-FUPPETS- THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Leaks Don't Come Out of the Sky

"Is the WikiLeaks disclosure of Pentagon and State Department internal
documents dangerous, by reducing U.S. military and diplomatic effectiveness? Or
good, by pulling down the veil of secrecy around government? Obviously there are
arguments on both sides. Here's what struck me. Last week this New York Times page-one story reported the Obama administration "plans to further step up attacks on al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents in the tribal areas of Pakistan."
Maybe that's a good idea; maybe it's not. But as an item of information, the Times story is far more explosive than anything in WikiLeaks disclosures so far, most of which contain trivia and statements of the obvious. The Times story tells al-Qaeda and Taliban factions in tribal Pakistan that raids and air strikes will increase. The story is a warning of something about to happen, rather than a retrospective on prior events. And the story is sourced to unnamed "administration officials." That is
-- the information was leaked by the White House or Pentagon.
Perhaps the purpose of the leak was to make the president sound tough at a time when his poll numbers are fluttering. Perhaps the purpose was to make the U.S. military sound powerful at a time when a $725 billion Pentagon budget request was awaiting approval in Congress. The purpose cannot have been to help American soldiers and air crew in the field. Their chances would be best if U.S. forces struck al-Qaeda and Taliban targets without warning, with nothing said by the White House or Pentagon until after the operation was over.
I don't question the Times' decision to run the story. What I question is White House and Defense Department officials denouncing Julian Assange when he publishes leaks that embarrass the powerful -- then merrily using leaks themselves when they think the powerful will benefit. If revealing government information is, on its face, an offense, White House and Pentagon officials who leak to reporters should be chased across the world and prosecuted just as vigorously as Assange.
Maybe the WikiLeaks idea is indeed wrong. But compared to White House and Pentagon officials who leak to the press when it suits them, isn't Assange -- who uses his name rather than hide behind anonymity -- the honest one? "

Gregg Easterbrook

-FUPPETS- ENEMY # 1

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claims the promotion and teaching of the artform is not compatible with country's sacred regime.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said today that music is "not compatible" with the values of the Islamic republic, and should not be practised or taught in the country.
In some of the most extreme comments by a senior regime figure since the 1979 revolution, Khamenei said: "Although music is halal, promoting and teaching it is not compatible with the highest values of the sacred regime of the Islamic Republic."
Iran has rarely given permission to concerts, as it fears that the opposition might use it as an opportunity to express itself, said Mohammad Reza Shajarian, Iran's most prolific and popular classical vocalist.
"They are afraid of my concerts because of those moments before the concert is begun, when the whole hall is in silence and darkness when someone suddenly shouts 'death to dictator' and everybody accompanies and they are unable to identify that person," Shajarian said.

Music is freedom. Music is the universal language. Music fosters revolution and free thought and ideas and it makes the mind reel with so much to be gained from it. The study of music alone, as a child growing up, enhances life in untold ways that only recently have we begun to enumerate.

-FUPPETS- loves music.

President's Day, -FUPPETS- Style

The United States Government loves to cheat it's citizenry out of holidays. Big Business lobbies for the erasure of as many holidays as possible, thereby allowing them to rarely have to pay people for not working. This is the story of President's Day, one of the most bullshit holidays ever concocted by the idiots in Washington.
There was once two holidays, very close together. On February the 12th, President Abraham Lincoln's birthday was celebrated . On the 22nd of February, the birthday of our first President and the father of our Republic, George Washington, was celebrated throughout the land with a mandatory day off for all workers in the USA. This was only fitting, as the two greatest leaders of our nation deserved a day of remembrance for all that they did to create, maintain, and support our country's very existence.
George Washington was the General for the rebel army that defeated the British and helped create a new nation. He was unanimously chosen to serve as our first President, and re-elected, after which he decided not to seek office again, for fear of tyranny, and stepped down, setting a precedent which was written into law decades later. Abraham Lincoln was the President at a time when our young nation was being torn asunder and through his genius and diplomacy, led the fight to keep our nation whole and not allow the disintegration of it's constituent states. His Emancipation Proclamation was a truly worldwide phenomenon, and was read and praised in many far away countries, for it spoke of the true equality of man, of the true horror and denigration that exists when one man is allowed to outright own another, and it shook the very foundation of our country. His assassination stands as one of the most heart-rending events in the history of the U.S.A.
If any two leaders deserve to be honored, and to have their very existence praised and remembered, it is these two gentlemen. Washington's birthday was originally designated a federal holiday in 1880. It was the very first holiday to honor an American citizen. Because of big business, in the late 60's/early 70's an Act was passed called the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. These assholes had figured out that Monday's are the slowest business day, and that it would behoove the big business fucks to bribe the government into declaring a law that mandated all federal holidays be moved the the Monday closest to the original holiday date, thereby removing pretty much every bit of historical significance and tradition built up until that moment. FUCKING ASSHOLES. That is why days like Columbus day and President's Day and Labor day all fall on Monday's. They could not do jack shit about Thanksgiving however. It probably pissed them off no end, until they realized they could market the Friday after Thanksgiving as THE BIGGEST SHOPPING DAY OF THE YEAR (trademarked by some fucking rich fuck asshole). Ha Ha. For real though. Lincoln's birthday was never a federal holiday, but many states observed a holiday on that day. In the early 80's advertisers made a push to get Washington's Birthday renamed as President's Day, and a dozen state governments have caved and renamed this holiday as President's Day.
While it is worthwhile to honor our past presidents, many of them sucked major ass and deserve little if no praise at all. Most kids learn about President's Day but it means nothing for it is vague and smells like the self-congratulations of old rich farts.
-FUPPETS-, on this "president's day", would like to remember and honor our two greatest Presidents, two men who by their words and deeds helped create and shape the nation we live in today, for it seems that our Nation has slipped away from the values it once stood for, government for the people and by the people, and is now a full on host to the parasite of big corporate business, whose only concern is the bottom line, the almighty money. Those fuckers will spend a good amount of money to advertise how much they care about their customers and their people and the human beings in the world but do not believe any of it. It is a fucking smokescreen and it works. The government does not exist to make our economy better, or to support our big business interests, although that has been the focus ever since Reagan got into office, with the Democratic President's right in step with that bullshit. President's Washington and Lincoln would have ripped these bastards a new one.

-FUPPETS- says TAKE BACK PRESIDENT'S DAY!

The Internet Works At Supa-Fast Speeds

Yes... Yes it does. Here is an animated .gif that perfectly describes the last 8 years of the United States Presidency.

Preznit Dubya Fucks Regular People Hard For His Rich "Friends"

The near total failure from our near-retard, ex-coke-head, alcoholic Preznit Dubya continues. That fucker, after the Senate approved the 700 BILLION dollar bail out of financial companies, and after they included language limiting the ridiculously over-inflated pay and bonuses of these greed-head fuckosthat are out to destroy our economy while stealing as much of the money for themselves and their fat-cat friends, has, with ONE SENTENCE, completely gutted the restrictions.
This fucking moron, this goddamned rich silver spoon blue-blood third cousin to ex-Prime Minister Blair, has decided to add a loophole, as always. The following excerpt is from the AP News story by AMIT R. PALEY. I will BOLD the most pertinent info.

...at the last minute, the Bush administration insisted on a one-sentence change to the provision, congressional aides said. The change stipulated that the penalty would apply only to firms that received bailout funds by selling troubled assets to the government in an auction, which was the way the Treasury Department had said it planned to use the money.
Now, however, the small change looks more like a giant loophole, according to lawmakers and legal experts. In a reversal, the Bush administration has not used auctions for any of the $335 billion committed so far from the rescue package, nor does it plan to use them in the future. Lawmakers and legal experts say the change has effectively repealed the only enforcement mechanism in the law dealing with lavish pay for top executives.
"The flimsy executive-compensation restrictions in the original bill are now all but gone," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee.

You read that shit? Not only were the executive compensation restrictions "flimsy" to begin with (There was not any stated method in the bill by which the bonus and pay of these corporation's executives could be monitored), but even that has been cut out. so nearly 1/3 of as BILLION dollars has been committed to be given to corrupt financial companies, but now we are guaranteed that some of that tax money (OUR money) will go to feed the ridiculously over-inflated bonuses and salaries of the very same people that are driving their businesses, and with them our entire economy, into the biggest shit sewer in a century. This is fucking horrible.
The Treasury is a fucking ten dollar syphilitic whore sucking on the President's shrivelled old alkie-cock, and no one seems to give a flying FUCK.

Maybe we should all step into the rankest dog shit we can find and hurl our shoes at the Preznit, that fucking whore.

-FUPPETS- FOR READERS IV

The transfer of information from the pixelated screen before your eyes into the optic nerve which feeds your brain is as fickle as your digestive system, for what is inserted/exposed is directly responsible for what results, and these dark symbols upon white fields can be considered "tasty eatin' for the ole noggin."

A Short Column About Music 11.06.08: Sonic Youth - EVOL (Andrew Moll - 411Mania.com)

Man's Best Friend Forever: Cloning Dogs For Fun & Profit (Greg Beato - Reason.com)

Agony & Ecstasy: The Art World Explained (Barry Schwabsky - TheNation.com)

Minerals Evolved Along With Life (Sid Perkins - ScienceNews.org)

The First Soundbites: The presidential campaign, 1908-style. Hear early phonograph recordings. (Ron Cowen - ScienceNews.org)

-FUPPETS-

ELECTION 2008

-FUPPETS- supports total involvement in the political system for everyone. It is the only way to go. Tomorrow there is a general election in the U.S.A. and it will determine not only the next President, but many governors, senators, representatives, local council members, school boards, law propositions, etc. Even if you are fed up with the national campaigns, the local campaigns are the ones that will actually affect your day to day standard of living much more.

If you want to know where your polling place is, click here. ( http://www.vote411.org/pollingplacebystate.php )

If you would like information regarding the many candidates and issues on your specific ballot, click here. ( http://www.smartvoter.org/ )

For a guide to the Presidential Election, detailing all the candidates positions on various issues, click here. ( http://www.lwv.org/AM/Template.cfm?Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=12078 )

Take part in your government, for it is only as strong as those that choose to pay attention.

-FUPPETS- Video of The Day

Today we bring you a video of -FUPPETS- hero, David Letterman, discussing his snub by Senator John McCain.

-FUPPETS-

The Republicans "Love" Freedom

When the Olympics were assigned to Beijing, the totalitarian government of China proceeded to do everything in their power to scrub Beijing clean. They enforced a mandatory "no car" zone throughout Beijing for months, trying to curb the rampant air pollution. They demanded that several large factories and production plants be moved further away from Beijing, also to try and curtail the massive Smog issue. The Chinese government sent out it's military through it's own city, forcibly removing the thousands of homeless and very poor, razing their homes and shanties, to better create a false image of prosperity and peace. They effectively banned protests by requiring that protesters file with a government office for a permit to protest, which, if given, would have entitled the protesters to standing a specifically designated "protest area" far far away from the media and athletes attending the Olympics. Of 77 applications, none were granted permission, of course.
The twin cities, home of the Republican National Convention, and firmly in the good ol' "Free" United States Of America, seem to have followed the exact same plan as China, supposedly to ensure a peaceful convention, but actually to create a sense of "IMPORTANCE" and "DANGER" to the proceedings by which John McCain will be formally announced as the GOP's candidate for President of the United States. The quote below is from Glenn Greenwald, "previously a constitutional law and civil rights litigator in New York. (and currently) the author of two New York Times Bestselling books: "How Would a Patriot Act?" (May, 2006), a critique of the Bush administration's use of executive power, and "A Tragic Legacy" (June, 2007), which examines the Bush legacy."

Following up on this weekend's extreme raids on various homes, at least
250 people were arrested here today in St. Paul, Minnesota. Beginning last
night, St. Paul was the most militarized I have ever seen an American city be,
even more so than Manhattan in the week of 9/11 -- with troops of federal, state and local law enforcement agents marching around with riot gear, machine guns,
and tear gas canisters, shouting military chants and marching in military
formations. Humvees and law enforcement officers with rifles were posted on
various buildings and balconies. Numerous protesters and observers were tear
gassed and injured.

One of the more than 250 people arrested was Amy Goodman, a reporter for DEMOCRACY NOW for over 20 years, and a stalwart defender of personal civil liberties. She was arrested on the street and charged with "conspiracy to riot."
Here is the audio of her arrest.

Here is the fucking video of Amy Goodman's arrest.

Here is San Francisco Chronicle's Joe Garofoli interviewing Amy Goodman as she was released from jail, regarding the events that took place.
It sure is nice to live in a police state is it not? What the fuck is happening here?