October 2005: Fright Fest

Versions of this object suddenly hang from the women's room cubicles at work. On the inside of the cubicle doors—to instill seasonal cheer, while serving as a reminder of being observed here, too, it appears.

When she sees aggressively ugly made-in-China decorative objects, Clever Sister will say, "now that was made by the Falun Gong prisoners—it's a cry for help!"

At noon on the 18th, I watch Jesus' Best Administrative Assistant, Dr. G. Zuss, and two women from his research staff leave the premises. They're off to a Boss' Day lunch! I can see it in Jesus' BAA's face, which glows even more feverishly than usual. She undoubtedly arranged this, in her ceaseless pursuit of Rapture™ preparedness points.

An Irish journalist has been very naughty toward he who presumes he is Boss Of The Whole World. Carol Coleman describes in great detail White House minions' pre-taping orchestration of her ten minutes with Bush. Including the offer of a possible interview with Laura, held out to ensure Coleman's good behavior.

That offer is withdrawn after Coleman tries cutting through Bush's talking points with, "...there is a feeling that the world has become a more dangerous place because you have taken the focus off Al-Qaeda and diverted into Iraq. Do you not see that the world is a more dangerous place?"

The event going off White House script as it does, an official complaint is lodged with the Irish embassy.

In another British reporting effort—BBC: God told me to invade Iraq, Bush tells Palestinian ministers.

About that so very holy war, Greg Palast describes a behind-the-scenes battle in which the State Department plus oil industry power brokers conquered Pentagon neoconservatives. Causing a "switch to an OPEC-friendly policy for Iraq...driven by Dick Cheney himself." Palast concludes that—

...Cheney, far from "putting the squeeze on OPEC," has taken his de facto seat there, assenting by silence to the oil monopoly's piratical price gouging. But hasn't OPEC's stratospheric crude prices choked the life out of America's auto industry and bankrupted half a dozen airlines? In the Vice-President's bunker the elimination of jobs of Democratic-leaning union members is likely seen as a bonus for the good deed of boosting oil industry profits far above the ozone layer.

Staggering amounts of death and destruction always being a small price to be paid—by other people.

And of course civil liberties have been a casualty all along—beginning with the initial election that had to be stolen for this gang to take power. There are always new examples, small and large.

A North Carolina high school student's assignment to take photos illustrating the Bill of Rights gets him a visit from the Secret Service.

And James Yee's book is just out. In this Democracy Now interview, Yee tells how, as a Muslim chaplain in 2001, the army relied on him to educate soldiers being sent to Muslim countries. And how much his superiors respected his ability to bridge the culture gap.

After being stationed in Guatanamo, Yee witnessed conditions for prisoners deteriorate over his time there. And, he began to hear reports of Muslim personnel being detained when they returned to the U.S.

Which is what would happen to Yee. He was taken to the naval brig where the American "enemy combatants" Jose Padilla and Yaser Hamdi were also held. In the manner familiar from this, Yee was transported to the brig wearing sensory deprivation devices, then held in isolation for 76 days.

Ultimately, all phony charges were dropped. Yee–

But what’s important is why did they bring those accusations against me? Clearly, to divert attention away from what the real issue was, what the real problem was, that the U.S. military, the U.S. government, made this huge mistake. They wanted to divert attention away from that and discredit me, because they knew, ultimately, I had raised many concerns and complaints about the treatment of detainees to the command.

In other domestic horrors, it's only a couple of months since Katrina, but they've been profitable ones for some. Naomi Klein on Purging the Poor. And Bob Herbert on Bush's photo ops: Bush's Pledge? The Joke's on the Poor.

Rosa Parks, R.I.P. With all her generation had to fight against, there were parts of the media that sometimes felt moved to point to things considered shameful.