Socialist Pig

I have to thank my friend Andrew for sending me a "Capitalist Pig" cartoon as a potential (?) end point to a series of emails debating the merits of Free Markets and the pitfalls of Collectivism.

Death by Whimsey

Rendition Bunny prays for crucifixion

Rendition Bunny prays to Jesus that some country, somewhere, still practices crucifixion.

Extraordinary Rendition.
Waterboarding.

Two Julian Assange and Wikileaks articles of note

There are plenty of stories doing the rounds on Wikileaks and Julian Assange. Following are two that I consider notable for their accessibility and precision.

The first is "The Shameful attacks on Julian Assange" by David Samuels in The Atlantic. He clearly states why the vast majority of traditional media can hang their snivelling little heads in shame for their spineless bandwagonning against Wikileaks.

"It is dispiriting and upsetting for anyone who cares about the American tradition of a free press to see Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton and Robert Gibbs turn into H.R. Haldeman, John Erlichman and John Dean."

"Assange may or may not be grandiose, paranoid and delusional ... But the fact that so many prominent old school journalists are attacking him with such unbridled force is a symptom of the failure of traditional reporting methods to penetrate a culture of official secrecy that has grown by leaps and bounds since 9/11, and threatens the functioning of a free press as a cornerstone of democracy."

"It is a fact of the current media landscape that the chilling effect of threatened legal action routinely stops reporters and editors from pursuing stories that might serve the public interest - and anyone who says otherwise is either ignorant or lying."

The second story is by Julian Assange himself. "Don't shoot messenger for revealing uncomfortable truths" appears in The Australian. He talks of a new journalism called Scientific Journalism where you can click on the original document that spurned a story and make your own judgements.

A part of the story that I find particularly appealing is a summary of what the US diplomatic cables have revealed:

• The US asked its diplomats to steal personal human material and information from UN officials and human rights groups, including DNA, fingerprints, iris scans, credit card numbers, internet passwords and ID photos, in violation of international treaties. Presumably Australian UN diplomats may be targeted, too.

• King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia asked the US to attack Iran.

• Officials in Jordan and Bahrain want Iran's nuclear program stopped by any means available.

• Britain's Iraq inquiry was fixed to protect "US interests".

• Sweden is a covert member of NATO and US intelligence sharing is kept from parliament.

• The US is playing hardball to get other countries to take freed detainees from Guantanamo Bay. Barack Obama agreed to meet the Slovenian President only if Slovenia took a prisoner. Our Pacific neighbour Kiribati was offered millions of dollars to accept detainees.

 Personally, I'd rather have the truth than pollywaffle.

Government regulated markets are not Free Markets

Government regulated markets are not Free Markets. They are like ripping the wings from a Wedge Tail Eagle and conning people into believing that it's an Emu.

Another successful Predator Drone attack

Gangsta Government - Rap Video

There is an entertaining and informative rap video out called Gangsta Government that addresses abuses of freedom by the current Obama administration, although the essence of the criticism is at least bipartisan. The lyrics are on the same page.

Some snippets from the lyrics are as follows:

"Don’t need a Constitution or the rule of law,

we abuse our power using shock and awe.

Thousand page bills, see that’s the new norm,

nobody reads ‘em no more so we’ll get our reform.

Private sector takeover nearly complete,

got health and auto industries under our feet.

 

Regulate your light bulbs, your car and your pad,

listen up kids, government’s your new dad!"

It is from the Minnesota Majority who are a busy body of moralising conservatives and statists. In pointing the finger at their current enemy, Obama, they manage to capture the essence of government corruption. As with many conservatives the problems only "started" at the beginning of 2009.






In this clip Republican Michele Bachmann actually uses the phrase "gangster government" 1 minute and 40 seconds (1:40) into her speech. She can get on her high horse all she likes but she's still riding around in the same glass house. As above, she is so intent on damaging her enemy that she fails to notice the government wide applicability of her criticisms.

TheAntiTerrorist on The Big Business of Being Behind Bars

The AntiTerrorist gives a useful summary of the prison situation in the United States (sorry to give away the answer to his quiz).

If you find the AntiTerrorist a bit disturbing then fast forward in 05:15 to the segment from QI starring the "fabulous" Mr Stephen Fry who questions his panel on U.S. prisons.

Australian 2010 Elections - Hung Parliament

The Australian people have mumbled and we are still incoherent.

Conroy and Gillard reveal their true form

 

 An article by Ben Grubb in the Sydney Morning Herald - "No Minister: 90% of web snoop document censored to stop 'premature unnecessary debate' " - shows the despicable level of contempt that government officials like Stephen Conroy and Julia Gillard have for the people they purportedly "serve". 

The whole article is worth the read.  The link to the censored document is worth a look to give the government fundamentalists out there another insight into what their beliefs bring down on the heads of those around them.

Gerald Celente on the Financial Reform bill

I love Gerald Celente's passion for speaking his mind.  I don't agree with his implications that government is necessary yet his sociological points are nearly always spot on.

In this clip Gerald points out that the Financial Reform Bill signed by Barack Obama is unlikely to change the kind of Wall Street risk-taking that was part of the Global Financial Crisis.

Knowing the government propensity for unintended consequences and a bizarre residence in opposite world, I brace for the ramifications of a bill that will "Protect consumers ... [and make the] financial system stronger" (quoted from the Washington Post article "Congress passes financial reform bill").

Tony Abbott to appear on Hey Hey it's Saturday with Kylie Minogue