Meike Capps-Schubert's Page

Raimondo on the Stimulus

Go on over to The Hill, Capitol Hill’s newspaper of record, and check out my latest commentary, this time on the impact of the “stimulus” and the prospect of yet another boondoggle to cover up the failure of the first one.

Somali-American ‘Terrorists’ Victims of Unfortunate Labeling

I wish it weren’t always necessary to lay out the recent history of Somalia every time it comes up. But it seems with every current event — like US bombings and piracy — Americans are starting with a fresh mental slate. And so it is with the recent cases of Minnesota-raised Somali youths taking up [...]

Clarion’s Clothiers

Insights into who funded the mysterious Clarion Fund remain few and far between, but new information about two funders surfaced this week giving a better outline of the network of donors who supported Clarion’s activities. The obituary for ‘’retail magnate’’ Sy Syms’ ran in The Forward on Tuesday and mentioned, ‘’Through the Sy Syms Foundation, Syms [...]

Torture Still Prime-Entertainment

Three Cheers for Doonesbury today! Unfortunately, prominent half-wits take their own values from this TV show. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia told an assembly of judges in the summer of 2007: ““Jack Bauer saved Los Angeles . . . . He saved hundreds of thousands of lives… Are you going to convict Jack Bauer?” [...]

David Swanson Book Event

David Swanson, co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org, author of Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union and recent guest on Antiwar Radio, will be giving a talk and signing some books at St. Bede’s Church in Mar Vista, California (near Venice) Monday, November 23, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. 3590 Grand View Blvd., 90066 in [...]

Key Coordinator of Detainee Policy Quits

A key official in the Obama administration's effort to remake detention policy and close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay has resigned.

Phillip Carter, who was appointed deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee policy in April, said in a brief telephone interview that he was leaving for "personal and family reasons" and not because of any policy differences with the administration. He tendered his resignation Friday, Pentagon officials said.

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Kentucky Court: No Executions Until Death Penalty Process Changed

Frankfurt - Kentucky may not execute anyone until it adopts regulations in compliance with the law, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

The court ruling came in the case of three Death Row inmates – Thomas C. Bowling, Ralph Baze and Brian Keith Moore – who were challenging the state’s lethal injection protocol.

Bowling was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1990 murders of a husband and wife as they were parked in their car outside their dry cleaning business in Lexington.

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North Carolina Lawmakers Ask for Probe of Blue Cross Advocacy Against Public Option

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina recently sent out mailers asking its customers for help lobbying against a public insurance option - and its controversial actions are now under official scrutiny.

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Elizabeth Warren Warns: Taxpayers Are "Involuntary Investors" in "Shaky" Banks, Risk-Taking Firms

As financial reforms face new delays in Congress, the chair of the Congressional oversight panel on the TARP program, Elizabeth Warren, told Truthout Tuesday that the nation's financial institutions still pose major risks for taxpayers - and the economy.

She declared, "The rules that got us into this financial crisis have not yet been changed." Meanwhile, she said, "The too-big-to-fail institutions are bigger

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US Will Not Join Treaty Banning Landmines

Washington - President Barack Obama has no plans to join a global treaty banning landmines because a policy review found the United States could not meet its security commitments without them, the State Department said on Tuesday.

"This administration undertook a policy review and we decided that our landmine policy remains in effect," spokesman Ian Kelly told a briefing five days before a review conference in Cartegena, Colombia on the 10-year-old Mine Ban Treaty.

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Democracy Now! 2009-11-27 Friday

Democracy Now! Friday, November 27, 2009

Democracy Now! 2009-11-26 Thursday

Democracy Now! Thursday, November 26, 2009

Democracy Now! 2009-11-25 Wednesday

Headlines for November 25, 2009; Philippines Declares State of Emergency After 57 People Killed in Politically-Linked Massacre; Ahead of Key Global Conference, U.S. Announces Continued Rejection of Land Mine Ban; As U.S. Probes Radiation at Three Mile Island, Christian Parenti on Enduring "Zombie Nuke Plants" Nationwide; Obama to Announce Afghan Escalation Plan Dec. 1st

Democracy Now! 2009-11-24 Tuesday

Headlines for November 24, 2009; Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan: Jeremy Scahill Reveals Private Military Firm Operating in Pakistan Under Covert Assassination and Kidnapping Program; As UC Berkeley Investigates Police Brutality Against Students Protesting Fee Hikes, a Report From Inside the Takeover of Wheeler Hall; Portland's Cannabis Cafe is the First Marijuana Coffee Shop of Its Kind in the Country; Two Former Bagram Detainees Held Without Charge Describe Torture and Wrongful Imprisonment