IF WESTERN POWERS CARPET BOMB IRAN, IT WILL BE BUT THE “CONTINUATION OF POLITICS BY OTHER MEANS.”
(Asia Times)
Conn Hallinan adopts the language of military strategist Carl von Clausewitz to describe the showdown between lran and the West over Iran’s asserted but never proven program of enhancing uranium to produce nuclear weapons. The “politics” that have been declared is a politics of sanctions and assassinations, carried out by international corporations and the clandestine intelligence agencies of counties the like of Israel and the U.S. These sanctions are creating dire economic conditions in the country with runaway inflation and unemployment rates. If “war breaks out,” it may seem to the Iranian people as only a “continuation” of the international aggression of which they are already victims, as punishment for an alleged action of their government which is perfectly within the bounds of international legality.
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COME BACK SHANE! FROM YOUR OUTRAGEOUS CLAIM THAT DRONES ARE A MORE “MORAL” WAY OF WAGING WAR.
(Counterpunch)
Dave Lindorff takes to task the “national security” reporter for the New York Times Scott Shane for a piece in which he makes the claim that drones are more “humanitarian” than conventional weapons since they generate less of the “collateral damage” of injury of innocent civilians. He gives low-ball estimates of the ratio of militants to civilians killed in drone attacks, and uses as comparison such atrocities as the kill ratio of civilians to militants in Israeli IDF attacks in Palestine—-or more egregiously still, an alleged ratio of 6 times as many civilians as militants killed in the U.S. invasion of Fallujah, Iraq. About the only legitimate observation of Scott in this piece is that the availability of drone technology has lowered the threshold for national security threats so that drones are being freely deployed in scattered locations in which there is nothing like a declaration of war against countries in which they are being launched.
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HOW DO YOU SAVE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN PUBLIC EXPENDITURES IN DETROIT? TAKE IT OUT OF THE PAY OF THE CITY’S POLICE, OF COURSE.
(Yahoo News)
The city’s union for police officers had already negotiated with city officials for a $68 million reduction in compensation and benefits for their members. This is not enough for the city’s Mayor who arbitrarily decrees a 10% pay cut for all officers. This is too much even for the compliant union, which is taking the City to court to try to stave off the pay cuts.
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REVIVING THE TOURIST INDUSTRY IN BUFFALO, NEW YORK: ONE SEGWAY TOUR AT A TIME.
(Buffalo News)
It worked in Pittsburgh, and a Segway-operating entrepreneur is bringing his business to Buffalo as part of a concentrated effort of city planners to find appealing ways (beyond a visit to nearby Niagara Falls) to sustain the 5.4 million people per year who arrive as tourists in Erie County. The focus of this campaign is to emphasize the many “unique” features of the city and region: a characteristic typically sought in tourist destinations.
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HOW YOUNG IS TOO YOUNG TO RIDE A BUS ALONE IN THE TAMPA BAY AREA?
(Tampa Tribune)
Officials of transportation authorities in the area seem not to have a clue. While they worry about “liability” issues associated with unaccompanied minors riding the buses, there is no certain policy with some authorities and, among those who have such age limits, they range from the age of 6 in Pinellas County to 18 in Polk County. Hillsborough County (Tampa) is still “considering” the matter.
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Quote of the day…
A failure in this case would potentially be much worse than PATCO. On the other hand, a success would partially redeem the heavy defeat inflicted on unions in Wisconsin, and signal a fundamental shift in American politics. And more than this: from Sichuan in China to Asturias in Spain, labor protests are growing in scale and militancy. America’s influence is such that a return of the labor movement in the US would tilt the balance in favor of workers globally.
Richard Seymour, on Chicago’s massive teachers strike, comparing to 1987 airline strike ended by Ronald Reagan by destroying air traffic controllers union.
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I am continually baffled by the right wing’s assertion that Pres Obama doesn’t have the cajones to carpet bomb Iran. He already has wasted the Army in afganistan. He killed Bin Laden. I have no doubt that when the time comes We will join Isreal to reduce Iran to 2000 BC.
If the US has the right to send it navy to patrol the Persian Gulf, does Iran have the right to send its navy to patrol the Gulf of Mexico? Most Americans would say no, because they do not believe that laws that apply to others also apply to them. The real rule is that the US has worldwide impunity based on its military power and defiance of the rule of law except when it is applied to others.