Click here to view this and past newsletters online. Please add "messenger@truthout.org" to your email contacts to ensure delivery.

Saturday 17 March 2012

How Mossad Justified Its Murder of an Innocent Iranian Electrical Engineer
Gareth Porter, Truthout: "On July 23, 2011, a 35-year-old Iranian electrical engineering student named Darioush Rezaeinejad was gunned down as he and his wife, who was also wounded in the attack, waited for their child in front of a kindergarten in Tehran…. Rezaeinejad was the fourth Iranian scientist whom the Israelis had tried to assassinate, but what was different about his assassination is the subsequent effort by the Israelis to justify it after the fact."
Read the Article

Occupying Democracy: A Moral Revolution for Social Justice
Alan James Strachan Ph.D. and Janet Coster M.A., Truthout: "There are many philosophical justifications for favoring the wealthy and powerful. The Gospel of Wealth, Social Darwinism, Manifest Destiny, God's Will and ‘trickle-down economics' are but a few of the rationales. These rationalizations are a sign of pathological narcissism, i.e., the overvaluing of oneself and the undervaluing of others springing from greed, insecurity, fear and the lust for power. Such philosophies stand in stark contrast to the teachings of many spiritual traditions and the dictates of love, compassion and empathy."
Read the Article

US Identifies Army Sergeant in Killing of 16 in Afghanistan
The New York Times News Service: "The military on Friday identified the soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers earlier this week as Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, a 38-year-old father of two who had been injured twice in combat over the course of four deployments and had, his lawyer said, an exemplary military record. The release of Sergeant Bales's name … ended an extraordinary six-day blackout of public information about him from the Pentagon."
Read the Article

Five Right-Wing Violations Against Women That We Must Crush
Sarah Seltzer, AlterNet: "It's true that progressives and women's groups are fighting back with unprecedented vigor, and the campaigns against Komen, against Rush Limbaugh's sexist smears, against the Blunt Amendment, show that women can organize quickly and powerfully over social media…. The GOP War on Women is in full throttle over a year since it kicked off, taking its toll in particular on the state level where recent data shows that all the posturing has dramatically changed living conditions for women - and not for the better."
Read the Article

Frances Fox Piven Scorns Death Threats, Says of Right-Wing Attacks: "I Love It"
Micah Uetricht, Truthout: "For most of her life, Frances Fox Piven has worked as a professor of social sciences and activist far away from public notoriety. That changed when Glenn Beck began obsessively attacking Dr. Piven in early 2011, charging her and her late husband Richard Cloward with everything from treason to causing the financial crisis themselves in an attempt to ‘intentionally collapse our economic system.' The attacks quickly led to threats on Piven's life. Rather than flee from the public spotlight, however, Piven seized it."
Read the Article

Bribing Israel
John Feffer, Foreign Policy in Focus: "[The] story of Obama the diplomat standing up to Netanyahu the bully omits some important information. During Netanyahu's visit, the Obama administration reportedly offered Israel a package of advanced military technology, including bunker-busting bombs and long-range refueling planes, as long as it postponed any attacks on Iran until 2013. In other words, Obama wasn't only buying time, he was bribing Israel to prevent the kind of October surprise … that might derail his reelection bid."
Read the Article

Plan to Cut Benefits for Injured Federal Workers Stirs Concern
Jim Morris, iWatch News: "Federal prison worker Jason Unwin was twice attacked by a furious, muscle-bound inmate on Dec. 21, 2010…. Under the Federal Employees Compensation Act of 1916 (FECA), he receives 75 percent of his former salary, tax-free; his monthly income is within a few hundred dollars of his previous salary. Legislation pending in the U.S. Senate, however, ultimately would cut Unwin's benefits and could affect many other government workers - especially those with modest incomes - in the future."
Read the Article

Not All Labor Leaders Happy With AFL-CIO's Obama Endorsement
Mike Elk, In These Times: "AFL-CIO President Trumka declared labor's political independence by pledging to use the power of Super PACS to reach out to nonunion voters and build labor's own political organization and message outside of the Democratic Party. The leaders of the labor federation unanimously endorsed President Obama for re-election … A few labor leaders are complaining that the way the AFL-CIO handled the endorsement does not represent a new trend in ‘political independence' for the labor movement, but rather a return to business as usual."
Read the Article

Court Rejects Voter Suppression Efforts
Nicolas Riley, The Brennan Center for Justice: "Last Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld a long-standing consent decree prohibiting the Republican National Committee (RNC) from engaging in underhanded campaign practices aimed at depressing voter turnout in communities of color…. The court's decision represents a significant victory for voters but also serves as a critical reminder about the need to protect against the kinds of pernicious voter intimidation tactics that the court discussed in its opinion."
Read the Article

Fukushima in Light of Minamata
Timothy S. George, The Asia-Pacific Journal: "The mercury discharged into the sea by the Chisso factory in Minamata, and the radiation released by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, are not entirely different ‘accidents,' although one was the result of a ‘natural disaster' and one not. Minamata offers hints of future developments as Japan attempts to respond to and recover from Fukushima."
Read the Article

Click here for more Truthout articles

The BuzzFlash commentary for Truthout will return soon.

Rush Limbaugh: Brought to You by the United Negro College Fund and the Philly Orchestra? Strange but True Twists in the Limbaugh Scandal
Read the Article at This Can't Be Happening

Obama, Politicians Decline to Return Stanford Money
Read the Article at Reuters

State Department Fires Iraq Whistleblower
Read the Article at Mother Jones

Occupy's Unlikely Heiress
Read the Article at Salon

Documents Show Murderers Got Special Treatment From Mississippi Governor, Wife
Read the Article at CNN

New York Susan G. Komen Affiliate Cancels Annual Gala
Read the Article at Daily Kos

Five Big Takeaways From Obama's Documentary
Read the Article at Talking Points Memo

Click here for more BuzzFlash headlines

To ensure you receive our messages please add the following address to your email address book: messenger@truthout.org

Click here to Subscribe
Our Privacy Policy
Click here to Unsubscribe