Archive for the ‘Saudi Arabia’ tag
Hundreds protest NDAA in NYC, CIA operating drone base in Saudi Arabia, how not to be creepy talking to women
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Hundreds protest the National Defense Authorization Act in NYC, the CIA is operating a drone base in Saudi Arabia, the post office cuts mail delivery on Saturdays (even though they’re really not broke), women are often victims of gun violence but the media doesn’t really focus on that, how not to be creepy talking to women, a patent troll tries to sue podcasts, claiming he invented podcasting technology.
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US to occupy Afghanistan for decades, Jamie’s stork brings a sad, $6.6 billion disappears in Iraq
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The US and Afghanistan are engaging in secret talks that could result in the US remaining in the region for decades. The stork brings Jamie a sad and he tries to cope. Also, Jamie explains why fascism is not atheism, Dan Savage rails against complicit Christians, $6.6 billion goes missing in Iraq, the FBI gives 14,00 agents permission to rummage through your trash, Georgia realizes it needs immigrant labor, one of Gov. Snyder’s goon Emergency Managers shuts down a school in Detroit with a 90 percent graduation rate, Saudi Arabia’s executions are running at more than double last year’s rates, and Washington’s State Supreme Court gives employers the right to fire employees who use medicinal marijuana.
NBD, guys. Jamie’s just an honorary black person.
Support US Uncut’s fundraising drive so they, along with The Yes Men, can go expose the evil deeds of tax-dodging corporations in the Cayman Islands!
Jamie will be in Pittsburgh at 222 Ornsby July 1st! Come out and say hello!
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Egypt updates, Saudi troops sent into Bahrain, why you wouldn’t eat your dog
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Independent journalist Austin Mackell (@austingmackell) updates from Egypt on the army crackdown and Saudi troops being sent into Bahrain. Later, Jamie explains why you wouldn’t eat your dog and Allison discusses Bradley Manning and Anonymous’ Bank of America document dump. Finally, a brief chat about gun control.
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Arming the Middle East while America’s empire collapses
The other day, Greenwald wrote a very good summary of America’s collapsing empire. Basically, we are entering year nine of the Afghanistan occupation, and Republicans are leading a crusade to cut benefits and Social Security during the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. Greenwald highlighted this disturbing passage from a NYT article:
Plenty of businesses and governments furloughed workers this year, but Hawaii went further — it furloughed its schoolchildren. Public schools across the state closed on 17 Fridays during the past school year to save money, giving students the shortest academic year in the nation.
Many transit systems have cut service to make ends meet, but Clayton County, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta, decided to cut all the way, and shut down its entire public bus system. Its last buses ran on March 31, stranding 8,400 daily riders.
Even public safety has not been immune to the budget ax. In Colorado Springs, the downturn will be remembered, quite literally, as a dark age: the city switched off a third of its 24,512 streetlights to save money on electricity, while trimming its police force and auctioning off its police helicopters.
I occasionally feature bits of empirical evidence to prove the existence of the collapsing empire in this blog, like the inevitable Republican-inspired Mad Max future of no firefighters, or parks, and endless water shortages. And we’ve seen signs of the decay everywhere – the real unemployment of 16 percent, and certain counties’ decision to switch from pavement to gravel roads in order to save money, not to mention the woeful state of the nation’s other infrastructure (water mains, bridges, etc.).
I don’t need to tell you shit is bad. But what’s so amazing about all of this is Washington’s utter indifference to the state of the decaying empire. (Quick digression: Don’t get me wrong. I don’t wish to imply empires are a good thing. We know the true toll of colonialism and empire expansion, and I reject the notion that America must remain an all-powerful empire in order to survive and thrive.) If the ruling class isn’t made to understand the effects of their detrimental policies, the U.S. will not only lose the empire, but the very fabric of society itself.
