Author Archives: RagBlog

Medical Mistakes Kill 100,000 Per Year in the US

See related John Rockefeller Op-ed below. Health Care in AmericaBy Janet Gilles / The Rag Blog / January 31, 2009 In this video, Tom Daschle analyzes our health care system, not the best in the world. In the US, medical … Continue reading

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Latin America’s Leftward Electoral Paradigm Shift

Leaders of Latin American nations. Photo: AP.Dirty Business, Dirty Wars: U.S.-Latin American Relations in the 21st CenturyBy Cyril Mychalejko / 27 January 2009 Much is being made across the political spectrum in the United States about Washington’s waning influence in … Continue reading

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Evidence of and Witnesses to War Crimes in Gaza

Halima Badwan stands before the ruins of the Ezbt Abed Rabbo apartment building, January 24, 2009, where he found his wife’s body after Israel’s Gaza Strip military campaign. Photo: Dion Nissenbaum/MCT.Israeli troops killed Gaza children carrying white flag, witnesses sayBy … Continue reading

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FBI: ‘We Knew That the Mortgage-Brokerage Industry Was Corrupt.’

Bank repossession, foreclosure and for sale signs sit outside a foreclosed home in Houston. Two retired FBI officials asserted that the Bush administration was thoroughly briefed on the mortgage fraud crisis and its potential to cascade out of control, but … Continue reading

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Candelmas Seasonal Message

Candelmas Seasonal MessageBy Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / January 26, 2009 “Like a candle burning through time…”Monday, February 2, 2009 is Candlemas, also known as Imbolc, Feast of Lights, Bridgit’s Day, and Groundhog Day. Lady Moon shifts from … Continue reading

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The Conflicting Imperatives of Science and Law

Ed Abney, of Berea, Ky., has Parkinson’s disease after two decades of working with a solvent. He has had trouble proving a link. Photo: Carla Winn for The New York Times.Exposed to Solvent, Worker Faces HurdlesBy Felicity Barringer / January … Continue reading

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Hirschhorn Asks: ‘Are We Cowardly?’

Learning From LatviaBy Joel S. Hirschhorn / January 26, 2009 When I read a recent article on public protests in Latvia I kept asking myself: Why do strong and sometimes violent public protests in democratic European countries often produce government … Continue reading

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Chomsky on Obama: ‘The Carefully Framed Deceit Is Instructive’

Obama on Israel-PalestineBy Noam Chomsky / January 26, 2009 Barack Obama is recognized to be a person of acute intelligence, a legal scholar, careful with his choice of words. He deserves to be taken seriously – both what he says, … Continue reading

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Singin’ on Sunday: Playing For Change

Playing For Change: Song Around the World “Let’s Don’t Worry” Playing For ChangeJanuary 21, 2009 From the award-winning documentary, “Playing For Change: Peace Through Music”, comes the follow up to the classic “Stand By Me” and the second of many … Continue reading

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Tasers: Not As Safe As Law-Enforcement Thinks

Stun guns like this Taser X26 shown in a 2005 photograph are intended as a nonlethal alternative to guns for law enforcement. Photo: Herb Swanson/AP.UCSF study raises doubts about stun gun safetyBy Elizabeth Fernandez / January 24, 2009 The number … Continue reading

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Another War, Another DefeatBy John J. Mearsheimer / January 26, 2009 The Gaza offensive has succeeded in punishing the Palestinians but not in making Israel more secure. Israelis and their American supporters claim that Israel learned its lessons well from … Continue reading

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Obama Government Bombs Pakistan

Obama bombs Pakistan – from warrantless wiretaps to bombing in countries we are not at war with and who understandably object to this invasion and murder of their people. I am not euphoric yet. Substitute “Austin” for “Pakistan” in the … Continue reading

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