Stop piping cats

Despite giggling when I first saw this heading, this is a mistake I've made for years.

Chavez Moves Forward

...and some say Chavez isn't interested in bottom up socialism.

Kasatka, the Sea World Orca

Jason Hribal writes on institutionalized cruelty to animals.

More on the monster

Pinochet's Death Spares Bush Family
The Crimes of Augusto Pinochet

Camouflaging racism

SPLC has long documented instances of extreme right white supremacist anti-immigrant groups attempting to cover themselves by either enlisting, or forming spin off groups of people of color sharing their anti-immigrant views. We've seen that on a local level with SOS through the Joe Turner and Ted Hayes connections. We've also seen a local MMP/SOS push to support a group they helped form called "you don't speak for me," purportedly a grass root Latino group against immigration.

Michele R. Marcucci, in Immigration group may not be what they seem, writes of a new development. Vietnamese for Fair Immigration, founded by a caucasian FAIR member, posing under a Vietnamese name. His wife, apparently sharing his virulent anti-immigrant views, has written articles that have appeared on the extreme right wing hate site VDARE. When questioned in about this, she replied:

"If you disagree with somebody's point of view, they say you're racist," Hoang said.

Why yes, I would think that anyone that disagrees with phrenology, and other pseudo-sciences like the bell curve as being justified in calling it racist. VDARE, slightly more cautious than a full blown racist site like Stormfront, features writers like Steve Sailer. Just a quick scan of his article titles should be familiar territory with Klansman and Nazis. I certainly hope Hoang's assertion to be understood in this light, we disagree with it and it IS RACIST!

Dead Monster

I saw news of Pinochet's death on Univision while in the laundry-mat yesterday. I caught part of it over the noise of the dryers, but the noise and my translation skills left a bit more out than desired. That said, it was obvious that Univision was treating it as somewhat of an unfortunate event. No mention of the over 14,000 Chileans he brutally killed during his fascist reign after the murderous coup the CIA helped him orchestrate in order to dispose of the democratically elected Allende. While the death of a monster like Pinochet is no sad thing, it allowed him to escape the justice that several governments, including Spain, might have brought him to. The ruling class has had two close calls this year, first with Ken Lay, now with Pinochet, in which the perpetrators of such unthinkable crimes escape justice through a premature death.
The Atrocities of Gen. Augusto Pinochet and the United States
But The Band Plays On
Death of a Pig
An Open Letter to Henry Kissinger from One of Pinochet's Political Prisoners

"I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its own people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves." - Henry Kissinger

Kissinger, engineer of the first 9-11, is still a big supporter of democracy today, as is big daddy Bush (GHWB).
Tales From the Crypt: Pinochet, the Bushes and Fake Miracles
Death of a dictator

The Darkest Corner of the Mind

George Monbiot's piece on U.S. torture horrors, with the acknowledgment of the same practices having been perfected in the U.S. prison system. The article was also published in The Guardian as Routine and systematic torture is at the heart of America's war on terror. The ending passage is awesome:

President Bush maintains that he is fighting a war against threats to the "values of civilised nations": terror, cruelty, barbarism and extremism. He asked his nation's interrogators to discover where these evils are hidden. They should congratulate themselves. They appear to have succeeded.

Robolobster

White supremecy on a big budget

Los Angeles journalist Juan Santos tackles Mel Gibson's latest pro-colonialism, pro-supremacist propaganda piece in Apocalypto: The Cinematic Logic of Genocide. This careful analysis unveils both Gibson's and his potential audiences' racism and so called liberal Hollywood machine's financing of films supporting the tired old "white man's burden" ideology.

Pioneering Study Shows Richest Two Percent Own Half World Wealth

...or why Marx and Engels were right and why socialism is the only solution to the barbarism that is neoliberal capitalism.

Derrick O'Keefe's piece on Chavez's victory

The Withering of the Bush Dynasty

Midnight in Mexico

Bolivarian Dreams

Venezuela and the Bolivarian Dream Tariq Ali writes on how Venezuela and Latin America offer hope in an age of neoliberal capital. His book, Pirates of the Caribbean: Axis of Hope, is out now.

At Home with the Anti-Chavistas George Ciccariello-Maher discusses experiences and conversations with reactionary right wingers regarding their impressions of Chavez.

Hands Off Venezuela - the film