america? FUCK YEAHH

[frogman]

"The United States had absolutely nothing to do with this ... We strongly condemn all acts of violence, including acts of violence like what is being reported today," White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-1...entist/3768704

I was taken to Kandahar, in Afghanistan, where American interrogators asked me the same questions for several weeks: Where is Osama bin Laden? Was I with Al Qaeda? No, I told them, I was not with Al Qaeda. No, I had no idea where bin Laden was. I begged the interrogators to please call Germany and find out who I was. During their interrogations, they dunked my head under water and punched me in the stomach; they don’t call this waterboarding but it amounts to the same thing. I was sure I would drown.

At one point, I was chained to the ceiling of a building and hung by my hands for days. A doctor sometimes checked if I was O.K.; then I would be strung up again. The pain was unbearable.

After about two months in Kandahar, I was transferred to Guantánamo. There were more beatings, endless solitary confinement, freezing temperatures and extreme heat, days of forced sleeplessness. The interrogations continued always with the same questions. I told my story over and over — my name, my family, why I was in Pakistan. Nothing I said satisfied them. I realized my interrogators were not interested in the truth.

Despite all this, I looked for ways to feel human. I have always loved animals. I started hiding a piece of bread from my meals and feeding the iguanas that came to the fence. When officials discovered this, I was punished with 30 days in isolation and darkness.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/op...ml?ref=opinion

I still had faith in American justice. I believed my captors would quickly realize their mistake and let me go. But when I would not give the interrogators the answers they wanted — how could I, when I had done nothing wrong? — they became more and more brutal. I was kept awake for many days straight. I was forced to remain in painful positions for hours at a time. These are things I do not want to write about; I want only to forget.

I went on a hunger strike for two years because no one would tell me why I was being imprisoned. Twice each day my captors would shove a tube up my nose, down my throat and into my stomach so they could pour food into me. It was excruciating, but I was innocent and so I kept up my protest.

Fuck you America. Fuck you right in the cornhole.

[Slurm]

ugh

[frogman]

http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publ...cle_4973.shtml

The incident began when Chris Niemeyer, a school security guard, confronted Miss Mervin on Sept. 18 saying she had not picked up enough birthday cake that spilled on the ground in the school’s lunch area.

News media released footage showing Mr. Niemeyer restraining the girl, and then leaping upon another student, Joshua Lockett, who was videotaping the incident until he was attacked by security guards trying to take the camera. When Ms. Lockett begged them to let him go, she said, another guard attacked her, fracturing her arm.

Mr. Niemeyer, who was suspended with pay shortly after the incident, was cleared of any wrongdoing by a sheriff’s investigation and has returned to work.

Beating up school kids, and getting away with it, fuck yeah.

[Slurm]

Just what the hell are future Americans going to be?

They love to wave the human rights abuses flag in the face of countries that defy them, but they have institutionalised abuse.

Its becoming so widespread, its becoming the norm.

[frogman]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...yed-death.html

America, where you can strap a mentally ill grandfather to a chair, refuse him his medication, pepper spray him 10 times (eventually causing his heart to give out), put a hood over his lower face (which has the effect of keeping the pepper spray right in his nose and mouth), refuse to let him wash the reside off and spray him so much that doctors have to keep on changing the gloves they used when treating him because of the amount of residue.

and the best bit? You get away with it.

An internal investigation concluded there no wrongdoing on the part of any Lee County deputy.
None of the deputies involved were disciplined in any way and Florida State Attorney Stephen Russell declined to press criminal charges

[kranky al]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/wor...549624?SThisFB

speechless. just speechless.

there is an attack ad by newt gingrich against mitt romney. the focus of the attack: romney can speak french.

[Slurm]

American politics shake the world!

[monkey]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/wor...549624?SThisFB

speechless. just speechless.

there is an attack ad by newt gingrich against mitt romney. the focus of the attack: romney can speak french.

...and Newt has spent the last month arguing the high ground on the ethics of attack ads and their negative effects on society.

[kranky al]

its always been one of the odd things in yank politics how they cannibalise their own in the primaries before the actual election. it might be a good thing as those on your own side might have dirt on you that the opposition dont have but the only dirt they really seem to dig up is who fucked who so meh

having said that it really doesnt matter a pinch of shit who they elect, they are fucked anyway

[kranky al]

http://www.theonion.com/articles/one...ire-pri,27012/

[The Biz]

Twenty six and a half months until I can finally return to the sweet, sweet shores of the United States
I can taste the Triple Baconators from Wendy's and Steak Gorditas & Ranchero Tacos from Taco Bell already.

[Slurm]

You got banned?

[nosaj D:]

Twenty six and a half months until I can finally return to the sweet, sweet shores of the United States
I can taste the Triple Baconators from Wendy's and Steak Gorditas & Ranchero Tacos from Taco Bell already.

taco bell dont sell nachos
your country fails at mexican food
seeing i saw him live tonight, thought i'd post something relevant by immortal

[kranky al]

[Plankton]

taco bell dont sell nachos
your country fails at mexican food
seeing i saw him live tonight, thought i'd post something relevant by immortal

Was a cool show. It's a shame his voice had blown out from previous shows and he struggled to maintain how he felt. It probably got to him so much. Still, it was such an honour to see him perform.




I feel this interview with 'tech is relevant right now too, seeing as he's really scratching briefly at the so called litmus test that really is the only pivotal mechanism that decides whether we actually watch people sent to slaughter and be slaughtered, truly disrupt a nation in every possible way psychologically and plant god knows how many seeds for future retribution. It does seem like the so called deciding factors are being spun right about now for Iran.

It's kinda funny at the moment how people are up in arms over soldiers pissing on dead bodies as if that level of disgust is a supposedly 'right way' to feel about such an act during a conflict. As if it's how we're told to feel about and have acted before so lets just give in to habitual responses and respond with disgust because it's how we're supposed to feel. It just seems like a feeble grab at separation - like smudging cognitive dissonance until you can't recognise it. We send people over there to kill, infuse a region with a complete infestation of mercenaries with little to no boundries bound by such a deep intracacy of contracts and we manouvre in such a way as to reap the most benefit from the occupying situation, to ensure the guilt when walking away won't be so bad because we've taken so much to ease the pain.

[monkey]

great interview....so annoyed I couldnt go last night.

[stevie_]

great interview....so annoyed I couldnt go last night.

Likewise. Very intelligent and compassionate sounding person.

[Slurm]

[Slurm]

lolllllllll *cringe*

Tucson schools bans books by Chicano and Native American authors

TUCSON — Outrage was the response to the news that Tucson schools has banned books, including “Rethinking Columbus,” with an essay by award-winning Pueblo author Leslie Marmon Silko, who lives in Tucson, and works by Buffy Sainte Marie, Winona LaDuke, Leonard Peltier and Rigoberta Menchu.


The decision to ban books follows the 4 to 1 vote on Tuesday by the Tucson Unified School District board to succumb to the State of Arizona, and forbid Mexican American Studies, rather than fight the state decision.


Students said the banned books were seized from their classrooms and out of their hands, after Tucson schools banned Mexican American Studies, including a book of photos of Mexico. Crying, students said it was like Nazi Germany, and they were unable to sleep since it happened.


The banned book, “Rethinking Columbus,” includes work by many Native Americans, as Debbie Reese reports, the book includes:


Suzan Shown Harjo’s “We Have No Reason to Celebrate”
Buffy Sainte-Marie’s “My Country, ‘Tis of Thy People You’re Dying”
Joseph Bruchac’s “A Friend of the Indians”
Cornel Pewewardy’s “A Barbie-Doll Pocahontas”
N. Scott Momaday’s “The Delight Song of Tsoai-Talee”
Michael Dorris’s “Why I’m Not Thankful for Thanksgiving”
Leslie Marmon’s “Ceremony”
Wendy Rose’s “Three Thousand Dollar Death Song”
Winona LaDuke’s “To the Women of the World: Our Future, Our Responsibility”


The now banned reading list of the Tucson schools’ Mexican American Studies includes two books by Native American author Sherman Alexie and a book of poetry by O’odham poet Ofelia Zepeda."


OH NO! THEY BE REVISING OUR REVISIONISM!

[kranky al]

i insist that they re- revise the revisionism stat

[Slurm]

[Slurm]

“I suspect the real purpose of this bill [NDAA] is to thwart internal, domestic movements that threaten the corporate state.

The definition of a terrorist is already so amorphous under the Patriot Act that there are probably a few million Americans who qualify to be investigated if not locked up.

Consider the arcane criteria that can make you a suspect in our new military-corporate state.

The Department of Justice considers you worth investigating if you are missing a few fingers, if you have weatherproof ammunition, if you own guns or if you have hoarded more than seven days of food in your house.

Adding a few of the obstructionist tactics of the Occupy movement to this list would be a seamless process.

On the whim of the military, a suspected “terrorist” who also happens to be a U.S. citizen can suffer extraordinary rendition—being kidnapped and then left to rot in one of our black sites “until the end of hostilities.”

Since this is an endless war that will be a very long stay.




This demented “war on terror” is as undefined and vague as such a conflict is in any totalitarian state.

Dissent is increasingly equated in this country with treason.

Enemies supposedly lurk in every organization that does not chant the patriotic mantras provided to it by the state.

And this bill feeds a mounting state paranoia. It expands our permanent war to every spot on the globe.

It erases fundamental constitutional liberties. It means we can no longer use the word “democracy” to describe our political system.




The supine and gutless Democratic Party, which would have feigned outrage if George W. Bush had put this into law, appears willing, once again, to grant Obama a pass.

But I won’t. What he has done is unforgivable, unconstitutional and exceedingly dangerous.

The threat and reach of al-Qaida—which I spent a year covering for The New York Times in Europe and the Middle East—are marginal, despite the attacks of 9/11.

The terrorist group poses no existential threat to the nation.

It has been so disrupted and broken that it can barely function.

Osama bin Laden was gunned down by commandos and his body dumped into the sea.

Even the Pentagon says the organization is crippled.




So why, a decade after the start of the so-called war on terror, do these draconian measures need to be implemented?

Why do U.S. citizens now need to be specifically singled out for military detention and denial of due process when under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force the president can apparently find the legal cover to serve as judge, jury and executioner to assassinate U.S. citizens, as he did in the killing of the cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen?

Why is this bill necessary when the government routinely ignores our Fifth Amendment rights—“No person shall be deprived of life without due process of law”—as well as our First Amendment right of free speech? How much more power do they need to fight “terrorism”?




Fear is the psychological weapon of choice for totalitarian systems of power.

Make the people afraid.

Get them to surrender their rights in the name of national security.

And then finish off the few who aren’t afraid enough.

If this law is not revoked we will be no different from any sordid military dictatorship.

Its implementation will be a huge leap forward for the corporate oligarchs who plan to continue to plunder the nation and use state and military security to cow the population into submission."

Chris Hedges Why I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'m Suing Barack Obama

[frogman]

The threat and reach of al-Qaida—which I spent a year covering for The New York Times in Europe and the Middle East—are marginal, despite the attacks of 9/11.

The terrorist group poses no existential threat to the nation.

It has been so disrupted and broken that it can barely function.

Osama bin Laden was gunned down by commandos and his body dumped into the sea.

Even the Pentagon says the organization is crippled.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-1...i-town/3777114

Who to believe?

[Slurm]

The same day he posted in his column!

[Slurm]

Supreme Court Says Congress May Re-Copyright Public Domain Works

Fuck off.

[kranky al]

i dont like to spend lots of time agreeing with filthy armpit plaiting hiipie fucks but..... proofs in the pudding. scary shit goi g on in the us atm

“I suspect the real purpose of this bill [NDAA] is to thwart internal, domestic movements that threaten the corporate state. The definition of a terrorist is already so amorphous under the Patriot Act that there are probably a few million Americans who qualify to be investigated if not locked up. Consider the arcane criteria that can make you a suspect in our new military-corporate state. The Department of Justice considers you worth investigating if you are missing a few fingers, if you have weatherproof ammunition, if you own guns or if you have hoarded more than seven days of food in your house. Adding a few of the obstructionist tactics of the Occupy movement to this list would be a seamless process. On the whim of the military, a suspected “terrorist” who also happens to be a U.S. citizen can suffer extraordinary rendition—being kidnapped and then left to rot in one of our black sites “until the end of hostilities.” Since this is an endless war that will be a very long stay.This demented “war on terror” is as undefined and vague as such a conflict is in any totalitarian state.Dissent is increasingly equated in this country with treason. Enemies supposedly lurk in every organization that does not chant the patriotic mantras provided to it by the state. And this bill feeds a mounting state paranoia. It expands our permanent war to every spot on the globe. It erases fundamental constitutional liberties. It means we can no longer use the word “democracy” to describe our political system.The supine and gutless Democratic Party, which would have feigned outrage if George W. Bush had put this into law, appears willing, once again, to grant Obama a pass. But I won’t. What he has done is unforgivable, unconstitutional and exceedingly dangerous. The threat and reach of al-Qaida—which I spent a year covering for The New York Times in Europe and the Middle East—are marginal, despite the attacks of 9/11. The terrorist group poses no existential threat to the nation. It has been so disrupted and broken that it can barely function. Osama bin Laden was gunned down by commandos and his body dumped into the sea. Even the Pentagon says the organization is crippled.So why, a decade after the start of the so-called war on terror, do these draconian measures need to be implemented? Why do U.S. citizens now need to be specifically singled out for military detention and denial of due process when under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force the president can apparently find the legal cover to serve as judge, jury and executioner to assassinate U.S. citizens, as he did in the killing of the cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen? Why is this bill necessary when the government routinely ignores our Fifth Amendment rights—“No person shall be deprived of life without due process of law”—as well as our First Amendment right of free speech? How much more power do they need to fight “terrorism”?Fear is the psychological weapon of choice for totalitarian systems of power. Make the people afraid. Get them to surrender their rights in the name of national security. And then finish off the few who aren’t afraid enough. If this law is not revoked we will be no different from any sordid military dictatorship. Its implementation will be a huge leap forward for the corporate oligarchs who plan to continue to plunder the nation and use state and military security to cow the population into submission."Chris Hedges Why I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'m Suing Barack Obama

[nosaj D:]

http://www.suntimes.com/business/101...in-senate.html
seems like wiki's 24 hour blackout worked

[frogman]

http://www.suntimes.com/business/101...in-senate.html
seems like wiki's 24 hour blackout worked

You realise it wasnt just wikipedia, yeah?

[nosaj D:]

only just woke up, but wiki was the one i noticed yesterday. also heard anon has been wreaking havoc, business as usual. also megauploads owner getting arrested. that's all i really know

[Grover]

Can't believe they are (almost) getting away with censoring the innernets under the guise of protecting the American film and TV industry. Who gives a fuck about Hollywood? They just re-make everyone else's stuff anyway, thieving carnts.

[frogman]

Given how megaupload/video was shut down, I dont think they even need SOPA/PIPA

[Grover]

And while we're on the subject, WHY DO WE NEED A REMAKE OF TOTAL RECALL???

They're messing with the classics, man. They've started feeding on their own.

[Slurm]

Hollywood was founded on the solid ethics of avoiding patents (thats why they moved out west in the first place) and making movies of everyone else's stories. They have built their empire on the back of other people's work and thats why their cries of "foul!" are so amusing.

What they need to remake is Raiders, or 2001, or Citizen Kane starring Ben Affleck and Jay Z

The record industry is even more amusing.

But the world having to bow to decisions made by US interests really pisses me off.

[Slurm]

[neonknome]

[neonknome]

[Slurm]

Mmmmmm crony capitalism. Nutritious AND delicious

[The Biz]

It's astounding that so many Americans are mourning the death/celebrating the life of a man who turned a blind eye to child molestation all in the name of sporting success. Rest In Peace? Please.

[frogman]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...,1632557.story

Im really not too sure where to start on this one. Defense contractors opposed a bill aimed at reducing security forces from trafficking in sex slaves. They were successful.

[nosaj D:]

"

The lobbying groups opposing the plan say they're in favor of the idea in principle, but said they believe that implementing key portions of it overseas is unrealistic. "
i would find that statement lol worthy if not for the topic...

[neonknome]

[AngryJungMan]

"The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth."

- Henry Louis Mencken

[frogman]

http://m.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/j...d&type=article

America - Where rape babies are gifts from god.

[monkey]

US State of the Union on atm. Maybe Obama's last?

[nosaj D:]

its insulting to people who have actually gone through it if he think's he'd be able to keep his convictions unquestionably if that really did happen

[Slurm]

Joke of the Union. What a load of horseshit it all is.

[chay]

its insulting to people who have actually gone through it if he think's he'd be able to keep his convictions unquestionably if that really did happen

the only moral abortion is MY abortion - when the anti-choice choose

i think it would go something like that

[monkey]

Joke of the Union. What a load of horseshit it all is.

You're on fire today slurm.

Is there any significant difference in your eyes if the dems or the gop are in power? Do you have a preference?

[nosaj D:]

the only moral abortion is MY abortion - when the anti-choice choose

i think it would go something like that

seeing most of these people are probably fundamentalist christians (the anti-choice lot), bar their own hypocracy, i wonder if they're aware the bible kind of preaches against intercourse before marriage

[Slurm]

You're on fire today slurm.

Is there any significant difference in your eyes if the dems or the gop are in power? Do you have a preference?

There are differences, but its pretty much the same as any two-party corporate democracy.

Its all lies and hand-waving and smoke-and-mirrors, pretending there is some sort of legitimacy to their system of government.