Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Truthout 4/20

Noam Chomsky | Remembering Fascism: Learning From the Past
Noam Chomsky, Truthout: "As I mentioned, I am just old enough to remember those chilling and ominous days of Germany's descent from decency to Nazi barbarism, to borrow the words of the distinguished scholar of German history Fritz Stern. He tells us that he has the future of the United States in mind when he reviews 'a historic process in which resentment against a disenchanted secular world found deliverance in the ecstatic escape of unreason.' The world is too complex for history to repeat, but there are nevertheless lessons to keep in mind."
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Goldman Hires Obama's Ex-White House Counsel to Fight Fraud Charges
Jason Leopold, Truthout: "Wall Street banking behemoth Goldman Sachs, which was charged with securities fraud last Friday over its role in the subprime mortgage meltdown, has hired President Obama's former White House Counsel Greg Craig to defend the company, according to a report published late Monday by Politico."
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Soldiers in "WikiLeaks" Unit Apologize for Violence
Josh Stieber and Ethan McCord, Truthout: "An Open Letter of Reconciliation and Responsibility to the Iraqi People: From Current and Former Members of the US Military. Peace be with you, To all of those who were injured or lost loved ones during the July 2007 Baghdad shootings depicted in the 'Collateral Murder' Wikileaks video: We write to you, your family, and your community with awareness that our words and actions can never restore your losses."
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The Eradication of Trust
Eugene Robinson: "Trust might as well be a four-letter word. American public opinion seems to have become an unguided Weapon of Mass Suspicion, and it's not hard to understand why. But those who would exploit distrust, dissatisfaction and anger for political gain had better worry about collateral damage."
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Stunning Reversal: Democrats Kill Voting Rights Bill for DC
David Lightman and William Douglas, McClatchy Newspapers: "The House of Representatives, in a stunning reversal, will not consider whether to give the District of Columbia full voting rights in Congress. 'The price was way too high,' explained House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) in announcing the decision Tuesday."
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A Presidential Order for Compassion
Connie Schultz, Truthout: "Only four days after Peter Taylor moved in with the man he loved, he was racing him to the closest emergency room. The following morning, his partner lay in a hospital bed and delivered the jarring news."
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President Obama's Nuclear Policy: No Sign of Audacity; Some Sign of Hope
Melvin A. Goodman, Truthout: "The good news is that President Barack Obama has ended the Bush administration's campaign against disarmament and has returned to traditional approaches toward arms control. The bad news is that the president's modest steps do not match his rhetorical high ground on nuclear disarmament and that he remains unwilling to take unilateral steps that would advance his strategic vision."
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Iraq Election: Can Maliki Win With a Baghdad Recount?
Jane Arraf, The Christian Science Monitor: "An Iraqi appeals panel ordered Monday that more than 20 percent of the votes cast in national elections be manually recounted in response to complaints from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's political bloc, further placing the Iraq election results in doubt."
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Schooling Generations in American Exceptionalism
Dallas Darling, Truthout: "'One of the most important aspects of citizenship is to acquire the concept of American Exceptionalism, or the idea that the "United States" and its people differ from other nations ...'(1) It was with these words and this concept: American exceptionalism, that objective five (citizenship requirements) of Texas' social studies curriculum was revised. And if the ultraconservative Texas State Board of Education Review Committee, which consists mostly of wealthy politicians and prominent business leaders, has its way, teaching American exceptionalism to millions of students might just accomplish George Orwell's 1946 axiom: 'From the totalitarian point of view, history is something to be created rather than learned.'"
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Addressing the Social Causes of Poor Health: Alternative Health and Healing in Haiti (Part III)
Beverly Bell, Truthout: "For most Haitians, when health care is available at all, it all too often treats the immediate problem only. Given the conditions under which the vast majority of Haitians live - dire poverty, malnourishment and lack of access to water or sanitation - the next illness or physical challenge is an ever-present threat."
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Nuclear Abolition Movement Steps Up Efforts in Wake of New START Treaty
Mary Susan Littlepage, Truthout: "Weeks after the signing of the cautious US-Russia START Treaty, the antinuclear movement has ratcheted up efforts to push for more rigorous steps toward a nuclear-free world."
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Thinking the Unthinkable: Could America Repeal NAFTA?
Ian Fletcher, Truthout: "Four congressmen have now moved a bill to repeal NAFTA. Superficially, this means little, as passage of this bill is unlikely in the near future. But more fundamentally, it means a lot because, unbeknownst to most Americans inside and outside the Washington Beltway, free trade is inexorably losing its base of support on Capitol Hill."
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The Paycheck Fairness Act: Now an Economic Imperative
Linda D. Hallman, Women's Media Center: "Today, as we do every year in April, AAUW and our allies mark Equal Pay Day. This day represents how far into the next year the average woman must work to earn what the average man took home the previous calendar year. In other words, every year women start out more than 100 days behind."
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Can Labor Unions Be Saved? (Audio)
Rose Aguilar, Your Call: "How can unions shape the US economy? On the next Your Call, we'll continue our series, 'Agenda for a New Economy' by looking at the state of labor unions today. Andy Stern, the controversial head of the Service Employees International Union who challenged the leadership of the AFL-CIO, is stepping down."
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Too Much Medicine Isn't Good Medicine
Froma Harrop, Truthout: "In the land of 'too much ain't enough,' the idea that less medicine could be better medicine is a hard sell. This was impossible to discuss during the fracas over health care reform, when any talk of fewer tests and less surgery was portrayed as rationing or the government coming between you and the doctor."
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Farm Workers Fight for an Extra Cent
Andrew Stelzer, Inter Press Service: "Chanting 'No more slaves! Pay a living wage!', hundreds of farmworkers, students and others marched 22 miles through central Florida for three days, calling on the Publix supermarket chain to pay an extra penny to the impoverished workers who pick their tomatoes."
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