Progressive breakfast club headlines 12/6/08 12456

 

Progressive breakfast club headlines 12/6/08   WITH NO SOFA TO LIE ON IN IRAQ, ALL REMAINING MEMBERS OF COALITION OF WILLING EXCEPT U.S. AND U.K. WILL LEAVE IRAQ BY END OF THIS MONTH.  The U.S. has already negotiated, as the U.K. expects to do, a Status of Forces Agreement allowing U.S. military presence in Iraq after end of this year.  Others, if they haven't already given up their Iraqi adventures, must do so now.  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/world/middleeast/06iraq.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all   STARVATION ON THE ISLE OF CRETE.  15 Arab migrants, part of the large pool of undocumented immigrants attracted by the unofficial economy of the island, are on hunger strike to protest the lack of realistic opportunity for migrants to obtain Greek citizenship status, with high fees and long waiting periods for naturalization proceedings (Is this a harbinger for "immigration reform" in the U.S. with a supposedly enlightened "path to citizenship" offered to the undocumented?)  http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45006   A BAILOUT FOR CHRYSLER? IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN THIS WAY.  Unlike Ford and GM which are publicly traded corporations, Chrysler is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Cerebrus Corporation, a huge conglomerate of corporate holdings in the auto industy and elsewhere. With Cerebrus supposedly having profits from its other holdings to subsidize any losses in Chrysler, it was assumed that Chrysler had its own "private equity" solution to its problems.  Still, using its substantial government "connections" such employment of former VP Dan Quayle and former Treasury Secretary John Snow, Chrysler shows up along with "other two" in pleas for a government bailout.  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/business/06chrysler.html?th&emc=th   POST-PARTUM DEPRESSION IN WOMEN: DRUG INDUSTRY CREATES THE NEED AND FILLS THE DEMAND.  Evelyn Pringle describes efforts such as the current "Mothers Act" proposed in Congress to enhance greatly the country's system of pre-partum "screening" of pregnant women to identify those at risk of post-partum depression.  Much like the industry pushed psycho-tropic drugs with harmful side-effects for "at risk" children, it now promotes a medical program for pregnant women that may result in larger profits for the industry and greater risks for women.  http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2008/12/mothers-act-promotes-pregnancy-as-new-cottage-industry/   A LITMUS TEST FOR PROGRESSIVISM IN OBAMA'S CABINET? LOOK FOR HIS APPOINTMENT OF SECRETARY OF INTERIOR.  With the Bush administration's wilderness policy going out in a flame of ignonimy, Robert Lovata says Obama needs a true progressive in this position to balance the otherwise-centrist cabinet. Lovata finds such a person in Congressman Raul Grijalva from Arizona, now being "considered" for the post; he has a sterling record of opposition to the environmental atrocities of the Bush years. It's time for progressive to "hope" again; it still may be that Obama will appoint a "blue dog Democrat" like Mike Thompson of California.  http://www.alternet.org/environment/110530/?page=1 FOR ANOTHER VIEW ON THOMPSON, SEE: http://www.willitsnews.com/ci_11049849?source=most_viewed   NON-PROFIT SOCIAL SERVICES GROUPS IN TAMPA MAY BE "TOO SMALL TO SUCCEED."  As Congress prepares to bailout "too big to fail" corporations with mega-billion dollar bailouts, non-profits in Tampa go begging before Hillsborough County officials and learn that in the poor economy, there is no money available to help them to, for example, create even modest increases in numbers of beds available for the mentally ill.  http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/dec/04/era-bailouts-local-nonprofit-groups-are-denied-fun/   These headlines and following additional stories posted on website today.  To read them, click http://www.sunstateactivist.org/ scroll below headlines and click on any article you want to read.   ooo  Vancouver winter Olympic Games in financial stress. ooo  Kid shoots bear (er woman), WA considering minimum hunting age. ooo  Getting harder for sterling high school students to get into UF. ooo  No "abatement" of eyesores in Tampa. ooo  And more.   Quote of the day:   "Some Obama supporters are wringing their hands over the selection of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.  Hillary was, after all, a consistent supporter of the disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and much more.  But Barack Obama's selection of Reaganite and Bush family operative Robert Gates to continue as Secretary of War speaks volumes about the new administration's willingness to continue pulling the same wool over the public eyes as Democratic and Republican administrations past have done.  Is this the "change" tens of millions voted for?" Bruce Dixon, in Black Agenda Report on Gates' record. http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=911&Itemid=1