Link: http://www.uruknet.info/index.php?p=m63958&hd=&size=1&l=e

Sarah Meyer, 73, who published her work on Index Research, died yesterday, 4 March, 2010 from cancer. We hung out a couple of times, once at her little hideaway in the country and on demos, but most of our contact was via the Web and our related writings. An American ex-pat, her writing was exhaustive, thoroughly documented analyses on Iraq, Afghanistan and much more.

Link: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100322/hayes_breakdown

With the recent bipartisan healthcare summit, the rebirth of the public option and yesterday's announced deadline for passing legislation, all anyone in Washington can talk about is the continued battle for healthcare reform. Yet, despite all the jabbering, or perhaps because of the endless spread of misinformation surrounding the debate, it is difficult to see how much the bill could affect our economy. On this week's The Breakdown, DC Editor Christopher Hayes brings in Washington Post columnist and resident wunderkind, Ezra Klein, to break down a few particularly pernicious claims being made about healthcare reform.

Link: http://blogs.ajc.com/bob-barr-blog/2010/03/05/us-currency-soon-to-be-radically-altered/?cxntfid=blogs_bob_barr_blog

Reach into your wallet for a five dollar bill in the near future, and you will likely pull out a much-downsized, multi-colored version of the venerable green bill with the visage of Abraham Lincoln printed thereon. You will soon have to search in vain for uniformly-sized and colored tens, twenties, fifties or hundreds. Is this dramatic change the result of Congress having passed a law requiring new designs for all currency bills larger than one dollar? Nope. It’s because of a special-interest lawsuit.

Link: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=12294

The prime minister of contract murder, Binyamin Netanyahu, was not long permitted to rejoice over the agreement to sanction Iran which he had wrested from the Russian leadership. A few days later, China made it clear that it would in no case help to carry out such sanctions. Consequently, Netanyahu believed it necessary to pay a visit to the Chinese leadership, in order to bring them on course through an Israeli word of command.

Link: http://www.uruknet.de/?p=63908

Thus our American militarists exult in the advanced hardware that allows "soldiers" to slaughter people from thousands of miles away, with missiles, bombs and bullets fired from lurking, unreachable drones high in the sky. (A recent study shows that even by the most conservative reckoning of who is or isn't a "militant," at least one third of the hundreds killed in the Bush-Obama drone campaigns in Pakistan are clearly civilians.) The drone "warriors" -- often living in complete safety and comfort -- see nothing but a bloodless image on a screen; they face no physical threat at all. This is assassination, not combat; it reeks of cowardice, and dehumanizes everyone it touches, the victims and the button-pushers alike. Yet our militarists -- most of whom, of course, have somehow never found the time to fight the wars they cheer for -- wax orgasmic about this craven weaponry. In the transvaluation of values that militarism produces, cowardice becomes a martial virtue...

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2010/mar2010/pers-m05.shtml

Last week was marked by two significant developments. A strike wave hit Europe as workers in a series of countries began to demonstrate their opposition to the austerity measures demanded by the European Union and the banks.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2010/mar2010/skil-m05.shtml

The US Supreme Court’s treatment of convicted Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling is an object lesson on the social interests upheld by the US judiciary and the class divisions that dominate every aspect of American life.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2010/mar2010/dtee-m05.shtml

Fires in Detroit-area homes with suspended utilities have claimed the lives of several people in recent months. On Tuesday, three young children died of smoke inhalation the very same day that energy conglomerate DTE Energy cut off electricity and gas to their home on Bangor Street on the city’s west side.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8975105

Despite doubts among many lawmakers that it will create many jobs, the House on Thursday passed legislation giving companies that hire the jobless a temporary payroll tax break. The measure passed 217-201 on a mostly party-line vote. The bill also extends federal highway programs through the end of the year. Some Democrats feel the approximately $35 billion jobs bill is too puny, while others say the tax cut for new hires won't generate many new jobs. However, the pressure is on to address jobs and deliver a badly needed win for President Barack Obama and a Democratic Party struggling in opinion polls and facing major losses in the upcoming midterm elections. Further jobs measures are promised.

Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/03/20103553047747753.html

Students have carried out rallies at dozens of universities and schools across the United States in protest against cuts to public education funding. Some demonstrations turned violent as students blocked the main gates of a California university and smashed car windows.

Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/03/201034232911591530.html

The United States has called on Latin American nations to recognise the new government of Honduras after restoring aid to the nation some five months after it was suspended following a coup. Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state currently on a six-nation tour of Latin America, said she had notified Congress of the move to resume more than $31m in suspended assistance.

Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/03/20103502112450369.html

Turkey has recalled its ambassador from the US and condemned a Washington panel's move to declare the killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces in the first world war a "genocide". "We condemn this resolution which accuses the Turkish nation of a crime it has not committed," Ankara said in a statement on Thursday.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/06/us/06miami.html?ref=us

MIAMI — At risk of running out of money in May, Miami’s public health care system is considering closing two of its five hospitals and laying off 4,487 employees — a third of its work force, the chief executive said Friday.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/06/us/06seneca.html?ref=us

There is a relatively short list of people who like mail-order cigarettes: teenagers, adults evading sales taxes and the Seneca Nation of Indians of western New York, which dominates the national market.