Open Thread and Diary Rescue

This evening's Rescue Rangers are Louisiana1976, noddem, grog, hhex65, watercarrier4diogenes and Wes Opinion with Avila as editor.

• truong son traveler reviews F. William Engdahl's Seeds of Destruction and the "most radical transformation of a nation's food production system ever attempted" in the powerful and disturbing Food as a Weapon - The Rape of Iraq. (Avila)
• A stability of sorts in Iraq is impeded by the inequitable division of oil profits among the various ethnic factions. Fortschreitend addresses the reasons why there’s Still No Oil Revenue-Sharing Deal in Iraq. (Wes Opinion)
• socratic announces My buddy made a baby [and politics are discussed!] and shares with us the musing that the joyous news prompted. (watercarrier4diogenes)
• In an exceptional diary, Bcgntn gives us an apt analogy of Bush’s stumbling and misguided policy towards the Middle East in America in Iraq; Bull in China Shop. (Wes Opinion)
• Can a U.S.-led Iraqi occupation force lawfully sponsor content-approved religious training for Iraqi detainees, in Iraq? NCrissieB examines an improbable but true faith-based initiative and the First Amendment in Religious Training for Detainees. (Avila)
• Cheers to dhonig for the beautifully written, well-researched  fifth installment of Wine - Seeing the World Through the Bottom of a Glass. (Avila)
• Valtin reports that the Yoo Torture Memos are a smoking gun for multiple reasons, not only for Yoo, in National Lawyers Guild: Fire Yoo & Try for War Crimes.  Gary Norton has a timely accompaniment and news of long-overdue accountability in John Yoo's Torture Memo Is Going To Court. (Avila)
• sad pony guerilla girl questions motivations in marketing in Gay-wash! Earned media and Absolut ads. (Avila)
• So if the Federal Reserve is supposed to keep the American monetary system stable, why isn’t it working? joeshwingding has done some digging on that issue and has come up with the first part of a two part diary called I'VE BEEN ROBBED! (Wes Opinion)

We hope you'll enjoy these diaries. Please add your own favorites from today in the open thread.

Give the Torch Relay the Respect it Deserves

And remember the sacred purpose for which it was created... a Leni Riefenstahl propaganda film promoting the Nazi-sponsored games in 1936.

But the idea of lighting the torch at the ancient Olympian site in Greece and then running it through different countries has much darker origins.

It was invented in its modern form by the organizers of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

And it was planned with immense care by the Nazi leadership to project the image of the Third Reich as a modern, economically dynamic state with growing international influence.

The torch relay in 1936, and in 2008, is symbolism.  Protesting this torch relay is also symbolism.

No one should be advocating violence of any sort in connection to this event.  But those folding their arms and ignoring China's atrocities in Tibet (and elsewhere) with the pretense that the Olympics should be above the yin and yang of politics need to drop the sense of high moral outrage.

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Wal-Mart Vendor Scorned

For decades, Wal-Mart has used Flagler Productions, a small company based in Kansas, to record their internal meetings.  In 2006, Wal-Mart suddenly stopped using their services - wiping out about 95% of their total business. As a consequence, Flagler is struggling to stay afloat and recently made the decision to open its archives to attorneys, unions, activists, and anybody else with a few bucks in their pocket.  Needless to say, Wal-Mart is not happy. So, what exactly is on the tapes? From the KC Star:

Those moments never meant for public display include a scene of male managers parading in drag at an executive meeting, a clip used by union-backed critics at Wal-Mart Watch for a recent advertisement castigating the retailer's attitude toward female employees.

"The videos provide insight into the company's real corporate culture when they're not in the public eye," Wal-Mart Watch spokeswoman Stacie Lock Temple said Tuesday.

Much of the interest in the candid videos is coming from plaintiff lawyers pursuing cases against Wal-Mart.

"The rarity is that it exists at all," said Brad Seligman, lead attorney in a massive class-action lawsuit that alleges Wal-Mart discriminated systemically against female employees.

"Once in a while you come upon documents that are helpful in a case," the Berkeley, Calif.-based lawyer added. "What's amazing about this is that this company has a video record going back many years showing senior management in at times fairly candid situations."

It's a dream come true for plaintiffs and attorneys who are suing Wal-Mart.  But, what does Wal-Mart think about the archives being sold? As you might imagine, they are not amused.

"Needless to say, we did not pay Flagler Productions to tape internal meetings with this aftermarket in mind," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Daphne Moore said.

She declined to comment on any legal steps the company might be considering.

Flagler says Wal-Mart has no legal power over the videos because the two sides did not sign a contract when founder Mike Flagler was hired in the 1970s to produce Wal-Mart meetings and management conferences.

Ouch! Wal-Mart forgot to sign a contract spelling out the terms of their production services.  I've leave it up to the legal eagles on this board to offer a more informed opinion, but this can't be good.....for Wal-Mart. The article notes there are periodic discussions with Wal-Mart in regards to buying the archive outright. So, if you have an interest in the collection, you'd better get in touch with them sooner than later. In the meantime, strike one for the little guy!

Late Afternoonish/Early Eveningish Open Thread

Barbara Ehrenreich makes a terrific observation over at TPM Cafe about how the ways in which we talk about the bad economy shape the way we brainstorm about solutions:

We say, "There’s something wrong with the economy," rather than, "I’m getting screwed by the oil companies, the banks, and my employer." Things get mystified and depersonalized. We say there’s a "recession," as if were some sort of bad weather, rather than pointing our fingers at the people who brought it down on us and who are, for the most part, profiting still. Maybe, instead of talking about "the economy" and "the recession" we should be talking about the ongoing looting and concerted attack on our standard of living --which will likely end only when there’s nothing left to squeeze out of us.

This isn’t just semantics. If there’s something wrong with "the economy," we call in the economists, we think about intervention by the Fed, and things on that level. But if someone is actually attacking us, we’re more likely to focus on how we can start working for change right now, with whatever tools are at hand.

This thread is now declared officially open.

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