Chomsky: The interests of US power and of the people of the United States are often quite different, as is commonly the case elsewhere as well. The official US interest is to eliminate Assad, and naturally Russian support for Assad poses a threat to that. And the confrontation not only is harmful, if not catastrophic, for Syria, but also carries a threat of accidental escalation that could be catastrophic far beyond.
Nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize, Kelly's idealism is backed by real action for peace in such war-torn places as Iraq, Gaza, and Afghanistan.
Mann: For years now, we have seen a handful of powerful women in Washington proving that they are as aggressive as any man and sometimes even more aggressive as players on the world stage pushing the U.S. to go to war. Isn’t it time to listen to a woman like Barbara Lee who advocates against going to war?
Tomgram: William Astore, Taking Selfies in Iraq and Afghanistan. American troops are never seen as conquerors or oppressors, always as liberators and freedom-bringers, or at least helpers and trainers. There’s just enough substance to this myth (World War II and the Marshall Plan, for example) to hide uglier imperial realities...
Bernabe: It’s a sad state of affairs when the Western media provides humanitarian cover for the U.S. and NATO to fuel a brutal civil war — which has taken the lives of nearly 300,000 people — simply to create economic advantages for NATO states and allies while undermining stability in the Middle East — creating the greatest humanitarian catastrophe since World War II.
In this episode of Days of Revolt, Chris Hedges and Sabah Alnasseri discuss how US foreign policy and class struggle created the conditions for the rise of ISIS, and compare ISIS’s colonialist strategies to those of the Israeli independence movement in Palestine.
Hedges: War, wrapped in the cant of nationalism and the euphoria that comes with the giddy celebration of power and violence, is used by ruling elites to thwart and destroy the aspirations of workingmen and -women and distract us from our disempowerment.
Johnstone: Western leaders share major responsibility for making much of the world unfit for normal human habitation. And so far, they are getting away with it. The massive refugee crisis swamping Europe is just the beginning of the troubles that these unscrupulous leaders have brought on their own countries.
Flounders: There is an elephant in the climate debate that by U.S. demand cannot be discussed or even seen. This agreement to ignore the elephant is now the accepted basis of all international negotiations on climate change.
From the article: Katrin Axelsson and Lisa Longstaff of Women Against Rape wrote: “The allegations against [Assange] are a smokescreen behind which a number of governments are trying to clamp down on WikiLeaks for having audaciously revealed to the public their secret planning of wars and occupations with their attendant rape, murder and destruction… The authorities care so little about violence against women that they manipulate rape allegations at will. [Assange] has made it clear he is available for questioning by the Swedish authorities, in Britain or via Skype. Why are they refusing this essential step in their investigation? What are they afraid of?”
Joe Scarry of #NoNukesTuesday weighs in on ISIS and nonviolence.
When the United States attacks another country whether through all-out invasion, or so-called precision drone strikes, there is an always collateral damage. Let’s call it what it is, civilian causalities. How do we convince the world we’re trying to help, when we kill so many people in our military operations? https://youtu.be/W1w2RboHX-0 Media for the people! Click More
