Baltimore PostExaminer

The cofounder of CODEPINK, the Women for Peace organization, Medea Benjamin, was detained against her will on Monday, March 3rd, at the Cairo, Egypt airport. She wasn’t permitted to enter the country even though all her papers were in order. Ms. Benjamin was trying to make her way to Gaza to celebrate on March 8th, “International Women’s Day,” with a delegation of 100 women from around the world, and to also mark a day of solidarity with the women/peoples of Gaza.

Instead of being permitted to travel to Gaza, she was first put into a holding area and later tossed into a cell. She spent a night in the cell with other female prisoners. Eventually, she was able to make contact with the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. But, before they could make it to the airport to assist her, five plain-clothed Egyptian security personnel came into jail, assaulted and injured her, put her in handcuffs, and forced her onto a plane headed to Istanbul, Turkey.

As a result of the abusive and harsh treatment by the Egyptians, the 61-years old, “a very petite” activist, sustained serious and painful injuries to her left shoulder. When she was on the airplane heading to Turkey, a doctor, fortunately, was able to treat her injuries. He put her left arm back into its socket and gave her medicine to relieve her intense pain. This interview took place at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on Friday afternoon, March 7th. Here is Medea Benjamin’s account of her traumatic ordeal in her own words. Keep in mind, the current Egyptian regime receives $1.5 billion in annual aid from the U.S. taxpayers.

Baltimore PostExaminer

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is holding its annual confab at the Washington Convention Center. (http://www.aipac.org) Its stated mission is to “promote U.S. Israel relations.” On Sunday, March 2, 2014, it was confronted by spirited activists protesting outside the convention hall. They were led by CODEPINK, a national women organization that stands for “Peace and Social Justice.” (http://www.codepink4peace.org).

A strong Palestinian-American contingent was also present at the demonstration. CODEPINK is protesting for “Palestinian rights and no war with Iran.” (Check out: Human Rights Watch, at: https://www.hrw.org/middle-eastn-africa/israel-palestine. Earlier this week, CODEPINK/and or one of its allies, released a video mocking AIPAC. It was posted on You Tube, but it was later “taken down!” Supposedly, it is up again. See: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/03/01/352840/parody-video-reflects-aipacs-intentions/

Speaking on camera on this video is Medea Benjamin-co founder of CODEPINK. She is leaving tonight with a delegation of women to Gaza, via Egypt. I asked a number of the AIPAC delegates at the demonstration, if they wanted to speak on camera, but they all declined. One of them told me off-line: “What’s the point? You see how small this protest is.”

An album of 27 photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10203361951592904.1073741977.1334685315&type=1&l=ff9b88d541

Baltimore PostExaminer

Over a thousand environmental activists gathered at the War Memorial Plaza in Baltimore, at noon, on February 20, 2014, to protest/stop the Cove Point project. It is a planned “mega-fracked gas export facility.” It is owned by Dominion, a Virginia-based company, and it’s located on the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County, Southern Maryland. At the moment, Dominion is attempting to secure “an essential permit” for building the project from the Maryland Public Service Commission. After the rally at the plaza, the activists marched over to the building housing the offices of the PSC and Gov. Martin O’Malley to make their protest known with loud music and even louder catcalls. To learn more about this spirited protest and its organizers, go to: http://org.salsalabs.com/o/423/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=7727 Speaking on camera are: Emily Wurth, Del. Heather Mizeur and Max Obuszewski.

newsy rationy

Greg Hunter

http://usawatchdog.com/bond-market-bubble-in-search-of-a-pin-doug-casey/ - Doug Casey of CaseyResearch.com warns, "Were going into what I call 'The Greater Depression.' It's going to be much more serious than what happened in the 1930's. . . . A depression is a period of time when most people's standard of living drops significantly." Casey explains, "There is a gigantic amount of debt in the U.S. at all levels—governmental, corporate and individual. Debt is a sign you have been living above your means. It's a debt bubble, and this is a major reason the government wants interest rates low. When interest rates rise, it makes it harder for people in debt to service that debt. They are simply delaying the inevitable at this point, but it is inevitable what is going to happen, and we are going to have a fantastic depression." On physical gold and silver, Casey says, "Gold is more important to own and perhaps a better bargain now than in 1971 or 2001, and the same is true of silver."

"The video is mightier than the hellfire missile. Make this one go viral."

Project: Liberty Defined

The Organic Consumers Association is reporting that the Grocery Manufacturer's Association — the mega corp. lobby group that represents 300 companies and way more than just grocery stores — is using a talking points memo to basically misinform and intimidate our legislators with threats of lawsuits should they even attempt to back a GMO labeling law in their state. - http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29132.cfm | http://youtu.be/EXPOZsTvMHA

Baltimore PostExaminer

On Sunday afternoon, January 19th, the “MLK: The Assassination Tapes,” a remarkable collection of re-discovered footage from that horrific and shocking event, was screened at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History & Culture in Baltimore, Maryland. A panel discussion followed the documentary. Speaking on this tape, comments excerpted, are: Barnard and Shirley Kinney; Martha P. N. Noonan and Marvin “Doc” Cheatham. Ms. Sandi Mallory served as the moderator. Bill Barry, an audience member, post the panel discussion, shared his views on the legacy of MLK. To learn more, go to: https://www.facebook.com/rflewismuseum

An album of 14 photos, at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10203070776633712.1073741963.1334685315&type=1&l=fb70017330

Baltimore PostExaminer

Veolia is a billion dollar international corporation with transportation companies operating along the East Coast of the U.S. It hires SuperShuttle workers at both BWI and Dulles airports. Many of the SuperShuttle workers at the airports are very unhappy with the conditions of their employment. On Monday, January 20, 2014, some of the workers, and their allies in the Social Justice and Union Movements, stage a rally at Veolia’s main office in Baltimore, MD. The action was organized by activists Sharon Black and Amy Millar of UFCW, Local 1994. To learn more, go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/205682259636778/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

Album of 26 Photos, at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10203076600059294.1073741964.1334685315&type=1&l=3def01fb7b

On RAI with Paul Jay, Chris Hedges discusses the psychology of the super rich; their sense of entitlement, the dehumanization of workers, and mistaken belief that their wealth will insulate them from the coming storms.