Things to consider—

Since early 2011, Obama's been waging proxy war on Syria. Imported death squads masquerade as freedom fighters. The scheme's familiar. It repeats. It reflects US imperialism's dark side. In the 1980s, CIA-recruited mujahideen fighters battled Afghanistan's Soviet occupiers. Ronald Reagan called them "the moral equivalent of our founding fathers." He characterized Contra killers the same way. —Stephen LendmanFor over a century now US ambassadors have acted as fifth columns in the nations they are embedded in, their role chiefly to foster corporate and plutocratic power and coordinate machinations against any truly pro-democratic government.•••••"The dead end identity politics of SF Pride, which sells out a peace hero like Bradley Manning to curry favor with the American ruling class, is what I had in mind. The empire loves your tameness, irrelevance and cowardice, SF Pride. You don’t bother the American ruling class — a five foot two, 105 pound soldier does because he has a conscience and because he didn’t make comfort the guiding principle of his life...." —Randy Shields
  • Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby versus Prince Harry and his polo-playing American friends

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  • Should the US bomb Syria?

    Should the US bomb Syria?

    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 [...]

  • A new film version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

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    By David Walsh, wsws.org Directed by Baz Luhrmann, co-written by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce, based on the novel by F. Scott 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 [...]

  • Obama’s New Appointments Prove that He Will Continue to Lick Wall Street’s Boots In His Second Term

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  • Pole dancing for the faint-hearted

    Let the Real Housewives try this for a change. Did you like this? Share it:

  • IRS Scandal Headlines: More Than Meets the Eye

    IRS Scandal Headlines: More Than Meets the Eye

    by Stephen Lendman 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).  Did you like this? Share it:

  • Putin v. Obama et al

    Putin v. Obama et al

    by Stephen Lendman 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 [...]

  • CBS media turd Scott Pelley pontificates about US journalism

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Going Rogue: America’s Unconventional Warfare in the Mideast

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Aug 052012
 

By Sharmine Narwani – al-akhbar.com

Pro-government Syrian fighter

The intent of U.S. [Unconventional Warfare] UW efforts is to exploit a hostile power’s political, military, economic, and psychological vulnerabilities by developing and sustaining resistance forces to accomplish U.S. strategic objectives…For the foreseeable future, U.S. forces will predominantly engage in irregular warfare (IW) operations.

So begins the 2010 Unconventional Warfare (UW) Manual of the US Military’s Special Forces. The manual attached here (TC 18-01) is an interim publication, developed to address the definition of Unconventional Warfare and some other inconsistencies in UW Doctrine. The new UW document (ATP 3-05.1) is in the initial draft and not yet available, though sources tell me it is unlikely to differ much from TC 18-01. Continue reading »

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Dissembling Concern Over Violence, UN General Assembly Takes a Side in Syria’s Civil War

 AFRICA, ANNOTATED NEWS, ANTIWAR, ASSHOLES, BASTARDS & CRIMINALS, BATTLE OF COMMUNICATIONS, BETTER HUMANITY, CAPITALISM & SOCIALISM, CORPORATE OWNED PARTIES, COUPS & CIVIL WAR, IMPERIALISM  Comments Off
Aug 052012
 

We offer comprehensive information and analysis on this important issue—

(1) By Stephen Gowans, what’s left

Professing grave concern over Syria’s escalating violence, the United Nations General Assembly on Friday demanded that “all in Syria immediately and visibly commit to ending violence.”

This would be all to the good except that the General Assembly’s idea of what constitutes “all in Syria” and what it means by “ending violence” amounts to one side in the civil war (the Republic) laying down its arms unilaterally, while President Assad steps down and cedes his authority to an interim government approved by the “international community,” which is to say, the very same countries that are furnishing the rebels with arms, logistical support, diplomatic assistance, territory from which to launch attacks, salaries for fighters, lucre to induce government officials to defect, and propaganda. Continue reading »

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El Difunto

 ARTS & FILM, HUMOR, LatinAm-CHILE, TGP en Español  1 Response »
Aug 052012
 

Sección española—

Nota del Editor:
Seguimos con este cuento corto del periodista y escritor Chileno-Español Manuel Pastrana Lozano (nombre de pluma, Chambergo) nuestro esfuerzo de presentar no solamente materias políticas en nuestra sección internacional, sino también artefactos culturales. El cuento corto tiene un viejo linaje en la cultura española, donde ha sido un instrumento preferido para destacar el sentido de ironía mordaz y picardía—a veces hasta cruel— que alienta el alma hispánica. No es posible explicar por qué los españoles, en particular, son así. Como todos los pueblos del Mediterráneo tienen una mente fecunda, pero en su caso, las visualizaciones son a menudo enmarcadas en un sorpresivo fatalismo sardónico. El resultado es que el carácter español es en ciertos aspectos notables mucho más inscrutable, laberíntico y contradictorio que el de los franceses e italianos, gentes no famosas por su simpleza.

Hitler mismo, conocido por su fuerza de voluntad y testarudez, y no acostumbrado a ser contradicho, salió virtualmente exhausto después de una breve conferencia con Francisco Franco. No consiguió que Franco asintiera a ninguno de los puntos que le pedía. “Discutir con este hombre es como poner la cabeza en un tornillo”, declaró el Fuhrer a uno de sus asistentes. “Una hora con Franco me va a costar una semana de jaquecas”.

Bueno, juzguen Uds.
—PG

________________________

El Difunto
Manuel Pastrana Lozano (Chambergo)
[Chile• España]

Raúl Fonseca Vera se pone ese día su traje más apreciado. Quiere dejar la mejor impresión en el Banco para tramitar el préstamo hipotecario que necesita para comprar al fin su casa, su propia casa. Antes de partir, se mira en el espejo, se alisa el cabello y se ajusta la corbata. Sonríe satisfecho. Su mujer lo acompaña hasta la puerta, lo abraza y le desea buena suerte. Han esperado por mucho tiempo esta oportunidad. Camina sin prisa, no quiere mostrarse nervioso, excitado. El día de sol veraniego le permite sentirse optimista. Repasa mentalmente lo que les dirá a los ejecutivos para convencerlos de que su petición está bien respaldada. Al llegar, se dirige a uno de los funcionarios que pareciera ser el indicado para su trámite. Le expone con calma su requerimiento y sus razones. Este lo escucha con atención. Raúl Fonseca espera unos instantes, luego completa varios formularios y estampa su pulgar derecho en otros tantos papeles. Continue reading »

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OpEds: The reality of meat-eating

 ACTIVISTS & HEROES, ANIMAL DEFENDERS, ANIMAL MARTYRDOM, ASSHOLES, BASTARDS & CRIMINALS, BATTLE OF COMMUNICATIONS, BETTER HUMANITY, CONTROVERSY, SAVING THE PLANET  8 Responses »
Aug 052012
 

A cow, unperturbed, in her natural state, as nature would have it.

Editor’s Note: People in the animal rights movement long ago advanced the slogan: “Meat is Murder”.  It was designed to shock a largely indifferent and willfully ignorant public into recognizing that the eating of animals is not a normal thing, no matter how we wash the matter and our consciences, that it involves very much the involuntary, painful death—for our pleasure or convenience— of a creature who has as much a right to live on this earth as any of us.

Some people will never change, and we understand that. But we do hope that the arguments presented here by Dr. Abelow, along with the video (courtesy of Mercy for Animals), will make those who read this piece think twice before continuing unperturbed with the habit of eating animals.  Simply put, it’s ethically wrong, and since we’re not tigers, lions or crocodiles, and we do have many choices, quite unnecessary. What’s more, eating animals is not only an ethical question of great importance; it’s also an ecological issue. Factory farms are today one of the biggest—if not the biggest—contributors to climate change, and all that this dreadful shift in the planet’s temperatures entail. In any case, after examining this article, and watching the images on this video, ask yourself honestly: are these animal rights activists so extreme?  Are they so unreasonable? And, isn’t meat just a fancy name for murder?—Patrice Greanville

The reality of meat-eating

By Benjamin Abelow, M.D.
New Marlborough, Massachusetts

A recent lead story in The Berkshire Eagle on the ammonia-treated hamburger filler known as “pink slime” drew attention to the integrity of our food supply [“Meat markets’ pink boon,” April 4, 2012]. But as consumers, we need to ask a basic question: Where does hamburger come from and, ethically or otherwise, is pink slime really any worse than the meat itself? Continue reading »

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