Mn-prog-events Mailing List: Progressive Calendar 03.25.10

[David Shove (shove001]

             P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R   03.25.10

1. Vs UofM pay cuts   3.25 1:45pm
2. Eagan peace vigil  3.25 4:30pm
3. Northtown vigil    3.25 5pm
4. Israeli apartheid  3.25 5pm
5. McChesney/Nichols  3.25 6/8pm
6. Vandana Shiva      3.25 7pm
7. Cuban film fest    3.25 7:30pm

8. StP women/history  3.26 12noon
9. Mexico             3.26 12noon
10. Palestine vigil   3.26 4:15pm
11. Marx on value     3.26 7pm
12. Eclipsed/play     3.26 7pm

13. CRA/Bicking petition - comments
14. ed                   - Bicking for CRA sign-on (updated)
15. Paul Craig Roberts   - Truth has fallen and taken liberty with it

--------1 of 15--------

From: Steff Yorek <yosteff [at] gmail.com>
Subject: Vs UofM pay cuts 3.25 1:45pm

Faculty for the Renewal of Public Education at U of M Hold Press
Conference Opposing Across the Board Pay Cuts.
FFI: Prof. Teri Caraway (612-624-3839; caraway [at] umn.edu
Prof. Eva von Dassow (612-626-4787; vonda001 [at] umn.edu
Prof. August Nimtz (612-624-1512; animtz [at] tc.umn.edu

Thursday, March 25, 2010, 1:45 P.M.
In front of Room 25, Mondale Hall (Law School), University of Minnesota,
West Bank Campus, Minneapolis, MN 55455
University of Minnesota faculty opposition to President Bruininks's
proposal for salary cuts

"At the University of Minnesota Faculty Senate meeting on Thursday, March
25, representatives of the recently organized Faculty for the Renewal of
Public Education (FRPE) will urge Senators to reject a motion by President
Bruininks that calls for uniform salary reductions," said Prof. August
Nimtz. "What we propose are alternative strategies, including a
sliding-scale pay cut, for dealing with the University's budget
shortfall."

In a recent letter to the Minnesota Daily, Drs. John Conley and Gilbert
Rodman emphasized this point, writing, "If pay cuts and mandatory
furloughs (which are, of course, pay cuts) really are necessary, the
administration's top priority needs to be protecting its lowest paid
workers: Bruininks' plan would impose mandatory three-day furloughs on all
hourly workers, reduce salaries for all other workers by 1.15 percent for
the coming fiscal year, with an additional 1.15 percent reduction for a
handful of senior administrators. Given Bruininks' rhetoric about how
severe the current crisis is, however, his proposed pay cuts are both
unfair to the University's most vulnerable workers and inadequate to the
task at hand."

The press conference will precede a 2:30pm Faculty Senate meeting to vote
on this issue, "Faculty are willing to accept reductions in compensation
sufficient to protect lower-paid employees, especially those who lack the
privilege of tenure, from suffering any cuts at all.  We urge the
administration first to cut expenditures that bear the least relation to
the University's academic mission, and if cuts to compensation are
necessary, to adopt a plan that is equitable rather than regressive" said
Professor Eva von Dassow.

In addition to FRPE speakers Professors Eva von Dassow (Dept. of Classical
and Near Eastern Studies) and August Nimtz (Dept. of Political Science),
representatives from unionized workers at the University and laid off
workers will express their support for the FRPE proposals.

For further details see the recent FRPE op-ed in the Minnesota Daily and
FRPE blog http://www.mndaily.com/2010/03/21/bruininks%E2%80%99-plan-bad-u.
<http://umnfaculty.blogspot.com/>


--------2 of 15--------

From: Greg and Sue Skog <family4peace [at] msn.com>
Subject: Eagan peace vigil 3.25 4:30pm

PEACE VIGIL EVERY THURSDAY from 4:30-5:30pm on the Northwest corner of
Pilot Knob Road and Yankee Doodle Road in Eagan. We have signs and
candles. Say "NO to war!" The weekly vigil is sponsored by: Friends south
of the river speaking out against war.


--------3 of 15--------

From: EKalamboki [at] aol.com
Subject: Northtown vigil 3.25 5pm

NORTHTOWN Peace Vigil every Thursday 5-6pm, at the intersection of Co. Hwy
10 and University Ave NE (SE corner across from Denny's), in Blaine.

Communities situated near the Northtown Mall include: Blaine, Mounds View,
New Brighton, Roseville, Shoreview, Arden Hills, Spring Lake Park,
Fridley, and Coon Rapids.  We'll have extra signs.

For more information people can contact Evangelos Kalambokidis by phone or
email: (763)574-9615, ekalamboki [at] aol.com.


--------4 of 15--------

From: Meredith Aby <awcmere [at] gmail.com>
Subject: Israeli apartheid 3.25 5pm

Israeli Apartheid Week @ the U of M :
A talk by refusenik and member of Boycott from Within, Yonatan Shapira
Thursday March 25th, 5pm, Blegen 5

All events are open and free with refreshments provided. IAW is sponsored
at the U of MN by Break the Bonds <http://www.tc.umn.edu/~mnbbc/>,
Teachers against Occupation <http://www.teachersagainstoccupation.org/>,
and Al Madinah Cultural Centre <http://www.madinahonline.org/>. More
information:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~mnbbc/apartheid.html<http://www.tc.umn.edu/%7Emnbbc/apartheid.html>
For more on Israeli Apartheid Weeks taking place across the world, see
apartheidweek.org.


--------5 of 15--------

From: Lydia Howell <lydiahowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: McChesney/Nichols 3.25 6/8pm

psa/MAR.25-26:MCCHESNEY & NICHOLS:"Death & LIfe of American Journalism

If you care about the crisis in journalism and want to be part of the
search for solutions, then come to one of these talks. And please be sure
to share news of the event with your friends in the area. FREE PRESS

Free Press co-founders Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols are going on
the road to talk about journalism in America today - and how we can save
it. They'll be appearing at three free events in the Twin Cities area on
Thursday, March 25, and Friday, March 26.

This is a great chance to hear about the state of the media from two of
the country's leading minds. As newspapers continue to shutter bureaus and
TV newsrooms cut staff, can new Internet news sites fill in the gaps? What
about the future of public media? McChesney and Nichols will discuss how
we can support newsgathering in our changing media landscape.

Don't miss these exciting events. They are free and open to
the public. Here are the details:

A Discussion on Saving Journalism
Thursday, March 25, 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
University Bookstore at the University of Minnesota
 Room 130 Murphy Hall
 206 Church St. SE
 Minneapolis, MN

TC Daily Planet Presents: McChesney & Nichols on the
Future of Journalism
Thursday, March 25, 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
 1011 Washington Avenue
 Minneapolis, MN

A Discussion on Saving Journalism
Friday, March 26, 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
 Hamline University, Sundin Music Hall
 1531 Hewitt Avenue N
 Saint Paul, MN

Jordan Berg Powers Outreach Coordinator Free Press www.freepress.net


--------6 of 15--------

From: Doris Marquit <marqu001 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Vandana Shiva 3.25 7pm

Women and Water Rights: Rivers of Regeneration
 <http://womenandwater.net> KEYNOTE PRESENTATION-Dr. Vandana Shiva

March 25, Thursday 7-8:30 pm: Cowles Auditorium, Hubert H. Humphrey Center,
U of M West Bank,  Minneapolis


--------7 of 15--------

From: Minnesota Cuba Committee <mncuba [at] gmail.com>
Subject: Cuban film fest 3.25 7:30pm

Cuban Movie Festival 2010
7:30 p.m. Thursdays, March 4-April 8
St. Anthony Main Theatre
www.stanthonymaintheatre.com/

115 Main Street, SE, Minneapolis
Free parking in ramp at 2nd Street SE and 2nd Avenue SE
Admission: $6; 4 for $20

March 25 " The Waiting List** (Lista de Espera) by Juan Carlos Tabío*

Mixing sharp social commentary and comedy, director Juan Carlos Tabío
(Strawberry and Chocolate, The Waiting List) brings together a cast of
characters who possess drastically different personalities, yet find much
in common while they wait (and wait, and wait) for a bus to Santiago. As
each person enters the terminal, he or she must sign a waiting list for
the next bus. Reflecting the unwieldy nature of Cuba's problems, the line
grows longer, and the only buses that seem to stop are full or broken
down. As the passengers get to know each other, romance develops,
friendships form, and the bus station becomes more than a bus station--an
undertaking that echoes Cuban governmental calls for grassroots efforts
toward community improvement.105 minutes.

General audience discussion of film after screening with Gary Prevost,
Professor of Political Science and Latin American Studies at St. John's
University and the College of St. Benedict, who will share his research
and experience with Cuba's social democracy and the people's power
government in Cuba. Pracna on Main, next to the theater.


--------8 of 15--------

From: Andrew Hine <amhine2 [at] gmail.com>
Subject: StP women/history 3.26 12noon

Preservation Talks:  Women's History Month
Presented by:  Historic Saint Paul & St. Paul League of Women Voters

Stories of Women in Saint Paul History
Friday March 26
12:00 - 1:30
317 Landmark Center | 75 West 5th Street | Saint Paul, MN

League of Women Voters Leadership facilitates presentations by:
Steve Trimble discussing Patsy Sherman (of 3M Scotchgard fame) Nellie
Francis (Suffragist, Anti-Lynching Activist) and others Mary Wingerd
discussing Early Saint Paul Women's History


--------9 of 15--------

From: Jason Stone <jason.stone [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Mexico 3.26 12noon

Celebrate Mexican Consulate website launch - Bicentennial of Mexican
Independence and Centennial of Mexican Revolution - Mar. 26

The Consulate of México in St. Paul, MN is honored to invite you to the
official launch of web site for the Bicentennial of the Independence of
Mexico and Centennial of the Mexican Revolution, in Minnesota.

Friday March 26th of 2010, 12:00 pm
Midtown Global Market
Lake St & 10th Ave
Minneapolis, MN55407

Come and let yourself be delighted with the music of Mariachi Mi Tierra
and the traditional dance of Folkloric Group México Azteca as well as
meet visiting Mexican film director Natalia Almada

This website will allow access to all cultural activities, gastronomic
events as well as showcases of music and film throughout 2010.

Come and stay to enjoy the food and shops at the Midtown Global Market
after the event. There will be special offers at various restaurants!


--------10 of 15--------

From: Eric Angell <eric-angell [at] riseup.net>
Subject: Palestine vigil 3.26 4:15pm

The weekly vigil for the liberation of Palestine continues at the
intersection of Snelling and Summit Aves in St. Paul. The Friday demo
starts at 4:15 and ends around 5:30. There are usually extra signs
available.


--------11 of 15--------

From: jtmiller jtmiller <jtmiller [at] minn.net>
Subject: Marx on value 3.26 7pm

Friday March 26, 7:00 pm
Working Democracy Book Club
Concluding "Value, Price & Profit," by Karl Marx
at MayDay Bookstore
http://www.meetup.org/working-democracy-meetup-group


--------12 of 15--------

From: Peter Rachleff <rachleff [at] macalester.edu>
Subject: Eclipsed/play 3.26 7pm

SPECIAL EVENT STAGED READING OF THE PLAY "ECLIPSED" FRIDAY EVENING,
MARCH 26, 2010, 7PM WEYERHAUESER CHAPEL, MACALESTER COLLEGE
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

You are invited to a staged reading of this compelling new play which
explores the evolving relationships among five women caught up in the
Liberian civil war.

Written by Macalester graduate ('01) Danai Gurira, who won an Obie Award
in 2006 for co-writing "In the Continuum," in which she also performed,
"Eclipsed" received highly praised professional productions in the fall of
2009 at the Woolly Mammoth (DC), the Kirk Douglass (LA), and Yale Rep.
Danai was born in Grinnell, Iowa, but relocated as a child to Zimbabwe
with her parents, where she lived until she graduated from high school.
She came to Macalester in the late 1990s, performed in a number of
mainstage productions while also majoring in Psychology, graduated in
2001, and then earned an MFA degree in Acting at New York University. Her
career has followed multiple tracks, acting as well as playwriting, and
she has performed in Zimbabwe and South Africa, as well as across the US.
Some of you may recognize her as "Zainab" in "The Visitor," the remarkable
independent film which explores the experiences of two undocumented
immigrants in New York City. In 2007 Danai received a "New Generations"
fellowship from TCG, the Theatre Communications Group, with the support of
the McCarter Theater at Princeton University, to visit Liberia and conduct
the research that would provide the basis for "Eclipsed." She continues to
act in film and television, but she is also at work on a trilogy of
historical plays about Zimbabwe.

"Eclipsed" is a stunning, heart-wrenching and heart-warming journey,
undertaken by five women whose lives are shaped by their historical
context, a warlord, each other, and by themselves. While hewing closely to
the actual history of the Liberian civil war and its impact on women,
"Eclipsed" also raises thought-provoking questions about power and
resistance, solidarity and complicity, and transcendence and
transformation that are relevant the world over, including right here in
the United States. You will be entertained, but you will also be
challenged and inspired to think.

This staged reading is sponsored by Afrika!, the cultural organization of
African students at Macalester College, with support from many sectors of
the college community, including the Provost's Office, Alumni Relations,
Academic Programs, and the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program.
Five diasporic African women - of African, Afro-Caribbean, and
African-American experiences - under the leadership of Yeukai Mudzi ('12)
came together to bring this script to life. Two professors in the
Macalester Department of Theater and Dance, Harry Waters, Jr., and Beth
Cleary, have helped to shape and direct this reading, and the cast will
benefit from the personal involvement of Ms. Gurira in the days leading up
to the reading.

Indeed, Danai is returning to Macalester in a public capacity for the
first time since her graduation nine years ago. On Thursday evening, March
25, she will participate in a post-show discussion after a screening of
"The Visitor" (John B. Davis Auditorium, Campus Center, 7PM, also free and
open to the public) supported by our Urban Studies Concentration. She will
speak to a number of classes and work directly with the cast of
"Eclipsed." And she will participate in a post-show discussion after the
staged reading on Friday night. There will also be a reception sponsored
by Alumni Relations. Ms. Gurira's residency sits at the intersection of
January and February's Black History observances, March's Women's History
Month activities, and Afrika!'s celebrations of African and African
diasporic experiences. As an undergraduate student, Danai was not only a
dedicated proponent of all of these perspectives, but she insisted on
their confluence. This residency is an appropriate way not only to honor
her achievements in the world but also to participate in her passionate
vision and creativity.

Please join us.

For more information, please contact History Professor Peter Rachleff at
rachleff [at] macalester.edu and 651-696-6371.


--------13 of 15--------

CRA/Bicking petition - comments

taken from:
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?CUAPB004&51

We endorse the IN SUPPORT OF THE REAPPOINTMENT OF DAVE BICKING TO THE CRA
Petition to Minneapolis City Council.

Read the IN SUPPORT OF THE REAPPOINTMENT OF DAVE BICKING TO THE CRA
Petition

[Signer - comment]

Jeanne Hollingsworth - Dave Bicking is highly ethical and dedicated and
he represents me, a Minneapolis voter. I strongly support his
reappointment.

Janet Nye - Keep Dave on the CRA, where he has contributed so much.

Aaron Neumann - Dave Bicking really cares about his work, and it has
shown not only with his passion but also his research that made a
difference for the City Council. It's that kind of dedication and diverse
view that makes the CRA viable. I wholeheartedly support Dave's
reappointment to the CRA.

Kimberly DeFranco - He is a trust worthy man and needs to be in the CRA

Richard Gravrok - I trust Dave, please keep him so I can have a bit more
trust in the Mpls. police & our mayor.

Anne Ness - Thanks to CUAPB for starting the petition to keep Dave
Bicking on the CRA!

Bruce Leier - His point of view need to be heard on the CRA

Ann Galloway - Dave is a great asset to the people and the police of
Minneapolis. We need his wise wisdom and diplomacy. The public trusts him
and his advise

Theodore. A. A. Bagg - We need more like Dave.

Linden Gawboy - This weekend's Strib article showed only the tip of the
iceberg. Mr. Bicking has a strong history of working for faireness and
justice.

Tim Nolan Editor of Global Peace - I have been invovled with Dave in
many civic events he is qualified for the postion I am in favor of his
reappointment.

PAUL HANSEN - DAVE IS A KEEPER

Mustafa Adam - As a member of immigrant community in Minneapolis, I
support Dave Bicking to be reappointed to CRA. He is the only voice we
have in CRA.

frank s. kennett - I've met dave, spoken with him. He's a superb man and
wholly on the side of justice. He has my complete confidence and support.

Ron Holch - I work on the streets of Minneapolis almost everyday. Having
had the privilege to work with Dave Bicking in the past I believe that
Dave is a reasonable, responsible and level headed member of the CRA
Board. I feel confident that Dave has the best interests of all the people
of Minneapolis with his efforts on the CRA Board.

Lynn Levine - It alarms me that Dave Bickings re-appointment is even in
question. He is bright, dedicated, moral, knowledgeable and an amazing
asset to the Board. I feel he represents me.

Gayle Bonneville - I am a Minneapolis voter who supports the
reappointment of Dave Bicking.

Chuck Turchick - According to the CRA Board's Feb. 3, 2010, minutes,
Mayor Rybak's nominee for Vice Chair of the Board said "that no one since
past chair Michael Weinbeck has pushed this board harder to do more work
than Bicking. He really appreciates the work that Bicking has pushed the
board to do. He thinks that Bicking needs to know that he supports him. He
does think that Bicking should exercise some discretion. It is his hope
and prayer that the CRA does not lose Bicking as a board member; he is
needed. He has let his council member know that it is important to him
that Bicking be reappointed."

William McGaughey - Dave can be critical but isn't that what we need on
this board?

Michelle Gross - Dave Bicking must stay on the CRA board!


--------14 of 15--------

From: ed
Subject: Bicking for CRA sign-on (updated)

[See signatures at end and add yours!]

Greetings

Here is THE Bicking support statement:
[statement approved by Dave Bicking]

Do you want to sign on personally? If so, email me at shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu
and say "sign me on", write/spell your name as you would like it to
appear, and if adding an affiliation, write out how you want that to
appear (Affiliations for identification purposes only).

Thanks!

-David Shove


-begin statement-

IN SUPPORT OF THE REAPPOINTMENT OF DAVE BICKING TO THE CRA

We, the undersigned, support the reappointment of Dave Bicking to the
board of the Minneapolis Civilian Police Review Authority (CRA).

For nearly two years, Dave Bicking has been an active and effective member
of the CRA.  He has strengthened the important work of civilian oversight
of the Minneapolis police.  We see his reappointment as an indication of
whether the Mayor and City Council are committed to the importance and
independence of the CRA.

In addition to the central work of hearing cases, Bicking has taken the
initiative in other important roles for the CRA, and has worked with other
board members to gain support for these ideas and projects.  Bicking led
the work to bring to light the Police Department´s overturning of the
Taser policy that was developed by the CRA and passed by the City Council.
He did much of the work of bringing together CRA data and board members´
observations to produce the CRA report on the performance of the Police
Chief.

Dave Bicking has brought to the board a long history of activism, hard
work, and skills.  He has remained outspoken in his support for police
accountability and civilian review, and in his critique of current police
policies and leadership.  That has not precluded fair and impartial
adjudication of the complaints against individual officers, nor has he
been criticized for bias by any who have witnessed his work on hearing
panels.

It would be unprecedented to not reappoint a dedicated CRA board member
who wishes to continue on the board.  Four year terms for CRA board
members help insure the independence of the CRA.  Bicking is up for
reappointment after less than two years only because he was originally
appointed to fill an unexpired term.

Effective civilian review has always been opposed by powerful interests.
The attempt to remove Dave Bicking from the CRA is part of an effort to
eliminate the CRA or make it too weak to matter.  We support strong
provisions for police accountability and we support those who stand up for
victims of police misconduct.  We appeal to the Mayor and the City Council
to reappoint Dave Bicking to another term on the CRA.

Signed by:

Organizations:

 CUAPB (Communities United Against Police Brutality)
 New Broom Coalition

Individuals:  (affiliations for identification purposes only)

 Roznne Abbas
 Mustafa Adam
 Theodore A A Bagg
 Shane Bastien
 Margaret Beegle
 Emily Murphy Bicking
 Ian Bicking
 Lisa Bolton
 Gayle Bonneville, Mpls voter
 Louise Bouta, Well Mind Association of Minnesota
 Kris Broberg
 Joey Brochin
 Paul Busch, Metro Watchdog
 Alan Carlson, St Paul
 Gary Carlson, 4CD Green Party
 Michael Cavlan RN, Progressive Independents
 Kevin Chavis
 Tom Cleland
 John Colier
 Duncan Connel
 Rebeccca & Scott Cramer
 Chris David, DFL activist
 Kimberly DeFranco
 Ayan Deriam, 5CD Green Party
 Mary Devitt
 Dan Dittman
 Ted Dooley, attorney
 Tom Dooley, Working Democracy member
 Kim Doss-Smith
 Eskit
 Pam Franklin
 Michael Friedman, Former Chair, Mpls CRA
 Ann Galloway
 Amber Garlan, Secretary 4th CD Green Party
 David Garland
 Linden Gawboy
 Rhoda Gilman
 Richard Gravrok
 Michelle Gross, President, CUAPB
 Greg Groettum
 Farheen Hakeem, National Co-chair of the Green Party of the United States
 Robert Halfhill
 Andy Hamerlinck
 Paul Hansen
 George Hamm, Green Party
 Melissa Hill
 Brian Hokanson
 Allan Hancock, Chair, 3rd Congressional District Green Party Local
 Ron Holch
 Jeanne Hollingsworth
 Lydia Howell
 Ashley James
 Carrie Anne Johnson, Mother, Resident of East Phillips
 Sonja Johnson
 Neal Juliar
 Richard Kendall
 Frank S Kennett
 John Kolstad, president Mill City Music, candidate for Mpls mayor
 Andrew Larson
 Bruce Leier
 Lynn Levine
 Diana Longrie, Attorney at Law
 Niklas Ludwig
 Brian Mahaffy
 Doug Mann, Mpls School Board candidate
 Wizard M Marks
 Susan Ann Martinson
 Karen McDowell
 Bill McGaughey
 Jan McGee
 Tracy Mohm
 Carol Mellom
 Peter Molenaar
 Justine Murphy
 Anne Ness
 Aaron Newman
 Tim Nolan, Editor of Global Peace
 Janet Nye
 Jeff Nygaard
 Eric Oines, Mpls
 Ruthann H Ovenshire
 Craig Palmer, Mayday Bookstore
 Thistle Parker-Hartog
 Dan Prozinski
 Kathleen Ruona
 Sarah Santiago
 Margaret Sarfehjooy
 Lauren Schira
 Doug Sembla, North Country Coop Board Member & VP, AFSCME Steward Local 3800
 Shar in Mpls
 John Simcox
 Morgan Soderberg
 Kari Sprung
 David Shove, Progressive Calendar
 Esther Snype
 Scott Stenwick
 Jessica Sundin
 Paolo Tapia, Incarnation Catholic Chirch
 Tom Taylor
 Whitney Taylor
 Scott Travis
 Michael L Tupper
 Chuck Turchick
 Dorian J Ullman
 Cameron Ulmer
 Charley Underwood
 David Weisberg
 Bryce Williams
 Mike Whalen

 and you!...


--------15 of 15--------

Good-Bye
Truth Has Fallen and Taken Liberty With It
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
March 24, 2010
CounterPunch

There was a time when the pen was mightier than the sword. That was a time
when people believed in truth and regarded truth as an independent power
and not as an auxiliary for government, class, race, ideological,
personal, or financial interest.

Today Americans are ruled by propaganda. Americans have little regard for
truth, little access to it, and little ability to recognize it.

Truth is an unwelcome entity. It is disturbing. It is off limits. Those
who speak it run the risk of being branded "anti-American," "anti-semite"
or "conspiracy theorist".

Truth is an inconvenience for government and for the interest groups whose
campaign contributions control government.

Truth is an inconvenience for prosecutors who want convictions, not the
discovery of innocence or guilt.

Truth is inconvenient for ideologues.

Today many whose goal once was the discovery of truth are now paid
handsomely to hide it. "Free market economists" are paid to sell
offshoring to the American people. High-productivity, high value-added
American jobs are denigrated as dirty, old industrial jobs. Relicts from
long ago, we are best shed of them. Their place has been taken by "the New
Economy," a mythical economy that allegedly consists of high-tech white
collar jobs in which Americans innovate and finance activities that occur
offshore. All Americans need in order to participate in this "new economy"
are finance degrees from Ivy League universities, and then they will work
on Wall Street at million dollar jobs.

Economists who were once respectable took money to contribute to this myth
of "the New Economy".

And not only economists sell their souls for filthy lucre. Recently we
have had reports of medical doctors who, for money, have published in
peer-reviewed journals concocted "studies" that hype this or that new
medicine produced by pharmaceutical companies that paid for the "studies".

The Council of Europe is investigating the drug companies' role in hyping
a false swine flu pandemic in order to gain billions of dollars in sales
of the vaccine.

The media helped the US military hype its recent Marja offensive in
Afghanistan, describing Marja as a city of 80,000 under Taliban control.
It turns out that Marja is not urban but a collection of village farms.

And there is the global warming scandal, in which NGOs' the UN, and the
nuclear industry colluded in concocting a doomsday scenario in order to
create profit in pollution.

Wherever one looks, truth has fallen to money.

Wherever money is insufficient to bury the truth, ignorance, propaganda,
and short memories finish the job.

I remember when, following CIA director William Colby's testimony before
the Church Committee in the mid-1970s, presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald
Reagan issued executive orders preventing the CIA and U.S. black-op groups
from assassinating foreign leaders.  In 2010 the US Congress was told by
Dennis Blair, head of national intelligence, that the US now assassinates
its own citizens in addition to foreign leaders.

When Blair told the House Intelligence Committee that US citizens no
longer needed to be arrested, charged, tried, and convicted of a capital
crime, just murdered on suspicion alone of being a "threat," he wasn't
impeached. No investigation pursued. Nothing happened. There was no Church
Committee. In the mid-1970s the CIA got into trouble for plots to kill
Castro. Today it is American citizens who are on the hit list. Whatever
objections there might be don't carry any weight. No one in government is
in any trouble over the assassination of U.S. citizens by the U.S.
government.

As an economist, I am astonished that the American economics profession
has no awareness whatsoever that the U.S. economy has been destroyed by
the offshoring of U.S. GDP to overseas countries. U.S. corporations, in
pursuit of absolute advantage or lowest labor costs and maximum CEO
"performance bonuses," have moved the production of goods and services
marketed to Americans to China, India, and elsewhere abroad. When I read
economists describe offshoring as free trade based on comparative
advantage, I realize that there is no intelligence or integrity in the
American economics profession.

Intelligence and integrity have been purchased by money. The transnational
or global U.S. corporations pay multi-million dollar compensation packages
to top managers, who achieve these "performance awards" by replacing U.S.
labor with foreign labor. While Washington worries about "the Muslim
threat," Wall Street, U.S. corporations and "free market" shills destroy
the U.S. economy and the prospects of tens of millions of Americans.

Americans, or most of them, have proved to be putty in the hands of the
police state.

Americans have bought into the government's claim that security requires
the suspension of civil liberties and accountable government.
Astonishingly, Americans, or most of them, believe that civil liberties,
such as habeas corpus and due process, protect "terrorists," and not
themselves. Many also believe that the Constitution is a tired old
document that prevents government from exercising the kind of police state
powers necessary to keep Americans safe and free.

Most Americans are unlikely to hear from anyone who would tell them any
different.

I was associate editor and columnist for the Wall Street Journal. I was
Business Week's first outside columnist, a position I held for 15 years. I
was columnist for a decade for Scripps Howard News Service, carried in 300
newspapers. I was a columnist for the Washington Times and for newspapers
in France and Italy and for a magazine in Germany. I was a contributor to
the New York Times and a regular feature in the Los Angeles Times. Today I
cannot publish in, or appear on, the American "mainstream media".

For the last six years I have been banned from the "mainstream media". My
last column in the New York Times appeared in January, 2004, coauthored
with Democratic U.S. Senator Charles Schumer representing New York. We
addressed the offshoring of U.S. jobs. Our op-ed article produced a
conference at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. and live
coverage by C-Span. A debate was launched. No such thing could happen
today.

For years I was a mainstay at the Washington Times, producing credibility
for the Moony newspaper as a Business Week columnist, former Wall Street
Journal editor, and former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury. But
when I began criticizing Bush's wars of aggression, the order came down to
Mary Lou Forbes to cancel my column.

The American corporate does not serve the truth.  It serves the government
and the interest groups that empower the government.

America's fate was sealed when the public and the anti-war movement bought
the government's 9/11 conspiracy theory. The government's account of 9/11
is contradicted by much evidence. Nevertheless, this defining event of our
time, which has launched the US on interminable wars of aggression and a
domestic police state, is a taboo topic for investigation in the media. It
is pointless to complain of war and a police state when one accepts the
premise upon which they are based.

These trillion dollar wars have created financing problems for
Washington's deficits and threaten the U.S. dollar's role as world reserve
currency. The wars and the pressure that the budget deficits put on the
dollar's value have put Social Security and Medicare on the chopping
block. Former Goldman Sachs chairman and U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank
Paulson is after these protections for the elderly. Fed chairman Bernanke
is also after them. The Republicans are after them as well. These
protections are called "entitlements" as if they are some sort of welfare
that people have not paid for in payroll taxes all their working lives.

With over 21 per cent unemployment as measured by the methodology of 1980,
with American jobs, GDP, and technology having been given to China and
India, with war being Washington's greatest commitment, with the dollar
over-burdened with debt, with civil liberty sacrificed to the "war on
terror," the liberty and prosperity of the American people have been
thrown into the trash bin of history.

The militarism of the U.S. and Israeli states, and Wall Street and
corporate greed, will now run their course. As the pen is censored and its
might extinguished, I am signing off.

Paul Craig Roberts was an editor of the Wall Street Journal and an
Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury.  His latest book, HOW THE
ECONOMY WAS LOST, has just been published by CounterPunch/AK Press. He can
be reached at: PaulCraigRoberts [at] yahoo.com


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   - David Shove             shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu
   rhymes with clove         Progressive Calendar
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