SEIF DA’NA, dana at uwp.edu Seif Da’Na is an associate professor of sociology and international studies at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside specializing in the Mideast and North Africa. He said today: “The Egyptian presidential election are being held today and tomorrow, with a highly possible run-off on June 16 and 17, is a significant step…

Associated Press is reporting: “Villagers say the drug bust that left four passengers of a riverboat dead after helicopters mistakenly fired on civilians continued into the predawn hours when commandos, including some they think were Americans, raided their town. … Jose Ruiz, a spokesman for the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the U.S. military in…

CHRIS HELLMAN and MATTEA KRAMER, mattea at nationalpriorities.org, Hellman is communications liaison at the National Priorities Project, and Kramer is a research analyst with the group. They just wrote a report “War Pay: The Nearly 1 Trillion Security Budget,” which tallies the military budget, showing it to be much higher than is often stated. Their…

REBECCA GRIFFIN, rgriffin at peaceactionwest.org, Griffin is the political director of Peace Action West. She said today: “President Obama clearly feels the pressure to end the war. However, the plan endorsed at this week’s NATO summit leaves the door open to a substantial U.S military presence as far out as 2024. This is clearly out…

The following veterans returned their medals yesterday during a protest outside the NATO meeting in Chicago as thousands protested. See footage here. JACOB GEORGE, jacobdavidgeorge at gmail.com, http://www.operationawareness.org Geroge, who is from Arkansas, recently visited Afghanistan where he was deployed several times. He said Sunday at the NATO protest in Chicago: “Today I made history…

Monday, May 21, 2012 JPMorgan is Biggest Contributor to Senate Chair Calling Them to Testify Interviews Available THOMAS FERGUSON, thomas.ferguson at umb.edu, Ferguson is professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and a senior fellow of the Roosevelt Institute. He just wrote the piece “Senate Banking Chair Calls Jamie Dimon to Testify:…

AARON HUGHES, aarhughes at ivaw.org; SCOTT KIMBALL, scttkmbll at gmail.com Hughes and Kimball are veterans and members of Iraq Veterans Against the War. They will be leading a rally and march on Sunday to the NATO meeting “security perimeter.” Kimball said today: “We plan on returning our medals to the leaders of NATO — it’s…

The Guardian is providing coverage of G8 summit at Camp David and NATO protests in Chicago. DONNA SMITH, donnas at calnurses.org CHARLES IDELSON, cidelson at calnurses.org, Smith and Idelson are with National Nurses United, the largest union and professional association of nurses in the U.S. They are holding a rally Friday in Chicago with other…

Multibillonaire Pete Peterson’s Fiscal Summit concluded on Tuesday with a stand for no-compromise austerity and Speaker of the House John Boehner laying out the case for massive spending cuts. Yesterday the Senate voted down budget proposals that would have slashed Medicaid, cut SNAP, voucher-ized Medicare, and shrunk most other domestic human needs programs. At the…

AP is reporting: “Government troops and warplanes pounded al-Qaida positions in southern Yemen on Wednesday, killing at least 29 militants as part of a ramped up campaign against the group, military officials said.” El Asbahi is founder and director of the Human Rights Information and Training Center in Yemen. He said today: “The U.S. military…