n2doc
n2doc's Journal
Nobody Knows the ID of the 150 People Killed by U.S. in Somalia,but Most Are Certain They deserve it
The U.S. used drones and manned aircraft yesterday to drop bombs and missiles on Somalia, ending the lives of at least 150 people. As it virtually always does, the Obama administration instantly claimed that the people killed were “terrorists” and militants — members of the Somali group al Shabaab — but provided no evidence to support that assertion.
Nonetheless, most U.S. media reports contained nothing more than quotes from U.S. officials about what happened, conveyed uncritically and with no skepticism of their accuracy: The dead “fighters … were assembled for what American officials believe was a graduation ceremony and prelude to an imminent attack against American troops,” pronounced the New York Times. So, the official story goes, The Terrorists were that very moment “graduating” — receiving their Terrorist degrees — and about to attack U.S. troops when the U.S. killed them.
With that boilerplate set of claims in place, huge numbers of people today who have absolutely no idea who was killed are certain that they all deserved it. As my colleague Murtaza Hussain said of the 150 dead people: “We don’t know who they are, but luckily they were all bad.” For mindless authoritarians, the words “terrorist” and “militant” have no meaning other than: anyone who dies when my government drops bombs, or, at best, a “terrorist” is anyone my government tells me is a terrorist. Watch how many people today are defending this strike by claiming “terrorists” and “militants” were killed using those definitions even though they have literally no idea who was killed.
Other than the higher-than-normal death toll, this mass killing is an incredibly common event under the presidency of the 2009 Nobel Peace laureate, who has so far bombed seven predominantly Muslim countries. As Nick Turse has reported in The Intercept, Obama has aggressively expanded the stealth drone program and secret war in Africa.
more
https://theintercept.com/2016/03/08/nobody-knows-the-identity-of-the-150-people-killed-by-u-s-in-somalia-but-most-are-certain-they-deserved-it/
We learned nothing from Vietnam
Neil Bush Joins Ted Cruz’s Finance Team
The younger brother of former President George W. Bush and failed presidential candidate Jeb Bush has joined Ted Cruz's national finance team. Neil Bush and his wife Maria were announced as the newest members of Cruz's backing team in a Tuesday press release from the Texan senator's campaign. Jeb Bush, meanwhile, has remained quiet about endorsing any candidates for the March 15 primary in Florida. "We are seeing incredible momentum around our campaign," Cruz said in the statement, which boasted of former Jeb, Rand Paul, and Rick Perry supporters joining his team.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/03/08/jeb-s-brother-joins-cruz-s-team.html
Maybe he will be just as successful as he was with Silverado S and L....
Sanders snares 3 Vermont superdelegates
MONTPELIER — Sen. Bernie Sanders netted three more Vermont superdelegates Tuesday bringing his total un-pledged delegate tally to six and his total pledged and unplugged delegate count to 22 out of the state’s 26 available delegates to the national convention in July.
Secretary of State James Condos and Vermont Democratic Party Vice Chairman Tim Jerman, who represents Essex in the Vermont House, announced at a State House news conference Tuesday they plan to vote for the hometown presidential candidate. VDP Chairwoman Dottie Deans did not attend the news conference, but announced in an email to reporters that also plans to back Sanders.
Condos and Jerman cited Sanders’ overwhelming victory in the March 1 Vermont Primary in which he won 86 percent of the vote. His Democratic primary rival, Hillary Clinton, did not reach the 15 percent threshold to secure pledged delegates that are awarded to candidates on a proportional basis, so Sanders won all 16 of the state’s pledged delegates.
Condos said Sanders’ victory in the primary was “a powerful statement of support of the voters” and noted the “enthusiasm and infusion of young adults” Sanders has brought to the race.
more
http://www.vermontpressbureau.com/2016/03/08/sanders-snares-3-vermont-superdelegates
Dr. Quentin Young, Doctor to Martin Luther King Jr. and Obama, Dies at 93
Source: DNAinfo
CALIFORNIA — Dr. Quentin Young, the crusading progressive physician to President Barack Obama among others, died Monday at his daughter’s house in California.
Young, 93, was a lifelong Hyde Parker and the physician to Obama, former Mayor Harold Washington and to writers like Studs Terkel and Mike Royko.
According to people who had spoken to Young’s family, Young died on Monday at his daughter Polly Young’s house on Monday.
Young was a lifelong advocate for a single-payer health care system and numerous other progressive causes, which he said in 2013 came from his youth growing up in Hyde Park.
Read more: https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160308/hyde-park/dr-quentin-young-doctor-martin-luther-king-jr-obama-dies-at-93
FPL nuclear plant canals leaking into Biscayne Bay, study confirms
BY JENNY STALETOVICH
A radioactive isotope linked to water from power plant cooling canals has been found in high levels in Biscayne Bay, confirming suspicions that Turkey Point’s aging canals are leaking into the nearby national park.
According to a study released Monday by Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, water sampling in December and January found tritium levels up to 215 times higher than normal in ocean water. The report doesn’t address risks to the public or marine life but tritium is typically monitored as a “tracer” of nuclear power plant leaks or spills.
The study comes two weeks after a Tallahassee judge ordered the utility and the state to clean up the nuclear plant’s cooling canals after concluding that they had caused a massive underground saltwater plume to migrate west, threatening a wellfield that supplies drinking water to the Florida Keys. The judge also found the state failed to address the pollution by crafting a faulty management plan.
This latest test, critics say, raise new questions about what they’ve long suspected: That canals that began running too hot and salty the summer after FPL overhauled two reactors to produce more power could also be polluting the bay.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article64667452.html#storylink=cpy
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