Diary: US IS TOP PURVEYOR ON WEAPONS SALE LIST

DIANE'S NEWS CLIPS begins here :)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> IF LINK DOESN'T WORK, THEN PASTE ARTICLE LINK(S) INTO YOUR BROWSER -- OR GO DIRECTLY TO >> http://www.truthout.org US Is Top Purveyor on Weapons Sales List http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111306T.shtml The United States last year provided nearly half of the weapons sold to militaries in the developing world, as major arms sales to the most unstable regions - many already engaged in conflict - grew to the highest level in eight years, new US government figures show. ----- Administration Opposes Democrats' Plan for Negotiating Medicare Drug Prices http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/111306HA.shtml ----- William Fisher | Arrogant to the End http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111306A.shtml William Fisher writes: "... even in the event that the president announces some major new initiatives to extricate us from our Middle East quagmire, his government appears to lack the competence to execute those new initiatives. On the basis of this administration's record, all of us can be excused for being just a tad skeptical - and very afraid." ----- Bush Calls for Global Isolation of Iran http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111306S.shtml President Bush, responding to concerns Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert brought to the White House, called on Monday for worldwide isolation of Iran until it "gives up its nuclear ambitions." The risk to the world extends beyond Israel and the Middle East, Bush said in Oval Office remarks to reporters after meeting with Olmert for an hour. The United States and Israel say they believe Iran is working on nuclear weapons, although Tehran says its work on the technology is aimed only at producing energy. ----- Bill Quigley | Corporate and Government Looting of the Gulf Coast http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111306C.shtml "Robin Hood stole from the rich and gave to the poor. On the Gulf Coast, the reverse is happening. Federal state and local governments are teaming up with corporations and developers to systematically steal hurricane relief funds from the poor to enrich themselves," writes Bill Quigley. ----- Call to Bridge West-Muslim Divide http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111306G.shtml A cross-cultural group of 20 prominent world figures has called for urgent efforts to heal the growing divide between Muslim and Western societies. The chief causes of the rift are not religion or history, they say, but recent political developments, notably the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ----- Oil Revenues Fuel Resistance to US http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111306E.shtml Iran, Venezuela and Russia are flush with petroleum money, a buffer allowing them to challenge perceived American dominance. ----- The New York Times | The Corporate End Run http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111306F.shtml "Corporate profits are at record levels. The Dow, too, has climbed past its high-water mark from the dot-com era. Executives reap bigger and bigger paydays, even as wages have stagnated. Meanwhile, the widening investigation into stock-option backdating reminds us that the corporate malfeasance era was much more than just a couple of bad apples like Enron and WorldCom," explains the New York Times. ----- FOCUS | Truthout: Impeachment and the Table http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111306Z.shtml Truthout believes that by stating flatly that "impeachment is off the table," incoming Speaker Pelosi and incoming Chairman Conyers appear to have erred rather substantially. Impeachment, of course, is a matter of Constitutional law, not personal discretion on the part of individual lawmakers. The pre-emptive nature of the decision by Pelosi and Conyers stands in sharp contrast to every principal of law enforcement. Congress - whether controlled by Democrats or Republicans - has a solemn duty to uphold and when necessary enforce the law. ----- Scott Galindez | Howard Dean's 50-State Strategy Pays Off http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111306J.shtml Scott Galindez writes: "The chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), Rahm Emanuel, stormed out of Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman Howard Dean's office in May after an expletive-filled tirade against the DNC's spending too much money too early in 'non-battleground states.' Emanuel was concerned the DNC would be broke and not on the playing field in November. The opposite was true, and the playing field was larger due to the early investment." ----- Baghdad's Morgues So Full, Bodies Being Turned Away http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111306K.shtml With no space to store bodies, some victims of the sectarian slaughter are not being kept for relatives to claim, but photographed, numbered and quickly interred in government cemeteries. ----- Paul Krugman | True Blue Populists http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111306P.shtml Paul Krugman writes: "Senator George Allen of Virginia is understandably shocked and despondent. Just a year ago, a National Review cover story declared that his 'down-home persona' made him 'quite possibly the next president of the United States.' Instead, his political career seems over." ----- Sunday: 159 Killed in Iraq Including 3 US Troops http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111306L.shtml ----- Senator Boxer to Focus on Global Warming http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111306D.shtml ----- Jacques Sapir | What's Not Going to Change: After the Electoral Earthquake http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/111306H.shtml French political analyst Jacques Sapir warns Le Monde readers that the American political tendencies that produced the Bush administration are neither dead nor altogether absent from the Democratic Party. ----- Insurgent Activity Soaring in "Forgotten War" in Afghanistan http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/111306R.shtml ----- Global Growth in Carbon Emissions Is "Out of Control" http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/111306EA.shtml ----- GOP Likely to Lose Battle Over Offshore Drilling http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/111306EB.shtml ----- Helen Caldicott | Credo http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/111306WA.shtml "I believe that women have the fate of the Earth in the palm of their hands. Some 53 percent of us are women and we really are pretty wimpish. We don't step up to the plate - and it's time we took over," says Helen Caldicott. "I think men have had their turn and we're in a profound mess." _________________________________ Pelosi Wants Murtha as Maj Leader MEDIA COUNSELS DEMS TO GO SLOW MORE MONEY FOR IRAQ DEMANDED MY MEDIA TOUR OF THE BAY AREA http://www.newsdissector.com/blog/2006/11/13/pelosi-wants-murtha-as-maj-leader/ _________________________________ http://jablankfort@earthlink.net: NO CAKEWALK IN THE PARK? The writer, de Borchgrave, has a very checkered history, but obviously has very good contacts. This, however, seems more of a pattern of disinformation, whether or not intended as such, to make Iran back down -- or to rationalize a pending Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear sites, which following the applause to the new "more pro-Israel than ever" Congress, will lead to the same response within Iraq and the Gulf. What is required is that these neocon criminals be made to "walk the plank." The blood of Iraqis and Americans on their hands and yet not a word of criticism do we hear about them, and not just from the Democrats, which is predictable, but from the leading anti-war groups, such as they are, ANSWER and UFPJ NO CAKEWALK IN THE PARK? ... By Arnaud de Borchgrave THE WASHINGTON TIMES ... Published November 13, 2006 "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" began in 1918 as a comic strip featuring unusual, hard-to-believe facts from around the world. Today it is a Web site for a global community that combs cyberspace for events so strange and unusual it is often hard to believe they are taking place. These days, you don't have to go further afield than Washington , D.C. More: http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20061112-105859-3756r.htm _________________________________ Submitted by: .ron corvuswire@verizon.net CHINA SUB STALKED U.S. FLEET http://washingtontimes.com/national/20061113-121539-3317r.htm _________________________________ Submitted by: http://eddiestinson@gmail.com Twenty Years After Iran-Contra, Washington's Role In Nicaragua Still a Scandal ... By Mark Weisbrot [snip] ... Washington is trying to capitalize on its past terrorism, combined with present threats, to achieve the same result as in 1990. US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez warned that "relations with our country have been limited and damaged when the Sandinistas have been in power" and Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher warned of another economic embargo and the cutoff of vital remittances that Nicaraguans here send home to their families. The US Ambassador to Nicaragua Paul Trivelli has also breached protocol by openly warning that the United States would "reevaluate relations" with Nicaragua if Ortega, who has first place in the polls with 35 percent, wins. U.S. officials' intervention has gone so far as to prompt a public rebuke from the Organization of American States, who asked them to stay out of the election. Meanwhile, millions of US taxpayer dollars are funding "democracy promotion" activities in Nicaragua, which have previously been used to influence elections there. And TV commercials show footage of corpses from the 1980's war, a warning of what might happen if Nicaraguans vote the "wrong" way. Full article >> http://www.cepr.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=360&Itemid=45 _________________________________ NOTE from Diane "The email you sent with the following subject has NOT BEEN DELIVERED: Subject: HOW ISRAEL PUT GAZA CIVILIANS IN FIRING LINE" Nice -- suddenly, so many NOT BEEN DELIVEREDs Monday after sending: HOW ISRAEL PUT GAZA CIVILIANS IN FIRING LINE, in the lead of Diane's News Clips and sent to a separate media list from OpEdNews. Facts and detailed information blocked, the reports of mostly women and children, innocent civilians, who live in Gaza in constant, unrelenting fear each day and night of being murdered IN THEIR SLEEP inside of what's left of their homes. Nice job brownies. These atrocities must be worth the high-end corporate blessing of the US, our bought and sold soulless Congress. Blocked: so-called, news organizations. What a joke, if it wasn't so tragic. "America, home of the brave." Think about that you MSMs when you watch "It's A Wonderful World" this year, when you shower gifts on your own family and friends and receive them in return. Don't think for a minute that what we not just allow, but encourage, fund, i.e., your tax money John Q, doesn't inflame the entire Islamic, and anyone anywhere with a conscious, world, isn't the crux of the 'hate America' problem - just because most of the US media hides it. And there's -- who among us feels empowered enough to have an effect on this godless US policy? Does the end justify the means? The way I see it, we can at least try to do the right thing whenever the opportunity presents itself, difficult, I know, because letting go of some really attractive options isn't always going to happen as long as we're human and not divine. Do you recall a certain experience in grade school?: "Now you don't have to get every answer correct, but if I see that you've really tried hard, you will be permitted to pass." To be honest, my own life grades suck. I imagine I work my tail off to compensate. Forgive me for rambling -- it's the frustration. _________________________________ Consumer Reports BABIES & KIDS PLAYSKOOL RECALLS 255K TOY TOOL BENCHES MOVE FOLLOWS TWO DEATHS In cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Playskool is recalling about 255,000 Team Talkin' Tool Bench toys following the deaths of two young children who suffocated when oversized plastic toy nails sold with the tool bench toys became forcefully lodged in their throats, according to a statement released by the CPSC. [READ THE FULL STORY] click here _________________________________ http://dahrjamailiraq.com/hard_news | http://www.vanityfair.com/ _________________________________ ~~~~~ Audio tools for video editors Audio editing is one of the more difficult things you can do on a computer. Trust me, I know! It can be particularly difficult when you're focused on creating video. Bad audio can ruin a video. That's where Adobe's Soundbooth comes in. It is an audio-editing program for video editors. Sounds strange, eh? Well, it is designed to make quick work of editing audio for movies. The program isn't out yet. But you can download a trial version. It doesn't have all the features of the final version, though. It works on Windows and Intel-based Macs. Check the requirements before you download it. >> http://labs.adobe.com Be sure to listen to me Monday through Friday. Use my map to find me near you http://www.komando.com/listen/index.aspx _________________________________ eHEALTHY NEWS An All-Purpose Healing Method Provides Remarkable Benefits - Including relieving common stomach problems like gastric reflux from a hiatal hernia. click here ----- Sunshine Works for Congestive Heart Failure - Vitamin D defeats CHF by increasing the natural anti-inflammatories present in your body. http://www.mercola.com/2006/apr/25/sunshine_works_for_congestive_heart_failure.htm _________________________________ VIDEO: Birdon | United States | 3:00 | Chieh Huang Get existential with a bird trapped in a cage. What are the bars that imprison us? Will we ever know life outside them? http://www.atomfilms.com/af/content/birdon _________________________________ NationalGeographic.com http://lava.nationalgeographic.com/pod/ _________________________________ NASA Astronomy picture of the day http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html _________________________________ The average man is a conformist, accepting miseries and disasters with the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain. ~ Colin Wilson