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POPSWhy George Orwell wrote 1984 Orwell served in Burma as a member of The Indian Imperial police, saw poverty and failure, but the Spanish Civil War and the rise of Hitler, and the NAZIs, gave him a political direction, and his work after 1936, was to warn against the establishment of a totalitarian state. There is more at the site, with more background. Orwell died Seven months after 1984 was published, due to the effects of tuberculosis, and an allergic reaction to a new medication. While he was in Hospital, writing 1984 they took away his typewriter, but he continued to write longhand with a ballpoint pen, despite his failing health
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POPSDiabetic girl dies as parents pray "She said her family believed in the Bible and that healing came from God. But she insisted that they were not "crazy religious people" "Even after her death, her parents, Dale and Leilani Neumann, who did not belong to any organised faith, prayed over her body in the hope that she might be resurrected."
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POPSFascist America in 10 Easy Steps As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such a twilight that we all must be aware of change in the air-however slight-lest we become unwilling victims of the darkness. ~Justice William O. Douglas~
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POPSInternet access cut in Myanmar Without being an expert in how international affairs like this should be dealt with, I know that i've recently witnessed the military of one or more countries entering other countries to initiate change. Does the current situation in Myanmar not warrant this type of action!!?? Do the people of Myanmar not deserve some kind of outside help!!??
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POPSThe Stick Figure Guide to Winning in Iraq As described in the article, the creator of this humorous, optimistic cartoon, a young Captain Travis Patriquin, was killed by an improvised explosive device in Iraq just last Wednesday. His creation has been circulating among the troops and, lately, across the internet. PDF version of the presentation .
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POPSYour Private E-mail Messages And You It would be much easier if they just joined CM and followed us all. Hey maybe they already have! *LOL* You out there, Big Brother? Haha! The least you can do is pop my clip then and you really don't have to snoop through my emails to know exactly what I think of you either. Just follow me right here on CM. *LOL* :)
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POPSThe student asked why Bush wasn't IMPEACHED, for that he was TASERED I can hear the conservatives yelling all over the blogesphere, THE NUT DESERVED WHAT HE GOT... I wonder what they would be yelling if it had happened to one of them or someone they loved. I watched the tape of the young student more times than I could stand to watch and still I could not see a reason for such a harsh punishment. Some believe we are becoming a police state with all the tasering going on by those who are suppose to protect us. I say, we're not becoming a police state ... WE ARE A POLICE STATE. I hope the American Civil Liberties Union, will get involved in this case it is just so outrageous. No one will want to allow their son or daughter to attend anything political... A closing of the minds of the young who are attending college so their minds can be opened, will be the result. It was a chilling event!
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POPSPolice Atrocities Define The Bush Police State
"If you've ever publicly opposed Bush's war of naked aggression in Iraq, you can bet you're in NSA's database, called TALON. War protesters, naturally, were the first to wind up in Big Bro's TALON, or database. This practice most certainly goes far beyond Nixon's 'enemies list'. Bush's database, methods, scope and ruthlessness plops us in Orwellian territory." Well, it's too late now. I'm probably already screwed and plopped and TALON'ed and monitored... END THE OCCUPATIONS! ------------------------- talon: \ˈta-lən\ Middle English taloun heel, hind claw of a bird of prey , from Anglo-French talun, from Vulgar Latin *talon-, *talo, from Latin talus ankle, anklebone 1 a: the claw of an animal and especially of a bird of prey b: a finger or hand of a human being 2: a part or object shaped like or suggestive of a heel or claw: b: the shoulder of the bolt of a lock on which the key acts to shoot the bolt 3 a: cards laid aside in a pile in solitaire
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POPSHuckabee: cover up for son's cruel deed reflects dad's ethics Mike Huckabee allegedly covered up for his son David's cruelty to a dog. Do we want a person with Huckabee's lack of ethics in the White House? A bit more from the article (but please read even more at the source): "David Huckabee did not respond to requests for comment. (In April of this year, he was arrested—and paid a fine—when he forgot to remove a loaded gun from his carry-on luggage at Little Rock airport.) His father told NEWSWEEK THAT his son did not engage in "intentional torture." "There was a dog that apparently had mange and was absolutely, I guess, emaciated."A campaign official says David "regrets" the incident and notes that he later made Eagle Scout. Congrats on attaining Eagle Scout rank, David. :roll:
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POPSChina's All-Seeing Eye This is an example of the dangerous combination of information technology, and totalitarian non democratic regimes.
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POPS"Honor Killings" In America but multiculturalism hits a crossroads when honor killings come to America. The United States has avoided this bloodstained trend until recently. Some consider Kanwal's death the first documented honor killing here. Others point to the murder of sisters Amina and Sarah Said in Irving, Texas, on New Years' 2007. (Their MySpace page remains up. Featuring assimilated teen culture and American music, it is haunting.) Their father remains on the run from police. In upstate Monroe County just a few days ago, a girl was stabbed by her brother for wearing immodest western clothing and wanting to move to New York City. According to court documents, Waheed Allah Mohammad explained the stabbing by saying his sister was a "bad Muslim girl." "Honor killing is a misnomer," author and exile Ayaan Hirsi Ali told me. "The killing occurs because these girls have allegedly brought shame on their family. The paradox is that these are individuals who have emancipated themselves.
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POPSHas Sarah Palin Been Picked as the Titular Head of the Coming Police State?
Reports confirmed my suspicions: Palin, not McCain, is the FrankenBarbie of the Rove-Cheney cabal. The strategy became clear. Time magazine reported that Rove is "dialed in" to the McCain campaign. Rove's protege Steve Schmidt is now campaign manager. And Politico reported that Rove was heavily involved in McCain's vice presidential selection. Finally a new report shows that there are dozens of Bush and Rove operatives surrounding Sarah Palin and orchestrating her every move. What's the plan? It is this. McCain doesn't matter. Reputable dermatologists are discussing the fact that in simply actuarial terms, John McCain has a virulent and life-threatening form of skin cancer. It is the elephant in the room, but we must discuss the health of the candidates: doctors put survival rates for someone his age at two to four years. I believe the Rove-Cheney cabal is using Sarah Palin as a stalking horse, an Evita figure, to put a popular, populist face on the coming police state and be the ta
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POPSExecution scheduled despite recanted testimony Convicted of murder solely on basis of witness testimony - no physical evidence. All witnesses but two have since changed their position; one of the two is the prime alternate suspect. But Georgia will not allow factual review of case, and has set execution for the 23rd of this month.
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POPSHundreds arrested in Istanbul during May Day 30 years ago, on May 1st 1977, 34 people were killed at Taksim Square, Istanbul, during the May Day meeting, after some "unknown" provocators leaked in the crowd and created a panic. Today, the official state ideology and its despotic-minded defenders didn't even allow people to commemorate the victims at Taksim Square. Still a very long way to walk, towards democracy, free speech and tolerance.
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POPSYankees Go Home: US 'diplomacy' in Ecuador Did anyone imagine that the last fascist state in South America, Columbia could cross Ecuador's border without sanction of the Yankee master. I hadn't known about the primary reason for the US stirring it with Ecuador previously. I hadn't know the the US lease is up on its Ecuador and wouldn't be renewed unless Ecuador could have a similar base in Miami!!! The nerve of Correa! Did you know of this affront to Bush imperialism? I'd say he's getting off light with the blatant incursion into his territory! Probably only round one.
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POPSAmerica Becoming Land of Surveillance Despite lack of evidence that it is effective, or evidence that proves it is not from UK studies. But the security merchandisers are making a fortune and state and local governments are impulsively spending faster than a woman with a credit card: .P. Freeman said the domestic market for such systems last year had doubled over five years, to $9.2 billion, and estimated that it would more than double again by 2010, to more than $21 billion. You are paying for your loss of liberty, while they profit, which is insult to injury. It's worth wondering how many government officials own stock in security companies, which would be a conflict of interest in that lawmakers also profit through authorizing this spending.
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POPSWhen Habeas Corpus is suspended The right of Habeas Corpus is the right a person has to make a petition against unlawful detention:They have the right to be represented by a lawyer, and historically, has been an instrument for safeguarding individual freedom against arbitrary state action. ' Due to 'national security concerns, and zero tolerance, the right of Habeus corpus has been suspended.' For every U.S. Citizen
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POPSDon't Ring 911. Accident waiting to happen. A businessman in Anderson, South Carolina became a concerned citizen recently when he was driving and another car on the road almost hit him. He watched the car weave around on the road in front of him and decided to do what any person would probably do in the circumstances, he called 911.