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Finnegan begin again - Syria and the cycle of recursive violence
Michael Collins
James Joyce began Finnegans Wake with this passage:
"riverrun, past Eve and Adam's from swerve of shore to bend of bay bring us back by a commodious vicus of recirculation back to Howrth Castle and Environs."
Those sturdy enough to navigate the hallucinogenic, recursive, rhythmic prose to the very last page (or clever enough to proceed there right away) discover that the opening sentence is a continuation of the last sentence in the novel: "A way a lone a long a last a long the " … "riverun" etc. It's all a loop, where Finn constantly begins again.
We see a multilayered, recursive cycle of beginning again from the point at which we've just ended in the cycles of the tragic assault on Syria and its people.
Fat Man Talking – Governor Christie Sinks
Joel S. Hirschhorn
After having many positive views of New Jersey Governor Christie mainly because he seemed like a better kind of politician, maybe being someone the public could actually trust, I now see him as just another untrustworthy, dishonest politician.
As a political junkie I have followed very closely the whole bridgegate scandal. Today I closely listened to the two-hour press conference Christie held.
Despite all his apologizing, Christie looks absolutely terrible to all those with critical thinking capabilities.
First, though he fired his deputy chief of staff because she lied about her action as shown in an email wherein she triggered the action to close lanes on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge, he did not come close to saying she was also fired because of what she did. He was “saddened” because she lied and was disloyal, and acted stupidly, but not because of what she accomplished. He portrayed himself as a victim, while not expressing authentic guilt over the real victims, those impacted by the traffic gridlock, including school buses and ambulances, not just commuters.
Ariel Sharon's Criminal Legacy
by Stephen Lendman
Gilad Sharon chronicled his father's life. He wrote his biography. It's titled "Sharon: The Life of a Leader." It discusses his history from soldier to general to political leader. According to Gilad, his father "was a much better prime minister" than Netanyahu. He was Sharon's finance minister. He claimed he "gave and gave and gave."
"Palestinians got and got and got, and my question is, what did we get? Nothing and nothing and nothing."
"What the public wants to know is when will it get a prime minister who stops putting wind in the sails of terrorists and begins to demand things in return for concessions."
Gilad calls Netanyahu "subversive." He's "coward(ly)," he added. He left unexplained his father's blood-drenched career. Evil best describes it.
Rich Congress, Poor America
by Stephen Lendman
The Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) calls itself "the nation's premier research group tracking money in US politics and its (corrosive) effect on elections and public policy."
"Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, the organization aims to create a more educated voter, an involved citizenry, and a more transparent and responsive government."
Doing so remains a major uphill struggle. It shows virtually no signs of success. Conditions are worse than ever in modern times. Washington's political establishment is ruthless, corrupt and lawless.
Members infesting it are privileged. Most are very, very rich. Generous congressional benefits supplement their wealth.
Fidel at 87
Stephen Lendman
Last August 13, Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz turned 87. He's a legend in his own time. He led Cuba's revolution. He did so for half a century.
Freedom replaced police state rule. US imperial dominance ended. So did mafia boss control. Cuba was transformed into a casino and brothel. No longer since 1959.
Cubans won't tolerate recolonization. They survived America's viciousness. So did Fidel.
He remains committed for world peace. He champions social justice. He deplores imperial lawlessness. He survived against long odds.
Washington wanted him dead. He survived hundreds of attempts to kill him. In July 2006, he underwent major gastrointestinal surgery. Misreporting pronounced him dead or dying.
Following his recovery, George Bush said: "One day the good Lord will take Fidel Castro away."
In response, Fidel said: "Now I understand why I survived Bush's plans and the plans of other presidents who ordered my assassination. The good Lord protected me."
A Palestinian-Hezbollah War in Lebanon?
by FRANKLIN LAMB
Ain el Helweh camp, Lebanon
It’s not just the leadership of the Zionist regime still occupying Palestine, six decades after the 1948 Nakba, that appears to be salivating at the current stoking of current tensions between the Palestinian Resistance and in some respects, its historic off-spring Hezbollah.
From Tel Aviv, to Amman, Riyadh, the Gulf Kingdoms to Washington DC and beyond, the forces allied against the Tehran-Damascus-Hezbollah-Palestinian Resistance are working on yet another project to weaken and hopefully destroy all four.
It won’t be easy, but it is reportedly a key element among the anti-Resistance forces still seeking regime change in Syria. Even while some of these governments have been playing down their central goal of regime change in public. The same governments appear to be fantasizing that by building up the Lebanese army with a pledged $ three billion from Riyadh, its troops will somehow confront Hezbollah and its allies as part of a long-term “beat em or bleed em” project.
Saudi Arabia: A Retrograde Rentier Dictatorship and Global Terrorism
James Petras
Introduction
Saudi Arabia has all the vices and none of the virtues of an oil rich state like Venezuela. The country is governed by a family dictatorship which tolerates no opposition and severely punishes human rights advocates and political dissidents. Hundreds of billions in oil revenues are controlled by the royal despotism and fuel speculative investments the world over. The ruling elite relies on the purchase of Western arms and US military bases for protection. The wealth of productive nations is syphoned to enrich the conspicuous consumption of the Saudi ruling family. The ruling elite finances the most fanatical, retrograde, misogynist version of Islam, “Wahhabi” a sect of Sunni Islam.
Faced with internal dissent from repressed subjects and religious minorities, the Saudi dictatorship perceives threats and dangers from all sides: overseas, secular, nationalists and Shia ruling governments; internally, moderate Sunni nationalists, democrats and feminists; within the royalist cliques, traditionalists and modernizers. In response it has turned toward financing, training and arming an international network of Islamic terrorists who are directed toward attacking, invading and destroying regimes opposed to the Saudi clerical-dictatorial regime.
Homelessness in Winter Cold
by Stephen Lendman
Imagine homelessness any time. Imagine struggling to survive outside. Imagine it in winter cold. Imagine it during what Chicagoans call Siberian Express conditions. From Sunday night through Thursday morning, they were dangerously frigid.
At times, Monday wind chills reached - 50 degrees Fahrenheit. O'Hare Airport's low was - 16 degrees. Downtown it was - 15.
Exposed skin risks frostbite. In extreme severe cold, it can happen in around 10 minutes.
Affected areas must be thawed and rewarmed swiftly. Failure to do so risks gangrene and infection.
Hypothermia is more serious. It's a life-threatening drop in internal body temperature. When it's below 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius), the heart, nervous system and other organs don't function properly.
Anti-Iranian Sentiment Persists
by Stephen Lendman
November and subsequent Geneva nuclear talks fell far short of final resolution. Longstanding differences remain. It shows in continuing Big Lies.
They wrongfully suggest an Iranian nuclear threat. They do so when none whatever exists. It's well known but unacknowledged.
Anti-Iranian sentiment persists. It gives pause to Washington's real intentions. On January 9, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei commented.
He said nuclear talks proved US hostility to Iran and Islam. "The Enemy's smile shouldn't be taken seriously." Its intentions and actions matter most.
America's Imperial Agenda
by Stephen Lendman
Major media editors support what demands condemnation. Wall Street Journal editors are worse than most.
They endorse Washington's imperial agenda. They believe might makes right. On January 2, they headlined "Victory in Okinawa," saying:
"...Japanese authorities will allow the US military to relocate an air base on the strategically significant island of Okinawa."
"Think of it as a triumph of democratic realism in the face of renewed regional threats."
America's presence constitutes the most significant regional threat by far. Not according to Journal editors. They falsely accused China of "saber-rattling." They want its "aggressive behavior deterred."
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