REUVEN MOSKOVITZ, RAMI ELHANAN, LILIAN ROSENGARTEN, YONATAN SHAPIRA via Yosh Kosminsky The group Jewish Boat to Gaza released a statement several hours ago: “The Irene, a boat carrying nine passengers and aid for Gaza’s population, has been taken over by the Israeli navy and denied access to Gaza. The boat is flying a British flag…

JAMES HANSEN, MATTHEW SHERMAN Sherman is with Appalachia Rising — a group that has been protesting against mountaintop removal and this weekend held educational events in Washington, D.C. The group states it expects thousands to march on the White House today, including climatologist James Hansen, formerly of NASA. Numerous arrests are also expected. See news…

DIANA BUTTU, [currently in NYC] A Palestinian-Canadian lawyer and former Palestinian negotiator, Buttu said today: “Obama ‘urges’ an extension on the settlement moratorium rather than ‘demand’ a complete settlement reversal. The message to Israel is clear: continue violating international law. No one will stop you.” Buttu on Twitter PHYLLIS BENNIS Bennis is director of the…

ROBERT SCHEER also via Natasha Hakimi Editor of TruthDig.com, Scheer is author of The Great American Stickup: How Reagan Republicans and Clinton Democrats Enriched Wall Street While Mugging Main Street, recently released in paperback. Scheer just wrote the piece “So Long, Summers.” Also see IPA news release from earlier this month: “‘Great American Stickup’ Author:…

The New York Times writes in an editorial today: “Four years ago, bipartisan majorities in the California Legislature approved a landmark clean energy bill [AB 32] that many hoped would serve as a template [nationally] … Now a well-financed coalition of right-wing ideologues, out-of-state oil and gas companies and climate-change skeptics is seeking to effectively…

ADRIENNE PINE Recently back from Honduras, Pine is assistant professor of anthropology at American University. She said today: “There has been an escalation in government attacks on free speech following the resistance movement’s announcement of the collection of over 1,300,000 signatures demanding a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution. Last week, on Honduran Independence Day,…

ANAND GOPAL Gopal is an independent journalist based in Afghanistan and has reported for the Christian Science Monitor and the Wall Street Journal. He is one of the few journalists covering the recent Afghan elections from a war zone. See his piece in the Christian Science Monitor, “Ballot Stuffing Witnessed Amidst Troubled Afghan Vote,” which…

The New York Times is reporting: “Forty-four million people in the United States, or one in seven residents, lived in poverty in 2009, an increase of 4 million from the year before, the Census Bureau reported on Thursday.” GWENDOLYN MINK Mink is co-editor of the two-volume Poverty in the United States: An Encyclopedia of History,…

CHUCK LUTHER JOSHUA KORS Kors wrote the Nation cover story “Disposable Soldiers: How the Pentagon Is Cheating Wounded Vets.” Kors and Luther testified this morning before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Kors described Luther’s testimony: “Medal-winning sergeant Chuck Luther described for the committee how he was tortured by the U.S. Army. Luther provided graphic…

Talks resume today between the U.S., Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh in the Sinai Desert. Reuters is reporting: “The U.S. envoy to the U.N. atomic watchdog urged Arab states on Monday to withdraw a resolution calling on Israel to sign an anti-nuclear arms treaty, warning it would…