Image by openDemocracy via FlickrJan Cienski - June 7, 2010 06:35
The cockpit recording shows pilots knew about poor visibility. So why did they keep descending?
http://www.globalpost.com
Israel Raises Nuke Threat to Iran
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/node/29240
Yet this is a particularly infelicitous time for Netanyahu to be raising the imaginary specter of an Iranian nuclear weapon -- which doesn't exist and may very well never exist -- for two reasons.
First, the world is starting to pay much more attention to Israel's nuclear weapons, which certainly do exist, in great quantity. (The best estimates often run as high as 200.)
Three Israeli submarines are heading to the Persian Gulf, where they will be stationed permanently, just off the coast of Iran. They can stay at sea for about 50 days and stay submerged for at least a week. They're equipped with cruise missiles that can reach any target in Iran. And some of those cruise missiles are equipped with the most advanced nuclear warheads in the Israeli arsenal.
Even if Iranian missiles were being smuggled into Gaza, they would be mere firecrackers compared to the nuclear missiles that Israel plans to keep permanently in range of Teheran and every other city in Iran.
What Lethal Arrogance Looks Like
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/node/29251
The recent invasion of Lebanon (not to mention the one before that), the invasion of Gaza and the attack this week on the relief flotilla all represent almost wholly unjustified acts of aggression on Israel's part. While any state can always muster up some pretext for war ("Saddam has WMD!"), and Israel has done so in each of these cases, what has become clear is that the country has left the earlier epoch of its history in which it fought mostly defensive wars of existential urgency (1948, 1967, 1973), and has transitioned to an era in which it is now fighting rudely aggressive wars, using outrageous weapons and tactics, and offering increasingly weak justifications for those wars (which justifications are anyway are rooted in the Palestinian people's reaction to the ongoing provocation of an illegal and oppressive occupation).
Israeli raids: The view from Gaza
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/middle-east/100604/israeli-raids-the-view-gaza
The majority of families live without electricity for at least eight hours a day. Most get by on basic food rations, such as flour, sugar, rice, oil and canned meat, which are provided by the United Nations. The sick are often forced to cross into Egypt, on the rare occasion that border is open to them, for medical treatment not available in Gaza. Construction materials desperately needed to repair homes damaged by the Israeli military offensive and air strikes are prohibited under the blockade and often scavenged and recycled from destroyed buildings.
Even fish, the lifeblood of this coastal community, is in short supply as fishermen are largely prevented from their trade by the Israeli naval blockade.
USA: Acronym for United States of Assassinations?
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/sherwood-ross/29279/usa-acronym-for-united-states-of-assassinations
The Terror Of The Situation: Watching America Unfold
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/node/29271
The Bush/Cheney administration considered themselves above international laws, and they surrounded themselves with people who supported their delusions. Authoritarians are always right; no discussion. While the White House Lawyer told Bush that he did not need to follow the Geneva Convention (torture) rules because Afghanistan was a “failed state.” But nobody bothered to tell Bush or Cheney that we were not at war with Afghanistan, we were at war with a small group of freedom-fighters. With the Military Commissions Act (2006), they wrote legislation which the rubber-stamping Republican Congress passed into law and granted them immunity from prosecution of any war crimes. Chutzpah !!
We are watching the unfolding of American Democracy in real time. The First Amendment to the Constitution insures that Congress cannot make any law that limits free speech. “Speech” was not well defined in the Constitution but most every dictionary defines it as a vocalization, produced by people. But the Supreme Court has expanded the definition so the act of speaking can lawfully be attributed not only to people, those with voices, but to include those who let their money do the talking. Is this a great country or what ?
WHO is in Bed with Big Pharma?
http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2010/06/06/who-is-in-bed-with-big-pharma
Two highly credible agencies are accusing the World Health Organization (WHO) of exaggerating the degree of threat caused by the H1N1 virus and failing to disclose that some of those assessing the potential damage were paid consultants for–you guessed–Roche and GlaxoSmithKline.
( It's odd when 'Intelligence' is the last to know. Jane Burgermeister is the investigative reporter who filed charges and blew the whistle on the scam )
The War on Drugs and the Corruption of Law Enforcement
http://www.chimpsternation.com/forum?c=showthread&ThreadID=4533
It's obvious to all but the most brain dead that the War on Drugs, declared by Richard Nixon to be used as a political weapon against his enemies, has failed on almost all fronts.
As a result of this drug war, there are millions of non-violent drug users rotting in prison with any prospect of a decent life after they get released dashed because of a felony criminal conviction. In addition, there are millions who have been denied public housing or government assistance in getting an education simply because of a drug law violation.
One of the worst effects of the drug war is the corruption of government officials, including law enforcement officials.
Ex-Cop Goes Rogue on the Drug War and Tells Pot Smokers How to Outsmart the Police
From Comments :
1 / "The religious looneys who thump their Bibles trying to judge and exert control over others lives are addicted to their religion, and as such, really have no right to judge and criticize others who simply use other methods of dealing with their difficulties. "
2 / "The "War On Drugs" has never been about eliminating drugs - just as the "War On Terror" isn't about actually eliminating Terrorists! It is about the lawfully justified projection of military power into other nations and generating the much needed chaos to achieve their coveted "New World Order" System.
One should actually realize that the War On Drugs has been utilized to internationally destabilize other nations through the supposedly justified application of International Military Forces - within their political borders without their consent. It is only sustained at home as a pretext upon which to base these otherwise unjustified military incursions."
Analysis: the awesome power of the illegal high
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/worldview/100527/drug-war-policy-legalization
“Drugs win drug war.”
That was the prescient headline of a 1998 dispatch in The Onion. “Despite all our efforts,” the satirical newspaper reported, “the U.S. government has proven no match for the awesome power of the illegal high.”
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/commerce/100601/china-labor-migrant-suicide-information-foxconn
- In an open letter this month, prominent Chinese sociologists called on the government to reform the country’s production model, which depends on churning through low-paid quasi-legal migrants. China has an estimated 150 million to 200 million domestic migrant workers.
- “We have made them live a migrant life that is rootless and helpless, where families are separated, parents have no one to support them, and children are not taken care of,” the scholars wrote. “In short, this is a life without dignity.”
- ( Meanwhile, in the "Free" West, cross border immigration is linked to employment contracts, enforced expulsion,denial of workers' benefits...and such ' enlightened' practices which often amount to slavery. Those dastardly Chinese ! )
Many South Koreans indifferent about North
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/south-korea/100602/north-korea-threat-kim-jong-il
College students’ apathy toward the impoverished communist state is acute
“If you show a map of North Korea, he’s going to have a hard time telling you the cities or even the main rivers, which is amazing when you consider how tiny the peninsula is.”
Sung Han-na, a student at Han Se University, says hostile views toward the North are rare among South Koreans:
Kim So-yeon, a 23-year-old liberal and Joongang Law University student,“I’m one of the supporters of unification, so I try to speak about North Korea in a friendly way,”.
Kim wants the North to keep its nuclear weapons. She thinks it’s a justified deterrent against U.S. aggression; does not believe the North sank the Cheonan.
Vietghanistan
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/node/29278
Mormons lure Korean converts with English lessons
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/south-korea/100517/mormon-missionaries-seoul-teach-english
Welcome to the Media Consortium!
http://www.themediaconsortium.org
The Media Consortium is a network of the country’s leading independent journalism organizations.
Consortium Report
- Weekly Mulch: Oil Spill Could Bring Mass Extinction to the Gulf Coast
by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium blogger A cap placed over a severed pipe is siphoning some oil from the broken BP well in the Gulf Coast, the company said today. The company’s CEO said this morning on CBS that it was possible that this fix could capture up to 90% of the oil, but that it [...... - Weekly Diaspora: Thousands Protest SB1070; Arizona Gov. Braces for Lawsuits
by Erin Rosa, Media Consortium blogger Over Memorial Day weekend, tens of thousands of people marched in Phoenix, AZ to protest SB1070, a law that immigrants to carry papers at all times and makes it possible for any police officer to detain on suspicion of immigration status alone. At RaceWir... - Weekly Pulse: Dr. George Tiller’s Assassin Was No Lone Wolf
by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger When Scott Roeder shot Dr. George Tiller in church last year, media accounts described him as a lone wolf. Roeder acted alone on the day of the assassination, but he was part of a community of career anti-choice terrorists, as Amanda Robb reports in Ms... - Special Report: Israel Attacks Gaza-Bound Flotilla; World Responds.
By Amanda Anderson, Media Consortium blogger At approximately 4:00 a.m. Monday morning, the Freedom Flotilla, an international aid convoy headed for the Gaza strip, was attacked in international waters about 40 miles off the coast of Gaza by Israeli commandos. The convoy consisted of six ships with ... - Weekly Audit: Why Democrats Must Focus on Jobs Now
by Zach Carter, Media Consortium blogger The job market in its worst state since the Great Depression and is putting tremendous strain on millions of Americans. Without action from Washington, D.C., the unemployment rate will remain elevated for years to come, and almost certainly above 9 percent th... - Weekly Mulch: Obama’s Responsibility for the BP Oil Spill
by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium blogger President Barack Obama is in Louisiana today, and BP is saying it will know in 48 hours if its attempt to “top kill” the leaking oil well in the Gulf Coast by pouring mud and cement over it has worked. If the scramble to stop the leak has ended, the slog... - Weekly Diaspora: Obama Deploys Troops to Border Amid Rising Civil Disobedience
by Erin Rosa, Media Consortium blogger President Barack Obama announced on Tuesday that he would be deploying 1,200 National Guard troops to the Mexican border to beef up security along the Río Bravo. This surprise move has garnered criticism from immigrant rights supporters, who argue that it will... - Weekly Pulse: Prostate Health is Girly and Other Health Care Paradoxes
by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger This week’s health care news was full of mind-bending paradoxes: Prostate health is girly, abstinence-only education works through failure, “principled” libertarian Rand Paul would protect all-white lunch counters but ban private abor... - Weekly Audit: Want Economic Justice? Then it’s Time to Act.
by Zach Carter, Media Consortium blogger On Thursday, the U.S. Senate passed a financial reform package that includes a handful of important reforms, but it won’t fundamentally change the relationship between banks and society. Wall Street still has a vice grip on our economy, and lawmakers st... - Weekly Mulch: BP Oil Hits Louisiana—But How Far Away is the Next Disaster?
by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium blogger Oil has hit shore in Louisiana, and despite BP’s best efforts to keep the media away, reporters can now touch the greasy stuff with their hands and feet. The onrush of oil into the Gulf has continued for over a month now, and while BP is still trying...
Recommended articles on media, politics and more...
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_b.png?x-id=091d6cd0-5f94-4878-a70c-268fc562477e)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment