A Citizen of the World

Global News Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 21:47:00 PDT

Let's take a look at what is hot this past week.

Seems a lot of people are getting angry about the bugging and spying by Rubert Mudoch and his News Corp. He is looking older by the minute as his phone hacking spreads from England to America. They have the nerve to call themselves journalists while honest journalist are constantly under attack from The Patriot Act brought to us by the "appointed" president George W. Bush Jr.

President Obama, the champion of "we can do it" sure can as he pushed The Patriot Act through the Senate again. (Thanks Obama.. do you have a birth certificate?)

The British phone-hacking scandal engulfing Rupert Murdoch’s media empire has crossed the Atlantic, and could impact his maze of interests in the United States. The watchdog group, ProtectOurElections, has called on the FBI and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch criminal and civil investigations into possible prosecution under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in the wake of the scandal that began in the United Kingdom.

The act makes it illegal for a U.S. corporation to bribe, or attempt to bribe, foreign officials. More than half of Murdoch’s profits come from his U.S.-based Fox TV operation, which encompasses at least 27 local Fox networks and is available to more than 100 million U.S. households. Meanwhile, the British government has joined efforts to block Murdoch’s bid for broadcaster BSkyB, dashing his hopes of a rapid expansion in television. We speak with Ilyse Hogue, senior adviser at Media Matters for America, and Kevin Zeese, a spokesperson and lawyer for ProtectOurElections.

What are the Politicians Up Too

While Rubert is taking some heat some rather kinky items are getting pushed through various legislatures without anyone knowing how.

This week the Center for Media and Democracy released 800 model bills, legislation that is straight out of the corporate playbook and drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council. The group’s membership includes both state lawmakers and corporate executives who gather behind closed doors to discuss and vote on draft legislation. ALEC has come under increasing scrutiny in recent months for its role in crafting bills to attack worker rights, to roll back environmental regulations, privatize education, deregulate major industries and pass voter ID laws. Thanks to ALEC, at least a dozen states have recently adopted a nearly identical resolution asking Congress to compel the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to stop regulating carbon emissions. We are joined by Lisa Graves, executive director of the Center for Media Democracy.

President Obama we want to Remind You about someone.. no need to worry because the jerk cannot read.

On the eve of the extradition hearing for WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange in London, we spend an exclusive hour with David House, who co-founded the Bradley Manning Support Network after U.S. Army Private Manning was arrested for allegedly releasing classified U.S. military documents to WikiLeaks.

House refused to testify last month in Alexandria, Virginia, before a grand jury hearing on WikiLeaks and the disclosure of thousands of classified U.S. diplomatic cables. We spoke to House at the Frontline Club in London about the significance of WikiLeaks, how he helped found the Bradley Manning Support Network, his visits with Manning at the Quantico Marine Base in Virginia, the federal surveillance he and his associates have come under, and his experience before the grand jury. "I feel that the WikiLeaks case we have going on now provides Obama’s DOJ ample opportunity to continue this attempt to politically regulate the U.S. media.” [he does that with the cowardly Patriot Act]

It is often difficult to keep up with our wallets and wars, while the politicians continue to be guided, as though they are ruled by another country.

Robert Fisk has a few words on that topic

Let us hope we still have Google on our side.

Global News Week

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 14:41:00 PDT

Badley Manning in Prison while Bankers are Free

On the eve of the extradition hearing for WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange in London, we interview David House, who co-founded the Bradley Manning Support Network after U.S. Army Private Manning was arrested for allegedly releasing classified U.S. military documents to WikiLeaks.

House refused to testify last month in Alexandria, Virginia, before a grand jury hearing on WikiLeaks and the disclosure of thousands of classified U.S. diplomatic cables.

We spoke to House at the Frontline Club in London about the significance of WikiLeaks, how he helped found the Bradley Manning Support Network, his visits with Manning at the Quantico Marine Base in Virginia, the federal surveillance he and his associates have come under, and his experience before the grand jury. “In my mind, this reeks of the Pentagon Papers investigation,” says House. “Richard Nixon’s [Department of Justice] 40 years ago attempted to curtail the freedoms of the press and politically regulate the press through the use of policy created around the espionage investigation of the New York Times. I feel that the WikiLeaks case we have going on now provides Obama’s DOJ ample opportunity to continue this attempt to politically regulate the U.S. media.”

Global News and Politics June 19, 2001

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 18:02:00 PDT

Glenn Greenwald: Could Obama Be Impeached For Waging War in Libya Without Approval of Congress?

The New York Times recently broke the story that President Obama rejected the views of top administration lawyers when he decided he had the legal authority to continue U.S. military participation in the war in Libya without Congressional authorization. Obama continues to face congressional opposition to the ongoing Libya attack. Republican House Speaker John Boehner has called on the White House to further clarify the legal basis for the war in Libya or face a cutoff of war funds. Last week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers filed a lawsuit accusing President Obama of violating the War Powers Act of 1973. To examine the legal dimensions of U.S. military intervention, we speak with Glenn Greenwald, a constitutional law attorney and political and legal blogger for Salon.com. “The idea that presidents can start wars on their own, without any congressional authorization, violates not just the law but the Constitution,” Greenwald said. “In theory, when the president violates the law and the Constitution, that’s an impeachable offense. At the same time we have set a very low standard for our tolerance rampant presidential law-breaking.”

Mutant Capitalism Blowback

John Perkins calls himself a former economic hit man. He has seen the signs of today’s financial meltdown before. The subprime mortgage fiasco, the collapse of the banking industry, the rising unemployment rate—these are all familiar to him. Perkins was on the front lines of monitoring and helping create these very events that were once just confined to the Third World. From 1971 to 1981, he worked for the international consulting firm of Chas T. Main, where he was a self-described “economic hit man.” He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Confessions of An Economic Hit Man and The Secret History of the American Empire

Is U.S. Attack on Libya Legal? Rep. Dennis Kucinich Debates Former Reagan Attorney Robert Turner

On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of 10 members of Congress sued President Obama for violating the War Powers Act of 1973 by failing to obtain congressional approval for military operations in Libya longer than 60 days. We host a debate between Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, one of the congress members suing President Obama, and Robert Turner, who worked as an attorney in the Reagan White House and is a longtime critic of the War Powers Act. "President Obama’s position is absolutely clear: we are not engaged in war in Libya and thus if the War Powers Resolution were constitutional, it still would not apply," Turner says. "I ask you, if another country sent 2,000 planes over the United States and some of those missions dropped bombs on us, would that be an act of war against the United States?," says Kucinich. "That is exactly what we have done in Libya."

The Audacity of Hope: U.S. Peace Activists to Sail to Gaza in Humanitarian Flotilla

Dozens of Americans hope to set sail this week on a U.S.-flagged ship, “The Audacity of Hope,” as part of an international flotilla which aims to challenge Israel’s embargo of the Gaza Strip. Palestinian solidarity activists are setting sail from a number of ports just over a year after Israeli forces killed nine activists on an aid boat called the Mavi Marmara, which was part of the first such international flotilla. Israel says it will again use force to stop the aid flotilla from reaching Gaza. We speak with passengers of the U.S. boat, New York labor attorney Richard Levy and peace activist, Kathy Kelly. Levy says the flotilla’s challenge to Israel’s embargo is legal, and that it is the blockade that is illegal. “It is a violation of the Geneva accords to occupy a country as has been done here through the control of all its borders, and then block supplies, block people from moving in and out,” says Levy.

Maher Arar: My Rendition & Torture in Syrian Prison Highlights U.S. Reliance on Syria As An Ally

As Syria continues its brutal crackdown on demonstrators, we speak to a Canadian citizen who was repeatedly tortured by Syrian authorities after he was rendered to Syria by the United States in 2002. Maher Arar was seized at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport in September 2002 and sent to Syria, where he was tortured and interrogated in a tiny underground cell for nearly a year. He now works as a human rights advocate in Canada. “The cooperation with the Syrian government, as well as other dictatorships post-9/11, gave some legitimacy to those dictatorships,” says Arar. He calls on the United States and the United Nations to declare the Syrian regime illegitimate, and refer the matter to the International Criminal Court.

Former Miss USA, Ralph Nader, Privacy Advocates Fight Full Body Airport Scanners and Invasive Patdowns

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to stop Transportation Security Administration’s full body scanning procedures by granting an immediate injunction. The full body scans are not mandatory for all travelers, but those who object are subject to "enhanced" pat-downs, extremely invasive manual checks. Civil rights activists argue these initiatives are inappropriate, ineffective, violate the Constitution, pose health concerns related to radiation exposure, and are insensitive to religious practices. We speak former Miss USA and actress Susie Castillo, who was recently subjected to an enhanced body pat-down and has become a vocal critic of such security procedures. We also speak with Ralph Nader and Amie Stepanovich of EPIC.

President of the U.S.A. Netanyahu

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Thu, 26 May 2011 18:25:00 PDT

President Netanyahu and AIPAC

Netanyahu showed the world who runs the United States with his merry band at AIPAC in full control. The elected Senators and Congress gave him ovation after ovation while he told them what to do with Palestine. Relentless in rhetoric, while low in factual content, Netanyahu did everything except bang his shoe on the podium while giving them their orders. There was no mention of the continued part they play in the ongoing genocide of Palestinians. The puppets, including lap dog Obama, sat in awe and wonder while their boss demanded faithful support that included lots of money and more weapons to destroy every Palestinian. It worked for Afghanistan and Iraq so well, the puppets want more wars while the Zionists masters, sit quietly in their homes.

While always referring to books written by the early community of Judaism is a sure fired method of making a statement. The Zionist government of Israel never mentions that they have nothing to do with those early writings. Every aspect of the plan to wipe Palestine from the eye of the world is used with endless scripted lies. It is all too simple to pick any book and use selected phrases, out of context, as a point of reference.

Palestinians and Jews lived side by side as neighbors, on the land now claimed as entirely Israeli, by the Zionist regime. Today it is a land of luxury on one side, with many 20 foot separation walls, keeping the people of Palestine in open concentration camps. Not one item gets into those concentration camps without approval of the Zionist government of Israel backed by the puppets in Washington, D.C.

The only picture that comes to mind is the Berlin Wall built by the former Communist government of the old U.S.S.R. We remember the famous words of the last President of the United States John F. Kennedy ‘I am a Berliner’. His assassination spelled out the end of the Republic and the beginning of Zionist run America. The Zionist were then handed the Nuclear bomb, in secret, as they began to pull the strings that make the Senate and Congress dance to the tune of Israeli propaganda.

We, who live in countries that support the actions against the people of Palestine should be ashamed. The former Soviet government was painted as nasty and cruel while massively armed with enough Nuclear fire power to wipe life from the planet. TV and radio was cluttered with stories, mostly propaganda, about the leaders of the former Soviet Union. Most of the world stood with the people of Berlin and President Kennedy.

We Became Berliners

In the world of today, much the same as then, most of the world sides with the people of Palestine. We still believe in justice and the law, nationally and internationally, as a means for peace. Palestine has every right to exist as an independent State, alongside its neighboring State of Israel, at the United Nations.

The nations of the world agreed on this many years ago by passing Resolution 242 in November, 1967. The first link is a short version of the Resolution and this link is the full version of Resolution 242 as a PDF.

A lie told often enough by mainstream media to mindless and uneducated people sometimes becomes a pseudo truism. The endless 24 x 7 channels of TV, play their version, while they are re-writing historical facts. It is mind blowing in this world of instant communication how fast horrifying events are pushed aside.

Israel and America have gone Mad

Today We are Palestinians

To the honest people of Israel we implore you to obey the law. Your list of friends has rapidly shrunk to America, Canada, Australia and England. The Zionist lobbyists in Canada along with a moron PM Harper banned George Galloway from entering Canada. As a country that follows the law George Galloway found the law on his side and came to Canada at a later date.

There are good people within the Jewish community who are willing to put themselves in harm's way for Palestine.

As the death toll continues to rise, in wars that Zionist owned media create, we are hopeful that peace will arrive soon. People are beginning to ask why their children are being sacrificed for Israel while you continue to destroy Palestinians. As the Zionists attempt to crush our freedoms whenever and wherever possible it is noted. Your propaganda machine has failed and the face good people see is ugly, wicked and distorted.

Your attempts to rewrite history such as those in World War II was another terrible mistake. We did not go to War with the Nazi Regime to free you from the death camps where the opponents of Nazi dogma were placed. Our families fought for our freedom, not yours, at a high cost of nearly 100,000,000 dead for that freedom. Entire cities and nations were destroyed in many places around the world. Israel did not exist, and you were mere victims, of a horrific dictator and his minions. Your loss of six million will never replace the loss of our families many of whom still lay buried in other countries. You have become what you supposedly hated, a dictator, far more viscous than your Nazi counterpart.

Obey the international laws that govern people of good character by returning to your borders as defined by U.N. Resolution 242. Conditions in advance are not acceptable as you have no right to make lawful demands from anyone. A country that should never have been created was created, because nobody wanted you, after World War II. All of your Arab neighbors gave you an Initiative for Peace in 2002 that you immediately tossed in the garbage. Perhaps after Zionists took over the government of America you forgot how to negotiate.

Abide by the law or replace your flag with one bearing a swastika.

Unlike World War II, do you have the fortitude to rise up for peace, or are you really the cowards, that could not face those who opposed us. The Zionists showed us that your cowardice remains, when you fired five bullets into an unarmed 19 year-old, aboard the Gaza Convoy in 2010.

Look at yourselves and weep, for there are no roses in the gardens that Jews and Arabs so proudly kept, until you arrived.

Noam Chomsky - Disappearance of A Democratic Society

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Mon, 23 May 2011 21:19:00 PDT

Disappearance of A Democratic Society

Special with Noam Chomsky - "There are serious problems here. One problem is almost a total disillusion, disappearance of the basis for a democratic society. We ought to be ashamed of ourselves. I mean, here, we have a thing called an election, which is a choice between two men, both born to great wealth and political influence, and went to the same fancy private schools, same elite university, joined the same secret society where you train people to be members of the ruling class. The population has been very carefully excluded from the political arena, and the general culture, the general dominant culture. That’s not by accident. An enormous amount of work went into this. Elites were terrified by the sixties, this outbust of popular participation in democracy."

Global News May 23, 2011

Headlines

Documentary - The Last Mountain with Robert Kennedy, Jr.

We speak with environmental activist Robert Kennedy, Jr., and filmmaker Bill Haney about the new documentary, The Last Mountain, which premiered this year at the Sundance Film Festival. The film chronicles the fight against coal mining across Appalachia and Massey Energy’s devastating practice of mountaintop removal to extract layers of coal. "They have to break the law to do this. They cannot survive in the marketplace without violating the law. They violate labor laws. They violate health and safety laws. And by their own records, they’ve had some 67,000 violations of just one of the environmental statutes," says Kennedy of the coal giant that has tremendous political influence at the state and federal level. “It’s not just about the environmental destruction, it’s also about subverting democracy.”

Massey Energy Guilty: West Virginia Probe Finds Coal Giant Systemically Failed to Comply with Law

An independent state probe in West Virginia concludes that mining giant, Massey Energy, was responsible for the April 2010 explosion that killed 29 underground coal mining workers. It echoes preliminary findings by federal investigators earlier this year that Massey repeatedly violated federal rules on ventilation and minimizing coal dust to reduce the risk of explosion, and rejects Massey’s claim that a burst of gas from a hole in the mine floor was at fault. The report also notes Massey’s strong political influence, which it uses "to attempt to control West Virginia’s political system" and regulatory bodies. We speak with J. Davitt McAteer, who oversaw the probe and is a former top federal mine safety official.

Global News and Politics - May 20, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Sat, 21 May 2011 13:05:00 PDT

Headlines

Did Obama’s Mideast Speech Signal U.S. Shift on Israel-Palestine?

In a major speech on the U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and on the Arab Spring, President Obama said a Palestinian state must be based on the 1967 borders, the first time a U.S. president has explicitly taken this position. The Israeli government immediately rejected Obama’s comments, calling the 1967 borders "indefensible." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in the United States today and will meet Obama at the White House. We host a roundtable with author Norman Finkelstein, Palestinian human rights lawyer Noura Erakat, and Jeremy Ben-Ami, head of the lobby group J Street.

U.N. Panelist Desmond Travers Challenges Goldstone’s Recantation of Key Finding

Last month Judge Richard Goldstone, the chair of the United Nations’ inquiry into the Israel’s 2008-2009 assault on the Gaza Strip, retracted his key finding that
Israel deliberately targeted Palestinian civilians in its three-week assault. Israel, with backing of the United States, seized on Goldstone’s comments and called for the United Nations to withdraw the report. Goldstone came under criticism from his co-panelists who co-authored the original report. We speak to one of those panelists, Col. Desmond Traver, a retired Irish soldier and peace-keeper.

In Historic Visit, Queen Elizabeth II Regrets Britain’s Sad and Regrettable Legacy in Ireland

Queen Elizabeth II has become the first British monarch in a century to visit Ireland. In an address to the Irish nation on Wednesday, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II expressed regret at the troubled history of England’s relations with Ireland. We get reaction from retired Irish soldier and peace-keeper Col. Desmond Travers.

Global News and Politics - May 17, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Wed, 18 May 2011 13:17:00 PDT

Headlines

Israel Opens Fire on Palestine Protesters

"I was shot at close range with a high-velocity metal tear gas canister... When it hit me, it tore off a part of my scalp," says Christopher Whitman, a 25-year-old American student and activist who was seriously injured when he was shot by Israeli forces while attending a West Bank protest on Friday. At the time of the shooting, Whitman was recording video of the weekly nonviolent protest against the Israeli separation wall in the West Bank. Several Palestinians were also injured during the protest.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has declared three days of mourning for the 14 Palestinians killed when Israeli troops opened fire on massive protests at Israel’s multiple borders on Sunday. In an unprecedented action, Palestinian refugees from Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, as well as residents of Gaza, tried to enter Israel. In addition to those killed, hundreds of people were wounded. As many as 300 people from Syria overwhelmed border patrols and briefly entered Israel. The series of protests came on Nakba Day, when Palestinians mourn the 1948 establishment of Israel, which drove hundreds of thousands of Palestinians out of their homes. We’re joined by Fadi Quran, a youth leader in Ramallah who helped organize a protest at the Kalandia checkpoint on Sunday.

Egyptian Police Clash with Pro-Palestine Protesters

Egyptian police violently crushed a Sunday protest marking the anniversary of the 1948 establishment of Israel. At least 350 people were injured outside of the Israeli embassy in Cairo when police reportedly fired live ammunition, tear gas grenades and rubber bullets at the crowd. Meanwhile, former Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, is expected to plead for amnesty and apologize on state television for causing harm to the nation, saying he received faulty information from some of his advisers. We speak with Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous who is reporting in Cairo.

Egyptian's Protest Military Trials Against Civilians

Three months after the Egyptian military took the reins of power following the popular uprising that ousted former president, Hosni Mubarak, the Supreme Council of Armed Forces is coming under growing criticism for its widespread use of military trials against civilians. On May 9, a press conference was organized at the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate in downtown Cairo for people to speak out against the military court system, which has been used to convict and jail more than 5,000 civilians since January 25, the first day of massive protests at Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Democracy Now! correspondents Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar filed this video report from Cairo.

Getting Wise to Breitbart’s Smears and Lies

Two Missouri labor professors have been vindicated after a right-wing smear campaign almost cost them their jobs. Last month, the website BigGovernment.com—run by right-wing blogger Andrew Breitbart—posted footage of a labor relations class taught by University of Missouri professors Judy Ancel and Don Giljum. In the video, the professors appeared to make a number of statements backing the use of violence in the struggle for labor rights. But it turned out the video was edited in a way to distort their words—similar to recent video campaigns against ACORN, Planned Parenthood, NPR and former FDA official, Shirley Sherrod. "I was just appalled. I knew it was me speaking, but it wasn’t saying what I had said in class," said Judy Ancel, Director of the Institute for Labor Studies, University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Canadians Gone Wild

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:48:00 PDT

Yes I am aware that the title sounds similar to the porn videos Girls Gone Wild. Was simply trying a poor attempt at getting anyone’s attention directed towards Canada. It is that big huge land mass that sits on top of the United States with little more than 34 million residents nesting along the border. Somehow the U.S. became America and the remainder of North America lives without a name in the media.

Here is a map of planet Earth I borrowed from the U.S. Senate showing Canada on top.

The fact is that it does Canada a lot of good to never get mentioned in the media. It lets Canada get away with a lot of facts and events that are done without anyone knowing. Canada is involved in wars along side the United States and they always get the blame for every little thing that happens. It is such a big secret that a story released recently had Canadians ranting and raving about Iraq. Too anyone paying attention to what our politicians are doing most of us found it odd that it was released 10 years after the fact. Canada had special operations forces in Iraq before George Bush ordered the preemptive attack.

It made me wonder if Canadians know that we have over 3000 armed forces in Afghanistan. My fellow Canadians are so entrenched in the 900 channels of television that come from the U.S. they forgot how to vote. The “War Room” in Canada is about politicians and Parliament and perhaps that is way they are so confused. At the moment I am using a few links directed at our national, taxpayer funded, CBC broadcaster, which some of us call the Calgary Bubblegum Corporation. There are only two other television networks in Canada the CTV and Global TV. The front page of CTV, a Bell owned network, is covered with TV programs from the United States as well as Global now owned by Shaw Media.

I cannot leave the subject of war without telling you another secret. Canada hides behind NATO which for the most part is largely run by the United States and Britain. When I tried to put a link to the main NATO website the message said “not found”. However we always count on Facebook to have something to say about everything including NATO. After quickly scanning over the photos there is one photo of a Canadian frigate. Whoever put us the page does not know that Canada has armed forces and F-18s in Libya. We do love the Net due to the many places a person can find information without using the ultra biased Wikipedia. Here is a story about Canada being in Libya and joining in the fighting ever so quietly.

Tom Brokaw Explains Canada To Americans

I am asking you to watch this short video so that you will have a better understanding of Canada. Tom does a terrific narrative with some of the most awesome video of Canada. The video was done just as the Olympic Games began in Vancouver. After this video I want to talk to you about the real Canada and lives of real Canadians.

The Dark Side

Tom mentions in the video that Canada used to be a British colony. In fact it remains a British colony with its own Charter of Rights and Freedoms. No politician, member of the Judicial system or member of the Armed Forces can do so without taking the following Oath of Allegiance.

"I, ....., do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors."

Canada is a Constitutional Monarchy that is also a Parliamentary Democracy and a Federation. The Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by a Governor General. She is also the Commander in Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces. Those who want her as our Monarch will always say that it is in name only as the Queen of Canada. As a Canadian I want her photo and emblems removed from every place it now exists in Canada. I also want our politicians to swear an Oath of Allegiance to Canada, Canadians and our Charter of Rights and Freedoms so they can be held accountable for every piece of legislation.

We might be able to do something about issues that concern most Canadians. Here are a few of them. Canada has a labor Force of 18.59 Million with 8% of that number unemployed. The other group that may astonish some is the number of Canadians below the poverty line. Although Canada has no official policy on poverty it is described as those below the Low Income Cut Off. That line of $9,000.00 is set by the number of Canadians that do not earn enough money to pay any Income Tax. Currently there is 9.4% of the labor force that falls below that income threshold. The number of under-employed is not available and most of us with an economic background believe it is close to 10%. The number of close to 30% is tragic and due to the selling off and closing of manufacturing operations in Canada. The NAFTA treaty between Canada and the United States that later included Mexico back fired when good paying jobs left North America.

The claim of 40 million jobs includes jobs that keep a person working a 15 hour week at $8.00 per hour. Fast food outlets are considered employment at these survival wages without any benefits. I must bow my head in shame in order to tell you that I managed a large multi-national store with earnings in the billions of dollars per year. Staff were paid between 8 and 10 dollars per hour and we could not allow anyone to work more than 24 hours per week. In the entire store there was not one item made in Canada. Items purchased at a cost of 3 cents were sold at 3 to 4 dollars each allowing the billionaire owners a life of luxury and very low taxation.

Watch this video that gives you an honest look at Canada. You will never see or read about it in any Canadian media.

Try living on an income of $900.00 a month with your rent taking up $600.00 followed by your cost of electricity at $60.00. Close to 5 million Canadians from the labor force do it every day while our politicians hand out billions of dollars to their corporate friends. At this point the families have not been included in the numbers.

Good paying jobs can be created in Canada although I have my doubts that any politician does anything for Canadians. A few examples of what could be done over the coming decades to create real jobs that have a future.

Canada is one of the top polluters in the world if not the very top. We dump over 1.6 trillion liters of raw or partly treated sewage into the waterways and into the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. Our forests in all areas are devastated by deforestation and the pine beetle. Rapid transit barely exists in the urban areas which encourages people to use their vehicles. Solar energy is the next generation of fuel for the planet and Canada continues to use coal as electricity consumption increases.

Photo Examples

Hidden from View the Deforestation Continues

Canada Goose next to Lake of Sewage

Raw Sewage flowing into a Canadian River

Global News and Politics Update

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Sun, 15 May 2011 15:15:00 PDT

Headlines

Noam Chomsky: "The U.S. And Its Allies Will Do Anything to Prevent Democracy in the Arab World"

Speaking at the 25th anniversary of celebration of the national media watch group, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, world-renowned political dissident and linguist Noam Chomsky analyzes the U.S. response to the popular uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa. "Across the [Middle East], the overwhelming majority of the population regards the United States as the main threat to their interests," Chomsky says. "The reason is very simple ... Plainly, the U.S. and allies are not going to want governments, which are responsive to the will of the people. If that happens, not only will the U.S. not control the region, but it will be thrown out."

India - Crushed by Debt and Reforms Farmers Commit Suicide

A quarter of a million Indian farmers have committed suicide in the last 16 years—an average of one suicide every 30 minutes. The crisis has ballooned with economic liberalization that has removed agricultural subsidies and opened Indian agriculture to the global market. Small farmers are often trapped in a cycle of insurmountable debt, leading many to take their lives out of sheer desperation. We speak with Smita Narula of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University Law School, co-author of a new report on farmer suicides in India.

Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzón on Bin Laden’s Killing, Holding Torturers Accountable, Universal Jurisdiction, and His Threatened Ouster From the Bench

Citing the doctrine of Universal Jurisdiction, Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón has used the Spanish courts to investigate cases of torture, war crimes and other offenses around the world. In 1998, he ordered the arrest of former Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet, a move that led to Pinochet’s arrest and detention in Britain. In 2003, Garzón indicted Osama bin Laden and dozens of other members of Al Qaeda. Garzón later attempted to indict six high-ranking members of the Bush administration for their role in authorizing torture at the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay and overseas before the case was eventually dropped under U.S. pressure. While Garzón has long been one of the world’s most feared judges, he is now facing his own legal battle. Last year he was indicted for exceeding his authority for launching an investigation into the disappearance of more than 100,000 civilians at the hands of supporters of Gen. Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War. Garzón was suspended as a judge in May 2010 and is facing three separate trials.

Al Jazeera Journalist Dorothy Parvaz Remains Missing After Being Detained in Syria, Then Deported to Iran

Al Jazeera English reporter Dorothy Parvaz, an American-Canadian-Iranian citizen, was detained in Syria on April 29 when she arrived to cover the ongoing unrest. She has not been seen since. On Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported she had been deported to Iran, although there has been no direct contact with her. The Committee to Protect Journalists is calling for her immediate release from Iranian authorities. We are joined by Kim Barker, the sister of Parvaz’s fiancé, Todd Barker, who introduced the couple. She has known Parvaz for 12 years—they met as colleagues at the Seattle Times. Kim Barker is now a ProPublica reporter who has reported from Pakistan and Afghanistan. "Dorothy is an amazing journalist, and an amazing human being,” Kim Barker says.

Glenn Greenwald at Brown University on Civil Liberties

An excellent talk from Glenn Greenwald on the fear created by George Bush and enhanced by President Obama. Glenn discusses how the aura of fear and destruction of civil liberties has become a world wide doctrine of many countries.

Global News and Politics - May 9, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Mon, 09 May 2011 23:24:00 PDT

Global News and Politics

Headlines

U.S. Assassination Campaign Targets Cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen

The Obama administration launched a drone strike in Yemen last week in an attempt to assassinate a U.S.-born Muslim cleric who has never been convicted of a crime. Anwar al-Awlaki survived the attack, but two suspected members of Al Qaeda died. It was reported to be the first U.S. drone strike in Yemen in nine years. “It is illegal to kill a U.S. citizen in Yemen, outside of armed conflict, without any due process,” says Maria LaHood of the Center For Constitutional Rights. The attempted assassination of al-Awlaki comes just days after U.S. special forces executed Osama bin Laden and NATO planes bombed Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s compound, killing his son and three grandchildren.

Syria Crackdown: Syrian Dissident Haitham Al Maleh in Hiding

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has sent tanks into the country’s third city, Homs, escalating a military campaign to crush a seven-week-old popular uprising against his autocratic rule. According to the Syrian human rights organization, Sawasiah, as many as 800 civilians have been killed since the uprising began. More than 10,000 people have been arrested. Today, we look at two cases. One of Syria’s most prominent human rights defenders Haitham Al Maleh speaks from hiding, and we look at the case of detained Al Jazeera reporter Dorothy Parvez, an American, Canadian and Iranian citizen who used to work at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Syria Crackdown: Al Jazeera Journalist Dorothy Parvez Locked Up

Tension in Egypt After Deadly Attack on Coptic Christian Church

In Egypt over the weekend, 12 people died and more than 180 were wounded during clashes between Muslims and Christians in Cairo. Egypt’s army has said that 190 people were detained after the fatal clashes and that they will face military trials. Saturday’s violence started after several hundred conservative Salafist Muslims gathered outside the Coptic Saint Mena Church in Cairo’s Imbaba district. Coptic Christians account for about 10 percent of Egypt’s population. We’re joined on the phone from Cairo by Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Democracy Now! correspondent and longtime Senior Producer. "This was a major attack," says Kouddous. "What many people, many Coptic people in particular, do not understand is why the military, who was present at the scene while the violence was happening stood by while the worst of it took place and did not intervene."

Global News and Politics

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Thu, 05 May 2011 10:27:00 PDT

Left-Leaning NDP Make Historic Gains in Canada

With a 56% voter turnout in the Canadian Federal Election the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, was elected to a majority in the Canadian Parliament, ending five years of minority government. Harper has vowed to continue pro-corporate policies that have led critics to label his government the most right-wing in recent Canadian history. But the election also saw major gains for the left-leaning New Democratic Party, which won enough seats to become the official opposition party for the first time. We speak to Stephen Lewis, former Canadian diplomat and former leader of the NDP, and the Canadian activist and writer Judy Rebick.

Pakistani Military Faces Scrutiny in Harboring bin Laden

Numerous questions have been raised on how Osama bin Laden could have been living in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad just down the street from Pakistan’s premier military academy. We go to Pakistan to speak with Graeme Smith, an award-winning foreign correspondent for The Globe and Mail newspaper in Canada. He was in Abbottabad yesterday investigating the mystery behind the bin Laden compound. CIA Director Leon Panetta has reportedly said Pakistan was either "knowledgeable or incompetent" when it came to bin Laden’s whereabouts. Some evidence has emerged to indicate that the Pakistani military may have had a direct role in harboring bin Laden. Meanwhile, the Pakistani government is claiming it warned U.S. intelligence two years ago about the compound where bin Laden was killed.

Part II

Physicians Urge Obama Admin to Pressure Mideast Ally Bahrain

The Gulf nation of Bahrain has announced that 47 medical workers who treated pro-democracy protesters during the nation’s popular uprising will be tried before a military court on charges of acting against the state. Some could face the death penalty for providing medical assistance to protesters. Human rights groups say the arrests are part of a campaign of intimidation that runs directly counter to the Geneva Convention, which guarantees medical care to people wounded in conflict. We speak with Richard Sollom of Physicians for Human Rights. He recently traveled to Bahrain to document the situation there, and is the co-author of a new report, "Do No Harm: A Call for Bahrain to End Systematic Attacks on Doctors and Patients."

Freed U.S. Hiker Sarah Shourd Won’t Return to Iran for Trial

Months after her release from an Iranian prison, U.S. citizen Sarah Shourd has announced she will not return to Tehran next week to face espionage charges. Shourd was jailed for 14 months after she and friends, Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, were detained by Iranian forces on July 31, 2009, for allegedly hiking across the Iraqi border into Iran. The trial for Bauer—who is now Shourd’s fiancé—and Fattal begins May 11. Shourd had planned to return to Iran, but has cancelled her trip because she is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Published with written permission from democracynow.org. http://www.democracynow.org Provided to you under Democracy NOW! creative commons license. Democracy NOW!, an independent non-profit user funded news media, recognized and broadcast world wide.

Glenn Greenwold on WikiLeaks and Journalism

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 08:24:00 PDT

Glenn Greenwald on Why He Strongly Supports Wikileaks, Bradley Manning

Glenn Greenwald, the Salon.com legal blogger, explains why he is a strong supporter of WikiLeaks, and discusses its recent revelation that the U.S. imprisoned more than 150 innocent men for years without charge in the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay. "If you think that government secrecy is one of the gravest threats to how our governments function, that it is the lynchpin of abuse, then you ought to be welcoming transparency that WikiLeaks is bringing, especially if you’re a journalist," says Greenwald.

Global News and Politics - April 29, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:42:00 PDT

Headline News

Royal Wedding Should Embarrass Us

Up to two billion people around the world tuned in to watch the British royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, a story which has dominated TV news for weeks. The wedding buzz offers a chance to look at the monarchy, Britain’s domestic policy, and how its colonial legacy around the word affects foreign affairs today. While all eyes were on the wedding procession and the first kiss, Democracy Now! spoke with Johann Hari, a columnist at The Independent of London, who says the royal wedding frenzy should be an embarrassment to us all.

Royal Wedding - Kings, Queens, Bahrain, Libya & Torture

Glenn Greenwald: Obama’s Comments on Bradley Manning

Military officials have announced alleged whistleblower U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning, who is suspected of leaking classified U.S. documents to WikiLeaks, has been cleared to be held as a medium security prisoner at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he was just transferred. Up until last week, Manning was held in 23-hour a day solitary confinement at a Marine brig in Quantico, Virginia. His treatment at Quantico was condemned by Amnesty International and led to a probe by a torture expert at the United Nations. We speak to Salon.com legal blogger and constitutional law attorney Glenn Greenwald, who revealed in December that Manning was being subjected to detention conditions likely to inflict long-term psychological injuries.

Global News and Politics - April 28, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 11:01:00 PDT

Democracy NOW! - Headline News - April 28, 2011

Palestinian Fatah, Hamas Reach Unity Deal

The rival Palestinian political organizations, Fatah and Hamas, have reached an agreement to end a nearly five-year internal schism, form an interim government, and hold a general election within a year. The two sides have been locked in a bitter conflict since Fatah and the Bush administration tried to overthrow Gaza’s Hamas-led government in 2006 after Hamas won Palestinian national elections. Israel and the United States say they’ll reject any peace talks with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas. We speak with Saree Makdisi, professor of English and comparative literature at UCLA and the author of several books, including Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation

I Don’t Think I Ever Broke The Law

In a national broadcast exclusive, we speak with Thomas Tamm, the former U.S. Justice Department attorney who helped expose the Bush administration’s domestic warrantless eavesdropping program that intercepted private email messages and phone calls of U.S. residents without a court warrant. On Tuesday, news broke that the Justice Department dropped its long-running criminal investigation of Tamm. The relatively quiet end to the investigation into Tamm’s warrantless wiretapping leak marks a sharp contrast to the controversy his information generated during the second half of the Bush administration about whether the government had overstepped its legal authority in response to the 9/11 terror attacks.

Ray McGovern: Petraeus Will Expand Pro-War Agenda

President Obama is expected to announce a major shuffling of his national security team today. Under his plan, CIA Director Leon Panetta will move to the Pentagon to replace the retiring Robert Gates. Gen. David Petraeus will become the new head of the CIA. U.S. Marine General John Allen will be nominated to become the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, a position currently held by Petraeus. And Ryan Crocker will be nominated to be U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan. Leon Panetta has headed the CIA for the past two years and has led a massive escalation of the use of unarmed drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Many analysts say the nomination of David Petraeus to head the CIA will further increase the militarization of the spy agency. We speak with Ray McGovern, former senior CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity.

Obama Get Your Paws off Julian Assange

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 14:34:00 PST

Do you remember being lied to by big media and government officials that Iraq was a threat? Try to remember the lies, by the minute, committed by people in elected offices in many countries.

Then look at the people telling the lies, and the people such as Rupert Murdoch, who used his media to purchase a war story. The NATO allies of the United States are still in Afghanistan fighting a useless war with no victory in sight. Over 1 million dead and an entire nation in ruins due to the reckless meanderings of an unelected President of the United States.

Today the same man, Bush Jr., wanders about talking about torture as though it is a candy.

How can any sane person look at Iraq and say that destroying a people and their nation is a worthy cause? Wait a minute, the same nut case Bush Jr., said they were a part of an axis of evil. The exact same media, owned mostly by Murdoch, played the story every minute until people started believing Iraq was doing something.

We count dead soldiers into the thousands yet the media rarely mentions the millions of dead civilians. Big media repeats the endless lies that the situation is getting better for the people of Iraq. How is it possible that countless bombs, tanks and munitions makes life better for anyone?

Today there are video games to enhance an otherwise boring life with vivid color of death and destruction. It is all so entertaining unless it happens to us.

911 @ Yahoo! Video

Suddenly it is not so funny because we may have known someone in those buildings. It may have been a spouse, child, aunt, uncle, a friend or a friend of a friend.

Since 2002 big media showed us very little real action about the wars going on in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Pakistan and now Yemen. The armed forces coming home dead were not talked about by almost anyone or shown on television. Wounded forces by the thousands were shuttled away out of sight into oblivion.

Do you remember what Scott Ritter, the U.N. weapons inspector, said about Iraq?

Let's refresh our memory with this video.

Is anyone a little interested as to why the economy has dropped into a depression? Big media still calls it a recession or the double-dip recession for their own selfish reasons. Trillions of dollars have gone to pay for all these wars with people, who in fact, did nothing to us. Keep in mind that the so called hijackers were from Saudi Arabia and that Bin Laden comes from a very wealthy Saudi family. Rather than attack Saudi Arabia, the media and government officials taught us how to fire a gun, the way Dick Cheney does.

Here is it December 2010 and the biggest media giants continue to tell lies about the wars and corruption. However, a slight change is taking place, due to a few soldiers and a group called WikiLeaks founded by Julian Assange. It started earlier this year with the first disclosures from WikiLeaks.

As the truth about the bankers, and huge corporate welfare bums began to show during this year, so to did the truth about the wars. The real reason behind the attacks on Julian Assange is that the lies are showing us who did the lying. We are getting to see the horror of those wars and the extent to which governments are covering up the myths. Murdoch and his media empire are beginning to feel the pinch as people search for the leaked documents.

The documents are naming names of those responsible for the numbers of unemployed, homeless due to bankers fraud, military spending and hidden bribes. Canadian minority Government leader PM Harper let his adviser openly called for the murder of Julian Assange.

Every day the documents are opening our eyes to the extent of absolute power in full corruption. Show your support for Julian Assange and WikiLeaks in whatever way you can find possible. We must hold our Governments, the profiting Corporations, big Media and Bankers responsible for every lie. They had no problem throwing us on the street, destroying our jobs, our families, wiping out our bank accounts along with our freedoms.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will remain in custody until at least December 14th, when a British court will take up a Swedish request for extradition. Assange has not been charged with a crime but is wanted for questioning in Sweden on allegations of unlawful sexual contact with two women. Assange has maintained his innocence and called the case a political witch-hunt that has intensified with WikiLeaks’ release of secret U.S. diplomatic cables. Amy Goodman speaks with his attorney, Jennifer Robinson.

Julian Assange Endangered by Bail Denial - DN! News @ Yahoo! Video

All video and hyperlink content is from the originator of that content. Thank you to every one for posting the content openly on the Internet.

Independent News and Politics - December 3, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 10:11:00 PST

Headlines

News Headlines - December 3, 2010 - DN! @ Yahoo! Video

WikiLeaks - Glenn Greenwald debates Steven Aftergood

WikiLeaks is coming under attack from all sides. The U.S. government and embassies around the world are criticizing the whistle-blowing group for releasing a massive trove of secret State Department cables. The WikiLeaks website is struggling to stay online just days after Amazon pulled the site from its servers following political pressure. The U.S. State Department has blocked all its employees from accessing the site and is warning all government employees not to read the cables, even at home. "These attacks will not stop our mission, but should be setting off alarm bells about the rule of law in the United States," said WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. We host a debate between Steven Aftergood, a transparency advocate who has become a leading critic of WikiLeaks, and Glenn Greenwald, a constitutional law attorney and legal blogger for Salon.com.

Part 1

WikiLeaks 1-2 Glenn Greenwald vs Steven Aftergood - DN! News @ Yahoo! Video

Part 2

WikiLeaks 2-2 Glenn Greenwald vs Steven Aftergood - DN! News @ Yahoo! Video

Net Neutrality FCC Chair Backs Two-Tiered Internet Fees

The Federal Communications Commission is being accused of abandoning "net neutrality" rules that would ensure a free and open internet. On Wednesday, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski unveiled proposals that would allow internet service providers to charge higher fees for faster access to online content. We speak to Josh Silver, co-founder of the media reform group Free Press.

Net Neutrality FCC Chair Backs Two-Tiered Internet Fees - DN! News
@ Yahoo! Video

Greenpeace Sues Chemical Companies For Corporate Espionage

Greenpeace has filed a lawsuit against two major chemical companies and their PR firms for corporate espionage. The complaint alleges that Dow Chemical and Sasol—formerly CONDEA Vista—hired private investigators to spy on Greenpeace in the late 1990s. The charges of espionage center on surveillance of the Greenpeace office in Washington, D.C., and the infiltration of a community group in St. Charles, Louisiana, that was working with Greenpeace on dioxin contamination. Greenpeace accuses the corporations of engaging in this level of surveillance "with the intention of preempting, blunting, or thwarting" the organization’s environmental advocacy campaigns. For more on this story, we speak with Greenpeace USA Senior Researcher Charlie Cray. Dow Chemical declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Greenpeace Sues Chemical Companies For Espionage - DN! News @
Yahoo! Video

Published with written permission from democracynow.org. http://www.democracynow.org Provided to you under Democracy NOW creative commons license by a volunteer. Copyright for this news broadcast belongs to democracynow.org, an independent non-profit user funded news media, recognized and broadcast world wide.

Democracy NOW! News - December 2, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 09:11:00 PST

News Headlines

Democracy NOW! News Headlines - December 2, 2010 @ Yahoo! Video

WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange in Britain, Responds to U.S. Attacks

As the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks continues to publish secret U.S. diplomatic cables, its founder Julian Assange is facing international arrest over allegations in Sweden. In the U.S., Attorney General Eric Holder has announced WikiLeaks is the target of a criminal probe and some politicians have accused him of violating the Espionage Act. We speak to Assange’s attorney in London, Jennifer Robinson.

WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange in Britain - DN! News @ Yahoo! Video

WikiLeaks Confirms Secret U.S. War Ops in Pakistan

Despite sustained denials by the Pentagon, the leaked cables from WikiLeaks confirm that U.S. military Special Operations forces have been secretly working with the Pakistani military to conduct offensive operations and coordinate drone strikes in the areas near the Afghan border. A U.S. embassy cable from October of 2009 states, "These deployments are highly politically sensitive because of widely-held concerns among the public about Pakistani sovereignty and opposition to allowing foreign military forces to operate in any fashion on Pakistani soil.” The cables confirm aspects of a story about the covert U.S. war in Pakistan published in The Nation magazine last year by investigative journalist and Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill.

WikiLeaks Confirms Secret U.S. War Ops in Pakistan - DN! News @ Yahoo! Video

U.S. Should Address WikiLeaks’ Disclosures of Torture

One of the leaked State Dept. cables urges diplomats to gather intelligence about "plans and intentions of member states or UN Special Rapporteurs to press for resolutions or investigations into US counterterrorism strategies and treatment of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan or Guantanamo." We speak to Juan Mendez, the new UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. He’s called on the U.S. to investigate and prosecute torture committed under former President George W. Bush. He also said he hopes to visit Iraq and Guantánamo Bay to probe widespread torture allegations. Mendez says: "We seem to be focusing on whether disclosing [the cables] merits some kinds of action against Julian Assange... I am very concerned about the documents that show that thousands of people first imprisoned by U.S. forces [were] transferred to the control of forces in Iraq and perhaps even in Afghanistan where they knew they were going to be tortured."

U.S. Should Address WikiLeaks’ Disclosures of Torture - DN! News @

Yahoo! Video

How Washington Made the Rich Richer

On Capitol Hill, Senate Republicans are threatening to filibuster every bill until the Democrats agree to extend the Bush-era tax cuts to all income groups. The Obama administration and many Democrats want to retain the lower rates only for individuals with an annual income of $200,000 or less and married couples earning no more than $250,000 a year. We speak with Yale University professor and co-author of the new book, Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer—And Turned Its Back on the Middle Class.

How Washington Turned Its Back on the Middle Class - DN! News @

Yahoo! Video

Noam Chomsky - WikiLeaks Reveals Profound Hatred

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:09:00 PST

In a national Exclusive 3 Part broadcast we speak with world-renowned political dissident and linguist Noam Chomsky about the release of more than 250,000 secret U.S. State Department cables by WikiLeaks. In 1971, Chomsky helped government whistle blower Daniel Ellsberg release the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret internal U.S. account of the Vietnam War. Commenting on the revelations that several Arab leaders are urging the United States to attack Iran, Chomsky says, "Latest polls show] Arab opinion holds that the major threat in the region is Israel, that’s 80 percent; the second threat is the United States, that’s 77 percent. Iran is listed as a threat by 10 percent," Chomsky says. "This may not be reported in the newspapers, but it’s certainly familiar to the Israeli and U.S. governments and the ambassadors. What this reveals is the profound hatred for democracy on the part of our political leadership."

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Chalmers Johnson Special

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 14:17:00 PST

Special interview aired February 2007, Chalmers Johnson, 1931-2010, argues that US military and economic overreach may actually lead to the nation's collapse as a constitutional republic. It's the last volume in his Blowback trilogy, following the best-selling "Blowback" and "The Sorrows of Empire." In those two, Johnson argued American clandestine and military activity has led to un-intended, but direct disaster here in the United States.

Chalmers Johnson is a retired professor of international relations at the University of California, San Diego. He is also President of the Japan Policy Research Institute. Johnson has written for several publications including Los Angeles Times, the London Review of Books, Harper's Magazine, and The Nation. In 2005, he was featured prominently in the award-winning documentary film, "Why We Fight."

Chalmers Johnson, Author, scholar and leading critic of US foreign policy. Retired professor of international relations at the University of California, San Diego. He is also President of the Japan Policy Research Institute. His new book is "Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic."

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Published with written permission from democracynow.org. http://www.democracynow.org and provided to you under Democracy NOW! creative commons license. Copyright for this news broadcast belongs to democracynow.org, an independent non-profit user funded news media, recognized and broadcast world wide.

Democracy NOW! News – Nov. 19, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 12:25:00 PST

News Headlines

Democracy NOW! Headline News - November 19, 2010 @ Yahoo! Video

Cornel West on Charles Rangel, Bush & Kanye West

Princeton professor Cornel West join us to talk about Congress member Charles Rangel being censured for ethics violations, President Bush saying the worst moment of his presidency was when Kanye West called him a racist and President Obama’s policies toward the poor. "The Obama administration seems to have very little concern for poor people and their social misery."

Democracy NOW! News - Princeton Professor Cornel West @ Yahoo! Video

Economist Ha-Joon Chang on Currency Wars and G20

Korean-born economist Ha-Joon Chang teaches economics at the University of Cambridge and is the author of the forthcoming book 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism. "Obama] has to buy time to restructure the economy without creating a recession by sustaining this deficit spending, because otherwise our other option is going back to the 1930s," Chang says. "Don’t forget that in the 1930s a lot of countries started cutting this deficit as soon as things looked slightly better, and many of them went back into recession."

Democracy NOW! News - Korean Economist Ha-Joon Chang @ Yahoo! Video

Published with written permission from democracynow.org. http://www.democracynow.org Provided to you under Democracy NOW creative commons license. Copyright for this news broadcast belongs to democracynow.org, an independent non-profit user funded news media, recognized and broadcast world wide.

The United States of America Has Gone Mad

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 11:54:00 PDT

While John le Carré is famous for his spy novels, he wrote a widely read anti-war essay in 2003 titled "The United States of America Has Gone Mad." He reads an excerpt.

Published with written permission from democracynow.org. http://www.democracynow.org Provided to you under Democracy NOW creative commons license. Copyright for this news broadcast belongs to democracynow.org, an independent non-profit user funded news media, recognized and broadcast world wide.

A Way Forward - Must See Video - Democracy NOW!

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:20:00 PDT

Right Livelihood laureate Dekha Ibrahim Abdi of Kenya, who won for "showing in diverse ethnic and cultural situations how religious and other differences can be reconciled, even after violent conflict, and knitted together through a cooperative process that leads to peace and development." Published with written permission from democracynow.org. http://www.democracynow.org Provided to you under Democracy NOW! creative commons license. Copyright for this news broadcast belongs to democracynow.org, an independent non-profit user funded news media, recognized and broadcast world wide.

Democracy NOW! - Headline News - September 15, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:14:00 PDT

Arianna Huffington on Third World America

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:35:00 PDT

One out of every six Americans are in government anti-poverty programs. More than 50 million Americans are in Medicaid, forty million receive food stamps and 10 million receive unemployment benefits. The prospects for a speedy recovery from the Great Recession appear dim. We speak with Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post about her latest book, Third World America.

Part 1

Part 2

Global Condemnation Over Plan to Burn Koran

noreply@blogger.com (Sky Pilot) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:29:00 PDT