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Friday 15 July 2011
War With Iran? US Neocons Aim to Repeat Chalabi-Style Swindle
Ali Fatemi and Karim Pakravan, Truthout: "In 1991, Iraqi exiles set up the Iraq National Congress (INC) with funding from the CIA. Under the leadership of Ahmad Chalabi, and flush with tens of millions dollars in US government funding, the INC allied itself with the neoconservatives in Washington and unceasingly beat the drums of war, presenting itself as the popular democratic alternative to Saddam Hussein and feeding faulty intelligence to an eager media and Bush administration. Eventually, they succeeded in dragging the United States into disastrous war that cost Americans and Iraqis their lives and caused incalculable damage to American prestige and power. Now, history may be repeating itself."
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Why Banks Aren't Lending: The Silent Liquidity Squeeze
Ellen Brown, Truthout: "Whether by accident or design, federal policymakers still have not got it right. While we are waiting for them to figure it out, states can nurture and protect their own local economies with publicly owned banks, on the model of the Bank of North Dakota (BND). Currently the nation's only state-owned bank, the BND services the liquidity needs of local banks and keeps credit flowing in the state. Fourteen states have now initiated bills to establish state-owned banks or to study their feasibility. Besides serving local lending needs, state-owned banks can provide cash-strapped states with new revenues, obviating the need to raise taxes, slash services or sell off public assets."
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Bill Moyers: The Murdoch Scandal and a Lesson for Corporate Media (Video)
Bill Moyers, broadcast journalist and author of "Bill Moyers Journal: The Conversation Continues" talks with Rachel Maddow about the investigation into questionable conduct by Rupert Murdoch's news organization and the dangers of media empires and corporate conglomerate controlled media.
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Kucinich: Debt Political Theater Diverts Attention While Americans' Wealth Is Stolen
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) spoke on the House floor about the massive transfer of wealth from the American people to the hands of the few by virtue of wars, energy policies and monetary policies. He called upon Americans to witness Wall Street's theft of Main Street, which has left millions of everyday Americans out of work and seniors facing cuts to Social Security to pay for tax cuts for the rich.
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Congress and Its Colonialist Agenda
Stephen Zunes, Truthout: "Based on a resolution unanimously adopted by the Senate (S.Res. 185) on July 29 and by a 407-6 majority in the House (H.Res. 268) on July 7, Congress went on record reiterating their 'strong opposition to any attempt to establish or seek recognition of a Palestinian state outside of an agreement negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians.' It called on Palestinian leaders to 'cease all efforts at circumventing the negotiation process, including through a unilateral declaration of statehood or by seeking recognition of a Palestinian state from other nations or the United Nations.'"
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On the News With Thom Hartmann: Tax Cuts for Billionaires and Two Unpaid Wars Bankrupting America, and More
In today's On the News segment: S & P rating agency putting US "AAA" rating on negative watch, Murdoch under investigation in US and Britain, Quinnipiac poll shows majority of Americans blame bad economy on George W. Bush, tax cuts for billionaires and two unpaid wars bankrupting America, Minnesota shutdown is over, and more.
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Eugene Robinson | Make My Day
Eugene Robinson, The Washington Post Writers Group: "Those words suggest President Obama has had it up to here with the preening and posturing of Republican 'negotiators' who won't negotiate. Who could blame him? Obama's warning to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor came at the abrupt conclusion of Wednesday's talks about the debt-ceiling crisis. The unamused president asked whether Ronald Reagan would have put up with such time-wasting nonsense, then uttered another memorable line: 'I've reached my limit. This may bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this.'"
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US Recognizes Rebels in Libya
Sebnem Arsu and Steven Erlanger, The New York Times News Service: "The United States formally recognized the rebel leadership in Libya as the country's legitimate government on Friday. The move, made at an international gathering here to discuss the five-month-old conflict in Libya, ratcheted up the diplomatic pressure on Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi amid a continuing NATO-led bombing campaign to push him from power."
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Jeremy Scahill | The CIA's Secret Sites in Somalia
Jeremy Scahill, The Nation: "As part of its expanding counterterrorism program in Somalia, the CIA also uses a secret prison buried in the basement of Somalia's National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters, where prisoners suspected of being Shabab members or of having links to the group are held. Some of the prisoners have been snatched off the streets of Kenya and rendered by plane to Mogadishu. While the underground prison is officially run by the Somali NSA, US intelligence personnel pay the salaries of intelligence agents and also directly interrogate prisoners."
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Cliff Schecter | For God's Sake - Stop Talking
Cliff Schecter, Truthout: "The US takes pride in its separation of church and state, but the current political scene is 'strangely' religious. Lately, there would seem to be a whole lot more people who have a direct channel to the Big Guy Upstairs than one could have humanly thought possible. It is oft said that 'God works in mysterious ways.' But when Michele Bachmann hears voices telling her to run for president, am I the only who thinks the most likely explanation is a batch of bad clams or one too many nights role playing 'The Book of Eli' with her equally demented husband Marcus?"
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The Predicted Job Collapse Now in Progress
Jack Rasmus, Truthout: "While politicians and business press pundits last March-April were proclaiming the jobs crisis was over, the prediction came that 'March-April's Job Gains Will Collapse This Summer.' That prediction is now underway with the latest June jobs numbers from the US Department of Labor reported July 8 showing only 18,000 new hires occurring in June. The preceding May jobs report showed an almost as dismal 54,000 jobs created."
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Deal Is Made for Ending Shutdown in Minnesota
Monica Davey, The New York Times News Service: "The governor of Minnesota and the state's Republican lawmakers announced on Thursday that they had, at last, reached a deal on the state's budget, bringing what is expected to be a swift reopening of government services."
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Teaching Gay History Becomes Law in California
David Siders, McClatchy Newspapers: "California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation requiring public schools to teach students about the contributions of gay and lesbian people, making California the first state to adopt such a measure. The legislation requires instruction in the social sciences to include the role and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, as well as people with disabilities and members of other cultural groups. It would prohibit teaching from textbooks or other instructional materials that reflect adversely on people because of their sexual orientation."
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| BUZZFLASH DAILY HEADLINES | |
Granted, given that the Tea Party was financially turbo-charged by the Koch Brothers (Americans for Prosperity) and Dick Armey's FreedomWorks, it's a challenge to define members of the loose-knit group. It's clear, for instance, that a significant segment of the party consists of individuals who are venting their racist gripes with President Obama.
But if you look at the corporate media conventional wisdom perception of how the Tea Party impact plays out on Capitol Hill, it is an uber anti-government force that believes taxes of any kind are akin to theft.
This is not just an eccentric BuzzFlash at Truthout theory; there is indeed a school of libertarian economic theory known as anarcho-capitalism. In fact, the son of Milton Friedman - the guru of the Reagan-era school of economics, which now seems liberal compared to the Cantor/Bachmann/Tea Party theories - is one of its foremost adherents. David Friedman believes in the primacy of the individual and property, without the interference of any governmental entity, including laws.
As excerpted from "Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism," by Peter Marshall, the extremity of what is being played out by the GOP Tea Party wing is a bit chilling:
Anarcho-capitalism has recently had a considerable vogue in the West where it has helped put the role of the state back on the political agenda. It has become a major ideological challenge to the dominant liberalism which sees a role for government in the protection of property. The anarcho-capitalists would like to dismantle government and allow complete laissez-faire in the economy. Its adherents propose that all public services be turned over to private entrepreneurs, even public spaces like town halls, streets and parks. Free market capitalism, they insist, is hindered not enhanced by the State....Anarcho-capitalists, according to "A History of Anarchism," "maintain that even the minimal state is unnecessary since the defense of person and property can be carried out by private protection agencies."
The major area that anarcho-capitalists (and Ayn Rand adherents) would have a falling out with most Tea Party adherents is over social issues, in which anarcho-capitalists have no interest. For example, without a government of laws, it would be hard to legislate against gays, immigrants etc. In short, the government dreaded by the Tea Party could not be used by them to establish authoritarian, moralistic control over people.
But when it comes to economic theory, Eric Cantor, for example, certainly sounds a lot like an anarcho-capitalist.
Mark Karlin
Editor, BuzzFlash at Truthout Rebekah Brooks, Head of Murdoch's UK Print Empire Resigns Over UK Phone-Hacking Scandal
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Cantor's Last Stand?
Read the Article at Talking Points Memo
Sarah Palin Movie Debuts to Empty Theater in Orange County
Read the Article at The Atlantic
Greenpeace Attacks Clothing Suppliers in China Over Hazardous Chemical Pollution
Read the Article at Bulldog Reporter
How Florida Is Making It More Difficult to Vote in a Democracy
Read the Article at Talking Points Memo
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