Make Homosexuals Marry

Cheney FAILS the FACT CHECK!

Finally, Liz Cheney cannot just hide the truth by blaming the left. Politico's fact check shows that Liz Cheney wants folks to continue drinking the Cheney/Halliburton kool-aid.

Now if the corporate media would just take the time to do some fact checking on their own so that they could limit the lies going out over their airwaves we would all be better off.

Here's the video of Liz Cheney and her typical way of trying to cover up for Daddy (why doesn't anyone call the corporate media on this obvious nepotism and giving Cheney such a platform for continuing to defend her daddy....



Here's a fact check.

It takes a special man....

To Sing Such Songs.....

Insanity rules the Gulf Catastrophe

According to Allison Kilkenny:

In a sane world, a company guilty of gross negligence that resulted in the deaths of 11 workers would be under criminal investigation, and not be parading around the coast, telling the media where they can go and who they can talk to, while forbidding their clean-up crews from wearing protective gear.

Law enforcement doesn’t handle other crimes like this. Cops don’t let serial killers tidy up their crime scenes after they’re done a’stabbin’.

Kilkenny is telling it like it is. Welcome to the United Corporations of America! The land where lots of money gives you special interests complete with "special rights" and you are above the law.

BP continues to use dispersants in an attempt some say is to cover up the oil but causes greater damage to marine life. BP will not cease using these horrific chemicals even though the US government has told them to stop these practices. BP says that it is big and important. BP appears to own DC and maybe they are correct. After all the same Justice Department that ruled AIG had done nothing wrong will be investigating BP. I betcha the BP big wigs are shaking in their boots.

Where's the change and the justice we voted for?

BP drags it's feet on paying for oil spill clean up...

According to the Huffington Post, "Fla. officials say their request for about $150,000 from BP to buy sifting machines and a tractor to help remove oil from the beach's famous white sands has lingered unanswered for more than three weeks."

Just one more reason why the government should seize control of BP so that the decisions will be based on cleaning up this disaster that BP's negligence created instead of BP's "bottom line" being the decisive factor.

Redford promotes clean energy now.

A Message to Graduates: Blessed are the Meek?

A Message to Graduates: Blessed are the Meek?

US needs to take over BP....

If the government can take over giant global insurer AIG and the auto giant General Motors and replace their CEOs, in order to keep them financially solvent, it should be able to put BP's north American operations into temporary receivership in order to stop one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.--Robert Reich

Robert Reich gives us numerous reasons why BP should not continue to maintain control over the Gulf Oil Clean up. I will add one more reason....the costs of this catastrophe may exceed the total net worth of BP and the American taxpayer and the local small businesses in the gulf region must not be left holding the bag

President Barack Obama needs to take over BP and insure that the BP cover up stops immediately and that the primary goal becomes cleaning up the Gulf Oil Spill regardless of the costs to BP and insure that we get a transparent process.

This needs to be done last week....

Founding Father--Quote for the Day

I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.--Thomas Jefferson

Liz Cheney wants Investigation....So Do I....

Liz Cheney wants an investigation of the Joe Sestak WH job offer. I "suspect" her motives are political.

Personally I want lots of investigations. I would like these investigations to start with the secret energy meetings that Cheney held when he was vice president. Cheney has refused to give up information on these meetings (including who was in attendance).

These meetings are suspected of developing an energy policy by the industry. Many believe that this is the root of the current crisis in the gulf.

So how about it Liz? Let's begin the investigations with your daddy. It seems to me that our country has suffered worst consequences as the result of Dick Cheney and George W. Bush.

In the meantime the Gulf Oil CATASTROPHE (not spill) might be more fairly labeled as the Gulf CHENEY Disaster due to the fact that the Cheney energy policies might have given the oil industry a free pass on many things including appropriate safety measures. We already know that the government agency that was supposed to be the industry watchdog was de-fanged during the Cheney/Bush years.

Hopefully an outraged public will be enough impetus to wake up our elected officials and stop them from pocketing corporate cash long enough to put the teeth back into our watchdogs....in ALL of our regulatory agencies. After all....isn't public safety a major reason for our government's existence?

New Orleans....thinking of you!

I LOVE NEW ORLEANS!! This national treasure deserves our love and our resources.

Net Neutrality Explained...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Net Neutrality Act
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Rep. Glenn Nye Fights for the Big Corporations to Defeat Net Neutrality

Representative Glenn Nye is the lone Virginia Democrat in the US House of Representatives who sold out his constituents to Comcast and AT&T.

Glenn Nye has signed a letter (written by industry lobbyists) asking the FCC to NOT enforce Net Neutrality.

The Democratic Party needs to oust Glenn Nye in a primary. Who needs a corporate Republican when you have Glenn Nye?

Glenn Nye is a lobbyist dream come true and is joining Senator Mark Warner as a huge disappointment who will back big business and sell out their constituents.

Senator Mark Warner expected to WEAKEN Financial Deriviatives Reform

Senator Warner is turning out to be a very big disappointment.

Wall Street is banking on Senator Warner to weaken reforms for the derivatives trading.

If this becomes a reality then this is one democrat that I will NOT vote for again. Senator Warner refuses to tell his constituents how he will be voting (even when called on the day of the vote.) Senator Warner is a go to boy for Wall Street.

Senator Warner is turning out to be the ultimate Wall Street/Corporate/Banker's Democrat.

Unfortunately this is the last thing the citizens of Virginia need in this day and time.

Don't expect to see Warner backing serious campaign finance reform. I don't believe that Warner wants to stop the flow of money into Senator's coffers.

Pek is.....

Music from my memory lane....

Is Obama the ultimate fox in the hen house?

Looks like Obama is going to get things done that George Bush only dreamed about. Prepare yourself for Obama setting up the death of social security.

Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake has the story. Hopefully the net will become one big echo chamber on this one.

Where's the Justice?

The THIRD judge has now ruled that Bush/Cheney administration clearly broke the law with their wiretapping program.

So...the law calls for a penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine fore EACH offense (and it appears there were hundreds of thousands of offenses...possibly millions.

Where's the trial for the "educated" people who knowingly broke the law? Is Justice going to return to America or is the Obama Justice Dept. just a pawn of the Obama White House.

What happened to the change we all voted for? When are we going to demand the change occur or call for the impeachment of the current president if he refuses to change course and continues to cover up the Bush administration crimes?

Disaster Capitalism at Work in Haiti

"MonSatan" loves to use disasters as a capitalistic marketing tool. The Haitian people appear to have a plan for dealing with "MonSatan." (The Haitian people's plan appears to be more effective than what the farmers in India are doing....which is to commit suicide over this issue.)

But "MonSatan" has exhibited this behavior before. In Iraq a law was passed that forbids the Iraqi farmers from using their own seeds (an agricultural practice that has been used for as long as civilization on this planet has existed). In Iraq, the law says that the farmers MUST purchase their seeds from "Monsatan."

It is also interesting that the so called Justice system in the USA allows "MonSatan" to contaminate the fields of farmers who do NOT want to purchase "MonSatan's" seeds. Then the farmers cannot sue "MonSatan" for spoiling seeds which they may have been developing and handing down through generations. But the so called American justice system adds insult to injury and allows "MonSatan" to sue the family farmer for using "MonSatan" seeds for free. This is definitely another sign that democracy has been replaced by a plutocracy.


"MonSatan" is a descriptive term that I have adopted after hearing it used to refer to Monsanto business practices which eliminates choice. "MonSatan" appears to have a pervasive influence on the agricultural education at Virginia Tech (and the other American universities that allegedly teach agriculture.)

When Governments are criminal....

What the city of Baltimore is doing is nothing less than criminal!

US Presidents promote war not peace....

Our latest President--Barack Obama--seems to have the same war agenda as George Bush.

Why do American's allow our tax dollars to be used to kill people worldwide so that corporations can increase their profits?

The latest on US war crimes courtesy of Pulitzer prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh.

HIP HOP -- Healthy Independent People Helping Other People

Hat tip to the Huffington Post for covering this LINKTV video featuring Chicago hip hop artist D-Nick The Microphone Misfit teamed up with B-Boy Super inLight to create "Abnormality", a track for the opening of Graffiti and Grub, the Chicago health food store founded by activist LaDonna Redmond.

The Banker's Party versus the People's Party

Over at the Huffington Post, Dylan Rattigan reveals the truth of the two party system. Forget the Republican or Democratic Party labels. From now on it's Mark Warner (B-VA) and Jim Webb (P-VA). Here's the real deal that corporate media will do it's best to make you forget:

BANKSTER PARTY
Daniel Akaka (B-HI)
Lamar Alexander (B-TN)
Max Baucus (B-MT)
Evan Bayh (B-IN)
Michael F. Bennet (B-CO)
Christopher S. Bond (B-MO)
Richard Burr (B-NC)
Thomas R. Carper (B-DE)
Saxby Chambliss (B-GA)
Susan M. Collins (B-ME)
Kent Conrad (B-ND)
Bob Corker (B-TN)
John Cornyn (B-TX)
Christopher J. Dodd (B-CT)
Dianne Feinstein (B-CA)
Lindsey Graham (B-SC)
Chuck Grassley (B-IA)
Judd Gregg (B-NH)
Orrin G. Hatch (B-UT)
Kay Bailey Hutchinson (B-TX)
Daniel K. Inouye (B-HI)
Johnny Isakson (B-GA)
John F. Kerry (B-MA)
Amy Klobuchar (B-MN)
Herb Kohl (B-WI)
Jon Kyl (B-AZ)
Frank R. Lautenberg (B-NJ)
Joseph Lieberman (B-CT)
John McCain (B-AZ)
Claire McCaskill (B-MO)
Mitch McConnell (B-KY)
Robert Menendez (B-NJ)
Lisa Murkowski (B-AK)
Bill Nelson (B-FL)
Jack Reed (B-RI)
Charles Schumer (B-NY)
Olympia Snowe (B-ME)
John Thune (B-SD)
Mark Udall (B-CO)
George Voinovich (B-OH)
Mark Warner (B-VA)

PEOPLE'S PARTY
Mark Begich (P-AK)
Jeff Bingaman (P-NM)
Barbara Boxer (P-CA)
Sherrod Brown (P-OH)
Roland Burris (P-IL)
Maria Cantwell (P-WA)
Bejamin Cardin (P-MD)
Robert Casey Jr. (P-PA)
Tom Coburn (P-OK)
Byron Dorgan (P-ND)
Richard Durbin (P-IL)
John Ensign (P-NV)
Russell Feingold (P-WI)
Al Franken (P-MN)
Tom Harkin (P-IA)
Edward Kaufman (P-DE)
Patrick Leahy (P-VT)
Carl Levin (P-MI)
Blanche Lincoln (P-AR)
Jeff Merkley (P-OR)
Lisa Mikulski (P-MD)
Patty Murray (P-WA)
Mark Pryor (P-AR)
Harry Reid (P-NV)
John D. Rockefeller IV (P-WV)
Bernard Sanders (P-VT)
Richard Shelby (P-AL)
Arlen Specter (P-PA)
Debbie Stabenow (P-MI)
Tom Udall (P-NM)
Jim Webb (P-VA)
Sheldon Whitehouse (P-RI)
Ron Wyden (P-OR)

One VA Senator is a KEEPER!!

VA Senator James Webb voted for the people to break up the big banks so that we would never again have to bail out the "too big too fail" banks that bring our economy on the brink of economic collapse.

Unfortunately, VA Senator Mark Warner decided to step over the line and join the big banks agenda and voted against the people who voted to put him in office. I'm one of those constituents and I'm NEVER going to support this type of politician who is definitely voting against my best interests. I'm thinking that this is the type of thing I would have expected from George Allen.

So Senator Mark Warner be forewarned....none of us will forget that you decided to support big banks over the Virginians you are supposed to represent. I'm sure you will be out spinning with all sorts of explanations and excuses (probably penned for you by the Bank Lobbyists who got your ear....and played the legalized bribery game with you.) I plan to never let any of my associates forget what you have done on this vote.

Another thing Senator Warner....your staff told me when I called yesterday that you did not have a position on this amendment.....you couldn't even tell me to my face what you were going to do.

Hang your head in shame Senator Warner. You belong with the Wall Street Bankers. I'm not even going to waste my time contacting Senator Warner again. Why bother? He's not a straight talker and he doesn't even have the decency to tell his constituents that he votes for the Big Banks to keep on getting bigger and bigger at my expense.

Thanks so much Senator Webb. You can walk with us down Main Street today!

Time to call Senator Webb with a big thank you call....Hopefully an independent or a democrat willing to represent the people will run against Warner next election cycle since I don't see any moderate Republicans able to survive in VA's current political climate. One thing for sure....Mark Warner will never see another vote from me!

I wonder if Goldman Sachs gets to keep gambling with our money at zero interest? If that's the case no wonder Goldman Sachs no longer cares if their customers trust them or not...who needs customers when you have the US Treasury and Federal Reserve in your big pockets?

Governor McDonnell Supports Eco-Terrorists

Virginia's Governor Bob McDonnell continues to support Eco-Terrorists who want to put Virginia at an unnecessary risk in their pursuit of Big Oil Profiteering.

Why won't McDonnell endorse Wind Farms for energy and not place our seafood and tourism industries at risk?

I "betcha" it boils down to money money money....for the special elites.... Does anyone who thinks that the money (or oil) will stay in VA (except for the legalized bribes lining our politicians pockets...)? If they do I have a mid town tunnel and a profitable port to sell them....ooopppps...McDonnell is trying to sell those to special foreign interests too under the "spin" of public private partnerships.

Drill Baby Drill McDonnell needs to visit the Gulf Coast and get a real taste of reality and clear that Big Oil spin out of his head. 868 large oil spills since 2001 is the reality (with large numbers of workers dead or injured.)

Virginia needs to have a governor that will protect our natural resources and not sell them out to Big Oil Profiteers who will take the money and run leaving us with a big mess to clean up.

The reality is not IF there's a big mess it's a matter of when.

Wind Farms....lets Spin Baby Spin....but make the Spin positive and in the public's interest for a real change!!

Gulf Oil Rig Disaster a critical part of the Bush/Cheney Legacy

The Obama administration has assigned nearly 2,000 federal personnel from the Coast Guard, the Corps of Engineers, the Department of Defense, the Department of Commerce, EPA, NOAA and Department of Interior to deal with the spill -- an impressive response. Still, the current White House is not without fault -- the government should, for example, be requiring a far greater deployment of absorbent booms. But the real culprit in this villainy is a negligent industry, the festering ethics of the Bush Administration and poor oversight by an agency corrupted by eight years of grotesque subservience to Big Oil.--Robert Kennedy Jr. Source

Why do the Big Oil Culprits (Bush/Cheney/BP and Big Oil) get away with no accountability and no negative consequences for their actions? When will the Obama administration STOP protecting the big guys and START protecting us?

Oil Rig Fact Check

According to the Federal Minerals Management, since 2001, 858 fires and explosions have occurred on Gulf Oil rigs which caused 69 deaths, 1349 injuries...there were also numerous small spills. Meanwhile the Republican Party's mantra has been Drill, Baby, Drill regardless of Spill, Baby, Spill.

Politicians NEED to be fact checked and our corporate news media has NOT been doing this. Corporate news media dispenses lies and myths so that corporations may profit at our expense.

We NEED to invest in the future with clean sustainable energy. Instead of Oil rigs we need wind farms off our coast. But then our politicians would not profit which is probably why mKKKdonnell continues the Republican's Drill, Baby, Drill mantra.

Such a disappointment. The majority of Virginians have opposed and continue to oppose off shore drilling along with all the other east coast states.

When is our democracy going to be restored? When will the people's well being become a government goal to replace the current regime's goal of increasing corporate profits irregardless of the cost to the people?

Hat Tip to Andy Singer at No Exit for the facts on Gulf Oil Drilling.

Obama's NOT Transparent

Obama seems to be acting like a soul brother to George Bush and Dick Cheney when it comes to government secrecy. IF A GOVERNMENT IS A DEMOCRACY THEN WHISTLE BLOWERS ARE PROTECTED AND REWARDED NOT IMPRISONED!!

We need a real progressive in the White House not someone using this as a cover up for the same old Bush/Cheney brand.

Hat Tip to Glenn Greenwald.

YOU TUBE BANS THIS VIDEO IN USA...

THE RAVEN - 720 HD from THE RAVEN FILM on Vimeo.

YOU TUBE CENSORED this video in the USA...Wake Up America!!

Bernie Sanders is Fighting for US!!

Let our VA Senators know we want the Grayson Paul Amendment.

Our Senators need to represent Main St. not Wall St.

Drill Baby Drill....NOT

A reminder of why the majority of Virginians OPPOSE oil drilling off of our coasts....yet the politicos are busy selling us out. Damn democracy....ignore the will of the people...they are gonna sell us out and drill baby drill...and the profits will not remain in Virginia.

Does this make us a third world colony of Big Oil now? Hmmm....

Still Eating Factory Farm Animals?

Did you know that--"In 2008, a shipment of US beef was rejected by Mexican inspectors because it tested above the Mexican tolerance level for copper in beef. The food was sold and consumed in the US, where no levels are set."

If you continue to eat meat you might want to pay more for the good local, grass raised meat and just eat less of it. Your body will thank you.

For more information...

John McCain incoherent ex-maverick

John McCain maybe "cuckoo" but he sure has the audacity to call out our current US policy as "INCOHERENT." I guess it takes one to know one. McCain's most recent blustering ramble about not being a maverick raises (or lowers?) the bar on what is coherent or not. Hat tip to the Huffington Post.

Inspiring Leaders of Tomorrow

We need more of this everywhere!

Caroline Herring Takes Critically Acclaimed Music on Tour

Popular international folk singer, Caroline Herring, has announced a spring and summer tour that begins in Texas, and winds through the Southland before a whirlwind tour of London, Paris and the Netherlands in late May and early June. Creative Loafing Magazine credits Herring with “almost single-handedly making folk music ‘cool’ again with her great lyrics, fine finger picking, and unique interpretations of popular tunes."

We have written about Caroline in this space in the past and want to support her summer tour and urge readers to get out and hear her if she is in their area. Caroline is a fierce advocate for human rights and her music reflects this commitment. She deserves our support, as do all artists who work for what is right in this world.

Herring emerged out of the Austin music community ten years ago, beguiling critics and accumulating an international following with her provocative outpourings about southern life and pathos. Her subject matter takes its inspiration from the complicated and controversial history of the rural American South. As a onetime folklore scholar Herring also draws on her knowledge of traditional music and culture as a way of presenting her unique interpretations.

“I’ve learned a lot from academics and all the artists I’ve worked with,” she says, “but I do try to write from my own experience, as a poet would approach her work, rather than as an academic. Though I admire all sorts of traditional art forms, I would never call myself a traditional artist.”

In April, Caroline Herring won the prestigious Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters award for the popular music composition and her fourth critically acclaimed album, Golden Apples of the Sun (Signature Sounds).

The critics love Herring, and the Boston Globe named Golden Apples of the Sun one of the top ten folk albums of 2009. Scott Alarik said, “Herring’s haunting, honey-husk voice seems to be singing only to you. Full of fresh turns, yet as knowable as your best friend’s smile.”

Caroline's song “The Dozens” was featured as part of the 11th Annual Oxford American Music Issue CD in December. Featured in the “Southern Masters” section, the Oxford American says Herring’s Golden Apples of the Sun “Is the album of a woman who has come into her powers as a singer-songwriter, claiming as her ground the territory where folk meets alt-country.”

The summer tour will wind up at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art on August 13 in New Orleans. Herring and fellow southern singer songwriters Claire Holley and Kate Campbell will reprise their critically acclaimed presentation, “A Celebration of Eudora.” The concept performance was conceived by the Eudora Welty Foundation and originally performed in Jackson, Mississippi in April of 2009 to mark the Pulitzer Prize winning author’s Centennial. Welty was a short story writer, photographer, and novelist credited for unique insights into Southern living, and traditions.

The New Orleans concert will coincide with an exhibit of Welty’s work and photography.

For more information on this and all other events, visit Caroline Herring’s website.





UPCOMING SHOWS:



Friday, April 16
All Good Cafe
Dallas, TX
8:00 PM
(214) 742-5362

Saturday, April 17
Anderson Fair
Houston, TX
9:00 PM
832-212-4057

Friday, April 23
Howard's
Greenwood, SC
8:00 PM

Saturday, April 24
East Cobb United Methodist Church
bobbonstein@bellsouth.net
Marietta, GA
8:00 PM

Saturday, May 22
Ivey House Concert Series
Fort Mill, SC
8:00 PM
704-877-9282


Sunday, May 23
Sundays on the Square
Roswell, GA

Wednesday, May 26
The Green Note
London, England

Thursday, May 27
La Pomme d'Eve
Paris, France

Friday, May 28
In the Woods
Lage Vuursche, Netherlands

Saturday, May 29
Naked Song Festival
Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Sunday, May 30
De Schalm
Westwoud, Netherlands

Tuesday, June 01
Folk in de Wâlden
Oentsjerk, Netherlands

Wednesday, June 02
Qbus
co-bill with David Olney
Leiden, Netherlands

Friday, June 11
Mountain Heritage Literary Festival
Lincoln Memorial University
Harrogate, TN
6:00 PM
606-344-0662

Saturday, June 12
The Melting Point
with Jim White
Athens, GA
8:00 PM

Saturday, August 07
Music at the Lakes Concert Series
Flat Rock, NC
7:00 PM

Friday, August 13
The Ogden Museum of Southern Art
CELEBRATING EUDORA with Claire Holley and Kate Campbell
New Orleans, LA
8:00 PM

Friday, Sept 1
San Angelo New Folk Series
San Angelo, TX
7:00 PM

Friday, Sept 17
Camp DeSoto - private event
Mentone, AL

Saturday, Sept 25
Jammin Java
Vienna, VA
7:00 PM

Saturday, October 16
Our Kind of Folk Music Series
Seminole, FL

What was promised....

Bob McDonnell promised to restore voting rights for nonviolent offenders who have served their time. (VA and KY are the only two states that do not restore voting rights when someone has paid their debt to society!)

However, what we got was another set of Jim Crow machinations. Hmmm....let's see 50% of the folks who do NOT have voting rights are African Americans.....Do we see a pattern of racism?

WAPO has the story.

A Brief History of Weed

For over seven decades the US has outlawed marijuana and been on a rampage with it's maniacal, expensive War on Drugs that gives us a Police State and places unnecessary limits on our personal freedom. We can't win this War on Drugs and it provides financing for criminals and so-called "terrorists."

Wouldn't we all be better off if we waged a War on Poverty? Isn't this the real War we should be fighting?

We should use our resources wisely.

I "realize" that the drug war is a big cash cow for certain bankers, various elements of the police state, and the C.I.A.....but aren't we tired of pouring money down a drain?

Think about it folks....Buzz....Buzz.....

Film Aid Changes Us

Using film for positive changes opens up our minds to new truths.

We need peace keepers not military cops...

Once again another story about how police have shot and killed a mentally ill person. This incident involved a man who allegedly was stabbing himself with an ax and then walking around a market with an axe.

This sort of thing is so avoidable. Why aren't the police all equipped with nets and trained to use them so they can safely capture mentally ill folks who are wielding sharp objects? Where is the community dialogue on safe and humane ways to control folk instead of the deadly force that is used much more than it should be. I guess wielding a net is not seen as "kewl" as a gun or electric taser but it sure is cost effective and could keep everyone safe.

In the meantime the corporate government would prefer to scare folks instead of develop safe and humane ways to deal with people. Don't forget we now have killer drones patrolling our borders...how long before they patrol our neighborhoods?

And where is the dialogue about the pros and cons of utilizing deadly force including killer robots?

The Magic of Pharmaceuticals!

The Story of Bottled Water

According to Ethical Investing:

If you choose to avoid investing in Monsanto, you probably would like to avoid purchasing their products as well. After all, purchases of their products directly funds the destruction of people's health around the world. Fortunately, there are alternatives to all of their harmful products.

Here's a list of Monsanto products to avoid and a list of alternatives.

If we want control of our food production then a big first step is to STOP supporting Monsanto.

Dear Dennis Kucinich

Dear Dennis Kucinich,

I have been a huge fan for years. After meeting David Swanson and hearing that if everyone who supports you would/could donate 50 bucks to your presidential campaign then we would have you as our President I stepped up to the plate and sent you money for your congressional campaign when folks wanted to challenge you and had resolved to send you at least 50 bucks henever you run for President. (However, with the recent "horrendous" Supreme Court decision this theory probably became null and void).

Given my belief in your ethics and your authentic representation of the people you represent I want to know what prompted you to support the Obama Health Care Plan. I am seriously opposed to this plan because I worry it will strengthen the health insurance industry and weaken future attempts to correct the US health care system. IF insurance is marginally improved for people who maybe able to afford health insurance (and/or folks who still have a job) I believe this may stop any serious health care reform that is truly affordable and accessible for all Americans.

So Dennis can you tell us why?

Sincerely,
Star Womanspirit

26 Democratic Senators Holding up Healthcare Reform

45,000 Americans die every year because they do not have health insurance and cannot access quality healthcare.

Actions speak louder than words. Every day at least 123 Americans will die. Why are these Senators not doing what is necessary to get a Health Insurance Reform bill passed so that everyone can have access and choice of a private or public plan?

Here are the 26 Democratic Senators currently holding Up Healthcare Reform and supporting the Republican Party of NO:

Daniel Akaka HI
Max Baucus MT
Evan Bayh IN
Mark Begich AK
Robert Byrd WV
Maria Cantwell WA
Thomas Carper DE
Kent Conrad ND
Cristopher Dodd CT
Byron Dorgan ND
Russel Feingold WI
Kay Hagan NC
Tom Harkin IA
Ted Kaufman DE
Herb Kohl WI
Mary Landrieu LA
Blanche Lincoln AR
Claire McCaskill MO
Bill Nelson FL
Ben Nelson NE
Mark Pryor AR
John Rockefeller WV
Jon Tester MT
Mark Udall CO
Mark Warner VA
Jim Webb VA

Is your Senator on this list?

If you are from VA BOTH of our Senators are on this notorious list. This is not a moderate position but it maybe an "self richening" experience for many if not all the Senators on this list.

Quote of the Week

"Nationalism is our form of incest, is our idolatry, is our insanity.

'Patriotism' is its cult. It should hardly be necessary to say that by 'patriotism', I mean that attitude which puts the own nation above humanity, above the principles of truth and justice; not the loving interest in one's own nation, which is the concern with the nation's spiritual as much as with its material welfare - never with its power over other nations.

Just as love for one individual which excludes the love for others is not love, love for one's country which is not part of one's love for humanity is not love, but idolatrous worship."

-Erich Fromm (1900-1980), U.S. psychologist

Ima Democrat Ima Republican....

Is Glenn Beck Ignorant or a Communist?

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Rage Within the Machine - Progressivism
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Glenn Beck thinks the Library is Free. I guess he also thinks that the roads, schools, teachers, fire fighters, cops, just materialize from nothingness.

It's all about Money versus Personal Freedom.

Net Neutrality comes down to Personal Internet Freedom vs. Corporate Internet Control. Check it out here.

PS--Hard Drive is dying so we'll be offline until next week.

Food Revolutions

All over this country communities are getting back to the basics. These efforts will strengthen individuals and their communities.

Rethink Afghanistan

"Why do we kill people who are killing people to show that killing people is wrong?" -- Holly Near

There is no excuse for the USA's continuous state of war and the willingness of our government to kill numerous civilians in any attempt to get one alleged "terrorist." If this is such an okay thing to do before long we may see our own police departments stop negotiating during hostage situations and just kill everyone involved no matter how innocent. That would be what Ward Churchill described as a "chickens coming home to roost."

Randal Amster has written a beautiful essay--Empire of the Sunset. Americans should insist that our government stop the imperialist corporate wars and actually create a government that protects flesh and blood people instead of corporate profits.

The American dream is lost due to our bloated and growing military budget that remains "untouchable." Our corporate owned Congress insists on protecting corporate profits and cutting vital domestic programs which are already slashed to the bone.

When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn.....

Britain's Robin Hood Tax

Why aren't the people demanding that the bankers and the wallstreet corporations paying their fair share of taxes?

Obama won't listen and Corporations BLOCK FREE SPEECH

Two Big Issues in this video.

First Obama LIES everytime he says he's open to new ideas. Obama has consistently REFUSED to listen to the MAJORITY of the American People who want Medicare for All. But the corporate cronies don't want this. Obama has actually BLOCKED anhyone with a health care idea to the left of the center from having any seat at the healthcare table. Meanwhile, Big Pharma and Big Healthcare all paid lots of money and "viola" they filled the seats at the table. Then the doors were closed and the dark, back room deals took place.

Corporations would rather pay high health care premuiums and block the competition that would evolve as more people would start their own local businesses to compete against the corporations if we had healthcare for everyone. So as long as the only way to afford health care is to work for a corporations they have a cheaper labor pool available to them.

How can corporations yell private property and want to arrest anyone who is not marching in lockstep with the corporate agenda?

Hotels are NOT private residences.....There is a BIG? difference between private property and malls, etc that are open for public business.

Do you support unnecessary cruelty?

Every dollar spent on food is a vote for cruelty or cruelty free farming. How are you voting?

Here's an example of CORPORATE Factory Dairy Farming. OF course the corporate media will never show you this truth. In fact, the corporate US government considers many of the whistleblowers of factory farm practices to be eco-terrorists.

DEMOCRATS DOUBLE STANDARD

If it's a progressive issue (such as Health Care, Wall Street Regulations or a Consumer Protection Agency) 60 votes are needed in the Senate. IF it's for a conservative or corporate cause--confirming Wall Streets Inside Man, Ben Bernanke--only 51 votes are needed.

This double standard is not just obvious in the Congress. Obama's promise of giving everyone a seat at the healthcare table was glaring in not giving a single seat to a progressive advocate of single payee and allowing Big Pharma and the Health Insurance Industry to buy seats and pack the healthcare debate. The writing is on the wall. Progressives should be creating a new party or making a bee line to the Green Party ASAP.

Wall Street is Blackmailing US Congress Again!

Timothy Geithner says that Wall Street markets will plummet if Congress does not confirm Ben Bernanke.

I am sick of Wall Street threatening to plummet whenever they want their way. Wall Street needs to go ahead and plummet and the US Congress needs to clean house and confirm a Federal Reserve Chair who is competent and can do the job in the public interest (not the Wall Street Interest).

Ben Bernanke was asleep at the wheel and did NOT see the financial crisis coming. We don't need a Federal Reserve Chair who prefers back room deals to sunlight. Ben Bernanke has failed on all counts and he is leading the cover up to prevent the US Congress and the American people from knowing where our money went.

Why Bernanke is even under consideration for another term raises the question of who remains in our federal government and Senate who is not captive to the Wall Street special interests?

Our Senators--Webb and Warner--need to decide of they are going to represent Virgnians or become Wall Street Waterboys.

Wall Street Republicrats are at it again....

The same sold out corporate Republicrats who gave us the Wall Street Bailout are at it again. Senator Harry Reid and Mitch McConnel are trying to work together to get 51 votes so they can keep one of the Wall Street Masterminds in power. Instead of FIRING Bernanke they want to work against the wishes of the American people and push this confirmation through.

It's ironic isn't it? If it's a bill that will benefit the American people it needs 60 votes....but if it's a bill that benefits Wall Street they only need 51 votes.

FIRE the Wall Street thinkers--Bernanke, Summers, and Geithner-- who created this huge disaster. Congress needs to start representing the people NOT the Wall Street Bankers.

Protect the American People NOT the wealthy corporate Interests.

Disaster Capitalism at Work in Haiti

Why is a bag of rice (or any food/water/shelter/clothes) worth more than a human life?

The Haitian people have done an OUTSTANDING job of working together to do what they can during this horrible crisis.

Unfotunately capitalists (backed by the Corporate tools--USA military, IMF, WTO) use violence in an attempt to push the Haitian people over the edge so they will riot and then provide the corporations with an excuse to take over the island. Then the profiteers that go everywhere with the US Corporate Army so they can pilfer the people's resources.

Unfortunately the USA thinks that importing troops and guns is a higher priority than medical supplies, doctors, water and food. But they will need those troops there for the riots that are supposed to be happening. A number of foreign governments trying to get necessary supplies into Haiti have complained to the United Nations about the US military's agenda of putting guns and troops before humanitarian aid.

REMEMBER how badly the US government treated it's own citizens in New Orleans? Now imagine what we do in foreign lands....and then THINK about how violence against others creates terrorism.

These Haitian police officers are the tools of the Haitian government that came to power with a US backed military coup that kidnapped the democratically elected President of Haiti and shipped him off to Africa.

Let's demand some real democracy instead of exporting this awful corporate agenda. Let's return President Aristide to Haiti. The Haiti people surely deserve to have the leader they elected and continue to support instead of these corporate police thugs who inflict violence so that maybe they can force the pople to riot.......

HB 1134 is a Republican sponsored bill

Finally there is a leader in Virginia that is willing to reform the current draconian, medieval (and very expensive to enforce) drug laws. This will definitely make Virginia a much better place to live. The majority of Virginians support change such as this. At this moment (before any side has had a chance to mobilize their frenzied supporters to skew the results) the Daily Press poll shows these results:

POLL: Do you agree that punishment for marijuana possession should be reduced in Virginia?

Delegate Harvey B. Morgan (R) is the chief patron of the Virginia House Bill 1134 which does not legaize marijuana but would reduce simple possession to a civil infraction - punishable by fine rather than by the current, prison sentence of 30 days. Read the story here.

• Yes. A fine rather than prison time seems reasonable. (535 responses)

  37%

• No. Marijuana is still an illegal substance and a stronger message should be sent to users. (219 responses)

  15%

• No, because it shouldn't be illegal at all. (194 responses)

  14%

• No. Virginia should control sales just like they do with alcohol and there would be enough tax money to run the state and then some (458 responses)

  32%

• I don't know. (25 responses)

  2%
  

Finally there is a Republican in Virginia that this independent can endorse what he's doing. So, it looks like I will get an opportunity to actually send in a campaign donation to a Republican in this lifetime. Awesome. We need more Republicans like Del. Morgan who are willing to take a stand and do whats right. Info on the bill follows.

HB 1134 Decriminalization of possession of marijuana.

Sponsor -- Harvey B. Morgan, Republican

Summary as introduced:

Decriminalization of possession of marijuana. Decriminalizes simple marijuana possession. The bill does not make marijuana possession legal but creates a civil penalty of $500 for simple possession of marijuana, a penalty equal to the current criminal fine for simple marijuana possession. The bill also raises the quantities necessary for punishment of possession with intent to distribute so as not to punish amounts that may be possessed for personal use. The bill creates a rebuttable presumption that a person who grows no more than five marijuana plants grows marijuana for personal use and not for distribution, an offense punishable by the $500 civil penalty. The civil penalties collected are payable to the Literary Fund. The bill removes the two-year mandatory sentence for distribution of less than one ounce of marijuana and the five-year mandatory minimum sentence for distribution of more than one ounce of marijuana. The bill requires forfeiture of the driver's license of any minor found to have committed the violation of possession of marijuana. The bill reduces the penalty for possession of marijuana by a prisoner from a Class 5 felony to a Class 6 felony, the same punishment as is currently imposed for possession of a firearm or a knife by a prisoner or for setting off an explosive device in a prison.

Keep Obama Honest!

Call the White House and INSIST that Obama honor this promise and refuse to sign any health reform bill that does NOT contain a strong public option (such as a Medicare buy in). Call 1 202 456 1414 to make your position known to "our" White House.

Move Your Money

ACT FREE

Hat Tip to Mac McKinney!

Savannah Book Festival: Using Words Constructively

By Georgianne Nienaber

Has it occurred to you that social networking is really not very social at all? We Twitter, cultivate relationships with hundreds of "friends" we have never met on Facebook, blog until we are emotionally blue, lovingly attend to our websites and never really "interact" with anyone. Discussions are limited to the Twitter character count and the one or two sentences you can ft into those tiny blue boxes on Facebook. This is dangerous territory for writers who 1) are always looking for an excuse NOT to write and 2) are prone to social isolation while we work on excuses not to write.

My New Year's resolution is that I will abandon virtual networking for authentic, human contact. It's time to venture into the heady world of writers and meet artists who excel at their craft. No mere dream-like avatars of the internet, these are verifiable, living, breathing originals, and you can find them at mostly unheralded literary events. So, the challenge is to locate them in a celebrity-soaked media environment. Let's face it. Most good writers are not rock stars, with a few exceptions, and we will get to that later.

Like a balm from storybook gods, the perfect opportunity just crossed my desk. The Savannah Book Festival is coming up on February 5-7. It's free--that's good because most writers are not making any money these days-- and I really like the Festival theme of "promoting reading, writing and civil conversation." Electronic communication has all but spelled the death of civil conversation. Talk radio, television, and especially the Internet have managed to dehumanize opponents in discourse. It's time to unplug, get off the grid and meet talented, successful wordsmiths, inhale new ideas, embrace our similarities and respect our differences.

Savannah is the perfect venue. A beautiful southern city, it offers a temperate climate as respite from this brutal winter, and convenient access to the Georgia Sea Islands as well. The festival is scheduled to take place in Savannah's Telfair Square in the midst of understated architectural beauty. If you have never visited the historic district and strolled past Telfair Academy, Trinity Church and Jepson Center for the Arts, be prepared to fall in love with a city. Combine the setting with southern hospitality and a world class list of writers, and there is no better venue to build genuine relationships with kindred souls and feed writers' and book lovers' hungry souls.

There is something about the South that is achingly beautiful. It's touch is like a lover's hand.

Image: Forsyth Park © www.VisitSavannah.com

The media landscapes of television and radio have been a minefield of hate spewed by all elements of the political continuum. It goes far beyond the talking heads of the political left and right. You can find virtual hate speech on Twitter and Facebook as well, and if you are not absolutely "politically correct" in your chatter there and read the "wrong" book or compliment the "wrong" author, the attacks just might show up on your Facebook Wall.

No matter what our political or social leanings, we are all kindred souls by virtue of our shared humanity. We cannot lean, we cannot expand our understanding of the world by clinging to narrow ideologies. Literary events are the perfect opportunity to examine our similarities as we grapple with more universal themes. Words are the way we do this. And in this contentious world, it would do us all well to learn to choose words more carefully.

In Savannah, I am looking forward to hearing and hopefully meeting fellow "conservative" Minnesota writer Vince Flynn. I want to learn more about the way he uses words so carefully and eloquently to spin his stories. How in the world does he construct such complicated plots? Does it take him forever to come up with the exact word, or is it easy for him? When it comes to creating art, labels mean nothing. I know I could learn from the man. Flynn will kick-off the 2010 Festival with a Keynote Speech on Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 5:30pm. The speech is free and open to the public. Flynn's biography has a very interesting and surprising element that was tucked deep within the paragraphs of the press release.

Mr. Flynn will talk about his life in letters and his eleven novels, several of which are a part of the beloved Mitch Rapp series. Mr. Flynn, who overcame dyslexia and went on to fame and fortune as a writer, supports many worthy charities, including Tee it Up for the Troops and the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation.

Who knew that Flynn overcame dyslexia along the way? That really hit me. Heck, I feel dyslexic most of the time when I try to string words, thoughts and emotions together. I cannot wait to talk with him about that. What inspired him to overcome one of the greatest challenges that could possibly face a writer? And win? What can I learn from him?

West cost literary fans will want to know that Los Angeles author Reza Aslan will be a featured speaker. Aslan is an internationally acclaimed scholar of religions and a contributing editor at the Daily Beast. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities, and the Pacific Council on International Policy. If that were not enough, Aslan serves on the board of directors for both the Ploughshares Fund, which gives grants for peace and security issues, Abraham's Vision, an interfaith peace organization, and PEN USA.

How does the man manage his time? What drives him to write? Have his humanitarian concerns imbued him with a feverish compassion for others? I want to know. Is it possible to use words to convey truth without manipulation?

East Coast and New Orleans lovers of good writing might want to hook up with Julia Reed. She grew up in the Mississippi Delta but went off to the Madeira School just outside of Washington, D.C., at 16. As part of the school's "Wednesday Job" program, she got a job as an intern in Newsweek's Washington bureau, and stayed. Today, Julia is again at Newsweek, where she writes dispatches on New Orleans politics as well as the magazine's new monthly "Food and Drink" column. Reed is a also contributor at Vogue, where she has written profiles of Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Condoleezza Rice.

I wonder how she manages to get those coveted interviews. My motivation for meeting Reed is purely mercenary. She lives in New Orleans and is on the board of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. I have a musical idea I want to pitch to her and have not made the right contacts there yet.

The Savannah Book Festival organizers promise that there will be no panel discussions to put distance between participants and speakers.

Finally, the Festival is also offering a fantastic musical event. Five-time Grammy Award-winner Mary Chapin Carpenter and three other renowned singer-songwriters will perform a unique tribute to the late Pulitzer Prize-winning Southern writer Eudora Welty the evening after the Savannah Book Festival on Saturday, February 6th, 2010, in Trinity Church.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

The concert will feature the iconic Carpenter, along with fellow southern songwriters Kate Campbell, Claire Holley and Caroline Herring. Herring has been burning up the Folk Music charts with her new release Golden Apples of the Sun and just had a solid interview at NPR about the songwriting process.

These four women know how to use words to tattoo the human experience upon the heart.

In an interview last April, Mary Chapin expressed how the carefully-crafted words of Eudora Welty in One Writer's Beginnings influenced her songwriting.

The book is a bible, a talisman of sorts. It has meant so much to me. I was living in a scummy little apartment trying to be scrappy and eke out a living, when a very dear friend of mine quoted the very last line of the book. Our conversation was about struggle, and after I heard the quote I ran out and got it. I basically devoured it and found myself returning to it over and over again through the years. To this day I recommend it to any person I meet who is trying to establish a creative life within the requirements of making a living. It reaffirms what I am trying to accomplish for myself. Sometimes you are not sure of what you are trying to do; you are just trying to be happy.

Tickets are being sold beginning tomorrow, January 7, through the Savannah College of Art & Design's box office.

This writer was at the premier of this amazing concert in April 2009 at the Eudora Welty Centennial celebration in Jackson Mississippi. You can read about it here. Don't miss this opportunity. I would be very surprised if this concert is not picked up by Public Television along the way. It is that good.

All good things won't come to those who procrastinate, though. And we writers are experts at procrastination. It's my mantra. According to Katherine Oxnard, Assistant to the Festival Director, it's best to start making reservations.

As for hotel availability, I don't know exactly, but I believe the hotels, inns and B&Bs listed on our website on the TRAVEL page will probably experience a surge of reservations as we get closer to the Festival dates. I certainly would encourage people to reserve rooms as early as possible, because particular authors--Vince Flynn, Rick Bragg, Mary Alice Monroe, Lauretta Hannon, Reza Aslan, Gretchen Peters and Julia Reed to name a few, and of course the four women performing in the concert--will draw audiences from far and wide. People should certainly buy their tickets to the concert and the brunch, our only ticketed events, sooner rather than later, as we expect both events to sell out.

Totally pumped now, I want to hold a real book in my hand, crack the spine and smell the ink. I want to shake hands with the authors and hope that some genius rubs off on me in the process. I want to hear their words ringing in my ears without the filter of a set of earbuds and an audio book between us. I want to bridge the gap of ideology and experience fellowship and a true exchange of ideas. Time to plan. With a glass of wine in hand, it's time for one last, longing look at my Facebook Page.

These Words from another great Southern songwriter, Lucinda Williams, are taped in my notebook:

I would rather suffer in sweet silent solitude
Deathly defiant from drowning out
Filthy sounds stumbling ugly and crude
Between the lips of your beautiful mouth...

They (words) still remain my only companion
Loyal and true to the very end
They'll never ever completely abandon
Ever give up the paper and the pen

Words to live by.

Whether you a writer, an avid reader of good literature or simply curious about the world of writing, he Savannah Book Festival is the place to be during the first week of February.

For the full schedule and all you need to know, here is the link.

NPR: Helping Caroline Herring Find Her Place

By Georgianne Nienaber


I was thrilled this past weekend to see that National Public Radio realized what we folk fans have known all along. There is a hidden jewel in the mix of thousands of folk albums released in 2009, and her name is Caroline Herring. With a honey-coated voice and a literary sensibility that is unparalleled, it is about time that Herring gets national recognition. After the interview, Herring burned up the sales charts at Amazon.com, which shows that folk fans are hungry for something poetically beautiful. Fan comments and reviews at Amazon say as much. Read them for some insight.



Sure, I posted most of my Mosquito Blog there also, but this is what social networking is all about. Artists like Herring don't have a massive PR machine behind them. They work quietly and diligently, raising families and creating their art with little in the way of accolades. They rely upon fans, friends, and word of mouth to get their work out there.

Herring's music is truly food for the soul and as we begin a New Year with hope in our hearts for a better world, I for one am glad she is out there. Readers should also know that her donation to the Congos Angels compilation "Fair and Tender Ladies" was a favorite on the radio in Goma, DRC over the Christmas season.

It doesn't really matter that there was no press release about that. All that mattered was that her music gave hope and solace to the forgotten women of eastern Congo. The midwives know who she is and love her for it. I know. I have the emails from Congolese to prove it.

Here is a nice little movie, made by Caroline's sister, Christie Herring, that is a beautiful window into the evolution of the artist/songwriter.




Feed your soul.

Congo Volcano Erupts: Wildlife and People in Lava Path

By Georgianne Nienaber

Eastern Congo awoke in the early hours between Friday and Saturday there to the eruption of Mount Nyamulagira, located 16 miles from the provincial capitol of Goma. Lava is flowing into the World Heritage Virunga Park, burning the forest, and threatening endangered chimpanzees at the Tongo Chimpanzee Sanctuary. Fortunately the 200 or so mountain gorillas are not near the lava flows at this time.

Image from Virunga Park Headquarters © Gorilla.cd

We reached Park Director Emmanuel DeMerode by mobile phone this morning, Saturday. DeMerode told us his main concern at this time was danger to human settlements.

Unfortunately having the forest burn is just part of nature. It is devastating, but our main concern is human settlements that may be in the path of the lava flow. There were initially three flows, but they have merged and the remaining flow is moving south-southwest toward the town of Sake. If this continues for 17 days, Sake will be destroyed. The possibility is remote, but it must be monitored carefully.

DeMerode directed us to the park website for photos taken early this morning. There is a seven-hour time difference between New York and Goma. Rangers have been deployed to monitor the lava flow and United Nations helicopters are assisting.

Nyamulagira, with an elevation of 10,033 feet is one of the most active volcanoes in Africa.

Residents of Goma are also feeling the effects. We received this email from a resident there.

Another point is that we start the year 2010 with the Volcano eruption. Since last night at 3.00 pm the NYAMULAGIRA volcano has been spitting lavas. Fortunately, unlike the Nyiragongo that sends its lavas on Goma town, the Nyamulagira is sending its in the Virunga Park. This will surely have a negative impact on some rare species in that part of the park. But people in Goma have been warned about the danger of dust resulting from this. We are still following the situation.

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Get busy folks. The time for talk is over. It's time to do something constructive for real change!

Newest Incarnation of George Bush?

No HopeBama continues Bush's policy of terrorizing the people of the world. G W terrorized the Iraqi people so B H simply shifted the focus to terrorize the people of Afghanistan. So what if hundreds (or hundreds of thousands) of civilians are killed as long as one terrorist is in the bunch?

The American People were hoodwinked into voting for a new face on the old Bush/Cheney policy of terrorizing civilian populations around the world and protecting the special corporate interests via Wall Street and Health Insurance Corporate Bail Outs.

The Washington bubble is doing its job so No Hope Obama doesn't have to hear the cries of the people.

Killing civilians creates terrorists and does NOT make us safer. Where's the change No Hope Obama promised us?

Hat Tip to Omar Shah at the Huffington Post.

Congo: New Year, New Ops, Same Questions, Same Fears

Georgianne Nienaber

The notoriously failed Kimia II operation in eastern Congo has ended today, December 31. Soundly and forcefully criticized by Human Rights groups for the devastation it wrought on civilian populations, it will be replaced sometime in January with a new mission, dubbed Operation Amani Leo, sources say. North and South Kivu commanders Colonel Bobo Kakuji and Colonel Delphin Kahimbi will have their respective operation zones closed, according to information received from sources close to MONUC. Former Nkunda loyalist Colonel Makenga Sultani will lead a military sector, and this will hopefully reduce and or limit the influence of wanted war criminal Bosco Ntaganda who has established a parallel government administration in Masisi territory, sources add. It was Ntaganda who orchestrated the military coup against CNDP General Nkunda in January 2009.

In addition, 180 captured CNDP casualties from the last years of fighting have been relocated into barracks in the Katindo neighborhood 5 km from Goma and at the Himbi District of Goma under the auspices of the "Social Affairs" advisor to Governor Julien Paluku Kahongya, Theophile Mpabuka. A former CNDP official, Mpabuka was kidnapped by Mai Mai at the Kiwanja massacre in November 2009.The Mai Mai executed two of those in custody, tried to kill two others who managed to escape, and released Mpabuka in return for a promise of ransom.

The goal of the transfer of the CNDP combatants is said to be so that Ntaganda should "have no reason or pattern" to continue his illegal collection of taxes at the villages Kilolirwe and Mushaki" in Masisi territory.

Image: For Information only (from jrs.net)

This potential shift in personnel, combatants and allegiances coincides with the end of a controversy-plagued UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC). A twelve-month extension was changed to a five-month mandate, which will require additional UN oversight. The Security Council approved the resolution to impose the mandate on December 23 after reviewing the recommendations of the Panel of Experts. (See Final Report) The Council also requested that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon submit a review by April 1.

Although critical of MONUC's role in abuses endured by the civilian populations in eastern Congo, Human Rights Watch cautions that troops should not be withdrawn until some kind of safety mechanism is in place.

"The civilian cost of the current military operations in eastern Congo has been catastrophic," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The secretary-general should ensure that MONUC's new mandate is implemented in a way that ensures peacekeepers do not find themselves aiding those who are committing war crimes."

Human Rights Watch called for MONUC's conditionality policy that sets out conditions for the mission's support to Congolese army units to include the removal of Congolese army commanders with a documented track record of grave human rights abuses.

Al Jazeera, the only news organizations with consistent video and reports coming out of DRC, released this video today. It sums up the conflict, the spin, and the effect upon the civilian population. If you do nothing else today, watch this report.

So what does this all mean? In Congo, nothing is certain, but if ground reports pan out it does indicate that Bosco Ntaganda has outlived his usefulness to the regime of Joseph Kabila. "Regime" is a loaded word, but to call the failed state of DRC a "government" seems to fly in the face of reality there. When Ntaganda engineered a coup against the commander of the CNDP rebel group in January 2009 because of a secret deal negotiated between former enemies in the capitols of Rwanda and DRC, the CNDP was expected to integrate with the Congolese army (FARDC). Talk to the United Nations Mission in Congo (MONUC) or Nkunda loyalists, and the answer morphs from completely integrated to up to 90 percent remaining loyal to Nkunda.

According to human rights groups, Ntaganda became the region's worst nightmare, setting op a parallel administration in Masisi territory. Ntaganda had expected the government of the DRC to negotiate his warrant arrest by the Hague, however the outcry from human rights organizations and especially support from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for his arrest made that impossible.

A hardened rebel fighter, Ntaganda won the support of the Congolese government by retaining control of the region as well as some operational successes. That is not all he accomplished. The report of the UN Panel of Experts on DRC details pilfering of funds earmarked for soldiers' salaries, illegal timber harvesting and sales, smuggling across the Ugandan border at Bunagana, and collusion with the Rwandan rebel army (FDLR). The humanitarian havoc wrought by the FDLR in eastern Congo was the impetus for the disastrous joint Rwanda/DRC operations in the first place. It has become exponentially worse as detailed in human rights reports.

Meanwhile, sources say Ntaganda has taken his ill-gotten wealth and purchased buildings, cars, motorcycles, cows, and even a fuel station in Goma. The fuel station should raise some eyebrows. Ntaganda has taken advantage of the frustrations of rebel groups in both North and South Kivu provinces that promises made by the DRC government of Joseph Kabila in March 2009 have not been fulfilled. In order to protect himself, Ntaganda has formed a political collective, CPC, with the support of Ugandan Tutsi generals to fight FARDC. The alleged goal is control of an oil rich zone along the Ugandan border which falls within the confines of Virunga Park, from the Mabenga Bridge on the Rutshuru River to the Ishasha custom station.

Here is where it gets really interesting. According to sources, Heritage Oil made a secret visit to the Kasoso stream near the Nyakakoma fishing village. Heritage Oil is the same company that exploited oil in Ituri during 2003-2004.

Ntaganda was in Ituri during this same time period. The atrocities allegedly committed by Bosco in Ituri as documented by human rights reports including the following: August 2002: Massacres of civilians, burning of homes and looting in Songolo, Zumbe, Lipri and other villages; November 2002: Massacres of civilians because of their ethnicity, in the towns of Mongbwalu, Kilo and surrounding area in the Ituri district; August 2002 to March 2003: Ethnically-targeted arrests, torture and killings of Lendu and Ngiti civilians 2004: Murder of a UN peacekeeper in June and abduction of another later that year. (Source: International Center for Transitional Justice)

Now, sources say that in Goma, Beni and Butembo, petrol with a "light red color, totally different from the petrol normally imported from Kenya," is being sold. Government sources confirm that Dominion Oil has also been exploring in the same corridor. The Congolese Ministry of the Environment has ensured UNESCO that there will be no oil exploration within Virunga, but exploration maps tell a different story.

Sector 4 is the focus. It is in Virunga Park which is to the west of Lake Edward

A consideration of the roles of Colonel Bobo Kakuji and Colonel Delphin Kahimbi, and the introduction of Colonel Makenga Sultani to a possible command position is also in order.

Kakuji has been the operational commander for Kimia II in North Kivu since March, where many of the atrocities against civilians have occurred. Kahimbi is the Deputy Commander of the Forces Armees de la Republique Democratic du Congo (FARDC) in North Kivu.

According to section 184 of the Report of the Panel of Experts, Sultani is a very interesting choice if he assumes command of a military sector.

According to interviews with several members of CNDP in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, the decision to remove General Nkunda caused a division within the CNDP officer class, many of whom felt betrayed by General Ntaganda and remained fiercely loyal to General Nkunda, notably Colonel Sultani Makenga, formerly the third most senior officer in CNDP. In particular, these divisions culminated in a near shoot-out between rival factions of CNDP at the Grands Lacs Hotel in Goma on 5 June 2009, following an argument over the control of the smuggling of timber sourced from Rutshuru and Masisi territories through the Bunagana border post. Active CNDP elements have informed the Group that these internal divisions are still significant, although there have also been moves by top CNDP political and military figures to bridge these divides. A fuller discussion of these political movements will also be outlined in the present section of the report.

If all of this unfolds as sources predict, will the "divides" be "bridged?" Or is this an occult move by the Kabila government to sit back and see who ultimately becomes the winner in a war that has claimed six million? With Big Oil now in the mix, it is anyone's guess and everyone's fear.

####

Researcher Sarah Markworth contributed cross-referencing with UN documents to this report.