Elections in Venezuela have produced a new leader for country following the sudden death of former President Hugo Chavez earlier this year. The United States and its allies are refusing to accept the results, however, propping up opposition protests that have led to street violence and demands for a recount. Events surrounding the aftermath of [...]
“ANTIQUE COLD WARRIORS IN THE SERVICE OF PIRATE CAPITALISTS.” This is Rob Urie’s tag-line for his scathing denunciation of the Iraqi war: the authorities who perpetrated it, and the 75% of Americans who “supported” it until the action came to be seen as too costly and futile. Bush administration officials come under major charges [...]
HOMEGROWN THREATS: NYPD DEFINES SUCH MUSLIM BEHAVIORS AS GIVING UP SMOKING, GAMBLING AND HIP HOP MUSIC AS INDICATIONS OF THEIR “JIHADIZATION.” In New York as elsewhere Muslim Americans are subjected to very intrusive surveillance at any places where they might congregate with fellow Muslims, not only at mosques but cafes and book stores that they [...]
18,000 MILE TRIP ADDS ANOTHER GIANT OIL RIG TO DRILLING IN THE GULF OF MEXICO. Operation owned jointly by Royal Dutch Shell and BP brings a huge platform from South Korea, to be assembled at a port in Texas, then to join a slew of rigs seeking to extend the producing life of the [...]
THE “BIGGEST CLIMATE FIGHT” OF THE YEAR MAY ALREADY BE HERE, AND IT COULD HAVE BIG CONSEQUENCES FOR THE HEALTH OF OUR PLANET. A tiny Oregon town is at the center of a brewing struggle over big profits for the coal industry and whether simply “offshoring” the dirtiest of fossil fuels will negate any [...]
WHAT DO SAUDI ARABIA, BAHRAIN AND QATAR HAVE IN COMMON? First, they are “monarchical regimes” within which are found some of the most barbaric labor practices in the world, often featuring immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa. Second, they are the closest of allies of the United States in its determined policy in fomenting insurrection in a “humanitarian [...]
THE AFRICAN UNION HAS BECOME AN “ANNEX” OF THE PENTAGON. As Glen Ford noted last June, the expansion of U.S. forces in Africa (AFRICOM) is operating as an “infiltration” exercise of American forces being placed as “guests” of various African nations comprising the African Union. These “guests” are in a peculiar positions for guests: [...]
THERE IS NOTHING SO PERMANENT AS A TEMPORARY GOVERNMENT PROGRAM. John Glaser cites this saying attributed to Milton Friedman. It seems to capture the current situation of Libya in the aftermath of attacks on a U.S. consulate in Benghazi killed 4 people, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya. In “response,” President Obama sent [...]
“PROVIDING MATERIAL SUPPORT OR RESOURCES TO DESIGNATED FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS.” It this sounds like a serious crime under U.S. criminal code, it is. But it’s a close enough characterization of much of Western actions in support of the “rebels” who have challenged government forces in both Libya and Syria. One American citizen in particular, [...]
SOUTH SUDAN: A NEW NATION CONCEIVED BY A BUNCH OF POLICY WONKS HANGING OUT AT A STARBUCKS COFFEE HOUSE. Abetted by allies in neighboring African countries like Rwanda, a group of “policy wonks” have engaged in a long term effort to create a new country based on a civil war in Sudan that they [...]
Recent Comments