Welcome to 2006: This Is Your America

Mikaela says:
In today's America, our government sends secret police into other countries to kidnap people, fly them to secret prisons, and torture them before releasing them with no charges (or good information, presumably). Our government does this, condones this, funds this, and demands this. Is this the country we want?

Meanwhile, we won't let gay people promise to love and protect each other under the protection and sanctity of marriage, 'cause that's just wrong.

But... we do need soldiers, so if you're a Neo-Nazi and want a gun and excuse to kill people with brown skin, the Army needs YOU, and the Pentagon welcomes you with open arms. Go freedom.

But America doesn't extend opportunity in all directions. Lest you think our "fair treatment" for Neo-Nazis extends to all, rest assured America does discriminate. if you're a person of color, don't think America will give you a job in a radio newsroom. You're more than half as likely as just 8 years ago to find a job there. Ah, equal justice, indivisible, with liberty for all.



Courtesy Democracy Now:

CIA Kidnap Victim Reveals Ordeal in Afghan Prison
Meanwhile, an apparent victim of a CIA kidnapping has come forward to reveal the story of his abduction and torture. In an interview with the New York Times, the victim, Laid Saidi, says his ordeal began three years ago. In May of 2003, Saidi was expelled from Tanzania and handed to US agents. He was then flown to Afghanistan, where he spent sixteen months in a prison he believes was run by Americans. Saidi says he was left chained for five days without food or clothing. He says his interrogators beat him, doused him with cold water, spat on him, gave him dirty drinking water and told him he would die at the prison. He was eventually released in August 2004 and sent to Algeria. Saidi says he was held in the same prison as Khaled el-Masri, the German citizen who tried to sue the CIA for illegally kidnapping him two and a half years ago. According to the New York Times, two Pakistani detainees held at the same Afghan prison are now being held at Guantanano Bay.

NY, Georgia Courts Reject Gay Marriage
Back in the United States, the highest courts in two states issued rulings Thursday that set back efforts of gay and lesbian couples to win marriage rights. The New York Court of Appeals rejected same-sex couples’ bid to marry and the top court in Georgia upheld a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in the state.

Pentagon Allowing Neo-Nazis, Extremists in Armed Forces
In military news, the Southern Poverty Law Center is warning the Pentagon’s recruiting difficulties have allowed “large numbers of violent neo-Nazis and skinheads extremists” to join the armed forces. The Center says the numbers could reach into the thousands. Pentagon investigator Scott Barfield said graffiti advocating the Aryan Nations has appeared in Baghdad. He said commanders are not taking action even after being notified of the presence of extremists or gang members amidst their ranks. Barfield added: "They don't want to make a big deal again about neo-Nazis in the military because then parents who are already worried about their kids signing up and dying in Iraq are going to be even more reluctant about their kids enlisting if they feel they'll be exposed to gangs and white supremacists."

Study: Radio Newsroom See Decline in Minority Staffers
In media news, a new study shows the percentage of people of color in US radio newsrooms has plunged by nearly two thirds in the last eight years. According to the Radio and Television News Directors Association, under 7 percent of workers in radio newsrooms are people of color, down from 16 percent in 1998.