Voices
09/08/11
Israeli Oppression Continues While Talking Peace
by Stephen Lendman
No wonder Palestinians want and deserve statehood, as well as full UN membership to be able to seek World Court redress, and be able to sue under Genocide Convention provisions, and why not.
Israel's lawless hypocrisy is shameless given what goes on daily - bombings, killings, mass arrests, settlement expansions, dispossessions, and other civil and human rights abuses on an ongoing basis. More on that below.
On September 5, ahead of the September General Assembly meeting, Netanuyahu predictably said he wants peace talks restarted with no chance whatever of succeeding like all previous attempts for decades because Israeli violence is official policy.
No wonder Palestinians want and deserve statehood, as well as full UN membership to be able to seek World Court redress, and be able to sue under Genocide Convention provisions, and why not.
Israel's lawless hypocrisy is shameless given what goes on daily - bombings, killings, mass arrests, settlement expansions, dispossessions, and other civil and human rights abuses on an ongoing basis. More on that below.
On September 5, ahead of the September General Assembly meeting, Netanuyahu predictably said he wants peace talks restarted with no chance whatever of succeeding like all previous attempts for decades because Israeli violence is official policy.
News
09/07/11
Is it Legal to Photograph or Videotape Police?
Since 9/11, a disturbing pattern of innocent individuals being harassed by the police for taking still and video photographs in public places has emerged across the country. The ACLU, photographers' groups, and others have been complaining about such incidents for years — and we have been consistently winning in court. Recently, an appeals court ruled, on behalf of an ACLU client, that Americans have a First Amendment right to videotape the police making an arrest in a public park.
Euro Breakup Would Have Grim Political,Social Consequences-UBS
A breakup of the euro zone would have grim, long-lasting social and political consequences that extend far beyond its economic costs--an ugly risk that is widely underestimated, according to UBS AG (UBS). The Swiss bank warned that the economic cost of a breakup should in many ways be the least of investors' concerns.
09/06/11
Endless War and the Culture of Unrestrained Power
The Washington Post woke up a few days ago and realized that despite everything that has happened since 9/11 -- no successful Terrorist attacks on the Homeland in 10 years, a country mired in debt and imposing "austerity" on ordinary Americans, and the election of a wonderfully sophisticated, urbane, progressive multinationalist from the storied anti-war Democratic Party -- we are still smack in the middle of "the American era of endless war" with no end in sight.
Teen Girl Forced to Give Cop Oral Sex -- What the Sick Abuse of Authority Says About Our Rape Culture
A teen-age girl says a Jackson County police officer forced her to give him oral sex in his squad car after he found her and some friends in a park after curfew. And she says that assault is just the tip of the iceberg of a pattern of sexual deviancy by Jackson County police officers... Burgess told C.B.'s friends to leave, then he handcuffed C.B., fondled her breasts, vaginal area and buttocks, forced her to give him oral sex and ejaculated.
Fullerton Police Accused Of Confiscating Yet Another Camera After Homeless Beating
Another citizen is claiming that Fullerton police confiscated her camera in the wake of the Kelly Thomas beating death. This makes at least three cameras seized from citizens whose content has yet to see the light of day.
09/05/11
The Coffee Illusion: What the Magic Brew Really Does to Your Brain
Coffee does not make you "superhuman." The truth is that you become addicted to caffeine quickly, and soon you are drinking coffee to cure withdrawal more than for stimulation.
Are Turkey and Israel on a collision course? - Video
We ask whether by challenging Israel's blockade of Gaza at the ICJ, Turkey is setting a precedent others might follow. In the latest strain between the two nations, Turkey has said it will challenge Israel's blockade of Gaza at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Tensions first arose between Tel Aviv and Ankara following last year's Israeli action against ships heading for Gaza, in which nine Turks were killed. Ahmed Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, said Turkey did not accept the findings of a UN report which said Israel's blockade of Gaza was a legal security measure.
There Are More Slaves Today Than At Any Point In Human History
You would assume that - as messed up as things may be today - at least there is not widespread slavery, as in ancient Egypt or the American south. But as Time Magazine noted last year: Despite more than a dozen international conventions banning slavery in the past 150 years, there are more slaves today than at any point in human history. Slaves are those forced to perform services for no pay beyond subsistence and for the profit of others who hold them through fraud and violence. While most are held in debt bondage in the poorest regions of South Asia, some are trafficked in the midst of thriving development.
The Meek Shall Inherit The Earth
I spent all of last week doing my final Strategy Sessions, before I start on my two final projects. I was overwhelmed by the response and closed it down early when I had 55 Strategy Sessions lined up from all over the world. I am more than half way through them and I am consistently amazed at the quality and diversity of the people. We had people from Korea, Luxembourg, Ireland, Bahrain, Belarus, and all over the U.S. The commonalities were striking to me, in that we all spoke the same language of freedom.
Police State Roundup: 15 Reasons Why I Choose Not to Live in the USSA
I left the United Soviet States of Amerika (USSA) five years ago and never looked back. Upon discovering that government forces executed what I learned was a “false flag operation” (thank you Loose Change), that the economy was one giant Ponzi scheme (thank you G. Edward Griffin) and that there truly did exist a movement for totalitarian world government mirroring Biblical depictions (thank you Alex Jones), I figured I had some soul-searching to do.
09/03/11
Report details corporate plundering in Iraq, Afghanistan
A joint congressional investigation into US government contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan confirms that the US occupation of the two countries has been a bonanza for corporate military contractors, with waste and fraud estimated as high as $60 billion.
US added no net jobs in August
The Labor Department’s employment report for August, released Friday, showed zero growth in US payrolls. The disastrous report followed economic data showing a sharp decline in manufacturing and overall economic growth, or an outright contraction, in major economies in Europe, North America and Asia, as well as rising unemployment in Europe.
Goodbye to All That: Reflections of a GOP Operative Who Left the Cult
Barbara Stanwyck: "We're both rotten!" Fred MacMurray: "Yeah - only you're a little more rotten." -"Double Indemnity" (1944) Those lines of dialogue from a classic film noir sum up the state of the two political parties in contemporary America. Both parties are rotten - how could they not be, given the complete infestation of the political system by corporate money on a scale that now requires a presidential candidate to raise upwards of a billion dollars to be competitive in the general election?
Report: Turkey navy to escort aid ships to Palestinians in Gaza
Turkish officials tell Hurriyet Daily News that Turkish navy will strengthen presence in eastern Mediterranean Sea to stop Israeli 'bullying'. The Turkish navy will significantly strengthen its presence in the eastern Mediterranean Sea as one of the steps the Turkish government has decided to take following the release of the UN Palmer report on the 2010 Gaza flotilla, Turkish officials told the Hurriyet Daily News. "The eastern Mediterranean will no longer be a place where Israeli naval forces can freely exercise their bullying practices against civilian vessels," a Turkish official was quoted as saying.
The World's Largest Slave Auction
Immediately after the "Labor Day Holiday" congress will come back to "work" to finish the 52 days that they officially spend each year actually working for their astronomical compensation packages that we pay them; to do what they do? Would it surprise you to know that this time what is 'first-up' on their agenda is the 'seating' of the new SUPER-CONGRESS? You've probably heard something about it but what you might not know is that by being sworn in and actually seated; these twelve people will be openly committing TREASON against the US Constitution and the people that supposedly elected this congress to their offices?
Lies We Still Tell Ourselves about 9/11
Have we managed to silence ourselves as well as the world with our own fears? I'm talking about the volumes, the libraries – nay, the very halls of literature – which the international crimes against humanity of 11 September 2001 have spawned. Many are spavined with pseudo-patriotism and self-regard, others rotten with the hopeless mythology of CIA/Mossad culprits, a few (from the Muslim world, alas) even referring to the killers as "boys", almost all avoiding the one thing which any cop looks for after a street crime: the motive.
Tar Sands Protesters: "Which Side Are You On, Obama? Which Side Are You On?" Determined oilsands pipeline protesters can't hide disappointment
WASHINGTON — As hundreds of anti-oilsands activists gathered for a final day of civil disobedience Saturday at the White House, the sizable crowd erupted in familiar songs of protest. More than 1,000 demonstrators have been arrested in the past two weeks in front of the White House as they protest against the Keystone XL Pipeline project. (Luis M. Alvarez/Associated Press) One lilting verse carried across the White House lawn louder than the others: "Which side are you on, Obama? Which side are you on?"
Report: 35,000 Worldwide Convicted for Terror
At least 35,000 people worldwide have been convicted as terrorists in the decade since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. But while some bombed hotels or blew up buses, others were put behind bars for waving a political sign or blogging about a protest.
Argentina housing evictions continue - Video
The country's homeless are increasingly frustrated with the actions of local government. Squatters in Argentina are being forced onto the streets, even as the country suffers from an acute housing shortage. Evictions have ended in deadly violence in recent months - prompting the UN and Amnesty International to voice concern over the treatment of Argentinian squatters. After clashes that left four people dead, local government expropriated 40 hectares of land. But the issue remains unresolved, as some 3 million homes are needed to cover the housing deficit. Al Jazeera's Teresa Bo reports from Argentina's Jujuy province.
Fukushima Blows Lid Off Exploited Labour
TOKYO - The Fukushima disaster has thrown up the first opportunity in decades to bring justice to thousands of unskilled workers who risk radioactive contamination to keep Japan’s nuclear power plants running.
09/02/11
Ned Kelly's remains identified - Video
DNA tests conclusively confirm that skeleton belongs to infamous Australian outlaw. Australian scientists have identified the remains of Ned Kelly, the country's most infamous outlaw. He was hanged in 1880 after being convicted of killing a policeman, and spending years on the run. Kelly was the subject of the world’s first ever feature film in 1906 and, even today, opinion is split as to whether he was a cold-blooded killer or a folk hero who took a stand against colonial persecution. But the renegade's legend lives on, as Al Jazeera’s Andrew Thomas reports from Sydney.
Turkey downgrades ties with Israel
Ankara expels Israeli envoys and suspends military co-operation ahead of release of UN report into 2010 flotilla raid. Israel has refused Ankara's demands for an apology for the raid aboard the Mavi Marmara. Turkey has downgraded diplomatic ties with Israel and suspended military co-operation between the countries ahead of the anticipated official release of a United Nations report into Israel's deadly raid of a Gaza-bound ship. Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, announced the measures on Friday, hours before Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, was expected to formally receive the report, details of which have already been leaked to the media.
Chomsky: U.S. has ‘extreme contempt for democracy’ - Video
In a new video, MIT professor Noam Chomsky discusses the nature of U.S imperialism as it compares to campaigns of violence carried out by other nations and groups. Ultimately he drives the point home, suggesting the U.S. has an “extreme contempt for democracy” at home and around the world, and is not above resorting to violence to protect its interests.
Right-wing commentator: Poor people voting is ‘un-American’
Many conservatives appear to think badly of poor people, but Matthew Vadum of the Capital Research Center takes it a step further. According to the title of his latest article for American Thinker, he believes that "registering the poor to vote is un-American."
The left-out and left-behind economy
The plague of unemployment that took hold during the Great Recession isn't going away, causing a jobs crisis that the U.S. hasn't experienced since the 1930s depression era. But Corporate America doesn't mind at all. In the first article of a two-part series, Alan Maass looks at the facts about the crisis and the stories behind the statistics--with additional reporting by Gary Lapon, Leela Yellesetty and Christine Darosa.
The counterfeit culture - useful observations for understanding why collapse is inevitable
Through a devolving web of greed, self-serving power and a departure from fundamental ethics, Western culture has, over the last hundred years, become the counterfeit culture. Nothing is real anymore -- not the food, not the money, and certainly not the evening news. And because it's not real, it's not sustainable. That's why it's headed for collapse, which is all too real, as many people are about to find out.
Is the US Government Spying on Americans?
Government lawyers admit that they may be using cell phone data to track the locations of American citizens. - The rise of government surveillance is a troublesome legacy of the September 11 attacks. Today, video cameras are visible everywhere in public places, recording people’s every move. But what about spying that can’t be spotted?
Breaking the Addiction to Incarceration: Weekly Highlights
Today, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. With over 2.3 million men and women living behind bars, our imprisonment rate is the highest it’s ever been in U.S. history. And yet, our criminal justice system has failed on every count: public safety, fairness and cost-effectiveness. Across the country, the criminal justice reform conversation is heating up. Each week, we feature our some of the most exciting and relevant news in overincarceration discourse that we’ve spotted from the previous week. Check back weekly for our top picks.
Are Wikileaks and Anonymous Hackers All There Is Left We Can Rely on, with Trust in Business and Government at Rock Bottom?
Their ability to bring powerful giants to heel is as compelling as the mythical Robin Hood's battle with a haughty medieval aristocracy.
09/01/11
Gaddafi: Foreign powers want to occupy Libya
Deposed leader in new audio message says foreign powers are eyeing Libya's oil and natural resources. Gaddafi's radio broadcasts comes on a day when NTC extended its surrender deadline by a week. Muammar Gaddafi has in a new audio message accused international forces of seeking to occupy Libya for its oil and other resources. In a message broadcast on a Syria-based pro-Gaddafi channel on Thursday, he said that the Libyan tribes won't be controlled by international forces and warned them to be ready for guerilla war.
Second giant ice island set to break off Greenland glacier
Astonished scientist says he was 'completely unprepared for the gob-smacking scale of the breakup, which rendered me speechless' New photographs taken of a vast glacier in northern Greenland have revealed the astonishing rate of its breakup, with one scientist saying he was rendered "speechless." In August 2010, part of the Petermann Glacier about four times the size of Manhattan island broke off , prompting a hearing in Congress.
The return of the BP disaster?
Oil is resurfing again not far from the location of the BP Macondo Well off the Gulf of Mexico, 15 months on. According to oil trackers, globs of oil have been spotted near the Macondo Well [Bonny Schumaker/On Wings of Care] Fifteen months after BP’s crippled Macondo Well in the Gulf of Mexico caused the worst environmental disaster in US history, oil and oil sheen covering several square miles of water are surfacing not far from BP’s well. According to oil trackers with the organisation On Wings of Care who have been monitoring the oil since early August, rainbow-tinted slicks and thicker globs of oil have been visible.
Rich Lifestyles of the GOP's Starve-the-Poor Presidential Candidates
With housing foreclosures at an all-time high, the top tier of Republican presidential candidates is living high on the hog. With the campaign season for Republican presidential primaries in full bloom, the candidates are falling all over each other in a fierce competition to tout their conservative bona fides. Even as housing foreclosures reach all-time highs, and unemployment in some states climbs into the double digits, Republican presidential contenders remain insistent in their demands for reducing government assistance to those suffering under the weight of economic disaster. So, let's have a look at how the candidates themselves are faring on this dismal economic landscape.
08/31/11
What role is al-Qaeda playing in Libya? - Video
As tensions between Algeria and Libya's NTC grow, we look at al-Qaeda's role in stoking friction between the neighbours. Tensions are rising between Algeria and Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC). Muammar Gaddafi's family members have been given refuge in Algeria, but Libya wants them back. This comes a day after al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for blowing up an Algerian military academy, in what it says was a move intended to punish the country for supporting Gaddafi's regime.
Rick Perry: Too big to fail?
Texas Governor Rick Perry's quest for the White House is enabled by the fact that President Obama is saddled with a massive economic crisis and two unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Is America ready for another set of cowboy boots in the White House?" Rick Perry’s Killing of an Innocent Man Is Somehow a Political Asset Probable presidential candidate Rick Perry, like other Texas governors, has a history of executing tons of people. The most famous case is that of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed under Perry for burning down his home with his three children inside, even though there's significant evidence that he didn't do it. How will Perry ever get past this in a presidential primary? Trick question! He doesn't have to "get past" anything, because Republican primary voters like him for doing this.
Can it happen here?
2011 will be remembered in the history books as a year of revolutionary change and struggle around the world. But what about here in the U.S.?
APPEAL OF THE SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF VICTIMS OF AGENT ORANGE/DIOXINE
The Second International Conference of Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin, held in Hanoi from August 8th to 9th, 2011 included participants from around the world: Agent Orange victims, victims of other toxic chemicals, scientists, lawyers and social activists. The conference is a significant and important historic event, marking the 50th anniversary of the first spraying of the toxic chemical Agent Orange (1961-1971) by the U.S. forces in Vietnam and Indochina.
Expanding Desert, Falling Water Tables, and Toxic Pollutants Are Driving People From Their Homes
As environmental stresses mount, we can expect to see a growing number of environmental refugees. People do not normally leave their homes, their families, and their communities unless they have no other option. Yet as environmental stresses mount, we can expect to see a growing number of environmental refugees.
08/30/11
'Workampers': What It's Like to Wander Around the Country in an RV Desperately Looking for Work
Finding a new job today often requires thinking outside the box, and you can’t think much further outside the job search box than workamping. Where are the jobs? That question is on the minds of millions of Americans who have lost jobs during the Great Recession. During this historically lean jobs creation period, finding a new job often requires thinking outside the box. And you can’t think much further outside the job search box than "workamping" -- also known as work-camping.
Past News
08/13/11
Analysis of Financial Terrorism in America: Over 1 Million Deaths Annually, 62 Million People With Zero Net Worth, As the Economic Elite Make Off With $46 Trillion
08/08/11
Trapped in Economic Hell: Tales from the New Great Depression
07/26/11
Billions for the Bankers - Debts for the People, The Real Story of the Money-Control Over America
07/10/11
CIA Torture Jet Wrecks with 4 Tons of Cocaine
This Florida based Gulfstream II jet aircraft # N987SA crash landed on September 24, 2007 after it ran out of fuel over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula it had a cargo of several tons of Cocaine on board now documents have turned up on both sides of the Atlantic that link this Cocaine Smuggling Gulfstream II jet aircraft # N987SA that crashed in Mexico to the CIA who used it on at least 3 rendition flights from Europe and the USA to Guantanamo's infamous torture chambers between 2003 to 2005. This particular Gulfstream II (tail number N987SA), was used between 2003 and 2005 by the CIA for at least three trips between the U.S. east coast and Guantanamo Bay — home to the infamous “terrorist” prison camp — according to a number of press reports.
06/21/11
Why does the U.S. government torture people?
06/06/11
Global systemic crisis - Confirmation of a Major Alert for the second half of 2011 – Explosive fusion of world geopolitical dislocation and the global economic and financial crisis
04/12/11
The Real Crime of M. Khodorkovsky
03/17/11
THEY DARE NOT SPEAK ITS NAME ...
Videos
09/07/11
Come September: The UN, Palestine, Israel and Mordechai Vanunu
From eileenfleming
PREAMBLE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
PREAMBLE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
No comments:
Post a Comment