Bidding for Biohazards: The Madness of Bushenomics

Five states continue competing for the dubious benefit of hosting the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility- and the dangerous pathogens to be studied there. Sold to the highest bidder.

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Obama: "Nothing's Changed" [VIDEO]

I agree that nothing's changed. But, at the same time it seems everything is changing for the worse. Everyone is broke because of a war based on a bunch of lies by our government. Our soldiers need to come home and let Iraq deal with the fact that it's going through a civil war.
Peace,
soul
From The Real Clear Politics Blog - Posted by BLAKE DVORAK - Obama's new PA ad:


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Rudd's troop withdrawal leaves Bush alone on Iraq

Phillip Coorey, Chief Political Correspondent in Washington, March 29, 2008-KEVIN RUDD was to formally tell the US President, George Bush, yesterday that Australia would withdraw its combat troops from Iraq and compensate by increasing financial and humanitarian help and by training Iraqi security forces outside the country.

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Stand strong against hate in America

From an AlterNet Email...

Stand Strong Against Hate

Racism is a serious problem in America. The Southern Poverty Law Center has identified 888 organized racist hate groups operating in our country - a staggering 48% increase since 2000.

Show your concern by taking a stand against hate.

As the ranks of hate swell, people of goodwill must stand up and be counted.

Please add yourself to our interactive map as a voice for tolerance - and find out which hate groups are active in your area.

This increase in the number of hate groups - white supremacists, neo-Nazis, anti-immigrant extremists, anti-gay groups and others - is an alarming trend.

You can join people across the country who are standing strong against the hate, racism and intolerance infecting our communities, schools and political debate by adding yourself to our map.

Thank you for speaking out against hate.

 

Sincerely,

Morris Dees
Founder

P.S. At the Southern Poverty Law Center, we are combating hate on the front lines every day - exposing the activities of hate groups across the country, using innovative legal strategies to put them out of business, and teaching tolerance in our nation's schools. But we need you to stand strong in this critical fight for a more tolerant America.

Technorati tags: Hate, human rights, racism, activism, actions

The Haunting Last Picture Of The Battered Face Of Sophie...

Why do people hate so much? I just don't understand why people can't at least tolerate each other? Ideally, I wish everyone could live in peace and harmony...I know I'm just a dreamer...but, I'm not the only one...
Peace,
soul
Sophie before...Sophie after...


The family of Sophie Lancaster,who was beaten to death for being a Goth, have released a haunting picture of her battered face as she lay fighting for life in a hospital bed.

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"Was George Washington a Terrorist?"

What sparked his question was the exceedingly broad definition of terrorist activity employed in U.S. immigration law. That definition, as expanded in the USA PATRIOT Act and REAL ID Act

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Rev. Wright's letter to the NYT about Obama

"For two hours, I talked with you about how idealistic he was. For two hours I shared with you what a genuine human being he was. I told you how incredible he was as a man who was an African American in public service..."

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Live video of Bear Stearns bailout protests

Live video from CNBC of the protests going on at Bear Stearn's headquarters over their bailout by the Federal Reservce and US Government.

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Protesters enter Bear Stearns headquarters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - About 60 protesters opposed to the U.S. Federal Reserve's help in bailing out Bear Stearns entered the lobby of the investment bank's Manhattan headquarters on Wednesday, demanding assistance for struggling homeowners. Demonstra...

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U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 4,000

The grim milestone was reached less than a week after the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion to topple former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and coincided with a spate of violence across Iraq on Sunday that left at least 61 people dead.

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Money as debt

A short film by Paul Grignon

It's a strange system
and it's not in our best interests

One of the last things John F. Kennedy did before he was assassinated was declare his intention to reform the central banking system of the United States.
No connection between these two events?
Congressman Louis McFadden, Chairman of the House Banking and Currency Committee from 1927-33, opposed the Federal Reserve System. There were three reported attempts on his life before he finally died of "heart failure."
Here's what he said about the Federal Reserve from the floor of Congress:
"Mr. Chairman, we have in this Country one of the most
corrupt institutions the world has ever known. I refer to the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Banks, hereinafter called the Fed.
The Fed has cheated the Government of these United States and the people of the United States out of enough money to pay the Nation's debt. The depredations and iniquities of the Fed has cost enough money to pay the National debt several times over.
This evil institution has impoverished and ruined the people of these United States, has bankrupted itself, and has practically bankrupted our Government. It has done this through the defects of the law under which it operates, through the mal-administration of that law by the Fed and through the corrupt practices of the moneyed vultures who control it."

Money as debt

Technorati tags: central banking system, Federal Reserve System, government, Federal Reserve, Congress, Banks, Brasscheck TV, videos

Barney Franks explains his move to decriminalize weed

Congressman Barney Franks explains his move to decriminalize weedThe following video is from HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, broadcast on March 21, 2008

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The war on Iraq: Conceived in Israel

It would represent something to my knowledge unique in history. It is common for great powers to try to fight wars by proxy, getting smaller powers to fight for their interests. This would be the first instance I know where a great power (in fact, a superpower) would do the fighting as the proxy of a small client state.

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Congressman Frank To Introduce Marijuana Decrim Bill

US Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) is to introduce legislation to decriminalize marijuana possession. Rep. Frank made the announcement on national TV late Friday March 21.

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Over 100 anti-war protesters arrested at NATO HQ

Around 100 anti-war protesters were arrested trying to force their way into NATO's headquarters in Belgium on Saturday, police said.

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Crunch Time - Time for John Edwards to step up for Obama

Barack Obama distinguished himself as a pivotal figure in American history with his historic speech on the 18th. It would be in the best interest of the Democratic party for John Edwards to step forward with his endorsement of Obama now, before the Pennsylvania primary.

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Like the gap between the rich and the poor - life expectancy

Life expectancy for the nation as a whole has increased, but the affluent have made greater gains, researchers said.

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Hillary's NAFTA Lies Kill All of Her Credibility on Trade

When it comes to the essential test of the trade debate, Clinton has been identified as a liar -- a put-in-boldface-type

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Fox News Chaos: Anchor Walks Off Set, Wallace Rails Network

Brian Kilmeade walks off set over Obama dispute:

Even Fox News journalists are getting fed up with the overt bias

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Chris Wallace rails against "Fox and Friends" for Obama-bashing

Carrying a Torch for Tibet

China joins a long, proud tradition of countries carrying out brutal political crackdowns in honor of the Olympics.

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Calling B.S. on the Idea of 'Marijuana Addiction'

It's laughable that the Feds are pushing the concept of pot addiction when science shows that withdrawal symptoms from caffeine are far worse.

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FRONTLINE | "Bush's War" | Preview of Night 1 | PBS

On the 5th anniversary of the Iraq invasion, FRONTLINE presents the definitive documentary analysis of "Bush's War" airing Monday, March 24, from 9 to 11:30 P.M. and Tuesday, March 25, 2008, from 9 to 11 P.M. ET on PBS

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TIME Magazine - 14 reasons Hillary Clinton should quit

Mark Halperin of TIME lists the 14 reasons why Hillary Clinton should quit.It is impossible for Hillary to beat Obama in the number of delegates or the popular vote, and her "kitchen sink" strategy is angering top Democrats and superdelegates like Nancy Pelosi.

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Interview: The Dalai Lama on Tibet

In an exclusive interview, the Dalai Lama talks to Newsweek about the violence in Tibet, his vision of the future—and how he manages to sleep in spite of his distress over the killings.

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Annan warns against conflict with Iran

NEW YORK - Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned Thursday that military action against Iran would be "a real disaster" and said the Middle East could explode if the international community doesn't handle the many conflicts in the region very carefully.

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Iran a Nuclear Threat, Bush Insists

President Bush said Thursday that Iran has declared that it wants to be a nuclear power with a weapon to 'destroy people,' including others in the Middle East, contradicting the judgments of a recent U.S. intelligence estimate.

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The Tank that Breaks the Camel's Back

 
By Signe Wilkinson
© Cartoonist Group, 2006

The Tank that Breaks the Camel's Back

Technorati tags: Signe Wilkinson, Cartoonist Group, political cartoons, political satire, humor, comics

The Latest of McCain & Bush’s Lies to Justify War with Iran

Not only is there NO EVIDENCE that Iran supports terror in Iraq or against US troops in the region, but simply threatening Iran with military action is against international law. The UN Charter, which is a treaty of the United States, only permits the use of force in self-defense or when the UN Security Council has authorized force to restore peace

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Obama's Passport Data Breached: Two at State Dept Fired

This could be an instance of the Bush administration using federal resources to dig up dirt on a Democrat to help a Republican win an election.

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Richardson to Endorse Barack Obama

Gee, Obama must have done something recently that impressed Governor Richardson. Wonder what that could have been?

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Corporate Media's Virtual Blackout on Iraq Atrocity Hearings

Independent media outlets such as AlterNet did the bulk of the Winter Soldier coverage, while the rest of the press shied away. None of the major broadcast TV networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) have mentioned the hearings in their newscasts. PBS has been silent as well.

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Is the Constitution constitutional-Is impeachment mandatory?

Dick Cheney's impeachment is simply a function of a healthy republic, as defined by the Constitution, according to writer Ray McGovern. High crimes against our nation were anticipated centuries ago, and a mechanism was built into our government to stop criminal activity. Unused, we will lose the very nature of our government.

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Obama Offers a Progressive Vision of Patriotism

Obama's brilliant discussion of race, class and patriotism shows substance unlike any politician in recent history.

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Are Evangelical Voters Abandoning the Republican Party?

Strong turn of the tide: last month the leading U.S. evangelical polling group found 40% of all "born again" adults who plan to vote said they'll choose a Democratic candidate; just 29% plan to vote Republican. More evangelicals are now rating global warming, healthcare and poverty among their top priorities, along with their traditional concerns.

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Middle America; Going, Going, Gone:

Is Middle America down for the count? It appears that may be the case for thousands who have fallen victim to NAFTA, the WTO and the worst banking system on the planet.

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Polls Should Favor Obama from Now On

Polls should favor Obama over Clinton and over McCain, now that he has regained his footing in the wake of FOX's almost criminal attack on his character.

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Hypocrisy And Covert Assassination Plans

How Obama's passport, his security lapsed guards, Spitzer's fornication/adultery bust, Ron Paul's upending by the Military Medical Industrial Complex are all related efforts to bring power to fascism at any cost.

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Hillary's Ties to Religious Fundamentalists

There's a reason why Hillary Clinton has remained relatively silent during the flap over intemperate remarks by Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. When it comes to unsavory religious affiliations, she's a lot more vulnerable than Obama.

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Gitmo lawyer accuses U.S. soldiers of war crimes

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The military lawyer for an alleged al-Qaeda fighter at Guantanamo Bay said Thursday that accounts of the firefight in which he was captured indicate some U.S. soldiers — and not his client — should be charged for war crimes.

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U.S.-Russian brothers detained in Moscow for spying

Two brothers with dual Russian-U.S. citizenship, one of whom works at oil company TNK-BP, have been charged with industrial espionage, Russia's domestic security service said on Thursday.

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CNN examines 'unusual' protests on fifth anniversary of war

Although the number of protesters involved in demonstrations was lower on this anniversary of the invasion of Iraq than in previous years, the level of street theater appeared to have grown, from the pro-war counter-demonstrator in a camouflage-patterned hoodie to the somber figures in white masks representing the dead.

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The economic argument for ending the war

If you’re unmoved by the national security arguments against the war in Iraq, and the strategic arguments, the military arguments, the moral arguments, the personal arguments, the practical arguments, and the diplomatic arguments, there are always the economic arguments.

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China admits shooting protesters

Thousands of troops are on the streets of the Tibetan capital Lhasa amid reports of a huge military build-up, as China admitted for the first time it had shot Tibetan protesters over the weekend. Xinhua, the state run news agency, said that police shot four people in Aba county, an ethnic Tibetan part of the western Sichuan provice, on Sunday.

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U.S. Deploys Warships for Taiwan Vote

The United States has deployed two aircraft carriers near Taiwan to conduct "training exercises" as the island prepares to hold only its third-ever democratic presidential elections.

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McCain:A History of Being Wrong About Al Qaeda, Iraq

John McCain on several occasions recently has asserted that Iran and Al Qaeda are working together, including last month in Houston, Texas. The facts are much more complicated. McCain's assertions directly contradict General Petraeus who stated just yesterday that Al Qaeda weapons and suicide bombers actually come primarily through Syria.

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Why America Can't Get Beyond Race

As long as we continue to say racism doesn't exist, or that it only exists in the South, or never in us, we will remain mired in blame and anger.

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Is McCain Lying, Stupid or Both?

McCain keeps publicly making the false claim that Iran, a majority Shiite country, was supplying the mostly Sunni militant group, Al-Qaeda.

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Five Years of Suicide Bombings in Iraq

An account of the most widespread campaign of self-liquidation in human history.

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Ann Telnaes on the war in Iraq

Featured
Book
Humor's Edge
by Ann Telnaes

Ann Telnaes, comics, editorial cartoons, email comics, political cartoons

Technorati tags: Ann Telnaes, political cartoons, political satire, humor

China Tensions Could Sway Vote in Taiwan

China’s suppression of protests in Tibet has hurt the opposition Nationalist Party as Taiwan prepares for a presidential election on Saturday.

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Tibetan protests ripple across mountain region

Reuters - The biggest protests by Tibetan monks in nearly two decades have rippled into Chinese provinces populated by Tibetans, as the government's tough response draws condemnation from international groups.

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Obama says Iraq war drag on economy

CHARLESTON, West Virginia (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Thursday said the $500 billion cost of the Iraq war is a drag on the U.S. economy and attempted to lay some of the blame for it on Republican rival John McCain.

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Stand with Tibet - Support the Dalai Lama

 

After decades of repression, Tibetans are crying out to the world for change. China's leaders are right now making a crucial choice between escalating brutality or dialogue that could determine the future of Tibet, and China.
We can affect this historic choice -- China does care about its international reputation. But it will take an avalanche of global people power to get the government's attention. The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has called for restraint and dialogue: he needs the world's people to support him. Fill out the form to sign the petition--and spread the word.

Avaaz.org - The World in Action

Technorati tags: Tibetan protestors, Tibet, Dalai Lama, human rights, protests, petitions, actions

PHOTOS from the "March of the Dead" D.C. Protest and Arrests

March 19, 2008 DC protest photos

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China's Olympic Delusion

Cracking down once again in Tibet, China seeks to control the script on its flawed human rights record, yet still be regarded as a suitable host for the Olympics. Dream on.

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Bin Laden slams EU over prophet cartoons

CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden criticized the publication of drawings insulting to the Prophet Muhammad in a new audio message posted late Wednesday and warned Europeans of a strong reaction to come.

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First lady records show Clinton promoted NAFTA

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton now argues that the North American Free Trade Agreement needs to be renegotiated, but newly released records showed on Wednesday she promoted its passage.

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How the markets really work

Yes, it really is this bad

Another example of humor that is deadly accurate.
I worked on Wall Street for a few years, elbow to elbow with "top" investment bankers.
It was one big casino with the saps in pensions funds and savings and loans (and us) being used to finance the game and cover the losses.

How the markets really work

Technorati tags: economy, finance, videos, Brasscheck TV

Pope breaks silence on Tibet, wants end to suffering

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, on a diplomatic tightrope over the Vatican's tense relations with China, broke his silence on Tibet on Wednesday by calling for dialogue to end the ''suffering'' of the people there. ''Violenc...

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U.S. should speak out for Tibet, Obama says

FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina (Reuters) - The United States should speak out for human rights in Tibet, U.S. presidential contender Barack Obama said on Wednesday amid a Chinese crackdown on protests by Tibetans in China. In a foreign policy speech,...

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Grannies and pro-war activists clash in Times Square

By Emily Chasan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Grannies holding a knit-in to protest the war in Iraq clashed in a shouting match with pro-war activists in Times Square on Wednesday, the fifth anniversary of the start of the conflict. About 30 member of the...

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Upload & Remix Videos of the March 19th Anti-War Protest

OpenSourceCinema.org has posted a call for action to collect video and remixes of footage from the March 19th anti-war protest in Washington, D.C. So “upload your videos, download other people’s videos, remix them, upload them again and show everyone what the March 19th actions meant to you.” Click the link for more info & a video...

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Why Does Congress Leave War to the President?

You wouldn't know it from the past 50 years of American history, but Congress has the legal authority to curb presidential warmongering.

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The Autoimmune Epidemic: Bodies Gone Haywire in a World out of Balance

Scientists worldwide puzzle over an alarming and unexplained rise in the rates of autoimmune disease. Yet the media remain mute on this crisis.

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Dylan Loewe: Proof of a New Kind of Politics

Hillary Clinton has long argued that Barack Obama is so new to politics, so utterly untested, that he is likely to be destroyed by a Republican attack machine that only she has mastered. Because most polls show Obama consistently defeating John McCain, Clinton's only electability argument lies in questioning Obama's capacity for defense.

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How the Fed Works

The Fed: It's a very mysterious part of the government. But if you own a house, have a bank account or write checks, the Federal Reserve System affects your life every day. See how this 'gatekeeper' of the U.S. economy aims to keep things level, even in tumultuous times

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Michael Goldfarb: Happy Anniversary

Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq - Five years ago tonight I was desperately running around Erbil, de facto capital of the Kurdish autonomous region, looking for a translator. The war was due to start any minute and I had yet to find someone competent enough to do the job for me. My assignment was to follow the overthrow of Saddam through the eyes of someone

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Iraq Casualties, Iraq Costs, Iraq Numbers

Below Is a detailed list of Iraq "by the numbers" released by Senator Harry Reid's office:The Cost to Our Forces in Iraq3,990: American troops who have died in Iraq since the start of the war. [icasualties.org, 3/17/08]29,395: Number of U.S. service members that have been wounded in hostile action since the start of U.S. military operations

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Larisa Alexandrovna: American dead worth the cost of war?

It used to be - until this recent age - that a leader of a nation would ride out to war with his men as both a symbol of that which his military was fighting for and also as a show of his own commitment to the cause for which he was sending others to die. Even Queen Elizabeth I rode out with her small army as the Spanish Armada approached, instead

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Brown presses China's Wen, says will meet Dalai Lama

AFP - Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday that he is ready to meet Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, after pressing Chinese premier Wen Jiabao to end violence in Tibet.

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Calls for Boycott of Olympics increase

Based on current violence levels in Tibet, calls for an international boycott of the Olympic games in Beijing are growing.

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Tibet to stay on Olympic torch route despite riots

Reuters - China vowed on Wednesday to take the Olympic torch to Tibet despite deadly riots there and said it was in a "life or death struggle" over the Himalayan region with "the Dalai Lama clique."

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How will the Iraq war end?

The Christian Science Monitor - On the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war, progress is slow but violence is down. A three-part series on the war's effects starts today with a look at what the endgame might look like.

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China block YouTube The Great Firewall of China strike again

BEIJING - Internet users in China were blocked from seeing YouTube.com on Sunday after dozens of videos about protests in Tibet appeared on the popular U.S. video Web site.

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Paterson Discusses Past Extramarital Affairs

Less than 24 hours after he was sworn in, Gov. David A. Paterson admitted that he had had relationships with women other than his wife, including one who is on the state payroll.

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China Tries to Thwart News Reports From Tibet

For the past few days, several major international news outlets have been blocked or have faced service disruptions in some parts of China.

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Simmering Resentments Led to Tibetan Backlash

But to many Tibetans and their sympathizers, the weeklong uprising against Chinese rule in Lhasa reflects years of simmering resentment over Beijing's interference in Buddhist religious rites, its tightened political control and the destruction of the environment across the Himalayan territory the Tibetans consider sacred. If there is a surprise, i

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Israeli Army Loots a Palestinian Orphanage

According to the illegal military order, 13500 orphans, 1000 poor families, 9000 school children, 2500 children receiving care, and 800 workers should be cut off of their social and educational security, their jobs destroyed, and the properties of these charitable organizations must be transferred to the property of GOC Gadi Shamni by 1st April '08

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Dalai Lama tries to end Tibetan rioting

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama said on Tuesday he was willing to step down as head of the Tibetan government in exile if that was needed to stop the riots in his homeland, but China repeated its charge that he had masterminded the violence.

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Conservative justices question city handgun ban

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. capital's strict gun control law faced a barrage of skeptical questions on Tuesday from the U.S. Supreme Court's conservatives. ''What is reasonable about a total ban on possession?'' Chief Justice John Roberts asked...

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Obama: "A More Perfect Union"

The "A More Perfect Union" speech in its entirety as delivered by Barack Obama.

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News of Tibet Riots Seep Onto Web Despite Crackdown

Photos and footage of the bloody riots and protests in Tibet continue to make their way onto the web, despite the Chinese authorities' best efforts to both spin the news and stifle reports emerging from theregion.

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Obama delivers sweeping speech on race in America

Senator Barack Obama renewed his objection to the controversial statements delivered by the longtime pastor of his church, but declared that it was time to “move beyond some of our old racial wounds.”

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The Wages of Peace

Spending on the war in Iraq is a job killer. Ending the war would be the real stimulus package.

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Was Spitzer's Scandal a Justice Department Sting All Along?

Spitzer needed to go, but it wasn't the federal government's place to force him out.

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Are The Rich Worth What They Earn?

He made more money then his whole team combined! Is this pay worth more then 1000 police officers? How about all 100 US Senators? Do earnings reflect peoples social importance?

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Socialism Is OK for Rich White Guys, But Not the Rest of Us

For years now we've been told that socialism is the worse thing ever, unless of course, you are the archetype of capitalism.

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Is It a Recession? Or a Depression? Shocking New Gallup Poll

The GOP pyramid scheme is collapsing...Negatively loaded economic terms such as "recession" and "depression" rarely make a lot of news, simply because neither is used that frequently in polite company. A Gallup poll released today, however, may actually allow these words to creep into a national discussion:

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Russia, U.S. fail to agree on missile shield

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia and the United States failed on Tuesday to agree on Washington's plans to deploy parts of a missile defense shield in eastern Europe.

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Obama seeks to quell pastor controversy in speech

By Caren Bohan PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Presidential candidate Barack Obama will seek to quell a controversy over inflammatory rhetoric by his former pastor in a speech on Tuesday on the issue of race. Flare-ups over race have roiled the campaign...

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Dalai Lama responds to Beijing[VIDEO]

Mar. 18 - The Dalai Lama told Reuters and a group of international journalists he would resign as Tibetan leader if the situation veers out of control in Tibet.Speaking in Dharamsala in northern India where has been in exile since 1959, he denied accusations from China that he was inciting riots. On Tuesday (March 18th) China's premier Wen Jiabao accused what he called the 'Dalai clique' of orchestrating the unrest in Tibet.

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China and Dalai Lama trade barbs over Tibetan riots

By Chris Buckley and Lindsay Beck BEIJING (Reuters) - China accused the Dalai Lama on Tuesday of orchestrating Tibetan riots to wreck Beijing's Olympic Games, but the exiled spiritual leader denied the charge and vowed to stand down if the violence...

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Dalai Lama to resign if violence worsens

The Dalai Lama threatened Tuesday to step down as leader of Tibet's government-in-exile if violence committed by Tibetans in his homeland spirals out of control. The rioting prompted Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to denounce the Dalai Lama's supporters as separatists and accuse them of instigating the violence in Tibet's capital.

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How Many Child Prostitutes Is Bush Responsible for?

Facing starvation, as many as 50,000 Iraqi women and children have been forced into prostitution in Syria alone. According to the New York Times, "inexpensive Iraqi prostitutes have helped to make Syria a popular destination for sex tourist from wealthier countries in the Middle East."

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AlterNet Guest Editorial: The Bravery of the Tibetan People

You can help show the Chinese government that the whole world is watching what happens in Tibet.
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From AlterNet Guest Editorial: The Bravery of the Tibetan People;
By Lhadon Tethong, Students for a Free Tibet.
My dear family and friends,
I'm not sure what to say to you right now.
Part of me wants to talk about the good side of all that is happening -- the bravery and the courage of the Tibetan people. How proud I feel when I hear their cries and see their strength and fierceness. How they continue to rise up across our beautiful land and how this new movement destroys China's lies and propaganda and gives birth to a new generation of freedom fighters.
But then the other part of me is full of dread and fear for what will happen now, for what is happening now. Will they smash the monasteries as they again see the monks in the lead? Will they destroy the Bharkor because it's again a lightning rod for protest? Will they move all the Tibetans out of Lhasa because they are in the way? Will they turn the countryside into killing fields because nobody will know what happens out there?
Here in Dharamsala we try to assure ourselves this won't happen. That the Chinese leadership won't dare do this now. But I don't trust them. I will never trust them. All my life I've heard the stories of what the Chinese government does to Tibetans who are too strong, too proud. They try to break their spirit and take away their dignity. In the darkness of the prisons and the jails they inflict such pain and suffering ... there is no way to comprehend it from this place.
China's deadline for protesters to "surrender" has now expired. But it was all a farce. Another carefully scripted ploy to make it look like Tibetans had their chance before the Chinese authorities were forced to take the most extreme measures.
Now all the foreigners are leaving. Soon, only the Tibetans will remain. And, once again, it will be our people -- defenseless and alone -- left at the mercy of one of the most deadly military forces on earth.
Please help us let them know that they are not alone. Help us show the Chinese government that the whole world is watching.
For freedom, justice and peace in Tibet,
Lhadon
Take action here:
http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=1333
http://beijingwideopen.org/

The Iraq War Is Killing Our Economy

Recognizing the costs of the Iraq War is even more crucial now that the economy is facing recession.

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Act Now to Stop War & End Racism (ANSWER): Michael Prysner's testimony at Winter Soldier - VIDEO

"We were told we were fighting terrorism...The real terrorism was this occupation... I threw families onto the street in Iraq only to come home and see families thrown onto the street in this country in this tragic and unnecessary foreclosure crisis... Our enemy is not 5,000 miles away: they are right here at home." -- Michael Prysner

Part 1:

 

Part 2:

Act Now to Stop War & End Racism (ANSWER): Michael Prysner's testimony at Winter Soldier#video#video

Technorati tags: Winter Soldier, Iraq, Iraq war, soldiers

Human rights in China[VIDEO]

Mar. 17 - Human rights advocates says Tibet violence shows human rights record weak ahead of the Olympics.But Beijing authorities insist they have used restraint in quelling dissent. Tara Joseph-Hui reports.

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The Blue Divide at SNL - Real Clear Politics

SNL is not immune to the divisions that have been roiling the Democratic primary race. Watch Tracy Morgan respond to Tina Fey:



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Has corporate media forgotten Iraq?

Winter Soldier: Phyllis Bennis on the loss of media interest in the Iraq war

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Winter Soldier: Jesse Hamilton

Hamilton: Death blossoms in Iraq

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Winter Solider: Fight to Survive

Winter Solider: Garrett Reppenhagen Iraq vet and anti-war blogger

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Verifying Winter Soldier

Jose Vasquez talks about the process of verifying the stories of those testifying

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Winter Soldier: An Iraqi perspective

Iraqi journalist Salam Talib describes the divide between the American and Iraqi perspective of the war

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Iraq Vets: 'Racism Endemic; Comes from the Top of Command

Vets from Iraq and Afghanistan tell their stories. (With a guide to AlterNet's comprehensive Winter Soldier coverage.)

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How to Destroy a Country in Five Years

This the fifth of Iraq's blood-sodden anniversaries since Bush invaded, and the country is now utterly ruined. Five years of occupation have destroyed Iraq as a country. Baghdad is today a collection of hostile Sunni and Shia ghettoes divided by high concrete walls. Different districts even have different national flags.

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Bush Diplomacy: Predator Planes Are Conducting Assassination

Attacks all over the planet by U.S. Predator planes suggest Bush thinks he has the "right" to kill civilians.

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Army Specialist Casey Sheehan - Someone You Should (Have) Known

Casey Sheehan's Sergeant asked for volunteers. Sheehan had just returned from Mass. After Sheehan volunteered once, the Sergeant asked Sheehan again if he wanted to go on the mission. According to many reports (and according to his own mother), Casey responded, "Where my Chief goes, I go."

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Tibet unrest spreads beyond Lhasa

Tibetan protests against Chinese rule have spread to another part of China, after days of demonstrations and violence in Tibet's main city, Lhasa.

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Belgian Tibet protest turns violent[VIDEO]

Mar 16 - Tibetan protestors clash violently with police outside the Chinese embassy in Brussels.Hundreds of protestors attempting to gain access to the Chinese embassy grounds were pushed to the ground and bitten by police dogs. The protestors attempted to break down the gate and one suceeded on gaining entry to the grounds where he waved a

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Video of Riot Police Arresting "Anonymous Leader" in Atlanta

Just kidding - there's no such thing as an anonymous leader. Cops are also pulling over random people for showing support to anonymous. Protest cult - go to jail.

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NYT: Stolen oil profits keep Iraq's insurgency running

While many US officials and politicians routinely point to jihadism or Islamofascism as key motivating factors for Iraq's insurgency, a growing number of officers on the ground are blaming economic conditions instead, according to an article slated for the front page of Sunday's New York Times.

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Dear Hillary Clinton,

Why can't you just show us the numbers? I mean... it's not like it's all THAT hard to hire an accountant to do your taxes for you, right? Or is there something that we should know about how you spend your money that might compromise your position in the race?Personally, I'm tired of seeing all of your hate. Please, stop.

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This is how police SHOULD react to protesters

A video of an LAPD officer explaining things to an Anon protest group. This is how protests SHOULD be treated.

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China to crack down on singers after Bjork outburst

Bjork chanted the name of the Chinese-ruled Himalayan region after performing her song "Declare Independence", which she has used in the past to promote independence movements in other places such as Kosovo.

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If Car Ribbons Told the Truth (PIC)

You know it's true.

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Dalai Lama Won’t Stop Tibet Protests

The Dalai Lama on Sunday described feeling “helpless” in preventing what he feared could be a bloody clash between his followers and Chinese authorities.

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Winter Soldiers: Clifton Hicks and Steven Casey

Hicks and Casey: Indiscriminate killings in Iraq

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Winter Soldier: Steve Mortillo

Mortillo: War distorts soldiers' humanity

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Winter Soldier: Adam Kokesh

Kokesh: On rules of engagement

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The "Muslim Smear": Question the Question First

As the most visible target of this rising racism, Obama has the power to be more than its victim. He can use the attacks to begin the very process of global repair that is the most seductive promise of his campaign. The next time he's asked about his alleged Muslimness, Obama can respond not just by clarifying the facts but by turning the tables.

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Chavez goads U.S. over terrorism blacklist, sanctions

By Saul Hudson CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dared the United States on Friday to impose sanctions on his OPEC nation as a terrorism sponsor after U.S. officials said they were investigating his support for Colombian...

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Chinese Troops Surround 3 Monasteries in Tibet

Chinese security forces were reportedly surrounding three monasteries outside Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, on Thursday after hundreds of monks took to the streets this week in what are believed to be the largest Tibetan protests against Chinese rule in two decades.

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U.S. Scholar: Protests a 'Disaster' for China, Tibet

Violent protests erupted Friday in Lhasa, Tibet. Hundreds of demonstrators defied Chinese police and took to the streets, reportedly setting fire to several Chinese-owned businesses. Robbie Barnett, adjunct professor of contemporary Tibetan studies at Columbia University, says the protests are a disaster for both China and Tibet.

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German police kill U.S. soldier

German police in a Bavarian town shot and killed a U.S. soldier overnight after what appeared to be a violent domestic incident, local police said.

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***I was born on an Army base in Stuttgart, Germany in 1962. My mother told me the German people were extremely friendly and kind to us. I hope this doesn't create an "incident" with Germany. You know how much the president of the United States likes to play war!
Peace,
soul

Iraq: teachers told to rewrite history

Britain's biggest teachers' union has accused the Ministry of Defence of breaking the law over a lesson plan drawn up to teach pupils about the Iraq war. The National Union of Teachers claims it breaches the 1996 Education Act, which aims to ensure all political issues are treated in a balanced way.

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11 Governors Have Resigned In The Face Of Scandal

Louisiana Gov. Earl Long (D) was elected in 1948 and again in 1956 and carried on a well-known relationship with stripper Blaze Starr during his final term. In 1960, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives but died before taking office.

But even criminal investigations didn’t force the resignation of governors in two recent cases. Ohio Gov. Bob Taft (R) pleaded guilty in August 2005 to misdemeanor charges of accepting free golf outings and dinners from lobbyists without reporting them. Taft was term-limited and finished his second term in 2006. Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R) was indicted in 2006 on misdemeanor charges – later dropped – that he subverted the state's merit employment system by firing partisan foes and filling jobs with political allies. Fletcher ran for re-election but was handily defeated by Steve Beshear (D) in 2007.

clipped from www.stateline.org The exception was New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey (D), who stunningly announced in August 2004 that he is gay, described an affair with another man – the state’s former director of homeland security – and resigned effective that November. West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise (D) finished his term but did not seek re-election in 2004 Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton (D) finished his second and final term in December 2003 after admitting to an affair with a woman Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening (D) finished his second and final term after The Washington Post in 2002 revealed his affair with a woman on his staff Washington Gov. Mike Lowry (D) decided not to seek a second term in 1996 after several women accused him of sexual harassment. Maryland Gov. Marvin Mandel (D) had an extramarital affair while in office in the 1970s and married his lover in 1974, the year he was re-elected to a second term. He was forced to resign in 1977 after being convicted of racketeering and mail fraud.

Prevent an Attack on Iran

Prevent an Attack on Iran; Support S. 759 / H.R. 3119

Admiral William Fallon was, until Tuesday, the commander of U.S. Central Command. Last week, an article in Esquire called him the Bush administration's primary obstacle to an attack on Iran and advocate of serious diplomacy. Now, this military voice of reason on Iran has resigned, under pressure from the White House.

There is new momentum behind legislation introduced by Senator James Webb and Rep. Mark Udall that would prevent the President from attacking Iran without Congressional authorization. Senator Hillary Clinton, in a press release following Admiral Fallon's resignation, urged support for the bill. Just Foreign Policy met personally with Senator John Kerry during the Folly of Attacking Iran Tour, and he reaffirmed his active support.

Please use this tool to ask your Senators and Representative to step up in this dangerous moment and ensure that the President must go to Congress before he can send bombs hurtling over Iran.

Just Foreign Policy

Technorati tags: Iran, anti-war, actions, protests, petitions

Winter Soldier: Captain Luis Montalvan

Captain Luis Montalvan on the media, propaganda and uncovering the whole story in Iraq

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Winter Soldier Testimony : Hart Viges

Hart Viges : US military tactics upside down


testimony from Hart Viges

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Winter Soldier testimonials [VIDEO]

This month, for four days in Washington, DC, beginning on March 13, there will be a second Winter Soldier gathering – 37 years after the first. Organized by the protest group Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), US veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan

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Deaths reported in Tibet, China blames Dalai Lama

By Chris Buckley and Lindsay Beck BEIJING (Reuters) - Independence protesters burned shops and cars in the Tibetan capital Lhasa on Friday and Chinese police were reported to have shot dead at least two people, in the fiercest unrest in the region...

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House Rejects Immunity in Eavesdropping Bill

After its first secret session in a quarter-century, the House on Friday rejected retroactive immunity for the phone companies that took part in the National Security Agency’s warrantless eavesdropping program after the Sept. 11 attacks, and it voted to place greater restrictions on the government’s wiretapping powers.

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Audit: FBI Tried to Cover Patriot Act Abuses

FBI headquarters officials sought to cover their informal and possibly illegal acquisition of phone records on thousands of Americans from 2003 to 2005 by issuing 11 improper, retroactive "blanket" administrative subpoenas in 2006 to three phone companies that are under contract to the FBI, according to an audit released Thursday.

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FBI Found to Misuse Security Letters

The FBI has increasingly used administrative orders to obtain the personal records of U.S. citizens rather than foreigners implicated in terrorism or counterintelligence investigations, and at least once it relied on such orders to obtain records that a special intelligence-gathering court had deemed protected by the First Amendment..

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Military Stigmas Treat War Trauma as Admission of Weakness

Army studies say one in three soldiers will return from Iraq with significant mental health problems, but the system isn't there to help them.

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Dem rivals agree to play nicer, despite trash-talker backers

On this presidential rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton can agree: They sometimes disagree with their trash-talking supporters and will try to cool it. Advisers to the Democratic candidates shed some light Friday on the private chat the two candidates had Thursday on the Senate floor.

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Reports: Tibet protests turn violent

Angry protesters set shops ablaze and gunfire was reported in Tibet's regional capital Friday as the largest demonstrations in two decades against Chinese rule turned violent just months ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

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Homophobic Oklahoma Senator Has A Gay Son?

Sally Kern was recorded speaking against gays & lesbians in what she thought was a private meeting. Now it emerges that she might have a gay son. Talk of being an uber-bitch....!

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Practical steps to end poverty

The Christian Science Monitor - In this series, we've unpacked popular myths about extreme poverty. We've looked at how we've gotten stuck. We've laid out some key levers for change. And we've considered the consequences of success. The developed world, well-motivated governments, and civil society among the last billion poor clearly have the means

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The Media Repeats Stream of Lies About Obama

This article is a good summation of the right-wing attacks on Obama. It gives one pause to realize that Clinton really has not experienced the same kind of fear-mongering. Does that mean that while it is currently not politically correct to raise questions about a female's ability to lead a country, issues of race and religion are still fair game?

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Is There a Dark Side in All of Us?

Maverick academic Philip Zimbardo says we are all capable of evil. Is he right?

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Pentagon Report on Saddam's Iraq Censored?

The Bush Administration apparently does not want a U.S. military study that found no direct connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda to get any attention.

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Pentagon Cites Tapes Showing Interrogations

The initial findings of an incomplete review represent the first official acknowledgment that interrogators taped some sessions with detainees...WASHINGTON — The Defense Department is conducting an extensive review of the videotaping of interrogations at military facilities from Iraq to Guantánamo Bay, and so far it has identified nearly 50 tapes, including one that showed what a military spokesman described as the forcible gagging of a terrorism suspect.

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Olbermann's 'Special Comment' - [VIDEO]

As promised, Keith Olbermann went to town, had a cow, blew a fuse, on Hillary during last night's "Countdown":

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Buchanan Gets Smacked For Telling Guest To “Shut up"

Buchanan was acting like an asshole. Goff took exception to that statement and as she was calling him out for it, things turned nasty and Buchanan lost his cool — and paid a heavy price for it.

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Americans enormously uninformed about the Iraq war

Only 28 percent of Americans know that nearly 4,000 U.S. troops have been killed and coverage of the war totals about 1 percent of the news

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4 Arrests, Then 6 Days to a Resignation

At first glance, the case against four people accused of running an online escort business seemed routine. Then elements piqued interest for some reporters.

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America, Over The Top - Real Clear Politics - Elections 2008

On day three, now that most of the dust--and, hopefully, most of the sordid details--have settled in the Eliot Spitzer debacle, The Wall Street Journal's Daniel Henninger makes an interesting point: culturally, we are Spitzer...and Spitzer is us.

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Tibetan Monk Protest Ends In A Hail Of Gunfire

The protests began when 400 monks left Drepung on Monday. Topping the list was a plea to the Government to grant full religious freedoms to Tibet before the start of the Beijing Games, a source at one monastery said. They also demanded the release of monks detained in purges at Drepung in recent months

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Tibetan protests ripple across mountain region

Reuters - The biggest protests by Tibetan monks in nearly two decades have rippled into Chinese provinces populated by Tibetans, as the government's tough response draws condemnation from international groups.

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Bush threatens terror-surveillance veto

In a statement on the White House South Lawn Thursday, the president called the House version of the measure "partisan", "unwise" and "unacceptable", adding the legislation would "cause the U.S. to lose vital intelligence on terorrist threats." Bush said the measure would "require the disclosure of state secrets that could lead to the public...

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We're worse off than 4 years ago, voters say

Forty-three percent say that they and their families are worse off, compared with 34 percent who say they're better off; 21 percent respond that their status is the same. By contrast, strong pluralities or majorities answered that they were better off before entering the general elections in 1996, 2000 and 2004 - when, with the exception of the...

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Will American war crimes be revealed?

Like Vietnam vets did decades ago, a group of soldiers are poised to speak out about atrocities they say the U.S. committed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Why Hasn't David Vitter Resigned?

And what about Larry Craig, Dick Morris, John McCain and for the matter, George Bush and Dick Cheney.

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Media Need Accountability for Spreading False Information

"A free press is supposed to function as our democracy's immune system against . . . gross errors of fact and understanding," wrote Al Gore in his book, The Assault on Reason. But it doesn't - as Gore explains -- and that is what makes the mass media one of the most important obstacles to social and economic progress in the 21st century.

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Are Modern Women Miserable?

Women can dream bigger than ever before. But social progress has plateaued short of true gender equity, keeping many of those dreams out of reach.

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Exactly what does it take to make a woman happy?
One of the first to record her answer to that conundrum was the Marquise du Chatelet, whom history has recollected as the jilted mistress of Voltaire. That is short shrift: The brilliant marquise was a mother, a shopaholic, a passionate lover -- and most significantly, a revolutionary scientist and mathematician who suspended wooden spheres from the rafters of her country estate to test Newton's theories, and
who scribbled her insights until the candles burned to nothingness, plunging her
hands into ice water to jolt herself awake. Her intellectual feverishness prompted the philosopher Immanuel Kant to sneer that such a woman "might as well have a beard," and Voltaire himself, having received solo title-page credit for a book he privately admitted she practically dictated to him, declared that the marquise was a great man whose only shortcoming was having been born female.
Thus duly boxed in by the gender conventions of 18th century France -- and by an unplanned pregnancy at age 43 that she presciently regarded as a death sentence -- the Marquise du Chatelet brought a unique perspective to a treatise she titled "Discourse on Happiness."
To be truly happy, she ruefully concluded, "one must be susceptible to illusions, for it is to illusions that we owe the majority of our pleasures. Unhappy is the one who has lost them."
So where are we nearly three centuries later? Recalibrate for feminism, which aimed
to liberate women from the constricting corsets of sexist roles. Factor in an
unprecedented level of education, greater earning power, more economic
independence, more reproductive control and access to virtually any career, from
CEO to soldier to leader of the free world. In theory, at least, a woman's
prospects for happiness have never looked brighter.
Yet the paradox: Two recent studies reveal that a majority of American women are finding the holy grail of happiness more elusive. Researchers were startled to find that women now report less happiness than in the early 1970s; and where they once indicated greater levels of happiness and life satisfaction than men, that's now reversed.
"Aha!" opposing sides in the culture wars declared, glomming onto the findings to bolster their own takes on gender conflict. But this newly identified "happiness gap" is hardly a prima facie indictment of feminism for having worsened the lot of women, given that most women adamantly oppose to a return to rigid gender roles. Nor could it be attributable mainly to the notion that men are slacking while women work a second shift -- full time in the workforce and a second full-time job at home. The results show that women are spending the same number of hours working now, on average, as in the 1970s, although a greater percentage is outside work. As for housework, men have picked up a greater, though still minority, share. Much of the cooking and cleaning is "hired out" or simply goes undone (Americans now spend $26 billion more each year on restaurants than grocery stores.)
Even so, men today report spending less time on activities they regard as stressful and unpleasant than a few decades ago. Women still spend about 23 hours a week in the unpleasant-activity zone -- which was about 40 minutes more than men four decades ago, and now amounts to 90 minutes more than men.
And feeling guiltier in the process.