George Orwell’s 1984, a story about systems of control and propaganda, had some important mottos: “War Is Peace. Ignorance Is Strength. Freedom Is Slavery.”

Google, Inc. had a motto, too: “You can make money without doing evil.”

At times, it seemed Google, which revolutionized the internet, would stay true its word. But in a shocking joint announcement today, Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page radically changed course, proclaiming: “We’re Evil, Suckers!” Brin and Page pointed to an overwhelming heap of evidence to support their claim, including:

• Googling the phrase “google is evil” (in quotes) returns 12,400 hits, putting it between Wal-mart (18,400) and Halliburton (521).
• Google’s privacy policy is so bad and potentially dangerous that the New York Times wrote an angry editorial about it.
• Sergey Brin and Larry Page have a combined fortune of roughly $14 billion. Could any non-evil people possibly hoard that much money while billions of people worldwide are struggling for food?
• According to the New York Times, Google stores all its search data forever, meaning your searches can conceivably be traced to you and used against you in court.
• Google, Inc. is worth $121.5 billion. If money is power, and power corrupts, then by the logic law of syllogism, Google, Inc. must be entirely villainous by now.
• Gmail, Google, Inc.’s email program, reads the contents of its users’ private messages and targets them with relevant advertisements.

Faced with the reality of Google, Inc.’s evilness, the Bush Administration promised increased corporate tax cuts. “Without the burden of paying taxes, the ‘invisible hand’ of the free market will guide Google back to goodness.”

Why is fluoride in toothpaste and tap water? The American Dental Association calls the practice “safe and effective … for preventing tooth decay.” Then again, the ADA answers to the same government that promotes the anti-evolution “intelligent design” theory.

Does water fluoridation prevent tooth decay?
Probably. But how much prevention, and at what price? Tooth decay rates have gone down since the US started fluoridating water back in the 50s. But according to World Health Organization data, tooth decay rates decreased similarly for European countries not using fluoridation, during roughly the same period.

Even scouring the Center for Disease Control and the American Dental Association, one is hard-pressed to find convincing evidence of fluoride’s overall benefit.

Is fluoride safe?
Not for humans. Low doses of fluoride are not akin to low doses of, say, anthrax. However, according to salon.com, “Fluoride is, after all, an extremely toxic compound that originally was sold as a bug and rat poison. A growing body of scientific research suggests that long-term fluoride consumption may cause numerous health problems, ranging from cancer and impaired brain function to brittle bones and fluorosis (the white splotches on teeth that indicate weak enamel). An estimated 22 percent of American children have some form of fluorosis.”

Why is fluoride in toothpaste and tap water?
Fluoride has been a poisonous industrial waste product for well over a century. But during WWII, military aluminum production caused the quantity of fluoride waste — and lawsuits against Big Aluminum — to skyrocket. Fluoride desperately needed a makeover, so the industry trumpeted the compound’s alleged dental benefits. In 1945, despite any credible scientific evidence, several industries persuaded the government to run a 15-year water fluoridation experiment (on humans) in Michigan. But before this experiment had neared completion, it was expanded to 87 more cities. Meanwhile, Edward Bernays, known as the father of the public relations industry, spearheaded an intense pro-fluoride propaganda campaign — repeating dental health allegations while downplaying safety issues. The toothpaste industry signed on with P&G’s Crest in 1956, and without further delay, a toxic compound had been transformed into a dental miracle. For a fascinating history of American fluoridation, see the Earth Island Journal

Is there an alternative to fluoride?
Maybe. Xylitol is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol found in birch trees and some fruits. Studies are still ongoing, but many have shown that xylitol reduces cavities by preventing bacteria from attaching to teeth. Xylitol can be well applied in chewing gum form.

Cindy Sheehan, that anti-war lady in Crawford, Texas, had a protest that was smaller than a protest in August. This according to articles in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, The London Guardian, and several hundred other media outlets. An estimated 200 attended the rally.

Meanwhile, pro-Bush counter-demonstrators had their own equally significant rally. Reporters on the scene of the pro-Bush rally counted at least ten people in attendance. Experts might say that, based on these high numbers, the pro-Bush movement is gaining steam. One pro-Bush protester gave a nuanced argument for the continued deployment of U.S. troops in Iraq: “Real America won’t wimp out.”¹

One thing cannot be doubted: the competing pro-Bush and anti-war rallies reveal an America split to the core. But with the pro-Cindy crowd losing steam and the pro-Bush crowd clearly building momentum, only the American Public can decide which direction America should take.

The first seven months Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate were a time of quite reflection. The new Pope, deep in Holy contemplation about the world’s many injustices, made not a single defining act.

But Lo!, with God’s Blessing, Benedict XVI has recently emerged with his first compassionate decree: banning homosexuals from priesthood.

Benedict XVI, the holiest former member of the Nazi Hitler Youth militia, went even farther, excluding priesthood from those who “support the so-called ‘gay culture.’”

Benedict himself once said that “Having a clear faith, according to the credo of the church, is often labeled as fundamentalism.”¹ With the Pope’s deeply humanitarian act towards homosexuals, he will once and for all put that label to rest.

Displaying both generosity and compassion, President Bush granted an “official pardon” to Marshmallow the turkey. To be eligible for the pardon, Marshmallow had presumably been tried and convicted on felony charges of “being a turkey.”

Bush’s good will did not extend to an estimated 45 million other convicted turkeys, all of whom will be slaughtered and eaten for their crimes. Nor did it extend to Frances Newton, an African American woman recently executed in Texas despite questionable evidence of her guilt.

According to bloomberg.com, Marshmallow will go on vacation to Disneyland, stay in an upscale hotel, and then retire in a 1930s replica park. Butterball Inc., which kills eight million turkeys a year, sponsored Marshmallow’s chauffeuring to the pardoning ceremony.

“The granting of the turkey pardon is not a responsibility that I take lightly,” Bush said.

Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa) caused a media frenzy recently by suggesting that U.S. troops be removed immediately from Iraq. The New York Times summarized the situation as follows: “Questions Long Avoided Now Take Center Stage.”

While it’s true that the New York Times has long avoided these questions, other mainstream Democrats have been strongly taking a position on this issue for quite some time — and their words are loud and clear: “Like, let’s bring the troops home later, ya know?”

Strong proponents of “troops out later” include Senators John Kerry, Hilary Clinton, and rising star Barack Obama. At a speech today, Obama reiterated this ideology, demanding that President Bush admit his mistakes in Iraq, but rejecting a timetable for troop withdrawal, declaring: “We need not a time-table….”

This “troops out later” position has often infuriated Vice President Dick Cheney, who calls for “troops out never.” But the intensity of Murtha’s “troops out now” outcry has caused Cheney to reluctantly acknowledge the withdrawal discussion as “entirely legitimate.”

Alongside Murtha on extreme left of the mainstream political spectrum is 52 percent of Americans, who think U.S. troops should be pulled out now or within 12 months. Even farther left is the Iraqi population, 82% of whom strongly oppose the presence of foreign troops.

For further reading, see Democrats and the War in The Nation.

U.S. Did Not Use Skin-eating white phosphorus as weapon in Fallujah.
November 8, 2005: Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Steve Boylan appears on Democracy Now and says: “I do not recall [that white phosphorus] was used as an offensive weapon. White phosphorus is used for marking targets for both air and ground forces.”

OK, we did, but it’s not a chemical weapon.
November 16, 2005: Pentagon spokesman Col Barry Venable appears on BBC and says: “[White phosphorus] was used as an incendiary weapon against enemy combatants.” But, “white phosphorus is an incendiary weapon, not a chemical weapon.”

OK, it’s a chemical weapon.
November 22, 2005: A 1995 Pentagon document emerges, stating: “Iraqi forces loyal to president Saddam may have possibly used white phosphorous chemical weapons against Kurdish rebels.”

By the way, the chemical weapons we used are a grave threat to peace
October 7, 2002 George Bush appears in Cincinnati, Ohio, and says: “Tonight I want to take a few minutes to discuss a grave threat to peace…. The threat comes from Iraq. … It possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons.”

With the threat of terrorism increasing daily, the vigilant leaders of New York City have taken unprecedented — and perfect — safety precautions.

Random bag checks

Loudspeaker on subway: “Effective July 22nd, all backpacks, parcels and bags are subject to random search by the New York City Police Department.”

Fourth Amendment of US Constitution: “The right of the people to be secure … against unreasonable searches … shall not be violated … but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Even putting aside this opportunity to forego our constitutional rights, none can argue that random bag searches aren’t absolutely useful. None. OK, maybe one or two.

Constant, repetitive announcements by train conductors
The more people hear about “suspicious packages,” remaining alert, and having a “safe day,” the more they want to slit their wrists — an effective counter-terror measure. With people already dead, terrorists will have to be extra vigilant to kill them with their suspicious packages.

Passengers should always “remain wary of suspicious behavior.” They should also “report exposed wiring [ipods?] or other irregularities [skin blemishes?].”

Based on these scientific concepts and the available data, the MTA has come up with a composite of who to avoid on the train and platform areas:

Soldiers wearing camouflage and carrying machine guns in subway stations
This pretty much speaks for itself. Just to spell it out: camouflaged guards are invisible to terrorists, and machine gun bullets are great for deactivating bombs or anthrax.

Together with the NYPD and NYC Transit, we can stop terrorism — and terror itself as an emotion — in its “tracks.”

USA Today’s analysis derives from a rigorous scientific survey the newspaper conducted outside multiplexes in three cities. One 11-year-old survey respondent screamed that Ralph Fiennes “did a really good job at making Voldemort evil.” Similarly, after watching the movie, six-year-old Chris from LA shouted uncontrollably: “I liked the dragons because they’re spikey.” The third fan in the study, 45-year-old songwriter Riley Dowling, delightedly yelled at the top of his lungs that the film has “a good moral” for young people. Piecing together the evidence, USA Today correctly concluded that Harry Potter fans are screaming with delight.

Other recent USA Today studies that have broken scientific ground include: Goblet of Fire keeps wizard tales hot and ‘Potter’ series casts a spell over entire genre.

or·gan:
1. A musical instrument containing pipes.
2. A means of communication.
3. Biology. A group of tissues that perform some function.
4. A part of a whole that performs a function.
5. An agency, institution, council, or parliament of a given entity. “And just as the functions of the bodily organs of plants and animals cannot be arbitrarily altered, so that, for example, one cannot at will hear with his eyes and see with his ears, so also one cannot at pleasure transform an organ of social oppression into an instrument for the liberation of the oppressed.” - Rudolf Rocker, on the State

organ is a curious blend of fact and fiction. So far, all of the fiction is satirical, intended to emphasize the facts. Hopefully it’s pretty clear what’s fact and what’s fiction, but if a statement’s truth value is ambiguous, try clicking on an article’s links; they generally reveal the article’s factual basis. If there’s still confusion, feel free to post a comment.