Posted by
Curt Day on Sunday, May 18, 2008 7:02:33 PM
Best
Most of the nominees for the best news of the week, as reported by the Democracy Now website, focus on holding others accountable. These include the disqualification of a Pentagon General from watching over the tribunals of prisoners held at Guantanamo, the disciplining of a White police officer for his disrespectful treatment of a Black motorist, the ongoing Apartheid suit of US corporations for assisting South Africa during the Apartheid years, the extradition of 14 Columbia paramilitary leaders to the US, an Italian judge ruling that Italy's Prime Minister can be called to testify in the CIA kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric along with the beginning of the trial, and Burger King's firing of its executive who harassed tomato pickers who were seeking a raise of a penny a pound. The other good news includes California's Supreme Court overruling the state's gay marriage ban.
But the best news of the week came from the US House of Representatives who passed a measure calling for the "immediate" pull-out of US troops. Though the vote margin is not veto proof, it is the most significant step our government has taken to address our illegal war and occupation. We should also note that the House had to be dragged kicking and screaming to this vote by the American people.
Worst
A few of the nominees for the worst news for this past week include China's earthquake that has kills tens of thousands of people, the 60th anniversary of Nakbah (the Palestinian Catastrophe of 1948) which Bush neglected to mention during his Mideast trip, and Bush's irrational labeling of Obama's insistence on talking to enemies as appeasement.
But the worst news of the week is the increased number of casualties in Burma thanks to the deliberate interfering with foreign help. Burma's junta have been accused of confiscating relief aid. The Red Cross has estimated the total number of deaths to be over 120,000. In addition, Burma could see more storms in the near future.