Newest Blog Entries:

t r u t h o u t | Why We Were Falsely Arrested

Posted by Michael Butler, Friday, September 5, 2008

   The Problem Is Empire       : Information Clearing House - ICH

Posted by Michael Butler, Friday, September 5, 2008

   The Problem Is Empire       : Information Clearing House - ICH

Posted by Michael Butler, Friday, September 5, 2008

Tomgram: Being in Base Denial Going on an Imperial Bender

How the U.S. Garrisons the Planet and Doesn't Even Notice
Posted by Michael Butler, Friday, September 5, 2008

NYT Op-Eds (3)

Paul Krugman hits one out of the park ("The G.O.P. is selling the politics of resentment; you’re supposed to vote Republican to stick it to an elite that thinks it’s better than you"); David Brooks manages a single ("The central drama of the convention was the struggle by reform Republicans to break through the pull of old habits and create something new"); and a Guest Op-Ed grounds out ("Basra is as an example of what an exit strategy might look like — and of the dangers of getting it wrong").
Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, September 5, 2008

NYT Editorials (2)

"By the time John McCain took the stage on Thursday night, we wondered if there would be any sign of the senator we long respected — the conservative who fought fair and sometimes bucked party orthodoxy. Certainly, the convention that nominated him bore no resemblance to that John McCain. Rather than remaking George W. Bush’s Republican Party in his own image, Mr. McCain allowed the practitioners of the politics of fear and division to run the show. Thursday night, Americans mainly saw the old John McCain...But there were also chilling glimpses of the new John McCain, who questioned the patriotism of his opponents as the “me first, country second” crowd and threw out a list of false claims about Barack Obama’s record..."; and "The words 'Florida' and 'Internet voting,' taken together, should send a chill down everyone’s spine. Nevertheless, Florida’s Okaloosa County is seeking permission from the state to allow members of the military to vote over the Internet in November."
Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, September 5, 2008

NYT: Abramoff Gets 4 Years in Prison for Corruption

He gets off light due to his "cooperation."
Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, September 5, 2008

NYT: Hearing on Columbia Plan Elicits Emotional Speeches

For those who don't know, for the past few years, NYC's two big universities (Columbia, NYU) have been flexing their political muscles by using and attempting to use "eminent domain" to uproot residents and local businesses in order to expand. It is an ugly situation, getting uglier by the year.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, September 5, 2008

NYT: Charges Said to Be Voided for Bicyclist

Only a first step, but an appropriate one, in one of the most blatant examples of police abuse and brutality ever caught on camera.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, September 5, 2008

NYT (2): Art & Politics

Two extremely different exhibitions: at NYC's Asia Society, a look back at the art of pre-capitalist China; and at Philly's Institution of Contemporary Art, an homage to R. Crumb.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, September 5, 2008

She aced her first test, but there’ll be more

Posted by Bill Swiggard, Friday, September 5, 2008

No More Mr. Maverick

Posted by Bill Swiggard, Friday, September 5, 2008

McCain uses his big speech to give us a tour of his Vietnamese prison cell

Posted by Bill Swiggard, Friday, September 5, 2008

Have some fun

thanks to Russ Daggett
Posted by Michael Butler, Thursday, September 4, 2008

Truthdig - Sarah Palin: Maverick or Just a Neophyte?

Posted by Michael Butler, Thursday, September 4, 2008

Economist on McCain

Posted by Michael Butler, Thursday, September 4, 2008

Truthdig - Curb Your Enthusiasm for Obama

Posted by Michael Butler, Thursday, September 4, 2008

AlterNet: As Unlawful Arrests Continue, St. Paul Feels Like a City Under Siege for Some Residents

Posted by Michael Butler, Thursday, September 4, 2008

Truthdig - Palin’s Alaska Reaps the Windfall Profits McCain Decries

Posted by Michael Butler, Thursday, September 4, 2008

Amy Goodman: Why We Were Falsely Arrested

go to story
"When I asked St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington how reporters are to operate in this atmosphere, he suggested, 'By embedding reporters in our mobile field force.'" - Goodman
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Thursday, September 4, 2008

NYT Op-Ed (Collins): Sarah Palin Speaks!

"Many people believe that Sarah Palin is a terrible choice for a running mate. But you have to remember who the other options were."
Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, September 4, 2008

NYT Editorial: Running Against Themselves

"We agree completely that Washington is in desperate need of renewal and reform. We’re not even going to quibble about the fact that Barack Obama said it first. The problem is that American voters have yet to hear — from John McCain or his warm-up acts — any serious ideas on what, exactly, is wrong with Washington, apart from the fact that a Democrat might win the White House, never mind how to truly fix it. The difficulty for the Republican ticket in talking about change and reform and acting like insurgents is that they have been running Washington — the White House and Congress — for most of the last eight years."
Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, September 4, 2008

NYT (3): International News

"Helicopter-borne American Special Operations forces attacked Qaeda militants in a Pakistani village near the border with Afghanistan early Wednesday in the first publicly acknowledged case of United States forces conducting a ground raid on Pakistani soil, American officials said"; anti-Christian violence continues in India; and "even among the most moderate Palestinians, the credo of a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is beginning to erode."
Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, September 4, 2008

St. Paul Mayor and Media Mum on Journalism Crackdown

go to story
From Timothy Carr in Huff Post .. "Police -- with firearms drawn -- raided a meeting of the video journalists and arrested independent media, bloggers and videomakers. Journalists covering protests have been pointed out by authorities, blasted with tear gas and pepper spray, and brutalized while in custody. Democracy Now's Goodman reports that a U.S. Secret Service agent ripped her press credentials from her neck the moment she identified herself to him as a member of the media. Her producers emerged yesterday from their jail cells bloodied and scarred, reporting unusually harsh treatment at the hands of local and federal authorities"
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Thursday, September 4, 2008

NYT (3): Environment/Energy

The biggest storms are growing stronger; NYS seeks to double its energy from wind power; and "rooftop turbines" and other "personal" wind power.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, September 4, 2008