By Gordon Duff

MASS KILLINGS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN “WINK AND NOD” ARMY POLICY

Over 40 years ago, I was in Vietnam, part of an American military effort draped with shame and failure. My Lai was the crowning achievement of the war, nearly 600 women and children mowed down by automatic weapons fire. The man we know as General Colin Powell helped shove it under a rug. Lt. Calley, worse than many of Himmler’s SS executed for war crimes during World War II, became a hero to many Americans. Killing civilians was “policy” in Vietnam. You could murder anyone you wanted as long as they could be made to look like enemy combatants. If you killed them with a knife, even if others held them to the ground, you were awarded a Silver Star. This isn’t conjecture, I know this to be a fact.

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Katherine Smith, PhD

Want to find real community in the United States? Go to Portland Oregon. Across the USA, from New Hampshire, the “Live Free or Die” state to Portland, Oregon, there are 50 “City Repair” projects springing up around America.  Americans have proven they can confront suppressive governments and come out the winner.

Portland City Repair began when the citizens of Portland wanted to convert certain public areas of their community into, “Public Space that fosters participatory democracy.”

Without explanation, the Portland City Council and the its Department of Transportation said, “No,” essentially relaying to Portlanders, “Your public spaces aren’t reeeeally public.”

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Stuart Littlewood

If it wasn't for the “war on terror” America and Israel wouldn't be enjoying such military fun and games and reaping such fat rewards. Whole new industries are flourishing thanks to the considerable effort they've devoted to sowing the seeds of terror.

The Institute of Terrorism Research and Response (ITRR), for example, is an American-Israeli corporation "created to help organizations succeed and prosper in a world threatened by terrorism.”

Its partners include The Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute - "your gateway to business in Israel". Their global intelligence division even maintains a presence in London where, they claim, "our intelligence-gathering and analysis, research, training, and consulting services reduce your vulnerability to global and regional forms of terrorist threats and mass-casualty events."  It's just a coincidence, of course, that Britain's most important security bodies – the Intelligence & Security Committee, Foreign Affairs Committee and Defence Committee – are all headed by senior Israel flag-wavers with access to highly classified material.

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Stuart Littlewood

In the space of a few short years Nick Clegg has shot from obscurity to stardom in British politics, joining Conservative leader David “I’m-a-Zionist” Cameron at the head of Britain’s new coalition government.

Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, is deputy prime minister and gets to play PM from time to time, like now when Zionist Dave appears to still be enjoying a perk that’s laughably called ‘paternity leave’.

Cameron too came from nowhere to lead a party that’s said to be 80 percent loyal to Israel. This patron of the Jewish National Fund then became prime minister… with Clegg’s help.

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Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy

The 'Fairness Doctrine' was trashed! The right wing GOP sold 'de-regulation' with a lie. The 'Fairness Doctrine', they said, violated First Amendment free speech. In retrospect, the attack on a free media was based upon a panoply of right wing lies. What is free, who is free when real people have been silenced?

Who has free speech when the 'voice' is available only five or six huge media conglomerates. How is freedom served when advertising revenues trickle up --not down! How is freedom served when local communities are drained of advertising revenues that might have been spent locally, thus helping to support local economies?

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Jim Prues

Photo of hemp, credit: Hendrike Creative Commons 2.5 license.

Hemp is the common name for cannabis, the first plant cultivated by humanity as we crept from being Neolithic to becoming Agrarian. Likely this was due to a few reasons. First, hemp is an extremely versatile plant,  with leaves, seeds and stalks all capable of creating useful products. Second, it’s particularly easy to grow, needing little in the way of fertilizer or pest control. And finally, hemp is native to many parts of the world, particularly The Fertile Crescent, where some of the first agriculture happened early in our civilization.

Hemp use predates the Agrarian Age, as hemp fibers have been found in pottery in China and Taiwan dating to 7,000 years ago. The classical Greek historian Herodotus (ca. 480 BC) reported that the inhabitants of Scythia would often inhale the vapours of hemp smoke, both as ritual and for their own pleasurable recreation. So presumably the Scythians were the first recorded stoners.

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by Stephen Lendman

On September 26, Venezuelans again voted, the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign (VSC - vicuk.org) saying to elect members to the 165-seat National Assembly. It happens every five years, and it's the 16th national election or referendum since Chavez's 1998 victory, taking office as President for first time on February 2, 1999.

Bolivarianism is always at stake, represented by his United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). They were pitted against the opposition's Table for Democratic Unity (MUD), an alliance hoping to deny Chavez a two-thirds super-majority. It was PSUV's goal, campaign head Aristobulo Isrutiz saying pre-election:

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Allen L Roland

Poverty in the U.S. today has many faces. For a homeless man on the streets of Los Angeles, it means not knowing where he will spend the night or where his next meal will come from. For a child in rural Alabama, it means going without breakfast and wearing tattered hand-me-down clothes. For millions of seniors, living from one social security check to the next, it means living on the edge of poverty.

In 2009, 4 million people fell into poverty which brings the total to over 43 million. Nearly 44 million Americans ~ one in seven ~ lived last year in homes in which the income was below the poverty level ~ and it's getting worse.

Living on the edge of poverty is a far to common experience, particularly for seniors . In 2010, many seniors, including myself, are fed up with an Obama administration who evidently still feels that a top-down stimulus for Wall Street will eventually reach a down and out Main Street.

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Gilad Atzmon

The UN probe into the Israeli massacre in high seas concluded yesterday that Israeli forces violated international law and showed ‘incredible violence’ when they raided a flotilla attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. The UN fact finding mission also argues that Israel's naval blockade of the Palestinian territory was unlawful because of the humanitarian crisis there, and described the military raid on the flotilla as ‘brutal and disproportionate.’

According to the UN probe, there is "clear evidence to support prosecutions" against Israel for "willfull killing" and “torture”.

One would expect that after a publication of such a harsh report, Israel would self reflect, repent and vow to change its attitude toward international law and humanism in general.

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Mary Shaw

It's like McCarthyism all over again.

On September 24, FBI agents raided the homes of some anti-war activists in Chicago and Minneapolis on suspicion that they were providing material support to terrorism.

This follows only a few weeks after it was discovered that Pennsylvania's Office of Homeland Security had been spying on activist groups in the Keystone State.

The Chicago Tribune quotes one of the harassed activists in Minnesota as calling the searches "an outrageous fishing expedition."

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