Friday

Finally.  Don’t know what I’m doing yet, but it doesn’t involve 2 of these, I’m gonna be pissed.

Look at it.  Just look at it. 

Yawn

Another day goes by, and another huge pile of nothing gets done on this weblog.  Off to a fantastic start. 

Hopefully I’ll get some larger stuff up this weekend. It’s hard writing a coherent essay when I’m supposed to be working.

In the mean time…,

Here we have a brief report on
Turkeys new anti terrorism law. 

This new clamp down is of course in response to the activities of the the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) a militant organization viewed as a terrorist group by the EU, the
US and others.

One of the things that interest me is watching the way satellite states co-opt the war on terrorism rhetoric for their own local needs. Amnesty International has already earned the contempt of right wingers by pointing this out.  But we have seen this again and again, from Uzbekistan to Thailand, to Indonesia, to the Philippines and onward, local governments tout terrorism as an excuse to repress their populace, all while using Bush’s psychobabble about freedom and apple pie as cover.  This is the slightest alteration on the cold war formulae, where the most bluntly thuggish pricks could count on US support simply by mouthing magical anti commie incantations.  And it works every time, because just as our socio-economic betters didn’t really give a shit about communism then, they really don’t give a shit about terrorism now. What they do care about is extending our (read: their) military and economic power.

The first

in a long line of unread posts. Introductions are silly. I’m sure if you stick around you’ll figure it out.

Hopefully I’ll be getting some long posts in soon.  For now, I thought I would just throw in a few links.  

Here is the roll call for the anti-flag burning amendment.  Please note the yeas from Dianne Feinstein and Harry Reid. Try not to act stunned.

Dianne Feinstein is, of course, a long standing enemy of the First Amendment, so this is right in character.

Speaking of the first amendment, Glenn Greenwald has a good post up on the latest wave of anti-speech hysteria from the hard right. 

 

Close to home, we have the latest on the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center. Interesting story.  Apparently applying electroshocks is the only way some kids will listen.  I would have thought an unwound coat hanger would have sufficed, but what do I know?

Some parents are angrily defending the school, claiming that their kids were unmanageable before the school began torturing them.  It makes my eyes cross to think about it, but there you go.

This is easily the most fucked up thing to happen in
Mass. since we almost eliminated the state income tax and wound up electing mittens the clown governor. So, you know, props for that.

That’s all for now. More to follow.  Until then I’ll leave you with this, from Red, who handles the important stuff with more skill than I could ever muster:

And another thing: Words are officially useless when it comes to describing Ortiz. Going forward, anyone wishing to describe the unstoppable awesomeness that is Papi should be forced to do so using only George Lucas-approved CGI effects, complete with spaceships, whirling planets, and plenty of ’splosions, because that’s what the man is all about. As a last resort, interpretive dance is acceptable, but only if it includes a sequence in which one dancer, representing Ortiz, kicks another dancer, representing a pitcher, in the groin.

Later