Strangechord

…when I should be wrapping up finals:

• I’m not sure about the legitimacy of the source, but this article making the rounds is pretty intense: Bush’s Erratic Behavior Worries White House Aides:

  In interviews with a number of White House staffers who were willing to talk off the record, a picture of an administration under siege has emerged, led by a man who declares his decisions to be “God’s will” and then tells aides to “fuck over” anyone they consider to be an opponent of the administration.

• Tomorrow through Tuesday is the G-8 conference taking place in a small town off the coast of Georgia. For those of you who don’t know what the G-8 is, it’s the heads of state of the eight most economically powerful nations in the world - the U.S., France, Russia, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada. These eight men determine and implement polices that affect billions of lives. They set the agendas of global institutions like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

  26,000 police will be on hand in a town of 10,000; $54 million is being spent on security, including the gallons of pepper spray I’m sure those police will be inflicting on protestors. Atlanta IndyMedia will have the full scoop over the next few days. (via Easy Bake Coven)

• Rowan alerts us to what’s going on in Afghanistan: children are being kidnapped, killed, and their organs sold on the black market. Horrifying. Her commentary is dead-on.

• Another piece that refuses to join ABC, FOX, CNN, NPR, et al in whitewashing the Reagan legacy: KILLER, COWARD, CON-MAN. GOOD RIDDANCE, GIPPER by Greg Palast. Juan Cole, a history professor at U Michigan, has this to say as well.

• I was really touched by this article in the NY Times: Birth Parents Retaining a Voice in City Foster Model. (login: strangechord; password: readnyt) As some of you know, I grew up in and out of about eight different foster homes and sometimes went over a year without seeing my mom, with whom I’m very close. This new model, which started in NYC and has been implemented in over 30 other cities since, promotes more communication and familiarity between the foster parent(s) and the birth parent(s), making both the separation and reunification process less tough for the child. My mom and I sure could’ve used this:

  Now after six years, with some 28,000 families having participated in the program, the city’s departing commissioner of children’s services points to the growth of the program as among the achievements he is most proud of. “For many parents, it has demystified foster care,” said the commissioner, William C. Bell, who will step down in a few weeks. “In surveys, parents report a much more positive experience with the system and their caseworkers. Children are returned home on average three months earlier.”

• On a lighter note, here’s 10 ways to infuse your work with your personality and 101 ways to improve your news site. (via onfocus)

• Not so much a read, but a definite bookmark and listen if you’re not in an Air America-accessible area: The Randi Rhodes Show “Illegal” Archives. I am absolutely a nut for her show; Jeremy and I listen to it almost every day in rush hour. The amount of political and historical knowledge, common sense and decency the woman has is stupendous. Today’s show in particular is well worth a listen.
  

Finally, I’m rolling off the Recently Discovered links in the lefthand sidebar into the archive more quickly now to make room at the bottom of the column for my favorite news links. Check out the list at the bottom of my blogroll. And…is anyone going to comment on the new setlist?!