone with jail for repeating it.
But this is precisely the reason why ASBOs are an unjust system and must be abolished. In effect, ASBOs replace rule of law with a system of imprisonment for whatever the authorities do not like. Such a vague law may occasionally be used in a way that implements justice, such as telling bankers they will be jailed if they continue their recklessness. But that is the exception that proves the rule.
19 October 2008 (Iceland)
Can anyone show me an article which explains why the failure of some banks (private companies) in Iceland causes the state of Iceland to owe money? I have heard that banks in other countries are refusing to convert the Icelandic kronor; why is that?
18 October 2008 (Illegal spying)
The EFF has sued to overturn the law that gave retroactive immunity to telephone companies' illegal spying.
18 October 2008 (Al Qa'ida)
Yet again, the Bush regime claims to have struck a devastating blow against Al Qa'ida in Iraq, by killing one leader.
No leader is crucial to an underground group like that. What weakened Al Qa'ida in Iraq was that they pissed off the Sunni resistance groups, which then accepted Bush's dollar — for the moment.
16 October 2008 (Banning drinks on trains)
The latest example of terrorism hysteria: banning drinks on trains.
16 October 2008 (Election Protection Wiki)
The Election Protection Wiki (EPwiki.org) aims to provide a central resource about efforts to rig the US election.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
See http://www.prwatch.org/node/7840 for a brief list of some of the voter-suppression schemes described there.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
16 October 2008 (Large-scale drug smuggling)
A sheriff in Texas has been accused of large-scale drug smuggling.
Whether or not this policeman is guilty, it is clear that many are, because prohibition of drugs leads to systematic corruption. Since marijuana is less dangerous than tobacco or alcohol, it ought to be as legal as they are.
I don't believe in legalizing truly dangerous drugs such as cocaine and heroin, but addicts ought to be able to get their fix in a doctor's office. That would eliminate most of the harm of prohibition while pulling the plug on the lucrative black market.
16 October 2008 (Iraq's missing generation)
Iraq's missing generation — driven into exile.
15 October 2008 (US plan flawed)
The US plan to by stock in banks is flawed, because it does little to restrain bank executives from acting in ways that endanger the banks and harm the public.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
15 October 2008 (Mugabe scuttle)
Mugabe has scuttled his deal with the opposition.
14 October 2008 (Clown abandons demand)
Clown has temporarily abandoned his demand for 42-day detention of suspects — but plans to bring it out again whenever he sees a more favorable climate.
Britons can protect their freedom from New Labour if they remain vigilant, but they deserve to be governed by a party that does not threaten it.
14 October 2008 (Human Rights Watch criticized Chavez)
Human Rights Watch has criticized President Chavez of Venezuela for abuses such as political discrimination, interfering with judicial autonomy, and interference with labor unions.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
I partly disagree with some of the report's conclusions:
Notwithstanding those points of disagreement, many of the points in the report seem to be valid. I am disappointed.
13 October 2008 (Peace activists attacked)
Peace activists helped the Palestinians of Ni'ilin to harvest their olives, and were attacked by the Israeli army.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
12 October 2008 (Activists on Terror Lists)
Maryland Police put activists' names on terror lists.
This included opponents of the death penalty and antiwar activists: a strange place to look for violence.
12 October 2008 (Ethiopian occupation of Somalia)
The "temporary" US-backed Ethiopian occupation of Somalia, which has now lasted almost 2 years. Kenya has sent many prisoners to Somalia, whence they were taken to Ethiopia and tortured so that US officials could interrogate them.
12 October 2008 (Urgent - contribute funds)
Contribute funds to avoid a ban on selling hallucinogenic mushrooms in the Netherlands. (They are now sold in a small number of special stores.)
To propose to ban a non-addictive drug because on rare occasions someone dies from using it wrong reflects a double standard based on prejudice. People occasionally die from mountaineering, skydiving, and swimming in the ocean, but we do not see proposals to ban those activities.
12 October 2008 (Urgent - ABC refuses to air ad)
Tell ABC TV you protest its refusal to air an ad about the influence of coal and oil companies in blocking clean energy.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
12 October 2008 (Urgent - Simultaneous Policy Initiative)
If you become a support of the Simultaneous Policy Initiative, you can vote on what policies it should support.
12 October 2008 (Palin abused her authority)
Alaska's ethics panel found that Palin abused her authority to get her ex-brother-in-law fired.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
Perhaps this is an instance of what Republicans call "family values".
12 October 2008 (Occupation of Somalia)
The "temporary" US-backed Ethiopian occupation of Somalia continues, which has now lasted almost 2 years. Kenya has sent many prisoners to Somalia, whence they were taken to Ethiopia and tortured so that US officials could interrogate them.
12 October 2008 (Video Game Response)
In response to the video game about catching Saddam Hussein, Islamist extremists have released their own game, about catching Bush.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
Playing a game of shooting hundreds (or is it thousands?) of people to attack an evil ruler, whether that be Saddam Hussein or Bush, does not strike me as something likely to build good character. However, Americans with a shallow idea of what patriotism consists of, the ones who might have enjoyed demonizing Hussein, might learn some ethical maturity by seeing the shoe on the other foot.
11 October 2008 (Cholera in Iraq)
An outbreak of Cholera in Iraq was caused by corruption.
10 October 2008 (NSA agents listen for fun)
NSA agents habitually listen to phone calls of Americans for fun, in the total absence of grounds to suspect them of terrorism (or anything else).
To prevent such things, formerly police could not listen directly to anyone's phone. When they got court orders to wiretap phones, the phone company listened, made transcripts, and gave them to the police to carry out the order. Changes in the past decade or so have eliminated this protection.
It should be no surprise that the NSA abuses its power. That is the general tendency when "authorities" are given the power to investigate people at will.
10 October 2008 (Clown regime and total surveillance)
The Clown regime openly wants total surveillance of communication and web browsing for the entire population of the UK.
10 October 2008 (CO2 cuts canceled)
European governments are planning to use the financial crisis as an excuse to cancel CO2 cuts.
10 October 2008 (US Army admits to killing civilians)
The US Army finally admitted to killing lots of civilians with a bomb in Afghanistan, but still refuses to apologize, saying it "did not know" the Taliban were in positions near civilians.
This excuse won't wash. This attack was on a village, a place where civilians live. An army must presume that civilians are present in their homes, unless it knows they have fled, which it certainly did not know in this case.
What happened here is that the US decided to attack the Taliban with weapons that would endanger any nearby civilians, without checking first. NATO has changed its rules to avoid such recklessness, but the US (which operates in Afghanistan separately from NATO) has not.
10 October 2008 (US manual for crushing insurgencies)
Excerpts from the US government's manual for crushing insurgencies.
Some of these methods seem to be in use in the US as well — for instance, surveillance of dissidents, detention without trial, surprise raids on meeting places for protestors, as well as psy ops to convince us that these attacks on our freedom are for our own good. In effect, the US government is a government of occupation.
10 October 2008 (Urgent Note - Freedom not Fear)
Urgent Note: Support Freedom not Fear Day, a worldwide protest against surveillance in the name of "anti-terrorism".
and, for the US.
10 October 2008 (Urgent Note - Voting technicalities)
US citizens: see if your neighbors have tried to register to vote but were rejected on a technicality, and tell them about this web site.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
09 October 2008 (Martial law)
Bush threatened to impose martial law the US unless Congress passed the bailout bill, and has a special army unit trained for "crowd control" with which to attack Americans for protesting.
09 October 2008 (Extinction of mammals)
1/4 of the world's species of mammals face extinction.
09 October 2008 (Surveillance plus data mining ineffective)
Using total surveillance plus data mining to find terrorists doesn't even work, according to the National Research Council.
The most efficient way to find terrorists in the US is to check people with connections to the White House, the CIA, and the State Department. Those state-sponsored terrorists are not the only ones they are likely to kill more people than the ones without ties to the state.
08 October 2008 (European limits on CO2)
An European Parliament committee has voted for strict limits on CO2 emission, which would prohibit new dirty coal-burning plants.
The European Parliament does not make the final decisions on EU directives, however.
08 October 2008 (Sunnis sent home to death)
Iraq refugees (mostly Sunni) are being forced to go home where they may be killed by Shi'ites.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
07 October 2008 (Olmert's recognition is important)
Uri Avnery: Olmert's recognition of the need for a fair split with the Palestinians is important even though it comes when he can no longer do anything to implement it.
07 October 2008 (Iraqi media)
U.S. to Fund Pro-American Publicity in Iraqi Media.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
05 October 2008 (Election Fraud)
$100k reward for evidence tying Karl Rove and Michael Connell to computerized election fraud.
05 October 2008 (Osama bin Laden)
Bush made no plan to capture Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan — because he was already husbanding forces for the war he really wanted, in Iraq.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
05 October 2008 (DAs say tobacco safer than marijuana)
Massachusetts DAs claim that tobacco is safer than marijuana, along with other lies, to try and defeat the decriminalization.
05 October 2008 (Bought support )
Green Party: how engrossment's support for the bailout was bought.
05 October 2008 (HAVA law used to prevent voting)
Robert Kennedy Jr. explains how Republicans, using the HAVA law, plan to stop millions of Americans from voting.
05 October 2008 (Anthrax case)
The Anthrax Case Reopens: Why Did the FBI Let the Fort Detrick Scientists Investigate Themselves.
05 October 2008 (Panic)
Bush created panic to get his financial bailout through Congress.
This reminds me of how the anthrax attacks were used to pass the U SAP AT RIOT act.
05 October 2008 (80% cuts in CO2 emissions)
Some MPs are pressing the UK to set a target of 80% cuts in CO2 emissions by 2050.
But that is 40 years from now. To achieve such cuts, they need to start soon — and they need a specific, practical plan.
04 October 2008 (Urgent Note: Simultaneous Policy)
US citizens: call on your candidates to support the Simultaneous Policy.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
04 October 2008 (Union delegation prisoner)
Police kept a union delegation prisoner in a train at the Mall of America, blocking it from accompanying a rehired worker back to Starbucks.
04 October 2008 (Nader)
Nader: Who Will Show Some Backbone Against the Bailout?
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
04 October 2008 (South Africa HIV treatment)
South Africa's new health minister will try to provide real treatment for people infected with HIV. This is a benefit of getting rid of President Mbeki.
Now the only obstacle South Africa faces in dealing with AIDS is the patent system imposed on it by US pressure.
04 October 2008 (Dean Baker on the bailout)
Dean Baker: The bailout round II: Adult Version?
04 October 2008 (Fake polls)
Republicans are using fake polls to spread lies about Obama.
I do not support Obama, because his positions are too close to the Republicans. But if we cannot put an end to this sort of systematic lying, it threatens what little is left of our democracy.
04 October 2008 (Fair use)
A clear example of why fair use needs to be extended.
03 October 2008 (Skype built for censorship and surveillance)
Skype software in China is built for censorship and surveillance.
The Skype software used in the rest of the world does not participate in this particular surveillance system. Since it is proprietary software, we can't check whether it does some other kind of surveillance. And if it doesn't do surveillance today, the developers could install it tomorrow.
This illustrates the general principle that proprietary software is a threat to your freedom.
02 October 2008 (Urgent Note - 42-day imprisonment)
UK citizens: tell your MP you are against 42-day imprisonment on suspicion.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
02 October 2008 (Fair trial)
Binyam Mohamed, a prisoner in Guantanamo, has no chance of a fair trial in the US kangaroo court.
02 October 2008 (Government of Queensland)
The government of Queensland, a state in Australia, is funding a campaign to denigrate renewable energy and promote burning coal.
Whether the government of Queensland has been bought, or whether it is thinking in narrow terms of boosting business in Queensland, is hardly important. The world cannot afford politicians who do either of these things.
01 October 2008 (Urgent Note: Re-regulate financial institutions)
For two weeks: US citizens: sign this petition to re-regulate financial institutions, help people with mortgages, invest in energy conservation, and provide universal health care.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
01 October 2008 (Urgent Note: Put bailout deal online)
For two weeks: US citizens: sign this petition for Congress to put a bailout deal online for 72 hours before voting on it.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
01 October 2008 (Sarah Palin reception)
The most important thing about Sarah Palin is what her reception says about Americans.
01 October 2008 (RNC8 face terrorism charges)
The RNC8 face "terrorism conspiracy" charges for organizing nonviolent protests against the Republican Convention.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
01 October 2008 (Republican IT consultant subpoenaed)
A Republican IT consultant has been subpoenaed in a case about stealing the Ohio election in 2004.
01 October 2008 (McCain and Obama vote PRO-IP)
McCain and Obama both voted for Senator Leahy's "PRO-IP" bill, which calls for seizing people's computers for sharing.
Don't vote for them!
(The use of the term "intellectual property" is a sign that someone is either confused or trying to confuse you. In this case, it's the latter.)
01 October 2008 (US funded and arranged invasion in Haiti)
How the US funded and arranged the invasion that overthrew President Aristide in Haiti.
01 October 2008 (Palestinian water supplies)
Israeli colonies in occupied Palestine dump their sewage into Palestinian water supplies.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
01 October 2008 (Right-wing thugs in Israel)
Right-wing thugs in Israel offered a huge reward for killing any member of Peace Now.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
01 October 2008 (Mugabe)
Mugabe has shredded the agreement with the Zimbabwe opposition by claiming he will appoint all the ministers himself.
01 October 2008 (Greenhouse gas emissions)
The UK's Met Office says that only significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, starting very soon, can save the world from a catastrophe.
We have got this close to the edge as a result of politicians that sell out to business and put economic growth above everything else.
Here's more information about these climate projections.
Sarah Palin doesn't agree with this — she cited several climate change deniers (including those funded by oil companies) for a lawsuit trying to block the designation of polar bears as a threatened species.
01 October 2008 (Freedom of the press)
Freedom of the press is deeply endangered by pressure not to offend religion.
01 October 2008 (Bailout for the banks)
The bailout for the banks is the culmination of an old, corrupt US tradition of subsidizing the rich and the businesses.
01 October 2008 (Public housing)
When most of the UK's public housing was sold off to its tenants at a discount, the short-term result was increased investment and public satisfaction. 30 years later, many of these houses have been sold to slumlords, rents are too high, and there's a big shortage of public housing.
01 October 2008 (Special prosecutor)
The US will appoint a special prosecutor to probe the firing of federal prosecutors that would not launch bogus prosecutions for political reasons.
01 October 2008 (Olmert)
Olmert, now caretaker PM of Israel, says Israel will have to withdraw from all the conquered territories (or make small swaps) in order to have peace.
01 October 2008 (Bailout deal)
The bailout deal that Congress rejected was a bad one; it did not protect homeowners and did too little to limit executive pay. However, many Republicans voted against it because they want a give-away and more of the same deregulation that caused the crisis.
30 September 2008 (Rug pulled under Clown's green pretensions)
The Tories pulled the rug from under Clown's green pretensions, by promising to build high-speed train line instead of extending Heathrow airport.
30 September 2008 (Urgent Note: UK take pictures of Big Brother)
Through October 11 - In the UK: take photos of Big Brother surveillance for a photo protest.
29 September 2008 (Bush contractor sued for torture)
A Bush regime contractor, being sued for torture in Iraq, claims that it is immune from all lawsuits in Bush's law-free zone.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
29 September 2008 (25 criticisms)
25 criticisms of Bush's bailout plan.
29 September 2008 (Fascist thugs in Israel)
Fascist thugs in Israel are becoming more aggressively violent as the police and courts wink at them. Recently, they planted a bomb for an Israeli professor who studies the growth of fascism.
29 September 2008 (Agiza seized by CIA)
Ahmed Agiza, seized by CIA agents and taken to Egypt for torture and imprisonment, has been awarded compensation by the Swedish government which illegally allowed him to be taken.
Unfortunately, that won't get him out of the Egyptian prison.
29 September 2008 (USAID believed to be funding Bolivia rebels)
USAID refuses to say which groups it is funding in Bolivia, leading to suspicions that it is funding right-wing rebels
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
29 September 2008 (Peace Corps volunteer ordered to stop helping)
A Peace Corps volunteer comments on being ordered by Bush to stop helping people in Bolivia.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
29 September 2008 (Sarbanes-Oxley protection ineffective)
The Sarbanes-Oxley protection for corporate whistleblowers is ineffective. The whistleblowers lose 98% of the time.
29 September 2008 (Condor: The First War on Terror)
From the film "Condor: The First War on Terror", I learned something new about Pinochet's murderous dictatorship which was established by the 9/11 attacks in Chile. Namely, that the dictatorial governments that ruled most of South America at the time all cooperated to capture, torture, and kill dissidents — and that they justified this as a way to stamp out "terrorists".
One of the organizers of this collaboration appears in the film defending his work by saying they only did the same thing that Bush is doing now in the "war on terror".
28 September 2008 (Blair/Clown condemned)
A former head of the UK's security service condemned the Blair/Clown plan for 6-week detention without trial, and also condemned ID cards.
28 September 2008 (Piracy)
The problem of piracy is getting worse.
28 September 2008 (Berlusconi and fascist supporters)
Berlusconi and the people that work for him are becoming increasingly open in their support of fascism.
28 September 2008 (McCain staffer paid off)
An important McCain staffer was paid by the company Freddie Mac until a month ago.
28 September 2008 (UK sabotage)
The UK is secretly trying to sabotage EU renewable fuels targets
The Clown regime talks about conservation, but its goal is to do as little as possible.
27 September 2008 (Foreclosure on African-Americans)
Michigan Republicans plan to foreclose African-American voters.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
27 September 2008 (Danes face jail for T-shirts)
Danes face jail for 'terrorism' T-shirts.
It makes sense to prohibit giving support to terrorist organizations as long as this is done even-handedly. The most dangerous terrorists in Colombia are the paramilitaries, supported by the Colombian government. The most dangerous terrorists in Palestine are the Israeli troops and settlers. When Denmark punishes those that do business with the Colombian government and the Israeli government, this law will be just.
27 September 2008 (Olmert denied bombing of Iran)
Olmert told diplomats that Bush denied him permission, last May, to bomb Iran.
26 September 2008 (US military interrogation)
An U.S. military interrogation expert saw, and stopped, acts of torture in Iraq in 2003.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
The people committing the torture (let's not help Bush with euphemisms like "harsh techniques") claimed that higher-ups authorized it.
Indeed, Bush regime cabinet members participated in the discussions about torturing prisoners as early as 2002.
26 September 2008 (Republican laws)
How Republican laws created the economic crisis.
26 September 2008 (Bailout without soaking taxpayers)
10 ways to Bail Out Wall Street (and Main Street) without soaking taxpayers in debt.
26 September 2008 (Recovery plan)
Kucinich's Main Street Recovery Plan.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
25 September 2008 (File sharing is not illegal)
Another federal court ruled that file sharing does not violate copyright law.
I am concerned that Leahy's nasty law could change this.
25 September 2008 (Global warming causing methane bubble)
Global warming is making tons of methane bubble up from the arctic sea floor.
It could already be too late to avoid global disaster
25 September 2008 (Psychiatrists assist torture)
Psychiatrists still participate in U.S. interrogations (i.e., assist in torture), despite the ban instituted by their association in 2006.
25 September 2008 (Shameful Congress)
The U.S. Congress has again shamefully supported the continuing occupation of Iraq.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
25 September 2008 (Protecting the public)
Dennis Kucinich: Protecting the public interest in any economic 'bailout'.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
25 September 2008 (Wall-street bailout)
A Wall-street bailout must change the incentive structure or it will lead to more of the same speculation.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
25 September 2008 (Fraud charges against banks and co.)
The FBI is investigating fraud charges against several of the failed banks and financial companies.
25 September 2008 (Iraq Veterans against the War)
Iraq Veterans Against the War continues to condemn all of the politicians that vote to continue occupation of Iraq; whether Republican or Democrat.
25 September 2008 (Palin poses, doesn't speak)
Palin poses for photographs but refuses to talk to the press.
25 September 2008 (McCain and Palin lie)
McCain and Palin persistently repeat lies that already have been refuted.
They are following the example of Bush.
25 September 2008 (North Korea nuke program stays strong)
The deal to end North Korea's nuclear program has broken down, or at least North Korea is threatening to cancel it.
If the list of terrorism-supporting states were honest, it would be absurd to remove any country from that list as part of a deal about something else. A country would be de-listed when, and only when, it stopped supporting terrorism.
But the US-maintained list is a joke, since it doesn't include Colombia (whose army and president support the murderous thugs known as the paramilitaries), or Pakistan (whose intelligence service started Al Qa'ida and apparently maintains close ties with the Taliban), or the US itself. This list is merely an excuse to bash countries arbitrarily while hiding the arbitrariness. It should be abolished.
25 September 2008 (Electricity from ocean waves)
Electric generation from ocean waves is now in service. But how much will it be implemented?
It depends on whether governments dare to resist the fossil fuel companies that have corrupted them.It depends on whether governments dare to resist the fossil fuel companies that have corrupted them.
25 September 2008 (Congress can plan financial bailouts)
How Congress can make more time to plan the details of financial bailouts.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
25 September 2008 (Theft, fraud and murder in Iraq)
An Iraqi official says that 13 billion dollars of reconstruction money was stolen through elaborate fraud schemes. Investigators who tried to probe them were murdered.
25 September 2008 (APA on Guantanamo torture)
The American Psychological Association has voted a resolution that appears to forbid its members to give the US government advice on torture in prisons such as Guantanamo.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
But a deliberate loophole in the APA's ethics code strips that resolution of practical consequences.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
25 September 2008 (The Bushmen plans)
The Bushmen's bailout plans defend rich gamblers by crushing homeowners.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
25 September 2008 (Corruption in Wall Street)
Systematic corruption in Wall Street companies leads them to steer the public to foolish and dangerous investments. Proper government would have to forbid these corrupt practices.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
24 September 2008 (Tracking of car travel)
Companies want to extend Big Brother tracking of all car travel to the U.S.
24 September 2008 (Voting problems in swing states)
Report: Voting problems in several swing states.
Greg Palast has been saying for years that the Republicans will try to steal this election by any possible means. Problems like these offer easy opportunities
24 September 2008 (Police shooting of de Menezes)
As the UK hold an inquest into the police shooting of de Menezes, his relatives protest that no policemen were charged with his killing.
24 September 2008 (Shutting down investigation)
McCain and Palin are trying to shut down the investigation into corruption charges against Palin, at least until after the election.
24 September 2008 (Patent Office on Strike)
Staff at the European Patent Office went on strike accusing the organization of corruption: specifically, stretching the standards for patents in order to make more money.
One of the ways that the EPO has done this is by issuing software patents in defiance of the treaty that set it up.
24 September 2008 (Political prisoners)
The Burmese military rulers released a handful of political prisoners (out of more than 2000), hoping to undermine pressure for international sanctions.
24 September 2008 (Siege of Gaza)
The next ships to break siege of Gaza will carry surgeons as well as food.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
24 September 2008 (Iraqi detainees)
Iraqi detainees languish in clogged justice system.
24 September 2008 (Israel's settlements)
Since Bush launched the "Annapolis peace process" — which was only for show anyway — Israel has drastically increased construction of its "settlements" in Palestinian territory.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
The Israeli government systematically aids the settlers by denying Palestinians access to their own land.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
24 September 2008 (Ni`ilin)
The Palestinian village of Ni`ilin faces more than the loss of much of its land: Israel plans to wall it off. So it has persistently opposed the bulldozers with unarmed protest, standing up to violent attacks that go as far as murder.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
24 September 2008 (Palestinian state)
For 15 years, Israel has been officially in favor of peace with a Palestinian state, but has insisted that the Palestinians make all the concessions, thus ensuring there is no deal. Now Palestinians are on the verge of giving up on the idea.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
23 September 2008 (Urgent note: Sign petition about illegal Israeli settlements)
Everyone: sign this petition asking PBS to ask McCain and Obama what they propose to do regarding illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
23 September 2008 (Abbas: Chance for peace)
Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian president, says there is still a chance for peace between Israel and Palestine — if Israel lets Palestinians have a real state in the whole West Bank.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
23 September 2008 (Chinese milk company knowingly sold poisoned milk)
A Chinese milk company concealed its knowledge of melamine poisoning in milk for the sake of having nice, cheerful Olympic games.
That is a perfect illustration of the culture of false front and coverup which pervades the Chinese government and Chinese business.
23 September 2008 (Urgent note: Karl Rove)
US citizen: phone your congresscritter and say, "Hold Karl Rove in Contempt of Congress and make him testify."
You can also send a message through this page but a phone call counts a lot more than a message.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
23 September 2008 (RIAA using a fraudulent accusation)
The RIAA is using a fraudulent accusation to threaten the main lawyer that defends the RIAA's victims.
23 September 2008 ("anti-counterfeiting" treaty)
The US government and many others are displaying contempt for their citizens by negotiating the so-called "anti-counterfeiting" treaty in secret. 100 opposition groups signed a demand to see the text, which so far only certain favored businesses have been allowed to look at.
23 September 2008 (Urgent note: Auto industry bailout)
US citizens: send your congresscritter this message not to give the auto industry a bailout without tightening fuel economy standards.
The fact that only a big handout to business makes it possible to defend the world from global warming illustrates the weakness of democracy. That weakness was created by right-wing politicians through their Free Exploitation Treaties. And they haven't stopped! ACTA is supposed to be the next one.
So you might also say to your congresscritter that we should not have to wait till companies need a bailout before we refuse to let them run away with the public interest.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
23 September 2008 (Unregulated lending)
Paul Krugman: The current financial crisis results from allowing new forms of unregulated lending to replace the old, regulated banks.
The regulations on bank lending were put in place by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, after a previous wave of speculation caused the Great Depression.
The Great Depression was caused by overheated speculation which encouraged people to make risky investments. But the right-wing government of the 1920s played a role by refusing to do anything to prevent the problem. Herbert Hoover did nothing to end the depression; instead he proclaimed his faith in the Invisible Hand. The Invisible Hand did not see fit to do anything.
In 1929, the speculation took the form of buying stocks with too much leverage. Suppose you borrow 90% of the money to buy some stocks, contributing only 10% of the purchase price yourself. If the stock goes up 11%, you can sell it, repay the loan, and end up with twice the money you put in. But If the stock goes down 11%, you don't get out enough to repay the loan. You'll have to sell something else.
These extra-risky bets start to look good when the market has been rising so long that people forget it can go down. So any downturn will ruin some people, making them sell assets, making more prices go down, etc. That can be a chain reaction.
This time it the problem arose specifically from subprime mortgages, which were set up to charge low interest as long as the homeowner walks the straight and narrow and the lender doesn't get in a bad mood. One difference is that the lenders preyed on people who were not wealthy enough to invest in stocks. We could tell stock owners, "Tough, you should have known better." But these borrowers were exploited. They deserve to be protected from foreclosure, in a way that stock investors don't.
The worshipers of the Invisible Hand generally claim that their god will do what is good for the public. but, when pressed, they reveal that this is a tautology, because they define "good" as "whatever the Invisible Hand does".
23 September 2008 (Urgent: Protect taxpayers from big companies)
U.S. citizens: call your congresscritter and say, "don't give a bailout to big companies without protecting the taxpayers and the homeowners and making those who have gained from dangerous speculation pay!"
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
Also sign this petition
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
23 September 2008 (Zuma not necessarily innocent)
Although Mbeki resigned for politically arranging to prosecute of Jacob Zuma, that doesn't necessarily mean Zuma was innocent. He may be prosecuted anyway.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
23 September 2008 (Historical summary of Mbeki's presidency)
A historical summary of Thabo Mbeki's presidency.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
I think it is partly mistaken, though. The only foreigners he impressed were neo-liberals.
23 September 2008 (Bernie Sanders: Companies Too Big)
Bernie Sanders: If a company is too big to [be allowed to] fail, it is too big to [be allowed to] exist.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
23 September 2008 (Special exceptions)
Bear Stearns, Lehman Bros, and Merrill Lynch are among 5 companies to which Bush gave special exceptions from SEC regulations in 2004. These exceptions from sensible precautions allowed them to get too greedy and drive themselves bankrupt.
21 September 2008 (Suing the city of Portland)
Mike Tabor is suing the city of Portland after policeman stopped him from using his video camera to witness an arrest.
21 September 2008 (President of South Africa)
Thabo Mbeki will step down as president of South Africa after a court condemned him for making false charges against Jacob Zuma, his political rival.
Mbeki opposed state-funded medical treatment for poor people with AIDS, because his property is to give the best possible economic treatment to profitable foreign business
21 September 2008 (What Haitian-Americans are asking)
What Haitian-Americans are asking of the next U.S. president.
21 September 2008 (Paying singers to mention products)
Paying singers to mention products is an organized industry. Ad agencies spam companies that seem to be possible clients.
21 September 2008 (Secret bases in Iraq)
Chalabi: U.S. wants secret bases in Iraq.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
21 September 2008 (JK Rowling)
JK Rowling gave the UK labor party a million dollars. I fear that one of the things she asked for in return is increased copyright power over citizens that share.
20 September 2008 (Bush and his creature)
Bush and his creature in Iraq, al-Maliki, still have not agreed on a treaty to authorize the Bush forces to remain past the end of the year. Bush demands immunity for the Bush forces, and Iraq (after they have murdered so many Iraqis) refuses.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
20 September 2008 (Threatened striking workers)
The Colombian army and police threatened striking sugar cane workers.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
20 September 2008 (Use of private mercenaries)
The big use of private mercenaries instead of officially recognized soldiers is spreading from Iraq to Afghanistan.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
20 September 2008 (The EFF has sued the NSA)
The EFF has sued the NSA and Bush over the illegal surveillance.
Maybe it will argue that the law passed to authorize this surveillance by our cowardly Congress was unconstitutional
19 September 2008 (Unilateral attacks)
The Bush regime promised Pakistan it would not unilaterally attack — then broke the promise a few hours later.
19 September 2008 (carbon-neutral)
For businesses, labeling their activities as "carbon-neutral" is a fad; but the claims are often bogus, or impossible to check.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
18 September 2008 (Lost power in the UN)
The US and EU have lost a lot of power in the UN. This shows up not only in the response to their power grabs but also in the failure of human rights initiatives.
This is the US' fault. It is hard for the US to exert influence for human rights when it tramples them around the world.
18 September 2008 (Health care in Roanoke VA)
Roanoke VA has just one company to get health care from. When the local newspaper wrote about how it exploits this monopoly, the company got the reporter taken off the issue by cutting its advertising.
This must happen all the time, and mostly go unnoticed.
18 September 2008 (Preventing further financial disasters)
To prevent further financial disasters, we must reverse the policies of deregulation that set the state for this disaster.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
18 September 2008 (US 9/11 attacks)
In a multinational poll, less than half the respondents believed that Al Qa'ida was responsible for the US 9/11 attacks.
There are grounds for skepticism about plenty of the official story. I don't believe the "missiles, not planes" theories, since I understand that many witnesses did see the planes. I have no basis to believe the claims that the planes were flown by remote control (set by the Bush regime) rather than by hijackers, although I won't say it is flat-out impossible.
But I have doubts about who the hijackers really were. It was always suspicious that the Bush regime claimed to be sure, so soon after, who they were. The leaked private message from Osama bin Laden, which denied involvement, creates more reason to doubt. (The published "bin Laden" tapes have been suspect all along.)
17 September 2008 (10 years of statements by Osama bin Laden)
10 years of statements by Osama bin Laden, translated by the CIA and then leaked, include a message he sent to the US government saying he had nothing to do with the US 9/11 attacks.
I have no particular reason to assume bin Laden would not lie. On the other hand, I have no reason to assume he did lie, whereas I know the Bush regime can never be trusted. I won't treat this as proof that bin Laden was not involved, but it creates a real doubt. Until there is an honest investigation of those attacks, we do not know who organized them.
17 September 2008 (Urgent note: Smart bikes)
If you live in Washington DC, don't use "Smart bikes"! They are Big Brother's eyes. The system records where a user gets the bike, and records where she returns it.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
It's possible they track the bike RFIDs along the way, too. The system in Paris is reported to do so.
When they say they do not distribute this information, they are being disingenuous. Under the U SAP AT RIOT act, the FBI can get this information without even a search warrant.
17 September 2008 (Unprecedented level of brazen lying)
McCain and Palin have gone to unprecedented level of brazen lying.
The major media are starting to report McCain's and Palin's lies.
But their response may not be adequate to the brazenness.
17 September 2008 (Ten Conservative Myths About National Security)
Debunked: Ten Conservative Myths About National Security.
17 September 2008 (Network of cameras)
The UK is expanding its network of cameras to record everywhere cars go.
The opposition disappoints me. It is a mistake to quibble about how long the data is kept. This system must be abolished!
17 September 2008 (Bio-weapons lab in Galveston)
Bush put a bio-weapons lab in Galveston, Texas, where it is sure to be destroyed by a hurricane sooner or later.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
17 September 2008 (The invisible hand)
When a garment worker in Los Angeles makes a dress that retails for $100, the worker gets $1.72. This is according to Sweatshop Warriors, by Miriam Ching Yoon Louie.
Next time someone claims that we can have faith in the invisible hand to pay people according to the value of what they produce, we can suggest he investigate why the invisible hand thinks the dress is worth so much to the person who wears it, and so little to the person who makes it.
17 September 2008 (Aung San Su Kyi)
Aung San Su Kyi rejected food supplies from Burma's military rulers for a month in order to gain the right to receive magazines and letters from her sons.
The Burmese military rulers remain in power due to support by China.
17 September 2008 (Pakistan's army)
Pakistan's army has been ordered: if US forces enter unauthorized, shoot at them!
17 September 2008 (Opposition in Bolivia)
An opposition gang shot marching supporters of Bolivian President Morales with machine guns, leading Morales to declare a state of emergency in that region. The opposition appears to have the support of the US ambassador, so Morales expelled him. Perhaps he should close the US embassy.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
Both McCain and Obama condemned Morales, effectively supporting the terrorist opposition.
It makes me very sad that Brazil is partly doing the same thing.
When Lula calls for negotiation with separatist gangsters who are escalating step by step to see how far they can get, it is tantamount to encouraging them. Unless Brazil says it will support Bolivia's government against a rebellion engineered by rich people and their hirelings, it will encourage such a rebellion.
16 September 2008 (US housing lending crisis)
A partial explanation for the US housing lending crisis in terms of Chinese wanting to invest.
16 September 2008 (Pakistani troops drive off US helicopters)
Pakistani troops fired at, and drove off, US helicopters that were heading to attack Taliban supporters (and civilian bystanders) in Pakistan.
Unilateral US intervention in Pakistan was absurd when Obama suggested it, and it's absurd when Bush does it.
16 September 2008 (Sarah Palin's career)
Sarah Palin's career in Alaska politics has been a matter of supporting her cronies and trying to suppress critics.
16 September 2008 (Talking to cholera victims)
After outbreaks of cholera in Iraq, the Iraqi government's response was to block journalists from talking with the victims.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
16 September 2008 (Deporting the Popov family)
The Popov family came to France and asked for asylum, but the French government is determined to deport them back to Kazakhstan where they will certainly be killed.
French President Sarcoma won election by promising to be harsh to immigrants, because supposedly there were too many. It is typical of such regimes that they don't limit their cruelty to illegal immigrants or those who seek asylum falsely. They attack whoever they can get their hands on.
15 September 2008 (Dalits in Bihar)
Dalits made homeless and destitute after the floods in Bihar face attempts to exclude them from emergency aid too.
15 September 2008 (General surveillance and dossier system in France)
A new general surveillance and dossier system in France has provoked sustained opposition.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
15 September 2008 (Bring food to Gaza)
Gush Shalom asks for support so that more boats can bring food to Gaza.
15 September 2008 (RFID-based payment card)
London subways and buses use an RFID-based payment card which seems to have been designed for tracking.
If you use Oyster cards, keep them in aluminum foil when you are not using them to pay. That way, no one else can read them. Don't register them, and swap them frequently.
As for broken cards, I suggest giving them up for lost. If you refrain from storing a lot of money into the card, a broken card once every couple of years will be insignificant as a loss.
15 September 2008 (Preventing terrorism?)
A house in Texas burned down because the fire hydrants were turned off to "prevent terrorism".
This absurd precaution is merely stupid (and perhaps partly corrupt), but other things done to "prevent terrorism" are much more sinister.
15 September 2008 (Preventing people from voting)
The Republican Party wants to prevent people from voting if they have lost their homes recently.
Do they think these people might be dissatisfied with the Bush regime?
13 September 2008 (US admits substantial numbers of Iraqi refugees)
The US is starting to admit substantial numbers of Iraqi refugees.
"Tens of thousands" may amount to 1% of the millions rendered homeless by Bush's invasion.
13 September 2008 (Christian farmers oppose RFIDs in cattle)
Some Christian farmers say RFIDs in cattle are "the mark of the beast".
I don't agree with their religion, and I don't believe cattle have a right to privacy. But humans do, and RFIDs are a grave threat to it. If opposition by Christians helps block plans to put RFIDs in products for sale, I will be glad of their support.
13 September 2008 (RCMP tightens its policy for using tasers)
The RCMP tightened its policy for using tasers, because the old policy caused unnecessary deaths.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
13 September 2008 (Escape from the US terrorist suspect list)
A Quebec man changed his name to escape from the US terrorist suspect list.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
The US treats everyone as a terrorist suspect, but some people more than others.
13 September 2008 (Tax loopholes for executives)
The IRS offers tax loopholes for booming pay for executives, including stock options. The stock options encourage CEOs to take actions that boost the stock price temporarily, while undermining the company.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
13 September 2008 (Mugabe handing over most of his power)
Mugabe has agreed to a deal handing over most of his power to Tsvangirai, who won Zimbabwe's elections.
It sounds to me as if this deal could be sabotaged by Mugabe through later reinterpretation.
13 September 2008 (US troops secretly ordered)
Bush secretly ordered US troops to enter Pakistan and attack Taliban supporters there.
Despicable as the Taliban are, unauthorized intervention in Pakistan is the stupidest possible response.
13 September 2008 (Truth and Reconciliation Commission)
Kucinich has called for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate how Bush launched the Iraq War.
13 September 2008 (Voluntary Codes)
Companies use "voluntary codes" to avoid regulation, but this is an inferior substitute.
13 September 2008 ("Bridge to Nowhere")
Sarah Palin was a vocal supporter of the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" until the project started to become embarrassing.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
12 September 2008 (Police and FBI raid community support groups)
Police and FBI staged a violent raid on the office of several community support groups in Berkeley California. The supposed reason could not explain this even if it were true.
12 September 2008 (Pakistan's officials condemn US attacks on Pakistan's territory)

Pakistan's president and its chief general have both condemned US attacks on Pakistan's territory.
12 September 2008 (Iraqis living under the stands in Kirkuk's soccer stadium)
2500 Iraqis live under the stands in Kirkuk's soccer stadium.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
11 September 2008 (Police in St Paul attacks and arrests protestors)
Police in St Paul attacked and arrested protestors before the protests started, and continued doing so after. Here is the summary of how they shredded the US Constitution.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
11 September 2008 (Greenpeace activists acquitted of charges of property damage)
Greenpeace activists were acquitted of charges of "property damage" after they painted a statement of protest on a coal-burning power plant.
Note the subtle dishonesty in the description of painting of a word on the chimney as "property damage". That makes it sound like sabotage, which it wasn't.
11 September 2008 (The Church of Scientology copyright claims)
The Church of Scientology has used the DMCA to get criticism deleted. It has a history of strained copyright claims.
Using copyright for censorship is not a new thing. Copyright in England originated as a system of censorship.
11 September 2008 (Urgent note: Clean Water Restoration Act)
US citizens: phone your congresscritter and senators in support of the Clean Water Restoration Act.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
11 September 2008 (Prohibiting unions for most Iraqi workers)
Bush and the Iraqi government hold dearly to one of Saddam Hussein's laws: the one that prohibited unions for most Iraqi workers.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
11 September 2008 (Urgent note: Million Doors for Peace)
US residents: canvas on Sep 20 to pull the Bush forces out of Iraq.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
11 September 2008 ("Free trade")
"Free trade" keeps poor countries poor, while protectionism can lead to development. No wonder the the European Union is trying to force the poor countries of the world into a "free trade" treaty that will keep them subjugated and poor.
11 September 2008 (Scaring college students out of voting)
Republicans in Virginia told lies to scare college students out of voting.
This reflects the Republican party ethic that any means of winning is ok. Republicans more frequently try to scare Blacks away from voting, and that gets less coverage.
10 September 2008 (Maqbool Fida Husain)
Maqbool Fida Husain, a prominent Indian artist, lives in exile because of lawsuits from Hindus that consider his work "obscene".
A similar form of persecution in the name of Christianity is occurring in England.
10 September 2008 (NATO troops change rules for air attacks)
NATO troops in Afghanistan have changed rules for air attacks to try to reduce civilian casualties. But I think this does not include the US troops.
09 September 2008 (Plane carrying drugs visited Guantanamo Bay)
A plane caught carrying drugs thru Mexico had visited Guantanamo Bay, and is being investigated by the EU on suspicion of use in US torture kidnappings.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
09 September 2008 (US troops in Afghanistan kill more civilians)
The US troops in Afghanistan are killing more and more civilians due to increased use of air attacks.
To solve this problem, they would first have to admit it, but the dishonest Bush regime would rather deny a mistake.
09 September 2008 (Iraq's oil deals)
The Iraqi government is making oil deals with companies from various countries.
This seems to mean that Bush and Cheney have lost their bid to get control of Iraq's oil. I hope so. But Iraq as a nation has lost also, in that its oil revenue will go to foreigners (regardless of what country they are from).
09 September 2008 (Extreme surveillance in the UK)
Extreme surveillance in the UK is part of a general practice of increased government interference in every aspect of life. Citizens must contend with both petty and major tyrants.
The interference is haphazard and unpredictable: one town will threaten people for putting up posters about a lost cat; other towns commit different outrages. But codifying these intrusions would not make them acceptable.
08 September 2008 (Georgia)
Georgia is the graveyard of America's unipolar world -- and that's a good thing.
The cold war put pressure on the US and the USSR to compete to present the world with a more appealing model, and respect for human rights was one aspect of the competition. Maybe such pressure will help us restore human rights in the US.
08 September 2008 (Obama attacked for doing good)
McCain and Palin attacked Obama for supporting the US constitution and working as a community organizer. The mainstream media treated this as valid.
I guess the press is being manipulated — either through its business owners or through understanding of its herd instinct.
08 September 2008 (Obama not different from Bush)
Obama on Iraq and Iran does not sound very different from Bush.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
Since the Iraqi government has developed enough gumption to say no to Bush, it seems clear that most of the Bush forces will be removed by 2010 in any case. That is good, but it also moves Obama effectively further closer to Bush. Still not a hint of ethical criticism of the conquest and destruction of Iraq.
08 September 2008 (Task from God)
Palin said that the Iraq war is "a task from god".
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
08 September 2008 (Extradition of UK cracker McKinnon)
Supporters of the UK cracker McKinnon protest that he will be extradited to the US and not get a fair trial there.
The US-UK extradition treaty is an obvious injustice: it doesn't even treat the two countries equally. This article explains other more subtle injustices in the treaty.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
08 September 2008 (Urgent note)
Everyone: join the protests against surveillance on Oct 11.
08 September 2008 (Copyright on state laws)
Fighting to publish state laws, as states try to use copyright to impede access to them.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
07 September 2008 (Bush and Sarah Palin)
Bush fired US attorneys who would not launch actions for partisan political reasons. Sarah Palin fired commissioner Monegan because he would not act to support Palin's personal grievances.
07 September 2008 (The feudal theocracy of Tibet)
Supporters of the Chinese domination of Tibet like to defend it on the grounds that China liberated the Tibetans from a feudal theocracy. That's true; here in brief is what that feudal theocracy was like.
As the article also mentions, ending theocracy and serfdom does not justify China's new forms of oppression and colonization, and respecting Tibetans' autonomy and human rights does not imply restoring theocracy or serfdom there.
07 September 2008 (Troop increase in Iraq)
While Obama calls Bush's troop increase a success, Bob Woodward says it was a minor secondary reason for the reduction in the level of violence in Iraq.
07 September 2008 (Suicide in the army)
The US Army is heading for a record suicide rate.
War is hell, always, but it's not always equally bad. If soldiers see that the cause they are fighting for is unjust, and that the rules of ethics that they have been taught are supposed to be ignored, they feel worse.
07 September 2008 (The left out hero)
Pakistan reinstated some of the supreme court judges that Musharraf fired, but omitted the heroic chief justice.
Can anyone tell me why he was left out?
07 September 2008 (The bombed wedding party)
Attiqullah's bride and around 45 of his relatives were killed ago when the US bombed his wedding party. The US says only that it is "investigating". In two months of "investigating" it has not recognized who the bombs killed.
07 September 2008 (The dodgy dossier)
The UK will publish the instructions given by B'liar and his cabinet for changes in the "dodgy dossier" in which intelligence reports were distorted to create an apparent excuse for conquering Iraq.
07 September 2008 (Obama and the war on terror)
Obama gave an interview on Faux News and used it to show how right-wing he is.
The "war on terror" is a dishonest and confused concept whose main purpose is convincing Americans and others to cede their freedom without a fight. The US government opposes some terrorism, and supports some terrorism — including, at present, terrorism against Iran. Obama's use of the term should remind us he is not really a defender of human rights in the US.
Did Bush's troop increase in Iraq "work"? That depends on what goal we judge it against.
It may have been partly responsible for the reduction in inter-communal violence. But the main cause of that change is probably that the ethnic cleansing campaigns between the Sunni and Shi'ites were completed, so there was no one left to chase into exile.
Did it make Iraq stable? No, because a more conventional civil war between Shi'ites and Sunnis is now pending. Bush made peace with parts of the Sunni resistance, by pointing out that al Qa'ida's violence against Shi'ites only brought retaliation, and then offering money. The result is that these regions have some peace and some autonomy. The Shi'ites of SCIRI, who dominate the Iraqi Army, plan to fight them next year.
Two other Bush aims, to station troops in Iraq permanently and to control Iraq's oil, seem also to have been thwarted.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
Perhaps this is the only good thing one can say about Bush's crime in Iraq: that it failed to bring him and his cronies the gains they sought.
07 September 2008 (Hate party)
The Republican Party is the hate party.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
05 September 2008 (Anchovies endangered in Europe)
Anchovies have been overfished, and are now endangered in Europe.
05 September 2008 (US troops raid a village in Pakistan)
US troops raided a village in Pakistan without the approval of the Pakistani government, and reportedly killed children.
Some Pakistanis called for responding to this act of war with a warlike response.
04 September 2008 (Urgent note: demand coverage of journalists' arrest at the RNC)
Everyone: tell CNN and MSNBC you want them to cover the fact that police arrested journalists at the RNC.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
If you'd like to find out how to phone the offices of the presidents of these networks, please tell me and I will post the phone numbers. Ten phone calls will have far more impact than ten names on a petition.
04 September 2008 (World Bank finances big CO2 emissions)
The World Bank is financing big CO2 emissions.
04 September 2008 (Sheriff buys 50-caliber machine gun)
A sheriff in South Carolina bought a 50-caliber machine gun and threatens to shoot the public with it. This weapon cannot even be aimed carefully.
03 September 2008 (Atrocities against Palestinians)
Israeli soldiers who shot a harmless Palestinian and critically wounded him were acquitted by a military investigation.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
It is standard practice for most parts of the the Israeli government to wink at any atrocity committed by Israelis against Palestinians. For instance, "settlers" stealing Palestinians' land can be violent with impunity.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
The Israeli navy shot Palestinian fishing boats.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
03 September 2008 (Bush's "peace process")
Bush's "peace process" for Israel and Palestine has made no progress since 2001.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
What this article does not explicitly say is that the talks were doomed because the Bush regime has not dared to demand that Israel make any concessions.
03 September 2008 (Urgent note: support proposition 2)
California voters: support proposition 2 for humane treatment of some farm animals.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
03 September 2008 (Police at Republican Convention)
Police attacking protestors at the Republican Convention arrested Amy Goodman as well as two other Democracy Now journalists, injuring them as well. These journalists now face bogus criminal charges.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
03 September 2008 (Al Maliki shows surprising firmness)
Al Maliki has shown surprising firmness in resisting the Bush pressure for permanent stationing of the Bush forces in Iraq. This article proposes an explanation of why.
The fact that the UN mandate Bush obtained had a termination date is also crucial. I doubt that Russia would approve an extension now.
03 September 2008 (Sarah Palin)
Sarah Palin would be even worse than McCain, if that is possible.
02 September 2008 (UK's prison population)
9% of the UK's prison population is made up of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. It seems that war is dangerous even for those that survive it.
02 September 2008 (Testing cattle carcasses for mad cow disease)
The Bush regime won a court victory: it has the right to forbid companies from testing cattle carcasses for mad cow disease.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-15 because the old link was broken.]
01 September 2008 (The housing bubble)
The housing bubble, and the crisis of its bursting, was visible years in advance. The Federal Reserve didn't look.
01 September 2008 (Chalabi aide arrested)
Chalabi Aide Arrested on Suspicion of Baghdad Bombings.
31 August 2008 (Police in Minneapolis)
Police in the Minneapolis area are breaking into houses without warrants, and arresting potential protestors, their lawyers, and journalists. They hardly bother to try to make it seem lawful.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
Here's testimony from one witness. The police sealed the building after raiding it. They claimed to have a warrant, but refused to show it, which suggests they were lying.
The End of America, by Naomi Wolf, warned that the US had gone nearly all the way towards a police state, and that the full-blown tyranny only becomes unmistakably visible at the last stage. That last stage may be now.
It might not be too late to defeat this monster, if the mass media were to make a scandal. Obama could make this happen if he decides to try. But I expect that they won't. The mass media are certainly part of the monster, and Obama probably is too.
31 August 2008 (Neo-Nazis and white supremacists in the US Army)
Neo-Nazis and white supremacists are joining the US Army, which understandably has had trouble meeting recruitment quotas in recent years. Investigations against them get mysteriously canceled.
Once trained in how to carry out overt state-sponsored terrorism, they may subsequently use their training for covert state-sponsored terrorism — or non-state-sponsored terrorism.
A militia of crazed Christian theocrats might welcome them too.
31 August 2008 (New Orleans remains devastated)
Three years later, New Orleans remains devastated, its population halved.
Rebuilding New Orleans in the same place would be foolish — inviting a repeat disaster. But Bush has been equally unhelpful to rebuilding in a new site.
31 August 2008 (Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network)
Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network is campaigning for Brazil to withdraw its troops from the US-organized occupation of Haiti.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
31 August 2008 (Facebook)
Was Facebook built by the CIA? Links of personnel suggest that it was.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
We don't need proof of any specific conspiracy to recognize that peer pressure can lead kids into many sorts of foolish behavior.
It's a mistake to post anything on Facebook unless you want to publish it.
31 August 2008 (Georgian attack as US election ploy)
Putin accused Bush and Cheney of having Georgia start a war to manipulate the US election.
I would not put it past them. Saakashvili surely supplied the main enthusiasm for the attack, but it is an interesting question whether he needed to get permission from the US before he could launch it.
31 August 2008 (Abortion services at no charge)
Mexico City's policy of offering abortion services at no charge has won a court challenge.
30 August 2008 (Murdering handcuffed prisoners)
Bush forces soldiers confessed to murdering handcuffed prisoners. No charges have been filed against them.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
30 August 2008 (Radioactive polonium 210 and Philip Morris)
Philip Morris knew that cigarette smoke contains radioactive polonium 210, but decided not to tell the public.
It is common for the effect of a radioactive or poisonous substance to depend on how it is ingested. For instance, a given dose of polonium 210 might be much more dangerous when breathed in than when swallowed, or vice versa. The article does not say, but I doubt it causes lung cancer when swallowed. If someone sends me the answer I will post it here.
30 August 2008 (Bush corrupted the CIA)
More proof that Bush corrupted the CIA: its Oct 2002 "intelligence briefing summary" for Congress about Iraq was drafted months before the analysis it supposedly reported on.
30 August 2008 (Humanitarian relief ships dock in Gaza)
Israel let humanitarian relief ships dock in Gaza, avoiding confrontation for the moment. The ships brought children's hearing aids as well as food.
Israel can avoid this confrontation forever, if it lets relief ships continue sailing in and out of Gaza. But that seems unlikely.
30 August 2008 (Binyam Mohamed's defense)
The Bush regime wants to withhold crucial evidence from Binyam Mohamed's defense on the grounds that it would harm the "US-UK intelligence-sharing relationship".
Exposing these crimes might very well interfere with future collaboration on torture. That, of course, is why they should be published — not merely provided in secret to the defense lawyers.
What the Bush regime says is, in effect, "Don't let anyone know about our crimes, because we deserve not to suffer the consequences of them!" Any other criminal saying this would meet with derision. If the US is to claim to have rule of law, courts must give the Bushmen the same derision.
But that is not likely, given that this is a "military tribunal" which does not meet the usual criteria for a fair trial.
30 August 2008 (Promoting a product or company)
Articles in newspapers that appear to talk about a topic may have been written to promote a product or company.
30 August 2008 (Cigarette ads and smoking in movies)
The National Cancer Institute presents evidence that cigarette ads and smoking in movies are important factors in encouraging children to start smoking.
Perhaps movies should be rated "parental discretion advised" if they depict smoking.
30 August 2008 (Hundreds of immigrants)
US agents picked up hundreds of immigrants, even legal ones, to deport because of minor crimes. They say this roundup is aimed at gang members, but that appears to be a lie.
30 August 2008 (Stop bombing civilian homes)
The Afghan government demanded that the US stop bombing civilian homes. The US response is to deny that this demand was made, just as it denies killing civilians.
30 August 2008 (Israeli conscientious objectors)
Israeli conscientious objectors are going to prison rather than serve in the army of occupation.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
30 August 2008 (The Abu Kabaita family)
Israeli settlers try to drive the Abu Kabaita family off its land by killing or stealing their sheep. The Israeli police support this campaign of harassment by refusing to accept complaints from the family.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
In Hebron, Israeli settlers attack Arabs and their homes, and also attack the international monitors who were placed there to discourage such attacks.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
30 August 2008 (Sichuan earthquake)
Thousands of children died in the Sichuan earthquake because their schools were not properly built. China has used lies, travel bans, and arrests to prevent them from being seen.
It makes me think of the way the Bush regime treats the 9/11 relatives who want a real investigation of what happened on that day. In the US and in China, the political system is rotten through and through.
30 August 2008 (The Bra Bomber)
The TSA is on guard against the Bra Bomber.
28 August 2008 (AT&T buys the Democratic Party)
AT&T has effectively bought the Democratic Party by becoming the main "sponsor" of the convention.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
I think it is unconscionable for a political party to accept such sponsorship.
28 August 2008 (Urgent note: Endangered Species Act)
US citizens: phone our congresscritter and senators to oppose Bush's plan to negate the Endangered Species Act.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
28 August 2008 (Democratic Party bought)
AT&T has effectively bought the Democratic Party by becoming the main "sponsor" of the convention.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
I think it is unconscionable for a political party to accept such sponsorship.
26 August 2008 (RFIDs in Mexico)
Mexicans are injecting themselves with RFIDs in a futile attempt to prevent kidnapping.
This is laughable, but the danger of it is real. If a practice becomes widespread even for stupid reasons, that makes it easier for society to make everyone do it.
26 August 2008 (Birds and global warming)
Birds are shifting north under pressure from global warming, but not as fast as temperatures are shifting north.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
26 August 2008 (Climate changes)
Earth can flip very fast from one climate regime to another.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
26 August 2008 (Senator Biden on Iraq)
Senator Biden proposed a solution to the Iraq problem somewhat like mine.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
In today's Iraq, the three ethnic/religious groups no longer live together; the reason the violence has mostly ended is that each ethnically cleansed certain territory. This resembles to a certain extent the solution that I and later Biden proposed.
But my proposal included another element: to give each group a friendly supporting army committed to reinforcing it in defense but not helping it attack others. Currently the Shi'ites have the "Iraqi" army, and the Sunnis have none. Thus they are afraid of a third stage of the war in which they will be crushed.
26 August 2008 (Bush and Maliki fail to agree)
Bush and Maliki are still unable to reach an agreement to keep the Bush forces in Iraq past the end of this year. Maliki wants a deadline and won't give them total immunity from prosecution.
If Iraqi democracy succeeds in checking Bush, that will mean it is real to some extent after all.
25 August 2008 (Iraq's Oil)
The Secret Deal For Iraq's Oil.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
25 August 2008 (EPIC's comments on TSA's "Secure Flight" program)
Here are EPIC's comments on TSA's "Secure Flight" program, which aims to make airlines report all air travel to a central site which will check the list of a million terrorist suspects, rather than checking it themselves.
Bruce Schneier points out that the system will be error-prone and ineffective, as well as nasty and unjust.
Even though identifying all travelers has limited value for preventing non-state-sponsored terrorism, it is really handy for general control of the populace and suppression of dissent.
25 August 2008 (Sunni resistance groups)
The Bush forces bought the support of many Sunni resistance groups. Now the Shi'ite Iraqi government wants to arrest them.
Now that these two religious groups have come to hate and kill each other, they will either have separate governments or one will conquer and repress the other. In the past, the Sunnis under Saddam Hussein repressed the Shi'ites, but did not need to kill tremendous numbers of Shi'ites to do this. It won't be so easy now, I think.
25 August 2008 (Lucy Fairbrother)
How Lucy Fairbrother planned and organized her protest in China.
There is still no certain word on whether her blog was maliciously altered.
The accusation that the text was altered may be mistaken.
Has Ms Fairbrother been released? Has she made any statement?
25 August 2008 (Afghan bombing)
The Afghan government says that a US bombing killed 76 civilians. The US denies this occurred.
25 August 2008 (Limits of FBI investigation)
Bush wants to eliminate many limits on FBI investigations, so the FBI could investigate people without evidence of crime.
25 August 2008 (Diebold admits blame)
Diebold admitted its software was to blame for lost votes.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
The work-arounds might avoid accidental loss, but the only reliable way to avoid intentional loss of votes is to count them on paper.
25 August 2008 (NIST proposes bizarre theory)
The NIST proposed a bizarre theory to explain the collapse of building 7 in the World Trade Center, after unjustifiably dismissing the straightforward theory that explosives were used.
25 August 2008 (The torture of Binyam Mohamed)
Binyam Mohamed is in Guantanamo and facing possible execution based on evidence obtained by torture. In the UK, a court has exposed UK participation in this torture.
24 August 2008 (West Bengali peasants)
The nominally Communist government of West Bengal forced thousands of peasants to give up their land for a capitalist car factory, but the dispossessed farmers have not given up protesting.
24 August 2008 (McCain's houses)
McCain owns so many houses he couldn't remember how many.
Aging makes it harder to recall facts like these. Perhaps 10 years ago he would have come up with the number right away.
24 August 2008 (Food boats will not be allowed to reach Gaza)
Israel announces it will not allow food boats to reach Gaza.
This means it will instead lead to an international confrontation that will highlight the cruelty of the siege.
24 August 2008 (Russians not withdrawing fast)
Russian troops withdrew from the town of Gori, which could be the start of the promised withdrawal back to South Ossetia, but it is not going fast.
23 August 2008 (Mickey Mouse)
Disney bought a US law to extend the copyright on the drawing of Mickey Mouse, but it may have lost that copyright in 1929 through an error.
While that would be the beginning of fitting punishment for Disney, it would not undo the harm done by copyright extension.
23 August 2008 (Traveling outside Iran)
Iran blocked actress Golshifteh Farahani from traveling outside Iran.
To stop people from leaving a country is inexcusable injustice. The Soviet Union and its puppet governments used to do this; today Israel does this in Gaza, and Iran has put itself in the same category.
23 August 2008 (Was Georgia encouraged by US perception?)
Was Georgia's foolish provocation of with Russia encouraged by US perception that it has a nuclear first strike capability against Russia?
The Russian government is more overtly tyrannical than the Bush regime, but less powerful and not so broadly aggressive. Thus, overall the Bush regime is a bigger threat to freedom around the world.
Both the US and Russia need regime change, but neither one is likely to get it. In the mean time, there is no reason to wish for either one to gain over the other.
23 August 2008 (McCain's top foreign policy advisor)
McCain's top foreign policy advisor was, until recently, a lobbyist for the government of Georgia. And previously lobbied other governments to support the conquest of Iraq.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
23 August 2008 (Leaked personal information)
The Clown regime has misplaced/leaked the personal information of up to four million citizens in one year alone.
Perhaps the reason the UK leaks so much personal data is that it collects such data more aggressively.
23 August 2008 (Urgent note: Redefining birth control)
US citizens: Bush has possibly withdrawn his attempt to define birth control as "abortion", or perhaps just disguised it. Sign this petition to make sure it really gets withdrawn.
23 August 2008 (30 years after Franco's death)
30 years after Franco's death, the tens of thousands of Spaniards that his supporters murdered are being exhumed and identified.
The Popular Party opposes this because it is the party of Franco's supporters.
22 August 2008 (Deputy director of Arlington National Cemetery)
The deputy director of Arlington National Cemetery is accused of talking families out of press coverage of their relatives' burial, then claiming it was their wishes all along.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
22 August 2008 (Israelis petition for more serious charges)
Israelis have petitioned for more serious charges against the colonel who effectively ordered a soldier to shoot a handcuffed Palestinian.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
22 August 2008 (Keeping Gaza in poverty)
Israel's tight siege of Gaza continues to keep the inhabitants in poverty.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
Israel continues killing Gazans by stopping them from traveling for medical treatment.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
For Hedy Epstein, whose parents were killed by the Nazis, bringing food to Gaza by ship is carrying out the principles of Judaism.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
22 August 2008 (Bush's October surprise)
Bush's October surprise -- a blockade of Iran?
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
22 August 2008 (Freedom of Speech)
In the US, freedom of speech includes general advocacy of illegal actions, as well as publishing information that someone might use to do something illegal.
In accord with this principle, the gag order against the MIT students has been lifted.
The UK, however, unabashedly imprisons people for general opinions that might lead someone to commit a crime at an indefinite future time.
22 August 2008 (Airline pilot James Robinson)
Airline pilot James Robinson has trouble getting to his flights because he's on the terrorist watch list.
Another pilot has sued for being listed, since it cut him off from his livelihood.
22 August 2008 (A clever idea for "inspecting" planes?)
A TSA inspector got a clever idea for "inspecting" planes. Nine planes he damaged were grounded for repairs.
22 August 2008 (Russia's borders)
Russia's borders are full of potential flash points comparable to South Ossetia.
22 August 2008 (Burned, killed and kidnapped in Georgia)
Russian troops burned, killed and kidnapped in Georgia.
22 August 2008 (Iraqi prisoners)
The Bush forces take Iraqis prisoner, torture them, and keep them for years without charges.
22 August 2008 (James Powderly)
Artist James Powderly was arrested in Beijing before he could present a new art work which is also a protest for Tibet.
22 August 2008 (The DEA and medical marijuana dispensaries)
When the DEA destroys medical marijuana dispensaries, it takes the houses and the children of the people who run them.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
Civil forfeiture, the practice of seizing the property of people accused of selling or even buying drugs, is a system of punishment without trial. It causes multiple injustices.
22 August 2008 (Russia starting to withdraw from Georgia)
Russia is starting to withdraw a few troops from Georgia, and international truce monitors are coming in.
22 August 2008 (Urgent note: Employee Free Choice Act)
US citizens: support the Employee Free Choice Act.
20 August 2008 (Ohio sues Diebold)
Ohio is suing Diebold for making voting machines that lost votes.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
20 August 2008 (Immigration bullies)
For US immigration agents at JFK airport, bullying is standard practice. They detain people for hours, forbidding them to urinate, and proudly say they will hold people longer as an act of repression.
20 August 2008 (Microsoft corrupts the ISO)
Microsoft consummated its corruption of the International Standards Organization, which dismissed an appeal by several countries against the approval of OOXML.
However, I think the EU's criminal investigation of this corruption is still live. (Is it?)
20 August 2008 (Turning the table on Georgia)
Russia defeated Georgia's attempt to conquer territory with an unwilling population of Ossetians. Now it appears Russia is trying to conquer territory with an unwilling population of Georgians.
The US would be in a better position to oppose this if it had not conquered an unwilling population of Iraqis.
South Ossetia is holding Georgian civilians hostage for the return of supposedly kidnapped Ossetians.
Since Georgia denies holding those Ossetians, they cannot be being held as hostages. But are they prisoners of Georgia? If not, what happened to them (if they were real people)?
20 August 2008 (Musharraf avoids impeachment)
Musharraf resigned to avoid impeachment.
No one can predict what will happen to Pakistan in the future; every political event there creates imponderable good and bad possibilities. However, in ethical terms, his attempt to sack the independent judiciary was an attack on democracy; if this means that the court's legate judges will return, it is a victory for democracy.
19 August 2008 (Georgia winning the PR battle)
Although Georgia started the war and lost it, it is now winning the PR battle to present itself as right.
But I don't think we can credit this solely to a PR agency. Saakashvili is more or less a poodle of Bush, so he gets the US government's PR assistance, and that probably includes secret inside media help as well.
19 August 2008 (Bush-style fake trial)
Burma's military rulers imprisoned protestors after a Bush-style fake trial.
Using the names "Myanmar" for Burma and "Yangon" for Rangoon grant legitimacy to the military government; Aung San Suu Kyi asks people not to use those names.
19 August 2008 (Read each others' poets)
Uri Avnery: for peace between Israel and Palestine, the peoples must read each others' poets.
17 August 2008 (Paramilitaries in Colombia)
The FARC has suffered reverses, but the government-sheltered paramilitaries in Colombia are still a big threat.
16 August 2008 (Hiu Ng)
Hiu Ng was arrested by the Department of Homeland Security due to its own confusion, then denied the chance to see a doctor to diagnose what turned out to be cancer. When he became unable to walk, guards dragged him on the ground. When he could not stand on line to receive painkillers, he was denied them. He was forbidden to see his US-citizen wife and children until a couple of days before he died.
Even if the plan to deport him had not been a mistake, it could not justify this callous cruelty. And the government officials whose job is to parrot claims that this sort of thing never happens are just as guilty for covering this up as the people who did it.
16 August 2008 (Official "troop" figures meaningless)
Fully half of the Bush forces are "civilian" contractors, making official "troop" figures meaningless.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
16 August 2008 (British protestors for Tibet)
British protestors for Tibetan independence climbed a building in Beijing to drop a banner. The were arrested, of course.
A UN human rights report criticized the UK government for disrespecting freedom of speech in several ways.
What a shame that the UK falls into the same category as China.
16 August 2008 (The TSA and your ID)
In a rare act of thoughtfulness, the TSA has decided not to add to its "terrorist suspect" list everyone that forgets to bring ID.
John Gilmore was once kicked off a plane for wearing a sticker saying "terrorist suspect". The morons on the flight crew thought that meant he was dangerous, but it only referred to the fact that everyone who flies in a plane is treated by the TSA as a terrorist suspect.
16 August 2008 (Manipulating polls)
Polls about coastal oil drilling manipulate the answers through their choice of how to ask the question.
16 August 2008 (All phone calls, all emails, and all web browsing)
The UK government plans to record all phone calls, all emails, and all web browsing.
This is to "fight crime", but crime is a minor danger compared with that of an all-powerful all-seeing state. When the government declares suspicion grounds to imprison someone, everyone has a valid reason to conceal his activities from the state.
16 August 2008 (Musharraf faces imminent impeachment)
Pakistan's president Musharraf faces imminent impeachment. Of course Bush begs them not to do so.
16 August 2008 (Russia and Georgia)
The Russian army continues moving through Georgia, unimpeded by the completely smashed Georgian army, and is accused of massive atrocities against civilians.
However, those claims are unconfirmed and could be exaggerated. Human Rights Watch says that Russia is exaggerating the casualty figures for Georgia's attack on South Ossetia, and is concealing real data.
The critics of Russia point out that Georgia's attempt to reestablish control over South Ossetia was quite analogous to Russia's two re-conquests of Chechnya. That is right: Russia's positions conflict hypocritically.
Russia responds to this by pointing out that the US defense of Georgia's "territorial integrity" conflicts hypocritically with its removal of Kosovo from Serbian control. That is right too, but criticism of the US doesn't invalidate the criticism of Russia. Both the US government and the Russian government are hypocrites, and neither one can make itself honest just by criticizing the other.
So what about the substance of the issue? Since the South Ossetians mostly would rather be part of Russia, I see no reason to force them to be part of Georgia.
16 August 2008 (85 billion dollars)
Bush contractors, often cronies, have made 85 billion dollars from the conquest and occupation of Iraq.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
16 August 2008 (No White Heroes)
Movie companies are not interested in making a movie about Toussaint-Louverture, who led the Haitian revolution against slavery, because it has "no white heroes".
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
16 August 2008 (Urgent note: Abortion)
US citizens: sign this petition denouncing Bush's plan to call contraception abortion.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
14 August 2008 (Trick photography)
If you want to trick someone with a photograph... you don't need a computer. All you need to do is change the caption.
14 August 2008 (Attacks on pro-Tibetan websites)
Supporters of Tibet, and their web sites, are the targets of persistent malware attacks.
14 August 2008 (The Iraqi Chinese oil deal)
The Iraqi government is making an oil deal with China. Perhaps it will really turn out to be Iraqi rather than Bushi.
14 August 2008 (Zimbabwean talks break down)
Talks in Zimbabwe broke down because Mugabe insisted on keeping the real power.
14 August 2008 (Destruction in South Ossetia)
Foreign journalists visited South Ossetia and reported on the destruction caused by the Georgian attack, which included shelling the capital's main hospital.
14 August 2008 (Flying without a wallet)
Sherri Davidoff reports on flying in the US without her wallet, concluding that the TSA's attempts to identify people have nothing to do with protecting passengers and are solely about control.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
14 August 2008 (Truce in Gaza)
The truce in Gaza is working fine for Israel.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
It is not working very well for the inhabitants of Gaza, who remain under siege. Sick people who want to leave for medical treatment are forced to become informers.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
Activists from many countries plan to bring food and supplies to Gaza by boat.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
If the Israeli navy blocks them, it will highlight the siege.
14 August 2008 (Urgent note: Impeach Bush and Cheney)
US citizens: phone your congresscritters in support of HR 1258 (impeachment of Bush) and HR 33 (impeachment of Cheney).
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
Also sign Kucinich's petition.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
14 August 2008 (Endangered Species Act)
Bush is trying again to render the Endangered Species Act meaningless by allowing any federal agency to ignore it.
14 August 2008 (Imprisonment without trial)
Imprisonment without trial is standard Israeli practice for Palestinians — even for journalists.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
14 August 2008 (Israeli peace proposal)
The Palestinian Authority refused an Israeli peace proposal that would involve giving Israel all the land behind the annexation wall and getting desert in return.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
14 August 2008 (Permanent control over Georgia?)
Georgia's invasion of South Ossetia has turned into a major victory for Russia, perhaps giving it permanent control over Georgia.
Bush, dishonest as always, accuses Russia of planning this invasion for a long time.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
That may be so, but it was Georgia that started this war.
Russian dominion over Georgia would be a bad thing. It may be worse than the partial US domination that has existed for several years, because Russia may have more complete control.
14 August 2008 (Drone operators)
The operators of remote-control bomber drones see the Iraqis they killed, and even though they mentally label all their victims as "bad guys", it causes them remorse.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
14 August 2008 (A diversion for attacking Iran?)
Was Georgia's attack against Russia a diversion for attacking Iran?
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
I have never before seen these claims about Iranian biological weapons, and this article isn't enough to convince me of them. But the claims about maneuvers and ship movements should be easy to check, so I expect they are true.
13 August 2008 (Israeli troops beat up countrymen)
After Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian child and a teenage bystander during nonviolent protests in Ni'ilin, Israelis protested the commander of the regiment, who has the responsibility to make sure his troops do not commit atrocities. 23 protestors were arrested and badly beaten.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
13 August 2008 (Iraqi squatters)
Tens of thousands of poor Iraqi squatters face eviction.
13 August 2008 (Climate Camp)
The UK's Climate Camp goes on despite police confiscation of everything from soap to buses.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
When a government displays this propensity towards dirty tricks, it is clear that surveillance done by that government is a threat to the human rights of its citizens.
The protestors say they may make a permanent protest camp.
13 August 2008 (Iraq Euphemisms)
A glossary of Iraq Euphemisms.
13 August 2008 (Disappeared Chinese activists)
Some Chinese activists have disappeared recently.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
13 August 2008 (Italy and the Pirate Bay)
Italy's major ISPs have blocked access to the Pirate Bay, a major BitTorrent site.
While I appreciate the sassy attitude of calling this activity "Pirate", it is better to reject and denounce the practice of using that smear term to refer to sharing.
13 August 2008 (Olympic fireworks simulation)
China presented a computer simulation of Olympic fireworks as the real thing.
If filming from a helicopter was dangerous, it was right and proper not to do it. There would be nothing wrong with broadcasting a computer simulation instead, if it were labeled as such. The wrong committed here was that of lying, and lying is characteristic of the Chinese government.
13 August 2008 (Georgia and Russia)
After Georgian troops in South Ossetia were totally defeated by Russian forces, Georgia says it withdrew them as a "humanitarian" gesture. Will anyone believe that? But Russia rejected the opportunity to declare victory, and is attacking Georgia elsewhere.
This seems to be part of a game of rivalry between Russia and the US.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
Russia seems to have won this move, but the important point is that neither Russia nor the US deserves anyone's support. Neither government respects human rights. Both of them rig elections. Both deserve defeat in their ambitions.
13 August 2008 (Chavez and opposition candidates)
Chavez' government has banned hundreds of opposition candidates from running for office.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
Arbitrarily excluding people from running for office is no better in Venezuela than in Iran. If there is evidence to accuse these candidates of corruption, they should be given fair trials and thus a chance to clear their names.
13 August 2008 (Urgent note: Department of Homeland Security)
US citizens: support the ACLU's campaign to end the nasty practices of the "Department of Homeland Security".
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
Notice the similarity between "Department of Homeland Security" and "Committee for Public Safety"? The latter, headed by Robespierre, carried out "the terror".
13 August 2008 (Faked letter)
CIA agent Rob Richer told Ron Susskind that he (Richer) circulated a faked letter connecting Saddam Hussein with Al Qa'ida. After Susskind's book appeared, Richer first said it was true, then denied it. So Susskind published the text of Richer's interview where he admitted this. The original text of the letter arrived on White House letterhead.
13 August 2008 (Obaidullah Rahimi)
Obaidullah Rahimi faces deportation to Afghanistan although he does not even speak the language.
It is absurd to punish anyone for having sex with someone of age 15 — it is normal for Americans of age 15 to have sex. But even if he had committed a real crime, such as robbery, for which punishment is appropriate, deporting someone who arrived in the US so young is absurd.
Here's what happens when people are deported to countries which they hardly know.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
10 August 2008 (The dark side of the EU)
The evil aspect of the EU is revealed by a plan to merge surveillance with the US.
This is supposedly to serve the goals as "freedom, security and justice", but it can hardly respect freedom and justice if the US is involved.
10 August 2008 (Prisoner segregation boxes)
The Bush forces keep prisoners in wooden boxes in the heat of Iraqi summer.
10 August 2008 (Duplicity in the Russia-Georgia war)
More information about the war in Georgia reveals duplicity on both sides.
It seems clear that Russia gave Russian citizenship to most South Ossetians as a prelude to annexation. Citing that now as an excuse for intervention is bogus.
It seems virtually certain that Georgia started the war. The attack it made takes preparation, and the preparations must have started several days before the start of the Olympics, timed for an attack on that day. If Georgia had responded to a surprise attack by the South Ossetians on that day, it might have counterattacked, but the counterattack would not have been so big.
I wonder whether Georgia asked Bush's permission before attacking. A government so dependent on the US that it would send troops to the Bush forces is compelled also to obey.
10 August 2008 (US bank reforms)
Bailouts for failing US banks, which reward the abuses permitted by past deregulation, create worse distortions for the future. Proposed "reforms" could make things even worse.
10 August 2008 (South Ossetia)
Russia and Georgia are at war over South Ossetia.
South Ossetian is obviously acting as a pawn of Russia, and I think it likely that Georgia is acting as a pawn of the US, but I don't understand the situation enough to have any further opinions about it.
10 August 2008 (Southern Christian Leadership Conference president)
The president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference sees nothing wrong in letting banks write statements for him to sign. But he takes great offense when those statements criticize Wal-Mart.
His various purchasers failed to keep track of what parts of him they had bought.
10 August 2008 (Troop removal)
Bush is negotiating an agreement to remove all troops from Iraq. It will take several years, but not a century.
10 August 2008 (A slap on the wrist)
The Israeli officer who ordered a soldier to shoot a handcuffed prisoner will get off with a slap on the wrist.
10 August 2008 (Malaysia's opposition party leader)
The leader of Malaysia's opposition party faces possible imprisonment for "sodomy".
Whether Anwar is "guilty" is unimportant; what matters is that Malaysia is guilty of having an unjust law against homosexuality, and its government is guilty of trying to sabotage the opposition.
Malaysia also denies religious freedom. People of Malay ancestry are legally required to be Muslims.
09 August 2008 (Urgent note: Senate campaign contribution reports)
US citizens: support the campaign for digital publication of Senate campaign contribution reports.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
09 August 2008 (Salim Hamdan)
Salim Hamdan was convicted in a phony trial for the crime of being Osama bin Laden's driver — under an ex-post-facto law, which is explicitly unconstitutional. We cannot tell whether some of the "evidence" was obtained by torture.
Here is what makes there trials totally unjust.
The Bush regime is no better than Osama bin Laden.
09 August 2008 (Pro-Chinese propaganda)
An arrested pro-Tibet protester's web site has had pro-Chinese propaganda mysteriously added.
The Chinese spokesman pompously hopes people will "obey the laws of China", but why should anyone do that? The tyrannical laws of China deserve obedience just as much as the tyrannical laws of the US — which is to say, not at all.
09 August 2008 (Temperature rise)
Can humanity adapt to a temperature rise of 4 degrees C?
09 August 2008 (Urgent note: End oil company subsidies)
US citizens: call your senators to tell them to end government subsidy for the oil companies (and tax them instead). You can also sign this petition.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
09 August 2008 (Faking a letter)
The Bush regime is accused of faking a letter purporting to establish a link between Saddam and al-Qaida.
09 August 2008 (Pro-Tibet protestors)
Pro-Tibet protestors were arrested in Beijing for displaying banners.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
07 August 2008 (Barack Obama)
Barack Obama's political background.
07 August 2008 (Big campaign contributions)
Obama, like McCain, gets lots of big campaign contributions.
They reflect the fact he will not challenge the dominion of big business and the organization of society primarily for the rich.
07 August 2008 (MoveOn)
MoveOn is not a movement for progressive change.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
07 August 2008 (Commercialization of Olympic games)
The Beijing Olympic games take commercialization to a new height.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
07 August 2008 (Activists to sail to Gaza)
Activists are about to sail boats to Gaza to break the siege, daring Israel to stop them. One activist explains why.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
07 August 2008 (Mujahadeen-e Khalk)
Scott Ritter: The US is funding and supporting the Mujahadeen-e Khalk in a campaign of sabotage and terrorism in Iran.
It is a strange reversal for an organization that once patriotically fought the US-imposed Shah to work with the regimes of Saddam Hussein and Bush that are clearly enemies of their country. It could be the result of carrying a grudge too far, or it could be simple corruption.
07 August 2008 (Rush to execute)
The governor of Texas is in a hurry to execute a Mexican before his violated right to consult Mexican consular officials can be protected.
05 August 2008 (Urgent note: Marijuana Bills)
US citizens: call your representatives and ask them to cosponsor these two bills:
The Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act of 2008 (H.R. 5842) would give states greater authority to determine their own medical marijuana policies.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
The Personal Use of Marijuana By Responsible Adults Act of 2008 (H.R. 5843) would remove federal penalties for possessing up to 3.5 ounces of marijuana.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
05 August 2008 (Shi'ite militias)
The Bush forces reduced violence in Iraq by informally supporting tame Sunni as well as Shi'ite militias. However, the Shi'ite militias are called the "army" and "police", while the Sunni militias are not. And the Shi'ite militias are prepared to use that to reignite the massacres.
What Bush did is partially similar to what I called for two years ago, but not entirely similar. My plan was to give both Shi'ites and Sunnis non-Bush foreign military support to defend themselves. With Bush's way, the Shi'ites have foreign military support and the Sunnis do not.
05 August 2008 (Armies of occupation)
McCain wants literal armies of occupation in the US.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
How appropriate this would be in a state that acts, in effect, as a government of occupation by the empire of the megacorporations.
Meanwhile, Obama made a rather enigmatic vague statement that points in a similar direction.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
I cannot tell whether it was a real proposal for something new, or a too-witty reference to something prosaic.
05 August 2008 (Iraq refugees in Jordan)
Iraq refugees in Jordan need not fear being shot, but they can barely survive since they are forbidden to work.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
05 August 2008 (Exposing the public to danger)
The WTO and China are campaigning against state laws designed to protect the public from dangerous products.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
05 August 2008 (Prison business)
Over 1% of US adults are in prison, so the prison business is booming.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
05 August 2008 (University supports police atrocity)
The University of Nottingham has given servile support to arresting students in the "international security and terrorism" course for downloading an Al Qa'ida manual from a US government web site.
Note how the police cite the "university authorities" as having decided that Sabir is not allowed to study these materials, while these supposed "authorities" duck their responsibility to defend academic freedom by saying nothing and only citing the police.
Evidently the "university authorities'" decision has nothing to do with truth, justice, or academic freedom, and merely represents obedience to the Sheriff of Nottingham. This law, which prohibits possession of documents that "might be useful" for terrorism, is nothing but a veiled way of imprisoning people on suspicion.
The UK government is a bigger threat to Britons' lives than any non-state-sponsored terrorist group, and what's worse, it attacks their freedom as well.
05 August 2008 (Fingerprinting air passengers)
The Clown regime wants to fingerprint everyone boarding a plane in the UK. Supposedly for security, of course, but maybe the real motive is commercial.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
So don't board a plane in the UK. Take the train to Paris or Brussels.
05 August 2008 (Aafia Siddiqui)
The Bush regime has secretly held Aafia Siddiqui prisoner for five years in Afghanistan, lying about her all the while. She was a student in the US and disappeared while visiting Pakistan.
But the regime still won't say what happened to her children, who disappeared with her.
05 August 2008 (Israel agrees to shift wall)
Israel has agreed to shift the annexation wall back in some areas so as to restore some of the confiscated Palestinian land.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
"Security" is the standard excuse for a broad range of crimes.
03 August 2008 (Mohammed Omer)
As Mohammed Omer returned to Gaza after receiving an international prize for journalism, Israeli border guards wanted to steal the prize money. But he didn't have it on him, so they tortured him instead.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
03 August 2008 (Prosecute Bush for murder)
Ex-prosecutor Bugliosi says that any D.A. could prosecute Bush for murder.
03 August 2008 (False information about anthrax samples)
False information about anthrax samples, promulgated by the same lab where the anthrax came from, was used to put the blame on Saddam Hussein.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
03 August 2008 (2001 anthrax attacks)
The anthrax attacks of 2001 have reputedly been traced to a US government researcher, who reputedly killed himself.
I have no way of judging whether to believe either claim, but what is most interesting is that the anthrax letters were very effective at convincing Congress to pass the U SAP AT RIOT act which attacked human rights in the US. If Ivins carried out the attacks, we will probably never know whether someone such as Cheney planned them.
03 August 2008 (Olympic stadium designer condemns China)
The designer of Beijing's Olympic stadium has condemned the Chinese government for making the Olympic Games an excuse for worse tyranny.
03 August 2008 (Protestors against coal power)
Protestors against coal power in the UK defy police threats to imprison them for nonviolent protests.
03 August 2008 (Lies and torture)
Binyam Mohamed's lawyers say the UK government knew that Bush was having him tortured, and lied about it.
03 August 2008 (Power to imprison)
Bush's latest Attorney General asked Congress to formally give Bush the power to imprison anyone without trial.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
It's just a tiny step beyond what Congress has already given him.
02 August 2008 (Urgent note: Congressional elections that can affect abortion rights)
Here are some congressional elections that can affect abortion rights.
Now if only they let everyone vote and count the votes accurately...
02 August 2008 (Cost and performance of weapons)
The pentagon's audit agency has actively covered up bad news about cost and performance of weapons.
02 August 2008 (Killed by their captors)
Bush regime torture practices follow those used by China against UN troops captured in the Korean war. Over 100 prisoners have died in US custody, many of them killed by their captors.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
02 August 2008 (Killing more civilians in Afghanistan)
The war in Afghanistan involves ever more bombing, killing ever more civilians.
I supported the war against the Taliban in 2001. After the quick victory, I thought there was a chance to make Afghanistan a much better and fairly peaceful place. Was that a delusion, or was it ruined by Bush's invasion of the country he had always wanted to invade?
02 August 2008 (Shot 19 times with a taser)
After a teen fell off a bridge and broke his back, cops shot him 19 times with a taser. The effects on his blood forced doctors to delay the surgery he needed.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
The police are obviously lying. The reason their lie is so lame is that it's hard even to fabricate a good excuse for attacking a person lying motionless on the ground with a broken back.
02 August 2008 (China imprisons more people for talking)
China has imprisoned people for talking about the structural flaws of schools that collapsed in the earthquake. And the International Olympic Committee made a deal agreeing to censorship of foreign reporters' internet access.
The IOC strikes me as disgustingly hypocritical, pretending that it will uplift humanity through an event which is really just entertainment, and then making the event go by conniving at suppression of human rights.
02 August 2008 (Sami el Haj)
Sami el Haj, an Al Jazeera journalist held captive in Guantanamo for six years, now campaigns for the release of other prisoners and the end of torture. Here he describes how he and others were tortured in Guantanamo.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
02 August 2008 (EPA staff told not to answer)
EPA tells its staff: don't answer to the EPA's inspector general (or to Congress).
02 August 2008 (Urgent note: Voting Machines)
US citizens: call your senators to oppose S.3212, which pretends to address the danger of computerized voting machines but actually protects them.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
More information, plus a petition you can sign.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
02 August 2008 (US journalist Zoriah Miller)
The Bush forces banned US journalist Zoriah Miller for publishing bad news.
Being embedded in a military unit tends to bias a journalist, who comes to think of the troops as his buddies.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
This article argues that it is unfeasible for journalists to work if not "embedded" in a Bush forces unit. Maybe it is true for most of them, but some, such as Dahr Jamail do this.
02 August 2008 ("war on terror" is self-defeating)
A RAND report says that the "war on terror" is self-defeating.
Not to mention that it is the excuse to hurt Americans much worse that Al Qa'ida might have done.
02 August 2008 (Ni'ilin protest)
In the latest Ni'ilin protest, Israeli troops killed a 10-year-old boy by shooting him in the head.
02 August 2008 (CIA accuses ISI of supporting the Taliban)
The CIA openly accused its Pakistani counterpart, the ISI, of supporting the Taliban.
I've always heard that the ISI set up the Taliban, and Al Qa'ida too. The fact that the CIA talks about this in public suggests that things are pretty strained between Bush and Pakistan.
02 August 2008 (Politics in hiring)
The "Justice" Department illegally applied political criteria for hiring.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
02 August 2008 (Redefining birth control)
Bush's new method to oppose birth control is to redefine it as "abortion".
He has already redefined "torture", so why not "abortion"? What will he redefine next?
31 July 2008 (Richard Perle trying to cash in)
Richard Perle, one of the not-yet-cons who planned to conquer Iraq, is trying to cash in on Iraqi oil.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
31 July 2008 (Integrity and offshore oil drilling)
McCain got big money from oil company executives after he changed his position on offshore oil drilling.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
If a person does this even once, it means he has no integrity.
31 July 2008 (Undermining the Non-Proliferation Treaty)
The US and UK, by rejecting nuclear disarmament and applying a double standard to Israel and India, encourage Iran to develop nuclear weapons and undermine the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
31 July 2008 (Killing oppressors)
The UK proposed to give battered women a defense if they kill their oppressors.
The same principle should apply to Iraqis that kill some of the Bush forces.
31 July 2008 (Three questions)
Three questions for Barack Obama.
31 July 2008 (Unjust C-61 copyright law)
A Canadian band put up their own CDs as posters to oppose the unjust C-61 copyright law.
31 July 2008 (Illegal wiretapping in Sweden)
Illegal wiretapping in Sweden has created an even bigger scandal after the police tried to arrest the person who exposed it.
31 July 2008 (WTO negotiations)
The WTO negotiations have broken down because China and India (leading many of the poor countries) would not accept some US demands about power for the agribusiness megacorporations.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
We should cheer this failure, because any agreement made now has to be a change for the worse. Whatever the US and EU agreed to on 18 "resolved" issues surely gives more power to megacorporations, else the US and EU would not accept it.
Here's a report about why the deal is bad for the poor.
31 July 2008 (China, Human Rights and the Olympic Games)
Amnesty International: China obtained the Olympic Games by promising to respect human rights more, but it has done the opposite.
31 July 2008 (Swing states)
Republicans have disenfranchised hundreds of thousands of Democratic voters in several swing states.
I don't hold any enthusiasm for Obama; at best he will be like Clinton but even less liberal. However, systematic destruction of democracy is dangerous even if there is no good candidate is likely to win this year.
And you can be sure that if Obama loses because of this disenfranchisement, Democrat activists will blame it on the Green candidate.
31 July 2008 (Landless Workers Movement)
The Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul is illegally trying to destroy the Landless Workers Movement.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
31 July 2008 (Torture in Kenya)
Kenya's government has been torturing thousands to make them identify rebels.
I wonder if the US military aid included torture training.
30 July 2008 (Fear of retaliation)
Remember the video of the Israeli soldier shooting a handcuffed Palestinian prisoner? The girl who made it feared retaliation, and now Israelis have arrested her father.
30 July 2008 (Bush forces admit to shooting noncombatants)
For once the Bush forces admit that the Iraqis they shot in a car were noncombatants.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
What's crucial here is that it demonstrates the way the Bush forces always claim their victims were enemy fighters, regardless of the truth. The story about a "misunderstanding" caused by the gun in the car (surely a normal thing in Iraq) is not believable: the dead driver's son was at the scene while the car was still burning, so the Bush forces knew who they had killed before they had a chance to look at what was in the car.
I suspect that the Bush forces admitted the "mistake" this one time only because they feared alienating the other people that work at Baghdad airport, and that this does not represent a change in policy.
28 July 2008 (Rights worker faces deportation)
A Canadian human rights worker faces deportation from Israel for photographing soldiers brutalizing a nonviolent protest at Ni'ilin.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
28 July 2008 (Farmers being pressured)
Poor farmers in South Africa are being pressured to plant genetically modified crops.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
28 July 2008 (Fallujah)
Refugees from Fallujah say people starved in their homes because the Bush forces' curfew did not let them get food. And the (Shi'ite) Iraqi Bush forces are just as bad in different ways.
28 July 2008 (Obama praises Sarkozy)
Obama glowingly praised the right-wing President Sarkozy, who is Bush's French poodle.
This demonstrates once again that Obama himself is right-wing, but it could be worse. Sarkozy is known for his draconian law which has made even the possession of a copy of DeCSS a crime. I hope this doesn't indicate that Obama will attack the freedom of computer users even further.
28 July 2008 (Uranium spill in France)
After a uranium spill in Tricastin, France, EDF tried to hold back informing the public. The amount of uranium contamination seems to prove there were other spills in the past.
Sarkozy wants to build more nuclear plants, even in other countries. Is this what Obama admires?
28 July 2008 (Tortured asylum-seekers in the UK)
People who flee to the UK after being tortured in other countries are subject to torture and permanent injury when they are deported back for more torture.
28 July 2008 (Wiretap law sued)
The EFF and ACLU have sued to declare the new unjust wiretap law as unconstitutional.
26 July 2008 (Fishing at random)
The Bush forces systematically arrest large numbers of Iraqis, just fishing at random.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
26 July 2008 (Lack of concern)
Obama's lack of concern for how Israel treats Palestinians is second only to McCain's.
26 July 2008 (ISPs plan to limit access)
Major ISPs are planning to limit their subscribers' access to all but a few preferred commercial internet sites.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
26 July 2008 (Charlie Lynch)
Charlie Lynch faces 100 years imprisonment because he filled a 17-year-old cancer patient's prescription for marijuana.
Owen Beck is probably suffering horrible pain now. That's the sort of thing that delights a DEA agent's heart.
26 July 2008 (Urgent note: War with Iran)
US citizens: sign this petition urging Congress to refrain from menacing Iran with war.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
26 July 2008 (Public strip searches)
Air travelers now face strip searches in public.
Remember the Shoe Bomber? Wait till they catch the Bra Bomber and start requiring all women passengers to remove their bras.
26 July 2008 (Israel disregards promises)
Israel has flagrantly disregarded promises to stop extending its colonies in the West bank.
Israeli "peace" negotiations consist of demanding that the Palestinians concede everything, while offering them nothing.
26 July 2008 (Massive government surveillance)
A Maryland State Police document shows massive government surveillance of political activists — who are falsely called terrorists or drug traffickers — by all levels of government.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
26 July 2008 (Arlington National Cemetery press director fired)
The press director of Arlington National Cemetery was fired for letting the families of deceased veterans decide whether they wanted press at the funeral.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
It's a minor issue in itself, but shows how far the Bush regime goes to control the press.
26 July 2008 (TSA hassling CNN reporter)
A reporter for CNN reported on the million-strong "terrorist" watch list. The TSA denies punishing him by putting him on the list, but they refuse to explain why he gets hassled every time he flies.
26 July 2008 (UK ISPs and music factories)
The major ISPs in the UK have agreed to help the music factories against their own customers. People should move, if at all possible, to other ISPs.
26 July 2008 (Undermining renewable electric generation)
Clown talks very green, but meanwhile he's trying to undermine EU plans to promote renewable electric generation.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
26 July 2008 (Nuclear reactor companies want government subsidies)
Nuclear reactor companies want government subsidies to build more nuclear power plants, because they are far more expensive than safe renewable electric generation or more efficient use of electricity. They make no economic sense except as handout to the rich.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
26 July 2008 (IMF meddling)
IMF meddling has been scientifically identified as causing an increase in tuberculosis. It does this by forcing countries to cut health care expenditures.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
Chavez' activities have freed a number of countries in Latin America from the IMF's power, and now it is weak. Perhaps we can kill it off.
25 July 2008 (Oil prices)
Oil prices will probably get even higher because demand will exceed supply.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
25 July 2008 (Using oil and food prices)
Bush is using oil and food prices as an opportunity to gain more power for his cronies. And Obama supports most of it.
25 July 2008 (Olympic protests)
China announced it would open a few locations for protests during the Olympics, but Human Rights Watch says that restrictions and surveillance would make this an insignificant opening.
We have seen similar schemes to limit protests in the US, where the locations are hypocritically called "free speech zones".
25 July 2008 (Mugabe's paper supply)
The reason Mugabe agreed to a deal is that his supply of paper for printing money was cut off.
That makes sense, but I find it fishy to claim that Mugabe, who does not shrink from murder and torture, would shrink from the wrong of using a proprietary program without a license. He has already committed the more grave wrong of using it with a license. And if he doesn't fear that torture victims might sue him, how could he fear that the developer might sue him?
25 July 2008 (Levels of menthol in cigarettes)
Cigarette companies adjust levels of menthol to help people start smoking and then cater to hard-core addicts.
25 July 2008 (Netroots Nation event)
This year's Netroots Nation event, formerly the Yearly Kos, has been totally tamed by the center-right Democratic Party.
25 July 2008 (Corrupted by the coal industry)
CORE, which in the 60s campaigned strongly for civil rights, has been corrupted by the coal industry.
25 July 2008 (Using the "terrorism act")
A racist UK cop used the "terrorism act" powers to meddle with a mixed-race family. There was absolutely no basis to suspect the family of terrorism.
The crucial issue, which this exemplifies, is that the UK's "anti-terror laws" relate to terrorism only in their name. What they really do is give police too much power over everyone.
25 July 2008 (Electronic voting machine makers)
The makers of electronic voting machines distort the facts so that states will not protect their elections from being stolen.
25 July 2008 (Pakistan's secret prisons)
Pakistan's government has imprisoned hundreds of Pakistanis in secret prisons, Bush-style, and held them for years. Their families cannot find out what happened to them.
25 July 2008 (Massive solar power plants)
Europe is considering building massive solar power plants in the Sahara desert.
25 July 2008 (Wetlands and carbon)
Wetlands contain so much carbon that, if they were destroyed, it would cause disastrous global warming. And many of them are threatened with destruction.
25 July 2008 (Bush's definition of torture)
A committee of MPs concluded that the UK cannot trust the Bush regime's statements that it does not torture people, because its definition is suspect.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
25 July 2008 (Home-made artillery shells)
Israeli settlers often shoot at Palestinian homes with rifles. Now they are also firing home-made artillery shells.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
In Nil'in, scene of many nonviolent protests, a soldier fired on a handcuffed protestor at close range while an officer stood by.
But the only thing which makes that incident unusual is that it was caught on video, much as the video of the Rodney King beating offered proof of what cops habitually get away with.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
25 July 2008 (Destroying Fallujah)
The Bush forces seem to be planning to destroy Falluja again.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
Last time, they even killed patients in the hospital.
25 July 2008 (Refusal to consider impeachment)
The House Judiciary Committee has finally agreed to examine some of Bush's injustices, but still refuses to consider impeachment.
I think that representatives that do not support impeachment do not deserve support.
25 July 2008 (Urgent note: McCain and torture)
Everyone: sign the petition calling on McCain to oppose all forms of torture.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
25 July 2008 (Pakistan's proliferation of nuclear weapons information)
The government of Pakistan forbade Dr Khan from saying anything about Pakistan's proliferation of nuclear weapons information.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
It is the general practice of the Bush regime and its allies to issue orders to silence people who can testify to the evil they have done. Consider for instance the gagging of Mordecai Vanunu in Israel (even though he has no nuclear secrets as such left to tell) and the translator Sibel Edmonds in the US.
23 July 2008 (Evidence and torture)
The judge in a military trial rejected evidence obtained by blatant torture, but allowed confessions obtained by the less brutal forms of torture used in Guantanamo.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
23 July 2008 (Talks in Zimbabwe)
Further information about the deal between Mugabe and Tsvangirai explains that the deal means his giving up real power. Apparently economic desperation is the reason he agreed.
23 July 2008 (Radavan Karadzic arrested)
Radavan Karadzic, who led the Bosnian Serbs as they attacked multi-ethnic Sarajevo, has been arrested and will probably soon be sent to the Hague for trial.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
Karadzic is estimated to be responsible for 300,000 deaths. Bush is in the same way responsible for probably 4 times as many; when will he be tried?
23 July 2008 (Urgent note: Al Gore's renewable electricity challenge)
US citizens: sign the petition in support of Al Gore's renewable electricity challenge.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
23 July 2008 (Moving species to new habitats)
Due to global warming, the only way to protect many species from extinction is to move them to new habitats. But this is only possible for a fraction of them.
23 July 2008 (Al-Maliki and Obama's timetable)
Al-Maliki endorsed Obama's not-really-timetable for removing some parts of the Bush forces.
However, if large numbers of "non-combat troops" and mercenary "non-troops" remain in Iraq, I'm not convinced that means the end of the occupation.
23 July 2008 (Prejudice against Gypsies in Italy)
Prejudice against Gypsies in Italy has led to scandal about bathers who did not react when two Roma girls drowned.
It isn't explicitly clear whether the other bathers knew that the girls were Roma, or even noticed that they were dead. But even if they did, I think the scandal's focus is in the wrong place.
I don't see why it is obligatory to make a fuss about a stranger's corpse. That won't help anyone, least of all the person who died. The time that we have an obligation to pay attention is while the person in danger is still alive. Someone did call for help, but did others neglect that duty out of prejudice? If so, that should be the real scandal.
23 July 2008 (Formal talk in Zimbabwe)
Tsvangirai and Mugabe have made a deal, under the influence of Mbeki.
It is astounding good news, but it is likely to be fragile. What I wonder is, what led Mugabe to change his tune?
23 July 2008 (Global warming and invertebrates)
Global warming appears to be making invertebrates more common and fish less common in parts of the ocean.
23 July 2008 (Australia's drought)
The long drought that is devastating agriculture in Australia is likely to get worse in coming decades, due to global warming.
23 July 2008 (DDT and coral reefs)
DDT being used in Africa is damaging coral reefs in the Caribbean.
23 July 2008 (Major bird sanctuary being washed away)
A major bird sanctuary in the Gulf or Mexico, off the Louisiana coast, is being washed away. With the rising sea levels, it is probably doomed.
23 July 2008 (Palestinian campaign of nonviolent protest)
The Palestinian town of Ni'lin has launched a persistent campaign of nonviolent protest against the Israeli confiscation of its land, in cooperation with Israeli and international supporters, and continues it even though Israeli troops respond with cruelty.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
23 July 2008 (Obama whitewashes the conquest of Iraq)
Obama calls the conquest of Iraq "a strategic error". It was one, of course, but saying only that whitewashes a terrible crime.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
22 July 2008 (Crimes in juvenile prison)
Torture and murder at Iraqi juvenile prison.
The article understates the general situation which led to this. The department of the "Iraqi" government which runs the prisons was (and probably still is) in the hands of Shi'ites linked to the Badr brigades, and murdering Sunnis was their aim.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
22 July 2008 (Killer cops)
When the killer cops were acquitted, New Yorkers rioted — against the police, not against their neighborhoods.
22 July 2008 (Archaeologists against attacking Iran)
Archaeologists voted to reject the idea of making a list of Iranian archeological sites for Bush not to attack, saying that making the list would legitimize the attack.
22 July 2008 (No sanctions for Zimbabwe)
China and Russia blocked an embargo on selling arms to Mugabe.
So it looks like Mugabe wins. The world's powers give lip service to concern about his tyranny, but nothing more, since freedom is not particularly important to them anyway.
22 July 2008 (Israeli fighters in Iraq)
There are reports that Israeli fighters are landing in Iraq near Haditha as practice for attacking Iran. The "Iraqi" government denies this, but you could hardly expect them to be more honest than their master.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
21 July 2008 (Iraqi refugees)
Iraqi refugees, now in desperate circumstances in Syria and Turkey, are trying to sneak into Europe. The countries that turned Iraq into a disaster do nothing for them.
21 July 2008 (Reef-building coral species now face imminent extinction)
30% of all reef-building coral species now face imminent extinction due to the effects of human CO2 production. 10 years ago it was just 3%.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
21 July 2008 (Mortgage crisis victim)
Tenants in Boston organized to block the eviction of one of the victims of the mortgage crisis.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
Three cheers!
21 July 2008 (The Gulf of Mexico and US corn production)
Increased US corn production, aimed at making ethanol for cars, is making the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico the biggest ever.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
21 July 2008 (Burmese uprising)
Burmese activists talk about an armed uprising — if they can get any arms.
I see nothing wrong in foreign support for resistance against the military rulers, even if its motive is amoral international rivalry. But it looks like just enough to stir the pot, and nothing that could actually help.
21 July 2008 (Hebron, Nablus & West Bank)
Israeli troops demolished Palestinian homes in Hebron.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
They did not say why they did this, but whatever the reason may be, it is collective punishment, and thus a crime.
Meanwhile, in Nablus, the Israeli army has attacked and destroyed many institutions — a school, a clinic, and a large shopping mall — and stolen even the school buses.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
For the long term, Israel is stealing the West Bank's water supplies.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
21 July 2008 (Israel mocking court order)
When the Israeli Supreme Court ruled to move the annexation wall away from the lands of the farmers of Bil'in, that was the main victory for non-violent Palestinian activism. Now the government is making a mockery of the court decision, disregarding it while building new colonies that it will later claim it has to "protect".
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
21 July 2008 (China using terrorism as an excuse)
China is arresting, killing and deporting people, using dubious accusations of terrorism as an excuse.
All in all it sounds a lot like the Bush regime.
China also searches people's baggage for entering trains, which makes no sense at all except to boost employment.
21 July 2008 (Spying on the public)
A multitude of US agencies regularly spy on the activities of the public.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
The people quoted in the article hesitate to denounce this as strongly as it deserves. But since the Bush regime is already guilty of torture, imprisonment without trial, and wars of aggression, we need not suppose that things have to get any worse before regarding its power as a threat to liberty. The US government is already Americans' worst enemy.
21 July 2008 (Iran war and oil prices)
If Bush attacks Iran, the price of oil will skyrocket. This article argues that ultimately this will discourage any attack.
I am not convinced: Bush's cronies profit from the high price of oil.
21 July 2008 (Segolene Royal)
Segolene Royal accused Sarkozy's men of being behind a strange burglary of her home in which nothing was stolen.
Such accusations are not at all absurd. Remember Nixon and Watergate? Perhaps Sarko's men were behind this; but the question is why.
There was a clear motive for Nixon to send people to burglarize the Democratic Party headquarters: knowing the opposition's campaign plans. Sarco defeated Royal a year ago, so that motive would not apply. Is there another possible motive?
21 July 2008 (Karl Rove)
Karl Rove disobeyed a summons to testify to a congressional committee, and could face imprisonment for contempt of Congress, if Congress has the guts to insist.
Rove's central role in the dirty tricks of a dishonest administration is plenty of reason to insist that he testify under oath.
21 July 2008 (Senate approval for spying)
The US Senate gave final approval to almost unlimited government spying on Americans.
21 July 2008 (Compensation for Mousa family)
The British Army has formally apologized for torturing Baha Mousa to death, and will pay compensation to his family.
I think that the UK made a serious attempt to convict Mousa's killers of murder, and the failure reflects the fact that the system and the situation make this very difficult to do.
The military occupation of a hostile civilian population will inevitably lead to such events, and it will inevitably be hard to prosecute them. Therefore, anyone considering ordering the military occupation of a hostile civilian population ought to realize in advance that this is part of what will result.
20 July 2008 (Crusading judge)
A crusading judge has convicted some of the Italian fascist police that attacked, injured and tortured sleeping protestors in Genoa. Now the fascist government of Italy intends to make sure they never go to prison.
20 July 2008 (Israel to demolish another home)
Israeli settlers have taken over part of the al-Kurd family home in Hebron, and now the government says it will demolish the home.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
20 July 2008 (Voting machine trickery)
Evidence that Diebold stole an election in 2002 by trickery with voting machines.
20 July 2008 (A New Cold War)
The Bush regime is pushing a new cold war by installing ABM systems in Europe. One price of this may be the survival of Mugabe's brutality in Zimbabwe.
It is callous and absurd for Russia to strike back at Bush by punishing innocent millions in Zimbabwe that have never helped Bush. However, Bush is also to blame for the provocation. Between these two tyrannical regimes, there is little reason to prefer one or the other.
20 July 2008 (Bush's power of arbitrary imprisonment)
A US appeals court upheld Bush's power of arbitrary imprisonment. This means there is nothing to protect Americans from their worst enemy, their own government.
The US constitution is a dead letter if it cannot prevent this.
20 July 2008 (Preventing the commission of war crimes)
Protestors who destroyed computers in an arms factory, to stop production, were acquitted in Ireland on the grounds that they were preventing the commission of war crimes.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
20 July 2008 (Bush a "total failure"?)
Speaker Pelosi called Bush a "total failure".
I wish it were true, but the Bush regime has an almost perfect record of abolishing freedom and democracy in the US, and a very good record of handing out money to his cronies. The 9/11 attacks might also be one of its successes; sabotaging and corrupting the investigation certainly was.
19 July 2008 (No medical care for Palestinians)
Israeli troops attacking a nonviolent Palestinian protest beat up a medic so badly that he could not stand, then arrested him.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
The general Israeli policy seems to be, no medical care for Palestinians.
19 July 2008 (Diplomacy and Iran)
Bush may increase diplomatic contact with Iran.
19 July 2008 (US "terrorist" watch list)
The US "terrorist" watch list now has a million names on it, which means that millions of people are likely to be harassed when they fly. But they can't be absolutely sure of stopping every terrorist unless they put every person in the world on the list.
17 July 2008 (Killing harmless Gaza residents)
Despite the cease-fire which has pretty much ended overt violence in Gaza, Israel continues to kill harmless residents of Gaza by preventing them from leaving to get the medical treatment they need.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
17 July 2008 (Biofuels and food prices)
The EU has cut its biofuels plans after recognizing that they have driven up food prices. Meanwhile, Bush continues to deny the whole thing.
17 July 2008 (Nuclear waste spillage in France)
Nuclear waste was spilled at the Tricastin nuclear power plant in France. People have been warned not to drink water from the rivers or eat any fish from them.
17 July 2008 (Taliban child soldier)
A Taliban child soldier, imprisoned in Guantanamo, faces charges with "war crimes" for fighting against the US. It appears that his treatment in prison amounts to torture.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
Taking enemy soldiers prisoner is not wrong, but torturing them is; and so is putting them on trial merely for fighting against soldiers. While the Bush regime rejects all civilized standards for its own behavior, it imposes ridiculous standards on its enemies. That's "victor's justice", and would bring more shame on the US (as if there weren't enough already).
17 July 2008 (Iraqi Education)
In Iraq -- A Generation with No Education.
17 July 2008 (Torturing British citizens)
The B'liar regime used Pakistani agencies to torture a series of British citizens.
I wonder if it also used Pakistani agencies to torture other people who are not British citizens, but are entitled to the same human rights.
17 July 2008 (Urgent note: Massachusetts and marijuana)
Massachusetts voters: support Question 2, to eliminate criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.
17 July 2008 (Manganese exposure and welders)
Many welders develop neurological damage due to manganese exposure. The problem has been known for around a century. But their employers deny it, and rather than provide them with clean air to breathe, prefer to corrupt scientific studies in order to deny the danger.
17 July 2008 (The Wedding Crashers)
The Wedding Crashers: A Short Till-Death-Do-Us-Part.
17 July 2008 (Standing up to Bush)
The expiring UN mandate for occupying Iraq has given the Iraqi government the chance to stand up to Bush. Bush has had to abandon the plan to get an agreement to make the occupation permanent.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
Bush must be amazed to see his puppet rebel, but the "Iraqi" government depends on the Bush forces, so I doubt it stand up to them for long. However, I would be pleasantly surprised if it succeeds.
Al-Maliki is also talking about taking control of the Bush forces' "green zone" fortified enclave.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
17 July 2008 (Conflict in Turkey)
In Turkey the secular nationalists are fighting the elected Islamist party with coup plots and a court case.
16 July 2008 (Sudanese President indicted)
The president of Sudan has been indicted by the International Criminal Court.
But when will they indict Bush?
15 July 2008 (Vincent Bugliosi)
Ex-prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi has had three fiction bestsellers, and his nonfiction book that proposes to try Dubya for murder is a bestseller too. But newspapers and TV refuse to review it.
15 July 2008 (Food price report)
Here is the biofuels/food price report that the World Bank tried to cover up to pander to Bush.
15 July 2008 (Gaza and Israel)
Despite the cease-fire in Gaza, Israel has not ended the siege.
15 July 2008 (Religious harassment for soldier)
A Bush forces soldier who rejected Christianity while in Iraq is now suing the Defense Department over religious harassment. He says that Christians have gained dangerous power throughout the army.
I hope he also reconsiders whether his participation in the occupation of Iraq was good or evil.
15 July 2008 (Influencing future movies)
The US government is making sure that future movies about the conquest of Iraq take a pro-US line.
15 July 2008 (Iraqi refugees)
The International Red Cross says that things are not improving for the millions of Iraqis who were driven to flee their homes by the sectarian violence.
15 July 2008 (Iran and its missile power)
Iran tested ballistic missiles to show Bush that it could counterattack if Bush attacks.
Obama supported the Bush line that this makes Iran a "great threat".
The supposed threat of Iran is certainly a great thing for those who want to distract Americans while picking their pockets of freedom. Iran is no threat to the US. It could attack US forces in the Middle East, but since those forces are engaged in an act of aggression, attacking them is not wrong at all.
A nuclear-armed Iran could theoretically bomb and destroy Israel, but Israel could retaliate and destroy Iran, and I don't think the Iranian generals want that outcome.
15 July 2008 (Jayyous and its farmers)
The annexation wall cut off the village of Jayyous from its farmland. Israel allows the farmers to go to their land, but the restrictions are so onerous that they prevent real farming.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
15 July 2008 (Cheney censored EMMA report)
Cheney's men were directly involved in censoring an EPA report on global warming.
15 July 2008 (G8 on CO2)
The G8's statement on CO2 is even more lame than it appears. Meanwhile, these governments, like colonies of the empire of the corporations, continue trying to strengthen the empire's grip.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
14 July 2008 (Remote punishment devices)
The Department of "Homeland Security" is seriously interested in forcing all airline passengers wear remote control punishment devices for the whole flight. This may seem like a joke, but it isn't.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
The biggest laugh is that this is supposed to be needed to protect passengers from hijackings — but this is a solved problem already (there has been no airplane hijacking in the US in a long time).
14 July 2008 (Laptop seizures at customs)
US Customs seizes travelers' laptops randomly. Imagine what a disaster that could be for you!
14 July 2008 (Cluster bombs)
Bush responded to the pressure to ban cluster bombs with a plan to pretend to make them safer.
14 July 2008 (Urgent note)

US citizens: phone your congresscritter and senators to support of Title X funding for birth control, and against the cruel abstinence only "sex education".
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
14 July 2008 (Destabilizing Iran)
Will the U.S. support terrorists to destabilize Iran?
14 July 2008 (Ripping the Fourth Amendment)
How dare they rip the Fourth Amendment?
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
This is an example of why I do not support Obama for president. I don't expect him to make things much better than they are under Bush.
14 July 2008 (Genocide)
Legal arguments that the invasion of Iraq, and the sanctions that preceded it, constitute genocide.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
14 July 2008 (Mbeki's Zimbabwe proposal)
Mbeki's latest proposal would give the real power in Zimbabwe to the MDC and Tsvangirai, while allowing Mugabe to remain as a titular head of state.
14 July 2008 (Japanese protests against G8)
Japanese are protesting the G8 summit. Independent journalists and activists are facing police harassment.
14 July 2008 (Senator Nunn)
Let's hope Obama does not choose Senator Nunn as a running mate.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
11 July 2008 (Dred Wilme)
Patriotic Haitians admire Dred Wilme, who led the resistance to the US invasion in 2004, and was assassinated in 2005.
This assassination, which was expected, follows a historical pattern seen in previous US interventions.
11 July 2008 (Backlash against feminism)
The backlash against feminism has taken over the UK.
11 July 2008 (Lies and oil deals)
When a Bush crony got an oil deal from Iraqi Kurdistan, undermining the control of the "Iraqi" government, Bush said he was surprised and unhappy. It turns out his men knew about it and encouraged it.
11 July 2008 (Dr. Khan)
Dr. Khan says it was Pakistan's army that gave uranium isotope separation centrifuges to North Korea, and that General Musharraf must have approved it.
11 July 2008 (Amnesty International on human rights)
Amnesty International is lobbying the US government to respect human rights and close the Guantanamo prison.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
10 July 2008 (Tobacco regulation bill condemned)
The American Association of Public Health Professionals condemns the sham tobacco regulation bill.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
10 July 2008 (Debate on surveillance and detention)
At a formal debate in the UK about surveillance and detention, the audience affirmed that these threaten their liberty.
This doesn't change any policies, but it might be the start of effective resistance.
10 July 2008 (Withdrawal timetable)
The Iraqi government persists in demanding a withdrawal timetable for the Bush forces.
09 July 2008 (Blogspot and Uruknet)
When Edna Spennato put links to uruknet into her blog on blogspot.com, she started getting told her blog was "spam".
09 July 2008 (Clear Channel)
ClearChannel continues to censor criticism of conservatives, on the radio and on billboards.
If we had a government that supported democracy, it would ban companies from owning billboards or radio stations in more than one state.
09 July 2008 (Iranian nuclear plans)
Iran responded with interest to new nuclear offers from the EU.
It would not surprise me if Iran's leaders really want nuclear weapons. The twin examples of North Korea and Iraq show that nuclear weapons are the only way for a country to be safe from the US. So they might want nuclear weapons only for self defense. I would not put it past them to consider wars of aggression. But they are not likely to attack Israel, which could retaliate with its own nuclear weapons.
09 July 2008 (Zimbabwe's opposition being stifled)
Mugabe is arresting and kidnapping the opposition's MPs.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
09 July 2008 (Hostages freed from FARC)
The Colombian army freed 14 hostages from the FARC with a ruse, including presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt.
This is a good achievement, but it would be an ironic shame if it boosts the popularity of President Uribe. He is closely linked to the paramilitaries, who are worse terrorists than the FARC.
09 July 2008 (Food price rise)
A secret World Bank report concludes that the food price crisis is mainly caused by using corn to make fuel.
09 July 2008 (State support for religious groups)
Obama says he will continue Bush's policy of encouraging government support to religious organizations, with some changes in details.
Obama is not as bad as McCain, but I don't think he will undo the harm that Bush has done.
08 July 2008 (500-year floods)
The US Midwest has seen two "500-year floods" in 15 years. But now that it's impossible to deny the fact of global warming, the same business interests continue trying to prevent any solution.
08 July 2008 (Google, Youtube and Viacom)
A US court ordered Google to turn over to Viacom all records of who watched what on Youtube. Viacom is one of the companies that uses copyright to attack the public.
Although Google tried to prevent this, it is still Google's fault to have kept such records in the first place. stallman.org does not record your IP address, and this is why.
08 July 2008 (Power sharing in Zimbabwe)
The African Union made a weak response to Mugabe's tyranny, "power-sharing". Tsvangirai has rejected this.
08 July 2008 (Iraqi government and refugees)
The Iraqi government invites Iraqi refugees to return from foreign countries, but cannot take care of those who are already internal refugees.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
Some Iraqis do return — usually because the countries they fled to make life so difficult for them that they have to go.
08 July 2008 (Extinction of species)
Scientists evaluating the danger of extinction of various species have underestimated the danger level.
08 July 2008 (Subsidy for nuclear power)
The nuclear power industry has convinced the US government to change the rules for building nuclear power plants. Now it wants a big subsidy to make them profitable.
If they were safe and didn't produce waste we don't know a safe way to handle, this might even make sense.
08 July 2008 (Dutch coffee shops)
The Dutch "coffee shops" that sell marijuana are now forbidden to mix it with tobacco.
The policy is inconvenient in the short term, but maybe it makes sense. Tobacco is addictive, so it is far more dangerous than marijuana. If the coffee shops find a way to satisfy their marijuana customers without the tobacco, they will remain successful, and this policy will prevent marijuana from being a gateway to hard drugs. But if that doesn't work, I think they should make an exception.
08 July 2008 (Bush betrays Iraqi police)
The Bush forces have recruited many Iraqis to betray their country by joining the "Iraqi" army or "Iraqi" police. Many of them have been wounded. Bush, a treacherous type, has betrayed them.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
The Bush regime says that things in Iraq are rosy.
08 July 2008 (CIA in Chile)
CIA agents in Chile asked Chilean police in 2002 to kidnap a legal resident of Chile, and hand him over to be taken to Guantanamo or someplace even worse.
Ultimately the police refused, and carried out their duty to defend human rights in Chile. The article calls for an investigation of how things were able to get this far.
08 July 2008 (McCain & Obama twist campaign law)
Both McCain and Obama are accepting donations of up to $70,000 through twisting campaign finance law.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
06 July 2008 (Farm workers in Canada)
Canada keeps wages down for agricultural workers by bringing them from Mexico, where NAFTA has conveniently ruined the rural economy.
06 July 2008 (Mohammed Omer)
Mohammed Omer, returning to Gaza after receiving a journalistic prize in Europe, was stripped, cavity searched, threatened at gunpoint, knocked out, and dragged across the floor with his head banging.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
Israel said that it normally takes special care so that this won't happen to journalists. This treatment is supposed to be limited to ordinary Palestinians, who won't be in such a good position to write about it.
06 July 2008 (Underground war on Iran)
Bush has commenced war against Iran, paying fanatical Sunni underground groups to kill soldiers and officials. In the process he is jerking around Congress and his generals.
06 July 2008 (The price of paranoia)
Paranoia about terrorism killed 1600 Americans in 2002.
It also enabled Bush to deny human rights to 300,000,000 Americans and call it "patriotic".
06 July 2008 (EU privacy laws)
France has become Bush's agent to allow the US government broad access to personal information about Europeans.
The EU's data protection rules are one of the best things it has done. At that time, the EU had statesmen who looked at goals beyond increasing their own power and the power of business. What a sad contrast is the EU of today. Any change that it proposes today which affects human rights or democracy will generally be bad.
06 July 2008 (Labour MP on Iraq war)
One Labour MP is tells the truth about the UK's participation in Bush's conquest of Iraq.
06 July 2008 (Mugabe)
Mugabe's thugs forced many Zimbabweans to vote for him, but many others spoiled their ballots in protest.
06 July 2008 (Civilian casualties in Afghanistan)
Civilian casualties have greatly increased in Afghanistan, due to the Taliban's suicide bombings.
When fighting against a guerrilla army, the US government standard practice is to claim that anyone it kills in battle was an enemy fighter. Those claims are meaningless; the US tactics inevitably kill many civilians. However, the Taliban cares even less about them.
04 July 2008 (Homosexual rights)
The participants in Delhi's Gay Pride march wore masks because they face life imprisonment if they are identified.
The two lesbians who burned themselves to death should have killed their oppressors instead.
04 July 2008 (Infrastructure for a Police State)
'Infrastructure for a Police State' is at stake in the FISA bill vote.
04 July 2008 (Mosul)
The Bush forces tried to take control of Mosul, and failed.
04 July 2008 (Tax incentives for energy companies)
Congress has kept taxes low for oil companies, but has not extended the tax incentives for renewable energy.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
This is what happens when business holds political power.
04 July 2008 (Dead zones in the Baltic)
The Baltic sea has many large dead zones, caused by pollution runoff, and its entire ecosystem could collapse if they keep growing.
04 July 2008 (CO2 emissions and global warming)
A natural feedback cycle keeps the amount of CO2 in the air stable. Unfortunately, human CO2 emissions are 100 times too much for this cycle to handle.
There may be open water at the North Pole this summer, as the ice continues to shrink.
Greenland ice cores show that the world's climate can change abruptly.
However, thus far global warning is still slow by human time scales.
Our ability to monitor warming in great detail means there will be hundreds of minor milestone moments. So it will be easy for the deniers to respond, about each one, that it isn't important by itself. That's true, but the continuing process they are part of can be fatal.
04 July 2008 (Trevor Paglen)
Trevor Paglen takes photos of things that the government doesn't want you to see.
04 July 2008 (Protecting the Everglades)
Florida will buy a large sugar plantation in order to protect the Everglades.
The Everglades are basically a broad shallow river full of grass, descending gradually to the sea. Protecting it from direct contamination is the right thing to do, but I'm worried about another pollution threat: salt water. Global warming is making sea level rise. What's the elevation of the highest point in the Everglades?
02 July 2008 (Investigator condemns Bush regime)
The UN's human rights investigator condemned the Bush regime.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
02 July 2008 (Obama takes conservative stance)
Obama, who wasn't very liberal to begin with, is taking more conservative positions to get elected.
What bothers me most is advocating the death penalty. That is a setback I didn't expect.
If Greg Palast is right, these concessions are all futile, since the Republicans have sewn up the election regardless of how people vote.
02 July 2008 (N Korea and Iraq)
North Korea has won a deal in which it keeps its limited collection of nuclear weapons and escapes from sanctions.
This deal makes sense, given that North Korea already has nuclear weapons, and that it can threaten South Korea with great destruction even without them. I won't criticize Bush for doing something that is right.
But compare this with Iraq. Bush gave three excuses for attacking Iraq: developing nuclear etc. weapons, support for terrorists, and Hussein's oppression of the Iraqi people. The first one was false for Iraq but true for North Korea. The second was false for both. On the third point, Kim Jong Il is far more cruel than Saddam Hussein ever dreamed of being. So if you're not going to attack North Korea, why attack Iraq? Only oil.
Note also how removing North Korea from the list of "sponsors of terrorism" proves that the list is dishonest. The change that North Korea is now making in its nuclear programs has nothing to do with terrorism. So either there was no reason for Korea to be on the list, or there is no reason to remove it now. Clearly this list is just an "enemies list", an insult that the US government makes against countries it does not like, and has nothing to do with the truth.
02 July 2008 (Ammonia treated cigarettes)
Cigarette companies treat tobacco with ammonia. This enables them to make cigarettes that are just as addictive although the nicotine content is less.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
Here's an explanation of what the terms in that article really mean, scientifically.
02 July 2008 (Mandela on Mugabe)
Nelson Mandela criticized Mugabe in a weak way, catering to Mbeki.
It is sad to see a great man deny society his greatness to cater to a lousy man.
02 July 2008 (Attacking Iran)
Will Bush attack Iran between election day and inauguration day?
02 July 2008 (RFID-infected cards)
Another reason to keep any RFID-infected cards in aluminum foil at all times.
02 July 2008 (Oil executives responsible for war)
Kucinich: put oil company executives on trial for their role in starting the war of aggression in Iraq.
02 July 2008 (Exxon and offshore drilling)
Exxon delayed 20 years in paying damages for the Alaskan oil spill, and the Supreme Court eliminated 95% of them for invalid reasons.
Think of this when you consider Bush and McCain's proposals for offshore drilling.
02 July 2008 (Propaganda for Iran war)
Bush is aiming propaganda at Iran and the West in favor of war, and the tempo is speeding up, suggesting that the time for his next attack is getting closer.
02 July 2008 (Facts about Obama)
Report: Telling the facts abut Obama.
01 July 2008 (International Republican Institute)
McCain is the head of the International Republican Institute, which uses US funds to overthrow democratically elected governments in other countries.
01 July 2008 (Bases to attack Iran)
Bush forces bases in Iraq are being set up for war with Iran.
[Reference updated on 2018-04-12 because the old link was broken.]
01 July 2008 (Shiv Malik)
A UK journalist won part of his case against a subpoena for his source material, but the court says that the decision was a defeat for him.
01 July 2008 (Collecting payoffs)
Bush's oil company cronies are about to collect the payoff for their conquest of Iraq. And Afghanistan.

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2008: July - October Political Notes - Richard Stallman