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Sunday, January 4th, 2009 Воскресенье, 4 января, 2009

Listing countries where elections have been mixed with violence and repression, Human Rights Watch said western powers, especially the United States and European Union, have accepted elections in countries that don’t respect human rights, for political reasons and benefit. Список стран, где выборы были смешанные с применением насилия и репрессий, Хьюман Райтс Вотч заявили западные державы, особенно Соединенные Штаты и Европейский Союз, признали выборы в странах, которые не уважают права человека, по политическим причинам, и благо.

The group said the west has continued to prop up fragile democracies, or those that purport to be, such as Kenya, where waves of killings have followed a disputed election, and Pakistan, where elections are coming up after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Группа говорит, Запад продолжал поддерживать хрупкой демократии, или тех, кто претендует на такие, как Кения, где волны убийств последовали спорных выборов, а также Пакистан, где выборы идут после убийства лидера оппозиции Беназир Бхутто . The group also said that countries including Bahrain, Jordan, Nigeria, Russia and Thailand have taken on the belief that elections are equal to democracy. Группа также заявила, что страны, включая Бахрейн, Иорданию, Нигерию, Россию и Таиланд приняли на веру в то, что выборы являются равными для демократии. In its annual report, the group said that Washington, Brussels and European capitals “play along” with the notion that a country can have democracy simply by holding elections. В своем ежегодном докладе, Группа заявила, что Вашингтон, Брюссель и европейские столицы "подыгрывать" с понятием о том, что страна может быть демократии, просто путем проведения выборов. “It’s now easy for autocrats to get away with mounting a sham democracy,” said Kenneth Roth, the group’s executive director. "Это сейчас легко автократов уйти с монтажной фиктивных демократии", сказал Кеннет Рот, группа исполнительного директора. “That’s because too many Western governments insist on elections and leave it at that.” “They don’t press governments on the key human rights issues that make democracy function - a free press, peaceful assembly, and a functioning civil society that can really challenge power,” Roth said. "Это потому, что слишком многие западные правительства настаивают на выборы, и оставьте его на это." "Они не для прессы правительства по ключевым вопросам прав человека, которые делают демократию функция - свободной прессы, мирных собраний и функционирования гражданского общества, может действительно вызов власти ", сказал Рот. The report said grave human rights abuses have fueled humanitarian crises in Somalia and the Ogaden region in Eastern Ethiopia, where millions of people are suffering. В докладе говорится, что грубые нарушения прав человека способствовало гуманитарный кризис в Сомали и в регионе Огаден на востоке Эфиопии, в которой миллионы людей страдают.

The report documented manipulations of elections. В докладе документально манипуляции выборами. It said Chad, Kazakhstan, Nigeria and Uzbekistan committed “outright fraud,” while governments controlled the electoral machinery in Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Malaysia, Thailand and Zimbabwe. Она заявила, Чаде, Казахстане, Узбекистане и Нигерии совершено "прямое мошенничество", в то время как правительство контролирует избирательный механизм в Азербайджан, Бахрейн, Малайзия, Таиланд и Япония. Belarus, Egypt, Cuba, Iran and Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories blocked or discouraged opposition candidates. Беларусь, Египет, Куба, Иран и Израиль на оккупированных палестинских территориях заблокирован или discouraged оппозиционных кандидатов. Russia and Tunisia were cited for stifling the media, and China and Pakistan undermined the rule of law, the report said. Россия и Тунис были приведены для удушения СМИ, а также Китаем и Пакистаном подрывает верховенство закона, как отмечается в отчете. “Many of these tactics are illegal under domestic and international law, but rarely do outside powers call governments to account for it,” the report said. "Многие из этих тактик являются незаконными в соответствии с внутренним и международным правом, но редко делаем вне полномочий призыв правительства к ответственности за это", отмечается в отчете.

“Established democracies are often unwilling to do so for fear of losing access to resources or commercial opportunities, or because of the perceived requirements of fighting terrorism.” “It seems Washington and European governments will accept even the most dubious election so long as the ‘victor’ is a strategic or commercial ally,” it said. "Штатные демократии зачастую не хотят делать это из-за боязни потерять доступ к ресурсам или коммерческие возможности, или потому, что из предполагаемых потребностей борьбы с терроризмом". "Похоже, Вашингтон и европейские правительства принимают даже самых сомнительных выборов до тех пор, как ' Виктор 'является стратегическим союзником или коммерческим ", сказал он. In Kenya, rival political sides halted talks over disputed elections and vicious ethnic clashes after the killing of an opposition legislator, but said they would keep talking while would keep killing each other. В Кении, соперничающие политические стороны остановить переговоры по поводу спорной выборов и порочный после столкновений на этнической почве, убийства оппозиционных законодателей, но заявили, что они все говорят, хотя бы сохранить убивать друг друга.

The country remained tense and volatile and violence continued to reign while political parties have battled for more than a month over who won the presidential elections. В стране остается напряженной и нестабильной и насилие продолжает царить в то время как политические партии, боролся за более чем месяц, кто победил на президентских выборах. Nasser Ega-Musa, a United Nations spokesman, said both parties had “a general desire to continue the negotiations and a willingness not to be distracted and derailed,” by the shooting death of David Too. Насер EGA-Муса, Организации Объединенных Наций, представитель говорит, обе стороны "общее желание продолжить переговоры, и готовность не отвлекаться и подорван", по стрельбе смерти Давида Тоо.

The human rights report also said China has clamped down on the media as it is preparing to hold the Summer Olympics Games in August. Доклад по правам человека также заявила, Китай зажимается вниз на средства массовой информации, как он готовится к проведению летних Олимпийских Игр в августе. Foreign journalists who were given the right to interview Chinese have been harassed, detained or intimidated to prevent them from doing reports on the country’s poor human rights records. Иностранные журналисты, которые получили право на интервью китайским подвергались преследованиям, задержанию или запуганы для предотвращения их делать доклады по стране нарушения в области прав человека. It said the construction boom to prepare for the Olympic Games has involved an estimated one million construction workers under harsh and unsafe labour conditions, but that trade with China is more important to the US and the EU than human rights. Он сказал, что строительный бум в подготовке к Олимпийским играм привлек миллион строителей в тяжелых и опасных условиях труда, однако, что торговля с Китаем, является более важным, чтобы США и ЕС, чем права человека.

Have Your Say: EU and US said to favour elections over human rights Сказать свое слово: ЕС и США говорит в пользу выборов, прав человека
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Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 Суббота, 3 января, 2009

Tens of thousands of protesters are due to voice their anger at the Gaza bombing blitz in a series of rallies across the UK. Десятки тысяч протестующих должны высказывать свое недовольство в секторе Газа взрыв блиц в серию митингов по всей Великобритании.

Up to 20,000 people - including the singer Annie Lennox and Respect MP George Galloway - are expected to march along the Embankment in London before walking to Trafalgar Square to call for an immediate end to the Israeli attacks. До 20000 человек - в том числе певицы Энни Леннокс и уважение Депутат Джордж Геллоуэй - ожидается марта вдоль набережной в Лондоне, прежде чем ходить на Трафальгарской площади с призывом к немедленному прекращению израильских нападений.

The demonstration is the biggest of at least 18 organised across the country. Эта демонстрация является крупнейшим по крайней мере 18 организованных по всей стране.

Former model Bianca Jagger and singer Lennox have backed the protests, calling on American President-elect Barack Obama to speak up against the bombardment. Бывшая модель Бьянка Джаггер и певца Леннокс имеют поддержал протест, призвав американских избранного президента Барак Обама выступить против бомбардировок.

Other rallies will take place at Blytheswood Square, Glasgow; Bedford Square, Exeter; Princes Street, Edinburgh; Bristol city centre; Bold Street, Liverpool; Norwich Forum; Portsmouth’s Guildhall Square; Queen Victoria Square, Hull; Tunbridge Wells town centre; Leeds Art Gallery; All Saints Park, Manchester; Grey’s Monument, Newcastle; Castle Square, Swansea; St Sampson’s Square, York; Morrisons, Caernarfon; Bradford city centre; and Sheffield town hall. Другие митинг пройдет на площади Blytheswood, Глазго; Бедфорд площади, Эксетерский; князей Street, Эдинбург; Бристоль центре города; Bold Street, Ливерпуль; Норвича форума; Портсмут в Guildhall площади; королевы Виктории площади, корпуса; Tunbridge Уэллс центре города; Лидс галереи; Всех Святых Парк, Манчестер; Grey's Памятник, Ньюкасл; замка площадь, Swansea; Санкт Сампсона площади, Йорк; Morrisons, Кернарфон; Брадфорд центре города, и Шеффилд ратуша.

Former mayor of London Ken Livingstone and comedian Alexei Sayle also added their support to the campaign to end the violence. Бывший мэр Лондона Кен Ливингстон и комедийный актер Алексей Sayle также добавили их поддержку кампании по прекращению насилия.

Speaking at a press conference in central London, Ms Jagger said: “I would like to make an appeal to President-elect Obama to speak up. Выступая на пресс-конференции в центральном Лондоне, г-жа Джаггер сказал: "Я хотел бы сделать обращение к избранному президенту Обама высказываться.

“People throughout the world were hopeful when he was elected and we must appeal to him to ask for the immediate cessation of the bombardment of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.” "Люди во всем мире были надежды, когда он был избран, и мы должны обратиться к ним с просьбой о немедленном прекращении бомбардировок гражданского населения в секторе Газа".

Lennox spoke of her shock at watching scenes of the bombing on television. Леннокс говорит ее шок на просмотре сцены бомбардировок по телевидению. She said: “A few days after Christmas I came downstairs, put the television on, and saw smoke pyres coming from buildings and I was shocked to the core because I was thinking as a mother and as a human being.” Она сказала: "Через несколько дней после Рождества я пришел вниз, положить на телевидении, и, увидев дым pyres из дома, и я был потрясен, потому что основная я думала, как мать и как человека".

Comedian Sayle said he was speaking out because it was important for Jewish voices to be heard. Юморист Sayle сказал он выступает, поскольку она имеет важное значение для еврейской голос будет услышан. He said: “I want to feel proud of Israel, I want to be proud of my people but I am ashamed.” Он сказал: "Я хочу гордиться Израиль, я хочу быть с гордостью моего народа, но мне стыдно".

Have Your Say: Rallies to protest Gaza bombing Сказать свое слово: Митинги протеста против бомбардировок сектора Газа
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Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 Суббота, 3 января, 2009

Have Your Say: Guantanamo intake unacceptable, says Malcolm Turnbull Сказать свое слово: Гуантанамо всасываемого неприемлемо, говорит Малькольм Тернбулл
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Friday, January 2nd, 2009 Пятница, 2 января, 2009

By Francis A. Boyle По Фрэнсис А. Бойл

The United Nations General Assembly must immediately establish an International Criminal Tribunal for Israel (ICTI) as a “subsidiary organ” under UN Charter Article 22. Генеральная Ассамблея Организации Объединенных Наций должна незамедлительно создать Международный уголовный трибунал для Израиля (ICTI), как "вспомогательный орган" в соответствии с Уставом ООН, статья 22. The ICTI would be organized along the lines of the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY), which was established by the Security Council. ICTI будет организован по аналогии с Международным уголовным трибуналом по бывшей Югославии (МТБЮ), которая была учреждена Советом Безопасности.

The purpose of the ICTI would be to investigate and prosecute Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide against the Peoples of Lebanon and Palestine–just as the ICTY did for the victims of international crimes committed by Serbia and the Milosevic Regime throughout the Balkans. Цель ICTI будет проводить расследование и судебное преследование израильских военных преступлениях, преступлениях против человечности и геноцида в отношении народов Ливана и Палестины, как МТБЮ сделал для жертв международных преступлений, совершенных Сербия и режим Милошевича на Балканах.

The establishment of ICTI would provide some small degree of justice to the victims of Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide against the Peoples of Lebanon and Palestine–just as the ICTY has done in the Balkans. Создание ICTI бы представить некоторые малые степени справедливости в отношении жертв израильских военных преступлениях, преступлениях против человечности и геноцида в отношении народов Ливана и Палестины, как МТБЮ было сделано на Балканах. Furthermore, the establishment of ICTI by the UN General Assembly would serve as a deterrent effect upon Israeli leaders such as Prime Minister Olmert, Foreign Minister Livni, Defense Minister Barak , Chief of Staff Ashkenazi and Israel’s other top generals that they will be prosecuted for their further infliction of international crimes upon the Lebanese and the Palestinians. Кроме того, создание ICTI на Генеральной Ассамблее ООН будет выступать в качестве сдерживающего влияния на израильские лидеры, такие, как премьер-министр Ольмерт, министр иностранных дел Ливни, министром обороны Бараком, начальником штаба Ашкенази и Израилем других высших генералов, что они будут преследоваться для их дальнейшего причинение международных преступлений на ливанцев и палестинцев.

Without such a deterrent, Israel might be emboldened to attack Syria with the full support of the Likhudnik Bush Jr. Neoconservatives, who have always viewed Syria as “low-hanging fruit” ready to be taken out by means of their joint aggression. Без такого сдерживающего фактора, Израиль может быть смелее атаковать Сирию с полной поддержкой Likhudnik Буша-младшего неоконсерваторов, которые всегда рассматривать Сирию как "с низким уровнем повешение фруктов" готов быть вывезены за счет их совместной агрессии. If Israel attacks Syria as it did when it invaded Lebanon in 1982, Iran has vowed to come to Syria’s defense. В случае нападения Израиля Сирия, как это было, когда он вторгся в Ливан в 1982 году Иран пообещал прийти к Сирии обороны.

And of course Israel and the Bush Jr administration very much want a pretext to attack Iran. И, конечно, Израиля и администрация Буша младшего очень хочу предлога для нападения на Иран. This scenario could readily degenerate into World War III Такой сценарий может легко привести к третьей мировой войне

For the UN General Assembly to establish ICTI could stop the further development of this momentum towards a regional if not global catastrophe. На Генеральной Ассамблее Организации Объединенных Наций по созданию ICTI может остановить дальнейшее развитие этой импульс к региональным, если не глобальной катастрофы.

Have Your Say: An Israeli War Crimes Tribunal Сказать свое слово: An израильского трибунала по военным преступлениям
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Friday, January 2nd, 2009 Пятница, 2 января, 2009

Strong voices for peace have left us this year, people who used their art for social change, often at a high personal price. Сильный голос за мир оставил нам в этом году, люди, которые используют свое искусство для социальных перемен, часто на высоких личных цене.

Odetta was a legendary folk singer of the civil rights movement. Одетта была легендарная народная певица в движении за гражданские права.

Considered the “Queen of American Folk Music,” Odetta introduced audiences worldwide to African-American folk, blues and gospel music. Рассмотрен "королева американских народной музыки", Одетта представил аудитории во всем мире для афро-американской фолк, блюз и музыка Евангелие.

New Year’s Eve was her birthday. Канун Нового года был ее день рождения. She would have been 78. Она была бы 78. When Rosa Parks was asked which songs meant the most to her, she replied, “All of the songs Odetta sings.” Когда Роза парк был задан вопрос, какие песни в виду большинство ее словам, она ответила: "Все песни Одетта поет".

Odetta sang “Oh, Freedom,” an African-American slave spiritual, at the 1963 March on Washington. Одетта пели "Ой," Свобода ", афро-американских рабов духовного, в марте 1963 года в Вашингтоне. Early on, she attracted the interest of Harry Belafonte and Pete Seeger. Возможно, она привлекла интерес Гарри Белафонте и Пит Сигер. Her voice, her talent with the guitar and the natural style in which she maintained her hair—later to be dubbed “afro”—set her as an icon of the civil rights movement. Ее голос, ее талант с гитарой и природный стиль, в котором она сохранить ее волос позже будет названо "Афро"-ее, как икону движении за гражданские права. She told an interviewer in 2003: Она рассказала интервьюера в 2003 году:

“When I first started, I would sing these prison songs … it got to a point where doing the music actually healed me … it was music from those who went before. "Когда я впервые начала, я хотел бы спеть эти песни тюрьме ... Он попал в точку, где делают музыку действительно исцелил меня было ... музыка из тех, кто шли впереди. The music gave them strength, and the music gave us strength to carry it on.” Музыка дал им силу и музыки дал нам силы для его ".

She inspired Bernice Johnson Reagon, an early member of the SNCC (the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) Freedom Singers. Она вдохновила Бернис Джонсон Reagon, раннее член SNCC (Nonviolent Студенческий координационный комитет) Свобода певцов. She had been suspended from college in Albany, Ga., for civil rights protests, then went on to Spelman College, where historian Howard Zinn and his wife, Roz, took her to folk music concerts by Joan Baez and Odetta. Она была приостановлена из колледжа в Олбани, Ga. за гражданские права протеста, а затем пошла на Spelman колледж, где историк Говард Зинн и его жена Роза, взял ее на народные музыкальные концерты Джоан Baez и Одетта.

Reagon recalls the first time she heard Odetta: Reagon напоминает впервые она услышала Одетта:

“In Georgia, where I grew up in the country, the roads were built by chain-gang labor. "В Грузии, где я вырос в стране, дороги были построены на цепи с бандитизмом труда. I knew the sound, because as the men worked, they sang. Я знал, что звук, так как люди работали, они пели. But I never thought I’d hear it coming from a concert stage … when she sang prison songs or work songs. Но я никогда не думал, я слышу ее из концертной сцене ... когда она пела песни тюрьмы или работа песни. … She was just what I needed to begin my life as a freedom fighter and as a Freedom Singer.” ... Она была то, что мне было нужно, чтобы начать свою жизнь в качестве борца за свободу и свободу Зингер ".

Reagon later went on to found the women’sa cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock. Reagon позже пошли на создание women'sa капелла группы Сладкий мед в скале.

Another great liberation singer we lost this year was Miriam Makeba of South Africa, known as “Mama Afrika.” She sang against apartheid, then went into exile for decades. Еще одной великой освободительной исполнитель мы потеряли в этом году была Мириам Makeba Южной Африки, известной как "Мама Африка". "Она пела против апартеида, а затем отправился в изгнание в течение десятилетий. Belafonte helped her, too, gain recognition. Белафонте помогли ей тоже получить признание.

In 1968, she married SNCC-leader-turned-Black-Panther Stokely Carmichael, for which she was blacklisted in the US until the 1980s. В 1968 году она вышла замуж за SNCC-лидер-превратили-Черная Пантера-Stokely Кармайкл, для которой она была в черном списке в США до 1980-х годов.

Soon after her death, I asked the Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu about Makeba. Вскоре после ее смерти, я спросил, лауреат Нобелевской премии мира Десмонд Туту о Makeba. The South African archbishop smiled: “Her singing, her voice, helped many people to know a little bit more about the vicious apartheid system. Южноафриканский архиепископ улыбнулся: "Ее песни, ее голос, помогло многим людям узнать немного больше о порочной системы апартеида. She was just a tremendous human being, a great loss to us and to Africa.” Она была просто огромной человеческой личности, большая потеря для нас и для Африки ".

Also blacklisted in 1968 was singer and actress Eartha Kitt, who died at age 81 on Christmas Day. Кроме того, черный список в 1968 году певица и актриса Эрта Китт, который скончался в возрасте 81 на Рождество. In 1968, she was invited to a celebrity luncheon at the White House by Lady Bird Johnson, who asked Kitt about urban poverty. В 1968 году она была приглашена на обед знаменитости в Белом Доме на Леди птица Джонсон, который попросил Китт поводу масштабов нищеты в городах. Kitt replied: “You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. Китт ответил: "Вы послали лучше покинуть эту страну для выстрела и увечья. They rebel in the street. Они повстанцев на улице. They don’t want to go to school because they’re going to be snatched off from their mothers to be shot in Vietnam.” The first lady reportedly burst into tears. Они не хотят идти в школу, потому что они будут ухватился от их матерей, чтобы быть застрелен во Вьетнаме. "Первая леди сообщается, залиться слезами. For years afterward, Kitt performed almost exclusively overseas and was investigated by the FBI and CIA. В течение многих лет после этого, Китт осуществляется почти исключительно за границей и расследуется ФБР и ЦРУ.

Born out of the Deep South and South Africa, these women’s voices sang out, from concert halls to protest rallies. Родилась из Глубокого Юга и Южной Африке, эти женские голоса пели из, от концертных залов до митингов протеста. Another voice we just lost sang out from the written page. Другим голосом мы просто потеряли спела из написана страница. Harold Pinter died on Christmas Eve in London. Гарольд Пинтер умерла на Рождество в Лондоне. Though too sick to travel to Stockholm to collect his Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005, he sent a video address: “The majority of politicians … are interested not in truth but in power. Хотя слишком больны, чтобы поездки в Стокгольм собирать его Нобелевской премии по литературе в 2005 году, он послал видео-адрес: "Большинство политиков ... не заинтересован в истине, но в силу. … To maintain that power it is essential that people remain in ignorance. ... Чтобы сохранить власть, что очень важно, что люди остаются в неведении. … What surrounds us therefore is a vast tapestry of lies.” Pinter was referring to US policy from Guantanamo to Iraq. ... Что окружает нас, следовательно, является огромный гобелен лжи ". Пинтер имеет в виду политику США из Гуантанамо в Ирак.

As these icons are laid to rest, their voices continue to inspire millions. Поскольку эти значки заложили на отдых, их голоса продолжают вдохновлять миллионы. Barack Obama will soon take the reins of the most powerful nation on Earth, promising change. Барак Обама в скором времени принять бразды из самых мощных нации на Земле, перспективные изменения. But it will now take the actions of those millions, heeding these echoes of the past and transforming them into their own voices, to effect real change. Но теперь он будет принимать меры в тех миллионов, откликнувшись эти отголоски прошлого и превращая их в свои собственные голоса, чтобы добиться реальных перемен.

Denis Moynihan contributed research to this column. Денис Moynihan способствовали исследованиям в этой колонке.

Amy Goodman is the host of “Democracy Now!,” a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 700 stations in North America. Эми Гудман является хозяином "Демократия сейчас!", В день международной ТВ / радио новости часа трансляции в более чем 700 станций в Северной Америке. She was awarded the 2008 Right Livelihood Award, dubbed the “Alternative Nobel” prize, and received the award in the Swedish Parliament in December. Она была присуждена в 2008 году праве существования премии, названный "Альтернативные Нобелевские" премии, а также получил награду в шведском парламенте в декабре.

© 2008 Amy Goodman © 2008 Эми Гудман

Have Your Say: Amy Goodman: Voices of Resistance Sing On Сказать свое слово: Эми Гудман: Голоса сопротивления Sing О
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Friday, January 2nd, 2009 Пятница, 2 января, 2009

Have Your Say: Private firm may track all email and calls Сказать свое слово: Частная фирма может отслеживать все адреса электронной почты и звонков
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Thursday, January 1st, 2009 Четверг, 1 января, 2009

Today I am deleting all the content from my Myspace account and leaving only this notice. Сегодня я удалить все содержимое из моей учетной записи Myspace и оставив только это уведомление. I’ve been inspired by the Я воодушевлена Franklin Street Statement Франклин улице Заявление and и Identi.ca and I realize that a free/libre/open source internet is still possible, but it will require us to stop supporting corporate websites such as myspace. и я понимаю, что Free / Libre / Open Source интернета все еще возможно, но это потребует от нас прекратить поддержку корпоративных веб-сайтов, таких как MySpace. Here are some good reasons to delete your Myspace page, and support alternatives not run by corporations. Вот несколько веских причин, чтобы удалить Myspace странице, а не поддерживать альтернативные ведении корпорации.

1. I’m tired of being free labor for the Fox corporation. Мне надоело быть бесплатной рабочей силы для Фокс корпорации. The right wing Fox news corporation owns myspace, and I’m not going to support them any longer by giving them my content, my writing and images and information about who my friends are, for free. Правое крыло Fox News Corporation владеет в Myspace, и я не собираюсь их поддерживать больше, предоставляя им мои книги, мои письма и снимки и информацию о том, кто мои друзья, за бесплатно. I don’t support war, the way the Fox corporation has, and I don’t want to provide them with more money to spread more pro-war propaganda. Я не поддерживают войну, как Фокс корпорация, и я не хочу, чтобы предоставить им больше денег, больше распространяться за пропаганду войны. According to their license, Myspace has full rights to use my content things like advertisements for Myspace. Согласно лицензии, Myspace имеет полное право использовать мои книги что-то вроде рекламы в MySpace.

2. I actually care about my friends, and don’t want to screw them over my making them a “friend” on Myspace. Я на самом деле заботится о моих друзей, и не хочу им винт над моей сделав их "друга" на MySpace. By using myspace, I’m forcing my friends to sign up for a corporate owned, ad ridden, heteronormative web service if they want to stay in touch with me. Используя Myspace, я заставить моих друзей, чтобы подписаться на корпоративном владении, охваченном объявление, гетеронормативные веб-службы, если они хотят оставаться на связи со мной. The way that we don’t want to delete our accounts because we want to stay in touch with friends or fans of our bands just shows how dependent we already are on Myspace’s corporate controlled environment. Образом, что мы не хотим, чтобы удалить наши счета, потому что мы хотим оставаться на связи с друзьями и болельщиков нашей полосы просто показывает, как мы уже зависит на Myspace корпоративных контролируемой среде. We’re forced into a compulsory relationship we don’t want because we want to “keep in touch” with our friends? Мы вынуждены обязательного отношения мы не хотим, потому что мы хотим, чтобы "держать в контакте с нашими друзьями?

3. I’m tired up updating so many websites because Myspace refuses to be interoperable with other websites. Я устал вверх обновление столько потому, что веб-сайты Myspace отказывается быть совместимой с другими веб-сайтов. Myspace and sites like it do not allow you to download your data or automatically send it to other social networking sites because they want to force you into the jail of their website. Myspace и сайты, как она не позволяет загрузить данные и автоматически отправить его на другие социальные сети сайтов, поскольку они хотят, чтобы заставить вас в тюрьму их сайте. Why? Почему? Why don’t we demand open social networking standards and the ability to download our own content? Почему бы нам не требуют социальных сетей открытых стандартов и возможность скачать наше собственное содержание?

4. I have a good Free/Libre/Open Source alternative, my own blog. У меня есть хорошая Free / Libre / Open Source альтернативы, мой собственный блог. You can read about what I’m up to at Вы можете прочитать о том, что я до на http://technotrannyslut.com , free of ads for bad movies and music, free of binary gender choices and heteronormative options for your relationships. , Свободным от объявлений для плохих фильмов и музыки, свободной от гендерных бинарного выбора и гетеронормативные варианты для ваших отношений. Sites like Identi.ca provide ethical, non-corporate controlled alternatives to sites like Twitter. Сайты, как Identi.ca предоставить этический, не контролируемых корпоративные альтернативы сайты щебет. You can keep up with my status on Identi.ca, and sign up for your own microblog, here: Вы можете идти в ногу с моим статусом Identi.ca, и зарегистрировать свой собственный microblog здесь: http://identi.ca/djlotu5 Help create a well known list of alternatives like Identi.ca/Twitter , Opensim/Secondlife, if you now of any, by Помощь создать хорошо известен перечень альтернатив, как Identi.ca / щебет, Opensim / Secondlife, если вы в настоящее время каких-либо путем posting a comment here публикации комментария здесь :

Actually, even better than deleting your account, just delete all the content and post a notice like this one. Собственно, даже лучше, чем удалить свой аккаунт, просто удалить все содержимое и после предварительного уведомления, как этот.

This is just the beginning, I’m planning on getting off of Facebook and other web services as well, and I hope you do too. Это только начало, я планирую выйти из Facebook и других веб-служб, как хорошо, и я надеюсь, вы тоже. We can have an internet that is Free/Libre/Open Source, but only if we stop supporting the corporate, locked down options we’ve been using all of these years. Мы можем иметь интернет, что является Free / Libre / Open Source, но только если мы перестанем поддерживать корпоративные, заблокирована вниз вариантов мы использовали все эти годы. As these services become more a part of our lives and get into our phones and our everyday communications, it is critical that we fight for our freedom. Поскольку эти услуги становятся все более частью нашей жизни и попасть в наши телефоны и нашей повседневной коммуникации, крайне важно, чтобы мы боролись за нашу свободу. The Free/Libre/Open Source movement needs to expand from just writing software, into creating networks of servers and services, like Indymedia has done for so many years. Free / Libre / Open Source движение должно расширить только из написания программного обеспечения, в создании сетей, серверов и услуг, как Indymedia было сделано так много лет. Software alone is not enough in a networked service ecology, where servers, cables, wireless networks, infrastructure that we all control is essential if we want freedom. Программа сама по себе не достаточно сетевые службы экологии, где серверы, кабели, беспроводные сети, инфраструктура, которую мы все контроля имеет важное значение, если мы хотим свободы. I hope to see you back on the Free/Libre/Open Source internet. Надеюсь увидеть вас на Free / Libre / Open Source интернете. Bye. Пока.

Via techno tranny slut технико tranny шлюха

Have Your Say: Why You Should Delete Your MySpace Account Сказать свое слово: Почему необходимо удалить ваш MySpace Счет
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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 Среда, Декабрь 31, 2008

By Автор Hywel Trewyn Hywel Trewyn

CALLS to put Welsh on new ID cards are at last to be considered by the Government. Звонки на уэльсском поставить на новые удостоверения личности находится на последнем, который будет рассмотрен на правительстве.

The U-turn follows pressure from language campaigners who say it would be an insult if English-only cards were issued in Wales. У поворота следующим давлением язык кампании, кто говорит, что было бы оскорблением, если Английский только карты были выпущены в Уэльсе.

The Welsh Language Board yesterday welcomed an announcement that UK Border Agency officials will at least review the idea of producing bilingual cards available for Wales. Валлийский язык совета вчера приветствовал объявление о том, что Великобритания пограничного агентства чиновники будут по крайней мере, рассмотреть идею создания двуязычной карт для Уэльса.

It is a reversal on policy from earlier this year, when the Home Office said it had “no intention to include Welsh on identity cards”, arguing the language “was not an official language of the EU.” Это изменение в политике от ранее в этом году, когда Министерство внутренних дел говорит, что "не намерен включать уэльсском на удостоверение личности", утверждая, язык "не является официальным языком ЕС."

But the WLB has always argued including Welsh on cards issued in Wales was essential – the same as for driving licences and passports. Но WLB всегда утверждал, в том числе на уэльсском карт, эмитированных в Уэльсе имеет важное значение - так же, как на получение водительских удостоверений и паспортов.

And they are sending a clear message to the Government that Welsh people would see it as an insult if a Welsh option was excluded from the cards, which will eventually be distributed to every British citizen. И они посылают четкий сигнал правительству, что уэльсском люди рассматривают его как оскорбление, если уэльсском вариант был исключен из карты, которая в конечном итоге будут распространены на все британское гражданство.

WLB chair Meri Huws said: “If the Welsh language does not appear on Identity Cards, I don’t believe they will reflect the true identity of the people of Wales, and their linguistic identity in particular. WLB председателя Huws Мери сказал: "Если Валлийский язык не появляется на удостоверение личности, я не считаю, что они будут отражать подлинную личность народу Уэльса, а также их языковой самобытности, в частности.

“Therefore it is essential that all ID cards issued in Wales are fully bilingual, as is the case with driving licences. "Поэтому крайне важно, чтобы все ID карточек, выданных в Уэльсе, в полной мере на двух языках, как это имеет место в случае с водительских прав.

“I welcome the fact that the Home Office is now considering how to include the language on cards issued in the future, and look forward to hearing a statement on this issue soon.” "Я приветствую тот факт, что министерство внутренних дел в настоящее время рассматривает вопрос о том, как включить язык на карты, выданные в будущем, и с нетерпением ожидаем услышать заявление по этому вопросу в ближайшее время."

And the WLB stance was supported by Caernarfon Plaid Cymru MP Hywel Williams: “The first drafts of the proposed ID cards had the Union Jack on them. И WLB позиция была поддержана Кернарфон Плайд Cymru MP Hywel Уильямс: "В первые проекты предлагаемых ID карты были союза Джек на них. This would have been wholly unacceptable to people living in Wales. Это было бы абсолютно неприемлемо для людей, живущих в Уэльсе. I understand now there’s not going to be the Union flag.” Я понимаю, сейчас там не будет флаг союза ".

Mr Williams has tabled a number of questions asking the Government what steps have they taken to provide bilingual ID cards in Wales and the rest of the UK and for Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy about which steps he has taken to guarantee that Welsh will be on the cards. Г-н Уильямс представила целый ряд вопросов, просим правительство, какие шаги они приняты для обеспечения двуязычного ID карты в Уэльсе и на остальной части Великобритании и валлийским секретарь Пол Мерфи о том, какие меры он принял в целях гарантии того, что валлийский будет по карточкам .

Now, following a consultation period, it seems there is a glimmer of hope that they will be bilingual. Теперь, после консультаций период, кажется, есть проблеск надежды на то, что они будут на двух языках.

A UK Border Agency spokesperson said: “There will be no Welsh headings on the first wave of identity cards to be issued to workers in critical locations in Manchester and London City airports. Великобритания пограничного агентства заявил: "Там не будет уэльсском заголовками на первой волне удостоверения, выдаваемого работникам в критических местах в Манчестере и Лондоне Город аэропортах. International Civil Aviation Organisation rules state that travel documents must have headings written in English and French. Международная организация гражданской авиации правилах указывается, что проездные документы должны быть написаны на заголовки Английский и французский языки.

“As we roll out ID cards across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, we will review the inclusion of Welsh on the cards.” "Как мы Внедрение ID карты всей Англии, Уэльса, Шотландии и Северной Ирландии, мы будем рассматривать включение уэльсском на картах".

A previous linguistic battle was won after the census was forced to include a Welsh tick box for Welsh people. Предыдущий языкового битве была одержана после переписи населения была вынуждена включить уэльсском галочкой поле уэльсском человек.

The first identity cards were distributed to foreign residents living in the UK last month and will then be distributed to the general population of the UK in stages, dependent upon status, over the next three years. Первые удостоверения личности, были распространены среди иностранных граждан, проживающих в Великобритании в прошлом месяце и будет распространяться среди населения в целом в Великобритании, в несколько этапов, зависит от состояния, в течение ближайших трех лет.

People working in “sensitive” jobs like at airport employees will be given the cards first, then young people who want them from 2010 and from 2011 they will be available to everyone. Люди, работающие в "чувствительных" рабочих мест, как в аэропорту сотрудники будут уделять карты, а затем молодые люди, которые хотят их от 2010 и с 2011 они будут доступны для всех.

Have Your Say: Government considers Wales as ID card guinea pigs Сказать свое слово: правительство считает, Уэльс, как ID-карты морских свинок
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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 Среда, Декабрь 31, 2008

By Kaya Burgess По Кайя Бургес

The Labour administration in 1978 believed the introduction of ID cards would be “unacceptable” and “objectionable” in the fight against illegal immigration, confidential documents released today show. Труда в 1978 году считали, что введение удостоверений личности будет "неприемлемым" и "нежелательными" в борьбе с незаконной иммиграцией, конфиденциальные документы показывают, опубликованном сегодня.

The comments were in a draft statement due to be given to the Commons by Merlyn Rees, the Home Secretary, who wrote that the introduction of identity cards “would require major changes in practices and powers reaching far beyond immigration control”. Эти замечания были в проект заявления, который должен быть уделено Commons путем Merlyn Рис, министр внутренних дел, который писал о том, что введение удостоверений личности "потребует серьезных изменений в практике и полномочия достижения далеко за рамки иммиграционного контроля".

He added: “In the past such changes have been contemplated only in war: the Government does not believe they could be justified on immigration grounds alone.” Он добавил: "В прошлом такие изменения были только в войне: правительство не считают, что они могут быть оправданы на основании иммиграционного".

The comments were later edited out of the final speech he delivered to the House, as a struggling Labour Government tried to resist the calls from Opposition leader Margaret Thatcher for more draconian measures to tackle illegal immigration. Комментарии впоследствии были отредактированы из заключительном выступлении он доставлен на дом, как правительство борется труда пытался сопротивляться призывам с лидером оппозиции Маргарет Тэтчер за более жесткие меры по борьбе с незаконной иммиграцией.

In a secret discussion between Prime Minister Callaghan and the Whips on March 8 1978, a Downing Street aide wrote: “It was claimed that many Asian immigrants were very frightened. В секрете дискуссия между премьер-министром и Каллагэн Whips по 8 марта 1978, Даунинг-стрит памятной писал: "Было заявлено, что многие азиатские иммигранты были очень напуганы.

“There was bitter opposition to the tactics adopted by Mrs Thatcher… and that resentment should be exploited by the Government.” "Был горький оппозицию к тактике, принятой миссис Тэтчер ... и обиды, что должно быть использовано правительством".

Ministers stuck by their pledge not to introduce quotas on immigration as they did not want the “objectionable” measure of requiring everyone to carry identification papers. Министры застрял свои обещания не вводить квоты на иммиграцию, поскольку они не хотят "предосудительной" меры, требующие все для документов, удостоверяющих личность.

The confidential Government documents also discussed ways to expose “the fraudulent nature of Mrs Thatcher’s approach”, although a personal note written by Mr Callaghan warned that the Government’s response to Select Committee recommendations was too lacklustre. Конфиденциальные документы правительства также обсуждались пути разоблачать "мошеннический характер миссис Тэтчер подход", хотя личные записки, написанные г Каллагэн предупредил, что правительство в ответ на рекомендации Комитета Выбор был слишком lacklustre.

He said: “We seemed to be accepting few recommendations – mostly ones to do nothing.” Он сказал: "Мы, как представляется, приняв несколько рекомендаций - в основном, кто ничего не делать".

Have Your Say: 1978: Labour opposed ID cards to curb illegal immigration Сказать свое слово: 1978: трудовое отличие ID карточки для пресечения нелегальной иммиграции
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Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 Вторник, 30 декабря, 2008

• Unrest caused by bad economy may require military action, report says – ‘Pervasive public health emergencies’ may require call on military 29 Dec 2008 A US Army War College report warns an economic crisis in the United States could lead to massive civil unrest and the need to call on the military to restore order.
• Flu watchdog lab planned 29 Dec 2008 ‘The idea is to strengthen our surveillance against the dreaded bird flu and be ready with a disease control plan if it strikes.’
• Jakarta ends stand-off on bird flu vaccines – Indonesia’s health minister accused the US of trying to use bird flu samples to create a biological weapon . 24 Feb 2008
• DoD to carry out ‘military missions’ during pandemic, WMD attack 23 Oct 2007
• DoD to ‘augment civilian law’ during pandemic or bioterror attack 11 May 2007
• Scientists Recreate 1918 Flu and See Parallels to Bird Flu –In 2005, US Army scientists reconstructed Spanish flu virus by extracting genetic fragments from the bodies of victims exhumed from the Alaskan permafrost. 18 Jan 2007
• KBR awarded Homeland Security contract worth up to $385M 24 Jan 2006 KBR, the engineering and construction subsidiary of Halliburton Co., said Tuesday it has been awarded a contingency contract from the Department of Homeland Security to supports its Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in the event of an emergency.
• Rumsfeld’s growing stake in Tamiflu –Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing . 31 Oct 2005 The prospect of a bird flu outbreak may be panicking people around the globe, but it’s proving to be very good news for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other politically connected investors in Gilead Sciences, the California biotech company that owns the rights to Tamiflu, the influenza remedy that’s now the most-sought after drug in the world. Rumsfeld served as Gilead (Research)’s chairman from 1997 until he joined the Bush administration in 2001, and he still holds a Gilead stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million , according to federal financial disclosures filed by Rumsfeld.
• Killer flu recreated in the lab 07 Oct 2004 Scientists have shown that tiny changes to modern flu viruses could render them as deadly as the 1918 strain which killed millions. A US team added two genes from a sample of the 1918 virus to a modern strain known to have no effect on mice.

Have Your Say: US, Japanese Researchers Mix Samples of 1918 Flu Pandemic to Recreate Deadly Code
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Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

The Independent - We’ve got so used to the carnage of the Middle East that we don’t care any more – providing we don’t offend the Israelis. It’s not clear how many of the Gaza dead are civilians, but the response of the Bush administration, not to mention the pusillanimous reaction of Gordon Brown, reaffirm for Arabs what they have known for decades: however they struggle against their antagonists, the West will take Israel’s side. As usual, the bloodbath was the fault of the Arabs – who, as we all know, only understand force.

Ever since 1948, we’ve been hearing this balderdash from the Israelis – just as Arab nationalists and then Arab Islamists have been peddling their own lies: that the Zionist “death wagon” will be overthrown, that all Jerusalem will be “liberated”. And always Mr Bush Snr or Mr Clinton or Mr Bush Jnr or Mr Blair or Mr Brown have called upon both sides to exercise “restraint” – as if the Palestinians and the Israelis both have F-18s and Merkava tanks and field artillery. Hamas’s home-made rockets have killed just 20 Israelis in eight years, but a day-long blitz by Israeli aircraft that kills almost 300 Palestinians is just par for the course.

The blood-splattering has its own routine. Yes, Hamas provoked Israel’s anger, just as Israel provoked Hamas’s anger, which was provoked by Israel, which was provoked by Hamas, which … See what I mean? Hamas fires rockets at Israel, Israel bombs Hamas, Hamas fires more rockets and Israel bombs again and … Got it? And we demand security for Israel – rightly – but overlook this massive and utterly disproportionate slaughter by Israel. It was Madeleine Albright who once said that Israel was “under siege” – as if Palestinian tanks were in the streets of Tel Aviv.

By last night, the exchange rate stood at 296 Palestinians dead for one dead Israeli. Back in 2006, it was 10 Lebanese dead for one Israeli dead. This weekend was the most inflationary exchange rate in a single day since – the 1973 Middle East War? The 1967 Six Day War? The 1956 Suez War? The 1948 Independence/Nakba War? It’s obscene, a gruesome game – which Ehud Barak, the Israeli Defence Minister, unconsciously admitted when he spoke this weekend to Fox TV. “Our intention is to totally change the rules of the game,” Barak said.

Exactly. Only the “rules” of the game don’t change. This is a further slippage on the Arab-Israeli exchanges, a percentage slide more awesome than Wall Street’s crashing shares, though of not much interest in the US which – let us remember – made the F-18s and the Hellfire missiles which the Bush administration pleads with Israel to use sparingly.

Quite a lot of the dead this weekend appear to have been Hamas members, but what is it supposed to solve? Is Hamas going to say: “Wow, this blitz is awesome – we’d better recognise the state of Israel, fall in line with the Palestinian Authority, lay down our weapons and pray we are taken prisoner and locked up indefinitely and support a new American ‘peace process’ in the Middle East!” Is that what the Israelis and the Americans and Gordon Brown think Hamas is going to do?

Yes, let’s remember Hamas’s cynicism, the cynicism of all armed Islamist groups. Their need for Muslim martyrs is as crucial to them as Israel’s need to create them. The lesson Israel thinks it is teaching – come to heel or we will crush you – is not the lesson Hamas is learning. Hamas needs violence to emphasise the oppression of the Palestinians – and relies on Israel to provide it. A few rockets into Israel and Israel obliges.

Not a whimper from Tony Blair, the peace envoy to the Middle East who’s never been to Gaza in his current incarnation. Not a bloody word.

We hear the usual Israeli line. General Yaakov Amidror, the former head of the Israeli army’s “research and assessment division” announced that “no country in the world would allow its citizens to be made the target of rocket attacks without taking vigorous steps to defend them”. Quite so. But when the IRA were firing mortars over the border into Northern Ireland, when their guerrillas were crossing from the Republic to attack police stations and Protestants, did Britain unleash the RAF on the Irish Republic? Did the RAF bomb churches and tankers and police stations and zap 300 civilians to teach the Irish a lesson? No, it did not. Because the world would have seen it as criminal behaviour. We didn’t want to lower ourselves to the IRA’s level.

Yes, Israel deserves security. But these bloodbaths will not bring it. Not since 1948 have air raids protected Israel. Israel has bombed Lebanon thousands of times since 1975 and not one has eliminated “terrorism”. So what was the reaction last night? The Israelis threaten ground attacks. Hamas waits for another battle. Our Western politicians crouch in their funk holes. And somewhere to the east – in a cave? a basement? on a mountainside? – a well-known man in a turban smiles.

Have Your Say: Fisk: Leaders Lie, Civilians Die, and Lessons of History are Ignored
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Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

leninology.blogspot.com

I warned you months ago: the magic word is ‘Sderot’ . Any amount of barbarism can be justified by the frankly risible rocket attacks on southern Israel. The Israeli propaganda line, repeated with dogged fanaticism by its apologists everywhere, is that Israel performed an immense act of goodness in withdrawing its colonies from Gaza, and the native ingrates actually responded by sending a spray of Qassam rockets aloft in celebration. To add insult to injury, the bleeders even used former ’settlement’ buildings to launch the rockets from. Such beliefs have to be encouraged to justify such outrageous proposals as the levelling of Gaza . Before this gets out of hand and people start using the rockets to justify some sort of “holocaust” , let us at least bear the facts in mind for a while.

The Qassam rockets were being used as one component of an array of military tactics deployed by Gazan groups before the pull-out, the Gush Katif colonies being the prominent target. This was a response to a wave of violence and expulsions in which, for example, 13,350 residents of Rafah had their homes and life belongings destroyed in the year preceding the withdrawal, courtesy of Israeli tanks and Caterpillar bulldozers. Parts of Gaza came to resemble Grozny. The Israelis frequently attacked ambulances, at one point using the argument that UNRWA had allowed Qassam rockets to be loaded on board one such vehicle (this turned out to be a lie, but it is still repeated on many a media outlet and website). The vast majority of casualties from their use date back to the period of formal colonialism. After the withdrawal, the rate at which these were used diminished dramatically. Their use has spiked in response to serial atrocities against Palestinians, such as the slaughter of the Ghaliya family on the Gaza beach, (in which Hamas broke an eighteen month unilateral ceasefire ).

There were few such rockets fired during the six-month ceasefire, even though Israel didn’t respect its terms, but their use was increased again as Israel broke the truce on November 4th (burn that date into your brain and remember it next time someone tells you that those nasty Hamas thugs wouldn’t renew the ceasefire). Now, there are legitimate arguments about both the efficacy and ethics of using such weapons. To my mind, they have very little going for them as a tactic of resistance. But the apparently widespread belief that Qassam rockets are the vindictive and jubilant response of sneering Palestinian jihadists to Israeli mushiness is not justified by any evidence. In fact, if the aim were truly to end Qassam rocket fire, the logical option would to be engage in a unilateral ceasefire and invite Hamas to enter into a process of dialogue. But that brings us to another myth, the myth of Hamas rejectionism, which is for another post.

Have Your Say: The Qassam rockets myths
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Monday, December 29th, 2008

By NORM KENT

He picked for Vice President one of the major architects of the Drug War.

He picked for Chief of Staff one of the chief opponents of medical marijuana.

He is talking about picking for the Drug Czar spot a conservative candidate who has been a congressional leader fighting drug reform.

He has promised to put an end to raids on medical dispensaries in California, but he has not said he will broadly support the Hinchey-Rohrbacher Amendment which would let states decide the issue.

He has moved from once supporting marijuana decriminalization to publishing comments that he cannot overuse ‘political capital’ on the issue.

He has now appointed for Attorney General a candidate who has a long history of opposing drug policy reforms and who has in court supported mandatory minimum sentencing and civil forfeiture.

Allen St. Pierre, the Executive Director of NORML, summed it up best about Mr. Obama’s appointments thus far: “So Far, Not So Good:” His thought-provoking article appears on the NORML.com website at its blog.

From summarizing why the selection of Joe Biden as Vice President caused him ‘digestive tumult’ to tracing Rahm Emanuel’s anti-drug policies for the past decade, the article captures a snapshot of what was routine politics as usual for the players soon to be in power.

When it comes to our 44th President, some of his positions on marijuana were once encouraging. But as Mr. Obama has moved towards the national limelight, there is a new found frustration for reformers. It seems the President to be is moving from the left to the middle. And as Loudon Wainwright once wrote in a popular song, the only things you see in the middle of the road are dead skunks and yellow lines. Still, I am not alarmed yet. It is way too early, and there is still room and reason for optimism.

Commencing your administration in the face of a national economic crisis at home while American soldiers are at war abroad can focus your priorities on other issues outside the need for weed. We have seen what happened to Bill Clinton when he tried, too early in his administration, to advance the cause of gay rights by banning discrimination against homosexuals in the military. He started a firestorm which burnt up valuable first months of his presidency.

We do know this though, and it is a challenging start. Rather decisively, on the official administration website, at www.change.gov , the following statement appears:  President-elect Obama is not in favor of the legalization of marijuana.

What can we then expect of Mr. Obama once he becomes President?

I think there are many encouraging things.

First, in his past he has acknowledged the broad failures of the drug war, declaring in 2004 that it was an “utter failure” which needs to be rethought.

Second, as an African-American in an urban community, few people will be as sensitive as Mr. Obama to the exhaustive legal toll this drug war exacts on minority communities. The arrests come quicker, the prosecutions are more frequent, and the sentences are longer. Drug arrests have been tools to deny poor people driver’s licenses, scholarships and federal welfare benefits, causing innocuous conduct to endure catastrophic consequences for otherwise decent people.

Third, the President is ‘with it’. His telling comments to a group of students when asked whether he ‘inhaled’ marijuana were “Of course, I thought that was the whole purpose.”

Those remarks are a reflection of the candor and commitment of Mr. Obama to address the issue in a new light. He did not play a game of Clintonian holier-than-thou cover-up. With the same self-deprecating qualities that he shared with the nation when he called himself a ‘mutt,’ Mr. Obama implied in tone and substance that marijuana may not be as bad as we have been hearing from the government for too many decades.

Last week, the website Change.gov asked the public to provide them with a list of the top public policy questions facing America. Visitors to the site were then asked to vote on which questions should take priority for the incoming administration.

After receiving nearly 100,000 total votes on more than 10,000 separate public policy issues, the most widely voted on question for Obama is:

“Will you consider legalizing marijuana so that the government can regulate it, tax it, put age limits on it, and create millions of new jobs and create a billion dollar industry right here in the US”

Maybe Rahm Emanuel has turned a corner as well. Rahm is politically smart if nothing else, so I hope that he’ll follow his boss’ lead in the area of criminal justice reforms. Also, to his credit, after voting years against Hinchey-Rohrbacher Amendment in 2007, as member of Congress from Illinois, Rahm voted in favor of holding back federal funding from law enforcement (read DEA) to raid or harass medical marijuana cultivators and dispensaries.

I know I have been unsuccessful in getting my own liberal Congresswoman from South Florida, Debbie Wasserman-Schulz, to even support this effort. Maybe Mr. Emanuel will influence her and dozens of others. It will take leadership from the oval office. That can only happen when the people in office are looked upon as enlightened reformers rather than being weak on crime.

Politically, I know such polls as the one the administration inaugurated here are instrumental in turning mindsets. If we can show politicians that it is ‘safe’ to support drug reform, even popular, we can suddenly find them on our side. To their credit, outstanding philanthropists like Peter Lewis and George Soros have been national leaders in helping bring public opinion out of the closet. These are men whose voices may be heard by the new administration. And I am here for them too if they need me. My number is listed. So too is Barney Frank, the influential Massachusetts congressman who has long supported decriminalization legislation.

The truth is that people who support decriminalization have always been a silent majority afraid to speak out. But give them a secret ballot box, and in state after state, you see massive support for medical marijuana and a more enlightened approach to marijuana reform. Perhaps the President, in his own unique disarming way, can lead a new path. He has surrounded himself with educated leaders who also have been willing to speak candidly in favor of decriminalization including new Cabinet nominee Bill Richardson.

We do not need a new Drug Czar, either. This is America. Czars are for Russia. What we need is the appointment of an educator, a scientist, a doctor, a constitutional rights lawyer to pave the way to a new era of drug enlightenment.

At the last NORML Board of Directors meeting, one issue we raised was one many of us within the drug reform movement can support. It has been three decades since the Shafer Commission released its national study on marijuana, which Nixon immediately trashed. Perhaps a new Blue Ribbon Commission, with decades more research behind it, and years of medical marijuana evidence, can look into new recommendations for the 21st century.

On one hand, such a Presidential panel would buy time for the new administration to get settled in with more pressing priorities. But it would also give drug reformers a national platform to address so many issues that have been, forgive me, cultivated- since the Shafer Commission, from forfeiture laws to raids on dispensaries, from the THC content of marijuana to medicinal initiatives. It is time to look again at marijuana with a scholarly and clinical eye instead of with SWAT teams and law enforcement raids.

Correspondingly, it is also time for the national drug reform organizations to speak with a singular voice and work together for a common purpose. There needs to be a unity of purpose, and leaders from the Marijuana Policy Project, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, the Drug Policy Alliance, Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, and a host of other respected reform organizations, too many to mention here, should hold their own meeting to develop a common theme with a collective initiative. We need to work together to send a message that is enlightened and progressive, convincing legislators and the executive branch that we are responsible and right..

The drug reform movement needs to act in a way that President-elect Obama has asked all of us to move towards: not to be tied to the politics of the past and the way things have always been done, but to engage hope by broadening our constituency and reaching out to others. Within the drug reform movement, fratricide must come to an end. We must bury the hatchet on our own rivalries, and move forward with a common purpose. We defeat ourselves by ourselves when we do not.

Our cause is just, and our goals have always been righteous. We may have only ourselves to blame if we cannot achieve now what we have fought so long for. I would say our time is now, but I thought that in 1976 when the Attorney General of the United States, then Ramsey Clark, said we should see an end to unjust marijuana laws before the end of the decade. I think we are overdue. Together, let us do better than we have already done.

We have a President who is willing to listen, a Congress that is willing to learn, and a public that is salivating for a better solution.

Norm Kent is a criminal defense lawyer from Fort Lauderdale who serves on the Board of Directors for NORML www.norml.com He can be reached at Norm@normkent.com , and his law office website is www.normkent.com

Have Your Say: What Will Obama Do About Cannabis?
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Monday, December 29th, 2008

By Venezolana de Televisión

“The Kingdom of Heaven is not a kingdom or life in the clouds. Either it exists here or else it exists nowhere,” President Chávez issued a wake-up call during the last Sunday program of 2008. “It’s on earth, and that is why Christ came here and was born among the poor, in the manger.”

The head of state in Venezuela noted that the capitalist system throughout its history has distorted Jesus’s message to the poor about the Kingdom of Heaven, with the sole purpose of exploiting the impoverished majorities in favor of the minorities who enjoy the wealth of the world.

The Christ child was born on earth, poor and human, to fight and make this planet truly the kingdom of heaven, of equality and justice, not to be poor in life and to win glory in the afterlife, Comandante Chávez said during the last Aló Presidente broadcast of the year, speaking from El Valle where he inaugurated a new People’s Clinic.

“The message of Christ, who said the Kingdom of Heaven is that of the poor, has been very often manipulated. In this way they have for centuries manipulated the poor of the world, to make them quietly accept exploitation.”

“Christ was born to call on us to create, here on earth, the Kingdom of Love,” Chávez explained, adding that this kingdom has no other name than socialism.

The president reminded the audience that socialism comes from what is social, as capitalism proceeds from capital.

“Socialism is the doctrine, science, of development of what is social. Capitalism is the immoral art, science, and technology of development of capital or growth of capital — (for capitalism) what matters is that even while people die of hunger capitalists accumulate capital.”

The president stressed that therein lies the key to understanding the confrontation that began again, in which Venezuela has become the center of the battle between socialists and capitalists, “between people becoming more politically conscious every day and those who exploited them forever.” He said that that is why the issue of the constitutional amendment is of vital importance as it will allow Venezuela to go farther on the socialist path, the truly human and democratic path, for the happiness of the Venezuelan people.

To conclude the last Aló Presidente of the year, the president wished the best for Venezuelan families, urging them to enjoy Christmas and New Year’s Eve with love, moderation, and simplicity so they can continue in 2009 the work of making Venezuela a great nation of justice and equality.

Have Your Say: Chávez: Capitalists Have Manipulated the Message of Christ to Exploit the Poor
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Monday, December 29th, 2008

The first day of what Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak assures us will be a “long and difficult” war in the Gaza Strip has come and gone, leaving at least 300 Gazans dead , over 700 wounded, and one Israeli civilian killed and four wounded in retaliatory strikes . The number of Gaza civilians dead is not currently known, but the attacks centered around police stations and killed a large number of Palestinian security forces.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak hit out at calls to cease the attacks and renew the ceasefire, saying “ for us to be asked to have a ceasefire with Hamas is like asking you to have a ceasefire with al-Qaeda .” Except of course that up until a week ago Israel did have a six month long ceasefire with Hamas which Minister Barak repeatedly defended from the more hawkish opposition members.

But the time for an unpopular peace is over in Israel, and police are being dispatched to crack down on those protesting against the unpopular war that has followed.

Meanwhile, as Gazans count their dead and tend to their wounded in a chaotic scene , Hamas and the assorted militant factions that reside in the strip are vowing revenge. Hamas says “ all options are open ” in responding to the attacks, while Islamic Jihad is ordering all its fighters to respond to “ the Israeli slaughter .”

Those still calling for peace between the belligerent factions appear for now to have little traction, and the war is liable to continue to escalate.

Have Your Say: Over 300 Killed in Gaza as Attacks Continue
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