Posted by Doug
Fri, 09 Sep 2005 15:35:25 GMT
Unbeknownst to US news agencies, “enemy combatants” in Guantanamo are on a hunger strike—for the last month. Granted, I’m not much of a news freak. My buddy, Britton Fraley, is always pestering me that I should do more to catch up. So, I’ve subscribed to the BBC RSS Feed.
That’s where I learned about the hunger strike.
A lawyer said the inmates were prepared to strike until they got a fair hearing and humane treatment or died.
Forsaking my good Republican upbringing, I think the situation in Guantanamo is getting out of hand. The reason I’m posting about this though is that it appears the US news media isn’t reporting the hunger strike. A Google News search for ‘hunger strike guantanamo’ doesn’t show any hits from a national US news agency. It appears a few (two in NYC, the Boston Globe, and a brief mention in Amarillo, TX) local US news agencies have reported it as have a handful of special interest groups.
Is Guantanamo considered “not news” by CNN? I thought they were the liberal bunch. What about the New York Times? I can understand why Fox is quiet about it. I’m just really surprised this hasn’t been reported more.
I guess this is one reason why I don’t really follow mainstream news: it’s hard to know who’s a good source of information. I suppose what I’m supposed to do is follow them all and draw my own conclusions about what the “real news” is. I just don’t have time for that though.
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Posted in War, Politics | 2 comments
Posted by Doug
Sat, 23 Jul 2005 22:11:38 GMT
I watched 30 Days: Minimum Wage tonight. That’s the best reality show I’ve seen on TV. Totally unscripted. Real people living real lives dealing with a real problem.
The premise of the whole series is to spend 30 days doing something you don’t normally do. In this episode, the show’s creator and his fiance live for 30 days on minimum wage. It really opened my eyes and my heart went out to them and other “working poor”.
If you get a chance, you should watch this show. Probably one of the better shows I’ve seen in a long time.
Posted in TV, Politics | no comments
Posted by Doug
Wed, 13 Apr 2005 16:27:00 GMT
Police “stealing” people’s identity for a girl to work undercover as a stripper. I just can’t figure out what it is about
this story that offends me the most. Is it:
- that police paid a Criminal Justice student $100 a night over three months to strip?
- that police spent three months in a strip club watching her strip while looking for liquor violations?
- the nonchalant and somewhat confused quote from an officer that says the girl seemed ashamed of what she was doing?
- that the police ultimately charged the girl with crimes involving the sting operation?
- that the County Prosector Gary Nasal excuses the whole thing because, “the result speaks for itself”? (As if the ends justifies the means?)
- or maybe that police twice used someone else’s identity as part of their operation;
- once taking a living person’s driver’s license and giving it to the girl to use as her name while stripping.
- once taking a dead person’s ID to register for a web site where they could further monitor the stripping on-line.
- or could it be that an Ohio anti-identity-theft law gives law enforcement permission to use a person’s identity in the course of an investigation?
This whole thing just stinks. Paying a college student intern to perform sexual acts that she “seemed ashamed of” borders on sexual harassment. Giving her the driver’s license of another, totally innocent girl to use as her undercover ID is just stupid. I’d think that would open the police up to liability for defamation of character. Hats off to the police in Troy, OH.
Why haven’t I heard anything about law enforcement’s ability to steal identities? Who’s can they steal? Only ohio residents? Can they use George Bush’s ID? Who ever thought this was needed much less a good idea?
But wait! There’s more! Here’s how you can get a gig making $100/night (plus tips I’m sure) as a stripper! The advertisement I’m looking at on the linked page above is for “Earn your
CRIMINAL JUSTICE DEGREE online today… from the real-world experience of our professors.” In the context of this article that just sounds like a pimp trying to recruit more girls.
Posted in Politics | no comments
