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In terror prosecution cases, justice does not mean convictions
Mary Shaw
On November 17, in federal court in New York City, Guantanamo detainee Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani was convicted of a single charge of conspiracy in connection with the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. He was acquitted of 284 other counts against him. Ghailani was the first Gitmo detainee to be tried in federal court rather than a military commission. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January.
Some on the right are pointing to the acquittals as proof that trying terrorism suspects in a civilian court does not work. But these critics are conveniently ignoring the fact that four other defendants in the same bombings had been sentenced in 2001 - also in federal court - to life in prison without parole. Ghailani could face a similar sentence, and will serve at least a minimum of 20 years.
Profit Ties between Phony Terror Alerts, Airport Security and L-3 Communications
By Steve Scheetz and Rady Ananda
COTO Report
Since September 11, 2001, the US government has been operating with a demand for the understanding of the people. We, as part of this demand, are to allow certain limitations on our liberty in order to gain a certain level of security. But, given the questionable nature of what are likely exaggerated threats, coupled with Congressional enrichment from these expensive security technologies, the U.S. public is losing both liberty and security, as well as money.
Former director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge revealed details about how terrorism alerts are used. Among other things, Ridge admits that he was pressured to raise the terror alert to help Bush win re-election in 2004. According to the Associated Press, “He said the episode convinced him to follow through with his plans to leave the administration; he resigned on Nov. 30, 2004.”
Haiti's Cholera Epidemic: Mounting Illnesses and Deaths, Inadequate Aid
by Stephen Lendman
Three previous articles on the crisis can be accessed through the following links:
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/11/haitis-cholera-outbreak-disease-of.html
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/11/cholera-outbreak-hits-por-au-prince.html
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/11/haitis-cholera-epidemic-sparks-outrage.html
More will follow as events dictate.
In America, especially on TV, Haiti's epidemic gets scant, if any, coverage. In contrast, daily independent news reports are alarming. Yet, despite raging cholera across Haiti, aid is woefully inadequate. A November 19 Doctors With Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres - MSF) press release headlined, "Cholera in Haiti: MSF Calling on All Actors to Step Up Response," saying:
Stone Age Brain, Space Age Culture
Mickey Z.
I was recently asked to do a short reading at Art House Astoria
ckering candles and eating food before it could spoil, longtime neighbors introduced themselves, discovering similarities and answering the question of the day: “Where were you when the lights went out?” They were asking this, of course, during the big blackout of August 14, 2003, but I’m getting a little ahead of myself. This story begins in the stars…
Living in New York City, I often have the opportunity to see stars. They’re everywhere: at cafés, boutiques, movie premieres, health clubs, & other such earthbound venues. Check the gossip columns if you don’t believe me.
Official! The Police no longer need a warrant!
Roland Michel Tremblay
It took me two years to finally send this article, I was afraid, afraid of the police and other authorities. It is now official, the Police no longer need a warrant to enter your home and look through your things, hoping to find something to incriminate you. I am a living proof of it, twice over, living in the United Kingdom no less.
Never would have I expected this from such a country. There you are, they found nothing, there was nothing to be found, and yet, we have found something. Something serious, critical, significant. This is the end, the beginning of a new way of life, an all powerful Police State against which we are all powerless. It has begun. and it happened to me not once, but twice in the last two years, our worst fears have materialised.
Unrecognized Palestinians: Illegally Demolishing Their Homes and Villages
by Stephen Lendman
In October, the Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, together with nine other human rights organizations, addressed a position paper on "The unconstitutionality of the state's policy of demolishing Arab Bedouin unrecognized villages in the Negev" to three Israeli officials:
-- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
-- Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, and
-- Minister of Justice Yaakov Neeman.
Citing the illegality of home demolitions, in this case of Arab Israeli citizens, they urged halting them immediately and finding a durable solution for unrecognized village residents. In Salim Abu- Medeghem v. The Israel Land Administration (April 14, 2007), Israel's High Court proposed replacing demolitions with solutions based on dialogue, Justice Arbel ruling:
Buffett Thanks "Uncle Sam" for Big Bailout Payday
Michael Collins
The people's oligarch Warren Buffett just wrote a thank you letter to "Uncle Sam" published in the New York Times. It is the height of cynicism. (Image)
Buffett has a carefully crafted public image as a brilliant but people-friendly master of investments. We hear about his regular table at an Omaha diner where he conducts business (just plain Warren) and we see his occasional public stands for reasonable policies like the inheritance tax.
He claims that "Uncle Sam", the government, saved us from a financial catastrophe that would have swallowed up his company. He then endorses the notion that the housing bubble was based on "mass delusion" - meaning it was our fault. But he forgets to mention that he took advantage of the 2008 crisis to purchase a $5 billion interest in Goldman Sachs. And he forgets whose money "Uncle Sam" stole from the Treasury to save him and the rest of his cronies. What an asshole.
GERD is Gone but WhatReallyHappened
By Robert Palmer
It’s been 36 hours and I feel a lot better without the GERD that burns but I am still coughing from all that junk in my mouth and throat.
[Note: One minor correction to “GERD gone in 60 Seconds”, “I did not leave the pharmacy with a generic. I left with the over-the-counter (OTC) Prevacid and Maalox.” I have NOT opened either bottle.]
I am going back a year to figure out what caused my Reflux laryngitis.
Must have something to do with “congestion” since a decongestant stopped the burning and belching.
Abraham Maslow developed a Model of our Hierarchy of Needs and number 1 is:
Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.
SLEEP is really high on my list and about a year ago I discovered Benadryl, an Allergy and Cold medication, helped me sleep.
People take it to treat allergy related symptoms, NOT TO SLEEP.
Drowsiness is a side effect, but like the huddled masses I was under the false impression over-the-counter means it’s safe and the fine print on the package was too small for any of us to read.
Over-the-counter really means the side affects are so subtle you will have trouble suing the drug companies.
In the case of Benadryl, try and bring a lawsuit against Warner Lambert Consumer Healthcare for a drug that treats some for sinus congestion and others for the opposite, a runny nose.
Hell is for Children
by Keith Johnson
Somewhere in America, a seventeen-year-old boy is living the last year of his life.
He is in the first semester of his senior year. His grades have been good, and he expects to have enough credits to finish school early. He feels like he’s been in school his entire life. But he has no regrets. Along the way, he has made many friends. He took up an interest in baseball and found that he had a talent for playing the drums. He is in his prime. He’s lean, fit and healthy. His mind is sharp and he has an insatiable appetite for life.
He has also fallen in love—for the first time. She is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. He thinks about her all the time, and pines when she is not near. When they are together, they share wild fantasies about how they’d like to start a family and go into business for themselves selling sporting goods. He also wants to start a band—just for fun—and perform on the weekends at local venues.
Americans Voted Few Incumbent Bums Out
Joel S. Hirschhorn
For some years a number of groups have been advocating voting out incumbents in Congress, both the House and the Senate, as a path to reform and improve the US political system. You might have thought that with this year’s incredible widespread public anger with both major parties and the remarkably low confidence level in Congress this anti-incumbency movement would have scored a huge victory. It did not happen.
Even more surprising, perhaps, because for many months before the elections there was endless media predictions that incumbents were at risk of losing their seats, which was backed up by hundreds of polls showing historical high levels of voter dissatisfaction with Congress.
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