In what kind of bizarro dimension would Andrew Breitbart continue to be taken seriously as a newsman despite his obvious lack of credibility and well documented history of lying and falsifying evidence? Unfortunately we’re living in that dimension and it’s becoming just all too ridiculous. With Anthony Weiner’s resignation all but confirmed it would seem that Breitbart has quashed yet another source of progressivism in American society. So long as American media continue to indulge Breitbart’s vile output he will remain a poisonous influence on public discourse and society at large. For the American public to save itself they must stop taking Breitbart seriously. Continue reading
Kenneth Gibson
39 posts
In some corners of this messed up planet we call earth people are taking to the streets to riot and set fire to things because their government is trying to kill them. In Vancouver, though, people took to the streets to riot and burn stuff because their government set up big screen TVs in the streets so they could watch their beloved Canucks play Boston in game 7 on the Stanley Cup finals. Let’s have a look at some of the video footage shall we? It’s a riot roundup!
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, newly minted as the leader of a majority federal government for the first time in his life, has taken this week’s G8 summit as an opportunity to throw his weight around a little. The only problem is that his behavior is completely at odds with every other G8 leader. From the issue of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to North African aid, Harper is insisting on taking a contrarian position. Unfortunately, it is coming across as unproductive and pointlessly self-indulgent. And at a G8 summit, that is really saying something.
Shamed former vice presidential nominee and John Kerry running mate John Edwards will likely be indicted within two weeks by federal prosecutors investigating allegations that during his run for the 2008 presidency Edwards solicited campaign donations for the express purpose of trying to pay-off a woman he was having an affair with. Well we all know how that ended.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn was indicted by a New York court today on 7 counts including unlawful imprisonment and attempted rape – he was also granted bail despite prosecutors’ assertion that he could become “another Roman Polanski.” However, despite the severity of the charges no one seems to be showing any concern for the victim and everyone is trying to rationalize away the crime itself. Continue reading
Parvaz was born in Iran to an Iranian father and American mother. Her family moved to British Columbia where she obtained a degree in English literature at the University of British Columbia. She had only quite recently accepted a job reporting for Al Jazeera, being based out of its headquarters in Doha, Qatar. She disappeared on April 29, 2011 and it was later revealed that she was detained by Syrian authorities on her way to report on anti-government demonstrations in that country. She was eventually deported to Iran where she was held for a further 19 days.
That Parvaz has multiple citizenships and passports seems to have been the pretext for her detainment. On Tuesday, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman claimed Parvaz had committed several passport violations on her trip to Syria, stating that the journalist had “traveled to Syria with expired Iranian passport, planned to work without a press permit and had several passports on her.” While Parvaz likely used her Canadian or American passport to enter Syria, Iran doesn’t officially recognized multiple citizenships for Iranians.
Parvaz’s family have been jubilant today after receiving a phone-call from her last night around 9:30 pm PST to let them know she had been released and was planning on returning to Vancouver by Wednesday or Thursday. “It was one of the best moments of my life,” said her father. “I’m 68 years old and I’ve never had a moment like it.”
CBC, Al Jazeera, Seattle Times.
Dr. Cornel West is an American racial theorist, civil rights activist and philosopher of political and moral ethics – perhaps you’ve heard of him? Like with most thinkers or philosphers whose ideas are actually worth half a damn, West is a somewhat controversial figure. He’s what some might call “radical” in his politics and more importantly, his ideas. Recently, West has made some rather petty and provocative statements about Barack Obama’s presidency. However, despite West’s self-important pontification on the issue his critiques are unfortunately right on the money. Continue reading
The political world of France was hit with an unexpected scandal today as news emerged of Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s arrest by NYPD late last night on charges of attempted rape.
Strauss-Kahn, a former French Finance Minister and member of the Socialist Party of France, has been serving as the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund since 2007. Responsible for the French economic turn-a-round in the the 90s that ensured the country’s entry into the EU, Strauss-Kahn was nonetheless forced to resign as Finance Minister amongst accusations of corruption relating to a fraud investigation into Elf Aquitaine, a French oil company, although he was later acquitted.
Continue reading
In August 2010 Stephen Harper, the Canadian Prime Minister, took his yearly tour through the Arctic, spending 5 days visiting various spots. Harper loves the Arctic, it would seem. During his tour he made an announcement about funding for a kick-ass new airport in Churchill, Manitoba, checked out a military operation and had a bit of fun with reporters and an ATV. Harper also had strong words for anyone who wants to fuck around in Canada’s part of the Arctic, saying that Canada’s Arctic sovereignty was “nonnegotiable.”
Harper is a Conservative and a huge responsibility of being a genuine Conservative is having reason to spout off very robust nationalist rhetoric (and rhetoric is really all it is as Canada still lacks behind every other nation with a stake in the Arctic in terms of real cash investment, but that’s another story for another day). Arctic sovereignty is an ideal issue for Harper to secure his legacy of nationalism and patriotism; a perspective he is very eager for us all the view him from (still waiting on that book about hockey, though). It allows him to emphasize Canada’s North-ness, something we’ve long been associated with (“Oh, honey look, what lovely tundra they have”), talk tough with other countries for once and spend money on new military toys. Add a flag and that’s patriotic gold right there.
However, there are more reasons Canada is suddenly interested in its Arctic sovereignty. There are delicious petroleum resources up there but the extraction of these resources had previously not been economically viable. As global warming continues it war on industry and the human way of life, it is turning the Arctic into a less icy, more habitable frozen hellhole.
Secondly, there is the question of the Northwest Passage, a passage that in this novice’s humble opinion is totally part of Canadian internal waters. However, two of the world’s biggest international bullies the US and Russia insist that it is an international strait or “transit passage,” meaning they want to be able to pass through it whenever they please without having to consult the Canadian authorities. You see, as the ice cover in the Arctic melts away never to be seen again, the possibility of creating a usable shipping route through the Northwest Passage is getting more and more likely. The Americans and the Russians (and to a certain extent countries like Norway and Denmark) want to be able to use it without having to pay tariffs. Would the Americans be as generous if they had a passage that connected the Atlantic and the Pacific? I think not! Quite simply it appears that those fucking Canucks have something that everybody else wants to use and are prepared to use force to get it. For now though we’re still waiting on those icebreakers Harper said he was going to have built back in 2006. Actually it was degraded to eight shittier kinds of boats and then downgraded to six of those shitty boats. The Russians have icebreakers, you know. Nuclear powered ones.
Graphic: Durham University
Since the passing of UN resolution 1973 which authorizes a No Fly Zone over Libya and authorizes “any military or preventative measures” to protect Libyan civilians and civilian areas “while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory” things have moved quite quickly. The first shots of the UN forces have been taken by French fight jets, opening fire on four Qaddafi tanks and other military vehicles. It is unclear as of now whether this will lead to a ground-force invasion in the upcoming days.
Al Jazeera is reporting witnesses as saying Qaddafi’s forces are trying to storm Benghazi from the coast and the south.
The BBC has video of a fighter jet being shot down over Benghazi which may or may not belong to Qaddafi forces and a BBC journalist in Benghazi says he has seen pro-Gaddafi tanks inside the city, presumably the ones that have been blasted by the French jets.
The BBC has excellent live coverage of the ongoing crisis.
Update 3:06pm: A US defence official tells Reuters that the US Navy has three submarines in the Mediterranean preparing for operations in Libya.
“Prime Minister David Cameron is currently with members of his cabinet in front of a video wall planning operations, our correspondent adds.” Damn, war is so futuristic now.
Update 3:18pm: The jet was a rebel jet. They shot their own jet down.
Update 3:49pm: The Guardian confirms that the rebel’s only fighter jet was shot down by Qaddafi forces.
Update 3:53pm: The BBC is reporting that the US has launched Tomahawk cruise missiles at targets inside Libya.
Update 4:01pm: Reuters quotes a senior US military official saying US, British, French, Italian and Canadian forces are to launch a strike along the Libyan coast.