Hannah:

The bill was approved 89-27..............sliding backwards in front of your eyes.

Hannah:

Take the case of Corn Products International (CPI). The transnational filed a NAFTA claim against the Mexican government in 2003, claiming a loss to its business due to a tax levied on high fructose corn syrup in beverages. Mexico's reason for imposing the tax was to save a sugarcane industry that provided jobs for thousands of citizens and played a crucial economic role in many regions. The government was also frustrated by its failure under NAFTA to access the highly protected U.S. sugar market.

Hannah:

Today is a "Day of Vigil." We encourage you to make it known that you will not passively accept Georgia's planned killing of Troy Davis at 7pm. Wear a black armband and write "Not in my name!" on it. Tell people about Troy Davis and why we must abolish the death penalty.

If we have not managed to stop the execution by 6pm, gather with others in vigils at the following locations:

Hannah:

If 2,000 Tea Party activists descended on Wall Street, you would probably have an equal number of reporters there covering them. Yet 2,000 people did occupy Wall Street last Saturday. They weren't carrying the banner of the Tea Party, the Gadsden flag with its coiled snake and the threat "Don't Tread on Me". Yet their message was clear: "We are the 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%." They were there, mostly young, protesting the virtually unregulated speculation of Wall Street that caused the global financial meltdown.

One of New York's better-known billionaires, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, commented on the protests: "You have a lot of kids graduating college, can't find jobs. That's what happened in Cairo. That's what happened in Madrid. You don't want those kinds of riots here."

Riots? Is that really what the Arab Spring and the European protests are about?

Perhaps to the chagrin of Mayor Bloomberg, that is exactly what inspired many who occupied Wall Street. In its most recent communique, the Wall Street protest umbrella group said:

"On Saturday we held a general assembly, two thousand strong. … By 8pm on Monday we still held the plaza, despite constant police presence. … We are building the world that we want to see, based on human need and sustainability, not corporate greed."

Hannah:

"During the last few years, Palestinian olive trees â€" a universal symbol of life and peace â€" have been systematically destroyed by Israeli settlers.
â€oeIt has reached a crescendo. What might look like ad hoc violence is actually a tool the settlers are using to push back Palestinian farmers from their own land,” stated a spokeswoman for Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organization monitoring incidents in the West Bank."

Hannah:

"Based on interviews with current and former U.S. military officials with knowledge of the strategic thinking behind the raids, as well as Afghans who have been caught up in the raids, the authors of the study write that large numbers of civilians are being detained for brief periods of time merely to find out what they know about local insurgents 窶" a practice the authors suggest may violate the Geneva Conventions on warfare."

Hannah:

From the page: As I was waiting for my bags at the airport, I heard a mid-thirties woman talking on the phone. "Yeah, I'm down in New Orleans for the American Legislative Exchange Council meeting. We write legislation, and they pass our ideas. It's the free market."

Hannah:

"Federal law is so weak that there's no law that says they have to do anything to secure their plants," Vice said. "They can write off 'lost' guns as a business expense. They can leave their doors wide open at night if they want to."

Some gun manufacturers, such as Massachusetts-based Kahr Arms, hire drug addicts and others who are likely to have unsavory connections and federal law does not require background checks when entrusting employees with the unstamped guns. The Brady Center's Legal Action Project, representing the family of a man who was killed with one of Kahr's unstamped "lost" guns, won a $600,000 settlement against Kahr for the family in July, the largest damages payment ever against a gun manufacturer charged with negligence.

Hannah:

The Alberta Tar Sands are the largest point source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. Producing a barrel of tar sands oil creates three times the greenhouse gas emissions from producing a barrel of conventional oil. Enough natural gas is used in processing the Tar Sands to heat over 3 million Canadian homes. The toxic tailing lakes that result from the water taken from the Athabasca River used to process the tar sands are considered one of the largest man-made structures on Earth and will have a catastrophic impact on the aquatic ecosystems of the Mackenzie River Basin should they fail. The Alberta Tar Sands are the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.

Hannah:

The film follows Sandra窶s thirty-year journey from rejection to acceptance, betrayal to reconciliation, as she struggles to define her place in a changing world 窶" and triumphs against all odds. Shot in and around Johannesburg at the end of 2007, the film stars Sophie Okonedo as Sandra Laing, Sam Neill as her father Abraham and Alice Krige as her mother Sannie.

Hannah:

Now think about your local Starbucks barista. She very likely makes less than $10.50 an hour. If she works full-time, she is still on the cusp of poverty. She can and should qualify for food stamps. Meanwhile, the CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, enjoyed a total compensation package of $21.7 million last year. That's a lot of lattes. If he enjoyed a measly income of just $1 million, that other $20.7 million could have paid for food stamp benefits for 15,000 people. But he is not paying for those food stamps. Instead, the federal government and us taxpayers are subsidizing poor wages at Starbucks with food stamps for its employees. $21.7 million for the boss, food stamps for the workers ... Something is out of kilter.

Hannah:

That Iran-contra reality, however, is still little understood for what it actually was: a victory of weakness and deceit over integrity and courage. On one front, the Washington media wants to perpetuate the myth that it remains the heroic Watergate press corps of All the President's Men. On another, the national Democratic establishment wants to forget how it crumbled in the face of pressures from the Reagan-Bush administrations. And, of course, the Republicans want to protect the legacy of their last two presidents.

Hannah:

Satan knows that it is too big of a step for a compromising Christian, Muslim or Hindu, etc. to suddenly become a devoted Satan worshipper. Therefore, he will first call all to join a one-world religion of tolerance that will declare that all paths lead to God and salvation. As multitudes are seduced into joining this Harlot Babylon religion it will weaken their conscience concerning their religious heritage. Next, Satan will demand that they all become Satan worshippers.

Hannah:

From the page: As 30,000 faithful took refuge from triple-digit heat in the air-conditioned safety of Houston's massive Reliant Stadium on Aug. 6, Rick Perry was setting the place on fire. Mixing Bible passages with his own prayerful words, the Texas governor bowed his head, clasped his hands and paused to reflect, riding an almost visible wave of emotion in the crowd. "Father," Perry intoned from the makeshift pulpit, "our heart breaks for America ... We have forgotten who made us, who protects us, who blesses us, and for that, we cry out for your forgiveness."

Hannah:

From the page: David Evanier: Marching at Selma, refusing to sing in the South after witnessing a cross burning from his car, refusing to sing in apartheid South Africa, insisting that Count Basie have first billing over him wherever they appeared, insisting that black performers be allowed to stay in the hotels where they where starring in the nightclubs. Also, asked if he would support his sons if they decided to evade the draft, Bennett [who served at the front lines in Germany as a U.S. infantry soldier in World War II] said, "All the way. In fact, I'd say that's exactly what I've brought them up to do. I've told them to hate war."

Hannah:

Hannah:

what the heck?

Hannah:

From the page: Have you seen, anywhere, in any media, or even heard reported or repeated on NPR, the following sentence? "We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act."

It's right there on Page 4 of the official Standard & Poors "Research Update" - the actual report on what they did and why - published on August 5th as the explanation for why they believe Congress - and even the Gang of Twelve - will be unable to actually deal with the US debt crisis.

Perhaps it's just lazy - the bullet points at the beginning of the report don't mention the Republicans or taxes, but instead just say, for example (part of one of six quick bullet-points): "[T]he downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challengesââ,¬ÂŠ"

In order to figure out that one of the reasons why is that "Republicans in the Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues," a hard-working reporter would have to read to page four of the eight-page report. It's just too much effort for most reporters?

Hannah:

From the page: It's not for lack of anger. Much of the country is seething with barely-repressed rage at the state of things, and optimism is hard to come by. But the anger rarely seems to manifest in ways that actually help to roll back any of the policies of the plutocracy. At a time when collective action is toppling corrupt oligarchies in Egypt and Tunisia, Americans seem unable to stop the decline of their own country into a land with third-world level wealth polarization and a government utterly beholden to the interests of the moneyed few. Why?

Hannah: