Link: http://www.democracynow.org/2010/10/1/ecuador_declares_state_of_emergency_as

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa is denouncing what he calls an attempted coup against him by members of Ecuador’s armed forces. Protesting police and armed forces stormed Congress, blocked roads and took control of the airport. Correa was trapped inside a hospital for twelve hours before armed forces loyal to him stormed the building and rescued him. [includes rush transcript]

Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-02/banks-fail-in-florida-washington-as-u-s-closures-reach-129-for-this-year.html

Lenders in Florida and Washington collapsed today, pushing the number of U.S. bank failures to 129 for the year, as financial firms suffer losses on loans tied to real estate.

Link: http://bullsnbearsnews.blogspot.com/2010/10/us-manufacturing-hits-lowest-levels.html

A key barometer to how well the economy is performing. The manufacturing numbers have been slowly deteriorating over the last 5 months. They will begin to significantly deteriorate in November. A key measure of health in the US manufacturing sector declined last month to its lowest level of the year, but still consistent with continued expansion in the US economy.

Link: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=13535

The most outrageous ‘conspiracy theory’ ever is surely the official version of 9/11 touted by the U.S. government and its lackeys in the corporate media. To add insult to injury however, they seem to think that the public are stupid enough to believe it.

Link: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39464138/ns/today-entertainment/

CNN has fired anchor Rick Sanchez following a radio rant Thursday night where he called Jon Stewart a "bigot," blamed CNN brass for discrimination against him and insinuated that the media industry is controlled by Jews. The network announced Sanchez's dismissal in a statement early Friday evening:

Link: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/exclusive-blackwater-wins-piece-of-10-billion-merc-deal/

Never mind the dead civilians. Forget about the stolen guns. Get over the murder arrests, the fraud allegations, and the accusations of guards pumping themselves up with steroids and cocaine. Through a “joint venture,” the notorious private-security firm Blackwater has won a piece of a five-year State Department contract worth up to $10 billion, Danger Room has learned.

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/2010/10/01/indigenous-resistance-from-colombia-to-p

These words are not of a Palestinian farmer but of Justo Conda, governor of Lopez Adentro Indigenous Reserve in southwestern Colombia, whose community was repeatedly threatened with displacement under former president Alvaro Uribe Velez. Uribe, recently appointed by the United Nations to investigate Israel's fatal attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, has a notoriously horrific track record on human rights. Less explored are the clear parallels between his government's mistreatment of indigenous peoples of Colombia and Israel's abuses of the indigenous people of Palestine.

Link: http://socialistworker.org/2010/10/01/the-two-americas

Millions more Americans are living in poverty with no end in sight to their misery. But there are some people who are getting along just fine. Nicole Colson reports. SHORTLY BEFORE midnight, at the end of each month, a curious scene plays out at Wal-Mart stores around the country. Customers come into the stores and start filling their baskets with essentials--milk, bread, eggs, baby formula, diapers--waiting for midnight, when they can finally afford to checkout.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2010/oct2010/pers-o01.shtml

The raids carried out by the FBI against antiwar activists last week are an ominous warning to the entire working class. The police-state tactics show the extent to which basic democratic rights—including the right to free speech and political association—have been dismantled in the US. The Obama administration ordered the invasion of the homes of several individuals—primarily members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization—and the seizure of documents, computers, cell phones, cameras and other personal and political material. Those targeted have been summoned to appear before a grand jury on October 12 and may face criminal prosecution for “material support” for terrorism.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2010/oct2010/paki-o01.shtml

Pakistan shut down a pivotal US-NATO Afghan war supply route yesterday following a NATO attack on a Pakistani border post that killed three Pakistan Frontier Corps troops and injured three others. Attack helicopters from the US-NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) twice strafed positions in Kurram, one of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Thursday morning, first about 5:30 AM and again some four hours later.

Link: http://socialistworker.org/2010/10/01/teacher-pushed-to-the-edge

Sarah Knopp tells the tragic story of a fellow Los Angeles public school teacher. RIGOBERTO RUELAS attended Miramonte Elementary as a student and returned to work there for 14 years, first as a teaching assistant, and then as a 5th grade teacher. In 14 years, he almost never missed a day of work. But Sunday, September 19, he called in sick for the next day.