Thorne Webb Dreyer, Editor
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Author Archives: Thorne Dreyer
Prisons : Why Texas Still Holds ‘Em
Forget oil and gold. In the Lone Star state, the boomtown business is locking up immigrants.By Stephanie Mencimer This article appears in the July/August issue of Mother Jones. In 1997, with the private prison business booming, the Corrections Corporation of … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Detention, Hutto Prison, Immigration, Incarceration, Prisons, Private Prisons, Texas
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Sucking Up to the Bankers : A Bipartisan Lovefest
“The Bankers” by Art Young.They’re the ones who got us into this messBy Robert Scheer / July 30, 2008 This is a time to condemn the bankers, not to embrace them. They are the scoundrels who got us into the … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Banking, Democratic Party, Depression, Economy, Investments, Presidential Campaign, Republican Party
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Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers : They’re B-a-a-a-a-ck!
Updated July 31, 200840th Anniversary ‘Freak Brothers Omnibus’: complete works plus previously unpublished materialBy Steve Bunche This August, the U.K. comics publisher, Knockabout Comics will answer the prayers of classic underground comics aficionados with the publication of a massive 40th … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Austin, Comix, Counterculture, Freak Brothers, Gilbert Shelton, Sixties, Texas
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Drawn and Quartered
R.J. Matson / The New York Observer and Roll Call.The Rag Blog / Posted July 30, 2008
Strained by War, U.S. Army Promotes Unqualified Soldiers
U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Sarah De Boise.A shortage of skilled sergeants has led to dubious promotions for inexperienced soldiers — even jeopardizing some operations in Iraq. By Bill Sasser / July 30, 2008 America’s military commitment in Iraq and … Continue reading
MUSIC : Toby Keith’s Ode to Lynching
‘Hang them high in the street / For all the people to see’By Max Blumenthal / July 29, 2008 Despite his background as a comedian, Stephen Colbert is known by many of the authors who have appeared on his show … Continue reading
Pvt. LaVena Johnson ‘Committed Suicide’ and ‘Was Not Brutally Raped and Murdered’
Pvt. LaVena Johnson.Another cover-up in a war full of cover-ups and liesby Meg White / July 29, 2008 They don’t care. They put on a uniform and they say honor and integrity and they have no morals, no honor and … Continue reading
Bigots (Mambo #1)
Graffiti from Barcelona, Spain. “Los cerdos?” “The Pigs.” Photo by Duncan Cumming.‘I think he saw a dark woman, a human darkness, and that’s all he needed to see’By Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez A few days ago I went with a friend … Continue reading
Texas Beach Study Finds Increase In Fecal Contamination
Galveston beach: everyone in!‘Texans should not be swimming in human and animal waste’By Jay Root / July 29, 2008 AUSTIN — A day after state officials declared water quality on the rise at Texas beaches, an environmental group reported today … Continue reading
Amnesty International : China Using Olympics As ‘Pretext’ For Crackdown
A Chinese paramilitary policeman tries to block photos being taken outside the Olympic Stadium. Photo by AFP.Repression of ‘human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers has intensified’ July 29, 2008 HONG KONG – China is using the Beijing Olympics as a … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Amnesty International, China, Civil Liberties, Human Rights, Olympics, Sport
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BOOKS : Justice, Texas Style
Read About It While You CanBy Craig Malisow / July 28, 2008 Authorities in Smith County (Tyler) might not be happy to learn that Smith County Justice, a book alleging systemic corruption and unusually harsh sentences in the county — … Continue reading
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Tagged Books, Corruption, Criminal Justice, Official Repression, Texas
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Guantanamo : Two Trials in One
Boots of Military Police at Camp Delta, a Long-Term DetentionCenter at Guantanamo.Salim Hamdan trial also test of military tribunal systemBy Willian Glaberson / July 29, 2008 GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba — On the surface, the proceedings unfolding inside a makeshift courthouse … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Civil Liberties, Criminal Justice, Guantanamo, Human Rights, Iraq Occupation, Iraq War, Military Tribunals, Torture
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