From Democracy Now!: Antonia Juhasz interviewed by Amy Goodman:

October 07, 2008

The Tyranny of Oil: Antonia Juhasz on “The World’s Most Powerful Industry—What We Must Do to Stop It”

Along with so-called clean coal technology, both of the major presidential candidates also supporting expanded offshore oil drilling. We speak to Antonia Juhasz, author of the new book The Tyranny of Oil: The World’s Most Powerful Industry—And What We Must Do to Stop It. [includes rush transcript]

Guest:

Antonia Juhasz, author of the new book The Tyranny of Oil: The World’s Most Powerful Industry—And What We Must Do to Stop It. Her previous book, The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time.

AMY GOODMAN: Along with so-called clean coal technology, both the major presidential candidates—Barack Obama, John McCain—are also supporting expanded offshore oil drilling. Last month, the Democratic-led Congress let expire a twenty-six-year-old ban on offshore oil drilling.

Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is now pushing to also allow for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Palin’s campaign slogan has become “Drill, baby, drill.”

The Seventeen Traditions, by Ralph Nader

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Landscape of My Boyhood 1
1. The Tradition of Listening 33
2. The Tradition of the Family Table 39
3. The Tradition of Health 47
4. The Tradition of History 51
5. The Tradition of Scarcity 59
6. The Tradition of Sibling Equality 63
7. The Tradition of Education and Argument 69
8. The Tradition of Discipline 79
9. The Tradition of Simple Enjoyments 85
10. The Tradition of Reciprocity 93
11. The Tradition of Independent thinking 99
12. The Tradition of Charity 105
13. The Tradition of Work 111
14. The Tradition of Business 117
15. The Tradition of Patriotism 123
16. The Tradition of Solitude 129
17. The Tradition of Civics 135

I have been thinking about the concept of perpetual war. What are some of the consequences of the perpetual war economy? George Orwell's classic novel, 1984, speaks directly to that question. I urge you to read it, or to remember it if you have already...

The following is something that I wrote up a while ago, after seeing the Actor's Gang performance of "1984" at the Washington Center for Performing Arts:

An adaptation of Orwell's 1984 for stage, it was a great performance.

description: A protest led by the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign leads to police tear gas and concussion grenades at the Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, MN. Marta Costello is caught in the melee as she brings you the gnooze (the g is silent).

McCain the Neocon Part 4

Nader, Gonzales and others, including former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, call for inclusion in presidential debates:

Nader Gonzales for President

What is extreme? I mean seriously. Recently, someone accused me of having "left-wing extremist" views. So what are they? What views of mine are extreme?

Is it extreme to want peace and justice? Is it extreme to ask people to be nice to each other, and that people use respectful dialogue to resolve disputes? Is it extreme to advocate for nonviolence?

Is it extreme to ask that people receive fair treatment? Is it extreme to oppose power politics of global corporate domination (at gunpoint)?

Seriously - all I want is a world where people and planet (and animals and plants, rocks and oceans, etc.) are respected and protected for the benefit of future generations. I want a world where people choose love over fear - trust over hostility. I want a world where people look each other in the eye because they enjoy community.

Is that extreme? Is it extreme to ask that public officials serve the public interest? Is it extreme to ask that public officials be held accountable to the rule of law?

Is it extreme to expect that public officials will behave in a manner that is honest, that they will respect the rule of law, and that they will tell us the truth - and also that they will not use their position in public office to serve special and private interests?

Is that extreme? You tell me.

What do you consider to be extreme?

I heard some great segments (as usual) on today's Democracy Now! program. I wanted to draw particular attention to this one, because there is some choice testimony.

“We Are Not Terrorists”: Activists with the RNC Welcoming Committee Speak Out Against Police Crackdown & Terrorism Charges

Ramsey County prosecutors formally charged eight members of the RNC Welcoming Committee with conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism. On Thursday, other members of the anarchist group held their first press conference. One local activist accused the police of beating and torturing him in jail. [includes rush transcript]

WILLIAM GILLIS:... I want to see a world of anarchy without domination, without thugs, without warlords, without tyrants and without politicians. And as an American, I believe in actively resisting those who would rule us all.

The brutality and the lies of the state this week are not a surprise, but they are still deplorable. Police kicked down doors with guns drawn on families with their children at dinnertime. Reporters and the media at large have been repeatedly target for repression. Activists have been abducted off the street in unmarked vans and political prisoners held without access to medical attention.

The state has never really bothered with ethical justifications for its violence. But now we see that the agents of the law don’t even bother with internal consistency, ignoring the few rights they have pledged not to violate. Sheriff Bob Fletcher has unleashed a degree of repression that should embarrass and anger us all.

...

I heard a rumor that 600 people have been arrested!

Wow!