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Category Archives: RagBlog
Afghanistan : Escalation or Social Justice?
Image from AfterDowningStreet.Obama’s escalation in AfghanistanFaces immediate opposition By Harvey Wasserman / The Rag Blog / December 1, 2009 Tonight at 8 p.m. EST President Barack Obama is set to announce his commitment to the worst blunder in U.S. policy … Continue reading
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Tagged Afghanistan, Harvey Wasserman, Obama Foreign Policy, Peace Movement, Political Protest, Social Action
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Tiger Woods : It’s How You Play the Game
Photo from Reuters.Slave labor and toxic dumping:Tiger Woods and his corporate partners This is business as usual for Woods who would sooner swallow a five-iron than take anything resembling a political stand. By Dave Zirin / December 1, 2009 During … Continue reading
Rebecca Solnit : Reflections on Fanaticism
John Brown depicted in detail from a mural by John Steuart Curray titled “Tragic Prelude,” in the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka.Today’s fanatic, tomorrow’s saint It’s popular to think that the world gets changed by nice people, but the lives … Continue reading
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Tagged American History, Climate Change, Extremism, Globalization, Philosophy, Religious Fanaticism, Slavery, Social Activism
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Cannabis Commerce : Wasted Potential
Graphic from sloshspot. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE Put that in your pipe and smoke it Love it or hate it, people smoke marijuana — lots of it. In some states marijuana consumption and possession have been decriminalized, and even … Continue reading
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Tagged Cannabis, Chamber of Commerce, Drugs, Economy, Marijuana, Medical Marijuana
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R.I.P. Bill Narum : Legendary Artist of the Texas Counterculture
Below, cover of Space City!, June 1, 1971. Illustration and design by Bill Narum. Bill Narum was a dear friend of The Rag Blog and my personal friend and colleague for more than four decades. He was art director at … Continue reading
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Tagged Art, Artists, Austin, Counterculture, Deaths, Graphic Design, Houston, People, Psychedelic Rock, Sixties, Space City, Texas, Underground Culture, Underground Press, Underground Radio
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Crazy for God : Frank Schaeffer on the Rachel Maddow Show
[There was a remarkable segment on last night’s Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC (Nov. 17, 2009). Former evangelical leader Frank Schaeffer described for Maddow and her audience some genuinely frightening activity that is occurring on the fringes of the religious … Continue reading
A Morally Bankrupt Military : Spc. Alexis Hutchinson and Pvt. Paul Rich
Army Spc. Alexis Hutchinson. Below, Alexis with son Kamani Hutchinson. Photos from Oakland Tribune.U.S. Army:Infant to protective services, mom to Afghanistan By Dahr Jamail / November 16, 2009 See ‘Morally bankrupt military: When soldiers and their families become expendable,’ by … Continue reading
Hot Oil! Narco Pirates Smuggle Mexican Petrol into Texas
Hot oil? Petroleum “pipa” with the mark of the Zetas, the infamous drug cartel branching out into petro-piracy. Photo from NarcoGuerra Times.HOT OIL! Union crooks, drug cartels and U.S. corporations are stealing billions of bucks of Mexican petroleum. By John … Continue reading
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Tagged Corporate Corruption, Houston, Mexico, Oil Companies, Organized Crime, Texas
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By Betty Dubose Hamilton / The Rag Blog / November 16, 2009 With the following list, Dr. Robert P. Watson of Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, graded Barack Obama on his first six months in office. I think the … Continue reading
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Cannabis Café : Getting High in Portland
Portland’s Cannabis Cafe opened on Friday the 13th of November, 2009. Photo from The Portland Mercury.Dutch-style pot shop:Cannabis Café is medical marijuana salon …the cafe comes almost a month after the Obama administration told federal attorneys not to prosecute patients … Continue reading
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Tagged Cannabis, Drug Law Reform, Justice Department, Marijuana, Medical Marijuana, NORML, Obama Administration, Oregon, Portland
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Bitter Tears : The Untold Story of Johnny Cash
Top, Cash’s album, “Bitter Tears,” met with opposition from the music industry. Below, Pima Indian Ira Hayes, celebrated by Johnny Cash, helped raise the flag at Iwo Jima, an act caught in the famous photograph by Joe Rosenthal. Hayes died … Continue reading
Career Tips : Pollyanna’s Postmodern Pointers
Photo from madebytess / Flickr. Employment trends for a post-widget world By Pollyanna O’Possum / The Rag Blog / December 1, 2009 AUSTIN, Texas — Let’s face it, friends: the U.S. of A. is not going back to making widgets … Continue reading →