A Looming Betrayal

Saturday 09 July 2011
William Rivers Pitt | A Looming Betrayal
William Rivers Pitt, Truthout: "Here is a Democratic president, after all those years of struggle to defend and protect the social contract created by these policies [Social Security and Medicare], offering them up for destruction because he can't seem to stop himself from agreeing with Republicans... An ocean of blood, sweat and tears has been spent bringing these all-important programs to life, and even more has been spent protecting and defending them. If this president consents to throw all that over in an act of political triangulation, he will be marked in my book for all time as a failure, a betrayer, and a disgrace."
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Betty Ford, Former First Lady, Dies at 93
Enid Nemy, The New York Times News Service: "Betty Ford, the outspoken and much-admired wife of President Gerald R. Ford who overcame alcoholism and an addiction to pills and helped found one of the best-known rehabilitation centers in the nation, died Friday in Palm Springs, Calif. She was 93."
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"Arab Spring" Label Hampers Global Protests' Solidarity Potential
J.A. Myerson, Truthout: "In its unsubtle suggestions of 'foreign,' 'not white' and implicit condescension, the handy moniker American media has developed in its attempt to make sense of 2011's global unrest - 'The Arab Spring' - is counterrevolutionary, perhaps deliberately so. America loves a good historical precedent when naming something, and America insists on naming everything... The problem is the historical antecedent chosen is often an attempt to manipulate opinion and manufacture division. 'The Arab Spring' is an example; not only is the name wrong, but it's also counterrevolutionary.
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Sudan Close to War as the South Prepares to Celebrate Independence
Reem Abbas, Inter Press Service: "A report released by a coalition of Sudanese, African, Arab and Western non-governmental organsations warns that Sudan is closest to civil war since the signing of the CPA in 2005. The report titled 'Beyond the Pledge: International Engagement After Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement' views the ongoing conflict between the North and South as a predecessor to a full-blown civil war and urges the international community to adopt more targeted sanctions."
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Avoiding Impunity: The Need to Broaden Torture Prosecutions
Marjorie Cohn, Jurist: "[Obama's] Justice Department proclaimed its intention to grant a free pass to Bush officials and their lawyers who constructed a regime of torture and abuse. US Attorney General Eric Holder announced last week that his office will investigate only two instances of detainee mistreatment... The investigation must also have a much broader scope. More than 100 detainees have died in US custody, many from torture. Untold numbers were subjected to torture and cruel treatment in violation of US and international law."
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Reading Ethan Bronner in Athens: How The New York Times Gets It Right - and Very Wrong - on the Gaza Flotilla
Robert Naiman, Truthout: "If you share in the project of reforming US foreign policy so that it reflects the values and interests of the majority of Americans, then you care about The New York Times. Because of its role in influencing the coverage of other corporate media, the Times is a key gatekeeper... As a corollary, if you care about reforming US policy towards the Palestinians' quest for self-determination, then you care about Ethan Bronner, because Bronner is the Times' Jerusalem bureau chief."
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Firing Line: The Grand Coalition Against Teachers
Joanna Barkan, Dissent: "In a nation as politically and ideologically riven as ours, it's remarkable to see so broad an agreement on what ails public schools. It's the teachers. Democrats from various wings of the party, virtually all Republicans, most think tanks that deal with education, progressive and conservative foundations, a proliferation of nonprofit advocacy organizations, right-wing anti-union groups, hedge fund managers, writers from right leftward, and editorialists in most mainstream media—all concur that teachers, protected by their unions, deserve primary blame for the failure of 15.6 million poor children to excel academically."
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Night Raids Curbing Taliban, but Afghans Cite Civilian Toll
Carlotta Gall, The New York Times News Service: "United States Special Operations forceshave carried out an extraordinary number of night raids over the past year... Complaints from Afghans persist about the raids, which are almost invariably carried out under a veil of secrecy by Special Operations forces, often accompanied by Afghan commandos. The raids remain one of the greatest sources of contention with President Hamid Karzai, who has shown growing signs of distress over their use and has repeatedly called for them to end."
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Louisiana Gov. Signs Anti-Choice Bill, Likens Women who Receive Abortions to Criminals
Igor Voskly, ThinkProgress: "Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) appeared at the First Baptist Church of West Monroe to sign HB 636, a measure that 'requires women to be informed of their specific legal rights and options before they undergo an abortion procedure... Jindal said he couldn't understand why anyone would oppose the bill, comparing the new notices to Miranda warnings for women who receive abortions - a constitutionally protected procedure - to criminals."
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Into My Father's Wake
Eric Best, Truthout: "'Into My Father's Wake' records a solo, 5,000-mile Pacific journey aboard the 47-foot ketch Feo, in which the author attempts to put his powerful father to rest once and for all."
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BUZZFLASH DAILY HEADLINES

The BuzzFlash commentary for Truthout will return Monday.
Undercover Investigation Confirms Bachmann Clinic Provides Discredited, Damaging "Ex-Gay" Therapy
Read the Article at ThinkProgress
"Air Flotilla" Activists Arrive to Protests in Israel
Read the Article at The Jerusalem Post
How a One-Term President Was Made
Read the Article at Salon
The Next, Worse Financial Crisis: Ten Reasons We Are Doomed to Repeat 2008
Read the Article at Market Watch
Murdoch Phone Hacking Scandal Gets Scant Coverage on Fox and Other Right-Wing Propoganda Outlets
Read the Article at the Pensito Review
Hundreds Arrested and Tear-Gassed in Malaysia Protests
Read the Article at the Toronto Sun
Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce May Face First Recall Election of a State Legislator in Arizona History
Read the Article at the Arizona Republic
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