War Is A Crime .org

From the New Economics Institute:

In its report "The Great Transition" our London partners the New Economics Foundation (neweconomics.org) sketch an outline of how to reach what E. F. Schumacher would have called an "economy of permanence."

The sections of the report include: The Great Revaluing, the Great Redistribution, the Great Rebalancing, the Great Localization, the Great Reskilling, the Great Economic Irrigation, and the Great Interdependence. We wi ll focus on each element separately in future eNewsletters.

"In the Great Revaluing, we make the case that building social and environmental value should be the central goal of policy-making. We also argue that this needs to be true for private as well as for public decision-making, with market prices reflecting real social and environmental

Wow - over 85,000 of you have joined our boycott of companies that advertise on FOX News, and these companies are definitely getting the message. In a few days we will send you a short list of companies that have ignored our requests, so you can become personally involved if you like.

Beyond our boycott, we should also reward companies that have never advertised on FOX News - like CREDO Mobile. As close political allies, we are able to get the best prices they can offer. And if you've been waiting for an Android phone with 3G web surfing, check out their new HTC Hero.

Thanks for all you do!

Bob Fertik

p.s. If you haven't joined our FOX advertiser boycott yet, simply click here:
http://www.democrats.com/boycott-fox-news-advertisers

By John Grant

Last Saturday, I pondered America’s soul.

I was in Portland, Maine, attending the annual Veterans For Peace convention, which featured Chris Hedges as its keynote speaker. Hedges, a Harvard divinity graduate who worked for many years as a war correspondent in El Salvador, Bosnia and other very violent places, gave a take-no-prisoners speech that prophesized the end of America as we know it.

The way Hedges saw it, the forces of militarized capitalism organized a coup in America, and that coup has been successful. The party’s over and things are going to get a lot worse. He spoke of a land fallen into barbarism and a dictatorial state in power.

Rove: September 9th-11th, Faith & Freedom Conference and Strategy Briefing with Karl Rove, The Mayflower Renaissance Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington DC
https://secure.ffcoalition.com/civicrm/event/register?reset=1&id=1

Rove: September 14, 2010, 12:00pm, ACC PAC - Karl Rove Luncheon, Johnny's Half Shell, 400 North Capitol St., NW, Washington, DC
http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Agenda.aspx?e=ffd863d8-3f95-46b9-9eac...

Bush: September 24, 2010, Benefit for the Appalachian College of Pharmacy, Britstol, VA
http://www2.tricities.com/news/2010/aug/17/former-president-george-w-bus...

--from Susan Harman

I just listened to this interview and can now say what many, me included, have thought all along, not only about him but as to our own previous administration, he's certifiably crazy! I mean that in the so called World View, especially of righteousness, he just spoke. What's going on has Nothing to do with any religious ideology but does for those who want to use that as their excuse, boy do they got some splanin to do at the pearly gates. He seems to Not Understand that humans going into others countries and Destroying Them as that Kills and Maims Tens of Thousands plus and Millions of Refugees is Not going to create Rage and Hatred, not only in those countries but from others on the planet. He and like are beyond nuts, Way Beyond!!

Katrina's Destructive Aftermath - by Stephen Lendman

August 29, 2005, a day of infamy remembered less for the storm, catastrophic floods and destruction, and more as a metaphor for disaster capitalism, exploiting security threats, "terror" attacks, economic meltdowns, and "natural" disasters like Katrina.

It turned this aging senior into a writer and radio host, furious over federal, state and local authorities using it to reward business at the expense of New Orleans' poor Blacks. Five years later, their lives remain in disarray through no fault of their own.

Levies protecting their neighborhoods were left weak, vulnerable to fail as they did, then Congressman Richard Baker (R. LA) saying, "We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it but God did," with considerable willful negligence help.

Malik Rahim, (New Orleans) Common Ground Relief (CGR) co-founder said:

Of course it's guilty of many, but Daphne Eviatar has in mind one in particular:

On Saturday, the New York Times reported that administration officials are "alarmed" by the military commission case of Omar Khadr, the Canadian citizen seized as a 15-year-old by U.S. forces in Afghanistan who's now spent a third of his life in the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay. Trying an alleged child soldier based largely on confessions he made after being threatened with gang-rape and murder is not the case the Obama administration had hoped to showcase in its first military commission trial.

But the argument in a new paper published today by Loyola Law School professor David Glazier should give the administration even more cause for alarm. Glazier, an expert on international law and the laws of armed conflict, argues that the military commission trial of Omar Khadr is itself a war crime.

READ THE REST

By Akito Yoshikane

As Labor Day approaches, many Americans are breathing a sigh of relief for the extra day off. On a day that celebrates unions and the eight-hour work day, many workers are feeling like their hard work isn’t exactly paying off the way it used to.

Even as productivity has continued to climb, wages have been either stagnant or declining. Household income for the average working family has continued to fall, but men, latinos and those without a college education have experienced an especially sharp deceleration of wage growth since the recession, according to a new briefing paper by the Economic Policy Institute.

By Dave Lindorff

One of the great mantras of the modern economics profession is that markets know best, and that the collective "wisdom" of investors is generally correct.

I've never really believed that, having spent years writing about business and finance. In fact, my interviews with market strategists, Wall Street economists and portfolio managers have convinced me that it's the rare investor or analyst who has done much serious reading of history, political science or even economics and finance for that matter. Sure, some people can be very good at analyzing the worth and the potential of a specific company, but when it comes to macroeconomic trends, most of the explanations you get are very narrowly focussed and ignorant, showing little concern for or understanding of the great drivers of history, economics or politics.

By Norman Solomon

On the last night of August, the president used an Oval Office speech to boost a policy of perpetual war.

Hours later, the New York Times front page offered a credulous gloss for the end of “the seven-year American combat mission in Iraq.” The first sentence of the coverage described the speech as saying “that it is now time to turn to pressing problems at home.” The story went on to assert that Obama “used the moment to emphasize that he sees his primary job as addressing the weak economy and other domestic issues -- and to make clear that he intends to begin disengaging from the war in Afghanistan next summer.”

Alabama judge sentences man to join military
The Associated Press
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - A judge sentenced a man to join the military for posting a provocative Facebook message about the mass killing at Virginia Tech, but the Army said it doesn't want him until he's off probation.

Originally charged with making a terrorist threat, 23-year-old Zachary Lambert of Montgomery pleaded guilty to a reduced, misdemeanor charge of harassing communications. Circuit Judge Tracey McCooey placed him on probation during a hearing Thursday and ordered him to perform community service, apologize to the community and join the military.

"Military is a good, good thing for you," the judge told Lambert.

Lambert said he thought he had a good chance of being accepted into the service. But Army Sgt. Michael Johnson, a recruiter in Montgomery, said Lambert can't enlist while he is on probation.

Lawyers spar before 9th Circuit panel (this item includes a photo of the protestors)

Citizens protest judge’s stance on torture

Congratulations and thank you to Gretchen and her intrepid colleagues in Pocatello. I hope Bybee saw you outside the courthouse and that the other judges took note that their contemptable colleague faces protestors wherever he goes. Great signs too!
--Cynthia Papermaster

People’s Alliance for Clean Energy (PACE)
http://pacevirginia.org

Ralph Nader will speak at Newcomb Hall Ballroom at the University of Virginia on Monday, September 13 at 7 p.m.

His presentation is entitled MEGAWATTS, NEGAWATTS* AND YOU.

According to Nader “Practical, renewable and efficient energy has reached critical mass. It's time for victory."

Nader is an attorney, author, lecturer, political activist, four-time candidate for president and America’s best know public advocate.

The program is free and open to the public.

The event is sponsored by People’s Alliance for Clean Energy, Charlottesville Earth Week, Charlottesville Center for Peace & Justice, People United, Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park, Joyful Dissent, Food Not Bombs, & Central Virginia Socialist Party.

*Term coined by Amory Lovins for electricity not produced because of energy efficiency and conservation.

By David Swanson

FACT CHECK: Is Iraq combat really over for US?
By CALVIN WOODWARD and ROBERT BURNS (AP)
WASHINGTON — Despite President Barack Obama's declaration Tuesday of an end to the combat mission in Iraq, combat almost certainly lies ahead. And in asserting the U.S. has met its responsibilities in Iraq, the president opened the door wide to a debate about the meaning of success in the muddle that most — but not all — American troops are leaving behind. A look at some of the statements Obama made in his Oval Office speech and how they compare with the facts:

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OBAMA: "Tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended."

Sorry there Tony but it was known headed towards much more then a 'nightmare' with the first beat of the drums of war of choice and you will be remembered, and judged, as a Main Participant beating those drums!! Even millions of Brits were telling you so and you choose, as your masters cheney and bush labeled, to ignore the 'focus groups' who were not proven wrong!!

SUMMARY Margaret Warner continues her series of reports from Iraq with a look at how Iraqi citizens feel about their safety, security and future amid the U.S. troop drawdown.Transcript

By Harvey Wasserman

Now that the dust has settled from Glenn Beck’s weekend revival at the Lincoln Memorial, two messages need to be delivered loud and clear.

First: the United States of America has NEVER been a Christian nation, but there are those who would make it so, past and future.

And second: do not discount Glenn Beck becoming president of the United States.

I say these things after having sat through nearly all of the 17-part video rendering of Beck’s rally this past weekend, and having read as many critiques of it---left and right---as I could find.

This rally was not about intellectual content, and it’s a mistake to analyze it that way.

Its organizers kept the verbal content extremely simple: honor the military, “restore America,” have faith in your churches, follow their lead, and donate generously.

Much of the real meaning was in who was missing.

Continuity of Government: Coup d'Etat Authority in America - by Stephen Lendman

This article reviews the historical roots and America's current Continuity of Government authority, initially planned and developed by Ronald Reagan. More on that below.

On March 1, 2002, Washington Post writers Barton Gellman and Susan Schmidt headlined, "Shadow Government Is at Work in Secret," saying:

"President Bush has dispatched a shadow government of about 100 senior civilian managers to live and work secretly outside Washington, activating for the first time longstanding plans to ensure survival of federal rule after a catastrophic attack on the nation's capital."

Shortly after 9/11, a classified "Continuity of Operations Plan" (aka "continuity of government") was implemented. Legal documents were then drafted, creating a shadow government in case of a catastrophe, George Bush saying:

Michael Collins

I just read the presidents big speech tonight and it struck me. There were some key lines left out of the speech. You may have had the same response. For the sake of clarity and fairness, I've tried to reconstruct the missing lines. I'm sure that the omissions were just an accident. That Robert Gibbs may be up to his old tricks again. My insertions are in italics, following the president's words from the official White House transcript. White House, August 31, 2010 Here goes.

By David Swanson

Lies aren't used just to start wars, but also to escalate them, continue them, and even reduce or end them. And we got a pile of war lies from the president Tuesday evening.

Obama claimed the war on Iraq was initially a war to disarm a state. Really? And then "terrorist" Iraqis attacked our troops in their country. Yet if they had done that in our country, I suspect they would still be the terrorists. And then it became a civil war which we were innocently caught up in. Uh huh.

U.S. participants in this crime are heroes, always and everywhere. That's sacred. The troops' mission has involved protecting the Iraqi people, and by golly they've done a superb job, as long as we don't mention the complete devastation of Iraq, the million dead, the millions of refugees, and the intense resentment of those remaining toward our country for what we've done to theirs.

By NATALIE POMPILIO, Philadelphia Daily News

IN FIVE YEARS, she's rarely missed a protest.

On the last Friday of each month, Celeste Zappala joins like-minded others on a Center City street corner to wave signs that urge drivers to "Honk for Peace" and to show their opposition to the war in Iraq.

Sometimes there are as few as two people there. There are never more than 20.

But someone is always there.

"It's a small event, and it may not have a lot of impact, but in my mind, it's important to be faithful to things you believe in," said Zappala, 63, of Mount Airy."We live in hope. Sometimes you say, 'I can't possibly do anything. I'm not going to face this anymore,' but that's being paralyzed and that, to me, seems to break faith."

A veteran’s perspective makes it clear that two major points must be made in response to President Obama’s announcement regarding combat troops leaving Iraq.

First, there is no such thing as “non combat troops.” It is a contradiction in terms. It is internally inconsistent. It is illogical. It is simply not true.

Ask any of the millions of men and women who went through basic training and they can tell you that every U.S. troop anywhere in the world was indoctrinated and trained in the basics of combat. While in Iraq, the transition from mechanics or communications back to combat-ready soldier takes but an order. “Non-combat troops” is simply the latest in a long line of military euphemisms meant to obscure painful reality.

The second point can best be made by drafting a section of the President’s remarks for him. If Veterans For Peace were to do that it would read something like this.

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Skit Unmasks Farce of Middle East Peace Talks

What: Peace Charades - A Theatre Parody of the Peace Talks

When: Wednesday, September 1st, 12 PM

Where: In front of the White House

Who: The CODEPINK Theater Troupe

Description:

Led by CODEPINK, activists will come together to put on a short performance, with the White House as their backdrop, to parody the farce masquerading as peace talks. The performers will include “President Abbas,” “Prime Minister Netanyahu,” and “Secretary Clinton”. There will be people from Gaza, behind barbed wire, complaining that they are not included, and settlers and IDF soldiers busily building more settlements while the talks are going on.