It's been evident for quite some time that the American antagonism towards the Soviet Union's communist regime was largely fueled by envy. But, it wasn't just the totalitarian nature of the state that was the envy of U.S. corporate interests; it was also the apparent ability to plan long term and promote enterprise without having to contend with popular objections.

What's a bit puzzling is that the failure of the Soviet system hasn't served as a caution to U.S. corporate interests. It's almost as if the collapse of the Soviets gave a green light to rapacious industrialists and planned destructionists to try to do it better. Planning is central. It was central to "urban renewal" and it's central to energy development. And, it seems, Palin has long been part of the plan.

Careless. Reckless. Irresponsible. No doubt, the Air Force would reject such a characterization of the latest massacre of people in Afghanistan--and has. The "complete" report on the incident at Shindand has been issued. Never mind that any agency investigating itself is an invitation for a cover-up or, at best, an occasion to plead ignorance.

The massacre was first report as located in Azizabad, a village in Shindand district in Herat province in Western Afghanistan--i.e. not next to the badlands of Pakistan, where the really bad guys are supposedly hiding.

Before we consider the particulars, let's remind ourselves that weapons, that were designed to "kill" tanks and other military hardware and installations, being used to go after individual people and small groups, which caused outrage during the Vietnam invasion, has now become an accepted routine.

Anyway, the BBC coverage of the incident at Shindand seems fair. It covers what was known on the ground as of August 27, five days after the event.

It was the early hours of Friday morning when US and Afghan troops moved in to Azizabad, a village in western Afghanistan close to the Iranian border.

SOURCE:FOSTER'S DAILY DEMOCRAT

It took a week, but the local press finally reports on Seacoast citizens lobbying their junior Senator.

Sending a message: Citizens tell Sununu funds should be spent at home, not on war

By GRETYL MACALASTER

Article Date: Friday, May 2, 2008

PORTSMOUTH — About 15 area residents turned out at Sen. John Sununu's office recently to present a new report from MoveOn.org that shows New Hampshire voters think federal money would be better spent on domestic issues instead of the war in Iraq.

SOURCE: Nancy White reports

April 15, 2008

CONCORD, NH. Thank YOU all for coming to this amazing event.....YOU were a witness to history tonight.....and we thank you for being there, for assisting, for talking, for showing up! There are abundant reasons that NH citizens find to speak their minds.....and we will remember this enough to say to our grandchildren, 'In those times....I was there-I saw what this grandmother began in the state of NH!' *

SOURCE: Bluehampshire

Carol's statement (via email, no link) on voting to bring the impeachment resolution to the House Judiciary Committee:

"It is the duty of the Vice President to faithfully execute the laws of the United States of America and to defend the Constitution. There is growing evidence that the Executive Branch has ignored some of our laws and has attempted to bend the Constitution to its will. "Members of both parties decided that this issue is too important to ignore. I voted with my Republican and Democratic colleagues to investigate the Vice President's actions in office."

Although the Presidential Candidates Forum for some 600 attendees was hosted by Granite State Independent Living and some 28 co-sponsoring organizations on behalf of Americans with "disabilities," the goals of Equality, Opportunity and Access obviously apply to all Americans and, after listening to some of the presentations, it was hard not to conclude that every single one of us has some disability, or lack of talent/competence, which we would not want to limit our full participation in the affairs of our communities and nation.

Jim Wallis tells NH audiences: Creating change requires more than your vote

Progressive Evangelical leader calls on NH voters to create a political movement to address poverty, AIDS, global warming

DURHAM – (Oct. 16, 2007) The Rev. Jim Wallis last night challenged people of all faiths, as well as those who consider themselves “spiritual, but not religious,” to create a movement to address the major global issues of our time, including poverty, AIDS, genocide and global warming.

Wallis told a crowd of about 200 people in Dartmouth College's Rollins Chapel Monday night that “people of faith should be the ultimate swing voters,” who use their moral compasses to evaluate candidates. But he also cautioned that regardless of where the next U.S. President stands on these issues, he or she will not be able to solve them without “a social movement pushing them from the outside to make it happen.”

“Power concedes nothing without a demand,” he said, quoting abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

Success! Today, over a thousand miles away from each other, marchers in Iowa and New Hampshire converged on the capitols of each state. Here in New Hampshire, there was a great turnout. But more than the numbers, it was the spirit: hopeful yet determined, loud and joyful, united in our vision and our call - we are the leaders we've been waiting for to create a clean energy economy here in this country and around the world. There'll be more reflections to come, but for now, check out our videos from the New Hampshire march - and thank you to all who made this journey possible!

View the March at YouTube, and click for more info

All of us, organizers and volunteers, are in the campaign office. Laptops, phone lists, signups on the walls, folded chairs, empty juice bottles strewn everywhere. There’s a nervous excitement in the air.

This evening – Tuesday, July 31 at 6:30pm – the March to Re-Energize New Hampshire is celebrating its kickoff in Greeley Park, at 105 Concord St. in Nashua. Granny D, no stranger to long journeys for a cause, will talk to us about the power of walking, and give her blessings as we prepare to go.

Join us for the March to Re-Energize NH! July 31, 6:30pm: kickoff celebration in Greeley Park; August 1-5: Nashua 6:30pm; Aug. 1-5, or the rally on Sunday, Aug. 5:

http://www.climatesummer.org/march

6 days, thousands of Granite Staters from all walks of life will
gather on the State House lawn, calling for national action on global warming.

You can sign up at:
http://www.climatesummer.org/march

You should see our office: coffee donations stacked high, green flags and green shirts, maps and laptops, the lavender walls barely showing beneath lists of our endorsers and newspaper clippings. It's not that we're messy (well, that could be true); people just keep showing at our door, asking to help – friends, neighbors, and the guy from the bagel shop downstairs.

And it's not just the office that's swelling with activity – it's the whole Granite State. Now we have a bus coming from Portsmouth and carpools from Hanover. Newspapers are publishing letters from natives of Hooksett, Amherst, and Nashua daily. A woman we met at the Canterbury Fair yesterday remarked, "You guys are everywhere."

It certainly feels like it – one second I'm on the phone with the Governor's secretary, and the next I'm wondering if I bought enough pancake batter for Saturday night's celebration of New Hampshire maple syrup. Amidst the hype and excitement growing all across the state, it's easy to forget why exactly Granite Staters are set on walking five full days in the first place.