Re: [bangla-vision] Today's LUV News: 1 July, 2009

On Wed, Jul 1, 2009 at 8:50 PM, Jodda Mitchell <jadamirada@yahoo.com> wrote:

ISRAEL KIDNAPS PEACE ACTIVISTS     "A group of 21 peace activists sailing to Palestine were intercepted and arrested by Israeli authorities on Tuesday as they attempted to bring food and medical supplies to Gaza" begins a Raw Story report this morning.   The activists were in international waters, so this is clearly in violation of international law.  Among them was Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney.   "This is an outrageous violation of international law against us," said McKinney in a press release issued by the Free Gaza Movement. "Our boat was not in Israeli waters, and we were on a human rights mission to the Gaza Strip. President Obama just told Israel to let in humanitarian and reconstruction supplies, and that's exactly what we tried to do."     THINGS READY TO SNAP IN HONDURAS     The Organization of American States has given the coup government in Honduras an ultimatum.  Either they restore Manuel Zelaya to power within 72 hours, or Honduras' membership in OAS will be suspended.  The U.N. has also given its support to restoring Zelaya's presidency.   Members of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (Alba), which includes Venezuela and Bolivia, said they would withdraw their ambassadors from Honduras.  The U.S. has not. Coup leader Roberto Micheletti said he will have Zelaya arrested if he returns to Honduras. Micheletti vowed not to resign as interim president and said only an armed invasion would restore Zelaya to the presidency.  "No one can make me resign," he said. "[Zelaya] can no longer return to the presidency of the republic unless a president from another Latin American country comes and imposes him using guns."   ACTION OF THE MONTH     July's Action of the Month is to ask our readers to donate to Online Journal.  For details click here.                 So comedian Al Franken will be seated in the Senate after the July 4th recess, to give the Democrats a cloture proof 60-40 majority.   To listen to the Republicans and corporate media, this is an earth-shaking event that will make the Democrats more powerful than Zeus with all his thunderbolts.   But LUV News readers are aware that the real majority in the Senate is always the Republicans with help from "New Democrats" and "Blue Dog Democrats."  This is the permanent majority with which we are plagued, and they can command more than 60 votes whenever they like to thwart an outbreak of democracy in the land.   Still, it's comforting to have a Member of the Senate who admits to being a comedian, unlike the other comics who sell out the public interest  --Jack   Senator Al Franken: The Party of 'No' vs. The Party of '60'     by John Nichols The last barrier to Al Franken's election as U.S. Senator from Minnesota crumbled Tuesday, as Republican incumbent Norm Coleman finally conceded the contest. Coleman's concession came after the Minnesota Supreme Court confirmed what everyone pretty much knew: The voters chose Franken, the Democratic Farmer Labor Party candidate over Coleman in last fall's U.S. Senate election. While the election result was close, the court's decision was not. The justices ruled 5-0 that: "Al Franken received the highest number of votes legally cast and is entitled [under Minnesota law] to receive the certificate of election as United States Senator from the State of Minnesota." Under Minnesota law, the court's decision gave Franken the right to occupy the seat that a series of recounts and official reviews confirmed was won by the satirist with a narrow but steady margin that ultimately expanded to 312 votes. The unanimous ruling left little wiggle room for Coleman, whose dead-ender appeals have been funded by Republican donors from around the country as well as stipends from the campaign funds of sitting GOP senators. And Coleman threw in the towel with a relatively gracious statement less than an hour after the court made its decision known. Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty, who has delayed signing the certification of election that Franken needed to become the 60th Democratic member of the current Senate, has said he will certify Franken as the winner. So it is that, by the time the Senate returns from its July 4 recess, Democrats will have a caucus that includes 58 party members and two independents (Vermont's Bernie Sanders and Connecticut's Joe Lieberman) who sit with the majority. That's the "magic" 60 that allows a majority party to avert filibusters and schedule votes on legislation and nominations. With Republicans sticking to their "party of no" strategy -- and maintaining remarkable unity in their negativity -- the seating of Franken will have significance. It won't mean that the majority party can have its way with the Senate, as there will continue to be cases where individual Democrats break ranks. But it does mean that the will of the American electorate -- which voted overwhelmingly in the last two election cycles for a Democratic Congress -- will be more difficult for Rush Limbaugh's rejectionists to thwart. © 2009 The Nation   If you wish to be removed from this list, please let us know To join the Liberty Underground news service email libertyuv@hotmail.com  with "join" for a subject You may also join our talk group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/libertyundergroundtalk/ if you would like to participate.                                                              email: libertyuv@hotmail.com   Tell your friends about us because some people just don't get it

--
Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited.blogspot.com/