374 QuickLinks

Sunday, May 24, 2009
Turning 100, S.C. woman a 'window' on century of change
In a century of living, Donella Wilson has traversed the cultural and psychic landscape of South Carolina, moving from a poor plantation childhood to an urban life marked by professional and personal achievements. Now, as she celebrates her 100th birthday today, Wilson says it is a life embellished early on by faith and by black educator Booker T. Washington's admonition to "reach down and bring somebody up." Video included.

Saturday, May 23, 2009
U.S. soldiers first cases in Kuwait with H1N1 flu
(7 comments) U.S. soldiers have been confirmed as the first cases in Kuwait with the new H1N1 flu, the state news agency KUNA reported on Saturday, citing a government official. The virus was detected in an unspecified number of soldiers transiting through Kuwait. Some remained quarantined in their military base in Kuwait for treatment and some had left the country, KUNA said.

Saturday, May 23, 2009
Israel used depleted uranium, white phosporus in offensive on Gaza
(1 comments) The NGO, Action of Citizens for the total Dismantling of Nukes said Saturday that it has just produced a 33-page report concluding that the presence of as much as 75 tons of depleted uranium in Gaza soil is highly probable to the Israeli "Operation Cast Lead" offensive, between December 27, 2008 and January 18, 2009.

Saturday, May 23, 2009
Daughter of Civil War veteran dies at age 94
Kentucky lost its last living daughter of a Civil War soldier on Thursday. Eva Martin, 94, of Bethelridge in Casey County, was the 14th child of John Green Watson, who served as a private in the Union Army's 1st Kentucky Calvary. That division, nicknamed the "Wild Riders," fought in Kentucky during the Battle of Wildcat Mountain in the Laurel County-Rockcastle County area and later in the Battle of Perryville in October 1862.

Thursday, May 14, 2009
Ban on Smoking in North Carolina Goes to Governor
The nation's top tobacco grower, North Carolina, may soon join the trend to ban smoking inside bars and restaurants. The legislation moves to Gov. Bev Perdue, who said she will sign the bill into law. The ban would take effect Jan. 2.

Thursday, May 14, 2009
Tiananmen: China's Unhealed Wound (video)
(2 comments) Freedom of Speech is the core right of all humans. China's continued clamp-down on free expression brings global health problems like tainted milk and lead-painted toys. Tiananmen's victims and their families continue to be imprisoned or harassed by the government. Reminds me of how the US brutally attacked free speech at the DNC and RNC last year.

Thursday, May 14, 2009
Probiotic Strain Boosts Immune Response to Flu Virus
A new study just published in Postgraduate Medicine has good news about a way to help fight a potential flu pandemic, naturally. Researchers found that a specific strain of probiotics (beneficial microorganisms) increases the body's immune response to influenza A, of which swine flu (H1N1) is a variant. Ganeden BC30 is found in various dietary supplements.

Monday, May 11, 2009
Reporter Roxana Saberi freed from Iran prison
Lawyers for the 31 year old, whose imprisoning sparked a global outcry, said she left Tehran's Evin jail hours after her eight-year term was cut. She will be able to leave the country but has been banned from working as a journalist in Iran for five years.

Monday, May 11, 2009
Video: Fed Inspector General Claims She Does Not Know Where Trillions Went
Rep. Alan Grayson asks the Federal Reserve Inspector General about the trillions of dollars lent or spent by the Federal Reserve and where it went, and the trillions of off balance sheet obligations. Inspector General Elizabeth Coleman responds that the IG does not know and is not tracking where this money is.

Sunday, May 10, 2009
Sri Lanka Genocide: 378 Tamils die in bombing campaign
At least 378 died in an overnight bombardment, a government doctor said. The military denies the attack.

Sunday, May 10, 2009
Genderqueer Mommy
In honor of Mother's Day, I asked Katie Kooce to talk with me about mothering from beyond the gender binary. In the course of our conversation, we touched on t-ball, chest surgery, field trips, and bathrooms.

Thursday, May 7, 2009
US air-raid kills 123 civilians, 30 Taliban in Farah, Afghanistan
(4 comments) Monday's air strikes by US forces in the Bala Boluk district in western Farah province killed 123 civilians and 30 Taliban. The air-raid was in response to a Sunday bombing by insurgents that killed nine people. Protesters drove truckloads of bodies to the Farah capital to prove US atrocities. Brian Naran, an official at the US forces' media office in Kabul, declined to comment on civilian casualties.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Gay Boy Wins Right to Wear Dress to High School Prom
A South Florida boy wouldn't take no for an answer, calling WSVN's Help Me Howard hotline. Once TV anchor Patrick Fraser got involved, the school principal admitted they could not require students to conform to gender-based attire. Video included.

Sunday, May 3, 2009
What's Missing From Every Media Story about H1N1 Influenza
If you read the stories on H1N1 Influenza in the mainstream media, you might incorrectly think there's only one anti-viral drug in the world. It's name is Tamiflu and it's in short supply. That's astonishing to hear because the world is full of anti-viral medicine found in tens of thousands of different plants. And yet how many does the mainstream media mention? Zero. H1N1 flu is not a hoax. But the way MSM reports it, it is.

Saturday, May 2, 2009
Why Latin America's left keeps winning
(2 comments) Washington's foreign policy establishment has been proven wrong. Latin America is more stable and democratic than ever. Ecuador's Correa actually delivers on his campaign promises. A new constitution is seen as one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, with advances in the rights of indigenous people, civil unions for gay couples and a novel provision of rights for nature, allowing lawsuits for eco-damage.

Thursday, April 30, 2009
Swine Flu: CDC Recommends Tamiflu
The CDC recommends Tamiflu for prevention and treatment of swine flu, as they did with the avian flu several years ago. Yet at the height of the avian flu scare, European researchers reviewed studies of anti-viral medications. In this review of 51 randomized controlled trials, Tamiflu was useless against the avian flu and many other flus. Contrary to the CDC, they recommended against using Tamiflu. What about today?

Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Michelle Obama honors suffragist, abolitionist Sojourner Truth
Mrs. Obama unveiled a statue of suffragist/abolitionist Sojourner Truth -- the first black woman to be so honored at the Capitol.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009
New Hampshire Senate passes same-sex marriage bill
After adding an amendment to prohibit polygamy and marriage of family members, among other measures, NH Senate passed same-sex marriage bill today (13-11). Governor John Lynch (D) opposes and may veto the bill.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Swine Flu Scare: Stock Market Bonanza for 'Politically Connected' BioTech Companies
(1 comments) The Swine Flu scare has boosted the stock market values of Big Pharma. Following initial reports from Mexico on the influenza outbreak, the demand for anti-flu drugs has skyrocketed. Supported by media disinformation, an atmosphere of fear and intimidation has unfolded. Health "emergencies" have been declared in various parts of the US.

Monday, April 27, 2009
Farm-Labor Alliance marches 10,000 strong over water rights
California water shortage has caused laborers and farmers to unite against a proposed canal in the Sacramento Delta, which they fear will be used to drain the Sacramento River. The UN says water wars may be more likely in the future around the world.

Monday, April 27, 2009
Socialist-Dems and Left-Greens Win in Iceland
(1 comments) Johanna Sigurdardottir, a Social Democrat, wins Prime Minister spot as the coalition government now moves for EU membership.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Hungarian Parliament passes same-sex partnership bill
Hungarian Parliament yesterday passed a bill that allows same-sex couples of over 18 to establish legal registered partnerships with 199 affirmative votes, 159 dissensions and eight abstentions. The bill does not permit gay couples to adopt children, however.

Saturday, April 18, 2009
Beyond Cash: Bartering as high-tech trade
(2 comments) Cash-strapped companies and people are putting a new and sometimes electronic spin on an age-old form of commerce - bartering. As the recession has deepened and unemployment has climbed, more people are trying to husband dwindling dollars and coins by exchanging their goods and services for somebody else's. This time, it's taking place online.

Friday, April 17, 2009
Stiglitz Says Ties to Wall Street Doom Bank Rescue
The Obama administration's bank- rescue efforts will probably fail because the programs have been designed to help Wall Street rather than create a viable financial system, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said.

Thursday, April 16, 2009
Purdue Farms has low-path bird flu at one Kentucky site
(3 comments) Low-pathogenic avian influenza has been found on a broiler breeder farm in western Kentucky belonging to Perdue Farms. The virus, responsible for a minimal drop in egg production in mid-March, poses minimum risk to human health. Purdue will kill 20,000 chickens in two houses.

Thursday, April 16, 2009
Terror quiz for man who took photo of police car
(2 comments) A UK man was detained as a terrorist suspect for taking a photo of a police car being driven erratically across a public park. Malcolm Sleath, chairman of his local park society, was stopped by two officers and told he had breached Section 44 of the Terrorism Act. The law was amended in February to allow police to stop and search anyone they consider a terrorist threat. Those found guilty face a maximum of ten years in jail.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Guantanamo detainee calls al Jazeera to protest treatment
A Guantanamo detainee used his prison camp telephone privileges to ring up a reporter with the Middle Eastern news network al Jazeera and complain that he had been abused by prison camp guards. Renditioned at age 14, Mohammed el Gharani has been held at Guantanamo without charge since 2002.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Amy Goodman Speaks in Columbus, OH on her RNC Arrest
30-Min AUDIO: "Important. Just start listening. Especially poignant to all the bloggers out there. See yourself in her mirror." Hat tip to Troy Semen.

Monday, April 13, 2009
Justice Ginsburg: Torture Should Not Be Used
In wide-ranging remarks at Ohio State U. on Friday, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg defended the use of foreign law by American judges, suggested that torture should not be used even when it might yield important information and reflected on her role as the Supreme Court's only female justice.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The White House Office of Missed Opportunity
THE ADVOCATE: While President Obama traveled abroad, the marriage-equality landscape underwent a tectonic shift. But his administration is still too firmly rooted in last year's campaign mode to absorb the change. What a buzz kill.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009
McClatchey: Do U.S. drones kill Pakistani extremists or recruit them?
(3 comments) Even as the Obama administration launches new drone attacks into Pakistan's remote tribal areas, concerns are growing among U.S. intelligence and military officials that the strikes are bolstering the Islamic insurgency by prompting Islamist radicals to disperse into the country's heartland.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Vermont Legalizes Gay Marriage with Veto Override
The 21st Century Civil Rights Movement gained another foothold on the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution today when Vermont legalized same-sex marriage despite a gubernatorial veto by Jim Douglas (R).

Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Panel Decries Neglect of Sexual Violence in Congo
Dominique Soguel, Women's eNews: "Media coverage of the tsunami in 2007 triggered massive relief efforts. But when it comes to the unprecedented brutality of sexual violence in the Congo, the media is silent and the international community paralyzed."

Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Tea Parties being organized nationwide to protest massive government spending and taxation
We are just like you: a group of citizens concerned about the growing size of our government. We are citizens who see a fundamental disconnect between our government and its citizens.

Monday, April 6, 2009
CSI Blackout: Bill Moyers interviews William K. Black
VIDEO: William Black suspects that it was more than greed and incompetence that brought down the U.S. financial sector and plunged the economy in recession - it was fraud. He would know. When it comes to financial shenanigans, William K. Black, the former senior regulator who cracked down on banks during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, has seen pretty much everything.

Monday, April 6, 2009
MN Rep Michele Bachmann fears 'politically correct re-education camps for young people'
(5 comments) PODCAST: U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann says she fears the Obama administration will create "re-education camps for young people, who will get trained in a philosophy that the government puts forward. Obama wants to seize American sovereignty and transfer it to transnational global authority.

Friday, April 3, 2009
The Startling Effects of Going Vegetarian for Just One Day
(4 comments) Have you seen these stats on what and how much we'd save in water, crops, land, gasoline, etc.? My favorite statistic is this: if every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off U.S. roads.

Friday, April 3, 2009
BREAKING: Iowa Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Same-Sex Marriage
(2 comments) In a unanimous decision, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the right of same-sex couples to marry. The court, which was reviewing a district court decision allowing six gay couples to marry, found that limiting civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman violates the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution.

Thursday, April 2, 2009
April Fools: Ann Coulter falls for fake Obama NASCAR story
(1 comments) Ann Coulter fell for a fake April Fools' Day article by Car and Driver that claimed President Obama ordered GM and Chrysler to cease their participation in NASCAR because it is an "unnecessary expenditure."

Thursday, April 2, 2009
Existential Crisis at the G20 Summit
(2 comments) The global financial crisis has created an existential problem for American capitalism. The theory that deregulation, free markets, and policies that serve the interests of big banks and multinational corporations are best for all of us has never looked so weak. Protesters at the G-20 summit in London are driving home this point.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Geithner Gets a Taste of the Peasants' Anger
(2 comments) It was priceless watching Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's stunned expression when questioned about his ties to Goldman Sachs. Why is Geithner, the guy who was in charge of regulating Citigroup before and during that firm's collapse while he was chair of the New York Fed, the most qualified person to re-regulate the banks?

Monday, March 30, 2009
Obama signs massive wilderness bill
The public lands bill covers more than 1,000 miles of river and 2 million acres of wilderness. The newly designated California wilderness includes a total of 85,000 acres in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. Tuesday, National Park Service officials will meet to delve into the new public land bill's wilderness requirements.

Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sydney to Egypt - Lights Dim for Earth Hour
Time zone by time zone, nearly 4,000 cities and towns in 88 countries joined the event sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund to dim nonessential lights from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The campaign began in Australia in 2007 and last year grew to 400 cities worldwide.

Saturday, March 28, 2009
Stiglitz: Reform Is Needed. Reform Is in the Air. We Can't Afford to Fail.
The task is to build a new financial architecture. If we flunk it, the pain will strike most cruelly in the world's poorest countries.

Thursday, March 19, 2009
French say no to Bankster Bailout; general strike called again
France braces for its second national strike in less than two months. Ad man says "people are really angry" over the country's growing economic hardship and costly bank rescues. Unions have promised another record turnout for Thursday's general strike, with more protests planned across the country than in January when up to 2.5m people hit the streets. (Where is US outrage?)

Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Obama's New Deal for Blackwater (Xe)
(1 comments) Days after the Baghdad government decided it no longer wanted the company then known as Blackwater in Iraq, the State Department signed a $22.2 million deal in February to keep the embattled contractor working there through most of the summer, contract records show.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Jeremy Scahill: Obama, Why Did You Pay Blackwater $70 Million in February?
(1 comments) For those already outraged at the AIG bonus scandal, here is a fact that should add more fuel to the fire: The Obama administration has paid the mercenary firm formerly known as Blackwater nearly $70 million to operate in Iraq.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009
One in 31 in Prison, Jail, or on Probation or Parole in US
Explosive growth in the number of people on probation or parole has propelled the population of the American corrections system to more than 7.3 million, or 1 in every 31 U.S. adults, according to a report released by the Pew Center on the States. The vast majority of these offenders live in the community, yet new data in the report finds that nearly 90 percent of state corrections dollars are spent on prisons.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009
One in 50 US Kids Homeless
The National Center on Family Homelessness' new report, America's Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness, offers comprehensive state-by-state data on the status of homeless children. The report documents the extent of child homelessness, describes the plight of these children, profiles and ranks the states, and proposes solutions. Children without homes are on the frontline of the nation's economic crisis.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009
City Council of Medina OH recessed by fart machine: VIDEO
Mayor Jean Leaver couldn't keep the boys from laughing, nor herself, at the 2008 City Council meeting where someone used a fart machine TWICE

Monday, March 9, 2009
Breaking the Banks: The Struggle to Feed America's Nouveau Needy
Ever more Americans need food they can't afford. As tough economic times take their toll, increasing numbers of Americans are on tightened budgets and, in some cases, facing outright hunger. Food banks say the need for their services is spiking in a way none of them can recall.

Monday, March 9, 2009
Women can lead the way to recovery
Although the economy has dominated our consciousness, debates and airwaves for months, little attention is being paid to the fact that women are disproportionately bearing the brunt of this crisis. Equally ignored is the fact that women have the solutions to get us out of it.

Monday, March 9, 2009
An Empire for Poor Working Women, Guided by a Gandhian Approach
NY Times: The Self-Employed Women's Association, or SEWA, offers retirement accounts and health insurance to women on the bottom of India's social ladder who never had a safety net.

Monday, March 9, 2009
Gobekli Tepe: The World's First Temple?
Smithsonian: Predating Stonehenge by 6,000 years, Turkey's stunning Gobekli Tepe upends the conventional view of the rise of civilization

Monday, March 9, 2009
"Miracle" water a low-cost alternative cleaner to harsh chemicals
It's a kitchen degreaser. It's a window cleaner. It kills athlete's foot. Oh, and you can drink it.

Thursday, March 5, 2009
Nurturing ties to local farms, by design
Valerie Gates devised a creative way to reach new clients, feed her family, and help the community all at the same time. The concept was simple: She would offer the creative services of her firm, Gates Studios, to five local farmers in exchange for food or shares in Community Supported Agriculture programs.

Friday, February 20, 2009
Jailing Kids for Cash: Amy Goodman
(2 comments) As many as 5,000 children in Pennsylvania have been found guilty, and up to 2,000 of them jailed, by two corrupt judges who received kickbacks from the builders and owners of private prison facilities that benefited. The two judges pled guilty in a stunning case of greed and corruption that is still unfolding.

Friday, February 20, 2009
Israel headed for 'extreme right-wing' regime, Livni says
(2 comments) Tzipi Livni, whose centrist Kadima party holds the most seats in a divided Israeli parliament, has told her followers they are headed for opposition status as hardliner Benjamin Netanyahu solidifies his claim to govern, Israeli newspapers reported Thursday.

Friday, February 13, 2009
Senate considers gender identity bill
Cora Holt spoke publicly three years ago in favor of a proposed Manhattan city ordinance offering nondiscrimination protections for sexual orientation and gender identity in employment and housing, and was fired. The Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee considers SB 169, a bill adding gender identity and sexual orientation as protected categories in state discrimination law.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Iranian Lesbian Wins Battle to Stay in UK as Refugee
Pegah Emambakhsh, the Iranian lesbian who in 2007 was within hours of being deported from UK as a failed refugee seeker, can now stay in the UK. She fled Iran for the UK almost four years ago when her sexuality became known to religious authorities. IRanian Queer Railroad has been following her story.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009
911 Truth Hits Mainstream TV
(3 comments) A coming episode of the acclaimed FX drama "Rescue Me" will tackle what may sound like a far-fetched plot line: that the attacks of Sept. 11 were an "inside job." The actor who espouses the theories on camera, it turns out, also subscribes to them in real life.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009
11 rescued pups find new hope at town shelter
Pilots ‘N’ Paws—a program of pilots who volunteer their time and resources to relocating animals in need-saved 11 more dogs in South Carolina. Shelter asks vets to donate time to spay and neuter them. VIDEO included.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009
No Name-Calling Week targets homophobia in schools
NEW YORK CITY. Thousands of elementary and middle schools are participating in the 6th annual No Name-Calling Week this week to educate students about tolerance and to foster a dialogue among students about why bullying and name-calling is wrong. The program is a project of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, and Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, and nearly 50 national education and youth service orgs.

Monday, January 19, 2009
Obama's 'We Are One' speech on video
(1 comments) President-elect Barack Obama delivered the following speech during the inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday.

Monday, January 19, 2009
Bubonic Plague kills 40 al-Qaeda operatives
Who has the technology to develop and disseminate plague as a bioweapon?

Sunday, January 18, 2009
Mary Frances Berry: Gay but Equal?
(2 comments) To help resolve the issue of LGBT rights, President-elect Obama should abolish the now moribund Commission on Civil Rights and replace it with a new commission that would address the rights of many groups, including gays.

Sunday, January 18, 2009
Capps Calls Prop. 8 Defeat an LGBT Rallying Call
The November passage of California's Proposition 8, which stripped lesbians and gays of the right to marry bestowed by an earlier state Supreme Court ruling, came as a bitter defeat for supporters of same-sex marriage rights. CA Rep. Lois Capps is working to secure equal rights for lesbians by championing bills to add protections from violence and ban discrimination.

Sunday, January 18, 2009
Hamas Announces Ceasefire: Gives Israel Week to Withdraw
(1 comments) Hamas said on Sunday it would cease fire immediately along with other militant groups in the Gaza Strip and give Israel, which already declared a unilateral truce, a week to pull its troops out of the territory.

Sunday, January 18, 2009
Maya Angelou: At Long Last, Ready for the Real Deal
I telephoned Oprah Winfrey, aware that she knew the Obamas, and asked, "What is your take on Michelle Obama?" Oprah answered promptly and with conviction, "She is the real deal."

Thursday, January 15, 2009
Barack Obama to end US army's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy towards gays
The move is expected to be among a series of symbolic changes he will push through quickly to stamp his mark on the presidency. He is also expected to reverse several controversial executive Bush decisions within days of taking office next week.

Thursday, January 15, 2009
The Growing Clout of the Nouveau Poor
(2 comments) Any serious attempt to get the economy going again--and I leave aside the unserious attempts like bank bailouts and other corporate welfare projects--has to start at the bottom. Poverty and the squeeze on the middle class are a big part of what got us into this mess in the first place. Obama promises to create 3 million new jobs in "shovel-ready" projects. Let's hope they're not all jobs for young men with strong backs.

Thursday, January 15, 2009
Obama names Raytheon lobbyist for defense post
The more things change, the more they stay the same: President-elect Barack Obama appointed a Raytheon Co. lobbyist Thursday to become the No. 2 official at the Defense Department, acknowledging that his choice appeared to break with his self-imposed rules to keep lobbyists at arm's length.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009
First U.S. tech officer will have hands full
Thousands of people are suggesting priorities for the tech officer on a website called ObamaCTO.org. At the top of the list, with more than 12,600 votes, is making the Internet widely accessible and ensuring Net neutrality. In second place with more than 9,800 votes is "ensure our privacy and repeal the Patriot Act. Obama's campaign pledges to put bills, contracts, meetings and other federal business on the Web.

Friday, January 9, 2009
War of the Words: How descriptions of Hamas shape our understanding of the Gaza conflict
(2 comments) Who or what is Hamas, exactly? Definitions vary depending on which news outlet you consult.

Saturday, January 3, 2009
Franken leads as Minn. recount nears finish line
(5 comments) Victory in Minnesota's drawn-out Senate race moved within Democrat Al Franken's grasp Saturday when he increased his lead over Republican Norm Coleman as the statewide recount drew to a close. The state Canvassing Board will reconvene Monday to declare which candidate received the most overall votes in the election. Barring court intervention, it will be Franken. Franken's lead now stands at 225 votes after gaining 176 votes

Monday, December 29, 2008
Big Oil vs. Big Water in the Rockies
A titanic battle between the West's two traditional power brokers - Big Oil and Big Water - has begun. At stake is one of the largest oil shale reserves in the world, a vast cache trapped beneath the Rocky Mountains containing an estimated 800 billion barrels - about three times the reserves of Saudi Arabia. But 1 barrel of oil requires 10 barrels of water.

Sunday, December 28, 2008
Israel bombs university in Gaza
(1 comments) VIDEO and Text: Israeli air force jets have bombed the Islamic University in the Gaza Strip, a significant cultural symbol for Hamas. Warplanes also struck Hamas government offices as air raids aimed at forcing Palestinian militants to halt rocket fire into southern Israel continued. Palestinian medics say nearly 300 people have been killed in the air raids that began on Saturday.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Sodomy Laws Rooted in British Colonialism
Although 66 countries signed a statement at the United Nations on Dec. 19 affirming that human rights protections extend to sexual orientation and gender identity, activists note that dozens of nations still criminalise homosexuality and seven impose the death penalty. More than half the world's remaining sodomy laws derive from a single law on homosexual conduct that British colonial rulers imposed on India in 1860.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008
LGBT Christians Denounce Pope's Comments
(3 comments) Lesbian and gay Christians today denounced Pope Benedict's claim that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour is as important as saving the rainforest from destruction. Rev Sharon Ferguson, CEO of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, described his remarks as "totally irresponsible and unacceptable in any shape or form. It is more the case that we need to be saved from his comments" which promote gay bashing

Monday, December 22, 2008
The Disciples of Hatred, in Their Own Words and Images
The notion of housing the lynching material in the same institution as, say, Martin Luther King's sermons and speeches strikes some as jarring. But this is just as it should be. The civil rights movement can only be properly understood in the context of the reign of terror that gripped black Southerners.

Monday, December 8, 2008
5 Blackwater Agents Charged with 14 Counts of Manslaughter
Blackwater Worldwide security guards opened machine gun fire on innocent, surrendering Iraqis and launched a grenade into a girls' school during a gruesome Baghdad shooting last year, killing 14 unarmed civilians. The five guards also face 20 counts of attempted manslaughter and are also charged with using a machine gun to commit a crime of violence, a charge that carries a 30-year minimum sentence.

Monday, December 8, 2008
Afghan Killing Fields: Female Journalists
Award winning journalist Farida Nekzad says she defies the warlords who have turned her native Afghanistan into a killing field of female journalists. She faces death threats to tell the stories of Afghan women; if she didn't, she wonders, "Who would?"

Monday, December 8, 2008
Iowa High Court to Hear Gay Marriage Arguments
The Iowa case has been moving through the legal system for more than three years, and it could take a year or more for the state Supreme Court to issue a ruling after hearing arguments tomorrow morning.

Monday, December 8, 2008
Rights Demand Strong Institutions
Desmond Tutu & Mary Robinson: Sixty years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we need legislative muscle to back up our ideals

Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Broader medical refusal rule may go far beyond abortion
(2 comments) The Bush administration plans a new 'right of conscience' rule that would allow more workers to refuse more procedures. Critics say it could apply to artificial insemination and birth control.

Monday, December 1, 2008
LATIN AMERICA: Indigenous Journalists Plant a Seed
Journalists from indigenous communities in Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Guatemala and Bolivia came together in La Paz to take the first step towards creating a network to work together and support each other.

Friday, November 28, 2008
World's Oldest Person Dies at 115 yrs, 7 mos.
AP Video: Edna Parker of Shelbyville, IN died on Wednesday, holding her title for 15 months, after a Japanese woman died in August 2007. The new title holder is now Portugese Maria DeJesus, at 115 years, 2 months old.

Friday, November 28, 2008
RealNewsNetwork Video: The media and the Venezuelan elections
Allies of President Hugo Chavez's won a strong majority in Venezuela's local elections on Sunday, winning 17 of 22 state governorships and 265 of 327 mayoral races. The opposition made important gains, capturing the Caracas mayor's office and two of the most populous states. Yet US media reports Chavez suffered a setback.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008
When Left is Right: Rachel Maddow
"Can you believe that sellout, Barack Obama?" says Rachel Maddow, looking around the room. "Let's hit him from the left!" A funny, cerebral and likable young woman who reads graphic novels and hungers for political change captures today's zeitgeist far better than the older, angrier male pundits who've dominated the debate for so long.

Monday, November 24, 2008
Conflicts of Interest May Ensnare Journalists, Too
Health reporters may become entangled in the same kinds of ethical conflicts they often expose when accepting industry-sponsored awards and relying on corporate public relations offices, three researchers warn. Journalism awards consisting of cash prizes and all-expense-paid trips given out by drug companies are among the more "astonishing" financial ties between journalists and drug companies.

Monday, November 24, 2008
Despite Army's Assurances, Violence at Home
The Army says that the measures it has taken have been effective in curbing domestic violence. But advocates of victims of domestic violence say that among combat troops the violence has spiked in the past two years.

Thursday, November 20, 2008
You be the Election Judge: 11 Minn Ballots
(5 comments) Representatives from the campaigns of Sen. Norm Coleman and Al Franken have been challenging ballots across the state. It's your turn to play election judge. Tell us how you would rule in the case of these 11 challenged ballots.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Arizona Gov Janet Napolitano to head Homeland Security
(3 comments) Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has been chosen to serve as secretary of the vast and troubled Department of Homeland Security for President-elect Obama, Democratic officials said. Napolitano is a border governor who will now be responsible for immigration policy and border security, which are part of Homeland Security's myriad functions.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008
BREAKING: Mark Begich (D) Wins Alaskan Senate Seat
Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in Senate history, narrowly lost his re-election bid Tuesday, marking the downfall of a pillar of the U.S. Senate and Alaska icon who apparently couldn't survive his conviction on federal corruption charges. Dems now have 58 Senate seats, 2 away from a filibuster proof majority, with the races in Georgia and Minnesota still undecided.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008
BREAKING: Begich expands lead to 2,374 votes over Stevens
11,000 votes are left - due to be counted 8-9pm ET, but it's looking unlikely that Stevens will be able to overcome the growing deficit. If Begich holds onto the lead, Democrats would pick up their seventh Republican-held Senate seat this cycle, and would have 58 Senate seats -- with the races in Georgia and Minnesota still undecided.

Sunday, November 16, 2008
Alice Walker's Open Letter to Barack Obama
(6 comments) Alice Walker on expectations, responsibilities and a new reality that is almost more than the heart can bear.

Friday, November 14, 2008
STIGLITZ: Global Crisis - Made in America
(6 comments) Financial markets are supposed to be a means to an end -- a more prosperous and stable economy as a result of good allocation of resources and better management of risk. But instead, financial markets didn't manage risk, they created it. They didn't enable America's families to manage the risk of volatile interest rates, and now millions are losing their homes. Furthermore, they misallocated hundreds of billions of dollars.

Friday, November 14, 2008
Treasury gives banks multi-billion tax break windfall
(1 comments) Some of the nation's biggest banks are in for a windfall – on top of the $700 billion government bailout – thanks to a new tax policy quietly issued by the Treasury Department. The notice gives big tax breaks to companies that acquire struggling banks hit hard by the mortgage crisis. In some cases, the tax breaks could exceed the cost of acquiring the banks, according to analyses by private tax experts.

Thursday, November 13, 2008
Huffington Post Mutes Women's Voices: New Media, Same Gender Imbalance
Women's voices have long been lacking in corporate media. As Internet outlets compete more and more with traditional media as a source for news and opinion, will women's voices be heard there more frequently than in print publications? If the Huffington Post, one of the most prominent and successful blogs today, is an accurate barometer, the answer is no.

Friday, October 31, 2008
Stolen Election 'Will Spark Second American Civil War'
(2 comments) Erica Jong Tells Italians Obama Loss 'Will Spark the Second American Civil War. Blood Will Run in the Streets.' She's been getting daily calls from Naomi Wolf.

Friday, October 24, 2008
Wall Street's 'Disaster Capitalism for Dummies'
(7 comments) Sorry to pop your bubble folks, but it no longer matters who's president. Democracy has been replaced by Disaster Capitalism, masterminded by Wall Street's ultimate "Trojan Horse," Hank Paulson. Congress simply handed over voting power and the keys to trillions in the Treasury to Wall Street. In one generation America has been transformed from a democracy into a strange new form of government: disaster capitalism.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Rachel Maddow: RFK Jr on Voter Registration Purges
(1 comments) VIDEO: 9 mins. RFK concurs that HAVA, which centralized voter registration databases at the state level, is being used to purge legitimate voters. New purges are overwhelmingly Democratic voters. Check your registration TODAY.

Sunday, October 19, 2008
GOP voter registration fraud case leads to arrest
(2 comments) The owner of a firm that the California Republican Party hired to register tens of thousands of voters this year was arrested in Ontario last night on suspicion of voter registration fraud. Investigators allege that Mark Jacoby fraudulently registered himself to vote at a childhood CA address where he no longer lives so he would appear to meet the legal requirement that signature gatherers be elibible to vote in California.

Saturday, October 18, 2008
ACORN Vandalized; Workers' Lives Threatened
The Republican hoax about ACORN turns ugly as vandals hit the Boston and Seattle offices. The lives of two ACORN workers were threatened - one in Cleveland and the other Providence.

Friday, October 17, 2008
Election by sound bite
We've seen this election before. The same questions are evaded. Leading candidates present their "health care solutions" neither of which address the core problems. We argue about intelligent design and ignore that US schools have dropped to 21st in the world. We ignore that 70% of 8th graders will never read at the 8th grade level. We ignore the real challenges we face, but the next president will find some of that out.

Friday, October 17, 2008
BREAKING: Obama Demands Special Prosecutor Investigate GOP Voter Fraud Activities
(4 comments) Charging that the FBI probe of ACORN represents an "unholy alliance" between Republican operatives and potentially illegal conduct by law enforcement targeting voter fraud, the Obama campaign demanded today that the U.S. special prosecutor looking into the U.S. attorneys scandal investigate the matter. Obama's counsel's letter charged that coordinated "misconduct" by the McCain camp may relate to the US Attorneys fired in 06.

Thursday, October 16, 2008
Lawyer of murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya poisoned
The lawyer for the family of a slain journalist, a fierce critic of Putin, is recovering from an apparent attempt to poison her as 3 men accused of the murder. Globules of a silver liquid were found under the seat of the lawyer's car. The Moscow judge refused a postponement of the closed preliminary hearing.

Thursday, October 16, 2008
McCain Says Women's Health is "Extreme"
(1 comments) I about fell out of my chair when I heard John McCain say this during the presidential debate last night: "Just again, the example of the eloquence of Sen. Obama. He's health for the mother. You know, that's been stretched by the pro-abortion movement in America to mean almost anything. That's the extreme pro-abortion position, quote, 'health.'"

Thursday, October 16, 2008
Iceland calls in women bankers to clean up 'young men's mess'
Iceland hired two women to rebuild its financial system after the banking empire built by its young, male business-schooled elite collapsed. Elín Sigfúsdóttir and Birna Einarsdóttir are set to become CEOs of two nationalised banks created by the Icelandic government in the wake of the crisis. Three banks collapsed last week under the weight of their debt, leaving the Islandic economy on the brink of bankruptcy.

Thursday, October 16, 2008
The Republican voter fraud hoax
(2 comments) Guardian UK (Brad Friedman): Donald Duck and the Dallas Cowboys won't steal the election for Obama. Acorn's only crime is registering Democratic voters. If you can't win it, steal it. If you can't steal it, claim the other guy stole it. If you can't claim the other guy stole it (yet), say they're about to and then kick up smoke that maybe someone will believe you. (Heckuva job, CNN.)

Thursday, October 16, 2008
The Republican witch hunt
Guardian UK (Brad Friedman): So where's the "voter fraud"? None of the articles citing it reveal actual voter fraud; instead they 1) describe allegations and investigations brought by Republicans, with little or no evidence of any wrongdoing; 2) Where voter registration fraud has occurred it has been by rogue Acorn employees, reported to authorities by ACORN itself, and 3) No voter registered by ACORN has voted more than once.

Thursday, October 16, 2008
Top Tampa GOP Figure Circulates Joke About Killing Obama
(1 comments) Al Austin, a longtime, high-level Republican fundraiser from Tampa, today sent to his list of political contacts an e-mail containing a joke that refers to the assassination of Barack Obama.

Saturday, October 11, 2008
Shelters and Soup Kitchens Hold Crisis Front Lines
Homeless shelters and soup kitchens serve more while donations decline.

Friday, October 10, 2008
Barack 'Osama' on NY Absentee Ballots
(5 comments) Tho the S and the B aren't close on a keyboard, Rensselaer County election officials and three proofreaders failed to catch the misspelling before mailing the absentee ballots to 300 voters.

Friday, October 10, 2008
McCain faces conservative backlash over mortgage plan
McCain is facing a fresh round of anger from members of his own party deeply opposed to the Arizona senator's $300 billion proposal for the federal government to purchase troubled mortgage loans, on top of the bailout plan. Pointed backlash from several economic conservatives, pundits and bloggers criticizes the plan as a flagrant reward for reckless behavior among lenders.

Friday, October 10, 2008
Buckley Endorses Barack Obama
Sorry, Dad, I'm voting for Obama. Necessity is the mother of bipartisanship. Let me be the latest conservative -libertarian -whatever to leap onto the Barack Obama bandwagon. It's a good thing my dear old mum and pup are no longer alive. They'd cut off my allowance. The only reason my vote would be of any interest to anyone is that my last name happens to be Buckley-a name I inherited from William F. Buckley.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008
John Williams on Reliability of Gov't Economic Statistics
C-Span VIDEO. Paul Craig Roberts recommends Williams' website, ShadowStats.com. On Sep. 25, Williams explained his assertion that the federal government's manipulation and misreporting of government economic data has led to current day problems within the financial services markets, which in turn has led to the federal government assisting those markets. He responded to telephone calls and electronic mail.

Monday, October 6, 2008
George Will: Farewell, Election Day
(9 comments) Excellent analysis of the perils of mail in voting. Mr. Will asks, "What kind of people will not vote if doing so requires them to get off their couches and visit neighborhood polling places?"

Monday, October 6, 2008
Telegraph UK Predicts Global Finance Meltdown within Days
(5 comments) We face extreme danger. Unless there is immediate intervention on every front by all the major powers acting in concert, we risk a disintegration of global finance within days. Nobody will be spared, unless they own gold bars.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008
BREAKING: Bush signs $600 billion 'stopgap bill'
(2 comments) US President George W. Bush signs a government expenditures bill topping 600 billion dollars after his economic relief plan fails. After Bush's banking bailout scheme failed, the president endorsed a budget bill of 600 billion dollars to fund his administration's activities for the next six months, AFP reported.

Friday, September 26, 2008
Stewart & Colbert Mock the Vote
(1 comments) They have five more weeks of an election battle starring three men and an Alaskan moose-skinner that has given the satirists more fodder than an infinite number of Dick Cheneys shooting an infinite number of friends in the face. EW sat down with the comedians for a provocative talk about the political landscape, the way they cover it, and whether or not we'll ever see the alleged 'change' every candidate promises.

Thursday, September 25, 2008
Grafitti Artist Bansky on New Orleans three years later
An amazing pictorial OpEd collection of grafitti that deserves wide attention.

Monday, September 22, 2008
Dirty Secret Of The Bailout: Thirty-Two Words That None Dare Utter
(8 comments) A critical - and radical - component of the bailout package proposed by the Bush administration has thus far failed to garner the serious attention of anyone in the press. Section 8 of this legislation is just a single sentence of thirty-two words, but it represents a significant consolidation of power and an abdication of oversight authority that's so flat-out astounding that it ought to set one's hair on fire. It reads:

Sunday, September 21, 2008
Salvador Allende Voted Greatest Chilean in TV Poll
(3 comments) Allende's first place in the television poll "means that the efforts of the dictatorship, and the social and political sectors that supported it, to systematically discredit and denigrate his memory, as well as the shameful attempts by governments in power since 1990 to hide his achievements, have been unsuccessful," Chilean historian Sergio Grez told IPS. He is best known for nationalizing copper, Chile's largest export.

Saturday, September 20, 2008
'Fraude Mexico 2006' opens in L.A.
(2 comments) LUIS MANDOKI has been called the Michael Moore of Mexico. This film depicts the election between conservative Felipe Calderón and Leftists, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, whose rallies gridlocked Mexico City. Mondoki collected 3,000 hours of citizen video of the partial recount.

Thursday, September 18, 2008
McCain Attacks Wall Street Greed-While 83 Wall Street Lobbyists Work for His Campaign
Several of McCain's most senior campaign aides have lobbied for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And the DNC, using publicly available records, has identified 177 lobbyists working for the McCain campaign as either aides, policy advisers, or fundraisers. Of those 177 lobbyists, least 83 have in recent years lobbied for the financial industry McCain now attacks.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Anne Kilkenny's Follow-Up: The Sarah I Knew
(7 comments) As I write, it has been more than a week since the email (see below) I wrote to friends and family about Sarah Palin began to ping-pong around the country. In that time I've received over 9,600 emails. It is a strange thing to have your words echo back to you from around the world. If I were to write my email today, I would make the following changes.

Sunday, September 7, 2008
Gloria Steinem on Palin: Wrong woman, wrong message
(4 comments) This isn't the first time a boss has picked an unqualified woman just because she agrees with him and opposes everything most other women want and need. Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a new pie.

Saturday, September 6, 2008
Heart's Cease & Desist Ignored by Palin at RNC
(1 comments) "The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use [Barracuda], nor would they have been granted that permission," Nancy Wilson wrote. "We have asked the Republican campaign publicly not to use our music." The RNC played it anyway, when Palin took the stage later Thursday night. Guess the Rethugs can't find their own musical support, so steal music as easily as elections.

Friday, September 5, 2008
The Last Roundup
(5 comments) Tho published four months ago, this lengthy, well-researched article has fresh relevance given the widespread repression in Denver and St. Paul at the DNC and RNC: For decades the federal government has been developing a highly classified plan that would override the Constitution in the event of a terrorist attack. Is it also compiling a secret enemies list of citizens who could face detention under martial law?

Thursday, September 4, 2008
What Lies Beneath
When you work in computer forensics, you hold someone's life in your hands. People use computers without realising that their computers are constantly taking snapshots of their lives. Most people think the delete key gets rid of those files, but it doesn't. The file often is still all there, waiting to compromise its former owner.

Thursday, September 4, 2008
Official: Palin's never issued an order to Alaska Guard
(1 comments) When John McCain introduced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate last Friday, the Arizona senator emphasized her role as the commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard. Later, when questions were raised about Palin's lack of experience in national and international affairs, the McCain campaign pointed again to her military command experience as governor. Palin has never issued a single order to the National Guard.

Thursday, September 4, 2008
Angolans Heading to Polls for First Vote in 16 Years
Over 8 million people - nearly half of the population - have registered to vote in war-ravaged Angola, a country with an abundance of oil, diamonds and grinding poverty that is holding its first election in 16 years on Friday. "Democracy is a process, not a destination, and this is part of that process," an election official said.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Lesbian-Gay Marriage Order Upheld in NY
(1 comments) An executive order by Gov. David Paterson requiring state agencies recognize gay marriages was upheld by a State Supreme Court in the Bronx yesterday. The order, which the governor issued in May, applies to marriages from out of state, like in Massachusetts where gay marriage is legal. The lawsuit had been brought by lawmakers and advocates who opposed the order, arguing the governor had usurped the legislature's power.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Three University of Kentucky Journalists Arrested at RNC for Alleged Rioting
Three people connected with the University of Kentucky's student newspaper were arrested Monday on charges of rioting outside the Republican National Convention. Kernel Editor-in-chief Brad Luttrell said "I'm very sure none of the three crossed any lines," he said. "They're some of the most ethical people we have."

Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Palin Faces Laundry List of Complications
GOP vice presidential pick Sarah Palin accepted at least $4,500 in campaign contributions in the same fundraising scheme at the center of a public corruption scandal that led to the indictment of Sen. Ted Stevens. The contributions, made during Palin's failed 2002 bid to become Alaska's lieutenant governor, were not illegal for her to accept. But they show how she is a product of a system being investigated by the FBI.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008
BREAKING: RNC 8 Charged with "Conspiracy to Riot in Furtherance of Terrorism"
(4 comments) In what appears to be the first use of criminal charges under the 2002 Minnesota version of the Federal Patriot Act, Ramsey County Prosecutors have formally charged 8 alleged leaders of the RNC Welcoming Committee with Conspiracy to Riot in Furtherance of Terrorism. The victims face up to 7 1/2 years in prison under the terrorism enhancement charge which allows for a 50% increase in the maximum penalty.

Sunday, August 31, 2008
Factbox: Hurricane Gustav cuts U.S. oil, gas, threatens commods
Gustav, expected to make landfall on Monday, is the first big storm threat to U.S. Gulf of Mexico energy and port infrastructure since Katrina and Rita in 2005. The Gulf accounts for 25% of U.S. oil output and 15% of its natural gas production. More than a third of U.S. refining capacity is on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Breakdown of actions taken by companies operating in the Gulf region.

Saturday, August 30, 2008
More Sequoia-Dominion Voting Machine Glitches in NY
When Chemung County bought new electronic voting machines, they expected them to make voting easier. But, they aren't working as well as expected. In fact, the county is having trouble just getting them up and running in time for an upcomming election. Mary O'Dell of the Board of Elections reported, "Almost every time you do something with them, something funny happens."

Saturday, August 30, 2008
US Airstrike on Iran "Imminent" per Dutch Intelligence
(2 comments) INFOWARS: The biggest Newspaper in the Netherlands today devotes its front page to news that the Dutch intelligence agency has helped the CIA prepare for an air attack on Iran which it now believes is imminent. AIVD, Holland's military intelligence service, has pulled back from operations it was carrying out inside Iran as it believes an American led attack will go ahead within weeks according to De Telegraaf's sources.

Friday, August 29, 2008
Sequoia doubles vote count in most Indian River County precincts
VERO BEACH, FLA. A system error in Sequoia's optical scanner resulted in doubling the number of votes counted in 40 of 54 precincts in Tuesday's election.

Thursday, August 28, 2008
Launch of controversial child database delayed
UK: The launch of a controversial new government database containing details of every child in the country is to be delayed for technical reasons, it was revealed today. ContactPoint, a computer system carrying personal information about all under-18s, was due to come online in April this year. It will now be delayed until January next year, children's minister Kevin Brennan said today.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Price the Vote: Federal money for electronic voting runs out, but the meter on voting machines keeps on ticking
In Utah, as in most of the country, electronic voting equipment was sold with service costs that go on forever. While Utah counties now own the voting machines, they rent the software, and the annual price of software licensing and maintenance agreements statewide adds up to about $1 million per year. With HAVA funds exhausted, taxpayers will foot the bill.

Sunday, August 24, 2008
Warning on voting machines reveals oversight failure
(4 comments) Disclosure of an election computer glitch that could drop ballot totals for entire precincts is stirring new worries that an unofficial laboratory testing system failed for years to detect an array of flaws in $1.5 billion worth of voting equipment sold nationwide since 2003. Nearly all of the machines bought in recent years may have to be replaced in a process likened to the early 20th Century Teapot Dome scandal.

Sunday, August 24, 2008
CT to audit 1 in 3 machines used in last week's primaries
After Diebold-Premier's disclosure that its machines "drop" votes, Connecticut Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz is ordering the widest audit of election results since the state's switch to optical scanner voting machines.

Saturday, August 23, 2008
Special elections will cost $5.5 million to replace Tubbs Jones
Ohio's Cuyahoga County Board of Elections must stage two elections, a primary and a general, to replace the late U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, even though the winner likely will never cast a vote this year. The interim replacement for Tubbs Jones, who died on Wednesday, probably will not be elected until November. The term expires at the end of December. There are no House votes scheduled after September 26th.

Thursday, August 21, 2008
The "Loopy" Zogby Polls
All pollsters, it seems, eventually find themselves with "loopy" results. It happened to Gallup in the 2000 election, and to Pew in 2004. And several polls this season have produced loopy results as indicated by the subsequent primary election vote counts. This time, it's Zogby's turn to confuse the masses with his latest Reuters/Zogby poll.

Thursday, August 21, 2008
Notorious Vote Suppressor Back In Civil Rights Work
Hans von Spakovsky, the former Justice Department official whose nomination to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) was thwarted when Democrats objected to his long record of support for restrictions on voting rights, has been hired as a "consultant and temporary full-time employee" at the ostensibly bi-partisan U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) the agency confirmed to TPMmuckraker.

Thursday, August 21, 2008
Diebold Dumps the Vote in 34 States
(21 comments) Diebold, now known as Premier Election Solutions, admitted today a "programming error" causes votes to be lost when uploading to a central tabulator. Chris RIGALL reported he has notified customers in 34 states that a programming error may cause votes to be dropped when they are uploaded to a computer server from the machines' vote-holding memory cards.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008
On this Day: 19th Amendment Gives Women Right to Vote
(2 comments) On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified after decades of struggle by women's rights advocates. The 19th Amendment was first introduced to Congress in 1878, passed both houses of Congress on June 4, 1919, and sent to the states for ratification. Tennessee was the 36th state to ratify it, giving it the 2/3 majority needed. On Aug. 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment was certified.

Monday, August 18, 2008
Smithsonian scientists discover new bird species
Scientists have discovered a new species of bird in Gabon, Africa, that was, until now, unknown to the scientific community: an olive-backed forest robin (Stiphrornis pyrrholaemus). Their findings were published in the international science journal Zootaxa today, Aug. 15.

Monday, August 18, 2008
XKCD on Voting Machines
(1 comments) COMICS: Diebold Premier Election Solutions has blamed Ohio voting machine errors on problems with the machines' McAfee antivirus software. (ahem)

Monday, August 18, 2008
Ohio Election Officials Whistle Past the Graveyard of 2004
(5 comments) We may never really know what happened in Ohio in 2004 when Bush squeaked by his Dem opponent in what some hardboiled, unyielding election advocates say was an election full of irregularities that should have been investigated by now but haven't, but the message conveyed by the SOS and AG is that hidden in the new mantra of preparing for success in November is the ghost that whistles past the graveyard of the mysteries of 04.

Friday, August 8, 2008
Diebold in the Tropics: Stray Voting Machine Falls Off a Truck
Brazil: State elections authority of São Paulo says that a Diebold voting machine found in the street by a passerby was not one of theirs and no one knows how it ended up falling off a truck. This is potentially sensitive because previous voting frauds have involved the “cloning” of voting machines — the preparation of unregistered machines with a predetermined result that are switched with the machines used on election day.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Court: Brazil on the Brink of Civil War
AP: Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Deep in the northernmost reaches of the Amazon jungle, a land conflict between rice farmers and a handful of Indian tribes has turned so violent that the country's Supreme Court warns it could escalate into civil war. The court will decide if evictions can continue, as tribes burn bridges and block roads to prevent agribusiness land grabs. (Imagine if US foreclosure victims stood up this way.)

Monday, July 21, 2008
Secret plans revealed to submerge Penan villages
A secret document accidentally posted on the internet reveals plans to build a series of massive hydroelectric dams in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, submerging the homes of at least a thousand Penan, Kelabit and Kenyah tribal people.

Monday, July 21, 2008
Are Our Leading Pediatricians Drug Industry Shills?
Respected UC San Francisco faculty member Lawrence Diller, M.D. exposes blatant corruption and collusion between major drug companies and top pediatricians. This cozy, profitable arrangement between big business, academia, and physicians causes harm to countless children around the world. When profits are the primary driving force behind both research and the researchers in the health field, public health is endangered.

Monday, July 21, 2008
Health Information Cover-Up Center
This page provides links to a variety of sources of reliable, verifiable information dealing with cover-ups affecting your health. Summaries, videos, and in-depth coverage, and extractions from mainstream news sources provided.

Saturday, July 19, 2008
Protecting against Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, RFID data attacks
(2 comments) Most people are at risk and don't even know it. Using a laptop, cell phone headset, building access badge, credit cards, or even a passport can make you a walking target for data thieves and other criminals, a security expert warned at the Last HOPE hacker conference in NYC late Friday. Liberal application of a hammer to your passport can negate a lot of the possible problems.

Friday, July 18, 2008
Burmese Opposition Ready to Escalate Pro-Democracy Fight
Members of Burma's battered and disparate opposition are growing disillusioned with the old methods of the pro-democracy movement and are seeking ways to escalate their armed struggle with the help of covert western support. "There is a very real debate among us about how to begin a more sustained armed struggle," an organiser of last September's failed uprising said. "We are ready for that kind of action."

Friday, July 18, 2008
Spain Parliamentary Committee Votes for Rights for Apes
Yesterday DawnWatch sent an alert that the Spanish Parliament's environment committee passed a resolution granting limited rights to great apes. The Great Apes include orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans. We share 98.7% of our DNA with chimpanzees and bonobos. I truly hope the Spanish resolution will pass and spread globally. It's time the US and other countries stop exploiting all great apes, including us.

Thursday, July 17, 2008
White House in climate change "cover up" -Sen Boxer
(2 comments) A leading U.S. Senate Democrat accused the Bush administration on Tuesday of a "cover-up" aimed at stopping the Environmental Protection Agency from tackling greenhouse emissions. "This cover-up is being directed from the White House and the office of the vice president," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, the CA Democrat who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which may have to SUBPOENA EPA records.

Thursday, July 17, 2008
Embracing Alternative Care: Top hospitals put unorthodox therapies into practice
Touch therapy, gentle and benign, is intended to rebalance the energy field that its practitioners believe surrounds the body and flows through it along defined pathways, affecting health when disrupted. And it works. Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital is using it.

Thursday, July 17, 2008
GOP whistle-blower names Karl Rove in Ohio's 04 election theft
(1 comments) Major lawsuit will expose Bush/Cheney's long conspiracy to steal their "victories" through election fraud. Repub Stephen Spoonamore, who worked for McCain's campaign until recently, is a respected expert on computer fraud, and has detailed high-tech sabotage over the past 8 years, and is naming names. Ohio attorney Cliff Arnebeck announced in a press conference today.

Thursday, July 17, 2008
Conyers Plans Impeachment Substitute
(9 comments) Rebuffing Dennis Kucinich's calls for impeachment hearings on George W. Bush, the House Judiciary Committee instead will hear testimony about Bush's "imperial presidency" and several of his administration's scandals.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Massachusetts to Allow Out-of-State Same Sex Marriages
MA may have been the first state to legalize same-sex marriage for its residents, but when California last month invited out-of-state gay and lesbian couples to get married, the potential economic benefits did not go unnoticed. Now MA wants to extend the same invitation. On Tuesday, the State Senate voted to repeal a 1913 law preventing MA from marrying out-of-state couples if their marriages are illegal in their home states.

Monday, July 14, 2008
Philippine UN envoy accused of slavery
The former Philippine ambassador to the United Nations has been accused of enslaving and abusing a housemaid. She filed a US Federal civil law suit last month, seeking unpaid wages and an apology from Baja and his family, charging that Baja and his family did not let her leave their apartment, forcing her work up to 18 hours a day, from January to April 2006. US Dept of Justice investigated but filed no charges.

Monday, July 14, 2008
Leftists abandon Indian coalition
A bloc of communist-led parties will end support for India's coalition government in protest against a nuclear energy deal with the US. The leftists announced their withdrawal after Singh said the government would be meeting with the UN's Int'l Atomic Energy Agency soon. India needs to win a waiver from the IAEA before the US congress can approve a pact that would bring India into the fold of global nuclear commerce.

Monday, July 14, 2008
"Amazing Race" lesbian contestants wed
Pat Hendrickson and Kate Lewis tied the knot Wednesday in Ventura, Calif., the Ventura County Star reported. The women, who have been together for 11 years and blessed in an Episcopal ceremony for three, took a political stance on their latest but first legal marriage. The women lasted two episodes on the CBS reality show.

Sunday, July 13, 2008
Europe Set to Block African Refugees
(3 comments) Mediterranean nations meet in Paris to discuss, among other items, criminalizing the African exodus as tens of thousands migrate to escape poverty and resource wars. The UN has approved the European Pact. For the economies of many African countries, including Senegal, money sent home by immigrants in Europe and elsewhere is more import than development aid.

Saturday, July 12, 2008
Law School Dean Calls Conference to Plan Bush War Crimes Prosecution
(9 comments) The dean of Massachusetts School of Law at Andover is planning a September conference to map out war crimes prosecutions, targeting President [sic] Bush and other administration officials. The dean, Lawrence Velvel, says in a statement that "plans will be laid and necessary organizational structures set up, to pursue the guilty as long as necessary and, if need be, to the ends of the Earth."

Thursday, July 10, 2008
"Spiritual" effects of mushrooms last a year
(2 comments) The "spiritual" effects of psilocybin from so-called sacred mushrooms last for more than a year and may offer a way to help patients with fatal diseases or addictions, U.S. researchers reported.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Ellen D's 88 yr-old drinking fan
(2 comments) VIDEO: Time out to laugh, and celebrate the common sense of our revered Austin, Texas octogenarians. "I love Jesus but I drink a little."

Friday, June 27, 2008
It's all a matter of a shapely brain
Brain scans reveal that gay men and straight women have symmetrical brains, while the right brain of lesbians and straight men is larger than the left. Dr. Ivanka Savic expands prior research that identified differences in spatial and verbal abilities related to sexual orientation.

Friday, June 27, 2008
Opening Statement to the House Judiciary Committee Regarding the Articles of Impeachment
Part III by Elizabeth de la Vega: When I first sat down to write this statement, I planned to discuss the evidence and the law that relates to some of those violations, just as I would do if I were presenting a case to a jury at the beginning of a trial. But I've decided not to do that. Instead, I am going to follow the wise counsel Abigail Adams gave to her husband, John, and just speak plainly.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Memphis Cops Caught on Tape Beating Transsexual Prisoner
(2 comments) The video, recorded February 12th, shows Duanna Johnson in the booking area at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center after an arrest for prostitution. The tape clearly shows a Memphis police officer walk over to Johnson - a transsexual - and hit her in the face several times.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008
'Bash'd' deftly champions gay civil rights - in rap
Rap and opera - an unlikely combination. Then add "gay" to the mix. What you get is "Bash'd," a furious, fast-moving, hip-hop entertainment that expertly expands the boundaries of musical theater while championing a defiant call for gay civil rights and an end to prejudice and violence.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Return to paper ballots? Not so fast.
(13 comments) History shows that the US gave up paper ballots for good reason, but expert condemnation of electronic voting is bringing them back. Returning to HCPB might work well in areas with lots of oversight, but throughout the US, election systems are inadequately supervised, insufficiently professionalized, and all too often staffed with openly partisan officials.

Sunday, June 22, 2008
How Federal Policies Leveled New Orleans
(5 comments) Flooding is the most destructive and costly natural disaster in the US, accounting for about 75% of all disasters declared by the President annually. Nearly 160 million acres, or 7% of the US, are estimated to be floodplains, and urban expansion into floodplains continues at an increasing rate, per the Public Entity Risk Institute. Look no further than New Orleans for proof of Bush's and Congress' fiscal irresponsibility.

Saturday, June 21, 2008
Global war deaths triple
Wars around the globe killed three times more people during the second half of the 20th century than previously estimated, per a British Medical Journal study released on Thursday. Some 5.4 million died during armed conflicts from 1955-2003; 3.8 million in Vietnam. Figures only include violent deaths; not war-related deaths caused by infectious diseases.

Saturday, June 21, 2008
Women Left for Dead - And the Man Who's Saving Them
(3 comments) Author of Vagina Monologues, Eve Ensler, uses her name and website to publicize and generate funds to impede violence against women in conflict zones. This report details what she found when she visited DR Congo and spent time with a doctor who treats many of the tens of thousands of rape victims. She finds hope amid horror. Note petition link and further info in comments below.

Sunday, June 15, 2008
Mexicans protest in Oaxaca
Tens of thousands of protesters have converged on the southern city of Oaxaca in Mexico to protest against the regional government, and to mark the 2nd anniversary of a violent crackdown on a teachers' protest, that left more than two dozens dead. Governor U.R. Ortiz is accused of stealing his election and murdering dozens of opposition members.

Sunday, June 15, 2008
Argentina arrests leader in 3-month farmers & truckers strike
Argentine police in riot gear broke up a farmers' highway blockade Saturday, briefly arresting 19 demonstrators including a prominent leader of a three-month protest against an increase in grain export taxes. The arrests inflamed a tense standoff between farmers and President Cristina Fernandez who passed a 10% export tax.

Sunday, June 15, 2008
Al Jazeera wins prestigious award
(4 comments) Al Jazeera's English language channel, launched in Nov. 2006, won the The Golden Nymph award in the category of "Best 24 Hour News Programme" at the Monte Carlo Television Festival. Jurors at the award ceremony on Thursday singled out Nour Odeh, Al Jazeera's Gaza correspondent, for particular praise for her bravery in reporting from the occupied territory.

Sunday, June 15, 2008
W. regrets almost nothing
(8 comments) Maureen Dowd in Paris: Even as the Supreme Court slapped him back for the third time on the suffocation of civil liberties at Guantánamo, President Bush gave the keynote speech of his European farewell tour extolling the virtues of liberty. He celebrated European unity at the very instant it was falling apart, thanks to an Irish donnybrook. Paris responded with a yawn. (Freedom's just another word for nothing left to say.)

Saturday, June 14, 2008
Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment: A Three-Part Guide
(4 comments) [Former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega presents her 3-part series on impeachment. Two colorful charts use plain English to catalog Kucinich's 35 Articles, and to enumerate US and international laws implicated. Part III is her opening statement.] I decided to offer some help in the one area I know best: the presentation of charges. There is nothing fancy here - no sarcasm, no vitriol and no cynicism.

Saturday, June 14, 2008
Talk show host calls for murder of peace activists (audio)
(14 comments) 9/11 Truthers who sent info and videos to soldiers should be shot dead according to fascist radio talk show host Michael Reagan. In this 3-minute audio, he also calls for peace activist Mark Dice to be executed.

Saturday, June 14, 2008
Pakistan rally backs sacked judges
Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan's former prime minister, told supporters of the country's deposed chief justice that president Pervez Musharraf will be forced to "pay for his crimes." He spoke during a protest march where tens of thousands of lawyers demanded the reinstatement of judges sacked by Musharraf last year. Video report included.

Saturday, June 14, 2008
Shooting the messenger
Al Jazeera's documentary on the deliberate killing and intimidation of journalists in conflict zones, investigates how international reporters became targets.

Thursday, June 12, 2008
Gadafy denounces Barack Obama as 'black man with inferiority complex'
(3 comments) Libyan leader Muammar Gadafy suggested that Barack Obama is a black man with an "inferiority complex" and might behave "worse than whites" if he becomes president of the United States. Gadafy's striking non-endorsement of the Democratic candidate focused in part on Obama's pledge of "unshakeable" support for Israel, which caused dismay, if not surprise, across the Arab and Muslim worlds last week.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Financial Times: The truth is out there
(11 comments) 9 pg OpEd: When Cynthia McKinney speaks the words of Martin Luther King Jr, they resound through the church with some of King's cadence. "A time comes," she declares, "when silence is betrayal." Before the packed pews, McKinney is speaking of the American government's war on its own people. The shock and awe phase of this conflict began on 9/11, when the Bush Administration attacked NY and DC, or at least allowed it.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Pakistan at the mercy of marching lawyers
Pak's duplicitous dealings with the US and al Qaeda adds to the growing political unrest, as 1000s of lawyers march against Musharraf (and the US) who sacked 40 judges last year. Taliban power growing in Pakistan, as thousands re-enter the Afghan war.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Huge protest in Seoul threatens to topple Government
(1 comments) South Korea's entire cabinet offered to resign Tuesday as tens of thousands of people filled boulevards in central Seoul in the largest demonstration yet against President Lee Myung Bak and his young but already unpopular government. Protesters don't want US beef or mad cow disease, and don't like Lee's handling of education, the economy, health care and rising prices.

Monday, June 9, 2008
Rock the Empire: Flobots' "Handlebars"
(1 comments) Video tune by Flobots takes you unexpectedly into anti-empire rhetoric and visuals. Enjoy!

Thursday, June 5, 2008
Liberia: Market Women Raise Funds in New York
Market women responsible for getting Ellen Johnson Sirleaf elected President of Liberia (1st female president of any African nation) are rewarded with improved market conditions – going from open air mud patches to modern enclosed buildings. Fundraiser in NY hopes to earn enough to build 50 more modern markets in Liberia.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Artist Trevor Paglen has his eye on satellites
For 40 yrs, the US has been filling the outer reaches of our atmosphere with 189 reconnaissance satellites. For several years, artist-geographer Trevor Paglen has been keeping his eye on them. "The Other Night Sky," at the Berkeley Art Museum, is the result. He stumbled on classified military sites 6 years ago and realized people were being disappeared, long before extraordinary rendition made news. Hat tip to Lori Price, CLG.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008
ICC war crimes charges filed on Australian ex-PM
(2 comments) On May 30, formal war crimes charges were filed at the International Criminal Court against Australian former Prime Minister John Howard. View article for links to related documents. But, for a detailed background on this case, see http://snipurl.com/2dw7z.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008
John Bolton charge sheet: George Monbiot's list of accusations
Altho Monbiot was blocked from making a citizen's arrest (see http://snipurl.com/2b591), his list of war crime charges includes the depleted uranium procurement lie.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
38 whales die after stranding on Senegal coast
Sonar-deafening may be the cause of whale beaching that occurred today. Over 60 whales swam in close to the shore after 3 dozen whales beached themselves. Pregnant calf gave birth on beach and both were safely towed back into the water. Also see http://snipurl.com/2a00y

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Portland elects its first openly gay mayor
Sam Adams easily won Portland's mayoral race yesterday, becoming the first openly gay mayor of any major US city. With a population of more than 500K, Portland is the largest city in a state that in 2004 voted to amend its constitution to declare that marriage is only legal when it's between a man and a woman. Asked if it was odd that he can be mayor -- but not married -- in Oregon, Adams said it was "surreal."

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Portland elects its first openly gay mayor
Sam Adams easily won Portland's mayoral race yesterday, becoming the first openly gay mayor of any major US city. With a population of more than 500K, Portland is the largest city in a state that in 2004 voted to amend its constitution to declare that marriage is only legal when it's between a man and a woman. Asked if it was odd that he can be mayor -- but not married -- in Oregon, Adams said it was "surreal."

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Portland elects its first openly gay mayor
Sam Adams easily won Portland's mayoral race yesterday, becoming the first openly gay mayor of any major US city. With a population of more than 500K, Portland is the largest city in a state that in 2004 voted to amend its constitution to declare that marriage is only legal when it's between a man and a woman. Asked if it was odd that he can be mayor -- but not married -- in Oregon, Adams said it was "surreal."

Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Cuba fights homophobia
(1 comments) On Saturday May 17, Cuba celebrated International Day Against Homophobia by holding a conference featuring shows, lectures, discussions and books. Mariela Castro, Director of Center for Sexual Education, defended "equal rights for all Cubans, of all sexual orientations... The freedom of sexual choice and gender identity are exercises in equality and social justice." Related article on proposed Bill in comments below.

Monday, May 19, 2008
Dutch government bans electronic voting
Risk of electronic eavesdropping cited as the reason. Nation returns to paper and pencil. Rop Gonggrijp who spearheaded the move away from e-voting, cites other nations that are demanding verifiable election results.

Thursday, May 15, 2008
360 post-9/11 workers have died, including 80 of cancer
More than 360 workers who dealt with the aftermath of the World Trade Center disaster have died, state health officials said Wednesday. Officials have determined the cause of death of 154 of the responders and volunteers who toiled at Ground Zero, the blocks nearby and at the Fresh Kills landfill, where debris from the site was taken. Of those, 80 died of cancer, which is an undercount per those who track this.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008
SA: Apartheid Victims to Sue Multinationals
CAPE TOWN: SCOTUS allows Alien Torts case against 23 transnational corps for aiding and abetting gross violations of human rights by financing and equipping the apartheid regime. Four Justices recuse themselves, three for having ties to defendants. Banks, car makers and oil companies named.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Blunt Federal Letters Tell Students They're Security Threats
(2 comments) 'I have determined that you pose a security threat.' 5,000 applicants, including graduate students, were turned down for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential, an ID card meant to guard against acts of terrorism. Rejected British student at MIT, Sophie Clayton, said at first she was amused then realized "Security Threat" is in a file next to her name, photo, and fingerprints. DHS refuses to retract the term.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Iran says to sue Britain & US over mosque blast
(2 comments) TEHRAN: Iran's judiciary said on Monday it would file international lawsuits against the US and Britain, accusing them of providing financial support to those behind a blast in a mosque that killed 14 and wounded 200 people. Iran's intelligence minister last week said Iran had arrested five or six members of a terrorist group with links to Britain and the United States whom he said were involved in that explosion in Shiraz.

Thursday, May 8, 2008
9/11 theorist not curtailing his research
(8 comments) Sixteen months ago, Brigham Young University and Steven Jones parted ways, but he said this week he isn't bitter about the academic divorce. He certainly hasn't curtailed his volatile research on the collapse of the three World Trade Center towers after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In fact, Jones is the lead author of a paper on the collapses published April 18 in a civil engineering journal.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008
NC: The fix is in already!!
(3 comments) Purging voters from the rolls, election officials find only 3 registered votes on the rolls in one North Carolina precinct, of the first 15 people who showed up at 6:30 AM.

Monday, May 5, 2008
County Clerk with Bogus Degree Clashes with Judge over Web Site
Texas County Clerk who has exposed tens of thousands of local citizens to possible identity theft via her Web site while obscuring her own identity behind a bogus degree faces a challenge to her authority. Ft Bend Clerk Dianne Wilson admitted to selling 'about 20 million documents' to Florida-based data miner Red Vision for $2,000. Several thousand documents with SS and DL numbers still remain on the website.

Saturday, May 3, 2008
BILL: One-Third of Parliament Reserved for Women in India
(1 comments) The Women's Reservation Bill, which aims to set aside one-third of seats in Parliament and state assemblies for women, has been hanging fire for a long time due to opposition from certain parties who want special quota-in-quota for women from backward and minority communities. CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan told reporters "the government plans to bring the bill in this session, the Prime Minister told us."

Thursday, May 1, 2008
White House Undermines EPA On Cancer Risks, GAO Says
The Bush administration is undermining the EPA's ability to determine health dangers of toxic chemicals by letting nonscientists have a bigger, often secret, say, congressional investigators say in a GAO report. extensive involvement by EPA managers, White House budget officials and other agencies has eroded the independence of EPA scientists charged with determining the health risks posed by chemicals.

Thursday, May 1, 2008
FDA Faulted for Approving Studies of Artificial Blood
A new analysis concludes that the FDA approved experiments with artificial blood substitutes even after studies showed that the controversial products posed a clear risk of causing heart attacks and death. the products nearly tripled the risk of heart attacks and boosted the chances of dying by 30%, but the FDA is considering letting yet another study proceed.

Thursday, May 1, 2008
Poll: Only 2.9 percent of Americans are LGB
(2 comments) Hunter College released the results of a groundbreaking poll Wednesday that found only 2.9% of Americans over 18 identify as LGB, lower than the 4-5% often cited in voter exit polls. The survey also found that LGBs are more politically active than their straight counterparts, women and men vary in the ways they categorize themselves on the LGB continuum, and LGB youth have different priorities for the movement than older LGBs.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The Human Cost of Energy: Chevron's Continuing Role in Financing Oppression and Profiting From Human Rights Abuses in Mi
A 77-page report released by EarthRights Int'l documents ongoing human rights abuses, including forced labor, in the Yadana pipeline in Burma. The first in-depth look at conditions in the pipeline region since Chevron Corp. joined the Yadana Project in 2005, the report details Chevron's role in financing the military regime and highlights Chevron's continuing legal liability for abuses associated with the pipeline.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Greeks from island of Lesbos take gay group to court over use of "lesbian"
Three homphobes from Lesbos, home of the ancient poet Sappho who praised love between women, have taken a human rights group to court for using the word lesbian in its name. One of the plaintiffs said Wednesday that the name of the association, Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece, ''insults the identity'' of the people of Lesbos, who are also known as Lesbians. Most people from Lesbos prefer to identify as Mytilene.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008
U.S. Importing 6,700 Tons of Radioactive Sand From Kuwait
Longshoremen are unloading 6,700 tons of sand contaminated with depleted uranium and lead today, said Chad Hyslop, spokesman for the disposal company American Ecology. The BBC Alabama arrived at the Port of Longview (WA) Saturday afternoon with the 306 containers carrying the contaminated sand from Camp Doha, a US Army base in Kuwait.

Monday, April 28, 2008
REAL ID side effects
SC Governor Mark Sanford rejects REAL ID, which overturns the Founding Fathers' vision of a limited federal government. Our greatest homeland security is liberty, and the greatest threat to liberty is a central government grown too powerful. The First Amendment guarantees Americans the right to assemble and petition their government, with no qualification that says, "Only if you have a REAL ID card."

Friday, April 25, 2008
Western excess is the Earth killer
Taking a single jumbo jet off service provides the equivalent footprint of generating electricity using coal for an entire Indian village. This is the new math of the world, and one that needs to be considered in environmental decisions.

Friday, April 25, 2008
Latin American food fund started
Leaders from four Latin American nations have set up a $100m food security fund for staples such as rice, beans and corn to offset rising food prices that have sparked global protests. Global food prices, affected by rising fuel prices, environmental changes and increased demand from India and China, have sparked violent protests this year in more than 35 countries in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008
CBI boss blasts bonus culture for fuelling banking crisis
Richard Lambert, director general of the CBI (UK business lobby) has singled out the bonus culture that turned thousands of bankers into millionaires as one of the central factors in creating the huge financial problems now engulfing the banking sector worldwide.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Feminist Judy Chicago's over for 'Dinner'
(2 comments) INTERVIEW: The Dinner Party, created by feminist art icon Judy Chicago and worked on by countless other individuals between 1974-1979 as a symbol of women's history, was born during a time of optimism and fed by an underlying rage. After 30 years, 3 books and a million viewers, the Dinner Party found its permanent home at the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art (Brooklyn). Virtual tour at http://snipurl.com/25iop.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008
ITF Joins SATAWA's Call to Block Arms to Zimbabwe
(2 comments) WHEN GOVERNMENT FAILS: London-based International Transport Workers' Federation (with 4.5 mn members) joins the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union and the Congress of South African Trade Unions in mobilizing China and Africa to stop transporting weapons headed for Zimbabwe, where Mugabe's military regime refuses to concede to election results, and reportedly has been killing opposition victors.

Monday, April 21, 2008
Rupert Murdoch Firm Goes on Trial for Alleged Tech Sabotage
(4 comments) Lawsuit claims a Rupert Murdoch company hired hackers to sabotage rivals and gain the top spot in the global pay-TV war. A colorful cast of characters includes former intelligence agents, Canadian TV pirates, Bulgarian and German hackers, stolen e-mails and the mysterious suicide of a Berlin hacker courted by the Murdoch company - NDS Group, a UK-Israeli firm that makes smartcards for pay TV systems.

Monday, April 21, 2008
Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the World
Many parts of America, long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a once unthinkable phenomenon: food rationing. Major retailers in New York, parts of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. The curbs and shortages are being tracked by survivalists who view the phenomenon as a harbinger of more serious trouble ahead.

Monday, April 21, 2008
GOP blocks tribute to labor legend Chavez
Senators Robt. Menendez and Joe Baca: If you ask Latinos, young and old, what national figure has most inspired them, chances are they will say Cesar Chavez who led the first successful farmworkers union in US history. Senate Republicans, in another act against the Latino community, recently blocked a resolution recognizing Chavez's life and work. Let's come together: "Si Se Puede!"

Saturday, April 19, 2008
With Guns and Fines, Brazil Takes On Loggers
Brazil knows that deforestation of its tropical forests contributes to global warming, but scoflaws who value biocidal greed over scientific realities hold the upper hand. Spending $118 mn to crack down on illegal loggers may not stem illegal logging. One eco-agent said, "The game is 12 to 1 against us and there are two minutes to turn it around. But I just try to do my part here." Keep trying, dude; we support you.

Friday, April 18, 2008
South African union refuses to unload Chinese arms destined for Zimbabwe
(1 comments) PEOPLE POWER: The 300,000-strong South African Transport and Allied Workers Union, SATAWU, said it would not unload Chinese weapons headed for land-locked Zimbabwe, fearing Mugabe might use them to crack down on opponents in the disputed election. SATAWA refuses to support Mugabe's military regime, while the South African government condemned the action.

Friday, April 18, 2008
Study: Allowing same-sex marriage would help Iowa budget
Another UCLA study shows that states can boost their economies by allowing same sex marriage. The Williams Institute, a national research center on sexual orientation law and public policy at UCLA School of Law, estimates that same-sex weddings and related tourism would lead to $160 million in spending over the next three years in Iowa. Prior state studies can be found at http://snipurl.com/24xxt.

Friday, April 18, 2008
Citi's $5.1bn loss highlights depth of crisis
(2 comments) Citigroup underlined the plight of financial firms squeezed by the credit crunch and the slowing US economy on Friday by announcing a $5.1bn quarterly loss, nearly $16bn in writedowns and 9,000 job cuts. The financial giant sounded a bearish note on the US consumer business, saying that further losses were likely as consumers fell behind on credit card and loan repayments. Info on other banks at http://snipurl.com/24y0a.

Thursday, April 17, 2008
Acts of Hope: Challenging Empire on the World Stage
(2 comments) R.Solnit's evergreen essay: Activism is not a journey to the corner store; it is a plunge into the dark. You scatter your seeds. Rats may eat them, or they may simply rot. We have achieved a global movement without leaders – progressive activism that is one of initiation, not reaction, in which people of good will everywhere set the agenda. It is always too soon to go home, and it's always too soon to calculate our effect.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Men Explain Things to Me: Facts don't get in their way
(4 comments) Rebecca Solnit humorously and sometimes soberly asseses the annoyances and dangers of a men-on-top world. Being told that, categorically, he knows what he's talking about and she doesn't, however minor a part of any given conversation, perpetuates the ugliness of this world and holds back its light.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Sexism in the primaries
(6 comments) The media's misogynistic treatment of Hillary Clinton tells our little girls, our sisters, our wives, our mothers, "Don't bother to run for president; they will just chew you up and spit you out." The media's reaction is a reflection of widespread sexism that simmers within our society. And even though Americans want to think of themselves as enlightened, I believe we are not.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Big Tax Breaks for Businesses in Housing Bill
Consumer groups and labor leaders say the tax provisions in the latest version of the Foreclosure Prevention Act amount to corporate welfare. Senator Chris Dodd, D-CT, main author of the Senate bill, said the measure did not live up to its name. Instead of staving off home foreclosures, it's really an economic stimulus package bent on serving industry.

Friday, April 11, 2008
Mixed Muslim message in 'war on terror'
Most of the 57 member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference aid the US "war on terror" with rendition, torture, airbases, and spying. The deals that governments of Muslim countries have struck with Washington since 2001 are practical regime survival stratagems that lack popular consent from their societies. But regime change for unpopular policy is impossible in these Muslim nations.

Friday, April 11, 2008
U.N. Official Calls for Study Of Neocons' Role in 9/11
(16 comments) A new UN Human Rights Council official assigned to monitor Israel is calling for an official commission to study the role neoconservatives may have played in the attack on 9/11. Richard Falk's specialty is human rights and international law, and he believes the evidence is strong that 911 was a "false flag" operation - espionage or covert actions taken by one government made to seem like the work of another.

Thursday, April 10, 2008
Algae: 'The ultimate in renewable energy'
Algae are among the fastest growing plants in the world, and about 50 percent of their weight is oil. That lipid oil can be used to make biodiesel for cars, trucks, and airplanes. This Texas firm produces 100,000 gallons of algae oil a year per acre (gpa), compared to about 30 gpa from corn; 50 gpa from soybeans.

Thursday, April 10, 2008
Obama talks all things LGBT with The Advocate
On Monday, Sen. Obama discussed "don't ask, don't tell," Rev. Wright, passing ENDA, repealing DOMA and McKlurkin's phobic rant in SC. Homophobia "is used to divide the country and distract us" from pressing issues; whites and blacks are equally phobic. Transgenders are cut out; full benefits for spouses of LGB federal employees.

Thursday, April 10, 2008
U.Va. Scholar Traces Voting Technology Controversy to the 1890s
"Mechanical voting machines score higher than electronic voting machines in just about every parameter" per Dr. Brian Pfaffenberger of the U.Va. School of Engineering and Applied Science. Thomas Jefferson, who founded U.Va., "strongly believed that engineers need to be good citizens; today, the need is greater than ever, so it's important for science and engineering students to reflect on how technologies shape our democracy."

Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Banks Take Blame for Credit Crisis
Will US media report this? The world's leading banks on Wednesday publicly accepted much of the blame for the credit crisis, as the IMF slashed its estimates for global growth and warned that the US downturn will last longer than most expect. The Institute of International Finance, representing more than 375 of the world's largest financial companies, acknowledged poor business practices: bankers' pay and risk management.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008
In Wake of Jamaican Anti-Gay Violence, Corporate Shunning, Controversy
Using machetes, Jamaicans attack gays in their homes, but become indignant at economic boycott. Local corporate sponsor withdraws support from Jamaican music events. Red Stripe, a popular export beer, issued an Apr. 4 news release that read, "Some performers continue to propagate, through their live performances, violent and antisocial lyrics." J-FLAG urges government action.

Monday, April 7, 2008
Planet Earth: The Big Picture
(4 comments) Researcher Fred Burks lays out his 4,800-word worldview on everything from ETs, 9/11, the Taliban, the CIA drug trade, media control, mind control, energy technology and global elites. "It is the collective fear, secrecy, polarization, and loss of purpose within all of us that has allowed leaders to take power...subvert democracy and... take away our freedoms and liberties." His 4-step plan for a brighter future is detailed.

Monday, April 7, 2008
Blackwater contract renewal not approved by Iraq
(12 comments) Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said the US State Dept renewed the contract of private security company Blackwater USA without the approval of the Baghdad government. Blackwater "committed a massacre against Iraqis and until now this matter has not been resolved," said Maliki.

Sunday, April 6, 2008
VIDEO: Friend Remembers Martin Luther King
3 minutes: Rev. Samuel Kyles was King's close friend and was there with King on 04 Apr 1968. These are his memories of the slain civil rights leader. "You can kill the dreamer, but no, you absolutely cannot kill the dream. And so the dream remains alive, alive and well within us."

Sunday, April 6, 2008
U of North Texas Students to Walk Out Against War
(4 comments) In Denton, TX, students at UNT will demonstrate their solidarity in support of peace by walking out of their classes at 9:11 AM on Monday, and holding a rally in front of the Union building. The walkout is part of the overall strategy to protest the continued military occupation of Iraq, and to organize counter military recruitment efforts. Nearly 40 organizations in and outside Texas support the effort.

Sunday, April 6, 2008
Protecting Democracy Isn't Nutty
(2 comments) On two separate occasions, Riverside County Supervisor John Tavaglione has referred to Secretary of State Debra Bowen as "nuts" or "nutty" for having the audacity to test and conditionally recertify voting systems found to be vulnerable to tampering. Babies will cry when you take away a favorite toy after you discover it's dangerously coated with lead paint. Voting machines have the potential to poison the well of democracy.

Saturday, April 5, 2008
Jail terms over Dirty War adoption
Pregnant women arrested when Argentina's military government cracked down on left-wing activists and dissenters gave birth in detention and were never seen again. 500 "stolen babies" were given to families close to the ruling party. Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a human rights group, helped Maria Barragan learn the truth of her birth. She sued her adoptive parents, who were recently sentenced to 7 years in prison.

Saturday, April 5, 2008
Kansas City passes transgender protections
The Kansas City, MO city council voted to extend antidiscrimination laws to protect expressions of gender identity. Council member Beth Gottstein, the measure's primary sponsor, said, "If our city code doesn't protect everyone, it protects no one." Kansas City joins more than 90 municipalities, 12 states, and Washington, D.C., in providing such protection.

Saturday, April 5, 2008
The Cost of E-Voting
SaveOurVotes cost analysis shows Diebold DRE price tag to Maryland of $67mn reaches $98 mn, which won't be paid off till 2014. Meanwhile, MD is dumping the DREs to return to the equally hackable optical scan systems.

Saturday, April 5, 2008
It's official, Alabama is the Soviet Union
Although the US appears to be collapsing into this type of model, Alabama appears to be leaping in that direction at a faster pace. When I first blogged about the subpoenas that were served en mass to Democrats in the Alabama state legislature last month, it was crickets from across the blogs of both isles, the corporate press, and the general public. Now corpstream media is beginning to report on political prosecution here.

Friday, April 4, 2008
Labor of Love: Is society ready for this pregnant husband?
(1 comments) Thomas Beatie: I am transgender, legally male, and legally married to Nancy. Unlike those in same-sex marriages, domestic partnerships, or civil unions, Nancy and I are afforded the more than 1,100 federal rights of marriage. I kept my reproductive rights and am pregnant. Our situation sparks legal, political, and social unknowns.

Thursday, April 3, 2008
Chase mortgage memo pushes 'Cheats & Tricks'
(3 comments) The Oregonian uncovers a memo from banking giant JPMorgan Chase, providing a rare glimpse into the mentality that fueled the mortgage crisis. The memo's title says it all: "Zippy Cheats & Tricks." It's a primer on how to get risky mortgage loans approved - by inflating borrowers' income or falsifying their loan application. One broker said it's "a perfect example of a Big Bank telling its brokers to commit fraud."

Thursday, April 3, 2008
Rapists in the Ranks
By Jane Harman (D-Venice). Numbers reported by the Department of Defense show a sickening pattern. In 2006, 2,947 sexual assaults were reported -- 73% more than in 2004. The DOD's newest report, released this month, indicates that 2,688 reports were made in 2007, but a recent shift from calendar-year reporting to fiscal-year reporting makes comparisons with data from previous years much more difficult.

Thursday, April 3, 2008
Rove caught in his own worst nightmare...
Apparently Karl Rove's interest in going after whistle-blower, Dana Jill Simpson, has gotten him so unhinged that he has stepped straight into a trap that he himself would have laid not too long ago - when he had the power to do so - against a political "enemy." Rove - who has an astounding memory for facts and particulars - suddenly confuses the phone records she referred to with his just-in time lie (which documents refute).

Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Intelligence Centers Tap Into Personal Databases
(1 comments) Fusion Groups run by states across the country, and funded by the Dept. of Homeland Surveillance, access personal info about millions of Americans, including unlisted cellphone numbers, insurance claims, driver's license photographs and credit reports, and info from CIA databases. These state-run Fusion Centers use sophisticated data-mining programs developed by NSA, etc. to develop dossiers on US citizens.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Pentagon balked on gay partner travel
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi intervened with Def,Sec. Bob Gates to allow Rep. (D-WI) Tammy Baldwin's domestic partner on a military flight for an Energy & Commerce fact-finding trip to Europe. Under House guidelines, Congress members may take their spouses under certain conditions. Enviro-attorney Lauren Azar has deep background in public policy and heads a state board overseeing local utilities and economic development in WI.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Border fence to go up despite federal law
More elite land-grabbing: Bi-partisan Congress authorized Bush's border fence, despite violations of over 30 laws and regulations, including eco-protection. Hidalgo loses to the Fed-Gov idea it is exempt from the Rule of Law. Trashhead Chertoff thinks this is good for the environment.

Monday, March 31, 2008
HUD Chief Quitting
The Bush administration's top housing official is resigning at a time when the housing industry is embroiled in crisis. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson announced Monday he is quitting. His resignation will take effect on April 18. Jackson is under criminal investigation and has been fending off allegations of cronyism and favoritism involving HUD contractors for the past two years.

Monday, March 31, 2008
Can You Say "PIN-O-CHET"?
(3 comments) Three recent developments, largely ignored by news media pundits and political power brokers, offer fragile but encouraging signs of renewal and progress toward the restoration of the Rule of Law in the USA. Furthermore, those involved in alternative media and the progressive blogosphere should derive a great degree of personal satisfaction from these fragile and encouraging signs.

Sunday, March 30, 2008
New Hampshire Joins Montana in Real ID Victory
(3 comments) Legislators in the Live Free or Die state, like those in Montana, banned the state from complying with the Real ID mandates, citing state's rights, the inequity of unfunded federal mandates, and privacy issues. Citizens of states that opt out can't use their licenses for federal purposes, such as airport screening or going to a Social Security office. Maine and South Carolina have also refused to comply with Real ID.

Sunday, March 30, 2008
Introducing Iarpa! It's Like Darpa, But for Spies
Q is a tall blond American named Lisa Porter, the first head of America's new Q branch, the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, charged with outfitting US spooks with the highest-tech info-gathering gadgetry. IARPA will do for the intelligence community what DARPA (Defense Advanced ResearchProjects Agency) has done for the Pentagon. DARPA developed the Internet and Global Positioning System.

Sunday, March 30, 2008
Companies Try To Cover-Up Move To Watch Consumers Via TV's
Microsoft and TiVo have already filed similar patents and ComCast is developing its own technology to monitor the rooms where its cable box is located. Tho ComCast denies this, prior interviews reveal the deception. Orwell thought that cameras in the living room would be imposed on us by a fascist government. Fascism these days is dominated by corporate power, and enabled by willful consumption of goods.

Sunday, March 30, 2008
Police arrest anti-war protester, 80, at mall
(10 comments) An 80-year-old church deacon was removed from the Smith Haven Mall yesterday in a wheelchair and arrested by police for refusing to remove a T-shirt protesting the Iraq War. Don Zirkel said he was sitting in the food court drinking coffee with his wife Marie, 77, and several others when police and mall security officers approached and demanded they remove their anti-war T-shirts.

Sunday, March 30, 2008
CA: Taser Use Soars as Concerns Mount Over Safety
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has doubled its use of Taser stun guns since 2005, according to an investigation by CBC and the Canadian Press. There have been 19 Taser-related deaths in Canada since 2001, and of 563 incidents analysed by the Canadian Press, 75 percent of suspects were unarmed.

Sunday, March 30, 2008
Day of Infamy: The 3-20-08 US Declaration of War on Iran
On this date the US officially declared war on Iran in an unexpected way. A unit within the US Treasury Department, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, made the war official when it issued a March 20 advisory to the world's financial institutions, charging that all of Iran's banks –including the central bank– represent a risk to the international financial system, no exceptions. Money laundering for terrorism is alleged.

Sunday, March 30, 2008
VIDEO: Reverend Wright Sermon
Two videos show Reverend Wright's sermons in context: discussing 9/11 and discussing US racism.

Sunday, March 30, 2008
The Creekside Declaration
Our Mission is to encourage citizen ownership of transparent, participatory democracy.

Saturday, March 29, 2008
Siegelman Released From Jail
VIDEO: Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman speaks upon release from prison, after a growing body of allies, activists and 52 attorneys general petition Congress for an investigation. Congressman Arthur Davis and investigator Scott Horton provide background info on the questionable prosecution which seems to be politically motivated.

Friday, March 28, 2008
Whistleblower Sues Hart InterCivic; eVoting Poll
CBS Online Poll: Do you feel comfortable with electronic voting machines? VOTE!

Thursday, March 27, 2008
About Face: The Roberts Court Sets the Stage for Shrinking Voting Rights, Putting Poor and Minority Voters Especially In
Recent US Supreme Court decision could lay the groundwork for upholding a host of draconian laws making it harder for some people to vote. Double standard applied to State's rights ahead of voter's rights. This kind of rule is going to make it much harder for those who seek to protect voting rights to succeed in court. And that may precisely be the point of the new decision.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008
What can and cannot be spoken on television
To see how scripted and narrow the American media's discussion of Iraq continues to be (as Americans are told that it is a matter of mandated orthodoxy that they believe that the Surge is Working), watch the video interview and consider how these views are never heard. (Charlie Rose's 5th Anniversary Iraq Show) Excerpts from the Peter Jennings interview of Iraqis in 2003 also provided.

Monday, March 24, 2008
Venezuelans burn Exxon 'Judas' in Easter ritual
In a political take on a popular Easter ritual, hundreds of Venezuelans cheered at the burning of a "Judas" effigy symbolizing oil giant Exxon Mobil, which last week lost a battle with the South American nation. A British judge last Tuesday lifted a $12 billion freeze on Venezuelan assets awarded to Exxon, dealing a blow to the oil giant in its fight with the OPEC nation over President Hugo Chavez's nationalization plan.

Monday, March 24, 2008
Montana Governor: DHS 'Blinks' on Real ID
(3 comments) Montana gov Brian Schweitzer declared victory Friday after the Dept. of Homeland Security (sic) gave an extension to the Real ID act. He insists MT will never comply with the mandate since their driver licenses already contain holograms, secure digital photographs and a magnetic stripe on the back. He says he has no intention of sharing Montanta residents' data with the federal government, citing the recent passport breaches.

Sunday, March 23, 2008
Spitzer Miami Tryst Alleged
(1 comments) Republican political operative Roger Stone sent a letter last November to the FBI alleging that Spitzer 'used the services of high-priced call girls' while in Florida. Stone is known for shutting down the 2000 presidential election recount effort in Miami-Dade County. Research thanks to Lori Price of www.legitgov.org.

Saturday, March 22, 2008
Put Florida primary in prime time and text in your vote
HUMOR: Dave Barry asks, "How come they can count my vote for Donald Trump vs. Viagra on the Lewis Black Show, but they can't count my vote in the Democratic primary?" The obvious answer is one is mindless comic entertainment and the other is a TV program.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008
2008 State of the Universe Address
HUMOR: If we are to have an awakening instead of a wake, I predict heart times ahead. Trickle down economics has left a growing class of pee-ons. Now voting machines with secret software count the votes in secret. Global warring and global warming, last rites for the Bill of Rites, and Orwellian Newspeak all fixable: we need to amplify the love and light.

Friday, March 14, 2008
YouTube - Inauguration Surprise
Elections: The truth is best told thru humor.

Thursday, March 13, 2008
Assignment America: Keep juries dumb
(1 comments) In America we like our juries dumb and predictable. God forbid they should know anything about the case they're judging, much less the law they're judging it by. But juries were created to trump unjust law. It IS your place. Some guy got shackled in leg irons by King John so that it WOULD be your place. Don't send us back to the Dark Ages acting like a wimp.

Sunday, March 9, 2008
Sort-n-Stack Method of Hand Counting Ballots
(13 comments) In one page find complete and concise instructions on how to use the Sort and Stack method of hand counting ballots. It is to be used with the Reconciliation Audit Slip posted at http://snipurl.com/21d39

Sunday, March 9, 2008
Reconciliation Audit Slip for Hand Counts
This Reconciliation Audit Slip is to be used with the Sort and Stack Method of hand counting ballots, described at http://snipurl.com/21d36

Saturday, March 8, 2008
Ballot Booth Woes
Can New Mexico Run a Successful Election? Questions remain about New Mexico's election process-both about the private company that maintains its voting machines and databases, as well as the ability of election officials to anticipate glitches and troubleshoot unexpected problems. A study is underway.

Friday, March 7, 2008
Bamboozling the American Electorate Again
Is Obama the Frankenstein of Karl Rove? Bush-Cheney strategy involves G.O.P. crossover voting to take out Hillary, marketing newcomer Obama, a possible "independent" ticket, and maybe even martial law...

Friday, March 7, 2008
Fired U.S. attorney says colleague told him politics was behind his ouster
A longtime protege of President [sic] Bush told former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias that he was fired for political reasons and that he shouldn't fight his ouster, Iglesias says in a new book. "This is political," Iglesias recalls Texas U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton telling him shortly after he was ousted. "If I were you, I'd just go quietly."

Thursday, March 6, 2008
Guess What? Obama Is Winning Texas
(2 comments) Tuesday night, the media proclaimed Hillary Clinton the winner in Texas. But in the caucuses, with 48 percent of the caucus results reported as of early Thursday morning, per the Texas Democratic Party's Web site, Obama has won approximately 56 percent of the caucus votes, leaving Clinton with just under 44 percent. Delegates, not voters, have chosen a winner.

Friday, February 29, 2008
Granting Immunity Rewards Lawlessness
There was and is no U.S. law, and there is nothing in the Constitution, that authorizes warrantless wiretaps on Americans in the United States, no matter with whom they speak or e-mail. In fact, both the law and the Constitution prohibit such surveillance without a search warrant.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Afghan journalist for CTV labelled 'unlawful enemy combatant'
The U.S. military has designated a journalist employed by CTV in Afghanistan as an unlawful enemy combatant. A military spokesman said a review board has determined Jawed Ahmad, an Afghan national, is a danger to foreign troops and the Afghan government. It is common for journalists in Afghanistan to have contact information on Taliban fighters so that they can seek comments for news stories.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Onion Exclusive! Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early
(1 comments) Political Satire: Video news report on Diebold's Leak of November's elections results.

Saturday, February 23, 2008
The Three Trillion Dollar War
(4 comments) Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes: The cost of direct US military operations -not including long-term medical costs for veterans- already exceeds the cost of the 12-year war in Vietnam and is more than double the cost of the Korean War. Best case, these costs are 10 times the first Gulf War, 1/3 more than the the Vietnam War, and twice that of the First World War.

Monday, February 18, 2008
No Cow Left Behind
Yet another beef recall that may sicken you by the gut-wrenching undercover video depicting Westland employees abusing "downer" cows - i.e. those too ill or injured to stand (and perhaps not fit to eat). The footage, brought to you courtesy of the Humane Society, shows workers "kicking cows, jabbing them near their eyes, ramming them with a forklift and water boarding them. Video at http://snipurl.com/1zvzk

Sunday, February 17, 2008
Obama's Dubious Praise for Reagan
(2 comments) Sen. Barack Obama prides himself in transcending the old ideological chasms that have divided the American electorate for decades, so much so that he recently cited Republican icon Ronald Reagan as a leader who "changed the trajectory of America." On Reagan's approach to the world, the documentary record reveals a foreign policy that was one of the most brutal, most corrupt and least accountable in American history.

Sunday, February 17, 2008
Jennifer Brunner: Election Changes Will Protect Interests of Voters
Open Letter by Ohio Secretary of State in defense of her election reform strategy. Instead of decertifying touch screen voting systems, paper ballots - in sufficient quantity - will be available.

Sunday, February 17, 2008
'I lost my career, my life and my dignity'
Last week, the Court of Appeal ruled that Lotfi Raissi could claim compensation for his arrest and imprisonment after being wrongly accused of training 9/11 pilots. Here, in his first interview since the landmark decision, he tells of his prison hell, nervous collapse and the terrible toll his ordeal has had on his personal and professional life.

Sunday, February 17, 2008
Congress' Betrayal of the American Worker
(2 comments) While claiming to be trying to increase the number of well-paying jobs in the US, Congress has really been doing just the opposite. The public's inability or unwillingness to face up these betrayals will result in the destruction of the working class in the U.S. If the public does not protest, they will continue to get a government that no one deserves.

Friday, February 15, 2008
Redwood ACLU Calls for Hand-Counting Paper Ballots
(1 comments) Press Release: At the regular monthly meeting of the Redwood Chapter, ACLU Board of Directors, local civil rights leaders adopted a comprehensive policy on local election reform after months of deliberation and consultation with other election reform advocates. The new policy includes replacing electronic systems with precinct-based hand-counting of paper ballots.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008
This is what a police state looks like VIDEO
(6 comments) 2002 unauthorized release of police video: Portland (OR) and Beaverton Police Departments brutalized peaceful protesters in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Babies, seniors and others hit by pepper spray, sticks and pepper bullets.

Friday, February 8, 2008
The Story of Stuff
(1 comments) 20-minute film (in 7 clips) that takes viewers on a provocative and eye-opening tour of the real costs of our consumer driven culture-from resource extraction to iPod incineration.

Friday, February 8, 2008
Toxic Gov't Report Uncovered
One World: A much-delayed U.S. government report has been obtained by journalists, raising allegations that officials may be suppressing politically inconvenient data that, if released, could help protect the health of millions living in the Great Lakes region of the country. The Center for Public Integrity has obtained copies of the report and is raising questions about the firing of its lead author.

Thursday, February 7, 2008
A Dangerous Fix for Election Security
John Birch Society: Rush Holt's H.R. 5036, Emergency Assistance for Secure Elections Act of 2008, would supposedly reverse some of the damage caused by the disastrous Help America Vote Act of 2002. Instead, it expands the federal power grab over elections and ignores that optical scanners can also be hacked. "Targeted" audits directed at where there is a suspicion of election fraud are banned. Take action link.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Stimulus Plan a Scam to Benefit the Rich: Higher loan limits will lead to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac bailout
(2 comments) Corporate-sponsored Congress is at it again. Increasing Fannie's limit is like going on a spending spree with your credit cards because you know you're going to file for bankruptcy. Only here the taxpayer is left holding the bag. Fannie and Freddie will buy up mortgages based on fraudulent appraisals. With zero new regulation, the same bad actors that caused this crisis can once again begin a new cycle of fraud.

Monday, February 4, 2008
Benefits ban qualifies for Florida ballot
A measure to deny family benefits to unmarried couples in Florida now has enough signatures to be placed on the November ballot, according to state election officials. The amendment also threatens basic employment and health care benefits of municipal employees such as police officers and firefighters, as well as domestic partner benefits relied upon by many Florida senior citizens.

Sunday, February 3, 2008
Wall Street donates millions to top presidential candidates
Employees of Wall Street investment banks, whose role in the unregulated sub-prime mortgage market helped stall the U.S. economy, have donated more than $5 million to the top four Republican and Democratic presidential candidates. See graphic.

Friday, February 1, 2008
Border fence lawsuits hit Hidalgo, Starr, Cameron counties
Texans resist border fence as US Dept. of Justice files suit. The border fence remains a hot issue in South Texas, where objection has been loud and from all directions. Business people bemoan that it will hurt relationships with their counterparts in Mexico; environmentalists say it will curb the movements of local wildlife, potentially causing irrevocable harm. Also see http://tinyurl.com/38rv9t.

Thursday, January 31, 2008
Vote machine transparency elusive as ever
Miami Herald gets it: secret vote counting will not be made transparent by optical scan systems, which are just as hackable as touch screens.

Monday, January 28, 2008
Waving Goodbye to Hegemony
The rise of China in the East and of the European Union in the West has fundamentally altered a globe that seemed to have only an American gravity-pro or anti. Why should China or other Asian countries become "responsible stakeholders" in an American-led international order when they had no seat at the table when the rules were drafted? Even as the US stumbles back toward multilateralism, others are playing by their own rules.

Monday, January 28, 2008
Tip-off thwarted nuclear spy ring probe
An investigation into the illicit sale of American nuclear secrets was compromised by a senior official in the State Department, former FBI analyst, Sibel Edmonds, has claimed. The official is said to have tipped off a foreign contact about a bogus CIA company used to investigate the sale of nuclear secrets. Edmonds further claims that Pakistan's intelligence agency (ISI) was among the buyers, who was then selling to Lybia.

Monday, January 28, 2008
Found in Translation: FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds spills her secrets
After 5 years of thwarted legal challenges and fruitless attempts to launch an investigation, Sibel Edmonds is talking. On Jan. 6, the Sunday Times of London, a Murdoch-owned paper that does not normally encourage exposés damaging to the Bush administration, featured a long article. The news quickly spread around the world, with follow-ups appearing in Israel, Europe, India, Pakistan, Turkey, and Japan-but not in the U.S.

Saturday, January 26, 2008
US slides into dangerous 1930s 'liquidity trap'
(6 comments) The US is sliding towards a dangerous 1930s-style "liquidity trap" that cannot easily be stopped by drastic cuts in interest rates, Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz has warned. The best strategy for immediate stimulus is unemployment assistance and tax rebates for the poor. That will feed through quickly, but set against the magnitude of the problem, even a fiscal stimulus package of $150bn is not going to be enough.

Friday, January 18, 2008
Canada puts U.S., Israel on torture watchlist -CTV
(3 comments) An official Canadian government document has put both the United States and Israel on a watch list of countries where prisoners run the risk of being tortured, CTV television reported on Thursday. Other countries on the watch list include Syria, China, Iran and Afghanistan. The revelation is likely to embarrass the minority Conservative government, which is a staunch U.S. ally. See 3 videos at http://tinyurl.com/293xy4

Monday, January 7, 2008
Nukes, Spooks, And The Specter of 9/11
(3 comments) We're in big trouble if even half of what Sibel Edmonds says is true.

Monday, January 7, 2008
The Bilderberg Group - Rulers of the World
"The war is not against Bin Laden. We are the enemy." 60-minute audio interview with investigator and author, Daniel Estulin, on his book, "The True Story of the Bilderberg Group", which describes an annual gathering where the European and American political elite, and the wealthiest CEOs of the world, all come together to discuss the economic and political future of humanity.

Monday, January 7, 2008
BrasscheckTV on Homegrown Terrorism Act HR 1955
(6 comments) 10-min video "Home grown terrorism is a term meaning the use, planned use, or threatened use of intellectual power or vigor..." when the Act's definition of force is substituted.

Sunday, January 6, 2008
For sale: West's deadly nuclear secrets
(7 comments) Disgusted with inaction by US authorities, whistleblower Sibel Edmonds reveals how high-ranking US officials enabled nuclear secrets to be sold on the black market. Also revealed are drug deals, and US connections to al Qaeda, thru Pakistan's spy agency, ISI, before and after the 9/11 attacks. FBI & CIA agents corrobate overlapping areas of Edmonds' claims.

Saturday, January 5, 2008
Bhutto's Deadly Legacy
(4 comments) Benazir Bhutto's death is a tragedy, but she was no Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar. Bhutto was a natural autocrat who did little for human rights, and a calculating politician who was complicit in Pakistan becoming the region's principal jihadi paymaster while she also ramped up an insurgency in Kashmir that has brought two nuclear powers to the brink of war.

Thursday, January 3, 2008
Iowa Caucuses: The Good Guys Are Winning on Trade
The economic outlook is certainly a vital concern, and that's especially true in places like Iowa, that have been hit hard by the vaunted New Economy. Jonathan Tasini of the Labor Research Center takes an in-depth look at the various Democratic candidates' positions on trade. This is highly recommended for those who want a deeper understanding of the differences that separate the field.

Thursday, January 3, 2008
Bhutto Succession Will Split the Party, Says Tribe Leader
The head of the Bhutto tribe, a founder of the Pakistan People's Party, rejected the appointment of Benazir Bhutto's husband and son to lead the group, since neither are members of the 700,000-member tribe. Mumtaz Bhutto said the leadership of the party should have gone to a "real" Bhutto. Benazir's husband is unrelated to the Bhuttos, while her son adopted Bhutto as his middle name only after his mother was assassinated.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008
The Kings of England
The International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg ruled that "to initiate a war of aggression ... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime." The tribunal's charter placed "planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression" at the top of the list of war crimes. A recent BBC discussion exposed the terrifying privileges of unaccountable power.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008
The Shock Doctrine in Action in New Orleans
The final showdown over New Orleans public housing is playing out in dramatic fashion right now. The conflict is a classic example of the "triple shock" formula at the core of the doctrine.

Friday, December 28, 2007
And The "Show" Goes On...
When the state disintegrates or is willfully destroyed, people fall back on religion and their sect, their neighborhood, their tribes. In other words, they hang on to the points of reference, the anchors they know best and they can trust.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007
As Cuba's Economy Withers, Its Ecology Thrives
Cuba is a priceless ecological resource; its beaches, mangroves, reefs, seagrass beds and other habitats relatively well preserved. That is why many scientists are so worried about what will become of it after Fidel Castro and his associates leave power and, as is widely anticipated, the American government relaxes or ends its trade embargo.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007
FBI Prepares Vast Database of Biometrics: working link
The FBI is embarking on a $1 billion effort to build the world's largest computer database of peoples' physical characteristics, a project that would give the government unprecedented abilities to identify individuals in the United States and abroad. Digital images of faces, fingerprints and palm patterns are already flowing into FBI systems in a climate-controlled, secure basement.

Monday, December 24, 2007
Michigan Attorney General accused of 'grandstanding'
Mirroring the nation, Detroit's minority population is looking at a catastrophe in the ongoing mortgage meltdown. Michigan's AG held a mortgage forum that was attended by 4,000 people. Housing activists accused him of grandstanding because the forum didn't go far enough in addressing the issues that caused the crises in the first place.

Thursday, December 20, 2007
Election Software Lost in Transit
More than a hundred computer chips containing voting machine software were lost or stolen during transit in California this week, shipped via FedEx.

Thursday, December 20, 2007
Updated CBO Data Reveal Unprecedented Increase in Inequality
New high-quality data from the Congressional Budget Office reveal an historical sharp increase in household income inequality over the past few years. The increase in income concentration among the rich in the 2003-05 period has been the largest on record, and has resulted in a transfer of $400 billion from households in the bottom 95% of the income scale to those in the top 5%.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Democracy Now: Harvey Wasserman on New Ohio Voting Report: "The 2004 Election Was Stolen... Finally We Have Irrefutable
(2 comments) Wasserman discusses the meaning of Project EVEREST which found all five of Ohio's voting machines subject to easy manipulation, adding more evidence to the charge that 2004's election was stolen. Noted are those counties which destroyed the 2004 ballots in violation of a court order and federal law. No one's being prosecuted. Harvey asks, "What kind of country do we live in?"

Thursday, November 29, 2007
iPolitics Is Everywhere -- Feel Empowered Yet?
Opening political discussion thru digital tools is worthwhile, but virtual democracy needs broader reforms to address basic inequities in the political system: suppressive registration laws, questionable electronic machines, and the Electoral College. If voting systems were opened up as much as our media system, real change could happen. It's one thing to engage voters; it's another to enfranchise them.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007
US withdraws subpoena seeking identity of 24,000 Amazon customers
U.S. prosecutors have withdrawn a subpoena seeking the identities of thousands of people who bought used books through online retailer Amazon.com Inc., newly unsealed court records show. The withdrawal came after a judge ruled the customers have a right to keep their reading habits from the government.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Kucinich Slamdunks All Dems in DFA Poll
(1 comments) In the first real test of grassroots support for the eight Democratic Presidential candidates, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich scored a stunning first place finish nationally and topped every other candidate in 41 of 50 states, according to results released on November 6th by Democracy for America (DFA).

Sunday, November 25, 2007
2-Pg Summary of CA's Voting Technology Review
Cleveland State University's Candice Hoke prepared a nice two-page summary of CA's Red Team Studies of Diebold, Sequoia and Hart Inter-Civic voting systems. All fail to meet basic security protections; all system audit logs can be overwritten or erased; passwords are easily bypassed, and more: software, documentation and accessibility issues are also detailed.

Thursday, November 22, 2007
The End of America? Naomi Wolf Thinks It Could Happen
(9 comments) Interview with Naomi Wolf on her book, End of America. "We would be naive given the historical patterns to have hope that there's going to be a transparent, accountable election in 2008." She discusses the "legalized" shift toward fascism authorizing military use on citizens, loss of habeas corpus, and more.

Sunday, November 18, 2007
Crisis in the U.S.: "Plan B"?
Retired fed analyst Richard Cook analyzes the upcoming 2008 "elections," discussing the real players behind the dog-and-pony candidates. Plan B is a kinder, gentler fuck by the military establishment, placing Hillary at the head. Ron Paul's sudden surge in donations portends a third-party run that elites will use to siphon votes from Republicans. Pragmatic advice for ordinary citizens is offered.

Saturday, November 17, 2007
Climate At the Tipping Point
(7 comments) UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon uses lay terms to discuss this epochal threat, giving brief glimpses of his global observations. He concludes that much of the certain catastrophe can be averted if we convert to renewable energies. Now.

Thursday, November 15, 2007
Toy Safety Video & Action Call
With the holidays just ahead, this action is timely and vital. Real safety means an era of corporate self-regulation, lax enforcement and minimal penalties must end. Lawmakers are now considering reforms, but it won't be easy to pass strong measures before the holidays. NotInMyCart.org wants you to contact your representatives at the link.

Thursday, August 30, 2007
A Rigged Report on U.S. Voting
Whistleblower comes forward: Findings from her research team, commissioned by the Election Assistance Commission, are rewritten in the EACs public release of the report. Voter impersonation exaggerated, voter suppression minimized, and all criticism of the Justice Department's handling of voter complaints is removed.

Saturday, August 25, 2007
Let Your Soul Light Shine Bright
Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. The light of the soul throws sparks, sends up flares, and builds signal fires. ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes, author of Women Who Run With the Wolves

Saturday, August 25, 2007
Subprime Loans = Primetime for Vampire Lenders
(2 comments) This is one of those economic stories, like the savings-and-loan scam of the 1980s, that are usually buried back in the business section of newspapers. But, just as with the S&L collapse, this debacle is growing too big to contain, and all of us need to be paying attention. How "reputable" financial firms are using an arsenal of tricks to extract high payments from homeowners, drain their equity and steal their homes.

Thursday, August 23, 2007
Home Foreclosures Leap 93% in a Year
The number of default notices and bank repossessions totaled 179,599. Across the US, there is now a foreclosure of one in every 693 homes.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007
"Inshallah"
Cindy Sheehan reports from Amman, Jordan, where her visits to hospitals continue to support the peace effort.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Natasha Mayers: Art for the Movement
Common Dreams is featuring over 300 paintings by this artist, capturing images of war, rendition, spying on citizens, and more.

Monday, August 13, 2007
A Policy of Genocide
The demon of greed never seems to get enough. Over 1 million dead Iraqis - with Dick Cheney's old company KBR/Halliburton being the prime benefactor of theft, Mr. Cheney now has his eyes on Iran. More bodies, dead ones, are needed for the task. Once again, his old company, KBR/Halliburton, not only comes to the rescue, but benefits from the deal.

Saturday, August 11, 2007
Polls find increased support for Iraq war: New survey results surprise pollsters
The results from a poll conducted last month by the New York Times so surprised top editors that they ordered a new survey, but the results were the same: 42% of Americans now think that President Bush was right to send troops into Iraq. Positive spin on the war is assumed to be the cause for increasing confidence in Bush's surge. Repub pollster Frank Lutz thinks this merely reflects general summertime optimism.

Saturday, July 7, 2007
What Side You're On
Rhyme of the Times (fully sourced for high school history students): They 1st seized control of White House grounds When U.S. Supremes stopped the recount They weren't re-elected in two thousand-four By then elections were sold to the techno-whores. Next they wanna tag us with RFIDs Remember your Bible and the Sign of the Beast? If not your body, your passport will do Driver's licenses? Implanted, too.

Saturday, July 7, 2007
A Postcard from Iraq
Writer Layla Anwar describes life in Iraq, including the kidnap and torture of her relatives: Raouf heard a knock on the door. He opened. Familiar faces from the district. Three armed men. "Salam aleikom" he said. "Wa aleikom" they replied. Then, they blindfolded him, handcuffed him and shoved him in a car. His ordeal had started. His torture odyssey was about to unfold ...

Wednesday, July 4, 2007
A Sudden Change of State
(1 comments) The IPCC predicts that sea levels could rise by as much as two feet this century. A new scientific paper argues that the geological record suggests that ice at the poles does not melt in a gradual and linear fashion, but flips suddenly. With 2-3 ¢ªC rise in global temperature 3.5 million years ago, seas rose 82 feet. Monbiot¡¯s book "Heat: How To Stop the Planet Burning" is now in paperback.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007
The Future of Citizen Journalism
An international gathering met last week under the motto "Every Citizen is a Reporter." Can citizen journalism really change the world? Many skeptics still doubt it can even change the news industry, and still question, despite much evidence, whether ordinary citizens can function as journalists. But why not? I've been a professional journalist for decades, yet never took a course. If you don't like the news, report your own!

Tuesday, July 3, 2007
ANGLER The Cheney Vice-Presidency
Dick Cheney is the most influential and powerful man ever to hold the office of vice president. This series examines Cheney's largely hidden and little-understood role in crafting policies for the War on Terror, the economy and the environment. Four-part investigative series from Washington Post.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007
US Social Forum Forges Common Ground
The US Social Forum wrapped up Sunday in the southern city of Atlanta with a People's Assembly, where civil society and native leaders read declarations on the meeting's main issues: Gulf Coast reconstruction in the post-Katrina era; militarism and the prison industrial complex; indigenous, sexual and immigrant rights; and labor struggles in the global economy.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007
The Cry of the Invisible
The War on Democracy examines the false democracy that comes with western corporations and a war waged, materially and as propaganda, against popular democracy. It is a film of South Americans who are no longer invisible. They have become a mighty political movement, reclaiming noble concepts distorted by corporatism, and they are defending the most basic human rights in a war being waged against all of us.

Monday, July 2, 2007
Declaration of Independence from Israel
(2 comments) The growing belligerence in the Middle East, the calls for an attack against Iran, the collapse of the imperial project in Iraq have all given an opening, where there was none before, to US rivals. It is not in Israel's interests to ignite a regional conflict. It is not in ours. But those who have their hands on the wheel seem determined to keep the American ship of state headed at breakneck speed into the cliffs before us.

Monday, July 2, 2007
How War Was Turned into a Brand
Political chaos means Israel is booming like it's 1999 - and the boom is in defence exports field-tested on Palestinians. The key products and services are hi-tech fences, unmanned drones, biometric IDs, video and audio surveillance gear, air passenger profiling and prisoner interrogation systems. Israel has learned to turn endless war into a brand asset, with half-century head start in the 'global war on terror.'

Sunday, July 1, 2007
Vote-By-Mail Doesn't Deliver
(8 comments) Vote by mail is only as reliable as the mail delivery and administrative integrity. First class mail does not treat everyone equally: it discriminates against low-income communities and dense urban areas where residents move more frequently. Also, election officials can distinguish between "active" and "inactive" voters and then mail ballots only to active voters, as they do in Oregon, Washington, California, and Colorado.

Saturday, June 30, 2007
Don't Misunderestimate Dick Cheney
(1 comments) It has long been apparent that Cheney's genius is that he lets George W. Bush get out of bed every morning actually believing he is the President. Acting above the law, Cheney claims he is not an "entity within the executive branch." Also: video of Colin Powell on Cheney's secret meetings with Bush.

Friday, June 29, 2007
The Scourge of Nationalism
(2 comments) I cannot get out of my mind the recent photos of ordinary Americans sitting on chairs, guns on laps, as unofficial guards on the Arizona border, to make sure no Mexicans cross into the US. There's something horrifying in the realization that, in the 21st century, we've carved up what we claim is one world into 200 artificially created entities we call "nations" armed to apprehend or kill anyone who crosses a boundary.

Thursday, June 28, 2007
Candidate Hillary Does Iraq
Hillary categorizes the situation in Iraq as "extraordinarily difficult". Maybe, but there is a solution although she wouldn't like it: As a nation, we confess to the crime of aggression, apologize, arrest and punish the perpetrators, and pay reparations. This will be costly but is partially offset by the savings owing to unneeded secret service protection for some of our incarcerated high officials.

Thursday, June 28, 2007
Munich to US: "Don't Send Your CIA Thugs into Europe's Streets"
Arrest warrants against 13 suspected CIA agents are worth more than the paper they're written on. They are a clear sign that a state based on the rule of law will not tolerate lawlessness, even in the war on terror. And they are a signal -- if a somewhat late one -- that Germany will not allow its most important ally in the war on terror to do just anything, even if it causes diplomatic tension.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Responsibility for Torture and Abu Ghraib: It Goes at Least as Far as the VP
(2 comments) Since the Abu Ghraib scandal broke in 2004, widespread speculation insists that the abuses were more than the work of a few "bad apples." Historian Alfred McCoy noted that the practices at Abu Ghraib, including sensory deprivation and stress positions, came right out of the CIA handbook. The Washington Post presents strong evidence that culpability for authorizing torture goes straight to Cheney, and possibly to Bush.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Counter-Terror Events and Alerts from Around the World
Social justice activists can find a one-stop website reporting who is doing what, when and where, in the name of peace, immigration, global warming, animal rights, and even the U.S. Social Forum to be held in Atlanta this weekend. In Homeland Security, in its analysis, considers these events a threat to security. Now, this was funny when I thought it was the US Dept of Homeland Security.)

Monday, June 25, 2007
Prison Poets of Guantanamo Find a Publisher
(4 comments) Inmates at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay used pebbles to scratch messages into foam cups they got with their meals. When the guards weren't looking, they passed the cups from cell to cell. It was a crude but effective way of communicating. The prisoners weren't passing along escape plans or info about future terrorist attacks; they were sending poems. In August, 22 of those poems will be published by the U. of Iowa.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007
George Bush and the First Person Possessive
(2 comments) And you thought George Bush didn't have a vision for America. Unfortunately, it's one big MySpace page, from sea to shining sea. The American Freedom Agenda has asked asked each GOP presidential candidate to sign a ten-point pledge promising, if elected, to restore the Constitution's checks and balances, to honor fundamental protections against injustice, and to eschew usurpations of legislative or judicial power.

Thursday, June 14, 2007
What Makes Us Think We Can Entrust The Future of The Human Race to These People?
Johann Hari of the Independent writes: The G8 was a slap-in-the-face reminder that we can't leave it up to our leaders to choose a sane path. The heads of the richest nations could not agree to keep global warming this side of two degrees centigrade, and despite Vladimir Putin pledging to point his nukes at European cities once again, they didn't even talk about reducing the number of nuclear weapons in the world.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007
World Parliament
The purpose of a world parliament is to hold international bodies to account. It is not a panacea. It will not turn the IMF or the UN Security Council into democratic bodies. But it does have the potential to impose a check on them. It wields no army, no police force, no weapons, no ready-made powers. Instead, it possesses something that none of the other global bodies have: legitimacy.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007
The EEVS of Our Destruction
By Nancy Levant. We are one to two years away from our REAL ID designations and only God knows what other "legislation" will result from America's new paramilitary dictatorship. The Employment Eligibility Verification System proposed in the STRIVE Act would require all people- both citizens and non-citizens - to obtain and present newly proposed documents compliant with the REAL ID Act in order to work or continue working.

Sunday, June 10, 2007
Bush's Plan to Erode Our Liberties
The Brennan Center discusses the significance of the recent dismissals of two Guantánamo prosecutions. However, any victory for a detainee in a military commission is a hollow one so long as the government asserts authority to detain them indefinitely regardless of whether they are convicted in a military court. Senator Dodd's bill comprehensively rolls back erosions to our civil liberties, and restores habeas corpus.

Sunday, June 10, 2007
Ron Paul for President?
(2 comments) Need a little humor while fascists take over your country? Sean Gonsalves hits a grand slam in his take on Ron Paul, Rudy Guiliani and the Republican Debates. At least one presidential candidate speaks for the people. "When asked if he really wanted the troops to come home, Paul pointed to the BIG elephant in the elephant party tent. (The GOP tent has several elephants, and a few 800-pound gorillas too, but I digress)."

Saturday, June 9, 2007
Is Martial Law Coming
(2 comments) The continuity of government directive says it will be implemented in a manner "consistent with" the Constitution and "consistent with applicable law," while it condenses power into a single branch of government. The directive uses fudge words that Bush was fond of while trying to justify torture. In that context, he used the phrase "consistent with" to justify actions that are antithetical to the Geneva Conventions.

Friday, June 8, 2007
Bush Nominates Proponent of Cure for Gays As Surgeon General by Kilian Melloy
(3 comments) Bush nominated Dr. James Holsinger to the position of Surgeon General, based on Holsinger's evident support of so-called "reparative" or "conversion" therapies for gay people, which some religious denominations promote as a means to "cure" homosexuality, but which has never received credible endorsement from any branch of the medical profession, and has drawn some criticism as a harmful, rather than therapeutic, practice.

Friday, June 8, 2007
True Patriotism by Ron Paul
(5 comments) The true patriot is motivated by a sense of responsibility and out of self-interest for himself, his family, and the future of his country to resist government abuse of power. He rejects the notion that patriotism means obedience to the state. Resistance need not be violent, but the civil disobedience that might be required involves confrontation with the state and invites possible imprisonment. May speech before House of Rep.

Friday, June 8, 2007
ACLU Applauds Senate Judiciary Committee Action Restoring Habeas Corpus
The Senate Judiciary Committee met yesterday to mark up pending legislation, including S. 185 - a bill to restore habeas corpus for those detained by the United States. The habeas bill is expected to head to the Senate floor within the month.

Friday, June 8, 2007
Rendition Goes on Trial in Italy by Ian Fisher and Elisabetta Povoledo
(1 comments) As Bush arrives in Italy, a trial is to open in Milan charging not only 25 CIA operatives but also Italy's former intelligence chief with breaking the nation's laws by abducting the imam, Abu Omar. It is the first such trial anywhere. The sensitive and complicated case risks poisoned ties between the United States and Italy, deep embarrassment for both countries and, possibly, full-scale scandal in Italy.

Friday, June 8, 2007
Cape Wind: Money, Celebrity, Class, Politics and the Battle for Our Energy Future by Wendy Williams and Robert Whitcomb
Book excerpt focusing on the hearing that was to discuss 3,800-page environmental impact statement. Instead, Nantucket Sound's energy future remains controlled by oil, gas and coal elites. Suffering from NIMBY (not in my back yard), they resist a project that would bring jobs and cheap energy to locals.

Friday, June 8, 2007
Terrorism: The Chosen Tool of the Weak Against the Mighty, by Eric Rouleau
(3 comments) Surveying the current literature, four recent books on terrorism are reviewed. MATTHEW CARR: Unknown Soldiers: How Terrorism Transformed the Modern World; PHIL REES: Dining With Terrorists: Meetings With the World's Most Wanted Militants; LAWRENCE WRIGHT: The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11; ADRIAN GUELKE: Terrorism and Global Disorder: Political Violence in the Contemporary World.

Saturday, June 2, 2007
Bio-electromagnetic Weapons: The ultimate weapon, by Harlan Girard
(3 comments) Electromagnetic weapons operate at the speed of light; they can kill, torture and enslave; but the public are largely unaware that they exist, because these weapons operate by stealth and leave no physical evidence. Electromagnetic weapons have been tested on human beings since 1976. By widely dispersing the involuntary human test-subjects, the U.S. continues these experiments unhindered.

Saturday, June 2, 2007
Bush Pens Dictatorship Directive, Few Notice
(3 comments) The National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive released on May 9th gives Bush oversight of all three branches of government in the event of a catastrophic emergency. The directive is unconstitutional since each branch is supposed to be equal in power. By putting the President in charge of coordinating the effort to ensure constitutional government over all three branches effectively creates a dictatorship.

Saturday, May 26, 2007
To Remake the World: Something Earth-changing is afoot
(11 comments) This is the largest social movement in all of history, no one knows its scope, and how it functions is more mysterious than what meets the eye. What does meet the eye is compelling: tens of millions of ordinary and not-so-ordinary people willing to confront despair, power, and incalculable odds in order to restore some semblance of grace, justice, and beauty to this world.