May 12 2010
There were six of them, gunned down by the armed force of the state.
I could be talking about the four students murdered at Kent State just seven days before plus the two who would would die later in the week at Jackson State.
But I’m not. I’m talking about six young Black men killed in Augusta, Georgia, 40 years ago tonight. Each was shot in the back by police shotguns, and their deaths were woven into the fabric of struggle and repression that was growing day by day in May, 1970.
May 12 2010
On June 8, Californians will vote on several referendums, in addition to primary races. One of those referendums, Proposition 14 (aka the Top Two Primaries Act), could hugely change how those primary races are conducted, and it would definitely not be for the better. As if to add insult to injury, but it could take down a public campaign financing measure along with it.
Prop 14 was put on the ballot through the backroom dealings of State Senator (not Lt. Gov.) Abel Moldonado, the very last holdout on the budget this year. He used the budget crisis for his own profit and one of his demands was to put this measure on the ballot. Now, his reckless action is being opposed by every political party in California and numerous electoral reform groups, groups ranging from the NAACP to the Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition.
But big business wants this to pass because of the control it could give them over elections (explanation below the fold). So your help is needed – $5, $10, $100 – whatever you can chip in to prevent California from descending further into a mess of broken government.
May 12 2010
The Gulf of Mexico Foundation‘s website says it was “founded in 1990 by citizens concerned with the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico.” Its site shows it has sponsored conservation and educational programs and partnered with the likes of the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The site also says the group represents a “wide range of interests,” including “agriculture, business, fisheries, industry, tourism, and the environment.”
But as it turns out, industry appears to be the most represented of those interests.
At least half of the 19 members of the group’s board of directors have direct ties to the offshore drilling industry. One of them is currently an executive at Transocean, the company that owns the Deepwater Horizon rig.
The Gulf of Mexico Foundation’s slogan is:
America’s Sea … Keep It Shining
May 12 2010
Afternoon Edition is an Open Thread
| From Yahoo News Top Stories |
1 Oil companies trade blame over Gulf of Mexico spill
by Olivier Knox, AFP
28 mins ago
| WASHINGTON (AFP) – BP, Transocean and Halliburton blamed each other Tuesday for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill as US lawmakers grilled executives over the giant slick threatening environmental and economic ruin.
Oil industry titans faced off at two separate congressional hearings examining the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig, which killed 11 workers and has led to one of the worst spills in American history. Rig operator BP said rig owner Transocean, the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor, was responsible for the failure of the giant blowout preventer valve to stop the blast. |