Authoritarian Totalitarianism via the Leviathan National Security State

A must-read article from former NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake in The Guardian newspaper. Anyone who voted for Obama (or, before that, George W. Bush) should no longer be under any illusions as to whether the US remains a constitutional democracy.

Countervailing point of view

Not content with scrapping the impartiality of the media, the Murdoch empire is taking on the English langauge:

Kelvin MacKenzie, the former editor of the Sun, also on the seminar panel, said he should be able to host a debate about immigration or Britain pulling out of Europe without having to present a countervailing point of view.

If Kelvin wants to have a debate with just one point of view, isn't it unfair for those petty bureaucrats at the OED to tell him that he can't?

via

Worth Remembering

As Memorial Day weekend comes to a close in the States, here's someone whose words are both timely and truly worthy of consideration.

Is This Man The World's Jolliest Bond Villain...

... or is he just happy to be speaking to the blondie reporter from CNBC? Whichever it is, his forecasts for things to come seem to belie his cheerful manner:

Dreams For Sale

A good, if grim, documentary on the impact of the economic crisis and real estate bubble on one US community:

Part 1 here.

Part 2 here.

Part 3 here.

Quick! Somebody call Alex Cox!

There's a great cult film in this somewhere. Or possibly a horrible global tragedy. Take your pick.

An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Tom Ricks has come up with that rare thing: a proposal that has something for everyone across the US political spectrum.

A Concise Analysis If Ever There Was One

Bipartisanship Is Just Another Word For The Rich Ganging Up Against The Rest of Us

Joseph Palermo in the Huffington Post tells it like it is.

Hedge Fund Republic

The wealth disparities to be found between rich and poor in Latin America's banana republics no longer have anything on the extreme inequality to be found in the United States, according to this disturbing article by Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times. Wake up, America!