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Israeli Democracy: A Convenient Illusion
by Stephen Lendman
Israel's more hypocrisy than democracy. Rhetoric belies longstanding policy. Nothing ahead suggests change.
Democracy exists in name only. Arundhati Roy calls India a "limbless, headless, soulless torso left bleeding under the butcher's cleaver with a flag driven deep into her mutilated heart."
America's the same. So is Israel. They're pariah states. They're rogue states. They abhor fundamental freedoms. They prioritize war and instability. They deplore peaceful conflict resolution.
Israel's an ethnocracy. It's polar opposite democracy. Israeli leaders refer to "Jewish democracy." It's Orwellian. Structural inequalities explain.
Israeli Arabs are citizens. They compromise 20% of the population. They can vote. They can sit in parliament. They're little more than potted plants.
Jews alone have power. Arabs have no say. The Law of Return affords it to solely to Jews. Arabs are unwanted. They're persecuted. Institutionalized racism denies them equal rights.
Obama Spurns NSA Spying Reform
by Stephen Lendman
Huey Long once said fascism will arrive "wrapped in an American flag." In "Friendly Fascism," Bertram Gross (1912 - 1997) called Ronald Reagan its prototype ruler. Gross didn't know Obama.
He represents the worst of rogue governance. He advances America's imperium. He heads its police state apparatus. He's waging war on humanity. He's doing it abroad and at home.
He puts a smiling face on repression. He's hardline. He's ruthless. He's done what supporters thought impossible. He exceeds the worst of George Bush. He says one thing. He does another. He demands it.
His promises ring hollow. He broke every major one made. He's a serial liar. He's a moral coward. On August 9, he defended the indefensible. He did so disingenuously.
He deplores transparency and reforms. He claimed otherwise. He lied saying so. He paid lip service to policies he won't change. He hardened them on his watch.A disingenuous White House press release headlined "Background on the President's Statement on Reforms to NSA Programs," saying:
"President Obama believes that there should be increased transparency and reforms in our intelligence programs in order to give the public confidence that these programs have strong oversight and clear protections against abuse."
NSA Spying: Worse Than You Think
by Stephen Lendman
It's ugly. It's lawless. It's out-of-control. It''s worse than most people think. It's not getting better. It's getting worse.
Not according to Obama, saying:
"We don't have a domestic spying program. What we do have is some mechanisms that can track a phone number or an email address that is connected to a terrorist attack...That information is useful."
An unnamed NSA official told The New York Times it's not spying on America. It just "overcollect(ing)" data. Doublespeak duplicity is official US policy.
So is doublethink. US officials know what's going on. They lie. They speak with forked tongue. They claim otherwise. They do it with a straight face.
They practice doublethink. They don't lie. They just speak in the least truthful manner. Coverup, denial and stonewalling reflect it.
Be the Change
Timothy Gatto
The news coming from Yemen is disconcerting to anyone that has viewed the movie "Dirty Wars" by Jeremy Scahill. The insensitivity of the United States government is astounding. I can't believe we are seeing a dozen drone strikes in Yemen without any backlash in the US. We are told of a nefarious "terror plot" without details because they claim that they have no details, yet they seem to have enough information to kill people with illegal drone strikes into a country that we are not at war with.
This act alone is warfare kept hidden by the American government from the American people. Waging warfare in a foreign nation without Congressional approval in this scenario of "The War on Terror" is a sham. We have an administration that thinks the use of military force anywhere in the World is acceptable. Internationals law says otherwise. It is amazing when you consider that most of the nations that signed on to Laws of Warfare are silent about the United States violating most of these laws.
The recent debate with Russia over Edward Snowden shows just how worried the US is over the information Snowden has on the surveillance network that the United States operates. The United States acted like a petulant child in dealing with Putin. Snubbing Putin at the G10 meeting is ridiculous. The Obama administration is using this matter as a distraction to what the United States is doing in the Middle East militarily.
Work is the new retirement -- Saving Social Security
It is hard to sort the wheat from the chaff when it comes to the Social Security. Will the system survive through 2033, the current drop-dead date for full benefit funding? Are cuts in the program really necessary? Is killing off Social Security the ultimate wet dream of sadistic billionaires without regard to the realities of the system? (Image Work up to 100)
The solution to the problems of social security is right before our eyes and nobody is talking about it.
Work is the new retirement
That's right. Long-term negative economic factors have created a survival path for Social Security. The negatives allow expanded benefits and assure the financial health of the system. As people keep working well past the assumed retirement age of 65, Social Security looks a whole lot better.
Why shouldn't people keep working? Which genius decided that we get to retire at any age, let alone 65? Retirement isn't exactly safe.
What economic factors provided this opportunity to secure Social Security?
Traditional pensions are a thing of the past. Those in place are subject to cancellation anytime. Just ask retirees who worked for energy companies bought by Enron or cities like Detroit. When the man doesn't want to pay anymore, it's over.
Anti-American Sentiment in Egypt
by Stephen Lendman
On August 9, the Wall Street Journal headlined "Anti-US Hostility Ramps Up in Egypt. Media Outlets Blast American Policies, Further Straining Ties."
More on that below. Throughout the region, America and Israel are the two most hated countries. It's for good reason. It doesn't surprise.
It reflects anger against imperial lawlessness. It supports long denied Palestinian justice. It demands US regional wars end. It wants America out of the region entirely. Its presence stokes rage.
Intermittent anti-American protests erupt across the Middle East. US flags burns. Signs and banners reflect public anger. In Egypt some say:
Presidential Medal of Freedom Hypocrisy Redux
by Stephen Lendman
America honors its worst. Others most deserving are ignored. Doing the right thing doesn't matter. Supporting wealth, power and privilege wins awards.
On August 8, The New York Times headlined "16 Medal of Freedom Honorees Are Named," saying:
"Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and 14 others" were chosen. On Thursday, the White House said Obama will present the awards later this year.
An August 8 White House statement headlined "President Obama Names Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients," saying:
"2013 Marks 50th Anniversary of President Kennedy’s Establishment of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
WASHINGTON - Today, President Barack Obama named sixteen recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Federal Judge Sentences Lynne Stewart to Death
by Stephen Lendman
On August 9, The New York Times headlined "Dying Lawyer's Request for Release From Prison Is Turned Down," saying:
"A federal judge in Manhattan declined on Friday to order the release of Lynne F. Stewart, an outspoken former defense lawyer who is dying from cancer in a federal prison in Texas."
Lynne's a longtime heroic human rights defender. She's one of America's best. She's one of thousands of wrongfully incarcerated political prisoners.
She languishes unjustly in America's gulag. It's the world's largest. It's one of the worst. Official US policy spurns justice.Lynne's dying. She has Stage Four cancer. It's worsening. She's denied effective treatment. She petitioned for compassionate release.
New York Times Fuels Anti-Iranian Sentiment
by Stephen Lendman
Times editors, columnists and contributors support the worst of US policies. They regurgitate official lies.
They abhor truth and full disclosure. They substitute managed news misinformation. They do so consistently.
They advocate business as usual. They betray their readers in the process. They do it unapologetically.
They march in lockstep with imperial lawlessness. They call aggressive wars liberating ones.They're in bed with corporate America.
They're silent about police state repression. They believe NSA spying keeps America safe. They want Edward Snowden prosecuted. They call responsibly exposing government wrongdoing criminal.Times history reflects complicity with US spy agencies. Articles benefiting CIA, FBI, NSA, and illicit US operations are published. It's done disgracefully. It's longstanding Times policy.
Wall Street Mafia In Desperate Drive To Stop Glass-Steagall
by larouchepac.com
The criminal enterprise known as the Wall Street "too big to fail" banks is engaged in a desperate effort to block passage of Glass-Steagall. Bills have been introduced in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate to reinstate the 1933 legislation that broke up the banks into totally separate commercial and investment entities. Through a lobbying effort estimated to have cost more than $300 million, Wall Street was able to repeal Glass-Steagall in 1999.
So far, twenty-five state legislatures have introduced or passed resolutions [1] demanding that their Congressional delegations support Glass-Steagall passage; and major labor, farm and civil rights organizations have fully endorsed the reinstatement of Glass-Steagall separation.
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