Page 718 – Toward Freedom

Did Hank Paulson Break the Law?

Nick Baumann October 21, 2009 Nick Baumann

Did Henry Paulson, George W. Bush’s Treasury secretary, break the law?

According to a new book on the financial meltdown by New York Times reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin, in June 2008, Paulson, who was the chairman of Goldman Sachs before joining the Bush administration, held a secret meeting in Moscow with the board of directors of his former employer. The problem for Paulson-then and possibly now-was that after he had been nominated in 2006 to the Treasury post he had signed an ethics letter vowing to stay clear of potential conflicts of interest with Goldman Sachs and promising not to take any action that might affect the firm’s ability to cover his multimillion-dollar pension. read more

Obama Plans Another War to Add to His Impressive Record

John Pilger October 21, 2009 John Pilger

A Brief History of Loyal Opposition to War

Chris Lombardi October 21, 2009 Chris Lombardi

"I joined the military to kill Iraqi people," Kristofer Goldsmith said softly in a Congressional hearing room in May of last year. The slim young veteran, his mohawk pulled back from his head in a half-braid, kept his eyes focused forward as news photographers scurried under the table at which he sat, saying: "I remember on September 12, 2001, looking up at the TV screen as a sixteen-year-old boy, saying we should use biological weapons and eliminate the threat in the Middle East."

Obama’s Choice: Play it Safe or Risk it All to Keep Hope Alive

Sandy LeonVest October 20, 2009 Sandy LeonVest

President Barack Obama has a choice to make - and it is one of Faustian proportions. He needs to decide who he wants to be, and how he wants history - and his children - to remember him. More specifically, he needs to decide whether he wants to be a Great Leader or whether to play it safe in the interest of being a two-term president.

Ten Years After Seattle: The Global Justice Movement Evolves

Christopher Moraff October 19, 2009 Christopher Moraff

Source: In These Times

When activists from around the world took to the streets of Pittsburgh in late September to protest the gathering of the Group of Twenty nations (G-20), they were not only putting the new administration in Washington on notice that “change” is more than a campaign slogan. They were reaffirming their commitment to a world that represents the interests of the poor and disadvantaged over that of the powered elite.

The near collapse of the global economy in 2008-which exposed the failings of neoliberalism-has propelled the anti-globalization movement to a level of renewed relevance. read more

France: Voters Reject Postal Privatization

Chris Latham October 19, 2009 Chris Latham

Source: Green Left Weekly

French people have sent a strong message to the government of President Nicolas Sarkozy with 90% of voters in a referendum organised by anti-privatisation campaigners rejecting plans to partially privatise the national postal service, La Poste.

The result highlighted public opposition to Sarkozy’s neoliberal assault on public services.

France, like other capitalist countries, has been restructuring the public sector under both centre-left and centre-right governments since the 1980s. However, these reforms have been blunted by working-class resistance, most spectacularly during the 1995 strike wave against attacks on the public sector and the student-led movement in 2006 against a law severely attacking the rights of young workers. read more