The decision of Canada’s Federal Court today to stay the deportation order for Corey Glass was the only good news I got. Here’s the rest of it [depression warning]:
Democratic led Congress – with the support of those clones, John McCain and Barack Obama – voted to violate the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution and cover up the surveillance crimes of the George W. Bush administration – a day that will live in infamy
Barack Obama was a complete sell-out on the FISA bill, voting in favour of it as well as for “cloture” which prevented the filibustre he wasn’t intending to undertake in any case; but Obama’s hypocrisy isn’t really news any more
Glenn Greenwald says:
What is most striking is that when the Congress was controlled by the GOP — when the Senate was run by Bill Frist and the House by Denny Hastert — the Bush administration attempted to have a bill passed very similar to the one that just passed today. But they were unable to do so. The administration had to wait until Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats took over Congress before being able to put a corrupt end to the scandal that began when, in December of 2005, the New York Times revealed that the President had been breaking the law for years by spying on Americans without the warrants required by law.
Iran conducted a missile test in response to Israel’s test attack fighter jet flight several weeks ago; and, answering to increasingly hostile rhetoric in the US and UK, Iran promised to retaliate if attacked; in unison, and without substantial disagreement, John McCain and Barack Obama behaved as though the US was under immediate threat of attack and promised to fight back – whah?
The G8 completely failed the world on making carbon cuts that might, just might, save the planet
Barbara Boxer exposed a cover-up orchestrated by Dick Cheney to prevent the EPA from tackling greenhouse emissions
Japan used repressive tactics against protesters at the G8 summit
Barack Obama assured people who are concerned about his shift to the center that the problem is them – they’re just not listening, he says: “I believe in a whole lot of things that make me progressive…” Ahh, I feel so much better
The Royal Court of Justice in UK considered whether or not “the sounds of slapping and thwacking” at a Chelsea sex party hosted by Max Mosley accompanied a Nazi concentration camp motif or was an occasion on which “the use of guttural commands in German, an old Luftwaffe jacket and military-style caps and boots had nothing at all to do with Nazi fantasies”.
The Caucus Blog at NYT proclaimed: “A Trailer Woman Beseeches Obama”
Seven UN-AU peacekeepers were slain in Darfur
The Canadian government knew that child soldier Omar Khadr was being tortured at Guantanamo Bay and did absolutely fuck all about it
In an outburst of road rage, a Toronto man ran a fellow motorist off the road on the Queen Elizabeth Way and killed him
Jon Benet Ramsay’s parents didn’t kill her. Of course, her mother, Patsy, died before she could be told of her innocence
The trouble with this is, I could go on.
UPDATE: The ACLU is going to mount a court challenge to the FISA Bill as soon as the Shrub signs it
UPDATE II: Here’s what PM Stephen Harper had to say about the G8 carbon emission … gee, what are they calling what they did anyway? Never mind, here’s what Harper said:
The argument that we should do more is an interesting argument, but it can’t be made by those who aren’t doing anything, so I think the pressure will be on them to do something,” the prime minister told reporters …
I’m not kidding. Look here
mirabile dictu 