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Sigh. Here's some news that does not come as a surprise
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rob kall  Latest Headlines
By Rob Kall
Bush and Rove Broke Law; Office of Special Counsel Concludes-- But OSC and DOJ Not Acting On Findings  George W. Bush, Karl Rove, Ken Mehlman and others repeatedly broke the law, violating the Hatch Act, a new report concludes... and they are going to be allowed to get away with it. By Chris Hedges
Where Liberals Go to Feel Good  The liberal class refuses to directly confront the dead hand of corporate power that is rapidly transforming America into a brutal feudal state. The liberal class' solution to the bleak political landscape is the conference. This, along with letters and cries of outrage circulated on the Internet, is its preferred form of expression. By Jonathan Cook
The Palestine Papers -- Israel's peacemakers unmasked
One of the Palestine Papers quotes an exasperated Mr. Erekat asking a US diplomat last year: "What more can I give?" The man with the answer may be Mr. Lieberman, who unveiled his own map of Palestinian statehood this week. It conceded a provisional state on less than half of the West Bank. By Ray McGovern
Torture at 'Justice': Better Not to Ask
All that is required is a mind-trick to convince ourselves that Jesus did not really mean to say what he said, that he did not really mean to do what he did in exposing the evils of empire. Sadly, help is at hand. It is easy to find a pastor preaching a domesticated Jesus -- an ahistorical Jesus far more interested in "piety" than justice. By Danny Schechter
Calls Begin For Prosecuting Wall Street Criminals: Was The Crisis Caused By Crime?
Was The Financial Crisis a Mistake Or A Crime. Danny Schechter examines the issues as new calls for proscutions emerge. By Michael Collins
Healthcare Reform - Abandoning the Self Employed  Before it ever arrived at the president's desk for signature, the health reform act contained a fatal poison pill that would devastate the self-employed. By Chris Floyd
Goonstruck: The Mysterious Mind of Modern Progressives  Where did today's belief in the power structure's inherent worthiness -- if we can only get a few plucky guys and gals in there to work the gears -- come about? Somewhere along the line, the "progressive left" became imbued with the same worship of power that we are constantly, and rightly, told is a hallmark of the Right. By Sherwood Ross
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES LOCKED IN STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE
Here's a very different view of American history, a view seen from the perspective of Lakota tribe member Tiokasin Ghosthorse, perhaps the world's leading advocate of the rights of indigenous people. By Kevin Gosztola
Profiles of the Targeted: FBI Raided My Home, Wanted to Know About "My Indoctrination"  The first in a series of profiles of activists being targeted by the FBI. Some activists subpoenaed are being asked to go before a grand jury on January 25th. They are accused of "material support for terrorism." By Robert Abston
Keith, We've Got Your Back  As the "Lion of the Progressive Media Establishment" departs MSNBC, we reflect on what Keith's departure means for him, for us, for the progressive community and for and for our movement. Keith, you taught us well. We will have your back while you plan your next steps, your next venture or while you simply take a break and reflect. By Michael Greenwell
Burns Night  A unique holiday and not only for Scots By Robert Abston
Keith, We've Got Your Back We consider what the departure of Keith Olberann from MSNBC means to Keith, to us, to the progressive community and to the movement in which we are engaged. We also reflect on how we can carry a little of the load while Keith considers his next move, his next venture or as he simply takes a break to reflect. By David Glenn Cox
Big Brother's Box  Keith Olbermann was fired by MSNBC, is anyone really surprised by that? Really? Edward R. Murrow was fired, Hunter S. Thompson was fired, anyone with an inch of backbone or an ounce of credibility will get fired. The late Tim Russert once said, "Integrity is for paupers." By Robert Arend
O'Donnell Didn't Praise Olbermann As Much As Mock Him  In his transparent attempt to ingratiate himself to us, it seemed to me O'Donnell was more a salesman trying to sell something way over priced instead of being honest with his customers; and that he was not really praising Olbermann as much as he was mocking him. By Phil Klein
Gambling: A Malignancy that Thrives on Euphoric Hope Called "ACTION"
America is beset by the malignancy called "gambling." The fabric of our life has been invaded by the "need" for more thrills, and the habit of gambling has permeated almost every walk of life. At a time when we are facing financial catastrophe, the thrill of gambling also provides an escape mechanism. Worst of all, we are walking in the path that other civilizations have followed to their ultimate catastrophic failures. By Olga Bonfiglio
The Gutsy Food Sovereignty Movement Helps Shape Policy And to Rekindle and Model Democratic Principles at Work  Citizen participation is the key to establishing and keeping a democracy. As we watch our representative government crumble through corporate influence, political corruption and hate speech, we can look to the food sovereignty movement to remind us how democracy really works. Then, let's hope that spirit will spread. By Joan Brunwasser
Hello Kitty Mysteriously Disappears from Prisoner's Mail at Edgefield  Gary crochets in prison and has made heartfelt gifts for loved ones.Our youngest daughter loves Hello Kitty and her birthday is coming up soon. So he had asked me to send him something with Hello Kitty on grid or graph paper so that he could crochet as a birthday gift for her.When Gary told me he had received the mail, I asked if he liked the Kitty options, only to have him tell me there was no Hello Kitty.She was just gone. By Thom Hartmann
Massachusetts blogger says, "One down - 534 to go"
Thom has pointed out how the de-legitimaztion campaign waged by the far right justifies, for their warriors, the murder of members of government. By DEBRA HOOD
U.S.A. Inc. uses taxpayer's money fund crony political campaigns  Why the Citizen's United Supreme Court decision should be over turned. By Robert Naiman
Can US Support UN Resolution on Israeli Settlements? Yes We Can!  It's not an immutable law of the universe that the U.S. has to veto U.N. resolutions critical of Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Indeed, last year, the U.S. promised the Palestinians to "consider allowing UN Security Council condemnation of any significant new Israeli settlement activity," the Guardian reported. By Mazin Qumsiyeh
Palestine Papers and Palestine Plans
Here we describe what plans from key actors in the Middle East drama going forward after the latest release of the Palestine papers showed the peace process industry is dead or dying. By Kevin Gosztola
Profiles of the Targeted: FBI Followed Me In My Car to a Parking Garage om Burke and his wife were at home with their daughter on September 24th, 2010. They began to receive phone calls from people in Chicago and Minneapolis informing them the FBI was raiding their homes. Burke thought the FBI might be coming to raid his house. The FBI subpoenaed he and his wife. By Dave Lefcourt
There's a bit of the Tunisian in All of Us
There's a bit of the Tunisian in all of us. Few of us may be Tunisian Arab but there is kinship w/ those ready to sacrifice themselves, uphold their dignity and self respect in open defiance against a gov't official's humiliation that explicitly revealed the states contempt for its people. The revolution in Tunisia has changed the political landscape in the Arab world. Maybe it can show a better way for other Arab states. By Stephen Lendman
The "Palestine Papers" Revealed
They expose US/Israeli/PA treachery. By David Swanson
150 Leading Activists Oppose Obama for Democratic Nomination
Over 150 prominent activists, authors, and academics have launched a petition with a statement that begins: Latest Articles
No U-Turns on the Road to Serfdom?
Opponents of the Fed make Strange Befellows
Suspicion of the Federal Reserve crosses party lines. Traditional FDR Dems and pro-business Reps want to leave the Fed alone. Libertarian Reps and progressive Dems want to audit the Fed, subject it to democratic controls, or even abolish it. (The Tea Party has adopted an enigmatic posture, at once challenging the Fed and protecting it.) Tomgram: Juan Cole, American Policy on the Brink  Cole explores the explosion of popular outrage in Tunisia, and smaller-scale versions of it in Algeria and elsewhere in the Greater Middle East -- and how from Tunisia to Central Asia and Afghanistan, the U.S. government ended up on the wrong side, backing crony, nepotistic regimes, deeply unpopular with their people, which nonetheless offered one thing: a willingness to join Washington in its "war on terror." Insanity Overload: Why Can't We Just Sit Back And Enjoy It?  If the last three weeks are a portent of things to come this year, then we should all crawl back under the covers. Seriously! The panoply of dimwitted preachers and politicians that came out of the woodwork threatens to destroy our faith in God and humanity: Cindy Jacobs, Michele Bachmann, Wiley Drake, the Southern Baptist Convention, World Net Daily, Rick Joyner, and newcomer Michael Voris, S.T.B. (whatever that is). White House Spokesperson Gibbs Trys to Stifle Questions about Obama's Marriage Question
Obama speaks of the "traditional" image of marriage as being between one man and one woman, but that "tradition" also meant the couple were of the same skin color, unlike his own parents. Wasn't the traditional image of an American president that of a white man? Wasn't the traditional image of the Speaker of the House that of a white man? Wasn't the image of a state governor that of a white man? State Of The Union: The TWO Republican Responses
I will be surprised if Michelle Bachmann directly slams the Republican Party and I believe her remarks will mostly be directed at President Obama, but complicit in that response, and I'm sure one unsanctioned by the mainstream Republican Party, will be extreme issues and ideas that will make some in the Republican unhappy, maybe even pissed off. Real Respect for the Constitution
There is no authority in the Constitution for warrantless searches, for the TSA, for the War on Drugs, for secret prisons or detention without trial. When will we reverse this vast, invasive expansion of Federal powers? CIA's Leon Panetta and the OSS Ghost of "Wild Bill" Donovan
What CIA Director Leon Panetta has in common with General "Wild Bill" Donovan, who headed the World War II Office of Strategic Services (OSS) By Press Release
Open Letter from Louisiana State Senator A.G. Crowe to President Obama on the Gulf Oil Disaster and Use of Dispersants  State Senator Crowe of Louisiana has written a letter to President Obama strongly urging him to protect the Gulf Coast, its citizens and environment, against the horrific ravishes of dispersants and oil. Olbermann's Ouster: 'In the Barracuda Tank...'  What really caused Keith Olbermann's stunning announcement Friday evening that the show would be his last on MSNBC? "Olbermann was the most controversial, outspoken on-air personality," says one network TV expert. "In the barracuda tank, no one needs to read a memo to know what to do." Prisons for Profit
Our prison system needs reform. This is almost impossible because so many are profiting from it. The prison guards and officials, the companies that run privatized prisons and the stockholders of these companies. In 2007, according to the National Association of State Budgeting Officers, states spent $44 billion in tax dollars on corrections. "Greetings From Exile . . ."  In American society today, the psychotic ravings and murderous verbal imagery of a Glenn "shoot them in the head" Beck are tolerated -- rewarded, actually -- while any personality on the other side of the political spectrum who dares speaks too vehemently or drifts too far from the corporate line are ultimately silenced. Ted Koppel's Timid Take on Iran-gate
The safe conventional wisdom continues to be the acceptance of the false history that was created in the early 1990s as the easy way for all the various powerful players to avoid painful clashes over accountability and guilt. Haiti: The New Prometheus  Regardless of who is to blame, the people of Haiti continue to suffer. Civility? Whatever. Capitulation? No Thanks.
It's well past time to be blunt about our situation. Indeed, we cannot even hope to ameliorate it if we cannot even begin by labeling it. The truth is that there are economic predators out there seeking to take what we have so that they can live ever wealthier lives while ours are short, nasty and brutish because of their institutionalized and legalized theft.  Best News Links from the Web
White House Energy 'Czar' to Exit in Staff Shake-Up  Carol Browner is leaving her position as White House "energy czar," and a staff shake-up is likely to eliminate her post altogether. Browner led the administration's effort to gather votes in Congress for legislation to limit emissions of greenhouse gases. The effort unraveled in the Senate last year, amid opposition from Republicans and some Democrats fearful of its impact on energy prices and jobs. U.S. can't link Army private to Assange  U.S. military officials tell NBC News that investigators have been unable to make any direct connection between a jailed army private suspected with leaking secret documents and Julian Assange, founder of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks. Security worse in Afghanistan  In its annual report for 2010, the rights group said security has deteriorated in most regions of Afghanistan, despite the US troop surge last year. The Monday report said that two US operations in Kandahar and Helmand in 2010 displaced thousands of Afghan civilians and increased militancy in the two provinces. It added that there was a ten percent increase in civilian casualties last year in the war-ravaged country. Jesse Ventura Sues TSA in Pat-Down Smackdown  Ex-Navy Frogman, actor, pro-wrestler, former governor of Minnesota and now TV celebrity Jesse Ventura has made no bones about his contempt for the growing, Fascistic, anti-American police state reducing Americans to dumb-downed, humiliated and fear-drenched cattle and sheep and is now taking on the TSA in a lawsuit against the invasive pat-downs dehumanizing air travelers all across the United States. Chicago Tribune Slams "Judicial Arrogance" In Removing Emanuel From Mayoral Ballot  Three days of testimony before the elections board determined that Emanuel was a longtime resident of Chicago and that he didn't abandon that status while serving as chief of staff to President Barack Obama. That should have been the end of it. Instead, the two appellate justices twisted themselves into a pretzel to come up with an argument to disqualify him. Insisting that they had "no Supreme Court directive" on which to rely and hanging their hat on an interpretation found in a case they acknowledge "lacks precedential force," the justices decided that the phrase "resided in" has one meaning when applied to voters and another when applied to candidates. This distinction, dissenting judge Lampkin notes, "is a figment of the majority's imagination" and "a standard that the majority just conjured out of thin air." Warren nimble in building Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The pieces are quietly falling into place to create a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, designed to prevent the sorts of renegade lending practices that crippled the housing market and nearly brought down the U.S. financial system. Warren has been traveling the country, meeting with trade groups and consumer advocates to get their views on how the agency might work best. The dialogue and outreach have helped quiet opposition, at least for now. Jared Loughner Pleads Not Guilty In Arizona Shooting  Loughner faces federal charges of trying to assassinate Giffords and murder two of her aides. He will later face state charges in the attack that killed six people, including U.S. District Judge John Roll and a 9-year-old girl. His attorney, Judy Clarke, is one of the top lawyers in the country for defendants facing prominent death penalty cases, having represented clients such "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski and Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph. She has a reputation for working out plea deals that spare defendants the death penalty, as was the case for Rudolph and Kaczynski. From Tunisia to Wikileaks to the Stuxnet worm, a cascade of cyberevents
The world can expect more such digital tipping points in the future. Cyberevents will be capable of altering the course of history, some for good, some for ill. They may often be unseen, often without anyone taking credit, often the tool of the weak against the strong. Governments are only beginning to act. President Obama set up a Cyber Command in the Pentagon. Britain has a Cyber Security Operations Centre. George Allen makes it official  Allen said the commonwealth needs a leader who will listen to the voices of Virginians and fight to "repeal and replace this government mandated health care experiment, pass a balanced budget amendment and the line item veto and reduce our families' energy costs." Misunderstanding Israeli motives  Al Jazeera's release of The Palestine Papers helps to make clear why there is no Palestinian state. It illuminates a key flaw in Palestinian and western understanding of Israeli thinking. It is this flaw which helps explain why a state has failed to emerge €" despite the many, many opportunities in the last nineteen years in which it could have. Why is there no Palestinian state? Because the Israeli government's objective is not a Jewish state, but a Zionist one. Doctors: Giffords improves after brain fluid buildup  U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' condition is improving at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, but officials at the Houston hospital did not provide any updates on the building of fluid in her brain, according to a statement issued on Sunday afternoon. On Saturday, one of her doctors said a buildup of fluid in Giffords' brain likely will keep her in intensive care until at least the end of this week, delaying the start of full-fledged rehabilitation. Israel spurned Palestinian offer of 'biggest Yerushalayim in history'  Palestinian negotiators secretly agreed to allow Israel to annex all but one of the settlements built in occupied East Jerusalem in the most far-reaching concessions ever made over the bitterly contested city. The offer was turned down by Israel's then foreign minister as inadequate.
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