Hidden tracks!

There's a few protest photos I didn't post. Here's one:

Heh.

Defining "Ridiculous"

I've just found a new definition.

A woman who stole $4.52 worth of fuel was ordered to stand outside the gas station Friday wearing a sandwich board sign that declared: "I was caught stealing gas."

Amazing. A woman steals $4.52 worth of gas and has to face embarrassment for it, yet the oil companies raise the price of a gallon many percentage points higher then the comparative value of crude, and this judge doesn't force an Exxon executive to wear a sign around his neck in public. Maybe the judge needs help coming up with a slogan for such a sign. I think "I'm a Fucking Asshole" or "Have I fucked you in the ass today?" would do fine.

Bush's new job plan

Don't like the shitty new job Bush created for you? Go pop prozac!

"Why don't they get new jobs if they're unhappy -- or go on Prozac?" said Susan Sheybani, an assistant to Bush campaign spokesman Terry Holt.

And if prozac isn't your thang, you'll get a personal greeting from Dick Fucking Cheney.

They call this a headline?

Michelle Malkin: "TERESA HELPED WRITE THE SPEECH"

Uhm, yeah, and...? Oh, I get it! There's something wrong with a wife helping her husband write an important speech! I suppose some members of the right would be much happier if Kerry said, "Bitch, get back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich!"

Jesus Christ. The fact that they think a wife helping her husband (supposedly helping, I should say; they have no actual evidence that she helped) qualifies as a story just goes to show how fucked up these people are.

Stemming with stupidity

Falwell opens mouth, inserts foot.

The Democrats want Americans to think that if you oppose embryonic stem cell research you must be a right-wing whacko with “an axe to grind.”

Wow! The Reagan's are Democrats?!

Sudan Blogging

Looking on Google News, Sudan is the top item. It's about time this story started getting the coverage that it deserves, and it better continue. Since it's finally getting coverage, it makes special "Sudan Blogging" updates on here obsolete because I'll just be rehashing top stories of the day. That's rather redundant. But, in this instance, for the sake of continuity...

Despite the US removing the word "sanctions" and somewhat weakening the resolution to get other countries to vote for it, the world community takes baby steps towards doing the right thing. The UN Security Council votes 13-0 to act against Sudan if the government there does not stop supporting the atrocities in Darfur.

Sudan, of course, rejects the resolution. It doesn't seem like the Sudanese government will even admit that atrocities are happening in Darfur. Read a few of these quotes from Information Minister El-Zahawi Ibrahim Malik and try not to say to yourself, "God, this guy's a fucking asshole." Just try.

"Sudan expresses its deep sorrow that the issue of Darfur has quickly entered the Security Council and has been hijacked from its regional arena."

200,000 refugees, 30-50,000 dead, and impending murder of a million more people if the Sudanese government continues to stall foreign aid from making it to Darfur... "Regional." My. Ass.

"Sudan has been watching what the enemy circles have been preparing. Sudan has been observing the greedy moves (to take over) its economic resources, and it is preparing to confront these outsiders so that the peace, which the government started with bold steps in Navasha, shall prevail in the country."

Speaking as an anti-Bush American citizen, I'd be the first person to believe that he's being greedy. However, this excuse just doesn't make sense. All Bush needs to do is declare the situation in Darfur to be genocide, and then international agreements would force him to act. And while the world is skeptical of anything Bush does, believe me, he would have a lot of people defending him on this action.

Hell, why can't Bush be greedy in the right situations? Hey Bush, there's oil in Sudan... Gogogo!

Malik said the government was capable of "disarming all the looting and robbing gangs."

First off, then fucking do it! Secondly, all the "looting and robbing gangs"? Looting and robbing have caused 30,000 deaths? Well he even admit that people are dying?

Actually yes, he will admit that "horrible" acts are happening, but it's not the Janjaweed committing them. Seriously.

He accused the resolution of focusing on the Janjaweed militia more than the humanitarian plight of the displaced people in Darfur province. He also said the resolution failed to punish the rebel groups in Darfur "which are still committing horrible acts and refuse to sit at the negotiating table."

You know, after reading this I'm convinced that every member of the Sudanese government beats their wife, because the only thing that can explain these statements is by saddling it with the mentality of a wife beater. It's not just the fact that they don't believe they are doing anything wrong, but it's the other party that's causing all the problems.

The hopes I had for diplomacy solving this crisis are so dim right now. Just think about those comments and read this:

"The only thing the UN Security Council has delivered is... another 30 days in which civilians will continue to live in fear of being killed or raped," Representative of aid agency in Darfur.

These creeps get another 30 days. They didn't comply with the last warning, makes one wonder why they are getting another. Will it really take this long to get a unifed world opinion? If so, what does that say about rest of the world?

Used underware for sale!

That's right, pervies. Before bidding, you might want to find out if it's been washed. Wouldn't want to waste your money, after all.

Just the issues

This is the first article I've read about John Kerry and his stance on the issues that didn't piss me off. Of course, it helps that Iraq isn't mentioned... But there's other good stuff.

Under John Kerry's proposal, the government would pay for 75 percent of medical bills over $50,000 a year. Because the costs of covering catastrophic illness would be greatly reduced, insurance companies would no longer have incentive to avoid those who need health care the most. Insurance rates would fall, and younger, healthier people would be more likely to buy health insurance, since they no longer have to pick up the tab for the less fortunate. Kerry's plan attacks the worst aspects of private insurance, while preserving its benefits. If Kerry can stress this point, and allay fears about a government takeover of health care, he could well convince moderate Republicans to sign on.

Like that.

For a good example of how delusional the right is...

Click here.

Ouch

Aljazeera is unimpressed: "Kerry offers nothing new on Iraq." And if that's a headline on Aljazeera, then I imagine it's an opinion shared by many in the Arab world.

What does it take to get fired from the FBI?

Saying that your employers are inept.

Edmonds worked as a contract linguist for the FBI for about six months, translating material in Turkish, Persian and Azerbaijani. She was dismissed in 2002 after she complained repeatedly that bureau linguists had produced slipshod and incomplete translations of important terrorism intelligence before and after the September 11 attacks.

She also accused a fellow Turkish linguist in the bureau's Washington field office of blocking the translation of material involving acquaintances who had come under FBI suspicion and said the bureau had allowed diplomatic sensitivities with other nations to impede the translation of important terrorism intelligence.

Rest assured: Failing to predict 9/11 is still OK.

Sudan Blogging

While I wish Bush would just come out and say genocide is happening in Darfur, I should give him some credit for dispatching Powell to handle the situation, and at least giving it some attention. The US isn't the only nation that refuses to take action, though. 7 out of 15 nations in the UN Security Council could vote against our proposed sanctions.

The draft US resolution threatens sanctions against the Sudanese Government in 30 days if it fails to fulfil commitments to disarm the Janjaweed fighters and give foreign relief workers full access to the region.

But seven council members - China, Russia, Pakistan, Algeria, Angola, The Philippines and Brazil - have expressed concern about the sanctions threat, council diplomats said.

The hesitation of these nations has apprehension of these nations has succeeded in weakening the resolution.

The threat of direct sanctions against Khartoum was removed after the US agreed to amend a draft, to overcome opposition from some council members.

I can't see anything good coming out of this. The veto threat from these seven nations only serves to make a bad situation worse. But Bush has to shoulder some of the blame, since he started the bullshit war in Iraq and now other countries don't trust the US.

While the outlook on diplomacy is grim, there's good news: The African Union says they're ready to send in the peacekeepers.

And now for some more background info. I know I'm abusing blockquote, but I'm also going to admit that I don't know much about Sudan. (Hey, I'm an American. And educated through public schools, to boot. I'm lucky that I know how to tie my shoes. :>) But as I learn new things about the country and why this conflict is happening, I like to publish it to the blog, if only for my own benefit. So, with that said, who are the Janjaweed? Glad you asked.

The word, an Arabic colloquialism, means "a man with a gun on a horse." Janjaweed militiamen are primarily members of nomadic "Arab" tribes who've long been at odds with Darfur's settled "African" farmers, who are darker-skinned. (The labels Arab and African are rather misleading, given the complexity of the region's ethnic history. For simplicity's sake, Explainer will stick with these inelegant terms.) Until last year, the conflicts were mostly over Darfur's scarce water and land resources—desertification has been a serious problem, so grazing areas and wells are at a premium. In fact, the term "Janjaweed" has for years been synonymous with bandit, as these horse- or camel-borne fighters were known to swoop in on non-Arab farms to steal cattle.

The Janjaweed started to become much more aggressive last year, after two non-Arab groups, the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, took up arms against the Sudanese government, alleging mistreatment by the Arab regime in Khartoum. In response to the uprising, the Janjaweed militias began pillaging towns and villages inhabited by members of the African tribes from which the rebel armies draw their strength—the Zaghawa, Masalit, and Fur tribes. (This conflict is entirely separate from the 21-year-old civil war that has pitted the Muslim government against Christian and animist rebels in the country's southern region. The Janjaweed, who inhabit western Sudan, have nothing to do with that war, which seems close to a peaceful resolution and is thus not a topic at today's meeting between Powell and Annan.)

Both victims and international observers allege that the Janjaweed are no longer the scrappy militias of yore, but rather well-equipped fighting forces that enjoy the overt assistance of the Sudanese government. In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month, a field researcher with Human Rights Watch stated that the Sudanese army was openly recruiting horse-owning Arab men, promising them a gun and a monthly salary of $116 in exchange for joining a Janjaweed cohort. The International Crisis Group says that money that gets paid to the Janjaweed "comes directly from booty captured in raids on villages," giving them an additional incentive to act with extreme brutality.

There would be more updates...

But work is so busy right now that all I want to do is shoot myself.

"Last night I came up with a solution to the Israel/Palestine problem: Beating Ariel Sharon to death with the corpse of Yassir Arafat. Duh!"

I love Get Your War On. Click and worship it.

BoingBoing Headline of the Day

"Sex toys still banned in Alabama, guns okay"

On a more serious note about this story:

A decision issued yesterday by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says Alabama doesn't have to lift its silly, arcane 1998 law banning the sale of sex toys. The Constitution does not include a right to sexual privacy, the panel of three judges ruled.

We don't have a right to sexual privacy? Great. Remind me to leave the shades up the next time I do it, I'm sure the whole neighborhood would love that.

Riot!

I didn't see any cops in riot gear yesterday, but TalkLeft has a few photos of such from today's protests. Not sure why the cops were out in force or what the protesters were upto, but if I have time to look into it this morning, I will. It's not exactly at the top of my priorities list, though.

UnConvention blogging?!

I should have called in sick.

I received this at 8:30 last night. I was on the T headed back to my car, and I struck up some small talk with a delegate who couldn't attend the convention tonight, but let me know that I could if I wanted to. Unfortunately, there are pitfalls to being a third shift worker, and missing once in a lifetime opportunities like this is high on the list.

So there are no pictures from the convention floor. But I did hit the streets.

Seeing these pranksters was a welcome site. After I took the T to Downtown Crossing, it dawned on me that I had no clue where the Fleet Center was, and it skipped my mind to check before leaving the house. So I walked around downtown for half an hour until I found a map, saw where I needed to go, and hopped back on the T. After stopping at Haymarket, Spaceshot Kerry and Tankboy Dukakis were the first two people I saw. I knew I was home.

Next, I met Nutcase Bush Voter #1. This man is certifiably insane, though I'm not sure if you could tell that from the American flag shirt, pants, shoes, bandana, kerchief, flag itself, the pole the flag flies from being lined with American flag stickers, and because all that just isn't enough, he tops it off with an American flag fannypack. As you can probably imagine, he was yelling at everybody.

Not to be outdone in the penis flag envy contest, here is Nutcase Bush Voter #2. He stayed in one place and let smartass protesters take advantage of him for photo-ops while claiming the war in Iraq was over in three weeks and we won.

Coming back to reality, I started running into people who actually had something to say.

I'm going to have to eat a little crow here. For the past week, I've been screaming about the "free speech zone" and how unconstitutional it is, and how the Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for supporting something so undemocratic. I've also reported that the "free speech zone" set aside for protests was nowhere near the Fleet Center. I've been to many protests in my life, and I've even been holed up in a "free speech zone" before, so after hearing rumors of another protest pen being setup, I looked back on history and let that do the talking.

The 2004 DNC protest zone, though, is not a repeat of history.

From this photo I took in the the pen, you can see two things: it's proximity to the Fleet Center (see the "ter" in the top right corner?), and how personally some protesters have taken things. Honestly, that sign doesn't even begin to make sense; it only makes me see how their rhetoric can turn like minded people away from their cause.

As for the "free speech zone" itself, it extended out into a couple of streets that were much larger than the pen. The atmosphere was pretty festive, spirits for all were running high, and there wasn't a riot cop or SWAT team in sight. (In fact, I never once encounted a cop in riot gear today.)

Ever the martyrs, here are some protesters participating in some street theater about their right to protest.

Hm. Maybe I shouldn't have made fun of them with my "martyrs" comment. I'm a veteran protester and I know how high emotions can run and how we've been oppressed before. However, the city of Boston and the Democrats averted a potential disaster and, as far as I could tell, protest was allowed and welcomed.

And visible. This is how close my shaky hands got to the line of delegates marching towards the Fleet Center.

While the street theater couldn't be seen by the delegates, protesters could still get their message out. I was able to hand out Loaded Mouth stickers, which some delegates took. Many of them heard yours truly and a few other people shouting "Peace! Now!" They also saw signs like this.

And the punchline.

Maybe he'll try a reverse cowboy. Iraq has already seen the cowboy...

Earlier this week, a friend asked me why I would protest against somebody who I was going to vote for. Isn't the point of this election getting Bush out of office? I answered yes, it is, but my politics are complicated. And last night, I went to Boston more as a photographer/blogger and less as a protester, but there I was shouting "Peace! Now!" at delegates.

The point of protesting for peace, even if I'm going to be voting for Kerry, is that pressure needs to be constantly applied to the Democrats so that they do they right thing. They need to be reminded that we're out there, and our message will be heard. We're all very unpleased that Kerry wants to send more troops into Iraq. I'm voting for Kerry because I know he's not going to start any new wars, but I wish he would rethink his policy on Iraq before digging us into an even deeper hole. That's why the delegates heard my voice today.

And many of the delegates flashed peace signs to us as they passed by. I gave them a thumbs up and continued shouting.

The delegates also heard, uhm, other voices...

Anyone wanna take bets on when the last time this guy got laid was?

This fruitcake decided to take a bullhorn and read from the Bible. I didn't stop long enough to see if he read anything about how it's OK to keep slaves and beat women, but I'm guessing he only read "select" passages.

But the majority of crowd had their heads screwed on straight.

She wouldn't let me snap a picture until I took a sticker. Fair trade.

I believe this man is one of the fabled Billionaires for Bush.

Here's another Billionaire.

And this is a shaky picture of Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog. Much to everybody's surprise, Triumph was in the protest pen and wanted to have a word with us. Just after I stuck a LoadedMouth.com sticker on the podium, he hopped up there to make fun of us, so I'm hoping the site gets some coverage on Conan.

Someone asked Triumph if he was running for president in 2008. "No, let Hillary run. One bitch at a time!" Heh.

On my way back to the T, I saw this truck again. Unfortunately, I was never able to get a clear shot, but I think you can get the jist of how nuts these people are this this shaky photo. Following behind was another truck with a picture of an aborted fetus on it. I snapped a photo of that, but in retrospect I wish I hadn't, and it will not be published to the blog. I'll show examples of Republican propaganda to a certain extent, but I try to stay away from their stuff that is disgustng and uber-offensive.

And that's it. There's no pictures from the convention floor, but I hope you're not disappointed.

Just in case you missed it

A car bomb in Iraq takes out 70 people. That's just bad.

And there will be more Sudan Blogging tomorrow.

Unconvention blogging!

I made the trip to Boston today and snapped 57 photos, and almost made it onto the convention floor. (Actually, I could be in the Fleet Center as I write this, if I wanted to get fired.) And I met Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog. Seriously. Details later!

...OK, OK. I'll post the Triumph photo now.

Yes, that is the real Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog. And yes, he is speaking in front of a LoadedMouth.com sticker that I slapped on the podium seconds before he arrived. And yes, I do feel cool.

Even Indymedia has a sense of humor

Their link to Ted Kennedy's speech: "Ted Kennedy Tells DNC He's A Really Bad Driver... Just kidding."

Their link to a picture of John Kerry climbing out of a space shuttle: "Holy Shit, Houston! My Left Wing Just Fell Off!"

This is what free speech looks like

Democrat-style. Cages, barbed wire, snipers...

Why does Bill O'Reilly have a job?

Oh no! Mr. Bill meets up with Michael Moore at the DNC. Here's how the interview ends.

Moore: Right, I would not sacrifice my child to secure Fallujah and you would?

O'Reilly: I would sacrifice myself.

M: You wouldn’t send another child, another parents child to Fallujah, would you? You would sacrifice your life to secure Fallujah?

O: I would.

M: Can we sign him up? Can we sign him up right now?

O: That’s right.

M: Where’s the recruiter?

O: You’d love to get rid of me.

M: No I don’t want—I want you to live. I want you to live.

O: I appreciate that. Michael Moore everybody. There he is…

Chickenhawk.

Batting a thousand and still striking out

It's funny how I can make a post about Sudan here and get no comments, post exactly the same thing to blunted on reality and a comment thread starts, then I get mistaken for blunted as the post receives a link on Monkeyfilter, and that person adds a blurb about Sudanese oil, and it gets 19 comments. I was also mistaken for blunted and got linked at Metapop, where it was viewed by 4000 pairs of eyeballs.

Juxtapositioning all that attention with the fact the Loaded Mouth averages 35-40 hits a day, and it's rather frustrating to think about. Apparently I have something to say and people are listening, yet at the same time they aren't. I even ran an advertisement for Loaded Mouth at the bottom of Haloscan comments last week, and out of my 100,000 impressions, I received a scant 56 hits. I'm well received on other blogs, but I can't seem to make Loaded Mouth popular enough to get 50 hits a day, nevermind 100.

I know I'm complaining, and some people reading this will say, "I get two hits a day so shut yer piehole." But for me, it's just an odd situation. Am I on the bubble or doomed to obscurity?

I love Michael Moore

Michael invites Bush to see a screening of Fahrenheit 9/11 in Crawford, TX.

We may even have an audience reading of "My Pet Goat" to celebrate "Fahrenheit 9/11" breaking through the $100 million mark at the box office.

Heh.

Sudan Blogging

Granted the US and UK governments are "gathering evidence" to see if genocide is happening in Darfur (how much more evidence do they need?), Bush still has yet to call it genocide, so Genocide Watch turns 5. On the positive side of things, Sudan was the second top story on Google News, which means this story could start getting the coverage it deserves.

The UN could vote on a resolution for new Sudan sanctions this week, though it was proposed last week. I'm sure the world would appreciate it if they sped up the process a little bit, especially given USAID's predictions that 300,000 Sudanese people "are almost certain to die by the end of the year," and that's if full humanitarian aid is allowed to get into the country, an effort that the Sudanese government is blocking.

Upon hearing news of possible sanctions and military intervention, the Sudanese government reacted by telling other countries to keep out and they will attack any foreign soldiers within Sudanese borders. Of course, they conveniently neglected to when the genocide will stop.

The Janjaweed are burning people alive.

One of the most savage atrocities yet recorded in Sudan was laid bare yesterday when it was reported that Janjaweed militia shackled villagers and burned them alive during a raid in the Darfur region.

The Washington Post points the finger at Europe.

THE FOREIGN ministers of the European Union met Monday to debate the humanitarian crisis in Sudan's western province of Darfur. The ministers noted that Sudan's government has not delivered on its July 3 promise to Kofi Annan, the U.N. secretary general, to rein in the Arab death squads that it created to murder Darfur's African civilians. They noted that Sudan had also failed to respect calls for a cease-fire from the African Union the following week, as well as the Europeans' own statement on the crisis, dated July 12. But although the Europeans did their best to sound gruff and impatient, they took only limited action. Meanwhile, huddled in refugee camps that lack food and medicine, Darfur's civilians are dying at an estimated rate of 1,000 a day.

The Europeans know that the killings in Darfur probably constitute genocide, as Congress recognized last week, but they shrank from calling it that. They suggested they might increase their support for the African Union's cease-fire monitors in Darfur, but stopped short of calling for a force large enough to protect civilians from the government-backed militia. They declared qualified support for "imminent" sanctions, but assigned responsibility for imposing these to the U.N. Security Council, which is hamstrung by the threat of a Chinese veto. They advertised the aid that they have given, but they failed to note that the U.N. relief appeal is less than 50 percent funded and made no mention of the detailed request for helicopters that the U.N. staff had presented to them the previous week. More than 30,000 people are thought to have died in Darfur already. How many deaths will it take?

And in an article I'm linking to twice in this post, Jim Lobe at Inter Press Service provides some history and background information on the conflict.

The violence in Darfur has its roots in the competition for land and resources between Arab tribes that are mainly herders and the African population that consists mostly of peasants living in settled villages and towns.

In 2002, the Janjaweed stepped up raids on the African population. Angry that the government was not protecting them against such attacks, two African rebel groups retaliated against a government garrison, killing more than 70 soldiers.

At that point, Khartoum launched its counter-insurgency campaign, much of which was carried out on the ground by the newly supplied Janjaweed, who were also backed by government forces and warplanes.

Flip-Fuck

Prepare yourself to witness some dumbing down of the media.

Others, of course, are skeptical that Kerry, whom critics have long accused of flip-flopping on issues, will stand firm.

Unfortunately, this is a serious line from a serious news article. But instead of coming off as objective journalism, it looks like the reported ripped it straight out of Bush's Guide to Propaganda Warfare. It even uses terminology from the Bush campaign: "flip-flopping." Why not say, "Some have criticized Kerry for changing stances on the issues," or even, "Kerry, whom critics have accused of hypocrisy in the past," would be acceptable. And it sure sounds more articulate then "flip-flopping."

It troubles me that the exact some words Bush has used to attack Kerry make it into articles from the mainstream media, the one place that should be devoid of talking points from any party.

Time, where art thou?

Yeah yeah, I know, you clicked onto the blog tonight expecting some more unconvention coverage that I promised, and instead you found out who Atrios is. I have an excuse: after spending 6 hours at school, I came home, turned on Trillian, IMed friends, and relaxed for a couple of hours before heading to work. All too human, I know... I can't do the next unconvention piece I wanted because from work, I don't have the newspaper I picked up Saturday or my camera to snap a pic of it with.

On the plus side, my semester ends next week and I'll actually have time again. And with any luck, I'll be in downtown Boston tomorrow afternoon. I'll find some anarchists, follow them around, and see what pictures they lead me to.

Say hello to Dr. Duncan Black

Apparently, Atrios has allowed himself to be outed. He said his name is Duncan, but a new tagline at the bottom of his site provides a last name: "Eschaton -- a weblog by d u n c a n b l a c k."

Astute TalkLeft readers found a list of staff at Media Matters, and one person listed is Dr. Duncan B. Black, who holds a PhD from Brown University and teaches at universities in America and Europe. This would explain why he travels a lot and frequently needs guest bloggers.

And the ladies say he's pretty cute.

Sudan Blogging

There's a new addition to Loaded Mouth: "Genocide Watch." In a sweeping bipartisan effort, Congress declared that genocide is happening in Sudan last Friday, July 23. Genocide Watch will count the days that Bush has ignored Congress' well-founded resolution.

The higher that number climbs, the higher the Darfur bodycount will climb. It's at 4 right now...

As for what's happening right now in Sudan, I'm going to plagiarize from the good people at The Passion of the Present and use the time honored "I don't have any time" excuse for my laziness in not doing my own research. In fact, I'm going to be copying from a WaPo editorial whose link was provided by PotP.

So, to all you red-blooded Americans who think I bash Bush too much, ready for some French bashing?

The failure is most glaring in the case of France, which acknowledges "the world's most serious humanitarian crisis" and calls for "the mobilization of the international community," as the French ambassador wrote recently to The Post. Despite maintaining a military base in neighboring Chad and another in Djibouti, France refuses to supply the United Nations relief operation with needed helicopters or to enforce a no-fly zone that could end the Sudanese military's aerial attacks on villagers.

France should be ashamed. And with all of Bush's rhetoric against France during the run up to his war in Iraq, why is he so silent about the country now?

The editorial goes on, calling out Bush and Powell.

But no powerful nation is free of blame. The Bush administration, which has been generous with relief and which has led the charge for tough action at the United Nations, is guilty of equivocation too.

The equivocation hinges on the question of who must restore peace in Darfur. On Thursday Secretary of State Colin L. Powell offered his answer: "The burden for this, for providing security, rests fully on the shoulders of Sudan's government." This view conveniently absolves outsiders of responsibility for getting a civilian protection force into Darfur and reassures Security Council members such as China and Russia that Sudan's sovereignty will be respected. But it is naive.

This is an interesting point. Why do we continue to claim that the Sudanese government needs to stop this genocide? After all, they are the ones committing it.

Sudan's government has attacked civilians with helicopter gunships. It has armed a militia that burns villages, slaughtering the men and raping the women. It has spent months obstructing humanitarian access to the resulting refugee camps, denying aid workers visas and impounding their equipment in customs, condemning tens of thousands of people to die for lack of food and medicine. Even the recent ramping up of diplomatic pressure, which has allowed relief to flow more freely, has not distracted Sudan's government from its purpose. Its commandants have been closing down refugee camps and sending inhabitants off into the torched countryside, where there is no food, no protection and no foreign witnesses.

Do we suddenly trust a government that commits atrocities like this to turn around and say, "Oh, sorry, our bad." Fuck no!

More and more, it's appears that diplomacy just won't work in Sudan. As a pacifist, it pains me to say such because I don't want to see troops sent anywhere. But as the US and world community continues to sit back and let the Sudanese government do as it pleases, the window of diplomatic opportunity grows smaller.

Everyday that passes, everytime the Genocide Watch number grows, is another day full of missed opportunities and needless murders. When will somebody do something?

Unconvention blogging later tonight

Right now, it's school work, school work, and hey! -- more school work. But since I had to drop one of my classes, I may be able to hit Bostonian streets Wednesday.

Been wondering what the bloggers at the DNC look like?

The Wall Street Journal has pictures and profiles of all your favorite bloggers covering the convention. Unsurprisingly, the lot of these bloggers look like big dorks.

Yeah, I know, not like I can talk...



...Especially with those glasses.

True American Democracy

Just another name for the Fark Headline of the Day: "TV networks are going to devote to six hours to conventions, one-tenth the time we devote to choosing an 'American Idol'"

Mega Fucking Dittos

I listened to Rush Limbaugh while lifting weights today, because nothing makes me feel more manly then getting angry and benching the weight of your average obese midget. And Rush sure had a scoop for me. Get this: when John Kerry and his brother want to talk to each other privately when other people, they speak.. dun dun dunnnnnn.. French.

Oooooooooooohhhh!

Literature picked up at the Boston Social Forum, part one

While other bloggers got into the convention, your fearless blogger delivers you stories from the street. And honestly, you're not going to get this coverage anywhere else. It makes me wish I could take time off school and work to spend the whole week in Boston, but, alas, I only had an afternoon.

One thing I picked up in that afternoon was the April/May issue of "The New Black Panther."

Hooooo boy...

Ever get a paper that you couldn't bear to read the articles in because the outward appearence was just so ridiculous? I don't have any Klan literature to compare this rag to, but I'm betting the levels of racism would be similar. It's that bad. And maybe I'm biased, but I can't take anything that derides me as a "cracker" seriously.

Let me rip a few quotes from the paper.

From The Enemies of the New Black Panther Party: "The enemies of the New Black Panther Party are many, and in one way or the other, they are all working together. These enemies include Anti-Defamation League (ADL), FBI, White racist Government and State officials and the White Press. The ADL (led by a devil named Abraham Foxman) is a Zionist racist, criminal, propaganda outfit..." The ADL, FBI, press, and all elements of the government are working together? Wow.

From To Hell With GAY MARRIAGES: "It is a pitiful shame today to see grown men in public kissing and hugging and claiming they are married as 'man and wife'. It is terrible to see two grown women claiming they are entering into 'holy matrimony'. You are sending yourselves straight to hell. We warn Black people to stay out of the White Mans filth and debauchery of homosexuality & the faggot lifestyle." Whoa, was that ghost-written by Fred Phelps or what?

From an album review of Jay Z's 'The Black Album': "Not Black Enough." (It only received two and a half black fists.)

From EMINEM EXPOSED AS A RACIST; BIGOTED LYRICS, they printed some Eminem lyrics telling the reader, "You be the judge." Right above that statement is a photoshopped picture of Mr. Mathers in KKK garb. I see they already were the judge.

What should be most telling is the lack of coverage on Darfur. The only time I saw that this paper even hinted at the genocide is a sentence mentioning "AIDS and wars" in Africa. But there isn't one story about the impending deaths of one million black people if we, as a community, don't take action now. What's the matter guys, are the Sudanese not black enough for you?

[File under unconvention blogging.]

Free speech on a construction site

The "free speech" zone/trap that the Democrats setup for protesers is even worse than I imagined.

Last night, I had my first direct experience with the so-called free speech zone. It left me with one conclusion, whatever you do, do NOT go inside. It’s not only a blatant offense to free speech, but it is highly dangerous and unsafe. I would suggest protesting anywhere in Boston but inside of it.

Here’s the story. After having dinner in Boston, about 9 activists and myself thought we would take an after dinner stroll to check out the space that the city of Boston had reserved for the citizenry to express themselves. For several minutes, it was hard to find the entrances, as the outside is a intractable mess of fencing, piles of stored construction equipment and wire, with a large sign posted the main entrance that stated, “Hard Hat Area: No admittance” It took a while for us to realize we could use these to enter, in direct contradiction to the signs directive.

No amount of hyperbole can accurately describe how disastrous the interior actually is. It’s like a scene from some post-apocalyptic movie – a futuristic, industrial detention area from a Mad Max film. You are surrounded on all sides by concrete blocks and steel fencing, with razor wire lining the perimeter. Then, there is a giant black net over the entire space.

That’s not even the worst part. 80% of the space is actually beneath a construction site. You heard me, most of the zone is actually under a partially constructed building, broken up by gates, iron girders and wooden rafters, in the darkness.

No helicopter will ever be able to see an aerial shot of the people assembled, negating the major points of mass protest: to let the rest of the public see your numbers. This forced'invisibility' is so painfully obvious, that it is hard to believe it resulted from pure negligence. What's more, the space fits only 1000 maximum by law, so the 1001st person who wants to express their rights, is shit out of luck.

That’s not all. If you go inside, you won't be left safely alone with your fellow protesters. Right above you will be a suspended catwalk of wooden rafters traveling down the middle of the protest area. This strip is not only covered with reams of barbed wire, but officers (or national guardsmen) will be strolling above you just feet from your head. After walking in, it took us about 2 seconds to agree; “there is no fucking way we are stepping into this trap”.

And if you think that the civility of individual officers will make up for it, think again. As we were casually walking through the pen, our jaws open in dis-belief, a group of officers quickly surrounded us. Twenty-four of them. The first officer (Officer ‘Gately’) approached us swiftly, and declared, “Do you know that the willful destruction of public property in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a felony that carries 5 year in jail!” We were taken aback by this introduction. Other people in suit and ties were walking by, using the zone as a pedestrian shortcut. a bunch of peaceniks were walking through in our shorts and backpacks and we were immediately suspect of committing a criminal act. I guess this explains the meaning of the rule about those wearing ‘inappropriate clothing’ being searched. The overtly intimidating tone of the interaction didn’t cease, so we soon left.

I called the BPD headquarters and asked to talk to the district 2 duty officer, in order to file a complaint about the rude treatment. When I asked him (Sgt. Ross) for Officer Gately’s ID#, he stated that he could not give me that information because after all, I could be “a member of the press, or an anarchist”. I guess myself (along with the press and anarchists) are no longer allowed to hold the police accountable for their actions.

A word of advice: Do not make the mistake of making your first visit to the free speech zone on your day of protest. It will be too late to realize what you are getting into.

It’s crazy to think that this is happening in Boston, a city that fronts a reputation of being a cradle of constitutional values. The city has tried to force free speech into a cage where it cannot survive. The only reasonable response is to exercise our rights everywhere but the protest zone.

By giving free speech an unacceptable location, the City of Boston has unwittingly declared that the entire city is now a free speech zone.

Granted, Indymedia articles should usually be taken with a grain of salt, but if even half of this is true, then it's pretty bad.

Maybe I should have head upto that zone with me camera today... But I was too lazy.

To unconvention or not...

I've been giving thought on shooting upto Boston today to check out some of the unconventional political activites taking place. It's incredibly tough deciding where to go, though. For example, look at this list of events for the Boston Social Forum. It's huge, and it only covers two and a half hours! And the BSF is just one of nine other things going on today. How can one keep up unless the live, eat, drink, and sleep this stuff? I can't even decide where to go, and I don't have enough paper or ink to print out all this stuff.

I suppose I could just walk around the city and get a feel for the mood...

I'll head up there with my camera and think of something. No promises on finding anything huge, or even exciting enough to be published to the blog, though.

...Eh. Nothing really of interest, didn't even find anything interesting enough to snap a picture of, though OxFam snapped a picture of me for one of their petitions. I held a sign which, I believe, said "Hugs not Arms." Heh. I'll look over the literature I picked up later, see if there's anything of note to mention.

Sunday is Cartoon Day!

As always, a couple by Ted Rall.