Breaking the Israel-Palestine Deadlock by Noam Chomsky

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/

by Noam Chomsky
In These Times
Jan. 4, 2011

While intensively engaged in illegal settlement expansion, the government of Israel is also seeking to deal with two problems: a global campaign of what it perceives as “delegitimation”—that is, objections to its crimes and withdrawal of participation in them—and a parallel campaign of legitimation of Palestine.

It’s Time For A Wall Street Tax by Ed Ciaccio

by Ed Ciaccio
Dandelion Salad
Featured Writer
January 4, 2011

“There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” – Warren Buffett

As Ralph Nader and others have pointed out, NY State’s $9.3 billion budget deficit, the excuse given for austerity causing service cuts and pressure on unions to freeze wages and cut employees, can be more than made up by using the current NY State Stock Transfer Tax.

That tax, which generated $16 billion in 2010, more than enough to balance the budget, with $7 billion to spare, has been automatically rebated since 1979, instead of being used as revenue to fund necessary state services, including the jobs of NY State and City employees.

Charges Dropped From White House Protest by Bruce Gagnon

by Bruce Gagnon
featured writer
Dandelion Salad
Organizing Notes
January 4, 2011

Just as I had figured would likely happen, the government has dropped the charges against those of us arrested at the White House on December 16 who were planning to go to trial. About 2/3 of the 131 who were arrested that day paid a $100 fine and were facing no further charges. One-third of the group refused to pay the fine and intended to go to trial and it is obvious that Obama did not want a bunch of veterans, and their supporters, to go into the courts and shine more light on the Afghanistan occupation. This way Obama helps to limit the “damage” of the protest. There can be no doubt that the protest got the government’s attention.

America Blindsided Again By Timothy V. Gatto

By Timothy V. Gatto
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
liberalpro.blogspot.com
January 4, 2011

During a conversation with my wife, she mentioned that her mother was very disenchanted with the Federal government. The government is denying recipients of Social Security their cost of living adjustment for the second year in a row, but still they manage to give the wealthiest Americans a continuation of the Bush tax-cuts. I told my wife that she would probably blame it on Obama seeing that she isn’t very involved politics and she would only see the simple version of what happened, and that it was the Democrats and President Obama that extended the Bush tax-cuts for the wealthiest people and cut COLA for people on Social Security. I also remarked that the Republicans would probably use that to make political capital with, even though the Republicans were the ones pressing the deal.

Tweeting Away the Time by Ralph Nader + Smigly: Talk To Me

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/

Updated: Jan. 12, 2011 added a video.

by Ralph Nader
The Nader Page
January 3, 2011

The start of the New Year is a good time to talk about Time. About this, we can all agree—there are only twenty four hours in a day. Zillions of companies and persons want a piece of that time from us in order to make money. But that supply of Time is not expandable. Unlike other supplies in the marketplace, this one has no give beyond twenty four hours a day.

Israeli Forces Kill Female Protester in Bil’in + Protesters Breached the Wall in Bil’in (updated)

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/

Updated: added Democracy Now! video

Image via Wikipedia

haithmkatib | January 01, 2011

Israeli Forces Kill Female Protester in Bil’in

Jan 01, 2011

Jawaher Abu Rahmah, 36, was evacuated to the Ramallah hospital yesterday after inhaling massive amounts of tear-gas during the weekly protest in Bil’in, and died of poisoning this morning. Abu Rahmah was the sister of Bassem Abu Rahmah who was also killed during a peaceful protest in Bil’in on April 17th, 2010.

A system beyond repair by Leela Yellesetty

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/

Image by AJ Franklin via Flickr

by Leela Yellesetty
SocialistWorker.org
January 3, 2011

Cartoonist and columnist Ted Rall’s book is a passionate call for struggle and social change–but with deep flaws about how to get there. Leela Yellesetty explains why.

“It shall be unlawful for any person with the intent to cause the overthrow or destruction of any government in the U.S., to print, publish, edit, issue, circulate, sell, distribute or publicly display any written or printed matter advocating, advising or teaching the duty, necessity, desirability or propriety of overthrowing or destroying any government in the United States by force or violence.”
–U.S. Code, from a 1940 law still in effect