be just

Census: 1 in 7 Americans live in poverty - Yahoo! News : "WASHINGTON – The ranks of the working-age poor climbed to the highest level since the 1960s as the recession threw millions of people out of work last year, leaving one in seven Americans in poverty. The overall poverty rate climbed to 14.3 percent, or 43.6 million people, the Census Bureau said Thursday in its annual report on the economic well-being of U.S. households. The report covers 2009, President Barack Obama's first year in office. The poverty rate climbed from 13.2 percent, or 39.8 million people, in 2008. The share of Americans without health coverage rose from 15.4 percent to 16.7 percent — or 50.7 million people — mostly because of the loss of employer-provided health insurance during the recession. Congress passed a health overhaul this year to address rising numbers of the uninsured, but the main provisions will not take effect until 2014. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

2 ministers burn Quran in Tennessee backyard | MichaelMoore.com : "SPRINGFIELD, TN — A Florida pastor's threat to burn Islam's holy book on the anniversary of 9/11 set off a nationwide furor and incited Muslim anger as far away as Afghanistan, but the incendiary plan ended quietly in the backyard of a home in Springfield. After a week that included warnings that burning the Quran would endanger American troops overseas, a personal phone call from Defense Secretary Robert Gates and an appeal from President Barack Obama to listen to 'those better angels,' the Rev. Terry Jones of Gainesville, Fla., relented and canceled his plans. But the Rev. Bob Old vowed to stick with his plan to burn the Quran. On Saturday, despite the national tempest and opposition from conservative Christian leaders including Middle Tennessee pastors, Old carried out his plan. But for all the controversy and hype, his Quran burning took place in front of just a handful of people, most of them f...

Michael Moore Raises $50,000 for Islamic Center Near Ground Zero | MichaelMoore.com : "LOWER MANHATTAN — Michael Moore says he has raised over $50,000 for Park51, the mosque and community center near Ground Zero. Moore, a liberal director and author, wrote a blog post on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of 9/11, urging supporters of the Park51 project to donate whatever they could. He promised to match up to $10,000. Less than 48 hours later, five times that amount had poured in as thousands of people from around the country heeded Moore’s call, he said. 'Times are tough economically, and supporting our Muslim brothers and sisters is not a popular thing to do right now,' Moore said on his blog Monday morning. 'I am truly touched by your generosity — and people around the world will know that you, too, represent an America they rarely get to see.' - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Daniel Ellsberg Calls for Release of Wikileaks “Whistleblower” Army Pfc. Bradley Manning | CommonDreams.org : "Nationwide - September 14 - Daniel Ellsberg helped end the war in Vietnam when he leaked the Pentagon Papers to the press in 1970. Pfc. Bradley Manning, the alleged “whistleblower” accused of releasing documents and combat video showing the gunning down of Iraqi civilians and Reuters journalists to Wikileaks. Manning was not born when Ellsberg blew the whistle on the Vietnam War, but Ellsberg says, “Soldiers sworn oath is to defend and support the Constitution. Bradley Manning has been defending and supporting our Constitution.'
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Nelson Mandela 'felt betrayed by Tony Blair over decision to join Iraq invasion' | World news | The Guardian : "Tony Blair, Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela with Tony Blair in May 2007. Photograph: Jerome Delay/AP Nelson Mandela felt so betrayed by Tony Blair's decision to join the US-led invasion of Iraq that he launched a fiery tirade against him in a phone call to a cabinet minister, it emerged today. Peter Hain, a lifelong anti-apartheid campaigner who knows the ex-South African president well, said Mandela was 'breathing fire' down the line in protest at the 2003 military action. The trenchant criticisms were made in a formal call to the minister's office, not in a private capacity, and Blair was informed of what had been said, Hain added. The details are revealed in Hain's new biography of Mandela. 'He rang me up when I was a Cabinet minister in 2003, after the invasion,' he told the Press Association. 'He said: 'A big mistake, Peter,...

Israeli shelling kills Palestinians - Middle East - Al Jazeera English : "Israel said it began the shelling in response to rockets fired across the border from Gaza [GALLO/GETTY] Israeli shelling has killed three Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, medical workers and witnesses say. Hamas security and medical officials said two of the Palestinian killed on Sunday, in Beit Hanoun near the Israel-Gaza border, were farmers. 'Ibrahim Abdullah Abu Saeed, a caretaker at a a farm, aged 91, and Ismael Walid Abu Audeh, 20, were killed on Sunday by fire from an Israeli tank,' Adham Abu Salima, a spokesman for local medical services, told AFP news agency. Shortly after, Hossam Khaled Abu Saeed, the farmer's 17-year-old grandson, also died of wounds sustained in the incident, close to the flashpoint Gaza-Israel border, a medical source said. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Tribes in Kenya Wage Water War -- In These Times : "For hundreds of years, the Turkana have herded cattle, sheep and goats. They are among the most nomadic people in the world, constantly moving in search of pasture for their livestock. But the changing climate and marginalization by successive governments have caused resources to dwindle at a startling rate across the Turkana’s traditional home. “It was easier before,” says Loochi’s father Akadaye as he holds a protective palm over Loochi’s damaged eye. “We used to have dry periods, but the rains did eventually come. But now it just goes on and on.” Droughts that once appeared every decade have started ravaging the land every two or three years, throwing the tribe’s migratory patterns into disarray. All this is undoubtedly due to climate change. Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro have seen their ice caps recede during the last 60 years and Lake Chad, which extends over Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria has lost 80 percent of its water s...