< Archives: 2008 August

NOLA “WEATHERS” STORM; GUSTAV WEAKENS; AMY BUSTED IN ST PAUL AMONG OTHERS

August 31st, 2008 - by: danny

NOLA “WEATHERS” STORM; GUSTAV WEAKENS; AMY BUSTED IN ST PAUL AMONG OTHERS

9:52: ACTION ALERT: FREE AMY GOODMAN AND ACTIVISTS IN ST PAUL, MINNNESOTA

ST. PAUL, MN-Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman was unlawfully arrested in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota at approximately 5 p.m. local time. Police violently manhandled Goodman, yanking her arm, as they arrested her. Video of her arrest can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjyvkR0bGQ

Goodman was arrested while attempting to free two Democracy Now! producers who were being unlawfully detained. They are Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. Kouddous and Salazar were arrested while they carried out their journalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. Goodman’s crime appears to have been defending her colleagues and the freedom of the press.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher told Democracy Now! that Kouddous and Salazar were being arrested on suspicion of rioting. They are currently being held at the Ramsey County jail in St. Paul.

Democracy Now! is calling on all journalists and concerned citizens to call the office of Mayor Chris Coleman and the Ramsey County Jail and demand the immediate release of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar. These calls can be directed to: Chris Rider from Mayor Coleman’s office at 651-266-8535 and the Ramsey County Jail at 651-266-9350 (press extension 0).

BRIAN DROLET OF DEEP DISH TV REPORTS: “Many arrestees are being held without booking in the Ramsey Cty jail. Not in the system yet, told no info & they won’t see judges until Wed.”

THIS IS COVERAGE?

The NY Times featured a Page One Photo of A Policemen spraying protesters with mace or pepper spray. The headline: DOZENS ARE ARRESTED AS CONVENTION OPENS. The story itself is pushed way back on to page A 20 below the fold where protesters are called “THRONGS.” As in “AS THRONGS OF PROTESTERS HIT THE STREETS, DOZENS ARE ARRESTED.” The police actions were presented as necessary because of attempts by a minority of protesters (“Although most of the protesters were peaceful..”)

The story quotes from the REPUBLICAN PARTY’s BLOG, but no activist blogs, suggesting that some delegates were spat upon in an effort to block Republicans at a “security perimeter.” The article suggested that that a group of about 200 in black bandannas ” and some wearing black balaclavas cauesed the protest.” There is a reference to a documentary filmmaker, Jerah Plucker, saying he was one of 300 people surrounded by police at a rally on teh banks of the Missisippi.

TWO NY TIMES reporters had bylines on this sketchy report. There is no reference to Amy Goodman or claims that independent media teams were singeled out. See DemocracyNow.org for more. Police said “75 or more” had been arrested. I guess that’s “Dozens” End of article says 300 people were told they were being arrested at peaceful rally/concert. Duh?

THERE IS NO REFERENCE TO WHAT PROTESTERS WERE SAYING OR CHANTING.

Can you image what the Times response would have been if “THOUSANDS OF PROTESTERS,” much less faceless THRONGS” had marched at the Olympics in China?

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:


LABOR DAY: WHAT DOES IT MEAN? WHAT SHOULD IT MEAN?
Here’s Bill Moyers ‘s essay:

LISTEN: LABOR DAY RADIO SHOW BY MARTY GOLDENSOHN

NEW ORLEANS WEATHERS STORM AS GUSTAV IS DOWNGRADED
NEW HURRICANES THREATEN
GOP CONVENTION OPENS; BUSH A NO SHOW
POLICE USE PEPPER SPRAY ON PROTESTERS; AMY GOODMAN AMONG THOSE ARRESTED
REPORT OF NEW IMMINENT ATTACK ON IRAN

I will be upgrading my Labor Day Dissectorgram which was not mailed to subscribers fusing in new stories.

FOR THE BEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL REPORTING FROM NEW ORLEANS, READ NOLA.COM

Labor day began with fears of that New Orleans was facing another Katrina. But the storm downgraded and while it is affecting 12 states – with many power shortages—but far no casualty count or damage estimate, and the Big Easy is still here. They are not out of the woods yet. Some levees took a beating and could still fail. Remember, the worst effects of Katrina came the dat after.

The town was empty save for l0,000 people.The storm sure was half of what it was in Katrina. President Bush staged his photo op at the operations center in Austin and skipped the Republican convention. Now, a new hurricane is threatening named Hanna…and then waiting in the wings is IKE.

MONDAY MORNING 10:30 AM: CNN is doing what it does best–covering a storm with a full court press, using Microsoft Earth technology, doppler radars, links to the National Weather Center, animations, Live Shots and an army of correspondents in red rain gear charting its progress and impact.

The performance is impressive but it is also reminding America about the legacy of Katrina and the failure of the Bush Administration and its “good job Brownie” approach, and its FEMA Trailers or which 14,000 remain, with residents being warned to get the hell out because they can become missiles in flight. (CNN: “FEMA Director says they were a mistake.”) Only three years late.

NOON: There is water going over some levees but little breaching so far. Two barges are loose and banging into a bridge. Water from the lake is rising but hasn’t reached Katrina levels. There is flooding in the lower 9th ward again…..

RE coverage. The nets featured “wrap around coverage” cutting from reporter to reporter with cameras offering many angles…That always makes for great TV, dramatic and ongoing.but clearly there was no knock out blow. All the nets deplyed their top talent and did specials. That was not the case at the Republican convention. There was little informed commentary from the streets there.

MEANWHILE, UP THE MISSISSIPPI

You wouldn’t have thought that this story could be one-upped but it was when it was revealed that there was another disaster of sorts – in the family of his new Vice Presidential campaign. Here was that bombshell:

ST. PAUL (Reuters) – The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said on Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child.

Bristol Palin, one of Alaska Gov. Palin’s five children with her husband, Todd, is about five months pregnant and is going to keep the child and marry the father, the Palins said in a statement released by the campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

… A senior McCain campaign official said the McCain camp was appalled that these rumors had not only been spread around liberal blog sites and partisan Democrats, but also were the subject of heightened interest from mainstream news media.”

Barack Obama made a statement noting that he was born to an l8 year mother, reiterating his concern that the children of candidates should not be part of the campaign.

OTHER DISCLOSURES RE MRS. PALIN.

ALTERNET: TEN DISTURBING THINGS ABOUT SARAH PALIN

She has hired a private lawyer to defend her in a legislative ethics probe in Alaska; she was a member for two years of the Alaska Independence Party that wanted the state to secede, and that her husband had a drunken driving charges 22 years ago. These disclosures are being used to cast doubt on John McCain’s vetting process. Questions are also being raised about whether a mother with five kids–including one with Down’s Syndrome–should join a taxing campaign , or whether she could handle the demands of the Vice Presidency……Norman Lear, founder of the People of the American Way, warns that given John McCain’s health and bouts with cancer, she could become President.

REPUGS SHOW COMPASSION FOR GULF STATES

There were just a few speeches at the GOP Convention. Bush and Cheney were no shows. The platform was passed and then the wives spoke. After Laura Bush explained how we are Americans, she cited repeatedly and approvingly..smile, smile— that all the Governors in the Gulf States are Republicans and friends of the Bushes.

First Lady Laura Bush

On putting the well-being of our fellow citizens first:

“Our first priority for today and in the coming days is to ensure the safety and well-being of those living in the Gulf Coast Region. And to all of those living in the Gulf States, please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you.

“The effect of Hurricane Gustav is just now being measured. When such events occur, we are reminded that first, we are all Americans – and that our shared American ideals will always transcend political parties and partisanship.”

Mrs. Cindy McCain

A call to help the people of the Gulf States:

“I would ask that each one of us commit to join together to aid those in need as quickly as possible. As John has been saying for the last several days, this is a time when we take off our Republican hats and put on our American hats.”
=
Conservative Ire Pushed McCain From Lieberman

Elizabeth Bumiller and Michael Cooper, The New York Times: “In the end, the choice of his running mate said more about Senator John McCain and his image of himself than it did about Sarah Palin, the little-known governor of Alaska whose selection has shaken up the presidential race.”

Those Who Are Tasked to Police This Democracy Are Blinded by Confetti
By Gary Younge

The real problem with the Bush years is not so much what he did but that America’s political class enabled him to do it.

PROTESTS LARGELY UNREPORTED

NBC reported there were 8000 anti-war demonstrators and in passing, “police used pepper spray on some of them.” No details were provided. (THE NATION REPORTED 50,000!) This story did not make the network news:

RNC Raids Have Been Targeting Video Activists

“St. Paul is a free country!” cried a resident of Iglehart Avenue, a neighborhood street in St. Paul, Minn., as she watched her next-door neighbor’s house being overtaken by police officers on Saturday afternoon. Just one in a series of house raids over a 24-hour period the weekend before the Republican National Convention, St. Paul police surrounded the private home with weapons drawn, detaining people in the backyard, while journalists, activists and neighbors — including several children — looked on.

Their crime? None whatsoever. No one was trespassing or engaging in acts of civil disobedience. Instead, members of I-Witness Video , a New York-based media watchdog group that records police activity in order to protect civil liberties, were holding an organizing meeting at 949 Iglehart, the home of St. Paul resident Mike Whalen, when armed police officers arrived in the early afternoon and ordered their surrender.

Among them was Eileen Clancy, founder of I-Witness Video, as well as a producer with Democracy Now! DN! host Amy Goodman and her staff had just arrived at Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport when they received word that producer Elizabeth Press was in the house and being threatened with arrest.

LATE BREAKING DEVELOPMENT: Journalists Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddou and Nicole Salazar from
Democracy Now were arrested around 4:45 pm in a mass arrest at 7th Street and Jackson.

According to the Coldsnap legal feed: Police in riot gear have blocked off downtown St. Paul. Bridges closed,
buses shut down.

FEDS INVOLVED IN BUSTING PROTESTERS IN TWIN CITIES

The Federal government stands exposed of involvement in targeting and arresting protestersGlenn Greenwald has that story:

Is this a lesson learned by Mr. Bush fromChina? (see photos below)—

While we think about the Gulf Coast, let’s remember this recent RAID on immigrant workers and its relationship to the GOP Masterplan

STORM STORY STILL EVOLVING…..

ACCU-WEATHER TRACKING THE STORM

OUR HEARTS ALSO MUST GO OUT TO FLOOD VICTIMS IN INDIA: 1/2 Million People in Bihar Under Water
AND TO THE PEOPLE IN CHINA HIT BY ANOTHER EARTHQUAKE:

Reuters: An earthquake that hit southwest China’s Sichuan and Yunnan provinces has killed 27 people, damaged or destroyed more than 180,000 homes and affected at least 800,000 residents, state media said on Sunday.

FINANCIAL TIMES: WHY THE PALIN PICK WAS SHREWD

Don Rose: Thoughts on Sarah Palin

The selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be John McCain’s running mate is terrifying. It would be good news if McCain were just out of his mind or desperate. Remember Dan Quayle? Quayle was also a lightweight. But in Quayle’s case there was little to suggest what his influence in Indiana could do for the Bush I administration. In Palin’s case what she can do for a McCain administration is all too obvious. She can help turn Alaska into one giant oil field quickly and without any concern for the environment. She can redefine the term”fast track”. She knows the state and can wheel and deal in the places that will most quickly open up protected areas for drilling. Damn the torpedoes… That realization was instantaneous for me. Then came the second epiphany. McCain is acting as if the election is irrelevant and it just may be. The Republicans did steal the last two didn’t they? Is this one already so far in the bag that McCain doesn’t care what she does to his national ticket? I pray there is some other explanation.

Palin flip-flopped on ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ funds
By Tom Kizza

“Palin was for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it.”

THOUGHTS FOR THE REST OF US: CAROLYN BAKER.NET

Events like Katrina and Gustav hold meaning both literally and
symbolically. In terms of the latter, they represent for me a
fast-forward image of collapse. What most of humanity refuses to
grasp is that collapse is happening, and is to some extent, occurring
in slow burn fashion, yet when sudden crisis events erupt, a tipping
point both exacerbates collapse and reveals what it will look like in
its last stages. Those lines of cars evacuating crisis areasthe ones
that seem to stretch into infinity, that weve become so familiar with
since Katrina, should send all of us immediately back to Collapse
Preparation 101, checking our emergency supplies and pondering where
we need to be living and what more we need to be doing to navigate
the inevitable

JAPAN’S PM RESIGNS

DUTCH NEWSPAPER REPORTS IMMINENT ATTACK ON IRAN

Biggest Newspaper In Holland Says Dutch Intelligence Helped Prepare Imminent Attack On Iran
De Telegraaf front page says sources inside AVID helped CIA map air attack

Sam Gardiner, Col. USAF Ret, comments:

This morning, Holland’s largest newspaper carries an important article on Iran. The article was quickly picked up and translated into English by the official Iranian new agency. According to the piece, a classified Dutch intelligence operation cooperating with the CIA has been pulled back. The operations has involved infiltration into Iranian industry, missile equipment and launchers were specifically mentioned. The Dutch effort was pulled back because the United States is on the verge of targeting these facilities.

The author of the Dutch article has a history of good contacts with Dutch intelligence.

This is makes some sense. The United States would not want to target a facility where a cooperating intelligence agency had people. I don’t conclude from this that the United States is close to an air strike. I see this more in terms of the target of covert operations where we are beginning to see the results from the recent Presidential finding we’ve read about in a number of investigative pieces.



‘US to Strike Iran in Coming Weeks’

The Jerusalem Post

The impending air-strike on Iran was to be carried out by unmanned aircraft “within weeks,” the report claimed, quoting “well placed” sources.

BEHIND GLOBAL FAMINE

Reuters: Ingushetia website owner killed by police

An opposition internet news site owner in Russia’s troubled Ingushetia region was fatally shot yesterday after being detained by police. Magomed Yevloyev was one of the most high-profile journalists to be killed in Russia since the investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead near her Moscow apartment in 2006, provoking condemnation of Russia’s record on media freedom.

Yevloyev, who owned the website Ingushetiya.ru, was a vocal critic of the region’s Kremlin-backed administration, accused by opponents of crushing dissent and free speech.

A lawyer for the repeated official attempts to close it down, said police met Yevloyev at the steps of an aircraft after he flew into Ingushetia’s airport and drove him away in a Volga car. “As they drove he was shot in the temple … They threw him out of the car near the hospital,” Kaloi Akhilgov told Reuters by telephone. “He was discovered there and they quickly put him on the operating table, which is where he died.”

Akhilgov said Yevloyev, who was in his 30s, had flown from Moscow to Nazran on the same flight as the Kremlin-backed local leader, Murat Zyazikov, who has been struggling to contain a low-level insurgency by Islamist militants. A spokesman for Zyazikov could not be reached for comment.

Interfax news agency cited an unnamed law enforcement source as saying that Yevloyev was shot by accident, and said prosecutors had opened a criminal case for causing the death by carelessness.

In Moscow, Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the investigations unit of the prosecutor general’s office, said only: “A preliminary investigation is being carried out into the incident.”

THERE WAS A PROTEST AT THE FUNERAL TODAY

DALI LAMA RECOUPERATING

REUTERS:Doctors treating the Dalai Lama say there is no cause for concern despite him being admitted to hospital in India, and the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader will take part in a fast on Saturday, aides said.

“He is doing fine. He is undergoing some checkups … the doctors have told us that absolutely there is no cause for concern,” Chhime Chhoekyapa, a senior aide to the exiled spiritual Tibetan leader, told Reuters from Mumbai on Friday.

Personal doctors and aides to the Dalai Lama said he had a “mild problem” and would undergo more tests on Saturday.

“Today and tomorrow he will be in the hospital, but day after tomorrow he might be discharged,” said Tenzin Taklha, a senior aide to the Lama, in Dharamsala on Friday.

ECONOMY

WP: Fannie, Freddie Slip After Key Gains
Share Prices Up For Week Despite Sell-Off at End

SAVING FREDDIE AND FANNIE

Credit crunch fallout could linger in ’09

Much to the shock of many economists and to the chagrin of politicians, the
credit crunch hung around so long that it turned a year old this summer.

…”We’re going to be struggling well into 2009,” said Zandi, whose new book is
called “Financial Shock: A 360-degree Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion,
and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis” ($24.99, FT Press).

This is not just any old financial blip. Typically, a crisis can last days or
weeks.

“This is unprecedented,” Zandi said.

The subprime financial shock, he concludes, will go down as an inflection point
in economic history.
What’s next

Unfortunately, I’ve got a strong hunch that Zandi is right on the money. His
book offers a readable explanation for how roughly 15 million shaky or bad
mortgage loans could turn into what’s expected to be a trillion-dollar global
financial fallout.”


EUROPEAN VIEW ON FINANCIAL CRISIS

European social democrats, or the powerlessness of power By Michel Rocard

In reporting on the crisis, the media have placed too much emphasis on finance
alone, and have paid insufficient attention to the marked slowing of economic growth. But it is the economic slowdown that renders all developed countries less resistant to the financial shocks resulting from the sub-prime problem and from the mixed loan packages that are then used to dilute the risks attached to sub-prime debt. Indeed, the combination of banking uncertainties, slower growth, and the heightened risk of underemployment and casual labor creates the political weakness now visible in the UK, Spain, Italy and elsewhere.

Herein lies a real ideological problem. The second half of the 20th century
witnessed the victory of the market economy over the administered economy. The
left, which had previously looked to Marx, lost its bearings. Even social
democracy, which, particularly in Scandinavia, was an excellent regulator of
capitalism, found itself muted in the controversy between Keynesians and
monetarists, and, throughout the developed world, the monetarists won.

But have they?

NEW GOOGLE BROWSER CHALLENGES MICROSOFT

FT: Google is to release its own internet browser in what amounts to its most direct attack yet on Microsoft’s dominance of PC software. The launch of the browser, known as Google Chrome, will pit the internet company against Microsoft’s dominant Internet Explorer browse

SAL SIINO WRITES ABOUT PAUL CORTEZ

My name is Sal Siino. I am a former corporate attorney who left the practice of law to pursue my MBA at Harvard Business School. Together with other young professionals in the New York area, I recently formed a non-profit organization (The Paul Cortez Defense Fund, Inc.) to help Paul Cortez fight for justice. (www.freepaulcortez.org)

When in March of 2005 another murder was announced in New York City, I was as disgustingly un-surprised as the next person. This time, however, the stories plastered on news stands happened to concern a man with whom I had previously crossed paths at our local gym: Paul Cortez.

While it is true that my (admittedly brief) acquaintance with Paul piqued my interest enough to follow his case in the news, I was initially neither convinced nor unconvinced of his innocence. Eventually, my vague interest slowly morphed into mangled knots of unsettled questions. The whole thing just didn’t seem right. The tabloid headlines were racially slanderous. The language was agonizingly unprofessional and contained many contradictions. False and exaggerated statements were issued, recognizable by those with even a modest amount of sensibility…all leading me to scratch my head and wonder: ‘do people actually believe this?’ Is anyone going to help this man? I had faith, however, that despite the media frenzy, Paul would have his chance in court and that my unsettled feelings would soon be put to rest.

Last year, Paul was sentenced to 25 years to life for a crime he did not commit. His defense attorneys were so incompetent and ill-prepared that they failed to show up for the first three days of trial and inexplicably did not test any DNA evidence which could have cleared Paul or call any forensic experts at trial.

Paul has now spent over 900 days in a roach-infested cell, stripped of his most basic human rights. Torn away from the comfort of friends, family, and the familiarity of his life, he was without warning thrust into the swells of panic, despair, and utter darkness. He was (and is) demonized as a monster by most of the world. He is threatened, denied, and tortured on a daily basis. Not only is Paul a prisoner, but he is a high-profile prisoner. Therefore, Paul is targeted by the other inmates and correctional officers.

Paul was tried and convicted by the press and an over zealous prosecutor, just as we all witnessed with the Duke lacrosse debacle. Unlike those Duke lacrosse players, however, Paul did not have the public outcry or the finances to fight the allegations.

We are trying to right this wrong by appealing his case, but it is a daunting task.

None of us associated with The Defense Fund has been involved, to even remotely near this capacity, in human rights affairs. Each of us spends numerous hours a day on top of our own careers and family working on Paul’s case and fighting for his freedom. We have spent our own savings and receive no funding in return. We do this because Paul could have been our brother, our son, our father. He is, undeniably, a fellow citizen. And he has, over time, become a good friend. He is a wonderful and gifted person who has worked tirelessly to achieve every one of his amazing successes in his short life.

Briefly, Paul grew up in an impoverished neighborhood in the Bronx. From the time he was a child, he rigorously applied himself to his academics and artistic pursuits, hoping to one day be able to support his family and move them out of the Bronx.

He earned academic scholarships to the prestigious Buckley School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, and Boston University’s School of Theatre Arts. He also recorded three solo albums and became the lead singer of a popular New York City band. After graduation from BU, Paul moved to New York to chase his theatrical and musical dreams. While auditioning, Paul supported himself by working as a yoga instructor and personal trainer. At the time of his arrest, Paul was in the midst of auditions for Rent on Broadway.

My hope is that you might be willing to help us spread the word about this case. The time has nearly passed for an appeal. If it is not approved, Paul will spend the rest of his life in prison. He only has one chance. Additionally, even if the appeal is granted, the caliber of forensic experts we hire and number of amount of DNA we will be able to test will hinge on the level of funds that we have raised, and we simply cannot afford to bargain-hunt. Thank you in advance for your consideration and please do not hesitate to contact me for more specific information or questions.

With much appreciation and respect

ANOTHER COMMENT ON THIS CASE

Today, a new angle is added to this case: the way the media reported the case:

My name is Diane Seltzer and I am responding to the article written about Paul Cortez: and stating my concerns with how the media effected the civil rights of the accused. Please read the following:.

Media bias pervades our daily lives. The First Amendment assures freedom of the press and allows all opinions to be expressed. Historically, various perspectives were viewed as thought provoking and a source of stimulation for ideas or actions. However, a new type of journalistic attitude has taken hold of much of the media. Ideas become fact, and these “facts” are manipulated to produce a more scandalous version of the truth and spun into sensationalized stories to boost sales. There are serious topics and issues being misrepresented by this tabloid media with little concern for accountability or consequence for the “public lynchings” they orchestrate.

One consequence can be the undermining and ultimate loss of a citizen’s civil rights. American law states a citizen is to be innocent till proven guilty in a fair court of law. However, you can be tried and convicted by the media with no chance to prove otherwise unless you have incredible resources. Even then, it can rob a person of years of freedom before the truth is allowed to be proven. There is such a situation in New York that a group of concerned citizens became aware of and couldn’t ignore. We feel this is an attack on the rights of all citizens. The media took a story and sold their product ,the truth be damned, and helped to wrongfully convict a very talented young man named Paul Vincent Cortez.

YOUR LETTERS

Zina Norman of the TransAtlantic Institute in London, writes;

I concur with Thomas Goltz’s account of how the Russo-Georgian War resulted from orchestrated provocation, and was not the result of an attack ordered by Saakashvili.

To unravel this you need to go back to what was happening in villages like Avnevi in the run up to 8.8.8. The accounts of those who were there on the 5th and 6th of August tell of repeated attacks on peacekeepers and civilians. Kokoity, de-facto leader of Ossetia, had all civilians evacuated on 3rd August, the same day Ingush and Chechen fighters entered the area.

On August the 6th the Georgians came under attack with weapons that were banned under the terms of agreement brokered in 1992.

Thanks to you Danny for not letting the election frenzy squeeze Georgia off the agenda.

Arthur Lieber says “three cheers”

Forget a moment about the wolf hunting xxxx from Alaska and pick up a copy of Hebdo.

Danny has imparted his wisdom to the “duhs” and given his expertise on the Georgia thing (not Atlanta, Rhett)

The headline on Danny’s interview reads “Ce conflit est un enjeu électoral américain.”

Once again, Danny scores….

Congrats

FROM THE ASIA MEDIA FORUM

The siege of the government TV station National Broadcasting Service of Thailand by supporters of the People’s Alliance for Democracy this week grabbed the headlines and prompted media rights bodies to strongly condemn the incident. This incident is yet another reason why Thai journalists continuously clamor for media reform which will hopefully pave the way for this industry’s full democratization.

LARRY HOUGHTELING WRITES

For years my favorite blogger was “billmon” of the Whiskey Bar site. He’s been out of action for a couple of years. Now he’s back doing an occasional opinion piece at DailyKos. Here, post Democratic Convention, an example of why I like his stuff so much:

Jeremy Alderson writes about a march against homelessness at theg RNC:

Anyway, the news is that The Homelessness Marathon will be doing a special broadcast — “Live From The March For Our Lives” tomorrow, Tuesday, September 2nd. This broadcast will be on about a dozen radio stations and will be available over the internet at: http://kpftx.org:9000/homeless

The March For Our Lives will be a major poor people’s demonstration outside the Republican National Convention. It will include homeless people, welfare mothers, people without health insurance and many, many others whose needs are not being met by the current economic order.

STORIES OF INTEREST


WAS BUSH DRUNK AT THE OLYMPICS? – SEE THESE PHOTOS

HOLIDAY TREAT: NEIL YOUNG’S LIST OF ANTI-WAR SONGS
My friend, singer-songwriter Dave Golden is on the list.

I was going to rest this weekend but there’s been so much news–and also very disturbing reports of premptive arrests in the Twin Citiies of protesters that make China look mild.

Finally a Yuk– from humorist Andy Borowitz who went looking for some eerie parallels, and found one:

The GOP campaign for the White House is looking more and more like the screenplay for an unproduced Goldie Hawn film from the 1980′s, a Goldie Hawn film expert said today.

Davis Logsdon, who teaches at the University of Minnesota’s School of Film and is considered the world’s foremost expert in the cinema of Goldie Hawn, said that in choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate Sen. John McCain was taking a leaf from an unproduced Hawn vehicle from 1984 titled “Contestant in Chief.”

“In the screenplay, an evil presidential candidate chooses the American he thinks is the least likely to catch on to his nefarious plans to destroy the country,” Professor Logsdon said. “Enter Goldie, a former beauty pageant contestant, small-town mayor and hockey mom.”

In keeping with the formula of Goldie Hawn movies in the 1980′s, “She turns out to be smarter than she looks and exposes her running mate on national TV, becoming President herself in the process.”

But Professor Logsdon cautioned that in the case of this year’s GOP ticket, life will probably imitate art only up to a point: “In real life, if Gov. Palin becomes President she will most likely ban abortions, destroy wildlife habitats and blow up the world.”

Elsewhere, Gov. Palin said she was looking forward to the vice-presidential debate, or as she called it, “the talent competition.”

if you are a reviewer, blogger or interviewer, you can also request a copy of my new book PLUNDER

This seems to be a time for prayers as well as hopes (and support) for the already traumatized people of the Gulf coast.

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SATUDAY NIGHT: NEW ORLEANS ORDERED EVACUATED, KILLER STORM COMING

August 29th, 2008 - by: danny

SATUDAY NIGHT: NEW ORLEANS ORDERED EVACUATED, KILLER STORM COMING

Hurricane Gustav is moving into a category 5 Storm. It has ripped through Haiti, Jamaica and parts of Cuba. 150 mile per hour winds are its signature and its getting stronger…The Mayor of New Orleans, a city now occupied by the National Guard, has issued a mandatory evaculation order….This is happening on the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina….No media outlets I have seen connect the severe weather we are experiencing and global warming….

More on this story and others tomorrow. Now back to my earlier blog…

FRIDAY MORNING: Gov. Sarah Palin Is McCain’s Choice for Vice President
First-term Alaska governor is first woman to join Republican presidential ticket. (WP)

IS THIS THE AGE OF OBAMA OR THE AGE OF KATRINA?

GUSTAV KILLS 51, PROBABLY MORE, IN HAITI, TRASHING JAMAICA AS I WRITE, AND THREATENING NEW ORLEANS.

NOT AGAIN! Yes, possibly, Again!


BARACK OBAMA’S MOMENT
PUTIN SAYS US PROVOKED WAR FOR POLITICAL REASONS
REMEMBERING THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON

DISSECTING “LIVE” FROM THE LIVING ROOM AT THE RACE BROOK LODGE IN THE BERKSHIRES:

And then it was time for the Obama video. Serious. Personal, not that political. Syrupy: “I am my brother’s keeper.” …. Moving…..and yet riddled with truth about empathizing with all people, certainly a compassionate communique unlike any we have seen in recent years.

And then he walked on stage, with that beaming smile of his, with a musical soundtrack, in front of 75,000 of his new best friends, thanking and thanking the assembled 85,000 again and again. (Usually you say thanks at the end…no?)

He expresses profound gratitude and great humility as he accepts their nomination…..he salutes Hillary, Bill Clinton, OOPS SOUND PROBLEM ON PBS, he thanks Biden who he calls one of the “finest statesman” and then acknowledges Michelle, “the love of my life,” and then his kids ….and then the speech begins….

He speaks initially to the economic woes of many Americans and indicts the “failure to respond” on the part of government….We are a better country than that…He’s citing all the problems his campaign has mentioned including the drowning of a great city…He says ENOUGH….Keep the American promise !…We can’t let the next four years look like the last 8…..the audience is chanting Change is coming…

He praises McCain and then turns on him as devotee of Bush….He has been anything but independent…He references Phil Gramm’s reference to a “nation of whiners…” and demolishes it….he offers a litany of issues on which he says McCain doesn’t get it….He says the “ownership society” means you are on your own….

Its time for them to own their failures….its time for us to change America….

He then moved to spell out what his idea of change means—His issues: Tax reform, Create jobs, Cut Taxes for 95% of all working families, end dependence on oil from Middle East, renewable energy, tap natural gas, safely harness nuclear power, mmm, clean coal. affordable and renewal energy, meet moral obligation, a world class education for all, early childhood education, recruit an army of new teachers, pay them well, affordable education for those who serve the country and their communities, affordable health care, change bankruptcy laws, equal pay for equal day’s work…

now he talks about how he will pay for this by closing corporate loopholes…He says we need parents, not just programs, and and more involved fathers….He is advocating individual responsibility and mutual responsibilty…..

He is now using, actually repeating the phrase Dr King used 45 years ago on this day:”NOW IS THE TIME!”

On foreign policy, he calls for more troops for Afghanistan…He says McCain will follow Osama Bin Laden to the gates of hell,but not he says to the cave he lives in…. he wants to remove our troops in Iraq….etc.etc…..We are now on familiar ground…he wants to to defeat Russian Aggression with diplomacy… (Iraq veterans are protesting outside but they are not acknowledged or supported….He is burying the war as an issue, moving beyond it.)

He strikes out at partisan bashing and using patriotism as a tool to smear each other..he recites the Party positions….and calls for unity…challenges cynicism….I am not the likeliest candidate…something is stirring…This election is not about me, its about you….Change doesn’t come from Washington; it comes to Washington…he calls for a new politics for a new time….

He speaks of the promise 45 years ago….of young preacher from Georgia speaks of his dream…of the March (see below) ..america, we can not turn back. ….we can not work alone…we must pledge to march into the future…and closes with reference to scripture……And the band strikes up a song about the promised land…..and then the fireworks outdoing the Olympics in Beijing….They are now blowing confetti a la Cirque du Soleil…..lots of heroic music, men embracing, some in tears…

It is celebration time…..CNN calls it the most important speech he has ever given….He took on his weaknesses….He has shown he is “tough enough.!” Question: was he convincing to independents and doubters in his own party?

This phase of his race is over–but the campaign is just beginning once again….

TECHNOLOGY ON DISPLAY

Technology is on display in Denver. As the audience waited for Obama, they were given an assignment:

In the hours before he made his entrance, these supporters were being asked to text message the Obama campaign and their friends and to make phone calls from specially tailored call sheets as part of an unprecedented effort to mobilize voters and get nonvoters to register.

Yes, I was texted too….

THE BEST LINE

The best line from the ordinary voters backing Obama: “I want a president who will put Barney Smith Before Smith Barney.”

The stadium at Invesco Field was packed. It was supposedly the hottest ticket in town. Stevie Wonder was on fire. There was a stage full of Amirals and Generals. Dwight David Eisenhower’s grand daughter Susan was on message and intelligent.

Al Gore cited Abraham Lincoln as an example of a state legislator who went on to become a President. He said e are at the end of an era with a mandate from history. He worked the phrase an “inconvenient truth” into his presentation. Good speech by Al, thoughful, with a sense of history and morality (ie to redeem the purpose of historyy. I watched him with a group of middle-aged women, one of whom feared that he was too intellectual. Another countered that he was adding substance. Folks cheered as a song from HAIR regaled the Stadium. I am watching on CSPAN so there’s no voice-over, just cheering.

MCCAIN’S RESPONSE: THE SPEECH SHOWS OBAMA IS NOT READY TO BE PRESIDENT. HE ISSUED A REBUTTAL AND PLANS TO ANNOUNCE HIS VP RUNNING MATE TONIGHT AT A RALLY IN OHIO.

67 DAYS TO GO.

IS THIS A PROGRESSIVE VICTORY?

David Sirota thinks so and so writes on TomPaine.com

The Rise of the “Democratic Wing” of the Democratic Party

Despite the personality tiff between the Obama and Clinton people, and despite some blemishes on Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden’s record, one thing is undebatable: The progressive wing of the Democratic Party – the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, as Paul Wellstone famously called it – has finally defeated the party’s corporate wing. But there’s much more work to do.

Harpers reported that 75 coprorations contributed to the Democratic convention; only 50 for Republican.


WATCH THE LOBBYISTS OPERATE IN DENVER

NY TIMES: BLACK FUNDRAISING ELITE EMERGES

A cadre of black elites has emerged as a significant force in the most prolific fund-raising operation in presidential history.

RIGHT WINGNUT SEES SOROS-GEFFEN PLOT BEHIND OBAMA
The PR AGENCY SPECIAL GUESTS GETS DISSECTOR GOLD MEDAL FOR ABSURDITY

Two of the wealthiest people in the world support Barack Obama. Setting up the American public as the collective goat, did they also create him to benefit from two nefarious plots that are to be carried out in October and November respectively?

Author Lee Troxler has uncovered what he says are plots involving George Soros and David Geffen that are just plain diabolical. “Does anyone think Barack Obama would be the nominee without the support of Soros and Geffen,” Troxler asks. “In writing this book, we have uncovered why he’s their guy and the answers are more than just a little sobering.”

Based on these finds, Troxler is convinced that there are two political bombs set to go off — one from New York in October and one from Hollywood in November that are designed to assure an Obama victory that will put Soros and Geffen at the controls.

Troxler strongly urges and encourages people to stop and think about this man’s rise. “The fact that Barack Obama surpassed Hillary Clinton against virtually all odds and expectations is not due to sheer charisma,” he said. “Charisma is nice to have but the reason Barack Obama is on the cusp of becoming president of the United States can be traced almost exclusively back to two people who are plotting the future of this country.

ACTVISTS HAVE BEEN MEETING IN DENVER ON EVERY FRONT

On the eve of the 3rd Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Sara K. Gould, President & CEO of the Ms. Foundation, is hosting a roundtable discussion, ” What Women Want: Journalists and Activists Connect Stories and Solutions,” in collaboration with Women’s eNews, just blocks away from the convention, at Big Tent Denver.

Panelists, including grassroots activists from New Orleans, Providence and Denver, and leaders of organizations like the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, are addressing the impact of the economy, post-Katrina recovery and other key issues on women – particularly low-income women and women of color, who are hardest hit in times of crisis. They are also offering cutting-edge solutions – grounded in the experiences and expertise of women themselves.

GREEN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MCKINNEY ON BIDEN

“Joe Biden is handmaiden to the special interests in Washington, D.C. that rely on war, death, untold carnage, and the insecurity of average, ordinary American citizens to have their way. It is clear that a vote for the Democratic Party is a vote for more war.

ERIC ALTERMAN: HOW THE MEDIA STIRRED A CLINTON —OBAMA CONFLICT

WHO WAS WATCHING? NIELSON REPORTS

Nielsen just released its ratings for Day Three of the Democratic National Convention. The key takeaways are:

1) Bill Clinton and Senator Joe Biden drew more viewers (24 million) than Michelle Obama (22.3 million) — but fewer than Hillary Clinton (26 million).

2) Older viewers (age 55+) continued to dominate the TV audience Wednesday night, with 18.1% of all Americans in that age group – 12.5 million people – tuning in to the convention coverage.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

It’s a beautiful summer day the way it was 45 years ago when with great anticpation and excitement our busses started to roll out of East Baltimore to join the great March on Washington. The year 1963 had been a year of feverish civil rights activism all across the South and the March was to be its culmination. I was working then as a field organizer for the Northern Student Movement’s Baltimore project and we managed to fill five busses with young people who were fired up and ready to go, NSM was a northern affiliate of SNNC, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, one of the March’s movement sponsors. We had a statewide committee in Maryland that I was part of coordinating the State’s response. Frankly, we had no idea of how it would all go down.

You might want to check in on this link for more information on how the March was organized.

What’s important to know is that the Labor movement was helping to fund it and our demands were for jobs and justice. The Kennedy Administration was nervous about it and in fact the press that day would later focus on its peaceful nature, not its demands or Dr, King’s memorable speech. Many don’t know that Dr. King gave the speech in Detroit at the end of June to see what kind of reaction he would get. It was an uncomfortable coalituon. The NAACP and Urban League were conservative and suspicious of March organizer Bayard Rustin who worked for labor leader A/ Phillip Randolph, who had actually floated a similar idea during World War 2 that ended up getting an executive order to desegregate the military. SNCC and CORE were the militants. Jim Farmer of CORE was actually in jail in Lousiana. John Lewis of SNCC was being pressured to tone down his speech.

The stakes were high and the March was a high point of the first mass phase of what we called “THE MOVEMENT.” The President welcomed the March leaders to the White House afterwards. Later in the evening Malcolm X would turn up to the march’s headquarters to warn of the consequences of government inaction.

Of the leaders who spoke that day, only John Lewis is alive, now an outspoken Congressman from Atlanta. If you there that day, as I was, you will never forget that day even if most of the country, thanks to our media, has had it and the struggle that continues reduced to just four words – “I Have A Dream.”

Dr. King’s eloquence is important – in many ways it inspired Obama’s style—but it was not the movement just as Obama himself is not the Movement. He is now all those people who identify with his values and hopes.

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PUTIN CHARGES: BUSHEVIKS PROVOKED GEORGIA WAR FOR US ELECTION

August 29th, 2008 - by: danny

PUTIN CHARGES: BUSHEVIKS PROVOKED GEORGIA WAR FOR US ELECTION

PUTIN: US BEHIND GEORGIAN WAR FOR DOMESTC POLITICAL REASONS

Yesterday, I mused about the possibility of an “October surprise” because of the war in Georgia, a way of making national security the key issue in the campaign, an issue that McCain can exploit. Apparently I am not the only one thinking this way.

Today, (Thurs) there was this bombshell:

CNN EXCLISIVE: Putin: U.S. orchestrated Georgian war

SOCHI, Russia (CNN) — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of orchestrating the conflict in Georgia to benefit one of its presidential election candidates.

In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Matthew Chance in the Black Sea city of Sochi Thursday, Putin said the U.S. had encouraged Georgia to attack the autonomous region of South Ossetia.

[SNIP]

“U.S. citizens were indeed in the area in conflict,” Putin said. “They were acting in implementing those orders doing as they were ordered, and the only one who can give such orders is their leader.”

LONDON BASED JOURNALIST WILLIAM BOWLES COMMENTS;

It’s obvious that the Georgian provocation instigated by the US, is part of a larger and even more ominous scheme of destabilization, but the issue here is more complex than ‘grand schemes of world domination’ because I contend that the real world of the collapsing capitalist economies is now dictating events (which makes the situation even more dangerous for all of us).

First of all, Russia is in the way of the US move Eastward, which is where Georgia plays a vital role, hence the need to get Georgia into NATO. However, as with many of the US’s previous ‘allies’, Saakashvili has proved to be totally unreliable (if not mentally unbalanced), and if as seems more than likely, the US ‘advised’ him to invade Ossetia, it has proved to be yet another strategic blunder, or did the US assume that the Russians would roll over and play dead?

Either way, under the circumstances the ‘Cold War’ card was all that was left to the West, but bluffing is all well and good when playing poker but not when the game is chess.

THOMAS GOLTZ, the author of Georgia Diary sees a more complicated situation:

By August 11, Georgia had in effect capitulated, and was begging for international diplomatic intervention. Russian tanks ruled the land, Russian aviation ruled the skies and Russian naval craft ruled the shores of the Black Sea. And Russian propaganda largely ruled the airwaves, too. That last victory might be summed up by the way the short war is usually represented even in the western media: namely, that the Russian counter-attack had been massively successful, and the man to blame for the mess was not Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (and certainly not Russian President Dmitry Medvedev) but the mercurial Georgian President, Mikheil (Misha) Saakashvili.

Not.

A ‘counter attack’ assumes an initial attack, and the Georgians, while perhaps guilty of being lured into a trap, never attacked Russia. Rather, in the days prior to 8.8.8, Georgia had been responding to an escalating series of provocations inside South Ossetia and to a lesser extent in Abkhazia. That is how the war began, and how it should be remembered: it was and is a war of provocation followed by creeping annexation, and planned and executed with a surprising degree of efficiency, and complete audacity.

This was no where more in evidence than the decision by the Upper House of the Russian Duma on August 25th to recommend the recognition of both South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states, IE, to tear these territories away from Georgia, and forever. The parliamentary decision was next passed by the Lower House and then signed by President Medvedev within 24 hours of its initial getting tabled, to the joy of the Ossetians and Abkhaz, the shock and anguish of Georgia and the baffled (and, after the recognition by the west of breakaway Kosovo last year, hypocritical) cries of ‘foul play!’ in western capitals. A bed-rock of the international system of relations between countries in place since 1945, namely, the inviolability of the territorial integrity of existing states, had just been removed, and Pandora’s Box opened.

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