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 Daily Headlines
By Chris Hedges
Why I'm Suing Barack Obama  This demented "war on terror" is as undefined and vague as such a conflict is in any totalitarian state. Dissent is increasingly equated in this country with treason. Enemies supposedly lurk in every organization that does not chant the patriotic mantras provided to it by the state. By Bob Alexander
Even Hate My Rock and Roll  I don't know what it's like to banter with a war criminal for a paycheck. I can't imagine sitting across from Rice, or for that matter, Donald Rumsfeld, George Bush, or Dick Cheney, unless we're in all in a court room. By E.David Ferriman
Money in Politics has taken America from a Democracy to a Plutocracy  Welcome to the New Plutocracy of America. A plutocracy is a country by the rich and for the rich. We are told that the United States is a country by and for the people, but this is no longer the case, due to two major blunders by the U.S. Supreme Court. Polls: Republican Voter Enthusiasm Drops, Dems Not Far Behind
A new national poll from CNN shows two conflicting points of data. First, President Barack Obama remains vulnerable in a match-up with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by the numbers, as Romney bests the President by one point in the survey 48 - 47. But Romney's presence at the top of the ticket, which is becoming more and more likely as he continues to win primary states, raise millions, and pick up endorsements, seems to be having another effect on the party -- the CNN poll shows that GOP enthusiasm is going down just as 2012 is starting. The Federal Reserve Knew About the Housing Bubble in 2004
The data -- both anecdotal and otherwise -- was out there, and the Fed even discussed it internally. Let's not let it off the hook. By Linh Dinh
Collateral Savages  The US is encircling, harassing and sabotaging Iran, yet few Americans seem alarmed that for the sake of oil, again, and increasingly elusive economic growth, their leaders may kill millions and wreck this earth even further, but as their empire convulses and collapses, most Americans will find themselves reduced to the level of those they've been annihilating. By Chaz Valenza
Must Read Photos - Does this make any sense?  A picture is worth a 1,000 and with the right words explaining the picture... priceless. This type of communication is very effective and reaches people. How about some ideas about how the OWS movement can do more of this and reach greater numbers of people? A Galaxy Full of Planets  This is a map of a quarter of the known universe, the most detailed yet done. By Karl Grossman
Spaceborne Nuclear Russian Roulette
Russia's Phobos-Grunt space probe, with 22 pounds of radioactive Cobalt-57 on board, fell to Earth Sunday. What happened demonstrates what could have occurred to the plutonium-fueled rover which NASA calls Curiosity which was also launched in November. By Jerry Nelson
World Children's Choir Rocks MLK Birthday Celebration in Washington DC  World Children's Choir celebrates MLK Jr. birthday in Washington DC Announcement: Raw Story to go dark on January 18 to protest SOPA/PIPA  The news doesn't stop. But if Congress passes the Stop Online Piracy Act or the Protect Intellectual Property Act, your access to it could -- and the owners and publisher of Raw Story won't stand for that. In protest of Congress' interest in passing the legislation, Raw Story will join with sites like BoingBoing, Reddit, Wikipedia and IMGUR and black out from 8 am ET until 8 pm ET tomorrow, just to demonstrate what the government could end up doing to Americans in service of corporate interests (and their political donations and lobbying dollars). Why Is NBCUniversal Threatening To Report Commenters They Disagree With To Their Employers?  This one is a little bizarre. David Seaman, a contributor to Business Insider, claims that he lost his contributor status at the site following a dispute he had with an NBCUniversal employee, Anthony Quintano, concerning NBC's coverage of both SOPA/PIPA and NDAA. The details are a bit complex, but I've emailed with David a few times. It appears he posted some comments on NBC Universal's Google+ page, complaining about their lack of coverage on both issues: Wikipedia to Go Black for One Day in Protest of SOPA
Wikipedia will black out the English language version of its website Wednesday to protest anti-piracy legislation under consideration in Congress, the foundation behind the popular community-based online encyclopedia said in a statement Monday night. For the Maya, the World Isn't Ending -- the Environment Is  The end of the Maya long-count calendar does not predict a global catastrophe, let alone the end of the world, say native activists and elders who spoke to IPS in Guatemala. But what are coming to an end are the world's natural resources, as a result of human activity, they warn. By Marjorie Cohn
Close the Guantánamo Gulag  The very existence of the Guantánamo prison camp harms America's international reputation. A January 2005 editorial in Le Monde concluded, "The simple truth is that America's leaders have constructed at Guantánamo Bay a legal monster." Moreover, it has created more enemies of the United States. By Tom Engelhardt
Pepe Escobar: Sinking the Petrodollar in the Persian Gulf
These days, with a crisis atmosphere growing in the Persian Gulf, a little history lesson about the U.S. and Iran might be just what the doctor ordered. Here, then, are a few high- (or low-) lights from their relationship over the last half-century-plus: By Stephen Lendman
Mitt Romney's Hard-Right Agenda
Currently, five Republican presidential aspirants remain. Weak support caused others to suspend campaigns or drop out. By Robert S. Becker
Loons, Goons, and Buffoons -- The Marvelous GOP Unreality Show  However shocked we are by the dismal quality of the GOP campaign, let us assess the revelations from a gang of candidates we are most unlikely to ever see again, in our lifetime. Cringe moments galore do have their payoffs! By David Glenn Cox
Dakota - Montana  What must the pioneers have thought when they found themselves here in this huge and empty land. You cannot fathom its scope without seeing it with your own eyes, this cold gigantic, barren and unforgiving land as far as the eye can see. Millions of acres of emptiness, this was dinosaur country. By Michael Roberts
Beautifying Racism
The GOP And The Myth Of A Post-Racial Society;The Old Days Of "Coded And Loaded" Words Ended When Barack Obama Became President Of The USA By Paul Craig Roberts
Washington Moves The World Closer To War  If Washington did not want war with Iran it would not have provided the necessary weapons to Israel. It would not have deployed thousands of US troops to Israel, with a view toward the American soldiers being killed in an Iranian response to Israel's attack, thus "forcing" the US to enter the war. By Mary Shaw
21st Century Racism
The racist roots of our national chaos Latest Articles
first arrest
poem Prophesying On This Crazy Election Year: What To Expect In Religion, Politics and The Country's Top 21 Wingnuts  Get set for the craziest election year on record! The viciousness the calumny, the lies, the distortions will be out in full force...along with the craziness and hilarious stupidity. There may even be a few fake miracles thrown in for good measure. Fasten your seat belts... Can Jack Lew Do for Obama What AmeriCorps Did for Clinton?
Lew makes for an interesting choice for Mr. Obama. He comes with impressive credentials stemming from his days working for Democratic Congressman Joe Moakley and the late House Speaker Tip O'Neill. More recently, he was an executive at Citicorp where he ran a group that made alternative investments, such as hedge funds, credit swaps and other creative financial mechanisms King Condemned US Wars versus Obama Praises Continues Starts Wars Lies About 'em  Two great American leaders are presented in media as if Obama were of the same mind about his country as King was. In school, everyone under fifty was kept from knowing of King's denouncing his government, condemning its wars for predatory investments. Instant communication technology is making many more aware of the King's last year. With Obama's belief in war, 6 ongoing, fomenting 3 more, investing in WMD. Time to choose. Abusing East Jerusalem Children
Last July, B'Tselem published a report titled, "No Minor Matter: Violation of the Rights of Palestinian Minors by Israel on Suspicion of Stone-Throwing." It discussed their abusive treatment. Occupy Congress Tues. Jan 17: Details for Attendees  Occupiers: The place is Washington DC. The time is NOW. U.S. Corporations: Closely Allied With China, Selling Out America  U.S. Corporations, supposedly the bedrock of America's system of capitalism, have decided that their best bet for the future is to closely ally themselves with China, its manufacturing industry and cheap labor to maximize their profits. In doing so, they have sold out America, its manufacturing sector and its workers. These economic predators have sold themselves to the highest bidder; they have no loyalty to America. Why Bain Won't be Romney's Bain
GOP presidential contenders Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich, GOP strategist Karl Rove, and a few other GOP stalwarts loudly claim that the Bain issue is a potential presidential game loser for presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Oil Companies Big Winners in Iraq War
Life in Iraq may have changed for the worse for its people----little electricity, soaring unemployment, broken-down medical care, worsening poverty---but the Western oil companies that have taken over Iraq's oil fields are enjoying their best times ever. Mitt Romney's Health Care Fantasy World
Wendell Potter explains that not everyone can cavalierly "fire" their insurance companies, as Mitt Romney boast he enjoys doing. In the real world the insurance company holds all the cards, we have little choice but to go submit to their demands. By Aurel Braun and David Matas
Defending Human Rights: The Havel Example
Vaclav Havel who died recently was an example to human rights defenders. No More "King-Washing" the Pentagon, Please
It is natural for people and organizations to want to associate with King. He was a true prophet in the best sense of the word, someone whose courage, dignity and clear moral vision burned so hot and bright that his after-image remains in our eyes long after he's gone. But there is a deep, deep difference between trying to associate by emulation and association by manipulation. Will Colbert and Stewart's Mitt The Serial Killer Ad Make Corporate Personhood a Presidential Election Issue?  Corporate personhood has not been an issue that's been on the table in terms of presidential campaigns or debates. That was until the superpac Stephen Colbert just transferred to Jon Stewart, Americans for a Better Tomorrow Tomorrow, created an ad that pulls together a quote from Romney, affirming that corporations are people, with the idea of executing corporations. Is "Mitt the Ripper a Serial Killer? Read on. Alan Greenspan Explained Why We Invaded Iraq (And Why Iran is Next)  As Alan Greenspan admitted, the Iraq War was about oil. So it should be no surprise that Iran might be next. A Window of Opportunity: How Do We Get It Open?  It seems like a crazy thing to suggest, but I will anyway. Inasmuch as there are two parties to corruption, the corruptor(s) and the corruptee(s), the Occupy movement and the Tea Party movement should fit together like a hand in a glove. Why have we not joined hands to fight our common enemy which is political corruption? China's Foreign Reserves Decline While the U.S. Believes China Trade is Unfair  China's foreign exchange reserves declined in the fourth quarter of 2011. Recent public opinion polls indicate that nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of Americans believe China practices unfair trade. Of China's top ten trade partners in 2010, only the U.S., Hong Kong, and India had trade deficits. Developed countries, including Japan, Germany, South Korea and Taiwan, enjoyed sizable trade with surpluses. Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Around 2,570 are sentenced to juvenile life without parole (JLWOP). America treats them like adults regardless of age or circumstances. Sinai Torture Camps
A November 30 Physicians for Human Rights/Israel (PHR-I) report explains "chilling evidence" of atrocities committed against sub-Saharan African refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers. Corporate Personhood Cannot Withstand Organized Persons
There are many schemes now for undoing the doctrines under which corporations claim constitutional rights and bribery is deemed constitutionally protected "speech." And So I Go From Here  So as I leave out of here, I leave and go into the night casting off the dead weight like a balloonist seeking altitude and distance over comfort. I cast off a bunch of old music books, songs which I didn't play or had never learned. Iranian Scientists Die as Bibi's War Looms  Israel is obviously doing its best to push for a war with Iran which it wants to be "provoked" by Iran. Israel wants absolute hegemony over the region, which is why it developed its own nuclear arsenal decades ago, and it is also why it insists it will not tolerate nuclear arms in the hands of its neighbors. Nick Turse: Drone Disasters
After almost two months in abeyance and the (possibly temporary) loss of Shamsi Air Base for its air war, the CIA is again cranking up its drone operations in the Pakistani tribal borderlands. The first two attacks of 2012 were launched within 48 hours of each other, reportedly killing 10 ___s, and wounding at least four ___s. Yes, that's right, the U.S. is killing ___s in Pakistan. Easy to Gut Public Education When Your Own Kids Attend Private School  The country's class structure is becoming medieval which is just fine with America's aristocracy. Bed, Bath & Beyond pulls radioactive tissue holders off shelves  Because of its radioactive properties, cobalt-60 does not belong in any consumer products in the first place, and customers must always perform due diligence in determining the contents of products before they purchase them. And regardless of whether or not the experts are willing to admit it, any exposure to ionizing radiation is a health hazard and should be avoided at all costs. The Annunciation of Humankind  At this point, we can't wait for "them" to change. As George Bush JR. said, "if they don't change, we will." We can't expect the 1% or the gov't sitting underfoot the 1% to change. We must. But to do so we need to confront what gets in our way. That is to say, we need to let go to what we are living with today to engage in real change. What gets in the way? This is the article. Occupy the Neighborhood: How Counties Can Use Land Banks and Eminent Domain  Counties have been cheated out of millions of dollars in recording fees, and their title records are in hopeless disarray. Meanwhile, foreclosed and abandoned homes are blighting neighborhoods. Straightening out the records and restoring the homes to occupancy is clearly in the public interest, and the burden is on local government to do it. But how? New legal developments are presenting some innovative alternatives. America's Last Chance; with update from PCR  The Bush regime operated as if the Constitution did not exist. Any semblance of constitutional government that remained after the Bush years was terminated when Congress passed and Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act. If Obama can set aside habeas corpus and due process, why can't he set aside the Second Amendment? It is folly to expect a police state to tolerate an armed population.  Best News Links from the Web
Since August, 88,000 Pennsylvania children have lost Medicaid benefits
More children lost Medicaid coverage in Pennsylvania in December than in the previous three months combined, according to new Department of Public Welfare numbers that show a total of 88,000 cut since August. Coming Soon: Obama's Big Move in Central Africa  As if the NATO (read : US) intervention in Libya hadn't already demonstrated that the struggle for control of Africa's oil resources is well and truly joined, the dispatch of these so-called «Special Forces » unit does so with all the clarity one could possibly demand. As Glen Ford here points out, «[t]he United States and Europe can no longer compete economically with China in Africa, and must now resort to raw force, through African puppet armies ».... Getting to Know You ... - NYTimes.com
There is wisdom for our country's legislators in the warning that Mr Friedman issues regarding the polarization of ideologies in a legislative body that wants to establish a viable government. Friedman says, "But we have a society waiting. We have to deliver. The big challenge is to transcend the polarization of the elections. We will not be able to deliver if we polarize in Parliament". This dilemma is our own, as the GOP conservative movement,is dominated by a political fringe of "authoritarian social dominators" who bully their party into adopting policies that void the social contract of the Constitution. Charles Blow recently wrote about the "underlying social contract" that benefits the people.Our own governing body runs this country by Mubarik's methods- - "like protection rackets," where everyone was played off against, and "protected" from, each other by the leader." Romney's most glaring lie of the night: There Is No Obama Job Plan - He has one; it's online
It's hard not to marvel at just how dishonest Mitt Romney is prepared to be in order to win. The notion of politicians misleading the public to advance their ambitions isn't exactly a new phenomenon, but Romney acts as if he doesn't even care about getting caught, leading to blatant and obvious falsehoods. This one, from last night's debate, was just shameless. "We've got a president in office three years, and he does not have a jobs plan yet. I've got one out there already and I'm not even president, yet." Look, I realize Romney's busy, and keeping up on current events may be difficult, but Obama delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress just four months ago, and at the time, presented a jobs plan. The whole thing has been online ever since... Research Bought, Then Paid For
THROUGH the National Institutes of Health, American taxpayers have long supported research directed at understanding and treating human disease. Since 2009, the results of that research have been available free of charge on the National Library of Medicine's Web site, allowing the public (patients and physicians, students and teachers) to read about the discoveries their tax dollars paid for. But a bill introduced in the House of Representatives last month threatens to cripple this site. The Research Works Act would forbid the N.I.H. to require, as it now does, that its grantees provide copies of the papers they publish in peer-reviewed journals to the library. If the bill passes, to read the results of federally funded research, most Americans would have to buy access to individual articles at a cost of $15 or $30 apiece. In other words, taxpayers who already paid for the research... Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory - Adventures in Corporate Misbehavior
Mike Daisey performs an excerpt that was adapted for radio from his one-man show "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs." A lifelong Apple superfan, Daisey sees some photos online from the inside of a factory that makes iPhones, starts to wonder about the people working there, and flies to China to meet them. His show restarts a run at New York's Public Theater later this month. Spanish judge reopens U.S. torture probe  The Obama administration may want to look forward but but other countries are still interested in determining whether Bush-era anti-terror practices violated international law. A Spanish judge on Friday re-launched an investigation into the alleged torture of detainees held at the U.S. detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, one day after a British authorities launched a probe into CIA renditions to Libya. Not on trial yet: those who knew of Manning's unstable history  How could security at FOB Hammer be so lax that Manning and his colleagues could leave secret military passwords near their computers, in what was described as a ''security free-for-all''? How was it that his months of rummaging through the global archives, and his copying of a quarter of a million documents that had nothing to do with his work in Iraq went undetected? Asserting Its Sovereignty, Iraq Detains American Contractors
Iraqi authorities have detained a few hundred foreign contractors in recent weeks, industry officials say, including many Americans who work for the United States Embassy, in one of the first major signs of the Iraqi government's asserting its sovereignty after the American troop withdrawal last month. Letter from Birmingham Jail, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King
Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds. Major US-Israel military drill postponed  Israel and the United States have agreed to postpone a major military defense exercise scheduled for spring, a senior security official said Sunday, amid rising regional tension over Iran's nuclear program. The delay was announced as reports suggested unease in US-Israeli relations over the best response to Iran's nuclear programme, and after an Israeli official voiced "disappointment" at Washington's approach. Essentials for Transition to a Renewable Energy  On the other hand, if we could possibly elect a government that does what governments do best -- build infrastructure -- we can avoid a world of global warming and economic collapse by building enough wind farms, solar panels, and geothermal systems to power our economy and ignite a sustainable, broad-based period of economic growth. Of course, this will require a sea-change in the direction of the political system, along the lines of the Occupy movement, but there is too much at stake to throw up our hands in despair. Bitter Politics of Envy? - Charles M. Blow
Charles M Blow wrote a must read essay about the divisiveness being spread by the GOP "Not envy Mr. Romney. Opportunity"... "An equal opportunity to success is central to this country's optimistic ethos, but income inequality and corporate greed are making a lie of that most basic American truism. The rich and their handmaidens on the political right have consolidated America's wealth on the ever-narrowing peak of a steep hill and greased the slope. They want to cast everyone at the bottom as lazy or jealous, without acknowledging the accident of birth and collusion of policies that helped grant them their perch.Income inequality is a threat to this country and the middle class that made her great." Quoting Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers:"I think it is clear that we can't go back to the type of policies that exacerbated the rise in inequality" Occupy protesters kicked off bus on way to Washington  A group of Occupy protesters from California, who were heading to Washington, DC to participate in the Occupy Congress protest on January 17, were kicked off their Greyhound bus on Saturday night and left stranded in Amarillo, Texas. The driver, Donald Ainsworth, allegedly called the Occupiers "you people" and told them they were not welcome in Washington or anywhere else. It is not clear whether there had been any precipitating incident. Bargaining for a Child's Love - By HENDRIK HARTOG
A wonderful essay that describes care for aged family members, then and now. Says Hartog: "For the past decade I have been researching cases of family conflict over old-age care in the decades before Social Security. I have found extraordinary testimony about the intimate management of family care: how the old negotiated with the young for what they called retirement, and the exertions of caregiving at a time when support by relatives was the only sustenance available for the old." He describes the changes in wonderful stories and examples and ends saying: "We may not love the bureaucracies and the institutions that shape our lives today. But would many of us really want to live in a world without them? This is a must read for everyone who is approaching that time of life where the help of others to maintain dignity, health and day-to-day living is a forgone conclusion. 10 reasons the U.S. is no longer the land of the free  Americans remain confident that any definition of a free nation must include their own - the land of the free. Yet, the laws and practices of the land should shake that confidence. In the decade since Sept. 11, 2001, this country has comprehensively reduced civil liberties in the name of an expanded security state. Paul Krugman: How Fares the Dream?  Mitt Romney says that we should discuss income inequality, if at all, only in "quiet rooms." There was a time when people said the same thing about racial inequality. Luckily, however, there were people like Martin Luther King who refused to stay quiet. And we should follow their example today. For the fact is that rising inequality threatens to make America a different and worse place -- and we need to reverse that trend to preserve both our values and our dreams. Huntsman expected to leave GOP race Monday and endorse Romney  Jon Huntsman will drop out of the Republican presidential campaign Monday and endorse rival Mitt Romney, a campaign source said late Sunday. Though Huntsman has criticized Romney, a fellow Mormon, many said he likely decided to endorse Romney as the party's best chance to defeat Obama. The Chinese Sail
Compares and contrasts the ancient Chinese Junk with the modern Bermuda Rig. Jonathan Turley: 10 reasons the U.S. is no longer the land of the free  In the decade since Sept. 11, 2001, this country has comprehensively reduced civil liberties in the name of an expanded security state. The most recent example of this was the National Defense Authorization Act, signed Dec. 31, which allows for the indefinite detention of citizens. At what point does the reduction of individual rights in our country change how we define ourselves? Two More Bodies Found in Sinking Cruise Ship  Two more bodies were found aboard the Costa Concordia cruise ship Sunday, the Italian Coast Guard said, according to the Associated Press. The bodies of the two elderly people found in the liner's restaurant brings the total number of confirmed dead to five. Francesco Schettino, the captain of the ship, was arrested and accused of manslaughter. In addition, authorities are investigating claims that he abandoned the liner before all the passengers had escaped, which is punishable with up to 12 years in prison. US, Israel in open rift over Iran: Big joint military drill cancelled  US-Israeli discord over action against Iran went into overdrive Sunday when the White House called off Austere Challenge 12, the biggest joint war game the US and Israel have every staged, ready to go in spring, in reprisal for a comment by Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon in an early morning radio interview. He said the United States was hesitant over sanctions against Iran's central bank and oil for fear of a spike in oil prices. The row between Washington and Jerusalem is now in the open, undoubtedly causing celebration in Tehran. EU Iran Oil Embargo Over Nuclear Work Said Likely to Be Delayed Six Months  A European Union embargo on imports of Iranian (OPCRIRAN) oil will probably be delayed for six months to let countries such as Greece, Italy and Spain find alternative supplies, two EU officials with knowledge of the talks said. International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors will go to Tehran at the end of the month to discuss Iran's nuclear program, two diplomats with knowledge of the talks said today. Iran's willingness to resume talks doesn't mean it's ready to negotiate restrictions on its nuclear program, said Michael Singh, a former official on the U.S. National Security Council. What Can be Done to Slow Climate Change?  A new study led by a NASA scientist highlights 14 key air pollution control measures that, if implemented, could slow the pace of global warming, improve health and boost agricultural production.
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