Well, it’s official now. Bush has signed the Torture Without Habeas Corpus bill into law: Bush Signs Terror Interrogation Law President Bush signed legislation Tuesday authorizing tough interrogation of terror suspects and smoothing the way for trials before military commissions, calling it a “vital tool” in the war against terrorism. If the facts of the story aren’t already chilling enough,… Read more →
Category: Political
Elegant Anti-DRM Statement
For my money that’s the best of the winners of the FreeCulture.org contest to produce anti-DRM video. So elegant. Read more →
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
My favourite evolution-in-schools story this week: Apparently Michigan has at least some sense. The State Board of Education on Tuesday approved public school curriculum guidelines that support the teaching of evolution in science classes — but not intelligent design. … “The intent of the board needs to be very clear,” said board member John Austin, an Ann Arbor Democrat. “Evolution… Read more →
Busy Weekend
It’s the Thanksgiving long weekend in Canada, and I am too busy with my family to be blogging about Cheney’s latest fearmongering, the connections between private industry and counter-terrorism, excellent mockings of the crazy christian lobby, fine insults, or the lessons of Soviet history. Instead, I’m spending my time on stuff like this: (Yes, that is her first time riding.… Read more →
Signing Statements
So, once again Bush has declared himself above the authority of the legislative branch: Bush says he can edit security reports President Bush, again defying Congress, says he has the power to edit the Homeland Security Department’s reports about whether it obeys privacy rules while handling background checks, ID cards and watchlists. In the law Bush signed Wednesday, Congress stated… Read more →
Still allowed in America… so far
Ananova – Police hunt farting dissident Police in Poland have launched a nationwide hunt for a man who farted loudly when asked what he thought of the president. Although, I suppose His Highness could just declare such activity a “purposeful and materially support of hostilities against the United States”. Read more →
Irony: Textbook definition.
Torture anywhere is an affront to human dignity everywhere. We are committed to building a world where human rights are respected and protected by the rule of law. Freedom from torture is an inalienable human right. The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment, ratified by the United States and more than 130 other countries since 1984,… Read more →
Mission Accomplished
I have been avoiding writing this post for a couple of days. I haven’t been this depressed since the last U.S. Presidential election, and I had to get away for a few days and not think about it. I’m still too angry and upset to write about this clearly, but I can quote a whole bunch of other people whose… Read more →
The Disappeared
So, after literally years of denying it, Bush finally admits that there were secret prisons, and that they are being shut down with the 14 people left in them transferred to Gitmo. The AP has a slightly different story, with 14,000 people in the U.S. remote gulags. In the few short years since the first shackled Afghan shuffled off to… Read more →
Who has left this hole in the ground?
If I ever meet Keith Olbermann, I am going to buy him a beer. An expensive, fancy beer. This snippet is just an excerpt from one of the reasons why. Keith Olbermann’s Special Comment on Bush, September 11, 2006 Terrorists did not come and steal our newly-regained sense of being American first, and political, fiftieth. Nor did the Democrats. Nor… Read more →
Saturday Link-blogging
I wish more North Americans had travelled enough to have a picture of how the world really is, outside of North America. Watching the miniature earth movie is a good way to start getting the idea, without spending years travelling. Think that the $8.3 trillion dollar national debt that Bush reports is a sign of absolute unmitigated fiscal disaster? What… Read more →
Head Explodey, Part 3
The lede on this Reuters story seem relatively harmless, or maybe even positive: Americans who question evolution are testing a new tactic in Ohio, arguing that schools should be required to discuss all controversial issues from creation to stem cell research and global warming. In what critics on Wednesday called a new attempt to bring religion into the classroom, the… Read more →
Head-explodes, part 2
Those poll results were the first part of today’s cornucopia of things that make my head explode. You’d think an article entitled “Southern women breaking up with Bush” would be something I’d enjoy reading. But then you hit this section: Still, some Southern women remain stalwart supporters of the president and the Republican Party. At a watermelon festival in Chickamauga,… Read more →
Canada, I am so disappointed in you
It would not be unfair to say that it physically sickens me that there are 15000+ people reading the Globe who think secret prisons are a good and necessary idea. Read more →
The Truman Doctrine
This is another post brought to you by my wife’s studies, while I am too busy to post. Please allow me to quote from President Harry S. Truman’s address before a joint session of Congress , March 12, 1947: At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too… Read more →
