Standing up for the little guy against the big rich obnoxious guy: that’s the mission of blogs, don’t you think? Or, at least it should be.
Three satirical, American-based websites — which have been written about before on VanRamblings — have taken on this ‘class warfare’ task as their raison d’être. The creative forces behind the sites are a self-described collection of misfits, sitting in their underwear in front of their computers, publishing snarky, and timely, commentary — and to date have proved wildly successful in their mission.
Gawker, Wonkette and, the newest West Coast member of the gossip family, Defamer obsessively catalogue the superficial (whether it be about politicians or movie stars); get the scoop on, and take to task, poncy journalists and illiberal celebrities; and comment on American fauna of every variety for “smart consumers, smart readers who still love trash but want to know the real deal.”
Choire Sicha, the creative force behind the blog Gawker.com, says that job one for Defamer is “to cover the industry. We want to know the whole travails of Michael Eisner at Disney, about pilots, (and) box office.”
In the course of his NPR radio interview with Madeleine Brand, Sicha admits that “we say ridiculous, foolish things all the time, and I think that’s the way it should be on the web. It’s moving fast, we want to have breaking news first, and we want to have seat-of-the-pants reactions.”
Monthly Archives: May 2004
Rape of Iraqi Women by U.S. Occupation Forces
 Lyin’ bastard: “It’s a stain on our country’s honor and our country’s reputation.” — President George W. Bush on war prisoner abuse. |
The misery of Iraqi men and women — both within and outside of the prison system — continues at the hands of the U.S. occupation forces, and all President Bush can do is tell the world that his Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, is a great man who defends the interests of the American people.
And, even in the face of the photos of Iraqi prisoner abuse which have been all over the media for the past week; a visceral attack on the Bush administration by former counterrorism director Richard A. Clarke, just six weeks ago; chaos and internecine warfare occurring within the senior ranks of the White House; and even as the U.S., and the world, braces itself for new disturbing accounts of Iraqi prisoner abuse, a full 46 per cent of the American people support their President, and the job he is doing.
Maybe the following revelations will cause a few among those 46% to reconsider their opinion of Bush.
From Talk Left: Sydney Australia’s Indy Media has photos allegedly depicting Iraqi women being raped by U.S. Military Intelligence personnel and private U.S. mercenaries in military fatigues.
Update: Although VanRamblings took down the photos alleging rape of Iraqi women by U.S. forces earlier this month, as we are no longer certain that the photos are not, in fact, real, the photos have been reposted. We would ask that you read the note at the top of the photo linking page.
Mel, The Man For The Mouse House?
Mel Gibson To Take Over Disney?
The New York Post’s Richard Johnson is reporting that “A consortium of mysterious European investors has approached [Mel] Gibson about a possible takeover of Disney now that Comcast has thrown in the towel.”
The Defamer speculates: European, mysterious, loaded, and loves Gibson? Is even the Vatican coming after Eisner now?
While The Daily Kos says, “Seriously, though, could you imagine Disney being added to the right-wing nutjob empire? We might as well let Rev. Moon buy them out and make Mickey his disciple.”
World Food Prices Set to Rise
At the same time we’re being hit by increased prices for gas at the pump, the Washington-based Earth Policy Institute (EPI) reports that world food prices are set for a dramatic jump in the coming year.
According to the group’s calculations, four successive shortfalls in annual grain harvests have reduced the world’s carry-over stocks to their lowest level in 30 years, amounting to only 59 days of consumption. That is 11 days short of the 70-day level that is traditionally considered the minimum needed for food security.
The last time global stocks were so low in the early 1970s, wheat and rice prices doubled with disastrous consequences for millions of the world’s poor. A similar pattern may be asserting itself now, according to Lester Brown, EPI’s founder and president, as basic food and feed commodities are on the rise.
Brown says that the challenge of rebuilding the stocks to the 70-day consumption level will be very difficult to overcome, particularly if early indications for the winter wheat crop, which was planted last fall, are not hopeful.