Attack of the Killer Killer Whales

AK Press releaseIs it right to confine wild animals within concrete walls and train them to serve man’s amusement? Making the argument that some beasts cannot be domesticated, to defend Sea World’s killer orca showing his untamed nature, is to sell mammal brains short. In the wild, Orcas seize and subdue their prey to eat it. They’re called killer whales, not dunk-the-irritating-human-until-she’s-dead-then-play-keepaway-with-the-body whales. In the wild, Orcas don’t have jailers who force them to labor.

Wild animals don’t work for a living and Tilikum is apparently leading an insurgency against animal slave drivers.

Which is not how Sea World tells it. Their experts suggest that Tilikum mistook the trainer’s ponytail for a toy and then likewise her resultant submerged body.

SeaWorld is being incredibly disingenuous when it claims to know only about their killer whale’s criminal record while in their custody. In reality they bought the infamous Tilikum in a fire sale, when a Canadian marine theme park had to close due to pressure from animal rights groups. Public concern began because a trio of orcas were acting up, the result of which was two dead humans. The full story is detailed in an upcoming AK Press publication, Fear of the Animal Planet: The Hidden Story of Animal Resistance by Jason Hribal, the relevant excerpts can be read at Counterspin The Struggle of Nootka and Tilikum and How Orky and Kasatka Almost Sank Sea World. Alexander Cockburn concludes Feed Pete Peterson to the Whales.

Democratic Party awash in corruption scandal

ponziWhat do Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and Bernard Madoff have in common? They are both Democratic Party kingpins, the likes of which Barack Obama climbed his way to White House power with. Bernie Madoff ran a $50 billion ponzi scheme from Wall Street but he also poured money into the Democratic Senatorial Campaign war chest ($100,000 between 2005 and 2008) and made large contributions to important Democrats on the Finance Committees, like Rep Henry Waxman and Senator Charles Schumer.

See “It’s Kristallnacht Two!” An Ethnic Cleansing in America By ALEXANDER COCKBURN for more about Madoff. And keep your eye on Governor Blagojevich’s hair piece, too, since this scandal has hardly but just begun. His defense should be, that selling of favors is actually the standard in our 2 corporate party system of American corruption, not a deviation from it! That’s just the simple truth.

These 2 corruption scandals are just the tip of the iceberg in regards to the overall corruption that Barack Obama’s Administration represents and governs through. Barack Obama has yet to even take over the Presidency, yet he and his party have been cooperating with the Republican Party to give away literally trillions of US government money to be used in bailouts for the profit making of the super rich, more war making for the military industrial complex, and cover-up for the torture regime of Dick Cheney and George W. Bush. These two criminal conspiracies, the Democrats and Republicans, co-govern this country, and it really is hard to distinguish the corruption of one group of these gangsters from the corruption of the other group. They are simply in it together.

Corruption is the element that is collapsing The Empire, and the whole world hopes the collapse comes sooner, instead of later. Meanwhile, at home here in the US, there has been no bailout from this corruption that our country has yet to pay the full price for. One thing is for sure, a Democratic Party awash in corruption itself can play little part in moving things forward for the American people. We are caught between a rock and a hard place. Simple as that. Time to get over our ‘lesser of two evils’ buy in to all this top dog corruption and criminality at the very top. Time for patience is coming to an end.

Nader says that Barack Obama is the worst of Clinton

NaderRalph Nader speaks to Alexander Cockburn about the poor performance of his campaign this year, but fails to mention the main reason that was so. This was Nader’s third and most probably last run for the presidency and what it lacked was any noticeable performance by Ralph Nader in the non election years.

Where was this guy in trying to build any non-electoral Mass Movement, like one that would correctly center itself in building a Movement Against US War and Militarism? He basically was not to be found, and that showed in the results to his election bid.

A movement to replace the American Two Party Dictatorship of Corporate Power cannot be built on the cheap, Ralph. You have to try to built something other than a Campaign Committee or two. Unfortunately, your legacy is that you did not try to do this, unlike Cindy Sheehan, who is perhaps the major American figure that provides an example of somebody who has put effort into trying to build a Mass Movement against the Iraq Occupation by the US.

Still, Ralph Nader has been a major spokesperson against liberals just capitulating entirely to the Democratic Party, and continues to be so. It would be great if he would turn over a new leaf now, and call for a unity grouping with the likes of Cindy Sheehan, Cynthia McKinney and other major independent Left activists to help create a new and national Progressive Movement free of the shackles of corporate run faux liberalism that enslaves the American people inside the Two Party bipartisan shell game. Will you do it, Ralph?

More from Cockburn interview with Nader….

AC: How about the liberals and the left now?

Nader: The real crisis is the self-destruction of the liberal progressive community. It’s got nowhere to go, other than to renew its three out of four year cycle of criticism of the Democrats. They’ve nowhere to go because they’ve made no demands. He’s been a candid right-center Democrat and they’ve given him a free ride. No demands. From Labor? No demands. He gave them a sop on the card check. He campaigned for two years, promised blacks nothing, Latinos nothing, women’s groups nothing, labor nothing. Contrast the lack of demands on the liberal progressive side to what the Limbaugh crowd exacted from McCain.

Full Cockburn post election Hail to the Chief! interview with Nader Check it out!