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I've been working at recruiting new writers to cross-post to OpEdNews.com. Crossposting means posting here as well as somewhere else-- maybe their personal blog, maybe another large site. Some people think that they'll lose traffic if they don't have all their readers go to their site to read their articles. I know that crossposting some of your articles can make a huge difference in readership. One new writer I'm thrilled to have at OEN is Kurt Stone. Joan Brunwasser, one of our Senior Editors, interviewed Kurt: Kurt Stone on his "Memo to Sarah Palin" In the interview, Kurt commented, "... "now that I have begun posting to OpEdNews.Com, my readership has exploded! Perhaps it will also result in increased book sales."
That's something I've known. I hope you'll take a look at this and consider posting your writing at OEN in addition to your blog or wherever you've been posting.
This past week, technorati.com reported that OEN was ranked 50, in the overall category, out of the more than 1.25 million blogs they track. We're doing something right.
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Tips on adding images to your articles, diaries, even comments...
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DOJ Hypocrisy. Two Articles by Jesselyn Radack add up to DOJ Hypocrisy
Thanks,
Rob Kall, OpEdNews  Latest Headlines
By Jesselyn Radack
Justice Department Leakers of Classified Info. Get a Pass
Three months ago, journalist Michael Isikoff noted the disturbing "Double Standard" in White House Leak Inquiries. But now it's not just the Executive Branch. Josh Gerstein of Politico just published an article on how a judge ruled that the Justice Department can keep secret names of its own lawyers who leak classified information. By Patrick Martin
Swiss banker jailed for supplying information to WikiLeaks  Swiss authorities arrested a former banker and whistleblower after he made a public handover of information on wealthy tax evaders to the Internet web site WikiLeaks. Rudolf Elmer was taken into custody Wednesday evening, two days after a press conference in Zürich where he delivered data on offshore bank accounts to WikiLeaks. By Rob Kall
Use Cropped Screen Shots From Youtube to Improve Your Articles and Diaries  If you want to maximize the readership of your writing, add a photo. It will show up on the front page and be much more likely to get your article headlined. By Adnan Al-Daini
The unemployed and top bankers: Misery for one, obscene extravagance for the other
How is it that bankers using money, made by hardworking ordinary people, to manipulate financial markets employing casino type methods, are worth so much more than the people who make it? People would accept hardship and cuts if they perceived that the load was shared fairly and justly, with those most able shouldering a heavier load. By Jim Quinn
THE FOURTH AMERICAN REVOLUTION  History offers no guarantees. If America plunges into an era of depression or violence which by then has not lifted, we will likely look back on the 1990s as the decade when we valued all the wrong things and made all the wrong choices. By Thom Hartmann[[Hartmann]]
Could the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision soon be overturned?
Common Cause is taking the (corporate) bull by the horns. They are asking the Department of Justice to look into "conflict of interest" allegations in the Citizens United case that if found to be true could cause a reversal of the decision which gave corporations undue influence in our election process. By Jesselyn Radack
DOJ: So-Called "Leakers" Are More Dangerous Than Spies
The strength of government's unyielding animus toward whistleblowers is no more evident than in the latest statements from disgraced prosecutor William Welch, who is "redeeming" himself amidst prosecutorial misconduct allegations stemming from the botched case against late-senator Ted Stevens by prosecuting whistleblowers like Thomas Drake under the Espionage Act. By Walter Brasch
Breaking China--Legally  The seeds of China's destruction lie in its legal system. Satirist Walter Brasch looks at the President's visit to the US, and implications for the future. By Joan Brunwasser
Kurt Stone on his "Memo to Sarah Palin"  Three days before the shooting,my newest book, "The Jews of Capitol Hill," was published by Scarecrow Press.It is a sweeping history seen through the eyes,lives and accomplishments of the 200 Jewish men and women who have served in Congress 1840 to the present.Included was one on Rep. Giffords.So here I am, having published what is likely the first in-depth biographic essay of a woman later caught in an assassin's cross-hairs. Macy Gray Polls Facebook Followers to Decide Whether to Boycott Israel or Perform Her Concert  Pop singer Macy Gray recently scheduled some concerts in Israel. She soon received emails from fans telling her to boycott the nation to protest its treatment of Palestinians. Not wanting to alienate any group of fans more than necessary, Gray took the path of least resistance: she made a poll on Facebook to decided whether to do the shows or not. By Ada McMahon
Feinberg blasted in public meetings across Gulf Coast  In two weeks of public meetings across the Gulf Coast, Kenneth Feinberg is hearing pointed criticism of the claims process he is leading. Residents point to inconsistency and lack of transparency as major problems. By William Norman Grigg
Who gave you permission to notice?  At least since the 1950s, there have been US government-sponsored programs experimenting with mind control. A docile, submissive public is one end of these programs, and creating programmed assassins seems to be another. "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski had been a victim of an experimental mind control program when he was a Harvard undergraduate in 1959. By Bud Goodall
JFK's Inaugural Address: 50 Years Ago and Still Relevant
Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of JFK's inaugural address. I take another look at it but find in it some good lessons for us today. While our time is messier and more complex than his was on the world stage, we face many of the same divisive challenges at home that we then faced abroad. It was a great speech for its time, and its message should resonate for our time. Congresswoman Maxine Waters Opposes Plan to Control Haiti  "The plot to control Haiti has gone from the absurd to the ridiculous. The return of Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier to Haiti in the midst of a flawed election is truly shocking. The Duvalier dictatorship was absolutely brutal, and there is extensive documentation of the human rights violations suffered by the Haitian people during his reign. Delayed-Blog of Oral Arguments in Siegelman Case  Arguments in the Governor's appeal were presented to Federal Judges. The DOJ fought the dismissal that seems likely after the SCOTUS decision that changed things. this blog details the statements and process. By Nicola Nasser
United States Has a Choice in Tunisia
Indeed the U.S. has now a choice in Tunisia. The Arab country which is leading the first Arab revolution for democracy is now a U.S. test case. Non -" U.S. intervention would establish a model for other Arabs to follow; it would also establish a model U.S. policy that would over time make Arabs believe in any future U.S. rhetoric on democracy Giffords taken outside for first time since shooting  U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords can now stand with assistance, has tried to speak, and on Thursday got her first breath of fresh air since she was shot in the head 12 days ago, doctors and her husband said. On her last full day at UMC, she was taken on a brief stroll in a wheelchair to the hospital's helipad for some sunshine and fresh air to lift her spirits, accompanied by physical therapists and her husband. By Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall
Is the US Becoming a Failed State?  Noam Chomsky was one of the first to raise the question of US failed statehood in 2006 Failed States: the Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy. This was two years before the federal government badly bungled the 2008 US banking collapse By Tony Trupiano
As The Body Count Increases We Must Ask Ourselves: Why We Are Still At War?
I will even suggest that without this piece today most of you, MOST, would not have had even a passing thought about either Iraq or Afghanistan and you know I am right, sadly enough. By Kurt Stone
A Time to Speak
Seems like not a day goes by without someone introducing either Nazi or anti-Semitic imagery into their political discourse. This sin is by no means confined to folks on the right; just the other day Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen did the unthinkable, and tied GOP claims about health care reform to the "big lie" theory propounded by Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. Aren' we supposed to be more civil in our discourse? By Bob Burnett
Show Us the Jobs: Obama's State-of-the-Union Challenge
On Tuesday, January 25 th , President Obama will give the annual state-of-the-union address to Congress and the American people. Since the disastrous mid-term elections, Obama's popularity has surged. The President should use this opportunity to tell Americans his strategy for dealing with the US jobs crisis. By Eugene Elander
What Could America's First Lady Be Thinking?
America's First Lady, Michelle Obama, recently praised Wal-mart for plans to improve the nutritional value of some of its food items. Whether or not those improvements ever really occur, the lack of judgment Michelle Obama has shown by praising one of the world's worst corporate exploiters is most unfortunate and sends the absolute wrong signal. By Stephen Lendman
Let Aristide Return!
Justice for Aristide and the Haitian people. By Stephen Lendman
Obama Challenges China on Human Rights
America violates human rights egregiously. By Kurt Stone
Head and Heart
Are liberals smarter than conservatives? If so, why do conservatives have so much more success at getting their message across? Could it be because liberals and progresives aim their messages toward the brain while conservatives and regressives aim theirs toward the gut? Latest Articles
Morality and Capitalism
I originally wrote this article in Spring 2005, but due to its length, could not find anyone to publish it. It was only when my late friend Roy Murtishaw introduced me to OpEdNews that I found an outlet for my longer missives. With President Obama's latest adoption of Republican talking points (regulations are holding up the recovery, I fear that what I said about Bush can be applied to Obama. How UN Security Council Responded to Tension on Korean Peninsula
With Hu Jin Tao's visit to Washington in one important topic is the recent crisis this past December on the Korean Peninsula and the action of the UN Security Council to help calm that crisis. This article reviews what happened in the Security Council on Sunday, December 19 and considers the impact it had on the developing crisis. Obama proclaims China's rise as 'good for the world' despite all the horrible things its government does
President Barack Obama said during Hu Jin Tao's visit to DC Wednesday that China's peaceful rise is "good for the world, and it's good for America." This statement is a laugh in the face of reality and a sarcastic middle finger to Americans who have lost their jobs to Chinese slave labor, as well as the Chinese slaves themselves Involuntary Appraisal
I could scarcely believe my ears- Rudy Giuliani recommending and even chastising our society for not committing people like Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Karl Rove to "involuntary appraisal." I actually agree wholeheartedly with the Mayor!... Report from 2050: The Sino-American Green Divide
For the past four decades, China has held the title of "World's Greenest Nation." America is also very green -- with envy (from "Reports from 2050, a series of imagined reports from the year 2050, supported by current news, discoveries and scientific predictions). Former CIA "Ghost Prisoner" Abu Zubaydah Recognized as "Victim" in Polish Probe of Secret Prison  Important news from Poland, as the Polish Prosecutor grants "victim" status to "high-value detainee" Abu Zubaydah, tortured in a secret CIA prison in Poland. Speaking Expert to Celebrity in 2011--The Education Reform Debate  The education reform debate throughout 2010 was driven primarily by celebrity. This piece offers a call for educators to dedicate themselves to speaking expert to celebrity in 2011 to re-frame the education reform debate. 50 Years Ago  The list is endless, and the death toll will continue to increase until something is done to stop the violent madness, fueled by the media, that inspires such mass murder. Center for Constitutional Rights Appeals to Fox News President for Help in Silencing Glenn Beck Misinformation Campaign
The Center for Constitutional rights details a backlash through some of the many violent quotes on Beck's website. Examples include, "Maybe they should burst through the front door of this arrogant elitist and slit the hateful cow's throat," "We should blow up Piven's office and home," and "I am all for violence and change Frances: Where do your loved ones live?" Another Chance for Second-Class Justice?
President Obama is reportedly getting ready to start terrorist trials of GITMO detainees using Military Commissions. Here's to second-0class justice! Countering Pentagon Propaganda About Prisoners Released From Guantánamo  The United States cannot, in all honesty, claim that, in some instances, what happened to the men after their release from Guantánamo was not determined by what happened to them while they were held -- and brutalized -- in US custody. The Real Economic Lesson China Could Teach Us
The prosperity of America's big businesses has become disconnected from the prosperity of most Americans. Republicans say the answer is to reduce the size and scope of government. China is eating our lunch. Why? It has a national economic strategy designed to create more and better jobs. We have global corporations designed to make money for shareholders. Gun Culture: Getting Even
Public violence, of the kind that shocked Tucson this month, often seems driven by familiar American preoccupations, but in an extreme and lethal form. Greed and Insanity on the "Streets": The Psychopaths Are Everywhere
A comparison of two streets: the backstreets of the homeless and "Wall Street." Both are controlled by people that can be called psychopaths. Write A Resume Better Than A Career Coach
If you work hard enough and are smart enough, you will be able to teach yourself how to write a resume without a career coach's help. BIG TROUBLE IN TUNISIA FOR AMERICA'S MIDEAST RAJ
The US and France have always hailed Tunisia as a poster-boy for "moderation, stability, and democracy." Translation: 1. moderation: following orders from Washington and making nice to Israel; 2. stability: crushing all opposition, particularly Islamist-oriented parties, muzzling the media, and paving the way for US business; 3. democracy: holding fake elections every few years. Bullfighting: The end is in sight
Spain's national television network recently banned bullfighting from the country's airwaves, deeming it harmful for children to watch. The only thing keeping the fights alive and the bulls dying are tourists. If you travel abroad, never patronize a bullfight. The Educated Debtor
A look at higher education through the eyes of a college freshman Andy Hardy Gets a Hickey
According to a recent international study, the average American 15-year old knows next to nothing; we rank near the bottom in every conceivable field when compared to students in the 34 principle industrialized countries in the world. And now that Republicans are in charge in the House, that situation is not likely to get any better. Wikileaks Cables on Israel's Gaza Onslaught  Even were Hamas rule illegitimate, which it was not -- Hamas having been democratically elected three years earlier -- it is not a common presumption that political illegitimacy justifies a massive military assault. A time not for celebrating victory over Iran
This article analyzes recent reports that covert Israeli and U.S. operations have hindered Iran's nuclear program. It argues that, while not being effective, such covert operations may kill the chances for a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear issue.  Best News Links from the Web
USCIS e-Verify still flags eligible employees, says GAO - FierceGovernmentIT
The U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services electronic system used to check the legality of new employees has the potential to wrongly flag 180,000 people a year as ineligible to work in America, according to numbers from a new Government Accountability Office report. "Legalize Democracy!" Activists Rallying Nationwide
Critical article for every American. Lawyer for Bradley Manning, Army figure in WikiLeaks case, alleges prison mistreatment  Bradley Manning was placed on suicide watch for two days this week - against the recommendation of the jail's forensic psychiatrist, attorney David E. Coombs said. The forensic psychiatrist has consistently recommended - with the exception of one week in December - that there was "no medical reason" for Manning to be even on a prevention-of-injury watch, let alone a suicide watch. "The fact that they won't articulate any basis for it leaves you with no other conclusion than it must be punitive," he said. Hornberger's Blog - Bringing Up Hitler
When I first started participating in the so-called 'liberal blog-sphere', as a result of my constantly increasing alarm over the rising of the 'total police state' in America (now well-entrenched), I noticed that comparisons of the then 2005 U.S to 1933 Nazi Germany were immediately shouted down, discredited by a host of loyal 're-activists' (liberal pseudo-activists, complacent cowards, system thinkers, brain-wash victims). But now, not so much. Think what could have been avoided had more people been more aware, even those 5-6 years ago. Let alone had they been aware at the time of the culturally devastating '60's assassinations or the initial Reagan deception. Now, not so much. We have successfully avoided danger and suffering, in order that we have increased it. Happy Days are over. COWARDS! FOOLS! Eugene Robinson - The GOP's rude awakening on health-care repeal
Other than three Blue Dogs who have been consistent opponents of the reform package anyway, NO Democrat changed sides on the Health Care vote. Where's the Republican momentum? Breaking: FBI Interrogated Gulet Mohamed Without Counsel at DC Airport  FBI agents have detained and are interrogating Gulet Mohamed, an American teen who was detained in Kuwait for a month, without counsel at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, DC, Mohamed's lawyer said Friday morning. Mohamed's entire family was waiting for the teen, who says he was beaten and harshly interrogated in Kuwait by unknown officials and intimidated and repeatedly interrogated by the FBI despite asking repeatedly for his lawyer and invoking his right to remain silent. Bachmann approaches Iowa with trail of misstatements  Misstatements aside, Bachmann is a star. She has become a mainstay on cable TV networks like Fox News, CNN and MSNBC. "We have checked her 13 times, and seven of her claims to be false and six have been found to be ridiculously false," PolitiFact editor Bill Adair said. Adair said no politician has been checked as often as Bachmann without saying at least something that's true. Va. teen detained in Kuwait returns to U.S.  A Virginia teenager who was placed on the no-fly list and barred from returning home to the United States from Kuwait arrived at Dulles International Airport on Friday morning, a lawyer for his family said. Gulet Mohamed, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen from Alexandria, was detained in Kuwait last month at the behest of the United States, according to his attorneys. They allege that Mohamed was beaten by Kuwaiti officials who questioned him about his travels in Yemen and Somalia after he left the United States in March 2009. VIDEO: Palestinian resistance groups on alert  Palestinian resistance groups in the Gaza Strip have gone on full alert, as Israeli army has escalated attacks against Palestinians in Gaza over the past few weeks, reports say. Smaller armed Palestinian groups such as the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, have stated that they do not want an escalation, unless Israel launches a new offensive. Paul Krugman: China Goes to Nixon - NYTimes.com  With Hu Jintao, China's president, currently visiting the United States, stories about growing Chinese economic might are everywhere. And those stories are entirely true: although China is still a poor country, it's growing fast, and given its sheer size it's well on the way to matching America as an economic superpower. Path Is Sought for States to Escape Debt Burdens
Policy makers are working behind the scenes to come up with a way to let states declare bankruptcy and get out from under crushing debts, including the pensions they have promised to retired public workers. Haiti in the hands of the NGOs - Christophe Wargny  French author Christophe Wargny on Haiti: "One year on from the earthquake that devastated Haiti, it may still take a decade just to clear the rubble if work continues at its present pace. Meanwhile the poor suffer, the rich profit, and the show is run by NGOs and other outsiders." Philip Giraldi: Serving Up Palestine One Slice at a Time  What will happen if parties unacceptable to Washington rise to the top in the current unrest in Lebanon and Tunisia? It would all amount to much ado about nothing except that the consequences are deadly serious with American soldiers and local folks dying in their thousands because the Clintons, Obamas, and Bushes find it hard to admit that they have made a mistake. Republican Study Group Issues Proposed Budget Cuts
The Republicans would cut funding for veterans programs, scientific research at the Department of Energy, Homeland Security, transportation, housing, education, legal services, foreign aid and the arts. Goodbye to a Guy Named Joe  When he was not busy comparing himself to John Kennedy on Wednesday, Lieberman denounced partisanship. "I have not always fit comfortably into conventional political boxes," he said proudly. This is, of course, an old theme for him, but it's also a cautionary tale. Lieberman assured everyone that he was not stepping down because the odds of his losing the next race were astronomically high but rather because he had been reading the Old Testament and decided that to everything there is a season. What's Good For G.M. Is Good For Homeowners  If they can modify loans and bond indentures for struggling corporations -- with thousands of individual bondholders, hedge funds and other lenders involved -- and declare victory, then surely the same can be done for struggling American homeowners. Obama: $45B deals show China's rise can help US
President Barack Obama is looking to assure Americans that they should not fear China's economic rise, using Chinese President Hu Jintao's high-profile state visit to announce job-creating business deals worth billions of dollars to U.S. companies. Administration Prepares to Lift Ban on New Guantánamo Cases  The Obama administration is preparing to increase the use of military commissions to prosecute Guantánamo detainees, an acknowledgment that the prison in Cuba remains open for business after Congress imposed steep new impediments to closing the facility. Watch: Drag Legend Lady Bunny Presents 'The Ballad of Sarah Palin'  (From the NY Observer): Lady Bunny, the disco-happy drag queen who's graced New York nightlife with wig-wearing performances for decades, has fired shots against a certain former Alaskan governor. Sarah Palin's taken a good amount of heat since her response to the Giffords tragedy, but to our knowledge Lady Bunny is the first member of the drag queen contingent to throw her hat into the ring. She made a sure-to-be-viral video, it's called "The Ballad of Sarah Palin," and it is something else. If Obama Moves Right He Loses Everybody - And Everybody Loses  It's still rumored that the President's State of the Union will emphasize deficit reduction over job creation, and the White House has refused to assure worried Democrats that the President won't also propose cuts to Social Security. How many polls will it take to convince the White House that this is political suicide? E.J. Dionne Jr. - Kennedy's inaugural address presents a challenge still  On Jan. 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy began his presidency with a speech at once soaring and solemn. Fifty years on, we have not heard an inaugural address like it. A great speech includes lines so memorable that pedestrian orators eventually transform them into cliches. "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." This muscular call for sacrifice has launched a thousand lesser speeches. Health care 'repeal and replace': Wrong order?
It's hard to vote against something if you don't know what might replace it. Republicans could have turned first to the "replace" part of their strategy, developing an alternative piece of legislation that would similarly insure 30 million people at a lower cost, but do it in a different way than the current law proposes. Once that was drafted, they could have then tried to repeal the old law. More than 120 busted in Northeast mafia crackdown  More than 120 organized crime associates face charges including murder, extortion and narcotics trafficking in one of the largest Mafia crackdowns in FBI history, prosecutors announced Thursday.
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