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America’s inevitable dictatorship
By John James
America has now entered on the inexorable path towards military dictatorship. President Obama has signed into law the the National Defense Authorization Act, allowing for the arbitrary detention, torture, and extraordinary rendition of Americans without trial. This is a slippery slope. Since the inception of the NDAA, the powers of authority have steadily increased and the fear that this engenders has intensified.
Habeas Corpus was introduced many centuries ago and has found until now to satisfy the security needs of every country that has confessed to some level of democracy. There is no excuse for introducing such a law as these powers already exist. It can be done only in order to terrify both the American people and those who make the laws.
Netanyahu: The Mouth that Roars
by Stephen Lendman
His bluster long ago wore thin. Iranian/Israeli/Middle East analyst Meir Javedanfar said he put himself up a tree and wants Obama to bring him down. "It's come down to threats, threats, threats, but we are at a saturation point."
Growing numbers of Israelis reject him for good reason. He menaces them like others. Attacking Iran assures retaliation most Israelis fear. It'll mean widespread destruction, radiation contamination, and large numbers killed or injured.
Gush Shalom founder Uri Avnery asked if he and Barak are mad or crazy? Netanyahu "may be crazy, but he is not mad. (Barak) may be mad, but he is not crazy."
They're an incendiary duo, but won't attack Iran. Avnery quoted the film line: "If you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk." He calls Netanyahu/Barak "beyond rational thinking."
This Land Is Their Land
by Stephen Lendman
Palestine belongs to Palestinians. They're willing to settle for what lies within 1967 borders. It's 22% of what they lost. They also rightfully claim East Jerusalem as their capital. It's theirs, not Israel's.
Israeli settlements are illegal. This article discusses Migron. It's one of dozens of illegal Israeli outposts. Over 100 exist. They were built without government authorization. International law doesn't distinguish between settlements and outposts. They're all illegal and have no right to exist. Israel spurns legal principles and does what it wishes. Why not when no one intervenes.
Sucking Up Shamelessly to Israel
by Stephen Lendman
America's special relationship with Israel too often reflects the tail wagging the dog. Increasingly, the Jewish state is more strategic liability than asset.
The Israeli Lobby has a virtual stranglehold on US foreign policy. Blunt pressure is applied to get Washington to accede to interests harming its own. Fear prevents most House and Senate members from openly expressing criticism. It's no different for presidents and administration officials.
Anyone stepping out of line is called anti-Semitic, challenged electorally, or replaced. Journalists know doing it risks recriminations and/or dismissal.
Venezuela's Oil Refinery Blaze - Seven Good Reasons To Suspect Sabotage
By James Petras
Only 43 days before the Venezuelan presidential election and with President Chavez leading by a persistent margin of 20 percentage points, an explosion and fire at the Amuay refinery killed at least 48 people - half of those were members of the National Guard – and destroyed oil facilities producing 645,000 barrels of oil per day.
“You can’t exclude any hypothesis … It’s practically impossible that here in an [oil] installation like this which is fully automated everywhere and that has thousands of responsible workers night and day, civilian and military, and that there is a gas leak for 3 or 4 days and nobody responds. This is impossible.”
Let's Have Another War
by Stephen Lendman
Make no mistake. America is directly or indirectly responsible for most world conflicts. Across North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, it plays the lead role.
Afghanistan has been occupied for nearly 11 years. US air and ground attacks murder civilians daily. Pre-2003 Iraq no longer exists. America destroyed the cradle of civilization.
It's complicit in daily Israeli state terror against Palestinian civilians. It ravaged and murdered tens of thousands of Libyans. It's using death squad invaders against Syrians. Civilian men, women and children are prime targets. Everyone supporting peace and stability is vulnerable.
Bona Fide Eurozone Crisis
by Stephen Lendman
Economist Jack Rasmus appears regularly on the Progressive Radio News Hour. He calls Eurozone conditions today "a bona fide crisis."
It's threefold, he says. What first affected sovereign debt became a banking crisis. Both reflect two sides of the same coin. Regional recession followed. All economic sectors are affected. They feed off and exacerbate each other.
Policy measures tried so far failed. Fundamental change is key. Without it, expect Eurozone countries to slide deeper into debt. A banking crash will follow. Protracted recessions will affect other countries.
Britain's sinking deeper into double-dip trouble. All 27 EU countries are affected. So are others globally. Visible slowing affects America, China, India, Brazil, and other more vulnerable states.
IMAGES: THE MILITANT WEST
Mahboob A. Khawaja, Ph.D.
Immanuel Kant, the 18th century German philosopher had envisioned “Perpetual Peace”, the doctrine that gave war riddled Europeans much needed hope and optimism for peace making and conflict management. C.E.M. Joad (Guide to Modern Wickedness), enlists divergent facets of evil thinking and minds that governed the Europeans to kill each other during and preceding the two World Wars. After prolonged history of barbarity, Europeans seem to be thinking rationally and soul searching for fighting against themselves and are at relative peace within the corridors of the EU. Whereas, some of the American political strategists are making headway for “Perpetual War and Perpetual Peace” to manifest the ambitious imperialism in another major global conflict to wipe out the whole of the humanity. The Western nations under NATO waging the bogus “War on Terrorism” use the mass media as a weapon to misinform and deceive the public of a possible threat to their life and security.
Did America Say NO to Israel?
by Gilad Atzmon
In the last few hours we have learned that the US had made massive reductions to joint military exercise with Israel. Originally slated to include 5,000 US troops, Washington will now only send 1,500 to participate in Austere Challenge 12 with Israel. Apparently, the American administration is concerned with a possible Israeli strike on Iran.
Some Israelis seem unhappy with the American decision. The Times quoted a senior Israeli military official as speculating, "Basically what the Americans are saying is, ‘We don’t trust you.’” Well, America has good reason not to trust Israel. The only question here is why did it take America so long to move in the right direction?
The Totalitarian Imperative - At the Tipping Point
By Numerian Posted by Michael Collins
First appeared in The Agonist
Borders have been shut down, and a preposterous security screening process, complete with requirements that people remove shoes, belts, and all personnel possessions, has been put in place that seems to have very little to do with actual security and everything to do with training the public to behave in an obedient, deferential and docile fashion in the face of officialdom.
Listening to Paul Ryan’s speech at the Republican National Convention, I couldn’t place where I had come across something quite like this before. Then it struck me – Pravda! I used to subscribe to Pravda in high school and college, first to learn Russian, and second, to pursue a college program in Soviet studies. Pravda was a newspaper that specialized in the Big Lie – the Five Year Plan was always ahead of schedule, Soviet industrial capabilities exceeded that of any other country, people were starving on streets all across America. The newspaper was a non-stop stream of lies, just as Paul Ryan’s speech was studded with Big Lies – lies that were easily disprovable, such as Barack Obama did nothing about the Simpson-Bowles recommendations to reduce the budget deficit (Paul Ryan didn’t mention he voted against these recommendations when the House killed any chance of enacting them); or that Obama made it easier for people to live off welfare (the President altered the enrollment rules of welfare at the request of Republican governors); or the Romney favorite – Obama cut over $700 billion of Medicare benefits for individuals (the cuts were imposed on hospitals and insurance companies, not beneficiaries, and Romney has the same cuts in his economic plan). (Image: Wikipedia)
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