An eye for an eye, until the whole world is blind

From this article:

"A prominent Washington attorney and Jewish communal leader is calling for the execution of family members of suicide bombers. Nathan Lewin, an oft-mentioned candidate for a federal judgeship and legal advisor to several Orthodox organizations, told the Forward that such a policy would provide a much-needed deterrent against suicide attacks."

Frankly, as disturbing as the original proposal is, I find the often lukewarm condemnations from the other members of the Jewish community mentioned in the article to be even more frightening.

posted by Michael Curry at 9:02 PM

The war in Afghanistan and oil

The last time the US went to war, back when the other Bush was President, some people believed that we were just fighting Iraq to protect our oil interests (since, in case you hadn't noticed, they still don't have democracy in Kuwait). Now another Bush is in charge, and once again it seems that the biggest beneficiary of our war effort is going to be the petroleum industry. Read about it here.

posted by Michael Curry at 8:53 PM

So the war accomplished what exactly?

From an article [registration required] in the New York Times:

"Classified investigations of the Qaeda threat now under way at the F.B.I. and C.I.A. have concluded that the war in Afghanistan failed to diminish the threat to the United States, the officials said. Instead, the war might have complicated counterterrorism efforts by dispersing potential attackers across a wider geographic area."

posted by Michael Curry at 8:45 PM

Happy birthday to one of the world's finest heroes

Today [it's already June 19 in Burma as I post this] is the 57th birthday of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. May she celebrate many more, and may she see freedom for her people in her lifetime.

See also a BBC World News story here.

posted by Michael Curry at 8:33 PM

G7 Protests

Here are some links with news about the protests taking place at the current G7 meeting in Halifax, NS, Canada.

G7 communique [Day One]

Blue Bloc Runs Amok at G7

Reported arrests at G7 protests

posted by Michael Curry at 10:33 PM

Won't be fooled again

From the front page of Indymedia:

Opposed utility sales go forward, igniting protests

A state of emergency has been imposed on Arequipa, Peru's second largest city, following days
of protests over the privatization of two state-owned electricity generators, Egasa and Egesur. The
martial law measures will restrict people from leaving or entering the city, and a curfew is also likely.

Protests erupted in southern Peru on Thursday when the Peruvian government, led by President
Alejandro Toledo, reneged on campaign-pledges made last year to not sell the state-owned
companies.

Local authorities have claimed that seven were injured in protests on Sunday, including one activist
suffering gunshot wounds, but recent reports reveal that more than a 100 protestors may be injured
from the day's events.

See also a more detailed BBC World News story here.

Basically, a President with a 20% approval rating is trying to convince the people that privatizing the electric companies (which he'd promised not to do) is going to benefit them, rather than just benefitting his cronies and the company that buys them, which is what happens most of the time with these privatization schemes, especially in developing countries.

posted by Michael Curry at 10:22 PM