SENATE VOTES 70 BILLION FOR IRAQ, AFGHAN WARS

UN MAJORITY VOTES AGAINST DEATH PENALTY

Jayne Stahl reports:

The voting in the UN General Assembly just finished and the Plenary session voted to adopt the resolution calling for a universal moratorium on the death penalty. The vote was:

104 in favor
54 against
29 abstaining

Coupled with the abolition in New Jersey yesterday, it is an excellentweek for the efforts to abolish the death penalty.”

U.S. US Helps Turkey Hit Rebel Kurds In Iraq– (Later, Washington said Turkey never informed the Administration of its plans)

TALIBAN SURGE: WASHINGTON MONTHLY:

This week, the Bush administration finally conceded a fact that has been evident for some time: the U.S. mission in Afghanistan is poised on the brink of failure. In a last-ditch attempt to avert the return of the Taliban, the administration is currently reviewing its entire military and economic aid policies in Afghanistan from top to bottom.

GAZA UNDER ATTCK

And, via Paul O Hanlon, an appeal from Palestinian movements

There are currently more than 1000 terminally ill patients on death roll waiting for the Israeli authorities to issue them permits in order to be treated in Israeli or Egyptian hospitals.

We call on the international community to exert pressure on the Israel to conduct itself within the boundaries of international humanitarian law and ensure the protection of all Palestinian civilians. We also demand the immediate halt of the Israeli Occupation Forces’ attacks on the Gaza Strip and an end to the closure and isolation of the Strip.

LAKOTA NATION SEEKS WITHDRAWAL FROM USA

Washington D.C. – Lakota Sioux Indian representatives confronted State Department officials on Tuesday with a Lakota withdrawl from all treaties with the United States government. According to U.S. and International Law, the former Dakota Territory, which is home to the Lakota, reverts back to sovereign Lakota control.

The Lakota Freedom Delegation now prepares to host an international press conference on Wednesday. The delegation has been meeting with various foreign embassies to initiate diplomatic talks and support.

CHINA: Writer arrested after criticising Beijing Olympics

Reporters Without Borders calls for the immediate release of dissident writer Wang Dejia, who was arrested at his home in Guilin, in the southern province of Guangxi, on 13 December and was charged with “subverting state authority.” He uses the pen-name of Jing Chu.

“Eight months before the Beijing Olympic Games, it is very worrying to learn of the arrest of another writer who had criticised the way the games are being organised,” the press freedom organisation said. “It suggests that there could be an increase in repression of Chinese who dare to voice reserves about the games, either online or to foreign journalists.”

Wang was arrested when police came and searched his home in the Quanzhou Chengbei district of Guilin on the afternoon of 13 December, removing articles, books and his computer. His family said he was accused of defamation and was taken to the Quanzhou Chengbei police station in the early evening. Later that night, the family learned that he had been charged with “inciting subversion of state authority.”

REMEMBERING HILDA MASON

WASHINGTON, DC — The DC Statehood Green Party noted the passing of Hilda Howland Minnis Mason at the age of 91 on Sunday with sadness and remembrance.

Ms. Mason was a local leader for rights for social justice, DC statehood and democracy, and public school education; one of the founding members of the DC Statehood Party in 1970 (which merged with the DC Green Party to become the DC Statehood Green Party in 1999); a former teacher and principal; and a former member of the DC Board of Education (1972-1977) and City Council (1977-1998). Ms. Mason also served as delegate and leader at the 1981 DC constitutional convention.

Along with her husband Charlie Mason, Ms. Mason helped create the University of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law, D.C.’s public law school, helped sustain it as major financial contributors, and defended the school against attempts to dismantle it. Charlie Mason died in October 2006.

NEWS FROM HARPERS.ORG

The Mexican man arrested for seasoning and eating his girlfriend, and who had been writing a book entitled “The Cannibal Poet,” was found hanging from his belt in his jail cell. Researchers in
Chicago used drugs and manipulated genes to control the sexuality of fruit flies, making them gay and then straight again within a few hours. “It was very dramatic,” said scientist David Featherstone. “They even attempted copulation.” Scientists cloned fluorescent cats, developed an antidote for zombieism in cockroaches, and revealed that evolutionary changes in the lower backs and hip joints of females prevent pregnant women from toppling over. “When you think about it,” said Harvard anthropologist Katherine Whitcome, “women make it look so very damn easy.”

IS MEDIA CHANNEL BEING SPAMMED AWAY?

Cordley Coit writes:

In an action which is pissing me off no end Yahoo my ISP has delegated you to spam despite my protests. Since they spam my account 700 unwanted messages a day this is totally fucked/

ON THE AIR THERE, NOT HERE –WHY (SEE ABOVE FOR REPORTS ON MEDIA IN THE USSA)

The Business Channel in Britain is running my film IN DEBT WE TRUST. So far, with the exception of LINK and Free Press, no channel in the US will do the same—despite the mounting financial crisis. Why?

Here’s how they describe it to their viewers in England:

The borrowing crisis Award-winning journalist Danny Schechter investigates America’s mounting debt crisis in his latest hard-hitting exposé.

The film reveals a hitherto unknown alliance of credit-card companies, lobbyists, media conglomerates, plus the George W Bush administration itself, which colluded to deregulate the lending industry, ensuring that a culture of credit dependency can flourish.

Consumer debt has doubled in the past ten years and for the first time America has a negative savings ratio. The average citizen lives beyond their means, struggles to make minimum monthly payments and is unable to manage their debts.

The whole world depends on the economic stability of the United States. Yet as its national and consumer debt escalates, it puts the global economy at risk. Already credit crises are erupting in many countries. This timely film delivers an urgent warning that cannot be ignored and reveals radical measures that some American communities are taking to get out of debt.

DOCUMENTARY: In Debt we Trust, The Business Channel at 19:00 on Saturday 22nd December 2007

Also see how to order and my new debt crisis newsletter on Stopthesqueeze.org

I am getting a bit lonely here—not sure who is out there. Mail seems to be tapering off.

Commments to: dissector@mediachannel.org