This corrupt.. Government-connected raiders use police to arrest business owners on bogus charges then force the owner to sign over their business to them else in return for being released. This happens “thousands” of times a year in Moscow, according to the Moscow Times.

Robert Amsterdam, lawyer for jailed oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, posted this video showing brutal beatings by guards in a Russian prison camp. The beatings appear to be random with the deliberate intention of terrifying the inmates. While anything emanating from the den of snakes that is the oligarchs should be treated cautiously, the video seems authentic.

2 Comments »

Specifically for the forced removal of Aborigine children from their parents, something that went on for decades. While there still may be many rivers to cross, this is an important first step.

The US government has never formally apologized for slavery, although some state governments like Virginia, have.

No Comments »

January real estate sales in southern California were down 25% compared to December 2007 and down 50% from Jan. 2007. Thus, the market there is getting worse, and rapidly too.

No Comments »

Security expert Bruce Schneier gives several reasons why undocumented workers should be allowed to get drivers licenses. Among the reasons, 1) state driver’s license databases contain much data on a person including photos and thus can aid law enforcement, 2) a state DMV does not have the resources to validate citizenship quickly and accurately, 3) if denied licenses, the undocumented will simply get fake ones, 4) if will not stop terrorism because any government-issued ID can be used to board a plane.

We are all safer if everyone in society trusts and respects law enforcement. A society where illegal immigrants are afraid to talk to police because of fear of deportation is a society where fewer people come forward to report crimes, aid police investigations, and testify as witnesses.

No Comments »

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters Monday that global warming is as big a threat to humanity as terrorism, according to Reuters.

Does everything have to be equated to terrorism before this country can act on it? Is Bloomberg saying we should do regime change on stray carbon emissions or maybe blow the atmosphere to smithereens trying to eliminate the evildoer emissions?

“Terrorists kill people, weapons of mass destruction have the potential to kill enormous numbers of people, global warming has the potential to kill everybody” Bloomberg said.

Well then, global warming is thus a far worse threat than terrorism ever could be. And deserves a reasoned and coherent response, not one that implies a military-like response. We don’t need a War on Global Warming complete with scare tactics and fear, instead we need to develop renewable energy and clean transportation and have a optimistic approach.

No Comments »

Obama is not, however, the product of the civil rights struggles against racial oppression, nor is he associated with any popular movement from below. His career has far more in common with those of Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, individuals selected and groomed by the American ruling class to carry out its policies. Like them, he is being used to put a new face on fundamentally reactionary policies and institutions.

Maybe. Obama says we need to talk to our adversaries first rather than immediately get militaristic, and that is a definite and welcome change indeed. But if president, would he act upon that? Or revert to the old ways? Dunno.

His road to the White House is certainly being helped by powerful forces in the ruling class (as is Clinton’s, of course.) Maybe, just maybe, significant numbers of the rich and powerful have, like South Africa did with apartheid, decided the current path is no longer tenable and that we need a paradigm-shifting new approach. Which would be about the best we could hope for now.

The ruling class of course does not have absolute power or anything close to it. They can influence but not dictate. Obama’s growing support is genuine and cuts across class, racial, and urban/rural lines. I also think he believes what he says. And given the current primary results, he could be the next president.

No Comments »

Wally Wallington, a retired construction worker working alone with no mechanized help, demonstrates how massive multi-ton concrete blocks can be moved and planted in the ground by just one person. He thinks Stonehenge could have been built by surprisingly few people.

His website: The Forgotten Technology

No Comments »

Old Hickory’s Weblog explains.

No Comments »

Methane hydrate is a solid form of water containing large amounts of methane, occurring in vast quantity (”2-10x the currently known reserves of conventional natural gas”) on ocean floors. When warmed or depressurized, it turns into water and natural gas. However, there’s a big downside too.

Methane, a “greenhouse” gas, is 10 times more effective than carbon dioxide in causing climate warming.

Extraction could also cause landslides on the ocean floor, releasing huge amounts of methane. Japan has especially large amounts offshore and is doing major research into extracting it.

Like it or not, extraction of methane hydrates will probably happen, let’s hope it’s done sanely and safely.

2 Comments »