The Bush Wild-West Influence: Texas is Now Like Iraq; Shoot First, Gets Facts Later – Texas recently passed a law branding anybody breaking into a home or car as a real threat of injury or death to its occupants. John Woodson, 46, found that out last week when he ambled into Dennis Baker’s open garage in a Dallas suburb. A surveillance video showed the robber strolling inside, hands in his pockets. From the shadows, Baker opened fire and killed Woodson. Woodson had not tried to enter the bedroom near the garage where Baker had been sleeping. Another Dallas resident a few days earlier had killed his second robber in three weeks inside his home. (I’ve heard “an eye for an eye,” but this is “a life for some jewelry.”)
Is the United States Going the Way of East Germany? – Here’s an observation from Roger Ebert in his review of the film about the abuses of the East German government in “The Lives of Others”: “But the movie is relevant today, as our government ignores habeas corpus, practices secret torture, and asks for the right to wiretap and eavesdrop on its citizens. Such tactics did not save East Germany; they destroyed it, by making it a country its most loyal citizens could no longer believe in. Driven by the specter of aggression from without, it countered it with aggression from within, as sort of an anti-toxin. Fearing that its citizens were disloyal, it inspired them to be. True, its enemies were real. But the West never dropped the bomb, and East Germany and the other Soviet republics imploded after essentially bombing themselves.”
How This Administration Starts Wars – Iran had basically surrendered to us in 2003 — and we refused their offer of turning in all of their terrorist allies and completely stopping their nuclear program. If we actually cared about ending terrorism or their nuclear ambitions, we would have jumped all over this deal. But that is not what Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld cared about. The fake WMD threat and charges of terrorism are the same exact ruse they used in Iraq. And unbelievably, the media is going along with it just like they did in the lead up to the Iraq War.
The US Supreme Court Said it Would Hear an Appeal From Exxon-Mobil in the Valdez Oil Spill – In what was one of the biggest ever oil spills, 11 million gallons of crude were released into Alaska’s wilderness after the Exxon tanker hit a reef. About 1,300 miles (2,080km) of coastline was contaminated as a result of the oil spill. Captain of the Valdez, Joseph Hazelwood, admitted drinking vodka before boarding the vessel, but was subsequently acquitted of operating a ship while intoxicated. Exxon argues that it cannot be held responsible for the actions of Mr Hazelwood and says that the $2.5bn penalty is excessive under marine law and when compared with other federal rulings on punitive damages. Lawyers for the victims dispute the charge that the award is too high and argue that the damages represent “barely more than three weeks of Exxon’s net profit”.
Regards,
Jim
Andy Hailey