War & Peace

Star-Spangled Confederates: How Southern Sympathizers Decided Our National Anthem

"Debate raged in the press and the streets. For supporters of the 'Banner,' the song was the perfect symbol of national feeling, and anyone who disagreed might not be patriotic. The Veterans of Foreign Wars organized an Americanization committee that promoted the song as a litmus test of loyalty. Critics of the 'Banner' found their patriotism questioned. Stetson was investigated, subpoenaed, and forced to testify in March 1924 about the source of her funds. No, she had not been funded by foreigners, she said. She had spent $16,000 of her own money on newspaper, and she would spend more. She took out anti-“Banner” ads in March 1924 and August 1925." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStar-Spangled Confederates: How Southern Sympathizers Decided Our National Anthem

Paul Craig Roberts: Putin Dresses Down The Group of Eight

"'You want President Bashshar al-Asad to step down? Look at the leaders you’ve made in the Middle East in the course of what you have dubbed the 'Arab Spring.' [...] 'In Syria all of you are standing on the side of the forces that for the last 10 years you have claimed to be fighting against under the rubric of ‘fighting terror.’ Now today you are with them, helping them to take power across the region. You declare that you’re going to arm them and work to facilitate sending their fighters to Syria to bring it down, weaken it, and break it up.' Putin asked, 'In God’s name what kind of democracy are you talking about?'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: Putin Dresses Down The Group of Eight

Rally at Oklahoma Capitol opposes U.S. intervention in Syria

"An estimated 200 Oklahomans put aside their political and philosophical differences Friday night to join together to oppose U.S. intervention in the Syrian civil war.For an hour Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians, conservatives and liberals, hawks and doves didn't seem to mind the nearly triple-digit temperatures during the anti-war rally on the south steps of the state Capitol. Those attending the rally are concerned the United States may support the armed opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has regained the upper hand more than two years into an insurgency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRally at Oklahoma Capitol opposes U.S. intervention in Syria

Rand Paul Introduces Bill To End Foreign Aid To Egypt

"On Thursday Sen. Rand Paul introduced legislation to prohibit the United States from sending foreign assistance to the government of Egypt, as a result of the country’s military coup d’état on July 3, 2013. This week, it was reported that the Obama Administration was moving forward with plans to deliver four F-16 fighter jets to Egypt despite the political unrest in the country. Earlier this year, the Senate voted against an amendment introduced by Sen. Paul that would have prohibited the U.S. government from selling F-16 military aircraft, M1 tanks, and similar military weapons to the Egyptian government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRand Paul Introduces Bill To End Foreign Aid To Egypt

Ron Paul Interview with Charles Goyette

"It would be impossible to find someone in Washington who knows more about monetary and fiscal policy, the Federal Reserve, free markets, Austrian economics, and gold and silver than former congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul. From warning about the consequences of Nixon’s abandonment of the dollar’s ties to gold, to alerting the country to the calamity that would be the Iraq war, to his statement in Congress describing with shocking precision in advance just how the housing bubble would inflate and burst, Dr. Paul has demonstrated that his views must be taken very seriously, indeed." Continue reading →

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China, India and Pakistan beefing up nuclear arsenals

"China now has 250 nuclear warheads against 240 in 2012, while Pakistan has increased its warheads by about 10 to between 100 and 120 and India has also added roughly 10 for a total of 90 to 110, SIPRI said in its annual report. Only the two old superpowers have cut their warheads, Russia reducing its number from 10,000 to 8,500, and the United States scaling back from 8,000 to 7,700. The warheads controlled by France stayed at 300, while Britain’s remained at 225, and Israel’s at 80. The United States and Russia have not destroyed all their chemical weapons in 2012 as promised, and Syria has said it is prepared to use them in the case of foreign attack." Continue reading →

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Threat from China Is Being Hyped

"China’s sea-denial forces [don't] make up any real threat to the all-in U.S. force of 11 large deck carriers. But of course this threat is to the American Empire, not the United States itself. The U.S. carrier-heavy force is deployed far forward in East Asia to contain China and protect allies, such as Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Australia. Those wealthy allies should be doing more to provide their own security but will never do so as long as the United States provides the first line of defense. Japan already has a stronger navy than China and could do much more if it spent more of its large GDP on defense." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThreat from China Is Being Hyped

South Korean court orders Japanese steel company to pay for forced labor in WWII

"A South Korean court on Wednesday ordered a Japanese steel giant to pay compensation over forced wartime labour in what was described as the first ruling of its kind, a report said. The decision marked the latest chapter in a 16-year legal battle launched by four South Koreans, now aged in their eighties and nineties, who were drafted to work for the predecessor of Nippon Steel before World War II. The forced labour issue and wartime sexual slavery remain key points of contention between Seoul and Tokyo after Japan’s brutal colonisation of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSouth Korean court orders Japanese steel company to pay for forced labor in WWII

Japan says it faces increasing threats from China, North Korea

"Japan faces increasingly serious threats to its security from an assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea, a defense ministry report said on Tuesday, as ruling politicians call for the military to beef up its ability to respond to such threats. The report, the first since hawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office vowing to boost Japan's defenses, was likely to prompt a sharp response from Beijing, whose ties with Tokyo are strained by a territorial row. China is also upset by remarks from Abe suggesting he wants to cast Tokyo's wartime history in a less apologetic tone." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan says it faces increasing threats from China, North Korea

Japanese Troops Storm California Beach as Marine Power Eyed

"A thousand Japanese troops have been learning how to recapture territory in the face of enemy fire. While the shoreline may be California, the skills they are building could one day be used closer to home. The two-week 'Dawn Blitz' joint drills in June saw a Japanese Self-Defense Force ship launching a hovercraft designed to carry troops and heavy weaponry that roared onto the beach. The operations reflect the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s interest in developing a Marine corps to counter what Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government says are Chinese attempts to change the status quo in maritime disputes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapanese Troops Storm California Beach as Marine Power Eyed