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Palestinians ‘are not animals in a zoo’: On Kanafani and the need to redefine the role of the ‘victim intellectual’
(Dedicated to the memory of Ghassan Kanafani, an iconic Palestinian leader and engaged intellectual who was assassinated by the Israeli Mossad on July 8, 1972)
Years before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, US media introduced many new characters, promoting them as ‘experts’ who helped ratchet up US propaganda, ultimately allowing the US government to secure enough popular support for the war. Continue reading
How the American Legislative Exchange Council turns disinformation into law
State lawmakers introduced nearly 2,900 bills based on ALEC templates from 2010 through 2018. More than 600 of them became law.
In June 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law a bill banning the state from contracting with or investing in businesses that divest from coal, oil or natural gas companies. For Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian—one of the state’s top energy regulators—the message was clear: “Boycott Texas, and we’ll boycott you.” Continue reading
Watching US with horror, European groups push leaders to strengthen abortion rights
"This is an important moment for leaders across Europe who are committed to reproductive rights to lead by example and galvanize action in their own countries," said one campaigner.
Appalled by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade and concerned about the dark money-fueled global assault on abortion rights, advocacy groups from 28 European countries demanded Tuesday that their leaders take immediate steps to shield and strengthen access to reproductive care throughout the continent. Continue reading
Mike Pompeo’s revealing Hudson Institute speech
Former CIA Director and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a speech at the Hudson Institute last week that’s probably worth taking a look at just because of how much it reveals about the nature of the US empire and the corrupt institutions which influence its policies. Continue reading
PRIDE 2022: A season of celebration, a season of struggle
After a pandemic-enforced two-year hiatus in many parts of the world, Pride is back this summer. Pageants, parties, and parades are in full swing once more, putting the vibrancy and diversity of the LGBTQ community front and center. From longtime gay sanctuaries like San Francisco to small towns like Seward, Alaska—population 3,000 and hosting its first-ever Pride parade this year—the community and its supporters are out on the streets embracing one another again. Continue reading
We have a smoking gun—indict Trump
If Trump gets a “get out of jail free” card after trying to join armed rioters at the Capitol, the dangers are incalculable.
Trump White House insider and January 6 Committee witness Cassidy Hutchinson provided startling and compelling evidence that Donald Trump deliberately set out to incite an insurrection at the Capitol. Continue reading
Democrats exposed by the end of Roe v. Wade
The full extent of Democratic Party treachery was exposed when the Roe v. Wade decision was overturned. Only right-wing Americans have any expectation of getting what they want from the electoral process.
In May 2022, a memo was leaked to the media which indicated that the Supreme Court would overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion. Despite the warning, the announcement of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision sent shockwaves across the country. The 6 to 3 conservative majority is doing just what Republicans promised they would do if they were given electoral control of the presidency, Senate, and state legislatures. Continue reading
Colombia, once a pro-U.S. conservative bastion, turns left
Voters in Colombia have picked a powerful new duo, Gustavo Petro as president and Francia Márquez as vice president, to take the nation in a new direction, tackling economic and environmental injustice.
For the first time ever, Colombia has chosen new leadership that is not conservative. Voters in the third-most populous nation in Latin America narrowly elected the former mayor of Bogotá, Gustavo Petro, in a runoff election against his conservative opponent Rodolfo Hernández, with 50.47 percent of the votes. Continue reading
SCOUNDREL!
There is always a reluctance in the United States to sentence ex-presidents to prison after having been convicted of crimes. However, the nation is rarely faced with that dilemma. President Gerald Ford’s pardon of his predecessor, Richard Nixon, came with a “get out of jail free” card. In retrospect, Donald Trump’s multiple crimes against the Constitution and people of the United States vastly exceed the impeachable offenses of Nixon. Ford may have been correct in deciding that it would set a bad precedent for the nation if Nixon went to prison. Nixon did redeem himself during his post-presidency and even served as Bill Clinton’s special envoy to Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Trump, on the other hand, has moved the goalpost of presidential crimes against the nation so far, it will set a bad precedent if Trump is not sentenced to prison after his conviction on counts of fraud, criminal conspiracy, communicating the threat of assassination to the vice president, misprision of justice, and a host of other charges under the U.S. criminal code. Continue reading
Looming US Supreme Court climate decision could ‘doom’ hope for livable future
"The immediate issue is the limits of the EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gases," said one scientist. "The broader issue is the ability of federal agencies to regulate anything at all."
Amid widespread outrage over recent rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue another decision this week that legal experts and activists warn could imperil the Biden administration’s climate goals and thus, the planet itself. Continue reading
Have you noticed America has gotten meaner?
“Have you noticed that people are getting meaner?” the villain asks in a Paramount+ promo for their new show Evil.
“What does it mean?” asks the “nice” character.
“It means,” says the evil character with a note of triumph in her voice, “that your side is losing.” Continue reading
Supreme Court takes ‘wrecking ball’ to separation of church and state with prayer ruling
After decades of affirming that prayers led by school officials are unconstitutional, said Justice Sonia Sotomayor, "the court now charts a different path."
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Monday offered “another example” of the court’s “conservative supermajority continuing its politicized agenda,” said the head of one of the nation’s largest teachers unions as the decision overturned decades of precedent which prohibited educators from leading students in religious displays. Continue reading
The continuing damages from corporate-managed so-called free trade
The great progressive Harvard economist and prolific best-selling author, John Kenneth Galbraith, wrote that “Ideas may be superior to vested interest. They are also very often the children of vested interest.” I wished he had written that assertion before I took Economic 101 at Princeton. One of the vested ideas taught as dogma then was the comparative advantage theory developed by the early 19th-century British economist, David Ricardo. He gave the example of trading Portuguese wine for British textiles with both countries coming out winners due to their superior efficiencies in producing their native products. Continue reading
Rights advocates decry ‘very frightening’ court ruling upholding anti-BDS law
"This is not just about boycotts," said one critic. "This is opening the door to strip away First Amendment rights of all Americans."
A federal court ruling allowing Arkansas to penalize government contractors that support boycotts of the Israeli government was decried as “dangerous” and a threat to First Amendment rights on Wednesday, as civil liberties defenders vowed to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. Continue reading
The world is ruled by a backwards puritanical regime: Notes from the Edge of the Narrative Matrix
“China is a strange, backwards nation ruled by tyrants,” said the nation founded by Puritans who used to execute women for witchcraft and just killed reproductive rights protections because they think Jesus told them to. Continue reading
The Assange case still matters—a lot
Let's not be naïve about the symbolic importance of the US putting Assange on trial. It would be an alibi for cracking down on journalism for every repressive, authoritarian government in the world.
The announcement by UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel, that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange would be extradited to the US to face espionage charges may be news that many consider to be of lesser importance. We are, after all, in the midst of both a war inside of European borders and an economic crisis. The seemingly endless Assange saga has been going on for 12 years, and there is undoubtedly fatigue on the part of news consumers who have lost interest in the story. Continue reading
Let’s not obsess over Julian Assange’s job title, but consider what is the real story about his extradition
Assange will battle on now with an appeal against the UK decision to extradite him to the U.S. It’s time now for his own team to play the same dirty game which they have fallen victim to and forget about the foibles of journalists and the media
Is Julian Assange a journalist or a publisher? It’s a divisive question which usually draws the wrath of an entire legion of on-line haters, mainly in Australia, who assume the author is attacking the founder of WikiLeaks and so rationale is lost to nationalistic vitriol and score settling. The so-called supporters usually fail to see how if that energy was put into campaigning rather than just letting off steam on Twitter against total strangers, then Assange might have a chance of attaining something akin to justice. Continue reading
‘Devastating’: Supreme Court blows massive hole in state gun control efforts
"This goes so, so far beyond concealed carry," wrote one court reporter. "The Supreme Court has effectively rendered gun restrictions presumptively unconstitutional."
In a decision with sweeping and grave implications for gun control laws across the country, the right-wing U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down New York state’s restrictions on the concealed carry of firearms in public. Continue reading
Free Assange? Yes, but that’s not nearly enough.
On June 17, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States to face 18 criminal charges: One count of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, and 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act of 1917. If convicted on all charges, Assange faces up to 175 years in prison. Continue reading
Ugly side of Trump’s 2020 lies and bullying come before committee
Trump-directed mobs threaten officials who wouldn’t cheat for him.
The scope of Donald Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 election widened in the congressional testimony on June 21 as Republican state legislators, state election officials and local election workers described Trump’s pressure campaigns and bullying that targeted them and led to them facing severe harassment for doing their jobs. Continue reading
Is universal basic income part of a just transition?
When you give everyone a chunk of change, does it really change their lives and their communities?
In the remote rural village of Dauphin, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, economists tried out an unusual experiment. In the 1970s, they persuaded the provincial government to give cash payments to poorer families to see if a guaranteed basic income could improve their outcomes. During the years of this “Mincome” experiment, families received a basic income of 16,000 Canadian dollars (or a top up to that amount). With 10,000 inhabitants, Dauphin was just big enough to be a good data set but not too big as to bankrupt the government. Continue reading
Supreme Court ruling turns separation of church and state into ‘constitutional violation,’ warns Sotomayor
"We are witnessing one of the most extreme Supreme Courts in modern history rewrite the most basic social commitments of our society," said the head of one of the nation's largest teachers’ unions.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Tuesday warned that the court’s right-wing majority had further eroded the nation’s bedrock laws separating church and government when it ruled that Maine must include religious schools in a state-run tuition program. Continue reading
‘Sad day for Western democracy’: Chomsky, Ellsberg, others denounce Assange extradition
"The U.K.'s decision to extradite Julian Assange to the nation that plotted to assassinate him—the nation that wants to imprison him for 175 years for publishing truthful information in the public interest—is an abomination."
As supporters of Julian Assange held a news conference Friday at the United Kingdom’s consulate in New York to demand freedom for the jailed WikiLeaks founder, a trio of leading leftist figures decried the British government’s approval of the ailing Australian’s extradition to the United States. Continue reading
How corporate food monopolies caused the baby formula scandal
The fact that a handful of companies produce the majority of our food means that small disruptions will have big impacts. This time the impacts are borne by American babies.
It’s a tough time to be the parent of a newborn in the United States today. Not only is child care prohibitively expensive, but the cost of all things including baby products is rising, COVID-19 poses a threat to children too young to be vaccinated—and there has been a months-long shortage of baby formula. Continue reading
‘A chilling message to journalists the world over’: UK approves Assange extradition to US
Julian Assange's wife, Stella, slammed the U.K. government for moving to send the WikiLeaks publisher "to the country that plotted his assassination."
The U.K. government on Friday formally approved the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face espionage charges, a decision that human rights groups condemned as a dire threat to journalism worldwide. Continue reading
‘Absolutely terrifying’: Criminal defense attorneys warn about impacts of Roe reversal
The head of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers said exposing people to new criminal penalties for abortions "opens up the floodgates to overcriminalization and mass incarceration."
With the U.S. Supreme Court’s right-wing majority expected to overturn Roe v. Wade any day now, criminal defense attorneys are preparing to defend a flood of clients facing abortion-related charges—and warning about the looming decision’s likely consequences. Continue reading
U.S. Senate—from partisan (GOP) swamp to a bipartisan graveyard for democracy
Since January 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed 412 bills (See: Congress.gov) and sent them to the Senate. Unfortunately, the Senate hasn’t acted. “What?” you say, “don’t the Democrats control both Chambers of Congress?” Sure, by the barest of margins. Handcuffed by the filibuster, a Senate rule (not a federal law) requires 60 votes to pass legislation in what Senators of yore called the “world’s greatest deliberative body.” Continue reading
The problem with Juneteenth
Juneteenth was a people's holiday with deep meaning for the descendants of enslaved people. But the declaration of an official federal holiday has turned it into an opportunity for corporate exploiters and cynical politicians to show pretend concern for Black people. At best Juneteenth provides a history lesson and an opportunity for much needed political education.
“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.” General Order Number 3, June 19, 1865 Continue reading
Bilderberg does China
When Davos and Bilderberg messenger boys look at The Grand Chessboard, they realize that their era of perpetual free lunch is over.
Discreetly, as under the radar as a looming virus, the 68th Bilderberg meeting was held earlier this month in Washington, D.C. Nothing to see here. No conspiracy theories about a “secret cabal”, please. This is just a docile, “diverse group of political leaders and experts” having a chat, a laugh, and a bubbly. Continue reading
Russia’s attempt at reshaping the world economy
Starting on May 31, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov embarked on a tour to Gulf Cooperation Council countries, where he visited Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, among others. Lavrov’s main objective of these visits is to strengthen ties between Russia and GCC nations amid a global race for geopolitical dominance. Continue reading
We’re getting used to fake news. And we’re getting tired of the Ukraine War. Here’s why you should be worried
Journalists and congressmen these days seem to be uniformly unable to probe and scrutinize egregious amounts of cash and military hardware being apparently sent to Ukraine. One reason could be that it is not being sent there in the first place.
The ghost of Kiev pilot is dead, Putin is dead, Ukrainian soldiers were slaughtered on Snake Island and 300 Ukrainians perished in the Mariupol theatre attack. Which of these four news stories coming from western media is true? In fact, they are all entirely false but have been put out as entirely Bonafede news stories and not even corrected when the evidence is overwhelmingly to the contrary. Continue reading
The Great White West aims to crush the Slavs and Chinese
Posted on July 4, 2022 by John Stanton
As the United States fractures internally (Roe v Wade overturned, economy, military spending, etc.), president Joe Biden and his NATO cronies continue to pursue a sanctions regime—and NATO expansion—against Russia that is having the ironic effect of damaging the economies of Europe and the United States, and the ability of the US to wage war. That reality seems to have reached everyone in the world except the dolts who lead the Western nations. Continue reading →