Hi. If possible listen to Democracy Now's program today, centered
on the Israeli siege of Gaza. Over 300 killed, 1,400 wounded,
massive destruction amid the starvation and violence visited upon
all Gazans by Israel's relentless brutality, now for over forty years,
whether they futily resist with rockets, suicide bombs, whatever, or
not. That has never, ever been causus anything. Just existance
is sufficient. This is no war, it is much more like the Warsaw Ghetto,
with a massive, modern army using deadly force and the excuse of
pathetic resistance by a relative few to decimate an entire people.
Bush is applauding, Obama ain't talking, free US weaponry is used,
the UN Security Council plea for cessation is totally ignored by Israel
and not even mentioned by our media.
Reports from Gaza, Tel Aviv and more. Information and opinion.
So much sadness around holidays of joy and expectation. At risk of
over-reach I pass on what what triggered in me the emotions and
mental state to take it all in, see the ironies and still enjoy life. (This
and having my daughter and grand daughter join family and friends
here in LA.) The intro's and performances on You Tube, just below, of
'Harold and Eartha Have Left The Room' are not to be missed. -Ed
From: Dick and Sharon
To: Ed Pearl
Sent: Sunday, December 28, 2008 7:33 PM
Subject: Re: On Harold Pinter, On Bin Laden and Us, by Robert Borosage
Here are a couple tributes we ran as well:
Remembering Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter-Is Our Conscience Dead?
Harold and Eartha Have Left 'The Room
-- Dick
***
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/opinion/29krugman.html?th&emc=th
Fifty Herbert Hoovers
By Paul Krugman
NY Times Op-Ed: Dec 28, 2008
No modern American president would repeat the fiscal mistake of 1932, in
which the federal government tried to balance its budget in the face of a
severe recession. The Obama administration will put deficit concerns on hold
while it fights the economic crisis.
But even as Washington tries to rescue the economy, the nation will be
reeling from the actions of 50 Herbert Hoovers - state governors who are
slashing spending in a time of recession, often at the expense both of their
most vulnerable constituents and of the nation's economic future.
These state-level cutbacks range from small acts of cruelty to giant acts of
panic - from cuts in South Carolina's juvenile justice program, which will
force young offenders out of group homes and into prison, to the decision by
a committee that manages California state spending to halt all construction
outlays for six months.
Now, state governors aren't stupid (not all of them, anyway). They're
cutting back because they have to - because they're caught in a fiscal trap.
But let's step back for a moment and contemplate just how crazy it is, from
a national point of view, to be cutting public services and public
investment right now.
Think about it: is America - not state governments, but the nation as a
whole - less able to afford help to troubled teens, medical care for
families, or repairs to decaying roads and bridges than it was one or two
years ago? Of course not. Our capacity hasn't been diminished; our workers
haven't lost their skills; our technological know-how is intact. Why can't
we keep doing good things?
It's true that the economy is currently shrinking. But that's the result of
a slump in private spending. It makes no sense to add to the problem by
cutting public spending, too.
In fact, the true cost of government programs, especially public investment,
is much lower now than in more prosperous times. When the economy is
booming, public investment competes with the private sector for scarce
resources - for skilled construction workers, for capital. But right now
many of the workers employed on infrastructure projects would otherwise be
unemployed, and the money borrowed to pay for these projects would otherwise
sit idle.
And shredding the social safety net at a moment when many more Americans
need help isn't just cruel. It adds to the sense of insecurity that is one
important factor driving the economy down.
So why are we doing this to ourselves?
The answer, of course, is that state and local government revenues are
plunging along with the economy - and unlike the federal government,
lower-level governments can't borrow their way through the crisis. Partly
that's because these governments, unlike the feds, are subject to
balanced-budget rules. But even if they weren't, running temporary deficits
would be difficult. Investors, driven by fear, are refusing to buy anything
except federal debt, and those states that can borrow at all are being
forced to pay punitive interest rates.
Are governors responsible for their own predicament? To some extent. Arnold
Schwarzenegger, in particular, deserves some jeers. He became governor in
the first place because voters were outraged over his predecessor's budget
problems, but he did nothing to secure the state's fiscal future - and he
now faces a projected budget deficit bigger than the one that did in Gray
Davis.
But even the best-run states are in deep trouble. Anyway, we shouldn't
punish our fellow citizens and our economy to spite a few local politicians.
What can be done? Ted Strickland, the governor of Ohio, is pushing for
federal aid to the states on three fronts: help for the neediest, in the
form of funding for food stamps and Medicaid; federal funding of state- and
local-level infrastructure projects; and federal aid to education. That
sounds right - and if the numbers Mr. Strickland proposes are huge, so is
the crisis.
And once the crisis is behind us, we should rethink the way we pay for key
public services.
As a nation, we don't believe that our fellow citizens should go without
essential health care. Why, then, does a large share of funding for Medicaid
come from state governments, which are forced to cut the program precisely
when it's needed most?
An educated population is a national resource. Why, then, is basic education
mainly paid for by local governments, which are forced to neglect the next
generation every time the economy hits a rough patch?
And why should investments in infrastructure, which will serve the nation
for decades, be at the mercy of short-run fluctuations in local budgets?
That's for later. The priority right now is to fight off the attack of the
50 Herbert Hoovers, and make sure that the fiscal problems of the states don't
make the economic crisis even worse.
***
Los Angeles
Tuesday, December 30
4:30 pm
Israeli Consulate: 6380 Wilshire Blvd.
Contact: 213-251-1025, [email protected]
Initiated by ANSWER Coalition, along with National Council of Arab Americans,
Al-Awda, Free Palestine Alliance and the Palestinian American Women's
Association. Additional endorsers and supporters are welcome.
**************
Join LA Jews for Peace in a
Demonstration to Protest the Israeli Siege of Gaza
Next Tuesday, Dec. 30, 3-5:30 PM
Westwood Federal Building (Wilshire & Veteran; 3-hour visitor parking in
the Federal Building lot).
As you know, the situation is Gaza has been intolerable, but with full
support of the U.S. government has gotten worse. This morning Israel launched
a massive air attack on Gaza that killed close to 200 people. This attack was
carried out using American supplied F-16s, Apache helicoptors, and guided
missiles. Now besides a blockade causing shortage of food, medicine, fuel,
electric power, and commercial goods, there has been a massacre. The UN
Secretary General, the Swiss government, and other groups have called the
situation a humanitarian crisis and a violation of the 4th Geneva Convention.
It is surely a violation of Jewish and international law.
The massacre and blockade are not only cruel and inhumane, but also
counter-productive in that they fuel violence against Israel and works to
undermine efforts to achieve peace through negotiations.
LA Jews for Peace urges everyone to speak out against the attack and
blockade, including our own government's support of it. We call for an
immediate cease fire and a resumption of shipments of food and medical supplies
to the people of Gaza, a hold of U.S. aid to Israel until the blockade is
ended, and admittance of journalists to Gaza to report on the desperate
conditions.
Join LA Jews for Peace in a protest
Tuesday, Dec. 30, 3-5:30 PM, Westwood Federal Building
LA Jews will have signs and banners; bring your own; but no flags please since
our message is internationalism and humanism, not nationalism.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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