Truth vs. Fear

A day after the president defended the decision to close the jail, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said alarm over shuttering the prison at Guantanamo Bay and relocating prisoners at the facility is "fear-mongering."
"There' a lot of fear-mongering about this," Gates said on the "Today" show. "We've never had an escape from a super max prison. And that's where these guys are going to go."
Gates, who served in the Bush administration and now works under Obama, called Gitmo "one of the finest prisons in the world" during an interview with Matt Lauer that aired Friday. "But it has a taint," he said.
The defense secretary said Obama had no choice but the shut down the prison and his plan does not jeopardize the safety of Americans.
more HERE

Bigotry Alive & Well in the OC

ANAHEIM, California - As the owner of a presidential-themed restaurant, Bruno Serato took advantage of the recent historic election to add a little more character to his Anaheim White House.
Little did he suspect when he put the small brass plaque above the doorway to the Barack Obama Room that he'd receive a backlash.
As with most events and promotions the restaurant holds, he sent an announcement of the small dedication of the Barack Obama Room to his e-mail list of several thousand customers.
At least a half-dozen or so volleyed harsh comments back at him via their own e-mails.
A couple of gems:

"Do not insult us with a Barack Obama room. … You have no idea whether he is a great leader or a hopeless Socialist. You may regret your hasty judgment of what he will do to this country. May you remain Orange County's hidden treasure, with the emphasis on HIDDEN!"

"You must be kidding?" "He didn't do anything yet other than weaken our internal security. Maybe you could house all the Gitmo (Guantanamo Bay) internees there instead."

more HERE and HERE

We'll leave you with this:
Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.
-Plato

Picture Perfect

A photo of President Obama is pinned up at Guantanamo Bay on inauguration day, replacing a picture of outgoing president George W. Bush.

Going Out of Business Sale

Revisiting Apple Nazi

These handpainted Nazi toy soldiers where on display in the Apple Store in Korea's biggest shopping centre, in Seoul back in January 2007.
We liked the following comment we discovered so much, we decided to regurgitate this occurrence...check it out:
Yeah, well,
as an "ex-German" I'm disgusted and amazed... Strange, in many German cities that place would be
1. firebombed, and then
2. the soot-covered management would be prosecuted (it's illegal in G to display swastika etc... )
On a more personal level I have to admit I'm equally appalled by any display of soldier-ism...The British (?) "Dambusters" is still one of the top ranked war movies of all times... Dam-busting is considered a war crime in international law/Geneva/UN etc...
G.I.-Joe figures instead... - hmmm... Many folks still cannot say "native American" without a smirk... Somehow that genocide wasn't so bad (probably, we'd missed out on oh sooo many "great" western movies... John Wayne (who of course never "served" ...)...; Abu Ghraib has amazingly fast become just another theme for stand-up-"comedians". And did you see that appalling "Guantanamo-Sketch" at Amnesty Int'l(!!!)'s secret policeman ball last year... Comparatively, that window display is almost a quaintly existentialist art installation... By the way, no need to fly to Asia... Right here in Ireland it's quite normal to see books and magazines showing the swastika on the cover...
F*ck'em'all

Coney Island Waterboarding Sideshow

Artist Steve Powers has created a Guantanamo Bay waterboarding exhibition at Coney Island -- for a buck, you can watch an animatronic torture reenactment.
If you climb up a few cinderblock steps to the small window, you can look through the bars at a scene meant to invoke a Guantánamo Bay interrogation. A lifesize figure in a dark sweatshirt, the hood drawn low over his face, leans over another figure in an orange jumpsuit, his face covered by a towel and his body strapped down on a tilted surface.
Feed a dollar into a slot, the lights go on, and Black Hood pours water up Orange Jumpsuit’s nose and mouth while Orange Jumpsuit convulses against his restraints for 15 seconds. O.K., kids, who wants more cotton candy!
New York Times story HERE

Provocative Protest Panties

U.K. human rights charity Reprieve had been accused of smuggling undies to a prisoner held at Guantánamo Bay...So together with Reprieve founder Clive Stafford Smith, Joe Corre conceived the "Fair Trial My Arse" panties, now on sale at Agent Provocateur stores in the United States and United Kingdom.
more HERE