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Prisoner of Trebekistan?

30 Seconds of Panic

friday random ten

Photo by Ryan McManus
"song" - artist [album]

1. "Pills, Powders And Passion Plays" - Motorpsycho + Jaga Jazzist Horns [In the Fishtank #10]
2. "Hep! Shouiitt" - Nadya [Ultra Chicks, Vol. 4: yé-yé girls!]
3. "An Cat Dubh" - U2 [Live at the Hammersmith Palais, London 1982-12-06]
4. "Not a Crime" - Gogol Bordello [Gypsy Punks]
5. "I'm Ok, You're Fucked" - The Queers [Don't Back Down]
6. "Gene Clark" - Teenage Fanclub [Thirteen]
7. "Airtight" - So Many Dynamos [Are We Not Drawn Onward to New Era?]
8. "Last American Exit" - The Tragically Hip [The Spectrum, Toronto, Ontario 12/89]
9. "I Want Another Enema" - The Hidden Cameras [Mississauga Goddam]
10."Hard Chargin' Woman" - Zephyr [Zephyr]

Video bonus: The Walkmen - "The Rat"



Download the Friday Random Ten (audio - .mp3/video- .flv/71mb)

The Torturer's Apprentice

Ray McGovern

Addressing the use of torture Wednesday, President George W. Bush played to the baser instincts of Americans as he strained to turn his violation of national and international law into Exhibit A on how “tough” he is on terrorists. His tour de force brought to mind the charge the Athenians leveled at Socrates—making the worse case appear the better. Bush’s remarks made it abundantly clear, though, that he is not about to take the hemlock.

As the fifth anniversary of 9/11 approaches and with the midterm elections just two months away, the president's speechwriters succeeded in making a silk purse out of the sow’s ear of torture. The artful offensive will succeed if—but only if—the mainstream media is as cowed, and the American people as dumb, as the president thinks they are. Arguably a war criminal under international law and a capital-crime felon under U.S. criminal law, Bush’s legal jeopardy is even clearer than when he went AWOL during the Vietnam War. And this time, his father will not be able to fix it.

Bush in jeopardy? Yes. The issue is torture, which George W. Bush authorized in a Feb. 7, 2002, memorandum in contravention both of the Geneva Accords and 18 U.S. Code 2441—the War Crimes Act that incorporates the Geneva provisions into the federal criminal code which was approved by a Republican-led Congress in 1996. Heeding the advice of Vice President Dick Cheney’s counsel, David Addington, then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales and Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee, the president officially opened the door to torture in that memorandum. His remarks yesterday reflect the determination of Cheney and Bush to keep that door open and accuse those who would close it of being "soft on terrorists."

Project Censored

Top 25 Censored Stories of 2006

#1 Bush Administration Moves to Eliminate Open Government

#2 Media Coverage Fails on Iraq: Fallujah and the Civilian Death

#3 Another Year of Distorted Election Coverage

#4 Surveillance Society Quietly Moves In

#5 U.S. Uses Tsunami to Military Advantage in Southeast Asia

#6 The Real Oil for Food Scam

#7 Journalists Face Unprecedented Dangers to Life and Livelihood

#8 Iraqi Farmers Threatened By Bremer’s Mandates

#9 Iran’s New Oil Trade System Challenges U.S. Currency

#10 Mountaintop Removal Threatens Ecosystem and Economy

#11 Universal Mental Screening Program Usurps Parental Rights

#12 Military in Iraq Contracts Human Rights Violators

#13 Rich Countries Fail to Live up to Global Pledges

#14 Corporations Win Big on Tort Reform, Justice Suffers

#15 Conservative Plan to Override Academic Freedom in the Classroom

#16 U.S. Plans for Hemispheric Integration Include Canada

#17 U.S. Uses South American Military Bases to Expand Control of the Region

#18 Little Known Stock Fraud Could Weaken U.S. Economy

#19 Child Wards of the State Used in AIDS Experiments

#20 American Indians Sue for Resources; Compensation Provided to Others

#21 New Immigration Plan Favors Business Over People

#22 Nanotechnology Offers Exciting Possibilities But Health Effects Need Scrutiny

#23 Plight of Palestinian Child Detainees Highlights Global Problem

#24 Ethiopian Indigenous Victims of Corporate and Government Resource Aspirations

#25 Homeland Security Was Designed to Fail

thursday morning briefs

Senate wants to blow up more civilians

On a 70-30 vote, the Senate defeated an amendment to a Pentagon budget bill to block use of the deadly munitions near populated areas. The vote came after the State Department announced last month that it is investigating whether Israel misused American-made cluster bombs in civilian areas of Lebanon.

Keith Olberman - 'Have You No Sense of Decency, Sir?'

Tony Blair's administration has been dealt what may turn out to be a fatal blow by the resignation of seven members of his Government.