Imperial Hubris

How has this not led to outright revolution yet?

"These days, you could put ‘safety and security’ in front of just about anything and get people to readily comply. After all, who is against ‘safety and security’? Only criminal terrorists, apparently. This is now the easiest way for governments to exact their agendas… whether it’s invading new countries, monitoring all Internet activity worldwide, or bailing out the big banks at taxpayer expense. Apparently the citizenry has become so scared that we collectively lay down and let governments walk all over us. This NSA debacle, which is only getting worse and worse, shows beyond all doubt how brazen and unabashed their tactics will be. And not a single utterance of remorse or reform." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow has this not led to outright revolution yet?

Video Shows Rocket Attack on Suez Canal Ship, Group Says

"The attack was hailed as a success by the al-Furqan Brigades, the group that went online to take responsibility for the assault, saying it targeted the Suez Canal because of its importance as a trade route and because it 'has become the safe way for the Crusader aircraft carriers to cross in to assault Muslims.' In mid-August the Navy announced the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group – which includes the aircraft carrier the USS Harry S. Truman – 'executed a safe and professional transit through the Suez Canal' on its way from the Mediterranean to the Arabian Sea." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVideo Shows Rocket Attack on Suez Canal Ship, Group Says

David Galland: Wars and Rumors of Wars

"This article is about why I think interest rates are heading higher, viewed through the context of the politics of the US government's next war. While I'd prefer to convince the world to change its course toward a more peaceful future, given the futility of trying to do so, I'll use my time with you today presenting data, analysis, and a few opinions about the economic consequences of the march toward war that US policy is now set upon. The chart below combines defense, veterans benefits, homeland security, the State Department, and defense-related interest payments, to create a more comprehensive picture of our military spending." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDavid Galland: Wars and Rumors of Wars

Obama tells Russian LGBT activists he is proud of their work

"President Barack Obama on Friday told Russian rights activists that he is 'proud of their work,' saying Russia must remember to let civil society function freely. Meeting with nine activists, including two representing LGBT groups, Obama said 'it’s important to remember that in every country, here in Russia, in the United States, around the globe, that part of good government is making sure that we’re creating space for civil society to function.' This included ensuring 'freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and making sure that people can join together and make common cause around the issues that we care deeply about,' he added." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama tells Russian LGBT activists he is proud of their work

Russia cancels Syria lobbying mission to D.C.

"The speaker of Russia's national legislature said Friday that a plan to send a parliamentary delegation to Washington to try and convince U.S. lawmakers that a unilateral military intervention in Syria would be unwarranted and counterproductive had been cancelled. Sergei Naryshkin, speaker of the State Duma, said the delegation would no longer travel to the U.S. and called the decisions by House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to refuse to meet their Russian counterparts deplorable. Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson confirmed Thursday that Reid had turned down the offer. Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said the speaker had also declined the offer." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRussia cancels Syria lobbying mission to D.C.

Putin: Syria chemical attack is ‘rebels’ provocation in hope of intervention’

"The alleged chemical weapons use in Syria is a provocation carried out by the rebels to attract a foreign-led strike, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the G20 summit. There was no 50/50 split of opinion on the notion of a military strike against the Syrian President Bashar Assad, Putin stressed refuting earlier assumptions. Only Turkey, Canada, Saudi Arabia and France joined the US push for intervention, he said, adding that the UK Prime Minister’s position was not supported by his citizens. Russia, China, India, Indonesia, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa and Italy were among the major world’s economies clearly opposed to military intervention." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPutin: Syria chemical attack is ‘rebels’ provocation in hope of intervention’

Obama will address country on Syria; calls crisis ‘threat to global peace’

"President Barack Obama, facing hardened international opposition to a strike against Syria and returning home to a skeptical American public, will address the country Tuesday to make his case. Obama said that he would tell Congress and the public in coming days that any American strike would be 'limited and proportionate.' He did not directly answer a question about whether he would go forward with an attack without the approval of Congress. Military officials on Friday told NBC News that the White House asked the Pentagon for an expanded list of potential targets in Syria, and one senior official warned that it could represent 'mission creep.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama will address country on Syria; calls crisis ‘threat to global peace’

Gold and Syria

"We are confronting authoritarians with such an appetite for power that they become afraid to wield it for fear of losing it. It is a subject fit for a Dostoevsky or Shakespeare. It was a cause for rejoicing when the British Parliament refused the Queen’s Prime Minister authority to let slip the dogs of war on Syria. It was the first such refusal since 1782 when, incidentally, Parliament voted down further war against the rebellious American colonies. It will be a welcome sign of a dawning realization that the U.S. Empire has exhausted itself financially and in folly if the House refuses to pass Obama’s Syrian war resolution. But if it does approve another front in the U.S. Mideast war, buy gold with both hands." Continue reading →

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Vladimir Putin: The US Administration is Lying Shamelessly about Syria

"The Russian President then said the Al-Nusra Front terrorist organization, which pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda, has been at the forefront of the rebel groups fighting Assad's forces, and that the US is well aware of that. 'Well, he [Kerry] lies. And he knows that he lies. This is sad,' Putin remarked. Speaking of Kerry's confidence in that Assad's forces used chemical weapons, Putin recalled former US Secretary of State Colin Powell's rhetoric on the eve of American invasion in Iraq. Powell even brandished some test tube with a white powder as he attempted to persuade the international community that Iraq has chemical weapons, Putin said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVladimir Putin: The US Administration is Lying Shamelessly about Syria

Kerry Bloody Hands Protest

"Anti-war protesters held up blood-red hands behind Secretary of State John Kerry Wednesday as he made the Obama administration's case for military action in Syria. During Kerry's remarks to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, protesters dressed in pink were scattered in the gallery behind the former senator with the palms of their hands painted red — to symbolize blood — and bright pink duct tape over their mouths." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKerry Bloody Hands Protest