Author Archives: Thorne Dreyer

Roky Erickson to Houston : Return of ‘Two-Headed Dog’

Roky Erickson. Photo by Stephanie Chernikowski / The Rag Blog / Shout! Factory RecordsRoky Erickson — nee of the 13th Floor Elevators — returns to Houston after 25 years Erickson… is enjoying a fruitful second act that is creatively satisfying … Continue reading

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James Retherford : Who Watches the Watchman? J. Edgar Hoover and COINTELPRO

J. Edgar Hoover and friend.Part IWho Watches the Watchman? COINTELPRO and the Federal Government’sClandestine Attack on the U.S. Constitution By James Retherford / The Rag Blog / June 23, 2009 Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?— Juvenal, Satires, VI, 347 [A version … Continue reading

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How to Rig an Election : See Florida, Ohio and Iran

Good question! Demonstrator at June 17, 2009, Austin rally protesting the Iranian elections. Photo by James Retherford / The Rag Blog.OOPS! We rigged the Iran/Florida-Ohio vote count AGAIN!! The chief difference between Iran 2009 and Ohio 2004 — and Florida … Continue reading

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Deep Packet Inspection : Global Censorship Technology Used in Iran — AND in U.S.

Deep Packet Inspection:Free Press warns of global censorship technology deployed in U.S. DPI technology is America’s sleeping giant. It has been widely deployed by Internet service providers across the country, and could be secretly put to use without our knowledge … Continue reading

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Obama Must Fight for Public Option, Real Health Care Reform

President Obama addresses the American Medical Association, June 15, 2009. Photo by Charles Rex Arbogast / AP. In some way the message must get through to the Senate Democratic leadership that they were elected to represent THE PEOPLE and were … Continue reading

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Roger Baker :
Transportation politics and the Austin road lobby

Part 2: The Austin road lobby: Texas transportation politics, the developers/ and those pesky populist reformers. By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | June 22, 2009 [This is the second part of a series on transportation in Austin. In … Continue reading

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Steve Weissman : U.S. and Iran: Nonviolence 101

Was there meddling in the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine in 2004-2005?Iran: Nonviolence 101 Washington’s promotion of nonviolent resistance in other countries is already casting suspicion on a number of activists and thinkers who, wittingly or not, have allowed themselves … Continue reading

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Tangled Web : Tech and the Struggle in Iran

The War in CyberspaceWeb tangled in Iranian struggle By Martin J Young / June 20, 2009 HUA HIN, Thailand — As Iranians attempt to come to terms with the outcome of their recent presidential elections, battle lines are being drawn … Continue reading

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BOOKS / Jonah Raskin : Eduardo Galeano’s ‘Mirrors’

From Hugo Chavez to Barack Obama and to you, too… Eduardo Galeano’s Mirrors:A reflection on Uruguay’s preeminent author By Jonah Raskin / The Rag Blog / June 21, 2009 He doesn’t have a full beard like Che, doesn’t smoke big … Continue reading

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Permanent War Economy : Militarism and American Society

Congress has passed continuing funding for Afghanistan and Iraq. This view is from a U.S. Marine guard tower near Golestan in Afghanistan’s Farah Province. Photo by David Guttenfelder / AP.How militarism impacts our communities Along with the death and destruction … Continue reading

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Iran and the USA : Who’s Diddling Democracy?

The Persian Service of Voice of America (VOA) is said to have sided with the anti-Ahmadinejad candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. Photo by AP from BBC News.Who’s Diddling Democracy in Iran? Does my reading of the tea leaves prove conclusively that … Continue reading

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Judy Gumbo Albert : My Body. My Story.

Flowers outside the Women’s Health Care Services abortion clinic, scene of the murder of Dr. George Tiller on May 31, 2009, in Wichita, Kansas. Photo by Kelly Glasscock / Reuters.My body, my story: In memory of Dr. George Tiller We … Continue reading

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