Saturday, September 26, 2009

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Dust Storm Video: Dust Storm Turns Sky Black In Broken Hill, Australia (VIDEO) Top
For the second time this week, Sydney, Australia was hit by a huge dust storm Saturday, causing the city to glow red. Reuters reported that the first storm on Wednesday, Sept. 23, carried 23 million tons of dust into the eastern Australian city. While the dust storm photos are stunning, perhaps the most striking images come from video shot by a woman in Broken Hill, Australia, a small, central western mining town about 15 hours from Sydney. Within seconds, the dust storm totally obscures the sunlight, turning the frame pitch black, and worrying the woman behind the camcorder. Agence-France Presse reports that Broken Hill was in "the eye of the storm" on Wednesday. Below are photos from Wednesday's dust storm in Sydney. More on Australia
 
Jacob Heilbrunn: Obama's Shrewd Iran Policy Top
The good news is that President Obama has a brilliant strategy for dealing with Iran. The bad news is that brilliance may not be enough. In a few months he could face the most severe foreign policy crisis a young president has faced since John F. Kennedy stumbled into the Bay of Pigs. Obama has taken several steps in the past few weeks that show he is thinking strategically about how to defang Iran's nuclear threat. For one thing, Obama is trying to bring Russia on board. By announcing that he has no intention of stationing a nuclear defense system in Eastern Europe, Obama removed a significant impediment to smoother relations with Moscow. In return, he needs Moscow's cooperation in confronting Iran. He already has the support of Britain and Germany. Constructing an alliance capable of implementing tough sanctions against Tehran is the kind of multilateral diplomacy that the Bush administration scorned. Obama doesn't. Obama's call for a nuclear-free world is also a big plus, one that, among other things, further helps refurbish America's battered image in Europe. At an election rally in Germany, the head of the liberal party, Guido Westerwelle, announced Obama's call for a nuclear-free world almost as soon as he had made it. Obama's focus on the dangers posed by nuclear weapons further exposes Tehran as an anomalous, retrograde power. The regime is on the wrong side of history. It isn't a progressive power, but a backward one that is pursuing a dangerous course that will further isolate it. Obama, after all, wants to strip the mullahs of their moolah by pushing for punitive sanctions. But if the hardline clerics are intent on obtaining the bomb--as opposed to the knowledge of how to construct one--then sanctions won't be enough. Then Obama will be confronted with an Israeli government determined to attack Iranian nuclear sites. And he'll be urged to do it himself by both liberal hawks and neocons back home. Will Obama be able to carve out some face-saving deal with Iran? Or is he heading into a major crisis? Iraq and Afghanistan may turn out to be sideshows as Obama focuses on the threat from Tehran. But so far, Obama has handled Iran perfectly with a mixture of threats and promises of cooperation.
 
The Obamas' Many Double Dates: With Which First Couple Do They Have The Most Chemistry? (PHOTOS, POLL) Top
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama co-hosted a reception for Heads of State and Government at the Metropolitan Museum on September 23rd. But judging by the 135 photos uploaded on the White House Flickr stream, it almost looked like speed-dating with each Head of State and their spouse. Here are the most fascinating photos. Tell us which couples the Obamas should go on a double date with, and with whom there seemed to be no chemistry. Follow HuffPost Style on Twitter and become a fan of HuffPost Style on Facebook ! More on Michelle Obama
 
Israel Tells US, Time To Act On Iran Top
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the U.S. to take action over a newly revealed Iranian nuclear facility in a phone conversation with American lawmakers, an official in his office said Saturday. Netanyahu spoke with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a number of unidentified U.S. senators and told them that now is the time to act on Iran. Israel maintains the Islamic republic is seeking nuclear weapons. "If not now then when?" the official quoted Netanyahu as saying. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak with the media. He did not disclose what kind of action Netanyahu recommend be taken. Iran kept the facility, located 100 miles southwest of Tehran, hidden from the U.N. nuclear watchdog until revealing it last week. Israel has long sounded alarm bells over its belief that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons while Tehran insists its facilities are only for producing nuclear fuel for power plants. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said earlier Saturday that the Iranian nuclear facility proves "without a doubt" the Islamic republic is pursuing nuclear weapons. "This removes the dispute whether Iran is developing military nuclear power or not and therefore the world powers need to draw conclusions," Lieberman told Israel Radio. "Without a doubt it is a reactor for military purposes not peaceful purposes." The facility enriches uranium fuel to power nuclear reactors. Highly enriched fuel, however, can also be used to make weapons. Evidence of the clandestine facility was presented Friday by President Barack Obama and the leaders of Britain and France at the G-20 economic summit in Pittsburgh. Obama demanded Iran show greater transparency regarding its nuclear program warning or face tougher sanctions. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad later said his country had done nothing wrong and Obama would regret his actions. Iran insists its facilities are producing nuclear fuel for power plants and not weapons. Israel considers Iran a strategic threat due to its nuclear program, missile development and repeated references by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Israel's destruction. Israel is widely believed to have a nuclear arsenal of its own. Lieberman said he met with Arab foreign ministers while at the United Nations last week and said they expressed their alarm over Iran's nuclear program to him. "Nobody is worried about the Palestinian problem, everybody in the Muslim and Arab world, and first and foremost in the Gulf states, are worried about the Iranian problem," Lieberman said. More on Israel
 
Gail McGowan Mellor: The Hanged Census Worker: Why Appalachia Hates Feds Top
On September 12, a federal census-taker, Bill Sparkman, was found nude, dead and tied by his neck to a tree in someone else's family cemetery in the Appalachian foothills of southeastern Kentucky, with his empty truck nearby. Binding him with duct tape and gagging him, a person or persons had taped his federal census ID to his head and shoulder and with a felt tip pen had scrawled FED on his chest. Network reporters, arriving in the area of the Daniel Boone National Forest, have expressed shock that the fresh-faced outdoorsy people in the area so outspokenly hate the federal government. Small wonder. The U.S. government began its life back in 1791 by shafting the Appalachian area. People have not forgotten it, perhaps because it has yet to stop happening. That is one part of the story needing exploration. Other aspects of this go far beyond Kentucky. Citizens across the nation are waking up to how constitutionally powerful they are, and there is magic and danger in that. The Kentucky Constitution -- echoing the Declaration of Independence and other state constitutions -- expresses the situation this way, "All power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their peace, safety, happiness and the protection of property. For the advancement of these ends, they have at all times an inalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may deem proper." That power can bring enormous social transformation, largely non-violently. The people refers to the majority; inalienable means that the power is there even if it has not been used in centuries, and indefeasible means that it remains intact no matter what legal dodge is used to deny it. A hundred years ago, citizens were confronted by U.S. government which was massively corrupt at every level and corporate monopolies with armies, in a ravaged environment where even deer were nearly extinct. In what they called the "Second American Revolution," they organized by the millions, using freedom of press and assembly to create civic, labor, consumer, stockholder, women's, civil rights, public health, occupational safety, food safety and environmental movements, grabbing guns only when shot at, and sticking with it through five wars and three major depressions. Combined with corporate dynamism, the result by the 1970s was the world's most prosperous nation, with the largest, best educated, most politically active middle class that the planet had ever seen. Such inherent clout plus building anger at the federal government however could also lead to political violence, especially when demagogues try to gin it up. Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi [D-CA] says that the potential is increasing, and some believe that the Sparkman killing may be the first blow. If so, in Appalachian at least, long overdue moral justice may be as important as criminal justice in defusing it. .... Kentucky was a Mohawk word for "meadow" referring to a vast central tableland of long grasses with tiny, exquisitely-fragrant, blue buds, fed by mountain streams filtered through limestone, with its long northern edge cut by the sinuous Ohio River Valley. At Pittsburgh to the northeast, two smaller rivers came together to produce the Ohio which flowed 1000 miles southwest to the mammoth Mississippi, where Kentucky tapered to a tip. Pioneers called the area the Bluegrass Plateau, and animals including eastern buffalo thrived on it and the forested plains to the west and south. Few Native nations had ever put homes there, but most loved the hunting, using it as a communal refrigerator. Pittsburgh had held settlers for a century by the time the country began. Pioneers like Daniel Boone though were just coming from the east coast into Kentucky, pushing up over the spine of the heavily forested eastern mountains, building forts and cabins. They were trailblazers, yet the new U.S. Congress taxed all these small farmers at a 50% higher rate than it levied on plantation owners like George Washington, and in 1791 it also taxed their whiskey, charging small producers much more per gallon than large producers like Washington. Whiskey was a storage device. In the Appalachian mountain and river valley mists, drying a corn crop or distilling it was imperative; otherwise it rotted. Living in a barter system, pioneers had little money, so when the U.S. federal tax collectors demanded cash, many settlers were forced to sell their farms. Since the U.S. Constitution allowed only white men with property to vote, pioneers who were taxed off their farms also lost their rights. When those in Pittsburgh backed by Kentucky pioneers rose up in armed rebellion, President Washington himself led 13,000 men against them--as large an army as the one that he had thrown against the British. However coincidentally, in Kentucky, some pioneer families banded into villages in inaccessible mountains and did not contact outsiders for another 100 years. The rest of Kentucky and other nearby pioneer areas meanwhile picked up the ball of the incomplete revolution and ran with it. The U.S. Constitution allowed slavery, but Ohio, Indiana and Illinois constitutionally prohibited slavery in their areas--nearly half a century before the Civil War. The Constitution had not mentioned corporations or political parties. The Indiana Constitution like others not only forbid political contributions by corporations and limited their lifespans but outlawed for-profit banks. The framers of the Constitution had feared direct democracy. In pioneer areas, white men without property won the right to vote, and for the country's first eighty years, citizens ran their towns through self-organizing volunteer groups and took turns representing each other. Convinced that an educated electorate was crucial to democracy, Indiana legislated the first public school system. Life for those self-isolated in the farthest mountains went on with a kind of timelessness, as the resourceful people built cabins, hunted the towering forests, made quilts, had clog dances and sang the ballads of Shakespeare's time. Near Tennessee, there was a waterfall with one of only two moonbows in the world. Eighty years after the Revolution, though, catastrophe struck. The eastern half of the country exploded in the Civil War, either "to hold the union together" or "to pull away from a dictatorial federal government"--either way, Kentucky stayed neutral as 600,000 people killed each other--and New York City was hit by a tsunami of Irish immigration. In the upheaval, NYC Democratic Party "Boss" William Tweed began selling all the city's elected and appointed offices and government contracts to the highest bidder, getting a kickback from each deal, while his gangs beat up or burned out those who did not pay; and the starving immigrants whom he fed voted early and often. He made a fortune before he died in jail. Carried by Irish immigrants, the boss system next helped Big Coal and the railroads take over Appalachian governments. The central part of the mountains, extending from Pennsylvania to the edge of the deep south, were irich in high quality coal, the main fuel of the industrial revolution worldwide. Corporations defrauded families of their farms, reducing them to workers in dangerous mines. Sucking all the profits, while getting whopping subsidies and not paying taxes, Big Coal kept the people in dire poverty. The federal government did nothing to protect them, but when the Prohibition of alcohol was passed, federal agents suddenly appeared with guns in remote parts of the mountains in order to murder folks in front of their families for the new crime of making whiskey. Democracy and capitalism thrived on public infrastructure, as the federal government dredged the great waterways and made canals and locks to allow boats to travel freely and for free; backed private transcontinental railroads in the late 1800s, created the federal aircraft control system, federally-funded the privately-built interstate highways, and built the then spontaneously-developed Internet. Community and commerce burst into life on them, and Kentucky cities like Louisville, Lexington and Newport thrived. Little of this however reached Appalachian Kentucky except rural electrification, waterworks and welfare. The government meanwhile repealed Prohibition, only to outlaw marijuana. Kentucky farmers had been producing hemp for twine and rope, a mainstay of the U.S. Navy in WWII, and peacefully smoking its buds since the area was settled. Pushed underground, the skilled farmers still made a billion dollars on an untaxed crop in 1980 alone. Instead of leaving it legal, thus getting much-needed revenue for Kentucky, and letting Kentucky farmers compete the Latin American cartels out of business however, the government made it a felony. The prisons have long since overflowed, backing up into the jails, which are overflowing too. There is too little work. Coal mine jobs have dried up because huge machines have come in, removing whole mountain ranges, dumping them into streams, in order to reach the coal that America still craves. What jobs there are shatter bodies. In an area with too few doctors, unregulated "pain clinics" thrive, addicting people to prescription drugs like Oxycontin, and some folks slip out into the forest, growing pot and making lethal meth to sell. Quietly religious, in touch with family members long since flung far and wide into other states, the reflexively polite majority welcome strangers. Yet the press makes cartoon characters of them, the Beverly Hillbillies shooting at revenooers. There is nothing funny about it. Reporters who come into the area say it's "lawless." More exactly, people have a learned contempt for laws that criminalize previously legal activities and legalize corruption. Teacher Bill Sparkman was from here, moonlighting as a federal census taker in order to pay the bills, his heart set on empowering area children. The Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] has been investigating, but the Sparkman death was not announced until almost two weeks after Sparkman's body was found, indicating conflicting trails. What do you think? Who did it and why? More on Nancy Pelosi
 
Miles J. Zaremski: Health Care Reform: It Boils Down to Four Words Top
Next week, the Senate Finance Committee will vote on the public health insurance option. There will be two versions of it, one offered by Senator Rockefeller; the other by Senator Schumer. Regardless of the outcome, health care reform today comes down to four simple, words: accessibility , affordability , choice , and competition . For good measure, there is also perhaps a fifth word, and that is the word, right , as in Americans should have a right to health care as part of being a United States citizen. In order to be healthy, we need care from our doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers. In other words, we must be able to access (the first word of reform) that care. We should all be astute enough to know how to call a doctor, or get over to a hospital emergency room. And if we do not, surely we have a friend, colleague, or loved one who can assist us. Recently, the major drugstore chains, like Walgreen's and CVS, have established in-store "clinics", staffed by licensed and certified nurse-practitioners, to treat garden variety ailments for less than it would be to visit a private doctor. But even though we know where to go for care, if we cannot afford (the second word of reform) it, it does not matter if the doctor is next door or down the block. So, to pay to sustain our health means we need to find quality for the least expensive price. Typically, that can be obtained through health care insurance policies. After all, rarely, if ever, does anyone pay the "retail" rate for health care services; everything is always negotiated between provider and third party payor. But premiums for these policies cost lots of money, and millions of Americans cannot afford them. Those of us who have insurance are no doubt paying way too much for them as well. In order for premiums to come down, either the private market has to voluntarily drop the cost, or there must be some outside pressure to force them to do so. We know the former does not work, since insurance companies in the private market are in business to be as profitable as possible. Shareholders would not want it any other way. The other way is for a "new kid in town" to make premiums come down. This kid is the public option. After all, the American way is to compete. By those who wish to compete , we have sufficient choice (our third and fourth words for reform) among the insurance being offered to us. The more choices, the better the price and the product. Another reason a public option is critical is that insurance companies have been exempt from our antitrust laws for over 60 years. The opposite of competition is monopolization, which antitrust laws are designed to prevent. This includes monopolizing prices insurance companies charge as insurance premiums. Senator Leahy (D.-Vt.) introduced last week S. 1681 (H.R. 3596) to lift the exemption that the insurance industry has had since 1945. We should all get on that bandwagon to ensure its passage. Parenthetically, if we do get a public option, let's ensure that insurance companies do not have the ability to hike premiums or reduce coverage before it (public option) goes into being. Remember what the credit care companies did with interest rates before recent regulations limiting interest charges went into effect? We shouldn't be taken as fools once more. So, to all those on the Senate Finance Committee, before you cast your vote on the public option, think of the four words put forth in this post. That should not be a difficult thing to do, unless you really are unconcerned about caring out the will of the people you swore to follow upon becoming an elected representative.
 
Vanessa Carmichael: Oh, Now You Care Top
If you listen closely to the health care debate in this country, you might figure the debate isn't really about health care at all. The pitched signs of tea baggers that answered the call of Glen Beck and marched on Washington on September 12th, concerned mostly socialism and amnesty--spelled out in all its erroneous forms, not health care. While most Fox News programs and AM talk radio is tailored to fuel the ire of working-class white people to keep the country divided and ratings up, immigration is an issue that crosses racial and economic divides as proven by the inclusion of section 246 of H.R. 3200 that prohibits illegal immigrants from being covered by public health care. Yet, despite the fact that the House's health care bill clearly states that illegal immigrants would not be provided for, conservatives are still milking illegal immigration for all it's vote-proffering effects, insisting illegal immigrants will be covered under the president's health care agenda. South Carolina's Congressional representative slandered the president on the floor of Congress no less, calling him a liar in relation to the provision. The outburst was either the result of his own illiteracy or a desperate maneuver to appeal to a constituency that wants to make every issue we face as a country an issue of illegal immigration. This campaign of lies and distortions is much like the "it wasn't me" defense, where the cheater just keeps repeating the bold-faced lie until their spouse, in this case the country, is exhausted and gives up. This tactic works especially well these days with the president being a racial minority, and therefore in the minds of disgruntled simpletons, a natural ally of illegal immigrants. The truth of the matter is that the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, particularly Latino immigrants, that cost the country an estimated $11 billion in health care expenditures take up disproportionately more time in right wing media than the hundreds of billions needlessly wasted by insurance companies and hospitals on administrative expenses. Nevermind, the $177 Billion of taxpayer money that went to big agribusiness to make us all less healthy, that money was thieved by white people. Shame Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh didn't mobilize these outraged citizens during the eight years of the Bush administration's compulsive spending. Seeing as though it was Bush, not Obama, who promoted illegal immigration on a national level as he had done in his home state as governor of Texas, it seems an exercise in futility to cry about illegal immigrants now. These days fewer and fewer workers are willing to take the risk of crossing to the United States only to struggle to find work in our ailing economy. Where were these guys when Bush was pushing for the ole temporary guest-worker permit (semantics for amnesty) to match up immigrant workers with employers for "jobs Americans won't do." As if Americans turn their noses up at working construction or cooking in restaurants or cleaning offices. Americans do and will do these jobs and just about any other job but they'd prefer to do so at a livable wage. Bush made the statement about guest-worker program during his campaign against Kerry and Glen Beck constituency still voted for him. While today they make signs about the use of Spanish in the U.S., they voted for Bush who reversed the Republican Party's support for English-only public education. They supported Bush who believed our economy rested on the cheap labor of immigrants and not fairly compensated labor of Americans, stating: "We hear claims that immigrants are somehow bad for the economy, even though this economy could not function without them. All these are forms of economic retreat, and they lead in the same direction, toward a stagnant and second-rate economy." Shame these outraged citizens weren't taking it to the streets during the previous six years when we spent an estimated trillion dollars on the Iraq War mostly for contracts to Bechtel and Halliburton, (because we sure weren't spending it on the soldiers). We could have used their righteous indignation when Rumsfeld threw millions of Saddam's money at militants so they could buy more weapons to kill American soldiers and innocent civilians. No, when the Bush Administration was spending like a bandit, ya know, when it counted, that's when these concerned citizens were the "silent majority." Now we are left with a choice of victimizing victims, rounding up impoverished immigrant families, and foregoing reforms in health care and education because the budget is so tight. Some say these demonstrations are an inspiration for American democracy. I strongly disagree. Watching these day-late-dollar-short dissidents march on Washington in an uproar over spending and illegal immigration is not inspiring in the least. Watching these tea baggers march on Washington is like watching the guy who burned down your house dub himself a hero 'cause he threw water on the ashes. More on Tax Day Tea Parties
 
Lori Pottinger: The Wrong Climate for Big Dams in Africa Top
Africa is the least electrified place in the world. Some 550 million Africans have no access to electricity. Not only are they living in the dark; many Africans also have a tenuous water supply. The majority depend directly on rivers and lakes for water. Water stress is growing, creeping across the continent like a swarm of locusts. And climate change (which Africans have had almost no part in creating) is expected to make things dramatically worse.  Yet many of the continent's energy planners are pinning their hopes for African electrification on something as ephemeral as the rain, by pushing for a grid of large hydro dams across the continent. Today, the African Union called for a massive system of continental “power pooling” (linking grids across borders), ostensibly to help Africa’s poor. Elham Ibrahim, the energy chief for the African Union, told Reuters that hydropower is key to power pooling. But the hydro-pooling plan could leave Africa high and dry. Many existing dams are already suffering from drought-caused power shortages, forcing governments to turn to expensive fossil-fuel emergency plants. New dams are being built with no examination of how climate change will impact them. Past hydrological records, being used as the basis for planning dozens of new large dams, have little bearing on future river flows. The economic impacts of hydro-vulnerability will be felt both in the costs of power cuts on industrial output, and the cost of wasted investments in dry dams. Africa’s poor could become hydropower hostages. Climate scientists predict truly alarming changes to many African waterways. In his 2006 report, Sir Nicholas Stern predicted that a 3-6 degree Celsius increase in temperature in coming years will result in a 30-50% reduction in water availability in Southern Africa. Scientists recently discovered evidence that droughts in West Africa lasted centuries in the past . Their study suggests global warming could create conditions that favor extreme droughts across much of Western Africa, home to Africa’s biggest reservoir (Akosombo’s Lake Volta), among others. The Nile, Zambezi and other major rivers are also expected to see worse droughts and lower flows. Africa’s dam promoters insist that by building more dams across a wider region, and connecting them all with transmission systems, odds are it will all work out, and power can be traded to places where drought has crippled the power supply. Yet it’s hard to sell electricity from empty reservoirs. The World Bank, which is also calling for a resurgence in hydro development in Africa , states that the continent has tapped just 8% of its hydro potential. This is an incomplete message at best. The other side of the coin is that Africa is already dangerously hydro-dependent, with many countries getting most of their electricity (and sometimes all of it) from dams. Meanwhile, Africa has not developed even a tiny fraction of a percent of its available solar, wind, geothermal, or biomass power. While Africa’s large dams have failed to bring Africans out the dark, decentralized renewable energy projects are well-suited to meeting the needs of far-flung villages and urban areas alike. Diversifying the energy mix is a better bet than gambling on the rain. The palette includes: Geothermal:  The UN says that Africa has at least 4,000MW of geothermal ready to develop in the East African Rift. but has tapped less than half of a percent of this naturally produced steam-driven power. Solar: Africa’s potential is nearly limitless. A new study co-sponsored by my organization shows that Mozambique’s huge and virtually unexploited solar potential is about 1.49 million GWh -- thousands of times more than the country’s current annual energy demand. And this power is distributed evenly across the country. Exploiting this energy would benefit the more than 80% of Mozambique’s population that is now off-grid.  Wind:  Wind potential is also high in many parts of Africa, and is finally beginning to be developed (new large projects are underway in Kenya and Egypt, for example). Co-gen: The production of electricity from steam, heat, or other energy sources as a by-product of another industrial process is well-suited to many African nations. A new report on Africa's hydropower vulnerability by African researchers estimates that the continent could get 20% of its electricity from co-gen. Mauritius now gets almost half of its electricity from co-gen plants using mostly sugar cane waste. Diversifying Africa's energy sector would help its climate-adaptation efforts in key ways: it would de-emphasize reliance on erratic rainfall for electricity, reduce conflict over water resources, and protect river-based ecosystems and the many benefits they bring. And it would share the wealth with the half a billion Africans now living in the dark.       More on Climate Change
 
Spider On Pope (PICTURE, VIDEO): Spider Crawls On Pope Benedict's Face During Speech In Prague Top
PRAGUE (AP) — President Barack Obama had his fly. Now Pope Benedict XVI has his spider. A large arachnid appeared on the pope's white robes as he addressed politicians and diplomats in Prague on Saturday afternoon. The pope didn't seem to notice at first – but journalists following the speech on a large screen flinched as the spider inched toward Benedict's neck. It disappeared from view for a moment, but then could be seen crawling up the right side of the 82-year-old pontiff's face. When it reached his ear, Benedict gave it a swat. But it didn't go away – it reappeared on the pope's left shoulder and scampered down his robe. As the pope left the medieval Prague Castle's ornate Spanish Hall, the spider could be seen hanging from a piece of web. In June, Obama now famously swatted and killed a fly that intruded on an interview for CNBC at the White House. More on Photo Galleries
 
Anuradha K. Herath: EPRLF-P Gen. Sec. Sritharan to Diaspora: This is No Joke, Battlefront Not on Toronto Streets Top
For decades, T. Sritharan, general secretary of the Eelam Peoples' Revolutionary Liberation Front-Pathmanabha wing (EPRLF-P), engaged in politics covertly. Under the watchful eye of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), he and his political party struggled to get their politically moderate message across to the people of the north and east. Despite the LTTE's claim of being the sole representative of the Tamil people, there were those who disagreed. Those dissenters were often suppressed. "Our people couldn't live anywhere," Sritharan says. "Our people were living only in a very low-profile way. They couldn't (engage) in any political activities. Anybody thinking against the LTTE, they kill. That is the problem. LTTE not only killed political leaders, they also killed intellectuals, even NGO people. They also killed [politically] left people and trade union people." The EPRLF (before it split into two groups), along with other Tamil political parties, was banned by the LTTE in 1986. But Sritharan managed to survive the LTTE's ruthless elimination of those it considered Tamil moderates. Today, Sritharan and his party are allied with the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, working to address the grievances of the Tamil minority in post-war Sri Lanka. In an interview in Colombo that lasted nearly two hours, Sritharan spoke candidly about the issues facing Sri Lanka's Tamil population. The Diaspora For decades, the Sri Lankan diaspora -- both Tamil and Sinhala -- played a crucial role in the conflict. Political scientist Christine Fair wrote about the Tamil diaspora communities in Nationalism and Ethnic Politics in 2005. "As has been noted, the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora has been a fundamental component of the Tamil insurgency," she writes. "It has been the backbone of the LTTE's global operations and has been a financial lifeline of the militancy." The last stages of Sri Lanka's 30-year conflict with the LTTE saw massive protests staged in capitals around the world against the government's military offensive. Toronto was a key flashpoint. According to some estimates, the city has a Tamil population of approximately 200,000, including many LTTE supporters. Thousands from Toronto's Tamil diaspora poured on to the streets to protest, forcing road closures and disrupting civil life. Now, with the military struggle over and the LTTE defeated, Sritharan says the diaspora will have to assume a new role. "The Tamil diaspora in the last 20 years, a section of the diaspora, supported to build up the LTTE war," he says. "They also, right or wrong, contributed a number of children. Now, their contribution [must be] to the upliftment of the people and their lives. They must contribute very positively." "[In] their countries also, different kinds of people are available. Different societies also tolerate each other. Living in another country, your experience, your education (and) your wealth must be shared locally." Speaking emotionally about the numbers of Tamil people killed, injured and widowed through the conflict, Sritharan accused the Tamil diaspora of not understanding the realities on the ground. "They think the children are poor peoples' sons and daughters," Sritharan says. "Some people in Toronto, in LTTE uniforms, rallying [demonstrating]. The ordinary soldier from the Sinhala south is also from a poor peasant family. These children are from poor families. These people are also fighting in the front. It is not some school program or sports meet." Sritharan's contention is that diaspora communities have the luxury of observing from a distance. They have the luxury of free speech in countries such as the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia (with large Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora populations) to protest and speak out without having to face dangerous consequences. But they have "no sentimental attachment with the land," Sritharan says, and the children of poor Tamil and Sinhala families end up fighting for the cause. "The battlefront is not on Toronto's streets," he says. "This is not a bloody joke. These kinds of people also exploit the ordinary peoples' life and limb." Working for Peace On Sept. 7, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), widely known as the LTTE's proxy party, met with President Rajapaksa for the first time since the defeat of the LTTE. The TNA consists of five Tamil political parties: Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchchi, All Ceylon Tamil Congress, Tamil United Liberation Front, EPRLF-S (Suresh wing led by Suresh Premachandran) and Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization. The focus of the meeting was the humanitarian crisis in the north, particularly the resettling of internally displaced persons. Sritharan did not attend this meeting but says he spoke about the issue with President Rajapaksa when he attended an all-party meeting July 2. "I mentioned to (President Rajapaksa), you also played a good role in the latter part of the 80s on human rights," Sritharan says. "You also played a historical role for 20, 25 years to eradicate the Tamil fascism. In the same way, you will try to devolve the powers to the other communities, Tamils including other communities, as well as value the peoples' respect and dignity." Sritharan believes President Rajapaksa faces pressure from the People's Liberation Front (JVP) and Jathika Hela Urumaya parties against devolving power, but he is hopeful. "Now the government must take some risks," says Sritharan. "Peace is the main agenda. Free the people from camps. Celebrate the peace. At that time, if one or two LTTE (members) create problems, the people will punish them. Now if the (existing) situation continues, that is a fertilized ground." Sritharan calls on the government to release from IDP camps those who can easily be identified as not being a threat -- families with five or six children, widows, pregnant women and the elderly. "Now people also want to live," he says. "They want their children educated. They want jobs. They want peace." Read more of the interview with EPRLF-P General Secretary T. Sritharan here . More on Sri Lanka
 
Farahnaz Ispahani: Obama joins world leaders in backing Pakistani Democracy Top
Kerry Lugar Bill & FoDP Much to the dismay of the government's detractors and contrary to the vilification campaign going on in the country against the leadership, the US Senate voted on Thursday to triple non-military aid to Pakistan to roughly 1.5 billion dollars per year through 2014 in its effort to show the world that Pakistan is a critical and strategic ally. The bill, passed unanimously, had been agreed upon between the Senate and House sponsors of legislation passed separately by each chamber earlier this year. The sponsors are Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar. The bill has incorporated improvements over the earlier version of the Kerry-Lugar Bill passed by the Senate and the House. The vital aspect of the bill is that its language is far less prescriptive and stringent than the original version. Specific references to India as well as AQ Khan have been eliminated while the language related to nuclear proliferation is markedly toned down - from "ensure access of US investigators to individual suspected" to receiving cooperation "in efforts such as providing relevant information from or direct access to Pakistani nationals associated with such networks." Richard Holbrooke, special US representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, said the Kerry-Lugar Bill will become law next week. On Thursday, in an unprecedented show of support for Pakistan, major economic powers agreed to the formation of a multi-donor trust fund (MDTF) to help the country build its tribal areas which have been the worst victim of the fight against the militants. In an unprecedented show of solidarity President Barack Obama, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Gordon Brown co-chaired the meeting of Friends Democratic of Pakistan (FoDP). President Asif Ali Zardari stressed the significance of Mr. Obama's gesture, saying it reflected the confidence the international community had in the new democratic set-up in Pakistan. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi termed the summit a 'diplomatic success', stating that it represented a vote of confidence in the Pakistani nation. "We have come a long way. Democracy has completed a full circle," he said. "We have a message for the extremists: There's no place for them in the civilized world." The President went on to add, "A stable, prosperous Pakistan is the world's greatest hope against the spread of extremism and terrorism." The total amount of the Bill passed by US Senate for the FY 2009 is $3021.0 m. $1147.5m would be given under the Head of Development and Reconstruction out of which $33.5m will be given under the Head of Child Survival and Health Program whereas Economic Support Fund would receive $1,114.0m while $1,102m will be made available for the country in FY2010 with $27.9m and $1,074.3m on Child Survival and Health Program and Economic Support Fund respectively. Pakistan will receive a total of $1103.1m under the Head of Security Assistance out of which Foreign Military Financing would be $300.0m this year, whereas $700.0m have been allocated for Pakistan Counter Insurgency Fund; $13.3m would be spent on Non-Profit, Antiterrorism, Demining and Related Issues. The Head of International Narcotics & Law Enforcement would receive a total of $87.5m while $2.3m would be spent under the Head of IMET. It is worthy to mention here that $298.0m, $22.7m, $155.2m and $4.0m respectively would be given to the country under the same Head in FY 2010. Pakistan will receive a total of $255.4m under the Head of Humanitarian grant; further details are that Migration and Refugee Assistance will be given $69.6m while Food for Progress $31.0m, PL480 $36.3m and International Disaster Assistance will be given to the tune of $118.0m in the FY 2009. Migration and Refugee Assistance will receive $20.0m while no money has been reserved for Food for Progress, PL and International Disaster Assistance in the FY 2010.Total State Department ops will entail $2,506.0m in this fiscal year whereas it would be $1602.0m in the next fiscal year. The Department of Defense will receive a total of $515.6m in which Counter Narcotics will receive an amount of $63.3m this year and $38.4m in the next financial year while $25.0m have been reserved on the name of FATA Authority this year. Ensuring that the present government does not face any obstacle in its democratic dispensation, a condition in the Bill requires that the security forces of Pakistan do not subvert judicial processes. The aim of the legislation is to promote stability in the country. It is worthy to mention here that the Bill underlines the importance of supporting Pakistan's national security needs to fight the ongoing counterinsurgency and improve its border security and control. However, it does not specify any amount or percentage. This provides the Administration maximum flexibility and none of the conditions can set in motion automatic sanctions. Critics will come out with all sorts of accusation but the fact of the matter is that the importance of FoDP cannot be underestimated. Heads of states and governments of more than twenty countries gathered under one roof to show their confidence in the democratic set-up in Islamabad, a fact which was also acknowledged by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown who applauded Islamabad's campaign to rid the restive border areas of violent extremism and bring stability to the region. The British leader commended the leadership of President Zardari and the role of armed forces for launching an effective offensive against the militants. Brown said all member countries of the FoDP were unanimous in voicing their support for Pakistan towards addressing economic and security challenges facing the nation. Earlier, addressing the meeting, US President Barack Obama announced that the Senate Thursday unanimously passed the long-awaited Kerry-Lugar bill. The measure will authorise $1.5 billion in economic assistance for Pakistan annually over five years. Obama reaffirmed his administration's commitment to economic cooperation with Pakistan. This has been a truly remarkable week for Pakistan on the world stage. Pakistan stands perhaps in the strongest diplomatic position in its sixty two year history. And perhaps the most important message that President Zardari sends to our nation -- both its military leadership and to the people -- is that democracy does indeed deliver. More on Barack Obama
 
Jim Selman: Capitalism: Never Enough? Top
New York is a consumer paradise. That's one of the reasons it is a shopping mecca for so many people from around the world. Folks who can afford it want to have an apartment here, the 'Big Brands' want to have a store on 5th Avenue, and the rest of us want to look in the store windows and buy stuff. New York, of course, doesn't have an exclusive on being a magnet for shoppers -- most big cities have their own version of a street lined with designer stores overflowing with opulent offerings. As I travel from city to city, I find myself wondering how all of these stores stay in business. How many Rolex watches, Chanel handbags and Mont Blanc pens can one use? And now these 'pushers' for shopaholics and the rich are invading airports like ants at a picnic. I understand capitalism. And I understand business. But in the wake of last year's financial meltdown (attributed mostly to greed), the impact of the recession on ordinary lives, and trillions in consumer debt, it seems like a good time to ask, "How much is enough?" If we as a society are really committed to the notion that "more is always better" and if we believe we can sustain economic growth indefinitely, then we are 'hooked' going to make that next purchase just as surely as an alcoholic derelict on Skid Row is 'hooked' as they reach for another drink. I think the epidemic of designer stores is just symptomatic of the buying binge we've been on for the last half-century. To be sure, it has created unprecedented prosperity and a higher standard of living for many. In Annie Leonard's "The Story of Stuff" she quotes retail analyst Victor Lebow, one of the architects of our current economic system, as saying, " Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life ... that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction in consumption... .We need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever accelerating rate." But as an engine for humanity, it is not sufficient to simply buy and sell. Many economists today are suggesting we must not rely on growth as our sole criteria for judging a 'healthy' economy -- that we must find ways to measure the quality of people's lives and the impacts we are having that are not based on just dollars and cents. We have all heard that money can't buy happiness. Now we're having to acknowledge that happiness is not a commodity to be bought and sold, and we can no longer afford to be addicted to consumption . If we look at our current economic woes through the lens of addiction, then conventional wisdom and all the 12-Step programs would agree that there are at least two 'facts' that seem to apply: 1. An addict cannot get 'out of the box' of their addiction by themselves, and 2. Addicts live in denial until they 'hit bottom'. I don't know how all of this will play out at the national or international levels, but I believe we're beginning to see a lot of people waking up and challenging their faith in capitalism. I have not yet seen Michael Moore's newest documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story , but from what I have read, I suspect he is once again showing the price we pay when we give our power and hand over our future to technocrats and mechanistic institutions. I am not against the theory of Capitalism as a means for distributing goods and services, just as I am not against alcohol. I am, however, against Capitalism or any economic theory when it becomes an ideology, just as I am against a pervasive culture of drinking and drugs in which individuals lose their capacity to choose (or even question their choices). When our practices become so pervasive that they 'take over' people's thinking to the extent they self-destruct (for example, through excessive drinking or excessive debt), then we need to stop and ask what is really going on. We need to challenge our most basic beliefs and assumptions about what we want, how we are living and the choices we are making. Creating any new habit is difficult. And getting beyond an addiction can be extremely challenging. But having the courage to take stock and get clear about what we want is the essence of what makes us who we are. This is exactly what we need to do to create the foundations for whatever possible future we want. © 2009 Jim Selman. All rights reserved. More on Capitalism: A Love Story
 
Peter Dreier: First They Came For ACORN Top
First Big Business, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Lou Dobbs, the Religious Right, the Wall Street Journal , Mitch McConnell, and Karl Rove came for ACORN, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not ACORN. Then they came for SEIU, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not SEIU. Then they came for the Apollo Alliance, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not the Apollo Alliance. Then they came for the Center for American Progress, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not the Center for American Program. Then they came for the Sierra Club, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not the Sierra Club. Then they came for the National Organization for Women, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not the National Organization for Women. Then they came for the other community organizers, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not community organizers Then they came for AFSCME, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not AFSCME. Then they came for the National Council of La Raza, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not the National Council of La Raza. Then they came for the NAACP, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not the NAACP. Then they came for the ACLU, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not the ACLU. Then they came for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Then they came for the National Council of Churches, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not the National Council of Churches. Then they came for the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Then they came for the AARP, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not the AARP. Then they came for the Teamsters, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not Teamsters. Then they came for the Catholic Worker, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not the Catholic Worker. Then they came for UNITE HERE, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not UNITE HERE. Then they came for the Immigrant Solidarity Network, and, the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not the Immigrant Solidarity Network. Then they came for the National Education Association, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not the National Education Association. Then they came for the U.S. Student Association, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not the U.S. Student Association. Then they came for the American Association of University Professors, and the Democrats did not speak out -- because they were not the American Association of University Professors Then Big Business, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Lou Dobbs, the Religious Right, the Wall Street Journal , Mitch McConnell, and Karl Rove came for the Democrats -- and there was no one left to speak out for the Democrats. Peter Dreier teaches Politics and directs the Urban & Environmental Policy program at Occidental College. This is based on a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892-1984), written about the Nazi regime in Germany. More on Glenn Beck
 
Bruce Springsteen Symposium: Hundreds Of Academics Meet In New Jersey For Lectures On The Boss Top
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. — Hold still, Bruce – this won't hurt a bit! Scholars from around the world are dissecting the Springsteen legend this weekend in New Jersey. "Glory Days: A Bruce Springsteen Symposium" continues through Sunday at Monmouth University. The no-holds-barred intellectual romp, coinciding with Springsteen's 60th birthday, was organized by Virginia Tech and Penn State Altoona. And yes, the scholars do get the comedic irony of studying a man who "learned more from a three-minute record than he ever learned from school." The festivities include several pilgrimages to the landmark Stone Pony nightclub, down the road in Asbury Park, N.J. Educators spent Friday night singing, hollering and chanting a curse phrase at the impish urging of rock pioneer Gary U.S. Bonds, whose performance brought the house down. Springsteen resurrected Bonds' career in the '80s by writing his comeback hit, "This Little Girl." Professors, many of them veterans of dozens of concerts – one boasted 150-plus – vied to get out their first-person tales from the concert "pit." Fans of Run of the (Steel) Mill, Springsteen's former band, also entered the symposium fray. Springsteen has "saved my life many times," said textbook publisher Patty Pappas of Toronto, who detoured to the symposium en route to next week's Meadowlands concerts. "If you're sad, happy, angry – if you want to scream, rant and rave – there's always a song that can express it." Come the light of day, though, it's back to the books – make that the Power Point presentations. "Fun?" said presenter Francesco Cassino of Rome, Italy, clearly startled by the question during his reverie on harmonic sequences. His expression grew otherworldly. "It's my life," he said Saturday, expressing the common theme of fans everywhere. "His music can call us to a higher purpose," said Dr. James Kelly of Carlow University in Pittsburgh, calling Springsteen a vehicle for discussions on social causes, war, race, gender and class. When the music that was to accompany Kelly's presentation didn't play, the audience told him to stop talking and fix it. From then on, Kelly – who referred to Springsteen as a "cool rockin' daddy" – jackhammered through his academic talk while competing with the music – blasts of "Sprung from cages on Highway 9!" and "Baby, this town rips the bones from your back!" Discussion topics were dizzying. Springsteen and psychology; the movies; spirituality; American culture; history; the criminal justice system; the online community; family. Bruce Geeks worship Springsteen as a storyteller and a poet. References abounded to the likes of writers Jack Kerouac and Flannery O'Connor; Springsteen has said O'Connor's work helped inspire the "Nebraska" album. There were down-home moments, as well. Fellow blue-collar rocker Joe Grushecky sheepishly admitted taking a sick day from his regular job as a special education teacher to collaborate with Springsteen. His peeved employer set out to track him down. Grushecky's mother called her son to pass along his boss' message. Patti Scialfa, Springsteen's wife, took the call. "Patti hands me the phone and says, `It's your mom,'" recalled Grushecky, who shushed Springsteen while calling back his other boss, and feigning illness. When Grusheky's kids were little, they thought Springsteen was just "another of Daddy's buddies who played guitar. And lived in a bigger house." The "Springsteen and Social Consciousness" panel stressed that the boss puts his money – and his energies – where his mouth is. Singer-activist Jen Chapin, daughter of the late Harry Chapin, said Springsteen has raised millions of dollars for grass root causes including hunger. "I've dealt with a lot of celebrities," said Chapin, giving Springsteen an A-plus for his "integrity" and determination to "follow through on his promises." The symposium, also held in 2005, is the brainchild of 52-show veteran Dr. Mark Bernhard, director of continuing and professional education at Virginia Tech. "Bruce and his music, through his lyrics as well as his performances and his social consciousness ... speak to the common man or woman," Bernhard said. "He resonates with many of us" – in all walks of life.
 
Orangutan And Hound Dog Become Best Friends (VIDEO) Top
Okay, This might just be the cutest video HuffPost Green has ever seen. Surya the orangutan falls in love with Rosco the hound dog, and then they roll around in the grass together and share cookies. Too cute. WATCH: Get HuffPost Green On Facebook and Twitter! More on Animals
 
Anne Morell Petrillo: Daughter Of Anne Scripps Douglas, Murdered Newspaper Heiress, Believed Dead After Jumping Off Tappan Zee Bridge Top
TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — New York state police believe the daughter of slain newspaper heiress Anne Scripps Douglas jumped to her death from the same bridge her stepfather did after he killed her mother. Police on Friday were searching the Hudson River near the Tappan Zee Bridge, around 25 miles north of Manhattan, for the body of Anne Morell Petrillo. Authorities say they found a note and believe she got out of her car on and jumped off the bridge Thursday evening. Petrillo's mother, the great-great-granddaughter of Detroit News founder James Scripps, was beaten to death with a hammer in Anne's bedroom by her stepfather, Scott Douglas, on New Year's Eve in 1993. Douglas fled and jumped to his death from the same bridge. His body was found three months after the slaying. ___ Information from: The Journal News, http://www.thejournalnews.com
 
Celebrity Activists: Passion or Publicity? You Decide! Top
We've all seen celebrities using their influence to promote a cause. Which of these celebs are truly passionate and active and who's just doing it for the publicity? You decide!
 

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