OVO

Robert Winnett: 'Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter' [LINK-ZUM]

The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change, ended a private meeting with the words: "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter." He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock. Mr Bush, whose second and final term as President ends at the end of the year, then left the meeting at the Windsor Hotel in Hokkaido where the leaders of the world's richest nations had been discussing new targets to cut carbon emissions.

[Article continues at link. I would prefer a world leader who understands and practices discretion, at minimum. Instead, we have a fool and a tyrant. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: fascism

Trevor Blake: Who Gets to be Kitsch, Who Doesn't [LINK-ZUM]

Che Guevara ordered the execution of at least fifty and perhaps more than two hundred people while serving as a prison warden in 1959. All your revolutionary needs can be purchased at The Che Store. Joseph Stalin managed to murder or starve five to ten million Russians. There's a flocked plastic statue of Uncle Joe with your name on it. Mao Zedong is responsible for the death of seventy-seven million of his commrades. Sign up now for your plastic Mao bust.

I can think of another political leader who killed more than two hundred people, less than seventy-seven million people, and around the lower amount of five to ten million. But that political leader doesn't get to be kitsch. Perhaps the difference is that you have kill some people for the betterment of all people, not just your people. Then you get to be kitsch a generation or two later.

Labels: art, commerce, fascism, socialism

Keith Olberman: Special Comment May 2008 [LINK-ZUM]

Part One:

Part Two:

Labels: fascism, television, video

Trevor Blake: Thinking of the Children [LINK-ZUM]

The recent impoundment of illegal children in Texas (they had too many mommies) is like the Waco siege, except this time conducted with social workers instead of tanks.

Labels: fascism, mormon

Trevor Blake: Two Ways of Funding the Taliban [LINK-ZUM]

I can think of two ways to fund the Taliban. First, you can do it by accident. The Evening Echo reported on 13 April 2008: "Afghanistan's intelligence chief said today a coalition helicopter accidentally dropped food and weapons in a remote area of southern Afghanistan where Taliban fighters recovered the supplies. Amrullah Saleh, the head of Afghanistan's intelligence service, told members of parliament the supplies were intended for police at a checkpoint in the southern province of Zabul." That's one way to fund the Taliban, by accident.

The other way to fund the Taliban is to do so deliberately. The Los Angeles Times reported on 22 May 2001: "Enslave your girls and women, harbor anti-U.S. terrorists, destroy every vestige of civilization in your homeland, and the Bush administration will embrace you. All that matters is that you line up as an ally in the drug war, the only international cause that this nation still takes seriously. That's the message sent with the recent gift of $43 million to the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan, the most virulent anti-American violators of human rights in the world today. [...] Never mind that Osama bin Laden still operates the leading anti-American terror operation from his base in Afghanistan, from which, among other crimes, he launched two bloody attacks on American embassies in Africa in 1998."

Say now, didn't something happen involving Osama bin Laden a few months after the Bush administration gave the Taliban $43 million? I can't remember. Anyway, there are at least two ways to fund the Taliban. The Bush administration has been involved in both.

Labels: 9/11, fascism, islam, prohibition

Trevor Blake: My Tax Dollars At Work [LINK-ZUM]

Wired Magazine reports: "As an expert witness in the defense of an Abu Ghraib guard who was court-martialed, psychologist Philip Zimbardo had access to many of the images of abuse that were taken by the guards themselves. For a presentation at the TED conference in Monterey, California, Zimbardo assembled some of these pictures into a short video. Wired.com obtained the video from Zimbardo's talk, and is publishing some of the stills from that video here. Many of the images are explicit and gruesome, depicting nudity, degradation, simulated sex acts and guards posing with decaying corpses. Viewer discretion is advised."

Recently I paid my taxes. This is part of what I got in exchange, I guess.

Access to information does not, in itself, change things. The truth is not un-ignorable. The Bible has been full of contradictions and absurdities for thousands of years, easily seen by anyone who looks, but Christianity lingers on. The bald fact that the Bush administration is tyrannical, illegal and fascist is easily seen by anyone who looks. But it lingers on. What might change things?

Labels: christianity, fascism

Trevor Blake: Happy President's Day [LINK-ZUM]

In the United States, the third Monday of February is celebrated as President's Day. Nothing in this world would please me more on this President's Day than to see President George W. Bush frog marched out of the White House in a gas mask and orange jump suit on his way to trial in an international court for the invasion of Iraq and disregard for the Geneva Convention. Once that is done and his sentence is (if any) served, he can come back to the US to stand trial for stealing the 2004 election, conducting illegal searches, cronyism, placing government employees in danger and criminal incompetence. Details.

Labels: fascism

BBC: US network faces $1m nudity fine [LINK-ZUM]

US television network ABC may have to pay a fine of $1.4m (707,000 UK Pounds) for airing an episode of NYPD Blue which depicted female nudity. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said the 2003 show had "multiple, close-up views" of a woman's buttocks before the US watershed. The FCC deems "sexual or excretory activities" shown in an "offensive" way before 2200 as indecent.

[Article continues at link. Here is the scene in question (video). What really happened in the less-than-40-seconds which the FCC fined? A woman took off her bath robe and stepped into a shower. The actress in question was not forced to do this and was likely paid handsomely, as was everyone on the set. No one, anywhere, was forced to watch that episode of that television show. No one, anywhere, was harmed in any way by watching that episode of that television show. Truth be told, most people do take of their clothes before stepping into the shower. This was not a sexual act nor was it an excretory activity. I can imagine some people being surprised, or embarrased, or confused by what they saw. But if their discomfort eats away at them for more than a short while, they have problems unrelated to this episode of this television show. One of them is watching television, and there's an easy answer for that problem. Preventing people from being surprised, embarrassed or confused is not the role of government. Neither is preventing people from being naked as part of their job, or in expression of their political views. The actress in question also appears nude in a protest against the use of animal fur in fashion. Should the government fine someone for that as well? A much more damning solution was available to the prudes who brought about this fine in the form of a boycott against advertisers of the television show. In that solution, everyone remains free to make the choices they want yet they are also accountable for them. We don't need the government to tell us what is bad on television. The answer is 'most of it.' Television is called a medium because it's seldom well done, as Ernie Kovacs said. But bad art isn't a crime, it's just bad art. What a shame that mainstream media companies are being punished for brief scenes of non-sexual nudity while not being shaken to their foundations for their uncritical support of George W. Bush's war of conquest and Jesus in the Middle East. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, fascism, sex, television, theocracy

President Dwight Eisenhower: Military-Industrial Complex [LINK-ZUM]

On today's date, 17 January, 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower delivered his Farewell Address to the Nation. From the transcript: "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

Labels: fascism

Trevor Blake: Gulfstream II # N987SA [LINK-ZUM]

It appears that the United States Government is using a single aircraft to both kidnap people from Europe and the United States to fly them to the Guantanamo torture camp in occupied Cuba and to run drugs. I'd prefer to be paying my taxes to a government that did neither of these things.

30 August 2007: Gulfstream II #N987SA is bought by Donna Blue Aircraft Inc.
16 September 2007: Gulfstream II #N987SA is sold to Clyde O'Connor and Greg Smith.
18 September 2007: Gulfstream II #N987SA takes off from Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport headed for Toluca (near Mexico City).
24 September 2007: Gulfstream II #N987SA takes off from Rio Negro, Colombia. It is chased by Mexican military helicopters and crashes near Tixkokob, Mexico. Soldiers find 132 bags containing about 3.6 tons (3.3 metric tons) of cocaine inside.

Reporte Oriente, Avion usado por la CIA y la DEA traficaba drogas 29 November 2007: "An executive jet that the United States government used for years to extradite criminals from Colombia and Taliban from Europe to the base at Guantanamo, Cuba, is the same jet which two months ago crashed in a jungle area of the Yucatan Peninsula , Mexico, with a cargo of 3.3 tons of cocaine that apparently were loaded in Medellin." [Translation via Google]

More links, dates, information:
Daily Kos: CIA Torture Jet wrecks with 4 Tons of COCAINE.
Narco News: New Document Provides Further Evidence That Owner of Crashed Cocaine Jet Was a U.S. Government Operative; Mysterious Jet Crash Is Rare Portal Into the
'Dark Alliances" of the Drug War.
Pimpin Turtle: CIA Plane Crashes in Yucatan Carrying 3.2 Tons of Cocaine.
Sacramento for Democracy: Gary Webb Vindicated by the Crash of N987SA.

Labels: fascism, prohibition

Daily Rotten: December 10 [LINK-ZUM]

[The following is from Daily Rotten for December 10, 2007. Sometimes I imagine creating a calendar of 'this day in the history of religion.' Days like December 10 show that it would almost write itself. - Trevor Blake]

December 10, 1520: The heretic Martin Luther burnt the papal bull issued by Leo X, titled "Exsurge Domine", demanding an end to his heresies. Luther had published 95 points against the practice of granting indulgences, and the Catholic Church only had 94 points in favor of them. Although technically he was the winner, Luther was subsequently excommunicated.

December 10, 1792: "That if any do commit the detestable and abominable vice of Buggery, with man or beast, he or she so offending, shall be adjudged a felon, and shall suffer death, in the case of felony, without the benefit of Clergy." (Act of General Assembly of Virginia)

December 10, 1958: Ralph Muller and Peter Kamenoff, two ex-members of the Fountain of the World religious cult, accost guru Krishna Venta at the cult's hillside compound in Box Canyon, Ventura County, California. The men accuse Venta of having fucked their wives. For whatever reason Venta, the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and formerly known as Francis Pencovic, is unable to placate the men. So they detonate 20 sticks of dynamite they brought, 19 of which are strictly overkill. The three men are instantly blown to pieces along with 7 other cultees. Venta's remains are only ever identified through dental records.

December 10, 1993: Adolf Hitler is baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in a ceremony performed inside their London temple. Mormons use this strange retroactive baptismal ritual to ensure ancestors or other relatives may join them in heaven.

[Also in the news on December 10, 2007..."Vigilantes kill 40 women in Iraq's south: Religious vigilantes have killed at least 40 women this year in the southern Iraqi city of Basra because of how they dressed, their mutilated bodies found with notes warning against 'violating Islamic teachings,' the police chief said Sunday." ... "Iran Executes 21-Year-Old Accused of Gay Sex as a Teen: Mouloodzadeh was a 21-year-old Iranian citizen who was accused of committing anal rape (ighab) with other young boys when he was 13. However, at Mouloodzadeh's trial, all the witnesses retracted their pre-trial testimonies, claiming to have lied to the authorities under duress. Mouloodzadeh also told the court that his confession was made under coercion and pleaded not guilty." ... and happy 60th birthday to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The advance of the secular is the advance of peace and prosperity. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, fascism, islam, mormon, religion, sex

Jonathan Petre: Atheists behind the greatest cruelty, says Pope [LINK-ZUM]

Pope Benedict XVI has launched a powerful attack on atheism, saying that it was responsible for some of the "greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice" in history.

[Article continues at link. Image above depicts a devoted and life-long Roman Catholic, never once censored by the Pope, leaving a house of worship. Socialism, the true target of the Pope's missive, has indeed killed so many people that it is almost showing up on the charts as a distant number two compared to the body count of those killed by religion. Give it a few thousand more years and maybe it will be an honest contender. For now, nothing competes with religion in the murder department. What is it about religion that makes people so sure it is morally right to kill? Faith. Faith is not to believe where there is a lack of evidence. Faith is to go on believing when there is counter-evidence. That is where socialism and religion meet. Religion has an invisible monster that lives in the sky on its side, which justifies everything it does. Socialism has the Material Concept of History on its side, which justifies everything it does. I'm not a fan of faith, religion or socialism. I'm a fan of acknowledging that humanity will inevitably err, and the best we can do is limit the scope of our errors before we make them and learn from our errors after we make them. That is how democracy and science are linked; they grow on a mountain of errors, not from a soil of Absolute Truth. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: atheist, fascism, science, socialism

Trevor Blake: NOW and Sharia [LINK-ZUM]

In my post titled Where Are You NOW? I asked why the National Organization of Women has so far made no comment about a women sentenced to 200 lashes for the crime (under Muslim law) of being outdoors without a male relative as a chaperon. This after she was gang raped. My post has since been quoted in Technoccult.

Does NOW refrain from commenting when women are sentenced to lashings? If so, this is a change from 2001 when they spoke out against it. Does NOW refrain from commenting about Muslim law (also known as sharia law)? If so, this is a change from 2002 when they spoke out against it. In the past NOW has spoken out against lashings and against Muslim law. Is the difference cause by the passage of time, or the fact that NOW is willing to criticise some Muslim nations (Nigeria) and not others (Saudi Arabia), or is it for some other reason?

The Bush administration funded the Taliban to the tune of US$43 million (just a few months before 9/11 - read about that spinning to the left or to the right). The Bush administration has ignored years of evidence that the government and wealthy of Saudi Arabia are largely responsible for 9/11 and other acts of jihad. But the Bush administration did say something about this women's sentence. They said they the sentence was "discouraging and outrageous." Even that weak response is more than NOW has offered us.

Labels: fascism, islam, sex, theocracy

Agence France Presse: Bush certifies Saudi Arabia as 'war on terror' ally [LINK-ZUM]

US President George W. Bush certified Saudi Arabia as an anti-terrorism ally on Friday, weeks after a top US Treasury official sharply criticized the kingdom's record. Bush's move came in a memorandum to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, required under US law to free up aid from Washington to Riyadh, that the White House released to reporters.

"I hereby certify that Saudi Arabia is cooperating with efforts to combat international terrorism and that the proposed assistance will help facilitate that effort," the president said.

[Article continues at link. Why might Bush consider Saudi Arabia a partner in peace? It is because the Saudi royal family and intelligence service supported Osama bin Ladin? Is it because wealthy Saudi businessmen funded Osama bin Ladin? Is it because the Saudi government favored the construction company owned by 'The Binladen Group?" Is it because rich Saudis bankrolled the civil war in Bosnia? Is it because after capturing Osama bin Ladin, Saudi Arabia let him go? Is it because the Saudi embassy paid mercenaries to attack US soldiers in Bosnia? Is it because Osama bin Ladin lists a charity tied to the Saudi government as a main financier? Is it because Osama bin Ladin met with the Saudi government? Repeatedly? Is it because Saudi multimillionaires funded terrorism? Is it because the Saudi government sent large sums of money to 9/11 front groups? Is it because Saudi Arabia made deals with Al-Qaeda? Is it because the Saudi government was the largest financier of Al-Qaeda? And of the civil war in Bosnia? Is it because the US government requested documents about Osama bin Ladin from the Saudi Arabian government, and they didn't deliver? And instead shielded bin Ladin? Is it because the Saudi government funded Hamas? Is it because Saudi Arabia recognized the Taliban government? Is it because the Saudi government gave $15,000 to Osama Basnan, who gave it to two 9/11 hijackers? Is it because the Saudi government directly gave 9/11 hijackers money in Amsterdam? Is it because 9/11 hijackers made regular phone calls to Saudi government officials? Many calls? Is it because the French established links between Al-Qaeda and Saudi Arabia? Is it because the Saudis and the bin Ladins funded terrorism in the Philippines? Is it because most of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi Arabians?

Or is it because the bin Ladin family helped bail out George W. Bush when his company Harken went under? Is it because there are links between Saudi money and the Bush family? Is it because the US government turned away documents linking the Saudi government to terrorism? Repeatedly? Is it because CIA operatives were told not to investigate terrorism in Saudi Arabia? Is it because the bin Ladin family were declared off limits to US intelligence investigation? Repeatedly? Often? Is it because the CIA preferred to join Saudi Arabia in bribing the Taliban instead of seizing bin Ladin? Is it because the US government knew Saudi Arabian royalty were funding Osama bin Ladin and did nothing? Is it because the Bush family met with the bin Ladin family? Repeatedly? Is it because the US Treasury department was blocked from freezing the assets of Al-Qaeda financiers in Saudi Arabia? Is it because the US expedited 9/11 hijackers getting their passports in Saudi Arabia? Even if they were on intelligence watch lists? Is it because the CIA met with Osama bin Ladin? Is it because Saudi Arabia threatened to end its alliance with the USA? Is it because Bush tried to make nice with the Saudis after they did that but paused after 9/11? Is it because three 9/11 hijackers stayed at the same hotel as a senior Saudi official?

The final word comes from the same source as all of the above, the Complete 9/11 Timeline produced by the Cooperative Research History Commons: "FBI counterterrorism expert John O'Neill privately discusses White House obstruction in his bin Laden investigation. O'Neill says, 'The main obstacles to investigate Islamic terrorism were US oil corporate interests and the role played by Saudi Arabia in it.' He adds, 'All the answers, everything needed to dismantle Osama bin Laden's organization, can be found in Saudi Arabia.' O'Neill also believes the White House is obstructing his investigation of bin Laden because they are still keeping the idea of a pipeline deal with the Taliban open." I think this is all the conspiracy theory we need to know what happened and why. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: 9/11, fascism, islam, theocracy

Price and Basri: Vigilantes wage war against Basra women [LINK-ZUM]

Women in Basra have become the targets of a violent campaign by religious extremists, who leave more than 15 female bodies scattered around the city each month, police officers say. Maj. Gen. Abdel Jalil Khalaf, the commander of Basra's police, said Thursday that self-styled enforcers of religious law threatened, beat and sometimes shot women who they believed weren't sufficiently Muslim. [...] Before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, Iraqi women had had rights enshrined in the country's constitution since 1959 that were among the broadest of any Arab or Islamic nation. However, while the new constitution says that women are equal under the law, critics have condemned a provision that says no law can contradict the "established rulings" of Islam as weakening women's rights.

[Article continues at link. The war of conquest waged by the United States has exacerbated the problem of Islam and the problem of theocracy. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: fascism, islam, theocracy

Al Arabiya: Interview of the President [LINK-ZUM]

"Well, first of all, I believe in an almighty God, and I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God. That's what I believe. I believe that Islam is a great religion that preaches peace. And I believe people who murder the innocent to achieve political objectives aren't religious people, whether they be a Christian who does that - we had a person blow up our - blow up a federal building in Oklahoma City who professed to be a Christian, but that's not a Christian act to kill innocent people." - George W. Bush.

[Interview continues at link. Has Bush ever actually read the Bible or the Quran? Have you? - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, fascism, islam, theocracy

Trevor Blake: President Bush Violates Executive Order 12333 2.11 and 2.12 [LINK-ZUM]

On February 22, 2003, President George W. Bush met with President Jose Maria Aznar of Spain at President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Information about that meeting is is now online [article] [transcript]. Some excerpts, translated by way of Metafilter:

Bush: "I prefer the 10th. This is like good cop, bad cop. To me, it doesn't matter who is the bad cop and that Blair be the good cop."
Aznar: "Is it true that there's a possibility for Saddam to be exiled?"
Bush: "Yes, it's a possibility. Also that he be assassinated."

Executive Order 12333 2.11 Prohibition on Assassination: No person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination.
Executive Order 12333 2.12 Indirect Participation: No agency of the Intelligence Community shall participate in or request any person to undertake activities forbidden by this Order.

Just in case all the other arguments for the impeachment and war crimes trial of President Bush fail, here's another one.

In no way is it difficult to determine that George Bush considers himself not subject to the Constitution of the United States. Why is it that most Americans are not up in (metaphorical) arms that the rule of law has been suspended in our country? Where is the 'class consciousness' the left speaks of, the mechanism that is activated by oppression and that causes oppressed groups to act in their own best interest, not in the interest of their oppressors?

Labels: fascism, fight

Trevor Blake: FEMA Funding Clergy to Quell Unrest [LINK-ZUM]

Paul Joseph Watson, Secret FEMA Plan To Use Pastors as Pacifiers in Preparation For Martial Law, May 24 2006: "A Pastor has come forward to blow the whistle on a nationwide FEMA program which is training Pastors and other religious representatives to become secret police enforcers who teach their congregations to 'obey the government' in preparation for a declaration of martial law, property and firearm seizures, and forced relocation. [...] The FEMA directors told the Pastors that attended that it was their job to help implement FEMA and Homeland Security directives in anticipation of any of these eventualities. The first directive was for Pastors to preach to their congregations Romans 13, the often taken out of context bible passage that was used by Hitler to hoodwink Christians into supporting him, in order to teach them to 'obey the government' when martial law is declared."

Jeff Ferrell, Homeland Security Enlists Clergy to Quell Public Unrest if Martial Law Ever Declared, Aug 23, 2007: "If martial law were enacted here at home, like depicted in the movie "The Siege", easing public fears and quelling dissent would be critical. And that's exactly what the 'Clergy Response Team' helped accomplish in the wake of Katrina. Dr. Durell Tuberville serves as chaplain for the Shreveport Fire Department and the Caddo Sheriff's Office. Tuberville said of the clergy team's mission, 'the primary thing that we say to anybody is, 'let's cooperate and get this thing over with and then we'll settle the differences once the crisis is over.' Such clergy response teams would walk a tight-rope during martial law between the demands of the government on the one side, versus the wishes of the public on the other. 'In a lot of cases, these clergy would already be known in the neighborhoods in which they're helping to diffuse that situation,' assured Sandy Davis. He serves as the director of the Caddo-Bossier Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. For the clergy team, one of the biggest tools that they will have in helping calm the public down or to obey the law is the bible itself, specifically Romans 13. Dr. Tuberville elaborated, 'because the government's established by the Lord, you know. And, that's what we believe in the Christian faith. That's what's stated in the scripture.'"

[Is it true that Hitler hoodwinked Christians into supporting him with an often-taken out of context bible passage that was used in order to teach them to obey the government when martial law was declared? Or is it the case that Hitler was a life-long Christian and that Nazi Germany was from stem to stern a Christian theocracy? What is the proper context for Romans 13? Give it a read in any translation you care to use and see if it doesn't clearly state that the powers that be are ordained by God for us to submit to without rebellion or complaint. Should United States clergy go along with martial law they will be doing God's work. I, meanwhile, advocate the withering away of religion through reason and scorn. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, fascism, theocracy

Osborne & Hagmann: Bin Laden video transcript oddity [LINK-ZUM]

According to official U.S. government sources, the video from Osama bin Laden was reportedly obtained and transcribed today - 7 September 2007. The complete transcription, obviously transcribed after the video was obtained, was presented to news outlets in PDF format. One such copy can be downloaded in its entirety below. When analyzing the transcript, however, it was noted that the date of transcription is yesterday, 6 September 2007, one full day before the video was allegedly obtained.

[Article continues at link, with alleged downloads of the questionable transcript in PDF form. Also noted is the claim by George Maschke at Booman Tribune that the bin Laden video freezes for around eleven minutes while the audio continues. All references to current events occur during the time the video is frozen. Who might profit from the disemination of a video that claims to be a contemporary record of bin Ladin but which is not? - Trevor Blake]

Labels: fascism, islam, television, video

Trevor Blake: Kill 'Em All, Let God Sort 'Em Out [LINK-ZUM]

According to a report by the Democratic Policy Committee, the Bush administration cut off veterans' health care, despite growing need as veterans return from Iraq and Afghanistan; shortchanged veterans' health because it failed to budget for returning veterans; is imposing higher care fees for veterans; and veterans' health care still fall short. But Bush has a plan! Something that costs nothing, is supported by the courts and literally works miracles...

Ryan Foley writes: "The Department of Veterans Affairs' increasing use of religion in treating ailing veterans does not violate the separation of church and state, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge John Shabaz dismissed a lawsuit by the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation and defended the agency's practices in his decision Monday, saying religion can help patients heal and is legal when done on a voluntary basis. [...] The group's president, Annie Laurie Gaylor, said Tuesday it would appeal the ruling. 'I think the public will be startled to learn that if you're a VA patient and you want a referral to the eye doctor, you have to have a spiritual assessment in order to do that,' Gaylor said.

"The lawsuit challenged the agency's practice of giving most patients spiritual assessments that ask questions about faith, such as how often they attend church and how important religion is in their lives. Agency officials say the assessments help them determine patients' needs. The suit also targeted VA drug and alcohol treatment programs that incorporate religion, the integration of its chaplain program into patient care and the expansion of chaplain services for outpatient veterans instead of just those at VA hospitals."

How awesome that magic spells are going to take care of the vets that Bush isn't going to take care of! I wish he'd thought to use magic spells to fight the terrorists in the first place instead of real human beings, but no need to focus on the negative. And I feel GREAT that my tax dollars are being kept out of the stem cell research business and invested in the magic spell business.

Originally posted to American Samizdat, January 22, 2007.

Labels: fascism, magick

Albert Mohler: Is Your Baby Gay? What If You Could Know? What If You Could Do Something About It? [LINK-ZUM]

What if you could know that your unborn baby boy is likely to be sexually attracted to other boys? Beyond that, what if hormonal treatments could change the baby's orientation to heterosexual? Would you do it? Some scientists believe that such developments are just around the corner. [...] If a biological basis is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use as we should unapologetically support the use of any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin.

[Article continues at link. Let's consider Dr. Mohler's claims. He claims Hinuism, Buddhism and Marxism are satanic (Catholics, too), and he claims that atheism is a religion. He claims "intelligent design" is a scientific theory. Dr. Mohler claims the North won the US Civil War because they were Christians (but, uh, weren't the South Christians too? And isn't the Bible just queer for slavery?) He is also way against torture except sometimes. So for sure and for real this guy has the high ground when it comes to morals and facts, and oh thank heaven he and his kind have the ear of the Bush administration. American Samizdat, March 9 2007 - Trevor Blake]

Labels: buddhism, christianity, creationism, fascism, hindu, sex, slavery, socialism

Ed Pilkington: Life without hope [LINK-ZUM]

In the US, there are 2,270 prisoners who were sentenced as children to life without parole. They will die behind bars. [...] Michigan is one of 41 states in America that allows children under 18 to be imprisoned for the rest of their lives. The US is among a tiny minority of countries (Somalia is another) that have refused to sign up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that expressly forbids the practice. According to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, only three other countries - Israel, South Africa and Tanzania - mete out the sentence and they have collectively just 12 prisoners serving it.

[How do the crimes and sentences of these children compare to the crimes and sentences of Nazi war criminals? Karl Donitz, second Reichsprasident of the Third Reich following Hitler's suicide, was sentenced to 10 years. Konstantin von Neurath, found guilty of conspiracy to commit crimes against peace; planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression; war-crimes and crimes against humanity, was sentenced to 15 years. Baldur von Schirach, leader of the Hitler Youth and found guilty of crimes against humanity, was sentenced to 20 years. Albert Speer, found guilty of the use of slave labor, was sentenced to 20 years. Nothing can bring back the men and women murdered by children serving life sentences in US prisons. But life in prison for children cannot be the only answer to this problem. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: fascism, prison, slavery

Marilynn Marchione: Doctors face rash of brain-damaged vets [LINK-ZUM]

The war in Iraq is not over, but one legacy is already here in this city and others across America: an epidemic of brain-damaged soldiers.

Thousands of troops have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, or TBI. These blast-caused head injuries are so different from the ones doctors are used to seeing from falls and car crashes that treating them is as much faith as it is science.

"I've been in the field for 20-plus years dealing with TBI. I have a very experienced staff. And they're saying to me, 'We're seeing things we've never seen before,"' said Sandy Schneider, director of Vanderbilt University's brain injury rehabilitation program.

[Article continues at link. This is a shameful time to be a citizen of the United States. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: fascism

Former Reagan aide: 'Brownshirt' Bush among top 'mass murderers of all time' [LINK-ZUM]

"Bush ... is responsible, according to Information Clearing House, for over one million deaths of Iraqi civilians, which puts Bush high on the list of mass murderers of all time."

Labels: fascism

unreason tags 1 [LINK-ZUM]

B12 aa anarchism creationism eugenics fascism fight homeopathy landmark luddite

Labels: aa, anarchism, B12, creationism, eugenics, fascism, fight, homeopathy, landmark, luddite

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