On Friday the 27th of May, five days after an overwhelming victory by centre-right political parties in the local and regional elections across Spain, the country woke up to the bitter reality of how nonviolent movements calling for economic democracy, political justice and peace are going to be dealt with by the country’s police forces in this new era of right-wing political dominance.

Just twenty-four hours after Spain’s largest telecom company, Telefonica, announced a new round of layoffs affecting 8500 people, 25% of the work force, and as the G8 is meeting in Deauville, France, to discuss amongst other things the discontent sweeping across Europe, the Catalan police force – the Mossos d’Esquadra – following orders from the Town Hall’s new Catalan Nationalist Party (CiU) government, surrounded the nonviolent citizens camped at the Plaza Cataluña in Barcelona’s city centre. Armed with full riot gear, batons and machine-guns with rubber bullets, the police kettled in the protestors, making it impossible for them to leave or others to enter.

The White House has put out a statement expressing its disapproval of various bits of H.R.1540, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. Here's the most interesting, if not the most adamant, objection:
"Detainee Matters: The Administration strongly objects to section 1034 which, in purporting to affirm the conflict, would effectively recharacterize its scope and would risk creating confusion regarding applicable standards. At a minimum, this is an issue that merits more extensive consideration before possible inclusion."

And here's Section 1034:

"Congress affirms that--
(1) the United States is engaged in an armed conflict with al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces and that those entities continue to pose a threat to the United States and its citizens, both domestically and abroad;
(2) the President has the authority to use all necessary and appropriate force during the current armed conflict with al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note);

Licensing Board Allows Endangered Species and Toxic Algae Contentions to Proceed to Hearing Stage
Monroe, MI--The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) presiding over the Fermi 3 combined construction and operating license application (COLA) proceeding ruled on May 20 against nuclear utility DTE’s motion for summary disposition on two contentions against the proposed new reactor brought by an environmental coalition. The first contention concerns risks of Fermi 3’s construction and operation exacerbating the proliferation of toxic algae in Lake Erie. The second involves risks to an endangered indigenous species -- the Eastern Fox Snake -- from the proposed new atomic reactor.

How did this country survive before it found formidable enemies around which the government could mobilize hatred and fear?

I don’t remember the 1930s when poverty, capitalism, godlessness, fascism, communism, Jews and alcohol competed in the American mind for the role of number one adversary. No clear winners!

On December 7, 1941– I was almost 6 — the Japanese boldly and in retrospect foolishly bombed Pearl Harbor. Japs and Nazis, the perfect vile duo. Hollywood took over. Every Saturday, I fought them vicariously in the movies – our good guys beating their bad guys

Since then – with brief exceptions – a viable enemy has united us. To keep that evil from our shores we’ve maintained a “defense’ budget.

After World War II (war budget times), Stalin replaced Hitler and Tojo. my Weekly Reader introduced me to “Uncle Joe” during World War II. After 1945, however, “Stalin the Butcher,” planted red agents in our State Department, mass media, schools and veterinary hospitals. Senator Joe McCarthy found even more remote nooks and crannies where the red menace had hidden – like meat-packing plants.