|
Notes
and cases for:
Events
and meetings
read
the news, oh, boy
Links:
ecology
social justice
grassroots
peace/nonviolence
local
area political directory
|
After
a (somewhat arbitrary) time, some news stories were shifted over
to the archives. The archives will
become searchable soon. In the meantime, this page will be shortened
to the current post and the two previous ones. Previous posts will
be in the folder, 2008archives, where they can be browsed. The search
link will be on this page.
POSTED
07/04/08
When is Independence Day? | Kathy Kelly, Voice for Creative Nonviolence.
The article contains an excellent Lincoln quote, as well as some
excellent conclusions. Lincoln: "… It is not our frowning
battlements, our bristling sea coasts, the guns of our war steamers,
or the strength of our gallant and disciplined army. These are not
our reliance against a resumption of tyranny in our fair land: all
of them may be turned against our liberties, without making us stronger
or weaker for the struggle. Our reliance is in the love of liberty
which God has planted in our bosoms: our defense is in the preservation
of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in
all lands, every where. Destroy this spirit, and you have planted
the seeds of despotism around your own doors."
antiwar.com/orig/kelly.php?articleid=13092
Again, another Military Chief Warns Against Striking Iran (The Chicago
Tribune). "The words Wednesday from Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were notable for their blunt pragmatism:
An Israeli airstrike on Iran would be high-risk and could further
destabilize the region, leading to political and economic chaos."
commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/03/10073/print/
Obama Voters Protest His Switch on Telecom Immunity | James Risen,
the New York Times. "In recent days, more than 7,000 Obama
supports have organized on a social networking site on [Senator]
Obama's own campaign web site." Editorial comment: And now
we will see how Obama reacts to having his feet held to the fire.
It will be good to know that (as much as it can be known) before
he's in office. truthout.org/article/obama-voters-protest-his-switch-telecom-immunity?print
A small kernel of what's wrong with the US educational system: US
Teacher is Supended for Letting Pupils Read Best Seller. No, that's
not not one of James Patterson's books; it's called The Freedom
Writers Diary, and she assigned it as a way to inspire under-performing
high school students. commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/03/10067/print/
Christian Nation: Bush Moves Big Bucks to Religious Organizations.
(an excerpt from The Court and the Cross: The Religious Right's
Crusade to Reshape the Supreme Court. alternet.org/module/printversion/90284
Why the Oil Industry Benefits from Bottled Water Sales | Richard
Girard, Polaris Instittute. Another example of the numerous ways
we live in an oil economy. alternet.org/module/printversion/89596
POSTED 06/30/08
Will the Last Superpower Recognize in Time What We Must Do to Save
the Planet? | David Korten. "If we hold to business as usual,
we will exhaust what remains of our power and credibility in a bloody
and violent no win-competition to consume the last tree, fish, drop
of oil, drink of potable water, and breath of clean air -- sealing
our own fate as well as that of our species." alternet.org/module/printversion/89452
US Halts Solar Energy Projects Over Environment Fears. Now that
technology with a three decade history could become a reality, the
Bureau of Land Manaagement wants to hold it up for study.
commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/28/9949/print/
If Terrorists Rock the Boat in 2008 | Frank Rich. An assessment
of the current standing of the dual fears of terrorist attack and
gay people, or how the world only seems to be standing still, or
some exercises in thinking it through, if the dog actually does
get wagged this year. truthout.org/article/if-terrorists-rock-vote-2008?/print
Officials: 30,000 [more] troops heading to Iraq in 2009. (AP). When
the last brigade of the surge heads out in July, there will be only
[!] 142,000 or so left, which is approximately 7,000 more than were
there before the surge. truthout.org/article/30000-troops-heading-iraq-2009?print
Guess what? It Was Oil, All Along | Bill Moyers and Michael Winship
(video) All you cynics and economic determinists out there can relax,
because the return of the original big four oil giants to Iraq has
vindicated you. truthout.org/article/it-was-oil-all-along?print
Will J Stret end up stealing some of AIPAC's thunder? New Israel
Lobby advocates diplomacy over force.
tampabay.com/news/article649954.ece
POSTED 06/27/08
War with Iran seems to be looming at an alarming pace. H.CON.RES.362,
which essentially calls for a naval blockade on Iran, had picked
up 208 co-sponsors in the House, as of yesterday evening. The Senate
version, called S.RES.580, had 32 at that time. Although co-sponsorship
has been somewhat on party lines so far, it seems doubtful that
only a few Democrats will vote against the measure when it comes
up (Scheduled next week), especially since it was originally advocated
by Olmert and of course the Israel lobby is screaming for it. campaigniran.org/casmii/index.php?q=node/5418
Time for a Grand Inquest into Bush's High Crimes | Robert Borosage.
"According to the leading case on presidential powers, if Bush's
extreme assertions of power are not challenged by Congress, they
end up not simply creating new law, the could end up rewriting the
Constitution itself." truthout.org/article/time-a-grand-inquest-into-bushs-high-crimes
James Hansen's return to Congressional testimony after twenty years.
He calls for a national carbon tax and attacks the use of oil profits
of some companies, notably ExxonMobil, for payment for propaganda
denying the realities of global climate change. CEOs of those companies
"may be tuilty of crimes against humanity and nature."
enn.com/pollution/article/37492/print
Campaign Finance Reform Has Failed | Robert Parry. A simple question:
"Is the US government more in the pocket of special interests
that it was in the mid-1970's when this reform movement gained traction
after the Watergate scandal? It's hard to reach an answer other
than that today is worse."
truthout.org/article/campaign-finance-reform-has-failed?print
No Blood for ... er ... um...: The Oil Majors Take a Little Sip
of the Ol' Patrimony | Tom Englehardt, TomDispatch.com. The four
oil giants that " 'lost their concessions in Iraq' back in
1972 when [Iraq's] oil was nationalized" are back, with "service
contracts," not the "production sharing agreements"
they gunned for, but quite profitable. truthout.org/article/no-blood-er-um?print
A McCain aid remarked on how a new terror attack would help McCain
in the election. In this article, the remark is said to hit a nerve,
your editor would guess that it might be because it was not as well
hidden has a similar remark in the Project for a New American Century
flagship article on the US defenses, which asserted the only a "new
Pearl Harbor" would bring the public around to backing the
military development that PNAC said was needed. truthout.org/article/aide-terror-attacks-big-advantage-mccain?print
Direct questions,
comments, and suggestions on this page to webmaster
|
