Olbermann Special Comment: It May Be Time For Mr. Cheney to Leave This Country

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Olbermann Special Comment: It May Be Time For Mr. Cheney to Leave This Country. 02-05-09

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SPECIAL COMMENT
Cheney doing the work of terrorists

By Keith Olbermann
msnbc.com
updated 8:15 p.m. CT, Thurs., Feb. 5, 2009

Finally tonight, as promised, a Special Comment on former Vice President Cheney’s remarks about the prospects of future terrorist attacks in this country. Flatly, it may be time for Mr. Cheney to leave this country.

The partisanship, divisiveness and naiveté to which he ascribed every single criticism of his and President Bush’s delusional policies of the last eight years, have now roared forth in a destructive and uninformed diatribe from Mr. Cheney, that can only serve to undermine the nation’s new president, undermine the nation’s effort to thwart terrorism, and undermine the nation itself.

[…]

via Olbermann: Cheney doing the work of terrorists – Countdown with Keith Olbermann- msnbc.com.

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.

see

“How I Saved The USA” – Cheney warns of new attacks

Prosecuting the Georgites: Begin with the Mundane? by Steven Jonas, MD, MPH

Gitmo

Torture on Dandelion Salad

Barack Obama on Dandelion Salad

My Dad, me and Nature by William Bowles

By William Bowles
featured writer
Dandelion Salad
Creative-i
5 February 2009

Unlike most of the kids I grew up with, my folks introduced me to Nature at a very early age and they introduced it to me in very specific ways, especially my father, Roy. Not just trips to the country at weekends, weather permitting, but a view of Nature as all-encompassing including us humans.

Roy was a self-taught man who had left school at perhaps fourteen or fifteen and like others of his class, time and politics, he felt a deep sense of inferiority when it came to knowledge. Thus he did everything he could to educate himself in all kinds of subjects especially the English language, science, history and of course politics and surprisingly for those days, Nature.

Our books reflected this for many of them were about Nature and evolution and although too young really take them in, they had a lasting impact on me that was to be reinforced when at around seven I joined the Woodcraft Folk, the cooperative movement’s answer to the Boy Scouts/Girl Guides, with its ‘Rasta’ colours of Red, Green and Gold and it was mixed, boys and girls together.

Whistling Past the Afghan Graveyard – Where Empires Go to Die By Tom Engelhardt

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By Tom Engelhardt
TomDispatch
2.5.09

It is now a commonplace — as a lead article in the New York Times’s Week in Review pointed out recently — that Afghanistan is “the graveyard of empires.” Given Barack Obama’s call for a greater focus on the Afghan War (“we took our eye off the ball when we invaded Iraq…”), and given indications that a “surge” of U.S. troops is about to get underway there, Afghanistan’s dangers have been much in the news lately. Some of the writing on this subject, including recent essays by Juan Cole at Salon.com, Robert Dreyfuss at the Nation, and John Robertson at the War in Context website, has been incisive on just how the new administration’s policy initiatives might transform Afghanistan and the increasingly unhinged Pakistani tribal borderlands into “Obama’s War.”

In other words, “the graveyard” has been getting its due. Far less attention has been paid to the “empire” part of the equation. And there’s a good reason for that — at least in Washington. Despite escalating worries about the deteriorating situation, no one in our nation’s capital is ready to believe that Afghanistan could actually be the “graveyard” for the American role as the dominant hegemon on this planet.

[…]

via Tomgram: The Empire v. The Graveyard.

see

Obama set to launch military “surge” in Afghanistan

Canada: AT WAR

Jim Rogers about investing in Russia 2009.02.05

Dandelion Salad

peacespeech

Jim Rogers in interview in Russia said that he’s not investing in Russia, mainly because of its stability and management problems.

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Open Letter to Dr. Joseph Stiglitz and Challenge to Debate By Richard C. Cook

Tax The Speculators, by Ralph Nader

Bailout for the People: “The Cook Plan” by Richard C. Cook

Dennis Kucinich Takes An Hour To Explain Our Current Economic Situation

The Economy Sucks and or Collapse 2

Obama set to launch military “surge” in Afghanistan

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By Barry Grey
http://www.wsws.org
5 February 2009

President Barack Obama is set to formally authorize the dispatch of 10,000 to 12,000 additional US combat troops to Afghanistan, the beginning stage of a military “surge” that will likely add 30,000 more soldiers and Marines over the next 12 to 18 months, doubling the US occupation force to 60,000. Obama’s announcement of the initial compliment of three combat brigades, to begin deploying in April, could come this week.

The first stage of the escalation is bound up with a strategic overhaul of US policy in the region that will initiate a vast expansion of military violence and increase the focus on exterminating the popular resistance to the neocolonial occupation of Afghanistan, both in Afghanistan and the neighboring regions of Pakistan.

[…]

Some sense of what is to come can be seen in the proposal made last month by NATO’s senior military commander, Gen. John Craddock of the United States, that NATO troops shoot alleged drug traffickers without waiting for proof of any involvement with the Taliban or other insurgent forces. In a country whose main crop is opium, upon which large sections of the impoverished population depend for survival, this would amount to a license to kill Afghan civilians at will. The proposal was made in a confidential letter to Gen. Egon Ramms, a German officer who heads the NATO command center responsible for Afghanistan, and came under heavy criticism from German political circles. It was eventually scuttled by McKiernan and others, according to an exposé published last month by the online edition of Der Spiegel magazine.

[…]

via Obama set to launch military “surge” in Afghanistan.

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Change (in rhetoric) we can believe in, by William Blum

Obama More Deadly for Afghan Civilians than Bush (in Jan 2009)

Nests In Hell, by Rand Clifford

WSF: We won’t pay for the crisis. The rich must pay!

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Climate and Capitalism
February 4, 2009

Declaration of the Assembly of Social Movements at the World Social Forum 2009, Belem, Brazil.

We the social movements from all over the world came together on the occasion of the 8th World Social Forum in Belém, Amazonia, where the peoples have been resisting attempts to usurp Nature, their lands and their cultures. We are here in Latin America, where over the last decade the social movements and the indigenous movements have joined forces and radically question the capitalist system from their cosmovision. Over the last few years, in Latin America highly radical social struggles have resulted in the overthrow of neoliberal governments and the empowerment of governments that have carried out many positive reforms such as the nationalisation of core sectors of the economy and democratic constitutional reforms.

In this context the social movements in Latin America have responded appropriately, deciding to support the positive measures adopted by these governments while keeping a critical distance. These experiences will be of help in order to strengthen the peoples’ staunch resistance against the policies of governments, corporations and banks who shift the burden of the crisis onto the oppressed. We the social movements of the globe are currently facing a historic challenge. The international capitalist crisis manifests itself as detrimental to humankind in various ways: it affects food, finance, the economy, climate, energy, population migration … and civilisation itself, as there is also a crisis in international order and political structures.

[…]

In this perspective we must contribute to the largest possible popular mobilisation to enforce a number of urgent measures such as:

• Nationalising the banking sector without compensations and with full social monitoring,
• Reducing working time without any wage cut,
• Taking measures to ensure food and energy sovereignty
• Stopping wars, withdraw occupation troops and dismantle military foreign bases
• Acknowledging the peoples’ sovereignty and autonomy ensuring their right to self-determination
• Guaranteeing rights to land, territory, work, education and health for all.
• Democratise access to means of communication and knowledge.

[…]

via WSF: We won’t pay for the crisis. The rich must pay!.

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.

see

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

The Other Brother: Hybrid Vigor and Reconciliation By Gary Corseri

By Gary Corseri
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
February 5, 2009

I had the good fortune to be born a hybrid: half Sicilian Catholic and half Ukrainian Jew. Beyond that, I was blessed with parents who let me evolve my own identity in my relationships with the Divine and the human.

On both sides of my family tree there were fools and sages, cynics and dreamers, the myopic and the far-seeing, the generous and the greedy. I grew up in a middle class Jewish neighborhood in Queens. On weekends we were far more likely to spend time with my father’s rather large extended Sicilian family than with my mother’s rather small Jewish family. My friends went to shul and studied for their bar mitzvahs. I went to my best friend’s bar mitzvah, and once I went to a Christmas Mass with one of my Italian aunts. I liked the bar mitzvah because I got to drink a little wine. I didn’t like the Mass so much because I didn’t understand the words and I soon got tired of all the sitting and standing. But I liked my Aunt Sadie’s face when she prayed.

Mosaic News – 2/4/09: 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.

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

“Hamas’ Ties With Iran Unnerve Arab Countries,” Abu Dhabi TV, UAE
“Israel Attacks Gaza Tunnels,” Dubai TV, UAE
“Israeli Elections Heat Up,” Future TV, Lebanon
“Interview With Ismail Haneyeh,” Al Jazeera TV, Qatar
“Diplomatic Solution Needed to Iran’s Nuclear File,” Press TV, Iran
“Iraqi Woman Arrested for Recruiting Female Suicide Bombers,” Al-Iraqiya TV, Iraq
“Saudi Arabia Improves Border Security,” Saudi TV, Saudi Arabia
“Tougher Smoking Laws in UAE,” Al Arabiya TV, UAE
Produced for Link TV by Jamal Dajani.

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‘I Hope He Fails’ by Steven Jonas, MD, MPH

by Steven Jonas, MD, MPH
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
crossposted on Buzzflash.com
February 5, 2009

Virtually everyone who follows politics to even a very limited extent (and even some folks who don’t at all) has by now heard the quote in the title of this Commentary. It is from Rush Limbaugh, the (politely) “right-wing radio talk show host,” or (more accurately) the leading Right-Wing Republican Screamer (although Sean Hannity might take exception to the word “Leading” in the above description.). In fact, Rush Limbaugh is the de facto leader of the Republican Party. (Boy. What does that tell you about the depths to which what some of its more self-deluded political figures still refer to as “the Party of Lincoln” has sunk?) For those of you who for one reason or another might not have heard, this is what Rush has been saying about President Obama shortly after his election. For once in his radio life (and who knows, may be in his real life as well), Rush is telling the truth. He really does want Obama to fail.

Israeli forces seize Gaza aid ship

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Al Jazeera English
2.5.09

The Israeli navy has captured and diverted a ship from Lebanon carrying more than 60 tonnes of aid to the Gaza Strip.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent aboard the Al-Ikhwa (The Brotherhood) ship said the navy first opened fire, then five Israeli soldiers boarded the ship, beating and threatening the passengers.

“They are pointing guns against us – they are kicking us and beating us. They are threatening our lives,” Al Jazeera’s Salam Khoder said.

via Al Jazeera English – Middle East – Israeli forces seize Gaza aid ship

Open Letter to Dr. Joseph Stiglitz and Challenge to Debate By Richard C. Cook

by Richard C. Cook
featured writer
Dandelion Salad
richardccook.com
February 5, 2009

Note: Dr. Joseph Stiglitz is a professor at Columbia University, former chairman of President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisors, former chief economist for the World Bank, and a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

Dear Dr. Stiglitz:

I have just finished reading your article published on Alternet.org entitled, “Is the Entire Bailout Strategy Flawed? Let’s Rethink This Before It’s Too Late.” http://www.alternet.org/story/124166/

We Hold These Truths by Richard C. Cook

Originally uploaded by Lorri37

With all due respect, I believe you have missed the point of what is going on within the U.S. economy, which causes your proposed solutions to be similarly flawed.

The purposes of this letter are to delineate my objections to what you have written, to bring our differences before the public, and to challenge you to a debate when I visit New York City on February 27-March 1, 2009.

You state that, “America’s recession is moving into its second year, with the situation only worsening.” But you then say, “The hope that President Obama will be able to get us out of the mess is tempered by the reality that throwing hundreds of billions of dollars at the banks has failed to restore them to health, or even to resuscitate the flow of lending.”

You thereby imply that the economic crisis is due to problems within the financial sector and that it would be a good thing to “resuscitate the flow of lending” without challenging why that lending became such a huge factor in our economy.

Mosaic News – 2/3/09: 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

“Iran Launches Satellite into Space,” Al Jazeera TV, Qatar
“Iran Defends Sat launch Amid West Ire,” Press TV, Iran
“Qaddafi Pushes for “United States of Africa”,” Abu Dhabi TV, UAE
“EU Softens Position on Hamas,” Dubai TV, UAE
“Hamas is in Gaza to Stay,” Al Aqsa, Gaza
“Little Health Care for Women in Afghanistan,” Al Jazeera English, Qatar
“Iraq to Release Report on Prisons,” Al-Iraqiya TV, Iraq
“Obama’s Approach to Mideast is Refreshing Change,” Al Arabiya TV, UAE
Produced for Link TV by Jamal Dajani.

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Keep Watch On Central & South Asia by Bruce Gagnon

Bruce

by Bruce Gagnon
featured writer
Dandelion Salad
Organizing Notes
Feb. 5, 2009

This map is very important. (Click for a larger view)

Look for Kyrgyzstan (in orange just next to China). The US has an “air-mobility” base there called Manas where tanker planes that refuel warplanes flying over Afghanistan are stationed. It also is a major airlift supply base, medical evacuation center, and houses troops heading to and from the Afghanistan war.

Manas is also in a strategic spot in the great game of surrounding Russia and China that is now underway. The base would also a key operational hub for any war on Iran.

The War on Terror is a Hoax By Paul Craig Roberts

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By Paul Craig Roberts
Information Clearinghouse
February 04, 2009

According to US government propaganda, terrorist cells are spread throughout America, making it necessary for the government to spy on all Americans and violate most other constitutional protections. Among President Bush’s last words as he left office was the warning that America would soon be struck again by Muslim terrorists.