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In Gaza Strip under siege, a Conference to not go insane!
*Luisa Morgantini
But Israel Denied Entry to International Participants
Hani Al-Hasayneh was three years old when she died on October 14th after the Israeli Authorities denied her permission to exit the Strip to receive medical care: her organism was unable to produce a protein needed for her brain’s metabolism, and the drug that would cure this condition is not available in Gaza.
Just like little Hani, another 252 Palestinians died since June 2007, unable to leave the Strip due to the closure imposed by Israel. Ahmad Al-Lahham is the most recent victim, a cancer patient who needed urgent care from abroad and whose permit to leave was denied. He died on 21st October. Amongst these deaths, 35% are children.
Mr President, We Too Have A Dream
Abdul Basit
(An open letter to President-Elect Barack Obama)
Dear Mr. President-Elect, Barack Obama,
First of all, let me convey my heartiest congratulation to you on your election as the President of the United States of America.
I consider your election as President of United States of America as a miracle in itself. Born as the son of a Kenyan man and a white woman from Kansas who weren't well-off or well-known, through hard work and perseverance today you have become the President of United States of America. Unlike most of your predecessors, your humble background and past experience including your work as community leader will surely provide a different perspective about the reality from the grassroots level. Taking into consideration the path you treaded to reach the pinnacle of power, I surely believe that it is not without a purpose, particularly as you campaigned and got elected on the platform of 'Change'. I only hope that this purpose is for the well being of humanity as a whole. In fact, your election as the President of USA has suddenly brightened the image of your country and hope you enhance this expectation with the right policies that will unite humanity.
The Anti-Incumbency Movement is Dead
Joel S. Hirschhorn
Voting out congressional incumbents failed this year, showing the anti-incumbency movement to be a clear letdown. For some years many groups and their websites have been advocating voting out congressional incumbents as an effective means to reform government and make it work better. Two of the better ones are Vote Out Incumbents Democracy and Tenure Corrupts.
Congress’ average seat retention rate since 1855 is 95.4 percent. There was a 3.6 percent decrease in seat retention in Congress from 99.2 percent in 2004 to 95.6 percent in 2006. But this modest improvement was aimed mostly at Republican incumbents, when what is really needed is a bipartisan approach.
IMAGINE: Media as a Sanctuary for Dissent
eileen fleming
"Did you know that President Kennedy tried to stop Israel from
building atomic weapons? In 1963, he forced Prime Minister
Ben Guirion to admit the Dimona was not a textile plant"
The media should be a sanctuary for dissent. It is our job to go to where the silence is."-Amy Goodman
"As president, I will set a new direction in nuclear weapons policy and show the world that America believes in its existing commitment under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to work to ultimately eliminate all nuclear weapons. I fully support reaffirming this goal, as called for by George Shultz, Henry Kissinger, William Perry, and Sam Nunn, as well as the specific steps they propose to move us in that direction."-Senator Barack Obama's response to ACT. [1]
Can We Please Impeach George W. Bush for Mass Murder and High Treason Now?
Len Hart
Failing to impeach George W. Bush and his gang of crooks, mass murderers, torturers and, at least, 40 thieves is the moral equivalent of dismissing charges against Hermann Goring, Rudolf Hess, Alfred Jodl and other Nazis most of whom hanged following justice at Nuremberg.
The election is over. There is no political downside to impeaching Bush and bringing charges against the entire cabal of traitors and cut throats.
To Nancy Pelosi I say: Bush is worth nothing else BUT impeachment! He is certainly not worth 'not impeaching'; he is not worth keeping! He is not worth to the government, the nation, the world! Impeaching this sorry waste of human DNA is, rather, a moral imperative if the rule of law is to mean anything in a post-Bush world. The 'Judgement of Nuremberg' should have been the lasting legacy that might without right is wrong and that the rule of law applies as well to those those who make the laws! Impeachment is, therefore, essential if the US is to maintain or re-establish whatever moral authority it may have exerted in the world.
The Wages of Sin
Stephen Lendman
"Reaping the whirlwind" for money manager and market strategist Jeremy Grantham in his latest no-nonsense commentary. Worlds different from most in the mainstream. Cheerleaders in upturns. Downplaying risks. Soft-pedaling reversals and still many in denial about the severity of today's crisis. The virtual certainty of a deep and protracted recession. The likely emergence of a changed world order at its end - for better or worse. The result of what Grantham calls "the poisonous wind we all sowed," and went on to explain it with his customary thoughtful analysis. Calling it like he sees it as one of the earliest to spot the current storm. Even though it arrived sooner and with more severity than he imagined. In that respect, it fooled some of the best and brightest but no longer the ones most credible.
A Paradigm Shift in America¹s Intellectual Community
Pablo Ouziel
Contrary to popular believe, the big change in America¹s society stemming from the recent presidential elections, was not the election of the first black president. The most important event has taken place in the intellectual community, in which a paradigm shift has taken place and few have noticed.
The new era of voting for the lesser of the two evils has penetrated the core of America¹s critical intellectual community, and some of the biggest voices for change have endorsed Obama. In effect, what has taken place is the union between those opposed to imperial ideology and those endorsing it. Although this serious event has gone largely unnoticed, American intellectuals will need to reflect on its consequences seriously if they are to contribute to the building of a stable future for humanity as a whole, and in particular to mending the tarnished corrupt fabric of American society.
Will President Obama feel the pressure? (LOL)
Mickey Z.
Do you ever get the feeling that the voting booth is a lot like those buttons you find on some big city street corners? You know, the ones you push so you can obey the law while pretending to make the light turn green more quickly?
From high profile veterans to the suddenly energized young folks brandishing Obama bumper stickers on their fuel efficient (sic) vehicles, the Left—in almost all its guises—drank the Kool Aid again. Not just the lesser evil fairy tale but also the “Democrats can be pressured by popular movements” fabrication. No demands are placed on Democratic candidates for fear any hint of leftist tendencies would make them unelectable. Instead, we hear: “Let’s get them in office and then pressure them with our time-honored and battle-proven protest methods.” Sheer, unadulterated fantasy. Not a shred of evidence to back it up but it’s put forth every time America elects (sic) another president.
Mass Media and Mass Politics: Conservative, Liberal and Marxist Perspectives
James Petras
Introduction
The role of the mass media (MM) in influencing mass and class behavior has been a central concern among critical writers, especially since the turn of the Twentieth century. Debates and studies on the MM have focused on its political bias, ownership and links to big business, relationships and ties to the state, relative openness and diversity, promotion of wars and corporate interests among other major issues affecting the relations of power, wealth and empire. Of particular interest to writers opposing and supporting the role of the MM is the impact of the MM in influencing mass outlook, opinions and behaviors. Essays, monographs and empirical studies have been published as to the extent of MM influence, the time frame in which it retains control, the ‘depth’ of loyalty to MM inculcated opinions, and the ‘place’ in which MM messages have the greatest influence in inducing mass opinion in conformity with ruling class interests.
Obama: "...this is your victory"!
Len Hart
Americans living abroad awoke this morning to images of their countrymen celebrating in the streets, images as hopeful, as optimistic as the 'velvet revolution'. The entire world heard collective sighs of relief --no stolen election, no riots, no bloodshed. The words of Lincoln are required to describe it: '...a new birth of freedom'!
This is not just Obama's victory. This win belongs to the people, even those poor misguided folk who had often voted GOP even when it was against their own interests to do so. Unless they had been among the nations one percent elite, it was always against their interest.
This victory belongs as well to the world, millions who often suffered, as Americans might not have, the harmful effects of Bush's vainglorious vision of empire.
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