This article fucking ROCKS. Naomi Klein in Harpers. Such the dynamic duo...
It tells the story of the restructuring of Iraq as the super exciting escapades of NeoCon utopia building. Exerpt:
But Bremer didn’t give up. International law prohibits occupiers from selling state assets themselves, but it doesn’t say anything about the puppet governments they appoint. Originally, Bremer had pledged to hand over power to a directly elected Iraqi government, but in early November he went to Washington for a private meeting with President Bush and came back with a Plan B. On June 30 the occupation would officially end—but not really. It would be replaced by an appointed government, chosen by Washington. This government would not be bound by the international laws preventing occupiers from selling off state assets, but it would be bound by an “interim constitution,” a document that would protect Bremer’s investment and privatization laws.
This is an interesting articel from Wired magazine that chronicles the debate over Darwinism and Intelligent Design evolutionary theory in USA public schools.
If you're unfamiliar with it, the ID theory concludes that natural selection can't explain the "irreducible complexity" of molecular mechanisms like the bacterial flagellum, because its integrated parts offer no selective advantages on their own, so there must be a designer. Apparently people point to both God and Aliens; both seem somewhat logical to me. Why the hell not? I just can't imagine that science has all the answers. And the article doesn't even attempt to refute ID theory, just pretty much states that the followers are all inase, which they very well might be. But obviously science and the methodological materialism are missing something big in the way they look at humans. I'm not a biologist and can't grasp the concepts of chaos well enough to comprehend the complexity of random mutations. And as yet, no biologist have been able to explain it well enough to me. Plus I like believeing aliens begat humanity. Convince me otherwise, if you wish.
FAIR-L
Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting
Media analysis, critiques and activism
ACTION ALERT:
60 Minutes: Shelving a Story to Boost Bush?
CBS puts Niger expose on hold as boss endorses Republicans
September 28, 2004
In an outrageous politicization of journalism, CBS announced it would not air a report on forged documents that the Bush administration used to sell the Iraq war until after the November 2 election (New York Times, 9/25/04). A network spokesperson issued a statement declaring, "We now believe it would be inappropriate to air the report so close to the presidential election."
The 60 Minutes segment was ready to air on September 8, but was bumped in favor of the now infamous report that relied on supposed National Guard memos whose authenticity CBS now says it cannot confirm. The furor over the Guard memos has created a situation where CBS executives say "the network can now not credibly air a report questioning how the Bush administration could have gotten taken in by phony documents" (Newsweek online, 9/22/04).
Of course, what's really inappropriate here is CBS allowing its PR problems to suppress a news report on an important issue until after it no longer matters. The shelved 60 Minutes story deals with the origins of documents purportedly showing that Iraq under Saddam Hussein tried to obtain uranium from Niger-- documents that turned out to be forgeries. The story, according to the Newsweek online report, asks "tough questions about how the White House came to embrace the fraudulent documents and why administration officials chose to include a 16-word reference to the questionable uranium purchase in President Bush's 2003 State of the Union speech."
Though such questions are clearly relevant to a presidential campaign that largely revolves around Bush's decision to invade Iraq, CBS intends to keep the answers to itself until the election has passed. Could there be more than the embarrassment over the Guard story behind this decision?
Sumner Redstone, CEO of CBS's parent company Viacom, made an unusual
political statement at a gathering of corporate leaders in Hong Kong (Asian Wall Street Journal, 9/24/04):
"I don't want to denigrate Kerry... but from a Viacom standpoint, the election of a Republican administration is a better deal. Because the Republican administration has stood for many things we believe in, deregulation and so on. The Democrats are not bad people.... But from a Viacom standpoint, we believe the election of a Republican administration is better for our company."
Redstone repeated these sentiments in an interview with Time (10/4/04):
"There has been comment upon my contribution to Democrats like Senator Kerry. Senator Kerry is a good man. I've known him for many years. But it happens that I vote for Viacom. Viacom is my life, and I do believe that a Republican administration is better for media companies than a Democratic one."
According to a write-up by Forbes (9/23/04)-- the sponsor of the conference where Redstone issued his endorsement of Bush-- the CEO asserted that "he never gets involved in any aspects of the network's news coverage." But that claim, hard to believe when made by any media industry chief executive, seems particularly dubious given Forbes' report that "Redstone said he has been talking daily to top CBS officials and to Viacom board members about the controversy" over the Guard memos.
It is journalistically indefensible for CBS to withhold a story due to embarrassment incurred by another, unrelated piece. It is particularly unacceptable when the shelving of a story benefits a candidate that CBS's boss has just publicly endorsed. If CBS wants to restore trust in its news judgment, it can begin by applying journalistic standards, not political calculations, to the decision on when to air its report on the origin of the forged Niger documents.
ACTION: Please contact 60 Minutes and urge them to stand up for journalistic principle by airing the report on the Niger forgeries. And call Viacom and CBS executives and tell them to allow 60 Minutes to report the news without political interference.
CONTACT:
CBS
60 Minutes
524 West 57th St.
New York, NY 10019
mailto:60m@cbsnews.com
Phone: (212) 975-3247
Sumner Redstone, Chairman, Viacom
(212) 258-6000
Les Moonves, Chairman of CBS; co-President & co-CEO, Viacom
(323) 575-2345
As always, please remember that your comments are taken more seriously if
you maintain a polite tone. Please cc fair@fair.org with your correspondence.
Sweet Jesus! Men and Women are DIFFERENT!
When it comes to sickness and death....
Recent discoveries suggest that genes, hormones and lifestyle may be behind many of the differences. For example:
_Lung cancer, not breast cancer, is the No. 1 cancer killer among women
_Heart attacks in women frequently don't involve chest pain and may involve more vague, flu-like symptoms.
_Women who don't smoke appear to be more susceptible to lung cancer than nonsmoking men. Women also tend to get lung cancer at younger ages than men, and they appear to metabolize cancer-causing substances differently than men.
_Women are less likely than men to get oral cancer.
_Women are more prone to autoimmune diseases, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, in which disease-fighting mechanisms mistakenly attack the body's own tissues.
_Some AIDS-fighting medicines appear to metabolize more quickly in men than in women, who may require gender-specific doses.
_Women's symptoms for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease - debilitating intestinal diseases that affect men and women - vary considerably each month, requiring frequent medication adjustments.
I went to go see Laura Nader speak last night and am back in the Nader camp. She, being a world renowned anthropologist in her own right, only briefly touched on the pink elephant of her brother and the upcoming election. Of course I would vote for Kerry if I was in a swing state but in the end it does seem that all he does is put a smiley face on all of the things Bush is doing obviously. Kerry would also have a far better domestic agenda and stop, or slow, the funneling of money from the lower and middle classes upwards. But the international economic, political, and military practices of the US would continue with less international condemnation and attention than they would under Bush. Dr. Nader brought up the fact that over a million people died from the depleted uranium left over by Clinton’s bombing in Iraq, mostly children. Bush has yet to kill a million Iraqis, it’s just that he gets more attention and is a horrible diplomat.
Dr. Nader also talked about use of US economic and political restructuring as a modern form of plunder. The difference between Genghis Kahn and Bush is that Kahn didn’t feel like he had to justify anything, Bush uses law for that. But pretty much the gist is that we go in, and set up a system where all the wealth and resources of a country get funneled into the hands of a powerful few and out of the country into multinational corporations. It’s all perfectly “justified” under law, but that law exists to make people money.
Order 39 of Paul Bremer’s recent edicts (Hello colonialism) exists to encourage foreign investment, sets up a free market economy, privatizes many state run industries like parks and financial institutions, and then declares multinationals can remove 100% of their profits from the country until 2005, when his edicts *might* be able to be changed. That means no one, especially not Halliburton, has to pay taxes to the Iraqi people. Also, Order 17 grants immunity from Iraqi law to all members of the U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq, as well as to foreign contractors and diplomats. Order 57 establishes independent inspectors general in every Iraqi ministry who are authorized to conduct investigations, audits, evaluations, and other reviews. The Bremer-appointed inspectors serve five-year terms. He also made a committee to over see elections and can remove candidates they are not fond of.
A full list of Bremer’s edicts can be found here.
And an article from the Washington Post is here.
This is a great article by Naomi Klien from last year on the subject.
And here is a great article from the International Movement for a Just World (whoever they are).
“By a stroke of a pen, the American Governor of Occupied Iraq had transformed an economy which under the earlier Baathist Constitution had barred the privatization of vital State enterprises and prohibited foreigners from owning Iraqi firms, into an ultra capitalist economy which to all intents and purposes is designed to serve as an appendage of neo-liberal American capitalism. Though Order 39 is a violation of the Hague Regulations of 1907 and of international law, Washington has pushed ahead with the economic occupation of Iraq since that was one of the primary purposes behind the March 2003 invasion.”
Dr. Nader ended by saying that our country is very much in trouble and we are. She even appealed to Canada to help, which seemed horribly useless, but shows how grim the situation is. We have torture camps people! This is us, OUR country, WE are allowing our government to hold and torture prisoners outside of US borders and, therefore, the Geneva Convention. WE are planning to use MICROWAVE guns to nuke the skin of Iraqis as of next year (see below). I’m fucking telling you people, this system is getting out of control and right now it’s ravishing the world, but it’s only a few more years till the American people get restructured as well.
One very hopeful thing she had to say was that the NeoCons are really just a handful of very motivated and powerful people. Which is true. And it should give us hope that if we can become very motivated and powerful, we can change things too.
So now all of the above seems like an argument against Ralph and for Kerry. But I don’t think any of you are in swing states so really, there is no reason to vote for Kerry if you don’t want to. And please don’t think I am making the oversimplified argument of “they are both the same.” Kerry would do wonders for our international reputation and possibly keep our oh-so-fragile international law and human rights from falling to pieces. But things need to change fundamentally rather than just putting a nice face on it. The Republicans are nice and obvious with their pulling rights out of libraries and phony terror warnings on drugs from Canada (2 days after banning them for Medicare patients!). Kerry is not the man to change things. Ralph is sort of crazy and has no chance ever but at least he’s fighting the fight.
OK. END RANT.
In Atlanta, 14% of black men can’t vote.
And 34% of black men between the ages of 18 and 34 can’t vote.
This article states that this is most likely representitive of other states as well.
This web site has contact info for elected officials from federal to local as well as a "Media Guide" with all the local and national media in your area including reporters' names and phone numbers, etc. It has contacts for government agencies. It has copies of bills before congress, vote tallies for bills.
It also has action alerts submitted by various organizations and a soapbox, or you can send email from the site with the option to leave the body of your letter on the site for others to read..
US is going to use Microwave guns on Iraqis.
It’s going to be used for crowd dispersal. This is a great quote, “"It just feels like your skin is on fire."
Republicans Admit Mailing Campaign Literature Saying Liberals Will Ban the Bible
Really, you have to admire their propaganda ability. I think it’s amazing. They’re so good at it. I’m jealous.
“Those who seek to bestow legitimacy must themselves embody it, and those who invoke international law must themselves submit to it.” ~ Kofi Annan at the UN General Assembly
Full speech (it rocks).
__________________________________________________________
As opposed to:
The world reaction to Bush’s UN speech:
“Yet the president put an almost cheerful spin on the turmoil, forecasting success in stopping the violence and in sticking to the January deadline for national elections. The glib, simplistic level of the Iraq portion of his speech was almost insulting, considering his audience, remarked one Western diplomat who was present. The French newspaper Le Monde Wednesday quoted an African official as saying, (Bush) gives us lessons, but he doesn't apply them himself.”
An interesting article from CAKE NYC on the G-Spot:
Despite decades of quality research and the experiences of millions of women, misinformation about the G-spot still runs rampant, gets passed off as truth and on top of it all, receives praise. Just check out an excerpt from a recent book on sexuality by Leonard Shalin:
"To many male reproductive physiologists, the G spot resembles the mythical unicorn, the horned white stallion that some women can easily see and know exists. For some women and the majority of men, despite a diligent search, the magnificent creature continues to remain elusive...If the clitoris evolved in humans only to confer upon a woman exquisite delight, what would compel Mother Nature to create a secondary pleasure center in an inaccessible region that is difficult to find and unlikely to be stimulated in the course of prosaic lovemaking? "
From: Sex, Time and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution, 2003
A mythical unicorn??? This needs to stop once and for all!
The G-spot is not obscure, inaccessible or remote. It is a term that refers to the female prostate, which is made up of real, live erectile tissue, ducts, glands and nerves. And while it may relate to reproduction, it is more often associated with pleasure.
Much of the "confusion" about the G-spot is simply due to terminology, The term, the G-spot, was coined by Alice Ladas, Beverly Whipple and John Perry in 1982 to refer to an area on the upper wall of the vagina, where women reported sensitive to stimulation. In particular, the researchers identified that for some women, a "spot" behind the public bone was most sensitive. There is a basic, anatomical reason for women reporting pleasure from stimulation of the upper wall of the vagina. We now know that like the boys, girls have erectile tissue surrounding the urethra that becomes engorged when we are turned on. This erectile tissue can be reached through that area on the vaginal wall. Ok – so now we are getting somewhere.
All women have erectile tissue that surrounds the urethra, running parallel to the upper wall of the vagina and this erectile tissue is responsive. In other words, it can feel good to stroke it. Sound familiar? This tissue has glands that can produce fluid and ducts that lead this fluid out the body through the urethra. Because of this form and function, we now call this network of ducts, glands and tissue the female prostate, and we call the fluid female ejaculate.
The concentration of glands and ducts within the erectile tissue differs from woman to woman. Your G-"spot" is the area along the erectile tissue, which you find most pleasurable when stimulated through the vaginal wall. You may find that where your erectile tissue is more concentrated with prostatic ducts and glands, you are more sensitive. Pleasure is individual; some women like this stimulation, some women do not.
But since there is a lot of sexist, incorrect information out there, including a recent article in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology calling the G-spot a gynecological “UFO”! - it is high time to give some clear cut directions through this “mysterious” world of female pleasure. So Leonard, if you are with a gal that likes her prostate rubbed, here are some tips on how to stimulate this easily accessible area.
Tips for the guys (for the girls who love them):
Just like you can find the penis through pants more easily when it is hard, the female prostate is easier to feel through the vaginal wall when a woman is turned on. If aroused, the erectile tissue increases in size, part of which presses down on the upper wall of the vaginal canal, which can make penetration more pleasurable for some women.
If you are luckily endowed - no not length wise, but with a penis that's got a slight curve - missionary style sex will easily stimulate the upper wall of the vagina. Otherwise you can try other positions like legs up and feet by the head, or doggie style to rub the upper wall.
If you are more of a straightforward guy, use your fingers to stimulate the prostate. With your girl lying on her back, take two fingers and put them at the vaginal opening, with your palm facing up. Instead of going straight back and finding a space for your finger, curve your fingers and push them up, following the tissue on the upper wall. By pushing up against the top wall of the vagina, you are stimulating the erectile tissue that surrounds the urethra.
There are toys, like the crystal wand, which are shaped specifically for targeting this area. Get one and try it out!
The female prostate can have different shapes, which accounts for different areas of sensitivity. For some women, the area of sensitivity can be close to the vaginal opening, other's midway in, and still others back towards the cervix.
Female anatomy is really that straightforward - some would say as easy to figure out as the male anatomy just outside in! In this day and age, it makes no sense that this information is mucked up and murky.
What we need now is to continue to use women's experiences to push for more research and more mainstream information. There is still a lot we can find out about the female prostate and female pleasure. Though the female anatomy functions as a unit, women report differences in orgasm relating to where the stimulation occurs and for some women the G-spot provides a distinct type of pleasure. So, if you have seen the unicorn, please report your sighting and respond to this week's byte! Tell us what kind of direct vaginal stimulation you like, what area you find most sensitive, and how this relates to your orgasm, so we can spread the word on options for female sexual pleasure. Speak truth to power!
Yet another article in the New York Times about how fucked the US is when it comes to international trade. Chaina and Japan will own us. Just you wait...Excerpts below.
"To cover the debt, the United States has become more dependent on foreign governments. According to one study, private foreign investors have grown wary of financing the United States deficit over the last year; as a result, Asian governments have stepped in, especially Japan and China, and now provide 87 percent of the inflow of dollars to cover the gap in what Americans earn from selling and investing abroad."
Also, funny quotes:
"The Bush administration interpreted the current account deficit as a sign that other countries were lagging behind the United States and needed to pump up their economies...
"The imbalance "is largely a result of the global growth deficit," Mr. Nichols said. "It's important that the rest of the world grow more, which will expand our ability to export and aid our manufacturing industry."
It's totally happening. Companies are too international to regulate. They're sucking the US dry. Try to tell them to pay taxes and they're just going to up and relocate all together. While the people in the US stay and lose money and jobs. It's going to be fascinating to watch people realize this.
"Fifty-eight percent of offshore profits are now taken in tax havens"
"The figures also show how Congress, by eroding the capacity of the Internal Revenue Service to enforce tax laws and through laws and treaties that favor the use of tax havens, is shifting the burden of taxes from multinational companies to individuals and purely domestic companies."
"Congress gives companies a dollar-for-dollar credit on taxes paid in foreign countries, which in practice is a subsidy for offshore investment.
Congress also permits perpetual deferral of taxes on profits earned offshore - but only if they are not returned to the United States, a practice that critics say encourages job creation overseas to the detriment of American workers. "