Wednesday, May 14:

Dave Lindorff: The New Media (and Clinton) Story Line: Democrats Need to Worry about Obama West Virginia's primary is not indicative of the views of most of the nation's voters. Saying it is both insults most American workers and reflects on the self-interest of both Clinton and the media in pretending there is still a contest for the Democratic nomination.

Mumia Abu-Jamal: Philadelphia: City of Brotherly Thugs (1 comments) The scene is as common as sunlight: cops beating Black men in the streets....If ever there was irony, the three car occupants were charged with aggravated assault, and criminal conspiracy...How much do you wanna bet that the cops, who were caught on film in the midst of aggravated assault, and as they committed the crime in common, criminal conspiracy, are never charged with these crimes -- and probably will never be arrested?

Maybe We Can't A unique view of Barack Obama. A black person articulates a negative view of him. In other words, the black case for Obama-skepticism.

Poetry vs. fear Gary Kamiya on Obama (1 comments) Another analysis of Obama v McCain. This one admits Obama cool, cerebral approach to politics is a deterrent to vote getting, but an admirable trait in a president. Nothing new. But well-written.

What Price Immigration Control As investments go, this one's a dog!

tabonsell: Not So Fast Convicting a Criminal Bush This is a must-read for all progressives preparing a prison cell for the wretched-and-cowardly George W. Bush: you may be wasting your time.

Jeremy Bransten: Poland: Key Figure In Transition To Democracy Remembers Solidarity A history of the Solidarity movement. That brought down global communism without firing a shot.

Tuesday, May 13:

Paul Rogat Loeb: Did the Limbaugh Effect Also Flip Michigan? (3 comments) With Hillary Clinton rejecting the compromise that Michigan Democratic leaders just crafted, the Democratic Rules Committee has a dilemma. Clinton keeps demanding that Michigan's delegates be apportioned according to the January 15 vote, where she was the sole major candidate on the Democratic ballot. But there's another twist that no one has raised--the impact of a Rush Limbaugh-style crossover on the Michigan vote.

Rob Kall: The Lonnnggg Vice Presidential Selection Waiting Game (1 comments) don't expect to find out very soon WHO will be the running mates for Obama or McCain, unless...

mahdi ibn-ziyad: Of Gas Prices, The Sacred Individual Ride and Mass Transit (4 comments) Explores the irony of consumer faith in private transportation as gas prices force more people to hop in lines waiting for mass transit

How Bush used spin to sell the Iraq war to Americans (1 comments) We see the cost of not having an honest, open argument, whether about Pentagon strategy or about how the banking system really works, and the media feel embarrassed: “How did we miss that?” In Washington, and elsewhere, the answers are often the same. It comes down to unspoken deals between powerful people, and smiling faces telling fairytales.

The World According to Monsanto On March 11 a new documentary was aired on French television (ARTE – French-German cultural tv channel) by French journalist and film maker Marie-Monique Robin, The World According to Monsanto - A documentary that Americans won't ever see. The gigantic biotech corporation Monsanto is threatening to destroy the agricultural biodiversity which has served mankind for thousands of years.

Suzana Megles: A Compassionate Sandwich Do we really know how our food animals are raised. Do we even care?

Broadband: other countries do it better, but how? One of the ironies of the current broadband situation in the US is that staunch free marketeers defend the status quo even though the result of their views has been duopoly and high prices. Meanwhile, other countries (including those with a reputation in some quarters for "socialism") have taken aggressive steps to create a robust, competitive, consumer-friendly marketplace with the help of regulation and national investment.

David Swanson: Obama Needs Only 14 More Delegates to End Clinton's (and Everyone's) Misery There are 103 delegates on the line next Tuesday in Kentucky and Oregon. There's not a single employee of any of the media outlets promoting this phony contest that believes Obama could possibly win fewer than 14 delegates in Kentucky and Oregon.

George Soros's 'New Paradigm' | May 13, 2008 | PBS When Soros is asked how his business is, he has a sensible answer. He's not behind, although he hasn't gained much, and that is positive in these days of inflation. He was interviewed because of his book. He explains the US can be great, just can't be expected to be the greatest in current times. And we must abide by our own business rules.

David Swanson: Lincoln Chafee Calls Bush Worst President in History (2 comments) Former Republican Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee on Tuesday evening called George W. Bush the worst president in U.S. history and the occupation of Iraq the worst foreign tragedy in U.S. history. Chafee said Bush deserved to be impeached.

Why Myanmar's junta steals foreign aid To the Myanmar junta's top generals in their bunkers in the secluded capital Naypyidaw, far away from the devastated Irrawaddy Delta, their much-maligned aid distribution policy is one of political survival at all costs. With rice crops destroyed, bases wiped out and soldiers running out of food, the military leadership is scrambling to preserve control by commandeering relief supplies to channel to its own members

A deadly miscalculation in Lebanon As a test of strength, the Lebanese government and its Saudi Arabian backers received a bloody nose in the confrontation with Hezbollah in Beirut. The government woefully underestimated Hezbollah's reaction to having its communications - spy - system interfered with. And the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, with its convincing display of military superiority, made another clear statement: leave our arms alone

Survey: Gulf Between Democracy in Theory and Practice - by Jim Lobe The basic democratic principle that "the will of the people should be the basis for the authority of government" is supported by overwhelming majorities throughout the world, according to a major new survey [.pdf] of more than 17,000 adults in 19 countries released Monday.

Doug Feith: Giving Sophistry A Bad Name It says a lot about the state of our political culture that the best interview of Doug Feith was conducted by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. That's not to take anything away from Stewart - as usual, he manages to be funny, astute, and (mostly) respectful while revealing his guest as a disingenuous, dissembling weasel.

Student Threatened For Teaching Constitution (7 comments) A student was given the task of talking to Boy Scouts, specifically concerning “Americanism” in higher education. He told them they need to “reorient” themselves to the Constitution because such knowledge will “make or break the country.” Jeff was called into the university president’s office, where he was confronted by a “man in black” wearing sunglasses from DHS and other federal and state police officials.

How to end a presidential campaign - Ben Smith Depending on Hillary Clinton's real judgment, she can bow out, fight it out, or 4 other of the 6 options outlined. What she might do depends upon how she's the politics of this and future years. "A hale 69" the article mentions.

David Swanson: A Fire-Breather in Congress Could it be a liberal?

Robert Parry: McCain and the 'Unitary Executive' (1 comments) If John McCain wins the presidency – and gets to appoint one or more U.S. Supreme Court justices – America's 220-year experiment as a democratic Republic living under the principle that "no man is above the law" may come to an end.

Barbara Ehrenreich: Hillary's Gift to Women n Friday's New York Times, Susan Faludi rejoiced over Hillary Clinton's destruction of the myth of female prissiness and innate moral superiority, hailing Clinton's "no-holds-barred pugnacity" and her media reputation as "nasty" and "ruthless." Future female presidential candidates will owe a lot to the race of 2008, Faludi wrote, "when Hillary Clinton broke through the glass floor and got down with the boys."

Is John Yoo a Monster? (8 comments) The president asked John Yoo to define torture. He did it. Are Yoo's "torture memos" one of the most heinous mistakes in American history -- or could he have been right? Read Yoo's own words in the transcripts from interviews conducted for Esquire.

Sandy Frost: Shriners Spin Away "Breakdown of Spiritual Order"? (2 comments) Why did the Shriners launch a PR campaign and settle a defamation lawsuit they filed against two whitleblowers right before the world's Masonic Grand Masters met in Washington DC? What is it that they are trying to hide?

ALONE: US & UK Collage: 1978 to 2008: I desire to share two videos and collection of music wrapped in collage about Pax- Americana and Pax-Britannia dating from 1978 through 2008 As you Americans and British go through the 6th year of war in Iraq and the 8th year of the so-called War on Terrorism, it is fascinating to note that "If I Were A Terrorist: A James Pence Video!", , is now one of the most popular and most controversial videos in America's heartland,

enid dennis: Take "The Bush-McCain Challenge"! A challenge to voters...See how much you know

Michael Collins: Polite Fascism Contracts the Right To Vote (2 comments)

Iraq: Will we ever get out? ThomasPowers of NYBooks Getting out of Iraq will require the same kind of resolution as it took to get in: a willingness to ignore the consequences. Is it possible that the new president will have that kind of resolution? I think not. Clinton & Obama don't sound drained of hope or bright ideas, determined to cut losses and end the agony. Planning for withdrawals might begin on Day One, but the plans will be hostage to events.

Moin Ansari: *The bigotry of McCain's pastors The article discusses the writings Senator John MacCain's pastors. Why did the news media ignore the bigotry?

Chris Lugo: Workers Rights Are Human Rights Opinion Editorial written by Chris Lugo, Green Party of Tennessee candidate for US Senate on Senate Bill 2123, the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act which allows public safety officers the collective bargaining rights they deserve.

Rowan Wolf: How to Grow Tragedies - Myanmar (2 comments) Cyclone Nargis and more victims of a fragile global system.

Patrick Fish: I was a long Haired Hippie Freak (4 comments) unique commentary on the history of terrorism

Muhammad Khurshid: Pakistan Is Again On The Hit List Of Al-Qaeda (1 comments) Again an effort is being made to create a situation in Pakistan like before October 18. Terrorists have planned more suicide attacks as they have the desire to break the frontline state in war on terror. The breaking of frontline will be disastrous for whole world. Do you think that Bush can play a role in saving this frontline? Terrorists in tribal areas situated on Pak-Afghan are making preparation for another attack.

William Fisher: Inspector Clouseau Squared How Scott Bloch's investigation of the White House, and vice versa, will end: With a whimper!

Jay Diamond: Jimmy Carter's Right! Presidents Should Not be Liars. (2 comments) The media have failed to make emphatically clear to Americans the truly pernicious Bush/Rove Strategy behind their attack on Iraq.

Does Protest Embolden the Iraqi Insurgency? In this essay, Dr. Bica considers the National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper entitled "Is There an "Emboldenment" Effect? Evidence from the Insurgency in Iraq," (Iyengar and Monten)and challenges its conclusions that open debate about the war gives hope and encouragement (aid and comfort) to the insurgents thereby prolonging the conflict, threatening America's ability to achieve victory, demoralizing the troops . .

ACLU Skeptical of Senate Report on "Homegrown" Terrorism (2 comments) WASHINGTON, DC - May 8 - After Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced a report on Islamic homegrown terrorism today, the American Civil Liberties Union strongly urged Congress to use caution when moving forward on related legislation, the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 (S. 1959).

Why Harsh Immigration Crack Downs Will Never Work Interesting discussion of state laws which changed economy simply by legislating "immigrant" questions. Arizona suffered when "legals" and their possibly "illegal" family members left state. California raised minimum wage and locals responded, making jobs for immigrants scarce. Gist: Mexicans know which states to come to. Nothing but a national law would level the problem enough to create change.

Congressional Democrats plan three-stage charade to pass Iraq war funds (1 comments) In order to once again approve hundreds of billions of dollars to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, while posturing as opponents of “Bush’s war,” the Democratic leadership in Congress has crafted an elaborate legislative charade that is set to begin unfolding this week.The aim of bundling money for fiscal 2009 with the appropriation for 2008 is to get the issue of Iraq off the table before the 2008 election.

U.S. Steps Up Bullying and War Moves Against Iran by Larry Everest | Since September 11, 2001, the U.S. has been on a reactionary, imperialist crusade to crush Islamic Fundamentalism, overthrow governments not under its thumb, and forcibly restructure the entire Middle East-Central Asian regions. Today the U.S. is targeting Iran, saying it is one of the biggest problems it faces globally. And in recent weeks U.S. threats against Iran have sharply escalated on many fronts.

Stephen Demetriou: A Call to the Peace and Justice Movement (3 comments) There is strength in numbers. The US Peace and Justice Movement has struggled in its attempts to influence Congress to end the costly, illegal war in Iraq. It is time to join with natural allies in the cause of peace and justice: 9/11 Truthers. Let's demand an independent investigation of the 9/11 attacks, and we might expose the false flag justifying this "global war on terror."

chris rice: The Great Depression of 2009 (1 comments) The credit market damage is so severe that the largest banks in the US are at risk of losing much of their capital. Citibank alone said it needs to raise $30 billion in capital. If the 5 largest banks in the US are already in crisis mode, and other major banks in the EU too, and don't forget Canada, England and so on, things look incredibly negative. And the losses have only just begun to pile up. There are many more to come,

Mike Folkerth: Endless War and Iraq's Oil: (2 comments) War in Iraq, America's economy, peak oil, and Iraq's petroleum reserves, add up to some evident truths.

Juda S. Engelmayer: Israel Needs New Memories so our Kids can Appreciate Too (2 comments) The memories I have of Israel are rooted in a time long past. Losing the zeal for Frontier Zionism is what Israel faces today, and finding new and creative ways of giving people, both Israelis and outsiders alike a newfound attachment to the country is the challenge facing Israel and its supporters worldwide. A new public relations plan is one way to approach today's generation and for futures to come.

Nathan Nahm: "President Hillary Clinton" vs. "President Barack Obama": Which Will Be A More Significant Historical Precedent? (5 comments) Hillary Clinton has claimed that she has got a raw deal because she is a woman, and that the bar for a woman is higher than the bar for a black. I discuss whether this claim is true, and whether the election of a woman, or the election of a black president, would be a more significant historical event by reviewing relevant historical cases of females who ascended to the top of the political system in the past.

Sandra Marcella: 2008: The Year American Women Lost the Right to Vote (22 comments) This article details the impact of the Democratic Primary race on how the women voting bloc in the Democratic Party is viewed, treated and ultimately ignored in this historic race between Hillary Clinton & Barack Obama.

chris rice: Bring Bush To Justice: General Strike (6 comments) How to plan your protest for Sept. 11th

Kevin merida: Ain't MY America I want any part of. Victoria Switzer was on phone-bank duty one night during the Pennsylvania primary campaign. One night was all she could take. She made 60 calls to prospective voters in her home county, which is 98 percent white. One caller, Switzer remembers, said he couldn't possibly vote for Obama and concluded: "Hang that darky from a tree."

Nezua: EXCLUSIVE: Bill Clinton in Eugene, Oregon

MJ Creech: How to Do an Exit Poll For those who have ever done or considered doing a citizens' exit poll for the Nov. 2008 election, here is what we learned from doing a BIG one in eight counties in Ohio on Primary Day. It's good to know what to expect from your County Boards of Election and from local precinct judges. This is a companion piece to "Was there Election machine fraud in Franklin County, Ohio, Primary Day?". Recallvotingmachines.com for a handbook

GoldenT: Wall Streets Enters a New Era: Death by Feeding Frenzy (1 comments) The flood of Wall Street created liquidity now has the government's backing to destroy New York, Washington, and the nation in a veritable feeding frenzy.

Richard Volaar: War Between Wayne Madsen and Dick Cheney Escalates! (2 comments) Today, "Swingin' Dick" Cheney owns this here land as outright as Pinochet owned Chile; that means nobody threatens the Swingin' Dick. Times like these call for the exercise of pure power, a demonstration of the raw exercise of political muscle: you get someone else to humiliate your opponent.

Wanda Woodward: Twenty Nine Reasons People Need to Pull their Heads Out of the Sand This lists 29 reasons why people need to stay informed, collaborate, build bridges, and stay connected during these profoundly challenging times of global warming, energy depletion, and overpopulation.

Ed Tubbs: We're DOOMED! (3 comments) There are a number of pretty heavy steps that all earth's habitants need to take RIGHT NOW, since yesterday, which would have been more advantageous to our chances of survival, is a few decades too late.

TheSeeker: A divorce is a divorce is a divorce (2 comments) Is the divorce between Democrats who support Clinton or Obama permanent?

Paul Craig Roberts: Anglo-American Ascendancy Lost in Unnecessary Wars (2 comments) In a new book that will infuriate the fake conservatives who inhabit the Republican Party, Patrick J. Buchanan documents how British self-righteousness, delusion, and hubris destroyed both the British Empire and Western ascendancy in two unnecessary wars launched by a small cabal of morons that ruled Britain

Monday, May 12:

By Barry Alford: George W. Bush's Other Undeclared War: NCLB (2 comments) No Child Left Behind has been a major problem for schools, for children, and for the country. Yet, President Bush continues to push it, even with its problems.

Dr. Dennis Loo: The Road Ahead and the Audacity of Moral Truth (14 comments) Many people think the only political power the people have is through the electoral process and voting in particular. This is like buying a car that you can only steer every four years. Would you buy such a car? This essay analyzes this widespread perspective and offers another road.

Why the propaganda campaign for international intervention in Burma? The Bush government is seeking regime change there. No wonder the military dictators don't trust them. This is a great article explaining the US' machinations exploiting the recent cyclone in Burma. Just ignore the economic ignorance of the last paragraph.

Jane Stillwater: One plane-ride away from pretty: Mothers Day in Iraq This is my third embed in Iraq and so far it's going rather smoothly -- except that Mothers Day over here consisted of eating pumpkin pie in the DFAC, worrying about stop-loss and trying to make it to the latrine in the middle of the night in my bunny slippers.

Mark Sashine: Slimy Love 4: In Your Face. A Monologue Of An Angry Jew (26 comments) From the author: I don't like him. Sometimes I don't like him at all. We argue all the time. But he never quits. He comes to me during my insomnia and he says that stuff again and again. When I tell him to shut up he whispers. I can't get rid of him. So I share him. Here he is.

Food Crisis Symptom of Dubious Liberalisation The high food prices that have sparked riots in many parts of the developing world - from Indonesia, India and Bangladesh to Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire and Haiti - should come as no surprise. These are only the latest in a series of events many developing countries have suffered as a result of opening their borders and neglecting domestic agriculture.

E. Nelson: Why voting for a winner will trump bigotry in West Virginia and prove the pundits wrong. (2 comments) West Virginians go to the polls tomorrow and these "hard working white Americans" will prove the political pundits wrong.

Mr. Jenna Bush Gets a Piece of the Action You know what bugs me about Henry Hager? People Magazine says when he wanted to marry Jenna, he talked to the other twin first. And then he asked George and Laura and "they kept the plan a secret from their daughter" for more than a month. Makes you wonder how he's handling the honeymoon, just one-on-one. Or if he's getting some folks from the hotel to hold her down.

Kathy Bay Malloy: Barack's Religion Problem (3 comments) According to an op-ed written by Edward Luttwak in today's New York Times, contrary to popular opinion that Muslims would embrace Obama because his father was Muslim, the opposite might be true. Obama might find himself in hot water with Muslims here and especially abroad specifically because he committed the "crime" of denouncing his faith and turning to Christianity.

O'Hanlon, These Aren't Reagan's Ground Forces (1 comments) Lawrence J. Korb, the person charged with saving the All-Volunteer Army under Reagan, responds to a recent Michael O'Hanlon op-ed in the Washington Times that gives a misleading portrayal of the quality of our ground forces. He submits that Reagan would have implemented a DRAFT rather than stop-loss the military to death.

Ron Paul's forces quietly plot GOP convention revolt against McCain (1 comments) Quietly, largely under the radar of most people, the forces of Rep. Ron Paul have been organizing across the country to stage an embarrassing public revolt against Sen. John McCain when Republicans gather for their national convention in Minnesota at the beginning of September.

Don't push her! Clinton's campaign chair warns fellow Democrats Some people have been looking for signs of a graceful exit from the Democratic presidential race by New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. They probably should not be holding their breath. Terry McAuliffe, her campaign chairman and himself a former head of the Democratic National Committee, made it clear Sunday that isn't happening anytime soon.

Conservatives Doctor Gore Audio Clip This week Al Gore appeared on NPR, and talked a bit about global warming and natural disasters. Business & Media Institute (BMI), a far-right outfit backed by activist Brent Bozell, thought it best to splice the interview together, to make Gore say something he didn't say.

Rumsfeld Blames the Generals for Poor Pre-War Planning Donald Rumsfeld claimed in a 2006 briefing that the reason why he did not support a larger invasion force was because commanders did not request it. In reality, Rumsfeld fought back when generals like Shinseki requested more troops.

Jimmy Carter: The human rights crime in Gaza The world is witnessing a terrible human rights crime in Gaza, where a million and a half human beings are being imprisoned with almost no access to the outside world. An entire population is being brutally punished. This gross mistreatment of the Palestinians in Gaza was escalated dramatically by Israel, with US backing, after Hamas won a majority of seats in the Palestinian Authority parliament in 2006.

Frank Schaeffer: McCain Is Dangerous (2 comments) We Obama and Clinton supporters are like kid brothers squabbling in the living room over the TV remote while a predator is breaking into the house.

Pablo Ouziel: Myanmar and why they should fear us Myanmar and why they should fear us

Josh Mitteldorf: The Franchise: Our Founding Fathers and the Universal Sufferance (1 comments) Making sure that only the right people vote, we can make sure that only the right people get elected. Isn't that what our democracy is really about?

HEALTHCARE: About Those Holes in Your Health Policy As candidates and campaigns discuss the uninsured, the insured have their own problems...and they are only getting worse. The country is in the throes of a de-insurance movement. While more Americans have come to believe everyone should be covered, many of those who thought they had insurance are finding that their policies cover less and less.

Frosty Wooldridge: The War on Drugs in the Year 2015 After 37 years and nearly a trillion dollars, drugs in America today remain available to all ages, classes and sections of the country. The War on Drugs proves a monumental $70 billion a year failure. It's time to legalize, regulate and sell drugs to our citizens in an orderly fashion. Here's what happened in 2015 when we accomplished that intention.

President Apostate? (7 comments) Barack Obama really is a Muslim, at leasst under Muslim law! He has broken a sacred Muslim law and Muslims worldwide can seek punishment.

Stephen Lendman: Disturbing Stirrings - Ratcheting Up For War On Iran (2 comments) Hawkish rhetoric increases chance for war on Iran. Very unlikely would be with nuclear weapons and practically no chance of an invasion.

Brasch: All the News That Fits--In 500 Words or a Graphic It was a tough decision by the editors of USA Today. What to feature as its cover story. A celebrity wedding or the deaths of 25,000 people.

Stephen C. Rose: Thorstein Veblen on The Web Thorstein Veblen is one of the most ignored and prophetic thinkers in our past. Here is a short guide to his continuing presence on the Web.

Mike Folkerth: Black Gold; The End of Oil: (1 comments) Peak oil isn't just a theory any longer, it's transpiring right before our eyes. What remedies are our leaders suggesting? Use more of course.

Dean Powers: Emanuel to Kennedy/America: Support Your Party Blindly (1 comments) Rahm Emanuel is a better Democrat than his comments reveal.

Allen L Roland: *WHY WE'RE IN DEEP TROUBLE IN IRAQ The reason we're in deep trouble in Iraq is basically because of inept moral leadership which starts with George W Bush which unfortunately has corrupted the entire Cheney/Bush administration. It's Rivero's Rule ~ all organizations and countries will eventually reflect the character and moral integrity of its leaders: Allen L Roland

Ed Martin: May this house be safe from tigers I have an engraved sign on my mantle I had made that says, "May this house be safe from tigers." Its message is the operating principle of the political and religious leaders of the world. Three examples of that principle in operation are George Bush and the preachers Hagee and Wright. It works as well for me as it does for them. I've never been bothered by tigers and they've never been bothered by ethics, morals or doubt.

Richmond Gardner: Santorum's word choices (2 comments) Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum makes some interesting word choices.

MJ Creech: Was there Election Machine Fraud in Franklin County in the Ohio Primary? Was there Election Machine Fraud in Franklin County in the Ohio Primary, favoring Clinton? The evidence from a comprehensive citizens' exit poll on March 4, 2008, suggests just that. Look at the evidence yourself and decide. One thing is certain: citizens need to be allowed not only to poll at the door of polling places, but also to do audits and recounts in this pseudo-Democracy.

Joan Brunwasser: Reflections on Mother's Day, Silver Linings, and Second Chances I love Mother's Day.It's such a nice way to celebrate where we've all come from as well as our own part in shaping the next generation. Since we mothers are human,after all,it's nice to celebrate our collective success rather than dwell on the wild roller coaster ride that inevitably accompanies it.I want to discuss how an event that looks bad or troubling can somehow morph into something positive ""a blessing in disguise.

Hamad Alomar: The Syrian-Iranian invasion of Lebanon (12 comments) The occupation of Beirut by Hizbullah and the arming of Hizbullah to a State-level is not a civil war. It is a foreign invasion by all standards.

Sunday, May 11:

Edward Smallwood: Mass Commuter Migration (2 comments) An analysis on living patterns in the United States after $4 gasoline.

Mary Shaw: Spoiled Americans Fail the Green Test (5 comments) It will take more than a movie and a rock concert to force Americans to be more environmentally responsible.

David Swanson: One Hundred and Eleven (111) Pro-Impeachment Candidates (!!!) (10 comments) But who's counting?

Kevin Gosztola: The Fight to Fire, Disbar, and Try America's "Torture Professors" for War Crimes (2 comments) Phillippe Sands pulls the curtain open on the "culture of cruelty" that has been ushered in. Organizations across America step in to do what Congress is unwilling to do---hold the lawyers accountable for their actions.

Cindy Sheehan: Mother's Day 2008; Peaceful Idealism v. Political Pragmatism (5 comments) Some women have lost their only child to the ravenous war machine and they somehow go on. One specific mother has her family intact and can callously sign blank checks to pay for war (that are really nothing but death warrants for other people's children) with only the life and health of her political party in her heart. Another mother can talk about "obliterating" an entire innocent country filled with mothers and children

John Eskow: Why Has John McCain Abandoned the American Soldier? A secret message is everywhere the American soldier and veteran looks nowadays. It goes something like this: pssst. Hey dude and dudette. Come. Be All You Can Be. We'll sing you national anthems and write you flowery speeches. We'll solemnly call you the pride of a nation, the Best of the Best, as we Stop-Loss you back to Iraq for tour after tour. But then, goddamn it--if you DO manage to survive, forget it.

Jayne Lyn Stahl: An Open Letter to Attorney General Mukasey (3 comments) A cautionary note to those on K Street: The cheek you swab next may be your own!

Mr M: *Monument to Stupidity Bush leaves a monument to his stupidity.

chris rice: Strikes: An American Tradition (1 comments) You don't win your rights because somebody writes it down in a law, & you don't lose your rights because somebody writes it down in a law. You win your rights by struggle & you maintain your rights by struggle. Here is a history of American strikes.

Stephen C. Rose: John and Cindy McCain's Fuzzy Keating Ties Cutting to the chase on the Keating Five and John McCain. Fugeddaboutit. There is more merit in chasing down Keating's OTHER ties to both John and Cindy McCain.

the web: Jon Stewart asks the Right Question (17 comments) You'll love this one!

ALONE: FRANCE IS ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTION: IT IS UP TO THE WORLD TO PUT PRESSURE ON CHINA TO GET IN LINE TO SUPPORT BURMESE VI (1 comments) This is a piece which begs the question--how does the world want to define important terms, like "sovereignty in intra-state relations" in a century that has already witnessed many attacks on formerly cherished ideas, like "just war theory", i.e. concept of preemptive war, human rights, and torture. The case of whether to send aid into Burma despite the bad military regime there provides the starting point for the desired dis

A Florida Criminal Lawyers Arrest and the Presidential Elections If candidates or politicians become fearful of how media will react to their private lives or how they vote on every issue then the United States on every level will be governed by the same media many of us seem to distrust.

FINALLY! The Pundit Analyzing Obama? Some TV FOX NOISE Upstart Named Rove The bête noire of the Democrats has turned pundit, and his old nemeses do not always know what to make of it.

Ann Wright | Protest Camps Against American Military Bases in Japan and Italy The US military argues that "forward deployed bases" are critical for projection of US power, a warning to others that the US can be on their doorstep in minutes or hours. We, as citizens of the United States, must decide if it is the military we wanted projected, or whether it is in the best interest of our national security that some aspects of our country be "projected."

Norman MacAfee: The Presidency of Al Gore, 2001-2009 (1 comments) Continually thinking about how disastrous the last seven years have been, I did some imagining and research on what the world would be like if Al Gore had become president in 2001. Such a process is really about how important it is to elect the right president. I asked friends and acquaintances for their ideas, I read books by and about Gore...

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Wednesday, May 14:

"Curious" shirt choice A Georgia tavern owner has been selling T-shirts showing the cartoon monkey [Curious George] happily eating a banana with the words "Obama in '08" written underneath.

U.S. should go on diet of its own, India says If Americans were to slim down to even the middle-class weight in India, "many hungry people in sub-Saharan Africa would find food on their plates," Mehta said. The money Americans spend on liposuction to get rid of their excess fat could be funneled to famine victims instead, he added.

Mary Ann Gould: "We the People":The Constitution, Our Vote and Election 2008 on Voice of the Voters 5/14/08 Obstacles to A Vibrant Democracy Identifying & Addressing Needed Change Special Guests:Alex Keyssar,Prof of History and Social Policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Mark Crispin Miller, NYU Media Studies Professor,David Earnhardt, Emmy-winning producer/director.8-9PM ET,1360 AM Greater Philadelphia & on the Internet.

Jonathan Nack: Nader calls U. S. "corporate fascism" Ralph Nader described the current condition of the U. S. as corporate fascism.

No Lies Radio: LIVE BROADCAST Winter Soldier HEARING. NO LIES RADIO will broadcast LIVE the Winter Soldier hearing on Capitol Hill. Tune in: Thursday May 15th at 6am Pacific - 9am Eastern - 01:00 GMT Repeated this Saturday May 17th at 9am Pacific - 12 Noon Eastern - 16:00 GMT(a 4 Hour Live Broadcast from Washington DC)

Tuesday, May 13:

To Curb Truancy, Dallas Tries Electronic Monitoring Dallas is using GPS tracking systems to monitor chronic class-cutters; does the power of Big Brother's all-seeing eye really improve attendance?

Patent For a Pig Documentary concerning the controversy surrounding the experimental science of genetic modification by biotechnology corporations and the food industry.

Tennessee has money woes per Governor Bredesen AP article in today's Maryville paper tells about cuts in TennCare (medicaid) and buyouts of state workers. Education is being impacted, but hopefully not college tuition as much as in past. In his speech to the assembly he wants appropriation for possible VW plant. With a combined state/municipal sales tax of almost 9% things get rough fast when spending falters. Governor's term is up in 2010, & he cannot run by law.

Iran says to sue Britain & US over mosque blast TEHRAN: Iran's judiciary said on Monday it would file international lawsuits against the US and Britain, accusing them of providing financial support to those behind a blast in a mosque that killed 14 and wounded 200 people. Iran's intelligence minister last week said Iran had arrested five or six members of a terrorist group with links to Britain and the United States whom he said were involved in that explosion in Shiraz.

NOAA chief urges creating National Climate Service With concerns about global warming rising along with the planet's temperature, the head of the federal agency in change of weather research and forecasting is proposing creation of a new National Climate Service. more stories like this

Another government sacks environmental leader - Brazil's Amazon minister resigns Brazil's Environment Minister, Marina Silva, a staunch defender of the Amazon rainforest, has resigned her post. No reason has been given, but correspondents say she has recently been at odds with the government over economic development projects.

Blunt Federal Letters Tell Students They're Security Threats (2 comments) 'I have determined that you pose a security threat.' 5,000 applicants, including graduate students, were turned down for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential, an ID card meant to guard against acts of terrorism. Rejected British student at MIT, Sophie Clayton, said at first she was amused then realized "Security Threat" is in a file next to her name, photo, and fingerprints. DHS refuses to retract the term.

SA: Apartheid Victims to Sue Multinationals CAPE TOWN: SCOTUS allows Alien Torts case against 23 transnational corps for aiding and abetting gross violations of human rights by financing and equipping the apartheid regime. Four Justices recuse themselves for ties to defendants. Banks, car makers and oil companies named.

JGideon: 'Daily Voting News' For May 13, 2008 a collection of local, state, national and international articles on electronic voting and election issues

US drops charges against Saudi '20th hijacker' in Sept. 11 attacks Mohammed al-Qahtani was one of six men charged by the military in February with murder and war crimes for their alleged roles in the 2001 attacks. Authorities say al-Qahtani missed out on taking part in the attacks because he was denied entry to the U.S. by an immigration agent. The attorney said he could not comment on the reasons for the dismissal.

'Hello,' They Lied: NH, TX Sec. of State Officials Continue to Deceive Voters Despite a few small-ish errors, Rosenfeld succeeds where so many before him have been unable: Properly quoting both the scientists and Election Integrity experts who know what they're talking about, while giving fair opportunity to respond from voting machine company and elected officials who are either in denial, uninformed, or simply willing to lie.

US must focus on Iraq, less on future wars-Gates The US military should focus more on winning in Iraq and preparing to fight other insurgencies and less on possible big wars with other countries, Defense Secretary Robert Gates today said. ''The risk of over-extending the Army is real. But I believe the risk is far greater -- to that institution, as well as to our country -- if we were to fail in Iraq,'' he said.

Blasts Hit Indian Tourist City Several explosions have torn through the Indian city of Jaipur, killing at least 60 people and wounding more than 100 others. "There are scenes of total panic and chaos in Jaipur tonight. We are hearing reports from the hospitals that they are literally overloaded with patients." No group has yet claimed responsibility.

SPAIN: Barcelona Forced To Ship In Water Spain's worst drought in decades has forced the city of Barcelona to begin shipping in drinking water in an unprecedented effort to avoid water restrictions before the start of the holiday season.

Non-Borrowed Reserves and the Fed's Balance Sheet About half the Fed's U.S. Treasuries have been committed to fight the liquidity crisis. See graphs.

Politicians fail to comprehend breadth of infrastructure crisis It's estimated that it would take $225 billion annually for the next 50 years (11 trillion dollars) to fix all the problems just in our surface transportation systems. That doesn't even touch dams, levees, or our drinking water systems. Our infrastructure has been allowed to crumble, and who's waltzing in to sweep it up at bargain basement prices? Well, the Carlyle Group and other civic-minded capitalists, of course.

Senators Demand Answers/Documents On EPA Ouster Of Mary Gade Today, Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) have sent a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson: "We are writing to request from you full information of the circumstances surrounding Ms. Gade's departure. As you know, Congress and the American people expect EPA to enforce vigorously our public health protections - and to preserve the integrity of the enforcement program by excluding politics..."

OMB Interference under Scrutiny in Congress The White House Office of Management and Budget's review of federal agencies' draft regulations and scientific information was highlighted in two congressional hearings the week of May 5. The review process gives Office of Management and Budget (OMB) officials an opportunity to delay or undermine public health and safety standards. Complaints were also heard about OMB's role in advancing the unitary executive theory

Senate votes to halt oil reserve shipments The Senate, in a direct challenge to President Bush, voted Tuesday to temporarily halt the shipment of thousands of barrels of oil a day into the government's emergency reserve. Both Democrats and Republicans said such shipments make no sense when oil is costing more than $120 a barrel and could better be used to add supplies to a tight market and possibly lower prices.

Pastor Hagee apologizes for anti-Catholic remarks John Hagee, an influential Texas televangelist who endorsed John McCain, apologized to Catholics Tuesday for his stinging criticism of the Roman Catholic Church and for having "emphasized the darkest chapters in the history of Catholic and Protestant relations with the Jews."

The Church of the Nativity in the Little Town of Bethlehem: Today, 2007 and 2002... (1 comments) "We watch on TV the great support Israel is receiving from the Jewish people in the United States. If they only knew what this government is doing to the Palestinian people, they would repent in dust and ashes."

Evelyn Pringle: Curtain Time for Barack Obama - Part II (3 comments) If the Combine's plot with the Bush administration to shut down Operation Board Games had worked, Obama would be home free. But it failed and the Republicans are just waiting to air the roadmap of dirt pieced together from Fitzgerald's investigation if Obama is nominated. McCain is in the clear because there is no sign of his involvement anywhere.

Conyers Mounts Opposition to Iran Attack (9 comments) House Judiciary Chair John Conyers writes: "As we mark five years of war in Iraq, I have become increasingly concerned that the President may possibly take unilateral, preemptive military action against Iran. During the last seven years, the Bush Admin has exercised unprecedented assertions of Executive Branch power and shown an unparalleled aversion to the checks and balances put in place by the Constitution's framers."

Fox commentator: Ron Paul revolt could be 'disaster' for Republicans (2 comments) Rep. Ron Paul is still in the GOP race and even drew 16% of the vote in the recent Pennsylvania Republican primary. Now his supporters are planning to stage a "revolt" at the Republican National Convention in September, possibly with the aim of securing Paul a prime time speaking slot.

House Republicans File Brief Siding with White House in Subpoena Battle In a filing yesterday, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Rep. Cannon asked the court to allow them to file a brief in the case arguing against the House's suit and with the administration. They are just trying to save the House from itself...?

Military analysts named in Times expose appeared or were quoted more than 4,500 times on broadcast nets, cables, NPR ...in segments covering the Iraq war both before and after the invasion, as well as numerous other national security or government policy issues. A spreadsheet listing each of the analysts' appearances documented by Media Matters link is available here. It really highlights how 'incestous' MSM has been with its 'experts'. Straight journalistic malpractice!

Washington University Law Professors: Rescind Honorary Degree For Anti-Feminist Phyllis Schlafly Opponents note that Schlafly's accomplishments include going after "the gay and lesbian agenda," calling for the "impeachment" of Supreme Court justices, calling anyone who believes in evolution an "atheist," and opposing the Violence Against Women Act. She has also claimed that women "are too emotional to handle intellectual or scientific debate" and described sex education as "in-home sales parties for abortions."

Charges dropped against Gitmo "terrorist" whose Confession was obtained through torture The Pentagon has dropped charges against a Saudi citizen alleged to have been the "20th hijacker" in the 9/11 attacks. Mohammad al-Qahtani was one of six Guantanamo Bay inmates charged with murder and war crimes in February. Lawyers for al-Qahtani say charges are being dropped because his confession was obtained under torture.

Bond: White House seems flexible on immunity for telecoms over wiretaps (1 comments) Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said the White House seems willing to let the FISA court help determine whether phone companies should be shielded from litigation.

Cease-Fire Fails To Pacify Sadr City Hospital Officials Say 11 Killed, 19 Wounded In 2 Days Of Clashes With Shiite Militants

GOP Shifts Away From Bush on Oil Bill The House and Senate are expected to defy the White House today and pass legislation that would require the administration to halt oil shipments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. "The strong bipartisan support represents a major shift for Republicans, who until now have generally followed the lead of President Bush."

TREASURY: Corporate Tax Revenues Down As Federal Deficit Balloons 88% Higher Than Last Year (2 comments) With the housing crisis and volatile markets slowing the economy, the Treasury Department reported yesterday that "corporate income-tax revenue over the first seven months of the fiscal year" was 14.7 percent "lower than during the same period a year earlier" while "the federal deficit ballooned to $152 billion, 88 [percent] higher than the same period last fiscal year."

Gene Cappa: What Really Happened to WTC 7? (3 comments) WTC 7 was not hit by an aircraft on 9-11 but the 47 story tall concrete and steel skyscraper "buckled" at the top, penthouse first, then came straight down into it's own footprints at free fall in a mere 6.5 seconds. This buidling was never even mentioned in the 9-11 Commission Report, and neither NIST nor FIMA have officially explained the collapse itself. So what really happened to WTC 7?

How The Pentagon Propaganda Machine Worked: Are you telling me to tell a lie??? surely not! The Pentagon document dump on its propaganda program reveals this interesting insight as to how the Defense Department worked with conservative allies to manipulate the media.

Indiana Congressman Joe Donnelly Endorses Barack Obama The superdelegate flow to Obama continues unabated.

Susan Allen: *Comcast Censorship: Complaint to MA Attorney General (4 comments) Comcast has been engaging in censorship in violation of Amendments 1,4 & 5.

Efforts to remove Detroit mayor to go to vote Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (after being in office 6 years) has three possible actions facing him. It's up to the city council to decide. Names like Conyers (wife of Congressman John) who is pro tem chairman of council and Granholm, governor of state, are prominent in story. Which way? It makes Hillary's delegates seem like a mere whisper.

Hedge Fund Titans Are Treating Us Like Pawns in Their Economic Chess Games Scott Trill of Alternet details how hedge funds are the makers and breakers of the economy. Cerberus wanted to buy Blackwater, and changed tactics when the idea was in the news. George Soros "broke the bank" in England and gives money to progressive causes. Alan Greenspan helped such entities by lowering interest to a virtual zero, and now is advising them. And we thought US Treasury was in charge?

200-plus at Furman University opposing Bush visit More than 200 Furman University students and faculty members are objecting to the school's first visit by a sitting U.S. president, criticizing the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war and environmental issues. One of the professors who helped gather the signatories said she felt a professional compulsion to make her views known. "I'm an ethicist. How could I not be upset about Bush's torture policy?"

5 Gitmo detainees to face 9/11 capital case A Pentagon official has formally approved death penalty charges against reputed 9/11 architect Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other men for allegedly conspiring in the Sept. 11 attacks. Military Commissions officials e-mailed the approved charge sheets to defense lawyers in Washington, D.C., after the close of business Monday.

Monday, May 12:

Government Efficiency and Network Theory Science News reports on a study relating (in a loose way) the efficiency of a national government with the size of its cabinet. Researchers in Vienna found that the development level of countries, as a proxy for the efficiency of their governments, is in general lower for countries with more members in the national cabinets.

Domestic spying far outpaces terrorism prosecutions The number of Americans being secretly wiretapped or having their financial and other records reviewed by the government has continued to increase as officials aggressively use powers approved after the Sept. 11 attacks. But the number of terrorism prosecutions ending up in court -- one measure of the effectiveness of such sleuthing -- has continued to decline, in some cases precipitously.

Rove tells House panel he'll answer questions in writing Former White House political adviser Karl Rove has declined a request to testify before Congress about the criminal case against former Gov. Don Siegelman and instead made a counteroffer to answer questions in writing.

GOP Vote-Suppressor-in-Chief Thor Hearne Deserves a Raise, Gets a Boost from the NYTimes and Continues His Unapologetic "The state is a presidential battleground state where recent gubernatorial and Senate races have been decided by margins as little as 21,000 votes," writes Levine before quoting Missouri Progressive Vote Coalition's John Hickey who says, "If you exclude 240,000 people from the

New Front in Republican War on Voting: Disabled American Veterans (1 comments) An attorney who has been taking on the VA points out that the Administration got caught allowing paid campaign workers from the Rep. Party to register voters at their facilities while they disallowed nonpartisan groups from the same places."They've been forced to admit under oath that they told the League of Women Voters that if they took a position on Iraq,they'd lose their access.The court told them they can't do that...

Faulty Machines Ready to Count Your Vote Based on scientific research, we have a clearer picture of just how vulnerable our American voting system really is."The main issue is turning over the counting of our elections to corporations and government insiders," Harris said. "It's actually a transfer of power that was never designed in our democracy. These machines are quite literally having big brother count our votes."

This Week in Congress 5.12.08 - 5.16.08 War Supplemental, Farm Bill, Energy

JGideon: 'Daily Voting News' For May 12, 2008 a collection of local, state, national and international articles on electronic voting and election issues

Former State Dept. Official: Amb. Crocker Is Either 'Negligent' Or 'Intentionally Misleading' At a hearing on the U.S. reconstruction effort in Iraq and corruption in the Iraqi govt, two former State Dept employees testified work "was ignored and demeaned by the Dept of State, the Dept of Justice, and the govt of Iraq." It was also revealed the State Dept completely altered a report on an Iraqi watchdog agency that was "a disaster."

Quiet US Confession: Weapons Were Not Made In Iran After All (5 comments) According to a report by the LA Times correspondent Tina Susman in Baghdad: "A plan to show some alleged Iranian-supplied explosives to journalists last week in Karbala and then destroy them was cancelled after the United States realized none of them was from Iran.

Secret Law Hearing Follow-Up "It's a given in our democracy that laws should be a matter of public record," wrote Senator Feingold in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece. "But the law in this country includes not just statutes and regulations, which the public can readily access. It also includes binding legal interpretations made by courts and the executive branch. These interpretations are increasingly being withheld from the public and Congress."

FDA Posts Trilateral Cooperation Charter for the NAU For all you nay sayers that say there isn't a move to "harmonize" the US, Canada and Mexico into a region, take a look at this!

White House Issues Policy on "Controlled Unclassified Info" The White House last week issued a long-awaited policy on "controlled unclassified information" (CUI) to provide a uniform government-wide system for safeguarding unclassified information that is deemed sensitive. But the new policy will do nothing to restore public access to government records that have been improperly withheld.

ABC/WaPo Poll: America 'SERIOUSLY off on the wrong track' (3 comments) President Bush's approval rating at 31 percent, a new low. Just three presidents have dropped lower. Bush, however, "has gone 40 months without majority approval, beating Truman's record (also during economic discontent and an unpopular war) of 38 months from 1949-52." Eighty-two percent of Americans also believe the country is on the wrong track, "up 10 points in the last year..."

Taking a Stand Against War Scott Ritter|As someone who has been urging focused citizen activism for some time now, I find it heartening that there are those in the United States who put action to words and seek to lead by example.

Lieberman: Airstrikes in Iran are 'a distinct possibility' Lieberman, one of the most vocal supporters of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), has been pushing for war with Iran for a long time. Neocon Lieberman has never served in the military, like Dick Cheney, having obtained education deferrments for Vietnam. He sure loves to deploy others to do his dirty work.

Think Progress: Immigrant Detention in US Can Be 'Death Trap' A Washington Post investigation, joined by 60 Minutes, has found disturbing evidence that immigrants are suffering from neglect and some don't survive detention in America. Post reporter Dana Priest says the investigation showed an immigrations and customs bureaucracy "that offers many immigrants no care or slow care or poor care...and they also show that the employees inside are panicked about this."

World CO2 levels at record high - sliding out of control (20 comments) The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached a record high, according to new figures that renew fears that climate change could begin to slide out of control. Scientists at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii say that CO2 levels in the atmosphere now stand at 387 parts per million (ppm), up almost 40% since the industrial revolution and the highest for at least the last 650,000 years.

Domestic spying far outpaces terrorism prosecutions As more Americans are watched, fewer cases are made. The trend concerns civil liberties groups as well as some lawmakers and legal experts.

China quake leaves 8,533 dead in one province: Xinhua A total of 8,533 people have died in China's Sichuan province after a powerful earthquake struck there on Monday, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing the local government.

Powerful quake kills thousands in southwest China A massive earthquake stunned southwest China on Monday, killing more than 8,000 people and flattening schools, factories and homes in a powerful tremor that was felt across a swathe of southeast Asia. The quake, with a magnitude of 7.8, struck close to densely-populated areas of Sichuan province in what Premier Wen Jiabao called a "major disaster."

American Legion Backs Webb GI Bill: This Bill Would "˜Encourage' Young People To Join The Military "This bill would encourage young men and women to join the military," [National Commander Marty] Conatser said. "As far as retention goes, the CBO estimates that a simple $8,000 bonus to personnel at their first enlistment point would increase reenlistments by 2 percentage points. Another way to encourage mid-level servicemembers to stay in the military is to transfer GI Bill benefits to family members...

McCain has missed every major environmental vote this Congress McCain ranks last among the 535 members of the current Congress in a rating by the League of Conservation Voters. McCain has missed every major environmental vote this Congress, according to an analysis by the League. His League lifetime record is just 24 percent. This compares with 86 percent for Obama and 86 percent for Clinton. Obama and Clinton ranked 67 and 73 percent in the League's most recent report.

Food Crisis Hits Fallujah (2 comments) Sharp increases in food prices have generated a new wave of anti-occupation and anti-U.S. sentiment in Fallujah. "This is a country that was damned by the Americans the moment they stepped on our soil."

Commonwealth re-admits Pakistan after six-month suspension The Commonwealth re-admitted Pakistan as a full member on Monday after a six-month suspension triggered by a clampdown by President Pervez Musharraf, the grouping's secretary general said.

Skeeter Sanders: Clinton Campaign Appears Doomed as Obama Takes Over Superdelegate Lead It's all over -- almost. Barack Obama will emerge from the Democratic Party's August national convention in Denver as its standard-bearer for the presidency of the United States. And there's nothing that Hillary Rodham Clinton can do about it -- because she's lost the majroity of the party's superdelegates.

Evelyn Pringle: Curtain Time For Barack Obama - Part I (30 comments) Republicans have enough damaging information against Barack Obama to knock him off the ballot before the November election. Those at the top of the Democratic Party know this by now and voters need to recognize that if they nominate him they are throwing the election. Nothing else can explain why they would allow this disaster to happen.

UNEARTHED: Environmental news News of the Week the Mainstream Media Forgot to Report

Zena Crenshaw: Private Citizens Address Judicial Accountability on Capitol Hill On Thursday – May 15, 2008, various groups will co-host a "Citizens' Forum On Judicial Accountability" on Capitol Hill in Washington, D. C. as part of a week long gathering of some of the world's most prominent government whistleblowers and human rights activists.

VIDEO: CBS: America’s infrastructure is crumbling Unless more funding and effort are put into saving the nation’s infrastructure, it will continue to crumble, say experts. An estimated $1.5 trillion over the next five years could be needed to avoid large-scale disaster.

Sunday, May 11:

Jon Gold: Justin Martell Questions WH Press Secretary Dana Perino On 9/11 Secrecy Student Scholar For 9/11 Truth Justin Martell Questions White House Press Secretary Dana Perino On 9/11 Secrecy.

Martha Rosenberg: Egg Supplier to Dept. of Defense Caught in Cruel Video; Trader Joe's Dumps Monrovia-based Trader Joe's announced an "indefinite" ban of NuCal Foods, Inc. which distributes Gemperle eggs after the disturbing video

Judge: Womans rape case against Halliburton can go to trial Judge: Lawsuit against Halliburton by woman claiming rape in Iraq can go to trial

CBS: America's infrastructure is crumbling Unless more funding and effort are put into saving the nation's infrastructure, it will continue to crumble, say experts. An estimated $1.5 trillion over the next five years could be needed to avoid large-scale disaster. "When infrastructure declines, we're going to become a second-rate country," says engineer and former New York City transportation commissioner "Gridlock Sam" Schwartz.

JGideon: 'Daily Voting News' For May 10 and 11, 2008 a collection of local, state, national and international articles on electronic voting and election issues

Bodies Flow Into Hard-Hit Area of Myanmar The bodies come and go with the tides. They wash up onto the riverbanks or float grotesquely downstream, almost always face down. They are all but ignored by the living. In the southern reaches of the Irrawaddy Delta, where the only access to hundreds of small villages is by boat, the remains of the victims of the May 3 cyclone that swept across Myanmar are rotting in the sun.

Losing a Home, Then Losing All Out of Storage (3 comments) The foreclosure crisis is hitting yet another American locale: the self-storage center. As they lose their homes, people are turning to these humble cinderblock and sheet-metal boxes to store their stuff. But some people cannot keep up with their storage bills any better than they could handle their mortgage payments, and storage companies are auctioning off their property for a pittance.

As Losses Mount, GOP Begins Looking in the Mirror Since losing 30 seats and their 12-year stranglehold on power in 2006, House Republicans kept asking themselves the same question: Can it get any worse? With lots of help from Washington--including more than $1.3 million in campaign cash and a last-minute visit by Vice President Cheney--Mississippi Republicans are desperately trying to retain a congressional seat in one of the most reliably conservative districts in the nation

Memo Shows Frustration With Special Counsel Last September, career investigators at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel opened a probe into whether partisan politics were a factor in the Justice Department's prosecution of former Democratic Alabama governor Don Siegelman on corruption charges in 2006. But on Oct. 11, OSC chief Scott J. Bloch ordered the case file be closed immediately, saying that he had not authorized it.

Michelle Vetoes Hillary Swiftboat Captain Robert Novak is at it again...according to Novak, unnamed "Close-in supporters" of Barack Obama's presidential campaign are convinced he never will offer the vice presidential nomination to Sen. Hillary Clinton for one overriding reason: Michelle Obama. She has been sniping at Clinton since last summer. According to Obama sources, those public utterances do not reveal the extent of her hostility.

Judge Drops General From Trial of Detainee In a new blow to the Bush administration's troubled military commission system, a military judge has disqualified a Pentagon general who has been centrally involved in overseeing Guantánamo war crimes tribunals from any role in the first case headed for trial.

Young evangelicals flee GOP over Iraq, economy, John McCain Young, evangelical ... for Obama? According to a September 2007 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 15 percent of white evangelicals between 18 and 29, a group traditionally a shoo-in for the GOP, say they no longer identify with the Republican Party. Older evangelicals are also questioning their traditional allegiance, but not at the same rate.

Cost of veterans care to rise, despite decline in total number of vets. Despite a decline in total veterans "as soldiers from World War II and Korea die," the government "expects to be spending $59 billion a year to compensate injured warriors in 25 years, up from today's $29 billion," according to internal documents. The VA "concedes the bill could be much higher" as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars go on

Thinking Globally, Acting Locally More than 7,000 miles separate Chicago and Tehran. But on May 14, the city council of the American city will consider whether to take a stand on an event that would have far reaching consequences for residents of both: a US attack on Iran.

Morris Dees Discusses New Lawsuit Against Klan Imperial Klans of America, different from the KKK in that being Christian isn't a requirement operates in 8 states. The lawsuit is in Kentucky where a teenager was attacked at a county fair in Brandenburg. More dangerous because they attract skinheads, Mr Dees says. Some splinter affiliates have backed off from the IKA after the suit was filed. First aim is to seek regress for the victim but also to make recruitment harder.

Lora Chamberlain: Help Us Bring Clean Elections to Illinois (2 comments) I know it is ridiculous to use Clean Elections and IL Politics in the same sentence but that is exactly what we at the IL Ballot Integrity Project are trying to change here.We have kicked off a campaign to get 3 referendums on the ballot in Nov. here in IL.Please help us get the close to 270,000 signatures needed to put these issues in front of the voters in IL.We are seeking donations,petition passers,Green Festival workers

ALONE: Concepts of Sovereignty in 2008 and questioning how to aid the Burmese "France has suggested invoking a U.N. 'responsibility to protect' clause and delivering aid directly to cyclone-hit Myanmar without waiting for approval from the [Myanmar] military." Do you agree with France on its call that the UN bypass the traditional constraints of sovereignty in order to protect millions of Burmese?

Families will make case for vaccine link to autism AP article about court case starting Monday regarding thimerosal in vaccine as a cause of autism. Two boys from Oregon have their cases brought up in federal court. New argument this time concerns how the element reacts in the brain to set up inflammatory neural reaction. There are three theories. This is the second theory to be tested.

22 dead in Mo., Okla., Ga. after new round of storms - EarthLink - Main News Lots of storm death and damage. Note the byline mentions Pilcher OK, the same place I quicklinked a story about yesterday. It's from High Country News and tells about an area of OK, MO, & KS where the US superfund is paying off landowners. There's a new twist on that story, pun intended.

Failure to report financial interest from tobacco companies taints CT scan-lung cancer studies Weill Cornell Medical College researchers Claudia Henschke and David Yankelevitz published numerous articles about CT scans and lung cancer in major medical journals without revealing their $3.6 million grant from Vector, the parent company of the Liggett Group, a major cigarette manufacturer.

Memo Shows Frustration With Special Counsel (1 comments) The career investigators also wrote of their long-standing desire to open a probe into allegations that certain DoJ officials considered political affiliation in their hiring & promotion decisions."This document is just the most amazing thing I've ever seen,"said Beverley Lumpkin,an investigator for POGO."He creates a special task force to deal with these high-profile & complicated investigations,& then he doesn't listen to...