Monday, April 19, 2010

Truthout 4/19

Financial Reform Is Good; Firing Bernanke Would Be Better
Dean Baker, Truthout: "The financial reform bills moving through Congress offer some hope for a more stable financial system. While there is still much up for grabs, it is likely that whatever gets through Congress will improve regulation of derivatives, increase regulators' ability to restrict leverage and establish a consumer financial products protection agency. It could also lead to a separation of trading from commercial banking. This will decrease the risk of taxpayers subsidizing risky deals."
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Dread Surrounds "Operation Hope" in Afghanistan
Jean MacKenzie, GlobalPost: "It is being called Operation Omid. The word omid means 'hope' in Afghanistan's Dari language. But, judging by the reaction of local residents, the coming US-led military offensive against the Taliban in Kandahar could not be more inappropriately named."
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Veterans Impacted by Another Crisis: Unemployment
Mary Susan Littlepage, Truthout: "The unemployment rate last year for young male veterans, including those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, hit 21.6 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The stats show that veterans have a hard time making the transition from serving in war to coming home and finding work."
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US Soldier Dies in Raid that Kills Top al-Qaida in Iraq Leaders
Jane Araf and Mohammed al Dulaimy, McClatchy Newspapers: "Iraqi and US security forces said Monday that they'd killed the two top leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq in what the American military said could be the most significant blow to the militant Sunni Muslim organization since it was formed."
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What Were They Thinking? An Interview With Sophie Gherardi
Leslie Thatcher, Truthout: On Thursday, April 1, 2010, Truthout's Leslie Thatcher interviewed La Tribune editor and author of 'Capital Sins' Sophie Gherardi over Skype. In February, Ms. Gherardi was awarded the French prize for best financial article for the series on which her book was based. She talks about the genesis of the project and the form it ultimately took."
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Seven Years of (Unconvincing) Lies in 39 Minutes: A Primer
Dr. Matthew Feldman, Truthout: "No wonder the US military said the tape was lost. Those murderous images leave you gasping for air like a punch in the gut at boot camp. Then you hear a bit of cackling, some banter and more shooting. Dahr Jamail reported in Truthout that a dozen people were killed in the massacre, including two Reuters news staff, with another two children wounded but (amazingly) alive. The US troops sounded as if they were having fun, like aiming for high-score on an arcade game."
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How Bubble Barons Protected Their Influence While the Economy Tanked
Kevin Connor, AlterNet: "Following the deadly mine explosion in West Virginia last week, the CEO of the company that owned the mine quickly emerged as a sort of Dickensian villain in media reports. Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship's cavalier, profit-obsessed approach to mining had led him to dismiss pressing safety concerns at his mines."
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A 10,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America - Day One (Video)
Truthout: "In 2005, filmmaker and Truthout reporter Chris Hume took the nation's pulse. He traveled the forgotten corners of America and let the people speak. It proved to be a disturbing, humorous and surprising odyssey. In the pivotal year of 2008, he traveled even further. This is the first of a series of episodes from 'Red State Road Trip 2': a 10,000-mile journey into the heart of America."
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Obama's Diplomatic Nuclear Offensive
Dr. Joseph Gerson, Truthout: "The Obama presidency and its recent diplomatic nuclear offensive seek to compensate for perhaps the greatest and potentially most dangerous strategic blunder of the Bush administration: its encouragement of nuclear weapons proliferation."
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Teacher Accountability? It's About Time!
Marion Brady, Truthout: "Once upon a time teachers assigned grades, and that was pretty much that. Oh, occasionally a kid would argue that a particular grade was unfair, or complain so loudly that parents or an administrator would get involved, but that was relatively rare."
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A Review of U Win Tin: "What's That? A Human Hell." (In Burmese)
Dr. Kyi May Kaung, Truthout: "U Win Tin (U = Mr. or Uncle, a sign of respect) a close associate and adviser of Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, also known as the chief strategist of the National League for Democracy, spent 19 years in Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison, most of it in solitary confinement."
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