Pages: << 1 ... 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 ... 1271 >>
The Totalitarian Imperative - At the Tipping Point
By Numerian Posted by Michael Collins
First appeared in The Agonist
Borders have been shut down, and a preposterous security screening process, complete with requirements that people remove shoes, belts, and all personnel possessions, has been put in place that seems to have very little to do with actual security and everything to do with training the public to behave in an obedient, deferential and docile fashion in the face of officialdom.
Listening to Paul Ryan’s speech at the Republican National Convention, I couldn’t place where I had come across something quite like this before. Then it struck me – Pravda! I used to subscribe to Pravda in high school and college, first to learn Russian, and second, to pursue a college program in Soviet studies. Pravda was a newspaper that specialized in the Big Lie – the Five Year Plan was always ahead of schedule, Soviet industrial capabilities exceeded that of any other country, people were starving on streets all across America. The newspaper was a non-stop stream of lies, just as Paul Ryan’s speech was studded with Big Lies – lies that were easily disprovable, such as Barack Obama did nothing about the Simpson-Bowles recommendations to reduce the budget deficit (Paul Ryan didn’t mention he voted against these recommendations when the House killed any chance of enacting them); or that Obama made it easier for people to live off welfare (the President altered the enrollment rules of welfare at the request of Republican governors); or the Romney favorite – Obama cut over $700 billion of Medicare benefits for individuals (the cuts were imposed on hospitals and insurance companies, not beneficiaries, and Romney has the same cuts in his economic plan). (Image: Wikipedia)
Romney/Ryanism in Tampa
by Stephen Lendman
Tampa may never be the same. Republicans left it pockmarked. At least they're gone. Residents welcomed their departure. Three days of pre-scripted hokum were featured. Romney/Ryan speeches featured revisionist history. Democrats get their turn next week.
Campaigning is in high gear. According to Bloomberg, "you'd need six months to watch every presidential campaign ad." As of August 22, 526,633 (30 or 60 second) spots were run.
By election day November 6, perhaps they'll top a million. And that's only for president. All House and 33 Senate seats are up for grabs. So are numerous others at state and local levels. They range from gubernatorial to local school boards.
This is not America
By Timothy V. Gatto
A beautiful song, being sung by a beautiful girl, the combination of both should make us feel anything but angry. Yet this song makes me angrier than hell. It’s because she sings the truth. This is NOT America. We live in a nation that is no longer what it once was. From time to time in this country, we have committed our share of atrocities and made our share of mistakes.
The genocidal wars against the Native Americans, the overthrow of legitimate governments by our military and the CIA, the wars of Imperialism against nations like Spain and Mexico, the list goes on. Yet today I am proclaiming that we no longer live in America.
Of course we live in America! How could we not be living in America?
Anti-Iranian Rage
by Stephen Lendman
Washington and Israel wage dirty covert wars. Iran's been targeted for years. Imperial aims are prioritized. Rule of law principles don't matter. Israel wants sole regional dominance. America wants it globally. Lawless tactics continue.
They include cyber attacks, other sabotage, targeted assassinations, deadly explosions, sophisticated satellite, drone, and other spying, bogus accusations, a virtual blockade, hostile saber rattling, multiple rounds of sanctions, and attempts to cripple its central bank and oil industry.
In addition, relentless anti-Iranian propaganda substitutes malicious misinformation and bald-faced lies for accuracy and truth.
Rachel Corrie and the Kosher Legal Stamp
Gilad Atzmon
Judge Oded Gershon’s ruling earlier this week that the state of Israel is not to blame for the death of Rachel Corrie, came as no surprise. In fact it reaffirms everything we know about the Jewish state - its politics, legal system and spirit. Israel is surely a most peculiar state - it is impervious to ethical thinking and humanist thought. Accordingly, Judge Gershon gave this week a kosher stamp to a cold-blooded murder and by so doing, he proved, once again, that Israeli criminal actions are consistent with the most vile interpretations of Old Testament and Talmudic Goy-hating.
As one would predict, Judge Gershon, restricted himself to legalism and litigation as opposed to ethical thinking - he actually blamed Corrie for not ‘behaving reasonably’. Yet, one may wonder what is this ‘reason’ or more precisely, what does an Israeli mean when he or she refers to ‘reason’.
Media Scoundrels Promote Permanent Wars
by Stephen Lendman
Real journalists report issues responsibly. Scoundrels operate by different rules. They play lead US imperial roles. Without them, pretexts for war wouldn't matter. Selling them depends on widespread dissemination. Messages not heard don't exist.
Regurgitating official lies legitimizes attacking one nonbelligerent nation after another. Responsible parties share guilt with war planners.
Blood drenches their hands. Peace and stability are rejected. So are rule of law principles and democratic values. Global barbarism defines their thinking. It shows in what they endorse.
Perhaps mass slaughter and destruction energize them. They're paid to lie. They support imperial war lords. Truth and full disclosure are verboten. They willingly promote the unconscionable.
Israeli Soldiers Break Silence
by Stephen Lendman
Breaking the Silence (BTS) is an organization comprised of Israeli combat veterans. They served since the start of the second Intifada. They refuse any longer to stay silent.
Their testimonies expose "the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories." Their purpose is to stimulate public debate. They revealed abuses too gruesome to hide.
They include "looting and destruction of property." Many other crimes and abuses are much worse. In their own words, they reveal the deplorable immorality of Israel's militarized occupation.
Most Israelis ignore it. They turn a blind eye to what's done in their name. "In order to become civilians again, soldiers are (also) forced to ignore what they have seen and done."
BTS members have been revealing disturbing truths for years. A previous article discussed them, saying:
"We, reserve officers and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)....have always served in the front lines" (We) were first to carry out any mission, light or heavy, (and we did it) to protect the State of Israel and strengthen it."
Settler Attacks on Palestinians
by Stephen Lendman
Last February, a Jerusalem Fund/Palestine Center (PC) report titled "When Settlers Attack" discussed data collected from 2004 to 2011. It includes over 3,700 separate incidents. It explains when, how, and why they occur.
PC discovered a disturbing increase in violence. Palestinian civilians are targeted. Northern rural West Bank villages are most affected.
Each year, attacks peak during olive harvest season. Most aren't "price tag" revenge incidents. They're structural and systemic. They're occupation related.
Over 90% of areas experiencing violence are under Israeli security jurisdiction. According to PC's executive director Yousef Munayyer:
"The dramatic rise in settler violence in the last several years demands investigation and analysis into why this happens."
Global Peace and Security: President Obama and Mankind at Crossroads
Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.
The Obama’s presidency was seen a fantasy to the centuries old white legacy of the White House. The power and its glorification associated with the White House have not resulted in any ground breaking discoveries even after Obama’s entry to the Washington landscape. The crucial challenge Obama faces is how to cope with change and adaptability to a New Beginning that he envisaged but betrayed by conscientious compromise to ensure his own political survival. Paul Craig Roberts called him “The World’s Least Powerful Man – the Obama Puppet.” Obama did not pave the way to hell for the unwanted wars but found it already paved by George Bush to keep on solo walking to entrapment - the Madness of Unthinking. Politics is a game of new and creative ideas not a fixed entity or an end to itself. Those who perceive “points of no return” and scramble “red lines” indulge in self-geared acts of absurdity and can hardly relate to the contemporary informed global intellect and changing priorities of the mankind, open and flexible to change and futuristic developments. On all of his major policy statements and strategic intents from the immediate closing of the Guantanmobay Terrorism Headquarters, the end of two bogus wars, the lobbyists dominated politics, re-approaching diplomacy and outreach to normalization of relations with the Muslim world, President Obama got glued to the form and forgot the essence of meaning and purpose for which he won the election - “Yes We Can.”
Circus Shenanigans in Tampa
by Stephen Lendman
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey calls theirs "the greatest show on earth." Politics in America combines sham with show me the money.
Republicans got first dibs. Their version of politics US-style hits Tampa from August 27 - 30. Mother nature had first say. Isaac's fury claimed day one. Perhaps its message was nyet on three days of hype, bombast, fraud, and promises made to be broken.
The following week, Democrats have their turn. Charlotte, NC hosts three days from September 4 - 6. Growing numbers of Americans reject both parties. A pox on politics serving elite interests only. They're in lockstep on all issues mattering most. Duopoly power controls them.
Perhaps one day these charades will be held and no one notices. Why bother when bipartisan complicity spurns public concerns. Just scrap 'em, say some.
<< 1 ... 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 ... 1271 >>
