Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a Washington ODE by William Blum

by William Blum
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
http://antiempirereport.blogspot.com
www.killinghope.org
July 3, 2009

Much ado about nothing?

What is there about the Iranian election of June 12 that has led to it being one of the leading stories in media around the world every day since? Elections whose results are seriously challenged have taken place in most countries at one time or another in recent decades. Countless Americans believe that the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 were stolen by the Republicans, and not just inside the voting machines and in the counting process, but prior to the actual voting as well with numerous Republican Party dirty tricks designed to keep poor and black voters off voting lists or away from polling stations. The fact that large numbers of Americans did not take to the streets day after day in protest, as in Iran, is not something we can be proud of. Perhaps if the CIA, the Agency for International Development (AID), several US government-run radio stations, and various other organizations supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (which was created to serve as a front for the CIA, literally) had been active in the United States, as they have been for years in Iran, major street protests would have taken place in the United States.

Cynthia McKinney – Prisoner 88794 call Day 2 from Prison

Dandelion Salad

Updated: July 4, 2009 added transcript

RunCynthiaRun
July 03, 2009

Cynthia McKinney calls in to WBAIX.org, now as Prisoner 88794 during her 2nd day in Prison. She tells the story in more detail and talks about the people she’s meet in prison.

Listen to the latest breaking news and protest on
http://www.wbaix.org/

more about “Cynthia McKinney – Prisoner 88794 cal…“, posted with vodpod

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from Anita Stewart

BREAKING: From John Judge, Cynthia’s press secretary during her Presidential campaign:

I had another call from Cynthia McKinney who has been told she will remain imprisoned in Ramale, Israel until Monday, July 6 at least along with many others. She asked me to pass along this detail. Among their aid group were three Muslim women from Bahrain who spoke neither English nor Hebrew, and two men from Bahrain. All five of these people were released from custody and flown back to Bahrain in the private plane of the King of Bahrain Sheikh Hamad ibn ‘Isa Al Khalifah, where they were welcomed as national heroes.

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Updated

Letter from an Israeli Jail, by Cynthia McKinney

Written by Free Gaza Team
Freegaza
Saturday, 04 July 2009 13:47

This is Cynthia McKinney and I’m speaking from an Israeli prison cellblock in Ramle. [I am one of] the Free Gaza 21, human rights activists currently imprisoned for trying to take medical supplies to Gaza, building supplies – and even crayons for children, I had a suitcase full of crayons for children. While we were on our way to Gaza the Israelis threatened to fire on our boat, but we did not turn around. The Israelis high-jacked and arrested us because we wanted to give crayons to the children in Gaza. We have been detained, and we want the people of the world to see how we have been treated just because we wanted to deliver humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.

UN Expert denounces seizure of aid boat by Israeli forces

Dandelion Salad

Written by Free Gaza Movement

Friday, 03 July 2009 01:13
Last Updated on Friday, 03 July 2009 01:14
2 July 2009

GENEVA – The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Richard Falk, denounced the unlawful naval seizure by an Israeli gunboat on the high seas of a ship carrying medicine and reconstruction material to blockaded people of Gaza.

“This Israeli action implements its cruel blockade of the entire Palestinian population of Gaza, in violation of Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention that prohibits any form of collective punishment directed at an occupied people”, said the human rights expert.

Behind the Honduran Coup By Alberto Vallente Thorensen

Dandelion Salad

By Alberto Vallente Thorensen
ICH
July 01, 2009 “Counterpunch“

In the classic Greek tragedy, Prometheus Bound, the playwright observes: “Of wrath’s disease wise words the healers are.” Shortly put, this story is about Prometheus, a titan who was punished by the almighty gods for having given humanity the capacity to create fire. This generated a conflict, which ended with Prometheus’ banishment and exile.

Currently, there is a tragedy being staged in the Central American republic Honduras. Meanwhile, the rest of humanity follows the events, as spectators of an outdated event in Latin America, which could set a very unfortunate undemocratic precedent for the region. In their rage, the almighty gods of Honduran politics have punished an aspiring titan, President Manuel Zelaya, for attempting to give Hondurans the gift of participatory democracy. This generated a constitutional conflict that resulted in president Zelaya’s banishment and exile. In this tragedy, words are once again the healers of enraged minds. If we, the spectators, are not attentive to these words, we risk succumbing intellectually, willfully accepting the facts presented by the angry coup-makers and Honduran gods of politics.

In this respect, media coverage of the recent military coup in Honduras is often misleading; even when it is presenting a critical standpoint towards the events. Concentrating on which words are used to characterize the policies conducted by President Zelaya might seem trivial at first sight. But any familiarity to the notion of ‘manufacturing of consent’, and how slight semantic tricks can be used to manipulate public opinion and support, is enough to realize the magnitude of certain omissions. Such oversights rely on the public’s widespread ignorance about some apparently minor legal intricacies in the Honduran Constitution.

[...]

via Behind the Honduran Coup     : Information Clearing House – ICH

see

Military Using “Brutal” Force Against Anti-Coup Protests in Honduras + Father Roy Bourgeois

Covering (up) the coup in Honduras – the BBC does its bit for the Empire by William Bowles

Military Coup Honduras Zelaya

“Super Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire” by Stephen Lendman

Dandelion Salad

by Stephen Lendman
Global Research, July 3, 2009

Review of Michael Hudson’s Book

First written in 1972, it was updated in a 2003 edition that’s every bit as relevant now – thus this review focusing on Hudson’s new preface, introduction, and detailed account of the book’s theme.

He revisited it in his 2008-09 Project Censored award- winning article titled: “Economic Meltdown – The ‘Dollar Glut’ is What Finances America’s Global Military Build-up” in which he explains the following – the “inter-related dynamics” of:

– “surplus (US) dollars pouring into the rest of the world for yet further financial speculation and corporate takeovers;”

– global central banks “recyl(ing) these dollar inflows (into) US Treasury bonds to finance the federal US budget deficit; and most important (but most suppressed in the US media),”

– “the military character of the US payments deficit and the domestic federal budget deficit.”

Frank Kucinich, brother of U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, dies at age 60

Dandelion Salad

Our sincere condolences and sympathies to Dennis Kucinich and his family on the passing of his brother, Frank.

by Grant Segall
The Plain Dealer
July 2, 2009

Flower

Originally uploaded by Lorri37

[...]

Frank Kucinich, 60, died suddenly on Tuesday at his long-time home, the Ohio Veterans Home in Sandusky. He was the third Kucinich sibling to die since December 2007.

[...]

via Frank Kucinich, brother of U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, dies at age 60 – cleveland.com.

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Distinguished Veteran, Frank Kucinich, Brother of Congressman, Passes Away

Congressman Dennis Kucinich
Washington, July 1, 2009

The distinguished veteran, Frank Kucinich, beloved brother of Congressman Dennis Kucinich, died suddenly yesterday, June 30, at the Ohio Veterans Home, where had been a resident for many years. He was 60 years old.

Frank Kucinich, Jr. was a United States Marine Corps combat veteran of The Vietnam War, completing his service as a lance corporal.  After his military service, he began a lifelong commitment to fellow veterans, assisting many local veterans organizations in their activities.

Through his military service, he made many friends and inspired those with whom he served. He was recently nominated to the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.

This past week he accompanied his brother, Dennis, to a reception at the White House where he met President Obama and Vice President Biden.

“Thank you for serving,” the President said to Frank, “I’m proud of you.”

“Frank told me that was one of the proudest moments of his life,” Dennis Kucinich said. “He had a great love of country, which informed every moment of his life. His patriotism was an inspiration to everyone in our family and to everyone he met.”

That was the second time that Frank saw President Obama up close. Frank also attended the President’s Inauguration in January as a guest of his brother Dennis.

Frank was the beloved brother of Dennis, Gary, Theresa, Larry, the late Perry and the late Beth Ann who passed away in December of 2007 and November of 2008, respectively.

The Kucinich family will receive friends at the Golubski Funeral Home, East 65th and Fullerton Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, on Sunday July 5th between 4 PM and 9 PM.  Funeral Mass will be held at 9:30 AM on Monday, July 6th at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, E. 65th and Forman Avenue. Military honors and interment at Calvary Cemetery will proceed the Mass.

from the archives:

Beth Ann Kucinich, Sister of Congressman Kucinich dies

Perry J. Kucinich, beloved brother 12/11/56 - 12/19/07