ACLU statement on the Manning case, "The Government Has Made Its Point. When a soldier who shared information with the press and public is punished far more harshly than others who tortured prisoners and killed civilians, something is seriously wrong with our justice system. A legal system that doesn't distinguish between leaks to the press in the public interest and treason against the nation will not only produce unjust results, but will deprive the public of critical information that is necessary for democratic accountability. This is a sad day for Bradley Manning, but it's also a sad day for all Americans who depend on brave whistleblowers and a free press for a fully informed public debate."
Me: If Manning had been a multinational corporation and sold that same information to another multinational corporation (or one based in China, Saudi Arabia, or Dubai!), for lots of money, it would have been "business" and therefore this administration would have been bending all the way over in the other direction to protect the Manning Corporation.
The Guardian on "Surveillance and the state: this way the debate goes on: Citizens of free countries are entitled to protect their privacy against the state. The state has a duty to protect free speech as well as security. Fundamental rights, as we say, collide. Journalists have a duty to inform and facilitate a debate and to help test the consent of people about the nature of any trade-offs between civil liberties and security. A democratic government should seek to protect and nourish that debate, not threaten it or stamp it out."
Boeing's union-busting pratfall: "When Boeing left Washington for South Carolina in order to suppress the wages of its workers, it also left behind the quality work that had been provided by a highly skilled, union workforce. Now, that union-busting is backfiring as productivity has dropped immensely and Boeing is unable to meet their 787 Dreamliner production goals."
Everyone's struggling with what to call Chelsea (formerly known as Bradley) Manning, but NPR once again reminds us why we call them Nice Polite Republicans.
Frankly, I don't believe I know a single person who would never spy on your dossier if they were dating you or you'd just dumped them. And I don't believe for a minute that politicians or other powerful people wouldn't want to hoover up everything they could get on you if they felt you threatened them. And that's just leaving aside the voyeurs who would listen to your phone calls just for the porn of it all. Seriously, was this ever in doubt?
50 years later and Seeing "New Jim Crow" Placards Seized by Police & More From the March on Washington
Bill Moyers, "The End Game for Democracy: the parody and satire of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert pay Washington the disrespect it deserves, but in the end it's the city's predatory mercenaries who have the last laugh."
Elizabeth Warren’s secret: The Salon interview
Cops fitted up a teenager, and...: "As the city of Worcester defends itself in a lawsuit over police treatment of a teenager who was jailed for nearly three years, the city is going after the lawyer who won the young woman's freedom. Nga Truong was freed after a judge examined video recordings of her interrogation by Worcester detectives and concluded her confession was the result of police coercion. Truong is now suing for the time she spent behind bars, but the city claims Truong's lawyer should share the blame."
"How Billionaire 'Philanthropy' Is Fueling Inequality and Helping To Destroy the Country"
"I Just Got The Results Of My Self-Diagnosis ."
"Your Ancestors Didn't Sleep Like You."
1,600-year-old art - or nanotech?
Rickie Lee Jones:
"I wanna read about it in the news
I wanna hear about it on TV, yeah
What happened in the USA?
When they ask you
What happened in the USA?
Tell somebody
They'll wanna know, oh people"
Hey, Avdeon ... the link to the story about the girl in Worcester goes to the Salon story about Elizabeth Warren.
ReplyDeleteThanks - fixed.
DeleteJay says he'll ask Joan about this:
ReplyDeleteIf I can find a moment, I'll ask joan about the bad negotiator vs get what he wants thing.
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Sorry to be rude, but I learn absolutely nothing from Joan, with her religious faith in Obama's good intentions and happy talk about Obamacare. I know people marginally helped by Obamacare but ultimately hurt by both the uncertain nature of coverage (uncertainty is bad for business but okay for us apparently) and its role in preventing states from initiating single-payer.
DeleteYou're not being rude to me.
DeleteI don't agree with Joan. I think Obama is a cynical right-wing asshole.
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I was unclear - I meant rude to the VS folks.
DeleteGood discussion of ACA's fatal flaws here.
DeleteAnd one can only hope:
The Affordable Care Act is really sort of a misnamed bill. It does nothing about health costs. And that was intentional. They wanted to make sure the healthcare industry supported the bill. So the cost crisis is so extraordinary that I think it is going to make single-payer more of an urgent issue.