On two occasions in my life I found myself living close to the South China Sea. The sea became my escape from life’s pressing responsibilities. But there is no escaping the fact that the deceptively serene waters are now also grounds for a nascent but real new cold war.China takes the [...]
Poor America Must Watch P a n o r a m a [B B C] – Video Documentary With one and a half million (1.5 million) American children now homeless, reporter Hilary Andersson meets the school pupils who go hungry in the richest country on Earth. From those living in the storm [...]
“A State of the Union address, with the entire military leadership staring at you from the floor of the Congress, is not the easiest place for a President to speak truth to power,” writes LeVine [GALLO/GETTY] Irvine, CA - How do you judge a State of the Union speech that begins with a lie? There was any number [...]
US, Israel Agree: Iran Not Building Nukes by Ray McGovern, January 26, 2012 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Has Iran decided to build a nuclear bomb? That would seem to be the central question in the current bellicose debate over whether the world [...]
Degrade This: Wall Street’s Ratings Agencies Undermine Europe’s Attempt at Recovery Acting Like Financial Terrorists by Danny Schechter We live in an increasingly degraded country. Our politics are degraded and a laughing stock to the word. Our military is demoralized and degraded with soldiers urinating on dead civilians and awaiting deployment orders for the next illegal [...]
January 10, 2012 “BFP” – Washington clearly wants ‘finito’ with Russia’s Putin as in basta! Or as they said in Egypt last spring, Kefaya–enough! Hillary Clinton and friends have apparently decided Russia’s prospective next president, Vladimir Putin, is a major obstacle to their plans. Few however understand why. Russia today, in [...]
AFP photo Rick Santorum won’t win in New Hampshire. The latest polls suggest the best he will do is finish third – but for a man voters struggled to identify just a few weeks ago, he has, through hard work and dogged campaigning, elbowed his way into the top tier of challengers for the Republican [...]
Poor in the US bartering for healthcare Video is available at http://www.aljazeera.com/video/americas/2012/01/20121845011800689.html Maine clinic allows those on low-incomes to do yard work or other labour in exchange for time with a doctor. A clinic in the US state of Maine has introduced a novel system in order to support those who cannot afford costly [...]
The US-Iran economic war By Pepe Escobar NEW YORK – Here’s a crash course on how to further wreck the global economy. A key amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act signed by United States President Barack Obama on the last day of 2011 – when no one was paying [...]
How Washington Lies About Cutting Defense Budgets John Glaser, January 04, 2012 Print This | Share This | Comment | Antiwar Forum At Reason‘s Hit & Run, Jacob Sullum highlights the utterly disingenuous politicking on the part of nearly everyone in Washington with regard to cutting defense budgets. The Obama administration and most of both parties in Congress have been [...]
Barack Obama at the Pentagon. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images President Obama has unveiled plans for America’s military future, outlining a historic shift towards a smaller and leaner force that will focus on China and move away from large-scale ground warfare that has dominated the post-9/11 era. Obama became the first president to announce a strategy [...]
It is less than contemptible that the killing of people where there is never any certainty of guilt and where everyone sinks to the same level as the alleged killer that cost is even a consideration. The best response is to stop the killing and use alternates if they are possible. But the killing must [...]
The PBOC injected US dollars into the market whenever there were signs that the yuan would weaken sharply [EPA] The yuan has closed up against the United States dollar after hitting an all-time high in intra-day trading, guided by a stronger mid-point by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), and looks set for an over [...]
Bail-out Bombshell: Fed “Emergency” Bank Rescue Totaled $29 Trillion Over Three Years While the 99% suffered hardship, a new study shows that the Fed propped up buddies in the banking industry and a vast shadow banking system far beyond what anyone has guessed. December 15, 2011 | LIKE THIS ARTICLE ? Join our mailing list: [...]
Perhaps the really sad factor in all the discussions about Obama‘s lack of any achievements is the grave likelihood that he never intended to carry out any measure that was part of his electoral platforms and his selling himself to his army of supporters. All the dancing, the tears of Joy as he was elected [...]
US-China relations can only be expected to worsen as the US expands its influence in Asia [GALLO/GETTY] When it comes to China policy, is the Obama administration leaping from the frying pan directly into the fire? In an attempt to turn the page on two disastrous wars in the greater Middle East, it may have just [...]
Washington’s Clumsy China Containment Policy Ted Galen Carpenter | November 30, 2011 Although U.S. officials have insisted for years that they do not regard China’s rise to great-power status as a threatening development, Washington’s statements and actions increasingly belie those assurances. Any doubt on that point disappeared following President Obama’s November 17 speech in [...]
Totally Corrupt America by PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS Last March I reviewed Matt Taibbi’s important book Griftopia, an entertaining account of the through-going financial fraud that gave us the financial crisis. Taibbi shows that the US “superpower” can match any third world backwater in the magnitude of greed and fraud that is endemic in business and government. [...]
The supercommittee’s failure will trigger automatic cuts in the defence budget and domestic spending. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP US braced for automatic cuts as supercommittee set to admit defeat Republicans and Democrats blame each for other for failure on deal to reduce federal deficit by $1.2tn over 10 years reddit this Ewen MacAskill in Washington [...]
Poverty rates for single mothers in the US was 49 per cent higher than in 15 other weatlhy countries [GALLO/GETTY] We’ve been at war for decades now – not just in Afghanistan or Iraq, but right here at home. Domestically, it’s been a war against the poor, but if you hadn’t noticed, that’s not surprising. [...]
Colonel Morris Davis, Former Chief Prosecutor Guantanamo Military Commissions. (Photo: Crimes of War) Former Guantanamo Chief Prosecutor: “A Pair of Testicles Fell Off the President After Election Day” Sunday 13 November 2011 by: Jason Leopold, Truthout | Report Morris Davis speaks bluntly about some of President Barack Obama’s policy decisions. “There’s a pair [...]
Why Defense Debates Are Unbalanced THE SKEPTICS |More Benjamin H. Friedman | November 8, 2011 A reporter asked me the other day why my side of the military budget debate—for slashing spending—has been quiet lately. Given that I have been spending too much time making such arguments, I was slightly annoyed. The conversation was a [...]
While European leaders are struggling to deal with the crises in Italy and Greece, another debt crisis is looming. The US congress has until November 23 to agree on how to reduce its public debt, or face mandatory budget cuts. Many are concerned that failure to reach a deal might lead to a downgrade of the US [...]
AP / Thomas Watkins Residents hang out at the basketball court at Algin Sutton Recreation Center in South Los Angeles. The center is included in the city’s Summer Night Lights program aimed at reducing gang violence. By Bill Boyarsky While Occupy Wall Street and similar movements around the country take aim at financial institutions and their [...]
The End of the American Era Noam chomsky has taken a view of the work of Walt et ors in the following ways,”Noam Chomsky, professor of linguistics at MIT, said the authors took a “courageous stand” and said much of the criticism against the authors was “hysterical”. But he asserts that he did not [...]
Princeton University professor and renowned civil rights activist Cornel West was arrested Friday afternoon during a demonstration in Harlem against alleged racial profiling by the New York City Police Department. West joined a protest against the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy, which critics say disproportionately targets people of color. New York City police carried out 600,000 such [...]
I WOKE UP ONE MORNING AND THE WAR WAS OVER By Mike Ferner http://warisacrime.org/content/i-woke-one-morning-and-war-was-over America’s war in Iraq is over. The last U.S. troops will leave by year’s end, “with their heads held high, proud of their success and knowing that the American people stand united in our support for our troops.” So sayeth President Obama. A [...]
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gestures with Libyan soldiers upon her departure from Tripoli in Libya on Oct. 18, 2011. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque) By Keith Weir LONDON (Reuters) — Russia, the United States and European countries ignored fears over human rights abuses and sold large numbers of weapons to governments in the Middle East [...]
A secret US memo authorised the killing of radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki for his alleged role in an al-Qaeda affiliate [EPA] The United States’ recent killing of Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen has prompted renewed debate over the CIA’s predator drone programme. That the US government asserts the right to eliminate a terrorism suspect far from [...]
Rebecca Solnit, This Land Is Your (Occupied) Land Posted by Rebecca Solnit at 10:13am, October 18, 2011. The other day in my Manhattan neighborhood, a woman passed me in the street. She was obviously headed for a demonstration somewhere in the big city, with a sign tucked sideways under her arm. I could just make out the [...]
Obama Shrinks Martin Luther King at Memorial Dedication By Matthew Rothschild, October 17, 2011 President Obama gave an eloquent speech at the Martin Luther King Memorial Dedication, but he shrank King to suit his own purposes. He focused on the convenient King—the “I Have a Dream” King—and he touched on King’s commitment to [...]
US Deaths in Afghanistan: Obama Doubles Entire Bush-Era Total Figures Show Overwhelming Increase in Military Casualties by Jason Ditz, October 17, 2011 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum A grim new milestone was reached in the US occupation of Afghanistan this week, as the death toll in less than three years under President Obama has [...]
Dispatch From Activist Arrested for “Assaulting” Leon Panetta During Supposedly Public Hearing LIKE THIS ARTICLE ? Join our mailing list: Sign up to stay up to date on the latest Civil Liberties headlines via email. A CODEPINK activist shares the story of how she and seven others were arrested last week while trying to bring [...]
US Expanding Use of Deadlier Drone Attacks by John Glaser, October 15, 2011 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum The Obama administration has expanded the drone war, with active unmanned Predator and Reaper vehicles armed with a 108-pound precision-strike missiles known as Hellfire II wreaking blood and carnage in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and elsewhere. [...]
Thugs on the Job: The NYPD, Protecting and Serving Wall Street New NYPD tactic? “Hey, I had to park this thing somewhere. Why not on his broken leg? (click on photo to go to video)” At the end of this chaotic YouTube video, made at the end of a huge victory by the activists occupying Wall [...]
JUAN GONZALEZ: Ten years after 9/11, detention policies in the U.S. are facing increasing scrutiny both here and abroad. A terrorism trial set to begin later this month is already attracting international attention. American citizen Tarek Mehanna is set to face charges of “conspiring to support terrorism” and “providing material support to terrorists.” Mehanna is accused [...]
– Posted on 11 October 2011 Obama’s Depression – by Stephen Lendman Chosen to serve power, not popular interests, Obama wrecked America‘s economy to save giant Wall Street banks. He’s still doing it, despite claiming he’s been out in front doing all he can. By bailing out too-big-to-fail banks and waging multiple imperial wars, [...]
Many Americans are drowning in debt and unable to afford both daily costs and credit card payments [GALLO/GETTY] Occupy Wall Street through Egyptian eyes One Egyptian food cart vendor in New York city typifies average American woes – deep in debt with no way out. Zayd Sifri Last Modified: 10 Oct 2011 09:05 [...]
It seems that the message is getting through. All the lies about keeping the economy going simply mean keeping the elites in unbelievable profit positions and making the people pay. The propaganda campaign conducted by all the capitalist economies where every last cent is wrenched from the wealth creating people and put into the pockets [...]
JUAN GONZALEZ: Here in New York, protesters continue to camp out in a park in the Financial District as part of an action called, Occupy Wall Street. Democracy Now!’s Mike Burke was at the protest encampment last night and filed this report. MIKE BURKE: We’re just blocks from Wall Street and the former World Trade Center. We’re in [...]
Romney: Rebuild defense, add 100,000 troops By Bruce SmithAssociated Press / October 6, 2011 E-mail| Print| Comments (1) Text size – + MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C.—Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Thursday America must not economize on security but rather strengthen national defense by rebuilding the Navy and Air Force and adding 100,000 active duty personnel. Tweet Be the first [...]
Veterans for Peace Denounces Obama’s Assassination Policy Eric Garris, October 04, 2011 Print This | Share This | Comment | Antiwar Forum From Veterans for Peace: As of September 29, 2011, we are only one step away from a government where the top official can kill anybody, anywhere, any time he feels it necessary – and do it in [...]
Poll: Vets Say Iraq, Afghanistan Wars Weren’t Worth It Endless Warfare Starting to Get Old, Vets Agree by Jason Ditz, October 05, 2011 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum With recent polls showing overwhelming opposition to the war in Afghanistan among the American public (which by and large is only vaguely aware the war in Iraq [...]
Financial analysts increasingly have warned that US economic contraction is a considerable risk [Reuters] US economic recovery ‘close to faltering’ Ben Bernanke, chairman of US Federal Reserve, urges congress against making quick spending cuts that could hurt growth. Last Modified: 04 Oct 2011 17:33 You may note that yet again the so called ‘strong economies‘ of the [...]
John Feffer, The End of America‘s Pacific Century Posted by John Feffer at 9:28am, October 4, 2011. [Note for TomDispatch Readers: The offer of a signed, personalized copy of Foreign Service Officer Peter Van Buren's remarkable new book, We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People, is [...]
The Secret Memo That Explains Why Obama Can Kill Americans OCT 3 2011, 9:10 AM ET 1024 The Department of Justice produced it prior to the assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki. But they won’t release it. Outside the U.S. government, President Obama’s order to kill American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki without due process has [...]
Quintessentially Authoritarian Foreign Policy John Glaser, September 26, 2011 Print This | Share This | Comment | Antiwar Forum Reuters: Pakistan’s military will not take action against the Haqqani militant group that Washington blames for an attack against its embassy in Kabul, despite mounting American pressure to do so, a Pakistani newspaper reported on Monday. …The Pakistani commanders [...]
The Senate stayed in session later than planned to strike the deal [AFP] US Senate averts government shutdown Legislators strike deal to allow government to continue operations while also providing aid to victims of disasters. The US Senate has reached a deal to avert a government shutdown and make billions of dollars of aid available to [...]
The one-sided US veto: an astounding display of hypocrisy By Neve Gordon and Yinon Cohen US President Barack Obama’s decision to use the USA‘s veto prerogative if the United Nations votes to recognize a Palestinian state will constitute a blow to those seeking peace in the Middle East. The Obama administration’s claim that peace can be [...]
none of what follows should surprise anyone that the US wants to be able to annihilate anyone it can say is an enemy terrorist, or supporter, or follower. What the hell what we say goes, you get in the way you die. George Ikners ikners.com Obama Team Split Over Use of Lethal Force The expansive [...]
