[PEN-L] On surveillance: would you buy used-up credibility from this president?

not in the know is two fives). Ralph Johansen New York Times http://www.nytimes.com Reported Drop in Surveillance Spurred a Law By ERIC LICHTBLAU JAMES RISEN and MARK MAZZETTI Published: August 11, 2007 WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 — At a closed-door briefing in mid-July, senior intelligence officials

Re: [PEN-L] John Pilger's eloquent warning on corporate dictatorship with media as facade

Jim Devine wrote: how is Murdoch worse than William Randolph Hearst or Colonel McCormick or the many reactionary media barons of previous generations? I don't remember the US press doing very well during previous imperial wars. On 8/9/07, Ralph Johansen [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: http

[PEN-L] Re Re: John Pilger's eloquent warning on corporate dictatorship with media as facade

Jim Devine wrote: how is Murdoch worse than William Randolph Hearst or Colonel McCormick or the many reactionary media barons of previous generations? I don't remember the US press doing very well during previous imperial wars. On 8/9/07, Ralph Johansen [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: http

[PEN-L] US Public Sees News Media as Biased, Inaccurate, Uncaring: Poll - AFP 09 August 2007

*US Public Sees News Media as Biased, Inaccurate, Uncaring: Poll* Agence France-Presse Thursday 09 August 2007 More than half of Americans say US news organizations are politically biased, inaccurate, and don't care about the people they report on, a poll published Thursday showed.

[PEN-L] John Pilger's eloquent warning on corporate dictatorship with media as facade

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/07/130258

Re: [PEN-L] Dennis Does It: Will introduce articles of impeachment against Dick Cheney tomorrow

Leigh Meyers wrote The articles of Dick Cheney's impeachment are up on Dennis Kucinich's site and at the Wapo http://kucinich.house.gov/SpotlightIssues/documents.htm Contrast Kucinich's statements with the adroit wafflings of our 'liberal' Congress member

[PEN-L] Scrambling for Iraq's Oil - Independent (UK) 23 Feb 2007

In case we were wondering, the Independent explains why big oil decided Saddam had to go: it is thought that its actual reserves could be anywhere up to 300 billion barrels - which would make it bigger than Saudi Arabia '*Iraq has 70 discovered, undeveloped fields. You'd die for any one of

[PEN-L] New email address for [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Friends and neighbors, our email address to which you are invited to reply has changed. Please make an update in your records. Ralph Johansen Michele Driscoll

[PEN-L] COMMENT: The Shoestring Economy by Stephen Roach - Morgan Stanley

Sept 09, 2005 Morgan Stanley Global: The Shoestring Economy United States: Business Conditions - Pre-Katrina Reversal Global: G7: Currency Impact of High Oil Prices and Katrina United Kingdom: Forecast Changes: Higher Inflation Ahead China: CNY: Regime Shift to Lead to Monetary Orthodoxy

[PEN-L] ACTION: National Campaign to Demand Justice for Victims of Hurricane Katrina

Troops Out Now Coalition http://www.troopsoutnow.org *Donate http://www.troopsoutnow.org/donate.html to help build a movement to demand justice for the victims of Hurricane Katrina * *In this email:* *1) Report from National Emergency Strategy Meeting 2) Proposal for National Network of

[PEN-L] COMMENT: Maher's open letter to the President

In case you missed last Friday's HBO's Late Night with Bill Maher, here was his open letter to the President: Mr. President, this job can't be fun for you any more. There's no more money to spend--you used up all of that. You can't start another war because you used up the army. And now, darn

Re: [PEN-L] speculating on the Bank of Sweden prize in economics, 2005

Wait, did I read that there have been no women nominees, the thread having begun with an article headlined It's a man's world but not explicitly stating that? Is it true that this list, now that Ann Williamson doesn't check in and other than the indefatigable Yoshie, has no women participating?

Re: [PEN-L] Katrina aftermath

Michael Perelman wrote: Yes, and Cuba offered to help. Condie says that all help will be accepted, but I think not. On Sun, Sep 04, 2005 at 03:13:53PM -0700, Jim Devine wrote: Doesn't Cuba have a lot of doctors who would be willing and able to help with the medical aftermath of Katrina?

Re: [PEN-L] Shadid's Night Draws Near

This certainly sounds right. Thanks. Aside from these misimpressions it's no doubt difficult for most in the US to understand, given how insular and gulled and arrogant we are as a people, how it feels to be isolated and embargoed, bombed, deprived of basic services, for twelve years, and then

Re: [PEN-L] Trivial and personal messages too often on Pen-L

I would like to go onto your digest format if it's available. I agree with Sam and Carl on this. Ralph

Re: [PEN-L] war is over

with the enemy, the consequences be damned. That's the case in both class and international conflicts, where the outcome is predicated less on what the contending parties want than by the relationship of forces which is largely outside their control. clip - Original Message - From: Ralph

Re: [PEN-L] war is over

/It's quite revealing to me that Bush did not immediately as someone observed, when he saw this coming and when only Cindy and her sister were on the roadway, come out and meet her, express his sympathy and leave. All of this might very likely have been avoided. What it says to me is that these

Re: [PEN-L] war is over

It is worth noting that, two days before Rich’s column, the Washington Post published an op-ed column by former Nixon secretary of state Henry Kissinger, for decades one of the most ruthless and cynical strategists for American imperialism. Kissinger wrote: “Because of the long reach of the

Re: [PEN-L] Mr. Bushwa likely isn't happy with this...

Thanks. Source? Jim Devine wrote: Shuttle crew see damage on Earth Discovery Commander Eileen Collins described on Thursday how widespread environmental destruction on Earth is visible from the shuttle. Her comments came as Nasa considered whether to send astronauts on an extra spacewalk to

Re: [PEN-L] Marx voted greatest philosopher

From The Economist Dec 19 2002: http://www.phoenix.liu.edu/~uroy/eco54/histlist/marx/marx-TE121902.html In 1999 the BBC conducted a series of polls, asking people to name the greatest men and women of the millennium. In October of that year, within a few weeks of the tenth anniversary of the

Re: [PEN-L] German real wages in the Depression\Classical Views

I'm puzzled here - don't Keynesian panaceas call for heavy deficit spending, and if so how is that remotely feasible given the humongous deficit the US now has? Or are you still referring to Germany, whose deficit I know nothing about? Or is this discussion all as they say academic? Ralph Jim

Re: [PEN-L] German real wages in the Depression\Classical Views

or limitation of incomes in the face of inflation, especially in a period of unsustainable individual indebtedness in the absence of individual savings? That's what I was reaching for, anyhow. The ordnance is spent. Ralph Paul wrote: Ralph Johansen writes: I'm puzzled here - don't Keynesian panaceas

Re: [PEN-L] make my day

I received a message off list in response to my post with this concluding thought: Think of the institutionalization of the suppression of information in this country as the long-range spiritual death that we are facing that is comparable to the biological death that DU is foisting on Iraq or

Re: [PEN-L] make my day

A Swedish friend said today that that since Chernobyl you can no longer fish or swim in Sweden's lakes and rivers. Ralph Daniel Davies wrote: I grew up in a corner of Wales that not only had two of our own large nuclear reactors, but was also a major target for Soviet nukes *and* caught the

Re: [PEN-L] Ward Churchill's wife comments on investigation

What a clear, articulate letter. Ward is to be congratulated as well on his choice of mates. I would like to have seen the summary and attachments that accompanied this letter. Ralph Louis Proyect wrote: Dear friends and colleagues, My apologies for not keeping you updated on a more regular

Re: [PEN-L] make my day

Yes, but how? Ralph Daniel Davies wrote: Ask a uranium miner how safe this depleted stuff is. It's effing dangerous, as is all uranium. All manner of things can enter your skin if there are enough particles about, and if they're in the air, you breath them in. Steer clear of it is my

Re: [PEN-L] the full Eagleton enchilada

Newspapers used to have labor news desks as well. A very important difference. Ralph Michael Perelman wrote: Golden Age? No. Decline? Absolutely. Was TV news filled with product placement with advertisements for situation comedies integrated into the news? Did the networks have more

Re: [PEN-L] speaking of the meanings of words...

Had a fast-talking friend named Harlan who sold Tuckers in Florida in 1948. A dyslexic. Went on about Florididians and reeving up the engine and chronolobstacle order. A good account and photos at http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1948/tucker.html Ralph Dan Scanlan wrote: I have a friend who

[PEN-L] VERY LATE NEWS: Washington Post hobbles explosive 'fix the facts' report - WnPost May 13, 2005

Although critics of the Iraq war have accused Bush and his top aides of misusing what has since been shown as limited intelligence in the prewar period, Bush's critics have been unsuccessful in getting an investigation of that matter. Why would it be that this investigation hasn't come about?

[PEN-L] COMMENT: Impeachment time by Greg Palast

IMPEACHMENT TIME: FACTS WERE FIXED. Special to BuzzFlash Thursday, May 5, 2005 By Greg Palast Here it is. The smoking gun. The memo that has IMPEACH HIM written all over it. The top-level government memo marked SECRET AND STRICTLY PERSONAL, dated eight months before Bush sent us into Iraq,

Re: [PEN-L] Buffett's lament redux

The ukelele, as WC Fields said of Wagner, is not as bad as it sounds. Ralph Doug Henwood wrote: Carl Remick wrote: Shades of Arthur Godfrey! Yet another reason to despair about the current state of the world :) The front page of today's WSJ has an article on how Warren Buffett may be related to

Re: [PEN-L] Wal-mart

Does anyone have information on this? I would like to see an interview with a Wal-Mart defector or see a leaked set of documents disclosing in detail all the points on which the company dwells in discouraging union membership and the type of training to which they subject management. Some would

Re: [PEN-L] Terming U.S. war machine fascist

Kolko. I'm grateful for all of them, and I don't slight them as mere academicians. To me, their function is a vital one. (To those I've missed I apologize in advance.) Ralph -- Charles Brown wrote: * From: Ralph Johansen I don't know what the term fascist would

[PEN-L] Summers exonerates Harvard's Lawrence Tribe on plagiarism charge- Crimson 04-15-05

[Further Note on Ward Churchill] Originally published on Friday, April 15, 2005 in the News section of The Harvard Crimson. School Won't Punish Tribe By DANIEL J. HEMEL Crimson Staff Writer Harvard will not formally discipline constitutional expert Laurence H. Tribe 62 in response to

Re: [PEN-L] Terming U.S. war machine fascist

I don't know what the term fascist would mean to a 25-year old in Peoria, if anything, but why use it on left lists? As it is being used here, it is an emotive term and we're already emoted thank you. As a term of analysis descriptive of some existing reality it has no utility. Recite to yourself

[PEN-L] Helpful tips on setting up blog, citing Juan Cole's experience

Juan Cole is a professor of Middle Eastern studies at the University of Michigan. Until the invasion of Iraq, hardly anyone had heard of him. He started a website that looks like a blog site. It deals with Iraq and the Middle East. Word began to spread. Here is a man who can read Arabic. He is

Re: [PEN-L] Oil dollars

A friend in Florida, a financial consultant and investor, writes This is completely correct as far as it goes...but completely inadequate in that it misses an essential element: Over the last two years the dollar has crashed from 85 cents= Euro to $1.30=1 Euro...about a 50% devaluation. Since

Re: [PEN-L] power

Someone finally said it Ralph Power doesn't explain anything, it merely gives a (provisional) name to the historically generated relationships that need to be explained. It's just another name for Smith's Invisible Hand, which was another name for the god of the deists. In other words, we are

Re: [PEN-L] Republicans are not fascists

Yes, their other name was NATIONAL socialists. Ralph Michael Perelman wrote: Someone sent this to me, fearing that it might be misunderstood here. I don't think so. The correspondent makes a valuable point. one area the fascists had it over our Republicans is the former actually improved the

Re: [PEN-L] Stars and Stripes: The whole city, from every side, was fighting

And one crucial difference here is that the colonists were British. It would be a hard stretch to call the Iraqis who support the invasion and occupation loyalists. Although I suppose this administration could manage it. Devine, James wrote: You hope they'll become frustrated with the

Re: [PEN-L] Social Security Op/Ed Offer

I could use information. I am going to write an op ed piece here in Hawaii. Ralph Johansen Patrick McElwee wrote: Calling progressive economists ... As you know, relying on inaccurate public fears of an imminent crisis in the Social Security program, President Bush is expected to move quickly

Re: [PEN-L] Re BUSH AND THE FASCIST MENACE

To begin with, why would the American ruling class and those who administer the U.S. government decide at this time to substitute extreme authoritarianism and/or fascism for the capitalist democracy that has kept them in power and riches? Why, when the U.S. is at the apex of its political,

Re: [PEN-L] Re BUSH AND THE FASCIST MENACE

If my posts have been going out twice, I don't understand why, but apologies. Ralph Ralph Johansen wrote: *Charles Brown wrote: Ralph Johansen : I'd like to add some takes I have on use of the word fascism. For Trotsky and others at the time of the German and Italian advent of cut

Re: [PEN-L] why do people hate spam?

Devine, James wrote Spam imposes costs without having any benefits. -- What has galled me about spam on cable is that it's an intrusion on a service that you PAY for, exorbitantly. And there's virtually nothing worth watching elsewhere, on freebie TV, all of which

Re: [PEN-L] Long waves

Yes, that's true. There's Marx's letter to Kugelmann dated March 14, 1883 at seventeen minutes to three, for instance, in which he writes, You know, Kugie, I think after mulling it over I have to say that the accumulation of capital, for all its anarchic, contradictory, casino-like, devil-take-the

[PEN-L] Confessions of an economic hit man serving the American empire.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/11/09/1526251 Democracy Now Tuesday, November 9th, 2004 Confessions of an economic hit man: How the U.S. uses globalization to cheat poor countries out of trillions We speak with John Perkins, a former respected member of the international

[PEN-L] GREAT QUOTES BY GREAT LADIES

Fwd by Karen Wald [EMAIL PROTECTED] GREAT QUOTES BY GREAT LADIES Inside every older lady is a younger lady -- wondering what the hell happened. -Cora Harvey Armstrong- Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can usually shut her up with cookies. The hardest years in life are those

[PEN-L] Unrest sharply increasing through much of China - Vancouver Sun November 08, 2004

Vancouver Sun Monday, November 08, 2004 Unrest sharply increasing through much of China By Jonathan Manthorpe Away from the shimmering facade of its golden coastal cities, China is seething with violent discontent. New figures published in the Communist party magazine Outlook say that last

Re: [PEN-L] Tariq Ali elaborates

*It defies comprehension how Tariq Ali and friends can believe that voting against the incumbent and for a challenger who advocates MORE troops, MORE savage killing, MORE staying the course, a stronger (and more brutal) America, is going to send out a message that present policy in the Middle

Re: [PEN-L] 20 reasons to vote for Ralph Nader on November 2

Doug Henwood wrote: Paul Zarembka wrote: The encouraging thing about the Nader/Camejo campaign is that it is indeed creating a base of lots of people who are not sucked into 'lesser-of-evil' politics. This is itself progressive. Well, it's looking to be 1/5 as large as it was four years ago.

Re: [PEN-L] 20 reasons to vote for Ralph Nader on November 2

Speaking of poles, I had a Poli Sci prof who taught us Govt and Poltitics of the USSR, in the 50's. After we had been thoroughly convinced of how bad things were in that place, a woman spoke up, asking what we could do, what did he prescribe for these shocked students. The prof said oh, we're

Re: [PEN-L] Open Letter to Former Nader Supporters; If Bush Wins, Blame David Vest

Doug Henwood wrote: Paul Zarembka wrote: You and I have stood together in the past, as part of the Citizens Committee for Nader/LaDuke 2000 Alas LaDuke has gone over to the other side, having endorsed Kerry. This time, Ralph has no organization and vanishingly few supporters. He is persistent

Re: [PEN-L] strange bedfellows....

Sounds like a job for Freedom Riders II, the Affidavit Squad. - Original Message - From: Devine, James To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, October 15, 2004 12:39 PM Subject: strange bedfellows PK cites Greg Palast! October 15, 2004OP-ED COLUMNISTBlock

Re: [PEN-L] The Mind of Paul Krugman: Mahathir, Pinochet, bad men, good policies - and the 'job of economic analysts'

- Original Message - From: "Charles Brown" [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, September 30, 2004 3:57 AM Subject: The Mind of Paul Krugman: Mahathir, Pinochet, bad men, good policies - and the 'job of economic analysts' Aren't the various bubbles that are

Re: [PEN-L] a way out

Title: a way out Dan, I just listened to this new Jake Shimabukuro CD. It's all his own compositions, and to me he plays wallpaper extremely well. Mymate Michele, who had him as a student here at the community college, says he needs to get off island and go where the good things are

[PEN-L] Fw: what's new?

- Original Message - From: Robert Biel [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Ralph Johansen [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, September 27, 2004 7:03 AM Subject: Re: what's new? Dear Ralph, Thanks a lot for your note, I'm really glad you appreciated the book. Actually, I would have

[PEN-L] Robert Reich: U.S. dollar heading for a collapse - September 25, 2004

The Vancouver Sun September 25, 2004U.S. dollar heading for a collapse, ex-Clinton adviser saysCurrency | Robert Reich warns of investing jittersBy James BaxterBanff, Alta. -- The U.S. dollar is fast reaching a point at which foreigninvestors will abandon it and send it into a freefall,