Progressive News Bulletin's topics - tribe.net

Pope Warns Italy that Fascism is Coming??

Lorenzo — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:43:59 GMT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2008/aug/18/italy

by John Hooper

Silvio Berlusconi's government was today engaged in a vigorous damage limitation exercise after Pope Benedict appeared to lend his immense moral authority to speculation that Italy was in danger of returning to fascism under the tycoon's hardline, rightwing leadership.

In his customary midday Sunday address, the pontiff expressed concern at "recent examples of racism" and reminded Catholics it was their duty to steer others in society away from "racism, intolerance and [the] exclusion [of others]".

On any other day, his remarks might have been seen as no more than a restatement of official Catholic doctrine. But they came instead in the midst of a furious dispute over an editorial published by Italy's bestselling Catholic weekly, Famiglia Cristiana.

In an editorial on Friday, condemning recent government moves against immigrants and Roma, the magazine said it was to be hoped fascism was not "resurfacing in our country under another guise". The jibe outraged Berlusconi's supporters, many of whom are themselves pious Catholics.

The leader of his parliamentary group in the upper house, Maurizio Gasparri, announced he would personally sue the priest who is Famiglia Cristiana's editor while the junior minister with responsibility for family affairs, Carlo Giovanardi, said the magazine was "possessed by ideological malice".

In an effort to calm the row, the Vatican's spokesman put out a statement stressing that Famiglia Cristiana was not authorised to speak on behalf of either the Holy See or the Italian bishops' conference - something which, as the magazine's editor noted, it had never anyway claimed to do.

Coming against this background, the pope's comments were interpreted by Berlusconi's critics as a signal that the Vatican was not climbing down or distancing itself from Famiglia Cristiana's interpretation.

Benedict cited in his address the story from Matthew's gospel of Jesus's encounter with a pagan woman and how he rose above his initial misgivings to perform a miracle for her daughter.

The pope said: "One of humanity's great conquests is indeed the overcoming of racism. Unfortunately, however, there are new and worrying examples of this in various countries, often linked to social and economic problems that nonetheless can never justify contempt or racial discrimination."

Berlusconi's family minister, Giovanardi, denied Benedict's words were aimed at the government. "The pope has a global perspective", he said. "He wasn't talking about Italy."

Famiglia Cristiana's editor, Father Antonio Sciortino, agreed that the pope "was certainly speaking to the whole world". But he added: "And therefore also to Italy where, sorry to say, there are many signs of racism that trouble us and which cannot be hidden."

Urged on by his allies in the anti-immigrant Northern League, Berlusconi has ordered a crackdown on crime, and the illegal immigrants his government says is responsible for a disproportionate share of it.

Earlier this month, the Berlusconi government ordered troops onto the streets to combat an alleged crime wave it blames largely on illegal immigrants and Roma. Interior ministry figures show that more than a third of the arrests carried out by police last year were of non-Italians.

Illegal immigration has been made an offence; mayors have been given new security powers, and deportations have been stepped up.

So far, church leaders have been far more outspoken in their criticism of the government's policies than Italy's main, centre-left opposition party. Earlier this month, they succeeded in blocking an attempt by the mayor of Rome to pass a measure - seemingly aimed at Gypsies - that banned people from rummaging in garbage containers.

In June, Famiglia Cristiana said a government plan to take the fingerprints of Roma children was "indecent."

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 5 replies

Middle Class Gets Progressive??

Lorenzo — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:41:21 GMT

that's what the website says ( think progress )

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/19/dmi-middle-class-poll/

I don't think so. . .the poll results are encouraging but the best you can say is the middle class gets moderately liberal. . .and studies are always flawed, so who knows.

I don't see how 1 in 2 americans think mccain will do better than obama with russia and that 1 in 2 believe that prayer helps save the dying and that the middle class is "becoming progressive." some pollsters have got a screw loose. . .or maybe a swiss bank account. .

progressive would be supporting single payer that is decentralized and includes alternative medicine, with no forced payments by citizens.

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 1 reply

$2 Million Settlement for NYC Peace Activists. . .

Lorenzo — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:58:03 GMT

http://www.commondreams.org/news2008/0819-04.htm

whoopee! that will go a long way. nice that the courts ruled for free speech. .

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 1 reply

Russia Says Well, The US isn't Out of Iraq Yet. .

Lorenzo — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:08:07 GMT

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/08/russia_gets_cheeky.php

those guys don't miss a bet!

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 5 replies

Cell Phones Are Not Your Friend. . .

Lorenzo — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 17:09:58 GMT

The FBI Can Listen to Your Conversations When Your Cell Phone is OFF!!! That plus you can also get cancer. .

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/16/111320/047/843/568687

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 4 replies

NYC's 'ring of steel' (video surveillance)

deborahp — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:29:31 GMT

Pervasive video surveillance.

But really, even if you think this is a good idea, are there enough people in NYC to do real time monitoring so that you could actually prevent someone from doing a dastardly deed? Not to mention all of the false positives and racial profiling.

Civil liberties: Outrage at New York police plan to track vehicles
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/14/usa.humanrights

Ed Pilkington in New York
The Guardian,
Thursday August 14 2008

The Big Apple is turning into Big Brother, civil liberties groups have
warned in response to a new plan from New York city's police chiefs to
photograph every vehicle entering Manhattan and hold the details on a
massive database.

New York's police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, has proposed a major
extension of security measures around the city designed to prevent a third
attack on the World Trade Centre as the rebuilding of Ground Zero gathers
pace.

As well as placing cameras at all tunnels and bridges into Manhattan, the
36-page plan, called Operation Sentinel, calls for a security ring to be
erected at Ground Zero and for a 50-mile buffer zone around the city within
which mobile units would search for nuclear or "dirty" bombs.

The proposals are partly based on the so-called ring of steel erected around
the City of London in the wake of IRA bombings in the 1990s. Though the
3,000 cameras that could be mounted as a result of the plans of the New York
police pale in comparison with the multitude of cameras in operation on the
UK's roads and in public places, the proposals have provoked outrage in the
United States, where the concept of video surveillance is relatively
unfamiliar .

Donna Lieberman, director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the
idea of tracking the movements of millions of people was "an assault on the
country's historical respect for the right to privacy and the freedom to be
left alone". The NYCLU is pressing the New York police to release further
details of its intentions under freedom of information laws.

The toughest element of the scheme relates to preparations to secure Ground
Zero once the six-hectare site is rebuilt and open to the public again. The
mammoth construction project has been beset with delays that have pushed
back completion beyond 2011, but the New York police want to get security
measures operating well in advance.

Those measures include moveable roadblocks, security cameras across lower
Manhattan and an underground bomb-screening centre through which all
delivery vehicles would have to pass. In the wider 50-mile zone spanning New
Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Long Island, officers would be
equipped with mobile detectors to intercept possible radioactive devices.

The plan to video the number plates of every vehicle would be applied to all
points of entry into Manhattan, including the main Brooklyn-Battery,
Holland, Lincoln and Midtown tunnels and Brooklyn, Manhattan and other
bridges. Details would be kept on computer for a month.

© Guardian News and Media Limited 2008

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 4 replies

Save the World. . .Buy it!

Lorenzo — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:28:11 GMT

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/08/16/eamillionaires116.xml

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 0 replies

DNC Protest, Split, and the Principled Stand of Cynthia McKinney

steveargue2 — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:48:49 GMT

DNC Protest, Split, and the Principled Stand of Cynthia McKinney

By Steven Argue

Protest plans have been in the works against the Democratic National Convention (DNC) for some time now, with organizers opposing the Democrat Party’s policies of war and occupation, backing of continued corporate policies that cause global warming, and their attacks on immigrants.

The people who have been organizing the protest schedule formed a coalition called Recreate ‘68. A rightward split has occurred in this coalition, and another group has also been formed called the Alliance for Real Democracy. The Alliance for Real Democracy is organizing their own separate events, one of which is a reception for Democrat Party delegates complete with drinks and BBQ.

The Alliance for Real Democracy is made up of the Colorado Green Party, Code Pink, United for Peace and Justice, the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, the American Friends Service Committee, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Colorado Street Medics, and Students for Peace and Justice.

While the Alliance for Real Democracy consists largely of white liberals who are trying to influence the hopelessly corporate run Democrat Party, Recreate ‘68 is made up primarily of minorities, socialists, anarchists, communists, and other radicals who have fewer illusions in reforming the Democrat Party and who instead want to organize the power of the people.

Glen Spagnuelo, spokesperson of Recreate ‘68, says he’s not bothered by the formation of the Alliance for Real Democracy, because both groups oppose the war in Iraq and neither is advocating a violent protest.

Yet, the Alliance for Real Democracy has gotten extensive coverage in the corporate media of Colorado for their violence baiting of Recreate ‘68. The stand of Recreate ‘68 is, however, one where they simply explain that they are not planning violence, but if the police attack them, they do not disavow the right of protesters to self-defense.

As Benjamin Whitmer of Denver explained in the letters column of the Rocky Mountain Times in a June 5, 2008 letter entitled, “Re-create 68 members aren't violent extremists”:

“I’m a little confused as to the media’s portrayal of Glenn Spagnuolo and the members of Re-create 68 as violent extremists. Though Mr. Spagnuolo is getting painted as Vlad the Impaler with a bag full of severed heads, I’ve yet to hear of him engaging in a single act of violent protest. Moreover, I’ve attended several Re-create 68 meetings – meetings which, it’s worth noting, are never without a media presence – and have yet to hear a single suggestion of violent protest from him or from anyone else attending.

“The controversy seems to stem from Re-create 68’s refusal to disallow the right to self-defense to its members. Re-create 68’s explanation of this refusal is clear. There will be people protesting with Re-create 68 arm-in-arm with their children and elders. In large part, these will be representatives of communities which have most suffered from the never-ending betrayal of the Democrats. To attempt to deny them the right to defend themselves is to deny a fundamental human right.”

Yet, the Alliance for Real Democracy is demanding everyone roll over and die when and if they are violently attacked by the police, and painting those who do not have such a commitment as “violent”. The coverage their denunciations have received in the corporate media play into the hands of government attempts to deny permits, and, ultimately plays into the hands of police violence if the government does decide to physically attack these protests. In fact, the Alliance for Real Democracy’s denunciations of the right to self-defense and denunciations of Recreate ‘68 as “violent” creates a ready made excuse for the police and government that may actually cause police violence.

In addition, the Green Party of Colorado has issued false statements to the press and all over the internet claiming that Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney will not be participating in the Recreate ’68 events. Here is one such statement from Dave Chandler, co-chair of the Colorado Green Party, Green Party candidate for U.S. Congress in the Seventh Congressional District, and supporter of a Denver ballot measure that would seize the vehicles of illegal immigrants:

“Cynthia McKinney, Green Party candidate for President, and Rosa Clemente, Green Party candidate for Vice President are NOT participating in any Recreate ‘68 activities. Both candidates, and the Green Party of Colorado, are refuting this announcement and are stating that neither candidate, nor the Green Party of Colorado, are in any way associated with Recreate ’68, nor will any of their candidates be speaking at or attending any event, nor are they in any way associated with the group Recreate ’68.”

This is a blatant lie. Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente will be speaking at the Recreate ’68 events.

Liberation News does not endorse the Cynthia McKinney campaign, partly because she is running on the Green Party ticket, a capitalist party. Yet, she has the right positions on many issues, and does show what a candidate who is not beholden to corporate interests can speak out on, such as for single payer healthcare, immediate withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, and for freeing political prisoners in the U.S. like Mumia Abu-Jamal.

It is for these reasons, and the good principled stand that McKinney is taking on the protests at the Democrat National Committee, standing up to the leadership of the Green Party of Colorado, that Liberation News prints Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente’s statement on the DNC in full:

*******
Open Letter from Cynthia McKinney

As the United States activated Navy ships and the Air Force to begin an airlift of non-specified goods into the former Soviet state of Georgia, and military exercises began in the Persian Gulf near Iran, I received communications from certain individuals among the Colorado Greens who were organizing campaign support events there, suggesting that I not participate in an anti-war program being organized by other individuals in Colorado.

Perplexed, I began to do my research to understand the nature of the fissure that I seemed to be placing myself in the middle of. The communications to me about not participating in one of the scheduled events became more and more shrill. The events ran through August 26th. When the lineup of speakers, including Rosa and me, was announced for the events in question, I received multiple communications stating in various ways that the sender from the Green Party of Colorado, was on the verge of desperation over the latter.

Within a few hours, I was reading messages stating that the Green Party of Colorado would be ruined if I participated in the End the Occupations/End the War march and rally slated to take place on the morning of August 24th on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol, or if Rosa participated in a Freedom March and Rally for Human Rights and Political Prisoners at Civic Center Park the following day.

An article appeared in a local Colorado newspaper stating that Rosa and I would not appear at the events for which we had been scheduled. Rosa responded to our Colorado Green Party contact that yes, indeed, we were appearing at the two events. Both Rosa and I then received messages demanding to know by a time certain what our plans were, and asserting that the Green Party of Colorado would be totally ruined if we associated with the group sponsoring the events. In addition, we were told that at least one resignation and sustaining membership would be tendered to the Party, and that Rosa and I could expect no support on the ground in Denver from the Green Party of Colorado, including a planned fundraiser and a place to stay.

Without receiving any additional response or information from either Rosa or I, the correspondent sent a message informing us that all Green Party of Colorado events previously scheduled for us had been canceled. Further, the message stated that ballot access petitioning by Green Party of Colorado would cease in neighboring Wyoming and that all efforts would be made to remove Rosa's and my names from the ballot in Colorado. The message also noted that the Colorado delegation overwhelmingly supported Elaine Brown at the Green Party Convention.

With the e-mail messages flying "fast and furious," I hope I have mentioned the highlights of this episode in somewhat chronological order. What Rosa and I would like to address now, is the ideological and rational order that produced this outcome. At the very first Green Party debate held in San Francisco earlier this year, I pleaded for unity of action and purpose as we face the challenges that confront us as a country. Rosa and I are proud to join with others who are sick and tired of war, occupation, human rights abuses, and the continued incarceration of our political prisoners. We are proud to join with others who are willing to do something about it. In the context of activities in Denver, that means cooperating with some organizations new to us and others with which Rosa and I have had a long-standing relationship. Let me explain some of those relationships.

I am proud to have received a Backbone Award from the Backbone Campaign, one of the co-participants of the anti-war, anti-occupation events in question, according to the organizers.

Rosa and I are pleased to have received the endorsement of M-1 of Dead Prez, who put out a video of endorsement and is rallying other conscious Hip Hop, Generation X voters to the Green Party with Rosa and I as its nominees. Rebel Diaz was on the stage with Rosa as she accepted her Green Party nomination for Vice President. Both Dead Prez and Rebel Diaz are participating in the events in question, according to the organizers.

Fred Hampton, Jr.'s mother, a victim of COINTELPRO, came to Georgia in the mid-1990s to help me gain reelection after a malicious redistricting case that went all the way up to the Supreme Court. Ward Churchill has traveled to my Congressional district to educate my former constituents on the COINTELPRO of yesterday and the COINTELPRO of today. Natsu Saito introduced me to other victims of COINTELPRO. I asked Kathleen Cleaver to co-author a report that was submitted to Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at the time of the World Conference Against Racism, on the unsolved murders of Black Panther Party members who were victims of COINTELPRO. Fred Hampton, Jr., Ward Churchill, Natsu Saito, and Kathleen Cleaver are all participating in the events in question, according to the organizers.

As a Member of Congress, I supported the release of all political prisoners and welcomed information from the American Indian Movement about Leonard Peltier. I have at many times in my political career been allied with the ACLU, and have always supported Pam and Ramona Africa and the MOVE Organization. The American Indian Movement of Colorado, King Downing of the ACLU, and Pam and Ramona Africa of MOVE are all participating in the events in question, according to the organizers.

Mumia Abu Jamal has endorsed the Power to the People Campaign and my Green Party candidacy. According to the organizers, Mumia will transmit a message to all of us participating in the events in question.

Finally, I have appeared on various stages with many Palestinians; I have proudly spoken at rallies organized by Larry Holmes. Debra Sweet with World Can't Wait was among the very first to my knowledge to organize around impeachment as an imperative and I support hers and all other impeachment groups in their efforts. And finally, I have known Ben Manski for a long time as a socially conscious activist who is also a member of the Green Party. According to the organizers, a Palestinian refugee is slated to speak at the events in question, as well as Larry Holmes, Debra Sweet, and Ben Manski.

Rosa and I have not been given any rational, ideological, or strategically-acceptable reason by the Green Party of Colorado to dissociate ourselves from the movement that this country so desperately needs and that these individuals and organizations participating represent, as we all attempt to hold the Democratic Party accountable for its complicity in all of the crimes of the Bush Administration. Therefore Rosa and I will keep our appointments in Denver and we hope that the members of the Green Party of Colorado will attend our sessions and listen to what we have to say. I have faith that by taking principled stands against war and occupation, human rights abuse, the prison-industrial complex, and in support of freedom for political prisoners, the Green party will emerge stronger.

Cynthia McKinney
Green Party Nominee for President of the United States

Rosa Clemente
Green Party Nominee for Vice President of the United States

*******
Liberation News endorses and encourages people to attend:
Recreate ‘68 Protest: Speakers and Free Concerts Schedule
http://recreate68.com/?p=135

FYI:
Alliance for Real Democracy: drinks and BBQ for Democrat Party delegates and their other scheduled events:
http://slapstickpolitics.blogspot.com/2008/07/alliance-for-real-democracy-dnc.html

This is an article of Liberation News, subscribe free:
https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/liberation_news

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 0 replies

McCain: In touch with the people, yeah!

Lorenzo — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 17:11:24 GMT

McCain: You are Only Rich if You Make $5 million or more. .

http://www.opednews.com/articles/McCain-You-re-Only-Rich-i-by-JC-Garrett-080816-75.html

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 0 replies

Expert Support Legalizing Drugs. . . ( UK )

Lorenzo — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:58:19 GMT

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/julian-critchley-all-the-experts-admit-that-we-should-legalise-drugs-894367.html

Julian Critchley: All the experts admit that we should legalise drugs

Thursday, 14 August 2008

Eight years ago, I left my civil service job as director of the UK Anti-Drug Co-Ordination Unit. I went partly because I was sick of having to implement policies that I knew, and my political masters knew, were unsupported by evidence. Yesterday, after a surreal flurry of media requests referring to a blog I wrote that questioned the wisdom of the UK's drug policies, I found myself in the thick of the debate again, and I was sorry to discover that the terms hadn't changed a bit.

I was being interviewed on the BBC World Service, and after I tried to explain why I believe that drugs should be decriminalised, the person representing the other side of the argument pointed out that drugs are terrible, that they destroy lives. Now, I am a deeply boring, undruggy person myself, and I think the world would be a better place without drugs. But I think that we must live in the world as it is, and not as we want it to be. And so my answer was, yes, I know that drugs are terrible. I'm not saying that drugs should be decriminalised because it would be fun if we could all get stoned with impunity. I'm saying that we've tried minimising harm through a draconian legal policy. It is now clear that enforcement and supply-side interventions are largely pointless. They haven't worked. There is evidence that this works.

Unfortunately, evidence is still not a major component in our policy. Take cannabis. When I was in the Anti-Drug Unit, the moves towards making it a class C drug began, and I hoped that our position on drugs was finally moving in a rational direction. But then Gordon Brown ignored his scientific advisers to make it a class B again. It was a decision that pandered to the instincts of the tabloids, and it made no sense whatsoever.

There is no doubt at all that the benefits to society of the fall in crime as a result of legalisation would be dramatic. The argument always put forward against this is that there would be a commensurate increase in drug use as a result of legalisation. This, it seems to me, is a bogus point: tobacco is a legal drug, whose use is declining, and precisely because it is legal, its users are far more amenable to Government control, education programmes and taxation than they would be otherwise. Studies suggest that the market is already almost saturated, and anyone who wishes to purchase the drug of their choice anywhere in the UK can already do so. The idea that many people are holding back solely because of a law which they know is already unenforceable is ridiculous.

. . .more at the link..

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 1 reply

RFIDs in clothing

deborahp — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:28:33 GMT

It's a press release and I can't tell if Bruce Sterling wrote it, or just posted it.

Either way, it's always good to know which brands of clothing have RFIDs in them, so as to better avoid buying them.

Katherine Albrecht has been working on RFID issues for years now.

Arphid Watch: In Your Underwear
By Bruce Sterling August 13, 2008 | 12:01:32 PMCategories: Arphid Watch
http://blog.wired.com/sterling/2008/08/arphid-watch-in.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 13, 2008

Protest Today Against RFID in Clothing and Shoes

RFID WHERE? You'd better look at your shoes, socks and underwear!

(((What, even my Manolo Blahniks? Does Carrie know?)))

Protesters will gather today in Manhattan to greet attendees of the third annual "RFID in Fashion" conference, an event organized to promote the use of RFID in clothing and footwear. Dr. Katherine Albrecht, the Harvard-educated privacy campaigner featured in the film "Freedom to Fascism" and co-author of the bestselling book "Spychips," will be on-hand to speak to attendees arriving for the opening keynote this afternoon at NYC's Fashion Institute of Technology.

The conference features two days of speeches and events to advance apparel-industry uses for controversial Radio Frequency Identification or RFID technology. Past attendees include New Balance Athletic Shoes, Reebok, Levi Strauss, American Apparel, Liz Claiborne, and Jockey, along with retail outlets The Limited, Timberland, and Dillard's.

Albrecht planned today's protest after discovering the conference would promote the use of RFID in individual clothing items. Known as "item-level tagging," the practice of placing RFID tags on consumer items (rather than on crates or pallets in a warehouse) has been widely condemned by privacy and security experts.

Experts caution that such tags pose huge privacy and safety risks to the public. Used to track inventory in warehouses, RFID tags can easily be used to track people as well – a fact that can be exploited by marketers, government agencies, and criminals. IBM, for example, has patented RFID "person tracking units" for placement in walls and floors to allow marketers and government agents to secretly monitor people's movements. They suggest using the devices in public spaces like shopping malls, theaters, elevators, and restrooms once RFID is implemented at the item level.

"Consumers shouldn't have to worry about tracking devices being sewn into the seams of their clothing or pressed into the soles of their shoes," said Albrecht. "We are putting apparel and RFID companies on notice that consumers will protest any item-level use of RFID on apparel."

In 2003, Albrecht's consumer group CASPIAN led a successful boycott against Italian clothing manufacturer Benetton. The resulting worldwide opposition forced the company to cancel plans to sew millions of RFID tags into women's garments.

"Consumer awareness and opposition to RFID has grown exponentially since 2003," Albrecht said. "Any U.S. company foolish enough to use RFID on apparel will face stiff repercussions."

The RFID in Fashion 2008 conference website can be found at: http://www.rfidjournalevents.com/fashion/

================================================================

ABOUT CASPIAN

CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering) is a grass-roots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes since 1999 and irresponsible RFID use since 2002. With thousands of members in all 50 U.S. states and over 30 countries worldwide, CASPIAN seeks to educate consumers about marketing strategies that invade their privacy and encourage privacy-conscious shopping habits across the retail spectrum

OUR WEBSITES: Human Chipping: http://www.AntiChips.com RFID Tagging: http://www.spychips.com Shopper Cards: http://www.nocards.org Boycott Gillette: http://www.BoycottGillette.com Boycott Tesco: http://www.BoycottTesco.com Boycott Benetton (2003): http://www.BoycottBenetton.com

================================================================

ABOUT KATHERINE ALBRECHT

Dr. Katherine Albrecht is widely recognized as one of the world's leading experts on consumer privacy, retail issues, and RFID, or "Radio Identification Technology." She holds a Doctorate in Education from Harvard University, was appointed by NH Governor John Lynch to serve on that state's two-year RFID study commission, and is the director of CASPIAN, a 20,000 member consumer privacy organization she founded in 1999.

Since 2003, Katherine has led the fight against unethical RFID use in products and in people. She regularly testifies before lawmakers around the globe and has given over two thousand television, radio and print interviews to news outlets like CNN, NPR, Good Morning America, Business Week and the London Times, to name just a few. Executive Technology Magazine calls Katherine "perhaps the country's single most vocal privacy advocate" and Wired magazine calls her the "Erin Brockovich" of RFID."

================================================================

CONTACT // LINKS

Dr. Katherine Albrecht

Founder and Director, CASPIAN Consumer Privacy

(877) 287-5854, kma@spychips.com

=====================================================================

ABOUT CASPIAN

CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering) is a grass-roots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes since 1999 and irresponsible RFID use since 2002. With thousands of members in all 50 U.S. states and over 30 countries worldwide, CASPIAN seeks to educate consumers about marketing strategies that invade their privacy and encourage privacy-conscious shopping habits across the retail spectrum.

http://www.spychips.com/

http://www.antichips.com/

http://www.nocards.org/

=====================================================================

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 3 replies

Cages Readied for Democratic Convention. . .

Lorenzo — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 01:04:54 GMT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/13/gitmo-on-the-platte-denve_n_118766.html

CBS4 News has learned if mass arrests happen at the Democratic Convention, those taken into custody will be jailed in a warehouse owned by the City of Denver. Investigator Rick Sallinger discovered the location and managed to get inside for a look.

The newly created lockup is on the northeast side of Denver. Protesters have already given this place a name: "Gitmo on the Platte."

Inside are dozens are metal cages. They are made out of chain link fence material and topped by rolls of barbed wire.

. . .more at the link. .

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 0 replies

$1.3m from Oil to McCain. . .

Lorenzo — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 05:55:47 GMT

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article4460158.ece

McCain is clearly the favorite of the oil companies. .

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 1 reply

Where do you get your political news?

jon_near_seattle — Sun, 11 May 2008 19:45:34 GMT

I just finished a blog post looking at how I've changed where I get my political news over the last month, and the effect that it's had ... I thought it would be interesting to ask others as well.

Here's my current list

* The One Million Strong for Barack group on Facebook. I don’t think there’s anything magic about this particular group; any large and relatively diverse discussion forum could have the same effect.
* Pam’s House Blend
* Firedoglake
* TAPPED
* Jack and Jill Politics
* digby’s Hullabaloo
* Talking Points Memo
* Shakesville
* OpenLeft
* Marc Ambinder
* The Democratic Strategist

How about others?

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 16 replies

Denmark is Energy Independent!

Lorenzo — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 05:40:50 GMT

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/opinion/10friedman1.html?partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

very cool. . .an intelligent people, recently determined to be rated the happiest people in the world!

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 0 replies

Strange and Funny Comments on Russia Georgia War. .

Lorenzo — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 05:31:54 GMT

http://exiledonline.com/war-nerd-south-ossetia-the-war-of-my-dreams/

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 0 replies

NeoCons Go Apeshit Over War in Georgia. . .

Lorenzo — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 05:20:10 GMT

think we are on the brink of WW3. . .

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/11/neocon-russia-war/

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 0 replies

The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder

Yul — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:38:53 GMT

This is news that EVERYBODY should know about:
http://www.prosecutionofbush.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klYioEnpOk8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xP79ReW8bk

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 6 replies

Please post either news items or comments!

Lorenzo — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 03:20:34 GMT

participation is groovy. . .

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 1 reply

Discretionary Spending Request by Pentagon. . .Stupendous. .

Lorenzo — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 05:21:58 GMT

http://www.armscontrolcenter.org/policy/securityspending/articles/fy09_dod_request_discretionary/

Half a trillion dollars!!!

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Cindy Sheehan on Ballot Against Pelosi. . .

Lorenzo — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 19:09:37 GMT

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/35429

It will be an uphill struggle, but I'd be happy to see Pelosi out. .

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 2 replies

The Legacy of George Bush. .

Lorenzo — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 21:04:27 GMT

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/9/102424/1413/173/565297

Bush Legacy: Gunslinger
by David Model
Sat Aug 09, 2008 at 07:26:47 AM PDT

George Bush’s true legacy may not be truly understood for many years. Domestically he will be remembered as the president who severely weakened the economy, undermined civil liberties, and removed the foundations of democracy. But it is on the international stage where George Bush will some day be compared to a gunslinger in the old West who shot up and practically destroyed two countries while the local sheriff and his deputies trembled in their boots at the thought of trying to stop him and the local judge supported him.

* David Model's diary :: ::
*

President Bush has committed a long list of war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan that has caused unconscionable suffering and deprivation. He has violated the Geneva Conventions, the UN Convention Against Torture, the UN Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and the UN Charter.

Using military force in both Afghanistan and Iraq violated the basic principle of the United Nation’s Charter which established a careful set of guidelines to avoid conflict between two or more nations. The two conditions under which one country may use force against another include defense against an imminent attack and approval of the Security Council after a series of measures, defined in the charter, have been followed in an attempt to avoid a conflict. Neither of the criteria was met when the U.S. attacked Afghanistan and Iraq rendering President Bush guilty of the crime of perpetrating a war of aggression.

Attacking civilians and not treating prisoners humanely are expressly prohibited by the Geneva Conventions. Prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq not to mention other countries have been kidnapped, hooded, beaten and detained in inhumane conditions. Close to one million civilians have died during the war and occupation in both countries and the rationale of accidental death can not be invoked to explain such a plethora of deaths.

Torturing prisoners and treating them inhumanely violate both the Geneva Conventions and the Convention Against Torture. Holding prisoners and denying them their civil and legal rights also violates international law.

The most serious international crime of which George W. is guilty is the crime of genocide. By destroying the infrastructure further after his father and Clinton initially bombed water treatment plants, electrical utilities, irrigation systems etc., killing a further 600,000 people and creating conditions in which four million people became refugees meets the criteria in the Genocide Convention for the crime of genocide.

While it may be a long time before the American people are fully aware of his war crimes, the people of Iraq and Afghanistan have experienced the consequences firsthand.

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More on War Between Georgia and Russia. . .

Lorenzo — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 19:15:58 GMT

some interesting quotes as Georgian parliament establishes state of war. . .

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/09/georgia.ossetia/index.html

TBLISI, Georgia (CNN) -- Georgia's parliament Saturday approved a request by President Mikhail Saakashvili's to impose a "state of war," as the conflict between Georgia and Russia escalated, Georgian officials said.

Georgian officials said Russia has mobilized its Black Sea fleet off the coast of Abkhazia, another breakaway Georgian province.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived Saturday in Vladikavkaz, near Russia's border with Georgia, Russia's Interfax reported.

The Georgian "state of war" order is not a formal declaration of war, and stops short of declaring martial law, according to Georgian officials who described it to CNN.

It gives Saakashvili powers he would not ordinarily have, such as issuing curfews, restricting the movement of people, or limiting commercial activities, those officials said.

It places the government on a 24-hour alert, said Georgian National Security Council Secretary Alexander Lomaia during a conference call with reporters.

Saakashvili asked Western leaders to pressure Russia to agree to an immediate cease-fire, which he said his country would willingly observe first.

"We are dealing with absolutely criminal and crazy acts of irresponsible and reckless decision makers, which is on the ground producing dramatic and tragic consequences," Saakashvili said Saturday afternoon.

The war, Saakashvili said, "is not about South Ossetia. It has never been in the first place. It is about destroying a small democratic nation aspiring to live in peace, freedom and liberty."

"This unprovoked, long-time-ago-planned invasion and aggression must stop," he said.

Russia, with a population of 146 million, is trying to destroy his country of 4.6 million people, he said, comparing it to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

"I think what is at stake here is the post-Cold War order," Saakashvili said.

Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, told a news conference that the Russian paratroopers will "implement the operation of enforcing peace" on both sides.

Nogovitsyn also confirmed that Georgians had shot down two Russian aircraft. Saakashvili said his military has shot down 10 Russian bombers.

Russia said the troops were also reinforcing the Russian peacekeepers already in South Ossetia.

"Our peacekeepers, along with reinforcement units, are currently conducting an operation to force the Georgian side to accept peace," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said at the Kremlin. "They are also responsible for protecting the population."

Russia moved troops into South Ossetia early Friday after Georgia launched an operation in the breakaway region when its unilateral cease-fire was met with what it said was artillery fire from separatists that killed 10 people, including peacekeepers and civilians.

Russia charged that Georgia had targeted its peacekeepers stationed in the region.

Medvedev said Saturday that Georgia must be held responsible for the situation in South Ossetia.

"The people responsible for this humanitarian disaster need to be held liable for what they have done," Medvedev said. He said the humanitarian problems were caused by "the aggression launched by the Georgian side against the South Ossetian civilians and Russian peacekeepers."

Russian officials said more than 30,000 refugees have left South Ossetia and crossed into Russia over the past two days, since fighting began, Interfax reported. ( The total population is only 70,000 )

. . .excerpted, more at the link. .

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Georgia. . .The Petrochemical Connection. .

Lorenzo — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 19:07:27 GMT

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/09/MNDG127U55.DTL

Anne Gearan, Associated Press

(08-09) 04:00 PDT Washington --

There is more than meets the eye to the frantic U.S. efforts Friday to talk Russia and American ally Georgia out of war over an obscure mountain tract most Americans have never heard of.

A look at the map and your gas credit card bill shows why.

The breakaway province of South Ossetia is claimed by Georgia, a former Soviet republic that cast its lot with the United States and the West to the eternal irritation of Moscow. But South Ossetia has resisted Georgia's rule and has been under Russia's sway for years.

Georgia sits in a tough neighborhood, shoulder to shoulder with huge Russia, not far from Iran, and astride one of the most important crossroads for the emerging wealth of the rich Caspian Sea region. A U.S.-backed oil pipeline runs through Georgia, allowing the West to reduce its reliance on Middle Eastern oil while bypassing Russia and Iran.

The dispute makes the Bush administration the middleman between a promising ally it wants to help and the powerful former adversary next door whose help it needs.

Washington praises democratic development in Georgia, delights in its contribution of combat troops for Iraq and acknowledges valuable intelligence and counterterrorism cooperation.

Moscow's cooperation is vital to numerous Washington aims in Iran, North Korea and elsewhere.

"For all those reasons, and the fact that Georgia has demonstrated that it is a close ally, we cannot simply sit by and say, 'So be it - what does South Ossetia mean to us?' " said Janusz Bugajski, director of the new European democracies project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Georgia as a whole means quite a lot."

The pipeline that crosses Georgia can pump slightly more than 1 million barrels of crude oil per day, or more than 1 percent of the world's daily crude output. The 1,100-mile pipeline carries oil from Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea fields, estimated to hold the world's third-largest reserves. Its potential vulnerability was already in the spotlight after it was sabotaged this week, apparently by Kurdish separatists.

Most of the oil is bound for Western Europe, where gas prices are even higher than the $4 and more a gallon that U.S. consumers are now paying. With only so much oil to go around, what the pipeline carries affects prices elsewhere. The United States also hopes it will be a model for other development projects that could have a more direct effect on the U.S. market.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was on the phone Friday morning, appealing for calm in South Ossetia, a patch of craggy farmland that is home to about 70,000 people - fewer than live in Youngstown, Ohio. In a statement later, she reiterated U.S. commitment to Georgia's "territorial integrity."

President Bush discussed the violence with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Beijing, while the presumptive Democratic and Republican candidates to replace Bush issued worried statements. Tanks rolled as Bush spoke.

South Ossetia is one of the few places where ethnic, nationalist and other complications mean that the Cold War didn't die. U.S diplomats refer to these neighborhood squabbles as "frozen conflicts," a euphemism that belies the long-recognized threat that seemingly petty disputes can easily provoke a wider war.

The United States, European nations and others raced Friday to keep the conflict from spreading. The State Department appealed for a cease-fire and prepared to send a mediator to the region.

"We are asking our friends, and the United States among them, to somehow to try to mediate and try to persuade Russia to stop this military aggression and invasion of Georgia," said Vasil Sikharulidze, Georgia's ambassador to Washington.

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MalWart Cautions Worker about Obama. . .

Lorenzo — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:09:39 GMT

Don't you just hate this company?

http://www.workrewired.com/blog/post/9

What Wal-Mart Misses About Office Politics
Greig Harper
Thursday, August 07, 2008

It looks like Wal-Mart has been dropping hints about who it's workers should vote for in the US presidential elections. Not in any direct way. Not in an obvious way. Just hinting about 'consequences'.

From Reuters:

“Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Friday it has warned U.S. store managers in recent weeks about the possible consequences of a labor-friendly bill backed by Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama that would make it easier for workers to form unions. But the retailer, which has kept its U.S. stores free of unions, stressed it was not telling employees how to vote.

The Wall Street Journal reported that about a dozen employees who attended meetings in seven states said executives had told them that unionization could force Wal-Mart to cut jobs as labor costs rise, and that employees would have to pay hefty union dues and get nothing in return.

The Journal said Wal-Mart human-resources managers who run the meetings do not specifically tell attendees how to vote in November's presidential election, but they make it clear that voting for Obama would be tantamount to inviting unions in.”

Let's be clear. Wal-Mart isn't telling their employees how to vote. It's merely pointing out things it doesn't like about one candidate in a two horse race.

I'm a firm believer in opinionated workplaces. We should be working for something we believe in. If you don't believe in something then go home. But the rules are different for a gorilla sized company which employs more than 1.4 million US voters.

And taking employees to one side and canvassing breaks all kind of unwritten workplace rules. What are Wal-mart doing to ensure that their employees can get a balanced view? What safeguards are in place to make sure pro-McCain employees aren't over stepping the line and pushing other issues?

Any workplace should be a place where healthy debate and discussion on a whole range of issue is welcome. But it's not for any employer to use company time to suggest or imply how workers should use their vote. Would it be happy if employees use company time to put forward the Obama side of the argument? I think not.

Wal-mart needs to make a decision on whether it's a retail store or a political party. Until it figures it out I'd suggest you vote by spending your dollar elsewhere.

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 1 reply

Algae Produces Oil. . .

Lorenzo — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 22:12:01 GMT

It looks like there is a lot of promise in algae. it also does an excellent job in cleaning up water. .

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/08/algae--a-soluti.html

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 1 reply

Best Health Care in the World??

Lorenzo — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:52:34 GMT

Americans largely dissatisfied. . .

http://www.livescience.com/health/618246.html

by Steven Reinberg

(HealthDay News) -- The vast majority of Americans are dissatisfied with the U.S. health care system, and 82 percent think it needs to be overhauled, a new survey found.

"There is a broad view by the public that our health care system needs a full overhaul, either to be totally rebuilt or reformed," said Cathy Schoen, senior vice president for research and evaluation at The Commonwealth Fund, which commissioned the survey.

The survey, titled Public Views on U.S. Health Care System Organization: A Call for New Directions, questioned 1,004 adults on their views of the U.S. health care system.

The frustration with the current system stems from a shared experience of inefficient and time-consuming care, Schoen said. "Often paperwork doesn't arrive, or your records aren't available when you show up. There are also concerns about getting timely access to care," she said.

Schoen thinks the survey clearly indicates that Americans want better organized care. "Also, having a regular doctor who is available to see you, getting timely referrals, and having more affordable care are important to people," she said.

Nine out of 10 people surveyed said the presidential candidates should propose reforms that would improve the quality of health care, ensure that all Americans have affordable care, and reduce the number of uninsured.

Eight in 10 people said they supported efforts to improve health care performance, access, quality and cost. For example, one in three said their doctors ordered tests that had already been done or recommended unnecessary treatment.

Most of the people surveyed expressed frustration with the way their health care was managed. For instance, 47 percent said their health care was poorly coordinated; this lack of coordination included not being informed about test results and having to make several calls to get the results.

. . .more at the link..

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NYT Lies About Obama vs McCain. . .

Lorenzo — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:14:20 GMT

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/08/new_york_times_falsely_says_ob.php

Says Obama is struggling in the polls. . .their own polls show Obama consistently ahead of McCain. .

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Surprise! McCain's Chief Foreign Policy Advisor is. . .

Lorenzo — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:07:16 GMT

a former lobbyist for the nation of Georgia. .

http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/08/08/how-would-mccain-mediate/

Russia’s invasion of Georgia today raises some questions about how a McCain administration might deal with a crisis like this.

McCain’s main foreign policy adviser and spokesperson, Randy Scheunemann, is a former registered lobbyist for the Republic of Georgia. Back in April, in an interview with Radio Free Europe, Scheunemann took a strongly pro-Georgia anti-Russia line, insisting that the United States should move forward with missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic, as well as supporting the NATO membership of Ukraine and Georgia, regardless of the negative consequences that these policies would likely have for U.S.-Russia relations.

Given McCain’s provocative statements regarding Russia, it’s clear that he shares Scheunemann’s hardline views on the subject. As we wrote last month, this has troubling implications for the prospect of Russia’s essential cooperation in dealing with the Iranian nuclear program. But is also raises the question of how a McCain administration — staffed by committed Georgian partisans like Randy Scheunemann — could conceivably be seen as an honest broker for dealing with the growing crisis between Russia and Georgia?

UPDATE: The McCain campaign issued a statement calling on Russia to “immediately and unconditionally cease its military operations and withdraw all forces from sovereign Georgian territory,” and calling for the international community “to establish a truly independent and neutral peacekeeping force in South Ossetia.”

As Jonathan Martin notes, McCain has taken a much harder pro-Georgia line on the situation than the Bush administration. It remains to be seen how a McCain administration could productively mediate such a conflict, especially given Randy Scheunemann’s past statements dismissing diplomatic “trade offs” with Russia as “kind of a relic of a bygone era of power politics.”

UPDATE 2: Rob Farley has this analysis, also noting here Georgia’s bombardment last night of Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, which prompted today’s Russian action in support of Georgian separatists.

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Bush Must Allow Officials to Testify. . .

Lorenzo — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:05:09 GMT

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2165/t/1027/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=25316

Tell President Bush that he must allow executive branch officials to testify or he will face impeachment

On September 26, congressional oversight may be dead. The Constitution that has served our nation so well since 1789 may be hopelessly and forever diminished. Our federal government and, in turn, our nation may never be the same.

Those are the stakes.

In order for our government to function, we must have checks and balances. In order to prevent a president from assuming king-like powers and to ensure that all presidents are held accountable for their actions, Congress must have effective congressional oversight ability. And, of course, our presidents must respect that power.

George W. Bush does not.

It is time to put an end to this defiling of our Constitution. The U.S. House of Representatives has set September 26 as a target date for adjournment. By that time, Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, and Josh Bolten must comply with the congressional subpoenas they have been issued – and which a federal judge has ordered them to follow.

If they do not, then George W. Bush must be impeached and removed from office.

If he is not removed from office, Congress will have established a standard under which a president may deny Congress’s investigative power without penalty. That simply cannot happen.

Show your support for our “Testify or Impeach” campaign by filling in your information below and clicking on “Send My Message!” to send an E-mail to the White House.

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Cheney Behind Forged Letter. . .

Lorenzo — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:55:15 GMT

an update on the forged letter revelation. .

http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2008/08/07/suskind-revisited/?view=print

Suskind Revisited
Posted on August 7th, 2008 by Philip Giraldi

An extremely reliable and well placed source in the intelligence community has informed me that Ron Suskind’s revelation that the White House ordered the preparation of a forged letter linking Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda and also to attempts made to obtain yellowcake uranium is correct but that a number of details are wrong.

The Suskind account states that two senior CIA officers Robert Richer and John Maguire supervised the preparation of the document under direct orders coming from Director George Tenet. Not so, says my source. Tenet is for once telling the truth when he states that he would not have undermined himself by preparing such a document while at the same time insisting publicly that there was no connection between Saddam and al-Qaeda. Richer and Maguire have both denied that they were involved with the forgery and it should also be noted that preparation of such a document to mislead the media is illegal and they could have wound up in jail.

My source also notes that Dick Cheney, who was behind the forgery, hated and mistrusted the Agency and would not have used it for such a sensitive assignment. Instead, he went to Doug Feith’s Office of Special Plans and asked them to do the job. The Pentagon has its own false documents center, primarily used to produce fake papers for Delta Force and other special ops officers traveling under cover as businessmen. It was Feith’s office that produced the letter and then surfaced it to the media in Iraq. Unlike the Agency, the Pentagon had no restrictions on it regarding the production of false information to mislead the public. Indeed, one might argue that Doug Feith’s office specialized in such activity.

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Pakistan Can Impeach, America Cannot. . .

Lorenzo — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:52:30 GMT

isn't this a little strange??

http://www.theseminal.com/2008/08/07/pakistan-gearing-up-to-impeach-musharraf/

by Alex Thurston. .

Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto's widower and a major leader in Pakistan's civilian government, announced today that the parliament will initiate impeachment proceedings against President Pervez Musharraf. He calls it "good news for democracy," and I'm inclined to agree. In the matter of firing high judges alone, civilians should hold Musharraf accountable. And with his popularity having bottomed out a long time ago, Pakistan desperately needs some change.

Now, the civilians - ie, Bhutto's PPP and Nawaz Sharif's PML-N - have been discussing impeachment and other such measures since the parliamentary elections nearly six months ago. So in a way I'm surprised they're moving forward with it at this particular moment. Al Jazeera (see link above) suggests that the main factor is simply that the two major parties finally reached an agreement, and feel that they have the votes in parliament (a two-thirds majority is required) to pull it off.

The New York Times suggest that Zardari and Sharif are making moves because they feel their own survival is at stake:

The sudden cohesion of the coalition and the decision to try to remove Mr. Musharraf comes against the backdrop of a serious economic crisis in the country, a surging Taliban insurgency and popular sentiment that the four-month-old government has failed to deal with the urgent problems facing the country.

It appeared that the two leaders found that the only way they could keep the coalition intact was to attack Mr. Musharraf, something Mr. Zardari had been reluctant to do.

Moving forward, everyone seems to agree that this is a major threat to Musharraf. He's cancelled a planned trip to Beijing. He's said in the past that he'd rather resign than face impeachment, and the New York Times says that Zardari and Sharif, by holding a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly prior to the beginning of full-blown hearings, may be trying to offer Musharraf a way to step down painlessly. Musharraf is apparently meeting with his lawyer today.

But the civilians appear determined to make it stick. Musharraf will face a vote of no confidence not only at the national but also the provincial level, and the opposition is also considering reinstating the judges whose firings represent a major piece of the current crisis. As for Musharraf, he could play the risky gambit of dissolving parliament, but he needs the military's backing to do so, and under new leadership their loyalties could swing more to the other side.

Several questions come out of this situation: How will the "War on Terror" in Pakistan go differently if the civilians, who favor negotiations with the Pakistani Taliban, take more control? How will US-Pakistan relations change?

And more importantly, how come the Pakistanis can get it together to impeach a corrupt president who fires top judicial officials for his own personal and partisan gain, but we can't?

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The Nation: Open Letter to Obama. .

Lorenzo — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:53:32 GMT

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080818/open_letter

Dear Senator Obama,

Change We Can Believe In

Presidential Election 2008

Progressive supporters of Barack Obama urge him to stand firm on the principles he so compellingly articulated in the primary. Join Phil Donahue, Barbara Ehrenreich, Studs Terkel, Walter Mosely, Gore Vidal, Bill McKibben, Jane Hamsher, Katrina vanden Heuvel and others in signing this open letter.

We write to congratulate you on the tremendous achievements of your campaign for the presidency of the United States.

Your candidacy has inspired a wave of political enthusiasm like nothing seen in this country for decades. In your speeches, you have sketched out a vision of a better future--in which the United States sheds its warlike stance around the globe and focuses on diplomacy abroad and greater equality and freedom for its citizens at home--that has thrilled voters across the political spectrum. Hundreds of thousands of young people have entered the political process for the first time, African-American voters have rallied behind you, and many of those alienated from politics-as-usual have been re-engaged.

You stand today at the head of a movement that believes deeply in the change you have claimed as the mantle of your campaign. The millions who attend your rallies, donate to your campaign and visit your website are a powerful testament to this new movement's energy and passion.

This movement is vital for two reasons: First, it will help assure your victory against John McCain in November. The long night of greed and military adventurism under the Bush Administration, which a McCain administration would continue, cannot be brought to an end a day too soon. An enthusiastic corps of volunteers and organizers will ensure that voters turn out to close the book on the Bush era on election day. Second, having helped bring you the White House, the support of this movement will make possible the changes that have been the platform of your campaign. Only a grassroots base as broad and as energized as the one that is behind you can counteract the forces of money and established power that are a dead weight on those seeking real change in American politics.

We urge you, then, to listen to the voices of the people who can lift you to the presidency and beyond.

Since your historic victory in the primary, there have been troubling signs that you are moving away from the core commitments shared by many who have supported your campaign, toward a more cautious and centrist stance--including, most notably, your vote for the FISA legislation granting telecom companies immunity from prosecution for illegal wiretapping, which angered and dismayed so many of your supporters.

We recognize that compromise is necessary in any democracy. We understand that the pressures brought to bear on those seeking the highest office are intense. But retreating from the stands that have been the signature of your campaign will weaken the movement whose vigorous backing you need in order to win and then deliver the change you have promised.

Here are key positions you have embraced that we believe are essential to sustaining this movement:

§ Withdrawal from Iraq on a fixed timetable.

§ A response to the current economic crisis that reduces the gap between the rich and the rest of us through a more progressive financial and welfare system; public investment to create jobs and repair the country's collapsing infrastructure; fair trade policies; restoration of the freedom to organize unions; and meaningful government enforcement of labor laws and regulation of industry.

§ Universal healthcare.

§ An environmental policy that transforms the economy by shifting billions of dollars from the consumption of fossil fuels to alternative energy sources, creating millions of green jobs.

§ An end to the regime of torture, abuse of civil liberties and unchecked executive power that has flourished in the Bush era.

§ A commitment to the rights of women, including the right to choose abortion and improved access to abortion and reproductive health services.

§ A commitment to improving conditions in urban communities and ending racial inequality, including disparities in education through reform of the No Child Left Behind Act and other measures.

§ An immigration system that treats humanely those attempting to enter the country and provides a path to citizenship for those already here.

§ Reform of the drug laws that incarcerate hundreds of thousands who need help, not jail.

§ Reform of the political process that reduces the influence of money and corporate lobbyists and amplifies the voices of ordinary people.

These are the changes we can believe in. In other areas--such as the use of residual forces and mercenary troops in Iraq, the escalation of the US military presence in Afghanistan, the resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the death penalty--your stated positions have consistently varied from the positions held by many of us, the "friends on the left" you addressed in recent remarks. If you win in November, we will work to support your stands when we agree with you and to challenge them when we don't. We look forward to an ongoing and constructive dialogue with you when you are elected President.

Stand firm on the principles you have so compellingly articulated, and you may succeed in bringing this country the change you've encouraged us to believe is possible.

Here is a list of early signatories to this open letter:

Rocky Anderson

Moustafa Bayoumi

Norman Birnbaum Professor Emeritus
Georgetown University Law Center

Tim Carpenter
Progressive Democrats of America

John Cavanaugh, director
Institute for Policy Studies

Juan Cole

Chuck Collins

Phil Donahue

Barbara Ehrenreich

Tom Engelhardt
Tomdispatch.com

Jodie Evans, co-f0under
CODEPINK: Women for Peace

Thomas Ferguson

Bill Fletcher Jr., executive editor,
BlackCommentator.com

Eric Foner

Milton Glaser

Robert Greenwald

William Greider

Jane Hamsher

Tom Hayden

Christopher Hayes

Richard Kim

Stuart Klawans

Richard Linklater

Bill McKibben

Walter Mosley

Eli Pariser

Richard Parker, president
Americans for Democratic Action

Gary Phillips
Writer and activist

Jon Pincus
achangeiscoming.net and member of Get FISA Right

Chip Pitts

Frances Piven

Elizabeth Pochoda

Katha Pollitt

Marcus Raskin

Betsy Reed

Bob Scheer

Herman Schwartz

Jonathan Schell

Gene Seymour

David Sirota

Norman Solomon
Author and Obama delegate to Democratic National Convention

Mike Stark

Jean Stein

Matt Stoller

Jonathan Tasini

Zephyr Teachout

Studs Terkel

Katrina vanden Heuvel

Gore Vidal

David Weir

Howard Zinn

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 1 reply

Bush Ordered Fake Letter. . .

Lorenzo — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:31:03 GMT

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Suskind_Bush_ordered_fake_letter_linking_0805.html

The corruption and lies never end. .

Suskind: Bush ordered fake letter linking Iraq to 9/11
David Edwards and Nick Juliano
Published: Tuesday August 5, 2008

Author: Only White House reaction is 'calling me names'

A blockbuster new book from investigative journalist Ron Suskind adds another revelation to the growing canon demonstrating the lengths to which President Bush and members of his administration lied, misled and deceived the American people to pursue its invasion of Iraq.

Bush allegedly ordered the CIA to forge a handwritten letter from the head of Iraq's intelligence service to Saddam Hussein that purported to link the Iraqi dictator to the ringleader of the hijackers who toppled the Twin Towers on 9/11, according to news accounts of Suskind's new book, The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism. Such use of an intelligence service to influence domestic political debate could be an impeachable offense, Suskind writes.

Politico's Mike Allen reports:

According to Suskind, the administration had been in contact with the director of the Iraqi intelligence service in the last years of Hussein’s regime, Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti.

“The White House had concocted a fake letter from Habbush to Saddam, backdated to July 1, 2001,” Suskind writes. “It said that 9/11 ringleader Mohammad Atta had actually trained for his mission in Iraq – thus showing, finally, that there was an operational link between Saddam and al Qaeda, something the Vice President’s Office had been pressing CIA to prove since 9/11 as a justification to invade Iraq. There is no link.” [...]

The author claims that such an operation, part of “false pretenses” for war, would apparently constitute illegal White House use of the CIA to influence a domestic audience, an arguably impeachable offense.

. . .more at the link. .

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A downside of electronic health records

deborahp — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:53:35 GMT

Insurance companies are mining prescription drug usage to perform a 'health credit report'. In other words, they're coming up with more ways to discriminate against us.

Insurance Industry Accesssing Consumer Databases to Run Health "Credit" Checks
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/93784/insurance_industry_accesssing_consumer_databases_to_run_health_%22credit%22_checks/

(click the link for the rest of the article)

Posted by AlterNet Staff, The Washington Post at 6:31 AM on August 4, 2008.

Ellen Nakashima, writing in the Washington Post, reports:

Health and life insurance companies have access to a powerful new tool for evaluating whether to cover individual consumers: a health "credit report" drawn from databases containing prescription drug records on more than 200 million Americans.

Collecting and analyzing personal health information in commercial databases is a fledgling industry, but one poised to take off as the nation enters the age of electronic medical records. While lawmakers debate how best to oversee the shift to computerized records, some insurers have already begun testing systems that tap into not only prescription drug information, but also data about patients held by clinical and pathological laboratories.

Traditionally, insurance companies have judged an applicant's risk by gathering medical records from physicians' offices. But the new tools offer the advantage of being "electronic, fast and cheap," said Mark Franzen, managing director of Milliman IntelliScript, which provides consumers' personal drug profiles to insurers.

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 8 replies

Revising this Tribe a little. . .

Lorenzo — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:34:58 GMT

I have been very active in the politics tribe, posting a lot of news stories there, but frequently am pissed off at the immature and obnoxious behavior that often wrecks things there.

So, I am going to be posting the news stories here. There are a lot more people in that tribe and the rate of posts is very high, but I think it is better to aim at quality rather than quantity. I will continue to comment on other people's threads there, because it is a good way to meet others and maybe get them involved in the progressive tribes.

So the focus is shifting here a little to be more inclusive with news stories. I have not been that active with this tribe because I wanted to go with the flow, but maybe I can prime the pump by posting lots of stuff.

Please join in and we'll have discussions among like minded people that maybe will be a lot saner and more wholesome. .

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 8 replies

Liberate Yourself From the Mainstream Media. . .

Lorenzo — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:45:23 GMT

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Liberate-Yourself-from-the-by-PrMaine-080621-260.html

quite a thoughtful article. .

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 1 reply

America Has One Quarter of the World's Debt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lorenzo — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:47:46 GMT

http://thepoliticsofdebt.com/?p=340

Incredible. . .shocking!

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 3 replies

Chinese Police Beat Journalists. .

Lorenzo — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:40:44 GMT

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/05/2324748.htm

Police state in action. . .ready for the Olympics??

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 0 replies

Possible war crimes trials?

deborahp — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:14:36 GMT

Well, now. :)

Much more at the link.

First Monday: Civil Liberties, Guantanamo, And Where We Go From Here
http://firedoglake.com/2008/08/04/first-monday-civil-liberties-guantanamo-and-where-we-go-from-here/

By: Vince Warren Monday August 4, 2008 11:58 am

[Thanks for joining us for another edition of First Monday, presented in conjunction with the Alliance for Justice. Please welcome Vince Warren, the Executive Director for the Center for Constitutional Rights. Please also welcome Steven Watt of the ACLU. As always with guests, please stay on-topic and be polite -- any off-topic discussions should be taken to the prior thread. Thanks! -- CHS]

---skip---

Last paragraph:

This fall, in addition to the 100 Days campaign, we’ll be releasing our book, The Trial of Donald Rumsfeld, which lays out the torture case against the former Defense Secretary as well as Gonzales, Tenet, Yoo, Bybee and others guilty of war crimes. We’ve filed cases in Germany and France under universal jurisdiction laws, and continue to pursue accountability. But we’ll need the support and the pressure of the public to make it all work.

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 3 replies

Former FBI Office Blows the Whistle. . .

Lorenzo — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:37:47 GMT

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/04/al-qaeda-anthrax/

Former FBI Official: After 9/11, White House Told FBI To Blame Anthrax Attacks On Al Qaeda»

Last week, Bruce Ivins, a government scientist who researched anthrax and was expected to be charged in connection with the 2001 attacks, reportedly committed suicide. As Glenn Greenwald has noted, President Bush and his administration initially attempted to link the anthrax attacks to Iraq.

The New York Daily News has a new twist in the administration’s attempt to peg the anthrax attacks to its own bellicose aims. Immediately after 9/11, the Daily News reports, “White House officials repeatedly pressed FBI Director Robert Mueller to prove it was a second-wave assault by Al Qaeda,” according to a former FBI official:

After the Oct. 5, 2001, death from anthrax exposure of Sun photo editor Robert Stevens, Mueller was “beaten up” during President Bush’s morning intelligence briefings for not producing proof the killer spores were the handiwork of terrorist mastermind Osama Bin Laden, according to a former aide.

“They really wanted to blame somebody in the Middle East,” the retired senior FBI official told The News.

As the Daily News noted, similar to its efforts with Iraq, the White House on multiple occasions suggested that the anthrax attacks were tied to al Qaeda operatives abroad:

On October 15, 2001, President Bush said, “There may be some possible link” to Bin Laden, adding, “I wouldn’t put it past him.” Vice President Cheney also said Bin Laden’s henchmen were trained “how to deploy and use these kinds of substances, so you start to piece it all together.”

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) claimed “some of this anthrax may…have come from Iraq,” suggesting that the “second phase” of the war on terror may be in Iraq.

The claims, however, were quickly rejected by experts, who “told us this was not something some guy in a cave could come up with,” the former FBI official said. “They couldn’t go from box cutters one week to weapons-grade anthrax the next.”

As press reports have indicated, while the source of the attacks is still unknown, a large body of evidence points towards Ivins’s lab in Ft. Detrick, Maryland. For the Bush administration, however, the evidence doesn’t seem to matter until after the case for war is made.

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 3 replies

House Conservatives Mess With Vets Bill. . .

Lorenzo — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:45:47 GMT

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/04/house-conservatives-boo-veterans-organizations-who-urge-a-clean-military-funding-bill/

House conservatives boo veterans organizations who urge a clean military funding bill.»

On Friday, the House considered a bill providing needed funding to veterans and military organizations. House conservatives tried to attach an offshore oil drilling amendment to the bill, threatening its passage. Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Chet Edwards (D-TX) denounced the tactic. When he read statements from veterans groups urging Congress not to meddle with the legislation, House conservatives booed. Watch it:

Despite the Republicans’ stunts, the House passed the bill.

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 0 replies

Democratic Republic is Slipping Away. . .

Lorenzo — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:43:50 GMT

I don't care for some of what the Populist party stands for, but they do have some good perspectives. .

http://www.populistamerica.com/the_republic_slip_sliding_away

August 4, 2008
by Charley Reese
Share and Bookmark this Page Subscribe to the Populist Party RSS Feed

Despite all the blather about democracy, we did not invent it, do not support it and have, during the recent administration, become less democratic than we were before.

We are and always have been too large a country for a true democracy. That's why the Founding Fathers created a republic. In a true democracy, the people would decide practically all the issues. In a republic, the people delegate that power to elected representatives who serve for a fixed term.

A republic is a good form of government provided the people pay attention, fairly judge the performance of their elected officials and boot 'em out of office when they don't cut the mustard. It is a good form of government provided the best people, not the worst, offer themselves to serve in public office.

Our government really does not support democracy, except rhetorically. When the Palestinians had a free and fair election and chose Hamas members to man their government, we refused to recognize the new government. Apparently, the Bush administration's definition of a free election is one that provides the results the president wants.

Most of our "allies" are far from democratic. Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states are all authoritarian in one form or another. Ironically, Iran does have an elected government, but there again, it's one Bush doesn't like. Poor Hugo Chavez in Venezuela has been elected and re-elected, but still gets called a tyrant by Bush's step-and-fetch-its. China, which is a stern one-party dictatorship, seems to find our favor.

I'd say that if you are a dictator seeking the favor of the United States, you must offer financial incentives, be a supporter of Israel or volunteer for lap-dog status.

If you dare indicate that you are interested in the welfare of your own people and your own nation, you are likely to end up on the president's bathroom list. This basic rule of foreign policy doesn't seem to change regardless of which party occupies the White House.

. . .more at the link. .

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 0 replies

Corporate Media is Guilty. . .

Lorenzo — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:41:51 GMT

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/editorblog/107

White House Plans "False Flag" Operations to Trigger War with Iran, and the Corporate Media Ignores Such a Criminal Enterprise As If It Were Anthrax

THE BUZZFLASH EDITOR'S BLOG

Mark Karlin

Editor and Publisher

August 4, 2008

Seymour Hersh is the most trusted and well-connected national security investigative reporter in the nation. (His heir apparent at The New Yorker is Jane Mayer.) He has reliable connections everywhere, including the Bush White House, the CIA, and the Pentagon.

Almost no one vigorously attacks Hersh’s reporting, including the White House and the right-wing media echo chamber. Why? Because many of his sources are from inside the administration and he has such credibility that they would just be drawing attention to his revelations.

Unfortunately, while some of Hersh’s bombshells get picked up by the corporate media, they are usually the ones that the White House actually wants disseminated, such as Hersh’s New Yorker piece on how the Bush Administration is currently conducting special military operations inside of Iran to destabilize the government. The White House wants to ratchet up the pressure on Iran with this sort of saber rattling.

But if the White House doesn’t want a Hersh disclosure to travel far, you can bet that the corporate media will treat it as if it were radioactive, or like they treated the anthrax story, ignoring the telling questions of potential U.S. government involvement, via the biological warfare lab at Fort Detrick, in the attacks on liberal senate leadership just before the vote on the Patriot Act. Nor did the corporate media follow through on why the White House and its shills – like John McCain and Joe Lieberman – were so quick to blame the anthrax attacks on Iraq, providing another casus belli – although a clearly false one, since the anthrax was manufactured in our own military research facility in Maryland -- for attacking that nation.

Last week, Think Progress offered us a Hersh disclosure that should have been on the front page of the major papers and the lead story on corporate broadcast news across the United States: the White House staff, led by Cheney, have been debating ways to provoke a war with Iran. If you are thinking Gulf of Tonkin, you don’t have to go back that far.

Remember just a few months ago that the U.S. corporate media breathlessly reported how an Iranian gun boat allegedly threatened a U.S. naval vessel. Only, it turned out that the recording that the White House had the Pentagon disseminate was doctored and no verbal threat had occurred.

And that is exactly what the White House has been planning, as in "kicking around ideas" that would precipitate a confrontation with Iran that would get the American public behind a war.

We’ll turn it over to the Think Progress report on Hersh’s comments so that you can get a better idea of the horrendous and criminal implications of what Cheney and his crew are still up to, even after the debacle of Iraq. (Remember that Cheney is after control over the oil and assertion of U.S. hegemony over the region.):

Speaking at the Campus Progress journalism conference earlier this month, Seymour Hersh — a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist for The New Yorker — revealed that Bush administration officials held a meeting recently in the Vice President’s office to discuss ways to provoke a war with Iran.

In Hersh’s most recent article, he reports that this meeting occurred in the wake of the overblown incident in the Strait of Hormuz, when a U.S. carrier almost shot at a few small Iranian speedboats. The "meeting took place in the Vice-President’s office. 'The subject was how to create a casus belli between Tehran and Washington,’" according to one of Hersh’s sources.

During the journalism conference event, I asked Hersh specifically about this meeting and if he could elaborate on what occurred. Hersh explained that, during the meeting in Cheney’s office, an idea was considered to dress up Navy Seals as Iranians, put them on fake Iranian speedboats, and shoot at them. This idea, intended to provoke an Iran war, was ultimately rejected:

HERSH: There was a dozen ideas proffered about how to trigger a war. The one that interested me the most was why don’t we build — we in our shipyard — build four or five boats that look like Iranian PT boats. Put Navy seals on them with a lot of arms. And next time one of our boats goes to the Straits of Hormuz, start a shoot-up.

Okay, so that specific "false flag" Hollywood style operation was rejected, but ideas for creating the pretext to nuke Iran haven’t been deep-sixed. Apparently, no one but Think Progress, a project of the Center for American Progress, thinks that this sort of treachery and betrayal of the nation is worth reporting upon.

Our policy at BuzzFlash.com has been to be very careful about conspiracy theories, because so many of them rely on speculation, since the very nature of a cover-up is to deny us information. We know that we don’t know the truth about the JFK assassination or 9/11, but we can only hypothesize about what really happened because so much of the evidence has already been shredded or, in the case of unwelcome people with unwanted information, rendered "inoperable."

But here, you have America’s premier investigative reporter informing us that the White House has been actively "brainstorming" ways to fabricate a "justification" for a war with Iran.

It’s another war crime, a war crime against the American people and the innocent civilian population of Iran, and again for oil. (The nuclear issue is of interest, but not the real reason motivating Cheney. He wants another Shah-like puppet in power and Iranian oil under de facto American control.)

When you wonder about why it is important to support progressive news and commentary sites such as BuzzFlash.com, think about who is getting this sort of information out to you and who isn’t.

By the way, many BuzzFlash readers are familiar with the confirmed plan by the Pentagon in the early ‘60s, "Operation Northwoods," to create a war with Cuba and the Soviet Union by attacking our own civilians. "Operation Northwoods" included an idea to shoot down one of our own civilian airliners and blame it on the Cubans, thus raising the battle cry among Americans to invade the island. This is no conspiracy theory, "Operation Northwoods" is well-documented as a plan (even covered by ABC News when it was finally documented some 40 years later in 2001), but fortunately it was buried and never put into action. Saner and less criminal minds prevailed, as President Kennedy nixed the entire Northwoods plan when he first saw it.

But we don’t have JFK in the White House; we have George W. Bush and Dick Cheney – and they aren’t throwing treacherous ideas like "Operation Northwoods" in the shredder; to the contrary, they are creating plans like Northwoods.

And the corporate mainstream media isn’t even informing the American people.

But as soon as one of these ideas is activated, you’ll know about it because the television news networks and newspapers will be covering it breathlessly as if it is for real.

Lives are at stake, as Cheney plots another war based on deception.

And no one but some Netroot sites seems to be interested in alerting the American public.

That is how bad the mess that we are in is.

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 0 replies

Staggering Profits for EXXON. . .

Lorenzo — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:29:07 GMT

http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/20080802_the_have_oils_and_the_have_nots/

These profits should be used to develop the solar power plants that we need for the future.
If I were the head of government, I would compell them to so use that money. .

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 2 replies

exciting news

Whether — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:25:43 GMT

"In a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source, MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine."

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731.html

- This could be just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 4 replies

Two side by side articles on video surveillance

deborahp — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:54:35 GMT

One from the US and one from the UK. In the US it illustrates the budding partnership between government and corporate. In the UK it highlights the partnership between government and the individual.

Click the links for the whole article.

Plan Links Private Surveillance Cameras, 911 Center
http://www.nbc5.com/news/16981591/detail.html

POSTED: 6:30 pm CDT July 24, 2008

CHICAGO -- From bakeries to banks, thousands of Chicago's business are
equipped with surveillance cameras, but a new plan under consideration could
make the private cameras in businesses and homes work in tandem with the
city's surveillance cameras, sending images to Chicago's Office of Emergency
Management and Communications.

According to the city's Web site, Chicago has more than 2,000 surveillance
cameras on street corners, at Chicago Transit Authority stations, Chicago
Housing Authority developments and critical infrastructure around the city.

---

Call for CCTV volunteers slammed
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/dorset/7523306.stm

BBC News
16:27 GMT, Thursday, 24 July 2008 17:27 UK

A plan to recruit civilians to monitor police CCTV cameras has been
branded as like something out of Dad's Army, Dorset Police Federation has
said.

Officers are looking for "community-minded" people to watch 26 cameras
in three Dorset police stations.

Insp Phil Cheverton said having extra people to monitor the cameras
would provide "added value" to policing.

But federation chairman Clive Chamberlain said it was "policing on the
cheap".

"Is this the way forward for 21st Century policing? Dad's Army," he
said.

"I think policing should be about zero tolerance not policing at zero
cost.

"We would prefer that fully trained, professional personnel working
from a police control room should be used in this critical area of alerting
officers and the gathering of evidence.

posted in Progressive News Bulletin - 5 replies