BRINKS or BLACKWATER: My Frightening Encounter With A Combat-Mode Guard & His Gun

admin @ December 27, 2008 # No Comment Yet

For years since the United States invaded Iraq, I’ve witnessed countless photo and video images of innocent civilians - men, women, teens and children - being rudely and aggressively
threatened by hired uniformed militants (mostly men), wielding guns. I’ve seen these images from Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Haiti, Palestine, and more. Whether they be armed American military threatening Iraqis, armed Israeli soldiers threatening Palestinians, or armed Ethiopian troops threatening Somalis, the images have always disturbed me. There’s an inherent injustice to such blatant imbalance of power. An injustice I suffered recently myself.

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editorial: Abolition Now!

admin @ December 20, 2008 # 2 Comments

I’d never noticed that slavery hadn’t been abolished. I’m 68, born and raised right here in the U.S. of A., and until a few weeks ago I thought that slavery had been abolished. Except, of course, as punishment for a crime, but what’s wrong with that? I’m a law-abiding citizen, and criminals do need to be punished, right? But with slavery? Shouldn’t hard labor (involuntary servitude) or even the death penalty be sufficient?

Then I tried to imagine the death penalty being abolished except as punishment for a crime.

Doesn’t make sense does it?

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Report: Munk Debate on Humanitarian Intervention

admin @ December 17, 2008 # One Comment

Christiane Amanpour’s CNN special tonight “Scream Bloody Murder” on genocide was quite timely after this week’s Munk Debate on Humanitarian Intervention. Both events posed the question of whether the international community has an obligation to intervene in situations of genocide and other man-made crises when a country is unable to protect itself? The most obvious example that comes to mind is that of Rwanda in the early 1990s…

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Nominate GlobalPundit.Org for Twitter’s Shorty Awards!

admin @ December 11, 2008 # No Comment Yet

Nominate GlobalPundit.Org for Twitter’s Shorty Awards!
http://shortyawards.com/?username=globalpunditorg
Like wot we do for such a shorthanded and unpaid group of newshounds? Independent of corporate influence and driven by news content and context?
Please consider going here: http://shortyawards.com/about/
and filling out “@shortyawards I nominate @globalpunditorg for a Shorty Award in #news because…”
we’d feel somewhat vindicated for the hard work we’ve done [...]

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Spot Report:Montreal Pro-Coaltion Rally, Sat., Dec.6

admin @ December 8, 2008 # No Comment Yet

“Montreal, PQ, Canada - The Montreal rally was attended by over one thousand people. There was a mix of labor leaders who support the coalition, members of Quebec’s Union des Artistes which is the French language equivalent of SAG and Gilles Duceppe the leader of the Bloc Quebecois, the federal separatist party. Prime Minister Harper’s has used fear to suggest that the coalition is not legitimate because Canadians didn’t vote for a coalition during the last election which took place on October 14, 2008. However, since Harper’s party only won a minority and by the rules of Canadian democracy a minority government must receive the support of the majority of parliament to continue to exist, the coalition is in fact legally and democratically valid.”

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US Citizen Diplomats Arrive In Iran, Invited By Ahmadinejad

admin @ November 23, 2008 # No Comment Yet

In an effort to establish peaceful diplomacy with the government and people of Iran, and to model for the new Obama administration the power of cooperative good will, three highly regarded American peace makers have ventured to Iran. CODEPINK cofounders, Jodie Evans and Medea Benjamin, along with former Army Colonel and decorated Foreign Service Diplomat Ann Wright, are visiting Iran on visas personally granted them by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

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Breaking!-Final Presidential Debate Protest-Veterans Face 15 Separate Trial Dates For Action,Police Deny Brutality (Video + Audio)

admin @ November 18, 2008 # No Comment Yet

In a follow up to the arrest of the Iraq Vets protest at the final Presidential Debate,reporter Stephen Dohnberg talks with member Sgt Chiroux about the charges faced,support they are receiving,tactics of the Nassau County Police, and Sgt Morgan’s injury.

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Interview pt2/3:Women’s Rights, Progress, Aid, Military, and Issues in Afghanistan

admin @ November 18, 2008 # One Comment

Homemakers Magazine editor in chief Kathy Ullyott speaks with reporter Stephen Dohnberg about the struggle of women and what she witnessed during her visit to Kabul, Afghanistan The conversation reveals what a complex situation the Western presence in Afghanistan is by any measure.

Invited by C.A.R.E. Canada, in May Kathy Ullyott, made her way to the city of Kabul for a week-long look at the work and commitment of an NGO such as C.A.R.E., who have been an early presence since 1996, assisting widows with food aid. Even an issue of basic aid is fraught with concerns that span the range of issues from western presence to cultural mores. Although we initially planned to discuss the ascent of women’s rights in Afghanistan, the intersection of so many other disparate concerns clearly illustrates that no single issue will resolve itself independent of others.

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Opinion: Speaking Truth to Truthers

admin @ November 12, 2008 # 2 Comments

As a wise person put it, the losses are permanent, the victories are only temporary. Each new shock comes before we have recovered from the last one. JFK was assassinated 45 years ago and there is still no closure.

The American people don’t want to know the truth and they will not rise up. They are comfortable with genocide. Ask yourself how many dedicated peace activists you know personally who voted for continuing war crimes under the command of Barack Obama.

Many of the Democratic gatekeeper sites urged people to vote for Obama by saying that first we had to elect him and then we could hold his feet to the fire. But they already knew from his FISA vote, his vote to fund the wars, and his bailout vote, that he has asbestos shoes and doesn’t care what people say or think. Now they are purging dissidents and saying that nobody should criticize Obama, that we have to accept the “centrism” of Rahm Emanuel and Nancy Pelosi, two Democrats who are far to the political right of Bush and Cheney. They never intended to press Obama for peace, they wanted more genocide.

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Election Day Alternatives From GlobalPundit.Org - All Media..

admin @ November 3, 2008 # No Comment Yet

Election Day Alternatives From GlobalPundit.Org - and We’re Nuts Enough to Offer a Prediction, too…

Frankly. there’s no point in writing or chasing anything you’re already going to see on every newspaper and every newscast - SO here’s what we’re doing, and here’s our recommendation…

We’re visiting polling stations in Cook County, IL all morning - among many other things - watch for our LIVE FEEDS at various points throughout the day (and they’ll be archived) at WWW.THEUPTAKE.ORG

at the same time, when I can, i’ll be uploading photography raw and unedited and likely untagged and unnamed - and it will be all posted either througout the day when I can get a breather - or one fantastic barrage after 1 AM Central Time at our GLOBALPUNDIT.ORG FLICKR SITE .

As well , you can follow the minutiae that is Twitter since i’m certain to have some great updates and notices throughout the day. If you decide to join us and follow us on Twitter, drop us a message and let us know if there’s anything you’d like to see and we’ll point our cameras, live cameras, or anything else at it…

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