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:: 4.30.2003 ::
A very scary story on alternet.org:
"When I asked to speak to a lawyer, the INS official informed me that I do have the right to a lawyer but I would have to be brought down to the station and await security clearance before being granted one. When I asked how long that would take, he replied with a coy smile: 'Maybe a day, maybe a week, maybe a month.'"
Thanks to Tom Tomorrow.
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:: 4.29.2003 ::
More on the children being held in Guantanamo:
Here's an analysis of a transcript of a press briefing where Donald Rumsfeld answered questions about this issue. Very interesting.
Thanks to David T. for the link.
:: Deb 2:12 PM :: permalink ::
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:: 4.28.2003 ::
Here's a speech Tim Robbins gave to the National Press Club on April 15th (click on "A Chill Wind..." in the right-hand column).
Scary but True:
Children are being held and interrogated at the Guantanamo Bay high-security prison camp for terrorists, known as "Camp Xray".
Quote of the Day:
"Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything."
- Stalin
How touch-screen voting has stolen/will steal our democracy from us.
:: Deb 12:53 PM :: permalink ::
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Bruce Springsteen weighs in on the whole Dixie Chicks thing:
"The Dixie Chicks have taken a big hit lately for exercising their basic right to express themselves. To me, they're terrific American artists expressing American values by using their American right to free speech. For them to be banished wholesale from radio stations, and even entire radio networks, for speaking out is un-American.
The pressure coming from the government and big business to enforce conformity of thought concerning the war and politics goes against everything that this country is about - namely freedom. Right now, we are supposedly fighting to create freedom in Iraq, at the same time that some are trying to intimidate and punish people for using that same freedom here at home."
Let's watch the O'Reillys of the world twist Bruce into some sort of America-hater. My guess is they'll skip the whole topic.
(verbatim from Tom Tomorrow)
Unverified so far, but very scary if true: the Today Show went black during an interview with Tim Robbins. I found video of some of the April 14th show here (do a text search for "Robbins") but it doesn't show a blackout. Not sure if that's the whole show or not. Still looking.
:: Deb 11:07 AM :: permalink ::
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:: 4.18.2003 ::
To Iraqis, the United States appears not to have given any thought to the power vacuum created by removing Saddam Hussein. Quoth a marine, "Hell, it ain't my job to stop them," drawled one young marine, lighting a cigarette as he looked on. "Goddamn Iraqis will steal anything if you let them. Look at them." Not joking.
Still no WMDs. Anyone surprised?
:: Deb 6:42 PM :: permalink ::
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10 countries join the EU.
Fark.
Signs carved into 8,600-year-old tortoise shells found in China may be the earliest written words, say archaeologists.
Fark.
:: Deb 6:30 PM :: permalink ::
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:: 4.14.2003 ::
Here's the Calvin and Hobbes cartoon I found so timely:
As an apology for using this image without written permission from the book's publishers, I will plug the book I got it from.
:: Deb 4:19 PM :: permalink ::
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AP poll finds majority of Americans oppose tax cuts.
Fark.
:: Deb 12:13 PM :: permalink ::
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:: 4.11.2003 ::
Gallup poll sums up what Americans think of the war, rebuilding Iraq and the possibility of going to war with other countries.
Fark.
I found a very topical comic in Calvin and Hobbes: It's a Magical World last night, but I can't find it online so I'll scan it in on Monday. However, I also saw this in the paper yesterday.
George W. Bush's military record.
Longass Quote of the Day: Schultz worked at Bechtel. So did (Reagan Defense Secretary) Caspar Weinberger. There were a lot of Bechtel people in the government in the '80s at the same time that the Iraqi's were gassing the Iranis. The same people are now formulating the plans for a coming U.S. occupation of Iraq, and in turn, the same people will be given the spoils of war--whether it's Parsons and Halliburton or Bechtel. It's all kind of circular back to the 1980s, you know -- completing unfinished business--getting American companies back in there after their being shut out since 1991 and the first Gulf War.
- Jim Valette, director of research at the Sustainable Energy and Economy Network, and one of the three authors of "Crude Vision: How Oil Interests Obscured US Government Focus on Chemical Weapons Use by Saddam Hussein," a report released by the Institute for Policy Studies.
From Counterpunch. Thanks again to Tom Tomorrow.
:: Deb 2:11 PM :: permalink ::
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:: 4.10.2003 ::
This is interesting. Most of you have probably seen the up-close action video of a statue of Saddam being pulled from its pedestal and destroyed, an event being hailed as "breathtaking" and "historic," even comparable to the fall of the Berlin Wall. However, all may not be as it seems. Watch the video here (under "jubilant Iraqis" - note the Iraqi man yelling in English for some reason) and check out this site for a photo, alleged to have been taken at the time of the event, that shows a few dozen people and a bunch of tanks. Now, I admit I was a little skeptical about this, but I can't find any evidence that there were more than a few dozen Iraqis there. Here is a BBC slideshow of the event; note the lack of wide shots that would enable us to see how many "jubilant Iraqis" surround the statue. See also the first image in this New York Times slideshow entitled "Joyous Streets" - again, doesn't look like there are a lot of people there. It seems entirely possible that the event was staged for our benefit... maybe someday we'll know for sure.
Thanks to Toshi for the heads-up.
:: Deb 1:39 PM :: permalink ::
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Please make a call today to your members of Congress to ask that they outlaw corporate offshore tax dodges. You can reach them through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. You can also find contact information here and here. Be sure the staff members know you're a constituent, then urge them to demand a vote on the "Corporate Patriot Enforcement Act" (HR 737 / S 384). Ask for their position on corporations and wealthy citizens leaving the country to avoid taxes. Ask them to provide it in writing. Tell them how you feel about this happening while young Americans are being sent to Iraq, and while we’re all facing deficits and cutbacks at home.
One of the biggest obstacles to action on this issue is that House Republican Leaders Dennis Hastert (R-IL-14) and Tom Delay (R-TX-22) are refusing to allow a vote on it. Please call them too, at:
House Speaker Dennis Hastert: 202-225-0600 or 202-225-2976
House Republican Leader Tom Delay: 202-225-4000 or 202-225-5951
Urge them to immediately let the Corporate Patriot Enforcement Act come to a vote. Ask for their position in writing as well.
Please let MoveOn know that you've made these calls by going here. Keeping track of the calls increases the effectiveness of their campaign.
HR 737, the Corporate Patriot Enforcement Act, is officially summarized as: "A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to prevent corporate expatriation to avoid United States income taxes."
More on this here.
:: Deb 12:11 PM :: permalink ::
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Quote of the day:
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower April 16, 1953
The cost of the war.
Thanx to Tom Tomorrow.
More numbers here and here.
Arab media confront the "fall of Baghdad."
Fark.
:: Deb 11:38 AM :: permalink ::
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:: 4.09.2003 ::
American companies that move their headquarters offshore to avoid paying taxes will be the target of a new television advertisement that questions their patriotism during a time when U.S. soldiers are fighting in Iraq.
To see the ad, go to: Real Media Format (Recommended) or MPEG Format
:: Deb 2:48 PM :: permalink ::
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Cool thing:
New fusion method offers hope of new energy source.
:: Deb 1:16 PM :: permalink ::
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more toons here and here.
Quote of the day:
"All things equal, I would prefer to have a child in a school that has a strong appreciation for the values of the Christian community."
- Rod Paige, our Education Secretary
Scary but true:
Congressional Republicans want to make antiterrorism powers permanent.
Thanks to Lucas for the heads-up.
the economy's in the toilet and no-one's talking about it - except Slate and the Fed.
Thanks to Bahati and Fark for this one.
:: Deb 1:05 PM :: permalink ::
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:: 4.08.2003 ::
no images yet, but here and here are some 'toons.
Quote of the day:
"Those who deface a Hummer in words or deed... deface the American flag and what it stands for."
- Rick Schmidt, founder of I.H.O.G., the International Hummer Owners Group
full story here.
thanks to Tom Tomorrow for the link.
Scary but true:
Florida bill would ban aid for students from terrorist nations.
U.S.-led military strikes in the Iraqi capital Tuesday hit a hotel filled with hundreds of journalists and an Arab television network, killing three journalists and injuring three others. Story.
:: Deb 12:32 PM :: permalink ::
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