Blog Heap of Links for the day 29 June 2011

a mysterious, ongoing nationwide terrorism investigation with an unusual target: prominent peace activists and politically active labor organizers. The probe — involving subpoenas to 23 people and raids of seven homes last fall — has triggered a high-powered protest against the Department of Justice and, in the process, could create some political discomfort for President Obama with his union supporters as he gears up for his reelection campaign. The apparent targets are concentrated in the Midwest, including Chicagoans who crossed paths with Obama when he was a young state senator and some who have been active in labor unions that supported his political rise. as terrorists. The apparent targets, all vocal and visible critics of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and South America, deny any ties to terrorism. They say the government, using its post-9/11 focus on terrorism as a pretext, is targeting them for their political views.

The conspiracy of silence surrounding the disclosure of who is responsible for the violent racist mob violence and the fact that people are being urged NOT to protect themselves undermines the security of ALL Americans. People KNOW what's going on, and the refusal of those in the public eye to honestly address it is not only going to cause the violence to continue but it will also stoke whole new level of suspicion and animosity between people of different ethnicities. This thing has the potential to undermine all the progress this country has made over the years in race relations. More innocent people, of all colors, are going to get hurt.