James Petras

Introduction

Over the past 30 years, wealth has grown exponentially and has become increasingly concentrated foremost in the upper .01%, then the .1%, followed by the 1% and the upper 10% - 20%.

The large scale, long-term concentration of wealth has continued through booms and busts of the real economy, the financial and IT crises. Wealth grew despite long-term economic recessions and stagnation, because the

so-called recovery programs imposed austerity on 80% of the households while transferring public revenues to the rich.

Full story »

by Stephen Lendman

America is more police state than democracy. George Bush institutionalized it. Obama hardened his abusive practices.

Pervasive at federal, state and local levels. Ferguson, MO symbolizes what's wrong. Obama's solution:

Downplay Michael Brown's murder. Ignore militarized police repression.

Arm state and local departments nationwide with more weapons than already supplied. Types used in war theaters.

Militarized America threatens freedom. Turning city streets into battlegrounds.

Washington provides police nationwide with enormous amounts of combat weapons, related equipment and supplies.

Full story »

Stephen Lendman

Israeli occupation ruthlessly oppresses millions of Palestinians. For praying to the wrong God.

For wanting rights everyone deserves. Including living free on their own land in their own country.

Home demolitions constitute collective punishment. Against Palestinians. A flagrant Fourth Geneva violation.

Since June 1967, Israel demolished over 48,000 Palestinian houses and other structures. Dispossessing occupants.

Israeli authorities claiming Regulation 119 authority. Of the 1945 British Mandate Defense (Emergency) Regulations. Long outdated.

Incorporated into Israeli law. Granting broad discretionary powers. Imposing excessive punishment. By administrative order.

Full story »

Stephen Lendman

Reports indicate Obama will nominate Carter as new defense secretary. Succeeding Chuck Hagel.

"(B)arring any last minute complications." According to unnamed administration officials. He tops the short list.

The Pentagon's Stars and Stripes publication said he's the likely choice. An announcement may come this week.

He'll be Obama's 4th Pentagon chief if nominated and confirmed. Following Robert Gates, Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagel.

The New York Times said his "formal nomination is expected in the next few days once the White House completes the vetting process."

Full story »

by Stephen Lendman

His record speaks for itself. Ideologically over-the-top. Lawless. Reckless. Ruthless by any standard. Reflecting the worst of rogue leadership.

Mocking democratic values. Breaching rule of law principles. Riding roughshod over responsible governance. Serving monied interests exclusively. They never had it so good.

Responsible for protracted Main Street Depression conditions. Letting popular needs go begging when most needed.

A reliable corporate tool and then some. Pro-war. Pro-business. Pro-privilege. Pro-super wealth. Anti-populist.

Anti-government of, by and for everyone equitably. Presiding over a gangster state. The most ruthless in world history. Most reckless. Most dangerous.

Full story »

by Stephen Lendman

They're ongoing. Fascists jousting for power. Holding most Knesset seats and ministerial posts. New faces may replace old ones for control.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu sacked Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Justice Minister Tzpi Livni.

Saying "I will no longer tolerate an opposition within the government. I will not tolerate ministers who, from within the government, attack government policies and the person who leads the government."

Lapid's Yesh Arid party responded saying Netanyahu’s "haphazard move of firing the ministers is an act of cowardice and loss of control."

He "failed in his management of the country and in dealing with the needs of the Israeli public."

"We are sad to see that the prime minister has chosen to act without consideration for the national interest and to drag Israel to unnecessary elections which will harm the economy and Israeli society, all for narrow political interests and a surrender to the ultra-orthodox parties, the powerful central committee of the Likud and outside lobby groups."

Full story »

by Stephen Lendman

Reports show tens of billions of dollars in post-war Iraqi aid wasted. A likely $100 billion or more.

Down a black hole. Misused. Stolen. Washington turning a blind eye. Not a single Iraqi official held accountable. Or US one.

Including for establishing a ghost army. Around 50,000 strong. More on this below.

US imperial strategy works this way. Target an easy-to-defeat sovereign independent country. Most often a resource rich one.

Claim it threatens US security. When no threat whatever exists. Fear-monger ad nauseam.

Get media scoundrels to repeat Big Lies. Bury hard truths. Manipulate public opinion.

Full story »

Eric Zuesse

U.S. President Barack Obama has blocked accountability, everywhere he can.

(1) Obama did it for the top officials who had caused illegal tortures to be used by the Government.

(2) Obama did it also for the top officials who had caused mega-banks to crash in 2008 (whose crimes have, in turn, led to taxpayer-bailouts of the banks that they ran and often still run, all courtesy of Bush-Obama). In order to keep their Ponzi-economy going, his Administration (including his Federal Reserve) is now letting Wall Street’s federally-backstopped mega-banks “Enron”-ize the commodities markets: oil, gas, coal, metals, even uranium, and (yet again) electricity.

(3) Obama did it also for the top officials (led by G.W. Bush himself) who had caused a certain country, which posed no threat to us, to be invaded by us in 2003, and subsequently to produce over $3 trillion in economic losses for the U.S., plus thousands of pointless deaths, and millions of unnecessary refugees, and the resulting development of today's fanatical ISIS: this country that was raped by the U.S. is, of course, Iraq -- and an unprovoked and totally propaganda-based invasion of any country is an international war crime, but the U.S. did such a thing, and no one has been punished for having done it, nor even (such as Condoleezza Rice) for having participated in it.

Full story »

by Ellen Brown

On the weekend of November 16th, the G20 leaders whisked into Brisbane, posed for their photo ops, approved some proposals, made a show of roundly disapproving of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and whisked out again. It was all so fast, they may not have known what they were endorsing when they rubber-stamped the Financial Stability Board’s “Adequacy of Loss-Absorbing Capacity of Global Systemically Important Banks in Resolution,” which completely changes the rules of banking.

Russell Napier, writing in ZeroHedge, called it “the day money died.” In any case, it may have been the day deposits died as money. Unlike coins and paper bills, which cannot be written down or given a “haircut,” says Napier, deposits are now “just part of commercial banks’ capital structure.” That means they can be “bailed in” or confiscated to save the megabanks from derivative bets gone wrong.

Full story »

By Dr. Elias Akleh

The slow simmering Palestinian/Israel tension have been lately escalated to a boiling level at many fronts; social, political and religious. This tension has led to many violent confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli armed security forces, and between Palestinians and armed Israeli mobs. The epicenter of these violent confrontations is Al-Quds/Jerusalem and radiates to all the major Palestinian towns in the West Bank, and to all the 1948 occupied Palestinian towns. These confrontations would ignite a Palestinian Intifada (uprising) that would be different in nature and intensity than the previous Intifadas; 6 years long first Intifada (1978) and the 5 years long second Intifada (2000) known as Al-Aqsa Intifada.

Full story »