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Bye, Bye, American Pie
by Daniel Patrick Welch
US intransigence in the face of a war-weary world will mean the end of the country as we know it
It actually shouldn’t be that much of a shock. For the last twelve years at least, Americans have watched their country drift into the shadows of international law abroad and onto the shoals of fascism at home. Inexorably, the weight of imperial overstretch has crippled an economy already on a constant war footing and led to the steady erosion of civil liberties once taken for granted.
At one point, Democrats cried out in (what turns out to be mock) horror when one of the Bushmen smirked at the Geneva Convention as ‘quaint.’ Outrageous! Squeaked the remnants of an American “Left.” No more. As drones are poised to darken the skies like a plague of locusts, intelligence agencies can read all of our communications even as we write them, and the general criminalization of dissent has accelerated without objection because, after all, the guy doing it has a -D after his name.
Israel Launches Anti-Rohani Media Blitz
by Stephen Lendman
Hassan Rohani is Iran's new president. On June 14, Iranians elected him democratically. He won a clear first round majority. On August 3, he was inaugurated.
Obama failed to congratulate him. He hasn't recognized his legitimacy officially. He's a longtime distinguished leader. He's held numerous high level positions.
He combines diplomacy, political acumen and scholarship. He's called the "Diplomat Sheikh" for good reason. He urges peace and reconciliation. He promises "government of hope and prudence." He pledged "constructive interaction with the world."
Arab People in War and Peace
Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.
Arab people appear oppressed, demoralized but instinctively furious at the Western world for not coming to rescue them from the daily civilian bloodbaths, use of chemical weapons in Syria, on-going massacres of the innocents in Egypt and Iraq and progressively moving cycle of degeneration across the oil exporting Arab societies. Nobody holds rational proactive viewpoints what the future will be if there is one for the despotic Arab authoritarian rulers phasing out faster than the speed of light, so to speak. A page in the recent history book, there was Saddam Hussein, Moummar Qadafi, Hosni Mubarak, Abdullah Saleh and now Bashar Al- Assad generating lost minute tormenting pains to the masses. Undoubtedly, these are the hallmarks of the contemporary Arab politics, more specifically “do nothing” self-centered naïve political culture of co-existence - people living with extreme adversity without any revulsion against the oppressors.
Occupation Harshness Belies Dead on Arrival Israeli/Palestinian Peace Talks
by Stephen Lendman
So-called peace talks continue. They represent the greatest hoax in modern times. Israel deplores peace. So does Washington.
Palestine's represented by longtime Israeli collaborators. Peace in our time won't happen. Pretending otherwise is willful deception. Occupation harshness shows what Palestinians face.
Many examples explain. Thousands of political prisoners languish in Israel's gulag. It's one of the world's worst. Torture is official policy. So is extreme harshness overall.Mazen Natsheh is one of many victims. He's been wrongfully imprisoned multiple times. On September 10, 1994, his ordeal began. He was administratively detained uncharged.
Lynne Stewart Petitions for Justice
by Stephen Lendman
Numerous previous articles discussed her. She's one of thousands of political prisoners. They languish unjustifiably in America's gulag. They do so out of sight and mind.
Lynne's a courageous human rights lawyer. She represented numerous clients authorities wanted convicted.
She afforded them counsel they'd never have gotten without an advocate like her. Many were wrongfully charged.
It doesn't matter. They're declared guilty by accusation. Lynne met the same fate. She's imprisoned for doing the right thing. She did it courageously for 30 years. She did before practicing law. She devoted her life to supporting society's most disadvantaged. She deserves much better than what she got.
Russian evidence may point to rebels in chem attack - Fisk
Michael Collins
Robert Fisk released some preliminary reporting on questions about who actually fired the chemical weapons missiles in Damascus on August 21. Robert Fisk, The Independent, September 22, 2013
The United Nations report released last week contained speculation on the trajectory of missiles based on their investigations. After qualification, the report concluded that the missiles were likely fired from Syrian government locations (pages 22, 23). The qualifications were significant, however. The report noted:
The Surveillance State Killed BlackBerry, and the Same Fate Awaits Other Tech Giants
via chycho
Being from Canada, interested in technology and the markets, and a privacy advocate, BlackBerry, formerly known as Research In Motion (RIM), has been on my radar for a number of years, so I would like to add my two cents regarding its demise (2, 3, 4, 5).
The two most important things we need to keep in mind about the “timeline of the company from RIM to Blackberry” are that: first, “when phone systems failed in New York and DC on 9/11, it was the BlackBerry network that provided backup communication”; second, contrary to popular belief, apps were never meant to be the feature selling point for its products, it was its security and privacy, the way it encrypted communication across its network that made it the only game in town.
In 2010, when governments threatened to “block encrypted BlackBerry corporate e-mail and messaging services if its security agencies were not granted access to them”, BlackBerry’s reply was:
“RIM also said it has drawn a firm line by insisting that any capabilities it provides to carriers for ‘lawful’ access purposes be limited by four main principles: Such access has to be legal, it must not exceed access imposed on RIM's competitors, it does not change the security architecture for Blackberry enterprise customers, and does not require a country-specific deal that does not conform to RIM's global standard for lawful access.”
Israeli Forces Attack EU Diplomats
by Stephen Lendman
Life in Occupied Palestine reflects institutionalized colonization and apartheid. Israel governs extrajudicially. It does so ruthlessly.
It's an out-of-control rogue state. It enforces lawless militarized occupation harshness.
It spurns international laws, treaties and conventions. It does so with impunity. It violates its own statutes and High Court decisions.
It considers Palestinians subhuman. State terror is official policy. So is demolishing Palestinian homes.
Stealing their land, dispossessing them, and denying them all rights reflects common Israeli practice.Numerous examples explain. Recent ones include massive ethnic cleansing plans. Arab Negev Bedouins are Israeli citizens.
The Norwegian National Election: Europe’s Most Leftist Government Defeated by Right-Wing Coalition
Asbjørn Wahl and Roy Pedersen
Public sector workers on strike in 2012.
The red-green coalition government in Norway, whose political platform when it took power in 2005 was called the most progressive in Europe, experienced a bitter defeat in the country's parliamentary election on 9 September. A coalition of four centre-right and right-wing parties, including a right-wing populist party, gained a solid majority and are now negotiating the political platform for a new government.
This happened in a situation in which oil revenue is pouring into the public coffers, the economic crisis goes virtually unnoticed, the unemployment rate is at a record low, real wages have been steadily increasing for a long time and most of the welfare state is still intact. To put it short, the country, with its abundance of oil and natural gas resources, and a history of democracy and social equality, represents a lucky exception in the world. How on earth could a red-green government at all lose an election in such circumstances?
Destroying Social America
by Stephen Lendman
It's on the chopping block for elimination. Initiatives began decades ago. Republicans, Democrats and Obama are in lockstep. They're waging war on vital safety net protections.
In 1996, Clinton's Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) became law. Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) ended.
Time limit harshness replaced it. Five years and out became policy. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) mandates it. States get diminishing amounts of federal funding.
Fixed block grants provide it. They're permitted to administer policy freely. They take full advantage during harder than ever hard times.
To qualify, recipients must work or train for jobs. Single mothers with small children are cheated. Millions are left on their own high and dry.
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