"[F]or some reason, I am portrayed as the one who is evil in formulating policies that people disagree with. I consider myself a casualty, one of the many casualties of the war on terror."
With 2.3 million people behind bars, the United States has imprisoned a higher percentage of its population than any other nation, according to the Pew Center on the States and other groups. Although the United States has only 5 percent of the world's population, it has 25 percent of its prison population, Webb says.
A disproportionate number of those who are incarcerated are black, Webb notes. African Americans make up 13 percent of the population, but they comprise more than half of all prison inmates, compared with one-third two decades ago. Today, Webb says, a black man without a high school diploma has a 60 percent chance of going to prison.
Webb aims much of his criticism at enforcement efforts that he says too often target low-level drug offenders and parole violators, rather than those who perpetrate violence, such as gang members. He also blames policies that strip felons of citizenship rights and can hinder their chances of finding a job after release. He says he believes society can be made safer while making the system more humane and cost-effective.
This spring, Webb (D-Va.) plans to introduce legislation on a long-standing passion of his: reforming the U.S. prison system. Jails teem with young black men who later struggle to rejoin society, he says. Drug addicts and the mentally ill take up cells that would be better used for violent criminals. And politicians have failed to address this costly problem for fear of being labeled "soft on crime."
It is a gamble for Webb, a fiery and cerebral Democrat from a staunchly law-and-order state. Virginia abolished parole in 1995, and it trails only Texas in the number of people it has executed. Moreover, as the country struggles with two wars overseas and an ailing economy, overflowing prisons are the last thing on many lawmakers' minds.
But Webb has never been one to rely on polls or political indicators to guide his way. He seems instead to charge ahead on projects that he has decided are worthy of his time, regardless of how they play -- or even whether they represent the priorities of the state he represents.
"But I don't understand. Why do you want me to think that this is great architecture?" He pointed to a picture of the Parthenon."
"That," said the Dean "is the Parthenon."
"What can be done by one substance must never be done by another"
The Afghan chieftain looked older than his 60-odd years, and his bearded face bore the creases of a man burdened with duties as tribal patriarch and husband to four younger women. His visitor, a CIA officer, saw an opportunity, and reached into his bag for a small gift.
Four blue pills. Viagra.
"Take one of these. You'll love it," the officer said. Compliments of Uncle Sam.
The enticement worked. The officer, who described the encounter, returned four days later to an enthusiastic reception. The grinning chief offered up a bonanza of information about Taliban movements and supply routes -- followed by a request for more pills.
Saudi court rejects divorcing eight-year-old girl
3 days ago
RIYADH (AFP) — A Saudi court has rejected a plea to divorce an eight-year-old girl married off by her father to a man who is 58, saying the case should wait until the girl reaches puberty, a lawyer involved told AFP.
"The judge has dismissed the plea (filed by the mother) because she does not have the right to file such a case, and ordered that the plea should be filed by the girl herself when she reaches puberty," lawyer Abdullah Jtili told AFP in a telephone interview after Saturday's court decision.
The divorce plea was filed in August by the girl's divorced mother with a court at Unayzah, 220 kilometres (135 miles) north of Riyadh just after the marriage contract was signed by the father and the groom.
"She doesn't know yet that she has been married," Jtili said then of the girl who was about to begin her fourth year at primary school.
Relatives who did not wish to be named told AFP that the marriage had not yet been consummated, and that the girl continued to live with her mother. They said that the father had set a verbal condition by which the marriage is not consummated for another 10 years, when the girl turns 18.
The father had agreed to marry off his daughter for an advance dowry of 30,000 riyals (8,000 dollars), as he was apparently facing financial problems, they said.
The father was in court and he remained adamant in favour of the marriage, they added.
Lawyer Jtili said he was going to appeal the verdict at the court of cassation, the supreme court in the ultra-conservative kingdom which applies Islamic Sharia law in its courts.
Arranged marriages involving pre-adolescents are occasionally reported in the Arabian Peninsula, including in Saudi Arabia where the strict conservative Wahabi version of Sunni Islam holds sway and polygamy is common.
In Yemen in April, another girl aged eight was granted a divorce after her unemployed father forced her to marry a man of 28.
Beginning with Black Friday, so named because it's supposedly the day on which retailers finally make it into the black for the year, retailers' sales brochures have been bedecked with Christmas iconography - red ribbons and bows, tree ornaments, strings of lights, mistletoe and holly, Santas and the like - but with few exceptions (given due credit below), none have had banner headlines proclaiming Christmas as the reason for the buying season they were so desperately encouraging.
At J.C. Penney, it was an "After Thanksgiving furniture and mattress sale," Sears touted a catchall "Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving sale," and at Lowe's, the home-repair and hardware chain, it was "Let's Holiday" - as if holiday were a verb. Office Depot similarly turned "gift" into a verb: "Gift smarter. The holiday gifts they really want." Not to be outdone, Old Navy proclaimed an "Extravaganza humongous honkin' 3-day BIG weekend sale."
The next day, Kohl's broke the silence with its "Christmas Super Saturday." Five days after that, Kohl's touted an "Incredible Christmas 2-Day Sale," and has continued to use the word unabashedly since then.
How conspiracy theories harm Activist communities.
The harmful effect of what happens when a Conspiracy theory "works" is not whats interests me. Its what happens when it doesn't. When it fails to convince. My argument is , that by throwing such crazy ideas into the broader conversation of the progressive left, it harms and diminishes the good ideas by turning the whole endevour into something that can be legitimately targetted as 'loony'.
Let me explain a few examples.
Take 9/11. A pretty fucking serious tragedy, by anyones account. Bunch of psychos hijack some planes, prang them into some buildings and kill a bunch of folks. Before long out come the conspiracy loons. The planes where remote controlled. There where bombs in the buildings. The pentagon crash didn't even happen (uhhhh?) , George bush ordered it, and so on. Each claim crazier than the previous. To make it worse ,the proponents of the theories where relentless, and many of them came from the left. It was the ultimate in confirmation bias. We TOLD YOU Dubya was evil, and now we KNOW IT!. Problem is, none of this was true. The evidence that what happened roughly resembled precisely what you saw on the TV set was insurmountable.
So what DOES this theory damage?
Whats crazy about all of this, is there ARE questions to be asked about 9/11 and its aftermath. Very fucking serious questions. What went wrong with the Intelligence Aparatus. Why where intelligence officers who where worried that this might be being planned ignored. So on. Legitimate questions that have huge implications for the way intelligence is organised, on buget priorities, and perhaps even on the very question of negligence high up in pentagon command. And you know what? Nobody gives a shit, because any will to investigate this got burnt up by the snarling psychos of the 9/11 "truther" movement. The crazies turned up scared everyone off.
Lets take one closer to my home. The Bali bombing. This involves a very real conspiracy, and how a very unreal conspiracy killed it.
Series of explosions go off in Bali, in 2002 (and later again in 2005). Maybe 30-40 australians killed, all linking back to Jemaah Islamia. This one was a bit personal for me, as my sisters boyfriend, a genuine likelyhood for brother-in-law to be, was killed in the blast. It all seemed pretty obvious what was going on. Or was it?
In 2005, Australias SBS, a quasi-autonomous Government owned TV station in Australia ran a documentary called "Indonesias War on Terror". Featuring hidden camera evidence, interviews with top Millitary brass, and even evidence from Abdurrahman Wahid, Indonesias former President, SBS's Lateline team laid out an amazing case, that the Indonesian Police and Military Intelligence had been funneling funds into Jemmah Islamia, to increase the incidence of terrorist attacks, which in turn led to massive influx's of foreign military funding to "fight" this supposed war on terror. And these funds? Some folks high up in indonesia where getting quite nice pay bonuses.
It was a shocking story, straight out of Tom Clancy, and made even more intriguing by what appeared to be a military D-Notice, banning the documentary , which immediately got pulled from SBS's website, under australias military censorship laws. Too late. Already screened to millions of viewers.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0510/S00223.htm
http://www.guba.com/watch/3000007741
So did the earth move under these shocking revelations? Well no. See the ground had long been poisoned by Joe Vialls , his crazy fans, and their loopy theory about a "micro nuke", mosad, the CIA blah blah blah blah.As a result, almost any mention of Bali and the notion that 'things are not as they seemed' would be met with rolled eyes. 'Riiiiight , Micro-nukes huh?'
And in this respect, the outcome of Vialls bat-winged conspiracy monkeys was much nastier than the outcome of the 'truthers'. Any likelihood of investigating a friendly government actively conspiring with terrorists to generate incidents to get foreign aid, is pretty much gone, because yet again, the loonies had poisoned the well. Watch that video folks. That's a major Australian news organization famed in Australia for its accuracy and scruples, and oh yes, the story they tell is very, very real. Now contemplate nothing will ever happen, and contemplate why. Joe Vialls and his micro-nuke loonies had already painted the crime scene with crazypaint.
What about Climate Change?
Here's an issue that might well be one of the most important and urgent issues facing man kind. And its been sabotaged to hell and back by the conspiracy theorists of both the left AND the right. Global cabal of 'scientists' conspiring for science bucks. Dissenters get fired. SOMEONES MAKING MONEY OFF THIS, or so goes the refrain. The ugly part is, so many people, including many in high power, believe this tripe about a vast conspiracy of scientists lying about the climate to scare folks into giving them bucks. Even IBM's Deep blue is in on it!
What about the war?
Almoat any peace protester can tell you of his frustrations with conspiracy theorists and loonies sabotaging almost any peace group formed. Believe me, its almost impossible to organize a sensible protest when the biggest banner always ends up being some loonies ten foot high "BUSH=SECRET SKULL&BONES OPERATIVE" or worse "IRAQ IS A ZIONAZI LIE".
Alternative media?
Indymedia, one of the most exciting experiments of the late 90s and early 2000s experimental journalism community has been rendered completely and intollerably mentally-ill by the conspiracy theorists. Whereas 99's Seattle indymedia was an explosion of hard hitting on the ground citizen journalism , ripping to shreds any government propaganda it could find, it quickly became a haven for anti-semites, 9/11 truthers, Mason/Skull-bones/rothschild/lizardpeople theorists, Some crazy guy who thinks Beatles use time travel to steal songs, and so on. Granted the thing would die anyway due to the rise of bloggs, its a shame that what started off as an intelligent, and exciting project that single-handedly kick started the open publishing and citizen journalist genres, ended up dying a miserable crazy and lonely death, with its uncensored wires raped and pillaged by the crazies of the conspiracy world.
I could go on. Medicine, Socialism, Palestine, all wells poisoned by the crazies. But I guess my point should be clear by now. In all these examples, interesting, sober and important questions get drowned in a sea of craziness.
The left has to rid itself of its crazies, or it will destroy any worthwhile cause it cares to adopt.
As the joke goes;- "The CIA invented the conspiracy theories to blind people to the real enemy. Stupidity".
Facing an influx of refugees, the residents of Algiers Point could have pulled together food, water and medical supplies for the flood victims. Instead, a group of white residents, convinced that crime would arrive with the human exodus, sought to seal off the area, blocking the roads in and out of the neighborhood by dragging lumber and downed trees into the streets. They stockpiled handguns, assault rifles, shotguns and at least one Uzi and began patrolling the streets in pickup trucks and SUVs. The newly formed militia, a loose band of about fifteen to thirty residents, most of them men, all of them white, was looking for thieves, outlaws or, as one member put it, anyone who simply "didn't belong."
Pervel and his armed neighbors point to the very real chaos that was engulfing the city and claim they had no other choice than to act as they did. They paint themselves as righteous defenders of property, a paramilitary formation protecting their neighborhood from opportunistic thieves. "I'm not a racist," Pervel insists. "I'm a classist. I want to live around people who want the same things as me."
Nathan Roper, another vigilante, says he was unhappy that outsiders were disturbing his corner of New Orleans and that he was annoyed by the National Guard's decision to use the Algiers Point ferry landing as an evacuation zone. "I'm telling you, it was forty, fifty people at a time getting off these boats," says Roper, who is in his 50s and works for ServiceMaster, a house-cleaning company. The storm victims were "hoodlums from the Lower Ninth Ward and that part of the city," he says. "I'm not a prejudiced individual, but you just know the outlaws who are up to no good. You can see it in their eyes."
The militia, according to Roper, was armed with "handguns, rifles [and] shotguns"; he personally carried "a .38 in my waistband" and a "little Uzi." "There was a few people who got shot around here," Roper, a slim man with a weathered face, tells me. "I know of at least three people who got shot. I know one was dead 'cause he was on the side of the road."
Janak, who was carrying a pistol, says he grabbed one of the suspected looters and considered killing him, but decided to be merciful. "I rolled him over in the grass and saw that he'd been hit in the back with the riot gun," he tells me. "I thought that was good enough. I said, 'Go back to your neighborhood so people will know Algiers Point is not a place you go for a vacation. We're not doing tours right now.'"
He's equally blunt in Welcome to New Orleans, an hourlong documentary produced by the Danish video team, who captured Janak, beer in hand, gloating about hunting humans. Surrounded by a crowd of sunburned white Algiers Point locals at a barbeque held not long after the hurricane, he smiles and tells the camera, "It was great! It was like pheasant season in South Dakota. If it moved, you shot it." A native of Chicago, Janak also boasts of becoming a true Southerner, saying, "I am no longer a Yankee. I earned my wings." A white woman standing next to him adds, "He understands the N-word now." In this neighborhood, she continues, "we take care of our own."
Thomas Naylor, a retired Duke economics professor, ascended the podium at an anti-war rally at Johnson State College in Johnson, Vermont, shortly before the U.S. invaded Iraq. His speech was filled with the usual leftist rhetoric about the evils of the Bush administration. His solution, however, was far from traditional. It was an idea that he had been developing for about ten years, but had never spoken about in public. "They were shocked, bug-eyed," he tells me, reflecting on the speech. His idea was the peaceful dissolution of empire, beginning with the secession of Vermont from the United States of America.
Five years later, 11.5 percent of Vermonters agree with him, according to the 2008 poll conducted by the University of Vermont's Center for Rural Studies. One out of ten might not seem overwhelming, but Naylor is quick to point out that only about 25 percent of Americans supported secession from England. In the face of much derision and mockery, Naylor has remained resolute that his idea is possible. His organization, the Second Vermont Republic (SVR), has been joined by frustrated '60s activists, bohemian radicals, organic yak farmers, bartenders, college professors, and possibilitarianist puppeteers, all saying the same thing: Vermont would be better on its own.
Blackwater, the same fine company that's been providing mercenary's for the US occupation of Iraq, recently got slammed in an internal state department memo for its fuckups in Iraq.
Farrow told ABC News that Blackwater, despite its controversial history and allegations of murdering civilians in Iraq, might be able to help the "hopelessly under-equipped" African Union forces deployed in Darfur with logistics and training.
"Blackwater has a much better idea of what an effective peace-keeping mission would look like than western governments," Farrow told ABC News from a refugee camp in near the Darfur border. Farrow said those governments have been unsuccessful in standing up to the Sudanese government and bringing peace to the region.
An official familiar with the report said initially that it would recommend that department not renew Blackwater's contract when it expires next year. But that specific language is not included in the document, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.
The official said later that such a recommendation would not be made until after an investigation of last September's incident in Baghdad's Nisoor Square in which Blackwater guards killed 17 Iraqis is complete. Five guards have been indicted on manslaughter and other charges stemming from that incident. The company was not implicated.
