Thursday, January 22, 2009

01-22-09
  • Amy Goodman: Push Obama to follow through on his peace vows (madison). Make him do it.
  • Robert Fisk: So Far, Obama's Missed The Point on Gaza... (theindependent)
  • Ecologists Warn the Planet Is Running Short of Water (timesonline)
  • Now it comes out: Obama scrapped funding for mass transit projects in order to pander to GOP with more wasteful tax cuts (thinkprogress). Watered down the infrastructure economic stimulus package by 40% with tax cuts. See also my entry 01-05-09 (Two-Thirds of . . .)
  • Time to Bleep Rush Limbaugh from Armed Forces Network (AFN) (thinkprogress). Sounding more and more like Tokyo Rose.
  • How About Repealing the Global Gag Rule (undispatch)
    • Five Former USAID Officials Ask Obama for Leadership on Family Planning (prnewswire)
    • Obama to overturn global gag rule ‘in one of his first acts’ (courant). Evangenital anti-choicers encouraged by Obama's postponement in overturning the global gag rule today, his not linking it to the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
  • Obama Orders CIA Secret Prisons Shut Down As Expeditiously As Possible and Guantánamo Prison Within a Year (nytimes). However, could allow for reinstatement of CIA's imprisonment and interrogation operations in the future by executive order -- or 'additional interrogation techniques' for high-value prisoners. See also my entry 01-19-09 (Obama, The Crawford . . .)
  • Obama orders transparency:
    • Obama limits ex-presidents' discretion on records (google). It seems that it would be a good idea to replace the Bush appointees who oversee the National Archives and document declassification -- or certain documents may never see the light of day regardless.
    • Obama issues executive order making it easier to get information through FOIA (washingtonpost - sunlightfoundation)
  • BushCo wrecking crew:
    • Bush's Midnight Regulations Changes (buzzflash)
      • Obama team moves quickly to undo "midnight regulations" designed to relax environmental rules (businessgreen)
    • Countdown: NSA Surveillance Far Vaster Than Admitted; Targeted Regular Citizens and Journalists (crooksandliars)
  • Only a Landslide Election Is Theft-Proof (Kennedy/Palast rollingstone). Will Obama wake up to the fact that a landslide is the only thing that got him into the Oval Office? Unless he fixes the US electoral system, can he count on a 2nd landslide? Not likely after all the suffering Americans will have to endure during the next four years because of Bush and his pals, coupled with our conservative-biased corporate media ever nipping at his ankles. The GOP election thieves were hard at it again last year and cost Obama probably half of his real lead over McCain/Palin. How many in congress were placed there solely because of those election thieves? Georgia might be a good place to begin that list.
  • China: Life imprisonment and death sentence for those at center of tainted milk scandal (nytimes). An idea we definitely need to import to the US. My views on the death penalty have changed over time. I believe that most offenders should not receive it. However, it should generally be reserved for only the very powerful--those who cause a lot of damage to a lot of people through their criminal actions, especially including government and corporate figures--that their appeals be limited and execution be by swift, merciful and final means such as the guillotine--and that those executions be publically broadcast to the world. I defer to the death penalty for those particular individuals because of the greater likelihood that through their power and influence, they would otherwise eventually be delivered from their just punishment before completion.
  • Planetary Nebula NGC 2818 (apod)
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