The Murder of Anna Politkovskaya
Much more on this from me later. Just wanted to get this up quickly. From the New York Times:
Ms. Politkovskaya, 48, was a journalist with few equals in Russia. She was a special correspondent for the Novaya Gazeta newspaper and had become one of the country’s most prominent human rights
Patriotic Gore: The Lion in Winter Roars
I don’t know how I missed this – maybe because I studiously avoided all the stories about the 9/11 fifth-year anniversary – but for those who came in late, like me, here is The Master putting in his groatsworth on the subject, at the request of The Independent in the UK.
What, you didn’t think a major American paper would let Gore Vidal besmirch that sacred day with his “cynicism,” did you? You must have rocks in the head, dad!
(Since
No Laughing Matter: Time-Warner Boots Comic for Lampooning Leader
“Clowntime is over; time to take cover...” — Elvis Costello
Ah, the ethos of the Leader-State officially ratified by Congress last week is spreading fast! Of course, the corporate media has long been sprawled prostrate on the floor in trembling obesiance to the Leader’s mighty mojo; indeed, the media’s craven but highly profitable complicity was a key factor in establishing our new “Unitary Executive States of America” in the first place. So it’s no real
Annals of Liberation: The End of Education in Iraq
“I have seen the future, baby:
It is murder.”
— Leonard Cohen
Iraq’s universities and schools near collapse as teachers and pupils flee. (Guardian)
A Scooter for Christmas? Libby Pardon in the Offing
Via TomDispatch, Elizabeth de la Vega tells of a likely Christmas Surprise”: the pardoning of Scooter Libby before his trial begins in January. Why? Mainly to prevent full exposure of the Cheney organization — the real “secret government” that has lead the nation into so much crime, blood and ruin. Read it here: Scooter Libby’s Trial Strategy. Some excerpts:
Twilight Struggle: Finally Standing Up as the Republic Crashes Down
So the New York Times has finally roused itself and laid out the straight facts about the presidential tyranny that has been erected around the pathetic figure of George W. Bush: Rushing Off a Cliff. The Times is to be lauded for this eloquent and powerful depiction of our degraded political state, and you should read it in full. But a few vital points must mitigate our praise of this otherwise remarkable editorial.
First, and most importantly: it comes very, very late in the game
Compact with Evil: The McCain “Compromise” on Bush’s Torture Program
After George Bush’s Rose Garden hissy fit, in which he declared that he would simply stop interrogating suspected terrorists unless he could torture them, John "I Only Flip-Flop On Matters of Deep P
rinciple" McCain and the other so-called "Senate rebels" have capitulated to the unpopular president’s petulant demands.
In the universe of moral perversion in which we now live, White House
Compact with Evil: The McCain “Compromise” on Bush’s Torture Program
After George Bush’s Rose Garden hissy fit, in which he declared that he would simply stop interrogating suspected terrorists unless he could torture them, John “I Only Flip-Flop On Matters of Deep Principle” McCain and the other so-called “Senate rebels” have capitulated to the unpopular president’s petulant demands.
In the universe of moral perversion in which we now live, White House National Security (sic) Adviser Stephen Hadley called the pro-torture, anti-due process agreement between these deeply cynical power-gamesters “a good day for the American people.” Here’s how the Gamester-in-Chief described it (from the NYT):
<divNine Angles of Broken Light
I will be on the road for the next few days, so posting might be light. In lieu of more current events, I thought I might offer these pieces for what they’re worth. These are poems that in some way, either directly or most often metaphorically, speak to some of the issues addressed on this blog. Or so it seems to me. Some were written recently, some long ago. They were written according to the principle once inscribed by Thomas Hardy at the front of one his poetry collections: “The pieces are in a large degree dramatic
Sweet Relief: Giving Voice to the Invisible Victims
CIVIC, the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict, founded by the late Marla Ruzicka, 
is now offering copies of her biography, Sweet Relief, for sale through their website. This worthy cause, aimed at providing compassionate aid for all those ravaged by conflict, is richly deserving of support.
Click here for a closer look at