New Orleans Voices For Peace

John Brown: A Terrorist who Deserved Hanging

This is the 150th anniversary of the hanging of John Brown. When he attacked Harper’s Ferry with a handful of followers, the butcher of Kansas helped sow the seeds of the Civil War. Few things would have made Brown happier than the thought of hundreds of thousands of people dying for [...]

What a Difference a Week Makes for Bill Kristol

One day out from Obama’s long-awaited announcement on troop deployments to Afghanistan the White House is getting plenty of criticism from both sides of the aisle. Democrats, including Rep. David Obey (D-WI), the influential chair of the House Appropriations Committee, have expressed concerns about both the cost of the war and the difficulty of achieving victory [...]

Ron Paul on Afghanistan and Perpetual War

Ron Paul cuts through the bull:

How Many Needles Can Obama Thread?

To answer Jim Bovard’s earlier question — will President Obama “out-BS” Bush? — I think no, after watching Obama tonight, it seems that Bush set a perverse standard that even an over-achiever like Obama can’t exceed. But that didn’t seem to be Obama’s goal tonight. He was all about threading the needle, rather than pouring rhetorical [...]

All You Can Cheat

From Big O’s speech: [W]e have made progress on some important objectives. …  In Afghanistan, we and our allies prevented the Taliban from stopping a presidential election and — although it was marred by fraud — that election produced a government that is consistent with Afghanistan’s laws and constitution. Hurrah! Stolen elections for everyone! Try and stop [...]

Judd Gregg’s One-Stop Obstruction Manual For Health Care Debate

This could actually be damaging for the GOP. Never before has the reality of their historic obstructionism been so obvious. Judd Gregg has now created an obstruction manual that can be distributed in a viral way. You can do charts showing how many times the GOP has used the filibuster, or videos showing them objecting, but they don’t have the impact of this step-by-step guide for how to endlessly delay the health care bill, in this case, because they have no ideas and only wish to deny the American people any tangible benefit.

read more

Khmer Rouge Torture Chief Trial Closes

Cambodia this week saw closing arguments in the trial against Kaing Guek Eav, alias Comrade Duch, the 67-year-old former commandant of the infamous Khmer Rouge torture prison known as S-21. Although not a top leader in the Khmer Rouge's Democratic Kampuchea (DK), Duch's role as head of the secret police force that operated out of the former schoolhouse also called Tuol Sleng is seen as central to the regime's operation. More than 12,000 people were killed at S-21. Twelve, total, survived.

read more

Robert Reich | Worrisome Thoughts on the Way to the Jobs Summit

Most ideas for creating more jobs assume jobs will return when the economy recovers. So the immediate goal is to accelerate the process. A second stimulus would be helpful, especially directed at state governments that are now mounting an anti-stimulus package (tax increases, job cuts, service cuts) of over $200 billion this year and next. If the deficit hawks threaten to take flight, the administration should use the remaining TARP funds.

read more

2,600 Bodies Found in Kashmir Graves: Report

Srinagar, India - Nearly 2,600 bodies have been discovered in single unmarked and mass graves throughout mountainous Indian Kashmir, human rights activists said Wednesday, alleging some of the dead were likely innocent people killed by security forces.

More than a dozen Kashmiri rebel groups have been fighting for independence from India or a union with predominantly Muslim Pakistan since 1989. Rights groups say there have been more than 8,000 disappearances since the rebellion began.

read more

New York State Lawmakers Vote Against Gay Marriage

Edith Honan, Reuters reports:

read more

Democracy Now! 2009-12-02 Wednesday

Headlines for December 02, 2009; More War: Obama Unveils Plan to Send 30,000 More Troops to Afghanistan; Rep. Kucinich on Afghanistan War: "We're Acting Like a Latter Day Version of the Roman Empire"; Vietnam Vet, Scholar Andrew Bacevich on Obama War Plan: "The President Has Drawn the Wrong Lessons From His Understanding of the History of War"; Nir Rosen: "We Managed to Make the Taliban Look Good"

Democracy Now! 2009-12-01 Tuesday

Headlines for December 01, 2009; Hondurans Divided After Coup Backer Wins Presidential Election Boycotted by Zelaya Supporters; In Third Week of Hunger Strike, Ailing Western Saharan Human Rights Activist Aminatou Haidar Demands Moroccan Authorities Allow Her Return to Occupied Homeland; Study: In Afghan Debate, Few Antiwar Op-Eds in Nation's Two Leading Newspapers

Democracy Now! 2009-11-30 Monday

Headlines for November 30, 2009; Amy Goodman Detained at Canadian Border, Questioned About Speech...and 2010 Olympics; WTO Chief Pascal Lamy: Free Trade and Interdependence Help Promote Freedom, Human Rights and Civil Liberties; The Battle of Seattle 10 Years Later: Organizers Reflect on 1999 Shutdown of WTO Talks and the Birth of a Movement

Democracy Now! 2009-11-27 Friday

Studs Terkel 1912-2008: A Democracy Now! Special Tribute to the Beloved Oral Historian and Broadcaster