U.S.A.

"We can see evidence of the regressive counterattack today, even before Barack Obama has taken his oath of office. Thus, for example, we hear on FOX News that wild assertion that “historians pretty much agree” that FDR prolonged the great depression. The corporate media incessantly repeat the GOP talking point that the presidential election (“not a landslide”) indicated that the public has endorsed “center-right” policies, a sentiment that President Obama will disregard at his peril."

"Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine is supported by the US, Britain, and Western Europe, through financial aid, extensive supplies of arms and military equipment, diplomatic support. The global social justice movement needs to extend its support for Gaza far beyond marching and demonstrations, by pressuring media, government and civil society institutions to recognize that the Gaza crisis is an outcome of long-term policies that can only be understood in the context of recognizing the reality of Israel as a Setter-Colonial Apartheid regime sponsored by Anglo-American power."

"...as so many politicians and diplomats have discovered, the situation in the region is so explosive and tenuous that it's extremely difficult to get from here to there. But, for the sake of the future of both societies, peace in the region and the globe, and for America's future as well, President Obama must become more even-handed in the Middle East and must be willing to dive in and try once and for all to help move the crisis to its peaceful, just end point."

"Every day it becomes clearer that the Gaza engagement is only a stage in Israel’s testing of new weapons and new strategies for its predictable battles with Hezbollah, Syria, Iran and who knows who else. Israel has more serious enemies than all other nations combined. The attack on Gaza explains that situation. We await endless wars by an apparent out of control military machine followed by escalating threats to the world due to the increasing violence – a thoughtful gesture from world leaders supposedly dedicated to protect their citizens."

"The day Israel completely gives up on the idea of Greater Israel and the day it begins treating its neighbors with respect as human beings is the day we will see the foundations of peace. It truly is that simple"

"The urgent need for a global alternative is therefore not up for debate. But we should hold no illusions. Things will get far, far worse, before they get better. This is not yet the end of capitalism. On the contrary, the biggest financial players, like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and others, have used their power over states to secure massive bailouts using public funds, allowing them to prevail while hundreds of other financial institutions have fallen like dominos. As the collapse of the financial system pulls down the real economy, shares in giant corporations which actually produce tangible goods and services have plummeted as consumers are clinging to their increasingly empty wallets."

"The only just course of action is for the United States to adopt a balanced approach to the Middle East conflict and to end decades of support for the most extreme wing of the Israeli political spectrum. Our foreign policy must be based on what is best for America, not on the demands of extremists in Israel."

"On January 20th, Barack Obama will inherit all this - with a choice to make. He can either repeat the failed patterns of the past, or learn its lessons and provide the needed leadership that can pull Israelis and Palestinians back from the precipice, and provide them a way forward."