Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27542.htm

The exact language Petraeus used in the closed-door session is not known, and neither is the precise message he meant to convey. But his remarks about the deadly U.S. military operation in Konar province were deemed deeply offensive by some in the room. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private discussions. They said Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, dismissed allegations by Karzai's office and the provincial governor that civilians were killed and said residents had invented stories, or even injured their children, to pin the blame on U.S. forces and force an end to the operation. "I was dizzy. My head was spinning," said one participant, referring to Petraeus's remarks. "This was shocking. Would any father do this to his children? This is really absurd." Petraeus, through a spokesman, declined to comment.

Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27536.htm

Teachers. These are the people who put Obama in office. They did everything a candidate could ask of his supporters and more. And what have they gotten in return? A bigger war in Afghanistan, a renewal of the Patriot Act, a porno-scanning system at the airports, more blank checks for Wall Street, and a lot of empty posturing about Guantanamo. And when their pay and pensions and their jobs were on the line, Obama was no where to be found. Poof! The vanishing president. Name one thing that Obama has done for working people? Health care? That fetid trillion dollar giveaway to big pharma? That just doesn't cut it.

Link: http://bellaciao.org/en/spip.php?article20585

During my years of writing for Pravda.Ru, I have frequently been critical of America’s legal system, which, in turn, has prompted many readers to ask why and how this disillusionment took place. In truth, it is doubtful my disillusionment would ever have occurred had I entered law school with the requisite cynicism, selfishness, greed and lust for power typical of many who seek careers in the legal profession. Instead I entered with the idealistic notions that America’s legal system was about truth, justice and preserving the rights of the individual. Only after I graduated and opened a law practice did I come to realize that the “system” is really nothing more than a cesspool of hypocrisy, corruption, exploitation, blind ambition, cover-up, mendacity and even sadism.

Link: http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/21/we_have_a_fire_in_the

In the largest rally yet, an estimated 80,000 people protested in Madison on Saturday against a "budget repair" bill that would strip public workers of their collective bargaining rights. The state’s Democratic Senators—who have fled the state to stall a vote on the bill—sent a letter to Gov. Scott Walker on Friday telling him labor would accept cuts to pensions and increased contributions to health and retirement plans if he would negotiate on collective bargaining. The cuts Walker has proposed in a sweeping budget bill would exclude public safety workers like police, state troopers and firefighters, but this does not mean they are in support of the legislation. To discuss this further, we are joined by Mahlon Mitchell, president of the Wisconsin Professional Firefighters Association. “An assault on one is an assault on all,” Mitchell says.

Link: http://www.counterpunch.org/amin02212011.html

“After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.” - Nelson Mandela January 25 was the date the Egyptian youth decided to launch their revolution. As the fear barrier was broken, Egyptians throughout the country and from all walks of life joined the protests by the millions. Their main chant for eighteen continuous days was ‘The people want the fall of the regime.’

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/02/21-10

Last week, in the face of protest demonstrations against Wisconsin’s new union-busting governor, Scott Walker — demonstrations that continued through the weekend, with huge crowds on Saturday — Representative Paul Ryan made an unintentionally apt comparison: “It’s like Cairo has moved to Madison.”

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/02/21-5

This must be what it’s like when a country goes insane, when it falls down a rabbit hole and tries to pretend that everything is normal. It can’t tell truths from lies. Hucksters pose as upright men, and people imagine they are Solons, avatars of insight come down from the ages. Sleazy operators pass themselves off as statesmen, as thinkers of deep gravitas, and the crowds, unable to distinguish sanctimony from sincerity, bravado from bullshit, lap it up. Let’s be clear. It was the Republicans who wrecked the economy. Both their people and their policies drove the economy into the ditch. They wrecked the economy not once, but twice in the last eighty years.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/news/149986/10_developments_in_the_huge_story_of_wisconsin%27s_uprising_%28multiple_updates%29/

The fight over Republican Governor Scott Walker's Union-busting bill may have just begun. Here's a run-down on the unfolding events. The drama unfolding in Wisconsin enters its second week, and as tens of thousands of workers and their supporters ring the state's capitol expressing outrage over Union-busting Republican Governor Scott Walker's bill, the impasse doesn't appear to be headed towards a resolution anytime soon. AlterNet has stayed on top of this momentous story, and here are the latest developments.

Link: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/bp-prepares-evacuate-staff-burning-libya-commodities-are-exploding

Is this one of those "who could have possibly seen it coming" moments? As events in Libya overnight spiralled out of control, with dozens if not hundreds killed, the parliament buildng in Tripoli on fire, and output at one of the country's oil fields reported to have been stopped by a workers' strike, BP has said it will soon begin evacuating some of its personnel from the 9th largest producer of oil.

Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1358861/BP-Gulf-oil-spill-Shocking-images-prove-seabed-STILL-coated.html

Oil from the BP spill remains stuck on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, according to a top scientist. Samantha Joye has video and slides that she says demonstrate the oil isn't degrading as hoped and has decimated life on parts of the sea floor. That report is at odds with a recent report by the BP spill compensation czar that said nearly all will be well by 2012.