After several canceled flights, I am finally on my way to Egypt to join my CODEPINK colleagues who are already there. We were supposed to be leading a delegation to Gaza right now, traveling through the Sinai to get to Gaza's southern border. The Rafa crossing into Gaza has been closed, our delegation is unable to leave Cairo, and we have been caught up in the breath-taking people's movement that is sweeping Egypt. CODEPINK’s Tighe Barry has been out on the streets of Cairo all week long. You can hear a compelling report from him here.
Check out these video highlights from Free Speech TV's coverage of the historic One Nation Working Together March on Saturday, October 2nd. Organizers estimate that over 175,000 people attended the rally and march. Below is video of Thom Hartmann and Rosa Clemente's live interview with Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK: Women for Peace.
This interview aired live to 35 million households on Free Speech TV via DIRECTV channel 248, DISH Network channel 9415, and streamed on freespeech.org to thousands of online viewers.
If you're feeling skeptical after hearing President Obama's latest speech on the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, you're not alone. It's hard to know what to make of a President and an administration that brings over 90,000 troops homewhile ordering 50,000 soldiers along with 75,000 military contractors to remain. There are still some 150,000 personnel in Iraq and the US is supposed to be completely out of the country by 2011. That's next year. Bringing home thousands by the end of this August is a good step, but we really need to step on it. Unfortunately, the State Department is dragging its heels as much as the Pentagon and wants to hire 6,000 - 7,000 more staff and train them like soldiers. While working under the auspices of the State Department, these new personnel would have the status of “diplomats.” But who ever heard of a diplomat trained like a soldier and armed with a gun?
Yesterday I heard that one of our best programs for helping high school students reach college and succeed there had huge cuts in funding. Upward Bound has been very successful with students I know, kids from families with one struggling single parent who works a lot, families in which no one has gone on to [...]
On Memorial Day 2010, I remember Abeer Hamza, the 14-year-old stalked, raped and murdered by predatory US soldiers who also murdered her family. I remember Nadja Al-Ali, Iraqi-German author of What Kind of Liberation?, talking about Iraqi women dying from cancer after exposure to Depleted Uranium. I remember being spell-bound by charismatic Afghan parliamentarian in exile, Malalai Joya, as she told a crowd in Berkeley about “democracy-loving leaders” in her country: “We have a LOT!” she declared with eyes blazing.
I remember clearly when Speaker Pelosi made statements last year about not intending to push her colleagues to approve more funding for Afghanistan the next time President Obama came asking. I remember because it was one of my few “yay Nancy” moments. They don’t happen often honestly. So when I read today’s piece on Fox’s [...]
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
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