Author: Peacenik

punditman: "What’s Disgusting? Union Busting!" Chant Wisconsin Crowds That Swell to 30,000; Key GOP Legislators Waver

This is beginning to look a lot like Egypt. Peacenik knows some rightwing whacko first suggested this but that doesn’t mean it is necessarily untrue. Or that there is something wrong with comparing a mass protest in Wisconsin to a mass protest in Egypt. Protests are going to be a way of life around the world very soon. The good news is that the protesters in Wisconsin are not being tasered, and shot at with rubber bullets. This is a beginning in Wisconsin. Regular people are standing up to Tea Party bullies. It is a good beginning.

by John Nichols

“I have never been prouder of our movement than I am at this moment,” shouted Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt, as he surveyed the crowds of union members and their supporters that surged around the state Capitol and into the streets of Madison Wednesday, literally closing the downtown as tens of thousands of Wisconsinites protested their Republican governor’s attempt to strip public employee unions of their collective bargaining rights.

Where Tuesday’s mid-day protests drew crowds estimated at 12,000 to 15,000, Wednesday’s mid-day rally drew 30,000, according to estimates by organizers. Madison Police Chief Noble Wray, a veteran of 27 years on the city’s force, said he had has never see a protest of this size at the Capitol – and he noted that, while crowd estimates usually just measure those outside, this time the inside of the sprawling state Capitol was “packed.”
On Wednesday night, an estimated 20,000 teachers and their supporters rallied outside the Capitol and then marched into the building, filling the rotunda, stairways and hallways. Chants of “What’s disgusting? Union busting!” shook the building as legislators met in committee rooms late into the night.

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Update: Chomsky weighs in.

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punditman: FOX News Creates Fraudulent Video to Discredit Ron Paul

Peacenik isn’t a supporter of Ron Paul. Nor is Fox News. But this example shows how blatant the media’s manipulation of news is. And meanwhile the CRTC thinks having Fox News, or Fox News wannabes, is ok in Canada. You want to know why most Republicans think Obama is a Muslim? It is because of media distortion/propaganda like this. Follow the link. Watch the video.

As Paul Joseph Watson of PrisonPlanet writes:

In a shocking act of mass public deception, Fox News attempted to skew Ron Paul’s 2011 CPAC straw poll win by representing it with footage from the previous year’s CPAC event, at which Mitt Romney supporters had loudly booed the result, another example of the continuing dirty tricks campaign being waged against Paul by the establishment media.

Congressman Paul replicated his 2010 victory over Mitt Romney by defeating the former Governor of Massachusetts for a second consecutive year at the annual CPAC conference.

However, before anchor Bill Hemmer introduced a segment concerning the story, Fox News played a clip of the 2010 announcement of the poll results, during which Mitt Romney supporters had loudly booed Ron Paul’s victory, passing off last year’s footage as representative of this year’s event.

Hemmer then proceeded to state, “In the end he was the winner, probably not the reaction he was hoping for,” describing the reaction as “mixed applause and boos,” before directly asking Ron Paul if he knew who was booing him.

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punditman: A ‘Dictator’ Governor in Wisconsin Sets Out to Cut Wages, Slash Benefits and Destroy Public Unions

My, My, isn’t the world an interesting place. While Peacenik is cheering on protesters all over the world, look what is happening in Peacenik’s backyard. Organized labour is under a frontal assault all over North America. The people in Tunisia, Egypt, Iran, Syria, etc. all no longer want to be serfs. But in the good old U.S.A. the people are electing rightwing dingbats who are marching the U.S.A. quickly down the road to serfdom. And the serfs are loving it. God bless those patriotic tea baggers. And it isn’t much better in Canada. But some of the serfs are doing ok. The publically bailed out General Motors is giving everyone a good old bonus. And Wall Street is awash with bonus money. Peacenik doesn’t know what to think. Peacenik is losing track of who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. But Peacenik does know Peacnik is on the slippery slope to something.

by John Nichols

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s proposal to strip public employees of most collective bargaining rights, cut pay and gut benefits without any negotiation the most radical assault yet by the current crop of Republican governors on the rights of workers has inspired outrage in a historically progressive and pro-labor state.

With unions calling on members an allies to “fight back” against a “blatant power grab,” tensions are running so high that the governor, who took office in January, is threatening to call out the National Guard in case of industrial action by state, county and municipal employees. “Even if you don’t like unions,” says Rich Abelson, executive director of AFSCME Council 48, the union that represents Milwaukee County workers, “surely we all can agree that anti-freedom attacks that deny public employees the right to negotiate a fair contract…are outrageous and wrong.”

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI). Walker’s proposal to strip public employees of most collective bargaining rights, cut pay and gut benefits without any negotiation the most radical assault yet by the current crop of Republican governors on the rights of workers has inspired outrage in a historically progressive and pro-labor state. (AP Photo) Even Republicans are unsettled, with a senior GOP legistator, state Senator Luther Olsen, describing the governor’s announcement a “radical” move that threatens “a lot of good working people.”

Walker never discussed ending collective bargaining during a campaign in which he promised to work across lines of partisanship and ideology to create jobs.

Instead, he has chosen to play political games.

The governor’s budget repair bill, which includes the plan to gut collective bargaining protections for public employees, does not seek to get the state’s fiscal house in order.

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punditman: Mubarak Steps Down, Ceding Power to Military

Peacenik has been trying to follow the Egypt story which has been dragging on for a while now. But Peacenik is confused. The military dictatorship of Murbarak is stepping down in favour of a military dictatorship? How is this an improvement? Why are all those people on TV so happy. Why can I never remember question marks. Until Peacenik sees who steps forth, someone who the people want, Peacenik thinks this may have been an unsuccessful revolution. Peacenik is sure the US is very comfortable with the Egyptian army being in control. Goodbye status quo. Hello status quo. Saudi Arabia is next. Whatever next means, in this case.

CAIRO — President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt resigned his post and turned over all power to the military on Friday, ending his nearly 30 years of autocratic rule and bowing to a historic popular uprising that has transformed politics in Egypt and around the Arab world.

The streets of Cairo exploded in shouts of “God is Great” moments after Mr. Mubarak’s vice president and longtime intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, announced during evening prayers that Mr. Mubarak had passed all authority to a council of military leaders.
“Taking into consideration the difficult circumstances the country is going through, President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave the post of president of the republic and has tasked the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to manage the state’s affairs,” Mr. Suleiman, grave and ashen, said in a brief televised statement.

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punditman: It Ain’t Just Mubarak — 7 of the Worst Dictators the U.S. Is Backing to the Hilt

Peacenik watched the Superbowl and was appalled, amused, and entertained by all the hoopla. Like the U.S. has no problems. All is well with the world. What a celebration. WOW. War criminal George Bush was in the owner’s box, along with a whole bunch of other “celebrities/criminals”. What other country celebrates the worst of their society? (Btw George Bush had to cancel a trip to Switzerland to avoid getting arrested for war crimes.) What other country celebrates the worst of their society? Take a look at the list of dictatorial regimes the U.S. supports below. And every other banana republic you can think of. Better than Roman circuses before the collapse. At least the Packers won.
From Saudi Arabia to Uzbekistan to Chad, the U.S. keeps some very bad autocrats in power.
Let’s take a look at the other dictators from around the planet who are fortunate enough to be on Uncle Sam’s good side.
1. Paul Biya, Cameroon
Biya has ruled Cameroon since winning an “election” in 1983. He was the only candidate, and did pretty well, getting 99 percent of the vote.
According to the country’s Wikipedia entry, “The United States and Cameroon work together in the United Nations and a number of other multilateral organizations. While in the UN Security Council in 2002, Cameroon worked closely with the United States on a number of initiatives. The U.S. government continues to provide substantial funding for international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, IMF, and African Development Bank, that provide financial and other assistance to Cameroon.”
Amnesty International details unlawful executions, journalists being thrown in jail and a host of other nasty business.

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