Beware a Times/Pentagon "virtual coup" on Afghanistan
Some military coups are still done the old-fashioned way. Tanks surround the capital, generals grab the radio station, the slaughter begins.
Here our the Declaration of Independence scorned King George III for elevating his army over the colonial legislatures. The Founders opposed a standing army. Our first Commander George Washington warned against military entanglements. So did Dwight Eisenhower nearly two centuries later. These "quaint" monuments to civilian rule form the core of our constitutional culture.
So when the Pentagon wants to trash inconvenient opposition and escalate yet another war, it seeks subtler means. For example the "virtual coup" now being staged in league with the New York Times, aimed at plunging us catastrophically deeper into Afghanistan.
It's how they drove us into the abyss in Vietnam and Iraq. It demands we decide who will rule---the Pentagon, or the public.
Here our the Declaration of Independence scorned King George III for elevating his army over the colonial legislatures. The Founders opposed a standing army. Our first Commander George Washington warned against military entanglements. So did Dwight Eisenhower nearly two centuries later. These "quaint" monuments to civilian rule form the core of our constitutional culture.
So when the Pentagon wants to trash inconvenient opposition and escalate yet another war, it seeks subtler means. For example the "virtual coup" now being staged in league with the New York Times, aimed at plunging us catastrophically deeper into Afghanistan.
It's how they drove us into the abyss in Vietnam and Iraq. It demands we decide who will rule---the Pentagon, or the public.
Heavy Traffic
No one likes being caught in traffic. No one likes being stuck in the same spot and moving five feet at a time for hours. Could you imagine if there were no cars and the only movement going on would be you from one place as a slave to another place as a slave? That would basically be no movement at all. Many women are victims of human trafficking. Many of these women are taken off of the street and away from their families from ages as early as thirteen.
As terrible as these heinous crimes are, there is hope. There are many programs and organizations dedicated to the rehabilitation and protection of human trafficking victims.
“Rahab’s Hideaway” is one of those roganizations Denise Robertson, is one of the managers who is deeply involved and attached to the program. Ms. Robertson described the targeted age group” as eighteen to twenty-five, because they are mostly at a fork in the road.”
As terrible as these heinous crimes are, there is hope. There are many programs and organizations dedicated to the rehabilitation and protection of human trafficking victims.
“Rahab’s Hideaway” is one of those roganizations Denise Robertson, is one of the managers who is deeply involved and attached to the program. Ms. Robertson described the targeted age group” as eighteen to twenty-five, because they are mostly at a fork in the road.”
Tell Congress that Being a Woman is Not a "Pre-Existing Condition"
Did you know that being a woman is increasingly considered a "pre-existing condition" by health insurance companies? No, we're not kidding. Perhaps the most underreported practice of discrimination in our health care system is that women are regularly denied coverage for "pre-existing conditions" that include pregnancy, a previous C-Section, or being a victim of past domestic abuse.
Tell Congress to stop discriminatory health care practices today
Even when women do get coverage, it isn't cheap. More than 90 percent of the best-selling insurance plans charge women more than men, in some cases charging as much as 48 percent more for the same coverage. These pricey plans don't even include maternity care, vital reproductive health coverage which is nearly impossible to find on the private insurance market.
Tell Congress to stop discriminatory health care practices today
Even when women do get coverage, it isn't cheap. More than 90 percent of the best-selling insurance plans charge women more than men, in some cases charging as much as 48 percent more for the same coverage. These pricey plans don't even include maternity care, vital reproductive health coverage which is nearly impossible to find on the private insurance market.
Starting Another Year of War in Afghanistan
October 2009 has begun with the New York Times reporting that “the president, vice president and an array of cabinet secretaries, intelligence chiefs, generals, diplomats and advisers gathered in a windowless basement room of the White House for three hours on Wednesday to chart a new course in Afghanistan.”
As this month begins the ninth year of the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan, “windowless” seems to be an apt metaphor. The structure of thought and the range of options being debated in Washington’s high places are notably insular. The “new course” will be a permutation of the present course.
While certainty is lacking, steely resolve is evident. An unspoken mantra remains in effect: When in doubt, keep killing. The knotty question is: Exactly who and how?
News accounts are filled with stories about options that mix “counterinsurgency” with “counterterrorism.” The thicker the jargon in Washington, the louder the erudite tunes from the latest best and brightest -- whistling past graveyards, to be filled by people far away.
As this month begins the ninth year of the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan, “windowless” seems to be an apt metaphor. The structure of thought and the range of options being debated in Washington’s high places are notably insular. The “new course” will be a permutation of the present course.
While certainty is lacking, steely resolve is evident. An unspoken mantra remains in effect: When in doubt, keep killing. The knotty question is: Exactly who and how?
News accounts are filled with stories about options that mix “counterinsurgency” with “counterterrorism.” The thicker the jargon in Washington, the louder the erudite tunes from the latest best and brightest -- whistling past graveyards, to be filled by people far away.
Who SHOULD Decide About War?
Remarks at Who Decides about War conference
Who actually does: the media, weapons companies, the permanent government, presidents (including simply by decreeing a "war on terror", through misspending, lying, simply acting, signing treaties), political parties, culture (the one Biden lives in, in which Israel's sovereign right to attack Iran is uncontroversial), soldiers who obey illegal orders and the culture that leads kids to that place.
Who should decide: we the people of the world, through democratically created and enforced international and national and state laws.
This is complicated by another question: what does the law say? But we may give too much importance to that. Laws violated for decades can be as hard to enforce as laws not written yet. But getting old laws enforced and new laws created has to be part of our strategy.
Who actually does: the media, weapons companies, the permanent government, presidents (including simply by decreeing a "war on terror", through misspending, lying, simply acting, signing treaties), political parties, culture (the one Biden lives in, in which Israel's sovereign right to attack Iran is uncontroversial), soldiers who obey illegal orders and the culture that leads kids to that place.
Who should decide: we the people of the world, through democratically created and enforced international and national and state laws.
This is complicated by another question: what does the law say? But we may give too much importance to that. Laws violated for decades can be as hard to enforce as laws not written yet. But getting old laws enforced and new laws created has to be part of our strategy.
Is the climate bill being fossil/nuked?
Is the Climate Bill morphing into an excuse to promote fossil fuels and new nuclear power plants?
Sen. John Kerry's (D-MA) recent promotion of a pro-nuke/pro-drilling/pro-coal agenda in the name of Climate Protection has been highlighted in a New York Times op ed co-authored with Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC). The piece brands nuke power "our single largest contributor of emissions-free power." It advocates abolishing "cumbersome regulations" so utilities can "secure financing for more plants." And it wants "serious investment" to "find solutions to our nuclear waste problem."
The Senate Bill as now drafted also includes a "Clean Energy Development Administration" that could deliver virtually unlimited federal cash to build new reactors and fund other mega-polluters.
Also on the table are vastly expanded permits for off-shore drilling. And Kerry/Graham have talked of making the US "the Saudi Arabia of clean coal" while bringing "new financial incentives for companies that develop carbon capture and sequestration technology."
Sen. John Kerry's (D-MA) recent promotion of a pro-nuke/pro-drilling/pro-coal agenda in the name of Climate Protection has been highlighted in a New York Times op ed co-authored with Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC). The piece brands nuke power "our single largest contributor of emissions-free power." It advocates abolishing "cumbersome regulations" so utilities can "secure financing for more plants." And it wants "serious investment" to "find solutions to our nuclear waste problem."
The Senate Bill as now drafted also includes a "Clean Energy Development Administration" that could deliver virtually unlimited federal cash to build new reactors and fund other mega-polluters.
Also on the table are vastly expanded permits for off-shore drilling. And Kerry/Graham have talked of making the US "the Saudi Arabia of clean coal" while bringing "new financial incentives for companies that develop carbon capture and sequestration technology."
Stand Up and Take Action - Against Global Poverty!
The global economic crisis will push 100 million people into extreme poverty this year. More than 30 poor countries are in now in serious debt distress. This weekend, hundreds of millions of people around the world will Stand Up and Take Action to fight global poverty. More than 116 million people across the globe - people of every creed, every continent, and every class - will gather in their faith communities, schools, and homes to take action in support of the Millennium Development Goals.
Click here to join this global effort to help end world poverty
Almost 10 years ago, world leaders committed to a bold roadmap to end global poverty and its root causes - beginning with achieving the Millennium Development Goals which include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, improving maternal health and ensuring environmental sustainability by 2015. We are all coming together at this critical moment because we know that despite the gains we've made, the global economic crisis is threatening our progress.
Click here to join this global effort to help end world poverty
Almost 10 years ago, world leaders committed to a bold roadmap to end global poverty and its root causes - beginning with achieving the Millennium Development Goals which include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, improving maternal health and ensuring environmental sustainability by 2015. We are all coming together at this critical moment because we know that despite the gains we've made, the global economic crisis is threatening our progress.