Thursday This-n-That

Bacon - Nature's crack cocaine

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Glenzilla:

Repulsive progressive hypocrisy

During the Bush years, Guantanamo was the core symbol of right-wing radicalism and what was back then referred to as the “assault on American values and the shredding of our Constitution”: so much so then when Barack Obama ran for President, he featured these issues not as a secondary but as a central plank in his campaign. But now that there is a Democrat in office presiding over Guantanamo and these other polices — rather than a big, bad, scary Republican — all of that has changed, as a new Washington Post/ABC News poll today demonstrates:

The sharpest edges of President Obama’s counterterrorism policy, including the use of drone aircraft to kill suspected terrorists abroad and keeping open the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have broad public support, including from the left wing of the Democratic Party.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that Obama, who campaigned on a pledge to close the brig at Guantanamo Bay and to change national security policies he criticized as inconsistent with U.S. law and values, has little to fear politically for failing to live up to all of those promises.

The survey shows that 70 percent of respondents approve of Obama’s decision to keep open the prison at Guantanamo Bay. . . . The poll shows that 53 percent of self-identified liberal Democrats — and 67 percent of moderate or conservative Democrats — support keeping Guantanamo Bay open, even though it emerged as a symbol of the post-Sept. 11 national security policies of George W. Bush, which many liberals bitterly opposed.

Repulsive liberal hypocrisy extends far beyond the issue of Guantanamo. A core plank in the Democratic critique of the Bush/Cheney civil liberties assault was the notion that the President could do whatever he wants, in secret and with no checks, to anyone he accuses without trial of being a Terrorist – even including eavesdropping on their communications or detaining them without due process. But President Obama has not only done the same thing, but has gone much farther than mere eavesdropping or detention: he has asserted the power even to kill citizens without due process. As Bush’s own CIA and NSA chief Michael Hayden said this week about the Awlaki assassination: “We needed a court order to eavesdrop on him but we didn’t need a court order to kill him. Isn’t that something?” That is indeed “something,” as is the fact that Bush’s mere due-process-free eavesdropping on and detention of American citizens caused such liberal outrage, while Obama’s due-process-free execution of them has not.

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Not to pick on Glenn but some of us saw this coming a loooooonnnng time ago. Remember the FISA revision bill? Among other things it gave retroactive immunity to the TELCOMS that assisted the government in domestic paying. It was a pretty big deal back in 2007 and early 2008. Bush wanted it to cover up what he had been doing. The Democrats controlled Congress. Obama said he would vote against it if it contained retroactive immunity. Then he voted for it (Hillary kept her promise and voted against it.)

Obama supporters smoothly shifted gears and moved on.

This is one of the things I think about when someone tries to tell me that the Republicans are worse.

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Via Corrente, an occupation journal:

We rode 22 hours straight from Minnesota to D.C., hoping that if enough members of the 99 percent came, we could have an impact on our nation’s capital. It was 55 degrees and sunny on Tuesday, Jan. 10. Our spirits were high. We met at the White House and joined the other tourists at the MLK and FDR memorials. We watched the sunset over the Tidal Basin from the bridge, then ate dinner in Chinatown. We slept in an eight-person suite at the Hotel Harrington. I was lucky enough to share a bed. Several others found spaces on the floor, happy to be inside for a change.

[…]

It was too rainy and dark to set up tents, but we were invited to join one of the original tents that was pitched at the start of the Occupation on Oct. 1. It sat upon pallets and was large enough to sleep eight. Once again, I was one of the lucky ones to get a mattress, sandwiched between two warm bodies.

The orange jumpsuit, although wet, provided extra protection from the cold. The rain and wind lasted until morning. I was lucky to be next to a funny man who managed to make me laugh through the night. There were two larger Army tents, one for food, the other a general assembly media center where we could charge our phones and cameras and check emails.

The hot meal of chicken, mashed potatoes and veggie salad was the first time I ate all day. I devoured it like a starving dog. Once again, my thoughts turned to those trapped at Gitmo and wondered how hungry they must be. The next day, there was no breakfast because of the endless bickering in the kitchen of the tent.

I wondered how many of us traveling from afar were tempted to turn around and go home because of the hostility of the leaders; those in charge were closed to any suggestions. I joined a group that walked to superior court, where several from the Occupation were ordered to appear for disrupting the proceedings of Congress. Free speech? I was left behind and waited for five hours where we were supposed to meet. I didn’t know whether to be annoyed or worried.

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Guests at Gitmo are wrongfully imprisoned but they get three squares a day. They don’t get bacon though.

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PETA Whale Slavery Lawsuit Moves Forward

Lawyers for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals will face SeaWorld in court on Monday to demand the release of five orcas into their natural habitat.

“This case is the first time we’ve sought constitutional protection,” said lawyer Jeff Kerr, who has worked with PETA for 16 years.

Kerr and his team claim SeaWorld is violating the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution’s ban on slavery and involuntary servitude by holding orcas Tilikum, Katina, Kasatka, Ulises, and Corky at its parks in Orlando, Fla. and San Diego.

“[The suit] eradicates slavery in all forms and slavery should not depend upon the species of the slave anymore than it depends upon gender, race or ethnicity of the slave,” said Kerr.

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Free Willy!

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Russian Scientists Bore Into Ancient Antarctic Lake

In the coldest spot on the earth’s coldest continent, Russian scientists have reached a freshwater lake the size of Lake Ontario after spending a decade drilling through more than two miles of solid ice, the scientists said Wednesday.

A statement by the chief of the Vostok Research Station, A. M. Yelagin, released by the director of the Russian Antarctic Expedition, Valery Lukin, said the drill made contact with the lake water at a depth of 12,366 feet. As planned, lake water under pressure rushed up the bore hole 100 to 130 feet pushing drilling fluid up and away from the pristine water, Mr. Yelagin said, and forming a frozen plug that will prevent contamination. Next Antarctic season, the scientists will return to take samples of the water.

How long before it’s bottled and on sale?

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I should be fading in and out again today. I seem to be suffering from a persistent lethargic state with alternating narcolepsy and insomnia.

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