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POPSNew "currency" big in US prisons
Mackerel is hot in prisons in the U.S., but not so much anywhere else, says Mark Muntz, president of Global Source, which imports fillets of the oily, dark-fleshed fish from Asian canneries. Mr. Muntz says he's tried marketing mackerel to discount retailers. "We've even tried 99-cent stores," he says. "It never has done very well at all, regardless of the retailer, but it's very popular in the prisons." Mr. Muntz says he sold more than $1 million of mackerel for federal prison commissaries last year. It accounted for about half his commissary sales, he says, outstripping the canned tuna, crab, chicken and oysters he offers. Unlike those more expensive delicacies, former prisoners say, the mack is a good stand-in for the greenback because each can (or pouch) costs about $1 and few -- other than weight-lifters craving protein -- want to eat it. So inmates stash macks in lockers provided by the prison and use them to buy goods, including illicit ones such as stolen food and home-br
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POPSWhen is a holocaust not a holocaust? (cont.)Thus, the number of people available for being killers or victims is markedly reduced. Moreover, extensive ethnic cleansing has taken place in the country (another good indication of progress, n'est-ce pas?). Sunnis and Shiites are now living more in their own special enclaves than before, none of those stinking mixed communities with their unholy mixed marriages, so violence of the sectarian type has also gone down; and the powerful movement of Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr has had a cease-fire in effect for many months, unconnected to the surge. On top of all this, US soldiers, in the face of numerous "improvised explosive devices" on the roads, have been venturing out a lot less (for fear of things like ... well, dying), so the violence against our noble lads is also down. Remember that insurgent attacks on American forces is how the Iraqi violence all began in the first place.
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POPSU.S. Perpetuates Mass Killings In Iraq
I couldn't care less who wins the elections. Looking at both candidates, it seems America isn't the least bit interested in real change. Is anyone asking the candidates about what they are going to do about the US' slow but steady slide into fascism? Or about limiting presidential power? Or about banning torture? Or about the return of Habeus Corpus? Or about extraordinary renditions and secret prisons? Or about preemptive aggression? Or about making your war criminals pay for their crimes? Hmm? Anyone? No. No. Let's just keep it entertaining, low key and unsubstantial. Let's talk about lipstick! Yeah! Blacks vs whites, Democrats vs Republicans, pro-life vs pro-choice, Christians vs atheists blah blah blah... "Divide and conquer!". The power elite working behind the scenes have that pat down and the US citizenry is blissfully (perhaps willingly) oblivious... *shaking my head in disbelief* Oops! No time to comment any more! The O'Reilly Factor's on! No spin! Really!
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POPSBritish Territory Used for US Torture Cont... "TIME discussed the allegation with Richard Clarke, who served as a Special Advisor to President George W. Bush on the National Security Council dealing with counter-terrorism until 2003 but is not the source for this story. "In my presence, in the White House, the possibility of using Diego Garcia for detaining high value targets was discussed," says Clarke. Clarke did not witness a final resolution of the issue, but adds, "Given everything that we know about the Administration's approach to the law on these matters, I find the report that the U.S. did use the island for detention or interrogation entirely credible."
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POPSCorrie Ten Boom While in Ravensbruck Concentration Camp, the barracks were infested with lice. Corrie and her sister praised God for the lice, because the guards refused to enter their barracks for fear of getting infected. Can you imagine? That is truly seeing the silver lining.
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POPSTexans Love Bush and Babies In a tiny Texas community, children as young as 5 were fed powerful painkillers they knew as "silly pills" and forced to perform sex shows for a crowd of adults.
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POPSIraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki demands US withdrawal timetable Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish MP, said that the issue of immunity for US forces had become a particularly sensitive subject for Iraqis. “We have suffered so much from immunity. Immunity equals committing crimes. In the name of immunity they have killed people, they have their own prisons, they captured Iraqis. We can’t continue like this,” he said.
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POPSMoral Depravity in the Highest Places
After 7 1/2 years of George W. Bush, much of the media and political establishment — which have never shown much interest in holding Bush to account — now appear anxious to simply move on. They seem determined to leave unexamined the full cruelty and mendacity of the Bush administration, with its unlawful wars and blatant violations of the Geneva Conventions. Moving on is a great idea - once there’s been some accountability, with a full public recognition of wrongdoing, and a commitment to bring about change. Otherwise, nothing will have been learned. The comments of Yoo, who authored top-level internal memos justifying torture and virtually unlimited presidential power, suggest a moral depravity in very high places. That depravity led to the horrific abuses at Abu Ghraib and at other U.S. prisons in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and “black sites” around the world. The dean of the Massachusetts School of Law, Lawrence Velvel, argues that Bush and top administration offi
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