By David Walsh, wsws.org
Harry Windsor on the polo grounds. The stench of privilege and decadence follows him everywhere.
“Prince Harry rounded off his hugely successful week-long tour of the U.S. today very much in his comfort zone – playing polo. … He was greeted by club founder Peter Brandt [sic] and his model wife, Stephanie Seymour. Brandt, 65, – whose wife is 44 – is an American industrialist and businessman, worth an estimated $2.7 billion.” – Daily Mail, May 15, 2013 Continue reading »
By Stephen Gowans, What’s Left
There is no compelling evidence that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against the rebel forces which seek its overthrow, and for purely military reasons, it’s highly unlikely that they have been used. Simply put, the Syrian army can kill more rebels with missiles, tanks and heavy artillery, even rifles, than with chemical agents. But even if chemical weapons have been used, a military intervention by the United States, its NATO allies, or its regional proxies, would fail the test of humanitarian intervention. First, it would exacerbate, not reduce, the suffering of Syrians. Second, it would be undertaken for concealed reasons of economic and geo-strategic gain, not to protect Syrians from chemical weapons, and neither for the promotion of multi-party representative democracy or to encourage tolerance of dissent. Continue reading »
By David Walsh, wsws.org
Directed by Baz Luhrmann, co-written by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce, based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald
F.S. Fitzgerald
“It’s not all rubbish,” cried Amory passionately. “This is the first time in my life I’ve argued Socialism. It’s the only panacea I know. I’m restless. My whole generation is restless. I’m sick of a system where the richest man gets the most beautiful girl if he wants her, where the artist without an income has to sell his talents to a button manufacturer. Even if I had no talents I’d not be content to work ten years, condemned either to celibacy or a furtive indulgence, to give some man’s son an automobile.” Fitzgerald, This Side of Paradise (1920)
It is unfortunate that during the filmmaking process no one ever turned to director Baz Luhrmann and suggested that his interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925) was wrongheaded and likely to result in an artistic travesty. Continue reading »
Puts Fox In Charge of the Henhouse … Again
The party line is that Obama’s new pick for SEC boss – Mary Jo White – will be tough on Wall Street.
For example, the Wall Street Journal writes:
Obama Taps Ex-Prosecutor Mary Jo White, Portending Increased Policing of Wall Street
In reality, this is putting the fox in charge of the henhouse. Continue reading »
by Stephen Lendman
The rot is systemic, bipartisan. Both JFK and Nixon set up “enemies” lists to harass via the IRS and other agencies. They are not the only presidents to do so.
More than targeting political enemies is involved. More on than below. The practice is longstanding. Republican and Democrat administrations use the IRS abusively. During the Coolidge administration, Republican Senator James Couzens investigated the IRS’ predecessor – the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). Continue reading »
by Stephen Lendman
Obama with Erdogan: Standard hypocrisy at work—photo-ops to legitimate the crimes being plotted behind closed doors.
On May 16, the Wall Street Journal headlined “Russia Raises Stakes in Syria,” saying:
Russia “sent a dozen or more warships to patrol waters near its naval base in Syria, a buildup that US and European officials see as a newly aggressive stance meant partly to warn the West and Israel not to intervene in Syria’s bloody civil war.” Continue reading »
The Problem With Journalism? Scott Pelley Blames the Internet
Pelley