Skip to content

Archive

Tag: United States
Shaker Aamer the 44 year old Saudi Arabian citizen and the last British resident still held by the US in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp for 12 years. Aamer has never been charged never received a trial, his lawyer says he is "totally innocent", and has been cleared for release by both the Bush administration in 2007, and the Obama administration in 2009 but still remains in Guantanamo. He has been described as a charismatic leader who spoke up and fought for the rights of fellow prisoners, and some have speculated that this might be a reason for his continued detention. Aamer alleges that he has been subject to torture while in detention. Murtaza Hussain in The Guardian article titled ‘Obama promised to close Guantanamo. Instead, he's made it worse’ states “In his letters, Shaker Aamer appeals in desperation to his captors and the outside world: "Please … torture me in the old way. Here they destroy people mentally and physically without leaving marks." …the father of four …is just one of hundreds of detainees who remain imprisoned... Despite running on an explicit campaign promise to shut down the island prison which has become a symbol of the abuses of the "war on terror", President Obama has continued to preside over its operation. And by recent accounts, under his tenure, the conditions … have become markedly worse. …the majority of prisoners at Guantanamo began a hunger strike in protest of alleged mistreatment at the hands of guards at the facility. …In the words of his lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith: "I have known Shaker for some time; because he is so eloquent and outspoken about the injustices of Guantánamo, he is very definitely viewed as a threat by the US. Not in the sense of being an extremist, but in the sense of being someone who can rather eloquently criticize the nightmare that happened there." For those who have experienced and borne witness to beatings, torture, and even death at Guantánamo Bay over the past decade, Barack Obama has ensured that the prospect of freedom will remain as remote as ever.”  Inspired by Murtaza Hussain, The Guardian ow.ly/j4zQy Image source USA Govt ow.ly/j4zSI Please torture me in the old way (April 9 2013)

 

Shaker Aamer the 44 year old Saudi Arabian citizen and the last British resident still held by the US in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp for 12 years. Aamer has never been charged never received a trial, his lawyer says he is “totally innocent”, and has been cleared for release by both the Bush administration in 2007, and the Obama administration in 2009 but still remains in Guantanamo. He has been described as a charismatic leader who spoke up and fought for the rights of fellow prisoners, and some have speculated that this might be a reason for his continued detention. Aamer alleges that he has been subject to torture while in detention. Murtaza Hussain in The Guardian article titled ‘Obama promised to close Guantanamo. Instead, he’s made it worse’ states “In his letters, Shaker Aamer appeals in desperation to his captors and the outside world: “Please … torture me in the old way. Here they destroy people mentally and physically without leaving marks.” …the father of four …is just one of hundreds of detainees who remain imprisoned… Despite running on an explicit campaign promise to shut down the island prison which has become a symbol of the abuses of the “war on terror”, President Obama has continued to preside over its operation. And by recent accounts, under his tenure, the conditions … have become markedly worse. …the majority of prisoners at Guantanamo began a hunger strike in protest of alleged mistreatment at the hands of guards at the facility. …In the words of his lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith: “I have known Shaker for some time; because he is so eloquent and outspoken about the injustices of Guantánamo, he is very definitely viewed as a threat by the US. Not in the sense of being an extremist, but in the sense of being someone who can rather eloquently criticize the nightmare that happened there.” For those who have experienced and borne witness to beatings, torture, and even death at Guantánamo Bay over the past decade, Barack Obama has ensured that the prospect of freedom will remain as remote as ever.”

 

Inspired by Murtaza Hussain, The Guardian ow.ly/j4zQy Image source USA Govt ow.ly/j4zSI

Antonin Gregory Scalia the 76 year old Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, described as the intellectual anchor of the Court's conservative wing, has been featured in an article by Cliff Schecter published on Aljazeera titled ‘The Republican party's anger mismanagement’. Schecter states “Praise be to Judge Antonin Scalia, for he sees what the rest of us do not. The man for whom nasty, brutish and short is not simply a political formulation, but a mirror image, can look at hundreds of years of slavery, 100 more of legalised segregation and another 50 of daily discrimination and see "racial entitlement" in the basic right to vote in America. I guess it's kind of like the right-wing-clown entitlement enjoyed by our current Supreme Court. Scalia, of course, was a modern Republican (in a robe) before it was even cool. I mean that in the sense that it's clear to anyone taking so much as a gander at what animates the GOP of 2013 - as well as Scalia's immunity to legal reasoning - that it's not any set of policy ideas, but simple emotion: all-consuming, blood-curdling, vein-bulging-out-of-the-forehead, Mel Gibson-watching-Fiddler-On-The-Roof ANGER. Policy-wise, the GOP is an entity that literally lacks any new ideas, has no interest in governing and has rejected all of its own policy positions from as recently as early 2008 as "oh-my-God-we're-all-doomed!" creeping Socialism (see: cap and trade, earned-income tax credit, individual healthcare mandate). Rejecting anything right wingers sneeringly see as created by them-there libruls is the secret handshake of modern conservatism. …Meanwhile, Antonin Scalia seems to size up any crowd he's in and think to himself, what would a Morlock do? And then does it. That the guy's an activist judge of the first order and his legal opinions on guns, campaign finance reform and the Commerce Clause imply he should be banned from operating heavy machinery, that's only a sweetener to the Right.” Inspired by Cliff Schecter , Aljazeera ow.ly/j4wrv Image source USA Govt ow.ly/j4wpv Kind of like the right-wing-clown (April 7 2013)

 

Antonin Gregory Scalia the 76 year old Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, described as the intellectual anchor of the Court’s conservative wing, has been featured in an article by Cliff Schecter published on Aljazeera titled ‘The Republican party’s anger mismanagement’.  Schecter states “Praise be to Judge Antonin Scalia, for he sees what the rest of us do not. The man for whom nasty, brutish and short is not simply a political formulation, but a mirror image, can look at hundreds of years of slavery, 100 more of legalised segregation and another 50 of daily discrimination and see “racial entitlement” in the basic right to vote in America. I guess it’s kind of like the right-wing-clown entitlement enjoyed by our current Supreme Court. Scalia, of course, was a modern Republican (in a robe) before it was even cool. I mean that in the sense that it’s clear to anyone taking so much as a gander at what animates the GOP of 2013 – as well as Scalia’s immunity to legal reasoning – that it’s not any set of policy ideas, but simple emotion: all-consuming, blood-curdling, vein-bulging-out-of-the-forehead, Mel Gibson-watching-Fiddler-On-The-Roof ANGER.  Policy-wise, the GOP is an entity that literally lacks any new ideas, has no interest in governing and has rejected all of its own policy positions from as recently as early 2008 as “oh-my-God-we’re-all-doomed!” creeping Socialism (see: cap and trade, earned-income tax credit, individual healthcare mandate). Rejecting anything right wingers sneeringly see as created by them-there libruls is the secret handshake of modern conservatism. …Meanwhile, Antonin Scalia seems to size up any crowd he’s in and think to himself, what would a Morlock do? And then does it. That the guy’s an activist judge of the first order and his legal opinions on guns, campaign finance reform and the Commerce Clause imply he should be banned from operating heavy machinery, that’s only a sweetener to the Right.”

 

Inspired by Cliff Schecter , Aljazeera ow.ly/j4wrv Image source USA Govt ow.ly/j4wpv

Michael H Posner the 62 year old American lawyer, the current Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) of the United States, is the subject of an article published in the Guardian by Glen Greenwald who states “…accountability for high-level government officials is inconceivable in the US, highlighting its culture of impunity. A US State Department official  "expressed concern" about what he called "a 'climate of impunity' over abuses by police and security forces" - in Egypt. The official, Michael Posner, warned that failure to investigate Egyptian state agents responsible for "cruel treatment of those in their custody" - including torture - creates "a lack of meaningful accountability for these actions". …statements that are so drowning in obvious, glaring irony that the officials uttering them simply must have been mischievously cackling to themselves when they created them," and this American denunciation of Egypt's "climate of impunity" almost certainly goes to the top of the list. After all, Michael Posner works for the very same administration that not only refused to prosecute or even investigate US officials who tortured, kidnapped and illegally eavesdropped, but actively shielded them all from all forms of accountability: criminal, civil or investigative. Indeed, Posner works for the very same State Department that actively impeded efforts by countries whose citizens were subjected to those abuses - such as Spain and Germany - to investigate them. Being lectured by the US State Department about a "culture of impunity" is like being lectured by David Cameron about supporting Arab dictators. …We also see here, yet again, how monumentally important leaks are. Almost everything we know about the conduct of the US government … comes from diplomatic cables published by WikiLeak …For exactly that reason, it is no mystery why the US government is so eager to punish so severely those responsible for leaks generally and these disclosures specifically: precisely because nothing sheds light on their bad acts the way whistleblowing does.”  Inspired by Glen Greenwald, The Guardian ow.ly/i3iwV Image source US Govt ow.ly/i3ite A climate of impunity over abuses (March 16 2013)

 

Michael H Posner the 62 year old American lawyer, the current Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) of the United States, is the subject of an article published in the Guardian by Glen Greenwald who states “…accountability for high-level government officials is inconceivable in the US, highlighting its culture of impunity. A US State Department official  “expressed concern” about what he called “a ‘climate of impunity’ over abuses by police and security forces” – in Egypt. The official, Michael Posner, warned that failure to investigate Egyptian state agents responsible for “cruel treatment of those in their custody” – including torture – creates “a lack of meaningful accountability for these actions”. …statements that are so drowning in obvious, glaring irony that the officials uttering them simply must have been mischievously cackling to themselves when they created them,” and this American denunciation of Egypt’s “climate of impunity” almost certainly goes to the top of the list. After all, Michael Posner works for the very same administration that not only refused to prosecute or even investigate US officials who tortured, kidnapped and illegally eavesdropped, but actively shielded them all from all forms of accountability: criminal, civil or investigative. Indeed, Posner works for the very same State Department that actively impeded efforts by countries whose citizens were subjected to those abuses – such as Spain and Germany – to investigate them. Being lectured by the US State Department about a “culture of impunity” is like being lectured by David Cameron about supporting Arab dictators. …We also see here, yet again, how monumentally important leaks are. Almost everything we know about the conduct of the US government … comes from diplomatic cables published by WikiLeak …For exactly that reason, it is no mystery why the US government is so eager to punish so severely those responsible for leaks generally and these disclosures specifically: precisely because nothing sheds light on their bad acts the way whistleblowing does.”

 

Inspired by Glen Greenwald, The Guardian ow.ly/i3iwV Image source US Govt ow.ly/i3ite

Elisabeth Rosenthal the American medical doctor specializing in epidemic disease, scientific and environmental matters has published an article in the New York Times titled ‘As Biofuel Demand Grows, So Do Guatemala’s Hunger Pangs’. Rosenthal states “In the tiny tortillerias of this city [Guatemala City], people complain ceaselessly about the high price of corn. Just three years ago, one quetzal — about 15 cents — bought eight tortillas; today it buys only four. And eggs have tripled in price because chickens eat corn feed. …Recent laws in the United States and Europe that mandate the increasing use of biofuel in cars have had far-flung ripple effects, economists say, as land once devoted to growing food for humans is now sometimes more profitably used for churning out vehicle fuel. In a globalized world, the expansion of the biofuels industry has contributed to spikes in food prices and a shortage of land for food-based agriculture in poor corners of Asia, Africa and Latin America because the raw material is grown wherever it is cheapest. …With its corn-based diet and proximity to the United States, Central America has long been vulnerable to economic riptides related to the United States’ corn policy. Now that the United States is using 40 percent of its crop to make biofuel, it is not surprising that tortilla prices have doubled in Guatemala, which imports nearly half of its corn. At the same time, Guatemala’s lush land, owned by a handful of families, has proved ideal for producing raw materials for biofuels. Suchitepéquez Province, a major corn-producing region five years ago, is now carpeted with sugar cane and African palm. …Roughly 50 percent of the nation’s children are chronically malnourished, the fourth-highest rate in the world, according to the United Nations.”   Inspired by Elisabeth Rosenthal, New York Times ow.ly/gKkg3 Image source Twitter ow.ly/gKkeF As biofuel demand grows so do hunger pangs (January 17 2013)Elisabeth Rosenthal the American medical doctor specializing in epidemic disease, scientific and environmental matters has published an article in the New York Times titled ‘As Biofuel Demand Grows, So Do Guatemala’s Hunger Pangs’. Rosenthal states “In the tiny tortillerias of this city [Guatemala City], people complain ceaselessly about the high price of corn. Just three years ago, one quetzal — about 15 cents — bought eight tortillas; today it buys only four. And eggs have tripled in price because chickens eat corn feed. …Recent laws in the United States and Europe that mandate the increasing use of biofuel in cars have had far-flung ripple effects, economists say, as land once devoted to growing food for humans is now sometimes more profitably used for churning out vehicle fuel. In a globalized world, the expansion of the biofuels industry has contributed to spikes in food prices and a shortage of land for food-based agriculture in poor corners of Asia, Africa and Latin America because the raw material is grown wherever it is cheapest. …With its corn-based diet and proximity to the United States, Central America has long been vulnerable to economic riptides related to the United States’ corn policy. Now that the United States is using 40 percent of its crop to make biofuel, it is not surprising that tortilla prices have doubled in Guatemala, which imports nearly half of its corn. At the same time, Guatemala’s lush land, owned by a handful of families, has proved ideal for producing raw materials for biofuels. Suchitepéquez Province, a major corn-producing region five years ago, is now carpeted with sugar cane and African palm. …Roughly 50 percent of the nation’s children are chronically malnourished, the fourth-highest rate in the world, according to the United Nations.”

 

Inspired by Elisabeth Rosenthal, New York Times ow.ly/gKkg3 Image source Twitter ow.ly/gKkeF

Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan, known professionally as Piers Morgan, the 47 year old British journalist and television host working in the United States is the subject of a petition to the Obama Administration to deport him back to Great Britain for Attacking 2nd Amendment. In the wake of the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting Morgan criticised American gun laws when interviewing Larry Pratt on his gun control views, calling him a "stupid man" and "a dangerous man espousing dangerous nonsense" after Pratt argued that the best way to combat crime in the USA was to have more guns. The petition at this time has gathered 88,485 signatures, exceeding the 25,000 threshold which requires a response from the White House. Tommy Christopher in a Mediate article titled ‘Anti-Piers Morgan Petitioners Are A National Embarrassment’ states “This is why we can’t have nice things. A little over a year ago, the White House announced an innovative way for Americans to engage with their government by creating online petitions that the White House would have to respond to if enough signatures (25,000) were gathered. One consequence of the “We the People” program, however, is that a relatively small number of Americans now have the ability to shame the entire nation before the world, as is the case with the gun-loving morons… While obvious, it should be noted that Piers Morgan is “attacking” and “targeting” with speech, an activity that, if memory serves, is addressed somewhere in that Amendment-thingy. It might even be somewhere near that 2nd Amendment, I’ll have to check. That First Amendment also protects the right of these 82,000 people to be idiots in public, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us have to be happy about it. What these petitioners have done is tell the world that when Americans don’t like your ideas, they try to get the government to silence you. It’s true that these people represent a mere fraction of a fraction of our population, but the petition amplifies their voices well beyond what they could ever have hoped for.” Inspired by Tommy Christopher ow.ly/gpLjV image source Facebook ow.ly/gpLiT Dangerous man espousing dangerous nonsense (December 31 2012)

Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan, known professionally as Piers Morgan, the 47 year old British journalist and television host working in the United States is the subject of a petition to the Obama Administration to deport him back to Great Britain for Attacking 2nd Amendment. In the wake of the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting Morgan criticised American gun laws when interviewing Larry Pratt on his gun control views, calling him a “stupid man” and “a dangerous man espousing dangerous nonsense” after Pratt argued that the best way to combat crime in the USA was to have more guns. The petition at this time has gathered 88,485 signatures, exceeding the 25,000 threshold which requires a response from the White House. Tommy Christopher in a Mediate article titled ‘Anti-Piers Morgan Petitioners Are A National Embarrassment’ states “This is why we can’t have nice things. A little over a year ago, the White House announced an innovative way for Americans to engage with their government by creating online petitions that the White House would have to respond to if enough signatures (25,000) were gathered. One consequence of the “We the People” program, however, is that a relatively small number of Americans now have the ability to shame the entire nation before the world, as is the case with the gun-loving morons… While obvious, it should be noted that Piers Morgan is “attacking” and “targeting” with speech, an activity that, if memory serves, is addressed somewhere in that Amendment-thingy. It might even be somewhere near that 2nd Amendment, I’ll have to check. That First Amendment also protects the right of these 82,000 people to be idiots in public, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us have to be happy about it. What these petitioners have done is tell the world that when Americans don’t like your ideas, they try to get the government to silence you. It’s true that these people represent a mere fraction of a fraction of our population, but the petition amplifies their voices well beyond what they could ever have hoped for.”

 

Inspired by Tommy Christopher ow.ly/gpLjV image source Facebook ow.ly/gpLiT

Unjust fate of an American terrorist (October 3 2012) Unjust fate of an American terrorist (October 3 2012)

Muhammad Salah the 59 year old Palestinian-born citizen of the United States has been profiled by Charlotte Silver in an article published on Aljazeera titled ‘The unjust fate of an American terrorist’. Silver states “In 1993, Salah was a grocer in the suburbs of Chicago; a husband and father of four children. He was described as soft-spoken and keen on community volunteer work. Today, Salah is the sole person residing in the US who is labelled a “terrorist”. The status, assigned to him in 1995, has rendered his every movement, purchase, transaction and life decision – from the mundane to the substantive – subject to review by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). “He is, essentially, internally banished. He cannot engage with anyone, and no one can engage with him,” said David Cole, an attorney with the Centre for Constitutional Rights… “Internal banishment” is a form of punishment in which the government determines with whom the sentenced is permitted to speak. It gained notoriety by its wide use under South Africa’s apartheid regime. …Salah has never been told why he was placed on the list, never been convicted of anything and he has an eternal sentence of internal banishment under constant surveillance. …Salah filed a lawsuit to lift this surreal siege on his life – a siege so total it has prevented even civil rights organisations from contacting and helping him access his legal rights.  …”All we know, is that in 1995 the Treasury added him to the list. They didn’t give him notice or any reason, and never disclosed anything about why he was added,” said Cole.”

 

Inspired by Aljazeera ow.ly/e07vH image source ibloga ow.ly/e07oa

Dodging the drones: How militants have responded (September 21 2012) Dodging the drones: How militants have responded (September 21 2012)

Aaron Y Zelin the American researcher focusing on Salafi politics, global jihadi activism and reactions to the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa has published an article on Afpak titled ‘Dodging the drones: How militants have responded to the covert US campaign’. Zelin states “Over the past decade U.S. drone strikes have killed between 1,800 and 3,100 people in Pakistan, along with hundreds more in drone attacks in Yemen and Somalia, as a result of the United States’ efforts to combat al-Qaeda and its affiliates. The rise in strikes since the beginning of the Obama administration, and the growing stridency of questions surrounding the legal, moral, and practical efficacy of the program, have led to a lively debate among the commentariat. This debate is indeed important, but it is also crucial to understand how the drone program has affected the jihadis, and how jihadis have deployed the issue of drones in their propaganda. This is a necessary part of gaining a wider understanding of whether the program is a worthwhile endeavor. …In the documents collected by Navy SEALs during their raid of Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan last May, bin Laden nicknamed Pakistan’s tribal areas the “circle of espionage” for the network of spies that helps identify targets and place tracking devices for the strikes. …The fear of infiltrators has created an atmosphere of paranoia within the jihadi movement, and has led many of al-Qaeda’s operatives in the Pakistani tribal areas to move to more urban areas like Karachi. …Bin Laden also suggested that individuals flee to Afghanistan’s Kunar province, where he thought they would be safer from the spy networks that have supported the drone campaign.”

 

Inspired by Afpak http://ow.ly/dEopj image source Washinton Institute ow.ly/dEonO

The Lily-Pad Strategy (July 31 2012) The Lily-Pad Strategy (July 31 2012)

David Vine the American Assistant professor of anthropology and currently completing a book about the more than 1,000 U.S. military bases located outside the United States, has published an article on TomDispatch titled ‘The Lily-Pad Strategy’ on how the Pentagon is quietly transforming its overseas base empire and creating a dangerous new way of war. In the article Vine states “You might think that the U.S. military is in the process of shrinking, rather than expanding, its little noticed but enormous collection of bases abroad. …Washington still easily maintains the largest collection of foreign bases in world history: more than 1,000 military installations outside the 50 states …In total, the U.S. military has some form of troop presence in approximately 150 foreign countries, not to mention 11 aircraft carrier task forces — essentially floating bases — and a significant, and growing, military presence in space. The United States currently spends an estimated $250 billion annually maintaining bases and troops overseas. …Despite the rhetoric of consolidation and closure that went with this plan, in the post-9/11 era the Pentagon has actually been expanding its base infrastructure dramatically …While relying on smaller bases may sound smarter and more cost effective than maintaining huge bases that have often caused anger in places like Okinawa and South Korea, lily pads threaten U.S. and global security in several ways …bases have a way of growing and reproducing uncontrollably. Indeed, bases tend to beget bases, creating “base races” with other nations, heightening military tensions, and discouraging diplomatic solutions to conflicts.”

 

Inspired by TomDispatch ow.ly/cvQXM image source Zocalopublicsquare ow.ly/cvQTe

Pieter Wezeman the 42 year old Dutch Senior researcher with the SIPRI Arms Transfer Programme with expertise in Arms flows and procurements claims the Asian states are the largest of the arms buyers of the world. In an article published on the Press Service News Agency, Thalif Deen following his interview with Wezeman states “China, India and South Korea – three of the most vibrant economies in Asia – are also beefing up their military arsenals with new weapons systems from the United States, Russia, Germany, France and the UK… beating out the traditional frontrunners – the rich, oil-blessed Middle Eastern countries. India was the world’s single largest recipient of arms, accounting for 10 per cent of global arms imports, followed by South Korea (six per cent of arms transfers), Pakistan (five per cent), China (five per cent) and Singapore (four per cent). The five biggest arms suppliers in 2007-2011 were the United States, Russia, Germany, France and the UK. With the exception of Germany, the four other suppliers are veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council. The top five suppliers accounted for 75 per cent of all international arms transfers.”

 

Inspired by Thalif Deen http://ow.ly/a6WSs image source Thella Johnson http://ow.ly/a6Xiy

Richard Anderson Falk the 81 year old US professor of international law and international activist has published an article on Aljazeera stating that “The public discussion in the West addressing Iran’s nuclear programme has mainly relied on threat diplomacy, articulated most clearly by Israeli officials, but enjoying the strong direct and indirect backing of Washington and leading Gulf states. Israel has also been engaging in low intensity warfare against Iran for several years, apparently supported by the United States, that has been inflicting violent deaths on civilians and disrupting political order in Iran… So far, the United States has shown no willingness despite the passage of more than 30 years to accept the outcome of Iran’s popular revolution of 1978-79 that non-violently overthrew the oppressive regime of the Shah… seeks to dissuade Iran from doing what it seems entitled to do… I am afraid that only when and if a yet non-existent Global Occupy Movement is fully mobilised and turns its attention to geopolitics, will the peoples of the Middle East begin to have some reason to hope for a peaceful and promising future for their region.”

 

Inspired by Richard Falk http://ow.ly/8SyKY image source Gravatar http://ow.ly/8SyCl

Lack of leadership by the executive (January 23rd)

Lack of leadership by the executive (January 23rd)

Jonathan Hafetz the US professor of Law and civil libertarian renowned for his volunteer service assisting Guantanamo captives held by the US Justice department at the Naval base, has published an article on Aljazeera marking the 10th anniversary of when the first prisoners arrived at the base. Hafetz states, “While its approach to terrorism has evolved, the United States’ failure to close Guantanamo shows how far it still has to go if it wishes to develop a rights-respecting national security policy… The United States’ failure to close Guantanamo is the result of several factors, including lack of leadership by the executive, opposition by Congress, and acquiescence by the courts. Ultimately, all three branches of government bear responsibility, along with the American people themselves, who continue to tolerate Guantanamo’s existence… Not only does the prison remain open, but the United States is further from closing it now than at any time in the past… Guantanamo remains a place where individuals – all citizens of other countries – are given fewer rights and protections against unlawful imprisonment.”

 

Inspired by Jonathan Hafetz http://ow.ly/8BMDr image source Seton Hall http://ow.ly/8BMJj

 

Jennifer Robinson the Australian lawyer instructing the international barrister Geoffrey Robertson for Julian Assange against his extradition proceedings to Sweden and possibly the United States has suggested she had been intimidated by the US Justice Administration and put under surveillance. Robinson described as a high achiever believes Assange has no hope of receiving a fair trial in Sweden with the politically motivated prosecution being brought to satisfy the wrath of the US government. Robinson singles out the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard for complicity in the persecution of Assange over her statement that leaking US documents on WikiLeaks was an ‘illegal act’, but could not identify any Australian laws that Assange had breached. Robinson accused her of kowtowing to the US for political opportunity. Inspired by Nicole Hasham ow.ly/4Q9Yg image source arcticcompass ow.ly/4QatV It was political opportunity at work (May 17 2011)

Jennifer Robinson the Australian lawyer instructing the international barrister Geoffrey Robertson for Julian Assange against his extradition proceedings to Sweden and possibly the United States has suggested she had been intimidated by the US Justice Administration and put under surveillance. Robinson described as a high achiever believes Assange has no hope of receiving a fair trial in Sweden with the politically motivated prosecution being brought to satisfy the wrath of the US government. Robinson singles out the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard for complicity in the persecution of Assange over her statement that leaking US documents on WikiLeaks was an ‘illegal act’, but could not identify any Australian laws that Assange had breached. Robinson accused her of kowtowing to the US for political opportunity.

 

Inspired by Nicole Hasham ow.ly/4Q9Yg image source arcticcompass ow.ly/4QatV

James Earl “Jimmy” Carter the 86 year old former President of the United States and Nobel Peace recipient having a formidable history since his presidency with international diplomacy, has arrived in Havana to discuss US-Cuba relations following the imprisonment of a US contractor Alan Gross who had been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for improving the internet access to the island’s community, seen by the Cuban authorities as an act aimed at overthrowing the government. While there has not been formal diplomatic relations between the two countries for the past 50 years, Carter’s presidential term oversaw a softening of tensions, and his presence on this occasion is seen as an opportunity to improve relations that have since strained further. Inspired by Jennifer Epstein ow.ly/4qbIJ image source Wikipedia ow.ly/4qbCw Internet aimed at overthrowing the government (April 1 2011)

James Earl “Jimmy” Carter the 86 year old former President of the United States and Nobel Peace recipient having a formidable history since his presidency with international diplomacy, has arrived in Havana to discuss US-Cuba relations following the imprisonment of a US contractor Alan Gross who had been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for improving the internet access to the island’s community, seen by the Cuban authorities as an act aimed at overthrowing the government. While there has not been formal diplomatic relations between the two countries for the past 50 years, Carter’s presidential term oversaw a softening of tensions, and his presence on this occasion is seen as an opportunity to improve relations that have since strained further.

 

Inspired by Jennifer Epstein ow.ly/4qbIJ image source Wikipedia ow.ly/4qbCw

David Sean Ferriero the 65 year old American librarian and the 10th Archivist of the United States Fame comes to men in many strange ways (February 1 2011)

David Sean Ferriero the 65 year old American librarian and the 10th Archivist of the United States has revealed that Thomas Lowry an amateur historian had confessed to altering the date on an original pardon signed by President Abraham Lincoln to make it look as if the pardon was one of the president’s final acts just prior to his assassination. Lowry is alleged to have changed the dates from 1864 to 1865 in order to promote his book after finding many unpublished Lincoln documents in the National Archives. The pardon related to the sparing of a mentally incompetent Army private from the death penalty for desertion. Ferriero indicated that the statute of limitations had lapsed preventing criminally prosecution, however Lowry will be barred from National Archives facilities.

 

Inspired by Sam Roberts at NYTimes ow.ly/3N7yl image source Wikipedia ow.ly/3N7x6

Eugene Delgaudio a bizarre homophobe Republican Loudoun County lawmaker and the president of the conservative nonprofit Public Advocate of the United States, claims the (TSA) Transportation Security Administration’s new airport security pat downs are part of a wide scale homosexual agenda given that the TSA does not discriminate in its hiring policy, “That means the next TSA official that gives you an enhanced pat-down could be a practicing homosexual secretly getting pleasure from your submission”. He claims the homosexual agenda in the USA Congress that promotes same-sex marriages will lead to “men hand-in-hand skipping down to adoption centers to ‘pick out’ a little boy for themselves.”

Political Arts | Ian Bunn Visual Artist

My digital art work is essentially politics and art. It’s about iconic people, places and events of our day.  Recorded visually through daily compilations of manipulated digital images, posted online and disseminated via online media and social networks. The works are diaristic in nature that metaphorically record a spectator’s experience of the contemporary digital age.  The resulting work intentionally has a painterly aesthetic acknowledging my historical painting practice.

Adapting Pop Art’s notion of mass media imagery into a context of the contemporary digital age, the work draws on a myriad points of reference. Utilizing fractured images to provide an allusion to the digital noise pounding away daily into our sub consciousness.  The work is essentially popular culture arts, diverging from the traditional Pop Art notion of a pronounced repetition of a consumer icon, instead this work focuses on the deluge of contemporary digital content. The compilation of the fragmented imagery is vividly distractive, not unlike cable surfing or a jaunt through Times Square.

This digital photo manipulation art work is premised on the basis that Pop art in its beginnings, freeze-framed what consumers of popular culture experienced into iconic visual abstractions. With the advent of the techno age, visual information circulates in such quantities, so rapidly and exponentially, that to comprehend a fraction of it all becomes a kind of production process in itself.  Hence this work considers fragmented elements of Popular Culture through an artistic and conceptual exploration of specific people and events of the day.

www.ianbunn.com

Rss Feed Tweeter button Facebook button Technorati button Reddit button Myspace button Linkedin button Delicious button Digg button Flickr button Stumbleupon button Newsvine button Youtube button