t r u t h o u t | 04.15
Dahr Jamail | Iraq in Fragments http://www.truthout.org/041509A Dahr Jamail, Foreign Policy In Focus: "On Wednesday, March 25, Major General David Perkins of the US military, referring to how often the US military was being attacked in Iraq, told reporters in Baghdad, 'Attacks are at their lowest since August 2003.' Perkins added, 'There were 1,250 attacks a week at the height of the violence; now sometimes there are less than 100 a week.' While his rhetoric made headlines in some US mainstream media outlets, it was little consolation for the families of 28 Iraqis killed in attacks across Iraq the following day. Nor did it bring solace to the relatives of the 27 Iraqis slain in a March 23 suicide attack, or those who survived a bomb attack at a bus terminal in Baghdad on the same day that killed nine Iraqis." Andy Kroll | The Corporatization of Public Education http://www.truthout.org/041509B Andy Kroll, Truthout: "Before an audience of big-city mayors and school superintendents in late March, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan offered an early - and troubling - indication of his vision for the future of public K-12 education in the United States. Duncan told audience members at the Mayors' National Forum on Education in Washington, DC, that more mayors need to take control of low-performing, urban school districts, and that he was prepared to do whatever it takes to shift leadership of urban districts from school boards to City Halls. 'I'll come to your cities. I'll meet with your editorial boards. I'll talk with your business communities,' Duncan said. 'I will be there.' For those familiar with Duncan's controversial legacy in Chicago, one that emphasized the privatization and militarization of that city's mayor-led public schools, Duncan's vow to give more big-city mayors control over their city's schools is a worrying harbinger of reforms to come." CIA Documents Shine Light on Secretive Air America http://www.truthout.org/041509C Jeff Carlton, The Associated Press: "Former naval aviator Don Boecker isn't too proud to say he was scared out of his wits on that July 1965 day in Laos when he dangled by one arm from a helicopter while enemy soldiers took aim below. Boecker had spent the longest night of his life in the thick jungle, evading capture and certain execution while awaiting rescue. The Navy aviator had ejected after a bomb he intended to drop on the Ho Chi Minh trail exploded prematurely. His rescuers that day, however, weren't from the American military, who couldn't be caught conducting a secret bombing campaign in Laos. They were civilian employees of Air America, an ostensibly private airline essentially owned and operated by the CIA." Robert Scheer | Endgame for Gramm? http://www.truthout.org/041509D Robert Scheer, Truthdig: "One wonders if Phil Gramm has been made just a tad nervous by the news on Tuesday that one of UBS' super-wealthy private clients has pleaded guilty to tax evasion. That's the second case in two weeks involving the bank at which the former senator is a vice chairman, and 100 other clients are under investigation for possible bank-assisted tax fraud. Gramm, the Republican former chair of the Senate Finance Committee, where he authored much of the deregulatory legislation at the heart of the current banking meltdown, has for the six years since he left office helped lead a foreign-owned bank specializing in tax dodges for the wealthy. These schemes by the Swiss-based UBS not only force the rest of us taxpayers to pay more to make up the government revenue shortfall but are blatantly illegal. In February, UBS admitted to having committed fraud and conspiracy and agreed to pay a fine of $780 million. Republican 'Tea Baggers' take note: Offshore tax havens do not equal populist revolt." The Growing Lust for Agricultural Lands http://www.truthout.org/041509F Marie-Beatrice Baudet and Laetitia Clavreul, Le Monde: "Not a day goes by without new acreage being signed over. 'For Sale' ads for agricultural property are now featured in the international financial press. And there's no dearth of clients. 'At the end of 2008,' Jean-Yves Carfantan, author of 'Global Food Shock: What's in Store for Us Tomorrow,' observes, 'five countries stood out for the extent of their foreign arable land acquisitions: China, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. Together, they control over 7.6 million cultivable hectares outside their national territory, or the equivalent of 5.6 times the utilizable agricultural surface of Belgium.'" _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ more here: http://www.truthout.org --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ShadowGovernment" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/ShadowGovernment -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
