I am scheduled to leave for San Fran tomorrow to visit Matty and Joy. But there is a big storm a brewin'. They forecast at least a foot of snow. Much more in some areas. I have heard about travel nightmares encountered this winter. I fear I may be headed for one, as I am flying the notoriously bad Northwest airlines. A recurring image pops into my brain as I contemplate this....
Mister Yuck is MEAN, Mister Yuck is GREEN. THIS IS MIS-TER YUCK... BLAAAAAH!
Jon thinks that Larry King should be buried alive with her, as punishment for covering this unbelievably irrelevant and tabloid story for the last two weeks. I say why limit it to Larry King? Stuff all of CNN in there as far as I can tell! "CNN, your most worthless source for news..." Much more accurate than their current slogan. Please call your local CNN representative and shame them for calling themselves journalists. I wonder if CNN has had anything on what is happening in Zimbabwe recently. Nope. Only war with Iran promotion and ANS 24/7.
Independent media, rise! The Lehrer Report on PBS is still worth watching...
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Hey there!. Please read the following brief and go to this link to let your representative know your thought son the matter: http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=9410501&type=CO It takes 1 minute and supports our democracy. Thanks!
No Rush to War with Iran | |
FCNL’s Executive Secretary Joe Volk is currently in Iran as part of a 13-person religious delegation reaching out to encourage a dialogue between our two nations in the hope of averting a war. The view from Iran, Joe reports, is that the international process led by the United Nations is producing results: The Iranians are willing to begin negotiations to return their nuclear program to full international safeguards. But the Bush administration still stubbornly refuses to enter into any direct negotiations with Iran and continues to threaten sanctions, military action, and regime change. The United Nations, the European governments, and the Israeli government all argue that there is time to talk. Congress needs to act to insist that the U.S. not rush into another war. Rep. Walter Jones (NC) has introduced legislation (H.J. Res. 14) that would require a public debate and congressional approval before the U.S. launches military action against Iran.
I am off to San Francisco later next week to chill with Matty and Joy before heading to Thailand for a month. I have a couple months before I get my degree - which has proven a requisite for some jobs I have applied to - so this seems to make sense. I got a good rate on a ticket and I really should have returned for a visit by now. I am super pumped about seeing my old friends there and for doing some informational interviews as well. Who knows where it will lead, but it is a good use of my time. I have a lot to do before then, but I will try to get you an update from there at some point. I also return through San Fran and hope to hang with Mike as well, prior to my return for Spring here in Minny. I wonder what I will discover this time around in between my San Fran escapades...
please participate in our democracy by taking one minute of your day. I feel this is an important issue to resolve...
Please voice your support for legislation introduced in the Senate last week that would correct many of the most egregious problems of the Military Commissions Act of 2006. The bill, called Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007, would restore judicial review – habeas corpus – so that detainees held as terrorism suspects could challenge their treatment and detention in U.S. courts. The Center for Victims of Torture views habeas corpus as a necessary tool to examine allegations of abuse so mistreatment does not continue unchecked.
The legislation also would prohibit evidence obtained through coercion or hearsay. Under the Military Commissions Act, evidence obtained through torture or coercion can be introduced during trials of terror suspects. Again, CVT and our colleagues around the world involved in torture rehabilitation know that allowing evidence obtained through torture or mistreatment is an invitation to continued abuse.
Urge your Senator to support the Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007. Tell them you expect our leaders to uphold our commitment to the rule of law and humane treatment even in the face of our enemies.
Tell me more
http://ga3.org/campaign/restoreconstitutionact/83ibnkizv6nn8t5
the follwing news flash comes from www.democracynow.org
All Anna Nicole Smith, All The Time
And in media news, a new study has shown that cable and radio talk shows spent far more time discussing Anna Nicole Smith than the Iraq war in the two days following her death. According to the Project for Excellence in Journalism, cable and radio talk shows dedicated 37 percent of their programming to her death. 14 percent of the programming focused on the debate over Iraq and less than 10 percent focused on the race for the White House.
Do us all a favor and email CNN or whomever to complain. "Most trusted news source"... yeah, right. I fail to understand my surroundings sometimes. I have nothing nice to say on this topic, so I will bite my tongue. Thank goodness for Jim Lehrer, at least. Keep PBS going so some intelligent news can continue. And support independent media!!!
I went to the Bell Auditorium on the U of M campus yesterday to see the Oscar nominated Iraq in Fragments. I highly recommend seeing this documentary, as it provides a well done glimpse into the lives of folks living in Baghdad and in Kurdish Iraq. I really don't know how this guy got all of the footage, as he is in some pretty intense scenes where he is at rallies supporting Moqtada Sadr. The great value of the documentary is the bringing to life the voices of real people, outside of the Green Zone reporting we get every day on regular news outlets. I certainly hope the director - who also filmed the documentary, wins at the Oscars. I learned about the showing while listening to him speak about the experience on KFAN radio. Unfortunately the documentary only plays here through the 21st, but it is touring all over the country. Check the link to see when it is playing in your area.
Friends Committee National Legislation’s (FCNL) budget analyst Ruth Flower has crunched the budget numbers to determine how much of your 2006 federal income tax dollars paid for war. Look for more details in the March FCNL Washington Newsletter. Click on a link for the astonishing breakdown.
Insert peaceful or religious sentiment here. I feel ashamed, but also angry. To think of what we could be spending our hard earned taxes on. I was reading something, somewhere about the unfortunate state of our health care, education, environmental, employment and transportation systems. I vote for appropriating some of our military spending to these areas.
Oh, and here is a thought: Fight terrorism with development. People are less likely to despair and embrace hateful ideologies when they have a job or hope of one. I have been fortunate to travel the world and spend time with lots different people from different backgrounds and faiths. People are people, no matter where you go. The vast majority are good. Hope for a better future helps them reamain so. A caveat: development needs to be "people driven" in order to be effecient and sustainable. Folks in Washington can't know what should be done in rural Somalia or in a Jordanian village. The folks there probably know best what they need to improve their situation; they only need the avenues to do so. Trimming the defense budget and allocating the funds to development projects in targetted "hot spots" would not only improve those communities it would reduce the recruitment base for terrorists, which helps on the war on terror. the benefit is exponential as you ad to it, as the opinion of the US would undoubtedly improve in those communities and around the world in generald, and the idea of democracy would flourish as a result of community driven decisions on local development.
That is the way to win the war on terror. It certainly is not working the way we are going about it now -invading countries unjustly and igniting civil war - and it will be costing us dearly (financially as well as human cost) for decades to come. I prefer to pay for positive impact over destructive impact any day. Why stoop to the level of the terrorists?
What is a Vulture Fund?
“Vulture fund” companies buy up the debt of poor countries at cheap prices, and then demand payments much higher than the original amount of the debt, often taking poor countries to court when they cannot afford to repay. Investigative journalist Greg Palast reports on one company trying to collect $40 million from the government of Zambia after buying its debt for $4 million."
read more about this and what you can do to stop it at: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/15/1528209
Obviously, this is an extremely important issue. In order for debt forgiveness to have its desired impact on the economies of impoverished nations these vulture funds must be stopped. president Bush can do so with one stroke of the pen. One problem: one of the largest vultures is a multi-million dollar contributor to his campaigns. Ahh, these eggs do not fall far from the nest, do they? please give your representatives a call and express your concern, as well as the Whitehouse.
