So, was Nader right or wrong?

An interesting little give and take is going on over at the National Association of Manufacturers' blog, ShopFloor.org, which I think it worthy of reposting here, since I'm involved in it.
Earlier this week, Ralph Nader sent me his latest column about an advertising supplement for the NAM published in the WSJ. Since I read the WSJ, I noticed it too, and posted Nader's column happily.
However, over at the NAM, they weren't too happy about the column and they posted this note on their blog: ["How Embarrassing: To Get Basic Facts Wrong"].
Nader's mistakes? It was a four page supplement, not two. And, the NAM claims they didn't "buy" the ad, "It was paid for by ads." There was barely a mention about Nader's main points of the column or the fact that alleged free trade is clobbering the American economy.
I didn't see the blog's post until five days later, after they posted this, upset that I published the Nader column: ["Before Truth Can Get Out of Bed in the Morning"]. Thankfully, a reader from overseas posted a comment taking me to this blog entry. I would not have even noticed it otherwise.
Since my blog was noted on their blog, I responded with some questions of my own:

Hi Carter,

Thanks for the plug about the blog. A few quick questions:

1) "... the NAM did not buy it. It was paid for by the ads" can you clarify please? Did the WSJ invite you to put together a four page supplement in which they would get ads for it, or did you reserve the space and then sell ads for it? If it is the latter, than Ralph would technically be correct: You reserved [bought] the space and then got some other entities to help you pay for it. If it is something else, please explain. Thanks.

2) As we all know, "freedom isn't free" and when it comes to alleged free trade and alleged free markets, there is years and years with of statistical evidence showing that it has been a costly, harmful and expensive for the United States to have as policy. I could go into a bunch of the data, but you already know it.

3) I would contend having been a watcher of the WSJ editorial pages for a bit of time that while they may think their philosophy is "free people, free markets" it is more like "freedom for certain people and certain markets if you can afford it."

The response from Carter was even more enlightening in its curt, short response:

Our advertising practices are the business of the association and its members. Which does not mean free rein to make stuff up about them.

Hmm. Well, OK, he's correct. But he doesn't answer the question. So, I wrote this:

Hi Carter,

Not to be argumentative, but you didn't really answer the question. Of course it is your business but that doesn't mean Mr. Nader made anything up or was inaccurate, as you claim. In fact, knowing a bit about marketing and having worked in media in some way, shape or form now for almost two decades, I would bet that his conclusions were quite accurate and you're just a tad defensive because he called your org on it. Since you won't answer my question - for obvious, understandable reasons - you can't really back up what your saying. At the same time, simply answering the question would really enlighten people to how such supplements come together. Personally, whether I agree with the information or not, they are a great marketing tool for getting your company's [or association's] points across.

I think in the future, before you tarnish someone like Ralph Nader, a hero to many and, frankly, a champion of American manufacturing and workers, with accusations on your blog, maybe you should either be prepared to back them up, or just let it go.

Thanks for the convo and I look forward to continuing to read your blog ... since I too care about American manufacturing and workers.

They haven't cleared the post yet for publication but I will be interested to see what the response is.
The NAM blog is actually a pretty interesting read, with all kinds of details about American manufacturing. So, I'm glad to have discovered it even if it was this way. But it would be nice to see the NAM start to worry about some of their political positions and how they are harming American manufacturing and American workers. The two, as well as the health of the overall country, are tied hand in hand.

The Best Editorials Money Can Buy

Guest Perspective/Ralph Nader

On September 26, 2007, the powerful National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) bought two pages in the Wall Street Journal to tout a prosperous, expanding group of member-companies producing products.

It occurred to me as I began the copy, that the NAM rarely bought expensive space like this in the Journal. Then after going through NAM’s introductory message, I realized why they purchased the ad. Month after month in hundreds of loyal editorials, the Journal’s editorial writers already have been conveying the cravings and demands of this trade association.

The parallels between this revenue-producing two page spread and the Journal’s opinion scribes, in contrast to its often sterling news pages, are the stuff of the corporate state.

The editorials argue for more “clean” coal and nuclear power and emphasize expanding production of U.S. oil and natural gas with a token tip to renewables (with plenty of taxpayer subsidies).

So does the NAM.

NAM wants more so-called “free trade” agreements without recognizing, at the very least, that there can be no “free trade” with dictatorships like China. Dictatorial, oligarchic regimes determine wages, prevent free trade unions, and otherwise through grease and no-rule-of-law or access to justice, obstruct market-based costs and pricing.

So do the Journal’s editorial writers.

In scores of frenzied editorials, the Journal assails tort law, tort attorneys and “unreasonable awards.” Having read just about all these advertiser-friendly diatribes, I have yet to discern any data to back up their flood of declamations about “frivolous” litigation and “wild” awards.

Neither did the NAM produce any evidence about “lawsuit abuse” because the evidence points to declining product defect and malpractice suits, notwithstanding that 90% of these injured people suffer without any legal claims filed on their behalf. (See: http://www.centerjd.org/ and http://www.citizen.org/)

The Journal’s rigid ideologues demand less regulation (read less law and order for corporations) and the weakening of the Sarbanes-Oxley law enacted to modestly deal with part of the corporate crime wave of the past decade.

So does the NAM.

The NAM wants further reduction of the already reduced corporate tax rate and more taxpayer pay-out to corporations, including super-profitable ones like Intel, GE, Cisco and Pfizer. These latter windfalls are called research and development tax credits. How many Americans know that they are paying these and other super-profitable companies more money to make still more profits? Cisco does not even pay dividends.

So also demands the big business echo chamber on the Journal’s editorial pages.

The Journal has been campaigning for years to end the estate tax which is so diluted that less than 2 percent of all estates have to pay anything to Uncle Sam. Conservative Republican wordsmith, Frank Luntz, in a moment of abandon, called lobbying an effort to end “the billionaires tax.”

The NAM wants an end to the estate tax, even though none of its corporate-members ever has to pay an estate tax. For good measure, NAM wants to keep the maximum tax rates on investment income and capital gains at a level half of a worker’s maximum tax rate. Far lower taxes on capital than on labor suits the NAM three-piece-suits just fine.

The Journal is for brain-draining the Third World. Drain those critical doctors, nurses, scientists, engineers, innovators and entrepreneurs from Asia, Africa and South America. Give them permanent visas and then wonder why those countries are having trouble fielding the skilled leaders needed to develop their own economies. It is easier than training talented minority youths in our country.

The NAM ad calls for “reform of the visa system to attract and retain global talent.”

And so it goes. Such a symbiotic relationship! Big business members of NAM pour millions of dollars in ads daily into the Wall Street Journal. In return, the dutiful and gleeful editorial writers deliver the screeds that caress the brows and deepen the pockets of the CEOs.

There is another recurrent message in the insistent materials of NAM and its comrade-in-greed, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Enough is never enough.

For over a quarter century, there has been more and more de-regulation (electricity, motor vehicles, coal, drugs, nuclear, occupational safety, pollution, aviation, rail, truck antitrust and more) with detriment to the health, safety and economic well-being of the American people. Still not enough, they say!

In the same period, you the taxpayer have been forced to have your tax dollars pour out of Washington and into the coffers of Big Business in a myriad of ways. Hundreds of billions of your dollars. Not enough, they say! They roar for more coddling.

You want chapter and verse, evidence and data? Get ready to read Free Lunch, a riveting new book by the Pulitzer-prize winning tax reporter for The New York Times, David Cay Johnston. It will be out in about two months. Just in time for your gift-giving season.

Project Censored 2008
Wow, wow, wow. I'm amazed I got this press release. Although, these days, I'm getting a lot of interesting stuff. So, I shouldn't be that surprised. Check out Number 16, about the lack of evidence connecting Osama bin Ladin to Sept. 11:

PROJECT CENSORED

Sonoma State University

1801 E. Cotati Avenue

Rohnert Park, CA 94928-3609

(707) 664-2500

e-mail: censored @sonoma.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 5, 2007

Contact: Project Censored 707-664-2500

Project Censored Releases Censored 2008 and its pick of the 25 most important under-covered news stories of 2006-07

Project Censored announces its selection of the Top Censored News Stories of the 2006-2007 cycle. Each year since 1976, hundreds of student researchers, faculty, and volunteer members come together to select the most important news stories that were under-covered, glossed over or ignored by the country’s major media outlets.

The 25 stories make up the first chapter of the Censored 2008 yearbook published by Seven Stories press. Following chapters provide updates on previous stories, review the growth of grass roots Media Democracy, the year’s Junk Food News, and Ten Signs of Hope that corporate media ignored. Censored 2008 also offers real news about internet freedom, images of the war, and the impact of Big Media on children.

With an introduction by Dennis Loo and the political cartoon commentary of John Jonik throughout, this year’s book covers some of the most critical issues facing the American people today. The Top 25 stories focus on issues such as civil rights, politics, economics, foreign policy, food and health, the environment, energy, domestic policy, and the military.

“Corporate media in the United States are interested primarily in entertainment news to feed their bottom-line priorities,” states Peter Phillips, Director of the Project. “Some of the most important news stories that should reach the American public falls on the cutting room floor to be replaced by sex-scandals and celebrity updates.”

The Sonoma State University research group is composed of over 200 faculty, students and community experts who review hundreds of story submissions for coverage, content, reliability of sources and national significance. The top 25 stories are submitted to a panel of judges who then rank them in order of importance. Current and former judges include Michael Parenti, Cynthia McKinney, Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, and 20 other national journalists, scholars and writers.

Censored 2008, now available in bookstores nationwide, can also be purchased on the project’s website at www.projectcensored.org.

Project Censored will host the award winning authors of the Censored 2008 stories at the second annual Media Accountability Conference October 26-27 at Sonoma State University. Conference Information on line at: http://www.projectcensored.org/conference/07MAConf.htm

Censored 2008 was edited by Peter Phillips and Andrew Roth professors of Sociology at Sonoma State University.

For on-air interviews contact publicist interns:

Margo Tyack: tyack@sonoma.edu

Gabrielle Robinson: GabrielleCMrobinson@hotmail.com

A statement on contemporary censorship in the US written by Peter Phillips follows below:

Top Censored Stories of 2006-2007

#1 No Habeas Corpus for “Any Person”

The Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA) ushered in military commission law for US citizens and non-citizens alike. Text in the MCA allows for the institution of a military alternative to the constitutional justice system for “any person” arbitrarily deemed to be an enemy of the state, regardless of American citizenship.

“Who Is 'Any Person' in Tribunal Law?” Robert Parry, Consortium, 10/19/2006

http://consortiumnews.com/2006/101906.html

“Still No Habeas Rights for You” Robert Parry, Consortium, 2/3/2007

http://consortiumnews.com/2007/020307.html

“Repeal the Military Commissions Act and Restore the Most American Human Right” Thom Hartmann, Commondreams, 2/12/2007

http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0212-24.htm

#2 Bush Moves Toward Martial Law

The John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 allows the president to deploy military troops anywhere in the United States and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities in order to "suppress public disorder.”

“Bush Moves Toward Martial Law” Frank Morales, Uruknet, 10/ 26/2006

http://www.uruknet.info/?p=27769

#3 AFRICOM: US Military Control of Africa’s Resources

In February 2007 the White House announced the formation of the US African Command (AFRICOM), a unified Pentagon command center in Africa. Presented as a humanitarian guard in the Global War on Terror, the real objective is procurement and control of Africa’s oil and its global delivery systems.

“Understanding AFRICOM” Parts 1-3, b real, MoonofAlabama.org 2/21/2007

http://www.moonofalabama.org/2007/02/understanding_a_1.html

#4 Frenzy of Increasingly Destructive Trade Agreements

The US and European Union (EU) are vigorously pursuing increasingly destructive trade and investment agreements outside the auspices of the WTO, resulting in unprecedented exploitation, loss of livelihood, displacement, and degradation of human rights and environments.

“Signing Away The Future” Emily Jones, Oxfam, 3/2007

http://www.oxfam.org/en/policy/briefingpapers/bp101_regional_trade_agreements_0703

“Free Trade Enslaving Poor Countries” Sanjay Suri, IPS coverage of Oxfam Report, 3/20/2007 http://ipsnews.org/news.asp?idnews=37008

#5 Human Traffic Builds US Embassy in Iraq

The enduring monument to US liberation and democracy in Iraq is being built by forced labor. Contractors subcontracting to the US State Department are using bait-and-switch recruiting practices to smuggle Asian workers into brutal and inhumane labor camps—in the middle of the US-controlled Green Zone.

“A U.S. Fortress Rises in Baghdad: Asian Workers Trafficked to Build World's Largest Embassy” David Phinney, CorpWatch, 10/17/2006

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14173

#6 Operation FALCON Raids

Under Operation FALCON—Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally—more than 30,000 “fugitives” were arrested in the largest dragnets in the nation's history. Over 960 state, local and federal agencies were directly involved. Only promotional coverage supplied by the DOJ was ever aired. We have yet to be told who these fugitives were and what became of them.

“Operation Falcon and the Looming Police State” Mike Whitney, Ukernet, 2/26/2007 http://uruknet.info/?p=m30971&s1=h1

“Operation Falcon” SourceWatch, Updated 11/18/2006

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Operation_FALCON

#7 Behind Blackwater Inc.

Blackwater, the most powerful mercenary firm in the world, is the company that most embodies the privatization of the military industrial complex. Bush’s contracts with Blackwater have allowed the creation of a private army of more than 20,000 soldiers, operating with almost no oversight or effective legal constraints, to deploy in nine countries and aggressively expand its presence inside US borders.

“Our Mercenaries in Iraq: Blackwater Inc and Bush's Undeclared Surge” Jeremy Scahill, Democracy Now! 1/26/07 http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/26/1559232

#8 KIA: The US Neoliberal Invasion of India

The Knowledge Initiative in Agriculture, quietly signed by Bush and India’s Prime Minister Singh, trades India’s agricultural sector for US nuclear technology. The KIA allows for the grab of India’s seed sector by Monsanto, its trade sector by giant agribusiness ADM and Cargill, and its retail sector by Wal-Mart.

“Vandana Shiva on Farmer Suicides, the U.S.-India Nuclear Deal, Wal-Mart in India” Democracy Now! 12/13/2006 http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/13/1451229

“Genetically Modified Seeds: Women in India take on Monsanto” Arun Shrivastava, Global Research, 10/9/06

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=ARU20061009&articleId=3427

“Sowing Trouble: India's ‘Second Green Revolution’” Suman Sahai, SciDev.Net, 5/9/06

http://www.scidev.net/content/opinions/eng/sowing-trouble-indias-second-green-revolution.cfm

#9 Privatization of America’s Infrastructure

More than 20 states have enacted legislation allowing public-private partnerships to build and run highways. We will soon be paying Wall Street investors, Australian bankers, and Spanish contractors for the privilege of driving on American roads.

“The Highwaymen” Daniel Schulman with James Ridgeway. Mother Jones, 2/2007

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/01/highwaymen.html

“Bush Administration Quietly Plans NAFTA Super Highway” Jerome R. Corsi, Human Events, 6/12/2006 http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=15497

#10 Vulture Funds Threaten Debt Relief for Poor Nations

Vulture funds, as defined by the IMF, are companies that buy up the debt of poor nations cheaply, when it is about to be written off, and then sue for the full value of the debt plus interest—which might be ten times what they paid for it. Otherwise known as “distressed-debt investors,” these companies profit off plunging impoverished nations into crippling debt.

“Vulture Fund Threat to Third World” Greg Palast with Meirion Jones for BBC Newsnight, 02/14/2007

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17070.htm

#11 The Scam of “Reconstruction” in Afghanistan

Much of the US tax money earmarked to rebuild Afghanistan actually ends up going no further than the pockets of wealthy US corporations. Paychecks for overpriced, and often incompetent, American “experts” under contract to USAID go directly from the Agency to American bank accounts. Seventy percent of the aid that does make it to a recipient country is carefully “tied” to the donor nation for further fraud and exploitation.

“Why It's Not Working in Afghanistan” Ann Jones, Tomdispatch.com, 8/27/06

http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=116512

“Afghanistan Inc: a CorpWatch Investigative Report” Fariba Nawa, CorpWatch, 10/6/06 http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13518

#12 Another Massacre in Haiti by UN Troops

On December 22, 2006 more than 30 unarmed Haitian civilians, including women and children, were killed by extensive and indiscriminate gunfire from UN “peacekeeping” forces, reportedly as collective punishment for a massive demonstration days earlier calling for the return of President Aristide.

“UN in Haiti: Accused of Second Massacre” Haiti Information Project, Haiti Action, 1/21/2007

http://www.haitiaction.net/News/HIP/1_21_7/1_21_7.html

“Haiti: Poor Residents of Capital Describe a State of Siege” Wadner Pierre and Jeb Sprague, IPS, 2/28/07

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=36772

#13 Immigrant Roundups to Gain Cheap Labor for US Corporate Giants

In the wake of 9/11, Immigration Customs Enforcement has conducted raids and roundups of “illegal” immigrants under the rubric of preventing terrorism and keeping our homeland safe. The real goal, however, is to replace the immigrant work force in the US with a tightly regulated, exploitive guest-worker program.

“Migrants: Globalization’s Junk Mail?” Laura Carlsen, Foreign Policy in Focus, 2/23/07 http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4022

“Which Side are You on?” David Bacon, Truthout, 1/29/07 http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012907L.shtml

“Workers, Not Guests” David Bacon, The Nation, 2/6/07 http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/020607LB.shtml

#14 Impunity for US War Criminals

A last minute adjustment to the Military Commission Act of 2006 redefined torture, removed the harshest definition of war crimes, and exempts the perpetrators from prosecution for such offences dating back to November 1997. The source of this provision is, however, a mystery. The White House denies any involvement or knowledge regarding the insertion of such language into the MCA.

“A Senate mystery keeps torture alive, and its practitioners free” Jeff Stein, Congressional Quarterly, 11/ 22/06

http://public.cq.com/public/20061122_homeland.html

#15 Toxic Exposure Can Be Genetically Transmitted to Future Generations

Research suggests that our behavior and our environmental conditions may program sections of our children’s DNA. New evidence about how genes interact with the environment suggests that many industrial chemicals may be more ominously dangerous than previously thought. One researcher points to a revolution in medicine: “You aren't eating and exercising just for yourself, but for your lineage.”

“Some Chemicals are More Harmful Than Anyone Ever Suspected” Peter Montague, Rachel's Democracy & Health News #876, 10/12/06 http://www.precaution.org/lib/06/ht061012.htm

#16 No Hard Evidence Connecting Bin Laden to 9/11

Osama bin Ladin’s role in the events of September 11, 2001 is not mentioned on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” notice. Six years later the FBI spokesperson explains, “The reason 9/11 is not mentioned on Osama bin Laden's Most Wanted page is because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting bin Laden to 9/11…”

“FBI says, ‘No hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11’” Ed Haas, Muckraker Report, 6/6/06

http://www.teamliberty.net/id267.html

#17 Drinking Water Contaminated by Military and Corporations

Corporations, municipalities, and the US military are using America’s waters as their dumping ground —often with little or no accountability. The average major facility discharges pollutants in excess of its permitted limit by over 275 percent, nearly four times the legal limit, while more than 40 percent of US waterways are already unsafe for swimming and fishing,

“Factories, Cities Across USA Exceed Water Pollution Limits” Sunny Lewis, Environment News Service 3/24/2006

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2006/2006-03-24-05.asp

“Military Waste In Our Drinking Water” Sunaura Taylor and Astra Taylor,

AlterNet, 8/4/2006 http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/39723/

#18 Mexico’s Stolen Election

US interests were significantly invested in the outcome of Mexico’s 2006 presidential election in which overwhelming evidence reveals massive fraud.

“Evidence of Election Fraud Grows in México,” Chuck Collins and Joshua Holland, AlterNet, 8/2/2006 http://www.alternet.org/story/39763

“Mexico: The Political Volcano Rumbles” Revolution, 9/10/06 http://revcom.us/a/060/mexico-volcano-en.html

#19 People’s Movement Challenges Neo-Liberal Agenda

In Latin America, massive opposition to US economic domination has demanded that populist leaders and parties take control of national governments, building powerful alternatives to neo-liberal exploitation.

“Is the US Free Trade Model Losing Steam?” American Friends Service Committee, Trade Matters, 5/3/06

http://www.afsc.org/trade-matters/trade-agreements/LosingSteam.htm

“Economic Policy Changes With New Latin American Leaders” Mark Weisbrot, International Herold Tribune, 12/28/06 http://www.cepr.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=773&Itemid=45

“Is Hugo Chaves a Threat to Stability? No.” Mark Weisbrot, International Affairs Forum, 3/31/07

http://www.cepr.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1102&Itemid=45

#20 Terror Act Against Animal Activists

The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act of 2006 expanded the definition of “terrorism” to include acts that interfere, or promote interference, with the operation of an animal enterprise. Over 160 groups opposed this Act on grounds that its terminology is dangerously vague and poses major conflict to the US Constitution.

“The AETA is Invidiously Detrimental to the Animal Rights Movement (and Unconstitutional as Well)” David Hoch and Odette Wilkens, Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, 3/9/07

http://www.vjel.org/editorials/2007S/Hoch.Wilkens.Editorial.htm

“US House Passes Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act With Little Discussion or Dissent” Will Potter, Green is the New Red, 11/14/06 http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/2006/11/13/aeta-passes-house-recap/

“22 Years for Free-Speech Advocates: Six Animal Rights Activists Given Lengthy Prison Sentences for Running Website” Budgerigar, Earth First! Journal, 11/06 http://www.earthfirstjournal.org/article.php?id=6

#21 US Seeks WTO Immunity for Illegal Farm Payments

The July 2006 Doha round of WTO negotiations broke down over the contentious issue of farm trade and the unrestricted opening of markets to agricultural products. In a last-minute proposal, one not included on the original agenda, the US insisted that all trade agreements include a special “Peace Clause” that would make its use of illegal farm subsidies immune from prosecution by the countries affected.

“Canada launches WTO case on US subsidies” Eoin Callan, Financial Times, 1/9/2007

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/5debac74-9f9b-11db-9e2e-0000779e2340.html

“US seeks “get-out clause” for illegal farm payments” Oxfam, 6/29/2006

http://www.oxfam.org/en/news/pressreleases2006/pr060629_wto_geneva

#22 North Invades Mexico

The number of North Americans living in Mexico has soared from 200,000 to 1 million (one-quarter of all US expatriates) in the past decade. With more than 70 million American baby-boomers expected to retire in the next two decades, experts predict “a tidal wave” of migration. The land rush is sending up property values to the detriment of locals whose children are consequently driven into slums or forced to emigrate north.

“Border Invaders: The Perfect Swarm Heads South” Mike Davis, TomDispatch.com, 9/19/2006

http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=122537

#23 Feinstein’s Conflict of Interest in Iraq

Dianne Feinstein is involved in monumental conflicts of interest as she promotes and exploits the Global War on Terror. As a member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee, Senator Feinstein voted for appropriations worth billions of dollars to her husband's military construction firms, while consistently voting to fund US military proliferation.

“Senator Feinstein’s Iraq Conflict” Peter Byrne, Bohemian, 1/24/2007 http://www.bohemian.com/metro/01.24.07/dianne-feinstein-0704.html

#24 Media Misquotes Threat From Iran’s President

A mistranslated quotation attributed to Iran’s President Ahmadinejad, which threatened that, “Israel must be wiped off the map,” has been spread around the world. Ahmadinejad’s actual statements, however, were significantly less threatening.

“‘Wiped Off The Map’ - The Rumor of the Century” Arash Norouzi, MohammadMossadegh.com, Global Research, 1/20/2007 http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=NOR20070120&articleId=4527

“Full Text: The President of Iran's Letter To President Bush” Translated by Le Monde, Information Clearing House, 05/09/06 http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12984.htm

#25 Who Will Profit From Native Energy?

The US government and energy industry intend to market a shift away from dependence on foreign energy by deregulating and stepping up their exploitation (“development”) of wind and solar resources located on Native American reservations.

“Native Energy Futures” Brian Awehali, Lip Magazine, 6/5/06 http://www.lipmagazine.org/articles/featawehali_nativefutures.htm

Statement by Project Censored Director Peter Phillips Regarding the Importance of the 2008 Censored Stories and the Nature of Censorship Today.

We need to broaden our understanding of censorship in the US. No longer is the dictionary definition of direct government control of news adequate. The private corporate media in the US significantly undercover and/or deliberately censor numerous important news stories every year.

The systemic erosion of human rights and civil liberties, in the US, is the common theme of many of the most censored stories of 2006-07.

The corporate media last year ignored that habeas corpus can now be suspended for anyone by order of the President. With the approval of Congress, the Military Commissions Act (MCA) of 2006, signed by Bush on October 17, 2006, allows for the suspension of habeas corpus for US citizens and non-citizens alike. While media, including a lead editorial in the New York Times October 19, 2006, have given false comfort that American citizens will not be the victims of the measures legalized by this Act, the law is quite clear that ‘any person’ can be targeted. The text in the MCA allows for the institution of a military alternative to the constitutional justice system for “any person” regardless of American citizenship. The MCA effectively does away with habeas corpus rights for all people living in the US deemed by the President to be enemy combatants.

Laws enacted last year allowing the government to more easily institute martial law is another civil liberties story ignored by the corporate media in 2006-07. The John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 allows the president to station military troops anywhere in the United States and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder." The law in effect repealed the Posse Comitatus Act, which had placed strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic law enforcement in the US since just after the Civil War.

Additionally, under the code-name Operation FALCON (Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally) three federally coordinated mass arrests occurred between April 2005 and October 2006. In an unprecedented move, more than 30,000 “fugitives” were arrested in the largest dragnets in the nation's history. The operations, coordinated by the Justice Department and Homeland Security, directly involved over 960 agencies (state, local and federal) and are the first time in US history that all of the domestic police agencies have been put under the direct control of the federal government.

Finally, the term “terrorism” has been dangerously expanded to include any acts that interfere, or promote interference with the operations of animal enterprises. The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), signed into law on November 27, 2006 expands the definition of an “animal enterprise” to any business that “uses or sells animals or animal products.” The law essentially makes many protesters, boycotters or picketers of businesses in the US potential terrorists.

Most people in the US believe in our Bill of Rights and value personal freedoms. Yet, our corporate media in the past year failed to inform us about serious changes in our civil rights and liberties. Despite our busy lives we want to be informed about serious decisions made by the powerful and rely on the corporate media to keep us abreast of important changes. When a media fails to cover these issues, what else can we call it but censorship?

A broader definition of censorship in America today needs to include any interference, deliberate or not, with the free flow of vital news information to the American people. With the size of the major media giants in the US, there is no excuse for consistently missing major news stories that affect all our lives.

Charts and graphs

This chart, in Saturday's WSJ, shows that even when the stock market is rockin', the economy - as reflected by the gross domestic product - isn't doing as well as it has in the past.

As the saying goes, liars figure and figures lie. Well, sometimes they do and sometime they don't. One of the reasons I really like reading the WSJ - not skimming it, but actually reading it - is that a person can really learn a lot about what is going on in the world, especially concerning economics. The next key, after reading, is to implement your own values into the things you've learned. If you just follow it blindly, you're just a robot. If you take everyone at their words, you're not thinking for yourself.
For example, I've always loved the phrase, Economists need to learn to subtract. Well, one might say, economists know how to subtract. But do they? Do they, for example, subtract the detractions of pollution on economic growth? Nope. They just add up the value. Do they figure in the harm of free trade agreements when they add up all the economic value? Nope, they don't. They just add. No subtracting. The point is that for every action, there is a reaction, both negative and positive. Now, I'm not trying to stress just the negative. Economists should add. But they should also subtract.
Alright, well what's the point about this and why graphs and charts? Well, look at the one above. Do you see anything in it? It doesn't matter if the stock market is raging. It doesn't mean the economy is any better because it is raging. Some folks need to kinda get over that.
I found another interesting statistic in Saturday's WSJ on the back page of the B section in the Breakingviews.com column, which I read everyday. The columnists are noting that while blue chip stocks are under-performing, the recent devaluation of the dollar is boosting their revenue pictures:

"Nearly half of the revenues of companies in the S&P 500 come from overseas. A similar figure isn't available for small companies. But since only 8% of total U.S. economic activity comes from exports, it's clear that bigger companies account for most foreign sales."

OK, think about that for a second. Did you catch it? Only 8 percent of total U.S. economic activity comes from exports. Free trade agreements allegedly boost exports while costing Americans millions of jobs. Three million, in fact, since NAFTA's implementation in 1994. So, why are our leaders costing us millions of jobs to only assist 8 percent of the total country's activity? Seems foolish, doesn't it?

Big story on trade

Check out today's WSJ for a really great story on trade problems, specifically these bogus international trade deals which our country's government has entered into during the past 15 years: ["Pain From Free Trade Spurs Second Thoughts"].
It is well worth the read. As is the chart accompanying the article, showing imports and exports over the years [the interactive online version of the WSJ has other charts such as foreign investment numbers and immigration]. Lastly, check out the jobs list which Alan Blinder believes are at risk - 30 million of them - over the next 10 to 20 years: computer programmers, telemarketers, computer system analysts, bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks, engineers, accountants, wielders, etc.
How are those 30 million folks going to live? Pay taxes? Invest? Etc.? This is amazing. In the end, the worst thing about this piece is the fact that by the time all those jobs are gone, all those free trade cultists will say, Ah jeepers, maybe I was wrong ... and everyone will be out of luck.

Catching up on the WSJ

Since subscribing to the Wall Street Journal back in early October, two things have occurred regularly: 1) I haven't received a full week's delivery since starting the subscription; and 2) I don't always have time to read the entire newspaper on the day I receive it, when I actually do get it.
I will get to the second part later in this post. But first, the delivery problems.
I sense that there are delivery problems in suburban and rural areas with the more specialty papers like the WSJ but hopefully, they will figure it all out. The people who manage the delivery folks feel my pain, if you will, when I call them to complain. They have been very sympathetic to me and I can hear the frustration in the voices. But the problem remains unsolved.
For example, during the morning of the last three snowstorms, I received no newspaper. There wasn't a lot of snow on the ground Friday when the paper should have been dropped off, maybe four inches. The roads were plowed. The Concord Monitor was delivered and even bagged to keep from getting wet. But the WSJ? Nada. I guess my delivery person takes snow days off. I don't know. The guy doesn't even deliver the paper late the next day or anything. I mean, what happened to the extra newspaper? Did it get thrown away? Is it in the back of his car? At least have the courtesy to deliver it the next day.
Another example? Well, I didn't get a newspaper on Monday and I didn't get one this morning either. No snow, no visible problems, no nothing. Well, OK, it was a bit cold outside today. But is the new policy ... that the newspaper doesn't get delivered when it snows or when it is cold? Come on.
For about two months after I started the subscription, I wasn't even receiving the Saturday edition, which I paid for. It was only after a clerk realized that I wasn't getting it that it started getting delivered.
As I've explained - or complained - to the people who manage the delivery people, I don't understand why my newspaper isn't delivered. You either do the job or you don't.
In addition, I live about a half a mile north of the most affluent neighborhood in the city. I'm sure that there are a ton of people who get the WSJ delivered down there and they probably have the same delivery driver. I seriously doubt they have delivery problems. If they do, they are probably complaining too, which means something needs to be done about the situation.
The worst part about all of this is that I paid ahead for the subscription, for a year. Yeah, I got a special rate [Maybe that's why I'm not getting it every day, I joked to a clerk]. But that shouldn't mean I shouldn't get it. If I paid on a monthly basis, I could deduct the missed papers and maybe that would get the point across. I don't know.

I know newspaper delivery people are a unique breed. Who wants to get up at 4 a.m. to deliver newspapers? I know that both the Monitor and the New Hampshire Union Leader have problems keeping people in these positions because they are constantly running help wanted ads for delivery people in their classified sections. From what I've heard, most are 1099 employees and since it is only two hours work in the morning, they should be independent contractors. The Monitor has a cute spin with their ads - make money on your morning walk. The ads are clearly targeted towards adults and not the kids who have historically done the job.
I also know a bit about the newspaper delivery business because I was one of those kids who "peddled" the Monitor when it was an afternoon newspaper. We used to say "peddle the newspaper" because many of us rode our bikes for most of the year. Back then, in the mid-to-late 1970s, the newspapers were huge ... or seemed huge, compared to the size they are now. Wednesdays were the dreaded circular and store flyer days. On that day, the papers weighed a ton! Back then, the Monitor was a weekday afternoon paper with a morning edition delivered on Saturdays.
I had a route on the west side of Concord, around White Park, down Centre Street, to the area around North Spring and Union streets, then back up Washington. It was altered here and there as paperboys came and went. My friend Leo - who is still my friend to this day - had the area behind mine, near Rumford and Franklin, if I remember correctly.
After our routes, we would meet at this small neighborhood market on Rumford Street - I think it was called Quality Cash or something - for some snacks which spoiled our dinner appetites. The market had three stools so there was always time for Leo and me to shoot the sh*t there before going home. I went through a phase of having Cokes and Ring Dings until I started getting a bit chubby and replaced them with V-8s and Fig Newtons. I was a carb addict even back then I just didn't know it. Leo could eat anything and still stay as thin as a rail. Of course, he isn't Irish and Italian either so ...

I learned a lot from those years delivering newspapers and it gave me a lot of real-life experience at an early age. Most importantly, I learned to love newspapers and the news. I learned so much from reading the newspaper.
It also was the first time in my life when I started to understand about class/caste systems. Even though I had experienced some of those things while living in Warner and being schlepped off to New London Middle School, I really didn't understand what I was experiencing until later on in life.
Interestingly, the less-affluent subscribers to the newspaper were always the best tippers. The paper was $1.15 per week and I made $22 plus tips every two weeks which was pretty big money at the time. One working-class mom, who lived on White Street, used to pay the subscription by giving me a dollar bill and then grabbing whatever loose change she had and giving it to me. It would often end up being a pretty big tip. However, the snooty wife of the insurance executive who lived three doors down from us on Essex Street, would hand you a dollar bill and then count out 15 pennies, never giving out a tip or even smiling. The subscribers who were "office" accounts, meaning they would send a check into the Monitor directly, never tipped at all. It's probably why they paid that way. Today, there is a gratuity check-off on all the bills so you can add a small tip if you like, which I always do. I hope the delivery folks are actually getting the money.
To this day, I often think about Tyler's mom, the one who would just hand over a ton of change to me each Friday night. I wonder what she is doing now. She clearly understood what hard work it was to deliver the newspapers each day. But that is kinda what happens when you have walked in someone else's shoes.

Back to the second point and the whole purpose of this post: Catching up on old newspapers. I do actually try and read the paper every day. If I get up earlier than usual for my morning workout, I'm able to get through the entire thing during a weekday morning, over coffee before everyone else gets up. But that always isn't the case. But if I can't, I will catch up with them on Saturday and Sunday mornings, when I have a bit more time to take in some of the stories. More often than not, the articles take a bit more time to take in. Like I said in a previous post, reading the redesigned WSJ these days is like reading the NYT: It isn't all numbers and statistics but a lot more in-depth reporting about business, trends, and marketing. It is a great read, to say the least, and I have learned so much about business and life by reading the Journal ... which makes it all the more frustrating when I don't get the damn thing.
Now, I can access it online if I want. But for us newspaper people, we like to physically have the paper in our hands ... to look at the pictures ... to smell the ink - which is getting harder and harder to do as the business moves to non-petroleum-based inks ... to do more than just skim - to actually take the newspaper in.
Over the past few weeks, the WSJs have been piling up. I just haven't had a chance to read them all. However, late this week, I made a concerted effort to attempt to get through the pile. And, I'm glad I did. Here are some of the articles which have been featured this week:

First, this pretty big story: ["Federal Aid Does Little For Free Trade's Losers"]. So not only are these programs not working, most folks who lose their jobs aren't able to afford the partial payment on the aid. They also have to jump through all kinds of hoops to even get the aid. Lastly, if you are with the service sector and you lose your job, it is extremely difficult to prove you were a victim of the free trade fraud. This is going on while Bush and the Democrats are talking more trade deals with Columbia, Peru, Panama, South Korea, Malaysia, and the DOHA Round with the WTO. What a disaster!

In the same edition, there is this about how Apple is changing their hilarious ad campaign to fit overseas markets: ["Mac and PC's Overseas Adventures"]. No pun intended, probably. Hah. If you haven't seen the ad campaign by Apple, you are probably living in a cave. It starts out with a kinda cool geek introducing himself as a Mac and a middle-age fuddy-duddy saying, "I'm a PC." The old fuddy-duddy has all these problems while the cool guy doesn't. There was a great bit where the PC has a guy duct-taping a Webcam on his head while the Mac says, I have one built in. Totally hilarious. Having toyed around with the new Vista program on the new PCs, Windows is becoming increasingly Apple-like. I only know this because the wife uses Macs - and loves them. I use PCs - and love them. I haven't taken the dive into Vista just yet but it looks like a very impressive operating system.

Here is an interview with the new CEO of Catepillar, which posted $41.5B in revenue last year: ["Global Trade Galvanizes Caterpillar"]. Congratulations to them. But Jim Owens foolishly goes on and on about the supposedly great free trade system the world has. It's amazing how clueless some of these people can be. Here is a nice slice of the silly logic:

"It's [free trade] a very difficult sell. It's like the guy who's making horse carriages when the car comes along. How do you make the case to him that the car's going to make the world a better place?"

Why do these guys keep using these fake, non-existent comparisons? This is the phony Chuck Adler argument: 'We can't protect the buggy whip industry!' Cars, tractors, computers, and other items are not buggy whips and horse carriages! And the high-tech, futuristic jobs which were supposed to replace all the jobs sent overseas are also being sent overseas. Good grief.

More on advertising here: ["Impotence Ads Draw Fire-Just Like Old Ones"]. This one is kinda funny. I mean, you can make the case that these ads should be on later in the evening. But shouldn't kids get a bit of reality? The couple is clearly married and the wife motions to the husband that he should shut off the game and go have some fun. That's what being married is supposed to be about, right?

Lastly, also in the Feb. 16 edition, there was a full-page ad by Chevron, noting that of the 193 countries in the world, none of them are energy independent. The ad points to a Web site about what the company is doing to diversify energy resources: [Will You Join Us?]. Now, of course, this is a PR campaign to make up for bad publicity from global warming, Liberia, gas prices, who knows what. But at least, it would seem, like they are trying to help.

McCain wins straw poll
John McCain won tonight's Spartanburg, South Carolina straw poll in a squeaker: McCain 164, Giuliani 162, Duncan Hunter 158, Sam Brownback 85, Mitt Romney 80, Newt Gingrich 33 [via write-in, according to CNN], Mike Huckabee 21, Tom Tancredo 10, John Cox and Ron Paul received 4, Condi Rice 2 [via write-in, according to CNN]. Jim Gilmore and Tommy Thompson with 1, and some other guy, identified only as "Sanders," also received 1.
The big story here is, of course, Rep. Duncan Hunter's surprising third place showing, especially against better positioned - and funded - candidates like Brownback and Romney. Hunter is going to turn some heads in this race because he is a trade hawk. He could position himself as the Pat Buchanan of 2008. The top tier candidates, except maybe Giuliani, have clear free trade positions. Hunter is the only one who has voted against NAFTA and GATT/WTO. Conservative working class folks and Reagan Democrats in South Carolina, who are getting hammered by cheap imports from China, are going to remember this come Election Day.

Speaking of Buchanan, here is a recent column he released about NAFTA: ["Free Trade and Funny Math"].

Economic nationalism is the policy of rising powers, free trade the policy of declining powers. For great powers have ever regarded trade as an arena of struggle in the clash of nations. It is no accident all four presidents who made it to Mount Rushmore were protectionists.

This should be a lesson to all presidential candidates but it will be lost on most of them.

Concord Monitor releases primary poll
This morning's Monitor has an extensive 2008 poll conducted by Research 2000 during the same time period pollsters completed a poll in Iowa. The online edition of the Monitor doesn't have the poll but the newspaper version does. Here is the article: ["Obama strong in new poll"]. Clearly the poll is biased because Sen. Obama was in the state just before the polling and got a slew of media coverage. But who knows. Here are some of the details:

DEMS:
Hillary Clinton: 22%
Barack Obama: 21%
John Edwards: 16%
Al Gore: 10%
John Kerry: 7%
Wesley Clark: 4%
Dennis Kucinich: 4%
Joe Biden: 2%
Tom Vilsack: 2%
Evan Bayh: 2%
Bill Richardson: 2%
Undecided: 2%

GOP:
Rudy Guiliani: 26%
John McCain: 25%
Mitt Romney: 10%
Newt Gingrich: 8%
Condi Rice: 6%
George Pataki: 3%
Jeb Bush: 1%
George Allen: 1%
Sam Brownback: 1%
Rick Santorum: 1%
Duncan Hunter: 0%
Undecided: 18%

Some thoughts: Where do the Gore voters go if he doesn't run? Kerry should just give it up. It's hilarious to see Clark, the war criminal, tied with Kucinich, the peace candidate. Kucinich got 1.3 percent in 2004's primary so he is already three times ahead of the game. It is also interesting to see voters naming a slew of candidates who are not running, like Bayh, Allen, Bush, and Santorum. Allen lost a squeaker but any presidential aspirations he had are over. Santorum got totally clocked ... by 18 points. Anyone thinking he is going to run, or has any chance of winning, is delusional. Lastly, Vilsack, Bayh, and Gingrich didn't seem to get any boost from recent visits to the state. Granted, it's early.

Global warming?
It's friggin' Christmas and it is 47 degrees outside! Where is the cold weather? Where is the frost? Where is the snow? I got my son a two-man rubber toboggan for Christmas ... but there's no snow to use it! Ugh.

Link dump
Here is a bunch of stuff I've been meaning to share.

Ralph Nader continues to make sense: ['This is about corporate-managed trade']. Lori Wallach is one of my heroes. I also haven't bought Sen. Byron Dorgan's book yet but I plan to when it comes out in paperback.

If the end of oil is coming soon, this is something we should all look at: ["DIY Fuel"].

Very interesting: ["Pyramids were built with concrete rather than rocks, scientists claim"]. So, I guess they won't be digging around the Sahara looking for those space machines from Exodus any time soon ...

Last night, I stumbled across the "Dark Skies" pilot listed in On Demand and watched it. I had forgotten how good the show was. And, it makes sites like this one, even more interesting: ["Alien Payback"]. I saw this linked at DailyKos of all places. I don't fault the guy for trying to get his story out there. But I find it strange that you can get booted from DailyKos for supporting Ralph Nader or for challenging anything but the official story about 9-11, but he then accepts ads from people who claimed to have been abducted by aliens and injected with stuff. Ohhhh-kaaayhh.

Speaking of 9-11, this site has a whole slew of stuff which is really worth a second look: ["Killtown"]. This site, along with this one: ["9-11 Truth"] this one: ["Share the truth"] and this one: ["Scholars for 9/11 truth"], are worth second looks. I would also advise people to watch the "Loose Change" documentary ... with an open mind. I don't know if 9-11 was an "inside job" or whether or not government officials had prior knowledge. But, I don't believe that a 757 was flown into the Pentagon and no one has yet explained why WTC 7 was "pulled." I wish the FBI would release all the security tapes they confiscated from the Sheraton and 7-11 right near the Pentagon. Which actually find out that it was a cruise missile and not an airliner which crashed into the Pentagon.

Aaron Russo, a former Libertarian Presidential candidate, has been working on this new documentary, which is now out on DVD: ["America: Freedom to Fascism"]. I'm looking forward to checking it out.

This guy created MySpace ... and he has a lot of complaining to do: ["Free MySpace"].

Joy Division doesn't like upcoming documentary: ["Joy Division doesn't like 'Control'"].

And then, there is this: ["Forespray"].

WSJ
I really enjoy reading the Wall Street Journal. Despite some delivery problems - it took six weeks to get the sub started and since that time, I haven't received a full week. I usually only get four issues a week and I don't think I'm the only person in Concord, N.H. getting the thing. But I really like reading it. There are changes coming and most of them look pretty good:

Dear Subscriber:

We live in an era of change, and the way we get our news has also changed.

So, starting January 2, 2007 you will see a more relevant Journal designed to better meet your needs. There will be increased focus on interpretation, insight and ideas …more of what the news means and not just what happened.

And your Journal will look different too. It will come to you in a slimmer, easier to handle size, with a more legible typeface. There will be better section labeling and more daily summaries to help you find what you need more quickly.

Some other great new features include …

• “Today’s Agenda” designed to alert you to the meaning of news expected later in the day.
• “In Brief” summaries which will mirror the popular “What’s News” on key industries and topics inside the paper.
• Value-added Statistics that graphically communicate market information and global market trends each day.
• NEW Markets Data Center at WSJ.com available free to all subscribers. This site will provide full stock listings and easy ways to put data into context. Innovative features include stock and index charting, access to market-moving headlines and email delivery of key market information.

Please visit now at wsj.com/mdctour to find out for yourself how easy Markets Data Center is to use.

We hope you like what you will see on January 2. Be assured that what has not changed is the high quality content and credibility you have come to expect from The Journal. As always we welcome your reactions, comments and thoughts. You can contact us at newlookfeedback@wsj.com.

Sincerely,
The Wall Street Journal

Happy Christmas and Happy Holidays. I'm on vaca this week so blogging will be limited ... unless the world explodes or something. Have a good one.