After the Storm: The Instability of Inequality

Saturday 15 October 2011
After the Storm: The Instability of Inequality
Nouriel Roubini, Project Syndicate: "This year has witnessed a global wave of social and political turmoil and instability, with masses of people pouring into the real and virtual streets.... While these protests have no unified theme, they express in different ways the serious concerns of the world’s working and middle classes about their prospects in the face of the growing concentration of power among economic, financial, and political elites."
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Anatomy of a Victory: Occupy Wall Street Wins a Big One
J.A. Myerson, Truthout: "Mayor Bloomberg’s Wednesday night visit to Liberty Plaza Park, during which he delivered news (on behalf of his girlfriend’s corporation) that the park would be cleaned Friday morning, made me very nervous.... Over the next 20-or-so hours, there precipitated one of the most impressive single days of organizing I can recall or even imagine, and by 6 AM the next day, when the cleaning was set to begin, the Wall Street occupiers and our allies around the world had won. It’s worth looking into what made that happen, if for no other reason than to derive best practices for like operations in the future."
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Eugene Robinson | Raising Cain
Eugene Robinson, Washington Post Writers Group: "Just be patient and you, too, can lead the polls for the Republican presidential nomination. Witness the ascent of Herman Cain.... Cain's contribution to American political discourse thus far is a novel debating technique: When confronted with inconvenient facts, say they're wrong."
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12 Most Absurd Laws Used to Stifle the Occupy Wall Street Movement
Rania Khalek, AlterNet: "As Occupy Wall Street protests spring up in cities across the country, authorities are thinking up creative ways to contain this peaceful and inspiring uprising. Although laws and municipal ordinances vary from city to city, there is a consistency in the tactics being used to stifle the movement.... Here are 12 desperate and unsuccessful measures the authorities are using to discourage, deter and crack down on peaceful protests."
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Egypt’s Military Expands Power, Raising Alarms
David D. Kirkpatrick, The New York Times News Service: "Egypt’s military rulers are moving to assert and extend their own power so broadly that a growing number of lawyers and activists are questioning their willingness to ultimately submit to civilian authority. Two members of the military council that took power after the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak said for the first time in interviews this week that they planned to retain full control of the Egyptian government even after the election of a new Parliament begins in November."
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"Convenient" Base Is Unexamined Excuse for US Silence on Bahrain Crackdown
Robert Naiman, Truthout: "Pressure is building on the Obama administration to delay a proposed arms sale to Bahrain, which brutally suppressed its pro-democracy movement and continues to squash dissent.... In noting that the US has been quiet on the crackdown in Bahrain, press reports usually mention the fact that the US has a naval base there.... But the way this fact is often cited gives the impression that it's a foregone conclusion that the administration can't speak up about human rights in Bahrain because of the naval base."
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House Bill Would Block EPA Oversight of Coal Ash, Leave it to States
Renee Schoof, McClatchy Newspapers: "Next up for Republicans in the House of Representatives who are seeking to curb the role of the Environmental Protection Agency is a vote Friday on a bill that would give states the power to monitor the disposal of coal ash from power plants.... If the bill became law, it would block the EPA from imposing a federal rule to regulate the coal ash in disposal sites as a hazardous substance. The EPA has proposed that, but it hasn't yet decided whether to follow through with it or opt for a state-based plan instead."
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"Cambodian Grrrl" Brings the Zine to Phnom Penh
Alissa Bohling, Truthout: "Women and girls in post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia have more than a history of poverty and genocide to contend with.... Theoretically, Moore's goal to help her students channel their voices in a self-made medium is the perfect answer to the corruption, poverty and bereft educational system.... But on her first day in the country, engulfed by disorder and without the 'Khmenglish' she and her students will later use to communicate, she has her doubts: 'I evaluated the last 24 hours and thought to myself: You came here to make zines?'"
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"Grim Milestone as 300th CIA Drone Strike Hits Pakistan
Chris Woods, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism: "The United States ‘covert’ drone war in Pakistan reached a new milestone today with the 300th attack on alleged militants in the country’s tribal areas, according to research by the Bureau.... The Bureau has now identified 300 drone strikes since June 17 2004. Of these, 248 have occurred during President Obama’s three years in office, rising to a frequency of one strike every four days."
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Arrested for Peace
Robert Corsini, Truthout: "For over a decade now, we have only heard deafening silence when it comes to an honest assessment of what has transpired throughout the Middle East, but in particular in Afghanistan and Iraq. Raised Catholic, I learned that the only path toward atonement is through honesty, truth and action - all conspicuously missing from American society and sadly missing especially from many American Christians.... The right-wing Jesus continues to dominate the airwaves, Congress and the White House, further enabling the American war machine to consume our nation's wealth."
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BUZZFLASH DAILY HEADLINES

The BuzzFlash commentary for Truthout will return Monday.
Occupy Wall Street Solidarity Protests Spread Across the Globe
Read the Article at Reuters
Obama Administration Halts Long-Term Care Program
Read the Article at The Wall Street Journal
Yemeni Forces Kill 12 Protesters
Read the Article at Voice of America
Charge Against Catholic Bishop Unprecedented in Sex Abuse Scandal
Read the Article at The Los Angeles Times
Rick Perry Voted Against Sanctions on Apartheid South Africa
Read the Article at The Huffington Post
Owners of New York's Zuccotti Park Received Nearly $700,000 in Goverment Handouts Since 9/11
Read the Article at the New York Daily News
What US Manhunt for Lord's Resistance Army Leaders Reveals About Obama's War Strategy
Read the Article at 07
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