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9% Unemployment Rate is a Statistical Lie      Information Clearing House: ICH : "February 07, 2011 'USAWatchdog'The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the latest unemployment figures last Friday. There was a stunning drop to 9% from 9.4%. How did that happen? Is the economy really getting better or is the government up to its old statistical tricks. According to the mainstream media, the economy is getting better and the so-called recovery is alive and well. Here’s how the Associated Press reported the story, “The unemployment rate is suddenly sinking at the fastest pace in a half-century, falling to 9 percent from 9.8 percent in just two months — the most encouraging sign for the job market since the recession ended. More than half a million people found work in January. A government survey found weak hiring by big companies. But more people appear to be working for themselves or finding jobs at small businesses.” (Click here for the complete AP story.) - S...

   The Egyptian mirror:      Information Clearing House: ICH : "None of this is to say that such matters are not newsworthy when they take place in other countries; they are. And obviously the domestic political repression in Egypt does not compare to what one finds in the U.S. But there are two points about these types of articles worth making. The first is that they have the effect of manufacturing the appearance that such problems exist only Over There, but not here. One would never, ever find in The New York Times such a sweeping denunciation of the plutocratic corruption and merger of private wealth and political power that shapes most of America's political culture. Just like 'torture'-- which that paper has no trouble declaring is used by Egypt's government but will never say is used by ours -- such systematic corruption can exist only elsewhere, but never in America. That's how this genre of Look Over There reporting is not just incomplete but out...

Democracy Now! | Headlines for February 09, 2011 : "The House has temporarily rejected a measure to extend certain provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act. One of the provisions authorizes the FBI to continue using roving wiretaps on surveillance targets; the second allows the government to access library records and other records in the course of surveillance; and the third provision allows for surveillance of so-called lone wolfs--targets who are not connected to an identified terrorist group. The 277-to-148 vote fell short of the two-thirds needed to approve the measure under a special procedure allowing quick passage of bills with wide support. Democratic opponents were joined by 26 Republicans, including eight lawmakers backed by the Tea Party. Sixty-seven Democrats joined with Republican supporters to vote in favor of the extension. With those numbers, the measure is expected to pass later this week when it’s put to a regular vote. Speaking on the House floor, Democratic Rep. Denn...

Egyptian Protests Swell in Response to Ghonim | Informed Comment : "The crowds in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo were again very large on Tuesday, and new networks of people joined in them, showing that the protest movement is expanding. Many newcomers appear to have been impressed by the DreamTv interview with Wael Ghonim (scroll down), which ended with him sobbing over the deaths of some 300 protesters while he was arbitrarily locked up in an Egyptian prison cell. Ghonim is among Egypt’s foremost internet technology specialists. He clearly regrets the killing of some 300 protesters by state security forces in the past two parliamentary contests. but says that those lives lost are a reason for the organizers to continue to demonstrate until victory. The central demand of the protesters is the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Labour unions boost Egypt protests - Middle East - Al Jazeera English : "Egyptian labour unions have gone on a nationwide strike, adding momentum to pro-democracy demonstrations in Cairo and other cities. Al Jazeera correspondents, reporting from Egypt, said around 20,000 factory workers stayed away from work on Wednesday. 'It is a significant gain for the pro-democracy supporters' if the unions get involved in demonstrations, Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid reported from Cairo. - Sent using Google Toolbar"