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Blowback
By Timothy V. Gatto
I’m as upset and angry as anyone when I heard about the bombing of the United States Consulate in Libya. I also mourn the deaths of the Americans who worked there. The Ambassador seemed like a man who genuinely cared about the area and knew the people there and Americans and Libyans should mourn his loss.
Still, I don’t understand the rhetoric that came from Hillary Clinton’s mouth about the event. She actually went on to say that the United States “freed” the city of Benghazi and that we helped rid the country of the “evil dictator” Muammar Gadhafi. Apparently Ms. Clinton was surprised at the bombing, and did not expect anything like that would happen, especially to the United States consulate, located in a quiet residential area.
The location of the consulate in a quiet residential are, lightly guarded was a huge mistake on America’s part. It showed the arrogance of the United States. When you think of the damage this so-called “Democratic” revolution brought to the county and the destruction of the country by US and NATO forces that actively supplied the so-called “Revolutionaries” that ended with half the nation in chaos and the other half ruled by a revolutionary council it’s relatively easy to understand the anger that some Libyans have toward the United States.
It's the Occupation, Stupid
by Stephen Lendman
Haaretz contributor Amira Hass is right saying so. Current headlines highlight thousands of West Bank protesters.
Palestinians took to the streets against unaffordable rising prices. In some areas, things got violent. Demonstrators smashed windows, tried to storm a municipality building, and clashed with police.
On Sunday, trucks and taxis blocked the Bethlehem to Hebron road. In Ramallah, tires were set ablaze. Streets were blocked. University and other school classes were cancelled.
The Pope and the Palestinians
by FRANKLIN LAMB
Shatila Refugee Camp
During His Apostolic Pilgrimage to Lebanon, Will the Vicar of Christ Sup in the Temple with the Money Changers or Succor the Progeny of Jesus?
The only time this observer recalls Yassir Arafat ever becoming frustrated with the late American journalist Janet Stevens, whom he cherished as a daughter, was during a visit in August of 1982 when the PLO leader, mentioned in conversation, as he often did to others, that Jesus Christ was a Palestinian. Arafat, a devout Muslim, was proud of that fact.
On that particular night, Janet was exhausted, as many under siege in West Beirut were, from more than 11 hours of Israeli bombing and she had other things on her mind. Most pressing was a sick child in Burj al Barahjeh refugee camp who needed to be taken to Europe for a lifesaving operation without delay.
State Terror: Official Israeli Policy
by Stephen Lendman
Israeli state terror targets Palestinians ruthlessly. Incidents include crimes of war, against humanity and genocide, land theft, institutionalized racism, oppression, intimidation, militarized occupation, and contempt for all rule of law principles and democratic values.
Political prisoner Ahmad Saadat is right saying "Zionist war criminals are the ones who must be prosecuted." More on his day in court below.
He's General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and a recognized and admired national leader. In 2002, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for a range of "security related" political offenses.
None have legitimacy. No legitimate court would recognize them. They include membership is a so-called forbidden organization, various alleged security related offenses, and "incitement" for condemning Israel's murder of his predecessor, Abu Ali Mustafa.
Cartoon Car-Jacker Gives $1 Million to Romney PAC
by Greg Palast
An excerpt from Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps
Charles Manson can’t vote, but Manson Inc., al-Qaeda LLC, and Putin & Co. can run negative campaign ads on the Fox network.
And maybe they have.
In ancient times, before the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United, the maximum amount you could give a candidate for president, legally, was two thousand dollars. And, until 2010, to legally donate to a candidate, you had to 1) have a first and last name, 2) be a citizen of the United States, and 3) breathe oxygen.
Then, in 2010, the US Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision (followed by a lower-court decision, SpeechNow v. FEC) blew the doors off the limit on secret political campaign contributions. “Unnatural” persons—headless, heartless creatures called corporations—could now spend in election campaigns. And, unlike us mere mortals, these corporate creatures are not limited to two thousand dollars.
Living Under Israeli State Terror
by Stephen Lendman
On November 6, Americans vote for president, Congress, and regional candidates. On matters concerning Israel, virtually every officeholder and aspirant expresses wholehearted support.
One-sided bipartisan platform language endorses it. Rock solid commitment defines it. Obama and Romney practically fall over each other affirming it. Doing so lets Israel to get away with crimes of war, against humanity, and genocide with impunity. It's no exaggeration.
Longstanding US policy permits it. Palestinians were thrown under the bus decades ago. Israel considers them lesser beings. So does America. Policies in both countries show it.
Obama Says One Thing Under the Spotlight; Does Another Behind Closed Doors
By Kevin Zeese
While Obama Tells the Country He Will Create Jobs and Stop Outsourcing; His Administration is Secretly Negotiating the Biggest Job-Outsourcing Treaty in History
Jobs. That is the issue in the election – at least that is the issue Obama and Romney are focused on – who will create more jobs for a country in desperate need of them. During his convention speech, President Obama mentioned jobs 19 times, Romney did so 16 times. Obama promised a future where the U.S. will “outsource fewer jobs.” Of course, Romney is known as someone who made hundreds of millions by outsourcing jobs. Former President Clinton put forth a job scorecard, arguing Obama and the Democrats will create more jobs.
Chicago Teachers v. Rahm Emanuel
by Stephen Lendman
Except for Harold Washington (1983 - 1987), Chicago never had populist mayors. Father (Richard J.) and son (Richard M.) Daley ran the city like their private fiefdom for over 40 years.
In his book "Boss," noted journalist Mike Royko described Richard J. as follows:
"If ever a man reflected a city, it was Richard J. Daley." He was "strong (and) hard-driving." He had Texas-sized ambitions. He was also "arrogant, crude, conniving, ruthless, suspicious, intolerant, raucous, hot-tempered, devious, big and powerful." He was Chicago.
Time magazine said Richard M. "wield(ed) near-imperial power."
Current Mayor Rahm Emanuel matches them and then some. Add war criminal and corporate predator to his credentials. As White House chief of staff, he was part of Obama's war cabinet. As Chicago mayor, he's waging it against labor.
Colombia: Extractive Capital and Peace Negotiations
By James Petras
Introduction
Santos
In late August 2012, President Santos announced that the Colombian regime was opening peace negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, (FARC), with the aim of ending nearly 50 years of civil war.
Several economic, social, political and military changes account for the Santos regimes abrupt shift from a policy of “peace” through extermination of the guerrillas to a policy of a negotiated peace.
The most basic change is the regimes adoption of an economic model based on developmentalism via large scale long term flows of foreign extractionist capital – in mining, petroleum and gas.
The second factor is the regimes’ perception that, after a decade of intense repression, including the assassination of thousands of peasants, trade unionists and human rights activists and the forcible displacement of three to four million peasants from zones of guerrilla activity, the popular insurgency no longer is an immediate threat to regime power and that it is an appropriate moment to shift from militarization of the country to exploiting its abundant natural resources, especially at a time of high commodity prices.
Joining the Reality-Based Community Or How I Learned to Stop Loving the Bombs and Start Worrying
Jeremiah Goulka
I used to be a serious Republican, moderate and business-oriented, who planned for a public-service career in Republican politics. But I am a Republican no longer.
There’s an old joke we Republicans used to tell that goes something like this: “If you’re young and not a Democrat, you’re heartless. If you grow up and you’re not a Republican, you’re stupid.” These days, my old friends and associates no doubt consider me the butt of that joke. But I look on my “stupidity” somewhat differently. After all, my real education only began when I was 30 years old.
This is the story of how in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and later in Iraq, I discovered that what I believed to be the full spectrum of reality was just a small slice of it and how that discovery knocked down my Republican worldview.
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