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Richard Falk: Speaking Truth to Power
by Stephen Lendman
Falk is Princeton University Professor Emeritus. For 40 years, he taught international law and relations. In 2008, he was appointed UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights.
He's outspoken about longstanding Israeli human rights abuses. They're too horrendous to ignore. On June 6, he addressed them. More on that below.
May 15 is Nakba Day. It's the "day of the catastrophe." In 1948, Israel stole 78% of historic Palestine.
In 1967, it took the rest. June 5 is Naksa Day. It commemorates the "day of the setback." It's when Israel occupied Palestinian-populated West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
It remains illegally occupied. It's militarized for control. It's dominated ruthlessly and repressively. For 46 years, Palestinians been criminally oppressed. Millions have been terrorized. Hundreds of thousands have been killed, injured, and/or displaced.
Marriage and death on Wednesday's agenda
Mary Shaw
Wednesday, June 26, promises to be a big news day, for good or for bad.
First, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California's Proposition 8, both of which deal with same-sex marriage.
DOMA defines marriage for all federal purposes as a legal union between a man and a woman. The case, United States v. Windsor, was brought on behalf of Edith "Edie" Windsor, who in 2009 lost her spouse of 44 years, Thea Spyer. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Windsor and Spyer had gotten married in Canada in 2007, and "were considered married by their home state of New York." But, because of DOMA, explains the ACLU, "Windsor was not able to claim the estate tax marital deduction that is available when the surviving spouse is of the opposite sex. In her lawsuit, Windsor is seeking to have DOMA declared unconstitutional and to obtain a refund of the federal estate tax that she was forced to pay following Spyer's death."
America: Police State Ruthlessness Writ Large
by Stephen Lendman
Snowden in Russia
Cold-blooded barbarity reflects US policy. Democracy's more illusion than reality. Rule of law principles don't matter. They're systematically spurned.
Dissent's increasingly targeted. Freedom's imperiled. Obama's ruthless. He exceeds the worst of George Bush. He's waging war on truth-tellers. He targeted more whistleblowers than all his predecessors combined.
Merrian-Webster calls a police state "a political unit characterized by repressive governmental control of political, economic, and social life usually by an arbitrary exercise of power by police and especially secret police in place of regular operation of administrative and judicial organs of the government according to publicly known legal procedures."
The Oxford dictionary calls it "a totalitarian state controlled by a political police force that secretly supervises the citizens' activities."
Brazilians Demand Social Justice
by Stephen Lendman
Justifiable public anger holds back only so long. On June 11, protests began. On June 17, they erupted across Brazil. Hundreds of thousands turned out. Estimates ranged up to 1.5 million.
At issue is scandalous misspending on sports. It's at a time of stalling economic growth, layoffs, rising inflation, and few opportunities for youths.
Public need are sacrificed. Billions go for construction. It's spent for the 2014 International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics.
On June 21, FIFA secretary general Jerome Falcke said:
"The Confederations Cup is taking place in Brazil and the World Cup must be held in Brazil. There is no plan B."
Trafficking in Lies about Syria
by Stephen Lendman
Media scoundrels substitute lies for truth and full disclosure. They violate core journalistic ethics doing so. They threaten world peace.
They're waging war on freedom. They do it shameless, recklessly and unapologetically. They continue ad nauseam.
Victims are called war criminals. Aggressive wars are called liberating ones. Western state terrorism is called humanitarian intervention.
Media scoundrels front for power. They support imperial lawlessness. Syria's being ravaged and destroyed. Assad's vilified for defending his nation responsibly.
Decline and Fall - Snoop Daddy ECHELON, Real Unemployment, Syria
Michael Collins
A chronicle of the spectacular incompetence of those who purport to lead us
WASHINGTON - Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor, revealed a government process of spying on citizens and organizations, not information about the subjects of cyber spying. If not illegal, it is a process that should be illegal. The real term for what Snowden did is whistleblowing: acting to serve the public by revealing important information kept secret by the government.
Snowden was indicted for his good work.
Last week we found out that President Obama has been lying about providing lethal assistance to the terrorist-infested Syrian rebels. The public has a right to an accurate version of United States foreign policy.
Obama and the in-the-know members of his administration and Congress were not indicted.
We live in a lawless nation where enforcement of the law is the exclusive province of those in charge.
Washington v. Edward Snowden Update
by Stephen Lendman
Events are fast-moving. On June 23, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's (HKSAR) press release said:
"Mr Edward Snowden left Hong Kong today (June 23) on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel."
"The US Government earlier on made a request to the HKSAR Government for the issue of a provisional warrant of arrest against Mr Snowden."
"Since the documents provided by the US Government did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law, the HKSAR Government has requested the US Government to provide additional information so that the Department of Justice could consider whether the US Government's request can meet the relevant legal conditions."
Presidential Rule by Deception: Obama, the Master Con-man
James Petras
Introduction
In an electoral system, run by and for a corporate oligarchy, deception and demagoguery are essential elements - entertaining the people while working for the wealthy.
Every US President has engaged, in one fashion or another, in ‘play acting’ to secure popular approval, neutralize hostility and distract voters from the reactionary substance of their foreign and domestic policies.
Every substantive policy is accompanied by a ‘down home’ folksy message to win public approval. This happened with President ‘Jimmy’ Carter’s revival of large-scale proxy wars in Afghanistan in the post-Viet Nam War period; Ronald Reagan’s genocidal wars in Central America, George Bush Sr.’s savaging of Iraq in the First Gulf War; ‘Bill’ Clinton’s decimation of social welfare in the US while bombing civilians in Yugoslavia and deregulating Wall Street; George Bush Jr.’s invasion and partition of Iraq and Afghanistan, the attempted coup in Venezuela and massive tax cuts for the rich; and Barack Obama’s staggering bailout of the biggest Wall Street speculators, unprecedented launching of five consecutive wars, and arrest and deportation of millions of immigrant workers. Each President has elaborated a style in order to ingratiate himself with the public while pursuing his reactionary agenda.
Enemies of Syria Plan Escalated Aggression
by Stephen Lendman
So-called "Friends of Syria" are their worst enemies. They're a rogue's gallery of scoundrels. They're complicit with Washington's imperium. They violate core international law principles.
They're no friends of peace, stability and freedom. Umbrella group members America, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, and Qatar met in Doha.
They agreed on "secret" escalating measures. They hope to tip the military balance. They're desperate to counter Assad's impressive victories. He's routing insurgents convincingly. They're no match against Syria's military strength.
Nepal: The View From The Top Is Not Pretty
By: Sufyan bin Uzayr
With the exception of Mt. Everest, Nepal has very little that the mainstream media finds newsworthy. You cannot really blame the Western media though -- this small land-locked country of South Asia does not get much coverage in regional Asian press either. Naturally, anything that is hidden from the eye tends to acquire a sense of enigma over a period of time, and the Nepalese nation has done just that. Enigmatic or not, but such seclusion comes at a price: most of the time, progress tends to slow down, and in this article, I shall attempt to analyze the state of Nepal and its current situation.
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