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Wednesday, December 17, 2003

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Jebby's Jails for Jesus

There's always some good dirt over at the Daily Outrage, guaranteed to get you hopping mad. The latest from the Florida prison system:

The President's brother, Jeb Bush, made a surprise announcement: He's going to turn an 800-inmate Florida jail into a Christian-faith-only rehabilitation center. Inmates who don't want to play will be moved to a new jail; no doubt that will go over well with the guards at the new facility when the inmates who chose to reject Christianity are bussed in. Those who stay and who meet requirements will take "religion-based classes in everything from parenting and character building to job training," says Florida's prison chief.

There are a few hiccups with this plan. One is that it is "a clearly unconstitutional scheme," as the Reverend Barry Lynn observes. Says Lynn, who is executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State: "A state can no more create a faith- based prison than it could set up faith-based public schools or faith- based police departments."

So that's a problem. Another is that, wishful thinking aside, Christian prison rehab programs have not been proven terribly effective -- although studies have shown the faith- based approach to spending tax dollars can be terribly expensive.

Update: That's Florida, not California...sorry about that!

posted by Jenny at 1:45 AM |

*gasp* Compassion for Saddam! For an institution that's reputed to have its stake in the burgeoning one-world government, the Vatican surely has said some strange things in recent months...

VATICAN CITY - A top Vatican official said Tuesday he felt pity and compassion for Saddam Hussein and criticized the U.S. military for showing video footage of him being treated "like a cow."

Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Vatican's Justice and Peace department and a former papal envoy to the United Nations, told a news conference it would be "illusory" to think the arrest of the former Iraqi president would heal all the damage caused by a war which the Holy See opposed.

"I felt pity to see this man destroyed, (the military) looking at his teeth as if he were a cow. They could have spared us these pictures," he said.

"Seeing him like this, a man in his tragedy, despite all the heavy blame he bears, I had a sense of compassion for him," he said in answer to questions about Saddam's arrest.

Martino was referring to the videotape released by the U.S. military which showed a grubby, bearded and disheveled Saddam receiving a medical examination by a military doctor after his capture in an underground hole Saturday.

Martino was one of the Vatican officials most strongly opposed to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

"It's true that we should be happy that this (arrest) has come about because it is the watershed that was necessary... we hope that this will not have worse and other serious consequences," Martino said.

"But it is not the total solution to the problems of the Middle East," he said.

posted by Jenny at 1:41 AM |

Something else to consider in the "scary as hell" category: neuromarketing.

posted by Jenny at 1:36 AM |

...in the grove of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freest among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff.

--Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

Feel free to email me at JennyDC-at-AOLdotCom, but if I don't know you and you don't say otherwise, I assume that what you send is open to be quoted at this blog. :-)

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Wednesday, December 17, 2003

Jebby's Jails for Jesus

There's always some good dirt over at the Daily Outrage, guaranteed to get you hopping mad. The latest from the Florida prison system:

The President's brother, Jeb Bush, made a surprise announcement: He's going to turn an 800-inmate Florida jail into a Christian-faith-only rehabilitation center. Inmates who don't want to play will be moved to a new jail; no doubt that will go over well with the guards at the new facility when the inmates who chose to reject Christianity are bussed in. Those who stay and who meet requirements will take "religion-based classes in everything from parenting and character building to job training," says Florida's prison chief.

There are a few hiccups with this plan. One is that it is "a clearly unconstitutional scheme," as the Reverend Barry Lynn observes. Says Lynn, who is executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State: "A state can no more create a faith- based prison than it could set up faith-based public schools or faith- based police departments."

So that's a problem. Another is that, wishful thinking aside, Christian prison rehab programs have not been proven terribly effective -- although studies have shown the faith- based approach to spending tax dollars can be terribly expensive.

Update: That's Florida, not California...sorry about that!
posted by Jenny at 1:45 AM |

*gasp* Compassion for Saddam! For an institution that's reputed to have its stake in the burgeoning one-world government, the Vatican surely has said some strange things in recent months...

VATICAN CITY - A top Vatican official said Tuesday he felt pity and compassion for Saddam Hussein and criticized the U.S. military for showing video footage of him being treated "like a cow."

Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Vatican's Justice and Peace department and a former papal envoy to the United Nations, told a news conference it would be "illusory" to think the arrest of the former Iraqi president would heal all the damage caused by a war which the Holy See opposed.

"I felt pity to see this man destroyed, (the military) looking at his teeth as if he were a cow. They could have spared us these pictures," he said.

"Seeing him like this, a man in his tragedy, despite all the heavy blame he bears, I had a sense of compassion for him," he said in answer to questions about Saddam's arrest.

Martino was referring to the videotape released by the U.S. military which showed a grubby, bearded and disheveled Saddam receiving a medical examination by a military doctor after his capture in an underground hole Saturday.

Martino was one of the Vatican officials most strongly opposed to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

"It's true that we should be happy that this (arrest) has come about because it is the watershed that was necessary... we hope that this will not have worse and other serious consequences," Martino said.

"But it is not the total solution to the problems of the Middle East," he said.
posted by Jenny at 1:41 AM |

Something else to consider in the "scary as hell" category: neuromarketing.
posted by Jenny at 1:36 AM |

Sunday, December 14, 2003

Anybody out there that hasn't heard yet?

America's chief administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer walked to the rostrum of a Baghdad press conference and uttered the words: "Ladies and Gentlemen, We Got Him!" There were cheers from the assembled press corps. Bremer described it as "A great day for Iraq."

Saddam Hussein was found hiding in a "spider hole" in the cellar of a rural farmhouse near the Western Iraqi town of Ad Awr 15 miles south of Tikrit, by 600 troops from the U.S. 14th Infantry Division. Operation Red Dawn struck at 8.30 p.m. local time catching Saddam and his entourage almost unawares. No shots were fired.

There were more whoops and gasps when a video was shown of Saddam being given a brief medical examination. Iraqis in the room screamed insults at the screen and punched the air in triumph. Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, commander of coalition ground forces in Iraq, told the conference that Saddam was cooperating with coalition forces. Two unidentified "close allies" of Saddam were also arrested and weapons and more than $750,000 cash were confiscated.

...

Hussein's capture Saturday was confirmed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He said it "removes the shadow" hanging over Iraq.

An announcement by the Iraqi ruling council of the capture led to open celebrations on the nation's streets with cheering Iraqis firing guns into the air.

The article continues, however:

...violence continued in Iraq today with as many as 18 dead and 30 wounded after a suicide bombing at an Iraqi police station in Khalidiyah, about 35 miles west of Baghdad.

So, who out there really thinks that Saddam's capture is going to curb terrorism in the region? Anyone? Anyone at all?
posted by Jenny at 8:56 AM |

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Anybody out there that hasn't heard yet?

America's chief administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer walked to the rostrum of a Baghdad press conference and uttered the words: "Ladies and Gentlemen, We Got Him!" There were cheers from the assembled press corps. Bremer described it as "A great day for Iraq."

Saddam Hussein was found hiding in a "spider hole" in the cellar of a rural farmhouse near the Western Iraqi town of Ad Awr 15 miles south of Tikrit, by 600 troops from the U.S. 14th Infantry Division. Operation Red Dawn struck at 8.30 p.m. local time catching Saddam and his entourage almost unawares. No shots were fired.

There were more whoops and gasps when a video was shown of Saddam being given a brief medical examination. Iraqis in the room screamed insults at the screen and punched the air in triumph. Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, commander of coalition ground forces in Iraq, told the conference that Saddam was cooperating with coalition forces. Two unidentified "close allies" of Saddam were also arrested and weapons and more than $750,000 cash were confiscated.

...

Hussein's capture Saturday was confirmed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He said it "removes the shadow" hanging over Iraq.

An announcement by the Iraqi ruling council of the capture led to open celebrations on the nation's streets with cheering Iraqis firing guns into the air.

The article continues, however:

...violence continued in Iraq today with as many as 18 dead and 30 wounded after a suicide bombing at an Iraqi police station in Khalidiyah, about 35 miles west of Baghdad.

So, who out there really thinks that Saddam's capture is going to curb terrorism in the region? Anyone? Anyone at all?

posted by Jenny at 8:56 AM |

Blogs...
The Lefty Directory
The Agonist Alas, a Blog Arms and the Man Back in Iraq 2.0 The Bitter Shack of
Resentment BlogLeft Body & Soul Corrente Counterspin Central The Daily Outrage Daniel Drezner Deborama Eschaton Kieran Healy Late Night Thoughts Long story; short pier Lying Media Bastards Magpie Matthew Yglesias Nathan Newman Oligopoly Watch Open Source Politics Pen-Elayne The RANT The ReachM High Cowboy Network Noose RuminateThis Rush Limbaughtomy Serenity The Seth Bulletin shock & awe Skippy the Bush Kangaroo South Knox Bubba Stoutdem TalkLeft Ted Barlow Tom Tomorrow veiled4allah Vegan Blog Wampum Where is Raed? wil wheaton

"Progressive" Media Adbusters AlterNet* BuzzFlash CommonDreams* CSPAN Cursor.org* Democracy Now! GNN MediaChannel.org MotherJones The Nation National Public Radio Truthout Utne The Village Voice Working for Change* ZNet

Global Presses Al-Ahram Weekly Al-Jazeera BBC World Desk The Economist Environment News Service* Financial Times The Guardian* Ha'aretz The Independent Inter Press Service* London Times Le Monde diplomatique Pravda Reuters Spiegel Tageszeitung World Desk @ cd World Press Review

Politics & Activism Congress.org DNC News U.S. House Floor Environmental Media Service Environmental Scorecard Find Your Elected Official Green Party* PollingReport.com RNC News THOMAS Today in Congress U.S. Bombing Watch* U.S. State Dept. News United States Senate U.S. Supreme Court White House News WorkingforChange* Texans For Peace Human Rights Watch FOR Center for Public Integrity openDemocracy MoveOn.org* Opensecrets.org Protest.net Amnesty International UN News Centre UN Treaty Collection
Consumer Awareness... Transnationale.org Behind the Label animalconcerns.org Corp Watch GetVegan Multinationals? MediaChannel.org Take Back the Media Sweatshop Watch Stop Gap Sweatshops! 10 To Never Buy Again Whole Foods Hurts Animals Stop ExxonMobil Boycott Shell Boycott Proctor & Gamble McSpotlight Fast Food Nation Prozac Spotlight Pharmaceuticals IMF/World Bank

Culture Stuff The Atlantic Online BlogCritics christian + feminist ctheory The Frankfurt School Mark Harden's Artchive National Geographic The New Yorker NY Review of Books PBS Religion & Ethics Pop & Politics Salon

People to Read Carol Adams Noam Chomsky Umberto Eco Barbara Ehrenreich Michel Foucault M.K. Gandhi Henry Giroux Donna Haraway Bob Harris Thom Hartmann bell hooks Arianna Huffington Molly Ivins Sut Jhally Douglas Kellner Naomi Klein George Monbiot Michael Moore Ralph Nader Greg Palast John Pilger Arundhati Roy Edward Said Howard Zinn More