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Hello! I'm pensive this weekend, and a little under the weather (make that humidity from stupendous thunder storms this week). Under such circumstances I'm likely to think back and wonder about what lies ahead.Just how does a human being progress through life? Take me--dirt poor and now "as old as dirt," a saying in these parts. And through it all, like others, it is the education we chose for ourselves which made the process worthwhile.
Herein comes my leadin to OEN and the fine art of good journalism. The media--it's called now. I continue to think of it as the fourth branch of government. Without information, unhampered by government restrictions, our government could not function. Put more personally, I could not live free under the government. So let's think of how OEN relates to those of us who read, write, comment, supply articles from other venues, and send articles to friends and associates.
The best way to start was to look at articles which I often don't take time to read. The first one which captured my attention was Joan Brunswasser's two-part interview with a brain scientist who had a stroke--the right brain, left brain discussions leave me asking for more. If you haven't clicked onto the video where the recovering scientist explains it for "folks," I suggest you give it a try.
Or another health story (mixed in with political ups and downs) is that explanation of what Ray McGovern went through when he needed a stint.
I took time to read the recap of the president's activities for the first half of June. Robert Arend has done this consistently since inauguration--the kind of documentation which we all can refer to when trying to pinpoint a date to an activity.
I was struck by information which Tom Hayden gave in regard to the election in El Salvador. It turns out that he helped, when he was in the California senate, to start a Central American Studies Department in one of the University of California colleges. He mentioned Father Roy Bourgeois, who is involved with the US military's School of the Americas. The note I saved from the group's email is: November 20-22, 2009: Converge on Fort Benning, Georgia - SHUT DOWN THE SOA!
Outside of OpEdNews, two stand out
Referrerd to as bric, which was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia recently.
The first summit of heads of state of the BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China - ended with a declaration calling for a "multipolar world order," diplomatic code for a rejection of America's position as the sole global superpower. More to follow there, I think.
and The New Yorker - a profile
The Secret History by Jane Mayer June 22, 2009
Can Leon Panetta move the C.I.A. forward without confronting its past?
First Sentence: Panetta has no C.I.A. experience, but, an ex-officer says, it's not "a bad thing to have a powerful guy with access to the President."
Iran, Pakistan, and all those other places -- time for TV!
