Jan 05 2009
Original article, an editorial subtitled The Greek socialist newspaper Workers’ Left looks in this editorial at the roots of the revolt that began with the killing of a teenage student by police in Athens–and what the protests mean for the future, via socialistworker.org:
THE WAVE of struggle that has burst out after the police murder of Alexandros Grigoropoulos has been justly characterized as a social rebellion by youth in Greece.
Jan 05 2009
So, George H. W. thinks Jeb Should Be President.
Enough I Say.
One Is All The World Can Take.
Israeli troops and Hamas fighters clash in Gaza City
Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem
guardian.co.uk, Monday 5 January 2009 07.20 GMT
Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants fought gun battles in the streets of Gaza City for the first time this morning,with Israeli troops going house to house searching for Hamas fighters.The fighting came as Israeli tanks and troops seized control of large parts of the Gaza Strip, dividing the territory and forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes as the death toll mounted under relentless artillery and gunfire.
Some of the heaviest fighting was reported to be east of Gaza City, in the Zeitoun district, where three Palestinian children were killed by an Israeli tank shell. Several others were wounded, according to Palestinian medical officials.
In Eastern Europe, Lives Languish in Mental Facilities
MEMO FROM PRAVDA
By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER
Published: January 4, 2009
PRAVDA, Bulgaria – The name of this isolated spot in the lush Danube plains means justice or, in Russian, truth.
But little of either seems to have penetrated the home for men with mental disabilities and illnesses here, a bleak establishment reached most easily by a bone-jarring, six-hour ride from Sofia, the capital.In the Communist era, this is where authorities hid the mentally ill from public view. Today, the Pravda Social Care Home for Men with Mental Disorders, a small complex of scrappy, two-story buildings, is still a favored destination for city folk to send away relatives with a mental illness or disability – and not worry about hearing from them again, employees and residents here say.
USA
Senate Appointee in Illinois Vows to Fight On
By KAREN ANN CULLOTTA and MONICA DAVEY
Published: January 4, 2009
CHICAGO – In a raucous sendoff at a church on this city’s South Side, Roland W. Burris, the contested appointee for the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, vowing on Sunday night to cordially but aggressively fight efforts to block him from joining the chamber when he arrives in Washington this week.
Senate leaders have said they intend to prevent the seating of Mr. Burris, given his appointment last week by this state’s embattled governor, Rod R. Blagojevich. Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, said on Sunday that the Senate had the legal right to bar Mr. Burris from the new session, which begins Tuesday.As Senate leaders continued to weigh their options over what they say is an appointment tainted by Mr. Blagojevich, a two-term Democrat who was charged last month in part with trying to sell the Senate seat, Mr. Burris’s allies here stood firmly behind him.
Jan 05 2009
 Muse in the Morning |
 Imagining the Pain Away
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Jan 05 2009
Look, I’ve been as patient as the next guy when it comes to enduring the continual vile spew of this useless back-and-forth “debate” over who started what and who’s at fault and all the other bullshit associated with an illegal and immoral invasion. The facts are clear, and anyone who doesn’t know the history really needs to shut the fuck up and inform themselves before subjecting the rest of us to their thinly-veiled, slavish boosterism, no matter who they side with-the fascist oppressors and the maniacally dangerous rebels have both committed heinous sins. This is not a time to fall back on ignorance and favoritism, and clinging to well-worn shibboleths will only get your ass rocket-bombed in the end, dude. Fuck that. I won’t waste my love on a nation, and I suggest you pay attention, lest you continue to foolishly do so.
Jan 05 2009
{Editors note: Having found a proper alliteration, I will now be pub’ing this series at DD as well as dkos. Including ponies fro anyone who answers the questions. Rejoice!?!}
Docudharma is a small community of very smart (albeit funny looking) people. We may not have all the answers, but we certainly are witty and crafty enough to reply in an amusing fashion! So if you have a question, whether snarky, simple, political or philosophical, be it meta, meaty, maddening or impossible to answer,….what the hell? Post it here and see what happens! You have nothing to lose but your underwear! Heck, there is a chance it might even get answered, possibly even correctly!
Any questions?
Jan 04 2009
Weekend News Digest is an Open Thread
| From Yahoo News Top Stories |
1 Female bomber at Shiite shrine in Baghdad kills 38
By PATRICK QUINN, Associated Press Writer
2 hrs 34 mins ago
| BAGHDAD – A woman hiding among Iranian pilgrims with a bomb strapped under her black robe killed more than three dozen people on Sunday outside a Baghdad mosque during ceremonies commemorating the death of one of Shiite Islam’s most revered saints.
The suicide attack, the most recent in a series that has killed more than 60 people in less that a week, was the latest to mar the transfer of many security responsibilities from the U.S. military to Iraqi forces. Iraqi security forces have deployed thousands of troops in Baghdad and in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, just south of the capital, to safeguard against attacks during the ceremonies. Attacks by al-Qaida in Iraq, Sunni insurgents and even a Shiite cult have killed hundreds of people in recent years. |
Jan 04 2009
Today, the news reports that Israel has moved beyond its land/air/sea bombardment of Gaza, which has killed hundreds, including many civilian men, women and children. Tanks, motorized forces and troops have virtually cut the territory in half. While four Israelis have died from Hamas rocket attacks since the invasion began, BBC reports:
According to Hamas officials and witnesses, the main fighting is now centred on four areas: east of the Jabaliya refugee camp; in the Zeitoun neighbourhood to the east of Gaza City; on the coastal road close to the site of the former Jewish settlement of Netzarim, south of Gaza City; and in an uninhabited area in the centre of Gaza.
Hamas said its fighters were in some cases engaged in “face-to-face battles” with Israeli soldiers.
Earlier, the Israeli military said the militants were not engaging its troops in close combat but using mortars and improvised bombs.
The Palestinian health ministry says more than 500 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have now been killed since the Israelis began their assault on Gaza eight days ago. A further 2,500 have been wounded.
Jan 04 2009
Cleaned it up, slowed down the scrolling, rearranged some images, and generally upped the quality some.
The soundtrack is a copyright free instrumental called “Transformation”.
I think it looks not too bad, for what we need it for. Let me know how you like it, or don’t like it. Either way this is what we have!
The embed code is at Youtube, or on the flip below…
Jan 04 2009
Once upon a time, in a land far away, I participated in a writer’s workshop at a Women’s Project Retreat. A large part of my reason for being there was the attempt to become an accepted member of the Arkansas women’s community. Many of the attendees wished I were not there.
We were given the first phrase of the beginning of a story and asked to finish that beginning. You are invited to do the same.
The first story:
The second story:
The following are my efforts, the first one in prose, while the second one became a poem.
And there is a story that goes with them, a story which has never actually appeared in anything but a comment before. I’m appending it to the end to make it easier to find in the future.
Jan 04 2009
The term blowback was initially brought into political discussions by the CIA in predicting the results of US involvement in the 1953 coup in Iran that deposed Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq and his cabinet. Although the neo-cons are loath to admit it, US involvement with the coup and our subsequent support of the Shah, led to the blowback of the Iranian (or Islamic) Revolution in 1978.
But blowback isn’t just about Iran. The more we use force (either overt or covert) in the world to gain access to the resources we want, the more blowback we’ll see in the future. In his book Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire, Chalmers Johnson discusses the ways in which our country’s misguided policies are planting the seeds of future disaster.
Blowback is obviously something Bush and the neocons didn’t take seriously when they invaded 2 countries and utilized things like torture and rendition in their war of terror. But my guess is that the blowback from these crimes will be in evidence for decades if not centuries to come. That’s one of the reasons the petition for a Special Prosecutor is so important…holding them accountable might help limit the blowback.
Jan 04 2009