Greek hospital now under workers’ control. [libcom.org] – Health workers in Kilkis, Greece, have occupied their local hospital and have issued a statement saying it is now fully under workers control.
JFK Speech to the Houston Ministers
On September 12th, 1960, Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy addressed a group of Protestant ministers at the Rice Hotel in Houston, Texas. Many Protestants in the United States (particularly in the South) had expressed concern that a Roman Catholic President would be a mere puppet of the Vatican. Senator Kennedy went into the lions’ den to address the issue directly.
Here is a short excerpt.
I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end – where all men and all churches are treated as equal – where every man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice – where there is no Catholic vote, no anti-Catholic vote, no bloc voting of any kind – and where Catholics, Protestants and Jews, at both the lay and pastoral level, will refrain from those attitudes of disdain and division which have so often marred their works in the past, and promote instead the American ideal of brotherhood.
That is the kind of America in which I believe. And it represents the kind of Presidency in which I believe – a great office that must neither be humbled by making it the instrument of any one religious group nor tarnished by arbitrarily withholding its occupancy from the members of any one religious group. I believe in a President whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office.
This speech is getting some attention once again in the 2012 Presidential campaign, as Republican contender Rick Santorum (also a Catholic) has condemned the sentiment in some very strong terms.
Thank you, Rick, but I hold with JFK.
You can watch a video of the entire speech at the following link.
Address of Senator John F. Kennedy to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, September 12, 1960. [John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum]
Scorsese: The 85 Films You Need To See
Martin Scorsese’s Film School: The 85 Films You Need To See To Know Anything About Film. [Rick Tetzeli | Fast Company] – As we head into Oscars weekend, here’s an A-Z list of the films that influenced the most influential – and Oscar-nominated – director in Hollywood, Martin Scorsese (in other words, the films you need to see to be the film expert you think you are).
Occupy Our Food Supply February 27 Day of Action
Occupy Our Food Supply. [Rainforest Action Network] – Occupy Our Food Supply on February 27, 2012 will be a major decentralized global day of food action and solidarity. Actions are planned in dozens of cities across North America, Europe, and the world.
Media Consolidation: The Illusion of Choice
Today, most of our mass media are controlled by one of six companies. Check out Frugal Dad’s infographic on the state of media consolidation in the U.S.
Source: Frugal Dad
Hawks Ignore Facts To Drum Up War With Iran
Experts Say Iran Attack Is Irrational, Yet Hawks Are Winning the Debate. [Peter Beinart | The Daily Beast] – From the chairman of the Joint Chiefs to the head of Mossad, the experts are speaking out against attacking Iran over its nuclear program, but hawks like the GOP presidential candidates are drowning out the warnings.
Give Us This Day
I’ve baked my share of soda bread and corn bread over the years. I’ve also occasionally made my own pizza dough, and lately I’ve been baking some with a bread machine, but I’ve never turned out anything like this – until today.
My wife had a copy of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and I picked it up the other evening and after reading only a few pages became very excited at the prospect of delicious home baked bread with so little effort. The only question in my mind was whether or not their approach would actually work.
It does.
Occupy Beyond The Camps
With camps gone, Occupiers prepare for new fights. [chicagotribune.com] – In interviews with Occupy groups in more than a dozen states – on both coasts and across the Midwest – activists described training for nonviolent confrontation, plans for spring rallies at state capitols and preparations for a major presence at the G-8 and NATO summits to be held in Chicago in May.
Snipers and Aerial Surveillance Ready for G8 Chicago
Face Masks, Snipers and Aerial Surveillance: Chicago’s Newest Anti-Protest Measures Revealed. [Truthout] – Each time a new measure that the city of Chicago is preparing for the coming NATO and G8 summits is unveiled, the tension in the city ratchets up a notch. The latest news comes in the form of reports that Chicago has purchased face shields, and may be considering the implementation of airborne surveillance technology.
New Fracking Study Sounds Alert
In addition to causing general environmental degradation, earthquakes and poisoned water, it appears that hydraulic fracturing also leaks methane at dangerous levels not previously suspected.
Fracking study sends alert about leakage of potent greenhouse gas. [Pete Spotts | CSMonitor.com] – A new study finds that fracking is releasing methane, a greenhouse gas, from a Colorado field at a higher rate than estimates suggested. Researchers must determine if the field is an anomaly or part of a bigger problem.
