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Thought-Police Is Here in Israel

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:53:30 -0400

by Rona Kuperboim

The Foreign Ministry unveiled a new plan this week: Paying talkbackers to post pro-Israel responses on websites worldwide. A total of NIS 600,000 (roughly $150,000) will be earmarked to the establishment of an "Internet warfare" squad.

The Foreign Ministry intends to hire young people who speak at least one language and who study communication, political science, or law -- or alternately, Israelis with military experience gained at units dealing with information analysis.

Just Fair-Weather Friends of the Environment

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:22:04 -0400

by Carol Goar

As long as it isn't expensive, noisy, inconvenient, uncomfortable or labour-intensive, we're eager to save the environment.

Little wonder our greenhouse gas emissions keep climbing. Little wonder Canada produces more municipal waste per person than any other country. Little wonder we rank among the world's top consumers of fossil fuels. (The oil-rich Gulf states are worse.)

Our 20-year quest to preserve the ecosystem – without changing our lifestyle – has led to a succession of unrealistic plans, missed targets and ineffectual initiatives.

G-8 Failure Reflects US Failure on Climate Change

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:06:46 -0400

by James Hansen

It didn't take long for the counterfeit climate bill known as Waxman-Markey to push back against President Obama's agenda. As the president was arriving in Italy for his first Group of Eight summit, the New York Times was reporting that efforts to close ranks on global warming between the G-8 and the emerging economies had already tanked:

Big Bankers Mounting Sneak Attack on Consumers

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:19:57 -0400

by Jim Hightower

Have you received your thank-you note? I'm still waiting for mine.

More than a year into the Wall Street bailout, I've yet to get any sort of "thank you" from even a single one of the big banks that you and I propped up with $12 trillion in direct giveaways, indirect giveaways, government guarantees and sweetheart loans. You'd think their mommas would've taught them better. But I've begun to think that waiting on a simple gesture of banker gratitude is like waiting on Donald Trump to have a good hair day — ain't gonna happen.

Pro Food: Slow Food With an Entrepreneurial Twist

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:12:21 -0400

by Rob Smart

With my recent introduction of the term “Pro Food” and a definition of its core principles, several readers have questioned how Pro Food differs from Slow Food. Rather than try to answer this question on my own, as I am only somewhat familiar with Slow Food, I am opening it up to others to help decide.

Pro Food is primarily focused on driving entrepreneurial interest in solving the complex food system challenges we face.

When Will The Recovery Begin? Never

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:04:43 -0400

by Robert Reich

The so-called "green shoots" of recovery are turning brown in the scorching summer sun. In fact, the whole debate about when and how a recovery will begin is wrongly framed. On one side are the V-shapers who look back at prior recessions and conclude that the faster an economy drops, the faster it gets back on track. And because this economy fell off a cliff late last fall, they expect it to roar to life early next year. Hence the V shape.

It's a Public Service, so Health Care Should Be Publicly Funded

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:56:43 -0400

by George N. McNeil

When I last wrote in this space about a health insurance public option, it was 2004.

I lamented the fact that more than 40 million Americans lacked health coverage and suggested that the private corporate model seemed incapable of righting this wrong. (My opinions on this topic remain my own, and do not reflect my employer's views.)

Since then we have endured five more years of fiddling with free market solutions -- while Rome is burning.

The Stimulus Trap

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:26:37 -0400

by Paul Krugman

As soon as the Obama administration-in-waiting announced its stimulus plan — this was before Inauguration Day — some of us worried that the plan would prove inadequate. And we also worried that it might be hard, as a political matter, to come back for another round.

Niger Delta Standoff

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:05:17 -0400

by Kia Mistilis

Behind fighter-planes and gunboats, Nigerian forces launched a full-scale offensive in the Niger Delta on May 13, displacing 30,000 people and sparking a humanitarian crisis. Thousands of civilians fleeing destroyed villages are now trapped between armed resistance groups and the Nigerian military. These civilians are hiding in the bush without food, water, or medical supplies, let alone Internet access to alert the world of their plight, as Iranians are doing via Twitter.

With Friends Like These: Wal-Mart, Health 'Reform’ and Obama’s 'Public Option’

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:27:24 -0400

by Dave Lindorff

All you need to really know about the Obama health "reform" initiative is that it is being supported by retail giant Wal-Mart.

Yes We Camp

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:27:03 -0400

by Stephanie Westbrook

It's the slogan of the citizens committees that have formed in the central Italian city of L'Aquila, hit by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake on April 6, 2009. And it was on display for world leaders during the G8 summit being held just outside the city in an area off limits to the local people.

The Ultimate Irony: Health Care Industry Adopts Big Tobacco's PR Tactics

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:40:57 -0400

by Wendell Potter

At first look, one might not think that the health insurance industry has much in common with the tobacco industry. After all, one sells a product that kills people and the other sells a product nominally aimed at putting people back together. But when it comes to deceitful public relations techniques, the health insurance industry has been learning well from Big Tobacco, which employed a panoply of shady but highly successful public relations tactics to fend off changes to its business for generations.

Colonizing Iraq

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 11:21:55 -0400

by Michael Schwartz

Here's how reporters Steven Lee Myers and Marc Santora of the New York Times described the highly touted American withdrawal from Iraq's cities last week:

"Much of the complicated work of dismantling and removing millions of dollars of equipment from the combat outposts in the city has been done during the dark of night. Gen.
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Why Can’t a Better Health Care Plan Be the Next Stimulus?

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 11:01:35 -0400

by Jane Hamsher

We bailed out the banks to the tune of 2 trillion dollars in the past year, put through an enormous stimulus bill, bailed out the European banks, put through yet another war supplemental, and never asked how we were going to pay for it. We just wrote a bunch of big checks.

But now that it has come to taking care of the health of Americans, well, we have to tighten the old belt and it's suddenly "pay-as-you-go."

Farewell to the Lawn

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 10:30:11 -0400

by Leonard Stern

Social conformity just happens. We do things because they've always been done that way. How we live is shaped by a zillion unwritten rules and regulations. To ignore these inherited protocols is to run the risk of being labelled eccentric.

For Henry and Vera Jones, their refusal to conform amounts to downright anti-social behaviour, at least according to the strict codes of conduct in suburbia. The Joneses, as the Citizen reported this week, outed themselves as social radicals by publicly rejecting the ideal of a manicured lawn.

Mourn on the 4th of July

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 10:24:48 -0400

by John Pilger

The monsoon had woven thick skeins of mist over the central highlands of Vietnam. I was a young war correspondent, bivouacked in the village of Tuylon with a unit of US marines whose orders were to win hearts and minds. "We are here not to kill," said the sergeant, "we are here to impart the American Way of Liberty as stated in the Pacification Handbook. This is designed to win the hearts and minds of folks, as stated on page 86."

The Health Care Crisis: Letters From Vermont and America

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 10:09:38 -0400

by Senator Bernie Sanders

I sent an email to my Senate mailing list requesting support for a single-payer Medicare-for-All system, and for personal stories describing the problems people are having with their health care coverage. Within a few weeks, some 40,000 people signed the single-payer petition and more than 4,000 sent in their personal stories. I want to thank all of those who responded.

Torture Must Be Punished

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 09:55:23 -0400

by Susan Goering

America is at a turning point. How we will come to terms with the government abuses unleashed in the aftermath of 9/11 is a historic test of our highest principles. Are we a nation of laws? Will we stand by our commitment to the rule of law over the tyranny of state-sanctioned brutality?

Maryland's particularly powerful congressional delegation in Washington can be pivotal as the nation chooses how to proceed. And, of course, members of Congress will more likely rise to the occasion if they hear from the public they represent.

Two Standards of Detention

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 09:35:26 -0400

by Amy Goodman

Scott Roeder, the anti-abortion zealot charged with killing Dr. George Tiller, has been busy. He called the Associated Press from the Sedgwick County Jail in Kansas, saying, "I know there are many other similar events planned around the country as long as abortion remains legal." Charged with first-degree murder and aggravated assault, he is expected to be arraigned July 28. AP recently reported that Roeder has been proclaiming from his jail cell that the killing of abortion providers is justified. According to the report, the Rev.

Are Our Markets Being Manipulated by 'Rogues' or Firms?

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 09:06:12 -0400

by Danny Schechter

Everyone has heard of the Wikipedia but not everyone knows about the Investopedia, a Forbes website, that monitors finance for market players. One of the issues it is concerned about is market manipulation, actions by rogue and not so rogue players who, working alone or together, unduly influence the way our supposed "free" markets function.

It is a fascinating source of information for the uninitiated who hear the daily reports on the ups and downs of the Dow and believe that somehow it is all part of the natural order of the universe.

US Leaves Honduras to Its fate

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 08:45:39 -0400

by Mark Weisbrot

The military coup that overthrew President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras took a new turn when he attempted to return home on Sunday.

Escalation Scam: Troops in Afghanistan

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 08:39:39 -0400

by Norman Solomon

The president has set a limit on the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. For now.

That's how escalation works. Ceilings become floors. Gradually.

A few times since last fall, the Obama team has floated rising numbers for how many additional U.S. soldiers will be sent to Afghanistan. Now, deployment of 21,000 more is a done deal, with a new total cap of 68,000 U.S. troops in that country.

But "escalation" isn't mere jargon. And it doesn't just refer to what's happening outside the United States.

CIA: We Lied to Congress

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 08:28:49 -0400

by John Nichols

In May, at a point when congressional Republicans and their amen corner in the media were attempting to defend the Bush-Cheney administration's torture regime, their primary defense was: Pelosi knew.

The spin held that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as a member of the House Intelligence Committee, had in 2002 been secretly briefed about the use of of harsh interrogation techniques on terror suspects.

The Organic Monopoly and the Myth of 'Natural' Foods: How Industry Giants Are Undermining the Organic Movement

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 07:09:24 -0400

by Ronnie Cummins

The Organic Alternative: A Matter of Survival

Obama Slides Further Down Bush’s Hill on Indefinite Detention

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 16:00:01 -0400

by Matthew Rothschild

The Obama Administration is looking more and more like the Bush Administration every day when it comes to the policy of holding prisoners indefinitely, without trial, or even after a trial and an acquittal.

Obama himself is already on record favoring indefinite detention of some prisoners.

Fearing the Future: The Corporate Press Makes the Case for Being Saved

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 15:08:47 -0400

by Peter Hart

Corporate media are in a state of severe business shock, it seems—layoffs at newspapers large and small, due to advertising revenue drying up and readers ceasing to pay for a printed copy of a newspaper that they can usually read for free online. The state of the press has generated an enormous amount of attention in the press itself, with journalists and pundits offering any number of plans to "save" dying newspapers. Congressional hearings on the state of the media suggest that lawmakers are worried about what might happen next.

Bonkers in Alaska

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 12:00:04 -0400

by Beth Quinn

Barrack Obama proved, finally, that anyone can grow up to be president. Sarah Palin, however, proved him wrong. Happily, lunatics are still not able to win the White House.

Sometimes presidents turn into lunatics while living in the Booby Hatch Capital of the World (Richard Nixon is a case in point), but Americans are still reluctant to make a national leader of someone who proves herself bonkers before even running.

The Obama Justice System

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 11:19:51 -0400

by Glenn Greenwald

Spencer Ackerman yesterday attended a Senate hearing at which the DOD's General Counsel, Jeh Johnson, testified. As Ackerman highlighted, Johnson actually said that even for those detainees to whom the Obama administration deigns to give a real trial in a real court, the President has the power to continue to imprison them indefinitely even if they are acquitted at their trial. About this assertion of "presidential post-acquittal detention power" -- a

Zero Tolerance for Torture

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 10:50:33 -0400

by Clive Stafford Smith

Over the past two days, Ian Cobain has continued his excellent expose of British complicity in torture in the Guardian. By now, few can doubt that in the eight years since 9/11 the British government has taken some steps that were illegal, others that were indubitably immoral and many more that were unwise.

Is Texas Harboring Torture Decider?

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 09:17:37 -0400

by Ray McGovern

Editor’s Note: Prior to giving a series of talks in Texas later this week, the author offered the following op-ed to the Dallas Morning News and the Fort-Worth Star-Telegram. Both newspapers in George W. Bush’s home state turned it down.

Seldom does a crime scene have so clear a smoking gun. A two-page presidential memorandum of Feb. 7, 2002, leaves no room for uncertainty regarding the “decider” on torture. His broad-stroke signature made torture official policy.