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10 Good Things about Another Bad Year

    By Medea Benjamin
    Friday 29 December 2005

    As we close this year, a year in which we were pummeled by the Iraq war, attacks on our civil rights, and Mother Nature's fury of hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis, there is no shortage of reasons to feel bruised and beaten. But to start the New Year with a healthy determination to keep on fighting, we need to reflect on the good things that happened. And there are plenty.

    One continent alone - South America - could provide more than ten examples of wonderful progressive victories, but I'll just list some of the highlights.

    1. Hugo Chavez has shown how an oil-rich nation can use the country's wealth to provide education, healthcare and small business opportunities for its people - and we here in the US have discovered an oil company we can feel good about buying gas from: Venezuela's CITGO.

    2. Bolivians have, for the first time in their history, elected an indigenous president, Evo Morales. The former llama farmer and coca grower has fought against "free trade" and the privatization of his nation's resources, and has brought new hope to indigenous people throughout the continent.

    3. Anti-war activists - who once represented a much-maligned minority - now represent the majority of Americans who agree that the war in Iraq was a mistake and the troops should come home as soon as possible. And with Cindy Sheehan and Cong. Jack Murtha, we finally had spokespeople the mainstream media listened to!

    4. In an historic blow to the Bush administration's five-year attempt to destroy the Kyoto Protocol, the climate summit in Montreal ended with even stronger measures to combat global warming. At home, nearly 200 cities are taking their own Kyoto-type actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

    5. The Senate ended the year with a spurt of defiance, refusing to permanently extend the expiring provisions of the Patriot Act, blocking the Republican maneuver to attach Arctic oil drilling to a defense spending bill, and passing John McCain's anti-torture amendment.

    6. Despite a concerted offensive to lift the president's sagging public support, George Bush's approval ratings are still below 50 percent, his economic agenda (from the privatization of social security to the repeal of the estate tax) has unraveled, key cronies from Lewis Libby to Tom DeLay have fallen from grace, and 2006 might just put impeachment back into the congressional lexicon.

    7. Labor, community activists and women's groups have mounted a spirited campaign against the behemoth of behemoths, Wal-Mart. And a California jury awarded $172 million to thousands of employees at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., who were denied such basic rights as lunch breaks, with 40 similar lawsuits pending in other states.

    8. With the wild swings in gas prices, SUV sales have plummeted (Ford Explorer down 52%, Chevrolet Suburban down 46%), the sale of hybrids has doubled, and the US House of Representatives actually held a forum on the "peak oil theory."

    9. In a great win for farm workers, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers forced the fast food giant Taco Bell to raise the price for picking tomatoes (nearly doubling many workers' salaries), and now they're ready to take on an even bigger bully: McDonald's.

    10. The global movement for peace and justice proved it was alive and kicking: witness Argentina during the Free Trade Agreement meetings, Hong Kong around the World Trade Organization ministerial, and the ongoing rallies against the war. The steady growth of the fair-trade movement also shows that we are not just protesting, but we're also building a more sustainable economy.

    Let's make 2006 the year we broke the right-wing tide, refused to give pro-war, free-trade Democrats a free ride, and built a "people's movement" with some muscle to it. We might just get some lessons from our southern neighbors. If Mexico City's progressive mayor Manuel Lopez Obrador becomes Mexico's next president, Latin America's revolutionary fervor will be smack up against the Texas border. Que viva el poder popular en 2006!

    --------

    Medea Benjamin is the co-founder of Global Exchange and CODEPINK: Women for Peace.

Ignoring UK ban, bloggers publish leaked torture memos

Pentagon fails to ban slavery by defense contractors

Dec. 28, 2005

Three years ago, President Bush declared that he had "zero tolerance" for trafficking in humans by the government's overseas contractors, and two years ago Congress mandated a similar policy. But notwithstanding the president's statement and the congressional edict, the Defense Department has yet to adopt a policy to bar human trafficking.

A proposal prohibiting defense contractor involvement in human trafficking for forced prostitution and labor was drafted by the Pentagon last summer, but five defense lobbying groups oppose key provisions and a final policy still appears to be months away, according to those involved and Defense Department records.

The lobbying groups opposing the plan say they're in favor of the idea in principle, but said they believe that implementing key portions of it overseas is unrealistic. They represent thousands of firms, including some of the industry's biggest names, such as DynCorp International and Halliburton subsidiary KBR, both of which have been linked to trafficking-related concerns. read more…

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays…

I hope everyone had a great weekend with their friends and family.  Here are a few video’s that will help you keep your holiday spirit up.

George Bush has fallen off the wagon again.  A sober Bush is an idiot… a drunk Bush is a Riot. Video.

A drunk Santa Clause get’s pulled over for DUI, and gets a smack down from our friends in Blue. Video.

Wal-Mart must pay workers $172m

Friday, 23 December 2005

The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, has been ordered to pay $172m in compensation to workers who were refused lunch breaks.

Court rejects 'intelligent design' in science class

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (AP) -- "Intelligent design" cannot be mentioned in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district, a federal judge said Tuesday, ruling in one of the biggest courtroom clashes on evolution since the 1925 Scopes trial.

Dover Area School Board members violated the Constitution when they ordered that its biology curriculum must include the notion that life on Earth was produced by an unidentified intelligent cause, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III said.

Several members repeatedly lied to cover their motives even while professing religious beliefs, he said.

The school board policy, adopted in October 2004, was believed to have been the first of its kind in the nation.

"The citizens of the Dover area were poorly served by the members of the Board who voted for the ID Policy," Jones wrote.

The board's attorneys had said members were seeking to improve science education by exposing students to alternatives to Charles Darwin's theory that evolution develops through natural selection. Intelligent-design proponents argue that the theory cannot fully explain the existence of complex life forms.

The plaintiffs challenging the policy argued intelligent design amounts to a secular repackaging of creationism, which the courts have already ruled cannot be taught in public schools. The judge agreed.

"We find that the secular purposes claimed by the Board amount to a pretext for the Board's real purpose, which was to promote religion in the public school classroom," he wrote in his 139-page opinion. read more…

Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 16, 2005; Page A23

A congressional report made public yesterday concluded that President Bush and his inner circle had access to more intelligence and reviewed more sensitive material than what was shared with Congress when it gave Bush the authority to wage war against Iraq.

Democrats said the 14-page report contradicts Bush's contention that lawmakers saw all the evidence before U.S. troops invaded in March 2003, stating that the president and a small number of advisers "have access to a far greater volume of intelligence and to more sensitive intelligence information."

The report does not cite examples of intelligence Bush reviewed that differed from what Congress saw. If such information is available, the report's authors do not have access to it. The Bush administration has routinely denied Congress access to documents, saying it would have a chilling effect on deliberations. The report, however, concludes that the Bush administration has been more restrictive than its predecessors in sharing intelligence with Congress.

The White House disputed both charges, noting that Congress often works directly with U.S. intelligence agencies and is privy to an enormous amount of classified information. "In 2004 alone, intelligence agencies provided over 1,000 personal briefings and more than 4,000 intelligence products to the Congress," an administration official said.

The report, done by the Congressional Research Service at the request of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), comes amid allegations by Democrats that administration officials exaggerated Iraq's weapons capabilities and terrorism ties and then resisted inquiries into the intelligence failures. read more…

Study says belief in God may contribute to society's dysfunctions

The World Today - Wednesday, 28 September , 2005  12:32:00
 
There's a new twist to the evolution versus creationism debate. A new study from America suggests that widespread belief in God may contribute to the dysfunctions of a society.

The author, Gregory Paul, is an American dinosaur palaeontologist, who has used data from the International Social Survey Program, Interpol, and other research bodies, to compare murder rates, abortion, suicide and teenage pregnancy between religious and secular prosperous democracies.

The paper appears in the latest edition of the Journal of Religion and Society, which is published by a Catholic University in the United States.

And Gregory Paul says the US is the world's only prosperous democracy where these social indicators are still high.

Julia Limb reports.

JULIA LIMB: Gregory S. Paul is an independent researcher better known for his study of dinosaurs than as a social researcher.

But the author, who lives in Baltimore in the United States, says his interest in evolutionary science prompted him to look at whether there was any link between the religiosity of a society and how well that society functioned.

Gregory Paul.

GREGORY PAUL: Being a palaeontologist, I've for many years had to deal with the issue of creationism verus evolutionary science in this country.

The United States is pretty much the only prosperous democracy where religion is still highly popular, with about two-thirds of the population absolutely believing in God, and creationism being very popular in among half of society.

In all the other prosperous democracies religion is much less popular now and evolution is highly accepted. So it's an issue, it's a problem I had to deal with.

JULIA LIMB: Mr Paul says there was plenty of data available which allowed him to compare the level of dysfunction in prosperous democracies, based on the popularity of religion.

GREGORY PAUL: I started finding that basically, the more people believed in God in the western world, the worse off the society was in numerous aspects.

For example, the United States again is the only prosperous democracy where religion is really popular and we're the only nation among prosperous democracies to have really high murder rates.

We also have the highest juvenile mortality rates. We have pretty much the shortest life spans. We have the highest abortion rates among democracies where abortion is legal. We have the highest sexually transmitted disease infection rates. We have the highest teen pregnancy rates, pretty much across the board we have real, serious social issues that other nations don't seem to be suffering from.

JULIA LIMB: But Gary Bouma, who is Professor of Sociology at Monash University in Melbourne and an Anglican priest, says the research is flawed.

GARY BOUMA: This kind of argument goes around and around and of course it comes up again now in the context of the "intelligent design" debate when he is deciding to, as a palaeontologist to make a contribution, but he doesn't stick to his field of palaeontology, he goes into the field of what I would call sociology without preparation or evidence or discipline and make some assertions about it.

JULIA LIMB: And Professor Bouma questions Mr Paul's spin on the data he's compared.

GARY BOUMA: He hasn't provided the argument about how it is that religion might explain this kind of association, why it is that more religious country would be more prone to the kinds of social disorganisation that he mentions, such as a high murder rate and a high teenage pregnancy rate.

I'm sorry, the causes for those things are much more likely to be found in other explanations than religious ones.

JULIA LIMB: Mr Paul concedes the problems faced in the US cannot be blamed on religious beliefs alone, but he says there's no denying that there are serious dysfunctions in the American society of the 21st century.

GREGORY PAUL: Well I don't say it's just religion. I mean I never would say that, and this is an initial study, but there are reasons to be very concerned.

For example, in the United States, guns are unusually popular. There's very high private ownership. The people who advocate gun ownership the most in this country is the religious right. The phrase, "God, gun and the Bible".

The way to put it is the United States is the only first world nation that retains rights to religiosity and scepticism for evolution that otherwise are found only in the second and third world.

TANYA NOLAN: Controversial study author Gregory Paul.

You can also listen to the story in REAL AUDIO and WINDOWS MEDIA and MP3 formats.

Appeals Panel Criticizes Evolution Ruling

December 16, 2005

A federal district judge had ordered the removal of stickers in a Georgia county's science textbooks that called evolution a theory.

By Ellen Barry, Times Staff Writer

ATLANTA — A federal appeals court panel appeared sharply critical Thursday of a ruling this year that ordered the removal of stickers in science textbooks stating, "Evolution is a theory, not a fact."

Judge Ed Carnes of the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals said that the lower court judge had misstated facts in his ruling, overstating the influence religious protests had on the school board's actions. He also said the words on the sticker are "technically accurate," and that the Cobb County school board was justified in singling out the theory of evolution for comment.

"From nonlife to life is the greatest gap in scientific theory," Carnes said. "There is less evidence supporting it than there is for other theories. It sounds to me like evolution is more vulnerable and deserves more critical thinking" than other subjects.

The three-judge appellate panel heard oral arguments in the case Thursday and may not release its decision for several weeks. But attorney Michael Manely, who argued against the stickers at trial last year, said the judges' questions suggested they might seek to overturn U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper's original ruling.

"I'm certainly more worried than I was when I walked in this morning," Manely said. read more…

NPR: “Origins of the Christmas Tree Tradition”

by Steve Inskeep and Ren�e Montagne

December 15, 2005

Evangelical groups say they want to put the 'Christ' back into Christmas, and House Speaker Dennis Hastert has declared that the capital has a Christmas tree, not a "holiday tree." But debate over the tradition is not new, as a historical account illustrates.

Listen Here.

Fresh Air: “Misquoting Jesus”

A little Christmas humor!
 
A city cop was on his horse waiting to cross the street when a little girl on her new shiny bike stopped beside him. "Nice bike," the cop said "did Santa Bring it to you?" "Yep," the little girl said, "he sure did!" The cop looked the bike over and handed the girl a $5 ticket for a safety violation. The cop said, "Next year tell Santa to put a reflector light on the back of it."
 
The young girl looked up at the cop and said, "Nice horse you got there sir, did Santa bring it to you?" "Yes, he sure did," chuckled the cop. The little girl looked up at the cop and said, "Next year tell Santa the dick goes underneath the horse, not on top."

Special Thanks to Michelle for this one… You Rock!

Family Upset Over Marine's Body Arriving As Freight

Fri Dec 9, 9:25 PM ET

There's controversy over how the military is transporting the bodies of service members killed overseas, 10News reported.

A local family said fallen soldiers and Marines deserve better and that one would think our war heroes are being transported with dignity, care and respect.

It said one would think upon arrival in their hometowns they are greeted with honor. But unfortunately, the family said that is just not the case.

Dead heroes are supposed to come home with their coffins draped with the American flag -- greeted by a color guard.

But in reality, many are arriving as freight on commercial airliners -- stuffed in the belly of a plane with suitcases and other cargo. John Holley and his wife, Stacey, were stunned when they found out the body of their only child, Matthew, who died in Iraq last month, would be arriving at Lindbergh Field as freight.

"When someone dies in combat, they need to give them due respect they deserve for (the) sacrifice they made," said John Holley. read more…

Wal-Mart Critics: Where Would Jesus Shop?

By MARCUS KABEL

December 8, 2005 at 11:17 PM

W.W.J.S. - Where would Jesus shop? According to union-backed critics of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., not at the world's largest retailer. WakeUpWalMart.com on Thursday unveiled a religious-themed campaign Thursday asking shoppers whether God wants them to buy things from the Bentonville, Ark.-based company.

The group, funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers union, launched a TV ad and released a letter signed by 65 clergy members and religious figures. The group says Wal-Mart's policy over wages, health benefits and other issues harm families and communities.

Wal-Mart accused the group of using union dues to exploit religion and said it would give nearly $200 million in cash contributions to charities this year.

The 30-second TV spot, starting Friday in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Texas, is part of the latest seasonal-themed campaign against Wal-Mart. The TV ad starts with a picture of a Bible-like tome and an off-screen narrator who says, "Our faith teaches us 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.'

"If these are our values, then ask yourself: should people of faith shop at Wal-Mart this holiday season?''

Wal-Mart Chief Executive Lee Scott responded within hours with his own letter laying out what he called Wal-Mart's positive contributions - saving working families money, providing jobs and supporting charities. read more…

Homosexuality Topic Splits Montgomery

The Winning Anti-Wal-Mart Slogan

Below are our 10 slogan contest finalists, culled from over 3,500 entries and listed alphabetically by the submitter's last name. The vote for the winning slogan ended this Sunday, and the winner will be announced by Thursday, December 8th. If you're not already on our email list and would like us to notify you when winner announced, please share your contact information with us below.

Wal-Mart:
A Living Wage is Worth the Price. Always!

Wal-Mart:
Profits for China, Foodstamps for Americans!

Wal-Mart:
Prices So Low, They Hurt — Everyone!

Wal-Mart:
Could YOU live on $8.23 an hour?

Wal-Mart:
Where Low Prices Cost Taxpayers Billions!

Wal-Mart:
Our Employees Pay MORE So You Don't Have To!

Wal-Mart:
Made in China for $0.18 an Hour!

Wal-Mart:
Killing Local Businesses One Main Street at a Time!

Wal-Mart:
I'm smiling because I am a government–
sanctioned monopoly!

Vote here for your favorite slogan!

Anti-Intelligent Design Professor Beaten Over Statements

Tuesday, December 6, 2005

LAWRENCE, Kan., Dec. 6 (UPI) -- A University of Kansas religious studies professor is recovering from a beating he says was based on his opposition to Christian fundamentalists.

Paul Mirecki told Douglas County sheriff's deputies he was beaten early Monday morning on the side of a rural road outside Lawrence by two men who'd been tailgating him in a large pickup truck. Mirecki told the Lawrence Journal-World his attackers made references to the controversial remarks made on the Internet denouncing Christian Conservatives and Catholics.

The men punched him about the head and shoulders and struck him with a metal object, he said.

Mirecki recently wrote online that he planned to teach intelligent design as mythology in an upcoming course. He wrote it would be a "nice slap" in the "big fat face" of fundamentalists.

The remarks caused an uproar, Mirecki apologized, and the university announced last week the class would be canceled.

Tuesday, deputies circulated descriptions of the attackers and their vehicle, the report said.

Sony Caught Using "Fake" Graffiti to Promote PSP

November 29, 2005

Not content with simply knowingly infecting its customers' computers with security-hole inducing spyware, Sony is now sponsoring a "guerrilla" graffiti ad campaign to promote the PSP, covering inner city neighborhoods with images of kids playing with its overpriced, crippled handheld.

Reports on the interwebs indicate that Sony or its ad agency has paid graffiti artists to spray paint images of little kids playing with PSPs in at least five U.S. cities: Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Thankfully here in San Francisco's Mission neighborhood, someone decided to talk back to a mega-corporation arrogant enough to piss on my neighborhood's walls in order to move units.

And whoever the commenter was, he or she was right. Not another dime.

Note the very nice "Fony" addition, and for those who aren't bike geeks, a Brompton is a folding bicycle that can make one look more than a wee bit nerdy (though I would love to own one for traveling).

 read more…

Atheist group offers free porn in exchange for Bibles

Atheist Agenda, an atheist group at U Texas San Antonio, staged a "Porno for Bibles" event, where they gave free pornography to people who traded in religious scripture. Link (via Zombiebite)

UPDATE:  On Monday, MSNBC's Tucker Carlson welcomed the group's president, Thomas Jackson, to 'The Situation." Video and Transcript are here.

Pentagon pays Iraqi papers to print its 'good news' stories

Jamie Wilson in Washington
Thursday December 1, 2005
The Guardian

Faced with suicide bombings, claims of Iraqi death squads, and kidnappings, the Pentagon has come up with an innovative solution to solving the problems in Iraq: buying good news.

Using defence contractors or intermediaries posing as freelance reporters, the military has been paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by a military propaganda unit lauding the US mission.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the articles are translated into Arabic and placed in Baghdad newspapers where they are often presented as unbiased accounts by independent journalists. Records obtained by the newspaper indicate the US has paid to publish dozens of articles since the operation began this year, with headlines such as "Iraqis insist on living despite terrorism" and "more money goes to Iraq's development".

One military official told the LA Times the military has also bought an Iraqi newspaper and taken control of a radio station, both used to channel pro-American messages. The propaganda offensive is said to have caused unease among some senior military officials at the Pentagon and in Iraq, especially when the US is promising to promote democratic principles.

At a press conference on Tuesday defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the number of "free" media organisations in Iraq was one of its great success stories, offering a "relief valve" for the Iraqi public to debate the issues of the day. read more…