Georgianne Nienaber: So, the writer does what writers do and steps back, walking alone and searching for vowels and consonants that might describe what is unseen and impossible to understand. Then something happens that challenges the morality and duty of the writer. There is something on the ground that does not fit the pattern of stones and vegetation. A pelvis attached to a spinal column is lying in the open. Pieces of ribs, a wrist and a forearm are nearby. The writer knows it is human but wants it to be something else. It is familiar and something she has seen before.

Georgiianne Nienaber: The four-page formal complaint describes a compendium of horrific abuses – including massacres of civilians, summary executions, rape, mutilations of women, the dumping of bodies into latrines, and the recruitment of children – all committed by troops under Zimurinda’s command from 2007 to the present.

Georgianne Nienaber: What’s the rape and torture and burning alive of many thousands of women and children got to do with anything? What has JUSTICE got to do with anything, for God’s sake? Kabila wants “peace,” after all. A stray bullet might mar the finish on one of his bikes.

Paul Hogarth: Now, the Democrats have managed to fumble Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat – losing to a right-wing Republican who once posed nude for Cosmopolitan. Evidence shows that Martha Coakley’s numbers went down after the Senate passed the health care bill. Shouldn’t the Party leaders listen to Howard Dean? At least, they owe him an apology.

Andrea Christina Nill: Continuing to deport thousands of Haitian immigrants back to their ravaged home country rather than letting them stay in the U.S. to help their families in Haiti get back on their feet is inconsistent with the promises the Obama administration has already made to the people of Haiti.

Kenneth Weisbrode: America now faces a situation to which neither benign neglect nor grandstanding will suffice to distract it from its central task of underwriting a peaceful international system. For all that the “new world order” took on a slanderous meaning in certain quarters during the 1990s, it still seems to be what much of the globe wants.

Emily Spence and Brian McAfee: Heavily armed militias are trying to increase the very same kinds of turmoil that charitable groups are striving to remedy. They are doing so in order to gain control of four main minerals: tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold that garner an estimated $180 million in revenues each year.

Georgianne Nienaber: The notoriously failed Kimia II operation in eastern Congo has ended today, December 31. Soundly and forcefully criticized by Human Rights groups for the devastation it wrought on civilian populations, it will be replaced sometime in January with a new mission, dubbed OperationAmani Leo, sources say.

Georgianne Nienaber: Surprisingly, to some, the bad guys list also includes scientists, conservationists, non-governmental organizations, doctors, lawyers, public relations professionals and just about anyone who stands to make a buck off of the suffering. As one local Congolese activist told me, “rape is big business in Congo these days.”

“Continued killing and rape by all sides in eastern Congo shows that the UN Security Council needs a new approach to protect civilians,” said Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Security Council should send a group of experts to Congo to kick-start a serious civilian protection plan.”

The American people who voted for “change” did not merely seek a return to the Nineties – or else they would have nominated Hillary Clinton. Obama stood to become the most progressive President in over 40 years, and yet his Administration has little to show for it.

To be a reliable vicar, even for a president as cautious and deliberative as Barack Obama, she must still prove just how strong her backbone really is. She shouldn’t wait for the next crisis to do so. Now is the time to forge strong constituencies of her own at home and abroad, and to take those risks. At stake is not only her own reputation, but also that of her president and her country.

So Palestinians will be watching, more closely than most Americans, the House vote on H.R. 867, condemning the Goldstone Report. If it passes, that will be one more signal to the Palestinians that the fine words they’ve heard coming from the White House may have no substance behind them.

Congolese president Joseph Kabila paved the way for a troupe of Spanish Clowns, while thugs and militia rule the Kivus and truth-seeking journalist are threatened.

Will argues that we should take the Iraqi government at its word and wind down our involvement there, as specified in the 2008 security agreement: “The United States should treat this as a Dirty Harry moment: Make our day.”

The midwives need the means to accomplish their noble goal of saving women through direct intervention, HIV/AIDS counseling, and nutrition. This is truly a grassroots effort with a humble beginning that literally transforms grass and roots into life-supporting energy.

linton’s uncompromising condemnation of perpetrators of sexual violence has not been thoroughly emphasized or analyzed, but sniping has already begun about AFRICOM’s involvement in her initiative.

I understand that Obama, as the first African American to assume the presidency, has to walk a racial tight rope, a burden no other American president has had to bear. But as an African American woman who cried the night he was elected and cried the day he was inaugurated, I feel a deep sense of betrayal.

Hillary Clinton’s blunt public statement that President Obama “wants to see a stop to settlements—not some settlements, not outposts, not natural growth exceptions” made for good headlines. The Israelis were shocked and upset that their …

This is the way the Global War on Terror (also known, in Bush-era jargon, as GWOT) ends, not with a bang, not with parades and speeches, but with an obscure memo, a few news reports, …

Recent statements by President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, admitting that they were going to use the economic crisis to get other things done, is …

Chair Michael Steele, of Republican National Committee (RNC) fame, has announced that a first objective as newly elected leader of the GOP will be to reach out to the hip-hop community. He’s planning an “off …

At his press conference on Monday, President Barack Obama had to remind Mara Liasson of Fox News and NPR that it was the Republicans who doubled the national debt over the past eight years and …

It’s been less than two weeks, but patterns have emerged that are likely to continue throughout Barack Obama’s presidency. First, Obama understands how to use the media. Examples are detailed below, but the best is …

Though he’s not yet confirmed, it looks like former Senator Tom Daschle will be joining President Obama (I so like saying that) in his Cabinet, heading up all the agencies that provide resources and oversight …

New York Governor David Paterson is involved in a high stakes daisy petal pull game of ‘she loves me, he loves me not’ in Albany where he contemplates who will replace Hillary Clinton in the …

Some have looked at the list of Obama’s latest appointees and said that Obama has thrown his supporters under the bus. Others say his selections are nothing less than masterful.
We, at the LA Progressive, have …

by Randy Shaw –
As Barack Obama’s Cabinet fills with Clinton Administration veterans, some are raising concerns why no “movement progressive” has been selected. Hillary Clinton’s appointment as Secretary of State galvanized fears that Obama’s cabinet …

We’ve celebrated for two-and-a-half weeks and what better way to remember Jack Kennedy on this solemn day than to watch President-elect Obama’s deliberate, studious, and principled leadership in action. The hard work began precisely at …

by Natalie Davis –

True progressive voters had a couple of actual progressive options in the November 4 election. They could have gone with Green hopeful Cynthia McKinney or Independent candidate Ralph Nader. We knew Barack …

by Charley James –

As a progressive, one of the things that I appreciate about MSNBC’s evening line-up is that although its people have a liberal point of view, they stick to actual facts rather than …

Fresh off a thrilling presidential campaign, California Democrats face a Governor’s race without a candidate that can rally a multi-racial, class-crossing grassroots base. The three most talked about candidates — Dianne Feinstein, Jerry Brown and …

A friend of mine who is a Republican contends the rampant criticism of Sarah Palin in the media is largely based on the fact that she is a woman. My friend also blames the John …

It’s time for fairness, dammit. We have heard all we need to know about Barack Obama and Bill Ayers (really – there isn’t much to know). When will John McCain open up about the true …

President and Vice President Elect, that’s what we’ll be calling these gentlemen in less than 20 days — That is, of course, if we all do our part.
It is arguably more crucial to “Get …

David Sirota’s prescient new book, The Uprising: An Unauthorized Tour of the Populist Revolt Scaring Wall Street and Washington is coming to life and we’re in it!
It’s been a terrifying and illuminating few weeks living …

After Barack Obama won the Iowa caucuses by a surprisingly large margin, the punditocracy was troubled. Pundits had virtually conceded the nomination to Hillary Clinton, and now went into high gear explaining the Illinois Senator’s …

“Kill him” and “terrorist” were hollered by audiences this past weekend in stump speeches by Sarah Palin and John McCain. Just as when McCain was asked “how do we beat the bitch…” he smiled and …

Barack Obama is a formidable candidate for President. And he’s our candidate: a Democrat, a liberal, and a progressive; intelligent and mature with a Chicago-style political savvy.

Alright, so it’s been an unpredictable election year. When the primaries began, Hillary Clinton was the heavy favorite and John McCain was all but dead in the water with Fred Thompson’s entry in the race …

Since McCain chose the Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, as his vice-presidential pick, there has been bantering and bickering from the distaff side of our American electorate.
The catfight from female electorates of both political parties …

Rev. Irene Monroe –
The media is abuzz with excitement about Republican Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska.
McCain’s V.P. pick has stirred up excitement, especially for women in the G.O.P. But his pick has also stirred up …

“So Sambo beat the bitch!”
This is how Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin described Barack Obama’s win over Hillary Clinton to political colleagues in a restaurant a few days after Obama locked up the Democratic …

The Democratic National Convention put on a fantastic show last week. You did understand that it was a “show,” don’t you? Political parties put on conventions to show their spirit, to show their platforms and …

For four days, Democrats reminded us what it is to dream of a better world. The old lion, Ted Kennedy anchored the week, reminding us that Democrats have long championed the dream of a better …

Where is Lloyd Bentsen when we need him? The distinguished Texas Democratic Senator, who died two years ago, probably would be rolling over in his grave to see what’s happening now. More than actually rolling …

The Democratic National Convention was held this week, amid the hyperbole of the Joe Biden selection as a running mate and one in four Hillary supporters stating that they would not vote for Barack Obama …

An awful lot of childish behavior has been on parade on the campaign trail this year. Well, yeah, pretty much every campaign season we see that, but this year has seemed even more juvenile than …

Last week, you nailed Barack’s vice presidential pick — Joe Biden — when fully 41% got it right.
But this week? Wow, not so much.
Only five of the 150 of you who took the survey wrote …

When last we saw Captain Clinton, she was traversing rough waters. Her crew was in full mutiny mode. Her first mate was on the bow, railing at the fickle seas and the cruel fates that …

by Rev. Irene Monroe —
The second night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), Obama’s toughest rival for the presidential nominee, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a knockout keynote address, bridging the chasm between her …

This week’s three-question LA Progressive survey asks these questions:
Who will John “Three Dollar Bill” McCain pick for his Veep?
Who will be the first woman president of the United States?
Who will be the next governor of …

All the blue and white “Unity” signs didn’t make nearly as vivid an impression as did the Lady in Gold on Night Number Two in Denver. Hillary Clinton Night at the Democratic Convention was actually …

by Rev. Irene Monroe —
Michelle Obama won’t use the F-word. Alice Walker called it by another name. Her daughter, Rebecca Walker, an icon of the “Third Wave” of feminism, redefined the F-word and then …

In the first of our weekly three-question surveys, you nailed Barack Obama’s choice of Joe Biden as his running mate. Fully 41%–or 105 of the 256 of you who had responded by Saturday evening–picked the …

Something almost shocking occurred last week on Keith Olbermann’s Countdown show: MSNBC political expert Chuck Todd announced that the electoral math made a McCain victory extremely unlikely, if not near impossible. Such comments are rarely …

While I do not believe that presumed Democratic nominee Barack Obama really knows who his vice-presidential nominee will be, if ever there was a time to give an opinion on the matter, it is now. …

by Davd A. Love, JD —
What’s all this talk about politicians moving to the political center?
Every four years, we hear about the need for presidential candidates to move to the center in order to …

Somehow I knew it would happen. In fact, I had even made a note to myself, indicating how long I thought it might take: twenty-four hours was my guesstimate, in case you’re interested.
Turns out I …

by Robert Illes –
Have you noticed? He’s been wearing one. Barack Obama, I mean. He’s been wearing one of those American flag lapel pins.