Obama’s New Bank Giveaway, by Michael Hudson

Dandelion Salad

by Michael Hudson
Global Research, January 29, 2009

Is this administration’s bank policy Bush-3 – or Clinton-5 or Reagan 8?

After

(1) threatening for eight years that the prospect of a trillion-dollar deficit spread over a generation or so is sufficient reason to stiff Social Security recipients and abolish debts to the nation’s retirees, and

(2) after the Bush administration provided $8 trillion over the past three months in cash-for-trash swaps of good Treasury bonds for Wall Street junk derivatives, the Obama Administration is now speaking of

(3) some $2 to $4 trillion more to be given in just the next week or so.

Not a single Republican Congressman went along, just as Rep. Boehmer refused to support the Bush bailout on that fatal Friday when Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama debated each other over marginal issues not touching on the giveaway, which both candidates passionately supported. The Party of Wealth sees the political handwriting on the wall, for which the Party of Labor seems happy to take all responsibility. This probably is the only place where I’d like to see “bipartisanship.” Watch the campaign contributions flow for an index of how well this will pay off for the Democrats!

Nests In Hell, by Rand Clifford

by Rand Clifford
featured writer
Dandelion Salad
January 31, 2009

“American leadership is good for America and for the world.”

So reads the introduction to the Project For The New American Century (PNAC), perhaps the most important document ever ignored by so many impacted millions-the neocon blueprint for American “full-spectrum domination” of the world. “Benign global hegemony” is their tender euphemism for it, and the hegemony business is not going as planned. American leadership for America hasn’t been so good, either.

Commonly accepted accounting principles show America bankrupt, our federal government’s net worth at negative $60 trillion, roughly. American leadership has turned our government into a special-interest Hydra owned and ruled by financial gangsters, the industrial military complex, and the American Israeli Public Awareness Committee (AIPAC). Foreign creditors are about all that’s keeping American government from insolvency. But the global financial contagion effectively spawned by American leadership threatens that funding; alternatives promise hyperinflation, collapse of the dollar…. Americans are accelerating toward surpassing even the Great Depression in terms of sheer misery and decay and loss. Right now we seem to be running on fumes of hope.

Defense Department Establishes Civilian Expeditionary Workforce

Dandelion Salad

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2009 – The Defense Department is forming a civilian expeditionary workforce that will be trained and equipped to deploy overseas in support of military missions worldwide, according to department officials.

The intent of the program “is to maximize the use of the civilian workforce to allow military personnel to be fully utilized for operational requirements,” according to a Defense Department statement.

Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England signed Defense Department Directive 1404.10, which outlines and provides guidance about the program, on Jan. 23.

[...]

via DefenseLink News Article: Defense Department Establishes Civilian Expeditionary Workforce.

h/t: CLG

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North and South Korea stand on ‘the brink of war’

Dandelion Salad

By David Eimer in Beijing
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Last Updated: 11:56PM GMT 30 Jan 2009

North and South Korea stand on the ‘brink of war’ as Kim Jong-il’s tears up the non-aggression pact

In a significant escalation of tensions, North Korea cancelled all military and political agreements after accusing Seoul of aggressive posturing.

Pyongyang’s decision to nullify all accords increases the prospect of an armed confrontation on the Peninsula, where over a million soldiers face each other across the Demilitarised Zone that divides the two Koreas.

North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea blamed the South for pushing the two countries “to the brink of a war”.

via North and South Korea stand on ‘the brink of war’ – Telegraph.

h/t: ICH

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Obama: A Strong Middle Class = A Strong America

Dandelion Salad

whitehouse

President Obama and Vice President Biden speak about the new Middle Class Task Force dedicated to raising the living standards of middle class families. Learn more at http://AStrongMiddleClass.gov.

(This video is public domain)

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Wither Wall Street, by Ralph Nader

Rep: Foreclosed owners should squat in their own homes

Tax Solution to Wretched Greed, by Joel S. Hirschhorn

The Economy Sucks and or Collapse 2

Barack Obama on Dandelion Salad

Bill Moyers Journal: Bombing Civilians + The Cost of Ignorance

Dandelion Salad

Bill Moyers Journal
1.30.09

Marilyn Young and Pierre Sprey

Bill Moyers sits down with historian Marilyn Young, author of the forthcoming BOMBING CIVILIANS: A TWENTIETH CENTURY HISTORY and former Pentagon official Pierre Sprey, who developed military planes and helped found the military reform movement.

via Bill Moyers Journal . Watch & Listen | PBS.

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Vartan Gregorian

Bill Moyers talks the twelfth president of Carnegie Corporation of New York Vartan Gregorian about the perilous state of higher education in America. Gregorian is the former president of the New York Public Library and Brown University.

via Bill Moyers Journal . Watch & Listen | PBS.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

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CIA-ISI Jihadi “Frankenstein” Sows Chaos, Reaps Death

US air raid fuels Afghan anger

Biden vows more strikes inside Pakistan

Obama Allows Air Strikes In Pakistan! 17 Killed + Obama ordered Waziristan airstrikes

Barack Obama on Dandelion Salad

Sinclair Thomson: Bolivia’s constitution and land reform

Dandelion Salad

TheRealNews

Thomson: The recently passed constitution in Bolivia marks significant concessions by Morales

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Historic referendum passes in Bolivia

More at http://therealnews.com/t/in…

Thompson: New Bolivian constitution marks first recognition of indigenous autonomy in 500 years

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Hugo Chavez on Bolivia: The Yes Vote Triumphed

DEA quits Bolivia on Morales’ order – MarketWatch h/t: ICH

Mosaic News – 1/30/09: World News From The Middle East

Dandelion Salad

Warning

This video may contain images depicting the reality and horror of war/violence and should only be viewed by a mature audience.

linktv

Mosaic needs your help! Donate here: http://linktv.org/contribute

Headlines coming soon. Produced for Link TV by Jamal Dajani.

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Israel faces calls for Gaza war crimes probe + Turkish PM clashes with Israel

Israel-Palestine-Gaza-Occupation

Gaza Crisis Appeal

http://www.bigcampaign.org/

SOS Amazon! – “World Social Forum” Lends Indigenous Leaders and Supporters Opportunity to Defend Amazon Rainforest

by Shelley Bluejay Pierce
featured writer
Dandelion Salad
January 31, 2009

Led by Indigenous people from all across Latin America, over 1000 participants formed a human banner, using their bodies, to draw attention to the increasingly precarious situation of the Amazon rainforest. The wording was formed around the massive silhouette of an indigenous warrior taking aim with a bow and arrow. photo courtesy of Lou Dematteis/Spectral Q.

BELEM, Brazil- As world leaders focus on severe economic crisis in their homelands, an estimated 100,000 activists traveled from all over the world to attend the World Social Forum in Brazil. Critical environmental impacts in the Amazon rainforest regions brought Indigenous tribal representatives from across Latin America, environmentalists and supporters together for the multi-day event. One full day during the World Social Forum will focus on issues impacting the Amazon rainforest and the resident tribal nations who dwell there.

Prior to constructing the human-banner, Brazil’s leading Amazonian Indigenous organization, COIAB, released this statement:

“With the permission of our ancestors’ spirits, we indigenous peoples are here with our friends from all corners of the earth. We build this symbol with our bodies as the cry of living beings from this green forest, this planet, for our continuity as humans and diverse creatures. The symbol of the bow and arrow has three meanings: The first, our aim that every man, woman, and child will decide to care for our planet; The second, the position of defending the rights of indigenous peoples, of nature, of the planet, and of our home the Amazon; The third, to send a message to the world so that each of us helps to protect our home, our air, our water, our food. The Datsiparabu ceremony is the purification of our minds, our spirit, our soul, and our hearts. Save the Amazon!”

These words and their message resonate with Indigenous peoples worldwide who face the destruction of their lands, culture and traditions. Mining operations, agricultural development and the endless grab for unoccupied land have forced millions of indigenous people worldwide from their traditional homelands and traditional ways.

Rep: Foreclosed owners should squat in their own homes

Dandelion Salad

David Edwards and Stephen C. Webster
The Raw Story
Friday January 30, 2009

If you’re poor and the bank is coming for your home, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur has a plan for you.

Just squat, she says.

Yes, this Ohio Democrat is actually encouraging her financially distressed constituents whose homes have been foreclosed upon, to simply stay put.

[...]

via The Raw Story | Rep: Foreclosed owners should squat in their own homes.

h/t: Speaking Truth to Power

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FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

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Kucinich: Save America’s Homes

The Economy Sucks and or Collapse 2

Bring the Guard Home “It’s The Law” Press conference

Dandelion Salad

Thanks Tyler for sending this to DS.

www.whynotnews.org
Bring the Guard Home “It’s The Law”

11:18 – Jan 25, 2009

“It is clear that the mission that Congress authorized no longer exists. The President has no current or permanent legal authority to keep Guard members in Iraq.” ~ Rep. Michael Fisher, Vermont State House

“Bring the Guard Home! It’s the law.” is a national movement of state campaigns to end the unlawful overseas deployment of our National Guard.

State campaigns are active in Alaska, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Vermont, Virginia, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington D.C., Wisconsin, and new states are joining all the time.

National sponsors include AfterDowningStreet.org, Cities for Peace, CODEPINK, Courage to Resist, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Liberty Tree, Military Families Speak Out, Peace Action, Progressive Democrats of America, United for Peace and Justice, Veterans for Peace, and U.S. Labor Against the War.

For More Information: http://www.bringtheguardhome.org/

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13:56 – Jan 27, 2009