Pacific Views

Around the Net

Back to Iraq's author interviewed the US representative of Grand Ayatollah Sistani, in case you missed it.

Billmon on a likely prime cog in the systemic abuse of detainees. Hear that, ye bollocking wankers: systemic. Also, how the neocons lost their shirts (and ours) to Chalabi. Clearly, the only flaw in my belief that these people were malevolent was my misimpression that they were also clever enough to exert some amount of control over their would-be puppets.

A Correspondences author points out a case where it seems that Google disappeared a news story.

Drug War Rant has some must reads.

Guardian: Monbiot on the fossil fools who give 'equal time' to the global warming debate's equivalent of the flat-earthers. Soueif says that the Abu Ghraib incident is symptomatic of endemic racism. Also, the papal envoy to Spain breaks ranks on gay marriage, and Cambridge plans to expand its facilities and student body. I mention that last with the deep envy of someone whose school is facing a $700k budget shortfall and will likely have to fire a well-respected administrator as part of the cost cutting.

Mediocre Fred joins the rising chorus of people wondering why it's so g-dang important to warm up to the person you're voting for.

Narco News' Peter Gorman on continuing illegal fumigations in Colombia.

Rantavation says there might be an outsourcing respite for programmers and techies, but warns people not to get too comfy.

Sideshow has the low-down on the latest stupid sex law. When will people stop buying the ridiculous song-and-dance that leads the otherwise sane to think that 'community standards' are really defined by the biggest loudmouth prudes in town? Also, Avedon points to Teresa's reaction to Abu Ghraib, which is worth reading as usual.

Sisyphus reminds us of the perspective we lost when 'the adults' took over.

The Talent Show with an example of how to alienate kids. I bet the kid these sadistic 'adults' targeted ends up hiring their kids' sorry selves to sweep his floors. Unless, as Greg believes, he just snaps at some point.

Wampum's Dwight Meredith envisions the cross examination of the company whose contractors were likely involved in prisoner abuses in Abu Ghraib. I'm told, btw, that 'ghraib' roughly translates as 'helpless.'

Posted by natasha at May 5, 2004 05:34 AM | Random Mumblings | Technorati links |