Sunday 28 November 2010
WikiLeaks Releases State Department Cables
Nancy A. Youssef, McClatchy Newspapers: "U.S. diplomats and officials said they're bracing Sunday for at least three
newspapers and WikiLeaks to publish hundreds of thousands classified State Department cables that could drastically
alter U.S. relations with top allies and reveal embarrassing secrets about U.S. foreign policy."
DREAM Act Students Defy Deportations, Demand Vote in Congress
David Bacon, Truthout: "A vote in Congress would be a tribute to thousands of these 'sin papeles,' or people without
papers. For seven years, they have marched, sat in, written letters and mastered every civil rights tactic in the book
to get their bill onto the Washington, DC agenda. Many of them have given new meaning to 'coming out' - declaring openly
their lack of legal status in media interviews, defying threats of detainment. Three were arrested last May for sitting
in the office of Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), demanding that he support the bill."
The Naked Truth About Capital Gains
Gerald E. Scorse, Truthout: "The proposals are now on the table, so the genie is out of the bottle. President Obama and
Congress were already facing a showdown on extending the Bush tax cuts. Now, in addition, Congress and the
administration have a rare opportunity to set a new course for the nation's fiscal future. They could start by
revisiting the tax code and creating capital gains tax breaks that really would grow jobs and stimulate the economy."
Fear of Violence in Haiti as Elections Begin
Ezra Fieser, GlobalPost: "Despite the presence of more than 12,000 United Nations peacekeeping forces, Haitians fear
that one of the most important elections in the country's history will be marred by violence. It's another worry for
Haitians already dealing with a cholera epidemic that has killed more than 1,400 people and still digging out from
January's earthquake."
With US-South Korea War Games, a Signal to North Korea
Anna Mulrine, The Christian Science Monitor: "The joint military exercises the US will conduct with South Korea's navy
on Sunday, off the Korean peninsula in the Yellow Sea, are taking on added significance as a message-bearer to North
Korea, following Pyongyang's shelling of the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong on Tuesday."
Israeli Government Documents Show Deliberate Policy to Restrict Food to Gaza
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center: "Documents, whose existence were denied by the Israeli government
for over a year, have been released after a legal battle led by Israeli human rights group, Gisha. The documents reveal
a deliberate policy by the Israeli government in which the dietary needs for the population of Gaza are chillingly
calculated, and the amounts of food let in by the Israeli government measured to remain just enough to keep the
population alive at a near-starvation level."
Next Chapter in the "Republican War Against Women"
Tanya Melich, On The Issues Magazine: "Republican women have become a not-so-subtle weapon for breaking apart the
Democratic coalition, grounded in the women's vote, that gave Democrats control of the House and Senate in 2006 and 2008
and made Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House. This year for the first time since 1982, Democrats did not have a voting
advantage with women. Men supported Republicans by a margin of 12 percent and women by one percent."
Economic Boom Worsened Deindustrialization of Least Developed Countries
Isolda Agazzi, Inter Press Service: "Least developed countries (LDCs) in Africa did not use the commodity export boom of
the mid-2000s to diversify their economies from commodity dependence to manufacturing value-added products.
Significantly, the agricultural sector has also not benefited, with the result that LDC reliance on imported food has
become even worse."
Haitian Woman and Elections: Presidents, Politics and Power
Beverly Bell, Truthout: "Reconstructing Haiti is not about buildings, projects or money. It's about power, about who
gets to control what the future Haiti looks like.... This priority is not particular to Haitian women. But they are most
often the ones propelling it and they and their children have the most to gain from it because of the special burdens
that poverty and insecurity place on them."
BUZZFLASH DAILY HEADLINES
The BuzzFlash editor's commentaries for Truthout will return on Monday.
WikiLeaks: Cables Shine Light Into Secret Diplomatic Channels
Israeli Army Presence in West Bank Lowest in 20 Years
Madoff and Relatives Sued for $69 Million
The FBI Successfully Thwarts Its Own Terrorist Plot
WikiLeaks Hacked Hours Before Expected Document Release
Former Justice John Paul Stevens Criticizes Death Penalty
ENDS