Democracy for New Hampshire - News

Breaking the Log-jam in Iraq

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 13:46:41 -0500

SOURCE:AFP

Iraqi cabinet approves US pact amid bloodshed
BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraq's cabinet approved a military pact on Sunday that requires the withdrawal of all US troops by the end of 2011, as a deadly suicide car bomb underscored the country's lingering insecurity.

Your Tax Dollars at Work

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 07:56:15 -0500

PRESS RELEASE:

Spectacular Military Aircraft Flyovers, Interactive Expos, Futuristic Air & Space Demonstrations, Stirring Concerts, Legendary Film Festivals and More Highlight Air Force Week Festivities Nov. 14-21

Last update: 8:06 p.m. EST Nov. 11, 2008
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Nov 11, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Spectacular events, free to the public throughout Southern California for individuals and families, highlight the region's first Air Force Week, Nov. 14-21. Activities showcase the U.S. Air Force's impressive capabilities and recognize the contributions and importance of service members and the communities supporting them.

Dahr Jamail--Un-embedded Journalist Speaks at UNH

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:32:42 -0400

On Wednesday, October 22 at 12 noon, award-winning Middle East journalist Dahr Jamail will speak at UNH, MUB Theater I, about his experiences as an un-embedded journalist in occupied Iraq, his perspective on the "surge" strategy, and his current work helping Iraq War veterans share their stories. After the presentation, all are invited to join Dahr for a reception and sneak preview of the UNH Smith Hall Peace Gallery.

Since 2003, Dahr has filed indispensable reports from Iraq that have made him this generation’s chronicler of the unfolding disaster there. In his book Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq, Jamail brings us inside the Iraq we never see, presenting never-before published details of the first two years of the occupation. Now, as popular sentiment turns against an occupation that continues to unravel, the demand for independent reports has grown. Jamail’s consistent visits to occupied Iraq and courageous record of reportage from Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria make him an invaluable voice, bringing us inside the Iraq and Middle East we never see. Vivid, insightful, and often in the participants’ own words, Beyond the Green Zone goes past the polished desks of the corporate media and Washington politicians to tell first hand of the reality of life under U.S. occupation.

Unilateral US action is unacceptable

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:40:24 -0400

SOURCE: Pakistan Observer

M Ashraf Mirza Tension is mounting between Pakistan and the United States over the violation of former’s air space by the NATO helicopters in Waziristan with exchange of fire between intruding choppers and the Pak security forces. Pakistani security forces fired at the NATO helicopters following their intrusion into the country’s air space on Thursday in keeping with Islamabad’s unassailable right to defend its borders.

Pakistan had already made it unambiguously clear that its security forces will not permit any alien chopper, drone or warplane to violate its air space. And they have done it scrupulously though understandably to the aliens’ rancour. The nation was obviously restive at the growing incidence of intrusion by the US/NATO forces and choppers into Pakistan’s territory and airspace that had prompted both the COAS Gen Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani and Prime Minister Yusuf Reza Gilani to issue stern warnings on the issue making the US Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Michael Mullen rush to Islamabad to reassure Pakistan that US respects its sovereignty, although the assurance couldn’t hold ground even for a few hours as a predator fired missiles in Waziristan inflicting fatal casualties during his stay in Pakistan. President Bush has also told President Asif Zardari that US respects Pakistan’s sovereignty but without any respect for his own words as is evident from the subsequent violations by the US/NATO security forces, predators and helicopters. The situation on the Pak-Afghan border is seemingly taking an ugly turn.

Sanders Op-Ed:Billions for Bailouts! Who Pays? --

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 19:51:09 -0400

SOURCE: Senator Bernie Sanders

09/19/2008

The current financial crisis facing our country has been caused by the extreme right-wing economic policies pursued by the Bush administration. These policies, which include huge tax breaks for the rich, unfettered free trade and the wholesale deregulation of commerce, have resulted in a massive redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the very wealthy.

The middle class has really been under assault. Since President Bush has been in office, nearly 6 million Americans have slipped into poverty, median family income for working Americans has declined by more than $2,000, more than 7 million Americans have lost their health insurance, over 4 million have lost their pensions, foreclosures are at an all time high, total consumer debt has more than doubled, and we have a national debt of over $9.7 trillion dollars.

An Agenda For Change is Unveiled

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:18:03 -0400

I invite reader comments on my new e-book “For a United America – An Agenda For Change” available for free download at www.aamerica.us.

The book hypothesizes that the political challenges faced by the United States will not go away, regardless of which presidential candidate is chosen, because the political system itself has been weakened and the people have lost confidence in it. Unless the integrity of the political system is enhanced, the issues facing the nation are unlikely to be resolved.

The book pinpoints the disconnects that exist between the constituents and their representatives, and how partisan forces prevent progress on the issues. It outlines a comprehensive agenda for change that can strengthen the political system with the active support of the people, discusses how power-sharing arrangements in Congress can improve its outlook, and suggests how various political protocols can be strengthened to deal with political emergencies.

JUSTICE ROBERT H. JACKSON CONFERENCE

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:07:14 -0400

http://war-crimes.info/

Sunday -- 9:00 a.m. Sunday Forum I
Topic for Panel and Audience:
What must be done to make the question of prosecutions an issue in the fall political campaign and to have the question become a significant subject in the media and on the internet.
Speakers:
Vincent Bugliosi, author of “Prosecuting George W. Bush For Murder”
Colleen Costello, Human Rights USA
David Lindorff, Journalist
David Swanson, Activist

10:15 a.m. Break

10:30 a.m. Roundtable Discussion
Open microphone for group representatives present to discuss their organizations, plans and potential activities.

11:30 a.m. Lunch

12:15 p.m. Sunday Forum II
Topics for Panel and Audience:

A. Creating an umbrella coordinating committee with representatives from various organizations, including those that are already involved in cases.

B. Creating a Center to keep track of and organize relevant briefs, articles, books, opinions, facts, etc.

C. The possibility of having a Chief Prosecutor’s office a la Nuremberg.

"The Singing Revolution" documentary opens Friday, August 8th

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:39:36 -0400

Dear Friends,

We’re excited to tell you that the feature documentary The Singing Revolution will be opening in Concord, NH August 8th - 14th at Red River Theatres. The response to the film has been fantastic! Efforts to spread the word about the film are working.

We think you will be inspired and energized by the remarkable events in Estonia in the late-1980s.

The New York Times made the film a coveted “NYT Critics’ Pick” and alludes to Casablanca when describing The Singing Revolution: http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/movies/14revo.html

For theater information and to see the full list of cities and theater openings, go to: www.singingrevolution.com and click on “Theater Listings”. More cities are added each week.

Please help spread the word about the film opening. Word of mouth is how we’ve gotten this far, and it’s why the film is being held over in many locations.

Hope you can make it to see The Singing Revolution, opening soon in Concord.

Budget Kerfuffle and how it undermines the VA

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:36:01 -0400

It seems that what we now consider corrupt, the doling out of public resources and assets to special interests and supporters, was actually the norm until some time after the Second World War, when the responsibilities of public officials, especially our Representative in Congress, to actually serve the public interest were re-enforced by a series of civil rights laws and accountability measures.

So, in a sense, we're not far removed from the establishment of popular rule and the realization of public servants who actually serve the public. Which probably accounts, in large part, for the persistence of the old pattern of Congress allocating funds on the basis of political considerations and their continued inability to get annual appropriations done on time.

Air Force--Mission Control, we have a problem!

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:39:25 -0400

And no, it's not going to be fixed by firing the two top guys, Michael Wynne and Michael Mosely, for failing to be properly attentive to the disposition and storage of our nuclear arsenal. Indeed, the response, getting rid of personnel, may well be symptomatic of the real problem--an increasing reliance on machines and electronics in preference to people on the ground.

Pacific Paradise to Project Power

Sat, 31 May 2008 19:47:12 -0400

Calling Guam a Pacific Paradise is perhaps a bit over-blown. This island, at the southern end of the Mariana chain, is reported to have lost much of its native fauna to the predations of the brown snake and one third of its territory is already under the jurisdiction of the United States military. But it could be a paradise, especially if future military activity is more protective of the environment than it has been in the past. We surely don't want to see a repetition of what's happened to Tarawa, one of the 24 small islands that make up the Republic of Kiribati.

New Boston Air Force Station

Thu, 29 May 2008 20:33:02 -0400

SOURCE: Air Force Space Command Public Affairs

Gen. Kehler visits "impressive" Airmen at New Boston Air Force Station

by Ed White
Air Force Space Command Public Affairs

5/29/2008 - NEW BOSTON Air Force Station, N.H. -- During a visit to the 23rd Space Operations Squadron, May 19 and 20, Gen. C. Robert Kehler, commander, Air Force Space Station, took some time to sit down and talk to the Airmen running the station about a number of issues. Quality of life, the future need for space expertise and physical fitness requirements were issues on the mind of the workforce.

Tour of UNH Co-generation Facility--2008

Tue, 27 May 2008 08:48:31 -0400

BY: Bob Perry, Dem Rep for Strafford, Dist. 3

My seatmates in the house are Naida Kean, Chair of the House Science, Technology and Energy Committee; and Bill Chase, member of the same committee. It has been my pleasure to share the floor of the house for two session years with such good and committed Democratic state representatives who have worked in concert to succesfully pass important environmental legislation. Naida invited me to tour the above-entitled facility knowing of my lifelong interest in environmental matters. It is safe to say green technology is booming around the globe, in no way attributable in the United States to the leadership of Mr. Bush, but driven only by the record-high cost of crude oil, offering enormous opportunities for employment and profit in green technologies. The tour consisted of a slide show and physical tour of the new plant.

Valley News: NH legislature "hijacking" public information

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:43:17 -0400

Valley News editorial published 4/27/08:

Self-Service In Concord
Restricting the Voter List

Democrats and Republicans in the New Hampshire Legislature don't agree on much, but the spirit of bipartisanship is alive and well when it comes to securing privileges for themselves at the expense of the public.Witness the hijacking of the statewide voter list that unfolded recently in Concord, where everyone seems to agree that political parties, committees and candidates are entitled to information that is denied to ordinary citizens. This is self-service, if not public service, at its finest.

The House and Senate have now agreed on legislation that seeks to remedy the defects in an earlier attempt to expropriate this data for partisan purposes. That earlier version provided access to the centralized voter registration database only to major political parties -- that is, Republicans and Democrats. Libertarians took exception, and in November a Merrimack County Superior Court judge agreed that it was unconstitutional, although not before the state Democratic Party had resold the list to presidential candidates for $65,000 each.

Poll: NH Voters Support Easing Marijuana Penalties

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:39:58 -0400

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE — A clear majority of New Hampshire voters favor legislation to reduce the penalties for the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use, according to a recent poll. The poll of 625 registered voters was conducted by telephone April 7 to 8 by Mason-Dixon Research for the Marijuana Policy Project and NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy.

By a resounding 53-34 percent margin, New Hampshire voters support "a change in the law to provide for a $100 fine without jail time for those who possess an ounce or less of marijuana for personal use."

Current New Hampshire law is one of the harshest in the nation, carrying the potential for a year in jail and a $2,000 fine for small quantities of marijuana. By contrast, driving under the influence of alcohol in New Hampshire does not carry the possibility of jail or prison time for the first offense.

A bill to reduce penalties for possessing one-quarter ounce or less of marijuana passed the New Hampshire House but faces uncertainty in the Senate, based partially on the opposition of Gov. John Lynch.