Rights org: Eight years of intifada, international failure
Electronic Intifada - 29 Sep 2008
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rOn Sunday, 28 September 2008, the second intifada (uprising) entered its ninth year in the midst of the Israeli Occupation Forces’ gross violations of international humanitarian law and the international community’s failure to intervene.

Gaza strikes losing steam
Electronic Intifada - 29 Sep 2008
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rRAMALLAH/GAZA (IRIN) – Palestinian unions allied with the Fatah movement have extended the strikes in the Gaza Strip’s health and education sectors for another two weeks, prolonging the labor action that has been in effect for about a month, although the numbers taking part are falling.

Iran resolution shelved in rare defeat for “Israel Lobby”
Electronic Intifada - 29 Sep 2008
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rWASHINGTON (IPS) – In a significant and highly unusual defeat for the so-called “Israel Lobby,” the Democratic leadership of the US House of Representatives has decided to shelve a long-pending, albeit non-binding, resolution that called for President George W. Bush to launch what critics called a blockade against Iran.

Identifying Palestinian options
Electronic Intifada - 29 Sep 2008
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rIsrael has always had a master plan and a strategy for achieving it and its plans for us are patently clear. We, too, need a long-term strategy in which we act intelligently and purposefully, not simply reacting ineffectually to the schemes of others. Our strategy must be mindful of our history, the irrefutable justice of our cause, the sacrifices that good and honest people have made in hope of realizing a better future for generations to come, and the considerable assets that we have, marginalized and bombarded and besieged though we are. Ida Audeh comments for The Electronic Intifada.

As Iraq Moves Towards Provincial Elections, Minority Sects Further Marginalized
AlterNet: War on Iraq - 29 Sep 2008
The parliament passed a law giving provincial elections the go ahead, but scrapped a clause guaranteeing seats for minority sects.

Senators John McCain and Barack Obama Debate Iraq, Pakistan, Russia During First Debate
Democracy Now - 29 Sep 2008
For analysis on Friday’s debate we speak with investigative journalist Robert Dreyfuss. He is a contributing editor with the Nation magazine and author of “Devil’s Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam.” In his latest blog posting about the foreign policy portions of the debate he castigates Obama for not drawing a stark contrast with McCain.

FDR in 1933: “There Must Be a Strict Supervision of All Banking and Credits and Investments. There Must Be an End to Speculation with Other People’s Money.”
Democracy Now - 29 Sep 2008
We now move three-quarters of a century back in time to 1933. It was the middle of an era that our current moment is sometimes compared to: the Great Depression. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt took his oath of office in March of that year, over 10,000 banks had collapsed, following the stock market crash of 1929. One-quarter of American workers were unemployed, and people were fighting over scraps of food. We play an excerpt of FDR’s inaugural speech on March 4, 1933, and speak to Adam Cohen, author of the forthcoming book, Nothing to Fear: FDR’s Inner Circle and the Hundred Days that Created Modern America.

?Is this the United States Congress or the Board of Directors of Goldman Sachs?? Rep. Dennis Kucinich Rejects $700 Billion Bailout
Democracy Now - 29 Sep 2008
The House is set to vote today on a $700 billion emergency bailout plan for the financial industry. The proposed legislation was forged during a marathon negotiating session over the weekend between lawmakers from both parties and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The 110-page bill would authorize Paulson to initiate what is likely to become the biggest government bailout in US history, allowing him to spend up to $700 billion to relieve faltering banks and other firms of bad assets backed by home mortgages, which are falling into foreclosure at record rates. [includes rush transcript]

Headlines for September 29, 2008
Democracy Now - 29 Sep 2008
Congress Set to Vote on $700 Billion Bailout, UK Seizes Large Bank; Belgium Bails Out Fortis; Citigroup to Buy Wachovia, McCain and Obama Square Off in First Presidential Debate, McCain & Obama Spar Over Pakistan, Dayton, Ohio Mosque Gassed; Two Hospitalized, Ecuador Approves New Constitution, Gonzales Will Not Face Grand Jury for Firing of US Attorneys, Senate Approves $634 Billion Spending Bill, House OKs US-India Nuke Deal, US Army Deploys Advanced Radar System in Israel, 17 Killed in Syrian Car Bombing, Prominent Female Afghan Police Officer Assassinated, Nepalese PM, Former Maoist Leader Prachanda Speaks in NYC, US Activist Killed and Raped in Mexico, Seattle Police Arrest 24 People at Nickelsville Tent City, Paul Newman, 83, Dies

No Eid with the siege
Electronic Intifada - 29 Sep 2008
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rRamadan al-Hour’s four children have not seen their father for the past year. Ranging in age from five years to four months old, Amal, Aya, Sulaf and Walid live with their mother in the town of Kufr Qassem inside Israel. Israeli authorities have prevented al-Hour’s wife and children from entering Gaza. Rami Almeghari reports from Gaza.

A shattering moment in America’s fall from power
Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) - 29 Sep 2008
Summary: The global financial crisis will see the US falter in the same way the Soviet Union did when the Berlin Wall came down. The era of American dominance is over source: Guardianread more