Obama and Edwards Batter Clinton

By Ben Cohen
Editor

Presidential debates are usually tedious affairs with more blather than discussion, and more spin than substance. Although the confines of debate in American politics is extremely narrow (are you really pro America, or just pro America?), tonights confrontation between Hillary Clinton and the rest of the Democratic contenders was a little different, and quite interesting to watch. I am reticent to say who ‘won’ the debate, as by most analysts standards, the candidate with the best sound bytes and poise are declared victorious. But it would be fair to say that Clinton took quite a beating.

Clinton has been well schooled by her handlers. She never directly responds to a challenge, and shows about as much emotion as Schwarzenegger did in ‘Terminator’. The aim of course, is to appear regal, and above the fray. But the other Democratic candidates fired some pointed criticisms of the New York Senator, and highlighted some of her many inconsistencies.

Obama scolded Clinton for changing her positions on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), torture policies and the Iraq war. Leadership, he said, does not mean “changing positions whenever it’s politically convenient.”

“Now, that may be politically savvy, but I don’t think that it offers the clear contrast that we need,” he continued. “I think what we need right now is honestly with the American people about where we would take the country.”

In reference to Clinton’s vote in the Senate to label the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organisation, Edwards was equally as scathing. When Clinton claimed she has directly confronted the Bush Administration, Edwards fired back:

“So the way to do that is to vote yes on a resolution that looks like it was written literally by the neocons?”

“Senator Clinton says that she believes she can be the candidate for change, but she defends a broken system that’s corrupt in Washington, D.C.,” Edwards continued. “She says she will end the war, but she continues to say she’ll keep combat troops in Iraq and continue combat missions in Iraq. To me, that’s not ending the war; that’s the continuation of the war.”

The best line of the night came from Obama, who responded to Clinton’s assertion that Republicans were obsessed with because ‘they obviously think that I am communicating effectively about what I will do as president’.

“Part of the reason that Republicans, I think, are obsessed with you, Hillary, is because that’s a fight they’re very comfortable having,” Obama countered. “It is the fight that we’ve been through since the ’90s. And part of the job of the next president is to break the gridlock and to get Democrats and independents and Republicans to start working together to solve these big problems.”

Clinton barely responded to the attacks, saving her criticisms for the Bush Administration.

“We’ve got to turn the page on George Bush and Dick Cheney”, she said. “In fact, we have to throw the whole book away. This has been a disastrous period in American history, and we hope it will be aberration.”

Although this misdirection tactic is no doubt what her strategists have told her to do, her robotic answers and scripted mini speeches expose what is really going on behind the scenes.

Clinton is basically a shiny face of the corporate wing of the Democratic Party. Beneath the populist rhetoric is a person committed to maintaining the status quo, and catering to all the lobbyists that are funding her campaign. Despite the revisionist history, her husbands record is appalling; Social injustice and poverty, all increased under Bill Clinton, while corporate influence and crony capitalism increased. There is absolutely no evidence that Hillary will be any different. She runs with the same crowd, employs the same people, and defends the same policies.

Virtually the other candidates have ties to corporate lobbyists and pressure groups, but none are quite as established as Clinton. Obama and Edwards at least present a breath of fresh air into the broken politics of Washington. If Clinton wins, it means Americans will have been subjected to over 25 years of rule by two families. It will be conclusive proof that the United States is not a democracy, but a bought system of powerful interest groups.

Clinton may be the most polished of the Democrats, but she represents all that is wrong with them. The Republicans will have a field day with her should she be elected, and the country will be plunged into more years of inane bickering. The funny thing is, she will most likely do their bidding in office, but without any benefit to her party. It’s a lose lose situation, and she needs to be stopped as quickly as possible.

David Barsamian Interview Part 3

In the final part of our exclusive interview with David Barsamian, we discuss the possible role of Israel in an attack on Iran, the Jewish population in Iran, the history of U.S/Iranian relations and much, much more. Click here to see part 1 and part 2

Bill Maher on Fear

Bill Maher sets Americans straight on what they really need to fear. Brilliant as always…

Kiva: The power of Micro Loans

By Ben Cohen

Over the past 30 years, the IMF and World Bank have done their utmost to wreck the economies of the Third World under the guise of ‘liberalisation’, possibly beyond repair. Extortionate loan repayment schemes and radical economic reconstruction have plunged countries in Latin America and Africa into grinding poverty and spiraling debt. The poor rarely see the money loaned to their governments, and are frozen out of the high growth seen by minute sectors of the corporate elite. There is however, something you can do.

It’s not the answer, but community based lending schemes are providing an alternative to this mess, connecting the borrower and the lender directly. The company ‘Kiva’ is a great example of this.

“Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world”, says their website. “By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can “sponsor a business” and help the world’s working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you’ve sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.”

Apparently, these type of loans are paid back 99% of the time, so are a very safe investment. Although our governments should be the ones eradicating the punitive loan schemes offered to the third world, they can no longer be trusted to do so. Check Kiva’s website for more info.

Kiva: The power of Micro Loans

By Ben Cohen

Over the past 30 years, the IMF and World Bank have done their utmost to wreck the economies of the Third World under the guise of ‘liberalisation’, possibly beyond repair. Extortionate loan repayment schemes and radical economic reconstruction have plunged countries in Latin America and Africa into grinding poverty and spiraling debt. The poor rarely see the money loaned to their governments, and are frozen out of the high growth seen by minute sectors of the corporate elite. There is however, something you can do.

It’s not the answer, but community based lending schemes are providing an alternative to this mess, connecting the borrower and the lender directly. The company ‘Kiva’ is a great example of this.

“Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world”, says their website. “By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can “sponsor a business” and help the world’s working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you’ve sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.”

Apparently, these type of loans are paid back 99% of the time, so are a very safe investment. Although our governments should be the ones eradicating the punitive loan schemes offered to the third world, they can no longer be trusted to do so. Check Kiva’s website for more info.

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!

It doesn’t get better than this. While visiting France, Major War Criminal Donald Rumsfeld has been hit with a torture lawsuit from a group of human rights organisations. He may possibly be tried for his role in legalising torture from 2002-2003 in Iraq. Although the odds are against anything substantial happening, it will certainly be a huge embarrassment for the Bush Administration. Who knows, Rumsfeld could one day end up in jail…..Read the full story here from www.rawstory.com

David Barsamian Interview part 2

By Ben Cohen
Editor

In the second part of our interview with author David Barsamian (see part one here), the topic of conversation moves to the occupation of Iraq, the business of war, the cultural history of Iran, and the consequences of another war in the Middle East. See below for part 2 of our exclusive interview:

White House: Global Warming is good for your health

Given their constant assertions that “the verdict is still out” on global warming, it seems they’re pretty sure about this. Here’s episode #77584 of “how stupid are these people?” featuring the creepily hot Dana Perino.
From Think Progress:

I have to say that her remarks at the end about “not being an expert” and “letting Julie Gerberding answer that question” are particularly laughable given that the question was about censoring Dr. Gerberding;s testmony before congress. Does she really not understand the fundamental contradiction between the idea of allowing someone to give there expert opinion and censoring it for political purposes?
Full text.

Record Industry Celebrates Victory in the War on Piracy

By Adam Margolis

On Tuseday, October 23, the record industry celebrated a major victory in the war on music piracy. Police in the U.K. and the Netherlands have been working for two years, investigating a member’s only, file-sharing site called OiNK.cd. The site is considered to be one of the largest sources of not just any music, but most specifically, unreleased albums and tracks from major record labels. In 2007 alone, more than 60 illegal pre-release albums were leaked and made available to the 180,000 OiNK members. Once in the possession of OiNK members, the music immediately became available all over the internet. Supposedly, OiNK in particular has had a noticeable affect on record sales in the last couple of years.

The 2 year investigation and arrest was orchestrated by Interpol, with the help of The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and the British Phonographic Industry. OiNK’s owner, a 24-year-old man from Middlesbrough, was arrested today in his home-town. Early reports say the site’s servers were confiscated last week during a raid in Amsterdam.

While this is a victory for the Music Industry, I would consider the war on Piracy to be as effective as the war on terror or the war on drugs. For every person or program that is taken down, there is another one on the sidelines, just waiting to have their chance to work. Thus far, the internet is virtually uncontrollable. New sites pop up every second, even faster than they can be taken down. There are at least 180,000 members of OiNK, and one of them could very possibly pick up where OiNK’s owner left off. The government “doesn’t have” the time or resources to monitor ever single person’s computer in the world. Not only would that be a tremendously difficult and expensive program, but it would certainly be even more unconstitutional than the phone tapping that has taken place in this country. Lets hope that this day doesn’t come, because let’s be honest…It’s nice to be able to download a few tracks every once in a while, but If you really do support a band or an album it wouldn’t necessarily hurt to pay 16 bucks for a CD or 99 cents per tune on iTunes.

The investigation of OiNK continues and more information unfolds. Stay tuned for any further updates….

Romney’s Propaganda Techniques

By Peter Bauer

In a classic election move, Mitt Romney used the propaganda technique known as “Transfer” to associate Democratic Presidential Candidate Barak Obama with alleged 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Ladin. (I say alleged because the FBI still hasn’t enough evidence to link Bin Laden with 9/11, despite the Bush Administration’s rhetoric. See for yourself. ).

Transfer is most often used to transfer blame or bad feelings from one politician to another of his friends or party members, or even to the party itself. Romney’s spokesman called the incident “just a simple mistake,” but a closer examination of the footages shows Romney says “Osama” at first, but correct himself and to say “Barack Obama.” He then used the candidate’s full name once again, further establishing his point, and invoking a negative image in the mind’s of his audience.

This isn’t the first time that Transfer has been employed to smear Obama. As the presidential campaign continues to unfold, it is essential to critically look at how the Corporate Media portrays presidential candidates, what what propaganda techniques they use to support or distort candidates.

END