I have been thinking about the concept of perpetual war. What are some of the consequences of the perpetual war economy? George Orwell's classic novel, 1984, speaks directly to that question. I urge you to read it, or to remember it if you have already...

The following is something that I wrote up a while ago, after seeing the Actor's Gang performance of "1984" at the Washington Center for Performing Arts:

An adaptation of Orwell's 1984 for stage, it was a great performance.

I heard some great segments (as usual) on today's Democracy Now! program. I wanted to draw particular attention to this one, because there is some choice testimony.

“We Are Not Terrorists”: Activists with the RNC Welcoming Committee Speak Out Against Police Crackdown & Terrorism Charges

Ramsey County prosecutors formally charged eight members of the RNC Welcoming Committee with conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism. On Thursday, other members of the anarchist group held their first press conference. One local activist accused the police of beating and torturing him in jail. [includes rush transcript]

WILLIAM GILLIS:... I want to see a world of anarchy without domination, without thugs, without warlords, without tyrants and without politicians. And as an American, I believe in actively resisting those who would rule us all.

The brutality and the lies of the state this week are not a surprise, but they are still deplorable. Police kicked down doors with guns drawn on families with their children at dinnertime. Reporters and the media at large have been repeatedly target for repression. Activists have been abducted off the street in unmarked vans and political prisoners held without access to medical attention.

The state has never really bothered with ethical justifications for its violence. But now we see that the agents of the law don’t even bother with internal consistency, ignoring the few rights they have pledged not to violate. Sheriff Bob Fletcher has unleashed a degree of repression that should embarrass and anger us all.

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SOA Watch is an independent organization that seeks to close the US Army School of the Americas, under whatever name it is called, through vigils and fasts, demonstrations and nonviolent protest, as well as media and legislative work.

On November 16, 1989, six Jesuit priests, their co-worker and her teenage daughter were massacred in El Salvador. A U.S. Congressional Task Force reported that those responsible were trained at the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA) at Ft. Benning, Georgia.

In 1990 SOA Watch began in a tiny apartment outside the main gate of Ft. Benning. While starting with a small group, SOA Watch quickly drew upon the knowledge and experience of many in the U.S. who had worked with the people of Latin America in the 1970's and 80's.

Report May Have Motivated Destruction of Torture Tapes
By Jason Leopold
t r u t h o u t | Report

Thursday 03 January 2008

When Congress returns from its winter break in mid-January and continues its probe into the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes, the lawmakers may be interested in speaking to Mary O. McCarthy.

McCarthy spent most of her career at the spy agency, most recently as deputy inspector general. In 2004, she was tapped by the CIA's Inspector General John Helgerson to assist him with several internal investigations.

One of those investigations included a closer look at the CIA's interrogation methods. The report on this probe was completed in spring 2004. It concluded that some of the agency's approved interrogation methods "appeared to constitute cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, as defined by the International Convention Against Torture," according to a New York Times story published in November 2005. That was the same month the CIA destroyed the videotapes.
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