Sen. Barack Obama today picked up the endorsement of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), giving the Illinois Democrat a key boost as he and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) head into their final week of campaigning before the potentially crucial 'Super Tuesday' presidential primaries on Feb. 5.
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Monday, January 28, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Brattleboro, VT to vote on arresting Bush & Cheney
Residents of Brattleboro, VT will vote at a town meeting on whether President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should be indicted and arrested for war crimes, perjury or obstruction of justice if they set foot in Vermont. Little more than a symbolic measure, but a powerful statement against this corrupt administration!
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Why Some Feminists Aren’t Supporting Hillary Clinton
She remains highly suspect to her cohort: middle- and upper-middle-class educated and professional white women over 40 years old.
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A Trailer for Oliver Stone's Bush [VIDEO]
David Letterman presents his own version of Oliver Stone's upcoming film and more great moments from presidential speeches.
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Dramatic Voices of Dissent: Celebrities Film Zinn's 'The People Speak'
The actors in this four-part TV series are more of a social movement than a cast.
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Caught with a Bag of Weed? It'll Cost You More Than You Think
The cost to society of our drug laws...By Paul Armentano, AlterNet..."U.S. arrests for pot possession were up to 739,000 in 2006. And the cost to tax payers? $1 billion a year."
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Obama wins South Carolina Democratic primary
By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent COLUMBIA, South Carolina (Reuters) - Barack Obama won a vital contest in South Carolina on Saturday in his quest for the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination, showing strength among southern blacks who...
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SC Primary coverage: Live, interactive, and commercial-free
Live viewer polls, comments and streaming election returns. Plus the smartest guests from Firedoglake, Crooks and Liars, Alternet, the Huffington Post, Personal Democracy Forum, Pam's House Blend. Hosted by Cenk Uygur from the Young Turks radio show, and Robert Greenwald, founder of Brave New Films.
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Today's quote 'Those who make peaceful revolution impossible...' by JFK
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
and another one on revolution by George Orwell;
By revolution we become more ourselves, not less.
- George Orwell
The Nirvana Nevermind Baby
Spencer Elden (see picture), the baby from the cover of Nirvana's Nevermind album, was recently photographed by Jason Lazarus for a project called the Nirvana Project in which people describe their first experience with the Seattle rock group. Where were you when you first heard them?
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Nirvana was pretty good. I remember watching the "Teen Spirit" music video and thinking that he was such a troubled soul...and what a troubled soul I was too. The best part about them was Kurt Cobain. In my opinion, his best performance was on MTV Unplugged. It's so sad that he's gone...he was so talented.
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Nirvana was pretty good. I remember watching the "Teen Spirit" music video and thinking that he was such a troubled soul...and what a troubled soul I was too. The best part about them was Kurt Cobain. In my opinion, his best performance was on MTV Unplugged. It's so sad that he's gone...he was so talented.
Around the world, U.S. campaign close to home
From Berlin to London to Jakarta, the destinies of Democratic and Republican contenders in Iowa or New Hampshire, or Nevada or South Carolina, have become news in a way that most political commentators cannot recall. It is as if outsiders are pining for change in America as much as some American presidential candidates are promising it.
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Thousands break for Gaza border
It breaks my heart to watch this video...
Jan. 23 - Palestinians from the Gaza Strip poured into Egypt after masked gunmen detonated explosives to blow up part of the border wall.
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Gazans stream over Egyptian border
By Will Rasmussen RAFAH, Egypt (Reuters) - Egyptian troops stood by and let thousands of Palestinians stream out of Gaza on Saturday after failing to seal breaches blown in the border by Hamas militants defying an Israeli blockade. The Islamist...
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Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Why I Believe Bush and Cheney Must be Impeached
Impeachment is unlikely, of course. But we must still urge Congress to act. Impeachment, quite simply, is the procedure written into the Constitution to deal with presidents who violate the Constitution and the laws of the land. This, I believe, is the rightful course for an America patriot.
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Economic Downturn One-by-One
By Mike Peters , Grimmy.com
From the Cartoonist Group.
Technorati tags: political cartoons, political satire, editorial cartoons, Mike Peters, Cartoonist Group
Jose Padilla's 17-Year Sentence Should Disgust all Americans
Padilla's sentence is particularly shocking because it sends a clear message to the President of the United States that he can, if he wishes, designate a US citizen as an "enemy combatant," hold him without charge or trial in a naval brig for 43 months, and torture him.
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Is John Edwards Really a Fighter? He Can Prove It on FISA
Edwards should challenge his rivals Obama and Clinton to go back to Washington, DC and fight against retroactive immunity for the telecoms.
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Bush Reaches Economic Dead End
The prestige of an American President, his ability to reassure jittery investors around the world, has never been lower.
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'It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love...' today's quote by Rene Descartes
It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.
- Rene Descartes
One Step Closer to a Cheney Impeachment
More than a third of the House Judiciary Committee's Democratic members want to see Cheney ousted. H.R. 799 accuses Cheney of purposely manipulating intelligence to deceive Congress and the American people.
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Here's another excerpt I think is important to look at... from the AlterNet article by Marjorie Cohn entitled, "One Step Closer to a Cheney Impeachment":
Here is a list of the entire House Judiciary Committee: http://judiciary.house.gov/CommitteeMembership.aspx. For information about the campaign to impeach Dick Cheney, see http://impeachcheney.org/.
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Here's another excerpt I think is important to look at... from the AlterNet article by Marjorie Cohn entitled, "One Step Closer to a Cheney Impeachment":
Here is a list of the entire House Judiciary Committee: http://judiciary.house.gov/CommitteeMembership.aspx. For information about the campaign to impeach Dick Cheney, see http://impeachcheney.org/.
Study confirms Bush Administration lied prior to Iraq war
This summary is not available. Please
click here to view the post.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
ACLU: FISA Flood: Tell Senator Reid to uphold the Constitution
Please sign this petition to protect our right to privacy...
Dear Friend,
As the Bush administration continues to amend the Foreign Intelligence Security Act, Americans are losing their right to privacy. This week, Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid has an opportunity to lead Congress in upholding the Constitution by rejecting Bush's demand for telecom immunity and individual warrants for Americans. Our privacy and freedom is at stake. Act now with the ACLU to protect our right to privacy and uphold the Constitution.
Don Hazen
Executive Editor, AlterNet.org
Sign the ACLU's petition to Senator Reid by filling in your information on the right. Our petition reads:
After engaging in an illegal, secret surveillance program, President Bush is in no position to make demands of anyone. Americans expect you to stand up for the Constitution and the rule of law. That means:
1. Rejecting telecom immunity: President Bush is demanding immunity for companies that broke the law when they handed over phone data and emails to the NSA without a warrant. He wants Congress to bury the truth by stopping lawsuits against the phone companies. When the phone companies are off the hook, Bush is off the hook, and there would be no incentive for companies to follow the law in the future.
2. Individual warrants for Americans: Surveillance tactics that allow the government to gather huge amounts of phone and email data on Americans without a warrant are unconstitutional and violate our American principles.
Americans expect you, the most powerful member of the Senate, to lead on this issue, not cave in to President Bush and his allies in Congress. Please don’t let us down.
The Chicago Tribune's Campaign Against Martin Luther King Jr
To get a sense of what establishment Chicago thought of King during his sojourn in the city in 1966, I read through a bunch of Chicago Tribune unsigned editorials from the year. Taken together they're a remarkable historical record documenting the city's fear of the civil rights movement.
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***very interesting read. things haven't changed much have they?
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***very interesting read. things haven't changed much have they?
Who’s to Blame: The Press or the Candidates?
There is a stunning lack of context on the part of the media, as if George Bush and all the damage he has wrought never existed.
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The Incredible Shrinking Bill Clinton
I don't particularly care if Bill Clinton chooses to step out of his elder statesman role, but this is very annoying.
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Obama Calls Hillary Out On Being A Wal-Mart Board Member
OMG CONFLICT. Hillary just lied about what Obama said about Reagan. I don't know why Obama has to characterize this as "statements that are not factually accurate," probably because that has more syllables and he's kinda very off his game tonight.
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Obama vs Hillary at SC Debate: Barack Says,
Hillary attacks Obama's comments about Reagan and Obama fights back attacking Hillary's corporate lawyer past and her husband's rhetoric.
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Are U.S. Policies Killing Women?
Even as we commemorate the landmark 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade this year, U.S. reproductive-health policies are having an inordinately negative effect outside of our borders. They're causing women to die or be maimed. Harsh words, but true.
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God's Profits: Faith, Fraud and the GOP Crusade
A look into the shady finances and manipulative politics of America's leading televangelist hucksters.
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Monday, January 21, 2008
Questions Congress Needs to Ask Before Authorizing Arms Deal
For President Bush and his fawning subservience to the Saudis, this is fully in keeping with his "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" posture in a relationship that has been massively detrimental to our nation's well being. The arms sale will require Congressional approval and is now under discussion.
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Israel will now allow fuel, medicine into Gaza -official
Israeli Defence Minister Barak has agreed to allow fuel for Gaza Strip's power plant as well as medical supplies into the Hamas-controlled territory starting on Tuesday, a spokesman said.The power plant, which depends on fuel funded by the European Union, shut down its two working turbines on Sunday, plunging much of Gaza City into darkness,
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What You May Not Know About Martin Luther King [VIDEO]
Many people don't realize that later in life he fought passionately for the rights of workers and against the entrenched institutions of injustice.
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The Freedom We Seek
The Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday is a time for those of us within the activist movements he energized to pause to reflect on Dr. King's vision of universal freedom and opportunity for all. His dream is no less than the American dream, a dream that lives on and impels us to constantly ask ourselves the question: does freedom ring in America today
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Reclaiming King: Beyond "I Have a Dream"
People usually focus on the historic "I Have a Dream" speech, but it's the work King was doing at the end of his life that deserves more attention.
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How the Mega-Rich Treat Our Treasury Like a Buffet
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston has been closely tracking the nation's income gap in the pages of the New York Times. David Cay has just published a new book. It's called Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (And Stick You with the Bill).
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Right-Wingers Can't Cover Up Iraq's Death Toll Catastrophe
The warmongers who got us into Iraq are blaming everyone but themselves for the humanitarian disaster they created.
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U.N. agency says may have to halt Gaza food handout
By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - A U.N. agency said on Monday it would have to suspend food distribution to 860,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as early as Wednesday unless Israel eased the border blockade it imposed on the Hamas-controlled...
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U.S. says Iran still training Iraqi militias
By Ross Colvin BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Sunday there had been a dramatic drop in the number of Iranian weapons being used in Iraq but no let-up in Tehran's training and financing of Iraqi militias. Washington has accused Tehran...
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World stocks routed on economy fears
By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks nosedived and demand for safe-haven bonds and currencies soared on Monday as fears gripped investors that a deteriorating U.S. economy would drag others down with...
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Why they killed King
Nothing could be more relevant today.
Yet you won't see this speech on US television, nor will you hear it even referred to...even on Martin Luther King Day, a national holiday in the United States.
More information about the political assassinations of the 1960s:
Assassination studies
Technorati tags: Martin Luther King, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Martin Luther King Jr, video, assassination
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Bankrupt Mortgage Executive Kills Himself, Wife
Walter Buczynski jumped from the Delaware Memorial Bridge on Friday after killing his wife, Marci. Buczynski was the Vice President of Fieldstone Mortgage, a Maryland lender with $5.5 billion in subprime loans.
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***are you sure we're not heading into a depression? i believe we are already in a recession. this sounds like old history...
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***are you sure we're not heading into a depression? i believe we are already in a recession. this sounds like old history...
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Tomorrow is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Day. His famous speech, I Have a Dream, still rings true today because we are not free...no one in this country is free. Watch his passionate speech below or read the transcripts of it I found at The US Constitution Online. We need a leader like Dr. King to help us today. I wonder if anyone will watch this and feel as inspired as I do every single time I watch it?
Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963 Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963 Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love. Martin Luther King Jr., December 11, 1964
Quote Details: Martin Luther King Jr.: Nothing in all the... - The Quotations Page
Technorati tags: Martin Luther King Jr, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Martin Luther King Day, quotes, quotations
today's quote on liberty and safety by Benjamin Franklin
Just in case you don't know who Benjamin Franklin was...i linked his name. For those of you who do know who Benjamin Franklin was, I think this quote does a few things. First, I can't help but think how we've become slaves to our safety; which, made me ashamed of my own greed and fear. But, as you well know Benjamin Franklin along with our Founding Fathers would never settle for a government like we have now. The people need to take back this government and we need to do it now!
Any society that would give up essential liberty for temporary safety... deserves neither liberty nor safety.
- Benjamin Franklin
Any society that would give up essential liberty for temporary safety... deserves neither liberty nor safety.
- Benjamin Franklin
Bill Clinton says he witnessed voter suppression
Ben Smith Blog: Bill Clinton, speaking at a Vegas YMCA last night, made more charges against Obama and claimed to have, with Chelsea, personally witnessed voter suppression....
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Dalai Lama calls for Olympic protests
The Dalai Lama has urged his supporters to demonstrate throughout the Beijing Olympics.Speaking exclusively to ITV News, Tibet's spiritual leader has called for peaceful protests during the games. Such a move could lead to China's human rights record overshadowing the sporting event which is to be held later this year...
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Barack Obama WINS Nevada caucuses!
The Obama Campaign is now pushing hard to promote their delegate victory. The campaign is convening a post-caucus conference call for reporters -- something that only winning campaigns usually do -- and circulating numerous Clinton quotes about how delegates are "the only thing that matter."
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The country is bankrupt
In a remarkable paper posted by the Federal Reserve of St. Louis, and authored by a Boston University teacher named Prof Kotlikoff, it is revealed in blunt, powerful language that the era of borrowing and spending without consequence may soon come to a close. The paper, entitled, Is the United States Bankrupt?, may not remain posted for very long..
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Saturday, January 19, 2008
Canada removes U.S., Israel from torture watchlist
The US & Israel shouldn't be removed from the list but placed somewhere near the top. Everyone already knows the US & Israel torture their prisoners. This is Canada's way of avoiding the obvious and siding with the US government.
By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's foreign ministry, responding to pressure from close allies, said on Saturday it would remove the United States and Israel from a watch list of countries where prisoners risk being tortured. Both...
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By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's foreign ministry, responding to pressure from close allies, said on Saturday it would remove the United States and Israel from a watch list of countries where prisoners risk being tortured. Both...
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80 killed in clashes in Iraq
BAGHDAD -- Members of an obscure messianic cult fought Iraqi security forces Friday in two southern cities, leaving at least 80 people dead and scores injured, while spreading panic among worshipers marking Shiite Islam's most important holiday.
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Woman filmed killing of lover
this world is so insane...i thought the majority of murderous freaks came from the US but I seem to be wrong again...
BEIJING (Reuters) - A 19-year-old Chinese student recorded the killing and dismembering of her married lover by her boyfriend, local media said on Friday. The second-year student in the southwestern province of Yunnan, her boyfriend and another male...
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BEIJING (Reuters) - A 19-year-old Chinese student recorded the killing and dismembering of her married lover by her boyfriend, local media said on Friday. The second-year student in the southwestern province of Yunnan, her boyfriend and another male...
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Clinton slams pro-Obama ad in Nevada
so much for everyone getting along...ELKO, Nevada (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton called on her chief rival Barack Obama on Friday to denounce ads being run on Spanish-language radio that accuse Clinton of not respecting Hispanic people. ''They're shameless...
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Shi'ite fighters attack soldiers [VIDEO]
Jan 19 - Dozens killed as Iraqi soldiers and police fight running battles with gunmen from a Shi'ite cult in southern Iraqi cities.
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Millions Of Shiite Pilgrims Mark Ashura In Karbala [Video]
Shiite pilgrims gathered in front of Imam Hussein holy shrine, in the holy city of Karbala about 70 miles south of Baghdad to mark Ashura, a Shiite festival marking the killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson.
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Hezbollah has Israeli soldiers' body parts: Nasrallah
By Yara Bayoumy BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, making a rare public appearance, said on Saturday his guerrilla group possessed body parts of Israeli soldiers left on southern Lebanon's battlefields during the war in...
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Open Letter To Leno, Maher & G.E. From Your Anti-Censorship
Dear Jay and Bill: We hope you understand why we interrupted The Tonight Show taping on Tuesday. It was not a decision taken lightly. We had no idea who was going to be on the show that day, and it wasn't a protest against either of you. Our beef was with NBC / MSNBC and their agenda-driven censorship.
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No Tax Rebate's Going to Fix This Mess
There's no free lunch, and the tax rebate being proposed to fix the recession is going to cost us more than it saves us.
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Peace Movement's Options in 2008
What should the peace movement do in 2008 to speed the end of the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, bring home the troops and mercenaries and contractors, and stop draining trillions of dollars out of Americans' pockets for an expense that most of us do not want? And what should all organizations do whose domestic missions are devastated by the
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"...the Ballots Shall Not Be Counted In Secret."
Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again In a very real sense, each primary will be about doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results. We've got federally mandated and funded electronic voting machines throughout the United States thanks to the bipartisan Help America Vote Act and billions of taxpayer dollars.
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Defending Death and Destruction
On September 11, 2001 we were told that everything changed. It was suddenly a different world. We were at war with a vicious new enemy and the leader of this evil threat was Osama Bin Laden. Never mind the fact that the world's mightiest military power couldn't scramble one fighter jet to defend us...so we need to spend more money for no defense.
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Does Hillary Really Have "35 Years of Experience"?
That Clinton has sufficient experience under her belt to be president. I agree, but where the hell does she come off claiming superior experience?
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PC Hackers Allege That Notorious Neo-Nazi Radio Host is FBI
After allegations emerge that key white supremacist figure Hal Turner may be a government informant, experts warn FBI crossed the line.
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Kucinich's Fight to Bring Credibility to the Democrats
In this interview, the resilient 2008 candidate attacks the "inside game between competing corporate interests" that dominates American politics.
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Persepolis: Life in Iran During the Islamic Revolution
An animated coming-of-age story offers a personal look at a young girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution.
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Persepolis is now playing in theaters.
The Fraud of Bushenomics: They’re Looting the Country
The voodoo economics the Bushies have sold America obscure their systematic fleecing of the nation's public wealth.
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Friday, January 18, 2008
Pelosi greeted with “Impeach” Bush and Cheney buttons
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she’s drawing heat from fellow Democratic lawmakers as well as people across the nation for refusing to move to impeach President George W. Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney.
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Candidates focus on economy before weekend votes
Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama also campaigned in Nevada before its caucuses on Saturday, criticizing the plan President George W. Bush unveiled on Friday to help keep the economy out of recession as too little, too late.
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Bush wants $150 billion plan to lift economy
By Caren Bohan and Donna Smith WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush called on Congress on Friday to give the U.S. economy a ''shot in the arm'' with an election-year package of temporary tax cuts and other measures worth up to $150...
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Israel flattens Hamas ministry in Gaza Strip
Israel did more than flatten the Hamas Ministry, it left a crater...
By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - Israel bombed the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza and closed border crossings with the coastal strip on Friday in an intensified campaign to halt Palestinian rocket attacks. The four-storey ministry complex...
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"Suicides" of Tibetan monks; to recognise the next Dalai Lama
Dharamsala (AsiaNews) - Two of the oldest and most respected Tibetan Buddhist monks have died under mysterious circumstances - officially, "they committed suicide" - over the course of the last two months in Shigatse, the second-largest Tibetan city. Both were staunch supporters of the Dalai Lama, whose successor they were supposed to recognise.
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Quiet Revolution part three: What's Next
Alliance for Justice, with New View Films and Parrhesia Pictures, Inc., has produced a provocative short documentary entitled Quiet Revolution. Hosted by Emmy award-winning actor Bradley Whitford, the film features U.S. Senator Barack Obama and describes how an increasingly influential movement on the far right has waged a sustained war on the Constitution as we know it. Ultra-conservative politicians, judges, professors and activists would overturn decades of precedent to shred the fabric of popular laws protecting workers, consumers and public health, expand executive power at the expense of basic civil liberties, and impose a narrow social agenda on the rest of the body politic.
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Quiet Revolution part two: Agenda[VIDEO]
Alliance for Justice, with New View Films and Parrhesia Pictures, Inc., has produced a provocative short documentary entitled Quiet Revolution. Hosted by Emmy award-winning actor Bradley Whitford, the film features U.S. Senator Barack Obama and describes how an increasingly influential movement on the far right has waged a sustained war on the Constitution as we know it. Ultra-conservative politicians, judges, professors and activists would overturn decades of precedent to shred the fabric of popular laws protecting workers, consumers and public health, expand executive power at the expense of basic civil liberties, and impose a narrow social agenda on the rest of the body politic.
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Video: Quiet Revolution part one: Strategy
Alliance for Justice, with New View Films and Parrhesia Pictures, Inc., has produced a provocative short documentary entitled "Quiet Revolution." The film features U.S. Senator Barack Obama and describes how an increasingly influential movement on the far right has waged a sustained war on the Constitution as we know it. Ultra-conservative politicians, judges, professors and activists would overturn decades of precedent to shred the fabric of popular laws protecting workers, consumers and public health, expand executive power at the expense of basic civil liberties, and impose a narrow social agenda on the rest of the body politic.
What Happens When Blogs Go Mainstream?
Will the blogs push MSM toward more bravery, or will the blogs become the same as the MSM?
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Olbermann slams O'Reilly for downplaying homeless veterans
The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that about 195,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. But this official statistic is not good enough for Bill O'Reilly, who recently mocked presidential candidate John Edwards for making it an issue in his campaign, saying, ""We're still looking for all the veterans sleeping under the bridges."
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Interview Of Homeless Vets Prove O'Reilly Distorts The Truth
Bill O’Reilly’s bizarre assertion that there are no homeless veterans in America is proven false by a real journalist. O'Reilly made this claim on January 4, 2008 while talking about a speech by John Edwards where Edwards said that 200,000 vets are homeless on any given night in America. Watch the interviews with homeless vets.
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Michael Savage on Muslims: "They need deportation!"
Michael Savage spews vicious anti-Muslim hate speech on his national radio show. Tell him and his advertisers what you think about his hate-filled rants.
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Bush in Middle East: Who is isolating who?
Aijaz Ahmad: Is Bush ignoring NIE report? Will his campaign to isolate Iran succeed?
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Transcript from RealNews:
ZAA NKWETA, PRESENTER/PRODUCER: President Bush continues his seven-state tour of the Middle East this week. Following his visit to Palestine and Israel, Bush was in the United Arab Emirates this weekend, taking the opportunity to speak out against Iran.
(CLIP BEGINS)
January 13, 2008Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
GEORGE W. BUSH, US PRESIDENT: Iran is today the world's leading state sponsor of terror. Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere. So the United States is strengthening our long-term security commitments with our friends in the Gulf and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it is too late.
(CLIP ENDS)
To get a sense of President Bush's speech, we go to The Real News' Senior News Analyst, Aijaz Ahmad.
AIJAZ AHMAD, SENIOR NEWS ANALYST: The day before he left for the Middle East, Bush made a statement, saying that the purpose of his visit [is] to impress upon other countries that the NIE's estimate, the National Intelligence Estimate, has not changed the threat perception of Iran. Condoleezza Rice at the same time gave an interview to Jerusalem Post, saying that Iran remains the greatest danger in the world. As Bush arrived in Israel and President Shimon Perez came to greet him on the tarmac, right there on the tarmac, President Perez talked about Iran, saying that we are going to defend ourselves against attacks and so on, and turned to Bush and said, we are taking your advice on the question of the Iran threat. Later on, again, Bush gave an interview on Israeli television in which he said again that the United States is going to defend Israel against Iran and so on. So the talk against Iran is constant, that it is the main object of this visit. On the other hand, Mr. ElBaradei from the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] is arriving in Iran at the same time to indicate that the negotiations between Iran and IAEA are very much going on on schedule; high officials of Iran, Mr. Larijani, for example, one of the highest officials in Iran, has been visiting Egypt and Damascus and welcomed there; Mr. Ahmadinejad himself, the president, has gone to Saudi Arabia; the Russians are delivering not only nuclear fuel but high-tech weaponry to Iran; and so on. So Bush is trying to build up this notion of the Iranian threat, which no one takes seriously. Israel keeps talking about that, and the Americans keep talking about it, but no one else is taking it seriously. Even so, I would say that much more than Israel-Palestine issue, the real objective of this is to try and build that kind of coalition of the willing. And what worries me about this is that essentially Bush administration has rejected the National Intelligence Estimate as something that should affect the policy. My sense is that this is a president who has lost track of any agenda, and he's trying to retrieve his entire project in creating a new Middle East by drumming up support for the most belligerent actions either against Iran or against Pakistan. There is no such support in the Arab world. There is no welcome in Pakistan itself for the kind of action they are trying to take. But I fear that since he's not facing reelection, he might really undertake something very drastic in military terms. And if he fails to build the kind of coalition that he's trying to build, he's simply going to turn around and say, look, we tried to work with you all, you didn't work with us, so we have had to take this onus upon ourselves. During the last three days, I have looked and looked in the Iranian press that is available to me. It hardly mentions the visit, and on this great confrontation, so-called, basically said this was a routine thing and Americans are faking it. The supreme leader, Khamenei, has recently made very strong speeches supporting Ahmadinejad and saying that there are those people in our country who are trying to compromise our security and so on and so forth, but I am very glad that the government has stood firm. So I read those speeches as a kind of an indirect comment on the visit, indicating to the Americans how confident Iran is and how determined it is to carry on its policies exactly [as] it has outlined for itself, and it does not feel greatly threatened by the United States, because it sees the United States isolating itself. Arab governments are going to be very sophisticated about it. They will use all kinds of platitudes of how they're looking to the United States and so on, but I doubt very much that he will have any great success. In fact, the opposite is happening, that even old adversaries, you know, countries like Egypt, which broke relations with Iran in 1979, opened up a big dialog with Iran after Annapolis, and that dialog is going on regardless of Bush's visit. Similarly, Saudi Arabia's invitation to Ahmadinejad to come to Saudi Arabia, even if it is only to lead the Irani pilgrims to the Hajj, these are great symbolic actions, which I believe come out of serious consideration of their policies. And I don't think they're going to reverse it because Bush has shown up for some kind of photo-op opportunity. Now, I don't think there's going to be any great success. I think the United States is headed towards more failure. My fear is that as Bush faces more failure, his desperation might increase, and he may adopt some highly aggressive policies. And I am very disturbed by the fact that the leading contenders are not challenging him over this. He has exposed himself so much that the Democratic contenders, at least, should be taking him on
Israeli party quits government over peace plan
Palestinian journalist says a weakened coalition government will doom the peace process
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Transcript from RealNews:
ZAA NKWETA, PRESENTER: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition government suffered a blow today. Avegdor Lieberman, chairman of Yisrael Beiteinu, announced his party's resignation from Israel's coalition government.
(CLIP BEGINS)
AVIGDOR LIEBERMAN, YISRAEL BEITEINU CHAIRMAN: This process, this direction of Annapolis I cannot accept. And if I cannot accept this process, I must be out of the government.
(CLIP ENDS)
Prime Minister Olmert's government depends on a fragile coalition consisting of various political parties. Palestinian Journalist, Hisham Sharabati, believes today's developments are a sign of things to come.
HISHAM SHARABATI, PALESTINIAN JOURNALIST: The problem facing the current Israeli government will come at the end of this month, as the Labor party has threatened many times that when the Vinograd report regarding the last-summer war on Lebanon will be issued, they will withdraw from the government. And the other thing is that there is another threat by Shas, which is another religious party, who is represented by 12 Israeli Knesset members, that they also threatened to withdraw when the negotiations regarding Jerusalem will start. And that means any development in the negotiations, if not the start of the final status negotiations, we will see the Israeli coalition fall apart. President Bush has said that without having the full Palestinian legitimacy, which is the leadership of President Abbas on Gaza, it will be very difficult to reach an agreement. Also that, you know, by the American commitment all the time to what is called the security of Israel, with this, Israel, they have a green light by President Bush to go further with the massive incursions into Gaza. President Bush is leaving in one year. The problem is that the Israeli partner in the negotiations, it seems, is going to go sooner. George Bush, during his visit, he was trying to convince Yisrael Beiteinu and other partners in the Israeli coalition to continue the support of Ehud Olmert. Ehud Olmert himself, if he is willing and he determines on going on in negotiations and taking what they call tough decisions and tough positions in the negotiations, of course, regarding giving up certain things to the Palestinians, that may make him have the support of other lefty groups in the Knesset, including Palestinian-Knesset members. If they see that the Israeli government is winning and going forward with serious negotiations and willing to give up things to the Palestinians, they may give their support to the government. But they are not enough, and the Labor and other smaller groups will remain in the Israeli government. Otherwise, it seems we will have to go through Israeli elections again, and waiting for a coming American president, which, of course, in the meantime the area will remain in bloodshed and the violence, and the difficulties will remain the same.
another quote for today...
Sorry for the extra quotes. I guess so many have already said what I feel much better than I ever could...
It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.
- Voltaire (Francois-Marie Arouet)
Quotation Details
Antidepressant Studies Unpublished
The makers of some antidepressants never published the results of about a third of the drug trials that they conducted to win government approval, a new study suggests.
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***i'm on an anti-depressant along with my spouse, my father, and many friends. alot of us don't feel like they work and deal with side effects that we'd rather live with than to have to face the deep dark pit of depression.
Today's quotes from Abbie Hoffman...
"Revolution is not something fixed in ideology, nor is it something fashioned to a particular decade. It is a perpetual process embedded in the human spirit."
"Understand that legal and illegal are political, and often arbitrary, categorizations; use and abuse are medical, or clinical, distinctions."
Abbie Hoffman"You measure a democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists."
Who Will Take the Fall for the CIA Torture Tape Scandal?
The actions of three key Latino government officials may determine whether the torture tape investigation reaches the White House.
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Wednesday, January 16, 2008
O'Reilly Wants Criticizing Fox News to Be a Hate Crime
I say let's make loofah-wielding talking heads a special class. How about we put O'Reilly on the stage at every campaign event, but in a glass cage.
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Tax Cuts of Mass Destruction
By Mike Peters, Dayton Daily News
© Cartoonist Group, 2006
Technorati tags: Mike Peters, Cartoonist Group, political cartoons, editorial cartoons, cartoons, tax cuts
Bush’s Energy Policy: Begging for More Oil
If the GOP assumes they can separate Bush's catastrophic polices from the damage those policies have on the US economy, they're in for a surprise.
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Bush's Middle East Visit Is a Con Game and...
Bush is promising the Saudis 20 billion dollars in sophisticated weapons—including 121 million dollars worth of precision guided bombs.
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Democracy Now: A Relief From Corporate News B.S.
How one of the country's most fiercely independent news programs is surviving -- and thriving -- in the Republican-controlled heartland. Democracy Now is hopefully being broadcast in your neighborhood. The best news source on TV. In my town it appears on a local public access station. The website lists broadcast locations.
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How Trivial Can the Media Make the Presidential Race?
By Matt Taibbi, RollingStone.com-Corporate media are turning one of the most exciting primary seasons in history into a trivia contest.
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Religion's Blind Stranglehold Is Destroying Democracy
So, when it comes to religion and politics, here's the most critical question: Should we turn the political arena into a stage to dramatize our quest for moral certainty? The simple answer is no -- for lots of reasons.
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Tuesday, January 15, 2008
NBC wins decision to keep Kucinich out of debate
The Nevada Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that MSNBC is not required to include candidate Dennis Kucinich in its scheduled Democratic presidential debate.
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The Caucus: NBC Fights to Keep Kucinich Out of Debate
The Nevada Supreme Court will hear oral arguments at 4:30 p.m. Eastern, before ruling whether tonight's debate may proceed without Dennis Kucinich.
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Diverse Coalition Launches Campaign to Stop U.S. Nuclear Deal with India
Contact: Leonor Tomero, Council for a Livable World, (202) 546-0795 ext 119, ltomero@clw.org
http://www.clw.org/r/5083/24970/
Diverse Coalition Launches Campaign to Stop U.S. Nuclear Deal with India
Arms Control Experts, Environmental Activists, Consumer Advocates, Religious Groups and Doctors Find Proposed Agreement Would Dangerously Undermine National Security, Global Stability
WASHINGTON, DC –Twenty-three organizations today launched a coalition to stop the Bush Administration’s proposed nuclear trade agreement with India. The proposed agreement would exempt that nuclear-armed nation from longstanding U.S. and international restrictions on states that do not meet global standards to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
The Campaign for Responsibility in Nuclear Trade believes the agreement would: dangerously weaken nonproliferation efforts and embolden countries like Iran and North Korea to pursue the development of nuclear weapons; further destabilize South Asia and Pakistan in particular; and violate or weaken international and U.S. laws, including the Hyde Act, which Congress passed in 2006 to provide a framework for the bilateral U.S.-Indian nuclear cooperation agreement.
“When Congress takes a close look at the Bush Administration’s proposed agreement, it will find a dangerous, unprecedented deal,” said John Isaacs of the Council for a Livable World. “The proposal undermines over 30 years of nonproliferation policy, will increase India’s capability to produce nuclear weapons and its stockpile of nuclear weapons-material, and sends the wrong message to Pakistan during a time of crisis in that country. We feel confident that, under the Congressional microscope, the many flaws of this deal will be exposed, and it will ultimately be rejected for the sake of preserving national security and global stability.”
The U.S.-Indian bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement would allow the transfer of U.S. nuclear technology and material to India. However, it fails to hold India to the same responsible nonproliferation and disarmament rules that are required of advanced nuclear states. The deal will increase India’s nuclear weapons production capability, exacerbate a nuclear arms race in the region, undermine international non-proliferation norms, and encourage the creation of large nuclear material stockpiles. Its contribution to meeting India’s growing energy needs has been greatly exaggerated and it would create economic opportunities for foreign nuclear industries without any guarantees for U.S. businesses.
The pact must win approval from the U.S. Congress, which changed U.S. law in December 2006 to allow negotiation of the agreement, under several conditions that have not been met in the final language of the agreement. Those conditions include a new agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency for safeguarding Indian power reactors and changes to the international guidelines of the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group, which currently restrict trade with India.
Members of the Campaign are working to educate the U.S. Congress and public about the dangers of the deal, and are working with experts and organizations in two-dozen countries to inform deliberation over the deal within Nuclear Suppliers Group and its member state governments.
The new coalition’s partners include: Council for a Livable World, Arms Control Association, Federation of American Scientists, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Washington office, United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Institute for Religion and Public Policy, Union of Concerned Scientists, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, All Souls Nuclear Disarmament Task Force, British American Security Information Council, Women’s Action for New Directions, Americans for Democratic Action, Peace Action, Peace Action West, Arms Control Advocacy Collaborative, Beyond Nuclear, Bipartisan Security Group, Citizens for Global Solutions, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and Nuclear Information Resource Information Service.
Advisors to the coalition include Ambassador Robert Grey (Ret.), former U.S. Representative to the Conference on Disarmament and Director of the Bipartisan Security Group; Dr. Leonard Weiss, former staff director of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Energy and Nuclear Proliferation and the Committee on Governmental Affairs; Dr. Robert G. Gard, Jr., Lt. Gen., U.S. Army (Ret.), Senior Military Fellow, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation; Subrata Ghoshroy, Director, Promoting Nuclear Stability in South Asia Project, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Dr. Christopher Paine, Nuclear Program Director, Natural Resources Defense Council.
The Campaign’s website is http://www.clw.org/r/5085/24970/.
About the Campaign for Responsibility in Nuclear Trade
The Campaign for Responsibility in Nuclear Trade, a partnership project of 23 nuclear arms control, non-proliferation, environmental and consumer protection organizations, opposes the July 2005 proposal for civil nuclear cooperation with India and the additional U.S. concessions made to India as a result of subsequent negotiations because they pose far-reaching and adverse implications for U.S. and international security, global nuclear non-proliferation efforts, human life and health, and the environment. More information about the campaign can be found at http://www.clw.org/r/5087/24970/.
Dems battle in court, debate and voting booth - The Debates- msnbc.com
LAS VEGAS - Democratic presidential rivals and their supporters vied for advantage in the courts, on a debate stage and at the ballot box on Tuesday in an unsettled race for the party's nomination to the White House.
The debate lineup included Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois as well as former Sen. John Edwards, but Tuesday evening the Nevada Supreme Court rejected an effort by Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich to join in, too.
The day's only primary, however, promised little or nothing of consequence, an election in Michigan that state party officials insisted on holding earlier in the campaign than the Democratic National Committee wanted.
Dems battle in court, debate and voting booth - The Debates- msnbc.com
Technorati tags: democratic debate, 2008 Presidential Candidates, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Dennis Kucinich, politics, democrats
'King me!' from Citizens for Legitimate Government
I wonder if Bush is gonna to find a horses head in his bed after his visit to Saudi Arabia?
King me! 'For us to say that you can't have a democracy if you've got a king is just not right.' President Bush in Saudi Arabia 15 Jan 2008 In Riyadh today, the president [sic] participated in a traditional sword dance with one of the princes of the royal family. It was a public -- and a little awkward -- display of affection, all part of Bush's first visit to Saudi Arabia. The president sat down with "Nightline" at one of the vast royal palaces... The president defended his support of undemocratic regimes in countries such as Saudi Arabia. "The American president doesn't come and lecture somebody... And as I told you, his majesty is, he is modernizing his society. Is it going to meet somebody's standards sitting in Washington, D.C.? Probably not overnight. Can it eventually? Yes.… And for us to say that you can't have a democracy if you've got a king is just not right." [Submitted by CLG reader, Chip.]
Citizens for Legitimate Government - Index
Technorati tags: Saudi Arabia, Bush
Video: Quiet Revolution part one: Strategy
Alliance for Justice, with New View Films and Parrhesia Pictures, Inc., has produced a provocative short documentary entitled "Quiet Revolution." The film features U.S. Senator Barack Obama and describes how an increasingly influential movement on the far right has waged a sustained war on the Constitution as we know it. Ultra-conservative politicians, judges, professors and activists would overturn decades of precedent to shred the fabric of popular laws protecting workers, consumers and public health, expand executive power at the expense of basic civil liberties, and impose a narrow social agenda on the rest of the body politic.
Video: Quiet Revolution part one: Strategy
Technorati tags: Alliance for Justice, activism, Justice, revolution, quiet revolution, society, politics
Cancer and psychiatric drugs found in tap water
Britain's tap water should be monitored for powerful medicines after traces of cancer and psychiatric drugs were detected in samples, a report has warned.
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this is rather scary. society & pharmaceutical companies maybe be responsible for this. I wonder though, if the British government is actively trying to sedate it's populace?
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this is rather scary. society & pharmaceutical companies maybe be responsible for this. I wonder though, if the British government is actively trying to sedate it's populace?
U.S. sending 3,200 Marines to Afghanistan
By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will send an additional force of about 3,200 Marines to Afghanistan this spring to help NATO troops and Afghan security forces confront rising Taliban violence, the Pentagon said on...
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Poor sanitation kills 5,000 children a day: report
LONDON (Reuters) - Five thousand children die every day globally because they do not have access to clean toilets, health experts said on Tuesday. Wealthy governments and donors could make a huge impact on global health by making sanitation a...
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this is so very sad. can you even begin to imagine what this might feel like? i deal with poverty everyday. but, it's not like this. my family and i live in a clean place with no heat and leaky roofs. but, we have a bathrooom...clean water is another issue altogether...
Troops to shoot rioters in Pakistan polls: Musharraf
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has said troops will be ordered to shoot anyone trying to disrupt general elections due on February 18. The elections are meant to complete a transition to civilian rule and allies of...
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shoot rioters? this in no way a democracy with free elections! The US messed up big time by trusting the government of Pakistan...
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shoot rioters? this in no way a democracy with free elections! The US messed up big time by trusting the government of Pakistan...
'$20 BILLION Arms DEAL' by Ann Telnaes
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Ann Telnaes, comics, editorial cartoons, email comics, political cartoons
David Letterman Presents...[VIDEO]
By Adam Howard, AlterNet-"Wherever this guy goes he has trouble," remarks Letterman. "A normal situation turns nasty."
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Obama Reaches Out: His Truce with Hillary
Looks like this time it's Obama who showed some--what's the word? Oh yeah--leadership.
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Lebanon blast hits U.S. Embassy car, 4 slain
An explosion targeted a U.S. Embassy vehicle Tuesday in northern Beirut, killing four Lebanese and injuring a local embassy employee just ahead of a farewell reception for the American ambassador, U.S. and Lebanese officials said.
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Bush in Abu Dhabi, Should Be Considered Armed and Dangerous
The old "Do as I say, not as I do" game of President Bush, head of the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism.
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Kucinich Wins Lawsuit Against NBC to Be Included in Debate
Now if the judge could rule that the cable shows had to talk about issues, not high school catfighting, we might have a real election here.
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Harold Bloom: "What we are seeing is the fall of America"
Interview with Yale literature professor Harold Bloom in which he identifies the collapse of any sort of critical media, the accommodation of Democratic "leaders" and the reign of Monkey Boy, as signs of the collapse of the America many of us have known.
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Hillary Clinton's Dirty Campaign Tactics
No matter who you're voting for, this is a frightening and informative piece that we all need to read and take action upon. If you care about democracy and our system of theoretically free and fair elections, then this should get your goat.
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Saturday, January 12, 2008
Family united by Iraq tragedy, divided by politics
By Adam Tanner LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - When U.S. Marine Raul Bravo Jr. died in Iraq last year, his family joined thousands of other Americans who have suffered the tragedy of seeing a loved one killed in the war. As Bravo's divorced parents and three...
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today's quote by Bob Marley...
"Don't gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver or gold."
'Don't gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver or gold.' - Bob Marley
Stories We Missed in 2007 [VIDEO]
Investigative reporter A.C. Thompson reflects on the stories the news media is largely missing at a time of great turmoil in the industry.
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Friday, January 11, 2008
Andrew Roth on Front Page Depictions of War
By Matt Rennert r u t h o u t | Interview"The papers, the corporate media are not giving their readers a full understanding through this powerful visual medium of the real cost of the war."- Andrew Roth
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