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USDA Approved Monsanto Alfalfa Despite Warnings of New Pathogen Discovered in Genetically Engineered Crops
Mike Ludwig, Truthout: "Just two weeks before the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) fully deregulated Monsanto's Roundup Ready alfalfa, a senior soil scientist alerted the department about a newly discovered, microscopic pathogen found in high concentrations of Roundup Ready corn and soy that researchers believe could be causing infertility in livestock and diseases in crops that could threaten the entire domestic food supply."
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UN to Meet on Sanctions for Libya as Revolt Deepens
Kareem Fahim and David D. Kirkpatrick, The New York Times News Service: "Gunfire was reported during protests by thousands of people in Tripoli, even as international efforts to stem the bloodshed in Libya appeared to gain momentum on Friday, with the United Nations Security Council scheduled to meet to discuss a draft proposal for sanctions against Libyan leaders."
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News in Brief: Wisconsin Assembly Representatives Pass Anti-Union Budget in Surprise Vote, and More ...
The Wisconsin State Assembly passed Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill on a slim majority; CIA contractor in Pakistan charged with murder; protests continue to spread as Iraq holds "Day of Rage," and rebels close in on Gaddafi in Libya; White House taking lobbyists off grounds to avoid record of meetings; fourth-quarter growth rate lower than first expected.
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New Jersey's Public Defender Accuses Gov. Chris Christie of Illegal Activity
John Atlas, The BRAD BLOG: "Will Chris Christie, New Jersey's tough Republican Governor and rising GOP star, be the next president of the United States? That prospect is much less likely if the accusations of Yvonne Smith Segars, the head of New Jersey's Office of the Public Defender, turn out to be accurate. In a scathing letter sent to the Governor on Monday, she charged Christie with having 'violated New Jersey law as well as the State and Federal Constitutions,' in his efforts to remove her from her post, and by interfering with the operation of her office."
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Demonstrations Turn Violent in Iraq
Jack Healy and Michael S. Schmidt, The New York Times News Service: "Demonstrations turned violent across Iraq on Friday, as protesters burned buildings and security forces fired on the crowds. Thousands of Iraqis demanding better government services took to the streets in at least 10 cities, from Basra in the south to Mosul in the north, despite attempts by the government and by top Shiite leaders to head off the protests."
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In Haiti, "We Will Never Fall Asleep Forgetting"
Beverly Bell, Other Worlds: "At the Toussaint Louverture Airport in Port-au-Prince, I spot Ronal's taptap, pick-up-turned-public-bus, painted to resemble an Argentine flag - a salute to his favored team in last year's World Cup soccer match. Ronal's first report is about his glee over last month's return of Jean-Claude Duvalier. Duvalier's ouster in 1986 following popular uprisings ended a three-decade regime which was one of the most brutal, neglectful, and corrupt regimes in the hemisphere's history."
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Saturday Rallies and Events in All 50 States
Dave Johnson, Campaign for America's Future: "Do you want to show your support for working people? Do you want to show your opposition to tax cuts for the rich forcing cuts in the things government does for We, the People? Here is your chance. There are SAVE THE AMERICAN DREAM rallies planned in all 50 states for this Saturday. Campaign for America's Future has joined with MoveOn.org and other organizations to ask people to join and show their support for public employees in Wisconsin and everywhere, and for working people everywhere, and for ourselves."
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Bill Fletcher Jr., Solidarity in Wisconsin and the Welfare Connection (Video)
GRITtv: "'This could be the kind of social justice moment that many of us have been waiting for,' says Bill Fletcher Jr. of the Center for Labor Renewal. He points out that the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia are not just spreading to Libya, locked in a deadly struggle with its own dictator, but in Ohio, Wisconsin, and around the US. 'People are picking up on the energy and the audacity of the democratic revolt,' he notes."
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Eugene Robinson | Give Gaddafi a Real Message
Eugene Robinson: "President Obama pledged that 'the entire world is watching' the horror in Libya, but watching isn't nearly enough. There is much more that world leaders - beginning with Obama - urgently must say and do. The world's censure means nothing to Col. Moammar Gaddafi, the dictator who vows to die rather than surrender the power he has held for four decades. At this point, the long-running debate about whether Gaddafi is mostly diabolical or mostly deranged is irrelevant. Despite his incoherent ramblings, he clearly is fighting not just for power but for his life."
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Unanswered Questions as Obama Anoints George HW Bush With Presidential Medal of Freedom
Russ Baker, Who What Why: "On February 15, President Obama bestowed the Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest award, to a group of people which includes former president George H.W. Bush. Having spent five years researching the elder Bush and discovering a staggering array of secrets to the man's life - none of them favorable, I was curious why Obama gave Bush the medal. Officially, it goes to individuals 'who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.' In fact, it goes to all kinds of people for all kinds of reasons. In the case of Bush, it was an obligatory Washington ritual for a former President who is in the last chapter of his life."
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Lex Duvalier: A Corrupt Politician's Worst Nightmare
Gonzalo Turdera, Council on Hemispheric Affairs: "On February 1, 2011, the Swiss Restitution of Illicit Assets Act (RIAA), commonly referred to as 'Lex Duvalier,' came into effect. This law provides for the freezing, forfeiture, and restitution of assets of politically exposed persons or their close associates. It applies in cases where a request for mutual assistance in criminal law matters cannot produce an outcome owing to the failure of state structures in the requesting state (the politically exposed person's country of origin). The former leader of Haiti, Jean-Claude Duvalier, whose USD 6.2 million has been frozen in a Swiss bank account since 1986, will now have to return the money to its rightful owners - namely, the Haitian people. In a recent interview, Swiss attorney Enrico Monfrini, who represents the Haitian government in the legal battle, noted that, 'Duvalier's 6.2 million in Swiss banks is not a large amount compared with the hundreds of millions the former leader allegedly stole, but morally, repatriation of the money would be a huge victory.'"
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BUZZFLASH DAILY HEADLINES

The infamous billionaire Koch brothers founded "Americans for Prosperity," but cut off the part about it being "prosperity for the few."

This came to mind as I was reading an article in The New York Times this morning and saw a banner ad inviting readers to support Scott Walker. I clicked through and, of course, the web site was sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, which the Koch brothers still generously support.

In fact, you might call the Koch brothers the backers of Walker's campaign for governor in Wisconsin, just as GE invested in Ronald Reagan in grooming him as a political spokesman for corporatism. The prank phone call in which Walker was as responsive as a lapdog to the fake David Koch proved his obeisance to the billionaire brothers.

Yet, today the Kochs are fighting back, claiming that they are being besmirched and that Walker is acting on his own. That's kind of odd, since Americans for Prosperity, the right-wing Club for Economic Growth and FreedomWorks have all been playing a role in spreading propaganda on behalf of Walker's effort to break the backs of unions.

According to TPM, a spokesman for the Kochs defiantly asserted that the:

Koch brothers were not "involved" with Walker's controversial bill, but did say it is "clear Scott Walker is trying to do the right thing for Wisconsin." He also said that while he and the Koch brothers founded and "support" Americans for Prosperity, which has been active in pro-Walker efforts, they are not involved in the group's day to day activities.

For eight years under Bush, the Koch brothers and their oligarchical comrades had a chance to bring prosperity to America - and, instead, helped drive our economy into the ground, leave millions jobless and erode the earning power of what's left of the middle class.

The real name of "Americans for Prosperity" should be "Billionaires for Control of the Government by the Wealthy."

That is an oligarchy. Technically, it's really a plutocracy.

But anyway you look at it, it's a form of government that is a throw back to the European models of rule by the privileged few against which America rebelled.

It was the basis of our revolution.

Mark Karlin
Editor, BuzzFlash at Truthout

Head of Wisconsin State Police Association Shows Solidarity With Protesters
Read the Article at The Political Carnival

Rallies Across US Scheduled on Saturday to Support Wisconsin Mobilization
Read the Article at MoveOn.org

Republicans Ram Walker's Union-Busting Bill Through Assembly
Read the Article at AFL-CIO Blog

Scott Walker Is All Koched up
Read the Article at BuzzFlash

Instead of Focusing on Increasing Jobs, Boehner Is Obsessed With Killing Abortion
Read the Article at Pensito Review

Town Hall Attendee Asks Georgia GOP Congressman When Someone Is Going to Shoot Obama, but Representative Doesn't Condemn Remark
Read the Article at TPM

Report: Gay Marriage Seems to Wane as Conservative Issue
Read the Article at The New York Times

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