AlterNet reports on a group of protesters who have been incarcerated for protesting the continued operation of Guantanamo Bay. The protest comes in the wake of Obama missing his stated deadline for closing the prison facility. (Something, one may remember, that formed part of his campaign platform.)

Washington, DC: In a dramatic protest, 42 activists with Witness Against Torture were arrested this afternoon at the U.S. Capitol. The protest comes on the eve of the since-voided deadline President Obama had set for closing the prison camp at Guantanamo.

Those arrested on the Capitol steps held banners reading “Broken Promises, Broken Laws, Broken Lives.” Inside the Capitol, 14 activists performed a “memorial service” for the three men whose deaths at Guantanamo in 2006 were initially reported as suicides and callously described as “acts of asymmetrical warfare” by military officials. New reports provide strong evidence that the men may have been tortured to death at a CIA secret prison in Guantanamo.

The ceremony brought the names of the men—Salah Ahmed Al-Salami, Mani Shaman Al-Utaybi and Yasser Talal Al-Zahrani—into the Capitol Rotunda, where deceased presidents have lay in state. “We perform this ceremony to recognize the humanity of those whose lives have been broken by our government’s policies of torture and indefinite detention,” says Jerica Arents of Chicago, Illinois, one of those arrested in the Capitol.

Witness Against Torture has called for an immediate, independent investigation of the deaths, as it has called for the criminal investigation of all those who allegedly designed, executed, and carried out torture policies.

(AlterNet: 42 Arrested)

(Bonus Fun: Jello Biafra: The Audacity Of Hype)

New clip just went online for infamous satirist Chris Morris’ eagerly-awaited jihadist comedy film “Four Lions.” The film promises to be a “light-hearted look” at English domestic terrorism. Morris’ past track record includes the faux-news shows “The Day Today” and “Brass Eye” (largely the inspiration for “Ali G” and “The Daily Show”) as well as the insomnia-fever-dream comedy “Jam.” Can’t wait for this one.

(Chris Morris: Four Lions)

(Chris Morris: Blue Jam)

io9 provides concept art of future, mobile cities that roam from location to location, presumably to escape earthquakes, crankheads and/or Twilight kids.

(io9: Crawling Cities)

 
Calling yesterday’s Supreme Court decision that effectively legalized the corporate bribery of politicians its most irresponsible since Dred Scott, Florida Representative Alan Grayson vented yesterday with Keith Olbermann (see below).

President Obama’s response was no less critical, calling it ?

 
‘Cause even dictators need a Plan B!  Deep inside Mount Baekdusa, North Korea’s most feared beloved leader Kim Jong-Il has quietly been excavating for himself a private cave so large and accommodating, it can apparently store fighter jets, helicopters, and what I’m sure is a vast collection of Bond and Rambo films.

According to Andrei Chang, a military analysis expert at the Kanwa Information Centre’s Hong Kong bureau,

We believe this would be the last place that the present regime would retreat to and try to conduct a campaign such as we are presently seeing in Afghanistan.  And if the worst came to the worst, he added, the Chinese border is a short helicopter flight away and Beijing is expected to offer Kim and his closest aides sanctuary.

What’s been prompting Kim Jong-Il’s need for so vast a cave?  Some possibilities: a joint military invasion by forces from the US and South Korea, a coup by his own military, or, as hard as it might be to imagine, an uprising from his own people. 

 
Kim Jong-Il’s Secret Military Hideout Discovered Inside Mountain

 
Clergy Style

 
Freakish discovery in Denver:

A Silt, Colo., man made an amazing discovery this week: a coyote frozen solid in its tracks, standing upright next to a road near his home.

Seth Wettlin told TheDenverChannel.com that he ran out of gas on the way home Wednesday night and saw the coyote caught in his headlights on a dirt road, south of Silt.

At first, Wettlin thought it was frozen in fear, but upon closer inspection, he found it was literally frozen solid. The dead animal was standing in snow up to its chest, with its tongue hanging out.

Silt Man Discovers Upright Dead Animal Next To Dirt Road
 
(via Unique Daily )

This is good stuff. A trial in the full light of day would have shown the world their bigoted faces, but this is the next best thing. Kudos to John Ireland and team, what a brilliant idea! These people are heroes for doing this.

Patrick Range McDonald writes on the LA Weekly blog, Queer Town,

The U.S. Supreme Court probably never saw this coming.
?

 
Indulge me for a moment, won’t you (what, again?) and watch this fascinating short film (part of a series of short and long form pieces) by my brother, Josh Laner, who has made Vancouver his new home. Music by yours truly, too.

Worldchanging reports on efforts to establish solar powered cities in Haiti. Self-sufficiency seems a key idea here instead of dependence on Shock Doctrine-style foreign loans for energy.

Last week’s quake cut electricity to most of Haiti’s capital. Without power, residents and aid workers are struggling to maintain basic communication, lighting and water purification systems.

CBC News had reports of officials queuing to recharge their mobile phones. What power there is comes from gas powered generators, but diesel is running low.

In the aftermath of the quake, Reuters reported that at night the only lights visible over the city came from solar powered traffic signals. Now there is a push to roll out more solar. But beyond the emergency, renewables are key to making cities more resilient to natural disasters.

(WorldChanging: Solar Recovery for Haiti)