Saturday Links for the Week: September 15, 2007

This week’s important news is, alas, all sad, annoying, grim or scary.

Anglo-American Bloc Only Opponents to UN Statement on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights: Showing their true imperialist colours, only the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand voted against the UN’s statement this week affirming the rights of indigenous peoples to self-determination and control over their lands and resources. Shameful, but then it would be a mistake to label this as racism. It’s really all about money, and the ‘right’ of thieves to keep what they have stolen.

India, China and Russia Win ‘Prize’ for Most Toxic Cities on Earth: Six of the ten most polluted cities are in these three countries, which are rapidly choking to death on their own poisoned air and sewage.

Olympics Athletes Likely to Use Steroid Inhalers – ‘Legally’: As Malcolm Gladwell has reported, the Olympics are already a sham — dominated by countries that have the wherewithal to develop performance-enhancing drugs that can’t yet be detected, and to bribe judges and anyone who might blow the whistle. The freakshow will be even worse when the event is held next year, for strictly political reasons, in that nation of endless atrocities, China. According to a CBC radio report (not yet online) athletes in the US have discovered that they can get advance exemptions from the prohibition on using bronchial dilating and steroid inhalers, since nearly half of them can argue that they have asthma. The puffer drugs will give them a huge competitive advantage in the toxic soup that is Beijing’s air, so look for huge numbers of US medals, and records to fall, next year. Then look for more drug-addled athletes to die young from the abuses their sports push them to. Please, don’t go to China to see the Olympics.

Greenspan Admits Iraq War Was About Access to Oil: “I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: The Iraq war is largely about oil.”, he writes in his new memoir. And also: “‘Deficits don’t matter,’ to my chagrin, became part of Republicans’ rhetoric.” He goes on to warn that current debt levels threaten the US and global economies. Too late. Save us from the deathbed confessions of perpetrators of economically ruinous policy.

George Carlin on Why We Have No Choice: “It’s Called the American Dream Because You Have To Be Asleep to Believe It“, he says. Always entertaining, and brutally honest, but (vintage Carlin) short on suggestions for making it better. Thanks to Jon Husband for the link.

Most Interesting Conspiracy Theory of the Year: What makes these theories fascinating is that the lack of credible contrary information, and the presence of conflicting information, makes them plausible. Here’s how this one goes: Last week’s ‘error’ of sending loaded nukes between two US military airbases was not an error, because security protocols are such that this couldn’t happen in ‘error’. And, one of the nukes is now missing and unaccounted for. And, several airmen from one of the bases have recently ‘committed suicide’ or otherwise dies of mysterious circumstances. The theory is that CheneyBush was either planning an attack inside the US to blame on Iran, or planning to use the nukes on Iran. If you have lots of time, it makes an interesting tale. The UK Telegraph, speaking of plans for cross-border raids into Iran as a deliberate provocation, and the UK Guardian both give it some additional credibility. Thanks to Dale Asberry for the link.

Hope next week is better.

Thought for the week, from the late Anita Roddick, whose extraordinary entrepreneurial business The Body Shop became a model, then lost its way (when it ceased to innovate) and then lost its heart (when it went public and was sold):