Join us for the Fancy Schmancy Art Event. Amazing art, from across the country and Europe will be on display and up for bidding! In the end, this effort is for the defense, not of just one man, but of JUSTICE!!

It is amazing how much you can tell about a society from its laws. Laws give us a glimpse into social order from eras and civilizations long past. Some of the oldest known written laws that we’ve found so far, are in the Code of Lipit-Ishtar. Lipit-Ishtar, was a shepherd and farmer from Nippur, Iraq, who became the ruler of Isin from about 1868 B.C. to 1857 B.C. Four broken stone tablets were discovered in the 1930’s, written in the Sumerian language, during the rule of Lipit-Ishtar. One law from that Code was, “If a man rented an ox and injured the flesh at the nose ring, he shall pay one third of its price.� Another one of the oldest written legal texts we have discovered, found in 1901 in Syria, is from the Code of Hammurabi, codified around 1792-1750 B.C., under the reign of Babylonian King Hammurabi. One of his laws was, “If an ox when passing through the street gore a man and bring about his death, that case has no penalty.� From the Puritanical Blue Laws of 1650 in Connecticut, to the surveillance-obsessed Federal Patriot Act in 2001, historians draw conclusions based on unique legal codes within societies. Centuries from now someone will discover our old law books and make documentaries of how we lived, based upon those laws.

While at Cabrillo College, in Aptos, Ca., I began to understand class privilege as it relates to access to education. It is my firm belief that vocational and community colleges and Associate Degrees were created first and foremost as a way for white men with property, to keep universities and professions insulated for themselves, while making the underclasses believe they were getting “equal opportunity education� and an equal opportunity within the job market. Neither of those myths are true. Vocational training is not equal to a professional degree in any way, shape, or form. An Associates Degree (A.A. or A.S.) is **nothing** like a B.A./B.S., M.A./M.S, of Dr./PhD degree. And that is why you do not see the rich or upper, insulated classes slumming it in community college. You will have no chance of meeting the Kennedy or Bush clan at a community college! Even idiots like Dan Quayle never stepped foot in a community college. Their social castes shot them straight into universities.

ZZZ...

Remembered Interview with Leonard Weinglass, human rights attorney, conducted by Between the Lines' Scott Harris

Former pResident Ronald Reagan dies. A 93-year life of lies and deceipt ended yesterday as Ronald Reagan's heart (?) stopped pumping blood (?) through his body. I shudder thinking of what tributes we'll endur in the coming weeks and am slightly unnerved at the strange, uneasy feeling that grips me when I speculate on the reaction that will come from any criticism of the man.

For an outline of the Reagan Regime's involvement in Guatemala, check out Reagan & Guatemala's Death Files

[ Reagan and the Eighties I Eulogy for Ronald Wilson Reagan I The Indypendent: Bedtime for BONZO ]

REAGAN'S "GONE" AND THE ONE WHO'S "IN THERE", APPARENTLY, WAS THE GROUP WHO TRIED TO ASSASINATE HIM IN THE '80s...AND KERRY DOESN'T LOOK MUCH BETTER....HE ISN'T TALKING ABOUT IMPLEMENTING THE SCIENTIFIC GOVERNMENT TRAINING PROGRAMS (WHICH MEANS HE IS TALKING ABOUT ALLOWING THE MURDER OF AMERICANS TO CONTINUE DUE TO GOVERNMENTAL DYSFUNCTION AND CORRUPTION)......GET DR. DURAND TO RUN...WRITE AMCBA (at) LYCOS.COM AND ASK HIM (VOW YOUR SUPPORT)...THEY CAN'T LEGALLY-BEAT HIM, HE OWNS THE RESEARCH-COPYRIGHTS THE JOB CAN'T LEGALLY-BE DONE WITHOUT....(DISCOVERED DURING THE END OF THE REAGAN ADMINISTRATION; AND OBSTRUCTED BY THESE INTERNATIONAL B@ST@RDS IN OUR GOVERNMENT, SINCE)....

..."Lost" in 2004 Presidential Election ~ Interview with Greg Palast, BBC investigative reporter, conducted by Between the Lines' Scott Harris

On February 23 UC Santa Cruz chancellor MRC Greenwood was promoted to Provost - the second highest position next to President. As provost, Greenwood receives an annual pay increase of $110,000, bringing her total salary to $380,000. Higher and higher salaries for UC administrators is a growing trend, while student tuitions also increase. At the same time, UCSC's clerical and custodial employees, already understaffed, are burdened with an expanding workload, as the campus grows.

In light of budget shortfalls, University Labor United, a coalition of campus unions at UCSC have demanded Greenwood turn down the raise. As invited guests and friends of Greenwood attended her farewell gala at the Coconut Grove on, June 3, a coalition of unions students, and community members came out to protest.

Free Radio Santa Cruz reporter Emily Hell was on scene to provide live coverage on Rockin' the Boat.

Audio: [ Listen to the Stream or Download the mp3 ]

Interview with Rania Masri, director of the Southern Peace Research, Institute for Southern Studies, conducted by Between the Lines' Melinda Tuhus