Archive for May 26, 2012
Is Hillary Clinton Going to Sweden to Negotiate Julian Assange’s Extradition?
Something to think about and be aware of:
Via the U.S. State Department:
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey from May 31-June 7.
[...]
On June 3, Secretary Clinton will travel to Stockholm, Sweden, for meetings with senior Swedish officials to discuss a range of issues, including green energy, Internet freedom, Afghanistan and the Middle East. In Stockholm she will also participate in a Climate and Clean Air Coalition event on short-lived climate pollutants.
Via Wikileaks:
Israeli Settlers Set Fire to Olive Trees Belonging to Palestinians
When I see images like this, I remember that I am ashamed at the U.S.’s unconditional support of Israel:
Throughout the day (Saturday, May 26, 2012), there were reports of settlers from Yitzhar trying to set fire to Palestinian olive groves near the village of Urif, south of Nablus in the West Bank. The entire area is know for its frequent confrontations between settlers and local farmers. A team from B’Tselem who arrived at the spot caught one of the attacks on camera; Sarit Michaeli, spokesperson for B’Tselem who filmed the video, told me she had a very clear view of the settlers torching the field.
According to Palestinian and Israeli sources, the settlers also opened fire on several Palestinians who tried to protect their field. At least one person was injured, and the Palestinian and Israeli media is reporting that his condition is grave. You can hear (but not see) the shots at the beginning of this video, before the camerawoman runs away. According to Michaeli, she later saw an entire group of armed settlers on the hill.
So, Israeli settlers move into olive groves belonging to Palestinians and set the trees on fire and when a Palestinian is shot, well, we’ll see what happens. If history is any guide, nothing will.
That’s wrong. It’s just wrong and I don’t support the U.S. supporting the Israelis in that.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz: Wake Up!
If Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) isn’t recalled on June 5, I see two big possible scenarios: (1) Democrats will be so demoralized, not only in Wisconsin but across the country, that many of them will give up and not go to the polls in November. (2) Republicans will feel they have a fool-proof way to screw the whole country. I.e., ram unpopular legislation down people’s throats and if the people get pissed off, don’t sweat it because with the media (print, television and radio) in their pocket and millions of dollars to throw at advertising, they can lie about and whitewash, unchallenged, what happened, scare the bejesus out of people and not be thrown out of office.
That said, this is what the spectacularly ignorant head of the DNC, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz said yesterday in an interview that will be broadcast on C-SPAN tomorrow:
(Image via Wikipedia.)
“I think, honestly, there aren’t going to be any repercussions,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said in a broad-ranging interview on C-SPAN’s “Newsmakers.”
“It’s an election that’s based in Wisconsin. It’s an election that I think is important nationally because Scott Walker is an example of how extreme the tea party has been when it comes to the policies that they have pushed the Republicans to adopt,” Wasserman Schultz said. “But I think it’ll be, at the end of the day, a Wisconsin-based election, and like I said, across the rest of the country and including in Wisconsin, President Obama is ahead.”
Debbie, he might be ahead now but we have six months to go for God’s sake. You think he has it in the bag? You really, REALLY need to get out more. In this era of the 1% versus the 99% what blows my mind is that Romney is doing so well. I literally don’t get it. That’s not a good sign Debbie.
What’s going on in Wisconsin couldn’t be more serious for Wisconsin, for the country and for all of our futures.
OMG.
Those Uppity Pakistanis
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — An American drone fired two missiles at a bakery in northwest Pakistan Saturday and killed four suspected militants, officials said, as the U.S. pushed on with its drone campaign despite Pakistani demands to stop. This was the third such strike in the country in less than a week.
Drone attacks in Pakistani tribal areas where Afghan and other militants have found refuge are considered a key tactic by U.S. officials in the war against al-Qaida and its Taliban supporters. But many Pakistanis resent the strikes, which they consider an affront to their sovereignty.
Pakistan considers the drone strikes an “affront to their sovereignty? Gosh. I can’t imagine why. Oh, wait. What if Pakistan was blowing up bakeries here in the U.S. while ignoring U.S. “demands to stop?” I have a feeling we’d be just a wee bit ticked off at that too.
