Today is Malala Day: She Speaks at the UN on Education for All
Malala Yousafzai, the girl who fought for education in Pakistan made famous by her diaries on BBC, spoke at the UN today less than a year after she was shot in the head by members of the Taliban. Her voice didn’t waver, it was strong and clear. Today is now Malala Day – it’s her 16th Birthday. [Friendly warning: I’m a grown man and I openly wept for 16 straight minutes while watching this… and am tearing up as I type this blog… you might want to schedule in some time to listen to it and really deal with it….
Jeremy Scahill takes on Obama Talking Points
Friend of the Mudflats, and Nation contributor Jeremy Scahill went on MSNBC’s The Cycle to discuss Obama’s drone program along with his book and film Dirty Wars. Scahill has spent the past several years investigating drones, private militaries, and US war crimes under both the Bush and Obama administrations. Touré (yes, that’s his only name), ever the defender of all things Obama asked him: “I’m curious, Jeremy, as to how you think we should be doing this, If you were the commander-in-chief entrusted with keeping Americans safe, and your legacy is on the line, and all those sort of things, how…
The Gun Cathedral
In light of recent events and the national debate now raging, I thought it timely to share with you a jarring, brilliant and utterly original work of art I encountered at San Francisco’s de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park a couple of years ago. The Spine and Tooth of Santo Guerro, by Al Farrow (b. 1943), is a cathedral constructed entirely of guns and bullets. The work is a striking commentary on the historical relationship between religious intolerance and warfare, in particular the Crusades and their violent conquest of the Holy Land. Farrow believes the world’s major religions to…
Big Oil, Big Ketchup & The Assassination of Hugo Chavez
By Greg Palast for Truthout Venezuelan President Chavez once asked me why the US elite wanted to kill him. My dear Hugo: It’s the oil. And it’s the Koch Brothers – and it’s the ketchup. Reverend Pat Robertson said, “Hugo Chavez thinks we’re trying to assassinate him. I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it.” It was 2005 and Robertson was channeling the frustration of George Bush’s State Department. Despite Bush’s providing intelligence, funds and even a note of congratulations to the crew who kidnapped Chavez (we’ll get there), Hugo remained in office, reelected and…