How to share power during the occupation from Slate

"On Saturday, the leaders of France, Germany, and Britain will meet in Berlin to discuss how to deal with the U.S. request for postwar assistance. This news flash bears repeating: Our key allies over the past half-century are meeting to form not a common Western position on how to deal with Iraq but a common Western European position on how to deal with us—and in a form that does not include any Americans. Meanwhile, France, Germany, Belgium, and Luxembourg are putting together a European defense force independent of NATO (i.e., free of U.S. control). "

Wunderbar, n'est-ce pas? Fred Kaplan writes the War Stories column in Slate (and the occassional article on a Thelonius Monk re-issue. I never miss one of his articles (for long). He offers great insight on the military machinations of our nation and others. And suggests much more diplomatic and sensible solutions than our administration would ever bother to consider.

Here's the New York Times article on the upcoming meeting between France, Germany and Britain. Meanwhile, Josh Marshall asks what does hording contracts for U.S. companies including Haliburton & MCI have to do with our reticence to share control in Iraq?

Assertive Hill tests Bush veto

Promising news. This article tracks a recent wave of Congress defying the WHouse's agenda. Overtime, travel to Cuba, and turning back new FCC regulations all got enough support to carry them through despite threats of a veto. This is an excellent sign for the return of checks and balances instead of the partisan dictatorship we've been living through with Republicans controlling both houses and lockstepping with that creep in the Oval Office. Here's another article on these developments from Christian Science Monitor.

A nice review of BBB in NYC

NYTheatre.com says these four performers exemplify true collaborative and ensemble work. Of course they are talking about Gulag Ha Ha which won Best of Fringe last year in San Francisco, and has completed its run at the NY Fringe Fest. Dublin will be the next town to recieve the dark absurdity of Gulag, but in the meantime the Banana Bag & Bodice are debuting their new work "Sandwich" here in San Francisco next week. The SF Fringe fest, unlike the ones in Dublin and NYC, does not sell advance tickets; you have to show up 30 minutes before the show and buy them. I'll post more details here soon about all the Fringe shows that I reccomend you check out. I'll also be making an appearance in the fest this year with tHE nEO-sURREALISTS, hang on for more details.

Have you been to Attaboy's site lately?

Attaboy is a good friend of mine and a great artists, so occasionally I like to remind people to BUY HIS STUFF, to support his work and because it's great.
His website has stuff on sale And even some on pre-sale, available SOON: Axtrx, the first toy based on one of his characters, which is featured on the front page of figures.com; also Attaboys' 2004 Calendar, which will be on sale at Tower Records (but it's better to buy direct from the artist!!). Buy those and other Attaboy goodies (like limited edition, signed prints for only $20!) from his site.

Also, 5 Attaboy posters are up on GigPosters.com which is a pretty cool site. Lookit Attaboy's Yumfactory for all of this and more (like KISS).

GWB's Rambo dialogue bears brutal fruit

From an editorial in Friday's Washington Post:

And consider our president's statement on July 2 in response to a question about attackers targeting our troops. "Bring 'em on," our president declared. "We've got the force necessary to deal with the security situation." Mr. President, they're bringing it on.

Post 9/11 Manipulations Come to the Surface

I wish it was surprising. A 155-page report released late Thursday reveals that the EPA's post-9/11 air quality reports were edited by Bush's National Security Council

The Environmental Protection Agency's internal watchdog says White House officials pressured the agency to prematurely assure the public that the air was safe to breathe a week after the World Trade Center collapse.

History will look back in disbelief that they got away with it. I think that we may be seeing the ultimate (to date) perversion of the vision of this country's founders. I don't think that's an exaggeration at this point. There has been incompetence and corruption before. But the willfull manipulation and the sheer greed for power and total control, this is the stuff of Saramon. Keep in mind that "they" (and this time "they" has a name, it's Karl Rove, who has taken it upon himself to become the svengali of the Conservative pro-business anti-tax at all costs and with a fundamental Christian bib on to boot) are trying to consolidate power in all 3 branches and in every department. This broad, coordinated strategy relies on the fact that the small set of people who pay attention, protest and publicize things like attacks on civil liberties, loosening of enviornmental protections, and undermining of programs to support those less fortunate (like, say, veterans!!!) can't be everywhere at once. It's unlikely that even a more competent and less complicit press would cover say 3 stories a week in that realm--overseas violence is much more Hollywood-style attention grabbing. The audience needs to have a context (either existing knowledge or be given one in the article), for each of these stories, and it's just too dry too often even for the serious newspapers (let alone the tv news, which has the massively larger audience).

Really our only hope is if we can get a big juicy scandal, ala Watergate or Iran Contra (we can't rely on them to do anything sexy, so that's right out). We need something that would go well as a tv movie or mini-series, something that frontline will cover. Oh dear, we really are so screwed.

Tribunals breed some controversy

About 660 prisoners captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere are being held at Guantanamo without charges or access to lawyers — some since January 2002.

Britain is seeking to intervene on behalf of its two citizens who are being held at Guantanamo Bay. Some concessions have been made, including not seeking the death penalty. The American Bar Association has objected to some aspects of the tribunals. The ABA has published this report of recommendations regarding Treatment Of Enemy Combatants. Read more on the administration's treatment of detainees and their vision of a trial by tribunal, which includes eavesdropping on suspects' conversations with their lawyers.