Dictatorship

Canadian prime minister Harper gets the Hitler/Untergang remix treatment — Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper avoided being kicked out by the elected representatives of the majority of Canadians -- he asked the Governor General to let him shut down Parliament for two months. So it was inevitable that someone would violate Godwin's law and post a Stephen Harper/Hitler remix of "Downfall (Der Untergang)" -- the infamous, infinitely remixable clip that's been used to parody every subject under the sun. The Harper Dictatorship (via Mighty God King Previously: Canadian Conservative Party pledge to reintroduce the DMCA if ... Parliamentary democracy's source code - Boing Boing "Der Untergang" clip used as... [Tags: boing boing, burning man, canadian conservative party, canadian prime minister, canadians]

No Way. No How. No Brennan: Ctd. — A reader writes:   While I agree with you that Brennan would be an awful choice at CIA, for both substantive and symbolic ("branding") reasons, I do see one significant ray of light appearing from this "Dark Side" guy:  He wants to have a real debate on these issues: "It's a tough ethical question, and it's a question that really needs to be aired more publicly. The issue of the reported domestic spying -- these are very healthy debates that need to take place. They can't be stifled, because I think that we as a country and a society have... [Tags: brennan, cia, ctd, debates, democracy]

Mark Lawson: Gaunty, you were right — It seems fairly unlikely that Jon Gaunt reads the Guardian. And, if he does, I would worry about the effect on the rightwing shock jock's blood pressure of the words he will read now. His sacking from TalkSport this week was a wrong and deeply worrying act, and it makes me think Gaunt may have been right in one of the favourite riffs of his Sun column and radio show: that Britain has gone barmy and is becoming a dictatorship of liberal opinion.The systolic readings of Gaunty, as he likes to be called, may be even more at risk from... [Tags: absences, acceptable behaviour, british national party, broadcaster, commentator]

Philip Slater: Realpolitik vs. Reality — Obama's election provides an opportunity to reconsider the utility of realpolitik, the guiding principle of American foreign policy for the past sixty years. Realpolitik is supposed to be 'practical', but one can't escape the feeling that it would be better termed dummheitpolitik, since it has been the major cause of almost every foreign policy problem we face in the world today. Building up Osama bin Laden to harass the Russians in Afghanistan comes to mind, not to mention building up Saddam Hussein to fight Iran. And of course there's Iran--possibly the most democratic nation in the Muslim world before we... [Tags: american corporations, american foreign policy, democratic nation, dictatorship, drawers]

GOP Rep: Obama May Not Be Hitler, But He Is A Socialist — Rep. Paul Broun, the Georgia Republican who warned of a coming Obama dictatorship, is now (sort of) sorry. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports: Georgia Congressman Paul Broun Tuesday backed away from comparing the policies of President-elect Obama to those of Hitler or a Marxist dictator. After stirring a controversy that was grabbing national attention, the Republican lawmaker from Athens apologized for making such references. "I regret putting it that way," Broun told WGAC radio in Augusta. "I apologize to anyone who has taken offense at that." ... "The point I tried to make is that he is extremely liberal, he... [Tags: athens, atlanta journal constitution, congressman paul, congressman paul broun, controversy]

GOP Rep. fears 'Obama dictatorship' — GOP Rep. fears 'Obama dictatorship'... [Tags: dictatorship, gop]

Georgia Rep. Broun Warns of Obama Dictatorship — Republican Rep. Paul Broun, Ga., says he worries about the "philosophy of radical socialism or Marxism" that Barack Obama may bring to the White House. ... [Tags: barack obama, dictatorship, marxism, paul broun, philosophy]

Breakfast Links: Pillow Fight, Monk Fight & Maldives — Monday Art is for fun! Pillow fighting is a tradition as old as time itself. Maybe less, but perhaps as long as there’ve been soft pillows, people have waged tireless war with them. A designer, Chenhui Su, has taken this game of kings to a new level. She’s stopped the charade that it has anything to do with comfort while sleeping and added in a grip for you to hold and added a bevy of plush spikes on the damaging end of the pillow. See? Now that is what I’m talking about. It’s just a concept pillow right now, a... [Tags: amp, bevy, charade, democracy, dictatorship]

Loving Big Government — Ramesh Ponnuru:...a lot of the debate about the Republican future has been dominated by people who believe that Bush took the party off track by embracing big government—that had he not busted the budget and otherwise departed from the conservative path, the party would be in better shape. It seems to me that it is these folks who have failed to grapple with important elements of our political situation: 1) the circumstances that led Bush, along with many other conservatives—including Steve Forbes, the most free-market contender in 2000—to abandon the idea of a direct assault on big government; and 2)... [Tags: adherence, anglo american, circumstances, conservatism, conservative path]

Jane Smiley: Take That — I have to admit that from time to time during the Bush years, I have watched my fellow Americans support all kinds of cruelty and insanity, from the bombing of Baghdad and Fallujah to the ignoring of Hurricane Katrina to the torturing of taxi drivers in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo to the gutting of all meaningful action on global warming, and I have thrown up my hands and said, "So, take what you deserve and like it! Sow the wind if you want, reap the whirlwind, and welcome." From time to time I have lost not only hope but care... [Tags: abu ghraib, bombing of baghdad, dictatorship, dictatorships, election day]

Are You Ready For Tobey Maguire's Robotech? [Robotech] — With the Transformers franchise roaring ahead, the time could finally be right for a Robotech movie. The only question is, will Tobey Maguire and Akiva Goldsman stick to the original storyline, about a crashed alien spaceship unifying the whole planet into a military quasi-dictatorship? We could soon find out, since producer Chuck Roven wants shooting to begin next year. Roven talked to IESB about Robotech, and mentioned that there's no script yet. Maguire is producing, but may or may not star. (Most likely, he'll be too busy with the next two Spider-Man films.) Goldsman (I Am Legend, I, Robot, Batman... [Tags: akiva, alien invasion, alien spaceship, attackers, batman and robin]

Iraq Shiite party wants amendments in US-Iraq pact — BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's ruling Shiite alliance said Sunday that parts of the draft security agreement that would keep U.S. troops here for three more years needs more discussion and amendments before it can be approved. The statement by the United Iraqi Alliance did not spell out which parts of the deal it wanted changed. It said some portions were positive but others need more time "for discussion, dialogue and to amend some of its articles." The agreement provides for all U.S. troops to leave the country by the end of 2011 and would give Iraq limited authority... [Tags: amendments, british troops in iraq, cleric, dawa party, defense secretary]

Obama-McCain race - a Serbian parallel lesson? — For some reason, my (rare) posts in which I make direct comparisons between Serbia and the USA (usually about politics) tend to become wildly popular (as in: spreading like wildfire on digg, redditt, stumbleupon, etc.). See, for example: Bush is Milosevic, Comparative Wingnuttery, Darwin in Serbia, More about me, The Warriors, Never Again!, Sixteen years ago today, We are now officially living in a dictatorship and When religion goes berserk! for examples of my typically inflamatory prose on the topic ;-) Let me take a stab at another one, connected to the current US election. I'll try to keep it... [Tags: bloody wars, boris tadic, dictatorship, economic hardship, goons]

Victims of Spanish civil war to be exhumed — A crusading judge said he would investigate the disappearance of tens of thousands of Spaniards during the civil war, in the country's first official inquiry into one of the darkest chapters of its history. Baltasar Garzon ordered the exhumations of 19 mass graves dating from the 1936-39 conflict and Francisco Franco's subsequent dictatorship, including that of the country's best loved poet, Federico Garcia Lorca.... [Tags: conflict, dictatorship, disappearance, exhumations, federico garcia lorca]

Spain: Judge to probe Franco era — Spain's leading judge agreed on Thursday to investigate the disappearances of tens thousands of people during the 1936-39 civil war and the ensuing Franco dictatorship, many of whom are believed to be buried in mass graves...... [Tags: civil war, dictatorship, disappearances, franco, mass graves]

Alaskan Independence Party sponsored By Iran — The Jed report comments on the Salon article about the Alaskan Independence Party, which Todd Palin joined and Sarah Palin supports: David Talbot reports on what would have been the crowning achievement of Alaskan Independence Party founder Joe Vogler had he not been first killed in a plastic explosives deal gone bad: Vogler's greatest moment of glory was to be his 1993 appearance before the United Nations to denounce United States "tyranny" before the entire world and to demand Alaska's freedom. The Alaska secessionist had persuaded the government of Iran to sponsor his anti-American harangue. That's right ... Iran.... [Tags: aip, alaskan independence party, american hostages, david talbot, dictatorship]

Facebook announces that they have just integrated Microsoft Live Search into Facebook. Undoubtedly to generate some cash revenues next to the advertisement business they are in. Am I the only one that finds that they get scarier every day. Facebook not only builds walls that ensure it’s nearly impossible to get out of, but now they also track and trace me while I am searching the web? With Google at least the search results are anonymous and adding to some greater good and benefit of the user while leading to revenues for Google. With Facebook I am not anonymous while... [Tags: advertisement, benefit, big brother, business model, citizens]