by Stephen Lendman

Governors Rick Perry and Scott Walker were early dropouts. Expect others before the February 1 Iowa caucus and primary season begins, New Hampshire first eight days after Iowa - heading toward March 1 super-Tuesday with 13 states up for grabs.

Does it matter? Not under money controlled one-party rule, candidates from each wing virtual cardboard cutouts of each other, in lockstep on all issues mattering most - same-old, same-old: pro-war, pro-business, anti-populist. Don’t be fooled by demagogic rhetoric. Candidate Obama promised hope and change, peace, not war, prosperity lifting all boats, affordable universal healthcare with a public option, respect for labor rights, closing Guantanamo, ending torture, real immigration reform, prosecuting Bush administration war criminals, Palestinian sovereignty free from occupation, respect for rule of law principles and much more.

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by Stephen Lendman

America came to Afghanistan to stay. Occupation is permanent. So is endless war.

Washington’s December 2014 ceremonial end of over 13 years of war was phony, a thinly veiled PR stunt - including Obama saying “our combat mission in Afghanistan is ending, and the longest war in American history is coming to a responsible end.”

Naked aggression was planned long before 9/11 - despite bin Laden and Taliban officials having nothing to do with what happened. US state-sponsored terrorism bore full responsibility. Endless US regional wars continue. So does America’s combat mission in Afghanistan. Obama lied saying it ended.

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by Stephen Lendman

Muslim’s call Islam’s third holiest site the Noble Sanctuary/Al-Haram al-Sharif. Over 35 acres enclose fountains, gardens, buildings and domes.

At one end is the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In the center is the Dome of the Rock. The entire area is considered a mosque - sacred ground for Muslims, freely desecrated by Zionist zealots, storming the compound unaccountably, protected by heavily armed, rampaging Israeli security forces.

Attacking Muslim worshipers, firing noxious tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and stun grenades, again on Sunday, following previous days of violence and chaos, willfully causing damage, injuring numerous Palestinians threatening no one.

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by Stephen Lendman

Friday, September 25, was Joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin Dempsey’s last active duty day. In one capacity or another, he had command responsibility in all US post-9/11 wars of aggression.

He’s no hero. He’s responsible for mass slaughter and destruction in multiple war theaters, conflicts raging as he steps down - Marine General Joseph Francis (Fighting Joe) Dunford replacing him, charged with keeping America in a permanent state of war, avoiding peace and stability at all costs. Obama calling Dempsey a “singular leader” with a “steady hand during unsteady times” conceals his involvement in America’s destructive imperial agenda - waging one premeditated war after another, ruthlessly destroying nations threatening no others, recklessly challenging Russia and China, risking possible WW III.

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Timothy Gatto

Consider Russia’s annexation of Crimea and further aggression in eastern Ukraine. America has few economic interests in Ukraine. We recognize the deep and complex history between Russia and Ukraine. But we cannot stand by when the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a nation is flagrantly violated. If that happens without consequence in Ukraine, it could happen to any nation gathered here today. That’s the basis of the sanctions that the United States and our partners impose on Russia.”

That statement is just about the biggest lie Obama has ever told. I say just about, because in his speech to the UN today he told an even larger one. Putin really has to be popping a cork right now, because I am, and I have been since I heard this speech. Think think about what we have seen today. The paragraph above is just about the biggest piece of propaganda ever uttered. All Americans realize that the Crimean people voted to re-join Russia. Where is the problem? Where is are the protests and demonstrations against coming back to the fold? Why is Obama demonizing Russia?

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by Stephen Lendman

It never ends. Israel is more a warrior state than legitimate one - at war with its Arab population, ruthlessly persecuting occupied Palestinians, besieging 1.8 million Gazans, suffocating them, attacking its neighbors preemptively, inventing pretexts to justify aggression.

Half a dozen or more previous times it launched aggressive air strikes on Syrian targets, complicit with Obama’s war, again overnight Sunday - on the phony pretext of an errant rocket allegedly landing in Israel harming no one, likely either fired by US-supported takfiri terrorists or an invented IDF reason to strike at least three Syrian military targets on its side of occupied Golan. It came a day after France launched airstrikes on Syrian infrastructure (not ISIS as it falsely claimed), joining Obama’s imperial war along with Britain, Canada and Australia.

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by Stephen Lendman

In December 2012, Al Jazeera News channel (JNC) bought Al Gore’s Current TV for a reported $500 million. It acquired a potential audience reach of 40 million households.

It’s headquartered in New York with 12 nationwide news bureaus in major US cities. It combines global news with programming tailored for American viewers.

JNC is owned and operated by Qatar’s monarchy - like other Gulf states, a major human rights abuser, including forced labor, migrant workers horrifically exploited.

JNC lost credibility long ago, abandoning professionalism, objectivity and hard truths. It features state-controlled propaganda - like US major media only foreign owned. Al Jazeera America (AJAM) operates by the same standard as its Doha-based parent. In August 2013, it debuted - still struggling to attract viewers.

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by Stephen Lendman

He’ll command world attention perhaps like never before when he addresses over 150 other heads of state in New York, attending the General Assembly’s 70th session.

He’ll speak Monday morning at around 11:30AM Eastern Daylight Time - about an hour after Obama’s scheduled 10:30AM address.

Tass said his stay will last about 10 hours. He’ll arrive and leave on the same day. He’ll “present…his vision of the modern situation in the world and ways to resolve the most acute problems.”

RT International said his address will focus on Syria, Ukraine, sanctions, and global economic conditions, “among other pressing issues.” Sputnik News quoted former UK ambassador to Russia Tony Brenton saying Western policy “does seem to be moving the way Putin wants” - a body blow to Washington’s strategy.

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by Stephen Lendman

Differences between Putin and Obama are stark. Russia’s president deplores war and instability - goes all-out for resolving conflicts diplomatically, enjoys overwhelming public support, far exceeding approval ever achieved by a US leader.

Obama disgraces the office he holds. He’s a con man, a demagogue, a serial liar, a front for wealth and power exclusively, ruling by deception, waging endless wars of aggression fraudulently dressed up as humanitarian intervention. On Monday, September 28, both leaders will address the UN General Assembly. Obama’s speeches make painful listening - beginning-to-end demagogic rubbish, willful misinformation, Big Lies on issues mattering most. Expect this year’s address to be no different from previous ones.

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by Stephen Lendman

A Russian, Chinese, Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian alliance against ISIS perhaps may encourage other countries to join it - a possibility likely terrifying Obama officials and their war-mongering partners.

On September 26, IDF-connected DEBKAfile (DF) said “the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning-CV-16 docked at the Syrian port of Tartus, accompanied by a guided missile cruiser.”

“Its arrival has upended the entire strategic situation surrounding the Syrian conflict, adding a new global dimension to Moscow and Tehran’s military support for Assad.”

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