Chris Floyd

As the United States enters a new and unprecedented political era -- or, as killjoy cynics would have it, as the American empire gets a new set of temporary managers -- the fate of the "dissident" movement that arose under the Bush Regime seems greatly occluded. So many of those who set out their stalls as bold outsiders "speaking truth to power" now find themselves on the inside, enthralled by power, speaking for power, as it is personified by President-elect Barack Obama -- who, ironically, has consistently repudiated many of the tenets and principles that provoked the dissidents' outrage in the first place.

I have always disliked this phrase "speaking truth to power" (although I'm sure I've lazily employed it myself on several occasions). No one needs to speak truth to power: power knows the truth well enough, it knows what it is doing, and to whom, and why. What we need, most desperately, are people who will speak truth about power, and speak it to people who might not have heard that truth through the howling cacophony of media diversion, corporate spin and political manipulation.

Full story »

Bill Gertz

[By now hopefully everyone is convinced a a carefully planned massive False Flag is coming soon to a city near you]

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday that the United States is vulnerable to attack or other incidents during the presidential transition period and that the military is ready to respond.

“When you go back and look at the number of incidents that have occurred three or four months before an inauguration to about 12 months out, back to the ’50s, it’s pretty staggering the number of major incidents which have occurred in this time frame,” Adm. Michael Mullen said, noting that the danger is compounded by current world conditions.

Full story »

Bob Waldrop

Now that the election is over, it is time to go to work.

If you are happy about the election, the ideas below will help you do your part to heal the nation. If you are unhappy about the election, the ideas below will help you prepare.

There are two important things to understand about the crisis we face:

■ We may be beyond the point where there is anything at the national level that can be done to resolve the situation,

■ The lesson of the last few years is clear: the elites of our society — economic, religious, and political — have betrayed their responsibilities to protect and serve the common good. If there is anything that will save us, it will grow organically from the grassroots — local solutions are needed.

We must all work together with our neighbors to increase the health, safety, security, and well-being of our communities.

Full story »

Becky Akers

On the latest incarnation of the state religion.

Behold the grand and glorious morning after Amerika elected its first black president (apologies to Bill Clinton)! Peace on earth, Goodwill to men (and women, too, since we’ll all be shopping there once Our New Master adds his two cents to the nationalized economy), beatific smiles, brotherhood (or at least affirmative action), and sanctimonious stealing – sorry, "restoring fairness to the tax code." (Ahem. Did I miss something? When was theft ever fair?)

Surprisingly, the sun still rose in the east at the dawning of this new age; even more surprisingly, it rose on a cloudy day here in New York City. Nature appears unimpressed with our "transformational presidency." Stumbling out of bed, I discovered that the water flushing from the toilet still swirls counterclockwise, a pot of water still takes about 10 minutes to boil, and tea gulped before it cools still scalds. Seems the laws of physics continue functioning even if that relic from our "tragic history…of ‘white supremacy’," the Constitution, doesn’t. Alas, the dishwasher remains broken despite "this stunning, whopping landslide of hope"; it did not heal itself overnight in miraculous, mechanical celebration of the approaching Millennium. And oatmeal still makes an unholy mess of the microwave if nuked too long.

Full story »

Elias Akleh

"The presidential salary of about $200,000 is compared nothing to the millions worth of bribes a president is promised to receive after office. Such bribes come in the form of easy job on the board of a large corporation with huge sum of salary, stock options, perks, privileges, and large payments for worthless one-hour speeches to some businessmen. One cannot help but wonder where a president’s loyalty go, to the people or to corporations?"

Once again, as it has been happening every four years, the American people are suckered into surrendering their necks to a different yoke of slavery through the process of so-called “democratic election” of their president. Little they know that this president, and his administration, is but a tool used by the power elite – international financiers, military industrialists, energy companies and corporatocracy – to control resources, transfer wealth upwards, keep the populace in check, enslave them, suppress their dissent, and conscribe them into wars of greed against their human neighbors. This power elite, with its handful financial institutions, had dominated most of the natural resources of the world through its control of the money needed to acquire these resources. A natural resources monopoly system was, thus, created in the US, and many parts of the world, based solely on capital gain and profit rather than the well being of human life.

Full story »

NOGW

Being of sound mind and having the clarity to see where world problems originate from and having the determination to bring about resolution to those problems, we hereby declare ourselves free from the state of Israel and it’s influence in our lives.

We understand that Israel is a Zionist state, which offers a refuge for the world’s criminals and is rife with drug and people trafficking, and that Jerusalem is the world’s center for organized crime and crimes against humanity. We understand that “Al Qaeda” is really Mossad creating terror in the world for it’s own objectives. We understand that the Zionist influence has spread across the world and has corrupted our governments. In an effort to take back our rights as citizens of the world, we make the following pledge:

Full story »

Pablo Ouziel

Contrary to popular believe, the big change in America¹s society stemming from the recent presidential elections, was not the election of the first black president. The most important event has taken place in the intellectual community, in which a paradigm shift has taken place and few have noticed. 

The new era of voting for the lesser of the two evils has penetrated the core of America¹s critical intellectual community, and some of the biggest voices for change have endorsed Obama. In effect, what has taken place is the union between those opposed to imperial ideology and those endorsing it. Although this serious event has gone largely unnoticed, American intellectuals will need to reflect on its consequences seriously if they are to contribute to the building of a stable future for humanity as a whole, and in particular to mending the tarnished corrupt fabric of American society.

Full story »

Mickey Z.

Do you ever get the feeling that the voting booth is a lot like those buttons you find on some big city street corners? You know, the ones you push so you can obey the law while pretending to make the light turn green more quickly?

From high profile veterans to the suddenly energized young folks brandishing Obama bumper stickers on their fuel efficient (sic) vehicles, the Left—in almost all its guises—drank the Kool Aid again. Not just the lesser evil fairy tale but also the “Democrats can be pressured by popular movements” fabrication. No demands are placed on Democratic candidates for fear any hint of leftist tendencies would make them unelectable. Instead, we hear: “Let’s get them in office and then pressure them with our time-honored and battle-proven protest methods.” Sheer, unadulterated fantasy. Not a shred of evidence to back it up but it’s put forth every time America elects (sic) another president.

Full story »

James Petras

Introduction

The role of the mass media (MM) in influencing mass and class behavior has been a central concern among critical writers, especially since the turn of the Twentieth century. Debates and studies on the MM have focused on its political bias, ownership and links to big business, relationships and ties to the state, relative openness and diversity, promotion of wars and corporate interests among other major issues affecting the relations of power, wealth and empire. Of particular interest to writers opposing and supporting the role of the MM is the impact of the MM in influencing mass outlook, opinions and behaviors. Essays, monographs and empirical studies have been published as to the extent of MM influence, the time frame in which it retains control, the ‘depth’ of loyalty to MM inculcated opinions, and the ‘place’ in which MM messages have the greatest influence in inducing mass opinion in conformity with ruling class interests.

Full story »

PCHR

Saber Al-Hissie has been a fisherman in Gaza for fifteen years. His 20 metre boat is scarred with bullet holes from the Israeli military, who harass the fishermen daily.

“I’ve been a fisherman for fifteen years now, ever since I was fifteen years old. My father was a fisherman and so was my grandfather. I have spent half my life at sea. But every day we face problems from the Israeli gunboats: they follow us, and then they start shooting at us because they want to force us to stop working.”

Saber Al-Hissie comes from a Gazan family of fishermen. His 20 metre vessel belongs to his father, who, after many years of fishing, has finally passed the family business over to Saber. There are more than 3,500 professional fishermen in the Gaza Strip, and the majority of them live in and around Gaza City, where the main harbour is located. The Al-Hissie family, like most of the other Gaza city fishermen, live in the sprawling refugee camp, known locally as the Beach Camp, near Gaza harbour.

Full story »