Big Lie

House Republican Claims Reagan Stood Up To Chemical Weapons Use

"Ronald Reagan did exactly the opposite. For the majority of the 1980s, Iraq under Saddam Hussein was locked in combat with the Islamic Republic of Iran in a war that killed more than 1,000,000 people on both sides. The United States explicitly backed the secular Hussein over the Ayatollah Khomeini’s government in Tehran, still smarting from the embassy hostage crisis that had only ended when Reagan took office. That backing not only included the shipment of tons of weapons to support Baghdad, but also looking the other way when Iraq unleashed its chemical weapons stockpiles — including sarin and mustard gas — against Iranian civilians and soldiers alike." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHouse Republican Claims Reagan Stood Up To Chemical Weapons Use

Jim Bovard: We can’t trust White House Syria claims

"Can we expect the U.S. government to be honest about an alleged atrocity which the president is invoking to sanctify his foreign policy? History is not reassuring on that score. Whitewashing the Katyn Forest massacre helped blindfold both American policymakers and the American public regarding the brutality of the Soviet Union. It took 69 years for the U.S. government to disclose that it had deceived the American people regarding one of World War II's landmark atrocities. If it takes as long to find out what the U.S. government knew regarding recent alleged Syrian attacks, we will not have the full story until 2082." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJim Bovard: We can’t trust White House Syria claims

Pot Apocalypse Looms, Marijuana Foes Warn

"Not everybody is happy with Thursday's Justice Department announcement that it would not interfere with taxed, regulated, and legalized marijuana in Colorado and Washington. While the announcement was greeted with accolades (and some questions) by the drug policy reform community, opponents of marijuana law reform were up in arms and prophesying hellfire and damnation. Despite the bitter disappointment of the prohibitionists, marijuana law reform is moving forward, and the momentum is only likely to accelerate in the years to come. We may see in a few years if their dire warnings are correct -- if the country is still standing, that is." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPot Apocalypse Looms, Marijuana Foes Warn

Judge Napolitano: Can America bomb and kill for bragging rights?

"President Obama’s request for express congressional authorization for a limited aerial invasion of Syria raises profound legal and constitutional questions. For starters, there is simply no legal basis in international law to support an American invasion of Syria. Yet, notwithstanding that, federal law permits the president to commit U.S. military forces anywhere he wants for up to 90 days, without express authorization from Congress. So, why did Obama ask for the authorization he surely knows he already has?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge Napolitano: Can America bomb and kill for bragging rights?

Pentagon in 2012: 75,000 troops needed to secure Syria chemical weapons

"Securing Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles and the facilities that produced them would likely require the U.S. to send more than 75,000 ground troops into the Middle Eastern country, MailOnline learned Wednesday. That estimate comes from a secret memorandum the U.S. Department of Defense prepared for President Obama in early 2012. U.S. Central Command arrived at the figure of 75,000 ground troops as part of a written series of military options for dealing with Bashar al-Assad more than 18 months ago, long before the U.S. confirmed internally that the Syrian dictator was using the weapons against rebel factions within his borders." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPentagon in 2012: 75,000 troops needed to secure Syria chemical weapons

Reporter Asks Obama if Nobel Peace Prize ‘Dilemma’ on Syria Attack

"President Barack Obama flew to Sweden on Wednesday for a diplomatic meeting ahead of a two-day G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. Obama held a wide-ranging press conference in Sweden relating to the White House's effort to build support for a strike on Syria in the wake of that government's use of chemical weapons on civilians. One Swedish reporter cornered Obama on the contradictions contained in the fact that a Nobel Peace Prize winner is planning to launch his second war against a sovereign nation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingReporter Asks Obama if Nobel Peace Prize ‘Dilemma’ on Syria Attack

Drug use doubles among U.S. baby boomers and seniors

"For adults aged 50 to 54, the rate more than doubled from 3.4 percent in 2002 to 7.2 percent last year. For those aged 55 to 59, it more than tripled from 1.9 percent to 6.6 percent. 'Among those aged 60 to 64, the rate increased from 1.1 percent in 2003 to 3.6 percent in 2012,' the report added. Marijuana — ranked on par with heroin under federal law, despite a trend towards legalization at the state level — was the most commonly used illegal drug. Current use between 2007 to 2012 grew from 5.8 percent to 7.3 percent of the overall population, and the number of Americans who used marijuana daily or almost daily grew from 5.1 million in 2007 to 7.6 million in 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDrug use doubles among U.S. baby boomers and seniors

New documentary puts Donald Rumsfeld on the hotseat about Iraq

"Former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld wriggles out of straight answers on the Iraq war in Errol Morris’s new documentary, screening in Venice Wednesday. 'The Unknown Known' takes its title from a 2002 speech Rumsfeld gave to justify the invasion. Asked at the time whether Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, he replied that there are 'things we do not know we don’t know.' In the film, Morris repeatedly attempts to quiz Rumsfeld on this and other decisions taken by a man accused of disastrous mismanagement of the war and condoning policies on interrogation which led to cases of extreme abuse of prisoners." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew documentary puts Donald Rumsfeld on the hotseat about Iraq

Russian report on chemical attack indicates similarity with rebel-made weapons

"Probes from Khan al-Assal show chemicals used in the March 19 attack did not belong to standard Syrian army ammunition, and that the shell carrying the substance was similar to those made by a rebel fighter group, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated. The samples taken at the site of the March 19 attack and analyzed by Russian experts indicate that a projectile carrying the deadly nerve agent sarin was most likely fired at Khan al-Assal by the rebels, the ministry statement suggests, outlining the 100-page report handed over to the UN by Russia." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRussian report on chemical attack indicates similarity with rebel-made weapons

Syria: Nobel Peace Laureate Tells Her Account of What She Witnessed

"Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Mairead Maguire tells her account of her visit to Syria. While Maguire was in Syria she discovered that the people the U.S. are funding are violent groups and do not want peace in Syria. Her her view is that Syria is being used as a proxy war by the U.S., Great Britain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSyria: Nobel Peace Laureate Tells Her Account of What She Witnessed