Friday, June 18, 2010

Truthout 6/18

Obama, BP and the Gulf Oil Disaster
Max Ajl, Truthout: "The most pathetic images I have seen in the aftermath of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizons deep-oil drilling rig were of pelicans drenched in oil, with brown glistening gunk matting down their plumage. When pelicans become covered in oil, they can't properly regulate their body temperature. In Louisiana summer, they overheat and die."
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Waxman: Tony Hayward Acting Like He Has Nothing to Do With BP
Deb Weinstein, Truthout: "Unflappable before lawmakers choking back their anger, BP's Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward responded to questions from the members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce with the equivalent of rank, name and serial number."
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News in Brief: Clinton Says Obama Administration to Sue Arizona for Anti-Immigrant Law, and More ...
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Obama administration plans to sue Arizona over SB 1070; the large amount of natural gas from oil spill poses serious threat; US calls for international investigation into ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan; new figures show rise in number of homeless families in the US; liberal Senate Democrats threaten to vote against any energy legislation which does not address global climate change; as Congressional Democrats push for legislation to rein in the power of special interests they are simultaneously carving out loopholes for special interests.
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Francis Shor | Corruption and Collapse
Francis Shor, Truthout: "Since the explosion of the British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, we have been treated to a case study in both the endemic corporate corruption of US politics and the inherent environmental catastrophes of the fossil fuel economy. The spread of toxicity, whether from oil, chemical dispersants, or corporate lobbyists and their willing handmaidens in Washington, DC, is so evident that even President Obama has been forced to ramp up his rhetoric about 'cozy relationships' and conflicts of interest."
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How Halliburton Is Profiting From the Gulf Oil Spill
Matt Rocheleau, The Christian Science Monitor: "Shortly before the Deepwater Horizon blowout, Halliburton bought an oil spill prevention firm. The oil-services industry is consolidating, which is not necessarily good news for quality, experts say. Eleven days prior to the April 20 Deepwater Horizon blowout, Halliburton Co., the contractor in charge of cementing the rig's well, agreed to purchase a little-known company."
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Eugene Robinson | Stick to the Deadline in Afghanistan
Eugene Robinson, Truthout: "When he ordered his escalation of the war in Afghanistan, President Obama pledged that U.S. troops 'will begin to come home' in the summer of 2011. Discouraging reports from the war zone should make him more determined to keep his promise - and Americans more insistent on holding him to it."
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War for Resources: From Slander to Clarion Call
David Sirota, Truthout: "Reading this week's New York Times headline - 'U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan' - many probably wondered how this information was being presented as 'news' in 2010. After all, humanity has long been aware of the country's vast natural resources. As Mother Jones magazine's James Ridgeway said after recalling past public accounts of the ore deposits, 'This "discovery" in fact is ancient history tracing back to the times of Marco Polo.'"
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Rachel Maddow | Republican Congressman Apologizes to BP (Video)
Rachel Maddow talks with Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) about the Republican response to the BP environmental disaster.
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WikiLeaks Aftermath Puts Spotlight on Obama Administration's Crackdown on Whistleblowers
Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Democracy NOW!: "Pentagon investigators are reportedly still searching for Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, who helped release a classified US military video showing a US helicopter gunship indiscriminately firing on Iraqi civilians. The US military recently arrested Army Specialist Bradley Manning, who may have passed on the video to Wikileaks."
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Alexander Cockburn | No Energy in Obama's Energy Plan
Alexander Cockburn, Truthout: "Every president since Nixon has tried to sell an energy plan, and the only one to yield any tangible results was Reagan's consummated pledge to rip the Carter-installed solar system off the roof of the White House. Carter wore his cardigan and America laughed and turned up the heaters in their SUVs."
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Chevron's Disdain for Human Rights Will Bring Political and Financial Costs
T.J. Buonomo, Truthout: "As a student, former Military Intelligence Officer and veteran, I've spent the last six years studying political violence and its causes. Simply put, when the process of dialogue between disputing parties breaks down, and the aggrieved party is denied recourse through the political and legal systems, its members take the next logical step, which military theorist Carl von Clausewitz describes as the 'continuation of politics by other means.'"
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We Have Lost Our Way
Julia Chaitin Ph.D., Truthout: "I have been trying to get my head around what happened on the Gaza flotilla, with no success. When I turned on the Israeli news at 6:40 AM on Monday morning, knowing that the flotilla must be nearing our shores, the broadcaster's first words were a knife to the heart: 'Something very bad has happened. The commanders knew ahead of time that this was a lose-lose situation ...' I could not help but wonder why the naval commanders (and obviously the higher-ups in the government) would knowingly go into a situation that was 'lose-lose.'"
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From Mississippi to Arizona: For Freedom and Human Rights
Linda Burnham, Truthout: "The room was small, but it was filled with enormous possibility. And everyone in there knew it. On Saturday, May 29, after a long, hot day of marching, chanting and rallying, a group of activists met in a windowless room at the Phoenix Doubletree Inn."
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