Minnesota Supremes: It’s Franken Time; Hell In Honduras

June 30th, 2009 - by: danny

SENATOR AL FRANKEN !!! (YES, HE DID)
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE DOWN
MORE ON MICHAEL AND MADOFF

AT LAST: Minnesota’s Supreme Court has declared Democrat Al Franken the winner of the state’s disputed U.S. Senate race. His adversary Norm Coleman has conceded which means there will be no Supreme Court Challenge. The Senate needs Stuart Smiley to keep things real.

The indisepensable Brad Blog has more: “The decision was a unanimous 5 to 0 ruling, finding that Franken was “entitled” to be certified by the state’s Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and its Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.

Pawlenty has recently said he would sign the certification for Franken, if ordered to do so by the MN Supremes. The state requires a signature for certification from both the Governor and the Sec. of State before Congress members may be seated. State law also allows for all election contests to be settled in the state before certification is signed.

Franken’s seating would give Democrats a theoretical 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, following Arlen Specter’s recent move to the Democratic party.

COUP BLOODSHED

HONDOURAS: Two Killed, 60 Injured In Anti-Coup Protests

The UN Called for the former President to be reinstated. Honduran authorities respond:

“Attorney General Luis Alberto Rubi said Zelaya would be arrested ‘as soon as he sets foot on Honduran soil’ and faces at least 20 years in prison for treason, abuse of authority and other charges.

“‘We have already issued an international arrest warrant to capture the former president anywhere in the world,’ he said.”

TELESUR TV TEAM ARRESTED: Telesur, which has been the ONLY media outlet to provide non-stop coverage on the coup in Honduras since yesterday, has just been the victim of violent repression in Honduras. During the beginning of the meetings taking place this afternoon in Nicaragua with all heads of state from Latin America, Telesur abruptly interrupted coverage to broadcast the words and cries of Adriana Sivori, Telesur correspondent in Tegucigalpa, denouncing she was being detained, along with her cameraman, by military forces in Honduras under orders by the coup dictatorship. There is massive repression underway in Honduras right now. The Telesur team has been detained by armed forces and placed under arrest in clear violation of international law. Their identification documents have been confiscated by the military and they have been kidnapped.

Analysis From The NY TIMES:

The United States has a history of backing rival political factions and instigating coups in the region, and administration officials have found themselves on the defensive in recent days, dismissing repeated allegations by President Hugo ChÃƒÂ¡vez of Venezuela that the C.I.A. may have had a hand in the president’s removal.

Obama administration officials said that they were surprised by the coup on Sunday. But they also said that they had been working for several weeks to try to head off a political crisis in Honduras as the confrontation between Mr. Zelaya and the military over his efforts to lift presidential term limits escalated.

The United States has long had strong ties to the Honduras military and helps train Honduran military forces. Those close ties have put the Obama administration in a difficult position, opening it up to accusations that it may have turned a blind eye to the pending coup. Administration officials strongly deny the charges, and Mr. Obama’s quick response to the Honduran president’s removal has differed sharply from the actions of the Bush administration, which in 2002 offered a rapid, tacit endorsement of a short-lived coup against Mr. ChÃƒÂ¡vez.

Laura Carlsen, Center For International Policy:

Thousands of Hondurans are now in the streets to protest the coup d’etat in their country. They have been met with tear gas, anti-riot rubber bullets, tanks firing water mixed with chemicals, and clubs. Police have moved in to break down barricades and soldiers used violence to push back protesters at the presidential residence, leaving an unknown number wounded.

If the coup leaders were desperate when they decided to forcibly depose the elected president, they are even more desperate now. Stripped of its pretense of legality by universal repudiation and faced with a popular uprising, the coup has turned to more violent means.

KIDNAPPING ON HIGH SEAS (IT’S NOT PIRATES)

McKinney, Gaza aid workers kidnapped by Israeli navy on high seas

FreeGaza.org: ISRAEL ATTACKS JUSTICE BOAT; KIDNAPS HUMAN RIGHTS WORKERS; CONFISCATES MEDICINE, TOYS AND OLIVE TREES

[23 miles off the coast of Gaza, 15:30pm] – Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (see below for a complete list of passengers). The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.

“This is an outrageous violation of international law against us. Our boat was not in Israeli waters, and we were on a human rights mission to the Gaza Strip,” said Cynthia McKinney, a former U.S. Congresswoman and presidential candidate. “President Obama just told Israel to let in humanitarian and reconstruction supplies, and that’s exactly what we tried to do. We’re asking the international community to demand our release so we can resume our journey.”

According to an International Committee of the Red Cross report released yesterday, the Palestinians living in Gaza are “trapped in despair.” Thousands of Gazans whose homes were destroyed earlier during Israel’s December/January massacre are still without shelter despite pledges of almost $4.5 billion in aid, because Israel refuses to allow cement and other building material into the Gaza Strip. The report also notes that hospitals are struggling to meet the needs of their patients due to Israel’s disruption of medical supplies.

JINSA Neocon (war for Israel advocate) Michael Ledeen says Israel will attack Iran:

United For Peace and Justice On Iraq Withdrawal:

Today,(June 30) the Iraqi people are celebrating the beginning of U.S. troop withdrawals as ‘National Sovereignty Day’. This, because under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed by the Iraqi government and the Bush administration, all U.S. combat troops are to withdraw from Iraq’s cities and towns on June 30th, today. After six long years of war and occupation, it is no wonder Iraqis are celebrating this first symbolic benchmark.

But huge challenges lie ahead for the Iraqi people, as they work to regain control of their country and address the fragile political, economic, and security situation found there.

The road for the U.S. military out of Iraq remains much too long.”.

27 Iraqis killed in Bomb Blasts marking the “pullout.”…US Oil Companies and Iraq Government Cannot agree on deal to exploit Iraqi oil. Many US companies reject Iraqi terms in Live TV Bid Procdss

WorldPublicOpinion.org: Obama Rockets to Top of Poll on Global Leaders

Putin and Ahmadinejad Receive Lowest Marks

US President Barack Obama has the confidence of many publics around the world – inspiring far more confidence than any other world political leader according to a new poll of 20 nations by WorldPublicOpinion.org. A year ago, President Bush was one of the least trusted leaders in the world.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin now have the most negative confidence ratings around the world. On average across all nations about half have little or no confidence that they will “do the right thing regarding world affairs” while just a third or less do have confidence.

The News Dissector