The Impeachment Hearing Room

UN mandate for US troops in Iraq running out (The Video Updates) (Plus Gitmo Shut Down.  Don’t Miss This and The Reality Of The Financial Crisis And The Coming Of The True Electric Car… SCEVS (Self Charging Electric Vehicles) 

Sabah al-Nasseri: Iraqi Parliament expected to turn down US-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement.

This weekend the Iraqi Parliament will sit down to decide whether or not to accept the newest US draft of the Status of Forces Agreement. Senior Editor Paul Jay sat down with Sabah al-Nasseri to discuss the contents of the proposed agreement. While the US has backed down on many of its main points which were rejected in earlier attempts to pass the agreement, it appears to most observers that SOFA will once again be rejected by the Iraqi parliament. Complicating the situation is the fact that the UN mandate for the US occupation of Iraq expires on December 31st of this year, though Sabah believes that the security council will extend the mandate for another year without issue. Sabah explains how SOFA agreements normally deal exclusively with legal jurisdiction over US personnel when operating in foreign countries, but that the 2008 agreement has been combined with the broader security agreement to create an all-encompassing proposal on the future of the US occupation in Iraq. Beyond the fact that it is unlikely to pass, Sabah points out that the current proposal includes broadly interpretable language such as the US maintaining the right to self-defense, a clause that could easily be used to justify the breach of any of the major concessions that the US has made.

Iraqi Cabinet Accepts US Agreement

Sabah al-Nasseri: Strong nationalist movement has mobilized against the agreement, and they have guns

The Iraqi cabinet agreed by a vote of 27-1 on Sunday to approve the newest US draft of the Status of Forces Agreement between the two countries. The agreement speaks to a variety of issues concerning the occupation, including the complete withdrawal from Iraq of US forces by the end of 2011. Moreover, it includes a promise from the US to not use Iraqi territory as a launch pad to attack inside other Middle-eastern countries, as it did in late October during a raid on a village inside Syria. Sabah al-Nasseri believes that the Iraqi parliament will eventually turn down the agreement for political reasons, in the interests of securing one with Barack Obama when he comes to power in January. The timing is important as the Iraqi provincial elections, which are extremely significant given the power granted provinces under the Iraqi constitution, will take place on January 31. Sabah believes that the importance of fairing well in those elections will force the parliament to reject an agreement which has received the rebuke of numerous groups, both religious and secular, who have organized massive protests over recent weeks. One piece of the agreement that very few people are talking about, which Sabah believes has angered many nationalists of all stripes, is the labeling of any armed resistance against occupation forces as terrorists, thereby criminalizing their activities under Iraqi law. Sabah believes that the most recent violence in Iraq was carried out by secular nationalists who are opposed to the deal, given that the targets of the attacks were all US and Iraqi government elements. Sabah, who was born and raised in the Southern Iraqi city of Basra, reiterates his support for an immediate withdrawal of all foreign occupiers, believing that the violence in Iraq stems from the occupation.

Closing Down Gitmo?

President-elect Barack Obama says closing down the detainee camp in Guantanamo Bay will be a top priority of his new administration. David Cole, author of Justice at War: The Men and Ideas That Shaped America's War on Terror, legal affairs correspondent for The Nation, and a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, reviews some of the dilemmas ahead. Should the U.S. continue to hold prisoners without charge? Should we prosecute the top Bush Administration officials responsible for detainee abuse? And how do we regain the respect of the world community?

Reality Asserts Itself

Solutions to the economic crisis will be found when we cut through the propaganda and spin

G-20 Summit 'Punts' Till April

G-20 leaders have a nice dinner but do not deal with how to make financial institutions serve the public

Following the wrap of the G-20 summit, The Real News Network spoke to Prof. Leo Panitch, and economist, Doug Henwood about what was proposed at the meeting and what was accomplished. Henwood says its very difficult to imagine these varied countries coming together and ceding sovereignty to an international economic body. Panitch says it's time to democratize the financial system while they're on their back heels.

Democrats shield automakers

ANP: The automobile lobby is back on Capitol Hill warming up to some of their best friends – Democrats

Zapping the Volt

Beyond The Volt   

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-young/how-to-save-a-major-autom_b_143749.html

http://www-waa-akam.thomson-webcast.net/us/dispatching/?event_id=724b9733151ff78e4c9ed2c3e2df43e1&portal_id=490b5b11bea71c00458d586691c5b5f5

The Neil Young Green Machine!

LINC VOLT A HIT AT DREAMFORCE 2008 CONFERENCE

Monday, November 3rd, 9:00 am (PST) 

Watch the Keynote Address here (use the pull-down menu to skip ahead).

Title Marck Benioff/Neil Young Closing