Truthout Headlines: 18-11-10
Thursday 18 November 2010
Exclusive Report: Evidence of Iran Nuclear Weapons Program May Be Fraudulent
Gareth Porter, Truthout: "The Obama administration says there can be no diplomatic negotiations with Iran unless Iran
satisfies the IAEA fully in regard to the allegations derived from the documents that it had covert nuclear weapons
program. That position is based on the premise that the intelligence documents that Iran has been asked to explain are
genuine. The evidence now available, however, indicates that they are fabrications."
Michael Moore | They Said They Would Push Me "Off a Cliff"
Michael Moore, MichaelMoore.com: "Yesterday, on the TV and radio show 'Democracy Now' hosted by Amy Goodman, the former
Vice President of CIGNA, one of the nation's largest health insurance companies, revealed that CIGNA met with the other
big health insurers to hatch a plan to 'push' yours truly 'off a cliff.'"
BP's Probation Officer Petitions Federal Judge to Revoke Company's Probation Over Alaska Oil Spill
Jason Leopold, Truthout: "Days before the BP Exploration Alaska's (BPXA) probation was due to end, a federal probation
officer petitioned a US District Court judge to revoke the company's probation over a 46,000 gallon oil spill that
occurred in November 2009. The probation officer, Mary Frances Barnes, said in court documents filed Tuesday that the
November 29, 2009, spill at BPXA's Lisburne facility amounted to 'criminal negligence' under the federal Clean Water Act
and violated the terms of the probation agreement BP signed in November 2007 following a 212,000 gallon oil spill on the
North Slope."
Schakowsky Proposes Alternate Budget Plan: Save Social Security, Tax Millionaires
Nadia Prupis, Truthout: "After the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform released a polarizing deficit
reduction proposal on November 10, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois) did not hesitate in expressing her disapproval.
'This is not a package I could support,' she said at the time. On Monday, Schakowsky, who also serves on the commission,
released her own proposal, which contrasts significantly with the plan compiled by commission co-chairs Alan Simpson and
Erskine Bowles. Most notably, Schakowsky's plan approximates a $426.95 billion reduction, a higher figure than the $250
billion target President Obama recommended to the commission."
"Birthright Citizenship" Will Be Target of House GOP Majority
Rob Hotakainen, McClatchy Newspapers: "As one of its first acts, the new Congress will consider denying citizenship to
the children of illegal immigrants who are born in the United States.... GOP Rep. Steve King of Iowa, the incoming
chairman of the subcommittee that oversees immigration, is expected to push a bill that would deny 'birthright
citizenship' to such children."
Paul Krugman | What Voters Really Care, and Don't Care, About
Paul Krugman, Krugman & Co.: "I stopped watching the Nov. 3 postelection press conference after President Obama declared that Americans
rejected Democrats at the polls in part because 'we were in such a hurry to get things done that we didn't change how
things got done.' Nobody cares about this stuff - voters only care about results."
News in Brief: International Study Shows US Health Care Is Lacking, and More ...
Americans have more trouble affording health care than other rich countries; British students protest education funding
cuts; University of California students arrested for protesting fee hike; Harry Reid will push legislation to repeal
"don't ask, don't tell"; Massey Energy mines in danger of takeover by Federal officials; and more ...
Could Nonviolent Resistance Defeat Petraeus's Night Raids in Afghanistan?
Robert Naiman, Truthout: "It is a striking symptom of the moral depravity of the US war in Afghanistan that the policy
of night raids, which press reports have suggested is one of the most hated aspects of the US military occupation among
the Afghan population, has been the subject of almost no public debate in the United States. Newspaper columnists aren't
inveighing against the night raids. Members of Congress aren't demanding that the night raids stop."
Michael Winship | Don't Ask, Don't Care
Michael Winship, Truthout: "Although I grew up in a small town, I live in the West Village of Manhattan, New York City,
just three blocks from Christopher Street and the Stonewall Inn, where in 1969 a police raid led to angry demonstrations
that marked the start of the gay rights movement. Yet, in most ways, my neighborhood is just like yours. We all
co-exist. Kids go to school, business owners complain about the economy, everyone - straight or gay - is worried about
jobs."
Rock-Paper-Scissors
Clay Bennett's editorial cartoon takes a look at the electorate and the future of Social Security.
Israel Approves Withdrawal From Ghajar, Flashpoint Village on Lebanese Border
Nicholas Blanford, The Christian Science Monitor: "Israel's cabinet on Wednesday approved a United Nations proposal to
withdraw Israeli troops from the divided village of Ghajar, which straddles the UN-policed boundary between Lebanon and
Israeli-occupied Syria. The move is likely to ease tensions in the area, but could complicate the lives of residents,
who oppose any sort of 'Berlin Wall' dividing them from each other."
The US Social Forum and Money: Building a Transformative National Movement
Seth Adler,Truthout: "More than 15,000 social movement organizers assembled in Detroit this June for the US Social
Forum. Even more so than its predecessor, three years ago in Atlanta, this forum resembled a political convention-like
gathering. Yet, this was a gathering with a different type of unity paradigm than one would associate with any related
left conventions or party-building meetings. The proceedings featured over 40 People's Movement Assemblies (PMA), each
hammering out political platforms along with an intensive week of networking in which thousands of people developed
regional and national ties among like-minded organizations. The forum participants engaged in about 1,400 organizing
workshops, dozens of political actions and cultural events and large plenary sessions."
Keith Olbermann Special Comment: False Promise of "Objectivity" Proves "Truth" Superior to "Fact"
Keith Olbermann, Countdown: A "Special Comment" on objectivity and the media with video and transcript.
BUZZFLASH DAILY HEADLINES
Early on in John Kerry's campaign for president in 2004, BuzzFlash wrote an editorial advising him to define his
opponent or risk being defined as a caricature.
He didn't listen and got Swiftboated upside his head.
The Republicans, with the help of some in the corporate media, created an image of Al Gore as an exaggerator and worse
in 2000. He didn't listen either.
Now, Obama appears to have fallen victim to the same lack of savvy and guts on the part of Democrats to go on the
offensive and lead public opinion forward. He, too, appears to perennially - with few exceptions - lack the conviction
to dispel the lies of the Republicans and attack his opponents with the truth. There seems to be no disciplined message,
no understanding of the power of the media to echo key phrases and values.
As BuzzFlash has said many a time, if you repeat a lie five times it becomes the truth. That's the modus operandi at Fox
and with the GOP - and it works for at least half the American population. "Reality" consists of falsehoods delivered
through coordinated right-wing media shills and Republican politicians until they come to be perceived as "the truth."
That's why it was a breath of fresh air to read about Democrats in Congress who challenged Republicans on the Hill to turn down their government health insurance if they oppose health care
reform. Why? Because insurance offered to representatives and senators is taxpayer funded and functions like the
exchanges set up under Obama's plan.
Creatively and directly calling out hypocrisy is playing offense on an issue instead of the all too frequent Democratic
last stands on the one-yard line. With the "red surge" overtaking the House of Representatives, will the Democrats at
long last stop playing virtually all four quarters on defense?
Mark Karlin
Editor, BuzzFlash at Truthout
More US Households Short of Food
Marketing War to Children, Paid for by American Taxpayers
Democrats Press Barack Obama to Hang Tough on Tax Cuts
"Sarah Palin Poised to Run for President in 2012." Definitely Would be the Most Dysfunctional First Family in American
History
John "Orange" Boehner Will Be Speaker of the House. First Speaker to Glow in the Dark?
Nicholas Kristof: A Hedge Fund Republic or a Banana Republic? Take Your Pick
Facts Don't Seem to Matter When You Have Government by Plutocracy
ENDS