Direct Action

Some facts (h/t Boing Boing):

BANK OF AMERICA: In 2009, Bank of America didn't pay a single penny in federal income taxes, exploiting the tax code so as to avoid paying its fair share. "Oh, yeah, this happens all the time," said Robert Willens, a tax accounting expert interviewed by McClatchy. "If you go out and try to make money and you don't do it, why should the government pay you for your losses?" asked Bob McIntyre of Citizens for Tax Justice. The same year, the mega-bank's top executives received pay "ranging from $6 million to nearly $30 million." 

- BOEING: Despite receiving billions of dollars from the federal government every single year in taxpayer subsidies from the U.S. government, Boeing didn't "pay a dime of U.S. federal corporate income taxes" between 2008 and 2010. 

- CITIGROUP: Citigroup's deferred income taxes for the third quarter of 2010 amounted to a grand total of $0.00. At the same time, Citigroup has continued to pay its staff lavishly. "John Havens, the head of Citigroup's investment bank, is expected to be the bank's highest paid executive for the second year in a row, with a compensation package worth $9.5 million."

Some of America's largest corporations are making record profits, yet they are not only not paying their fair share of taxes, in many cases they are not paying anything at all.  They own Washington, so what can we do?

The UK Uncut Movement is continuing to pick up steam.  This is direct action protest, similar to the sit-ins of the Civil Rights era.  How it works: A bunch of people go into a bank, or another tax dodging institution, sit down, and don't leave.  The movement has now started in the United States: US Uncut-

US Uncut is about taking action against unnecessary and unfair cuts to public services across the US. Washington’s proposed budget for the coming year sends a clear message: The wrath of budget cuts will fall upon the shoulders of hard-working Americans. 

Obama seeks to trim $1.1 trillion from the budget in the next ten years by cutting or eliminating over 200 federal programs, many dedicated to social services and education. For instance, it cuts in half funding to subsidize heating for low-income Americans; limits an expansion of the Pell grant program for students; and decreases Environmental Protection Agency funding by over 12%. 

Meanwhile, Republicans are using their new House majority to slash spending even more brutally. The GOP has made it clear that they are bent on raiding funds for Social Security, Medicare, education; determined to kill health care reform; and gut needed investments in infrastructure, climate change and job creation, at a time when America needs it most.These cuts will come on top of very painful austerity measures made at the state-level across our nation–-worth hundreds of billions--since the recession began. 

In short, budget cuts demonstrate that Washington has abandoned ordinary Americans. 

But there is an alternative: Make corporate tax avoiders pay.  Enjoying record profits and taxpayer-funded bailouts as the economy slowly recovers from a financial crisis, nearly two-thirds of US corporations don't pay any income taxes, instead opting to abuse tax loopholes and offshore tax havens. According to this study from the non-partisan Government Accountability Office, 83 of the top 100 publicly traded corporations that operate in the US exploit corporate tax havens. Since 2009, America’s most profitable companies such as ExxonMobil, General Electric, Bank of America and Citigroup all paid a grand total of $0 in federal income taxes to Uncle Sam. Tax havens alone account for up to $1 trillion in tax revenue lost every decade, money that could be invested in K-12 education, colleges, public health, job creation and hundreds of other worthy public programs. 

If we pay our taxes, why don’t they? If corporations profit here, shouldn't they pay here? 

It’s time for ordinary Americans to fight back and demand an end to the corporate tax avoidance. Join US Uncut and together let's make corporate tax avoiders pay. 

US Uncut is a horizontal movement. There are no centrally planned protests. If you want one in your town or city, you'll have to take it on yourself. Read our blog about what to do next. 

Also remember to visit UK Uncut for some inspiration. 

See you on the streets.

The Fascist State

“Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power."     -Benito Mussolini

Journalist John Pilger:

Shortly after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, I interviewed Ray McGovern, one of an elite group of CIA officers who prepared the President’s daily intelligence brief. McGovern was at the apex of the “national security” monolith that is American power and had retired with presidential plaudits. On the eve of the invasion, he and 45 other senior officers of the CIA and other intelligence agencies wrote to President George W. Bush that the “drumbeat for war” was based not on intelligence, but lies.   

“It was 95 per cent charade,” McGovern told me.

“How did they get away with it?” 

“The press allowed the crazies to get away with it.” 

“Who are the crazies?” 

“The people running the [Bush] administration have a set of beliefs a lot like those expressed in Mein Kampf... these are the same people who were referred to in the circles in which I moved, at the top, as ‘the crazies’.” 

I said, “Norman Mailer has written that that he believes America has entered a pre-fascist state. What’s your view of that?” 

“Well... I hope he’s right, because there are others saying we are already in a fascist mode.”

Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich:

The truth that Obama and Democrats must tell is government spending has absolutely nothing to do with high unemployment, declining wages, falling home prices, and all the other horribles that continue to haunt most Americans. 

Indeed, too little spending will prolong the horribles for years more because there's not enough demand in the economy without it. 

The truth is that while the proximate cause of America's economic plunge was Wall Street's excesses leading up to the crash of 2008, its underlying cause -- and the reason the economy continues to be lousy for most Americans -- is so much income and wealth have been going to the very top that the vast majority no longer has the purchasing power to lift the economy out of its doldrums. American's aren't buying cars (they bought 17 million new cars in 2005, just 12 million last year). They're not buying homes (7.5 million in 2005, 4.6 million last year). They're not going to the malls (high-end retailers are booming but Wal-Mart's sales are down). 

Only the richest 5 percent of Americans are back in the stores because their stock portfolios have soared. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has doubled from its crisis low. Wall Street pay is up to record levels. Total compensation and benefits at the 25 major Wall St firms had been $130 billion in 2007, before the crash; now it's close to $140 billion. 

But a strong recovery can't be built on the purchases of the richest 5 percent. 

The truth is if the super-rich paid their fair share of taxes, government wouldn't be broke. If Governor Scott Walker hadn't handed out tax breaks to corporations and the well-off, Wisconsin wouldn't be in a budget crisis. If Washington hadn't extended the Bush tax cuts for the rich, eviscerated the estate tax, and created loopholes for private-equity and hedge-fund managers, the federal budget wouldn't look nearly as bad. 

And if America had higher marginal tax rates and more tax brackets at the top - for those raking in $1 million, $5 million, $15 million a year - the budget would look even better. We wouldn't be firing teachers or slashing Medicaid or hurting the most vulnerable members of our society. We wouldn't be in a tizzy over Social Security. We'd slow the rise in healthcare costs but we wouldn't cut Medicare. We'd cut defense spending and lop off subsidies to giant agribusinesses but we wouldn't view the government as our national nemesis. 

The final truth is as income and wealth have risen to the top, so has political power. The reason all of this is proving so difficult to get across is the super-rich, such as the Koch brothers, have been using their billions to corrupt politics, hoodwink the public, and enlarge and entrench their outsized fortunes. They're bankrolling Republicans who are mounting showdowns and threatening shutdowns, and who want the public to believe government spending is the problem. 

President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Farewell Address:

All you fascists bound to lose.

Life and Music

War in Peace

From Alexander Spence's 1969 album Oar:



And now the news roundup:

• In Gaddafi's desperation, the soon to be ended Libyan regime jams satellite phones, TV, and mobile phones.
• Gaddafi blames the Revolution on "hallucinogenic drugs."
• Gaddafi has murdered thousands, but the people are now in control of most the country, including most of Libya's oil fields.
• The U.S. Army deployed a specialized "psychological operations" team in 2009 to help convince American legislators to boost funding and troop numbers for the war in Afghanistan.
• The CIA is spying on reporters.
• Federal prosecutors have indicted a 78 year old professor for reminding people of jury nullification. 
• Madison's Police Chief wants Scott Walker to answer questions concerning why he considered sending provocateurs poising as protesters to discredit the ongoing peaceful protests in Wisconsin.
• Even Forbes Magazine admits Scott Walker is a liar.
• Abraham Lincoln would be proud of the state legislators of Wisconsin and Indiana currently in Lincoln's state of Illinois.  In 1840, serving as a state legislator, Lincoln jumped out of a window in order to deny quorum to prevent an early adjournment.
• Though the Union busting bill still has to go through the Senate, where there is not a quorum, yesterday at nearly 2 AM the Republicans in Wisconsin's lower house abruptly cut of debate and passed the bill in a matter of seconds.  This is the response in the Chamber:

Prank Call of the Year

This was mentioned in Justin's post below, but in case you have not heard, Governor Scott Walker of the cheesy state of Wisconsin (although it's not THE cheese, that's from California!) was prank called by a Mr. Murphy. Murphy called the governor pretending to be mega-rich guy David Koch. You can read the original post and hear the audio here.

I found this to be wonderful. Here's a quick breakdown of some of the parts that I found to be quite interesting, using the transcript that is provided on the original post:

The Senate majority leader had a great plan he told about this morning—he told the Senate Democrats about and he’s going to announce it later today, and that is: The Senate organization committee is going to meet and pass a rule that says if you don’t show up for two consecutive days on a session day—in the state Senate, the Senate chief clerk—it’s a little procedural thing here, but—can actually have your payroll stopped from being automatically deducted—

Koch: Beautiful.

Walker: —into your checking account and instead—you still get a check, but the check has to be personally picked up and he’s instructing them—which we just loved—to lock them in their desk on the floor of the state Senate.

The situation is this (as I understand it): the democrats in the Wisconsin state Senate have left in order to make it so they do not have enough members present to hold a vote (there are more Republicans, so they would undoubtedly win the vote if there were to be one). So one plan appears to be to force democrats to come to the Senate to pick up their paychecks, and then forcibly hold them at the capitol so they can hold a vote. I'm no lawyer, but isn't that kidnapping or something. It certainly sounds illegal.

Walker: I would be willing to sit down and talk to him, the assembly Democrat leader, plus the other two Republican leaders—talk, not negotiate and listen to what they have to say if they will in turn—but I’ll only do it if all 14 of them will come back and sit down in the state assembly…legally, we believe, once they’ve gone into session, they don’t physically have to be there. If they’re actually in session for that day, and they take a recess, the 19 Senate Republicans could then go into action and they’d have quorum…so we’re double checking that. If you heard I was going to talk to them that’s the only reason why. We’d only do it if they came back to the capital with all 14 of them.

Another wily trick by Walker and the Republicans. Once again, the Republicans have no interest in actually hearing what the Democrats (or anybody else) have to say. They just need them in the building so that they can pass whatever they want.

As the conversation progresses what really stands out to me is not anything in particular that Walker says (other than not caring that the protesters are out there and seeming to believe that the public is on his side - this man is delusional) but rather just how he reacts to (who he thinks is) David Koch. He is eager to please him and agree with everything he says. He is really far up that guy's asshole. It really just goes to show who is really running this country - the wealthy elite. It's not surprising at all to me, but it still saddens me to see this clear of evidence of it.

I encourage all of you to listen to the conversation yourselves and make your own opinions of it. I also encourage all of you to make more prank phone calls. Long live the Jerky Boys!

Pat is crazy.

Dig it

For Oakland Steve:

Solidarity Forever

What's up?

• Over 1,000 feared murdered by Gaddafi and his thugs, but the people have taken control of roughly half of Libya.  Key ministers and numerous elements of the Army join the pro-democracy protesters, as Gaddafi's grip on power crumbles.
• Protests in Northern Iraq have been huge since last Thursday.  There have been calls for this upcoming Friday for a national revolt.
• Members of Yemen parliament resign in protest of government's violence against pro-democracy protesters.
• U.S. and Canada agree to share military in case of civil unrest.
• A step closer to ending the unconstitutional denial of legal recognition of same-sex marriage.  Obama is still enforcing "don't ask, don't tell" policy months after its repeal.
• U.S. Supreme Court rules pharmaceutical companies can poison your kids, but you can't sue them.
• JPMorgan Chase and Citi knew Bernie Madoff was committing fraud.
• Obama's new Chief of Staff William Daley made $15.4 million from JP Morgan Chase while serving as its Midwest Director, his previous job before joining the White House.
• Despite what Walker says, his attack on the rights of the people of Wisconsin has nothing to do with balancing Wisconsin's budget.
• Scott Walker prank called, thinks he is talking to billionaire David Koch.
• The public is strongly opposed to efforts to take away Union rights.  
• The Republicans are using the old "shock doctrine" to try and pass unconstitutional legislation.  Under the guise of balancing budgets, they are gutting the political strength of the middle and working class.
• Revolt in the Midwest spreads: Indiana Senate Democrats flee state to prevent another Union busting bill.  
• Tens of thousands protest in Ohio.
• Nice.  New Dangerous Minds Radio Hour.

Reminder (h/t Progressive Review):

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  Here is article #23: 

(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Music time:

Happy Birthday, George Washington!

Hey kids! Long time, no write. I apologize for being away for so long, but, well, I'm lazy and Justin has been doing such an amazing job that I didn't feel like I was needed.

Speaking of which, I would like to thank Justin for his efforts the last couple months at keeping us all informed with the very important events going on in our world. And for posting some great music as well! Justin, you have raised the bar for this blog, and I thank you, good sir. Montana is lucky to have you.

I don't have much to post today except to say "Keep up the good work, Justin!"

And because it is Washington's birthday today, here's a classic:



I'll try to have more substantive posts from now on.

Pat is crazy.

Radiohead

Radiohead's new album, The King of Limbs, came out last Friday, Bloom:

Uprising

Libya update: Despite a massacre against the people, Libyan protesters have taken control of Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, as protests also engulf the capital.  There is information to suggest Gaddafi is preparing to flee to Venezuela.  Follow the Guardian's live blog for the latest.  Or watch Al Jazeera live.

Cyber Activism

A message from Anonymous:



A message from the start of the Egyptian Revolution:

What Did You Learn in School?

The Whole World is Watching

Some more revelations by Wikileaks:

• Pfitzer tested antibiotics on Nigerian children, contravening national and international standards on medical ethics.
• Obama and the Republicans worked together to kill a criminal probe into actions committed by the Bush administration.
• The British government has been training a Bangladeshi paramilitary force condemned by human rights organisations as a "government death squad."
• Russian Dictator Putin is "frustrated, stressed, and anxious."
• Russian paper shut down for running a story on Putin.

More news:

• Largest protests yet in Wisconsin.  School shut down spreads to Milwaukee.
• Study: Wisconsin's public workers are underpaid.  Yet the Unions, the teachers and Wisconsin Democrats have agreed to Scott Walker's demands for pay cuts and higher insurance costs, but they are refusing to give away their right of collective bargaining.  Walker refuses to compromise.  
• The Republicans are engaging in political terrorism.  Republicans threaten Federal Government shut down.
• Libyan protesters assert control, despite government violence.
• American who sparked diplomatic crisis in January for murdering two Pakistanis is a CIA spy.
• Protests grow even larger in Yemen.
• We need to get out of Afghanistan.
• Large protests expected in Morocco, riots are already breaking out.
• Seattle Times backs legalized marijuana.

Music:

Information Age

Back in the day, in my conservative high school Dave Chappelle was very popular.  That always amused me.

Wonderwall Music

A song from George Harrison's 1968 solo album Wonderwall Music:

A War on Women

The United States House of Representatives has launched the most dangerous legislative assault on women's health ever:



More News:

• Bought and Paid for Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin has threatened to send the National Guard to disrupt protests of Wisconsin public workers.  People aren't happy with Mr. Walker. Members of the Super Bowl champions, the community-owned, non-profit Green Bay Packers, have released a statement in support of Wisconsin's workers (h/t Stephanie):

We know that it is teamwork on and off the field that makes the Packers and Wisconsin great. As a publicly owned team we wouldn’t have been able to win the Super Bowl without the support of our fans. It is the same dedication of our public workers every day that makes Wisconsin run. They are the teachers, nurses and child care workers who take care of us and our families. But now in an unprecedented political attack Governor Walker is trying to take away their right to have a voice and bargain at work. The right to negotiate wages and benefits is a fundamental underpinning of our middle class. When workers join together it serves as a check on corporate power and helps ALL workers by raising community standards. Wisconsin’s long standing tradition of allowing public sector workers to have a voice on the job has worked for the state since the 1930s. It has created greater consistency in the relationship between labor and management and a shared approach to public work. These public workers are Wisconsin’s champions every single day and we urge the Governor and the State Legislature to not take away their rights.

• Wikileaks statement on Washington efforts to obtain the account information of Twitter users:

This is an outrageous attack by the Obama administration on the privacy and free speech rights of Twitter's customers - many of them American citizens. More shocking, at this time, is that it amounts to an attack on the right to freedom of association, a freedom that the people of Tunisia and Egypt, for example, spurred on by the information released by Wikileaks, have found so valuable.

• Twitter is supposedly fighting the subpoena to release their users' information.  It is believed Google and Facebook have already released their users' information to the government without objection.
• Bill Moyers on why some Americans don't want the truth, and why we must be exposed to it, even if it hurts.
• The guy the Bush Administration used to claim that Iraq had WMDs, admits he was lying.  Anyone who was paying attention back in 2002 knew "Curveball" was spouting a bunch of bullshit, but our news media failed to get that info to the masses. 
• Protests intensify in Algeria, Bahrain, Libya, Yemen.  Protests spread to Iraq.

Why Isn't Wall Street in Jail?

Matt Taibbi, perhaps the best muckraking journalist left in the United States, has a new piece in Rolling Stone:

Over drinks at a bar on a dreary, snowy night in Washington this past month, a former Senate investigator laughed as he polished off his beer. 

"Everything's fucked up, and nobody goes to jail," he said. "That's your whole story right there. Hell, you don't even have to write the rest of it. Just write that."
I put down my notebook. "Just that?" 

"That's right," he said, signaling to the waitress for the check. "Everything's fucked up, and nobody goes to jail. You can end the piece right there." 

Nobody goes to jail. This is the mantra of the financial-crisis era, one that saw virtually every major bank and financial company on Wall Street embroiled in obscene criminal scandals that impoverished millions and collectively destroyed hundreds of billions, in fact, trillions of dollars of the world's wealth — and nobody went to jail. Nobody, that is, except Bernie Madoff, a flamboyant and pathological celebrity con artist, whose victims happened to be other rich and famous people.

Check out this earlier story by Taibbi, does the best job I've seen explaining the housing crisis.

Cold War

News of the day:

• Protests break out across Bahrain. Approximately 70 percent of Bahrain is Shia, yet they are widely discriminated against by Bahrain's Sunni rulers. The protests in Bahrain could also embolden those in nearby Saudi Arabia.
• Massive protests in Iran.
• Protests continue in Algeria.
• Protests continue in Yemen.
• Egypt's military says they will give in to protesters demands and have elections in six months. Protests continue in Egypt as the people are calling for the immediate transfer to civilian control of the country.
• Palestinian Authority cabinet resigns.
• Over a million protesters in Italy:

The World is Waking Up

Quotes from Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell:

"Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows."

"Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past."

"If all records told the same tale — then the lie passed into history and became truth."

"All rulers in all ages have tried to impose a false view of the world upon their followers."

"If there is hope... it lies in the proles."

Weekend Update

Living Dream

PBC is one of the most under appreciated bands of the last Renaissance period of American history. Centuries of time confuse the mind...



More.



News.

• Wikileaks: U.S. spied on NATO's top official.
• Protests break out across Algeria.  Protesters are demanding Algerian dictator Abdelaziz Bouteflika step down. Security forces arrested hundreds of protesters, including human rights activists and members of the General Union of Algerian Workers. The Internet in Algeria was also shut down.
• Chief Palestinian negotiator resigns after leak of Palestine Papers.
• Protests in Italy calling for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to resign.
• Iranian opposition leaders are planning large scale protests to take place on Monday.
• The ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed court motions defending Twitter users from being targeted due to following Wikileaks on Twitter.  Wikileaks has 100,000 more followers since it was revealed the government issued a subpoena to gather information on all of Wikileaks Twitter followers (hey, that includes me!).

Alcohol ranked most harmful drug

Wouldn't it be wild if we had a national drug policy based on, I don't know, science and rationality, instead of propaganda and fear?  The British medical journal, The Lancet,  last November released one of the most comprehensive studies into harms associated with various drugs:

Alcohol is more dangerous than illegal drugs like heroin and crack cocaine, according to a new study. 

British experts evaluated substances including alcohol, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana, ranking them based on how destructive they are to the individual who takes them and to society as a whole.  Researchers analyzed how addictive a drug is and how it harms the human body, in addition to other criteria like environmental damage caused by the drug, its role in breaking up families and its economic costs, such as health care, social services and prison. 

Heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamine, or crystal meth, were the most harmful to individuals. When considering their wider social effects, alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were the worst. 

Overall, alcohol outranked all other substances, followed by heroin and crack cocaine. Marijuana, ecstasy and LSD scored far lower.

There's hope though.  A poll released last Thursday showed 58 percent of Americans now favor regulating marijuana the same as alcohol.  Anecdotally, here in Montana, marijuana is essentially legal, and, at least among the under 40 crowd, it seems those who choose marijuana as their drug of preference rivals those who choose alcohol.  There was an analysis I read a few years back, but I couldn't seem to find now, that predicted that by 2024 marijuana would surpass alcohol as the nation's drug of choice.

I don't care what anyone chooses as their drug, if any, however from purely a public health and safety standpoint, I think it is important we start moving our society towards cannabis.  There are close to 100,000 alcohol related deaths a year in the United States.  Close to 450,000 tobacco related deaths a year. There are zero marijuana related deaths a year.  Marijuana also has less addictive qualities than substances such as alcohol and tobacco.

In addition, alcohol contributes significantly to the rate of violent crime and domestic abuse in this country.  Over half of all violent crime in this country, alcohol is involved.  Close to 70 percent of all reported domestic violence incidences, alcohol is involved.  Whereas marijuana I'm pretty sure is an antonym to violence.

Here's the great comedian Bill Hicks take on drug policy:

Anonymous

Last week Aaron Barr, a top executive at corporate computer security firm HB Gary, boasted to the Financial Times that his firm had started to expose individuals supporting Anonymous, a leaderless group of anyone who, while unaffiliated with, are defending WikiLeaks from cyber attacks, and who have helped the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt.  For instance, when the Internet was shut down in Egypt, fax machines still operated.  So Anonymous starting faxing thousands of diplomatic cables concerning Egypt to fax machines all across the country.

The other day, in response to Mr. Barr's comments, Anonymous hacked into HB Gary, and released 50,000 corporate emails to the public.  Among the emails released, was a plan for a disinformation campaign devised for Bank of America to attack Wikileaks.

Change is Now

Information is power and it makes us all equal.

The Revolution has ousted Mubarak.

Two dictators down, all others to go.

When is Enough, Enough?

Our political system may be broken and corrupt, but there are still a few true public servants out there.

Bernie Sanders:

Sir Shake-A-Lot

Vintage Burger King commercial from 1980:



Amazing.  h/t Dangerous Minds.

Revolution

On this day in 1945, Bob Marley was born:

Paper Planes

Download M.I.A.'s newest ViCKi LEEKX Mixtape for free.

A Revolution Calender

Popuporai postings:

• Joshua Holland of Alternet has put together seven of the worst dictators being backed by the United States.
• Al Jazeera is now banned in Egypt, it has been blacked out of the United States for much longer.
• A word from President John F. Kennedy on secrecy and censorship.
• In response to protests, Yemen's President has announced he will step down in 2013.  Protests are continuing.
• The United States is currently trying to get Mubarak ally, and recently appointed Vice President of Egypt, General Omar Suleiman, to take over for Mubarak.  Suleiman played a crucial role in the United States government's "Extraordinary Rendition" torture program.
• Wade Davis' TED talk on endangered cultures.
• Hey, the Super Bowl is tomorrow!  Usually I pull for the AFC team, but I'm going for the Packers this year.
• Sociology term of the day: social control.
• Latest Dangerous Minds Radio Hour.
• Egyptian Rap Group Arabian Knightz:

REBEL from Zoltan on Vimeo.

The Suburbs

Real vs. Fake

The "Enemy"

The other day former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair called Egyptian Dictator Hosni Mubarak "immensely courageous" and "a force for good."  I would say this woman would better fit that description.  But I digress.

Remember when we were all worked up about that bin Laden guy?  Remember him, the guy the CIA trained and funded in the 1980s to kill the Soviets?  He has yet to be brought to justice.

Did you know that Osama bin Laden is unpopular in the Arab world?  After 9/11 his popularity declined even further.  When the United States and England attacked Iraq, bin Laden's status did go up a bit, but the majority in the Arab world still stood strongly opposed to bin Laden and other extremist religious zealots, and as the years have pasted his popularity has continued to decline.

The fact is, people like Tony Blair have caused far more harm in the world, than crazies like bin Laden.  If you believe this study's numbers, a million Iraqis have been killed since 2003.  If you believe the military's numbers, disclosed by Wikileaks, over 100,000 civilians are confirmed dead.  The leaked Downing Street Memos have shown the Brits knew a bunch of what their government was telling the public about Iraq was bullshit as they were making their case for war.  As anyone who was paying attention and staying away from watching the nightly "news" knew at the time.  But, Hugh Grant played Tony Blair, so he can't be that bad of a guy, right?

The Iraq War and Western governments continuing support and aid to anti-democratic governments around the world are all about controlling the people in these countries while they exploit the people's resources for the benefit of the wealthy elite in their respective nations.  This is crime against humanity.  We must stand together against this behavior.

--

Noam Chomsky discusses the "most remarkable regional uprising" he can remember and the United States role in fighting progressive reform in the Arab world, and why the U.S. is supporting repressive regimes and radical Islam:

Only People

Hard to pick a single revolutionary Lennon song, here's three of them:

Courage is Contagious.  

Empathy, Evolution and Technology

Democracy Now!

Mubarak now says he will step down as President, but not until September.  The millions of people on the streets in Egypt, as well as opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, have rejected Mubarak's attempt to cling on to power.  ElBaradei has told Mubarak to leave Egypt by Friday.