11 October 2016 — ICH
Grievances over U.S. military action ranked far above any other factor.
10 October 2016 — — Global Research
THE END OF THE REPUBLIC AND THE DELUSION OF EMPIRE by James Petras. 2016, Clarity Press Reviewed by Professor Edward Curtin
Very few public intellectuals pull no punches in their analyses of world affairs. James Petras is one of them. Possessed of a brilliant and capacious mind that grasps global events in a comprehensive and interconnected way, he also writes with a moral urgency befitting our dangerous historical moment. He reminds me of C. Wright Mills, another brilliant sociologist whose warnings went unheeded more than fifty years ago.
10 October 2016 — SumOfUs
Under corporate pressure, the EU is set to adopt meaningless “guidelines” that will mean dangerously high levels of a substance called acrylamide in our food. Even the EU’s own food safety experts say this substance could damage our DNA and increase the risk of cancer.
It’s a dream come true for the industry giants. In the coming days, the European Commissioner for Health will consider the draft proposal. And even after Brexit, these rules could set the baseline for future UK regulation, too. But a public outcry across Europe for real, legal limits that protect people (not profits!) can still beat the lobbyists.
10 October 2016 — Media Lens
Awkward facts that erode the ‘benign humanitarian’ self-image of the West are routinely side-lined or buried by the corporate media. Consider, for example, the severe impact of sanctions imposed on Syria by the United States and the European Union.
An internal United Nations assessment, revealed on September 28 by Rania Khalek in The Intercept, makes clear that the sanctions are punishing ordinary Syrians and preventing vital aid, including medical supplies, from reaching those in dire need. Access has been denied for blood safety equipment, medicines, medical devices, food, fuel, water pumps and spare parts for power plants, amongst other items.
8 October 2016 — Youtube
The title of Ava DuVernay’s extraordinary and galvanizing documentary 13TH refers to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.” The progression from that second qualifying clause to the horrors of mass criminalization and the sprawling American prison industry is laid out by DuVernay with bracing lucidity. With a potent mixture of archival footage and testimony from a dazzling array of activists, politicians, historians, and formerly incarcerated women and men, DuVernay creates a work of grand historical synthesis. On Netflix October 7.
7 October 2016 — Global Research
America is coming to the rescue of Al Qaeda under a humanitarian mandate. The unspoken agenda is to undermine the Liberation of Aleppo.
The pretext and justification for these actions are based on America’s “responsibility to protect” (R2P) the “moderates” in Aleppo from Syrian and Russian attacks and bombing raids.
8 October 2016 — ICH
Pentagon Begins Low-Intensity, Stealth War in Syria
By Mike Whitney
Freedom and justice were never part of the West’s agenda.
7 October 2016 — Black Agenda Report
CBC Report Card 2016: Why the Congressional Black Caucus Can’t Lead Black America
7 October 2016 — Momentum
[To tell the truth, I’m not a big fan of Momentum, or indeed any of the other ‘Corbynista’ support groups, websites, pr agencies, boosters and hangers-0n. Have I missed anything? But I like to keep my eye on things and as the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton is kinda my ‘local’, I actually know a few of the people in the photo below and remember the last time they struck the Picturehouse chain of cinemas. I mean, in London, you can’t even survive on a so-called London living wage. It should be called the ‘existing wage’, and that’s stretching it. I plan to tackle the Corbyn phenom sometime soon and try and explain why I mistrust these ‘fan clubs’. WB]
5 October 2016 — — National Security Archive
Confessions, Kissinger Reports, and Overview of Luis Posada Career Posted
National Security Archive Calls on Obama administration to Release Still-Secret Documents
6 October 2016 — Greanville Post
“…a battle is raging within the only remaining global space for freedom of thought and expression: the internet – social media.”
6 October 2016 — FAIR
The old “theft” the New York Times headline (10/5/16) refers to is Edward Snowden’s exposure of government crimes.
On the home page today of the New York Times, the lead story (10/5/16) bears the headline: “Contractor for NSA Charged in Possible New Theft of Secrets.” Describing the arrest of Harold T. Martin III, a contractor for the National Security Agency accused of taking classified documents, the home page teaser reports, “The arrest raises the embarrassing prospect that for the second time in three years, a contractor managed to steal secrets.”
5 October 2016 — Colin Todhunter
As the US and its client states and terror groups keep pushing to destroy Syria, I’m reposting this piece from last year. Washington seems increasingly hellbent on direct conflict with Russia.
Michael Fallon is British Defence Secretary. He is adept at making the types of statements that epitomise the pro-neoliberal, militaristic rhetoric that people in the UK have become tired of.
5 October 2016 — TRNN
Journalist Max Blumenthal shares his latest investigation into the public relations firm Syria Campaign and the USAID-backed White Helmets, both of which are calling for a no-fly zone in Syria
