Israel aggressively spies on allies and adversaries alike. Continue reading
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‘Decades of progress are at stake’ as Trump reaches 150 lifetime judicial appointments and right-wing court takeover accelerates
‘Every network should be covering this. Trump's dangerous takeover of our courts will last a generation.’
The Republican-controlled Senate quietly confirmed four more of President Donald Trump’s lifetime federal judicial nominees on Wednesday, bringing the total number of conservative judges successfully appointed by the administration to over 150. Continue reading
Operation Yellowhammer cites fascist-induced chaos for UK
Shortly before proroguing Parliament, British Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson was ordered to release a classified report titled Operation Yellowhammer, a government-wide survey of how a no-deal British exit from the European Union (Brexit) would affect citizens of the United Kingdom and its territories, including three crown dependencies. The document that was officially released by the British government contains a redacted paragraph (number 15). However, WMR was able to obtain the paragraph and included it in our unredacted copy of the Yellowhammer document. Continue reading
Democratic debate’s top ten in Texas
Candidates debate guns—and much more—in an open carry state.
Well, as CNN’s Jake Tapper told Stephen Colbert Thursday night after the Democratic presidential debate, one thing’s for certain: Beto O’Rourke isn’t leaving the race to run for the US Senate from Texas. Continue reading
The DNC debates are a sham
In the aftermath of the third Democratic National Committee (DNC) presidential debate, it was mind boggling that viewers were forced to suffer through a rehash of the same, worn out regurgitations that had already been harangued previously. There was no stunning moment where a star stepped forward as in the two earlier debates, nor any momentous policy pronouncements worth pondering. Continue reading
Netanyahu’s fear-mongering campaign
Many politicians use every dirty trick in the book to win votes, especially hard-right extremists in the US, other Western countries and Israel—fantasy democracies, not the real thing. Continue reading
The Bill of Rights turns 230, and what do we have to show for it? Nothing good
It’s been 230 years since James Madison drafted the Bill of Rights—the first ten amendments to the Constitution—as a means of protecting the people against government tyranny, and what do we have to show for it? Continue reading
Have you noticed how social media purges always align with the US empire?
Twitter has suspended multiple large Cuban media accounts for reasons the social media platform has yet to explain as of this writing, a move which journalist Dan Cohen has described as “the equivalent of silencing CNN, Fox, WaPo and NPR’s accounts” for that nation. The Union of Cuban Journalists has denounced the move as censorship. Continue reading
‘Justice is indivisible’: Screams of Israa Ghrayeb should be our wake-up call
The death of Israa Ghrayeb has ignited furious reactions regarding the so-called ‘honor-killings’ in Palestine and throughout the Arab world. Continue reading
Burning down the house
Far-right governments in the U.S., UK, and Brazil are laying bare their nihilistic roots and full destructive potential.
Doesn’t idiocy ever take a vacation? Continue reading
Boris Johnson on the ropes suspends Parliament until October 14
Since becoming prime minister in late July, virtually everything he asked parliamentarians to support was rejected. Continue reading
Freedom Rider: Hollywood propaganda attack on Venezuela
The US is starving and killing Venezuelans in real life and, for your family’s viewing pleasure, on television screens. Continue reading
It’s not about your straws or your light bulbs
Polluting industries want you to think the climate crisis is your fault, not theirs.
A few years ago, I had a cupcake problem. I’d go to the cupcake store almost daily and I’d eat at least one cupcake, sometimes more. Continue reading
A morning in Afghanistan
Amidst political posturing, aerial terrorism and street bombings, Afghan citizens pursue their daily work toward peace.
On a very warm September morning in Kabul, several dozen men, women, and children sit on the carpeted floor of a room at the Afghan Peace Volunteers’ Borderfree Center. The women cluster together. All wear burqas, but because of the heat they push the steel blue veils back, revealing their faces. Most of the men wear traditional tunics and pakol hats. Continue reading
The United States: A nation on suicide watch
“The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan required major shifts in national resources from civilian to military purposes and contributed to the growth of the budget deficit and public debt. Through FY 2018, the direct costs of the wars will have totaled more than $1.9 trillion, according to US Government figures. Pollution is a serious issue. The United States (US) is a “large emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; deals with water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; has limited natural freshwater resources in much of the western part of the country that require careful management. Deforestation; mining; desertification; species conservation; and invasive species (the Hawaiian Islands are particularly vulnerable) are widespread. Long-term problems for the US include stagnation of wages for lower-income families, inadequate investment in deteriorating infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, energy shortages, and sizable current account and budget deficits.” Continue reading
‘Hell no,’ say progressives, after GOP Sen. Joni Ernst suggests cutting Social Security ‘behind closed doors’
‘No matter how hard you try to hide, the American people will be watching—and we won't let you cut our earned Social Security benefits.'
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa is under fire after telling a recent town hall audience that members of Congress should negotiate changes to Social Security “behind closed doors” in order to dodge scrutiny from the media and advocacy groups. Continue reading
How fascist Is the Republican Party?
A fascist is a person who believes in some form of ‘solidarity’ being imposed on the nation. That’s what the term “fasces” or Latin “bundles” referred to: specifically, to “a bundle of elm or birch rods about 5 feet (1.5 metres) long and tied together with a red strap; it symbolized penal power.” It was unification by means of force, specifically the force of the “penal power” or the police and the military and the law and the chief executive officer of the nation—an imposed order or unity upon the society, the nation being tied together by means of enforced order that represents the powerful against the weak. Continue reading
Now it’s official: US visa can be denied if you (or even your friends) are critical of American policies
There have been several interesting developments in the United States government’s war on free speech and privacy. First of all, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP), which is responsible for actual entry of travelers into the country, has now declared that it can legally access phones and computers at ports of entry to determine if there is any subversive content which might impact on national security. “Subversive content” is, of course, subjective, but those seeking entry can be turned back based on how a border control agent perceives what he is perusing on electronic media. Continue reading
The 5 biggest corporate lies about unions
Wealthy corporations and their enablers have spread 5 big lies about unions in order to stop workers from organizing and to protect their own bottom-lines. Know the truth and spread the truth. Continue reading
People are starving to death in our ‘booming economy’
When I look into whether or not the economy is doing well, the first statistic I use is homelessness. Continue reading
Predator of our public lands
The man Trump charged with protecting our public lands doesn’t believe we should have any.
For generations, our country has been Mother Nature’s steward, setting aside and protecting important expanses of public lands for posterity. But what if these lands and natural resources suddenly got a “steward” who was a predator, rather than a protector? Continue reading
How animal researchers stay out of the news
If you are like most people, you know a lot more about how farm animals are treated on factory farms than dogs, primates and other animals are treated in US labs. It is no coincidence. Continue reading
‘Skin in the game’
Stockholders aboard the good ship “Queen of the Capitalist West” appear to be experiencing a “shiver me timbers” moment. The portentous stockholders aboard the “Queen of the Capitalist West” had come to believe that it was their divine right to assume that only they had the right to dictate who could have skin in the global trading game. But lo and behold, along came a potentially ‘world shaking’ event with the arrival of the good ship “Mandate of Heaven,” a Chinese trading vessel of exceptional stature, whose enterprise was born of state capitalism’s heroic effort to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. Continue reading
Please shut up, Mr. President, and read some books
E.B. White and James Thurber could teach Trump—and us—a thing or two.
Amidst a roiling hurricane and another fusillade of Texas gunshots, like many, I was struck by a statement in the new memoir, Call Sign Chaos, written by former Trump Defense Secretary James Mattis with former Reagan Assistant Defense Secretary Bing West. Both men began their careers of public service as US Marines. Continue reading
The key to a sustainable economy is 5,000 years old
We are again reaching the point in the business cycle known as “peak debt,” when debts have compounded to the point that their cumulative total cannot be paid. Student debt, credit card debt, auto loans, business debt and sovereign debt are all higher than they have ever been. As economist Michael Hudson writes in his provocative 2018 book, “…and forgive them their debts,” debts that can’t be paid won’t be paid. The question, he says, is how they won’t be paid. Continue reading
‘Naked attack on the free press’: Trump allies reportedly raising $2 million for campaign to discredit journalists
‘Intimidating reporters to influence coverage is a tactic of dictators and has no place here,’ said Sen. Jeff Merkley
Right-wing operatives allied with President Donald Trump are attempting to raise at least $2 million to fund a campaign to discredit journalists and editors at major U.S. media outlets like the Washington Post, Buzzfeed, New York Times, and HuffPost. Continue reading
It’s more than obvious that we are all living with a dementia sufferer
Anyone who has ever cared for a relative or a close friend suffering from dementia is well aware of the effects of this debilitating disease. Living with a dementia sufferer is as bad, if not worse, for the care giver as it is for the person afflicted. Obsessive compulsiveness, irrational outbursts such as inappropriate laughing, crying or yelling, insensitive bigoted comments, and voicing strange ideas are only a part of a dementia patient’s overall symptoms. Continue reading
Is the U.S. government the enemy of the people?
America’s lost liberties post-9/11
Take heed, America. Continue reading
The war ahead: Netanyahu’s elections gamble will be costly for Israel
On September 1, the Lebanese group Hezbollah struck an Israeli military base near the border town of Avivim. The Lebanese attack came as an inevitable response to a series of Israeli strikes that targeted four different Arab countries in a matter of two days. Continue reading
Due to Hurricane Dorian, Intrepid Report won’t be publishing this week
While at 11 pm Dorian is still a Category 5 and continuing to rip away at the Bahamas, we still don’t know where it’s going to hit in Florida and how strong it will be. Continue reading
The American Gulag: Brick by brick, our prison walls get more oppressive by the day
This is how freedom dies. Continue reading
The end of modern diplomacy
Posted on September 13, 2019 by Wayne Madsen
Modern diplomacy can generally be traced back to the late 19th century and the intercession of professional diplomats in the foreign relations between major and minor powers of the era. International negotiations to resolve problems were primarily handled by diplomats prior to politicians giving their assent to peace treaties and compacts. The Congress of Berlin of 1878 and 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth (New Hampshire) helped resolve the Russo-Turkish War and Russo-Japanese War, respectively. These early diplomatic efforts would eventually lead to treaties establishing the League of Nations, the International Court of Justice, and the United Nations, in addition to a variety of regional and specialized international agencies. Each of these international agencies brought into being a corps of international diplomats who, for the most part, were committed to hammering out disputes between nations through negotiations and not armed conflict. The lessons of World Wars I and II provided an impetus for nations to commit to dialogue rather than war. Continue reading →