DemocracyForAmerica.com » Gerry L

http://www.jobsandeconomicrecovery.com/page/speakout/economicrecovery

~~~

Tell Congress: Invest in American Jobs Now

~~~

Please consider sending the following message (you can copy & paste) or send your own message to each of the ‘targeted’ Republicans:

Senator Susan Collins from Maine

http://collins.senate.gov/public/continue.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorCollins.Email

Senator Olympia Snow from Maine

http://snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorSnowe.Email

Senator Judd Gregg from New Hamphire

http://gregg.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=contact.contactform

Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska

http://murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactMe.EMailLisa

Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa

also, please consider contacting Mitch McConnell…who would lead the Senate filibuster effort…

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090216/pollin?rel=hp_picks

Suggested Message…from the Campaign for Jobs & Economic Recovery…

We are a nation in crisis. As a supporter of the Campaign for Jobs and Economic Recovery, I urge you to support President-Elect Obama's plan to pull us out of this economic crisis by creating jobs that will strengthen and grow our economy over the long term.

Now is the time to invest in America. President-Elect Obama's plan to create jobs by investing in things like energy conservation, transportation, schools and health care will help our economy grow.

We also must invest in America's families and America's workforce.

We need to preserve the services they depend on -- helping states to fund health care, public safety and education -- while the economy is getting back on its feet.

These steps will help put money back into the hands of ordinary working families so they can pay their mortgages and put food on the table while at the same time strengthening our economy and keeping America competitive.

These are smart investments in America's future and I strongly urge your support. Sincerely,

* * * * * * * * * =========================================

Doing the Recovery Right

Robert Pollin: America's transformation to a clean-energy economy could merge the aims of environmental protection and social justice.

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Risking the Future

BOB HERBERT

We do not seem to learn much from history. Time and again an economic boom has followed a period of sustained infrastructure investment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/opinion/03herbert.html?ref=opinion

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Attorney: Rove Will Cooperate With DOJ Probes

Murray Waas

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/

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By Courting the Republicans, Obama Could Get the Worst of All Worlds

Consensus among the nation's political elite is a recipe for disaster - just look at Iraq, the war on terror and deregulation

by Gary Younge

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/02/02-2

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Is Technology Producing a Decline in Critical Thinking and Analysis?

http://www.truthout.org/020209ED

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Freedom of Assembly, Meet Broadcast Torture

Burning the First Amendment

By MANUEL GARCIA, Jr.

http://www.counterpunch.org/garcia01302009.html

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Eric Holder Is Now Attorney General

Criminal Prosecution

Congratulate him and ask him to appoint a special prosecutor:

Do it now!

http://www.democrats.com/special-prosecutor-for-bush-war-crimes

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Google Earth drops into the oceans

Ocean in Google Earth project allows users to examine wildlife, mountains, shipwrecks and environmental changes

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/02/google-earth-oceans

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It was his artistry they bought…

His Stage, the Street; His Rapier, a Peeler

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/nyregion/03ades.html?_r=1&hp

~~~

http://www.artofeurope.com/shakespeare/sha9.htm

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Torture Chic: Why Is the Media Glorifying Inhumane, Sadistic Behavior?

By Maura Moynihan, AlterNet
http://www.alternet.org/story/124739/

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The Whole World Is Rioting as the Economic Crisis Worsens -- Why Aren't We?

By Joshua Holland, AlterNet
http://www.alternet.org/story/124836/

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A lot discussed over the last couple of days…whether or not Obama has left the gates of rendition still open….appears a murkier matter than at first glance:

The L.A. Times, Obama & Renditions

by Glenn Greenwald

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/02/02-16

==============

and

Renditions Buffoonery

By Scott Horton

http://harpers.org/archive/2009/02/hbc-90004326

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The Offensive Side of Missile Defense
Mike Moore

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2423

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Generals Seek to Reverse Obama Withdrawal Decision

by Gareth Porter

WASHINGTON - CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus, supported by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, tried to convince President Barack Obama that he had to back down from his campaign pledge to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 18 months at an Oval Office meeting Jan. 21.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/02/02-3

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Economic Death Spiral at the Pentagon

by Chalmers Johnson and Tom Engelhardt

TomDispatch

http://www.tomdispatch.com/

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from and about ‘over there’

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Call to Try Bush

by Julio Godoy

BERLIN - Now that former U.S. president George W. Bush is an ordinary citizen again, many legal and human rights activists in Europe are demanding that he and high-ranking members of his government be brought before justice for crimes against humanity committed in the so-called war on terror.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/02/02

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Bombing Blocks Supply Route for Afghan War

By REUTERS

Suspected militants blew up a bridge in Pakistan’s Khyber Pass on Tuesday, cutting the main route for supplies bound for Western forces in Afghanistan.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/world/asia/03pass.html?ref=world

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Juan Cole: Informed Comment

Suicide Bomber Kills 25 Policemen in Afghanistan;
American UN Official Kidnapped in Quetta;
Pakistani Taliban take over Swat

A coup for Maliki and a secular Iraq

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Patrick Cockburn: Voters have rebuffed religious parties – and cemented the power of the Prime Minister.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/a-coup-for-maliki-and-a-secular-iraq-1543644.html

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Can Mitchell turn Jerusalem into Belfast?

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10255.shtml

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Medea Benjamin and Ann Wright Have Reached the Border of Gaza

Palestine

There's a blog to follow here.

http://codepink4peace.org/blog/2009/02/medea-reports-from-the-border-of-gaza/

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Talking to Israelis, the PLO and Hamas

http://www.truthout.org/020209R

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Gazans say Israeli troops forced them into battle zones

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/61329.html

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500 years of exploitation has sewn many a seed for ‘nationalism’

In Bolivia, Untapped Bounty Meets Nationalism

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/world/americas/03lithium.html?ref=world

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Venezuela marks decade of Chavez

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7865683.stm

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Peace and Solidarity

=========================================

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

- Mark Twain, humorist and author (1835 - 1910)

~~~~~~~~~~

In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

Attributed to George Orwell

Discuss

Monday matters

Written by: Gerry L on Feb 2, 2009 7:48 AM EST

Monday~

***************round of articles about our domestic ‘issues’ ~ February 2nd, 2009

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Risks Are Vast in Revaluation of Assets

By VIKAS BAJAJ and STEPHEN LABATON

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/business/economy/02value.html?_r=1&hp

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GOP leaders doubt stimulus bill will pass Senate

Senate Republican leaders cite lack of support for stimulus bill, call for major changes

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2009/02/gop_leaders_doubt_stimulus_bill_will_pass_senate.php

==============

For GOPpers, isn’t it always about havig it ‘their way’…

As Obama Talks Of Bipartisanship, Definitions Vary

A Redefinition of Bipartisanship

For Obama, fixing "broken politics" means replacing gamesmanship with honest arguments.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/01/AR2009020102066.html?hpid%3Dtopnews&sub=AR

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Will the Recovery Plan Lead to the Stimulation We Need?

Questions Must Be Asked, New Demands Raised, More Needs Put On Agenda
By Danny Schechter

It is time for a euphoria check or maybe a check on euphoria, a time to start raising our own questions about government plans rather than reflexively rallying behind the Democrats just because the Republicans are so obstinate and revolting.

It is important to recognize that behind the GOP’s JUST SAY NO rejectionism is an calculated reaction. If they back and it succeeds, they look stupid. If it fails as many expect it will, they can say, “see we told you so” as part of a plan to stage a political comeback in two years. Rush Limbaugh may have the moxie to call for its failure but many of his party mates are more cagey.

They know that time may be on their side, and can read sentences like this from financial writer David Leonhardt in the New York Times magazine:

“(The economy) won’t recover anytime soon. It is likely to get significantly worse over the course of 2009 no matter what President Obama and Congress do.” ) If you look at the world through a hyper—partisan lens like they do, the silver lining is clear. Wait it out and then make political hay off everyone’s misery.”

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/39475

* * * * * * * * *

Groups target GOP senators on stimulus

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/groups-target-gop-senators-on-stimulus-2009-01-29.html

~~~

SEE THE AD

http://www.jobsandeconomicrecovery.com/page/speakout/economicrecovery

~~~

Tell Congress: Invest in American Jobs Now

~~~

Please consider sending the following message (you can copy & paste) or send your own message to each of the ‘targeted’ Republicans:

Senator Susan Collins from Maine

http://collins.senate.gov/public/continue.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorCollins.Email

Senator Olympia Snow from Maine

http://snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorSnowe.Email

Senator Judd Gregg from New Hamphire

http://gregg.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=contact.contactform

Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska

http://murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactMe.EMailLisa

Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa

also, please consider contacting Mitch McConnell…who would lead the Senate filibuster effort…

Sins of Omission: Help for the Beleaguered Homeowner

Suggested Message…from the Campaign for Jobs & Economic Recovery…

We also must invest in America's families and America's workforce.

We need to preserve the services they depend on -- helping states to fund health care, public safety and education -- while the economy is getting back on its feet.

These are smart investments in America's future and I strongly urge your support. Sincerely,

* * * * * * * * *

=========================================

The omission of a measure to let bankrupt homeowners have their mortgages modified under court protection weakens the overall stimulus and recovery package.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/opinion/02mon1.html?ref=opinion

==============

Sins of Omission: The Forgotten Poor

Two programs for the poor that urgently need federal funding— legal services and access to family planning — were stripped from the House economic package.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/opinion/02mon2.html?ref=opinion

==============

Ohioans Seek Slice Of the Stimulus Pie

Governor, Mayors Jockey to Secure Cash

~~~

Strickland projects a deficit of $7.3 billion in the next two-year budget. Working with other Democratic governors, he has sought $250 billion for education, particularly to prevent deep staff cuts, as well as money to help meet rising Medicaid costs.

In a budget proposal that Strickland will make today, he projects that Ohio will receive $3.4 billion for emergency fiscal relief, including Medicaid and education funding. The sum does not include anticipated federal infrastructure dollars.

~~~

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/01/AR2009020101978.html?hpid=topnews

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Bailouts for Bunglers

By PAUL KRUGMAN

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/opinion/02krugman.html?_r=1

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Is the Entire Bailout Strategy Flawed? Let's Rethink This Before It's Too Late

By Joseph Stiglitz, CNN
http://www.alternet.org/story/124166/

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The Bad Bank v. Good Bank Option
A new scheme for bailing out U.S. banks is for taxpayers to accept all the bad mortgages in a "bad bank," but there is another option for the U.S. government to start a "good bank,"

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/013009b.html

==============

Chris Hedges thinks its worse than that…Could HE be right??

It’s Not Going to Be OK The daily bleeding of thousands of jobs will soon turn our economic crisis into a political crisis. Our empire is dying. How will we cope with our decline? Will we cling to the absurd dreams of a superpower and a glorious tomorrow or will we responsibly face our stark new limitations?

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090202_its_not_going_to_be_ok/

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How Unions Tried to Save US Autos
Years ago, labor unions urged the U.S. auto industry to go for smaller cars and national health insurance, TheRealNews reports.

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/020109a.html

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Even the New York Times agrees that there should be accountability, sort of…

A New Subpoena for Karl Rove

The scandals of the Bush Justice Department will not be put to rest until Karl Rove and others who have been subpoenaed provide Congress with the information it needs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/opinion/02mon3.html?ref=opinion

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Secret Renditions Still an Option for CIA

http://www.truthout.org/020109A

~~~

please consider contacting The White House

remind the Obama Administration that our country needs

a ‘restoration’ of American values…which does NOT

mean condoning kidnapping and rendering onto torture…

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

=========================================

The Other Iran

ROGER COHEN

The axis-of-evil myopia has led U.S. policy makers to underestimate Iran’s social, psychological and political forces for pragmatism, compromise and stability

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/opinion/02cohen.html?ref=opinion

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from and about ‘over there’

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America Faces the Music in Davos

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090201_america_faces_the_music_in_davos/

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Dissent beginning to spread across Russia as crisis bites

Thousands protest at Putin's handling of economy while rift with Medvedev grows

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/dissent-beginning-to-spread-across-russia-as-crisis-bites-1522983.html

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A plea for ‘accountability’

The Black Flag Is Waving

by Uri Avnery

http://www.antiwar.com/avnery/?articleid=14176

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Turkey's turn from the West

By Soner Cagaptay

http://mobile.washingtonpost.com/news.jsp?key=345924&rc=op&npc=op

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American U.N. Official Abducted in Pakistan

A senior United Nations official was abducted and his driver was killed Monday morning in the southwestern city of Quetta, according to U.N. and Pakistani officials

http://www.twcbc.com/cinci/SEM/bundle.html?gclid=CKCWtrTQvZgCFQIyxwodTjekZA

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Suicide bomber kills 19 Afghan policemen

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/01/AR2009020100324.html?hpid=moreheadlines

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Juan Cole: Informed Comment

Centralizing Parties advancing in Iraq's Provincial Election Results

The big news out of the leaks from Iraq's vote counters is that parties seeking a strong central government appear to have won big in the elections for provincial governments.

Iraq's Shocking Human Toll: About 1 Million Killed, 4.5 Million Displaced, 1-2 Million Widows, 5 Million Orphans

==============

By John Tirman, The Nation

War on Iraq: Now that Bush is gone, perhaps we can honestly face the damage we have wrought and the responsibilities we must accept from it.

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/123818/iraq%27s_shocking_human_toll%3A_about_1_million_killed%2C_4.5_million_displaced%2C_1-2_million_widows%2C_5_million_orphans/

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Low turnout in Iraq's election reflects a disillusioned nation

Voter turnout in Iraq's provincial elections Saturday was the lowest in the nation's short history as a new democracy despite a relative calm across the nation. Only about 7.5 million of more than 14 million registered voters went to the polls. Interviews suggest that the low voter turnout also is an indication of Iraqi disenchantment with a democracy that, so far, has brought them very little. » read more

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/61245.html

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Israeli jets bomb Gaza targets

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/02/200921231710542401.html

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What Ceasefire?

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20090202_what_ceasefire/

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Playing Favorites in Palestine

By Amjad Atallah

http://www.forward.com/articles/15043/

==============

Waltz With Bashir, Part 2

by Ari Folman, David Polonsky, and Tom Engelhardt

http://www.antiwar.com/news/?articleid=14173

==============

The Silence of the Jurists

by Gideon Levy

One silence, of all the shameful silences, has thus far roared especially loud - the silence of the jurists. The 41,000 attorneys in the State of Israel are entrusted with protecting its image as a lawful state, and this large and grand army has once again strayed from its function. There is a deep suspicion throughout the world that Israel carried out a series of war crimes, and the jurists of our country are holding their peace.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/02/01-2

=========================================

Peace and Solidarity

=========================================

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

- Mark Twain, humorist and author (1835 - 1910)

~~~~~~~~~~

In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

Attributed to George Orwell

Discuss

Sunday scan...take two..(trouble with take one!)

Written by: Gerry L on Feb 1, 2009 8:26 AM EST

Sunday~

***************round of articles about our domestic ‘issues’ ~ February 1st, 2009

=========================================

Herbert Hoover Lives

By FRANK RICH

~~~

The crisis is at least as grave as the one that confronted us — and, for a time, united us — after 9/11. Which is why the antics among Republicans on Capitol Hill seem so surreal. These are the same politicians who only yesterday smeared the patriotism of any dissenters from Bush’s “war on terror.” Where is their own patriotism now that economic terror is inflicting far more harm on their constituents than Saddam Hussein’s nonexistent W.M.D.?

~~~

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/opinion/01rich.html?_r=1

==============

Wither Wall Street

by Ralph Nader

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/31

=========================================

Republican Governors Press for Passage of Stimulus Package

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20090131_republican_governors_press_for_passage_of_stimulus_package/

=========================================

The Filibuster Excuse Lives

It looks like there will be a filibuster of the economic stimulus bill. Shocking, I know. And yet there has been no indication of any willingness by the Democrats to change the rules, to give DC a senator, or to take any other steps to remove the filibuster excuse. Except that Obama is finally considering appointing a Republican senator from a state with a Democratic governor to a cabinet position (Commerce Secretary). That's the only indication of any actual interest in governing rather than posturing that I've seen out of Washington this year. Lets get on with it!

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/39460

==============

Groups target GOP senators on stimulus

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/groups-target-gop-senators-on-stimulus-2009-01-29.html

~~~

SEE THE AD

http://www.jobsandeconomicrecovery.com/page/speakout/economicrecovery

~~~

Tell Congress: Invest in American Jobs Now

~~~

Please consider sending the following message (you can copy & paste) or send your own message to each of the ‘targeted’ Republicans:

Senator Susan Collins from Maine

http://collins.senate.gov/public/continue.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorCollins.Email

Senator Olympia Snow from Maine

http://snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorSnowe.Email

Senator Judd Gregg from New Hamphire

http://gregg.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=contact.contactform

Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska

http://murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactMe.EMailLisa

Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa

also, please consider contacting Mitch McConnell…who would lead the Senate filibuster effort…

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/403474

Suggested Message…from the Campaign for Jobs & Economic Recovery…

We also must invest in America's families and America's workforce.

We need to preserve the services they depend on -- helping states to fund health care, public safety and education -- while the economy is getting back on its feet.

These are smart investments in America's future and I strongly urge your support. Sincerely,

=========================================

Dirty Trickster Steele Is New RNC Chair

posted by John Nichols

=========================================

Daschle Delayed Revealing Tax Glitch

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/31/AR2009013102021.html?hpid%3Dtopnews&sub=AR

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Making Him Do It

David Sirota

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090129_making_him_do_it/

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"To World Revolution"

Tom Paine's Birthday

By PETER LINEBAUGH

http://www.counterpunch.org/linebaugh01292009.html

=========================================

An Interview with Wes Jackson

Future Farming

By ROBERT JENSEN

As everyone scrambles for a solution to the crises in the nation’s economy, Wes Jackson suggests we look to nature’s economy for some of the answers. With everyone focused on a stimulus package in the short term, he counsels that we pay more attention to the soil over the long haul.

http://www.counterpunch.org/jenssen01302009.html

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Late move on drugs by Bush FDA could be dangerous

By Chris Adams | McClatchy Newspapers

In the waning days of the Bush administration, the Food and Drug Administration finalized new guidelines to make it easier for drug manufacturers to promote "off-label" prescription drug uses, which can be deadly for patients. » read more

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/61113.html

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Obama Lets CIA Keep Controversial Renditions Tool

by Greg Miller

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/01/31-3

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Close Gitmo and Get Out of Cuba

by Eric Margolis

http://www.lewrockwell.com/margolis/margolis134.html

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Control Of the World's Oceans. Prelude To War?

Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and the US 1,000-Ship Navy

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=12102

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from and about ‘over there’

=========================================

From Prison to Award for Iraq War Whistleblower

By Ray McGovern
"Information Clearinghouse" -- - On Jan. 26 in Copenhagen, I had the privilege to present to former Danish intelligence officer, Frank Grevil, the annual Sam Adams Award for Integrity in Intelligence.

The late Sam Adams was a CIA analyst colleague who challenged the "fixing" of intelligence during the Vietnam War.

Thirty-five years later, as we again watched the corruption of intelligence amid the drumbeat for war on Iraq, a small group of Sam's former colleagues formed Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence. Our purpose was not only to honor Sam's memory; it was also to show future generations of intelligence officers that it is possible—actually, it is morally required—to expose the lies that facilitate war.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21879.htm

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Calm Iraqi election marred as thousands were denied vote

Leila Fadel McClatchy Newspapers

~~~

The day was free of election-related violence, but thousands of Iraqis were unable to vote because their names were inexplicably missing from voter lists. Some confused Iraqis even wandered neighborhoods looking for a polling place that would accept their vote

~~~

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/61224.html

==============

Juan Cole: Informed Comment

Da'wa, Maliki May Gain from Provincial Elections

Early reports say that 60% of Iraqi's electorate came out for Saturday's election of provincial councils. The results will be announced by the end of this week, and only after "weeks" will the final tally be published. There was a lockdown of the whole country, in which US troops assisted, with no private automobiles allowed to run. Given this datum, the breathless newspaper headlines that the elections came off without any major attacks are reporting a given. Guerrillas can't detonate a car bomb if they can't drive a car to their target.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21871.htm

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Saudi Patience Is Running Out
By Turki al-Faisal

=========================================

Are we “normalizing war”, asks Fisk.

Robert Fisk’s World: When did we stop caring about civilian deaths during wartime?

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fiskrsquos-world-when-did-we-stop-caring-about-civilian-deaths-during-wartime-1521708.html

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Gaza desperately short of food after Israel destroys farmland

Officials warn of 'destruction of all means of life' after the three-week conflict leaves agriculture in the region in ruins

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/01/gaza-food-crisis

==============

After Israeli invasion, Gaza farmers still back rocket attacks

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/61226.html

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Chomsky on Oil and the Israel Lobby

http://www.iviews.com/Articles/articles.asp?ref=IV0901-3797

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Dirty Business, Dirty Wars
U.S.-Latin American Relations in the 21st Century
By Cyril Mychalejko
January 31, 2009 "Information Clearinghouse" -- - Much is being made across the political spectrum in the United States about Washington's waning influence in Latin America. The region has seen an emergence of left and center-left presidents voted into office, many as a result of budding social movements growing democracy from the grassroots. Some pundits and analysts are suggesting that this phenomenon is occurring because of the Bush Administration's perceived neglect of the region. Rather, what is happening is blowback from Washington's continued meddling in the economic and political affairs of an area arrogantly referred to as the United States' "backyard." Latin America's growing unity in rejecting the Washington Consensus remains fragile in the face of U.S. opposition. Washington has been quietly using the war on drugs, the war on terrorism, and a neo-cold war ideology to institutionalize a militarism in the region that risks returning us to the not so far off days of "dirty wars."

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21870.htm

=========================================

Peace and Solidarity

=========================================

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

- Mark Twain, humorist and author (1835 - 1910)

~~~~~~~~~~

In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

Attributed to George Orwell

Discuss

Sunday scan...

Written by: Gerry L on Feb 1, 2009 8:23 AM EST

Sunday~

***************round of articles about our domestic ‘issues’ ~ February 1st, 2009

=========================================

Herbert Hoover Lives

By FRANK RICH

~~~

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/opinion/01rich.html?_r=1

==============

Wither Wall Street

by Ralph Nader

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/31

=========================================

Republican Governors Press for Passage of Stimulus Package

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20090131_republican_governors_press_for_passage_of_stimulus_package/

=========================================

The Filibuster Excuse Lives

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/39460

==============

Groups target GOP senators on stimulus

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/groups-target-gop-senators-on-stimulus-2009-01-29.html

~~~

SEE THE AD

http://www.jobsandeconomicrecovery.com/page/speakout/economicrecovery

~~~

Tell Congress: Invest in American Jobs Now

~~~

Please consider sending the following message (you can copy & paste) or send your own message to each of the ‘targeted’ Republicans:

Senator Susan Collins from Maine

http://collins.senate.gov/public/continue.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorCollins.Email

Senator Olympia Snow from Maine

http://snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorSnowe.Email

Senator Judd Gregg from New Hamphire

http://gregg.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=contact.contactform

Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska

http://murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactMe.EMailLisa

Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa

also, please consider contacting Mitch McConnell…who would lead the Senate filibuster effort…

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/403474

Suggested Message…from the Campaign for Jobs & Economic Recovery…

We also must invest in America's families and America's workforce.

We need to preserve the services they depend on -- helping states to fund health care, public safety and education -- while the economy is getting back on its feet.

These are smart investments in America's future and I strongly urge your support. Sincerely,

=========================================

Dirty Trickster Steele Is New RNC Chair

posted by John Nichols

=========================================

Daschle Delayed Revealing Tax Glitch

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/31/AR2009013102021.html?hpid%3Dtopnews&sub=AR

=========================================

Making Him Do It

David Sirota

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090129_making_him_do_it/

=========================================

"To World Revolution"

Tom Paine's Birthday

By PETER LINEBAUGH

http://www.counterpunch.org/linebaugh01292009.html

=========================================

An Interview with Wes Jackson

Future Farming

By ROBERT JENSEN

http://www.counterpunch.org/jenssen01302009.html

=========================================

Late move on drugs by Bush FDA could be dangerous

By Chris Adams | McClatchy Newspapers

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/61113.html

=========================================

Obama Lets CIA Keep Controversial Renditions Tool

by Greg Miller

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/01/31-3

=========================================

Close Gitmo and Get Out of Cuba

by Eric Margolis

http://www.lewrockwell.com/margolis/margolis134.html

=========================================

Control Of the World's Oceans. Prelude To War?

Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and the US 1,000-Ship Navy

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=12102

=========================================

from and about ‘over there’

=========================================

From Prison to Award for Iraq War Whistleblower

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21879.htm

=========================================

Calm Iraqi election marred as thousands were denied vote

Leila Fadel McClatchy Newspapers

~~~

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/61224.html

==============

Juan Cole: Informed Comment

Da'wa, Maliki May Gain from Provincial Elections

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21871.htm

=========================================

Saudi Patience Is Running Out
By Turki al-Faisal

=========================================

Are we “normalizing war”, asks Fisk.

Robert Fisk’s World: When did we stop caring about civilian deaths during wartime?

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fiskrsquos-world-when-did-we-stop-caring-about-civilian-deaths-during-wartime-1521708.html

=========================================

Gaza desperately short of food after Israel destroys farmland

Officials warn of 'destruction of all means of life' after the three-week conflict leaves agriculture in the region in ruins

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/01/gaza-food-crisis

==============

After Israeli invasion, Gaza farmers still back rocket attacks

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/61226.html

=========================================

Chomsky on Oil and the Israel Lobby

http://www.iviews.com/Articles/articles.asp?ref=IV0901-3797

=========================================

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21870.htm

=========================================

Peace and Solidarity

=========================================

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

- Mark Twain, humorist and author (1835 - 1910)

~~~~~~~~~~

In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

Attributed to George Orwell

Discuss

Saturday stops

Written by: Gerry L on Jan 31, 2009 8:14 AM EST

Saturday~

***************round of articles about our domestic ‘issues’ ~ January 31st, 2009

=========================================

Potentially grave implications…

Supreme Court Steps Closer to Repeal of Evidence Ruling

By ADAM LIPTAK

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. took a big step toward repealing the principle that evidence obtained by police misconduct cannot be used against a defendant.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/31/washington/31scotus.html?_r=1&hp

=========================================

Groups target GOP senators on stimulus

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/groups-target-gop-senators-on-stimulus-2009-01-29.html

~~~

SEE THE AD

http://www.jobsandeconomicrecovery.com/page/speakout/economicrecovery

~~~

Tell Congress: Invest in American Jobs Now

~~~

Please consider sending the following message (you can copy & paste) or send your own message to each of the ‘targeted’ Republicans:

Senator Susan Collins from Maine

http://collins.senate.gov/public/continue.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorCollins.Email

Senator Olympia Snow from Maine

http://snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorSnowe.Email

Senator Judd Gregg from New Hamphire

http://gregg.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=contact.contactform

Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska

http://murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactMe.EMailLisa

Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa

Facing the Filibuster: Finally Obama Considers Appointing a Republican Senator from a State With a Democratic Governor

Suggested Message…from the Campaign for Jobs & Economic Recovery…

We also must invest in America's families and America's workforce.

We need to preserve the services they depend on -- helping states to fund health care, public safety and education -- while the economy is getting back on its feet.

These are smart investments in America's future and I strongly urge your support. Sincerely,

=========================================

From the Washington Post:

Republican Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.) emerged yesterday as a serious contender to fill the remaining post in President Obama's Cabinet, saying he is under consideration by the White House to become commerce secretary, which opens the possibility of a filibuster-proof Democratic majority in the Senate.

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/39448

=========================================

Bailing Out Higher Ed?

This week on the JOURNAL, Bill Moyers spoke with Vartan Gregorian, president of the non-profit Carnegie Corporation, about the fiscal struggles of America’s colleges and universities – especially those that are public – in the troubled economy.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2009/01/bailing_out_higher_ed.html

=========================================

From Physicians for Social Responsibility…

PSR's Executive Director Visits with President Obama

This week, President Obama invited members of the environmental community, including PSR Executive Director Dr. Michael McCally, to the White House to discuss the new administration's environmental policy. Read about Dr. McCally's experience here.

http://www.psr.org/site/PageServer?pagename=White_House_Visit

Stimulus Package to Contain Efficiency, Renewable Energy Measures

PSR is monitoring closely Congressional action to achieve the economic stimulus goals put forth by President Obama. Leaders in the House and Senate are vowing to complete the package before February 16 (Presidents Day) so that the new administration may begin implementing the spending programs as quickly as possible.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes a number of investments that create green jobs and promote renewable energy and energy conservation, totaling more than $50 billion in direct spending. The legislation should be a significant victory for the environment and public health.

http://www.psr.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Stimulus_Bill

=========================================

What Cooked the World's Economy?

by: James Lieber, The Village Voice

http://www.truthout.org/013009T

=========================================

Obama Gives Labor Unions a Boost

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20090130_obama_gives_labor_unions_a_boost/

=========================================

GOP picks its first black chairman, but will change follow?

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/61199.html

=========================================

100 Days To Restore The Constitution

Overview

http://www.ccrjustice.org/100Days?key=1645190

and

Close Torture Loopholes in Army Field Manual

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/383/t/4089/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26522

==============

Please consider joining Amnesty International in its campaign for Justice..

Take Action Online

Amnesty International's Online Action Center

http://www.amnestyusa.org/take-action-online/page.do?id=1031043

=========================================

Oxfam urges Obama to avert Afghan crisis

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090131/world/afghanistan_unrest_us_aid

==============

From Bill Moyers JOURNAL last night…

Is a Military Strategy the Best Option in Afghanistan?

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2009/01/is_a_military_strategy_the_bes.html

==============

Holbrooke: Insensitive Choice for a Sensitive Region

by Stephen Zunes

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/30-3

=========================================

from and about ‘over there’

=========================================

Humbled Masters At Davos

David Ignatius

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/30/AR2009013002726.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

==============

Governments across Europe tremble as angry people take to the streets

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/31/global-recession-europe-protests

=========================================

Waterford workers occupy plant

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/waterford-workers-occupy-plant-1522067.html

=========================================

Juan Cole: Informed Comment

Iraqi Voters select provincial Councils in Saturday's Vote

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/013009a.html

=========================================

Honoring an Iraq War Whistleblower
Danish intelligence officer Frank Grevil blew the whistle on the lie that George W. Bush's "coalition of the willing" was confident Iraq had WMD -- and was jailed for his truth-telling, Ray McGovern says.

=========================================

Hamas must be brought into peace process, says Tony Blair

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5621184.ece

=========================================

Secret Israeli database reveals full extent of illegal settlement

By Uri Blau

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1060043.html

==============

Israeli Advocacy Group Begins Campaign to Help Palestinians Sue Over Settlements

By ISABEL KERSHNER

An Israeli leftist group is helping Palestinians sue the state of Israel for its use of their privately owned lands for Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/31/world/middleeast/31mideast.html?ref=world

=========================================

Gaza prisoners held in harsh and humiliating conditions

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10253.shtml

=========================================

Exchange Between Bill Moyers and Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2009/01/exchange_between_bill_moyers_a.html

=========================================

Peace and Solidarity

=========================================

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

- Mark Twain, humorist and author (1835 - 1910)

~~~~~~~~~~

In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

Attributed to George Orwell

Discuss

Friday finds

Written by: Gerry L on Jan 30, 2009 8:06 AM EST

Friday~

***************round of articles about our domestic ‘issues’ ~ January 30th, 2009

=========================================

Senate Passes Health Insurance Bill for Children

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/29/AR2009012900325.html?hpid=topnews

==============

Still, more is needed….

Health Care Now

By PAUL KRUGMAN

The whole world is in recession. But the United States is the only wealthy country in which the economic catastrophe will also be a health care catastrophe — in which millions of people will lose their health insurance along with their jobs, and therefore lose access to essential care.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/opinion/30krugman.html?ref=opinion

=========================================

Commentary: Pay bias rule is finally fixed

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/story/501781.html

Urge Your Senators to Act on Paycheck Fairness for All Americans

You helped encourage Congress to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and President Obama just signed it into law. Now we need you to urge your Senators take quick action and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. Read more or take action right now!

https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr006=hgez9y10e1.app17a&pagename=homepage&id=1231&page=UserAction

~~~

AND Check out other ACLU ‘ACTION ITEMS’…you CAN help!

http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AP_action_homepage

=========================================

Workers Who Speak Out

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/opinion/30fri2.html?_r=1

=========================================

GOP Schools Obama on Partisanship
Barack Obama's post-partisanship ran head-long into united Republican opposition to his $819 billion stimulus bill, the latest indication that the GOP wants the new President to fail.

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/012909.html

==============

All about power…

McConnell warns GOP that it must broaden appeal or die

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/politics/story/61044.html

=========================================

Ticket to Ride

Ben Adler

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090216/adler

=========================================

BREAKING: Impeached Blagojevich Has Been Removed From Office

http://www.truthout.org/012909Z

=========================================

Judge: Names of Prop. 8 donors must be made public

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/politics/story/61035.html

and

http://www.sacbee.com/1095/story/1584048.html

=========================================

GOP NIMBYs

From Gitmo to Supermax?

By CHRISTOPHER BRAUCHLI

http://www.counterpunch.org/brauchli01302009.html

=========================================

Next step unclear as judge defies Obama on Guantanamo

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/61020.html

=========================================

Will Bush's Secret Legal Memos Be Released?

By Chisun Lee, ProPublica
See ProPublica's interactive chart of the Bush administration's still secret memos.

Last week, President Barack Obama formally repudiated certain counterterrorism tactics, including coercive interrogation, that his predecessor's administration had gone out defending.

Said Dick Cheney in one parting television interview touching on aggressive interrogation: "I can't claim perfection," but "I can tell you that we had all the legal authorization we needed to do it, including the sign-off of the Justice Department."

Then-President Bush put it more simply. He told CNN's Larry King, "I got legal opinions that said whatever we're going to do is legal."

http://www.alternet.org/story/123353/

==============

Senator Feingold (WI): Congress Has An Independent Responsibility to Investigate Wrongdoing

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/39402

=========================================

Juan Cole: Informed Comment

Ajami's Sleight of Hand: Bush made Emancipator and Obama Smeared

The odd collection of con men, carpetbaggers, mercenaries, court jesters, and professional propagandists that gathered around W. the way pilot fish jostle about a great white shark has now scattered to more obscure reefs. Now, as Meyrav Wurmser admitted, they are thinking about how to make money. They seek perches in the "think tanks" of kooky rich old white men, on the airwaves of corporate media, in the halls of the more corrupt corners of academia, or on the opinion pages of the wackier capitalist tools.
So it is that we now have to listen to Fuad Ajami attacking Barack Obama as a coddler of dictators, in the pages of Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal, whose editorial line brought us the current meltdown of the American economy and our ruinous foreign imbroglios. Ajami, from a southern, Lebanese Shiite background, has been for decades a trenchant critic of the pieties of Arab nationalism and a theorist of Neoconservatism.

http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/2747/t/3251/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=2523

=========================================

Write 60 Minutes' Bob Simon a letter of support

~~~

or if you prefer contact 60 MINUTES directly:

ADDRESS:
60 Minutes
524 West 57th St.
New York, NY 10019
EMAIL: 60m@cbsnews.com
PHONE: (212) 975-3247

=========================================

Indefensible Incursions of Empire

The US Garden of Evil

By MISSY COMLEY BEATTIE

http://www.counterpunch.com/beattie01302009.html

=========================================

Poverty Safety Nets Fraying Nationwide

by Adrianne Appel

BOSTON - The global economy is barely showing a pulse, and the world's poor are especially at risk, the International Monetary Fund declared Wednesday.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/01/29-4

=========================================

from and about ‘over there’

=========================================

Iceland to be fast-tracked into European Union

Exclusive: Plans for cash-strapped state to become member by 2011

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/30/iceland-join-eu

=========================================

A million on strike as France feels pinch

• Protesters say Sarkozy has done too little for workers
• Minister insists reform programme will continue

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/30/france-general-strike

~~~

French trade unions protest (14 pictures)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2009/jan/29/france-protest?picture=342523140

==============

Protests spread over foreign workers

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/protests-spread-over-foreign-workers-1520672.html

=========================================

Recep Erdogan storms out of Davos after clash with Israeli president over Gaza

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/30/turkish-prime-minister-gaza-davos

=========================================

Will Obama support Karzai's re-election in Afghanistan?

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/61045.html

=========================================

A Capped Volcano of Suffering

Dahr Jamail

http://www.truthout.org/012909A

==============

No They Can’t

Three Iraqi candidates and two campaign workers were killed Thursday as the country prepared for local elections in 14 out of 18 provinces. That’s something to keep in mind with all the talk of improved security. Relative to the hell-on-Earth of recent years, “improvement” amounts to only five people murdered for showing an interest in politics.

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20090129_no_they_cant/

==============

A momentous vote in Iraq after years of war

Polls open throughout most of the country for a provincial election that could shift the balance of power.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0130/p01s03-wome.html

==============

Iraq's Election: What to Watch For

by Robert Dreyfuss

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/29-14

==============

Iraqi shoe hurler inspires art in Saddam hometown

http://antiwar.com/

Shoe of force: Iraqi sculptor creates work to `honor' man who took aim at Bush

http://wire.antiwar.com/2009/01/29/iraqi-shoe-hurler-inspires-art-in-saddam-hometown-3/

==============

Aid trucks stranded at Egypt's Gaza border

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/01/30/news/ML-Gaza-Aid.php

==============

The Song of War and Pain

Gaza Will Survive

By Subcomandante MARCOS

http://www.counterpunch.com/marcos01302009.html

==============

My terror as a human shield: The story of Majdi Abed Rabbo

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/my-terror-as-a-human-shield-the-story-of-majdi-abed-rabbo-1520420.html

==============

UN to probe attack on Gaza compound

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/01/2009129232237121901.html

==============

Palestinian orgs. call for boycott and end of Gaza siege

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10256.shtml

=========================================

Cuba Renews Demands That the US Hand Over Guantanamo

by Ray Sanchez

HAVANA - For more than a century, the United States has controlled the Guantanamo naval base in eastern Cuba for a measly $4,085 in lease fees per year. Cuba has long refused to cash the checks.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/01/29-7

=========================================

Peace and Solidarity

=========================================

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

- Mark Twain, humorist and author (1835 - 1910)

~~~~~~~~~~

In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

Attributed to George Orwell

Discuss

Thursday articles

Written by: Gerry L on Jan 29, 2009 8:00 AM EST

Thursday~

***************round of articles about our domestic ‘issues’ ~ January 29th, 2009

=========================================

House Approves $819B Economic Stimulus Bill

Plan is cornerstone of Obama's efforts to resuscitate economy, an early victory for the new president but still disappointing because of lack of GOP votes.

Paul Kane

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/28/AR2009012800196.html?hpid%3Dtopnews&sub=AR

=========================================

Stimulus Brings on a Family Feud

E.J. Dionne

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090128_ej_dionne_economy_battle/

==============

What Red Ink? Wall Street Paid Hefty Bonuses

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/business/29bonus.html?hp

==============

Tear Down This Myth

by: Will Bunch, t r u t h o u t | Perspective

http://www.truthout.org/012809L

==============

The Financial Crisis Is Driving Hordes of Americans to Suicide

By Nick Turse, Tomdispatch.com

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: Pushed past their breaking points, people are robbing banks to pay the rent, setting homes on fire -- even taking their own lives.

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/123563/the_financial_crisis_is_driving_hordes_of_americans_to_suicide/

==============

An Open Letter to President Obama

Access to Economic Justice

By RALPH NADER

Dear President Obama:

Underneath many of our country?s economic problems is the thirty-year collapse of consumer protection?both of the regulatory kind and of the self-help kind known as proper access to justice.

http://www.counterpunch.org/nader01272009.html

==============

An Exhausted System That Needs Rethinking

by: Michel Wieviorka, La Presse

http://www.truthout.org/012809E

=========================================

The Definition of A "Two-Tiered Justice System"

by Glenn Greenwald

Aside from the intrinsic dangers and injustices of arguing for immunity for high-level government officials who commit felonies (such as illegal eavesdropping, obstruction of justice, torture and other war crimes), it's the total selectivity of the rationale underlying that case which makes it so corrupt. Defenders of Bush officials sing in unison: We shouldn't get caught up in the past. We shouldn't be driven by vengeance and retribution. We shouldn't punish people whose motives in committing crimes weren't really that bad.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/28-10

==============

Holder Nomination Approved by Senate Judiciary

http://www.truthout.org/012809R

==============

Obama Lawyers Set to Defend Yoo

http://www.truthout.org/012809S

==============

ACLU SEEKING BUSH RECORDS ON WAR CRIMES
Joanathan Turley speaks on COUNTDOWN\

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/39394

==============

President Obama Announces Key Additions to the Office of the White House Counsel

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2009/01/president_obama_announces_key_additions_to_the_off.php

=========================================

A Vote Means Dignity

by: Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut/402563?rel=hp_picks

==============

Thanks to John (Democracy For Cincinnati) and Talking Points Memo for this item…

Only one voter fraud case found

(After all the furor and hullabaloo made over this by the right… )

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090127/NEWS01/301270059

=========================================

Gore Pushes for Climate Change Commitment

It's Icy in Washington, but the Nobel Prize-Winner and Former Vice President Has the Dangers of Global Warming on His Mind

by Z. Byron Wolf and Teri Finneman

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/01/28-12

==============

A Message from Al Gore…

Please send a letter to Congress…

In Congress, our leaders are debating an economic recovery package. It includes unprecedented support for putting Americans back to work building a clean energy economy.
But entrenched interests in Washington will be working hard to weaken the legislation -- opposing funding for clean energy programs that support things like wind, solar, energy efficiency and a new national electric grid.
As members of Congress work out the details of a bill that can pass both the House and the Senate, it's important that you let each of your elected representatives know that you want the recovery to be about repowering America.
You and I know that continuing with the status quo will not revitalize the U.S. economy. Please make sure your elected officials know, too.
Watch the video and send a quick note to Congress:
http://www.RepowerAmerica.org/RecoveryVideo
Today, we can start to get America back on track.
Thanks for everything,
Al Gore
www.RepowerAmerica.org

=========================================

Revealed: the letter Obama team hope will heal Iran rift

Symbolic gesture gives assurances that US does not want to topple Islamic regime

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/28/barack-obama-letter-to-iran

==============

After The War On Terror

Roger Cohen

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/opinion/29cohen.html?_r=1&hp

=========================================

Obama, Iran and Afghanistan
By Kaveh L Afrasiabi

~~~

Should Obama decide to seriously ratchet up the pressure on Iran, Tehran will reciprocate where and when it can, possibly by pursuing in Afghanistan what Western pundits refer to as Iran's strategy of "managed chaos". That would be a last resort, however, since Afghanistan could easily get out of hand and become Iran's quagmire as well. In this event, waves of Afghan refugees would once again stream into Iran.
The link between the nuclear issue and instability in Afghanistan factor into Iran's national security calculus. And depending on developments in those two areas, the link between them could increase in the near future.

~~~

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KA29Ak01.html

==============

How Do You Ask a Man to Be the Last Man to Die for a Mistake?

by Charles Johnson

http://radgeek.com/gt/2009/01/25/how_do/

=========================================

from and about ‘over there’

=========================================

Phony Guantanamo Recidivism Numbers?

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/crime/724

=========================================

World growth 'lowest in 60 years'

Banks may lose $2.2 trillion as worst falls in 60 years hits world economy, IMF says.

http://english.aljazeera.net/business/2009/01/200912975227356412.html

=========================================

Russia and China blame capitalists for crisis

DAVOS, Switzerland: The leaders of the former bastions of the Communist bloc took the stage here on Wednesday to rebuke their capitalist brothers for dragging the world into crisis but also to assure them that, working together, they can rapidly restore the global economy to health.

In the official opening address of the World Economic Forum, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of Russia spoke of a financial "perfect storm" that has decimated the old system, rendering it obsolete.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/29/europe/29davos.php

=========================================

Iraqi courts to decide fate of America's detainees

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0129/p01s01-wome.html

==============

Iraq to Deny New License To Blackwater Security Firm

U.S. Embassy's Preferred Contractor Accused of Killings

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/28/AR2009012803319.html?hpid=moreheadlines

==============

Juan Cole: Informed Comment

Provincial Elections in Iraq

http://www.counterpunch.org/finkelstein01282009.html

=========================================

Behind the Bloodbath in Gaza

Foiling Another Palestinian "Peace Offensive"

By NORMAN FINKELSTEIN

~~~

Israel’s “larger concern” in the current offensive, New York Times Middle East correspondent Ethan Bronner reported, quoting Israeli sources, was to “re-establish Israeli deterrence,” because “its enemies are less afraid of it than they once were, or should be.” Preserving its deterrence capacity has always loomed large in Israeli strategic doctrine.

~~~

==============

STOP THE WAR COALITION IN THE UK

Mobilizes around BBC’s and Murdoch’s SkyNews’ refusal to air

A Palestinian children’s relief ad..

Complain about BBC decision >>

Donate to DEC Gaza Crisis Appeal >>

http://www.stopwar.org.uk/

~~~

with thanks to Maddi in Dayton for this YouTube clip of Tony Benn

(member of Parliament in the UK) speaking out about BBC’s decision not to air the appeal…

Veteran politician Tony Benn decided to do it himself. See him being interviewed on BBC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E21MdXe3BOQ

==============

Carter says Hamas must be included

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/01/200912823298296434.html

=========================================

Targets Said to Include Israeli Government and Intel in Bangkok, Singapore and Manila

South-East Asian Groups Threaten Retaliation Over Gaza Invasion

By ALLAN NAIRN

http://www.counterpunch.org/nairn01282009.html

=========================================

==============

=========================================

Peace and Solidarity

=========================================

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

- Mark Twain, humorist and author (1835 - 1910)

~~~~~~~~~~

In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

Attributed to George Orwell

Discuss

Wednesday picks

Written by: Gerry L on Jan 28, 2009 7:50 AM EST

Wednesday~

***************round of articles about our domestic ‘issues’ ~ January 28th, 2009

=========================================

GOP may vote no, but economists back Obama stimulus

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/60859.html

=========================================

The Anti-Stimulus Crowd Blows a Gasket

http://www.truthout.org/012609A

==============

Wall Street’s Socialist Jet-Setters

Maureen Dowd

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/opinion/28dowd.html?ref=opinion

==============

Stimulus Plan Would Provide Flood of Aid to Education

By SAM DILLON

School districts, child care centers and university campuses would receive $150 billion in new federal spending in the economic stimulus package that is scheduled for a vote in Congress on Wednesday

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/education/28educ.html?_r=1&hp

==============

President Obama may be bending over backwards…but CAN the GOPpers really ‘change’???

The Republicans Are Smiling, but They're Not Buying

Dana Milbank-The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/27/AR2009012703138.html?hpid=opinionsbox1&sid=ST2009012703708&s_pos=

==============

Financial Elite Have No Shame
By Linda McQuaig
January 27, 2009 "Toronto Star" -- - Let's imagine, for a moment, how different the public debate would be today if it had been unions that had caused the current economic turmoil.
In other words, try to imagine a scenario in which union leaders - not financial managers - were the ones whose reckless behaviour had driven a number of Wall Street firms into bankruptcy and in the process triggered a worldwide recession.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21850.htm

=========================================

Why the Pentagon is Not a Jobs Engine

Save the Economy by Cutting the Defense Budget

By WINSLOW T. WHEELER

http://www.counterpunch.org/wheeler01272009.html

=========================================

Time Has Come for Single-Payer Universal Health Care System

by Nick Metel

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/27-3

=========================================

Another Jail Death, and Mounting Questions

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/us/28detain.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&ref=us

=========================================

Ditch Mitch too…

Is Mitch McConnell trying to force Jim Bunning out?

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/politics/story/60833.html

=========================================

For Decades, Right-Wingers Have Pushed Paranoia and Xenophobic Politics and Called It 'Moral Clarity'

By Sara Robinson, Campaign for America's Future

~~~

That phrase "moral clarity" -- conservatives use it a lot. And it always sounds absurd to progressive ears, coming as it does from members of an administration that shredded the Constitution, deprived people of due process, committed horrific acts of torture and lied the country into the worst military debacle in its history.

It's always bewildering to listen to such people lecture the rest of us on "moral clarity." What in the hell are they talking about?

They keep using those words. It turns out that they don't mean what we think they mean.

~~~

http://www.alternet.org/story/121847/

=========================================

Sen. Specter Backs Holder, But What Did Holder Promise?

Sen. Arlen Specter reportedly backs Eric Holder for Attorney General, now that Holder has satisfactorily answered his questions. But what were those questions? And did Holder promise not to prosecute Bush, Cheney, and gang for their crimes? We don't know.

UPDATE: We have an idea: (HT Jason Leopold)

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/39350

=========================================

'Liberal' NYTimes Buries Rove Subpoena

http://www.bradblog.com/

=========================================

TPMMuckraker | Talking Points Memo | Ball In Obama's Court On ...

And just now, Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, told TPMmuckraker that he had already forwarded Conyers' subpoena to the Obama White House,

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/01/ball_in_obamas_court_on_roves_us_attorney_testimon.php

==============

Rove Subpoenaed AGAIN

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#28882589

==============

Alberto Gonzales, the Sequel

~~~

In an interview with National Public Radio this week, Mr. Gonzales attacked President Obama’s choice for attorney general, Eric Holder, for saying that waterboarding is torture. To hear Mr. Gonzales tell it, Mr. Holder was in the wrong — not the lawyers like Mr. Gonzales who tortured the law to justify torture, or the former defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, who approved its use, or the interrogators who actually subjected detainees to waterboarding and other inhumane and illegal interrogation techniques.

~~~

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/opinion/28wed2.html?ref=opinion

==============

Some talking points when discussing ‘security’ with ‘conservative’ acquaintances?

Did Bush's Usurpations Keep Us Safe?

by Bruce Fein

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/27/did-usurpations-work/

=========================================

Jimmy Carter on Peace in the Middle East

What’s that you say, Jimmy Carter? Peace in the Middle East is possible? The former president paid a visit to “The Daily Show” Monday night to advance this bold thesis—and to describe what it was like to mingle with Bill Clinton, two Bushes and Obama at the White House. How ’bout that Oval Office rug, gents?

http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/20090127_jimmy_carter_on_peace_in_the_middle_east/

=========================================

from and about ‘over there’

=========================================

Nato tensions damaging Afghanistan mission, warns thinktank

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/27/afghanistan-nato-taliban-al-qaida

=========================================

The battle against brutality

In her new book, Nadje Al-Ali shows how the US invasion has set Iraqi women's rights back as much as 70 years. She speaks to Sara Wajid

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jan/28/iraq-women-rights-us-news

=========================================

Fueling the Cycle of Hate

War is teaching the children of Israel and Gaza that the other side is a bloodthirsty monster, and destroying any desire for peace

by Neve Gordon and Yigal Bronner

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/27-4

=========================================

Israeli jets strike Rafah tunnels

Latest raids test fragile Gaza ceasefires as US envoy begins tour of the Middle East.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/01/200912881938752148.html

==============

The shortcut to peace
Hasan Abu Nimah, The Electronic Intifada,

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10248.shtml

==============

"You Can't Talk About The Reality Of Israel"
Omid Memarian interviews former CIA operative ROBERT BAER

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21856.htm

==============

Controversial Bestseller Shakes the Foundation of the Israeli State

By Joshua Holland, AlterNet
What if the Palestinian Arabs who have lived for decades under the heel of the modern Israeli state are in fact descended from the very same "children of Israel" described in the Old Testament?

http://www.alternet.org/story/122810/

=========================================

Bolivia Looking Forward: New Constitution Passed, Celebrations Hit the Streets

La Paz - After Bolivia's new constitution was passed in a national referendum on Sunday, thousands gathered in La Paz to celebrate. Standing on the balcony of the presidential palace, President Evo Morales addressed a raucous crowd, "Here begins a new Bolivia. Here we begin to reach true equality."

Polls conducted by Televisión Boliviana announced that the document passed with 61.97 percent support from some 3.8 million voters. According to the poll, 36.52 percent of voters voted against the constitution and 1.51 percent cast blank and null votes. »

http://www.truthout.org/012709T

=========================================

Peace and Solidarity

=========================================

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

- Mark Twain, humorist and author (1835 - 1910)

~~~~~~~~~~

In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

Attributed to George Orwell

Discuss

Tuesday choices

Written by: Gerry L on Jan 27, 2009 7:56 AM EST

Tuesday~

***************round of articles about our domestic ‘issues’ ~ January 27th, 2009

=========================================

The Same Old Song

By BOB HERBERT

What’s up with the Republicans? Have they no sense that their policies have sent the country hurtling down the road to ruin? Are they so divorced from reality that in their delusionary state they honestly believe we need more of their tax cuts for the rich and their other forms of plutocratic irresponsibility, the very things that got us to this deplorable state?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/opinion/27herbert.html?_r=1&hp

=========================================

Two Santa Clauses or How The Republican Party Has Conned America for Thirty Years

by Thom Hartmann

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/26-0

=========================================

Invoking Obama, House Judiciary Chairman subpoenas Rove

John Byrne

Update: Rove lawyer comments

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/CONYERS_SUBPOENAS_KARL_ROVE_0126.html

~~~

and

House Judiciary chairman subpoenas Karl Rove

House Judiciary Committee Chairman subpoenas Karl Rove in continuing legal battle

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2009/01/house_judiciary_chairman_subpoenas_karl_rove_1.php

==============

And I wasn’t polled…were you???

Poll: 44% of Democrats think Bush officials committed 'war crimes'

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Poll_44_pct._of_Democrats_see_0126.html

==============

Jailed governor Siegelman says Rove subpoena 'restores people's faith in democracy'

John Byrne and Larisa Alexandrovna

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Jailed_governor_says_Rove_subpoena_restores_0127.html

==============

Holding Rove in Inherent Contempt

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/39331

==============

Holding Bush Accountable on NSA Spying

Keith talks with Professor Jonathan Turley…”someone is guilty as hell”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#28864697

==============

The Union Way Up

by: Robert B. Reich, The Los Angeles Times

http://www.truthout.org/012609T

=========================================

'Doctored Evidence' Tossed on First Day of Coleman/Franken Election Contest

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6857

and

MN Judges To Coleman: Try Again

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/01/minnesota-election-judges-toss-colemans-faulty-evidence-tell-him-to-try-again.php

=========================================

A Win for Free Speech Online

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/opinion/27tue2.html?hp

==============

New Day on Climate Change

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/opinion/27tue1.html?ref=opinion

=========================================

Lt. Gov. Mongiardo will challenge Bunning for U.S. Senate seat

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/jan/26/lt-gov-mongiardo-will-challenge-bunning-us-senate-/

=========================================

In America, Speaking the Truth Is a Career-ending Event

Paul Craig Roberts

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21847.htm

=========================================

Keith Olbermann asks…

Did Gitmo Create Terrorists?????

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#28864548

==============

The Torture Ban that Doesn't Ban Torture:
Obama's Rules Keep It Intact, and Could Even Accord With an Increase in US-Sponsored Torture Worldwide.
By Allan Nairn

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21844.htm

=========================================

Writers Pressure Obama Over Afghanistan

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20090126_not_this_time/

=========================================

Obama begins Middle East diplomacy drive

'Americans are not your enemy,' president tells Arabic TV network as US envoy sets out on eight days of talks

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/27/middleeast-israel

==============

watch the interview on Al Arabiya

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/In_first_presidential_TV_interview_Obama_0126.html

=========================================

Five Questions for George Mitchell

http://www.antiwar.com/engelhardt/?articleid=14144

=========================================

from and about ‘over there’

=========================================

Global recession costs 80,000 jobs a day

Grim picture for world leaders gathering at Davos
Philips, Pfizer, Caterpillar and Corus add to toll

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/26/job-losses-uk-europe-usa

=========================================

According to The Guardian.UK

Twenty-five people at the heart of the meltdown ...

The worst economic turmoil since the Great Depression is not a natural phenomenon but a man-made disaster in which we all played a part. In the second part of a week-long series looking behind the slump, Guardian City editor Julia Finch picks out the individuals who have led us into the current crisis
Poll: Who led us down the Road to Ruin?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/26/road-ruin-recession-individuals-economy

=========================================

Icelandic PM becomes world's first leader to step down over banking system crisis

• Geir Haarde calls for early elections amid protests
• Country faces economic contraction of up to 10%

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/27/iceland-prime-minister-resignation

=========================================

Juan Cole: Informed Comment

Cole/ Marsh Debate on Obama's Bombing of Pakistan

My Democratic Party colleague Taylor Marsh took exception to my Salon piece on Obama's decision to bomb Pakistan during his first week in office.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/01/20091278409160693.html

=========================================

Deadly clash along Gaza border

=========================================

Ceasefire broken from day one

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10247.shtml

=========================================

Book review: "Cycles of violence," US media and Palestine
Shervan Sardar, The Electronic Intifada, 26 January 2009
In a brilliant new book, Pens and Swords: How the American Mainstream Media Report the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Marda Dunsky analyzes the politics, culture and theory of coverage of the conflict in the United States. Dunsky, a former Arab affairs reporter for The Jerusalem Post and editor at the national/foreign desk of The Chicago Tribune, examines a wide array of news reports from television and print media, focusing on the recent history of the conflict from the Camp David peace talks in the summer of 2000 to the April 2004 meeting between then US President George W. Bush and then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10243.shtml

=========================================

Gaza War Pushes Arabs to the Brink

Robert Dreyfuss

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/dreyfuss/401599

=========================================

How the call for aid to Gaza left the BBC in the thick of battle

Plea from Disasters Emergency Committee broadcast without corporation's support for the first time in 46 years

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jan/27/media-bbc-gaza-appeal

==============

Pleas for help…

Gaza aid appeal video

Watch the Gaza aid appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee to be broadcast by ITV, Channel 4 and Five but rejected by the BBC and Sky

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2009/jan/26/dec-gaza-appeal

==============

Mercy Corps in Gaza

http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/westbankgaza/2504

How you can help…

http://www.mercycorps.org/gazacrisis/

==============

Palestinians abandoned in legal limbo

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=118581&d=27&m=1&y=2009

=========================================

Peace and Solidarity

=========================================

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

- Mark Twain, humorist and author (1835 - 1910)

~~~~~~~~~~

In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

Attributed to George Orwell

Discuss

Monday items

Written by: Gerry L on Jan 26, 2009 8:10 AM EST

Monday~

***************round of articles about our domestic ‘issues’ ~ January 26th, 2009

=========================================

It's time to choose right over wrong - Commentary

By Joseph L. Galloway | McClatchy Newspapers

While President Barack Obama was busy closing down our military prison in Guantanamo and shuttering the Central Intelligence Agency's secret Gulag around the world, Republicans on Capitol Hill were stalling a vote on Obama’s choice for attorney general, apparently in hopes of negotiating a plea bargain on war crimes.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/60658.html

=========================================

Are We Civilized Enough to Hold Our Leaders Accountable for War Crimes? The World Is Watching

John W. Dean, FindLaw.com

Other countries are likely to take action against officials who condoned torture, even if the United States fails to do so.

http://www.alternet.org/story/122186/are_we_civilized_enough_to_hold_our_leaders_accountable_for_war_crimes_the_world_is_watching/

~~~

New Website Lets You Contact Your Local Prosecutor to Ask for the Prosecution of Bush

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/39301

=========================================

Seven Years of Darkness, Tyranny, and Oppression

Jacob G. Hornberger

http://www.fff.org/freedom/fd0809a.asp

=========================================

Partisan Politics Wait in the Wings

E.J.Dionne

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090125_dionne_republican_hijinks/

=========================================

Bad Faith Economics

By PAUL KRUGMAN

As the debate over President Obama’s economic stimulus plan gets under way, one thing is certain: many of the plan’s opponents aren’t arguing in good faith. Conservatives really, really don’t want to see a second New Deal, and they certainly don’t want to see government activism vindicated. So they are reaching for any stick they can find with which to beat proposals for increased government spending.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/opinion/26krugman.html?_r=1&hp

~~~

there is no time for Republican obstructionist-politicking now…

please consider letting Boehner & McConnell know we want

support for the new President…

~~~

John Boehner, 8<sup>th</sup> Dictrict OHIO

Butler County Office
7969 Cincinnati-Dayton Road
Suite B
West Chester, OH 45069
(513) 779-5400
(513) 779-5315 fax

Miami County Office
12 South Plum Street
Troy, OH 45373
(937) 339-1524
(937) 339-1878 fax

Washington, D.C. Office
1011 Longworth H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-6205
(202) 225-0704 fax

Toll-free number Residents of the 8th District
of Ohio may use the toll-free number: (800) 582-1001

If you do not live in the 8th District, visit here for contact information.

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/webreturn/?url=http://johnboehner.house.gov

~~~

SENATOR MICH MCCONNELL:

Contact by Email
To send your comments to me via electronic mail, please fill out my online contact form.

Senate panel rolls out pro-business tax breaks for stimulus

Contact Offices

Fort Wright KY office:

1885 Dixie Highway
Suite 345
Fort Wright, KY 41011
Phone: (859) 578-0188

Washington Office
361-A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2541
Fax: (202) 224-2499

==============

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/60634.html

=========================================

Feingold Proposes Direct Election of ALL Senators

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/401612/feingold_proposes_direct_election_of_all_senators?rel=hpbox

=========================================

Obama to OK states imposing tougher emissions standards

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/244/story/60715.html

=========================================

Weekly Address: Remarks of President Barack Obama

http://www.truthout.org/012409Bvideo

=========================================

BBC documentary takes on Obama's plans for American health care system

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/BBC_documentary_takes_on_Obamas_plans_0125.html

=========================================

Open Letter to President Obama on Consumer Protection

by Ralph Nader

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/25-4

=========================================

Bush's Faith-Based Gravy Train
George W. Bush's legacy includes institutionalized subsidies for Christian Right groups working under the Faith-Based Initiative that Barack Obama has vowed to continue, notes Rev. Howard Bess.

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/012509b.html

=========================================

Israel’s Lies

Henry Siegman

Western governments and most of the Western media have accepted a number of Israeli claims justifying the military assault on Gaza: that Hamas consistently violated the six-month truce that Israel observed and then refused to extend it; that Israel therefore had no choice but to destroy Hamas’s capacity to launch missiles into Israeli towns; that Hamas is a terrorist organisation, part of a global jihadi network; and that Israel has acted not only in its own defence but on behalf of an international struggle by Western democracies against this network.

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n02/sieg01_.html

=========================================

With Gaza, Journalists Fail Again

Chris Hedges

The assault on Gaza exposed not only Israel’s callous disregard for international law but the gutlessness of the American press. Nearly all reporters were, as during the buildup to the Iraq war, pliant stenographers and echo chambers.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090126_with_gaza_journalists_fail_again/

==============

Here, a rare exception for the above ‘rule’….

Did you catch 60 Minutes last night??? What a rare event this segment was!!!

If you missed it…it is ‘essential’ viewing…

Is Peace Out Of Reach?

Has peace in the Middle East become nothing more than a pipe dream? As Bob Simon reports, a growing number of Israelis and Palestinians feel that a two-state solution is no longer possible.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4752349n

=========================================

from and about ‘over there’

=========================================

Closing Gitmo Just the Beginning

by Eric Margolis

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/25-6

==============

U.S. plan for Guantánamo prison camp detainees: Divide and conquer

The president wants U.S. trials for some and transfer abroad for others as part of his plan to close the prison camps at Guantánamo Bay.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/guantanamo/story/871203.html

=========================================

Clamour for BBC to show Gaza appeal intensifies

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jan/26/bbc-gaza-appeal-mps-motion

=========================================

From Hospital, Afghans Rebut U.S. Account

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/world/asia/26afghan.html?ref=world

=========================================

Breaking Gaza’s Will

Israel’s Enduring Fantasy

By Ramzy Baroud

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21840.htm

=========================================

Juan Cole: Informed Comment

Iraqi Politicians seek Wins in Provincial Elections

The big news in Iraq this week is the provincial elections due to be held on Saturday.