Can goverments blackmail?

Apparently so:

"...the [U.S.] government recently subpoenaed records from all of the major ISP's and search engines. Not surprisingly, almost all of these companies complied with the subpoenas. Only Google objected. As a result of attempting to protect both its trade secrets and the public perception of privacy, Google was rewarded by an immediate drop in its stock price." ~ in The Register, Published Tuesday 31st January 2006

Deliberate torture by the CIA

"Mr Marty began his investigation in November and presented his interim report to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Tuesday morning.

In his report, he said "rendition" - the secret transport of prisoners via Europe to third countries where they may have been tortured - seemed to have affected more than 100 people in recent years.

Mr Marty's report talks about CIA activities challenging the very functioning of the law-based state and its democratic foundation.

"Acts of torture or severe violation of detainees' dignity through the administration of inhuman or degrading treatment are carried out outside national territory, and beyond the authority of national intelligence services...

"It is highly unlikely that European governments, or at least their intelligence services, were unaware," the report said." ~ BBC News

"Free" news media

"In a capitalist "democracy" like the United States, the corporate news media faithfully reflect the dominant class ideology both in their reportage and commentary. At the same time, these media leave the impression that they are free and independent, capable of balanced coverage and objective commentary. How they achieve these seemingly contradictory but legitimating goals is a matter worthy of study.

Some critics complain that the press is sensationalistic and invasive. In fact, it is more often muted and evasive. More insidious than the sensationalistic hype is the artful avoidance. Truly sensational stories (as opposed to sensationalistic) are downplayed or avoided outright. Sometimes the suppression includes not just vital details but the entire story itself, even ones of major import.

Reports that might reflect poorly upon the national security state are least likely to see the light of day. Thus we hear about political repression perpetrated by officially designated "rogue" governments, but information about the brutal murder and torture practiced by U.S.-sponsored surrogate forces in the Third World, and other crimes committed by the U.S. national security state are denied public airing, being suppressed with a consistency that would be called "totalitarian" were it to occur in some other countries." ~ Michael Parenti

The complete article is available at: http://www.michaelparenti.org/MonopolyMedia.html

U.S. Policy of Abuse Undermines Rights Worldwide

In his introductory essay to the World Report, Roth writes that it became clear in 2005 that U.S. mistreatment of detainees could not be reduced to a failure of training, discipline or oversight, or reduced to “a few bad apples,” but reflected a deliberate policy choice embraced by the top leadership.

Evidence of that deliberate policy included the threat by President George W. Bush to veto a bill opposing “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment,” Roth writes, and Vice President Dick Cheney’s attempt to exempt the Central Intelligence Agency from the law. In addition, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales claimed that the United States can mistreat detainees so long as they are non-Americans held abroad, while CIA Director Porter Goss asserted that “waterboarding,” a torture method dating back to the Spanish Inquisition, was simply a “professional interrogation technique.”

Full article at: Human Rights Watch

2006: Bush's Waterloo?

"2006 is sure to be the year of living dangerously -- for the Bush administration and for the rest of us."

"... determined as this administration has been to impose its version of reality on us, the president faces a traffic jam of reality piling up in the environs of the White House. The question is: How long will the omniscient and dominatrix-style fantasies of Bushworld, ranging from "complete victory" in Iraq to nonexistent constitutional powers to ignore Congress, the courts, and treaties of every sort, triumph over the realities of the world the rest of humanity inhabits. Will an unconstrained presidency continue to grow -- or not?"

"Iraq is a minefield for the Bush administration. Prepare for it to blow this year." ~ www.fromthewilderness.com

The Burden of Responsibility

"Most people prefer to believe their leaders are just and fair even in the face of evidence to the contrary, because once a citizen acknowledges that the government under which they live is lying and corrupt, the citizen has to choose what he or she will do about it.

To take action in the face of a corrupt government entails risks of harm to life and loved ones. To choose to do nothing is to surrender one's self-image of standing for principles. Most people do not have the courage to face that choice. Hence, most propaganda is not designed to fool the critical thinker but only to give moral cowards an excuse not to think at all." ~ www.thelawparty.com

Ah, don't we hate having the responsibility of defining our future?

Quotes of wisdom

"You must be the change you want to see in the world."
~ Mahatma Gandhi

"One's first step in wisdom is to question everything - and one's last is to come to terms with everything."
~ Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts."
~ Bertrand Russell

"Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth."
~ Mahatma Gandhi

"Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it."
~ Mahatma Gandhi

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
~ Edmund Burke

Secrets of the Matrix

Last weekend I watched a documentary (or rather a marathon speech and presentation) by David Icke entittled Secrets Of The Matrix - "Live" at Brixton Academy in London.

Icke started on his quest to wake up the world in 1990, which started pretty much with his massive ridicule on the Wogan tv show. Those of you that have heard about this man, I can hear you thinking - "oh is this lunatic again". Lunatic or not, I find that most people make judgments based on the general consensus instead of forming an informed independent decision about someone's integrity and credibility. Those that give him a chance will most likely come out saying - "He does make some fair points!".

In his presentation David Icke offers a possible explanation for all the madness that has been going on the world right from the beginnings of civilization. And though even I admit that some of his stuff (such as about aliens ruling the Earth!) is a bit out there, I do find that a lot of it, specially the section on spirituality and politics, makes a lot of sense. But don't take my words for it, go watch it. If nothing else, at least for the entertainment value.

Destination Police State

The Independent
Britain will be first country to monitor every car journey
"Britain is to become the first country in the world where the movements of all vehicles on the roads are recorded. A new national surveillance system will hold the records for at least two years."

Times Online
Nationwide spy system to track millions of car journeys a day
"The system will automatically alert police if a car is stolen, if road tax has not been paid, if the MoT is out of date or if the driver is uninsured."

Dailly News
'Big Brother' plan for UK road network
"The massive database of 35 million number plates per day will be installed in Hendon, north London, by March 2006 with plans already afoot to increase the storage period to five years."

The Independent
Surveillance UK: why this revolution is only the start
"The new national surveillance network for tracking car journeys, which has taken more than 25 years to develop, is only the beginning of plans to monitor the movements of all British citizens. The Home Office Scientific Development Branch in Hertfordshire is already working on ways of automatically recognising human faces by computer, which many people would see as truly introducing the prospect of Orwellian street surveillance, where our every move is recorded and stored by machines."

Yahoo news
Big Brother' scheme for road network
"Every car journey in Britain will be monitored from next year under a nationwide scheme covering all motorways, main roads, towns, cities, ports and petrol stations, a report said."

Once again we watch quietly while our rights are being gently stolen away.

911 - A dolorosa verdade

"We realize there is no change for the better unless people unite to make it happen. This has been proven time and again throughout history. The most important societal improvements have always come from grassroots movements: The PEOPLE insisted. Remember, the politicians didn't lead, they followed, once they knew their constituencies insisted upon change." ~ reopen911.org

O site reopen911.org fundado por Jimmy Walter une forças das mais variadas investigaçoes individuais, a favor da re-abertura da verdadeira investigação da catástrofe de 11 de Setembro de 2001.

O site contem um enorme agregado de evidencia que prova que os ataques foram cuidadosamente planeados e orquestrados pelo governo do próprio país.

Cada vez estou mais convencido que a realidade é realmente bem mais estranha que qualquer ficção imaginavel!