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Erdoğan’s Coup: Purging Domestic Critics, Gaining External Allies
James Petras
Introduction
The coup in Turkey was made to order. A group of military officers and police officials were set-up to seize power by senior intelligence operatives in the Erdoğan regime. They were allowed to drop a few bombs, seize bridges and buildings before they were encircled, rounded-up and arrested using a list of targets for arrest prepared even before the so-called coup. In the midst of this fake coup, the ‘vacationing’ Erdoğan flies into Istanbul unharmed, of course, because his vacation resort was bombed after he had left. He seizes the mass media, denounces the coup, rouses the Muslim masses and sets about on a mass purge of Turkish society, concentrating on the civil service, teachers and administrators, the military, the courts and judges. Indeed every institution capable of independent action or reputedly critical of Erdoğan is closed. After a week over 60,000 people had been purged.
Putin Bashing Comes Full Circle
Stephen Lendman
He’s the preeminent world leader, its foremost peace and stability champion, saying what he means and meaning what he says forthrightly - polar opposite how Obama and other US officials operate.
You’d never know it from relentless bashing he takes - shamelessly blaming him for nonexistent “Russia aggression,” fantasy revanchist aims, imaginary super-wealth stashed in tax havens, Hillary comparing him to Hitler - to accusing him of helping Trump by hacking DNC emails and handing them to WikiLeaks for publication.
Romanian Guccifer 2.0 was responsible. Russia had nothing to do with it. Putin is automatically blamed whenever the chance arises, due diligence checking systematically avoided - propaganda taking precedence over facts.
Mass DNC Anti-Clinton Protests
Stephen Lendman
She’s called America’s most powerful woman. She’s also the most reviled, an unparalleled threat to world peace and fundamental freedoms. The possibility of her succeeding Obama should terrify everyone.
Establishment circles love her. Progressive ones in Philadelphia streets Monday demanded “Never Hillary.” “Hill No.” “Lock her up.” Tens of thousands rallied against her outside the Wells Fargo Center convention site in sweltering Philadelphia heat. From firsthand experience long ago as an MBA student followed by employment in the city, I know how hard it is to bear on many summer days and nights.
Yet anti-Clinton fervor brought huge numbers out in force, an estimated 50,000 or more on Monday - many more so far than far small numbers against Trump in Cleveland, around one or two thousand.
DNC Chairwoman Resignation Not Good Enough
Stephen Lendman
Double standard US justice throws the book at ordinary Americans for infractions too minor to matter. Harsh gulag imprisonment awaits them.
Government, business and other privileged individuals are more fortunate - accountability not demanded, their lawbreaking when occurring ignored.
Most often they’re rewarded. Wall Street and other corporate crooks get bonuses and promotions. Crooked politicians get top government posts. Military criminals get medals, generals more stars. DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz was caught red-handed, rigging the electoral process for Clinton, assuring she’ll be party standard bearer in November.
She’s stepping down after this week’s party convention, continuing to represent Florida’s 23rd district - facing no criminal charges, despite committing a serious racketeering offense.
Dems Convention Off to Rocky Start
Stephen Lendman
Democrats mock the term’s meaning. Exposed electoral rigging anointed Clinton party standard bearer honors - an unindicted war criminal/racketeer belonging in prison, not high office.
DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned on the convention’s eve - guilty of racketeering for stealing primary and caucuses to assure Clinton’s nomination - yet remaining unaccountable, staying on through the November elections as honorary chairwoman.
Had things been open, free and fair, Sanders would likely be Dem nominee, not Clinton. Despite flagrant fraud depriving him of the chance to face Trump in November, he shockingly continues supporting Clinton - responsible for back-stabbing him.
Exclusive Interview with Putin on DNC Emails – From Russia with Love
By Michael Collins
Satire
(Washington, DC 7/25) As I was idly wondering what Vladimir Putin would say about the DNC email scandals, I received a call from Vladimir Putin himself. He said he wanted to talk about the Wikileaks release of DNC emails. When I asked why he picked me to contact, he said “I probably strarted at the wrong end of the list” and laughed heartily. (Image: Compilations.TV/GAVRILOV)
MC: President Putin, did the Russian government hack the DNC email server and then publically release those emails through Wikileaks the day before the Democratic convention?
Putin: Yes.
MC: Yes! Are you serious?
Putin: I’m quite serious.
MC: How can you justify this open meddling in United States politics?
TPP: Top Lobbyist Says TPP Will Probably Become Law Soon After Nov. 8th
Eric Zuesse
Rufus Yerxa, the top lobbyist for the National Foreign Trade Council, told World Trade Online, on July 12th, that he believes "there is enough time and congressional support to get TPP passed during a lame-duck" session of Congress, meaning the session between November 9th and January 3rd, which would be in time for U.S. President Barack Obama to sign it into U.S. law before leaving office. (It would be done basically the way Bill Clinton deregulated Wall Street and ended AFDC — just as he exits the White House, and with overwhelming Republican support in Congress.)
This means that any increase in the laws and/or regulations regarding product-safety, workers’ rights, consumers’ rights, and/or the environment, will spark a slew of lawsuits by the owners of international corporations, against the U.S. government, the taxpayers, to reimburse to these stockholders what they estimate will be their resulting loss of profits on their investments. These are typically multi-billion-dollar suits, and if TPP passes, the number of them will explode into the stratosphere, like a nuclear weapon against national governments — a weapon that’s owned and operated by mega-corporations (not by any government).
Deplorable Republican Platform
Stephen Lendman
Democrat and Republican platforms are more similar than different - largely on deplorable policies both parties support but won’t acknowledge.
Duopoly power runs America. Two right wings represent it. Both support wealth, power and privilege exclusively at the expense of enormous harm to most people worldwide - a virulent scourge threatening humanity’s welfare and survival.
They represent America’s dark side, the evil of ill intentions. Ignore party convention bravado, theater designed to distract, deceive and avoid vitally needed progressive change.
Party platforms don’t explain America’s imperial lawlessness, neoliberal harshness harming the nation’s most vulnerable, and police state injustice enforcing ruthless governance.
Nothing about prioritizing peace and stability over endless wars of aggression, enhancing social justice instead of eroding it, making America beautiful for everyone, not just its privileged few.
Bernieism Pure Fantasy All Along
Stephen Lendman
Anyone examining his deplorable 30-year public service record knew there was no there there, same old, same old, masquerading as revolutionary populism, a thinly veiled facade concealing support for dirty business as usual.
It shouldn’t need explaining, yet too few people understand. America is more autocracy than democracy, more fascist than fair, more police state than populist, more ruthless over a longer duration than any regime in history - run exclusively of, by and for its privileged class. Its political process is too debauched to fix. Tinkering around the edges won’t change things. Conditions worsen each electoral cycle instead of improving - each new administration and Congress more sinister than earlier ones.
No one becomes duopoly power presidential material without being bought over too many times to count. Genuine populists have no chance whatever.
Another Cold-Blooded Israeli Murder with Impunity
Stephen Lendman
Racist US and Israeli policies bear striking similarities. Cops in America turned Black and Latino communities into battlegrounds, virtual war theaters, killing with impunity - rarely ever held accountable for cold-blooded murder and other forms of brutality.
Israel operates the same way, soldiers, police and other security forces authorized to kill or brutalize Palestinians for any reason or none at all. Investigations when conducted are farcical, whitewashed, justice systematically denied.
Mahmoud Badran, aged 15, is Israel’s latest victim, murdered by Israeli soldiers, the unprovoked attack wounding four of his cousins. Three others with them were unharmed. Initially an IDF spokesperson lied, saying live fire was used against “terrorists” throwing stones. Badran and his cousins were driving home from late night swimming, threatening no one.
A revised IDF statement said they were “mistakenly” fired on, an investigation into the incident underway, whitewash certain, accountability a nonstarter.
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