FP morning brief 6/2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Israel begins deporting flotilla activists

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Top Story: Israel has begun deporting the hundreds of activists it detained after last weekend's botched raid on a flotilla breaching the blockade of Gaza. More than 600 people were detained from nearly a dozen countries. An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said that Israeli believed it had grounds to prosecute many of the activists, but had decided to deport them instead due to the bitter diplomatic fallout from the incident. Around 126 activists crossed into Jordan by bus on Wednesday morning. More that 400 were being taken to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport to await flights to Turkey.

Israel has faced widespread international condemnation for the raid, which killed 9 pro-Palestinian activists, as well as renewed scrutiny of the three-year blockade. British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, for instance, called the blockade "unjustifiable and untenable" and called for it to be lifted. The United States has been less quick to condemn its longtime ally, but Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren and National Security Advisor Uzi Arad were called to the White House to discuss the aftermath of the incident and how to allow future humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza.

President Barack Obama also spoke with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the incident. There were around 400 Turks on the flotilla including four of the fatalities.

Turkey has called for an international investigation of the incident and threatened not to restore diplomatic relations with Israel if its citizens are not released today.

Israel's Gaza policy will face a new test in the coming days as pro-Palestinian activists plan to launch a new ship, the Rachel Corrie, to challenge the blockade. Israel has vowed to bock this ship as well.

Japanese prime minister resigns: Facing widespread criticism after breaking a campaign promise to relocate the U.S. marine base in Okinawa, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama resigned today. His Democratic Party will meet on Friday to choose a successor. Finance Minister Naoto Kan is considered the most likely candidate.

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Asia Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva survived a no-confidence vote in parliament brought on by his handling of the recent Red Shirt protests. The Pakistani government has declared victory over the Taliban in the Orakzai tribal region, near the Afghan border. A "peace jirga" hosted by Afghan President Hamid Karzai was disrupted by Taliban attacks. Americas Landslides caused by Tropical Storm Agatha have killed around 180 people in Central America, mainly in Guatemala. Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding pledged an all-out assault on the island's drug gangs as he narrowly survived a no-confidence vote in parliament. The mayor of Cancun, Mexico has been charged with ties to drug trafficking. Middle East Iraq's Supreme Court ruled in favor of the country's Sunni/secular alliance in a legal dispute over the March 7 parliamentary elections. During a visit to Brussels, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned that further international sanctions would lead to confrontation. Human rights groups are condemning the execution of 18 foreigners in Libya. Africa The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Somalis living in the U.S. can sue former Prime Minister Mahamad Ali Samantar, now living in Virginia, under anti-torture laws. Liberia deported seven people on cocaine smuggling charges. A former Nigerian governor was convicted of money laundering in Britain. Europe Germany's parliament approved new regulations on speculative trading. Poland has released the flight recorder transcript from the plane crash that killed President Lech Kaczynski. Balkan countries began E.U. membership talks in Sarajevo.   -By Joshua Keating

Is It Too Early to Blame Obama for Hurricane Season? Where Have All The George Kennans Gone? No, I Really Do Mean That Israel Is America’s North Korea Finally, Something Good from Goldman Sachs

JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images

McClatchy Washington report 6/2

Top Story

• Gulf oil spill now a criminal investigation, Holder says

  Responding to criticism that it hasn't been forceful enough in its response to the largest oil spill in U.S. history, the Obama administration on Tuesday announced a criminal investigation into the deadly explosion and installed a no-nonsense Coast Guard admiral as the public face of the response, instead of BP.

Spotlight

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  NOAA research ship to search Gulf for underwater oil

  With mystery swirling over how much oil may be lurking beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel leaves Wednesday on a nine-day mission: To find and study a potentially toxic stew that oceanographers fear could be catastrophic for marine life.

Latest Headlines

• Taliban attack Afghan peace conference as Karzai speaks

  Would-be Taliban suicide bombers staged a jarring attack Wednesday morning on a closely watched national peace conference as President Hamid Karzai opened the gathering with an appeal to the nation's leaders to embrace new steps in seeking peace with Afghan insurgents.
• California bill bans 'open carry' for guns

  California lawmakers are taking aim at a protest movement that encourages participants to show up at public places en masse with handguns strapped to their side. The "Open Carry" movement sparked shock waves last year when about a dozen people carrying guns, including one with a military-style rifle, stood outside an Arizona convention center where President Barack Obama was speaking.
• Israeli raid on aid flotilla traps U.S. between two close allies

  The U.S., hoping to avert an armed clash between two close allies, Israel and Turkey, and the collapse of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Tuesday urged caution on the international community as it endorsed a U.N. condemnation of 'acts'; that led to the deaths of nine international activists on an aid flotilla that was attempting to break Israel's blockade of Gaza.
• Pentagon says F-35 fighter program's cost still exceeding estimates

  The total cost of the F-35 joint strike fighter program will be far higher than estimated just a few months ago, the Pentagon confirmed Tuesday, but a report sent to Congress says the next-generation warplane must be continued because it is vital to national security. Pentagon analysts now estimate that the cost to the U.S. of developing the F-35 and buying 2,443 combat-ready jets could total $382 billion through 2036.
• Oil from Gulf spill hits Mississippi's Petit Bois Island

  Oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster hit Mississippi shores for the first time Tuesday, covering about two miles of Petit Bois Island's beach. A larger glob crept close to Dauphin Island in Alabama, and the edge of the main slick has moved to within about 35 miles of Mississippi, about half the distance it was last week.
• Alaska's Murkowski faces Senate challenge from Sitka mayor

  Tuesday's deadline in Alaska to file for public office in this year's elections saw Sitka's Mayor Scott McAdams challenging Lisa Murkowski for U.S. Senate. McAdams, a Democrat, suggested Murkowski, a Republican, has allowed partisan political ambitions to get the better of her.
• Supreme Court sides with N.C. in decades-old nuclear waste disposal suit

  The U.S. Supreme Court handed North Carolina a victory Tuesday in an epic, decades-long legal battle with other states over plans for a low-level nuclear disposal site that would have been in Wake County, which included the state capitol of Raleigh. Seven Southeastern states joined in 1986 to share the burden of disposing of irradiated material produced by nuclear reactors, factories, hospitals and laboratories.
• California state pension fund upset by Goldman Sachs' SEC probe silence

  Goldman Sachs Group, already facing a big Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit, may be in hot water with CalPERS. The pension fund said Tuesday it will ask Goldman why it didn't disclose the existence of the SEC's investigation while the big Wall Street investment bank was seeking business from the California Public Employees' Retirement System.
• Commentary: Oil spill has small government advocates singing a different tune

  Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana, off whose coast the BP oil tragedy is centered, is singing a new song, starkly at odds with what he said last year in a speech before the Republican faithful. Now he's begging for federal "interference." He wants federal money, federal supplies, wants the feds to help create barrier islands to protect Louisiana wetlands from oil.
  Not to pick on Jindal. He is but one prominent voice in a chorus of Gulf state officials who once preached the virtues of tiny government but have discovered, in the wake of this spreading disaster, the virtues of government that is robust enough, at a minimum, to help them out of a jam.
• Commentary: How Iran's 'Twitter Revolution' died with Michael Jackson

  What do Michael Jackson, Harry Potter and the Iranian election last year have in common? They were among the top Twitter trends in 2009.

Walking for St. Adalbert

Friends, as many of you may know, my term as pastor at St. Adalbert will finish at the end of June.  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I will take up a new ministry in Santiago, Chile.  Before that time, I would like to provide some support for St. Adalbert.  I will be walking 500 miles on the ancient pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.

Please, read the attached letter and consider making a gift.  You may already know that St. Adalbert School serves the lowest income children of any school in our Diocese while also achieving "exemplary" status under the criteria of the Indiana Department of Education.  We sincerely appreciate your support.

While I walk, I will update folks on my progress via Facebook.  You can also follow me on Twitter!

Also, I would be honored to bring your prayers and intentions with me as I walk the Way of St. James.  May God bless you and your loved ones.

Sincerely,

Fr. Chris Cox, C.S.C.

Pastor

St. Adalbert Parish

South Bend, IN

1 June 2010

Dear friends of St. Adalbert,

The Catholic Church has recognized three ancient pilgrimage routes: Jerusalem, Rome, and Santiago de Compostela.  Santiago de Compostela, situated in northwest Spain, is a land where St. James the Great, brother to St. John the Evangelist, preached, and the Cathedral, according to tradition, is above his tomb.  For more than 1,000 years, Catholics have walked across Europe to visit this great saint.

A month from today, I will depart from South Bend.  I will begin the journey at Lourdes in France.  In all, from the French border, I will walk more than 500 miles over the next 35 days.

As you may know, I am concluding nine years of service on South Bend's West Side, the last six as pastor of St. Adalbert and St. Casimir.  Toward the end of the year, I will begin a new assignment in Santiago, Chile.  This pilgrimage is a time of prayer and renewal for me prior to taking up my new ministry.  I also hope that this journey will be fruitful for our beloved St. Adalbert.

St. Adalbert needs our help.  Certainly, I will take your prayers and intentions with me on this journey, but I would also ask your support for St. Adalbert Parish.  Please, consider making a gift to St. Adalbert Parish on the occasion of this pilgrimage.

Thank you for your time, consideration, and prayers!

  
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Name:________________________________    

Amount Pledged:_________________
 
Address:______________________________    (Please, make checks payable to St. Adalbert)
 
City, State Zip:_________________________    

E-mail:_________________________
 
Fr. Chris, please, pray for this intention during your pilgrimage:

_______________________________________________________
 
___________________________________________________________________________________
 
___________________________________________________________________________________
 
St. Adalbert Parish/ 2505 W. Grace St./ South Bend, IN 46619

Truthout 6/1

Israeli Attack on Flotilla Sparks Wave of International Protests
Nora Barrows-Friedman, Truthout: "Rami al-Meghari watched the news unfold from live video feeds monitoring international waters 65km off the coast of the Gaza Strip Monday morning, one of Gaza's 1.5 million residents anticipating a shipment of wheelchairs, prefabricated homes, crayons, raw construction supplies, dental surgery equipment and reams of paper brought by international humanitarian activists on board a flotilla of boats."
Read the Article

Chris Hedges | This Country Needs a Few Good Communists
Chris Hedges, Truthout: "The witch hunts against communists in the United States were used to silence socialists, anarchists, pacifists and all those who defied the abuses of capitalism. Those 'anti-Red' actions were devastating blows to the political health of the country. The communists spoke the language of class war. They understood that Wall Street, along with corporations such as British Petroleum, is the enemy."
Read the Article

Scott West | BP Gulf Disaster Is a Crime, Not an Accident
Scott West, Truthout: "The Obama administration is beginning to do some damage control relative to what we have been saying and asking lately. Why was a criminal investigation not launched early in the BP crisis and why has one not been launched to date? As I suspected, we are seeing some articles appearing and some pundits grandstanding with the notion that stopping the flow is first and foremost, so, a criminal investigation can either take a back seat or even be counterproductive to the top priority of stopping the flow. Of course, stopping the flow is priority number one. But the idea that a criminal investigation can or should wait is ludicrous."
Read the Article

Dean Baker | Rep. Jason Altmire: Job Killing Deficit Hawk
Dean Baker, Truthout: "Former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was the object of considerable ridicule for his support of the infamous $400 million 'Bridge to Nowhere.' This played a big role in his defeat in the last election."
Read the Article

US Navy Veterans Continue to Seek Justice for Israeli Attack
Dahr Jamail, Truthout: "The Israeli military has attacked a flotilla of international peace activists, killing as many as 19 innocent civilians while they were carrying ten tons of aid to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. This is not the first time the Israeli military has attacked a nonthreatening entity in international waters."
Read the Article

Unarmed and Courageous: Emergency Workers in Afghanistan
Kathy Kelly and Joshua Brollier, Truthout: "For six days in late May 2010, Emergency, an Italian NGO providing surgery and basic health care in Afghanistan since 1999, welcomed us to visit facilities they operate in the capital city of Kabul and in Panjshir, a neighboring province. We lived with their hospital staff at both places and accompanied them in their weekly trips to various FAPs (First Aid Posts) which the hospitals maintain in small outlying villages."
Read the Article

Obama Must Ask Netanyahu the Right Questions
Ira Chernus, Truthout: "Debate rages around the world about the Israeli attack on the humanitarian flotilla headed to Gaza. And it should rage. As Martin Luther King Jr., said, an injustice to one is an injustice to all. But the debate that matters most - the one that will decide the fate of Palestinians and Israelis alike - is going on inside the Oval Office."
Read the Article

Gulf Oil Spill Threatens Louisiana Native Americans' Way of Life
Joseph Goodman, The Miami Herald: "There is an ages-old expression among the people of southern Louisiana's Indian bayous. 'Pas tout la,' they say with smiles. 'Not all there,' it means. As in, 'not right in the head.'"
Read the Article

Weekly Audit: Why Democrats Must Focus on Jobs Now
Zach Carter, The Media Consortium: "The job market in its worst state since the Great Depression and is putting tremendous strain on millions of Americans. Without action from Washington, D.C., the unemployment rate will remain elevated for years to come, and almost certainly above 9 percent through the end of 2010. Public esteem for economic policymakers isn't doing so hot either. There are several simple steps that President Barack Obama and Congress could take to create jobs, but of late, neither have shown much interest in doing so."
Read the Article

Robert Reich | Why Obama Should Take Over BP's Operations in the Gulf of Mexico
Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog: "It's time for the federal government to put BP under temporary receivership, which gives the government authority to take over BP's operations in the Gulf of Mexico until the gusher is stopped. This is the only way the public know what's going on, be confident enough resources are being put to stopping the gusher, ensure BP's strategy is correct, know the government has enough clout to force BP to use a different one if necessary, and be sure the President is ultimately in charge."
Read the Article

Project Struggles to Create Gaza City's First "Tourist" Map
Pam Bailey, Truthout: "It's a common English 'truism' that when a place is considered important, it is 'put on the map.' By that definition, the people of Gaza have been in limbo for a long time. One case in point is that when Gazans complete the application for a US visa, they are forced to select 'Israel' as their place of birth; no 'Palestine' or 'Gaza Strip' option exists. Another indicator of the 'deligitmization' of the Gaza Strip in particular is the fact that no map exists that documents and guides visitors to the labyrinthine streets and points of interest that structure daily life here. That is, until now."
Read the Article

Remembering Dr. Tiller
April Adicks, RH Reality Check: "There are many reasons that I am an advocate for women's and reproductive rights. I relate strongly to the historical aspects of the movement, the feelings of empowerment and sisterhood and the strong desire to have my voice heard. But there is one reason that compels me to not only be an activist - but to live my values through my life's work formerly at Planned Parenthood and now at the ACLU. That reason is Dr. George Tiller."
Read the Article

Human Rights Organizations and Bar Associations Condemn Israeli Assault
Marjorie Cohn, Truthout: "On Sunday, Israel murdered human rights workers who were attempting to deliver 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, because Gaza has been virtually cut off from the outside world by Israel. At least 19 people were reportedly killed and dozens injured when Israeli troops boarded the 6-ship Freedom Flotilla convoy in international waters and immediately fired live ammunition at the people on board the ships."
Read the Article

News in Brief: Israel Continues to Hold 600 Activists and More ...
Israel continues to hold more than 600 activists who were aboard the aid flotilla; al-Qaeda's operational commander in Afghanistan is believed to have been killed by an American drone; tens of thousands of people participated in national day of action against Arizona's restrictive immigration law Saturday; BP oil spill has led to the hospitalization of clean-up workers; Iraq's supreme court upheld March election results clearing way for further negotiations to form a coalition government; prime minister of Japan faces mounting pressure to resign after backtracking on US Marine base closure.
Read the Article

FP morning brief 6/1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UN Security Council condemns "acts" in Israeli raid

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Top story: The United Nations Security Council, after much diplomatic wrangling over the resolution's language, condemned on Tuesday morning the "acts" that led to the deaths of nine civilians aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla. The deaths occurred when Israel Defense Forces soldiers, attempting to redirect the convoy, clashed with pro-Palestinian activists aboard the ships on Monday. Under pressure from the Obama administration, the statement did not exclusively condemn Israel, which contends that its soldiers were acting in self defense after being attacked by the civilians aboard the ship. The United Nations statement also called for an impartial investigation into the events that led to the clashes, and referred to Israel's blockade of Gaza as "not sustainable."

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities detained hundreds of activists who were aboard the flotilla, after it arrived in an Israeli port. The Mavi Marmara, the vessel on which all of the casualties occurred, arrived at Israel's naval base in Ashdod on Monday evening. The base has been declared a military zone, and is off limits to the news media. Almost three dozen people aboard the ship have reportedly been arrested, however, many for refusing to give their names. The Free Gaza Movement, which helped organize the flotilla, promised that more ships would attempt to reach Gaza shortly.

Split with Turkey: The Israeli-Turkish alliance, already under strain following Israel's war in Gaza in 2008, has suffered the most obvious blow from this recent crisis. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu referred to the Israeli actions aboard the flotilla as "murder conducted by a state," and called for the international community to hold Israel accountable for its actions. Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Israel, while protestors in Istanbul tried to storm the building that contains the Israeli consulate.

Egyptian reaction: In response to the growing diplomatic furor, Egypt announced that it would open its side of the Gaza border to humanitarian aid for several days, in an effort to "alleviate the suffering of our Palestinian brothers after the Israeli attack."

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Middle East Three months after polls closed, Iraq's supreme court confirmed the results of March's parliamentary election. Six Turkish soldiers were killed in a rocket attack on a southern naval base. A new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency claims that Iran has the fuel required to make two nuclear weapons. Asia Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, a senior al-Qaeda leader, has reportedly been killed in Afghanistan The Thai government faces a no-confidence vote in Parliament over its actions to end anti-government protests last month. Three judges were shot dead while presiding over a court hearing in China's Hunan province. Europe German President Horst Koehler resigned following a controversy over statements he made regarding Germany's military deployments. The European Central Bank warned of economic challenges in the coming year for EU financial institutions. European election observers offered qualified praise for Georgia's recent mayoral election. Americas Colombia is preparing for a run-off vote in its presidential election. BP will attempt to place a containment cap over its leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists warned of an unseen environmental disaster in the deep water below the oil spill. Africa Three Namibian women are suing the state after allegedly being sterilized without their consent. Al-Qaeda's leader in Algeria has turned himself in to authorities, according to Algerian government sources. The South Sudan army was attacked by rebels led by three of its former top officers.

Reality Check: Maybe the 70s Weren't So Bad Faking “Success” in Afghanistan Why the Gaza Boat Deaths Are a Huge Deal Watch Out for the Black Swans of Summer

-David Kenner

McClatchy Washington report 6/1

Top Story

• Now Congress begins the final push on financial regulation

  In early June, negotiators from the Senate and the House of Representatives are expected to begin work on merging two competing but similar visions for revamping the way the government regulates banks and financial markets. How the negotiators work out the differences will decide how tough the new measures will be.

Spotlight

• On frontlines of the spill, little faith in BP or in Washington

  The worst memories of Hurricane Katrina — the eight feet of water that covered the hardware store and destroyed its inventory — are fading, but now Chalmette, La., is distracted by the oil spill 50 miles south.

Latest Headlines

• Gulf oil spill threatens Louisiana Native Americans' way of life

  Southern Louisiana's bayou Indians have borne the consequences of the work of oil and gas companies for nearly 100 years, but the oil that is now only a short boat ride away has the potential to slam a death nail into the Pointe-Aux-Chenes fishing village and the cultural identity of Indians who have populated it for centuries.
• Storm of protest over 9 deaths in Israeli raid on Gaza flotilla

  A battle at sea between pro-Palestinian activists and Israeli commandos sparks a diplomatic crisis in the Middle East and endangers the Obama administration's attempt to revive talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
• Support for Congress sapped by inaction, partisan feuding

  Voters' already sinking confidence in their federal legislators threatens to sink even further — an ominous sign for lawmakers who must face the voters in less than six months.
• Haiti is unprepared as hurricane season starts

  With the official start of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season Tuesday, a disaster-prone Haiti is far from ready for what meteorologists predict will be a heightened storm season with at least 15 named storms. Some 1.5 million homeless earthquake victims remain under tents and tarps in at least 1,200 camps across the country.
• Embedded therapists protect Guard soldiers' mental health

  Roger Duke is a Vietnam veteran, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel and a licensed marriage and family therapist. Since 2006, he's spent at least one weekend a month embedded with a California National Guard unit. He's a trusted face whom the soldiers confide in before and after their deployments.
• Gulf oil spill attracts investment scams

  The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is attracting another kind of potential disaster: investment fraud. Federal officials are warning investors to be wary of so-called "pump and dump" stock schemes tied to the BP oil spill. In a pump-and-dump scheme, a company ups its stock price by hyping its connection to a disaster, typically products or services that can aid in recovery or rebuilding.
• Families of the fallen still feel the sting of loss

  They came by the hundreds Monday to Alaska's Fort Richardson National Cemetery to honor the soldiers and family members buried there. Little American flags flapped in front of each white marble headstone. The oldest date back to World War II. About a dozen troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried or have gravestones there.
• Cuba's Granma newspaper publishes letters critical of economy

  Many Cubans regard the Granma newspaper as a supremely boring propaganda vehicle worthy of its status as the "Official Organ of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party." Yet in recent months it has published a jarringly lively and often critical set of letters to the editor on how to fix an economy ravaged by decades of over-centralization, inefficiency and corruption.
• Commentary: Honoring soldiers by opposing Fred Phelps

  By the end of Thursday, nearly all 50 states are expected to be in legal alignment against Fred Phelps.
  This is no small feat. Despite the rather bland feeling an amicus brief signed by a bunch of attorney generals may elicit, the importance should be understood. Somehow, a short court document doesn't feel like much of a reply to the decades-long fury of Phelps, his crude signs about gays, the demeaning nature of his disruptive protests at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Commentary: Blumenthal's military service deception is inexcusable

  Lots of people embellish.
  Benchwarmers promote themselves to the starting lineup. Childhood circumstances become more hardscrabble, youthful adventures more daring and glamorous. But there are limits. The big one is military service.