News Commentary

Paul Craig Roberts: Another Western War Crime In The Making

"The UK Independent reports that over this past week-end Obama, Cameron, and Hollande agreed to launch cruise missile attacks against the Syrian government within two weeks despite the lack of any authorization from the UN and despite the absence of any evidence in behalf of Washington’s claim that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against the Washington-backed “rebels”, largely US supported external forces, seeking to overthrow the Syrian government. Indeed, one reason for the rush to war is to prevent the UN inspection that Washington knows would disprove its claim and possibly implicate Washington in the false flag attack by the 'rebels.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: Another Western War Crime In The Making

Michael Scheuer: Observing King Obama’s Syrian madness

"Our heroic, if addled Knesset-member-wannabees McCain and Graham warn that if we do not do 'something' about the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons, Asaad may well turn them over to terrorist groups. Interesting point, but only if you say it fast and do not ponder it. If we destroy Asaad’s regime in favor of the al-Qaeda-led Syrian opposition, won’t those unkempt Islamist laddies inherit Syria’s chemical-weapons arsenal? As night follows day, if the U.S.-led West destroys the Syrian regime, our highly intelligent King Obama will have succeeded in arming al-Qaeda and its allies with Asaad’s chemical weapons." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichael Scheuer: Observing King Obama’s Syrian madness

If Chris Kyle Had Been a Muslim, We’d Call him an Extremist

"Imagine: A young Muslim from the Islamic world joins his country’s armed forces to fight an aggressive war against an overwhelmingly Christian nation. He gains accolades for his work as a sniper, executing his job with ruthless efficiency and little remorse. He admits to viewing the war he is fighting through the prism of religion. He gets a tattoo on his arm declaring that he embraces the concept of holy war. When parliamentarians in his own country question the conduct or course of the war, he states, 'How would they know? They’ve never even been in a combat situation.' That he became the author of a bestselling book, and served as a symbol of strength used by politicians." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIf Chris Kyle Had Been a Muslim, We’d Call him an Extremist

Targeted Killings in the Drone War—Illegal and Unconstitutional

"We were all laboring under the illusion that U.S. Pakistani 'friends' had reluctantly agreed to allow drone attacks on their soil in exchange for bucket loads of cash in foreign aid. Now we find out that U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan were permitted only if the U.S. also killed an Islamist militant leader whose forces were focusing their attacks on the Pakistani government. In June 2004, in the first targeted assassination in Pakistan using a Predator drone, the Bush administration killed Nek Muhammad. A damning report by the CIA inspector general on abuses in CIA secret prisons had spurred the CIA to change from capturing terrorism suspects to gain valuable information to simply assassinating them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTargeted Killings in the Drone War—Illegal and Unconstitutional

Is Pakistan preparing to get out of US war on terrorism?

"After having sacrificed over $85 billion and more than 50,000 lives in the US war on terror, Pakistan is now finally preparing to get out of Washington’s war. Political differences apart, both the PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and his hot contender for the post-May 11 government, PTI’s Imran Khan, have made it clear that Pakistan would be driven out of the 12-year-old 'war on terror'. Both the political leaders, in their separate statements, have unambiguously rejected the policy of use of force and military operations against the local Taliban to check extremism and curb terrorism. Instead, they have openly supported initiating dialogue with the local Taliban." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs Pakistan preparing to get out of US war on terrorism?

One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Big Data

"In 2012, the Senseable City Lab, part of MIT, conducted an experiment called Trash Track to see just what happens when someone takes out the trash. By attaching transmitters to over 3,000 pieces of rubbish they were able to track where that item went, whether they went to the correct recycling facility or not, and how far they traveled. Now move to the story in the papers last week about the Renew bins in London. It came to light that a dozen of London’s recycling bins fitted with digital screens were tracking each smartphone and device that connected to them with WiFi. It allowed advertisers to deduce whether the same phone — although not necessarily the same person — is passing by" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOne Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Big Data

The Real, Terrifying Reason Why British Authorities Detained David Miranda

"Those in power were angry and impulsively acted on that anger. They're lashing out: sending a message and demonstrating that they're not to be messed with -- that the normal rules of polite conduct don't apply to people who screw with them. That's probably the scariest explanation of all. Both the U.S. and U.K. intelligence apparatuses have enormous money and power, and they have already demonstrated that they are willing to ignore their own laws. Once they start wielding that power unthinkingly, it could get really bad for everyone." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Real, Terrifying Reason Why British Authorities Detained David Miranda

Banish the trolls, but web debate still needs anonymity

"So the proprietor of the Huffington Post has decided to ban anonymous commenting from the site. It seems like common sense [that people will behave better]. Whether it is supported by evidence is uncertain. The most striking study I’ve come across is the experiment conducted by the (South) Korea Communications Commission from July 2007. From that month onwards, anyone wanting to comment on any of the 146 Korean websites with more than 100,000 members was required by law to submit resident registration or credit card details. The hypothesis behind the requirement was that people would behave better online if they were easily identifiable. But it didn’t turn out that way. Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBanish the trolls, but web debate still needs anonymity

Edward Snowden’s not the story. The fate of the internet is

"First, the days of the internet as a truly global network are numbered. It was always a possibility that the system would eventually be Balkanised, ie divided into a number of geographical or jurisdiction-determined subnets as societies such as China, Russia, Iran and other Islamic states decided that they needed to control how their citizens communicated. Now, Balkanisation is a certainty. Second, the issue of internet governance is about to become very contentious. Third, as Evgeny Morozov has pointed out, 'the rhetoric of the 'internet freedom agenda' looks as trustworthy as George Bush's 'freedom agenda' after Abu Ghraib.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEdward Snowden’s not the story. The fate of the internet is

Run Snowden Run!

"NSA leaker Edward Snowden set the world on fire when he stood up to the powerful and secretive National Security Agency, exposing its illegal and unconstitutional spying to a global audience. Since that time, statists, neoconservatives, and supporters of the Obama administration have called for him to stand trial for treason. Meanwhile, civil liberties activists have hailed him as a whistleblower and a hero. Some have even suggested that the NSA should be disbanded, that its officials should be held accountable, and that Edward Snowden deserves a ticker tape parade. Today's Enemies Domestic short tackles this national conversation head-on." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRun Snowden Run!