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Economy alone fails to explain Turkey’s success

Many commentators today are basing the success of Turkey's Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the June 12 elections largely on its ability to guide the country through a decade of remarkable growth.

Economic indicators are often seen as the obvious logic behind economic stability - lack thereof. However, they are not enough on their own to reach such sweeping conclusions.

In an article entitled, 'Look toward Turkey's economy to understand Erdogan's re-election', Ibrahim Ozturk opined: "From 2002 to 2007, Turkey experienced its longest period of uninterrupted economic growth, which averaged 6-7 percent year on year, while annual inflation plummeted. Moreover, the economy proved resilient following the global financial crisis, with growth recovering rapidly." (Lebanese Daily Star, June 18).

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Tax breaks for ‘Big Shots’ will cost middle class Ohioans, says lawmaker: State Rep. Sykes requests cost-impact analysis of Kasich’s new tax give-away

State Rep. Vernon Sykes (D-Akron) requested June 17 an analysis of a new proposal by Ohio Gov. John Kasich to give tax breaks to financial investors. The proposal was reportedly provided to some members of the Ohio House and Senate Conference Committee to be included in the state budget at the request of Gov. Kasich.

“This tax breaks for big shots proposal could result in another devastating blow to middle class families facing massive budget cuts to their schools and communities,” said Rep. Sykes. “Of course we want to encourage investment in Ohio companies but we shouldn’t do it on the backs of hard working, middle class Ohioans.”

Whirlpool steals workers' guaranteed health care

Unfortunately, we’ve just had another open theft of retired worker’s benefits, this time Whirlpool management stealing the health care coverage of retired former Hoover workers and their families. Once again, we see “Carpetbag” managers brought in from outide our community, Whirlpool, which took over the Hoover plant, coming here to steal from hard-working families who’d earned these benefits. Health care is not some type of “entitlement” for these hard-working families, it is a right guaranteed these folks by the IBEW contract. These working families earned those health care benefits, and gave up wages and other benefits in order to assure that their families would be provided with health care after they retired. Like pirates of old, Whirlpool management has come into our community only to plunder our friends, neighbors, leaving behind diaster while obsconding with the wealth of our community! They’ve done this in other communities across the nation. We say---IT ENDS HERE, RESTORE HEALTH CARE TO THE HOOVER WORKER’S FAMILIES!

SOAR---‘SUPPORT WORKERS, RESTORE HEALTH CARE!’

Will Fukushima teach us anything after all? - Survivng nuclear disasters - Remembering the sacrifice of brave nuclear workers

Valery Alexeyevich Legasov was a famous Soviet scientist, whose death in the spring of 1988 on the second anniversary of the tragedy at Chernobyl rocked the Soviet Nuclear Industry. At the time of the Chernobyl disaster on April 26, 1986, Legasov had become the First Deputy Director of the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy. His role was to investigate the cause of the disaster, and help plan for the mitigation efforts. He was a chemist, and extremely professional. "With our reactors, we may expect apocalypse any time" Legasov kept repeating in his meetings, but his words always fell on deaf ears. He had always carried a premonition of catastrophe, and constantly worked at the Institute of Atomic Energy to organize groups of experts to determine the safety of different types of reactors.

Waukesha fraud – Deep throat speaks: A slip of paper is the “deep throat” of the Supreme Court Election Fraud

It is peculiar how the smallest, most innocent, observation can become the “straw that breaks the camel’s back.” Barb With was volunteering as an observer at the Waukesha recount when she made a glaring discovery. The poll tape that was being counted and matched for votes cast in the April 5 election for Supreme Court Justice was dated March 30, 2011. When she brought the suspicious date to the attention of election officials, they could not come up with any reason for the mis-dated poll tape.

Weeks later Barb appeared before the Assembly Committee for Election and Campaign Reform. This is a portion of her testimony:

An observer of the Waukesha County recount noticed such a small, innocent piece of paper that was spit out of a voting machine in Pewaukee. It was a poll tape from a voting machine on which is recorded your vote. But what caught her eye was the date at the top of the tape: 03-30-2011 or March 30. That was six days before the Supreme Court election of April 5!

I recall the Facebook messages in the group Election Integrity as she communicated the finding to the group. “Get a picture!” -- and she did.

Congress members sue Obama to end Libya war

On Wednesday in federal court, 10 members of the U.S. Congress sued President Obama in an attempt to end U.S. involvement in a war in Libya.

These are the plaintiffs: Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Walter Jones (R-NC), Howard Coble (R-NC), John Duncan (R-TN), Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), John Conyers (D-MI), Ron Paul (R-TX), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Tim Johnson (R-IL), and Dan Burton (R-IN).

According to a statement from Congressman Kucinich:

That's Polartics

Republicans and Democrats....two hands to one head
There is no republic and democracy's dead
Conspirarchy. Duopoly. Together in bed.
Your fake choice is no voice when choice is spoonfed
But that's polartics.
Republicans and Democrats....two hands in one till
There is no more cold war...just icy chill
Fewer but newer. Shock and awe. Kill.
And borrow from China to pay on the bill.
Yeah that's polartics.
Republicans and Democrats..two hands on one clicker
Control the remote, you control the stock ticker
Keep them confounded with fast food and liquor
The head becomes sicker, the hands even quicker
In polartics.
Polartics as usual. As ESPN.
Polartics in rabidbites from angry old men
Polartics to split us kids on two sides of the gym
And kill em all in Murder Ball till its just you and him
Republicans and Democrats...two puppets one trigger
Troops, dupes and front groups for something that's much bigger
Too divided, diverted, deluded to figger
This tagteam warmachine electoral rigger
That's polartics.

‘Permanent’ despair: Did Egypt really open Rafah Crossing?

For most Palestinians, leaving Gaza through Egypt is as exasperating a process as entering it. Governed by political and cultural sensitivities, most Palestinian officials and public figures refrain from criticizing the way Palestinians are treated at the Rafah border. However, there is really no diplomatic language to describe the relationship between desperate Palestinians -- some literally fighting for their lives -- and Egyptian officials at the crossing which separates Gaza from Egypt.

"Gazans are treated like animals at the border," a friend of mine told me. She was afraid that her fiancé would not be allowed to leave Gaza, despite the fact that his papers were in order. Having crossed the border myself just a few days ago, I could not disagree with her statement.

The New York Times reported on June 8: "After days of acrimony between Hamas and Egypt over limitations on who could pass through the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, Hamas said Egypt had agreed to allow 550 people a day to leave Gaza and to lengthen the operating hours of the crossing."

And so the saga continues.

Spain's "Indignant Ones"

While "Europe's slow-motion financial collapse" – as Mother Jones magazine described it in a June 6th article – continues to unravel, Spain, like other European states continues to implement anti-social-neo-liberal policies with strong opposition from the citizenry.

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