The Bush White House is finally admitting what we know they have always wanted – permanent bases in Iraq.
From Reuters:
President George W. Bush would like to see a lengthy U.S. troop presence in Iraq like the one in South Korea to provide stability but not in a frontline combat role, the White House said on Wednesday.The United States has had thousands of U.S. troops in South Korea to guard against a North Korean invasion for 50 years.
Most astute observers have known from even before the invasion of Iraq that there was every intention of putting permanent bases there. The nation’s strategic location is too valuable to lose especially with the loss of bases in Saudi Arabia.
Bush has constantly stated that troops would leave Iraq “when the job is done”. Now we understand. The job won’t ever be done.
Reuters
Originally posted by Nadir on LastChocolateCity.com
Cindy Sheehan has had it. The mother who began her crusade to end the Iraq War by camping outside George Bush’€™s Crawford, Texas ranch after her son, Casey, was killed in Iraq, issued her resignation as “the face†of the anti-war movement in a post on the DailyKos website this Memorial Day.
The activist has endured a storm of criticism throughout her two-year campaign, and that storm grew stronger last week when she renounced ties with the Democratic Party over their refusal to cut off funding for the imperial occupation in Iraq.
I am deemed a radical because I believe that partisan politics should be left to the wayside when hundreds of thousands of people are dying for a war based on lies that is supported by Democrats and Republican alike. It amazes me that people who are sharp on the issues and can zero in like a laser beam on lies, misrepresentations, and political expediency when it comes to one party refuse to recognize it in their own party. Continue reading
On May 9, President George W. Bush signed National Security Presidential Directive/NSPD 51" and Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-20. This document entrusts the president with leading the entire government, not just the Executive Branch in the event of “a catastrophic emergency.”
The document describes a catastrophic emergency as “any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government function.†As Matthew Rothschild of “The Progressive” points out, “This could mean another 9/11, or another Katrina, or a major earthquake in California, I imagine, since it says it would include ‘localized acts of nature, accidents, and technological or attack-related emergencies.’”
Many observers have been expecting a second 9/11 or a new Gulf of Tonkin incident as a pretext for war against Iran. With announcements that a new surge will result in the doubling of troop strength in Iraq, ships filled with 17,000 sailors and marines entering the Persian Gulf off the coast of Iran and war games that culminate in an amphibious landing in Kuwait, the Bush administration is making its move to escalate this war without end.
Bush stared the punk Democrats in Congress down, and they sold the American people out again by agreeing to continue funding his wars. With all of administration’s abuses of power, the Dems should have impeached Bush and Cheney long ago. The fact that they still cower in his face is telling.
Originally posted by Nadir on LastChocolateCity.com
In an article for the online magazine, Slate, former NBA player, Paul Shirley, currently in the Spanish pro league, recounts the lonliness of the white American basketball player.
Though he makes a great living playing ball in “€œthe second-best basketball league in the world"€Â, Shirley complains about the racism that he has encountered in the NBA. He believed other players didn’€™t respect his game specifically because he was white.
Of course, Shirley is not best known for his basketball skills. According to his listing in Wikipedia, Shirley’s biggest claim to fame was the online diary he kept as the Phoenix Suns’ twelfth man on their 2004-2005 playoff run, and the blog he writes for ESPN.com. He was cut at the end of that season, and failed to make the Minnesota Timberwolves roster at the beginning of this season. Ironically, Shirley mentioned the $10 million, 5-year contract of white Timberwolf Mark Madsen as the reason he was released.
Paul Shirley offers an interesting perspective on what life is like as a racial minority. White Americans currently make up only 6 percent of NBA players (75 percent are African-Americans and 19 percent are foreigners). Though the winners of the last three MVP titles are of European descent, they aren’t white Americans (two-time winner Steve Nash is Canadian and this year’€™s MVP, Dirk Nowitski, is German). According to Shirley, this is a problem for white American men who aren’t believed to be as talented as Black and foreign players. Continue reading
“We now seem more determined than ever to work harder and produce more stuff, which creates a bizarre paradox: We are proudly breaking our backs to decrease the carrying capacity of the planet,"€ says Conrad Schmidt, an internationally known social activist and founder of the Work Less Party, a Vancouver-based initiative aimed at moving to a 32-hour work week -€” a radical departure from the in early, out late cycle we’ve grown accustomed to. "Choosing to work less is the biggest environmental issue no one’s talking about.”
Americans work more hours than anyone else in the industrialized world. According to the United Nations’ International Labor Organization, we work 250 hours, or five weeks, more than the Brits, and a whopping 500 hours, or 12 and a half weeks, more than the Germans. So how does ecological damage figure in to the 40-plus workweek?
Do the math: Longer hours plus labor-saving technology equals ever-increasing productivity. Without high annual growth to match productivity, there’€™s unemployment. Maintaining growth means using more energy and resources, both in manpower and raw materials, which results in increased waste and pollution.
So chill out. Stop working so hard. Live a little. Life is too short. Your grandchildren will thank you, and you’ll thank yourself.
On Thursday, May 17th, oral arguments will be heard in federal court on what could be the last appeal of death-row journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal, known internationally as the “Voice of the Voiceless.” Many events are planned in Philadelphia and around the world in solidarity. On Wednesday, May 16, Educators for Mumia [held] a teach-in on the case. (Read Mark Lewis Taylor’s essay about organizing this event). Later that evening, Immortal Technique is hosting a fundraising concert at the Rotunda. On Thursday, the day of the oral arguments, a solidarity protest will gather at 6th and Market at 8:30am. Several contingents are organizing, including Rainbow Flags for Mumia. And on Friday, German author Michael Schiffmann will speak at the A-Space about Mumia’s case.UPDATE: Read case background, and view crime scene photos never published before in the United States from abu-jamal-news.com. Also: read veteran Philadelphia journalist Linn Washington, Jr’s commentary on the May 17 hearing – LW has been covering the Abu-Jamal case since the morning of Dec.8, 1981. Amy Goodman interviews LW | Hans Bennett interviews LW
World-renowned black death-row prisoner and journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of killing white Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in a 1982 trial that Amnesty International has deemed unfair (see report). Supported internationally by a variety of activists, workers, and educators, his books and radio essays challenging injustice everywhere have earned the former Black Panther the nickname “The Voice of the Voiceless.”
His court case has now hit the fast track with oral arguments beginning [today]. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals is considering four issues in regards to granting Abu-Jamal a new trial. Supported by the NAACP, NLG, UK Lawyers, and The German Parliament, Philly JournalistsLinn Washington and Dave Lindorff have optimistically written of Abu-Jamal’s chances for a new trial.
Originally posted by Nadir at LastChocolateCity.com
As Detroit’€™s entrepreneurs search for new business opportunities, we should not overlook an important growth industry that could improve both the economic and physical well-being of the city.
Urban farming and community gardening have been touted for several years as a possible source of fresh produce and jobs for The D. Pioneers like Grace and Jimmy Boggs have shown us the way, and a few of us have followed. Continue reading
Well, the punk Democrats voted in favor of war again.
David Swanson of AfterDowningStreet.org blogged live from Capitol Hill as the House of Representatives voted to pass a supplemental bill that would again fund the Iraqi occupation. His blow by blow is an interesting analysis in how this Congrsssional vote went.
But the point is, the House voted to continue funding the war by passing the funding bill. Bush gets his wish.
We can’t keep calling this Bush’s war when the Democrats continuously vote to keep it going. They approved this war in the beginning, and except for the half-assed effort to seek a concession from the White House a couple of weeks ago, they have voted in favor of war again. The Democrats, though they were put in power to stop the war, have voted to continue it.
Who are the warmongers? All but 12 representatives. In fact, two Republicans voted against the war. Continue reading
Originally posted by Nadir on LastChocolateCity.com
The US Senate just scored a major victory for America’€™s drug dealers.
I’€™m not talking about the “dope boys"€ pushing nickels and dimes on the corner. I’€™m talking about the nation’€™s REAL drug dealers. The big ballers – the major pharmaceutical companies who raked in over $600 billion in global prescription drug spending in 2006.
On May 9, the Senate passed a bill that, according to The New York Times,
gives the Food and Drug Administration sweeping new power to police drug safety, order changes in drug labels, regulate advertising and restrict the use and distribution of medicines found to pose serious risks to consumers. Continue reading
This blog from May 2007reposted in light of increasing reports of Republican support for Obama – Nadir
The Barack Obama bandwagon is picking up steam. In many circles, the junior senator from Illinois is being compared to John Kennedy. He is young, good looking, charismatic and yes, articulate, providing a resounding echo of the JFK experience.
However, when NeoConservatives start issuing accolades for a Democratic candidate, it’s time to take a closer look. Continue reading
The Bush White House is finally admitting what we know they have always wanted – permanent bases in Iraq.
