from: William Hughes

On July 2, 2009, a protest action was called by "Justice First," a national grassroots organization, to object to Potomac Electric Power Company’s (PEPCO) proposed $51.7 Million rate increase. If passed, it will mean a 6.1 percent hike per month for each of the residential customers it serves. Justice First has been fighting for a moratorium on electric cutoffs and for a rollback on rates in the Washington, D.C. area. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU2sz_Z6MBU&feature=channel_page Eugene Puryear, an activist with Justice First, shared his views with me about the protest action, which was held in Washington, D.C., in front of the D.C. Public Service Commission. Thousands of local residents are "vulnerable to having their power shut off. In 2008, PEPCO issued 426,202 shutoff notices. Currently, 1 in 4 D.C. residents are at risk of shutoff," according to a Justice First's press release. For more background on the issue of utility cutoffs and the millions of dollars in profits taken in by utility giants, like PEPCO, go to http://www.pephost.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=9051 Next store, in Maryland, “84,000 households” are at risk of electricity shut off by BGE, according to the Baltimore Sun. See:http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bal-energy0305,0,2813711.story Meanwhile, the CEO of BGE’s parent company, Constellation Energy, one Mayo Shattuck, is looking to snatch “a $87 million payout” at rate payers’ expense. Check out a protest action in Baltimore, MD. at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy7fCBGVCLs&feature=channel_page

from: William Hughes

A press conference was held, on Monday, June 29, 2009, in the Murrow Room of the National Press Club, in Washington, D.C. It featured Kevin Zeese, Executive Director of VotersforPeace.US; Bruce Fein, former Associate Deputy Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan; and Shahid Buttar, Director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee. The trio presented “formal Complaints” against alleged “torture architects” CIA’s Acting General Counsel, John Rizzo and DMI lawyer, Jonathan Fredman, according to the organizers’ press release. They demanded that the accused lawyers, who are both still working for the federal government, be fired and disbarred. Mr. Fein also ripped into President Barack Obama for his indifference to torture. He said: “We have an instance where the President of the United States--Harvard Law Review--Chicago Constitutional Law professor--he knows what the rules of law means--shuts his eyes to open confessions--we authorized torture, for which [under the Law], there is no exception.”
See for the particulars and background on this evolving matter: http://www.velvetrevolution.us/torture_lawyers/index.php and
http://www.counterpunch.org/zeese06112009.html

from: William HughesMara Verheyden-Hilliard is an activist, Constitutional Rights attorney, and the cofounder of the Partnership for Civil Justice. She is also the co-chair of the National Lawyers Guild. Ms. Verheyden-Hilliard was one of the speakers at an event entitled, “Viva Palestina: A Lifeline from the U.S. to Gaza.” It was held on the campus of American U., in Washington, D.C., on Sunday evening, June 28, 2009. It was a fundraiser “for a special U.S. convoy, which will travel from New York City to Egypt before making its way across the Rafah border into Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid,” according to the organizers’ press release. In her remarks, Ms. Verheyden-Hilliard took exception to President Barack Obama’s assertion, at Cairo, that the “U.S. is not a self-interested Empire.” She said the evidence proves otherwise; and, that the White House could “immediately” demand that Tel Aviv government “end the siege of Gaza.” She also described some of the history of Palestine going back to 1948. Ms. Verheyden-Hilliard underscored how the current Far Right Israeli government treats the people of Gaza “as terrorists,” and smears individuals who dare to speak up for human rights in Gaza, by regularly subjecting them to “threats, lies and demonization.” She praised the humanitarian convoys to Gaza, all the volunteers involved in that laudable effort, and the leadership on this seminal issue of justice and human decency as exemplified by the actions of the British MP, the Hon. George Galloway. Mahdi Bray, Executive Director of the Muslim American Society, served as the moderator of the affair. For more info on this fundraiser, its sponsors and the critically important convoy to Gaza, go to: http://www.vivapalestina-us.org/ For background on the current humanitarian crisis in Israeli-Occupied Gaza, please see:
http://www.pchrgaza.org/ and
http://www.phrmg.org/ and
http://www.wrmea.com/ and
http://justiceandaccountability.org/ and http://www.endtheoccupation.org/ and
http://www.amnesty.org/en/gaza-crisis and
http://www.hrw.org/en/features/israel and
http://www.wrmea.com/archives/May-June_2009/0905057c.html

from: William Hughes

George Galloway, British MP, spoke out strongly in support of the cause of a free Palestine. He ripped into Israel’s military siege of Gaza, along with its ongoing blockade, which continues to put 1.7 million of its residents at grave risk to their health and safety. Galloway said the people of Gaza “are locked up.” He also traced the history of Palestine, the evils of the British Empire and the massive crime of Colonialism. He referred to Israel as “an Apartheid State.” The event, entitled, “Viva Palestina: A Lifeline from the U.S. to Gaza,” was held on the campus of American U., in Washington, D.C., on Sunday evening, June 28, 2009. It was a fundraiser “for a special U.S. convoy, which will travel from New York City to Egypt before making its way across the Rafah border into Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid,” according to the organizer’s press release. Galloway, who is also an author, is in the finest tradition of another legendary British MP, and champion of justice, liberty and humanity--John Wilkes. Check out: http://www.georgegalloway.com/ Mahdi Bray, Executive Director of the Muslim American Society, served as the moderator of the affair. For more info on this fundraiser, its sponsors and the critically important convoy to Gaza, go to: http://www.vivapalestina-us.org/ For background on the current humanitarian crisis in Israeli-Occupied Gaza, please see:
http://www.pchrgaza.org/ and
http://www.phrmg.org/ and
http://www.wrmea.com/ and
http://justiceandaccountability.org/ and http://www.endtheoccupation.org/ and
http://www.amnesty.org/en/gaza-crisis and
http://www.hrw.org/en/features/israel and
http://www.wrmea.com/archives/May-June_2009/0905057c.html

from: William Hughes

George Galloway, British MP, spoke out strongly in support of the cause of a free Palestine. He ripped into Israel’s military siege of Gaza, along with its ongoing blockade, which continues to put 1.7 million of its residents at grave risk to their health and safety. Galloway said the people of Gaza “are locked up.” He also traced the history of Palestine, the evils of the British Empire and the massive crime of Colonialism. He referred to Israel as “an Apartheid State.” The event, entitled, “Viva Palestina: A Lifeline from the U.S. to Gaza,” was held on the campus of American U., in Washington, D.C., on Sunday evening, June 28, 2009. It was a fundraiser “for a special U.S. convoy, which will travel from New York City to Egypt before making its way across the Rafah border into Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid,” according to the organizer’s press release. Galloway, who is also an author, is in the finest tradition of another legendary British MP, and champion of justice, liberty and humanity--John Wilkes. Check out: http://www.georgegalloway.com/ Mahdi Bray, Executive Director of the Muslim American Society, served as the moderator of the affair. For more info on this fundraiser, its sponsors and the critically important convoy to Gaza, go to: http://www.vivapalestina-us.org/ For background on the current humanitarian crisis in Israeli-Occupied Gaza, please see:
http://www.pchrgaza.org/ and
http://www.phrmg.org/ and
http://www.wrmea.com/ and
http://justiceandaccountability.org/ and http://www.endtheoccupation.org/ and
http://www.amnesty.org/en/gaza-crisis and
http://www.hrw.org/en/features/israel and
http://www.wrmea.com/archives/May-June_2009/0905057c.html

from: William Hughes

George Galloway, British MP, spoke out strongly in support of the cause of a free Palestine. He ripped into Israel’s military siege of Gaza, along with its ongoing blockade, which continues to put 1.7 million of its residents at grave risk to their health and safety. Galloway said the people of Gaza “are locked up.” He also traced the history of Palestine, the evils of the British Empire and the massive crime of Colonialism. He referred to Israel as “an Apartheid State.” The event, entitled, “Viva Palestina: A Lifeline from the U.S. to Gaza,” was held on the campus of American U., in Washington, D.C., on Sunday evening, June 28, 2009. It was a fundraiser “for a special U.S. convoy, which will travel from New York City to Egypt before making its way across the Rafah border into Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid,” according to the organizer’s press release. Galloway, who is also an author, is in the finest tradition of another legendary British MP, and champion of justice, liberty and humanity--John Wilkes. Check out: http://www.georgegalloway.com/ Mahdi Bray, Executive Director of the Muslim American Society, served as the moderator of the affair. For more info on this fundraiser, its sponsors and the critically important convoy to Gaza, go to: http://www.vivapalestina-us.org/ For background on the current humanitarian crisis in Israeli-Occupied Gaza, please see:
http://www.pchrgaza.org/ and
http://www.phrmg.org/ and
http://www.wrmea.com/ and
http://justiceandaccountability.org/ and http://www.endtheoccupation.org/ and
http://www.amnesty.org/en/gaza-crisis and
http://www.hrw.org/en/features/israel and
http://www.wrmea.com/archives/May-June_2009/0905057c.html

In the last 100 years, the North American and European diet has changed radically. The change can be summed up simply: calories from plant foods have been replaced by calories from animal fats. During the same period, rates of degenerative diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes has sky rocketed. Is there a connection? Here's some evidence there might be. While degenerative diseases have become common in the west, populations that have not yet adopted this "new and improved" diet are failing to get these diseases at anywhere near the same rate. Is eating animal fat - beef, chicken, milk, cheese etc. - really that big a deal? The video presents the science that the meat and dairy industries (and their paid agents in the US Department of Agriculture) would prefer you not learn.

from: William Hughes

Enver Masud was one of the speakers at a “Demand Accountability for Torture” rally, on June 25, 2009, in John Marshall Park, in Washington, D.C. He questioned how Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was “waterboarded 183 times” by the CIA, and then confessed to being the “mastermind of 9/11,” can get a “fair trial” in this country. Mr. Masud connected the dots between 9/11, the waterboarding of a detainee, a so-called “confession,” and the Iraq War. Mr. Masud is the founder and CEO of “The Wisdom Fund” and the author of “The War on Islam.” See, http://twf.org/ For more on waterboarding, go to:
“Waterboarding: The Psychological Damage is Indescribable,” http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5061441.ece and http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6130165.ece Closer to home, U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman (IND-CT) has condoned waterboarding. Check out: http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/22/lieberman-waterboarding-not-opposed/ For background on the rally, see: http://tortureaccountability.webs.com/ and http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/ For a brief overview of the Law concerning the subject matter of Torture, go to:
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/detainees/prohibits_torture.htm

from: William Hughes

One of the speakers at a “Demand Accountability for Torture” rally, on June 25, 2009, in John Marshall Park, in Washington, D.C. was Marcus Raskin. He is an author and the cofounder of the Institute for Policy Studies. Check out: http://www.ips-dc.org/staff/marcus Mr. Raskin was introduced by David Swanson of afterdowningstreet.org. Mr. Raskin underscored: “The President [Barack Obama]...says he is ‘against torture.’ So, if that is the case, then he should be held to account...When do we stop deceiving ourselves from who we are?...We have become really a warrior state...We [must] look at what we do...No more self deception. No more lies.” For background on the event, see: http://tortureaccountability.webs.com/ and http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/ For a brief overview of the Law concerning the subject matter of Torture, go to: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/detainees/prohibits_torture.htm

This video will never be shown on Fox News or CNN, which is a real shame, because all Americans need to know that their country is now a torture slave state. Their president Obama, who campaigned on the laughably empty promises of “hope and change”, has shown the world that nothing at all will change and in fact the wars the torture and the corruption will continue at an accelerated pace. The Obama regime is now openly employing Bush regime methods, by drafting an executive order that will bypass Congress and the will of the people. Supposedly the ‘order’ allows Obama to continue incarcerating so-called suspected terrorists (you and me) indefinitely and without charge. Of course this violates the Unites States Constitution, or the “God damn piece of paper” as Bush called it.

Any country that tortures and kills children is lost. Nothing can ever justify the torturing and killing of children, and any government that tortures and mass murders millions of innocent civilians the way the American government continues to brutalize the populations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Philippians to name just a few places, will bring a divine karmic retribution down upon itself and it's poor enslaved people.