Saturday, September 29, 2012

Since When is Exposing a Crime, a Crime?

Apparently, exposing somebody else for committing a crime has been made illegal- especially when that somebody is the Pope.



By John Amaruso

The Pope's former butler, Paolo Gabriele is being put on trial for aggravated theft, and is being charged with stealing and "leaking sensitive information". The information stolen implicated the Vatican and the Pope on corruption charges. It's reported that over 82 cardboard boxes filled with material he had stolen over the years was confiscated from him.

Gabriele was arrested in May and shortly afterwards he admitted to not only stealing private documents, but also a check for 100,000 euros, a gold nugget and a 16th-century copy of Virgil's epic poem the Aeneid (Guardian).

Now while his means may have been illegal, the end may justify it- that is, if any action is ever taken over the documents that allege corruption against the Vatican and the Pope. I wouldn't hold your breath...


Sources- http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/sep/29/popes-butler-trial-video

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

It's That Time of Year: The Abortion Talk.

By Cara Cholewczynski

Election years... the period of time every four years where women’s issues come bubbling up to the surface to reveal their loathsome presence. I find it ironic that women are viewed as a special topic in this country, even though we outnumber men. We sit and watch as men debate what should be done with our rights and our bodies. We are grossly under represented in our legislative branch and we have never been represented in our executive branch. With election season in full swing, there is one hot button issue that everyone in this country has an opinion on one way or the other: the right for women to choose. The Republican Party has taken the viewpoint of shrinking government to be small enough to fit inside of our uteruses. In their defense though, their cold hearts would enjoy a nice, warm uterus.

Regardless, the ladies of this country are under fire. Our right to choose is under attack.

To begin, I am a firm believer in the quality of life triumphing life itself. If I am ever in the position where I can’t wipe my own ass, I can only hope that somebody would be ballsy enough to put a pillow over my head and end my misery. I also don’t doubt that many people would want the same. So why is it that pro-lifers would rather see a baby born than a baby fed, clothed, wanted, loved. To be quite frank, once a baby is born, pro-lifers could not give a damn about what happens to it. Many of these people are the same ones who want to cut assistance programs for those on limited budgets. They view pregnancy as a consequence for having premarital (or even marital) sex for enjoyment. They say that if you don’t want a baby you shouldn’t have sex. Well, nobody wants to get into a car accident, but we still drive. The pro-life movement isn’t pro-life at all, it’s pro-birth.

"Adoption!", they all cry as they do not understand the ramifications of throwing another child into the system. It is a convenient justification to impede on the rights of others. They do not realize that by replacing abortion with adoption they are still forcing a woman to carry a child she does not consent to carry. Pro-lifers like to claim that an abortion is going to harm you mentally for many years after the procedure. In all honesty, if anything is going to mess someone up it is going to be carrying a child in their stomach for nine months and then putting it up for adoption knowing that your child could be anywhere in the world, essentially hidden in plain sight. In addition, 61% of women who have abortions already have children in this world. It is safe to say that if these women had the means to keep the child they would, but for many reasons they can not. How would you explain that one? Even if someone chose to carry a pregnancy to term then give it up for adoption, did you know that every year more than 20,000 children age out of the foster care system without ever being adopted and more than 100,000 are stuck in foster care waiting to be adopted? There are thousands of children already stuck in this vicious cycle, so why would we want to add more? I would love to see pro-lifers put their money where their mouths are and adopt every single child that's left without parents before they tell women to put more in.

You know what’s worse than the manipulation and deception of vulnerable people? Crisis pregnancy centers. Wait, they’re the same thing. Their advertisements on buses and billboards offer help and information to those with an unplanned pregnancy, but only limit their options to the pro-life agenda. They are also the ones that push the idea of public assistance, and when it comes to hiding behind a voting booth curtain they shut it down. They do not give women their complete legal and medical options. They give misinformation and spout their lies for their own benefit. They paint a pretty picture of what life is like with a child that a woman can not afford. Deception and manipulation of those who are confused, scared, ashamed and looking for help is about the most deplorable thing a human being can do to another human being.

Pro-lifers want to see abortion come to an end, but do not want to support things that are designed to end them. Sex education, access to contraception, a safe environment to talk about these things. Teenagers are going to experiment with sex, end of story. So instead of putting their hands over their ears and shutting their eyes, pro-lifers should stop, look, and listen. Sex happens, so instead of ignoring it and teaching young adults that it is somehow inherently bad for you- let us educate those who didn’t have awesome sexual role models like my mother. Lets make access to contraception easy, lets teach young adults how to put a condom on rather than the idea that, “there is no condom for the heart”.

Lets do some math: Sex education + safer sex= less abortions and reduced STI rates. What a win/win concept! It had been proven time and time again that abstinence-only education fails young adults like myself. Education is the key to prevention.

There is a lot that can be said about this subject. Much of this article was handwritten as I pondered my own thoughts in freshman-level sociology that I have decided to take as a senior. Part II will be released when I find some time in the near future. Regardless... nuclear war? Bring it. Zombie apocalypse? Eh, I think I’ll be alright. Repealing of Roe v. Wade? I have just crapped my pants. I am a huge supporter of the right to choose, and I agree with Bill Clinton on his stance that abortion should be, “Safe, legal and rare”. I want to see the system being overhauled with contraception access for everyone and a real life sex education for all. Education is the only proven way to reduce abortions in this country. Nobody is pro-abortion, but I am pro-choice and will no longer be sitting silently as the pro-life movement uses its lies and one-sided thinking to scare people into having a child that they do not want.

Guns Don't Kill People; Apathy Kills People




By Tyrone L. Heppard

On July 19, I was watching the late night airing of AC360 on CNN at 4:25 a.m. when they cut out and flashed the ‘breaking news’ logo across the screen. Initially, I didn’t think much of it; these cable news channels love calling anything breaking news just to grab my attention for a few seconds.

    “Jesus, what’s going on now,” I thought to myself. Did a high-profile Wall Street guy turn himself in? Was Bashar al-Assad captured in Syria? Did Mitt Romney finally release his tax returns? That would be news that could make me smile.

    But when they showed live video a movie theatre in Aurora, CO, I knew that something was seriously wrong. It turned out that a 24-year old named James Eagan Holmes had shot up people at the Century 16 theater watching “The Dark Knight Rises”. I would later learn that 12 were killed and over 50 were injured; the youngest victim around 4-months old.

    Of course, this is a tragedy, and there’s no room for politics when something like this happens. Democrat or republican, everyone feels sickened and saddened when innocent people are killed for absolutely no reason. In addition, when events such as these take place, citizens and politicians; the elite and the working class alike are all compelled to offer their prayers and deepest condolences. Although, while everyone’s heart is in the right place, we all fail to recognize one thing: stuff like this happens all of the time.

    First there was Columbine in 1999. Then there was Virginia Tech in 2009. We can’t forget Tucson, AZ where Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head last year. I’m from Binghamton, NY. You may or may not remember the American Civic Center shooting in 2009 where a Vietnamese immigrant opened fire killing 13 and wounding 14.
Image of the Columbine shooters

    On a personal level, when I was in high school, a close friend of mine, Dave, was killed in a gun-related incident. Add up all of these senseless acts of violence that have taken lives all over the country (most recently in Oak Creek, WI at a Sikh temple), and it seems our country has a problem that we just can’t ignore.

    So now you have the Aurora Massacre with the dubious honor of being the largest domestic genocide in American history – this year. What infuriates me more than someone being so reckless and downright diabolical, is the fact that we as Americans have refused to do anything about gun control in this country.

    Whenever something like this happens, we all go through the motions: the news covers it for about a week. People offer their prayers and condolences. Victim’s families are interviewed (most of the time they say they don’t understand how something like this can happen or that they didn’t see it coming). “Experts” tell us how we should feel, and we all shake our heads before we all go on about our business. But it’s painfully apparent that our ‘prayers and condolences’ aren’t enough to stop these kinds of violent acts in our country. The only people who can do anything proactive are our politicians; and they refuse to do anything. 

    As a liberal, I could point fingers at republicans and the NRA. I could rant about how their ‘lust for guns’ are the problem. However, despite allegations from Tea Partiers that Obama has a plan to take everyone’s guns away, democrats haven’t touched the issue. In fact, I don’t think they feel gun control is something worth spending time or money on.

    The fact of the matter is that no one has (to quote pro wrestler, Mick Foley) the ‘testicular fortitude’ to do anything about the obvious problem: it’s WAY too easy for ANYONE to get their hands on a firearm. I think it’s disgusting that the people charged with protecting the safety and interests of the country shy away from doing so either for a paycheck or to win an election.

    Politically speaking, democrats and republicans are equally at fault. And as an aspiring journalist, I don’t hesitate to say that the complacent attitude from the media isn’t helping either. As a citizen, I think it’s important – perhaps now more than ever – for us to at the very least discuss gun control in the US. It’s honestly that simple.
Crime scene photos after the Aurora massacre

     For example, look at our current laws. What about the fact that anyone one of us can walk into a gun shop and – so long as we don’t have a criminal record or a history of mental problems – we can walk out with a police-issued shotgun or assault rifle? I’m sure someone out there is yelling something like, “2nd Amendment rights, buddy!!” or, “Right to bear arms, guy!!” at their computer monitor right now. Alright, fine. Let’s take a look shall we? It states:

“A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State. The right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

    Okay, I see the part about the ‘right to bear arms,’ but I also see the bits about a ‘well-regulated’ militia and the ‘security of a free state’. As of 2007, federal law says you have to be 18 or older to buy long gun ammo, but you have to be 21 or older to buy handgun ammo. That’s regulation? REALLY? Also, I watch a lot of news, and I’m pretty sure your state isn’t being invaded by anyone right now. If it is, email me and tell me where you live; I think someone at the Pentagon should know about this.

    Please understand that I’m not hating on guns right now. I like guns just as much as the average guy in our country; “Lord of War” with Nicholas Cage rocked! However, just because I appreciate them doesn’t mean I NEED to own an AR-15 or a Remington or a Glock. Do YOU really need an M-16 to hunt? Do YOU really need a Mac-10 to protect your home? Perhaps in post-apocalyptic North America, but not in the United States in 2012; you know it and I know it.

    So go ahead, gun owners. Tell me it feels good to cock and fire a sniper rifle or that you love the sound of shell casings hitting the ground as you open fire on a shooting range. I won’t even argue when you say you have the right to do so. Just don’t tell me you NEED military-grade weapons outside of a war zone. When you say things like that, you sound delusional. Seriously. 

    Now, I’m no soldier, I’m no cop, and I’m no expert. I’m just some dude who’s VERY sick and tired of hearing about people losing their lives. Meanwhile, a majority of us sincerely believe we shouldn't discuss gun control because of one sentence in the Bill of Rights. Some of us don’t even think there’s a problem at all. Tell that to Dave or the 4-month-old girl in Colorado. Oh, wait….

    I’m not naïve. I know horrible people will find ways to do horrible things, and I don’t want anyone to take anything away from anyone else. I just figured that with all of the blood that’s been spilled, we’d be willing to give something up voluntarily or at least talk about a solution. How silly of me.
   

Monday, September 24, 2012

And the Wars Drone On


by Kenny Brown

Many in 2008 voted for Barack Obama to be an anti-empire President, myself included. At the time many of us were looking for a light at the end of the Bush Interventionism tunnel and mostly anything looked like a nice change. We were hopeful and blind, throwing our support behind anyone that denounced George W. Bush and the last 8 years of costly wars. For many of us, a young beacon of hope, Barack Obama, seemed to be the light at the end of the tunnel. He had character. He had spunk. But most important of all was that he was not W. With blissful ignorance we went out in November and casted our vote for what we hoped and believed would be a much needed change in the realm of foreign policy. But, like most times in the game of politics, we the people were duped by a handsome smile, a calming voice and nicely timed pauses during important speeches.

It has been almost a full first term for President Barack Obama and his actions speak much louder than his suavely spoken words. Under his administration there have been over 200 drone attacks in Pakistan alone. Many also seem to forget that before his popular pulling out of troops in Afghanistan he sent a troop surge of over 30,000. The short lived missile war in Libya is, by definition, interventionism. These are just a few of many examples of how the Obama Administration has continued Bush era style foreign policy. The President may be more accommodating and respectful to foreign leaders but he seems to treat their civilians along the lines of the status quo many of us voted against.
Drone attacks under President Obama are up 4x since
former the Bush administration




Barack Obama may not have started a brand new, decade long war. He may not be openly voicing ignorant comments against foreign leaders. His troop surge numbers may not equal all of the Bush era. But in this situation it still seems to be that the lesser of two evils is still just a little bit too evil. We have and will continue to have our apologists for the President, but opinion aside his actions are screaming at us in the face. It is obvious that one man or woman cannot completely reroute the decades long tirade of the American Empire in single shot, but to at least attempt some change should be the goal of a true supporter of peace. It also seems that many of the people who stood up strongly against Bush Jr. and his foreign policy are quick to write off Obama’s replicated tactics as something he cannot control.
The role of President of the United States of America is supposed to be Commander in Chief. If Obama were to take this role seriously and was actually against the empirical ways of the American military complex he should legislate in that way. These types of tactics could very well lead to political martyrdom but at least he would stand by his principles and be remembered as man who truly deserved the award of Nobel Peace Prize.

To paraphrase an internet blogger…
At least one plus of Mitt Romney winning the election would be that the left will be anti-war again.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

9/11- Should it Matter?

9/11 - Should it Matter?




 By Bryant Clark


Eleven years ago Muslim extremists hijacked four commuter planes each filled with hundreds of civilians. The extremists then intentionally flew the planes—oh wait…yeah.... We know the story.

After hearing it incessantly for the past eleven years, we’re all very familiar with this narrative. Now of course our attentions were driven away from the subject at times; the iPod was released, Britney Spears had a meltdown, a nation fell in love with heiresses Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian. We’ve obsessed over kids on Laguna Beach and Jersey Shore, after a needless controversy, Brokeback Mountain taught us that even good ol’ boys can be gay, and thanks to Dave Chappelle, a whole new generation of white kids now know how to properly use the N-word. But really... honesty, how long did it take YOU to get sick of seeing those towers fall? No one is denying that what happened on 9/11 was an atrocity; any intentional killing of innocent civilians is shocking, horrifying, and infuriating. I am not trying to minimize or trivialize the significance of the death, rather, I am challenging what type of significance that day should have on our historical narrative as a nation.

Bombs decimate the ancient capital of Iraq- Baghdad
The attack on the World Trade Center is incredibly significant. So much has occurred in “the wake of 9/11” that it is inarguable to say that the event was not a driving force behind our country’s changing domestic and international policies. But in my opinion, most all of what has happened because of 9/11 was unnecessary. Somehow 9/11 created some sort of magical, indisputable cause for brash action. We have allowed the terrible few hours on the morning of September 11th as justification for seemingly decades of cutthroat foreign and domestic policies. The media and the government tell us that we need to invade countries, suspend our constitutional rights and kill individual people with smart missiles. The fact that all we’ve done as citizens is sit back on our couches and nodding our heads with nothing but 9/11 in mind has become nothing short of ridiculous.

In order to understand my argument we must look back to the complete narrative:


The story begins before September 11, 2001. To say that the United States built some sky scrapers and then some Muslim extremists decided to destroy them for no other reason than our women wear bikinis and because we elect our own government is nothing short of a juvenile and narrow-minded conclusion. The United States’ actions in decades preceding 911—upholding vicious dictators in the middle east and militarily intervening in non-American conflicts, and creating US military bases in the Muslim holy land—have created a severe anti-American sentiment in many parts of the world. Feeling physically and religiously threatened, one group of extremists, lacking the finances and military might to change the trends of United States interventionism, used terrorist tactics to assault the United States.

Their brutal attack resulted in just fewer than 3,000 civilian deaths. In retaliation, the United States invaded Afghanistan declaring a “war on terror.” The war on terror was expanded when shortly thereafter the United States launched a pre-emptive war in Iraq to put down their weapons of mass destruction capabilities and passed legislative acts which suspended certain rights of its citizens in order to prevent future acts of terrorism. Even today, although “combat troops” have left Iraq, the United States remains very present in most all aspects of their governing. In Afghanistan, the United States continues to attempt to construct a national government where there has never effectively been one in place.

So to straighten the facts, 3,000 Americans died, and to fix the situation we marched 9,000 United States and coalition men and women to their deaths. A handful of nationally independent terrorists from several different countries attacked us, and in turn we punished two countries by toppling their systems of government and killing hundreds of thousands of their people. Then we dictated their new form of government.... and expected to win the hearts and minds of the locals? Certainly this did very little to diminish the anti-intervention feelings the middle east had against the United States. If that weren’t enough, foreigners found holes in our daily operations and securities, so we punished our own citizens by taking away their rights against search and seizure, right to fair and speedy trial, and even the right to protest within a certain radius of any person protected by the secret service. All of this for what? Security? Whose security and security from whom? Sure 9/11 deserved some sort of response but I would hope that if nothing else most of us could agree things have gotten at least a little out of hand.

Troops in Afghanistan
Where was I on September 11, 2001? I was in fifth grade. Now, as a senior in undergrad, I have looked back and seen that the vast majority of my politically conscious life has been spent in a “post 9/11 world.” Now, I realize with dismay that a new generation of children are born knowing nothing but a “post 9/11 world,” a world where people live in endless fear of terrorism. Every young person in high school today has learned current events with nothing but 9/11 in mind. It makes me sick to think that children today are learning about the Bill of Rights in its altered state. The young minds of tomorrow are being taught that the huge asterisks following the fourth, fifth and sixth amendments are for their own protection. And again, we all nod our heads and agree. And the amendments to the amendments seem to be less temporary every day. Why? Because these withdrawals of rights, the preemptive wars, and the trillions of dollars spent on are all in the name of fighting an abstract idea: terrorism, something that will never go away no matter how many dollars or lives we throw toward its defeat. And let’s be serious, the more we blow things up, the faster more of the world becomes anti-American. It seems to me the only thing we’re fighting is violent anti-Americanism. The Neo-cons and at this point the Neo-liberals tell us the best way to combat violent anti-Americanism is through more violence bought with borrowed dollars and by instituting even more restrictions and interventionist policies. I wholeheartedly disagree.

I’m not any kind of 9/11 conspiracy guy but those people raise a very important point: so much has been done in reaction to 9/11 but the event itself, we know very little about. There are questions which have never been answered such as, why was it that President Bush and Vice President Cheney agreed to testify in front of the 9/11 commission, but only under the stipulation that they testified without being under oath and that they would not be asked any questions? Why did NORAD, after a 100% success rating in over 600 aircraft interceptions totally miss four passenger planes on the same day?” These questions, in my opinion, are not radical or complex questions. Yet they are questions that remain unanswered.

Do these answers matter? I think so. Why? Because perhaps our systems of security were in fact competent. They tell us that the country with the most broad and advanced systems of reconnaissance were not good enough. What if enough people just made mistakes to let this happen. Condoleeza Rice sent a memo to President Bush saying there was evidence that Osama Bin Ladin plotted to fly passenger planes into US buildings. Apparently this memo was overlooked and NORAD was never notified of the threat. Obviously 9/11 happened and “what if” history can be misguided but if 9/11 could have been avoided simply by people doing their job correctly, all happening in response to it would be needless.

What is disturbing to me is that this type of thinking is to so many people in this country un-American, un-patriotic or even treasonous. Even now, at least half of you reading this article have, in all likelihood, already dismissed it as anti-American rhetoric. Others may have stopped reading the article all together. Those types of people are part of the problem.

Why is it that asking critical questions about 9/11 is like challenging the Pope to his face or sticking your tongue out at the Queen of England? So if you are not head nodding at CNN you’re a traitor? Being critical of US policy is an inherent part of how our country functions. I say we are long overdue for a critical analysis of the US reactionary politics and foreign policy regarding 9/11. I would hope that for my generation, who never knew the mindless head nodding of the Cold War could come to realize that 9/11 should not have been as significant as it has been. Post 9/11 politics are needless now more than ever. Over 100,000 people have unfairly been killed in drunk driving accidents in the past 11 years and yet there is no push for a mass political reaction in the form of a second prohibition.

Somehow after a bitter war with Japan, after nuking civilian cities killing 200,000 in moments, we were able to reconcile and eventually become allies. From a humanist perspective it sounds harsh but in all these issues, 9/11 included, one fact remains the same: Reaction is necessary but not one which is overzealous. Shit happens. You move on.

They say, “9/11—never forget.” Never forget what? The innocents that died? Maybe. To me, thinking back on 9/11 is about more than that. It’s about remembering how much a few hours can change the world so negatively for decades to come, and how idle head nodding does very few much good. We blow the world up and we act surprised when the world reacts negatively or violently. You know what I say? It’s the chickens coming home to roost. You can’t kick a puppy over and over and expect it not to bite. We are not God’s chosen nation. Stop the head nodding kids, it’s time to wake up from the American Dream.