Kucinich Requests Support for Ecuadorian Democracy

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by Congressman Dennis Kucinich
Washington, Sep 30, 2010

After the President of Ecuador was injured in what he called an attempted Coup D’état, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today wrote to President Obama, urging him to make it clear that the United States will only recognize the democratically elected government of Ecuador led by President Rafael Correa.

The full text of the letter follows:

Coup In Ecuador + President Rafael Correa Rescued/Coup Thwarted by Eva Golinger

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/

Updated

by Eva Golinger
Postcards from the Revolution
4 PM
Sept. 30, 2010

EDITOR’S NOTE

Follow @Evagolinger on Twitter for up to the minute updates on the Ecuador situation.

A third coup d’etat is underway against a nation member of the Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas (ALBA), a Latin American bloc of nations that opposes US hegemony in the region and has created new mechanisms for trade and integration based on principles of solidarity and independence from imperial powers.

Reflecting on Soros by Mark A. Goldman (2009)

by Mark A. Goldman
Guest Writer
Dandelion Salad
originally published at www.gpln.com on Nov. 7, 2009
Sept. 30, 2010

I’m writing in response to the George Soros lectures recently given at the CEU and made available at the Financial Times web site.

I have a degree in economics and an MBA in Finance, both from highly regarded schools. It’s been 40 years since I got my Wharton MBA and it’s taken me almost that long to figure out that my degree was designed more to help me make money for people, (many of whom extract more from society than they contribute to it), than it was to help me understand the dysfunctional institutions they own or manage.

I think Soros made some excellent observations during his lectures and his ambitious attempt to formulate a new economic theory is noteworthy. My view is that his observations are not only insightful, as they obviously contributed to his success in business, but I think his theory, once expanded, will be helpful in preventing another debacle like the one we’re going through now. In any event, he’s right that something needs to change, as most of the economists we hear from in the main stream media operate inside a box that would best be dismantled. I think he made that point as well.

Obama Administration Should Oppose Any Attempted Coup in Ecuador: CEPR Co-Director + Eva Golinger: Coup D’état in Ecuador

Image by thejourney1972 via Flickr

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/

www.cepr.net
September 30, 2010

For Immediate Release: September 30, 2010
Contact: Dan Beeton, 202-239-1460

Washington, D.C. – There are currently reports of a possible attempted coup d’etat underway in Ecuador. There have been violent protests by police and some elements of the military, reports that President Correa has been injured, and reports that the air force has closed down a number of airports.

The Organization of American States will convene an emergency meeting at 2:30 Eastern Standard Time in Washington D.C., to consider the situation.

Economism Rules OK! By William Bowles

By William Bowles
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
WilliamBowles.info
30 September, 2010

Lenin’s famous pamphlet ‘What is to be done?’ was written in 1901 and addressed in part, the issue of the political versus the economic struggle socialists have to engage in (not that the two can be separated) in order to get rid of capitalism.

To avoid misunderstanding, we must point out that here, and throughout this pamphlet, by economic struggle, we imply (in keeping with the accepted usage among us) the “practical economic struggle”, which Engels…described as “resistance to the capitalists”, and which in free countries is known as the organised-labour syndical, or trade union struggle. — Lenin, ‘What is to be done?‘

America’s China Bashing: A Compendium of Junk Economics by Michael Hudson

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by Prof Michael Hudson
Global Research
September 29, 2010

It is traditional for politicians to blame foreigners for problems that their own policies have caused. And in today’s zero-sum economies, it seems that if America is losing leadership position, other nations must be the beneficiaries. Inasmuch as China has avoided the financial overhead that has painted other economies into a corner, nationalistic U.S. politicians and journalists are blaming it for America’s declining economic power.

I realize that balance-of-payments accounting and international trade theory are arcane topics, but I promise that by the time you finish this article, you will understand more than 99% of U.S. economists and diplomats striking this self-righteous pose.

Reclaiming the “Boston Tea Party” for 9/11 Truth By Jerry Mazza

By Jerry Mazza
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
crossposted at Online Journal
www.jerrymazza.com
Sept. 29, 2010

by Helen Cox, used with permission
© All rights reserved.

As the Beatles once sang, “oh I’ll get by with a little help with my friends/yes I’ll get high with a little help from my friends.” In this case I received some illuminating help from my friend, journalist, researcher and activist, Barbara Honegger on my last article The making of 9/11 activists.

As I wrote in it, Manny Badillo had related to me that he was a conservative in 2009, even attending a Tea Party in Boston for 9/11 Truth. I assumed and wrote: “Ironically, it was the conservative 9/11 Tea Party given in Boston in 2007 that put him on the path to 9/11 Truth.” The use of conservative was his, but the assumption that the Tea Party was a conservative property was mine.

The Obama Health Plan Has Serious Threats to Medicare by Michael Lyon

by Michael Lyon
Guest Writer
Dandelion Salad
crossposted at SF Gray Panthers Blog
Sept. 29, 2010

Obama’s Health Plan is fatally flawed because it uses insurance companies to deliver healthcare, but the Health Plan also directly threatens Medicare.

People talk about “the healthcare crisis,” but actually there are two healthcare crises.

For us, the healthcare crisis is 51 million uninsured, stripping workers’ health plans, unaffordable health insurance that denies claims and charges high co-pays and deductibles, medical bankruptcies, a tattered safety net, dangerous mistakes in hospitals, and some of the worst health indicators in the industrialized word.

‘Mumbai-style terror plot’ against UK uncovered

Updated: October 1, 2010 added “PM and cops’ Mumbai terror dummy-run”


Propaganda Alert

compiled by Cem Ertür
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
29 September 2010



1) ‘Mumbai-style terror plot’ against UK uncovered (29 September 2010)

2) UK Prime Minister Cameron took part in an anti-terror drill in London (30 September 2010)

3) IHRC Chairman: Baseless terror claims “further demonise a community under siege” (29 September 2010)

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/mumbaistyle-terror-plot-against-uk-uncovered-2092748.htm l


excerpt from: ‘Mumbai-style terror plot’ against UK uncovered

by Matt Dickinson, Independent, 29 September 2010

Intelligence officials have intercepted a credible Islamist-linked terror plot against Britain, it emerged today.

The threat is one of “a succession” of terror operations the country has been dealing with over the past weeks, a government official said, although the UK’s terror alert status has not been raised from “severe”.

The planned attack would have reportedly been similar to the deadly commando-style raids in Mumbai, India, two years ago, with other European cities, in France and Germany, also targeted.

Last night the Eiffel Tower in Paris was evacuated following a bomb threat called in from a telephone booth. It was the second such alert at the monument in two weeks.

One UK government official told the Associated Press (AP) news agency: “There have been a succession of terror operations we’ve been dealing with over recent weeks but one to two that have preoccupied us.

“Still, it hasn’t been to the degree that we have raised the threat level.”

Another British official would not confirm the plot was “al-Qa’ida inspired” but told AP there was an “Islamist connection” and that the plots were in an early stage. No other details were given.

A Home Office spokesman said it was unable to comment on security matters, but confirmed the country’s terror threat was unchanged.

Yesterday French police closed off surroundings to the Eiffel Tower, France’s most visited monument. Officers pulled red-and-white police tape across a bridge leading over the Seine River, and stood guard.

Bomb experts combed through the 324m (1,063ft) tower and found nothing unusual, Paris police headquarters said. Tourists were let back inside about two hours after the structure was emptied.

German officials denied yesterday they had intercepted threats, saying there had been no change to the country’s threat level.

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http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3159006/PM-and-cops-Mumbai-terror-dummy-run.htm


excerpts from: PM and cops’ Mumbai terror dummy-run

by Simon Hughes and John Kay, The Sun, 30 September 2010

David Cameron responded to the threat of a Mumbai-style terror attack by secretly taking part in a full-scale dummy-run, it emerged last night.

The Prime Minister ordered the operation to ensure elite cops and Special Forces are as prepared as possible.

He moved after US intelligence warned of an al-Qaeda plot to unleash marauding gunmen in a British city before Christmas. France or Germany were other possible targets. [...]

It is understood that, in the wake of the unprecedented operation in London, there will be extra training for both firearms cops and SAS.

Mr Cameron called in senior police officers, including Met counter terror commander John Yates, and senior military and security figures. [...]

A number of lethal scenarios were examined at locations thought to include railway stations and hotels – targets in Mumbai two years ago.

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http://www.ihrc.org.uk/activities/press-releases/9471-press-release-uk–ihrc-chairman-baseless-terror-claims-further-demonise-a-community-under-siegeq


IHRC Chairman: Baseless terror claims “further demonise a community under siege”

Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) press release, 29 September 2010

Speaking after recent reports that security services had foiled plans to launch “Mumbai-style” terror attacks in UK cities, Massoud Shadjareh, the Chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), has called on the media to treat such claims with scepticism.

He called the claims “politically motivated” and warned that they served to “further demonise” a Muslim community that is already suffering hate crimes and feeling marginalised and under siege.

Shadjareh said:

“The latest claims of ‘Mumbai-style’ attacks having been foiled by US drone strikes in Pakistan need to be treated with a great deal of scepticism.  The recent front page stories of an Islamic plot to assassinate the Pope in London, which turned out to be completely baseless, show how easily stories can be created out of nothing. We also have a long series of incidents in which stories apparently originating with the police or security services have turned out to be completely false or grossly exaggerated, from the supposed plot to blow up Old Trafford to the ‘Ricin’ chemical attack plot.

“It is widely recognised that people and organizations of all kinds often have ulterior and self-interested motives for placing and exaggerating certain stories.  Sadly, the police, politicians and security services are no exception. The problem with stories like the ones this morning is that there is no-one offering sceptical, balancing counter-arguments, with the result that any claims, however outlandish, are treated as facts.

“But the people who make such claims, and the media sources who uncritically parrot them, have a responsibility for their consequences. We now have a community of nearly 2 million Muslims, including some of the most deprived and needy people in Britain, who feel marginalised and demonised; who are regularly discriminated against and treated with suspicion and contempt because of stories like this.

“The Islamophobia which is being fed by stories such as this is reflected as much in the statements of some MPs, and the columns of some newspapers, as in the thuggery of groups like the English Defence League.  The increasing number of hate-crimes against Muslims is a result of this criminalization of the community as a whole.

“Muslims are now suffering a level of persecution comparable to that once suffered by Jews in Europe.   We all look back to those days with abhorrence and disbelief at the levels of hatefulness that apparently reasonable people were capable of.

“It would be good if people could recognise the reality of the situation Muslims now face, and act to prevent it getting worse, instead of looking back in regret in a few decades time, when the lives of tens of thousands of people will already have been ruined.”

* For more information please contact the Press Office on (+44) 20 8904 4222 or (+44) 7958 522196, email: // info@ihrc.org

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related links:


Foreign Office warns of high terror threat in France and Germany

Daily Telegraph, 3 October 2010

Britain followed the US in upgrading its travel advice for Europe today following a series of terror alerts.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/8039839/Foreign-Office-warns-of-high-terror-threat-in-France-and-Germany.html



US issues warning against travel in Europe

Daily Telegraph, 3 October 2010

America’s State Department has issued an alert to warn American tourists of the potential for attacks by al-Qaeda and other groups in Europe.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8039736/US-issues-warning-against-travel-in-Europe.html



SAS officers warn that Britain is unprepared for a Mumbai-style attack

by Sean Rayment, Sunday Telegraph, 3 October 2010

Two former senior commanders of the SAS have warned that Britain’s security forces would be unable to cope with a Mumbai-style terrorist attack in central London.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/8038942/SAS-officers-warn-that-Britain-is-unprepared-for-a-Mumbai-style-attack.html



GCHQ found British terror plotters

by David Leppard, Sunday Times, 3 October 2010

The government eavesdropping centre GCHQ identified some of the terrorists planning a Mumbai-style attack on London by intercepting telephone calls made from jihadi training camps in Pakistan and matching their voices against a secret database.



Britons training in Pakistan for UK terror attacks

by Rob Crilly, Duncan Gardham, Ben Farmer, Daily Telegraph, 29 September 2010

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/8033204/Britons-training-in-Pakistan-for-UK-terror-attacks.html



NATO expands Afghan war into Pakistan

by Rick Rozoff, Dandelion Salad, 28 September 2010

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2010/09/28/nato-expands-afghan-war-into-pakistan-by-rick-rozoff/


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from the archives:


Police need more powerful weapons to combat ‘Mumbai-style terror attacks’ says police chief

Daily Mail, 15 April 2010

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1266001/Police-need-powerful-weapons-combat-Mumbai-style-te rror-attacks-says-police-chief.html#ixzz10wQ6Eask



Police expect Mumbai-style terror attack on City of London

by David Leppard, Sunday Times, 20 December 2009

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6962867.ece



UK “Terror Plot”: Gordon Brown points finger at Pakistan

Dandelion Salad, 11 April 2009

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/04/11/uk-terror-plot-gordon-brown-points-finger-at-pakistan/



British hotels put on alert over Mumbai-style terror attack

Dandelion Salad, 23 March 2009

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/03/23/british-hotels-put-on-alert-over-mumbai-style-terror -attack/



Miliband: The security situation in Pakistan is fuelling terrorist plots in Britain

Dandelion Salad, 7 March 2009

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/miliband-the-security-situation-in-pakistan-is-fuelling-terrorist-plots-in-britain/



Pakistan ‘linked to 75% of all UK terror plots, warns Gordon Brown

Dandelion Salad, 15 December 2008

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/12/15/pakistan-linked-to-75-of-all-uk-terror-plots-warns-gordon-brown/



Creating an “arc of crisis”: The destabilization of the Middle East and Central Asia
The Mumbai attacks and the “strategy of tension”

by Andrew Gavin Marshall, Dandelion Salad, 7 December 2008

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/12/07/the-mumbai-attacks-and-the-strategy-of-tension-by-andrew-g-marshall/



India’s 9/11. Who is behind the Mumbai attacks?
Washington is fostering political divisions between India and Pakistan

by Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, 30 November 2008

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/11/30/indias-911-who-was-behind-the-mumbai-attacks-by-michel-chossudovsky/



“A Second 9/11″: An integral part of US military doctrine

by Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, 31 October 2008

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10767


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The New Media & the Palestine Question: Blogging Out of Conflict

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/

Image by Davide Simonetti via Flickr

http://thejerusalemfund.org
23 September 2010
The Palestine Center
Washington, DC

Panel 1 – Changing the Public Discussion
Participants: Jerome Slater, Adam Horowitz
Moderator: Will Youmans

Addressing: How has blogging/new media affected the public debate on Israel/Palestine? How has blogging/new media responded to the Main Stream Media and vice versa? What results has this interaction had on the public discussion of Israel/Palestine?

Settlement Construction Begins Again, Israel Blocks Jewish Activists to Gaza

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/

Democracy Now!
Sept 28, 2010

As Settlement Construction Begins Again in the West Bank, Israel Blocks Jewish Activists on Aid Boat Headed to Gaza

Israeli commandos have boarded and seized a Gaza-bound aid ship of Jewish activists just miles off the Gaza coast. The activists were attempting to deliver a symbolic load of medicine, a water-purifying kit and other humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The Jewish Boat to Gaza was the latest attempt to break the blockade since Israel’s deadly attack on an aid flotilla in May. In the West Bank, Jewish settlers resumed building settlements on Monday one day after Israel refused to extend its partial freeze on settlement expansion. [includes rush transcript]

New? ‘old’-new? Labour, the election of Ed Miliband and the left By William Bowles

By William Bowles
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Creative-i
28 September, 2010

One step forward and two steps back

I have to share this with you:

Following the election of Ed Miliband to lead the ‘new’ ‘old’ Labour Party it seems nothing has been learned from the lessons of the past thirteen years (let alone the previous forty):

“Mr Miliband sought to brush off the “red Ed” tag, insisting that he did not plan “to drag Labour to the left.”” – ‘Labour turns to Miliband‘ By Adrian Roberts, The Morning Star, 26 September, 2010

Insurgent Ed Miliband Ends the New Labour Era by Michael Carmichael

by Michael Carmichael
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
PlanetaryMovement.org
September 28, 2010

New Labour began as an ill-advised facsimile of the center-right shift of U.S. politics.

In the aftermath of the dreadful Dukakis campaign in 1988, Bill Clinton headed the ‘New Democrat’ movement to Reaganize the Democratic Party by tilting it to the right. Richard Gephardt, Bruce Babbitt, Lawton Chiles and Sam Nunn all gave the Democratic Leadership Council their backing. Al From became the founder and CEO of the party-within-a-party to drive public opinion to the right and displace the liberal paradigm that had sustained the Democrats since the days of FDR and JFK.

Kucinich Proposal Would Raise $15-19 Billion for Childhood Nutrition Efforts

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by Congressman Dennis Kucinich
Washington, Sept 28, 2010

Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr

Cynical Cuts to Food Stamps the Definition of Cruelty; Offset Could Break Through Stalemate

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today announced that the Joint Committee on Taxation has estimated that his proposal to revoke corporate tax deductions for advertising and marketing expenses aimed at selling junk food and fast food to children could provide $15-19 billion (over 10 years) for child nutrition programs. The House version of the child nutrition reauthorization requires an $8.5 billion offset over 10 years while the Senate version requires a $4.5 billion offset over 10 years. The child nutrition bill that Congress could consider tomorrow is funded by cutting food stamps.

NATO Expands Afghan War Into Pakistan by Rick Rozoff

by Rick Rozoff
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Stop NATO
Stop NATO-Opposition to global militarism
Sept. 28, 2010

On October 7 the United States and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization military allies will begin the tenth year of their war in Afghanistan, over 3,000 miles from NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

The following month midterm elections will be held in the U.S. and NATO will hold a two-day summit in Portugal. The American administration is eager to achieve, or appear to have achieved, a foreign policy triumph in an effort to retain Democratic Party control of the Congress and NATO something to show for the longest and largest military mission in its 61 years of existence.