Fox Just Made It Personal

I saw the Fox news obit of Kurt Vonnegut over at Crooks&Liars. It is a hateful hit piece.
They lie about the number of dead in Dresden (25,000 as opposed to the 100,000 plus), they laugh at Kurt’s suicide attempt, yep, real nice motherfuckers. They call him rich and irrelevant playing the old -if you’re such a lefty how come you’re not poor? Kurt shared his money, adopted his sister's children when she died and freely gave away his skills to struggling artists who asked for help. They reduce his work to ‘left wing screeds’ and show nothing of his criticisms of the Bush crime family instead calling his work 'despondent leftism', clearly being unable to understand humanism and empathy. An utter piece of lying bitter Nazi garbage, by James Rosen and John Podhertz.
Motherfuckers.

I used to just ignore the idiocy of Fox news, but now Fox, I wish you ill.

Well Duh!

Visiting politicians refused permission to speak at a forum on democracy? In Singapore, then they say it is like an authoritarian state. Eejits, Singapore is an authoritarian sate:-

Singapore uses the death penalty extensively and has, according to Amnesty International, the world's highest execution rate relative to population size. The government has contested Amnesty's assertion that this constitutes violation of human rights. Caning, in addition to imprisonment, remains a routine punishment for numerous offenses. Internment has been used to deal with espionage, terrorism, organized crime, and narcotics. Citizens’ privacy rights occasionally have been infringed, and the government has restricted freedom of speech and freedom of the press and has limited other civil and political rights. Censorship of sexual, political and racially or religiously sensitive content is extensive.
Singapore does not offer a civilian service alternative to two-year compulsory military service. Four conscientious objectors, all members of the banned religious group Jehovah's Witnesses, were imprisoned in 2004-

-Although some restrictions on indoor political meetings were lifted, strict government controls on civil society organizations and the press continued to curb freedom of expression and were an obstacle to the independent monitoring of human rights.-

It has been for a long time but because it is authoritarianism in service of the free market it is politely not remarked upon which may explain why these MEP's were so surprised. After all it's all shiny, is a big player in the global financial markets and you can have lovely holidays there!:-

Singapore has been accused of acting like an "authoritarian state" after refusing to allow European Parliament members to speak during a visit.
The seven MEPs, as well as a Cambodian and a Philippines congresswoman, were denied permission to speak at a forum on democracy in Europe and Asia.
One MEP likened the Singaporeans' to repressive regimes such as North Korea.

The Singapore government said foreigners did not have permission to address the event.
The seven MEPs, from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), came to Singapore after earlier speaking at a forum in Indonesia.

"I fear that, in this sense at least, it puts Singapore in a league with North Korea, Myanmar and the People's Republic of China," MEP Graham Watson was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
"What has happened today proves that Singapore is an authoritarian state," said Ignasi Guardans, a Spanish MEP.

The MEPs had been invited to speak by the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) led by Chee Soon Juan, opponents of the People's Action Party which has ruled the island state since 1959.
"Singapore's politics are reserved for Singaporeans. As visitors to our country, foreigners should not abuse their privilege by interfering in our domestic politics," Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.-

Mugabe Opponent Beaten At Airport

Not content with having one opponent beaten, Mugabe has now set upon having another opposition MP beaten. Nelson Chamisa was beaten at Harare airport, on his way to fly to Brussels. From The Guardian:

Mr Chamisa, 28, spoke to the Guardian from hospital where he was awaiting surgery late yesterday. Doctors said he may lose an eye from the assault, which took place in front of frightened travellers.

"Just as I was about to enter the door of the departure area, eight men jumped me and began hitting me with iron bars. I just fell to the ground," said Mr Chamisa. "Nobody is safe in Zimbabwe. There is no security, no rule of law. I am praying for my country."

Pearson Mangofa, an opposition MP who drove Mr Chamisa to the airport, said his assailants shoved away passengers who tried to help him. The men grabbed Mr Chamisa's passport, bags and laptop computer before speeding off in two cars, one without a licence plate.

Seven of them wore suits while one wore an army vest. Mr Mangofa said the attack bore the hallmarks of Zimbabwe's domestic spy agency, the Central Intelligence Organisation.

Thankfully, there are signs of change. Morgan Tsvangirai claimed that:

"Things are bad, but I think that this crisis has reached a tipping point and we could see the beginning of the end of this dictatorship."

Let's hope so. For the sake of those suffering under state repression.

The Fascists Are Up In Arms

You know you are doing something right when the defenders of the establishment are up in arms. And, boy, are they up in arms right now. Who would have thought that a song would cause the loony brigade to bust a blood vessel? I always find it amusing to read the comments of those on the right that are opposed to state control and state infringement on our personal lives, sticking up for the state when it imprisons people at will. The rest of us, however, tend to be more sceptical about how governments behave. Guess we're are not as naive as to trust everything the state tells us.