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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


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