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Today, we have several articles reporting from Palestine, or what the Israelis refer to as "the occupied territories" and from Lebanon, on yesterday's NAKBA day.
We have more great articles on progressive vision and philosophy, regarding economics, China, Unions. We're covering ground the liberal media and Democratic sites don't cover.
Good News, but...Our fundraising efforts are far ahead of what they were last month at this time. But, actually, a few big buts. our monthly costs are up for some great reasons. -we're using a new service to improve the speed and reliability of sending out our newsletter. -we're using that new service for handling donations, so many of you had problems with the old system. -we're using that new service to enable us to do petitions and other advocacy efforts. -we're working with a designer and programmer to upgrade the look and user friendliness of opednews.com and to build a mobile app for the site.
Believe me, the prices we're getting are incredible. We've negotiated an amazing deal on the first three services and we're getting great prices from progressives doing the work for the last two, AND we have help with the costs for the re-design from a generous benefactor.
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Next week, I'll be heading to New York, to Book Expo America, looking for new writers to recruit and interview. There's a cost to that travel, and I'll probably be doing a second day up there covering a conference on microlending that Mohammed Yunus will be speaking at. New York City is an expensive place to visit even in the Spartan way I travel.
So please help out and make a donation today. Consider donating a three or four figure amount to help us with these new projects. Or send in whatever you can. It all helps.
 Latest Headlines
By Adnan Al-Daini
The Right's Philosophy: callous and cruel towards the vulnerable and the poor-- Contagiously Spreading to UK
As people in the US start to see the bankruptcy of the ideas and philosophy of the Tea Party, right wingers in the UK are planning the creation of a similar group. The immorality of severe cuts in public spending with its detrimental influence on the poor, disabled and marginalized in our society, is now manifest and being rejected by ordinary citizens on both sides of the Atlantic. By Franklinl Lamb
Majesty and massacre at Maroun al Ras
On Nakba ("Catastrophe") Day, Sunday May 15, 2011, Maroun al Ras welcomed approximately 27% of all the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, this time coming from the opposite direction heading back toward their homes in Palestine. Palestinians in Lebanon now number approximately 248,000, approximately half of whom live in 12 squalid camps and as many "gatherings", although 423,000 remain registered with UNWRA. By shamus cooke
The Democrats Attack Unions Nationwide
The cover-up of the Democrats' national anti-union agenda is possible because the truth would cause enormous disturbances for the Democratic Party, some labor leaders, liberal organizations and, consequently, the larger political system. By Dave Lefcourt
Erik Prince, The "Prince of Darkness"
According to yesterday's N.Y. Times, Erik Prince, former owner of Blackwater is about to ply his trade in the United Arab Emirates. Prince has secured a $529 million contract w/ the UAE to build a private mercenary force in the desert kingdom opposite Iran. The mission: conduct special ops. inside and outside the country. It's illegal and Iran will not take kindly to this unnecessary provocation. Prince needs to be reined in. By David Swanson
60 More Days in Libya: Obama Does Bush Lawyers Proud
Now we know why Obama has gone to such outrageous lengths to keep Bush's lawyers out of prison, claiming powers of secrecy and immunity beyond Cheney's wildest dreams and pressuring foreign nations to clamp down on any outbreaks of law enforcement. By Mary Shaw
US Gets Bad Marks in Amnesty International Annual Report  "The United States of America got some bad marks again this year, primarily related to human rights violations in the 'war on terror' and our continued use of the death penalty..." Rob Kall: There's A Bottom Up Tidal Wave Underway. Will You Surf It?  There's a bottom up revolution going on. Our world, culture, business, brains, ways we work, relate and see things are all transitioning from top down to bottom up, from centralized to decentralized, from an information era to a connection era. This is not something you can ignore or avoid. It is a tidal wave that is changing everything. If you don't get it and ride the wave it will knock you over and leave you behind. By Frish Frishberg
Morals are the genes of societal evolution.
Morality is natural AND functions as the means by which societies evolve. By Rama Rao Malladi
Political Games and economic trade offs in Myanmar
The regime will do its best to either co-opt Aung San Suu Kyi or defeat her strategy by turning towards and relying on energy and resource hungry neighbours for trade and investment, says the author By Lugh Sabian
The American Empire Ends Today  An extensive analysis of the current Congress Budget Crisis, and how it relates to the 2008 mortgage crisis, the rise of China, the Washington Debt Carousel and the end of American Empire By Jody Walker
Depression: A Walking Meditation  Even during the last walk of night, my amazing analyst heals my sadness (without FDA approval) and sudden hints of inspiration urge me to move on. Time Lapse Clouds and Sky Over the Canary Islands,by Daniel López, Matti Paalanen  Stunning 3-minute time-lapse movie shot from the Teide National Park on Tenerife in the Canary Islands includes clouds that seem to flow like water, the Milky Way Galaxy rising behind towering plants, a colorful double fogbow, lenticular clouds and colorful moon coronas. Accompanied by inspiring music. (APOD for May 16, 2011 - Astronomy Picture of the Day.) Photography by Daniel López, IAC; Music: Matti Paalanen, Angel's Tear (Aeon 2) Paul Krugman: Held Hostage Over the Debt Ceiling  Normally, a party controlling neither the White House nor the Senate would acknowledge that it isn't in a position to impose its agenda on the nation. But the modern GOP doesn't believe in following normal rules. his is a hostage situation. If the president and his allies operate on the principle that failure to raise the debt ceiling is an unthinkable outcome, to be avoided at all cost, then they have ceded all power to those willing to bring that outcome about. The Democrats Attack Unions Nationwide  The anti-union Democratic governor of Connecticut is demanding $1.6 billion in cuts from state workers! The contract has not been ratified yet, but Governor Malloy referred to the agreement as: "historic because of the way we achieved it-we respected the collective bargaining process and we respected each other, negotiating in good faith, without fireworks and without anger." Some labor leaders are playing dumb, in the hopes that the above attacks will not ruin the long-standing friendship between unions and Democrats. Such hopes are founded on illusion: workers are not so blind as to not notice that the governors they campaigned for are now demanding their wages and benefits be destroyed in an unprecedented attack. Clown Donald Trump Announces He's Not Running For President |  Donald the clown surprised no-one, except for some simple minded tea-baggers, when he announced today, shortly after NBC announced it's fall line-up. Apparently, Trump went with the surer thing-- his TV show-- over a run for president which polled pretty badly. The commentary above, for this link to a report on this news by mediaite, does not reflect what the Mediaite articles states, opinioni-wise. By Rafe Pilgrim
"Lesser-Evil" is Too Evil -- An Entrapment We Must Trash
Americans desperately need to grasp the notion that it is possible, if enough of us can muster the insight and integrity, to get beyond the bipartisan proposition that our choice is limited to one of only two parties, that "third parties always fail," and that we'll be the more damned if we do not support the "lesser-evil" choice. By Paul Evans
Rethinking the Abortion Debate from a Liberal Christian Perspective
A reexamination of the abortion debate from a liberal yet Christian perspective based on 1.) the compassion I feel for all living beings, 2.) a general conclusion based on what is possible politically to care for potential unwanted infants and thus 3.) an overall feeling of compassion and regard for the misery versus the health of women as well as society. By Gregory Gull
Corporate Overlords
When corporations are allowed to exercise disproportionate influence over society in pursuit of self-serving material gain, then those at the top of the corporate hierarchy become the overlords of society. By Chris Rodda
The 'Gamble Report' -- A Defeat for Mikey Weinstein and His Forces of Satan?  In its latest attempt to give the appearance of concern about complaints of religious intolerance, the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) recently conducted a five-day "investigation" that (big surprise) found that there were no problems at all, save for the occasional minor incident that could always be resolved at the lowest level. By David Swanson
Of Humans and Rights
In our current wars, well over 95% of the dead, even in the short-term, are from the countries where the wars are fought. Some get labeled combatants and some civilians, but they're all left out of most body counts, and when they are counted they are counted low. Our government pretends not to count them at all, and only thanks to Wikileaks do we know otherwise, that the military has counted some of them. By Dady Chery
Occupied Haiti : A Prefab President, Parliament and Constitution  Under cover of giving more rights to Diaspora, the coup d'etat/Duvalierist overseers extended power of Haiti Prime Minister, normally chosen by foreign powers. Eradicated power of local municipalities,even taking out position of mayor. Extended their terms. Gave president right to control Supreme Court.Then Haiti cholera democracy formally inaugurated "bad boy' Mickey Mouse to govern under newly adopted occupation constitution By Allen L Roland
Fukushima / Deadly Silence
The Main Stream Press continues to ignore Fuk u shima but the two month catastrophe continues unabated as TEPCO now admits it lied about the severity of the damage to reactor #1 and that a nuclear meltdown has occurred that continues to release deadly amounts of radiation comparable to Chernobyl: Allen L Roland By earl ofari hutchinson
Method to the Madness in Ron Paul's War against Civil Rights
GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul still wages war against civil rights. And we really shouldn't be surprised since Paul has repeatedly got into hot water nearly every time he opens his mouth about anything that remotely touches on race. But this time Paul sailed past the outer limits with his defiant boast that he would not have voted for the landmark 1964 civil rights bill. Latest Articles
USNATO Pilots Having Fun Bombing Libya? No USSR Migs like Vietnam Korea  Fly relaxed over Mediterranean Sea, countryside and towns without fear of meeting defending warplanes, watch your missiles explode below on target, just as calmly as turning Iraqi soldiers retreating from Kuwait into a line of burning vehicles and 100,000 corpses. Bombing Korea and Vietnam not a sport. McCain's example. Nuremberg Prosecutor Telford Taylor would have prosecuted pilots. By contrast bombardier Zinn in 1945. Animals in Labs
Why are live animals still being used in labs? How sad that we can send a man to the moon and we can't find humane alternative means to stop the cruel use of animals in labs. I think its more a lack of will and a general indifference to animal suffering. The continued use of CAFOs also indicates that animal suffering is not a priority. Shouldn't it be? Chain of Command: the Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib  In Language of Empire, Lila Rajiva observes that Seymour Hersh's disclosure of torture at Abu Ghraib seems like a "limited hangout" or "controlled opposition" disclosure -- in other words what Barry Zwicker refers to as "the kind of opposition the US elite can live with." After reading Chain of Command, I tend to share Rajiva's view. Should Obama Show His School Transcripts?
Now that President Obama has produced his original birth certificate Donald Trump now wants to see Obama's school records. Trump claims that Obama did not have the academic credentials to get into Columbia University and Harvard Law School.Is this serious issue or another diversionary witch hunt?  Best News Links from the Web
Stephen Hawking Dismisses Idea of a Universal Creator
British scientist Stephen Hawking has branded heaven a "fairy story" for people afraid of the dark, in his latest dismissal of the concepts underpinning the world's religions. "I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first," he told the newspaper. IMHO: One person's guess is as good as another in the final analysis; my greater concern would be "eternal light" shining upon me. I have enough trouble sleeping now, but an eternity of it? God help us all! Online media is replacing newspapers and TV. Is that a bad thing?  The changes cascading through the news media have made the old models of news delivery -- like, say, an anchor reading the news at an appointed time -- seem archaic. And it is about more than just TV -- newspapers, magazines, radio, all the "legacy" media are feeling the earth move beneath them. Journalists look out and see thousands of empty campus TV lounges and newsprint-less recycling bins and millions of iPads and smart phones and they wonder what's coming next. Endeavour Lifts Off on Its Final Flight  The space shuttle Endeavour blasted off successfully on Monday morning on a mission to the International Space Station, after NASA expressed confidence that it had fixed an electrical problem that grounded the spacecraft two weeks earlier. Jane Mayer: Charges Against the N.S.A.'s Thomas Drake
When President Barack Obama took office, in 2009, he championed the cause of government transparency, and spoke admiringly of whistle-blowers, whom he described as "often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government." But the Obama Administration has pursued leak prosecutions with a surprising relentlessness. William Norman Grigg: 'Why Did Police Kill My Dad?'
We shouldn't be surprised that a Regime capable of sending Americans abroad to terrorize Iraqis in their homes would employ the same state terrorism against Americans here at home. Jose, who had left the Regime's employ in favor of an honest life of productive labor, was murdered in his own home by an Empire he had served abroad. Steve Benen: Boehner will give up hostage after receiving ransom  After having been sensible for quite a while, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has adopted a remarkably dangerous position on the debt ceiling. His approach remains a hostage strategy -- he'll hold a gun to the American economy, until Democrats give him a series of spending cuts. Richard Wolff: The great corporate tax swindle  More and more, we hear that nothing can be done to tax major corporations because of the threat of how they would respond. Likewise, we cannot stop their price-gouging or even the government subsidies and tax loopholes they enjoy. 'Blair created pack of lies on Iraq war'  The new-documents released by the Iraq war Inquiry has confirmed that Tony Blair and his communications advisor Alistair Campbell made up a pack of lies to involve Britain in an illegal war.
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