By Kevin Zeese

The Roman philosopher and statesman, Marcus Tullius Cicero said “Freedom is participation in power.” By that standard Americans are not free. We do not participate in power. We do not even have power over our own economic lives, our elected “representatives” ignore us and listen to the moneyed interests sending the United States in the wrong direction on issue after issue. The American people know better, would govern better and need to participate in power.

When you dispassionately review the reality of the U.S. economy, it is a depressing state of affairs that screams out for Americans to get up, stand up and shout: “we can do better than the political and economic elites.” The opportunity to stand up is here: October2011.org.

This article focuses on the domestic policies that are destroying the most powerful economy in history, but war spending, which makes up more than half of discretionary federal spending, is one of the root causes of the economic collapse. Nobel Prize winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz writes: “Today, America is focused on unemployment and the deficit. Both threats to America’s future can, in no small measure, be traced to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.” He and Linda Bilmes calculated America’s war costs three years ago conservative at $3 trillion to $5 trillion – these costs have escalated since then.

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By Khalid Amayreh in Israeli-occupied Jerusalem

On Friday, 2 September, a pro-Israeli body at the United Nations released a brazenly unbalanced report concluding that Israel's four-year blockade of some 1.7 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip was "legal" and "within the barometers of international law."

The scandalous report, dubbed as the Palmer report, also concluded that the manifestly criminal Israeli assault on a Turkish ship carrying solidarity activists and humanitarian materials to besieged Gazans, which occurred 18 months ago and killed at least nine Turkish citizens and injured many others, was also legal.

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Mary Shaw

With President Obama running for a second term, I cannot help but wonder which Obama we will see as the reelection campaign heats up over the coming year.

In 2008, we saw Obama the Candidate, who promised us change we can believe in. He inspired and energized us.

Now many of us on the progressive end of the political spectrum are dealing with 2+ years of disappointments from Obama the President.

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by Stephen Lendman

A previous article discussed release of the leaked UN Palmer Commission's report on Israel's May 2010 Mavi Marmara massacre, killing nine Turkish nationals in cold blood.

Access it through the following link:

http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2011/09/un-report-on-mavi-marmara-massacre.html

Ever since, Turkey demanded an apology and compensation for loved ones of those killed. In fact, Israel never says it's sorry, even when caught red-handed. Turkey called it unacceptable, warning of sanctions and other consequences.

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by Stephen Lendman

Like in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, wherever America and its Western allies show up, pillaging is sure to follow.

Libya is no exception, earmarked as another profit center to be exploited. A previous article discussed it, accessed through the following link:

http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2011/09/carving-up-libya-corpse-for-profit.html

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by Stephen Lendman

Numerous previous articles explained how fear is used in America, notably against Muslims for political advantage.

They're described as fundamentalists, extremists, terrorists, and fanatics. They're identified with violence, when, in fact, Islam has common roots with Christianity and Judaism. Their tenets are based on love, not hate; peace, not violence; charity, not exploitation; and a just, fair society for people of all faiths.

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by Stephen Lendman

On September 1, dozens of predator states met in Paris to pick apart Libya's bones even though it's breathing, if barely.

We've seen it before, notably in Iraq under Paul Bremer's 100 orders that turned the country into a cutthroat capitalist laboratory. Baghdad was open for business at fire sale prices with US and other Western firms having first dibs on everything.

The "cradle of civilization" became Iraq, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of corporate predators. The Iraq that was no longer exists.

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by Stephen Lendman

On May 31, 2010, Israeli commandos willfully and maliciously interdicted Freedom Flotilla vessels in international waters, bringing humanitarian aid to besieged Gazans.

In the process, they slaughtered nine Turkish nationals aboard the mother Mavi Marmara ship, wounding dozens more, and arresting everyone on board.

A same day article described what happened as known at the time, accessed through the following link:

http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/05/brave-israeli-commandos-slaughter-aid.html

It was a well planned premeditated attack against unarmed, nonviolent humanitarian activists, trying to break Israel's illegal blockade to deliver essential aid. Cold-blooded murder resulted.

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by Stephen Lendman

In recent years, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) increasingly warned about infringements of democratic freedoms in Israel.

Major concerns involve undermining free expression, human dignity, equality, pluralism, freedom of assembly and right to protest, and whether certain positions can be declared illegitimate, despite the democratic right of anyone to profess them.

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by Stephen Lendman

In his latest article, Paul Craig Roberts calls America "utterly corrupt" and "certainly no 'light unto the world.' "

In her latest article, Diana Johnstone said "Western 'democracy' is in danger of being gradually reduced to a mere ideological excuse to attack, ravage and pillage other people's countries."

It's official policy, in fact, because the business of America is war, permanent war against humanity by military, financial, political and other means.

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