There has been a good deal of ironic comments in the European press concerning the selection of the Belgium Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as the European Council President and Baroness Catherine Ashton of Upholland, a life peer, as the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Van Rompuy & Ashton
The battle for health care reform is heating up in Congress. The House has already passed one bill, and the Senate is debating another version. But as Dr. Andy Coates explains, both bills will fail in solving the health care crisis--and, in fact, place a greater financial burden than ever on working people.
Before right wing candidate Porfirio Lobo was pronounced the winner of the November 29 elections in Honduras, one senior US official spoke anonymously to reporters of his administration's position on Honduras: "What are we going to do, sit for four years and just condemn the coup?" Instead, Washington offered its pivotal blessing for the elections, allowing a bloody dictatorship to paint itself in a democratic light.Porfirio Lobo & Hillary Clinton
Source: Foreign Policy in Focus
There was one way in which President Obama’s escalation speech brought significant relief to the 59% of people in this country, as well as the overwhelming majorities of people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East and elsewhere who oppose the U.S. war in Afghanistan: It was a pretty lousy speech. That is, it had none of the power, the lyricism, the passion for history, the capacity to engage and to persuade virtually every listener, even those who may ultimately disagree, that have characterized the president’s earlier addresses.
Source: San Francisco Bay Guardian
On a sunny afternoon in Civic Center Plaza, a remarkable bounty covered a buffet table: coconut quinoa, organic mushroom tabouli, homemade vegan desserts, and an assortment of other yummy treats. The food and event were meant to raise awareness about public school lunches, although it was hard to imagine these dishes, brought by well-heeled food advocates, sitting under the fluorescent lights of a San Francisco public school cafeteria.
The spread was for the Slow Food USA Labor Day “eat-in,” a public potluck meant to publicize the proposed reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, national legislation that regulates the food in public schools. The crowd was in a festive, light-hearted mood. There was a full program of speeches by sustainability experts and a plant-your-own-vegetable-seeds table set up in one corner of the plaza.
Bolivian President Evo Morales was re-elected on Sunday, December 6th in a landslide victory. After the polls closed, fireworks, music and celebrations filled the Plaza Murillo in downtown La Paz where Morales supporters chanted "Evo Again! Evo Again!" Addressing the crowd from the presidential palace balcony, Morales said, "The people, with their participation, showed once again that it's possible to change Bolivia
We have the responsibility to deepen and accelerate this process of change."Celebrations in La Paz (ABI)
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