Imperial Hubris

Eric Margolis: The Road To Nowhere – Kerry Mideast Journey

"Israel’s economy is doing very well, thanks in part to billions in US economic and military aid, privileged access to the US market, and exports of arms and electronics. Israel’s high tech and medical industries are among the world’s leaders. New gas and oil finds between Israel and Cyprus may make Israel an energy exporter within a decade. The United States has eliminated any possible Arab military challenge to Israel’s absolute military domination of the Mideast by destroying Iraq as a functioning state and then fueling Syria’s civil war. Egypt, once Israel’s leading foe, has been bought off by American money." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEric Margolis: The Road To Nowhere – Kerry Mideast Journey

Japan warns Britain to stay in the European Union

"Japan has warned that tens of thousands of British jobs with Japanese firms could be at risk if London pulls out of the European Union, a newspaper reported on Sunday. Tokyo’s submission to a British government consultation said Japanese companies liked Britain because it offered a gateway to the European market, the Sunday Times said. Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the EU and then hold a referendum on membership before the end of 2017 if he is still in office. Close ally the United States has also previously warned Britain against isolating itself from the EU." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan warns Britain to stay in the European Union

Glenn Greenwald: About the Reuters article

"The current criticism of Snowden is that he's in Russia. But the reason he's in Russia isn't that he chose to be there. It's because the US blocked him from leaving: first by revoking his passport (with no due process or trial), then by pressuring its allies to deny airspace rights to any plane they thought might be carrying him to asylum (even one carrying the democratically elected president of a sovereign state), then by bullying small countries out of letting him land for re-fueling. Given the extraordinary amount of documents he has and their sensitivity, it is incredibly foolish for the US government to force him to remain in Russia." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: About the Reuters article

How to Be a Rogue Superpower: A Manual for the Twenty-First Century

"Highlighted in all this has been a curious fact of our twenty-first-century world. In the Cold War years, asylum was always potentially available. If you opposed one of the two superpowers or its allies, the other was usually ready to open its arms to you, as the U.S. famously did for what were once called 'Soviet dissidents' in great numbers. The Soviets did the same for Americans, Brits, and others, often secret communists, sometimes actual spies, who opposed the leading capitalist power and its global order. Today, if you are a twenty-first-century 'dissident' and need asylum/protection from the only superpower left, there is essentially none to be had." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow to Be a Rogue Superpower: A Manual for the Twenty-First Century

Kerry vows to put the screws to Venezuela over Snowden

"US Secretary of State John Kerry has reportedly promised his Venezuelan counterpart to close NATO airspace to the country’s flights and stop crucial oil product deliveries if Caracas grants asylum to NSA leaker Edward Snowden. Kerry reportedly threatened to ground any Venezuelan aircraft in America’s or any NATO country’s airspace if there is the slightest suspicion that Snowden is using the flight to get to Caracas. Kerry also reportedly promised to intensify the ongoing process of revoking US entry visas to Venezuelan officials and businessmen associated with the deceased President Hugo Chavez." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKerry vows to put the screws to Venezuela over Snowden

‘Sorry is not enough’: Bolivia demands EU find culprits behind aerial hijack

"EU apologies for the aerial blockade that forced the Bolivian president’s plane to land are 'not enough,' said Bolivia’s foreign minister. The presidential plane was grounded amid suspicions that NSA leaker Edward Snowden had stowed away onboard. The Bolivian Foreign Minister, David Choquehuanca, confirmed on Tuesday that Bolivia had received official apologies from Italy and Portugal, adding to those of Spain and France. However, Choquehuanca stressed that the apologies were not enough and the four countries “must identify those responsible and punish them in an exemplary fashion so that such an incident does not happen again.” Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Sorry is not enough’: Bolivia demands EU find culprits behind aerial hijack

Wegelin chief takes blame for oldest Swiss bank’s collapse over U.S. taxes

"The last president of a 270-year-old Swiss bank that collapsed after helping rich Americans dodge taxes blames himself for the firm's demise but hints the Holocaust contributed to Switzerland's banking secrecy. Konrad Hummler, in an interview published on Thursday, took full responsibility for the closure of Wegelin & Co., founded in 1741, after it paid US penalties of $57.8 million for helping clients avoid some $20 million in taxes. While stressing the bank had always respected Swiss law, he admitted exploiting 'differences between the (legal systems) in Switzerland and the United States.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWegelin chief takes blame for oldest Swiss bank’s collapse over U.S. taxes

Chemicals found in Syrian rebel facility were from Saudi Arabia

"Al-Alam reporter who accompanied the Syrian army on their mission in Jobar’s al-Manashir district, located in Rif Dimashq governorate, said there were packs of poisonous materials and deadly chemicals in the storage. A video filmed by our reporter showed packs of chemical materials labeled 'Made in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia'. The Russian envoy to the United Nations (UN) said baseless allegations blaming Syrian government for applying chemical weapons are aimed at blocking efforts by the UN to probe into militants’ use of chemical weapons in Syria." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChemicals found in Syrian rebel facility were from Saudi Arabia

Neutrality Toward Syria Is a Non-Aggressive Policy, But Obama Wants Assad Out

"Obama is acting out several parts. He plays the part of a reluctant war-maker. [..] He plays the part of president of the world and all its refugees and disadvantaged. He plays the part of the moral man who is upholding the international provisions against chemical weapons. However, what matters most in understanding Obama and his Syrian policies is that two years ago, Obama called for Assad to resign and he imposed sanctions on Syria. He called for the Syrian people to determine their future. They did, in the usual political ways of this era, by an election in 2012 and by voting in a new constitution. Obama ignored these." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNeutrality Toward Syria Is a Non-Aggressive Policy, But Obama Wants Assad Out