BY ALEX MILLER
Criminal and freemarketer Bush and his “loyal” opposition. To whom is Pelosi “loyal” we may ask? To the abstract interests of the establishment as reflected in the current status quo? Or to the ordinary citizens?
BY JOHN PILGER
Dateline // Crosspost from Johnpilger.com, a fraternal site 17 Oct 2007
John Pilger marks the European release of Michael Moore’s latest film, Sicko, with an examination of why the documentary film-maker exerts such influence, with fans and enemies alike. “In societies ruled by an invisible government of media,” he writes, “no one has broken through like Moore, who breaks every rule by reporting from the ground up, instead of from the top down.” Continue reading ‘Why they’re afraid of Michael Moore’
Excerpted from Revolutionary Worker #1236, April 11, 2004, posted at http://rwor.org This is a republication of an article of permanent interest. Note that what this article says— despite the fact it was written three years ago—has been abundantly verified over the last year, culminating with the Blackwater pseudo-hearings in Congress in late September (2007). A little solid information and class analysis go a long way.
“We have established a global presence and provide training and tactical solutions for the 21st century. Our clients include federal law enforcement agencies, the Department of Defense, Department of State, and Department of Transportation, local and state entities from around the country, multinational corporations and friendly nations from all over the globe.”—Blackwater corporate website
Continue reading ‘After Fallujah: The Truth About the Blackwater Mercenaries’
“WHY TORTURE?”
Eloquent caption indeed, despite the typos and the clueless technician at CNN.
BY STEVEN JONAS
UPDATED: OCT 17, 2007 The Political Junkies.net Column No. 167
The US government use of torture is in the news once again, and as long as BushCheney are in power it will be, off and on. For they have made its use into US government policy. Of course, they describe whatever it is that is being done as “not torture.” They then go on to say that a) “we can’t give you any details because: a) it’s classified and b) anyone who spills the beans will be “aiding and abetting terrorism and terrorists” (as if such persons didn’t already know from first-hand experience with Georgite torture at the hands of either US torturers or those of allies such as Egypt). This is done, and was done in a picture-perfect version by the White House Press Secretary in response to the revelations of the current secret program of torture carried out after Bush said “we-don’t-torture,” because that’s what they want to have the discussion on: “what’s torture?” Continue reading ‘“WHY TORTURE?”’
Whither Desire?
By Nancy Wartik || Crosspost with The AARP Magazine \\ November & December 2007
The lust is gone. The fires are out. What happened? Is there anything you can do to rekindle love’s passion?
*Names of interviewees and their partners have been changed for privacy.
When she was in her 30s, Margaret Monaghan* ended a relationship because her boyfriend liked sex less than she did. “He thought sex once a week was more than enough,” she recalls. Continue reading ‘Whither Desire?’
Bush’s Shadow Army
BY JEREMY SCAHILL
Bush’s “Whores of War,” or, maybe, more appropriate, the boys from the “Coalition of the Billing.”
TOPICS OF PERMANENT INTEREST
Crosspost at THE NATION, where it originally appeared, and to whom we are grateful: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070402/scahill_vid
[first posted online on March 15, 2007]
Jeremy Scahill reports on the Bush Administration’s growing dependence on private security forces such as Blackwater USA and efforts in Congress to rein them in. This article is adapted from his new book, Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army (Nation Books). Continue reading ‘Bush’s Shadow Army’
It’s the Resistance, Stupid
The Iraqi resistance may merely want the Americans and other westerners out of Iraq, but bin Laden’s goal is more ample: to rid the entire Middle East of “crusader” influence. Though bin Laden is an unapologetic religious fundamentalist, it is his nationalist “foreign policy” that gains him as many supporters among the Arab masses as his strong beliefs in the infallibillity of the Koran.
BY PEPE ESCOBAR
The ultimate nightmare for White House/Pentagon designs on Middle East energy resources is not Iran after all: it’s a unified Iraqi
resistance, comprising not only Sunnis but also Shi’ites.
“It’s the resistance, stupid” - along with “it’s the oil, stupid”.
The intimate connection means there’s no way for Washington to
control Iraq’s oil without protecting it with a string of sprawling
military “super-bases”. Continue reading ‘It’s the Resistance, Stupid’
We have said it before: If hot air could be used as a viable energy source, Tom Friedman alone could solve the world crisis. The billionaire pundit’s arrogance often matches his ignorance—and is there any point in asking why the NYTimes poo-bahs keep him under contract?
By Steve Jonas / Dateline: Tue, 10/16/2007 -
Tom Friedman has been wrong before about the major issues of our time. He supported “globalization” and apparently still does, even though this is finally being revealed to be not at all about “free trade” (e.g., U.S. sugar), as some observers have known for quite some time. Rather it is about the free export of capital to places where it can make a lot more profit for its owners than it could in the U.S. Tom Friedman originally supported the War on Iraq, even though he wasn’t sure about WMD. And now Tom Friedman is wrong on Gore (for the most part) and on Bush. Continue reading ‘Dr. J.’s Commentary: Tom Friedman: Wrong. Again.’
Britches in the arms of an ALF member, with stitches removed. This stump macaque became famous when animal liberation “terrorists” raided the lab where she was being subjected to frivolous experimentation, and found her eyes had been sewn shut as a form of early maternal and sensorial deprivation. (See below) As a critical part of the establishment complex, a lot of universities work hand in glove with corporations, the military and other institutions in projects that the public would readily disallow if properly informed.
BY WILL POTTER // Dateline: “Green is the New Red: How the Bush Administration Is Using Terror Laws to Prosecute Nonviolent Environmental Activists,” Counterpunch, May 04, 2006.
A version of this article was also published by Earth First Journal and Green is the new red blog
• Reproduced here with comments from Green is New Red blog
The Red Scare was less about evidence than really great PR. Joseph McCarthy and crew flacked one word so relentlessly, so virulently, that it became a political albatross to hang around anyone’s neck. The true meaning of the word fell by the wayside: communism became a fluid brand to slap on the enemy of the hour. Continue reading ‘SMOULDERING ISSUES: Green Is The New Red’
photo: ranson-polizzotti
By Sadi Ranson-Polizzotti
Out of the School Yard and into the Boardroom: The New American Bully, On Film, In Life // A Compleat Guide to Harassment from Unexpected Quarters
All over the world, and most especially, in corporate America, a terrible war is being waged, one that seems so unlikely and preposterous. It is woman against woman, and it is a systematic and conscious marginalizing of smart, talented, women of all looks, race and shape who face a daily work-place assault by the least likely of oppressors- their female supervisor - one who subjects her underlings to such extreme and inappropriate behavior that if a man did it (and with today’s laws, he wouldn’t, not if he were smart anyway), would be facing a sexual harassment suit faster than you could say “Anita Hill.” Bullying is now recognized by the American Medical Association (AMA) as a serious public health problem. Continue reading ‘The Ways and Whys of Female-to-Female Bullying’
Search
INTRO & REMINDER TO THE READER Betrayed by the rightwing social-democrat Friedrich Ebert (whom Luxembourg had once tutored in economics) and at his behest, Rosa was captured by the Freikorps (a rightwing militia of decommissioned soldiers soured by the First World War defeat and manipulated by the German plutocracy) and promptly assassinated. Luxemburg’s last known words, written on the evening of her murder, were about her belief in the masses, and in the inevitability of revolution: Continue reading ‘Socialism or barbarism?’ |