Winning Hearts & Minds

Greece’s Futile Austerity

"The Greek situation is beyond wretched. Top earners are being pursued by helicopters and spied on by satellites over non-payment of taxes; there are regular riots in the streets and, as in Argentina a decade ago, middle-class people have been reduced in some cases to picking through garbage bins to survive. The suffering has been needless. The result is not going to be of benefit to anyone except perhaps some of Europe's largest banks, and they are getting plenty of help already. There is little money in Greece but there is plenty of anger. And Prime Minister Samaras, taking note of it, announces there will be no further austerity measures." Continue reading →

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Thousands rally against the Troika in Brussels

"Around 1,500 protesters rallied at the Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels, according to police on the scene. Although more were seen gathering close to the European Council Summit at the Place Shuman. There have reportedly been 25 arrests by police. The police banned protesters from marching past the banks and the seats of government in Brussels, to the dismay of many of the protesters. 100 of the protesters occupied the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs in Brussels (DG ECFIN). The DG ECFIN provides most of the staff whose job it is to go to indebted European countries to impose austerity measures regardless of public opinion." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThousands rally against the Troika in Brussels

Made Poor by the Crisis: Millions of Europeans Require Red Cross Food Aid

"Needy families and individuals in the European Union are becoming increasingly reliant on charity organizations like the Red Cross for basic needs like food, water and shelter. Two-thirds of national Red Cross societies within the European Union have begun distributing food aid, according to the head of the aid groups' international organization -- a sign that the economic crisis in Europe is having an alarming effect on poverty. Yves Daccord, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said on a visit to New Delhi on Monday that the scope of food distribution had not been at its current level since the end of World War II." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMade Poor by the Crisis: Millions of Europeans Require Red Cross Food Aid

Rep. Walter Jones: Dick Cheney is going to hell for the Iraq war

"Republican Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina said Saturday that former Vice President Dick Cheney would likely end up in hell because of his role in the Iraq war. At a Young Americans for Liberty conference, Jones said it was impossible under current law to prosecute a president for intentionally manipulating intelligence reports to make the case for war. He co-authored a bill to change the law, but the legislation was killed in committee by Lamar Smith of Texas. The conservative Christian turned against the war after witnessing American causalities and once it became clear Iraq was not building any weapons of mass destruction." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRep. Walter Jones: Dick Cheney is going to hell for the Iraq war

Iraq’s pain has only intensified since 2003

"Ten years on from the shock and awe of the 2003 Bush and Blair war – which followed 13 years of murderous sanctions, and 35 years of Saddamist dictatorship – my tormented land, once a cradle of civilisation, is staring into the abyss. Wanton imperialist intervention and dictatorial rule have together been responsible for the deaths of more than a million people since 1991. And yet, according to both Tony Blair and the former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright, the 'price is worth it'. The Iraqi people are fully aware that Saddam committed all his major crimes while an ally of western powers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIraq’s pain has only intensified since 2003

Mexican town finds more security by throwing out the police

"The indigenous town of Cherán used to be like many places in Mexico, caving under the weight of drug-related crime and a police force that did little to stop it. But about two years ago, citizens here threw out the police, and took over their local government, running the town according to indigenous tradition. So far, they’ve had remarkable success. About six months after villagers threw out the police, the Mexican state granted the town a degree of legal autonomy to govern itself on the local level, according to indigenous tradition." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMexican town finds more security by throwing out the police

Police gun down 83-year-old woman in her backyard responding to 911 call she dialed

"A police officer shot and killed an 83-year-old woman in her own backyard. Delma Towler dialed 911 to report a burglary but when police arrived, one officer killed her outside her home in Altavista, Va. Towler had never fired her gun before that night. She fired a warning shot out the window to scare the burglar off. Then she started walking through her backyard toward her sister's house. She grasped the gun for protection from the reported intruder — not the police, her family maintains. The two responding officers claim that they shot Towler after she refused to put her weapon down. The woman reportedly did not have her glasses on or hearing aid in at the time." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice gun down 83-year-old woman in her backyard responding to 911 call she dialed

Drones 101

"Reapers feature a maximum payload of 3,000 pounds, or 1.5 tons. That means they can carry a combination of Hellfires and larger 500 pound bombs like the GBU-12 Paveway II and GBD-38 JDAM. Those have an 'effective casualty radius' of about 200 feet. That means that about 50 percent of people within 200 feet of the blast site will die. Those odds improve — or worsen, depending on how you look at it — the closer you get, obviously. So imagine if you took a football field and shrunk it by a third. A Reaper attacks one endzone with a GBU-12. If you’re on the field, you have a 50 percent chance of dying." Continue reading →

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How Can the U.S. be at War with Al-Qaeda and Support It?

"How can the U.S. be at war with al-Qaeda and be providing material support to it in overthrowing governments in Libya and Syria? It cannot. How can the U.S. be at war with al-Qaeda and maintain Saudi Arabia as a close ally, when that country is a major source of al-Qaeda people and teaching? The idea put forward by two administrations that the U.S. is at war with al-Qaeda is a 'Big Lie' that is designed to provide cover for other motives for their military actions. It is a very simple and convenient cover story that sells to the public as a rationale for all sorts of U.S. military activities in many countries, all of which have other explanations." Continue reading →

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The U.N.’s complicity in international human rights abuses

"Consider these numbers: Hundreds of thousands of people locked in detention centers and subject to violent punishments. Millions imprisoned. Hundreds hanged, shot or beheaded. Tens of thousands killed by government forces and non-state actors. Thousands beaten and abused to extract information, and abused in government or private 'treatment' centers. Millions denied life-saving medicines. The U.N.’s International Narcotics Control Board has refused to condemn torture or 'any atrocity' carried out in the name of drug control, claiming it was not its mandate to do so." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe U.N.’s complicity in international human rights abuses