Newswire

Dear Radio Friend,
The latest Shortwave Report (February 22) is up at the website
http://www.outfarpress.com/outfarpress/shortwave.shtml in both broadcast quality (13.3MB) and quickdownload or streaming form (4.9MB) (28:59)

This week's show features stories from China Radio International, Radio Netherlands, Radio Havana Cuba, and the Voice of Russia.
From CHINA- China is beginning work on a series of new nuclear power plants expected to come online in 2012. 2 new suicide bombing attacks have rocked Afghanistan, and Norway announced that its troops will be stationed there for 7 more years. China has expressed grave concern over Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia.

(For more info please visit the http://pbcec.blogspot.com -Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition website.)

We need your help!

24 hours after hundreds of environmental protestors shut down the construction site of Florida Power and Light's natural gas power plant (see press release below), 23 activists are still in jail! Nine of them should be released shortly on their own recognizance, but 14 are awaiting bond at a total cost of $10,000!

The legal office is working hard to come up with the money to front the cost and we need donations ASAP to get these activists out of jail! We will also need money for legal defense for all 27 arrestees!

To make a donation via PayPal please http://pbcec.blogspot.com -visit the PBCEC website and click on the "Donate" button.

{press release}

Activists shut down power plant construction site, 27 Arrested

Early Monday morning dozens of concerned community members from Palm Beach County and all over the nation put their bodies on the line to halt construction of FPL's West County Energy Center (WCEC), demanding energy efficiency, truly clean, renewable energy and a moratorium on development in south Florida. Everglades Earth First! blocked the main entrance to the WCEC site, a proposed massive 3800 MW gas-fired power plant that would emit 12 million tons of CO2, a leading greenhouse gas, every year. The plant is currently under construction despite ongoing legal challenges to the plant's needed permits and certification, which have been spearheaded by the local Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition.

A dozen activists locked themselves together through metal pipes as 200 supporters rallied around them. The blockade stopped work on the construction site for six hours before a total of 27 people were arrested.

Captain Eric H. May, the Internet intelligence writer, presents an informed opinion about the rape tape that has excited much controversy since appearing or youtube.

Digging machinery has appeared on the
6th February 2008 at the Lismullin National Monument near
the Hill of Tara in Ireland as attempts are begun to fill in the
Henge in advance of Irish and European Court decisions.
(http://www.indymedia.ie/article/86111)

As of February 15th 2008, the situation
appears to be escalating at

Lismullen. Protestors at Lismullen
state that Diggers are trying to

cross the protected area of the
National Monument. More machinery is

arriving and protesters are attempting
a blockade. The protesters say

that SIAC / Ferrovial employees are
attempting to bury the Lismullen

National Monument with earth, in the
face of the High Court / EU Court

of Justice cases concerning Lismullen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXtF0KeAFpI

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/savetara/message/3909

Protesters at Lismullen are saying that
SIAC / Ferrovial employees are attempting to bury the Lismullen
National Monument with earth, in the face of the High Court / EU
Court of Justice cases: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXtF0KeAFpI

The Tara Foundation are very concerned
that moves could be being made

to demolish the Lismullen Henge in
advance of High Court Proceedings

initiated on the 5th February 2008
aginst the Irish Government over

Recent surveys show that American voters have a
critical view of how things are going in the country, and that they are
confident that the next American President will have the power to
change much of what is wrong. Voters begin this election year with a
grim assessment of the status quo. Roughly three-fourths say the
country is on “the wrong track.”

Some say the
Democrats don’t have the spine to improve things. In my view,
progressives have to push the Democrats to end the war, restore our
civil liberties, particularly the right of “habeas corpus,” and to
protect our environment.

In short, even if the Democrats win, the progressive
peace movement needs to continue to “bear witness” to the crimes that
our government, the CIA, and the Pentagonians are committing in foreign
lands against people that have never harmed or attacked America. We
must continue to protest, to act outside the electoral process, to
stand up for our rights, speak our conscience, defend human rights,
even if our so called “leaders” can’t.

Yet, I
agree with those progressives who argue the need to strategically vote
“democratic” in the elections - just to get some room to maneuver. The
American unions, and most civil rights and environmental groups,
consider it imperative to get the Democrats elected and in the White
House, and they are certainly a part of progressive America. They may
be right, given the lack of any genuine practical alternatives.

We
need to vote for the Democratic nominee and get the neo-cons and the
Republicans out of the White House. I know, I know - we have all heard
this sorry story before, we have all been betrayed before, and the
historical record of the party over the last few decades makes us
nauseous.

Another Killing Spree in Mesopotamia: “Pacifying” Mosul

By Felicity Arbuthnot

Global Research, February 13, 2008
UN Observer

“When I hear anyone talk of Culture, I reach for my revolver.” Hermann Goering (1893-1946.)

In the Orwellian world of the United States military, when a killing spree in Mesopotamia is embarked upon, it is called an “Iraq Pacification Operation'”. There have been hundreds of these (I abandoned counting at three hundred and eighty, with numerous more to go.)

Each 'pacification' has a name which brings a glimpse into a very strange mindset: “Operation Devil Thrust”, “Operation Terminator”, “Operation Scorpion Sting”, “Operation Sidewinder”, “Operation Roaring Tiger”, “Operation All American Tiger”, “Operation Panther Squeeze”, “Operation Warhorse Whirlwind”, “Operation Resolute Sword”, “Operation Wolverine Feast”, “Operation Arrowhead Ripper”, “Operations 'Geronimo Strike', 'Rat Trap' and 'Grizzly Forced Entry'”. And from a porn show near you: Operations “Squeeze Play”, “Triple Play”, “Therapist” and “Tombstone Thrust”. ( http://www.globalsecurity.org )

Seemingly there are even “insurgent” cows, if “Operation Cowpens” lived up to its name. Al Cow-aeda, maybe?

Perhaps the oddest is: '”Operation Suicide Kings”. Suicide bombers of course, were unheard of in Iraq until the invasion. The title is no doubt a coincidence in macho “bring 'em on”, bragging. None however are titles which conjure up the joyously liberated, reveling gratefully, savoring their freedom and democracy.

"He hasn't said the word black out of his mouth, not even to talk about the color of his suit or his shoes! He cannot address the suffering of African people."

Check out this first in an ongoing series of vignettes by African People's Socialist Party Chairman Omali Yeshitela on the U.S. presidential candidacy of Barack Obama.

"When you talk about a presidential election where they're going to spend more than a billion dollars, a lot of forces with a whole bunch of money are promoting him for their own reasons. Not because of what's important to Africans, but because of what's important to this element of the ruling class.

"So he's important, because at this time of crisis, where you might be looking for revolution, where you might be willing to talk about overturning the system, he brings Africans back into the safe embrace of the Democratic Party."

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ALXhG1o620g

Dear Radio Friend, The latest Shortwave Report (February 8) is up at the website http://www.outfarpress.com/outfarpress/shortwave.shtml in both broadcast quality (13.3MB) and quickdownload or streaming form (4.9MB) (28:59)This week's show features stories from China Radio International, Radio Netherlands, Radio Havana Cuba, and the Voice of Russia.From CHINA- The UN Secretary General expressed concern about Chad and has withdrawn personnel from the African nation. Kenya has asked the African Union to send peacekeepers to stem violence in the nation. Iran has built a space center and will soon launch a satellite. Hamas has been asked by other Palestinians to cease retaliatory attacks on Israel. The shutdown of nuclear development in N Korea is progressing on schedule. China's Premier and Prime Minister visited Chinese regions still suffering from the effects of the worst winter weather in 50 or more years.From NETHERLANDS- Chinese nomads have been using solar panels for a few years, thus not lacking electricity like their fellow countrymen. There have been demonstrations around the world in opposition to FARC rebels in Colombia- a US professor believes that the FARC rebels are no worse than the other paramilitary groups blessed by Colombian President Uribe. The Dutch Parliament held a mock vote for the US presidency and Barak Obama won by a landslide. A recent Dutch opinion poll found that voters had little opposition to a female or homosexual Prime Minister, but the majority would be opposed to a Jewish or Muslim candidate, or one over 70 years old.From CUBA- The US 2008 Primary election will soon surpass the cost of the entire 2004 Presidential election. A Tennessee company has applied for a license to import and process radioactive waste from Europe.

To any woman working toward eliminating sexism and patriarchy:

I'm
working on a thesis at University at Buffalo about feminism vs.
post-feminism (if such a thing exists). As part of my preliminary
research, I have created a short questionnaire for anti-sexist women.
The survey should take 10-15 minutes and is essential to the research.
Feel free to pass this link along to your friends. Thank you so much!

-Hannah Dobbz, University at Buffalo

Feminism Questionnaire

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=9MuUQjVhxNXwyODe0JlM5w_3d_3d