“They had the original bus that Rosa Parks sat in, the one that sparked off the civil rights protests. It’s beautifully preserved. I was going to sit in her seat but there was a black woman sitting there at the time. I thought better of asking her to move.”
An anonymous but sensible Detroit conference-goer quoted in the Guardian
It took more than thirty years, but we’ve finally done it. We broke the American dollar.
Now for all the National Post articles claiming this is bad for our country. Of course it is: because you chained us to your bloody Conservative trade policy of bending over and giving the Americans anything they wanted. I only hope it ruins the venal minority who thrust this, unwanted, upon our country.
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Shocking news from Guantanamo Bay, as reports trickle in that security has been breached, in several, very palpable ways.
Prisoners have been sighted in possession of, and actually wearing, contraband items which have obviously been smuggled in somehow, to purportedly the most secure compound on Earth. Ringed by the Caribbean Ocean, patrolled by endless US Navy and Coast Guard boats, continuously scouted by fighter jets and surveillance drones, nonetheless the Gitmo prison camp has proven as porous as cheesecloth, all the forces of the United States Military no more effective than the elderly, be-aproned greeters at Wal-Mart.
We’re talking Speedos, people.
From the AP, via the Guardian:
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – Guards at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp found two prisoners sporting unauthorized underwear, and the U.S. military is investigating to determine how they got the contraband.
Both prisoners were caught wearing Under Armour briefs and one also had on a Speedo bathing suit, items the military said were not issued by Guantanamo personnel or sent through the regular mail, according to a Defense Department letter obtained Friday by The Associated Press.
Army Lt. Col. Ed Bush, a spokesman at the jail holding some 340 men on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaida and the Taliban, said more was involved than just an uproar over skivvies.
He said the appearance of contraband raised serious concerns about the potential for smuggling other items that could be used by detainees to harm themselves or staff.
“There is no room for error when working in a dangerous environment, and constant vigilance is of the utmost importance,” Bush said.
Sweetie, if they look half-decent in them, you can be certain that at least some of your guards won’t take their eyes off of them. They’ve been away from home for a long time.
So, how does that work: if we wear the baggies, do the terrorists win?
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From the New York Observer article on Molly Ivins‘ NYC memorial service (via Gawker):
The most poignant moments were provided by Eden Lipson, a former Times colleague and one of Ivins’ closest friends.
“A few years ago I finally realized that it was us, the cosmopolitan New Yorkers in the media capitol, with our literary and political gossip and hermetic chattering who were, in fact, provincial,” said Ms. Lipson. “ Molly was the one who saw America large and clear, who out-reported the mainstream media from Austin, who had a balanced and ultimately optimistic view of the world. Molly’s generosity was legendary, but in addition, she was brave. She went on book tours two and half times while on chemotherapy.”
Ms. Lipson was also diagnosed with cancer last year. Before it went into remission, Ivins came to visit her at the hospital. This is what she told her friend:
“Understanding mortality is entirely personal and won’t know it until you face it. The cancer will probably kill you in the end, but moving ahead, do as much as you can . . . until you can’t.”
“And then it’s okay to let go.”
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‘The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood,’ Keynes wrote in 1936.
‘Indeed, the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.
Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back.’
John Maynard Keynes via Comment is Free
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raincoaster 